Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Things certainly have changed since we were home haven’t they dear Alpha?” The oddly dressed bunny said as she looked out the window of the carriage her and her closest servant were riding.

“Indeed it has Mistress, though I will reserve judgement as to whether it is for the better or not until after we have seen the city.” Judy just shook head with a sigh and exasperated smile over to the large silver furred wolf.

“You know, you would think after over seven-hundred years you would drop the ‘Mistress’.” Scoffing Alpha just crossed his arms with his nose in the air.

“Time has no hold on manners and respect.”

“If I ever meet her, I will ask her about that.” Judy said with a smile before the expression slid off her face as memories of a few months ago came to the forefront of her mind.

“Hmm…you seem to have done well for yourself over the last few centuries, I think it took Nikenshriel a little over a thousand years before he started working with civilizations for more than a few decades.”

Judy groaned and reached behind herself for the circle she had drawn around her bathtub. Scowling at the way it was scuffed out where she would have touched it the necromancer turned back towards the lounging form of the bone white fox that was the physical manifestation of Death.

“I worked hard on that damn circle you know.” Skye just smiled as she stretched her arms out to the side of the tub of gently bubbling water.

“Yes I know, but I don’t have the time or patience to deal with your antics right now.”

Judy raised a brow at that, normally souls would make their way across the Veil on their own and she only really needed to step in on special circumstances. To say she didn’t have the time would mean that something was happening that would need her personal touch, also Skye was one of the most laid back of the Offices that watched over Creation. For her to say she didn’t have the patience probably meant she was under some kind of pressure…what could pressure one of the Offices?

“Oh really? Well that is unfortunate because I have things I want to do and listening to the problems you want me to fix is so low on that list it is basically not there. Actually let me rephrase that, listening to anything you have to say is so low on my list of things to do that it isn’t on the list at all.”

Pulling herself out of the water and tossing a robe around herself Judy froze on her way towards the door to her private bathing room as Skye spoke again.

“I have three reasons why you are going to sit your ass down and listen to what I have to say and the first one involves that plague you have been researching for so long.”

Turning on the spot Judy looked over to the fox now walking up to her clad in her robes of office…if she was wearing those she was here on actual business.

“I have breakfast coming soon, you weren’t invited so don’t expect there to be anything for you. If you really have to bother me you can do it while I’m eating.”

Turning away and walking out of the room she was less than surprised to see Death waiting for her at the table on her balcony. Rolling her eyes and getting dressed in the soft silks that those of the Reticulan Empire favored Judy walked out and smiled at her personal servants as they walked in shortly after her to place various bowls and plates out for the bunny.

“Will that be all Ancient One?” One of the iguana servants asked as the others stood in the background.

“Yes Ishala thank you, please let the emperor know that I will be waiting for him in my lab.” Turning to look at the fox across from her, currently keeping herself from being seen by the servants.

“It is possible I will have new information for him.”

Watching the servants leave with a series of bows Skye waited for the door to close and the feeling of the life signatures to retreat.

“You seem to have come quite a way in the last few centuries from the little bunny bleeding out in a barn. According to Nikenshriel he didn’t start exploiting the ruling classes until he was a little older than a thousand years into being a necromancer.” Grinning at another tiny fragment of her master’s life coming to light for her Judy looked closely at the fox.

“You almost never call him by his full name, and you almost never show yourself in your official robes…you said you had three reasons why I should listen and judging by how you are acting I am betting they are good reasons.”

Reaching out for her fruit juice Judy stopped as a wave of cold washed over her, a familiar and normally very appreciated cold, the cold of the grave when the body is stiff and the tears have dried into lines of salt. The cold of the deep winter when notions as soft as mercy and forgiveness were forgotten.

But this was not the cold she was used to feeling when using her powers…this was the cold of the abyss, of not only a grave but a life forgotten as memories fade. This was the cold of indifference to the past and future, the frigid blade of inevitability…this was the blade of Death and she could feel it scrape across her very soul.

“Take care with your words little mortal for I am not in a good mood these days and you do not know me well enough to judge anything about me. We may have spoken but we are not friends, you may be old but I was ancient before the word was even spoken, you may have taken your heart from your own chest, sealed it within a block of iron and steel and sent it to the depths of the Old Man’s realm…”

Frigid, dry, rattling bones slid along the fur of Judy’s shoulders until they lay gently wrapped around her throat. More and more bones soon began crawling up her legs and around her torso spreading the inescapable sense of what could never be truly defeated.

“But do you truly think you are beyond my reach? That HE is truly beyond my reach…All come to my embrace eventually little mortal, I escorted my predecessor across the veil myself when I took up the mantle and I have seen other Offices across in my time…”

The next words were spoken directly into Judy’s ear as she sat frozen in place, not necessarily unable to turn her head to see what was speaking to her…but unwilling to do so.

“What makes you think you are even worth being spoken of in the same decade as them?”

Jerking away from the voice comprised of every mournful whisper to ever grace the winds Judy whipped her head to the side and then back forward as she heard a gentle slurping sound. Seeing Skye sitting across the table from her sipping a cup of juice Judy gulped reflexively, hating herself for the miniscule sign of nerves.

“Make no mistake Little Necromancer, we aren’t friends but I like you…Nick likes you and my big brother put a surprising amount of effort into building you. But we are not friends, we are not co-workers or equals by any of the many and varied definitions of the words…I have dandruff older than you. You do not get to assume you know what I am thinking or going through just by what I allow you to see or how we have interacted in the past.”

“The few times we have spoken in the past were when I assumed everything was going well and in that time I have been proven wrong, in that time I have found problems and have had issues that have consequences and meanings beyond anything you have a frame of reference for.” Sipping her drink Death waited patiently for the insignificant rabbit before her to get herself back under control.

It wasn’t often a mortal was subjected to the Voice or Touch of Death and even more rare for them to come out of the experience with their mind totally intact but she was a little to frustrated with her cousin War to be in a good mood these days.

“So…those reasons you mentioned, I assume they are good ones.” Judy said as she shakily reached out for a piece of chilled fruit. Looking up she was somewhat surprised to see a smile on the fox’s face as she popped a plump grape into her maw.

“My brother did just a little to good of a job with you, just a little to resilient…Since I know you don’t like me being around to much and don’t care for things like gentle terms I will forgo such niceties. I have three reasons as to not only why you will listen but also why you will do as you are told…First being that in the time you have been lounging here in this desert among these belly dragging tongue flickers your master and I have been seeking out the source of the plague you so eagerly have been researching.” Standing up and grinning as she looked over to Judy seeing that she had her full attention Skye continued.

“Second being that I held back when you were dying in that barn all those centuries ago…I showed mercy against the nature of my Office and not because I was directed to do so but because it was a gut feeling, you owe me for that.” Flashing her True Nature for barely half a thought she firmly shut down any argument the rabbit was about to raise as she opened her mouth.

“Third…is that if you don’t do as you are told I will reject your claim to any necromantic abilities and powers and cut you off from your source of power, my Office and Realm. Of course, this isn’t a gentle or subtle decision and will affect every necromancer currently alive…” Judy felt her ears fall down her back at those words.

“You can’t, you can’t do that!” She said as she jumped to her feet and slammed her paws on to the table.

“That would negate any spells or powers that use those energies! Master would be unable to use practically all of his powers, he would be unable to leave his realm unless he wanted to die instantly from old age. That is assuming he isn’t using or has used any kind of powers to keep himself alive this whole time…I thought he was your friend!” She jerked back as within the span of her next breath Skye was standing directly in front of her with a dark look on her face.

“Yes he is and yes…I CAN. He has lived longer than any other mortal in the history of this realm and both you have lived far longer than you had any right to. The only reason you were even put on this path was because something interfered with Fate’s Weave and I had a feeling you would be the best, not only mind you, chance to fix it. You never found the Lost Souls I will remind you, oh you had your vengeance and your family is very pleased to hear about it but those souls are still missing.”

Standing up to her full height and seeming to stand taller than the palace they were residing in Skye looked down at the small rabbit, grinning internally as she fought against the natural fear of death and the hatred of being ordered around by something she couldn’t fight back against.

Gritting her teeth against the weight of Death baring down upon her Judy snarled and stood tall before walking up to the fox as she looked down upon her. Crossing her arms with a sneer Judy spat directly onto one of Skye’s feet with a contemptuous look.

“With a friend like you, who would need an enemy. Tell me what you want and get out of my palace, just know that I will do as you want but it will be done my way and on my schedule.” Skye nodded with a small sigh.

“Back when you achieved your vengeance it was discovered that the soul of Nick’s first love, Shivala, did not make it wholly across the veil. She used a working I had no way of noticing to make it so that bits and pieces of her soul were somehow left behind on this side and are pulling the rest of her back across the veil and towards each other in an attempt to rebuild themselves into a single whole. Those pieces will be contained within vessels in order to shield themselves from the natural order of the realm.”

Judy nodded as she began to pace while listening to Skye as she spoke, something as powerful as a soul would always try to remain whole but any free-floating pieces would be ushered across the veil by the cleansing nature of the sunrise and sunset.

“These vessels will influence the world around them as well as any individuals they can in order to rejoin themselves. I have been able to slow the passage of the soul from my side of the veil but it will be a while before it can be stopped. Unfortunately, this means there is a hole in the veil that if left open for too long will have very unfortunate consequences. Any individuals that possess these vessels will be influenced to the soul’s way of thinking, they will do anything they can in order to be rejoined to one…if they haven’t become one already.”

“And if these pieces become a whole…what then? She died once so she is supposed to stay dead. Even necromancers only bring back the mind, we can’t bring back the soul. So put on your Death hat, find the pieces, put her back together and kick her ass back across the veil, problem solved.” Skye just sighed and grabbed her glass of juice before giving it a swirl turning it to a much more fortified form of juice.

“If only it were that easy…no, if a soul is on this side of the veil I cannot influence them unless it is their time to crossover.” Seeing the look of slight confusion Judy was giving her Skye nodded with a flammable sigh, the top of her drink actually catching fire.

“She has already had her time to live and passed her time to die, enough of her soul went across the veil to mark her as dead and if she passes fully over to this side, I will have no authority over her until it is her time to die…again.”

“Hold on, can souls die? Would she be purged by the sunrise if she was fully across the veil?” Skye shook her uneasily while looking anywhere but at Judy. Narrowing her eyes at the fox Judy mentally shrugged before grabbing a pear and walking past Skye into her bedroom.

“Huh? Wait where are you going?” Skye asked as she watched the frustrating rabbit walk past her.

“To tell the emperor that I will be dying soon, if I have time I will probably visit Master to let him know he will either be dying or most of his power will be lost.” Judy said casually as she munched into the fruit.

“What? You are just going to say no? Seven hundred years of trying to figure out the details of a plague and you are just going to let it go? Nick helped you in your darkest hour and you are just going to let him face the consequences of your actions?” Skye yelled as she stood from the table and appeared in front of Judy who continued to eat her pear.

“Yes…yes I am. I sought power in order to avenge my family and I did that over seven hundred years ago. Any effort I put into learning about the plague I met all those years ago was for my own curiosity, I have made progress but not enough and if I can’t make enough progress on a single subject in that time then I guess it just isn’t meant to be. Besides it’s as you said, I have lived longer than I had any right to and I miss my family so it will be nice to see them again…and don’t try to say you can prevent that because I know for a fact that it isn’t your decision what happens after a soul crosses the veil.” Smiling smugly up at the fox as she grit her teeth Judy would never know how happy Skye was to see such a look on the rabbit’s face…she looked so much like her master just then.

“As for Master Nikenshriel well…in no way at all do I believe he will be all that weakened or inconvenienced with losing his necromantic abilities. He has had longer than any other creature in existence to learn more about magic and the interplay of energies and I have no doubt he has a way around anything you could do to him. Besides he helped me achieve my goals, he served his purpose as far as I am concerned and while I value him and his teachings above anything not related to my family, he has a wonderful saying that seems rather appropriate for this moment.”

Stepping forward until she could feel the cobwebs and grave wind that made up Death’s cloak brush against her Judy grinned with a face full of teeth.

“Regimes Change and Empires Fall…the Wheel of Time Turns for us All.” Stepping around the glaring fox Judy grinned before tossing the remnants of her pear into a bowl.

“We all go to your embrace eventually, as you have said in the past, so why bother fighting the inevitable when it comes to call? Especially when those trying to get you to do their bidding are hiding important information.”

“I uh…I have no idea what you are talking about.” Looking over her shoulder at the fox as she stood in the middle of her bedroom Judy raised a brow.

“Alright look…I know you have met Fate and she told you how with great power comes great restrictions?” Seeing the rabbit turn and nod her head Skye continued.

“There are things individuals like me are allowed to speak of only when someone has discovered them for themselves. I can’t tell you to look into using and influencing souls in more detail and I can’t speak of what you might find until you find it yourself. There are subjects that everyone who knows about them is required to prevent anyone else from learning unless certain conditions are met.” Wincing a bit as if she had a headache Skye staggered to the side.

“Wait…so there is a way to use souls?” That could be interesting…

“I can’t say anything about it unless you find it yourself, I can only answer questions that you already know the answers to because you already read about them.” The look on Skye’s face as she said this told Judy she was trying to convey…Ahhh, sneaky bitch.

“Got it…you mentioned you have information on the plague I have been studying?” The look of relief on Death’s face almost made her start asking more questions for no other reason than petty personal revenge for taking her family.

“Yes...take a seat this might take a while.”

Walking into the lab contained beneath the Royal Palace alongside her faithful Alpha Judy smiled as she changed into her ‘work clothes’ while enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. Walking out of the small receiving chamber in her long coat and tight outfit she took a moment to inhale the scent of pain, hatred, sickness and despair. Looking around as she walked, she grinned even wider at the sights of the various test subjects she had strung up and restrained around her workspace.

Lizards and snakes of various types, sizes and species practically covered the walls around her and even hung from the ceiling or were contained in cages under the floor in some cases.

Closing her eyes and bouncing from one foot to the other in her own little dance while humming the song of her family to the beat of the various bubbling and frothing concoctions Judy ended up in front of her work bench with a little twirl.

“Alright everyone how are we feeling today?” The series of hateful and venomous hisses in response to her question was enough to sound like wind across a grassy plain…she missed the savannahs of the Sahrain Region.

“Excellent, glad to hear that. Well you will all be sad to know that this will be the last day you will be able to help me in the search for truth and knowledge.”

“Because you are going to kill us.” A hissing voice spoke from one side of the large room. Smiling as she finished setting up her workbench Judy turned towards the owner of the voice.

Walking over to the gecko as large as she was Judy stopped and smiled at the brightly colored reptile.

“Yes…I am going to kill all of you and probably steal your corpses to resurrect later but if you want, I can kill you now and save you the pain and horror of the death that awaits you. Speaking of which, Alpha!”

“Yes mistress, I am here.” Walking forward and falling to one knee the large wolf looked at his mistress, the sight of the smile she only ever gave him bringing a warmth to his chest.

 “We are leaving these lands Alpha, gather your siblings and have them scout a path to Zootopia…we are going home.” Hearing almost the same words she had spoken so many centuries ago when they had left their homeland spoken once more brought a grin to Alpha’s muzzle.

“Your whisper…My Will.” Dissolving into a cloud of ash and grave dust the large wolf flowed up through the ventilation shafts. Turning away from where her most favored servant once knelt Judy once more looked towards the gecko.

“Die now quickly and painlessly to be reborn as my servant later on, or die in pain and suffering to be reborn as a mindless skeleton… that will eventually be my servant…those are your choices, all of you.” Turning away from the gecko Judy addressed the entire dungeon.

“Those who die now will be reborn as servants with their own minds…those that die in pain will be reborn as either mindless pawns or with whatever mind I decide to give them. Just remember that none of you mean anything to anyone and there is no one to mourn you beyond these walls, you have until the emperor arrives to decide.”

“Well Ancient One, I am told you have good news for me. My ancestors may have indulged your whims but I have much less patience and much more of a war to win.” Emperor Shanzil said as he walked into the dungeon of the mammal that had worked for the Royal Throne for centuries.

“Your ancestors committed a coup against the great-great-grandson of the emperor of my youth in order to steal the throne from the Slavansha bloodline. The fact that none of your ancestor’s venoms or poisons worked on me and that every soldier they sent to kill me was soon raised from the dead to fight against them is the only reason they kept me on as Royal Artificer and Consultant.” Judy responded with a contemptuous look and tone as she looked up from her work.

“The fact that not only have you not found out how to kill me but also that I am much more valuable to you alive and working on your side is the only reason you have had the so-called patience you speak of.”

The large Komodo dragon puffed up with a warning hiss at the tiny rabbit as she turned back to whatever witchcraft she was working on.

“You dare speak to the Emperor of the Scalanekt Empire in such a way?! I should have you beheaded for your insolence!” Judy just laughed as she continued mixing various liquids and making notes in her book.

“Your great grandsire used to have me beheaded on a weekly basis in an attempt to teach me humility and to show me that he was my superior, care to guess as to who is still alive and who is cold in the ground?” Turning her cross slitted gaze from what she was currently working on towards the insolent whelp of an emperor Judy made sure to let some of her last familiar’s buzz enter her voice, not many creatures could hear the sound of a flesh-eating beetle and remain stoic.

Seeing the emperor puff out in alarm at the sound and her words Judy grinned before turning back to her work. She felt her grin take on a razor edge at the way the various life signatures of the royal entourage all focused on her and became agitated, never seeing her own entourage crawling through the shadows near the ceiling. Holding up a small flask of an un-identified liquid to try and see through it with a grin the small rabbit put the flask over a small concentrated flame and smiled as it began to quickly bubble.

“You said you would have more information on the plague you have spent so long working on so speak mammal, when will my weapon be ready.” The emperor said through gritted teeth as he watched dismissive rabbit, he was going to have her drawn and quartered and keep her head on the gate to his palace.

“You have been given centuries of freedom, funding, resources and even your own palace and staff. This is the last chance you have to impress me and remain in one piece, if I am not pleased at the end of this we will be seeing how many pieces you can survive being chopped into.” Judy just rolled her eyes before standing up and leaning back against the table while crossing her arms.

“Relax, I have recently had a breakthrough. The plague is magically hardened against tampering so it is hard to get into the details of its makeup. This didn’t happen until about three-hundred and fifty years ago meaning that either it is changing naturally under the control of a rudimentary type of intelligence or someone is still actively controlling and changing it.” Pushing away from the table and beginning to pace she continued speaking.

“Its basic directive seems to remain unchanged in that it infects the lungs until the host essentially drowns in a form of magically charged mucus that makes it easier for the plague to spread. Once the host is dead, and thus its immune system is no longer in the way of the plague spreading, veins of the illness begin to spread into the surrounding organs with the brain as the primary target. Once the brain is infected the plague changes and becomes infectious only through the transfer of fluids like saliva or blood. This is a benefit since by then the body is under the control of the virus that has hijacked the brain, obviously this isn’t how the average virus works which just makes it more obvious that it is being controlled by a form of magic.” Reaching into a large jar and pulling out a pulsing mass of black ichor that looked as if it trying to climb up her arm with small tendrils she continued pacing after taking a large bite of the apple sized lump.

“This used to be a heart and is in fact only pulsing still because the virus has replaced anything that was there originally and continued the motion in order to cycle the stagnant blood through the system and continue the infection process. After the brain is under control of the plague and the irrelevant parts have been dissolved as fuel for the plague, all that is really left are the parts that control and regulate aggression and motion control. Once mushrooms begin to grow on the outside of the body and spores begin to spread the body will begin to break down until it is nothing more than some very high-grade fertilizer.” Biting into the lump again she held it out and offered it to the emperor.

“Want a bite?” The look of utter disgust was all she needed, shrugging to herself she went back to her snack.

“None of this is new information, my sorcerers will not be able to replicate it with any of this and I don’t care how it works, just that it will win me this war against the Rainlands.” The emperor hissed irritably.

“No but you see what I have found out recently is that the spores only last a couple hours and once the mushrooms begin to grow all the energy left in the body and plague is sent to the spores to spread so anyone infected by it will fall apart eventually as opposed to just rambling around forever. Now these next parts are the ones I think you will really be interested in.”

Smiling like a small silver furred ghoul Judy quickly scampered over to one of her workbenches further into the lab where a number of vials and flasks were rapidly bubbling away, the smell falling somewhere between fresh pine and a pie made of rotting fruit. Gesturing for the emperor to approach she began speaking once he and his guards reluctantly approached.

“Now this is where it gets interesting, you see the metabolism of a prey mammal doesn’t produce enough energy for the plague to get an early, and more importantly fatal, strangle hold on the host’s system. Prey mammals can still be infected but as long as they get treatment soon enough it will be nothing more than a simple chest cold, even after hours or days it can be cured. But you see a predator burns hot with energy and the virus that makes up the plague can then more easily and quickly pull large amounts of energy and replicate to the point that the only way to keep the host from becoming a frothing feral beast set on spreading the plague is to kill them.”

Pulling out various scrolls and spreading them across the workbench with almost manic movements Judy began pointing out certain parts of some kind of intricate diagram while also pulling out a notebook and making small changes to both.

“This is the really interesting part, well interesting for me since it opens up a few doors for application and research, if the mucus is strained of any chunks of leftover organ meat it can then be heated and will actually become airborne like the spores but much more aggressive and virulent. In fact, it becomes so aggressive that anyone who inhales it will be dead and gone before the plague has enough time to infect them to the point of them being able to be controlled.” Reaching out and grabbing one of the bubbling flasks she ignored the way her fur burned and flesh blistered from the heat of the glass.

“Basically, once this stuff begins to boil it becomes super charged and actually liquifies the lungs so fast the virus has no chance to infect the rest of the body enough to take over.”

“What do these scrolls have to do with anything you are saying? And what do you mean once it starts to boil, it is already boiling?!” Judy grinned up at the large Komodo dragon as one of the guards began to cough while the others were beginning to struggle to breath.

“Oh the scrolls have nothing to do with it really, those are just a little project of my own to play with when I need a break from the other stuff I am working on. As for boiling this stuff…yes, these flasks have been boiling for a few minutes now and you are actually standing surrounded in a very thick cloud of the infected steam. Since you are a reptile and have a slower metabolism than the average prey mammal, I needed to waste some time so that you could inhale it and be infected. Your guards are currently drowning in what used to be their lungs as they are now quickly dissolving and you will be following them shortly.”

Dissolving into ash and grave dust Judy couldn’t help but laugh as the emperor pulled his saber and tried to slice her head from her neck.

“Did you really think I hadn’t infiltrated your staff hatchling? I killed most of your senior staff and brought them back under my control decades before you even took up the throne, I have been manipulating the lines of candidates that were available to succeed you and even those that could succeed those working for you since before you were born. I have been working towards weakening this pathetic empire for over two hundred hundred years.”

The voice came ringing from every shadow in the dark lab, looking around the emperor began to realize things he hadn’t seen before. The only lighting came from the few torches around the workbenches, the prisoners that normally were either screaming or moaning in some kind of pain were all visibly dead and limp in their restraints and cages and more importantly…he was surrounded by flasks of bubbling black ichor.

A sound like a snapping twig was heard and before his eyes a sigil burned bright on the various flasks, right before they all burst in a small explosion of black steam.

“I was the one who started the war between your great grandsire and the Rainlands…I was the one who fabricated the evidence of their betrayal to your trade agreements. I spoke the words that sent him down his path of madness. I have been methodically removing and re-assigning those that might improve the empire’s militaristic training and economical standing for longer than you have been alive, just a few here and there so that you could limp on like a wounded beast.”

Laughter rang out from within the mist falling and roiling around him, hissing in anger and coughing as his lungs dissolved the emperor swung his blade through the mist in vain attempts to slash and skewer the vile bunny. Every swing though was met with a cracking slash from a whip, every strike drawing blood and rotting scales from his failing form. Falling to his knees he used his sword as a type of crutch while black sludge soon began to leak from between his gritted teeth.

Looking up from the ground as a small form walked into his swimming view he gripped the hilt of sword ever tighter.

“Isn’t it odd that every generation of your family has been met with greater and greater hardships? Your great grandsire was a sword master at your age, your sire took around twice as long and you will never be as good as them because I made sure that the trainers that could make you as strong as them were never available.”

Opening her mouth to continue to gloat she was cut off as a blade was slammed through her chest. Looking the emperor in his eyes she blinked slowly as he coughed and choked out more black ichor.

“Really?...you really think stabbing me in the chest is going to do any good? I have been beheaded, stabbed, burned…that one sucked, drawn and quartered multiple times and you think you are special enough to suddenly do what generations of your family has failed to accomplish?”

Stepping back so that she took the blade from the failing grip of the lizard before her she then reached up and channeled her raw energy into the blade, grinning as it began to rust and pit before falling apart in her grasp.

“You are going to die down here hatchling, you are going to die a peasant’s death of sickness and decay. I am going to take everything I have worked on over my time in these lands with me and leave knowing that the ones I have left alive in your royal court will have this entire empire eating itself from the inside out. Everything you and your family has worked towards will be undone in less than a year.”

Grinning as she whipped a foot out in a savage kick across the emperor’s face Judy inhaled deeply with a look of pure joy across her face as she pulled the vile energy from the mist surrounding them.

“Of course, there will be many innocent lives lost and simple family reptiles caught up in the dissolution and destruction of your empire…but they really aren’t my concern or problem.” Ending with a shrug Judy stomped one foot down on the face of the convulsing lizard as he glared at her with a burning hatred in his eyes.

“Before Skye gets here…just know that the next time we meet, you will be referring to me as Mistress and you will obey me like a slave…just like the mammals you have been trafficking from my homelands for generations.” Lifting her foot and slamming it down in a series of vicious stomps until the reptile stopped twitching Judy spoke into the deathly still silence of her lab.

“Just like how my family would have been treated had I not had them rescued all those centuries ago…”

Walking into the underground lab Skye looked around with a raised brow at the various revenants working quickly and efficiently to either pack away the lab equipment or carve runes and sigils into multiple piles of bones in order to raise more siblings. Looking closer and seeing various bodies covered in writhing piles of either leeches or swarming with flesh eating beetles the question of how they had been reduced to bare bones so quickly was answered. Strolling through the controlled chaos she soon found herself standing next to Death as she sat upon a particular reptile that looked as if he would be thrashing in pain had his muscles not been locked in place.

“You really need to stop doing that, grudges aren’t healthy and he had nothing to do with what your family was put through.” Skye said with a shake of her head.

“This is only the second time I have ever done this and not only was his ancestor the one who tried to buy my family, among many others as well, but he was also planning on doing the same thing to more families in order to enslave them and work them to death.” Judy said as she pulled her longer and sharper than normal claws from the sides of the former emperor’s skull.

“You might say I have a thing about such actions…besides he was an asshole, he stabbed me.” Skye looked at Judy in slight amazement.

“You pulled your heart out and as such you have been able to survive worse than that.”

“Yeah, and just look at all the individuals who did those things…how long did they live afterword?” Grinning smugly up at the fox as she rubbed her face with the heels of her paws Judy looked around in satisfaction at the progress being made.

“Turns out being a bit eccentric and demanding all my equipment be small and modular paid off.”

Watching with a grin as a blank eyed monitor lizard walked by with a number of boxes in his arms before placing them gently within the depths of the leech leather bag her master had let her borrow so long-ago Judy began planning her next moves.

“You know Nick is gonna want that bag back right?” Skye said as she watched the contents of the room methodically disappear into its depths.

“And he will get it back…eventually.” Judy said with a bit of a sheepish grin, she really had meant to give it back but then one thing had lead to another and before she knew it, she had forgotten and well…

“Decades like this make me consider retiring…” Skye said with sigh.

“I suppose the upside to all this is that you already have the beginnings to working with souls…at least a minor understanding. How did you learn how to trap the souls within the bones anyway?”

“It was among some spells I found in one of master’s books, it was one of the first books I had found in my early years of studying.” Skye looked at Judy in obvious surprise at hearing that.

“You’re kidding, I would have thought Nick would be more careful with things like that.”

“I don’t think he gave it much thought since I couldn’t understand most of the writing anyway, I went back later on and used it as a reference to make sure I was learning the language correctly…never really thought about what I was actually looking at until I went back for the second time and was playing hide-and-eat with Samson.” Feeling a gentle scuttling around her limbs she grinned and stroked a finger along the black obsidian carapace of her centipede familiar as he wiggled and scuttled around her throat.

Looking down at the rabbit’s choker, anklets and bracelets before looking over to the piles of crawling centipede bodies Skye’s look became a bit contemplative.

“That’s new, last I saw of that little guy you only had five of them…and has the leech changed in that time as well?”

Looking closer she could see that yes, the leech familiar Finnick had indeed changed. Where before he was just a black leech with small scales, he now sported elongated barbs every other scale along his length.

“I didn’t think familiars changed like that.”

“Depends on what and how much they eat, I have spent the last seven centuries feeding my companions as much as I could get them. Fin gets the blood, Suzie gets the meat and Samson gets the bones and any armor they may have unless I need them and then they just share amongst themselves however they feel works best.”

Skye looked at the quickly vanishing piles of bodies as everything was stripped down to the bone and then towards the various skeletons using metal needles that were heavily inscribed with runes and sigils along their lengths. Looking closer Skye noticed that most of the runes were actually geared towards preservation while only a few were actually for channeling energy of any kind.

“Interesting rune work you have on these needles, none of it is for what I would expect on a necromancer’s tools though. These are all runes for keeping rust away and keeping them sharp or preventing them from being bent…rather mundane really.” Looking up from the needles the fox was surprised to see a look that held equal parts sadness and joy before the rabbit began to speak.

“They were something of a gift from a friend back when I first entered the capital. I found a bunny in the market who let me work off the cost of a new cloak and the needles by embroidering some of her wares. I practiced my embroidery and rune work that way, I would build patterns around the runes and then activate them when I was close just to mess with the paladins in the area so that they would have a harder time finding me.” Skye laughed a bit at hearing that.

“How did that work out for you?” Judy looked away, very obviously not blushing in slight embarrassment.

“It worked well enough…until that one bitch sent them right to my door.” Skye nodded as she remembered those days so long ago they were practically yesterday.

“Ah yes…the mother to the prince who had your family killed and who tried to kill you. The one whose throat you crushed after telling her how everything that had happened and was about to happen was essentially her fault and that not only was she going to die horribly but how her son was going to live in perpetual agony and torment without reprieve. Have you ever considered letting things like that go? Maybe talk to someone versed in the healing of the mind about it?”

The look Judy gave Death was as acidic as it was sarcastic.

“I have spoken to various individuals about it over the centuries…”

“Yes I know you have, I was there to collect their souls after you killed them. Perhaps leave them alive next time and go to them multiple times…might help is all I am saying.”

“…and they should both be happy that I didn’t hunt down their entire bloodline for what they did to mine.”

Judy said ignoring the fox’s words, leaving someone alive after spilling her guts about all her past traumas and current issues was just begging someone to forge that knowledge into a blade that could actually harm her.

“What is my timeline Death? How long do I have to find these soul pieces before things go sideways on us?”

The tone of voice told Skye that the littlest necromancer was showing her more mature side and seemed to actually be taking things seriously. Sighing before pulling her hood up and crossing her arms she thought to herself about what could be done to prevent further damage to the veil and keeping things under the notice of Home Office.

“You have time, years as long as nothing really goes wrong. Because it was caught before anything permanent was done to the veil. The pieces haven’t done anything big enough to gather the attention of even the gods of this world, no one of any note should be looking over your shoulder. The only reason I even noticed was because I was going through a few things back when you were on your little crusade, the way the plague manifested got me looking. Just know that as things are this is a minor problem that can be taken care of at the local level, but if any of the higher ups get wind of this…just hope they don’t get wind of this.”

Walking away down the familiar stone paved path that would always lead her to where she needed to be she turned and looked over her shoulder.

“Oh and you have been here in the desert for a long time, things have changed back in your homeland…have fun.” Looking from where the fox disappeared up to her First Revenant Alpha she asked in slight confusion.

“How much could things have changed? We haven’t been gone that long have we?”

“Think she bought it?” Skye asked as she sat down on the fainting couch the little rabbit in question used to curl up on when she was studying. Looking up from the glass of red wine that hadn’t been in her grip until she wanted it to be she looked over to the green-eyed red fox as he sat within his favorite overstuffed wingback chair.

Dressed in a wine-red shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black slacks and vest along with an almost luminescent green tie in a knot that would hurt a mortal’s eyes to look at the First Lich casually puffed on a paw rolled smoke. Blowing out a series of shapes into a cloud that hung between the two of them they sat watching as his latest, most powerful and promising apprentice finished packing her bags before sending a number of her newest reptile servants to empty the treasury as well as various other rooms within the royal palace.

“I would hazard a Yes, she isn’t stupid but you were very convincing…also helps that it was somewhat true. How is War by the way?” Nick asked as he swiped the image away from within the cloud of smoke.

“An ass like always, though his brother isn’t much better to be honest…I swear those two pull this shit just to irritate me.” Skye said in exasperation, though only Nick and her brother would probably be able to hear the note of fondness in her voice.

“Well they are young and you are the Cool Older Cousin, they just want you to pay attention to them a bit.” Nick said with a laugh at the predicament of his oldest friend…honestly, having War and Peace fighting for your attention was pretty damn funny in his mind.

“Yeah well if they don’t stop provoking each other they are going to have a lot more of my attention than they will be able to handle…how do you keep them out of here by the way? I never see them here and any time they are bugging me they never follow me to your realm.” Skye asked somewhat suspiciously.

“I told them if they came in and irritated you while you were here, I would give them both access to the others’ personal diary.” Skye perked up at hearing that.

“You have their diaries?” Nick just grinned smugly.

“They make a point of destroying each other’s or their own when they are full meaning they end up within my stacks.” Nick smiled, an actually genuine smile at the way Skye laughed…it was nice hearing things like that in his realm.

‘Damn rabbit showed up once and all of a sudden I’m starting to remember what it was like being among the Short-lived.’

Before that little hopper came into his extremely long life, he had happily been sitting within his realm reading through his books letting the eons pass by with every turn of the page. Then she shows up and all of a sudden his realm is being invaded by the only beings in existence old enough to be considered friends and not only that but they have the audacity to bring joy and laughter into his life again…bastards.

On top of all that she has the temerity to remind him how much he enjoyed being a teacher once upon a millennium and he even ended up looking forward to her visits…

‘Must be getting soft…either that or someone spilled feelings on me again.’

Checking himself for stains Nick looked over to the giggling visage of Death as she sat on his couch drinking wine…these were the moments he lived for these days.

“I’m just saying, an entire entourage is not only unnecessary but kind of defeats the purpose of trying to go un-noticed.”

Judy said as she and Alpha walked down a road that was painfully familiar, if slightly changed over the centuries. Where she remembered there being dirt and gravel under foot there were now paving stones, the ruts of passing cart wheels and river of mud were now a well-worn path beneath trees that she didn’t remember being so tall.

“And I am saying that you may still be hunted to this day, the Slayer Brotherhood is unlikely to so easily forget you…especially since they know you would be able to outlive them so easily. If you would just allow a few of my siblings out as a type of honor guard…” Judy grinned with a full ear curl at her favorite companion, she now understood what he was trying for.

“An honor guard would draw to much attention and to many questions, but I suppose I can indulge you a bit.” Reaching down and pulling a small velvet bag from her belt she reached in and pulled a pawful of bone dust from within.

“Excellent! If you could just bring out Felix, ChandraaaAND why are you smiling like that?”

Alpha asked before seeing the look on his Mistress’s face as she stopped and blew the dust onto the road. Seeing the figure the dust seemed to fall over before gathering and solidifying into, Alpha felt his ears heat up before lowering…it would have to be her.

Standing before them was a black panther with only the slightest, teasing hint of the standard spotted coloration to her fur. She stood tall and proud with colorful feathers adorning her neck, wrists and ankles while a tightly woven type of grass skirt and top protected her modesty. Her amber eyes glittered with mischief and violence as she looked around herself before raising her arms above her head in a languid feline stretch that pulled attention to every soft and gently curved part of her body…and away from the glittering obsidian daggers she preferred to use.

“MMMMmmmhhhmmmm Mistress…”

Giving a deep bow to the rabbit that had drawn the Black Sickness from her veins and then raised her from beyond the Final Rest the panther grinned widely as she caught sight of the yummy wolf that followed the Mistress, her first servant.

“Alpha…”

Suppressing a shiver of delight at hearing his name upon her tongue Alpha gave a short nod of acknowledgment to his fellow revenant.

“Lua…good to see you again.”

Narrowing her eyes and widening her smile to show as many teeth as she could the former Blood Cultist walked forward with a hip rolling stride that brought every delight that shouldn’t be desired to mind.

“Aww, is that all you have to say...always the professional. I suppose I should be happy I even get to hear my name upon that tongue of yours.” Judy grinned, with a line like that how could she resist.

“Play your cards right and you might get more out of that tongue than just your name.”

“MISTRESS!”

Alpha hissed at her before remembering who he was talking to and standing up straight again while looking anywhere but at the vile wenches whose company he now shared.

“Coordinate between the two of you, defensive perimeter, unseen and unheard. I want to approach without anyone thinking I am anything more than a single rabbit doe on a pleasurable stroll through the countryside.”

Beginning to walk again Judy gave her orders and grinned as she heard the deep purr of the panther as she passed by her.

Soon enough she was walking alone down the road of her kithood, the feeling of her creations flitting around her in playful fits and bursts of speed as one tried to sneak up on the other.

Shannon Whiteroot had just stepped out of the burrow on her way to tell everyone that it was time for lunch when she stopped, someone was standing before the Memorial Stone. Cocking her head to the side a bit Shannon walked forward, one paw drifting close to the handle of the device at her hip.

“Excuse me! Are you here to meet someone? Are you lost?” She called out to the oddly dressed figure of what looked like a rabbit doe.

“I wasn’t sure who I might meet when I got here and you can never be lost when you are Home little one.” The voice that came to her held layers Shannon had no idea how to pull apart and understand.

“You know I remember making these markers…I remember inscribing the words upon these stones.” Stopping where she was Shannon began to pull back towards the door, something about this doe unnerved her.

“If you are going to use that device you are holding you had better hope you are fast, because the guardians I left to watch over these lands are much faster than you would expect them to be.”

Feeling a bolt of lightning race down her spine Shannon whipped her other paw forward with a single spoken word, anyone who knew of the Land Guardians was going to be trouble. She felt her jaw drop as the same guardians that had always looked after her and her family erupted from the ground and defended the stranger.

“Huh…impressive. When I was your age, I wouldn’t have been able to hit the ground near my target if I threw a knife like that let alone get it to stick in a rhino’s rib bone. How about you bring your parents out and I talk to them, I imagine if they try to kill me they might have a better chance.”

Seeing the doe turn from the Memorial Stone and fix her glittering amethyst gaze upon her Shannon felt her ears drop and a chill creep into her bones. Stepping back until she was just within the doorway Shannon called out.

“Mom! Dad!...there is someone here to see you, either that or one of the portraits came alive again!”

Raising a brow at the young doe’s words before she slammed the door shut Judy wondered to herself about how much she had missed since the last time she had been home.

‘Again?...’

Turning back to the large stone she had set as the marker to her parents’ grave Judy reached out and placed a paw upon the surface. Her first large spell upon this realm was still holding strong, her family was then, now, and forever beyond the reach of those like her…they would never have their well-earned rest interrupted.

‘Mom…Dad…I know I haven’t been around to talk for a few centuries, but I am here now…I am Home.’ Feeling tears flow down her cheeks and a warmth build within her chest Judy leaned forward and placed her forehead to the stone.

‘I have so much to tell you both…’

“MOM! DAD! I THINK ONE OF THE PAINTINGS GOT OUT AGAIN!”

Senna Whiteroot sighed as she finished drying off the last of the fluffle after their bath, she kept forgetting to increase the protections. Quickly dressing the kit and sending him off to play with his siblings she stood and walked out of the bathroom to calm her daughter.

“Sweety! Sweety…calm down, tell me what is going on.”

Seeing the look on her daughter’s face Senna began to wonder if it really was one of the paintings again, usually her kits knew how to deal with them and yet little Shannon looked as if she had seen a ghost again.

“Well, I think one of the paintings got out again…but I’m not sure since well, the Land Guardians protected her when I tried to send her back to her frame.”

Huh…that was, unsettling.

“Show me who it was dear.” Gesturing for her daughter to lead the way Senna soon found herself walking down Founder’s Hall.

A long hall leading to the library with a portrait of every Warren Mate immortalized in portraits lining the walls. Expecting to stop near the beginning she was pulled along until they were almost to the very end when her daughter stopped and pointed very definitively towards one of the oldest portraits within the hall.

Feeling her blood run cold at the thought of this particular painting coming alive she looked closely, using more than just her eyes to understand what she was looking at. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she breathed a sigh of relief…she hadn’t escaped her frame.

“Hun don’t scare me like that, why would you go telling me you saw Burrow Matron Judy when she is right there in her frame like she should be?” Senna asked while looking at her daughter.

“Because mom! She is outside at the Memorial Stone! She was talking about scribing the stones and making the markers! Plus when I tried to send her back to her frame the Land Guardians rose up to protect her!” Leaning back at those words Senna felt her heart skip a beat…no, it couldn’t be.

“Get your father, have him meet me at the entrance.”

Turning away from her daughter and walking towards the entrance to her home Senna cast out with her senses.

She could feel all of her sons and daughters as they worked within the fields and orchards, she could feel them within the kitchens and halls of the burrow. What she couldn’t feel though…was a void standing just outside the entrance, it was like instead of something being shielded from her senses they were just falling into an abyss. Increasing her speed at the potential reasons for not being able to sense within whatever abyss was standing outside her home until she was practically running.

Flinging open the door to the burrow she had called home for the last seven hundred years Senna felt her chest tighten and her eyes begin to water…She was right there, her Big Sister was HOME!

Turning at the sound of the door opening Judy smiled and was about to speak when she was tackled by a screaming, sobbing rabbit babbling something about her finally getting home and not being dead. Feeling her mind shut down at the sudden warm contact of another mammal Judy was violently thrown back to when she first emerged from her master’s realm.

She had spent about forty years neglecting everything a living mammal needed in order to study, namely food, sleep and even physical contact of any meaningful kind. It had taken her days just to be able to handle being touched again and years to more fully get over her aversion to physical contact. Except now she had gone without warm, non-violent physical contact for seven hundred years and all of a sudden she had a warm body practically wrapped around her.

She could feel the ants beginning to crawl under her skin again, though now it was as if hornets were stinging her bones as well. She had gone so long without them she had actually forgotten how horrible it felt. She knew on a deep level what she was supposed to do but her entire body locked up, half of her barely conscious mind telling her to relax and embrace the warm doe currently sobbing ‘Big Sister!’ into her shoulder. The other half was telling her to flood the area with her raw energy and turn every living cell into a plague-ridden soup.

*Ahem*

“Miss, I understand this might be an emotional moment for you but the Mistress doesn’t exactly have the emotional range or fortitude you might expect of someone her age. She is currently having something of a mentally fracturing moment and it would probably be best if you let her go.”

The voice of Alpha filtered into the mental hailstorm of her thoughts enough for Judy to begin twitching her thoughts back into order.

Feeling the strange doe let go of her and step back Judy jerked her gaze towards her attacker’s face and nearly felt her mind splinter again…she was supposed to be dead.

“You...” Squinting Judy employed all her years of mental training to bludgeon her thoughts back into order.

“Senna?...you are supposed to be dead.”

Stepping back in surprise Judy looked the rabbit doe up and down in surprise and was about to say something else before her brain caught up to her thoughts. Holding a paw up to Alpha to forestall anything he was about to say she allowed her eyes to slit into their four-pointed forms and opened her senses to the world around her.

Light like a midsummer day burst in her vision as the warmth of a loving hug flowed over her.

Feeling herself react on a level deeper than her soul at the hated warmth and light Judy summoned her old cloak from the bag at her side and wrapped it around herself. Hissing in a tri-tonal voice at the pure life energy she had just exposed herself to the necromancer jumped back and with a wave had two rhino paladins from ages long past standing between her and the searing purity of Life that was the rabbit doe before her.

“Big Sister?”

The voice was small and painfully young, innocent in the ways only the truly pure could manage. Looking out from under the cold shadows of her hood and between the forms of her faithful guardians Judy bared her razor-sharp teeth at the burning brilliance of Light and Life before clenching her eyes shut and pulling her senses back until she had herself under control again.

Looking back at the doe that should have been dead in the ground and dust on the wind ages ago Judy felt her past overlay her present. The little bunny she had taught her families Hex song and Curse dance to in an effort to keep something of their legacy alive stood in front of her like a ghost, smiling wide and bright over the image of the seemingly middle-aged and matronly rabbit that had just been hugging her.

“Dryad…you really were…are a dryad.” Rising up from her crouch and waving the paladins back a couple steps Judy shook her head and bit and focused her vision again.

“Sorry about that, wasn’t expecting to be hit with such a sight as that. A dryad’s energy is about as much of an antithesis as I could ever hope to not see in such detail…gonna have a damn headache for hours now. How though? How are you still alive? You were a kit when I saw you last and dryads need to be tied to their trees in order to live, you nearly died the first time I saw you from a plague that I have been chasing for centuries.”

Looking as close as she could at the dryad bunny she had last seen running back to her burrow with the ghost of her long dead father Judy could see the bright pulse of pure Life coming off her and seeming to stretch into…the burrow? Focusing on the line of life energy reaching out from Senna and flowing into the burrow Judy could tell it wasn’t the traditional connection a dryad shared with their tree as it was obviously moving and somehow stronger than the average connection.

Looking over to where the line stretched Judy watched as it grew thicker implying that whatever she was connected to was moving closer towards them. About to ask how her tree was moving, or whatever the hell she was connected to, Judy felt her eyes widen before narrowing to slits as her teeth were bared in a grimace of displeasure at what she saw.

“Well well well…Judy Blackburrow. You know I kind of figured you were still alive since none of the Slayers we sent after you came back with your head, or at all for that matter.”

Judy stood tall and turned her glare towards the somewhat sheepish looking bunny doe she had just been talking to.

“What…in the hell…is He doing in my burrow. More interestingly and yet not necessarily more importantly…how is Jack still alive?”

Chapter Text

Silently accepting a cup of tea from an otter skeleton, that looked as if he had been mauled by a fluffle wielding a full array of paints if the color of his skull was anything to go by, Judy kept her gaze on the pair of rabbits sitting across from her in the library.

She had no trouble admitting that she got a little teary eyed at seeing the vast room once more repopulated by books and reading spaces as well as the gentle buzz of reading and playing bunnies. The last time she had seen this room it had been full of ash and soot with embers still burning in some of the deeper piles. That had also been the time she had sung two books into existence as gifts for her first true friend since she had returned from studying in her master’s realm.

Now though the room had been cleaned and rebuilt to its former glory. With the scent and feel of seven hundred years’ worth of collected knowledge pressing in around her Judy smiled, if she closed her eyes and ignored the sound of bunnies around her, she could almost fool herself into thinking that she was back in her master’s realm of fallen knowledge. Of course, there was no way in hell she was going to close her eyes and relax that much when there was a noble that should have been dead centuries ago siting within hexing distance.

Seeing Senna about to speak Judy sharply held up a paw demanding silence as she brought her tea up for a sip.

“Hmmm…honey, lemon, blueberry… nightshade and extra cyanide. Am I correct in thinking you got the recipe from a certain otter shaped siren mated to a particular arch-druid…who, with my luck is probably still alive?” Judy said once she set her cup back down on her saucer, doing her best to hide her pleasure at the scowl on Jack’s face at her actions.

“Seven hundred years later and you seem to have lost what few manners you had Judy.” Jack said after sipping his own tea.

“Silencing a Matron within her own burrow as if we were the guests as opposed to the other way around.”

“Jack please…” Feeling herself silenced again at a paw wave Senna frowned over at the cloak wrapped rabbit that had just stolen the words from her throat.

“Guest…you think me a guest within my own burrow?...” The words were low and soft but spoken with the ease of someone holding a blade at an innocent’s throat.

“This Was…Has Been…and IS…My families burrow, our home…MY HOME.” Feeling a shudder go through the ground at her words Jack and Senna moved closer to each other.

“I may have left it in the care of my little sister Jasmine, who I will be wanting an update on. But by Burrow laws and traditions I am still the Burrow Matron of the Hopps Clan despite not claiming the name and title for centuries. Besides that, I can tell just by the feel of you both that neither one of you hold Hopps blood within your veins, neither do many of the kits that I can feel within the borders of these lands. I find it very interesting that such a mixture of two bloodlines are currently inhabiting this burrow and that my family is the minority…Explain.” Sipping her tea again Judy cast the awareness that was inherent in being a Burrow Matron across the entire farmland.

Seven hundred years later and she finally understood how her mother had always known when her and her siblings were up to no good, how she had always found them during games of hide-and-seek and how she had so easily known when and where to deploy her small army of helpers for best effect.

The lights of life flared brightly behind her vision as she looked around and through the walls of the library, Talent shining brightly within more of them than not. Looking down and raising a brow Judy decided she would need to look into potential reasons as to why Ley Lines would rise closer to the surface.

“There have been a lot of changes since you were last home Big Sister…seven centuries worth of changes in fact.” Judy turned back towards Senna as she spoke.

“Do I sense a rebuke, Little Sister.” Senna crossed her arms and settled herself into Jack’s cuddling arms with the ease of long practice.

“Yes you do. You left…gone with the sunrise as surely as the soul of my father after the night you gave him back to us. No goodbye no nothing…just gone. I went back to the graveyard you know…I went back with tears of happiness in my eyes at being able to see my daddy again with words of praise and thanks on my tongue and found nothing but a scorched patch of earth where I had last seen you.” Sniffling slightly Senna bit her lip before continuing.

“I thought you were dead you know…I thought you had channeled so much power to bring my daddy back to us that you had been burned away and the only remnants of you left were blowing away in the morning breeze. It was only after Jasmine and Oswald explained to me that if you had died your works would be undone that I accepted you were still alive. You left, never even said goodbye and then seven hundred years and almost countless litters later you show up as if you were never gone in the first place…you are even wearing the same dress.” Looking down at herself Judy looked up at the doe she had always known would be a powerful wielder of the arcane arts.

“What’s wrong with this dress, this is one of my favorite outfits and I have kept it in tip-top condition.” Senna scoffed lightly with a roll of her eyes.

“It is so far out of date with today’s fashion that you stand out like a bent ear. Ignoring that you were gone, you had essentially abandoned your home and remained away for so long that I don’t really think you have any business criticizing how things have been run in your absence or how things are running now. The world has moved on since you were last in Bunnyburrow and you don’t get to show up claiming rights and powers over these lands as if you have always been here because you haven’t been…” Jumping to her feet Senna walked over until she was looking down on her first teacher, her Big Sister.

“You haven’t been the Burrow Matron for over seven hundred years, I HAVE…and I will not stand by and let you walk in and take it all from me.” Keeping her grin hidden Judy instead scowled darkly as she slowly stood from her seat and looked the young rabbit in her eyes, remembering a time when she would have had to kneel to do so.

“You won’t stand by and let me resume my duties as the rightful Burrow Matron…you won’t let me have what is mine by all rights.” Stepping forward until they were practically nose to nose Judy ignored the protests coming from Jack, if she was going to do this it needed to be done right.

“You overstep yourself kit, I am the rightful Matron of this burrow and these are the ancient lands of MY family not yours!”

“THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE THEM FROM ME!” Senna screamed into her Big Sister’s face, she had worked to long and hard…she had sacrificed to much and buried to many of her kits within the grasp of the warm, rich soil to simply let this…this bitch take it all from her.

“Is that a challenge? Do you dare challenge me for Land Rights Senna Underroot.” This was it…

‘Say yes, please say yes.’

“Whiteroot…My name is Senna Whiteroot and it has been for almost as long as you have been gone and you are damn right I am challenging you for Land Rights.” Gritting her teeth Senna pulled on the power of her Tree, she may be her chosen Big Sister but Senna would strike Judy down right then and there if she had to.

“Challenge heard and accepted…”

Grinning Judy decided she would flex a bit and with a thought the ground beneath the two bunny does rose up on a column of stone until they were about to slam into the ceiling of the library. With a wave of her paw the ceiling dissolved as if it was made of water and soon both rabbits found themselves standing in a small patch of tilled earth over the main part of the burrow.

Casting her awareness out again Judy sent a message to every rabbit standing upon the land that was rightfully hers to congregate around them. With a grin and dismissive wave, she silenced Senna again when she tried to speak and looked to the side as bunnies began to gather around them.

“This is a Challenge for Land Rights. Stewardess Whiteroot challenges my right as Burrow Matron for control of these lands and their future. My name is Judy Hopps Blackburrow, last surviving Hopps from the Night of Ash and Fire, rightful Burrow Matron of these lands.” Feeling a wave of disapproval coming from the various rabbits gathered around them Judy narrowed her eyes and changed their minds for them…it wasn’t a normal power of the Burrow Matron but she never played by the rules if she could avoid it.

“What you are all feeling is my power over these lands…and over you. These lands, this burrow and all who call it home are MINE by rights ancient and indisput-AHCCCHGGK!” Turning her gaze back towards the young doe she had begun training so long ago, a root erupted from the ground behind her and speared her in the throat and out her mouth cutting her off rather effectively.

“You were saying Big Sister? Don’t think for a second I will believe that killed you by the way.” Senna said through gritted teeth as Judy hung limply from the root as the small crowd of rabbits all exclaimed in surprise at seeing their mother flex her powers.

Grinning Judy reached up and withered the root with a bare hint of raw necromantic energy. Taking a few seconds for her flesh to knit back together and slamming a fist into the side of her jaw to set it back into place Judy grinned over to the doe that she had goaded into challenging her.

“Now that wasn’t very fair little dryad.” Senna scoffed at her words.

“Since when has a lightning storm ever apologized for burning a forest? When was the last time you heard an earthquake ask permission to destroy a village? Dryads channel the mercy and fury of Nature itself…and when has nature ever been fair?”

So saying she turned a foot sharply on the ground and grinned as more roots burst from the ground to spear through her Big Sister’s arms, legs and chest before scowling as the figure before her dissolved into a cloud of beetles that eagerly began chewing through the roots she had summoned.

“Nice try, but I have been dodging Slayers and Royal guards for centuries.” Hearing the voice behind her Senna spun around and sent a wave of slicing wind behind her…only to realize her mistake when an arm wrapped around her throat as five talon like nails drove themselves into her right kidney.

“Where were you aiming Little Sister?”

With a heave Judy tightened her grip on the doe’s throat and lifted with both arms in order throw Senna over her shoulder and slam her into the ground, only for her to dissolve into a pile of dry autumn leaves. Looking to her side she exhaled sharply and released a cloud of noxious toxin as she caught sight of a small cloud of dandelion seeds rolling towards her.

With a searing wave of heat the seeds released the fire energy contained within them and ignited the toxins Judy had released. Watching in fascination Judy grinned as the fire warped and twisted into a large snake of roiling heat and flame, reared up and with a hiss like lava meeting water struck down at her.

“Surrender Big Sister, I wield the powers of the very lands you stand upon and of Nature itself.” Senna called out.

Hearing laughter from within the globe of fire that the snake had formed into, Senna watched with trepidation as a pair of eyes the color of bruises just beginning to purple began to glow within the depths of the flames. With a wave of cold Senna watched as the flames guttered and were snuffed like a candle at the end of its wick leaving nothing but a cloak filled with…not death per se, but the absence of life.

With a laugh like claws down a chalkboard Judy allowed her whips to unravel from her paws as she threw off her cloak. Channeling her energies down the length of each spined whip she grinned with more teeth than a rabbit should be able to as they began to glow a hateful, sickly green color.

“Everything dies Little Sister…even the passionate fires you so easily control. Unfortunately for you, I have met Death and stabbed her in the face. I am the end of everything you begin, I am the rot in your roots and the cancer within your veins!”

Lunging forward Judy began swinging her arms in a complex pattern she had practiced while in the Reticula Capital. Flowing into a series of complex dance like moves she drove Senna back across the field they had claimed as their battle ground.

Slamming her fists into the dirt and cladding her arms in a thick armor of woven brambles Senna stepped forward and caught the whips as they lashed out at her.

“You really think a pair of whips is enough to secure your victory?” Senna growled through gritted teeth as she pulled on the lengths of woven leech leather.

“I have beaten more powerful creatures than you into submission with these whips, don’t go thinking you are anything special.” Grinning Judy gave a powerful heave and leapt into the air to slam her feet into Senna’s chest. Watching as the little usurper was sent back Judy laughed in a cruel tone with a causal flick and crack of her whips.

“You think you are strong enough to hold this family together? You honestly think you have the power or the strength to weather any storm that comes?” Walking forward to stand over the gasping form of her first student Judy slammed one foot down on the stomach of her opponent.

“You really think you could beat me? The one who showed you this world of magic even existed!?”

Pressing down and grinding her heel into the doe’s solar plexus Judy ignored the various jeers and calls form their audience at her actions. Looking out at the gathered rabbits Judy flared her Authority as Burrow Matron to silence them all.

“I am the Burrow Matron, this is My Home…you are all guests here on my sufferance.” Focusing she sent a wave of compliance through the crowd and smiled viciously as they quieted and bowed their heads in subservience.

‘Any fucking time now Little Sister, stop stalling and get your shit together.’

Feeling a thrum of power beneath her toes that reverberated up through her legs and burned with the power of Life Judy looked down at her opponent, hiding her sense of relief.

In an explosion of earth and stone Judy was swept up into the air until she was grasped in the paw of a massive earthen rabbit with eyes the color of molten lava. Feeling the grip around herself tighten until the familiar snapping of ribs resounded through her torso Judy tried to use a spell but, contrary to popular belief, it was hard to speak when your lungs were collapsed. Looking up through the haze of pain and power warping her vision Judy watched as the rabbit made of stone and earth glared at her with eyes blazing with the power of Nature’s Fury.

“THESE ARE MY LANDS! THIS IS MY FAMILY! YOU WILL NOT TAKE CENTURIES OF LOVE AND EFFORT FROM ME JUST BECAUSE YOU LIVED HERE ONCE LONG AGO!”

About to attempt a response Judy found herself unable to do so as she was whipped up higher into the air than the surrounding trees and thrown down towards the earth…thankfully her nose was there to break the fall.

Pulling herself out of the new irrigation ditch she had dug with her face she shook her head to clear it of the damn birds currently swirling around her ears. Judy was about to give her Little Sister a rant on how disrespectful it was to ruin a good field of potatoes with someone’s face when she felt a paw clad in stone grab her shoulder hard enough shatter the bone within the grip and hurl her back towards the burrow.

Landing heavily with a gasp Judy looked up and went cross-eyed at the crystalline spear tip currently digging into her skull between her eyes. Looking up the shaft until she met the searing gaze of her Little Sister she raised her paws slowly over her head with a smile as blood began to dribble down her face.

“I submit and relinquish all rights, responsibilities, powers and authorities as Burrow Matron of Clan Hopps to the victor of this challenge…Burrow Matron Senna Whiteroot.”

Grinning savagely, she slammed her paws down on the spear currently trying to crack her skull. With a thunderous crack that was felt through earth, blood and bone Judy relinquished all claims she had on the lands her family had claimed, the lands they had cultivated and cared for over generations…the land she had been born and raised upon.

“Congratulations, Burrow Matron Senna Whiteroot…These are now your lands.”

Grinning up at the doe standing above her Judy watched as the stone armor that had built itself around her Little Sister fractured and crumbled until she was looking at the somewhat surprised face of Senna. Standing up Judy lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the other doe in what she hoped would pass as a hug.

“Uh…what are you doing?” Damn…she was going to need to practice the motions a bit more.

“I uhm…I’m trying to hug you but, I sort of forgot how this works.” Smiling Senna leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her Big Sister while speaking into her ear in a teasing tone.

“You have to bend your arms, not just keep them straight over the other mammal’s shoulders…yeah like that. Now press your entire body against mine and just, remember the good times. Remember the warmth of a family long gone but not forgotten, the strength and power of a father’s embrace…the warmth and comfort of a mother’s arms around you, just like that.” Laying her head on Judy’s shoulder and pressing the side of her face into her Big Sister’s neck and shoulder.

“This feels…familiar but unnatural, I don’t think I can keep this up for long.” Pressing her face into Judy’s neck and giving a strong full bodied squeeze Senna stepped back until she was holding Judy’s paw in her own.

“Don’t worry, it will come back to you.”

Smiling at the little kit that had bothered her for dancing lessons Judy grinned before turning towards the assembled crowd of rabbits, noticeably larger than when they had begun their little spat, and held one of Senna’s paws over their heads.

“BURROW MATRON SENNA WHITEROOT!”

Smiling as the crowd around her cheered and began to chant either ‘MATRON SENNA!’ or ‘MATRON MOMMA!’ Judy took a step back and allowed her first pseudo-apprentice her time to bask in the light of adoration.

“So what was that all about Judy?” Jack said as he, Senna and Judy entered the room designated for the matriarch and patriarch.

A large study type room paneled in dark wood and furnished in dark, soft velvet on overstuffed furniture with a large fireplace dominating one wall of the room while two other walls were taken up by bookshelves and the last holding a fully stocked bar. Deep, soft rugs stretched from one wall to the other and the gentle scent of woodsmoke, fine cigars, old books and fine drinks permeated the air in a soft perfume of age.

Thinking back to when she was last in this burrow Judy realized she had never checked to see if this room had been burned along with the others. The fact she couldn’t smell ash didn’t mean much since she couldn’t really smell it anywhere else in the burrow, but the fact she couldn’t feel the same hateful energy left behind from that wretched night told her this room had probably been spared.

“Yes! Because I know exactly what you are talking about from that simple sentence as I have developed the power to read minds in the time I have been away.” Judy responded with a level of sarcasm that could choke an alligator while she walked over to the bar.

“You damn well know what I am talking about and don’t even try to play innocent, I saw what you were capable of centuries ago and I doubt you have mellowed with age.” Jack said as he followed Judy into the Elder Study.

“I keep your brother’s soul in a constant and un-ending state of torment trapped within his own skull while I am currently practicing various types of rune work on the rest of his skeleton in an effort to drive him into ever deeper levels of torture and I listen to his screams at night…I would call that fairly mellow compared to what I could be doing instead.”

 Judy responded as she finished mixing herself a drink. Turning from the bar and seeing both Jack and Senna looking at her with raised eyebrows Judy sipped her drink while scuffing the rug with her foot a bit.

“What?...sometimes I have a hard time sleeping and need something soothing to fall asleep to.”

“THAT! That is not helping your case at all…in fact that just makes you seem more psychotic and firms up my belief that the whole challenge thing was a bunch of shit.” Jack said while rubbing his eyes and grabbing a bottle from behind the bar before walking over to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

“Wait what? What do you mean the challenge was a bunch of shit?” Senna said as she closed the door while looking between the other two rabbits.

“Honey I love you but, do you really think you could have beaten her when she has had so much more experience than you in her chosen field as well as being on her home turf?” Jack said before taking a pull from his bottle.

“Uh yeah!…I mean did just beat her, didn’t I?” Senna asked as she looked between Jack and Judy.

Judy just giggled lightly before tapping her choker and letting Samson scuttle down her form until he was at his full size, his full size being big enough for Judy to comfortably recline on.

Running a claw up her neck she allowed Fin to pop out and take up his favorite spot on her shoulder before she scratched her head, the flakes of dead skin and fur building themselves into a beetle the size of her palm that settled happily between her ears with a flutter of carapace and wings.

“Oh sweety, if I had gone all out you would have had to deal with an entire city’s worth of paladins I left behind the first time I left and three familiars that have been getting regular feedings for hundreds of years…and that is before I got involved.” Sipping her drink with a smile at the taste of the good stuff Judy stood up and wandered over to a spot next to the fireplace.

“You may be a dryad and you may have a strong connection to the land, but you are almost a century younger than I am since I was close to a hundred when we first met. I spent forty-ish years doing nothing but studying and learning before I came back to this realm and since then I have done little more than study and practice. Face it Little Sister, between the first time I went to my Master’s realm and the few times I went to get my familiars, I have a century of experience on you with most of that in an actively combative warlike stature. If I had wanted to, I could have smeared you across this kingdom before you had a chance to summon up your first dredges of power.”

Seeing the look of outraged confusion on Senna’s face Judy explained further.

“When I left these lands I was the Burrow Matron, a very sacred position mind you. It meant that I could sense any and every life form that tread upon the lands that my family claimed and if need be, I could influence them to my way of thinking… such things are only known to Burrow Matrons and are rarely used. Being the Burrow Matron would have tied me to these lands and prevented me from having the freedoms I need to do what I need to do.”

“Unfortunately the authority of Burrow Matron cannot simply be given away, it must be earned or inherited.” Slamming her drink back with a shiver she reached out and pressed a knot in the wood paneling of the wall, a small door opening up at her touch.

“I inherited my position as Burrow Matron when my mother died and I was left as the eldest of the family that claimed these lands. At the time there were no rabbits in the area that could have even attempted to challenge me for the position so I never mentioned it to anyone, though your mother should have known…actually now that I think of it…again… how did you end up in my burrow, with a noble no less, when I distinctly remember you having a burrow of your own?”

The look of sadness on Senna’s face told Judy there was a story behind that series of events that would have to be explored later on.

“Never mind it isn’t important right now.” Judy said with a wave of her paw as she began to rummage through the small cupboard she had revealed.

“I couldn’t just pass over the authority of Burrow Matron to you, you needed to earn it and it needed to be done in the sight of witnesses. The fact that I could have slaughtered you but held back was my decision, I chose to hinder myself and by my choice I lost the challenge. Since I lost by my own choice of restricting myself, the mantel of Burrow Matron passed on to the victor of the match, namely you.” 

Pulling back with a small cry of delight she revealed that she had a book in one paw and a bottle in the other.

“Ok but why? Why give it to me…and what do you have there?” Senna asked as she snagged the bottle from Jack and took a pull.

“Also how did you know about that storage cubby when we didn’t even know about it?” Judy grinned while handing the book off to Senna and the bottle to Jack.

“Are you sure you didn’t know about it?” About to respond that of course she didn’t know about it, Senna stopped before gaining a look of confusion on her face.

“I…did know about it. How could I have known about it when I have never seen it?” Looking towards Judy before looking down at the book in her paws.

“And what is this? Another one of your incredible Song Books?” Judy shook her head before walking back towards Samson and getting comfy on his back.

“Take a few minutes Sis, you are the Burrow Matron now. These lands and all who call it home will never again hold secrets from you. If you concentrate hard enough you will be able to tell the surface thoughts of those around you with practice, I imagine being a dryad already attuned to these lands will make your connection even stronger. As for the book it is a diary of Matron knowledge, everything found by every matron since the founding of this burrow. The only reason I knew about it was because for a time it was mine, though I never looked inside it.”

Seeing tears build in Senna’s eyes as she looked down at what she held Judy choked out a sobbing laugh.

“Your mother had almost the same look on her face when I gave her the books I sang from the ashes of my family…What happened to her? To you? How did you end up in my family’s burrow? How and why is Jack still alive with a bunch of striped kits running around? I think I deserve a few answers in return for the ones I have given.” Jack grabbed the bottle back from Senna as she began to flip through the book given to her and scoffed a bit.

“Oh yes because we owe you so much.” Judy slid her gaze over towards the buck and spoke with a chill in her voice that nearly extinguished the fire in the hearth.

“I just handed Senna control over the lands and burrow of my birth, and for the birth of generations of my family, on a scale and depth that she would never have been able to manage on her own. I have been imparting knowledge her own mother should have given her centuries ago. I saved her life and set her on the path to discovering her own talent and from the looks of it her lineage as a dryad…not only that but you are holding the bottle of wine my parents vowed to open when a new Matron was found for our family.”

Letting her eyes slit into the form that had haunted Jack’s dreams for decades she continued.

“You are damn right you owe me and you should be happy I am willing to be satisfied with answers.” Looking down at the bottle in his paws with a bit of embarrassment Jack nodded and muttered that yeah, she was right. Uncorking the bottle and pouring everyone a glass he began to speak.

“It was a few years after you left that my father died and passed the crown on to me, I knew I couldn’t just stop the Slayers from tracking you so I did my best to steer the younger and weaker ones away from where we suspected you to have gone. We never actually figured out exactly where you had disappeared to so I wasn’t always successful I imagine, but I knew that the longer you went without being caught the less likely any that went after you would return. Due to the uproar you left in your wake we weren’t able to send them out for years after your trail had gone cold.”

Judy smiled at hearing that and began to rock back and forth on her centipede familiar.

“It was during a war with the Rainlands when the church made their move. They staged a coup on the crown with the backing of the Slayer Brotherhood, they had been planning it for years apparently and when our forces were stretched to thin to fight back, they struck. I tried talking them down from their path before anything permanent was done but they wouldn’t hear of it…or at least the High Sister wouldn’t hear of it.”

That perked Judy’s ears a bit.

“High Sister? An odd title…oh, don’t tell me it was who I think it was.” Jack just nodded grimly.

“High Priest Bellwether, after you framed her for what happened at the Royal Ball…the last Royal Ball I might add, she went on some kind of Pilgrimage for Forgiveness. The Crown didn’t have the time or resources to keep track of her or look into your claims, never mind that it was you who made such outrageous accusations. She dropped off the map almost as well as you did, though it didn’t take her centuries to return.” Judy threw her head back with a groan, the palm sized beetle buzzing in what sounded like amusement.

“Shush you.” Judy said while going cross-eyed at the beetle.

“I am never going to live down leaving for a few years am I?”

“You disappeared for seven centuries, a bit more than a few years. Anyway, with the help of the Slayers she took her chance and staged a successful coup. Deciding that I would better serve the kingdom, and myself, by remaining alive and free I publicly abdicated the throne with some fancy speech about how your actions showed that the world was changing and that the Crown could no longer keep up with the defense of the realm.”

Jack sipped at the wine before continuing.

“In the end I walked away with more gold than I could possibly spend and no real responsibilities since the new reigning factions never bothered to seize any of my or my half-brother’s accounts and they had so much on their plates to deal with that getting rid of me wasn’t a large priority.” Settling back further into the seat Jack smiled as Senna leaned back further into him, sipping her wine with a happy wiggle.

“Apparently taking over a kingdom at war with multiple small uprisings and a tarnished image among the surrounding kingdoms and empires isn’t nearly as easy as you might imagine…who could have guessed right?” Senna giggled before going back to looking through her book.

“Such a shame they were so eager to get you out of the capital, you could have helped them set things up better after they killed off all those administrators and officials.”

“I traveled a little bit, as much to see and actually enjoy the kingdom I had been looking after for a few years as to possibly run into you again. I spent a few years wandering the kingdom, checking on my various hidden accounts and making certain investments and deals. Eventually I made my way here, where I guess you could say this all started and when I did, I met this absolutely gorgeous doe singing and dancing naked in the woods. Well clearly, I was spell bound by this wicked wenc-OW!” Jack yelped with a laugh as Senna jabbed him with her elbow.

“He walked in on me practicing the Pretty Dance for that years Renewal Festival. I caught him ogling me and tried to kill him but he was to slippery, every time I thought I had him he would just turn into either ice or snow. I was able to corral him towards the burrow and away from the city but he tricked me into the lake near our property, froze me from the shoulders down.”

“I am never going to be forgiven for that one am I? Well after that we spoke for a little bit, I spent some time in the city and well…we just sort of started dating and before we knew it…” Judy rolled her eyes at the way both rabbit’s ears took on a light blush.

“Yeah I am so sure there was nothing else in between trying to kill each other and suddenly striped rabbits running all over the fields. So why are you here then? Why didn’t you stay in Shannon’s burrow or go off and make your own?”

The look on both rabbit’s face as she asked this question told Judy she was not going to like the answer.

Alpha had seen many emotions portrayed across his Mistress’s countenance over the centuries…anger of course, madness, joy, despair, sorrow etc. It had been a long time since he had gotten to see this particular emotion though. The look was a mixture of fury beyond comprehendible words, madness fed through deep seated trauma and a sprinkle of the hatred he usually only ever saw when she was thinking about The Bastard that had robbed her of her family…he kind of liked seeing his old mistress again.

“Judy! Judy wait, WAIT DAMN YOU!”

Throwing out his paws Jack tried to slow the necromancer with a flash frozen glacier blocking the hall but felt his ears wilt in exasperation as she simply coated herself in raw plague ridden, necromantic energy. Moving through the glacier and leaving nothing more than a rabbit shaped tunnel of foul brackish water Judy never even slowed her pace.

“Don’t worry Master Jack I will have that cleaned up, drink?”

Looking to his side and seeing the otter skeleton butler that had been serving the burrow for centuries holding a tray with a glass of light amber liquid on it, Jack smiled and rolled his eyes. Grabbing the glass, he downed the drink before shattering into a storm of ice shards and re-forming in front of Judy.

“I know you are upset and I understand.”

Judy didn’t even slow down, she just uttered a simple word and Jack found himself suddenly grasped in the clutches of a large skeletal paw of some kind he had never seen before and pulled towards the wall.

“Oh this is so unfair…We have to clean up this mess you know!” Yelling at the retreating form of the mildly upset bunny Jack focused and lowered the temperature of the bone holding him until it was so brittle he was able to break through it.

Exiting the Burrow Judy finally stopped when she caught sight of Senna standing in front of her. How she had gotten in front of her Judy wasn’t sure but she also didn’t exactly care right then, she had mass murder to commit. About to continue forward Judy found herself unable to move, looking down and then up at the dryad in front of her she felt a surge of pride…it looked as if her pseudo-student was a quick study.

“I know you are upset and trust me when I say I was, and still am. It was unfair, horrible, unjust, petty and vile…but the world has changed and you can’t simply go around murdering mammals that piss you off as easily as you once did.” Judy sneered slightly before taking a step forward, breaking through whatever working Senna was using to keep her in place.

“You may be the Burrow Matron with all the power that comes with such authority but I haven’t called myself a Hopps for centuries, meaning your control over me is only as powerful as your Will and when it comes to having the Will to do what is needed…I have you beat every day of the week. Now I assure you I can easily kill that entire city of backstabbing fuckwits.”

Gritting her teeth and looking at the shining beacon of Life and Light that stood before her cross slitted gaze Judy growled.

“No one will notice so much as a hitch in trade or commerce once I have them all raised back up and working as if nothing happened. I am going to turn that entire city into a necropolis and after that I am going to spread like a virus over these lands UNTIL THE VERY MENTION OF MY NAME BRINGS NOTHING BUT NIGHTMARES AND DESPAIR! I WILL SHOW THIS WORLD WHAT IT MEANS TO TAKE THOSE I HOLD CLOSE AWAY FROM ME!”

Her words fell like the wings of a Dread Harbinger’s wings upon the world, the grass at her feet wilted and began to rot as the ground became foul and cracked with sickness.

Shadows slithered towards Judy, hateful words in countless voices and infinite languages spoke from within the shadows. Venomous insects erupted from every nook and cranny within the range of her voice as the echoes of her words reached out across the fields. Foul, biting and stinging masses of chitin swarmed towards the rabbit as her face began to crack with sickly green light along her jaw line and at the corners of her tearing eyes.

Normally any other mammal would feel a certain amount of fear at seeing such a display of power and Senna would proudly count herself among them…but she was probably the only one who would have been able to see the tears of bruised purple ichor leaking from the rabbit’s glowing eyes. She was also the only mammal that could possibly see what was beyond the roiling surface of vengeful thoughts and foul promises…she was the only one who could see the scars being wrenched open into bloody wounds.

Scars long thought healed were once again bleeding upon the twisted and blackened soul of the rabbit that had saved her as a kit, foul puss and ichor once again leaked from wounds long forgotten. The sight of her Big Sister in such pain brought tears to Senna’s face, the droplets of pure water fizzing and spitting as the anti-thesis of their existence raced over them in gusts and bursts of wind felt only with one’s soul.

“You are right…no one would notice, no one would know…except me of course.” That seemed to bring Judy up short as her hateful energies ran rampant around her.

“I would know, I would know that my Big Sister committed murder on a scale previously unknown…I would know that mammals who were innocent, suffered needlessly for crimes committed by their ancestors or by the ancestors of those around them centuries ago. I would know that every time I went into town I would be speaking to and walking among the corpses of mammals that were just trying to live their lives as best they could before the Plague Rabbit darkened their doorsteps.” Stepping forward Senna watched as Jack walked out from behind the blackened door to their burrow, ice sword lowering to the floor as he saw what she was doing.

“Believe me Big Sister…Judy…It took everything in my power, and everything in Master Otterton’s power to not lash out and bring the full strength of Gaia’s Wrath down upon the city for their crime. For years I wanted nothing more than to foul the rivers with blood and bodies.”

Seeing the grin on Judy’s face grow Senna shook her head as she continued walking towards the wrathful bunny, her tears vaporizing from her eyes and her fur beginning to sizzle as well now. Behind Judy, Jack matched her step for step as they both grew closer to the eye of the storm that was Judy.

“Those bastards burned your best, only, friend at the stake in the city square for treason and sedition and everything else they could hope to level upon her memory. They took our lands from us and kicked myself and my siblings out into the cold.”

Reaching up to her neck and pulling on a silver chain Senna kept her eyes on Judy as she pulled out the necklace she had worn for centuries. Seeing her Big Sister’s eyes follow her motions Senna could see the exact moment she realized what was being revealed.

Dangling there on her necklace of woven silver links was a simple emerald sphere…nothing more than a green bauble of semi-precious stone. Stepping forward uncertainly Judy reached out and gently cupped the small green stone, the lingering sense of her power still fizzing within its depths. Feeling the way the magic had begun to dissipate and fade she absently re-applied the old enchantments along with a few changes.

“I…I gave this to your mother in case she ever needed to pass through the defenses I set on my lands. It was supposed to be used as a last resort to get to safety or to be sold for a small fortune…how do you still have it?” The cracks had begun to disappear from the corners of Judy’s eyes and mouth, the swarms of biting and stinging insects had begun to disperse.

“She gave it to me right before a squad of Enforcers came and took her away, the last time I saw her she was screaming in pain as flames chewed at her flesh. Every time I think of her the first thing that comes to mind is the sight of her fur blackening and skin blistering as she screamed for me to ‘Run to the safety of my Big Sister’. I was there when they drug her in front of the village and burned her, I ran with her screams at my back to gather my family. You may have lost your friend but I lost my mother, the biggest difference between our shared losses?” Senna stepped forward and glared into Judy’s eyes while speaking through tears.

“I still had a family to look after, a family that looked up to me and still needed me. You may not realize it but you left a mark on these lands and if someone cries ‘necromancer’ this is the first place they would look. Everyone in the city has heard stories and legends of this farm being haunted and how an entire army of paladins and clerics marched out to these hills and were swallowed whole never to be seen again as their howls of damnation ring out on moonless nights.”

Reaching forward she ignored the reaction her own energies were having against Judy’s and wrapped her in a hug from the front while Jack did the same from behind.

“Times have changed and the mammals that committed these acts are long dead and gone…let it go. Remember my mother how she was and let her rest in peace both beyond the veil and within your own mind.”

With a silent, jerking sob Judy practically collapsed into the double embrace as her energy left in a wash of cold air and dark mutterings from the retreating shadows. Reaching out and grasping at Senna’s clothes Judy ignored the ants as they began to march beneath her skin…she didn’t have the energy to give a damn about them anymore.

“I should have been here…I should have been here to stop it.” Senna chuckled wetly as she pulled away from the triple hug.

“Yes you should have been here, in one of the first places the paladins came looking for you. You should have been here to look out for a fully grown rabbit years after your little escapade, you should have also been here when Jack showed up even though you had no reason to believe he would be here. We really could have used you when Milo got caught under a cart and died of his injuries, or when Sarah died in childbirth or when Xavier skinned his knee…” Seeing an exasperated look on Judy’s face Senna reached out and tweaked one the older doe’s ears.

“There are countless times we could have used you…and if we had you here to look out for us every time, we would be dependent on you and you would have been caught or restricted to this farm for the last seven hundred years. Did things happen that you could have prevented? Yes. Do things happen every day all over the world that you can prevent? Yes. Sometimes you just have to accept that bad things happen.”

Walking around Judy she slid into Jack’s arms with a nuzzle and chur.

“Besides, if you were here when Jack showed up you probably would have stolen him from me and I wouldn’t have had a chance to have so many wonderful litters. Plus, I found out who was behind killing my mother and made sure to blight their farms, wither their crops and rot the food in their homes while sending insects to harass them…and I might have caused a few small sinkholes to open up under their homes.”

Jack laughed before placing a small kiss on Senna’s cheek.

“You also refused to heal them or look after them when they were sick with the various maladies you sent their way.” Seeing the look of surprise on Judy’s face at this unexpected news Senna smiled wickedly.

“Like I said before…Nature is not fair and does not show mercy, why would anyone believe me to be any different.”

“You and I are going out for a Girl’s Night and we are going to drink an un-holy amount of vile liquids while you tell me about what it is like being married to this cradle robber.” Judy said while indicating Jack and sniffling slightly.

“HEY!” Jack shouted indignantly as Senna giggled.

“Oh shush you, she was barely edging out of being a kit when I left and you were a prince ready to take on the throne and set up political assassinations. Actually you are probably around as old as I looked now that I think back on it.” Senna grinned before speaking.

“You know I hear that memory is the first thing to go in the later years…” Scowling at the younger rabbit Judy sniffed and wiped away a few left-over tears.

“Fine…*sniff*…if you won’t let me go off and have my revenge you better let me help in the kitchens or something. It has been way to long since I have been around mammals that know how to cook and I am going to make the best soup you have ever had.”

Sniffing a bit more Judy looked over Jack’s shoulder and shook her head. Tilting his head in confusion Jack turned his head and froze in place at what he saw.

Standing behind him Alpha had a slightly pouting look on his face as he lowered the short sword he had been about to bring down on the buck. Lua grumbled lightly under her breath as she stood up from her crouch and leaned on her obsidian tipped spear like a walking stick.

“Are you sure Mistress? This place isn’t nearly as interesting as the Reticulan Capital…no one has even tried to honestly kill you since you got here!” Lua groaned in frustration while gesturing wildly with her spear. Scowling at Jack’s still form before she whacked it with her spear, she jumped back as the buck crumbled to pieces.

“Uh…he was like that when I got here?” The panther said somewhat uncertainly as she looked between the two rabbit does and the pile of melting ice.

*Ahem* “Lua, look behind you.”

Alpha said as he sheathed his sword at his side. Looking at the wolf in confusion she was about to turn when she felt a series of small cold pricks along various parts of her back and limbs. Watching from the corner of her eye as Jack walked out from behind her, she pouted as he grinned up at her somewhat smugly.

“I survived a date with your mistress, I’m not scared of you.” Dismissing the ice spears that were ready to impale the panther with a wave of his paw Jack sidled up to Senna and gave her a hug before walking away.

“I am going to take some water and snacks out to the fields, if she tries to start some kind of war or the end of the world make sure it is after dinner since I am making cheesy potatoes tonight.”

Watching Jack walk away Judy looked between him and the way Senna was biting her lip.

“You do know he helped me plan how to kill his half-brother and actually made it possible for me to do so right?”

Senna just sighed with a dreamy look on her face.

“Yeaaah…he is also a great chef and good with kits. Now come on, you mentioned drinks and we have things to catch up on. First things first…fashion.” Looking down at her dress in confusion Judy looked back at Senna.

“What is wrong with my dress? This is one of my best outfits.” Raising a brow Senna hid a smile behind her paw.

“Do you have anything else you could wear?”

“I have a few outfits from when I was the Royal Artificer and Consultant for the Reticulan Empire but I don’t think those are going to fit with the weather around here.” Clapping her paws together Senna smiled and lead Judy down into the burrow.

“OK so…you know I love you and I want the best for you right?” Feeling like she was walking into a trap Judy looked around as if a group of armed guards was about to jump out at her.

“Ye~sss…”

“Good, then you understand that this is for the best.”

Opening a door to one of the smaller living rooms and pushing Judy ahead of her Senna grinned as the other doe stopped dead in her tracks and went stiff.

Surrounding them were masses of cloth, mannequins, clothing patterns, needles, threads, gears, oddly glowing lines of some kind and more terrifyingly…a group of teenage and early twenty something bunnies.

‘Why is there a chemistry set in the corner? What the hell has happened to fashion while I was away?!’

“Everyone! This is my Big Sister Judy, she has been travelling for a VERY long time and has fallen a bit behind on the local fashions. We are going to be heading into town for a good time and she is going to need an entirely new wardrobe soooo…free reign while I go get ready, bye.”

Seeing the various rabbits start to grin as their eyes almost seemed to glow Senna just smiled beatifically as Judy turned towards her with a horrified look of betrayal on her face.

“I thought you just said you loved me? Why would you leave me here to these monsters?” Patting Judy on the shoulder Senna just smiled before backing out of the room.

“Seven hundred years, no letters and don’t think I didn’t notice your little minions raiding the various hidden storage spaces around the burrow.” Slamming the door closed Judy could swear she heard a lock sliding into place as she turned to look over her shoulder. Seeing a pack of fashion minded bunnies approaching her with measuring tapes and various types of cloths Judy gulped…

‘Alpha I need help! Immediate extraction required!’ Sending a mental shout to her First Revenant was her last resort for escape.

‘I am sorry Mistress but Miss Senna has informed Lua and myself to your situation and as it is in your best interest to blend in with the current fashion, I regret to inform you that you are on your own in this matter.’

‘Traitor!’

Walking away from the room her more fashion-oriented children had commandeered some years ago Senna smiled as what sounded like a number of inventive curses, crashes, moans, explosions and tearing sounds came from behind the door. Looking up at the Black Panther and Grey Wolf the shorter rabbit just tilted her head a bit.

“Do you enjoy tea?” Seeing a nod from both mammals Senna gestured for them to follow her.

“Oh good, we can have some of this wonderful citrus tea I just found last week while we get you two situated into some new outfits.”

“If you can get us outfitted for walking around, why did you leave the Mistress in there with all those other rabbits like that?” Lua asked as she stalked alongside the Burrow Matron like a liquid shadow.

“For a number of reasons…first off she never once sent a letter or any kind of correspondence over seven hundred years meaning I had no idea where she was or how she was doing. Second this gives me a chance to converse with those closest to her without her around. Third…because it was funny.” Senna said while leading them into a comfortable sitting room.

“I like you…Alpha can we keep her?” Lua said as she lowered herself gracefully into a wonderfully padded seat before crossing her legs.

“No dear she is Jack’s mate and the Mistress’s sibling, she is also still alive and needed here at the Burrow.” Alpha said with slight exasperation.

“We could fix at least one of those things.” Looking between the panther and rabbit Alpha sat back in his own chair and gestured towards the rabbit.

“Feel free to try, I will happily inform the Mistress as to why we are missing one of her more accomplished servants and why there is a new berry bush on the property. Do you have any last words you would like me to pass on to anyone?”

Giving a *harummph* Lua crossed her arms and looked Senna up and down with a calculating gaze as she set down a tea set and began pouring.

“Fine…but you owe me a massage.” Raising a brow in confusion as he took a sip of his tea Alpha sputtered a bit at hearing that.

“How…how did pointing out that you would die for good if you tried facing off against our host turn into me owing you a massage?”

“Female logic Alpha, don’t try to understand it, just know that you probably got off easy owing a hot oil massage.” Senna said before taking her own appreciative sip of tea.

“Wait, hot oil? What did I do to make it change?” Lua scoffed and grabbed a biscuit.

“Of course you wouldn’t know, maybe you will figure it out over our candle lit dinner.” About to ask how the hell a candle lit dinner got involved Alpha saw a glint in both females’ eyes and took a sip of tea instead.

“I am going to stop talking before this gets any worse.” Both rabbit and panther looked at each other with a shocked look on their face.

“You might need to explain a few things to him over breakfast, I know this lovely little café near the edge of the city…”

‘Mistress…I might need an extraction.’ The sound of what might have been a sword fight came over the link he had with his Mistress as well as the smell of mint and crème for some reason.

‘Not now Alpha I am slightly busy! Oh you did not just throw that at me! Time to show these younglings how we did things back in my day! YAAAHHH!’

Rubbing his eyes Alpha wondered if it would be easier to just go back to being dead.

Walking up to the door to the Fashion Cave, as it had come to being called, Senna felt somewhat conflicted over what she had learned of her Big Sister. She had done so much good and so much evil, and both on scales Senna had no real frame of reference for, it was like trying to understand the whims of a fickle god. Shaking her head and deciding to just enjoy having her back Senna opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks.

The entire room was in disarray…scraps of cloth littered the floor, thread stretched from one corner to the next, there was a small fire at the alchemical dying station, mannequins were embedded in the walls and her children were scattered across the destruction in moaning and groaning lumps. Some were suspended from the ceiling in oddly artistic wraps of chord and cloth, others lay under mounds of cloth as if caught in an avalanche while still others were pinned to the walls by gears and large knitting needles.

Reclining upon a throne of fraying cloth and bent gears sat her Big Sister lazily twirling a walking stick with a grin on her face. Hopping up and walking down the small dais of broken mannequins and stacked sewing machines Judy grinned as one of the bucks near the bottom moaned before speaking.

“Was it as good for you as it was for us?” Smiling before mooshing her toes into the buck’s cheek in order to press him into the floor Judy smiled from under the brim of her new top hat.

“Quiet you…if you are good I have a lot more subjects for you to work your magic on.” Stepping off the dais and buck, she walked up to her Little Sister with a sway in her hips and grin on her face.

“I think I like this centuries fashion! I never thought pants would be so comfy.” Looking down at herself and then back up at her host Judy held her arms to her sides as if to say ‘Tadaa!’

Clad in a black coat with tails reaching just above her knees with subtle glowing lines running in familiar and intricate patterns within the lining while also sporting a burgundy waistcoat, black pants, top hat with small gears as a hatband, colored goggles over her eyes and bright white collared shirt with acid green tie the rabbit cut an…interesting image.

Looking from the necromancer to the various forms of her children and wondering what the one she had stepped on was talking about Senna slowly turned her gaze back to the rabbit now standing with her paws on the walking stick she had planted before her.

“Is there…a reason they are moaning and Shaun mentioned something being as good for you as for them?” Laughing Judy tossed her stick in the air before catching it and tucking it under one arm before looping the other with one of Senna’s own.

“Of course there is, but ignoring that I. Am. Famished and I think you and I should find the nearest pub and toast to Shannon’s memory…aggressively… many times.” Rolling her eyes as she allowed herself to be lead away Senna decided she would wait until the other doe had a few drinks in her before trying to get answers out of her.

About to walk down the hall Judy stopped and raised the goggles off her eyes as she took in Alpha and Lua’s new look.

Alpha stood ramrod straight and tall in a black tailed coat, starched white shirt, black waistcoat and black tie with black pants while Lua stood comfortably next to him in a dress of dark blue that faded to black at the edges with a ruffled semi skirt covering only her backside and the top front of her thighs while black stockings encased her legs.

A tight corset of a slightly lighter color and similar fading pattern hugged her torso and made her chest more pronounced as smaller ruffles fluttered at her shoulders while twilight blue gloves reached from her fingertips up to her elbows. Topping it all off was a tiny blue hat and ribbon perched at a jaunty angle between her ears above a pair of nearly glowing green eyes.

“And you two got your new outfits where exactly? Nice hat by the way.”

“Miss Senna provided these clothes Mistress as we conversed over a lovely cup of citrus tea.” Alpha responded.

Turning to look at her first apprentice Judy glared playfully as Senna scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing in my position Judes…now then, drinks?” Looping her arm through Judy’s Senna began escorting the other doe out of the burrow.

“Oh I am going to get you for this…Alpha, Lua you are free for the rest of the day, go ahead and take in the locals and such.” Waving a negligent paw over her shoulder Judy allowed herself to be lead along by the other rabbit.

“But Mistress…” Alpha started before Lua pulled him back by the shoulder.

“She is a fully trained and powerful necromancer in the company of a centuries old dryad as her guide to these new and strange old lands…I think she is going to be fine. Now come along you owe me dinner before that hot oil massage.”

Deciding that it would be more hassle to ask about how he now owed her dinner on top of everything else Alpha rolled his eyes before allowing himself to be lead away.

Walking along the same road she had grown up walking Judy looked around and could almost convince herself she was back in her kithood…almost.

“The trees are taller and the road is nicer.” Judy said as she tapped along the road next to Senna with her walking stick.

“Huh? What about the trees and road?” Senna asked while looking over to her Big Sister.

“So much seems to have changed since I have been away but so far all I can see right now is the trees are bigger and the road is better maintained, I assume this is your doing?” Senna nodded as they entered a small tunnel of tree branches, the early evening sunlight coming in dappled shafts.

“Yep, ever since Master Otterton left I have been making sure the lands have been taken care of. It took a few decades but I was able to smooth out the ley lines in the area and even widen them a bit, farm production has gone up since I took over the Land Management and the rate of sickness has gone down slightly.” Senna said with an obvious amount of pride in her voice.

“How is the old otter these days? I never got to see him before I left.”

“Well he moved away after teaching me enough to take over his job in the city and last I heard he was essentially living with a harem of sirens on an island a little off the coast down south somewhere. Apparently, the island is prone to wildfires and has an amazing underwater eco-system so he is pretty busy day to day from what he told me in his last letter.”

Judy smiled, she might be the anti-thesis to the Arch-Druid but he did help her when she returned the first time and was doing his best to help the city and she was glad to hear he was enjoying his new life.

“Old bugger must be nearly a thousand years old by now…how old do druids and dryads live by the way?” Senna hummed a little to herself as she thought.

“Druids live for a pretty long time as long as they have plenty of life energy around them and they are able to use their talents to extend their life span. Dryads though live as long their tree does, and I am only about half dryad by the way. I am sure you noticed but I turned Jack into my tree so as long as he lives, I live and unlike other dryads I am able to travel if I need to as long as Jack comes with me.”

It wasn’t until she finished speaking and glanced at Judy that Senna realized she had just opened the door to a line of conversation she had been hoping to put off until they had a few drinks.

“Yes…Jack and your tree…let’s talk about that while we walk.” Judy said with a grin at Senna’s sudden embarrassment.

“Namely how did you make him your tree, how did you two get together, how many litters have you had over the centuries and then we can go from there…start talking girl.” Judy said as she poked her Little Sister with her walking stick.

“Ughhh…I was hoping to be a few cups into the evening before we got to this point. Well he showed up a few years after you left saying he was traveling and that ‘he wanted to see the lands that were able to spawn such a hell sent beast of nightmares and sin as that mad grave defiling rabbit’…his words. By the time he made it around to our little slice of paradise he was tired of travelling and wanted to set down some roots. After our little fiasco with my dancing, we met in the village and started talking. He helped me with my shopping and eventually we got to exchanging stories, starting with you in fact.” Seeing the wistful look on Senna’s face as she looked back in time through memory nearly made Judy sick.

“I don’t really know when it happened but I eventually invited him over for dinner and that was when it really started to be a bit more serious since he didn’t even ask or say anything when he saw me beginning to struggle in the kitchen, he just grabbed an apron and took over a few stations. He started directing some of the kitchen buns and it was one of the better dinners we had that month. Then he just sort of started appearing and helping take care of the little ones while I helped train some of the older ones.”

“Where was Jasmine during all of this? She was the Burrow Matron when I left…in name only unfortunately since I didn’t have a chance to pass the actual title to her.” Thinking back to her actual little sister, the warm honey and hearthfire day to her cold winter night’s embrace, Judy felt a tightness in her chest for some reason.

“She took us all in when I showed her how we were able to cross her borders and helped me learn how to take care of a burrow so much bigger than what I was used to.” Swiping some moisture from her eyes Senna smiled over at her Big Sister.

“Her and your family took us all in so fast and easily it was like we had always been a single family…I became a right paw to her for a few years. She lived to about…ninety-seven years old and was an absolute terror the entire time. She would tell the worst jokes to the little ones and spoil them absolutely rotten every chance she got, she never let a single mammal tell her to slow down and I would have to practically beat her with a stick to get her out of the kitchen. Of course, once I got her out of the kitchen I would have to use that damn stick to pry her away from the kits she would indulge.”

Judy smiled sadly…Jasmine had always wanted kits and had always been better with them than she was.

“She found a buck a few years after my family integrated with yours and for a few decades they ran the burrow. She and her husband moved away to warmer climates when she was around fifty or so and then back again after her husband passed. She spent her final years surrounded by the family she had helped build and who she had trained to be so prosperous.” Looking over to the cold grave rabbit that had helped her start on her magical path Senna smiled at the wet tracks running down from her eyes.

“Jasmine was always much more family oriented than I was. She always knew when the little ones needed something and how to give it to them in the best way…she was the Mother of my litter while I was the Guardian you could say. So *ahem* how did Jack become your Tree? I didn’t even think that was possible.”

Accepting the change in subject Senna laughed lightly as she reached out and brushed her paw along a few flowering bushes alongside the road. Watching as the flowers grew brighter and more vibrant Judy wondered if she would have ever been able to do that had her family survived...

“It was maybe a year or so after Jasmine and Master Otterton moved away. He was helping me bring some groceries back from the city when a group of roaming bandits jumped us on the road. He was…well I think that was the first time I really understood that he was a sword master at one time. Seven wolves in front of us threatening to rape me and kill him and he just stood there…he just waited for them to finish their threats and posturing and then asked if they were done speaking. He was so calm and level headed it was like standing next to a glacier while a bunch of kits threatened him with candles.”

“He just handed the bags he had been carrying over to me and stepped forward before trying to talk the bandits down, they wouldn’t step back and one of them pulled a sword as if he was going to run Jack through. He was impaled on a spike of ice before he was able to take more than two steps and the next one was frozen solid before he even got his blade in paw. Jack was a blizzard of cold wrath like I had never seen and we had been seeing each other for years at this point…he was a bit past his prime by this point but you would never know with the way he moved.”

Judy was really going to be sick if she kept seeing that look of infatuation on her Little Sister’s face.

“He was like a winter wind, they could never touch him but he bit through them as if they were standing still and before my very eyes, he had them frozen in place and was standing among a group of ice sculptures before my arms even got tired from the extra groceries. Unfortunately there was an eighth wolf and he had Talent, he had concealed his body heat and scent. He was an archer and had been hiding in the trees…apparently he had a petty streak since he decided to take his only available shot at me.”

“Both Jack and I saw him once he made his shot and he died while his arrow was in the air. Unfortunately, Jack decided that was the right time to be a self-sacrificing gentleman and jumped in front of me in order to take the shot. I hadn’t told him I was a dryad and that I would survive the hit, he only knew that I had Talent.”

Of course the noble asshole would jump in front of an arrow for a lady in distress…the glorious bastard was making Judy like him and she didn’t want to.

“The arrow hit him in the chest and lodged in his heart, he was dying in my arms on a back road between the city and my new home…” Stopping in place Judy watched as Senna stood stock still before pointing at a patch of road that didn’t look any different from any other part of the road.

“He was about to die right there, at the ripe old age of about thirty or forty something I can’t remember. He had just slaughtered a bunch of bandits to protect me and he had been spending the last few years helping me take care of my new, larger family and burrow while never really asking anything from me…and now he was going to die from a random bandit’s petty arrow, no I wasn’t about to let him die so easily.”

The fire in Senna’s eyes spoke of a strength and power that ran deeper than a mere mortal rabbit’s capability…this was a conduit of Gaia’s Power standing in front of her and she was remembering a time when someone thought to steal from her.

“I wasn’t going to let him die so easily after what he had done for me and my new family, I was not about to let Death claim him without turning all of the Great Mother’s powers against the Final Harvest. I had been told that a dryad could always feel and call their Seed to them but I had never tried to do so until then. I reached into the earth and pulled an oak seed from the soil that pulsed in rhythm with my own heart and without thinking I pressed it to the hole in his chest.”

Senna smiled shakily at the memory.

“He had strength and power the likes of which I had never known, and in that moment those hidden depths of his wrapped around my Seed and fed it the power of a winter’s fury.”

Grinning with teeth sharper than an average rabbit should possess Senna looked up at Judy without any of the glamour or disguise she had unknowingly been using to hide herself.

Judy grinned at her Little Sister as her eyes glowed a virulent green over a smile of unforgiving fangs, fur made of barbed thorns and bark like armor. Senna stood there surrounded by wild and merciless energy barely contained within the small vessel of the rabbit she had once danced with the among graves of her ancestors.

“He was, is and will always be MINE and I will never let someone steal him from me. His power fed my Seed and my Tree spread its roots through him. My Tree will never flower and blossom, will never feel the warmth of the sun upon its leaves…it is a small, twisted and wretched mass, but it is as powerful as a raging avalanche. My seed healed him and empowered me, he is the conduit from which I pull strength. He is my mate, my husband and the father of my children…he is the Tree whose roots hold this family and these lands together… and I am his Dryad.”

Stepping forward Judy reached out and cupped the face of the vicious looking rabbit as she remembered the time she had almost lost her best friend but had gained her soul mate.

“And don’t ever forget that Little Sister…never forget that he stood beside you long before you claimed him as your own.”

Pulling the pure Nature energy from her Little Sister into herself and channeling it down into the earth Judy grit her teeth and didn’t let anything of what the energy was making her feel show on her face. Seeing Senna finally gather her mind back into place and rebuild her glamour to once again look like the soft mother bunny she was, Judy smiled before wrapping the younger rabbit in one of the only truly joyful hugs she had given in over seven centuries.

“I am so happy for you Senna, I am so happy that you found someone worthy of being your Tree and who you trust to hold your soul. You may have never needed it but just in case…You have my deepest and most heartfelt blessings for your happiness.” Feeling the other rabbit return the hug Judy closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being able to hug a mammal without feeling any ants beneath her fur.

*Sniff* “Damnit this is supposed to be a happy time, we are supposed to be going for a girls evening of debauchery and drinking not crying on a backroad over things that happened hundreds of years ago…” Judy smiled at the light bits of moisture she felt hit her shoulder.

“It takes time to heal and sometimes it takes someone looking from the outside in to see that you have injuries. Now come on, enough of this mushy crying shit, we are two of the strongest buns in this kingdom and we can’t be seen being all weepy like a pair of fishwives watching their husbands leaving on a boat or something…there is drinking to be done!”

Laughing and spinning Senna around so that they had their arms linked together both rabbits began walking down the road towards the city once again, they were going to toast to those that they had lost and those that stayed with them and they were going to be happy if it killed someone!

Chapter Text

Seeing Bunnyburrow for the first time in centuries since leaving was the first undeniable example of how things had changed since she had last been home. Standing before the city gates Judy just knew her bumpkin was showing…again…honestly it was like being back in the capital for the first time!

Last time she had been in this city there hadn’t been a single building other than the church higher than maybe three stories tall and now…now she couldn’t see one shorter than four stories. Wood and stone were still heavily used in the architecture but it looked like metal was making a strong showing as well. Wood walls and stone foundations were still prevalent but look higher than the first story and metal pipes and siding began to reach around corners and stretched from one building to another. Steam and fog mixed to leave the street in a haze while glowing blue lights lit the streets in long lines, higher up the buildings the pipes transitioned from what might have been iron to brass.

Decorative railings of wrought iron and brass wrapped around every balcony and along the lengths of walkways that stretched between buildings. Windows glowed with warm light from within the perpetual fog of the street level and large panels on articulated arms stretched up from the visible levels and lower roofs of every building with glowing lines reaching down the sides of the buildings into the ground. Shadowed figures and hazy forms moved within the fog and steam of the street level.

“Yeah…things have changed since you left. When you left, the church had a pretty big upheaval and merged with a group of magic hunters, a few years after that magic stopped being so tightly regulated and innovation using magic wasn’t just allowed but actually encouraged and funded if a mammal shows particular talent in a field.” Senna said as she lead Judy into the fog bank that seemed to reach out with wispy fingers from the front gates of the city. Walking into the hazy streets of the city Judy nearly went cross-eyed at the sheer amount of ambient magic in the air.

Stopping a few feet within the city Judy leaned on her walking stick with a small gasp as her system went into overdrive, she had always absorbed small amounts of magic from her surroundings but walking into this fog was like jumping into a lake while dehydrated. Her system was flooded with raw energy that had no intent behind it, pure magic flooded her system and acted like a shot of pure adrenaline to her system.

“Judy? Are you alright…I know it can be a little overwhelming going from the pure energy of the fields to this…industrial shithole. I hate coming here, there is nothing green here and I always feel like I am being crushed by the metal and stone around me…” Looking around herself Senna glared at her surroundings before looking back to her Big Sister and trailing off at the literally glowing smile on the necromancer’s face.

“I love it here…OoohHHhoohhhhooo…there is so much magic in the air with no intent to color it but plenty of emotions to flavor it. So much power just hanging around waiting for someone to take it. Heheheee…whoever built this city probably has no idea they built a perfect environment for a necromancer.” Straightening up from her hunched over position with a deep inhalation Judy pulled as much of the ambient power around her as she could into herself.

It was like inhaling hatred and pestilence, plague and despair without having to pull it from a mammal. She felt revitalized in ways she had not felt for centuries, ways that were very familiar but also new to her. Had she been able to watch herself from outside her own body she would have seen the fog and steam thin around her, the light of the sun grow brighter and the air grow sweeter.

In a single powerful inhalation, she had pulled the lingering sickness that thrived within the dark places of the world from around her. Tarnish and rust fell from gleaming pipes as mold and fungus withered in their dark nooks and crannies. Light from the odd glowing lanterns that lined the street grew brighter as the fog lessened around her.

Exhaling air as pure as a dryad’s laughter Judy shivered and shook herself, dead skin and old fur falling from her form leaving her fur looking like silver brushed with moonlight and ivory. Her eyes glittered brightly with vitality even she had not realized she was missing above a wide mouthful of perfectly aligned teeth that glittered with health. Skin plumped and muscles firmed into sensuous curves as nails that had been thin and cracked fell away from her fingers and toes to be replaced with strong smooth talons not often seen on a bunny. Shaking her head as if to clear it and looking around herself Judy smiled widely at her Little Sister.

“WOW!...I like it here! This is like a necromancer’s playground…so much ambient energy with no intent or workings behind it all for the taking. Shadows and darkness, rot and corrosion aplenty…I don’t even have to try and corrupt this place, it is happening naturally.” Looking towards Senna she wondered why the other rabbit looked as if she was beginning to wilt.

“What’s wrong?” Senna shook her head with a bitter smile.

“Of course you would love it here, this is why Master Otterton left these lands. Once the Church merged with the Mage Hunters…”

“Slayers.”

“Slayers right…once the Church merged with the Slayers and they ushered in an age of magical innovation things changed so much. The magic of the land and sky is being harvested by those panels on top of the buildings, they pull the magic from the area and concentrate it into those glowing lines you see. It is used to heat homes and light the streets, artificers use the concentrated magic to build and empower their work.” Laughing lightly she crossed her arms and glanced around at the various hazy forms peeking around corners and down the length of the street.

“Mammals work it into their clothes as fashion statements and chefs even use it to season their food…being here is like being in the middle of a magical whirlpool as it is drawn in and concentrated on this point. And look at you, you look better now than you did when we danced in the graveyard all those years ago…you probably look younger than me.” Judy laughed as she walked over to stand next to the other rabbit.

“We have always been night and day, dryad and necromancer. Where you wilt and falter, I will flourish and thrive and where you blossom and grow, I will rot and crumble. You are the light and warmth of these lands, the shining beacon that mammals can look to for guidance and healing. I am the rot and cold that slithers within the shadows you cast that mammals will fear crossing into.” Gesturing further down the street Judy couldn’t keep the smile off her face as they walked further into the city.

Looking around she couldn’t believe the changes she was seeing, from the cobble stone streets to the shining brass tipped architecture that ran like geometric streams around the tops of the buildings. Lines running from one building to another provided easy walkways for what looked like messenger squirrels. Tubes running up and down the sides strobed with the shadowed figures of smaller mammals as they passed next to and around the lines of concentrated magic.

Horses pulled carts piled high with wares from the market she could hear winding down somewhere further within the city. Rhinos and elk patrolled the city with wolves clad in glowing lines of concentrated magic and skin tight reptile leather leading the way, their eyes covered in blindfolds as they crouched and crawled their way through the streets sniffing loudly at every miniscule change in the air.

“Enforcers…the bastard child of the church paladins and slayers. They are looking for illegal magic usage, the wolf is a Sniffer…he only perceives the world through magic now. Damn, they are probably looking for you actually after that little display you put on at the gate…follow me.”

Pulling Judy down a side alley Senna quickly lead her through a twisting warren of dark alleys that stank of rot and piss past a number of what Judy could tell were dead bodies and even more dying forms of mammals. Bursting out of the alley and back into a crowd of mammals Judy looked back the way they came…there had been something very familiar back there but she couldn’t put her paw on it.

“What is going on Senna? I thought we were here for drinks and debauchery and barely a few minutes into the city and we are dodging these Enforcers and Sniffers as if we have something to hide.” Seeing Senna look around before relaxing and walking away Judy scurried after the other doe.

“Ok so, things aren’t exactly that great around here. Magic is much more prevalent which makes it more profitable and the gangs that run this city don’t like it when an unknown factor enters their territory. By the looks of that Sniffer’s lines he was working for Astra, she must have made a successful push into this part of the city.” Coming to a stop outside of what even Judy could tell was a seedy drinking hole Senna began to chew her nail.

Reaching out and gripping her Little Sister’s shoulder, and putting a bit of claw into the touch, Judy spun the doe around to look at her.

“You are speaking a lot of words and yet not saying a damn thing that makes any sense, now is this where we were heading when we got here?” Senna looked around and nodded.

“Yeah, I was planning on giving you a bit of a roundabout tour but we kind of had to make a detour down a shortcut. It doesn’t look like much but this place has the best drinks in this part of the city for the best prices and we will probably only have to punch in a couple throats.” Grinning as she lead the way into the obviously shady establishment Senna squeaked as she was pulled back to face the necromancer.

“OKAY…two questions before we go because I can just tell I am going to need something strong for the questions I am sure I am about to have. First off is punching someone in the throat a regular occurrence in this city now?” Senna nodded with a bit of exasperation.

“Yeah, unless you want to pay for the higher end places that we aren’t exactly welcome at right now. I can almost guarantee someone is going to try and take one or both of us home and won’t likely take No as an answer to their advances.” Judy nodded thoughtfully before reaching into a pouch at her side and pulling out a coin.

“Second question…does gold still carry weight around here?” Holding up a gold coin between two fingers Judy smiled at the shocked look on Senna’s face.

“Uh…yeah, where did you get that?” Judy smiled before making the coin disappear.

“Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies Little Sister…suffice it to say that I am not nearly as much of a pure angel as I come across as.” Senna just raised a brow with a look of disbelief on her face.

“You come across as a murder happy wretch who clawed her way up from the depths of some gods forsaken cesspit hellbent on the corruption of all you perceive.” Judy grinned before gesturing towards the open doorway to the drinking establishment.

“And just think of what I am like when I am not on my best behavior.”

“Alright Skye, status report. How bad are things and what kind of time line are we actually looking at?” Nick asked as he looked between the nude form of Skye as she lounged tastefully upon a baby grand piano and his easel.

“A few years, a decade at best. As long as the soul pieces don’t cause to many problems in the mortal world and Judy is able to find enough of them this whole mess will become little more than an unreasonably long easter egg hunt.” Hearing a chuckle from over her shoulder Skye looked towards the Old Man as he worked on his easel.

“Easter egg hunt? Wow that brings back memories…you know I met the original Esther a few times, absolute demon when it came to gambling.” Nick said with a light smile.

“Alright so best-case scenario is that the soul pieces are far enough apart that Judy is able to find them before they are able to gather. What is the worst-case scenario we are looking at? What should we be preparing for?...hold that pose.” Skye smiled before flicking her tail a bit.

“Worst case scenario is that the pieces all come together and somehow combine into a single piece, if they do that then I won’t be able to keep the pieces still on my side of the veil where they are. If the entire soul crosses over to the mortal realm, then I will not have any authority over it and it will become a True Immortal. If that happens other entities will know of it and seek to replicate the outcome which will very definitely get Home Office’s attention, once they see what has happened it won’t be if it will be when they erase that particular layer of reality.” Skye shuddered at the thought of total reality erasure.

Souls removed from Time’s Wheel, everything reduced to its base atomic structure and then reduced even further until the atomic fire of an entire realm scorched even the ashes of its own destruction from the Loom of Fate, and that was only the parts she knew about. She knew there was more to the entire process but had never witnessed it firsthand and she wasn’t about to ask Gazelle about the time she had seen it happen.

“How will she know when she has found a piece of the soul and what will she need to do with it if she finds one?” Nick said as he glanced quickly between Skye and what he was working on.

“She will sense them when she is close by, being a necromancer is actually a benefit to her in this matter. She will be able to sense the touch of the Veil upon the vessels the souls reside within, once she finds them she will have to isolate them from each other. After she has them, she will need to find a way to send them across the veil again.” Rolling over and kicking her legs in the air Skye began playing with her tail in a vague attempt to preserve her modesty, not that Nick hadn’t seen everything before anyway.

 “Assuming she doesn’t go down that path she will have to find a way to get a True Immortal to focus pure destructive Intent onto the soul vessels and obliterate them on a level not seen since that one guy…you know Oppy something or other…” Looking around his easel with a raised eyebrow Nick gave a look towards the other fox.

“Oppendoonen?” Rolling his eyes and not bothering to correct her Nick went back to his work.

“So basically she has to find the pieces, keep them apart and find a way to destroy them with either a form of magic she would be better off not knowing about or getting a True Immortal to work with her in destroying something they probably don’t care about. What would happen if she let all the pieces combine and kept the final product under lock and key…metaphorically speaking.” Nick asked as Skye sat up and spun around until she was facing him while leaning back on her paws and kicking her legs back and forth.

“Essentially yes…Opengoober, no that’s stupid…” Nick rubbed his eyes, how could she have a worse memory than him?

“As for what would happen if she let all the pieces combine…shit this is all pretty much theoretical since this hasn’t happened in the time I have held my Office. If the pieces come together, they will be able to exert a greater level of control over the world around them and will be able to actually control a mammal even if they don’t consent to it making it possible for them to pull the rest of the soul across the Veil and straight into a new vessel. Normally the soul is the one aspect of any possible level of reality that can never be intruded upon without consent, even Home Office can’t invade the internal workings of a soul unless given permission. That is under normal circumstances of course, but you can’t defend against yourself and at a fundamental level all souls are the same…they all come from the same source and they are all made by my Big Brother.”

Looking at Skye, Nick cocked his head a bit, working with souls was not something he had delved into very much…it had always felt a bit to far for him.

“Really? I never got into the whole soul thing…” Skye looked at him in confusion.

“Seriously? A necromancer not learning about souls is like…well it would be like if I never learned how to travel through time and space, it is a fundamental aspect of your craft.” Nick rolled his eyes before ducking back behind his easel.

“I am to old to consider many things sacred but the soul was always the line I never wanted to cross…a person has to have at least one final redoubt of safety and solitude.” A hand the color of milk grasped the edge of his easel and pulled it away from him so that he was faced with a visage of beauty he had not seen since the stars held a different position in the skies.

Standing there before him was Skytesha Nivali in all her albino glory, her pink eyes glinting beneath the waterfall of braided ivory tresses. Stepping back so that he could admire her entire figure Nikenshriel breathed out a sigh of appreciation at the beautiful rippling of muscles under powerful curves.

“Wow…it has been way to long since I have seen such beauty as to shame the birth of a star…” Nick said under his breath.

Raising her brow and cocking a hip Skye grinned at the glint of desire she caught in Nick’s eye…it took a lot for the Lich to show such a human emotion as desire. Turning to the side to see what he had been working on she jerked back in surprise.

“Wait! You have been making a flow chart for your apprentice to follow…’in order to avoid the apocalypse’ this entire time?” Skye said as she changed halfway between her current shape and her original shape before glaring at the fox standing before her.

“Yeah…?” The combination of her first and current from was doing something to his brain that he wasn’t entirely sure he understood or disliked.

“Then why the hell was I naked on a piano for the last few hours?” Nick just shrugged with a goofy grin on his face.

“Art?”

“So tell me about these gangs you seem so worried about, you mentioned Astra and that the Sniffer back there worked for her because of his ‘lines’…tell me what is going on in this city.” Judy said as she looked around the bar they had entered, it was not what she had been expecting when she had thought it would be like on their way to the city.

Bright magic lanterns hung from the ceiling and while they were very good at casting bright pools of light, they also made everything outside those pools of light seem darker than they actually were. Back in her day the taverns usually had packed dirt floors while the higher end or more successful ones would have wooden floors. The only time she had seen stone or tile flooring had been in the capital and that had been in the finest restaurant in the capital and royal palace.

Instead of wooden chairs and booths the seating consisted of metal bars artfully twisted into the correct shapes with surprisingly comfortable cushions riveted to them. The floor was some kind of textured metal while the walls were paneled in alternating light and dark boards of wood. The ceiling was lost to shadows so Judy wasn’t able to tell how tall it was giving the room an oddly cavernous feel, or as if they were sitting outside under a sky without stars…Judy decided she liked this place.

“There are three gangs lead by one Boss each, they basically rule and own the entire city with the mayor as a figurehead that all three use to either help themselves or piss off the others. Astra is the Boss of Mid-Tier the one we are on…basically anywhere in the fog is her territory and she owns the Enforcers as well as the research and production aspects of the city. Roland rules Upper-Tier, anything above the fog, and controls the merchant markets as well as the wealthy homes. Lastly there is Vargus who runs the Lower-Tier where all the concentrated magic is taken, refined and stored…once you go lower than the street level you are in his world.” Taking a sip of her cocktail Senna gazed into the oddly glowing liquid as she swirled it around her glass.

“They mostly keep to themselves and use politics to jab at each other now and then, occasionally a group of their minions will make stabs at gaining more territory. We haven’t had an all-out war in years but the last time it happened the city was little more than a warzone and no one from the farms even came near the city for months…the only reason we knew things had calmed down was because we stopped seeing smoke rising over the skyline and stopped hearing battle at night.” Judy had to repress a grin at hearing those words…she was beginning to like this place more and more as the night went on.

“What is this fog out on the streets? It is absolutely packed with magic, to the point it nearly knocked me out when I started to absorb it when we got here. I didn’t even know I was so starved for magic until I got here…the thing is that it doesn’t have any intent or coloring behind it.”

Taking a deep appreciative gulp of her beer Judy grinned, not only had magic taken an impressive leap forward but it turned out brewing had as well. It also helped that someone had spiked the hell out of her drink with some kind of sedative or something, it gave it a wonderful creamy aftertaste in her opinion.

“You saw the glowing pipes and tubes running up and down the sides of the buildings? Those are the concentrated magic transport lines that run from the collection panels down to the refineries and storage tanks under the city. Between leaks in the lines, the extreme amount of magic being pulled into the area by the panels and the sheer usage of it, the magic in the area has saturated the city. The city walls are made to let magic in but not let it out meaning that any ambient magic is just left to float freely. They tried to collect and recycle it but the fog is so inconsistent that they couldn’t make a reliable collection device and what the artificers could collect was…unstable.”

“In the beginning there were a lot of explosions and fires from improperly stored or transported recycled ambient magic. Eventually it was decided to just let it build up and after that we got our now famous Bunnyburrow Fog, the seals along the walls that keep the magic inside are brought down for maintenance every year on Founding Day and there is a big celebration when it is. It is about the only time in the year that the sun makes it to the street level without being diffused through the fog and it only lasts for about three days before the fog builds up again.” Judy considered that for a bit as Senna drank a bit more…

“Wow…seven hundred years of change…Well I am sure I will have more questions but I think I will just have to take a walk around the city and figure it out for myself. For now though…” Judy raised the remainder of her drink and smiled as Senna clinked her cocktail against her mug.

“To the only true friend I have known.”

“To the best mother I could have asked for.”

Grinning the both of them downed the last of their drinks and sat silently for a few seconds, memories flowing through their minds helped along by the booze.

Stumbling out of the bar both rabbits were laughing like a pair of loons as they supported each other. Walking away from the bar Judy was glad she had asked Fin to let the alcohol through her system and allowed her to actually feel the effects though she hadn’t been able to get him to part with the sedatives…turned out they had a very lovely flavor according to him. Grinning and spinning around each other Judy was about to walk in the wrong direction before Senna pulled her along and began to retrace their steps down the alleys they used to get to the bar. Laughing and sputtering out half-formed stories and jokes Judy leaned in and put her head on Senna’s shoulder in a sloppy hug.

“There is a group of mammals following us, probably the ones who tried to spike our drinks.” Judy whispered in a much more sober tone of voice.

“Oh good I was wondering if you had noticed them, was that a sedative they were using?” Senna asked in a similarly sober voice.

“Sort of, I am guessing it was supposed to make us a bit or suggestable and meek…gonna have to find some for myself, it really gave those drinks a lovely aftertaste.” Senna nodded with a laugh as she pushed away from her Big Sister with a twirl using the motion to glance behind them and get an idea of how many were following them.

“Thanks for paying again by the way, I could have but now I can pay for a SHOPPING SPREE!” Senna said as she tossed her paws in the air, holding up five fingers to tell Judy how many were after them. Judy just scoffed at hearing that as she feigned a bit of a stumble.

“As if, look I just got into town and you have an entire burrow to look after. I can pay for my own stuff thank you very much, you are doing enough just by letting me stay for a bit.”

“Ohhh…Need a place to stay while visiting family do you love?”

The voice coming from behind them was as cracked and filthy as the teeth it passed over when the bunnies turned to look behind them. Standing there was a mass of twisted, greasy, filth covered wool pretending to be a ram. At least she thought it was a ram judging by the ragged broken remnants of horns sticking out of his head. His companions didn’t look much better, she had actually been shoulder deep in corpses that looked better than these guys. 

“Oh…I thought they were going to be Enforcers, they can at least be bribed to go away and not all of them are actually corrupt.” Senna said dropping the drunken act entirely and scoffing at what she saw before them before turning towards Judy.

“These are just some Dredges, the bottom feeders of Vargus’s gang. They basically do the worst and most disgusting jobs for the least pay just for the honor of saying they work for Vargus. Judging by the look of these ones they are probably Glowing.” Seeing the look of confusion on her Big Sister’s face Senna continued speaking despite the look of confusion and burgeoning frustration on the faces of the rams.

“Some enterprising shithead thought it would be a good idea to inject pure magic into their system, the results are interesting by the way. Then someone else decided to cut it with something they found in their cleaning closet and TADAA! This is what we get…The most addictive drug yet, Glow.”

She finished with a grand gesture towards the now fuming rams.

“Shut it both of you! Now you are going to follow us and stay quiet.”

So saying the ram pulled out an oddly glowing device in one hoof and some kind of metal tube and handle with glowing lines along the sides. Looking at what the ram had pulled out and the look of sudden awareness on Senna’s face Judy strode forward to get a better look at the odd device.

“Hey STOP! OBEY DAMNIT!”

Holding out the metal tube towards her while speaking at the device in his other hoof the ram started looking between Judy and his companions.

“You dosed them right?!”

Seeing a nod from the other rams the apparent leader looked back and was surprised to see Judy looking directly down the barrel of his gun.

“What is this supposed to do? No arrows, no pulleys or blades…is this supposed to be some kind of weapon?”

Looking at the ram and ignoring the whispers for her to get away from the device from behind her Judy rolled her eyes.

“The day I am afraid of something like this is the day I… *BANGZSZZTttt!*”

Before she could even finish speaking half of her head was splattered across part of the alley and her Little Sister.

“Alright fuck it, must have been a bad batch. Get the other one before she runs and gets Astra’s guys on us, the night is still young enough we can have some fun.”

Senna just sighed as she looked down at herself with a bit of disgust.

“This was a new dress you asshole and now I have brain and skull and…oh look a tooth…do you have any idea how hard it is to scrub blood out of clothes?”

Senna asked as the rams approached her, one of them making a point to step on Judy’s limp form.

“Look guys, I can promise two things: you are not going to enjoy what happens if you are here in the next few seconds and you will unfortunately live to regret your decisions if you lay a hoof on me.”

The fact that she wasn’t showing even a hint of fear at seeing her companion get her head blown apart or being faced with four large rams seemed to put her assailants off their stride as they looked between each other.

“Uhh, Boss…maybe we should just leave. Rabbits aren’t supposed to be confident like this especially after one gets her head blown off.”

About to respond the leader stopped before he noticed something moving on the ground. Looking down he cried out in surprise and disgust as the body of the rabbit he had just shot started to move like a puppet with its strings tangled.

“Guhh…washeeh eh hghell was that? You bastard I just got this outfit and now it looks like something I would wear in the lab!”

Judy said as she stood up and her head rebuilt itself, it had been a long time since she had her head destroyed like that…last time had been a morningstar to the face when she pissed off one of the Reticulan Emperor’s Royal Knights. Looking at the device that had just removed part of her head Judy reached out and grabbed the odd metal tube from the ram’s hoof.

“Fascinating…looks like seven hundred years has had an effect on weaponry as well. Oh Senna you don’t mind if I keep these ones do you? There should be a place for me to work near the river still right?”

Looking past the terrified rams now caught between her and her Little Sister Judy casually raised the weapon in the way the ram had been doing so, and pulled the small trigger set into the handle when the lead ram started backing up and acting like he was going to run.

Giving a loud bleat of pain as the weapon flashed with a loud discharge Judy was surprised to see a hole large enough for her head to fit into blown out of the ram’s side. Striding forward and trying to look closer Judy growled as the ram rolled back and forth on the ground, snapping her fingers Judy was pleased to see a number of her newest group of revenants drop from the shadows above the fog and hold the ram down so she could get a better look at the wound.

“Grab the other ones as well and restrain them, we might be taking them with us. If they give to many problems kill them and make it look like a Shendra Raider did it.”

Casually ignoring the way the other rams were brought down to their knees by more lithe members of her growing family falling directly onto them Judy began to inspect the wound.

“Hmmm…burn marks around the outside…inner wound isn’t quite cauterized but far more burned than an explosive fire spell. Didn’t go all the way through even at such a short range so probably not very concentrated or doesn’t have much power behind it…”

Tossing the weapon over her shoulder to the black panther sliding out of the shadows, clad in a much tighter and much stealthier outfit than she had been, she called out while still looking at the wound.

“Have Alpha look at that, he likes things like that. I want to know everything about it by the end of tomorrow.”

Reaching out she reached through the ram’s wool and her claws into the festering skin underneath.

Pulling the toxins and corrupted energies from the ram Judy was not prepared for what she absorbed in addition to the truly staggering amount of toxins, negative emotions and sheer sludge that had been festering within the ram. Grinning as she looked down at the ram with a mouth that very nearly stretched from ear to ear and eyes that glowed with a virulent green light that spread from the corners of her eyes in cracks she dove at the body and began rummaging around through the cloths and wool.

“Hello Lua, fancy meeting you here.” Senna said as she watched Judy rummage through the obviously dead ram’s pockets.

“What is she doing with that dead ram?”

Lua looked over to her mistress and sighed as her squad knocked out the remaining rams and began restraining them the black panther shrugged.

“I have been with her for three hundred odd years and I still have no idea what goes on in that twisted head of hers. I can barely keep up with her when she starts speaking tongues…she is actually considered a religious figure in my homeland, did you know that?”

Seeing the look of shock on the rabbit’s face Lua was about to explain when they heard a giggle from the direction of the necromancer. Looking over to the other rabbit both of them felt a small shiver race down their spines at the look on her face as she began giggling louder until she was giving a full body cackle that rang from the alley walls.

Looking towards her Stealth Squadron leader and her Little Sister Judy was unaware of how much the fog around them lent an even more sinister look to her as her energy began leeching light from the area. Shadows grew and began whispering again until the only light to be seen came from her eyes and the cracks at the corners of her mouth.

“Judy…are you alright?” Senna asked slowly as Lua placed a paw on her shoulder and began gently pulling her back from the creeping shadows.

“Don’t get to close…you really don’t want to know what is casting those shadows. Stay next to me or behind me, not sure if you have noticed but the Mistress isn’t exactly in the most stable mindset.” Lua said lowly.

“Oh yeeesssssss…ahhaha, seven centuries with only the few samples I was able to smuggle out with me and what I could buy through black market contacts. Seven hundred years scraping along until I had practically forgotten about it and here I am…holding it again after finding it in the system of a random shitheel of a ram in an alley…”

The voice that came from the glowing mouth was like a cold talon scraping down Senna’s bare spine, it held everything she was opposed to on a genetic level as a Dryad.

This wasn’t the voice of death…this was the voice of one who reveled in sickness and pain. This was the voice of someone who not only enjoyed pain but enjoyed being the one who dealt it out and would always try to cause more pain and suffering than was needed. Where Senna would always try to lessen pain and hardship or try to think of a way around it while accepting that it was a necessary evil when she couldn’t…Judy wouldn’t just accept it she would do her best to make sure that she did as much unnecessary damage as possible.

It was at times like these Senna remembered Master Otterton’s words on necromancers and how they were the cold, plague spreading, hateful, deceitful and cancerous counterbalance to the warm, loving, honorable and healing power of dryads and druids.

“Seven hundred years…and I finally get to meet my old friend the Feral Plague once again…”

“OI! What the hell is going on down there?!”

Whipping around towards the other end of the alley Senna saw a pair of bobbing lights coming their way from around the corners of the twisting alley. Realizing there was no way they were going to be able to bribe their way out of a bunch of unconscious rams, one dead body and what looked like a bunch of Reticula agents Senna turned around…and saw nothing of the sort. The rams were gone, the lizards were gone, Lua was gone but Judy was still grinning like an idiot next to a dead body.

“Judy we have to go, we can’t be seen next to a dead body like this. Telling the Enforcer’s that we found him like this won’t work especially since they know my face around here and they don’t know you!”

Senna whispered loudly as she ran up to her Big Sister.

“Right, Lua stash the rams somewhere safe and meet us back at the Burrow.”

Judy said, receiving a light purr in response from somewhere in the shadows. Reaching out she embraced Senna in a hug and grinned.

“Hold on tight.”

Wrapping them both in her energies just as she had so long ago in a burrow stolen from the little one in her arms, both rabbits dissolved into ash and grave dust before flowing up and out of the city.

Walking around yet another corner Enforcer Carmichael once again cursed every individual that had ever had a paw in creating the maze of alleys this damned city seemed to be built on. Walking through the damned fog the wolf panned his light around looking for what might have been making such a racket as he had heard, stopping as he caught sight of something he pulled his sidearm and charged it up…this wouldn’t be the first time one of the gangs had used something like this as an ambush.

Approaching slowly while trying to look everywhere at once Carmichael looked down before recoiling, the ram looked as if he had been dead for days with how rotten and foul he looked, never mind the legendary horrible smell. The only reason he knew the ram had died recently was the fresh blood and obviously fresh blast wound in his side as well as the fact he had patrolled down these alleys just the previous day.

“Find anything Carmy!?” Jumping at his partner’s voice Carmichael turned away from the ram to answer.

“Yeah!...looks like it was just another gang dispute. Probably one of Vargus’s lads by the look of it, shot in the side and bled out by my guess…looks like it probably hit an artery, dead on the spot.”

“Ugh fuck…the paperwork is gonna be a pain, and we were so close to bunking off for the day.” His partner moaned as he walked up.

“Why bother, you really think anyone is going to look into this? Even if it was investigated all the evidence would point to one of the Triad and nothing would happen even if we had a written confession, mountain of evidence and they delivered it themselves.”

Hearing the scornful laughter from his partner Carmichael sighed as he stood up and pulled his flare gun from his belt. Sending up a colored flare to signal the need for a body retrieval the wolf sighed as he walked away, the paperwork wouldn’t mean a damn thing but he would do it…it was his job after all.

“You know she isn’t eating any of that.”

Senna called over her shoulder as one of her most problematic daughters went to carry a platter out of the kitchen while she had her back turned cutting vegetables.

“Uh…who isn’t eating what?”

Turning to look at the doe who had been trying to sneak out of the kitchen Senna raised a brow while smiling.

“Tana…I know everything that goes on around here, many things I would rather not know and many things I didn’t know before. I know you have been taking platters of food down to the cave by the river everyday for the last four weeks trying to get a chance to speak to Judy, I know you have been hanging out around the entrance and have even tried to enter the cave. I also know that she hasn’t left that cave since she entered and I know the spells and sigils she is using to keep you and the others out.”

The young bunny perked up at that.

“So she IS using magic to keep everyone out…but you can see what is going on inside and how to get in right?”

Seeing the black furred doe place the platter down and walk up to her with a hopeful grin on her face Senna wondered if this was what she was like back in the day.

“Hun…I can see who is still inside that cave, not what is going on and I am very happy about that. She does not do things gently or delicately and what she does do is nothing that I want to know about. I looked into that cave the first night she claimed it and I haven’t slept well since. The only reason I know that anything is going on in that cave, or think I know that anything is going on, is because she is letting me know.”

Turning back to her cutting board Senna scraped the veggies into the large pot next to her, tonight they were going to have a stew from one of the books her Big Sister had given her mother all those years ago.

“What do you mean she is letting you know…you are the Burrow Matron, no one is supposed to be able to hide anything from you anymore right? Aren’t you unbeatable on our lands now?”

Ignoring the bit of scorn she could hear in her daughter’s voice Senna stirred the pot.

“I mean that she has far more experience than I do in magic and if she wanted to, she could put up wards that would leave me blind to anything she was doing. If I really wanted to, I could break through just about any ward she could erect to blind me but it would take all my concentration and she would definitely know what I had done.”

Turning away from the pot and wiping her paws on her apron Senna looked at her daughter…the closest they had to a black sheep of the family, as offensive as that was to sheep.

With black fur, green ear tips and stripes so dark they were nearly black along with aggressively green eyes Tana stood out from her siblings. In all her litters Senna had many kits that had black in their coloring but never had she given birth to one that had such a solid black coloring let alone one that had naturally green accents. Among her hundreds and possibly thousands of children Tana was the only one who had ever had green eyes and many of her siblings would tease her that she was adopted because of it.

Ignoring the odd fur coloring Tana was also one of the most magically talented children she had ever had… spells simply made sense to her, rituals fell apart and told her every little nuance of their inner workings. Wards, charms and blessings practically jumped to tell her how they worked, they certainly never actually worked for her of course, but where she truly shined was hexes and curses. In all of her litters she had never had one that could flow through the Hex Dance and Curse song she had been taught as a young kit so easily. She was knowledgeable in all of the arts but it had always been the darker shades that seemed to leap to her command…and her siblings had never let her forget it.

“Sweety…Judy is the one who opened the door to my Dryad bloodline and the magical arts while her sister, my mother, was the one who helped get me started. During the entire time I was learning how to manage my own powers and run a burrow she was learning how to live among the Reticulan Empire while being hunted by the Zootopian Kingdom. I learned in a place of safety and had a master who knew how to teach me, she learned the basics from her mother and then went to another realm of reality where she was given access to nearly unlimited knowledge and no direction. The big differences between her instruction and mine was that I learned in a place of safety and control while she learned during one of the worst times of her life with no real direction other than violence, survival and vengeance.”

Reaching and laying her paws on her daughter’s shoulder Senna leaned in and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

“We shape our magic as much as our magic shapes us, I learned how to be primarily defensive and violent only when needed while concentrating on how to look after those under my care. Judy learned how to be as violent as possible while also hiding from those that would try to kill her. We grew up in a very different time than this one and under very different circumstances…she may not be able to beat me in a straight up fight on lands I claim, but I certainly wouldn’t win either.”

Walking over to one of the many ovens she had going and checking on the bread she was planning on serving with dinner Senna looked around at the brigade of rabbits mirroring her motions.

“Judy isn’t a rabbit you want to learn from, she has no real concept of living in a community or working with others that she doesn’t control. Those mammals you see her with have all been dead for centuries, Alpha is one of the first she ever raised and I remember riding on his back with the ghost of my dead father when I was younger than you. Nothing she has to teach you will bring you happiness or peace, anything you learn from her will only lead you down a road of death and misery…often more so for those around you.”

“But she can teach me right? She knows more about my skillset than you do and could help me learn to control it?”

The tone of defeated hope in her daughters voice nearly brought a tear to Senna’s eyes as she remembered all the time she had spent trying to help the young doe to learn the lighter aspects and failed to do so. She remembered comforting the young doe in the late hours of the night as she cried to herself about not being as good as her siblings…

“She can teach you to hurt others, she can teach you to be cruel when it isn’t necessary and she can teach you how to bring harm where it isn’t required… so yes, she can teach you. The question isn’t whether or not she can teach you, the question is do you want to learn what she has to teach…and that is assuming she would want to teach you in the first place.”

“You sound like you don’t like her…” Tana said as she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms.

“She is my Big Sister, she put me on the path that allowed me to live such a long and truly wonderful life. She gave me a final night with a father I barely knew and allowed my mother to smile again and move on from her grieving. She is also one of the most horrible, cruel, vicious, sadistic and foul rabbits I have ever met or heard of, she is essentially everything that I hate and despise…but she is also…”

Trailing off at the sudden thought Senna didn’t even realize she had been reaching into a hot oven for a loaf of bread, her fur burning and skin beginning to blister.  

“Mom?”

Hearing Tana behind her Senna jerked and spun around to look at her in a new light as she casually focused her power to heal the skin and fur of her arm…walking forward softly she knelt in front of her daughter and cupped her face in her paws.

“It can’t be that simple…even Judy wouldn’t be that cruel.”

Massaging the soft cheeks of her daughter Senna felt her heartbeat quicken as her thoughts began running alongside everything she had been taught by Master Otterton.

“Mooo~mmm…?”

“There must always be balance…Noooo…no that can’t be right…”

She was seeing things that weren’t there, making connections that didn’t exist…she had to be.

“Mom you are scaring me.”

The words sliced through the mental soup she had been stewing in, one of her kits was scared…more importantly she was the one scaring her. Standing up quickly Senna called out a series of orders to her son Shaun to keep things on track for dinner before whipping off her apron and grabbing the platter Tana had been sneaking out in the first place.

“Let’s go, I need to speak with my Big Sister and if things are as bad I imagine they are you might have a chance to learn from her after all.”

Walking up to the cavern entrance her Big Sister had claimed as her workplace Senna couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenarios of the conversation she was about to have. At best her daughter would be disappointed and probably sulk in her room for a few weeks while slipping into a bit of a depression, at worst she would end up as Judy’s apprentice.

Striding confidently into the cavern entrance while reminding Tana to remain at her side Senna began pulling on her knowledge and power as Burrow Matron.

“Every time you or your siblings entered you would walk into the cave for a few minutes before you found yourself walking back out again where you entered yes?” Looking towards the bunny that was nearly vibrating with anticipation she received a nod of confirmation.

“That is because she is using a rather simple but very effective form of spell craft called a Mobius Accent. It isn’t really a spell or charm but it can be applied to nearly any form of spell or rune craft and is so subtle most don’t think to look for it. In this case it has been carved into these caverns so that anyone who enters ends up walking in a circle that doesn’t have a beginning or end but eventually leads the mammal back to where they started.”

Reaching out and laying a paw on her daughter’s shoulder Senna gripped her tightly and continued walking forward.

Pushing through the spellcraft the necromancer had set up to keep others out was like walking through a thick wall of greasy pudding, the energies fouling and sticking to her fur while sliding across her in ways she didn’t want to think of.

“UuuuuhhHHHhhHGGGGGHhhhhAAAAhhhh! EW EW EW EW! That was so gross!” Looking down at her daughter as she did a strange dance while scrubbing and scratching at her fur Senna smiled thinly.

“Oh that is probably the most enjoyable sensation you will feel when it comes to anything Judy has to teach you. Come along, I need to have words with my Big Sister and her victims need food.” Scurrying after her mom Tana looked up at her mom with a quizzical look.

“Don’t you mean she needs food?”

“No, she has been sustaining herself off the misery and pain of the rams that she brought back from the city. She has been feeding the food to them in order to keep them alive so that she can make them last longer.”

Gulping at her mother’s words Tana shifted slightly closer to the older doe.

Walking around a corner that Tana had never been able to reach the pair of rabbits stopped at the renovations Judy had made to the caverns.

Where the cavern had once stopped a little more than a hundred feet underground it now extended and expanded out into a vast cavern. While most of it was unused, the small portion that was occupied held a number of cages containing rams begging for either death or drugs while tables of stone had been raised and were now crowded with lab equipment the likes of which neither doe knew of let alone understood.

Walking forward Senna placed the platter of food down on one such table before walking further into cavern. Reaching out and pulling her daughter closer to her Senna walked up to where she could feel the densest concentration of foul energies.

Finally entering the cavern of the one bunny that she had ever seen who showed a similar skill set to herself Tana wasn’t entirely sure what she had expected to find. She had somewhat expected to find eldritch rune circles and glowing crystals, candles set out over arcane manuscripts and maybe some sigils drawn in blood.

She was not expecting to see a ram corpse laying out on a stone table with its entire front sliced open, drenched in blood and still moving against the restraints that held it down. She certainly was not expecting to see the ram turn towards her and attempt to speak.

“Plle...pleease…ki-k-kill…meeee…”

Feeling like she was about to be sick Tana knew she was about to be sick when her mother called out for Judy and said rabbit popped up out of the ram’s body like maggot covered in blood and viscera.

“Huh? Oh hey Senna! You would not believe what I have found in these rams…it is fascinating I, eww you brought one of your spawn with you? Gross, what kind of mother are you bringing a child into my lab. ANYWAY! Come here you need to see this…”

Ducking back down into the sheep’s chest cavity Judy continued speaking, though her words were muffled. Seeing this Tana ran off to the side and threw up so hard she was certain she was going to turn inside out.

“Hey! Don’t go contaminating my work space damnit!” The muffled sound of the necromancer came from the mouth of the gutted ram as a paw held it open from the inside.

Finally feeling like she couldn’t empty anymore of her stomach onto the rock Tana stood up and walked back over to her mother and pressed herself against the warm, soft side of the pleasantly curved doe that had always been there for her.

Looking up she watched as Judy pulled herself out of the ram’s body and stepped onto the table he had been chained to. Reaching in and pulling out some kind of blackened, slime covered mass before turning to look at the pair of rabbits Judy smiled like a kit that had just gotten permission to stay up late on Founder’s Day.

“Do you remember the plague I was hunting and studying when I was here last? The one that killed your father and that nearly killed those horses in the merchant caravan that took me to the capital?” Holding up the mass of black slime and pulsing sludge Judy acted like she had just one the best prize possible at a carnival game.

“Vaguely yes, I remember bits and pieces of those times but I was rather young mind you.”

“Yes yes I remember, hard to forget such an intriguing little doe as you. Now back then this plague had been refined from an earlier iteration, it would infect and kill the host before taking it over and reducing them to a feral beast bent on killing and spreading the plague. Now something I found that was rather interesting was that the first version, for lack of a better term, infected and killed any mammal it came across equally…er, sort of.” Senna listened with interest before reaching into a pocket and bringing out a flask, undoing the lid she took a small sip and passed it to Tana.

“Uh…you said you would pickle our ears if we drank before we were at least eighteen summers old…”

Holding the flask she looked up at her mother who just shook her head and gestured for her to take a sip. Shrugging her shoulders and taking a sip of the flask she coughed and sputtered at the harsh burn as it traced down her throat.

“Now when I first met this plague it was killing you like it had killed your father, it was in your lungs and it would have liquified them before taking over your entire system turning you into a walking plague carrier that would have probably killed a number of your family. Now the interesting thing is that the plague that nearly killed you was something of a second generation, it killed predators much faster than prey because of our differing metabolism.”

Looking towards the pulsing mass of sludge and ichor in her paw she brought it to her mouth and took a massive bite before chewing with obvious relish at the taste.

Feeling her gorge begin to rise again Tana tipped back the flask again and drew heavily on the drink.

“Mmmm…want a bite?” Seeing the dryad shake her head Judy just shrugged before taking another bite and continued speaking.

“Anyway when I left these lands I only had a few samples of the plague to study, as you can imagine I used them up rather quickly. Reptile physiology is just different enough from mammals that the plague didn’t really affect them meaning I couldn’t propagate the plague in any test subjects and eventually ran out of samples.” Hearing this Senna reached out and took the flask from Tana before taking a pull and passing it back.

“Oh what a shame, you weren’t able to infect innocents with an unknown plague for you to study.” The sarcasm was thick enough to choke a rhino.

“I know right?! You have no idea how many royal resources I requisitioned to try and get samples of infected mammals…” And Judy didn’t catch a single bit of it.

“Unfortunately, the plague still killed to quickly and was to…well, infantile I suppose to allow for it to spread as much as I hoped. I wasn’t able to get any good samples and all my spies and informants could tell me was that the few cases they could find were quickly dealt with so after a couple hundred years it slipped into the back of my mind and I sort of forgot about it.”

Shrugging a bit with an embarrassed look on her face Judy took another bite, much to the retching disgust of Tana.

“But now! Noooowww…I found it again. Whoever is producing the drugs these rams are so hopped up on, has been lacing them with this plague as well as a few other things that you don’t need to know about. This is wonderful, I have been searching for the origin of this illness since we met and I didn’t even know it at the time.”

Jumping down from the table and running from one table to the next as she spoke Judy seemed entirely unaware of the foot prints she was leaving behind or the way Tana went greener than the tips of her ears.

“And these things I don’t need to know about…what are they?” Judy just rolled her eyes as she stopped going on about how the plague had to be gently added to the mixture in order to for it to stay viable as an illness.

“If you needed to know what they were I would have told you, that was practically the entire reason I said you didn’t need to know what they were.”

“Practically?” Tana asked as she sipped a bit more from the flask, her eyes taking on a slight glaze and her ears beginning to tip over at the tops.  Judy grinned before pointing at the young doe with the last of her snack.

“She has potential…anyway yes, practically the entire reason I said you didn’t need to know what was mixed in with the plague was because you didn’t need to know since there really isn’t anything you can do about it. The rest of the reason is that the more you know about this the more involved you would be and I would prefer you be as involved as little as possible.” Leaning back against the table and tossing the last bit of whatever it was she was holding into the air before catching it in her mouth.

“And why should I not be involved in whatever it is you are doing? What even are you doing, you appear out of nowhere after centuries away and for a few hours I actually believed you were back because you wanted to re-connect with your past but after that night out it is pretty obvious you are back for a reason.”

Judy sighed before scratching the back of her neck.

“I am back for a reason, a number of reasons in fact and yes re-connecting is one of them. I have thought about being back home every day for seven hundred years so don’t think I am not happy to be back…but there is an over-arching reason I am back and it is better you aren’t involved any more than you need to be. Really Senna, this is something that is honestly a bit beyond you, and me if I am honest, and it started before we even met. It involves Powers that I couldn’t even begin to hope to have a chance at defying if they wanted to make an issue of it and have stuck me in a situation that has consequences that could affect everyone.” Scoffing Senna strode forward until Judy had nowhere to look but at her Little Sister.

“If it can affect everyone than that means it could affect me, my mate and my children so spill…what is going on with these rams and why are you back?”

Scowling and thinking of how much she wanted to put this stroppy little kit back in her place Judy caught herself…Senna was right, if things went as bad as they could it would mean her children would suffer for it. Rolling her head around with a hiss of frustration Judy walked a few steps away while chewing her thumbnail before pointing at Tana.

“You! Girl…go see how Alpha is doing on his projects, this is talk for adults.” Seeing both Senna and Tana about to protest Judy bared her teeth and flared her power.

“I wasn’t asking.” Senna nodded and gave Tana a gentle push down a cavern tunnel.

“That’s a good girl. Just follow the sound of explosions and giggling, make sure to knock and try to duck if he gets excited.” Watching the young doe walk away both rabbits looked at each other with a raised brow, both of them could feel that she had stopped just around the corner trying to listen in on what was about to be said.

“His workshop is further down Spawnling, get going.” Hearing a whispered curse Judy smiled over to Senna.

“It was a half decent effort I would say, she knows you haven’t been able to look in here so she probably assumed you wouldn’t be able to feel her and she isn’t aware I can see life signatures. Follow me I have a nice little spot for us to have a drink and talk about things we shouldn’t.” Gesturing for Senna to follow her Judy lead the way down a different tunnel.

“Ok so before you got here this cavern was barely a hundred feet deep after the entrance and now that I am in here, I can tell you have a honeycomb of tunnels and caverns…and that they are still expanding somehow…” Senna said with a curious look to her guest.

“Turns out skeletons are amazing diggers, especially since they don’t have to stop for breaks or anything. I haven’t gotten the hang of spatial folding yet so I wasn’t able to make it bigger on the inside than the outside unfortunately. Don’t worry when I leave, I will collapse the tunnels and make it like I was never here if you prefer, wouldn’t want any of the little ones to get lost or in trouble down here.” Senna frowned slightly at hearing that.

“You are leaving again?...I thought maybe you would be staying a bit longer.” Judy smiled somewhat sadly over to the other doe.

“I have plans for the future sweety and it would probably be best if I wasn’t able to be traced back here…though it would be nice to have some kind of home away from home I suppose. I don’t think either of us want me around your Burrow and the little ones anymore than need be, but it would be nice to have somewhere I could go for a bit of relaxing…”

Senna perked up at that.

“Well then I guess I can allow you to keep your Caverns of Terror, but you better keep your wards up I don’t want my kids wandering in here and getting all corrupted.” Judy just smiled, she had always planned on keeping the wards up…or at least keep up the wards that kept out those without the right talent.

Walking into a small cavern Senna felt like she had walked into a different world, the walls were covered in tapestries and silks. The floor had deep, soft rugs with intricate patterns of some type she had never seen before. There were no chairs, instead there were small nests of pillows with all the tables sitting low enough to be of use while lounging within the pillow piles. Looking over to Judy as she entered she smiled at the look of embarrassment on Judy’s face.

“I spent a lot of time in the Reticulan Empire and they are in a desert, a lot of them don’t have legs and the others prefer being low to the ground so I kind of got used to their way of living. You should be happy though, a lot of this is straight from my palace and the rest is from the Royal Palace, you won’t find better quality.”

Walking over and falling into a pillow pile she wiggled around until she was practically enveloped by pillows. She smiled over to the Burrow Matron who just shook her head and walked over to her own pile of pillows and gently lowered herself onto the cushions.

“And the fact you hadn’t had a chance to really enjoy being in a pile of bunnies and probably needed the feeling of being surrounded by warmth and comfort had nothing to do with it I imagine…also your palace?” Judy frowned and looked away while pulling a large pillow onto herself and hugging it as if to hide behind it.

“We aren’t here to examine my mental health and I am already trying to work through my issues and yes, my palace. You work for a royal family long enough and they tend to give you things. I know I’m not entirely sane and definitely not normal. Anyway you wanted to know why I am back…You probably won’t like the answers and will most likely not believe a number of the things I tell you.”

“Then I will have to deal with that when the time comes…but before that, I wanted to talk to you about Tana. She is the only one in all my litters that has had such a hard time using charms and the usual spells…she can do them but it takes a lot more effort for her and as often as not they don’t work correctly. She knows and understands how they all work she just can’t seem to make them work. She is also the only one with her coloring which has lead to her own problems with teasing from her siblings. It wasn’t until today while talking to her that I had a thought, it was something that Master Otterton told me in the beginning. Dryads and druids hate necromancers because you are basically everything we aren’t, we venerate life and you desecrate it. We heal while you harm, we do our best to avoid conflict while you try and do as much damage as possible at any one point in time etc.”

Judy nodded while reaching over to a small table to grab a bunch of grapes.

“Yeah that sounds about right, iffy on a few details but we can split hares latter if we find them.” Grinning at the exasperated look on Senna’s face at her word choice Judy motioned for her to continue.

“He told me that the land needs balance, that necromancers are the shadows to our light and all that. Until you showed up, there was only me…a single dryad for this entire land for centuries and then all of a sudden I give birth to a black furred bunny that seems to have a natural talent for hexes and curses…”

Judy nodded slowly as she began to understand what Senna was getting at.

“You are thinking that perhaps she is going to be your counterbalance, that she has a talent for everything you don’t want her to be good with. You are thinking that she is going to be like me.”

Senna nodded while peeling an orange, they didn’t get many citrus fruits in these lands so she was looking forward to a treat like this.

“I remember Jasmine telling me stories about the two of you, how you were always the shadow to her light, how you always had a talent for the darker aspects of magic while she was always better and more comfortable with the lighter aspects. She told me about your parents as well…how your father could practically level a small hill with a word and your mother could heal any illness. She told me about how she had always wanted a large family and yet you never showed any interest in such a thing.”

Hiding behind her pillow Judy did her best to keep the tears she felt building at the thought of her now long dead favorite sister from falling…she had always been the light that helped temper her shadows and Judy missed her deeply.

“So you are thinking I might be able to teach her, train her to my arts and raise her up to be your opposite…and you hate the idea.” Judy laughed bitterly as she tossed the pillow off herself and looked at the grapes she had left before rotting them in her fist before continuing to eat them.

“You are afraid that she will become like me, everything you hate and will actively oppose you in these lands. Your own daughter…the dryad in you will hate her and everything she does while the mother aspect will love her as your own blood and bone, quite the conundrum…glad I don’t have that problem.” Judy said with an attempt at humor, though Senna could hear the note of bitterness in her voice…she may not have personally wanted a family but as a bunny she still had a natural desire for one, she was essentially always at odds with her own biology.

“You don’t have such a problem YET…I imagine with how long you will most likely live you might find yourself catching a decent buck or three.”

Senna said with a grin that quickly faded at the look on Judy’s face as she spoke…it wasn’t a look she was used to seeing on the mad rabbit. It was a look of deep sadness bordering on depression and even a bit of self-loathing.

“No…I won’t ever have that problem. Necromancers don’t have children, we don’t have families…I lost more than you could know when I stepped onto this path and in doing so, I sacrificed more than you could ever understand. The energies I channel and employ run through my entire body, every part of it. Giving birth is the greatest act of Life a mammal could ever take part in, I would have to channel the antithesis of my very existence just for the chance and the act of carrying a litter to term would kill me. It would be like nurturing a cancer I couldn’t escape from or would want to…I am as barren as a desert.”

Hearing that her Big Sister would never know the joy of childbirth or that she would never know the feeling of holding kits of her own broke Senna’s heart in ways she never thought possible.

Bunnies were mammals of community and family, they lived in burrows that held generations of children and yet Judy would never be able to make her own Family Burrow…she would never be able to hold soft little bunny beans and say she had given birth to them.

“Oh…Judy I…I never realized…” Stopping as Judy gave a sharp motion with her paw cutting the other doe off.

“Enough…I made my decisions long ago and I will live with the consequences. As for why I am here, well what do you know of the Veil and the Office of Death?”

Chapter Text

Walking through the tunnels of Judy’s cave Tana sullenly kicked at a stone, she was old enough to start thinking about boys damnit!

She could have been allowed to stay for the serious talk. Raising her ears and looking around when she came to a series of branching tunnels she listened for explosions and giggling. Turning down a tunnel she wandered further into the earth with a frown…her siblings had always loved her and treated her as one of them for the most part, but that didn’t stop them from teasing her. She wasn’t like J-litter that could grow plants practically year-round, she didn’t have the talent for brewing things like K-litter and she had been banned from the kitchen after the fiasco with C-litter.

Coming upon a door set into the rock of the tunnel wall Tana waited until she stopped hearing explosions and laughter before knocking.

“HUH! Who is it?!...oh uhm…Miss Tana how nice to see you. How did you make it this far into the tunnels?” Looking up at the rather attractive and well put together wolf she had seen around the burrow Tana felt a bit surprised. Normally he was always immaculate and well put together, but now he was dressed in a reptile leather apron and goggles, burn marks spattered his front and soot covered his fur.

“Uh…well, I’m not enough of a big girl to be present at the adult talks so they sent me to play with you. Mom got me in and then sent me off when things got a little too heavy I guess.” Alpha nodded while pushing his goggles up his face.

“I see…well if it makes any difference just know that sometimes ignorance is in fact bliss. There are aspects of the worlds that it is better to stay ignorant of, come in I could use a smaller pair of paws and you look like you could be a good assistant.”

Walking into the room Tana looked around in wonder at what she saw. At one end was a forge that glowed with heat while at the other end of the massive cavern was a series of targets, each one showing signs of being heavily used. Along the walls though was what really caught her attention, weapons dating back centuries hung along the walls in rows and columns.

Swords, daggers, spoked shields, spears, halberds and more that she had no names for hung on pegs driven into the rock and stone.

“I see you are drawn to my collection, all of them are authentic and original. Some of them date back to when your mother was younger than you are…it is my little guilty pleasure to collect things like this. I suppose dying has that effect on a mammal, you start to appreciate the things that would normally outlive you.”

Seeing the look of surprise on Tana’s face Alpha chuckled warmly.

“I was, well a piece of shit in my life. My father left before I was born and my mother was a drug addict, I grew up on the streets of the capital and squandered my life being little better than my parents. I met the Mistress the day she entered the capital in fact, she killed me and my companions in an alley when we tried mugging her. Our plan was to subdue her and take her somewhere where we could rape and sell her to the mammal trafficking aspect of the black market. Suffice it to say that she very easily taught us the errors of our ways and showed us a better path.”

Looking over to the wolf with a raised brow Tana laughed slightly.

“Yeah that doesn’t sound slightly cultish or brainwashed at all.” Alpha grinned at the young doe.

“Yes I suppose it does, but sometimes you have to taste death to understand what life has to offer. Now, I am having a bit of trouble understanding this newfangled weaponry we found in the city, care to help me?” Alpha said with a smile at the young rabbit.

“Sure thing old timer, let me show you how the new world works.”

“So let me get this straight…fuck this is a lot. Your master, the First Lich, the first true necromancer…had an apprentice that was using souls to power her wacky plan to take over the world. She was found out and killed, yet her soul didn’t pass through the veil like it should have and now the pieces that stayed on this side are pulling those that passed through back over.” Senna said while munching on an orange.

“The pieces on this side are contained within vessels and are able to influence their surroundings in order to be re-united and are actively trying to become whole again assuming they haven’t already. If they succeed, they will be beyond the reach of Death, thus breaking some rule of the universe and leading to not only our death but our erasure from all of creation on a universal level…did I get it all?”

Judy held her paw level and wavered it back and forth a bit.

“You got the important bits for the most part…Normally I wouldn’t be this interested in a plague, I’ve built loads of them over the years. But this one, this one looks like it was designed from a pre-existing virus and magically controlled to affect certain mammals, namely predators…that takes talent. The fact that this new version of the plague is being supercharged with soul energy as well as concentrated magic is what got my attention. The fact the souls I was supposed to find before are still missing means this is my best lead.”

Tossing a grape into the air and catching it in her mouth Judy chewed for a bit while thinking.

“Every spell and magical working has a signature and this new version has the same pawprints that the first versions I met had. Somehow the same mammal that made this plague seven hundred years ago is still alive and after I find out how they are doing it I am going to find out how they made this plague and how they stole souls to be used as a power source.”

Senna frowned as she listened to Judy speak.

“You know you tend to wander in your thoughts and speaking…and what did you mean when you said you made plagues?”

Tossing a slice of sweet orange into her mouth she smiled at the burst of citrus over her tongue.

“Irrelevant, and yes I do know that I tend to wander I am working on it…anyway, the reason I didn’t want you involved in any of this is because you have an entire burrow to look after, multiple litters worth of spawn and a life away from all of my problems…it isn’t fair of me to drag you into my issues.”

Senna smiled and tossed a wedge of orange at her Big Sister.

“And yet your problems effect my family in the long run…fine, I will stay out of your business as best I can or until you decide to bring me further in but just know that I will be very perturbed if all of creation is erased and destroyed because you didn’t want to ask for help.”

Judy smiled at that as she ate the orange wedge.

“Don’t worry, I will do my best to not let the world end without pulling you into the mix first. Now tell me something I have been wondering about…how are you part dryad? Wouldn’t that mean that Shannon would have had to…”

Gesturing in the universal sign of ‘Wouldn’t that have meant your mom would have had to do the dirty dance with a dryad, who are notoriously female, in order for you be born half dryad…’

OK maybe it wasn’t a universal sign but the message was conveyed.

“Well I never got the full story but what I was able to determine is that she and dad were having a hard time having another litter of kits after she got some kind of food poisoning. They heard rumors about a mammal that lived in the deep forests of the Evergreen Mountains, though apparently the mammal only ever helped females. So mom packed up and followed the rumors…she never told me how this mammal helped, where they were exactly or really anything about the whole experience but every time I asked she got this little smile on her face and blush on her nose.” Judy grinned at hearing that.

“~Sounds like someone did something naughty and didn’t want her daughter to know about it.~”

Judy said in a sing song voice before laughing as Senna began pelting her with more orange slices.

“Ok so this line will deliver the magic to the mixing chamber, this bag will hold the pellets together allowing them to absorb the magic. The bag has been soaked in a very nasty poison and the raw magic will deconstruct that poison and take on the intent it was made with and which it carries in its nature of being a poison.”

Alpha explained while pointing to the various pieces as Tana watched with wide and eager eyes. Grinning Tana took up the explanation.

“And this secondary line will carry the air magic to the chamber behind the first one while this gear wheel will be spun by the tension spring. The gear teeth will hit the strike plate and ignite the air magic which will cause a contained explosion propelling the pellet bag down the barrel.” Alpha grinned and nodded as he walked around the project he had been working on with the little rabbit.

“The fire and speed will cause the bag to fail and let loose the toxic pellets…want to see if it works?” The light in the little bunny’s eyes told Alpha all he needed to know.

“Alright then Little Miss… stand back, if this fails as bad as possible, I will have no real problem surviving whereas both your mother and the Mistress would take turns making me live to regret allowing you to come to harm.”

Reaching out and positioning the large construct of pipes, tubes, chambers and gears until it was braced against his shoulder Alpha aimed as best he could down the main barrel. Lining the end of the barrel up with the rhino skeleton at the end of his workshop and receiving a thumbs up Alpha grinned and pressed the activation button.

Feeling as if he had just been kicked in the shoulder by a donkey again Alpha couldn’t bring himself to check if his collar bone was broken or just fractured after seeing the damage done to the skeleton target.

Standing at the end of his workshop was most of a rhino skeleton, the left shoulder having been blown off in a splatter of acidic pellets while the rest of its side being dissolved by the spray of the impact. Looking behind the skeleton and seeing the massive pockmarked and smoking puddle of acid that was still chewing through the stone Alpha turned a somewhat manic grin towards his small apprentice as she looked at him with the same type of grin and a giggle.

Turning to look away from the large wolf towards the wall of weapons her eye caught on a small ball shaped item.

“What is that? Don’t tell me you are so old your first weapons were rocks.” Alpha raised a brow as he caught sight of what Tana was looking at.

“That is in fact a rather special and somewhat local weapon generally used for clearing rooms in building and trench warfare. It is a small explosive wrapped in oil cloth usually surrounded by a variety of items all within a fragile container…basically a pawheld explosive you can throw…want to make one?”

Tana giggled in a very aunty way.

“So what are your plans for the future Judes…and don’t even try to act like you don’t have some kind of horrible plan that will probably cause as many problems as possible.” Senna asked as a ferret massaged her shoulders while an otter walked along her back.

“Also how many of these servants do you have?” Judy just grinned as she watched her Little Sister get pampered a bit.

“I have a few plans, I will need to do a little bit more reconnaissance first though. As for how many I have…well let me put it this way, the kingdom sent a lot of mammals to try and kill me over a number of years, I didn’t send any back. Also there was a rather impressive bounty for my head and I was surrounded by reptiles who would be more than happy to kill me for a number of reasons…seven hundred years later and I am still alive while they aren’t.”

About to respond Senna stopped and jerked up ignoring the squawk of surprise from the otter as she heard what sounded like some kind of explosion.

“What the hell was that?!” Judy just sighed and accepted a glass of some kind of bubbling bruised purple drink from a skeleton.

“That was probably Alpha being a good influence to your spawnling.” Sipping the drink and chewing with an expression of delight she ignored the look of shock on Senna’s face.

“A good influence? What kind of influence causes explosions we could hear from this far away through stone?!” Judy laughed a little as she relaxed back on her pillows.

“If he was being a bad influence, we would be feeling the explosions and not just hearing them, don’t worry so much Alpha has been by my side longer than any of the rest of my family he knows not to let any harm come to yours.”

Laying back down with an apology to the otter as she began walking along her back again Senna snuggled back down into her pillows before turning her head towards her Big Sister.

“Your family?” Raising a brow towards the other doe Senna grinned at the uncomfortable look on Judy’s face.

“What do you mean…I never said that.”

“Oh no you very much did…you said Alpha had been by your side longer than the rest of your family and I am going to assume you didn’t mean your original family.” Judy shifted in her place and pulled her favorite pillow back over herself as if to hide behind it.

“They are my family…my children. I can never have any of my own, I can never look at a bunny kit and say ‘That is my kit’ so instead I just sort of…built my own family. I look at every one of my entourage and don’t really think of them as servants, they are more like the family I can’t have.”

Senna was about to respond when she felt something tickle at her awareness. Closing her eyes and focusing on the feeling she groaned and buried her head in the pillows beneath her. Seeing the odd behavior Judy closed her own eyes and sent her senses out as best she could, she could feel her children around her…Tana with Alpha…the various kits and teens trying to get into the cavern…and a life signature that didn’t match up with the residents of the burrow.

“What is it? I can only feel one unknown life signature on the farm, what’s the big deal?” Senna just raised her head and squinted at her Big Sister in frustration.

“Of all the mammals I would not wish on my worst enemy…you are only number two, the creature that dares to darken my family’s doorstep now is the one I would never wish upon even you…” Judy stood up with a roll of her eyes.

“Wow…really feeling the love sis, now you got me curious so let’s go and see this abomination you fear so much, maybe I will take some notes or something.”

Walking out of the cavern and into the early evening brightness Judy had to repress the urge to swear in Reticulan…hundreds of years in the desert with sun and heat and she had never gotten used to it.

Placing her top hat on her head and grinning at how the wide brim was able defeat the evil Demon Eye in the Sky, Judy looked over to Senna and rolled her eyes at how the other rabbit smiled and almost glowed under the hateful rays of the evil sun as she turned her face up to it…like a psychopath.

“And mammals say I’m insane…” Judy muttered to herself as she began to walk towards the unknown life signature.

“Huh? You say something?” Senna asked as she bounced alongside her Big Sister grinning as the sun danced along her fur and warmed the rich and fertile soil beneath her toes. She loved this time of year as it was when everything was in full bloom and Life was practically singing around her…if only she knew how bad his singing voice was.

Waving off the question Judy looked out over the fields and the various bunnies working, her mind showing her the ghosts of her past as memories of her siblings working those exact fields. She watched as her big brother playfully tossed carrots into his basket along with her and her siblings when they were still in the fluffle mafia.

She could see in the distance as her father lead a wave of rabbits down row upon row of produce tossing weeds and unwanted growths into a cart. Slowing down she felt her throat tighten and her eyes water as she watched her mother walk out with a small brigade of kits all carrying snacks and drinks, she always made a beeline for her husband and would trade him a kiss for a drink and a hug for a snack…

“Judy?”

Snapping her gaze towards the little kit she had nearly speared with shadows in a different burrow during one of the most trying times in her life Judy squinted her eyes…

‘No…not a little kit…not anymore, she is almost as old you are and has had an entire burrows worth of litters already…focus damn you, stupid rabbit.’

Shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose Judy looked back up to Senna, fully grown Burrow Matron and mother of generations Senna.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine…just ghosts of the past.” Senna quirked a smile as she walked backwards.

“A necromancer being haunted by ghosts, how ironic.” Judy just smiled as she caught up to her Little Sister.

“Dryads get to enjoy the memories of those they met over the years and bask in the accomplishments of all they have done…Necromancers get to suffer the memories of those they have outlived and lost while the thoughts of what could have been torture them. So tell me Burrow Matron Whiteroot…do you still want to curse your own daughter with my teachings? Are you willing to watch her become as mad and horrible as I am? Are you willing to give her the chance to become worse?”

Smiling bitterly at the other rabbit as she walked past her Judy lowered her head until her entire face was shadowed, as long as she didn’t look up she wouldn’t see her family looking at her from the past.

To say the rabbit buck standing at the entrance to the burrow was an over dressed, pompous, arrogant looking pansy would be an understatement. Dressed in a tight black suit of some kind with small white stripes running down the length, a hat with a sharp brim and point at the front along with a tie the color of fresh heart’s blood the rabbit looked as if he would rather be anywhere other than standing at the front of the burrow.

“Maximillian Lightfoot…to what do I owe the displeasure of your existence and the darkening of my doorstep?” Senna called out in a voice that was admirably cold, Judy gave it a seven out of ten.

“Senna! Sweety where have you been? I have been waiting here for probably half an hour, why does it always take so long for the door to open when I show up?” The nasally high-pitched whine of a voice of the rabbit called out in set Judy’s teeth on edge.

“Mainly because you aren’t welcome here and I have specifically told everyone not to open the door when you show up, as for where I have been…well I would say somewhere more important but literally anywhere you aren’t is more important so that doesn’t narrow it down at all does it.”

Brushing past the well-dressed buck Senna entered her burrow to a small tidal wave of fluffle kits chattering about their art projects and how well behaved they had been meaning they totally deserved dessert before dinner.

“Ugh!…Baby Girl you deserve so much better than this dirty out of the way failure of a farm and these squalling little furballs. Wouldn’t you be happier walking through the door to a servant ready to take your coat and all those unnecessary clothes off your paws? Just think about it, you could walk through my mansion naked and glorious with none of these…little things demanding your attention away from where it should be focused.” Sighing and running her paws over her children’s ears to comfort them as they gathered around her Senna turned towards the buck.

“And just where do you think my attentions should be focused?” Maximillian smiled with enough grease it was practically dripping from his face.

“Why, on me of course. You should be spending your days dripping with pearls and diamonds in the lap of luxury within the highest towers of the city, not down here in the mud and dirt slaving away for a bunch of mongrels you shit out because some buck unworthy of your attentions or your affections humped a load between your legs.”

OH…oh Judy was going to put his skull next to Jake’s and listen to them scream as she fell asleep.

“Hi there! I am Judy Blackburrow, HER Big Sister…and you are?”

Judy spoke up before Senna had a chance to erupt at his words. Seeing the buck turn towards her Judy let her energy flare a bit while coloring it with desire…it was the desire to rip his tongue out through his asshole but he didn’t need to know that.

“Ah…Sexy Senna’s big sister you say, well I must say the sexy genes seem to run in the family.”

The buck said as he ran his eyes up and down Judy’s form. She had been covered in blood, guts, viscera and more bodily fluids than she had thought possible and yet she had never felt dirtier than when this rabbit looked at her. She felt like she needed to jump in a vat of boiling acid just to be clean as he raked his gaze from the tips of her ears down to her toes and back up again.

“I bet you say that to all the pretty does…now I just moved back into town from far abroad after a number of years and I have a pretty good memory so I am certain my Little Sister never mentioned a buck dressed like you…I would definitely remember such a description as she would give if she did.”

Holding out a paw Judy was pleased to see that not everything of the old ways had fallen to the wayside as the greasy buck took her paw and placed a kiss along her knuckles, though she could have done without feeling him lick her paw.

“The name is Maximillian Lightfoot, son to Roland Lightfoot of the Upper-Tier of Bunnyburrow. Now I have a perfect memory and I can say for certain that I have never seen a more beautiful pair of bunnies as you or your sister.” Hearing this Judy bit her lip, she had heard that name before…

“Ahh…Roland of the Upper Tier, the crime boss that controls everything above the fog in Bunnyburrow and you claim to be his son…”

Senna watched as Judy made the connections and began to make plans, any other day and any other buck and she might have warned the stupid male away…but he had insulted her entire family, he deserved to have Judy inflicted upon him.

“Indeed, I am first in line to inherit all of Upper Tier and I have plans to expand down into the lower tiers. You have the honor of being in the presence of the next Ruler of Bunnyburrow my fair lady.” Judy grinned before leaning in until their noses were almost touching with a grin as sharp as a razor sliding across her lips.

“And you have the honor of speaking to the Royal Artificer and Consultant of the Reticulan Empire, Advisor to the Reticulan Emperor and Accomplished Sorceress.” Grinning as she let her energy begin to leak out Judy stepped forward forcing the arrogant buck to step back.

“I have lived among vipers for longer than you have been suckling at your father’s teat.” Continuing to advance Judy smiled wider as the buck stumbled back.

“I have given counsel to Emperors and lead entire armies into battle. I have scars I earned through blood and tears with all the skills that come with them and talent you could only ever dream of…”

Laughing as the buck tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground Judy continued walking forward until she was stepping upon his chest.

“I wield powers the likes of which have toppled empires and overthrown kingdoms, I once claimed these lands as my own before I passed them on to the one I call my Little Sister…”

Sliding her foot forward until she could press her toes into Maximillian’s cheek and keep his face pressed into the dirt Judy crossed her arms with a disapproving look upon her face.

“Now what makes you think you are good enough to court my Little Sister? What makes you think you are good enough as the second in line to a mob family to deserve the attentions of a doe that I would consider family you arrogant little cockroach?”

Smiling as the buck under her foot tried to speak she shifted her foot until her toes slipped between his lips.

“I didn’t give you permission to speak Worm, until I say otherwise you aren’t good enough to speak in Senna’s presence let alone my own and you will refrain from doing so until given permission by one of your betters. Now get your tongue off my foot and crawl away from this burrow like the filthy degenerate you are and don’t you dare return until you have proven yourself worthy of my attentions…only then will I permit you to speak to my Little Sister.”

Whipping her foot from the disgusting buck’s mouth and giving him a kick to the ribs Judy smiled as the rabbit moaned and crawled away.

Turning away to smile at her Little Sister Judy didn’t even bother tying to hide the mischievous smile on her face. Leaning down to the little one’s level Judy smiled as honestly as she could.

“Just remember girls, it is perfectly alright to kick stupid boys when they won’t take No for an answer and boys, if a girl says No you take that as a final answer until they say otherwise since only icky mammals like that buck keep bugging girls after they have shown they aren’t interested. Now why don’t you all scurry off and when your momma isn’t looking I will teach you some bad habits.”

Winking at the fluffle as they giggled and scampered off Judy stood up and watched the tide of small fluffy figures run off with a wistful look in her eyes.

“If I didn’t know better, I would say that look of motherly indulgence looked good on you, but seeing as how you just advocated kicking others and said you would teach them bad habits right in front of me…what in the hell are you thinking?” Senna asked with a tone that told Judy she was dealing with a Mother and not a Burrow Matron or her Little Sister.

“Well it is like I told Jasmine all those years ago, I would disappear and fade from memory until I returned as the nutty aunt that taught the fluffle things they shouldn’t know…I have a bit of catching up to do. As for what I am thinking…well it isn’t a plan, it is barely a concept really but you were correct in believing that I have some ideas that will cause as many problems as I possibly can.” Judy said as she turned to look at the still crawling form of Maximillian Lightfoot.

“I indeed have a few plans in the workings…” The grin that slid across her face told Senna all she needed to know, and she hated what she was going to subject her daughter to.

Nick had to give it to his little apprentice, she was getting better at hiding her presence…but within his realm even the gods could not hide from him. He felt his smile falter and fall as he realized what part of the massive library he was moving into as he grew closer to her, the titles of the books growing darker and closer to what he would consider forbidden.

There was no such thing as forbidden knowledge within his realm, but there was knowledge that Nick would prefer not be known. Rounding a shelf he finally caught sight of his apprentice as she flipped through a book. Holding up a paw he summoned the book from her paws to his and read the cover before looking up from under his brow.

“The Soolavarian Eschesian Comperi…The Compendium of the Enemy’s Soul. Not exactly light reading there Judy and certainly not something you just find by accident around here, you were either looking for books on souls in general or this one in particular and since I am certain you had never heard of it before you found it…” Passing the book back to his apprentice he was pleased to see that she was taking his words seriously after the use of her name.

“It isn’t forbidden is it, I mean I know that everything seems to end up here eventually and most of it appears to be things mammals don’t want others to know…” Nick sighed and looked around at the shelves.

“There is no such thing as forbidden knowledge in my realm Carrots, just preferably restricted. Being a necromancer will naturally involve dipping into soul magic but pursuing it is…*sigh* honestly it is the one aspect of necromancy and magic in general that I have never truly pursued. I know why you are looking into this topic, I understand why and I support you…but I won’t be much help even if I want to. Soul magic is a level of assumed defilement that even I won’t take on and I would rather not be party to it either.”

Turning his back on the rabbit as she looked around herself at the suddenly less friendly feeling shelves Nick stopped when she called out to him.

“Master!...is there any way I can talk to Fate, or perhaps have some questions answered?” Turning to look over his shoulder Nick smiled.

“You are wondering if it would be possible to meet with one of the most powerful Offices of Creation, the only one older than myself because you have questions. You do realize she is always weaving the Threads of Creation and doesn’t have a lot of time to just drop in for a quick chat right? Even when you met her in the past you were only seeing an avatar of her true self? A projection of her mind sent from her own personal realm that no one but those who have held the Office of Fate have ever entered.” Deciding to take mercy on his apprentice at the way her ears were about to catch fire from the heat of her blush Nick just laughed.

“Sure thing, she stops by for a drink every now and then…what were you hoping to ask her?”

“Well it just seemed a little to coincidental that Jack would suddenly find himself in my hometown and run across the daughter of my first friend, the only other mammal I have ever known that might have a chance to live as long as me. Then for him to catch an arrow in the chest and for her to just so suddenly be able to plant a seed in his chest, keeping both of them alive. She has a daughter that is almost taking on the antithesis of her own powers just as I return…there are just so many things that have lined up almost perfectly and all when I am returning home, I was just curious as to whether or not Fate had a hoof in how things are working out.”

Turning around with a small sigh at how clever the rabbit could be at spotting things while being entirely oblivious to other things Nick leaned against a shelf while crossing his arms.

“I can’t say for certain right now but…I can tell you that sometimes things really do just happen without any Higher Powers having any say in the matter. Sometimes good mammals live as long as they deserve and leave behind a happy life and good memories and other times they die young, in pain and with no one to mourn them. Sometimes bad mammals live long full lives of torturing those around them and spreading pestilence while other times they die before they ever get a chance to come into their powers. Fate can steer one life but in doing so she affects those around them in unforeseeable ways, saving one life can damn a generation to eternal torment.”

“She might have manipulated a few things to make your return easier, but in doing so it is very likely she may have sacrificed a number of lives. Or she may have not done a damn thing and everything is just falling into place naturally. Don’t always assume things happen for a reason or that there is anyone out there looking out for you or working against you Carrots…sometimes, there really is no other reason for things beyond ‘Shit Happens’.”

Seeing Judy’s face twist in confusion and frustration Nick shook his head before pushing off the shelf and walking away again.

“I will pass on your concerns and try to get some answers but don’t hold any hope, it tends to abandon those that walk our path.”

Stepping out from the shelves into his little area Nikenshriel grinned over at the sight of the Office he had just been speaking about with his apprentice. Walking over to a wet bar that hadn’t been there before he showed up, he began to mix a couple drinks.

“She has a few questions you know, she doesn’t know it but she did in fact notice your handiwork in setting things up for her return.” Gazelle groaned as she fell to the side and stretched out on his apprentices favorite feinting couch.

“I knew I was being to obvious…she better do good, I sacrificed a small village for her to have as good of a return as possible.”

Holding out her hand Gazendriel smiled up at the only other being almost as old as she was, she might have had a few hundred years on him but he definitely had those years on her in life experience. Sipping at the mixture of gin, lemon and champagne Gazendriel sighed and stretched out while running a hand through her long hair.

“I miss the old days Nicky…Back when things were simpler you know. I could just weave a wonderful series of events and send some foul days at those that actually deserved them. There were no strange powers or odd happenings to tangle any of my threads, they just fell together into the most beautiful weaves…but now it is as if I can’t make anything but horrible events while overworking Little Skye.”

Sitting down in his favorite chair Nick sipped his margarita.

“I know what you mean, I used to get so lost in my books that entire generations would pass before I realized it. One time I read for so long without stopping I wasn’t even sure I had been summoned to the same realm as I left simply because the mountains were no longer there and instead there was a series of hills. Now though we are looking at the entire erasure of our home realm if things go as bad as possible. Have you had any luck in tracking the pieces of Shivala’s soul? Skye said she had looked around but didn’t seem to have the best of luck. If we can at least narrow down where they are we could send Judy or even others after them, hell if we know where they are you might even be able to counter their effects and steer them where we want them.”

Gazendriel sighed as she spun the stem of her drink between her fingers.

“I have been looking into it and I might have a method. I might be able to track them by looking at everywhere they aren’t. If I can narrow down how they affect the world around them and then look for those effects I might be able to track their general location.”

Nick nodded as he began to understand her thinking since just by existing the pieces would have to leave a path of causality as they affected everything around them.

“Send me your findings and I will help to rough out a ritual to help narrow things down, any word on how things are going between Skye and the Twins?” Judging by the way Fate tipped back almost her entire drink and held it out for a refill Nick guessed there was nothing good to be said on the topic.

“I swear there has never been a more appropriate pair of idiots to hold the Offices of War and Peace as the Oryx Twins. Bucky starts a war and Prongs tried to stop it, Prongs sets up an era of peace and Bucky swoops in to kick over his sandcastle because he can. I know they are vital to how things are run but for crying out loud if they could just be a little less good at their jobs, I would be very appreciative.”

Nick chuckled at the frustration in Fate’s voice.

“I love my job but honestly I cannot wait until I can retire.” Nick perked up at that, this was something he had never heard of before.

“Retire? I thought you left the job feet first, you know…like the only way out is if someone takes the job from you like how Skye got the job.” Gazelle shook her head and sipped her drink.

“No, every Office has the option to retire but the time it takes to get to that point is so long most holders don’t have the mindset to comprehend how long it is. More often than not the Office is passed on under circumstances like how Skye got the job but every now and then the holder gets to retire peacefully.”

“So what then? Do they just die and move on or something? Is there a realm of beaches, crystal clear waters, sun and nude women serving fruity drinks with little umbrellas I don’t know about?” Gazelle just laughed at the Lich’s words.

“Yes, but that is irrelevant. No when an Office retires, they get to choose what happens. Some take the option to reincarnate however they wish, others pass on to the afterlife.” Nick raised a brow at hearing that.

“Reincarnate? I thought that was a myth.”

The look Gazelle sent him got him waving his hand in acknowledgement of what he said, he was half a step from immortal talking to an incarnation of Fate and regularly had drinks with an incarnation of Death.

“But yes, they reincarnate as they wish meaning powers and knowledge and memories are all mostly intact. Obviously certain things can’t be allowed to be known outside of certain circumstances, the Realms of the Offices where we keep the majority of ourselves and powers for instance. The contents of that little black book you keep in your pocket at all times as another example.”

Nick froze at that…he had kept the book in perfect condition since before he had become the Keeper of the Lost Library. Everything he had written down within it had never entered the shelves …even Skye wouldn’t ever be able to know about it from asking the dead as he had never shown it to anyone living, or at least anyone she would have access to after death.

Narrowing his eyes Nick unconsciously began to change into his Lich form before Gazelle flashed a vision of her True Self along with the scope of her powers and responsibilities. Feeling his head spike with pain at trying to comprehend what he saw while wiping the blood from his eyes Nick tried to speak but his words and breath caught in his lungs before they even met his throat. He could feel his throat seizing as his world spun, connections between aspects of his life and those around him he had never considered being thrown into harsh relief.

Fighting against the blackness encroaching on the edges of his vision and the shaking of his limbs Nick tried to stand up but his legs turned to jellied concrete and he was sent tumbling to the floor. Fighting his own reaction to seeing one of the most powerful Offices in her full glory Nick began seizing on the floor as blood seeped from every pore and his mouth began to foam. The effort of moving his eyes up to Fate was that of forging a star with his bare hands and took twice as long.

Seeing her kneel down and begin to run her hooves over his snout and between his ears while singing in a language he had not heard in enough years he would have to gauge it against the continental shift of his home plane, Nick felt himself begin to relax. His muscles stopped seizing, his chest released and his breath exploded from him as he practically melted into the cold marble floor of his realm as tears he had thought himself incapable of shedding flowed down his face.

“It is not easy seeing the entirety of what it means to be Fate, a lesser being would have been dead on the spot. The fact you are as powerful as you are and we are within this realm are the only reasons you will survive, but you will never forget I am sad to say. Even past the day you walk beyond the Veil you will always remember what you saw…I will not apologize for I feel no sorrow for you or my actions.”

Helping him to lift himself up into a sitting position against his favorite chair she reached into a pocket within his vest and pulled out a small leather book that held an oily sheen from the amount of runes, spells, sigils, blessings, hexes, curses and more scribed across its surface.

Looking at the small book Gazelle smiled in fascination, this was not only the work of a lifetime but the work of several hundred or even thousands of lifetimes. She could see the work of powers and dominations both mortal and immortal woven perfectly through the book’s existence. Opening the book and flipping through it Gazelle felt her eyes sting at some of the runes and her soul wretch at some of the rituals. There was knowledge contained within these pages that could burn stars and cast entire planets beyond the Veil and worst of all…

“You found out how to travel through time without permission…Oh Nikenshriel, why must you torment yourself with such knowledge, you know what would happen if you attempted such an act.” Nick grit his teeth and shakily reached out a paw to grip Fate’s wrist.

“How do you know my native tongue?”

Smiling at the ridiculousness of his question Gazelle dropped the book into his lap. Of course he would be interested in knowing how she knew the language of his mother tribe.

“You know I am older than you, what you probably didn’t know is that necromancers are always of great interest to the holder of Fate’s Office. You always cause problems and offer solutions that we can never see coming or that we would ever think about, I was watching your threads long before you became the First Lich…I have been watching you for a long time just in case I needed to take a personal touch to your weave… or to simply kill you.”

Nick shook his head as he gained control over his body once again, his energy burning away the blood and foam from his fur.

“Now I must go, I have work to do but just know that you have always been one of the most frustratingly independent threads I have ever come across. Take care of that book as well…there are secrets within those pages that must never be told and knowledge that must never be spoken. Now I will give you a blessing and a curse…I am going to leave that book with you but I will not tell you why.”

Standing up and looking down at the figure before her, she watched as the many forms he had taken over the countless years he had lived overlayed themselves. She watched through the lens of her memory as he grew from a little sprat running around laughing into a powerful young man and then through his impossibly long life.

She watched as one of the only other beings in her life almost as old as her grew in power and shifted in form until she was once again looking down at the sly old fox that was willing to threaten her despite knowing he had no chance against her.

Turning in a direction that had never existed before she had needed it Gazelle left the Realm of Eternal Knowledge with a sad smile…she hated knowing what was going to happen while being unable to truly influence any of it.

‘I am going to kick Time in the ass when I get the chance.’

Walking out of the portal she had set up in her room in the burrow Judy scanned over the book she had taken from her Master’s Realm. The sheer precision of the mixture of energies she was looking at for this one technique was enough to give her a headache, nevermind how complex it got when she turned the page and saw how it was interwoven into other rituals and spells. Turning and walking down the halls of her youth as if she had never lead the life she had, Judy found herself pushing through the door to the library and as she looked up felt the hammer of the past fall hard on her mind.

Over in the corner her older sisters imparted their knowledge and rumors upon her litter sisters. There in that little nook was her favorite brother Jason reading about how to grow larger and stronger crops with that little grin on his face that told the world he had plans that would elevate the family to the stars. Stepping back she made room for the small swarm of fluffle kits that ran by her playing tag and seek or some other such nonsense…the memory of their innocent laughter ringing through her ears bringing acidic tears to her eyes.

Shaking her head and biting off a piece of her tongue Judy chewed with a grimace as she looked back down at her book. Walking through the stacks she easily came across her favorite reading spot…the fact the library had been re-arranged into the same exact configuration as when she had lived here was a little odd but she wasn’t going to put to much thought into it. Sitting down she continued flipping through the book though she wasn’t really reading anything.

“Oh no, I know that look…” Looking up at the voice Judy tilted her head in confusion.

“What look?” Jack smiled as he sat down in a chair across from the other rabbit while Senna sat in his lap as casually as if she was sitting in the chair itself.

“The look that says you are thinking about something and probably thinking about the most destructive and horrible way to accomplish it. So come on spill it, what are you thinking and why should we be worried?”

Judy rolled her eyes at the blatant display of marital happiness and physical comfort the two were showing her…oh and whatever Jack had said.

“Well I don’t want to tell you anything until I know more about how things are working in the city so you don’t have to be worried about anything…yet. Actually speaking of being worried, has anyone seen my familiars? I let them roam around to get familiar with the realm and lands but I haven’t…seen…I found Samson.”

Following Judy’s line of sight both Jack and Senna raised opposite brows in unsurprised surprise.

Coming out from between a pair of bookshelves was her bone and metal eating, venom fanged and armored centipede familiar happily scuttling along with his entire back covered in giggling bunny kits. Watching as the centipede scuttled past Jack, Senna and Judy looked at each other before looking back to make sure they weren’t hallucinating.

“Well…you don’t see that everyday.” Senna said casually as she wiggled back into a more comfortable position on Jack’s lap.

“No kidding, they had a tea service in the forward section and I think I saw a board game near the back…I wonder how much tickets cost.” Judy said as she turned back to the happy couple.

“He seems…bigger than the last time we met, what have you been feeding him?” Jack said as he looked over to the rabbit of his nightmares.

“Mainly political dissidents and war prisoners…occasionally political and military leaders I didn’t want end up influencing the Empire.”

Judy casually said as she went back to flipping through her book, feeling the looks sent her way as well as feeling the weight of their silence Judy looked around the side of her book to see a pair of disbelieving bunny’s looking at her.

“What? I tried cactus but it just made him loopy.”

“You…fed him living creatures…and what did you mean by leaders you didn’t want influencing the Empire?” Senna asked.

“The Reticulan Empire was on the rise a few decades after I made it my second home and I didn’t like that since my buddy the Emperor, you remember him from the Ball right Jack? Well he passed on and his descendants were a bit more war happy. They started building up their military and expanding into the surrounding lands while absorbing every village and city in their way and eventually they started looking back towards the Zootopian Kingdom. I figured I might as well throw a stick in their wagon spokes so I started manipulating the Royal Courts…I killed off the competent ones and subtly encouraged the incompetent ones.”

Turning her gaze back to her book Judy continued speaking.

“I also started influencing the various laws and such to make things worse for the empire in general, higher taxes as well as a more isolationist view in general. It took a little over two hundred years but eventually I had steered the entire empire into a state of almost total lockdown from the outside world…there was barely any trade with outside countries and what little there was, was so heavily and corruptly taxed the populace was ready to revolt by my third century. I had to work slowly and methodically and allow certain individuals to live but by the time I left they were in the middle of a war they wouldn’t be able to win and I was leaving with the current emperor’s bones in my bag.”

Flipping the pages and turning the book so a diagram could fold out and allow her to view the entire thing she whistled lowly.

“Damn…that is dirty. Anyway, I imagine the empire is probably in a rather unpleasant state by now seeing as how their military was hanging on by a thread while heading into a war with forces I made sure were stronger than they expected. Wait if Samson is wandering around with a fluffle on his back where are Fin and Suzie?”

Senna groaned into her paws as she scrubbed her face with them.

“See this is why we assume anything you are thinking about is probably horrible, you could have done so much good over the seven hundred years you were there and yet you spent the entire time doing your best to send an empire into war and disarray… also they are playing chess near the center of the library.”

Senna said with a note of disapproval and even disgust in her voice when speaking about Judy’s actions. Lowering her book into her lap Judy glared at her Little Sister.

“You are right I could have done a lot of good, I could have built that entire empire up to heights they would have never reached without me. I could have been the right claw to the Reticulan Emperor and ushered them into a golden age and all it would have cost me is the knowledge that they probably either attacked and controlled my homelands or were on the verge of doing so…of all the things I have done over my long life, of all the atrocities I have committed for no other reason than because I wanted to do so…treason has never been one of them.”

“I spent centuries manipulating an entire civilization into multiple wars for no other reason than to bleed them of their power and influence both within their own borders as well as out. I made sure that the best candidates for leadership of any kind met horrible ends and those that had no business being in positions of power made it higher than they should have. I pit families against each other like pieces on a chess board and killed generations worth of innocents with my actions for no other reason than they were in my way and all for the simple reason that I never wanted them to have even the chance of attacking my homelands.”

Judy let her eyes slip into their cross slitted forms as she locked gazes with her Little Sister and her husband.

“I spent lives like a rich mammal spends gold for no other reason than to make sure my homelands would have one less potential enemy in future battles and I refuse to apologize for something I feel no regret over…and you still want me to teach your daughter the ways of magic.”

It wasn’t a question, she could see way their minds worked through the subtle way the magic around them flowed…she probably should stop looking at the world through her True Vision.

Jack and Senna looked at each other and if Judy hadn’t had her vision opened to the flows of magic, very much against her mother’s teachings, she probably wouldn’t have caught the way they were able to have an entire conversation with micro-expressions and subtle shifts in their energies. Seeing both of them turn towards her and open their mouths to speak Judy interrupted them with a paw wave.

“You both realize that yes I could teach her, but so could you. The differences being that if I taught her, she would very likely turn out just like me or worse. I won’t be gentle or considerate in my teachings, she will either learn what I have to teach her or she will die and I will not be reviving her. I will give her power and knowledge she has no reason to have and is not ready for and let her decide to do with it as she wishes. You will either end up with a daughter that has powers she has no true need for with all the restraint of a teenage hormonal bunny…or you will end up with a new gravestone upon your lands.”

Jack scowled and even went so far as to bare his teeth at her words, though he stopped when Judy bared her own sharper than natural fangs in a smile that held nothing that could be considered humor.

“She is either going to learn her powers the hard way and probably make a number of mistakes that could never be forgiven…or she is going to find a teacher that says they can show her the extent of her powers while exploiting her for all she is worth.” Senna’s voice cut through the tension as she stroked her paws along Jack’s ears and glanced at Judy.

“You are probably the last one I would ever want teaching my daughter, but you are also the best and only one I could turn to that I trust to do what is needed. If she is to be my counterpart in these lands, the shadows to my light or some such then I can think of no other better teacher than you. Make no mistake I am not happy about this but…I am a Dryad, I seek to preserve and encourage life. If that means pressing a death viper to my breast then so be it…she is my daughter, I will never stop loving her.”

Judy grimaced and rolled her eyes at Senna’s words as well as the aura of life and comfort she was giving off while in the comfort of her husband’s arms.

“Ugh…I think I’m gonna be sick. Fine you wholesome bitch, I will see what I can do but don’t come screaming at me when you have to dig a grave.”

Pushing herself up and out of the chair she had been lounging in Judy sent a mental call to Fin and Suzie to rejoin her, she figured Sammie could keep having fun with the fluffle.

“Just remember that you asked for this and I will not be apologizing for it.”

Chapter Text

“Alright so here is the bottom line, your mom loves you and wants the best for you and that is suddenly my problem. Also, your mom loves you and that is now your problem as well as mine.”

Judy said as she walked through her caverns with the spawnling known as Tana following behind her like a little duckling.

“Now you are the freak in your family, the outcast, the loser that everyone tolerates but never really accepts among them…am I wrong?” Turning and walking backwards Judy grinned at the look on Tana’s face as she followed Judy through the caverns.

“Go ahead, tell me I am wrong.” The sour look on Tana’s face was enough to tell Judy she wasn’t.

“Now I can teach you how to access powers you have no right to and you will have to determine how you use them. At its base, magic is neutral…neither good nor evil. I can cast a hex of the vilest sort but if I do so with the best intentions in mind it will be vastly different than if I did so with nothing but evil intentions in mind as I cast it. This is where you will have to decide where you will fit in Spawnling…you are the counterpart to your mother, the shadows to her light. You will be the rot and hatred to her vitality and love...Or not, in the end it is your choice.”

Pushing open a door into a room bare of anything but the most basic of magic necessities Judy gestured before her.

“This is where you will study and practice…well mostly, I might kick you into another realm or pocket dimension for certain projects. Make no mistake Spawnling I will most likely try to kill you, if only to free up my own spare time since I don’t want to teach you.”

Tana scowled over at her new teacher.

“Then why bother, why not just give me some books and leave me on my own.” Judy grinned and turned towards the teenage rabbit.

“Because that is almost as dangerous as not teaching you at all. As your mother was taught, the world runs off of balance…your mother is the life and light of these lands and is the greatest hope for vitality these lands could ask for…you on the other paw…”

Walking towards her little apprentice Judy allowed the shadows to close in on them both and for her own energies to circulate around them. The air grew harsh and foul as she approached, Tana could feel the corruption closing in on her…it was as if her mother was pulling a warm blanket over her on a cold winter night.

“You…are the rot at her roots, the poison in her veins. You are the cancer that will always try to kill her just as she will always be the cure that is going to try and purify you. If you accept my teachings you will always be at odds with your own mother…do you think you can handle that?”

She allowed her presence to fill the room until it was pressing down on Tana like a lead weight.

“Do I have a choice? My entire life I have struggled with my own powers. I have studied longer and practiced harder than any of my siblings only to be almost as good as the weakest of them. I have spent hours, days, doing nothing but practicing…only to fall short. My youngest siblings can plant a seed and within a week harvest berries from its branches while I can barely keep a mint bush alive.”

Twisting her lips into a scowl that almost hid the small amount of satisfaction she was feeling at her next words she continued in a harsh tone.

“My oldest sister was nearly violated by a buck from the city and she couldn’t bring herself to even hex his drink when she saw him again and yet I cursed him with crotch rot so bad last I heard he nearly died of sepsis. I am not like my brothers and sisters and I am tired of trying to be like them…”

Shaking herself and glaring at Judy, Tana stomped forward the last couple feet between them until she was looking up into the slightly taller rabbit’s eyes with her teeth bared and her eyes narrowed in defiance.

“Now look me in the eyes and tell me that learning from you won’t help these lands to flourish. Look at me and for once in your cursed and gods forsaken life tell the truth…will learning from you help my family and these lands to grow stronger?”

Looking down at the young rabbit Judy couldn’t help but see a little bit of herself in the sharp green depths of her eyes. She could hear herself in the young rabbit’s voice as she tried to find a way around the rules, and right there…buried deep, was that bright pure light Judy had given up centuries ago, the light of hope.

When she had been younger than this doe in front of her Judy had dreamt of using her powers to help others, she had been certain that she was going to become the captain of the city guard. She was going to hunt down those that would harm others and bring them to justice…gods she had been naïve.

Leaning down so she could look the doe in her eyes and place her paws on Tana’s shoulders Judy smiled as honestly as she was able.

“The world works off of balance little one…accept my training and you will grow strong, but it will be the strength your mother hates. You will become everything your mother despises…but yes, where you bring pain and suffering your mother will bring healing and strength. These lands and all that live upon them will grow strong, if for no other reason than to survive your existence. You will be a plague that culls the weak and challenges the mighty and she will be the balm that eases the pain of those that live within your shadow. These lands will grow strong and all who are born upon them will be powerful.”

Leaning forward Judy placed her forehead against the young doe’s.

“You will know little of comfort and become an artist of pain, where your mother seeks to preserve life, you will accept nothing less than the destruction of happiness…more importantly, you will never know the joy of holding your own children.”

The look in the defiant young doe’s eyes shifted at hearing that.

“The energies you will channel through your body will destroy any chances of ever having a family of your own. You will be as barren and infertile as a desert of salt…yours will never be a path of preserving or building life, only ever taking and destroying it. So then Spawnling…do you still want to learn from me?”

Seeing the look of indecision in the young rabbit’s face Judy chuffed out a slight laugh before standing up.

“Your parents wanted me to teach you for your own sake even though they don’t truly know what it would mean for me to do so. Take some time and think about it…being a necromancer doesn’t just mean raising the dead, just like being a dryad doesn’t mean just growing pretty flowers. You don’t have to become like me if you don’t want to, I have met Fate herself and I can tell you right now that she only barely steers our lives, she doesn’t control them. So take a bit of time and make your own decisions, when you have made your choice, I want you to stop and think about it again and if you make the same decision then come and find me.”

Stepping away from the young doe Judy’s form seemed to lose all color before crumbling into ash and grave dirt.

Looking around at the room Tana wandered over to a workbench and looked over the items on display…glass vials and small firepots, mortars and pestles along with knives and unhealthy-looking metal implements whose purpose was beyond the young doe. Standing next to the bench was a bookshelf containing a few books, some of them in languages she had never even seen or heard of.

Running her paw over the spines she could feel the power contained within them, information spoke to her in seductive whispers and harsh cries. She could feel the books quiver with the hope that she would open them and allow them the chance to pass on their knowledge.

Letting her paw drop she flexed it as the small tingles of the books eagerness lingered within her digits.

“Bit unfair isn’t it?” Spinning on the spot Tana watched as her father walked into the room.

“How did you get in here? how did you even know I was here?” Tana asked somewhat defensively, she hated being snuck up on.

“HA! I may be a bit of a homebody and Mister Mom for you munchkins but don’t forget, I was a prince at one point in my life as well as a rather accomplished combat sorcerer and swordmammal. Your mother and I spoke to Judy and decided that as long as a rabbit was powerful enough to pass through the defenses on these caves they were allowed to do so and not to toot my own horn…but the only other magic user stronger than myself on these lands is your mother as long as you don’t count your Aunt.”

Thinking on it, Tana had always known her father was strong magically, just as she had always known that he was skilled with a sword since she had seen him practicing but had never really acknowledged the fact.

“So uhm…what are you doing here dad?” Tana asked as her father walked in and looked around.

“Just wondering what your aunt was teaching you…your mother and I are a little worried.” Looking over to his daughter Jack smiled.

“How are things going?” Tana smiled and scoffed at the same time…He had been alive for seven hundred years and Jack had never mastered the language of Teens.

“Well she basically told me she doesn’t want to teach me, will try to kill me and that even if she does take me on as an apprentice, I will basically be the opposite to my own mother. I essentially have two choices, accept her teachings and become the worst thing these lands have seen since her…OR! Figure things out on my own and probably end up in the same situation just worse. At least that is what I think she was getting at.”

Jack smiled as he pulled a book off the shelf and began flipping through the pages.

“Yeah, sounds like her…what options did she give you to learn about?” Seeing the confused look on his daughter’s face Jack explained further.

“Just because she is a necromancer doesn’t mean she can’t teach you how to use magic, she can cast multiple spells that have nothing to do with death…they are harder to use and less likely to work how they are supposed to for her, but she can still use them. She is also rather good at artificing if I remember correctly, you have seen the various skeletons and mammals walking around?”

Seeing Tana nod Jack held back a smile at seeing the way she clenched her paw, seemed like she was a little frustrated at not being told everything…good.

“Every one of them was a living mammal at one point, then they were killed and had runes etched into their bones in order to give their minds a vessel to inhabit again. The ones that look like regular mammals only look like that because they have been given a false visage through the use of her leech familiar Fin. In fact another thing she could teach you about is having familiars…I don’t know much about them but I am sure she could at least teach you about them.”

Tossing the book down on the table Jack walked over and gave his daughter a hug and kiss on her forehead before getting down on one knee so he could more easily look her in the eyes.

“Sweety…just because fate has decided you are to be your mother’s counterbalance on these lands doesn’t mean you have to be evil or cruel or…well, like Judy. Nobody likes moldy fruit but when it does mold it feeds the ground and becomes a fertilizer for new life. What you do with what you are taught is up to you and if you don’t think you are strong enough to learn from her then maybe you can make it on your own…after all Judy didn’t have much of a formal teaching from what I have heard.”

Standing up and giving Tana a quick pat between the ears Jack walked out of the room leaving her to her own thoughts.

Thinking to herself on what her dad said as well as what Judy had said caused her to begin pacing while grumbling under her breath.

“Didn’t even tell me there were more things she could teach me just so she could get out of teaching me…and what did dad mean when he said I might not be strong enough, of course I am strong enough. My dad was a prince and is still a sword master and mom is a freaking dryad how could I not be strong enough, I have always been good at hexes and curses…I mean I lead my Litter during the Dance and Song so I should be strong enough right?”

Walking out of the room and rounding the corner Jack smiled at the figure leaning against the wall in the shadows.

“You never told her you could teach her more than just raising the dead.” The smile that showed within the shadows was as sharp as a razor.

“No, I did not.”

“You never told her that she could be something other than what you taught her to be.”

“Oh, you caught that did you?” It wasn’t a question.

“You were trying to scare her off.”

“I would make a terrible teacher and if she is supposed to be Senna’s counterpart then it would be best if she learned from someone who is not only invested in her survival but also who gives a damn about seeing her live in the first place. Afterall it is a long-standing tradition for mothers to teach their daughters.”

Jack smiled and rolled his eyes before walking to stand next to Judy.

“Get with the times old lady, you learn from who you can these days. Besides it wouldn’t do much good for Senna to teach Tana seeing as how they are supposed to be opposites and Senna doesn’t know how to be anything other than honey and hearthfire.”

The look Judy sent him caused a bit of a chuckle.

“Ok so she can have her moments of ruthlessness, but it isn’t the same and you know it…you were trying to scare her off to spare her from even the possibility of turning out like you.”

Judy grinned before pushing off the wall and sauntering off down a side cavern…Jack made a mental note to get a map made of these damn caves since they seemed to be getting more complex every time he entered them.

“Don’t go spreading that rumor around now Jack, I have a reputation to live down to after all.”

Eventually having paced around enough that she had thought herself in circles Tana found herself jumping up on the workbench and crossing her arms with a huff. Kicking her feet and looking around she eventually looked down at the book her father had been flipping through. Picking up the book and glancing at the page it had been left open to she furrowed her brow…some of these things looked familiar.

Looking around at the shelves and smaller benches she began to look at the pages even closer while muttering to herself.

“Nikenshriel huh?…I can do this…I know how to do this…”

Jumping off the workbench and running around she soon had a number of organized piles of supplies.

Running a finger down the list of ingredients and the steps for the ritual she grinned, she could do this.

Grabbing the supplies and beginning her work Tana was so focused on what she was doing she never even saw the glittering eyes lurking in the shadows, or how they seemed to curve in a wide grin.

Lighting the final candle after going over the entire diagram as well as checking that she had used the correct ingredients for the fourth time Tana stood tall at the edge of the circle. Holding the book in one paw she awkwardly sliced the back of her other paw with the ceremonial blade she had found among the shelves before dripping the blood onto the circle while beginning her chant.

Her words started as nothing more than spoken syllables but soon they became a ringing series of ancient words that fell upon the world like hammer blows and cut through the space between worlds like a blade. Echoes came back to her from distances that had never existed and brought words that squirmed and rolled through her ears like cold grease with them. Winds that were only felt upon the soul picked up until she was standing in the middle of a hurricane and her words were carried upon a maelstrom of power.

Screaming the final words while slamming the book shut Tana watched with a smile of accomplishment as the ground within the circle cracked as if it was under an impossibly massive weight. Watching with a smile she almost stepped back in surprise as the ground that had been cracking fell into an abyss that had only ever existed once before upon these lands. It wasn’t until she could feel a rumble that came from deeper than the bones of the earth that she began to worry…she shouldn’t have been able to feel anything outside the circle.

With a ponderously powerful movement a massive bone claw the size of the city gates reached up and gripped the earth around the circle…the circle that was supposed to keep it contained. Gulping she watched as another paw came up and levered a massive head, shoulders and torso up and out of the hole in reality while the rest of the body remained hidden within the abyss. Looking up at the head that scraped the ceiling and which held no shape like any mammal she had seen before Tana would vehemently deny the squeak that escaped her when the figure looked down at her and pinned her beneath its gaze.

Looking into the eyes of green fire that seemed to fall into a pair of endless abysses from the outside of the eye sockets towards the middle Tana realized she was face to skull with a consciousness that was older than anything she could comprehend. This was a being that had seen more than just lives come and go…this creature had seen civilizations rise and fall, it had been ancient before the word had ever been conceived.

*Gulp* Uhm…Hello.”

Mentally kicking herself at the stupid introduction she was about to try again when the creature spoke in a voice that didn’t so much enter her ears, but slithered under her skin like grease covered worms.

“Ahhaahaaa…this brings back memories, this is not the first time I have been summoned by some little bunny with such an introduction…though I wonder if you will measure up to her talents. I must say you are already falling behind after such a mistake as the one you have made…”

The voice rang through her bones like a drum and seemed to chew on her teeth with rot leaving a foul taste in the back of her throat.

‘Wait! What mistake!?’

Looking down at the circle and comparing it to the one in the book after she scrambled to open it back up, she saw that it was an exact replica.

“Ahahaaa….I remember that book, the Little One held it when she summoned me. Of course she built the circle correctly and did so with her very life blood and spoke the summoning with her dying breaths. Though when she built the circle…she didn’t misspell the containment runes, these ones here…you see if they were done correctly, I would be contained within the circle. How you have them written though, only contains me to this room…the room you are within and… oh look…”

Hearing a door slam shut and locks slide into place with a note of finality Tana swallowed thickly.

“It seems as if the door is locked, and I wonder who is faster…you or me?”

Smiling shakily and raising a single digit as if to point out something Tana spoke a single word that flowed like spring melt on a clear day. Holding the raised finger in front of her she exhaled a cloud of dust that caught the light in the room and refracted it around the various particles until it was a blinding cloud of luminescence.

Darting towards the door while screaming out any and every banishing spell and incantation she could remember she glanced over her shoulder as she heard laughter ringing out from within the cloud of dust. Turning back and thinking she had a chance she slammed into a warm, solid mass…thankfully her face cushioned her impact.

“You know the last rabbit that summoned me tried running as well, of course that was after she destroyed the circle in the hope I would destroy her enemies.”

Looking up with wide eyes Tana felt her heart skip a number of beats, oddly enough not entirely in fear which was something she was going to have to explore if she had a later. Clapping her paws together and slapping them to the stone floor with a word that held thorns and twisted like vines in her throat she jumped to her feet and raced around the sharply dressed fox that was now wrapped in vines.

“OHOHO! You have skills! Yes this is certainly the first time I have ever been wrapped in bloodsucking vines coated in hemotoxins!”

Reaching the door she scrabbled at the lock but it refused to budge under her paws. Turning around she felt her eyes begin to water in both terror and frustration at how easily the fox seemed to ignore her entanglement spell as the vines withered and turned to ash around her as he turned.

“Of course I am blatantly lying, though seeing as how I have played games of chance against the First Dryad and their druid apprentices you aren’t really anything impressive.” Snapping out a paw the fox’s arm stretched unnaturally long until he had a taloned paw wrapped around Tana’s throat.

Pulling her close the fox grinned at the way she tried to throw anything and everything at him including some very hurtful language. Ignoring the toxic spores, rot spells, a series of curses and one oddly polished crotch rot hex the fox carried the rabbit to the portal he had pulled himself out of. Stopping at the edge he took a moment to enjoy the way her eyes widened even further as she realized where they were and what was about to happen.

Re-doubling her efforts to escape Tana began mixing everything she knew in the hopes something would work. Rot spells that would attack the fox’s fur and skin until it became a coating of primordial slime just seemed to slide off him, toxic spores that should have left him in searing pain seared across his face in bursts of embers and every curse she could throw together merely brought a smile to his face.

“Inventive I must say…oh you might be more fun than I expected, now do me a favor and scream the whole way down.”

Tana would have had done just that had her lungs not seized in terror at the sensation of falling as the fox leaned forward until they were both falling through an abyss that seemed to reach out and grip them both in a blackness that hurt her mind as she tried to comprehend it.

“So Carrots, how are your soul studies going lately? Have you had a chance to look into anything back in the mortal realm?”

Tana scrunched her eyes, she must have forgotten to close her door and now her brothers were talking as if they were the only ones in the burrow again…wait, this wasn’t her bed and she didn’t remember going to bed…

Memories of her conversation with Judy and her father as well as what she had done afterwards came hammering their way into her mind so hard she sat up with a shriek of terror. Looking around herself Tana felt her heart begin to hammer out of her chest at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Calm down Spawnling, you won’t die while you are here but I don’t want to have to wait for you to wake up from passing out again.”

Whipping her head towards the familiar voice Tana felt her eyes water at the glorious sight of the familiar face of her Aunt Judy. Jumping from the large wingbacked chair she had been curled up in and racing towards her aunt she fell to her knees and buried her face in the other bunny’s belly as she did her best to keep from crying.

“Uh…? Master what is she doing?”

Looking down at the near hysterical doe currently trying to hide in her stomach Judy awkwardly patted her on the back of the head while waiting her for her master to stop laughing to himself.

“Uhm, there there…everything will be alright?” That was what you were supposed to say when someone was crying right?

“Well I am no expert but…I believe she is crying out of relief at seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.”

With a squeak Tana jerked up and spun around while pushing backwards away from the unfortunately familiar sounding voice.

Scrambling backwards until she was basically sitting in Judy’s lap Tana finally got herself under control after she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Looking towards the fox she had tried to summon and seeing that he was simply lounging in a chair she turned her gaze around until she could look at her Aunt.

“Spawnling, I would like to introduce you to the one who helped me teach myself about magic in general and necromancy in particular…Master Nikenshriel, the First Lich.”

Slowly looking between the fox and rabbit Tana felt herself begin to calm down as her mind overtook her fear and allowed her to begin thinking in straight lines instead of frantic zig zags.

“This…this is who taught you? But…” The fox laughed lightly as he looked over to the pair of rabbits.

“I did mention having been summoned by another rabbit didn’t I? You certainly didn’t have the same reasons to summon me, but you were rather similar…she tried attacking me when she realized what she had done as well.” Hearing Judy laugh lightly behind her Tana scooted off her lap with a bit of embarrassment and looked over to her crazy aunt.

“I figured you would try to do something to convince me either that you did or didn’t need me when I left and when I saw Jack walk in, I figured you were definitely going to try something stupid…didn’t actually think you were gonna go this far though.”

Tana felt her head spinning a bit at hearing all of this…and wait a minute…

“Ok what do you mean by all this and…what are you wearing?” Looking down at herself with a confused frown Judy looked back up at the doe.

“What’s wrong with it? I was feeling nostalgic and this is one of my favorite dresses.” Tana just hid a shaky smile as she looked up and down the doe.

“It looks like something the highborn or even royals would wear from Early Zootopia.” Judy laughed and lounged back into a pile of pillows that Tana was pretty sure hadn’t been there before.

“I should hope so, for your information I wore this dress for your father on the night of the Royal Ball where I killed his half-brother. It was made by a group of seamstresses that worked for his mother at one point so yes, it is something a Royal would wear…but I thought they had all died off centuries ago and everything was run by some religious group now or something.”

Latching onto the sliver of her own world that presented her with a tiny bit of sanity Tana shuffled the ‘wore this for your father’ bit away for later.

“Yeah, they weren’t in the beginning as much as they are now. From what we were told the Royals were replaced by a combination of the old church and slayer faction, a lot of what they implemented is still around today in some form but eventually the church became the main power again. Now they are in charge of everything but in more of a cult sort of way, they don’t try to force businesses to play by their rules so much as make it more appealing that they do. If you attend their sermons the entire flock tends to give you their business and if you don’t, they usually just avoid your business unless they need to…they don’t talk good or bad about you they just sort of ignore your existence.”

Judy felt that was a little weird but…wait a minute…

“Did you say ‘flock’?...as in the enlightened flock…” Focusing on the doe Judy felt a bit of irritation beginning to rise in the back of her mind.

“Uh, yeah I guess…I mean the preachers tend to be sheep and I’m told that was the name of the religion before they incorporated the slayers …why?”  

Turning towards Nick with a twitch to her eye Judy took a deep calming breath before speaking.

“If I didn’t know your friends I would say this is a weird coincidence, but I have met your friends and all I can say is that if I meet one more mammal that should have been dead centuries ago, I am going to lose my mind.”

Nick couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that.

“Carrots you lost your damn mind a loooong time ago, you are basically a functioning psychopath by this point. Though I have to say I am rather impressed by your little apprentice, she seems to have adjusted to current events rather nicely…you took a little longer but then again you had much different circumstances. So then Spawnling, what kind of magic are you going to be studying?”

Twitching at the fox’s voice and attention Tana turned to look at him and decided he was not what she had been expecting…but she was also not opposed to what she was seeing.

Lounging like a satiated lion in his favorite chair Nick was dressed casually in a storm grey silk shirt with a charcoal waistcoat and venom green tie looped loosely around his neck along with black slacks. Grinning at her with a mouthful of more teeth than he should have he chuckled darkly at the blush that began to creep up her ears after she looked sharply away.

“She is more like you than expected Carrots, I remember a few times you looked like you had just seen a massive carrot as well.”

Judy scoffed and sipped a glass of whiskey that Tana was really damn sure she hadn’t had seconds before.

“Oh please, I was a child when I summoned you, you are a sexy beast and you know it, I am not about to apologize for my late-night fantasies. Now then Spawnling, have you figured out what happened that landed you here?”

Clearing her throat a bit the young doe used the moment to gather her thoughts before answering.

“You and dad tricked me, you made it seem like the only thing I could learn from you was how to raise the dead and make other mammals miserable. Dad made it seem like I was expected to fail anything you tried teaching me because I wouldn’t be strong enough…you both knew I would do something stupid and when dad grabbed that book off the shelf it wasn’t a random grab. He left the book open to that specific page knowing I would see it and probably try it.”

Looking over to the Lich Tana continued.

“You knew I would try to summon Him and you sabotaged the ritual somehow, you knew I wouldn’t be able to see what was wrong with the ritual and would go through with it.”

Looking over to her master Judy just grinned as he grinned back.

“I like her, she seems to have a decent head on her shoulders…and at least her mind isn’t as rattled as your first apprentice’s.” A voice called out from the shadows that clung to the bookshelves.

Looking towards the newcomer Tana felt like she knew the figure approaching.

The voice was familiar but she couldn’t place it, the way the funeral shroud wearing figure walked rang so many bells in her mind she was certain she had seen this figure before…but it wasn’t coming to her.

“I look familiar because every mammal knows me to an extent, rabbits having such large families know me better than most though.”

The figure spoke with a voice comprised of every sad memory Tana had ever had, every word fell upon her mind like tears on a grave.

“Skye…leave her alone, she’s as green as a grasshopper’s ass and doesn’t have the trauma to fall back on like Carrots did.” Nick said with a chuckle as he held up a glass of red wine as the figure passed by him grabbing the glass.

“Oh come on Nick, I don’t get to have fun like this very often and I have to take it where I can.”

The voice was a single tone now, unfamiliar and unknown. Reaching up the figure tossed back the hood with a sigh and plopped down on a chair that Tana damn well knew wasn’t there before!.

“OK! I am about to start tossing toxic spores and whipping thorned vines like a crazy bitch and I don’t give a damn how ineffective it will be, can someone please explain things because I am about to go as crazy as Aunt Judy!”

Pointing at said rabbit the young doe ignored the indignant ‘HEY!’ her outburst caused.

“Spawnling, this is the physical incarnation of the Cosmological Constant that is Death…her name is Skye.” Nick said with a grin at the bone white fox lounging in her own chair.

“She is also a bit of a bitch and likes to play games.” Judy said as she sipped her drink.

“Seven hundred years and you are still holding me doing my job against me…like I had a choice in the matter.” Judy scowled and made a rude gesture.

“You seemed to have no problem not taking me.” Skye rolled her eyes and ignored the small bit of anger foam building at the corners of her Spawnling’s mouth.

“I held back because I felt you were important, had Nicky been seconds slower I would have ushered you across the veil just like the rest of your family…I still can you know, I can reunite you with your family.”

 Tana flinched at the way Death’s voice split and took on a seductive quality, like the gleaming edge of a razor on a dark night when the coming dawn seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

“Don’t even try it Death, you didn’t get me back then and you aren’t getting me now…why would you even want to try and usher me across the veil when you are trying to get me to help you with problems in the mortal realm?” Judy asked with a confused glare, Skye shrugged and turned away as if embarrassed.

“It is a sort of a reflex, it comes with the Office you might say. You were supposed to die but I held back and now that you have your heart here I can’t take you…even though I want to because I am supposed to. It is kind of like remembering something you needed to do but then remembering why you hadn’t done it in the first place. Now enough of this…who is the young one? Oh please tell me the apprentice hasn’t bred! It was bad enough when there was one of her, we don’t need an entire generation like her…are we sure she doesn’t eat her partners after sex?”

Glancing between Nick and Judy before ending with a squinting question at Judy she couldn’t help but laugh at the flat look the rabbit was giving her.

Standing up and turning away from the white fox Judy slid off her favorite couch and mechanically walked into the shadows between the shelves as Skye watched her walk away with a perplexed look on her face.

“Well, that was un-expected…I really thought she was going to come back with a snappy response.”

“I imagine she would have had you not reminded her of the fact that not only was her entire family dead but also that she will never be able to have her own family…a rabbit that will never have her own litter of kits.”

Tana said through gritted teeth before jumping off the couch and following after Judy.

“What is she talking about? I mean she is not exactly a catch but I can only imagine she has a better chance at getting laid than practically anyone else on her realm just for the amount of time she will have to practice her pick up lines and technique.”

Nick rolled his eyes and began to thunk his whiskey glass lightly against his temple while repeating ‘idiot’ in a series of languages.

“Skye…what kind of energy do necromancers use?” Skye raised a brow in confusion and crossed her arms before answering.

“Death energy of course what is your point?” Nick just nodded.

“What kind of energy does it take for it to be possible to give birth?”

“Life energy duh, what is your point already?”

“How likely is it for a necromancer to channel life energy? For that matter when was the last time I ever channeled life energy?” Skye felt the blood drain from her face as she answered.

“They don’t…you haven’t…it is anathema to you on a spiritual level, it isn’t like natural or elementally charged energy because nature itself is both life and death.” Nick nodded and took a sip while looking her in the eyes.

“Exactly…there is a number of reasons necromancers tend to be solitary individuals and the fact that we will never know what it is like to have a family of our own is one of them. Now imagine coming from a species as family oriented as a rabbit knowing you will always be on the outside looking in.”

Skye wilted in her seat and pulled her cloak tighter around herself, she didn’t like the rabbit but even she didn’t deserve that much cruelty from the Office. About to get up and hunt down the necromancer she stopped at the sound of Nick clearing his throat.

“I think you have done enough damage for now, let her work through her own problems on her own…it is how she has done it for centuries and trying to intrude on that will most likely just cause problems.”

Walking between the shelves of books Tana did her best to keep Judy in her sight but quickly realized a series of problems with her plan.

First being that unlike her Aunty she couldn’t see in the dark and didn’t have a light source, second being that she had no idea where any of the paths between the shelves lead and third was that the shelves weren’t set up in rows and columns…they were set up in a labyrinth devised by a mad mammal.

Looking around as she came to another crossroads Tana cursed the fact she had never been able to cast a simple light spell like her siblings. Thinking to herself about how she had never been able to cast a light spell she figured now was as good a time as any to be innovative. Closing her eyes and whispering a series of words to herself she focused on the flow of her energy and the intent behind it…she may not have been able to cast her mother’s spells, but she had always been better at coming up with something on the fly than her siblings.

Opening her eyes as she finished her spell, she felt a sharp pinch somewhere behind her nose as the shadows retreated from her vision, or at least most of them did. Looking off to the side she could see shadows that seemed to have no origin or discernable shape. Walking down the path between the shelves she marched up to the shadows and scowled as she heard whispers begin to come from them.

“Silence…I am Tana Whiteroot the First-Born daughter of T-litter to Dryad Senna Whiteroot and Prince Jack Whiteroot, Swordmaster of Zootopia and Wielder of Winter’s Bite. I am the chosen niece of Necromancer Judy Hopps Blackburrow and I will not be stopped or delayed any further by whatever you are…”

Focusing her energy as she had been told and making sure to color it with as much focused intent as she could muster, she expelled her words in a tsunami of her Will.

“Begone from my sight and path.”

Looking as if they were suddenly hit with a hurricane the shadows flickered and writhed before pulling back into corners that didn’t exist until her path was clear. Walking forward with her head held high Tana slowed after turning a couple more corners as she heard a voice coming from around the corner.

“I got rid of you centuries ago…I carved you out and cast you aside, you were supposed to take everything with you…”

Stopping in place as she realized her aunty might be talking to someone Tana considered retreating before Judy spoke again.

“You can come out now Tana, I have known you were there since you entered the shadows…rather impressive getting past my shadows by the way.”

Hearing her insane aunty speaking in such a flat, almost defeated voice nearly brought tears to Tana’s eyes…she had practically grown up with stories about the confident, wild, take nothing from no one Mistress of Madness Aunty Judy. Walking forward and seeing her staring a thousand realms out while sitting on top of a large ball of metal Tana wondered who she had been talking to.

“Am I interrupting? I don’t see anyone but from what I have heard about you, there could be any number of beings you could be talking to.” Judy just chuckled lowly as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“I was just talking to myself…” Tana hugged herself a bit as she approached and looked around before focusing on the metal ball Judy was perched upon.

“Didn’t sound like you were talking to yourself, sounded like you were talking pretty specifically to someone in fact…and what are you sitting on, looks like a metal ball of some kind.”

Crouching down she began running her paw over the multitude of tiny runes and sigils while marveling at how small and intricately woven around each other they were.

“It is metal, enchanted iron and steel to be exact.” Judy responded with a smile at how intrigued Tana seemed over the small runes and sigils.

“It has gotten bigger than it was when I first made it since I come back every now and then to add to it…I imagine even some of the lesser Powers of our realm would hesitate to mess with it at this point.”

Tana looked up in confusion at Judy’s words.

“What is it? what is so important that you would put this much effort into protecting it…” Looking back and squinting at it she mouthed to herself as many of the runes as she could.

“You tell me, you have some skill in artificing from what Alpha tells me.”

Tana hummed to herself as she practically crawled around the large ball of metal while tracing the lines as best she could. Muttering to herself she even went as far as rolling it so that she could see the underside, ignoring the squawk of surprise from her crazy aunt. Standing up and scratching the base of her ears in confusion she glanced over to Judy with a shrug.

“I can barely hack my way through every tenth symbol and they are so tightly interwoven I am not even sure I was reading the lines correctly. As best as I can tell this is a container of some kind…there is something inside and it is alive…to a certain definition of the word.”

Judy smiled as she propped her elbow up on the ball and gestured for Tana to keep going.

“It has layers of defenses that I can barely understand interwoven with things I can’t even tell what they do.”

“Look closer at it, I know your mother taught you all how to see the world as it truly is…if you think you can handle having the Truth of what you see scribed permanently on your mind that is.”

Tana bit her lip at that, she could very vividly remember her mother’s lessons on Opening her Eyes. She remembered the stories of how she believed Judy had probably had hers open for to long and to many times, she remembered the warnings that looking at the true workings of the world for to long could twist the mind in directions that didn’t exist.

Looking up at Judy she gulped…that was not an expression she had ever thought she would see on her sadistic, cruel, insane and weird aunt’s face.

The expression was actually soft, she was looking at Tana like a mother urging her kit to do something they both knew would be unpleasant but also educational. She had a look in her eyes as she turned her gaze towards the large metal ball that reminded Tana of how her mother looked when she remembered her own mother.

Breathing deeply to steady herself she closed her eyes and focused on her Sight before opening her eyes again, unaware that her pupils had expanded to overtake the iris and had grown spokes out to the edges of her sclera.

The world erupted in colors, textures, scents, sounds and flavors that she had never experienced…all translated through her sense of sight. Gritting her teeth at the overflow of information she made sure to look towards the large metal ball and after a couple seconds of examining it gasped at what she saw.

It seemed to glow with a dark, hateful light that felt like razor blades scraping her teeth and seemed to ring with a tone that mortals weren’t supposed to be able to hear…but then, as she looked closer at the symbols wrapping around the outside, she saw a glow coming from within. Her mouth fell open as she watched the dark, chaotic and hateful discord of the outside layers fall away like a flower opening up in the sun after a harsh rain. Her vision focused past the first layer as she comprehended her aunt’s words from earlier in a way she had never thought of, layers upon layers of symbols, intent, power and age fell open like the petals of a lotus.

“You return to add to it…”

Unaware she had even spoken aloud Tana felt herself be drawn ever further past the layers of defenses, the symbols growing tighter and smaller until finally…she reached the center. Sitting there among layers of defenses against not only intrusion from the outside, but also from escape was a glowing mass of light that twisted around and through itself in an intricate knot. She could feel tears fall from her eyes as she heard a sound that would haunt her for the rest of her life…the core was singing to her.

It sang in the tones of an angel’s tears, it rang with pain and power. The sound resonated through her until she was sure she would shatter like a glass vase, it reached past everything she projected herself to be and struck at who she truly was. Sobbing at the impossible beauty, pain, power and warmth of what she was looking at, it was what she finally understood as she looked ever closer that brought her to her knees. Sitting there in that ball of metal, behind all those lines of defense and containment was a core that could break a demon’s heart with its purity…and it had a pulse.

Slamming her Sight shut and raking her claws over her head and around her ears she frantically tried to pull herself back into her tiny form, pull her mind back into how she knew things worked…even though she had seen proof that half of it was lies.

Looking down at her niece Judy almost wished she could empathize… or cry… or something, but she couldn’t.

She knew the pain the little rabbit was going through, she understood what it was like to see something that struck at the core of her being. Walking forward and standing above the shivering and rocking form she stood with arms crossed and grinned as her ears caught the mutterings of what Tana was saying…she was actually reciting multiplication tables and gear ratios to herself. About to speak Judy stopped and opened her own Sight, a smile growing on her face at what she saw.

Kneeling there rocking back and forth was a shattered rabbit made of rusting clockwork, except as she watched the gears that made up the mind didn’t just shake off the rust and corrosion…they absorbed it.

Muscle fibers of thin wire snapped with harsh discordant twangs that pinged off Judy’s soul as they waved in the air…until they snapped out straight and began twisting around each other.

Long tubes of intestines fell like spilled noodles from the rabbit’s corroded metallic stomach, until they shivered and began to pull themselves back into the rabbit’s torso to be clad in iron. Judy watched with a wide grin as rust either fell or was absorbed into the metallic skin of the clunky, sharp-edged figure of the rabbit kneeling on the floor.

Muscles began to weave themselves back into limbs as braided fibers, hydraulics sucked their fluid back into themselves. Metallic plates flexed as the rabbit stopped shivering and began to stand up, harsh edges that had been clumsily hammered into place were soon replaced with smooth curves and clean lines.

Most importantly to Judy though was the fact that the small forge fire residing in the metallic rabbit’s chest had gone from a soft and gently glowing ember to a flame worthy of a master blacksmith’s forge. Standing there now in Judy’s Sight was a rabbit that had rebuilt herself on a mental and spiritual level…and she didn’t even realize she had done it.

“That is your heart in there isn’t it?”

Closing her Sight in the time from one blink to the next Judy knew she would be looking back on that memory in the future, it was nice to have a good memory every now and then among so many horrible ones.

“Yes it is…I didn’t want to risk being killed by the paladins or the church before I could avenge my family and so I followed in the footsteps of many necromancers before me. I used a ritual to carve my heart out of my chest and tied my vitality and life to it…as long as it remains intact, I will never die. I pulled my heart from my chest, wrapped it in metal and spells and tossed it into a realm where Death has no authority and any who would try to find it would first have to traverse a labyrinth of shadows, and what lives within them.”

Tana shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear what she had seen from her mind, she did her best to focus on what was in front of her.

“There is something different about you Aunty, you seem…softer, gentler almost.” Judy smiled and nodded.

“There is a reason for that…As an organ the heart pumps blood and nothing else, but unfortunately symbolism has a magic of its own. This ball of metal holds my heart and with it all the soft and gentle emotions and feelings I would normally have. Within this prison is everything that gives your mother strength, the honey and hearthfire that makes your mother such a powerful dryad. She uses her emotions and feelings to empower herself and I lock mine away so that they don’t distract me.”

Reaching out and placing a paw on the large metal ball Judy gently stroked it as she continued speaking.

“Being within the same realm as my heart means the connection to it is stronger than I would prefer and it is affecting me, being this close to it the influence is even more powerful. Removing your heart isn’t natural and it wants to reunite with me, I can hear it you know. I can hear it singing to me a song that if I still had the weakness I associate with its existence would bring me to tears.”

Looking up at her niece Judy grinned with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth in a way that was far more recognizable to Tana.

“But I don’t have those weaknesses anymore…the suffering I am feeling now is an old friend at this point, like a warm blanket on a cold night.”

Tana felt a sharp tug in her chest at her aunt’s words, she didn’t want to be like that…she refused to be as weak as her aunt, locking her heart away in another realm and denying herself the chance to grow stronger by working through the pain that came with being counted among other mortals.

“Now enough of this…”

Pushing on the metal ball Judy sent it rolling into the shadows where it was eagerly enveloped and pulled further in among the shelves.

“All power comes with a Price and there is no way to know what it will be before you pay it…are you willing to risk the Price of my teachings? Or are you going to risk the Price of teaching yourself?”

Taking a few steps forward until she was face to face with the young rabbit Judy grinned in her familiar fashion as her eyes took on a sickly purple glow.

“The devil you know, or the demon you assume…make your choice.”

Tana gulped as she considered her options. Thinking on everything she had been taught, remembering everything she had failed at, everything that had been shown to her by her aunt…she made her decision and grinned up at the insane rabbit necromancer.

“Both.”

Judy grinned and began to giggle…this was gonna be fun.

Chapter Text

“Alright Spawnling here is the deal, you were chosen by the Land and Cosmic Forces that neither of us can understand let alone change to be the counter balance to your mother. That does not mean that you have to be like me, you don’t have what it takes to be a necromancer anyway. Being the counter doesn’t mean immediately destroying everything she does, it means living your life differently from hers. You are adding a counter to her not just physically but also spiritually and magically over your entire life, if she does something you will do something to negate it…eventually.”

Strolling through the ever-changing paths the shelves laid out in front of them Judy reached out at random to pull books from around her and toss them over her shoulder onto the ever-growing pile that Tana was carrying.

“You basically have two choices when it all boils down, live long and make small decisions and changes to the world around you that will frustrate your mom or live a short life with large changes that will infuriate your mother. One will lead to long term pains for those around you that will probably last generations and the other will be short term suffering that will probably destroy generations…but only a few so it isn’t that big of a deal.”

Tana looked around the stack of books she was carrying with a disbelieving look on her face.

“Destroying a few generations isn’t that big of a deal?” Judy laughed as she tossed another book over her shoulder.

“You need to change your thinking Spawnling, your mother is the goody goody of the family. If your mother would buy something at an inflated price, you will probably steal it. Where Senna would happily argue with a mammal over differing points of view and part peacefully…well I would probably kill them but you can make your own choice. The point is that you are the darker aspect of everything she is, lying, cheating, stealing, killing and everything else Senna wouldn’t normally do are going to be your bread and jelly. You are probably thinking that you would never do some of those things and all I can say is…good luck fighting it.”

Stopping and pulling a book from the shelf she tucked it beneath her arm for later perusal.

“Fighting what?” Tana asked as she struggled to carry all of the books she had been given.

“Oh, a bit of your own nature as well as a bit of Fate’s own meddling…bitch that she is.” Looking back at her apprentice Judy sighed and rubbed her face in exasperation.

“What are you doing Spawnling?”

“Trying to not die under the crushing weight of books that I probably can’t even read at the moment.” Judy scrubbed her face and reminded herself that she had been a stupid kit at one point.

“You were a spawnling once…you were a spawnling….*ahem* Focus your Will and either make the books smaller or make them lighter.” Crossing her arms and raising her brow in challenge she watched as Tana opened her mouth to protest before closing it.

“Explain.”

Nodding to herself Judy reached out and snagged a glass of champagne from thin air before taking a sip and enjoying the taste and bubbles.

“This is a realm of knowledge, every book that has ever died is here within these shelves regardless of what they contain. This is a realm of learning and information, that being the case this realm is sort of flexible magically speaking. If your Will is strong enough you can bend the realm to it…to a certain degree since you are fighting against the Master of the Realms Will. That is of course an almost criminally simplified way of explaining how this realm works but for now it will suffice…go ahead, try and change the weight of the books or their size.”

Leaning against the bookshelf next to her Judy sipped her champagne and watched as Tana digested her words.

Focusing on the stack of books in her arms Tana glanced over at her aunt and decided she was going to go beyond just making them lighter or smaller.

Focusing on what she wanted she let a small bit of her power leak out and changed the world around her. With a smile she felt the books in her arms grow lighter until they began to float and then orbit around her, biting her tongue she focused and grinned as they all shrank to the size of her palm. Looking around herself she turned towards her aunt with a large grin on her face as she found herself in the eye of a storm as tiny books orbited slowly around her.

Judy smiled and watched for a few seconds as the spawnling gained more confidence in her control of the books orbiting around her.

“Not bad…not bad at all, catch.”

Grabbing a book from the shelf she was leaning against and tossing it at her apprentice Judy laughed as every book orbiting around her suddenly regained their proper size, and weight, as the bunny tried catching the book only to be buried under a small mountain of literature.

“Gonna have to work on that focus there Spawnling, now while you dig yourself out of there I will be adding to the pile…you know, for education’s sake.”

Turning and beginning to walk away she grabbed another book off the shelf. Tossing it over her shoulder she laughed at the cry of dismay that came from below the small mountain of books as Tana lost her focus once again.

“You are adding weight and mass to the books as well as suppressing her own Will aren’t you Carrots.”

Hearing the voice of her Master over her shoulder didn’t even surprise Judy as she watched her own apprentice begin to raise the books up and cause them to orbit around her again. Giving a flick of her Will Judy smiled at the impressively inventive curse words coming from underneath the pile of books.

“Diamonds are born under the greatest heat and pressures and then polished through constant grinding…that girl is going to be one of the greatest minds of her generation and many to come after. She has the cunning of her father and the power of her mother and I am not about to let her waste even the smallest iota of her potential. I spent forty years learning in this realm and came out a wrecked and wretched mass of vengeance seeking despair…hopefully with a bit of focus, some guided direction and a family to fall back on she will be better than me.”

Nick smiled and placed a paw on Judy’s shoulder.

“I am proud of you Apprentice, it is every teacher’s greatest desire to see their student surpass them.”

Judy smiled lightly as she looked over her shoulder at the Old Man.

“Well I imagine you are going to be rather disappointed then.” Nick chuckled as he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.

“You have centuries yet to go and you are on a good path to be better than me. Now come along Judy, we have to talk.”

Turning away from the rabbit and walking into the shadows Nikenshriel bit his lip, this was not going to be an overly pleasant conversation and he didn’t want to have it…but he had done many things in his life he didn’t want to do, why should this be any different.

Walking out of the portal to the Realm of Fallen Knowledge Tana stumbled a bit before catching herself on a table. Looking around and seeing that she was in her family’s library she took a deep breath and staggered over to a plush chair before falling into it.

“I…had no idea…that crossing realms was so strenuous.”

She gasped out lightly as Judy followed after her, an unreadable expression on her face as she chewed at her thumbnail.

“Huh? Oh, yeah…you get used to it. Until you learn how to make the transition from Here to There make sure I am present, I don‘t want to have to explain to my baby sister why her daughter was lost somewhere between realms.” Judy responded distractedly.

“Between realms?” Judy sighed at the question.

“Yeah, there are…ugh, shit…look remind me to explain the realms and shit to you some time but right now I have to think. Here are some books I want you to read through and not only learn but understand before we head back…I will be in my cave.”

Gesturing towards the still open portal Judy watched as three books zoomed out and landed in Tana’s lap. Turning and falling into ash and grave dust Judy made her way towards her burgeoning Sanctum.

‘Was that the Boss? She seemed a bit messed up in the head, I mean more than usual.’

Looking around for the source of the oddly deep voice Tana wondered if she was going as crazy as Judy.

‘Down here Mint.’

Looking down the young bunny jerked away from the arm of the chair she was sitting in as she saw what looked like a leech covered in pointed scales sporting a circular mouth full of needle teeth.

“Mint?...wait a minute, you are one of her familiars…Finnick right?” Leaning in for a better look Tana reached out and poked the leech.

‘Ey! Stop it!...yeah Mint, you know the plant that tastes like ice and goes great with dark chocolate…damn do you even know what chocolate is? Never mind, what is wrong with the Boss, the hell did you do?’

Tana scowled at the little leech as she leaned back into the cushions of the chair.

“I have no idea what chocolate is but I do know what mint is…and yes I know my fur is green in some places, it’s genetic. I have no idea what is wrong with her, currently that is since there is probably an entire burrows worth of things wrong with her. As for what I did, I didn’t do anything unless you count me doing what she did centuries ago.”

Looking down at the small leech Tana grinned in a way that made Fin wonder if the Boss had managed to breed.

“You knew Aunty Judy when she was young…tell me all about her when she was my age.”

‘Ha! She was still an innocent bunny maiden when she was your age. Now if you are wondering about her when she looked your age that is another story, one that you will have to get from her. Now if you will excuse me, I have to find the Boss and talk to her about getting Suzie to stop cheating at chess.’

About to move away Finnick found himself gripped in a paw that felt like it was lined with thorns. Looking up at the way the Mint Bunny was smiling the small leech wished he had more of his bodies available to call on, unfortunately they were mostly kept inside the Boss’s bloodstream.

“I wasn’t asking.”

Seeing Judy lounging on a couch in one of the more out of the way entertainment rooms with a faraway look on her face caused a thrill of fear to go down Jack’s spine, it was never a good thing when she was taking the time to think before acting. Entering the room and closing the door he walked over to a hidden compartment he had found years ago and had stocked with some higher end liquors. Pulling a few bottles out and making himself a drink he sat down in a chair nearby the necromantic rabbit.

“Alright, what is going on…you have that look on your face.”

Jack said after a couple seconds of silence. Glancing over at Jack she tilted her head in confusion.

“What look?”

“The look that says you are thinking some deep thoughts, I have seen that look on plenty of my own children’s faces. The only times it has sent a tremor down my spine has been when it was on the face of one my kits that usually jumped before they knew what was going on. Normally if I saw that look on one of my kits faces, I would start preparing for some kind of mischief or getting a visit from the Enforcers. Seeing the look on your face though makes me wonder if I should start preparing for a war or maybe looking for somewhere to hide bodies.”

Judy scoffed and went to make her own drink.

“You have a cupboard three knotholes to the left of that cupboard, press and infuse it with a bit of energy.” Jack called over his shoulder as she passed by him.

Pausing to look over her shoulder with an even deeper look of confusion she followed his instructions and sure enough after pressing against the knothole with a burst of energy a small door opened up. Looking inside she felt an odd pinch in her chest and some kind of moisture in her eyes.

Inside the small cupboard was a variety of bottles, powders, oils and more interestingly…a bottle of a very familiar black tar-like substance that sloshed gently around the inside of the container despite not having been touched. Looking at it Judy wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if it really was trying to climb the sides of the bottle. Reaching in and pulling out a variety of bottles as well as the bottle of tar she slowly and quietly went about making herself a drink.

With a glass of nightshade tea mixed with concentrated cyanide and topped with pure grain alcohol she made her way back to the couch and placed her drink down next to the bottle of tar. Sitting down she looked over to Jack with a look as serious as he had ever seen on her face.

“That…” She started while pointing at the bottled black substance.

“Should not be here for a number of reasons, not the least of which being how hard it should have been to collect it or the fact that there are kits around here.”

“You opened the cupboard, you saw how many precautions we put on it to prevent it from being opened by anyone else…even Senna and I can’t get into that one in fact. As for how hard it was to collect it, well that is where things get interesting. You see there were a few mammals found wandering around the forests infected with that gunk and that is what we were able to collect after we caught them…can you guess how long ago that was though?”

Thinking to herself about when she had last seen this particular substance Judy took a sip of her drink.

“From what I remember it was particularly vicious when inside the host…hundred percent fatality if left unchecked but prey mammals had a longer amount of time to get treatment. The fact that this has lasted seven hundred years is both fascinating and terrifying as it should have either died off or become a more widely known problem.”

Scratching her head a bit she looked up and saw a grin on Jack’s face that told her she had just said something he had been expecting.

“It is a known problem isn’t it…if you are about to tell me there are hoards of infected mammals roaming the countryside I am about to jump for joy.”

Jack rolled his eyes, of course she would be happy about something like that…she would get to study it even more and probably do so by chewing her way through the infected population at the same time.

“Well it is a known problem but not in the way you are thinking. As far as any of my contacts have been able to tell me over the years there aren’t any more of the infected you are thinking about…look closer at it, tell me what you think.”

Growing a little frustrated at Jack’s game Judy picked the bottle up and examined it closer, even going so far as to look at it through her Sight and was surprised when she saw swirls of pure magic floating through it like oil in water.

“That was collected less than a hundred years ago, right around the time when a new drug made its debut in Bunnyburrow and took the streets by storm.”

Flashing back to when she had visited the Bunnyburrow with Senna Judy looked back at the bottle of gloop.

“Glow…are you saying this is glow?” Looking back at the buck Judy shook the bottle slightly.

“No I am saying that is the precursor to Glow…someone is playing chemist with a centuries old plague and modern-day concentrated magic.”

Jack grinned at seeing the eager look on Judy’s face as he told her this little fact.

“Reaallllyyy…That is very interesting….” Ignoring the way her voice took on a dark eagerness Jack sipped his drink before asking what he had been wanting to ask earlier.

“So what were you thinking of so deeply earlier?” Jerking back from her study of the bottle Judy shook her head a bit as if to get her thoughts in order.

“I was uh…I was thinking of Bunnyburrow.” Jack held back a smile, he had thrown her off and distracted her enough that she tripped and made it obvious that she was lying.

“I need to go back and experience more of it, I think I am going to take Tana with me and show her what it means to be the darker aspect of the land, don’t look at me like that I didn’t want to be a damn baby sitter but here I am. I remember Senna mentioning there were three crime lords for the three sections of the city…how do you feel about your daughter becoming an Underworld Crime Princess?”

Jack groaned and closed his eyes before slumping back into his chair.

“Don’t ask me shit like that Judy, I just know for sure Senna heard that since she has been watching you like a hawk every time you have been within her sight. If you had just gone and done it, I would have been disappointed that she turned to crime but at the same time I could have been proud that she reached so high in doing so. Of course now I have to wonder if I am going to be proud if she makes it or disappointed that she makes it…or maybe I will be proud if she fails because that would mean she was bad at crime?”

Looking over at Judy with a raised brow Jack was almost afraid to ask his next question.

“If you are thinking of her as a Crime Princess…what would you be in this little fantasy?” Judy grinned with glowing eyes and a mouthful of teeth sharper than a rabbit should have.

“Me? Oh I plan on being the Queen.”

“Alright Spawnling so first-ish lesson…being the counter to your mother isn’t about raising the dead or spreading plagues or any of my other long list of atrocities. Also if you want a good example of why you are not only lucky as hell to have your mother be your opposite but also why you both are so necessary for these lands to thrive…just look at what happened to the Reticulan Empire.”

Seeing the confused look on her apprentice’s face Judy elaborated as they walked down the road towards Bunnyburrow.

“When I was in the Empire I made sure to keep my eyes out for certain individuals, namely the ones that could elevate the Empire militaristically, economically, spiritually or anything of the like. I spent hundreds of years manipulating individuals and even entire bloodlines in order to make them fall apart when I wanted them to, more importantly though I built a spy network across the years and miles in order to tell me if I ever had competition in my efforts. If I ever even heard rumors of a counter, I made sure they never realized their potential, whether that meant I had them killed or simply turned them away from a path that would lead them against my wishes it didn’t matter. I made sure there was never a voice that could raise up and ruin my plans…in the end because I never had anyone to fight against, I brought an entire empire crumbling down after bleeding them over centuries through war and internal turmoil.”

Gulping and adjusting her thin tie a bit Tana looked down at her outfit, she normally wore more dress-like clothes and usually only wore pants when she was working or relaxing at home. Now thought she was walking down the road in a pair of tailored slacks as black as her fur, a dark green waistcoat under a black tailed coat. Beneath her waistcoat was an ash grey button up collared shirt with a forest green tie sporting a complicated knot that looked a lot like the one her own master’s teacher wore.

Looking over at her new teacher she grumbled to herself wondering if she was ever going to look that good or be able to walk with such confidence.

Strolling down the road Judy exuded a confidence that almost warped the air around her.

She walked as if the world moved beneath her solely to convey her to her destination and wore a grin that looked as if she knew more than everyone around her and was laughing that they hadn’t caught up yet. Dressed in a tailed coat the color of deep waters with a silver waistcoat and royal purple tie along with black slacks she was having fun walking along with an ebony walking stick topped in silver interlocking gear patterns. Tana wondered how long it would be before she could strut along as if she owned everything around herself.

‘I suppose at one point she did own all of this.’ Tana thought to herself.

“Now in your case Senna already knows you are her counter, you are lucky it is her and that you are related because if it was me…well we would probably be trying to kill each other before to long. Right now you are learning, you aren’t any kind of competition to her, so I am sort of picking up the slack since I am going to be causing problems. Now can you think of what I might be talking about when I say ‘problems’?”

Looking down from under the shadowed brim of her gear adorned top hat Judy grinned at seeing the look of concentration on her apprentice’s face.

“Well you said I didn’t need to raise the dead or spread plagues or anything like that so…hmmm, is being a counterbalance all about physical problems?” Chuckling to herself Judy looked back down the road at the city that was beginning to come into view.

“No it is not, you are as much a spiritual balance as a physical one.” Propping her elbow in her paw and nibbling her nail Tana went back to thinking.

“Well…if it isn’t killing or raising, and it isn’t necessarily a requirement to be a physical problem. Hmm, from what I have seen about you, you aren’t about to try and cause issues with the farm because that would effect the entire family but no one else really and you are trying to effect things on the scale of the entire region.”

Judy nodded with a pleased look.

“Very good thinking, now remember it isn’t just about being her opposite in results but also in thoughts and action. Where she might respond to a threat to herself with a threat in turn or a warning to back off, I would just kill them regardless of how willing they were to follow through with their threat. Senna might destroy a threat to her family personally, she might turn the local flora against her enemies…I will destroy their entire bloodline and if possible I will send their entire country, culture, past and present into the abyss.”

“Senna will pay the regular price for a piece of fruit at the market and I will haggle for it, she would try to find the most honorable and beneficial to all way of accomplishing something. I will try to find the easiest and most profitable way of accomplishing what I want and if the easiest also means that I leave a trail of bodies then so be it.”

Stopping in place and turning towards her apprentice Judy turned her most serious look towards the younger doe and reached out to place a paw on her shoulder.

“These are all example of how your mother and I would interact if we were working against each other in the same region, but we aren’t going to be working against each other to any real degree since you are here. When the time comes you will find yourself making decisions of your own that go against her and you might not even notice it happening. This is all Old Magic, these are the Laws of the Land that were laid down before even my own master was born…it can be subtle to the point that you would never see it happening until it had been going on for years. The world works off of balance and it has a tricky way of establishing that balance despite the whims and wishes of the small creatures that walk upon it.”

Stepping back and grinning down at the slightly shorter young doe Judy felt a sharp hitch in her throat and chest at the eager look the little bunny looking at her, was this what it would be like to teach her own daughter if she could ever have one?

Would her own kits have ever looked up at her with such eagerness to learn the wonders of the world? Could she have ever borne such innocence and vibrancy?... Or would they have turned out like her?

Turning back towards the city and continuing forward Judy used a small flare of power to sear the excess moisture from her eyes.

“Never assume you are larger than you actually are in the grand scheme of things Spawnling, I am far more powerful than your mother in the ways of manipulation and combat while she can channel the full might of the earth and the land around her…and if we combined the entirety of our powers into a single being we would not even be able to curl one of Master’s whiskers. Now imagine that and remember, Master is barely more than a fleck of dust in the grand scheme of things and even less that that compared to one of the Offices.”

“Offices? Office of what?”

Smiling bitterly at her memories of the various incarnations Judy took a moment to answer, that hitch from earlier was bugging her…she was going to have to add more layers over her heart if it was still able to affect her like this.

“The Offices of Creation…basically the physical manifestations of some of the cornerstones to reality. Life, Death, Time and Fate…I have met three of them and told them all to fuck off, I have yet to meet Time but apparently she doesn’t get out much. You met Death earlier, now that you have met her you might get to meet her brother Life and Fate eventually…remind me to teach you my personal banishing spell you can scribe around your bath.”

“My…bath?” What the hell? why would she need to have a banishing spell around her bath?

“Yeah…they like popping in when you are naked and relaxed, I think they get off on it personally. Now look sharp, we are almost to the city. Remember just follow my lead and…well, be the doe you are and not the doe your family or your mother wants you to be.”

“There you go hun.” Jack said as he placed a glass of wine next to his wife as she relaxed in the tub.

“K-litter has dinner taken care of, J-litter has already gotten most of the laundry done and B-litter is coordinating the cleaning duties.” Jack said as he grinned down at his wife as she lounged in the scented bubble bath.

“MMmmmmm….thank you Love, now why don’t you get in here with me and convince me not to be mad about whatever it is you are apologizing for.” Senna said as she sipped her wine and luxuriated in the bath water.

“Uhhhh…what uh, what do you mean apologizing for Love of my life?” Jack asked nervously.

“You are getting me relaxed and calmed down before I find out something has happened that I am probably going to blow up over, with the effort you are putting into keeping me calm before I even know what you are apologizing for you might as well be naked with me in the meantime.”

Nodding his head back and forth Jack couldn’t fault that logic.

“Well…ok but I get to pamper your ears before I tell you why you are going to be mad.”

“Deal.”

“Now do you remember what I taught you about absorbing the ambient energy of your surroundings?” Judy asked as they walked through the gates of Bunnyburrow.

“Yeah, I need to suppress my own energy to create a sort of imbalance so that the ambient energy flows in right?”

Judy nodded as they stood off to the side of the gate in a small pool of shadows, she had decided to tour the city starting in the late evening as a way to not only see the darker side of the city that came out once the sun set but also to give her little apprentice a good lesson.

“That’s right, make sure to compress your own energy as far down as you can, imagine it becoming a small ball and squeeze it tighter and tighter until it becomes so small and dense that you can’t make it any smaller or tighter…and then go further. Eventually this will become so easy you will be able to do it almost reflexively and in certain situations even use it to sustain, heal and hide yourself. Now before you go trying it, I want you to tell me the effects you are expecting it to have on you and your surroundings.”

Tana thought for a few seconds before answering.

“Well, if I suddenly suppress my energy then anyone who is sensitive and paying attention will notice that I seem to disappear so it could bring unwanted attention…”

Jerking her head up and looking around them she started flicking her tongue out and sniffing the air. Judy grinned as she watched Tana test the air and even allow her eyes to slip into the form that allowed her to see the world as it really was.

“This fog isn’t moisture, we aren’t even close to a body of water large enough to create a fog in these temperatures and this time of year…this fog is concentrated ambient magic so if I suddenly draw in all the ambient energy around me, I will stick out even more since there will suddenly be a clear area with me in the center. If I suddenly become a low ambient space surrounded by enough ambient magic that is visible as a fog I can overload myself with power and light up like a beacon to anyone even marginally sensitive.”

Judy rolled her wrist for the young doe to continue her thought process.

“The Enforcers use specially trained and outfitted mammals that are ridiculously sensitive to magic and if there is suddenly a blank spot with a bonfire in the middle they will be all over us in seconds…so I need to be careful and take it slow right?”

Judy grinned widely before tipping her hat to the young doe.

“That was better than I could have expected, either you studied much more than I expected or Senna is a much better teacher than I could have imagined. Very well, show me that you can do more than just talk a good game.”

So saying Judy turned and began walking away until she was near the opening to an alley before turning and giving Tana a thumbs up.

“Uh…why are you way over there?”

“Because if you mess this up I want a head start when we have to run, also if we have to run it will be good practice for you so don’t worry about anything since you are going to get some good experience either way.”

Sighing and grumbling Tana took a few seconds to focus on the magic inside her until she had a good feel for it and then began to squeeze it down. Gritting her teeth at the way her own energy seemed to try and slip out of her mental grasp Tana didn’t realize she had actually begun to bare her teeth…it was her damn energy and it would obey her!

“Uh oh…Lua you and the others are ready to intercept as needed yes?” Judy said once she saw the look on Tana’s face.

“Of course, Alpha is back in the burrow pouting a bit that he couldn’t be here though.” The voice came from the shadows in the alley, the actual reason Judy had put some distance between her and Tana.

“Well he isn’t as good at sneaking around or holding back when he needs to plus, he is better with the kits and both jack and Senna could use a bit of help. Did you tell him you were going to get him some new toys to play with?”

Lua purred deeply.

“Of course I told him I was going to get him some new toys…wait, what kind are we talking about?”

Judy was about to answer when she whipped her head back towards her apprentice as her energy signature suddenly dropped.

“Get ready.” As she spoke the ambient magic in the area around the gate suddenly rushed into the small form of her apprentice.

Watching as Tana stood there with a grin on her face as she realized she had gotten control of her own energy Judy grinned as she watched the look on Tana’s face fall once she realized what she had done.

Cupping a paw to her mouth Judy called out with a laugh.

“Bit of advice Spawnling!...” Seeing Tana turn her way Judy smiled wide before falling to ash and grave dust with on last word.

“Run.”

“Shit…Shit, SHIT!” Tana yelped out as she dodged back and forth while darts exploded around her on the stone walls and glowing pipes as she ran from the Enforcers.

Jumping over trash cans, dodging around boxes and even bouncing off the walls a couple times Tana clapped her paws together with a word that flowed like clear spring water. Stamping down and turning her body while throwing out her paws the young doe pulled in as much of the ambient magic fog around her as she could while spitting a trio of words and focusing all the energy she could into her impromptu spell.

Water from all over the alley and surrounding pipes erupted into motion before a wave of subzero temperatures crashed out of Tana like an avalanche. Small puddles along the ground grew waves of frozen needles as pipes exploded and showered everything with a glaze of slick ice. Snow flakes formed in sudden flurries that blinded the Enforcers and dried the air into a searing haze of cold that scorched the lungs with every breath. Water flowed over fur and exposed skin before turning to crackling frost that ripped and tore at the tender flesh as it broke apart.

Spinning and continuing her run Tana spoke a word that danced like a warm summer breeze and in a sudden heat haze one Tana ducked down a side alley while another ran down a second off shoot and a third continued on straight forward.

“That little bitch isn’t getting away! You two go after that one, you two the other one! You three with me! I don’t care what condition she is in when you catch her as long as she is still breathing!”

Crouching down in the shadows cast by glowing pipe over a trash can Tana waited for a twenty count before standing up and beginning to slowly walk back the way she came, until she felt a cold metallic circle press against the back of her head.

“Paws up and turn around slowly.” The voice behind her was as cold as the gun barrel pressed to her head.

Raising her paws and turning around Tana saw a leopard looking down at her from behind the barrel of his sidearm. Gulping a bit Tana ran through the various spells she might be able to do in such a situation…and was coming up with an embarrassingly short list. Practically everything she could do would either be ineffective or would only have a coin-flip chance at even working for her let alone being of use.

“You are in so much trouble rabbit, and that is after I get through with you. As long as you are breathing when I haul you in I can do whatever I want until then…”

The look on the leopard’s face as he spoke sent a shiver down Tana’s spine, she wasn’t sure which would be worse between getting shot or whatever this large cat had in mind for her.

“Now then tak-HUrghhk!” Jerking back in surprise Tana found herself standing like an idiot as the enforcer was hit from the side by a number of smaller forms that quickly tackled him to the ground and began to swarm over him.

“Well that was fun to watch, you gave them a good run Spawnling.”

Turning to the side as her arms slowly fell to her side Tana watched as her aunt and teacher stepped out of the very same shadows she had been hiding in.

“I must say I would have liked to see you keep going but under the circumstances I am impressed.” Stopping front of her apprentice Judy grinned from under the rim of her top hat.

“You…you were watching that whole time?” Tana couldn’t believe it, she had practically been thrown to the literal wolves and her teacher had just been watching?!

“Of course I was watching.” Judy said.

“Your mother would be very upset if she had to bail you out of jail on her night off, especially when she is under the assumption you are probably sleeping in your room right now.”

“Wait, what? She doesn’t know I am here in the city with you?” Tana asked in slight disbelief.

“How could she not know that I am not in my room or that I left with you, I thought she knew everything that happened on our lands…that weird Burrow Matron thing.” Judy smiled widely and tossed her head back and forth a bit before answering.

“~WeEEeeEEeell~ I might have had your father and a few of the other litters distract her, I haven’t employed the fluffle mafia yet so I still have that to fall back on. As for how she doesn’t know where you are or that we are together, well…she may be the Burrow Matron but I still have some tricks up my sleeve. Just remember that sometimes if you want to win like a Queen, you have to cheat like a Bitch.”

About to turn and start walking away Judy was stopped by a small paw on her arm.  Suppressing the urge to flare her power and toxify the blood of whoever dared to touch her Judy looked down at the small doe.

“You were watching that whole time…and you didn’t even think to help at all? Why? What was the point of all of that?”

Judy sighed before tapping her walking stick on the ground, before the sound even finished registering in Tana’s ears they were surrounded by a series of black clad forms as Judy’s own shadow roiled and rose from the ground until Lua was standing behind the necromancer.

“I was watching the whole time yes, as were my children. You have a talent in artificing metal and creating wonderful machines…I have a talent for artificing flesh and bone. I emptied the dungeons of the Reticulan Empire and these are my Shadows, my first successes…my babies. I have squads like these watching over your parents and your borders.”

Looking around Tana got her first look at the shadowed forms surrounding them.

Standing about as tall as the average rabbit kit the forms were…not right.

They had the fur of mammals and yet the build of reptiles, their eyes were slitted like feral beasts and when they opened their mouths fangs would fold down from the roof of their mouth. They had long claws and tails but no visible ears…looking at them Tana tried focusing further but it was like their forms blurred slightly.

“Interesting aren’t they, my first true creations.”

Reaching out Judy stroked the head of one of the creatures and as she did so it leaned into her touch with a trilling, chirping purr. Hearing the sound, the rest of the creatures seemed to become more energetic as they began bouncing in place.

“OH my lovelies, come to momma!” Judy said while throwing her arms out and kneeling down on one knee.

In a flurry of black forms and slick movements that seemed to defy her sight Tana watched as her aunt was suddenly surrounded by small wiggling forms that all wanted to be right next to the rabbit as they chirped and trilled as she laughed at their antics.

“You…you built these?” Tana felt her head spinning at the thought of seeing something living being made by her aunt, a life form she had designed and created.

“Yes…I tore apart entire generations of mammals and reptiles in order to understand how they both worked and then built a life form around the best parts of each. They have a venom based off a sea creature I found in my short travels to the ocean that bordered the Reticulan Empire, mottled dark fur to aid in their stealth with the heat sensing capabilities of reptiles. I may never be able to have my own children but that doesn’t mean I can’t ever be a Mother.”

The look on her aunt’s face as she spoke and looked at her ‘children’ reminded Tana that this was the rabbit that had lost her family and had summoned a creature of legend for simple vengeance.

This was the rabbit that had fought a silent single mammal war against a member of royalty and won, who had spent generations toppling an empire…this was a rabbit that had been a single mammal among reptiles for longer than she had been alive. This was a rabbit that knew and understood boundaries, but didn’t care about them in any way.

Standing up and giving a sharp whistle Judy soon stood among a crowd of dark forms that stood perfectly still while looking up at her with eagerly glowing eyes. With a series of sharp whistles and snapping clicks Judy tossed her head and by the time she looked back at Tana…only two rabbits and a black panther were standing within the alley.

“You have had those watching my family and I? for how long?” Tana asked quietly, the adrenaline of running from the enforcers was fading and the thought of her aunt being able to create something…

‘I want to be able to do that.’

The thought rang through Tana’s head like a gong and surprised even her, she had always wanted to make something, but did she want to make something like those little critters?

“Since I first stepped back onto my family’s lands, like I said before…your mother might be the Burrow Matron but I grew up on that farm and in those hills so I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Now enough of my children, you did good running from the enforcers…you broke sightlines quickly and often, you used spells that slowed them down and impeded their movement along with a fine use of the environment. Honestly if that last one hadn’t tripped and fallen so far behind in the beginning you would have gotten away clean. Lua what is the status of the ones that went after her illusions?”

Turning to look at her Shadow Judy grinned at the silky chuckle coming from the large panther.

“From what my siblings tell me, they are currently combing the alleys and side paths…there is also some rather inventive threats and swearing going on, even I have learned a few new ones.”

“Excellent…have them killed one at a time, my babies deserve a sweet treat. On another note, have you found anywhere we can sit and have a nice evening of celebration?” The smile on Lua’s face told Tana she had absolutely found somewhere she would get in trouble for going to.

“There is a very interesting building near the center of the city that actually extends from above the fog down into the sewers. It seems to be some kind of gathering point for entertainment of all kinds…I would even go so far as to say rules and laws seem fairly relaxed within its walls.” About to respond Judy was cut off by Tana.

“Wait you can’t mean the Pillar!”

Looking over to the young doe with looks of confusion both Judy and Lua waited for her to continue. Seeing that neither one of them knew what she was talking about Tana slapped her head a bit.

“Right, neither of you have even been in the region for longer than anyone here has been alive…the Pillar is, well…it is an open secret that it is where everything illegal starts, it is where the criminals go to relax basically. There are multiple levels and each one caters to different interests, the most popular are the fighting pits but basically if you want something done or you need to get something that is the place to go.”

Judy grinned at the doe as she tapped her walking stick before leaning on it.

“And how would a young, pure and innocent little bunny like you know about any of that?” Lua smiled from where she stood in the shadows.

“Methinks the young Mistress might have a naughty past.” Tana smiled with slight embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her head.

“It is possible I might have convinced some of my siblings to go with me to the Pillar one time when mom sent us to get a few groceries.” Judy cooed and ran over to give Tana a quick hug.

“I wasn’t even here and you were trying to corrupt those around you, I am so proud of you. Come along Spawnling! Lead the way to this Pillar and let the night of shenanigans continue!” Pointing with her walking stick Judy began marching off down the alley before a throat clearing caught her attention.

“Uhm…it is actually this way.” Tana said while pointing down a different alley.

“Of course it is! Lua maintain overwatch and keep the munchkins in line and you can have another date night once we get back to the burrow.” Judy said while spinning a heel and marching off in the indicated direction.

Walking into the Pillar brought a smile to Judy’s face as she looked around.

The building was huge, it was probably the tallest in the city and took up an entire block all on its own. Walking in Judy saw that the levels were arranged in large circles around a hollow center that ran from the depths to the heights of the large building.

Music blared from somewhere, magical lights flared and strobed in scintillating patterns. Looking around Judy could see at least three bars per level with the inner portions of the levels being dedicated to sitting and viewing other levels with the outer rings were seemingly dedicated to dancing.

Walking over to a table and pressing a small pad Judy signaled that they had taken the table. Siting down and taking off her hat Judy lounged into one of the comfy chairs while looking over at her apprentice.

“Oh for the love of everything rotting and rancid will you relax already!”

Sitting ramrod straight in her chair Tana jumped slightly at her aunt’s voice. Looking over and seeing that the other doe was perfectly relaxed she did her best to emulate her posture.

“Ok good attempt, now second lesson of the night… inhale the ambient energy while cycling out your own, you almost did it earlier while running. If you circulate your energy you will be able to fade into the background of anyone sensitive looking in your direction, you will essentially have the same signature as your surroundings. Not only will this allow you to remain hidden but you will also be able to hide more effectively and sometimes hiding doesn’t mean that no one sees you, it means that no one notices you.”

Taking a deep breath and giving herself a shake Tana focused on her energy and began slowly pulling on the surrounding magic while channeling her own down into the ground to diffuse around her.

“There you go, keep it up for as long as you can and you will be able to party all night. Now, look around you and tell me what you see.”

Feeling the heady mix of energy beginning to flow into her system Tana shivered and fell back into her seat with a sigh, muscles she didn’t even know were tense suddenly relaxing until she felt like a puddle of happy jelly.

Looking around with her Sight Tana studied their surroundings and was amazed at what she saw since she had only been here a couple times before and she had never looked around herself with her Sight. Wards circled the inner hollow area in order to prevent mammals from falling over the guardrails, sigils and charms prevented music and objects from being able to make it from one level to the next while still others seemed to be some kind of far sight charms.

“They have made it so mammals would have to actually work to fall over the rails and it looks like there is some kind of…are they far sight charms? Why would they have those?” Judy clapped lightly at Tana’s observation.

“You continue to impress, you are so wasted in trying to be like Senna and your siblings. As far as the far sight charms, come with me.” Standing up and walking over to the railing Judy leant against the railing and gestured towards where the small far sight charms had been placed.

“Take a closer look, those charms are made to see farther than other charms with greater clarity but only in one direction. See how they are oriented?” Pointing towards the charms Judy was pleased to see that Tana was following along easily.

“They are all pointed down towards the bottom level, I assume that is where the fighting pits are located.” Looking around Judy gestured at the other levels of the Pillar.

“Every level seems to have some kind of attraction… that level there looks like dancing and music primarily, that one is fine dining from the smells and ohh…”

Leaning down to whisper into Tana’s ear Judy spoke with an audible smile in her voice.

“Don’t ever tell your mother you have been to that level.”

Looking at her aunt in confusion Tana looked up at where she had been looking and felt a blush sear her ears to near combustion…apparently that level was dedicated to uhm…relationships.

“No problem. So what are we doing here? you brought us here with a plan for the future but I don’t know enough to even guess at what it might be.” Judy nodded before looking back at their table.

“You are correct, always try to achieve more with as little effort as you can Spawnling. If you can go somewhere and have a good time while also getting some business done then do so, it’s called being efficient. We are here to not only have a good time but also drink a bit more than we should, see things you shouldn’t see but also get an idea of how the underworld of this city works. Look around and see who is paying attention to who, how do mammals react when someone walks among them and what happens when someone does something. This is a recon mission that will help us set up for future endeavors…also, this is going to be your first pressure test. Get us a table we deserve.”

Nodding over to their table and indicating the waiter making their way over Judy grinned at the slightly panicked look on Tana’s face.

Gulping a bit Tana did something she had been told to not do as a child and flooded her mind with energy.

The world around her slowed down, sounds grew longer and even visible as waves through the air as her mind kicked into overdrive. Thoughts and plans that she had tossed to the back suddenly came screaming forward as she took in everything around her with such clarity her eyes began to bleed. Scents became sharper as she tasted everything around her. She could feel the musical vibrations through her feet as well as every heartbeat of the mammals around her.

Rocking backwards as she stopped channeling her magic Tana shook her head before looking up at Judy, who had an expression on her face that she hadn’t seen before.

“I need a couple gold coins, at least two but more would be better, also I need Lua at my back.”

Reaching into her coat Judy pulled a pawful of gold coins from the depths and chucked her head to the side.

Grabbing the coins and looking to where Judy had indicated Tana saw a vision of silky dark beauty as Lua slid from the shadows.

Clad in a twilight blue dress slit up to the hip on both sides with ribbons twining around her forearms and calves with a necklace of glittering diamonds around her throat Lua was dressed for ease of explosive movement while also be gorgeous to look at.

“Tiny Mistress, I am yours to command.” Lua said with a slight bow.

“Good, just follow my lead, look sexy and dangerous.” Stopping halfway into turning towards their table and looking back at the large panther Tana grinned.

“Ok you already got the sexy and dangerous look going for you, just follow my lead.”

“I like this one Mistress, you should keep her.” Grinning as she walked up to take her place behind Tana the panther let her arms swing lightly at her sides and stood as tall and straight as she could.

“Good evening, are you ready to order or do you require some more time?” The lithe racoon waitress said as she approached the table Judy had claimed for them.

Smiling with a confidence she didn’t feel Tana walked forward until she was just inside the waitress’s personal space.

Smiling at surprisingly lithe racoon Tana waited until she was about to speak again before reaching out and gripping her jaw in order to keep her mouth open. Holding a gold coin up between two fingers Tana waited until the mammal’s eyes were firmly locked on the small disc before she smiled in her best Evil Aunty impression.

“Now sweety, I am here with my dear beloved aunty and I want to show her a good time. So you are going to find us a very nice and very private booth where we won’t be interrupted or listened in on.”

Placing the gold coin into the waitress’s mouth Tana pulled her closer and looked her directly in the eyes.

“That is for you, because you are going to be a good girl and get us what I want because I want it. This next one…” Holding up a second gold coin Tana watched as the racoon focused on it even more fiercely than the first.  

“Is to pay for the very pretty and sexy serving staff that will be bringing us our food and drinks.” Placing the second on top of the first in the racoon’s mouth Tana held up a third coin.

“And this is so that you and all your little serving friends stay quiet about us being here…no one knows we are here, and no one is going to know we are here, I know this because so far you are the only one who knows…and if I hear tell of a rabbit slinging gold around, I will know exactly who to go to first when I start flaying mammals alive…understand?”

Placing the last coin in the racoon’s mouth and then closing her jaw around the gold Tana leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Now are you going to be my good girl tonight?” Seeing the wide eyed and shaky nod from the racoon Tana slid her paw up to play with her ears a bit.

“Good…I like good girls who do as their told, I love rewarding my good girls…are you going to do as you are told and earn your rewards?”

The frantically eager nod from the waitress was all Tana needed before she stepped back. About to turn and walk away the waitress stopped as a gentle paw rested on her arm.

“Sweetling…I know you said you are going to be my Good Girl and I believe you, but just incase you needed a bit more incentive to earn your rewards, I would like to introduce you to my close associate Lua.” Gesturing behind her to the living shadow that was Lua, Tana felt her smile grow sharp as the waitress went slightly pale at seeing the large panther.

“See she is something of an overachiever…when I get upset, she always does her best to make me happy again because she likes seeing me happy, don’t you Lua?” The dark purring sound that came from the panther’s chest sent ripples through nearby drinks.

“So if someone was to go and make me unhappy, well they might end up having a late-night visitor…tell me Lua dear, if someone was to make me unhappy how would you react?”

Lua smiled as she stepped forward and slid her large paws around the Tiny Mistress’s shoulders with her claws on full display while purring deeply and loudly.

“MMmmhhmm…I would seek out whoever had the audacity to displease you and I would tie them down in front of their family. Then I could slowly and carefully slice their eyelids off so they had no choice but to watch as I meticulously stripped the flesh from those closest to them.” Leaning down so she could rub her cheek against Tana’s she looked directly into the racoon’s eyes.

“Then I would make them watch as I slowly and deliberately ate their family members in front of them. Hmmmm, I would tell them why they deserved to be tortured and why it was a good thing that they were dying in pain as I slowly ate them alive…is this pretty little snack displeasing you?” Standing up as her purring voice took on a dark tone Lua bared her teeth in a smile.

“No no…she is my Good Girl, aren’t you sweety?” The racoon nodded frantically nodded.

“Good…now you are going to get my aunt and I a very lovely and private booth aren’t you?” More frantic nodding.

“Excellent…off with you now.”

Flicking her paw in a shooing gesture Tana grinned as the racoon spun on the spot and scurried away. Hearing a slow clap from behind her Tana turned and watched as her aunt walked up with a smile.

“Well done…well done! That was better than I could have hoped, are you sure you never did anything like that before? You are truly wasted in that burrow, you have the kind of talent I could have only dreamed of having at your age…oh if I could have been like you when I was your age, I would be running this entire country by now.” Smiling with a bit of embarrassment Tana scuffed the floor with her toes a bit.

“Well I just sort of thought ‘what would aunty Judy do?’ and I ran with it.” Laughing at the young rabbit’s words Judy wrapped her in a hug before puling back, the ants under her fur would only allow so much contact.

*Ahem* “Madams…if you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to one of our most prized settings.” Looking to the owner of the voice both rabbits saw a grinning ocelot waiter, a very fit ocelot with fur so silky it just begged to be petted.

“Excellent, I assume my niece has expressed our desire for privacy…” Judy said as she tipped her hat and gazed at the pretty waiter.

“Most assuredly madam, I can give my personal guarantee that nothing you say will reach beyond the walls of your booth.” Judy grinned as she followed the ocelot.

“Good…I assume we will be able to view the pit matches as we dine, yes?”

“Oh of course Revered Madam, you will have the best view on the level…it will be as if you were in the pit itself.” Feeling a series of small pin pricks on his shoulder the ocelot was spun around and pulled down until he was looking directly into a pair of amethyst eyes.

“I don’t want the best view on the level…I want the best view Period; how would I go about getting what I want?” Sliding her talons along the ocelot’s shoulder up his neck until she could give him a scritch around the ear Judy smiled at the deep purr he produced at her ministrations.

“I uh, I apologize Madam but…ohHHohh…the only way to get a better view would be to be invited onto the Gold Level, but that is only for the oh to the left…only for members of the Big Three, the leaders of the cities levels.”

Pulling her paw back and smiling indulgently at the look of loss on the ocelot’s face Judy motioned for him to continue leading the way.

“Be a Good Boy and I will allow you to rest your head in my lap…you would enjoy that wouldn’t you?”

Tana almost missed the tone Judy’s voice took as the ocelot stood up and nodded eagerly before turning and leading them further into the Pillar.

“I must say I am far more impressed than I expected to be Spawnling, you have shown a very thorough knowledge of magic as well as how mammals act and think. You have demonstrated an aptitude for manipulation I was not expecting of one of Senna’s brood and the way you think is remarkable…truly I believe with the correct education and practice you will be far better of a counterbalance for her than I ever could be.”

Tana wiggled in her seat at the praise, she had always been the failure of her litter.

“You are just saying that because I have had to deal with years of failure and disapproval…you are trying to manipulate me even now aren’t you.” Judy smiled as she slid into the booth they had been given.

“Of course I am, better question though…is it working?” Tana slid into the booth and smiled at the overstuffed comfort of the seating.

“Yes, you bitch. Now what are we doing here now that we have a nice private booth?” Tana asked.

Judy grinned as Lua slid into place next to her. Leaning to her side and lounging up against the beautiful panther Judy chirred in pleasure as she began to rub her shoulders and scritch around her ears.

“We are going to take over the underworld of this city, we are the rot that this land has been festering for generations and now will finally begin suffering. We need to find the best foothold, I would prefer either the fighting pits or the brothels but I want your input, if we are to take over this city and become the power behind the public faces…where should we start?”

Thinking on her aunt’s word Tana leaned back into her seat and chewed her thumbnail before answering.

“I think…I need to get a familiar and a sexy bodyguard. After that I need to learn a lot more about artificing and once I am up to snuff, we can take over the brothels.” Judy smiled with a mouthful of fangs and venomous green cracks around her eyes.

“Gooodd….” The necromancer purred.

“Let the corruption flow through you and accept it for what it is…” Tana shivered in her seat and did her best to shuck the teachings and values her mother had instilled in her and her siblings.

“And what is that?” Had she not been looking for changes in herself she would have never noticed the way her voice had taken on a dark rasp, an eagerness for violence and bloodshed.

“Power…the feeling you have flowing through your veins is that of Power.” Judy purred from her seat lounging across Lua’s lap, her eyes glowing with a sickly and bruised purple light.

Chapter Text

“Remind me again why I am going to be mad at you?” Senna said as Jack worked her back and shoulder muscles into goo with lightly scented massage oils.

“Because I let our daughter go out on her own with your loony adopted big sister into the city without any kind of escort? or something like that I forgot somewhere between the wine and strawberries.” Jack said as he pressed the heels of his paws into his wife’s shoulders and back, grinning at the low and appreciative groan of his bunny doe.

“I don’t remember anything about wine and strawberries…” Jack smiled as he laid down across the length of Senna’s form with a glass of red wine in one paw and a plate of strawberries in the other.

“I guess I just jumped ahead a bit, silly me. Drink and snack?” Laughing Senna snorted lightly before reaching and taking a berry along with a sip of wine before relaxing back onto the massage table.

“Hhhmmmm…keep this up and I might just be mad at you for another couple hundred years.” Jack smiled as he poured heated oil over the lithe form of the bunny beneath him as he began working over her buttocks and upper thighs.

“Promises promises…” He said with a smile in his voice and a kiss to her inner thighs.

“YEAH! Get him in a clinch! Come on! Get him!” Judy laughed as she reclined into Lua’s lap while watching her apprentice.

“YESS!! HOLD IT! CHOKE THE BASTARD!” Tana yelled excitedly as she watched the mirror that showed the Pit Fight through the far sight charm. Practically dancing on the long bench seat she took a moment to snag a sip of her drink before cheering on the fighter she had decided she should encourage.

“YES! YES! HOLD THEM! GET IT! JUST A FEW MORE SECONDS COME ON…THREE…TWO…ONE! YEEEAEAAHHHHA!” Tossing her arms up in victory Tana cheered loudly as she dropped back into her seat.

“Did you see that aunty!? The Masticating Mauler totally got destroyed by Jungle Japes! He ran him in circles and…” Judy laughed at the play by play her apprentice gave of the fight they had both just watched.

“Yes I was there Spawnling, I saw the same thing you did…so am I correct I assuming you are enjoying yourself?”

“HA! I haven’t had so much fun in years!” Tana said as he nibbled the chips and cheese that had been delivered by a sinfully good-looking coyote boy.

“Excellent, and what do you think your mother would say if she was here?” Judy asked as Lua pulled herself up into a better position to give her ears a good scritching before reaching out and grabbing some cheese covered chips.

“Well I would probably never be here if it was just her and me, this really isn’t her kind of scene. I bet if she was here now with you, she would be able to relax a bit but the music wouldn’t agree with her. Plus the atmosphere around here is a bit much for her, to much industry and steel and things are to enclosed for her to be comfortable. I keep telling her she should make some kind of bakery or tea house outside the walls in the forest or something, she would make a killing with mammals that want somewhere to relax.”

Judy snorted a bit at the mental image of Senna in a floppy chef hat covered in flour leading her kitchen troops into lunch rush battle. Looking to the mirror set up in their enclosed private VIP booth that had been magically charmed to show them a direct feed from the far sight charms out in the main area Judy pointed to it and got Tana’s attention.

“Alright apprentice first task and if you do well, I will take you back to my master’s realm and let you rummage through some of his books.” That got Tana’s attention as her ears snapped straight upright and her eyes actually began to slip into their gear-like form.

“Replicate these far sight charms, viewing mirrors and the spider’s web connecting them. I will allow you an hour in master’s realm, as an added incentive you will get an extra ten minutes for every other piece of artifice you are able to control or replicate and replace we pass tonight.” Tana smiled in a way that Judy found eerily familiar and oddly endearing as she grabbed her drink and even giggled a bit as she sipped her drink.

“Game on aunty…ooh I’ve already got so many ideas…”

Seeing that Tana was sufficiently distracted Judy turned to Lua as she sat at the other end of the booth. Seeing the panther subtly look down into the cradle of her arms Judy watched as what looked like a pool of oil and shadows slid up to rest comfortably on the panther’s lap and nestled into her arms.

Making a few subvocalized sounds Judy grinned at the responding chirps and whistles that would have been to high for a normal mammal, even rabbits, to hear in a normal environment let alone somewhere with as many sounds and stimulus as the Column. Not for the first time Judy was glad she had made the decision to replace a few things in her ears that would help her hear better…as well as a few other tinkerings she had done.

Nodding her head and giving a loving whistle back at her Little One she smiled one of the first genuine smiles she had given in over four centuries…it may have been untraditional but she had still been able to give birth to something entirely and truly hers, her babies.

“OH OH! Look it’s a new match!” Laughing lightly as she tipped back the last of her drink Judy tapped the clever little tablet that allowed them to order from the comfort of their booth without having to leave.

“So much has changed in my time away…back in my day we didn’t even have this kind of magic, it hadn’t been developed yet.”

Looking around at the ethereal threads of magic that wound themselves through their surroundings Judy caught sight of Tana looking at her with an odd look on her face.

“What were things like back then, mom and dad tell us stories about when they were young but they always try to shield us from the harsher details of life back then. I figure if anyone was going to give an honest accounting of how things were back it would be you.”

Shifting in her seat a bit Judy pointed at the viewing mirror.

“Maybe after this next fight, you have been enjoying them so much since we got here right?”

Without so much as a flinch or twitch in her expression Tana clicked her fingers at the mirror causing it to blank. Looking between the mirror and her apprentice Judy felt a bit confused as she pointed at one and then the other.

“I broke that charm down within the first ten minutes of my first visit here years ago.”

Clicking her fingers a half dozen more times in rapid succession Judy watched as a new view was shown with every click and not all of them even from within the Column as Judy saw views of the outside mixed with views into other VIP booths.

“I can replicate just about anything we have passed since we walked through the gates, an extra two hours minimum in the Fallen Library I might add.” Sitting back in her seat Judy contemplated the young doe in front of her.

“So if you could already do all of this, what were those ideas you were mentioning earlier?” Tana smiled before tossing back the rest of her drink.

“I was going to toss together a bunch of things I have been thinking about for the last few years and say I saw them in the city as well as replicas of anything we ran into tonight, you’re so old and outdated you wouldn’t be able to say one way or the other if I was telling the truth or not.”

“So now that you have told me that, is there going to be anything legitimate in what you present me at the end of the week?” The grin on Tana’s face was enough to make Judy tack on an extra five minutes in her master’s library alone.

“Not that you know of.” Judy grinned.

“Now you are getting it, what would your dear mother say if she knew her daughter was such a duplicitous and scheming little doe.”

“She would probably get that look of disappointment she always gets when I fuck up a spell or perfectly execute a hex. She would probably tell me she loved me and give me that look that only I have ever gotten…now stop trying to distract me and tell me how things were back when my parents were my age.” Sighing and tapping the tablet to order another round of drinks Judy was just glad she had brought most of Fin with her as well as her other familiars.

“Alright fine…but you are going to explain where that little show you put on with the waitress earlier came from first.” Tana shrugged and leaned back in her seat before answering.

“I just thought to myself that they wouldn’t be able to single me out from the crowd if I showed up again and then I just told myself ‘Think like Aunty’.”

Judy raised an incredulous eyebrow before gesturing vaguely out of the booth.

“And that was what you came up with? It’s like you don’t know me at all.” Seeing the look on Tana’s face Judy scoffed.

“You don’t!...I would have started with a threat to her family as well as lasting torture and then finished up with shameless bribery.” Tana rolled her eyes over to Lua with a smile only to receive a grudging nod in response to her look.

“She would, I have seen her do it, she is also why children in my homeland have nightmares and never go outside at night…also why we scour the river beds near our homes of leeches and burn our dead instead of the ancient tradition of burying them to return to our Great Mother.”

“Oh I have to hear about this!” Judy’s response was cut off as the door to their booth opened to the racoon waitress holding a tray of drinks.

“Oh this is going to be a long night.” Judy said as she grabbed her newest glass.

Senna chirred in pleasure as she pushed her head into Jack’s neck and shoulder before taking a sip of her wine.

She knew her husband had been buttering her up with a day of pampering, he had done it a few times before, and she knew that with as much pampering as he had given her, she was probably going to be mad…but she was still enjoying it while she could.  

“MMMMhhmmmm, so how mad am I going to be when I find out what all this pampering has been about?” She asked sleepily into Jack’s shoulder as they sat in front of a gentle fire. They were in their personal study, a room they had built and furnished themselves to be a slice of paradise.

The floor was covered in a thick layer of moss and occasional tufts of soft grass while the walls had rocks covered in hearty lichen and flowering vines. Creepers and vines hung from the ceiling while a small fire sat in the middle of a pool of water fed by an underground spring. The plants were maintained by not only a special stone gifted to Senna by her master the Arch-druid Emmit Otterton but also her own personal power and connection to the land.

“Well that is the thing, I have no idea because we have yet to see what kind of mischief Judy has pulled our daughter into.” Looking over to his wife Jack frowned and reached out to pull a small blade of grass from his wife’s ear…a blade of grass that had grown from Senna’s ear.

“But I am suddenly hoping she corrupts her into the most wicked little shit this land has ever seen…when were you going to tell me about this?” Senna was about to answer when she went stiff and her eyes went glassy.

“What the hell?” Jack watched as his wife sat up with a confused look on her face.

“Tana and Judy are at the front door.”

“Really? Good I was afraid we would have to go get them from the city jail tomorrow sometime.” About to get up from the loveseat they were on Jack felt a familiar paw hold him back as Senna looked over to him with an odd look on her face.

“I didn’t notice them until they came through the front door, I never saw or felt them even enter our lands…that shouldn’t be possible. Come on we need to speak with Judy.”

Frowning at what his wife was saying Jack nodded and jumped to his feet as he followed Senna out of their study.

“AHAHahahA!!” Tana laughed like a damn loon before Judy placed a paw over her mouth to muffle the sound.

“SHHUUUUuuUUUUuuuSHSHheeheeheee! Shhhh, we have to be quiet, the little ones might be sleeping, plus your mother might notice us!” Judy laughed and loudly whispered as she supported the near liquid form of her apprentice as she practically poured herself over the threshold.

“Oh too late for that dear sister.”

Looking towards the source of the voice both Judy and Tana saw Senna and Jack walk down the hall towards them, neither one of them looking particularly happy. Looking towards each other Judy and Tana sputtered and began laughing uncontrollably.

“What in the hell have you two been up to if Judy of all mammals is drunk?” Jack asked in amazement.

“Doesn’t your creepy little leech familiar prevent you from getting drunk or something?” Judy nodded with an exaggerated motion.

“Normally yeah…but I gave him the night off and…and we had fuuuunnn.” Judy answered.

“Really…just what did you two get up to on your little outing and why did I not notice you until you were at the door?” Senna asked as she watched her adoptive sister practically hold up one of her daughters as they giggled like a couple of idiots.

“Also…why do you look like you have been slumming in the alleys for the last couple days when I know for a fact you both left looking actually presentable?”

Both Judy and Tana looked at each other before answering.

Looking at her opponent Judy bounced on her toes while flicking her whips out to either side.

She wasn’t entirely sure how she got down in the fighting pits but here she was clad in nothing but her slacks and button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It had been a few years since she had used her whips but she had built them from scratch during her time in her master’s realm centuries ago…they were as much a part of her as her own ears.

“Alright you two, this is a no holds barred fight and you can use whatever weapons you currently have. Victory is by death or humiliating submission only…ready?” The giraffe referee looked between Judy and her tiger opponent. Receiving a nod from both of them the referee looked up and saw that every level of the Column was watching in rapt silence.

“KILL EACH OTHER!” Waving his hooves and scurrying back the referee was glad he had done so as pair of whips sliced through the air.

*CRACK* “AGGHA!”

*CRACK* “UGHAA!”

Judy grinned as the old blood began to flow again, the motions flowing back into her limbs as she began to swing her arms and reflexively begin the steps of a dance she had long ago mastered.

With a powerful swing of her arms and twist of her hips she had sent both whips out to slice across the tiger’s eyes and nose. Now that she had blinded him and decreased his sense of smell Judy ran forward on light feet in order to duck between the tiger’s legs as he swept out at where he believed she was. Turning and throwing her arms out while turning her body again she grinned as she heard a pair of cracks followed by a roar of pain.

What followed was an upset to the betting pools that had not been seen for years as Judy spent almost half an hour doing nothing more than darting around the large furious tiger.

Every time she came to a twirling stop or pirouetting turn her arms would lash out and the tiger would roar as a new line of blood was drawn. By the time she had been declared the winner Judy had flayed the skin from around the tiger’s ankles, sliced the backs of his knees, turned his elbows to limp shredded meat and driven him to the ground. Standing upon the tiger’s back as she pulled on the whips wrapped around his throat Judy smiled up at the cheering crowds before looking over at the referee. Seeing that he was about to call her the winner she turned her hips and pulled on her arms…the snap of the tiger’s neck was almost as loud as the cheers she received.

“Uhmmm no reason…” Judy said somewhat nervously, Senna didn’t need to know how much her daughter won off that particular match…or the various bar fights they had gotten into once they left the Pillar.

Seeing Senna send them a look as she crossed her arms Tana giggled a bit.

“Well ok, maybe some stupid boy got a little pawsy…and I might have hexed him a bit hard.”

Senna just sighed and rubbed her face before looking at her daughter in a way that Judy felt a bit insulting. About to begin telling off her adoptive little sister Judy stopped and squinted before pushing away from her apprentice and walking forward until she was right up in front of Senna.

Quickly reaching out and snagging a leaf from the top of Senna’s head Judy looked between it and the dryad doe with a dark look in her eyes, the bubbly giggles and glazed drunkenness gone from her gaze.

“You didn’t tell me it was this bad.” Looking over to Jack she saw that he hadn’t known either.

“I thought that with you here and taking Tana as an apprentice it would be easier to get it under control…” Senna said quietly.

“Huh? What’s going on? Why is everyone so serious so suddenly?” Tana asked with a light slur in her voice as she swayed in place.

“Your mother is dying and the only one who can actually save her to any lasting degree is currently over-intoxicated and under trained.”

Looking over to her apprentice and seeing the look of confusion struggling against what she thought she was comprehending Judy looked down at the leaf she was twirling in her fingers before explaining.

“The reason there are not a lot of necromancers is because not only are we not popular with mammals who want their family members to remain dead and at peace…but also because we are often haunted by our past. We often see phantoms of the lives we have outlived or left behind and we get to remember those that we could have saved.”

Looking over to Senna, Judy flared her energies and turned the leaf in her grasp to blighted ash.

“Dryads though…are like druids that have taken the final step. They are the Will and Power of the land made flesh and have taken on the balance of the land. Unlike a necromancer a dryad is allowed to look back at those they have outlived and enjoy the memories, because they accept that life and death are part of the natural order. Necromancers can defy the natural order and yet we still have to remember those that we allowed to die. Everything works off a balance Tana…if a necromancer has no counter, then they can throw entire civilizations into chaos and destruction but if a dryad doesn’t have a counter, she begins to take on the aspects of the land she draws power from.”

Gesturing for Tana to come closer Judy pulled her closer.

Holding her apprentice close Judy pointed to the green tint that had begun to grow in Senna’s fur as well as the bits of grass and small leaves.

“Right now, your mother is dying because she is slowly turning into the very tree that should have been her source of power in the first place. Your father is her tree but he can’t physically channel the amount of power that is being sent her way and he is also the only reason she hasn’t become a tree yet since some of the energy that is being sent to her is being diverted to him. He is being changed into the tree that she made him into except her own power is healing him from becoming a houseplant. The power that is overflowing from him into her is too raw, it hasn’t had a chance to be refined by a tree and she isn’t, technically, a full dryad so when the power gets to her it is to pure for her system to handle.”

Tana had only been drunk a couple times before but she had never sobered up as fast as she did right then.

“So…so what do we do?” Looking between her aunt and her parents Tana didn’t like the looks on their faces.

“Nothing good I can tell you that much. *Sigh* Senna I know you don’t like it but I am going to have to cause a bit of misery, you need to bleed off a lot of power back into the land. If you keep absorbing power like this you are going to be a tree by next month and Jack will be lucky if he doesn’t die in screaming agony the next day.”

Tana shook her head and slapped her cheeks as she backed away from the adults.

“NO NO no! ok…tell it to me in much smaller words or something, why are my parents dying? What are we doing to fix this?!”

Judy growled before taking a deep breath and mentally reminding herself that slapping her apprentice in front of her parents was a bad thing.

“Your mother is channeling to much raw power straight from the land through your father. Normally in a balanced land I would be causing misery and pain and she would be using that power to alleviate and counter what I was doing. Since I haven’t been causing any real problems and neither have you, she doesn’t have an outlet. The power of the land is like water in a river with a dam and right now she is overflowing, as such it is affecting her in a way that will restore balance.”

“Normally for a regular dryad she would have planted a tree and the power would be filtered through the tree into her. Now since your father is holding her seed, and is therefore her tree, the power is being sent into him and filtered into her except he can’t hold and use the amount of power being sent through him meaning raw Nature power is being sent directly into Senna in amounts she can’t handle. As things are, if your mother doesn’t channel a large amount of power back into the land and those that live upon it, she will become the tree that she should have planted…a result that will kill her as a mammal. If she dies, your father will die as well except he will die screaming since his connection to what has kept him alive for so long will be severed and not only will all the time he has ignored come rushing back…but it will happen as his organs are being cannibalized by his wife’s tree as it tries to remain alive in one place while growing in another.”

The look of terror on Tana’s face as she listened told Judy she was getting through to the young doe.

“We have time though…it isn’t a fast process but it isn’t slow either. I didn’t want to do this until you had a bit more education and had decided on your arena of study, but it looks like I might have something new to bitch at Fate about. Come along Spawnling it’s time you got your first familiar.”

Beginning to turn away, the alcohol thoroughly purged from her system she was stopped by a paw on her arm. Looking at who was touching her and pricking her thumb with a talon to keep herself from over reacting she saw Tana looking at her with wide eyes as she gestured towards her parents.

“But what about them? I mean mom is turning as green as my ear tips and she isn’t supposed to be growing grass and leaves either, isn’t there something we can do now?” Judy crossed her arms and looked at the couple with a thoughtful expression before nodding and answering.

“There is a number of things that can be done, right now she is overflowing with raw natural energy and her system can’t convert it to her flavor of magic fast enough. The difference between raw and processed, for lack of a better term, magic in this case is slight but important. Right now, she needs to use as much as she can as fast as she can so that her system can catch up. This is why it is not only important for her to have a counter balance but for her counter to be powerful, yet restrained. Right now I could do a few things that would save her just fine, it would also ruin this kingdom for years and it might not even recover.”

Beginning to pace a bit from one side of the receiving room to the other Judy lost herself in her thoughts and began to speak more to herself.

“If I released a sickness it would provide a slow burn on her energy especially if I disseminated a ritual of curing…hmm, I would have to monitor it though to make sure it didn’t grow out of paw.”

At the wall and turn.

“Though that might be to little, to late in the end…she needs a quick draw on her power somehow. I think Jack still has most of his internal organs, it would certainly drain her growing those back while keeping him alive at the same time…”

Other wall and turn.

“That is a joke right?” Tana asked while looking over to her parents, the look and shake of their heads not giving her much confidence.

“Hmm…wait, that might work. Tana go to my caves and meet up with Alpha, he will take you to the workplace I set up for you to practice in. You have until the end of the week to flex your skills, make anything and everything destructive you can think of. No restrictions and if you need anything Alpha will get it to you.”

Nodding Tana rushed out the door they had just come through minutes earlier with only a slight wobble in her step, the booze still in her system.

“Where will you be if she is going to be in your caves?” Senna asked Judy.

“We are going to be travelling a bit, I am going to be causing problems and you are going to be fixing them. This will give me a better idea of how the kingdom works in this new age and give you a way to burn off some energy…plus it will be good for you to spend some time away from your burrow. Come on it will be fun, just a bit of chaotic girl time.”

Judy said as she walked over and threw an arm around Senna’s shoulder.

“Oh joy, and who is going to be looking after the burrow while Jack and I are gone?” Judy rolled her eyes and began steering the dryad out of the burrow.

“Oh please, we both know you have enough energy in you that you could travel to the other side of the planet without him let alone the other side of the kingdom. Besides he can take care of the burrow on his own…time for you to learn the same lesson I had to teach your mother, trust in your own children.”

Senna turned and pointed at her husband before they were out of sight.

“You better not spoil them to much while I am gone, in bed on time and no extra desserts as bribes or anything.”

The little grin and wave Jack sent her did not inspire confidence.

“Alright Judy what are we doing here.” Senna asked as they crested a hill a few miles away from Bunnyburrow.

Looking around she felt herself smile a bit, it was a beautiful sight so late in the night it was almost morning.

The fading silver moonlight giving away to the first rays of false light from the new day. Nestled down in between a pair of rivers before they converged into a single river was a quiet little town, the first few firefly lights of homes and businesses beginning to glow in the shadows of the pre-dawn. Strolling down the hill until they were casually walking alongside one of the rivers that flowed out of the dense forest further upstream Judy looked around with an unsettling smile before answering. 

“Well I don’t know what you are going to do but I am going to let my familiars have a bit of fun.” So saying the necromancer stopped and held her paw out over the river, a small gash opening in her palm.

Senna watched in horror as Judy’s shoulder bulged and roiled grotesquely as it spread down her arm and exploded into a shower of leeches that fell into the river. Stepping back in shock Senna watched as the leeches began to multiply out of control as they began to eat everything in sight from river plants to fish.

Turning to Judy with a look of outrage on her face Senna stopped once she saw the wicked grin on her big sister’s face as she held up a small beetle in her palm.

Turning and blowing over the beetle Judy laughed as Suzie took flight for a second before exploding into a cloud of glittering chitin and snapping pincers and mouthparts.

As she watched the cloud roil and expand towards the trees that were the livelihood of the village Senna couldn’t even bring herself to speak as she began to imagine the damage they would do to the forest. Looking back to Judy she had just enough time to watch the soil around the other doe’s feet close over a small swarm of armored centipede forms.

“Ah, a new day full of lost and stolen opportunities. Suzie is going to chew through the forest and anyone in it, Finnick is going to gorge himself on everything alive in these waters until they run as nothing but mud and silt. I imagine the carpenters are going to be getting some good business once Sammy has had his way with the foundations of the buildings, oh and he is definitely going to have a good time going through any underground food stores.”

The look of joy and pride on Judy’s face was enough to make Senna sick, especially since she had such wonderful memories of the same doe from her kithood.

She had always known Judy had a dark history but…she had taught her the Pretty Dance and given her and her momma a chance to say good bye to her daddy after he had died and she had practically killed herself to do so. Now here she was sending plagues and hardships down on an unsuspecting and innocent village…

‘…For me, she is doing it for me.’ The realization hit her right between the eyes.

‘She would burn this kingdom just to give me a chance to live, wouldn’t she?’

“Have fun doing…whatever it is little goody-goodies like you do when you have a chance to be so irritatingly helpful.” Judy said as she turned away and began to walk off.

“Wait where are you going? Don’t you need to stay to keep your familiars safe or something?” Judy turned around with a playfully confused expression on her face.

“I am heading off to the next village, I have a week to play around and I am going to take every chance I can to enjoy myself. As for my familiars well, they are each living apocalypses that strip entire worlds and realities barren, what you see is the physical manifestation of them…they reside within my soul and by hitching a ride with me out of their realm they are able to experience a new world. They will be back by the time I reach another village and if they aren’t then it isn’t as if I don’t have my own skills.”

Turning back Judy tossed a few parting words to the wind as she dissolved into her signature ashes and grave dust.

“Better hurry Little Dryad, my methods don’t allow for many survivors and none of them are even the slightest bit important as far as I am concerned.”

“Mrs. Tana the range is clear and ready for testing, may I recommend using the long-range triggering method as this is still an untested piece of equipment?” Alpha asked from behind the wall of crystal as his temporary ward practically bounced in place.

“You mean the string we tied around the trigger?” Alpha sighed.

“Yes…the stri-*KOOmCRRAZZZZZT…zzt!*…ng. Judging by the molten aspects of the crater I would say the test is a success.”

“Hheheehehehehe.” Tana couldn’t respond with anything more than a series of manic giggles while rubbing her paws together.

‘Ah memories…I think I could get used to looking after the little ones, ha! Centuries ago I was mugging mammals in alleys and now I am looking after the children of dryads.’

“OH OH! We have to test Unit-003 next!” Tana said happily as she bounced in circles with a manic light in her eyes that reminded Alpha uncomfortably of his Mistress during her more…unhinged decades in the Reticulan Empire.

Walking into the newest village on Judy’s rampage across the kingdom sent a sour lance of melancholy through Senna’s gut as she looked around at the huddled and heaving forms that littered the streets.

Everywhere she looked forms were collapsed and curled into shivering balls of racking coughs or heaving fits of vomiting. Some bodies she looked at writhed with forms under their skin as others were covered in clouds of biting beetles.

Death hung heavy on the air and the ground was muddy with pestilent blood and pus. Feeling her gorge rise at the sight of the outright slaughter Senna nearly fell to her knees at the choking sensation of glee and joy that danced through the notes of death. She nearly broke down as the thought of her Big Sister Judy enjoying bringing so much misery and pain to mammals ran through her head…until she felt something…off.

Passing through the streets like a phantom Senna came across the one section of the isolated village that didn’t reek of joyful death and laughing slaughter.

Looking around all she could see was a fairly ordinary looking village square. It was filled with blindfolded children all sitting around lightly chattering with each other but other than that it could have passed for any other village or city square she had ever seen. Stepping silently into the square Senna looked around cautiously…the last three villages she had been to had been similar but not nearly as bad as this and none of them had spared the children, at least not as obviously as this.

“Hello Senna.”

Spinning in place Senna raised an arm covered in thorns at the unexpected voice coming from her side. Seeing an illusion of Judy lounging in a chair that still sat like a lonely guard over the village square Senna relaxed slightly, she wasn’t foolish enough to relax entirely around anything or anywhere her Big Sister had been.

“You are probably a bit confused so I will keep it simple…the village had been taken over by bandits before I even got here. Normally I would have just left this place to die on its own under the rule of the bandits…but I couldn’t, not this time. You see the bandits weren’t just using and abusing the locals for an easy bit of coin…they were selling the kits. The little ones you see in the village square are the ones I was able to save and I didn’t want them to see what I was going to do to those around them. The parents are gone, I had nothing to do with it. The bandits were planning to move on and had already disposed of the parents…I returned the favor and disposed of them.”

Senna watched as the illusion of Judy poured herself a drink and tossed it back before it had a chance to eat through the bottom of the glass she had poured it into.

“I entered this village intending to leave you with another batch of ill and twisted wretches…but I was to late. I came here to spread misery and suffering but mammals far worse than myself beat me to it, as such I am leaving you to look after the ones I spared. You get to deal with the leftovers after the dredges of society have already passed on…good luck.”

Senna would have been upset at her Big Sister’s word had she not heard the pain in her voice or seen the look on the illusion’s face.

Looking out over the village square Senna sighed…just like her Counter to leave her with crap like this.

“Alright! Alright breathe sweety, breathe…Alpha I need those bandages!” Lua called out over her shoulder.

Looking back at her ward she slipped into the rolling sliding chant of the village she had left behind centuries ago. Rocking back and forth on her knees Lua chanted in a rolling song-like voice, every pulse of her voice meeting the pulse of the rabbit’s racing heart. With every word the pool of blood grew smaller by a few drops as they slid back up the ragged pieces of flesh that hung from the destroyed shoulder.

“Sh-sh-shit Lua…c-c-could you start a f-f-f-fire or something? I’m so…*SHIVER* so co-o-o-old.” Tana’s eyes rolled wildly in their sockets as she almost reflexively squirmed in place, her remaining limbs twitching beyond her control.

“Don’t worry sweety everything will get better. ALPHA IS GOING TO GET ME THOSE DAMN BANDAGES SOON ISN’T HE?!”

Judy grinned as she strolled down the main boulevard of the latest city she was visiting, her week of fun was almost over and she was going to have to head home soon…but she still time to leave one last treat for her little sister.

She smiled as she heard whispers of ‘The Smiling Plague and the Green lady’…apparently they had developed a bit of a myth around themselves.

Someone had seen Judy as she entered a village just before dawn with her smile glowing with power and then Senna had walked into the village that had been ravaged by her impromptu plagues. Many only remembered that she had green tinted fur and even more attributed the color to a fever dream or hallucination.

Smiling as she thought about the little legend they had started and thinking she might try to do something like this again with the Spawnling later on, she stopped at hearing a voice from around the corner.

“We rebuke and reject the Plaguebringer! We will not falter in our faith or our convictions!”

Turning the corner Judy stopped and looked up at the large building, she was still getting used to structures being so large. Back in her day the largest buildings in any village or city were either forts, castles, churches or inns and everything else was usually only one or two stories tall…maybe three if the resident or owner was wealthy.

The building in front of her though was easily five stories tall and as ugly a thing as she had ever seen…also remarkably magically charged the more she looked at it.

The cathedral, since that was the only building it could have been, was clad in ornate lines of glowing magic. Gears turned with a soft and steady clicking rhythm as steam erupted out of pipes in an almost musical symphony, brass figures gleamed in the light of the day as wrought iron practically absorbed the light. Looking at the building Judy bit her lip…there was more to this building than just gaudy design and bad architecture.

Judy watched as the ambient magical energy of the area was slowly but surely pulled into the cleverly hidden magical accumulators and then refined and channeled throughout the building. She wondered what purpose the small bursts of magic being released into the building served but was far more interested in what looked like lines of pure magic running down into the ground and off into the city.

“Our flock will not fall to the blasphemy of the BlightSpeaker!”

Snapping back to reality Judy listened to what was being said within the large building, the words being amplified not only by the architectural acoustics of the building but also small speaking horns that seemed to be placed at the mouths of the brass figures along the walls.  Hearing whatever the speaker was saying Judy grinned wickedly before she began stretching in place…it wouldn’t do to suddenly get cramps after all.

“We are the Enlightened Ones! We will not fall to the machinations of those that would spread their lies and sickness! We will meet the Singer of Sickness with faith and the power of our community!”

She dissolved into ash and grave dust.

Judy slammed the tip of her walking stick into the floor of the cathedral hard enough to send a small spiderweb of cracks from the tip as she drained the ambient magic from her surroundings. Lights flickered and died allowing Judy’s shadows to begin to reach out from the cracks and corners of the large open space. Silence echoed out over the pews and rang from the rafters as Judy stood in the entrance to the cathedral looking out over the congregation with eyes glowing a bruised, sickly purple while the corners of her mouth and eyes glowed with cracks of vomitous green light.

“Well…how could I pass up an invitation like that.”

“Are you sure this will work Mrs. Tana?” Alpha asked as he looked down at the intricate metallic circle and strange collection of objects within it. If this didn’t work he would be catching high holy hell from his Mistress and he was beginning to get a little nervous.

“I have no idea if this is going to work but it looks about right.” Tana said as she added the last few details to the circle as well as looking around at the ambient magic in the room.

“Lua go stand over at the mid-point of that wall…a little to the left, STOP…half an inch back aaaaannnnd perfect. Alpha could you go stand in that corner over there…one step forward, right there.”

Standing up from where she had been kneeling Tana wobbled a bit as she tried to use an arm that was no longer there. Growling and glaring at the stump of her right arm Tana looked around through eyes that resembled gears and which allowed her to see the world for what it was.

Over the next few minutes she ran around the room and adjusted seemingly random items in small ways until she was satisfied.

“Alright I’m gonna start…just remember that no matter what you see or hear don’t move from your place or else you might do more damage than good.”

Scurrying over to her circle she stood tall and took a deep breath before exhaling and beginning her chant. It was less a chant of eldritch words and rhythms and more a staccato series of parameters and calculations. To listen to her words would be like listening to her performing mental math across four dimensions, seven mathematical processes and three languages.

As she spoke the circle in front of her lit up and began to glow with heat that never reached past the confines of the circle. The metal powder and shards that made up the circle as well as the containers of raw magic soon began rising up from the floor and began to rotate around each other in lazy arcs and loops.

Stepping forward Tana didn’t give herself a chance to hesitate or brace herself and stuck the stump of her arm through the invisible barrier of the circle. As if she had just thrown a lodestone into a pile of iron shavings the items within the circle raced towards her and began piling onto each other. Not stopping her chant Tana grit her teeth and clenched her eyes, she knew what was going to happen if this worked and what would happen if it didn’t…either way it was going to suck.

Continuing her chant Tana watched as the items continued to press in on each other until they began to bend, break and shatter. Metal began to heat and glow, magic containers shattered allowing their contents to run like water over the mass of items. Wires smaller than her hair and as thick as her finger snaked out of the now molten globs of metal like the tentacles of some kind of undersea abomination before snapping out and sinking into the soft, scarred and raw flesh of Tana’s stump with a hiss of steam.

Tana continued her spell despite the pain, though it was more screaming out numbers and equations now as opposed to her calm staccato rhythm.

Wires lashed and writhed as they wove themselves together while molten metal slithered along the length of her slowly forming arm in searingly hot waves. Tubes of brass and copper and more exotic combinations of metals struck out and mated to severed blood vessels in her shoulder, soon they began to run with raw magic and blood giving them a dark purple color. Gears formed and interlocked as hydraulics locked together around newly grown metallic bones…the next part though was going to be the worst.

Threads of glass rose up from the metallic arm like an army of vipers and as she watched through the pain of her spell and the concentration of her chant Tana grimaced as each and every one began to glow with a bright light at the end.

Feeling tears begin to fall at the thought of the pain she was about to endure, the pain that she knew was going to eclipse anything she could comprehend Tana snarled through her chant.

Her mother nearly died as a kit from a plague that had taken her father, she had grown up the only dryad in an entire kingdom with no one to truly lean on. Her father had grown up a prince and had worked to become a master swordsmammal, he had shed his blood, sweat and tears to become what he was and he had even sacrificed his own step-brother in order to see the kingdom prosperous.

Lastly she thought of her Aunt Judy…and screamed out the final part of her equational chant with thoughts of becoming better, stronger and faster running through her head. She was going to be better than Aunt Judy even if she had to rebuild herself from the ground up to do it!

With one final mathmagical equation to tie off the circulatory and self-regenerative nature of her new arm Tana pressed against the invisible barrier of the circle and pulled her new arm out in a shower of sparks.

Stumbling back as her last fingertip was released from the circle she looked at her first true working, the way her arm flexed and moved seamlessly.  How it had seared into her shoulder and had even gone so far as to melt the skin around the connection point like wax until there was no solid line between flesh and steel. She watched as metal flexed and magical lines of blood sent a rainbow of light over glass nerves before illusionary flesh and fur began to spread like mold over her working until she was looking at what could have passed for her original arm.

“Ha…HAHAhahaa!...it actually worked…I didn’t actually think it would work.”

Turning towards Alpha and Lua as they ran up to her she tried to tell them not to worry, but the damn floor reached up and sucker punched the back of her head.

*Tap*…

*Tap*…

*Tap*…

The sound of Judy‘s walking stick tapping along the stone and marble floor of the cathedral as she walked practically echoed out as she looked around. Smiling out from under the brim of her hat Judy closed her eyes and inhaled deeply while pulling in the rich ambient magic, the air was noticeably thick with it compared to just outside the doors. Exhaling in a deep sigh Judy laughed as the brass fixtures along the benches around her grew dull and tarnished while the iron became pitted with rust and corrosion.

Stone and marble cracked around her feet and became dust directly beneath her as she corroded and corrupted her surroundings. The mammals close to her yelped and backed away as their clothes became threadbare and worn and their fur grew thin.

“Oooohhhh, I like it in here…”

Looking around her Judy’s grin grew sharp and wicked as the mammals looking at her flinched away…

…except for one little wolf pup.

Locking her eyes with his Judy turned and focused on him, noticing he was standing with his arms out as if protecting something behind him.

Looking closer Judy saw that there were smaller forms behind him. Walking forward towards the wolf pup Judy stopped as a rather pompously dressed boar jumped in front of her and held out a golden gear studded with jewels hanging from a chain of woven silver wires.

Looking between the gear and the boar with a confused expression Judy waited for anyone to say something.

“Uhmmm, what are you doing?” Judy asked.

“You will not taint this congregation with your foul presence Blighter of Souls! Begone from this place, I banish you from here with the power of the Enlightened Sheppard!”

Judy looked between the gear and the boar before lifting a paw to her mouth and licked along the length of an extended talon. Reaching out she drew it down the middle of the metal circle and grinned as it hissed and smoked from the acid she had built up in her saliva until the symbol hung in two pieces.

“Did you actually think that was going to do anything other than make you look like an idiot?” She asked with a smile and laugh.

“I was around when your little religion was still in its infancy and just barely getting a hoof-hold in society. Were you a True Believer and had you been trained as they were back when I was little, I might have been worried.” Leaning in Judy whispered loudly into the frozen and shaking boar’s ear.

“You have been measured and weighed, you have shown the weight and power of your belief…and both have been found wanting.”

Leaning back Judy took a step forward and smiled as the boar stepped to the side while holding the two halves of his holy symbol with a distraught look on his face.

Stepping up to the young wolf pup Judy saw a small ocelot peeking out from behind him on one side with a rabbit peeking out from his other side.

Looking at the young wolf pup, who was almost the same size as she was with barely a few inches in her favor, Judy tapped her walking stick in front of her and leant down so that they were almost the same height.

Tilting her head she studied the wolf in front of her, he was obviously scared from the way she could see him heaving breathes in and out. She could feel the anxiety and terror roiling within him and longed to reach out and feed off the negativity they represented.

But she could also see the way he was holding back from barring his teeth at her and she could hear the slight snarls and growls coming from him. Looking at his paws she could see that he had his claws out and was ready to swipe at her if she got to close, his footing was pretty good as well…not great but better than she would have expected. This little furball was ready to attack what must have been a demon in his eyes…

“Do you fear me little pup?”

Her words were spoken softly and fell on the tense silence of the cathedral like hammer blows. Seeing the wolf pup tense up even further before nodding shakily Judy nodded back before continuing.

“Good, that is because you are smart.”

Looking around them at the stained-glass windows, polished brass figures, wrought iron images and how they all seemed to depict good triumphing over evil in one way or another Judy looked back at the wolf.

“Do you think you could stop me if I wanted to hurt you or those around you.”

Receiving a grudging shake of the head Judy gestured around them to the various images and figures.

“Do you think any of them will swoop in and stop me if I want to cause those around you pain?”

Another shake of the head.

“And yet you still stand in front of me as if you had a hope of stopping me…”

“I’m not gonna let you hurt my friends or make them sick.” The wolf growled at her in a high-pitched youthful voice, Judy smiled a full toothed smile.

“Do you know what it is called when you stand before insurmountable odds knowing you have no chance of winning and there is no one coming to help you?”

Negative headshake.

“Bravery, is the most common term though some would say foolishness. Do you know what it is to step aside and allow others to come to harm when you realize you have no chance and no one is going to save you? When you step back and allow others to suffer because no one from on high is going to arrive and fight your battles for you…”

Looking to the side and locking eyes with the pompous looking boar Judy whispered a single word.

“Cowardice…”

Standing up and looking down at the slightly shorter wolf Judy continued speaking.

“I have met Powers even the gods fear to cross…I have always found mortals to be the more powerful and awe inspiring. An entire building full of mammals and the only one to stand tall and strong before me isn’t an angel, god, warrior or champion of any kind…it was a wolf pup younger than all but two others in this building. A young wolf pup stood as tall and resolute as a mountain and showed the heart of a guardian knowing there would be no one coming to help him should he need it. No one divine would be appearing in holy light and no mortal would be jumping in to protect him like he is protecting his friends.”

Seeing the looks of shame and even a few of anger at her words Judy turned and walked towards the boar.

“Now as for you, I have questions for you…”

Lifting her walking stick and poking the tip into the boar’s chest she laughed at the outcries from those around them as both she and the boar dissolved into ash and grave dust.

Chapter Text

“WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN. YOU. DIDN’T. THINK. IT. WOULD. WORK?!”

Lua yelled as she shook Tana like a ragdoll once they got the young rabbit healed and conscious again.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOUR AUNT WOULD DO TO US IF YOU GOT KILLED ON OUR WATCH?! ANSWER ME DAMNIT!”

Tana slumped in the irate black panther’s grip as her head spun, she raised a single finger to ask for a chance to respond but Lua cut her off.

“QUIET! I AM RANTING! DO NOT INTERRUPT ME WHEN I AM RANTING NOW SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND SPEAK UP!”

Alpha simply stood to the side of the room drinking some tea that no one had seen him make.

*Sluuurp* Lua turned her head and pointed a claw at the wolf.

“Don’t you slurp at me in that tone of voice!”

*SluuuRRp…Slurp* Lua just threw her paws up. Forgetting that she still had a dizzy rabbit in one of them.

“OH come on! Don’t tell me you are taking her side!”

*Slurp…sigh*

“OK…you have a point there.”

*Slurppp*

Lua rolled her eyes and sighed as she propped her paws on her hip, only remembering Tana was hanging from one paw when she thumped into the panther’s leg. Looking down at the rabbit hanging by the back of her shirt in her paw Lua lifter her up to look her directly in the eye.

“Well?” Tana opened her mouth and once she realized she wasn’t going to be interrupted again answered.

“It was an ad-lib ritual based off multiple circles that were meant to perform different actions and the materials were just sort of thrown in, normally I would have had to measure and prepare them…”

The look on Lua’s face told Tana she might be getting shaken again. Watching the panther lean in until their noses bumped against each other she wondered if maybe she should test a few of the things she had built into her new arm.

“What…do…you…mean…measure and prepare?” Tana gulped.

“How long do you have because this might take a while.” Lua grinned with more teeth than Tana wished to see so up close.

“Oh sweety…thanks to your aunty, I have eternity.”

Stepping out of the cloud of ash and grave dust she had just rematerialized from Judy looked down at the boar priest…pastor?...cleric?...sure why not.

“So you are what passes as a cleric these days? I can’t say I am impressed. The last time I was presented with a holy symbol in the way you tried I had half my face burned off and yet when you try it, I don’t even lose a whisker.”

Crouching down in front of the heaving and huffing boar Judy smiled once he looked at her.

“Now why do you think that is?”

“This is a test from the First Sheppard, I must show my worthiness to extol the words and messages of our god.”

Judy sighed and rubbed her face in her paw before standing up.

“Fucking great, I’m dealing with a zealot…So tell me what these great messages and powerful words are?” Seeing the look on the boar’s face Judy leant against a smokestack and looked out at the city below them.

“When I was your age this village didn’t even exist, there were multiple religions preaching many messages. Now I return and it seems only one lasted through the years and not only are the words different, the message has changed.”

Getting to his hooves the boar looked around and saw that he was alone with the PlagueSpeaker on a roof to far up for him to have a chance to escape.

“There is only one true Faith, the others were found to be false words and fake miracles.” Judy looked back at the boar and began twirling her walking stick along her fingers.

“Interesting, let’s change the subject slightly. Why does your church…wait a minute.”

Squinting through cross slitted eyes Judy stalked forward. As she came closer to the boar she saw him reach for a ceremonial dagger before she pulled the top of her walking stick off revealing a thin blade hidden within the length of the stick. Whipping the flat of the blade against the boar’s wrist she ignored the way the dagger clattered to the ground as she placed the tip against the cleric’s throat.

Leaning in Judy pressed him back against a smokestack and reached out with her empty paw in order to open his eye wider.

“Stop squirming damnit I don’t need you alive and you wouldn’t be the first little piggy I butchered out of curiosity. Now what is this…” Stepping forward until she could look closer at the boar’s eye she grinned.

“Oh…somebody has been a bit naughty. You know I had the chance to take apart a few individuals who had been addicted to a substance locally known as Glow. Want to know what I noticed when I finished dismantling them?”

Turning her paw in from holding the eyelids open Judy easily plunged her fingers into the boar’s eye socket she plucked out the squishy orb like a ripe berry from a bush. Ignoring the boar’s squeals and gasps of pain Judy held the eye up to the light and examined it even closer.

“They all had an extreme amount of magical crystallization; it started in the eyes and grew further within the organs. Normally the crystallization would be uniquely colored based on the average intent, mental state etc…but the neat thing about the individuals I took apart all had the same exact coloring of crystallization.”

Looking over to the shaking and bleeding boar who looked like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be angry, scared or some combination of both Judy rolled the orb around in her paw.

“They all had the same black crystals growing in their eyes that you do…and I bet if I took you apart, I would find the same things I found in them. So tell me little piggy, where did you get the Glow? Tell me and I will give you your eye back…but better hurry because I am getting the munchies.”

“You…bitch. I always hated the stories of you when I was coming up in the church…” Judy perked up at hearing that.

“There are stories of me? How can there be stories of me in your religion if I was never part of it and I never even…oh shit. Tell me the name of your religious leader.”

The boar just snorted at her words.

“I may not be the shining example of what a cleric should be like but there is no way I am going to tell you anything.”

Judy rolled her eyes and gently clenched her fist around the eye she still held, a venomous green tint beginning to creep into the white portions of the sclera. She grinned as the boar began clutching and scratching at his still bleeding eye socket while screaming and squealing.

“Look…I have a lot of practice hurting mammals and I must say that I do find great joy and pleasure in doing so. Now if you want, you can help me practice the art of opening up a mammal and keeping them alive for as long as possible. My record happens to be seventeen hours by the way, or you can just tell me what I want to know and get your eye back.”

Releasing her grip on the eye Judy watched as the boar stood up shakily and glared at her with a level of hatred she would have admired had she not seen much worse in the mirror every morning.

“The High Sister’s name is Dawn Bellwether, she has been blessed by the Mighty Sheppard and is un-aging. She has steered our faith and our kingdom for longer than anyone truly knows…”

Groaning Judy walked over to a smokestack and after removing her hat, began ramming her forehead into the brickwork. Ignoring the way her head split she didn’t stop until she had left a dent in the bricks, turning back towards the boar she smirked at the way he watched her small wound seal up as the blood slurped back into her head.

“Longer than anyone knows…I know exactly how long as I was probably the one who put her on this path. Fuuuuucck…I need to think about this later, for now though where did you get the Glow and what does it do for you?”

Seeing the look of defiance on the boar’s face begin to re-emerge Judy extended the talons of the paw holding the eye and began to close her fingers like a cage around the gooey orb.

“Alright, alright don’t get hasty…there is a house on the edge of town with a basement that leads into some natural caves. I don’t know how they make it or from what, all I know is that when I take it, I can feel the Sheppard flowing through me…I feel…like I am part of something bigger, like I’m not alone.” Judy raised her brow at the way the boar seemed to deflate and his voice seemed to become small and vulnerable.

“Show me this house.”

“You know you are playing with a fire that even the gods fear.”

Nick stopped writing in his little black book as he strolled through the stacks of books. Sending the cloud of books he had following him rushing off to their forever homes within the stacks Nick stepped backwards while sliding his book back into his vest. Looking to the side he wished he could be surprised at his age.

“Time…haven’t seen you in a while. You went along your own timeline to a point where you were already in my realm and I knew it at the time you entered. Then you positioned yourself along not only my own timeline but my physical route that you already know from calculations you are planning on doing in a few days or something convoluted like that right?”

Time grinned at him and skipped forward with a laugh.

Had Nick not known what he was talking to he would have thought the little piglet skipping and singing around him was rather cute, but he damn well knew who and what Time was.

“Close enough, but don’t try and distract me! We both know what you are trying is beyond stupid.” The young female swine said as she walked lightly around the Old Man.

“Well I suppose if anyone would know if something was going to fail it would be you…so what would I need for it to work?”

Time rolled her cataract riddled eyes as she tapped along with her cane. Of all individuals, one would think the First Lich would know more about how Time works.

“I don’t see the future youngin’ I just work there. Now you listen to me lad, there are easier and more survivable ways of achieving transcendent damage…don’t look at me like that, we Offices talk.” Nick sighed and allowed the old swine to lead him through the stacks.

“I am sure there are but they usually require time, materials and connections that I don’t have access to…unless you can maybe bend a few rules?” The female swine leading him along through the stacks of his library grinned over her shoulder at him with a twinkle in her eye.

“Now you know better than that Nicky, Time stops for no one and there are some rules that simply can’t be broken or even flexed.” Turning away from the fox and running her cracked and brittle hoof over the spines of the books around her Time smiled as she pulled a few books down and piled them in her arms.

“I always see so many books written but I never get the chance to read as many of them as I want to…what was that quaint little saying you love so much about this realm?” Nick smiled as the piglet skipped up to him with a stack of books almost half as tall as she was.

“So many books, so few lifetimes.” The piglet giggled as she passed the books over.

“That’s right! That’s the one, could you hold onto these for me util can come get them please?” Balancing the books in his paws Nick absently agreed as he looked at the titles.

“Sure thing but you know you can just…take…them?”

Looking around Nick grumbled about not being a librarian before looking back at the books the Oldest, and arguably most powerful Office had essentially reserved Nick frowned.

‘I am sure I have seen this title before…wait this one and this one…’

A smile erupted across Nick’s face as he realized what he was holding. Time might not have been allowed to tell him what he needed or even point in the right direction but sometimes the biggest loopholes were the ones that seemed so easy they couldn’t possibly be there.

“She might not have been able to tell me what I needed or point in the right direction, but I guess just handing me what I needed is A-Okay.”

Sighing with a smile at the odd rules the Offices had to play by he was once again reminded that he wasn’t nearly old enough to know all the tricks involved with getting around the Fundamental Rules of Existence...but he was old enough to have a few tricks up his sleeves.

Had Judy been asked what she thought of the house from the outside she would have said the normality of the entire visage was going to make her eyes bleed.

Small garden out front, fruit tree on the side and what looked like a fresh coat of paint …had a small litter of bunny kits come pouring out of the front door with a mom and dad bunny happily holding each other in the bench swing hanging from the tall oak tree out front she would not have been surprised. Walking into the house she looked around and wondered if she was going to have to rip the boars tusks out and nail his hooves to the floor with them.

Odd paintings hung on the walls, toys littered the floor in some rooms and the smell of meals cooked hours ago still hung in the air.

“I spent seven hundred years in the service to the Reticulan Empire as their Royal Artificer, Advisor and Torturer…I suggest you show me something that will prevent me from reliving some of my favorite memories of that time on you…quickly.”

Judy spoke casually and lightly as she looked around at the various rooms and she could see and even walked up to examine some of the odd non-paintings.

“I would be more impressed if I hadn’t heard what happened in the empire recently.”

The boar said as he began rolling a rug back over itself in what looked like the main sitting room. Judy looked over and grinned at him before speaking with a grin in her voice that sent a razor down the boar’s spine.

“What makes you think I wasn’t responsible for that…I had seven centuries of free reign and royal funding after all.”

The boar paused in his efforts to unlock not only the physical lock set into the trap door he had revealed but also the various charms and spells. Looking up at the rabbit he gulped thickly at the look on her face.

“The entire empire fell to war and revolution…do you have any idea how many died? How many are still dying?”

Judy turned her body fully towards the boar in an unsettlingly liquid motion and walked over to him in a decidedly serpentine manner. Lowering herself to a knee Judy made sure to keep eye contact with the boar as she reached out and placed a paw with all talons extended against the door.

“What makes you think I care?”

She asked lightly as she flooded the lock and defenses of the door with her own corrosive and corruptive energy, smiling wider as she heard a scream of tortured metal and magic at her actions. Jerking her paw up and crumbling the lump of rust that was once the lock in her fist Judy gestured towards the now unlocked door.

Senna waved at the latest village she had just finished healing as they waved and cheered.

She hoped this would be the last village on her big sister’s rampage of helping, she was feeling better and wasn’t as green as she had been at the start of the week but she missed her kits and husband. Pulling out a small notebook she had taken to writing in decades ago she made a few notes on the best ways to cure certain diseases and plagues as well as heal certain injuries without the use of magic.

Smiling as her compendium of medical knowledge grew just a little more detailed Senna closed her eyes and opened herself to the magic of the world and lands.

Where a dryad’s counter, necromancers especially, would usually open themselves up and pull energy inwards a dryad would open themselves up and allow the ambient magic to cycle through them. Never giving or taking, simply feeling the magic of the natural world as it flowed across the world. Turning in the direction she could feel a disturbance in the natural magic she opened her eyes and smiled sadly, she could tell by the feeling and direction that this was going to be the last village or city.

Hiking the bag she had been gifted from one of the villages further up onto her shoulder she set off, determined to burn off as much energy as she could in between here and there.

“Mrs. Tana I must say that this is not a good idea and I would recommend rethinking the method used to build this weapon.” Alpha said as he passed the small rabbit a tool that looked suspiciously like something his Mistress would use in one of her relaxation/torture sessions.

“Oh come on be a little adventurous, besides what could possibly go wrong?” Tana said as she grinned up through her tinted goggles at the large wolf.

Raising a brow at the question Alpha reached out and flicked a switch turning on the device with a hum of building magical potential.

With a squawk and clang Tana found her right arm magnetized to a portion of her newest project, as irritating as this was, she began to notice that the portion she was stuck to had begun to heat up and had her arm still been flesh and fur she would be getting cooked. Turning her nerves off with a thought Tana scowled up at the wolf and began rapidly thumping her foot, about to begin tearing into him before she stopped and asked a more important question.

“Where did you get that tea?...you weren’t drinking it earlier and you didn’t have it when you turned this thing on.”

*Sluuurrrrpp* “Ahhhh….My apologies Miss Tana did you say something?”

Looking down at the bunny as her foot began to thump even more rapidly the dignified wolf grinned internally, he found he enjoyed the quiet dignity of being a butler but he would always have the heart of a playful rouge.

“GrrrrrRRrrrrRRrrr…fine, fine…turn the damn thing off and I will go back to the drawing board.” Alpha nodded before taking another sip of tea.

“If I may be so bold as to make a recommendation?” Receiving a nod Alpha reached out and tapped the arm currently stuck to the mass of magical wires and oddly shaped gears.

“You have a wonderous creation right here and with the correct illusions no one will know it is there…refine and improve yourself before moving onto outside projects.”

Standing upright Alpha strode out of the room leaving Tana with a contemplative look on her face as she thought over his words. Smiling as plans and equations began to percolate in her thought soup Tana looked up and frowned…he had walked out without turning her machine off…

“Hey!...hey come on, turn this thing off I am beginning to feel it in my actual nerves!...ok this isn’t funny anymore I can’t reach the damn switch from here!”

Glaring at the door she looked down at her arm and the mass of metal plates, magical wires and clockwork.

“Hmmm, bit of a design flaw…” Sighing to herself she groaned as she grabbed a tool from nearby and began to etch a magical equation into the metal of her new shoulder.

“This is gonna suck so much….”

Walking into the Realm of Fallen Knowledge was always something of a relief to the various Offices, none of them had any real purpose in this place because none of them had any true power here.

Death had already been served as the books had all ‘died’ in one form or another be it from fire or age, Life had already done his duty as those that had penned the knowledge within the stacks and shelves of books had needed to be forged from Creation’s Fire. The weaves of Fate had lead to the books and scrolls being made in the first place and Time had already seen them through their conception and destruction.

Exiting his portal Bogo took a deep breath and as he couldn’t feel any of his creations nearby smiled at the smell of the realm.

It was the warmth of old books and lifetimes contained within pages, the air was thick with the infinite amount of experiences that he could never create as they were born of his own creation’s madness. Closing his eyes Life smiled fondly as the whispers of his Gifts swirled around him from between the covers of the books. Stories of lands that never existed, tales of characters that were doomed to heartache and glory, lives spent attempting to untangle the mysteries of reality they were all around him begging to sing…

*sigh*

“Another time.”

Giving himself a shake the large and sharply dressed cape buffalo walked in a random direction knowing that he would find one of his greatest Gifts eventually.

Entering a pool of light Bogo slowed and looked around himself at the massive piles and stacks of paperwork.

“YOU!!! Stop right there! Don’t… even… breath…” Turning towards the source of the voice Bogo raised an eyebrow.

“I haven’t needed to breath for almost as long as you…what is all this Old Man?”

Seeing the fox in question scurry up to him Bogo wondered if he would need to schedule an appointment at a rather lovely spa he knew, the fox looked tense.

“Irrelephant, don’t mess up anything…it is all in its proper place.”

Looking around with a manic light in his eyes Nikenshriel looked…less than put together.

His sleeves had been sloppily rolled up as opposed to the razor-sharp folds he normally sported, his tie wasn’t just loose it was undone and simply hanging around his neck. The buttons of his shirt were all undone, the soft crème of his belly fur on full display and his slacks were drooping off his hips. His fur was beginning to look a bit oily and matted, which was odd as he hadn’t had such biological issues since before Bogo had taken on the mantle of his Office.

“And what is…all of this?” Bogo asked slowly.

“This is…well to be quick about it, this is what might save our home layer of reality from Erasure, if everything goes well. I just have to fill out these forms in triplicate without a single mistake with full knowledge and understanding and all will be well…theoretically. I mean I got the idea from Time and she wasn’t exactly clear on…well, anything but that is kind of her Modus Operandi isn’t it?”

Scurrying away low to the ground as if he was a feral fox Nick snatched up two different pieces of paper.

“See these?! I need to fill out this one!” Holding up one page Nick then shook the other.

“But if I fill it out before I fill out this one then the entire thing needs to be re-done, FROM THE BEGINNING because it would invalidate the first one…also if I fill out this one.” A third arm held up another single piece of paper.

“In the wrong ink, as in the wrong type, origin, pen, color and style of ink then everything is invalidated and has to be re-done FROM THE BEGINNING! Do you know how many times I have had to start over because it has all set itself on fire from a single mistake I made?!”

Bogo looked around at the stacks of paper and noticed the burn marks and scent of ash on the air.

“No?”

Nick smiled madly and giggled in a way Life hadn’t heard since before a number of small continents were swallowed by the sea…and the earth below that sea.

“Me neither! I lost count!”

Turning and going back to scribbling over various papers Nick began muttering to himself in a hodgepodge of languages as well as voices as if he was having an argument with himself across more personalities than he had digits…and from the sound of it some of them were winning.

“Just how many things do you have to sign?” Bogo asked as he looked around at stacks of papers taller than himself.

“HA! In all the languages I know there isn’t a word for the number of pages that I need to not only sign but understand…not read and sign, NO!… no I have to read and understand each and every page front and back before signing and the pages know if you are cheating, oh they know. I tried signing somewhere around the four-hundredth and fifty-sixth page without truly understanding…the entire thing went up in flames…for the three hundredth and forty-second time.”

Nodding to himself Bogo leaned over and read the title at the top of the page wondering what the damn lich was getting himself into before feeling the blood drain from his face as he slowly turned towards the fox.

“You…you can’t be serious. Nikenshriel you cannot be serious!”

Nick looked up at the large buffalo with a smile on his face that only had tinges of the mania he was suffering from.

“Oh I am old friend.”

Bogo shook his head and if he didn’t know what kind of ass-whooping he would get if he did it, he would have knocked the stacks of paper down and torn them to shreds.

“You can’t be…this is, Nick this is going to far…”

Feeling a sudden stillness fall over not only the area but the entire realm Bogo slowly looked over to the Lich now standing among neatly organized stacks of papers. Buttons done up to his neck, tie perfectly knotted at his throat and sleeves rolled up above his elbows with precision that could slice reality. Slacks perfectly pressed and fur glistening with care and health the Old Man smiled in a way Bogo had not seen before and had no way of understanding.

“No…it isn’t. I am old dear friend, so old you don’t have the words to comprehend my age…I have seen so much and done even more. You know I have to read my own diaries just to remember the last things I was truly passionate about? For the first time in longer than even Father can remember…I feel like I have a purpose!”

Reaching out the fox lightly gripped the buffalo’s forearms as genuine tears built in his eyes.

“For the first time in so long of being among the walking dead…I have a reason to live.”

Bogo looked between the papers and the fox, contemplated what it would mean if they were finished properly…and hated himself for his decision.

*Sigh*

“If you make me regret helping you, I will make a thousand Shivala’s for no other reason than to spite you and damn the consequences…”

Nikenshriel smiled and patted the large man’s arms as he reached up and brushed some loose hair out of his eyes before twirling a pen around his nimble fingers.

“Thank you, Old Friend…Regimes change…” The man with hair like sunset’s last fire said as he raised his fist.

“Empires fall…” The massive dark-skinned man said with a smile on his face as he bumped his own fist against the other.

“The wheel of Time turns for us all.”

Judy whistled long and low through her teeth as she gazed out at the cavern below the irritatingly normal house above them.

After following the boar cleric down the trap door and through a short tunnel she found herself looking out over a large natural cavern that was lit by some kind of odd crystal formations scattered around the surprisingly large cave. She could smell something familiar but wasn’t able to place it.

Stepping out into the cavern she casually tossed the eye she had been holding onto over her shoulder ignoring the cry of dismay as the boar lunged to catch it. Looking out at the cavern with slitted eyes Judy reveled in the intricacies of the magic that flowed around her until she felt a small flash of life magic trying to give her a headache and then a spear of life magic succeeding in giving her a migraine.

“Did you really think I would betray my goddess? Did you truly believe that you were stronger than She who Guides?”

The manic tone in the boar’s voice told Judy there would be no talking him down from such a stupid decision as he was about to make. Turning and about to make the attempt anyway Judy lurched back with a grunt as a shaft of pure life energy was driven through her chest.

“HUrrghhhkk…!” Following the shaft up to the boar holding it Judy tried saying something clever but a mouthful of blood prevented her.

“Once I sacrifice you to the glory of the Sheppard I will be elevated to the position of High Priest.” Seeing that the boar had placed his eye back within its socket and healed it Judy grinned through bloody teeth.

“I *cough* have to give it to you…the last time someone had me Urgghk…this pinned I was killing royals. To bad for you that I have grown since then…and you are seven centuries to early trying to outdo me.”

Reaching down she gripped the shaft of pure life energy and flooded it with her own, grinning as the light flickered and faded within her paw. Soon enough the pure white of the spear shaft took on a bruised, unhealthy light…a light reflected in her eyes as she locked her gaze with the boar’s.

Tilting her head with a smile she activated the various circles and curses she had implanted within the eye she had given back to him. Seeing the boar’s face twist and scrunch in pain before he fell to his knees screaming, Judy inhaled deeply as she reached out with her own power and after corrupting the magic in the shaft pulled it into herself.

“Ugghghhhaaaahhhaahhhhh…nice try, had this happened six hundred years ago you might have had a chance. Now I said I would give your eye back, I never said I would give it back exactly as I took it. I mean really, you just shoved it back in your head and healed it in place without bothering to check it? I have been doing this for longer than this city has existed, I have picked up a few things over the years and a few of those are things like silent casting and internal ritualism. Now then…time to see how that eye is working.”

Kneeling down and sinking her talons into the side of the boar’s head she turned it and stared into the eye that now glowed with a putrid green and yellow pattern that looked as if it had seared itself into the back of his skull.

Senna smiled as she approached what she felt would be the last stop on this little recovery trip, she had been growing flowers and trees along the way to the point she almost looked normal again.

‘Hopefully this will be the last one, I want to go home. And hopefully find a more…lasting…solution?’

Looking around as she felt a wave of slight cold wash over her like the first wave of high tide Senna wondered why it felt so familiar, but slightly off somehow. Hearing a series of disturbances behind her as a forest worth of birds erupted from the canopy she felt her eyes widen as she realized why the energy felt familiar.

‘Oh Judy…what did you do?’

Looking back the way she had come she braced herself and channeled a shell of life energy around herself as a wall of death magic came hurtling towards her. Crossing her arms in front of her and leaning into the wave she felt herself get blown backwards and nearly off her feet as life met death in an explosive embrace. Keeping her balance and turning towards the city she watched as a ring of death magic closed in around a single point near the edge of the city.

Gulping she began running towards the city, glad that she could pull any energy she spent running back from her surroundings making it so that she could run at a full sprint for as long as there was natural energy around her.

Walking along the old and familiar stone path Skye gently hummed a song from her youth under her breath with her scythe slung over her shoulder.

Looking down at her list of pickups she twirled in place as the fog of her personal travel realm parted to show her a new path towards the next one on her list. Beginning to walk down the path she looked up and smiled as a familiar looking beach town began to show through the fog, she remembered being here before on a pickup and looked forward to getting some seafood before leaving again.

Jerking to a stop as the fog rushed in and obscured her sight, she turned towards the new path that was being revealed and raced along it no longer as a bone white fox, instead she hurtled through her personal realm as a concept. She had shed her physical and even spiritually magical form and was now little more than a thought racing faster than time…she had heard the call of the Lost.

They had called out to her and even now she could hear them still screaming for release and guidance beyond the Veil. Their calls and pleading voices struck her deeper than her soul as it thrummed along her singular purpose for being built by the previous Life. Seeing the fog blast away from her path she saw a cavern filled with crystals and bodies but she didn’t bother with them…her target was directly in front of her.

A pillar of souls reaching up and out of the boar in front of her she barely registered the rabbit in her way and cared even less that she was in the way of her blade.

“GET DOWN RABBIT!”

Judy was excited about using this new spell and circle combination she had developed after studying soul magic.

Looking into the eye she had cursed Judy flooded the body she held in her unnaturally long and sharp talons with her power. She ravaged the flesh and bone, fouled the blood and seared the muscles with rot…even the greatest powers in all of Creation couldn’t violate the sanctity of the soul without invitation. Of course there was nothing to say the invitation couldn’t be made under duress…

‘Let me in…let me in and it will all stop…’

Her voice slid like warm oil and silken promises through the boar’s mind.

It didn’t matter how loud he screamed…he could only hear her voice. It didn’t matter how much pain he was in, all he could see was the most beautiful crystalline amethysts looking down at him with such warmth and love he felt like he was looking up at his own mother.

‘Just say yes sweet one…let me in so I can take away all the pain…I want to help you but you have to let me…in…’

‘Yes.’

That was it, she could feel…well, it wasn’t a door so much as the idea of a door opening and just by thinking about going through it Judy found herself bursting through into…somewhere.

It was like walking into a new realm all over again except this was a realm built of stars all connected by gently flowing streams of ethereal light.

Looking around she saw that every time she focused on a star she could glimpse what might have been a memory had it been shown to her in any kind of way she could truly understand. Every star held emotions and thoughts, slivers of sight and sensations…she didn’t know what they meant but she could feel the weight of importance behind them.

“His soul…this is his soul, these are the foundations of who he is.”

Looking around in awe she could feel herself begin to smile as her ears curled and eyes began to glow…she could really do some damage in here.

About to try poking something with a stick and seeing what happened she felt herself be distracted by a feeling that didn’t belong. Looking around and not seeing anything she focused on the feeling and watched as her vision whirled and spun until she was looking at a massive pillar of what she was now calling soul energy.

“I need to get better at naming things…maybe I can hire someone?”

Deciding that trying to move in a way she was used to was useless she began imagining herself moving around the pillar. Seeing the large pillar of swirling light and shifting smoke rotate in front of her she reached out with a thought and poked the light.

“HHHhhoooOOHHOOLLLYY SHHHIIITTTTT!”

It was like being flushed down a drain and shot through a screen without ever moving from her spot as the concept of a finite space around her shrank to the size of her fist and the brightness of a sun. Looking around she realized she was surrounded by similar miniature suns and they were all linked by lines of soul magic…but not to each other, or at least not as powerfully…

Following the largest line near her she saw that it lead into a single point, except this point wasn’t a bright sun like the others but…something else?

It wasn’t a sun, it wasn’t a star and it wasn’t a hole…it wasn’t that it was an absence of light but rather an absence of everything. There was no light, no dark…such concepts didn’t have a purpose within that point. Life and death held no power within the point because they had both ran their course and now it was separated from two of the basest concepts of all Creation.

“What…is that?” Judy wished she had some kind of physical form so she could hold her chin in her paw.

“Not What, but Who…I am She who came before you. I am the one who would have ruled all under the sun and beyond the stars. I am She who was born to Nothing and She who Deserves All…I. am. Shivala.”

Judy could tell that the voice was coming from the point and could only raise the idea of a skeptical brow at the point…Shivala, since apparently it thought it was a real thing.

“Wow…and I have been told I can be arrogant. So you are Master’s old flame huh? Well he did say he was pretty young back then so I guess I can only hope he was indulging in the stupidity of youth.” She could hear a mocking laughter coming from Shivala.

“Ah you must be the little hiccup my plans had seven hundred years ago if you call Him your Master. I wonder what he sees in you that would make him waste his time and talent on such a minuscule and worthless little speck.”

“Wow… that was good, I have to give it you that I almost considered feeling insulted. Of course then I remembered that you took a swing at Master and missed like a bitch and decided you weren’t worth the effort. So tell me Shivy, what is all this…what is the point? You can’t bring the rest of your soul across the veil and you have every Office after your ass. What are you hoping to achieve with all of this?”

Judy felt a spike of contempt coming from the center of the odd not-space she was floating within.

“I may not be able to bring the rest of myself across the veil now but I will once I hold the powers of Death. Once I hold the powers of Life, I will use Creation’s Fire to forge myself a new form and after I take control of all under the sun, I will LEAD MY ARMIES BEYOND THE STARS OF THIS WORLD AND MARCH UPON THE ASTRAL BEINGS THEMSELVES!”

Nodding to herself as she listened Judy looked around and began to feel herself understand a bit more.

“These are all souls…they are all connected to you…the Glow.” She could feel puzzle pieces slipping together.

“You are using Souls to make Glow somehow…and it is connecting the Glow users to you through their souls. Souls are infinite, shave some off and it grows back through the experiences of life…shave off a slight amount of the purest power source from multiple sources and not only would no one notice but you would gain small amounts of power and increasingly powerful connections. The more powerful the connection the easier it would be for you to enter their soul and take over, the more pieces you take from those around you the more powerful you can make your own soul…. OH!...ohohohohhhhh! you told me something, you told me something you shouldn’t have.”

Judy grinned and began to pace back and forth in the weird conceptual space, she could feel Shivala glaring at her but flicked her paw and sent a mental whiplash in frustration.

“Stop that, you are a fragmented soul that barely existed for a fraction of my lifetime before being shuffled off. I have more life within my soul than you could ever hope to achieve...OH…oh that is even better…wow…you really haven’t spent much time among the living. Not only are you telling me things but you are revealing things that tell me weaknesses you don’t want me to know.”

Looking off into the distance at an oddly familiar feeling Judy grinned…about damn time.

“What are you talking about rodent?! I have told you nothing, and even if you thought I had revealed something you are not going to leave this place and will be nothing more than a withering husk in the mortal world once I am done with you…or maybe I will eventually use you as my new vessel so that I can get close to your master so I can look him in the eye as I kill him for good.”

Judy rolled her eyes before grinning over at the odd point in the soul space.

“You really need to stop talking, you are making this too easy…anyway, bye.”

Reaching back through the conceptual connection she had with her physical body and the pool of magic it contained Judy found herself slamming back into the meat suit she had been inhabiting for so long. Turning towards the feeling of Death baring down upon her she felt her face drop as she registered the scythe swinging right at her.

“GET DOWN RABBIT!”

“AACK!”

Throwing herself back as fast as she could she was once again thankful she had done a bit of work on herself. She watched as a blade sharp enough to cut reality and sever souls passed so close to her face she felt her nose brush the metal.

Tilting her head back from where she had slammed back first on the ground she watched as the purest form of Death took a swing at the boar cleric. Looking closer she could tell there was a pillar of soul energy reaching up and out of the boar into the ceiling, following the energy she could see that it wasn’t just going up and dissipating it was being channeled…

“What the hell…?”

Squinting she watched as a massive wave of death magic exploded from the boar. Thankfully she was already on her back and somewhat familiar with death magic so she was just ruffled a little bit as the wave passed over her. Standing up a bit shakily she watched as Death struggled against the pillar of soul energy as her scythe was firmly hooked into it.

As she watched she could see the soul energy begin to flow into the scythe and then into Death herself, feeling something on the periphery of her senses she turned and braced against the returning wave of death energy.

Feeling it slam into her and flow around as much through her being, she felt it latch onto her soul. She could feel the wave trying to rip her soul out of her body but was powerful enough to resist it with a small amount of effort…the citizens of the city above her though were another story.

Looking up and through the cavern ceiling she watched as life signatures were snuffed out in an ever-tightening circle. Watching with an odd sense of anger that the same type of magic she used was being employed in such a way she noticed that the wave of power was drawn into the same odd channels that the soul energy from the boar had almost been drawn into. Looking down at the boar with Death hovering over his smoking and burnt corpse she walked forward until she was standing next to the robed figure.

“What happened here?”

The voice that came from within the depths of the hood spoke in every voice that had ever been or would ever be raised in anger over a grave that had been filled to soon.

“Other than what you saw I can’t tell you much since I have only been down here a few minutes longer than you. I noticed some strange lines glowing with a type of magic I hadn’t encountered before, I convinced the cleric to show me to this place when I realized there was a connection between the drug known as Glow and the Feral Plague that had been around when I first started learning magic.”

“I have taken apart a few mammals that had been infected with the plague and a few addicted to Glow and the similarities are to close to ignore. I can write out my findings and have them to you if you want more details.”

Judy didn’t really like Skye, she was the one who took her family from her after all, even if it was her job and responsibility…but she knew when to be flippant and when to be serious.

“Yes, thank you. This is a problem though…things are changing and events are being noticed by all the wrong parties. You saw it didn’t you? That wave of death magic just pulled every soul unable to fight against it out and away…there is nothing but a necropolis above us right now. The only way I will be able to spin this so that reality doesn’t get Erased will be that we have a lead on the partially escaped soul as well as the Lost Souls. Thankfully everyone that just died can be accounted for and isn’t missing or misplaced.”

Leaning on her scythe and pushing her hood back Skye pinched between her eyes.

“What a mess.” Looking over towards Judy she noticed that she was examining a cluster of crystals as well as the general area.

“What are you looking at?”

“Hmm? Oh…these crystals look and feel familiar but they are also connected to some kind of channel in the walls. You were probably to busy to notice but there is a series a channels in the walls and ceiling and I am betting throughout the city. I can’t see any evidence of digging so I would hazard a guess that it is some kind of long channel-form sigil work. When I first saw the church, I noticed that everyone inside was slowly channeling into the form of the church itself and then when you showed up the energy from that boar tried going up and into the ceiling.”

Gesturing around her as she spoke Judy attempted to trace the lines she had seen.

“I was watching as that wave of death energy gathered up all the soul energy and it didn’t dissipate but was drawn into the center of the city.”

Leaning forward she gave a chirp of victory as she saw a long series of rather cruel looking marks carved into the wall disguised as normal cracks in the shadows cast by the crystals.

“To what point and purpose though…what can be done with that much soul energy? The amount is either to much or to little…to much for anything a mortal could perform and to little for anything a god could use and if a god so much as looked sideways at this debacle they would be in trouble.”

Judy crouched down and poked the crystals, jerking back a bit as she saw them shift a bit. Reaching out she gripped a crystal and pulled with a sucking, crackling sound. Looking at the crystal and seeing the bottom third covered in black ichor and congealed blood she called over to Death.

“I think I found something, what it is though I’m not a hundred percent sure.” Feeling the cold presence of Death loom over her shoulder Judy held up the crystal.

“This was growing from what looks like a body, the state of decay is to far along to know what they were before the crystals took over. I am betting though, that if you looked further into these crystals, you would find that they were full of soul energy. When I was in the cleric’s soul I saw that he was connected to Shivala and through her, and her false religion, he was connected to everyone else who was using Glow. I bet if you followed someone through their use of Glow you would eventually get to watch them die of internal bleeding as their organs were shredded by crystals that would begin to grow out of them.”

Tapping her lip with the crystal Judy looked around before pulling a bag off her belt and opening it up.

Skye watched as a cloud of bone dust flew out and soon formed into a small army of skeletons.

“Alright everyone, I want this entire cavern stripped and catalogued. I want to be able to rebuild this entire cavern exactly as it is back home. Store everything in storage rituals, take rubbings of the marks along the walls as well as measurements…leave no stone unturned, literally.”

Flicking her paw Judy smiled warmly as her troops all saluted with a ‘Yes Mom’ and hurried off to their tasks

“That is just weird.” Skye said as she walked up to the necro bunny. Judy glared lightly up at the fox before responding.

“What is weird about it? They lived once and died once and then I brought them back…they might not have their souls but they are still enjoying life, besides it wasn’t my influence that got them doing it. Lua mentioned it was like giving them new life and that made them sort of like my adoptive children.”

Skye was about to respond when she stopped at a light chirping sound from around her feet. Looking down she saw a small black furred form looking up at her with bright purple eyes and a curious trill.

“EEK!”

Jumping back a couple feet and holding her scythe in front of her as if she was trying to hide behind it, Skye watched as the odd form raced over to Judy and practically levitated into her arms.

Watching with a look of confusion and surprise on her face she wondered what she was looking at as the odd creature climbed all over the laughing rabbit before poking its head out from between the rabbit’s ears with what Skye was sure was an indignant chirp.

“Ahhh…you scared her, come here baby…shhhsshhh…come to momma, there there…” Judy pulled the creature off her back and cradled it in her arms as she made small cooing and chirping noises.

‘Noises I know for damn sure a rabbit doesn’t have the vocal chords to make.’

“How are you doing that? And what is that thing? I know my brother’s work and he sure didn’t make that.”

Judy looked up with a smile so genuine it unnerved Skye, she wasn’t sure what she disliked more…seeing a genuine, happy smile on the rabbit’s face or that look of contemplation that said she was thinking of something.

“You are right, I did. I can’t ever have my own children the normal way so I decided to make my own.”

Holding the furred figure up for Skye to get a better look at Judy grinned with an obvious level of pride.

“This is Abby, she is a third-generation nose-fur-atuu. She likes crickets, playing tag and A-positive…she also gives awesome cuddles.” Skye just looked silently between Judy and the now named Abby thing.

“A positive what?” Judy shook her head with a smile.

“A-positive…the blood type, they developed a taste for it.” Judy turned Abby around in her grasp and began bouncing and dancing her around.

“As for how I speak their language and even hear it let alone understand it is easy…I modified my ear drums as well as the auditory portions of my brain a few hundred years ago. It helped with understanding everyone in the empire if I heard everything they were trying to say instead of having to guess at what I was hearing.”

The fact she said this as casually as if she was talking about what she picked up for dinner at the local market just caused Skye to rub her face a bit…this damn rabbit was going to give her ulcers and she didn’t even technically have a stomach.

“Uh-oh…that might be bad.”

Looking up and pulling her face down Skye saw that Judy was looking in the direction of the life signature she had sensed coming close to the city.

“What now? What could possibly be bad now?” Judy groaned and placed Abby on the ground before walking over to the trap door she had used to enter the cavern.

“My Dryad little sister just entered a freshly made necropolis with dead bodies most likely lying everywhere…and she knows I’m a necromancer so she is probably going to think I did it.” Turning to follow the rabbit Skye dismissed her scythe and scoffed.

“As if you would ever do something like kill off an entire city and just leave the bodies lying around.”

“…Su~re.”

“That response does not inspire confidence bunny.”

“Oh come on I wouldn’t leave the bodies just lying around…I would at least put them to work doing something.”

“Alright so I just need to connect this to this…” Tana muttered to herself as she went over her latest iteration of her project. Hearing a switch flick into place she grinned before going back to her pre-test checklist.

“HA! not gonna happen Alpha, I changed a few things around and shielded my arm this time. Now stand back…”

So saying she hoisted the clunky backpack looking thing onto her back, tightened the straps and pulled her favorite goggles down over her eyes. Taking the nozzle she had…salvaged…from one of the irrigation systems she took aim at her assistant skeleton who raised a thumbs up in her direction.

“I’m doing magic.”

The fact Alpha was still in the room was testament to his confidence in the Young Mistress’s work…the fact he was as far back as possible and behind a blast shield was also a testament to his confidence in the Young Mistress’s work.

Taking aim down the slightly awkward barrel of her invention and lining the nozzle up with her target she squeezed the trigger. Hearing a buzz and pop before smelling smoke she pulled her eye away from the rudimentary crosshair she had cobbled together. About to turn around and try to look over her shoulder she shrieked a bit a hearing something kick into place before quickly getting the nozzle pointed correctly downrange.

As she watched, small ball bearings charged with fire and heat magic came hurtling out of the nozzle in rapid succession. The accuracy was little better than if she threw them with a blindfold but with as many as she was firing it wasn’t really an issue. Stopping and turning a dial on the stock she was holding onto she grinned even wider as the ball bearings soon took on a blue-white glow and where they had been searing through the rhino skeleton’s bones they were now shattering and arcing electricity across her assistant’s entire form. Turning the dial once more she began giggling in a very Judy like way as the ball bearings started leaving small trails of yellow vapor before splattering into small patches of sticky, foul smelling acid.

Finally coming to the end of her ammunition she lowered the nozzle and raised her goggles.

“You alright down there Billy?!” Seeing the rhino raise a thumbs up with an arm that wasn’t even attached anymore she giggled…she liked Billy.

“Hey Alpha, do you think aunty will let me keep Billy?” Seeing how far back he was she scowled.

“You could at least pretend to have faith in me and my work you know…” Alpha simply walked up and ruffled the small tuft of hair between her ears.

“I had complete and total faith in you and your work Little Mistress. As for Billy…I will ask once she enters the range of our connection once more. Have you finished the task she gave you during your outing to the city?” Tana grinned at the wolf as he scritched just the right spot before nodding up at him.

“Yep, had that done and more by the day after we got back and she took off with mom.” Alpha just smiled and grinned over at the form of Billy as he tried to pull himself together.

“You know…if you want to keep Billy, he might need a bit of an upgrade…” The way Tana’s face lit up made Alpha glad that he had been left behind to look after the Little Mistress.

Watching as the young rabbit skipped off Alpha felt a pair of lithe arms slide like velvet around his midsection as a grinning head was placed on his shoulder. Grinning as he felt the rumbling purr vibrate through his back, the owner of those arms having to lean up on her tip toes in order to place her chin on his shoulder the way she did.

“You are going to spoil her before the Mistress gets back at this rate.”

Lua purred as Alpha grinned before he turned on the spot and scooped the black panther up into his arms. Pressing his nose into the junction of her neck and shoulder Alpha ran his teeth along her shoulder and back up her neck until he reached her ear. He didn’t normally give such displays of affection but every now and then he would surprise her…four hundred years of being together and he was still curling her tail.

“That’s the idea Love.”

Chapter Text

The bar was quiet…not the quiet before opening or just after closing no...

The bar oozed the quiet of the grave, there were no insects buzzing or birds chirping. There were no mammals inside or out and the expectation of a mammal walking through the bar was as dead as the bodies lying in neat lines along the back wall with table covers draped over them.

Walking behind the bar and grabbing a bottle of something that shone with a dark amber light Judy grabbed a glass and poured it to the top before sliding it silently across the bartop. Looking over to the shaken and wilting form of her adoptive baby sister Judy reached out and gently steered the nearly comatose bunny’s paw to the glass. Seeing the other bunny look up at her with haunted and hollowed eyes Judy did her best to pull her facial muscles into a reasonable looking smile.

Grabbing the glass with a shaky paw Senna raised it up and looked over to her adoptive big sister and nodded her head when she clinked her bottle against the glass. Tossing the entire glass back as if it was a shot Judy tipped the bottle back and began drinking from the pour spout like a baby bottle. Stopping and turning both rabbits watched as a bone white fox pulled out a barstool and sat silently next to Senna before tapping the bartop next to an empty glass. Silently nodding Judy reached over and poured her a glass of the most likely expensive paint stripper.

“This is giving me flashbacks I could really do without.”

The sound of Judy’s voice fell on the silent bar like an avalanche.

Looking around the bar Judy grimaced and rubbed her face before growling to herself a bit as she pulled the pour spout from the bottle and simply began slamming it back before stopping and wiping her lips on the back of her paw.

“This is what it sounded like when I first entered my burrow after leaving to study in Master’s realm, I was there for about forty odd years but only three-ish days in this realm. When I got back the fires were gone but the smoke lingered and I was the only one that pulled breath within the halls I had grown up in.”

As she spoke Judy let her eyes go un-focused as she stared into the middle distance.

“I had never known the burrows to be so silent…there had always been laughter, crying, screaming and talking. Even at night you could hear your siblings snoring and snuffling in their sleep or tossing and turning…but when I walked those halls and I could barely hear my own footsteps because of the ash that was once possibly my family on the floor…”

Tipping back the last of the bottle she tossed it over her shoulder to shatter loudly against something she didn’t care about, as long as it wasn’t another bottle of booze since she planned on killing this bar…maybe a bad choice of words.

“This is like back then…silence you can feel sliding through your fur like oil and screaming in your ears.”

Reaching down and grabbing another bottle she poured another glass for the fox and rabbit across from her before tipping it back herself.

“What happened here Judy…so much life…so many lives, I could feel them from outside the city. Not individually but I could feel the mass of life running like blood through this city and then…I could feel them all snuffing out like tiny candles in a blizzard. The warmth of life replaced by barren cold…”

Shivering in place Senna raised her glass to her lips and drank deeply.

“What happened…” Skye started before sipping her own glass.

“Was potentially the final nail in the coffin before this realm is buried alive.”

Seeing the look on Senna’s face Skye looked towards Judy who casually gestured with one bottle as she poured another into a large pitcher before adding the other to the growing mixture.

“She is a dryad, almost as old as I am, my baby sister and a mother…she has every right to know why her kits might never get to grow up or even see what is beyond the Veil.”

Senna choked at hearing that.

“What do you mean my kits might not grow up? How could they not see what is beyond death if they don’t grow up?!”

Tipping her glass back before holding it out for Judy to re-fill she kept her eyes on the fox wearing what looked like a funeral shroud made of spider silk and broken dreams.

*sigh* “Long ago, before your species even started thinking of anything other than eating and fucking, a lady with plans she could never hope to fulfil and ideas far above her station died. This happens every second of everyday but at this one single point in time…I messed up. I was new to the job of Death and didn’t properly usher her across the veil, it took her longer than you have a concept for but eventually she was able to start sliding back across the veil. Like a case of the running shits through a clenched asshole and just as pleasant.”

The last bit was muttered into her drink but both rabbits heard her and both giggled slightly.

“I was supposed to kill Judy here centuries ago but I had a feeling that she would be important and decided to save her for last, if she was important something would happen to save her and if she wasn’t she would follow her family into my embrace. Sure enough my old friend the First Lich not only stayed my paw but took her as an apprentice. Skip forward a bit and while she didn’t actually find what happened to a number of Missing Souls, Judy was able to give me enough information and enough wins to take back to my bosses to keep them not upset…they weren’t happy but they weren’t upset either.”

Reaching out and grabbing a pawful of nuts Skye crunched loudly before finishing her glass and waving for a refill.

“I have been looking for the Lost Souls since then and during that time we discovered the lady who had died and begun to squirt out from the wrong side of the veil. So now she is trying to pull herself back together with as much as she was able to get across and I am guessing she is not exactly sane…”

Finishing with a questioning lead in Skye waited for Judy to finish arranging the fruit and tiny umbrellas on her pitcher drink.

“Oh she is absolutely cracked…surprisingly lucid and aware but entirely insane. She seems to think that she will be able to forgo finding the rest of her soul fragments and instead rebuild her soul with pieces taken from other mammals and in doing so eventually she will have not only the powers of Death but also Life. She seems to think once she has both Offices under her control, she will be able to bring the rest of her soul across the veil and forge a new body before leading an army to conquer the world before marching on something called the Astral Beings.”

Skye choked at hearing those words and spit a fine mist of surprisingly corrosive liquid across the bar top while Judy took a moment to place a straw in her drink and lean on the bar while sipping from her pitcher.

“Lead her armies in a campaign against…what, exactly?”

Seeing the look of actual fear in the Office’s eyes told Judy this was not the time to mess around, even if she had been in the mood after seeing her family burrow projected onto an entire city.

“Astral Beings…I assume that means something to you?” Nodding absently Skye slumped in her seat and pushed her remaining drink away from her before standing up with a stressed look on her face.

“Yeah…yeah it does…listen I have things to do, I uh…I have to go…I’ll be in touch.”

Turning away from the bar top despite the pair of rabbits’ protests she continued to turn, except she was turning in directions that were only conceptual and didn’t actually exist on this layer of reality.

“What the hell was that all about?” Senna asked with a small slur in her voice as she looked over to her big sister.

“I don’t know…but I am looking forward to finding out eventually. IN THE MEANTIME THOUGH…tell me about that pompous little fuck-stain Maximillian fuckwit or whatever his name was. He seemed rather interested in taking a tour of your burrow and getting you in the city.”

Grinning as Senna rolled her eyes with a painful groan Judy grinned before replacing her glass with a bottle.

“The little fucker has been hounding me since he was old enough to have wet dreams. He wants me to marry into his family so that he will have a claim over our lands since they are the best producing farm lands…also the most desirable tax and income wise. He has delusions of mediocrity and wants to be the next big ruler of Bunnyburrow and then move on towards Zootopia, as if he wouldn’t get shived in the neck and left to die in the gutter the second he entered the capital.”

“He thinks I should be impressed over the fact that he is the son of a crime boss and can’t seem to figure out that not only are most of the residents of the farm my children, but also that insulting them and my life choices is somehow not nearly as arousing as he thinks it must be. Somehow he got it in his head that if he promises me a bunch of sparkly rocks, shiny metal and fine clothes that I will just swoon my way into his bed and then never put clothes on again. Then after the most forgettable night of my life I would sign over everything my family and yours worked for leaving all of them homeless and he would then have a perfect place to make his father’s stock of Glow.”

That caught Judy’s attention as she sipped her pitcher drink from her straw.

“His father deals Glow?” Senna nodded and poured herself another drink.

“It is his main under the table income, in the daylight he runs the markets and regulates the high-end housing. After dark and in the shadows though, he is basically the drug lord of Bunnyburrow…no one can make anything stick to him and it wouldn’t matter if they did since he is one of the Big Three and owns a portion of the Enforcers. Each of the Bigs owns their own portion of the Enforcers but each also has their own sort of internal factions within them though Astra owns the majority.”

Judy grabbed a bottle of some glowing liquid, saw that it was a drain cleaner and shrugged as she tipped it upside down and stuck it in the pitcher, grinning as she watched the glowing liquid mix with the pitcher’s contents.

“Roland controls the Sniffer portion of the Enforcers since they are the ones that could most easily find his drugs. Astra controls the majority of the General Enforcers since most of the actual work is done on the mid-level in the fog and you can always tell her boys since they are the best equipped. Then there is Vargus, he controls the Reactionary Squad. You don’t see them very often since they are usually sent out during large uprisings or problems and most of the other times they are the bully squad that kicks in doors when someone doesn’t pay up their protection dues or loans.”

Ending with a scoff Senna turned her slightly glazed eyes towards the bodies lying near the back wall.

“You can…you can do something for them right?”

Judy winced at the small voice coming from her little sister, it wasn’t right for a Burrow Matron to speak with such a weak voice.

“I can give them some last rites, use a spell that will make it impossible for them to be resurrected by anyone like me. I can’t bring them back though despite what you are probably hoping.” The look on Senna’s face as she looked back told Judy she was right on the money.

“I can bring the minds back, stick them back in the bodies they belong to. I can set them back to their lives…but they won’t be alive. To be alive you need to have a soul and as I have learned in my studies the soul is inviolable even to the greatest powers in all of creation without invitation. Now had I gone through the city, gotten permission to access every possible soul?...maybe, mm~aayy~be I could bring them back in totality. It would come down to the judgement of Death herself.” Judy said as she gestured towards the now empty barstool.

“As things are now though…there is nothing I can do for them beyond what I have done for my own children, I’m sorry. I may be a necromancer but even I don’t like seeing life wasted like this…this is just death for the sake of death, nothing more. This is death simply for the sake of hating life…”

Looking around herself Judy scowled at the lack of any life signatures within her sight, it wasn’t natural.

“But you are going to avenge them, right?”

Hearing the tone of her little sister’s voice Judy slowly turned back to the other rabbit as she gently swirled her drink around in her glass. Remembering that Senna was a dryad and that meant she was the embodiment of Nature Judy grinned wickedly…nature was neither cruel nor cowardly and it was very rarely fair.

“Oh I plan on it…of course if my counterpart were to stand in my way…” Senna looked up at Judy with eyes that glowed a furious and vibrant emerald green.

“If it means bringing vengeance down on whoever did this to these mammals…I don’t care what it is that you decide to do, there is nothing cruel or vile enough to truly encompass what was done here this day and I will not stand in your way on this matter.”

Raising her glass Senna grinned in a particularly Judy-like smile as she clinked glass to pitcher with her big sister who was also grinning with a mouthful of teeth didn’t belong in her face.

“Daaaddyyyyy?”

Jack groaned lightly to himself as he heard the voice behind him, he knew that voice and the tone it was using.

That was the tone of one of his Princesses trying to get something from him and for not the first time he was cursing the fact that he had more daughters than sons. Looking down at the rich mushroom and bean chili he was stirring Jack turned towards the owner of the voice and was slightly surprised to see his most troublesome little girl looking at him with massive emerald eyes that looked as if they were on the verge of tearing up.

“Uhm, yes sweety?” Jack could just feel he was going to regret this.

“Can I go to the city if I take Alpha and Lua with me?”

Jack knew he should say No…the fact his little girl was pouting and sticking out her lower lip with her gorgeous eyes watering as if she was about to cry told him she was planning something. But she had asked to go to the city, something he usually didn’t begrudge any of his children and she had said she would be going with Judy’s two most trusted helpers.

“This is a trap of some kind…I just don’t know how.” Jack said as he narrowed his eyes towards his daughter.

“Aunty Judy wanted me to replicate some of the artifice devices we saw around the city and I wanted to make sure I got as many right as possible.” She remembered hearing her aunty tell the fluffle once that sometimes the best way to lie was to tell the truth.

Jack leaned in until he was practically nose to nose with his daughter as the ice clone he was leaning out of continued to stir the chili.

Watching her dad so casually lean out of a moving piece of ice that hadn’t been there before he wanted it to be and even doing so without any kind of verbal spell or prior set up reminded Tana that just because he was usually so laid back, he was also an accomplished swordsmammal and sorcerer.

“Hmmm…alright but you stay in the fog, make sure you are always with both Lua and Alpha at all times and I will be checking when you get back, and make sure you are back on the farm before sundown.”

Standing back up after receiving a grateful hug around the neck from his daughter he smiled as he dismissed his clone and went back to stirring the chili…it was nice seeing his usually depressed daughter smile and laugh.

Standing surrounded by bodies Judy felt a small urge to raise them all but squashed it immediately, these were innocents and they didn’t deserve being brought back under the control of someone like her.

Sighing and raising her paws into an unfortunately familiar pattern of arcane movements she was transported back to when she returned to her home after studying in her Master’s realm.

Feeling the words roll off her tongue and her power flow into the world she watched with hooded and cross slitted eyes as the small threads that still held their minds to their bodies were severed. Not many knew about it but a mammal could always be brought back if their minds remembered what it was like to be in their body, there was almost always a thread that would reach beyond the veil from the physical body to the mind.

Biting her lip in thought as her spell severed the connection the bodies had to their minds across the veil she wondered if she would be able to do something like this to Shivala. As she watched, roots reached up and gently pulled the bodies into the ground while a haunting melody rang out from the tallest building in the city.

Looking up she watched as Senna pulled in raw natural energy, refined it and then expressed it into the world through her voice and intent. Turning away she watched as the dryad’s voice rang out among the buildings, soothing away the lingering spirits and phantasms. She could feel Senna’s power reaching deep into the earth and encouraging the plant-life to reach up and take the bodies into their embrace. With every word she sent out another wave of power, coaxing the insects back into the city, revitalizing the plant life that had begun to wilt after being exposed to such concentrated death magic.

If only she could do so without having to sing a dirge that reached just as deeply into Judy’s chest searching for a heart that no longer existed within her.

Deciding she was going to edit her tear ducts and probably her eyes next Judy looked towards the newest group of bodies to be protected against desecration by anyone like her. About to begin the same spell and rite she had used to protect her own family so many centuries ago she stopped with a gasp as a mental spike rammed between her eyes as what felt like her entire lower left torso was blasted out.

Falling to the ground she didn’t know how long she knelt there but it must have been long enough for Senna to notice as she soon found herself looking her little sister in the eye.

“Judy?...JUDY! what is going hun, come on talk to me.” Judy could feel herself slowly regaining her balance as her mind re-asserted itself.

“A-*ack, cough!* Alpha…Lua…” Shaking herself and gritting her teeth Judy reached out and just before the two of them dissolved into ash and grave dust she spoke a sentence that chilled Senna to the bones.

“Tana is in trouble!”

“Oh come on Al loosen up and have some fun!” Lua said as she twined her arm with his.

They were walking a step or two behind their young charge as she happily skipped in front of them.

They had tuned out the rapid-fire chatter she had devolved into as they entered the city, neither of them had any grounding in magic beyond their own personal brands after all despite Alpha’s tinkering with modern artifice. While he had a decent idea of artificing gained from watching his Mistress…half of what Tana was saying went far over his head.

Tana of course was having the time of her life as she skipped happily through the magically charged fog, before going with her aunty she had never been allowed in the city without one or more of her parents or a bunch of her older and more powerful siblings. It was a bit of a bummer that she had to be escorted by Alpha and Lua but they were at least accommodating and didn’t hold her weakness for charms and spells against her like most of her siblings. Looking around with her gear shaped eyes Tana wondered how much she could get away with before leaving. Gesturing over to a brightly lit café Tana happily found a seat and ordered a drink along with some snacks.

Sitting in her seat Tana let her tongue stick out the side of her mouth as she worked while Alpha and Lua flirt-uh…conversed.

Rolling her eyes a bit with a grin she found the pair adorable as they tried to keep their relationship on the down low. Grabbing a small marble tablet she had enchanted earlier she channeled some energy into her blunt claw and not for the first time wished she knew how Judy had such sharp and finely pointed claws.

Scratching at the tablet with a fervor she rarely got the chance to indulge in Tana grinned as the magical equations she had etched out glowed before fading into the marble tablet…her spell had worked. Aunty Judy had wanted her to make it so she could look through the viewing charm webwork and now she could. 

She might not be able to bring the dead back to life or even keep a mint plant alive but when it came to magitech, she was ahead of the curve. Swiping her finger in a quick symbol only she actually knew the meaning of she grinned wider as the view she could see through the marble tablet changed.

Flicking through a few more runes and symbols she placed the tablet on their table with a smug look on her face. Reaching out and grabbing a small sandwich before sitting back in her seat she wondered if it would be worth it to make the grinder they used to make the coffee here. Looking around she saw a shop that made portraits and remembered how fascinated her aunty had been at seeing the ‘instant paintings’.

“Next stop is that picture place, you two can get a portrait done together in some goofy outfits or something.”

“That sounds lovely, is there anywhere we can get some decent knives or weapons? Maybe a bit of armor?” Lua asked as she leaned into Alpha’s side, Tana noting that while he didn’t lean into her, he also didn’t push her away or move the arm she had pulled around herself from its place around her waist.

“Other than perhaps some kitchen knives I couldn’t tell you, we don’t really sell that stuff anymore, maybe a few hundred years ago you could find somewhere like that but nowadays not so much. The most you will be able to find will probably be a blackmarket arms dealer but other than that you are out of luck, weapons are pretty heavily regulated around here.”

Seeing both Revenants freeze as they were about to respond Tana felt her smile drop and was about to ask what was wrong when she realized they were looking over her shoulder at something.

“Ms. Underroot, it would be in your best interest if you came with us quietly.”

A voice behind her spoke up as a massive paw landed on her shoulder. Ignoring her reaction to freeze up she turned and looked up at the owner of the large paw and saw a proportionally large brown bear in a familiar suit. Glancing around she saw that they were actually surrounded by various mammals in similarly cut and styled suits, all of them casually showing that they were armed with some of the better models of magicasters.

“You work for the Lightfoot family, don’t you?” Seeing the nod of confirmation she turned back to her escorts.

“Well it looks like you two will have to get your couples portrait some other time as it looks like someone who thinks they are important wants to talk to us.”

“Actually the invitation only extends to you Miss Underroot, boys get rid of the spares.”

Before anyone could say anything, Tana watched as a rhino pulled a large magicaster and shot out Lua’s entire lower body before turning and doing the same to most of Alpha’s left side. To terrified to scream at the sudden brutality Tana was barely able to put up any resistance when a gag was shoved between her teeth and buckled or as a bag was thrown over her head. Feeling herself lifted up and quickly wrapped in ropes she was soon bundled into a larger bag.

Jack smiled as he walked out of the burrow with a stretch, he had some of the older litters taking care of the day-to-day tasks and dinner was slowly churning away and building a good flavor.

Looking out at the hills and fields he felt a building pride at seeing so many of his children working to remove weeds, water the fields, plant starters and generally tend the fields. He had come a long way from the high towers of Zootopia, he did more actual work in a day on this little farm than he had done in half a year back in the day… and unlike back then he fell asleep with a smile on his face and a beautiful doe in his arms.

Looking to the side as an odd feeling entered his senses Jack watched as a cloud of dust raced towards him.

Tilting his head in confusion he watched as the most unholy rabbit he had ever known fell out of the dust cloud alongside his own embodiment of heaven. Raising a brow Jack looked down at his wife as she shakily got to her feet and then at the form of what could only be Judy…only she could sustain that level of damage and still swear in that many languages.

Senna looked behind her at her big sister and gasped at what she saw, Judy had been reduced to little more than strips of raw meat and nerves holding a skeleton together.

As she watched, Senna felt she needed to talk to her big sister about a few things…rabbits didn’t have bones in those places or muscles in that configuration. Shaking her head, and regretting the action immediately as everything swam around her, she locked onto the most beautifully handsome face she could remember. Reaching out and gripping her husband’s shoulders she pulled herself into his embrace and nuzzled against his neck while aggressively chinning anywhere she could reach.

“Tana!” Her voice was rough and dry.

“Where is she?! Where is our daughter?” Pulling back she looked into Jack’s crystalline blue eyes and saw a look of confusion.

“She went into the city a few hours ago, said Judy wanted her to recreate some artifice stuff and wanted to make sure she got as much done as possible. What is going on? What happened!?”

Judy lay gasping in the dirt as her body pulled vitality from the area around her, the ground dying and hardening as her muscles rebuilt themselves and flesh slowly crawled up her form like a layer of mold over fruit.  

Hacking out a glob of blood Judy forced words through tortured vocal chords as she grasped at the dirt around her in an attempt to pull more energy into herself in order to replenish the vast amount she had used to get both her and Senna back to the farm in one shot.

“Alpha…Lua…where are they?...they were supposed to be looking after her…”

“I made sure they went with her when she asked to leave, saw them all walk off together. What is going on Love?” Turning from the slowly healing rabbit to the anxious bunny in his arms Jack hoped he would get some kind of answer soon.

“I’m fine by the way, thanks for asking I really feel the compassion.” Judy said as she made her way to her feet as nude as the day she was born…she had really liked that outfit too.

“Yeah I didn’t care then or now, if you were that easy to kill, I would have done it centuries ago.” Jack said distractedly as he turned back to his wife.

“What is going on? You look better than when you left but what is this about Tana?” Senna looked over to Judy who was still spitting up blood.

“His name wasn’t Alpha when I killed him, I gave him that name and title.” She said as she pulled what looked like a small bone from between her teeth, what it had belonged to was a mystery Jack didn’t care about.

“He is the Alpha of all my children, he is the only one other than myself that can truly command the Risen. I imbued him with a portion of my power and when I first created him, I gave him the ability to grow and make it his own. He is as alive as it is possible to be…the only thing he is missing is his soul which can only be brought back by Death herself. His body is made of my first familiar Fin, as such there is a certain connection between him and I.”

“So when I felt a large portion of his body get splattered at the same time I felt my connection to Lua get severed I also had a glimpse of what they were seeing when it happened…they were looking at Tana.”

Hacking up a last glob of blood and spitting onto the spot she had left barren and foul she raised a challenging brow at Senna’s expression as it began to hiss and smoke.

“I don’t know what happened to Tana or where she is but I can find Alpha and Lua without any difficulty and then we can get a better idea of what happened. Jack grab your sword and shake the rust off, I wasn’t planning on doing anything for a few more months but I think our timelines have been advanced in more ways than one.”

Judy said before walking in the direction of her caves.

“Hang on a minute! Where are you going and why does Jack need to get his sword? Why are the two of us not heading off to the city right now to get my daughter back?!” Senna asked, unaware of the tremors her words were sending through the earth beneath their feet. Judy stopped and turned towards her baby sister.

“Tell me Senna, what do you want to do right now? If you knew where your daughter was what would you do?” Senna barred her teeth and clenched her fists at her sides.

“I would bring down an unholy amount of pain upon whoever dared to touch my baby! I WOULD UNLEASH THE FULL WRATH OF GAIA UPON THOSE WHO WOULD THINK THEY COULD COME BETWEEN MY FAMILY AND I!”

By the time she was finished speaking the ground had cracked around her feet and the sun was being blotted out by clouds heavy with rain and dark with hatred. Ragged vines covered in barbed thorns had sprouted around the door to the burrow and spine covered weeds now covered the ground around her…at least wherever the soil hadn’t grown dry and cracked. Judy pointedly looked at Senna and then down at the ground before looking up at the roiling clouds and then at her little sister with a raised brow.

“And that is what happens in an area of normal magical density when you have just heard about the situation, I wonder what could possibly happen in an area of magical density high enough to not only create a fog bank but also effect the local weather patterns.” Judy said in a somewhat mocking tone of voice as she propped a paw on her bare hip.

“But sure, get changed into something that lends itself to kicking ass and get over whatever hangups you have about killing mammals that haven’t actually done anything to you personally and you can join Jack and I; we can make a threesome out of it.” Jack turned and shrugged towards his wife.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind walking around with two beautiful and powerful does on my arm but I would rather do so knowing I was gonna get laid with both, and honestly I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t wake up if I feel asleep with her next to me.”

Judy grinned wickedly before turning with an obvious butt wiggle and tail flick.

“Definitely not, at least not unless I’m tied up that is…”

Walking into the Enforcer station Judy was thankful of the cold presence Jack afforded her at her side otherwise she might have done something stupid, she didn’t like being among figures of authority she didn’t control. Walking forward until they reached a desk she waited until the ewe receptionist acknowledged them both.

“Yes? How can I help you two?” Jack stepped forward before Judy could make a comment.

“We are here to identify a pair of bodies. They will have been brought in no more than a few hours ago at most, one rather large wolf and a black panther. Most likely they will have been killed in a gang related incident.” Jack said.

After rummaging through a few papers on her desk the ewe held out a small sheaf of papers in triumph.

“AHA! Here they are the little buggers, yes I remember this case coming in. I feel I have to warn you that the bodies are…well they are very unpleasant and very mangled. Are you sure you want to take your missus with you good sir?” Jack smiled as Judy stepped forward upon hearing this.

“I happen to be very well acquainted with the internal workings of various mammals…though I am always looking to expand my knowledge, would you care to help me?” Jack rolled his eyes before stepping forward again.

“Not now we have things to do, save it for later.”

“Oh come on! Look at her, I could go elbow deep and not even get my new outfit messy…go on and dare me, bet you won’t!” Jack sighed at the doe by his side.

“You are right I won’t because we have better things to do. Now miss, could you please point us towards the bodies so that we might identify them and be on our way.”

Seeing the ewe point off to the side Jack nodded and pulled Judy along behind him much to the ewe’s pleasure as she had begun to mutter about internal organs and which alphabet to remove them by.

Walking into the morgue both rabbits looked around until they saw the Lead Bonesaw.

“Ah are you here to identify the John and Jane doe from earlier? Yes of course you are…terrible business, gunned down in the middle of a busy café like ferals.”

The armadillo bustled around his small kingdom as both rabbits looked at each other. As they watched the armadillo pushed a cart in front of them followed by a second with both covered in white cloths.

“If you would be so kind as to identify the bodies.”

Judy walked up and pulled the cloth off the first form revealing Lua. Turning towards the second Judy pulled the cloth off the body to reveal the expected form of Alpha gazing into eternity with eyes just as glazed over as Lua’s.

‘How about it Fin, think you can spare the biomass for a pair of new bodies?’

‘Ha! With as boring as it has been around here the last few days, no problem…are things gonna pick up soon? Suzie keeps beating me at chess and it is starting to feel personal.’

‘That is because you are insecure, don’t worry I will do my best to let you have some fun. You too Sammy, don’t think I have forgotten about you sweety.’

Feeling a slight wiggle and shuffle of tiny feet around her throat, wrists and ankles Judy smiled softly…she could always rely on her true friends.

Looking over to Jack and nodding in the direction of the armadillo Judy grinned as he walked over and began talking to her in a loud voice, affecting a slight loss of hearing to account for his near yelling.

Grinning and reaching out Judy sliced her arm open with a talon allowing a flood of leeches and blood to flow over the mostly intact form of Alpha before turning the flow towards Lua.

Muttering a spell under her breath Judy watched as the leeches took their places along the bones and dissolved into tendons and muscles. Smiling as she breathed out her spell she watched as the bodies in front her rebuilt themselves until they were fully re-constituted. Whispering another spell under her breath she grinned as both bodies jerked before sitting up and looking towards her.

Holding her finger in front of her lips for silence Judy reached into the bag she was definitely, surely, absolutely going to return to her master…eventually…probably.

Pulling out a new change of clothes for both of her favored Revenants she looked over to Jack as he continued to distract the morgue overseer, getting a subtle thumbs up as they went over some kind of paperwork or some such.

Passing the clothes over to her two favorite children she grinned as Alpha tried to subtly admire Lua as she worked her ruined outfit off her lithe form before dressing in her new clothes…he wasn’t overly successful. Looking over to Jack to make sure he was busy and not looking at her Judy turned and darted in to give both Alpha and Lua a tight hug, just barely holding back from chinning them.

Both wolf and panther looked down in surprise at the comparatively small bunny as she squeezed them with surprising strength. As she pulled away she smiled up at them in such a genuine way both of them felt as if their breath would have caught had they still had working lungs…she actually looked like the small innocent rabbit that she should have been instead of what they had always seen her as.

Stepping back and nodding with a quick sniffle Judy once again looked as she always did before turning around and walking up to Jack.

“I’m afraid these aren’t who we were expecting to find dear, this was a waste of time.”

Turning and walking imperiously towards the exit with Alpha and Lua following closely behind, Judy grinned as Jack assured the morgue worker that the two mammals had most likely been sleeping and definitely weren’t dead minutes ago, and that those blood stains were there when they arrived.

“You know you could have helped convince him that he wasn’t losing his mind or that you weren’t a necromancer, I ended up having to bribe him to get him to pretend it never happened.” Jack said as he caught up to Judy at a small café.

“You remembered to threaten him properly when you did right?” Judy asked as she twirled a decoratively laced parasol over her shoulder after arranging the folds of her dress, the fashion of this new age was a little odd compared to the homemade simplicity of her kithood but it was growing on her.

“Of course I did I’m not an amateur, and before you ask yes, I made sure to involve his family. Now then you two…” Jack said with an eyeroll before turning towards the two larger mammals.

“Tell me what happened and make sure you do a good job explaining why my daughter is not with you or else you will be back on that morgue table so fast the technician will be wondering if he was imaging the whole thing.” Both Alpha and Lua looked at each other before explaining what they remembered before their minds passed back through the veil.

“Wait…did you say bears in suits?” Jack asked as he nibbled some pieces of fruit.

“Yes, rather large looking bears in familiar looking suits.” Alpha said without looking directly at either rabbit, he was feeling more ashamed at his failure to protect the Young Mistress than he could ever remember feeling.

“They looked like that pompous prick that came sniffing around after your wife that time.” Lua said quietly.

“Alright then…Jack I am feeling rather violent at the thought of my little apprentice potentially in danger and even more so at the thought that the rejected mass of pond scum that calls himself a rabbit has her in his possession.”

Had anyone heard her say anything else in such a tone of voice they would have expected her to be critiquing a meal at a restaurant or ordering wine among royalty.

“I completely agree dear Judy, it has been a rather long time since I cut loose and had some fun. Would you like to do the honors of retrieving my daughter while I take care of the minions? Of course I would prefer it if you could possibly leave at least one or two of the head members of the family for me.”

Judy nodded as she sipped her tea.

“I would have it no other way, as my wonderful host you deserve nothing less, though if you could do me a favor and leave about ten percent or so alive as I will need them for…reasons.”

The grin she sent Jack was entirely innocent and said nothing about the plans she had flowing through her twisted mind.

“Hmm I can do that…so ten percent or so of the minnows for you and at least one or two of the higher ups for me. What are you planning on doing with your share?” Jack was going to have to remember this little café, Senna would love the sweet cakes.

“I have a few projects I am working on, suffice it to say that whoever is left for me will be keeping your brother company…eventually.” Jack smiled brightly.

“How is he doing these days? I haven’t seen him in so long…” Judy giggled a bit before answering.

“Oh he is doing as well as ever, still helps me get to sleep in the best of ways. Now I believe I am full and ready for some gratuitous and excessive violence…how about you?”

Taking a final sip of his tea and contemplating one last sweet cake before shaking his head Jack stood and placed his top hat back upon his head before holding out his arm for Judy.

“I do believe this is a lovely day for some mammals to die in excessively painful ways, care to join me?”

Judy grinned as she stood and placed her paw in the crook of Jack’s arm before they began to walk down the street.

“Are you as terrified as I am right now?” Lua asked as she sat ramrod straight in her seat at the café.

“I live in constant fear of anything the Mistress does or says yet right now I am experiencing levels of terror the likes of which I have thought mere myth for over seven hundred years.” Alpha said smoothly as he sipped his own tea, the cup rattling as he placed it back on the saucer telling Lua all she needed to know.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Walking up the steps from the fog covered middle tier Judy looked out over the top of the fog layer, it was only a few hours past noon and the sun had just begun to hit the evening hours. Dark shadows were beginning to stretch out from the gently roiling dunes of magical fog even as they glowed with a top layer of radiance and light magic gathered over the length of the day. Stopping at a landing that doubled as a rest stop and scenic lookout Judy grinned as she idly twirled her parasol over her shoulder.

“You know…of all the changes that have happened over the centuries I think this might be my favorite so far. Bunnyburrow was never outright horrible but it wasn’t nearly as pretty as this, the magic was never so dense or out in the open. It was never against the law per se but if you didn’t adhere to what the church wanted you to know you could be looking down the point of a very sharp sword very quickly.”

Jack stopped and placed his paws on the railing next to Judy.

“It has been rather interesting around here since you left, so many changes have come and gone. There was some push-back when magi-tech was first introduced but like so many other advancements and changes, there was no stopping it once mammals learned there was a new niche for them to expand into. Senna and I have even been able to steer the advancements and politics of the area to a slight degree over the years, we don’t have the same pull as some of the other families in the area since we have always been a farm family as far back as any of the records show.”

Judy raised a brow at Jack.

“You have been here for seven hundred years and you never once thought to implant a few of yours into the local politics and infrastructure? Such a waste…”

Judy sighed lightly at the thought of not trying to control the political landscape if you were going to be in the area for that much time, she had been manipulating the Reticulan Empire ever since about a century after she got there.

“Waste of what? Time? Lives? Family members?...or do you just file all of those under Resources?” Jack asked with a bit of frost in his voice.

“Time maybe but since you can measure your expected life span in thousands of years if not tens of thousands not really…Lives? Not as much since this isn’t exactly a war-torn area or militant culture like the Empire.”

Closing her parasol and flicking it to her side so that the hidden blade in the end came right up under Jack’s chin Judy turned a flat, dead eyed gaze on Jack and spoke in a voice that was so devoid of…anything, Jack realized he might have implied something he would live to regret.

“But if you ever imply that I view family as simple resources to be used, or that I have ever done so…Senna will have to make the choice of whether to spend the rest of her considerably long life rebuilding the damage I do to you, or fixing what I do to these lands. Now let’s get going, I don’t like the thought of what could happen if we leave my Apprentice, your daughter, in the clutches of someone who could spawn something as pitiful as that Maximillian character.”

Biting his lip to remain silent Jack just nodded and followed Judy up the staircase, seven centuries and he still couldn’t stop himself from saying something stupid around her.

Blinking rapidly as the bag was pulled off her head Tana did her best to glare at the first mammal she laid eyes on.

She wanted to hurl curses, hexes, charms and to even go so far as using bad language… but there was a metal ball strapped into her mouth making it rather hard for her to actually do so. Looking around she raised a brow…as far as places to be kitnapped to this wasn’t the worst that she could have imagined.

The room was opulent and richly furnished with dark stained and heavy hardwood furniture, all paw made decades ago most likely. The walls were covered in an elegantly patterned wallpaper and crown molding along the corners and with what looked like original masterwork paintings on the wall, in their original frameworks no less if her eyes weren’t deceiving her…that one actually looked a lot like…

‘Aunt Judy? What is a painting of her doing in this place?’

Looking around a bit more she ignored the two bears behind her as well as the rabbit in front of her.

Instead she looked down at herself and was glad they hadn’t messed up her outfit to much, the S-Litter would kill her if they found out she had ripped another pair of trousers. Giving her arms a quick jerk, she determined that she had been cuffed instead of tied with ropes, a quick jerk of her legs told her the same story…so all in all not as bad as she had been afraid of.

“You know most young ladies in your situation would be a little more concerned…how odd that you are not.”

A smooth and silky voice spoke in front of her, it sounded like sweet pipe smoke and smoothly burning whiskey in front of a gentle fire…she kind of hoped to hear more of it while one of the bears unlatched the gag from her mouth.

“Vocal hypnotism with a layer of comforting intent…simple and crude, but rather polished and trained. I suppose it is no surprise that you of all mammals would be in charge of the Upper Tier. How many of those you fuck out of their money actually know why you are sending your goobers after them?”

Tana said as she finally acknowledged the rabbit in front of her. He sat as the master of his realm in the middle of a large and overstuffed couch of maroon velvet.

As much as she wished she didn’t think it…Roland Lightfoot was a sexy beast.

Silky black fur a bit longer than average, the perfect length to run fingers through in fact, covered the very fit buck that sat in front of her. A bit of salt ran through his pepper fur, mainly around his nose and in a rather attractive pattern over his eyes…eyes like dark, rich earth that she could just stare into for hours…

Shaking her head and focusing on her own energy Tana felt the spiderwebs of the rabbit’s voice fall away from her thoughts. Hearing the rabbit in front of her laugh lightly Tana focused on the mental exercises her mother had taught her, no point in getting mind fucked by his voice again.

“Very good, you seem to be well versed in magic little one. Now did you learn from your dear mother or are you self-taught I wonder.” Roland held out a paw and accepted a chilled mug of some dark ale before sipping it.

“Oh mom did her best to teach me as much as she could but I never really caught on as well as my siblings. Do these bears work for you or are they on loan from Vargus?” Looking over her shoulder at the bears as best she could Tana hummed to herself.

“No…the suits are too nice and they wear them too comfortably. I guess these are your personal bully boys, do you often send them off to grab underage girls off the streets or am I just special?”

Looking back at the sexy older buck Tana wondered if it was something he was doing or did she just have a thing for older bucks…

“No you are special I assure you.” Roland said with a chuckle.

“My son seems to have a fixation with your mother and while I certainly can’t fault him for it, I must say he has yet to learn one of the most important aspects of being so much better than those around you…never go for less than you deserve.”

Sipping his drink the crime boss raked his eyes up the young doe from toes to ears and smiled at what he saw.

“If you are a product of your mother, I can see what the lad is talking about when he speaks of her…perhaps I will have to pay a visit to your quaint little farm and choose a few does for myself, it has been a while since I had some new playthings.”

Tana raised not one but both brows at the older buck’s words…he was actually serious.

“Wow…I guess mom was right when she mentioned you and your son.” Roland smiled at her before speaking.

“Oh? Your mother spoke of my boy and I? what did she say?” Tana shifted a bit in her bonds getting as comfortable as she could before answering.

“Well, Mom always referred to you as the…how did she put it, it was almost poetic…oh yeah!...*ahem*.” Tana cleared her throat before looking at the older buck.

“’The overstuffed strutting peacock of a buck-whore that made the poor decision of humping a load between the legs of some drug addicted street walking slut that didn’t even have the dignity of calling herself a whore and then made the resulting failure that dropped from the cavern of his mother’s pussy everyone else’s problem’…of course I am paraphrasing here since I don’t have the time to actually describe you and your son in the way mom does.”

She shrugged as best she could while making a humming sound to hopefully mask the slight clicking sound her motion caused in her shoulder. She grinned in a way that would make her aunty proud at the flinty look in Roland’s eyes.

“You don’t have enough time to describe us as your mother would…just how much time do you think you have little one?” Tana focused her grin on the older buck and was pleased to see the uncomfortable shifting in his posture.

“It would take longer than you have to live to describe you in the way mom does…as for how long I have…well I have as long as Aunty Judy decides to give you, isn’t that right Aunty?”

Looking over Roland’s shoulder Tana grinned as the buck turned to see what she was looking at.

“Hehehe…made you look.” The glare Roland sent her when he saw there was no one behind him only made her grin wider.

“Very amusing, though I suppose it is to be expected from someone whose mother has the audacity to deny her betters.” Tana snickered at hearing that, looking back at the older buck’s expression Tana stopped.

“Oh wait…you were serious…sorry about that.”

“As you should…”

“Let me take a moment and laugh properly…*ahem*…AAAHAHHHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAAA!”

Throwing her head back in laughter Tana made sure to shift her shoulder a bit, she was going to have to work over the mechanisms in her arm, this was taking to much effort. Doing her best to kick her legs in their restraints Tana felt her head rocked to one side and then the other as Roland stood up and gave her a full palmed slap across each side of her face.

“Oh OWW!...damn…Ahheehhe…do it again.” Grinning up at the older buck Tana licked the slight bit of blood from her split lip.

“But just remember…this is going to make it so much worse when my father and aunty get here.” Instead of responding verbally Roland just reached back and gave another slap.

*Ptoo* “Nice form and good contact, I can tell you have probably had a lot of practice slapping around young girls tied to chairs. Let me tell you why this is going to go so bad for you…Mom isn’t going to come for me, not because she doesn’t want to but because she is going to be talked out of it. Too much magic in the area and she doesn’t exactly have the best aim when she is in a bad mood.”

Walking through the Upper Tier Judy looked around as the shadows grew longer.

She noticed that many of the mammals around her had noticeably better-quality clothing and much softer looks about them. These weren’t hard working mammals, some of them might be considered trade mammals but they were few and far between.

The brass was more polished and shone in the slowly dying light like small lines of fire that ran next to the brightly glowing lines of condensed magic. Intricate clockwork ticked along in the background of various signs and on the corners of the odd city layer. Looking down at the road beneath her and then around her she voiced something that had just occurred to her.

“There are no transports around here…only foot traffic.” Jack nodded as he walked alongside her.

“There isn’t much call for them, the mass transport of mammals and goods is usually done in Mid-Tier. This is where the policies are made, the laws are written and only small orders of goods are done here. This is where the money is told to go, Mid-Tier is where it generally goes and Lower-Tier is where it is probably needed but never ends up.” Judy scoffed at hearing this.

“Why am I not surprised…anyway where are we going?” Seeing Jack point up and off to the side a bit Judy raised a brow.

“That is where these pricks are hiding?”

The building looked as if someone had picked up a mansion and stuck it on the back of a few other buildings. Out of all the buildings around it, it was the only one that looked like an actual residence.

“Huh…I think I am going to keep it when this is over.” Judy said casually as they began to turn down the streets leading towards the mansion.

“You want to keep it? You think it is just going to be that easy?” Judy grinned over to the buck.

“Well as nice as my caves are they are more for research and breeding but not really living in…and as much as I like the Burrow, I want my own place. It needs a little renovation but with some work I’m sure I can make it livable.”

Judy said while contemplating the large building. Jack nodded his head before jerking a bit as what Judy had just said hit him.

“Wait…what did you mean by ‘breeding’?”

“Yeah, mom isn’t going to be here to kick your ass…but you see, Dad is the Scalpel to her Maul. He is precise and calculating…cold and merciless. He is going to carve through every one of your goobers and leave nothing but frozen statues and red flavored snow cones.”

Roland grit his teeth before slapping the insolent doe in front of him again, why did she keep speaking?

Was she really so stupid that she thought he wanted to keep hearing her voice?

“UGhhhh! aaahhehehehe…Of course, anything my father is going to do will be nothing compared to what my Aunty is going to unleash on you and your goobers. You see…Aunty Judy is the reason Mom is alive right now, she is older than either mom or dad. She is also much less interested in leaving survivors since she can just bring back anyone she kills under her own power.”

Roland reached back and nearly swung on the young doe again when he stopped.

“BE SILENT!” Roland yelled while using his vocal magic at a much higher strength than he had previously used on the young doe.

“You seem rather assured that your dirt fucking relatives will be able to even come close let alone enter my home. This mansion is guarded by over three generations of magical warding, the entire Enforcer guild would have a hard time breaking in here let alone one or two hayseed rabbits.”

Tana just laughed before shaking her head and looking up at the older buck in front of her with a pitying expression as a trickle of blood slid down from her split lip and bloody nose.

“Wow…three generations of rabbits. So, like an entire hundred years or so? My dad and aunty are hundreds of years old by now…anything you can throw at them they have already seen.”

Roland simply scoffed at hearing this, even with magic mammals didn’t live past a century in any reasonable state to call living.

“But you know what hasn’t been seen in over three generations?” Tana smiled with eyes like gears and a mouthful of bloody teeth.

“My Aunty in a playful mood…better start praying she doesn’t descend into a bad mood when she sees what you have done to me.”

Walking up to the gate of the mansion Judy looked around with a bit of wonder, magic had certainly come a long way since her youth.

Looking around she could see the subtle and less than subtle enchantments woven in and around each other as well as the other buildings. Letting her eyes flow into their cross-slitted state she smiled wider as what she saw came into sharp reality and her already twisted, broken and repaired mind absorbed the information that came with her Sight.

“Wow…I must say I’m impressed. There are dimensional enchantments making the area inside bigger than it appears from out here, alarm spells on the entire outer wall and defensive measures littering the grounds. When you said Upper Tier you weren’t kidding…I guess it makes sense that there would have to be a number of magical engineering methods used in making an entire new layer of city above the other.” Looking down at their feet and around herself Judy placed a paw on her chin.

“Fascinating…tons upon tons of metal woven together around massive buildings making essentially nests of soil like islands in the sky with roads and streets connecting them. The level of magical engineering is remarkable and massive, yet intricate…I would have loved to meet the designer.”

Jack cleared his throat.

“And the gate into the magic mansion that is bigger on the inside? The gate into the mansion where my daughter is currently being held?” Judy looked over to Jack with a bit of a loopy smile on her face.

“Hmm? Oh right...” Walking closer she caught sight of some suited thugs making their way towards the two rabbits.

“Oh look they are sending out a welcoming committee.” Standing in front of the gate Jack and Judy waited patiently for the group of wolves being lead by a rabbit to approach them.

“Alright you two clear off, we know who you are and why you are here. Well you can just fuck off since you aren’t getting in here. This is the home of the Lightfoot family and we have been adding defenses to it for years…there is no way some pitiful carrot farmers could hope to match the power of our family.”

The way the rabbit spoke and stood with such overflowing confidence made Judy raise a brow before turning towards Jack.

“Jack…which one is this? It isn’t that Maximillian child I saw earlier, this one seems even more pathetic than him and he was practically chewing my foot before he crawled away. Also am I like this when I talk?”

Jack chuckled with his paws in his pockets while shaking his head.

“This is Randolf, the runt of this generation. He is actually more ambitious than Mini Max but less intelligent or capable. They usually leave him in charge of mansion security since it is pretty much a self-running job that he can’t mess up…at least that is what I hear in the pub every now and then.”

Grinning from under the brim of his hat Jack smiled at Randolf as if he was a small child…which he was in comparison.

“Now Randy…why don’t you do the smart thing and open the gates so we can go get my daughter? Or even do the polite thing and go get her yourself so that we can leave and no one has to die an unnecessarily painful and messy death?”

The rabbit scoffed before smirking at the pair and crossing his arms.

“Ha! very funny old-timer, you can’t get in and you know it. Even if you could you wouldn’t be getting by me and my boys here. As for your daughter well, haven’t you heard yet? She is our property now just like your pretty wife and other daughters are going to be when the rest of the boys get to your farm. We are tired of playing nice with you worthless farmers, your daughters belong to us and will have a decent enough life chained to a bed being put to the only purpose they were born for. Your sons though will be put to work expanding our Glow empire…soon enough we will be able to push into the capital.”

Jack and Judy looked at each other with vague astonishment.

“Wow…when you said he was incompetent you weren’t kidding. At least Senna will get to burn off some energy. Speaking of Senna did she mention what she was making for dinner tonight?” Jack nodded before undoing his cuff links and loosening a few buttons on his shirt after hanging his jacket on a nearby tree branch.

“I believe she said she was going to make ratatouille with roasted garlic and corn on the cob.”

Judy perked up at hearing that before turning back towards the gate.

“Right then, boys we are going to be taking my apprentice back one way or the other. Right now you can either make this easier on yourself and probably live or you can make us come in there and take her back by force. Just know that if we end being late to dinner because of you someone is getting flayed alive and someone else is losing their soul.” Judy said while rapidly tapping her foot.

Getting nothing but a smug look and rude comment on what her mouth would be better used for in return Judy propped her paws on her hips and nodded to herself.

“Very well…fun way it is. Jack remember to leave some of them alive and don’t take to long.”

Stepping forward Judy felt a minor bit of resistance as she pressed against the outer layer of defenses.

Pushing through she felt her fur burst into flames as she moved forward while her nerves were assaulted with concentrated lighting. Pushing through the barrier layers was like pushing through thick sludge, every layer scraping at her until nothing but a skeleton covered in scraps of muscle and sinew was left standing. Continuing to walk forward the smoking skeleton grabbed the metal of the gate and laughed in a way that brought to mind images of freshly damned souls.

Jack whistled as he watched the gate she had grabbed turn to rust and fall as nothing but pieces of metal, the brick work at either side of the gate crumbling to dust.

Stepping forward Judy rebuilt her muscles as her organs began to pull up into her torso from where they had slipped out of her body cavity. Walking forward she grinned with half of her face still a ruined mess at Randolf as she passed by.

“Don’t think this is a mercy boy, you have to deal with her father now instead of me.” Walking away she mourned the loss of her dress and parasol, she had liked that frilly thing.

Activating a rune on one of her wrist bones she smiled as black mist roiled around her until she was clad in black pants, black button up shirt with dark indigo pinstripes, bruise purple tie hanging loose around her neck over a royal purple waistcoat. Adjusting her cuffs and her Master’s special bag over her shoulder she smiled at her forethought to carve a containment rune on one of the many bones in her wrist for holding a spare change of clothes.

Roland grinned viciously at the young rabbit in front of him, he had always enjoyed breaking the will of the Servant Class and she was proving to be a rather stimulating challenge.

She had held up well under the beating he had given her and even after strapping the gag back into her mouth she had continued to not only try speaking but actually had the temerity to glare at him.

To think that someone of the Servant Class would be so bold as to look him in the eye let alone actually glare at him made Roland think they would have to make a bigger example of this family once the farm was taken over.

Maybe rotate some of the more troublesome females through the local brothels…

He had been somewhat surprised when he had cut her clothes off and instead of turning into a weeping mess or even really looking worried, she had instead pushed her chest out and even given a bit of a wiggle. Normally the girls he was used to dealing with would be trying to cover themselves by now but she was almost daring him to look.

Stepping forward with intentions to do more than just look he stopped at hearing the alarms go off at the same time he felt every barrier his family had erected around their property being pressed upon and…they weren’t being dispelled, they were being drained of the power they had collected over the generations.

Gulping he looked towards the two bears still in the room with him, seeing that they didn’t seem worried he relaxed. Looking back at the doe in the chair Roland smirked…it wasn’t often he had a chance to pull out the fun toys.

“Well I must say I am impressed, normally girls like you understand their place by now. I had high hopes for you when I saw you here.” Roland said as he turned away from the nude doe.

Walking over to a desk her kept his eyes on the doe the entire time as he pulled out a box and walked back in front of her to place the box on a small table.

“I think the problem is that you seem to be under the impression that someone is going to come and save you. You seem to think that it would matter if anyone came by looking for you, I have enough power in the Enforcers that I could put you on a leash and walk you through the streets as you are now and not fear so much as a sideways look from them. No one can take you from here and anyone who tries will either be killed or share your fate. That being said I think it is time you got a good look at your new jewelry, in fact this is the most you will ever wear again…your body is not yours anymore and this will tell anyone who sees you that you belong to me.”

Opening the box so that his new property could get a good look inside he saw her eyes widen as expected…what was not expected was the smile she gave him.

Growing frustrated he undid her gag as she practically bounced in place.

“OH OH! I have always wanted a piercing but mom has never let any of us get one!” Looking down at herself with a contemplative look on her face she hummed a bit before looking up at Roland.

“I mean it hasn’t really stopped many of my siblings, but I haven’t had the chance to sneak into the city since I became old enough to get one. Think you can start with the nipples maybe? At least that way when you get killed, I can go home with some matching souvenirs…oh! or maybe the belly button, something cute though like a little chain and bell maybe. How about a chain running between all three…maybe something in gold I think, it would go better with my fur than silver.”

Roland looked over to the bears.

“Am I getting old?”

Chapter Text

Jack knew he shouldn’t be smiling, this wasn’t something he should be happy doing…but damn if he couldn’t stop.

He wasn’t going to laugh, despite wanting to do so…his wife had made him promise to stop doing that when he was in a fight. Spinning easily out of the path of a clumsy knife lunge he casually whipped one of his glacial blades out and across the throat of the offending mammal. Sliding into a back bend as a bolt of electricity went sizzling over him Jack wondered if he should pick something up for Senna while he was in the city.

“Does anyone know a good cheese monger around here?”

He asked casually as he thrust his blade through a wolf’s chest, the offending mammal gasping as much from the pain of the stab as the cold terror of his body freezing while still conscious.

“Or flower vendors! My wife’s birthday is coming up and she really enjoys lilacs…”

Crossing his blades over his back before whipping back over his shoulders and down to cross in front of him he grinned as the ferret behind him fell back to shatter on the ground as the boar in front of him fell to one knee before stabbing out with his knife. Stepping back half a step Jack rolled his eyes before tapping the frozen blade with his own causing the statue in front of him to shatter.

“You know I was really expecting a lot more guns and rifles and such…I mean come on guys, this is like fighting back in my youth.” Flexing his power a bit he raised a wall of ice to his left to block the bolt of force magic sent his way.

“Now see that is what I am talking about! See you almost made me consider putting effort into that…I mean I wasn’t going to, but I was close to considering it and it is the thought that counts. Now…”

Whirling on the spot Jack threw one of his swords and pinned a ram to a wall through the shoulder with his blade, he grinned as the bleats of pain and panic took on a brittle quality before ceasing all together. Looking around at the nervous looking mammals surrounding him Jack clenched his empty paw as a new sword formed in a scream of tortured air and water as they were flash frozen.

“I am only interested in letting about ten percent of you live…I could push it further but I really don’t want to because you know what you have done? You took my daughter…you tried to hurt my family and most damning of all, you made my wife upset.”

Turning to glare at a tiger Jack spoke a word that cracked like ancient glacial ice, the tiger clutched their heart as it fell to the ground with shards of ice slowly growing from the twitching form’s chest.

“You made my wife worried that one of her little girls was hurt and couldn’t make it back to her home…you took one of my little Princesses away from me.”

Swiping his arm behind him without looking Jack sent a wave of glacial spikes along the ground to stab through the feet of the mammals behind him, dropping them all to the ground only to cry out louder as they dropped onto a bed of frozen needles.

“Now I was asked to leave one out of ten of you alive, so far I have I cut my way through most of the upper echelon of your organization and you are all that is left. The street scum will be getting what is coming for them soon enough but right now…right here, I want any and all that knew my little girl was going to be the target of a kitnapping to step forward. Either step forward or be pushed forward but if I can count to five without someone taking credit for knowing, facilitating or performing the abduction…I kill everyone here.”

Jack spoke in a clear voice while walking in a small circle, dragging the tips of his blades along the ground leaving hoarfrost in his wake Jack smiled in a way that would do some silly things to Judy’s belly.

“So then…are all of you going to die, or only some of you.”

Spinning on the spot and holding his blades in front of him Jack smiled darkly as the blast of fire sent his way was absorbed into the blade before slicing in a different direction sending out a wave of ice shards to sink themselves into unsuspecting flesh.

“Children please…I am the Last Prince of the Zootopian Kingdom, Husband and Soul Tree to Senna Whiteroot the Dryad of these Lands. I am over seven hundred years old and I have been a Master Swordsmammal for that entire time…”

Spinning place and making eye contact with every mammal around him Jack held his blades loosely out to his sides.

“But above all that, the title that I hold closest to my heart and that I raise above all others with pride…is that of Father.”

Senna angrily chopped the vegetables for dinner, how dare these veggies not chop themselves in the face of her motherly rage!

Snarling she looked up from her task of cutting veggies as the feeling of intruders upon her lands ran through her mind. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head a bit and calmly stabbed the knife into the cutting board hard enough to crack it in half.

“Richard…look after the kitchen for a while, I have something to do.” Turning and walking out she placed her apron on a hook by the door to the kitchen.

She didn’t actually travel the distance between steps as she made her way out of the burrow…she simply existed in one spot and then decided to exist in another spot until she was stepping out of the burrow. Looking out over her land she smiled darkly at the large group of mammals walking her way, all of them dressed in familiar suits and all of them grinning with foul intent.

Walking through the Lightfoot mansion Judy admired the paintings on the walls, all original and in their original frames by the looks of them. Portraits and scenic landscapes dominated the majority of the paintings, she even recognized some of them as works from one of her favorite Reticulan artists.

She smiled at the feeling of the deep pile carpet under her feet, the warm light cast by magical amber glowstones along the walls and the elegantly simple wallpaper. The rooms she passed through were odd…they were furnished with heavy paw-made furniture in dark hardwoods, the colors were well coordinated…

Ah! That was the issue…

The rooms were to perfectly furnished and the colors to well-coordinated…the furniture had no wear marks and the rooms not only smelled stale, as if they had never been used, but she couldn’t feel any ambient energy within them. After growing up and living in a burrow, even living in a palace full of cold-blooded reptiles she had always been surrounded by the ambient magic of memories. She had always been able to feel the deep magic of life worked into her surroundings…but in here there was nothing.

‘Like walking through a less cheerful and more inviting tomb…I like it.’ Judy thought to herself as she strolled down the halls heading for the closest and most familiar life signature while casually pushing the attention of any other signatures away from her.

It was an old trick she had used to infiltrate the castle in Zootopia in order to kill The Bastard that had gotten her family killed, over the years she had practiced it and more or less perfected it…at least enough for this kind of use. Walking up a spiral staircase she had to roll her eyes a bit at the ostentatiousness, who puts a damn spiral staircase in their mansion.

‘I wonder if I can expand the stairs out and just slide down the pole in the middle?’

Shaking her head to focus more as she came to the top of the stairs she looked around at the various life signatures. Maids, butlers, goobers…oh! Over there was the Spawnling and what was probably the Lightfoot Patriarch. Turning away since she could tell the Spawnling was having more fun than her captor was so she was fine…now, for the Asshole.

Grinning as she strolled down the hall towards the life signature she recognized she reached into another rune she had carved into one of her wrist bones.

Manipulating her spell so that instead of just pushing other mammals’ attention away she was forcing a single mammal’s attention on her she sent a wave of Who and What she was truly like out along the spell. Her smile took on a vicious and bloodthirsty edge, she was going to make sure her prey knew she was coming.

Jack told himself he wasn’t going to laugh damnit!

But he also told himself he was going to cut back on his wife’s ginger snap cookies and look how that was going, so a bit of giggling was acceptable in his mind.

It had been longer than he could remember since the last time he had enjoyed a good fight…maybe teaching some of his kids how to swordfight wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Spinning in place and blocking with his blade he had about three heartbeats to realize it was a bad idea as a fist covered in lightning crashed into and through his blade until it slammed into his chest with the force of a lightning bolt.

“OOGGGGGUuuUUUUuGGghhhhhhh!”

Was about as witty a comment as Jack could manage as he was sent hurtling into and through a series of walls, his entire nervous system alive with lightning. Finding himself hanging half in and half out of a wall Jack groaned in frustration...Senna was going to feel that and he was probably going to have to explain it.

Shaking his head and pushing himself out of the wall Jack grimaced as he tilted his head to the side and felt a crack as his neck was put back in place. Brushing himself off as best as he could Jack jumped back out of the hole he had put in the wall…and then the wall before that one…and the wall before that until he was back in the main entrance. Seeing a rhino calmly removing his suit top and passing it off to a pair of wolves before fitting a metal gauntlet back onto his hooves he smiled.

“Well…*cough!*…Didn’t see that one coming to be honest. Tell you what big guy…you and me winner takes all. You win, the rest of these guys live, you lose…well you won’t be around to keep me from killing any of them so I guess you will just have to take my word I won’t kill all of them.” Jack said before shrugging out of his suspenders and shaking out his arms.

“Hhehe…sounds good little one. I will pummel you into the ground and make you dance!”

The rhino said as he slammed his gauntleted fists together producing a series of sparks that ran across his entire form. Tilting his head and letting his eyes flow into a six-legged branching snowflake Jack grinned, it had taken some husbandly shenanigans and chicanery to get Senna to teach him how to see the truth of things…but right now it was paying off.

Looking at his opponent Jack realized he wasn’t just facing off against a brawler that knew how to throw a punch…this guy was actually trained and knew what he was doing.

Standing before Jack was an odd two layered image, in front of his eyes was a rhino gently bouncing with his gauntleted fists in front of him in a well-practiced guard position wearing some suit pants, suspenders and collared shirt.

In front of his mind though stood a rhino gently bouncing on his toes wearing a pair of boxing gloves in a guard position he had drilled for hours, his loose shorts giving easy movement and nothing up top to restrict his movement. Nodding to himself Jack felt his mind take on the glacial clarity of his youth in the drill grounds with his soldiers as they practiced.

Closing his eyes he breathed in and let the breath fill him down to his toes and up to his ears before sliding his left foot behind him and bending his knees gently to give him a good reactive stance as he breathed out slowly. Turning his torso slightly he lowered one paw to his side and curled his fingers around an imaginary sheath before reaching across his body and gripping a snow-wrapped handle. Breathing in further and letting his expanding chest help push his arm out and pull the sword from his mind into reality Jack focused his power into the blade he was forming. Pulling the blade fully into existence and holding it in front of himself Jack opened his eyes and locked gazes with the rhino in front of him.

Mahmand Alin had been fighting his entire life, from the slums he was born in to the steamships he had worked on to pay his way to these lands. He had fought all comers and he had lost many times, but he had won even more. Eventually he had caught the eye of Roland Lightfoot while working his way through the boxing circuits and in the face of the money he had been offered to jump ship and work for the rabbit…well it wasn’t the first time he had raised his fists for money.

Standing there in the main entrance of the Lightfoot Mansion Mahmand felt himself gulp and grin…this rabbit in front of him knew what he was doing with his sword and held it more like an extension of himself than Mahmand did with his own fists. But it had been so long since Mahmand had been able to enjoy a good fight and not just bully untrained innocent mammals he found himself eager to begin.

Senna grit her teeth and glared at the approaching mammals, she had just felt an electrical zap run through her tree and felt her frustration rise.

‘I am going to break Jack’s pelvis when he gets home.’

Scowling at the rabbit that came to a stop in front of her Senna was about to say something when the rabbit reached out and actually had the audacity to slap her.

Standing there with eyes wide in shock Senna almost missed what he was saying when he started talking or the fact that the mammals around him started laughing.

“You speak when spoken to from now on. We own this property and everyone on it. Now go and get the other sluts running around this soon to be fuck-farm, and crawl while you are doing it.”

Senna just stood in stunned silence, at what point did these guys think this was going to work? They were actually serious weren’t they?

Looking around at the expressions on the wolves, ferrets, bears and rabbit she came to the resounding conclusion.

“You are actually serious.” Jerking her head back in reflex she was glad she had practiced fighting with her husband, he liked slicing across the eyes as an opening move.

“What did I just say slut?! You only get to use your mouth for what it was made for and that doesn’t involve anything that doesn’t have you on your knees where you belong.”

The rabbit in front of her looked like he was gonna keep talking…but Senna didn’t want him to so, with a flick of her wrist she made sure he would stop doing what he was doing.

She grinned as a spike of rock erupted from the ground between the rabbit’s feet and speared up under his jaw. She didn’t want to make it easy for him since the only one allowed to slap her was her husband, and even then he had better use her favorite ropes, so she made sure to expand the tip of the spike once it entered his mouth.

Smiling she watched as the rabbit was lifted into the air while screaming around a bulb of stone that had grown behind his teeth large enough to push many of them out of place.

Looking away from the rabbit as he was slowly hoisted into the air with all his weight on his jaw as it bled down his front Senna tilted her head while smiling in a way that would tell Judy they may not be blood related…but they were the same kind of crazy deep down.

“You were all here to hurt my little girls…you were going to make my baby boys cry, weren’t you?”

Seeing all of them gulp before looking at each other as they reached for the bulges in their coats told Senna everything she needed to know.

Reaching down into the earth with her Matronly Authority Senna called out to the Old Guard. She smiled as the earth and her big sister’s power combined into what pulled itself from the ground behind the group.

She watched as bones that dated back to the Night of Fire and Ash broke through the surface and pulled themselves out of the earth. Roots and vines sprouted from the ground to wind themselves around the skeletons and underneath the armor until they had been reborn within the grasp of their Great Mother. Thorns replaced fur and stone replaced skin, gems glittered in place of eyes and crystals of salt stood in for teeth as the Guardians stood silently around the interlopers.

Reaching further down into her lands Senna reached out and brought forth the legacy of her family’s lost lands…the hot springs. Redirecting and raising the waters she smiled darkly as the rich and soft earth beneath the interloper’s feet grew even softer until they were standing ankle deep in mud and were sinking ever deeper.

“Choose now…run and be cut down, or stay and drown in mud. Ashes to ashes…dust to dust, you were born of dust and to dust you will return…one way or another.”

Carlson Whiteroot had always known his mother was the most powerful spell slinger in the family as well as the oldest, but he was also one of the most empathetic of the last few generations.

He had never been able to read minds of course, but he could usually tell what those around him were thinking by their emotions. Walking up to the burrow entrance and passing his mother he could tell she was in one of her more deeply sadistic and hateful moods, no matter what her loving and motherly smile said.

“Hey mom, you look awfully happy about something.” She looked happy, didn’t mean she was.

“Oh well, I just love the smell of the dirt after a good rain.”

Carl raised a brow as he stepped outside and saw clear skies and not a single cloud from one horizon to the other. What he did see was a gently bubbling pit of mud that was slowly solidifying …he decided to remain quiet about the fact he could feel mammals slowly dying as they drowned in the thick mud that was soon to be their grave.

“Make sure to wipe your feet when you come back in.”

Senna called out lightly, a grin on her face that any of her children would be able to recognize as being on a certain silver furred bunny’s portrait.

Pushing open the door to the room she knew Maximillian was behind Judy let her head loll to the side as her eyes locked on the shivering form of her prey.

Standing in the middle of the room Maximillian couldn’t stop trembling as he felt his death drawing closer.

He could hear every foot fall, could feel every beat of his heart, the air was thick with death…and with every beat of his struggling heart it grew thicker. Looking down at the elegantly carved and masterfully built bolt gun he held to check if it was still fully charged, he missed the door opening and closing on a breeze.

What he didn’t miss was the scent of spices and incense…the same kind usually used at funerals and in mausoleums. Jerking his head up he looked around as if thinking he would see something other than some shadows he didn’t remember being there…nothing stood out.

A line of fire traced itself from his right shoulder down to just above his lower back with a sound like an old bone breaking.

Screaming in pain as much as shock he fell to his knees, a highly magnetized and sharpened rod of metal being fired from his gun as his hand convulsed. Spinning around on his knees and raising his gun he frantically looked around for whoever had done that, seeing no one he reached up with one paw and pulled it back covered in scarlet.

Another line slashed around one thigh with a crack and yanked him spinning to the left leaving him sprawling on his back. Firing blindly down the length of his body and nearly impaling his own foot Max tried getting back to his feet but was unable to put much weight on his leg. Scooting backwards and fumbling with a new charge bulb for his gun he stopped when he heard a giggle from behind him.

Screaming in surprise he spun in place and almost fired again but remembered he didn’t have another recharge. Seeing nothing behind him he forced his leg to hold his weight and tried to remember when the shadows had been so dark, he also couldn’t figure out what was casting them…

Grasping his gun with both paws and turning as he limped towards the door Max caught a glimpse of something moving from both sides before what looked like a whip cracked down around both wrists, drawing blood and yanking his arms in opposite directions. Feeling himself lift into the air at the sudden jerking on both arms he began to sob in pain as he felt and heard a sickeningly wet, slurching pop come from his shoulders. Dropping back to the ground on his knees he looked down at his lacerated wrists and limp arms before a pair of familiar feet came into view.

Looking up the slim fit and tailored slacks until he was looking up at the doe that had sent him away from the future Glow farm and his next conquest he smiled shakily.

“Hehe…you can’t kill me bitch, you aren’t going to kill me. Any second a bunch of guards are going to come in here and put you to good use among all of them and then I am gonna make you watch as the same thing is done to that pretty little piece of ass father had brought in earlier.”

Judy grinned as she fondled her whips, it was always so much fun letting the arrogant ones try to bluster their way out of whatever she had planned for them.

“Ohhh, I am gonna have so much fun parading her used and abused ass on all fours past that blue balling slut of a mother. She should have just given in and accepted her place in my bed, at least then she would have some good memories and proper training before I sent her to live her last few days in the Lower Tier brothels.”

Judy laughed as Max looked over to the door as if expecting someone to come rushing in.

“No one is coming to save you stupid little boy, the ones that aren’t busy getting cut down by the father of that girl you were just talking about are finding many good reasons to not know of anything happening in this section of the mansion.”

With casual ease she swung her arm out and flicked her wrist to wrap one of her whips around the base of one of the buck’s ears before yanking on the woven leech leather of her first and favorite weapon. Smiling and savoring the resulting screams like a fine wine she grinned with glowing eyes at the shadows that now writhed up and down the walls and corners of the room before speaking.

“Fin keep him alive but make it horrible, Suzie strip the flesh and expose the nerves and Samson take the bones…he doesn’t need his limbs, face, eyes, ears or even most of his organs really. Just make sure to keep him alive for a little longer and you can have what is left of him when I am done.”

Walking around the now sobbing and whimpering rabbit she grinned as he began to scream in earnest as the sounds of her familiars jumping on him reached her ears.

Senna sat in her chair doing her best to smile, she could have done without the beating Roland had given her but she had some neat piercings now. It wouldn’t have been so bad had he not given her a piercing lower than she had expected him to, or that he had actually cracked her resolve and grinned while doing it. She would have closed her legs on the painful throbbing between them but Roland had made a point of tying them wide open and copping as many feels as he could while doing so. 

“Well, I must say I am beginning to see what Maximillian sees in your mother, shame I won’t get the chance to break her. Though I suppose breaking you will be enough of a challenge I will get over it. If all the farm bred Servant Class is like you, I might have found a new hobby…these city girls would have been doing anything I said to stop the pain by now.”

Tana rolled her eyes at hearing that.

“Oh please…a few piercings, some soft pawed beating and a bit of groping from a business mammal that has probably never had a hard day’s work beyond telling someone else what to do or who to hurt isn’t what I would call the worst way to spend my day.” Spitting a bit of bloody saliva at the older buck she grinned at the way it stained his collar.

“I have had worst days just dealing with my siblings than you have probably ever had, I have had to work harder in a day than you have in a year just trying to not hex the shitheel who dumped my brothers or sisters. If you think some piercings I have been wanting for a while now, getting smacked around a bit, being fingered and shown off to a room full of mammals that are going to be dead before the sun sets is going to do anything…” Tana grinned at Roland as he silently simmered at her words.

“You are more pathetic than even mom knows. You must have lived off your magical gimmick a lot more than my parents thought if this is how you actually are. Damn, I was actually looking forward to seeing how another rabbit got so high in society. Now I am here in front of you and…it’s just disappointing.”

Tana grinned mockingly at Roland as he stood up in frustration and moved over to a cabinet.

“Why do you have a painting of my Aunty on the wall of your creepy-old-buck-torture-sex-room?”

Grinning at the thunk she heard as Roland tried standing up while shoulder deep in the cabinet, she couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the curses being muttered at her. She smirked as Roland stood up and turned to look at her with a confused look on his face.

“What did you say? A painting of your aunty?” Tana smirked a bit.

“I notice you didn’t deny the torture sex room thing…but yeah, you have a painting of my aunt right there.”

Using her one of her ears to point at the painting she grinned and started playing with the bell that now hung from the tip of her ear. Giggling at the jingle and weight of the bells on her ears she almost missed it when Roland began speaking.

“You have a lot of nerve to try claiming Judith Blackburrow as your ancestor, especially in such a familiar way.” Raising her ears up with a jingle Tana tilted her head with a confused look.

“The hell do you mean my ancestor? You think I call her my aunty as a way to shorten ancestor?...oh buddy you are so far off. I mean she is old enough to be my ancestor but, no she is my aunty…I mean she isn’t my blood relative I guess but she is more of an aunty than many of my actual aunties. Hey Aunt Judy did that make sense?”

Tilting herself to the side as much as she could Tana grinned as she spoke.

“Well it made sense to me…so you might want to look into getting therapy Spawnling.”

Spinning in place Roland watched as the subject of the painting he had just been looking at walked into the room. Dressed very differently from the painting he could still tell it was her by the color of her fur and eyes.

“How…how is this possible?”

Looking between the painting and the doe in front of him Roland caught sight of something being dragged along on the ground behind her. Looking closer he saw that it had the vague shape of a rabbit but none of the fur or even limbs, he could see it was breathing but the fact it was alive at all from the amount of blood he could see was a miracle.

“You have a city built higher than anything I saw in the Reticulan Empire, magical collectors and concentrated magic literally making a fog in the streets…and seeing someone a few centuries old is what trips you up?” Judy asked as she propped a paw on her hip.

“Mammals have been trying to extend their lives for decades with minimal success.” Roland said in dazed amazement.

“That you are here in such amazing condition after so long…I look forward to learning your secrets. Now fall to your knees and crawl to me.”

Letting her feel the full might of his hypnotic voice Roland faltered as Judy just raised a brow and laughed at his expression.

“Did you really think after seven hundred years I would just crumble in front of you because you wanted me to? Did you really think something as basic as vocal hypnotism was even going to register to me…give me a break child.”

Scowling over at Tana she began tapping her foot.

“And just what are you doing young lady? How long are you going to be sitting there as if you are really helpless…you know your mother is going to lose her shit when she sees the arm and piercings.”

Tana grinned a bit sheepishly while nodding her head back and forth.

Mentally pulling on a muscle fiber she had never had individual control over before, Tana activated a series of metallic plates on her arm.

She had to cross her eyes at the incredibly weird sensation of essentially having her skin move back away from what was now her muscles. She shivered a bit as the chainsaw she had wound into her arm extended out and began to slide along the tracks in her arm and paw. Hearing the screeching and feeling the saw catch on the metal cuffs she twisted her arm and sent a bit more magic into the mechanisms in order to give the saw a boost. Smiling as the saw finished working through the cuff she brought her arms out in front of her.

“Why didn’t you just take your paw off?” Judy asked as she watched her apprentice stand up from the chair and begin to walk toward her, Roland looking on in stunned amazement.

“Uh…what?” Tana asked somewhat confusedly.

“Just take your paw off at the wrist and re-connect it…and what took you so long to get out of those cuffs anyway? Do you have any idea how upset your mother is? She couldn’t even be here and had to send your father along with me.”

Tana felt her eye twitch a bit…she hadn’t built her arm with the capability to come apart in the way her aunty was talking about and now that she had heard of it, she was kicking herself for not thinking of it at the time.

“Wait…you of all mammals are lecturing me on making Mom upset? Isn’t that like my entire purpose for existing at his point?” Judy rolled her eyes before bonking the young doe between the ears.

“Yeah, so just imagine how bad things are that I am having to be the responsible voice of reason! And no! your purpose isn’t to upset your mother, it is to give her reasons to use her power so she doesn’t turn into a fucking tree from the over-abundance of power. Your purpose is to be You and in doing so help your mother to keep the balance of these lands in check or else things go one of two ways…you either get the Reticulan Empire after I was done with it or the Jungles of the Shadowlands on magical steroids.”

Tana crossed her arms in defiance, she got her aunt’s point and knew she was just being a bit moody but she was also near the end of her teen years, she could still be a bit hardheaded.

“The jungles don’t sound so bad…I like fruit.” Judy nodded.

“Do you enjoy diseases running rampant from the sheer amount of Life energy for them to draw on? Has Lua told you any stories about growing up in such lands and how the phrase ‘Stop and smell the roses’ was synonymous to suicide since the roses would just as likely rip your face off as let you sniff them. When we get back to the burrow I will have to make you a plate of vine beetle curry, you only need one beetle for the recipes since they grow to be about as big as you.”

Tana lowered her ears with a sad jingle.

“Alright I get it I think, its bad if you are the one in power and bad if she is the one in power…but I’m not ready to challenge her in any way.” Judy shook her head and lightly bonked the Spawnling again.

“You aren’t challenging her for anything you are just giving her a challenge…it will make more sense as you get a better feel for your power and who you are. As for now…”

Judy turned a cold gaze onto Roland where he had retreated to hide behind his two bear bodyguards. No one would ever tell her (and survive) but at that exact moment she looked like a Royal of Old Zootopia.

“You attacked my two favorite Children and kitnapped not only my apprentice but also the daughter of my baby sister, you took her clothes and dignity, you exposed her and abused her.”

Roland grit his teeth and pointed at the two female rabbits.

“Kill the little slut and maim the older one! She doesn’t need her arms or legs for what I am going to use her for!”

Judy smiled before giving a sharp twirling whistle as a swarm of small black furred creatures erupted from her shadow in a flood of glittering eyes, oily feathers and flashing teeth.

Walking forward and past the thrashing and screaming forms of the two bears as they were swarmed by her Little Ones Judy glanced down in slight surprise…the bears were doing a decent job of fighting off her children. It wouldn’t matter in the end since the blood loss would catch up to them and eventually the Little Ones would feast on more than blood.

Roland pressed himself against the wall as Judy approached.

“STOP! HALT! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!” Judy rolled her eyes before channeling a bit of energy to her throat and investing her Will into her words.

“Silence.” Roland’s mouth snapped shut like a trap at the whispered word.

“You have an amusing party trick that you have used to get ahead in life among those that don’t how to deal with it but now you can stop embarrassing yourself. The only reason you got this far in your little crime boss life is because those around you didn’t notice you were using hypnotism to get your way. In the past your family might have had some actual power behind their words but you…you are just the sad shadow of better generations. Now if you want to end up like your son over there…”

Judy stopped as something caught her attention.

Roland looked to where Judy had indicated and felt his stomach rebel as he realized the mutilated, bleeding mass was his son. He had been flayed alive and stripped of anything that would have identified him as a rabbit and from the looks of him he was still being ravaged if the bulges moving along his muscles and through his intestines was anything to go by. Feeling a series of sharp pricks along the side of his face he allowed his gaze to be guided back to the ancient rabbit that shouldn’t have been alive let alone in such good condition.

Judy leaned in and focused her eyes while flipping through various spectrums of vision before grinning with cross-slitted and now multi-pupiled eyes practically shining with glee. Digging her talons into the cheek and neck of the rabbit in front of her she felt a harsh and dark giggle grow in her belly before she let it out to poison the world.

Tana watched with a bit of fascination as the air around her aunty soon grew dark and twisted with her power right before she began to strip the paint and rot the walls with her laughter.

Looking again to make sure she hadn’t been seeing things Judy felt herself become surrounded by her children as they finished consuming the bears and responded to their momma’s happiness.

“OHHHohohhhhhohoooo…Happy Birthday to me…”

The words slithered out of Judy’s mouth like a hateful snake as it wrapped around Roland’s throat, he did not like the smile on her face or the light in her eyes.

Reaching forward she brushed her paw lightly across Roland’s cheek to reveal a series of faint but noticeable stripes in his fur pattern, slicing one talon down the side of the buck’s face she brought a single drop of blood to her lips and tasted it as if it were a fine wine.

“Oh…this is to precious, Spawnling remind me to get a fruit basket for Fate or something because this has her scent all over it.”

Smiling and laughing into her paws Judy did a little twirl on the spot before stopping and catching sight of the painting that could only be her. Stopping and tilting her head she looked like someone had hit her with a paving stone as she walked up to gaze at the painting even closer.

“Where…where did you get this?” Turning her head without actually rotating her body Judy snapped her fingers at the crime boss.

“Hey focus here…where did you get this painting?”

The painting in question was that of a bunny doe dressed in a black corset with royal purple pipping along the edges and ties in the front. The corset flowed down into a silken dress that looked like a river of tarnished dreams around her legs and pushed her modest bust up into a gentle swell of cleavage leaving her shoulders and neck bare. Her fur was like moon-kissed silver on a deep winter’s night and was only broken by the raven black choker she wore against the freshly driven snow of her throat.

Judy smiled wickedly as she turned to face Roland full on, a dark mist reaching up from the bag she had left on the couch to envelop her.

As the mist fell away, she was left wearing a dress that wasn’t just similar to the one in the painting…but the exact dress.

Judy threw her mind back to when she had indulged Jack for this painting and before Roland’s eyes he watched as the painting his family had held in such reverence came to life before his eyes and seemingly begin to float across the room.

Tana’s eyes widened slightly at seeing her Aunty move like that, especially while wearing that dress…now she could see why her dad had been attracted to her. She looked like some kind of dark royalty about to pass judgment on the lowly peasant before her as her strange children seemed to hop and dance around her.

“Speak.” The word fell on the ears like a blacksmith’s hammer even though it was spoken barely above a whisper.

“My ancestor had it commissioned, it is supposed to be the greatest love of his life…it has been passed down through my family for generations reaching all the way back to when the Royal Family Whitehill ruled the kingdom.”

Judy smiled like a benevolent tyrant as Roland spoke.

“Those were the good old days, things were simpler back then. Do you know who your ancestor is?”

Roland nodded with a look on his face as if he was looking at a holy figure and he had just made them mad.

“Jack Whitehill.” Judy shook her head as her smile took on a razor edge.

“No…I have tasted the blood of Jack Whitehill and you don’t have the same taste even given the amount of time that has passed. You were close but I think someone in your past was either mistaken or trying to steal a bit of fame…you aren’t the descendant of Jack Whitehill but rather his brother Jake.”

Judy shook her head with a laugh as she reached out and slid her paw over the head of one of the odd creatures surrounding her.

“What is this about my step-brothOOF!” Jack asked as he walked into the room before being hit with the small fur missile that was his daughter.

Looking down as she vigorously rubbed her chin into his chest Jack smiled and returned the hug tightly before pulling back with a look of confusion on his face as he felt her arm.

“What in the…what did you do to your arm? Where the hell did your clothes go? And where did all these piercings come from?”

Tana suddenly looked like she had been caught in the carrot shed with a boy as she looked over to Judy for help.

“Hey don’t look at me, you are on your own for this one girl.” Scowling at her Aunty, Tana looked back at her father who just raised a brow and crossed his arms while tapping his foot.

“Never mind, we can talk about this when we aren’t in a crime boss’s mansion.”

“Speaking of Jake, what did you do with the survivors?” Jack shrugged before chucking his head towards the door.

“Left them in the entrance hall…pretty sure they will all be alive when we leave…maybe.” Judy smiled as she looked back towards Roland as he slid to the ground.

“Speaking of living past the next hour…I must say your family must be cursed or something. Roland here is one of your brother’s…”

“Step-brother.” Jack said as he rubbed his brow, seven hundred years and she still didn’t get it right.

“Descendants and apparently believes that means he is entitled to whatever he wants. Funny enough just like your step-mother he too spoiled his worthless reject of a son…and funny enough the same thing is going to happen all over again.”

Jack shivered a bit as he wrapped an arm around Tana and gave her a chinning between the ears, much to her indignation.

Judy noticed that while she may be too old for such overt displays of fatherly affection she didn’t push away from where they were cuddled up together. Thankfully she had recently gotten rid of her tear ducts so she wouldn’t tear up at something she would never have before.

“You see back in the day, your ancestor killed my family because I wouldn’t sleep with him. After that I decided to return the favor in a way. I killed his mother in front of him during the Last Royal Ball before carving runes into his bones while he was still alive, I keep his soul bound in his own skull unable to pass on and kept in a state of perpetual torment the likes of which you have no concept for. The best part is that he can never go insane because of my curse and will never be able to find peace in madness…I listen to his screams when I have a hard time sleeping.”

Jack nodded as he looked around the room with a contemplative look on his face.

“She absolutely does, we had to reinforce the silencing charms around the burrow. You have an excellent interior decorator, before you die can I get the name of whoever did this room and maybe whoever got you these paintings?”

Judy grinned wickedly down at Tana as she almost unknowingly pressed closer to her father, practically trying to climb into his pocket. Turning back to the quaking rabbit crime boss Judy ran her paws over her dress and corset, much like a preening cat.

“It is such a shame the fashion of the age has changed so much, I love the new outfits but you just can’t beat the classics. Now then I am going to rip your son’s soul out of him in front of you and your minions, then I am going to do the same thing to you. After that I am going to spread my influence through your organization and then finally through all of Upper Tier and down. I am going to take over, dismantle and then re-build everything you have accomplished over the years until there is essentially nothing of what you have done left. I am going to happily re-write your greatest achievements until you are barely a footnote in history.”

Stepping away from the shivering and now crying rabbit she flung one arm out and with a crack had one of her whips wrapped around his throat and was dragging him behind her.

“Now then…lets go meet the new troops.”

Spinning and walking out of the room Judy was once more surrounded by fog before walking out, now dressed in her modern clothes. Walking out with his daughter next to him Jack leaned down and whispered into Tana’s ear.

“This is what your aunt is really like, or as close as you are likely to see without being on the receiving end of her wrath. Consequences are either what she visits upon others or someone else’s problem and gods help anyone who thinks they are beyond or above her judgement.”

Biting her lip Tana remained silent as some of the stories she had been told of her aunty suddenly came to the forefront of her mind…less than conventionally flattering stories at that.

Walking out of the portal into Nikenshriel’s realm Skye looked around before catching sight of the fox laid out on his apprentice’s favorite couch.

Walking up and looking down at him she tilted her head in confusion at the way he twitched and seized in place. She could see his eyes wildly rolling under his lids and could hear the odd sounds and non-sensical words he was making under his breath…he kind of looked like he was sleeping but she hadn’t seen him sleep since she had first met him. Looking up at a familiar groan she caught sight of her brother slumped in a chair holding his head.

“What in the hell happened here?” Bogo groaned and turned away.

“You don’t have to yell sis…oh shit, I helped him fill out the paperwork for his Library Card.”

Skye nodded before summoning a small glass of water and calmly taking a drink before spitting it out in a fine spray.

“YOU DID FUCKING WHAT?!”

Walking out onto the upper floor of the expansive mansion Judy ran her paw over the decorative brass railing and looked around, she had been in a bit of a hurry when she first showed up but now, she could take a moment to enjoy the décor.

Looking up she admired the cut crystal of the simple but elegant chandelier that glowed with magical light. Casting her gaze down she smiled at the multitude of goobers, as Tana put it, all standing around in their sliced and bloodied suits. Looking between a particularly sliced and diced rhino and Jack, who had what looked to be electrical burns now that she was looking closer, she just smiled a bit and shook her head. Coming to a stop at the top of the hardwood staircase she looked out over the mammals looking up at her and her small entourage.

“My teacher had a saying…’Regimes change and empires fall, the Wheel of time Turns for us all’…Right now you are looking at the fall of an empire and the changing of a regime. Now, I want all of you to decide how loyal you are. Because if you are loyal unto death to Roland here…” Judy said as she reached out and grabbed the buck’s ears to wrench his head up so that everyone below could see.

“Then I suggest you say something now so you can get a swift death because if I have to find you later on it will be very bad for you. Now if you are only loyal as far as the money and power flows…stick around because you will be getting more of both in the near future. I will be taking over this little operation from now on and you will be answering to me or anyone I tell you to.”

Looking around with a smile Judy nodded to herself.

“This house is now mine as well as anything within it. Normally I would ask if anyone has any questions but I don’t actually care if you do. Now…first, last and only chance if you want to walk away.”

Seeing a zebra raise his arm Judy pointed towards him.

“Uhm…I only started working for this guy because I needed some pay for my apprenticeship, if you are taking over…can I just leave?” Judy glared with glowing purple eyes at the stripped horse thing.

“Just what apprenticeship are you working for that could possibly be better than anything you could find here under my rule?!” The walls shook with her words and the air grew foul as her magic flooded out to fill the room.

“Uh…I-I-I was hoping for an apprenticeship as a magi-technician with a focus on fashion.” The zebra wilted under her glare as he spoke.

“Oh…yeah sure go ahead. There is a wolf out there named Alpha tell him I said you could leave and he will give you your severance package, have a nice day.” Judy said as she pulled in her magic and smiled brightly at the zebra.

“Really?...wait, what did you mean by severance package?” The zebra asked as he began to turn.

“Well you have worked here long enough that a little parting good will has been earned…” Seeing the round of astonished looks between the mammals Jack had left alive Judy leaned back and looked at Roland before giving a swift kick to the stomach. 

“Work for me and I will work to make it worth your while. This is your only chance…follow your fellow out the doors and don’t look back if you know what is good for you. If you stay you accept that the legal system will be your enemy and the other factions will probably try to kill you since I intend to overturn the applecart in a big way.”

Jack leaned down and whispered into Tana’s ear again.

“I can’t be certain but I feel as if she was better at making speeches back in our day…” Tana giggled into her paws at her father’s words.

“You know I can hear you right? I have manipulated my ears over the years.” Judy hissed at the two of them.

“UH…Miss Boss? If you are taking over, what does that mean for the uh…other boss?” A wildebeest asked. Judy grinned and clapped her paws together before looking out at the gathered mass before her.

“I am so glad you asked, you see I don’t have many rules but the ones I do have come with consequences for breaking them that should be enough of a deterrent that doing so doesn’t cross your minds.”

Reaching out her paw she grinned as a flood of small black furred forms came spilling out of the room she had just been in. Pulling her arm in with a laugh as she cuddled one of the small forms to her chest Judy looked out over the gathered minions.

“You see…my number one rule, the one rule that has no bend or flex to it is this: ‘Do not hurt or threaten my family’. Very simple and very easy…but just in case you don’t understand I will make it even more simple. If you hurt my family…”

Judy turned towards the slumped form of Roland and flicked her paw before turning back with sickeningly purple glowing eyes.

Roland was soon buried in a wave of small black furred forms, his pathetic cries of pain and screams of fear soon replaced with the happy chirps and squeaks of the figures that were now very obviously eating him.

As one they all stopped and stood up to look out at the gathered minions below with glowing purple eyes as Lua rose up from Judy’s shadow dressed in her form fitting, black scale leather while Alpha formed from a cloud of ash and grave dust…both of them taking their places beside and just behind Judy, their eyes glowing an infectious violet.

“I will feed you to them.”

In the four months or so after Judy had enacted her hostile takeover of Roland’s criminal empire she had learned many things…namely that she would make an awesome politician if she ever lowered her standards far enough to consider it.

Sitting at Roland’s old desk in his office Judy flipped through the various papers and tablets he had on his desk. Looking up at the sound of the door opening Judy smirked as Tana walked in.

“Momma hen finally let you out of the nest huh?” Judy asked as she held up a sheet of paper before turning it upside down hoping it would make more sense.

“Yeah, but I can’t go anywhere unless I have an escort she approves of and I have to be back before sundown…I haven’t had a curfew since I turned thirteen!” Tana cried out as she fell into the large wingback chair on the opposite side of Judy’s new desk.

“Well that is what happens when you replace your arm with magitech and your mother works with nature and plants, nevermind the piercings that you very obviously could have prevented. So when are you free to travel the realms?”

Looking at a piece of paper in one paw before comparing it to another paper in her other paw and then holding them up to check for differences with a third paper in her other paw she fell back into her seat.

“Fucking hell…you know I am fairly certain there is a layer of reality dedicated to torture, I bet I could hire some of those residents to do this…” Looking over at her apprentice and seeing the confused look on her face Judy shrugged.

“What? I didn’t do as much travelling as I would have liked but I did a little while I was in the Reticulan Empire, even I can only handle that much hissing for so long.”

“I was actually more interested in the fact you were looking at three different pieces of paper…in three different paws.” Judy shifted as an arm pulled into her back under her loose-fitting casual outfit.

“I have no idea what you are talking about…now stop trying to change the subject, when are you free to roam beyond the bounds of this limited mortal realm?”

Tana huffed before stretching her metallic arm a bit, the illusion she had tried holding over it no longer in place seeing as how everyone she would be around was magically adept enough to see through it. Now she was more likely to be seen sporting her metallic arm like some kind of award.

“End of the week…I swear the only thing that has kept me sane has been being able to hide away in my little workshop in the caves, thanks for letting me have my own cave by the way.”

Tana said as she turned sideways to dangle her legs over the arm of the chair with a groan. Judy smiled as she sat back in her chair and held out a paw, Alpha sliding a chilled glass of something amber and expensive into her grasp.

“Thank you Alpha, make sure the Spawn…did you serve her before me?” Judy asked as Tana sipped her own drink from her spot on her chair.

“I strive for ever increasing levels of efficiency Mistress.”

“That wasn’t a No.” Judy said with narrowed eyes.

“I noticed that as well Mistress.”

“One of these days I am going to take you apart and put you back together blindfolded just to see if I can.” Judy said before sipping from her drink.

“I have every confidence in your abilities to rebuild my physical form to the perfection which you first bestowed upon me after the failure of my previous life, blindfolded or not.” Judy narrowed her eyes at the wolf as he stepped into the background next to the wall.

“One of these days…Anyway, Spawnling what have you been up to since you got that arm of yours…impressive work by the way.” Judy said as she began to organize the papers on her desk.

“I was able to make a new arm, smoothed out a few of the rough edges…literally and figuratively. I improved the chainsaw a bit… I am looking over some different designs since I can’t really do more with what I am wearing. Hey you have some kind of super magic dimensional bag right, think you can make me one?” Judy slapped the papers down on her new desk with a sound of frustration.

“AAGhHHHGGHH!...*ahem* yes, I have a dimensional bag but it is so much more than just a bag it is an actual tunnel from our realm to Master’s realm. It allows me to pull books from his library without having to actually go there…I have spent seven hundred and forty-three years trying to recreate it and I can barely get past the intricacies of a single scale! The fact that every scale is interwoven with the ones around them is giving me problems. I can make a small dimensional pocket, about the size of a closet, but it has to be tied to an active source of magic or it won’t work.”

“So…you could make a closet sized space separate from reality that I could stuff with whatever I could fit into it and it would need to be linked to my own personal magic signature…like a type of lock?” Judy nodded absently.

“Yeah, I can make a ritual that would make a closet sized space but it needs a magical signature to feed off of until it is self-sustaining…call it seventy-four hours to be sure. The aperture to enter the space can’t be more than about ten or twelve inches across or the power requirements become prohibitive, it is something I have been trying to work around for the last four hundred years with negligible success. The fact that the space would have to be tied to a specific magic source and signature would mean that it would effectively be able to lock and unlock if the source of the magic…were…to…”

Looking across her desk at the metal armed doe innocently sipping her drink Judy sat straight up in her seat.

“No.”

“OH COME ON! I DIDN’T EVEN SAY ANYTHING!”

“You didn’t have to I can see the gears turning in your head.” She said as she started looking at another couple pieces of paper while Tana frantically started patting at her head.

“Shit you can see that?!” Judy slowly turned to look back at her apprentice and blinked very slowly.

*ahem* “Tana…what did you do?”

“Uh…nooothinnnnng…?”

Judy remained quiet as she sipped her drink, her eyes slowly slipping into their cross-slitted and multi-pupiled form. Tana began frantically waving her paws to get her loon of an aunt to not look to close.

“Well I mean! not nothing…just a little something.”

Judy sipped her drink, half changed eyes showing her slight scaring beneath the fur around the Spawnling’s right eye as well as magic circulating in the same area.

“Oh alright damn you I replaced the muscles around my right eye and I am in the process of replacing the eye itself. I just need to get the right materials and figure out how to rebuild the nerves and such to be as efficient as possible…among other things but those are the main ones.”

Judy just nodded to herself and reached down to her side where she kept her Master’s Bag.

Reaching in with a clear thought of what she wanted to find in her mind she grinned as she tried puling the book that had appeared in her paw out of the bag.

Looking down as she jerked to a halt she saw that the book was rather large, frowning she began to shift it around and wiggle it back and forth until she was finally able to pull it free. Laying the large book down on her desk she slid it over to her apprentice before cradling her chin on her interlaced fingers.

“What’s this?” Tana asked as she pulled the book into her lap.

Opening it up she felt her eyes widen as she saw painfully intricate diagrams of the optic nerves and how they not only connected but interacted with the brain on a physical and magical level. Flipping through the pages she marveled at the detail of not just the images but the text as it went over not just what the various nerves and muscles did, but how they interacted with each other.

“A medical book dedicated entirely to the eyes, how and why they work, their pros and cons etc. If you can read and understand that entire thing by the end of the week, I’ll cover the materials for your next little project…if not then you do it yourself.”

Tana jerked her head up at hearing that.

“Really? I just have to read and understand this book by the end of the week and you will cover the material cost of replacing my eyes?!”

Jumping to her feet and hugging the large book to her chest Tana practically vibrated in place, she wasn’t even near ready to perform the ritual she had roughed out and already she knew the material cost would be the most expensive part.

“Yeah pretty much, just learn everything that book can possibly teach you in a week and I will cover the material cost…if not then I will at least provide travel opportunities.”

“Uh…Miss Boss Ma’am?”

Judy groaned and rolled her eyes at how one of the mammals that had stayed on under her rule addressed her. Looking up and seeing a ferret peeking around the door to her new office Judy gestured him inside.

“Yes…what is it?”

“Well the mayor of the city is here to see you but he doesn’t have an appointment, should I send him away or just make him wait a bit?”

Judy sat back and thought a moment before answering.

“Make him wait two minutes and then send him in, he has been irritating me the last few weeks. Apparently taking over a crime boss’s little empire leaves something of a power vacuum in the minds of others…the goobers have had to put down at least three assassination attempts in as many weeks…also don’t forget to put your illusion on.”

Holding her glass up to her temple in an effort to soothe her imaginary headache Judy looked over to Tana as they waited for the mayor to enter.

“So how has Billy been since I gave him to you?” Tana grinned and even looked up from skimming through her new book.

“Oh he has been great, he is probably the main reason I haven’t Gone Aunty yet since I have been able to try a few things with him in the meantime.”

Judy nearly spat her drink out at hearing that.

“What do you mean ‘Gone Aunty’?”

“Well ever since you got back it is kind of what everyone says if they think someone has lost their mind or is being a little crazy, violent, or sadistic.” Tana responded with a negligent shrug at Judy’s shocked look.

“Miss Blackburrow, a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Before Judy could further grill her apprentice on the sayings of the younger generation she was interrupted by the mayor and his escort entering the room.

Looking over to the door she saw a ram with finely curling and well-polished horns dressed in a suit that probably cost enough that even she would take notice…and she had raided the Reticulan treasury, among other caches of wealth.

To either side was a pair of boars that had the distinct look of having alchemically increased physiques as well as finely polished, and sharpened, tusks. The bulge of their weapons under their suits only visible because Judy was looking for them.

“Yes I have been waiting for a few months and only now you show up, I suppose you must be rather busy if you left me waiting for so long.” Judy said dismissively as she sat back in her chair while the ram frowned quickly before schooling his features back into neutrality.

“But now that you are here mister mayor, I think there are a few things we should discuss.” Judy said as her eyes glowed slightly above her unnaturally sharp teeth in the room that suddenly had too many shadows creeping around the corners with no visible source.

Chapter Text

“Now that you are here mister mayor, I believe there are a few things for us to discuss.”

Judy said as she smiled with a mouthful of teeth much to sharp for a rabbit and eyes glowing slightly in the suddenly shadowed room. The mayor glanced around slightly trying to figure out if the shadows he was seeing out of the corners of his eyes were real or not. Glancing at Tana as she lounged in her chair he made a dismissive gesture.

“You may leave now, adults are speaking.”

Tana raised a brow at hearing that and after seeing the look on her aunt’s face responded with a bland tone of voice.

“You are right adults are talking so why don’t you take a seat in the corner and when you are called on you can speak too. Until then just play nicely with your boytoys and wait patiently, if you’re good we can go out for ice cream later.” Turning away just as dismissively as he had spoken to her Tana began speaking to Judy again.

“So if I am able to finish your little challenge, you will cover the material costs. If not then what? I don’t exactly have mountains of gold like you do.”

That caught the mayor’s attention though both rabbits continued to ignore him.

“Now see here young lady I am the mayor of this city and will not be spoken to in such a manner, especially not by someone as young as you.”

Both rabbits stopped and looked at him though Judy was the one to speak.

“Mister mayor, that is my apprentice and current heir to everything I own and all my knowledge whether she likes it or not. Now if we are bringing age into this then I suggest you reconsider your words since as far as I am concerned there is no difference between you and her, you are both little more than children to me. The main difference is that she can at least be trained and taught while you are not worth the time it would take to do so. She will stay here to observe and learn from our conversation whether you like it or not. Also I don’t know if you normally travel with a pair of goons that look like they would be happier breaking some shopkeeper’s legs or not but I can assure you they mean less to me than you do…also my attendants are better.”

So saying she looked over the ram’s shoulder and behind the pair of boars, who stiffened as the cold line of a blade pressed up against their throats from behind. The mayor jumped to his hooves as he saw a wolf and black panther standing behind his bodyguards.

“Alpha, Lua…would you be so kind as to treat the mayor’s entourage to a bit of hospitality, we have important matters to discuss.”

Judy grinned as both boars were lead from the room at knife point leaving the mayor alone in the room with herself and Tana. Slowly turning her gaze back to the mayor Judy flicked her paw and closed the door with a basic exertion of Will.

“Now then mayor…let us speak openly. I control the Sniffers of the Enforcer troops along with the merchant and high-end housing market as well as the Glow trade in and around the city. I may not know all the ins and outs of Roland’s little empire but I know enough to crash the shit out of basically every market in the city. You think the few street brawls and scuffed up shops in the small power vacuum Roland left behind have been irritating? Just imagine what it would be like if I didn’t bother reigning any of it in and let the economy burn while I was at it.”

Sipping a drink and giving an appreciative sigh she held her cup out to her side for Alpha to re-fill.

The mayor jumped at seeing the wolf when he distinctly remembered him leaving and the door remaining closed.

“Will that be all Mistress? Perhaps I should prepare some snacks? Lua is currently entertaining our other guests as they seemed rather impressed by her knife collection.” Judy smiled up her Eldest Child.

“Thank you Alpha, that would be lovely.” The mayor jumped slightly as right before his eyes the wolf that hadn’t been there moments before dissolved into ash and grave dust before flowing out through an air vent.

“Apprentice.” Judy said while turning her attention to the younger doe in the room and sipping her drink.

“Yes Master Judy?” Tana asked with a cheeky smile.

“Why is it that mammals are so surprised to see magic being used? Why is that you have magic literally condensing in the streets and yet I barely see any spells being used or magical items on display. Jack barely had to deal with any of those fancy firearms you have developed in my time away when we took this place over. Why is it that there is almost less magic being used now than in my day and yet it is more available than I have ever seen?”

Tana sipped her own drink and thought a bit before answering.

“Well it used to be you would have to find a master that would be willing to pass on their teachings, but now it is more regulated and industrialized. If you really want to learn about magic in this day and age you have to be accepted into either the Magitech Guild or the Advancement Society.”

Looking over to her aunt she gestured with her drink.

“Well I guess there is a third option in being taught by a family member, I am assuming the Lightfoot family probably had someone in their past who used magic and then passed it on down the generations.”

Judy nodded as she lounged in her chair and gestured for the door to open allowing Alpha to enter with a large tray of small snacks and a drink for the mayor.

After accepting his drink and looking between the two rabbits the mayor took a slow sip before speaking.

“Am I correct in believing that you are teaching this young rabbit how to use magic?” Judy rolled her eyes.

“What could have possibly given it away?” The mayor grit his teeth, he was not supposed to be spoken to in this way.

“You do realize that it is illegal to spread unregulated magical knowledge without supervision or a license to do so.”

Judy had to smack the side of her head a few times to get one of her eyes looking in the right direction after rolling them so hard. Sitting up and leaning her elbows on her desk Judy laced her fingers together before addressing the ram.

“Mayor…I am going to try something out of my comfort zone and I am going to be as truthful as possible.”

Tana snorted so hard her drink came out her nose.

“Quiet you…now then Mayor. I am a necromancer that is over seven hundred years old by now, I will teach anyone I want and I will teach them whatever I want. I am also not here for long, this is a stepping stone as far as I am concerned and there is no way in all the Layers of Reality that I am going to let anyone, especially someone like you, tell me who and what I can teach.”

Holding up her paw to stop the mayor from speaking she grabbed a sandwich and took a bite.

“If I wanted to, little lamb, I could have broken the back of this city the first week I returned from the Reticulan Empire. Now maybe if you sent all of the Enforcers after me at the same time you might be able to restrain me, you wouldn’t kill me since I fixed that problem a long time ago. Of course, that is assuming that in seven centuries I didn’t raise anyone from the dead and either train or experiment on them to make them more dangerous…or myself for that matter.”

The mayor seemed as if he was having a hard time believing anything she was saying.

“Plus, that is also assuming that my baby sister who is almost as old as I am and a fully recognized dryad who was taught by an Arch-druid who was centuries old when I was barely older than my own apprentice doesn’t get involved.”

Seeing that the mayor was paying more attention Judy grinned and spread her paws.

“But that isn’t something you should worry about, I am just here to look into a few things and then move on to bigger and better shitholes than this one. Now I know it is probably a little nerve wracking being in front of someone who is not only new to the city and political landscape but also older than either of them, but don’t worry. I have had months to act on the truly unsettling amount of blackmail Roland had on you and well…it simply isn’t worth my time to do so, you aren’t nearly important enough to me to bother manipulating.”

“That being said I have a proposal for you…” Judy had the ram’s attention now, though he was still pouting a bit at being told he wasn’t important enough.

“Stay out of my way, leave me alone and let me do what I want and after I have gotten what I want…the city is all yours.”

Sitting back in her chair Judy crossed one leg over the other and sipped her drink.

“The city is already mine if you hadn’t noticed, it comes with being the MAYOR.” Judy groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“OH for the love of…let this be a lesson Spawnling, if you are going to take over a city politically or try to work with a politician then make sure you do your research. Mayor, I have spent the last few months going over Roland’s paperwork and just off his numbers…you are well and truly fucked. You owe so much money to so many individuals I am amazed you weren’t wheeled in here with broken kneecaps or something. What I am proposing is simply this…stop bugging me and stay out of my way and by the time I am ready to leave, the city will actually be yours since I will probably have killed anyone you owe money to.”

Grinning and tilting her head Judy let her talons extend slightly and showed off her sharper than usual teeth.

“And now that you have heard the carrot of my proposal, let me tell you the stick part…if you don’t stay out of my way and leave me alone, I will kill you and simply raise you back to life under my control and the entire city will be mine to play with in ways that would give you nightmares. Your choices really do come down to whether or not you want to live or not.”

The mayor ground his teeth and thought for a few moments before speaking.

“What are your plans for the other Tier leaders?” Judy waved her paw in a negligent manner.

“Probably kill them eventually, I’m gonna make sure I have my power consolidated and understood here in Upper Tier first but I will eventually move down into the other tiers.” The mayor nodded his head slowly and chewed his lip while looking between Judy and her apprentice.

“Tell me, what is stopping me from sending a message to Zootopia and having them send a Cleric to purge you from the world?” The look Judy sent him was enough to put a few extra curls in his wool and send a shiver down his spine.

“Feel free to do so, I could use a snack…you aren’t going to send a message because you don’t want the Capital looking to closely at how things work around here. You don’t want them to find out how many bribes and payoffs you have taken or how many ways you have manipulated the laws to benefit one crime boss or another. Most importantly though you don’t want to watch your family and everyone around you be slaughtered just to be resurrected, and if you think I give a damn about killing those two little lambs you have at home and making you watch them come back from the dead then you might want to think again.”

The mayor gulped as he felt the blood fall out of his face, even his own assistant didn’t know about his daughters.

Beginning to shake in his wool the mayor wondered how she could have found out about his daughters…they had been the result of a celebratory night on the town when he had been elected as mayor. To much celebratory champagne, to many attractive ewes and not enough protection had resulted in…well the two best mistakes he had ever made. The little cottonballs he called his daughters were the brightest lights in his life and he had been planning on claiming them officially…but now he had this mad rabbit threatening to kill them.

“Now you are most likely thinking about sending a letter through your assistant down to an informant in lower tier who would then be paid to pass it off to your cousin in middle tier who would then send it through the caravans to Zootopia. You are probably thinking that if you are subtle, you will be able to get a message out that there is a necromancer in Bunnyburrow and that the church should send a force down upon me or something…Samantha!”

Looking over the mayor’s shoulder Judy grinned as the door opened allowing a rather attractive ocelot to saunter into the room.

“Sammi? What are you doing here I thought you were back at the office?” The mayor asked as he turned in his seat and watched as his assistant walked in.

“I am simply responding to the call of my Mistress.” The smile she sent his way was uncomfortably familiar…he had just seen it on the face of a certain bunny.

“Mister Mayor you really should pay more attention to your staff…she has been dead for weeks now and not once did you notice that she was pulling so much overtime it should have killed her, or that she never actually left the office. You see…” Judy said as she stood from her seat and walked around her desk to slide her arms around the slim feline who in turn practically wound herself around the bunny.

“I killed her weeks ago, really it was barely a couple days after I killed Roland and his little fuckwad of a son. Now you might be thinking that I am cruel in doing so but…I think it would be much more cruel to let her die of her nearly septic stomach ulcers.”

The mayor jerked slightly at hearing this…he had never been told anything like that.

“OH you didn’t know?...your assistant had been so stressed she had been fighting stomach ulcers and even a mild case of malnutrition and sleep deprivation. By the time I found her, her ulcers had gotten so bad they were actually slowly poisoning her as her stomach acids leaked into her torso and blood stream. Not having enough time to eat or sleep properly had compromised her immune system…she was puking blood long before I got to her.”

Grinning Samantha slid from around her and perched herself on the edge of Judy’s desk.

“If you had any idea what it was like to work for you Mayor you would have probably made the same decision, as it is that was the best decision I could have made. No more lying awake at night rolling in pain as my stomach literally ate me alive, no more dying by inches as you gamble and promise away money you don’t have and can’t get. I think the best thing about this new lease on life is that I don’t have to worry about making excuses to your debtors anymore.”

Grinning from her seat on Judy’s desk the ocelot kicked her feet back and forth as her tail lashed behind her in pleasure.

“You will be lucky to have a job by the time you leave this room traitor.” The mayor spat towards his potentially former assistant. Samantha rolled her eyes and leaned back on her arms with a sharp grin towards her boss.

“Oh please, you can barely do your job as it is, you will never be able to do it without me. There is no one in the city that could step into my place as your assistant…I made sure of that.” She said with a smile that was mirrored on her Mistress’s face.

“While you have been losing at card and dice games, I have been telling anyone who would listen what it is like to work for you. The assistants to the other crime bosses are hopeless gossips and I guarantee that by now anyone who would have wanted to work for you is no longer interested in doing so…at least the ones that are still alive that is.”

“What do you mean the ones still alive?” Judy walked over and took her seat behind her desk again.

“Well I had a few of my children go around and offer the chance to prospective applicants and those that still showed an interest in taking her place were aggressively persuaded onto different career paths.”

Samantha smirked at her Mistress’s phrasing.

“She means they were either bribed away or killed…face it mayor, you are stuck with me.” The mayor seemed to deflate as he listened.

“There was never any hope to take back my city was there? Even when one of the Bigs was killed I didn’t have a chance to take back any power.”

Tana chuckled darkly from her spot lounging in her chair, she had been happy to watch and listen but at that point she couldn’t help it.

“Hope is a blade you hold at your own throat thinking the enemy will be intimidated…” Judy gasped and held a paw to her mouth, if she had the capacity to do so she might have even had watery eyes.

“Spawnling…that was possibly the most cynical thing I have heard from you…*sniff* I am so proud. Oh we are going to piss off your mom something fierce as a reward.” Judy said as she practically wiggled in her seat.

“So what now? You have everything Roland was holding against me and all my debts are now yours…so what would you have me do?” The mayor said pathetically as he sat slumped in his chair.

Judy shrugged noncommittedly.

“Whatever you would normally do, I have no interest in you or your city really. Just stay out of my way and leave me alone and before you know it the city will be entirely yours, not only that but your debts will be erased simply because the ones you owe money to will be dead.”

Standing up the mayor looked at Judy and her apprentice with a questioning look on his face.

“What is in it for you? I don’t believe for a second that you aren’t benefiting from this at all, no one with as much power as you just does things for no reason or lets someone with power and connections off the hook unless they can benefit from doing so.”

Judy shrugged and sipped her drink before responding.

“It gets you out of my way, I wasn’t joking when I said you aren’t important enough for me to bother with. At least this way I don’t have to put any more effort into your existence than I need to…or if you want you can join Roland, Max and Jake.”

She said while pointing at a rabbit skull that sat under a few papers on the corner of her desk. Reaching over while looking at the mayor Judy placed her paw on the top of the skull and gently opened the jaw.

The sound that came from within the skull as it opened was a layered cacophony of sounds that were nothing more than wordless expressions of pain and torment the likes of which no living mammal had a concept for. Jerking back hard enough that he nearly fell backward the mayor paled until he was nearly translucent before looking back at the hell sent rabbit as she closed the skull cutting off the sound.

“I am currently working on various types and applications for magic involving the soul…want to help?”

While both rabbits laughed at the sight of the mayor sprinting out of the room and the mansion, it was the ocelot Samantha that practically fell to the floor holding her ribs in laughter. Standing up she bounced around the desk to the mad rabbit and embraced her in a cheek rubbing, full bodied, tail wrapped hug with a purr so loud it almost echoed.  

“Oh that was better than I could have hoped for thank you so much Miss Judy!”

Letting go and skipping over to plant a small kiss on Tana’s cheek the ocelot couldn’t stop giggling as she bounced out of the room. Both rabbits looked at each other with large smiles on their faces while raising a glass in a toast to each other.

“So do you think he will figure out that she isn’t actually dead?” Tana asked.

“Only if your illusion fails prematurely and he gets froggy enough to look close enough to start putting pieces together, I wouldn’t say it is impossible but I will say it is very unlikely. Now then…how do you feel about having a familiar?”

The grin on her auntie’s face did not inspire confidence or security in the young bunny.

Walking through the portal into another layer of reality was like walking through any other doorway, minus the feeling of nausea from her system suddenly being bombarded with new frequencies of magical energy of course. Slapping a paw to her mouth to keep her lunch down Tana took a few deep breaths to steady herself before looking around.

“Yeah it is kind of rough in the beginning but after you get used to it things will get better.” Judy said with a knowing look towards the younger bunny.

Tana swallowed thicky before looking up at her aunty and was a little surprised at the look on her face as she looked around at the bookshelves that seemed to reach into infinity in every direction. Her aunty looked…happy?

Not the kind of happy like when she was spreading plagues or chattering away while elbow deep inside a still living mammal’s torso or when she was torturing mammals that irritated her…this was more genuine.

She looked like Tana felt when she walked back into the cool depths of the Burrow or the little cave she had set up her workshop in, like she was home.

“I never get tired of this place, a world containing effectively infinite knowledge. Information from every Era of existence can be found in these shelves, if you can find it and know the language of course.” Tana looked around and began following after her aunty as she began to walk through the labyrinth of shelves.

“Make sure you keep up Spawnling, the only light in this realm is also an indication of how much you know and you really don’t want to know what lives in the shadows of this section.”

Grinning as she felt the younger rabbit speed up until she was practically on her heels Judy was about to say something else when she stopped and perked an ear high into the air.

Turning her head back and forth to zero in on the direction she made a small sound of curiosity as she recognized who the voice belonged to if not what she was saying. Reaching back and gripping her apprentice’s paw in her own she simply said `Hold on’ and took a Step.

“AND ANOTHER THING!..” Skye didn’t even bother acknowledging the pair of rabbits exiting the spatial distortion, a Mile Step spell was one of the easiest and first spatial magic spells you could learn after all.

“OF ALL THE STUPID DUMBASS THINGS YOU STUPID BASTARDS COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DONE I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT EITHER OF YOU LET ALONE THE BOTH OF YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SO STUPID AS TO DO THIS!”

Judy walked up next to Life as he rubbed his temples as if in pain while the Spawnling wretched her guts out behind her, Mile Step spells were similar but unfortunately different from Realm Walking spells after all.

“Uh…how long has she been going like this?” Judy asked as she watched the white fox pace back and forth while continuing her rant in a series of interwoven languages that she was only able to catch one out of five words of.

“About a week of your world’s time…non-stop…even to breath…she has repeated herself about seven times every day with different wording every time, if my head wasn’t in so much damn pain it would be impressive.” Life said in a raspy voice.

“And what exactly is she ranting about?” Judy asked as she manifested a glass of her favorite wine in her paw.

“RANTING?! I WILL SHOW YOU RANTING LITTLE RABBIT!”

Death screeched as she caught sight of the pair of bunnies and heard Judy’s words. Just as she was about to start in on the pair Tana swung her arm as if she was throwing something and Judy couldn’t help but laugh a bit as she saw that what had been thrown was her own paw that was now latched around the fox’s snout.

“I just got finished hurling my guts out on the floor, and not in the good way, now you can either shut the hell up and speak at a decent volume or I can start squeezing.”

Post-vomit was not a good look on the black and green furred bunny, her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was running.

Seeing that the fox was about to start screaming again Tana huffed, rolled her eyes and shoulder before pulling and turning her entire body dragging Skye forward and along the ground. Spinning in place until she had built up enough speed to whip the fox into the distance Tana let go with a shout and staggered a bit before coming to a stop.

Taking a moment to get her balance and reel in her paw again Tana grimaced at the odd feeling of her paw coming closer while her arm stayed the same length, it didn’t help that she could feel the connecting line being spooled back in place around her ribs either.

Judy just watched with an obviously prideful glow and a bit of curiosity in her eyes…

“Since when did you have a woven steel cable connecting your paw to your arm, where did you get it and where does it go…I know damn well you don’t know the kind of dimensional magic you would need to store that in a pocket dimension.”

Tana grinned over at her aunty as she made a few minor adjustments to the various gears and pistons that made up her arm.

“Well I have been stuck on the farm for the last few months and my ribcage was just sitting there kind of uselessly so…I may have replaced a few things since being grounded. Also you made a mistake in giving up Billy, he has a wonderful talent for braiding so I just sat him down and gave him some steel wires.”

Judy reached over and gave her apprentice a quick side hug before shoving her away and running her paws down her side, she was getting better about the damn ants under her fur but she still didn’t like the feeling of someone else touching her.

“You make me so proud sometimes…I skull fucked her with a throwing knife my second time really interacting with her. Now boys, tell me what she was bitching about and I might be able to laugh at you before I leave to do something better and more important.”

Judy said while propping her paws on her hips with a smile.

“I helped Nick get his Library Card and she is pissed about it.” Bogo said as he sipped at something that fizzed and glowed an odd shade of purple.

Both rabbits looked at each other and shrugged in confusion, neither one knew what the big deal was about getting a library card.

“You better believe I’m pissed about it! do you have any idea what could have happened if you had messed that up! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!” Skye yelled as she stepped out of her own Mile Step, a much smoother and more subtle version of Judy’s own she noticed.

“Can someone please explain what this library card thing is? I have better things to do than to deal with Office drama so if we could just move this along a bit.” Judy said with a bit of frustration coloring her voice.

Skye huffed with a growl while looking at the necromancer and crossed her arms before plopping into a chair that Tana was certain hadn’t been there before.

“The level of arrogance in that single sentence is truly breathtaking, to think anything going on in your life is more important than what even my staff have to deal with on any regular basis shows a level of arrogance that has toppled civilizations.”

Judy sipped her champagne as she sat on her favorite couch next to her apprentice…well they were sitting on her master as he reclined across the length of the couch, but he was on it and it was her couch so it was all the same thing.

“Wait…where did you get that drink and how did we get here when we were over there…” Tana felt like she was missing something because she damn well knew she had not been sitting on a fox just seconds ago.

“I’ll tell you later, now about that library card thing.”

Skye grumbled a bit before sighing.

“Library card is just what we call it…it is basically permission to enter and query the First Archive. The Archive, or Library is what this realm was potentially based off of in that it is a repository for information. The difference is that the library is where information comes from not where it goes after it is found…the information held in the Archive is true with absolutely no bias of any kind. The dangers of accessing it are many though since it is not only a realm but also a Primordial.”

Judy cocked her head a bit and crossed her legs as she sipped her drink, she was pleased to see the Spawnling had begun examining the ambient magic in the realm and began experimenting.

“By primordial you mean…” Skye rubbed her ears a bit before continuing.

“The Primordials are…well they are the beginning. They mark the beginning of Everything as far as we can tell…if there was anyone or anything before them there is no way to comprehend the possibility of it let alone know if it is true. They are like the Offices in that they are concepts given sentience but it is much like saying a molecule is the same as all of reality. If they so much as think in your direction you will probably be eradicated from all of time and space before they have a chance to comprehend your reality’s existence. They are so large and powerful that the only way for them to interact with something as small as us is through proxies…it is also the only way for them to comprehend something on a scale as small as ours, and by ours I mean the Offices.”

Judy swallowed her drink slowly as she tried to understand that.

“You mean your existence, the Concept of Death is so small that the only way they can comprehend it is to look at you through someone else’s eyes?”

Even Judy wasn’t arrogant enough to scoff at the power that implied.

“Pretty much yeah, they were there when Everything started and will probably be there when it all stops. Have they seen it happen before or is this the first time, there is simply no way to know.”

Tana cried out in success as she manifested a veggie kabob in her paw.

“HAAH! Look aunty I did it!...*MUNCH!*…anyway…*nibble*…why not just ask them? Like why not ask if they have seen this all before or not?”

Tana asked around a mouthful of surprisingly well seasoned veggies.

“Because communicating directly with one is nearly impossible.”

The voice came from beneath the two bunnies, apparently Nick had woken up.

“They don’t speak in ways as limited as we do. Imagine having a conversation using historical references across all of time, space and realities using nothing but mathematical formulas at the speed of thought while your soul is spread across Everything which means you are experiencing EVERYTHING that is happening, everywhere, at all times through all of history. Once you can imagine that you might be able to begin how to comprehend a greeting they would be able to lower themselves to notice.”

Nick said in a voice that Life, Death and Judy had never heard come from the Old Man.

He sounded…Old, almost defeated but as if he still had hope…though not hope for himself while still sounding as young and innocent as a newborn kit asking about the vastness of the night sky for the first time.

“When you are allowed to…Enter is to small of a word…experience? The Archive you are not simply entering a massive library like this one. You are melding your thoughts and soul with the Primordial of Conscious Thought as best as I could hope to explain its Title. Any questions you have will be answered truthfully and whether you are ready to accept that truth or not is irrelevant…any question you have or have ever had will be answered…whether you want it to be or not. Every question you have ever had in your life up to and including the picosecond you have another question will be answered.”

Nick reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose while rubbing up and down slightly.

“Option A and B, I chose B but what would have happened had I chosen A and then options one and two after that etc. It is like trying to comprehend the true workings of Fate or Time. I entered the archive and was there for less time than it takes for a thought to manifest and it nearly killed me on a level beyond the soul. Honestly if we could trick Shivala into trying the same thing she would do our job for us.”

Judy leaned down and pecked the tip of the fox’s nose with a smile.

“Oh you know things aren’t going to be that easy…so did you have your questions answered?”

Nick groaned before reaching up and wrapping his arms around the necro-bunny before pulling her down with a squawk for a good cuddle session. Judy tried retaliating but every time she flared her magical energy Nick flared the exact opposite and countered her, he had moved on from being a simple necromancer and being a Lich was more of a hobby at this point.

“UUUGhhhgghHH…hmmmm comfy…yeah I had my questions answered, I had all my questions answered…every single one I have ever had over the entirety of my somewhat long life. Of course, I say long life after just experiencing a being who can no longer measure their life span because they have out lived every possible metric of measurement. I am still going through all of the answers I was given so it will be a while before I am useful again. I can guarantee that I know how to kill Shivala and solve our problems…I just need to remember something I haven’t learned yet.”

Nick said without opening his eyes as he buried his nose in Judy’s fur and rumbled lowly as her scent helped him relax a bit, there were some benefits to being fox shaped.

“Speaking of our current pain in the ass…Home office has caught wind of things down on our little slice of reality. Of course, they knew what was going on but now they are actually paying attention and they are not happy about what they are seeing. We were supposed to have decades to fix the problem but now we have less than a decade…probably closer to a year, assuming nothing worse happens.”

Tana looked over to her aunt as she giggled and snuggled like a teenager with the fox they had been using as a cushion.

“I…have about half a concept that is looking somewhat in the right direction to understand what the hell is going on so uhm…can you teach me stuff?”

Tana asked innocently while looking over to the massive buffalo that was practically rippling with muscles and whose short hair glistened with health and vitality before turning her attention to the other fox whose fur looked like spun snow in the moonlight and whose eyes held all the mercy of a razor blade. Skye couldn’t help but laugh somewhat hysterically at the younger rabbit while her big brother chuckled a bit as he sent a look to his baby sister.

*Sigh…* “Hehehe…sure why not, if things don’t work out your layer of reality is going to be eradicated down to a level you have no concept for and anyone unable to escape will go with it.”

Skye said as she gulped the remainder of her drink.

Walking out of the portal to the Lost Archives into her aunt’s cave system Tana scribbled furiously on her notepad as she desperately tried to write down everything both Life and Death had told her.

“Those two just bumped my research ahead by decades at least, we really should go back and visit more often.”

Judy smiled and tipped back her drink before tossing the goblet over her shoulder through the portal.

“Tell you what Spawnling, when you learn how to make the portal yourself you can visit anytime you want. Of course, Skye and Bogo aren’t always there since they like to pretend they are actually important to the vital running systems of reality or something…Master might be willing to pass on a few little tidbits of knowledge but he is also likely to try and get you killed.”

“Who is likely to get my daughter killed dear Big Sister?”

Looking to the side with a liquid turn of her body Judy smiled before scuffing her toes in the dirt a bit with her paws behind her back.

“Senna! I see those wards I have up to keep you out didn’t work…so uh, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Senna grinned in a way that Judy found very familiar.

“The wards were rather amusing but don’t pretend like you put them up to actually stop me from getting in, you put them up to irritate me and warn you of when I decided to stop by for a visit. Now would you like to explain why my daughter is walking out of a portal from another reality when I specifically told her not to Travel? Or at least why she is not being chaperoned like she is supposed to be?”

Judy nodded her head back and forth with a contemplative look on her face before smiling and stepping down on the sigil she had scuffed into the dirt with her foot while making the activation sign behind her back.

“Not really no, bye!”

Stepping back through the portal before the Burrow Matron could shut it against her will Judy grinned as she watched the tunnel through reality slam shut close enough to her nose to shear off a bit of her whisker tips.

“Have fun Spawnling, better you than me!”

Spinning on a heel and bouncing down the hall of her new mansion Judy smiled as she held out a paw just in time for Alpha to place a cup of tea in her grasp before smoothly sliding into step next to her.

“Thank you!” Judy chirped as she made her way towards her office.

“Have there been any developments while I was gone? Master was a little out of sorts so I’m not entirely sure what the time dilation is between here and there right now.”

Alpha nodded before looking over a sheet of paper. 

“Well not much has happened as you have only been gone a couple hours Mistress, Lua is currently in the armory making rather unsettling noises as she fondles the inventory…a representative from Vargus is currently in your office, the mayor sent over a somewhat insulting flower arrangement and I have set up the spare room to your specifications.”

Judy stopped and looked up at her First Child with a bit of astonishment, over seven hundred years and he still didn’t know to tell her important and relevant information first?

“The mayor sent me flowers and you tell me about Lua quivering over some fancy weapons first?...how could flowers be insulting?”

Alpha grinned a bit at his Mistress’s words…over seven hundred years old and still a bit of a child.

“Well the arrangement is made up of various inedible blossoms as well as flowers with either thorns or spines which generally convey negative messages in such arrangements. Also it is clear that the entire arrangement was put together with little to no interest or knowledge in color or scent coordination.”

“Since when did you know anything about flower arrangements or scent coordination?”

Judy asked as she continued to walk down the halls of the mansion she had acquired via killing the previous owner.

“Since I took a series of lessons from the Royal Scalen hospitality coordinators.” Alpha said proudly.

“Is that why there was a chunk of gold missing from my accounts?!” Judy asked indignantly as she pushed open a door.

“Yes, as far as you know.” Alpha said.

“Is that the only time you have used my gold for your projects?” Judy narrowed her eyes at the tall wolf.

“Yes, as far as you know.” Alpha said, expression not changing at all as Judy growled out a series of inventive things he could do with various parts of his anatomy.

Walking into her office she was met with the sight of a large bundle of flowers that indeed looked as if they were simply thrown into a vase without any kind of care for aesthetics and next to the flowers was a rat…at least she was pretty sure it was a rat.

Walking up and leaning down a bit to get a better look at the ball of filth sitting in the chair in front of her desk she frowned and tilted her head one way and then the other before standing up and walking around to her seat.

“Alpha when this is over, I want samples taken then I want that chair burned in the ways of Salu Cratzta.”

“It will be done Mistress…with pleasure.” Alpha responded as he remained by the door.

“An jus wha is dis Saloon Catsa thing ya be jabberin’ bout?” The rat shaped pile of filth on the chair asked. Judy reached out and grabbed one of the blossoms before taking a bite of it and looking at the small creature.

“It is a certain method of burning plague and illness victims used in the Reticulan Empire about four hundred and fifty years ago. The fires are so hot and applied so suddenly to the body that it is rendered to fine ash before any potentially contaminated smoke or steam could possibly spread the infection. You are so rancid that the chair you are sitting on will never be clean again and will probably spread some kind of virus to anyone who sits within it for years to come.” Finishing her snack and grabbing another flower she continued speaking around her snack.

“As possible assassination attempts go it is rather clumsy, as messages go it has a certain flair to it that I can appreciate.”

Unhinging her jaw and reaching into her mouth with her entire fist Judy took a moment to yank a splintered piece of rose thorn from between her molars…damn things were delicious but always got stuck right there.

“You ain ta good a speakin nice wit ya betters is ya?” The rat said as he crossed his arms over his paunchy belly and glared at Judy who just shifted her jaw back into place with a crunching snap.

“For you to say anyone else is bad at speaking is the height of irony seeing as how I know more languages than you have fleas and yet I can barely understand a fucking word you are saying. Now before you go trying to make my ears bleed again by speaking let me guess, you are here as a representative from Vargus in the Lower Tier correct?”

“Das righ ya high an mighteh bitch, I speak on behaf a Vargus o’ Undertown an ‘e demands tribute.”

Judy rubbed her temples and considered killing the little shit ball just to bring him back so she could mess with his brain a bit…there had to be something missing that made him so hard to understand.

“Vargus actually sent you…a filth and slime covered rat from somewhere around the city’s asshole I presume, up here to my office for the express purpose of demanding tribute? He wants me to pay him…for what? I haven’t had any dealings with him or his ilk since I got here.”

The rat actually had the audacity to laugh at her in her own office.

“Aye, ya owe Vargus tribute fer ‘is elp in takin dis big ‘ouse and holdin ol Roland’s gang togetha.”

Judy was about ready to rip one of her ears off and choke herself with it, the arrogance the rat was showing was almost enough to make her consider apologizing to Skye for her own show…almost.

“Vargus expects me…to pay him for his help in taking over this mansion and gang even though he didn’t do a damn thing. He legitimately expects me to pay him…and he sends a shit covered plague rat that can barely speak to make his demands.”

“OI! Bitch betta watch yer words, Vargus made it possble fer ya ta tak o’er dis gang and ‘ouse by holdin back ‘is lads in da enforcah squads. Ya realeh thin’ ya coulda taken dis place so easily had ya had to conten wit da ‘forcers?”

The smug way the rat looked at her sent icky chills down Judy’s spine in a way she didn’t like.

Looking over to Alpha she twitched her eyes in a rapid series of movements that wouldn’t be possible had she not improved the muscles and nerves decades ago. Nodding Alpha walked over and stood next to his mistress before calmly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a pistol he had been working on.

It was thing of beauty as far as Judy could tell from the short amount of time she had to look at it.

Brass and copper wires woven into a complicated barrel containing various layers of runes and sigils interwoven into the materials. Dark stained hardwood made up the grip with a series of small interlocking gears and cogs running throughout the handle and around the barrel in a clockwork nightmare interwoven with glowing lines of pure concentrated magic. Dark twisted iron gave a skeletal framework to the whole thing in a way that drew the eyes along the length of the weapon from the wolf fang trigger towards the end of the barrel where they would then see miniscule wires and magical lines twisted into a ritual circle.

Judy only knew what Alpha’s latest project looked like because she had helped create it and had helped develop the plans for its later evolutions, which was a good thing since she didn’t have time to take in any of its details before Alpha pulled the trigger and blew her head clean off her shoulders.

Tana pouted as she stood in front of the sink helping to clean the dishes after dinner, she had actually built an arm specifically for this in fact and was glad she had enough time after her mother got done tearing her a new one to switch them out. Whereas her normal arm had a series of weapons and traps built in along with armor plating…this one did not.

Looking at the spinning short bristled brush that occupied the space her paw would usually be she wondered if she could improve the speed it spun at…or maybe make the brushes detach from each other and become her individual fingers…

“Tana!”

Her mother’s voice brought her out of her contemplation of her own paw with a sharp jerk. Looking to her side she saw her mother standing there leaning against the counter with a bemused look on her face.

“Welcome back to the real world…well, I guess I can’t say that anymore since you have already seen other worlds just as real as this one.”

Tana grinned somewhat sheepishly.

“To be fair it wasn’t my idea and we weren’t supposed to come out there, she was actually aiming for somewhere else.”

Senna laughed and jumped into the cleaning brigade with practiced ease as she began passing plates to her most troublesome daughter.

“Is that supposed to reassure me? I could feel her spellwork boring a hole through reality and made sure to twist it so that you two would end up in front of me. So…where did you two go?”

Tana glanced at her mother through a sigil she had built into the side of her head.

“And don’t think I don’t see that sigil you are using to look at me without turning your head young lady.”

‘Damn…’

“We went to a realm of nothing but books and shelves of books…I got to meet her old master, OH I also got to meet Life and Death!”

Senna faltered a bit at hearing this, knowing that while many of her children that might have heard Tana would not believe her…she was speaking the literal truth, she had met the physical incarnations of two of the most fundamental aspects of existence.

“Yeah it was pretty neat, they taught me a few things and showed me how I could improve my arm along with a few other things. Life showed me how to make the connections more seamless and Death taught me how to feel my own soul so that I could use it like a blueprint for future models.”

Smiling and relaxing a bit Senna fell into the familiar pattern of scraping and cleaning dishes before passing them on, listening to the fast-paced chatter of her daughter as she explained the difference between glass fiber nerves and magically enhanced copper filament nerves.

Feeling an almost negligible pinching in her chest Senna didn’t miss a beat in the simple rhythm of the cleaning squad, she knew the time was approaching…had known for decades. For now though, she was going to enjoy the new age techno babble her daughter was now engaged in with one of her other sisters.

Chapter Text

Kurt Shitze had never thought himself easy to upset or scare, you needed to have a strong stomach when working for Vargus.

He had done a lot of things in his life that would turn the stomachs of lesser mammals and many of those things would get him killed by other gang members from the other two gangs if they ever caught him and even more would get him executed if he was ever convicted in a court of law. Even after reminding himself of all that, he still found himself wondering if he would be better off walking into the Enforcer Headquarters and confessing to everything he could think of.

He had seen a lot of magical things in his life, it was almost impossible not to when you were literally surrounded by concentrated magical energy. He had seen rifles that shot the fury of the elements with every pull of the trigger, paw held bombs that seemed to bend the laws of physics and mammals that had fused themselves with metal and lowered themselves to being nothing more than drug addicted thugs. What he had not seen though…was a mammal get shot in the head and simply grow it back with a grin in place.

Judy grinned with her elongated teeth and cross-slitted eyes on full display at the little ball of filth as he tried to scrabble backwards hard enough she wondered if he was going to burrow backwards through the chair.

“W-wa in da coontin shite wa da!? Ya sum bleed’n immor’al er summin?!” Rubbing her temples Judy slowly parsed through what he had said as best she could.

“While I am fairly certain you weren’t questioning my morals, miniscule as they are, I can only guess that you were wondering if I am immortal.”

Seeing the mute nodding from the rat Judy sat back in her chair and accepted a glass of something old and brown that Roland had stashed away before he died.

“No, there is no such thing as immortal for all intents and purposes as far as we are concerned. But as far as you are concerned yes, I am impossible to kill since I doubt you have anyone capable of drilling through the layers of reality to find where I stashed my heart. Now you are a very lucky little slimeball, and I apologize profusely to every ball of slime out there since comparing you two is simply insulting to the slime. You are lucky because you are going to leave here alive so that you can head back to your master and deliver a message.”

Kurt nodded shakily as the large wolf walked past him towards the door to the room. Seeing the demonic rabbit stand up from her desk and walk over to a cabinet to begin rummaging around inside it Kurt began sliding off the chair.

“Ay m-miss Blackburrah…I ave ne pro’lem carryin no messaHURK!”

The rat cut off abruptly as a wide belt was looped over his chest and pulled tight against the back of the chair securing him in place. Looking up he saw the large wolf grinning down at him with a smile he really didn’t like.

“WA’S GOIN ON! YA SAYED YA NEED MAH TAH DELIVR A MESSAGE!”

Judy gave a little chirp of pleasure as she finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a bottle with some kind of…pulsing, wriggling and writhing worms inside.

Walking over she held the bottle out for Kurt to see and began explaining as she began to siphon the negative energy from the fat rat, she no longer needed to live off the energy of others…but that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy the taste of their misery any less.

“See these? I have been working on these for a while now. You see I took some inspiration from a certain failure of a revenant and I made these glorious little beauties. Now everyone who needs to know is aware that the soul cannot be controlled or manipulated by any outside means and the only way inside is by invitation. These little buggers are my invitation into your soul…you see they are going to burrow through your sinuses, throat, stomach and intestines, slowly. They are going to chew through you both physically and spiritually leaving holes and tunnels in your body and mind, all while telling you everything you need to know about how to make the pain stop.”

Reaching in Judy plucked up a particularly fat and energetic worm, the pulsing fleshy body wiggling and straining towards the rat as he sat in the chair to scared to even struggle.

“Pain?”

Judy nodded and grinned at the scum covered rodent, her eyes glowing a vomitous green that reached out from the corners of her eyes and mouth. The closer the worm came to the rat the more vigorous it writhed, Kurt could see small spine like hairs extending and retracting with every pulse now that it was so close. He could only whimper in fear…the damn thing was the size of his paw!

“Oh yes…pain the likes of which you have never and will never experience again. Torment so profound you simply have no concept for it yet…of course there is a very simple way to make it all stop.”

Holding the worm closer to the rat she used her energy to temporarily freeze the rodent’s muscles so that he stayed still while she laid the hateful little wriggler on his face.

Judy grinned with lambent eyes as she watched her newest creation squirm and crawl its way towards the rat’s nose and with a little tippy tap dance of happiness she watched as it found his nostril and began making its way inside. Letting the rat go from her energy grip before she accidently squished him Judy watched as his eyes rolled wildly before he began frothing at the mouth and passed out. Leaning in Judy whispered into the rat’s ear in a voice that would resonate across his mind.

“Listen to the voice in your mind…the voice stops the pain...listen to the voice and be free of the pain.”

Leaning back she looked up to her First Child and smirked as she made her way back to her seat behind her desk.

“Be a love Alpha and have him dropped off somewhere in the city, maybe an alley somewhere outside a bar or brothel.”

Alpha looked down and tilted his head back and forth as he contemplated a way to move the rat without touching him before shrugging and tilting the chair backwards before pulling the whole ensemble out with him.

Senna sat ramrod straight on the couch in her burrow with a chilled drink in her paws, she could do this!

“So glass fibers give better and faster response but the enhanced copper wires are more reliable since they aren’t as likely to break…and you can’t mix them because they both behave differently and give feedback on different wavelengths, do I have it right so far?”

Tana nodded from her place next to a chalkboard with various diagrams and equations written out on it.

“Uhm…yes, surprisingly.” Senna laughed before sitting back into the cushions with a self-satisfied grin.

“Oh sweety, I have been dealing with complicated new age shit for generations…this isn’t to bad. Have you tried sheathing the copper wires in a fiber glass weave with the copper wires controlling the main muscle groups while the glass controls the fine motor controls. If you can handle the mental load, you might consider designating the various strands of the fiber weave to different aspects such as physical sensation, heat and cold, pressure etc.”

Tana opened her mouth to respond before stopping and looking between her mother and the chalkboard.

“Huh? Since when the hell did you know anything about this?” Senna grinned before looking over shoulder at her husband.

“Sweety! Do you remember the K-Seven litter?” Tana watched as her father rolled his eyes with a groan while mixing drinks behind the bar.

“How could I forget…Kelsey still gives me nightmares.” Senna accepted a new drink while swapping out the one she had been sipping at with a grin.

“Oh please, every one of your daughters has had you wrapped around their little fingers from the moment they were born. You loved Kelsey and don’t even try to say otherwise.”

Jack sat down next to his wife and pecked her on the cheek, much to Tana’s juvenile disgust, before answering.

“Oh I never said otherwise, she still scared me is all.”

Seeing the look on Tana’s face Jack took a drink before settling more comfortably into the couch with his wife practically in his lap.

“Kelsey was…well she was very much like your aunt. She would pursue something and damn anyone that got in her way, rules and laws were things that other mammals had to deal with. Eventually she decided she wanted to know how mammals worked…so she started taking them apart in order to understand them. She wrote basically the entire medical section of the library and most of it is from personal experience. She infected mammals with viruses and plagues, she broke their bones and punctured their organs and more…all in the pursuit of fixing the damage she did. Babe, how many mammals ended up in the lake by the time she died?”

Jack asked as he sipped his drink with a grin on his face, the tiny umbrella really did make a difference and he would not let anyone tell him otherwise.

“A few hundred I think.” Senna said while tapping a claw on her chin.

“Wait…the lake? As in The Lake, the lake we all go and swim in when it gets hot? The lake everyone takes their date to so that they can gaze at the stars when they actually mean get freaky and frisky?...the lake I swam in for years as a kit!?”

Senna and Jack just nodded with grins on their faces.

“Yeah that one…you ever wonder why the only fish in that lake are piranhas? It is because we needed a way to get rid of the bodies Kelsey left behind.”

Tana felt her eye twitching at the thought of swimming in a body dump lake and at how shady her parents were turning out to be, they had always been such goody goodies during her life.

“Was it the G-four litter that started the Ganja Greenhouse or was that the Ninth litter?” Jack asked as he lightly bonked his head a couple times between his wife’s ears.

“It was Lima from L-four, I remember cause he made the best Happy Snaps with his harvest.”

Tana suddenly remembered that while her parents had known her for her entire life, she had only known them a part of theirs…and they had almost seven hundred years of not only popping out her older siblings but also of getting into various forms of debauchery.

“When did my parents get cooler and more interesting than anyone in my litter?”

Kurt woke up with a groan and a sulphureous string of expletives…where in the high holy hells was he?

And why was he in so much pain?

Pushing the various bits of trash and garbage off him and looking around the rat reached down and grinned as he saw a particularly foul bit of muck. Reaching down and grabbing it he slathered himself with the filth before turning towards the closest sewer entrance. Wincing as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his head along the line of his sinuses he shook his head…he had been doing something but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what it was.

Looking up he saw a familiar sign for his favorite brothel, the girls here were more diseased than anywhere else and always tasted better to him. Grinning he began to turn towards the door before feeling as if his head was on fire and someone had just rammed an elephantine sized fistful of peppers and salt up his nose.

Falling backwards and rolling around he realized the pain went away the closer he came to the sewer entrance.

‘Yes…down, away from the light. To your master…go to your master…speak the words that must be said.’

He didn’t know where the voice came from, if it was his or not… but it sure did have good ideas, his eyes were hurting from how bright the lights and lanterns were up here on the surface. Scuttling on all fours like a feral beast he quickly pulled the sewer cover up enough for him to descend back to where he belonged…back under the streets where the filth was and where he wouldn’t be judged for being who he was.

“Ta th’master…To Vargus…’ave to ‘ell Vargus, uh…well I’ll ‘member‘en I get ‘ere.”

Running along the garbage and muck choked walkways he had practically grown-up walking along Kurt quickly made his way further down…into the shit clogged and magic rich bowels of the city.

“Hmm…not the result I was expecting but not entirely un-expected.” Judy said as she opened her eyes, no longer looking through her newest minion’s vision.

“I sort of expected him to put up more of a fight for his own soul, ugh…I guess he will be good enough to deliver the message.”

Propping her cheek on her fist Judy looked down at the various pieces of paperwork on her desk, what the fuck did any of this have to do with running an illegal gang?

“Is everyone getting paid?” She asked Lua as she lounged on a couch along the side of the room.

“HHHrrrmmmmmm….” The black panther purred as she rubbed over the soft cushions.

“Yes, they are actually getting paid more for doing less than they are used to now that most of the illegal funds are being routed back to them. I have set a few of the more outstanding individuals to some harder tasks in order to determine if any of them are good candidates for my Stealth Squad. Speaking of which…”

Lua said as she got up from the couch with a liquid grace and walked over to the door and opened it, Judy was busy looking at four different pieces of paper wondering what the difference between any of them was when she heard a high-pitched warbling chirp.

‘MOMMA!’

Looking up at the words only she could understand she had just enough time to grin, toss the papers to the side and hold all four arms out for a hug as the small bundle of void black fur, razor talons, needle teeth and stubby tail hurtled into her chest followed by a small flood of similar forms.

Laughing and shrieking in joy as the chair toppled over Judy happily nuzzled and wiggled around in the pile of squirming black furred critters. Tiny tongues licked her cheeks and needle teeth nipped at her for attention as she used all four paws to give as much attention as she could to all of her babies at the same time. Finally grabbing the biggest one and holding it up over her she marveled at the difference between her True Children now as opposed to when she first made them.

They had started with longer tails and more reptilian forms while being about the size of a bunny kit but now they were larger by half and had the cutest little stubby tails. Their claws had elongated along with the webbing between them beginning to extend as well as a fold of skin extending down their sides to their legs, they were getting really good at glide tackling her in her cave system.

Their eyes were rather strange since they could barely see anything outside of the infra-red spectrum and their ears had grown larger than they had been when she first built them. Their noses had also gone from slim pointed almost beak like shapes to the cutest upturned upside-down heart shapes…they had the most adorable little nose wiggles when they got excited!

‘Momma!’

The high-pitched squeak coming from the wiggling form she held over herself sent a laugh through Judy, some of the only honest and joyful times she ever laughed was when she was playing with her Little Ones.

“Yes sweety, you have gotten so much bigger!”

Judy said as she settled onto her back while her other babies cuddled up to her sides and laid down over her torso like soft furred pillows.

‘Uh huh! Ate Cindy!...taaaasssty.’ Judy rolled her eyes and pulled her eldest child down to her chest for a good cuddle.

“You ate your sister? Is that why there are fewer of you than the last time I saw you all? You know if you keep this up you will be the only one left.”

Feeling the little monster snuggle himself up under her jaw and then along her jawline she giggled as she heard her baby’s response.

‘Uh huh…then have Momma all to myself.’

Judy sighed, her little ones were always eating each other so they wouldn’t have to share as much of her attention with their siblings.

Letting her head fall back onto the soft form of Samson, her fifth child, she stroked her claws along the soft fur of her child and snuggled down into the pile of her remaining children. Deciding that building the bunny trait of loving cuddles into her children was one of the best things she had done Judy smiled up at Lua as she grinned down at her.

“They have been nearly impossible the last few days, always wanting to do better than the others. Always wanting to make their momma happy, for some reason they seem to think that the bloodier and more vicious they are in killing something the prouder you will be.”

Lua grinned as she leaned against the desk while crossing her arms and looking down at the little pile of murder fur.

*Gasp!* “Are my angels being little murder monsters?”

Seeing a head bob from her eldest little one Judy grinned and settled back.

“Good…”

Kurt grit his teeth, on one paw he wanted to go back to his place and curl up for a good sleep…but every time he went to turn towards his home, he felt a clench in his stomach and what felt like barbed wire scrap across something deeper than his mind while razor wire was pulled through his sinuses.

Turning back towards the sewer tunnel that would take him to Vargus he ignored the burning ache in his bones and acidic roiling in his guts, something made all the easier as a warm voice spoke into his mind as silk and honey filtered into his veins. Groaning in near orgasmic pleasure he quickened his step…the good voice said he had a mission, and if doing his mission gave him hits as good as that then he was going to finish his mission.

Judy reclined on the bed she had been given by a Reticulan emperor, the bed that was big enough for a rhino to sleep comfortably on.

She grinned as she stroked her paws over her babies as they nestled around her. Using her free paw to give scritches and scratches to those in reach she held a ball of polished obsidian in her other. In the middle of the ball was a small spark that shone throughout the smokey glass like ball. The light shifted and changed showing her what her first, and so far only, thrall was seeing.

She purred low in her throat as she watched him try to turn away from the directive she had given him only to turn back at the flood of endorphins and various chemicals hitting his bloodstream.

“Look at that dear Lua, did you ever think it would be so easy to control someone? Cause pain when they disobey and pleasure when they submit…I suppose it is a simple and most likely well-known formula but to see it happen…glorious.”

Lua grinned at her Mistress, it was nice getting to see the figure that had terrorized her village’s legends and nightmares for so long every now and then. To know that the demon that had haunted her nightmares growing up had deserved the fear and respect her people had given her…and now she walked the world as the left paw of the demon while dating the right paw.

“Well then…I suppose my little proof of concept is working, now I can begin to specialize and detail my work.”

The light beginning to grow in the rabbit’s eyes was enough to make even the foulest demon take note, her grin taking on a dark shine.

“Now it’s time to have a bit of fun…”

Kurt panted as he entered the Inner Sanctum of the Lower Tier, he had tried deviating from his path multiple times…he had tried stopping and resting, but the Voice would always urge him on.

Every time he stopped for longer than a few heartbeats it would be there in his ears urging him forward with ever increasing urgency until it was screaming in his mind with the force of a hurricane. Stopping for even a second’s rest would only bring him unbearable pain both physically and mentally as the voice would come shrieking at him should he stop. The pain no longer stopped when he did as he was told, it only lessened…but just the slightest iota of relief was enough to push the plague rat to crawling when he had no other choice.

Stumbling into the large chamber that Vargus used as his Court of Filth, Kurt felt an almost overwhelming sense of elation, he felt like someone had been clutching his soul in a vice grip and now they had released him.

“Kurt…so good to see you, and so soon. I was under the impression the uppity bitch would want to negotiate and bargain for a bit.”

The voice came from the most ostentatiously dressed racoon sitting on what could have only been a throne built of pipes and scrap metal.

Steam vented and leaked from various spots along the floor to ceiling length of the throne’s back, concentrated magic glowed in level gauges and dripped in condensation lines to pool at the foot of the throne. Sitting upon the seat was a racoon that was either making some kind of joke at the higher-class mammals or was trying to be like them, Judy couldn’t tell from looking out the rat’s eyes.

He wore a purple silk shirt unbuttoned from the neck down to the middle of his torso, a long great coat of pristine white along with pants of the same color. Gold piping ran the length of every stitch and seam, gold chains hung around his neck in such an amount Judy was surprised he could lift his head. Every finger, toe, nostrils, all along his ears and even along his tail gold and silver pierced where it could, chains jingled and precious stones glittered.

“So tell me, what does the new Bitch of Upper Tier promise in payment and tithe for my aid?”

Kurt was about to respond when he stopped…his tongue wouldn’t move, his muscles seized and the sense of someone gripping him again wracked his body. Except now it felt like his stomach was twisting and clenching while his organs tried pulling themselves apart, his bones broke and stretched as his fur shed the incalculable layers of filth and grime until it shone with silver vitality. His eyes boiled and swelled in his head until they looked out at the world with shining purple iridescence, his tail twisted over and over until it wound its way up to his body and become a cute little puff-ball.

Through this entire transformation process all he could think was how good it felt, how amazing it was to fulfil his life’s purpose. As his vision faltered and became overlapped with that of his Goddess’s he would have fallen to his knees in joy had she not held him up…he had been born and had existed for a single reason and this was it.

Groaning a bit at the way her body felt Judy could tell there hadn’t been enough material to make a proper form for her, she had needed to revert a few of the changes she had made to herself over the centuries.

She titled her head from one side to the other and moaned at the way her neck cracked and jerked all the way down to her tail bone. Flicking her tail a bit she opened her newly built eyes and grinned as she absently brushed the tattered and torn remains of the rat’s clothes from her body leaving her fully nude in front of over three dozen mammals including Vargus.

“Well well well…what in the fuck is this? Who the fuck are you and what happened to Kurt?” The racoon asked as he sat upright on his throne.

“His name was Kurt? Huh…even when I was messing around in his soul I didn’t know that, well it wasn’t like he was important anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

Judy said as she continued to examine herself, she twisted one way and then the other to get a better idea of what she was missing from her true body.

‘Hmmm…missing a few muscle groups, pawful of vertebrae are missing, nerves are original so that sucks…ugh I’m practically how I was when I first summoned master…how did I live like this?’

“As for what happened to him, I re-wrote his soul and body so that I could more easily take it over and speak to you through what was left of him. To the surprise of no one I hope, there is enough of a difference between a rabbit’s physiology and a rat’s that there was no way he could survive the process…barely enough to make a decent body.”

Lifting one foot and flexing her toes she then gave a bone cracking stretch that set her new muscles quivering.

“Hmmm…well I must say it is a rather nice body even if it is stolen.” Vargus said as he got up from his throne and walked down the few steps to stand before Judy.

Looking around before turning her eyes to the racoon she noticed that while the walls and floor around the outside of the room were covered in slime and mold, some of which she would like a sample of for some experiments, the area around the throne for about ten feet was spotlessly clean.

“Ha!...flattery will get you nowhere fast. I’m here to talk business…pleasure is for later.”

Judy said with a coy smile as she turned her head to watch the racoon as he began to stalk around her while blatantly ogling her nude form.

“Well, I can be patient…nothing has to be fast, at first of course. I don’t mind a little slow action but you are right, business now and pleasure later. So what was so important that you think killing one of my best lieutenants was worth it?”

Judy grinned and cocked her hip towards the racoon as he reached out and groped her ass…it wasn’t her real body and she did enjoy the attention every now and then.

“Well a little rat told me that you expected me to pay you tribute for your help in taking over from Roland, and then you were mentioning a tithe…as if you deserved a regular payment for something. It was also mentioned that you held back certain members of the Enforcers and kept my new gang from getting out of paw, that you somehow deserved my ill-gotten gains for something that I never asked for or was even made aware of until after the fact.”

Smiling at Vargus as he stood in front of her with his paw on her hip gently massaging the newly formed flesh and fur, she reached down and with a grin…slammed her palm into the racoon’s crotch before gripping him tightly and rolling his entire package in her paw.

“Now for your sake and the sake of everyone in these shit covered tunnels, get your damn paw off me…keep your paws to yourself and know that I will never lower my standards far enough for you to even look up from your feculent little kingdom and see them.”

Sacrificing a bit of her biomass she extended her blunt bunny claws into razor talons, the joyful grimace on the racoon’s face at her ministrations soon turning to one of painful horror as he felt the pinpricks along his most prized possession.

“So pull it back into your pants, or I’ll rip it off and make you watch as I turn it black with plague. Now I am going to take over middle tier one way or another as well as this tier, the only options you have are these…leave now, take whatever you want and I won’t pursue in any way. Stick around and peacefully pass over your authority and gang to my control and reap the benefits of being under my aegis…or, you can try to resist my inevitable conquering of this entire city and end up little better than Kurt.”

Letting go of the racoon’s crotch Judy grinned and began to cycle the severely limited amount of energy she had available in this body.

Grinning as she remembered using this spell on Jack centuries ago, she began to walk backwards while holding out her paws she reached the edge of the spotless portion of floor and fell backwards. As she hit the ground her body shattered into a flood of flesh-eating beetles that swarmed over the mammals nearby and then those further along as the beetles nested and spawned from the writhing bodies of their latest feast.

Before he could even understand what was going on Vargus staggered backwards to his throne as he watched as his throne room was filled with flesh eating beetles and his mammals were reduced to little more than bones picked clean. Seeing a small cloud of beetles part from the main swarm that was now scouring down the halls of his kingdom he pressed himself back into his throne.

Watching in horror the cloud formed into a rudimentary rabbit face that was grinning at him and who spoke in a rasping, buzzing voice that sent chills down his spine.

“Don’t worry Vargus, my little spell won’t kill everyone in these tunnels…this time. You have your options and I suggest you think them over, but don’t take to long as I am only going to give you a week before I return. By the end of the week there will be something much worse than a few beetles with orders to leave some of you alive walking these tunnels. The next time I descend into your shitty little world it will be to scour your filth from the underside of MY city.”

“HHUUURRGKKLLKKGGLLKKkkkk….ugghh…fuck you Alpha you are a horrible abomination and you will die alone.”

Said wolf rolled his eyes while rubbing his Mistress’s back as she sent another wave of bile and blood into the toilet.

Ever since she had pulled back from her little soul journey into the rat she had been hurling her guts out, at times literally, and once she was able to speak without blood fountaining out of her she started cursing and insulting literally everything within sight. Really, who tells a bathtub it will die unloved after years of searching for its soulmate only to see every possible mate begin a long and happy life with someone else?

“You can raise the dead, change your own physiology, manipulate the forms of those you raise, speak more languages than I can even count, live through injuries that would kill any other normal mammal and so much more…but a bit of vomit and suffering and you instantly become a whiny little teen who can’t even deal.”

Judy raised a brow as she turned her bloodshot gaze up at the wolf.

“You have been spending way to much time with the kts around here, you are starting to talk like them.”

Alpha scoffed as he pulled a soft cloth from a bowl of ice water and began to wipe down his mistress’s body, he had divested her of her clothing hours ago in order to avoid having to clean them and it wasn’t like this was the first time he had ever seen or touched his Mistress while one or both of them were naked.

“Stop harshing my vibe old lady, I’m totally channeling nurse energy right now and trying to get you back up to a bill.”

Walking into the bathroom Lua looked at the bloody smear along the wall and the headless lupine body that laid slumped in the corner of the small room with a sigh.

“So nice to see that after seven hundred years you have learned how to play well with others and control your emotions.”

Judy scoffed from her position on the floor near the toilet.

“He still has a torso, that is controlling my emotions…if I wasn’t in control there would be half a city missing by now.”

Lua nodded her head back and forth a bit while thinking on that, if her Mistress was in a truly bad mood there would probably be a plague of flesh eating something or others ravaging the city by now.

“You know he gets temporary memory loss whenever you do shit like this right?”

Lua asked as she approached her Mistress and began to rub her ears and the back of her neck in comforting circles.

“MMmmMMmmm…so he will probably forget that you two have a date at the spa and dinner at one of the premier restaurants in the city then?”

Judy grinned as her stomach finally slowed its rebellion and threatened to settle down. Lua perked up at hearing this and gave a particularly deep massage to the back of the small bunny’s neck, drawing an appreciative grown from the rabbit.

“Well I gotta say…my soul experiments are coming along nicely, though I could really do without the side effects, kind of a bummer the worms turned out to be one time use as well…guess I need to breed them to have a longer lifespan in the future.”

Judy told her stomach as her head remained slumped forward under the panther’s ministrations.

“Laaaa…you must be careful you spooky bitch, the soul is…it is not something to play with, it is not something for you to change and alter like you do your own flesh.”

Normally Judy would have scoffed at Lua’s words but…she knew them to be true, of course she couldn’t let Lua know that.

Judy rolled her eyes a bit before shakily making her way to her feet and smiling down at the worried chirps and clicks her children were making as they crowded around her, all of them trying to be in some form of contact with her.

“I’m fine sweeties…Lua I want you in the sewers, map them out and pick off as many wandering mammals as you can and try to figure out everything that goes on down there. Take the kids and let them get the practice.”

Lua nodded and grinned as the small, black furred forms all turned and looked up at her with noses wiggling and eyes glittering in excitement.

“And what will you be getting up to while I am doing so?” Judy went to the sink and began washing her face before responding.

“I will be going back to my caves and doing a little experimenting, plus the Spawnling will be allowed out and about soon so I guess it is time for me to do some proper teaching and such.”

“I’ll send my condolences to her parents.” Lua said with a grin as she ushered the little monsters out of the mansion.

Walking out of the portal she had built specifically for travelling between the farm and her mansion Judy couldn’t help but think at how different things could have been.

When she was the same age as her apprentice, she had just begun to understand how much fun it was to tease cute boys and have them chase her, pretty much every day was filled with chores and family and family and chores. She used to wonder what kissing one boy was going to be like as opposed to another, wondered what it would be like to cuddle her own litter of tiny bunny beans while planning on becoming the first rabbit paladin…or maybe cleric…or city guard captain.

“Aunty?”

She had always wanted to be part of something bigger back then, had always wanted to have a second family that would be at her side and her back as she made the world a better place. Now she had three families and two of them she had built herself, she wondered how different things would have been had she never found the right book in her mother’s library, had never summoned The Old Man.

She wondered if things would have been better if she had just said yes to The Bastard…her family would probably still be alive for one thing, she would have probably learned her mother’s brand of magic and potentially taken over as Burrow Matron in truth.

“~Auuunty~”

Senna would have never survived and her mother would have probably lost everything…the weird feral plague would possibly have gotten out of control and taken over…

“AUNTY!”

Judy jerked her head up and looked to the side where the voice came from. Seeing that it was just a grinning Tana looking down from a large rhino’s shoulder Judy slid the scythe like bone blade back into her wrist. Raising a brow at the large rhino that was made to look even larger with metal plates grafted onto his hide Judy looked up at the comparatively tiny rabbit that was idly kicking her feet back and forth.

“Don’t you know you shouldn’t let your mind wander like that? It might get lost.” Tana said as she hopped down from the rhino’s shoulder.

“So what are you up to Aunty?”

“Well I need to do a few experiments and I figure it is time to do some actual teaching of some kind so I am gonna be home for a bit.” Tana nodded before sighing.

“Alright, I’ll get my last will and testament in order.”

Judy just puffed her cheeks out in frustration, why did everyone seem to think she was gonna kill the Spawnling?...actually now that she thought about it, they might have a point.

Judy decided that teaching was one of the most satisfying and rewarding things she had ever done…it was also the reason she was contemplating how to make a virus that would kill everyone and everything that frustrated her.

‘I bet I could find a book in Master’s Library that could help me.’

She idly thought to herself as she watched Tana draw out a ritual circle. Biting her lip she allowed her eyes to slip into their cross-slit form and studied the way the magic flowed through and around her apprentice.

“Stop stop stop…something is wrong, you are forcing the magic too much. Not only that but you seem to have a problem pulling the magic in for you to use…what’s going on Spawnling?”

Stepping up next to the younger bunny Judy noticed she had started panting from the exertion of pulling in and forcing out the magic in a way that almost seemed unnatural.

Tana growled a bit before looking down at the circle she had been drawing out and kicking at it in frustration.

“It just…it doesn’t make sense the way the magic flows and it doesn’t feel right pulling the magic in like that. I spent so long memorizing how to make the circle and it…just doesn’t feel right.”

Pulling her ears a bit in frustration and holding them down over her face Tana waited for some kind of ridicule or beratement to come from her aunt. When she didn’t hear anything, she peeked out from behind the safety of her ears and saw that Judy was slowly glancing between her and the circle with her eyes in their All Seeing form.

“Mom said its bad for you if you use your Sight to much.” Judy nodded absently.

“Oh it is, I lost my mind a long time ago and at this point I see things I probably shouldn’t be able to see even when not using my Sight. There are things that have been irrevocably carved into my mind and soul that I would much rather not have there but I have gotten over it…spend long enough being insane and it eventually gets boring and you go sane again.”

Walking over to the circle and glancing back towards her apprentice a few more times she nodded to herself.

“Alright this isn’t going to work, drawing rituals like I do simply won’t work for how you manipulate energy.”

Tana could swear she felt her heart stop, this was it…she was going to be pushed aside because even her Aunty couldn’t teach her and she was going to have to go back to barely scraping by on what she knew and doing experiments in her room when no one was looking.

“Draw the circle how you feel it should be drawn.” Jerking slightly at Judy’s voice Tana cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Huh? What do you mean draw it like I think it should be drawn?” Judy smiled and gestured towards a blank spot on the cave floor.

“You know what the circle is supposed to do and where you are supposed to go, so make it work.”

Rubbing her arm a bit and feeling the solid metal plates and wires under the fake fur and skin she had developed she bit her lip and shook herself out. Walking towards the blank space she looked down and began to think a bit before grabbing the piece of chalk she had been using, knelt down and began rapidly sketching and drawing in a staccato rhythm.

Working furiously she was soon surrounded not by a perfect circle of arcane rune and sigils, but instead a complex geometric pattern containing mathematical equations so densely packed and complex they made Judy’s eyes hurt. Standing up Tana looked down at the pattern and then over to her aunty as she huffed a deep breath on one eyeball and polished it with a soft cloth before popping it back into the socket. Slapping her head a couple times to get both eyes looking in the same direction Judy grinned over to her apprentice and then looked down at the pattern of equations surrounding the young rabbit.

Taking a few moments to walk around and study everything while making various noises and sounds Judy stopped in front of her apprentice and nodded her head firmly.

“I have no idea how any of this works…but here is a bit of advice.”

Judy said as Tana slapped her forehead when she heard that Judy had no idea how or why the pattern should work. Hearing that Judy was going to give her some advice she perked up and waited patiently…or as patiently as she was able to.

“When you are drawing a circle don’t draw it around yourself unless you have to or else someone might come along and energize it before you have a chance to do so and that can be bad…”

Sliding her foot forward until she was barely touching the pattern Judy grinned at the terrified look on Tana’s face as her not-circle began to glow with arcane energy. Before she could even swear at her loon of an aunt, a portal opened up around her and pulled her through time, space and reality.

Looking at the portal and memorizing the way the magic flowed Judy saw the way it differed from her own spell and wondered if she could combine them somehow…

Nick was frantically scribbling away in a series of notebooks, he needed to get everything he had learned written down before he forgot it along with everything else he had learned not relevant to the Shivala situation. Thankfully his memory was good enough that as long as he maintained his various clones and avatars he would be able to get it all written down…probably.

Looking up at an unfamiliar form of magic pressing against his Realm’s outer walls he watched as what looked like a theoretical tunnel burrowed its way past his defenses and spat out a screaming bunny.

Looking closer he noticed that she had wisps of his apprentice’s energy signature clinging to her…

‘Ah! The Spawnling…must be her first time crossing to another realm on her own, good times.’

Seeing that she was safe Tana stopped screaming and looked around to determine where she was and that she was actually alive. Seeing that she had ended up not only surviving but landing where she had meant to she jumped to her feet and began hopping in place while cheering.

Nick smiled and walked away from the small army of clones and avatars he had writing down everything he had learned and approached the celebrating bunny.

“Good job, I must say in my long lifetime I have never seen a form of theoretical mathmagic like that before. Well since you have successfully made it to my realm, I must congratulate you for hitting the first of many milestones on the path of becoming a fully recognized master of the arcane arts. Also, I welcome you to the Forsaken Library, any knowledge that has ever been written down and lost is here. Everything from burned books to forgotten scrolls and even a few stone tablets lost to time is here for you to peruse…if you can find it and read it of course. In fact your master has spent decades in here simply learning new languages.”

Tana stopped looking around in fascination at hearing that.

“Wait what do you mean she has spent decades in here?”

Nick grinned as the shadows reached out and began to encroach on the little bunny in the same way they had when his apprentice first entered the realm.

“This is a realm that is separate from things such as Death and Time has little hold here. While here you cannot die from such things as starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation or anything of the sort and you can spend years here while only days pass in your world…as long as I know to dilate the time difference. This is actually how your master got as strong as she was when she first started learning magic, she spent about forty years here and only about three days passed in your home realm. She has come back over the centuries a few times and spent a few years studying…though I must admit I worry about her newest arcane pursuits.”

Frowning at his thoughts for a couple beats he shook his head and grinned back down at the newest bunny into his realm.

“Now then…” He said as he clapped his paws together.

“You may not be able to die here…but you can get very injured and there are things that live in the shadows that will try to do so. In fact there is a weasel still floating around here in the stomachs of a bunch of flesh-eating beetles… apparently he pissed of your master and she decided to let him live to regret it. You see if you end up getting eaten, you will exist as a consciousness fully aware of what is happening to you and you will be un-able to slip into insanity. He is currently experiencing what it is like being in multiple places while being un-able to do anything about it and being digested the entire time.”

Nick then gestured around them at the edges of the shadows.

“Also the light around you will grow in proportion to how much you learn and understand, this is important if you want to avoid the shadows and what lives inside them. Now I tell you this because if you died to the shadows, I would have to put up with my apprentice bitching at me and I just don’t have the time or interest in putting up with that.”

Tana nodded her head as she listened to the fox, this was the guy who taught her Aunty so she was going to absorb as much as she could from him.

“Now there is one last thing I want to tell you, there are many things that live in the shadows and the ones that will be best suited to you as a familiar should you wish to tame one will find you but you have to understand something very important about whatever finds you…”

Nick trailed off with a grin, Tana was practically bouncing on her toes for him to continue.

“Sometimes whatever finds you will be very sneaky and fully capable of setting up ambushes or taking advantage of a situation where you are distracted. Situations such as when you are listening to someone like me speak while a large clockwork locust behind you sneaks up into a good position to attack.”

Tana grinned and nodded enthusiastically before stopping and thinking over what Nikenshriel had just said before feeling something drip onto her head. Looking straight up she felt her ears fall limp behind her and her mouth drop open in a little ‘Oh…’ as she was met by the grinding mouthparts of possibly the most beautiful work of mechanical artwork she had ever seen.

“Well…that brings up questions about myself I didn’t think I would ever ask.”

Glancing back forward she saw the fox was no longer standing in front of her and she was now standing alone in a tiny pool of light with a massive metallic locust right behind her.

“I remember when you did that to me.” Judy said as she watched her apprentice run screaming from the massive insect.

“Yeah but you at least had a better reaction to it.” Nick said while scribbling in his book without looking.

“I had spent decades practicing my talents, she is even younger and more inexperienced than I was when I first showed up…she also doesn’t have a bunch of trauma pushing her along.”

Judy said before wincing as Tana was sent flying by the large mechanical insect.

“Oohhh…that is gonna hurt in the morning, bitch better not make me step in or else I’m gonna be pissed. I just had S-litter do my nails and they are fantastic.”

Judy said as she held her paw out for her master to see.

“Hmm…not bad for someone under a century, I’ve seen better but that was usually from someone who spent a few hundred years practicing.” Judy smiled as she pulled her paw back.

“Why am I not surprised you know someone who spent hundreds of years just working on nails.” Nick laughed as they continued to watch Tana try to tame her potential familiar.

“You would be surprised by how many talented individuals I know.”

Senna smiled to herself, this was a pretty good day overall. The weather was nice, she was getting some gardening done, Jack was teaching a few of their litters how to wield a sword and so far nothing ridiculous had happened.

“WWWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

*SLAAAAMMMmmmm*

And then a giant fucking metal grasshopper landed in front of her digging up a small trench as it skid along the ground and narrowly missed her rose bushes. Looking up between the metallic insect’s wings Senna began to rub her temples…sitting right there as if she belonged there was her daughter and right behind her was Senna’s big sister, both of them grinning like lunatics.

“Well…I have to say Spawnling that was fun.” Tana couldn’t help but giggle uncontrollably as she leaned down and did her best to embrace the large insect’s head.

“Yep! I definitely did good keeping my Timmy!” Senna sighed…what was it with these two giving such simple and innocuous names to such obviously powerful creatures?

A swarm of flesh-eating beetles named Suzie, a bunch of flesh and blood eating leeches named Fin and a small colony of bone and metal eating centipedes affectionately called Sammie and now her daughter had a massive metal locust she called Timmy. Rubbing her face Senna propped one elbow in her paw and watched as the two rabbits disembarked from the metal insect before it began to fold in on itself with a series of clicking gears and hissing hydraulics until it was small enough to rest easily around her daughter’s wrist as a bracelet.

“You know I think Physics is currently in the dining room crying her eyes out at that mechanical monstrosity right now.” Senna said jokingly as she walked up to the pair.

“Really!? She still owes me a gold piece from that last poker game.” Judy said looking towards the door to the burrow.

Senna and Tana both turned and looked at her with disbelieving looks on their faces before scowling good naturedly at the grin that soon split Judy’s own face.

“I can never tell when you are joking about stuff like that, knowing you, it might be true.” Senna said as she embraced her big sister and then her daughter, ignoring the way Judy lightly brushed at where ever Senna had touched her.

“Congratulations Tana…as I understand it having a familiar isn’t easy.” Tana shook her head as she looked down at the band of bronze and copper with a locust picture on it that circled her wrist.

“Apparently if I’m not careful Timmy will eat my mind and soul and go on some kind of killing spree or something.” Judy grinned before chiming in.

“Yours in particular will use your body as a nest in order to gather enough materials in order to replicate and then it will eat everything down to the roots until it is either destroyed or it has scoured all life from the planet. Timmy is an Apocalypse level familiar just like mine, so don’t go letting him off his leash anytime soon.”

Senna nodded gravely at Judy’s words as she looked at her daughter.

“Raise no more devils than you can put down…but enough of that, if I am correct in my understanding of things you have successfully made a portal to another layer of reality on top of gaining your first familiar. This calls for a celebration, come along Judy you are going to help me in the kitchen.”

Turning Senna began making her way into the burrow.

“Uh I actually have things I need to get too so I’ll just let you take care of things.” Judy said as she turned towards her caves, and found herself looking towards the burrow entrance. Frowning she turned one hundred and eighty degrees…and was once again looking at the entrance of the burrow…the entrance that should be behind her not in front of her.

“I have been practicing being a Burrow Matron and just erased the entrance to your caves, I will open them up when I see fit but until then you can start by making those delicious smashed potatoes I read about in the cookbook you gave my mother.”

Judy stomped her foot in frustration.

“That is just not fair! I gave you that title so I wouldn’t have to deal with it, not for you to use it against me!”

Not getting any more answer than a light giggle that sounded a lot like a babbling brook she just crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks before following after the Burrow Matron, very definitely not pouting despite whatever mammals might say.

Nick grinned to himself as he scribbled in his personal grimoire, he had learned so much it was enough to drive him insane again.

Slowing slightly as one of the biggest pieces of information he had gleaned from his little dip into the Archive blared across his mind, as bright and unforgettable as if he had viewed it with his True Sight. Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts he stopped as he felt Death approaching. Snapping his book closed, and still wondering how Fate had learned of it, Nick turned to greet his guest and long-time friend.

“Skye, here to see if I am still among the living? I would think you of all people would know?”

Nick said as he brushed his searing copper hair from his emerald green eyes. Skye narrowed her ice blue eyes at him as she approached, the click of her pearl white strappy stilettos sounding out in a particularly aggressive manner as she approached.

“What are you planning and don’t try to say nothing because you never don’t have some kind of shady plan going on. I know you had your questions answered and you aren’t about to convince me that defeating Shivala was the only one you are bothering to remember.”

Stopping so close she was nearly pressing against him Skye tilted her head up slightly so she could properly glare at the beautiful young man she had almost had feelings for more than a star’s lifetime ago. She hated it when he took this form since he knew what it did to her and she knew he only took it to throw her off when he was doing something stupid…and she hated how effective it was at distracting her.

“OK ok! yes I have a plan…actually I have a number of plans and I know for a fact they will all work. The problem is that some of them have a price that isn’t about to be paid and others would take to long…”

“But…” Skye said as her eyes narrowed further to slits.

“Buuuuttt…there are a small number of plans with acceptable prices and timelines. It is just going to take some maneuvering to get everything in place and if you know what places the pieces on the board need to be in you might tell the other side to much by accident.”

Nick said with an open and innocent grin, the same boyishly innocent grin, bright eyes and openly naïve expression that had literally charmed demons from the pits and angels from the clouds.

Skye growled low in her throat and grabbed the front of Nikenshriel’s vest and tie so she could drag him down enough for her to look down on him, the robes and mask of her Office beginning to manifest in her frustrated state of mind.

“What are you planning, I know that look in your eyes and that tone of voice. You only wear this face when you don’t want me to look to far past the surface of whatever you are saying, well, I am going to look further. I am going to be right here by your side and before you mention my duties, I am leaving all my regular duties to my Scythes just so I can keep an eye on you.” Nick grinned and casually looked off to the side with a roll of his neck.

Following his gaze Skye felt her cheeks and ears burn as she dropped the smug asshole and turned away from the small alcove between the shelves.

The intimately small, candle lit alcove holding a large four poster bed made of heavy dark wood covered in black and crimson silk sheets with ethereal grey drapes. She very definitely didn’t inhale to enjoy the scent of lavender, lilac, citrus and cinnamon slowly infusing the air. With a resolute movement she turned her back on the memories that particular bed brought back and fought down her increasing blush at seeing what was still hanging from the four corners of the bed when she glanced over her shoulder.

“It isn’t an illusion or manifestation, I went back and stole it when I had the chance…even back then I had a sentimental streak.” Nick breathed into her ear, the smug grin in his voice doing nothing to lessen the shivers she felt down her spine.

Ducking, dodging and rolling away from Skye’s kicks and stabs with her heels Nick laughed as she began to chase after him while screaming obscenities in a variety of languages…this was actually what had lead to that bed gaining such infamy between the two of them.

‘Regimes change…Empires fall…’

Chapter Text

Judy scowled dark enough to cast shadows and bit her tongue…it wouldn’t do for the fluffle to hear what she wanted to say despite the fact she would be speaking in a dead language. Glaring up at the snickering and giggling rabbits that she very definitely was going to kill when she got the chance Judy breathed deeply before speaking.

“Just in case you were worried, I will take a glorious amount of pleasure in making sure your last minutes alive are the worst in the memory of this entire planet. The very fabric of reality and the Weave of Fate will quiver with the echoes of the torment you will suffer. No one in the past, present or future history of Pain will know pain the likes of which you will suffer…painfully.”

Biting her finger to keep from laughing Tana snorted loudly while her mother clapped a paw over her mouth and practically fell to her knees giggling.

“SHUSHHHHH!” Judy hissed out while rolling her eyes around her.

“You might wake them.”

She was of course referring to the multitude of bunny kits that had decided she was a great piece of furniture and pillow. She had them cuddled up in her lap, snuggled into her sides, under her arms, wrapped around her arms and covering her torso and legs…they were even curled into the sides of her neck and flopped over the top of her head.

“Sorry sorry…you just, you are normally so intimidating but here you are trying to be scary and threatening while covered in the newest fluffle of baby bunnies. I feel like one of my kithood dolls is trying to scare me.” Senna said as she took deep steadying breaths.

“I will send an army of dolls to your bedroom door, every one of them inhabited and controlled by the worst serial killers in all of history.”

Judy said in a flat voice while looking directly at her little sister. Turning towards Tana she glared even harder.

“I was going to show you how to make your own dimensional space to keep all your limbs and parts in…but now I think I am just going to chuck you into another dimension and let you figure out how to get home on your own.” Senna grinned and rolled her eyes at her Big Sister.

“Oh please…you love being covered in baby bunnies and you know it.” Judy glared hard enough Senna thought her fur was about to combust.

“I feel like I have an army of ants tunneling under my skin while worms writhe around my bones, I feel like my fur is being fried in grease and my nose itches…you have no idea how many times I have rebuilt my nervous system to make it stop but every time I think I have it, I still feel them.”

Tana and Senna looked at each other before looking back at Judy who was now trying to subtly shift the bunny on her head further up so they wouldn’t fall down her face.

“You do realize that is a sign of mental trauma right? Like you have a legitimate problem….” Tana said.

Judy just rolled her eyes, in separate directions which was actually pretty impressive.

“No I don’t, I already fixed that part of myself when your mother was younger than you…besides I have rebuilt my brain enough times I am pretty sure I would have found a problem like this.” Senna pinched the bridge of her nose at hearing that.

“You…have rebuilt your brain?...how many times?”

“Well I mean sort of, I used a few different brains and just ran copies of my own bio-electrical and chemical synapses on them until they were self-sustaining and matching my own outputs. I mean I’m not about to take out my own brain and mess with it, I might mess it up.” Now it was Tana’s turn to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“You just pulled some other mammal’s brain out of their skull, poked at it until it showed the same mental signs as yours and then what? Crossed a few wires and snipped a few synapses to see what would happen?”

“Of course not. I spent a few decades cloning myself and running them on the re-written brains…I might have killed myself a few hundred times and that probably wasn’t healthy in hindsight now that I think about it…”

Judy said as she walked up next to Senna and Tana while munching on some leftover popcorn. Both rabbits squeaked in shock at seeing Judy walk up next to them while she was also sitting under a pile of baby bunnies.

“What in the fuck is going on? How are you here and there? Were you always here or were you somewhere else this entire time?” Tana asked as she pointed one eye towards the Judy standing next to them and the other eye at the one sitting in the small nest of cushions.

“I told you I cloned myself a bit and ran them off of re-purposed brains, speaking of, how are things going Four-eight-seven?”

Judy asked herself around a mouthful of popcorn. Looking over to the Judy on the couch surrounded by cushions and covered in bunnies Tana and Senna watched her shrug a bit before balancing the bunny on her head back into position.

“Fourteen percent increase in personality acceptance to the new brain but a seven-point three increase in degradation rate, I have been having a hard time remembering which one of us was the real one for the last couple hours. The cognitive failsafe will probably trip within the next three hours.”

Judy nodded to herself and herself as she pulled a small notebook out of a rune she had carved onto one of her ribs before making a few notes.

“Damn, better synch but shorter lifespan. Alright make sure you are back in the caves before the failsafe hits, Spawnling we have a busy day ahead of ourselves tomorrow so make sure to get some kind of sleep.” About to turn away Judy was stopped by both the Spawnling and Senna.

“HOLD UP! What in the hell is going on?! I can feel that you are on the couch, but I can also tell that you are standing in front of me…before you showed up, I only felt one of you, but now I feel both of you.”

Senna narrowed her eyes at her Big Sister, she always had something up her sleeve. Judy grinned before giving her little sister a pat between the ears.

“Because that is me, that is me just as much as the me in front of you is her. You are still new to being a Burrow Matron and are a few decades to early to think you can keep up with me on sneaky shit babe. That is a clone I grew in a vat of… liquids…that is running off a brain I ripped out of a mammal I found. I wiped all the memories and re-wrote everything that made the former owner of that brain who they were intellectually before I got to them and put my own thought patterns where theirs used to be.”

Judy smiled as best she could without trying to be scary or terrifying…she was entirely unsuccessful.

“Because I used my magic to clone myself and re-build the thoughts and such as well as fuel the clone body there is no reason for you to register my clones as anything other than me…especially since they are me. You didn’t register there being more than one of me since you weren’t looking. It is a pretty easy trick to pull but you will get the hang of understanding what and who and how many are on your Lands baby sister…I will of course have at least four ways to circumvent anything you come up with by then but that is just to be expected.” Smiling at her little sister as well as the Spawnling Judy nodded towards her clone.

“Have fun four-eight-seven, just remember to be back in the caves before your brain turns to goo.” Judy just rolled her eyes at herself as she watched herself walk out of the room.

“It feels like I am being eaten alive by worms under my fur and like my bones are being used as drums by a colony of biting ants while also being the most comfortable and wonderful thing I have ever experienced that didn’t involve slaughter…yeah I am having the time of my fucking life.”

Lua watched in amazement as her small group of Little Ones coordinated amongst themselves with a series of fast yips, sharp squeaks and high-pitched chirps that as far as she knew only her Mistress could properly understand.

Casually leaning against the wall and leaning around the corner she watched as the drunken…racoon?...maybe possum?...rodent looking thing stumbled down the tunnel. Grinning as the unusually sized rodent thing muttered to himself about something Vargus had told him to do, Lua silently counted down to herself as she watched a series of shadows detach themselves from larger pools of darkness.

‘Three…’

A sound caught the rodent’s attention and caused him to look over his shoulder hard enough to spin his entire body in a staggering circle. As he struggled to regain his sense of balance Lua watched as the shadows along the walls slipped down until they were sliding along the ground as well as directly above their prey.

‘Two…’

A second sound, this one closer to the rodent and directly behind it sent the creature spinning in place so suddenly he tripped over his already unsteady feet.

‘One…’

Watching the Little Ones fall upon their prey was always a sight to behold for Lua as they swarmed out of the shadows like oil-slicks brought to life. They fell upon the rodent as he splashed in the shallow stream at the bottom of the sewer tunnel with a vengeance. His cries were cut off so fast they barely had enough time to create an echo and the sounds of him being consumed were soft enough that no one further away than the next turn in the tunnels would be able to hear it.

Removing a small notebook from her stealth outfit Lua made a note of what they had just killed, where and when they had done it…her Mistress would be pleased to have some kind of record to look back on. Finishing her notes Lua looked up and after a second of trying to understand what she was looking at sighed and slapped a palm to her face in exasperation.

“Damnit Carlos, did you eat Diego when I wasn’t looking?”

Seeing the furry little monster look up at her with an expression that was about as innocent as his Momma while subtly pushing a picked clean carcass to the side Lua gave her cheeks a few quick slaps.

“I am so glad you were all nothing more than scribbles in a notebook when she came by my village…I would still be having nightmares if I had to deal with all of you back then.”

Walking into the cave system she had taken over as her own little scientific kingdom Judy took a deep breath before letting it out and practically melting at the sense of relief she felt at being back in her element.

“Come along Spawnling there are things to go and places to learn!”

Pointing off down a seemingly random tunnel she began to march forward before finding herself once again facing Senna and her apprentice.

“I hate that you learned how to do that so soon, it is a lot easier to walk away when you don’t have reality around you and the ground beneath you twisting to point you in the wrong direction.” Judy said as she scowled at Senna who just grinned back in an entirely innocent way.

“I know, that is why I focused on that trick. Now why don’t you tell me exactly what you are going to be teaching my daughter?”

Had Judy been possessed of a greater sense of self-preservation she might have realized that was a dangerous question to answer incorrectly…but this was Judy so she answered almost truthfully.

“Well I was gonna take her on a rapid tour of a few different layers of reality I have found, probably swing by an orgy or ten if we have time since I have found that seduction is remarkably useful. Then I was gonna show her how to integrate her type of magic into her own physical being like I have and probably wrap things up with a good ol’ fashioned frame off body rebuild.”

The smile on Senna’s face as she let out a breath in a long sigh told Judy she believed her, which was good since it was the truth. The massive stones that rose up to either side of the necromantic bunny told her she had not said anything the mother rabbit enjoyed hearing though.

“Now wait a min-*CRASH!*” Turning towards her daughter Senna reached out and drew the younger bunny into a hug.

“Good luck sweety, don’t let her make you do anything you don’t want, be careful and remember all our talks on protection. Also take a snack, I have found that cheese, something fried and something fermented is usually a good combination that will open a few doors no matter where you go. And don’t let her lie to you about not knowing how to mess with physical reality, how else do you think she has gotten so much stuffed into these caves.”

Pulling back she gave her daughter a very thorough chinning despite her daughter’s squawks and cries of not being a kit anymore and trying to brush the scent off.

“Yeah don’t even try, things like that go further than just the fur.”

Looking over to her aunt Tana glanced between the giant rocks still pressed against each other…while leaking something…and the perfectly normal looking rabbit sipping a drink next to her.

“That was another clone wasn’t it?”

“Yeah it was totally and definitely my last one and I certainly don’t have anymore growing somewhere nearby, ALPHA!”

Judy said as she tossed her glass behind her only for it to be caught by the large wolf that seemed to always be at his Mistress’s side.

“Be a love and remind me to grow a new batch of spare parts when we get back since that was absolutely my last clone, also check in with Lua it has been a couple days and I would like to be able to take over the Bottom Tier quickly. Oh and I have a few extra notes for a new generation of my Little Ones I want you to look over. We are going to be gone for…time, and I am not sure when we are going to be back but it shouldn’t be longer than the end of the week.”

Alpha grinned with a small bow.

“Very good Mistress do you have any orders or messages for Lua when I next see her?” Judy shook her head in a negative as she lead Tana into the training cavern.

“What did mom mean when she said you knew how to mess with reality and that it was how you got so much into these caves?”

“Well think about it, how deep are these caves?” Judy asked as she began sweeping an area clear of any potential debris while Tana thought about it.

“I remember them only being a few dozen feet deep…” Judy looked up with a smile as her apprentice’s face clouded over with a mixture of confusion and possible revelation.

“They are only a few dozen feet deep but we just walked over a hundred feet from the entrance…there was never any antechambers or off shoots but in the times I have been here I have seen multiple large caverns.”

Looking up from the ground she had been staring through to lock eyes with her aunty Tana spoke in the tone of someone who had just realized they had been bamboozled.

“You made the cave into a tunnel system and used a charm or something to make it so that anyone who entered didn’t even question the size of it all didn’t you?”

Judy gave a small applause before beginning to wave her paws, putrid green fire beginning to etch a circle into the stone in front of her.

“Very good and pretty close, I folded the space in the cavern back in on itself a few times so we are really only moving a few feet into the actual cave but travelling hundreds from one end to the other. I used my skeleton brigade to dig out the tunnels and caverns, they are rather good at it by the way, and then I wove a perception charm into the spatial expansion ritual. Anyone who doesn’t think to wonder about the size, depth and complexity of the caverns won’t be bothered to think about it.”

Tana found herself being surprised once again by what her Aunty could accomplish.

“You…you could probably take over this entire kingdom if you wanted to couldn’t you? And I bet you wouldn’t even bother to stop there if you did. So often you are this ridiculous over the top loon that wants to kill everything she sees and only stops from doing so because you claim to have better things to do and don’t want to put the effort in…but if you ever did, there isn’t anyone who could stop you is there?”

Judy looked up from her circle with a grin.

“Of course there is, I just haven’t found them. Also a lot of my strength and power comes from simple preparation, I am always prepared for something and everything if I can manage it. There is someone out there on this plane that can defeat me, possibly very easily, I just don’t know who or where they are. Plus, while I would definitely take a lot of them with me, if an army decided I needed to die there would be little I could do to stop them. Of course that is not counting the fact I enchanted my heart and sealed it away on a different plane of existence where Death has no power which is kind of cheating.”

Judy said as she walked around her circle to make sure there were no mistakes.

“So you are immortal then? If you can’t die as long as your heart remains intact and you put it somewhere that it can’t die, doesn’t that make you unkillable?”

Tana asked as she looked over the circle as well, she may not be able to do the same kind of magic as Judy but she could still learn it and translate what she learned over to her own form of magic.

“That is assuming that no one ever removes my heart from the Fallen Archive and destroys it, I may be able to survive a lot but if someone were to ever get my heart there would be little I could do to stop them from using it against me. I can raise hordes of undead, weave flesh and bone to any form I want and even extend my lifetime hundreds of times longer than it should be…but if someone were to find my greatest weakness, I would be helpless.”

Tana looked at her aunty a bit more before speaking.

“You know you have your moments, but you aren’t entirely like what mom and dad said you were like back in the day…less bloodthirsty perhaps.”

Judy smiled over to her niece with her arms crossed over her torso.

“I have mellowed in my old age…someone took my family from me and set me on this path and I made them pay for it, I got my revenge centuries ago. Now I just sort of…exist. I have a purpose and goal to work towards but it isn’t something that can’t be done by someone else. I have stuff in my life…but it isn’t what I could have had if I had just said Yes. I would have made an irrevocable sacrifice had I done so but I would have still had my family, I might have had a happy life like any of my siblings.”

“And my mom would have never lived past the week, dad would have been dead centuries ago and who knows how things would be now.”

Tana said softly as she walked up to her aunty and gently bumped her shoulder with her forehead, just enough contact to show she was there but not to much.

“Things would have been fine, not much better or worse than they are now.”

Judy said with barely a sniffle at the thoughts of what could have been…seven hundred years and she still wasn’t over this.

“The world has a remarkable talent for evening things out and solving its own problems.”

Pulling the moisture in her eyes back into her tear ducts and purging herself of the various chemicals and junk that made her all mopey Judy shook herself as if she had just emerged from a frozen lake.

“Alright enough of that! I am supposed to be teaching you stuff! Right then, take a look at this circle I have built. I am going to show you around a few places I have been to over the years and then you are going to have to not only get us back home safely but you are going to have to get us back to where I send us under your own power.”

Judy ignored the look her niece was giving her, she didn’t need her pity or concern…she was fine and there wasn’t anything a little sprat barely into her twenties could do about any of her problems anyway.

Stamping her foot Judy sent a thread of magic into the circle and grinned as the runes and symbols erupted into sickening light that sent a wave of nausea through Tana. Stepping up to the hole she had torn through realities Judy looked over her shoulder with a challenging smile.

“Or you can stay here, I am sure you have enough siblings I could choose from that eventually I won’t have to deal with mediocrity.”

Gritting her teeth at those parting word Tana glared down at the circle her aunt had carved into the stone and began to dissect it. Her eyes flared and tightened independent of each other while sending the images directly into her brain for further contemplation…she was going to make a more efficient circle if it killed someone.

Sending a dark grin at the still open portal Tana confidently stepped forward and through.

Sitting on her favorite bench in her garden Senna smiled to herself as she leaned to the side and plonked her head down on her husband’s shoulder as they both sipped their tea.

This was the bench she had been sitting on when Jack had proposed for their first, tenth and one-hundredth year weddings…those had been good weddings. They were surrounded by a small moat of sunflowers in an arbor of flowering climbing vines giving a small bit of dappled shade. Beyond their little island of shade and sunflower moat was a field of lavender bushes giving a gentle perfume to the entire area.

“OH fuck me.” Senna said with a grimace as she turned into her husband’s shoulder and began smacking her head into him in a steady thunking rhythm.

“I mean, if you insist but I would remind you of litter B-four and how that turned out…I still blame the rose bushes.” Senna couldn’t help but laugh as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Just wait…three…two…one…”

Pointing to a seemingly random point in the garden Jack calmly sipped his tea as what looked like a geometric pattern began to burn itself into reality. Raising an eyebrow in surprise Jack continued sipping his tea and was now massaging the base of his wife’s ears while the pattern took on a three-dimensional effect and two rabbits stepped out of what looked to him like a pool of crystals hanging suspended and spinning in the air.

“I am never going to a party with you again, that was way to close.” Tana said as she stepped out and steadied an elaborate headdress that looked to be made of bright glass feathers.

“Oh come on it wasn’t that bad, you made a cute couple.” Judy responded from under her own elaborate headdress before taking a deep pull from what might have been a flower bud the size of a coconut…

“Please don’t try and hook me up with anyone again, unless of course you happened to get the info for that sexy beast we met the first time…” Senna said with a hopeful note to her voice.

“At least try dating within your own biological category first Spawnling, organic with organic and mechanical with mechanical…at least at first. Give it a few years and when you have blurred the line between the two a bit more I will give you his info.” Judy said while examining her outfit.

“Ya know I kind of like the flower petal skirt and the bra is adorable but the colors could stand to be a bit less…eye gouging.”

*Ahem* Both rabbits stopped chattering and looked over to the buck as he sipped the last bits of his tea while his wife poured a healthy glug of something from a flask into her own.

“Ignoring the fact that you just stepped out of a portal wearing nothing but a skirt made of flower petals from a plant that is obviously not from this world and a bra made of metallic roots woven together…you just stepped out of a portal with Judy talking about what might be loosely considered relationship stuff. Sweety, do daddy a favor and go get dressed in something that shows at least slightly less fur and meet us in the dining room. Not you Judy…”

Jack said as he placed his tea cup down on the saucer at his side with a sharp *CLINK* that sent a small puff of frost across the side table.

“You can stay right where I can see you and lead the way to the dining room where we are going to have a conversation about my daughter.”

Judy was about to respond when she was cut off by a solid ball of ice forming between her teeth and filling her mouth.

“We can talk when we get to the dining room…until then you will be quite.”

Raising from the bench with the grace of a falling snowflake Jack walked over to Judy with eyes glowing a searing ice blue.

“I have been there for every one of my little girls’ weddings…every single one. I have not always approved of their suitors but I have never stood in their way either…but I have also gotten to know every one of them. And now it sounds like you almost got my little Soot Bunny married without my even knowing…I am less than happy.”

The fact that Jack could say all of this with a gentle smile and light tone of voice while giving off a sense of merciless violence as cold as winter’s judgement reminded Senna why she was never worried about if her children would grow up with low standards, her husband would never settle for less than the best.

“So you took my daughter on a trip through the realities…tell me about it.”

Jack said calmly while looking towards Judy as she sat across from him encased in a small glacier. Sitting to his side was his wife and daughter, thankfully wearing something a little less revealing than the last outfit he had seen her in. He may have had hundreds of daughters but they were all his Princesses and he made sure to treat them all like they were his only daughter.

“Is this really necessary? I mean Senna can keep me from going anywhere and even if she couldn’t she would know where I was.” Judy said from her place in the un-melting glacier.

“To think that you don’t have a way of sneaking around anything Senna can do is foolish and she could potentially keep track of you as long as you are on the family lands…of course that is assuming that you stay on the family lands or don’t have a way of masking your movements even while here. We did see not more than three days ago how you were in two places at once and Senna was unable to track you until she knew to look for you, and I believe she would have to look for You specifically.”

Jack said calmly while drinking some fruit juice and chewing the ice chips that formed as it entered his mouth.

“Awww…you used to be so cute and trusting, what happened?” Judy said with a smile and tilt of her head.

“I got poisoned and watched as a mad rabbit stomped my step-mother’s throat in, enslaved my shit-for-brains half-brother’s soul into endless torment and walked out nearly sending my kingdom into turmoil. I lost my entire kingdom and got to watch it transform in front of me over seven hundred years into something I barely recognize. I got married to a doe I am not good enough for and have had to be better than I actually am for hundreds of years and thrice as many litters of kits just to make sure that my children have a better life than I could have hoped for…in short Judy I grew up.”

*Siiiiiip…CRONCH!*

“Now…I could seal you in a glacier, toss your ass into the ocean and sleep very soundly at night without even flinching. I know it won’t kill you and that it would be little more than a hopefully lengthy inconvenience, but if it meant that you would stop messing up my wife’s garden and bringing all kinds of chaos to these lands it would probably be worth it. All that being said…would you like to explain why I shouldn’t freeze you into a necro-cicle and bounce your ass off every rock and tree from here to the coast?”

Judy smiled as she began cycling her power, the ice around her beginning to melt and fester until she stood in a puddle of brackish water.

“So the reasons besides the fact my children would flood out of those caverns and the mansion in Bunnyburrow to cause all kinds of hell, my Little Ones would go absolutely feral and probably kill everything they saw since they are not entirely finished on their development, the fact you would have both Alpha and Lua waging a continuous war on you in particular as well as your family in general?”

Jack crunched another ice cube while Senna trimmed a rather wonderful looking bonsai at his side and Tana let her ears fall down her back as she began to realize how much her aunt had waiting in the wings if anything happened to her.

“Yes, other than those and hopefully something that is actually worth the amount of oxygen that poor tree Senna is trimming is going to need to replace after you are done speaking.” Judy winced jokingly.

“Ouch, you have gotten quite the sharp tongue on you over the years haven’t you.”

“You have no idea.” Senna said casually as she gently urged a small branch to become stronger.

“MoooOOOOoooomm!” Tana said while hiding behind her ears in embarrassment as Judy looked between the two rabbits in a way that made Tana wave her paws as Judy opened her mouth.

“NO no whatever you are about to say I know it has nothing to do with why we are here. Back on track before I scratch my own eyes out thinking thoughts that don’t need to be thunk.”

Judy huffed before pulling up a chair and sitting down.

“Fine spoilsport, just remember you aren’t the only one who has eaten at these tables.”

About to ask what her aunt meant Tana caught sight of her parents’ slight blush she quickly ran through all the possible meanings she could have meant and decided on the worst one.

“The tables?! We eat here! there is barely five minutes when there isn’t someone in this room or passing through, how…no nevermind!” Tana hid her blushing face and ears as she realized what she was asking.

“I want you to remember this conversation when you spend as long as we have with a single partner…seven hundred years can be a long time after all.”

Senna said while poking at her little tree to make sure it was doing as good as possible.

*snnrrt* “Single partner?” Judy asked while leaning back on the back two legs of her chair.

“Quiet you, explanations.” Jack said before hiding a grin behind his fruit juice.

Walking out of the portal Judy looked around with a grin, she loved new worlds.

Surrounding her was a city unlike anything she had seen before, towers of glass and metal reaching into the sky to the point that she saw clouds parting around them. The streets shone with a polished look as if she was standing upon a metallic strip while trees reached towards the sky in sharp angles and razor edges…and the people.

“Ugh…fuck I hate that.” Tana said from behind her as she walked out of the portal that quickly dissipated behind them.

“Don’t worry you get used to it, in fact it will be easier when it is your own portal and not mine since it will be your own magic. Take a deep breath Spawnling, breath deep and savor the air of a world that has probably never known the tread of soft little organics like us.”

Judy said as she threw an arm around her niece and gestured to the end of the alley they had appeared in. Looking up from the strange surface she was standing on Tana felt her eyes widen at what she saw.

Metallic buildings and crystalline trees, the inhabitants of the world being some kind of odd bi-pedal two armed non-mammals. Gears and pistons, hydraulics and clockwork…it was a world of machines.

“I have found heaven…” Judy smiled as she rolled her eyes and began steering the younger bun out of the alley.

“Sure thing Spawnling, let’s go meet some angels shall we?”

“After that we kind of went on a bit of a party tour of the city, the locals were pretty interested in a couple sentient organic lifeforms. I practically had to pry the Spawnling here off a particularly well made individual after they got to comparing notes over her form of magic and how she worked it out through her own form of mathmagic.”

Senna looked over what Judy was wearing and how they came out of the portal before speaking.

“Somehow I don’t think that was the only realm you went to…” Rolling her eyes towards her daughter Senna continued staring until the younger doe began speaking.

“Well we might have gone to a few others. I think the next place we ended up was…was it the aquatic city or the jungle made of meat?” Tana asked Judy from across the table.

“After the machine world it was a couple boring layers and then the meat jungle, after that it was the underwater city. We would have gone to a few others but you kept pining over the machine world so we went back, ended up in a wedding of some sort and kind of got caught up in the whole celebration. Oh stop looking at me like that you two she was fine, she needed to blow off a bit of steam and relax anyway…you have any idea how much she flourished and thrived being around individuals that didn’t know more about magic than her?”

Judy said while crossing her arms and sending a challenging look at the Spawnling’s parents.

“You should feel lucky I can transfer memories onto canvas like a painting because you should have seen the way she lit up when she got to talk about her passions with individuals that didn’t think she was broken and twisted from what she was supposed to be like. She got to step out of her family’s shadow, and mine, for a minute and practically shot up like bloodvine in a battlefield because of it.”

Senna raised a brow in perfect time with Jack as they both looked over to their daughter while she looked over to Judy.

“Bloodvine?” Judy waved the question away.

“A predatory parasitic vine that feeds off blood as it replaces a living circulatory system until the host dies and it goes to seed. Fast, lethal, horrible way to die and damn good in a salad.”

That got her looks from three sets of eyes.

“I said what I said.” Judy said as she crossed her arms defiantly.

Senna rubbed her face before looking around and jumping slightly as she realized Alpha was standing next to her with a tray of drinks.

“AHCK!...where the hell did you come from and why didn’t I notice you there?” Alpha smiled gently before offering the table the tray of drinks.

“Mistress bestowed a portion of her powers to me centuries ago and while I may not have much need to use them, I assure you I can be just as sneaky and dangerous as she is. As to where I came from, I was originally a cutthroat in the back alleys of the capital hundreds of years ago born to a drunk whore of a mother and a father that left before I was conceived. I noticed the table might be getting a little dry so I made the same fruit juice cocktail the fourth emperor of the Saharansha Region we served under enjoyed…I assure you the amount of alcohol you will find within it is one hundred percent Mistress Judy’s fault.”

Judy scowled at her First Born as she took a glass and sipped at it.

“It was the fifth emperor Alpha and I had nothing to do with his obsession with it.” Alpha smiled before standing up to his full height and tucking the tray under his arm.

“It was the fourth, you only thought it was the fifth because the fourth drank himself to death before he had been in office for more than a decade. The fifth somewhat inherited his predecessor’s love of the drink itself but preferred to have it less fortified…that is until he met you a few times, after that he would often ask for them at full strength. Face it Mistress, you have a talent for making individuals long for the sweet embrace of Death and the slow march of self-destruction…it is truly inspiring.”

Giving a small bow the large wolf turned and made his way back towards the kitchens.

“I like him.” Senna said with a smile as she sipped her drink before going cross-eyed, even her bonsai shivered and began to look a little wobbly.

“Holy shit he wasn’t kidding about the amount of booze in those drinks…I need that recipe.” Judy rolled her eyes before looking towards Jack.

“Jack your wife is turning into a drunken lush, make her stop, I am supposed to be the irresponsible one and it is weird that I am having to be responsible.” Jack just sighed as he placed his empty glass on the table with a long sigh of appreciation.

“Were you talking? Well it doesn’t matter. Tana sweety, you didn’t get married or engaged did you?” Jack said as he turned his slightly glassed eyes towards his daughter.

*Sigh* “No daddy I didn’t marry and I didn’t get engaged…the most that happened was that I found a very pretty boy with some impressive gear ratios who I would love to get to know a bit more. We went to a few other planes just to make sure that I knew what I was doing and then we went back and got caught up in a celebration. I had a very wonderful time and learned a lot about my own form of magic. What aunty is trying to not let be revealed is that we got into a drinking game/dick measuring contest while we were there and caused a minor riot during one of the games.”

“I was entirely justified in doing so, that rust sniffer cheated.” Judy said with great dignity as she primly sipped her drink.

“So you were explaining earlier about why it would be more of a problem to seal you in a glacier than not?” Senna said over the rim of her own drink.

“No I wasn’t, I was trying to change the subject.” Judy responded.

“Which would have worked had you been speaking to anyone that didn’t measure their life spans in the same way you do, we have centuries we could spend sitting here just chatting. Of course, I know how much you would hate that and that you aren’t nearly patient enough for something like that so how about we skip ahead to the decade where you finally tell us what we want to know, I found your gramma’s peach tart recipe and I have been dying to try it.”

Jack said as he pulled Tana in for a side hug, right before aggressively chinning her despite how much she tried to push away and her protestations that she wasn’t a kit anymore.

“Alright so here is the thing…” Judy said as she steepled her fingers and placed her chin on them.

“The plague that nearly killed Senna back in the good ol days was actually started before our species had ever even gained sentience… by a lot. It was made by an individual that was supposed to have died but was only mostly dead and because of that they were able to come back across the veil but only partially before they were stopped. The bits that made it across are trying to rebuild themselves in a way that was not expected and in doing so they are apparently breaking some kind of rules put in place by individuals that have powers beyond our comprehension as mortal beings.”

“They are using a refined, remade and evolved version of the Feral Plague in the form of Glow, I don’t know how much is needed to do so but after enough exposure to it the individual’s soul becomes connected to the Almost Dead Soul as well as all of the other users of Glow. Now I don’t know enough about souls yet to know if it will work but the one doing all this is trying to build up enough power to be able to gain the powers of Death, how I don’t know.”

Judy stood up and began pacing gently back and forth.

“Once or if they do, they will then gain access to the rest of their soul and since they will have already passed through the Veil, are no longer the original soul along with a few other factors they will have essentially become immortal and in gaining the powers of Death they will have a chance at gaining the powers of Life. Once they do all of this, they plan on raising an army and marching across the stars…or something appropriately dramatic. Apparently, the literal Powers That Be are also a little stroppy and are more likely to Erase our layer of reality than let someone gain actual immortality let alone raise and army against them.”

Taking a moment to sip her drink a bit and gather her thoughts Judy looked into her glass a bit before continuing.

“There are aspects of magic in general, necromancy in particular and specifically soul magic at work here but Senna you remember that city where everyone died on our Girls Week Out?” The look on her little sister’s face told Judy all she needed to know.

“Well down in the caverns near the edge of the city I found a large opening where the mushrooms used to make Glow are grown among crystals forged of soul energy born from the dying bodies of Glow users. Honestly the whole thing crosses all my eyes when I think about how overly complicated it is sometimes. Now I am taking a few days to hang out with my baby sister and her boytoy, teach my apprentice a few things and work on my own projects for a bit. When I go back to Bunnyburrow I plan on taking the Lower Tier the same way I took the Upper Tier and then the Middle Tier as well. Once I run the city, I will follow the flow of Glow to wherever it goes. Fifty gold says I already know where it leads, and see how much damage I can do where ever I end up…oh by the way do either of you feel like being either the mayor and or potential crime boss of Bunnyburrow?”

All three rabbits were looking at her now.

“What? I have shit going on and I would rather not try to save reality and run a damn city at the same time.”

“I think the fact you are trying to save reality in the first place is more surprising than anything else.” Jack said with a grin.

“Of course I am trying to save reality, I fucking live here you soggy eggplant!” Judy said as Jack turned to his wife who was holding her drink in both paws while happily swaying back and forth with a little grin on her face.

“Feel like running a city-wide gang of drug dealers Love?” Jack asked as he drew Senna in to his side.

“Oh that sounds lovely, I bet I can do better this time.” Hearing this Tana nearly choked on her drink.

“This time?”

“I know you are up to something you sneaky bastard.”

Nick grinned as he made a tally mark in a little notebook…that was the forty-seventh time he had heard Skye say that…in the last five minutes. Looking over the arm of the chair he was lounging in Nick held up the book he was flipping through.

“You want me to read you a story while you sit there or are you properly entertained? Maybe get you some shiny keys to jingle?” Skye glared at him in response.

“You are planning on doing something stupid and probably something that will piss me off, now what is it?!” Skye demanded as she loomed over her fellow fox.

“It is probably something stupidly genius and will absolutely piss you off, next question?”

Nick said as he grinned up at the furious bone white fox. Tossing the book into the air for it to fly off back to its proper place in the stacks Nick reached up and grabbed his oldest and possibly best friend to drag her down into his seat.

Squirming around until they were comfortable, along with an appropriate amount of laughs, giggles and the proper amount of excessive swearing and stabbing attempts both foxes were wound around each other along the couch Nick’s chair had become. 

Tightening his grip around the slim waist of his old flame and pressing his face into the soft hair he had enjoyed so much in times past Nick wiggled a bit further into the cushions with a sigh.

“Tell me I am going to be mad at you for the next five eternities and make me believe you.” Skye mumbled into his chest as she wound her legs around his.

Nick sighed and pulled her tighter against him, just enjoying the sheer joy of holding such a perfectly soft, warm and gently curved form against his own…it had been so long since he had enjoyed things like this.

“I made you a promise countless lifetimes ago…I wasn’t going to lie to you. I have a number of plans in motion to resolve our Shivala problem and only Time will tell which ones if any will work. Just because I know how to do something now doesn’t mean it will actually happen.”

Skye sank her nails into the Lich’s side with a growl.

“At least tell me what I can do to make sure it works out to the best possible outcome.” Nick grinned…he knew she was going to say that.

“If Judy asks…tell her what you know.” Skye looked up at him from his chest with a confused look on her face.

“If she asks? Asks what? What is she going to ask and what am I supposed to tell her?”

Nick just smiled and winked before rolling over and pulling Skye up on top of him, her slight weight a comfortable pressure along his torso.

“You know these caves are supposed to be on MY lands, they are supposed to be under my control.” Senna pouted as she was lead into said caverns by her daughter and big sister.

“Well technically they still are, I have just kind of shifted them a few degrees off center from this layer and your control.” Judy said brightly as they entered the shade of the caverns and took a deep breath.

“I am still a bit fuzzy on the whole layers of reality and all that aunty.” Tana said as she glared at her arm with her new eyes, there were so many things she could improve and was just now realizing.

“Well imagine a perfectly flat plane extending infinitely in all directions, then imagine an infinite number of planes like that layered on through infinity with everything that ever has and ever will happen able to be found on that plane. Now imagine every possible direction containing layers like that…are you imagining it?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Tana said as she squinted to herself.

“Good, now forget it because it is more complicated than that. So far you have stepped through doors that have been conceived and built by those before you without realizing that every possible change you make will send you somewhere new.”

Tana scowled as she thought this over.

“If that is true then how can you ever hope to find the same world?” Judy grinned as they walked through the various tunnels and caves.

“That comes down to your circle and the sigils around it, the circle is what determines the layer you are heading towards and the sigils define the spatial coordinates you are aiming for.”

Hearing this Tana thought it over before her entire face lit up in understanding, an expression Senna had rarely ever seen on her daughter’s face.

“I knew it! I knew those extra runes and signs had to have a purpose!... so how do you know if the coordinates you are using are safe? I mean you could end up walking out onto the surface of a sun or into the depths of an ocean couldn’t you?”

Judy turned towards her apprentice and ignored the sickened look on Senna’s face as she watched her big sister’s head turn one hundred and eighty degrees to the rest of her body.

“That is always a possibility, especially at first, but as you get the experience with your own magic and way of travelling you will begin to see the patterns in the runes. You will begin to know how to aim your portal so that you come out where and sometimes even when you want to…though admittedly that last one is just a theory right now since I haven’t gotten to that point yet.”

Spinning her head again one hundred and eighty degrees, now making a full circle from where she had started, Judy clapped her paws and opened them in a wide motion.

Both Tana and her mother watched as a portal circle burned itself into the stone wall. With a sharp crack the three rabbits watched with a variety of expressions as the stone inside the circle fractured and fell into the circle. Stepping forward with a little bounce to her step and a giggle she would never admit to Judy bounced forward through the portal, looking as if she jumped face first into a sliver of the Abyss itself.

“Well…I have never actually gotten to leave this Layer, so I guess now or never.” Senna said as she stepped up and into the portal, ignoring the disbelieving look her daughter was giving her.

“Wait…you have never left this reality?!”

Stepping out of the portal Tana did her best to not smile to widely at the sight of her mother leaning against a dark wood bookshelf doing her best to not throw up.

“Yeah, it takes a bit but it does go away.” Tana said as she rubbed her mother’s back in soothing circles.

“You really don’t want to throw up here.” Judy said as she lifted her nose and took a few strong whiffs of the surrounding scents.

“The residents of this particular area of the Library are …enthusiastically territorial, and if you go blowing chunks all over the place they are going to take it as you marking your territory.” Senna looked over to Judy with a disbelieving look.

“How do you know that?” Judy began walking away into the stacks as she cast a look over her shoulder.

“I practically grew up here, this is as much my home as the burrow back on my family’s ancestral lands if not more.”

“You know every now and then she says something that is just painfully depressing…imagine growing up in a place like this without anyone of even your own species to speak to.”

Senna shook her head as she began to follow Judy.

Tana followed quickly after her mother and aunt while trying to imagine just that…she didn’t have the best kithood and had been fairly lonely, but she had at least been able to speak the same language and see similar body shapes in those around her…but Judy had none of that while she was here the first time.

Reaching down and stroking a paw over her bracelet Tana sent a small burst of magic into the complicated clockwork and was rewarded by the bracelet unfolding itself off her wrist and into a locust the size of a wolf.

Jumping up onto the back of the massive insect Tana settled between the delicate wings and behind where the shoulders would be, handles and straps that she didn’t remember being there the first time sliding into place to keep her safe. Tana grinned as she felt a sense of protectiveness flowing along the link she had with the large clockwork insect.

“Normally we would have popped out next to Master but he either set up a few more defenses since I was here last or he is distracted, we aren’t to far off the mark but we are in a very not-great place. On an entirely un-related note, Senna you wouldn’t happen to have any cookies or snacks in your pockets, would you?”

Judy said as she stopped at an intersection and smiled to her adopted baby sister.

“Uh…hold on…” Senna said as she began rifling through her trousers and apron pockets, soon coming up with a double pawful of cookies and candies.

Looking up to her adoptive big sister with a confused look on her face she became even more confused as Judy nodded, took the various snacks from the Burrow Matron’s paws and hurled them down one path before taking the remainders and tossing them down another. Patting her paws together Judy turned and smiled at her apprentice and baby sister before tilting her head.

“Run.” So saying, she turned and began sprinting down a third path.

“You BITCH!” Senna said as a rabid ululating howl rose up around the two rabbits.

“What in the hell is going on! Mom what is that sound?” Tana yelled over the rising sound.

“WENDIGO HUNTING CALL, SHUT-UP AND FOLLOW THAT CUNT I CALL A BIG SISTER!” Senna said as she reached out and pulled wood from the shelves.

Twisting and spinning in a primal looking series of dance steps Senna wove the wood around herself until she was encased head to toe. Looking back over her now wood armored shoulder Senna watched as her daughter dug her heels into the side of her mount with a shout.

“HIYAAA!” Tana shouted as she hit the overdrive switches she instinctively knew were near her heels.

Crying out as a series of needles punctured her skin from the inner thighs up to her forearms and along her torso the young rabbit felt her mind and vision split in two as she melded with her clockwork mount.

“FOR THE SWARM!”

Chapter Text

Nick glared across the table at his opponent, he knew she was cheating because he was cheating and still losing…he just didn’t know how.

Slapping down his cards with a grimace he reached up and undid his tie before laying it on the slowly growing pile of clothing. Across from him Skye watched with a heated gaze from her perch atop her interlocked fingers before placing her own cards down and revealing she had a far better set of cards.

“GrrooOOOwwwwwllll….a few more rounds and I win.” She said smugly as she gathered the cards and passed them over.

Grumbling to himself Nick gathered the cards and began to shuffle them in a variety of tricky, useful and misleading ways…they wouldn’t fool Skye but they were fun to do and he liked showing off. About to start dealing the cards once more both foxes stopped and looked into the distance as a loud howling sound arose.

“The hell is that?” Skye asked as she lounged back in her chair sipping a mimosa.

“Someone must have riled up the wendigos, I have the defenses set to funnel visitors to their area since they need to be fed every now and then.” Nick replied with a shrug.

“Yeah we stepped out of the portal and I tossed some snacks down a couple paths just to have a bit of fun and remind them why they love me. Senna and the Spawnling should be here soon.” Judy said from her place at the table between the two foxes as she began dealing the cards.

Dressed in a uniform she had seen in one of her Master’s books consisting of tight pants, a tight shirt with bands around the wrists and a vest along with a band around the head holding a visor over her eyes Judy finished dealing and sipped her whiskey.

“When the hell did you get here?” Skye asked in mild surprise, the rabbit was getting good if she could sneak up on Skye like that. Said rabbit just looked over at her and winked before responding.

“I am always here…home is where the heart is after all.”

Nick laughed lightly as he grabbed his cards, he had seen how his apprentice had tried cheating as well as how Skye responded so now he just needed to figure out how they actually did it since he knew damn well they were both to good to be caught so easily.

“HHHRHRRRRAAAAGGHH!!!!” Senna cried out as she swung her massive wooden blade.

Having decided that she needed a weapon since there wasn’t enough of a connection back to her Lands to use spells of any significance she had pulled down a few shelves.

Layering and compressing the wood into a blade large enough to be considered an elephant’s dagger she then compressed it even tighter and continued to layer more wood onto the massive blade until she had something at least comparable to a metal blade. Spinning in place as she also spun the blade above her head with a few dance-like steps to keep her balance she was pleased to see some of Jack’s sword lessons had stuck with her as she continued the motions and kept her momentum.

Tana was surprisingly having the time of her life, she moved with her mount and her familiar moved with her in a seamless mockery of organic life. Every time one of the twisted creatures that had been hunting them fell to her grinding jaws and the slicing barbs along her familiar’s legs, she gained a small insight to how the creatures moved and worked. Soon enough she was landing crippling blows and even needed to be called back to her mother’s side before she chased some of their attackers into the labyrinth of bookshelves.

Bounding after her mother and sending a few of the smaller ranged attacks she had developed and built on the fly during the battle she made sure to keep her faceted eyes out for trouble. Flicking through the various visual spectrums she had found as she explored the inner workings of her familiar, she kept a number of eyes out for anything sneaking up on them from the sides.

If it wasn’t for the constant threat of being mauled and eaten alive to be slowly digested while also being continuously conscious over the rest of all eternity this would probably be the most fun she had ever had with her mother…well, bath time as a kit was pretty good so top three to be safe.

“Has your familiar always had those little gun port things?” Senna asked as they jogged through the stacks in what they hoped was the right direction.

“No, I built them during the fight, turns out the more Timmy eats the more I learn about what it was he ate and how it works. Some of those things had ranged attacks so I was able to cobble together a few new tricks, definitely gonna have to re-work them when we get back home…I mean I get we were in the middle of a life and death battle but really the workmammalship on some of these upgrades leaves a lot to be desired.”

Senna shook her head with a sigh, if she didn’t remember giving birth to her, she would have thought Tana was the secret love child of Judy with how twisted her priorities were.

Stepping out into a wide open and well-lit area Senna grit her teeth as she realized what she was looking at.

Hefting her sword up on her shoulder she gestured for Tana to stay quiet and stay where she was before she started walking towards the table covered in a variety of items and currency as well as the three nearly naked mammals sitting around it.

“Alright chumps lemme see those bets, I got a good feeling about this next round, gonna clean hUURKGGK!”

Contrary to popular belief it was a lot harder to speak coherently when your left half was separated from the right half, such as when a large sword plows through you from crown to crotch.

“So…I think that is a draw for us but a loss for her.” Skye said as she sipped her drink.

“Sounds good to me.” Nick said before folding his cards and shuffling them into the deck…the girls didn’t need to know how bad his cards were.

“So Elder Spawnling, did you have a particular reason for cutting my apprentice in half or was it just out of general principle?” Nick said as he split the winnings between Skye and himself.

“Well she did sort of draw a bunch of Wendigos towards us and then left us behind, I could go on but you probably don’t need me to explain why she deserves to split like a log. Ignoring her many faults…”

Senna said as she used her foot to push one half of Judy’s body out of her way.

“Now…who the hell are you two?” Nick and Skye both looked at each other before grinning as they turned towards Senna with glowing eyes.

“Well little bunny…” Nick started as he pushed away from the table and took a few steps away before turning and unveiling his True Self.

Senna watched as the fox she had been looking at seemed to fall into himself while expanding outwards in directions that didn’t exist, bone wings arched up into the air as vomitous green fire raced along the remaining skeletal structure. As she watched, the bones seemed to expand and grow until she was looking at a monstrously sized skeleton covered in green fire looking down at her with eyes that seemed to be nothing less than holes into the deepest Abyss.

As she watched Senna felt a massive weight press down on her, the weight of years…decades…centuries…millennia and more fell on her shoulders as she made eye contact with the impossibly large and un-familiar structure of bones now looking down at her as if she was nothing more than a stain on the ground.

“I am the Old Man, The First Lich…I am the first one to pull power from beyond the Veil. I walked the world when the hills of your homeland were still fresh mountains, I watched as the rivers carved the canyons and the winds shaped the plains.”

Before she could say anything Senna felt a wave of cold wash over her, the kind of cold that bit at her flesh and chewed at her bones, it was the kind of cold that shredded through the soul and froze the mind. Looking past the massive figure of bones Senna watched as a figure grew from the shadows.

The figure grew until it reached the horizons and seemed to brush the heavens.

There was nowhere Senna could look without seeing the figure looming over her and glaring down at her.

“I am Death, the Great Equalizer and the Last Embrace. I have struck down kings and gods alongside peasants and paupers, all are equal in my Sight and Judgement and all will come to my embrace…in time.”

“You are both over-dramatic is what you are.”

Jerking her head to the side Senna watched as Judy finished literally pulling herself together, her flesh knitting together with what looked like small fanged mouths pulling her two halves back into one.

Judging by the fact she knew rabbits didn’t have some of those organs…or that many of them…Senna could tell Judy had done a fair amount of work on herself. Stepping forward with a full body shake both Tana and Senna watched as Judy seemed to become enveloped in writhing shadows before walking out fully healed, clothed and even looking like she had put on some light makeup.

“Damn…I need to figure out how to look that good that easily.” Tana said under her breath from her perch on the back of her familiar.

Stepping forward from her cloud Judy crossed her arms and smiled up the massive skeletal structure and the robed figure that seemed to stretch from beyond eternity and past infinity.

Standing there in a black corset with tarnished silver piping and accents, bare arms and high collar, tight black pants with tarnished silver piping down the sides hugging her figure from the waist down as if they were painted on…she looked good.

Smiling up at the forms with a black lipped smile and dark purple wingtip makeup around her glowing amethyst eyes Judy seemed to have embraced the modern fashions in a very dangerous looking way.

“If you two are done trying to impress my apprentice and baby sister, put it all back in your pants and get back down here…we have things to talk about.”

Turning on a heel Judy walked over to stand by Senna with a razor-edged smile softened only by the gentle look in her eyes.

“Don’t let them fool you, they are actually both total idiots when you get to know them.”

Looking over Judy’s shoulder Senna watched as the skeletal figure slowly cracked and fell apart until it began to swirl down and seemed to fill a mold in the shape of a dapper fox wearing a black vest, burnt orange shirt, acid green tie and black slacks.  

Behind him the impossibly massive and all-encompassing Concept seemed to dissolve and fade until Senna felt her eyes drawn over the fox’s shoulder where she saw a bone white fox with glacier blue eyes walking along a stone path that Senna could swear she had seen before.

“It’s the last path any mammal will walk, you recognize it because it is what every living creature thinks about to some degree every day and you yourself have seen that path…I pushed you off it the day we met.” Judy said.

Senna felt a shiver down her spine at hearing that, she may have never forgotten how close she came to dying but it wasn’t something she liked thinking about.

“You were less than an hour from taking her paw and being lead down that path…just this fuzzy little bean struggling to breath. You know the only reason I saved you was because I knew I would benefit from the sickness running through your veins, you were never anything more than a convenient power boost at the weakest time of my life.”

Senna grinned before looking to her side at the rabbit that had saved her life centuries ago.

“Says the bunny that nearly killed herself giving me and my entire family one last night with our daddy, my mother one last night with her husband. Says the rabbit that taught me the ancestral Song and Dance of a family older than my own by generations and taught me how to access my own heritage and powers.”

Judy glanced over to the other doe.

“Shush you, I have a reputation to live down to damnit and I don’t need you spreading around my youthful indulgences…but speaking of heritage and powers…”

Feeling a tickle around her nose Senna reached up and when she pulled her paw away saw a crimson drop of blood. Cursing under her breath and pulling a handkerchief from her pocket she quickly cleaned up her bloody nose as best she could and focused on keeping it from continuing. Looking up at her big sister and seeing that she wasn’t looking at her Senna could tell she was focusing on Tana, but she wasn’t about to think for a second she didn’t know what was going on.

“How long has it been like this?”

Senna sighed at the question.

“A few decades…just under a hundred years now. It has been getting worse since Tana was born but I have been keeping on top of it, your presence has been helping to balance things out but you aren’t my true counterpoint. Even if she was to take up her mantel and provide the counterpoint to my own today it wouldn’t make much of a difference, perhaps a few years at best.”

Judy scowled lightly as she watched Tana look over the books on the shelves…she wasn’t moving right and…

’Ah shit, gonna have to give her the Talk…’

“What are your chances? How likely are you to survive.” Senna huffed a laugh before bumping her shoulder against Judy’s.

“Better than even and as likely as having another litter in the next year and half if Jack and I have any say in things. You regretting passing on the Burrow Matron title? want it back?”

Judy whipped her head towards Senna with a horrified look on her face.

“Don’t even joke about that, the last thing anyone needs is me going sane looking after a burrow and having access to the amount of power that title comes with. Besides I have travelling to do and you know you are loving being the Burrow Matron, can’t sink roots much deeper than that after all. But uh, we might want to give your Spawnling ‘The Talk’ soon.”

Judy said casually, repressing the urge to smile like a demon at the way Senna’s ears snapped up and her face whipped over to stare at Judy with the kind of intent only a mother seems to be able to muster.

“WHAT! What have you seen!? Has she been sneaking away with a boy when you weren’t watching?” Judy grinned a bit at that…Senna honestly expected her to not be watching?

“Nope…”

“A girl?”

“Nuh-uh.” The grin grew a bit wider.

“Both?!” Judy had to roll her eyes a bit.

“No, between you being the Burrow Matron and the defenses we have both set up do you really think someone is going to be sneaking anywhere on your lands? Do you really think I haven’t taken the time to make and adapt my various surveillance spells to make it so I never lose sight of her?”

Senna bit her lip with a bit of a flush in her ears at that.

“Never?...even in the…” Judy grimaced.

“If someone really wants you dead, there is no time or place that is sacred…I speak from experience. No, I was actually referring to the talk involving familiars and not letting them turn her into the host for a being that could scour the world of all life.”

“That is kind of your field of expertise since I don’t have any familiars…and I just know I am going to regret asking this but, why do we need to give her this talk?” Judy just pointed to the other side of the small clearing they were all in.

“Because her familiar is currently absorbing her and in a bit there won’t be a difference between the two of them.” Senna spun in place with a look of horror as she saw what Judy was pointing at.

Laying along the back of her clockwork locust Tana had a glazed look in her eyes with a small smile on her face as wires, tubes and cables reached up to sink themselves into her flesh. Small articulated metal plates had covered her arms and legs up to her elbows and knees as more articulated arms were now slowly reaching towards her with the hate-child of a drill and surgical needle.

Shrieking in horror at what was being done to her baby girl Senna sprinted over to her daughter as both Nick and Skye walked up to stand next to Judy.

“Wasn’t paying attention to her own familiar was she?” Nick asked casually while manifesting a glass of something green and debatably alive in his paw.

“Nope, synchronized sooner than expected and didn’t know what to be aware of…oh this is going to hurt.”

Judy said with a wince as Senna grabbed the edges of the metal plates that were slowly crawling up her daughter’s limbs and began to bend them away. Judy grimaced even deeper as she saw the way the fur and flesh pulled away with the metal plates, tiny barbed hooks not giving up their prize easily.

Senna grit her teeth at the pained sounds her daughter was making as she pulled the bloody strips of metal off of her.

The ripping and squelching sounds of skin being pulled off were going to be haunting her nightmares for a while she just knew it…of course the scream Tana made when her mother gripped her shoulders and peeled her away from the back of her familiar was going to be haunting her for much longer.

Gripping her daughter and watching as wires and tubes were pulled from unsettlingly deep within Tana’s body as almost her entire front torso’s worth of skin and fur was left behind Senna had to blink away the tears as she felt her daughter’s body twitch and jerk in pain.

Falling backwards off the familiar Senna glared up as the various articulated wires, arms and devices rose up in an effort to reclaim their lost host. Channeling what power she could in this place she reached out to the stagnant air and whipped it into a whirlwind before lifting it into the air and tossing it to the side.

Grinning over to her Big Sister as she watched the clockwork insect get impaled on a series of spikes that definitely weren’t there a minute ago, she pulled herself out from under the jerking form of her daughter and began looking her over.

“Come on baby come on, don’t worry you will be fine.” Seeing a pair of bone white fox paws step into the edge of her vision Senna looked up with a fury that even Skye admired.

“Don’t even think of trying it Death, if you think I will allow you to take her right in front of me like this think again…Judy isn’t the only one that has favors she can call in.” Senna said in a voice that slowly took on an age and depth that surprised everyone listening as her eyes took on a violent green glow while her fur began to take on a dark brown bark consistency.

About to say something Judy felt a paw land on her shoulder, looking up to her Master in confusion all she got a was gentle shake of the head before he leaned in and spoke in barely a whisper.

“You are about to see a meeting that is almost as rare as finding an honest political figure, and this is a meeting that is long in coming.”

Turning back Judy was surprised to see a figure that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago and that she hadn’t noticed even enter the layer of reality. Gently extending her senses towards the new figure she pulled them back with a sharp jerk and even went so far as to hiss under her breath and slide behind her Master at what she felt.

This new figure was the deepest and most powerful concentration of Life she had ever encountered.

If she didn’t know better she would have thought this was the source of all life energy and power, her very existence was enough to turn Judy’s stomach and she felt like she would start burning if she got much closer.

“Master…who is that and why do I feel like this?” She didn’t like the small quiver she heard in her voice but she despised the feelings she was experiencing.

She could feel a warmth in her chest that she hadn’t felt since before she lost her family, it was the warmth of a parental hug after a bad day…the feeling of seeing her father smile in pride at her or her mother tell her she had done something perfectly. If she hadn’t done some work on herself she was sure she would be tearing up at the feelings…and probably sobbing at the memories they were invoking.

“That dear Judy…is Mother.”

“Don’t… worry… dear… Sweet… Daughter, she… can’t… touch… you… here. Your… child… will… not… be… leaving… you… this… day.”

Senna felt as if she was hearing her own mother speaking to her as she turned her head at the sudden, gentle weight she felt on her back. Seeing a female sloth smiling at her from her place on her shoulder Senna felt herself tear up a bit at the gentle and understanding look she was getting.

“She speaks true baby druid, this is possibly the one place in any existence you will ever know where you will always be beyond my embrace. She won’t die here or this day, even if she was on your home reality I would not take her as it is not her time.”

“Come… now… Little… Nicky… and… heal… the… Seedling, I… must… speak… with… my… Daughter.”

Senna stood up as Nick walked forward with a slight bow of the head to the sloth and began assessing the damage.

“He… doesn’t… like… to… admit… it… but… Nicky… spent… a… number… of… generations… as… a… wandering… healer… and… is… rather… good… at… fixing… minor… injuries.”

Swallowing her questions and various comments on what constituted a minor injury Senna walked away from where her daughter lay passed out from the pain of her minor injuries.

“So what have you found so far? Anything I can take back to Home office?” Skye asked Judy as they left Nick to work his magic and to give Senna and Gaia some privacy.

“Well…answer a few questions for me first. A partial soul isn’t going to behave like they normally would correct?” Skye nodded.

“The longer a soul is left in pieces the worse it will become, it is a generally slow process and is hard to notice in a single generation. As an example, a soul might start painting a landscape and a few generations later they are painting a battle scene, a few generations later they are trying to create that battle scene and then a few generations later they are trying to perfect some kind of cake recipe.” Judy began pacing as she listened.

“So a soul as old as Shivala…” Skye shook her head and leaned back against a bookshelf with folded arms.

“There is no telling what condition the mind contained within the soul could be in, from what I know she is and was a very driven individual. She had dreams of grandeur and conquest when alive so now she might still be on that track but in a different way or different definition of the word in her mind. Remind me what she said when you were mucking around in that one cleric’s soul and ended up talking to her.” Judy nodded as she fell back into a chair.

“She indicated that she wasn’t able to bring the rest of herself across the Veil but that it wouldn’t matter once she had your powers. She also said she would use your brother’s powers to make herself a new body and after that she would then use those powers to take control of ‘everything under the sun’…points for dramatic flair, and once she succeeded in doing so, she was then going to march her armies on the Astral Beings themselves.”

Skye winced at hearing that.

“She said that? She used the words Astral Beings?” Seeing Judy nod caused Skye to curse in a series of languages while running her paw down her muzzle.

“That isn’t good…that is actually un-good.”

“Why? What are the Astral Beings anyway? I remember getting a crash course on the Primordials and the Library and all that but not much else.” Judy asked as she wiggled into a comfier position in her seat.

“They are…well they are basically everything, Primordials included. They are the basic concepts of what make up all realities everywhere and everywhen, when Nick went to the Library he interacted with the lesser of them and it nearly killed him. Marching on the Ancestral Beings is like trying to attack the concept of gravity, there isn’t a castle to storm there are no villages to burn or siege…they just…Are.” Groaning in frustration as she tried to explain she reached out and snagged a flute of champagne as it manifested next to her.

“Thanks, this is just so frustrating.”

Judy shrugged.

“You are still a bitch and I hate you for taking my family away from me but I also recognize that it was your job and not your call.” Skye just smiled and gave a small salute with her champagne flute.

“And if I gave half a damn about you or your family, I would consider being upset about it but you are so far less than worthy of my notice you should be ashamed of yourself for intruding on this sliver of my consciousness as much as you are with your own unworthy existence.”

Judy just smiled and made a series of rude gestures, ignoring the bunny Skye continued speaking.

“If her plan had a chance to succeed it would be different but…she literally can’t succeed. If you melted this entire Layer of Reality down into pure energy from its beginning to its end you wouldn’t have enough power to threaten the Ancestral Beings. That is of course if you could even reach their Layer in the first place, the only reason Nick was able to communicate with the Library was because he sent in the paper work that was routed up through the layers and he was given permission. If every Office worked together in our truest forms we wouldn’t be able to reach them…her plan literally can’t work.”

Downing the flute of champagne, she was pleased to see it re-filled by the time she lowered it from her muzzle.

 “What about using Souls? What if she combined every soul on the planet into a single entity?” Skye shook her head.

“No…she could make a good showing but even then, any one of the Offices could slap her down like an uppity little sprite if we got serious.” Judy shook her head in and scrubbed her face with her paws.

“Wonderful, so we have a partial soul that is trying to become a full soul. Not only that but she is trying to accomplish something that literally can’t be done…she is essentially sacrificing an entire Layer of Reality for absolutely no benefit.”

“And she knows it.” Nick’s voice piped up from where Tana still laid on the ground, her skin slowly knitting together.

“She knows she can’t succeed but she is determined to try anyway.” Nick said as he gently moved his paws over Tana’s body while a gentle orange glow seeped from his paws.

Everywhere the glow touched caused a series of twitches and jerks as Tana’s flesh flowed like water over exposed muscles and veins wormed themselves back together before fur sprouted like grass in a field. Sitting back on his heels in a kneeling position he placed his paws on his thighs and gave a long and low exhale.

“I haven’t healed anyone since a couple decades after becoming a necromancer…forgot how much I enjoyed it.” Rolling back and standing with a level of grace even Judy was envious of he stood over the gently gasping form of his apprentice’s apprentice.

“All power comes with a price young one…always remember that. You may not realize what you are paying and the price may not always come at the time of purchase…but you will always pay whether you want to or not.”

Turning away from the young bunny looking up at him with watery eyes as she did her best to not sob at the memory of the pain she remembered feeling Nick made his way over to Judy and Skye.

“She was always driven when I was teaching her. When she got an idea in her head she pursued it until the very end. With as much damage as she has received over the countless years, she has been fractured from the rest of herself along with anything else that has happened. I believe she will pursue her goals and even when proven wrong, she will not accept that she could be wrong. She will sacrifice this entire layer of Reality without hesitation if doing so means she will be closer to her goal in any conceivable way…she would probably sacrifice every layer if she could get away with. What is probably worse is that deep down she knows she is going to fail but she refuses to accept it.”

Judy began chewing her thumbnail as she looked over to Senna sitting and consoling her daughter.

Seeing the way Tana glared at the large mechanical locust, that somehow managed to look embarrassed, while listening to her mother explain how familiars worked and how Senna cradled her daughter while petting her ears Judy snarled to herself before turning towards Death.

“I have questions…” Skye had to fight not to react when she caught the way Nick was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, he had warned her...

“How do I kill this bitch for good to start with?” Skye grimaced and looked at Nick who just looked back before nodding in a way only Skye would catch the motion was so small.

“Follow me Necromancer…this isn’t a conversation to be had around little ears.” Glancing at Tana and her mother Skye began walking away.

Casting a glance towards her baby sister and the Spawnling and seeing that Senna was introducing her daughter to Mother, Judy turned and followed. Had she been less focused on the Embodiment of Death she might have seen the way her Master’s face fell from his usual smug grin to a look that might have been considered…sad.

‘Regimes change and empires fall…’

“Alright rabbit what is it you want to know.” Skye asked as she lead Judy into the seemingly endless shelves of books.

“First off, now that we know more about what is going on why haven’t you or one of the other Offices killed this bitch yet? Second why hasn’t Nick gone and killed her? Then after all that how do I kill her?... I’ll figure out if I have any more questions after you answer those.”

Judy said as she manifested a chair behind her before glaring down a side path in order to scare away some of the residents, she wasn’t in the mood to play with them like when she was younger.

*Sigh…* “Fine, simple questions and less than simple answers. None of the other Offices have killed Shivala yet because it isn’t their job, it isn’t within the purview of their responsibilities with the exception of maybe War at a stretch.”

“War is the only other one other than myself who could make a case for acting against her and even then she would have to be collateral damage, not a focused target and in the end it would come down to me to kill her…and I already have.” Seeing the look on Judy’s face and that she was about to speak Skye held up a paw.

“Everyone and everything dies, they all come to me in the end. She had her time in this world and at the end I ushered her across the veil, it was also my mistake that allowed her to came back across. Now if her entire soul came over and she became whole I would have a bit more wiggle room in how I could act since she would then be an escaped soul. The fact she is essentially in two places at once and the fact you can’t destroy a soul makes the part on this side untouchable to me. I have already done my job involving her and she has already passed beyond the grasp of my Brother…she exists off a technicality and loophole that has been closed, a day late and dollar short.”

Bringing a glass of whiskey to her lips and then to her temple in an attempt to soothe her headache Skye savored her favorite vintage before continuing.

“Nick hasn’t done anything directly because he can’t, when you get to a certain threshold of power you become…to real for reality for lack of a better phrase. Your power makes you to dense for reality to handle. No matter how much you hold back there is still to much of you to be contained by the flimsy laws of your world. If Nick had stayed in the world he would have corrupted entire countries into toxic, undead wastelands by the fact that his simple existence would be putting off so much residual magic and intent.”

“If he had stayed beyond that, the magical fumes and residue of his passing would sour continents and if he didn’t obliterate all life in the world it would condense into a counterbalance of unfathomable proportions. It would come down to one side of the planet becoming a blasted, toxic wasteland of death and soul deep hatred lorded over by a spiteful and lonely being of concentrated pure negativity. Meanwhile the other half would be nothing but rampant life and explosive growth without constraints with a barely sentient mind pushing back against the darkness.”

Judy raised a brow and crossed her legs.

“That second one doesn’t sound to bad.” Skye looked at her from the corner of her eye.

“Do you know another name for Life Abundant? When life overwhelms itself and destroys all without regard for anything…even its own existence.”

Her smile had edges sharp enough even Judy shuffled in her seat a bit as she shook her head.

With a grace that held the weight of inevitability Skye turned and slowly stalked over to loom over Judy with a weight of presence that reminded her of the actual gap in their power and position as she spoke a single word that echoed across ages and carried the weight of countless broken hearts and souls.

“Cancer.”

Lua wondered if it was worth it looking after these little monsters.

She had been in these stinking sewers for days now and it seemed like every other time she turned her back one went ‘missing’.

She had started with about twenty or so, the way their feathers blurred their outlines and the way they moved made it hard to pin them down to count and no matter how hard she tried she was never able to keep her attention fully on them.

“Shannon…this is the fourth sibling you have eaten in the last two days, I know it can be hard but you need to learn to share. As for the rest of you, your momma is supposed be here in the next day or so and I want to make sure she has as little as possible to bitch at me about so…”

Pointing a claw at the four largest of Judy’s Children Lua pointed down the tunnel they had just come from.

“I want you four to run the perimeter and kill off any you find and just as some added motivation, the last one to return gets eaten by the runt.” Lua finished with a sadistic grin as she pointed to the smallest, and most stark raving savage, of her charges.

The little monster was standing next to her practically vibrating in anticipation as bloody drool dripped from between its teeth. Looking down at the ‘runt’ of the group standing at almost a foot and a half now while the others all stood at least two feet tall Lua wondered how much these abominations were going to continue growing.

They had started as almost reptilian creatures about the size of a baby bunny and had slowly lost their scales to almost featherlike fur. Their snouts had shortened into elongated muzzles packed with needle like fangs and upturned noses while their eyes had grown into pools of black tar and hatred…but the cuddly kind of hatred tar that wiggles in its sleep and loves belly rubs.

Claws had elongated into long fingered paws with large swathes of skin connecting them along with a large flap between their arms and torso, they had taken to crawling along the ceilings and silently gliding down onto their prey…or her, when they wanted attention and cuddles.

They had gone from having no visible ears to having large, wide ears that were almost rabbit like in the way they turned and accounted for about a quarter of their height…and if anyone said anything about Lua getting giggle fits at the way they twitched at every little sound, she would contend these were horrible rumors set about to assassinate her character and reputation. 

“GO!”

Grinning as the four largest creatures darted off into the shadows Lua looked down at the bundle of hate cuddles with a frothing mouth.

“So which one are you hoping to nibble?”

James just looked up at Lua with a wide grin and glowing eyes that looked strangely like his mother before giving a full body shake and launching himself to tackle one of his siblings in some blood-filled play fighting.

“Yeah, I figured you would be hoping for Dante… my money is on Amelia though.” She said as she closed her eyes, being what she was meant she didn’t need sleep, but going to long under constant mental strain still exhausted her.

“Hopefully your mother will be here soon.”

“So…you are Mother Gaia?” Tana asked shakily from her place on the ground with her head pillowed in her mom’s lap.

Seeing the gently smiling sloth hanging over her mother’s shoulder nod sent a small shiver down Tana’s spine…this wasn’t just the most powerful druid or dryad in existence, this was the source of their strength.

“Indeed…I…am…Little…Blight.”

Despite the odd name Tana still felt a warmth flow and tingle from her toes to her ears, it was like the feeling she got the first time her mother had smiled proudly at her for casting a spell correctly.

“Little Blight?...I mean I have been called worse…” Tana said with a smile.

“You…are…the…counter…to…your…mother. She…brings…Summer’s…warmth…and…you…bring…Winter’s…bite. She…is…life…and…you…are…death…but…you…are…both…needed…for…nature…to…thrive…for…me…to…thrive.”

Hearing that Tana shifted her gaze away, that was a lot of responsibility to put on her at such a young age. Seeing that she had turned her head in the direction of her aunty she realized she was about the same age as Judy was when she lost her family, maybe a little older even.

“You…should…not…see…her…as…a…role…model…unless…you…want…to…see…your…family…die.” Mother said while slowly reaching down to run her claws between Tana’s ears.

“Something I was told many generations ago hun…all power comes with a price. Judy paid a very high price when she was younger than you and it has driven her to stand among those even the gods bow to. You were nearly eaten by your familiar… what you will buy with the pain you just paid?” Senna asked gently as she ran her thumb over her daughter’s cheek fur.

Twisting her lips in a scowl at the memory of nearly being absorbed by her mechanical locust Tana looked down at the her still healing front. Judy’s master had healed the worst of her injuries and set a spell to continue healing her while he went off to talk with her aunt, looking over at her aunty talking with Death and the…entity…that taught her she felt a stab of envy slide into her chest.

“Don’t do that Sweetling, you aren’t them and you don’t deserve to stand among them…and I hope you never find yourself in their company in times like these. Power comes at a Price and I pray you never reach their heights as it is simply not worth it.” Her mother’s voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“She lost her family in fire and screams, wove a spell that would make it impossible for her to ever see them on this side of the Veil again and spent almost as long as our family has existed studying her craft. He has been studying the minute details of the arcane arts since the hills of our lands were mountains and has forgotten more than the three of us will every know…along with everyone he ever met. Imagine seeing everyone you meet grow old and die in the blink of an eye, and then forgetting them just as quickly only to remember the shade of their memory centuries after their descendants die. Imagine having nothing left in your life beyond the study of magic…imagine having your life reduced to nothing more than an existence.”

Thinking about it, Tana felt herself wilt slightly at the barest echo of the depression she imagined she would feel.

“Nicky…has…a…soul…of…diamond.” Mother said as she hung onto Senna’s shoulders and looked over to the two foxes and one bunny.

“Flawless…sharp…cold…and…likely…to…shatter…if…hit…at…the…right…angle.”

“Am I hearing this right? And I ask that as a rabbit with a third of my height being my ears and over two hundred years spent doing my best to perfect my hearing. Because of some ‘Powers that Be’ bullshit Shivala slipped through a loophole and is untouchable?”

Skye and Nick both looked at each other with expressions only someone who had known the other for years beyond comprehension could understand.

“It…isn’t ideal I grant you.” Skye said slowly.

“It does leave our options slightly more limited than if she was simply a revenant or ghost. The fact she is using souls for power is unsettling since it is more likely than anything else to garner the attention of those ‘Powers that Be’ you mentioned. But we still have options, although not many.”

“I don’t like how you are not telling me what those options are…” Judy said.

“Because the options suck…we need to get her out of whatever vessel she is in right now, then we need to do the kind of damage that the gods can feel. The problem is that the sort of damage we are talking about requires the concentrated Intent of multiple Divine entities or higher.” Judy crossed her arms and glared at the bone white fox.

“You mean like the embodiment of Fate, Life, Time, War, Peace and Death perhaps?” Skye rubbed her eyes with a low growl.

“Trust me you are not the only one to make this argument and bring up the possibility. Yes, the focused and directed Intent of the Offices would suffice. If all of us worked together we could destroy her on a level that would exceed even the Home Office…but we can’t. Life opposes Death, War battles Peace and Time defies Fate…we are bound by laws and pacts older than all of Creation.”

Seeing the look Nick was giving her out of the corner of her eye Skye glared at him with a growl before continuing.

“Which might be what we need in this situation…If certain conditions are met then all of us will be required to act.”

Judy narrowed her eyes at Death as she looked between her and her Master. Biting her tongue and nibbling her nail she began to pace while thinking and occasionally stopping to look at the two foxes. Stopping mid stride she slowly looked over to the two vulpines and began to speak slowly.

“If certain conditions are met…you and all the other Offices will have to act, what do you mean by that?” Skye glanced at Nick and grit her teeth at the look he was giving her.

“I mean that we will all have to act within our Roles to break the conditions. In the spirit of efficiency this means we will probably just smite the shit out of whatever brought us all together…along with the surrounding countryside. The last time something like this happened there were pillars of salt left in our wake and those were mostly accidents…” Judy nodded before turning fully towards Skye.

“So…if someone were to create these conditions while standing next to Shivala?” Skye nodded at the unasked question.

“Anyone or anything within say…fifty miles will be reduced to component atomic parts and spiritual ash.”

“Atomic parts?” Judy asked receiving a wince from Skye.

“Nevermind that, live long enough and I am sure Time’s Pendulum will swing far enough for you to understand.” Seeing the defiant look in Judy’s eyes Skye let her Authority as Death leak through.

“Don’t push it Mortal…” Judy gulped lightly at the tone of voice and the weight of Power leaning down on her, she never really liked Skye but she also knew not to fuck with her.

“So we have to somehow get to her, pull her out of whatever vessel she is in while somehow creating and maintaining the conditions for every one of the Offices to come together…and by your natures you don’t come together…on anything.” Judy said.

“Essentially yes…there are exceptions obviously but not many.”

“Ok so…what are the exceptions and conditions that we need to make so we can put this bitch out of our misery?”

Seeing Nick and Skye look at each other with one of those looks again made Judy grit her teeth a bit, she wasn’t used to being treated like the youngest of the conversation.

“I…can’t tell you what those are, as in I literally can’t. Anyone that finds out is allowed to know, but they can’t be told by anyone who knows…it is actually in Realty’s fine print. If someone were to find out and then spread the information without reservation, the amount of damage that could be done is better left unknown.”

Judy thought about that for a minute…being able to call down the focused destructive Intent of multiple Offices of Creation.

“Uh Nick…why is she drooling with that look on her face?” Nick shook his head while looking anywhere but at the rabbit.

“She is imagining how much damage and pain she could spread if she could just flick a switch and get all of you to destroy whatever she wanted. She is also probably wondering what kind of mutations that amount of power forcefully injected into the world would cause to any survivors…give her a minute.” Shaking her head and wiping her mouth Judy gave herself a good shake and cleared her throat before speaking again.

*Ahem* “So we need to make a series of conditions that you can’t tell me about, we need to get to a Half-soul we only think we know the location of, we need to pull her out of a vessel she has been inhabiting for centuries and then we need to keep her out of any other vessels so that she remains vulnerable…ALL OF THIS has to happen while the Offices of Creation get together and focus their Authority down on her in order to wipe her from existence. Now how long will it take for the Offices to get their collective shit together?”

Skye bit her thumbnail as she thought about the question.

“Ignoring the time dilation effect of having all of us in the same Chrono-Spatial coordinates…as far as you are concerned it should only take about ten seconds or so, twenty at the max and sooner than instant at the minimum. There is a reason you have yet to see more than one of us in the same place on your Layer of Reality… things get weird when we get together on such flimsy ground as your World.”

Looking over to the rabbit with an almost apologetic shrug Skye continued speaking.

“Sorry but, you can’t expect a world of cobwebs to hold a bunch of gold statues without tearing itself apart.”

Judy scrubbed her face and pulled her cheeks down with a long groan at Skye’s words.

“I hate all of you so much… you know that right?”

“Oh you aren’t getting me this time you little shit.” Lua said determinedly as she looked at her cards.

Grinning as she laid her cards out Lua sat back while waiting for James to respond.

Looking up at the black panther James cocked his head before placing his own cards down face up with a trill of laughter.

“Oh fuck you! You are cheating somehow I just can’t figure out how!” Lua was pissed that she had lost five out of six games so far.

It wouldn’t even be that bad if her opponent had any idea of what they were doing…but the little bastards could barely get through a round of cards without trying to eat them.

James didn’t know what Momma’s servant was yelling about, mainly because she didn’t speak right and kept making a bunch of stupid noises, but it was fun to watch her rant and rave in her dumb speaking words. Looking to the side and seeing one of his siblings laughing a bit harder among their siblings than the others James crouched…he had been wanting to eat Sasha for a while and now she had let her guard down.

“So um…sorry for being such a pain for you?” Tana said awkwardly from her seat, it wasn’t nearly as easy talking to the physical representation of her world’s Life Spirit as she made it look.

“Nature…is…balance…child. Winter…and…Summer…Fall…and…Spring…Life…and…Death.” Turning her head to the side to look at the bone white fox Mother continued speaking after a moment.

“Your…mother…is…the…Summer…to…your…Winter…and…the…Life…to…your…Death. It…is…the…way…of…our…world…that…there…must…be…balance…even…my…opinion…is…irrelevant…in…this…matter.”

Tana grimaced and looked down at her feet as she scuffed them over the smooth marble of the Endless Archives.

“So I have no choice but to be a plague on anything my mom does? Every time she does something positive, I have no choice but to swoop in and destroy it?” Gaia nodded slowly from her seat on the couch they had taken over.

“It…is…the…way…of…things…your…mother…builds…life…and…prosperity…and…you…cull…the…weak…while…creating…the…need…for…growth…and…advancement. Joy…without…sacrifice…is…worthless…and…constant…pain…without…reprieve…is…counter…productive…there…is…no…point…to…light…without…dark…and…no…purpose…to…shadow…without…light.”

Tana nodded unhappily as her mother wrapped an arm around her daughter and pulled her up close for a strong bunny cuddle.

“Don’t worry sweety, I am sure you can earn back your Cookie Rights eventually.”

Jerking up and looking at her mother in horror Tana spoke as if she had just been told she was going to be sacrificed for a bountiful harvest.

“What do you mean?! How could I have lost my Cookie Rights!?” Senna smiled and patted her daughter’s paw.

“You are going to be causing me problems at every possible turn…you can make your own cookies.” Tana felt her eyes grow wide and begin watering as she looked up at her momma.

“B-B-but…your cookies are so m-m-much better. I-I-I can’t live without your wonderful cookies.” Senna rolled her eyes with a smile before pulling her daughter in for another hug and a head bonk.

“You are so dramatic…you can blame your father for that and your inability to bake as well, otherwise you could make your own cookies.”

“UGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!...I hate all of you so much there are no words in any or all of the languages I know to properly convey my soul deep hatred for not only your existence but the amount of time, genetic material and food your ancestors wasted on this layer of reality that lead to the circumstances of your conception.”

Nick and Skye grinned at each other while pulling out small notebooks and making a tally mark each, they had been keeping score for generations on things like this.

“Alright….so let’s break this all down to single steps. We need to definitively find the bitch, then we need to get her out of whatever vessel she is in…let’s stick to those two steps for now. I know a good scrying spell for something like this but I need Senna for the second part…SENNA!” Turning to call over her shoulder she had to reach out and sink her un-bunny like claws into a shelf in order to keep her balance, turned out Skye had some good shit waiting in reserve if the flask she had been drinking from was anything to go by.

“Senna! Sweety, we need you over here with the big kits…let Mother have some one-on-one time to tell your daughter some embarrassing stories about you or something.”

Smiling, Judy wrapped an arm around her adoptive baby sister’s shoulder when she scurried up…and then one around her waist as well.

“Uh…Judy? why am I feeling two arms while seeing you holding a bottle of something in one?” Judy smiled with glassy eyes.

“No idea what you are talking about.” About to say something Senna looked down and saw that where she had felt a paw, there was now nothing.

Looking at her adoptive big sister with a raised brow Senna just sighed as she watched Judy tip back a bottle of…

“Embalming fluid, just in case you were wondering. The kind that isn’t even supposed to be drunk by the dead let alone the technically living and yet…” Death waved a paw at Judy as she continued to chug the bottle.

“That isn’t even her first one.”

“So, what did you need me over here for? I nearly lost my daughter to a familiar less than an hour ago and would like a good cuddle to calm my nerves.” Judy set down her drink before turning towards Senna.

“So what am I then? I can cuddle just fine!” Senna rolled her eyes over to Judy.

“I would say cuddling you is like cuddling a viper with anger management issues and itchy teeth but that would be insulting to the snake…you haven’t cuddled anything that didn’t try to kill you first or during since before my first litter.”

Raising a finger in response Judy was about to respond…before slumping in place.

“Yeah I got nothing, you aren’t wrong. So anyway, how is your singing voice? We need to get a particularly icky soul out of her shell and I happen to know of a rather good ritual spell for just such an occasion.”

Holding up her paw Judy smiled as a thick, scaled leather bound book slammed into her paw.

“~Thank you~ Death could you be a dear and try to set up those secret conditions we mere mortals aren’t allowed to know about? Thanks.” Pulling Senna into a turn Judy began walking away with her book tucked under her arm.

“It isn’t going to be so easy Nick…you know that.” Skye said as she and the Old Man watched Judy walk away.

“More than you can understand.” Nick said while ignoring the look Skye gave him at his words. 

Chapter Text

“So speaking of familiars…” Senna began as she walked next to her Big Sister.

“Were we? I don’t remember mentioning anything about familiars.” Judy said with a bit of a dopey smile as she continued drinking her embalming fluid and flipping through the book she had summoned.

“We weren’t but we are now, keep up. I seem to remember you having a fair number of them and yet I have barely seen them.”

“That wasn’t a question.” Judy said with a smile.

“That wasn’t an answer.” Senna replied.

Judy slowed and let her face fall into an expression of contemplation as she took a smaller sip of her drink.

“I…well the more powerful I got the less I needed them, then after a while it became harder to get them to do what I needed. Then when they did do what I needed it was…well it was like asking you to grow a single blade of grass in a field of perfect compost and dirt while being supercharged by Mother herself. I once sent Fin through the plumbing to kill a single individual and he ended up scouring the entire block of all life.”

“I asked Sammy to eat a mine of metal the Reticulan Empire was using for a war effort and he turned a series of hills into a canyon as he ate everything underneath them…and on top of them, bones and all. Suzie wiped an entire village from existence like some kind of plague when all I wanted her to do was make a weapons depot disappear.”

Senna gazed at Judy with a slightly dumbfounded expression, it was not normal talking about things like that in such a casual tone.

“They are…they are to strong for what I have been trying to get them to do so I have been holding them back. It used to be that I could count on them to slice like a scalpel and now it is more like trying to use a battle axe to shave with. But enough about me and my little monsters, I left them with Alpha to watch over. You had something you wanted to ask but you were trying to be polite about it.”

Senna slowed her gait and reached out to run her paw along the spines of the books as she passed them, the low rumbling purrs she heard from them along with the appreciative wiggles some of them made bringing a smile to her face.

“Is Tana safe with her familiar? Should she be allowed to keep Timmy?” Judy stopped and looked at her baby sister.

“Is that a joke?”

Seeing the look she received Judy sighed and tossed her bottle into the shadows, she remembered the residents of this part of the library having a fondness for drinks like that.

“Well uh…damn. So first off, no she is not safe with her familiar. Timmy is not safe to be around. But then again neither are any of mine, familiars are not safe and they are not our friends. Familiars are a step to the side from demonic or angelic contracts. They are tools that we use to enact our Will but using them is like using a sword without a handle, if you don’t have the proper grip and concentration, you are gonna end up bleeding.”

Stepping forward until she was a couple steps from Senna, Judy let her eyes slit into their cross pupiled forms and relaxed her grip on her own powers.

Senna felt her own restricted and muffled powers react in response to Judy’s, the air around her began to vibrate with the potential energy of Life and Vitality as the shadows around her skittered away. Senna gulped as she watched the air around Judy leech of color and blacken as shadows crept up from the ground or reached out from the shelves around them. It was as if life and everything good in the world were being pulled into an abyss that refused the existence of anything and everything, an abyss that was perfectly reflected in Judy’s eyes.

“But it is also not your decision as to whether she keeps her familiar or not. She will have to make her own decision as to keeping Timmy or not and you will not have any input on whether she keeps it or not.”

Seeing Senna’s face twist into a look of defiance Judy continued speaking while letting a bit more of her power leak through her mental grip. The small area around Senna that had defied her aura of death, hatred, rot and defilement shrank until it was a thin layer a couple inches over Senna’s fur.

“You will not attempt to influence her decision Senna Whiteroot, she is her own rabbit, she has her own powers and she must make her own decisions…for better or worse. She must feel the pain of her own failure and the glory of her own success.”

Stepping in further Judy wrapped Senna in a hug and grit her teeth against the long familiar feeling of ants chewing tunnels under her skin and through her fur as well as the feeling of having Life and Vitality react to her own aura.

“She has to take hold of her own powers and her own life. I know you want to make all her decisions for her and protect her from everything the world could throw at her…but you can’t. You have to let her fail and be hurt so that she can pick herself up and realize that she is stronger than anything that tries to harm her. She is a product of the Underroot and Whitehill bloodlines and has been trained by the last of the Hopps family, do you really think something as simple as a familiar is going to be her undoing?”

Judy asked lightly into her baby sister’s ear.

“Your daughter is stronger than you could ever know…now let her realize it.”

Gritting her teeth Senna wrapped her arms around the other doe and gripped her big sister with nails sharper than the average rabbit.

“She better survive this you vile bitch or I will make you regret it.” Judy smiled as she nuzzled her cheek against her baby sister.

“You can try you weak little gutter-slut, you can try.”

Lua rubbed her face…she had started with twenty of these vile little cuddle-loving monsters…and now she was down to a total of ten. They had successfully claimed the outer sewers as their own since Vargus had stopped sending his goobers to far out of his tiny kingdom. Honestly Lua couldn’t understand how Vargus thought he had a chance at defying her Mistress, he had no support from either of the other two bosses, especially since Judy had already killed one. He had no support from any of the authorities since he was a crime boss and they had no reason to help.

“Samson don’t even think about it, your momma is gonna be here in a few days so how about this…whoever kills the most in that time without being seen or reported gets an extra five minutes of cuddles when she arrives.”

Ten sets of eyes and adorably twitching upturned noses suddenly pointed at her. Seeing she had their attention Lua grinned before pulling a pair of daggers she had hidden in a spatial rune her mistress had carved into her wrist bones.

“Of course… you will have to beat me as well and this was my favorite game back when I was little.”

Ten needle toothed grins suddenly gleamed at her from the gathering shadows, the forms of her mistress’s Little Monsters blurring and combining until Lua would have been unable to tell where one started and the other stopped. Of course, she cheated and had started moving the moment she pulled the daggers and had left an illusion in her place as she ran through the tunnels they had been haunting for the last few weeks.

Tana sipped at the tea she had finally been able to manifest after a few minutes of practice under Mother’s instruction.

If someone had told her just a few months ago that she would be sitting in an alternate layer of reality sipping tea while chatting with the physical manifestation of the concept of nature while her aunt spoke to the manifestation of Death she would have suggested they get themselves checked.

Looking over to the sloth that seemed to sip half as fast as she did but still had less in her cup than the rabbit did Tana felt her lips twist as if she had just bit into a lemon…a few months ago she would have been happy just being able to cast a few spells like her siblings and now she was expected to be the counterbalancing force to someone as powerful as her mom?!

“It…isn’t…fair…Little…Blight, you…are…far…to…young…for…such…a…responsibility…and…to…in-experienced…to…have…such…expectations…heaped…upon…your…shoulders, but…Nature…has…never…been…fair.” Gaia said serenely from her place at the other end of the couch.

“The longer I take to be a counter to my mom the more mammals are going to be hurt aren’t they?” Tana asked her tea as she swirled it around her cup.

“No.”

Jerking her head up with a look of surprised joy Tana was about to speak Mother stopped sipping her tea and continued.

“The…longer…you…take…the…more...will…die…”

Tana wasn’t sure she could remember the last time her ears had fallen so hard and so fast, that had not been what she wanted to hear. Reaching up to stroke a claw along the intricate gears that now encircled her throat like a choker she felt herself relax a little at the gentle clicking sound the motion elicited as the gears rotated at her touch.

After being pulled off her familiar and healed she had sort of…unloaded on Timmy.

After verbally tearing a few strips off him for trying to absorb and assimilate her she had then began physically tearing into him with a set of tools she had no memory of having. After ripping the mechanical locust down to his base parts and then ripping those down even further she had found herself holding a sphere that looked as if it was made of gears nested within gears surrounded by cogs and bits of machinery she had no name for.

She groaned as she remembered how the small ball of light held its shape for a couple heartbeats before folding in on itself until it became a choker, she had no idea what she had done to her familiar and it irritated her that she didn’t know.

“Just…remember…that…it…is…not…always…the…act…that…counters…your…mother…but…the…Intent…and…Will…behind…the…actions.”

Jerking her head up at the gentle pat she felt on her shoulder Tana wondered when the sloth had gotten so close and how she had gotten so close so fast.

Looking at the oddly matronly sloth Tana grinned shakily…somehow the knowledge that no matter how bad she did she would never be able to truly hurt something as strong as the being in front of her made her feel better.

 “SOOOoooooo… how are we going to find this bitch you seem obsessed with finding?” Senna asked as she strode alongside Judy through shelf upon shelf of lost knowledge.

“Well first off, I am only obsessed with finding out as much as I can involving the plague she released centuries ago, she is just collateral damage. Second…I am gonna need someone very thoroughly blitzed out on Glow so I can rummage around in their head and soul a bit. Actually I will probably need a number of mammals since I will most likely kill a few of them, among other things.”

Senna looked over at her big sister with a raised brow.

“ ‘Among other things’?...what kind of other things?” Judy waved a paw at the question.

“Oh you know, the usual things…on an un-related note how do you feel about being mayor of Bunnyburrow?”

Senna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, she really missed Jack right then, he could at least handle her type of crazy.

“Should I be worried about why you are asking me if I want to be a mayor when we already have one? I thought you were going to be in charge or something…and hey I thought I was gonna be the crime lord?”

Judy grinned with a mouthful of teeth a shark would be jealous of.

“Well…I have been thinking and when I head back, I am going to be getting rid of the remaining crime lords one way or another. This is obviously going to leave a massive power vacuum and instability in the city, the mayor is going to lose some assets and gain a bit of power. Now with so many street assets suddenly losing the guiding voice of their leader some of them are going to try and take over what is there and others are going to try and make their own little kingdoms.”

Senna nodded while chewing her bottom lip as she thought over Judy’s words.

“And accidents happen all the time during periods of upset like this don’t they?” Judy grinned wider as her eyes began to glow a nauseous, purple.

“You would be surprised…don’t worry about anything, this isn’t the first time I have had to make a political figure go away to get what I want.”

Senna looked over to the bunny that she had always had such a high opinion of, the bunny that had taught her an ancestral song and dance when she was a little girl. The rabbit that had practically killed herself just so Senna could have a few more hours with her daddy and her mother could have a few more hours with her husband.

“What happened to you Sis?” Both rabbits stopped walking and Judy turned to look at her adoptive little sister.

“What happened to you to make you so cruel and heartless, so bloodthirsty and uncaring of how many you hurt and how many lives you destroy one minute…and then somehow so loyal and ready to sacrifice yourself for your family the next.”

Reaching out Senna ran a paw down Judy’s cheek as she looked at her.

“How can the bunny that spent her time teaching me a pretty dance and song and then gave me hours with my daddy I never thought I would have again, the bunny that gave my mother the chance for closure that allowed her to move on…be the same rabbit that so casually speaks about ripping into another mammal’s mind and soul. How can the spooky big sister I remember be the same vicious monster that isn’t just ready, but eager to spill blood and destroy lives?”

Judy ignored the feeling of ants under her fur and pressed into the paw at her cheek before sighing.

“What happened? I lost my family to fire, I summoned a creature I had no business contacting and who should have destroyed me. I looked upon and spoke with the fundamental forces of our reality and was given a task by them that they had no right to give me and that I am still working on. I sought revenge for my family and destroyed a family in the process after rescuing the shattered remains of my own. I returned to the pitiful shadow of a once ancient and proud family as an exile and criminal knowing I would not see the hills and valleys I walked as I grew up again for centuries if ever again. I spent hundreds of years among cold blooded creatures that counted lives like coins and spent them just as easily.”

Pulling away and holding her baby sister’s paw in her own she rubbed her thumbs along Senna’s palm and along her fingers, forcing past the feeling of touching another living being.

“I was broken long before we met and only barely rebuilt myself centuries afterwards…but you can’t fix a broken vase without the cracks showing. There was a time I could have grown up and found a nice boy, fallen in love and raised a large family…that future was taken from me. I don’t have any more than circumstantial proof but I am sure that my future was stolen and changed by the same bitch that is causing us problems now…am I right, Fate?” Judy asked at the end while looking over Senna’s shoulder.

Snapping her ears up and spinning in place Senna watched as a tall and beautifully dressed gazelle strode out of the shadows between a pair of shelves.

“Yes…I have been looking over the Weave as far back as Shivala’s death towards the present and I believe I have found when she made it across the Veil enough to begin her plans. I followed the ripples of her actions across time beyond your comprehension and…I have bad news and debatable news, you aren’t going to like what I have to say no matter what so I am just going to say it.”

Taking a deep breath Fate looked down at the two rabbits looking up at her before speaking again.

“By all accounts and variables I can follow your family died and you became how you are by sheer luck and chance. You were never supposed to live much past eighty…eighty-three, seven months and five days to be precise, and you were meant to revolutionize medicine and farming techniques. You were meant to find one of the few instances of true love in your generation, have a good life and many children.”

Lifting a tumbler of whiskey to take a sip the gazelle gave a small sigh before continuing.

“That is the bad news I suppose, the debatable news is that with the sheer amount of things that had to happen and line up for you to be born and then become how you are now is astronomical by even my standards. This is either good or bad because it means that your family either died unnecessarily… OR…something above me has been pulling strings since Nicky was a young lad and knew what was going to happen to you and your family.”

Looking into the swirling depths of her drink Gazelle chewed her lip before continuing.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to you are like you are either by chance or because something designed you to be like you are. The fact I am unsure means that it is most likely something above my station playing dice with all of Creation.”

Judy groaned and manifested a bottle of something orange and glowing before tipping it back and chugging.

“Guuhhhh!...oh that’s smooth, so basically everything that has happened has either been because of random chance or because some incomprehensible force has been steering things since basically before day one. Also everything that has happened can be laid at the feet of Master’s old flame and apprentice, the apprentice who is now on a crusade against said incomprehensible forces even though she has no chance of succeeding.”

Gazelle shrugged and nodded her head back and forth a bit before answering.

“More or less that is correct yes.” Judy groaned a bit deeper before looking over at Senna.

“Welcome to my fucking world Sis, powers the likes of which could solve ALL our problems being held back by rules we aren’t allowed to know and then telling us about things we have no control over.”

Senna just grinned brightly at Judy before raising her own bottle.

“Thanks for the tour, I hate it.”

“SPAWNLING! Come on! Say bye to Grandpa Master and the manifestations of primordial forces it is time to go home.” Judy called out a few hours later as she stood next to a glowing portal that looked like a hole perpetually falling into an abyss.

Groaning in a very not-kittish way since she was way to old for such things and anyone who said otherwise was a horrible liar, Tana leaned forward and gave a quick hug to both Mother and Death as well as a fist bump to Master Nick. Scurrying over the young bunny grinned at her mother and aunty as both grinned at her and then each other before looking back at her before holding out their paws.

“What?” Tana asked as she looked at both bunny does.

“Give it here Spawnling.”

“Don’t even try it sweety.”

Tana scowled as she reached into a pocket on her dress and passed over a scroll to Judy and a small wrapped candy to Senna.

“Hmm… a scroll written by an ancient artificer of rather impressive power, nice.” Judy said as she opened the scroll and began reading it.

“You know extra-planar candy made from the physical manifestation of our planet’s spirit before dinner will ruin your appetite.” Senna said with a smile as she pocketed the candy.

“Oh come on those were mine.” Tana said with a definitely not kit-like whine.

“And you can have it back when I have broken the curse on this scroll, we don’t need you becoming obsessed with building a perfect body for the mental spirit possessing this scroll.” Judy said as she turned it so she was looking at it upside down.

“Oh you naughty bitch….hehehehe…” Ignoring the small bit of blood leaking from her auntie’s nose Tana turned towards her mother with a raised brow.

“Oh the candy is perfectly fine but it will ruin your dinner, you can have it back afterwards. You may be my counterbalance in our world and instrumental to keeping our lands safe and healthy but I am still your mother.”

“Grrr…one of these days I am going to skip my chores to smoke a cigarette with a bad boy just to spite you.”

Tana said with a scowl that quickly turned to an expression of shock and wonder as her mother shivered and began to glow before settling back to normal.

“Uh…what just happened?” Looking between her mother and her aunty Tana felt a small chill run down her spine as she heard a soft voice from behind her.

“Intent…and…Will…over…actions…Little…Blight…”

Stepping out of the portal Judy reached up to the sky in a bone popping stretch with a deep groan, she loved being in her Master’s library but the physics of his world didn’t agree with her as much as when she was young. Looking over to the portal with a grin she watched as the Spawnling stepped out and promptly bent over with her paws on her knees taking deep breaths to not throw up, she would take a bit to really get the hang of extra-planar travel.

‘Three…’ Judy began counting down.

“Oh good you are back, just in time for dinner. Go get washed up and take a seat, I have litter K-seven setting the table and litter S-four about to begin plating up.”

Jack said as he walked out of the burrow while wiping his paws on a super macho pink apron with frills. Seeing two of three walk out the portal made Jack frown before smiling as his Soothing Rain stepped out to join them…he never liked being apart for to long from his beloved.

‘Two…’

“Ah Jack, did you get the vegetables sauteed rig-HHuurrggkk!”

‘One…le sigh’

Judy sighed to herself as she watched Senna convulsed before falling to her knees and let loose a torrent of bloody vomit. Nodding to herself Judy reached down and gave a quick scritch to the base of Senna’s ears before heading towards the burrow.

“Jack be a love and get your better half cleaned up and ready for dinner, I will take care of getting the tables set and such. Dinner will be in a few minutes, don’t be late…come along Spawnling.” Glancing over her shoulder at her apprentice Judy jerked her head towards the burrow.

“But!...but mom is…” Gesturing towards her mom as she continued puking blood along with something thicker.

“Your mom will be fine she is just dealing with the CONSEQUENCES OF HER OWN CHOICES!” Judy responded with a shout as she wrapped an arm around Tana’s shoulder while ignoring the rude gesture sent her way by said matronly bunny.

“Don’t worry about her, do you really think there would be so many still living in the surrounding miles if she wasn’t going to be fine?” Tana turned away from her mother and toward the burrow at her auntie’s words.

“No…no there probably wouldn’t be anything alive if you two were worried. So if she is going to be alright, then what is wrong with her?” Looking towards her aunty with large watery eyes she almost thought she saw a look of compassion on Judy’s face before a shadow passed over it.

“She will be fine, we will talk after dinner. Now go and help your siblings get dinner ready, enjoy the normality while you can.”

Pushing the Spawnling forward with a grin Judy stepped into the burrow she had grown up in, the familiar weight of the land surrounding them falling on her in an age-old embrace. Placing a paw on the wall near the entrance Judy smiled before muttering under her breath.

“I know…I missed you too, but you have a new family to look over now.”

Patting the wall and moving further down the hall and into the burrow Judy let the memories of what she had had at one time flood through her.

Ghosts of memories long dulled by time flowed past her in wisps of color and sounds as Judy let her feet do the walking. Navigating the halls of her ancient home Judy couldn’t help but remember walking these same halls days after losing her family and decades after summoning her Master. The way the halls didn’t so much as ring with emptiness and silence but rather how it hung as heavy on the air as the ash and smoke of the fires that had ultimately claimed her family.

She smiled at the small groups of little fluffle bunnies running by in giggling crowds as older siblings calmly followed to make sure that nothing got out of control. Raising her ears she caught the sounds of a proper burrow, every door muffling a new sound…crying baby bunnies, laughing fluffles, chattering teens and the obligatory explosion every now and then. Looking around to get her bearings Judy gazed through the various wavelengths she had built into her eyes over the years while looking through the walls for life signs before turning towards Tana with a grin.

“Before we get to dinner Spawnling time for a couple lessons, first is to open your eyes and look around you to determine what kind of life is around you. I see the magic of Life as flares and small candle flames for those that don’t use magic, larger flames that reach out into the whole body like lines of fire moving in the air for those that are magically adept. The trick is to use your Intent and Will to…well sort of squint your True Sight, you don’t want to open it entirely but rather open it just enough while focusing on what you want to see.”

Looking over to her apprentice Judy stood wrapped in her favorite cloak from the good ol’ days gently running her paws over the designs she remembered stitching into the hem while chattering with a matronly rabbit.

Nodding to herself Tana did her best to focus on what her aunty had said. Feeling her Sight beginning to open she grit her teeth for a moment and forced it to stay where it was, just barely open enough to see through…it felt like trying to look through her lashes when the wind was blowing directly into her face.

“I…think I am doing it. I see, uhm…best I can describe it is how everyone would look if I built them. Hydraulic muscles, steel bones, veins carrying oil…but they all look like they have rust or grinding gears or something else wrong with them.” Judy raised a brow at hearing that.

“Sounds like you can see organic life and the mechanical representation of organic injuries or defects, rather impressive actually.”

Tana beamed hearing the small praise from her aunty and turned towards the doe, her smile falling instantly and her stomach lurching as her sight registered what she was seeing.

Unfortunately for her the suddenness of seeing the true aspect of her Aunt disturbed her enough that her True Sight opened the rest of the way. Seeing her Aunt in the truest sense was enough to jog her heart out of rhythm and send her lungs into convulsions as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It was in times like these that Tana was happy the ground was so friendly since it seemed like it suddenly wanted a hug, at least that was the only reason she could think that would explain why she was laying twitching on the ground.

“Oh Spawnling…shouldn’t have done that.” Judy said as she looked down at the twitching wheezing form before crouching down beside her apprentice.

“Someone as young and comparatively innocent as you trying to comprehend someone as old and…less innocent like me is always going to be a hazard. You have pretty much two choices right now, let the mere sight of what you may become with enough time defeat you and I end up telling your parents how you died. Or you accept what you saw, what and who I am, make it a part of you and grow stronger from it.”

Standing up Judy gazed down at the younger rabbit with as cold and uncaring of a look as Tana had ever seen before turning and opening the door to an empty room.

“Live and follow or die in the hallway, the choice is yours.”

So saying Judy entered the room before closing the door, walking over and opening a hidden cabinet in the wall she pulled out a bottle and two glasses. Setting the glasses down on a side table between two chairs and pouring a healthy portion of the dark amber liquid into each glass she tossed her cloak over the back of her own chair and sat down.

Looking up a few minutes later at the sound of the door opening Judy felt her lips twist and stretch into a smile usually seen on the face of a serial killer as they felt the warmth of the fresh blood run down their arms.

Silently nodding towards the empty chair and full glass Judy watched with cross-slitted eyes as Tana walked across the small distance with a new and dangerous stride, she grinned even further as her apprentice took her seat with a grace she hadn’t possessed before.

“Feeling better?” Tana glared over at her aunt with a level of hatred, spite and disdain she had never been capable of until that moment.

“The fact something like you is allowed to live as long as you have without being smote by every Power That Is, is a resounding argument that there is no justice in all of Creation and the gods have abandoned us.”

So saying Tana reached over, grabbed her glass and slammed the entire thing back in a single gulp, Judy laughed as she reached out and re-filled the glass before it even hit the table.

“That might be one of the nicest things anyone has said to me in over four hundred years, though you are beat out by a Reticulan politician that cursed my family for a thousand generations forwards and back while simultaneously insulting the sexual habits of my female ancestors and the preferences of the males…he was surprisingly eloquent about it. The fact it only took you a few minutes to get yourself together is actually very impressive and tells me there is a remorseless and vile murderer deep down where it counts. So have you learned your lesson?”

“Which one? How to see those around me or to never look to closely at you?” Judy laughed before leaning back in her chair.

“Yes. With practice you will be able to more easily control what you see, just remember that it is only what you see while your Sight is fully open that you will never be able to forget. Now unless you feel like wasting more time, let us move on to the second lesson, a certain trick I learned early on that has carried me through the centuries.” Placing her own glass on the table again and gesturing for Tana to follow her Judy spoke over her shoulder.

“Time for you to learn how to absorb negativity and corruption, how to feed off misery and savor pain.”

“Look around you and visualize the inevitable rust that weakens those around you the more it grows, the gears grinding from lack of oil, the hydraulics over and under pressurized. Look around you and visualize it all so that you can both see and understand the pain and misery of those around you, see their daily pains and regrets…see them, covet them and then make them your own.”

Judy gestured towards the burrow in general.

“You saw Who and What I am and came out stronger for it, now you just have to do the same thing with those around you…see the noxious fumes and toxic waste of your siblings’ passing and make it your own. Become stronger off of their weakness and use that strength to inflict misery on those around you so that you can use it to become stronger again.”

Judy’s words slithered through Tana’s ears and wrapped around her mind like oil slicked kelp trying to drag her down into dark waters.

Slowly opening her eyes and making sure not to look even close to where her aunty Tana squinted her Sight until she could see the various mechanical forms of her siblings walking around them.

Looking closer she soon saw rust dripping down from their minds and building up in their joints causing them small, but noticeable, inconveniences. She watched as the forms around them developed limps and hitches in their movements as their pains became more obvious. Tana had to bite her lip and tighten her chest to keep from letting herself tear up…these were her siblings, her family and they were all suffering from so many tiny pains they didn’t even seem to know it.

“This is just another facet of our curse Spawnling, we are the blight on the world that the light must banish. We are the shadows that spread nightmares…all those pains you see, those are your fault. Your very existence causes them to manifest and spread while your mother heals and banishes them to reveal stronger metal beneath. We are here to ravage and terrorize those around us, to break and burn out their weakness while your mother is here to heal our work and raise up those we cast down.”

Tana could here her Aunty speaking, but it was like listening to her from the end of a long corridor.

“In order to do this you need to see the damage you do, see it and aspire to inflict ever more so that the next time you see that individual again they will be all the stronger for your lashings, their pain all that more concentrated. Just remember that in order to truly inflict the pain and horror that this land, this world needs, you must know what that pain and horror is like. Many believe druids and dryads are the most empathetic, but they never have to feel the pain they heal, whereas to understand and improve the pain we inflict…we must experience it ourselves.”

Judy said as she sat in her chair watching her apprentice, she was pleased to see the Spawnling quickly grasping how to see the negativity of the world so easily.

“So we have no choice but to live in hatred and misery? To feel nothing but pain and despair so that we can more effectively inflict it on others?...do we never get to be happy?”

Judy felt her face twitch and spasm into an expression she wasn’t used to making, an expression of genuine sorrow.

“No, not entirely. I was told that every necromancer has to go through a sort of crucible, of course back then necromancer was what it sounds like…we just raised the dead and used them for our own ends. Now though it is more of a title than a school of magic, but back to the crucible…this is where you have to make a decision. This is where you have to decide whether you will continue, knowing you will only cause pain and hardship to others by your mere existence…or will you die so that you can spare those around you the pain of your presence.”

Tana chewed her lip.

“If I die now…what happens?” Judy shrugged causally.

“Skye comes around, collects you and takes you off to where I do not know.” She couldn’t help but laugh as the glass her apprentice had been drinking from shattered off her eyebrow after it had been thrown at her in frustration.

“YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT DAMNIT!”

“Of course I know what you were talking about but how could I properly indulge in your frustration and hatred if I didn’t warm it up a bit.” Grinning literally ear to ear with an acidic green smile Judy sipped the smoking toxic sludge her drink had become.

“Now…if you deny your calling and either suppress or deny your purpose, nothing happens.” Seeing the look on Tana’s face Judy grinned even more sadistically.

“At first of course…nothing will happen, but then the world will begin to re-establish balance. More litters will have stillborns, the fluffle will find their playgrounds infested with toxic plants or will fall victim to predators. Illness and hardship will burn through the family like wildfire and even spread into the surrounding lands as crops wither and soil fouls. Weather will change until summers burn with drought and winter will bite with lasting frost… entire families will starve and die. Eventually the world will balance out, summers will cool and winters will warm until those able to survive will do so.”

Standing up and placing her empty glass on the table Judy looked towards her apprentice and smiled.

“In the end as far as the World is concerned, you don’t matter. On the time scale I am working on, your decision to continue as you are or to die is irrelevant at this point. You aren’t strong enough to make a massive difference and you are weak enough that you won’t be missed.”

Walking forward Judy placed a paw on Tana’s shoulder and looked down at her with as gentle a look on her face as the young bunny had ever seen.

“You aren’t your mother’s counterbalance by chance, out of all the generations and hundreds of siblings you have had over the centuries your parents have been together…you are the first of your kind. There has never been another like you, there have been many that will have had the potential you have and even more…but not the Will and Strength to pursue it. That being said, this is your decision in the end and not only can no one make it for you, no one has the right to judge you for it one way or the other…not your parents, not your siblings and least of all myself. Any consequences to any decisions you make will take generations to even begin manifesting and by then there might be another Counter ready to take over…possibly. I am going to head to the kitchens to make sure that I don’t have to see my home on fire again, I will be back in a few minutes.”

Walking to the doors Judy spoke without turning around.

“Living as long as I have has taught me one valuable lesson Tana…you may see it all and do it all, but the trick is to live with what you see and do.”

So saying she opened the door and quickly made her way down the hall towards the kitchens glaring at the various portraits watching her.

‘Aunty actually used my name…that can’t be good.’

Out of everything she had been told and went through in the last few minutes for some reason Tana’s mind couldn’t help but latch onto that simple fact. She couldn’t remember hearing aunt Judy say her name before and now that she had she wasn’t sure what to think about it. Her aunt was known to be a liar, cheater and manipulative beyond anyone else in their entire family…but the way she had said her name, the look in her eyes…

‘Of course she would know about those things and know to manipulate her expressions and voice to show others what she wanted them to see…but she might also be being honest this time.’

Flashing back to what she had seen caused her stomach to roil and her mind to begin spinning, there was to much to try and comprehend and understand in those memories. She could feel her mind beginning to fracture as the thoughts and memory began to hammer at her defenses before she suppressed them all again…she would have to deal with them eventually but now was not the time.

“Miss Tana, would you like some refreshments?” Jerking with a small cry of surprise Tana looked over and watched as the family butler formed out of the shadows with a tray laden with drinks and small snacks balanced on one paw.

Smiling in relief at the sight of the familiar face of the otter skeleton that had always been there for her family Tana reached out and picked up a small cake of oatmeal and honey before pausing and looking closer at the skeleton.

He had always been there…for as long as anyone could remember Oswald had been there and for as long as anyone could remember he had born the drawings and sketches on his bones like medals earned in battle, he had always been there with a funny story and warm drink, had always been there with a tasty snack when it was needed. For as long as anyone could remember he had always been there…and yet there had never been a necromancer in any of her parent’s litters.

“Thank you Ozzie…Aunty Judy raised you, didn’t she?” Not having skin made it hard to convey emotions but the otter somehow showed a smile at her words.

“Indeed Miss, I have the honor of being the first raised for the purpose of cleaning, running and maintaining the burrow. Even before she knew she had family still living after the Night of Fire and Ash I was given the duty to clean and maintain the honor and glory of this noble family. I have held my position and standards for closing in on eight hundred years now.”

Tana sat back in her chair while nibbling her snack cake.

“You have been here serving this family for that long…did you know my aunty before then? How did you end up here? like this?” Tana said while gesturing towards the skeleton.

“I was originally a newly promoted paladin sent to kill the Mistress’s family on charges from one of the princes that there was witchcraft and heresy being committed. I remember marching and chanting the old battle hymns of my order, now long dead and lost mind you, with fire in my soul for the chance to purge the un-holy from the world.”

Tana leaned forward in her chair and grabbed another snack cake, she had never actually heard these stories.

“What happened?”

“We approached the door and our front line was repelled by a force we had never seen, it took three of our most powerful paladins wielding the full strength of our Holy Commandments just to open the door. Even then we only convinced the lock to open, if you look at it to this day the door stands strong and mighty…blackened by holy fire, but strong. *sigh*…We had always been told that rabbits were weak and nothing more than carrot farmers… we were so wrong.”

Tana nibbled her snack while sitting on the edge of her seat, every one of her siblings knew the story of how the burrow had been attacked but she couldn’t believe that in over seven hundred years no one had thought to ask someone who had actually been there.

“The halls were silent as the grave, the shadows seemed to reach and claw at every shred of light. Our largest and most powerful warriors could barely fit through the halls and jumped at every sound expecting an attack with every breath. We crept in as silently as possible, not easy in full plate armor mind you…we had never faced an enemy in tunnels and when your ancestors attacked, our mistake was made clear.”

Tana sipped her drink as the world seemed to fall away around her.

“They put up a fight?”

Oswald scoffed and took up a battle stance with the platter as a shield and a feather duster as a sword. His words being punctuated by stabs and thrusts, parries and counters that showed he had not lost any of his grace and training over the centuries.

“A fight? It was a massacre at first. They came at us with the fury of battle maddened lions protecting their cubs, they moved like water in a spring flood and stuck like lightning! Blood flew through the air and fell like rain as our frontline fell. Our cries of surprise and alarm spurred the others on to charge into the kill zone, the confusion of our enemy’s spells flying around us while our comrades fell was enough for your ancestors…well actually, The Mistress’s family…to vanish like smoke on a windy day. It was decided that the smallest of us should continue on, that included myself.”

Oswald may not have had eyes or flesh but Tana knew he would have had a contemplative look on his face as he looked back into memory.

“I remember thinking we had a chance at first, the heretics and blasphemers we were sent to cleanse were putting up a fight true but we had the gods on our side. I remember thinking that right until they came…The Mistress’s Parents.”

Oswald stopped speaking and it was the slight rattling of his bones and quiver in his voice that told Tana how powerful of a memory this was.

“I…I remember just seeing the hoard of enemies standing in front of us part to the sides as two rabbits walked forward, they strode through the ranks of their children like gods themselves…a-a-and the world quaked in their passing.”

Tana sat forward further on her seat and nibbled at the snack platter even faster.

“The father leapt forward and where his fists fell blood flew and bodies seemingly evaporated so powerful were his strikes! Swords bounced off him and shields caved, spears splintered and maces shattered! The mother spoke words I was unable to comprehend and the last I remember was my blood boiling in my veins, the last sight of my mortal life being a fine mist rising from my fur before my eyes popped and I burned alive from the inside out.”

Tana gulped slightly, that would explain where her aunty got it at least.

“Mikey get those carrots chopped finer; Susan stir the pot and make sure to scrape the bottom so it doesn’t burn.”

Judy called out as she walked down the row of ovens and stoves silently marveling at the advancements her family’s kitchen had gone through.

Steam powered, magically charged gleaming copper and bronze appliances and pipes ran over and through the various stations. Knives glimmered and utensils waited eagerly to be used as they sat in racks and on shelves.

She remembered a time when the ovens were mostly brick with small fires and beds of embers in them, the shelves holding paw made clay jars and the occasional glass vial.

Dipping her paw into a vat of mashed potatoes and tasting it, she smiled while tossing her head back and forth a bit.

“Pawful of salt and a couple heads of garlic and it will be divine.”

Seeing the buck nod and rush off to get the salt and garlic Judy smiled, she had never really been much for the kitchen but was enjoying herself nonetheless.

Hearing a small stampede of laughter and tiny feets pattering over the new (old) tiled floors she turned to see a piece of the fluffle come racing in on some unknowable mission of fun. About to walk over and chase them out of the kitchen she felt where her heart used to be clench as she saw what was about to happen.

One of the bucks that was pan frying vegetables stepped back and tripped over one of the does as they went tearing by giggling like the innocent child they were.

Judy felt her body react and move faster than she had ever before as she watched in almost slow motion as the heavy cast iron pan tumbled from the buck’s paw with hot oil spraying out while he was about to slam bodily into one of his sisters that was half his size.

Slamming her paws together into a series of arcane motions while channeling one of the purest bursts of corrosive and corrupted energy with an edge of destructive Intent she had ever managed, she contacted the burrow guardians residing under the kitchen.

With a nearly audible sound of tortured metal and rot the pan was reduced to rust, the oil solidified and vegetables were blown away in a puff of mold spores. With a very audible sound of cracking and broken tiles gauntleted arms and paws ripped through the ground pulling the young doe away from under her older brother while others held up and supported the falling buck.

The kitchen was silent as everyone turned to look at what caused the sudden burst of magic, some leaving their stations to make sure no one was hurt. The small crowd parted as Judy slowly walked forward until she could see the small group of younglings huddled together around the doe that was nearly squished and the ones that could have been burned.

“SASHA! Sasha!”

The buck being held up by the skeletal arms struggled out of their grasp and crawled over to the bunny that was sniffling and nearly in tears.

Reaching out and pulling her into a hug the buck began rocking back and forth before looking up at Judy as she stood next to them. Seeing Judy motion quietly for him to let go of his sister and for the rest of the fluffle to come forward the buck shuffled back and sat on his heels, in a position that would allow him to move in nearly any direction with great speed Judy noticed.

“You know fluffles aren’t allowed in the kitchen yes? Especially when it is full and dinner is being prepared right?”

Seeing the little doe nod with eyes full of tears Judy smiled as she reached out and placed a paw on her cheek, she should probably feel bad about what she was going to do but…she really didn’t.

Channeling a small amount of power, she sent a memory of burning as well as the pain of losing her siblings and seeing them hurt into the little girl’s mind. Seeing her watery eyes widen and begin to flow with hiccupping tears she let the memories circulate a few times before pulling them back. Employing her old trick of taking the negativity from others she circulated the small amount of love she remembered feeling as well as feelings of positivity in to replace them.

“That was the pain you nearly caused your siblings, the pain you nearly felt yourself…I know what it is like to burn and I know the pain of seeing family hurt, now so do you.”

Seeing the young doe sniffle and her breath hitch Judy reached out and placed her in her big brother’s arms where she snuggled into his apron and shivered. Looking down at the rest of the fluffle Judy gave a small glare to them all.

“You all know you aren’t supposed to be in here, don’t you?” Nods all around.

“Yet you are all here, and because of that you nearly got your sister hurt and your brother nearly hurt her by accident. You all have mold and dried grease on you…what is your name?” Judy asked of the buck as he cradled his little sister.

“Carl aunty…Litter C-fourteen.” Judy felt her eyes cross a little at that.

“Holy shit Sis has been busy, go Jack. Anyway…Carl your station will be taken care of, get the little ones bathed and ready for dinner, make sure Sasha is fine and make sure you know she is fine. I want you to make sure they get half dessert tonight for being in the kitchen when they shouldn’t be.”

Seeing the buck nod as he stood up and began ushering the fluffle out Judy leaned in and whispered into his ear.

“I saw the air magic you were concentrating around your legs as you crouched, nice trick but next time add some fire aspect to your muscles to keep them loose so you don’t pull something and focus the air under your heels and arches so you will have more control and speed. Also channel some lightning to your eyes in order to better perceive things at the speed you would be moving at, wouldn’t want you smearing yourself across a wall just because you couldn’t see it coming after all.”

“Thanks aunty…for everything.” Judy smiled as the buck walked out of the kitchen with the fluffle practically glued to his sides.

“Alright everybody I have things to do elsewhere, Anton take over and I better not hear about anything less than a maiming between now and dinner, understand?” Getting a salute in response Judy gathered her cloak around herself and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the master bedroom.

Pushing the door open while blatantly ignoring the privacy and locking charms as well as the myriad of other spells and hexes that were meant to keep unwanted guests out Judy raised an eyebrow at what she saw.

It wasn’t everyday you walked into a bedroom and saw your adoptive brother-in-law trimming leaves, arranging flowers and pruning a small pair of branching wooden antlers as they all sprouted from your adoptive little sister as she sat on the floor at the foot of the bed.

“Is now a bad time?” Jack and Senna both looked at her with matching expressions of exasperation.

“Yes in fact, that is why we had all of the privacy measures active.” Jack said testily.

“Oh good I’ll stick around then.”

Judy said with a smile as she grabbed a particularly soft looking cushion and plopped it down in front of her little sister. Reaching out she began trimming and polishing Senna’s nails like her sisters used to do with each other.

“So when were you planning on telling him the full story?” Judy asked as Senna groaned at not being able to run away from the situation.

“I was hoping to take care of it before it became a big deal and just leave it in the past…” Senna grumbled as Judy grinned at her.

“And are you going to tell me now that you have no way of just ignoring or hiding it?” Jack asked almost absently as he closed one eye and leaned over to get a better angle on her new antlers.

*Sigh* “I am actually half-dryad…you can’t be half dryad for as long as I have been without consequences. Usually half-dryads either die or become full blood one way or the other. I have been half this entire time and well…I have built up to much Life energy for a rabbit to handle and not enough for a full dryad to live off of. I have half my blood trying to pull in as much Life energy as possible and the other trying to use it just to keep from ironically being killed by it…the end result is that my rabbit side is pulling on my dryad side and causing me to turn into walking topiary.”

Jack reached out and plucked a stray leaf from Senna’s ear causing her to flinch and curse him a bit.

“Just curious if you would feel that and not really caring if you did since you have been holding this back this entire time…sheesh, almost a full seven hundred years and you didn’t think to let me in on this one?”

Senna just lowered her head a bit as her ears grew even more green than they were already thanks to the shoots of spring green grass that was beginning to replace the fur.

“I kind of forgot most of the time since it only rarely manifested itself and well…every time I thought about it, I never really paid it much mind since it was always overshadowed by something actually important at the time.” Judy looked up through her lashes with a raised brow at her little sister.

“Actually important? Potentially turning into a living tree or losing your mind to the sheer amount of instinctually charged Life energy and becoming a beast of the field, forgetting everything about why you consider the residents of this burrow as family and killing everything else indiscriminately…is not important to you?” Senna turned a darker green and cleared her throat a bit.

“No?” Judy shrugged and went back to trimming and polishing the nails in front of her.

“Ok good, glad to see more of me rubbed off on you than I thought since that is more or less how I would have reacted and thought about the situation. If you become a tree then your worries are over and who cares who you leave behind, and if you become a monster then your worries are over and who cares how many you kill?” Judy said with a shrug.

“You have to many kits anyway so if they end up as collateral damage on your inevitable rampage it isn’t like you will even have enough mind to notice…oh! Do you have polish? My sisters died before I got a chance to really appreciate these little girly moments.”

Shakily pointing towards a small chest of drawers Senna didn’t watch as Judy popped up to her feet and happily skipped over to begin rummaging through it while loudly judging Senna on her jewelry and nail polish color choices.

Tana paced around the small un-used room her aunty had left her in, thoughts of what she was and what she could become as well as who she was or could become running through her mind. Oswald had regaled her with a number of stories about previous generations as well as what it was like when he was still alive, he had told her stories about the world that had birthed the creature that was her aunty. It hadn’t been a worse world, just a different one…which was probably worse for Tana since she wasn’t sure she could handle seeing her aunty in the mirror.

Remembering the mound of twisting rust and burning oil, leaking seals and overheated power sources all held together by corroded welds and bent rivets nearly made her wretch and that wasn’t even counting the emotional oil slicks and cracks leaking thoughts so dark and hateful they corrupted the air around them. Gritting her teeth and throwing herself into the memory she began to dissect it and analyze everything about it that she could.

‘Fuck you Judy…I won’t let the image of what you are break me like this…I AM and I will CONTINUE to be better than you…I will not break like you did.’

Deep within her mind she attacked the memory, she turned the fear of what she had seen back on itself and sharpened it against her Will like a blade against Carbide Tungsten. Gritting her teeth until they were ready to shatter and deciding that she was going to replace them with something less fragile first chance she got Tana opened her eyes, not even caring that she couldn’t remember closing them, and looked at the Burrow with pupils of intricately interlocking gears and cogs.

A pall of smog and greasy wisps of air lay over everything she laid her eyes on, grease and oil was smeared over everything and rust was ground into the carpet. Looking around in amazement that she had never seen such filth and decay Tana looked down and watched as the carpet rusted and corroded before her very eyes. Following it back in the direction it came from Tana found herself looking at a creature that was the visual manifestation of rust and corrosion, rot and mold, hatred and despair all wrapped around a…sphere of light?

Swallowing the vomit trying to push its way back up her throat and ignoring the disgusting organic burn she squinted to try and get a better idea of what she was looking at before a wave of burnt oil and metal shavings flowed into her sight.

“Don’t look to closely at what you aren’t ready to understand Spawnling.”

In stark contrast to the visual, her Auntie’s voice was that of an angel singing the praises of the Morning Sun.

Her voice rang like a silver bell on a still winter night and carried the authority of one who had starred Death in her eyes and dismissed Life himself while turning her back on Fate.

“See the pain of the world Spawnling, understand the foulness and hatred of simply existing in this reality…”

Tana broke her eyes away from her aunty and looked around her, the grease of the world sliding into her mind as she looked around her.

“Now make it all a part of yourself, project yourself out until you not only know of everything wrong in the world but you feel it. Revel in it, make it all a part of yourself until there is no difference between you and the slime around you…then pull yourself together.”

Her aunt’s words flowed like warm oil through bound gears as it entered Tana’s ears. It all seemed so obvious and easy now that it was being said in such a way, why hadn’t she done this before?

Reaching out with the power she had always had and never truly accepted Tana spread herself through every piece of foulness she could see until she felt as if she had not only encompassed the room but had become the room.

She could feel herself standing within the room and simultaneously looking out at herself as the room, she could feel her aunt Judy standing like an untouchable blight upon Creation just within herself like a pus weeping ulcer …and following her Aunties directions she pulled herself together until she was a single entity once again.

Judy smiled widely as she watched as the layers of negativity that had been worked into the room over the centuries were scraped and scoured from the walls in the direction of her apprentice. She raised a brow as she watched the layers of frustration and despair flow over and around her…apparently where she pulled negativity and pain from organics her apprentice worked better with non-organics.

‘Creation’s Balance?…fuck off.’  Thinking about how she worked mostly with the living and dead while her apprentice just happened to work with everything non-organic….

‘Coincidence my tight, firm and perky ass.’ Shaking her head with a bitter smile she could only scoff a bit, go figure that Gazelle was sticking her oar in.

Tana gasped slightly as she finished re-assembling herself from when she had been the room she was standing within, she felt like she had just woken up from a really awesome nap and was actually energized. Her arm felt like she had just doused all the gears and mechanisms in high grade oil…was it like this when her aunty did it with things like sickness and stress?

‘Holy shit no wonder she pisses mammals off all the time if she can make herself feel this good by doing so.’

Judy smiled at the look on her apprentice’s face as she rubbed her fingers together as if she had never seen them before.

“That is what is it is like everytime I do it…eventually you will get used to it but it will always feel just as good. It is an addiction that will always tickle the back of your mind now that you know what it feels like, you will always be considering ways of getting that feeling back and you will find yourself considering things you would never actually do…until you end up doing them.”

Walking forward and placing a paw on Tana’s shoulder Judy gave her a dark smile.

“You will pretty much be on a perpetually self-destructive spiral for the rest of your life, a very subtle and long-term spiral that works on generational time lines so you won’t even realize you are changing until you look back a couple centuries and realize how much you have changed since then.” Turning and walking out of the room Judy gestured without looking back.

“Come along Spawnling, dinner is almost ready and your mom is probably gonna need a hug or something fairly soon.” Tana jerked a little before rushing after her Master.

“What exactly is happening to my mom? You know what is happening, don’t even try to say you don’t.”

Judy scoffed as she looked over to her apprentice with deep disdain.

“Ignoring the fact you are my apprentice and lying to you would be counter-productive, you aren’t nearly powerful or important enough to make the effort of lying worth it. But to answer your question, your mother is going to have to perform a ritual that will either leave her a tree, in control of herself as she has always been but a little more powerful or she will mess it up and become a beast that will kill everything not family within an area that I imagine will reach at least into the better half of Bunnyburrow.”

Judy shrugged with a smile.

“You know…Tuesday.”

Chapter Text

Walking into the dining hall was almost surreal for the rabbits as neither could remember it ever being so quiet during dinner time.

Practically every rabbit in the hall was turned towards the small pile of fluffle bunnies currently swarming their mother as she did her best to comfort those that needed it and answer questions to those that had them. Judy smiled at the note of frustration Senna’s voice was gaining as she assured one of the little ones that ‘yes’ she was still a bunny even though she had antlers and most of her fur was grass and moss now.

“Alright twerps up, up, up and get to your seats. Your brothers and sisters spent a lot of time and effort making tasty foods and some of you nearly died for it so come on then, SCOOT!”

Emphasizing her orders to move with a solid thump to the ground she successfully chased the majority away to their seats. Looking down and seeing one particularly stubborn little jelly bean of a bunny still firmly clutching to the front of his momma’s shirt Judy crouched down and poked the bunny in the back of the head.

“~Sweety~ time for dinner…you gotta let go of your momma.”

Seeing the little buck turn and stick his tongue out at her almost surprised Judy enough that she didn’t react in time…almost.

Snapping one paw out and snagging the tiny tongue in between the razor-sharp tips of two claws and taking a moment to enjoy the wide-eyed look of shock on the little buck’s face Judy leaned in a bit.

“Hard to enjoy snacks when you can’t taste them wouldn’t you say?”

*NOD NOD*

“Probably not a good idea to stick your tongue out when you might not get it back right?”

*NODNOD!*

“You don’t think I would let your momma get hurt so easily do you?”

*…shake?...*

“Good, now scamper over to your seat and eat up so we can get around to helping your momma get better.”

Letting go of the little bean’s tongue and smiling as it was snapped back behind its owner’s teeth Judy leaned in and gave a little kiss to his forehead before shooing him off to this seat. Pulling Senna to her feet and leading her to her own seat Judy looked out over the assembled rabbits before speaking.

“Alright everyone no point in pretending so I am gonna do what I do best, be blunt and probably make a mess. Your mom decided to put off a decision she should have made centuries ago until she had no choice and then put it off even more. Now she is having to deal with the consequences, but thankfully she has all of you to help her fix the problem. After dinner we are going to need to perform a ritual so that she either doesn’t become a tree or a monster so eat up so you have the energy.”

Crossing her arms and nodding her head in a sharp motion Judy smiled as she saw eyes turn steely and faces harden at the thought of getting to help their momma…the Offices themselves would have a hard time standing before this small army.

“I hope you are all up for a little song and dance because that is what is going to be needed after this…time to see what the hex dance and curse song can do.”

Grinning with a light of battle glowing in her eyes Judy grinned ever wider as she saw the older litters begin to lay waste to the food in front of them while the younger generations attacked theirs as if they had been personally insulted. Turning and walking to her own seat she calmly began to pile her own dish high with breads, vegetables and stew.

“What are you doing Judy?” Jack asked from her side as she began to eat.

“Getting the clan ready and in the right mindset for possibly the largest ritual these lands have seen since centuries before I was even born. Relax and don’t worry about it, ever-HAHHHQQ~!”

Almost eight hundred years old and Judy had yet to master speaking around having a butter knife jammed into her throat. Feeling pressure on the metal object that had been thrust into a rather important part of her anatomy Judy turned her head to see a pair of eyes that were probably colder than her own when she was pissed off, a pair of eyes leaking magic so frigid she could feel her own soul shiver.

“That is my wife, mother to all my children that is on the chopping block…and you have the audacity to tell me to relax and not worry?” Jack had to have been training when no one was looking because it took a lot of skill to freeze individual bones throughout the body with every word.

“When my wife is back to normal, in my arms, surrounded by our children and not staring down a Sword of Doggocles…then I will relax and stop worrying. Until then you are going to tell me every step of any plan you make involving my wife and before you do, you are going to pray that I like what I hear because if not and if any harm comes to the mother of my family…you will survive to regret it.”

Smiling around the portions of her face that had been frozen solid Judy channeled her own magic to counter Jack’s.

Feeling the ice in her bones thaw and shatter Judy quickly rebuilt herself before reaching over to her brother-in-law under the table. Sinking her talons into his thigh and focusing her power Judy grinned at the flinch she saw in Jack’s expression as he felt the muscles in his thigh wither and die under her touch.

“Relax…and don’t worry, I knew her long before you decided to rob her cradle and if it wasn’t for me, you would never have had this family…she is arguably my first apprentice and my first investment.”

Sending a surge of power through her talons Judy felt her grin start to burn green.

“And I am not about to let such an old investment simply roll over and die.”

Pulling her talons from Jack’s leg she quickly licked the blood from the tips of her nails before grabbing a diner roll and dipping it into her stew.

“She is the mother of your children and holds the teachings and lands of my family…I think we both have a reason to make sure Little Senna comes out of this smelling of roses.”

Grinning at the scowl Jack was sending her way as his leg seemed to re-inflate with healthy muscle, flesh and fur as druidic magic rebuilt and undid the damage she had done Judy turned away and began eating.

“What are you two muttering about over there?” Senna asked from Jack’s other side as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the two of them. Both rabbits simply turned in her direction with smiles that would make new born bunnies look guilty of something they were so innocent.

“Nothing.” Both answered in unison.

“Uh huh…what are you two plotting and scheming?” Senna asked with a raised brow as she continued eating her stew.

“How to get one of the fields dedicated to medicinal herbs without you knowing about it.” Jack said easily.

“What I am gonna do when I get back to the city and take it over.” Judy said with a casual shrug.

“I still need a mayor and drug lord to take things over and since you probably don’t want the Spawnling to be in charge of a Drug Empire…”

The looks Judy got from both of her apprentice’s parents at her words was a resounding ‘Not a chance in hell’ and caused Judy to smile sweetly as she turned back to her stew with plans running through her head for how best to keep her dumbass of a little sister sane and in the correct shape.

“So what is the plan then Judy?”

Jack asked as the last few plates and dinnerware were placed into the magic powered dishwashers…of all the things she had seen in this new age those had been the coolest things in her opinion. She remembered spending hours after dinner with her litter on dishwashing duty, every month a new litter would take care of dish washing and now they were all just scraped and loaded into metal boxes.

“Judy!”

Snapping her eyes away from the small window at the front of the box that allowed one to see the magically charged water racing over and around the dishes at high speeds and pressures Judy saw Jack standing next to a very green looking Senna.

“Oh right…well this would have been easier if you had taken care of it a few centuries ago so now it is less of a finesse type situation and more of a ‘Hit it with as large of a hammer as we can as hard as we can’ situation. We will need as many medically trained rabbits for the first circle, the rabbits best at making clothes for the second, third circle will need to be comprised of the best defensively trained with as many circles as we can after those to work as power sources. Odd numbered circles will need prime numbers of rabbits within them while even numbered circles will need square numbers with all circles spaced six inches further than the last one.”

Jack and Senna both mulled over her words with almost identical looks of contemplation before looking at each other. Something passed between the two of them in a flurry of micro twitches and subtle sounds that Judy was unable to understand.

“We have enough for a few circles, more than we have ever used before at any one point, but there will be a fair few left out.” Senna said while looking at Judy who nodded.

“Those will need to coordinate with the fluffle and any others as relief forces afterwards, this is going to be long and exhausting and many are going to need something to eat and drink afterwards. Jack you are going to be with me and the Spawnling at the Core of the ritual, you are going to need to be the conduit and filter for her powers to flow through.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, I do that already.” Jack said confidently while Judy shook her head slightly.

“Not like this you haven’t, you have been filtering and channeling the ambient powers she has had access to. She has been using you to pull the rain to her, this ritual is going to be pulling the ocean out through your dick all at once.”

Jack paled slightly at hearing that which made Judy pretty proud seeing as how she had just gotten a white rabbit to go pale.

“What is Tana going to be doing in the Core alongside you?” Senna asked in confusion, she knew Judy would never truly put her apprentice in danger but this seemed a little out of Tana’s league.

“Weeeeellllll…this is kind of where I am kind of, sort of, maybe, possibly, most definitely cheating a few things while also taking advantage of such a unique situation. The sheer amount of power and energy that is going to be flowing is staggering and the fact it is all going to be uniquely colored towards our family’s natural resonance as well as the intent…well don’t worry to much, everything is going to be fine.”

Judy finished with a casual wave of her paw as if dispelling any worries or doubts.

Seeing that the two rabbits of the hour were about to continue asking questions Judy rolled her eyes and quickly fell apart into a cloud of ash and grave dust. Swirling quickly over to envelope her apprentice and wrapping her within her spell Judy flew up and out of the dining hall through the ventilation system.

Rebuilding herself and her apprentice at the highest point of the burrow Judy smiled up at the sight of the full moon above them…a harvest moon if she wasn’t mistaken.

“Look at that…so massive and beautiful.”

Tana heard her auntie’s voice and looked up at the moon as well, an odd sense of…belonging? Serenity perhaps? Falling over her like a cool breeze during a hot summer night.

“You were the one watching over us that night so long ago, aren’t you?” Looking over at the older rabbit Tana realized Judy wasn’t talking to her but rather the moon.

“You were the one who helped her during that night she saw her father for the last time…well glad to see you again, she is going to need you once more.”

Looking down at the younger rabbit Judy allowed her eyes to slit and the world around her to darken as she pulled in the moonlight around them.

“Quick lesson Spawnling, your mother is the summer sun and hearthfire of your family. Circles of Power drawn by her in the light of the Sun and fueled by the Father’s Passion will be stronger and more stable than any drawn by me. You and I though, we are the winter moon and frozen wind, our circles are best drawn under the light of the moon and fueled by the changing of the season.”

Tana titled her head a bit in confusion at that.

“But it is still summer.” Judy grinned with sharp moonlit teeth from within a cloud of shadows.

“Not anymore…”

About to ask what Judy was talking about Tana stopped at an odd feeling growing in her chest and stomach. It felt like twine being pulled tighter and tighter until instead of the snapping sensation she expected Tana felt as if an impossibly large drum had just been struck as a nearly imperceptible shiver ran through the world.

Swaying in place a little she looked over at her aunt as all the moonlight she had been pulling in lanced out to begin carving into the earth.

“Carved by the light of the Daughter into the flesh of the Mother for the sake of the Child…” Judy’s words were spoken with a weight to them that Tana could feel resonate like hammer blows across the hills.

Twisting her lips into a look of determination Tana closed her eyes and reached out with her own magic, grasping the moonlight around herself like her master had done, though not as easily.

Opening eyes like interlocking gears from within her own cloud of shadows she quickly analyzed Judy’s magic, the way it flowed and the intent it was being shaped with as well as the sigils and runes it was being used to create. Focusing her Will and matching Intent she began to carve equations into the ground like her aunty was doing, their powers interlocking and moving together like perfectly matched and well-oiled gears.

“Powered by the Enemy for the sake of the Scales with the Might of Family.” Her own words fell on the world with the precision of a well-tuned clock, no one word one second to soon or to late in their rhythm.

Walking out onto the top of the burrow with the majority of their children following after them Jack and Senna felt their eyes widen as they watched something they had never really thought they would see…their most troublesome daughter was not just wielding magic with the same skill as her siblings but she was actively participating in a massive working.

Moonlight carved, danced, twirled and spun across the hilltop as intricate arcane runes, sigils, symbols and mathmagics spread over the burrow as two rabbits spun and danced within a cloud of night’s darkest hour with smiles of moonlight.

“Everyone take positions, you all know your places now get to them. Auxiliary teams take up positions outside the circles and be ready for when it is over, Fluffle Squad listen to your Team Leaders and work together.”

Seeing a small army of their smallest and youngest children all wearing makeshift helmets give near picture perfect salutes as they all formed ranks of their own accord sent a thrill of pride through Jack and Senna.

Small groups of bunnies carried buckets of ice-water and began setting up small buffets of snacks all around the outside of the final circle. Older group leaders began setting up sets of drums, some of which were so small they were held under the arms or cradled in laps while more still brought out drums large enough to stand on with room to spare and more still brough out every size in-between.

Turning towards each other and leaning in until they could press their foreheads together both tilted up and kissed each other as if it was the last time they would ever see the other for the first time.

Walking up the hill as their various litters took up position around them Jack and Senna felt the change in the air as they stepped over the barrier that separated the First Circle and Core of the ritual, the swirling shadows of night slowly pulling back and fading until they saw both Judy and Tana standing before them.

Judy and Tana quickly took up position at their own points within the Core of the ritual as Jack and Senna stood at the very center. Gesturing subtly to the side Judy felt a subtle tension in the air as those around them began gently drumming, they didn’t try to synch with each other, instead every drummer beat out the pulse of their own personal magic. Judy inhaled deeply as the magic began to swirl in anticipation, this was a magic older than even her family…this was a magic as old as the concept of family itself and older still.

“Grrr…not this one…no…still no…ohh interesting, gonna keep that one…no…FUCK!” Holding herself back from launching the book in her paw off into the distance Judy took a breath and gave the book a hug as it quivered in her grasp.

“Sorry sweety, not your fault I’m just frustrated. Here, back home with you.”

Smiling gently as she carefully slotted the book back on the shelf and gave it a gentle pat on the spine, she felt her ears snap up in alarm as she caught the glow of Life out of the corner of her eye. Spinning in place to see who had such a powerful and bright Life signature she bit her lip, her master had never specifically said his realm was off limits to other entities and she had seen the Offices come and go so…maybe this one was like them?

“Never…thought…I…would…see…tenderness…from…a…necromancer….”

The voice was gentle and had an air of amusement in it. Despite her best-efforts Judy felt herself begin to relax, the voice was so familiar she was positive she had heard it somewhere…she just couldn’t remember where or when.

“Of…course…you…remember…my…voice…every…living…mammal…has…heard…it…at…one…point…or…another…”

Watching the glow of the power that was reaching around the shelves Judy felt her fur begin to burn and skin sizzle, whoever was about to come around that corner had a Life signature more powerful than she remembered even Life having when she met him.

“Sorry…about…that…”

OK she was gonna have to get back to practicing her mental defenses, it wasn’t fair someone could just pluck her thoughts from her head.

She watched the gentle glow of magic began to recede and give her some relief, she may have gotten better at more magic than she had been in her youth but she still didn’t like being around so much life and vitality magic. Extending her senses a bit in an effort to figure out who and what was heading her way she had enough time to comprehend a power almost as old and powerful as the Offices themselves. It was like looking into the depths of an ocean made of light and laughter, endless skies that never stopped glowing with hope…it wasn’t Life she was looking at, rather his First Gift.

“Hello Gaia, to what do I owe this eye searing visit?”

“You…seem…to…be…looking…for…something…outside…your…talents…”

Judy rolled her eyes and turned her back as the sloth slowly strode into view. Reaching out and picking another book off the shelf before flipping through it she grumbled as it failed to have what she was looking for.

“Yeah I am looking for some way to save one of your Daughters from her own stupid self so she can stay with her stupid husband who she is stupidly in love with and keep looking over their stupidly happy family.”

Pushing a book back in place as the shelf sank into the floor so that she could reach another shelf higher up the impossibly tall tower of information Judy looked around her at the sheer amount of books dedicated to vitality magic, shelves reaching so high she couldn’t see the top and more books than not glowing with the gentle magics of healing, vitality, life and nature.

“So…you…are…looking…for…a…way…to…save…your…family…”

Judy scoffed as she pulled another book, glanced at the title and pushed it back.

“My family died centuries ago and aren’t coming back, the Hopps blood has been spread out so much it is practically spent and gone. I’m not trying to save my family I am trying to keep hers together.”

She could tell her tone was getting sharp and she knew Gaia was probably not the one she should be getting short with since she didn’t have the same restrictions as the Offices but she didn’t really care at the moment.

“Well…that…is…something…I…can…get…behind.”

“Sounds like something the last guy I took to bed said except he said he would be behind… me all… the way…” Judy responded flippantly before seeing a small notebook float into her line of sight.

Reaching out she jerked her paw back with a hiss at the way the ambient vitality magic seared her own. Snarling she reached out and grabbed the notebook, gritting her teeth as her flesh and fur burned down to the bone and even began pitting those before her own aura overwhelmed that of the book.

“My…first…ritual…given…to…my…first…Children…use…at…your…own…risk.”

Looking up from the notebook Judy watched as the last few wisps of Vitality and Life magic that spoke of Gaia’s presence faded into the ambient magic of her Master’s World. Looking down to the small book in her paws she opened it up and felt her eyes widen slightly, these were plans and directions for a ritual that was beyond ancient and almost feral in its simplicity.

“You both have to open up, not just to the magic of the ritual but to the full might of Mother Gaia herself and to each other. You will have to open up more than just your magic and minds but your souls, you will be broken down and rebuilt on more than just a physical level but also a spiritual level. Should you waver for even the slightest second you will destroy the both of you and possibly a number of your family as well.”

Both Jack and Senna grinned at each other, they knew what Judy was doing…she was being herself.

Reaching out and interlacing their paws the same way they had when they got married Jack and Senna began to sway while humming in tune not just with each other, but with each other’s personal magical signature.

Looking towards her apprentice Judy nodded and began to sing gently along with her apprentice in counter harmony to the pair between them.

As their voices raised up in time with the amount of power being pulled, refined and used Judy could hear the first circle begin to sing while slowly beginning the dance of her family.

Soon she could hear the chorus of the second and third circles begin to sing in time with the dancing steps of the first circle and before to long Judy felt a shudder go through the circles as the sigils lit with a rainbow of magics as the entire ritual was fully powered. Raising her voice to the skies in time with her apprentice both rabbits swirled and danced in time to the ancient steps her family had stomped into these lands since time immemorial.

Drums continued to thrum around them in discordant rhythms, their sounds clashed around them like rain over a tin roof…the higher and smaller drums being drowned out by the thunderously large drums. Within each circle dancers stepped in time with each other and sang with the power of their family in every word while outside the circles the wild chaos of nature thundered over the rolling hills. Rabbits slammed their paws into drums to the beat of their magic, their paws grew sore and then grew numb as they hammered out their desire to save their mother and protect their father. The hills rang with the thunder of their sibling’s steps and the power of their voices, the fields sang with the storm of their words.

Tana couldn’t believe it, she was not only taking part in the dance her family had been using for centuries to keep their crops healthy and family strong but she was actually at the core of it alongside the one who taught their family. She could not only feel the power of their family like a lake ebbing and flowing with every sway and step of the dance but also the incomprehensible ocean of power the Mother held beneath them…the ocean they were tapping into.

The power of their world ran like lighting through her veins and hit like a summer flood. She could not only feel her veins burn and strain under the weight of the power their ritual was channeling but also see it within her father as he lit up like a bonfire within a glacier.

As she danced and spun she watched her father glow bright as a beacon of the heavens in the arms of her mother who glowed like a fresh shoot of spring grass. In counterpoint to the movements around them both Jack and Senna swayed and spun around each other in gentle motions as they held the other, unknown to any within the ritual each one was reliving their first dance as a married couple.

Stepping up the tempo of the dance Judy pushed her apprentice to keep up alongside the other circles, the power flowing in massive arcs from one sigil to another.

Tana felt like her entire being was being ripped apart almost as fast as it was being put back together, she watched with amazement as her arm was pulled apart by strands of lightning like spider silk until it swirled around her in a storm of parts.

She felt her body move on instinct as she watched her arm be rebuilt as if it had always been as it was, as if she had always been part metal and glass. Her arm, it turned out, was only the beginning as her various other parts began to come apart only to be put back in place… but better.

She felt like everything was being stretched and pulled before being crushed back into place while feeling like she had some extra parts added in that weren’t there when she started.

Jack smiled widely at his wife…yeah that wasn’t going to get old anytime soon.

He knew there was something he should probably be paying attention to but right then, he had His Savior in his arms and they were swaying across the dance floor of their burrow. He remembered when he nearly died and became Senna’s tree as she saved his life, he remembered when they found out for certain that his life and hers were linked…that they were really were ‘Til death do you part’.

Senna smiled up at her husband as they danced in front of their little family in their burrow…well her Big Sister’s burrow but at this point it didn’t really matter. She felt her ear twitch at something in the back of her mind, like she had forgotten something, but that wasn’t important right now. Leaning forward until she could rest her head on Jack’s shoulder she nuzzled into the solid and magically cool muscle that she had grown accustomed to falling asleep surrounded by.

Judy smiled internally as she kept the tempo of the ritual with her dance and song, she had to keep things from getting too fast or becoming too slow.

This was possibly the largest and most powerful ritual she knew, definitely the oldest and most complex seeing as how it was her own family’s song and dance combined with the ritual Gaia gave to her.

Go figure the entire profile of this ritual was built around the balancing of opposing forces, the structure and tradition of her family’s movements surrounded and contained within the elemental chaos of Gaia’s ritual. She had never had so much power and magic to work with and things were actually going a lot easier than she had imagined they would.

‘Guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, those two are disgustingly happy and have had centuries to know each other inside, out and sideways so it is no surprise the energy is flowing through them so smoothly.’

She had already rebuilt her apprentice to be more integrated with her improvements and had maybe snagged a little bit of the power for herself to smooth out a few of her own issues…now it was time to fix her little sister and her stupid husband and save their stupid marriage and keep them stupid happy…

‘This is gonna suck…’

Judy continued to sing the words of her family’s ancient curse song, she just changed the pitch and tone a bit.

‘How many numbers are between zero and one? how many tones are there in a single voice?’

Tana felt a shift in the flow of the magic as she heard a change in the song she had grown up singing, it had taken a darker and sharper tone.

Spinning in place Tana saw the look on her Auntie’s face and the glint in her eyes and in that moment, she knew she was going to hate herself for a long time for her decision as she changed her own voice to match her master’s. Continuing to spin in place she caught the eyes of a few of her siblings and did her best to convey her thoughts to them.

‘Fight us as much as possible.’

She grinned as she could feel the way the magic from the first circle changed to an almost perfectly opposing signature to that of the Core. Looking over to her aunty she felt a flare of pride at seeing the approving smile on her face, and a surge of terror at the glint of challenge in her eyes. She had enough time to realize her aunty was about to do a ‘Judy Thing TM’ before both her parents seemed to erupt in light before dissolving into shadows.

Tana nearly faltered in her steps and felt herself almost choke on the song as she watched both her parents…the strongest mammals she had ever known just…fall apart. Her parents were gone and all she could see from across the circle and through the cloud of what used to be her parents was the acidic green grin of her Aunt Judy glowing with malicious glee as a voice rang through her mind.

‘Now things get interesting Spawnling…try to keep up.’

Tana didn’t know how she would do it, or how long it would take but if this ritual didn’t go perfectly, she was going to kill her aunt Judy.

She knew enough about her aunt to at least know what to study in order to oppose her and she vowed that if this didn’t work out, she was going to hunt down anything and everything she could find in order to kill her aunt and damn the consequences.

Continuing the ancestral hex dance and curse song Tana took every chance she could to glare across the glowing circle and through the cloud of particles that was once her parents at the grinning rabbit on the other side.

Noticing something at the bottom of her vision and feeling a new magical signature that was somehow familiar she looked down and saw a tiny sapling peeking out of the grass at the top of the hill they were on. Growling internally at the fact she couldn’t stop and investigate Tana looked up from the sapling towards her master and saw the look of intense concentration now plastered across her face. Gritting her teeth Tana sharpened her concentration…she wasn’t about to fail her parents.

Judy felt herself rebel on a cellular, magical and spiritual level against the magics she was now having to wield as she began to weave Life and Vitality magic in excess. She pulled and directed the flows of magic that rang the loudest with the powers of life into the sapling that now grew on the top of her old home …and hated every second of it.

She could feel the hopes and dreams, happiness and pure joy of the magic she was weaving…it made her stomach churn and blood boil at the feelings and memories it invoked.

Gritting her teeth and spitting out the words of her family’s Curse Song Judy ignored the way her fur curled and burned as her skin blistered with every word. She could feel her joints begin to grind against each other as her cartilage broke down and her bones creaked as the centuries began to creep up on her. She knew what she was doing and what failure might mean…but she would be damned if she allowed her Baby Sister to suffer just because she wasn’t strong enough to wield a few types of magic she wasn’t used to.

Looking up at something in the sky that didn’t just catch her attention, but demanded it Judy snarled and bared her teeth at the visage of Gaia looking down on them. Her words turned from flowing song to spitting curses as the vision of the World’s Spirit looked down on them with a look of judgement at their actions.

‘You will recognize your daughter you ancient bitch, she has gone through to much for you to turn your back now.’

Her eyes glazed and her fur fell from her frame in clumps as her skin erupted in blisters and rot, her nails grew into cracked and ragged talons as her teeth pushed past her lips into chipped fangs. Judy could feel the cartilage in her ears break and flop as her tail lost its fluff, she was dying by miles with every jerking and broken step of the dance.

She heaved her breaths in and out as she continued singing the curse song, blood flowing from cracked lips, bleeding gums and ravaged lungs until a pink froth flowed out of her lips. She worked her body like a puppet through her magic and Will as she danced and sang, her mind seemingly outside her body…she hadn’t felt like this since her third century as the Reticulan Artificer when she had been required to smoke some medicinal herbs.

 She was going to see that damn tree, formerly sapling, grow into a full-grown masterpiece if it killed her…and if she hadn’t taken precautions against such things centuries ago that would be happening right now.

Senna grinned as her body tingled as if lightning crawled through her fur, she could feel her teeth buzz and her nails blacken as power coursed through them…but she didn’t care.

She knew in the back of her mind that something important was happening but she couldn’t bring herself to care very much as she was seeing one of the happiest days of her life once more played out around her.

She knew on an intellectual level that there was something wrong with the world…but at that exact moment she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the ice blue eyes in front of her. They were so warm and soft despite the color and magic behind them, she could see glaciers untouched by even the concept of warmth contained within their depths and yet she had never felt warmer than when she looked into the depths of the soul contained within.

She sighed as she swayed with her husband, laughed as he lead her in a little jig and clapped along with her family as her goof of a husband lead some of his children in a courtly group waltz, the doe he was dancing with stepping perfectly in time as she stood on his feet with her arms stretched up to her daddy’s paws.

“You know this won’t last right?” A voice next to her said.

Turning to the speaker Senna felt herself frown slightly…she didn’t recognize this rabbit. Her coloration was oddly familiar but it definitely didn’t come from Senna’s family and there was no way it came from Jack’s side of their new family.

“He is going to die before you even reach your magical puberty and your children will follow not long after.”

~OOoOOOoookkkkkaaaaaayyyy~ Senna was gonna slap this bitch with an earthquake for that one, she was not gonna let some wedding crasher just walk in and start talking shit without consequences. Right as she was beginning to build power in her fist and start to wind up the odd rabbit continued speaking as if she wasn’t worried at all about the fact the air around Senna’s fist was beginning to shiver with as much power as it took to hold up a mountain.

“Of course, that is what I would normally be saying in a situation like this, but then again there aren’t many who can claim something like Judy Blackburrow as family.”

Senna stopped raising her fist at those words…she knew that name, but it was wrong somehow.

“Judy…Blackburrow? I only know one Judy of any note and her name is Hopps…” Seeing the way the other rabbit’s brow raised as she turned towards Senna she felt a spike between her eyes as new thoughts and old memories slammed into her.

“No…they are the same, her family and home burned so she took the name Blackburrow since she didn’t think herself worthy of the name Hopps.” She knew she was talking out loud and mostly to herself but she didn’t care, there was something going on in her head and she didn’t like that.

“Who are you?”

Looking at the strange rabbit Senna noticed that everything around her continued moving as she remembered it, her husband continued twirling their daughters along the dance floor…their sons continued laughing and singing.

“Oh you already know who I am Little One, you just haven’t recognized me since you hadn’t truly understood me by the time of this memory and the first time you saw me hasn’t happened…also doesn’t help I was wearing a different shape when you eventually do see me.”

Senna could feel the dissonance between her memory of the past and what she was beginning to remember from a time that hadn’t happened yet starting to grind against each other. She could remember what was about to happen seconds before she watched it occur in what she now understood was a memory.

“Don’t worry to much, she may be a necromancer at heart but Judy is…not the worst thing you could have fighting for you.”

The rabbit…Mother…Gaia…said while smiling at the sight of Senna’s daughters dragging their brothers on to the dance floor so they could all learn how to dance like their daddy.

“Right now she is currently channeling enough power to grow an entire forest from seedlings, she is obliterating her own body so that she can rebuild yours and that of your Tree.” Senna jerked her head at hearing that.

“Wait! What do you mean she is rebuilding us!” She could remember her big sister now and was not entirely sure she wanted to be built off any plans Judy would be using.

Tana felt her heart skip a beat as she watched one of her brothers be struck by a flow of power that arched up and out of a sigil.

As she watched she could see him almost flicker in place before he continued dancing and singing their ancient song as if nothing happened.

The more she watched the more she saw it happen, power would jump from the circle to lash out at one of her siblings only for them to flicker in place and continue on as if nothing happened. Even those outside the final circle weren’t safe, power would lash out and with little more than a stutter in their drumming they would dissolve before seeming to flicker back into place.  Focusing back on her master, Tana almost screamed at what she saw moving across the circle from her as they moved around the trunk of the old growth tree that now grew from the top of her home.

Flesh fell from pitted and charred bones as tendons snapped and muscles crumbled, clothes had long ago rotted and moldered away. Eyes like pits of liquid purple flames falling into an endless abyss shone out of a skull that looked as if it had been chewed on by miniscule teeth and burned by acid as cracks wept a foul, black, rotting ichor.

Teeth like splintered claws grew past the reaches of rotting gums as blackened nails arched out of fingers in long scything arcs. Cracked and splintering bones ground against each other at the joints as desiccated organs hung and swayed around the remains of a creaking and broken ribcage.

They were almost done, she had rebuilt as many of her new family as she could and was happy that she had gotten most of them with the remaining ones strong enough not to need her intervention. She was glad her nerves had rotted and burned off by this point since it meant she had no idea what it actually felt like to move under the power of her Will and magic alone.

Reaching deep Judy pulled as hard as she could and gathered every scrap of power she had, internally she was swearing a royal blue streak at not being able to connect to a ley line. Coming to a stop she could feel the largest working she had ever participated in snap into place as small bits of reality were re-written and accepted by the Machinery of Creation.

Turning her abyssal gaze up the trunk of the tree until she was looking into the verdant green canopy Judy didn’t realize she had overbalanced until she fell flat onto her back.

Drums all around her continued thundering out their individual magical rhythms, until they didn’t.

In an otherwise impossible series of circumstances, for just a second…in the time of barely a few beats on a drum, the Hopps blood mixed into the Whitehill and Underroot lines surged forward and for just a few seconds the entire Whiteroot Clan pounded their drums in time with each other as a single organism…as a Family.

Hearing this Judy grinned, her family would not be buried in the sands of time so easily…she would not let the world forget them without a fight.

Feeling the ritual begin to exact its price on her Judy knew she was suffering from a magical deficit the likes of which she had never known…honestly it kind of felt like back when she was just the daughter of the local village hedgewitch, back when she had a whole family and had never even considered being the target of a Royal’s attention.

She could remember lying in the grass when she was Tana’s age, lying flat on her back with the endless blue sky above her and the green grass swaying at the corners of her vision. She remembered the solid yet supportive power of the earth below her, the chirping of birds, the sighing of the wind and gentle buzzing of insects around her. If she still had tear ducts, she would be crying but at the moment she didn’t even have skin. She remembered back then just as now, feeling like the world was spinning and swaying and that if she didn’t concentrate she would fall off the face of the earth.

She no longer had eyelids that could grow heavy or muscles that could become leaden with exhaustion but that didn’t stop her from feeling like she was sinking into the earth.

She didn’t have lungs but she could tell her breathing was slowing as she laid there in the grass, the cries of her new family barely reaching where her ears used to be as unintelligible smears of sound.

It had been so long since she had actually slept, she just needed a little nap…she just needed to rest her eyes…for a…a bit and…she…would…

Tana knew that if she hadn’t replaced certain aspects of her brain and anatomy before now, she would probably be freaking out and crippled with exhaustion. Wobbling around the large tree trunk on legs feeling like overcooked pasta, she watched as the fractured and crumbling remains of her auntie’s bones sank into the earth.

Stumbling forward Tana reached out and tried to grab her master’s bones before she sank fully into the earth’s embrace but fell short as her legs gave out under her.

Looking up from where she fell Tana watched as the splintering, yellowed remains of her aunty sank into the earth as the dirt seemed to churn with worms and beetles determined to pull their prize under the surface. Crawling forward on all fours she reached for the slight mound that marked where her aunty fell before recoiling with a sharp cry at the searing, biting cold and sheer feeling of unadulterated negativity that seemed to boil out of the ground.

“Oh I wouldn’t do that if it were you sweety.”

Turning in place Tana felt her blood run cold as she watched the now familiar form of Death walking out from behind the large tree that now sat atop her home, an ancient looking stone cobbled road leading the way.

Tana felt like the string of an instrument that had been tuned to tightly as she stood up and began channeling her magic with as much malice as she could muster. She had just lost her parents in a ritual she didn’t fully know or understand, her family lay around her gasping and groaning in the grass as the exhaustion of performing such a ritual hammered into them. She had just lost her aunty and master to the same ritual that had taken her parents and now here she was looking at the one whose job it was to claim them…

‘No…’

Swirling her arms in an arcane circle she had seen in one of the books she had gotten from her aunty she focused her remaining power into a shield of condensed air and hardened it with her Will.

*Sigh…* “Just like your Master…fucking Hopps blood always causing problems.”

Walking forward Skye casually flicked her paw and shattered the barrier in front of her so thoroughly Tana felt the backlash hard enough she nearly passed out. Her barrier had been obliterated as if it hadn’t been there and as she watched from her position on the ground…when had she fallen to her knees?...she watched as the Office of Death reached down and into the earth before standing up with a rabbit skull in her grasp.

Gritting her teeth and activating a few systems on her arm she lunged forward and sent a small spike of metal rocketing out from between her two middle fingers.

“Ughhagghh!...*cough!*Ooohgh...for fucks sake…I am the embodiment of the concept of Death itself, your aunt did better than that when she was your age, did you really think that would do anything?”

Tana fell to a knees and did her best to manipulate the various systems in her arm, whatever her aunty did during the ritual made it more energy efficient and responsive but damn…she was tired.

“Relax already! Shit you really think you would see me if I was here in my official capacity? I am just here to tell you, to tell Judy that when she wakes her stupid perky ass up that she is a bitch and I hate her.”

So saying Skye underhand tossed the skull in her grasp at the tired rabbit before using her scythe as a backscratcher with a frustrated look on her face.

“You can relax about your parents too, druids are nearly impossible to kill and dryads like her even more so. Your parents are just taking a bit longer than usual to come out since they are so integrated with each other Mother is having a bit of a harder time pulling them apart than usual.”

Tana looked up from the skull in her grasp ignoring the grave cold feeling leeching into her paws.

“Pulling them apart?!” Skye winced, probably not the best choice of words.

“OK no…ugh, your father was your father but he was also your mother’s tree and source of her power…he was also the filter that stood between the source of your mother’s power and your mother herself. Your mother was the only reason your father was alive and remaining as such, but he was also the only reason she was still alive and had any power to work with. The two of them were so intertwined on so many important levels that they were essentially the same individual, magically speaking. Right now, Mother is trying to make it so they are two individuals again and still tied together enough to support the other…they will be back eventually.”

Tana felt her eyes crossing as she tried to fully comprehend what Death was saying, this was a level of magic she had never even considered.

Falling fully to her paws and knees Tana could feel her systems shutting down, both biological and synthetic. Right then she was running off emergency reserves at a minimum power draw and she could feel herself going into power save mode as her head felt like it was made of lead and stuffed with cotton wool. Drool dribbled down to the blackened and foul earth where her aunty had apparently been temporarily laid to rest. Looking up as a pair of bone white paws stepped into her vision Tana was pretty sure the world shouldn’t be looking like it was made out of water paintings from her younger siblings.

“Your parents are going to be back soon and so will your aunty, Mother won’t let them die so easily after she put so much effort into them and that bitch of a rabbit is running off of loopholes and technicalities that I am still required to abide by. She will be back eventually, the more negative her surroundings the faster she will return.” Tana looked at the skull and then to the bone white fox before speaking.

“What happened? She is supposed to be impossible to kill…she is Aunt Judy the Necromancer of the Hopps clan and Black Guardian of the Whiteroot clan…She is Judy Blackburrow…how…?”

Tana had never been on anything larger than a rowboat… but she was pretty sure what she was feeling right then was what it must be like to be on a ship during a storm in the middle of the ocean. Everything was tossing and turning and her stomach was about three slamming heartbeats behind every motion of her surroundings while her chest was beating out a rhythm as if she had just taken a hit of something she had found in her auntie’s magic bag.

“No one is impossible to kill sweety.” Skye said with a sigh as she leant on her scythe.

“Everyone comes to me eventually, or at least almost everyone since I am still missing a few off my roster. Your aunt isn’t dead she is just recovering, this ritual was not only a massive working and magically exhausting but it was essentially the worst place for her to be in hundreds of miles around. This area is still flooded with Life and Vitality magic, to someone as firmly tied to Death and Corruption as Judy, just being in the vague area must be like plunging to the bottom of a lake and trying to take deep breaths. I am very intimately tied to everything alive, I can feel you all dying by inches over the course of your lives and I can feel when you will be ready to come to my embrace. I could feel what it was like for her during the ritual and I must say I am slightly impressed, she was channeling power that was in direct opposition to the kind that she was used to working with.”

Scratching the side of her head with the tip of her scythe Skye grinned down at the skull in Tana’s paws.  

“Through that entire ritual she was having to channel her energy in a way that essentially made a bubble of necromantic power around herself while the entire area was becoming flooded with Vitality. She even went so far as to streamline your own improvements and make a few upgrades of her own, which I am going to rake her over the coals for since that is just another thing she shouldn’t know or be able to do. She was basically in Hell for that entire ritual and the only reason she was able to continue and finish it without going insane was a mixture of pure spite and the fact she is already slightly insane.”

Reaching out and tapping the skull with the butt of her scythe Skye raise her voice slightly.

“Wake up you irritating little bitch! I got some bones to pick with you and so does my brother…OI! You hearing me!”

About to yell at Death for poking her aunt’s skull so disrespectfully Tana squeaked as a fire lit in the eye sockets and a flood of dark violet and searing blue sparks flooded out to form the vision of her aunt Judy.

“UGHHH!! Fuck off already! You have any idea how tired I am? I haven’t been this tired in centuries and I am not a morning mammal.” Skye gave a sadistic giggle.

“It is barely past one in the morning.”

Judy rolled her eyes and was about to respond when she stopped and turned towards the tree while crossing her arms.

“About damn time you two got out of bed.”

Tana felt something hitch in her neck as she turned towards where Judy was looking.

“That’s rich coming from the one who literally had to be poked awake by Death herself.”

Her father’s voice came from the tree as frost erupted from the tree bark until a sheet of ice had formed.

As Tana watched in slight disbelief at the amount of power that was so casually on display in front of her, she saw the image of her father form in the ice and step out of the mirror-like surface.

“I have to admit there is a level of comedic irony to you being reduced to a skull and spirit while you keep my half-brother as nothing more than you are now.” Judy scoffed at that.

“Oh please there is a huge difference, I have a chance to come back and he will never know anything other than the eternally increasing levels of torture and suffering I have him in. Besides that, I can rebuild my body and he is basically going to be a paper weight until the end of time…I made sure of it.”

Tana had never truly seen hatred on its most pure and basic level until she saw the look in Judy’s eyes as she spoke of her father’s half-brother.

“Speaking of coming back…” Judy said while turning her incorporeal gaze towards Tana.

“It is going to take a bit longer to gather the power to rebuild myself than I thought it would, especially around here. You are going to have to take me back to the city and take care of a few of my affairs while I am out of commission. Speaking about being out of commission, where the hell is my baby sister? Half the clan is on their ass and having to be revived by Fluffle squads because of her.”

Jack laughed a bit embarrassedly as he scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah…she has never been good at getting out of bed, seven hundred years and I can’t remember a time I haven’t had to pull her out of her little sheet nest, uhhhh…hold on.”

Jumping over to the tree Jack reached into the sheet of ice still covering the trunk of the tree where he had walked through and with a few creative curses and some kit-like whining began to pull at something.

As Tana watched she saw her father pull and heave before pulling a very familiar arm from inside the mirror of ice. Soon enough she watched as her mother came stumbling out of the ice mirror while rubbing her eyes and grumbling about being sleepy.

“GGgrrrrr…you jerk, you left me and I was comfy. You have any idea how tired I am and how comfy I was?!...oh, hey Judy… you look different.”

Squinting a pair of bloodshot eyes at the transparent form of Judy, Senna grumbled and closed her eyes as she pushed her head in to Jack’s shoulder.

“Wow…you have had to put up with this for seven hundred years?” Judy asked Jack who just nodded with a loving grin on his face as he rubbed his cheek along the top of his wife’s head while she began snoring into his neck.

“Yeah pretty much…at least three litters have been born because of this by the way.” Tana groaned at hearing that, she really didn’t want to hear that.

“Oh grow up Spawnling, you’re a bunny and bunnies fuck like rabbits and then have kits it is a way of life, I bet Jack could tell you what position your litter was conceived in if he thought about it.” Before Tana could say anything in response her mother’s tired voice mumbled out from Jack’s neck.

“Winter Solstice orgy and from behind…one of my favorite litters by the way.”

This was it, this was how Tana died, she was going to die of embarrassment and probably be burned to ash from how her ears were burning.

“WWWWAAAYYY more information than the Spawn needed to hear and while I would love to hear all the dirty and salacious details, I am fading fast. Spawnling you are going to have to go back to Bunnyburrow and get in touch with Lua, swing by my caves to talk to Alpha first though. I am going to need more than just thick and abundant energy, it is going to need negative Intent behind it so I am going to be little more than what you see now for a bit. Congrats! This is your first real test as your mother’s counter balance…have fun.”

So saying, Judy gave a small wave and smile before dissolving into sparks and flowing back into her own skull, the lights in the eye sockets going dark with a jaw cracking yawn.

“How does she even crack her jaw when she doesn’t have anything to connect a jaw?” Jack asked as he held his wife up against him while she continued to snooze.

“Ughh…those are my caves you bitch…” Senna mumbled into Jack’s shoulder before opening her mouth and sinking her teeth into her husband’s shoulder with a mumbled ‘mine’.

“AHHHhhahHHhhAahh shit not again!...look sweety you aren’t going anywhere soon so get some rest and make sure to see us before you leave.”

Jack said while wincing through his wife chewing on his shoulder. Wrapping his arms around the sleepy bunny Jack lifted her up and began to walk towards the entrance to the burrow while calling out that he was taking his wife to get some sleep.

The day was less catching up to Tana and more standing over her with a massive stick beating her with the weight of the last few hours. Seeing her parents not just alive, but still acting as if they were little more than newlyweds lifted a weight she hadn’t even been aware of holding off her shoulders. She tried standing up but when she felt her entire right arm go numb along with a few organs following soon after she decided that being face first in the grass wasn’t so bad after all. The grass was nice and cool and the energy radiating out from where her aunt Judy’s bones were buried was oddly calming.

‘Ok, so I guess I am not going anywhere…not to bad I guess, feels like forever since I just laid down and slept.’

Seeing the watercolor figure of who might have been Trevor, one of her younger brothers, approach her and begin to asses her condition she mentally went through the various rituals, circles, hexes and charms that kept her running and began to shut them off one-by-one.

‘Alright everyone…goodnight.’

With that she made a small change to a rather important circle of mathmagics that sat gently spinning in her mind, essentially setting an alarm, and shut her entire system down as she was placed onto a litter and carted back into the burrow.

Chapter Text

Waking up for Tana was an odd thing, her conscious mind didn’t so much dredge itself from sleep as simply wake up. She went from sleeping to awake with nothing noticeable in between, of course just because she was awake didn’t mean the rest of her was.

Waking up on the outside was just her going from sleep to awake…in her head though it was a much longer process. Walking through her mental checklist of the various internal rituals, circles, sigils and other things she had built into her arm and a few other places Tana powered them on one by one. With every circle once more spinning in place or sigil lit with her own flavor of magic, she felt herself wake up further and further until…

*YYYYAAWWWNNN!*

“OHHHHH~…huh, I actually feel better than I thought I would.”

Tana muttered to herself as she did a quick inventory of herself. She still had everything in place where it was supposed to be and everything was running how it should be, better actually since taking part in the ritual.

“You can thank that bitch Judy for that as well as the sheer amount of Life and Vitality still in the air.”

Snapping her head to the side Tana felt her face practically split in half with how large her smile was, her parents were both sitting there next to her bed.

Launching herself out from under the sheets into a tackle hug Tana wasn’t even upset when she felt both her parents chinning her. Pulling back and looking at them she was pleased to see her mom wasn’t sprouting leaves or antlers anymore and her dad…was wearing an apron while stirring a bowl…why was he doing that?

“To answer your unspoken question, I was busy making lemon bars for everyone when your mother decided to summon me to her side from across the burrow without a moment’s notice. APPARENTLY she can do that now and apparently I am even more of a Tree for her now, I don’t feel her tree sitting in my chest anymore but instead I feel the power flowing from me to her without anything in between.”

Senna grinned and lent her head on her husband’s shoulder as he grumbled about how his shortbread better not be burned by the time he got back.

“Oh! Hey if I can bring you to me…” Senna chirped as she sat upright and looked over to Jack who now had a terrified look on his face.

“No, nO NO!” Senna clapped her paws and smiled.

“TOO LATE!”

With an odd flex to the air Tana watched as her father seemed to fold into the air and vanish with a little pop.

“SQUEEEE Oh I am going to have so much fun with that.” Senna said with a laugh before turning back to her daughter.

“Now then…I assume you have questions?” Tana just raised a brow at her mother as she sat back on her bed and got comfy.

“Oh no, I just got to be part of one of the biggest and most important rituals I think these lands have ever seen and things were done on magical levels I have never even considered possible…no, I think I know and understand everything that happened that entire time.”

Senna crossed her arms and legs as the chair she was sitting in sprouted vines and formed into a type of recliner.

Normally Tana would at least feel some kind of twist and change in the magical flow of the area when her mother would do things like that, but now it was as if the chair had always been like that…as if her mother simply made things how they were supposed to be.

Thinking more on that Tana held up a paw to forestall her mother’s words for a second as she let her eyes relax into their interlocking gear configuration while activating a few more upgrades she had built in. Looking closer at the way the magic flowed and interwove itself through the physical realm she felt her brain begin to twist as her eyes began to bleed from what she was trying to comprehend. Feeling like someone grabbed her eyelids, both physically and magically, her vision was cut off with a snap.

“You just woke up from being unconscious for three days after a very nasty case of magical exhaustion, you don’t need to be pushing yourself so much.”

Tana reached up and after feeling a slight working over her eyes growled before gathering her Will, Intent and what she had come to think of as Industrial Magic into her paw.

Leaning back and jerking forward she slammed her palms into her eyes and felt the workings keeping them closed shatter. Shaking her head a bit to clear it of the lingering foreign magic she turned a glare at her ‘mother’ before trying to subtly move into a position that would let her escape faster.

“You aren’t my mom…I don’t know what you are but I do know you are a lot stronger than I am if you were able to trick dad. So now I am just wondering what you are after…” The thing that looked like her mother had a look of slight embarrassment on her face and cleared her throat before speaking.

“Well you are partially correct, I am not your mother…but I am. That ritual was very powerful and she is still recovering from it, fixing a little over five hundred years of neglect isn’t easy after all. I am something of a physical dream she is living through, she is currently dreaming everything that I am living. Her mind and soul are currently residing in the tree that was grown on top of the burrow, she has become even more intimately tied to these lands and the lands they are connected to than before. Right now, she is trying to consolidate and remember who she is, as opposed to who the land wants her to be or thinks she should be.”

Tana narrowed her eyes at hearing that…it sounded right but…

“When my litter when to go sledding on our eighth birthday who went off a jump and nearly died because they broke through the ice on the pond and got hypothermia?” The thing that looked like her mother laughed a bit.

“Nice try, you were born in the middle of the summer and went to that pond for a swim day on your seventh birthday and it was one of the hottest days we had that year. Who you are talking about is the B-17 litter who was born during a blizzard and went sledding for their birthday, Bo is the one who went off the jump her brothers Boris and Billy made. She broke the record for highest sledding jump but landed on the ice and went right through, she was actually stuck under the ice before one of your older siblings rescued her. She is also one of the best Ice Magic users we have in the family and is currently running her own business and burrow on an island chain in the southern seas.”

Tana felt the tears build in her eyes as her breath hitched.

“Mom? But…I thought we were trying to prevent you from becoming a tree…”

“Oh you did, the ritual was a total success…I mean there were a few hiccups and a few of your siblings are still unconscious, but overall it worked. Your mother is still what she was, she is just recovering in the embrace of the tree…she just needs to remember who she is. When she gets back, she will be just as you remember her, it will just take time.”

Tana sniffed before scrambling out of bed and giving her real-not-real momma a hug.

“So I get extra cookies after dinner for helping in the ritual and because you aren’t my mom right?” Senna laughed as she embraced her daughter.

“I am your mother’s mind and soul, not a chance young lady.”

“Damn.”

Leaving the burrow with her aunt’s skull in her bag the next day Tana looked up to see the massive tree that now cast its shadow over the Monument Garden.

Looking out over the stones set up in rings around the final resting place of her aunt’s parents and seeing the carving that had weathered the centuries Tana wondered how things would have been different if her aunt Judy hadn’t survived. She knew she wouldn’t be alive since her aunt was the reason her mother was alive, but what would the rest of the lands be like?

“Guess I’ll never know…”

Turning and making her way across the fields and hills until she was at the opening to the caves her master had claimed. Walking up to the opening she slowed as the various layers and levels of protections her master had laid over the cave system glowed and shifted in her view.

“She has protections that reach across time…the fuck does she need to worry about that involves time?”

Stepping up and reaching out for the layer of protections it was as if she was reaching into an oil slicked pond, as she came closer the protections seemed to shiver and congeal around her paw without activating before sliding away until there was a bunny sized hole in the shifting layers of oily light. Stepping through Tana let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she had been holding. Looking around suspiciously Tana let herself shake as a shiver went down her spine, she was absolutely expecting something horrible to happen and since it didn’t, she had to let off the tension…

“Good morning Miss Tana, care for refreshments.”

Some would say in later years that they could hear Tana scream like she had just seen a spider from across the entire farm. These are of course horrible and baseless rumors as she most definitely didn’t scream, spin and fire a magically charged metal spike from her paw…Alpha just had a bad habit of nailing himself to the cavern walls for…recreational purposes.

“You are definitely your master’s niece with a reaction like that.” Alpha said as he pulled himself off the spike that was currently lodged in his collar bone and the stone behind him.

“ALPHA! You scared the shit out of me…uhm, so uh…fun fact about aunt Judy…” Alpha rolled his eyes as he adjusted his new butler outfit…his brand-new outfit…that now had a large hole in it.

“I felt her at the middle of that impressively large working a few days ago but all her spells are still in place so I know she is still alive. I assume by the feeling I am getting from your bag she is contained within to some degree, correct?”

Nodding Tana reached into her bag and pulled out her aunt’s skull noticing a webwork of intricate runes had begun weaving themselves over and around the bones. As she watched she noticed that the teeth had begun to blacken with runes and as she looked closer Tana saw that it wasn’t one or two lines of runes but rather a multitude of lines reaching out like strangling ivy or tentacles.

“Ah I see, here I will take that off your paws for the moment.”

Reaching out Alpha took the small skull with a certain level of reverence and held it cradled in his large paws in front of him as he turned to lead Tana further into the caverns.

“If you would follow me, there a few matters for you to take care of as mentioned in her Will.” Tana nearly tripped over a particularly tall piece of air at hearing that.

“Will? What do you mean I was mentioned in a Will?...why would I be mentioned in a Will and why the hell would a necromancer that is practically impossible to kill leave behind a Will?”

Alpha shook his head as they passed through layers of subtle charms and hexes designed to push mammals away with as much subtly as possible.

“Because as a necromancer she was more intimately aware of her mortality than most others, she knew that practically immortal was not definitely immortal. She once told me that you are only immortal until you die and until then you are just long lived. As for why you would be mentioned in her Will, you are her apprentice and heir to her legacy are you not? Why would you not be mentioned?”

Tana felt her ears heat a little at hearing that.

“Well…I mean I am just an apprentice and I haven’t even been that for more than a year. Besides I figured anything she had would go to mom since they are basically sisters.”

A jaw cracking yawn sounded from the depths of the skull as small putrid green candle lights flickered to life within the eyes sockets and a familiar voice sounded from within.

“Your mother has basically everything she could hope for and more than I could ever give her, besides that anything I would leave behind would probably offend her on so many levels she would get rid of all of it. You, like me, are her counter balance meaning anything I leave behind is something that will hopefully help you in the future…of course that is only if I stay dead.”

Alpha grinned without looking down at the skull in his grasp.

“You know Mistress…”

“Don’t you fucking say it.”

“I am simply thinking of your situation.”

“I will remove your ability to think.”

“There is a certain level of irony in this.”

“I will boil your teeth!... before I skin you for a rug that I will have the wildest and dirtiest sex on.”

Tana looked between the skull that seemed incapable of speaking without a yawn every few words and the larger than average wolf carrying it wondering what they were talking about. Seeing the look of confusion on the young rabbit’s face Alpha explained what they had been referring to.

“Your aunt in her younger days used a pure form of necromantic energy to carve a series of runes and sigils into the still living bones of your half-uncle. I imagine it was rather painful as the amount of screaming was impressive to be honest, but I can’t believe anyone would enjoy having their bones etched by flames under their still living skin as their soul is shredded and stuffed into their skull while their body is taken over and used by another individual. She currently uses his still inhabited, and occasionally screaming, skull as a paperweight in her new office back in Bunnyburrow.”

Tana looked down at the skull as it began snoring lightly before snorting a bit as she seemed to wake back up.

“Wha~aat?! Sometimes I have a hard time sleeping so I let his screams come through…why are you looking at me like I’m the weird one here?”

“Probably because you ARE the weird one, you go to sleep to the sound of my half-uncle screaming in soul deep never-ending torture?”

Tana knew she had the occasional moment of dark thoughts and desires…but holy shit that was a new level for her.

“Oh just you wait, you will be like me soon enough…Alpha remind me to find a prince we can point in her direction sometime.”

“Mistress I don’t believe there are any more princes let alone those of Jake’s caliber. Ah here we are Miss Tana, the library.”

So saying Alpha pushed open a door that Tana had not seen the last time she had been down in these caverns.

“What do you mean about pointing a prince at me?! How old were you when you crossed the last prince?” Tana asked as they walked into a room that made her think of her home, the smell of the wooden shelves… the pipe smoke and brandy…the floor polish and heavy paw made furniture.

Stopping in place and feeling her brain try to reset she decided she would need to update that particular hardware but in the meantime she tried keeping up with the conversation between the rabbit and wolf, that was what she got trying to understand a conversation between two individuals who had centuries of working together.

“Do not worry Miss Tana, as far as my information has revealed there are no princes within many hundreds of miles and those that are still around are not of Jake’s particular proclivities. Also I do not believe that even if there was a prince like him alive and nearby, that the Mistress would allow such a series of events to repeat themselves.”

That…did not really help Tana at all to understand what was being said.

“Damnit Alpha….*yyyyYYYYYWWWWAAANNN*…don’t go telling her stuff like that, I am trying to maintain a certain image here.” Her aunt’s voice came from the skull with a note of frustration in it.

“Why do you sound so tired aunty?” Tana asked as she tilted her head to look at the skull better.

“To put it in terms you might understand…I am working off of minimal power supply with a constant load nearly equal to any form of regeneration. I am regenerating my own energy but without a body it is at a rate that is only slightly higher than what the environment is draining from me, the fact we are in my caves is helping since rocks and stone don’t hold Life and Vitality as well as grass and sun-soaked dirt do. If you happen to find somewhere there is a lot of ambient death and negative energy, I would be very appreciative.”

Finishing with another large yawning sound Tana listened closely and heard a light snoring sound coming from the skull before looking down at it and then up at Alpha.

“Uh…help?” Alpha just laughed and pat the small bunny between the ears.

“Let’s do a tour, get you familiar with some of her more interesting experiments and then get you some new things to play with. She mentioned you in her Will as the one and only beneficiary to her estate meaning these caves and the mansion back in Bunnyburrow are yours to do with until she returns to reclaim her property.”

Tana stuck the snoring skull back in her bag and hurried after the wolf as he continued to walk down the tunnels her aunt’s undead children had dug out. Looking around at the various side tunnels and doorways she eventually asked the questions that had been bugging her for a while.

“Where do all these tunnels lead? And how many are there?”

“Many of them lead in loops and return to the main tunnel here, most have traps and some have dead ends. They will even branch into other tunnels simply to confuse those traversing them, they are something of a second line of defense after the spells on the entrance to the caves. If a large group tries to enter they will have to split into smaller and more manageable groups while small groups or individuals can be more easily cornered or steered in a desired direction.”

Alpha spoke while gesturing as they walked through the tunnels.

“The walls, floors and even ceilings are also peppered with some of our younger siblings all at the ready to attack at a command.”

Tana looked down the tunnels and at the doors that all looked the same and realized she couldn’t remember how many doors they had gone through or what turns they had taken.

“Kind of paranoid isn’t it? I mean anyone trying to get in would still have to go through the family lands and even aunty can’t pass over the farm without mom knowing.” Alpha glanced out the corner of his eye before answering.

“She almost lost her entire family to a small invading army even though her own mother had the same connection to the lands your mother does…well maybe not as deep a connection but still strong enough. When she looked not to much older than you she committed a royal assassination…two actually, along with a series of murders and various other crimes. After that she went to the Reticulan Empire where she spent centuries undermining their entire economy, military, political system and overall way of life while every now and then ranging out to study and cause problems with the surrounding lands.”

Tana gulped slightly as she heard this, she knew at least some of it but then having it all laid out by possibly the only one in the world that didn’t seem afraid of speaking the truth about her Aunty…

“She has made a number of enemies over the centuries, many of which are not around anymore but all of whom could send forces against her again. She is mildly insane and sociopathic, she has spent centuries studying various types of magic so that she would not be as limited in her options as she was in the beginning. With as much power as she controls and with as much knowledge as she has acquired she stills has nightmares about that night, she still feels a sense of responsibility for it and while they may be healed, she still bears the scars of the lesson her family paid for with their lives.”

Tana bit her lip as Alpha finished, she had never really thought about it that way but it would make a bit of sense.

Looking up as they came to a stop she looked around and back the way they came, behind them was nothing but a winding tunnel and in front of them was a series of doors…

“How deep did we go Alpha? We were on a slight downward slope that entire time but there is no way we went in a straight line…did we double back on ourselves or something?”

“Many times in fact, the main tunnel doesn’t actually go much further than a few hundred yards past the opening of the caves. The Mistress found that she quite enjoyed Spatial Magic and incorporated multiple spatial links throughout the caverns. Every door we went through put us in a different portion of the security tunnels with some of them putting us further down and others sending us back towards the top but in a new area that could only be accessed by the door further down. This is all in an effort to confuse and splinter any unwanted visitors or forces, don’t worry you will receive an item that will let you through until you learn the way to get in on your own.”

Sighing in relief Tana watched as Alpha walked forward and opened a random door before ushering her through.

“First stop on the tour Miss Tana.”

Walking through the door Tana felt her eyes go wide as she saw a sight that would send the Weavers of the Fashion Litter into envy conniptions.

A cavern probably a quarter the size of the upper portions of the burrow filled with racks, spools, tables, boxes and more of fabric along with an entire wall of nothing but strings, cords and ropes. Tables and tables of needles of all sizes, materials, styles and lengths with an entire litter’s worth of her aunt’s children in various stages of undeath all working at stitching, dying, weaving, mixing and matching.

“These are my more detail-oriented siblings, they are the ones better suited to weaving spells into knots and capturing them in threads. Enchanting cloth of every kind, testing what thread works best with what enchantment as well as the various factors that influence the outcome.”

Alpha explained with a note of pride in his voice as he looked out at his younger siblings, he even sent a wave at some of them with a smile.

Looking out at the small horde of animated dead Tana was as surprised at how they looked as how many there were…they looked happy. The ones that had enough of their face to have expressions were mostly smiling or at least good naturedly frustrated that their experiment wasn’t working.

“They have no need to eat, sleep or any interest in stopping and they have the foreseeable centuries to perfect their craft. They don’t have memories in the traditional sense meaning they are able to remember any and all mistakes, breakthroughs and combinations they have already tried. In a few years the Mistress is planning to have a magical fashion business strong enough to potentially corner the market…I think she might have been thinking of giving it to someone as a gift or something.”

That last comment was delivered so lightly and off-pawedly Tana almost missed what the wolf butler said.

“Wait what? She was just going to make a business, corner a market and then give it all to someone else?...just like that?” Alpha shrugged as they walked back out to the hallway of doors and through another one.

“Yes essentially, she had mentioned a few stipulations and such but when you are able to make plans and have goals that reach centuries into the future such things are rather small. This is the botany department where we grow various types of herbs and fungus under many different conditions using experimental techniques, we have actually made a number of medical advancements already.”

Tana looked out at just as many if not more undead working among clouds of odd fumes coming off of fine glassware and burners surrounded by small enclosures that thrummed with magic and practically burst with plants. She could see mushrooms large enough to sleep on, fruit that glowed a series of odd colors, plants that looked like they were made of meat…

“How many rooms are there like this?” Alpha clasped his paws behind his back and proudly lifted his nose in the air.

“At least half a dozen with more planned for the future.”

Tana nodded absently.

“And they are all the same size with the same amount of staff?”

“Approximately, some are larger than others simply because they have had longer to be established.”

“Alpha…there are almost a hundred in this room alone and as many in the last one. If there are six warehouse sized rooms in total and they have this many working in them that is almost six hundred dead mammals.” Looking up at the wolf as he looked down at her Tana asked the question that she was leading towards.

“Where did she get them all Alpha? Where did aunty get almost six hundred dead mammals just to work in her unsettlingly large R&D departments? That isn’t even counting the ones you said are hidden in the walls of the entrance labyrinth.”

Alpha nodded with a look of comprehension on his face.

“Ah I see, she has been collecting and gathering them for hundreds of years. If you look down there, many of them are from the Reticulan Empire and the surrounding lands. Also it seems as if no one remembers the power of necromancers in this new age as none of the graveyards the Mistress has come across has had even a basic blessing upon them. Undead are some of the best burrowers in the world so infusing the forgotten bones with her power and having them dig towards this underground haven was as easy as speaking her Will into the world.”

Tana felt like she should be revolted at hearing that…but oddly enough she wasn’t. She was actually somewhat surprised that it had been that easy for her to…raise…so…many…

“Alpha you said she infused them with her power, yes?” Seeing the nod of confirmation she continued.

“Infused as in sent her power into them to stay? As in each and every undead I see has a little bit of her power in them that would normally have been a part of her power?”

*Nod Nod*

“So if she wanted to pull her power from all of these undead…” Alpha grinned in a very Aunt Judy sort of way.

“She would get a small amount of power back from them. More than she has spent raising them as they all have the ability to raise their own power beyond what they were born with. If she pulled on all of us including myself, Lua and our oldest siblings she would have enough to stand equal to your mother or more.”

“It would come down to battle experience and willingness to do what was necessary to win at that point.” The tired voice of her aunt came from her bag before going back to snoring lightly.

“I need to find somewhere to stash her or else this is going to get old.” Tana said as she looked down at her bag and skull shaped bulge.

“I could suggest a few places to put her, how good are you at Travelling the planes?”

A deep voice spoke from behind Tana and Alpha. Turning in place Tana stepped back a bit and readied a few nasty surprises she had built into her arm, she didn’t recognize these newcomers.

“Relax girl, if we wanted you dead you wouldn’t have made it this long. Mom likes you so I guess we can let you live until she gets back.”

This came from the tallest of the mammals standing in front of her who looked as if she was holding the paw of the shortest.

“Momma gone? When back?” The shortest mammal spoke in a soft, high pitched and young sounding voice.

Standing in front of Tana were three mammals she had never seen before.

An ocelot that was wearing small, round, dark lenses over her eyes along with a tight-fitting tube top that showed off her entire stomach and shoulders along with pants so baggy they were nearly a skirt when she stood still. Piercings dotted her ears, brows, belly button, tongue and by the tightness of her top, her nipples as what looked like small geometric designs had been shaved into her spotted fur.

Standing next to her holding onto her paw was what looked like a young ferret with fur so black it practically absorbed the light. Wearing a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt both in slightly less black colorations than his fur the ferret was almost a walking black hole. As Tana watched she could see that his fur had an odd metallic silver sheen to it that came from the tip of each hair. Rubbing his eyes as if sleepy and leaning into the ocelot’s leg as he hung from her paw the ferret’s nose wiggled a bit before he seemed to zero in on her bag. Letting go of the ocelot the young ferret seemed to flow in a very unnatural way over to Tana before reaching into her bag and pulling out Judy’s skull.

“Momma? Smell momma.”

“Hey Sammy, put momma back and listen to the Spawnling until momma gets back.”

Nodding sleepily the ferret placed the skull back into Tana’s bag before winding himself around her feet and upper legs before beginning to snooze and snore.

“Sorry about him Spawnling, he is still pretty young as far as familiars go and this is his first manifestation so it is pretty draining on the lad…but until The Boss gets herself back together we are at your disposal.”

Looking from the ferret currently wrapped around her towards the large eared fox that had been speaking in such a low voice she saw that he was wearing a black and red stripped collared shirt and black slacks.

“Name’s Finnick Beauregard Von MunchenHausen by the way, but you can call me Fin.”

“Sho…no, wait…So tehll me againz, whosh the fugchkk r’juu?”

Finnick raised a brow as he sipped his ale and enjoyed the buzz, while across the table his Master’s apprentice was…well lubricated.

She had given a simple clap and declaration of ‘Nope’ before walking out of the herb room they were in and heading towards where she knew her master’s workshop was. Walking in she had intended to head for the liquor cabinet but had stopped when she noticed a platter held in front of her with a collection of glasses on it, the one closest to her being the only one she felt like she could drink. Following the arm holding the tray up to the shoulder and then face of the one attached to it she felt her brain tweak a little.

“Weren’t you just behind me a few minutes ago?” Alpha smiled gently.

“I was created by The Mistress to have almost as much power as her at the time and the potential to gain even more, I may be a butler now but I assure you I have not always been so. I pride myself on being able to anticipate The Mistress almost perfectly after so many years by her side, you needing a drink was rather obvious.”

Seeing Tana take her drink Alpha turned and offered the tray to the three mammals behind her.

“Drinks?”

That was how Fin now found himself sitting in front of the Spawnling as she downed her latest drink, one of many.

Sitting down at a small table the fennec fox shaped familiar grinned over at his youngest ‘brother’ as the excitable ferret wiggled on his back with the Boss’s skull being juggled around his paws. Turning from the giggling ferret to look at the middle child, ironically the last one of them to join, Fin smiled with a roll of his eyes as he watched her skillfully mix another drink.

“Well despite knowing that you will forget this I will tell you again. We are the familiars of your Master, Judy Blackburrow and until she is back with us, we are your…assistants of a sort.”

Tana narrowed her eye at the fox before knuckling her temple and applying a small amount of magic to get both eyes looking in the same direction and on the same wavelength. Narrowing both eyes Tana casually reached out and snagged the drink Suzie held out for her.

“Hoow dja know m’gonna furgit?” Fin took another gulp of his red ale before answering with a smile and shrug.

“Because we have had this exact conversation multiple times over the last few hours.”

That wasn’t right…there was no way she had been drinking that long…was there? Deciding to stand up and ask her parents how long she had been drinking Tana was surprised when the floor suddenly lurched up and slapped her! Growling at the fact the floor had suddenly turned against her Tana pointed a literal finger gun at the offending surface.

“Don chu shtaart nothin…’m gonna kick yur…yor…gon k*Hic!*ck you…zzzzZZZZzzzzz….”

Fin, Suzie and Samson watched as Tana began snoring into the floor. Looking over to Suzie, Fin gave a thumbs up before waving his empty mug in the air.

“You were right, the liquified magic and oil had the same effect on the magichanical parts of her as the booze did on the organic parts.” Suzie grinned as she sauntered and languidly stretched out along a couch set up along the wall.

“I expected as much, I have only seen artifivers liker her a few times in my lifetimes, but they have always had a few things in common.” Fin sighed a bit, he was hoping to get another drink but it looked like the bar was closed.

Tana woke up and put a paw to her head, one half was throbbing and the other was glitching…yeah, no better way to wake up. Sitting up she was slightly surprised but very grateful to see Alpha sitting next to her bed with a breakfast tray ready to go.

“I am beginning to understand how aunty survived so long if she had you to look after her.” She said with a smile as the wolf stood and placed the tray on a small stand that would allow her to eat in bed.

“While it is very true the Mistress is rather powerful and has expanded her talents for magic over the years, she has a bad habit of leaving her own wellbeing out of her equations when it comes to what is needed to accomplish her goals. She knows more languages than I could ever imagine even existed, and yet the chances of her remembering something as simple as when she last ate are remarkably low.”

Alpha spoke as he set out the breakfast tray, poured her a glass of juice and set out her utensils.

“She can bend the laws of reality, ignore things like mortal wounds and considers the possibility of old age as something for other mammals to worry about…it also took me almost forty years to successfully remind her to wear actual clothes while in the Reticulan Empire.”

“Tell me about your time in the Empire…what was it like being so far from home?” Alpha smiled and opened his mouth to answer when another voice cut him off.

“He hated it for the longest time but eventually got used to it, Fin on the other paw didn’t go a day in over six hundred years without bitching and moaning about the heat and dryness.”

Looking over to the owner of the voice Tana nearly choked as a familiar looking ocelot walked through the bedroom door, swallowing thickly and taking a sip of the drink that had been placed on the tray Tana looked back at the ocelot as she leant against the dresser.

“Holy shit it wasn’t a dream…” Looking behind the ocelot she was only slightly surprised when a young ferret walked in while holding a rabbit skull.

*yyyyYYYYYAAAAAAAWWWWwwwwwnnnnn* “Ughh…don’t even have a body and I think I slept wrong…why does my shoulder hurt?” Her aunt’s voice came from the skull as lights the same color as old, deep bruises flickered to life.

“Morning Spawnling, got any questions?”

“Oh just a few, primarily what in the hell happened to you…how are they here like this…what do I do now…when are you going to be back to normal…you know things like that to start with would be nice.”

Her aunt’s skull sighed and she could hear an eye roll in the sound, pretty impressive for someone who doesn’t have eyes…or lungs…or vocal chords.

“The ritual to help your stupid parents worked, a little better than expected honestly. I was able to use the energy in the air and being channeled by the ritual to make your upgrades more fully integrated with your biology, fixed up some of my own and kept your stupid parents alive. Your mom is taking her sweet ass time to recover but she will be fine and in the meantime her husband is going to be cheating on her with herself. Being at the middle of possibly the largest and most powerful life aligned rituals since before either of our genetic lines even existed really wasn’t great for my health. Having my energy be primarily death aligned meant I was basically in the worst place I could have been, thankfully due to a few precautions I didn’t die.” Her voice sounded stronger than the last time Tana had heard it but she still sounded exhausted.

*yyYYAAAwwnnn* “Oh shit, how do I not get a good sleep when I don’t even have a body? Anyway what you need to do now is go back to Bunnyburrow and take care of a few things for me, Lua might be a little mad since I was supposed to head back a few days ago…”

“Two more days and you can just eat them all, fuck it I don’t care, two more days and as long as you don’t leave these tunnels you can eat anything you want. No word beyond that and I don’t even care if you go up above ground and eat everyone in sight.”

Lua growled as the remaining Little Ones chewed over the latest goon that tried to make it to the surface.

They had cornered the last remnants of Vargus’s gang in an old portion of the sewer/magic refinement tunnels and had been picking them off one by one as they tried to sneak past to escape. Hearing a trilling, almost giggle like warble from Robert that was echoed by his siblings Lua smiled.

“Yeah I bet you would like that. Two days no word and you can scour these tunnels, three days and hey…go wild.”

The glint of eyes all turning towards her at her words told Lua she told them what they wanted to hear.

“…I’m sure she will be fine. I have no idea when I will be back to normal since it is kind of a complex process. As for these miscreants around me right now they are my familiars, turns out that if a familiar exists in a plane of reality for long enough their energy changes to match that of the reality they are inhabiting. Fun fact! When a familiar’s energy is properly tuned for long enough they take on the most appropriate form for that layer of reality, I didn’t know that! Tell me Fin…did you know that?”

The tone of her auntie’s voice at the end told Tana the large eared fox had better answer correctly.

“Yeah, manifested like this a few times now, can’t imagine why you didn’t ask or read about it in the…how many centuries have we been working together?”

Fin said casually as he plopped down on a massive cushion covered in Reticulan designs, when had Tana gotten that pillow? Looking over to Alpha with a confused look on her face and seeing that he had another two large pillows standing by behind him she decided she was going to have Billy train with him…right after she put him back together.

“GRRrrrRRrrr…damn you Fin we are going to be talking about this laaaaaWWWWWWaaaaaannnnn…Ugh fuck, ok we are going to talk about this later. Until then just look after the Spawnling and make sure nothing goes to wrong, and by wrong I mean she dies. As long as she is alive when I get back then everything will be fine.”

So saying the lights in the eye sockets faded out until it looked like any other rabbit skull being held by a young ferret.

“Momma?” Shaking the skull lightly up and down the ferret turned the skull around until he could look into the eye sockets.

“~Moooommmmaaaa~” Suzie reached down and snagged the skull from the ferret before putting it on the dresser she had been leaning on.

“Mom’s taking a nap little dude, why don’t you go meet her apprentice.”

Gesturing towards Tana the ocelot smiled as the little ferret caught sight of Tana and scurried over to her in a very unsettling way. Scurrying up and over the length of Tana’s body while ducking under the tray she had been eating off of Tana soon found herself staring into a large pair of eyes looking at her surrounded by oddly silver-black fur.

“Um…hello?” Tana started as the ferret began sniffing at her.

“Smell like momma…but not momma.” The little head bobbed as he made this announcement, as if it was in any doubt who Tana was. Giving a quick shake the little ferret wiggled up a bit further until he could wrap around Tana’s torso and promptly fell asleep.

“Is that normal?” Tana asked as she gently reached down and began stroking between the little ferret’s eyes, her fingers getting more confident as the little booger wrapped around her smiled and wrapped even tighter.

“Oh yeah, he is pretty young and this is his first manifestation so he is still getting used to the whole thing. It is pretty exhausting to manifest so if you don’t have the reserves, it can take a bit to get it all back and well…he has always been a bit of a cuddle-bug.” Fin said while crossing his arms and grinning at the way Sammy acted around the Spawnling.

“OK…manifesting, explain.” Tana said while shifting around until she was comfortable with the fur noodle around her.

“A familiar manifesting is a…well it is sort of a method of balance. It takes many years to begin with and possibly more when the Master of the Familiar uses their energy. The Boss was using our energies off and on for decades so it took us a few centuries but eventually we gained enough power and became attuned to the magic of this world. Once we attuned and our energy began building faster we were able to manifest into these forms you see…the problem was that she never consciously allowed us to do so since unconsciously she assumed the one she knew of was the only form we ever had or needed.”

“Now that she is little more than a spirit for the time being she has less control and power over us so we have been able to properly manifest. We don’t have the full access to all our powers or skills but the ones we do have are more powerful in a way.”

Gesturing towards the ferret currently wrapped around the Spawnling Fin continued speaking.

“Sammy there is in the shape of a ferret, but have you ever seen a young ferret able to wrap around a nearly full-grown rabbit like he is right now?”

Looking down and realizing the warm length of Samson was in fact wrapped around her more than once Tana raised a brow before looking up at the large eared fox.

“So…he is longer than he should be because he is a centipede?” Fin shook his head while waving his paw back and forth slightly.

“Yes and no, he is longer than he should be because he is asleep and not consciously keeping his form. He uses the shape and skills of a centipede because that was the type of familiar he fell to when he was still mortal, just like I was overtaken by leeches and Suzie lost herself to beetles.”

Turning her gaze to the ocelot and receiving a grin while the feline lowered her glasses to reveal compound eyes like an insect Tana felt her blood run thin and cold.

“Wait…you mean…you were all…” Finnick grinned with a mouthful of sharp teeth.

“We were all mortal like you once, but for one reason or another we lost ourselves to the power and aspects of the familiars we were using. I used a leech as my familiar and augmented it to be more powerful in battle but I also studied it on a deeper level. I began to think like it and it began to think like me, I used skills it taught me and it used spells I taught it until there was essentially no difference between the two of us…and then there really was no difference between us and I was having to fight for control over the swarm.”

Looking over to the ocelot Finnick gestured for her to continue where he left off.

“I used to study beetles and insects, I used to provide information to the local law enforcement on how long bodies had been dead based on the insects found on and around them. My favorites were always the beetles and before long I began to learn how to speak to them, they would tell me secrets I wanted to learn. Then they would tell me everything I wanted to know along with many things I didn’t, who was sleeping with who in the office and what the neighbors were doing behind closed doors. I learned so many secrets that I couldn’t act upon it drove me mad until the voices of my beetles, my real family, was the only relief I could find…”

Grinning over at the young rabbit Suzie continued speaking with a voice like a thousand pincers clicking against each other.

“I remember when I became too old and weak to look after them, none of the ones that had the same shape as me that claimed to be my family would take care of them like I did…none of them would love them like I did. I remember the joy they felt when I opened their homes and sat back to let my worthless heart fail me, the feeling of their mandibles pinching and pulling at my flesh as they consumed me. The best memory of my first life is when I fell asleep to the feeling of my family gorging themselves on my old and decrepit form knowing that I would be giving them that much longer to live.”

Finnick scoffed playfully and turned back to Tana before speaking again.

“Half of the continent she was born on was stripped of all life larger than the average beetle before her swarm was reduced down to a number small enough for her to gain a sense of identity powerful enough to assert her own Will.”

Tana felt her ears slam down her back at hearing what the two familiars said and the realization she had one wrapped around her. Although…it was pretty hard to imagine Sammy as something terrifying enough to wipe out continents worth of life when he was so limp it was like he was made of overcooked pasta with a little blep peeking out from his lips. Looking up at the two familiars still looking at her Tana saw them both nod in confirmation at the unspoken question.

“He is classified as an apocalypse familiar same as us, he is too young to have gained the kind of body count the two of us have but he is still the same as us overall. Instead of directly killing like we did he would eat everything around him and under him, he would strip the nutrients from the soil along with any metals or resources of any kind. He reduced entire country sides basically to sand and rocks without any hope of sustaining life for generations, unlike us he doesn’t have vast swarms to call upon, yet, but instead a small amount of bodies that are much larger than they should be.”

Tana reached up and ran a finger over the gears of her choker, the small clicks they made as they turned oddly comforting.

“Ahhh…yeah, you really did a number on Little Timmy there. I was actually pretty impressed with how you tore into him, didn’t think you would actually get to his Core but then you go and tear him down even further.”

Tana perked up hearing that, she hadn’t thought about it until now but she had at least two individuals that could probably answer all her questions right here in front of her and no adult supervision.

Ignoring the slight itch in her right arm and the various other prosthetics she had built into herself at the memory of the last time she had been in this situation the young rabbit plowed through the food on her tray, set it aside, slid out of Sammie’s embrace and tossed the blankets off before carefully making her way off the bed and getting dressed.

“Where we going Little Boss?” Fin asked in slight confusion as he followed the young rabbit out of the room.

Seeing a very familiar look on her face as she turned her head back to the two familiars Fin felt a thrill of excitement go down his spine.

“I have questions, you two have answers and none of us have any actual supervision to stop us from getting into trouble…we are heading to the workshops. ALPHA!” Turning back and pleased to see the wolf butler walking next to her as if he had always been there Tana grinned at the power she was beginning to realize she had.

“Yes Miss Tana, how may I serve?”

“I need you to send a message to Lua and tell her to head up topside to the mid-tier level if she hasn’t already. I want her to torment Astra by any means she deems necessary. Anything she wants, she needs to make it happen, weapons free and sort the bodies afterwards.”

Alpha grinned sharply at those words.

“She will be most pleased to hear this, anything else.”

Tana smiled in a very Judy like fashion, her eyes splitting into multiple pupils that soon morphed into spinning interlocked gears nested within other gears. Every gear showing different possibilities and filters for whatever she looked at…and oh, the things she saw.

“Send Billy my way when you get the chance, write up a proposal for making one of my parents the mayor of Bunnyburrow and how they would most efficiently and effectively interact with the other who would be in over-all control of the crime in the city. No more of this Gang of Three shit anymore there is going to be a mayor and a crime boss. Also if you can find Auntie’s special bag for me I would be very appreciative…and uh…”

Stopping and looking around a bit as if she expected her mother or father to pop out of the shadows the young rabbit gestured for Alpha to lean down to her level.

“There is a small box under my bed in the burrow, a very private box with a lock on it. If you could get it for me without anyone noticing, especially mom…” Alpha grinned internally, he loved challenges like this.

“You want me to somehow retrieve a locked box from under your bed, the bed located in a burrow that is the home of the most powerful and intricately linked dryad these lands have ever seen. You want me to retrieve a box of unknown dimensions and contents from under the nose of a rabbit that calls your aunty Big Sister and her husband, the only other mammal in over seven hundred years that could keep up with your aunt and actually keep her interested in him.”

Tana shuffled a little bit and pulled at her collar.

“When you put it that way…” Alpha chuckled as he stood up and gestured to the small plate with a freshly baked cookie on it sitting on top of a very familiar box with a lock on it.

“Give me a challenge why don’t you…anything else?”

Tana grinned happily and gave the large wolf a jumping hug, grabbed her cookie, shook her head before she rushed off to the workshops she had seen during the tour she had gotten. Seeing his current charge race off with a small giggle following her Alpha looked down at the fennec, ferret and ocelot as they drew up next to him.

“Care for any refreshments?”

Chapter Text

Judy flipped the page she had been reading for the last few hours and smiled when her ears picked up a small sound off to her side.

“Xian…I know you are there.”

Grinning at the muttered curse and sound of claws scrabbling back into the shadows Judy grumbled to herself and placed the book back on the shelf…well actually she placed the concept of the book back in its physical body.

Looking up and pushing off with just her toes Judy floated up a few levels on one of the seemingly infinite shelves in her Master’s Library. It had taken a bit of getting used to and figuring out the basic rules of being a spirit but she had to admit, it was kinda fun. Reaching out and grasping the shelf to stop herself Judy began reading over the titles with growing frustration…she knew the information she was looking for had to be within this library but she had yet to find it.

“You know most of the time when someone is looking for something in a library and they are having a hard time finding it, they ask the librarian.”

Spinning in place Judy almost missed the way the world around her blurred. Coming to a stop she grinned at the sight of the dapper fox that had taught her so much and given her so many opportunities.

“MASTER!...wait, you can see me? You can talk to me?”

Nick raised an eyebrow and chuckled from his lounging position in his favorite chair with his cheek propped on his fist as he read over a small book. Dressed in black slacks with a dark red sheen, maroon collared shirt, black silk vest and tie The Old Man cut a rather attractive image to the young rabbit.

“This IS my realm dear apprentice, if you think that dryad of a sister has a strong connection and ability to know what is happening on her lands…she is blind as a cave crab compared to whoever is in charge of this realm.”

Judy cocked her head slightly as she floated over to her favorite seat and manifested a glass of something that tried to crawl over the rim before she started smacking it back into the glass.

“Get back in there…What do you mean by whoever is in charge of the realm Master? You are in charge of this realm.” Nick closed his book with a small sigh and ran his paw over the front cover with a look on his face that was like…a parent looking over old pictures of their children.

“I have told you before but, I am not the first curator of these shelves. I found this realm fully stocked and still growing with knowledge by the time I showed up. Death has no power here and even Time herself has minimal influence…those are two Offices of Creation. I may be strong but I have no chance of enchanting a realm with anything that could even slow them down if they wanted to enter. This realm is protected by more than just Powers and Dominations, Angles and Demons and more than either of us could ever comprehend…you give me far to much credit if you think I could broker so many intricate deals among such players.”

Judy had to sip her drink a bit since she actually did think her Master could probably broker so many intricate deals.

“I took control of this realm in the later portion of my youth essentially by accident, I found the place and spent enough time within it to gains its trust. I don’t yet know who made this realm if anyone actually did, all I know is that…” Holding up his paw Nick smiled as a series of books rocketed out of the shadows and began to orbit his paw.

“Some of the previous residents left behind their diaries.” Judy zeroed in on the books with a look of hunger that brought a smile of pride to Nick’s face, he always loved seeing a hunger for knowledge.

“Of course…” Snapping his fingers Nick sent the books back to their shelves, much to the dismay of his apprentice as she reached out for one that sped by her in an attempt to snatch it.

“They are written in languages so old you would have to deconstruct multiple other languages down to their absolute base and then figure out how those were intertwined with each other and then deconstruct that language down to its base languages that you would then have to deconstruct even further…you get the idea. Back to my point.”

“There is nothing and no one that can enter this realm without my knowledge and once you enter my realm I know more about you than most would usually want me to, you being a spirit is little harder to see than your physical form…speaking of.”

Gesturing towards the bunny who was currently chewing her drink with a look of delight at the way it crunched between her teeth the fox indicated he would like an explanation for her current state.

“I helped my little sis with her problem and forged a better connection between her, her stupid tree husband and the lands she claims as well as fixing a few things with the Spawnling. Using that much Life and Vitality magic destroyed the majority of my body. The Collection hexes I wrote on my skull are doing their job and pulling in the ambient negativity of the area but unfortunately, they are not as effective as I meant them to be. The fact that I am also in one of the highest concentrations of Life, Vitality and basically everything that doesn’t agree with me is really not helping.”

Nick chuckled a bit at that.

“Not exactly comfortable is it.” Judy smiled while refilling her drink.

“I am in constant agony like my fur is being plucked out hair by hair with red hot tweezers and then flooded with holy water while I am constantly being turned inside out and violated repeatedly by a herd of randy elephants…all in all, it could be worse.”

Her Master nodded with a knowing look on his face.

“Yeah I have been in a similar situation in the past, course at the time I was being hunted by a group that takes the skull as a trophy so I had to carve similar runes into the inside of one rib and grow back from that…ugh, not nearly as fun as it sounds.” Judy winced at that.

“So are you getting an idea of what dear Jake is possibly going through? Perhaps gaining some level of empathy or pity for the poor soul?” Nick asked with a neutral look on his face, of course Judy could see the smile in his voice as he spoke.

“Not in the slightest, I was actually thinking of ways to make things worse for him.” Nick grimaced a bit in thought before responding.

“That should be a few sections that way, take a right at Possessions for Fun and Profit. If you see the title Voodoo for You To Do you have gone to far but are in the right area.” Judy nodded and eagerly began floating off in the indicated direction before Nick stopped her.

“So have you had any ideas on your little obsession back on the home realm? Any ideas of how to find Shivala?...also if you are here who is back on the home front taking care of things?” Judy floated back to her place before answering.

“I have determined that I need to find where the plague began, how did it start and how was its evolution controlled. I found a Glow grow cave with all the stuff still in it but I haven’t had a chance to go through it all yet. I would almost prefer finding the mammal that ran it just so I could practice ripping the information from their skull and soul but for now…I need to find where it is being distributed from.”

“Honestly the whole thing is absolutely genius and I can’t help but be impressed. I remember coming in on a train and that Bunnyburrow was just a single stop on its route, it also was only partially a passenger train. The Glow has to enter the city in large amounts and probably with some regularity so the first thing I am going to do is inspect the train, overall I need to follow the drug flow back to its source because if I can find where it comes from I will most likely be able to find your old flame.”

Nick grit his teeth a bit, he hated being reminded of his connection to their current problem.

“You sure about that, you might just find a satellite operation autonomously pumping out drugs.” Judy shook her head as she paced up and down in mid-air.

“No I don’t think so, she is using the drugs to gain access to the users’ soul. From there she is pulling small amounts of pure soul energy from them in order to not only maintain herself on this side of the Veil but also in an attempt to basically rebuild herself. That kind of energy takes large amounts of resources and very delicate magical infrastructure; these are all things that need to be precise to an exacting degree and she doesn’t seem like the kind of mammal to leave things like this to someone else to look over.”

Pacing upside down over her Master so that her ears brushed through his snout Judy casually shrugged.

“As for who is back on the Home Realm, well I left instructions for the Spawnling to be in charge and for everyone to listen to her in my absence. Hopefully that pristine soul of hers will have a few stains by the time I make it back to my former glory.” Nick nodded a bit at hearing that.

“I did see a few notable similarities between the two of you, your potential not the least of which. Why leave her in charge of everything at such a young age and with so little experience though? I am sure that wolf you have been toting around like a favored plushy would be just as capable as you in causing chaos.” Judy nodded from her position half in and half out of a shelf.

“Yes he could very easily continue my works, but for all the power and potential I gave him when I brought him back…innovation and long-term adaptability seemed to have taken a hit. He can continue my works, but not advance them or truly anticipate problems and find solutions for something as nebulous as ‘cause problems for the local dryad.’ I left everything to the Spawnling to look over for a few reasons, primarily to see what she does when given power.”

Nick nodded at her words, it seemed his little apprentice was growing up.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Judy pointed at him with a smile.

“Exactly, she was born to be the counter to her mother, the shade to her light and now she has not only the idea but also the resources, power and authority to truly act how she wants. I was also planning on leaving her everything anyway after corrupting her a bit more, this just pushes those plans a little further forward than I anticipated.” Nick swiped an imaginary tear from his eye with an exaggerated sniffle.

“I am so proud to see my little apprentice growing up.” Perking up and turning a sharp gaze towards the rabbit spirit Nick grinned.

“What would it take to get a mass sacrifice for your dear old Master?” Judy looked as if she was about to answer before she stopped and seemed to give it some consideration.

“Ask me again after I do some research, speaking of I need to be off if I am going to put my time here to good use.”

Waking up under a pile of her mistress’s Little Monsters with a jerk Lua felt her mind connect to a familiar consciousness, one that she had known for centuries now and had not felt in weeks.

‘The Mistress is indisposed and Miss Tana is in charge until further notice. I have been given new orders to pass on and I believe you will be pleased to hear them. Miss Tana bids you to leave the lower-tier and head to the mid-tier, you are to torment Astra by whatever means you deem necessary at the speed you choose. No limitations on methods or casualties. I recommend any method you use be one that allows for long term occupation if needed.’

Lua grinned with a mouthful of teeth and gave a quick jerk of her whole body to wake up the little ones. Looking down at them all and giving the closest one to her head a peck on her cute little nose Lua spoke in a rolling purr.

“Wake up everyone…we are going topside and if you all have patience and behave, it will be an all you can eat buffet.” That got everyone’s attention, as their eyes all stopped blinking sleepily and zeroed in on her like glittering little diamonds.

“It is going to take a lot of reconnaissance to make sure we can do everything we need to…but if we do it right, if we stalk our prey correctly you will all get to eat as much as you want.” The purring growls and swirling shadows building over her told Lua all she need to know.

“Forget the losers down here in the tunnels, we are moving topside.” Pushing off the ground and striding towards the nearest ladder topside Lua sent a message back to her Love.

‘We will pave the way for the Mistress to walk upon her return.’

The feeling of aggressive approval she received was all she needed to usher the Little Ones up and into the shadows of the many alleys the mid-tier provided.

“Miss Tana, would you care for any refreshments? Or perhaps a helping paw?”

Alpha’s voice came from behind a face shield to protect him from the flying sparks and metal shavings as he stood with a tray covered in snacks and a glass of…something bubbling.

Raising her own face shield, she smiled down at Alpha from her spot on the small scaffolding she had built around Billy the Rhino.

“Huh? Oh sure thing…probably need to take a break anyway. How long have I been working? I can’t imagine it has been very long…” Tana mused as she took a sip of the drink Alpha had provided along with the crackers and cheese.

“About five days since you gave your first orders Miss Tana.”

Stepping to the side with many years of practice in delivering news to the Mistress, Alpha avoided the spray of liquid that erupted from the young rabbit. Raising a brow at the small eruption of flames as the liquid hit the floor, he pulled out a small notebook and made a few quick notes while muttering about purity and refinement.

“Five days!? How could it have possibly been five days? What in the hell am I drinking as well?”

Tana asked as she looked into her drink and saw some kind of particles releasing the bubbles like hot rocks dropped into water…which judging by the way the liquid flowed so sluggishly and stuck to the inside of her mouth, this was not.

“A rather strange metal found in the Reticulan Empire, it is mined in a different state and goes through a series of refinements and combinations with other materials to become a soft metal. It must be kept in an oil bath as any contact with water causes a very strong and…impressive reaction.”

Alpha said gesturing towards the small burn marks.

“So this is oil and metal?” Alpha nodded.

“Among other things, some of which are causing the reaction you see there…if you wish I could add a garnish the Reticulans were very fond of for their drinks.”

Seeing Tana nod somewhat nervously she watched as the wolf reached into his vest, pulled something out and much to Tana’s amusement and slight confusion…plopped a small umbrella into the drink.

“And that is supposed to improve it how?” Alpha shrugged and gestured for her to take a sip.

Raising a brow and giving her drink a swirl to mix everything up she did as instructed and took a sip, this time actually swallowing the slightly thick load now swirling around in her mouth.

“Thoughts Miss Tana?” Looking up at the wolf Tana took another sip before answering.

“Make sure future drinks are garnished in such a way…”

Turning away from the smug look that was nowhere near Alpha’s face but twinkling very distinctly in his eyes the young rabbit looked over what she had been working on.

She had given it some thought and decided that instead of giving Timmy a chance to absorb her again she was going to give Billy that upgrade she had spoken to Alpha about.

Looking over the large rhino that was now clad in armor made of a metal that didn’t exist on this plane of reality along with weapons that she would have been sure were illegal if she knew the laws she was somewhat proud. Walking over to the undead rhino her aunty had given her she began strolling around the large form, placing a paw on various panels and pieces. Sending her magic through the metal she was able to feel if there were any problems in her work by the way it vibrated and the echoes of her Intent and Will left within the metal.

“Alpha dear.” Tana said as she came to a stop in front of her Billy with her arms behind her back.

“Yes Miss Tana?”

“Please contact my aunty and find out what she will need to return and determine a timeline for her doing so as well as what she wishes to see when she comes back.” Alpha cleared his throat a bit at hearing that.

*Ahem* “Miss Tana, the Mistress’s conscious is not currently on this plane of existence.” Tana just looked up at the large wolf and raised an eyebrow.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that with all the power she gave you so long ago, after being with her for so long and being involved with everything she has put you through that you have no way of knowing where she is or how to contact her.”

Alpha looked her directly in her gear-pupiled eyes.

“I have neither the power, knowledge or skill to know where she is or how to contact her.” Tana grinned.

“Good, now make me believe it.” Alpha maintained eye contact as he responded.

“I will be with you shortly with the Mistress’s response.” Tana nodded with a grin.

“Good boy, oh before you go…why is the room with the funny sigil hacked into it under such a lockdown?” She knew there was something going on when Alpha stopped and went so rigid she could see his entire body seize up.

“Miss Tana…please tell me you didn’t try to open that particular door.”

“No, I could feel the protections on it so I just kind of poked it with a stick.”

“And.”

“Well the stick tried biting me and used some very inventive language…at least I think it did since it wasn’t speaking any language I know of.” Alpha sighed and released the tension he had been building.

“Good, you only triggered the preliminary defenses.” Turning and walking over to the little bunny he had been charged with Alpha knelt down to better look her in the eyes.

“That is your Auntie’s personal quarters, that is where she conceptualizes all her experiments, spells, hexes and charms. That is the only door I, as her longest lasting companion, have no authority or knowledge beyond…I have never been past that door and I have no idea what truly goes on beyond it. Other than she will pass through it and an unknown amount of time later she will exit often looking worse for wear and will have made a number of breakthroughs.”

“She has layered so many defenses of so many types onto that door I have seen some of my siblings shattered to component parts just for walking to close. That sigil on the door…that is the Hopps family crest from when she was truly your age and she carved it with her own nails. No magical reinforcement of any kind, she simply dragged her nails through the wood until they snapped, re-grew them and continued.”

Standing up Alpha looked in the direction of the door in question as if he could see it through the walls of stone that sat between him and it.

“That is the only place on this plane of reality the Mistress can feel at home and safe, it is all she left truly to herself at the end of the day.”

Tana gulped and looked in the same direction for a second before looking back at the wolf.

“What do you mean? She is safe here on family lands, she is safe in the burrow, this is her home and she has you and all your siblings.” Alpha shook his head.

“No…this used to be her home but she lost what makes it home long ago, she has me and my siblings true…unless I or someone like Death sever that connection. She is safe on these lands and in the burrow as long as your mother and father allow her to be, otherwise she would have to take them back from your parents and in doing so she would destroy one of the oldest parts of who she is.”

Turning and walking away Alpha began going over what he would need to open a way to his Mistress’s Master’s realm.

Nick wandered through shelves of truly ancient tomes and scrolls with a smile on his face, he loved just walking through the impossibly massive repository of knowledge. He could hear every one of them whispering to him about the secrets they contained, the information they could provide and the things they had seen. Turning a corner he looked up and sighed…of course his apprentice would be causing him a headache even when she didn’t have a physical body.

Sitting among a cloud of books, scrolls, tablets and more rotating around her the ghostly form of his apprentice twitched and jerked spasmodically. As Nick watched small bursts of information struck out from the items flying around her. Sometimes they were short bursts that would usually cause the item to fly off into the distance. Other times they would be long streams of information that scoured themselves across her form like lightning before pulling back and racing off into the shelves only to be replaced by another item of information retention.

Walking up and gesturing with his paw Nick made sure that whenever an item flew off it would not be replaced until his apprentice was sitting in midair continuing to jerk and twitch while letting out the occasional burst of multilingual speech. After a few seconds her eyes finally opened and rolled back into place before looking over to him.

“Master? That wasn’t everything was it?” Nick shook his head.

“No, I stopped a number of replacements. You are lucky you are doing this as a spirit since that ritual would have killed you if you had a physical body, and that is taking into account the fact you have no heart.” Judy shrugged in response.

“I had to do something to find the information I was looking for faster and that was the only thing I could think of.”

Nick sighed and rubbed his eyes, he had to remember she was less than a thousand years, she was younger than a newborn in comparison to himself.

“Carrots…performing that ritual in a place like this is like going to a beach and trying to find a single grain of sand. You are going to find every grain of sand, in a place like this you couldn’t find a topic there isn’t thousands of years’ worth of information on. Did you at least put in limiters and governors to the ritual?”

The blank look the rabbit was giving him told Nick all he needed to know.

“No of course not.” Judy just raised a paw to ask permission to speak. Pointing at her Nick made a ‘go on’ motion.

“Uh Master…what are ritual limiters and governors, why do I need them and what was so bad about using that ritual?”

Nick sighed and transported them both back to his favorite section. Reclining in his favorite chair Nick pulled his tie to loosen it a bit and sipped some bourbon before speaking.

“Ritual limiters and governors are systems built into the base ritual architecture that regulate aspects of the ritual itself. They cause them to operate at specific levels and speeds for a number of reasons, in this particular case they are important because unless you have very specific training and practice with that particular ritual in a place like this it will try to force as much information as possible into your skull as fast as possible. Now you are most likely wondering why that is a problem if you don’t have a skull…”

Seeing his apprentice nod Nick continued.

“Normally that wouldn’t be a problem since most of the time when a mammal is in this state…” Nick said as he gestured towards the rabbit floating upside down in front of him.

“They aren’t likely to go back to their physical form. In your case though you are most likely going to be heading back to a meat suit eventually, yes?”

*Nod nod*

“Yes, now imagine trying to slam all that you have learned in the time you have been here into a shiny brand-new brain. Imagine trying to slip everything you have learned, from the first time entering this realm to now, into a brain that you are perhaps having to re-write to your thought patterns and memories.” Judy would have gone pale if she had blood at the moment and if she would allow it to move in such a revealing way.

“Oh…it’s gonna hurt going back isn’t it?” Nick grinned in the old familiar way she remembered from the first few days of her training.

“Tremendously so. In the meantime, have you learned anything interesting?” Judy nodded as she floated a couple inches above the cushions of the couch she had claimed long ago.

“A few things yes, it started with what I was aiming for in that I know more about souls and the energy they are made of along with a few things that sort of confirmed a few ideas I have had for a while. Something I did notice though is that there is essentially nothing about these Astral Beings you and Skye are so in a tizzy over.” Nick grimaced a little.

“That is because there isn’t much of anything on them, period. There are less than a hundred individuals across this layer of reality at any point in time that can tell you anything certain about them. They are…well they are so vast that their problems are literally not our problems because by the time the consequences and outcomes of those problems make it down to us entire civilizations have passed into dust.”

Nick stopped to take a sip as he gazed off into the distance of his realm.

“The Astral Beings are so powerful that no one really has a concept large enough to encompass them to the point of comprehension, they have to work through layers of Speakers that have to work down through their own Speakers. They have no concept of something as small and singular as any one of us because they simply can’t think on a scale as small as us, there are even arguments to be made that they aren’t properly sentient.” Judy tilted her head a bit in thought at that.

“Wait, so they need mammals to think for them?” Nick wavered his paw back and forth a bit at that.

“Ehhh more to think in ways as small as the way we think…they need layers of individuals that get progressively weaker and smaller to act something like microscope lenses that allow them to comprehend things smaller than them. The further down from them they need to comprehend the more layers they need and they are only able to understand our realities through the senses of those they look through.”

Judy nodded a bit as she thought on that.

“I think I get it…but first, what is a microscope?”

Lua grinned from the shadows as they stalked their target, her and the last surviving Little Ones had been terrorizing Astra for days now, killing her guards and breaking into her various buildings and businesses. She was pretty sure the fact they hadn’t stolen anything was as confusing and unsettling as how they got in to the crime lord. Giving a few paw signals to one of the remaining Little Ones she grinned as Charles bunched up and jumped from the top of the building across the street.

Spreading his long arms and short legs out as wide as they would go, he glided along on the thin bits of skin stretching from the last few digits on his paw down to his ankles. Giving an ear-piercing shriek as he buzzed right over the scurrying rabbit and her Enforcer escorts before veering sharply off down a side alley Lua gestured to Sally and Beth.

In a flash of oily dark fur both Little Ones erupted from piles of trash nearby and tackled one of the Enforcers down the alley their brother had just soared down.

Lua had to hold a paw over her mouth and across her ribs to keep her laughter from giving her away, especially when the expensively dressed rabbit pulled a tiny gun with glowing lines of magic running down its length and started popping off shots blindly into the darkness.

Lua flowed over the edge of her building and crawled headfirst down the side until she could slip into a pool of shadows near the bottom of the building.

Pulling out the dagger that had been passed down to her from her ancestor Julio Del La Rosa she slid it along her forearm and gathered the blood into her palm. Watching as the scarlet liquid gathered and condensed into a nearly solid ball of blood, she held it in front of her and took aim before activating the spell and letting jets of blood lance out at the remaining Enforcers.

Astra couldn’t believe it, things had been going so good for her lately and now this!

Months ago she had successfully taken control of the Enforcers, then that irritating twat Roland was bumped off…it was a little irritating that some upstart moved in hard enough that she never had a chance to take over but she was patient. Vargus had been under attack from someone or something for the last couple weeks and she had never had such an easy time moving into the various industries seeing as how he was unable to look after his interests.

Now though…she had been getting harassed by something that didn’t seem to care that she was the last, and therefore most powerful, of the crime lords. Whatever was killing her employees didn’t seem to care that they were part of the Enforcers or part of the largest gang in the city, they didn’t care about stealing from her, just breaking in.

Now here she was sitting in a dirty alley pulling the trigger on an empty gun as all of her guards were either pinned to the walls by some kind of red crystal spear or dragged off into the shadows, the sounds emanating from which did not give her hope for finding anything good within.

Spinning around with a scream at the feeling of someone behind her Astra looked up and saw multiple pairs of searing blood red eyes glaring down at her from a feline shaped shadow.

“Don’t worry little snack, you won’t die here today…The Mistress has not decreed your life to be done yet. You will die when you are no longer worth leaving alive and not before…those under your aegis though are free game. This city is no longer yours, you no longer have power here and you are no longer welcome.”

Raising an arm covered in red eyes that all rolled in their sockets to glare at Astra the shadow pointed down the alley in the direction she had come.

“Run along to your fortress and know that you are no safer there than where you sit now.”

Astra didn’t bother pointing out that she just came from that direction and that she would have to take a longer route back to her base of operations, she just rolled over and began crawling along before getting up and running as fast as she could in her long dress.

Lua watched as the rabbit ran back the way she had come, did Lua know she had come from that direction? Yes. Did Lua have to send her back the way she came? No. Did she enjoy the minor bit of pettiness she felt in sending her along a longer route back to her home? Absolutely.

“Finish up you lot and don’t bother cleaning up, I want this place soaking in fear by the time your Momma gets here.”

Five pairs of eyes gleamed at her from the shadows and around the bodies that had dropped when Lua had stopped concentrating on her blood spell.

‘Momma?’

“Oh yes, your vicious bitch of a mother is going to be making her way here and is going to want to see you, might as well get the place ready for her arrival.”

Tana grinned at the ritual circle she had carved into the floor as she inspected her work.

Lines of copper, silver, gold and various other precious metals had been braided in a very specific pattern and set into the floor. The lines had been sealed in place with a special wax made from some ingredients she did not want to admit to sourcing and wanted to admit to working with even less.

Taking various precious stones and metals along with a few questionably legal powders, and some blatantly illegal substances mixed with a few things that wouldn’t be illegal for another few centuries she built a ritual circle the likes of which she had never worked with before.

“Miss Tana are you sure this will work?” Alpha asked as he stood off to the side holding a platter of snacks in one paw and a pitcher of…liquid…in the other.

“Of course I’m not sure, I have never worked with a ritual this big and complex by myself.” Tana said absently as she continued to stride between the lines and among the reagents.

“I am certain The Mistress has never worked with any rituals of a sort like this as well so I find myself wondering where you learned how to make such a ritual.”

Tana absently pushed a crystal a few millimeters with her toes as she looked over the whole thing before answering.

“Yeah, this is a type of ritual aunty has probably never worked with… or at least hasn’t worked very much with. We went on a bit of a tour of the neighboring realms and one of them used a type of magic similar to this…”

Looking away from the ritual circle Tana grinned with multi-pupiled gear shaped eyes at the old wolf revenant her aunty had left to look after her.

“Thankfully I had a chance to study some of their work.”

Turning back to look over her work even closer Tana reached out with an arm that articulated on far more joints than should have been possible for a rabbit to push a bowl of liquid metal a hair’s breadth to the side.

“Now then, time to do something potentially dangerous!”

“Master? I am curious about something.” Judy said as she floated among a small cloud of books that were slowly leaking their information into her.

“Really? Don’t worry I think I have an injection for that…” Nick said as he began patting at his pockets as if he was looking for something.

“Very funny, no I was just thinking…”

“I have something for that as well.” Nick said as he held up a glass of whiskey, Judy rolled her eyes with a smile and didn’t deign to dignify his comment.

“When I was young there were clerics and paladins and the gods basically ran certain aspects of most villages. But ever since I came home, I haven’t seen a single one or heard anything about them, why is that?”

Nick nodded in comprehension as he placed a bookmark in whatever it was he was reading at the moment. Judy wasn’t sure what her master was reading but it had tentacles reaching out from the spine of the book for her master’s paw as if not wanting him to go.

“When you look at the movements of the gods over a long enough period you notice a pattern, they come and go like waves on the beach. They require worship for everything they do…miracles, manifestations, messages you name it… a god requires the energy of worship in order to work their magic.”

Judy tapped a finger against her lips as she thought.

“The energy of worship you say?...” Nick nodded and continued talking, not seeing the look on his apprentice’s face.

“Yes, when you believe in something and truly worship it you are not just saying silly words and mumbling nice things…you are actually working a bit of soul magic.”

That got Judy’s attention as she snapped her attention towards her master at the mention of soul magic.

“Which would explain why mammals that didn’t take Glow were still able to send energy to Shivala…” Nick nodded.

“As you know the soul regenerates when used and the amount of soul energy it takes to work a spell or ritual is minimal, a bit of worship is little more than shaving the hard edges off a soul. Now if you get hundreds and thousands or more of mammals shaving bits off their souls with all the energy going to a single entity, that entity now has at least a constant amount of power it can draw from. Toss in a few miracles, the odd manifestation or whatever and if they can get their worshippers going then whoever gets the most worshippers can better weather the low points in the tides of time…Carrots why are you making that face?”

Nick knew he had probably said something he shouldn’t have by looking at his apprentice.

“Hmm?! Oh no reason…just…thinking…” Judy said innocently.

“Uh huh…you are countless epochs to early to get one over on me.” Nick crossed his arms with a raised brow at the rabbit.

“Just thinking…I mean Shivala is using a lot of soul energy…when she is finally gotten rid of all of that magic is just going to be sitting there…” Nick chuckled a bit at hearing that, drawing a confused look from his apprentice.

“Nice try Carrots but no, first off the best plan we have so far is to use the magic she has accumulated against her somehow. Even if that plan gets trashed for something else all that magic is simply going to dissipate into the average magical levels of reality, you might be able to catch some of the blast wave but not much in comparison to how much there will be.”

Judy nodded to herself a bit as she thought about it, she hadn’t really thought about how much power Shivala was most likely already in possession of.

“So you mentioned a blast wave…how much magic are we talking about and what kind of release can we expect when she loses her control of it?”

Nick opened his mouth to answer before stopping and pulling a notebook out and making a few calculations before answering.

“The initial release will be a coherent blast of energy that will move faster than the speed of sound, just under the speed of light in fact, and will erase everything within the blast radius. If it stayed at just that, things wouldn’t be all that bad…except there will be a secondary release of sorts in that a perfect vacuum, about the size of a large mountain, will be violently filled.”

“You probably don’t realize why this is a problem but think about how many air molecules are going to come crashing against each other and the friction that action is going to cause on top of the surroundings being ripped up and into the center of the vacuum.”

Writing as he spoke Nick continued to calculate the damage of what might be considered their best plan.

“I can honestly say that I have never seen something like this on that kind of scale and I am rather interested in seeing it honestly. There would be an initial erasure of all conceivable matter past the component parts, a sonic blast wave of compressed and ignited air which would cause another vacuum that would pull in and then repel all the physical matter dragged into the initial blast radius.”

“Oh and let’s not forget that past the initial blast radius the energy would mellow out so that it would stop overpowering the physical mass of reality and start pushing against it in a tidal wave that would quickly gather debris and send basically everything down to the mantle into the air and across the lands. After the amount of energy released, and this would all happen within less than a minute mind you, there would be a crater approximately the size of…well it would be visible from the moon without any form of visual aid.”

Judy felt her ears go pale, or at least they would have if she had blood but still…they went cold.

“Ok so, I will have a bit of a breakdown over all that later when I can afford the time to do so but in the meantime…explain what air molecules, matter, sonic waves and the mantle are since I only sort of know that those terms exist after seeing them in a few books a long time ago.”

Nick conjured a drink and rubbed his face, he needed the rabbit to take that last step soon or else he was going to have to rebuild his sanity again.

Tana smiled wide as she saw herself in the reflection of the silver-brass colored piece of armor.

Leaning in and giving the sheet of metal a kiss so hot she left a slowly cooling cherry red lip mark she reached out through the strings of magic she had sent around her work area and connected to the rudimentary crane system Alpha had rigged up for her. Mentally controlling the crane to lift the piece of armor into place she quickly scurried up the scaffolding that had been built for her and gently placed the armor against the bare skin of her Little Buddy.

Reaching down and grabbing a rivet from the pouch on her belt Tana absentmindedly channeled magic into the metal and placed it in place with one paw before shifting her other paw into a hammer configuration. With a few slams she quickly worked her way around the final piece of armor securing it in place and with a final few swipes of a clean cloth, her best work yet was done.

“Miss Tana, Lua tells me that the city is ripe for the Mistress’s return.”

Grinning down at the large wolf and little ferret standing next to him she jumped from the scaffolding, forsaking the ladders and absorbed the impact on her new hydraulics.

Pulling all her magical connections back from the pieces of equipment around the work space Tana focused them into a single massive braided cord of magic that she speared into the chest of her latest project. It was with a very distinct look of smugness that she watched as layers upon layers of articulated metal plates, hydraulic pistons, gears, cogs and more all activated. Pieces began sliding, rotating, stacking and layering together eventually leading to Billy the Rhino being reduced to a simple belt made of pieces of metal woven together with braided metal wires between them.

With one last mental command Tana watched as the belt grew little legs and began scurrying towards her.

Hearing a gasp from near Alpha she turned to see Sammie down on all fours crawling towards her belt with a look of intense curiosity on his face. Biting her lip at how cute it was to see the happy little ferret crawling along in a distinctly disturbing and insectoid way while his eyes were locked on her Billy Belt Tana leaned down and scooped up her belt before whipping it around her waist in a single motion.

“Huh?” Sammie asked as his new scurry friend was suddenly abducted into the air.

Tana smiled as she leaned down and picked up the ferret shaped centipede monster so she could bury her nose in his soft fur. Reaching around to undo the ties holding the skull he always kept with him she held it in one paw while shifting Sammie to the other arm. Holding the skull out while pulling the ferret close Tana mooshed her cheek against Sammie’s as he wiggled trying to get her auntie’s skull back.

“Momma! Give back momma!” Tana wiggled and rubbed her cheek against the little cutey.

“Sure thing, or would you rather have the real momma back?” That got him to stop.

“Momma come back?”

The nod from Tana was all the encouragement he needed to start cheering in happiness, wiggling and wrapping a suddenly longer than natural body around her.

Looking over to Alpha Tana smiled.

“Alpha would you be a love and get Suzie before setting up a properly dramatic and appropriate welcoming party for aunty?” Alpha grinned in a way that did not inspire joy in the young bunny.

“I shall endeavor to properly facilitate the Mistress’s triumphant return Miss Tana.”

Chapter Text

Tana grinned in a way that brough the words ‘baby Judy’ to Alpha’s mind as they walked through the sewer tunnels beneath Bunnyburrow.

She could feel just on the edge of her magical senses the sheer amount of fear and anxiety, terror and depression from the city above her. All the emotions heightened and intensified by the magical fog and what she was told was a judicious and somewhat excessive use of blood rituals by Lua.

Carrying her aunt’s skull in front of her while her familiars walked at her side as she looked around them, she could see the flows of negative intent and magic that was swirling and sloshing around the tunnels get pulled into the chunk of rune carved bone. Looking around herself Tana watched as foul, brackish water looking magic flowed from the air as oily sludge like magic slurped and glorped up from the water running down the middle of the tunnel.

“Interesting isn’t it?” Seeing the questioning glance Alpha sent her without having to turn her head Tana looked down at the skull in her paws.

“She is so capable of spreading misery, and yet as we go deeper she is pulling the negativity from the air. Can you feel the way the air feels lighter and smells cleaner? The way the light stones seem to grow brighter and the water clears? do you think she means to make the world a better place by passing through it and taking all the negativity unto herself?”

Alpha laughed lightly before answering.

“I believe she would consider it little more than collateral damage and look at it as simply preparing a field for future harvesting. She does not see the rest of the world or those that live within it as much more than opportunities to advance her own personal goals. The fact mammals around her often suffer is of little consequence to her as that simply means they are then serving a purpose in that she can sustain herself off their suffering.”

Tana looked down at the skull and attempted to examine the lines of runes crisscrossing and wrapping around the skull, until a sense of unease began to gnaw at…not her mind but, somewhere deeper. It was as if she had swore loudly in a sacred place and had garnered the attention of something that was more than simply mortal and less than eternal.

Pulling her senses back and looking away from the skull she could almost swear she felt a level of smugness coming from the skull in her grasp. Scowling a bit as they came around a corner she began to notice the lines of condensed magic running along the walls and ceiling growing thicker and more numerous.

“Ah, here we are…the seat of Vargus’s power, and I use that term loosely.” Alpha said lightly as they rounded another corner and stopped in front of a large vault door.

Tana looked up at the large door and immediately assessed its structural weaknesses and vulnerabilities as well as those of the walls surrounding it, she nodded in approval. The door itself was remarkably well made and the walls in every direction for as far as she could see were reinforced enough that simply going around it was infeasible.

“I could potentially slip through the vents they are using to breath, Suzie could do the same and Sammie could probably chew through it.” Fin said casually from her side.

Looking over the obstacle in their path Tana chewed her lip in thought before grinning widely.

“That is a big door and strong walls…I think it is time for Billy to have some fun.”

So saying she undid the clasp on her belt, letting it fall to the ground at her feet. As the band of woven metal fell to the floor it grew a series of small articulated legs that it used to cushion its fall.

Raising up the buckle end glared at the door, an impressive feat as it had no facial features to speak of.

Lowering itself back to the ground the belt began skittering towards the door at a much faster pace than one would think it capable of as it began to open and fold out in directions that shouldn’t be possible. Hydraulics hissed and pistons pumped as hinges and plates snapped into place until what started as a belt of woven metal slammed horn first into the door as a now larger than average rhino…

Billy the Rhino was out to play.

Tana looked on with pride as what had once been one of her auntie’s younger risen children and her first familiar in the shape of a massive brass and metal locust began to take the massive door apart.

One massive bladed horn blazing with heat rose from the rhino’s armored face plate, grinding gears along the knuckles of his fists ground sparks and heated chunks from the door as it slammed massive fists into the surface. Hydraulics larger than Tana’s legs drove limbs in a series of powerful strikes that left dents and cracks in the door, within barely a couple minutes Tana watched as cracks began to spiderweb out from the surrounding walls, ceiling and floor.

“Billy…!”

Seeing the rhino stop and look back at her with a happily eager look on its face Tana smiled fondly, this must be what her aunty felt whenever she looked at her resurrected family.

“Hit it hard.”

Seeing the rhino grin as it turned and jogged past her and Alpha, Tana took a couple extra steps back from where she stood and happily accepted a fruity drink with a little umbrella in it as she shifted her aunt’s skull under her arm. As Billy made it to the end of the sewer he turned and fell to all fours as plates lifted and ports opened along his back and shoulders.

With a building hum that turned into a whine, flames began to spit from the ports on Billy’s back that soon focused into cones of blue white heat. Tana watched as the wall behind Billy began to heat up and he began to skid forward, deciding to add a few bracers and traction devices to help him build up power she lifted one paw…and dropped it as if starting a race.

By the time her paw reached her waist Billy had already hurtled past her in an explosion of speed as he thundered towards the door.

Tana had never experienced a sound that transcended the audible before, but the sound that rang out when Billy slammed into the door was simply beyond an audible experience and was more a physical force as a wave blasted down the sewer hard enough to ruffle her ears and shift her little umbrella.

Sipping at the drink she looked up at Alpha and gestured with her drink.

“I think the door is open now, can I get a-“ Alpha reached out and dropped a curly straw into her drink without looking.

“Thank you…well, shall we go and say hi?”

Vargus grit his teeth as the dust began to settle, thankfully the purifying seals he had paid good money for were working and keeping the dust from reaching to far into his Throne Room.

Looking down the barrel of his gun he bit his lip and thrashed his tail, he had paid good stolen money for this gun and finally he was getting a chance to use it. Seeing a large shape rise up from the dust Vargus gave the command to fire and pulled the trigger, the massive and magically overcharged gun bucking like a mule’s kick in his grasp.

With a sound like what he had been told hurricanes made, a ball of concentrated magic pulled the surrounding smaller magical bolts into its center and grew more powerful.

Vargus watched as the ball grew larger and wilder as it began to release magical arcs to the surroundings before it slammed into the large shape. He grinned widely as the ball of wild magic released its fury on the intruder as arcs of magical lightning and gouts of fire erupted in a concentrated bubble of destruction.

He was just about to crow his obvious superiority when he saw that the arcs of lightning and gouts of fire weren’t dissipating as they should have…they were actually orbiting the large obscured figure. As he watched, Vargus felt his blood turn to water as the lightning and fire began to flow into the figure, runes lightning up all along the figure’s body as the rampant elemental magic began to be siphoned away.

“Ohhh…bad luck. See I knew you would have weapons like those after I looked through your shipping records and factored in what was being skimmed off the top. It really wasn’t all that hard after I sent a few constructs into the city to look over the accounts and records…I just love constructs.”

The voice was light and girlish, it had the beginnings of cruelty not yet realized souring the edges…it slithered through Vargus’s ears like rancid honey oozing over rusted razor blades.

“They never get bored, hungry, tired or distracted. Give them a task, wind them up and send them on their way…so simple. No messy emotions or biological needs to worry about…just cold, clean, honest, heartless equations.”

Vargus raised his gun and sighted in on where the voice sounded like it was coming from.

“I wouldn’t do that Master Vargus, you have a greater purpose in life than to end up as a smear of blood along a wall or as the frame work for a new model of construct.”

Ice slithered through Vargus’s blood as the voice of someone not just used to death, misery and violence but born to them spoke above him.

As he turned his head to see who was speaking, he felt a line of scorching cold trace along his throat… the blade having been personally sharpened by the descendent of Julio Del la Rosa the greatest Blood Speaker of the Dark Rainlands. Standing next to him was a wolf larger than he would have expected holding a blade to his throat with a level of confidence that Vargus was never able to buy.

“Oh so true Alpha…speaking of greater purposes, time to wake up Aunty.”

Tana said as she strode out of the dust cloud and held up her aunt’s skull while pulsing her magic through the runes carved into the bone along with her words. 

“So what you want to do is to try and write the alphabet with the tip of your…oh! I guess our time is up Carrots.” Nick said as he felt a certain stream of magic reach through his barriers and seek out his apprentice.

“Huh? Oh come on master you were just getting to the good part!” Judy said as she hovered above her favorite spot on the couch she had woken up on all those centuries ago.

About to say something else she felt a pair of new sensations…it was sort of like if someone had taken a hook and snagged her behind the sinuses while launching a harpoon from her asshole and out her belly button.

Feeling the sensations begin to pull in directions that didn’t agree with each other Judy tried to resist and employ her techniques for ignoring pain and discomfort. Unfortunately, her usual tricks to ignore pain didn’t work when she didn’t have her upgraded and modified meat suit.

“Yeah this is going to suck a lot for you, but as you leave just know you have my congratulations for taking the final step in the first portion of your education. Congratulations on successfully defying Death’s Call and side stepping the Last Judgement…Congratulations on becoming a True Lich.”

Judy would have said something if it didn’t feel as if her teeth were trying to drill into her gums while her skin slithered down her throat and up her ass. In a pulse of stomach wrenching nausea and bone searing pain her spirit began to fold in on itself.

‘Note to self…don’t do this shit again it FUCKING SUCKS!’

Holding the skull up as the magic began to build Tana couldn’t help but smile as whips of woven leech hide snapped out of the jaw to wrap around Vargus and the few mammals closest to him.

Seeing the surge of magic race down the whips and slam into the mammals at the ends while feeling a cold that could only be one thing, Tana shivered as the inescapable cold of the grave washed over her. She could feel the gaze of something that went above, below and beyond anything she would ever achieve wash over her until it seemed to focus on the skull in her paws.

“Of course it is you…better make this worth it you bitch.”

Tana stiffened as a voice slid through her ears like fog and frost carrying the sound of every cold grave that had been wept over.

In a massive pulse that swept out and through the tunnels before reaching up and blanketing the city all the way out to firmly intrude upon the Old Hopps Lands. The feeling of her Aunty looking down and judging all she gazed upon soon transformed into the feeling of having astral claws rake over the souls of everyone in the vicinity as every scrap of negativity was harshly torn from the world.

Lua grinned from her place among the shadows in the large warehouse rafters, Astra had at first fled to her main base of operations and Lua couldn’t remember a time in the last few decades she had enjoyed tormenting someone so much.

Guards being ripped into seemingly empty rooms only to be found splattered up to the ceiling, screams in the night with nothing but blood and ritualistic circles to show for the sounds, footsteps on the roof and in empty halls, doors left open that should have been locked and eyes in the shadows. She would have done more but she wanted to let the Little One’s have their fun.

After finding herself the only occupant in a large building that had once been the center of her little empire and had now been reduced to little more than an abattoir, Astra had packed up what she could and fled to her final redoubt.

A warehouse turned fortress surrounded by corrupt members of the Enforcers all of whom were wielding very illegally manufactured and modified magical firearms and enhancements. Sitting within her office she did her best to keep calm as she fussed over her fur, makeup and wardrobe in an attempt to feel as if she had some level of control of the situation.

Lua was of course all to happy to prove to her that she was in fact, powerless.

Lashes of blood snapping down to haul mammals into the shadowed rafters kicking and screaming before falling back to the floor in bits and pieces, shadows tackling guards and leaving nothing but bones that had showed signs of being cracked for their marrow and gnawed upon.

Lua and the last six Little Ones had been playing merry hell with the guards, not letting them leave, sleep or eat in peace. Carving some of the darker rituals she had learned during her time alive into the walls and filling them with the crystalized blood of those she had killed had done a wonderful job at ramping up the tension in the warehouse, even reaching into the city after enough of them had been built and powered.

Reaching out and running a paw down the side of the closest Little One Lua took a deep, appreciative breath of the tension and anxiety filled air.

The entire building was a cauldron of negativity and was practically roiling with emotions and sickness after having so many mammals penned in for so long…until the pulse hit.

She could feel a slight shifting in the distance before a wave of familiar power washed through the building like a cool breeze on a hot day, she was a little surprised at how much she missed feeling her mistress’s power.

The Little Ones about lost their minds of course at the feeling of their Mother once again walking the world. Screaming their joy into the world only helped to ramp up the tension in the warehouse as their clicking, screeching high pitched calls echoed off the walls, roof and floor.

Lua felt herself grin as the pulse washed over her and even more so when she felt the power stop and begin to pull back.

As the wave came racing back in the direction it came from Lua closed her eyes and cast out her senses to the world around her.

The wave was strong enough even the little mortals on the floor beneath her could feel it and in the time it took for the wave to pass over her Lua could feel the terror and despair climb ever higher, the feeling it left in its return passing was what truly broke the lesser things beneath her in a way she admired.

As the pulse washed back over the land it took with it all the negativity… the despair, pain, hatred and more was washed away like footsteps at high tide. What was left in its wake though…was not hope or love or anything positive… it was simply an absence of negativity.

It was an absence of anything in fact…

The crushing weight of the void that all mammals looked upon in the dark hours of the night when the walls closed in. The inevitability of knowing that no matter what they did would amount to nothing and that they would be forgotten in time fell like a mountain of feathers upon the minds of everyone. The sheer impossibility of standing against the natural order was driven like a spike into the minds and souls of everyone in Bunnyburrow and brought many to their knees.

Lua stood cloaked in shadows grinning down at the mammals below her, many of them having fallen to their knees with tears falling from their eyes at the simple glimpse of the Abyss they had been given.

“I have to say Little Ones…your mother does have style.”

Tana watched as the pulse went out before the lengths of woven leech flesh began pulling the skull from her paws.

Letting the skull be pulled from her grasp and watching as it skittered across the floor to the feet of Vargus she watched as it began to glow with a light that could only be described as hateful and cancerous.

Looking around her she watched as filth was pulled from the walls, floor, ceiling and even from further down the tunnels they had come from.

Mammals screamed in terror and desperation as they fired into the now multiplying tentacles of flesh that were wrapping and coiling themselves around everyone. Vargus himself did his best to pump as many rounds into the skull as he could ignoring the amount of damage he would have suffered had it worked instead of being absorbed into the ancient and rune covered bones.

Looking away from the mass of choking and crushing tentacles that were beginning to split and pull mammals apart Tana looked up at Alpha’s face. Seeing the wide and sharp grin on his face as his eyes practically glowed with eagerness at seeing his Mistress again Tana grinned as well…

One of these days she was going to have a construct as loyal as him.

Turning back to her auntie’s re-birth Tana watched as bones were broken, skin was flayed from muscles, organs were ripped out and in the middle of it all…a monster was being born.

It had the basic outline of a rabbit sure, but there were more bones than normal and in different configurations than a basic rabbit would have. She could see organs being pulled apart on a cellular level until they were more efficient than they could have ever naturally been. Blood vessels, nerves, muscle fibers, tendons and more wove themselves around the bones like worms as organs were pulled into place with a wet *shhhluuuucking* sound.

Fur burst from new, raw flesh like grass after a field fire. Teeth much sharper and more numerous than belonged in a rabbit’s mouth pierced through pink gums in small bursts of blood as eyes inflated in their sockets. Nails pushed through the tips of fingers and toes to curl like scythes before pulling back and reshaping into the usual blunt claws found on a rabbit.

Before her very eyes Tana watched as her aunt was rebuilt in front of her, the feeling of jealousy at not having such power twisting her guts and curling her ears just a little bit.

Seeing her aunt begin to walk forward as flesh and sinew continued to wrap itself around her spine only to end in a little puffball of a tail, that was way to cute for the bunny it was attached to in Tana’s opinion, the young artificer bunny gave a small bow of the head to the rabbit that now stood in front of her.

Smiling like a benevolent tyrant goddess Judy reached out and laid her paws on her niece’s cheeks, tilting her head up to give her a kiss on the forehead.

“My wonderful little troublemaker, my favorite niece…it is good to see you again. I see having so much power and no oversight has done you good, did you have fun in my little playground?”

Smiling at the eagerness in Judy’s voice Tana smiled back as she embraced the walking plague of hatred that was her aunt.

“Of course I am your favorite, I am the only one you could corrupt to your despicable ways. I had a wonderful time going through all your stuff as well, you have some wonderful dresses that I shamelessly stole.”

Judy grinned and wrapped her little apprentice in a hug…a hug Tana was pretty sure had a few to many arms involved.

“Oh you little snit, never be ashamed of doing the wrong thing…it is just who you are.”

“MOMMA~!”

Turning from her niece Judy laughed as a giant fur noodle impacted her and wrapped around her entire body multiple times. Spinning and snuggling into the soft fur Judy laughed like a redeemed demon as she felt her youngest summon wiggle and giggle as he tried to get as much contact as possible.

“How have you been Sammy? Has Fin and Suzie been keeping you out of trouble?” Judy asked as Sammy wiggled his unnaturally long body around to look her in the eyes.

“Nope!” He chirped happily.

“Good, now where are they?” Looking towards the entrance to the chamber she felt a pair of familiar magical signatures.

The feeling of never ending, abyssal hunger was easily matched to the pair of mammals strolling through the doors their youngest sibling had raced through. A never-ending desire for the taste of flesh, blood and bone rolled through the tunnels as all three familiars relaxed their control on what they were.

Suzie grinned at her mistress with compound eyes as Finnick smiled with a mouthful of razor-sharp needle teeth and Sammy wiggled a body longer than a ferret had a right to. Judy nodded in recognition as she stroked along the soft fur of her youngest familiar as he snuggled and giggled against her.

“Fin, Suzie…good to see you as you truly are for once.” Both mammals nodded back in recognition of their summoner.

“Boss, glad to have you back. Things were starting to get boring without you.”

“Miss Judy, I sure hope you have some mayhem planned for us otherwise I am gonna be bored.”

“Don’t worry, I get the feeling things are going to pick up in the coming days.” Judy said as she comforted the happily sighing ferret now that he had shrank down to a more manageable size before passing him off to Suzie for a good sleepy snuggle.

Turning to the wolf she had met in an alley centuries ago Judy looked over to her Eldest Child and smiled warmly at the eager and violent look in his eyes.

Walking over to the large wolf she pulled on the remaining blood, shadows and viscera around herself until they wove themselves into a high collard dress of crimson and black that fell to swirl around her feet like a dark cloud of black and crimson lace.

Looking up at the taller mammal she grinned as he lowered himself to one knee with a fist against the floor and the other against where his heart used to beat as he lowered his head in a deep bow to the small bunny.

“Oh my wonderful Alpha…loyal and powerful despite everything, just as I built you all those many centuries ago.”

Reaching out and raising the large wolf’s head to give him a peck on the nose Judy rubbed the fur around his ears eliciting a deep rumble in his vast chest.

“We have a devil’s work to do my wonderful Firstborn and less than an eternity to do it in.”

Alpha smiled and pushed his large head into the small rabbit’s little paws.

“The world shivers in fear at your passing my Mistress, allow me to be the Voice of your Will.”

Judy felt her eyes slit into her usual four-pointed star as green cracks began to reach out from the corners of her eyes.

“Oh lovely Voice of my Will, take me to my Blade…it is time I found my first High Priestess.”

Astra shivered on her throne, she had designed this place as her final redoubt…a bolt hole for her to retreat to in the most dire of times. Now though it seemed like she had been designing her own tomb as even the shadows seemed to rebel against the presence of anything living.

Blood splattered the walls and floor, hateful carvings decorated the walls and even some of the floor though no one had ever seen how they got there and then there had been the Wave. A wave of magical power like she had never felt before swept over her and then returned taking with it everything that had been dragging her down…only to leave the realization that she had not been getting dragged down, she was already at the bottom.

Many of the Enforcers that were trapped with her in their new tomb had simply dropped to their knees at the inevitability of it all, some had attacked others in fits of madness.

She had once been one of the Big Three of Bunnyburrow…she had run everything in the middle tier and had been working on moving into the upper tier.

It had all been so simple in her mind, take over the upper tier after seducing and killing Roland and then move in on the lower tier by shutting Vargus out of everything from the roads up. Move in on all of his operations and eventually kill Vargus so she could become the undisputed Queen of Bunnyburrow…now though all those plans had been blown away as little more than ash.

Looking up from her lap at the doors to the warehouse she swallowed thickly, she had never once cast a spell or used magic outside of a few fashion tricks and even she could feel the power that was building on the other side.

It was like a wave of bone chilling despair was building outside the warehouse and a tide of cold bile was washing over her soul as the doors opened of their own accord…the chains holding them shut rusting away into dust.

Standing there in the doorway was a rabbit and two mammals flanking her…compared to the mammals she was standing beside she was tiny, but her presence filled the entrance of the warehouse.

Strolling into the light Judy smiled at how well Lua had prepared the city for her return.

Even after washing the city and countryside in her power and pulling in everything negative, Judy could feel a dark miasma rising and building within the warehouse. Inhaling deeply, she could feel the rituals carved into the walls, the way the entire building had been drenched in blood and fear. Striding forward she conjured a number of shields and wards to dispel the various attacks sent her way with a negligent gesture.

Walking into the warehouse she smiled as she looked around, disregarding the various bolts of magic, hexes, curses and charms sent her way…the building needed work but she could work with what she was seeing. Flicking her paw to send a bolt of magic back to its sender she tapped a claw against one black lip…a dividing wall there, grab a curse and send it back twice as horrible, some pews over that way.

 Holding up her paws to frame what she was looking at she jerked her head to the side and snapped a charm out of the air, chewing and swallowing just like her momma had always told her to.

“WHY WON’T YOU JUST DIE YOU ABOMINATION!” Looking towards the source of the voice Judy smiled, and it wasn’t a happy smile.

Seeing the ragged and half mad form of Astra standing next to a throne with a gun that could only be described as ‘fashionable’ and ‘cute’ Judy continued to smile as she began to walk with a purpose towards the mad rabbit.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY YEARS OF WORK AND TRIALS YOU HAVE RUINED!” Astra screamed at the top of her lungs as she fired her cute little gun at the walking hellspawn that was coming closer to her. Every shot simply healed and faded away, even her sinfully fashionable clothes fixed themselves with every shot.

Judy smiled as she felt the shots slam into her, she had risen above such meaningless damage and temporary pain centuries ago.

“YEARS OF WORK AND IT ALL GOT SENT DOWN THE DRAIN WHEN YOU SHOWED UP.” Astra was practically in tears as the smiling demon drew ever closer.

“I had such a good plan…so many plans up in flames…I was going to be the Queen of the Bunnyburrow and then I was going to move to Zootopia.” Astra said weakly as she fell into her throne while pulling the trigger on an empty gun, the sight of her shots healing over and vanishing from the avatar of evil’s face breaking something deep inside the rabbit.

“Oh sweety…I have so many more plans for you, I have such higher expectations than you could ever give yourself…but I think you need a bit of work.” Judy said with a grin as she extended serrated needle like claws once she came within arm’s reach of the rabbit.

Looking down at the rabbit that had been slowly broken-down piece by piece over the last few days Judy tilted her head to the side with a crack as her eyes locked onto Astra’s own.

Forcing her power and Will into the other rabbit Judy lanced out with her paws and slammed her claws into the side of Astra’s skull, penetrating not her flesh, but her mind and soul. With a sense of joy she rarely felt, she began to attack the other rabbit’s soul directly.

Watching as her aunty grasped the other rabbit’s head in her paws and listening to the throat shredding, lung bleeding and eye rolling scream that soon came from Astra’s throat Tana winced a bit. Looking up at the black panther and large wolf who were both grinning savagely at the display she decided to ask her question.

“Do you ever get the impression that aunt Judy might be a bit evil?”

“Evil is relative Spawnling.” A deep voice spoke from the entrance.

Looking past the two larger mammals she grinned at who she saw walking into the warehouse.

“Fin, Suzie, Sammie good to see you. I was wondering if you were going to show up…what did you mean that evil is relative?” All three mammals looked at her with eerily matching grins.

“Your mother has done a lot of good for these lands, brought prosperity to all under her care…your aunty was meant to be her original counterbalance and is making up for lost time and opportunity. In terms you might better understand…” Suzie spoke up at this point.

“If these lands were a garden, your mother would be the gardener and your aunty the weeds. Tending the garden every day or so and the weeds can never put down deep roots. As it is though the garden became overgrown in your aunt’s absence over the centuries and as it did your mother became complacent and untrained. Now there is a ravaging blight and rotting plague that is beginning to chew at the roots of everything she has watched grow…in a garden of light even the smallest shadow seems dark.”

Sammie giggled darkly as his unnaturally long body wiggled in joy at seeing his momma again.

“Momma is back, gonna get cuddles and snacks…eat all the squishy things.”

Grimacing at the words spoken in such a tone with such innocence Tana looked back at the pair of rabbits, one straddling the other while laughing like a broken holy messenger and the other gargling her own life essence as it dripped and dribbled out of her ravaged and brutalized throat.

Astra had never even considered that such pain and misery was possible, it was as if every nerve in her body had been stripped down and put under a blow torch while rubbing against frost coated shards of glass. She had never known a mind could handle the kind of pain she was feeling, all she wanted to do was to break and give up in order to escape the pain.

She would sell her soul if only to make the suffering stop…

“Oh really?...”

A voice spoke from behind her, if she had a behind…she had lost the ability to understand the concept of directions and had no idea if she even had a body anymore or any idea of where she was and if it had directions as simple as behind or forward…

“I can make it all go away…” The voice was pure bliss, every word pushed back the pain.

“I can take away all the pain and stress…”

She needed to hear the voice some more, the voice was the only reason she wasn’t hurting, when the voice stopped the pain started.

It felt like paws were scouring her bones one by one with hot sand and needles, it felt like her teeth were slowly being pushed up into her jaw bones. She could feel her muscles being pulled apart one strand at a time as her skin was scraped away one layer at a time.

“Give it all to me…” She wanted to, it would mean the pain went away, right?

“Swear your present to me…” She would.

“Swear your future to me…” She had to.

“Swear your life…your body…your soul…to Me…”

She did.

“Ohhhh…well fooey, I was really expecting her to last a bit longer…I didn’t even get mine.” Judy said somewhat sadly as she got off the throne, leaving the other rabbit to twitch and seize in her seat.

Holding out a paw she nevertheless grinned wickedly as a stream of silvery blue poured out of the rabbit’s chest to coalesce in her paw. Extending her fingers and snapping her talons down around the pool of blue and silver she built a cage of rot, hatred, pain, suffering and everything else she could think of around the soul she now held.

Turning and walking back to the Spawnling while contemplating the soul within her grasp Judy looked up and smiled at the mammals accompanying the young rabbit.

Tana grimaced at the smile, it was wrong and weird and didn’t look right on her face at all…it was honest and pure.

“Come here Sammie! Give momma a hug!”

Dropping to a knee she laughed like a kit as the ferret scrabbled and wiggled towards her in a way a ferret should never move before jumping and wrapping himself around the rabbit.

Smiling and laughing as her youngest familiar did his best to push himself up against her as much as possible Judy fell back onto her rump while grinning like a kit during a new year’s festival as she laughed and cuddled the cat-snake as he wound himself around her. Sitting up and grabbing Sammie’s face she mooshed his cheeks as she tossed his head back and forth a bit.

“You beautiful little maniac, were you a good boy while momma was gone?” Sammie giggled and wiggled his tiny arms…all twenty pairs of them as he laughed.

“UH HUH!” Judy gasped and pulled him close.

“Why would you do that! I thought I taught you better.” Sammie laughed as Judy stood up and enveloped him in her power before tossing him to the side while directing him with her Will.

Judy smiled as the ferret shot into the air in a long ribbon of fur and carapace as her youngest familiar spun around her in an ever-tightening circle until he forged himself into an intricately woven chain choker around her throat, a single teardrop of sapphire and amethyst dangling at the hollow of her throat.

Looking towards her other familiars Judy smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgment towards the other mammal shaped entities.

“Suzie, Fin it is good to see you again, have you had fun while I was gone?” Suzie smiled as she adjusted her glasses.

“It was alright, could have done with more indiscriminate slaughter or at least a battlefield to pick over…kinda hungry if I am honest.” Judy grimaced at hearing that.

“Ugh…why would you want to be honest, don’t do that. Fin, how are you doing?” The fennec shaped swarm of leeches smiled and shrugged.

“I have had plenty of experience being in this situation, I know how to deal with it. Hard to find a good blood source around here though, you would think there would be more magically dense meals around here with so much magic in the air.”

Looking closer Judy saw the beginnings of bags under the fox’s eyes as well as the way his fur was beginning to thin.

“Well time for both of you come back home, I have a feeling you will be needed later on and I will need you at your best.” Smiling wickedly as Suzie sighed in relief before she broke into a cloud of small beetles before swarming around her and settling into a circlet resting lightly on her brow… cruel points and sharpened curves formed into an almost vine-like pattern glittering with dark shades of light over her brow. 

“Don’t forget we can take this form, it costs a bit of power but we have our uses.” Grasping the fox shaped leech swarm’s paw Judy grinned.

“If all goes to plan, you will all have a city to chew on in the near future.” The smile on Finnick’s face was a matching image of murderous glee.

Twisting her paw so she could swipe a claw along the length of her paw Judy watched as the fennec dissolved into his normal swarm of leeches that each pushed themselves into her bloodstream. Smiling as she watched the last wriggling body squish itself through the opening in her palm Judy raised a brow as she closed the wound.

“That last one was fat, you are going on a diet.”

Ignoring the shouts of cruelty and unfairness from within her mind Judy took a moment to enjoy the feeling of her first familiar swimming and wriggling through her bloodstream again as well as the comfort of her youngest wrapped heavy and tight around her throat along with the weight of the circlet on her brow.

“Mistress…it is good to see you again, properly this time.” Alpha said as he approached and once more took a knee before the smaller rabbit.

Judy smiled widely as she practically floated over to her first and most powerful creation. Stopping in front of the wolf she reached out and laid her paws on either side of the canine’s face much as she had so long ago.

“Dearest Alpha…First Among the Risen, Eldest of all my children…did you rem-“

Stopping as the wolf held up a goblet with some kind of bubbling and frothing liquid within that almost seemed as if it was screaming obscenities…and a small umbrella garnish being slowly dissolved.

Judy grinned and took the goblet from her eldest child with a raised brow being sent between the wolf and the young bunny that for some reason found the architecture of the building very interesting as she refused to look her aunt in the eye.

“Well then…Spawnling could you send a message to your stupid parents and tell them that when they are done cheating on each other with themselves the city is ready for them to take over since I am not about to run both a criminal empire as well as a police state by myself again.”

About to comment on the ‘again’ in that sentence Tana was cut off by a torrent of screeching and a waterfall of reverberating screams as her auntie’s Little Ones flowed into the warehouse and tackled their momma into a pile of squirming, wiggling, giggling and snuffling forms.  

Watching as her aunt somehow was able to snuggle and pet every one of the odd forms doing their best to snuggle against her while not spilling a drop of her drink Tana was slightly jealous at the amount of control she was looking at.

The other rabbit was rolling, snuggling, and hugging with more arms than she should have had and was still holding her drink above it all without so much as a ripple on the surface, Tana hadn’t been able to get that kind of control over her movements when she built and designed her own limbs to near zero levels of tolerance. Seeing her aunt sit up and look around Tana realized she had very rarely if ever seen a smile as easy and innocent as the one she was seeing right now as the other rabbit looked over her strange creations.

“Aww, let me look at you all again…wow you have all gotten so much bigger and changed so much, I remember when you all had scales. Oh look at all this soft fluffy fur, your teeth are still sharp…”

Muttering over her children Judy soon lost herself in her examinations of her babies.

Looking around Tana noticed that the warehouse was full of an odd collection of items: paintings, cages, crates, weapons lying around and on racks, bags of ingredients and even a small kitchen in one corner. Wandering around she was pleased to find a number of crates holding metal ingots and containers of concentrated and even distilled magic along with a smaller crate of what looked like mechanical diagrams and plans.

“She had a lot of stuff here…what is this place?”

Looking over to the twitching and frothing form of the rabbit in question she decided she wasn’t about to get any answers from the owner of the building.

“Her final redoubt I suppose, as well as where she kept the best results of her illegal smuggling operations. She is the key to finding out where the Glow comes from and how it is made. Now that I have her under control as well as the other two out of the picture, I can start to make some progress on finding out a bit more on this Glow stuff…” Judy said as she walked up to the black furred rabbit while being surrounded by her children.

“She has been smuggling everything from mammals to drugs and weapons as well as everything in between and to the side for years. She has been planning on taking over the other two crime lords’ territory and then killing them off for years now, she has been playing the pecking game with the other two for a few years while building up a power base and inventory. You know what is nice about getting all this here…”

Tana looked over to her aunt with a curious look at the smile her aunt was giving her.

“Uh…the building is well made…?” Judy shook her head as she looked around at the various unmarked crates and piles of items.

“Well yes, but I was thinking more along the lines of there being enough material here to probably cover a very large and intricate ritual…the kind that involves replacing intricate organic systems…the eyes for example.”

Tana’s ears snapped up as she turned to look at her aunty before looking around and taking note of what they were surrounded by, indeed there was a lot of the ritual costs she had determined…

“But I haven’t even finished working out the ritual.” Judy shrugged.

“Have you read the book I gave you?” Receiving a nod Judy continued.

“Do you understand it? Enough to risk your eyes on what you know?” Tana nodded, not even slightly hesitant…if the ritual didn’t work it would just be more motivation to build her eyes better the next time after all.

“Well then let me look over what you have since I am better at the organic side of things and you are better at the mechanical aspects. If we work hard, we can probably have you regretting your decision by dinnertime…well, maybe dessert to be safe.”

Tana raised a brow at her aunt.

“You expect me to regret my decision?” Judy chuckled as she reached down and ran her paw down the head of one of her Little Ones.

“Oh very much so, but probably not for the reasons you are thinking. You will figure it out on your own and I will happily be snacking in the background as you crash and burn, it is the best way to learn after all.”

Spending the next few hours going over ritual plans, alchemical requirements, power loads and draws was probably some of the best fun Tana could remember having in a long time, especially involving magic.

The frustration she felt when her aunty told her to redraw some part of the geometric ritual star and circle for the thirteenth time was only countered by the look of pride she received when she finished and noticed the difference between what had been there first as opposed to what was there now.

“Why are we using a star inside of a circle instead of just one or the other?” Tana asked as she sketched a rune into the concrete.

“While I was mostly-dead I was in my Master’s realm, while I was there I did a lot of research and found that at higher levels of magic everything comes into play. From the ingredients used, the amount and type and intent of power, even what you are thinking while making the ritual can influence the end result. This ritual is built to progress from the center out, being fueled and consuming materials from the center circle to the outer most points.”

Tana wondered why it sounded like her aunty was moving around her but was focusing to much on her rune work to actually care.

“Organic magic like I primarily work with is based off of certain aspects of nature like synchronizing heartbeats, solar/lunar cycles, seasons and the like…when you see my rituals you will notice that there are no straight lines or perfect corners just as there are none in nature. Your magic is based off of mechanical precision and robotic perfection. Your rituals are all straight lines and precise measurements, painfully calculated equations, zero tolerance to mistakes…this ritual is built to go from the circle of your organic eyes at the center with the ritual circle to the sharp mechanical precision of the eyes that you will build for yourself.”

As she spoke Judy was lightly dancing, swirling, hopping and bouncing around the runes Tana had drawn out at the beginning…flowing, organic movements all contained within the ritual’s circle…

“Wait…you had me redraw certain parts thirteen times…you have been moving non-stop since the circle was closed…” Looking up at her aunt who was now smiling widely at her Tana knew she had struck on something.

“Very good, thirteen is often seen as an unlucky number but what most mammals don’t understand is that it is in fact a number of extreme or exaggerated luck. I haven’t stopped moving because there is never any true stillness among anything organic, even stones move if only by the most negligible amount.”

Tana looked over to a portion of the ritual that held a bottle of concentrated magic surrounded by runes and sigils her aunt had sketched, she didn’t understand them they but gave her the feeling of something either good or bad.

“Runes of luck powered by concentrated magic drawn by someone who was lucky enough to have thought ahead of time to avoid a lasting death after surviving a strike that should have been a death blow without any powers.” Tana looked over to the still bouncing and bopping rabbit with a look of disbelief on her face.

“Seriously? That is going to work?” Judy laughed as she stepped perfectly between portions of the ritual.

“It is all in the mentality of it at this level Spawnling, I was thinking of all the ways luck has saved my life as well as interpreting everything in my long life to be the result of good luck as opposed to overwhelming skill. Those runes are as charged with good luck as I could possibly make them and you owe me for the nausea all that positive thinking caused me.”

Judy said before beginning to whistle a tune that seemed familiar to Tana but which she couldn’t place at the moment.

“So think cold, calculating, logical thoughts…understood.” Tana said as she looked over what she had done so far, suppressing the sigh a frustrated organism would make at realizing what she was about to do.

Looking down and letting her eyes slip into their interlocking geared forms she felt her mind smooth and become cold and calculating.

Looking around and seeing the way the magic in the ritual interacted with ambient magic she began walking towards where she could see an improvement could be made. The thought that she had almost erased everything and started over as opposed to saving time and only fixing what needed to be fixed flowing into and out of her mind as an unnecessary thought.

Judy smiled wide as she watched her cute little apprentice go about fixing the parts of the ritual that needed it. Letting her eyes slip into their cross-slitted formation she pushed them further and watched with multiple pupils as the magic was smoothed out at the transfer points between the circle and star.

Doing her best to pull as much of her own power out of the air as possible so as not to contaminate the final result Judy smiled at the fact that her baby sister was going to be PIIIIISSSSEEED at this when she found out.

Chapter Text

“Ok before you say anything…”

Judy started as Senna and Jack walked into the warehouse, almost literal storm clouds over their heads as they marched through the now empty crates and piles of loot Astra had built up. Approaching with all the inevitability of a mudslide and avalanche Judy watched as both rabbits went right by her and towards the small bed Tana had been sleeping on for the last…day and a half.

“I might have been slightly off in my calculations of how much magic and resources would be needed as well as the amount of healing needed…to be fair I thought we would be done in time for dessert, a couple days ago.”

“How in all the blood-soaked hells…” Senna started.

“So approximately forty-seven?”

“Did you fuck up the calculations that bad and then think that we would be alright with you mutilating our daughter like this?!” Senna finished as if he had never been interrupted. Judy walked over to Astra’s throne and sat down with a shrug.

“We were working with ritualistic bio-mechanical conversion magic, I may have access to the largest repository of lost knowledge in all of known existence across the realms but that is also the problem…I was only mostly-dead for so long. A few decades longer and I would have been able to research and better calculate what would have been needed as well as what the outcome would be. Besides it was an apprentice and a master working together on a ritual that was only built to effect one, there was simply no way to account for everything with our power and knowledge levels being so far apart.”

Senna looked over to her Big Sister with a forcibly calm expression on her face.

“Is there a reason she is bleeding from the eyes?” Judy nodded.

“There sure is.”

The calm expression twitched a little, the ground underneath their feet twitched a bit more in a small earthquake.

“And…just what…is that reason?” Senna asked through gritted teeth with a rictus smile in place.

“Well depending on who you are talking to I imagine a very good one.”

Dust began to fall from the rafters and cracks crept up the walls as the calm mask twitched a little more.

“Me…you are talking to ME. Her counterbalance in this world, the light to her dark and more importantly, her. Fucking. MOTHER. Now either tell me what happened or damn the consequences I will take out everything I am feeling right now on those abominations you created!”

That got Judy’s attention.

Jack sat by his daughter’s bedside gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her paw and watched as the ostentatious throne Judy had been lounging on began to rust, corrode and decay as she slowly stood up at his wife’s words.

As he watched, her eyes began to glow a fever bright and vomitous green that reached out from the corners in branching cracks in her skin as well as from the corners of her mouth. Joints cracked and bones broke, things shifted under her fur, spikes erupted in bloody fountains and pestilent tumors grew along parts of her body.

The air grew cold, heavy and foul around her as she approached his wife, the concrete beneath her feet cracking and popping as if years of wear and tear were being heaped upon it. Frothing, slimy drool dripped from fangs too numerous to fit within a mouth torn wide by the multiple forked tongues now pushing themselves up from a throat that seemed to whistle with the screams of the damned with every breath.

Jack watched as his wife stood unflinching before the abomination that was her big sister and began to let her own true nature seep through.

Standing before the monstrosity that was slowly approaching and corrupting everything around her Senna began to relax the hold she had on her own nature.

Golden light and warmth began to seep from her fur as twisting stag horns of pale, old growth wood sprouted from her brow. Vines and roots pushed up from beneath her feet and began to lash out at the creeping darkness and rot of the approaching Power. Bark as hard as the most perfect steel grew up from her skin to encase her in a suit of armor, water swirled into a lance of white-caped rapids in one paw as a shield of gems and stones from the bones of the earth built itself in the other. With a twitch of her shoulders wings of woven rose vines burst from her back as she twitched her lance to rest at the throat of her Big Sister as she approached the younger rabbit.

Glaring into the pitiless green flame bordered eyes Senna grit her teeth and shifted her shield in front of herself as she pressed her lance ever tighter against the rotting, festering and blackened flesh of Judy’s throat. She was far enough from her seat of power that if this became a battle, she would have to work hard for a draw…victory was a coin toss at best.

“ThReaTen my chIldREn agAIN Senna.”

“Withhold information about the health of mine as they lay bleeding again.” Fire erupted across her shield and lance at her words.

“GGGGggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…Fair enough I suppose, but never speak those words again or as you said…consequences be damned.” Judy said as her usual shape reasserted itself and she reached up and gripped the lance at her throat.

Senna repressed a gulp as her lance of pure white-capped river water turned to toxic sludge and foul rancid mud choked with pollution and filth.

Realizing her mistake at taking her eyes off her Big Sister, Senna flicked her gaze back to the other rabbit and realized she had made a bigger mistake than she had first thought. Judy was well within the reach of her shield and holding a blackened dagger of such hateful and corrupt energy Senna could feel her thoughts and soul fouling at its mere presence.

“Your daughter worked her own magic supported by my teachings and knowledge to replace her weak organic eyes with better mechanical versions. She drew out the ritual herself with barely any direction from me and is suffering the consequences of her own actions and decision, like an adult should. She grew more than I could have anticipated in my absence and threw off my calculations, the ritual took more power from her than expected and I had to take up the slack which caused her system to react negatively as I can only change the intent and nature of my power so much. Be thankful you have so many children you can stand to lose a few and the one that was actually in danger can rebuild herself so easily.”

So saying Judy dispelled her dagger and turned her back on her Baby Sister before slashing a paw from one side to the other opening a hole in reality. Barking out a sound that shouldn’t be possible for a rabbit to make, Senna watched as her Big Sister’s children glided down from the rafters they had been hanging from to glide into the hole between worlds before it closed with a displacement of air powerful enough to ruffle Senna’s whiskers.

“Well…I suppose it is a good thing that isn’t your actual body Love, or else I would probably be single by the end of the day.” Jack said lightly, though the rime of frost around his feet and the aura of cold spoke lie to his calm.

“Just what is that supposed to mean?” Senna’s avatar asked as she turned towards her husband who shrugged and brushed a paw over his daughter’s forehead, reading through her temperature that she was only asleep and not suffering from a fever or anything.

“Well think about it from her point of view, you didn’t assess your daughter’s health at all before rounding on her. She has never once truly put any of our children in danger and then you threatened hers…as bad as it sounds, we have thousands of children and she has less than a dozen. We had ours the normal way and love them for how they are, she built hers from the ground up and let them become what they could…you could say she gave more attention to her children than we have. Also you have to remember that while all three of us are rabbits, only two of us have the ability to have children of our own…and you threatened to potentially take away hers while yours was never truly in any danger.”

Feeling the searing heat of a scorching summer sun begin to build in her blood at her husband’s word it was quickly doused as he made his points.

Feeling as if she had just been thrown into a frozen pond and then dragged out through the ice Senna shuffled in place a bit before walking over and looking down at her daughter, her pupils shifting to look like branching vines and blossoming flowers…a rare event for her as she knew the consequences of using her Sight to much.

Seeing that her daughter’s energy was in disarray but was slowly realigning itself to work in and around the changes her daughter had made to herself she was about to cut off her sight until she saw something that grabbed her attention. Looking closer she was slightly amazed at seeing her Big Sister’s magic actively working at the edge of the changes, to her amazement she watched as energy born of rot and hatred slowly closed the gap between magic and flesh.

“That…how…that shouldn’t be possible…” Hearing a questioning sound from her husband she explained.

“There are traces of her energy inside Tana’s skull surrounding her eyes and the connected nerves all the way into her brain. The thing is that the energy is of rot, hatred and decay…but it is actively healing the difference between what she did, what she is and what she was.”

Looking closer with pupils in the shape of snowflakes and ignoring the prick of pain doing so caused, Jack leaned in and made a sound of amazement.

“Well hot damn…how does that work?” Jack asked in confusion.

Senna sat on the floor and steepled her paws together in thought before speaking.

“The energy is that of rot, hatred and decay…which should have caused all the usual problems you would imagine introducing that kind of energy into a delicate system. But the Intent and Will behind the energy is re-defining how it is working and reacting to the world. The energy is healing her by rotting away the weakness that keeps the changed part of her separate from the unchanged part. The sheer hatred of the difference between what she was and what she is now is pulling it all together and any scars or differences are being decayed until there is no difference. She is literally healing through the power of spite for anything other than perfect health…that shouldn’t even be possible…”

Closing her eyes and rubbing them to get her Sight back under control Senna scrubbed her face with her paws.

“HOW!? How! How in all of creation does she do this shit? None of this should be possible and yet I can watch it happen right in front of me…and I think I just began to realize how badly I fucked up just now…damn.”

Jack nodded as his eyes seizured and spasmed back into their usual shape, not using the Sight very much made the transition hard in both directions.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t have had my help if it came to blows and only part of that is knowing that I am looking at an avatar and not the original Senna. You would have absolutely deserved a good ass whipping if Judy had wanted to deal it out. Now then…do you want to be the crime boss or should I do it?”

“Trouble in paradise Carrots?” Nick asked as he walked into the small open area he kept to himself.

Looking over to his protégé as she stewed and grumbled in a pile of some kind of odd creatures with only her head from the nose up showing he felt like laughing, until he felt something he hadn’t for a long time. Turning his focus and even going so far as to turn the focus of his realm onto the rabbit he ignored the way she perked up and turned directly towards him.

“You have got to be kidding me Carrots…you know I tried this already and it sort of lead to this whole fiasco we are dealing with right now, right?”

The way his realm focused on someone was not subtle or gentle if he wasn’t careful, but he was more interested in the fact he could feel a thread of worship connecting her to her realm.

“I have no idea what you are talking about Master.” Judy said as she retreated down into her pile of now gently hissing and growling black furred forms. Looking closely at the odd figures Nick cocked his head.

“It isn’t often I come across a lifeform I don‘t know or understand…but congrats, you have succeeded on gaining my interest…”

“Mine as well.”

A familiar voice spoke from between the stacks. Looking towards the owner of the voice Judy grumbled and pulled one of her Little Ones to cover her entirely.

“Hello Death, how is your brother doing…feel free not to answer since I don’t actually care.” The muffled voice of his protégé came from beneath the small pile of hissing and growling creatures.

“I am doing fine thank you for asking despite not caring about the answer.” The accompanying groan to the voice of Life himself as he walked behind his little sister only added to Judy’s frustration.

“Now I have questions, but first off all…what in the name of sanity are those…things…Life, I know damn well you didn’t make them, but how can they be here like this? They aren’t artificial constructs like I would expect but they aren’t naturally made either…she made them? How is that possible?” Skye asked as she stuck her scythe into the ground and hung the cloak of her Office off it before flopping into a seat.

“It is possible because I made it possible. Every few epochs I seed the potential to create True Life into the world, sometimes it is held within a living creature and sometimes it is held within a concept. Most of the time it ends up dispersing through the genetic lines until it loses all power and becomes inert and eventually works itself out of the lines. Once in a while the power is exposed to the correct circumstances and conditions and manifests in a way that even I couldn’t predict. Last time this happened…I think was the Spider Incident if I remember correctly.”

All eyes turned towards the cape buffalo with various looks of either astonishment, disbelief or confusion.

“Wait, that was you?!” Death said as she launched herself at her big brother and began shaking him.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY NIGHTMARES I HAD AFTER THAT!”

Turning from the siblings Nick grinned at the rabbit that was watching with a grin that was mirrored by all of her children.

“Congratulations Carrots, you are probably the only creature in all of existence that can create life forms even Life himself doesn’t know about…feel free to abuse this relentlessly.” The way he said that made Judy think he didn’t expect her to already be contemplating the possibilities of this revelation.

“Now back to what I was saying, you do realize getting other mammals to worship you is kind of how we got here to begin with right? Like of all things you could do right now this might be one of the few things I really don’t recommend doing.” Nick said in a tone that was more serious than she had ever heard from him.

Poking her head up and out of her pile of Little Ones Judy smiled wickedly and held up a taloned paw holding a glowing blue ball of mist and smoke within it.

“Don’t worry Master, I don’t plan on leaving to much to chance. Once I am done with this little beauty, she won’t even be able to consider the possibility of betrayal.” All eyes turned towards the rabbit, one in comprehension, one in shock at the audacity and one in disgust.

“That level of arrogance and audacity contained within a single creature should be impossible by any standard…you think you can study for a few hundred years and suddenly you are qualified to not only improve on my brother’s design but you think you can steal from me…right in front of me?” Skye asked as her paw itched to take up her scythe.

Judy just laughed and began bouncing the ball of smoke and mist between her paws before holding it up on the tips of her claws, a wailing scream of torment and misery emanating from its depths as she did so.

“Did I say improve? No, I am simply going to change the fundamental aspects of her spiritual existence to one that better fits what I want and need. As for stealing from you…well you are right here, go ahead and take her from me.”

Judy said while holding the soul out in front of her with a grin that had to many sharp angles to it. Skye gripped her scythe and the armrest of the chair while glaring at the rabbit with a fury that had been known to crush planets and snuff out solar systems.

“Go ahead…she is right here…all you have to do is take her from me and I won’t even try to stop you.” Judy said with a voice like honey and sin.

“I am going to enjoy pulling you across the veil and watching every scrap of power and influence you have be stripped away from you. You don’t take anything into the afterlife you know…anything you have here on this side will be left behind and even the memory of your existence and your accomplishments will be forgotten. It is the transition that is the worst part though, having every transgression and trespass laid out in front of you and having to account for all the consequences of everything you do…I am going to look over your transition, personally.”

Judy’s grinned reminded Skye of Nick far to much for how smug it was.

“You can’t take her…” Sliding out of her pile like an eruption of maggots flowing out of a corpse Judy slowly approached the Avatar of Death.

“You have so much power, the power to blow out entire worlds like simple candles…and because of that you can’t take a single soul from a little mortal bunny. Oh the irony is choking isn’t it, so much power and not even being able to use it…I bet it feels almost as if you are…

“…powerless.”

Judy leaned in and whispered the last word as Skye’s form flickered between what she was and what she wanted others to see.

“Just remember…I am here because YOU decided to hold back on a gut feeling, I am your fault. Now I think I have pouted enough, I have work to do back home.”

Judy said as she began spinning the soul on a single talon tip and turned away from the seething Office of Death. Stopping in front of a conjured portal Judy looked over to Life with an expression that was almost vulnerable…in the right light…from a long way away…if you squinted…

“Do my babies have souls? If I can make True Life…are they…” Bogo sighed and looked over the half dozen little monsters…

“These ones? No. They are artificial as far as my Office is concerned and there is nothing I can do about that. If there is a second, naturally occurring generation they will fall under my purview and thus, I will be able, and obligated, to forge them from the Fires of Creation. They must live their lives and imprint their existence upon the Weave for me to build a blueprint from, it is how all life comes into creation.”

Leaning back into his seat Bogo looked into the distance.

“Creatures grow and change and live their lives and leave their marks on Fate’s Weave and in doing so I can build a profile of their existence. The intricacies of my job would splatter you across the local star system so I am criminally simplifying things, just know that…once this generation of your creations passes, as long as there is a naturally occurring generation after them, they will be souled and reoccurring creatures of the world.”

Judy smiled gently as she looked down to her children as she ran a paw over their heads.

“So be it…and Skye?”

Looking at the rabbit over the rim of her drink from where she continued to flicker between what she showed and what she was, the bone white fox narrowed corpse white eyes at the rabbit that had a knack for getting under her fur.

“You will get the souls owed you in time, after all…Regimes change and Empires Fall, the Wheel of Time turns for us All.”

So saying Judy turned and stepped back through the portal followed closely by her children. Skye looked at where the portal had been in slight confusion before turning towards the Old Man.

“What was she talking about there at the end?” Nick looked into his drink as it swirled around in his glass.

“She was acknowledging her own mortality, she knows she can still die permanently and understands that there is no such thing as true immortality. She may collect souls to whatever purpose she has, but she understands that no matter how much time passes, all of them including her own will go to you in the end. She also now understands, but maybe not comprehends, the fact that she is also in line to be the first and only necromancer in all of history to have children.”

Skye scoffed.

“Those things aren’t her children, she made them through magic.” Life flicked his sister’s ear.

“How do you think children are made in the first place?”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

Tana rolled her eyes, in opposite directions just to annoy her mother as she had been doing stuff like this for the last few days ever since she had woken up.

“Three and then one under the counter. Oddly enough I too am holding up a single finger under the table, can you guess which one?”

Senna scowled as she went back to drinking her cocoa, it wasn’t really a cold night but she needed the comfort drink. Looking closer at what her daughter had done she struggled to find the difference from the past and present…

“Come on mom, this is how my magic works. Besides I was the one who designed it all and had aunty Judy helping out, it is my face and skull and even I can’t tell where the difference is between the old and new.”

Senna smiled somewhat sadly, her little girl had been growing up so fast ever since Judy showed up and started showing her how to properly use her power and Senna was a little disappointed she hadn’t done the same before her Big Sister showed up. 

“I can tell the difference.”

Tana was about to say something when her mother perked up and looked to the side with a look of slight anxiety.

Looking in the direction her mother was Tana focused on her new eyes and rapidly shifted through the various spectrums while enhancing and optimizing them further with her magic. Soon enough she grinned as she watched a concentration of magic build and press against what she had come to learn was a web of wards layered and woven amongst themselves until it looked a lot like some of the quilts her mother would make for any of her children who moved away.

Just as she was wondering if the building force would continue to press against the wards Tana watched as her mother opened them with a gesture resulting in what almost looked like a tumor on reality to begin to grow.

Watching it grow and build like a pus-filled boil Tana smiled as Alpha stepped next to her with an umbrella aimed at the growing tumorous boil.

Bringing her tea up for a sip she was about to warn her mother when the sound of what could have been someone jumping into a pool of syrup rang out in the play room they had been sitting in. Hearing the squeals and shrieks of the fluffle ring out as…something icky…splattered against the umbrella in front of her Tana grinned as Alpha raised the umbrella out of her way.

“You might have wanted to duck and cover mom.”

The glare sent her way was directed enough Tana raised her cup and grinned at the steam now coming off it.

“Thank~ you~, it was just starting to cool.”

Grinning at the grumbles of ‘little brat’ Tana watched as her aunty walked into the room, she looked different somehow…

*ahem* “Ok before you say anything…”

Senna started before she watched Judy lean down, grab a pawful of whatever the globby, slimy STUFF on the floor was and plop it onto her Baby Sister’s head right between her ears.

Stopping mid-sentence as the cool and congealing slime slipped down her head and the back of her dress as well as flow over her toes in what felt like a wave of lukewarm snot she could only freeze in place and shiver in disgust as she felt Judy wipe her paw off on Senna’s apron.

“You uh…got a little something on your face right there…” So saying Judy made sure to smear another glob onto Senna’s cheek before giving her a pat that sent the blob splattering over her face and shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it was a mother’s worry for her daughter and I am the first mammal to hold someone’s failings against them so I promise I will bring this up at the most inconvenient times I can think of. Now then where is that stripey boy toy you keep around, I could go for a full body massage. Alpha do-thank you…”

Judy stopped as she turned and found a drink and sandwich in front of her, taking a quick sip of the sandwich and a bite of her drink Judy began speaking with a different mouth so she could keep eating.

“Spawnling come with me I am going to teach you something even my own master doesn’t like me learning so it is going to drive your mother insane, also we need to finalize the new power structure in Bunnyburrow so I can move on to Zootopia all the sooner as I have things to do…any idea what happened with Astra?”

Looking around at the hordes of fluffle bunnies playing in the gooey slime as if it was a snowy day Judy smiled…maybe that would be her children one of these days. Seeing the concerned look on Senna’s face Judy waved her paw negligently.

“Relax Sis…it’s ectoplasm, it will dissolve and disappear in an hour or so and is really nothing more than inert and congealed energy. It doesn’t have any will or intent behind it so you don’t have to worry about them eating it…little booger munchers that they are. Now which one of you is going to be the Mayor and which one is going to be the crime boss and more importantly how is that going to affect the bedroom dynamics?”

The spluttering and stuttering her words caused as well as the sight of a slime ball impacting her in the side of the head brought a smile to Judy’s face as she turned and gestured for Tana to follow her.

“That will keep her busy for a bit, in the meantime I am going to show you something that might help you in your work and you will probably hate every step of it.”

‘Ohhhh….gooodyyy…’

Was all Tana could think at the thought of spending the foreseeable future learning from her certifiably insane aunt.

“Ok now the first thing you have to remember is that magic is neutral, it is only the Intent and Will behind it that colors the effect. That being said…this is about as close to taboo black magic as you can get since we are going to be torturing someone on the soul level which will most likely leave behind scars that never can and never will heal.”

Tana looked over to her aunt as they strolled briskly down the hallway towards the medical wing of the burrow. Seeing her genuinely smile and practically bounce along as she walked made Tana wonder again if her aunt was evil despite what she was saying about magic being neutral.

Stepping into the medical wing Judy raised a brow and whistled lowly at the sight, it was like walking into a goody two-paws version of her playground.

Everything was clean and sterile, there was some equipment she was definitely going to steal since it looked pretty, almost everything was run off concentrated magic and a fair amount looked experimental or custom made.

“Where did you guys get some of this equipment?” Judy asked as she looked over a few of the stranger machines.

“We have a few contracts for development of various pieces of equipment. We design, build, test and perfect equipment for at least three hospitals in the surrounding area and more in surrounding countries. Since the entire process is self-contained to the family, we are better able to not only control the quality but also keep the cost low and more than competitive.”

Tana explained with an obvious amount of pride.

Judy looked over and smiled as she straightened and began walking further into the medical ward.

“Very good Spawnling, I want you working in here anytime I am not using you. The best way to know how to physically break an enemy is to know how to heal them and the exposure to the basic inner workings of your own body through others will help you understand how to enhance yourself.”

So saying Judy stopped at the foot of a bed with a comatose rabbit wrapped tightly in her sheets laying upon it.

Tilting her head a bit Judy contemplated the rabbit, she was breathing as if she had just run a marathon and her eyes rolled wildly beneath her lids. Walking up to stand by the rabbit’s head she turned to the Spawnling with a raised eyebrow.

“You put a bit gag in her mouth?” Tana shrugged.

“Well in between the screaming and incoherent rants, she was foaming blood as often as not…probably from the shreds of what used to be her vocal chords and the bits of her lungs once we got her to stop screaming. We gagged her as much to keep her from biting off her own tongue as to keep her from drowning in her own blood-soaked spittle.”

Judy laughed a bit at the mental image.

“She wouldn’t have gone that far, I wouldn’t have let her.” Tana crossed her arms and raised a brow.

“You weren’t even on this plane of existence, how would you have stopped her?” Judy grinned as she held up a taloned paw with a ball of blue-white fog swirling within the cage of her claws.

“The body obeys the soul, and I own her soul…ready to cross a line you can never explain away and commit sins you will never wash from your own soul?”

Tana gulped at seeing the look on her aunt’s face as she looked between it and the glowing ball of fog.

The idea of messing with someone’s soul repulsed her on a visceral, organic level she had yet to remove completely…and yet the thought of tinkering with someone’s base materials and coding had her mouth watering at the possibilities.

“I don’t think I will ever forgive you for showing me this…”

The Dark Counter to Gaia’s Daughter said as she reached out and gripped the soul along with her aunt, ignoring the look of evil intention on Judy’s face as she pulled both of their souls into the one in her grasp.

Looking around as she realized she had the ability to see and move again Tana jerked back at what she saw and reflexively tried to activate some of her defenses, only for them to fail. Looking down at her flesh, blood and bone paws she patted around her face and over her body in growing horror…she was totally organic again!

Looking around she watched as mammals were pulled to the ground under the weight of leeches and swarms of beetles. Buildings were being taken apart by razor sharp pincers as bladed and spiked centipedes ate their way through everything. Screams rang through the air as mammals were being eaten alive all around her while the world itself seemed to be getting taken apart.

Backing away and beginning to hiss out one of the first hexes she learned she pulled the energy between her paws until she had a series of poisonous thorn covered vines. Twisting them into a lash she turned and…saw her aunt.

“Huh…fun looking hex there Spawnling. So now you know one of your biggest weaknesses, just because you have all that fancy magitech on your body it doesn’t mean you have integrated it into your soul. Of course there are ways to get around that and mitigate this weakness, but you will have to find those on your own.”

Tana heard the words but was slightly distracted by the fact her aunt was lounging on an elaborate throne of bleeding and bruised meat, rot and pus-filled veins, straining tendons woven with rusted barbed wire and bone that looked as if it had been cracked and chewed for the maggot riddled marrow within.

Seeing her aunt leaning sideways on the seat with her cheek on one fist holding a spiked and rust covered chain leading to a bloody and bladed collar while her other paw gently stroked over Astra’s ears brought up all new questions.

“What...how…but…Explain?” Tana sputtered out as she walked closer and raised a brow at the sight of Astra wrapping her arms around Judy’s leg and rubbing her cheek against the other rabbit’s thigh with a possessive look in her eyes.

“Oh calm down…shshhh…” Judy said as she gently pulled on the other rabbit’s ears until she was once again looking up at the lounging Hellspawn parading as a rabbit.

“We are within her soul and this little pet here is how she represents herself within her own mind and soul, down within the deepest parts of her inner psyche past all her defenses…or at least it is how I want her to represent herself. As you look around you see the destruction of everything? That is her soul being shredded, scoured and scorched away. With every second of destruction, more of what makes her the mammal she grew into is lost forever. With every second I am taking away everything that makes her who she is. This sweet little pet here…”

At this point Judy leaned down and placed a searing acidic kiss to the other rabbit’s brow.

“Is what she is going to be when I am done removing everything I don’t want.”

Tana felt a sense of nausea she hadn’t felt since she replaced her stomach as she looked around with new understanding.

“You…you are destroying her soul. You…I…”

Judy smiled at the young rabbit while scritching behind Astra’s ears, much to her churring delight.

“I am destroying her in a way that can never be reversed or changed. I am killing her on a deeper level than she could ever imagine, I am punishing her for many and varied sins.”

Tana reeled at hearing that as she began to understand more of what was going on around her.

“I…I don’t think I can do this…If this is what it takes to keep things in balance with Mom, someone else needs to take over I…”

She was willing to do a lot of things it turned out. The more she learned and practiced and was given the chance to do more, the more she realized she didn’t have as many morals and un-crossable lines as she thought. This though…this was more than destroying or replacing body parts, this was more than twisting and torturing a body…this was reaching into the last place a mammal could pull hope from and burning it down around them.

Turning in place until she was facing her aunt again, she jerked back as she came nose to nose with the Lich.

“What makes you think…there is anyone to take your place?” The words came out sounding like the last breath of a dying world.

“What makes you think you can just give up the purpose you were born for because things get dirty and horrible? Are you really so weak that you would push your responsibilities onto another and make them suffer this just because you can’t handle it? What is your name?”

Gulping at the growl in her aunt’s voice Tana gripped her hex lash tighter and stepped back in confusion.

“What…what do you mean? You know who I am.” Judy barked out a short and spiteful laugh that had no humor within the sound.

“Oh yes, I know who you are…your mother knows who you are, your father knows who you are…but do you know who you are?”

Sliding from a spiteful smile into a snarl Judy stepped forward again, yanking on the chain around Astra’s throat in harsh jerk.

“What is your name?” She asked again in a harsh ragged tone.

“You are born to a line of Royalty stretching back to before I was a kit and the purest dryad line in history reaching back to Mother Gaia herself. You were chosen not by me, not by your mother or your father or their history and lineages…you were chosen by Mother Gaia. The spirit of the world herself looked into you and saw something within you that no one else even thought to look for…was she wrong?”

Judy stepped forward and Tana continued to step back as her aunt spoke shaking her head and gripping her ears as the words slammed into her mind like boulders falling off a cliff. She didn’t have any of the defenses, wards or protections she normally would have had and was having to rely on her fallible and worthless organics.

“…no…” Judy scoffed and continued asking.

“Was Mother Gaia wrong in choosing you? Do you think you could choose a better counter to such a powerful Matriarch and Dryad as your mother? Have I been wasting my time on a weak little girl?!”

Tana grit her teeth and snarled at hearing that, she wasn’t weak damnit!

“WELL!? Was Gaia wrong?! Have I been wasting my time on a weakling?!”

Falling to her knees as her aunt screamed at her Tana instinctively reached out to What, and Who, she knew she was.

“WHAT IS YOUR NAME!?”

With a snarl and scream Tana felt who she was, who she truly was, who she had made herself to be assert itself down into the fiber of her being.

She felt her eyes bleed as they were replaced with her newest upgrades.

Her skull burned as wires slithered along nerves and burned them away until cold clean lines replaced them. She could feel her bones break and shatter as they were superheated and replaced with molten metal, wire and glass nerves, elastic tendons and hydraulic muscles forced themselves into place. Organs were pushed out of place until they burst into mashed pulp that was recycled into new, more efficient and effective replacements…Tana squirming and writhing as she felt every single movement.

Tipping over until she was laying on her side in a bleeding, piss soaked, blood covered mass Tana shivered in place until her aunt was looming over her with a disgusted and disapproving look on her face as she crossed her arms.

“…m…my…my na-name…” Judy scowled and leaned in.

“…my name…is…my…name…is…”

Judy was about to berate the weak little Spawnling when the bunny on the floor of the quickly dissolving soul shifted her arm and launched a barbed arrow head up and through her aunt’s throat.

Smoothly jumping to her feet and reaching out with an arm that quickly changed in a flowing wave of shifting metallic plates Tana gripped Judy by the throat with a paw powered by hydraulics that even her aunt couldn’t overpower.

Lifting her up and leveling her other palm right between her aunt’s eyes Tana focused glowing artificial eyes on the other rabbit as she slowly shifted her arm not into a gun of any kind, but into a long and elegantly curved blade.

Pulling her aunt closer to herself and pushing her down onto her knees Tana slowly and calmly placed her bladed arm against her aunt’s throat while looking her in the eyes the entire time.

“My name is Tana Laverne Whiteroot, daughter of Prince Jack Whitehill and Dryad Senna Underroot. I was chosen by the Mother of Nature herself to be the balancing force against her own daughter and I Will Not Fail. My name is my heritage and the legacy of all those that came before me and I will not fail my Purpose…no matter what you try, she is MY mother and MY Rival.”

So saying Tana leaned in and grinned right into Judy’s face.

“And not for nothing, but I am going to enjoy this.”

So saying she focused on the blade her arm had become and shifted it until the edge was cruelly serrated.

Gripping with one paw until she felt weak, organic cartilage crunch under her grip like a frost ridden leaf in autumn, she grinned as she began to slice along her aunt’s throat.

Of course slice is a strong word, she had shifted the serrations along her bladed arm to be more like bladed scoops and after pressing hard against the soft fleshy neck began to pull…

Slowly.

She didn’t want to pull quickly with a sharp blade and slice Judy’s head off in a single blow, that was to fast and easy…she didn’t want to saw back and forth since that would be to quick and tiring, no she wanted to savor the sight of the monstrosity’s neck being flayed and torn apart. Shifting a second pair of arms out of her sides to hold the squirming and thrashing body in her grip still she laughed low and dark.

“Just stay still and let it happen.”

Judy had never felt so proud.