Anyway, that's all. I dropped the evidence off at your back door- woke up early, needed the fresh air anyway. It really is crazy how fast I am, I see why demons don't drive as often as humans. Though the ice can be a bit annoying. Anyway. You're like, the best. Or whatever. Sorry for the awkward message, I just- you're not around, and I worry, you know? I assume you're just largely avoiding me because you're busy, not really avoiding me, but ugh…
"This sounds horrible," Lynx sighed, and sent the message before bolting away from Aerendyl's home. As usual, he wasn't home.
-
"So," Profressor Roc raised an eyebrow, offering a thin-lipped smile. "Who can tell me the length of time at which a demon can be held for questioning before they must be let go, granted no evidence has been brought forth against them?"
"Six days," Somebody called.
"Correct. Why is that less than the 9 day period for which an angel can be held?"
"Anti-Oppression and Racism Act of 2011," Lynx droned aloud, when nobody else immediately spoke.
"Correct," Professor Roc affirmed again, nodding. "Well, it's about time for lunch, but it seems that you all've retained what you need to, from the lecture today. I look forward to a thrilling encore, this Friday. Until then."
Lynx grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder with one hand and grabbing her paper coffee cup with the other, throwing the last of the liquid back and swallowing, wincing at the gross taste of hot coffee gone cold before tossing her cup into the trash in passing.
"Lynx! Doing okay?" Aurelia chirped, falling into step beside her. "I never got a chance to check on you that night, but Alice said that you looked like you'd seen a ghost? My friend said you crashed the whole thing, gave the dealer a scare," She added in conspiratorial whispers, nodding. "Didn't hurt anybody and got her home safe? I owe you one."
"Owe me one? I could use a coffee," Lynx smirked.
"Sure, and I transferred you the money like I said I would," Aurelia nodded sagely, blinking her mismatched eyes. "I'll buy you a coffee, and-"
"Nope! No you won't. I'm the one buying Lynx coffee today," A voice came from behind her, and Lynx stiffened, turning. Sure as can be; Aerendyl stood there in casual wear, hands in his pockets, grinning.
"Lynx. Come on. Did you forget we agreed to catch up over lunch at Tuxedo's? Sorry, Aurelia, but I need to steal your cat," He added, walking forward and gently throwing an arm around the blonde's shoulders, grinning down at her. "Come on now."
"Aerendyl- what-" Lynx laughed, as she let herself be pulled out into the stark, wintry air. "What's going on-? I did the right thing, I left it all to you-"
"Well I believe that good behavior should be rewarded," Aerendyl smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. "'Sides, you're gonna learn real quick that it's not personal- I am one busy man. Real leaders walk among their people, ever heard that one? Come on, I said I'd consider a ride along didn't I? My car is ready- oh, and I'm gonna let the teachers know you started puking. Tuxedo's and their spoiled meat, guess you're getting the afternoon off," He chuckled, rolling his shoulders as they reached the parking lot and, soon after, his sleek, dark car. Lynx purred inwardly as she realized the engine was still idling- that meant warm.
"Pleasant surprise to see you here," She drawled as the angel sank into the driver's seat, grinning across at her. "Thought you were too busy with that redhead to care about me anymore~"
"Oh you know me- always working on something, then dropping back in to drop you some words of wisdom." Aerendyl grinned, tucking a few stray blonde curls back behind his ear as he pulled out, spinning the car round and starting off. "Anyway, it's true that I've been busy- I had some questions for a few prisoners, and all that jazz, you know how it is. Taking a break from poking my nose into the business of my superiors, I've been investigating this weird split-off of the cult."
"I'll bet anything it's not that simple," Lynx snorted, rolling her eyes. "I'd guess somebody is calling the shots, either high up in CA or the cult itself- using this split-off of violent ne'er do wells as a decoy. What's the cult called again? Seems so dumb, always calling it that."
"They call themselves the Elevated, say that their mission is unity and the everlasting." Aerendyl rolled his eyes, now, and sped up the car just a bit. Lynx, for her part, narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"Aerendyl- the day that I did the thing? The café, and putting a gun to my head to defuse the hostage situation… I went to your place before that," She admitted, looking out the window from behind heavy eyelids. "There was something on your desk, in a tray, and I… it smelled good, okay…?"
"Yeah. I had a feeling- I'll be real with you for a second," Aerendyl muttered, the playfulness fading from his voice. "It was an experiment. I noticed that the drug we keep finding at crime scenes lately looked a lot like angel blood, and I stole a sample. What you found wasn't the drug, it was my blood dripped into the tray. The drug seems to be derived from angel blood somehow, but I haven't found out more than that."
"I see-"
"More importantly- why the hell would you see something and just go hm, I should lick that. It was blood."
"I was curious," Lynx muttered defensively, glaring out the window. "Wondered if I could identify the taste at all. I didn't even realize what happened right away- took me a while to figure it out. Why I got all bold and reckless, I mean."
"Ugh. No more licking random stuff you find in houses you technically entered with consent, got it?"
"Yes sir, I'll make sure I'm invited in before I get my tongue out."
"Yes yes, make sure Alice greets you before you- anyway, we're almost there. So, we good? I'm not avoiding you specifically," Aerendyl spoke, and he sounded earnest. "Don't take it personally. You're my friend, after all."
"How convenient that I just happen to be friends with one of the most powerful beings on the planet," Lynx chuckled, nodding.
"Hey don't get it twisted- there's other archangels who could put me on my ass. I'm not a get out of jail free card from anything- but right now I'm teaching the rookie how to conduct a basic arrest. Nothing special about this," He added, pulling into a parking lot of what might have been the right place.
"Oh. Later, I should show you something," Lynx spoke quietly, getting out of the car and inhaling slowly, sucking the scent of ice and slush down her throat. Stupid cold wind, making my cheeks sting…
"Yeah? Show me something?"
"That sewer tunnel. The one I mentioned in my texts last night, from when I was going on a walk, and stumbled on that drug deal, and then the noises in the sewers…" She looked up at the diner, swallowing her trepidation and headed toward the door with Aerendyl.
"Sounds good, but for now, let's just go and see our friend," the angel smiled, closing his eyes for a moment before pushing the door open, headed inside, looking around critically.
"Who you thinking?" Aerendyl whispered as Lynx reached his shoulder, and she looked around quickly, silently. Families ate, here and there. In the corner, a man by himself- human, must have been ninety. Too old for crime- well, no. Too old for tough text messages about showing up with my money, though.
Hm…
"There," She whispered and pointed; dark hair and a brooding look. No food, just a black cup of coffee- and he keeps checking his phone. He's looking for something- or looking out for something. He knows something went wrong and maybe he knows he shouldn't have shown his face yet? At the very least, he's paranoid- and he's the only person here not focused on what's in front of him.
"You want to take the lead?" Aerendyl smiled. "I'll let you." The man was looking at them now, trying to pretend that he wasn't.
"No no, you go bossman, set the example for me," Lynx snickered, curtsying, plucking at a skirt that she wasn't wearing.
"Yeah… letting you take the lead would probably be dumb anyway. Kind of thing I'm not allowed to do, you being a student and all…" Sighing dramatically, Aerendyl walked forward, stopping with Lynx at the table where their guilty-looking gentleman nursed his coffee.
"Waiting for somebody sir?" Aerendyl smiled down at the man, angling his head. "My partner and I- we have a few questions for you sir."
"I know my rights. I ain't saying a word- and you got nothing on me."
"Wrong!" Aerendyl laughed, and a few people looked up now, but he didn't seem to mind. "Evidence was dropped off at my house this morning, sir," He added, sitting down beside the potential criminal, caging him in. Following suit, Lynx sat down across from her mentor, crossing one leg over the other.
"See," The angel continued. "We got a bag of drugs and a phone receiving texts from somebody to meet them here. You're the only person, in this entire restaurant, who isn't busy, or talking with somebody," He added, lowering his voice. "You're nervous. You led with knowing your rights, and being defensive. All the probably cause I need," He added, eyes darkening. "Wanna prove your innocence and let me search your phone, make sure those texts weren't from you? Or… you wanna come to my car nice and easy? I can promise fair questioning if you don't try to run." There was a threat in his voice, and Lynx shuddered, eyes lighting up with something excited; Like a cat with a mouse in front of me, stop smiling Lynx…
"You can't detain me for no reason-!" The dark-haired man snarled, trying to stand up, and Aerendyl placed a hand on his shoulder, gently forcing the man back down, wincing.
"Ah. He's a demon Lynx, be careful. Could probably throw you around. Now, my good friend," Aerendyl whispered, lowering his voice. "Make no mistake, I have no problem dragging you to a cell through the mud. I'm offering you, if nothing else, a fair trial. A lawyer, maybe a good plea bargain-"
"Shut up and die in a hole," The man held down snarled and- vanished? Lynx looked around rapidly- where he'd just been sitting, there was nothing but ash.
"I'll spend another lifetime dodging creeps like you," The man chuckled drily, and Lynx's head snapped around, he was at the door. So was Aerendyl… but the man was already gone, Aerendyl's hands closing around nothing."
"Shit," The angel sighed, as Lynx caught up to him, pushing outside and looking around. "A teleporter? I should have cuffed him faster- the fairy-steel is a sort of magical vacuum, starts sapping your strength. I got too cocky," He gritted out, looking around. "Damnit- now I have to file a report stating I was careless and let somebody like that get away. Figures… I'm off my game lately," He muttered. Lynx was looking around too, only half listening, failing to notice the dark rage behind his eyes for a second… but no, there was no sign of the man anywhere. Just the crowded city street, until-
"Hey!!" Behind them, an angry old man. "Git! You two cops, yer scarin' off my customers, and they're good people! Quit scaring 'em!"
"Yes, sir, I apologize for the inconvenience," Aerendyl muttered and shoved a wad of cash into the man's shirt pocket from his jacket pocket before wrapping an arm around Lynx's shoulders and hurrying off.
"Fairy steel, by the way?" She asked, looking up at him. "Talk to me, save filing a report for later- besides, if I show you that sewer tunnel, then maybe we can still find something to make this trip worth it right? Get some good information?"
"Ugh… yeah. Come on, back to the car," he muttered, shaking his head.
"So, your cuffs are made of what?" Lynx chirped as she fell into the passenger seat, pointing to which direction Aerendyl should pull out.
"Fairy steel."
"Right- why's it called that?"
"You ever hear the children's fairy tale about the pixies and the wizards?"
"No?" Lynx angled her head like a curious child, tail flicking. "What's it about."
"Comes from a real world conflict- back when Ravenwood was being settled, a lot of the demons living here didn't trust humans. Ravenwood was, at the time, removed from all of civilization- and a lot of the demons here had taken the form of fairies immune to the ice and cold. They often pranked the humans trying to settle."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm. One way they did that was by tampering with the early stages of the magical heating systems that now keep Ravenwood safe- they'd absorb the magic for their own strength with spells that were much less… controlled, back then. Nowadays magic like that is kept on a tight leash, but anyway, yeah- fairies became associated with the idea of stealing magic. Nowadays, a lot of prison cells and handcuffs, other such things- the metal they're made from, being enchanted with the same spells that absorb your magic like a battery, got the unofficial name of fairy steel."
"I see…" Lynx muttered, thinking. "Turn here. So then, fairy steel… well… if I was cuffed, could I use the cuffs like a battery?"
"In theory yes- but magic is based on understanding. We don't tell the secret of how specifically fairy-steel works, no geniuses figure out how to use it to juice themselves up. But if you're ever wrongly cuffed, keep it in mind, it might help you out," Aerendyl chuckled drily, scowling. "I can't believe I let some bumbling drug dealer slip through my fingers…"
"Is there any way that I can convicne you to get some more rest tonight? Here, turn here," Lynx added, pointing. "Left, left."
"No. I can't rest- I'll be up late. Gonna have to file a report on what we did, and whatever we find in this sewer."
"Mmm…" Lynx swallowed, took a breath- she felt uneasy, as though a strange, alien fire had been lit in her stomach. "Last time I found something here, in this sewer," She muttered. "Stop here- but yeah, last time I found something down there, it looked like some demented take on Alice. If that happens again, can you like, blast it into oblivion for me?"
"Well." Aerendyl cleared his throat, stepping out of the car and, once Lynx had as well, slamming the door behind him. "There are, from time to time, demons that you can't reason with. If that turns out to be the case, I'll do what I have to, to keep the both of us safe. Show me the way, then."
Lynx nodded, stepping forward, and hesitated, ears folding back as she paused at the top of the concrete ramp. No signs of what had happened; the service door she'd broken out of hung useless, two of its hinges torn- and there, at the grate, a few broken bars lying rusty in the tunnel. Aside from that though, the place might have been abandoned the past 50 years, with moss growing in patches along the walls, and afternoon sunlight sparkling off what little snow had fallen and stuck, here.
Is that my Lynx? The demented words hung fresh in her mind. The sight of the twisted Alice, the way wet flesh had given under her punch… shuddering, Lynx stepped forward, down the ramp, leading Aerendyl onward.
If I'm safe here with anybody, it's him, right?
"Hold on," Aerendyl held up a hand, thinking. "I can be a bit destructive when I fight, and if we're going into tight corners… hold on. Back to the car, I'm going to call a friend to go in there with us, if that's okay?"
"A friend?" Lynx angled her head. "Like the redhead?"
"No. An agent I trust, and one who fights a lot more cleanly than I do- with less destruction of property. I don't really want to get saddled with the bills for a sewer tunnel collapsing, and who knows what else could stem from that."
"Alright…" Lynx nodded and retreated to the car- to the warmth… and practically tossed herself into the passenger seat. "Soooo, got any more fairy tales?"
"Sure, but hold on," The angel chuckled, pulling out his phone and pausing, sucking in a breath.
Ring.
Ring.
"Vilhelm! Need a hand, come to the old overpass past the dam. Mhm. Okay. See you in a bit."
"Who was that?" Lynx asked, the moment he'd hung up, grinning wolfishly.
"A friend, a coworker, a trusted soldier? You'll meet him soon," Aerendyl affirmed, resting his hand atop the cat girl's head, between her ears, rubbing lightly. Lynx, for her part, stiffened as a low rumble rose up her throat, eyes widening, brow furrowing.
"I'm not some cat…?!"
"You're… not pulling your head away, either."
"Shut up."
-
Some weeks prior, Vilhelm nudged his way into Aerendyl's office, grinning from ear to ear. "Sir! You wanted to see me?"
"I did, that's right," Aerendyl replied with a smile. "Please, don't call me sir. It's Aerendyl to those who consider me a friend or a confidant, and I must admit I do not plan to be professional with you in any way. Not in the way that my… position would suggest, anyway."
"I understand, sir. If it's all the same though, I'd like to keep using respectful language- my mom always said that nothing ill ever came of respecting those who have earned their status! You, sir- I mean, wow-"
"Vilhelm," Aerendyl spoke, leaning forward and folding his hands on the desk before him. "Listen, I appreciate your enthusiam. I do. I need you to understand though- this isn't a game, and it's not some lazy job scanning ID cards. This is dangerous, and it's real- and it very well may end up getting you killed. You have time to back out- tell me to step off, and leave. I'll get you a position somewhere else, you won't-"
"You want me to drop the respect for a moment then I will," Vilhelm swallowed his fear and cut the archangel off, suddenly, something sparking to life in his chest. "All I want is to do good. For an archangel to request my help-"
"Not all angels are good, kid-"
"You are, though!! You have a reputation and you asked for my help so I, am, here." Vilhelm spoke levely, staring his superior down, and for a long moment, the silence was so thick that Vilhelm might have shattered it if he dared so much as to breathe.
"A reputation," Aerendyl laughed drily, leaning back. Something in his eyes, now, Vilhelm noticed… it was like glass. Like Aerendyl had left, and was now somewhere very far away. "I suppose I do. Then from this moment, you'll be trained after school hours by Marcus, my private combat instructor. I'm giving you a week trial period."
"What do you mean?" Vilhelm raised his eyebrows, leaning forward.
"Forget that you're human," Aerendyl snapped, nodding. "Fight like an animal, use every dirty trick in the book- show me; that I can rely on you to get a job done no matter what it takes."
"I…" Vilhelm nodded. Would mom smile at me if I stopped trying to do good because it's hard? It's like she always said- the things most worth doing are never easy. "I will, then."
-
"DAMNIT!!" Vilhelm screamed, falling to his hands and knees, coughing. The taste of blood flooded his mouth, and he swallowed, staggering to his feet as Marcus turned away.
"You did well. Honest. You're making huge progress," The woman nodded, tossing him a water bottle as he sat up on his ankles, panting hoarsely, wiping his chin. "I think you can handle a few demons, if they're nothing special. I'd sic you on a drug den, if you had the element of surprise or backup."
"You still kick my ass, damn it," Vilhelm wheezed, panting.
"Yeah. I do. I don't like lying though- you're doing well. Better than you give yourself credit for."
-
"Freeze, don't scream, and don't move or I promise you I won't make it quick," came the voice, from behind him, and he, a young man with horns twisting cruelly out of his forehead, slowly raised his hands. "Step away from the table with your hands up, no sudden movements. You're going to answer a few questions and in exchange, I'm not going to arrest you. You're going to be free to walk, do you understand me?"
"Yes sir. Not about to throw my own life away, okay? I'm going to get on my knees, and I'm going to keep my hands raised, and I'm not going to make any sudden movements," The demon spoke levelly, calmly. As promised, he slowly let one knee hit the wooden planks of the floor. "Will you really let me go, though?" Other knee meeting the floor, he raised his hands higher, well over his head now.
"CA is taking a turn for the better, even if it's slow. I'm one of the good guys, if that means anything to you."
Maybe an hour later, Vilhelm walked out of the hotel, holstering a gun and wiping his chin.
Doing wrong, in the name of what's right? Or is this just doing right?
-
"You fight like you'll die if you can't take me on," Marcus laughed, ducking and landing a punch at Vilhelm's jaw. Nostrils flaring, he took the punch and grabbed Marcus's hair- their headbutts collided and both staggered back, before Marcus swept his legs out from under him. "You're learning! Fighting like an animal- keep going, Vilhelm. I've got two prodigies on my hands, Aerendyl giving me the good jobs lately."
"Don't give a damn," Vilhelm stood, dusting himself off and bending his knees. "Again."
-
How much wrong will I do in the name of what's right? Am I doing wrong, though, if the only people I'm hurting are terrible killers and street urchins causing fear and panic? Aerendyl, though… he's always been the peak of goodness, and ridding CA of corruption… that's a goal worth fighting for.
What would even happen, then? With CA free of corruption… deals with the Elevated disappearing, no more terrorist attacks, no more money games, just a nation guarded by CA, with its interest at heart. What about CA in other nations-
You're overthinking.
Mom would be proud of you.
A… rank and file cop isn't what we thought it would be.
Getting my hands dirty in the name of goodness… It's something I can live by.
…Right?
Vilhelm tried to shake the thoughts out of his head, holstering his firearm and cradling the gun against his chest, now, finger off the trigger as he approached the two blondes at Aerendyl's car.
"Well, Lynx." Aerendyl smiled tiredly. "This is Vilhelm. However, legally, on paper, whatever, Vilhelm was executed for the sin of freeing Nara and disobeying orders. Meet my agent, Lynx; code name's Paladin."