All According to Plan

 "I need to make a plan, and I don't have long- if I don't show to the meeting within the hour, they'll catch on," Aerendyl sighed, pacing around his living room, thinking. Anxiety made his heart hammer in his chest, but he did his best to remain calm as Nara waited patiently, sitting on the couch with her tail curled over her lap.

 "What are you thinking?" She, Nara, asked with a gentle frown, brow furrowing. "I'm a demon, even without music I'm still strong, fast, and I can see in the dark- maybe I can help somehow? My soul, yeah, I'm missing half my magic, but my magic relies on music anyway- and it won't work if you just blast a radio. It needs to be human, authentic."

 "You got some kind of military experience? Police? Anything?"

 "Yes," Nara stated calmly, nodding her head. "I know my way around a number of blades and small firearms. I was a Contracted Arms Agent in Pempa before I died, but as of now I'm off the books- my body was dead for a little over thirty years. Guns have probably changed quite a bit."

 "Eh, you'd be surprised." Aerendyl swallowed, thinking. "They can't handle me, I'm the only archangel in Ravenwood. So then, they probably won't ambush me, the briefing is legitimate."

 "What's that mean?" Nara angled her head, voice gentle.

 "It means… it means that the attack is also a real threat," Aerendyl whispered, and it felt as though his chest had been hollowed out. The attacks were coming this way for a reason- they wanted something.

 "I get it," Nara nodded, closing her eyes. "A real fight on your own home turf, you'd have to take part in. Then, your men can kill you during the fight, stab you in the back among the confusion. With that, Ravenwood's archangel will be removed, and there would be nobody left to stop them, expose their corruption, or find out what other experimentation they might have going on. After all, depending on what you could bring to light… nobody will trust Contracted Arms, not really. Public opinion would fall apart, the guilty would be hunted… you have to go." Nara nodded, and Aerendyl kept quiet, letting her ramble.

 "That said, it's all too easy," She nodded. "Orchestrate an attack. Maybe it was a CA officer brutalizing a demon, inciting something. Maybe it was directly organized by an undercover agent. You lead attacks to the capitol, convincing them they can win when they can't. Lives are lost, chaos ensues, and the brave, the heroic Aerendyl died in the heat of battle- the buildings around you would be flattened, so any witnesses who aren't CA would be dead or long-since evacuated. You die a hero, and the world stays just as evil. Question is, what can you do about it? Without letting citizens die by the thousands without your help. If you send the CA away, the demons might stand a chance at overrunning you, too, and they still win. Not enough time to call for backup, either."

 "I think… you deserve to be more than just an agent," Aerendyl sighed, crossing his arms. "There's no way we can organize something to get your magic up and going… I need to think… and then, Lynx's plan… "

 "Yeah…"

 "I… need to make some calls," Aerendyl swallowed, pulling out his phone. "I have an idea. Who knows when this attack is meant to happen, but, we'll find out at the briefing."

 "Your idea… you think it's good?"

 "I do. I have somebody that I can trust," Aerendyl added gently, closing his eyes and dialing a number. "I have a plan."

 "A good one?"

 "I think so."

 =

 "I won't pretend I'm motivated by anything other than money, but this is way over my head. I want asylum, too," The dark-haired woman, still bound to that chair, spoke boldly to Aerendyl in spite of her condition.

 "Asylum?"

 "Let me into the academy or something, at least for a while. Or set me up with a safe place to live. I want safety."

 "I will agree, but I can't promise where, yet, I'll need time to figure it out."

 "Then it's a deal," The would-be assassin, and Lynx stepped back, sighing, as Alice hung up. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her throat felt tight- three stages to the plan, but would they really go off without a hitch?

 "I don't like this," Alice admitted quietly, straightening up, and Lynx nodded.

 "Neither do I," She agreed, stepping around the chair and beginning to untie her captive. "We need to get moving, fast. Tie me up."

 "You got it," Alice sighed, binding a length of fabric from the coats around Lynx's wrists and tying her up expertly; Lynx tried to jerk her hands free, reflexively, and winced in pain as they went nowhere. "No point bruising you up, you'd heal before we got there, but… well, you can rip out of the bindings if you try, you're a demon… how do we make this believable…"

 "I'm really, really good at pretending to be unconscious," Lynx affirmed, nodding, even as that anxiety grew in her chest, heart beating harder. "At least, I think I am. Not sure why I said that."

 "Let's hope," The would-be assassin hummed. "My name by the way, it's Carla. Did I catch the guy on the phone calling you Lynx and Alice?"

 "Yeah," the blonde woman nodded, blinking slowly. "Why?"

 "Just… Lynx? Bit on the nose isn't it?" Carla snorted, and Lynx rolled her eyes.

 "Let's do this."

 =

 "Step one… get Lynx out of trouble, for now," Alice's voice reached Lynx's ears from where she lay, eyes closed, mouth taped, arms behind her back in the trunk of a car. Carla was driving, but Lynx didn't have a sense of location anymore, it had been at least thirty minutes of just lying here silently, her tail flicking occasionally out of anxiety. It was hard to stay so still, but she was managing- if she was given away, it was sure to be by her own tail.

 "There's an attack planned on the Capitol City," Aerendyl had stated over the phone. "I think I'm meant to die in the crossfire; first, we're going to get Lynx out of trouble. The attack is supposedly happening at sundown tomorrow on the north end of town, closer to the lake; we'll be ready for the fight. The people who want me dead… I'm going to do my best, ingratiate myself and make them think that I'm on their side. Either the attack won't happen, or I won't be killed during it, if I can be convincing enough." Two, of three.

 "After that… I'll have an old friend take over the operation for me. I'm tired of working for a corrupt organization and I have no desire to leave it either, my friend." Aerendyl had snorted, and Lynx could just see a faint smirk tugging at his lips even through the phone. "I may be an angel, but weren't the greatest massacres in history committed in the name of the church?"

 Lynx remembered how she'd shivered, a current of magic rippling along her skin- that feeling came again, now, the hairs on her arms standing up, her eyes widening. Something was… wrong, different.

 "Aerendyl," She'd asked. "After I'm given over… how do you plan to save me?"

 "You'll just have to trust me, Lynx. I have a plan."

 So, I'll trust you, Aerendyl, but please, don't let me down… heh, imagine, if I still wind up going to my lessons later… what is it now, like two in the morning…? Honestly I'd probably rather cut class and pass out, but we'll see… can't believe I woke up in the hospital less than a week ago and I'm here… true what they say, some lives you can't run from, huh…?

 Suddenly, the car stopped, and Lynx did her best to control the tail, going perfectly limp, tail resting against the curve of her thigh. There was the sound of a car door opening… and then the trunk opening, as well. Thankfully, Carla had blindfolded Lynx so she didn't have to worry about flinching. A rough pair of hands grabbed her, hauling her out of the car, and then Lynx was being carried, bridal style. She remained limp, drool leaking from the corner of her mouth, tail brushing through the snow as Carla, panting, carried her.

 "Heavy cat, what the hell is your workout routine…" She groaned, staggering forward. "I brought her!"

 "Brought her? You were supposed to kill her."

 "What?" Carla feigned innocence. "No, you told me to grab her, or I wouldn't have agreed. Killing a student in the dormitories? I don't get out of that without being caught- anyway, I kept my end of the deal. Here she is. Where's my money?" Unceremoniously, she dumped Lynx into the snow, and she, the cat girl, gagged as snow filled her mouth along with the tastes of mud and silt- she couldn't help it, back arching. Before she could move though, her arms were held behind her back in spite of their being tied, somebody grabbing her hair, holding her head still.

 "Kill her," A man's voice huffed. "Here's your money, girl. Get gone," The same voice sighed.

 "Hold on," Carla cut in. "That girl is a prodigy, you know? Her dormitory room had uh, cameras in it, I actually had to follow her to the public bathroom to get her."

 "Your point?"

 "If you kill her now, I mean there could be a tracker inside her or something. She's monitored heavily, for some reason. You should get out of town before you kill her, that way you can drive and don't look back." Lynx listened to the exchange, giving some obligatory groans into her gag, jerking around a little. All was going according to plan, at least so far, but even so, her heart rattled her chest, it was so hard to hang onto her self control… but who knew how many people, here, and if it was demons holding her hair and arms…

 "Good looking, girl. Now get out of here. Get Ayano into the truck," The same voice spoke gruffly, and Lynx yelped, shouting into the gag, straining, trying to rip herself free halfheartedly, but throwing her weight around to seem sincere as she was dragged through the snow and hauled up, tossed into a vehicle. Genuine terror made her chest go cold as cuffs were bound around her torso and thighs, arms now trapped under her back- and then, something scuffing against her as at least one- no, two- people also filed into the same space as her.

 Are they really so afraid with me?

 An engine began, and then they were moving without communication at all. To their credit, their was no monologuing, no haughtiness- it seemed to be just men doing their job, plain and simple.

 I need the whole story… I have to save, at least one of them, I need to understand…

 What do I even know of the story so far…? I was a high ranking military officer in Pempa, and my soul launched me here as I became a risen to save me… but CA is corrupt, and they alerted whoever's looking for me on where to find me… Carla was a test to see if I've regained my strength or if they can be done with me easily… they want me dead, and I don't even know who's got me… just that I nearly killed their boss… is that demon really this scared of me…? I wish I could tell them I don't even know who they are, aside from cultists…

 Please, come and get me soon, Aerendyl… I don't like this…

 =

 "Aerendyl? I don't feel well, I really need, to go to Lynx. Now that I'm those close, it feels like a physical pull inside of me… whatever that bastard god did, I feel almost like I'm being controlled, jerked around. Do you think she feels the same?"

 "No, probably not." Aerendyl sighed, glancing out the window as he drove, more slowly now than he had before. "Lynx never mentioned feeling any sort of pull, and from the beginning, she wasn't looking for something specific like you are. Whatever- or, the god, that did this to you. I don't think he made the pull work in both directions, so to speak."

 "Please, do you really need me for this briefing? Let me go to her, let me do it now, please, I feel horrible," Nara pleaded, but she made no move to disobey directly, sitting in the back seat still.

 "It's not that I need you for the briefing, I don't believe." Aerendyl shook his head. "Would you be angry if I said that I was using you?"

 "No, probably not. I get it- I'm getting more desperate to find her and get back the missing piece of my soul. I'm assuming that you want me… I mean, to see how far this will go, and then…"

 "Then set you free." Aerendyl nodded quietly. "I can give you a full pardon after the fact- but this way, Lynx will be saved not by myself, thus showing where my allegiance is, but by a rabid demon in the area who lost control during a fit of psychosis. One who I can admit to an intensive mental health program, rather than imprison or execute."

 "I get it… you want me to… kill them… but shouldn't you be worried about the population…?"

 "No. After all, you're going to kill the people who stop you from reaching Lynx, aren't you? That won't be the general citizenry."

 "The longer I wait, the less rational I'll be,"

 "The more dangerous, too. People won't be able to recognize you as the demon who saved Eastbrook, do you understand now? If you go now, as you are, you'll create widespread panic and confusion as both a savior and a murderer."

 "I get it. I'm willing to suffer a bit… if it means that…"

 "It's selfish of me, I know." Aerendyl nodded, pushing a few stray locks of curly blonde hair off of his face.

 "No. I suffer a bit longer, and people are less scared. The legend of that night will stay, and won't be tarnished if they can't recognize me as the killer tonight. Then, Contracted Arms can be the heroes, stop the murderer… and nobody has to be the wiser. If I go while I can think, and speak- people won't be afraid. They won't run, they'll see me… there'll be a price on my head… I get it… better for me too…"

 "You know I think I'm a good strategist, but that's twice now you're two steps ahead of me," Aerendyl chuckled quietly, shaking his head, eyelids heavy, a sense of dread slowly gnawing at his chest from the inside. He was calm, cool, but somehow he just felt… hollow.

 "You know, for somebody who says he's tired of working for a corrupt government organization," Nara exhaled slowly, laughing breathlessly. "You sure do know how to go against the laws when it matters…"

 "Lesser of two evils is what I'm best at- I've always been able to make hard choices. Doing things by the book is a fast way to get more people killed. Isn't an angel supposed to be concerned with the good of all, and not one? Besides, it's true… better you come out of this night without a price on your head."

 "I'll, be good," Nara agreed. "I can do this. I'll hold out until I can't."

 "We're getting close, time for you to tuck your head," Aerendyl sighed, his left knee bouncing as he slowed down, turning onto academy grounds. "This briefing… I- we, should be able to gauge whether our hunch was correct after this. I'll start trying to trick them now, if possible."

 "I hear you," Nara affirmed quietly, lying down and pulling a number of blankets and the like over her body, soon resembling nothing more than a stack of dirty laundry. "Good luck."

 "Thanks, Fox, I'm going to need it." Aerendyl sighed, slowly pulling into Lot B and bringing the car to a stop, turning it off. He hung his head for just a moment, then raised it and opened the door, stepping out. Before him, two sheriffs leaned against the car they'd arrived in, dressed in dark clothing rather than military attire.

 "Good evening, gentleman." Aerendyl spoke coldly, offering a corpse-like stare. "What's the word?"

 "Good to see you, Director," One of them saluted patiently "We wanted to keep things discreet, and let you alert those you think should know, rather than risk making that call and causing a scene."

 "What's the word?" Aerendyl asked bluntly, deadpan.

 "Demons are poorly coordinated, the cultists intended for the attack on Eastbrook to be a decoy while they attack the capitol- we intercepted a message. An officer screaming at the attacking force to get it together- they mentioned they're going to be attacking through the north end of the city tomorrow at sundown, flashmob style."

 "They don't know about the experiments, do they?" Aerendyl asked quietly, picking a bit of dirt out from under his fingernail.

 "Sir… what?"

 "I asked if they know about the experiments." Aerendyl frowned, crossing his arms. "Have you not been told?"

 "Told… what, sir?"

 "For the sake of making sure they don't find freedom a number of our experiments have been moved here to our facilities in this city. Our friends in Pempa have been a little too curious about what we have going on- don't want any of them falling into the wrong hands. I mean, two souls in one body? The money we'll make, when we figure this out," Aerendyl clucked his tongue, scowling. "Do you two think? At all?"

 "R-Right, sorry, sir- it's just, I thought that-"

 "Thought that what, you brainless despot?" Aerendyl's scowl relaxed, and he looked at the officers as one might look at a bug on the ground or something else of the gross variety. "You thought that the director of CA wouldn't be the person signing papers? What, you think I took this job to help people?"

 "Well, yeah-" The sheriff closer to Aerendyl started, and then he wheezed, coughing blood into the snow as Aerendyl moved faster than one could easily track, punching the officer's jaw hard enough to send him several feet away into a snowdrift.

 "Idiots. Nobody does anything to help others- I don't give a damn, angel or demon. It's all appearances, but… holy, the fortune we'll make if we can exploit people. Unfortunately, one of our Pempan friends got the wrong idea- thought Lynx was free. I lied to her, though- made her think I'm a friend so that she trusts me and I can run the experiments to 'help' her, without her resisting at all. All of you, idiots- and if this was going on without my knowledge? If I only signed up for my job to help? Do you think an arch angel would let anybody live after being betrayed?"

 "Alright, boss, sorry- all this is very hush hush, need to know, nobody told us that you were at the head of it all." The sheriff still standing raised his arms carefully, nervous, and Aerendyl slowly angled his head.

 "Oh yeah, because I want to go around advertising what I'm doing? Moron. Now answer the question- do we know why the demons are attacking? Is it for the experiments we have here? Alice, Lynx, Nara, so on so forth."

 "N-No- it's just cultists trying to make a statement, to prove that CA can't protect everybody, that demons and humans aren't meant to coexist. They hate Ravenhold and Mir more than any others, as always because we have no segregation." The standing officer spoke, and the other was now trying to slowly stand, dizzy, holding his bleeding lip with a hand.

 "Good, glad somebody intercepted the call. Organize our soldiers- have the northern districts evacuated for now, and get our men ready to fight. As many of them as we can spare- we're going to prove these damn cultists wrong- and then, I think I'm tired of their flippancy. It's time to go on the offensive."

 "What do you mean, boss?"

 "We'll organize an attack on one of their bases, if for nothing other than appearances- remind them that we allow them to exist only for our own gain, that their message is worthless and we'll kill them if they fail to serve as a tool should. We won't kill their leadership- just some grunts. The papers show we're making effort, the cult remembers their place, everybody wins."

 "G-Got it, boss. For now, we'll begin evacuations and rally the troops."

 "Back to it then," Aerendyl nodded, turning and returning to his car. "I'll be there personally, as well, of course." He added as he got behind the wheel and began his engine.

 "Wait, sir," The bleeding sheriff approached his car, and Aerendyl paused, rolling the window down.

 "Yes?"

 "I'm sorry, sir, but we were all explicitly told that you know nothing-" The sheriff stopped speaking, slowly falling to his knees, clutching his throat as blood seeped down his chest. A moment later, he collapsed, and Aerendyl leaned out the window, blinking at the other sheriff who now stood terrified.

 "You know what I want you to know. If I want to be a smiling figurehead for the news, I will be. Remember your place, filth," He added, and rolled the window up, peeling out of the lot, kicking up snow over the other officer who now stood frozen in terror as Aerendyl's vehicle ripped away.

 "Wow," Nara groaned, sitting up, eyes unfocused. "Did you just kill that guy without touching him? Didn't sound like you moved."

 "It was magic," Aerendyl muttered, scowling ahead, clutching the wheel with white knuckles. "How did I do?"

 "You may as well have been the cult leader- spoke the language of corruption as if you were born in the homeland of its people," Nara laughed quietly. "Should I be worried about L-Lynx?"

 "No. It was all lies. Part of the plan- things are going to blow up, but they just need to wait a little longer. How are you feeling?"

 "Fine. I can make it a bit longer, at least another half an hour," Nara sighed, leaning sideways. Her skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, clothes plastered to her body as she shrugged off the sheets covering her body.

 For a time, they drove in silence, until the peace was interrupted by Aerendyl's phone ringing.

 "They're nearing city limits. Now or Never." Carla's voice.

 "Thank you," Aerendyl sighed, slowing his car, pulling slowly off the road. "Are you ready, Nara?"

 "Do me a favor…" Nara groaned, nodding.

 "What's that?"

 "That magic you did," She groaned. "Injure me."

 "What? Why?"

 "Soul, let my magic leak out- it should make my need to reach Lynx strong enough… to override my rationale… I'll heal quickly, but, I can still think… if you really want me to become unrecognizable, then wound me, deeply."

 "Are you sure?" Aerendyl asked quietly, raising an eyebrow.

 "Listen, you know what'll happen if you wound me deep enough," Nara nodded, raising her sleeve. "I'll heal, so come on, do it- even if it's for a split second, my soul needs to be exposed-" Nara blinked, rapidly, faltering, looking down at her hands. Five fingers on the left, blood pouring from the right, only four fingers-

 "I," She whispered, feeling as though an anchor was trying to drag her away. Turning on her heel, she fled, exposing bare asphalt with the force of her steps. Her finger was growing back, slowly, but her mind…. It had gone.

 =

 "Listen, before you kill me," Lynx wheezed as her blindfold was ripped off, looking around at the damp basement room she'd been brought to. "Can you please just do me one kindness, and answer a few questions?" She knelt in a dim basement- it seemed that the cultists had garrisoned a warehouse on the outskirts of town, one that had been shut down. Kneeling with two guns pressed against her head from either side, she was in a perfect spot for execution- but curiosity burned at her.

 "You just want to stall," Spoke a gruff-looking man with a well-trimmed brown beard, kneeling down before her. Cupping Lynx's chin, he raised her face, demanding eye contact.

 "Listen, please," Lynx whispered, angling her head and leaning in, resting her forehead against his. Surprisingly, the man didn't recoil, even as the guns followed her- how stupid. She was, after all, in a perfect position to bite. "I just feel like I need a nap, man. I don't remember anything- I don't know what I fought for, I don't know, anything… I just want to ask you a few questions before you shoot me. Whatever I was before, I'm just a girl who doesn't know what she wants, now. So please, this isn't a ploy, and I'm not here to kill you. Couldn't get more than one of you before I had two magazines unloaded in my head anyway, could I? So, please, will you just, answer me a few questions?"

 After a long moment, the man before her leaned back, and Lynx met his eyes, softening her features, blinking slowly. "Please?"

 "What is it that you want to know?" He asked quietly, and at either side of her, the two armed thugs backed off, holstering their pistols.

 "Why are you doing this? Why are you here for me?"

 "We were hired to have you killed. Money's enough for all of us to buy twelve-bedroom homes on the beach and live comfortably for the rest of our lives. Somebody is afraid of you. Very, very afraid. That's all we know. We're professionals, though; sub contract, pin it on somebody else. Though she brought you back to us- which, I suppose, is just as good."

 "Why can't you let me go?" Lynx posed gently. "I mean really. I'm not whoever I was before, I'm no threat- just as you were hired for, that woman is dead, gone."

 "Proof. We need proof. The instructions were very specific- rip you in half and obliterate the head. No chance of regeneration."

 "Wouldn't I just heal, again?"

 "If it's really true, and you're new to this demon stuff… well, you expend a lot of magic reforming your body. Won't be able to do that kind of feat again for at least a few years. If we damage you enough, there's no coming back. I am sorry for this, but it's what we have to do." The brunette man stood, straightening. "Well, we don't have to but, you know. I don't know you, and money makes the world go round, doesn't it?"

 Before Lynx could answer, all four of them staggered, and Lynx shuddered, body lurching sideways. Gunfire- outside of this damp room and above her, gunfire. Screams, more gunfire, more screams- Lynx looked up at the ceiling, eyes narrowing.

 "Leave her here with me," The brunette man jerked his head and, nodding, the gunmen rushed outside, slamming the door behind them. Waiting a long moment, Lynx looked up, surveying the man she'd been left with amidst the background of gunfire, shouting and screams.

 "You're professionals, you said, correct?" Lynx asked softly, looking him over.

 "Yes, why?" Reaching back, the man slowly withdrew a pistol from his belt, leveling it with Lynx's head. "One move, cat, and I pull the trigger. I may only be a human, but with your hands tied, you can't break your binds and kill me both before I can react. One move."

 "Why don't you just pull the trigger?" Lynx raised an eyebrow. "I'm supposed to be dead so get it over with."

 "You hear that?" He responded calmly, jerking his head toward the door. Screams, gunfire, nothing else, somewhere over her head.

 "I do." Lynx nodded. "What of it?"

 "When you are a professional, girl, you learn things. Do you know what I have learned so far tonight?"

 "What's that?"

 "That we have been made. You aren't scared at all- even if I can shoot you, even if you can't regenerate, you aren't afraid. You know that you'd be saved. If I don't resist, then perhaps I'll be allowed to walk."

 "Forgo your houses on the beach? Let your men die?"

 "People die, it's the way of the world." The brunette mercenary nodded. "These are not my friends; they are my coworkers. The only reason I aim my gun at you now is to protect my own life. I would rather protect myself- I can live to see another day, and afford my beach house later."

 "Make you a deal then." Lynx smiled, eyes narrowing.

 "What's that?"

 "Lay down and play dead."

 "Pardon?"

 "I killed you. I escaped. You made a rookie mistake- left your safety on a bit too long. If you know you've been made, that there's a plan greater than yourself- lay down, and play dead. If you do, you have my word I won't touch you, or speak of it." Lynx spoke calmly, levelly, staring up at him.

 "I can't do that. Can't trust that you won't kill me."

 "Why can't you? We can both walk away from this," Lynx asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. "Please, trust me."

 Before an answer could be given, the sound overhead stopped, and all went quiet. The mercenary's face went white, and Lynx smirked.

 "Not much time to think now."

 "I'll take my chances," He replied, cocking the gun. "I have the unfortunate feeling you're something of a professional yourself."

 "You're running out of time," Lynx hummed as a brutally-loud thud shook the walls, something ramming into the door. "I can think. That person though- she can't at all. Director of CA sent me a savior."

 Another boom, the door dented inward, and Lynx could see his brain working faster than it ever had.

 "Come on, man," Lynx whispered, pausing as the door dented further. "Your only way out is to play dead. Lay down, come on, I don't want more people to die than necessary!!"

 "No, I…"

 "Don't be stupid," Lynx snarled. The door was creaking inward further, the sounds of metal rending. "You don't have to die- I walk out of this either way," She snarled, leaning forward, against the barrel of the gun. For a moment, he stared down at her. "Your time is up, dumbass. Make your choice."

 "Hit me," he snarled, tossing his gun inside. The door bent forward even more, a small gap appearing at the hinges. Nodding, Lynx broke her binds and lashed out, kicking the mercenary into the wall. She was careful; aimed for the shoulder with a roundhouse, and kicked him upward, so that his arm and shoulder hit the wall. Just as he was falling, the door flew wildly off the hinges, and Lynx saw red as the steel collided with her body, her face.