"We need to stick together."
Hades leaned heavily against the wall as he spoke to Guru outside of the adjoining rooms in the no-tell motel he'd driven them three hours south to find. He still had a few safe houses no one had burned and whatever enemies were on their tails, he was hoping they wouldn’t guess he was hiding everyone just twenty minutes from the city he called home.
Hades was banking on that because they needed time. Jinx was out of commission until the six-hour hex wore off. They'd set him up in an armchair and once the glaring had stopped the Orangelo had dozed off. Lexi was laid out on the bed shivering. Hades's heart twisted. He was at a loss. Taking the demon to the underworld was insanity. It was a very likely possibility assassins would be waiting the moment they crossed and there was no room for further injury.
Lexi wouldn't die, exactly. Like all demons, he was immortal. No, death wasn't what assassination meant t
"Now. Isn't that better?" Hades taunted as he milked Doll's cock to orgasm. Doll wasn't sure if the question was an opening to speak. So he nodded,hoping the demanding tom noticed. His Soot-walkerwas in a mood and that meant the best kind of nothing good would come of this for Doll. "Put your arms back behind the chair and grab the rails. This will be your first test to see if you understand what I expect of you." Doll stared up into Hades's shadowed,lust-claimed eyes and rushed to do what he said. The no-fur could have bit his tongue off as the words "Like this?" passed his lips. He was in for it now and he hadn't meant to rile his lover up. Not yet. "Yes." Hades's smile would be Doll's undoing. "Just like that. Hold on tight for me." The lack of reprimand could only mean Hades was going to take it out on his flesh in some way. Doll's chair was dragged across the floor into the small bathroom. A picture was starting to form
"Agent? What exactly are we looking for?" The brightest of the three Tawnies shouted into the phone,butcalling Georgi brightwasn't saying much. Mittens, Muffin, and Georgi barely shared a brain cell between them. Still they were useful for menial tasks and more importantly to Agent, the no-fur who ran the Rodeos and several other shadyenterprises, they didn't have the intelligence to ever present a threat to his power. "The no-fur I had you mummify and leave to die, genius." Agent sighed into his speakerphone. "It was just yesterdayand I knowall three of you were there. You can't miss him.I specifically told you to leave a bit of hishorribleturquoise hair out so he'd be easy to spot in the boneyard. Give him the injection then bring him, still in the bandages, to me." "Yeah boss, it's not that we can't find where we left him. It'sthat he's not there. Do you want us to see if he rolled off an
Hades stroked Doll's headas the no-fur lay sleeping in his lap. Hades could use some peaceful sleep himself but Doll's unhappy sounds made him unable to rest. The tom wasn't sure if the quiet protection of his paw on the no-fur's head was enough to keep the nightmares away,but it made Hades feel less impotent. It had been a struggle to get Doll to settle down and rest. Hades had to swear they would leave before dawn to try to upset the evil no-fur's plot against mafia don Liam Martelli and his husband. But the Elementalist wasn't sure that was their best move. They were barely what he would call a team and too many of them were in no shape for the kind of undertaking this would be. From a practical side, there were pros and cons. If the evil no-fur and Gran weren't stopped, if Liam was taken out,Granwould become the new leader of Atlas City's biggest crime family. Hades and Doll would never be able to return and most likely would spend the res
The pressure was on. Doll waited for Hades to return to the meeting place. How long did three hexes take a skilled Elementalist? If he was to stick to the plan, Doll was supposed to leave withGuru and Spitfire to look for Liam. They were going to have to go in blindif Hades didn't get back in two more minutes. "I wouldn't worry too much, Doll. If Hades is held up, he probably thought of something clever and went and did it." Doll knew Guru was just trying to be encouraging but he still felt the desire to lash out. "How would you know?" The no-fur knew he was being snappish as he whispered at Guru. "Idon't even know if he's up for this. And there are too many variables." Doll heard Spitfire say something to Guru but he couldn't quite catch it. Spitfire's next words were loud and clear. "Isn't the best thing to follow your amazing Hades's plan and head over to the PR tent?" "I guess." Doll sighed. Stripping to just his underwea
Hades turned just in time to see Doll fall. The lightning flashing in his eyes was not from the magical storm as he sent out a wave of dandelion aura mixed with his rage-fueled hex magic. Impressive as it looked,it was less than effective as it hit the automa-toms. Hades swore. He was hoping he could make them "forget" their programming. Another attackcamefrom above but Doll's petal umbrella deflected it away. He feared that would not last much longer. He couldn’t tell how much damage the magick canceling rain was doing to the spell. Hades rushed towards where the automa-toms were continuing to beat his no-fur. Growling,he leaped, nothing less than a predator, on one of the automa-toms and rolled around on the ground fighting with it. This was nothinglike taking out the ones in the dressing roomat the Rodeo. This automa-tom had been programmed to fight. The petals moved to make different shapes above them so Hades was still s
As plans went, especially ones involving himself and Hades, this one was about as successful as any. Which meant it was mostly a clusterfuck. Jinx hadaccomplished his part. He found Cook. Not that it had been that hard, the Grey-furwas just buzzing around the nearby farmer's market,cooing over the excellent fresh produce. At first Jinx thought this was going to be the easy part. The market was at least a ten minute walk from the opening ceremonies of the Soup-Off and the Orangelo got the tip from a friendly competitor. Finding Cook shopping for radishes was a stroke of luck. Convincing him to go into hiding,however,was impossible. Getting him to run without Liam was never going to happen. As soonas the tom was told there could be trouble, Jinx had to take off after him as he raced to get back towherehe'd left Liam. Jinx also got the impression Liam might not have told Cook about any of his concerns,because the wor
"They have my brother." Doll was trying to take in everything he saw as Guru explained his reasons to Hades,who was currently holding him off the ground and interrogating him. Spitfire sat in a chair glaring, having already been hexed into telling the truth,which Hades had the power to do to a no-fur but not toa tom as strong as Guru. And poor Lexi looked worse than he had when the no-fur got a glimpse of him at the motel. Doll wasn't sure how much more insane power he had in him. But his tulip petal magic was spent and even if it hadn't been, he couldn't heal Lexi with their true love aura because it wasn't the demon that he loved. "If that's true," Doll heard Hades growl."Why didn't you say something? You think we wouldn't have taken that into account? We could have worked around it. You almost traded my Doll for your brother. Doesn't even matter if I sympathize, how can I trust anything you say?" Hades threw Guru back into a
Hades was ready to get back to his shoddy but quiet little officeand the attached apartment. Did he want to be able to give Doll more?Sure, someday. But there was an appeal to the familiarity of his desk and the way Doll would look stretched out over it. As much as both of them wanted to be all over each other last night,they were wiped out. They'd taken up Liam's offer to stay in one of his penthouses but were too tired to do anything more than fall into the luxurious bed and slip into a heavy sleep. Still, Hades wasn't one to stick around a place that,while it had been offered generouslyfor as long as they cared to stay,could be attacked by the villainswho got away at any moment because they probably knew about most of Liam's safe houses,especially his penthouses. A little normalcy from a few hours in his good old office-which Hades was going back to no matter what- would be heaven,despite how
Epilogue - Part 2Shadwell Sebastien Woolsey, also known as Hades, stomped in out of the rain, shaking it off his fur before he went any further into the house than the entry hall.He could hear the commotion in the main room. It was the kind of overwhelming noise only two bunnies, one large Northern Forest tom, a cosmic entity, and ten kits could make. It was the sound of a happy home, one that Hades had never dared to dream he could have. After his own rough upbringing with a sire who was embarrassed to be a Black-fur and an anonymous no-fur father, Hades had long since put aside any thoughts of being a sire himself.But his mates had changed all of that and helped him to realize he wasn't afraid of being a sire. He was just afraid of being his sire. Hades didn't feel shame about his fur color nor that of any of his many, many kits. He didn't think he was capable of feeling this much love. Though, he was grateful to Ink who had given both of the omega bunnies anti-pregnancy Marks. T
Epilogue - Part 1Guru hadn't been back to the Mousetrap since its renovations or since his kits with Spitfire were born. With all the little ones around and a very grumpy ginger-furred bunny to deal with, he'd barely left the mansion where himself, Spitfire, Doll, and Hades now resided.There was definitely a touch of Chaos everywhere he looked. A few booths sat at a slightly less than 45 degree angle and had straps like a carnival ride. No doubt when the bar was open those were full first from the novelty of it. Then there was the tricked-out pie case. Guru salivated a little, having heard from his mate Hades all about the supposedly world-famous pies.Jinx didn't have time to make them anymore so he'd begun to teach his brother Ink. Today appeared to be one of those sessions as Jinx was snatching a knife away from his paler brother and grousing about the proper way to cut certain fruits.The big Blonde tom put a paw around the other bunny in his life, his sweet Doll. Who looked esp
Everything was quiet for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.Spitfire sat down where he was, in the middle of the rubble left from fighting so many automa-toms and Agent's Hares. This part of Atlas City was wrecked. He wondered what it looked like outside of the battle barrier they had erected. Was Guru's mansion still okay? Did they still have a home?A ripple of auric energy told him Cosmo was on his way, having secured the collapsing bridge. Good, that was good. He needed to bond with his avatar mate to recover his god aura properly. But for now, since the battle was done, Spitfire was going back inside to see Doll and the kits. He needed to check on them. Something about this silence didn't feel... natural.Cosmo's voice in his mind assured Spitfire that it was not. Time had been frozen by a god and until it restarted, only the deities would be able to function.Spitfire wondered how long it would be before he knew how to do that. It was a pretty cool trick.He stood, stre
The ten of swords was not a magick to use lightly. Jinx had never actually cast that card before. He had been warned, repeatedly, that there were cards in the deck he was given that took as much as they gave. The pinnacle of the swords suit was one of those cards.Clutching his bleeding paw against his chest, Jinx drew one long breath after another. Everything smelled awful, the air was so thick with blood that he could taste it. He was certain that there was screaming all around him, but he couldn't hear it over the roar in his ears.He'd finally managed to end this stupid battle. He was the undisputed God of Chaos now. Jinx could feel it in his bones, right down in his soul. The power was flowing out of Agent's body as quickly as the blood that was pooling under both their paws."The kits..." Jinx's enemy was croaking out a few last words. "Are they safe?"Jinx's eyes followed Agent's weak attempt to reach out. There was a wavering shield, made up of th
Liar.The word kept echoing in Agent's head and in the air around him. The Demon was lying to him. They were made of lies and deceit, after all. There was no way King had pined for him for all those years. Tricksy had made a huge mistake when he'd tried to create the Innehavre bond. He'd killed a young no-fur, but it wasn't just any no-fur. He'd killed the oldest of his and King's litter. Stripped his soul bare and left the tom who loved him to take the blame.King had to know what happened to their kit. Both of them kept an eye on the three no-furs who were theirs. They couldn't help it. They were parents, after all. They worried.But throwing himself into the reincarnation cycle was the only way to make sure that the Innehavre bonds continued. Tricksy needed to sacrifice time and his own connection to King to the ancient powers that gave him his powers as the God of Chaos. Those beings, older than any god who now walked the earth, had changed who he was. Made him the God of Chaos an
*****Author Note - be warned, this chapter has the loss of a newborn in it ********If Priest so much as suggested movement, Doll growled at him and threaten his life. Ink seemed to be less in a hurry to take the small bundle from his arms.The no-fur cooed and cuddled the tiny, tiny form. "Hush, my kit. It will be alright. Your Daddy is right here and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."In his head, Doll knew the smallest of his kits was gone. In his heart, he couldn't part with the sweet grey and white striped tom kit. He heard him release one small, strangled cry before Ink started swearing and Priest turned to try to revive the poor little dear before handing him to Ink and not turning around presumably so Doll didn't see his tears.Ink had said words... Sorry and hold him... Doll didn't really hear them all over the roaring in his head as he was handed the still kit.He kissed the babe's forehead, his tears unchecked. "I'm sorry, little one. I didn't get to let you grow. I tho
Lexi was enraged. At his clever attackers and at himself. He had headed straight back to the bar when he caught a glimpse of tufted ears and the skin of a no-fur neck.Deciding rather than join the fight against the automa-toms, he would capture and defeat the one controlling them, the Demon began to stalk Agent. As he'd gotten closer, the image of Agent began to fade away.A bolt of what had to be Chaos magick slammed into him, sending Lexi flipping end over end. When he'd started to push himself off the ground, Lexi was in his least powerful form, that of a green tom.Having no idea what auric power his tom form had as it wasn't a glamour any more, Lexi could barely summon any energy to mold and was no match for a trio of Tawny-furs that had thrown some kind of aura-draining net over him.Now he struggled to escape the net while the Tawnys had just fucked off.Muttering to himself, Lexi considered what the trap had meant. "Does Agent think I'm so easily beaten? No, he's like super s
Hades found himself alone with Doll again and he wasn't sure what to do. He was holding his hand, muttering encouragement, but that felt like nothing.Spitfire had experience with this stuff and Guru was able to ease Doll's nerves with his singing. Ink and Priest, though they were practically strangers, were doing more for Doll than he could manage. Maybe he should join Jinx and Spitfire outside. He was good at fighting. But that meant leaving Doll and Hades wasn't sure he was ready."Look at them, pretty baby," Hades whispered, nodding his head towards the line of bins where their kits were bundled up and mewling, an occasional wail comingfrom one of them. "It's hard to believe that this is really happening.""I can't wait to hold each one in my arms." Doll let his head fall back on the soft blanket. "Or see all of you cuddle them. Although I will be glad to rest, I still feel there's a somebody or two in there. But they seem quiet for now." His no-fur's
Arriving after three of the kits had been born, Spitfire took a moment to check on them before he grabbed Doll's hand and leaned close to talk to him."Look at how good you're doing, sweetheart. Three of our kits are already in the world." Spitfire stroked Doll's sweaty hair. "I know, this is awful. It feels like it will never end, but you are nearly done."The new Black Devil turned to look at Ink, who was acting as the birthing doctor. "How many more are there? He is nearly done, right?""There's at least one more. But without an ultrasound, I can't say for sure." Ink replied, already coaxing out a fourth kit."Little one so big." Doll sounded exhausted. He leaned his head against Spitfire. "But he looks just like Guru, my beloved. Only completely White-fur and with my copper eyes. He's gonna be trouble. This one is kicking a lot but much smaller.""They're all going to be trouble, I think." Spitfire nuzzled the side of Doll's face. The thundering sounds of battle from outside were