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Years before...

A black van emblazoned with a red letter F rolled up to the monastery located in rural Rome in the dead of night. James Massey, a grey wolf, and Alan Carson, a white ram, exited the van. "I dunno, Jim." the ram said as he closed the door to the vehicle, "All the way out here? This place gives me the creeps." The wolf pressed a button on the door and the mechanical click of the doors locking could be heard as he walked around the van to his ram companion. "Its just an old church, Carson. Calm down." "Yeah, just like every horror movie I've ever seen." said the ram uneasily. "You know, you'd think the higher ups would have better ways of checking on things than sending agents into every old church, hospital basement, and abandoned mental facility that they could find." "You're the one that wanted field work. Weren't you bitching about being stuck behind a desk just last month?" "I just don't see the point."

Officer Massey lead the way and knocked on the large wooden door to the crumbling monastery. The door creaked open to reveal a wizened old mouse in a nun's habit. The grey wolf reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge. "Hello, ma'am. I am officer Massey. Our liaison with the Vatican told us that we were expected." The old mouse woman nodded silently and turned to lead the two officers into the monastery. Candlelight flickered, casting sinister-looking shadows along the praying forms in brown monk's robes. Alan turned to whisper to his companion, "This place is fucking creepy..."

The mouse lead them past the altar and the large wooden crucifix. Officer Massey crossed himself as he passed beneath the carved wooden eyes of the Savior, and walked on. They followed the mouse nun, and reached a study full of old bibles. A raven with graying feathers met them, dressed in the same brown monks robes as the rest of the male denizens of the monastery. "Welcome, officers, to this house of God." Officer Massey shook the monk's hand, "Thank you, Father. The Vatican liaison explained the situation?" The raven nodded. "Yes, he did. You will want to see him, then?" Alan looked toward the pair, "So he's...contained?"

The raven turned toward the ram. "Oh yes. Father Addam has never left his cell in fifteen years." "Fifteen years?" mouthed the ram. "What does it DO down there?" The raven's expression grew darker. "Father Addam," he stated coldly, "Is perfectly content with his self-imposed confinement." The raven turned back toward the wolf, "Father Addam was an outstanding young man and a wonderful man of the cloth before... before the unfortunate incident with the boy."

"May we see him, Father Aubert?" the wolf asked. The raven nodded, "Yes. This way, please." The raven took a lantern in his wing and lead the officers into an alcove. Officer Massey spoke again, "So I got the briefing from the Facility, but what exactly happened? To make Father Addam stay in the catacombs for fifteen years?" The raven's eyes strained in the darkness, and he did not look back as he spoke. "There was a boy in the nearby town. Strange occurrences would happen around the child."

The sound of voices eased Alan's uneasiness as they descended beneath the earth into the catacombs of the monastery, the only light coming from the monk's lantern. He was not sure his nerves could handle the tale of the strange boy, but James asked anyway. "What sort of strange occurrences?"

"The other children were afflicted with a strange illness where the boy attended school. He was the only one not hospitalized." "I see. Was that all?" "Animals acted erratically when the boy came near. The boy drove several animals to drown themselves in the nearby river."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alan blurted out. "What the hell was wrong?" The raven continued on. "A demon, Officer Carson. And Father Addam's current affliction." The two officers looked at each other. If this specimen was capable of transferring human hosts, they were both at risk. The Vatican had said that the specimen was contained, and was allowing two Facility field agents to evaluate the status of its containment, but the Facility had no authority to molest a sanctioned Catholic monastery. They had no backup without immediate present danger. Alan thumbed the safety of the pistol in his jacket holster, and James walked on silently.

Father Aubert continued speaking, "It was when the boy's parents discovered him with satanic symbols carved into his flesh, and blood sigils on his wall, that they sought our monastery for help. Father Addam had gone to find the boy chained to his own bed, thrashing and convulsing in inhuman ways."

The trio reached the bottom and turned to walk into a long arched tunnel. Father Aubert's voice echoed off the cracked stone walls as they walked. "Father Addam could not expunge the demon himself, for the demon was too great." "Was he overpowered?" asked officer Massey. "Is that the reason for his confinement?" "Not quite, Officer." answered the Raven. "Father Addam took the demon to bear it in the boy's stead. His sacrifice is a testament to his will and his Faith..." the raven stopped and handed the lantern to Massey. "This is where I leave you. We do not venture past this point. The nuns leave food and water, but none of us has set eyes on him for fifteen years." "Then how do you know he's even still alive?" "The trays come back empty."

"Will he harm us?" asked Alan nervously. The raven shook his head, "Not so long as you are men of faith." The old monk turned and walked off. James looked to Alan. "Should we ready weapons?" asked the ram. James Massey shook his head, "I..." something in his stomach told him that would be a bad idea. "I don't think guns are a sign that we're faithful." "What the-" the ram started,

"I don't want an Incident, Alan. Don't keep it out in view, just be ready to draw if things go south." The wolf said, reaching into his shirt and withdrawing a black-beaded rosary. He held the small cross in his fist clutched to his chest with one hand as he held the lantern out with the other. They walked on carefully until they reached the room at the end. They came upon a room lined with books. In the middle of the room at a decaying wooden desk stood a pale white ferret in black priest garb. "Welcome, officers." Father Addam said.

Both Facility operatives tensed up, eyes darting around to take in their surroundings, wary of any deception. "Relax, officers. Please. This is a House of God, no harm can befall you on such hallowed grounds." the ferret priest said. "Good evening... Father Addam." said James. "Good evening." answered the ferret. Alan resolved to remain silent, his hand ready to dart to his gun if needed. "Are you aware of why I am here?" asked James. "Of course." Father Addam answered.

"How?" Alan blurted out. The ferret turned to the ram, and Alan immediately regretted his decision. The ferret's black eyes bored into him to his very core, and Officer Carson immediately regretted not being a more pious man. He was unusually aware of the cold air of the subterranean lair of this monster demon. Nothing felt natural about his situation, and he fought the urge to immediately bolt from the room. If not for his wolf companion, he may very well would have. Instead, Alan stood in the ferret's piercing gaze, unmoving. Father Addam spoke with an unearthly calm, "I prayed, my son." "Father?" asked James uncertainly. The ferret turned to him.

"I prayed." Father Addam repeated. "I prayed to the Father Above for guidance. I was lost, in the darkness. So in darkness did I stay. And now, you are here."

"We are from the Facility, Father Addam. Sent to check on your containment. The Vatican-" "The Vatican..." The ferret interrupted. "The Vatican would have me remain here so that their failure is swept underneath the proverbial rug." James looked at Father Addam curiously. "Father?" "The Vatican would have me remain here until I die." the ferret gave a small laugh, though the sound was devoid of any joy. Only dry amusement. "The exorcists tried to purge the influence from my soul," Father Addam continued, "But I am tainted, my son. I cannot return to the light. God has a purpose, and while it weighs heavily on my soul, it is in Darkness I must stay. His divine plan for me is not yet over." "You want to stay here?" Alan asked. "No. I must go with you." Father Addam said. "With us?"

"With you, my sons. God has granted me vision in the Darkness. Your Facility is the path I must walk. Your Facility is fraught with Darkness, but that is the nature of those who fight evil. Evil dwells in the Darkness, so it is there you must combat that Great Serpent. I will walk in your Darkness, James " Alan looked to James, "How... how do you know all of this, Father? I was under the impression that the monks and nuns did not keep you company."

Father Addam shook his head. "They did not tell me, no. But someone did tell me." Alan knew what the ferret was going to say, but that did not help his nerves when he heard Father Addam continue, "God told me, my sons. God Above has sent me this information. With who you are, and what I must do." James turned back to the ferret, "We will have to clear it with the higher ups, but the Facility does allow... persons of interest to work for them." James was a veteran field officer, and he knew the sort of special persons the Facility trafficked in. He knew that the OS council would be more than happy to put Father Addam under lock and key, considering the monastery's "containment" consisted of letting the basement demon dwell out of sight and out of mind. Besides, neither James nor Alan felt comfortable that a pale, supposedly-possessed ferret was sitting in a monastery basement in Rome with what appeared to be insider information on the Facility.

"I will do whatever it is needed." Father Addam said. "But you must allow me to return with you. I fear..." the ferret paused, his calm expression turning to one of mild fear for the first time since setting eyes on him. "I fear for the safety of this place should you leave me."

James gave the ferret a confused look. "What would threaten this peaceful monastery?" Father Addam turned to look at James with a determined expression. "I will."

*****

Now...

Tactical Response Team Rho, the - "Uninvited Guests" were a specialized team of Facility operatives trained to operate in specialized urban environments. Hotels, hospitals, prisons, the Uninvited Guests were specifically tasked to handle Hostile Entity contact in environments featuring a high number of rooms and a dense populace. Due to the large congregation of people, Hostile Entities were frequently encountered in such environments, especially the ones who fed on blood or organs.

A squirrel garbed in Facility tactical gear spoke to a Tiger bearing sergeant stripes. "Sir, the ground floor has been secured, and the Uninvited Guests have confirmed that HE 2036 is on the ninth floor. He's made no move to relocate. Shall I give the order to engage?"

The tiger shook his head, looking up at the bloody message on the building. "No... 2036's taken down three SWAT teams and three sniper teams have not been able to bring him down despite visual headshots. I won't risk our necks against a phaser AND a cognitive hazard." The squirrel remained at his attention, but cocked his head quizzically. "Sergeant?" "It's a Prophet, and I won't have another Bridgeport on our hands. We're calling in the Blackout Protocol." answered the tiger.

"The Blackout Protocol?" the squirrel asked. "One of the Facility's pets. No sense in wasting good men when you can call in the freaks..." The tiger turned to a raccoon by his side. "Send in the Priest."

*****

A black van emblazoned with a red letter F rolled up to the Hilton Hotel in Hartford, Connecticut. A young spotted skunk in a Facility suit exited the driver's seat. Cesar Ramos was the current liaison to the Vatican, and was the steward of Subject 17.

Cesar walked around the vehicle, and opened the passenger's door. Out stepped a pale ferret in the garb of a catholic priest. The ferret clutched a rosary in one hand, and held a black leather-bound bible in the other. "Thank you for coming, Father Addam." said the spotted skunk. "Thank you for bringing me, my child." answered the Father. "This place is fraught with evil." Cesar nodded. "They say it's another Prophet of the Guiding Light." Father Addam frowned. "Heretics..." the ferret took a deep breath. "Their false gods will not protect them from the divine light of His Glory."

The skunk and the ferret walked over toward the command post. The skunk approached the tiger and flashed a Facility badge. "Cesar Ramos, Liaison to the Vatican Iscariot Sector and Steward of Subject One Seven, Father Addam." The official-looking tiger looked over the badge, then looked to Father Addam, and nodded. "My men will escort you to the elevator. Take the elevator to the ninth floor. HE 2036 is somewhere on that floor. He has several dead and reanimated corpses under his thrall, and has corrupted one of the Swat members sent in to apprehend the threat before it was fully understood."

Father Addam listened silently, and Cesar nodded. "Thank you, Sergeant. Are your men clear of the area?" the skunk asked.

The tiger nodded. "Anyone you encounter up there is presumed to be extremely hostile." Cesar gave a small laugh. "Way to let out the welcome mat, sergeant." The tiger shook his head, his expression blank. "Just deal with the problem, mister Ramos." "It will be dealt with."

*****

Cesar and Father Addam were lead into the Hilton Hotel, passed the stationed guards and into the elevator. Cesar reached out to press the button that caused the elevator to lurch, rising upward toward the ninth floor. The elevator ding rang against the eerie silence as the two partners stepped out onto the floor. Blood and red light was everywhere, and Cesar raised a hand to shield his eyes, but Father Addam raised his rosary. The ferret's black eyes stared directly into the red light that shone all around them. "Listen to my words, Lord, and consider my lament."

The red light gave the briefest of flickers, and snarling rang out into the halls. "Hear my cry for help." Shadowed silhouettes appeared against the light. They seemed to rush toward Cesar and the Father. "My god and my king." the ferret's voice came again. Cesar could not see, but this was not his first encounter with the red light. He heard the ripping of flesh and the inhuman screams of the damned as he saw Father Addam's silhouette walk forward. A bodily thud and the splash of blood was all that Cesar heard as the shadows collided. "For to you I pray."

Cesar lowered his hands as the light seemed to die down. He looked over to Father Addam and then onward down the hall and the rows of doors. Bloody bodies in SWAT gear lined the halls. Each body was deprived of eyes, again a familiar sight to Cesar. The Guiding Light ritually gouged the eyes of their victims. However, through each one of the bodies' hearts jutted a black crucifix. Indeed, some of the bodies were hanging on the walls, black crucifixes impaled through the chest, arms, and legs. The reanimated thralls of the Guiding Light hung crucified against the walls of the hotel. The ferret turned to the skunk and held a hand that signaled that Cesar was to guard the elevator door. Cesar nodded, and took out his silver Glock17. It was a special gift for his services to the Vatican, and was etched with symbols from Rome's top exorcists. It was fitted for custom 9mm Parabellum ammo, also plated with silver and etched with the holy cross. Cesar readied his weapon, and crossed himself. "Go with God." said Father Addam. "And you, Father" answered Cesar. "I am always with God." Father Addam walked down the corridor and turned, leaving Cesar alone with the dimmed red light, and the sound of a steady trickle of blood.

The ferret walked on and on, seeing the bodies of SWAT personnel that were too damaged for the Guiding Light to make into thralls. Father Addam set to muttering prayers over the corpses. "May your soul find peace, child." he said, performing the signs of the cross. "Their souls will find no peace in lies." came a low guttural voice. Father Addam calmly turned to see the eviscerated form of a bleeding wolf standing down the corridor. The black wolf stood staring at Father Addam. His remaining intact eye socket shone with a pinprick of red light. The right side of his face was completely blown off, and blood trickled out along with more of the red shine. "The only lie here is your god, heretic." said Father Addam calmly. "Your mask blinds you to recognize the lies of your vision." the wolf said. "I will open them soon enough." "Your light will be swallowed by His Holy Grace, blasphemer."

"YOU ARE THE ONLY BLASPHEMY HERE." yelled the wolf. With a splash of blood, the wolf disappeared through the wall, and reappeared right next to Father Addam. The wolf attempted to plunge his claws into Father Addam's chest, but the ferret brought up the bible in his hand. The wolf's claws buried themselves in the pages of the leather book, and the two struggled against one another. With a strained voice, Father Addam spoke,

"Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God and Father of our Lord Christ, who once and for all consigned that fallen and apostate tyrant to the flames of hell!" the wolf and the ferret struggled to gain the upper hand. The black wolf snarled and spit in the face of Father Addam, who held his ground. Tendrils of shadow creeped along the floor, emanating from where the ferret stood. The shadow sought out against the light, and then light and darkness struggled for control. "Who sent your only-begotten Son into the world to crush that roaring lion;" continued Father Addam. "Hasten to our call for help and snatch from ruination and from the clutches of the noonday devil this being made in your image and likeness."

The wolf started to lose ground. Father Addam continued to press his advantage, the ferret gritting his teeth with the strain. "Strike terror, Lord, into the beast now laying waste your vineyard. Fill your servants with courage to fight manfully against that reprobate dragon, lest he despise those who put their trust in you, and say with Pharaoh of old: 'I know not God, nor will I set Israel free!'"

Father Addam wrenched his bible sideways, and the black wolf's arm twisted. There was the sound of ripping flesh, and the black wolf's claws were ripped away with the book. Shadowy tendrils rushed along the walls to smother the red light as the wolf roared in pain. Hostile Entity 2036 reeled backward with sprays of more blood as he clutched his ruined paw. "YOU... YOUR MASK WILL NOT SMOTHER MY GUIDING LIGHT!" he cried. Red light surged from his wounds, driving back the shadowy tendrils.

Darkness filled one half of the hallway, red light the other. The two combatants stood, their wills locked as the red light struggled against the shadow. Father Addam let the tattered remains of his holy book fall to the floor, and steadily walked forward. "Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies..." As the ferret walked forward, the darkness followed him. The shadow swallowed the light more and more with every step that Father Addam took. A very real look of fear passed over the wolf's face as he watched his red light be absorbed. "The red light will not be extinguished!" he said, backing up. Father Addam continued walking. Then the shadows seemed to rear up beside him, the darkness coalescing into a tangible substance. "Make your way straight before me."

The shadow formed itself into a jet black crucifix in Father Addam's hand. The shadowy sigil bore what seemed to be a sharpened point on the bottom. The black wolf stood growling defiantly at the ferret priest. "Pray to your impotent lie. IT WILL AVAIL YOU NOTHING!"

The ferret drew closer. "Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice." "The Guiding Light will never be extinguished! Not so long as there are faithful! Martyr me, and you will only strengthen us!" yelled the wolf, panicking as more of his light was swallowed by the shadow.

Father Addam reached out to grab the black wolf, who turned and jumped into the wall. He started to disappear into a pool of blood, but the ferret managed to grab the wolf's arm, and wrench him back. With his free hand, Father Addam drove his black crucifix into the wolf's shoulder, anchoring him to the wall.

"Their throat is an open grave." the ferret said calmly, his black rosary dangling from his wrist as more shadow coalesced into another sharpened crucifix.

"And with their tongues they tell only lies." Father Addam plunged his weapon into the black wolf's mouth, silencing him. Muffled screams gurgled out of the wolf's mouth along with more blood as Father Addam formed another crucifix, which he used to drive into the wolf's remaining eye. One final flash of red, and the entire hallway was blanketed in sudden darkness.

*****

Later...

Julian leaned back in his chair as the bespectacled panther behind the desk poured over the incident report. "Estimated collateral?" Tabetha asked the tiger who stood at attention in front of her. Tabetha was aware of the tiger staring at the golden-colored patch of fur contrasting with the rest of her face, but she paid it no mind. "Two hundred and thirty thousand total, but no damage was caused from Facility operations." Tabetha looked up with a curious expression. "None?"

The tiger nodded. "All damage was from HE 2036. We gave the official story of a crazed suicide cult who planted bombs, and the Hilton insurance will cover all of the damages" Tabetha breathed a sigh of relief as she went over the documents some more. The less money the Facility had to spend on clean ups, the better. "Then have a field agent oversee the reconstruction. I don't want any residual corruption... wait." Tabetha looked from the papers to the tiger again. "You sent three teams from TRT Rho, and you're telling me that there's no damages? No stray rounds, no bullet holes. Nothing the insurance companies can trace back to the field units?" The tiger shifted uneasily. "Broken doors from room clearing we blamed on the dead SWAT and their encounter with HE 2036."

"So you're telling me your men left no marks on the building?" "Correct, Overseer." Tabetha set her papers down, and stared at the tiger. Her stare had been known to chill the nerves of even hardened criminals, and her injury had not detracted from that. One eye was dark violet, and one a dull yellow speckled with red. Her stare had taken on a surreal, unnatural look that had unsettled anyone who looked at them. "May I ask how your team managed to neutralize the freak without any casualties, or even scratching the paint?" the pantheress said coolly. The tiger shifted uneasily again under the Overseer's gaze, but swallowed and took a deep breath before answering calmly. "The Blackout Protocol."

Tabetha narrowed her eyes from her seated position behind the rich mahogany desk. "The Blackout Protocol..." she said. The air hung heavily as Tabetha pushed the bridge of her glasses further up on her nose, taking a deep, exasperated breath. "You used your authority to bypass the standard operating procedure and sent in Specimen 17?" "Overseer, I had my men standing at the ready and secured the perimeter while S17 and his handler dealt with HE 2036." "You had your men standing perimeter!?" Tabetha yelled. "You let that crazy religious freak out into the public with only his handler!? And didn't even bother to keep your guns on him!?" the pantheress seethed. "I should have you demoted to D-Class!"

The tiger hardened his face defiantly, "I did the job I had to, Overseer. The Guiding Light has been a thorn in our side for months, and I wasn't going to waste the lives of good men-"

"You didn't even TRY to apprehend HE2036! You just sent in the freaks to kill each other. Well what if they hadn't? What if S17 had been corrupted? What would you have done then? You'd have given us TWO murderous psychopaths to deal with because you were afraid to do your job! Your men are trained in what they do, and your teams are SUPPOSED to be competent enough to handle the threats!"

"Overseer, the Blackout Protocol was implemented-" "-AS A LAST RESORT." Tabetha screamed, interrupting the tiger. "Father Addam is a bloodthirsty murderer! For god's sake, Underwood." The pantheress said exasperatedly, her voice steadily returning to a normal, if stern level. The tiger took the opportunity to speak up, "TRT Rho is still recovering from their losses at Bridgeport. I saw an opportunity to avoid further unnecessary losses, and I took it."

"The freak crucifies people!" Sergeant Underwood gave a confused look. "S17 crucified a few off the bodies corrupted by the red light, but no civilians were harmed."

Tabetha shook her head, turning to her computer and typing in a few things. "You're lucky the Guiding Light prophet held S17's full attention, then." The file of Specimen 17 pulled up on her screen and she clicked the link for 'incident reports'. Tabetha turned her monitor so that Officer Underwood could clearly see and the tiger took a step back. "Father Addam was a fundamentalist catholic of the utmost zeal even before the incident which led to his Specimen classification." The pantheress said, watching the tiger.

From the monitor, dozens of crucified bodies hung from the walls of what appeared to be the remains of a sex shop. The floor was littered with silicone phalluses from every fur imaginable and dvds depicting nude furs littered the floor alongside piles of eviscerated human entrails. The bodies hung, pinned to the walls by black crucifixes. Pictures showed a solitary, blood-soaked bible on the counter. "The last time Specimen 17 came into contact with the public people, it crucified thirteen people. Three workers and ten customers of an adult novelty store." "My god..." Underwood said as he looked over the images further.

"You remember that commandment about graven images? Yeah. Father Addam decided that these people were heretics and massacred them while en-route to an assignment. Security was lax because S17 is content to do what we tell him to do for now... but they passed too close to the store, and S17 escaped his handlers and, well..." Tabetha trailed brought up more pictures of the crime scene. Pictures of a shadowy Father Addam praying over the bodies of the people he'd just killed. "Security footage showed us that he pinned them to the wall first. Then as they lay there bleeding onto the floor, he made them confess their sins. Half of them were so delirious from pain and blood loss that they just said whatever S17 told them to. S17 then drove the final stake through their hearts and wished them passage into paradise."

"Did his handlers not react as soon as he was loose?" Officer Underwood asked. Tabetha shook her head. "S17 is capable of moving at unprecedented speeds, and seemingly possesses mild teleportation ability when the area is sufficiently dark. S17 leapt from the Facility van, and ran into the night. Facility personnel found him half an hour later." The tiger stood shocked, and Tabetha turned her monitor back toward herself. "Specimens are not toys. Experimental personnel are still experimental, and specialized Protocols are not to be called in whenever you feel antsy about losing a few men. Do I make myself clear?"

"Overseer... if 2036 had overpowered our teams, then we'd have had to level the building." "Leveling the building to kill a Hostile Entity is still preferable to sending one rabid dog after another. It works out if one kills the other, but that's the thing about wild animals." Tabetha glared. "Is that you're fucked when they turn on you." "Yes, overseer." The tiger nodded.

"Good. You are on suspension for ten days, to report to the Safety Officer and attend the refresher class on Facility safety guidelines and standard operating procedure. Understood?" "Yes, Overseer." "Good. Dismissed."

The tiger turned around, and left Tabetha's office. The vampire bat balanced on the two hind legs of his chair as he leaned back against the wall. "He couldn't stop staring at your new eye." Julian said bemusedly. Tabetha shook her head.

"Shut up, Julian." The vampire bat rose from his seat, his black duster trailing. "I personally don't get why two priests can't kill each other." Tabetha rolled her eyes. Julian continued, "I mean, as long as it's not over who gets which end of the little altar boy." "Ugh..." Tabetha said in disgust. "Enough, Julian."

"Ehehehehehe." Julian chuckled to himself. "Though I wonder what goes through that head of his... do you think he'd crucify himself if you pointed out that murdering people is also against his creed? Being a walking hypocrite must be such a heavy cross to bear... get it?" "Julian. I am warning you..." Tabetha said as her eyes narrowed. She was losing her patience in the face of the vampire bat's smug nonsense. "Easy up, boss. No need to nail me to a cro-"

"That's it! OUT!" Tabetha seethed. She had come to the end of her patience for Julian's prattling. Julian laughed. "Is that really such a wise decision, considering most of the people in this building are actively plotting your death?" Tabetha glared. "Just take a walk. If I'm forced to be in your company for too much longer I'm going to shoot you again." "Tch." Julian scoffed, but turned around anyway. "Like that ever stopped me." the vampire bat said as he left Tabetha's office. He decided to do just what the pantheress suggested, and take a walk. He passed by a few personnel, but they gave him a wide berth. He loved listening to the sound of their heart beat quicken as they passed by him.

Dreaded Specimen Zero, that's what they thought of him. Outside of Facility jurisdiction and answering to Tabetha alone. Julian was aware of his status as a sort of campfire story. Many a tale had been told at the proverbial water cooler, as the Overseer's pet freak was a favorite talking point. Dozens of stories and versions of stories had been told about his background, his abilities, and the reasons for his subservience to Tabetha. Some of them were actually fairly accurate, some of them were complete lies. Most of them amused Julian to no end. Not that the vampire bat would actually share the tale with anyone, he did find amusement in the creativity of some of the tales.

Not to say the Julian didn't talk to anyone, he just made it a point to be as intimidating as possible. A hungry smile and predatory eyes were his nigh-constant expression, as if he may eat the first person to approach him. Even the guards were wary of the dangerous freak allowed to roam the halls. Julian took a deep breath as he passed more people, relishing in the smell of blood. He decided to quickly head back to Tabetha before he did something he would regret. Not that he was afraid of anything the Facility could throw at him if he did decide to kill someone, but Tabetha sort of frowned on that sort of thing. She was a tightass like that.

As Julian was walking back toward Tabetha's office, he came across a pair of girls heading in the same direction. A Facility officer accompanying what seemed to be one of the logistic personnel. Sometime well-behaved disposable class could be given a break from life-threatening duty to do things like wash Facility uniforms, clean the Facility rooms, or run errands for the higher ups. Julian did not remember Tabetha ordering food, but then again, Tabetha did a lot of things he took notice of. There was only so much potential amusement in the pantheress' dinner order, and unless Tabetha was ordering something phallic so he could make lewd noises at her while she ate, Julian could not give less of a damn what that stuck up bitch ordered to stuff in her face. While the security escort was not at all out of the ordinary, as it was a bad idea to let a d-class wander around the Red Wing, something struck Julian as a little off, and the vampire bat always trusted his senses.

"You two. Stop." he said commandingly at the girls. The d-class, a small raccoon girl who seemed either malnourished or part skeleton, stopped silently and stood still. Julian presumed she was used to being ordered around. The officer, however, a leopard girl, turned back to face him, and Julian's eyes immediately fixated on her chest. *Double. Damn.* "M-Mister J-... I mean Specimen Z-" the leopard stuttered as Julian listened to the sultry sound of her heartbeat quickening. He listened to her stumble over her words with a bemused smirk. She decided to go the formal route, to Julian's mild disappointment and decided on, "S-0. We were just delivering a food order to the Overseer." "Uh-huh." Julian said, walking toward the pair. He looked over the covered cart of food, and removed the top. "S-Specimen Zero!" gasped the security girl. "That food is for the Overseer, even as her right-hand subordinate I must insist that you cease accosting that dinner!"

"You do that..." mutter Julian, smelling the food. It was a roast chicken sandwich with lemon and rosemary. It boasted a crisp iceberg lettuce on whole wheat. Next to it was a mixed vegetable soup in beef broth. A slice of cheesecake sat enticingly on a plate drizzled with chocolate. It smelled delicious. Julian grabbed the sandwich unceremoniously and sank his fangs into it.

"Specimen Zero!" said the leopard girl shocked, as the raccoon girl stood silently. Julian watched the leopard girl stare at him aghast while he slowly chewed the chicken sandwich. "Security girl." he said, his words muffled around the sandwich. "Do you know that there have been several attempts on the Overseer's life since the snake escaped?" The leopard girl seemed to gather her wits, and nodded. "Of course, Specimen Zero. Integrated Tech is sifting through encrypted data files to find the source of who is ordering the D-class to attempt to murder the Overseer. Of course, they were still trying to figure out how Specimen 222 got released in the first pl-" "It's Radcliffe." Julian said nonchalantly over his sandwich. The leopard girl went wide-eyed. "Specimen, to accuse an OS level 5 of that kind of-"

"Radcliffe's sending in the fodder because he knows its only a matter of time before he's outed as the whiny little shit he is... need's hot sauce." The leopard girl looked at him curiously. "What?" "The sandwich. It needs hot sauce." Julian repeated.

The leopard girl shook her head, as if her brain had finally caught up to the situation. "Specimen, I will see you reprimanded for accosting the Overseer's dinner." "Oh, that's not even gonna be the half of the bitching out I'm gonna get." The leopard girl blinked. "What?"

"Yeah. I'm totally gonna get bitched out for something else." The leopard girl blinked again. Julian noticed that her eyes were big and brown. "What?" she repeated. Julian finished the sandwich, withdrew a black Smith & Wesson Model X-Frame 500 revolver from his duster, and fired a .50 caliber hollow point into the raccoon girl's skull.

The leopard girl screamed as she withdrew her standard issue Beretta 9mm, and Julian almost had to laugh. "Drop your weapon and put your hands on the ground!" the leopard girl screamed. "You're going to want to point that somewhere else, security girl."

"Drop your weapon!" she yelled again. Julian merely pointed with one of his fingers toward the body of the raccoon girl. The leopard girl ventured a tentative glance downward, and screamed. She jumped back as the raccoon girl's open skull poured forth a mass of white worms. They wriggled and gnashed tiny toothed maws as they squirmed to escape the confines of the disposable-class girl's shattered skull.

"You really ought to screen these guys out more. I've killed like... twelve of them trying to sneak in Specimens, poisons... specimen poisons." Julian said nonchalantly as he picked up the plate with the cheesecake on it. He tasted worm eggs in the food, but Julian did not mind them. The vampire bat's healing factor was more that a few parasites could handle. His body's hypercharged immune system would recognize the parasites, destroy them, and convert them into energy the same as any other food, and that's if his stomach bile did not reduce them to nutrient slurry in the first place. Tabetha, however, would have been infested and died a very horrible death should she have ingested the assassin's dinner. Julian took a bite of cheesecake and immediately spit it out. "Bleh..." he wiped his tongue on the provided napkin as he watched the leopard girl struggle to get the white worms that were crawling up her boots off without touching them. It was quite funny. He finished wiping his mouth and shook his head, "Dunno why I did that. I hate cheesecake."

The sound of ripping flesh could be heard as a white worm the size of a cobra burst forth from the raccoon-girl's chest. "You know, that's how I feel every time I get an erection." Julian said bemusedly. It reared up and loomed at the vampire bat, baring its maw of teeth menacingly. "Gr." Julian growled at it back playfully. The leopard girl moved to scoot away, and the white worm fixated its eyeless gaze on her. "Oh look, security girl. He likes you."

The cobra struck fast. Coiling its body like a spring, it leapt from the chest cavity of the raccoon girl toward the leopard. "Yikes. Did not see that coming." The security leopard screamed as the toothy maw of the white worm bit through clothing and fur and flesh.

Ribbons of blood arced in the air as the worm struck again and again and again, seeking out the leopard girl's beating heart. Screams echoed through the hallway, but no one came. Julian was certain that the cameras were disabled and any security was rerouted out of earshot. Radcliffe would have made special precautions to ensure that no one could rescue Tabetha should anything get to her, Julian had seen to it that nothing had. "Hey security girl." Julian said as he watched the worm burrow into her chest. The leopard girl only thrashed and screamed. She clutched at the worm with both hands, trying to pull it off, but its teeth were sank into flesh and sinew, she could not pull on it with any strength without causing herself more agony. "Do you like Bon Jovie?" Julian said. When he was answered with only more screaming and thrashing, the vampire bat shook his head. "Well, I only ask because you're-" BLAM

"Shot through the heart!" Julian sang as the white worm exploded into a clear yellow ooze that mixed with the bright red arterial blood spattering out from the leopard girl's now-open chest. "And you're too late!" Julian kept singing as he knelt beside the eviscerated security girl. "Darlin' you give love, a bad name."

Julian looked over the girl and shook his head. "Didn't know there was a big one in there. They like hearts." he said as the leopard girl gurgled away, her life pooling beneath her. "But I'm sure if you look deep inside yourself-" Julian looked around, "Oooor maybe just sort of scrape some of that off the walls," the vampire looked back with a toothy grin. "You'll find that you have, or had, it in you to forgive me."

The leopard girl looked up at him with half-lidded eyes, her expression weary. Tired. She looked up at him with those big doe eyes.

"Don't look at me like that." Julian said defensively. "It's not my fault your lungs are lining the walls." The leopard girl shuddered and a splash of blood erupted from her chest. "Don't you gurgle at me, young lady." Julian said, crossing his arms. "You got yourself into this." the vampire bat said. He more or less believed it. She hadn't done any checking on the raccoon she was escorting, so it wasn't his fault she was injured. Then again, it couldn't be her fault. Orders were only that. Orders.

The leopard girl's eyes glazed over, and closed. "All right! Fine!" Julian said exasperatedly. He brought his arm up to his mouth, and ripped open his wrist with his teeth. He extended his arm so that his blood dripped into the leopard girl's open chest cavity.

"Just remember: I'm only doing this because you have an amazing rack."

The leopard girl did not answer.