CW: One Bad Rat

 

There’s still a darkness to her grin, yet in place of the sadistic joy that had been plaguing this entire encounter, I now see a jubilant excitement. The boss takes a moment, both to admire the light I offer her, and to think, though, it’s impossible to parse what she might be considering, because it’s clear as day what she wants.

“I accept your light, Cat. Show me what it means to be the light in the darkness.”

She reaches up and grasps my hand in a firm shake as the light travels through my arm and down to hers, spreading through her body.

I pull her up out of her seat as she relishes in her true form becoming a reality, though, her body doesn’t change too much over the course of the transformation, besides the obvious parts anyways. Her shoulders become a little less broad, her hips a little wider, but for the most part, it stays as it was. I mean, it was clear she’d worked very hard to attain the body she felt was most true before Ascension came into the picture, knowing now that she’s one of us that is. Once her body shifts here and there, however, the rest of the changes take place, her sharp features only becoming more accentuated while her ears poof out, large and round. Below, a tail begins sneaking its way out of her pants, long and lithe just like the rest of her limbs, though it lacks the silver fur growing elsewhere across her body.

Once she comes to and the light begins to fade, her true self becomes clear, and the pieces fit into place. Coyotl wasn’t wrong in calling her a rat earlier...a...a pretty cute rat, at that, but you didn’t hear that from me. Her eyes shine a brilliant gold while her sclera take on the black of most other Ascended, and around her left eye is a patch of brown fur, matching the uneven splotches of colour elsewhere on her body.

The woman stands there and laughs, throwing her head back as her joyous chuckling fills the room while she hugs her new self.

“Finally...everything feels so right…!” she muses, her muzzle coming down to point at us now as her arms relax by her sides. “Do you know what it feels like? When you hear of a new hope for you, for people like you...only for it to disappear without a trace? To have been abandoned by that which had given hope to so many?”

My gaze on her falters somewhat as her all too sincere sadness meets mine.

“If you know as much about us as you say you do, you should know the answer to that.”

A small amused ‘hmph’ leaves her lips as she shrugs and shakes her head.

“Left to the whims of the city streets. Mistreated at the hands of those who’d seemed like your only hope for survival in this cruel world. Yes, I’ve heard your sorrowful tale, Cat, and I sympathise. Trust me when I say that.”

And just like that, a glint of malicious intent flashes across her face.

“But I didn’t get where I am through sympathy. I fought, I killed, I became the monster the world saw me as. And that, ladies and idiot, is why you are here today!”

Coyotl crosses their arms and harrumphs. Honestly, yeah, if I’d been getting bullied as hard as they have, I’d feel the same.

“Make your case first,” I say, one hand on my hip while my eyes shoot through the rat. “Ascended or not, you must know who you’re dealing with. And if we decide against your plea, and you try any funny shit…” My paw slams itself against the back of the boss’ throne, right next to her head as I shove her back down into it, glaring with a tempered fury. “You know what’s going to happen.”

And she blushes again. This woman is into some weird shit, but it’s clearly working as she chuckles a bit less sinisterly now.

“Didn’t think you’d actually take me up on the offer of seduction, but I’ll take it...Now listen up, fellow Ascended.”

I shoot her a heated glare once more before that look turns into an eye rolling grimace, and I groan as I step back and rejoin Coyotl and Fox.

 

“With the initial arrival of the Ascended, Monorise upped its police force and then allowed for the use of greater, even extreme force, ever since your little scuffle on the street.”

“Wh-what?! Are you tryna blame this on us?! They surrounded us with guns and chased us down with a military grade vehicle!! We didn’t even kill anybody!”

The boss shakes her head and continues grinning. “Not blaming you, Cat, not at all. If there’s one mote of goodness I’ll allow myself to so generously offer the world from my position of power, it’s that I understand these powers do indeed come with great responsibility.”

As she goes on, she raises her palm upwards...and out from her sleeve comes a little ethereal rat, squeaking cutely as they stand on their hind legs and sniff about.

“I can tell most Ascended would not use their powers for ill purposes. When you’ve been given the ability to be your truest self, when you’ve been offered a home that cares unlike any other, when the problems this terrible world imposes on the common folk become irrelevant...why would you need to commit crime?”

The ghostly rat scampers out of her palm and down to her perch upon the boss’ shoulder just before she clamps her hand into a tight fist.

“But that’s not the world I live in. My home is the underworld. The depths of Monorise. Subterfuge. So, lest the powers above see fit to dispose of those uninvolved with my own whims, I must play it safe within my own realm.”

Her grin and sharp eyes return to pin themselves upon me, and I begin to watch as swaths of ethereal rats crawl out from under her throne, surrounding her as she smiles.

“And that’s where you come in. Within my realm of the underworld...or soon to be my realm, anyways.”

I raise an eyebrow at the boss and cross my arms, thoroughly unamused. “You expect us to just do your bidding and help you take over the underworld? How stupid do you think we are?”

“Stupid in the smartest way possible, Cat. Like I said, I know much about you and dear Fox here…”

The rat kicks her legs up over the arm of her throne, laying back and petting the rat on her shoulder.

“I don’t expect you to do this for me. I expect you to do this for us. For Ascended folk.”

“Your words are as empty as your soul,” Coyotl speaks up for the first time in a bit, though, their tail is still wrapped around their leg in fright. 

They get a laugh out of her though, the boss shaking her head as her tail whaps back and forth against her throne. “The dumbest almost says something worthwhile. Yes, normally those would be empty words, but they can be more if you’d care to listen.”

I put a hand on Coyotl’s shoulder, making them jump, but the gesture quickly seems to calm them.

“As I was saying earlier, when Ascended entered the scene, things got tricky. Folks down here wanted the power, the folks above wanted to suppress it, and clearly still do. Then things stagnated on our end with the disappearance of your goddess. The underworld was restless, abandoned while those above continued to stamp their feet in their bullet fueled tantrum.”

The boss’ eyes fall upon Coyotl now, looking at them with equal parts excitement and malevolence, making the new Ascended shake a bit more, even in my grasp.

“That’s where you come in, my sweet little idiot. With the emergence of a new Ascended, hope had returned to the underworld that we may combat those above. And clearly we got more than we bargained for with Cat over here, all for the better~”

A small but pointed hiss leaves my lips as I stare harder at the rat who’s attention I’d just grabbed.

“I am not some tool for you to use.”

“Oh, but your anger is.”

Erk. I wince, a moment of weakness that the boss abuses to the fullest extent, all while grinning wickedly.

“And you know it too. That burning rage inside you. The very same you felled a god with.”

“Quiet.”

“You have power, Cat. Think. Feel the sizzling vitriol as you recount what the world above did to poor Coyotl here. How it intends to treat you, me, everyone like us, even before all this started! It threw you to the ground, spat on you, kicked you while you were down. What else could one feel? Despair? Hopelessness? No. Anger. And you’re right in feeling it. The world deserves to be burnt to ashes at the hands of those scorned, and I know you of all people can--”

“SHUT UP!!”

 

Hands by my sides, clenched into trembling fists of broken rage, I feel the silence after my outburst sinking deep into my skin like glass.

“...You don’t know me. You can know all about what I’ve done. What’s happened to me. But you’ll never know...me…”

Fox rubs herself against my leg, and I feel the tension in my body release somewhat, only for it to rise back through me from my tail to my ears as the boss laughs.

“Is that so? Then I look forward to getting to know you, Cat. We’ve got a lot of work to do down here. Every figurehead in Subterfuge is scrambling to find how to harness the light. And I don’t trust a single one of them to wield it properly. But I know I can… We can, and we can turn Monorise on its head, twist their rules and make right the wrongs of the overworld.”

She stands up and begins walking towards me, her rats marching behind her while Fox stands between us, snarling at the boss, who chuckles as her eyes move from her to me.

“Tell her something comforting, will you?”

“Don’t worry about biting her ankles off, Fox. I’ll do it myself later.”

The boss’ laughing only gets louder as Fox stands guard still, though a little less on edge.

“Cute. So, Cat...what do you say? You’re in your element down here. I want you to be comfortable here...though not too comfortable. Obviously threats mean nothing to you, but the Ascended mean everything to you. You know what you want. I want that too. Unify Subterfuge with me.”

“And how can I trust you’ll use that power responsibly when the time comes?”

Her arms cross, a playful sneer masking a dark glint in her eyes. “You can’t. But what other choice do you have? Forever live in fear that one day, someday, the world will attempt to tear down the life so many have worked so hard to build?”

I keep my stance strong, but her words cut deep. That’s what I’d been doing ‘til now, isn’t it? Distancing myself from a world I love in fear of a world I despise.

“Or, you can do something about it. You can stand your ground, oh, you’ve made that clear enough, but I doubt you’re the type for diplomacy with the kind of people above ground. That’s where I can help. Not control by force...rather...persuasion by lead. If the entire other half of Monorise rises up in protest, they’ll have no choice but to talk, unless they want to see the city soaked in blood and flames.”

“...You’re terrible,”  Coyotl grumbles with a staticy fire underlying their voice. 

The rat chuckles and flips her hair out of her face. “Thank you, I try my best. Just remember it was the world that led me to such extremes. If any of you have any better suggestions as to the threat above, I’d love to hear them.”

Ugh. Considering I’ve tried and failed to think of one for the past month, I can’t say I do...looking down at Fox, she seems to understand I’m in a bit of a sticky situation here. But...if it can possibly lead to progress…

“...Alright. I’ll play your game.”

The boss’ smile only widens, more so as Fox nods along with me.

“We’ll play your game,” I add.

“I want in too.”

Everyone turns to Coyotl now, seeming nervous still, yet...determined. Adamant for some unknown reason.

“...No.”

The stranger is taken aback by the rat’s sudden decline.

“Wh-what do you mean, no?!”

“You’re incompetent. And trust me, I know incompetent. I work with it every day. I wanted Cat and Fox specifically because I can trust their skills. You? Hah! What can you do?”

“I…” Coyotl hesitates, struggling to find an answer to the boss’ question. “I just have to be here! Cat can offer Ascension...and these two have been at the center of all this since the beginning! I...I need something to hold onto…!”

The boss shakes her head with an exhausted sigh, shrugging before glancing up at me.

“In the end, your team is yours to build, Cat. I’m sure you have a good sense as to who to avoid getting involved in all this.”

I huff, tail swinging from side to side in irritation.

“So you’re not gonna join us on our escapades?”

“You’ll see~” she says with a wink.

I can only sigh as I look back to Coyotl, crossing my arms and looking at her sympathetically. “Look, Coyotl, I know this is a tricky thing to suddenly have thrust upon you, and while you have...promise using these relics, and the general bonuses of being Ascended, is this really where you want to be? You can walk back to Aspen Town right now, start a new life while we figure things out down here. You don’t need to get yourself involved.”

They shake their head though, looking up at me with determination and a twinge of nervous fright.

“Please. I’ll practice, I’ll get better, just take me with you. Please.”

I wince at how desperate they sound, like the whole world will fall apart if they aren’t a part of this.

“I’ve got an offer for you, be you interested,” the boss interrupts, looking at me rather than Coyotl. “Your first task involves the financial and entertainment sector of Subterfuge, the Sunlit Bounty. Specifically...you’ll be entering a colosseum battle of sorts. Sounds like the perfect chance to test their skills as I’m sure even should they fall, you’ll be able to make up for them.”

The grimace on my face amuses the rat as I shake my head. “An underworld boxing match? First of all, would Ascended even be allowed?”

“Oh, they are, and have already taken part. So long as the rules are followed, it’s anything goes~”

“And that’s my second point,” I start, looking behind us back at the path we came, then to Coyotl. “Anything goes. If this would risk the life of a possible innocent, I can’t possibly allow it.”

Coyotl seems to tense up, while the boss simply flashes me a devious smile.

“You forget who you’re working with. I can pull some strings...and get a non-lethal opponent against poor Coyotl here.”

“I worry what exactly ‘non-lethal’ means in this case.”

“Oh, don’t worry your cute little head over it, babe.” This bitch, pulling out their phone and scrolling through it as she explains. “Should they lose, the buffoon here will exit unscathed. Physically.”

“Even more concerning.”

“All I mean is losing is emotionally taxing, Cat. Now, I’m betting my whole livelihood on this fight, so don’t fuck it up. It’s a best two out of three, so round up a capable team of three, or bring Coyotl, and meet me back here in two days, 9AM.”

I blink at the audacity of this mother fucker.

“Two days? In the morning?! You just dropped the mother fucking motherload of exposition on us, and you expect us to be prepared in a matter of two days, in the morning no less?!”

“Yes. I do.”

The boss walks back to her throne and takes a seat, continuing to scroll through her phone as its light shines up on her face within this dimly lit dungeon.

“I don’t halfass anything, Cat. We’re getting this done, and we’re doing it as soon as possible. That is when the match is scheduled anyways, and I don’t feel like pulling enough strings to change that. Those idiots love their schedules.”

My huff goes unnoticed as she puts her phone away, and the moment after, a dark figure descends almost instantaneously from wherever the ladder in the back of the room leads.

“Jay!”

The bird smiles at us before flapping his wings on over to his boss’ side.

“Hey losers. Yo, Liz, what’s the--whoa whoa whoa HEY.”

Jay looks back and forth between the boss and us, to the boss, then us, then back and forth rapidly.

“What the fuck did I miss?! You Ascended?! And you look damn fine by the way, but what the fuck?!”

I can’t help but chuckle at the bluejay’s confusion, ‘Liz’ doing much the same.

“Clueless as ever. All will be explained in due time, Jay. Now, ensure Poison is available, she’s got a busy few days ahead of her. She just left, shouldn’t be hard.”

The bird nods, leaning his back against the side of her throne as he pulls out his own phone.

“Got it, Liz. Sorry it’ll be even harder to keep your pants on with the new tail, know you had trouble with that before.”

Jay soon finds an ethereal rat leaping off the top of the throne’s back and onto his head, the poor sap scrambling to get it off as Liz laughs at him.

“At least people actually want to get into mine, idiot. Get the hell outta here.”

The bird snickers once the rat has left his scalp, shaking his feathers out and flapping those wings out of here.

“I’m hot as hell and get all the ass I want, shut the fuck up!”

So it seems Jay’s met his match against the boss. Once he’s gone, Liz throws her legs over the armrest of her throne again and lays back, smiling to no one but herself.

“Ace asshole. Now, unless any of you have got an evening meeting between your lips and my dick, I’d appreciate it if you’d get out.”

“You’re absolutely revolting, Liz.”

Her head finally turns back to me, flashing that terrible grin of her’s.

“Please, call me Elizabeth. It sounds better in bed.”