FSE

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WARNING: This story carries implications of rape committed by the antagonist; you have been warned!

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When Obsidian arrived at the precinct that evening – regrettably posted to a nigh shift that day, she sensed an air of tension coming from the station even as she walked through the doors and headed to the chief’s office to check in. She looked around as she made her ways through the halls, catching the conversation of a pair of patrolmen who were just reaching the ends of their shifts.

“It’s horrible, what’s happening to those youngsters out there,” the first said.

“What I don’t get is why can’t any of them describe their attacker?” the second – the younger of the two, said.

“Well, being assaulted as they were can be pretty traumatizing, you know,” the elder reminded.

“I get that, but, none of them can describe their attacker?”

Obsidian stopped mid-step, unable to stop herself from listening.

“I mean, the trauma could explain a few of them but not all – you’d think at least one of them might be able to at least tell us what he looked like.”

“Maybe… He’s wearing a mask?”

“That wouldn’t really stop them from saying at least what race he was; I mean, you can’t hide a tail or the absence of one.”

“Point.”

Obsidian kept walking, not wanting the men to know she was eavesdropping. They were puzzled, by the day’s events… But on ‘Sid’s part, she was filled with a sense of dread. She knew – probably better than almost anyone else in the whole city, what it meant when an attacker could stop their victims from identifying them without killing them.

‘This is a problem,’ she thought, grimly…

Two knocks on the door let a tired-looking Gregory Vinson know that he had a visitor. “Come in,” he called, and looked up as the door opened. “Obsidian,” he said, recognizing the purple dragoness stepping into the room. “You’re early; shift change isn’t until six.”

“I was getting bored at home,” Obsidian offered with a shrug. “But it sounds like we got something nasty going on? I overheard some boys talking; what’s happened?”

The blue-feathered, Russian-descent Lavant Sparrowhawk let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned back in his seat. “I wish I knew,” he said. “We’ve got one of our most difficult cases here…”

“Fill me in?” Obsidian asked.

“Since yesterday, there have been three sexual assaults around the Wooded Hills trail outside the city,” explained Gregory.

“The nature park…” muttered Obsidian. “But… Three assaults? They haven’t found a suspect?”

“They don’t know who they’re looking for, or what,” replied Gregory. “For some reason, the victims can’t say anything about their attacker. The first one or two, maybe could be explained with trauma, but like you put it, three people? We’re stumped.”

“What have they said?”

“Just what they were doing,” replied Gregory, picking up a piece of paper and lifting it to read the words written on it. “They’re up there, walking or bike riding, when the attacker jumps them. The first assault was on a girl on a bike – she said something snared her from up in the trees, but she can’t remember what it was. She was hauled up into the canopy and restrained; somehow the assailant tied her up so quickly she didn’t even have time to resist, which… Honestly, sounds impossible.”

He looked further down the paper. “But the account by the second victim is consistent with it. A college youth, out for a jog in the park, when he’s snatched by something and dragged into the bushes; like the first victim, he was hastily tied up faster than he could believe before the assailant did the deed. The third victim – a young woman who was heading to the campground, gives the same description, but like the other two she can’t remember anything about the assailant.”

He put down the paper, running a hand over his head. “We have nothing on this guy. Somehow, the victims can’t remember his face. DNA left on the victim’s clothes confirm it is a male reptilian, but no identification, so he doesn’t have a record.”

“What about the international database – did we get any hits from other departments?” Obsidian asked.

“Kent’s looking into that right now. Hopefully someone has at least glimpsed this guy before; I feel like we’re chasing a ghost.”

‘Or something worse,’ Obsidian thought to herself. “So, we have nothing? Anyone up there looking for the attacker?”

“Charles and Simon are up there right now, combing the trails, and we had two others up there yesterday. Park administration shut down the area to keep the public out until the attacker’s found,” Gregory replied. “I told the dispatch to notify me every time they checked in, and to tell me immediately if they-”

Almost as if on cue, the phone beside Gregory rang, interrupting him. He held up as finger and picked up the phone from its cradle, lifting it to his ear. “Vinson,” he said.

Obsidian could hear a woman’s voice talking on the other side of the phone line. But it was Gregory’s sharp change of demeanor that had the feathers on the back of her neck standing on end, as his brow furrowed sharply and his free hand clenched.

“Alright, put out an APB – get every available unit up there,” Vinson ordered, rising sharply from his chair. “Put in overtime for the day shift – we’re going to need everyone!”

With that, he slammed the phone back into the cradle, looking at Obsidian.

“Looks like we’re skipping the safety meeting tonight,” he said, stepping past her and storming out into the corridor with her following.

“Charles and Simon missed check-in?” Obsidian asked.

“Worse,” replied Gregory, “One of the park’s guards found them outside the administration center two minutes ago… Simon’s dead, and Charles is now victim number four.”

Obsidian covered her mouth as she gasped, horrified. “My god,” she whispered.

She didn’t know Simon very well as she usually worked the opposite shift from him. He was one of the oldest officers on the force, at fifty-nine years old; he was even older than the chief. Formerly a member of the RCMP in Red Deer County, before being transferred to Unity Falls almost five years ago.

To hear of a fellow officer being slain in the field was nevertheless terrible news – made worse to find out that Charles, one of the youngest officers on the force – a red fox fresh who had only been serving for six months, had now become a victim of a sexual predator… One whom Obsidian was beginning to suspect was a metagene, and very likely not Anthropian.

She then collected herself as she matched her boss’s steps again, feeling an angry fire burning in her heart. “What’s the play, boss?”

“I’m getting every unit up there, full tactical gear,” he explained. “We’re combing that park and we’re dragging that reptile out of there alive or dead; he’s crossed a line now.”

“Yes sir,” Obsidian returned firmly.

In her angered mind, Obsidian had foregone the realization that if the attacker was what she expected… The revelation would put the obscure existence of beings like her into question. It was on the drive there that she started to think of this, as she drove up to the forested trails.

‘I’ve been getting too numb to the existence of my special friends,’ she thought, bemused, realizing that what was normal to her was extraordinary to the public…

Whoever this predator was, they did not care about protecting their obscurity. Worse yet, in leaving two officers of the law where they were sure to be found, raping one and murdering the other, they had sent a strong message to the UFPD.

Twenty-one officers, dispatched in groups of three and checking in via radio every hour on the hour, searched the park. They were armed to the teeth with AR-15’s and dressed in full tactical gear while Obsidian and another shift of officers waited near the administrative building, where Charles was being kept while they waited for paramedics to arrive.

Gregory and Obsidian entered the building and approached Charles. The boy was seated in a chair in the corner, with two officers watching over him as the pair approached. Recognizing their chief they stepped aside, and Gregory knelt before the male fox, wrapped in a blanket and shivering.

“Charles,” he said, getting his attention.

“H-Hey boss,” the shaken fox said.

“What can you tell me about what happened out there?”

Charles shut his eyes, shaking his head. “I don’t remember what he looked like,” he said. “Just like the other victims… I try to see his face but, it’s all blank.”

“Nevermind that,” Gregory replied softly, shaking his head. “How did this all happen?”

“Simon and I… We had just done check in,” explained Charles. “But right as I shut off the radio I felt something nail me from behind. I was… I don’t know how – I was tied up and practically suffocating before I could warn Simon. They…”

The fox shuddered, and tears welled up in his eyes. “They had a… A spear, or something… They skewered him, right in his back, before he could even turn around. Simon…” he clenched his eyes shut again. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Don’t think about that right now,” Gregory advised. “Can you remember anything else?”

“Just… Having my uniform ripped off… Feeling this… Tingling in my head. I don’t know why, but just…” he shook his head. “I didn’t want to fight him.”

Gregory’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He… Untied me for a moment, starting pulling off my uniform,” explained Charles. “Yet… I didn’t do anything. I didn’t want to do anything… I didn’t go for my gun, my taser, my pepper spray… They were all right there, in arm’s reach, but I just let him do it… He stripped me down, and then the next thing I know I’m tied up again and he’s ramming his dick into-” He stopped, seemingly noticing Obsidian for the first time, and she knew he was too afraid to say any more in the presence of a woman.

Gregory was puzzled… But Obsidian was not. She knew exactly what this meant… She saw into Charles’ mind, and saw that he was telling the truth. He had no recollection of his attacker’s face or species, due to a mental block in his memories – one that had not been put there by any choice of his own. Technically, she could remove it… In doing so, she’d be able to see into the blocked memory as well, and know for certain if her suspicions were correct.

But she knew would not be a good idea; in his current state, if Charles suddenly remembered his attacker’s face, he was sure to panic. Worse yet, he might outright say what his attacker was, and that couldn’t be allowed… No matter how much she wanted to see it for herself.

She just needed one last piece of the puzzle, if the opportunity arose.

The front door opened, and she saw two paramedics rolling a gurney into the room. Gregory looked at them briefly, and then at Charles. “We can talk more later… Let’s get you checked,” he said.

“Okay,” the fox squeaked, slowly rising to his feet.

He tripped on the blanket as he started walking over to the gurney; instinctively, Gregory and one of the guards watching over him caught him. Enough of the blanket fell away that Obsidian got to see his legs, and noticed the fur of his thighs, matted with sweat and disheveled, but through them – through the skin, she saw something else.

Brusing… Like something had been wrapped very tightly around his legs.

‘Constriction marks,’ she thought, stepping aside as Gregory led Charles to the gurney, helping to keep him covered up as he lay down upon it where Gregory draped the blanket over him again.

‘Just as I feared,’ she thought. ‘It’s a Naga…’

~~~~~

The night turned up nothing…

Three dozen officers searched every corner of the nature park for signs of the assailant. But their search proved ultimately fruitless; despite their best efforts, they found no sign of anyone in the park at all… The attacker made no further moves against them – wise enough apparently to know that doing so would put him in grave danger.

Obsidian herself joined one of the teams on the second shift, with the search lasting a total of fourteen hours. She stayed extra time, well after the end of her shift, but was eventually given leave for the day.

She should have gone home… But she couldn’t yet; not until she went to talk to someone. She knew of only one other psionic, male Naga in Unity Falls – nothing would convince her that Ordagova was their assailant, but considering the similarities this attacker had to him, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that maybe… He might know who it was.

Ever since his bar had caught fire, Ordagova had been forced to live elsewhere – in a hotel up the street from his establishment. Sheer luck that though the top half of the bar had been completely burned away, most of the building had been saved and deemed structurally sound. She knew that was probably where she was going to find him.

Obsidian drove to the Temple of Tikal, ignoring the heartbreaking sight of the tarp-covered second level where Ordagova’s apartment used to be. The fire department had managed to save most of the building, and Ordagova would be able to open for business again soon… That is, once the cleanup was done.

Parking her car, she stepped out, and made her way to the front door. She saw Ordagova standing in the common area, sweeping some ash and soot into a corner to be collected later. She could see that he wasn’t in high spirits even before she entered, and hoped that he wouldn’t take the questions she needed to ask out of line…

Ordagova didn’t sense Obsidian’s presence until she was right at his door, and he heard it opening. He recognized her the moment his eyes found her… But there was something different this time. As he usually did with everyone, he tried to reach out telepathically, and with her he could hold a deeper conversation without the risk of prying ears listening in - not that there was anyone else in the Temple of Tikal at that moment.

But this time, he found his telepathic touch being repelled. She had a block up, preventing him from reaching into her mind. She had never done that before…

“Sssomething troublesss you that you do not want me to know…” the red-bellied black snake commented as he returned to mopping, turning his gaze back down to the floor. “I assssssume it isss sssomething to do with Volcan…”

But to his relief, Obsidian shook her head. “No, not this time,” she said. “I… Take it that means he hasn’t called or come to see you, then?”

“No. He hasss not.” Ordagova hissed, not taking his attention away from his cleaning. “Ssso if that isss not the reassson; you don’t trussst me right now.” He put it plainly.

Obsidian frowned at that. “It’s… Because of a case I’m on,” she said. “Let me start by saying I don’t suspect you… But there’s someone out there, in the nature park outside the city, attacking young men or women who wander into those areas, isolating them and… Forcing himself upon them.”

She let some thoughts reveal themselves to the naga, but not before her words caught his attention. Those thoughts and images of the most recent victim of the attack. A young, male fox - a police officer from the same precinct as Obsidian herself. He saw the details that led to her hypothesis, with the constriction marks around the fox’s legs - not from a rope, but something much bigger. He could see from her memories the abuse this fox had endured, as well as several other victims that Obsidian hadn’t seen, but knew about as she recalled what her chief had told her.

“None of the victims can remember their attacker’s face, or how he restrained them,” Obsidian went on as she let Rovdyr study the mental images she was allowing him to see. “Between that, and the marks I saw on Charles, I am almost certain that it’s a naga, one with psionic powers, just like you and Nyleva.”

She took a tentative step forward. “I came here because I wanted to know if you might have any idea as to who could be doing this,” she pressed. “Could another of your clansmen from South America - one with powers identical to yours, possibly have come here to Canada?”

“...I am ssso sssorry for your lossssss” Ordagova began, having turned his body entirely towards the dragoness as she spoke, holding the mop to the ground in front of him, “Unfortunately I cannot anssswer the question you truly ssseek; no, I do not know of any others of my kind that have reached here. At leassst not for milesss, that I can tell, for which our clan would know when another is nearby ssso we can regroup and ssseek refuge. Our eldersss, after much training could harnessssss the powersss you ssspeak, to block or wipe minds; but thisss neither Nyle or I are capable of, at leassst for now.” Ordagova informed, “But there is a detail I sssaw in your mind; a memory from the fox. Malesss of my kind have… different endowmentsss to what he remembersss. Thisss was not one from El Mirador”

Obsidian blushed and let out a slight cough at the mention of ‘endowments’, suspecting she knew what he meant, but too embarrassed to repeat what she was thinking. “Okay. So he’s not one of your kind,” she said. But at that, she frowned. “That… Actually makes things a bit worse.”

At Ordagova’s curious look, she continued. “If he’s not one of your kinfolk, then he may not have the ability to take an anthropian form, like you do,” she explained. “Which means if the UFPD finds him… They’re going to see something inexplicable. A true-to-life myth, right in front of their eyes.”

“Do you think he can be caught? Sssomeone with that power could easssily wipe the mindsss of their captors; convince them to releassse him.” Ordagova tried to reason, “If they were the sssame age as I; wouldn’t you have thought they had been able to evade the coyotesss for ssso long?”

Obsidian arched a brow, a blank look crossing her features. “Coyotes?” she asked.

“I don’t actually know what world to dessscribe thossse unlike you, I and the phoenixsssesss” regretted Ordagova, “It isss an old word that my people called the powerlessssss invadersss of our homeland; their only power, that of gunpowder and ssssteel.”

“Ah… The colonial times,” said Obsidian. “Well, for lack of a better term, we can go with Coyotes.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, to answer your question… There are currently three dozen police officers combing the nature park, looking for him. I suspect that despite his telepathic precision, he can’t target so many at once - he would’ve by now if he could, to send them all away or, perhaps lure another one into his clutches. If so many of them see him at least a few of them will remember what they saw no matter how many he tries to mess with.”

She shook her head before continuing. “Regardless… We can’t run the risk of him being discovered. Or, at least I can’t… I have to try to track him down, away from the other cops, and deal with him before he reveals himself. Otherwise, it’s going to raise far too many questions - the kind better left unspoken.”

“How do you intend to deal with him on your own, without your whole forcssse finding out?” The snake asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Obsidian bit her lip, unable to meet his eyes as she struggled to find an answer. “I’m… Still working on that,” she admitted. “But taking him on alone would be unwise… Even if I could match him in psionic power, I don’t have a chance against a naga in a straight-up fight. I make even one mistake, and he’ll have me.”

The snake hissed a sigh, returning to mop the floor again. “I would offer to assssssist, but I’ve left that life behind me. There is only ssso much you can do before you realize that you can’t save them all, and the journey you started has become useless.” The snake replied, “I will help you where I can. But this fight is yours.”

Obsidian nodded. “I understand that. But right now we’re the only ones who know what’s really out there. Someone has to take matters into their own hands… It may as well be me.”

She lifted her gaze to look at Ordagova again. “Any other advice you could suggest, before I go after this guy?” she asked.

“Only to not get yourssself killed. I don’t feel I could bare to lossse another ssso sssoon.”

She smiled at that. “Appreciate the thought,” she said. “Alright… Wish me luck,” she added before turning and leaving the bar.

Unfortunately Obsidian’s visit with Ordagova had left her with more questions and no answers… She didn’t know any more about the target than she had before - other than a reaffirmation that she could not allow the UFPD to find him.

This being - this serial rapist in the woods, was not one of Ordagova’s tribe, which as she had discussed with him meant he may not possess the ability to take on an anthropian form. If the police located him, they would be confronted with a harsh revelation, and a being of unimaginable power. Considering what had happened to poor Simon she could already imagine that this naga would kill several of them before they could put him down even if they found him.

No, she thought. She had to find this snake herself and take him down. But she would need help, though from who she didn’t know; Rikyuu wasn’t in Unity Falls right now, and neither were the twins; they had been called away on business, so the Lightnings were out of the question. Though their absence did technically free up Korban as a possibility, he might not be willing to help her for free, and on a police salary she doubted that she could afford to pay him. She didn’t consider Kieran either, since the few times she’d seen Korban at the Lo’Raven mansion, his partner had been absent, so she didn’t even know where he was - not that she expected he’d do it for free either even if he was the more amicable of the pair.

That left the phoenixes - minus Vinge; no one had seen him for a while and he had said he was going back home to the Yukon territories. One after the other she considered each of the phoenixes, starting with Lighris; at first he seemed like the ideal choice, as with the power he commanded he would be able to make short work of the naga. But she knew also that he wouldn’t want to get involved; unfortunately, Lighris was not the type to willingly endanger himself for someone else, unless it was for his family.

The idea of involving Pavan or Tsume equally appalled her; they were exactly the kind of youths that this creature was targeting and this might be throwing them into the fire. Especially if this naga could influence the minds of those he caught - if she wasn’t there to protect them, he could very well turn one of them into his next victim, especially when neither one were skilled in using their powers offensively or had any way to stand up to a nagas's superior physique.

That left Volcan to ask; he wasn’t much older than Tsume or Pavan and she loathed to ask him but he was the next, most logical choice He was strong enough to challenge the naga; even if the snake creature managed to catch him, they wouldn’t be able to hold onto him - doing so would burn them if they didn’t make Volcan willingly submit to them first. But that was where she could come in; if she went with Volcan she could protect his mind from the naga’s telepathy.

The question was… Would Volcan be willing to help her?

“Only one way to find out…”

Volcan brought the axe down on the log in front of him, the hatchet easily splitting the hunk of wood in half, and sending the two halves clattering to the sides. He reached for the next log, placing it upright on the stump in front of him, before raising the hatchet again to repeat the chop. He had the hatchet raised when he heard the sound of a car’s engine, and her looked over his shoulder to see a familiar vehicle coming up the hill; peering toward the driver’s side of the car and confirming who it was he could see through the windshield.

Obsidian, for her part, half-expected Volcan to go back to chopping wood and completely ignore her. But to her relief, he didn’t; he set the hatchet down, and dusted his hands off before turning in her direction as she parked her car. Feeling pleasantly surprised, she cut the engine and stepped out; she could have used that time to telepathically check his mind, to see what he was thinking, but she decided against it, wanting to hear it from him directly.

They approached each other, moving slowly, until they stood only a meter apart. Volcan looked into her eyes; she looked into his. This time, she did reach out with her telepathy… And, to her surprise, she found that Volcan seemed at ease, unlike the last time she had come to see him, when she could only sense conflict, guilt and fear… She could still sense those in his mind, but they had been put to a tentative rest.

“Hey,” she said, feeling stupid for sounding so apathetic.

“Hi,” Volcan replied, and she took some relief when she sensed he felt just as stupid.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“...Better,” Volcan replied, hesitantly. “Not… Perfect. But, certainly better than I was when you came to see me a couple of days ago.”

Obsidian tilted her head slightly, letting the relief show on her features. Then, her relief turned to guilt. “I’m sorry…”

“For what?” the phoenix asked, puzzled.

“I should have tried harder,” she said, shaking her head. “You were hurting so much… I knew you wanted your space, but at the same time I feel like I should have done more to help you. Like I could have offered to suppress those memories, or-”

“Sid,” Volcan cut her off, “Suppressing the memories wouldn’t make what happened to me any less ‘real’. Even if you completely removed all memory of the incident from my mind,” he turned his back on her, lifting his shirt and revealing the grotesque scar on his back, between the joints of his wings and his waistline. “This would still be there… Not remembering how I got it would just lead me to want to find out, and then that whole thing would’ve started again.”

He lowered his shirt, and turned to face her again. “You chose to respect my wishes. Even if it wasn’t what I really needed, you did what you thought I wanted at the time,” he went on. “Fortunately, I did get what I needed that night… Just someone willing to give me the push I needed to let everything out, and be there to take it all when the deluge came.”

Obsidian blinked, curious. “...Korban?” she asked.

Volcan nodded. “Yeah, surprised me too,” he admitted with a smile. “He helped me find my center again. I talked; he listened. I had a… Well, bit of a breakdown, and he helped me collect myself again. By the end of it, I felt a little more like myself again - I’m not back to normal… I don’t know if or when I ever will be again. I still have some trouble sleeping, and I still hear that… That thing’s voice,” he shuddered, “but Korban has been stopping by to check on me, keeping me centered.”

Obsidian arched an eyebrow. “Are we talking about the same Korban here?” she asked.

“Husky with crazy regenerative powers, cryomancy, a big sword and guns?” Volcan asked rhetorically. “Yep, same one.”

A thought occurred to Obsidian then, and she rolled her eyes to consider how to ask it, wondering if Korban had disclosed his true heritage to the phoenix. “Erm… By chance did he tell you about his… Parents?”

Volcan seemed to catch on to where Obsidian’s line of questioning was going. “Yes,” he said, plainly. He omitted saying it outright though, in case he was wrong.

“So you know he’s a…?”

“Yes.”

Obsidian nodded. “Got it,” she said.

Silence fell between the two for a while, with Volcan clearing his throat once before anyone said anything else. But rather than speak, Obsidian opted instead to walk up to Volcan and hug him, the same way she had the night she’d come to see him. This time, there was no hesitation as Volcan returned her embrace, putting both of his wings around her as well as his arms, sharing the warmth of his body with the dragoness.

“You really had me worried, you know,” she said.

“I know… I’m sorry.”

They stayed like that for several moments, before Obsidian - reluctantly, pulled back from him, deciding that now she needed to disclose why she was there. “I wish I could say coming to check on you was my only reason for being here,” she said. “But, there is more to it.”

“Something going on?” Volcan asked, warily.

“Yes… And I need your help,” she said.

She spent the next few minutes explaining the situation to him, starting with the attacks that had been reported starting a few days back; a string of violent sexual assaults that had claimed four victims already. She described the conditions of the victims, but what caught Volcan’s attention was the mention that the victims could not remember the face of their attacker.

The phoenix seemed to put two and two together, and Obsidian was glad that he caught on. “A Naga? A Psionic Naga?” he asked.

“Yes, just like Ordagova or Nyleva,” she said, and at Volcan’s stunned expression she added, “Yes Volcan I know what they are. But, I guess it’s not fair to say this one’s exactly like them. Anyway, I went to speak to Ordagova about him, wondering if he might be another of his clan having come here, but Ordagova is positive it’s not one of his people from El Mirador; they’d have long since sensed each other by now.”

“So this is someone else,” said Volcan, finding the thought disturbing. “Is Psionic power just common for Naga?”

Obsidian shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine on that,” she said. “Regardless, I need to find this guy before the rest of the department does. But I already know that even if I find him, I can’t take him by myself; while I’m sure I could match him psionically, there’s no way I can match him physically.”

Volcan nodded in understanding. “You came to me because you think I can stand up to him,” he said plainly, and Obsidian did not miss the uncertainty in his voice.

“You don’t think you could?”

“Hard to say… Naga have all the proportionate strength of a snake, in a much bigger body,” replied Volcan. “Snakes, especially constrictors, are powerful creatures. This guy possessing that kind of strength, even without psionic power he’d be a dangerous opponent. Even if I am the strongest among us, I don’t know if that’ll quite be enough…”

Obsidian nodded in understanding. “Then we’re going to need to play this smarter,” she stated. “Either way, we have to take that Naga down before the police find him.”

Volcan nodded again. “Right… Having them find him would expose people like us to the world,” he said. Then, his face fell, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Obsidian asked.

“...I don’t know,” he replied. “But after that encounter with P.A.C.E, I’ve been thinking that may not be such an isolated incident. Especially now with what you’ve told me.”

Obsidian turned her head slightly, arching a brow at him. “I’m not following you; what’re you thinking?” she asked.

“Well, think about it. P.A.C.E knew about us; enough to create technology specifically tailored to fight us,” the phoenix went on. “And what about their partners? Who was funding them, and how much do they know about us - how much would Rex have told them? Then there’s that Chapman character, who in the pursuit of made us cross paths with Avory and Avelyn in the first place.”

The phoenix began to pace as he went on. “Now there’s a Naga out there, risking his entire race’s obscurity just for the sake of chasing some tail in the Nature Park? Is this a sign of something? And as technology develops more and more, what then? Literally, everyone has a camera now; if we go deal with that Naga, what’s going to stop someone from snapping pictures? How can we keep ourselves hidden with so much surveillance all around us now? And what if-”

Obsidian had heard enough. “Volcan!” she said sharply, causing Volcan to jump in fright. “Take a breath, will you?”

“What?”

“You’re overthinking this,” she stated, resting her hands on her hips. “You went from depressed and isolated to worst-case theories in just two days? I’m glad I didn’t leave you all alone for a whole week.”

Volcan blushed. “S-Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Spending a lot of time alone up here, I suppose has made my mind wander a bit.”

“I’ll say,” she stated, and then let out a sigh and let her hands fall back to her sides. She spoke more gently as she went on. “Look, I agree with you on some of those points. Technology, and the uncertainty of how much information P.A.C.E distributed, are very real concerns. But Avory has access to their servers, and he’s shared some of their intel with Ayane too. If there is anything for us to be concerned with, I am sure they will tell us, and we can figure it out.”

“For now,” she continued, “let’s focus on something we can solve - this rogue Naga, before he’s discovered. Okay?”

“Right,” Volcan replied with a nod, taking a deep breath to center himself again. “So… Do you have a plan to get him?”

At that, Obsidian forced a smile, her eyes wandering as she thought of the best way to describe her plan to the phoenix. “Well… Kind of?” she said. “But… You’re going to hate it.”

~~~~~

Volcan did hate it.

It took Obsidian a while to convince Volcan that this was the best way to find the rogue Naga. But it involved Obsidian putting herself directly in his element, in the most dangerous place anyone could possibly be, given the Naga’s established modus operandi. As if that were not bad enough, she also insisted that Volcan stay at a distance; if the Naga knew that Obsidian had someone waiting to back her up, he wouldn’t be fooled.

Furthermore there was no way to know if the Naga would know what Volcan was, or how he might respond to the knowledge. If he thought a phoenix was too much to handle, he would not come out of hiding and they would lose him.

“This is the way we have to do it,” she told him.

“But ‘Sid… If I don’t reach you in time-” the phoenix started to say, but Obsidian put her hand to his beak, silencing him.

“I trust you,” she said.

Eventually, Volcan capitulated, and agreed to go with Obsidian’s plan, and with that she left the tower to descend to the bottom of the steps. She waited until she saw Volcan flying away from the cabin of his tower before she too took to the air, carrying herself with levitation and descending from the hill toward the thick forest below.

Despite the courage she had showed to Volcan, in her willingness to be the bait for this plan, Obsidian could feel her heart beating harder in her chest. She could not even risk a psychic tether to Volcan, for fear that the Naga would sense it if he attempted to invade her mind. She was vulnerable, and isolated; her only defense, aside from her powers, was the Sig Sauer service pistol still holstered on her hip.

She had taken off her uniform top, leaving her in only a gray tank and dress bottoms, which she hoped wouldn’t clue the Naga into her police affiliation… Although, as she thought of that, she dashed that worry from her mind - the snake had already killed one cop and raped another - he clearly did not care who his victims were, so long as he got what he wanted.

Seeing one of the nature trails below, she descended to the dirt path and touched down gently. The feeling of isolation returned quickly; looking up she could not even see Volcan through the canopy of the trees. She resisted the urge to reach out to him telepathically, to receive some consolidation - something to confirm he was at least there, and could see her even if she could not find him.

With brief hesitation, Obsidian began walking, following the path and trying to appear as casual as possible - just another patron of the park, out for a walk. The first thing she noticed was the silence; the crunch of her feet on the gravel was the only sound to be heard, and the wood were absent the songs of birds or insects.

A sure sign that she was already in danger…

Obsidian felt her heart racing again, but kept walking, doing everything in her power to not let her fear overtake her. She relied on her police training, to force control over her fight or flight response. Her heart thundered in her ears, her eyes darted to and fro, taking in the woods around her, searching for any sign of-

A glimmer of yellow caught her eye. She turned toward the colour; it vanished, and the bushes around where she had noticed it shook as something moved through them. ‘He’s here,’ her mind practically screamed at her, and once again she had to control her urge to turn and run the other way.

‘You know of me,’ a foreign voice spoke in her mind, ‘yet you came nonetheless.’

Obsidian cursed out loud. She had been so focused on keeping her fear in check, she’d left her mind open! The Naga was in her head no, and she had to resist the urge to summon her own psychic prowess to force him out. She couldn’t let him know she was-

‘Hmm… Such an active mind,’ the mental voice said, ‘there is much you are trying to hide from me…’

Obsidian felt a throb of pain in her head. She stopped walking, putting a hand to her skull. ‘Get out…!’ she growled mentally at the Naga, and realized her mistake too late.

‘What’s this?!’ he demanded, and she sensed alarm in his tone. ‘You have a mental voice of your own… Like me, you wield psionic power.’

Obsidian knew for certain that she was in trouble now… She had failed to hide her abilities, and now the Naga knew he was dealing with another psychic… Obsidian put up her mental barriers and severed any connection the Naga had established with her mind, keeping him out of her thoughts. But what now, she wondered; was he going to flee? Would he run away, knowing he couldn’t mess with her head the way he had his other victims?

Her answer came as the bushes rustled behind her; she whirled toward the sound, and felt her breath catch as a massive form emerged from the foliage. At first glance, the being before her seemed to be an ordinary, anthropian snake, with a strong upper body, a thick neck, smooth features and yellow eyes with slitted pupils. His scales were a pale blue colour, with highlights of darker blue down the length of his back starting at the neck - tiger-like stripes, down the whole length of his body.

Below the midriff, however, any similarity to anthropian ended. Her breath caught again, seeing the Naga for what he was all at once. Even knowing that Ordagova and Nyleva were both Naga themselves, this was her first time actually seeing one in the flesh. His tail seemed to stretch on forever as he slithered out of the brush, and she had to force herself to turn her gaze back to his face.

That was when she saw it… He was smiling. He looked at Obsidian as one might eye a worthy opponent, or a challenge; an eagerness filled his eyes, and his body language showed a readiness for a fight.

The Naga laughed as he spoke to Obsidian. “You came out here, knowing that I was here,” he said, his forked tongue flicking out at the end of each sentence. “Could it be that you ssssought me out, deliberately? Could you have sssought to tessst yourself againssst me?”

He began to slither in a circle around her, his long body sliding over the path in front of her. She took a tentative step back, never taking her eyes off the snake. “Or perhapsss,” he continued, and his smile widened. “Perhapsss you wanted me for another reason… It mussst be so lonely, being the only Psssychic you know of… Perhapsss you sssought companionship?”

That voice… Something about that voice was so alluring. His words were slow, and delivered smoothly despite the hereditary hiss with each use of the letter ‘s’. Obsidian continued to step back, trying to tone out his words and offering no response of her own.

“Such a lonely sssoul you are,” he said. “I can sssee through this facsssade of yours. You came here because you wanted to meet another one like you.”

Obsidian’s brow furrowed, her disgust carried in her words as she finally could not keep them to herself. “Don’t act so full of yourself, snake,” she growled. “I didn’t come here looking for a fling, despite what you think.”

“Oh no?” he asked. “Yet you knew I was here… You carry the weapon of the ones hunting me,” he looked at her pistol on her hip, “yet you come here alone, unprotected, out of uniform… Why elssse would you do that, if not because you wanted to meet another one like you?”

“I wanted to stop you,” Obsidian shot, “to put an end to your crimes and - ah!”

Obsidian had underestimated the Naga… She knew he was telepathic, but it had never crossed her mind that he was also telekinetic, too… She felt something touch her arm from behind her, and instinctively whirled around to see what it was. All she saw was a piece of bark, floating freely in the air only to drop the moment she saw it.

‘Oh no,’ she realized her mistake too late.

The Naga moved as fast as lightning; she turned to face him again, only to see a blurred image as he lunged at her. A massive weight fell upon her as she was knocked off her feet, landing hard on her back, and something wound around her legs, trapping her feet together before the world began to spin.

Dizzy and confused, Obsidian did not have the chance to struggle as she was spun into the snake’s powerful coils. His long body entrapped her, pinning her arms down and her legs together; she struggled instinctively, trying to free her arms from the powerful bindings, but it was no use… The Naga had her.

She heard a menacing chuckle as the Naga turned her to face him, and she was greeted once more by his smiling face, only closer now than it had been before. She bared her teeth as she continued to struggle, and stopped only when she felt his hands grab her head, forcing her to keep her eyes locked to him.

“I do so love a challenge,” he said, and she felt the mental probe filling her mind as he established a telepathic link between the two of them, forcing her barriers aside.

At the same time, his tail cinched around her with near-suffocating force, driving the breath from her lungs even as she attempted to defend herself against his telepathic invasion - the pain of his constriction momentarily distracted her, and his telepathic probe pushed deeper into her mind.

Obsidian had been a fool… She had never faced another Psychic before - not like this… She had overestimated her chances at holding him back; he was clearly more experienced in battling other psychics than she was. But fight she did, baring her teeth and summoning all of her will to ignore the pain of his tail binding her as she tried to resist his intrusion.

It was not easy; she could feel his tail pressing into her sides, compressing her chest, and crushing her limbs against her body, all of them eliciting pain that was both distracting and worrying, leaving her to wonder how long she could do this before he suffocated her with his deadly embrace, or worse, wore down her defenses to the point she no longer resisted him.

She pushed back harder with her telepathy, and to her delight, she felt his intrusion weakening. She saw surprise on the snake’s features, and felt him attempt to force his way into her mind again, but this time she was ready; she sent a telepathic assault back at him, sending a jolt of energy into his mind, and felt no shortage of satisfaction when he winced, shutting one of his eyes and pulling his head back.

He was experienced with his telepathy - more so than herself, but it seemed that in terms of raw psionic power, she was the stronger. Unfortunately, in terms of physique, she was not; his coils cinched around her again, and this time Obsidian couldn’t stop herself from screaming in pain - or trying to, as there was no breath left in her lungs to release, and her cry of pain came out as nothing more than a weak gasp for breath.

“You are ssstrong,” he said, admitting her superior mental prowess. “But you cannot win. If I cannot break your mind, I’ll break your body!” he growled, and all semblance of enjoyment was gone from his features, replaced by a dark, predatory glare.

‘Volcan!’ Obsidian cried out, unsure if the phoenix would hear her.

“Who?” the snake asked, and then his eyes widened in realization. “Wait… You aren’t alone!”

A voice boomed from above, filled with rage. _“ Get off her, you freak! _”

A blur of red and yellow crashed through the canopy, and an orange fist collided with the snake’s cheek. Immediately, the coils loosened around Obsidian, and again the world spun as the tail was unravelled from around her. She hit the ground hard, gasping and curling inwardly as she struggled against the pain wracking her entire body, from the aches to the burning sensation in her oxygen-deprived lungs.

Volcan and the Naga tumbled into the trees, crushing foliage and breaking branches as the two struggled for my control. The phoenix’s surprise attack won out in the end, as the Naga landed on his back with Volcan on top of him; Volcan drew back his fist, and the Naga had to angle his head aside to avoid it as the phoenix tried to crush his skull, leaving a deep impression in the grass and dirt below.

Volcan gagged as the Naga threw his tail around him, winding a loop around his neck and pulling the phoenix off him, spinning him around to entrap him in his tail from head to toe, and squeezing him tightly as the Naga picked himself up.

“A Phoenixsss?” he asked, surprised as he watched the struggling avian in his grasp. “Never did I imagine finding one of your kind here, but I tell you now, you have made a very ssserious missstake, trying to get in my way.”

Volcan gasped as the coils tightened around him, cutting off any oxygen he tried to take in. His body was hot to the touch, but the Naga stubbornly held on. Then, the phoenix choked out several incoherent words, and the Naga glowered at him, loosening his tail just enough from the phoenix’s neck to hear him.

“What was that?” he asked. “Begging for mercy, avian?”

Then, to his shock, Volcan grinned as his eyes met the Naga’s. “My boyfriend squeezes way harder than you do,” he rasped.

The Naga stared in disbelief, and then alarm as Volcan’s body suddenly became even hotter as the phoenix suddenly immolated, his entire body engulfed in flames. As soon as Volcan felt the coils loosen, he threw out his arms and wings to force the tail off him, dropping back onto his feet again, before he threw himself at the Naga, delivering a powerful uppercut to his abdomen.

The Naga wheezed, thrown back by the force of the punch for his back to slam against a tree. He clutched his stomach and coughed heavily, trying to collect his breath again.

“Doesn’t feel so nice to have the wind forced out of you, does it?” Volcan taunted him. “Unless you go into it willingly, that is,” he added, smugly.

The Naga glared at him, and attempted to send a bolt of telepathic energy into the phoenix’s mind, aiming to knock him senseless. But the bolt never reached his target, as another telepathic shield sprung up around the phoenix’s head to block the attack. Out of the corner of his eye, the Naga saw Obsidian, back on her feet and glaring at him. The fight was now two against one.

Volcan breathed in deeply and unleashed a gout of fire from his open beak; the flames rushed out of his throat with an audible whoosh, and the Naga retreated behind the tree to shield himself from the flames, hissing in pain as he felt some of the fire catch his tail before he could escape. He emerged and sent a burst of telekinetic energy at Volcan; this time, the phoenix succumbed to the attack, and was thrown off his feet and knocked onto his back, landing painfully on his wings.

Now the Naga turned his attention back to Obsidian - his last obstacle to escape. Volcan would not be down long, so he opted instead to reach for a dead tree near the dragoness, wrapping it telekinetic energy and pulling it with all of his psychic might. The tree snapped and groaned, and Obsidian’s eyes left the Naga to look at the tree.

Obsidian yelped in alarm as the dead tree came down, putting up her hands as she she caught it with her telekinesis, stopping its fall before it landed on her. But the Naga wasn’t done yet; as he slithered past her, he dropped onto his hands, throwing up his tail to wrap around the tree, and pulled, bringing it down with his strength. Obsidian cried out again and tried to jump out of the way, only to feel the tree crash down on her back and knock her to the ground, leaving her breathless once again.

Volcan scurried to his feet and called out to Obsidian, running over to the downed dragoness. He knelt beside her, grasping the fallen tree with his hands and angling his back as began to lift. To his relief, the dead tree was not too heavy; it lifted off Obsidian easily, allowing the dragoness to crawl out from under it and roll onto her back as Volcan dropped the tree again, leaping over it and dropping beside her again.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I think I twisted my ankle,” she replied, baring her teeth as she lifted her leg, feeling pain coursing up her calf as she tried to set her foot down.

Then, remembering what was happening, she looked at Volcan. “The Naga!”

Volcan lifted his head, and a yellow glow filled his eyes as he shifted his sight to the infrared spectrum. He quickly took in their surroundings, rising to his feet and turning in a full circle to peer in every direction, searching for any sign of the Naga, but his infrared picked up nothing…

“I don’t see him,” he said.

“And I don’t sense him either,” Obsidian replied. Angrily, she punched the ground with her fist. “We can’t let him get away; go after him!”

“And leave you here alone?” Volcan demanded, looking at her. “You can’t even stand up!”

“I can levitate,” she replied.

“No way; I’m not leaving you alone,” Volcan returned, kneeling beside her again. “We’ve got to go.”

“But that Naga…”

“I’ll look for him as soon as you are safe,” Volcan replied as he scooped up the dragoness in his arms, ignoring her protests as he cradled her securely and opened his wings.

Obsidian’s protests died in a shriek as Volcan jumped, shooting into the air like he had been fired from a cannon. She clung to him fearfully, regretting the moment she looked back down to the ground to see it falling away as the phoenix beat his wings heavily and climbed into the air…

Eventually, she had to accept what was happening and settled in Volcan’s arms as he carried her back to his tower…

The sun had long since set by the time Volcan returned to the tower, walking into the cabin to join Obsidian on his bed. The dragoness looked up from nursing her foot as he approached, and recognized the distraught expression on his face.

“You didn’t find him?” she asked.

“No,” he replied with a shake of his head, “I searched all afternoon - nearly crashed several times trying to find him with my infrared vision… But I couldn’t find him anywhere - not even so much as a discarded scale. I’m afraid he’s long gone by now.”

Obsidian’s expression looked as though she had swallowed something awful. “Damn it,” she growled.

Volcan tilted his head at her. “Don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse before,” he said.

“I usually prefer not to,” she said. “But for this turn of events, I’ll make an exception.”

Volcan nodded and let out a sigh, silent for a moment before he tried to offer his friend some consolation. “We’ll find him again,” he tried to assure her.

“But how many others is he going to hurt before we do?” she countered.

“I don’t think he’ll stay in the area,” the phoenix added, though quickly realized that did not make the situation better… “Which… Yeah. Right.”

Obsidian let out an unhappy sigh, rising to her feet and wincing in pain as her ankle ached in protest. “Well… There’s nothing else we can do now,” she admitted.

“No…” agreed Volcan. “At least we’ve driven him into hiding for now… We’ll just have to be watchful for when he shows up again, and hopefully we won’t lose him a second time.”

“Hopefully,” said Obsidian.

Another moment of silence fell over the two as they came to terms with the situation, feeling powerless. Eventually, with another sigh, Obsidian looked at Volcan. “Thanks for getting me out of there,” she said. “You were right not to stick around after I got hurt… That would have probably given that snake a hostage if he doubled back.”

Volcan nodded. “What about you; are you okay, twisted ankle aside?” he asked.

“Well, I almost got crushed in his coils like a mouse, but all things considered, I’m okay,” she replied.

Volcan nodded again. “Good…” he said, and then let out another, unhappy sigh as he moved to lower himself into a chair.

Obsidian didn’t miss the sound, and looked at him curiously. “You okay?” she asked.

“Even though there was no attraction going on in that fight, seeing that Naga made me think of Ordagova,” he said.

“You still haven’t spoken to him?” Obsidian asked, and Volcan shook his head slowly. “Why not?”

“I hurt him, Obsidian… Korban did remind me it wasn’t really my fault, but it still feels like it was,” he began. “And… There was… Something else, too.”

“Something else?” Obsidian asked, warily.

Volcan let out another sigh. “When Korban was here, I was…” he paused, struggling to put the words out, and Obsidian didn’t miss the blush on his face. “Feeling… Needy.”

Obsidian caught on, and her eyes widened. “Volcan… You didn’t,” she said.

Volcan looked up in alarm, and frantically waved his hands. “No! No, I didn’t,” he said, quickly. He held Obsidian’s gaze for a moment before his expression fell again, and he rested one arm across himself to rub the other, showing his discomfort. “But… For just a moment, I was considering it. Even if I didn’t act on it, it still feels like I betrayed him.”

Obsidian bit her lip as she considered what Volcan was telling her, unsure how to process this information. “Well… What do you think?” she asked. “Do you love Korban?”

Volcan shook his head. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “At the time, I… I think I just craved intimacy. I was hurting… He was there… I almost wanted to, and… Well, whether or not Korban realized it himself, he was sure teasing me by hinting at it.”

Obsidian rolled her eyes. “He would.”

Another moment of silence stretched between the phoenix and dragoness. Eventually, it became uncomfortable, and Obsidian broke the awkward moment by affirming her stance. “You need to talk to him,” she stated.

“But I-”

“If this is really how you feel, Volcan… If you don’t think you actually love Ordagova, and that this relationship you have with him is brought on by your desire for intimacy, more than any real attraction to him, then you owe it to him to come clean. He’s sacrificed a lot for you.”

“But after what I did… What if he hates me?” Volcan asked, the fear evident in his tone as he started wringing his hands. “He lost his home because of me… He gave me so much, how can-”

“He’s going to figure it out regardless,” Obsidian stated, “You can’t avoid him forever, Volcan. Eventually, if you don’t go to him, he’ll come to you; do you really want him to find out that the reason he hasn’t heard from you for so long is because you’re not sure you love him anymore? He cares about you, Volcan; you know that.”

Volcan lowered his head to rest in his hands, his fingers clenching against his skull and almost piercing his scalp with his talons. “That’s what makes this so hard,” he muttered. “He deserves better than this…”

“He deserves to know the truth, too,” the dragoness reaffirmed. “It might break his heart… But time heals all wounds, and he’s lived a lot longer than either of us… I doubt this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to him.”

Volcan lifted his gaze to look at the dragoness with a flat expression. “Is that supposed to make this easier?”

She shrugged. “It’s a fact. Sometimes, they are terrible, but that doesn’t make them less true.”

Volcan groaned and dropped his face into his hands again. “Fuck…”

Obsidian let him mope for another minute before she rose from her seat on his bed again. “Well… If it’s all the same to you, I think it’s time I head home,” she said. “You’ve got a lot to think about, and you’ll probably decide more easily without me chirping in your ear. No pun intended.”

“I don’t even know where he is,” Volcan stated.

“I do,” she replied. “He’s staying at a hotel, a few blocks from where the bar is. Midwest Plus; you know the one?”

“I’ve seen it, yeah,” the phoenix said, and then looked at Obsidian’s favoured leg. “Can you drive with that injured foot?” He asked.

“I don’t drive stick, buddy; I don’t need my left foot to operate an automatic,” she pointed out.

“I suppose that’s true,” the phoenix admitted. “But at least let me spare you going down those stairs. It’s a long way, especially with a limp.”

Obsidian bit her lip again. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. I’ll take that offer,” she said.

Volcan watched the tail lights of Obsidian’s car as they followed the overgrown road away from the tower, waiting until they were out of sight before he prepared to head back up to his tower. But he stopped, hearing Obsidian’s words to him echoing in his mind, knowing that what she had told him was right.

He could not keep avoiding Ordagova… He owed it to him to go see him, and maybe see once and for all if there was still a relationship to be salvaged from the phoenix’s conflicting emotions. He did go back up to the cabin atop the tower, but only to retrieve his phone and key before he stepped out again.

“Okay…” he thought aloud. “Here goes…”

With that, Volcan jumped over the railing surrounding the cabin, opening his wings to catch the air and falling into a short glide before angling himself toward the city, to face his guilt at last…

To be continued…