Fennel's Nightmare

They were late. They were never late, not with Spades around. That’s why he had sent her to fetch Fennel, so they wouldn’t be late. Something was going on, but now wasn’t the time to ponder such things. He had given them more than enough time to get there, and they didn’t show up. It was time to move on to the next client.

Klaus and Dewey made their way through the mirror plane until they eventually reached their destination. The people of this realm referred to it as Earth, which Klaus had always found odd. Why would you want to name your world after dirt? Especially when it was mostly made up of water? In the end it didn’t matter what the realm’s name was, as long as it was profitable, and boy, was it.

Clutching his prised possession, a small dreamcatcher, Klaus stepped through the portal to Earth. He emerged on the other side, his form unchanged. Holding a dreamcatcher allowed you to keep your natural body while traveling the realms. Klaus couldn’t risk changing into something else, not when he was already so small and weak.

Shortly after he emerged, Dewey stepped through the portal as well. Unlike Klaus, Dewey’s form changed drastically upon exiting. The once tall, heavy, monstrous looking demon now looked like an average human male, albeit with bright blue hair and yellow eyes.

The mirror they had stationed on Earth lead them to an old abandoned storage unit. Klaus had stashed clothing for Dewey here, as they didn’t have any of their own in their natural state. A human can’t be permitted to run around naked, and Dewey had to pass as a human. Clothing always caused a bit of a fuss, but after much coaxing Klaus finally managed to get Dewey dressed. Now to meet up with their next client.

As well as Dewey’s clothes, Klaus stored some of the crew’s stock in this storage unit. He might as well; hauling items around the multiverse was tiring. Having everything ready to go at a moments notice made things more efficient. Klaus liked efficiency. He did everything in his power to keep his operation running like a well oiled machine.

So, with Klaus safely hidden, the pair made their way to their next client. It was a simple drug deal, nothing too extravagant. This particular client was wont to buy some of the more “exotic” stock; in hopes of pawning it off on their own clients. Klaus never minded this. Since his “exotic” stock was comprised of non-earthly items, he knew he was the only real source. He ran the market, and people knew that.

Dewey had never been too bright. Even now they weren’t left to their own devices. Instead, Klaus was puppeting them; whispering what he wanted them to say in their ear and having them relay it to the client. It wasn’t a foolproof method, but it got the job done. Still, Klaus would have preferred it if the girls were there. Spades, while a bit out there, knew how to do business. Even Fennel would have been better than this setup. Where the hell were they?!

As if on cue, Spades burst into the room just as Klaus finished pondering her whereabouts. She had been running. She was alone. Spades was terrified of being alone, so she was known to run from realm to realm while traveling by herself. Why was she alone, though? If Klaus wasn’t trying his damnedest, he would have shouted at her. Instead, he remained calm, and began to relay his questions via Dewey.

“Spades, there ya are. Where’ve you been?” Dewey asked.

“I’ve uh, run into a bit of a problem. Hate to cut your meeting short, but we really gotta wrap things up”. It was obvious to Spades that Klaus was pulling the strings here, as Dewey never asked questions.

“Yeah, right. I guess I’m done here, but you’d better have a damn good explanation for this.”

The group bid their goodbyes, and the three of them made their way back to the storage unit. It wasn’t until they were well away from view that Klaus revealed himself. His whole aura was seething with anger. Anger that even Dewey could pick up on, despite their lack of situational awareness. Even so, Spades seemed to be in a hurry to get back to Mirror Domain.

“So, Spades, where’s Fennel? You were supposed to meet me in Idle Expanse with Fen in tow. Instead, you show up hours late by yourself! This is fucking unacceptable!” Klaus shouted this loud enough to scare off a pair of nearby pigeons. Such a loud voice for such a little creature.

“Look, Wicker, I don’t know what the hell happened, but Salix is hurt real bad.” Spades replied, worry in her voice.

“Hurt? Fen’s always hurt. How bad could it be?”

“It’s real bad. She wouldn’t tell me what happened. Said she “couldn’t”, and that she needed to talk to you specifically. I dunno what’s going through that head of hers…”

Klaus’ expression suddenly shifted, albeit slightly. He and Fennel did have something sworn to secrecy between the two of them, but surely this wasn’t about that. Fennel was insane! She probably hit her head a bit too hard on a door frame and wasn’t in the right state of mind. Well, a less right state of mind anyway. She wasn’t exactly someone you’d consider “sane”.

While she was a bit out there, Klaus also knew that she trusted Spades a great deal. Many times in the past she had confided in Spades when things went wrong. If she couldn’t trust whatever happened with Spades, it must be bad. This was one of the few times Klaus hoped he was wrong about something. He needed to be wrong about this. If his enemies had found Fennel’s residence, the crew was in for a world of hurt.

The three exited the mirror plane about a mile away from Fennel’s house. They would have preferred to enter it directly, but they had Dewey with them. Dewey would completely demolish the inside of her small cave, crushing the rest of the crew in the process. It was safer for everyone involved this way, even if it was more inconvenient.

As they approached the cave, Spades took the lead. While she was doing her best to hide it, Klaus could tell she was worried. He didn’t blame her, even if she wasn’t aware of what was actually going on. Ministry level magic still lingered in the area, most concentrated in the western end of the mountains. The Ministry wasn’t in the area now, but it was clear they had been. Klaus’ fears had just been confirmed.

Dewey took their usual seat as Klaus entered his colleagues home and made his way over to her room. Fennel was in bad shape. Extremely bad shape. Every miniscule amount of movement seemed to cause her pain. Her skin was paler than usual, and there were the beginnings of what looked like nasty bruises all over her skin. No cuts, which seemed odd. There was no way to know the full extent of her injuries without thoroughly examining her, though.

“Spades” Klaus said, as he sat himself down on Fennel’s nightstand. “I have a very important job for you”

“Yeah? What is it?” she asked.

“I need you to find me a creature. I’d say about, uhh… 50 pounds? Maybe 75. The bigger the better.”

“Uh, you’ve got me and Dewey here. Why can’t ya use us for this?”

“Do you want me to drain your life force?”

“Oh… Oh! Hah, I gotcha.” Spades said, standing up to leave. “Alright, alright, I’ll get to it. Be back soon”

Despite his small stature, Klaus possessed extremely powerful abilities, one of which was healing. His healing ability was usually reserved as a last resort of sorts, but right now it seemed necessary. Fennel was in bad shape, and given her condition there really wasn’t any time to waste. She had to be ready to flee at a moments notice; he wouldn’t be able to deal with the Ministry himself anymore.

“Alright, Fennel. What the hell happened? And why couldn’t you tell Spades about it?” Klaus asked, despite having a pretty good idea of the situation.

“You… You remember that dream I’ve been having, right?” She said weakly.

“That again… That was just a dream, Fennel!”

“No, it wasn’t. It was a warning. I knew it was a warning, but you didn’t believe me! You, ah… You made me let my guard down…”

“Are you insinuating that this is my fault?” Klaus asked.

“Ah, n-no! Not at all! It’s just…”

“Look, you need to tell me what happened, exactly how it happened. Got it? You can’t leave anything out. It’ll only put us all in danger.”

Fennel took a deep breath. “Alright…”

She began to explain the happenings of the night before. How she felt the inexplicable urge to climb the mountainside, how Alder pushed her off and almost slit her throat, and finally how Spades came to the rescue. Klaus listened to it all without saying a word. His questions could wait until the end; he didn’t want to interrupt.

It was worse than he thought, but the situation wasn’t as bad as it could be. He could still salvage things and lead the Ministry of Demons astray, but he’d need the crew to cooperate. Fennel would, sure, but that’s not what he was worried about. Telling Dewey and Spades that the Ministry was after them would destroy his whole operation. Very few demons disobey their laws, and even fewer survive afterwards. They were a force to be reckoned with.

With her tale told, Klaus was left with one last question; how much of this did Spades know? She had seen Alder, but did she know who he was? Or why he was there? Spades was still relatively new to Mirror Domain, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume she didn't know much about the Ministry. Even so, their reputation preceded them. She knew of the Ministry, and she knew enough about them to know they weren't the kinds of demons to fuck with.

"So, Spades didn't come to the rescue until after you were out cold?" Klaus asked

"Yeah… The last thing I can remember is hitting the ground. Everything after is a blur."

"Has she said anything about the Ministry? She saw Alder, but did she recognize him?"

"I don't know. She hasn't said anything…"

"Great… Well, it seems I'll have to pry for more information, but that can wait. I need time to formulate a plan. After I heal you, you're coming with me to the mirror temple." Klaus sounded worried. He hated showing signs of worry, but right now his pride didn't matter.

"What… Why?" Fennel asked, a bit surprised at his tone.

"If the Ministry thinks you live here, you aren't safe. Spades and Dewey can guard the place while we go back and plan things out. Her luck will, hopefully, throw them off our trail. It's the safest option, Fen."

"I… I suppose so…" Her voice trailed off briefly. "But I really don't like the idea of Spades having free reign of my house…"

"She won't do anything you don't want her to. I'll make sure if that"

With the beginnings of a plan in place, the pair of demons waited for their colleagues to return. Klaus used the remainder of this time to further his plan. There was one glaring issue, and that was Fennel's curse. Her misfortune made many of his ideas impossible. Something had to be done to circumvent it, but what?

He didn’t have time to think about it. Shortly after their conversation had ended, Spades and Dewey returned with what he had asked for. In Spades’ grasp was a small fox-like creature. It seemed as spry as ever, as it was thrashing about in hopes of getting away. With Spades’ luck, however, it didn’t stand a chance. The fox wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“Alright, Fennel” Klaus said. “This is going to hurt, a lot. Brace yourself”

“Y-yes, I’m well aware… Just make it quick, please…”

Before she could say anything else, Klaus bent down and bit the back of Fennel’s hand. Immediately, his body began to merge with hers. The skin on her arm started to turn iridescent, and her claws darkened and merged until there were only two left. Their bodies continued to merge, until there was seemingly nothing left of Klaus. Fennel was left looking like an odd mix of the two of them, with iridescent skin, a fluffy black mane, and two antennae at the top of her head in place of her swirl of hair.

Now that the two were merged, Klaus could feel the full extent of Fennel’s injuries. The pain was excruciating. There was an odd mix of sharp pain and numbness. Her ribs were definitely broken, or at least cracked, as they ached with every breath. It felt like they were fighting to retain conciseness; the pain was so great. Regardless, it would all be over soon.

Spades gripped the fox by the back of its neck, preventing it from squirming too much and held it out for Fennel to bite. All she had to do was bite it, Klaus would take things from there. While Fennel was still in control of her body, he controlled his powers. It was up to him to heal her. Fennel’s two teeth sunk into the foxes back.

The fox began to screech, as it’s life force was being torn from its body. Its fleshy parts glowed a brilliant white briefly, before the glow redirected itself into Fennel. A few moments later the fox fell limp, as it’s life force was drained completely. It was dead now, it’s body nothing more than trash to the crew.

Fennel also let out a groan. Her body contorted as the foxes life force began to heal her injuries. Healing so suddenly can also cause pain, as your body rearranges itself so suddenly. Klaus could feel the pain as well, as her bones shifted in her skin; fusing the chips and fractures back together. Once it was all over, Klaus’ grip let go, and the two became separate once again.

Draining someone’s life force was exhausting, but Klaus remained conscious. Having a host allowed him to maintain consciousness when he otherwise wouldn’t, at the hosts expense. While she was now fully healed, Fennel would be out cold for a couple hours. Once she was awake, the two could make their way back to the mirror temple. In the meantime, Klaus could interrogate Spades. He needed to know what happened from her perspective.

Spades had left the room in order to dispose of the now dead fox. The easiest way to do it was simply tossing it to Dewey. Sure, such a small creature wasn’t enough to sate them, but they’d appreciate a snack nonetheless. Klaus followed her as she exited; waiting for her to finish feeding the monstrous idiot before getting her attention.

“Spades, you got a minute?” He asked, already knowing the answer was yes.

“Yeah, what’s up Wicker?” She replied, dusting the remains of the fox fur from her clothes.

“I talked to Fennel about the uh, “incident”, but she can’t remember anything after being pushed off the mountain. Mind telling me the rest of the story?”

“It’s really not that interesting. I saw him holding a knife to Salix’s throat, I threw my dagger at him, I stabbed him in the chest and then poof! A puff of smoke later and he was gone. After that I dragged Salix inside and we sat there until she woke up.”

“That’s it, huh? Mind explaining that then?” He said, pointing to a small burnt patch of dirt to the west of the cave.

“Okay, okay, so he shot some fireballs too. Big deal, demons use spells like that all the damn time”

“Your blessing can only do so much, Spades. If you don’t tell me everything, you’re gonna be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Understand?” Klaus’ anger was starting to rise. Spades had never been big on details, and now was no exception.

“Look, he didn’t say anything. What the hell else am I supposed to say? The whole thing lasted like 5 minutes max. It wasn’t some long drawn out battle”

Klaus was tempted to pry for more information, but he was content with what Spades had said. It was clear to him she had no idea who Alder was or why he attacked Fennel. Good, that’s one less thing to worry about.

The small demon whistled loudly, getting Dewey’s attention. Dewey had been trained to respond to whistles like that. At least, they were trained as much as they could be. They lowered their massive head and rested it on the ground by his and Spades feet.

“Since you’re both here, I may as well say this now. I have a job for the two of you. It’s very important” Klaus said loudly, making sure Dewey could hear him.

“Ooh, a job~ I like jobs!” Dewey said excitedly, as their tail began to wag.

“Me and Fen gotta head back to the hideout. We’re going to be gone for quite awhile. While we’re away, I need you two to keep an eye on this place. Understood?”

“Why do we have to guard Salix’s place?” Spades asked annoyed. “We’ve never had to watch it before…”

“From what Fennel told me, this place is in danger. You both know it’s supposed to be kept a secret; it’s the only place we have that’s completely under the radar. I’d like to keep it that way, so you two need to keep an eye on things. If anyone comes back here, you kill them. It’s simple”

Spades just groaned, before reluctantly agreeing. It’s not like she had much of a choice in the matter. What Klaus said goes, that’s just how their dynamic worked. She wasn’t exactly ecstatic to be stuck with Dewey, but she’d just have to make do. Klaus got up and began to head back inside. After a moment, Spades followed.

“Hold on a minute” She said, causing Klaus to stop and turn around. “Why do you two need to leave exactly? What are you gonna do back at the hideout?”

“It’s a business matter, Spades. That’s all you need to know.”