#ferret cass

[avephelis]

mutant cass is the creature that lives in my brain

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt casey jones #cassandra jones #rottmnt cassandra jones #why she got so many tags #avepharts #mutant casey jones #ferret cass #basically i have just so many thoughts about mutated casey in my head its insane (will this be a full on au? maybe? WHO KNOWS! not me) #obviously these are kind of a concept first pass i just think she's cool #but yeah she's so. she's a ferret. she does the weasel war dance. do you understand me. #oh fun fact i actually have a tasmanian devil version too but i figured ferret made more logical sense (i do love the alt design though)

[xx-theblack-vixen-xx]

okay but i'm really proud of this...??????

his name is cordilius (derived from one of the moons of Uranus, Cordilia, which is my middle name so yeah :>)

art by me, SPECIES BY @somerandomdudelmao !

THIS IS AN OC BASED OFF OF THEIR SUPER AWESOME COMIC CALLED MARBLE SKY THAT YOU NEED TO READ IMMEDIATELY!!!

#idk what im doing #tumblr chaos #artists on tumblr #shitpost #my art #drawing #art #artwork #original character #ocs #oc #oc art #my ocs #digital art #artist #illustration #drawings #art tag #vixen’s ramblings #vixen art tag #raccoon #ferret #marble sky #marble sky comic #marble sky fanart #marble sky oc #somerandomdudelmao #cass comics fanart

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Elseworlds Edition

Cass Cane / The Orphan

Cassandra ‘Cass’ Cain is the daughter of two of the world’s most deadly and effective assassins, Lady Shiva and David Cain.  David ferreted off with their infant daughter and subjected her to a rigorous training that lasted her entire childhood.  

In David’s view, bodily movement is a form of language and he denied young Cass all other forms of communication so that she would refine her bodily control to the utmost of perfection.  Although this enabled Cassandra to move, react, dodge and attack with an uncanny precision, it also rendered her functionally mute with substantial underdevelopments in her expressive language skills.  

Before David could unleash his daughter as his assassin protégé, she escaped his clutches and ultimately made her way to Gotham City.  Cass eventually fell in with the extended Bat-Family and Batman helped her to use her tremendous skills to become a crime-fighter while also teaching her to speak and write.  Bruce Wayne would end up formally adopting Cassandra.  She would continue on to serve at Batman’s side, under a number of different aliases, first as Batgirl and then as The Black Bat.  Currently she operates under the nom de guerre of ‘The Orphan.’  

Although she featured in the animated series, Young Justice, Cass did not appear in the original DCAU... Still, she would have fit in terrifically had she been a part of Batman: The Animated Series.  The heroine first appeared in the pages of Batman Vol. 1 #567 (1999).

#batman the animated series #Batman #Cass cane #The Orphan #Black Bat #cut-out #paper art #DC Comics

[brucewaynehater101]

I hc Jason as a pitbull.

They are muscular, good at fighting, and "scary."

Yet, there's a reason they used to be babysitters for kids when parents had to leave. They are super sweet, affectionate, protective, and loving.

Can they be aggressive? Absolutely. If you traumatize the dog, force them to fight for survival, and don't show it love and affection, of course that dog is going to be aggressive and mean and will bite you.

Jason, similar to pitbulls, has stereotypes following him because of how he grew up. He lived in Crime Alley and had to fight for his survival. He wasn't born bad, and he's not needlessly violent. He just made the best he could with the resources he had.

I also hc Damian as a ferret, Cass as a tundra swan, and Dick as a Llama.

#dc comics #dc universe #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #cassandra wayne #cass wayne #dc characters as animals

[polarspaz]

So… Tim is a fox, Damian a badger, Dick a cockatoo and Alfred a Snwo leopard. I wonder what other animals are the rest of the bat fam?

Bruce is a Bat. Jason is a tiger. Cass is a panther. Barbra is an barn owl. Gordon is an Irish Terrier.

Joker is a baboon. Stephanie is a ferret. WonderWoman is a lion.

Superman I'm not sure...I'm thinking a white great Pyrenees?

#my ramblings #animal jamau

[franollie]

10, 12, 13, 14, 15 for Babs

10.Best moment on screen (or in the book):

| Birds of Prey #8

There's a lot to pull from and in all honesty I think half the appeal to Babs for me is her relationship with Cass. But I'm also really drawn to her relationship with disability

12. Crack headcanon

She has a pet ferret! I'm torn between naming it Cookie (like the data that recognizes you when you return to the cite) or Byte. I just really like thinking of fun ways to include her on little BOP missions or just as a buddy for babs while she works in the clocktower.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

date dick grayson. multiple times. girl how have you not realized you're in love with dinah...

14. Most heroic moment

| Countdown #39

not necessarily one moment, but my girl is in fact in charge of protecting the secret identities of every superhero in the world so like she's a pretty big deal

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done

| Batgirl (2000) #54

listen...i know we all like to bring up the slut shaming and the invasion of dick's privacy but like this...this is nigh on unforgivable for me. this obviously reveals a lot about the intricacies of cass and bab's relationship and the hypocrisy both of them show towards each other's disability but like...cass has shown in her own way how smart she is. babs is supposed to be the one to always be on her side

Ask Game

#💌 #devine-fem #ask games #barbara gordon #cass & babs #<- kinda #fran talks

[farsight-the-char]

"Gotham Rangers' (Tim, Duke, Steph, Cass, Harper) pet ideas:

Tim: A rescued alien spider-like creature named "Kon the 2", about the size of a large chihuahua. Eats roaches and rats. Friendly, seems to obey Tim's commands well enough. Lives in a special aviary provided by Clark. Likes watching cartoons.

Duke: A ferret named Hamlet. Probably magic, regenerates from injury. Duke rescued her from a sorcerer and now she won't leave him alone. Really likes "people food", spicy chicken especially. Duke defeated the before mentioned sorcerer after attending a performance of Hamlet (supporting a friend), hence the name.

Cass: A blind cat named Tiresias. With Selina's advice, Cass makes sure Tiresias lives the best life they can. The Cuddliest Thing.

Steph: 2 Mastiffs named Rock Wayne and Stone Gordon. Rescued guard dogs from a drug-lord, Steph decided to make them hers and her mother's guardians. The Bestest Boys.

Harper: An ape-like "Cyberplant", a survivor of one of Ivy's "Weird Phases". Harper named them "Simic", and does her best to ensure Simic is well taken care of. Friendly though wary of strangers.

#Tim Drake #Duke Thomas #Cassandra Cain #Stephanie Brown #Harper Row #dc #cass gordon #gotham rangers #might add more? #Gotham City #Gotham Rangers is sort of just Cass + Tim + Steph + Duke and a few others #not sure who I will add yet

[cassieuncaged]

Red Carpet - (Cassie Cage x Nyx)

Summary: Cassie Convinces Nyx to attend a red carpet event for Ninja Mime 5.

TW: Johnny Cage shenanigans, language, etc.

WC: 1.2K

Taglist: @roofgeese, @poisonedtruth, @confidentandgood, @emotionalcadaver, @chadillacboseman, @enightshade89, @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky, @illiana-mystery, @unpetitoiseau, @spacestephh, @pinkcatminht

Nyx enjoyed quiet days when she didn't have to leave the house. A vinyl pressing of Wish by The Cure spun on the turn table as she thumbed through an old copy of Pet Sematary.

While Cassie loved the bright and hot days summer boasted, her oft put upon wife loved the crisp and spooky aesthetic of autumn. Even if it was practically non existent in L.A.

"Hey, hottie." Cass announced her appearance as always, toting Ghost in her arms as she stood in the doorway.

"Hey," Nyx responded flatly, eyes still on the page. This earned an unnoticed roll of bright aquamarine as the blonde strutted forward. The ferret was released before she plucked the book from long fingers, tossing it aside. "Don't ignore me."

"You make that painfully difficult, Cass." the retort was playful though only the corner of one lip quirked. The young Cage loved when Nyx was makeup free, bicolored hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She seemed more real than a trained killing machine. "What's up?"

"Well, duh." Cassie groaned, straddling a sweatpants clad lap. "The premiere is in six hours. You've gotta get ready."

"Oh, shit. That's today?" Collapsing against the sofa in defeat, the woman sighed. There wasn't much she dreaded more than going to one of her father-in-law's movies. Hell, she'd much rather let Kano and her old friends from the Black Dragon slaughter her first.

Maybe even let Echo carve her up with those knives...

"Think I can take a rain check?" Nyx pouted, enticingly running her hands up legging covered thighs, a futile attempt at a distraction as her wrists were caught in soft hands.

"No." the blonde backed away, now incensed. "Because you took a took a rain check for my dad's Lifetime Achievement Award at the Saturns. Robert Englund presented it."

"I'm sorry I missed Freddy Krueger gifting your dad a golden planet." Nyx announced sarcastically, attempting to read again before the book was childishly swatted away. "Seriously?"

"But you promised." Cassie pouted, collapsing onto the couch while Nyx watched coldly. "This is a really important Cage family event."

"Technically you're Cassie Rogers now..." she attempted to barter, hear a string of muffled expletives from the mass of blonde hair buried into a cushion. "And I haven't seen the first four Ninja Mime's. I'll only be confused."

"Cage hyphen Rogers. And it's not that difficult of a concept," Cassie declared, sitting up stubbornly. Arms were crossed over a pink tank top, blonde locks still damp from the shower. "Besides, I look really good in satin. I'll let you tear it off me later..."

The resident goth rolled her own blue eyes, having foregone her contacts for the day. Jumping to her feet, she paced nervously as Cassie followed her with a chorus of high pitched 'pretty please's.

“Fine!” Nyx exclaimed, gently pulling the needle from the turntable. Cassie's eyes flicked between her wife and the record.

‘You never turn off The Cure mid album.” the blonde’s brow arched suspiciously as Nyx rolled her eyes cartoonishly. Plucking Ghost from the carpet, the ferret was placed on one shoulder as Cassie was eyed with annoyance.

“I’ll go to the damn premiere." she pouted as Ghost easily crawled between two shoulders, draping her like a scarf. "But your dad better behave himself."

"That's literally impossible," Cassie blinked. There was no way to contain the entity known as Johnny Cage. The actor oft lived his life without consequences, at least that's how he preferred it. The commander also knew that her father and wife mixed about as well as water and oil.

Or lighter fluid and a match.

......

Golden ringlets cascaded across tan shoulders as Cassie put the finishing touches on her makeup. Nyx watched from the edge of the bed, enjoying the way pink satin complemented soft skin.

"You look perfect." she hummed, pulling ghost into her lap as bright purple eyes watched the blonde.

"You're just trying to butter me up so I hurry up."

"Maybe a little bit."

"I didn't say anything while you did your Suey Sue makeup."

"Siuoxsie Sioux." she corrected pointedly, cradling Ghost in upturned palms.

"Whatever." Blue eyes were rolled before another swipe of mascara was applied. It was a delicate process, one that Nyx knew well as her own makeup had already been strategically applied. "You look nice. Black really is your color."

"Even with these death traps strapped to my feet?" One stiletto heel was lifted up comically as the woman fell back upon the mattress, ferret in tow.

"The heels look nice." the blonde countered haughtily, "I wouldn't be caught dead at red carpet premiere with someone wearing combat boots."

"They're nice combat boots." Nyx pouted listlessly, still laying flat on her back. There was a sigh from across the room before heels clicked across the vinyl floor. In an instance, Cassie was lying beside her wife, lacing fingers against the duvet.

"I'm grateful you're going." she offered sweetly before receiving a quiet:

"I know."

......

The limousine was crowded, Johnny and Sonja squished into the end with Cassie and her put upon wife pushed further into the annals of the restrictive vehicle.

"Doing alright over there, Elvira?" Johnny suavely dipped his Wayfarer's beneath one eye, letting the frames balance on the tip of his nose.

"Dad," Cassie snapped warningly as Sonya cast her own warning glare. "You promised."

"Not to be an ass." he countered, shrugging in a jet black tuxedo. "Didn't know that included nicknames."

"More like pot shots," General Blade countered, looking more like a Hollywood starlet in a navy evening gown. The movie star grumbled, knowing his wife and daughter were two forces to be reckoned with.

Nyx hadn't even heard a word he said, lilac eyes focusing on the crowds clamoring outside the tinted glass. Most were younger women boasting signs that read 'I <3 Johnny' while the crowd was dotted with a few actual mimes.

Johnny Cage as a father-in-law had never been a point of contention. Sure, he got under skin but Nyx was difficult to be bothered, used to a far more dangerous crowd. However, galivanting in front of a roaring crowd frightened her like nothing else.

Her entire brand was working under the shadow of night, literally adopting the name of a Greek Goddess that represented as much. Being under the calculating eye of a bunch of judgmental strangers was different.

"You alright?" Cassie leaned in, looking like a vision beneath golden curls. "You're a little pale."

"She's always that pale. Yeowtch! Whaddya do that for?" Johnny's ramblings were quelled by his wife while the younger commander attempted to placate her own spouse.

"That's a lot of people." Nyx swallowed dryly, eyes wide before they fell on Cassie. It was like looking into the sun, being drawn by an innate warmth as she looked upon the woman she loved. Black painted fingers were drawn into a tan hand before being squeezed reassuringly.

"Just keep your eyes on me, okay? All we have to do is get inside and watch a trainwreck."

This earned a girlish giggle from the assassin while the actor grumbled in the back around. That hardly lasted a second before Johnny was popping a bottle of champagne and thrusting open the limo door.

"You ladies better be ready to party." He waggle his brows comically before disappearing to the unseen mobs of adoring fans who roared at his very arrival.

"Good luck," Sonya bid the two farewell before ducking out after her husband's antics. Cassie giggle girlishly before turning back to her wife.

"You ready?" and while Nyx would've normally responded with a resounding 'no', her answer was:

"I'll follow you anywhere."

#mortal kombat fanfiction #fanfiction #cassie cage x oc #nyx x cassie #otp: bubblegum goth #mortal kombat oc #mk nyx #oneshot #oc: nyx #nyssie

[batfamscreaming]

batfam daemon headcannons gO!!

HOW BIG IS THIS FAMILY THO

Bruce is always the bane of my existence when it comes to daemons otl. I think.... At one point, I suggested a slow Loris because "he can't have a porcupine on his shoulder at galas."

They're nocturnal, fancy enough for a rich person, but small enough that it can be hidden as Batman to make it appear like batman doesnt have a daemon. Also, they look deeply traumatized at all times.

They are the only poisonous monkey known in the world. If you defang them, they die.

Jason

Give that bitch a pitohui. (Or a red warbler.)

Both are poisonous birds and... The red thing is honestly coincidental. Their poison protects them from parasites and makes them bad tasting; pitohui's poison can be potent enough to cause a burning sensation. Red warbler are largely solitary or travel in twos.

Tim has a little masked ferret. Always gets into things. Sometimes those things are other people's snuggle piles. It's rude to touch a daemon? Unfortunately, this tube bastard has no concept of personal space.

Cass,

swan (presumably mute) will fuck you up.

Duke is hard bc I still don't know a lot about him except that he is, like all the rest of these kids, a "what if I DIDNT wait for batman and just confronted supervillains on my own" type boy, which unfortunately is.... Making me think of a shark?? Tests things by biting them. Which personality wise I think is fun, but would Definitely make patrol a little harder if he can't leave the water areas.

Damian is still figuring out his daemon. He is torn between a salamander which will cut off its own tail to survive and which doesn't quite understand 'love' but does understand safety, to a tasmanian devil which lashes out loudly and bitily with a hair-trigger temper, to... Um.... This appears to be a napping chihuahua, sir....

Dick: Unfortunately, it's a jaguar.

#batfam #batman #daemons

[avephelis]

the girlbeast is BACK!! (risetober 20: mutant)

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #cassandra jones #rottmnt casey jones #ferret cass #mutant casey jones #avepharts #hi guys it is so fucking hot and my room has carpet and ZERO AIRCON !! im sweating #risetober #risetober 2023

[yourlocaltrashpandaxoxo]

Apple of His Eye

The front door opened and slammed shut. 

“I’m hoooome!” called a cheery Jacob as he flung his bag aside and hung his hat up. 

“Howdy there, honey bunny!” Ruby called from the living room, a wide smile on her face. Jacob entered and lazily glomped on-top of her. 

“How’s me precious gem doin’ then, eh?” he asked.

“Very well now that my sugarpie is home” Ruby smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. There was a scuttling noise as the two ferrets scrambled in and began crawling all over their owner. 

“’Ey lads, that’s enough! I know, I know... Can’t go three minutes without me love” Jacob chuckled, allowing Chips to perch on his shoulder as Bolt curled up on his lap. 

“Reminds me of someone else I know~” he added, tickling Ruby under the chin. 

“Hahahah! Hey!” Ruby squealed, wriggling around in her seat like a fish out of water. Jacob grinned and pecked her on the forehead. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

“Somethin’ on yer mind, Jacob?” Ruby asked. 

“Ahh, nothin’ much Ruby-Roo,” Jacob replied. He heard his phone buzz and took it out to check what it was. He couldn’t help but grin when he read the message. 

“What is it? Who are you talkin’ to?” Ruby peered over his shoulder to have a peek. 

“Oi, this is private stuff missy!” Jacob cackled, lightly flicking her nose. Ruby couldn’t hide a slightly petty frown. Jacob tutted. 

“Now what’s wiv that face, hm? It’s just me sister,” Jacob explained. He looked back at his phone intently.

“Saaaay... What’s your favourite gemstone, sweet pea?” he asked. 

“Well, what’s my name~?” Ruby giggled.

“Ahhh, I gotcha" Jacob smiled. He turned his attention back to his phone. He couldn't help but smile at the stream of messages being sent over.

"C'mooooon sugarpie, lemme see!" Ruby begged, trying to peek over his shoulder. Jacob sighed and nudged her away.

"I'm sorry, Roo, but this is private. It's nothing bad, don't worry, it's just a surprise" he explained. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Aw man, alright..." Ruby pouted, crossing her arms and feigning irritation. Jacob giggled.

*BRRRRRRRNG*

Jacob grabbed his phone and answered the call.

"'Ello?" he said. He got up from his seat and walked off, chattering excitedly to the whoever was on the other side. Ruby laid back on the sofa and sighed blissfully. Chips and Bolt began scrambling about, treading on her hair and clothes.

"Hahaha, hey! Leave off ya little rascals!" she giggled, playfully tickling the cheeky ferrets.

"Alrighty then, see you in a sec! And, thanks Cas. For real. Byeeee!" Jacob beamed, hanging up the phone and entering the living room again. He smirked at the sight of Ruby having a fight with the two fur snakes.

"Alright then lads, off ya get" he cackled, picking them off of his girlfriend.

"Who was that on the phone?" Ruby asked, getting up from the sofa. Jacob laughed and tapped her on the nose.

"Nosey nosey!" he tutted "It was just me sister, she's popping 'round later to gimme summink."

"Ah, okay!" Ruby smiled.

"So, whatcha wanna do gem?" Jacob asked.

"Hmm... Wanna bake some cookies?" Ruby suggested "As long as ya don't get flour everywhere again!" the pair couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.

"It ain't my fault, gem! That bloomin' flour swung first!" he joked as they headed for the kitchen.

"Sure it did, honey bun" Ruby tittered. They rummaged around in the cupboard, setting down ingredients and equipment on the kitchen counter.

"Alrighty, Jacob, think you can open this WITHOUT getting it everywhere?" Ruby chuckled, nudging a new bag of flour towards her boyfriend.

"I'll try me best, gemstone" Jacob seized the bag and...

*POOF!*

"Aargh! Not agaaaain!" he cried, his face stained with a decent handful of white flour. Ruby took one look at him and cracked up laughing.

"Pahahaha! It's meant to go in the BOWL, Jacob! Not you!" she cackled gleefully.

"Ya don't say" Jacob replied, sarcastically rolling his eyes. He ambled over to the sink to wash off the flour's attack on him.

*DING DONG*

"That'll be Cass, " Jacob grinned "Be back in a sec, luv!" he charged out of the kitchen like a bullet. Ruby watched him run out with a smirk before turning her attention to the bowl of cookie dough in front of her.

Jacob came back in, hiding something behind his back. Ruby's eyes immediately went wide with excitement.

"Oooh! Whatcha got there, hun?" she asked, rushing over and trying to get a peek.

"Ah ah! No peeking you monkey!" Jacob replied, gently pushing her away.

"Awww, no fair!" Ruby sulked "Just a little peek?" Jacob sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry luv, this is a really special surprise" he insisted "I'll show you some other day" Ruby nodded and went back to her baking. With her focus taken off of him. Jacob scrambled to the garage.

He couldn't hide his huge smile as he looked down at the precious little red box.

"Trust me, gem, it'll be worth the wait"

(Ruby belongs to @sukipershipper)

#punch out #punch out oc #gear shift #ruby johnson #rubyshift #(Gear what you doing? 🤨)

[shslpunkartist]

This is the list of all the characters in the Punk Verse Cast. If I'm missing anyone, let me know, and I'll edit this.

This is mainly for me to keep track of my characters (as well as counting on you guys for your memories cuz mine is garbage)

Under the readmore cuz mmmm there's a lot. No it's not gonna include the au versions

"Canon"

Keith BF

Amelia GF

Pico Pico (lolz)

Darnell

Nene

Otis

Barry

Olivia

Cass (and the Goth Gang)

Damien

Core

Zardy

Gold

CG

Buster

Jack

DD & MM

LD

Sunky

Garcello & Annie (wip)

Senpai/Hikaru (wip)

Boy & Girl (wip)

Tankman (wip)

Ocs

Naomi

Seth

Beat-Z

Kurai

Leroy

Tsuri

Mochi

Serenity

Morgana

Melissa

Zackerie

Willow

August

Nico

Summer and Saria

Marie & Adam

Grammy

Olivia's parents (I'll edit this when I'm not tired and will look up their names)

Roxanne and Bibi

Xeno

Rae

Sunny

Serenity

Mochi (and his husband)

Eva

Ezekiel

Milo

Matthew, Nora, and Michael (the shitty family)

Dawn

Clover

Punk trio (Oreo, Cherri, and Pachinko)

Beat-Z's enemy (wip design-wise)

Pets

Sharky the husky

Maracas the rattlesnake

Milkyway the sea creature

Pool Noodle the ferret

Honeysuckle and Poompkin the pumpkin crawlers

(I know I said I wouldn't include au stuff but) Cheeto the fire breathing lizard (I think that's his name. It's in PD!Pico's old bio)

#I'm probably forgetting a buncha people.. #I'm very tired but I wanted to write this list out #this will be something to look back to for when I get the profiles together #please let me know if I forgot anyone #Punk Verse #the Cast

[slippinmickeys]

Out of the Little Grove (17/18)

Scully was here. Something in him knew it instinctually. Mulder called out her name, hoping to tell her to go, to warn her off, but it was likely she had been funneled into the cave by who knew what, the same as he and his band had been – he only hoped she still had the protection of his mother and the other witches.

They’d had no choice but to enter the cave, the very center of where all the ley lines converged, he was certain. The power had brought them down, had brought them here, and they soon discovered they weren’t the only ones.

It was the ferret dæmon he’d seen first, scrambling up the wall until it disappeared into a crevice. Cass had seen it too, and they shared a look. They didn’t need to speak to each other to know what was needed. She quickly changed into a ferret herself and scrambled up the wall after it– easily, as though gravity were being perpetually shunted out – then caught Mulder’s eyes once before disappearing into the same fissure. She’d returned several minutes later, hurriedly, trying to communicate something to him when he saw Scully, his mother, sister, Monica and Langly crest the small rise opposite where he was standing, led by a trio of glowing blue orbs. Between their two groups stood an arch of rock, and on either side of the arch, to the left and right, were two dark openings that must have led to chambers branching out into other parts of the cave system. Sunlight crept in from several cracks in the ceiling of the cave, casting odd shadows into the large cavern.

“Scully!” he shouted again.

“Mulder!” she called back, and Mulder took off running toward her, Frohike and the others behind him. For their part, Scully and the members of her party started making their way toward Mulder as well, the three blue orbs of light preceding Teena and their group.

“God,” Mulder said, smiling as they approached each other under the rocky arch. “I was afraid I might not see you again.”

Scully and Hendrick were approaching quickly, but Mulder was in the lead, and when he and Cassiana passed under the arch, Scully suddenly disappeared from in front of him and his view changed, as if someone had switched out the slide in the projection he was looking at. Mulder pulled up short.

“Mulder?!” Scully shouted, but her voice was coming from a different direction.

He turned his head slightly and there she was, fifty feet away again, just approaching the arch he’d passed under, but now he himself was standing off to her left, in the mouth of one of the caverns that were on either side of the arch itself.

“Here!” he called out, and everyone – Scully and his mother, as well as Frohike, Weera and Byers, who were approaching the arch from the other side – turned to the sound of his voice.

“How did you-?!” Scully called to him, but Frohike held up a hand and stepped forward. He was standing only ten feet from Scully, Teena, Samantha, Langly and Monica.

“Let me see if…” Frohike said, and he and Annie looked at one another and then stepped forward under the arch. They disappeared, but were instantaneously behind Mulder, stumbling forward, almost tripping into him.

Mulder locked eyes with the little man. “I’m starting to see how this-”

“Yeah,” said Frohike.

“Byers, Weera!” Mulder called out. “Step through and see if you come out over here!”

Byers and Weera, dæmons on their shoulders, clasped hands and walked through the arch, coming out at the same time only a few steps behind Frohike and Mulder.

Still standing where they’d stopped, Samantha stepped forward.

“Fox!” his sister called out, and he held up a hand and nodded at her, knowing her plan. She was going to step through the arch from her side to see where she ended up. With a nod at their mother, Samantha stepped through and disappeared.

Mulder turned, half expecting to see her show up behind them where the others had appeared, but there was nothing.

“Samantha?” he called out once, but there was no response. “Samantha!”

Panic clutched at him. From his side, he felt the light touch of claws through the leg of his pants and looked down. Cass was once again a fossa and was on her hind legs, trying to get his attention. She opened her mouth but all that came out were high pitched chirps.

“Mulder!” Scully called out from where she stood by the arch. Mulder looked up and watched as Teena sent through the three blue orbs of light. They, like Samantha before them, disappeared completely.

And then a gunshot rang out, and the rock at Mulder’s feet burst into a spray of shrapnel.

It was all chaos. Mulder dove backwards into the mouth of the cavern he stood before despite not knowing where the shot had come from. He looked immediately to Scully and watched as his mother and Monica wrapped her in a protective embrace and ushered her quickly towards the cavern opening opposite Mulder’s, their two bird dæmons hopping along behind them awkwardly, Langly running ahead as if clearing a path.

Frohike dove near Mulder, and Byers and Weera were on the opposite side of the cavern’s mouth, huddled closely together.

There was another shot, but Mulder didn’t see its impact, and the acoustics of the cave made it impossible to trace the sound. And then there was a shout.

“Give her up, Mulder!” Kyrcek’s voice pinged off every surface of rock. “Give her to me and I won’t tell the Magisterium what you are! Give her up and the rest of you can go!”

Mulder’s eyes darted to Frohike, who shook his head at him with a fierce determination. When he glanced back toward where Scully and the others had gone, they’d entered the darkness of the other cavern.

“Not going to happen, Krycek!” he shouted back, scanning the rest of the cave, desperately trying to pinpoint where the man was hiding.

“Then you’re all dead!” There was a scrambling rustling and Mulder could hear several other voices but it was no good tracking them.

From beside him, Cass darted over to where Annie sat pressing into Frohike’s side. She made a come with me gesture with her paw and then darted up the wall they were nearest to as easily as if it were the floor. She paused and turned around to see if Annie was following her, and when the raccoon stayed put, Cass ran back down. She approached Annie again, changed herself into a raccoon and then once again ran quickly up the wall, stopping once again to look at Annie.

Annie, seeing how easy it was for Cass, even in the shape of a raccoon, tentatively approached the wall and took several steps. When she found no resistance, she took one look at her human and then darted off after Cass, who ran the rest of the way up the wall and then dashed across the ceiling, Annie hot on her heels, both of them splashing through a shallow pool of water before disappearing amongst the jumble of stalactites with purpose. Frohike had brought a hand to his chest, alarmed, and Mulder realized that Annie had ventured far from her human’s side. Farther than any dæmon should be able to go.

“Are you all right?” he asked Frohike, who nodded, his face a little shell-shocked. “Does it hurt?”

Again, Frohike shook his head. “We feel… stretched tight,” he explained. “But it doesn’t hurt. What is this place?”

Mulder looked around them, sweat beading on his upper lip. “It’s a hell of a place for a standoff,” he said. The little man agreed, darting a tongue out to wet dry lips.

After they each attempted to try to walk up the wall as Cass and Annie had done but found it impossible (apparently it was something only dæmons could do here), Mulder turned his attention to the area where he’d last seen Scully and his mother, but there was nothing. He raised himself to a crouch and pulled out his pistol, turning to Frohike.

“I’m going to go out there and draw their fire,” he said. “See if you can figure out where they’re firing from.”

“No,” Frohike said, putting a hand on Mulder’s shoulder. “I won’t let you take that risk. Scully needs you far more than she needs me. My duty is to protect you both.” And before Mulder could issue any kind of argument, Frohike darted off into the open space of the cave, heading for a thin shaft of sunlight that shone more or less in the center. Several shots were fired, nicking up bits of rock where they hit to the left and behind where Frohike was running, giving Mulder a better idea of where the shots were coming from, and he laid down several rounds, covering Frohike until he made it under the patch of sunlight, at which point he disappeared from view.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Scully couldn’t see anything as she was rushed to the cavern opening opposite where Mulder and the others were, locked between Teena and Monica. She fought for only a second and then gave in as other gunshots rang out.

Once they were in the dark embrace of the cavern, Teena and Monica slowed up and let her go.

She whipped around. “Mulder!” she hissed, but Monica grabbed her arm.

“He’s okay,” the witch said to her. “We will get to him. But we have to be smart.”

“What about Samantha?” Scully said, concerned for the other witch.

“She will find us,” Teena said, her words certain.

Krycek’s voice rang through the cavern then. Give her up, Mulder! Give her to me and I won’t tell the Magisterium what you are! Give her up and the rest of you can go!

Scully’s stomach sank to her toes. They would never be rid of this man. Mulder shouted back, effectively telling Krycek to go to hell, and Krycek answering that he’d kill them all. On this, from the dim light shining into the cavern, Teena and Monica pulled themselves to their full height and nocked arrows, their bows at the ready.

“Come along,” said Teena, her voice stone cold.

“But-” Scully started.

“There is nothing to be gained by staying put. We’re the hunters now, and it’s time these animals knew it.”

Somewhat galvanized but still terribly worried for her partner, Scully reluctantly followed the witches into the dark.

Teena once again muttered the incantation that called forth the glowing blue light, but this time only one appeared, and she cast it out in front of herself, lighting their way forward.

While they walked, slowly and silently, Scully reflected on the strangeness of the cave itself. It couldn’t be tears through worlds like what they encountered in Hosteen’s village, as there were no visible rips and when you walked through one, you came out in the same cave, just in a different location. It was mind-bending and mystical and something that Mulder would have delighted in if they weren’t fighting for their lives.

A few minutes later, the sounds of more gunshots rang out, both in front and behind them, and Teena held up a hand, pausing their movement. Ahead, there was the distant glow of dim sunlight. Ondima stepped forward, her keen nose sniffing the air. She made a quiet chuff of noise and slunk forward. Hendrick took an intent step forward too, but stayed by Scully’s side.

The gunshots died down after a moment and soon after, Ondima came trotting back, rising up on her hind legs to put her front paws on Langly’s knees. He kneeled down and ran a hand along her back before looking up at Scully and the two witches.

“I think we found them,” he said.

Scully watched a grim satisfaction cross Teena’s features. She walked on, carefully and silently. As they approached the dim glow of daylight that was ahead, Teena’s hand closed around the blue orb of light and it disappeared. They were at yet another mouth of a cavern, behind a boulder that stood leaning against the opening. Beyond the boulder was the main body of the cave, the arch at the center, but now they were a quarter of a turn away from the side from which they’d come. If the cave were a clock face, Scully surmised, with the arch at dead center, Mulder was at the 3 o’clock position, she and the others had run into the 9 o’clock position, but had come out at 6 o’clock.

Ahead, Scully could hear the sound of furtive whispers, and then the dark gray figure of a man crossed in front of them not twenty yards ahead, a gun drawn in his hand and a fierce looking Alsatian dæmon trotting faithfully at his heel.

Beside her, Monica pulled back the string of her bow, but Teena put a hand out and lowered it, her eyes locked on the man. There would surely be more of them, and the witch queen didn’t want to alert them to their presence quite yet.

There was a quiet scrabble from above, and Scully’s eyes flew up, expecting to see Krycek’s rat dæmon staring at them and about to give them up, but instead she was surprised to see Annie and another raccoon walking along the ceiling and hiding behind a stalactite, watching the men below, two of whom finally came into view. She recognized one of them as Krycek, whose dark rat sat on his shoulder and the other as the man with the ferret dæmon who’d boarded their balloon in Beringland.

Hendrick tensed beside her, then she felt a quick sense of elation from him, and she realized the other raccoon must be Cassiana. She felt a profound sense of relief. If Cass was okay, so was Mulder.

Several more soldiers stepped into view and Krycek stepped around them, looking around a bend and thumbing open the chamber on his gun to spill empty bullet casings to the floor.

“We need to find the witches,” he told his men, reloading his weapon with bright brass ammunition, one bullet at a time. “The woman is with them. I don’t care about the others; if you see them, kill them.” The men nodded, and Krycek then added, “Except Mulder. I want him for study, if possible. But the woman – she is paramount. Focus on her dæmon. The cheetah. If we can capture the cheetah, she’s ours.”

Hendrick pressed himself into her leg. There was the metallic sound of weaponry being checked and armed and several of the men moved off around the curve of rock and disappeared from view. Above them, Scully watched Annie and Cass scurry off the way they’d come, which caught both Hendrick and Ondima’s attention. The dæmons looked up, intrigued.

In front of them, Krycek and the soldier with the ferret dæmon were joined by another man, lanky and dark, whose dæmon was a carmine-haired orangutan who looked around the space with a cunning that scared Scully.

“Cronin,” Krycek said to the lanky man, “with me. Follet,” he directed at the other soldier, “you know what to do.” At this, Krycek and Cronin slunk off around the curve as well, armed to the teeth, and Follet, the only man still before them, sent his ferret dæmon up the wall and to the ceiling.

Scully didn’t realize what was happening next until Langly stepped forward, his gaze pointed up. Ondima was on the ceiling of the cave, crouched down behind a low pillar, watching as the ferret came bounding along toward her. It happened almost faster than Scully’s eyes could process it; Ondima, a white streak against the red rock of the cave was upon the ferret dæmon like a flash, catching the dæmon in her mouth. Scully could hear the crunch of bone from where she stood and she watched as the soldier Follet fell to his knees. A second later, there was a purple-fletched arrow sticking directly out of his throat, and Teena stepped forward, lowering her bow. The man fell to the rock floor of the cave without a sound and the body of the ferret in Onidma’s mouth disappeared in a puff of dusty haze.

Ondima shook her head with a foxy sneeze and was slinking along the ceiling back towards the group when suddenly she was hoisted off her feet. No one had seen the orangutan; she blended in with the color of the rocky cave too well. The large primate wrapped its arms around the unsuspecting fox, and with a vicious twist, snapped Ondima’s neck. Beside Scully, Langly fell to the ground with a strangled cry, convulsed once and was still. When she looked back up at the ceiling, the orangutan was gone, and all that was left of Ondima was a dissipating waft of sparkling smoke.

XxXxXxXxXxX

When he was a child, no more than six years old, before he and Cass had been separated on the plains of Tungusk, Mulder’s sister had taken him south at the height of summer to a small cottage that sat on the shores of a mossy green lake. He had laid in the hot sun flat on his back when they arrived, reveling in the warmth. Cass would lounge beside him, stretched out on the scratchy, damp grass as a silky black cat, both of them enjoying the feeling of being out of doors, unencumbered by the layers of fur and wool that were always necessary in the frigid wind of Lake Skilak.

Samantha, patient, kind and encouraging, had suggested several times that he might like to swim in the green lake, to enjoy the break from the cold white north and its endless crust of frozen white. Mulder would eye the choppy water with an air of mistrust and decline her suggestion, but would eventually wander out onto the cottage’s little dock. He would sit on the end of the weathered gray wood, running his toes over the surface of the water, watching the V shaped skein of wake his foot would create. Cassiana would sometimes flit above and around his head as a dragonfly – an animal she’d been delighted to discover when they arrived – and sometimes as that same black cat, raptly watching the schools of minnows retreat and advance from the attack of Mulder’s bubbly toes.

“Why don’t you want to go in?” Cass had asked him on the third day, her tail swishing back and forth over the dock’s prickly boards.

“I’m frightened,” he’d answered sullenly. It was no use hiding anything from his dæmon. He’d never had the opportunity to swim before, and was afraid of sinking to the bottom of the choppy expanse before him. It wasn’t only a fear of the unknown, however. Mulder was not a child who liked to do or try things he wouldn’t be immediately good at.

“ I’m not afraid,” his dæmon had said with all the hauteur of the cat she embodied, though Mulder knew that wasn’t entirely true. He could feel her fear, though it was more an intrigued, excited fear than the nervous unease he experienced whenever he thought of shucking off his shirt and diving in.

“Liar,” Mulder said to her. Being afraid made him morose and argumentative.

“Shows what you know,” Cass said, rising to her feet and backing up a few steps. And before Mulder could say another word, she’d darted forward and dove into the air, changing form as she hit the surface of the water into something large, gray and slick.

Mulder jumped to his feet and called her name. He’d planned to give her an earful as soon as she surfaced, which she inevitably had to do, but she didn’t come up. And he began to feel something he’d never felt before, a bone-clutching terror – a sense of loss so profound, he found he couldn’t breathe.

When he was reaching a level of desperation so acute that he was about to jump in to look for his dæmon, she came flying up out of the water and crashed into the surface with an almighty splash, most of the force of which Mulder took right in the face. He stumbled back, sputtering. When he’d wiped his face dry, he glared at her.

“What are you supposed to be?”

“A dolphin,” she said happily, her bulbous head sticking out of the water. “We saw one in a book, don’t you remember?”

“No,” he said viciously. The feeling she’d evoked in him — the fright, the terror, the sense of loss — bubbled to the surface and instantly vectored to anger.

“The water’s nice!” Cass called out. “It’s shallow! We won’t sink!”

But Mulder was having none of it. He turned on his heel and stormed off down the dock back toward the shore. Even as he was doing so, he could feel the painful pull in his chest as he moved away from his dæmon, but he knew she was feeling it too, and he was angry and scared and wanted to punish her. A self-flagellation he wouldn’t understand until he was older.

“Fox!” she called out to him from the water, her voice high and thin, distressed.

He marched off even faster, the invisible cord of their connection pulled tight. Up and onto the grass he walked until he was gasping for breath and stumbling, desperate for reunion but still so angry .

And then a splash and the sounds of keratin nails on wood and he turned around just as Cass, now a shaggy terrier, launched herself into the air and he caught her and they both wept with relief and completion, burrowing into each other and vowing never, never again.

As he crouched on the rocky floor of the mystical Black Hills cave, he realized that that same feeling — the one of relief and completion — was what he felt whenever Scully was in his arms. And the feeling he had now — a wretched loneliness, a terrifying sense of loss — was what he’d felt on the dock that day with Cass. Now the anger was coming back, the rage, the need to punish .

Krycek and his men would pay .

Cass came trotting down the wall next to him, her face as set and resolute as his own.

“Is Annie okay?” Mulder asked her, looking around for the raccoon. Cass, once again a fossa, nodded once. “Good,” Mulder said, and stood from where he was crouched, turning toward the dark back of the cavern. He was certain that this part of the cave was like the others, and would lead him somewhere unexpected. He gripped his pistol in his hand.

“With me,” he said to Byers and Weera as he passed them, and they fell into step behind him without a word.

XxXxXxXxXxX

They had moved Langly’s body back behind the boulder that sat in front of the entrance of the cavern they were in, sitting his body up against the rock. As Teena kneeled at his side muttering an invitation to Yambe-Akka, Scully entertained a flitting thought that it looked as if the man were sleeping.

The surprise had worn off and she felt a kind of hollow despair settle onto her. Hendrick bumped his head up into her hand, and she ran her hand along the fur of his head, caressing the flexible cup of his ear with the V of her thumb.

“Oh, Hen,” she whispered, and she heard a quiet, catty groan in response.

Teena rose from Langly’s side.

“The orangutan will find his people if he hasn’t already. Come.” With this she began limping off in the direction the Magisterium men had gone. Monica put a hand briefly on Langly’s blond head and then followed her queen. Scully, Hendrick at her side, followed along behind.

Past the red rock wall in front of them and around a long curving path, they entered a tunnel, walking with bows at the ready, but they encountered no one. The tunnel was dark, with only a faint light far ahead. They walked cautiously forward, pausing several times to listen for the sound of the men they’d followed, but there was only the sound of their own breathing.

As they approached the light, Scully could see that the end of the tunnel was not the naturally shaped opening one expected in a cave system, but rather looked like a doorway, even and straight on the sides, rising up into a rounded lintel. They advanced toward it, pausing while they were still enveloped by the darkness. Not a sound came from in front of them, and after several long moments, Teena eased forward, stepping through under the rock transom and into the light.

The room, if you could call it that, was fairly large, nearly the same size as the great hall in the Lake Skilak palace where they’d shared a meal in Max Fenig’s memory. It was the same warm red rock of the rest of the cave with natural sunlight diffusing in through cracks in the roof, but was shaped like a septagon, with seven even sides, and in the center of each side sat a doorway exactly like the one they had just stepped through. There was no one about.

Scully followed the two witches into the light. She turned, looking around, getting a closer look at the doorway they’d just walked through. Above it, carved into the rock, was the shape of a feline. Curious, she looked above each of the other six doorways, having to get closer to each to see what was carved there. She found, in turn: the shape of a canine, a butterfly, a snake, an ape, and a bird. She turned to Teena.

“What do you think they are?” she asked.

“If we were to venture down each one,” the queen said, “my guess is we would find ourselves in different parts of this cave system. Perhaps,” she went on, “different parts of other places like it in the world.” She held her hand out, palm facing down, as if the ground were speaking to her. “It is unpredictable, I think. And unsafe.”

At her feet, Jasper jumped up, flapping his wings and she leaned down to pick up and put the white raven on her shoulder. Noises began coming from one of the other portals. The three women skipped back into the darkness of the doorway they had entered through and a few moments later, under the lintel with the butterfly above it, Mulder, Byers and Weera came trotting through the opening.

“Mulder!” Scully couldn’t help but shout, and ran forward, Hendrick several paces behind her, making for Mulder, whose head whipped toward her, a smile cracking through the grim set of his face.

“Scully!” he called out.

They were about thirty feet from each other when a gunshot rang out and Byers, who was right on Mulder’s heels, went flying backwards. Four Magisterium men came barreling out of the snake tunnel to her right and three more, Kryek and Cronin among them, came out of the ape tunnel to her left.

She felt an arm tugging her back and then once again: chaos.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Mulder only had time to turn his head to where the gunshot had erupted, a bright blaze coming from the muzzle of a large pistol in the doorway of the dark tunnel to his right before he dropped to one knee and began firing back. Behind him, he heard the sickening thud of Byers’ body falling to the Earth, and then the sharp twang of several arrows being loosed from Weera’s bow. Two of the men, including the gunman who had fired, fell, both with purple fletched arrows sticking out of their eye sockets. Mulder barely had time to recognize the shape of a coyote and wolverine dæmon before they disappeared into the ether.

He heard the sounds of struggle behind him, but couldn’t look, for the third man was upon him, barreling into him with a shoulder into the ribs. He flew back, fossa Cass scrambling forward, snarling, throwing herself at the neck of the man’s jackal dæmon, her long tail whipping through the air as they grappled. Mulder landed several punches to the man’s ribs before he caught an elbow to the chin and he went flying back, his ears ringing.

He scrambled to his feet, but the soldier was just as quick as he was, with fists that felt like hammers. When the man landed a blow to his temple, Mulder crumpled, not unconscious, but dazed. The man then flipped him onto his stomach and pressed a sharp knee into his back. His face was pressed to the hard rock below him, but his eyes flicked around, searching for Scully. He saw Bruno struggling with a thick snake dæmon, the ropey body of the reptile thrashing as Bruno lashed out with talons and beak.

Mulder turned his face, scraping his chin against the rocky ground, and watched as Monica and Weera pulled a barely conscious Byers back under the doorway with the bird above it, and that’s when the pressure on his back let up. Cass had gotten the drop on the jackal, and Mulder flipped over and kicked out the soldier’s knee as he was distracted with his dæmon’s pain, and kicked the man in the face, hard. There was a sickening crunch, and the jackal, caught up in the snarling jaws of Cassiana, turned to smoke.

Mulder whipped around, and saw his mother, her bow raised high, Scully behind her.

Hendrick was several paces in front of both of them, clearly torn between staying near Scully as Samantha had instructed him to do, and entering the fray. His lips were curled back in a vicious snarl.

“The cheetah!” Krycek shouted, and Mulder saw his rat dæmon leap onto the floor and skitter up the wall of the chamber. “Get her dæmon!” Krycek was pointing at Hendrick.

A large dog dæmon bounded forward, growling, and then a streak of yellow shot past Mulder and barreled into the Alsatian, and Hendrick waited no more, flying forward and joining the fray. And as he watched the animals grappling in a blur of frenzied snarling, Mulder realized that Cass had turned into a cheetah in an effort to confuse their enemy, and he felt a surge of fierce love fizzle through him.

Powered by the savage emotion, he launched himself at Krycek and landed a punch to the man’s nose, which made a satisfying crunch before he was pulled back by another soldier. As he was hauled several feet away, Mulder watched as the snake dæmon, who had managed to escape Bruno’s clutches, was slithering forward toward Hendrick and Cass, who were standing shoulder to shoulder, hair bristled on the napes of their necks. In front of them was the large dog and an orangutan that was shifting his weight back and forth looking at the cheetahs with malicious intent.

One of the arms of the man who’d been pulling him back slipped, affording Mulder the opportunity to throw back an elbow, which connected with the man’s stomach. Mulder whipped around and began fighting the soldier, going at it hammer and tongs, their momentum carrying them back towards the doorways on the opposite end of the chamber. He landed one hard blow and the man stumbled back.

Mulder heard the whisper of an arrow ripping through the air and the soldier he’d been fighting fell, the arrow sticking out of his chest snapping when he hit the rocky ground.

Mulder whirled around, and watched in horror as the orangutan picked up one cheetah and hurled it through the doorway behind her. And then a gunshot rang out and his mother crumpled.

Monica screamed and Mulder lurched forward, but Krycek was too fast, and he had his arms around Scully’s neck before Teena hit the ground.

“Mother!” Mulder screamed out, and Krycek smiled viciously, blood still leaking from his nose, his face a grotesque mask, Mulder’s mother laying at his feet.

Mulder could see her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, Jasper a small lump of white at her head. The remaining two Magisterium men moved in slowly to flank Krycek, weapons trained on Teena. The two men’s dæmons, the orangutan and Alsatian, were at their feet, baring fangs at Hendrick, who was crouched low, snarling.

Mulder felt the burn of fury streak through him, flames of rage licking up inside the walls of his chest. “I’m going to kill you!” he hissed, drawing another wicked smile from the heretic hunter.

“I only want the child,” Krycek said. “You can have her back when he’s born.”

Mulder growled, sounding more like a dæmon than an actual man. He could see Monica on the other side of the open area, her bow pulled back, arrow ready to fly. But Mulder knew that she couldn’t, wouldn’t dare loose the arrow – the chance of hitting Scully was too great.

His fingers flexed. They weren’t that far away. He could bum rush them. But the risk of hurting Scully stopped him as well. Krycek started to ease his way backward toward one of the portals. It was only a matter of seconds before they disappeared. Probably for good.

Then, a gentle warm tap to his hand. He looked down and was staring into the eyes of Cass, who had appeared silently at his side. She looked up at him beseechingly and then turned, walking into the portal nearest where they stood. Cass wanted him to follow, he could feel it. But Scully was up ahead of him, as was his mother. And Krycek was gradually moving away from him.

Cass gave a high chirp, but Mulder ignored her, unable to take his eyes off of Scully.

The dæmon chirped again, and this time, the high, bird-like sound drummed up a memory: of Albert Hosteen and his red-tailed hawk dæmon. Words from the Navajo man came back to him from what felt like a lifetime ago.

You must follow her, Mr. Mulder. When everything is telling you not to, you must follow your dæmon, like I did. If you do that, everything that should come to pass, will.

With no other choice and a feeling that wrenched him from the inside out, Mulder turned away from Scully and followed his dæmon into the dark.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Scully could barely breathe. Krycek’s grip around her throat was tight and he was pulling her backwards. There was no telling where the portal behind them would lead, and the strangeness of the cave made her situation even more precarious and unpredictable, as one more step back was not only another step away from Mulder, but a step toward the unknown. She could see her partner at the mouth of one of the other doorways, his face a desperate mask of panic.

She could hear Hendrick snarling beside her, facing off with the two dæmons of Krycek’s men who were flanking them. The orangutan was powerful, and paired with the snapping jaws of the dog dæmon next to her, she knew Hendrick was outmatched. As they backed away from Teena, Scully could see that the pool of blood under the woman was growing bigger. In desperation, Scully looked up once again to find Mulder’s eyes, to tell him how sorry she was for everything that had and would happen. But Mulder was gone.

In concert with the bizarre machinations of all she had encountered in the Black Hills, everything that happened next seemed to go in slow motion.

A single arrow went flying above her head from Monica’s bow, whistling through the air as quietly as a mother shushing a child. A moment later, Alex Krycek’s rat dæmon fell to the ground in front of her with the arrow sticking out and through the creature’s shoulder. Krycek himself hissed and stumbled, loosening his grip. Scully lifted her leg and ground it into the top of his foot and then he was wrenched backward and Scully herself fell forward to her knees. As she turned, she saw two streaks of yellow come flying at the orangutan and Alsatian, as Hendrick and Cass – still in the shape of a cheetah – hurled themselves at the two dæmons with ferocious intent. And behind her, wrenching Kyrcek backward and then throwing him to the ground was Mulder, who had appeared out of the portal door behind them.

Scully crawled forward to Teena’s side, pressing her hands into the wound in her torso, and the old woman’s ice blue eyes found hers.

“I’ve got you,” Scully said, knowing and despairing at the fading look on Teena’s face.

And then there was the piercing shriek of an eagle. Scully looked up and before her came Thorcan, flying through the air upside-down until he twisted above her and then dove down, sinking his talons into the thrashing body of Krycek’s dæmon, who gave an unholy squeal.

Walking towards them all was Samantha, who came through the last unexplored portal in the chamber, looking as wild and fierce as a February blizzard. Frohike was behind her, Scully’s pistol drawn in his hand.

Frohike fired once and the soldier to Scully’s right fell with a grunt, his Alsatian dæmon bursting to a bright haze in Hendrick’s snarling mouth. Another shot and the soldier to her left fell to his knees and then slumped. Cass had sunk her fangs into his orangutan dæmon’s neck, and she too burst into ethereal smoke.

As Samantha approached closer, Scully saw that she was wielding the three blue orbs that Teena had sent through the arch, the flashes of light turning in her hand as though dancing around a maypole.

“Fox,” the witch said, her voice low and powerful. “Away.”

Scully turned to look over her shoulder, watching as Mulder, who was sitting on top of Krycek, his fist high in the air to deliver yet another blow, looked up at his sister and then slid off the heretic hunter and to the ground next to him.

Samantha mumbled something that Scully couldn’t understand and the blue orbs in her hand – all three — shot out and went flying into Krycek’s mouth. The man lurched up into the air, his entire head seemingly glowing, bright blue light radiating out of his nose and mouth and ears, and eerily, out of his eyes so that they glowed like the fairies of the deep. Another muttered word and then Krycek went completely stiff, the light shot out of him and vaporized, and the man slumped back to the earth, dead.

Mulder had been watching, transfixed, but after a moment he shook himself and scrambled to Scully’s side. He reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder.

“Scully?” he said desperately. “Are you-”

“I’m fine, Mulder,” she said shakily, and gave him a weary, empathetic look, turning to Teena, whose breaths were coming quick and shallow.

“Mom?” he said, his voice sounding young and far away.

Samantha approached and sank to her knees on Teena’s other side. The old woman looked up, a weak smile lighting up her face.

“Yambe-Akka is with me,” the queen said weakly to her daughter. “And so,” she said, turning to her son and coughing once as she raised a hand to touch Mulder’s cheek, “are you.”

With that, her hand slipped down and the light went out of her face. Beside her, the ancient white crow crumbled into silvery ash and Samantha became queen of the Lake Skilak clan.

#the x-files #his dark materials #fanfic #my fic #msr #au #prompt #out of the little grove

[fenrir-wolf-of-gotham]

What animal would you and your gfs like to see the most at a zoo?

Me: Anything small and rambunctious. So basically either ferrets or rats, one of which I have in abundance at home in Wayne manor.

Cass: She likes aquariums more and doesn’t like any one animal more. She loves those big tubes that let you walk under or through a tank and see the animals all around you.

Steph: The lions. Specifically the lionesses. She relates to them because Cass and I may be expert crime fighters but when it comes to normal life she’s in charge. She’s the only one who can function without assistance.

#answered asks #my cryptid cass #my spoiler steph

[owlfacenightkit]

Do you think Cass is more a dog person or a cat person?

Hmmm

Ferret

Why? One time I saw art of her as a mutant ferret and that kind of sank its claws into my brain lol

(But if I HAVE to pick cat or dog, I’m going with dog)

#Owl Answers #hootin’ with the moots #my bestie Nurt <3

[astral-glass]

Big ol’ bunch of commissions I’ve finished recently! { @taciturn-russian @coloredraine @sir-hobbes @intuitionandespionage @seducing-french-gentlemen } these arts belong to these nerds 💮

#now you know what I've been working on :) #Really want to do some detailed scenery tho #Astral's art #mercy #ow mercy #ferret #tf2 spy #tf2 sniper #tf2 cass #bombking #commissions #not for free use u hos