A black crow flew over the large battle field, its eyes flashing from one body to the next. It was looking for a very specific thing here on this blood soaked land, the fading and dying warrior.  

The Phantom Queen is more than just a title that warriors prayed to just before battle. The Morrigan, but more importantly Babd, played the role of soul guide for those who fell in battle. A psychopomp, as some would claim her to be. Her magic was linked to that abyss that lingered after death, that abyssal plain where nothing alive could remain. 

Her touch could free the soul from the dying flesh and her magic would carve a path for it to find its way to its final resting place. So when her eyes finally laid upon that warrior who was taking their final breath, she shifted to her human form and dropped down next to him. A young Morrigan could be seen standing next to him, glistening armor upon her form, her black spear in her hands. “Warrior. You have fought well. A worthy death indeed.” 

She knelt by the man and allowed her black eyes to lock on his, a gentle smile on her face. “You may finally rest. The fight is over.” She then reached out and touched his forehead, magic tendrils of magic spreading like ink from her fingertip. It seeped into her skin before his eyes rolled back into his head and he convulsed under her touch. His back arched harshly before he dropped down on the ground and finally grew still. 

Only then did she begin to pull her hand away from the man, a blue line of wispy smoke following along behind her finger. She twirled her finger around, causing the smoke to swirl in upon itself before she reached up and snapped her hand into a fist around the smoke, anuffing it out completely. When she opened her hand again, the smoke was gone, only a black inky mark of her own magic on her palm left in its wake. 

She once more turned into a crow and took to the air again, seeking another soul for her to harvest. 

It had been a long time since Babd had served her roll as a Psycopomp, but when Vel stepped forward, bowed, and offered the agreement, there was a glint in her eyes like back then. He wanted a kiss? This man, who had no idea who she was, had no idea what her touch could do. Had no idea just what [i]SHE[/i] could do. 

A mischievous grin split her face in half and she locked her hungry eyes on Vel. “Very well, Malcome. You kill this hunter for me,” she turned her spear around and planted the spear head into the ground in finality, a deal he wanted and a deal he will strike, “and I will provide you with a kiss.” 

She could warn him, she could explain to him just what it meant for her to touch him, especially touch him so intimately as such with a kiss but what fun would that be? 

When he turned to face Huggin and say he needed a feather, Huggin looked appalled at the prospect. His feathers weren't some trophies for people to collect to put on display. However, before he could object, he felt the heat of Babd’s gaze upon him and instead of making a smart retort, he just clenched his lips into a thin line. He didn't answer except for the smallest of nods. He hated it but Babd was hatching a scheme and he wouldn't go against his Phantom Queen. 

When Mal pointed to the car, Babd looked at it with a quiet sigh, almost indulging the man and his childish ways. When Vel left quickly, Babd turned to Huggin, a demented smile crossing her face. She pulled the spearhead from the ground and gave the dirt stuck to the metal a removing flick. “Huggin, do go keep an eye on my little wolf would you?” Her smile grew just slightly more as she looked at her reflection in the spearhead. “We don't want anything to happen to him before I can make him mine, hmm?” She peered up at Huggin, her gaze predatory. Huggin almost shivered under that gaze before he shifted to his bird form and took off after Vel. He almost felt bad for the wolf. Sometimes, Babd can be scary. 

Huggin followed along behind Vel, keeping this wolf in his sight as he approached the hotel. He came to settle on the roof of the building, his eyes taking in the scene below. He watched as there was a loud bang from the shotgun, followed by the flames that he could only assume had burned Macha earlier. His feathers flared at the sight of it all. He had no idea humans were able to make such weapons of destruction. Perhaps it was time for them all to address the threat the humans were quickly becoming in the real world. They didn’t need magic, it seemed. 

As Vel brought the man to a grisly end, Huggin stiffened at the prospect of giving a piece of him to this wolf. He watched as Vel stepped on the man’s head and it popped like a grape under pressure and then the hand came up in a clear gesture. He wanted his reward from Huggin. Huggin dropped his head in a menacing gesture before he reached back between his wings and plucked a feather that was on its way out anyways. He allowed his magic to flow along the feather, coating it lightly before he released it. If he was going to give a part of himself to this wolf, the least he could do was make use of it. His magic on the feather will make it so he could track that very feather, no matter where it went. He released the feather and allowed it to flutter down to Vel below, his eyes never once leaving the wolf. 

After Vel took the feather, Huggin huffed before taking to the sky again and leading the way back towards the women. When they arrived, Babd was sitting on a makeshift seat just outside of the bubble that had Anand and Macha within, Anand working hard to heal their sister. When both wolf and bird appeared, Babd looked up at them. A smile slowly spread across her lips as Huggin shifted to his human form, walking up to her side and crossing her arms. 

“I would ask if the task was done but judging by the look of Mal,” She took a scan of Huggin’s head and gave a small chuckle, “and the small patch of missing hair on the back of Huggin’s head, I’d say it was done.” She stood up and clapped her hands together. Her black magic flared out from her palms, thunder rumbling around them as she did so. She rubbed her palms together as she stepped up to Vel.

“First things first, I am not kissing a man covered in the blood of his enemy, no matter how glorious of a sight it may be.” She brought one of her palms forward, her magic flowing forward like black water. It cascaded along his form, gentle as a summer shower, and pulled the muck and grime from him. She gave her wrist a swift twist and the magic condensed to a ball before hovering back towards her. She reached out and snatched it out of the air, almost hungrily. When she opened her hand once again, the magic was absorbed again, the blood and gore absorbed into her being. 

Oh yes, she was feeling very war godly right about now. Even her form adjusted to her sentiments. The black armor fell away, revealing heavily tattooed arms and chest. Her black wings slowly rose from her back as if they were tucked there the whole time. Her spear vanished and her clothes morphed into clothes that seemed more appropriate upon Macha than herself. A silky, translucent gown hung from her shoulders and fell down to gather on the ground at her feet, a thick belt of leather and metal seeming to be the only thing keeping her gown on her being.

Huggin’s breath caught for a moment at the sight of her before he slowly lowered down to one knee in front of her. He planted a fist on the dirt and cast his eyes down in respect of the deity that now stood before him. Babd was a warrior for sure and Huggin was very much used to that side of her but Babd was also a goddess of war and death and the form that she took now was no warrior. The being that stood before Vel now was the death aspect of the Phantom Queen, the seeker of souls, the traverser of fate. She did not take this form often but at this moment, she was seeking a soul. Vel’s soul, in particular. Perhaps if he kept his head down and showed his respect, Vel would be the only soul she would claim this day. 

“A deal,” Babd’s voice rang out like a gentle chorus of bells as she rose from the ground with a small flap of her wings, “is a deal. A kiss for the slaying of an ant.” When she was at eye level with him, she leaned forward, her black eyes locked intently onto his. There was a darkness within those eyes of hers, as if a never ending pit sat just behind those irises. If one stared hard enough, they may even see a soul or two attempting to claw their way out of that very pit. They say the eyes are a gateway to the soul, hers were more the gateway to the pit of souls. 

She leaned forward and crushed her lips against his, hungrily coiling her arms around his neck so that he couldn’t pull away from her. Her wings wrapped around him completely, crushing him into her as her magic pulsed and dove. Upon that contact, her magic got to work. Like a drill looking for oil, it sunk into his being, pushing through any opening it could find, nostrils, eyes, ears, any and every little hole was an access point for her magic, the mouth being the main point where the most of her magic pushed in. Godly magic pushed into his very essence, pulsing into his soul, mind, and body. It consumed him completely. 

Her eyes were still locked on his as she watched him intently, her magic diving into his core and seeking it, his very soul. What she found wasn’t what she was expecting. In a flash of light, she found herself hovering just over an ocean. She looked around at the sight, a frown forming on her face as she tried to understand where she was and what she was witnessing. Normally, she would dive into a person’s being and grasp a soul. There wasn’t anything to it but here, it was as if she found herself in a storage box and the box was an ocean. 

She looked around slowly, her eyes catching movement under the waves. She peered down and was surprised to see Mal there, under the water. He seemed to be drowning down there. She lowered herself to just above the water’s surface, staring down at him below the waves. So, that was how the two kept each other suppressed. Suddenly, the salt water manipulation upon the girl the day before made sense. She pondered the sight for a moment, questioning if she should do anything to help Mal. Was it her place? He had released the wolf, however, Mal had asked for them to kill him after everything was done. Perhaps they should have allowed Huggin to shoot Mal after all. She would have to address that later. For now, however, she had a wolf to find. 

She turned from Mal and quickly looked around until her eyes fell on the wolf off on the shore. She grinned and tucked her hands behind her back. “Don’t Mal, we’ll get you out but for now, I have a wolf to claim,” her words dipped with such possessiveness, it almost made the air around her quiver. She zipped off, allowing her wings to take her to the wolf at amazing speed. She came to a sharp stop just over him, her eyes wide and her smile even more so. 

“Surely, you were taught not to make a deal with the devil.” She lowered herself down to the wolf, her feet gently landing on the soft sand. Her magic had already begun to claim him even before she came into this headspace of theirs. She could see it oozing from him like toxic fumes. “You should think before you ask things of [i]gods[/i],” she hissed out the last word. 

She reached out and her finger touched his forehead and the magic stiffened instantly as it listened and followed her call. It flowed along his body before finally coming to settle around his wrists, forming thick shackles, and the last of it condensing around his neck in a thick, black metal color. She gave a dark laugh as she raised a hand, a chain of black metal forming from her palm to the collar around his neck. She gave it a mighty tug so that he was looking directly at her, her eyes manic at the sight of her new pet. “You’re mine now pup. Welcome to an eternity of servitude.” And with that she began to rise, pulling him along with her by the chain. She gave another laugh as her magic built behind her, gathering as she prepared her exit, her new soul tightly in her grasp. 

The magic released and she launched off like a rocket, pulling Vel with her as she ripped through all the magic, through the headspace, through reality until she was back within her body, her lips still pressed firmly upon Vel’s lips. She blinked once, twice, then released Vel from her grasp. At some point during the kiss, she had risen off the ground with him still tightly bound in her grip. She watched as he dropped down, seeing with her magical eyes the new metal collar around his neck. She grinned fiercely  before she turned her eyes on Huggin. The raven flinched under that gaze. 

“Huggin,” she said as she slowly lowered herself back to the ground, her bare feet coming to silently settle on what was left of the road below her. “Get the gun please. I think it’s about time we talk to Mal again. Though it’s been quite the pleasure Vel,” she said as her eyes turned once more to her sweet, sweet new wolf. “Fear not, you’ll be coming out again. I just need to talk to the human for a little bit.” She crouched down, resting a gentle, almost a motherly hand on his cheek, “You’re mine now and I’ll be damned if you stay locked away, my little wolf.” She stood as she began to revert back to her warrior form. Her magic flowed along her and condensed into her armor, her wings once more sinking into her back. 

While Huggin got to work on getting the gun, Babd walked over to the bubble that held Macha and Anand. She gave a swift three knocks on the bubble, Anand looking up at them in shock. She looked around at the scene before she gave a wide swipe of her hand, the bubble dispersing from around them. 

“What happened,” she asked as she slowly stood up. Macha was looking much better at this point. Her arm was still missing and the damage there was still being worked on but the burns on her face were fully healed and her right side was nothing but burn blisters at this point. Anand had been hard at work and it was very obvious in her pale face. Babd frowned slightly. 

“You need to not work yourself so harshly. If you push too hard, you might find yourself worse than Macha.” Anand waved it off before turning her eyes onto Huggin who had just found the gun and was making his way to Vel. 

“Hey! I said that we didn’t need to shoot Mal! What do you think you’re doing Huggin?” She asked, angrily. Before she could push pass Babd and stop him, Babd grabbed her arm and kept her from going anyways. 

“Trust me, sister. We’re just keeping a promise we made earlier. A lot has been happening. Let’s get Mal back then we can all sit and have a nice little talk. I need to know what Mal has done exactly to make that beast.” A smile crossed Babd face, her beast now. Anand watched Babd for a moment before she crossed her arms, a frown on her face. However, she trusted her sister. If Babd said this needed to be done, then it needed to be done. So she just sat down, crossed legged on the ground and waited. Perhaps Babd was right, Anand was exhausted. Maybe she did need to take a moment to rest. 

[hr]

[i][b]”Gotta go, wish me luck.”[/b][/i] Then the sound of a shotgun blasting was the last thing before the voicemail came to an end. Wings had heard the end of friends and family in such a matter many times before but this one was different. This was James, her James. Her chest was tight as she once more listened to the voicemail for a third time. Each time, the shotgun blast felt like a punch to the chest. She had already tried to call him, fifteen times. Each time, the call instantly went to voicemail. It, technically, didn’t mean he was dead. It just meant that his burn phone was dead but she knew, knew in her very soul that that wasn’t the case. Her James was no longer with them, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She slowly lowered her phone down in practiced control. She knew better, knew that getting this close to anyone was a mistake. They were hunters and hunters don’t live to the ripe old age of 60. 

She slowly rose from her chair, giving a soul crushing sigh before she rolled her shoulders as if shrugging off the pain. She had a hunt to lead. James had done it. He had finally found Cerberus but he also found something else, a giant he said. Something that could swat Mothra, he had said. That was something new, even to her. She had been hunting her whole life. This was a family career and she had never heard of something so large that it could swat a fictional creature as large as Mothra. They had to go see what was going on over there. Despite Jame’s warning. She needed to know about that creature and she needed to check on James. Just in case. Just in case. 

She walked to the edge of her desk and pressed a button on her intercom. “Yes,” came a male voice on the other end. 

“Gather a reconnaissance team. We’re going to Leygas, Ohio. James was last known in that city and he found Cerberus and other creatures. Prepare for dangerous monsters. We may be going into a battle ground.” 

“Yes ma’am. Are we flying?” The voice asked over the com. She pondered a moment before giving a small nod. 

“Yes, we’ll fly. We leave in 2 hours.”

“Acknowledged.” The com voice said before the connection was cut off, leaving the woman once more in silence in her office. She took another look at her phone before she slipped it into her pocket and began for the door of her office. 

“We’ll bring you home James and I’ll hang that mutt’s pelt on my wall.” She exited her office, slamming the door closed, a small photo hanging on the wall falling on the ground and shattering. A photo of James and her, arm in arm with huge grins on their faces. They would pay.