#instead of pulling the whole 'oh no not until biscuit tells me themself' after being told im literally not closeted

[imabiscuitinthousandworlds]

okay but. success! all of my grandparents now know i'm trans and my preferred name!! they all took it well, if occasionally confused!! only six people left to go then i'm out to all of my family and can finally rest!!

[wwoww-au]

Shadow

Dark sat in one of the chairs outside of Abe’s office, nervously wringing their cane. They didn’t know why the department head had called them in for a meeting, but it had to be serious. They only ever stopped into his office for things in regard to the Warfstache case, and with the trail running cold they were anxious to get back to their own work. 

“Oh great, it’s you.”

The sound of Mare’s voice made Dark’s head snap up.

“I could say the same thing,” Dark huffed. “Abe called you here too?”

“No, we meet every Tuesday for tea and biscuits,” Mare snarked. He grabbed the chair next to Dark and placed it farther down the wall before sitting down. A moment later he pulled out a cell phone and began typing quickly.

Good. Dark didn’t want to talk to him, either.

What felt like several minutes passed before the door to Abe’s office opened. Their boss smiled tensely at both detectives as they stood almost simultaneously.

“Sorry you had to wait,” Abe said politely, holding the door open.

“It’s fi—”

Dark was cut off by Mare shoving past them, almost pushing them back into their chair. “Whatever,” Mare grumbled. “This better be good. I’ve got a lead waiting for me in my office.”

Abe smiled apologetically at Dark as they both followed Mare into the office. The department head let the two detectives take their seats in front of his desk before closing the door and taking his own.

"I take it you two are wondering why I called you here," said Abe, shuffling a few files lying on his desk. "Dark, the Wizard Committee has had growing concerns over your lack of success when it comes to the Warfstache case. So they've come to the decision to-"

"Oh, I know where this is going," Mare cut in with a smug grin. "The Committee's finally come to their senses and transferred the case over to me."

"No, that's not it." Abe sighed as if he was bracing for something. "Dark, the Committee thinks it's best if you get more experience in the field. You will be shadowing Mare for a day, starting tomorrow."

"What?!" both detectives cried out at the same time.

"I am not spending the day with him!" Dark protested through gritted teeth. "I don't need more experience. Abe, please."

"You can't do this!" Mare slammed his hands on the desk.

"I'm sorry." Abe rubbed his temples. "I know you don't like each other, but it's out of my hands. The Committee wants Dark to learn from our best detective, and that's you, Mare. So can you two please just try and get along for one day?"

"Fine." Mare glared at Dark. "But you better not get in the way." With that, he stormed out of the office, loudly slamming the door behind him. For a moment, it was silent in the office.

"This is going to be awful," Dark groaned. Why couldn’t the Committee have stuck them with some other detective? Mare already made things miserable for Dark. He was sure to be even worse when they were forced to work together for a whole day.

"I know. I really am sorry,” Abe said. “I wish there was something I could do. Just-- just let me know if anything goes wrong.” He gave Dark another apologetic look.

.

.

.

The next day, Dark stood outside of Mare's office. They took a moment to collect themself before knocking on the door.

"It's open," Mare called from inside. Dark took one step into the office before something small and white darted in front of their legs, making them stumble over.

Mare jumped up from behind his desk, running over. "Oh my wizard god, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dark grumbled.

"What? I wasn't talking to you." Mare bent over and picked up the small creature, a little white fox. One of its legs was wrapped in a pink cast. He cuddled it to his chest and spoke in a high pitched voice. "Are you okay, Mangle? Did the mean person hurt you?"

Dark stared in disbelief. "Why the hell do you have a fox in your office?"

Mare simply ignored Dark, continuing to coo over Mangle as he walked over to a large plush pet bed in the back left corner of the room. He gently placed the fox in the bed, quietly humming and stroking its head until it relaxed into the soft cushion.

“Her name is Mangle,” Mare finally answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “She usually stays at home, but she sprained her paw last week, so I’ve been watching her here. I doubt Abe would be willing to let me take time off to watch her at home.” He scoffed after his final remark before glancing back down at Mangle. His gaze softened for a moment.

“I’m sorry, you have a pet fox?” Dark asked incredulously. They hardly saw Mare as the kind of person to care for anything, much less an animal.

Mare’s gaze hardened again as he made eye contact with Dark. “Yeah, but that’s not why we’re here.” He gave Mangle one last pat on the head before walking back to his desk. He picked up a thin file and tossed it at Dark. They barely managed to catch it before Mare was pushing past them out the door.

Mare stormed down the hallways of the Crime Department, leaving Dark to jog after him and read the file. "'Zachary Calls'," they read out loud. "'Mundane magician who became a wizard after making a deal with-' huh, the name's crossed out. 'Corrupted, approach with caution'. Poor guy." 

"He made his choice," Mare spat. "It was his decision to mess with magic, and now he's paying the price. Why do you care?"

Dark silently closed the file. "No reason."

Mare pushed the doors of the Department building open, but only enough for him to slide through, letting the doors close directly in Dark’s face. Dark pushed against the doors, but they only budged slightly. They could just see Mare on the other side, leaning his back against the doors, and keeping Dark inside.

“Come on, Mare,” Dark huffed, leaning heavily against the door. “Just let me out and stop wasting time.” Mare only laughed in response.

Alright. If that was the game Mare was going to play, then so be it.

Dark took several steps away from the doors, then ran towards them at full tilt, leading with their shoulder. If Mare wasn’t going to move, they’d make him.

However, instead of being met with resistance as they had before, the doors now opened easily, and Dark was unable to slow their trajectory as they flew out the Department doors and went tumbling down the few stone steps. They lay at the bottom of the stairs, seething and sore, while somewhere above them, Mare continued to laugh.

"Alright, get up," he managed between laughs. "You're wasting time."

Mare didn’t wait for Dark as they hurried to pick up their cane and the papers that had flown out of the case file. They were about to stuff the last piece of paper back into the file when they noticed something they hadn’t before. They pulled the paper back out and read it over as they walked to where Mare’s car was parked. Most of the information was redacted, but it appeared to be a criminal profile. There was only one line Dark could actually read.

“‘Extremely dangerous. Do not approach,’” they read aloud. They looked over the photo in the top right of the page. A blurry hand rested on a long black cane with a clear orb on top, clasped by two clawed fingers.

“You ready to go yet?” Mare asked, leaning out the drivers’ window of his car. “Or do you need me to open the car door for you too?”

Dark considered answering yes, but decided that that would only make things worse. They moved to open the passenger door when they heard Mare shout, causing them to yank their hand away from the handle.

“I didn’t say you could sit up front, rookie,” Mare snapped. “Babies sit in the back of the car.”

“I’m not a baby,” Dark grumbled bitterly, opening the back door and sliding into their seat.

“Please, you’re hardly thirty,” Mare laughed. “You’re barely an adult.”

“Yeah, well, how old are you?” Dark countered. Mare had to be younger than them, at least by a couple years. He looked like he could be a college student.

“One hundred and seventy-four,” Mare answered smugly. “Older than you.”

Dark huffed and slid down their seat as far as they could. Some people’s ages were just impossible to guess, as their bodies generally slowed down aging in their twenties to thirties. Someone could look 25 and be nearly 200. A wizard in their 300s would hardly look older than 40.

Dark boredly picked strands of white fur off of the seat next to them as Mare drove. A couple minutes into the drive, Mare slid a rock CD into the car stereo. They didn’t pay much attention to the words, but the more they listened, the more familiar the voice sounded.

“Did you sing this?” Dark asked, sitting up slightly.

“Yeah, dumbass,” Mare answered, glancing back in the rearview mirror. “Did you forget I’m a music wizard?”

“No, I just-- never mind,” Dark mumbled, leaning back again. Between hunting down Warfstache and studying magic, they hardly knew any of their coworkers. They were sure they’d been told at one point Mare’s specialty, and they’d heard music coming from his office countless times, but they’d never bothered to really listen. It was, admittedly, rather good. Not that they’d tell Mare that. He’d just find some way to mock them for it.

“Hey, I said we’re here,” Mare barked, startling Dark into sitting up. “Are you always this absentminded? No wonder you haven’t caught Warfstache yet.”

“That’s not-” Dark’s retort was cut off by Mare’s door slamming shut.

Dark stepped out of the car, gripping their cane tightly as a cold wind rushed past.

The apartment was obviously not well maintained. Ivy crept up the sides, covering almost the whole bottom half of the building. Paint was chipping off in multiple places, revealing the crumbling brick underneath. The bushes in front of the apartment were unmaintained and threatened to overtake the sidewalk. The windows were barred, like some kind of old prison, and a few of them were cracked.

Dark ascended the steps carefully, sure that the stone would crumble under their feet at any second. The rusted railing didn’t bolster their confidence much either. The wooden door was clearly rotting, and creaked painfully loudly as Mare pushed it open.

Mare was glaring back at Dark, opening his mouth to talk when something fell upstairs, making a loud crash. Mare’s microphone was in his hand in an instant, wire crackling with navy blue energy.

“He knows we’re here,” Mare muttered, glaring at Dark as if it was their fault. “Wait here. Cut him off if he tries to escape.”

The gravity in Mare’s voice shocked Dark, and they only nodded in response, backing up against the door with their cane in both hands. A door slammed upstairs, making Mare and Dark both look up.

“If you screw this up,” Mare threatened, glaring back down at Dark, “they’re not gonna find a body to hand the pink slip to.”

Not waiting for a response, Mare left Dark standing at the door, quietly scaling the stairs himself. Dark listened anxiously, wringing their cane in their hands. They froze when they heard another door slam, and after a moment’s hesitation, ran up the stairs.

Mare was cursing at a door as he ran his hands over it, his blue energy mixing slightly with the sickly shade of orange magically covering the door. His eyes landed on Dark, and his face twisted into a scowl.

“What is that?” Dark asked, glancing at the door.

“It’s a door, dipshit.”

“No, I-- the stuff covering the door.”

“Glitch magic,” Mare answered, taking a step away from the door. “A lot of Mundanes-turned-wizards get it. Usually when they mess with a core type that isn’t theirs.” He spat at the bottom of the door. “It’s disgusting.”

Dark shuffled uncomfortably on their feet. “Can I see?”

Mare huffed and stepped farther away from the door. “Be my guest.”

Dark took Mare’s place in front of the door and began running their hands over it, as they had seen him do. It felt like static electricity against their palms. When they tried to grab the doorknob, it felt hot, like there was a fire on the other side. They pulled their hand away as quickly as possible, but it still came away red.

"Alright, move aside, Dark," Mare spat, taking his microphone off of his belt again. "I'm gonna break down the door." 

"Wait," Dark said, holding a hand out in front of the other man. "Let me talk to him first." 

Mare stared at them before rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

Dark turned to the door and spoke gently, "Hey, Zachary, right? Look, I understand how you feel right now. Finding out magic exists, and then the next thing you know you have powers you can't control and you're lost in a world that doesn't make sense anymore. It's overwhelming. I’m-- we’re gonna help you, okay? You just gotta let us in. It’s gonna be okay. Just take the lock off the door.”

Almost instantly, the glitch magic covering the door faded. The door opened slightly.

“You’re really gonna help me?” a shaky voice asked quietly, barely loud enough for Dark to hear.

“Promise,” Dark said gently.

The door finally opened all the way.

Standing on the opposite side of the door was Zachary Calls. He looked as terrified as he’d sounded, eyes wide, soot-covered hands holding tightly onto a Mundane magician’s wand. His black hair was messy, clearly having gone a while without being washed. Going along with the wand in his hand, Zachary’s outfit appeared to be that of a Mundane magician’s as well. The black suit and cape were clearly dirty, and the edge of the cape appeared to be slightly burnt.

He gave Dark a slight smile, dark brown eyes lighting up, and stepped across the threshold.

“Thank y--” Zachary’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed forwards into Dark’s arms. They froze briefly before swinging their head to look at Mare.

The music wizard swung his microphone confidently as the last of the spell he’d cast faded into its wire.

“Good job, Dark,” Mare said, clapping a hand on their shoulder. “Maybe you’re not completely useless after all.”

Dark sputtered with rage as they adjusted Zachary’s unconscious form in their arms. “Y-you-- why I-- you didn’t have to do that!” They shrugged Mare’s hand off of their shoulder and glared up at him. “He was going to come along peacefully!”

Mare snorted. “They always start out that way,” he began, shaking his head condescendingly. “Trust me, if I hadn’t knocked him out, he would have exploded at us halfway down the stairs and run off. Corrupted wizards are dangerous creatures, Dark. You should learn that now, before it gets you hurt.”

Dark was still fuming as they followed Mare back outside, still carrying Zachary in their arms. He looked almost peaceful, and Dark felt a pang of guilt as they gently buckled him in, opting to sit in the back and keep a careful eye on him than deal with Mare in the front. It was their fault now. They’d promised to help him, and then as soon as he’d let them in, Mare had ruined everything.

Once the car started moving, Dark kept their attention to Zachary. At one point in the ride Mare made a violent turn around a corner, causing the magician's unconscious form to slump over into Dark's lap. They ended up just leaving him there; it was easier than constantly having to prop him up against the door. 

Eventually the car abruptly stopped. Dark looked up from Zachary to see a rundown warehouse looming above them just outside the window. Peeling grey paint, several shattered windows, and a door locked with rusted chains made it apparent it had been abandoned for decades.

"This isn't the Department," Dark said cautiously.

"That's the first decent observation you've made all day," Mare huffed as he got out of his car and walked to the back. "Now, if you would please stop cuddling with the criminal." He yanked Zachary from the car, dragging him to his feet as he just barely began to stir from unconsciousness. He shoved him forward, practically dragging him into the warehouse. Dark jumped out of the car to follow, a white-knuckled grip on their cane. Mare continued to pull the criminal around the side of the building and through a small opening where the wooden wall had rotted away. 

The warehouse was dark, with the only light source being a few beams of sunlight spilling through high windows illuminating all the dust in the air. Besides some scattered debris on the floor, the only things in the expansive room were a metal chair, and few coils of rope lying beneath it. Countless scratches and burns marked the concrete floor around the chair. 

"Mare, what the hell is going on?" Dark's voice echoed throughout the room. Mare simply ignored them, unceremoniously dumping Zachary into the metal chair. The detective slipped a gag around Zachary’s mouth, then picked up the ropes and set to work tying down each of the corrupted wizard’s limbs, so tight the ropes visibly dug into his flesh. Zachary cried out weakly, fully woken up by the pain. His eyes searched the room with panic.

Dark flinched as Zachary’s eyes landed on them, and the fear in his eyes was replaced by betrayal. Before they could try to convey their sincere apology, Mare stepped between them, facing Zachary. Dark only saw a flash of movement and flinched again as they heard the sound of Mare’s backhand connecting with Zachary’s face. They wanted to do something, but something made them hesitate, take a step back instead of forwards. Maybe it would be best if they just left. They could run back to the Department, tell Abe what was happening, get help--

Dark yelped as something wrapped around their wrist, shocking them slightly. They looked down at the wire leading away from their wrist, following it to Mare’s microphone.

“Don’t think you’re leaving,” Mare ordered, pulling the microphone cord and forcing Dark forward. “You’re still shadowing me, remember?”

Dark resisted the urge to fight back, and instead sat down in another chair Mare had pulled out of somewhere. They were several feet from where Zachary sat, tears streaming down his face already. Dark wanted to help, they really did, but something about the look in Mare’s eyes, the way his microphone crackled with magical energy, told them that this was probably the worst time to pick a fight with their coworker.

.

Dark recoiled as Mare’s microphone cord whipped against Zachary’s face once again. The corrupted wizard convulsed with pain as his own magic turned against him, setting him briefly ablaze with what looked like multi-colored fire. Mare raised the cord and lashed out again, this time hard enough to slash open Zachary's cheek. Blood leaked out of the wound and began to seep into the gag in his mouth. He turned briefly to look pleadingly at Dark, tears running down his face as he searched for any sort of respite. Dark only turned away, flinching as they heard Mare’s cord crack once more. Tears ran down their own face, guilt twisting a knife into their heart.

Dark didn’t know how much time had passed when the noise suddenly stopped. They felt a presence in front of them and looked up, quickly wiping the tears from their eyes. Mare glared down at them, a disgusted sneer on his face.

“Get up,” he ordered, grabbing Dark by their shoulder and forcing them to their feet. He shoved them forwards, closer to Zachary, who was struggling weakly against his bonds. He stopped as Dark approached, a hopeful look in his eyes.

“Take his item,” Mare snapped, making Dark flinch and Zachary’s eyes go wide.

“Why can’t you do it?” Dark asked, not taking their eyes off of Zachary. Maybe they could get him free. They could get him out of this awful place.

“I’m not touching him,” came Mare’s answer. “Oh, and don’t try anything. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for another criminal running off, would you?”

Dark held back a sharp comeback as they stepped closer to Zachary. The old black and white wand was stuck in between some of the ropes, likely so Zachary could use all of his power to torture himself. Dark gave the corrupted wizard an apologetic look as they took it. They tried their best to ignore his muffled pleas as they passed the wand to Mare. They began to walk back to their chair, when a hand grabbed their arm, holding them back.

“Stay here,” Mare commanded, a dangerous smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I want you to watch this up close.”

“Watch what?” Dark chanced, eyes flitting down to the wand held tightly in Mare’s hand.

Mare took a few steps away and placed the wand on the ground at his feet, pointing it directly at Zachary. “You know, they say the worst pain a wizard can go through is having their item destroyed,” Mare said, stepping back from the wand. “Unfortunately, that requires several wizards, and I don’t have that. However, the second worst pain is having their item damaged.” Mare grinned, and Dark’s heart skipped a beat as they realized what was happening. “That I can do.”

Mare held his microphone up to his mouth, the entire cord lighting up as he began to sing, starting out low, building up higher and louder as he carried the note. The wand in the middle of the floor began to spark and smoke. The light glistened off the sweat trailing down the side of Mare’s face. This was clearly taking a lot of effort, yet the note held strong.

Dark turned to face Zachary as they heard the sound of gagged screaming begin again. He thrashed against his bonds, eyes rolled halfway up his skull. Every muscle was taut, but still powerless against the ropes holding them. The chair threatened to tip over several times.

Dark could only watch.

They were frozen, watching someone suffer in front of them, powerless to do anything. Powerless. They were powerless again. They could only watch. Bad memories threatened to surface. This was all too familiar. This was--

The note ended, and Dark was startled out of their thoughts by the sudden silence. The only noise in the room was the heavy breathing coming from both Mare and Zachary.

Mare’s breathing steadied as he walked back to the wand. He glared down at it for a second before kicking it away. Dark could hear it clatter against some distant wall in the darkness.

Zachary slumped over in the chair, barely clinging to consciousness. His muffled breathing the only noise in the room. Dark stumbled backwards and stood in stunned silence, too terrified to make a sound.

"So disappointing." A man's voice cut through the quiet. Zachary's head whipped up, looking more frightened at the new arrival than he did at his captors. Both detectives turned around towards the voice.

He stood in the middle of the room. There had been no footsteps, no rustle of debris to alert his arrival. It was as if he had simply appeared from thin air. His face was mostly hidden in the shadow of his hat, but anyone could see the scale-like scars across the side of his face and neck. He dressed like a businessman, and held tight onto the cane in his right hand. Pink smoke swirled within the glass orb that sat on top of it.

"I saw some real potential in you. But you know what the contract says about being caught..." the man said, his smooth voice sending ice through Dark’s veins. Zachary thrashed against his bonds with suddenly renewed energy, crying out desperately from behind the gag. His body was ablaze with flames trying to break free. "I really am sorry, kid."

The man tapped his cane against the concrete floor. The sound reverberated louder than should've been possible. The pink smoke from inside the orb burst out, long tendrils of it reaching out towards Zachary, whose screams rose until they were clearly audible behind the gag.

All was quiet. Zachary sat perfectly still, unblinking eyes staring forward. The smoke retreated back to the glass orb on the cane, carrying a flickering ball of yellow-orange light. The stranger lifted his cane to get a better look at the orb on top, an almost remorseful smile on his face. "Such a shame. He was one of my favorites."

"Phantom," Mare spat the name in disgust, stalking towards the man. "I should've known you’d show up eventually."

"Ah, Nate, so nice to see you. I see you're still as big a nuisance as ever." Phantom looked uninterested, not even bothering to look at Mare. He shifted his gaze to Dark, who only stared in horror at Zachary's still form. "Oh look, you brought a friend. I didn't think you had any of those."

"First of all, they're not my friend--"

"So you admit you have no friends?"

"What the hell is going on?" Dark cut in. "Who is this guy? Did he just-- did he take his soul?"

"Stay out of this, Dark!" Mare snapped.

"Be civil for once in your life, little brother. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Phantom." He gave a slight bow. "And to answer your question, yes. I did take his soul. A fair exchange, you see I was the one who gave poor Zachary his magic. A simple contract, allowing Zachary perform magic, and giving me the rights to his soul. Of course, dear Zachary was only one of my contractees. I’ve made many soul contracts in my career."

Dark sputtered, unable to say anything besides "Brother?"

"I know. It's unfortunate, isn't it?" Phantom shook his head. "He's so immature, always throwing a tantrum when things don't go his way. And having a brother so high up in the Crime Department is just so inconvenient, especially in my trade."

"At least it's better than having a dirty, soul-stealing criminal for a brother," Mare said through gritted teeth. The wire in his hand began to spark to life with blue energy. 

"Losing your temper already? Show some restraint; we're trying to have a civil conversation here," Phantom tutted. He took a few steps towards Dark, his intense gaze almost enough to make them back away. "Where were we? Oh yes, my brother here can be so insufferable, though I'm sure you know that already. But enough about me; Dark, was it? It's a pleasure to meet you." He held his hand out, a surface-warm smile on his face.

Dark eyed his hand with suspicion. After his talk of soul contracts, they were apprehensive to take anything he offered, even if it was just a handshake. "I can't say the feeling is mutual," they said, folding their arms.

Phantom frowned, placing his hand onto his cane. "Very well. I can respect your judgement. You're definitely more perceptive than most of the Committee's pitiful members. If you weren't so obviously attached to their contrived rules, I might even offer you a job--"

"That's enough," Mare said. The wire in his hand crackled violently, bright blue bolts of magic sparking of its surface. "If you don't leave right now, I swear I'll cut you to pieces and feed you to my fox!"

"Not now, Nate," Phantom brushed off the threat. "The grownups are talking."

That was enough to set Mare off. In a flash he whipped out the cord, catching Phantom by the ankle and pulling hard. He hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Hmph. I don't have time for this," Phantom sneered, slamming his cane down. In an instant the room filled with inky black smoke.

"Phantom!" Dark heard Mare cry out, though they thought the word sounded much more terrified than angry.

Dark felt a heavy tug at the back of their coat, dragging them back into the smoke in an instant. They were thrown down onto the concrete, the impact enough to knock the wind out of them. They blindly threw out a wild mass of sparking red magic before a heavy boot came down on their chest, locking them to the ground.

"I only have so much time until my idiotic brother finds me, so I'll make this quick," Phantom's voice said, his towering figure briefly illuminated as he idly dodged another of Dark's magical attacks. "Here's some advice. Learn to control those powers of yours soon, or you'll be in that chair next." A cloud of red smoke completely enveloped him, and suddenly the weight on their chest was gone. 

The smoke blanketing the room cleared. Dark began slowly pushing their aching body off the floor, when they were yanked up to their feet by the front of their shirt, pulled face to face with a fuming Mare.

"Where did he go?" Mare was visibly shaking, and his eyes darted around the room.

Phantom's words echoed in Dark's ears, sending shivers down their spine. They cleared their throat, keeping their voice steady. "I have no idea. I got knocked down and then the smoke cleared."

"Of course." Mare let them go with a shove. He turned his attention to Zachary, who still stared forward with unseeing eyes. He scowled before turning his back on Dark. "Should've expected he wouldn't stick around for a decent fight. He's a coward, hiding behind his stupid contracts." 

The two stood in silence. Dark shifted their gaze from Zachary to Mare, who was still shaking. The taller detective lifted his hand to his face, apparently wiping his eyes on the edge of his sleeve.

Dark hesitated.

“Mare,” they asked finally, causing him to jump, “are-- are you okay?”

“Go back to the car,” was Mare’s only response, though the usual malice in his voice was almost entirely gone. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

“What about Zacha--”

“I’ll bring him,” Mare interrupted, voice tight. “Just go.”

Dark nodded before turning on their heels and walking quickly out of the old building. Mare’s car was locked, so they resigned to sitting on the curb to wait. It was only a few minutes before they saw Mare leave the building, carrying Zachary over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. He didn’t acknowledge Dark as he approached the car, opening the side door and setting Zachary inside with surprising gentleness. Mare only grunted at Dark before getting in the car himself. Dark quickly followed, barely getting their seatbelt on before Mare slammed on the gas pedal and the car began rocketing down the street.

Dark held tightly onto whatever they could as Mare sped recklessly in the direction of the Crime Department. They tried not to scream as the car ran a few red lights and nearly caused several accidents. They were sure that they blacked out from pure shock, because the next thing they knew, Mare’s car was screeching to a halt in front of the Department, throwing Dark and Zachary forward, only stopped by their seatbelts.

The crowd of departing employees parted smoothly around Mare as he carried Zachary up the steps, Dark trailing closely behind. They didn’t realize how long they’d been gone. They’d left with Mare almost as soon as they’d gotten to work, and now it was time for the last wave of employees to go home. Dark glanced behind them to watch the last few employees leave before following Mare up the stairs to Abe’s office.

Abe met them at the top of the stairs, a look on his face that said he had known this was going to happen, but had been hoping it wouldn’t. He gave them both a sympathetic look before retreating back into his office, gesturing for them to follow. Dark stayed slightly behind Mare, letting him enter with Zachary before entering themself. There was a tense silence in the room before Mare spoke.

“Phantom came,” Mare huffed, sliding Zachary off of his shoulders and laying him down on the ground in front of Abe.

“Are you--” Abe began, but a look from Mare stopped him.

“I’m fine, Abe,” Mare said, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring down at the floor.

Abe frowned. “Are you sure? Jackie’s still here if you need--”

“I said I’m fine,” Mare growled.

“Alright,” Abe said, letting out a resigned sigh. “Your report, then?”

Mare looked up quickly. “Right now?”

Abe nodded.

Mare shrugged. “Fine. We found the Corrupted holed up in some abandoned apartments towards the edge of the city. Dark assisted in coaxing him out of hiding so I could--”

“So you could knock him out, unnecessarily,” Dark grumbled under their breath.

Mare turned to glare at Dark. “I told you, he would have attacked us if I hadn’t.”

“You don’t know that!” Dark snapped. “He was just scared. He needed help, not-- not you!”

“Oh, so you could have taken care of him all by yourself, is that what you’re saying?” Mare asked incredulously. “You? Who can’t even catch one time thief?”

“Yeah, I could have,” Dark argued.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“You could have, if you’d just let me--”

“That’s enough,” Abe snapped, “both of you. Dark, please don’t interrupt again. Mare, continue your report.”

Dark grumbled and glared at the floor, trying to ignore the smug look Mare gave them.

“As I was saying,” Mare continued, “before I was so rudely interrupted, I apprehended the Corrupted and brought him to an undisclosed location for questioning.”

“That was questioning?!” Dark asked, mouth agape with shock and disbelief. “That’s what you call that? You seriously expect Abe--” Dark stopped and looked over to the Department Head. “Abe, you-- he didn’t question Zachary at all! That-- that was tor--”

“Dark, I told you not to interrupt again,” Abe said firmly, cutting Dark off. Dark met his eyes with a look of betrayal. “Let Mare finish. We can talk afterwards.”

Dark sputtered, looking frantically back and forth between Abe, Mare, and Zachary. “Fine,” they said eventually, a pang of hurt jabbing them in the chest.

“Phantom arrived before I was able to finish,” Mare said, his voice tightening. “He took the Corrupted’s soul before filling the room with darkness and vanishing.” Mare started shaking again, staring down at Zachary. “That’s all.”

Abe nodded. “Thank you, Mare.�� He leaned forward and whispered something in Mare’s ear. The detective nodded just slightly, and then walked quickly out of the room.

Abe let out a tired sigh and leaned back on his desk. “All right, Dark,” Abe said patiently. “Let it out.”

"Do you know?" Dark's voice shook, it was clear they were barely holding back tears. "Do you know what he does to the people he takes in for 'questioning'?" 

Abe hesitated. "Yes. I know it's awful, I would make him stop if I could, but you know how the Committee is. They don’t care about the means, just the results."

"I don't give a damn about the Committee! Mare tortured him, Abe! He wasn't some selfish criminal, he was a kid! He didn't deserve to be tortured just because Mare has some grudge against his brother!" They took a breath in an attempt to steady their voice. "He was so scared. He didn't know what was happening he just-- it reminded me of--" That was enough to set them off. The emotion building up over the course of this hellish day had finally spilled over, and all they could do was sob. 

Abe immediately moved around the desk to comfort his friend. Dark held a hand out before he could reach them, taking a breath to gain their composure. They ran a hand through their hair and sighed. "Don't you ever make me spend the day with him again." They wiped their face with the sleeve of their coat before turning to leave the room, mumbling a half-hearted goodbye to Abe. They gave one final solemn look down at Zachary's lifeless form before leaving the cluttered office.

Dark quickly walked down the hallway, wanting nothing more than to go home and collect their thoughts. They passed the closed doors of the offices of their fellow detectives, picking up the pace when they passed Mare's. As soon as they reached the stairs at the end of the hall, they heard one of the doors open.

"Dark." They turned around to see Mare standing in the doorway of his office, Mangle trotting up to sit at his feet. 

"What do you want?" Dark muttered. "Haven’t you done enough to make today a living hell for me?" 

"I just wanted to tell you that even though this whole shadowing thing was ridiculous, I hope you learned something."

"What?" 

"Yeah, maybe after today you can finally stop being so damn soft and actually catch Warfstache next time you find him."

Dark was taken aback by Mare's blunt words. They stared at him in disgust for a moment before simply saying, "The only thing I learned today is that you're a monster." They turned back and began walking down the stairs.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mare sputtered. "I'm not a monster, I'm doing what's right!"

"Tell that to Zachary." Dark didn't even bother to turn around.

“Bastard had it coming,” Mare spat. “It was his choice to sign Phantom’s contract and Ascend. He should have known what the consequences would be, or he should have just been smart enough in the first place to see what he was really being offered. Ascension’s a one way trip to corruption, Dark. He got the punishment he deserved.”

Dark froze, unable to speak or move forward.

“Now keep walking before I push you down the stairs,” Mare snapped, now right behind Dark.

Well aware the threat was completely serious, Dark forced themself to move forward, almost sprinting to the door when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Mare’s words stuck in Dark’s head the whole way back to their apartment. The image of Zachary’s limp body lingered just behind their eyelids. Phantom’s warning lurked in the back of their mind. They wouldn’t rest easy tonight.