Cauda 03 - Take 'Em to Church

"No. Burn it all down."

Movements for Cauda 03 [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GK9eG2eXEAAQBS0?format=jpg&name=large]

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Artist: Store

Song: Ufer

The compound was flanked all on sides but north by roads.

The road that stood on the east stretched towards the cliff, turning into a small lot for sightseeing. The city developed that area as an attraction; to be able to overlook the lake. Of course the Family got a cut, having sold that piece of undeveloped land to them.

Like the west where Team Lisp started, a fence made it abundantly clear where the city's piece ended, and the Family's began. Plenty of no trespassing signs lined it.

Trespassers will be shot.

This section of the property was closest to the barracks and kennel where the demon guards and their hellhounds hung out. Every once in a while, some 'brave' soul would go missing there, cops believing the person may have just 'slipped' off the cliff. Simply put, the barracks were the most dangerous place nearby, an unknown amount of demons hiding there.

And the hellgate hung in that same quarter.

On the floor plan the hellgate was located within a church. Closest to the cliff and the most isolated, it stood practically overlooking the lake. To the west and a bit of a walk was the mailroom and storage. To the east: barracks and kennels. With the Family's manor to the south, it was also the best defended.

Next to the sightseeing area was a small parking lot to a plaza, various small shops set up to gouge money from tourists. Long shut down and the cameras compromised, Annie saw no issue smashing right through the red and white mechanical arm.

Any warnings it would have given off were silenced, per S' rule.

Nobody in the passenger seat, Annie sat alone as she pulled into the lot, adjusting the car for an easy getaway. In the backseat were Whitty and Carol, the 'demolition' experts.

Together the three formed Team Haskell. And they were next up.

The rain ceased, a deep fog now hovering over the property. It added in an element of stealth, the only downside a lower ambient temperature.

"You could have parked better." Carol muttered as she unbuckled her belt. Annie had parked in 4 spots.

"Nobody cares." Annie said, getting out.

Whitty took a deep breath. While Team Lisp was nothing but a merry band of aliens, hellbent on causing as much bloodshed as possible, Haskell was much less unified. Annie and Carol did not like each other. On the surface it stemmed from Annie's complete disregard for rules versus Carol's air of angelic harmony. That's what Updike claimed. Whitty knew better. It all started because Carol stuck up and continued to defend Girlfriend, something Annie considered amoral. This left Whitty stuck as the sole mediator, even if he was always forced to take Carol's side. And he couldn't complain to anyone about it. The moment he spoke up he knew Updike would chime in about how if he has a problem he's fit to leave. He told Kapi, though there wasn't much he could do. He barely knew Annie.

Stepping out of the car, Carol put up her hood, as did Whitty. Annie did no such thing except adjust her friend's hat. While the former planned for stealth, it mattered little to Annie. To her this was war, not some 'heist'.

Much as you tried to hammer it in to her you could not rid her of her 'kamikaze' attitude.

Seeing the compound fence a distance away they began walking. The team did not get far until a banging from the trunk stopped them.

"What the hell." Annie said outloud. She pulled out her fob and popped the trunk remotely.

No sooner did the banging stop than did someone push open the trunk. "Thanks! It was getting stuffy in there! Oh. Wow. It's soooo ominous out here!" Pompom said, delighted, looking around in amazement.

Annie sighed, no proper response for the stowaway.

"Pomona! What are you doing here?" Carol asked, running up to her. "You're not supposed to be here! It's just us. You know how dangerous..." Carol had begun to lecture her.

Whitty put on his comlink. "Uh, we got a problem here. Pompom, that magic girl is her-"

"POMONA CARROT!" Tess shouted through the comlink, sounding like her mother. She immediately found the parking lot camera, seeing that indeed Pompom had arrived. "You get right back here this instant!"

Pompom kept her comlink off, looking to Carol to back her up. Carol shook her head, motioning to put it on.

Turning her comlink on, Pompom responded aggravated. "I'm sorry but it's no fair! Why do I have to be on the stupid getaway team? I want to help! And I can!"

"And you will. Pomona you realize what you've done?! We can't just bring them out. You. You wait in the car till the-"

"No! I Want to help! It's not fair! This team always do this to me! Last two missions I didn't do SQUAT!" She pouted.

Tess shot a glare at Rosie and Radi, the two other members of Pompom's team. Radi shrugged. "She said she was going to the washroom."

"Hmph."

Tess looked to Solazar and turned off her comlink. "She's gotta teleport back here. Or-or at least someone's gotta bring her back!"

"I wouldn't advise that." Solazar said.

"Why not?"

"Because we are about to have multiple teams advance. Teams Python and Zig are set to arrive soon as well. We can't have too many people out. We need all the COs."

Tess looked to Displo. He shrugged. As far as he was concerned this was on them. He was busy walking S through hacking and provisioning the systems correctly.

"Solazar. I can't let this stand. She can get hurt out there! Amelia will kill us if anything happens to her!"

"I understand. Both my sons are there right now. I've seen Pomona during our training. She is capable, so long as she sticks close to Carol."

Tess shook her head. This was nothing but a complete betrayal of the operation. "How is she gonna cast the spell then?"

"I can do it just fine here!" Pompom shoot back. "It will be even more powerful if I'm with all the repeaters!"

"Oh right." Annie muttered. She had to set up the magic repeater.

"If anything happens I will get there in mach speed. It will turn the operation into a warzone but to save her we won't have many options." Solazar said, speaking up.

"I could take her after." S spoke up. Though the comlink remained off he could still hear everything just fine. "She'll be safe with me and the Niks'. With her magic and my skills we'll be unstoppable."

Tess sighed. She feared Amelia and didn't want to betray her trust. And though Pompom was allowed to be on her own, Tess started to care for her more during training. Inadvertently she became her guardian and while Pompom didn't see it that way, Tess believed herself into that mood. And now that she'd lost control of Pompom, Tess felt terrible.

And, now realizing she misunderstood the whole relationship, called Amelia. It was her call. Solazar didn't object to the call, nor did Displo. If this meant Pompom was out of the operation they would have to deal with it. She wasn't the only magic user anyways.

Amelia was understandably upset. Not so much at the COs but Pompom specifically. She had some harsh words for Solazar, Displo and Tess for immediately fumbling the ball. Though, after some back and forth between Pomona and Amelia they came to an agreement.

"Pompom when did you decide to sneak into Annie's car?" Amelia asked.

"As soon as I saw Annie's car. When they left." Amelia sighed. That was something Pompom would do.

"Alright Pompom. You're in. You help that team for now. But we are going to have stern talking after this! You could have ruined the whole operation!" Amelia said through her phone.

"OH THANK YOU MOM! THANKYOUTHANKYOUthankyouthank-"

"Keep it down." Annie growled.

"Carol. Keep watch of her. After the gate's destroyed, she is to get to the mailroom. You got that Pompom?"

"Understood mom! I won't let you down."

With a hang up, Tess sighed. She couldn't help but worry, hoping Annie's team would be successful.

Not caring about the addition of a new member, Annie took lead.

Moving in silence they made it to the street, the compound and fence just across. Traffic was non-existent, nary a car around they could see. Not that anyone would've parked close; Rosie's intel found that the regularly checked all nearby parked cars for spies.

While cameras spotted them instantly nothing occurred. In the mailroom, Nikusa watched, Nikku close by to command. They could see the locations of all active patrols. As he fiddled with his arm, S projected a dot as to where he saw Whitty's team move.

Annie crossed the street, not paying mind to a patrol nearby. "Hold on." Carol said. "We gotta be discreet."

"Don't mind me. I'll be as quiet as a racoon!" Pompom said, combining whispering and shouting.

"Why? We have the cameras." Annie mused.

"There's still the patrols."

"So what? We kill, deal with whatever the hell is left."

"You'd like that wouldn't you. Have the whole army after us." Carol retorted. "Whitty you got a ruling?"

"Course you ask him. He's your boyfriend."

Whitty groaned. Practicing with this team was a challenge. It always seemed like Annie and Carol were going at it, more than a few times having put up to Whitty to make a final decision.

He only worried how adding Pompom to the mix could tip things.

"Ask her." Annie said, pointing to Pompom. She wasn't sure whose side to take. "Be stealthy of violent?"

"We should be stealthy." Pompom replied.

"That's right." Whitty added. "Save the anger for later. It's cold out here."

"Hmph."

"Fine."

As Carol and Whitty took charge, Pompom stayed close to Annie. In all the practice she hadn't really gotten to know her, the two not hanging or speaking sans her introduction. "I'm sure they'll be plenty of time for killing later." Pompom said encouragingly.

"Damn straight there will be." Annie whispered to Pompom.

Though the fog obstructed some of their sight it did little for the demons. They could sense Carol's holiness just by being close. The teamed needed S to help, which he did by telling the four when and where to go.

Climbing the fence was easy, Whitty and Carol stealthily hoisting themselves over. Pompom intended to do the same thing if Annie didn't just grab the bars and force them apart. "Oh, I guess that works too." She said.

Crouching next to a tree the team waited. Carol looked out, trying to see herself where the patrols where. Her eyes glowed briefly as she scanned. S determined the best spot to hide was the barrack walls. So long as they stayed under the windows they would not be seen.

"I see a few patrols nearby. Let's go around, avoid the kennel's yard and go for the gate." Carol said.

She put through her comlink. "Can you direct patrols away?"

"Nope." Nikusa said. "It'll look too suspicious. If anything we should increase patrols."

Carol shook her head. While dealing with Annie was tough, Nikusa was a whole other creature. Her lack of morals was still incomprehensible to Carol. Not to mention, like S, Nikusa had a habit trying to bait Carol.

"Whatever." Carol said as they made for the barrack walls.

Just standing close they could feel heat emanating off it though wooden walls. A long building, it had windows lining the entire wall so demons could look out. Each bunk had a window and from the bright glow inside most were still up. As they ducked underneath, they froze, seeing a shadow walk up to it and look out.

Annie listened closely, hearing raucous laughter and movement within. The demons were having a good time. Pompom considered looking in to see what the fuss was, but Annie stopped her.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hearing some movement behind them Whitty turned back. There, a patrol had uncovered Annie's 'work' and were investigating the massive hole in the fence.

"Which one of you idiots smashed the fence up?" Nikusa asked. "Got all sorts of people talking about a potential break-in." From the line, they could hear Nikku shouting at people in Mommy's voice, no doubt being coached by S.

Carol shot Annie a glare who just shrugged. They continued moving in silence, making their way north, towards the cliff. A road connected the barracks and church they followed. Once in sight they made for it. Streetlamps lined the sides, providing cones of light. In the heavy fog it dimmed them but still provided enough coverage.

Carol kept her hand out, ready to start casting magic if need be.

Based on the documents the hellgate's building was just ahead. They hadn't figured out why they hid it in a church, or why they even needed to hide it anyways. Hellgates were not illegal.

In the fog they could see the cross-shaped building, made of plaster and stone, stain glass windows lining the side, a crooked cross atop it.

Lights in the church remained on, shining bright out the windows. Plants and shrubs surrounded its sides, a variety of plants all carefully cared for a trimmed covered the small ditch next to the church.

"F'kin gross." Carol muttered as she looked at the plants. She reached out to one group of white flowers and ripped them, tossing them on the ground. "Huh?" Pompom asked.

"Nothing."

"Wha, you don't like flowers?"

"These are hemlock plants, and those are deathcap mushrooms. They look good but are deadly. This is some kind of sick joke to them." Carol spat, taking the plants as a sign of offence.

From afar in the fog, lights appeared, bright and straight on they moved towards the group. With how steady they moved; the team could instantly tell their source. Car lights. The sound of an engine trudging along should have also made it clear but alas, they were too pre-occupied with flowers.

"Hide!" Nikku shouted through the comlink.

Carol and Whitty quickly dove into the bushes, ducking down. Annie likewise too, grabbing Pompom before she could say anything. Just grabbing the farmer girl, Annie landed on top of Pompom, shushing her.

"...and so I told him to shove it!" A gruff voice said out loud. A roar of laughter followed.

Annie watched as a golf cart started to drive by. She knew the voice, as did Carol and Whitty. It was Daddy Dearest. "Anyway. It can be ready for deployment within an hour. Think about that." The cart slowed down. "Won't even need a full army-huh?" Daddy pulled it to a stop. "Smells angelic here."

"Well that was a church we just visited." A weak voice said.

"No you fool. I mean out here."

"I wasn't aware you could even smell angels." A third voice mused.

"It smells like burning plastic and sulphur. Believe me. I got a good nose. Smells familiar to. I know this scent."

"Heh, that's really specific."

"There’s this one angel my daughter’s friends with. Horrible. Like the damn bastard is trying to appear oh so..." Daddy trailed off.

Still stomach-down on the mud, Carol raised her hand, ready to cast a bolt. She had a rough line of sight to Daddy. But before she could cast, Whitty smacked her hand down, glaring at her all the same.

Annie too, witnessed the motion, eyes wide that Carol would try something to so bold.

Whatever Daddy said wasn't heard as he started to drive off, figuring the scent irrelevant.

"Ah, it's probably nothing." He said with a loud voice.

The four waited, or rather, three waited. Pompom couldn't move, smothered under Annie. Once they couldn't hear the cart anymore they got up, brushing themselves off. Annie helped Pompom up, sheepishly apologizing to her.

The ground had been softened by the rain, most dirt turning to mud. Once Pompom got her breath back, she immediately got to work casting magic and water to clean herself up. "My dress is ruined." She pouted.

"And I thought I was the suicidal one." Annie joked.

"Yeah, what the hell was that?!" Whitty shot at Carol.

"I could've taken him out right there!" She said back, raising her voice. "And why didn't you guys see it? S? Nikku/sa?"

"I didn't see it." S shrugged from the mailroom. He'd finished re-attaching his arm.

"Yeah, we're kind of swamped with-" Nikku started by Nikusa finished. "-some MORON smashing through the fence!"

It was a lie. Nikku turned back to see S and Nikusa in some kind of conversation, Nikusa having taken the storage racks and formed it into some makeshift hill. She sat upon it like a queen.

Nikku had a headache.

The three looked to Annie. "Whatever, sue me."

"Can you guys just pay attention. Please?" Carol asked, calming down.

"Fine, fine." S replied, bored.

"Let's hurry this up." Whitty said, clearing his throat. "I don't like it here."

Up close to the church now they got a better look at it. The plaster walls had chips in them, black stains present. Pompom hoped that wasn't blood on some of the rocks. A few tiles from the roof lay upon the ground. The church was in rough shape.

As they came around to the front they were greeted by a large set of stairs that led up to massive oak doors. The stairs were chiseled, erosion having not been kind to them. Though the entrance remained empty, a dark sliver of light could be seen through doors.

A single camera hung from the archway, looking directly at them.

"You don't think they got someone else watching the cams do you?" Annie asked through the comlink.

"Nada. I blocked all connections. Plus I didn't see anything when I went inside." S replied, watching them through the camera.

Solazar piped up. "If someone else were watching, that someone would have intervened already."

"Oh, and guys hurry up. I see a patrol approaching you guys from the east, kennels. They got hellhounds too." S added.

"All the reason I need." Annie said, stomping up the stairs.

"Hold on." Carol said, looking deep at the doors. "I sense something evil in there."

"Yeah no shit, there's a portal to hell in there."

"No you dumbass, like a person, guard."

Whitty looked at the bottom of the door. What should have been a straight line was broken up by two pairs of squares. "Yeah, looks like there's people standing right at it."

"Well I can't see the interior of the church. If you guys are so worried, find another way in." S said.

"Oo, I know!" Pompom declared. "Over here!" She got down off the steps and walked back to the side. Reluctantly, they followed.

Back at the side of the church Pompom pushed a bunch of shrubs out of the way, hiding a window to the church's basement. Pomona peered inside. No lights were on but the moonlight from outside provided some sight. The others huddled around it.

A simple window, no locking mechanism and one swift push later, Annie ripped it open. Of course, before she could, they had to wait for the patrol to pass, again ducking the mud. This time, Annie made sure to give Pompom room. The hellhounds walked past them, noticing something angelic. This would have been an issue if they weren't already used to Carol. They continued.

Once gone the team looked inside. The window led to a cellar, the musty scent already permeating out the open window. As they looked not a soul could be seen.

"You sure you can fit in there?" Whitty asked nonchalantly.

"The hell did you just say?" Annie said, getting back up, staring daggers at Whitty. He rose his hands in defence. "Hey, whoa I didn't mean it like that."

A smirk appeared on Annie's face. She raised her arm and flexed, also using her hand to outline the definition. "This is all muscle. I can easily bench you bomb head. Course I can fit in."

Carol said nothing, instead looking around inside for any traps or sensors. "Yeah. I think this'll work."

"Awesome! Can I go in first?" Pompom said, almost pushing Carol out of the way. "No way. I'll go first." Carol said, grabbing a hold of the window's frame and letting herself in. Whitty followed, trying to avoid Annie's death gaze.

Pompom waited for Annie to go in next, but she didn't. Annie just shrugged. "After you."

Landing in the dark cellar, Carol cast a spell, a will-o-wisp appearing next to her. Like a personal lantern it lit the surrounding area.

"Woah! That's so cool. How did you do that?" Pomona beamed, following the wisp as it circled Carol.

"Holy magic. I'll show ya some time." Carol said smugly.

Annie entered in last, landing with a thump upon the cobblestone floor.

The cellar looked nothing like a Carol would have expected it. Cobblestone walls and floors, wooden frames holding up the room and rows of wooden racks with wine kegs upon them. Not only did it look nothing like a church basement, but it looked more like the basement of a medieval inn.

A few barrels sat in the back side of the room, various labels on them, containing preserves.

The only indication they were even in modern times were the fluorescent lights on the ceiling that remained off. Carol saw the staircase at the end of the room, leading up to the church entrance.

Pompom followed Carol as she looked around for any indication of a hellgate, still enamoured by the wisp. Annie started looking at the kegs, inspecting their strength and measure. It got her curious.

"Any way you can get the guards away from the door?" Whitty asked through the comlink. He stayed by the window, finding the cellar far cooler than outside.

"I'll take a look." Nikku said.

"I wonder if we slowly call each patrol one by one and take 'em out." Nikusa wondered aloud. "That's a good idea." S said hungrily. "We can see who kills more."

"Mhm. I like that."

The two continued discussing the best ways of killing, Nikku concluding her message on the comlink. "Uh. Just find your own way right now. I'll tell you if anything changes."

Dust and cobwebs covered the kegs, a dry alcoholic scent hovered around them as well.

Annie found herself more interested by the kegs. Checking the nozzle she turned the handle, a stream of dark liquid pouring out. The nozzle was rusted but it did little to stop Annie's strength.

She cupped the liquid and drank. "Bitter. But not bad." She started up a comlink to Rosie. "You know if the Family brews their own booze?"

"Maybe? Check the label."

Annie did so and wiping off the dust revealed a name emblazoned on it. 'FEVER INDUSTRIES'.

"Well damn. Might have to come take a few of these."

Now Playing...

Artist: Bull of Heaven

Song: The Moss of the Earth

"Hey, A.A., can you get over here?" Carol said to Annie. She stopped drinking the wine and joined the group by the exit. A set of grated stairs led directly up to an iron door. Like the front one light emanated from it.

"Any ideas?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, let's go and blow this joint."

"Stop being so crass, geez. We should at least check first."

"Oh! I'll go." Pompom said.

"No. I'll check." Holding the railing, Whitty climbed the stairs, taking caution to make little sound in case the stairs creaked. Checking the crack of the door, Whitty looked. He saw two guards standing at the door waiting. Demonic guards, wearing the same black suit and sunglasses as the others encountered. As Carol watched Whitty, he motioned that two guards were present.

Couldn't see from that angle but he could hear talking within the church, indicating at least two other present.

Taking a step back, the stair creaked. Loud enough the guards could hear it he watched as the shadows moved. They turned, curious as to what lurked the basement.

Whitty slid down the rail, getting to the bottom asap. "We gotta take these dudes out."

"Alright. Carol, Pompom, get out the way. Whitty you take the left side, I'll take the right."

Whitty nodded and hid just beside the bottom of the stairs. Annie took the opposing side. Looking down all one would see was light from Carol's wisp within the basement somewhere.

The door opened, a flash of light emerging from it. "Who's there?" One of the demons said. Unseen, Whitty, and Annie prepared to grab them as soon as they came down.

"Huh. Guess it's nothing." The guard holding the flashlight turned, ready to leave.

Annie picked up a pebble on the ground and whipped it at the kegs, making a loud clinking sound.

"Huh, what was that?" The guard turned back and stopped. Neither stepped down, just continually staring down the stairway, waiting for movement. Everyone stood still for a minute, waiting for someone to show. Annie started to get annoyed, thinking that if it were her position she would have come down already.

"Huh. Guess it's nothing."

"Damnit, just come down here!" Annie shouted. She ignored the facepalms from Whitty and Carol, but it worked.

"What was that?" They heard the demons stepping closer, walking down the stairs. Carol just sighed, realizing herself she has vastly overestimated their intelligence. Pompom too would see them less a threat, had Zardy not warned her beforehand about their intellect.

They came down the stairs together, side-by-side. Just as they stepped out into the basement, Annie and Whitty grabbed each one, silencing them in their own ways. Carol tried to shield Pompom from the violence, but she just shrugged. "It's fine. I've seen worse on my farm. You should meet Zardy one day. He's really nice." Pompom said as Carol tried to cover her eyes.

"He's not..a demon is he?"

"Yep!"

"Ugh." Carol let go, disgusted with herself.

"C'mon!" Annie said, disposing of the now slain demons. She led, the others following her as they left the basement. Annie peered out, checking for any signs of life. "Coast is clear."

Unlike the basement, the church had proper lighting. Carol looked around, less looking for the hellgate, and rather how the Family had defiled the church: Stain glass lined the walls with nondescript figures drawn on them, pews arranged incorrectly, some facing the wrong way and the front door had a chain and lock on it from the inside. The altar was crooked and the tabernacle in the wrong spot.

An uncanny church. She realized that while it meant to look like a church it failed in every aspect, intentionally done. She shivered, disgusted at the mockery. "Whitty, we're blowing this whole place to hell. Alright?"

The place at least appeared empty; whomever Whitty caught speaking wasn't around anymore.

"We just need to get the gate though."

"No. Burn it all down."

"Sounds like a plan." Annie said with a grin. "So where's this stupid gate anyways?"

They had seen possible renditions of the gate on MALLEUS. A massive circular object, bright red with spikes coming out of it. The designs they'd all seen made it impossible to miss. And in a church they figured it should have been easily seen.

"I can sense a demonic presence nearby, but I don't see the gate."

"So here the hell is it?" Annie asked impatiently. While they looked around, Pompom took a seat in a pew. She too, noticed something strange about the church. The same thing Carol had seen, though Pompom couldn't put it to words.

As Annie walked by she saw fit to ask her something. "Annie. How strong are you?"

"Ha!" She laughed. "How strong am I? Kid. Sit still. Watch this."

Annie bent down and grabbed ahold of the pew, easily ripping it out of its foundations. With Pompom still seated, Annie lifted it up. Pompom slid down, adjusting to not fall off. "Wow! That's so cool!" Annie held it straight up, holding it up by the armrest. Had the ceiling not been so high, she might have hit it.

"No. That's it." Whitty said aloud, mesmerized. He had been staring at the end of the church for a minute now, mind slowly working at something.

"Look." He pointed to the altar and far end of he church. From atop the archways several paintings hung up. All depicting some kind of pseudo-Christian imagery both sides each had the same types of painting. Just enough to form an arc. Further down the walls appeared curved slightly, going all the way to bottom.

"See what?" Annie asked as Pompom jumped off the pew.

Further down to the bottom were pillars, though straight they didn't appear to be holding up anything. Looking down and a bit closer, they could see the directly underneath the paintings on the floor, the carpet split into glass. From the straight-on angle it was hard to see.

"The frickin-the whole damn thing is the gate." Whitty said. He used his finger to motion around circle around it. Everyone emitted a collective "Oooo."

"Sweet find." Annie tossed up the pew, catching it easily with her other hand. She reeled it back, ready to aim it at the left paintings. "Wait! Let me set it on fire!" Pompom exclaimed. "Damn kid. I'm likin' you more by the second. Go ahead."

"Yeah. This'll be easy." Whitty said, getting himself ready.

"Excuse me!" A new voice declared.

Everyone froze, starring to the back of the church. Behind the altar was a wall. Separate from the church's back wall, it allowed for the priest to disappear behind it after a mass. Now too was it used as someone emerged from it. Or rather, barely hid behind it.

Standing at full height, a black crown could be seen standing behind the wall as the speaker walked. As they stepped into the church proper, everyone could see them. Now visible, a very, very tall nun stepped onto the scene.

She wore all black: nunnery, veil, dress, and shoes. Only the tops of her dress and veil were different colours, the dress a dark grey and a white-beaded rosary hanging from her neck. The veil was a creamy-white with a small black cross in the centre.

The first thing Whitty noticed was her species. The nun wasn't human or anthro. She had a round face, a ghostly white colour with two large eye sockets. But in those eye sockets no eye could be found. Instead, two tiny lines in the bottom left corners of her eyes moved around, indicating those were actually her eyes. No nose either, instead, just a flat face.

Whitty shivered at it, finding the appearance rather disturbing.

Carol's first thought was that this nun was related to Nikku somehow. Or at least the same species.

She stood at Nikusa's height, though, as Pompom looked she guess she might have been a little taller. Not as wide as Nikusa, the nun appeared a bit thinner. She did not walk with any piety, instead just swaying back and forth to the centre. She walked with one hand out, the other arm hidden behind her back.

All was silent as she stepped to the altar, easily dwarfing the thing.

They weren't sure what to do.

"This is my church." The nun said quietly. She had an open smile on, that made it look as if she were singing. And though it moved as she spoke, it returned to that same, confused smile. It further disturbed Whitty.

"Hm. Well you know there's a hellgate in here right? Demons all over the place?" Carol asked, unsure whether this nun a friend or foe.

"What is a hellgate?"

"Well pal, if you don't even know what that is, you sure this even your church?" Annie asked.

"..." The nun didn't respond, just staring at Annie.

"What's your name?" Pompom asked.

"Taki."

"Well, can you help us destroy the gate?" Carol asked, still a little unsure.

"No. Mommy said no."

"Mommy?" Pompom asked. "Isn't that-"

"Oh no." Whitty said.

Out from the backroom emerged her.

A raucous and luscious mane of mahogany red hair. It covered purple skin, ears still visible and holding golden hoop earrings. Her eyes shone black and red, lines if the viewer had astigmatism. She smiled, red lipstick glistening under the church lights.

She wore the same black jean jacket she wore on the night Displo died: open showing a red dress stopping at her knee-high boots. She tapped her hand, sharp red fingernails at her side in anticipation.

Nikku may have disguised as her earlier but there was no doubt in their minds. This was the real Mommy Meanest. Dwarfed by Taki she put a hand on the nun's back.

"So you're the rats that been scurrying around."

Whitty, Carol, and Annie froze. While Pompom may not have been familiar enough they had all seen her before, and her appearance spelled disaster.

Too did Tess, Solazar and Displo hear her. They all tensed up, as if her appearance itself spelled the end.

Though nobody explicitly named her, Annie said all that was needed.

"If it isn't the queen bitch."

Mommy laughed. She was the matriarch of the family, and she meant business.

The next chapter will be called The Nun and the Sinner Lady.