Well here it is. I absolutely should have posted the first half of this as its own chapter, but I only planned on one more and only realized too late that it was going way over. Oh well, live and learn.

Much of this didn't really come out well. Life has really distracted me. But I am absolutely sure that if I tried to wait things out that I never would have finished at all. So here we have it. Slow bits are dragged out, good parts are glossed over, and a few bits may get repetitive due to the sheer length of time I was writing it over messing me up, but we got there.

palexiot: You are right, Bo was no better as a 'human' here. In the first chapter before finding she was fae she was still coldly contemplating whether to take out Kenzi with the rapist. This was supposed to show her nature even then. And although I cannot say her friendship with Kenzi was meant to be entirely fake, she certainly has corrupted it.
FrenChi: Your question is very directly answered in here.

Lady of the Night Part 7

After getting out of bed and setting out a breakfast Bo called Lauren and Kenzi to the table. After letting them eat and wake up a little bit she stood up.

"I'm going out on a dangerous mission today. And I want you two to come along." She announced.

"Whoo!" Kenzi hollered. "Finally. We haven't done a job since the satyr. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to shop around on the sidekick market."

Lauren, on the other hand, looked skeptical.

"Ahem." Bo cleared her throat before continuing her explanation. "I worked with both of you before and know you possess exceptional talent."

"I 'helped' you as a choice of my own free will." Lauren finally spoke up. "Not pulled along as an accessory to your random whims."

"Lauren." Bo spoke gently put on her most sincere face. "This is no whim. I promised to get you access to the lab again, remember? This is the job I need to do for the Ash to get you that. Whatever—whoever—is in there waiting for you; you are getting it back again."

"But." She continued. "I won't order you to come along. This is your choice."

Lauren sat silently at length looking deeply conflicted.

"Fine." She finally replied. "I'll help you."

Bo slowly cupped Lauren's hand.

"Thank you."

Bo stood up and returned to her room in order to prepare. She was just sifting through her weapon chest when Kenzi showed up.

"Hey. I just wanted to say you did a great job being nice to the doctor out there. You're really learning how to talk to people; like nicely. Soon people will have to stop calling you succubitch."

Bo chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure only you have ever called me that."

"Hey! I only say it as a friend! Anyway you could totally work you way into some Doc-pants like that. Have you ever thought of trying a date? You know taking someone to dinner rather than as?"

"Uh, earth to Kenzi. You do know she still technically hates me right? Also we have a mission right now. Not exactly the time to plan romance. Which, for your information I am still not seeking."

"Ooh." Kenzi inhaled through her teeth. "Yeah. Saving the girl's girlfriend. Do you have a plan for that? I mean, great work doing the hero thing, but Chiquita is going to want her chick back."

"Everything is just fine. You just worry about not letting your cute little butt fall into the hands of an even less friendly succubus out there." Bo drew out a particularly large two-handed sword and hefted just to help drive her point home.

"Ah man! This is about that Aife chick again?" She flung her arms in the air and exited the room dramatically. "Why is it that all the crazy chicks have to find me!"

Bo couldn't help but laugh as she finished loading her weapons.

Despite her confident words, Bo was actually highly uncertain about the outcome of this mission.

Not killing Aife; she had not a single worry there. No, it was the nature of Lauren's project. Who was this person? Fae or human? What position—if any—did they hold with the fae?

She was hinging everything on a complete wildcard. Not a comfortable position to be in. Still, for all of that it remained the best idea she had.

The most unpleasant part was probably the time she had to think about it during the car ride to Aife's hideout. Reaching the crumbling mass of iron and concrete was all too much a relief.

"Who have you been texting anyway?" She asked Kenzi as she stepped out of the car. The goth had been thoroughly absorbed in some exchange on her phone the entire trip. It wasn't terribly alarming, Kenzi was often like that with her phone, but now hardly seemed the time.

"You know, checkin' in with the gang. This girl has got to keep up." She quickly finished typing out another message and snapped her phone shut. Drawing her crossbow in its place.

Bo rolled her eyes. "Whatever. If you ever use him as a hookup for my feeding again, tell that Pietr no more cheap gigolos. I mean really!"

"Will do."

The structure before them, if it could even be called that, was in even worse shape than the usual industrial decay found on the outskirts of the city. No singular entrance was needed anymore as too many section of wall were taken out for it to matter. Precariously situated mezzanine flooring still barely clung to higher sections however, promising unique hazards at the merest touch.

"The hideout should be in the basement. I'll lead. Kenzi, you cover my back. Lauren, follow up rear, but never out of our sight. Aife is smart and dangerous. She may attempt to control you, so never let her touch you."

Bo unsheathed her katana.

"Let's do this."

The trio cautiously entered the building, ducking beneath the fallen pipes and weaving around the piles of rubble.

"Shouldn't there be some kind of guards or lookout who would have seen us coming?" Lauren asked from the back. "In fact, I don't hear anything at all."

"Maybe the basement is soundproofed, or just particularly deep." Bo replied. "And they probably have seen us. Just waiting to spring the trap."

"Oh, that's just great." Kenzi grumbled.

They gradually worked through the rubble, clueless of where to actually head, until they found a stairwell down.

"Creepy. Gross. Creepy and gross." Kenzi provided running commentary as they went along.

Everything became distinctly more damp as they headed down the stairs. The concrete walls bled vile dank water that pooled into rusty orange puddles on the floor. Around one hundred feet down they emerged into a boiler chamber.

Two tables, a couple of chairs, and a pile of sleeping bags adorned the filthy chamber.

Notably missing, however, were any people.

"I thought this was Aife's hideout?" The doctor questioned.

"It is." Bo replied, curiously inspecting the chamber for any signs of where they might have gone.

That was when the clanging sound of the door above shutting ran out.

"A-n-d that would be that trap you mentioned." Kenzi sighed.

"Oh yeah. I'd say that's about right." A male voice echoed down the stairs.

As Bo ushered Lauren to the back of the room and held her blade at the ready three large, rough looking men clad in leather jackets and worn denim emerged into the room. None of them looked to be holding any weapons though strangely.

"Why is nobody here? How could you possibly clear out in time?" Bo decided to try questioning them.

"Clear out? For you?!" The man in front and center laughed. "Boss lady left for the mission hours ago! Told us you might come though. Now we can kill the Ash and the pretty little toy he sent for us."

"Thanks dumbass. You just told us exactly what we needed to know." It almost stunned Bo how remarkably stupid these goons must have been.

"Not gonna do you any good dead." The (apparent) leader shrugged.

Taking that as a cue the other two thugs unceremoniously charged swing their fists, followed closely by their leader.

One charged for Kenzi. His attack, however enthusiastic, was short lasting as she reacted almost immediately by shooting him with her crossbow. Landing the bolt straight in his eye by a measure of skill and a great deal of luck. Even so she barely flung her body out of the way in time as he blindly barreled forward into the wall.

Two at once charged into the clearly more dangerous succubus. Although inarguably fast, it was still little challenge for her to simply stab one before he could reach her with his fists, dodge the other's blow, and then surprise him by leaping onto him. From there it was simply a matter of reveling in the feed as he slumped to the ground.

And she was doing exactly that when the crushing pain impacted the back of her skull.

"Ugh…" She moaned. "What?"

As she rolled onto her back and her vision slowly recovered it became clear that somehow the one impaled on her katana was quite alive and drawing the blade out of his stomach.

"Did he fucking punch me with a sword in his gut?"

"Uh, Bo?" Kenzi's worried voice cut through the pain. "Something is very wrong. Like, crazy fae type wrong."

She was pointing at her own opponent pulling the bolt out of his eye-socket.

"Yeah Kenzi, I kind of noticed." The succubus grunted as she pulled herself to her feet.

She took the opportunity as the one dropping the freshly pulled blood soaked sword was still off balance to pull a dagger from her boot to stab him in the neck. The drained one had apparently also recovered enough however that she felt herself being flung into the wall.

"That ain't goin to be near 'nuff to gank us bitch." The rough brute laughed as his companion began digging yet another blade out of his body. Clearly the damage was taking a toll, both fighters were clearly dazed and weakened, but not fast enough. Bo was in throbbing agony after just two blows.

"I've got it!" Lauren shouted from her comfortable position being ignored by all combatants. "These could only be Berserkers! They can not be killed by anything other than blunt force trauma. Preferably to the cranial cavity, but sufficient cardiac damage has also been known to-"

"Bo, Brick! Head! Now!" Kenzi's scream cut the doctor off. Eager to translate the explanation and hasten Bo's ability to stop the extremely large thug from chasing her very small self.

"Gotcha." Bo mumbled. Grabbing a brick as she rolled back to her feet.

Unfortunately, the advice was easier said than done. Her first opponent had decided to move on from punching by keeping the knife formerly embedded in his neck and was proving at least passably adept in keeping the succubus at bay while his companion attacked.

"Think Bo. These thugs are astonishingly weak minded. You can use this."

Resorting to dangerous tactics Bo tried to roll with a punch. Letting her unarmed opponent strike her in an attempt to take a–comparatively—minor hit. She dramatically twisted to the ground feigning a knockout.

"See, not that hard." The goon gloated. "Sadly, we got orders to kill ya right away. But don't worry; we can have fun afterwards."

He hoisted her up and slammed her into the wall, pulling his fist back for the finishing blow.

"I think I'd rather right now." She gripped his arms tightly, incapacitating him with her powers and draining enough to quickly heal some of the damage.

The knife wielder's attempt to intervene with a quick stab only made matters worse as Bo, empowered by the chi, swung her victim's body in his path. Not only blocking the blow, but flinging him to the ground.

"Fun time's over." She ripped a lead pipe from the freshly crumbled wall her body had just been slammed into. "Rest now."

She swung the pipe repeatedly viciously crushing her fallen foes skulls. That completed, Bo took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and dropped the bloody pipe.

Meanwhile, while Bo was finishing up her encounter Kenzi had a problem all her own.

She was able to outrun the enraged berserker for a little while. He wasn't terribly coordinated while half blind and suffering from a headache well beyond human comprehension.

Inevitably though he adjusted to both the pain and vision impairment enough to easily capture the diminutive little waif. The brute clumsily grabbed hold of her and hoisted her into the air choking her.

"H-hey." She coughed out through the pain. Desperately smacking the massive man's arm to attract his notice before she blacked out.

"What? Last words?" He laughed, deciding to humor the girl and loosen the grip on her neck, since her companion still looked to be well enough dealt with anyway.

"Yeah. Well, last question. You're invincible. But like, how do you fight when blind?"

Before his momentary confusion at the question passed she gouged her fingers into his remaining eye. Sending him reeling back screaming and dropping her safely, if painfully, to the ground.

"Dude, always pin the girl's wrists. I have dealt with humans way more dangerous than you." Kenzi shook her head in disappointment.

With all of the Berserkers dealt with the trio was left with the question of how to finish their mission.

Bo dusted herself off and looked around, taking stock if her companions made it.

"Okay, everyone looks safe. So how the hell do we find and stop Aife?"

"Beats me." Kenzi shrugged. "Somethin' tells me Quasimodo over there could drop a clue though." She pointed her thumb over at the blind berserker who had taken to huddling in the corner.

"You left him alive? Pure genius Kenzi."

Bo stalked over to the very oblivious thug hiding behind the ruined boiler.

"Hey there." She slowly knelt over him. Gently, she brushed her hand over his arm using her power as a calming distraction. It seemed to work, at least if the slowed rate of panicked gasps served as any indication. Otherwise however he gave no response.

"We have a doctor right here. It might just be possible to fix up those eyes and prevent blindness. But you have to tell me were Aife went." Bo spoke in a gentle reassuring manner. Trying to coax the information out of him.

"It is possible." Lauren interjected. Bo turned back to see her leaning low and peering at the man's face to form a field diagnosis. "The punctured eye is lost. But the gouged eye actually looks to have mostly suffered compression. On a human it would be lost clearly, but with a berserkers abnormal healing it could very well be treatable to retain some vision."

That seemed to convince him. Bo cast a thankful smile to the doctor as he spoke up.

"She went to the Ash's compound. They were supposed to free something. Some kinda ancient god monster nonsense. I dunno, we were just mercenaries. Not like the creeps she's got permanently following."

"Thanks for the tip." Bo quickly ushered her companions toward the door.

"What about my eye?!" The cried out desperately from behind them.

"Sorry. The doctor is mine and I don't like sharing." Although he could not see it, Bo smirked triumphantly as she closed the door to the boiler room.

The trio quickly scuttled back through the building to the succubus' car.

"Fuck!" Bo screamed out furiously at the sight before her.

All four of her car's tires were slashed completely open. The liquid pooling underneath it would seem to point to the perpetrator also cutting some line or another for good measure.

"Fuck!" She repeated. "I will rip out their eyes and-"

"Bo." Kenzi interrupted her blistering rant. The small girl's voice surprisingly unafraid.

"What?!" She turned her fury on the goth. Noticing the girl glancing at her phone again apparently unfazed by her psychotic bff's anger.

"Ride's here." She pointed her thumb down the alley. Just seconds later a sleek black car rounded the corner towards them.

"Yo chicas! Looks like you need a lift." Hale leaned out the window grinning widely.

"And just how did he get here?" The succubus looked suspiciously at Kenzi.

"I thought we might need some backup. I just wasn't sure what kind." She shrugged. "Turns out we actually just needed the car."

"You wound me Kenz." The siren played it up. "Now get in, I just got the message to head to the compound STAT. And I'm betting that's the same mission as you."

"Whatever. I don't like help, and I like surprises even less, but we have no choice." Bo grumbled.

The three women quickly hustled into the car. The moment they were in Hale floored it out of the alley.

Bo spent the ride contemplating her situation. All of this heroism and action was hardly natural for her. But on some level it did feel good. It was like the thrill of the hunt, but a little bit different.

And having her companions both depend on her and look up to her hardly hurt.

"I deserve a certain amount of worship. Just like how my enthralled victims see me. I want blind admiration; adoration. What they see isn't quite there yet. But maybe with the right jobs I can get it when off the hunt too."

"Holy-! That is not what I want to see at the office!" The car pulled in view of the Ash's manor. A view of smoke pouring out windows and the corpses of both guards and thralls. Sounds of gunfire also faintly escaped the thick marble walls.

He pulled the car straight up to the front doors and nearly leapt out.

"Come on! Maybe we aren't too late yet." He shouted, rushing headlong into the mansion.

Bo, hardly being one to obey any kind of order, exited the vehicle in a somewhat more relaxed fashion. Still, she resisted the temptation to just take her time and made her way into the building without too much dawdling. Kenzi and Lauren followed closely on her tail.

The front room was a disaster. What was usually a grand lobby covered in rich plant life tastefully hiding suit clad guards from view was instead spread with dirt from the callously destroyed gardens while guard and plant corpses vied for floor-space. Gunfire could clearly be heard from farther inside the building.

"Who fights like this?" Hale questioned aloud. "This is human style, not fae."

"Someone who wants to destroy the fae." A woman's voice responded, her tone one of words barely forced out through pain.

Bo searched for where the vaguely familiar voice came from to see the receptionist from her past visits to the Ash lying against the wall cradling a bleeding stomach wound.

"She wants to destroy everything… Everything the fae are founded upon. She wants revenge."

"Where is she?" Bo demanded.

"Hey, hey!" Hale knelt beside the woman and tried a calmer approach. "Just let her talk." He directly faced the woman. "Where is the Ash? Is he safe?" His question posed more gently.

Bo rolled her eyes. "I could be far more persuasive than you ever could 'siren'. We just happen to not have the time."

"Mercenaries- heading for Ash. Aife herself-" She coughed. "Is heading for the lab. Don't know why. A few guards with her."

"Hale, you make sure the Ash is safe. We can deal with Aife." Bo took charge once again. Pointing the siren in the direction of the gunfire—and the stranger sounds of fae powers—which could still be heard farther in.

"Fine by me." Hale stood up and quickly made his way towards the fighting to save the Ash. "Just make sure you keep that cute little pet of yours safe. I don't want to have to go rushing in and saving your asses again." He called back from the doorway.

"As if." Kenzi rolled her eyes. "We'll probably be done before you even get there. And I prefer the term 'partner' thank you."

Her complaints failed to even fall on deaf ears as he had long ago left.

"Come on, we need to get moving." Bo started towards the lab.

She suddenly stopped by the crumpled form of the receptionist.

"Sorry, I really thought this would happen under better conditions." She whispered while kneeling down by the blonde.

"Wha-?" The increasingly drowsy woman muttered in confusion.

Bo locked her lips to the blonde woman's. Although she weakly struggled the succubus had no trouble at all draining what little weak life essence her victim had left.

With that completed she simply stood up like nothing had happened and walked toward the lab past her shocked companions who numbly followed after.

Suddenly she felt herself pushed up against the wall and face to face with Lauren.

"Why would you do that? What possible reason could you have to kill her?!" The doctor was clearly outraged. Her face revealed both stress and sadness.

Bo pushed the human woman off of herself with ease, being rough, but not enough to harm her.

"She was almost dead anyway. I need all the strength I can get if I intend to fight Aife and she was going to be using it in a few seconds." Bo almost surprised herself by managing to peacefully explain herself rather than simply punishing her possession for insolence. Nonetheless, she kept a tight grip on Lauren's arms to prevent further assault.

"You murdered her though. This is ridiculous. Why-" She continued to protest.

"Why? Why is because I'm a succubus. You keep trying to hold me to human standards and I'm tired of it. I am not a human. I cannot feel things the same way you do. Just stop trying to treat me like I can! " She paused taking deep breaths to check her anger.

"I took the strength from someone beyond recovery." She continued "I gain, and they don't really lose. You claim to be a fae doctor but you know NOTHING of what it's like to kill to live. Having some kind of demoness inside hungering to feed."

"Don't try to call for pity. You love what you do." The doctor angrily retorted.

She leaned in close to whisper in Lauren's ear.

"I do. And I don't intend to start hating myself anytime soon." She pulled back. "But you, I think I know why you care so much about how 'evil' I am. When you examined me in that lab, when you touched me and felt my power, you fell in love didn't you? All of this is disappointment, that the beautiful, amazing woman who stumbled into your life that day wasn't what you expected. I turned out to be just another predator like everyone else you seem to be living among."

Bo smirked triumphantly, self-satisfied at her belief she had figured everything out.

"Tell me, did you dream of me setting you free? Sweeping you out of this life into happily ever after? Sorry if I burst your bubble by being myself."

Lauren face was steely with anger. However tears were just slightly visible in her eyes.

"You're right. I shouldn't have judged you as anything more than a monster."

"Fuck."

Bo realized she may have taken things a step too far. In the heat of the moment she may just have destroyed her own plan just moments before finishing the most crucial step.

She sighed. "I'm sorry Lauren. It's just that I never asked for any of this. Being judged by some clans I never knew existed and then by you. Maybe I'm so defensive because I seem to keep losing whatever life I have. First a normal childhood and family, then living on the run feeding on whoever I can, now in some sort of crazy urban fantasy. You." Poked Lauren. "Are something I can focus my energy on other than all this fae shit."

Sad laughter was Lauren's first response.

"You're lying. But I know what you mean so very much that I don't think you could have picked a better lie."

"Uhm. Hello?" Their focus was suddenly rudely broken by Kenzi waving her hand in their faces. "I thought we were doing some saving the day biz or something. So can the crazy chick drama save for later?"

"Oh shit!" Bo said it, and Lauren's expression clearly held the sentiment as both women plowed past Kenzi to catch up on Aife before it was too late.

Bodies littered the floor in the hallways leading to the lab complex deep inside the building. The gunfire was a distant, quiet sound here; clearly Aife's distraction was working. Soon all of the doors they passed were opened; some clearly forced.

"What could she possibly be looking for? Something even more important than killing the Ash?"

"Shh!" Kenzi hushed them and gestured to stop as the trio reached a corner.

The diminutive goth carefully peaked around. She seemingly spotted something as she then readied her crossbow, carefully took aim and fired.

"Aagh!" A male scream echoed from around the corner.

"Yeah!" Kenzi loosed a celebratory shout. "You used to be a mercenary before you took an arrow to the knee!" She taunted.

"What?" Bo was left confused.

"It's a thing. Now go deal with the other Boobie-cakes."

"Great. The other."

Bo took a quick look around the corner herself. One guard was lying clutching his knee, a rifle discarded beside his crumpled form. Another was standing over him pointing his own rifle down the hall. He immediately tried to take a few shots at Bo who ducked back around the corner.

"What is with all these guns? Fae rarely seemed the type for firearms." Bo questioned out loud.

"It is relatively unusual." Lauren offered a—rather unhelpful-reply.

"He's not going to come for us. He just wants to buy her time."

Bo quickly considered her options.

"Kenzi, swing your arm out and shoot another bolt around the corner." She whispered. "No need to expose yourself aiming, just make sure it goes in his general direction."

Her companion nodded and assumed position at the corner. Bo crouched in a running stance. The moment Kenzi swung her arm out and fired she took off. Crouching low, she was below the aim his rifle was at last time. Or more importantly the shots he was taking at Kenzi's arm.

The distraction worked. He almost immediately noticed Bo, but still far too late to stop her from colliding headlong into his stomach knocking him clean to the ground. From there it was a simple matter to use her considerable strength when fed to rip the rifle from his shocked hands and knock him cold with the butt of the gun.

"Yowzers. Remind me not to stand between you and… anything." Kenzi muttered, looking at the unconscious body.

All three of them looked down the hallway, Bo stopping to knock out the guard Kenzi shot. The doors suddenly stopped being left open part way down the hall. They all stared at the last open door.

"No, no, no. Oh god please no." Lauren suddenly broke down begging and pleading to the other shock.

"What? What is in that room?" Bo pressed.

"Go, please, stop her." Lauren replied instead of a direct answer.

Bo scoffed in annoyance, but ran towards the room anyway.

The contents were not immediately shocking. In fact they were quite simple. The walls glowed with a bluish light from what looked to be fluorescent tubes behind a simple plastic barrier. The only actual object inside the room was a table covered with a bubble-like dome. The dome was partially opaque , but a human form could be seen inside.

And Aife was standing inside unlatching the dome.

She sighed dramatically. "I really should have known Berserkers could never handle you. They can barely handle a bowl of cornflakes really."

She flipped the lid of the dome up, revealing a young woman with bronze toned skin sleeping underneath, and turned around to face Bo.

"No, I have to handle you myself."

She reached out at lightning speed, grabbing Bo around the neck and lifting her up into the air. The younger succubus however, responded by ripping her hand loose and dropping back to the ground on her feet.

"You've become stronger." There was almost a tone of approval in the mature fae's voice. "Not that it matters, but you still deserve credit."

Bo grabbed a knife from her boot and lunged at her opponent only for Aife to dodge the blow with almost frightening dexterity and use her opponent's momentum to slam her into the wall.

"Now let mommy put you to bed."

Bo felt herself being flipped around and the older woman begin to drain her chi.

She also felt… unsurprised. It could have been a shocking revelation (or a crazy woman's rambling). But there clearly were not many succubi around, this one seemed to hold a vested interest in her, and there was even a passing resemblance.

No, the idea of Aife as her mother was not disturbing.

The idea of losing was.

Bo began to black out once again as her life slowly escaped her. It was just before the darkness claimed her for good when she caught a glimpse of hope.

"Please…"

Aife suddenly stiffened and the flow of chi halted. In a rage she swiveled around dropping Bo and flinging the assailant behind her across the room.

Lauren crashed into the opposite wall shorting out a panel of lighting. A syringe clattered across the ground beside her.

"Power inhibitor." She mumbled out while clutching now broken ribs. "You cut the dose well short of the amount needed to achieve paralysis. But feeding will be impossible for-" She pondered a second. "I would say about four to six hours. Not to mention the possible effects on your-"

"Shut up!" Aife was clearly barely even standing. Her every move was forced and clumsy, even the angry scream seemed difficult.

"There is something" She clutched the edge of the table. "In this room more powerful" She gasped, barely holding herself up. "Than any of you could imagine. Darker, more beautiful. Something I can use for my revenge. I can end these clans! I can show him how wrong he was."

Aife grabbed the knife Bo dropped earlier as the younger succubus struggled to her feet.

"And I don't need my powers to do so."

Her words were grim. And though her movements clumsy, they were nonetheless more than sufficient to stab the sleeping woman in the chest.

"No! Nadia!" Lauren's voice was desperate, almost broken.

However the very next moment every eye in the room was transfixed. A deep black smoke began to emerge from the body. Rather than sinking or floating to the ceiling it roiled and coagulated into a billowing cloud. After a few seconds of growing the cloud exploded into a searing bright flame, which itself unfurled into the shape of a great flaming bird.

An earsplitting screech erupted from the firebird as it flew seemingly straight through the ceiling and disappeared.

"It is done."

"And so are you bitch."

Bo had gotten back on het feet. A swift kick to the head dropped Aife to the floor.

"You know I was worried that sending you to live among humans would soften you. Make you weak and merciful. I'm glad to see your nature pulled through." She made no move to fight back, just sliding her body against a wall.

Bo glanced at the dead or dying body of the woman on the table and then to Lauren. The doctor seemed empty, sobbing uselessly in a corner.

"No. Fuck no. I worked this hard and came all this way. I will not lose it all now. I will have her, and if I say she gets this Nadia then she gets her. No ridiculous absent excuse for a parent is taking this away."

Fueled by her anger Bo hoisted Aife into the air.

"Sorry I never got you anything for Mother's Day. Consider this a late gift."

She began draining the woman. This time not stopping until she was well and truly dead. The life essence was rich and exhilarating. Even in a weakened form this elder and clearly powerful fae was flowing with near boundless energy flooding and empowering Bo beyond all reason.

Bo felt powerful. Alive.

She had no real idea what she was doing as the knife was drawn out from Nadia's body. Then climbing over top the body she let the chi drain out this time. It was like a reverse feed somehow performed by instinct alone, including a feeling of loss and hunger.

"What are you doing?" Lauren snapped out of her sorrow and gazed at Bo in wonder. Even Kenzi had entered the room and was watching with an awed expression on her face.

Bo found no opportunity to answer though. As almost immediately she fell unconscious.

The world was spinning.

She wasn't even moving. But somehow the world was still spinning.

"Don't open eyes. Not inviting that kind of pain. Am I on a bed? Moved to a hospital?"

Bo gradually figured out her position as best she could until she felt ready to open her eyes. The best she could tell was that it was definitely a hospital bed.

"Oh well. All in then."

She opened her eyes.

It provided a stark reminder of just how bad her headache was. She instinctively dug her head deep into the pillow attempting to avoid vomiting. Nonetheless her questions were answered. In her brief glance she recognized the room; it was the hospital/lab Lauren had first examined her in.

That means she was probably only moved a few rooms away from where she had passed out.

"You're awake." Lauren's voice cut into her thoughts. It was gentle, calm, even satisfied. The best she had heard Lauren since…

"Probably the first sentence she ever spoke to me."

Bo just grunted in response. She didn't want to leave the pillow to form articulate words right now.

"I just… you saved her. You. I'm not sure I believe you even understood what you were doing. I don't know what I believe I guess." She gently, yet sadly, laughed.

"But I do know you did it. And that is enough." She paused. "Go back to sleep. You will feel better in a few hours once your body has adjusted to all of the energy fluctuations"

Bo didn't know what to make of what she just heard.

She honestly wasn't sure she cared. Thinking is for when you aren't in a world of pain.

Bo woke up again an indeterminate time later. This time feeling quite relaxed and rejuvenated.

Still, she spent a few minutes just relaxing. It was time to really take stock.

She had saved a woman. This was a wholly unaccounted for factor in the plan.

"But who did I save? Is she awake? And most importantly: can she interfere? This 'Nadia' might have the power to take Lauren back. For some reason the Ash was willing to keep her after all. Maybe I should have let her die. I could have used the grief too probably."

Eventually Bo had enough of second guessing herself. Finally feeling ready for the world she crawled out of bed. She noticed a note sitting on a small metal stand by the table.

Meet me at the Dahl.

"Finally."

Wasting no time she just breezed past the staff outside her curtains—they ignored her having other wounded from the battle to tend—and left for the Dahl.

"Aaannd fuck me." It was only after emerging into the cool night air that she remembered her car was abandoned in some alley.

"Hello?" She punched in the number to a cab on her cellphone. "Yeah, I'm going to need a cab. Just take me to the corner of…"

Finally arriving outside the Dahl, and having scheduled a tow truck on the way, was a great relief. Shots were in order after all she had been through. Shots and beer; possibly together.

"Hello succubus."

The smooth rich older voice almost brought her headache back.

"Evony." Bo made a point of not turning around to face the woman.

"I never told you to call me that. Oh well, I could hardly expect any manners out of your kind could I? I just came to thank you."

Bo knew she should not take the bait. Even asking the most harmless question of the Morrigan was to invite trouble. The very least one could expect to face would be her condescending personality. Alone enough for Bo to nearly leave her curiosity behind.

Nearly.

"Thank me? You wanted Aife free to kill any Light she wanted. I stopped your ridiculous plan. Not that I care what she did, but ruining your day is at least a reward."

The Morrigan's response was condescending laughter. "Ruined it? My dear you did everything I ever could have asked for free! Well, except for trying on any single article of clothing not skinned from a cow."

"That luck fae-" She hardly cared for protecting anyone at this frustrating juncture.

"Was told exactly what to say. I actually made sure you received that ravishing doctor just to ensure you took the job. It took a few brilliant guesses mind you, I'm hardly a Norn. But handling the tempers of artists since before Babylon taught me the nature of unstable emotions deeper than your petty heart could ever handle. I learn everything I can about my rival's toys, so I knew you would think to use her girl as a way into the poor thing's good graces. And the Ash would be the only way to do that. Even you should have been able to guess the job he would give you. So the only factor left was timing; how to ensure Aife played her, unwitting mind you, part before dying. That proved to be a simple matter of ensuring my pawn stayed the best source of information on her so that I would know when you made your move and then tipping the sorry bitch off."

"If you're done gloating could you just finish up? I really, honestly don't care how brilliant you think you are. I don't even really care what you got out of all this."

Evony made sure her sigh could not be mistaken for anything but frustration at having to suffer such crass company.

"She destroyed everything the Light holds dear and you ganked her. Simple enough for you dear? Now I hold all the cards in this city, and I can't wait to play them. Since I just hate ungrateful clients, you can consider this visit a thank you for service well rendered."

Bo breathed a sigh of relief as she finally heard the clack of Evony's heels receding back into the night.

"May we never meet again."

She entered the bar. Despite the late hour it was still relatively busy, not uncommon here. Presumably due to the wildly varying habits of fae.

In spite of the customers though, it only took the first few seconds scanning the crowd to spot her. Lauren was sitting in a distant corner of the building. Opposite both the bar and pool table.

"Hey." Bo tried smiling and offering a polite greeting. She found it easier than most facades she used, probably because she really was happy this time. Even with all of the uncertainty, everything was looking up.

"Hey." Lauren tried the same. But something was clearly wrong with it, her voice sounded sad; forced.

"-" Bo started to speak before Lauren abruptly cut her off.

"I sent her away." She her voice broke as she lowered her gaze to the table, poorly attempting to hide the escaping tears. "She, Nadia, will wake up in a hospital in another city. The doctors will tell her the truth: She fell into a coma for five years and nobody understands why."

Her voice faded away, leaving her just staring thoughtfully for over a minute.

"Her girlfriend, however, died in the same outbreak. The Light, the ones who lived, agreed to provide the cover and pay all the bills. I guess they just thought it would be the easiest way, without possibly provoking you at least."

Bo struggled to look sad while feeling ecstatic inside.

"It worked! I actually got Sleeping Bitchy out of the way and look even better for it."

"I'm sorry-"

"No. You're not. And don't be. It wouldn't have mattered if I still belonged to the Ash. How do you tell a girlfriend that you can't come home tonight because your owner won't let you, and maybe not tomorrow either? How do you hide emergency surgery on a basilisk that's been rushed to your door? And could I ever trust her around the watchdogs they send to pick me up? What happens if they find her alone?"

"No." She sighed before continuing. "Maybe I could have dragged it on. A week, a month, a year even. But it never could have lasted. I did this, all of this; joining the fae, losing everything I ever had, to save her. And now it's over. I won."

She shook her head sadly. " I guess this would be the moment when I take stock of my life. Come to terms with the fact that over twelve years of running, and hiding, and adopting persona after persona; terrorist, war veteran, doctor, slave. The realization that I'm thirty-three years old now, and never really had a self, never even got to be 'me' at all in what should have been my own life. But instead I have you."

Bo gazed at her in confusion.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"That I'm willing to do what you want now. I admit that in some ways I was wrong to begin with. You were never worse than the Ash. You were actually right before; I judged you because of some unprofessional flights of fantasy." The doctor looked more tired now after this rambling emotional encounter than Bo had ever seen her.

Bo no longer held back her smile as she reached out and gently stroked Lauren's hand.

"A lot of things about that first day were 'unprofessional'. But one thing you should never have to feel guilty about dreaming of a better life. I can honestly say that I wish we had done things better. Some part of me even wishes we could have found some kind of normal happiness. But I've known for a long time that I'm never going to be normal."

Lauren chuckled. "It wouldn't have helped you anyway. I've never really been attracted to normal. No, I don't like you, and I haven't forgiven you, but it was you of all people who turned out to be exactly what I needed. Closure"

"That's good enough for me." Bo honestly replied.

"I somehow figured as much. Enjoy your evening. I need some rest. Not all of us had the luxury of spending the aftermath in unconsciousness." Lauren stood up and left the bar leaving Bo to her thoughts.

This was it, she had won. Killed the villain (and her mother, putting some issues she hadn't fully been ready to acknowledge to rest), almost certainly earned at least the grudging acceptance of the local fae powers, and most of all got the girl.

She felt satisfied. The rush of finally proving oneself the alpha predator. Lauren was smarter than her, Aife older and more powerful, and yet she managed to overcome them both.

Waving down a waitress, she ordered another round.

She eventually dragged herself home. Naturally Kenzi instantly provided her take on the aftermath.

"Hey Bobo! That was awesome! You literally raised the dead! Dead people! That's like, full on saint power or something! Which is actually really ironic come to think of it." She suddenly lowered her voice. "And I do believe it earned you quite a bit of credit with a certain doctor too."

"Thanks Kenz." Bo chuckled. "I would say everything came together pretty well."

"Pretty well? More like fucking amazing! You kicked ass! Of course I kicked more ass, but still you did awesome!" She enthused.

"Okay 'Fucking amazing show'." Bo rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty tired and more than a little tipsy, so I'm going to catch a little sleep. I hope I can sleep fine after passing out all day."

Kenzi snorted. "When have you ever spent the night sleeping? Speaking of which, if you actually do swing things with the doctor do you think maybe I can spend a little less time in your bed and see how things go with Fedora-boy out there?" She seemed both nervous yet hopeful by the time her question was finished.

Strangely Bo did not have an immediate knee-jerk reaction like usual. Searching her feelings she was almost curious to find the anger and jealousy she had expected to still be there inside, but it just didn't matter as much anymore.

"Sure. Go ahead. You didn't ask last time anyway." Bo shrugged.

"Boobs, I'm still going to be in your life no matter what. I mean seriously, how the heck am I going to get a gig this badass without you? You need to learn that some people actually want to be around you. Not your powers, not by force, we just honestly want you."

The little goth suddenly pulled her in for a hug.

"It's gonna be all right." She whispered into her ear. "You're getting there."

Suddenly Kenzi let go and bounced off towards her room. Bo followed suit and headed towards hers.

"Whore."

"Devil's child."

"Not even God could love a creature like you."

Her mother's—her second mother, after the first abandoned her—cruel words echoed in her head.

Some wounds could not just heal, least of all overnight. But however deeply the scars may show, the pain becomes a memory.

"I guess this is fuck you mom. I have everyone else by now."

Bo bitterly laughed.

The next day saw Bo visiting the Dahl for lack of anything else to do.

Rather to her surprise she found a sort of informal celebration/mourning going on. Dyson, Hale, and several injured guards from the mansion among numerous other fae she could not recognize were clustered around the bar animatedly talking.

"Ah-ha! Here is the lady of the hour! A toast to the savior of the fae!" Dyson enthusiastically shouted the moment he saw the succubus. A loud chorus of cheer erupted from the bar.

"Whoa. I'm just here to get a drink. Not be crowned queen of the parade." Bo was rather off-put. She didn't need the attention of crowds, it always felt one step short of a lynching.

"Come on. You slew the evil, saved the light, and stopped whatever her plan was. Stick around and enjoy being the hero for once." Dyson grabbed a beer out of the hand of a passing waitress and handed it to her.

"I did a job to kill my mother in order to seduce my slave. Clearly the standards for hero have hit rock bottom around here."

She shrugged. "No reason to let them chase me away."

Although avoiding curious fae and deferring most questions to Hale, Bo did stick around. In particular she listened in and asked a few questions of her own about what else happened that day.

It turned out Hale was by different measures too late or just in time. The Ash was not dead, but had been shot at least three times by a fae who poisoned the bullets with its own blood. He was still in a coma with great uncertainty about when or if he will awaken. She also discovered that Hale himself was nobility, reluctant as he seemed to admit it. She was sure Kenzi would find that fact amusing.

In all it was a reasonably pleasant day. Bo still found little comfort or joy in the presence of others, but it was a far cry less annoying than it once felt. And the almost worshipful reverence of the admiring crowds clamoring to hear how she slew the evil Aife was very enjoyable.

"I may need to try being a 'hero' more often."

She made her way home after a relaxing afternoon. The next few hours were spent in her usual leisure when not hunting, that is; bathing, eating ice-cream, and sharpening weaponry.

"Hey, Lauren." She waved down the doctor when she spotted her heading to the kitchen.

"Yes?" Even now the Doctor's responses seemed neutral and uncertain. Bo found herself capable of imagining the feeling of immense crushing stress and uncertainty this woman must have been feeling for so long.

"A sense of stability should deepen her sense of gratitude."

"I talked to some of the fae… friends I suppose at the Dahl. Whoever the acting Ash turns out to be, between Trick, Hale, and Dyson vouching for you there should be no problem continuing to use their labs for whatever you want provided you share the research. And yes, I plan to let you keep working."

Lauren smiled. Although perhaps still in her own predatory fashion, Bo found herself enjoying the sight.

"You didn't have to you know, right? I already told you that I'm tired of running, and hiding, and fighting. I just want to live whatever life I can now."

"I wanted to. I'm tired of fighting too, you would know it's not my nature."

"You're right." She leaned in to whisper. "Getting me in bed is your nature, and you're getting better at it every day." Lauren strode away leaving a mildly surprised Bo.

"Did the good doctor just try her hand at seduction?"

Bo considered the conversation. Lauren was right, her nature was supposed to be sexual. A sexual predator. Not just a demon, a succubus. She had let this madness with the fae pull her out of her own world for far too long now; that and her own foolish anger and overreaction. Finally of all things her human pets were needed to help set things right.

But it worked out. Lauren was claimed, her enemies were dead, she was not.

Some time into the evening she noticed Kenzi slip off into her room. A sight which raised no alarms though, as the girl often borrowed knives or miscellaneous pieces of her wardrobe (mainly jewelry, as little else fit her in either size or fashion).

"Hey, Boobs." Kenzi called Bo's attention when passing by quite some time later. "She's ready for you." The goth pointed her thumb back towards the succubus' room.

"Huh?" She had no idea what her friend was talking about. No response came though, as she simply passed right on by.

Deciding that it had gotten pretty late anyway, she went to her room to check what was going on.

It would be the understatement of the century to say describe the sight that greeted her upon entry as pleasing. Kneeling at the foot of her bed, hands bound behind her back, was Dr. Lauren Lewis.

It was clearly apparent that she was resisting the urge to squirm under Bo's stunned gaze. After a moment she broke the silence first.

"Kenzi helped me with the idea. I would be the first to admit sex and romance are not my forte." The doctor mumbled shyly.

"Well you certainly got off to a good start."

Bo circled around the room, drinking in the sight before her. She noticed the doctor's hands were bound with thin red string, serving effectively as a symbolic bind. Although it was not the first time she had seen Lauren naked, it still never failed to impress.

"I think I'm going to like having you as my pet."

The succubus began stripping of her clothes before regally reclining on the bed.

"I would have had you strip me. But I think I'd prefer to keep you as is." She pointedly gazed at her partners bound hands.

Bo finished removing her pants, leaving only black lace lingerie still concealing any of her near perfect body. Even that was a conscious choice to leave an apparent sign of her superior position. She then reached into one of the shelves beside her and withdrew a leather crop.

"I feel you should be punished for attacking your master and running away like you did. However contrite you may be now. Don't worry though, I have a better idea than breaking bones now."

Bo abruptly swung the crop before Lauren could respond in any way, even if she had wanted to that is. It painfully struck the doctor across her left breast leaving a sore red mark and the doctor abruptly crying out from a mixture of pain and shock. Without leaving her victim time to adjust she recoiled and struck her across the ass.

Bo grinned. This wasn't her thing; at all really. She found no joy in pain, and in fact needed her victims to enjoy themselves. So torturing the Doctor on it's own was nothing but a chore.

No, pain did not bring Bo pleasure.

Power was a whole different matter though. Bo reveled in finally breaking her opponents. Normally it took nothing but the faintest touch of her hand to break a human's will, and her only reward was feeding for another day. A hunt of this magnitude deserved celebration. Bo was not torturing her opponent to hurt her. It was to humiliate her, to revel in her triumph. An opportunity to truly exercise total dominance over the defeated prey.

And Bo loved dominance.

Still, she was impatient for the main event. So struck only twice more, a blow across the kneeling blonde's back and legs, and savored her squirming.

"I think that will be punishment enough. Now for the pleasure." Bo reached down and began delicately trailing her hand up the doctor's back, letting her energy gently flow through her body.

Lauren's breath hitched before failing to control a lengthy moan.

"It's funny." She hesitantly spoke. "I know exactly what you're doing. I can explain the process behind exactly how your energy manipulates human hormones."

"And the funny part?" Bo continued to teasingly trace her hand across unblemished skin.

"I still can't stop myself from loving it." The blonde moaned, leaning back into her touch.

"Well then, I think it's time my slave gets to work. You are here for my pleasure. Not your own." She laid back on the expansive mattress.

"Remove them." She gestured to her panties. "No need to use your hands." She responded to a slightly confused look from the doctor.

Lauren hesitantly crouched between the succubus' legs. Leaning her head forward she gently took hold of the black lace between her teeth and slowly drew them down, exposing her lover's most sensitive regions.

The succubus sighed luxuriantly. "Very nice. Now get to work."

Lauren nervously moved towards her target. It wasn't that she was somehow virginal, not by a longshot, of course among others she had technically already had sex with this very woman. But obviously this particular occasion was different. She had to live up to the expectations of a selfish, bitter, damaged soul just to hopefully earn a peaceful life and maybe even get back to some science.

Of course, it also didn't help that said partner was hot as all hell and she was really feeling that hit of succubus power.

Head firmly nestled between well sculpted legs, and finding herself with no excuses for delay, Lauren began by fluttering her tongue teasingly along the succubus' outer lips. The moment she made ever so gentle contact Bo's breath hitched; this encounter was long anticipated. And the doctor had to hope she could live up to expectations.

Lauren continued like that, slowly working her fleeting touches deeper and closer to her lovers core. Feeling Bo twitch and gasp as the tension built.

"Oh god!" Her lover however was not a patient soul. The mostly incoherent throaty exclamation was her only warning as Bo seized her hair and pulled her head in.

The doctor released a surprised yelping noise, muffled by her position. The lust burning through her from Bo's power left her without thought of protest though. Instead she merely redoubled her efforts. Provoking a slew of moans from the succubus, muffled by the thighs pinning her head in place.

The taste of her lover was like nothing Lauren had ever experienced. More properly it was less a taste than a sensation. Clearly the powers of a succubus were very well adapted to make the experience of lovemaking inescapable. Subconsciously the doctor's hand creeped down between her legs.

*Smack!*

A sharp stinging pain on her back would have sent her reeling back were her head not pinned. The moment she stilled again however Bo loosened her thighs.

"No! No pleasuring yourself. As my human pet only I choose what you may enjoy. And trust me." She grinned. "I'm a possessive bitch. So it's only going to be me."

A simple pat to her head was Lauren's cue to continue. And she did, now having indulged too deeply in her lover's power to resist the need to please her in order to find her own pleasure.

The doctor worked with a talent born of both experience and enthusiasm. Bo nearly became lost in a world of pleasure. Even in her long experience this conquest was fulfilling. Far beyond her expectations.

"Hell, this leaves my dreams in the dust."

Soon her leg's grip on the doctor's head began to erratically tighten as her body spasmed and jerked. Driven by a wave of triumph and emotion the climax struck her like she had never felt before. The tide of joy robbed control of every inch of her body.

"Oh my god!" She gasped, collapsing back to the bed in a heap. It took several minutes lying down steadying her breathing to recover.

"You, my good doctor, know how to care for a patient." Bo's words were still slurred in her attempt at humor.

Lauren however was very much focused on her own needs at that moment. She made quick work of sloppily kissing her way up Bo's body, finally arriving at her mouth and engaging her in a desperately heated make-out.

Bo pulled back with a wide smirk.

"Does somebody want their own turn? I don't know, I think I got what I wanted." She decided to further reaffirm her place by teasing the desperate doctor.

"A fun time, and it will help remind her of her place: under my thumb."

"You feed on my pleasure." The doctor rasped out from Bo's neck. "You need this as much as I do."

"No, I think I'm full. You can sleep beside me tonight. I don't really think we need to do the whole 'pets at the foot of the bed thing'. Feels silly to me." Bo prattled on and made as if she were going to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!" Lauren snapped her arms loose from the feeble binds and pushed Bo back down.

"Oh, naughty." Bo grinned. "I could let you finish I suppose. But then I would have to punish you later for the disobedience. Your choice."

"I'll take my chances." Lauren husked into the succubus ear.

"If that's what you want." She shrugged. "You can finish on my leg." Regally she reclined to emphasize the offer.

Lauren knew this was just another game of power, but she was far too deeply affected by lust to protest.

She climbed over and slid her center onto the smooth sculpted limb and began to grind. Not, however, before pulling the succubus into an embrace and forcing another kiss on her. She felt herself gradually rising, not physically; but the feelings inside her. A crescendo of passion that should not have been possible.

The smallest peek downward provided an answer. The faint glow on Bo's leg betrayed that she was using her power further. Stimulating her doctor far beyond the natural limit.

Lauren could have explained everything going on to herself. That this was an effort on Bo's part to stimulate an addiction to her gifts. Make her physically and emotionally dependent on the succubus.

But that would just make things harder. Possibly return her to a life of running and suffering that she had just escaped from.

And, as the climax which struck her more powerfully than she had ever felt before showed, if Bo knew nothing else, it was how to make this seem very, very easy.

Bo woke up feeling happy.

Extremely happy.

This was the life. A beautiful woman beside her, no reason to run and skip town, and power over her future.

And, of course, victory. Sweet, sweet victory.

But that was where the only slight gnawing discontent came from. It had not even been fully twelve hours yet since she had finally well-and-truly won, yet Bo could already tell the boredom was starting to set in.

She had won this prey. Now it was time to find the next. A new hunt.

That thought held her mind as she put together breakfast, after a while both Kenzi and Lauren came out to join her.

"What's his name-Hale?-would take Kenzi I'm sure. Nah, I can't drop Kenzi. I'm going to need to make room for the next girl though…"

"Do you think maybe I could give you as a gift to the next Ash?" It just blurted out as she faced Lauren.

A slew of emotions washed over the doctor's face as she slowly acknowledged what Bo just said. Shock, sadness, anger.

"What the hell am I thinking? I can keep all of my girls. I earned this. My life."

"Just forget it." She casually reassured the blonde. "It was a joke. Your going to be mine for a long time to come." Kenzi audibly sighed in relief while Bo offered a sincere smile.

Life was good.

That was her line of thinking when she heard the knock on her door.

"Who is it?" She shouted, moving to answer it already anyway.

Swinging the door open revealed a handsome dignified gentleman in his late thirties to early forties.

"Ash Lochlan Blackwood. We need to discuss that fire-bird you released I'm afriad."

-End

From here we find ourselves walking a path much like the show once again. The Garuda is free, the gang has all met, everything is in its place; even if a darker one.

I had considered several endings literally right until the last day. Bo simply running away in the night to avoid being bogged down by a home and friends. But that felt like a cop out where nothing has changed.
Bo going through with her proposal and clearing house was briefly considered, but felt even worse and silly.
I wanted to leave some more obvious signs of Bo finding peace, and even still would like to imagine her getting there. But like I said above, life has been hard on me. Almost all of this was written in snippets a few words long in the wee hours of the morning.