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Chapter 11 - It was in the Past

People are cruel.

With the things some people do every day, you start to question their sanity, then you start to question society. Why are people the way that they are? Why would any sane person, no matter the reason, think it'd be ok to steal? Why would they kill? Why would they take an innocent child? Everyone has their motivations, but the fact that their morality didn't stop them from committing such sins... it really makes you wonder.

Knock knock knock-

"Come in," Jack invited.

He looked up to see Sam standing with his head peeking through a crack in the door of his little office space. He was dressed in his black and yellow uniform, a silver badge of his honor pinned neatly onto his chest.

"Hey uh- I got Foolish here-" he said softly, trying not to startle Jack since he seemed to be in a train of thought.

"Alright," Jack replied, "can you have him come in here?"

"Sure thing," Sam nodded, then stepped away for a moment.

Jack quickly stacked up some papers and notes he had spread across his desk, placing them neatly in the filing cabinet behind his desk. He slid the draw shut then pulled open another just below, sifting through the papers and plastic dividers for a moment before finding the one he needed. Pulling the cliche manilla folder from its place, he set it down on his desk and locked the cabinet again.

There was another brief knocking, but this time just as a warning before the door popped open slightly with a silent creak.

There stood Sam once more, but this time with his very nervous looking friend, who was also Jack's client.

"Jack, this is Foolish, and Foolish, this is Detective Manifold, whom you know as just Jack from what I've shared at least. You two finally get to meet in person. I'm sorry it had to be like this though."

"Hello Detective," Foolish greeted Jack in a soft voice. He seemed pretty out of it, but recently, he hasn't been able to pull himself completely together.

"Nice to meet you as well, as Sam said, feel free to call me Jack. Can I offer you a seat as we begin? There's a few things I want to discuss and inform you on, as well as maybe ask you a few questions. This isn't an interrogation, just a friendly chat you can think of it as."

"Alright, that sounds good to me," he said as he sat down.

"Would you like to have Sam step out or stay as we speak?"

"... can he stay, please..." he asked, putting his head down shyly.

"Sure thing," Sam said from behind, shutting the room door then pulling a chair to sit in more towards the back of the small room. "I'll hang out back here if you need me."

Jack nodded, opening the manilla folder he set on his desk before. He began pulling a few specific papers, including two birth certificates, some criminal profiles, a few photos, as well as relationship records and some other things. There were still a few other things left in the folder, but it was closed and pushed aside for the time being.

"Using what you gave us about the incident, we were able to quickly come up with a few suspects. A few weeks later, we were able to confidently confirm the identity of the kidnapper. However, we weren't quite sure at first how we were going to be able to find them or where the victim is located, nor how we'd even be able to really deal with it considering our past encounters with these two. Since then, that's all we've been working on for this case. How do we track them, and how do we safely return the victim-"

"You said you know who did it? Can I know?"

Jack pulled two of the papers and photos, pushing them across the desk to Foolish for him to see.

"Zak Ahmed and Darryl Noveschosch, better known as 'Skeppy' and 'BadBoyHalo' on the streets. They're known mostly as money thieves on banks and businesses, though they pull the occasional mugging, and have commited auto theft quite a few times as well."

Foolish looked at the photos of the two rather young looking boys. They seemed harmless despite the fact he was looking at mugshots. The first, Zak, was wearing a baby blue hoodie, crystal skin and a little smirk, with messy-looking "hair" atop his head despite it being made of crystal like the rest of him. The second boy was pale-skinned with short hazel blonde hair in a black and red hood. He wore glasses in this photo, which he likely didn't in another photo somewhere for records. Looking at the photo, he couldn't decide whether the eyes were a lime green or pale grey, as it seemed the printed image was changing back and forth the longer he stared at it.

Looking longer at the photos after Jack finished speaking, Foolish felt butterflies in his stomach. He'd begin to feel his heart in his chest as it would beat harder and harder, the memories flooding back.

"Do you recognise these two outside of seeing them the night of the incident?"

Foolish hesitated to respond, placing the photo back down on the table.

After a moment of silence, Jack spoke up again, pulling a third photo from the folder and pushing it across as he did before. "You may have confronted them in this form," he added.

He looked at the photo for no longer than a few seconds before letting tears escape his eyes in just the slightest.

That demonic thing, there it was again. He had seen it before, yes. Of course he had. He wouldn't forget it's jet-black skin of shadows, it's cold stare with those piercing white soulless eyes as it'd sit there in the window sill. Its barbed tail flick from side to side as tattered wings droop down to the ground, dragging behind the thing like a cape. And those horns. Those freaking horns with the ring that only wished it could be a halo. Not a snowball's chance in hell. Not on that thing.

The terrible sound he heard in that moment. That terrible distant echo of a frightened toddler's cry forever trapped inside his mind; it would haunt him for the rest of time. But there was nothing he could do now. There was nothing he could have done then.

"Foolish?"

He perked up, a bit startled as he was pulled out of his thoughts.

"You ok?" Sam asked from behind. He was the one that called out to him.

Only just now realizing, he was tensed up. His claws clenching around his wrist, digging into himself as to not damage anything else, his fins spiked up rather than staying relaxed, and his emerald bits would sharpen like shards. He didn't mean it. It was just his defence.

He tried taking a shaky breath, letting himself relax. "Y-yeah-"

"I'll take it you do recognise them," Jack spoke out.

"I do, but it was a very long time ago... we haven't- spoken-"

"Did you by any chance have any adversaries with them?"

He hesitated once more.

"... yes..."

"You have an interesting record Foolish. You know that-"

He sunk into his seat and nodded his head guiltily. "I know..."

Sam turned his gaze to the side, looking down at the ground. He knew too.

"Do you perhaps think there's something you need to tell us to help us with the investigation? We're not trying to force you to admit anything. You've done your time. We just need to know if there's a further danger in their motivations. We don't want to make a wrong move and risk the life of your son Foolish. I'm sure you feel the same."

There was another long pause and the room fell silent, Foolish's fins threatening to spike up once more as he became more and more afraid. Afraid of the memory of his past. Afraid of calling it back to light.

"Well, I did do something I shouldn't have..."