Chapter Text
“I’m glad to see you here today, Agent Onyx.”
They nodded politely in response, keeping quiet and letting their boss sitting before them continue on.
Their boss quickly cut to the chase. “We have a mission for you at a hospital nearby.” He slid forward a confidential file. “We’ve been doing tests on the patients there, and we need you to spend a few weeks in the office to see how everything is going. “
They reached forward, picking up the file and opening it. Inside was a few papers, information scrawled all over them with photos of anomalies. They did a brief scan of it before returning their gaze to their boss.
“I’m going alone?” They inquired.
“This isn’t a difficult task, we don’t need to waste more people on it. The workers there are gullible, so gathering information should be easy. Basic things: work there, see how anomalies act, patients’ wellnesses, sanities, et cetera.” He waved his hand dismissively.
“I see. When do I head out?”
“Tomorrow.”
Sooner than they’d prefer, but it wasn’t like they had anything better to be doing. “Yes, boss.”
“Perfect. Go read up on it a little more. There’s some information of the hospital online. I trust you’ll do the concise amount of research?”
“Of course.”
Their boss nodded. “Be on your way, agent.”
They stood up, tail flicking as they turned to leave. As their paw touched the door, their boss spoke up.
“And agent?”
They paused, ears perking up.
“Don’t trust anyone there. No matter how innocent anyone acts, don’t get too close to them. And don’t let anybody know who you are.”
This wasn’t their first rodeo, they knew the drill. “Of course.”
And then they left.
The hospital was in a crappy part of town. It itself was rundown and low quality. The care people received there can’t be good. While healthcare may be free, that certainly didn’t imply it was up to par.
They arrived at their designated time, a little past noon. They hadn’t eaten that day, nor were they planning on it, having only consumed a cup of coffee. Food... wasn’t something they enjoyed. They didn’t have a healthy relationship with it, due to struggles in the past with getting poisoned again and again because of the shitty environment they’d grown up in. Trusting it was incredibly difficult, so they often avoided it as much as possible.
Near the entrance they caught sight of a masked deer in a doctor’s uniform. They recognized him as Dr. Harlow. He was working with Animal Corporations and letting the agent gather information about the patients’ wellbeings and other vital details. His eyes met theirs and he knew who they were immediately.
No words were exchanged instantly, only brisk (and somewhat curt) nods. They stepped inside, walking past the waiting room and stopping before the check-in window. The doctor gave them a brief rundown of the place.
“This is where we let in patients or send them away. The coffee is here. We only have one machine, so only take it when you need it and share with the others. Secretary Luna can help teach you how things go.” He then turned, briskly walking down to a crossroads. “To the left are rooms six through eight. This is where we handle more severe cases, including surgery. These rooms are left to our nurses, but you’re welcome to take a peek at any time. To our right are rooms one through five, where most patients go. You may help out the nurses here, but wait a bit before handling patients on your own. We can’t have too many dying on us. And... if there’s ever an anomaly problem... shoot. Don’t hesitate. Clear?”
They nodded.
“Good.” He turned away. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. Though you shouldn’t.”
With that, he headed straight and exited through a door, a lock audibly clicking behind him. They stood still for a second before turning around and heading into the check-in room. There was a man with a large purple afro and a sheep-like build, presumably Secretary Luna, rushing back and forth between two windows. By the coffee maker was a poorly dressed yellow rabbit, with thick fur and a smile on his face as he sipped from a coffee cup.
They ignored the latter one, greeting Secretary Luna. He gave a grin, helping the Agent get used to how things ran there.
It didn’t take long for them to get the hang of things. They’d always been a fast learner. It made doing their job easy.
It was pretty simple, and proved valuable for studying how anomalies worked. With Secretary Luna and them both handling their own windows, checking people in went by fast.
They were taking a break around an hour in, as the people for that part of their shift had all been checked in, when they felt someone behind them. The Agent’s ears threatened to flatten, but they fought to keep them neutral. Slowly at first before brisk, they whipped around, hand clutching the gun attached to their belt.
It was the bunny, staring down at them with unblinking eyes. His head cocked to the side, seeming... interested?
Silence stretched on, neither being the first to speak. He towered over them, and was much heavier by the looks of it. They didn’t know how to react. He’d been back there, so it was likely he was an employee, but they hadn’t seen him do anything. There was nothing about him in the files, so they hadn’t a clue how to address him.
“Intern!” Snapped Luna. “Did you steal the last coffee pot? That was for the nurse!”
He turned around, still for a moment before shrugging carelessly.
Luna let out a groan. “I swear, we have to put a lock on it at this point.” He grumbled, turning to the Agent. “You. Can you watch him, please? Just keep him away from it when it’s ready. I’m going to go help out the nurses.”
They nodded. “Of course.”
An intern? Interesting. Typically interns in hospitals were training to be nurses, so it would make sense if he worked alongside the nurses there. But from all they’ve seen, he just sits around and mooches off coffee. He’s hardly an intern.
The rabbit turned back to them. His voice was low and quiet, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear him despite there being nobody else around. “What is your name?” No menace, just inquiry.
“Bombay.” They replied. It was one of their favorite undercover names, so they used it more often than they probably should be.
He let out a snicker. “Your parents weren’t very creative, huh? Naming a bombay Bombay.”
They nodded with a mix of surprise and respect. “You know cat breeds?”
He shrugged, not giving a full answer. “Are you like the security guard?” His eyes wandered down to their gun.
“No.” They haven’t seen a security guard around. “Do you have one?”
He nodded slowly. “She died.”
That’s why. “Oh. My condolences.”
Silence continued on. Neither seemed good at carrying conversation, and the Agent didn’t exactly want to converse with him. But he seemed intent on continuing their chat. That made them suspicious.
“You’re small.” He pointed out. Though there wasn’t any malice nor sneer in his tone, they couldn’t help but feel offended.
“A keen observation.” Their ears flattened.
“What is your purpose here?”
“To help out.”
“Are you an intern?”
Are you even one? “No.”
“Then what are you?”
They felt exacerbated already. “Do I need a label?”
“If you don’t have a job here, and you’re not an intern, who’s to say you’re even allowed here?”
“Are you suspicious of me?”
His voice dropped, smile tightening. “Should I be?”
They felt themself calm down. “I admire your skepticism, but I can assure you I have no desire to bring harm to anyone here.”
He went silent, just staring down at them. Then a scream rang out. Their ears perked up, pupils dilating as they tried to look at where the noise was coming from. From the shrillness of it, it sounded like one of the nurses.
The intern backed off, ears falling down to press flat against his head. They noticed the way he tried to conceal his panic. Knowing something was off, they bolted out of the room, meeting the intersection and looking around. In the right hall, one of the patients had its jaw slack open, sharp and deadly teeth trying to chomp into the canine nurse as she thrashed at it.
Without hesitating for even a second, they pulled out their gun and shot. The boom rang out through the hall as the screams stopped and the anomaly fell dead. The nurse took a step back, visibly shaking.
The Agent approached her, careful and calm. “Are you alright, miss?”
She babbled incomprehensibly for a second before speaking shakily. “N-no matter how many times it happens, I’ll never get used to it.”
Then she fled off to the front desk. They stared down at the body as it began to contort and fade into dust.
Looks like I can’t study it. Shame.
The nurse’s words went through their head. Was this a common occurrence? They knew there were a lot of anomalies that came to the hospital, lost souls looking for saving, but they didn’t know it was a common problem.
Putting their gun away, they sauntered off to the check-in room, seeing the nurse coddling a cup of coffee in the corner while staring off into space, jittery and clearly petrified. The intern was across the room from her at one of the windows, eyes locked on the entrance door. Nobody spoke.
These poor workers. They already pitied people living and working in this part of town, but having to deal with anomalies regularly on top of that? It must be dreadful.
They didn’t bother consoling either of them, merely walking over to the security camera’s monitor and busying themself by clicking through them.
The rest of the day flowed on too naturally. The nurse recovered soon, or at least she appeared to, and headed back to work. The secretary returned, and the Agent assisted him in checking in more people. The Intern remained by the coffee machine, stationary for hours. Nobody said anything to him, so they didn’t push him to be productive either.
Night began to fall, and the hospital emptied. The Agent offered to close up for them, to which nobody objected. It would be a good chance to get a look around at everything. As they were sneaking off into the left hall, a hand fell upon their shoulder. They whirled around, seeing a white-furred woman with two horns. She looked fairly tired, watching the Agent for a moment before speaking.
“We haven’t had a chance to properly meet. I’m the Head Nurse here.” She moved her hand off their shoulder, extending it in a manner of greeting.
They shook it politely. “Bombay. Nice to meet you.”
“You don’t need to head this way for closing up. The light switches are in the front office, and the key for the door is there as well.” She paused. “Of course, unless you’re planning on snooping around?” It came out as an accusation.
They faltered, but didn’t let it show. “Excuse me?”
An amused smirk tugged on her lips. “You needn’t lie; Doctor Harlow told me. You won’t find anything of interest when patients are away. I suggest you study them while they’re here. Nurse Cania can teach you how to care for them.”
“Right. I think I’d like to take a peek around just in case.”
“Suit yourself. Nice to meet you, Bombay.” She said their name like she knew it was a fib. And maybe she did.
She was right. They didn’t find anything of interest. Exhausted, they finally decided to lock up for the night.
The next couple of days went by smoothly. They got some good insight on the anomalies when looking over their files, and figured out ways to deal with them when necessary. They also spent time observing the other workers.
Luna had a tendency to overwork himself, both at the front desk and with the clients. He would run from room to room trying to cover everything without taking coffee breaks, though he would often buy chocolate to keep himself going.
Nurse Cania was kind and upbeat, but whenever anything happened involving anomalies, she’d shut down instantly. From what the Agent could tell, it seemed she must have trauma involving them. They knew better than to push her on it, though.
The Head Nurse, whose name the Agent had never caught, was quiet. She’d complete tasks, keep her eyes on the Agent, and mostly be to herself. Though the Agent occasionally found her unwinding with Nurse Cania.
And then there was the intern. His name also eluded the Agent. Nobody had ever called him by anything other than “Intern”. They had inquired upon it on their third day working there, but he merely eerily grinned at her before turning and stealing some coffee. They didn’t like him much. He always put them on edge.
The agent was currently taking a break, feeling a little off. It’s been a few days since they’ve had a full meal, and it was definitely affecting them. Their head was spinning and their memory was crappier than it should be.
They were sitting on the floor beside the coffee machine when the rabbit sat down beside them. Purposefully averting eye contact, they hoped he’d either leave them be or leave them entirely. Suddenly, he pulled out a protein bar, wordlessly placing it in their hand.
“What?” They murmured.
“I had an extra one.” He shrugged.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Alright. Can’t hurt to have it on you.”
They faltered. Then, quietly, “thanks...”
“Any day.”
Hesitantly, they looked over the wrapper. It was a well-known brand, and from the looks of it, wasn’t tampered with. It was crinkled and warm, probably from being in the rabbit’s pocket, but that was all. Slowly, they unwrapped it, taking a hesitant bite. It tasted fine... but what if it wasn’t.
Nausea swarmed them and they put it down, unable to eat it despite their stomach screaming for food.
They could feel him watching them. Was there judgement in his gaze? Pity? They didn’t want to know.
Thankfully, he didn’t say anything. He just stared ahead, unblinking with that same eerie smile he always had. They sat hunched over, running a claw across the floor tiles.
“Hey...” they spoke up before they could stop themself. “I never caught your name.”
He flinched ever so slightly. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Pardon?”
“My name doesn’t matter. I’m the Intern here. That’s it.”
They sat upright, eyes locked on him. There was so much disdain in his expression. It was interesting to read. “I didn’t like mine, either...” They admitted.
Fuck.
The last thing they should be doing is telling someone they’re meant to be fooling personal information. It was true, though. They hated their birth name. Once they’d been old enough to move out, they immediately changed their name. Onyx. They liked it enough. It wasn’t perfect, no name ever was, but it was their decision, and their name.
He glanced over at them, uncertainty and meekness washing over his face. “Yeah...?”
“It didn’t fit me. Every time I heard it I thought of... unpleasant things.” Their upbringing. Every time they heard that name spat out, they were reminded of how terrible it was growing up dirt-poor around awful people.
“I, uh, haven’t really thought of another name for myself.” He admitted. “It just feels kinda... taboo, y’know?”
“In what way?”
“Just... I don’t... I don’t know.” He fell silent.
“That’s fine.” Onyx let out a comforting purr. “You don’t have to choose one immediately. Or ever if you don’t want to.”
“Yeah, I know.” He scowled, seeming defensive. Then he deflated. “Thanks...”
“Any day.” He grinned.
That made the Intern grin as well. And suddenly... he didn’t seem so bad. Onyx still had to be cautious around him, but... well, it’s not like he could interfere with their mission, yeah? So long as Doctor Harlow and the rest of the organization weren’t made aware of their conversations with him.
“I should head back to work.” The Agent stood, dusting themself off. “It was nice talking to you.”
“You, too, Bombay.”
They continued the rest of their shift. It was mostly uneventful, as no anomalies were let in, thankfully. But there was one particular patient that caught their attention.
A small black mouse, by the name of Ratthew, had come behind the counter, sitting up on it and chatting quietly with Luna and the Intern. He seemed oddly wary of Onyx. Later on, when they noticed him leaving, they saw a cheese-yellow key in the Intern’s hand. Casually, they approached him, tail waving nonchalantly behind themself.
“What’s that?” They inquired.
“Nothing important.” He shoved the key in his pocket. “Why?”
“Just curious.”
“Yeah, try not to die.”
They faltered. “What...?”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
Wasn’t the first time they’d heard that joke. It never quite landed with them. “Right.”
Unprompted, the Intern rustled the top of Onyx’s head. “I’m gonna head off.”
“Wait.” They grasped the Intern’s paw in their own two. “Can I see the key? Please?”
The Rabbit’s ears flattened ever so slightly. “No.”
“I think I know where it could go. I just...” time to pull their least favorite card. A soft purr rumbled in their throat as they stepped closer. “There’s something I really need to do.” They rubbed their thumb across the rabbit’s paw pads. “It’s really important to me. I just want to try. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll give it back.” They dilated their pupils, staring up at the Rabbit. “I can’t exactly run off with it.”
It was working. They saw how his grin softened and his eyes locked onto Onyx’s. Silence stretched out, filled only by the deep purrs emitting from the cat’s throat.
The Intern relented. With his free hand, he took out the key from his pocket, placing it in Onyx’s palm. He seemed a little hesitant, but gave it to them nonetheless.
“Thank you.” They internally debated their next action before stepping forward, rubbing their cheek against the Intern’s arm. “This means a lot to me.”
The Rabbit didn’t give an audible response, merely freezing up at the contact. Onyx didn’t bother checking if to see if he was flustered or uncomfortable. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was they had the key.
Slowly slipping away from the Rabbit, they headed off down the hall, entering room five. They’d seen a safe there a couple of days ago behind the poster, but couldn’t unlock it. Maybe this was their chance.
Glancing around briskly to make sure none of the other workers followed them, they swept aside the poster and pressed the key into its hole.
Click.
The safe leisurely swung open, revealing papers and a classified folder.
Jackpot.
Briskly, they scooped it all up, tucking the bottom half of the folder into their waistband, the upper half covered by their shirt. The small papers went folded up in their pockets. They then closed it and covered it back up with the poster, swinging the key around in their paw.
Calmly, they strode out, moving back to the front office. The Intern was standing right where they’d left him, staring off into space like he often did. They approached him, taking his paw and placing the key inside, feigning mild disappointment.
“Find anything?” He murmured, seeming only half present.
“No. Nothing.” They sighed. “Thank you anyway, Bun.”
“What...?” He slowly turned to look down at them.
“Thank you anyway.”
He nodded. “Yeah...”
They paused. “Are you alright?”
He slowly pulled his hand away, placing the key back in his pocket. “Don’t... do that again.”
“Oh.” So it had been discomfort. “Of course. I apologize.”
The Rabbit was zoned out for a few beats more before widening his smile and turning back to Onyx. “What’d you try it on?”
“Just a little door, nothing big.”
“We have a Coraline door here?”
“Not that type of little. Something unimportant.”
“You said it was important to you.”
God, their hunger must really be getting to them. Usually their lies and stories went by much smoother. “It turned out not to be.”
“Right.” It was clear the Intern didn’t believe them, but he thankfully didn’t push further. “I’m going to head out. Goodnight, Bombay.” And with that, he stalked off.
Sleep didn’t come easy that night. They found themself lying awake for what had to be hours, tossing and turning in their small bed, thoughts racing. They typically didn’t struggle much with guilt and empathy. Their job hurt a lot of people, sometimes more than it helped, and they’d grown numb to that. But something about the look on the rabbit’s face haunted them.
So, they took that night to go through the files they’d retrieved, researching the woman in them.
By the time they finished, the sun was rising. Exhausted as they were, they hadn’t time to sleep now. Groggily, they got themself a cup of coffee and got some reports done before they had to head off to their mission.
Their fatigue was obvious, no matter how much they tried to hide it. No food, no sleep, dehydrated, they were truly failing themself and the mission. Trying to reason with themself, they told themself they’ve already worked so hard, it can’t hurt to take this day slow. They had over a week to wrap up, anyway.
Dealing with people proved difficult. Every time someone spammed the bell, they wanted to scream. Whenever coffee wasn’t available, they would glare daggers at the intern, even when he hadn’t been the one to take it. They felt horrible.
And the intern definitely noticed.
Their shift was halfway through when they just collapsed. They sat down in front of the coffee machine, head spinning and feeling completely out of it. Everything was so fuzzy, they barely noticed the rabbit take a seat next to them. What they noticed first was his warmth, spreading to them even through his thick hoodie. He was pressed up beside them, supporting them and helping to keep them upright.
They groggily opened their eyes, studying his expression. Neutral, with that same eerie grin. Though it didn’t unsettle them this time. Instead, they found it oddly comforting.
They didn’t even realize it when they fell asleep beside him. By the time they blinked awake, almost three hours had passed. And he was still there.
Stirring slightly, they still remained pressed against him, their body aching for warmth and comfort. A soft purr rumbled down their throat instinctively.
“Sleep well?” There was a hint of tease in his voice.
They mumbled out something like “mhm”, tail swishing calmly behind them.
“You seemed off today.” He noted.
“Didn’t sleep last night...” They murmured, voice quieter than their purrs.
“I get that. I still struggle with insomnia.”
“Is that why you’re always taking all of the coffee?”
“Nah, I just like coffee.”
They snickered. “That’s fair.”
A moment of quiet went by. They could feel his hesitation about something. Eventually, he spoke.
“Do you want my number? If you’re ever struggling with sleep or something again, I’ll probably be awake.” His voice carried an air of uncertainty, as if he was expecting a firm “no”.
They pondered over it. On one hand, it was probably frowned upon to get close to someone on their mission when it wasn’t their purpose. What they were supposed to be doing was studying the place and the patients here. The staff wasn’t their main focus. But on the other hand, they could frame this as trying to get information out of someone who knew this place well. It... it couldn’t hurt... could it?
“Sure.” They replied, clumsily reaching into their pocket for their phone and handing it to him to type it in.
He handed it back upon finishing, seeming a little more relaxed. Onyx finally pulled away from him, leaning against the wall instead. The silence was calm, soothing even. They checked the time on their phone. They had an hour left before heading home.
Exhaling, they stood up. “I’m gonna help the nurses a bit.”
The Rabbit nodded.
“Talk to you later.”
“You, too, Bomb.”
They wrinkled their nose. “That nickname sucks.”
“Agree to disagree.”
That brought a smile to their face. While walking away, they purposefully whipped the Intern in their face with their tail, wearing a cheeky grin all the while.
Maybe... this place wasn’t all that bad...?