The Story Continues...
After splitting himself in half with his desire to serve two masters, one half of Zero was taken in by the sorcerer who adopted him as a pet and submissive treating him much like he were his child, even allowing his title to be Papa. Papa renamed him Tabby Noir, and he became part of a family for the first time, even falling in love with an anthro-mouse boy (a nezujin). New aspects of Tabby’s personality emerged as he had the part of him that yearned to be a slave split away from him. He found himself exploring dominance with his nezu and enjoying it.
Eventually, as their Papa continued to take in more pets than he had time for, Tabby and his lover asked for release, with Tabby stepping into role of Dominant and eventually husband. A small part of him, however still yearned to submit, and with his husband’s blessing he met that need by becoming the play thing of a sadistic demon named Jace. Tabby continued along this duality for quite some time until finally his husband admitted to longing for a child. Asking their Papa for assistance, the nezu’s impregnation was achieved, and a beautiful baby boy was born who was the spitting image of Tabby. Tabby ended his contract with Jace for the safety of his new family.
This was not to be Tabby’s happy ending, however, as both lover and child were taken from him in an accident. Tabby turned to Jace, hoping the demon would eventually kill him so that he could be reunited with his family. The angry demon, however, just used him until he was a broken shell and discarded him.
He was found by Nate, who recognized him from seeing him around mutual hangouts. Nate took him in and started to help put the broken boy back together. One day Tabby heard a familiar voice on the radio advertising the concert of a local band. Drawn to find the owner of that voice, Tabby went to the concert and saw his dead lover on stage. Unable to believe his eyes and at the edge of insanity, the neko approached his former lover after the concert. Once he explained everything, the nezujin discovered a deception by a demon that had always loved him, and had redirected his soul when he died, erasing his memories of his former life in the process. Confronting the demon, his memories were restored, and Tabby began to put his old life back together with his lover.
They were finally back to a good place and talking about trying for another child when his lover mysteriously disappeared. Tabby searched for him day in and day out, his hope and will to live dwindling a little more with each passing day. Finally his will to live slipped away entirely. He lay down on his bed, and willed death to come. The reaper that came for him didn’t even have a chance to cut his life thread, as it had become untied by Tabby’s sheer will power. Tabby expected to find himself in hell, given the way his life had gone and the blood he had on his hands from childhood. Instead, he was faced with a choice. He could go to Hades, the god of the underworld for humans, or to Pan, who presided over the underworld for animals. Knowing that his nezujin was not half human, he chose Pan, yearning to be reunited with his lover whom he was now convinced was dead. Upon searching, Tabby discovered that his nezu was not among the dead. His heart shattered at the realization that he had ensured he would not see his lover again until the end of his natural life.
Pan, having seen Tabby’s hardships, offered him a job as a reaper. Accepting under the condition that he would retire upon his lover’s death, Tabby underwent a purification process that cleansed his soul of all of the fractures. Pan’s power rid him of all the damaging effects his past had on his psyche and soul. He retained the memories, but was healed of the trauma. His appearance was also altered slightly, Pan’s powers gifted each receiver individualized powers. In Tabby’s case, having been a victim most of his life, Pan’s benevolent powers bestowed upon him a taller, more muscular form, one armored wing that he could summon at will to shield himself or others, and the ability to summon offensive blue lightning. At the end of his rebirth as a reaper, Pan bestowed upon Tabby a new name, Noir Stryfe, and a scythe of his very own. His soul now pure, passed into the possession of Pan, ensuring that even though his new powers allowed him to walk among the living, he could be summoned back to Pan’s side at any time.
Noir’s personality shifted drastically without his past traumas shaping it. He became more confident, more assertive, even more trusting and affectionate despite leaning much more to the dominant side now, his desire to submit began and ended with serving Pan. Pan came to love Noir’s company, sending him to the moral realm less and less.
Finally, one day, assisted by his former demon lover, the nezujin burst into Pan’s realm, demanding Tabby’s soul be returned to him. Claiming that as his soul mate, he had first claim to it. Pan refused, stating that the nezu was one of the toxic forces that had tainted and fractured his soul to begin with.
Pan offered to allow the nezu to go through a series of trials to prove he was sincere in his love and desire to be with Noir. The nezu accepted, and though Noir was permitted from helping him in the trials, he found himself hoping that the nezu succeeded, wanting to believe that what they had was real.
The mouse passed the trials, earning the right to live out his natural life with Noir, provided Noir still did Pan’s bidding in the mortal world. Just as Noir had received proof that the love between he and his nezujin was genuine, and had let himself embrace it fully, an act that his past trauma had prevented. In a short time, however, the nezujin came to realize that he was no longer as drawn to this whole, unbroken soul that his lover had become. Unable to face hurting him, he left a letter explaining his feelings, and stole away in the dead of night, never to be found again.
Noir had invested himself so deeply in his love for his nezu that his healed soul darkened, even in Pan’s possession. The neko hybrid became cold and closed off. He no longer felt any guilt in his duties for Pan. He took a mortal job as a bouncer and dungeon master at his friend Sylas’ bar and bdsm club, where he takes pleasure in hurting those that brake the rules. He no longer believes in love, but believes pain to be the most genuine human emotion. He’s become a little obsessed with pain; inflicting it, witnessing it, practically worshiping it. He has needy little submissive-types throwing themselves at him nightly. All of them think they can handle his level of sadism. Most are wrong. Most call their safe word and crawl home in shame. Those that can handle him end up getting attached, and he has to cut them loose before they start getting any ideas about relationships, intimacy, or love.