Sinner Born: Part 4
-
Servo, Ardea, Dalia, Talia
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: Private Estate of Yoel Machina, 10:48 AM
Yoel was a faithful follower of the Light. Considering most of his family were wrathborn, that surprised no one. One day he found himself questioning his religion, about God, and what it meant to follow him.
Ashurat was defined by eras: an era of pride, an era of greed, and then the era when the King Seat and Queen Seat of the True Light decided faith alone was not enough. Nations themselves would bend to the One. When questions were asked, when progress, culture, or the pursuit of wealth entered the picture, it was all burned away, with the True Light finding itself torn into many variants by people who wished to protect what they had or what they hoped to become. The religion of peace declared war on its own faithful and birthed its greatest hypocrisy.
The second great hypocrisy came when extinction returned. Half the population formed the Reclamation Campaign, building projects meant to revive their species. The other half knelt and prayed. Neither survived. Only those who rejected both paths endured. The third hypocrisy was the hoarding of the True Light from the wrathborn, despite their spiritual hunger for it.
Even when Yoel opened himself to the priests, he received nothing but scorn. The greatest virtue of those bound with a soul was the Word: that all people are divided into two.
The sinnerborn had fallen, but they kept the spark that fueled their rebellion-the ability to create whatever they desired. To temper that power, they were split into male and female. Every work would be diminished unless united. Hunting, fighting, ruling, researching, no act reached its fullness alone. Only together could it become worthy.
Yet when his parents found one another, found their other half, the Light rejected them. After what the True Light followers did to him and his family, he swore never to convert.
And now he died.
Yoel was dead before his body hit the floor. The group was told to leave, and so they stood and left as instructed.
-
Dalia: "Holy silver! That's messed up."
Dalia's spade tail flicked, and she ran her hands through her brown hair nervously.
Talia: "Radicalization in real time. Modern life on Nevar revealed a flaw no one ever found before."
Talia's tail barely moved, her emotions stable.
Servo: "What, greed? When hoarding wealth nearly killed your kind, I can almost understand the motive."
To the side, Ardea rolled her eyes.
Ardea: "Computers, electricity, clean water, cars. My, how poor the envious are."
Talia: "No, not envy. Greed. It will never be enough, no matter how much someone has."
The hallway smelled faintly of ozone and polished stone. They made it halfway down the hallway before two other private security guards stopped them. Both men were greedborn, and one raised a palm.
Guard 1: "Hold it. Yoel's visitors, right? Where are you going?"
Ardea: "We were told to leave when Yoel was assassinated."
The two guards exchanged confused looks.
Guard 1: "No. You need to be secured. Come this way."
Several gunshots rang out somewhere within the mansion.
Dalia: "Is that security? Are they even allowed to shoot people? That's a super lawsuit!"
The two guards received orders through their earpieces. Ardea and Servo glanced at each other, their smells giving off notes of stress, Servo more so as even his expression gave uncertainty.
Guard 1: "Change of plan. We'll escort you to the back doors."
The group was led toward the rear of the mansion.
Servo: "What's, uh... going on?"
Guard 1: "Danger. That's all we're allowed to say."
From a nearby room, glass shattered, and rioters attempted to force their way inside.
Guard 2: "We've got a breach!"
His tufted tail trashed up and down as he ran toward the room.
Guard 1: "Forgive us. The back door is over there. Get out before they get in."
Servo, Ardea, Dalia, and Talia were left without an escort and hurried toward the back entrance.
Dalia: "What the silver hell is wrong with these people?"
Servo: "I took a glance outside. Only about a third of the protest is rushing the mansion. It's a minority."
Dalia: "That didn't answer my rhetorical question."
The back door was ripped open with crowbars, and a wave of rioters poured into the mansion. A nearby greedborn maid, red-skinned with black hair, yelled and swung a mop at the invaders, only to be met with violence. She was knocked down, and several rioters stopped to kick her.
Dalia: "What the silver hell?"
The back room was spacious, with tall glass windows engulfing the rear entrance and allowing light to pour into the garden-like space. Various potted plants lined the walls, a water fountain stood in the center, and gray stone tiles completed the look.
Ardea sprinted ahead and used the fountain to launch herself up and into the crowd assaulting the maid. The other three continued forward, passing rioters who rushed deeper into the mansion.
Suddenly, someone grabbed Talia, her tail shot straight up in shock. She responded with a punch, but it never connected. Servo was faster, nearly launching the man into the air. The body slammed into the ground.
Talia turned toward a group now forming in front of her, thugs wearing black clothes, hoods, and masks marked with subtle white insignia. She was confused for a moment, then remembered the Reapers' gang outfits. These were similar, probably toned down so they could attend a protest without drawing attention.
Talia: "Reapers..."
-
Reaper Lieutenant: "Talia, you're worth five thousand Papers. I'd ask what you're doing here, but I'm just too focused on our payday to care."
Talia: "Hey, hey, what happened to the Red Men was not my fault. They had traitors. We wanted our tithe paid, and then those guys decided to blow themselves up... with the HQ."
Reaper Lieutenant: "You think we care? The Red Men ordered you to kill someone. You're supposed to do it."
Talia stood slightly nervous, fidgeting while trying to remain stiff and composed.
Talia: "Uh, well, we killed people. Lots of people."
Reaper Lieutenant: "I'd thank you for nearly eliminating our greatest rival, but change was about to happen in District Three, and you two ruined it for literally everyone."
Reaper Grunt: "Shut up and beat her ass already!"
The lieutenant sighed and pulled out a long wooden club, the others drawing similar simple weapons.
-
At the same time, Ardea had already pulled four goons off the maid and shoved them back as they began to lose interest. Others nearby backed off as well, the sight of a snarling wrathborn putting real fear into the rioters.
Ardea helped the maid to her feet and guided her away. Then she turned toward the back door, intending to secure it, only to find two black-clad figures blocking the exit.
Reapers.
Ardea: "Beat punks."
Their masks hid their smiles as both men pulled out knives. Ardea frowned slightly. She could hear Servo and the others entering a conflict nearby, and it seemed these two greedborn thugs intended to join the violence.
The first lunged with his knife arm outstretched, quick on his feet. As he stepped in to stab, Ardea shifted to the side, seized his extended arm, and threw him to the ground. In one fluid motion, she dodged the second attacker without even looking, guided purely by her wrathborn senses.
She stepped into him as he raised his arms in defense, then pivoted sharply and slammed her fist into the man's kidney, causing him to buckle. The opening was all she needed. Ardea delivered several rapid blows.
The two thugs staggered back toward the door, making one final stand against her.
Ardea loomed over them, fur bristling, ears drooping low, teeth bared like a cornered predator.
-
On the other side of the water fountain, Servo scratched his head.
Servo: "Like, are you people serious?"
The Reaper lieutenant looked at Talia, then at Dalia hiding behind her, and finally at Servo with an almost bored expression.
Reaper Lieutenant: "Yes." His tone was oddly confused.
Servo: "I just want to make sure that we are about to enter into serious combat and that I can write it off as self-defense."
Reaper Grunt: "You are all going to die here!"
Servo: "Alright, I just had to make sure."
While most of the rioters were greedborn, there were certainly a few wrathborn among them. Those individuals turned to look at Servo and sensed his heart beating harder, heat rising within him. They knew better. One by one, they made their way toward any exit they could find.
Ardea's two foes were shoved out the door, and instead of returning, one final figure stepped into the building.
Someone who made Ardea's eyes widen and forced her to take several steps back.
Servo opened his mouth, revealing predatory teeth made for ripping flesh from bone. He grabbed his own hand and bit down on it, not enough to draw blood, but enough to cause pain, much to the Reapers' confusion.
Servo buckled forward, hands on his knees, taking deep, sharp breaths. His exhales slowly shifted into growls, each one louder and heavier than the last. His fur stood on end. His teeth bared in fury. Then he straightened, threw his head back, and roared while beating his chest like a savage.
One of the Reapers took a step back as Servo lowered his arms halfway. Servo turned his head toward the group in front of him.
Servo: "Rah!"
He sprinted forward and body-checked the lieutenant to the ground. Without pause, he turned to the next man, grappling and tossing him aside as well.
Clubs, weighted chains, and wooden bats struck Servo from multiple angles. He ignored the blows and moved on to the next target.
He seized another Reaper and delivered four heavy punches to the man's head. The Reaper's desperate defense crumbled as he did everything he could to collapse to the ground and escape the barrage. Servo released him just as a bat smacked across his face. The hit stalled him for less than a second before he grabbed the bat mid-withdrawal, stopping the second swing before it began.
The attacker tried to hold on, but Servo leaned closer, growling low and pushing him backward until the man tripped over a potted plant and crashed down.
Another Reaper hurled his club at Servo's head. Servo caught it and tossed it aside. The attacker rushed in with three furious punches to Servo's stomach. Servo answered with a knee driven into the man's abdomen and shoved him back.
Dalia gasped as one of the Reapers maneuvered around the two greedborn girls. The sneaky thug threw a punch, but Dalia raised her guard and caught it cleanly. She deflected the strike and answered with a sharp, well-practiced punch to the Reaper's face.
Unfortunately, despite the solid hit, the Reaper regained his footing quickly and retaliated. He pulled back another punch, only for Talia to intercept it and grapple his arm. Before he could react, Dalia seized his other arm. Working together, the two wrestled him into a large decorative pot and let out a small cheer at their victory.
Servo, meanwhile, was finishing his fight with the lieutenant, who had staggered back to his feet. The two exchanged furious punches before Servo shifted back into grappling range. He managed to tear off the lieutenant's mask while the man continued throwing blows.
Lieutenant: "Why won't you go down?"
Servo did not respond. He focused purely on the fight.
He kicked the lieutenant's knee, forcing him lower, then seized his head. Servo bent down and dragged the lieutenant with him, slamming his face into the fountain with a wet crack.
The lieutenant rolled away, clutching his forehead and screaming in pain.
Servo glanced at the girls to confirm they were unharmed, then turned toward the last Reaper who remained standing.
-
Across the fountain, Ardea stared down the new challenger entering the room.
He was a heavily muscular greedborn dressed like the other Reaper gang members. One of the Reaper thugs outside shouted a warning.
Reaper Lowlife: "I'm certain that woman is with Talia and Zev!"
Ardea wondered if the thug had actually managed to piece that together through all the chaos, but it did not matter. If this brute was after Talia, he would have to go through her.
Ardea was taller and more densely built, yet she still took a step back as the muscular Reaper approached. Soon the two were circling each other. Ardea crouched low, coiled as if ready to pounce.
She considered following Servo's example and biting her own hand to trigger the surge, but as she lifted her arm, the muscular greedborn stepped closer and struck a pose that clearly said, try it.
Ardea lowered her hand. She would not get the courtesy, but had another trick.
As they continued circling, Ardea slammed her fist into her chest, directly over her heart, and growled. She struck herself again. Then a third time. Her fur bristled. Her teeth bared. The man stopped advancing.
Before he could seize the initiative, Ardea stepped forward.
She opened with a series of heavy punches, but the brute casually deflected each one with his palms. She dropped low and lunged in for a tackle, only for him to pivot smoothly out of the way.
Now inside his reach, she drove two angry punches into his torso, shouting with each strike. He responded in kind. One punch knocked her left arm aside. The second drove into her body with crushing force.
She growled and attempted to grapple him, but he caught her arms mid-motion.
Ardea snapped forward to bite, jaws wide, but the force of his strength made her stagger back.
From that exchange, she realized the truth. The man was as strong as the average wrathborn. She had assumed her greater height and mass would overwhelm a greedborn opponent.
Instead, her greatest vulnerability was being exploited.
Sexual dimorphism.
He stepped forward once, and the sheer force of it dragged her backward, her claws scrapping against the tiles. When he completed the step, he shoved her hard enough to send her crashing to the ground. Before she could rise, his boot slammed into her gut.
She tried to roll and regain momentum, but a second kick knocked her flat again. He raised his foot for a stomp, but that was his mistake.
The lifted leg gave Ardea time. Her reflexes sharpened. Her mind cleared.
She twisted sharply, dodging the stomp, and lashed her leg upward, driving her heel straight into his groin.
The blow stunned him long enough for her to roll to her feet.
The brute answered with a barrage of strikes. Ardea deflected each one and returned counters, but her punches were not doing meaningful damage. He shifted into a tighter combat stance and delivered a sharp blow that nearly dropped her again.
As she steadied herself, she saw it, the opening.
He lunged in for another grapple.
This time, Ardea was faster.
She seized his head and yanked it downward while driving her knee upward into his face with explosive force. The impact echoed sharply. Her ears twitched at the sound of something cracking.
The man collapsed.
Ardea's expression shifted from fury to something closer to startled horror. She did not reach out with her senses. She did not want to know whether he was dead.
There was no time to dwell on it.
She turned and saw Servo advancing on his last opponent. The remaining Reaper caught sight of Ardea approaching, fury returning to her face, and immediately attempted to flee.
Last Reaper: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay! I lose! I'm sorry!"
The two wrathborn snorted in disbelief but did not pursue.
The man seized his chance and ran.
-
Ago , Fero , Zev
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: Private Estate of Yoel Machina, 10:50 AM
A young greedborn boy shielded himself as people wandered in confusion. Rioters, police, and private security created a swirling storm of chaos.
Zev pushed through the crowd and grabbed him.
Zev: "This way, kid."
He guided the boy out of the mass of bodies toward another greedborn adult with similar features who was waiting nearby.
Zev sighed as he tried to manage the crowd and pull people out of their stupor.
Fero stood near the mansion as police finally forced the remaining rioters back. The riot had burned itself out. Now people milled about while officers escorted them away.
A transmission crackled over his walkie. Fero grabbed it.
1st Voice on the Walkie: "We have two suspects running from the mansion. It is assumed they are the shooters."
Fero clicked the button.
Fero: "Negative. The big wrathborn is a civilian who doesn't leave things to the police."
There was a pause, followed by a sigh over the radio from the first voice.
2nd Voice on the Walkie: "Honestly, that's just how we roll."
1st Voice on the Walkie: "Yeah, but wrathborn aren't the ones making the laws."
Fero: "There are many wrathborn politicians. It's the culture that isn't tuned to us."
1st Voice on the Walkie: "You know what I mean."
Fero gave his own sigh.
Fero: "Give it another hundred and fifty years. We'll have the population advantage to change things. Anyway, someone's going to need to collect the potential assassin."
In the forest, Ago was closing in on the perpetrator. He leapt over a thick root, weaved between two trees, and burst onto the road.
The shooter was a deep blue-skinned greedborn with a lithe build, short black hair, casual clothes, and a utility belt strapped around his waist.
The man was out of breath. He turned and aimed his semi-automatic rifle at Ago, firing several shots.
Ago tracked the weapon's alignment with sharp focus. His reflexes allowed him to dodge most of the rounds, though one grazed his ear as he closed the distance.
Seconds later, Ago had pummeled the shooter into submission.
A minute after that, police arrived to collect them both.
-
Servo, Ardea, Dalia, Talia
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: Private Estate of Yoel Machina, 10:53 AM
The four ran out of the mansion toward the police line, Dalia waving at the officers.
Talia: "You okay, Ardea?"
Ardea: "What, my fight? A worthy challenge."
Servo suddenly stopped, completely drained, and dropped to one knee. He clutched at his dry throat, hands trembling, and tilted his head as a pounding headache set in.
Talia: "Whoa, what happened?"
Servo tried to respond but managed only an exhausted, "Eh."
Dalia's spade tail flicked with amusement.
Dalia: "Have you never seen a wrathborn go berserk?"
Talia: "District Three is almost entirely greedborn. I don't really have any wrathborn friends."
Dalia: "Turn on the TV and watch some mixed martial arts?"
Talia gave a small chuckle.
Talia: "If only."
Ardea cut in.
Ardea: "The term we use is overclocking. Under life-and-death circumstances, or by forcing it, our bodies can shut off their own safeties."
Talia: "Safeties?"
Ardea: "Your muscles never fire at full capacity. There are reflexes that stop you from tearing yourself apart. Under lethal stress, ours can shut those limits down. Adrenaline floods. Pain shuts off. Motor units fire all at once."
Servo: "It makes everything hurt." He was referring to his current weakened state.
The three girls moved to lift him up.
Talia: "So what, they win every fighting tournament?" She was referring back to the earlier MMA comment.
Dalia: "Overclocking isn't something they use often. Not just because long-term use causes serious problems, but because it's not the most useful ability. Still... they do win more often than not."
Police approached and gathered the four before Fero stepped in.
Fero: "Sorry guys, but I think You might be witnesses to a murder."
-
Intermission
The screen flickered. An animation of a bald greedborn woman with antler-like horns and skin patterned like cosmic space appeared.
Digital Woman: "After the assassination of Yoel Machina, many people are confused not just about why it happened, but also about his family history."
The display shifted to space, passing planets and suns before settling on a blue world dominated by a single massive supercontinent, cut by oceans into several long peninsulas.
Digital Woman: "Back on Ashurat, nine hundred years after the last of the original sinnerborn species died, the first borders of the Holy Land were formed, and the representative king took the tribal name of Machina."
The display zoomed in on a scrunched stretch of land covering roughly a third of the continent.
Digital Woman: "But it is not a name that survived the Holy Wars. Instead, it comes from Ma'aver Ladmot Hatahorot, beyond the Pure Lands."
The other portion of the world lit up on the display.
Digital Woman: "The culture of the Ultra Terras Puras is what we inherited. With it came the freedom to choose our leaders, choose our homes, and build family households. Of course, since the Reclamation Campaign, much of what we saved from Ashurat has been damaged, with a massive return to the old Holy Land laws and values."
The view shifted again, now displaying a planet labeled Nevar. Two massive continents filled the screen. The entire west coast of the left continent was highlighted as the camera zoomed inward.
Cities appeared one by one. Black Stone was labeled slightly north of the equator, with most other cities clustered nearby, suggesting the northern regions were more developed and settled.
Digital Woman: "Yoel was born to an old family related to the Mehona tribe, a people numbering over five hundred cities on Ashurat. Here on Nevar, they had to rebuild... twice, because of the Campaign. However, Yoel Machina is also the name of the first unifier of the Holy Land."
The display shifted through historical images of different individuals named Yoel Machina, from one who lived nearly three thousand years ago to the current Yoel Machina, and even a great-nephew who shared the same name.
Suddenly the channel changed as an officer in the background yelled,
"Shut up! Change the channel!"
The screen switched to a competitive martial arts broadcast.
A thin-chinned greedborn man with purple skin, green eyes, ebony horns, and a bright green jumpsuit pointed directly at the camera.
Mister Boss: "People may talk all they want about the superior size and strength of wrathborn, but recent fights at the UUC Championship have proven that strength does not always win."
A female greedborn voice chimed in from off-screen.
Faceless Woman: "But Mister Boss, even their women have a forty percent win rate against our males."
Mister Boss gave a hearty, slightly forced laugh.
Mister Boss: "Almost all official competitions label females as ninety percent mass than their actual weight to compensate for sexual dimorphism. That works for wrathborn versus wrathborn and greedborn versus greedborn, but it does not work for greedborn versus wrathborn and make no mistake, without that advantage greedborn males would be the ones with a massive advantage. Honestly, we're getting off topic."
He gestured toward several monitors showing different fights.
Mister Boss: "The first rounds have already concluded for the fifty-sixth UUC Championship, and we have several greedborn fighters here to share their strategies for fighting wrathborn."
He walked over to a bank of screens showing slowed footage of matches.
Mister Boss: "In a fight, wrathborn can see their entire opponent due to their cat eyes. The slightest twitch pulls their attention. Their reaction time and mental processing also make them incredible combatants. But after fifty-six years, special techniques have been developed to-"
The channel switched again.
Loud Officer: "Silver dirt! Blasted beasts don't even go down when stabbed or shot. It's stupid that we consider them equal in physical ability."
Fero in a playful tone: "You know it!"
The next channel switched to a news program also discussing Yoel Machina, but seemed to have gotten off topic.
A wrathborn woman sat at the desk. She wore a red leather suit. Her fur was dark gray, her hair bright red, and her eyes a pale blue.
The discussion was already in progress.
News Woman: "It's true. I have a sister works for the Department of Job Management, and even she admits that wrathborn are exceptionally proficient across most professions, yet they are still denied promotions in favor of greedborn with stronger family ties."
Two other commentators sat beside her.
One was a greedborn man wearing nearly the same outfit. His skin was light purple, his hair black with a violet sheen, and his horns were long and thin.
The second was another greedborn man wearing a yellow vest over a dark blue shirt. His skin was green, his hair brown, and his horns curled thinly along the sides of his head.
Male Commentator 1: "These are jobs greedborn have done for generations. Wrathborn rarely leave their ranches except for the few positions they happen to luck into."
Male Commentator 2: "And since we supposedly gave up our greed, how is inheritance being demonized this time?"
The wrathborn woman turned toward them with a raised eyebrow.
News Woman: "Houses and tribes are how societies traditionally organize themselves. Nations that fail to do so often collapse, such as Nova Terra Septentrionalis or the old Domus Secunda. However, you've seen how many greedborn today are tribeless. You should know this hurts ordinary greedborn as well."
She leaned forward slightly.
News Woman: "Why isn't merit the standard when Nevar and our reformed Domus Secunda were both founded on the ideals of Nova Terra Septentrionalis and the modern Ultra Terras Puras traditions?"
The television clicked off.
Loud Officer: "How annoying. We outnumber them. That's all there is to it. I hate these idiots who think they understand the world when they've barely seen any of it."
Fero stood from his desk, looking ready to argue, when the chief stepped out of a side office.
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 12:12 PM
Dalia leaned back in her chair, barely paying attention. A female wrathborn officer sighed at her nonchalant posture.
Female Officer: "Can you please just answer the question?"
Dalia tilted her head.
Dalia: "Didn't I? Yeah, watching someone get shot and die in front of you is quite unnerving, but I'm fine."
-
In another room, Talia was being questioned by a male greedborn officer.
Male Officer: "Is that really what happened?"
Talia: "Yes. He walked to the window after looking at his phone, opened it, and then he was shot twice."
-
Some time later, Ardea sat across from the female officer.
Ardea: "So killing a man in self-defense is fine, but how I did it is a problem?"
Female Officer: "Right. The knee to the face is illegal."
Ardea: "He was trying to kill me."
Ardea held a bottle of water and finished the last of it.
Female Officer: "That's not what's in question."
-
In another room, Servo sat with the male greedborn officer. His own water bottle was already empty.
Servo: "I've gone over everything several times now. Can we wrap this up?"
Male Officer: "Yeah. It's just protocol that we have to keep you here for a while. We have to check every angle, but I think you'll be able to leave soon."
-
Ago now sat across from the same female officer.
Female Officer: "You should have just let the authorities handle it."
Ago: "Oh? And where were the police?"
Female Officer: "We had it covered."
The officer was beginning to sound irritated.
Ago: "Well, then I stopped him early for you. My grandfather used to tell our tribe that it was important to do the right thing. Stopping that assassin... I think that was the right thing to do."
Female Officer: "What we inherited from Nova Terra Septentrionalis doesn't apply since the Reclamation Campaign. However, I do wish we could see Nova Terra Septentrionalis culture return. Until that time comes, we have to obey certain laws."
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 4:18 PM
Zev walked back into the police station, clearly not fine after being surrounded by officers for hours. Fero approached him to greet him.
Fero: "I've already talked to the chief. None of you can leave Black Stone for a while, but at least you're all free to go."
Zev: "What, even me?"
Fero shrugged.
Fero: "I mean, just being near the protest kind of makes you part of it, even when you aren't."
Zev gave an annoyed growl.
Fero: "I got things smoothed out. You've been helping my investigation, along with the others, so unless you're seen as having important witness testimony, you'll just get swept up in a box called irrelevance."
Zev let out a sigh of relief.
The other five were gathered up and led out of their rooms.
Fero jokingly: "Here they come to save the day."
Ago gave a friendly wave.
Ago: "Alright, we're out of here."
Fero: "Luckily, the police here in Black Stone aren't going to face-plant into molten silver over minor infractions. And from what Yoel said, or at least from your statements about what he said, I think we might even fix Canto Lignum's situation."
Zev rolled his eyes.
Zev: "Found guilty and he isn't even in prison. What situation is he in?"
Fero gave an annoyed look.
Fero: "The political apparatus can't truly move on Canto. He has just as many fanatical supporters as fanatical haters. All of this buildup is about tearing down the walls of safety until the reason to arrest him outweighs his support. At least, that's how most reasonable people see it."
Zev: "He's a total rich dirtbag. What kind of people even like him?"
This time Servo spoke up.
Servo: "He certainly has a 'my way is the best way' mentality, like a lot of rich punks. But he's invested heavily in Domus Secunda, especially in Black Stone. His great-grandfather may be one of the core reasons we restored the modern age and saved Domus Secunda."
Fero raised a hand slightly, interjecting.
Fero: "Hard to tell if Domus Secunda has really remained that way. No one's even adhering to the constitution these days."
Servo: "Silver, man. Four hundred years in Nova Terra Septentrionalis and another three hundred eighty on Nevar. No one should let that document fall now."
The group seemed to agree, nodding or murmuring their approval.
Talia: "Right, right. Enough about politics. Let's talk about the next part of the plan."
Zev: "Do we need to? We already have a mountain of evidence, right?"
Fero scratched his chin.
Fero: "We have a large list of illegal activities that are now revealed and well documented. Stopping now would only do minimal damage to the operation. If Yoel were still alive, things would be massively different. Servo, Dalia, Talia, and Ardea will have to testify about what Yoel was saying, but all we really have is what we'd already pieced together. Yoel's words are just more nails in the coffin."
He exhaled.
Fero: "We need to find the Reclamation Engine, or an actual head of this conspiracy. Otherwise we're just stopping random employees embezzling money."
Zev: "Ah, sure. Then what's our next step?"
Fero gestured lightly around the police station.
Fero: "Let's talk over lunch."
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Tredecim
Black Stone: District Two, 4:30 PM
The group went to an Apex Burgers in District Two, a staple for wrathborn police officers. Everyone spent a fair amount of money on large meals and started eating before talking. Eventually, Fero finished his first burger and looked around the table.
Fero: "So, we have one last lead to follow: Stellar Crafter."
Servo: "Yoel said we could search the whole building."
Fero shook his head.
Fero: "A dead man's verbal consent is not a warrant. Not for a corporate site. I need a few days, and then we can do this the legal way."
Ago's tail whipped in agitation.
Ago: "Who knows what kind of evidence we could be losing? This is where the parts for the Engine were made, or something like that. For all we know, they already have everything they need and are bleaching everything else."
Fero turned to him, stern in expression but neutral in tone.
Fero: "Sneaking in to gather evidence does nothing for a case. We have a legal framework for a reason. Give me some time, and the police will tear that building apart to find a speck of evidence."
Talia looked up from her burger.
Talia: "Hey, wait. Where is the us part of this police search?"
Fero: "Perhaps not the building itself, but what about the truck drivers? Employees? We've done a lot of private investigating so far, and I don't see why we can't scrutinize Stellar Crafter the same way."
The group continued eating in silence for a while before someone else spoke.
Ardea: "Have we figured out more about the gang's involvement?"
Zev shrugged while Talia gave an actual answer.
Talia: "Nothing has changed. Easy money, easy way to siphon money off, and then they disappear. If there is more of a connection, Zev and I have no idea. We're out of the loop. Not like it matters. The more bodies we pile up, the more tolerable District Three becomes."
Ago: "Oh, that reminds me. That one time, a gang guy called Zev the Wolf of Black Stone. What was that about?"
Zev smiled and shook his head.
Zev: "The original Wolf of Black Stone was a serial killer from twenty-six After Light, the first since we came out of near extinction. When I was a child and told to kill random people, I was really good at it. So good that I was given a brand-new position within the hierarchy of District Three: the Wolf of Black Stone, a killer to be lent out to gangs for a price."
Fero slowly turned his head.
Fero: "Are you saying you murdered people in front of a cop?"
Zev: "As a child, yes. These days? I've long since lost any jobs, or even the right to my own life, twice. Don't worry about it, cop man. I'm a good boy now."
Fero raised an eyebrow.
Fero: "I'm disturbed and suspicious."
Talia: "Don't be. My grandfather bought his debt, and he's been with us for two years. No murders. Self-defense combat, maybe, but no murdering."
This time it was Dalia who raised an eyebrow.
Dalia: "Like, as a holder or paid off? Why would he stick around?"
Talia and Zev both went quiet for a moment before Talia took the initiative.
Talia: "Oh, no. His original debt is paid in full. He just... sticks around."
Zev: "No, I owe Talia's family a completely different kind of debt."
Dalia's spade tail twitched with excitement, but the four wrathborn could sense the unease coming from the pair.
Dalia: "Oh? What do you owe them, Zev?"
Talia looked down while Zev answered.
Zev: "The lives of Talia's parents."
Then came silence. A few seconds later, Dalia broke it.
Dalia: "Oh." She was stunned and did not think fast enough to stop herself from probing further. "How so?"
This time Talia took over.
Talia: "My parents died in Zev's place. That's how the debt was paid. But Grandpa and I never wanted Zev to feel like he owed us anything. My parents were bleeding hearts, true believers of the Holy Light, and they believed God wanted them to free Zev from his enslavement."
There was another stretch of silence as several people tried to think of something to say. Then the topic changed.
Dalia: "I'll see what I can do with the computer systems. The trucks come from here, right? Who wants to talk to the truckers?"
Fero: "We never did figure out where the trucks were coming from. I suppose it should be here, then. The parts are made at Stellar Crafter and shipped either to the warehouses or to District Three."
Talia: "I'll need a list of employees who work at Stellar Crafter."
Servo: "Yeah, we can work together and expose what's going on here just like the warehouses!"
Fero looked over at Dalia.
Fero: "Nothing illegal, please."
Which only made the girl laugh menacingly.
Dalia: "Exchange phone numbers. Let's make sure we keep each other updated on our progress."
-
Dalia, Talia, Zev
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, 11:30 AM
Heat, noise, exhaustion. Laborers moved heavy equipment while forklift drivers constantly navigated between rows of boxes. Some sections of District Eight had workers on strike. Everything else was a well-oiled machine.
Dalia licked her lips as she climbed onto a catwalk along a building near Stellar Crafter. Talia and Zev stayed on the ground, watching for anyone passing by.
Zev: "We've been here for over an hour. What's going on?"
From above, Dalia answered.
Dalia: "You have to be patient when phishing. It's all about emails and faking them. It starts with an obvious hook. I pretend to be corporate and send employees an obvious phishing attack. The real corporate office will no doubt send out a warning telling their employees not to click suspicious links, but I'll use that against them."
She cleared her throat.
Dalia: "By spoofing the email, I can pretend to be corporate again. Darn it, guys, we told you not to click links from emails that weren't from us. Some of you did, and now we have to reset everyone's passwords."
She grinned.
Dalia: "And then comes a link to 'reset your password,' just like IT would send."
She laughed fiendishly.
Zev looked completely lost, but Talia wore an impressed expression.
Talia: "Silver hell, that's brilliant!"
-
Ago, Servo, Ardea
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, 3:09 PM
An older wrathborn scratched his chin. His work clothes were grimy, and his blond fur was matted with oil and blackened soot.
Wrathborn Worker: "Actually, that does make sense."
Ago, Servo, and Ardea were dressed more casually, especially with the sun beating down.
Ardea: "Thanks for understanding."
The worker shrugged.
Wrathborn Worker: "Alright. Follow me."
He led the three past the chain-link fence and into the main parking lot. Ago, Servo, and Ardea has various negative reactions from the the smell of diesel, sweaty workers, and other various oily machinery.
Wrathborn Worker: "I personally liked Yoel. Never met him, but I wasn't up in arms when he started firing a ton of people. His response seemed rational, firing people who weren't working and whatnot."
Servo: "Hopefully the police come in with a warrant in his place."
The worker nodded.
A horn blasted throughout the area with the trio giving an annoyed expression as all three flattened their ears for a second.
Wrathborn Worker: "I've had my suspicions, but if he can't be here, then hopefully the police can find the rot."
He stopped and turned to another worker, a greedborn man with similar grease stains on his clothes.
Wrathborn Worker: "Yo, where are the trucks?"
Greedborn Worker: "Huh? No, no. The last shipment was this morning. The factory's closing down by the end of tomorrow."
Ago, Servo, and Ardea looked at each other with the same oh no expression.
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, 5:55 PM
This time, the entire group had gathered. A police car had pulled up, and Fero, another officer, and two well-dressed, agent-looking people joined the Party.
The officer was a male greedborn with long brown hair, bull horns, purple skin, and green eyes. The investigators were both wrathborn, a male and a female, both with blond hair, fur, and blue eyes.
Fero: "My friends, here is the squad."
Fero waved the three forward.
Fero: "The officer is Ariel, and the two wrathborn specialists are Rideo and our lovely Viva. Consider them unofficial members of our Party. Everything we've done, these three have been there to parse through the evidence we collect."
Dalia: "Like, how much do they know?"
The officer gave her a stern look.
Ariel: "Enough to tell you that after this investigation, you need to stop hacking into places. Or join the government and get sanctioned to do it or something."
Dalia gave a nervous laugh.
Ago: "Before we continue, did the police actually get something out of the assassin?"
Fero gave a shrug.
Fero: "So far, it really does seem like the guy is just some random guy paranoid with the, greed will destroy us all, mentality."
Talia: "The scars run deep."
Fero: "Now, back to the matter at hand. I did get a warrant, but I think we have an impasse."
Everyone watched with bated breath.
Fero: "Ninety percent of what the warrant covers, we already know because of Dalia... jumping the gun, for lack of a better term. However, her information only confirms what we already have. Nothing actually connects the internal misdeeds of Out of Ideas, Cyberpunx Data, or anything else. Worse, Cyberpunx Data has been very upfront about what they've been doing here. It's all very well documented."
Fero let out a disgruntled sigh.
Fero: "The warrant is not a 'tear down the whole building' order, so we are in a bit of a bind. The scope has to remain narrow, business evidence only. That means documents, questioning employees, and a handful of areas that do not cover what we are actually looking for."
Every wrathborn's ears twitched as they sensed the rising stress in Dalia.
Dalia: "Oh? So you're only allowed to search places and items not related to the Reclamation Engine?"
Fero: "The assumption is that this is still just an embezzlement scheme. We even looked at every warehouse connected to Out of Ideas and Cyberpunx Data. Warehouse 414, the Engine isn't there. It must have been moved, but we have no solid evidence of the Engine itself or of a broader conspiracy."
Dalia tilted her head.
Dalia: "And we won't be getting any more, huh?"
Fero and his three allies fell silent.
Dalia: "Oh my God. Are you going to suggest something uncouth?"
Fero: "Well, as a police officer, along with my fellow officers, we have come to the conclusion that... well, the law here is a bit underwhelming when it comes to what needs to be done to find a potentially dangerous machine."
Dalia gasped.
Dalia: "You are! All that legal finger-wagging at me, and now you're saying, 'let's do crime.' Hahaha."
Fero: "No, no. You see, several officers, people of the law, are simply expanding what is required of us to solve this case."
Dalia looked a bit dumbfounded, but eventually managed a response.
Dalia: "And choke on molten silver to you too!" Her tone carried equal parts amusement and annoyance.
Servo: "Hold on. A lot of conspiracies this big end up being proven wrong. It's understandable that all the higher-ups in society don't believe it."
Ago gave a dismissive huff.
Ago: "Illegal is illegal. People think they know what's right and get burned when their actions have consequences. Usually. Regardless of all that, why can't we do our usual investigations and get the information that way? Maybe questioning the employees here will give us results."
Ago was not being serious. He meant it more as a jab at the flaws in the original plan, an irritation that matched Dalia's.
Fero: "Okay, no pretense. My team has gone over the information, and considering the Engine has been moved and we don't know where it is, we are in a bit of a panic. Personally, I think we are running out of time before something bad happens. I'm not going to let the bad guys win. I certainly don't condone taking the law into one's own hands, but like I said, I have several officers with me and a police chief who understands my investigation well enough to tell me that what we are about to do is right."
Dalia: "Well then, you're lucky I love this kind of trouble. What's the actual game plan?"
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 7:32 PM
Rideo and Viva were watched by the head manager as they stripped the offices bare, taking papers and even entire computers. They loaded a van full of evidence before finally stopping. Once they were alone, they spoke about the plan.
Rideo: "Hey, maybe there's something that Dalia missed?"
Viva: "Maybe. I really hate how she just hacked the place."
Rideo: "Kids. What are you going to do?"
The wrathborn woman gave a snort.
Viva: "Raise them better."
Rideo: "Wow, okay."
Viva looked over toward an alley where the Party, minus Fero, was hiding. Then she closed the van doors, and she and Rideo climbed inside and headed back to the police station.
Fero and Ariel were still questioning employees.
Fero: "And you don't find that odd?"
A well-dressed greedborn worker shook his head in confusion.
Well-Dressed Man: "I don't keep track of my truckers."
Fero: "The mileage from point A to point B, the money for it, and yet for some reason we have tickets showing far more than that?"
Well-Dressed Man: "As if unexpected events don't happen?"
Fero: "Twice the length of the trip? No. Come on."
Somewhere farther back, Ariel was questioning a secretary.
From the alley outside, the Party were off in their own private prayers, except for Zev and Talia who crossed their arms and waited for everyone to finish.
Dalia: "Amen."
The four stood and readied themselves for the infiltration alongside the other two. Ago, Servo, Zev, and Talia wore their armored protection. Dalia and Ardea wore their usual clothes, unassuming and casual.
Talia: "We don't have long before the night shift moves in. They're working with half the usual employees since they're done with whatever work they were doing."
Dalia: "Upgrading, as Yoel said."
Talia: "Among other things. Let's roll."
Talia looked down the street before leading everyone across the road and toward the back of Stellar Crafter.
-
Stellar Crafter sat in the middle of District Eight. The facility was large but not sprawling, built upward in blocky industrial tiers with flat rooftops crowded by vents, ducts, and humming cooling units. Its outer walls were a mix of gray metal paneling and dark reinforced stone. Long bands of black-tinted windows ran across the upper offices, reflecting the the fading orange light of early evening and giving nothing away from inside. Several LED panels around the building displayed various brands, security warnings, and new products.
A tall chain-link fence surrounded the property, topped with tight curls of silver wire that glinted under the floodlights. Thick ropes of internet cable climbed the building, and security cameras hung from the corners of each structure. The main lot was packed with loading bays, parked trucks, forklifts, powered-down hulking robots, and stacks of sealed cargo containers marked with tracking codes and faded hazard symbols. Workers in dusty uniforms moved through the yard with the ease of long repetition, while drones flew packages around the building or carried materials out for shipment.
Near the entrance stood a clean corporate sign shaped from polished black stone and brushed steel:
STELLAR CRAFTER
The Party crowded around a fire exit, which sat atop secure stairs raised above the ground and out of reach of any intruder. However, the group was not looking at the fire exit itself, but instead at hatches farther up the metal stairs.
Ago: "Who is going up?"
Ago moved beneath the retracted ladder.
Dalia: "Infiltration expert!"
She stepped forward.
Ardea moved up as well.
Ardea: "I know about sneaking around."
The girls walked up to Ago, but then a third person stepped forward.
Servo: "I'm also very quiet."
The two girls raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.
Zev moved to the other side of Ago, and the two men lifted the infiltrators up to the ladder. Ardea, Dalia, and Servo climbed the stairs to the hatches and slipped into the building, while Zev, Talia, and Ago moved around toward the loading area.
Ago: "So, what happens if we can't get inside?"
Talia: "Then we don't. It's all on Dalia to get us the information we need."
-
The air trembled with the constant thrum of machinery, the hiss of hydraulics, and the metallic clatter of automated assembly lines. Overhead lights hung in rows, shedding white light that shone off polished rails, control panels, and the occasional slick stain of oil on the concrete floor. Dust gathered in corners, grease darkened handrails, and the whole place carried the heavy scent of iron, ozone, and overheated equipment, though it was otherwise not especially dirty.
The trio inside moved along the wall of a wide-open room. Vast production floors stretched beneath exposed beams and hanging automation, with marked pathways painted across the ground in yellow and white. Conveyor belts sat empty, with only a handful of workers inspecting them and making sure everything was wrapped up for the day. The glassed-in booths above were empty, their supervisors finishing work elsewhere in the factory. Massive cables carrying electricity and internet lines choked the walkways throughout the building.
Ardea was fast, slipping into a side section of the enormous open room without any trouble, while Dalia took a few seconds longer, more cautious whenever she lacked cover. The two took a breather inside the side room before noticing something was wrong. They both looked back to see Servo suddenly standing in front of them, causing Dalia at least to gasp.
Dalia: "Oh geez, don't scare me."
Ardea looked her fellow youth up and down, even glancing at the shovel he had in fact brought along for the infiltration. Her wrathborn ears didn't even hear him, not even his breath.
Ardea: "You're quiet."
Servo shrugged.
Servo: "Eh."
Ardea: "Your steps didn't make any sound."
Servo shrugged again.
Servo: "Eh."
-
Ago, Talia, and Zev sat at a nearby table, all bored and waiting for anything to happen. Ago yawned, Zev stared blankly out at the parking lot, and Talia kept glancing between the yard, the workers, and the cameras around it.
Ago: "You know, it isn't too bad out here. Normally factories always give off something fowl, but this place isn't unleashing fumes of awful, or something."
Talia: "There shouldn't be anything, but assembly here, mostly."
A sleek vehicle pulled into the commercial parking lot, and two individuals stepped out. The three gave the new arrivals a glance. Ago and Zev immediately dove behind a tree, leaving Talia confused.
Talia: "Something the matter?"
Ago: "Barak. If you remember, the two of us owned a gym, and because I'm still a kid, he was able to kill it."
Talia: "Still insane that someone of your stature, from a species that has to breed young, is considered a kid."
Zev: "By sixteen, a greedborn could get a degree in physics and somehow that's still a child."
Ago: "Yeah, by sixteen most wrathborn females are incredibly stacked."
Talia gave a huff.
Zev: "And sixteen and seventeen isn't even old enough to vote."
Talia sighed and looked back at the pair, Barak and what looked like the current governor, Eitan Sovel.
Talia: "Do governors regularly visit random factories?"
Ago let out a heavy exhale.
-
Fero gave a growl as workers headed outside.
Fero: "Okay, ignore me."
He shook his head and looked for someone else to question. The doors opened, and Fero and Ariel turned to see who was entering.
Eitan Sovel wore a white suit, formal and custom-tailored. He had slick, short blond hair, pale orange-white skin with darker patches across his body, most of them hidden by his clothes, a spotted pattern rarely seen outside the first sinnerborn. Finally, he had no horns and blue eyes.
Fero: "Governor Sovel? What brings you to this random factory?"
The governor raised an eyebrow.
Eitan: "The state has an investment in the robotics being developed inside this facility. Officer, if I may ask, what are you doing here?"
Fero: "Classified."
The governor gave a chuckle.
Fero: "But seriously, a police investigation has revealed a massive embezzlement scheme within Out of Ideas, and since Stellar Crafter is technically part of the umbrella, we have to investigate here too. I'm confident we'll find just as much corruption here as well."
Eitan: "I doubt that. Since the government has had an interest in the robotics here, we've made sure many internal investigations were conducted to ensure everything is above board."
Fero nodded.
Fero: "I've seen the records, but better safe than sorry."
Eitan gave a slight smile.
Eitan: "Understandable. Have at it, then."
Fero looked over at Barak, who seemed zoned out and not especially interested. He still wore his tight black tank top, light red-purple bell-bottom jeans, but his brown hair seemed much more unkempt than normal.
Fero: "Who's that?"
Eitan: "Something of a bodyguard."
Barak seemed to snap out of his daydream.
Barak: "Huh? Hardly. If someone pulls out a gun, you're on your own."
Everyone laughed.
Fero turned to see some night workers coming in.
Fero: "If you'll excuse me, my partner and I have more people to question."
Eitan tilted his head.
Eitan: "I'll leave you to it, officer."
Barak: "Yeah, bye-bye."
Fero nodded and wandered over to the incoming night workers.
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter 8:05 PM
Sparks flew as several welders worked on manual fine-tuning, leaving the larger chunks of metal to the mechanical monstrosities that served as their automated workers. A female greedborn worker turned around to see her coat on the floor, which made her tilt her head in confusion before placing it back on a sawhorse.
Once the worker turned back around, Dalia sprinted as quietly as she could toward an out-of-the-way hallway. The worker turned again too late and saw nothing, causing her to shake her head.
In the hallway, Dalia pulled out an ID badge.
Dalia whispering: "Classic."
She showed the badge to the other two.
Servo whispering: "You look nothing like this buff woman."
Dalia whispering: "Enough of that. Let's go."
They walked down the hallway, checking every door and taking quick peeks when they could.
As they moved, a door opened and a greedborn thug dressed in red stepped into the hallway. From a wide-open doorway behind him, two more thugs stood wearing thick, padded blue uniforms, probably not comfortable given the heat.
Dalia: "Crawlers and a Redman."
The thugs leaned against the walls as if expecting them. The Redman had blue skin and black hair; the Crawlers were both blue-skinned with green eyes.
Redman: "And who are you three?"
Crawler 1: "Wrathborn aren't part of the crew."
Redman: "Clearly, you three aren't supposed to be here."
Dalia: "You're not even wearing any vests."
Dalia's comment was seemingly ignored. Ardea subtly began scanning for exits or anything in the environment she could use.
Servo: "Actually, we're heading to the camera room. Can you point us the way?"
The three thugs chuckled.
Redman: "Yeah, no. You three are intruders."
Servo: "I'm not sure why you'd think that."
He lifted his shovel as if it were proof.
"Just show us the way. We just arrived."
Now the thugs looked confused.
Redman: "You're going to jail for breaking and entering."
Servo: "We are not intruders."
The thugs exchanged glances, uncertainty creeping in. Dalia and Ardea were just as confused by whatever Servo was attempting.
Redman: "Uh... right. We don't believe you."
Servo: "Well, you should."
Redman: "I'm starting to think we should beat some sense into you."
Servo: "Technically, the cops are already here. If I'm not supposed to be here, then haul me away."
The thugs looked at each other again.
Redman: "What do you mean the cops are already here?"
Servo: "At the front entrance. Two officers have a warrant to be on the premises, take documents, and question workers."
Crawler 1: "Wait, what?"
Crawler 2: "Are we in trouble?"
Redman: "Shut up, you two."
Servo gave a friendly wave.
Servo: "The warrant doesn't cover the whole building. Just stay back here and we're golden."
The Redman nodded slowly.
Redman: "Yeah... yeah."
Servo: "Everything is under control. The three of us just need to get to the security room, because that's where we're supposed to be."
The Redman gave them another once-over, lingering suspiciously on the two wrathborn.
Crawler 1: "I also brought a shovel as a weapon."
Servo pointed.
Servo: "Ah, see."
The Redman gave a low growl.
Redman: "Whatever. Up those stairs, take a right. You can't miss it."
Servo thanked him, followed by the two girls. As they passed, the three thugs continued to watch them with suspicion. Once the thugs returned to their positions and the trio was out of earshot, Dalia spoke.
Dalia: "The silver hell was that?"
Servo: "I don't know. I just said what I was thinking."
Ardea: "You truly have some... interesting skills."
Servo smiled.
-
Fero moved toward a door leading into the inner factory, but a mid-level supervisor stopped him. The blue-skinned, short brown-haired man stumbled over his words before finding the right ones.
Supervisor: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't just go back there. The warrant clearly says offices."
Fero: "Filing rooms and, of course, server rooms."
The supervisor was noticeably sweating.
Supervisor: "Your, uh... your previous investigators already searched it."
Ariel walked up from behind.
Ariel: "You'll have to forgive us. The entire police department is busy with too many other problems. Cutting the grass in District Three, the recent assassination, and this whole embezzlement conspiracy. Even with COB coming up here to help, we can barely go out for regular patrols."
The supervisor hesitated, then gave up and motioned for them to proceed into the factory.
Fero: "Realistically, your server room would have been locked down, but we're doing the next best thing."
Supervisor: "Oh? Like what?"
Ariel turned to Fero, letting him take the lead.
Fero: "Downloading every scrap of information we can access. Of course, that took too long, so now we're coming in to pick up the flash drive."
Supervisor: "Just a flash drive?"
Ariel: "Like I said, this is all we can spare."
The factory seemed mostly quiet, with gears turning and voices echoing from elsewhere. Then, sections of wall opened, and rows of robots were moved through. Fero and Ariel slowed, taking in the scene. Machines, walker drones, and bipedal robots were being outfitted with weapons, mostly non-gun weapons, but a few did have guns equipped.
Fero: "That looks suspicious."
Supervisor: "The military has been ordering those. I don't know why. AI is great at following orders, but there are still situations that require nuance we haven't seen machines handle yet."
They turned a corner and exited that section of the factory.
Supervisor: "These machines are a bit brain-dead, and their chassis is far too weak for proper combat. The metal is paper-thin almost everywhere. Still, I'm wary. They're too dangerous to activate right now."
-
Ardea, Servo, and Dalia passed by a camera.
Dalia: "Act natural."
Servo: "Always."
The door to security came into view. Servo and Ardea stepped aside, leaving Dalia alone.
Dalia knocked. She didn't have to wait long before a different Redman thug answered. Dalia already had her stolen ID card up, holding it at an angle with her fingers covering the picture.
Dalia: "I'm here. What do I do now?"
This Redman was a male with bright pink skin, long gray hair, and blue eyes.
Redman Thug: "Uh... what?"
Dalia glanced inside, spotting the monitors and a second chair pushed against the wall. She took a chance.
Dalia: "Where's the other guy?"
The thug let out a deep exhale.
Redman Thug: "As if I know. We aren't even supposed to be here, but I guess a ton of people quit, and the Shot Caller is forcing us to make up the workforce."
Dalia: "At least the fat rich losers are paying the bill."
Redman Thug: "You know it. Now, why are you here?"
She stepped inside.
Dalia: "Oh, well..."
The thug leaned out the door and saw Servo and Ardea.
Redman Thug: "Hey, quit standing around and get back to work!"
Dalia was already slipping on her shock glove. She reached out while the thug was distracted. At her touch, the man convulsed and dropped to one knee. Ardea and Servo rushed in, finishing the job and leaving him a drooling mess on the floor.
Dalia: "Wow, this is so crazy, and the plan is working. Oh my Lord, this is so much fun!"
Servo lifted the greedborn thug over his shoulder while Ardea moved out ahead.
Servo: "I guess it's Plan B. Lock the door."
Dalia handed him a bag of zip ties, then gave a quick salute.
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:15 PM
The door opened, and Fero and Ariel entered with their watcher close behind. The server room was a jungle of cables, so dense it almost looked like wilderness, enough to make any IT worker drop from a stroke. Fero did his best to appear like he was inspecting the area, while Ariel loomed over a nearby laptop.
Earlier, the investigators had set up the laptop to download files and left for the other two to retrieve, but there was one more flash drive plugged into it, connected to a large server rack.
From the security room, Dalia was already typing away until several videos were deleted.
Dalia: "That's any footage of us."
Ariel looked at the laptop. Two download bars were visible. The bottom one was already full. He glanced around before pulling the drive out and pocketing it.
Dalia tapped her computer, but then a message appeared: Signal Loss.
Dalia: "That's step one."
She moved to the security controls, and her screen flicked to Connected.
The top download bar completed, and Ariel grabbed the next flash drive.
Ariel: "We got it. Let's go."
He picked up the laptop.
Fero turned to leave, but the supervisor grabbed his shoulder. Fero raised an eyebrow.
Supervisor: "So, we've been hiring people who need jobs, temp hires working for less than two thousand papers. It's all so we don't have to worry about taxes. I'm a bit confused about how we haven't run into any of them yet, but I just wanted to know if we're in trouble."
Fero let the pause hang before answering.
Fero: "It's something certain offices have been doing to move money around. The temp employees will all be investigated, and the higher-ups have long since been on our list."
Supervisor: "But they're unlisted."
He was referring to the temp employees.
Fero smiled.
Fero: "We'll find each one."
In his mind, he was far less certain, but he couldn't lose face here.
"The police are on it. Thanks for the heads-up."
-
Dalia froze when someone started banging on the door.
Servo was a bit farther away, but his long ears picked up the noise, and he paused.
-
Fero stopped in the middle of a hallway when his ears caught a conversation from a nearby room.
Eitan: "We are soulborn. There is nothing we can't figure out."
Other Voice: "Perhaps we either lack the technology, or bipedal robots aren't the way to go."
Then Fero heard a familiar voice that made his fur stand on end.
Tendo: "We are all soulborn. Kind of insulting for the other species here."
Eitan: "I'm not going to entertain a name that isn't our own, nor give it up because another species feels left out."
Several suited individuals near the door noticed Fero standing there. They approached and told him to move along, reminding him of the limits of his warrant.
Fero: "Alright, alright."
-
Ardea slipped between several large metal crates near the loading area and glanced up at a camera. She quickly jumped back when her ears twitched, a forklift rumbling past.
-
Dalia stared at the security terminal. Every monitor was off except one.
Dalia: "Hm?"
The knocking stopped. A moment later, the sound of keys jingling stopped and the door opened.
Servo dropped the unconscious man he had been carrying and hurried back toward Dalia.
Dalia was facing the Redman from the hallway. She held up the ID badge, trying to project authority, but he swiftly grabbed it from her and examined it, immediately seeing through the lie.
Redman Thug: "I knew it!"
Dalia: "Hey now, let's not get angry."
He glanced at the blacked-out monitors, then back at Dalia, and swung at her. She wasn't ready. The thug grabbed her arm and pummeled her head, and by the time he shoved her to the ground, Servo came around the corner.
He swung his shovel just as the thug turned. With a sharp metallic clang, the man dropped. He tried to stand, but Servo followed up with a few more blows to keep him down.
Dalia: "Ah... ow! Thanks for the save."
Servo: "We can still do this. What did you learn?"
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:25 PM
The loading area was in chaos as drones and bulky robots malfunctioned. Ardea slipped by without interruption and opened a door where Ago, Talia, and Zev were already heading over.
Zev: "Took you all long enough."
Ardea: "Hurry, I don't know how much of the plan we're still following!"
-
Fero and Ariel stopped when they saw the workers panicking.
Worker 1: "Turn everything off! Disarm the robots!"
Most of the robots had already been disarmed, with a few exceptions. Several carried non-lethal equipment, and only one still had a firearm integrated into its frame.
Worker 2: "Forget the lances, just get away from them!"
The supervisor had disappeared into the crowd, trying to regain control. Several wrathborn workers were bearing their teeth in stress while others had angry expressions trying to regain control.
Fero: "Did we do that?"
Ariel: "As if I know how this place is set up. But we have a window. What do we do?"
Fero's expression hardened.
Fero: "I heard Tendo in a meeting back there. I'm going back to figure this out. Ariel, find the others and secure the data."
Ariel: "On it."
A thunderous crack split the air as a lance shot past at near-sonic speed. It embedded itself in a wall beside a Crawler gang member.
Crawler Thug: "I just came in to say we had a situation!" He said in a fearful voice.
There were four robots that were powered on this floor, and each began moving independently.
Worker 3: "How are they moving? Everything's shut off!"
Worker 1: "Because we've lost connection to the servers!"
Worker 2: "EMP, now!"
The robots were bipedal, with long, cone-shaped heads, sleek gray metal bodies, clawed hands, and heavy flat feet. Their movements groaned with hydraulic strain.
One robot carried a casket of lances, holding one in each hand as it ran targeting diagnostics.
The second had belts of ammo draped across its torso. Though the belts were empty, it pointed at anyone who looked out of place. Its gun arm spun uselessly. Then, its sensor lights all directed to a belt of ammo clips on a far wall.
Robot #2: "Moving to reload."
Robots three and four were bulkier and more humanoid, wielding metal clubs. Each carried a smaller casket of lances on its back.
Lights flickered across their bodies as sensors scanned wildly. Their voices overlapped in broken fragments:
"Intruders."
"Confirm sighting."
"Server not found."
Fero and Ariel felt a chill creep down their spines.
Fero: "I'm taking the long way."
Ariel: "Same."
-
Dalia froze as her screen flooded with errors.
Dalia: "Whoa, what's going on?"
Servo: "Bad guys are running around. We need to move."
Dalia: "I'm still in the system!"
Her fingers flew across the keys. After a few rapid commands, the messages stopped.
Dalia: "I think the robots were interacting with my system... that's bad."
An alarm blared.
-
One of the club-wielding robots dropped its weapon and grabbed a welder.
Robot #4: "Unable to reach police. Alternate method to summon police identified."
Workers crowded around it, too frightened to intervene.
Robot #4: "Stand back, citizens."
It began cutting into a set of pressurized canisters.
Panic spread instantly. Workers fled the area, while Ago, Ardea, Talia, and Zev slipped through the chaos along the edges of the main pathways.
The second club-wielding robot turned, multiple sensors locking onto them.
Robot #3: "Intruders!"
-
Dalia: "There's a hidden room beneath the factory. I think it's the real main server room."
A large explosion rocked the building, making both of them pause.
Servo: "Seriously, what is going on?"
Dalia: "The robots were in the middle of their daily training. They were connected to the employee servers, and without them, they've been searching for... I guess, new orders."
Servo rolled his eyes.
Servo: "Like what, AI?"
Dalia: "Yeah. And the very highly restricted kind."
The pair turned a corner and saw Fero stepping out of a room, his expression grim. Servo gave a casual wave.
Servo: "Yo, what stage of the plan are we at?"
Fero turned in surprise, then quickly recomposed himself.
Fero: "What do you mean? The plan was to get Dalia to the security room. Everything after that is improvisation."
Dalia: "Hey, hey, I need you to get the others. I found a hidden room, and I might need some muscle to get through it."
Fero shrugged.
Fero: "Alright."
Servo: "But first, do we even know what the Engine is yet? This is going to get us all in serious trouble if we're chasing a harmless product."
Dalia: "We've got rogue employees and hired gang members. No way this is anything less than a full-blown media scandal."
-
From the fires of the first explosion came a cascade of more explosions that tore through the factory. Flames spread across the floor as sections of the building collapsed and walls were blasted apart.
Ariel was separated from Ago, Ardea, Talia, and Zev when part of the structure caved in between them.
Ariel: "I'll go around! You kids stay safe!"
Zev glanced at the growing fire, but Ariel was already gone.
The group turned back, only to find Robot #3 blocking their path.
Robot #3: "Section Four of the... server not found... dictates all enemy combatants are to peacefully... loading... loading... die. Thank you."
Talia: "What kind of broken nonsense is that?"
Ago: "People not learning from Ashurat."
They dropped into fighting stances.
The robot charged first, its heavy steps shaking the ground. Ago stepped in to intercept. Though slightly larger, he was met with a crushing swing of the metal club. The air cracked as the blow connected, sending him crashing to the ground.
Ardea darted behind the machine. Talia fired a crossbow bolt, but the robot caught it casually and, with a violent snap of motion, hurled it at Ardea with another crack of sound. Ardea barely deflected it with her knife.
The robot's cone-shaped head spun, sensors whirring as it paused, calculating.
Talia: "Most of these things can be tipped over!"
Zev moved to cover Ago as he got back to his feet. The robot advanced with rapid swings. Zev dodged, then thrust forward, embedding his spear into the machine's frame before it stepped in to counter.
Ago saw the shift in stance and backed off just as the robot spun in a wide arc. The sweeping strike forced Zev and Ardea to duck and roll away.
Ardea: "Come on!"
The robot didn't stop. It brought the club behind its head, blocking another bolt from Talia.
Zev struck again, stabbing into its side as Ago charged forward and grappled it. Ardea slid in low, driving her knife into the knee joint.
The robot buckled.
Ago seized the moment.
Ago: "You're going for a ride!"
He tried to flip it, but the machine stepped forward, dragging Ardea with it. It slammed its foot down, stabilizing itself.
With sheer force, it shoved Ago backward and swung its club in wide arcs, forcing the others to retreat.
-
At the same time, Fero stopped at an intersection.
Fero: "Wait... I was just here. God help me, I think I took the wrong turn."
He traced a quick symbol across his forehead.
Then, two gunshots.
Fero froze, his fur standing on end, then sprinted toward the sound.
He rounded a corner and slammed into a wall at the next intersection. His eyes widened.
Ariel lay face down, blood pooling beneath him.
At the far end of the hall, a figure with a tail disappeared through a doorway.
Fero: "I don't believe this."
He rushed to Ariel, checking for a pulse.
Nothing.
Fero: "I don't believe this! Tendo!"
Fero stood, fury igniting, and ran toward the far door. He took a deep inhale.
The scent was unmistakable.
Tendo.
-
Servo pulled open the hatch to the lower level. Below was a dark abyss, broken only by faint glints of light reflecting off metal.
Servo: "Is this the only way down?"
Dalia: "What? No. But the alarm is still going off, there are explosions, and I'm pretty sure part of a wall collapsed back there. I want whatever is down here, and I'll die to find out."
She threw herself onto the ladder and climbed down at a reckless pace.
Servo followed, struggling to keep up. He glanced down and spotted a platform roughly twenty-four feet below. The ceiling of the room beneath was choked with massive cables and dense clusters of network lines.
By the time Servo reached the bottom, Dalia had already jumped off the ladder and disappeared into the tangled forest of wiring.
Only then did Servo realize they weren't alone. His ears twitched, people.
He dropped silently onto a bundle of cables and slipped behind a storage container filled with spare computer parts. Sweat was absorbed by his face fur as the heat in the room pressed in like a furnace.
A mechanical voice echoed through the chamber.
Master Computer: "Unauthorized access. Please input code."
Servo's fur bristled. People were pointing and footsteps were approached. Seeing no way out, he bolted.
Servo: "Bad day, bad day, bad day!"
He sprinted for a nearby stairwell. Several figures in standard security uniforms spotted him and gave chase.
Up the stairs he went, the guards close behind, and within seconds they vanished from the room, leaving Dalia alone in the server chamber.
-
Ago was slammed sideways again by Robot Three's club. The strike cracked the air. It followed with a thrust, but Ago rolled with the blow, allowing himself to be pushed back as he blocked with his arms.
A fleeing greedborn worker stumbled nearby, trying to escape the spreading fire.
Fleeing Worker: "Why are the robots still operational? EMP! EMP! What are you people doing?!"
He turned toward a control panel but stopped as flames surged too close, scorching his skin.
Fleeing Worker: "Abyss, forget this!"
He ran.
The fight continued.
Zev drove his spear between the robot's legs while Talia rushed in and tackled it head-on. Combined with the spear, the force knocked the machine off balance.
It tried to recover, but Ardea struck, jamming her blade into a plastic tube between its armored plates.
The robot faltered.
Ago seized the moment, leaping onto it and forcing it down. Zev joined him, pinning it in place while the girls went to work.
Blades cut tubing. Metal buckled under repeated strikes. Glass cracked and shattered. Sensors flickered, then died.
The robot finally went still. It wasn't destroyed, but the only movement was slight twitches, clearly not functional anymore. The four stepped back, catching their breath. Then Ago froze.
Across the factory floor, Barak stood watching.
He met Ago's gaze, smiled, and slipped through a doorway.
Ago: "You three find Dalia and the others. I have unfinished business."
Talia: "You can't be serious."
She turned just in time to see Ardea sprint straight into the fire, disappearing down a hallway deeper into the factory.
Talia: "Ardea!"
She moved to follow, but Zev grabbed her hand.
Zev: "No way! Staying in a burning building is a terrible idea. The police are probably already on their way. It's time to go!"
He pulled her back toward the loading area. She resisted for a momentum, then gave in and ran alongside him.
Talia: "Fine! This has all gone horribly wrong."
Zev: "Obviously!"
-
Dalia Anaf
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Dalia emerged from the maze of cables beneath the factory, dropping lightly to the floor before sprinting toward a massive central computer with a comically oversized screen.
She jammed a flash drive into the port. Everything was exposed, so it only took a few clicks before she found files related to her mission. Images filled the display, the Reclamation Engine.
Long, segmented, industrial. Massive pumps. Pipeline schematics branching into Black Stone's water system.
Blueprint notes surrounded the design, Fertility Breaker. Dalia's eyes scanned faster. Only wrathborn fertility rates will drastically decrease.
She froze.
Dalia was shocked for a moment, but then her greedborn mind put the pieces together. It felt obvious now. At best a greedborn female could have one kid a year and only have a small window for fertility compared to wrathborn and their run away population growth that has seen no slow down.
Master Computer: "Time out for input code. Switching to intruder neutralization."
Dalia turned.
Dalia: "Huh?"
A ceiling-mounted turret slid into position, its heavy frame locking into place with a mechanical whirr. It aimed directly at her as she screamed and ran.
Her eyes flicked across the room. Computer. Tubing. Crates. She dove for the crates and wasn't fast enough.
A hail of rubber bullets tore into her, all normal riot rounds. Five slammed into her body, dropping her hard.
She gave a wounded exhale as the rubber bullets rolled around her flattened body. She gave a bit of a whine as the turret turned off.
Master Computer: "Intruder neutralized. Contacting security... Could not reach security. Contacting police... Server not found. Switching to intruder neutralization."
The turret reactivated and Dalia's eyes snapped open. Terror flooded her system, burning hotter than the pain. She forced herself up, scrambling behind wooden crates just as another barrage cracked and fractured them.
Dalia: "This is insane! That weapon is illegal! Who has a giant gun just hanging around?"
She forced herself to breathe, fast and sharp, dragging her focus back together. Her wrist computer flickered to life and showed that she was still connected.
Dalia: "Good."
She started digging through the system.
Master Computer: "Intruder neutralized. Contacting security."
Dalia winced.
Master Computer: "Could not reach security. Contacting police."
Dalia: "Come on..."
Master Computer: "Server not found. Switching to intruder neutralization."
The turret rolled closer for a better angle. Dalia dropped low as another barrage ripped through bits of cover, tearing splinters from the crate.
Dalia: "Ahhh!"
The firing stopped and the turret dropped a heavy clip to reload while Dalia bolted. She sprinted across the room and vaulted behind a stack of discarded server racks.
Master Computer: "Intruder neutralized. Contacting security."
She checked her computer and a long list of files appeared.
Dalia: "Finally! Come on, come on!"
Master Computer: "Could not reach security. Contacting police."
She opened a file.
Master Computer: "Server not found. Switching to intruder neutralization."
She curled in on herself just as another barrage slammed into the racks, metal ringing under impact, and then silence.
Her breathing became ragged.
Master Computer: "Intruder neutralized. Contacting security."
Dalia's pupils dilated. Adrenaline surged again, and she jumped upright.
Master Computer: "Could not reach security. Contacting police."
She found it, a central control file.
Master Computer: "Server not found. Switching to intruder neutralization."
The turret spun up, then stopped. Three seconds later the machine restarted its program.
Master Computer: "Unauthorized access. Please input code."
Dalia blinked, then looked back at her screen. The file she deleted had restored itself and no trying to redelete would work.
Dalia: "Of course."
She clutched her ribs and limped toward the master terminal. The download was nearly complete, stalled on the largest files.
Nearby, a cabinet hung open. She saw manuals and grabbed one at random, a troubleshooting guide. Flipping pages too fast to read, she stopped when she saw a diagram, the turret. Next page, full system integration. The master computer controlled everything not part of the main factory floor. AI construction systems, defensive systems, even most offices.
A note in the margin: Master Shutdown: All Connected Systems
Dalia slowly turned her head. A panel on the far wall that was well labeled.
Dalia: "...Oh, how convenient."
It sat halfway up the wall, reachable only by a metal ladder and walkway. She wiped sweat from her face as smoke began seeping into the room from above and pressed a button on her wrist. Her small drone crawled out and took flight. Dalia snapped her fingers, pointing upward and the drone obeyed.
Master Computer: "Time out for input code. Switching to intruder neutralization."
Dalia ran. She was able to run at an angle this time. Most shots missed, except a single round that slammed into her leg. She collapsed with a cry, clutching it as pain exploded through her body.
Master Computer: "Intruder neutralized. Contacting security."
Dalia looked up at the download which had now completed. She dragged herself upright and yanked out the flash drive.
Master Computer: "Could not reach security. Contacting police."
Her eyes locked onto the drone.
It hovered at the panel and was stuck at the shutdown lever.
Dalia forced control manually through her wrist computer.
Master Computer: "Server not found. Switching to intruder neutralization."
The drone wedged itself under the lever to push it. The switch snapped down.
Bang!
Dalia hit the ground as the turret fired one final shot, the round slamming into the panel just behind her head.
Everything was silent. She stayed there for a moment, breathing. Then the heat hit her again. Smoke thickened and she was out of time. She recalled the drone and forced herself up, scanning the room until she spotted a secondary maintenance hatch.
Dalia: "Ow... ow... ow..."
She limped toward it, opened it, and climbed.
This one led to the roof.
She dragged herself across the surface and practically rolled onto a lower metal walkway. The impact rattled her, but she didn't stop. Sirens wailed and fire trucks flooded the scene below. Dalia pushed forward, her leg barely holding, until she cleared the perimeter, escaping just before police sealed the entire facility.
-
Ago Impellere
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Ago slammed open the door, fury radiating off his body. He stepped into a large lounge: vending machines, refrigerators, a coffee nook, but most of the furniture had been pushed aside. In their place, a long padded safety mat lay in the center of the room.
Ago stopped, confused.
Barak sat perched on a table instead of a chair. When he saw Ago, he stood, flexing his hands, wrapped, as if expecting a fight.
Barak: "If I have to sit here for hours, I might as well have fun. Guess I'll never get to use this."
Ago glared.
Barak: "When I was seventeen, I was already paying taxes. Somehow that wasn't enough to vote, even though that's kind of the whole point of taxes. I had a lemonade-tycoon empire until I accidentally pissed off a wrathborn having a bad day."
He shrugged.
Barak: "Don't even remember what I did. He tried to cave my skull in. I'd never fought before, unlike basically all wrathborn, but I still won. In that moment I knew my calling. I wanted to stake my life on fights!"
He shifted to a playful tone.
Barak: "Then I learned that's frowned on. No bare-knuckle brawls allowed. Only nice, safe punching."
He laughed to himself.
Barak: "But I kept finding cages. The gangs. Your gym. And, honestly? Governor Eitan Sovel."
Ago: "What silver-forsaken reason does my gym have to be part of your grievances?"
Barak: "It would've been a good path, until someone offered me better. Real fights. Real money. Real glory. Sorry kid, you busted me out of a cell and I crushed your dreams. But you're young. You'll get another shot at landownership."
Ago growled.
Ago: "Last time we spoke, you said you owed a blood debt. We beat the Redman. Didn't we free you?"
Barak: "Oh, I didn't phrase it right. Sovel offered me fame. Then I found out I'd killed someone important to him. Even during your vigilante days, that sorry excuse of a 'child of God' was already buying the gangs. It was him or his retribution. So, I got to do some very unpleasant jobs for him."
He waved dismissively.
Barak: "I was told to cover his escape. Turns out he didn't need it. You can use the back door over there." He pointed down a hallway. "Go take him down."
Ago blinked.
Ago: "Didn't you need Eitan?"
Barak: "He already paved my way in. But he wants me to wait for some 'medical mishap' plot to go through. I stopped listening. I'm tired of his leash." He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "No more cages. No more chains."
He spun dramatically.
Barak: "You take him down, and I'm free."
Ago frowned.
Ago: "If you want him gone, testify. Be a witness."
Barak barked a laugh.
Barak: "What, I show up like, 'Hey officer, this guy paid me to fight for him in exchange for doing crimes. Haha, I killed people.'"
He rolled his eyes.
Barak: "I'd rather let you handle that part."
Smoke and flames finally seeped into the lounge.
Ago: "I'm not letting you leave otherwise."
Barak: "Whoa." Sarcastically. "Sound the hero alarm. You gonna arrest me, officer?"
Ago: "You're part of a conspiracy. You've done evil things. And most importantly-" He pointed. "You promised to let me run my gym. My gym."
Barak: "Our gym. Technically."
Ago: "I'm not leaving until you swear to testify against Eitan Sovel."
Barak stepped onto the mat.
Barak: "I figured this might happen. Wrathborn culture. The virtue of patience being the hardest to grasp, always anger. This is self-defense."
Ago: "You're betraying Domus Secunda, Black Stone, and countless people, for what?"
Barak: "I told you. Moving up in the world."
Ago exhaled sharply and stepped onto the mat as well.
Barak activated a program on his phone. A loud ding echoed through the room as music started playing, unmistakably a boss theme from some video game.
Barak: "Fight!"
They approached each other. Barak halted and opened his arms wide, inviting Ago to strike.
Ago hesitated. Smoke thickened. Flame crept along the walls. The music hammered through his chest.
He snarled and closed in.
Ago threw a punch, but Barak's hands moved so fast they blurred, striking Ago several times in the head. Ago stumbled back. Barak reset into that open-arms pose again.
Barak grinned.
Barak: "Something wrong? Wrathborn eyes are excellent for combat, but not when you walk too close. You blind your own focus."
Ago understood the lesson. He took off his trench coat. He moved in again, stopping just short of Barak's preferred range. The instant Barak's leg twitched, Ago mirrored it. Their low kicks collided, perfect wrathborn copy-cat technique.
Ago swung left. Barak dodged right, then spun left, slipping another punch into Ago's ribs and a second toward Ago's neck. Ago deflected the neck strike and backed off.
Pressure. Heat. Music. All of it fed Ago's strength.
Barak dropped into the open stance again.
Barak: "You feel it? Each hit pumps adrenaline. I can see your muscles swelling."
Ago walked forward.
Ago: "I know my weaknesses. Wrathborn don't do long games. The furnace eats too much fuel compared to little bodies like yours."
Barak gave a small bow.
Ago: "And even worse, greedborn skin breathes."
He snorted.
Ago: "You're not the only one who trained until your body begged for mercy. I also want mastery. I also want to punch challengers in the face."
Barak tilted his head. Ago inhaled.
Ago: "You can't beat me."
Barak: "Then come on. Throw a punch and let's see."
Ago stretched and approached.
He tried a fake-out kick. Barak predicted it. Left punch, parried. Right straight, dodged with a spinning step. This time, however, Ago was ready for the counter.
Barak lunged with a right fist and Ago caught it.
Barak's eyes widened. Every wrathborn's victory condition: The grapple.
Ago roared and hammered Barak's skull with his left fist. Again. Again. Again. Barak jabbed, kneed, kicked, trying to break free, but Ago advanced relentlessly.
Barak's heel struck the edge of the mat. He visibly panicked. There were no words about the mat, but it seemed like both combatants saw it as an area and since Barak refused to be moved out, suffered more blows. Ago slammed another punch, sending Barak sprawling out of the grapple and onto the floor.
Barak: "Oh shoot!"
Barak scrambled away, and Ago was too tall and momentarily slowed to capitalize. They reset into stances.
Barak finally raised his guard for real.
Up close, Barak feinted. Ago missed the next low kick, and Barak's shin slammed into his, but the attempt to topple Ago failed. Ago staggered but stayed upright.
Barak didn’t. Pain shot up his leg, and he sucked in a sharp breath from the shock; he nearly collapsed. Ago closed in.
The music stopped. A bell rang.
Ago leaned forward, breathing heavily, then walked back to his corner. Barak didn't move.
Ago sat and both men were battered, bloody, and bruised. Ago's condition was far better. Barak's head and bare hands were coated in red.
Smoke thickened which made both fighter cough a few times. Flames gnawed through walls and ceiling, the strain was loud.
Ago: "Do you give up yet?"
Barak chuckled, then coughed.
Barak: "Plenty of game left."
The second round bell rang. Music restarted.
Ago stood. Barak forced a smile and opened his arms again. Ago charged.
He pivoted toward Barak's injured leg and unleashed a barrage. Barak countered with a hammer fist to Ago's skull, ignored. Another strike to the jaw, ignored. Ago unleashed three more punches. Barak staggered backward. Ago lunged and grappled, lifting Barak and throwing him off the mat entirely. Barak hit the ground hard.
He tried crawling, as any attempts to stand failed.
Barak: "I'm not done! I want round two!"
That's when the ceiling collapsed.
Fire, debris, metal, everything fell. A table near Barak created a small pocket of space. Flames burned at the edges.
Ago was trapped too, but unlike Barak, Ago held the collapsing structure up with his back and arms. He maneuvered enough to grab his coat and pull it on, giving himself some protection. He grabbed Barak's phone too, shoving it into a pocket.
He thought through the building layout. Found the direction of the hallway.
Then he inhaled deeply. Growled. He didn't need to inflict pain, he already hurt everywhere. He activated his overclock by growling several more times and getting angry.
He lifted a section of collapsed ceiling off Barak. Barak shielded his face from the fire behind Ago.
Barak: "So what now? Kill me?"
Ago calmly: "Shut up. Let's go."
Ago extended a hand.
A few minutes later, he dragged Barak out of the burning building and into an alley, out of sight of firefighters and incoming police. Both men caked in blood and soot.
Ago handed Barak his phone.
Ago: "When the time comes, you will testify against Eitan Sovel."
Barak huffed.
Barak: "Fine. Get him arrested, and I'll come forward as a witness. Nothing more."
Ago: "Ask for Fero at the station. He's a good cop."
Barak sighed as Ago sat him down.
Barak: "Sure. Now get out of here before any surviving gang members spot you."
-
Servo Custodia
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Servo slammed against the door and then fell outside and onto the bars from the outside metal walkway. Smoke poured from the burning building behind him. Coughing, he stumbled toward the railing and looked down. Workers were flooding out of the factory in panicked waves.
He vaulted off the walkway, dropping onto a lower rooftop, then another, until he reached a smaller section of the factory. His ears twitched. Gunfire, and it was close. Servo whipped his head toward the street just in time to see bullets carving through the air. A greedborn child tried to run, then collapsed as a round tore through her leg.
Robot One hefted another metal javelin, hurled it, and skewered the last running adult. Robot Two dropped an empty magazine, slammed in another, and hoisted its ammo belt with its free hand, only one clip left. Bodies littered the street: greedborn curled face-down, wrathborn sprawled on their backs, all unmoving. Rubber bullets were embedded in walls, cars, and flesh.
Robot One: "Target slain. Searching. Enemy combatant found."
At the far end of the street, the little girl froze and looked back in terror. Soft red skin. Gold eyes. Long black hair. Tiny bull horns. A pink dress with frilled hem.
Robot Two: "Reloading"
Robot One yanked out a fresh javelin and hurled it. Servo landed just in time, deflecting the spear with his shovel. It wasn't a clean parry; the javelin skimmed past the girl instead of skewering her. Once he confirmed she was safe, Servo retreated down the street, drawing both machines toward him. He punched his fist against his chest.
Servo: "Hey, hey, over here!"
The girl's sobs halted when the machines turned and aimed at him. She tried to crawl but fell again, gripping her swollen leg. It wasn't bleeding badly, but the impact had nearly crippled her. Her greedborn tail was a tuft tail that curled up around her from the danger.
Another crack in the air and Servo easily ducked out of the way.
Child: "Mister, what are you doing? You'll get hit!"
The scent of fear was almost like poison on how much it displeased Servo. He flashed her a grin and could see her eyes flicker with hope.
Servo: "Wrathborn can dodge bullets, these two won't get me."
Robot One hurled again and Servo did a sidestep. Robot Two swiveled its sensors toward him, but then hesitated. Its aim shifted back toward the girl.
Servo's eyes widened.
Servo "Eh?"
He sprinted.
Servo "This is going to hurt!"
He planted himself in front of the girl, closer to ensure nothing passed him. He saw the rubber bullets lodged everywhere. Saw the child's bruised leg. He assumed the robots were using normal riot rounds.
Robot Two opened fire, a full thirty-round burst. Servo instantly realized this wasn't a riot gun. These were less-lethal rifle rounds, fired at lethal velocity.
Servo's sweatshirt exploded into strips. His body armor buckled and shattered by the sixteenth hit. He choked on the impact, dropped to his knees, and clutched his chest. The girl screamed behind him.
Servo had dodged bullets before, but he couldn't dodge a bullet for someone else. This thing might as well have been hitting him with a freight train. Servo wheezed.
Servo: "Why the silver hell would a factory use less-lethal rounds-" His voice cracked as he fought through the pain. "If their going to be fired at such anyways!"
He staggered upright, gasping through the burning feeling in his ribs.
Servo: "Come on!"
Robot One strode forward and pulled another javelin free. Robot Two dropped its empty clip and loaded its final one.
Another crack and Servo parried the javelin, nearly losing his footing. Robot One immediately drew a second javelin and hurled it. Servo managed to dodge, or rather stumbled out of the way, and the metal bar slammed into the pavement by the girl.
She whimpered, tears welling until Servo gave her a thumbs-up.
Servo: "Don't cry, I've already won!"
She blinked, confused, then ducked as Robot Two raised its arm again.
Servo saw this and started laughing.
The final magazine emptied into him. The gunfire roared. His armor disintegrated in chunks. His torso fur was soaked crimson. His skin underneath looked mauled, almost pulped.
When the clip emptied with a metallic click, Servo collapsed to his knees. For a moment he couldn't breathe at all. He forced a single inhale. Then another. Then another. His wrathborn body overclocked, he rose, shaking and laughing as if the madness of wrath over took him.
The girl looked up. Her expression turned from horror to awe.
Servo charged Robot One with a furious yell.
Robot One didn't have time to throw. It managed to bring its javelin down, cracking the air and smashed it into Servo's shoulder, nearly dropping him, but Servo powered through and completed his own swing.
His shovel dented the robot's head like a tin can. Robot One struck again, but its sensors were scrambled and missed. Servo hammered its head several times over. These machines were built light, strong enough to stand, not enough to resist real damage.
Robot One collapsed, twitching, sparks hissing from its frame. Servo turned toward Robot Two, still smiling through blood and exhaustion. With its ammo empty, Robot Two froze completely, its programming unable to continue. Servo smashed it apart just as thoroughly, his breath becoming desperate and ragged.
He paused to take a breath before Servo hearing sirens come closer. He limped back to the little girl, holding his ribs.
Servo: "Pardon me. Just... passing through."
He let out a weak, delirious laugh.
The girl said nothing and just stared as he walked away into the dark alleyways.
Police cars and an ambulance rounded the corner moments later, flooding the street with lights and medics. By then, Servo was gone, having collapsed onto a lonely bench deeper in the district. He lay on his back in pain.
Servo whimpered.
-
Talia Tal, Zev Lehaket
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Talia and Zev had already slipped past the outer gate and were sprinting through the district. Talia pointed down a side street as she talked through their escape route. Eventually the two slowed to catch their breath. Workers were fleeing from the factory in scattered groups, but what made them tense were the gang members also pouring out of the smoke.
Talia: "Fero's safe house is this way."
They ducked into an alley and emerged onto a quieter street. No eyes on them. Zev nodded, and the pair started moving again before stopping abruptly as another group of gang members spilled out ahead of them.
Zev sighed.
Zev: "The night just won't let us go."
Talia turned around. Another group was coming from the opposite direction.
Talia: "Let's try hiding back here."
They slipped toward a recessed space between two buildings—not quite an alley, not quite open, more like an accidental gap beside a small office parking lot. A chain-link fence bordered one side; the building wall lined the other. A wooden fence sealed off the far end. Beyond those fences were tightly packed structures with no easy exits.
Zev tested each nearby door. All locked.
A cluster of thugs walked past, but all seemed focused on their own destinations. Talia and Zev tried to blend into the shadows.
Zev: "Not everything's going wrong. They just lost their scam jobs, their workplace is burning... maybe we can fake it till we make it."
Zev's spade tail twitched with tension. Talia's remained still. More gang members approached, some stopped to talk out of the crowd's earshot, but eventually the entire group regrouped and began drifting toward the pair.
Talia: "Ah, silver hell."
They squared up, only for the crowd to part as someone stepped forward.
Most of the group wore black clothing, Reapers, their gear also had white paint or facepieces. There were also a handful of Red Man within them.
The leader's spade tail was raised. He carried a polearm shaped like a light scythe, though the blade resembled an elongated pickaxe more than a sickle.
Talia and Zev drew their weapons, expressions tightening.
The man removed his helmet, revealing sawed-off horns, short black hair, deep blue skin, and bright orange eyes.
They recognized him instantly.
Talia: "Shai? Shai Doron? From District Five? Uh... I think I'm glad to see you?"
Shai opened his arms as if to reassure them, then laughed.
Shai: "It's wonderful to see you two still alive."
His expression dimmed.
Shai: "But I have some bad news."
Talia blinked, confused. Zev's eyes narrowed as he subtly surveyed the area.
Talia: "Oh?"
Shai: "I underestimated the destruction of the Red Man factory. You two killed a lot of high-ranking members that day."
Talia: "No, no, no, no. We may have tried to cheat them, sure, but it was their own people who went crazy and, uh, decided to blow themselves up."
Shai shook his head.
Shai: "They didn't have explosives. No one does. It's impossible to get explosive materials. Except for Tomer."
Talia rolled her eyes.
Talia: "You'd be surprised how many everyday things are bomb ingredients. My favorite is flour. I had a friend whose GM trapped his party in a flour mill with giants. Hard encounter, right? He remembered what I said about flour, scattered it, and basically turned the mill into a bomb. The GM had to look it up."
Shai genuinely laughed.
Shai: "Huh. Learn something new every day." He refocused. "Now, back to the bombs at hand."
Talia: "Red Man creeps stole it and went kaboom. What else is there?"
Shai: "And why were you in their territory again?"
Talia exhaled.
Talia: "We were going to rob them."
Shai shook his head and gestured broadly to the crowd behind him.
Shai: "You started a chain reaction that rocked District Three to its core."
Talia: "Sorry."
Shai rolled his head and loosened his shoulders.
Shai: "Truthfully? I don't care. When the cops arrived, the plan was to stand down. But some people just couldn't drop their hate. Do you have any idea the damage that caused?"
Zev: "I assume most of District Three's gangs got nuked?"
Shai: "It's absurd, but yes. Between the explosion and the raid, every leader died."
Talia arched a brow.
Talia: "The leaders who made the deal with Project Inheritance?"
Shai: "Your new crew is more informed than I expected. Yes, because they had to follow our rules." He sighed. "I'm here because of those same rules."
He pointed between them.
Shai: "Everything you've done to undermine us outweighs any goodwill."
Zev: "Us? Didn't you quit? I was gonna ask, since you showed up wearing that old uniform, but..."
Talia scanned the crowd. Fifteen, maybe more. She ran calculations in her mind.
Shai: "After a headcount, turns out I'm next in line."
Talia: "Leader of the Reapers, or-"
Zev: "He's the new Shot Caller."
Shai dipped his head.
Shai: "It could have been you, Zev. But you choked at the end."
Zev: "I never wanted the job anyway. Too many goons trying to dethrone me. Too annoying."
Shai: "Regardless... despite everything, I believe I can erase your blood debt. Abandon whatever you're planning. Stay in District Three. You'll technically answer to me, but honestly? Live however you want. What do you say?"
Zev glanced at Talia.
She climbed onto the dumpster behind her.
Talia: "We're tearing this whole operation down! If you've got a problem, come at us!"
Shai exhaled slowly.
Shai: "So be it. It's my duty to enforce all debts, one way or another. Sorry."
He placed his helmet back on and stepped away.
The thugs moved forward.
Zev didn't hesitate. He drove his spear straight through the first thug, yanked it free, and spun it to keep the rest at bay. Another thug rushed forward, only for Talia to shoot him cleanly with her crossbow.
The pressure of bodies finally forced the crowd to surge together. Zev stabbed, struck, and shoved, but there were simply too many hands grabbing at him. The mass began to dogpile.
Talia dug through her pockets, pulled out pepper spray, and blasted half the remaining group. Screams erupted as several thugs collapsed or fled, clutching their faces. The distraction let Zev rip free from the pile and smash the attackers with the butt and blade of his spear.
A knife-wielding thug darted in. Zev spun, feinted, and gouged the man's face with the spear tip. Surrounded again, he swept the weapon in wide arcs to carve out space.
Zev: "Step back! Get back!"
From behind the crowd, Shai's voice cut through.
Shai: "Get them! Everyone charges at the same time!"
Eight men leapt onto Zev. Talia fired the last of her mace rounds at them, the blast sending three screaming to the ground. Zev shoved himself upright and skewered two more. One of the wounded Reapers tried crawling toward Talia, but Zev flipped the spear and drove it between the man's ribs.
A final spin, a smack, and the last attacker hit the pavement. But the gang was regrouping, and only a few had fled or collapsed.
Shai: "Again!"
Zev swept the spear back and forth. Talia fired another bolt. A thug tackled Zev, and Zev impaled him, leaving himself open long enough for three more thugs to grab him and start stabbing.
Talia launched herself off the dumpster and tackled the attackers. The moment Zev was free, his spear came back around, dispatching them one by one. The thugs finally fell back. Zev clutched his side where a knife had slipped through. Talia's cheek was split open. Both were bleeding, both exhausted, but their resolve made the gang hesitate.
Shai stepped forward.
Shai: "No holding back. I'd die before I lose face."
Zev leveled his spear. Shai shifted left, then right, hunting for a feint, but the spear tracked him perfectly.
Shai flicked his hand. Two thugs moved in to flank. Talia, standing behind Zev, shot Shai. The bolt dug into his shoulder, but he barely reacted.
The opening let the two thugs rush in. One was immediately stabbed. The other managed to plunge his knife into Zev's shoulder.
Talia kicked the thug's leg out, dropping him. Shai closed the distance, forcing Zev into close quarters. Without reach, Zev tangled the spear shaft against the pickaxe head.
Talia kicked the downed thug in the head, sending him fleeing along with the one Zev had stabbed earlier. She whirled just in time to see Zev hammer Shai with a brutal three-strike combo. Shai endured it, ripped the bolt from his shoulder, and flung it at Zev. It pinged off Zev's face, making him flinch just long enough for Shai to stab upward, driving the pickaxe into Zev's right side.
Zev dropped to one knee.
Talia charged Shai from behind, grappling his arm and trying to rip the weapon out of his grip.
Shai: "Not happening!"
Zev drew his spear back.
Zev: "But this is!"
He drove the spear clean into Shai's torso, just below the heart. Shai staggered, stunned, and Talia wrenched the pickaxe free and hurled it point-blank at his helmet. It bounced off but knocked him flat.
There was a brief pause before the wounded gang members began dragging themselves upright for another round. Even Shai was trying to stand again. Talia moved behind Zev, readying herself.
Police sirens wailed, growing louder. Several cruisers screeched to a halt and officers poured out.
Talia: "Good game."
Shai collapsed to his knees.
Shai: "Good game."
She hopped over the wooden fence, pulling the injured Zev up to follow. A few thugs tried to follow, but their wounds hindered them enough for the police to come in and pull them down.
-
Fero Onus
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Fero had already started his police car and tore out of the parking lot, his fury translating into dangerously fast acceleration. He swung onto the main street just in time to spot Tendo's private car speeding down another lane.
Fero: "Silver hell, come on!"
He pushed the engine harder, but was forced to slow during a crowded turn as panicked drivers fled the sight of the burning factory behind them.
Up ahead, Tendo's car turned sharply again.
Fero: "Come on!"
It took nearly a full minute, but Fero finally caught sight of the vehicle again. He let out a brief sigh of relief just as Tendo made yet another turn. Fero followed, only to find the street empty.
His thoughts surged ahead of the facts. The good: Tendo likely didn't know he had a tail. The bad: Fero had no idea where Tendo was going. He slowed to scan each intersecting street, then another block, then another, until he realized he had already skimmed around District Seven and was hovering near the edge of District One.
With a frustrated huff, he whipped the car around and raced down the main road cutting across the district. Far ahead, Tendo's car appeared again, granting him another moment of relief. Soon after, it vanished behind buildings, but Fero's expression hardened. He adjusted his course, cut through another set of streets, and angled directly into District Two.
Minutes later, he arrived late to the small port in District Two, the same smuggler's dock from the earlier investigation. He growled under his breath, drove off the paved road, and parked.
Approaching Tendo's car, he saw that only a handful of workers remained. Crates were stacked in city light, abandoned midway through loading. When they noticed Fero, he jerked his thumb toward the exit. They immediately dispersed.
A quick glance inside Tendo's vehicle revealed several bags filled with money. Fero turned when his ears caught movement.
From the yacht, the yacht he recognized, Tendo stepped out wearing a big, idiotic smile that evaporated the moment he saw Fero, even his dark brown fur frilled as if in distress.
Several seconds of silence followed.
Tendo: "Well... this is awkward."
Fero exhaled slowly.
Fero: "Tendo, you are under arrest for murdering a fellow officer, corruption, and a list of other crimes."
Tendo casually raised three fingers as a rude jester.
Tendo: "Just try it. I'm set for life, and I'm about to be gone."
Fero: "I was hoping you'd resist arrest."
Tendo descended the yacht ramp, one hand resting on his gun. Fero mirrored the gesture, placing his hand on his own weapon.
Fero: "Eitan Sovel is going to harm our species."
Tendo snorted.
Tendo: "You don't even know the half of it. I'm just here for the money. Nothing more."
Fero growled quietly.
Fero: "Then I can't help you."
Tendo: "Is that some kind of religious thing? Because I'm not a believer."
The docks lay around them in quiet tension, crates stacked high, the last streak of was lsot a few minutes ago behind the ocean. Dock lights flickered on, joined by the glow of the city beyond: entertainment towers, street lamps, crowds moving under neon.
Both wrathborn felt their tails flickering with agitation before going utterly still. Their eyes locked in the dark, each waiting for the other to flinch.
Both saw it, the widening of the other's gaze.
At the exact same moment, both drew their pistols and fired.
The bullets passed each other with a faint spark midair as Fero and Tendo jerked sideways, narrowly avoiding the shots.
Both fired a few more shots before Fero dove behind a cluster of crates. Tendo slipped behind another stack farther down the dock.
Tendo: "Hey, woah, calm down. You actually tried to kill me!"
Fero: "Either stand down and get shot. I can't arrest you while you're holding that weapon."
Tendo let out a haughty laugh.
Tendo: "Drown in molten silver already. I'm the best bullet-dodger on the force. I'm leaving Black Stone, and whether you're dead or alive means nothing to me."
Fero: "Then I'm going to kill you."
Fero crouched low, body coiling as he prepared to leap. His ears picked out Tendo's breathing patterns and calculated timing, while he kept his own breaths shallow and silent.
Fero exploded upward first. Tendo reacted barely a second behind, giving Fero the opening shot.
Tendo's eyes widened, his body twisting in a tight spin as he dodged the bullet. He fired back, but Fero dropped and rolled, the round slicing the air above him. Fero came up firing, forcing Tendo into another sharp reactive dodge. Tendo countered while leaning back, his shot ripping past Fero's chest.
The bullet grazed near Fero's heart, spraying blood as he hit the ground hard. He gritted his teeth, aimed where Tendo should be, and fired through the crates.
He heard Tendo scramble away.
Fero used the precious seconds to stagger upright and move to a safer stack of crates for cover. His breathing was heavy and uneven. He shook out his arms, trying to psyche himself back into focus.
Tendo ducked behind an abandoned wooden stall, barely any cover at all. Too obvious and Fero thought it a trap.
Fero took full cover, pressed his back to the crates, and thumped his fist once against his chest. At this distance, even with their reflexes, dodging bullets was nearly impossible without overclocking.
His mind snapped onto the only viable option.
Tendo: "Getting angry already?"
Fero wasn't quiet anymore. His breaths deepened into growls as he overclocked, and he could hear Tendo doing the same. The increase in his heartrate made his wound ooze out more blood that soaked into his dark-blonde fur. Both men took several seconds to growl, breathe, and let the adrenaline seize their systems. Fero reloaded. Tendo did too.
When ready, Fero burst from cover and fired two shots at the stall. Tendo bolted out from the side.
Fero steadied his aim, waiting for Tendo to commit to a position. Tendo paused. Fero fired, only for Tendo to spring backward in a feint and return fire instantly.
Fero twisted his shoulder just enough to avoid the round and fired his second shot. Tendo spun, dodging, and fired his own second shot. Fero mirrored the same spin, letting the bullet barely brush him.
He completed the motion and fired a third round, this one landing squarely, surprising Tendo enough to force him behind another crate.
Fero stayed out in the open, eyes locked.
Both men exhaled, reloaded, growled, and let their anger crank their strength even higher. Tendo's impatience burst first, driven by fury.
Fero: "I'm obligated to tell you to toss your gun and come out with your hands up."
Three seconds passed. Nothing.
Then Tendo lunged from cover and fired first.
The suddenness forced Fero's eyes to strain to track him. He leaned back just far enough to avoid the bullet and fired in return. Tendo's body whipped again in an inhuman dodge, answering with another shot.
Fero half-leapt aside, avoiding the second round, and fired again. Tendo twisted once more and fired a third shot.
Fero spun through the movement and fired messily, but the shot landed, punching into Tendo's left lung. There was a moment of stillness. Tendo tried to inhale. Only blood came up.
His eyes blazed with frenzied rage.
He fired again. Fero returned fire.
Tendo missed two.
Fero hit once more, another shot sinking into Tendo's torso.
Tendo didn't even flinch. His face contorted into something wild and feral as he fired his last two shots. One missed. The other struck Fero's torso, but Fero ignored it and squeezed one final round.
The bullet slammed into Tendo's head.
Tendo collapsed.
Fero approached and disarmed him. Despite half his skull missing, Tendo still twitched, struggling to cling to life. Fero turned away, refusing to watch him die.
Eventually, Tendo suffocated.
-
Ardea Fervidus
Month of Pluvia, Day Quattuordecim
Black Stone: District Eight, Stellar Crafter, 8:40 PM
Ardea pushed through the doors, coughing hard as the smoke hit her. She stumbled, nearly vomiting, then shook it off and forced herself upright just in time to see Fero's car speeding away. She threw her arms up in frustration.
Her long wrathborn ears twitched at approaching footsteps. She turned to see five red-man thugs rushing her. None were armed, so Ardea drew her knife, pulled her red scarf into place, and charged to meet them.
She slashed outward. The first thug dodged, but Ardea pivoted sharply and came back across his arm, carving a wide, deep cut along his forearm.
The remaining four closed in and began hammering blows into her. Someone grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms, and the constant fists thudding into her sides and jaw stoked her anger. A hard punch to her gut knocked the wind out of her and dropped her lower, then a fist across her face finally snapped her restraint.
She whipped back toward the thug holding her and lunged in, biting deep into his neck. He released her instantly, hands flying up to clamp the bleeding wound.
Another man rushed in; she bit him too. He managed to get his arm in the way, but her jaws still cracked bone with the pressure. His scream tore through the chaos.
The others tried to pull her off him, but once she wrenched her knife free, she slashed wildly, cutting each one deeply enough that they broke and fled.
Breathing hard, Ardea scanned for a path around the factory. Police, thugs, and firefighters blocked every angle, forcing her to retreat. She turned and sprinted into the city, pursued intermittently by more red men thugs. She ran and ran, fleeing through alleys and streets until her legs finally gave out and she could go no farther.
The Last Curtain stood as a massive building on its own enclosed estate: the theater in front, the orphanage in the back. It radiated an air of order and old wealth, its walls white with a blue roof and matching blue trim. A glowing sign near the entrance read THE LAST CURTAIN, and the surrounding lawn was trimmed with professional precision.
Walking up the white stone steps, Ardea entered the theater. The lights were still on. The faint smell of sweat and lingering perfume from recently departed patrons hung in the air. The ticket booth was unmanned, though voices echoed deeper inside. Luxurious floorboards, clean white walls, and a stage made of much older wood gave the place a kind of dignified charm.
Several girls were gathered around the stage, still in the outfits from their previous performance, modern, almost casual attire, but with clear inspiration from Nova Terra Septentrionalis.
An older greedborn woman approached Ardea. Her withered blue skin contrasted with her neatly pinned black hair and green eyes. Her build was still lithe, despite her age. She stopped in front of Ardea with a soft sigh.
Ardea: "Noa Galgal."
Noa smiled.
Noa: "Ardea, why so formal?"
Ardea's voice softened.
Ardea: "I'm hurt, lost, and I need a place to wait out the chaos outside."
Noa: "Hm? Technically you've never officially left. Not everyone approves of young men and women running off to live on their own. Here, it's a mountain of paperwork."
She giggled lightly.
Noa: "In fact, I just received your papers today. Are you coming back, or just visiting?"
Ardea: "I can't stay here. Micah Shiachor has been looking for me ever since I stabbed him."
Noa's tone shifted, serious, almost cold, though not directed at Ardea.
Noa: "If there's one thing I teach my girls, it's that if you're going to kill someone, you do it on the first strike. Otherwise you don't attack at all."
Ardea: "Right... anyway, I can't return to the theater, but I need to hunker down for a while. If you'll allow it."
Noa: "Of course. You don't have a room anymore, but there's a closet I can set up with a bed."
Ardea's tail flicked in relief.
Ardea: "Thank you."
Noa didn't pry further, and Ardea settled into the makeshift space, falling asleep quickly.
-
The next morning, Ardea ate with the orphans and helped with chores around the theater, even though Noa insisted it wasn't necessary. Dancers, both orphans and hired performers, began filing in as the day went on, warming up and practicing their routines. Ardea looked up from sweeping as Noa approached.
Noa: "You're old enough to dance with the girls now. You never did get the chance to perform for the public."
Ardea lowered her gaze, thinking, then looked back up.
Ardea: "What, you want me to dance?"
Noa: "Like I said, you never got the chance."
Ardea considered for another moment.
Ardea: "What's up next?"
Noa gave a sly smile.
Noa: "Which Voice am I?"
Ardea: "The main event is today? I must be lucky."
From that moment, Ardea joined the practice. Noa promptly named her the lead dancer. She practiced with another girl, a gray-furred wrathborn, and with a canvas performer who, by nightfall, would be using fur dye to resemble both Ardea and the other dancer almost perfectly. By evening, all three matched: white hair, gray fur, nearly identical height, athletic builds with subtle curves that still kept a feminine shape.
The gray-furred dancer introduced herself.
Gray-Furred: "Vivea."
Canvas Performer: "Greetings! I am Flecta, and this is our legendary Ardea."
Ardea, playfully: "Oh stop, you're embarrassing me."
Flecta: "But you have so much more experience than the rest of us."
Ardea: "And yet, this will be my first public dance."
She turned to Vivea.
Ardea: "You must be a new hire."
Vivea smiled, showing sharp teeth.
The three wrathborn practiced relentlessly, steps, timing, harmonizing their voices. It was clear they had all been preparing this song and dance for quite some time, long before Ardea arrived.
Ardea smiled as she moved, twisting gracefully and stepping precisely. When night arrived, she left her red scarf in the dressing room and changed into the performance outfit: a classically tribal-looking costume. All three girls wore cloth chest wraps, leather armguards, and skirts designed to resemble savannah grass. The outfits left plenty of fur exposed, which made the girls exchange mischievous little grins.
Night fully fell. Patrons poured in, many more than usual. Three dances opened the show, and then it was announced that the main event was about to begin.
Backstage, the trio waited. A nervous pressure tightened Ardea's chest, noticed instantly by the others.
Flecta: "Nervous already?"
Ardea: "Remember, Micah Shiachor is probably hunting me. What if he shows up?"
Flecta rolled her eyes.
Flecta: "If worrying won't add a single minute to your life, then it's best to let it go."
Ardea nodded.
Their cue arrived. Other girls cheered and waved at them, some welcoming Ardea back warmly.
They stepped onto the stage, Ardea taking center.
Noa: "Presenting, Which Voice am I!"
Voices echoed from the dark as the trio hummed their opening notes. The lights snapped on, revealing the dancers in their tribal garb. Drums thundered. Voices harmonized. The song began.
~Step on the dust path, stranger in the dark,
~Can you tell us apart?
~Fur catches firelight, colors all aligned,
~If you choose wrong, you'll lose your chance.
They hummed again.
The rhythm built. Ardea sang the next lines, the trio moving in practiced unison until they reached the central refrain.
~We stand before you,
~Three dance as a blur.
~We stand before you,
~Which one might I be?
The song shifted, alternating between fast, hard beats and slower, softer moments. The girls sang, spun, and gave teasing glances to the audience. Finally, the finale approached.
~We stand before you,
~Three dance as a blur.
~Which wind speaks my name?
~Which one will you see?
~Maybe Ardea? Maybe Flecta? Maybe Vivea?
~Ardea, Flecta, Vivea!
~Ardea, Flecta, Vivea!
~Ardea, Flecta, Vivea!
~Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Ardea exhaled deeply as the final pose hit and the crowd roared with applause.
-
Most of the dancers, still in their various outfits, wandered off to mingle with patrons, tease them, or help serve drinks. Ardea and her two partners stayed near the stage, still the center of attention. Whenever Ardea looked up, she caught wrathborn men eyeing her with interest, which made her blush and look away.
Eventually, Flecta and Vivea slipped into the crowd, leaving Ardea to do a slow walk around the theater, waving politely at patrons who recognized her. After nearly an hour, she exhaled with relief as the entertainment portion wrapped up. People began heading home, including the dancers who lived elsewhere. Night had fully fallen, and clouds rumbled ominously outside.
Noa: "Ardea, over here."
Ardea smiled and walked over.
Ardea: "This was wonderful. Thank you for giving me the chance."
Noa handed her a small bag of papers.
Noa: "Your pay."
Ardea blushed.
Ardea: "Thank you. Say... have you watched the news recently?"
Noa: "Heh. The robots going rogue have done a number on Micah's reputation. Maybe he'll be in prison soon."
Ardea: "Then I suppose I'll be returning soon."
Noa raised an eyebrow.
Noa: "What, did you really not find a male for yourself?"
Ardea opened her mouth to protest, then hesitated.
Ardea: "I suppose I need to work on that. Greedborn must be lucky, getting to choose such things."
Noa shrugged.
Noa: "I would've loved to have children. I found happiness here, but I still wonder what life would've been like if I'd had the chance to marry someone."
The theater doors opened, and a group entered abruptly. Ardea looked away and drifted back toward the stage with some of the other girls. She didn't see who entered at first, but her ears picked up the conversation clearly.
Noa: "Micah Shiachor?"
Ardea fought the urge to bristle. She risked a glance. Micah stood in the entryway, a greedborn with short horns on his forhead, deep blue skin, dark brown hair, and bright red eyes that matched his gaudy, expensive shirt. He had a round belly, but not from indulgence; his whole frame had a heavy, well-kept thickness, strong rather than fat.
He was flanked by four private security guards dressed like they expected a war: armor, rifles, helmets with targeting visors.
Micah: "I'm here to speak with the dancers. Just a quick visit."
Noa: "You're banned."
Micah smiled thinly.
Micah: "The orphanage puts this property under public-access protections. You can't bar me."
Noa: "Are you adopting anyone, then?"
She crossed her arms.
Micah's eyes swept over the dancers. He didn't recognize Ardea, but he lingered on the greedborn girls with self-serving intent. Lightning flashed, and a moment later rain pounded down outside.
Noa: "If you have no purpose here, you may leave."
Micah frowned, his hand drifting to the faint bandage on his neck.
Micah: "I kept the police out of this after the incident. Perhaps I've been too forgiving."
Noa: "Call them. Let them see everything."
She smiled.
Noa: "I heard your factory had some trouble recently."
Micah: "Nonsense. I upgraded the facility to handle robotics and AI development. The robots were government property. I'm completely in the clear. I'll have to pay a few fines to avoid lawsuits, of course, but I'm a reasonable man who owns up to his mistakes."
Ardea couldn't help letting out a quiet, incredulous giggle. Micah snapped toward her instantly, eyes burning.
Micah: "Something funny, beast?"
Ardea didn't dare speak. Perhaps greedborn had a hard time identifying wrathborn, but voices were usually distinct. She shook her head and lifted a hand in submission.
Micah: "Yeah, that's what I thought."
Something in Micah's posture twitched. He stepped toward the dancers and grabbed a tall charcoal-skinned girl in a jester dress. She yelped and tried pulling away.
Micah: "This one."
Noa: "She chooses where she goes. Not you."
The girl winced as his grip tightened.
Micah: "I'm wealthy. She'll adjust."
One of the guards sighed, clearly familiar with this behavior. Ardea could smell the fear in the air and realized Micah was acting even more volatile than usual, likely because of her.
She growled under her breath.
Micah pivoted toward her.
Micah: "You again?"
The dancer whimpered.
Micah: "She's an adult. She can decide."
Charcoal-skinned dancer: "Please, release me."
Micah loosened his hold briefly, turning back toward Noa.
Micah: "I'm entitled to time with the orphans. One hour. If she dislikes me, she returns."
Ardea: "That doesn't give you the right to grab her."
He froze. Then tilted his head.
Micah: "Say that again."
Ardea mentally face palmed, he recognized her voice.
Noa began inching backward toward the wall. Micah stepped closer, suspicion sharp in his eyes. The dancer he'd grabbed tore free and scrambled up onto the stage. Other dancers moved protectively around her and were starting to leave the room.
Micah: "So that's how it is."
He backed up a step and snapped his fingers. His guards moved forward, not attacking, but ready.
Micah: "Noa, you're harboring a criminal. I didn't report the attack last time, but I'm not letting her escape after stabbing me in the neck!"
By then Noa had reached the power box. Thunder boomed overhead and she flipped the switch just as the roar rolled through the building, making it look exactly like the storm had blown the power out.
-
The guards raised their weapons, but all of them paused as their helmet screens went black. One by one, they tore the helmets off, confused and blind. The failure bought Ardea plenty of time to melt into the darkness.
The only illumination came from the erratic flashes of lightning, and in those moments Ardea's cat eyes reflected the light. The greedborn, meanwhile, were effectively blind.
Her steps were silent. She shifted positions, tapping objects or brushing surfaces just enough to create misleading sounds. Each noise drew the guards' aim toward the bait while she slipped back at the stage.
Ardea surged forward with her knife and drove it into the soft spot below a guard's neck. She wasn't aiming to kill, just to leave him focused entirely on keeping himself alive.
Blood spilled rapidly, and the other guards spun and fired, but Ardea had already vanished into the dark. Lightning flashed again, revealing the faint reflective shine of her eyes for a split second.
Micah was being ushered backward by the remaining guards, who tightened around him in a protective pattern. They began forming a defensive triangle, rifles raised.
By the time they finished setting up, Ardea was already inside their formation.
Another stab. Another guard dropped screaming. The remaining two turned toward the sound. Ardea struck again, and a second guard fell. Only one remained.
He had a clean shot. He fired a short burst and every round hit.
Ardea dove back into the darkness as the last guard emptied several more shots in her direction. She slipped behind a pillar and immediately realized she was trapped. She could hear his breathing; she knew he was aiming right at her cover. If she hadn't been wounded, escaping would have been simple. But now blood loss made her sluggish.
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to breathe slow and deep. The guard didn't advance. That gave her just enough time to overclock her body. She fought to keep the growls contained as her wrathborn biology surged.
When she felt her muscles twitching with the brink of losing control, she launched herself out of hiding and straight into open gunfire. Miraculously, only a grazing round struck her. She slammed into the guard and drove her knife into the unarmored gap beneath his armpit.
He collapsed. That made all four guards down.
Only Micah Shiachor remained.
Ardea approached him, and Micah squinted into the darkness. A lightning flash revealed the fallen bodies around him. Panic flickered through his eyes as he raised his fists out of instinct.
He swung a heavy punch when the next flash lit the room. Ardea caught it. The force surprised her as he had more combat training than she expected. Even so, she stayed in control.
And in the dark, she struck him several times across the face, sharp, humiliating slaps that left him stumbling, tears welling in his eyes.
Ardea left him on the floor, defeated but alive, and walked out of the building into the pounding rain.
-
End of Part 4.
