Sinner Born: Part 5
-
Fero, Ardea
Month of Pluvia, Day Sedecim
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 9:30 AM
Ardea waited in silence as officers moved past her in the midst of their duties and she was still in her tribal costume. Her ears flicked as she heard boots in the hallway. Despite three days having passed since the factory went up in flames, the police were still working through the details.
Fero came around and greeted Ardea who already knew he was behind her, not even his uneven footsteps threw her hearing off. Once she walked up, he filled her in.
Ardea: "So, what happens to me?"
Fero sighed, scratching his chin.
Fero: "Well, despite you going for non-lethal strikes, those four guards would've died if not for the medical equipment and knowledge at the theater-orphanage. In fact, three are still in critical condition. You also have that prior assault on Micah."
Ardea gave a small huff and her tail flicked in slight fear at hearing the guards were in such a condition, but Fero continued with a slight grin.
Fero: "But here's the good news. For the prior assault on Micah, he didn't want to press charges, which complicates the assault case. Probably because it would've been him admitting, 'Well, I was trying to solicit sex from an underage girl when her friend stabbed me in the neck.' Which... we can reasonably interpret as him doing something similar again when he approached those girls."
He shook his head.
Fero: "Micah also escalated the encounter by bringing in four armed and armored guards into the theater-orphanage or, I guess, it's just listed as an orphanage. So, four armed men in an orphanage. Not exactly a smart move."
Ardea listened closely but didn't respond.
Fero: "Technically, you're still a minor, and you're still listed as an orphan living at the Enchanted Curtain."
Ardea: "And what about the factory?"
Fero gave a nervous chuckle.
Fero: "That's technically a corruption investigation, unrelated to your case. But it is another legal problem for Micah. Micah, the late Yoel, and the government colluded to build a robotics factory producing autonomous units. That's going to turn into a federal inquiry real fast. Procurement and contracting are going to get dragged in."
Ardea tilted her head.
Ardea: "Wait... Yoel is one of the good guys though."
Fero: "A victim of embezzlement and other things, sure. And I liked the guy. But he still lent his factory to Micah knowing it was for a government weapons order. Look, that's not what matters right now. Let me tell you what happens to you."
Fero moved behind his desk. Ardea sat across from him. He struggled slightly as he lowered himself, the strain of his wounds still evident.
Ardea: "You okay?"
Fero: "Yeah. Had a run-in with a dirty cop. Got shot twice."
Ardea playfully: "Only twice? I got hit with more bullets from the guards."
Fero rolled his eyes.
Fero: "You got grazes. I had to fight to be cleared to return this soon."
He cleared his throat.
Fero: "Now then. The state is considering aggravated battery, maybe attempted homicide, depending on whether they think your intent crossed the line."
Ardea: "I was a lone woman with a knife against four men with guns and a clear threat to my safety. Not taking them down hard wasn't an option."
Fero nodded, continuing.
Fero: "Luckily, this reads as a clean self-defense and defense-of-others case. Especially since Micah's men approached you after issuing threats, and there were plenty of witnesses. You should come out of this okay. It'll come down to whether they argue you overreacted."
He leaned back slightly.
Fero: "You don't need to worry about Micah. He's already buried under multiple investigations, and the factory situation is going to keep him occupied for a while. Either until the government clears itself or pretends it never happened."
He glanced at her.
Fero: "You're seventeen, so they can try you as an adult for aggravated battery. But juvenile court is still on the table depending on how the DA plays it."
Ardea: "And the factory fire?"
Fero: "That's my problem. Hopefully I'm the only one who catches fallout from that."
-
Fero
Month of Pluvia, Day Sedecim
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 10:00 AM
Fero sat in the police chief's office. Ardea was in another room undergoing some psych tests.
Fero: "Chief."
Police Chief: "Well, well, well. Seems like we're in quite the bind."
Fero shrugged, though he maintained a professional posture.
Fero: "It wasn't possible to take Tendo alive. Not after he killed a cop and nearly killed me."
The chief tilted his head lazily before straightening in his seat.
Police Chief: "Oh, I understand. But now you see why we have procedure. Your friends released a bunch of killer robots into the city."
Fero glanced around, as if searching for an excuse.
Police Chief: "Robots with illegal AI. And worse, they were armed by the factory workers."
Fero: "At least that gives us more room to pry into those corporations and the governor."
The white-furred chief leaned forward, expression casual but intent.
Police Chief: "The public still needs to know what went wrong. Saying it was the workers won't fly and it wouldn't be right anyway."
Fero sighed, already sensing where this was going.
Police Chief: "You and Ariel abused a search warrant to access areas you weren't authorized to search. That part is true. You found Tendo, he revealed himself as the dirty cop we've been hunting, he shot Ariel, fled, and you chased him. A shootout at the docks followed. All true and it keeps your little private investigators out of the spotlight."
The chief sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Police Chief: "Getting those kids hurt would've been enough for me to shut down your little side operation. But I assume your investigation is about to wrap up?"
Fero: "We have everything we need to prove the Reclamation Engine is real and even when it'll be deployed. We may not be allowed to use it in court, but we can leak the information and put a stop to this conspiracy once and for all."
He paused, then met the chief's eyes.
Fero: "Now I assume you're about to tell me I'm fired."
Police Chief: "Just suspended. If things ever calm down, maybe the state will want more. Until then, we'll tell the public about your suspicions and hope that's enough."
He gestured toward the desk.
Police Chief: "Leave your badge and gun and finish what you started."
Fero nodded.
-
Ago, Servo
Month of Pluvia, Day Sedecim
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 10:05 AM
Ago and Spero stood over Servo's bed. He was shirtless, old bandages wrapped around his torso. Ago him self had various bandages around his head and hands. Spero let out a slow sigh.
Spero: "This is your secret?"
Spero's long ears twitched playfully. Ago's voice was still horse from the burning factory and he had a bandage around one of his ears.
Ago: "Yup. Found him abandoned on a bench. Can we keep him?"
Servo gave a weak chuckle with Spero sighing again.
Spero: "So you really did deal with those robots. The news is pure chaos, no real information's getting out. What actually happened?"
Ago shot her a side-eye.
Ago: "Hey, I told you."
Spero: "Yeah, but none of it explained how the robots got loose."
Servo exhaled, wincing slightly.
Servo: "I'm pretty sure it was Dalia. From what I understand about freeform machines, their AI was fully contained within the robots. Once they were disconnected from the factory servers... they became freeform AI."
Ago frowned, chewing on that explanation, but Spero picked it up immediately.
Spero: "Wait... that kind of AI is illegal. So the news got that part right." She paused. "Does that mean you're actually responsible for all those deaths at the factory?"
Servo huffed.
Servo: "If you don't want rogue AI running around, don't build it in the first place."
Spero shook her head, turning toward the door with Ago's fluffy tail giving a slow wave.
Spero: "I'll be back later. Need anything before I go?"
Servo: "I'm fine."
Ago: "I'll join you in a sec."
Spero waved and stepped out.
A brief silence settled over the room.
Servo: "So... what's next for us?"
Ago leaned back slightly.
Ago: "Well, I've been crashing at the Spes side House thanks to Spero Spes. Temporary, of course. As for you, you'll probably need a few days before you're ready to jump back into our Expedition RPG campaign."
Servo's tail flicked with sudden excitement.
Servo: "Oh, our group finally set a date? Wait, no, I mean... what happens next with the Reclamation Engine conspiracy?"
Ago shrugged.
Ago: "No idea. You've seen the group texts. We wait for instructions."
Servo sighed, then coughed, pain flaring through his chest. Ago laughed and then coughed himself.
-
Dalia, Talia, Zev
Month of Pluvia, Day Sedecim
Black Stone: District Four, 10:45 AM
Dalia sat in her chair, staring at her computer screen without looking back. Her skin still showed bruises from the anti-riot rounds.
Dalia: "Then I sent the data to a 3D artist-engineer to double-check what the engine actually is, and sure enough..." She finally turned around. "It's a giant water pump."
Talia sat on the bed while Zev leaned against the wall.
Zev: "But you said it was supposed to lower wrathborn fertility."
Dalia: "Yes. This kind of science isn't exactly my domain, but I understand delayed-release... things. They target specific biological processes and activate under certain elevated adrenal baselines." She waved her hand vaguely. "Basically, it only affects wrathborn. Males? Probably nothing. Females? It targets fertility."
Talia: "Like it detects overclocking or something?"
Talia's spade tail flick and flopped back onto the bed.
Dalia: "Not exactly, but close enough. Their bodies are always under strain. Even if we scale greedborn to their mass, wrathborn still need more energy to function. So yeah, greedborn aren't affected, males likely aren't affected, and females... just stop being fertile all the time."
Talia flopped back onto the bed. Then she reach behind and moved her tail out from under her.
Talia: "So what are we looking at?"
Dalia pulled out the flash drive, her spade tail flicking.
Dalia: "A brutal fertility drop. And this stuff doesn't even look properly tested. Even then, the numbers suggest it won't hit their target. So even their grand evil plan isn't enough."
Zev: "The silver hell? What does that mean?"
His spade tail coiled around his leg in frustration.
Dalia rolled her eyes, her tone flattening slightly.
Dalia: "We're greedborn. Solving problems is basically our birthright. Wrathborn went from a fledgling new species to explosive population growth in just one hundred and fifty years. Give it another century and a half, and they'll probably outnumber us, unless we push our own population hard. Even then... it's inevitable. Like I said, I don't think the fertility attack will be enough to stop this, but I guess they think it is a good start."
Zev rubbed his chin, thinking.
Zev: "So... this is a bad thing?"
Dalia tilted her head.
Dalia: "Ignoring the whole 'no consent' issue? Project Inheritance clearly thinks greedborn becoming a minority is an existential threat. And if they're willing to go this far, manipulation, illegal tech, who knows how many crimes, just to slow wrathborn growth... what else are they capable of?"
Her eyes narrowed.
Dalia: "This is high-end extremism backed by money and government. You don't actually think these people are the good guys, do you?"
Talia sat upright with little wasted energy.
Talia: "I think it depends on whether wrathborn becoming dominant is actually a problem for our species."
Dalia frowned, confused, and her tail stopped moving.
Dalia: "People are people. When it comes to... well, the true religion, wrathborn have embraced it better than we have. The old cultures from Ashurat? They've absorbed those too. Society, Domus Secunda? Wrathborn are flying those flags just fine."
Talia: "Calling them foreigners isn't the point. The concern is what happens to greedborn."
Dalia huffed.
Dalia: "God, country, culture, none of those are defined by species or blood."
Zev straightened slightly, his tail giving a single agressive flick.
Zev: "I disagree. Faith, country, culture, those are greedborn creations. Without us shaping them, they won't stay the same. And wrathborn have already shown they don't follow our model perfectly."
Dalia raised an eyebrow.
Dalia: "So if greedborn vanished, and wrathborn fully committed to maintaining that culture... it still wouldn't count?"
Zev: "Correct."
Dalia: "That's ridiculous."
Talia stepped in.
Talia: "I don't agree with that either. My point is simpler, what happens if wrathborn end up in charge? We've only had, what, seventy years of shared society? And already there's a divide."
She gestured loosely.
Talia: "Wrathborn lean toward direct, physical expression. Greedborn lean toward strategy and manipulation. Not everyone, obviously, but enough that it shapes politics. You can see it wrathborn favoring force, greedborn favoring maneuvering."
Dalia exhaled, tension bleeding into her voice.
Dalia: "We're drifting off topic. I won't pretend that I am the ultimate authority on what is and could happen two the two species, but right now we have a real issue, bad actors using technology to control a species' biology."
She looked between them.
Dalia: "So. Are you two for this, or against it?"
Talia raised a hand immediately.
Talia: "Against. Obviously. Just thinking out loud."
Zev shrugged.
Zev: "We'll finish what we started. Don't worry about that. Just tell us what the next step is."
Dalia's tail started to wag a little as she got to work. With a few clicks, the image of Black Stone's water system appeared on her computer screen.
-
The Party
Black Stone
Days pass.
Ago and Ardea were at Servo's home, playing a large board game. The oversized card table was smothered with multiple boards and scattered card piles.
Servo let out occasional grunts of pain throughout the day, his toe claws dig into the floor each time. Whenever he needed a drink or food, Ardea was there to help him.
Ago: "Does she help you take showers too?"
Ardea smiled with her tail held upward.
Ardea: "Yes."
Ago raised an eyebrow, then leaned in closer to sniff Servo, not to check if he had showered, but to detect any suspicious scents that might linger from Ardea.
Ago: "Hm. I see. Or... rather, smell."
Servo smiled faintly and his tail gave a minute rise as Ardea returned with a snack bar.
-
Fero was at a recovery center, despite still being mostly functional. He jogged lightly, threw a few punches at a bag, and spoke with several others in the facility who were in far more severe condition.
His body still couldn't handle strain, each time his body locked from pain, he bared his teeth in agitation, but the doctor assured him he'd be in fighting condition soon enough.
Fero: "Not soon enough, I'm afraid."
Fero's ear twitched each time someone else wheezed in their own pain, fell from trying to re-walk, and his nose was assaulted from the medical items and blood from the others.
-
Dalia typed away at her computer, reports, public blueprints, news feeds. Suddenly, her mother called out for dinner.
With a sigh, Dalia went downstairs. She wasn't in the mood for another lecture about her "dangerous activities." Her mother already knew she had infiltrated the factory before it burned and had made demands Dalia didn't plan to keep.
She kept quiet, answering only when necessary. She didn't engage much with her siblings or cousins either. The apartment-like building functioned similarly to wrathborn Houses, which are imitations of traditional greedborn households, so her home was filled with closely related kin, yet they rarely acknowledged each other beyond necessity. The only thing she paid attention to was a sibling complaining that they didn't want to cut off their horns, horns that looked frail and sickly.
When her father finally arrived, Dalia quietly excused herself and returned to her room.
-
Talia and Zev spent their time searching for real jobs. In their free time, they also tried locating possible sites that could house the Reclamation Engine.
Zev: "No one is even trying to set it up."
Talia: "Maybe the plan changed. They could've moved it to another city, or even delayed implementation entirely. Either way, we're in the dark and they're holding all the cards."
Zev sighed and checked a map on a borrowed phone from Dalia.
Zev: "If they're not making a move... shouldn't we?"
-
Ago stayed in Spero's section of the building, a small living room, kitchen, and two side rooms. He slept in a corner of the living room, instructed to keep his belongings out of sight during the day.
He also helped with farm work around Spero's property, giving her more free time while he handled the labor.
One day, he spent hours cleaning out a horrifically overfilled chicken coop, filling several tractor buckets to dump onto the compost pile.
Spero: "Oh wow, you did all that in one day? I'm proud of you."
She giggled and gave him a warm smile and her tail gave a slow flirtatious movement.
Ago gave a thumbs-up.
Spero: "Next task, when you're ready, is clearing all the grass growing over the compost."
Ago: "I think I should be getting paid for this."
Spero: "My family rarely do bounty chores. These are chores everyone in the House has to do because they live here. Welcome to the commune."
Ago: "I miss capitalism."
Spero rolled her eyes, her fluffy tail flicking with playful mischief.
Spero: "You can always go get a job, you know."
Ago: "Black Stone really isn't in a growth state right now. Combine that with everything that's happened, and even you'd struggle to find work."
She shrugged.
Spero: "Worst case, I become a full-time House farmer. But I'm curious, why do you refuse to return home?"
Ago paused for a moment.
Ago: "When I bought my gym, I burned all my familial bridges. Wrathborn are supposed to be known for strong family values and close households, but you can see from Servo and Ardea... when family is involved, so is politics."
He waved a hand lightly.
Ago: "I couldn't stand what my family had planned for me. They wanted me to follow their path. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, take a risk. After I lost my gym... there's no way I could go back and face their arrogance."
Spero gave him a softer look, then exhaled deeply.
-
Ardea's case did eventually reach court. However, it never truly progressed.
By the time it reached the docket, the city was already overwhelmed by larger problems. Micah's dealings had exposed too many points of interest, dragging officials, contracts, and entire departments into scrutiny. What began as a single incident at an orphanage had become a sprawling, volatile situation.
No one wanted to touch it.
On paper, the charges were serious, four men hospitalized, a minor wielding a blade, but the details didn't favor the prosecution. Witness statements conflicted. The guards had entered armed. Threats had been made. The setting, an orphanage, made every argument against Ardea feel increasingly hollow.
As for Micah, he had become a liability rather than a victim. His name now surfaced in investigations no one wanted to be tied to.
The case was eventually buried, swept aside in favor of trying to stabilize a city reeling from deaths, fires, and escalating police-gang conflicts.
-
The Party
Month of Pluvia, Day Viginti Unus
Black Stone: District Seventeen, House Spes, 12:01 PM
Spero's eye twitched as she stepped into her living room.
Spero: "Ago, you didn't mention these friends were your hooligan buddies!"
She wore a casual, stereotypical tube top and shorts common among wrathborn women, her powerful build on full display.
Fero: "Hey, I am a respected member of society."
He was dressed in black pants and a gray tank top. Without his uniform, he looked just as muscular as any wrathborn male. Servo wore yet another black hoodie and black jeans. Ago was in his usual attire, his trench coat draped over the couch. Ardea had her normal clothes and red scarf back. The three greedborn wore their usual outfits as well.
Servo: "My body."
Ardea: "And we thank you, Spero, for hosting us."
Ardea's tail flicked and her smile widened.
Dalia: "Exactly! Now, let's continue planning our next round of devious hooliganry!"
Spero rolled her eyes and sat on the opposite couch beside Talia and Zev.
Dalia clicked a few buttons and summoned her mini drone. Its camera activated, and each member of the Party began giving their report.
-
Fero adjusted his shirt and rolled his neck.
Fero: "Fero Onus. Since Canto Lignum was arrested for embezzling from Out of Ideas, I've been running a private investigation into what really happened. The CEO of Out of Ideas worked with Canto and declared him innocent. Clearly, something wasn't right."
He crossed his arms.
Fero: "On a related note, we've uncovered that Yoel, Cyberpunx, and the government collaborated to shift from satellite production to freeform AI, AI embedded directly into autonomous machines."
His posture was stiff, tail completely still.
Fero: "I don't know if there's a direct connection to the Reclamation Engine yet, but we finally have enough pieces to prove this conspiracy is real."
He winced slightly, a grunt of pain slipping out before he continued.
Fero: "As you heard, I had a showdown at the docks with the dirty cop, my personal nemesis, of all people. Without him, the department can finally start uncovering what he was hiding, and for whom."
-
Despite five days of recovery, Servo still winced with nearly every breath. He could walk, but his ribs would need around sixteen days to heal, and another three weeks before he was combat-ready again.
He blinked. Silence lingered for a moment.
Servo: "My body."
-
Dalia was still bruised, but otherwise back to her usual self. Her spade tail flicked as she faced the camera, gave a wink, and struck a dramatic pose.
Dalia: "Dalia Anaf, the main character of our adventuring party!"
She relaxed slightly and continued, tail still.
Dalia: "I've compiled all available data on the Engine. We can't take it to the police due to how we obtained it, but we can leak it to the media. This thing is designed to biologically suppress an entire species because the other half sees them as an existential threat."
Her tone sharpened.
Dalia: "It was funded through embezzlement from one corporation, built by another, and the governor is almost certainly the one leading the project."
Fero's voice came from off-camera.
Fero: "Wouldn't be the first time the media published illegally obtained information. Given how dangerous this is, and that we have proof, it would likely get picked up."
He paused.
Fero: "But you've got a major problem. You infiltrated and hacked a corporation, accidentally unleashed killer robots, which shouldn't even exist under the law, and now you're looking at a pile of manslaughter charges. I'm not sure exposing this machine will make the courts overlook how you got the information."
Dalia crossed her arms.
Dalia: "How was anyone supposed to know they wired freeform AI into those robots? The government made it illegal for a reason. They could at least follow their own laws."
Her smile faded as she looked toward Fero.
Fero: "Let me handle the leak. I'm the cop here. If you've seen the news, you already know the official story."
He leaned forward slightly.
Fero: "According to them, I abused a search warrant, accidentally uncovered our dirty cop, he killed my on-site partner, we had a shootout, and I somehow triggered the factory systems, releasing the robots."
He shrugged.
Fero: "I've already been suspended. There's not much worse they can do to me. And this?" He gestured vaguely. "This gives a reason for why I dug deeper than I was supposed to, a machine built by two corporations and the governor to screw over my species."
He exhaled.
Fero: "Given what the department had to deal with before the factory incident, it's obvious we were already digging into serious corruption. The chief is just leaving out that... civilians were involved. I'd like to keep it that way."
Talia's voice came from off-camera.
Talia: "You'd think the police wouldn't cover things like that."
Fero: "They didn't, officially. And luckily, the investigation's over, so I don't have to listen to the chief complain about my methods anymore."
He looked toward the group.
Fero: "That's the plan. Agreed?"
-
The video cut, and the next person up was Ago.
Ago: "During the factory investigation, I secured us a witness, someone willing to testify against the governor."
He was immediately interrupted.
Servo: "What do you mean anti-riot rounds?"
Dalia: "You know... normal rubber bullets."
Her tail swayed back and forth, betraying a hint of nervousness.
Servo: "At low velocity or something?"
Dalia: "Yeah. Why do you ask?"
Her expression shifted, concern creeping in.
Servo: "That's not fair! Why did I get lethal rounds while you got the safe ones?"
Dalia: "Uh..."
Ago cleared his throat, trying to wrestle the conversation back on track.
Ago: "Anyway... we expose Eitan Sovel for committing one hell of a crime, and we'll have a witness with a front-row seat to his other offenses."
Fero chimed in.
Fero: "He's already come into the station, I mean, he called us to his hospital room. We've been building a case against the governor for several days now. Honestly, between the governor, the Reclamation Engine, embezzlement, and corporate illegal activity... this is going to take a while."
Ago nodded, ears slightly drooped.
Ago: "Take your time. We still have an Engine to find."
-
Ardea was up next, but she simply shrugged and didn't bother stepping forward.
Ardea: "I went to the police. My case is basically buried."
That was all.
Talia stepped up in front of the camera.
Talia: "The only thing we've got to report is that the gangs finally took their shot at killing us."
She shrugged.
Talia: "They failed and lost another major leader in the process."
She shook her head slightly.
Talia: "This all started because the Red Man gang was taking too much territory, and Zev and I decided to push back. Back then, we got caught. Money tempted some of their people into betraying them and going along with our plan... or something close to it."
She gave a small, dry exhale.
Talia: "Instead, they improvised, blew themselves up, and somehow that chain of events led us here. Lucky us."
-
Zev didn't take long. He stood, stepped forward, and spoke plainly.
Zev: "Shai Doron was a good man. Well... not really. He tried to kill more people than I have."
He paused briefly.
Zev: "But he gave up his power, swallowed his pride, and left the gangs with honor. I don't know why he went back."
A small shrug.
Zev: "He's gone now. Hopefully the rest of the gangs follow."
Zev stepped away and sat back down.
-
The group drifted into scattered conversation for a while before Spero's patience finally snapped. When she spoke, her voice was calm, but tight.
Spero: "Stop. You're the ones who unchained those robots. Even if it was accidental, the factory burned down, people died, it all traces back to you doing something extremely illegal."
The room quieted. A few confused looks were exchanged, but Fero answered immediately.
Fero: "Illegal doesn't mean wrong. Half of what we did was backed, quietly, by the police. We're up against the people who write the laws. And regardless, we didn't cause what happened."
Talia spoke next.
Talia: "Considering Project Inheritance is trying to biologically manipulate an entire species, I'd rank that a bit higher than our mistake."
Zev: "And that's not who we are. We're trying to stop something massive."
Dalia had been thinking the whole time. Now she leaned forward slightly.
Dalia: "That's a very dramatic way of framing it. Their entire setup was a disaster waiting to happen. They never should've had that kind of AI connected to their main server."
Servo took a slow, pained breath from his seat.
Servo: "We didn't know what would happen."
Zev cut in again.
Zev: "And worrying about it won't add a single second to our lives. Bad things happen. We endure."
Ago and Ardea both nodded.
Ago & Ardea: "Agreed."
-
Spero let the meeting wind down. Afterward, the group played a few board games before getting ready to leave.
As they gathered their things, Fero spoke up.
Fero: "By the way, I'm going to need each of you to come down to the station over the next few days."
Several heads turned.
Fero: "Wrathborn especially. Given everything that's happened, the violence, the deaths, and the fact that some of you are minors, my boss wants mental evaluations. Ardea and I have already gone through it."
Servo: "I get checking wrathborn for the Madness of Wrath... but even the greedborn?"
Fero: "I'm already catching heat for involving kids in dangerous situations. This is what it takes for us to keep doing what we're doing."
Dalia: "Even though everything from here on out, aside from the media, is basically in the police's hands?"
Fero sighed.
Fero: "Just... come in. Please."
Over the next few days, they did.
-
Month of Pluvia, Day Viginti Duo
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 1:35 PM
A black-furred wrathborn woman with darker spots sat across from Ago, a clipboard in hand. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail. She wore conservative casual clothes beneath a white lab coat.
She introduced herself as Nixa.
Nixa: "Were you acting independently, or responding to perceived authority directives?"
Ago: "I did what I wanted."
His arms were crossed.
Ago: "Maybe a bit of both. Barak seemed tied to the main mastermind. After his little monologue-"
He paused to chuckle under his breath.
Ago: "Yeah... after that, I figured he needed to face justice too. Speaking of which, what hospital is he at?"
Nixa: "The only hospital in Black Stone with a specialist capable of treating his hands."
Ago frowned slightly, ears slightly down, unsatisfied.
Nixa: "Please refrain from deviating from the questions. So, those are two different motivations. Which one was dominant in the moment?"
Ago: "I guess before I engaged Barak, it was certainly self interest."
Nixa: "Hm, I see."
She wrote some additional notes.
Nixa: "Now then, do you notice a shift in perception when you enter combat?"
Ago narrowed his eyes.
Ago: "No."
-
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 4:12 PM
Servo: "No."
Ardea waited outside in a family truck. She had driven him in and was now waiting for him to finish.
Nixa: "Have you ever wanted to re-engage a situation purely because you felt unsatisfied?"
Servo: "No."
Nixa wrote more than she had for previous responses.
Nixa: "Walk me through the moment you decide a fight is over."
Servo raised an eyebrow as if the question was self evident.
Servo: "When the enemy is no longer able to be a threat."
-
Month of Pluvia, Day Viginti Tres
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 1:37 PM
Nixa: "When multiple threats presented themselves, how did you prioritize targets or objectives?"
Zev shrugged.
Zev: "It was too chaotic to pick carefully. If I had the choice, I'd go after whoever seemed the boldest the one most likely to rally the others. Numbers and strength matter less than morale."
For a brief moment, Nixa's expression slipped into a wide, almost predatory smile, her wrathborn instincts surfacing, before she quickly hid it behind her clipboard and returned to a professional demeanor.
Nixa: "Did you feel pressured by other members to act in ways you normally wouldn't?"
Zev glanced at her, then looked off to the side.
-
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 4:17 PM
Talia: "Eh, not really. Everything felt pretty consistent for me."
Her tail was limp like a noddle.
Nixa: "Did you expect legal consequences when infiltrating the factory? If not, why?"
Talia tilted her head.
Talia: "The police seemed involved, so I wasn't too worried. But yeah, if things went wrong, I figured I'd still end up in jail, you know, not too long though."
-
Month of Pluvia, Day Viginti Quattuor
Black Stone: District Two, Police Station, 1:42 PM
Nixa: "Did you feel you had meaningful alternatives to physical intervention?"
Dalia: "In which situation? Because it's always these thugs throwing the first punch, and there's no way I'm outrunning any of them."
Her tail was often in motion when anything excited her, and everything was.
-
Days twenty-five, twenty-six, and beyond passed without the Engine surfacing. The police continued building cases against the corporations, rogue employees, and the governor's inner circle.
Then Talia and Zev flagged something unusual.
Workers.
In a restricted district with no scheduled maintenance. No permits logged. No utility requests. Just movement where there should have been silence.
A call went out immediately.
Fero contacted his superior. Dalia pulled municipal blueprints from archived overlays. The group reconvened within the hour, the city map spread between them.
There was no factory.
Instead, a water control node.
And it looked like the Engine was being assembled there.
The media operation was already in motion. Everything had been set up. The network was prepared to give Fero an exclusive interview, with the police feigning ignorance and allowing him to reveal information that normally wouldn't be approved for broadcast.
This was their gambit.
-
Month of Requies, Decem
Black Stone: District Seven, 5:44 PM
Everyone gathered at a nearby church, three blocks from the branch headquarters of the news network they had chosen: Cascade News Channel.
They were no longer armored. Servo may lack his body armor but he still carried his shovel.
Dalia: "That's not suspicious at all."
Servo shrugged.
Servo: "I'm not going anywhere unarmed."
Dalia: "Wrathborn teeth are designed to rip flesh from bone. You'd be fine regardless."
Servo winced, grabbing his ribs.
Servo: "Honestly, I don't see myself fighting for the rest of the month. Everything's still healing."
Fero gave a sharp whistle.
Fero: "Let's move. We're running behind."
The group followed as Fero led them through streets thinning from crowded to sparse as evening crept in.
Fero: "I was told to come in through the back. Anyone want to come with me?"
Ago raised an eyebrow.
Ago: "For what? Moral support?"
Fero's tail flicked uncertainly.
Fero: "I don't know. Could be helpful to have witnesses... or just people I trust walking in with me."
Talia scratched her head.
Talia: "Who here could help reinforce your credibility?"
Zev exhaled.
Zev: "If you need support, Talia and I can talk about the gangs, their involvement, even at factory."
Fero nodded.
Fero: "Yeah. That works."
Servo shifted slightly, a pained breath escaping him, but Ardea spoke before he could.
Ardea: "So the rest of us wait outside?"
Fero: "I mean... yeah. Still, thanks for coming."
Dalia chimed in, energy undimmed.
Dalia: "Of course! We're about to take down the big villain by showing the world what he's done. We should all be here for it."
Servo frowned slightly.
Servo: "It's been days. Surely he's had time to prepare for something like this?"
Dalia and Fero both started to respond, but Fero gestured for her to go first.
Dalia: "I covered my tracks. Made it look like internal diagnostics. Even if they suspect a leak, they don't know who has the data."
Fero nodded, then addressed the group.
Fero: "Well... me, technically. But I haven't seen any signs of retaliation, no thugs, no threats. And the police have been keeping things quiet while building their cases, especially against the governor."
He paused.
Fero: "I haven't spoken to the chief recently, but the deal was clear, we only move forward if we get the green light or find the Engine."
A breath.
Fero: "This is earlier than planned. We have the go-ahead, but the department isn't fully ready for what comes next."
Ago rolled his eyes.
Ago: "Then just go out there and take a picture of the thing. It's not exactly subtle anymore."
Fero shook his head.
Fero: "Last month, getting a warrant for those warehouses was easy. By the time we got there, everything was gone. I want to see the Engine as much as anyone, but if we move too early, they scatter, and we lose it again."
He crossed his arms.
Fero: "The department is trying to line everything up. Either this media play works and the governor has nowhere left to hide... or it fails, and we're scrambling for a backup plan."
Ago groaned.
Ago: "You've got to be kidding me."
Fero shrugged.
Fero: "Wish I was."
-
Talia and Zev were visibly unhappy about having to surrender their weapons.
A blue-skinned greedborn woman inspected the bag they had placed down.
Blue Greedborn: "Are these explosives?"
Fero shot a sharp look at Talia, who simply shrugged.
Talia: "What? Ever since I told my grandpa what happened, he insisted I carry self-defense explosives."
The guard blinked.
Blue Greedborn: "Is... that legal?"
Fero: "Depends. Don't worry about it. Talia wouldn't bring anything illegal. And as long as it stays in the bag, it's not a crime."
Fero was being truthful about the law, but he had no idea whether Talia's "self-defense explosives" were technically legal or the very illegal kind. The other wrathborn around him could almost hear his internal: Silver hell, woman.
The group entered the building, earning sidelong glances from security. Talia and Zev's weapons, their demeanor, everything about them flagged as questionable, but as Fero's entourage, no one intervened. Instead, the guards let them pass with uneasy looks.
The remaining four found a spot outside the building.
The front of Cascade News Channel rose in layered slabs of matte glass and pale stone, each level slightly offset. Thin strips of light pulsed along the edges, half decorative, half functional.
Above and across the street, thick black bundles of exposed network cables sagged between poles, buildings, and hastily bolted metal braces. They looked less like infrastructure and more like veins spilled across the district.
Dalia pulled out her portable device, connected a cable to a nearby port, and quickly brought up the news feed for everyone.
Near the entrance, the wiring thickened into a dense cluster feeding directly into the building's lower levels. Metal clamps held it in place, though several looked hastily reinforced, as if the system's own weight was slowly deforming its surroundings.
Ardea told Servo she would grab hotdogs from a nearby vendor. Ago stepped toward the entrance to speak with Cascade News employees, trying to determine if they had seen anything out of the ordinary. He still didn't fully accept the idea that the governor might simply be waiting for his downfall.
Dalia watched the news feed, growing increasingly frustrated that nothing "important" was happening yet. She looked up to speak to Servo, but stopped.
Across the street, she saw a familiar figure.
A blue-skinned greedborn man. Red Man gang member. One of the individuals from the factory. The same one she had seen with the Crawler thugs. The one who had later shown up in the security room when she was discovered as an intruder.
He was already moving away from the area, slipping past shrubs and scattered foot traffic.
Servo's eyes opened.
He scanned the surroundings.
Servo: "Did you hear that?"
Dalia: "Hear what? It's loud out here."
Servo: "I thought I heard... never mind."
Ardea joined the line for hotdogs, then tilted her head. Instead of ordering, she walked past the stand toward a nearby truck, pulling her red scarf down slightly and taking a slow, deeper breath. Something metallic lingered in the air, something that made her pause.
Ago drifted away from the entrance with a frustrated huff. His paranoia found nothing to latch onto. People passed him carrying equipment cases and broadcast gear. For a brief moment, he almost swung at one of them, then stepped back at the last second.
He frowned. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
By the time the group regrouped and received their hotdogs, an uneasy silence had settled between them.
Servo: "Anyone else feel like something's off?"
-
End of Part 5.
