“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with their freedom.”- Bob Dylan, “Biograph” interview (1985)
June 15, 2019,
09:11 local time,
McCrain Enterprises
Headquarters,
Peterborough, Kingdom
of Muskoka
“In total,” said McCrain
Enterprises CEO Thomas McCrain to his guest, Marianite Presidential hopeful
Pancratius Danielis Ducatus, better known as Daniel Duke, behind closed doors.
“The area of development I am proposing is about 100 square miles, perfect not
just for the relocation of The Narrows but also for the creation of an entire
new city.”
“It is certainly
intriguing,” said Duke, “but a lot of that area is protected land...I'm not
sure Parliament will allow me to redevelop over it.”
“Ah,” said McCrain with
a smile, “don't you worry about that. Once they realize it will be all for jobs
and the revitalization of Wasaga Beach, their concerns will be eased. Besides,
as President, you will have control over the regulators, will you not?”
“Yeah,” said Duke, “I
will...but I also have elections after this one that I'll need to win.”
McCrain chuckled. Duke
seemed needlessly paranoid to him, even for a man running for the highest
office in The Republic of Marian.
“Look,” said Duke, “all
I'm saying is that we shouldn't include the piping plover breeding grounds in
that area...it's too environmentally sensitive. Even if voters won't rake me
over the coals for developing over it, scientists will, because the loss of that
habitat would be incalculable to the field. I definitely don't want to have
that on my legacy.”
McCrain sighed and
looked away, pensively. He wrestled with his choices in his head, because there
was a part of him that believed Duke was right.
“Fine,” said McCrain,
“I won't include the breeding grounds. That still gives us more than sufficient
area to work with for The Narrows.”
Duke smiled, thrilled
to hear McCrain agree with him.
“Besides,” said McCrain,
“we've got uses for the plovers anyway.”
“Oh,” said Duke, “do
you?” Duke's eyes and ears perked up, piqued with interest.
McCrain chuckled again,
although this time with a bit of a grimace.
“Listen Daniel,” said McCrain,
“there's a reason why this is closed doors and that only the two of us are in
here in this room. This is where I remind you that there comes a point where
not knowing is better. Let me just leave it at that.”
Duke nodded, although
not without hesitation. McCrain was his biggest campaign contributor, so there
was a part of him that didn't wish to ruffle the feathers of his staunchest
ally. The other part of him wondered- what exactly is he hiding?
June 10, 2019,
08:19 local time,
Marian City Police
Department,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
As soon as he walked in
to the Forensics Lab, he knew.
Doctor Pascal Yves-
officially a Detective but because of his wide array of knowledge and skills,
he is tasked to perform science-based tasks like forensics and medical
examinations- could feel the pheromones overcoming the room. Love was in the
air, and his subject was just oozing and oozing chemistry.
She was a tantalizing
cauldron of seduction and temptation, an overeager, energetic type who could
barely contain herself while sitting on the examination table. Yves could sense
that, at any moment, she would jump him, and at that moment would begin a wild,
carnal ride of pleasure and ecstasy that rival the best encounters he'd ever
experience.
The beautiful young
woman with purple skin, made more exotic with her bunny ears and her tail, was
a hard one to resist, and Yves's body just begged him to give in to his urges
and his temptations.
She's certainly
beautiful enough, Yves would
make note of in his mind.
Of course, it would be
that very mind that would overrule him, not just because it would be unethical
or that it would mean being unfaithful to his wife to be, Zoe Hawkes. Or that
it would set a bad example to his frequent assistant, Reverie Anam, the daughter
of co-worker Norah and someone whom Yves viewed as a protege. It would also be
because he could never allow himself to take advantage of someone who seemed to
be in such a weakened state.
Fortunately for him,
Amethyst understood it too.
“I guess I'm letting it
out again, huh?” said Amethyst, trying to contain her giggles as Yves walked
towards her.
“To say your pheromones
lack subtlety would be a gross understatement,” said Yves with a smile. “Of
course, it is understandable...your kind have been raised to be promiscuous and
extroverted, as well as submissive.”
“Uh,” said Amethyst,
with a confused look on her face. “OK?”
“It means,” said
Reverie, “that you are very much the sex bunny you have been raised to be.”
“Oh,” said Amethyst,
who now understood but it only sparked more questions in her brain. “Dr. Yves...how
much do you know about me?”
Yves smiled. Though he
liked to claim he was a modest man, every time someone asked to tap into his
wide expanse of knowledge he could not help but brag by splurging all he knew.
“I don't know much
about you, specifically,” said Yves, “but I do know your kind- the Animoids-
have been a distinct race of humans for over thousands of years. You have a
poorly understood mutation that, while keeping you a human being, also provides
you with animal features, some of them functional. It is a fierce debate in the
scientific community about whether or not the animal features gives you any
kind of advantage over other humans, and it's not known how the trait developed
in the first place.
“The Animoids reached
their zenith with the Wolfenkoenig Kingdom in the 700s and 800s, and it was
thought with the Wolfenkoenig's demise in the 10th century that the
Animoids had ceased to exist. Then the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles showed up
in New York City in the 1970s and the Animoids- like the coelacanth- were shown
to have survived after all.
“Now, I was not aware
that any Animoids had made their way to The Republic of Marian, so your
presence raises some questions of my own for you.”
“Well,” said Amethyst,
“um...what do you need to know?”
“Based on information
from the police report, you fled from a facility near Pickle Lake on April 29,
2019,” said Yves matter-of-factly.
“Uh,” said Amethyst,
“if you say so...where I was, they never told us the date...in fact, I have no
idea what day it is right now.”
“It's June 10, 2019,”
said Yves assuredly.
“Oh,” said Amethyst,
surprised and relieved. “I guess I should have figured...it was getting warmer.”
“Your date of escape is
only an estimate,” said Yves, “based on an inference on how long it would take
to walk from Pickle Lake all the way to Marian, which is 42 days.”
“I think it was March,”
said Amethyst confidently. “I remember seeing Orion low in the southwest around
11PM. I use Orion to tell me what time of year it is...it's the only way I can
get an estimate.”
“That's...” said Yves,
surprised beyond words.
“Almost three months in
the taiga,” said Amethyst, “I know...I guess I was bred for survival too.”
Meanwhile, outside of Yves's
examination room, investigators Ezekiel “Zeke” Coleman and Norah Anam were
interviewing Alfred Edwards, who had taken Ameythyst to the station.
“Let me get this
straight,” said Norah, trying to make sense of what she heard. “You're saying
she told you she fled from some kind of 'farm' in the middle of the taiga,
where others of her kind were 'bred' and later actually sold to others
for a price. She also made it here, through all the harsh conditions of the taiga,
though, along the way, her sister was somehow kidnapped by some 'devil'...is
that correct?”
“Strange story, innit?”
said Alfred, who didn't hide his surprise at all.
“No more strange than
encountering a human being who has bunny ears and a mouse tail,” said Coleman
matter-of-factly.
“You can understand my
shock when I first saw her,” said Alfred. “I thought I must have still been
asleep or hallucinating or something...but she was all real.”
Norah gave her head a
shake. How strong did Roy make his coffee this morning? she thought to
herself.
“Alfred,” said Coleman,
trying to keep the interview moving, “you said she broke in to the Manor. Do
you know how?”
“There was a latch into
the cellar that she had popped open,” said Alfred. “She must have picked the
lock because I remember locking it just before I went to bed and I found
knife-like instruments she used as picks just outside the door. I also remember
seeing the corpses of two coyotes in the field in the distance, and, after
examining them, I noticed that they were both killed by something
sharp...Amethyst must have killed them herself.”
“I guess that helps
explain how she managed to survive three months in the taiga,” said Norah
matter-of-factly.
“Why did you agree to
take her to the station?” said Coleman. “You weren't afraid of her at all?”
“I observed her when I
first saw her,” said Alfred. “She was frail...desolate...hungry. I didn't think
of her as a threat at all. When she jumped up and hugged Kyle I knew she was
safe to take along...she was just looking for someone she could call a
friend.”
“I find it interesting
that she took to you so quickly,” said Norah. “I would think that someone like
her, treated like cattle for so long, would be more apprehensive of an older
adult, especially a male like yourself.”
“She did seem to be
afraid of me at first,” said Alfred, “but I always thought it was because I had
a gun pointed at her face. My guess is that when she saw the kids she felt
safe, especially considering their state.”
“Naked, drugged up,”
said Norah. “Just like she was.”
“Exactly,” said Alfred.
As Alfred was being
interviewed, his son Kyle and his companion, who called herself Ecco, were
sitting in a break room, having already given their statements. They couldn't
help but think about their long night, especially Amethyst and her experience,
all while grateful Police Captain Roy Finnegan liked his coffee to be
incredibly strong.
“Can you believe what
she went through?” said Ecco.
“I'm not sure I can
imagine it,” said Kyle, “let alone do I want to. That kind of terror is not
something I would want anyone to go through.”
“What was the farm
raising?” said Ecco. “What was the 'product'...and why was she treated like
one?”
“Isn't that the million
dollar question,” said Kyle.
“I just don't
understand,” said Ecco, thinking of Amethyst's horrors. “Why would humans want
to treat other humans like that?”
“I'd love to know too,”
said Kyle, concurring with Ecco. “I would agree, it's just not right. I mean,
who would sanction that kind of thing?”
Ecco sighed, her heart
heavy with emotions over Amethyst.
“I think our more
pressing concern is who the Devil is,” she said, “and what she's done with
Amethyst's sister. She's really concerned for her.”
“Whatever it is,” said Kyle
with a sigh, “it can't be good.”
June 10, 2019,
20:45 local time,
Taiga hideout,
Unknown location
“I'm hungry,” said the
purple-skinned girl with bunny ears and a mouse tail as she banged against the
door of her room in vain. “Please, please, please! Open up!”
She tried banging and
screaming several more times, but after several minutes of no response, the
18-year-old girl decided to just give up.
She then walked to her
hammock, which she used as her bed, and laid down in it, trying her best not to
cry. The pangs of hunger were getting excruciating, almost unbearable, and the
more time passed, she wondered if her captors had completely forgotten about
her.
Then the torrent of
thoughts came back to her, like the wind of a tropical storm, and she became
overwhelmed with them again.
Why am I here? What do they want from me? They're not
hurting me or I don't think they're hurting me, so they must want me for
something...but what?
She then had a sudden
spate of arousal that soon consumed her thoughts, causing her to masturbate
heavily. She had lots of sex back at the farm- though very little of it she
genuinely wanted- but, somehow, her captors didn't seem to want it from her.
The girl wondered- am
I desirable? Do they not find me attractive? The people at the farm couldn't
wait to jump on me, even when I didn't want them to. Is there something wrong
with me?
She then let out moans
and wails of happiness as she continued to pleasure herself, the intensity so
overpowering her that she couldn't help but...
...fall asleep. That's
when her captors finally came back with food.
“Oh by Jove,” said a
man in a blue bodysuit and a head-covering mask that was also blue except for
black patches around his eyes. “Violet is asleep again.”
“Violet,” said one of
the man's companions, an exuberant blonde girl with curly pigtails with a right
monocle who was doll-like in her appearance with her face painted white except
for yellow shading around her eyes and dark blue lipstick that made her smile
that much more fetching.
“Violet,” the doll-like
girl said again, softly but loudly in an attempt to rouse her. “We have din din
for you.” The doll-like girl then motioned for a cooler to be brought in, which
it was by another of the bodysuit-clad man's companions.
That companion, an
albino-skinned man who had no hair due to alopecia, dutifully brought the
cooler next to Violet, sound asleep in her hammock with her hand wedged into
her genitals.
This was not lost on
the albino man, who let out a sigh of frustration.
“Wyatt,” said the
albino to the man in the bodysuit, Wyatt “Endgame” Wilson.
“Yes, Zsasz?” said Endgame
to the albino, Victor Zsasz, as the doll-like girl, known as Cuddles, looked
on.
“She pleasured herself
to sleep again,” said Zsasz.
“No kidding,” said Endgame,
as if Zsasz insulted his intelligence.
“This may be a sign,”
said Zsasz, who then flashed a hesitant smile.
“A sign?” said Cuddles,
putting her hands on her hips. “A sign of what?”
Endgame put his hand to
his head and shook his head, letting out a loud, frustrated sigh.
“No, Victor!” he
said firmly. “You are not having sex with her! This is the last
time I'm going to say that!”
“Oh come on, Wyatt!”
said Zsasz. “I'm not going to force myself...I just want to ask.”
“Look,” said Endgame,
who had enough of Zsasz's pleadings. “I know you're not going to force
yourself...but, right now, we've technically kidnapped her. She's
probably scared, confused...you name it, she's that. The only reason why
she's so intent on f***ing is because she's overwhelmed and it's a coping
mechanism. Even if you were to ask, you'd still be taking
advantage of her and that's not something I'm going to allow here. Once
we get Violet to a safe spot and she's happy and content with her life and you
two still have sparks...only then can you go at it.”
Endgame then wagged his
finger forcefully before concluding.
“Not a minute sooner!”
he said to an understanding and apologetic Zsasz.
“I'm glad you
understand, Victor,” said Endgame, patting Zsasz on the back.
“When will we find a
safe spot, though?” said Cuddles. “We can't keep her captive forever. We'll
certainly get found out.”
“We're in the middle of
the taiga,” said Endgame. “We're miles away from any roadway or any other kind
of easily accessible point. In fact, I'm pretty sure our surroundings would
give us cover from all the other conventional detection methods. For now, we're
OK...I just want to wake her up and get her eating because I'm sure it's been months
since she last had something.”
It was then that Violet
slowly roused from her slumber. She opened and closed her eyes several times in
an attempt to wake up, her vision still foggy because of her grogginess.
When she did finally
awake, she fell out of her hammock and hid her face behind it, hyperventilating
with fear.
Cuddles predicted it so
she went over to Violet calmly, speaking to her softly.
“Violet, it's OK,” she
said, “Violet, it's OK...we're not going to hurt you. We're here to protect
you. We even brought you some food...actually, a lot of food. It's in the
cooler right in front of you.”
Without skipping a
beat, Violet raced for the cooler and opened it, revealing several bags of food
items from a McDonald's in a nearby city. She didn't even hesitate to eat the
items, gleefully wolfing them down and reducing several days' worth of calories
into nothing except vessels for her stomach.
When she finished, she
let out a loud burp that caused everyone in the room to laugh, even Violet, and
though she looked on at Endgame with a wide, satisfied smile, she said she was
still hungry.
“You want more?”
said Endgame, surprised. “That's like, two weeks' worth of McDonald's you just
ate...including our dinners. Wow...I underestimated you.”
“Oh,” said Violet,
lowering her head in shame. “I'm sorry sir...I didn't mean to be such a pig...”
Endgame let out a
frustrated sigh as he put his hand to his head again. What did I get
myself into... he mused.
“Violet, darling,” said
Cuddles, who knelt to Violet's level so she was less threatening to her. “It's
OK...we'll manage without the food. It was more important that you were fed,
and it seems you were. Anyway...I think we need to explain a few things.”
“That would be nice,”
said Violet sternly, flashing an awkward smile. “Including why you call me
'Violet'.”
“Your skin's purple,”
said Zsasz, matter-of-factly. “I don't know...Wyatt started it.”
“Well,” said Violet,
sheepishly. “I guess it's a nice name.”
“I needed to call you something,”
said Endgame. “Things were chaotic when I picked you up...it's not like I had
time to introduce myself.”
Cuddles took a seat
next to Violet and smiled.
“Well, better late than
never,” she said, introducing the gang. “I'm Cuddles, and these are my friends
Victor Zsasz and Wyatt Wilson, also known as Endgame. We were just randomly
exploring the Outback when we saw you alone in the taiga and we got worried
about you, so we brought you here, to this makeshift hideout until we figure
things out.”
“Figure things out?”
said Violet. “Figure what out?”
“How to get you to
safety,” said Endgame. “How to get you treated medically...basically, how to
get you back on with your life.”
Violet gave the group a
look.
“How hard could that
possibly be?” she said, oblivious to her situation.
“Um, well,” said Endgame,
answering as if it should be obvious, “you're a human being with rabbit ears
and a mouse tail...I mean, The Republic of Marian is weird, but not
weird enough that you wouldn't get noticed.”
“You're part of
something bigger,” said Cuddles. “Something that is probably going after you.”
“Yeah,” said Endgame.
“We can't just drop you off in the middle of some city and tell you, 'OK,
figure it out now.' ”
“Not that we'd do that
anyway...” said Cuddles, giving Endgame the side eye.
“You know what I
mean!” said Endgame, exasperated.
“Listen,” said Zsasz,
“maybe it would help us out if we knew exactly what you were running away from.
For starters...if Violet's not your actual name...what is your name?”
Violet let out a sigh
and lowered her head. Cuddles instinctively began rubbing her back, which
eventually gave Violet the courage to open up.
“They never gave me a
name,” said Violet. “I was just a number...I don't even remember what I was. I
just remember I was in a room with my sister, whom they also didn't give a name
to. We were on a place they called 'the farm', and it seemed like all of us
were bred and treated like cattle. Only that, we weren't eaten...we were sold.”
“Sold?” said Endgame,
in as much as shock and disgust as Zsasz and Cuddles were.
“Yeah, sold,” said
Violet, with sadness tinged in her voice. “Every week some of us would get put
on the market...one day my sister and I were plucked and brought to some kind
of auction. We were trained to be obedient sex animals, sold to wealthy people
so they could do...I don't even know.”
The other three let out
gasps of horror, unable to comprehend what Violet had gone through.
“Disgusting, disgusting
men,” said Zsasz, shaking his head.
“Actually,” said
Violet, “not every buyer was a man. Some were women...actually, a lot
were women. The people my sister and I were running from...they were women.”
“So they were driving
from the farm and you found a way to escape?” said Zsasz, trying to piece
things together.
“Basically,” said
Violet. “These two women went to the gas station near Pickle Lake went,
suddenly, the station was rocked by an explosion...the car went up in flames
which allowed us to beat an escape.”
“A lucky escape,” said
Cuddles.
“Very lucky,” concurred
Violet. “We just started running and didn't look back...we don't even know if
our buyers made it out alive.”
“Gas station
explosion,” said Endgame curtly. “I highly doubt it.”
“Anyway,” said Violet,
“once my sister and I deduced we were out of danger, we decided to head west.”
A thought then came to
Violet which then made her frown.
“Where is my sister?”
she asked, getting sullen and worried.
“Honestly,” said Zsasz,
“we'd like to know too...when we picked you up, you were all by yourself in the
taiga. You were passed out...we thought you were dead before we realized you
were alive. You were just asleep by the looks of it.”
“I saw her sister,”
said Endgame. “She was far in the distance...I called out to her but she just
continued to run.”
“I told her to keep
going,” said Violet, whose eyes began to well up. “I got hit in the head by
something...got me dazed. I was already weak and nauseous...she wanted to stay
and help me out but I knew I was worthless, and our only hope of telling the world
what happened to us was if she kept going...so, she did...and...”
Violet then began to
cry, which caused Cuddles to put her arm around her and snuggle, which
eventually allowed Violet to regain her composure.
“You really do live up
to your name,” said Violet with a satisfied smile.
“What can I say?” said
Cuddles. “It's a gift.”
“Listen,” said Endgame
firmly. “We're going to find your sister and we're going to reunite you. You
have my word. I just need to know where you were headed.”
“Marianne...Moryart...Moriarty...something
like that,” said Violet.
“Marian,” said Endgame
assuredly.
“Yeah,” said Violet
appreciatively. “The guys at the farm kept talking about it as this 'city of
hope' so we set our sights on that.”
“Well,” said Endgame.
“I think I know where we're going next.”
“Hold on,” said Zsasz.
“Marian's a big city...we can't just drive there and find what we're looking
for...we'd be there forever.”
“The farm's security
team wore patches that had a 'W' on them,” said Violet. “One side was shaded in
more than the other.”
“Cassiopeia,” said
Cuddles. “The constellation.”
“This narrows things
down quite considerably,” said Endgame. “All right gang...tomorrow, we're
planning and the day after that, we're on our way to Marian. We need to get
this right.”
“Can I come too?” said
Violet with an eager but anxious smile.
“Of course,” said Endgame.
“You're going to help us out.”
“Yay!” said Violet,
excitedly.
Endgame then handed
Violet a key.
“That's the key to your
room,” said Endgame. “To your left is a pathway to a cave with an underground
river...that's the only place we can bathe and do all your other business,
unfortunately. My room is the last one before the path...if you ever need
anything, knock on my door. Anytime. Same goes for Cuddles and Victor too.”
“My room is right next
to yours,” said Cuddles with a smile. “Visit me whenever you want.”
“I think I will,” said
Violet as she and Cuddles shared a warm embrace.
“Sleep tight, OK
Violet?” said Cuddles, closing her door behind her as she was the last of the
trio to leave Violet's room.
Violet could only smile
in response. She was excited for her upcoming adventure, though she didn't know
what to expect. She was happy, at least, that she had made some new friends.
June 15, 2019,
14:45 local time,
Marian City Police
Department,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
“Now that's a strange
case,” said Hero Sofia “Angel” McCrain, in the break room with Norah.
“Tell me about it,”
said Norah, taking a sip of the coffee.
“Here I was thinking
when the quokka outwrestled the bear that was the strangest story I'd ever
heard in The Republic of Marian,” said Angel, drinking water.
“Well,” said Norah,
“you've been overruled. Judging by yesterday's case, quokkas outwrestling bears
will sound like a regular occurrence.”
“So,” said Norah,
switching gears, “how'd the hospital visit go?”
“Oh,” said Angel, “it's
so inspiring...first time I'd ever done something like that...I mean, it's
heartbreaking, seeing all those people- especially the kids- going through what
they're doing, but seeing their resilience and their spirit and how they're not
letting things like cancer get the worst of them...I can't help but be
inspired. Makes me feel like whatever troubles I might experience are trivial,
at best.”
“Yeah,” said Norah,
deadpanning. “If only it were that simple.”
“At least you have an
easy job,” said Tulip Errons, the MCPD's administrative assistant, walking in
and taking a coffee for herself.
“Tulip darling,” said
Norah, sarcasm dripping in her voice as she continued, “now let's not put down
Angel's job here...visiting sick babies is very important.”
Angel let out an
appreciative laugh.
“It's OK, Norah,” she
said. “When they hired me, they told me that all the hospital visits,
politician photo ops and social media photo shoots would be a fraction of what
I would actually do. I was going to be a policewoman and a detective, someone
who'd actually help you solve all your crimes...I'm edging...begging
even, to start doing that, but I keep getting stopped.”
“Roy's not letting you
get into the field?” said Norah. “That's not right.”
“It's not Roy,” said
Angel. “It's Commissioner Gordon. He told Roy to not assign me to a case until
he says it's OK. Which is all right, I guess...I just don't know what they're
saving me for.”
“Oh I'm pretty sure I
know,” said Norah. “It'll be something easy, but something that will make you
look good...like busting some big druggie but only after the Strike Force has
reduced the drug lord's army to just him so you can swoop in and make the arrest.
You'd never have to do any actual work.”
“I sure hope not,” said
Angel. “I didn't become a crime fighter just to put on a costume and take
photos...I came to literally get blood on my hands and get them real dirty.”
“That's noble of you,”
said Norah with a restrained smile. “I hope you actually get to do that.”
“Speaking of which,”
said Angel, “how's the case with the bunny girl going?”
“Confusing,” said
Norah, “I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything I heard. One detail
that stuck out to me was that she was on what she called a 'farm' and that she
was guarded by some guys with 'Ws' on their patches. For some reason, that just
stuck out to me like a sore thumb.”
“'Ws'?” said Tulip,
interjecting. “As in the constellation, Cassiopeia?”
“Possibly,” said Norah,
puzzled by Tulip's statement.
Tulip let out a sigh.
“I'm pretty sure it's a
'W',” said Tulip, “because the Cassiopeia Force were the people behind the
kidnapping of my village. They had the constellation on their shoulder patches,
it's the one thing I have seared in my brain from my youth.”
“Well,” said Norah, not
seeing the significance, “that's great.”
“I read that Cassiopeia
has a connection to McCrain Enterprises,” said Tulip.
“You read that
somewhere?” said Norah, intriged.
“I mean, I don't know
how reliable it is,” said Tulip, “but yes...I read it on The Vicendum Chronicles.”
“The conspiracy site?”
said Norah with a smile.
“Yeah,” said Tulip.
“That's the one. No other web site has made that claim though, so I wonder if
it's just bunk.”
“You know,” said Angel.
“McCrain's always been shady to me...I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.”
“Yeah,” said Norah,
“but you'd think a story like McCrain having this army that rounds up poor
people and operates a farm of bunny people would be the kind of thing the
regular news media would be all over.”
“Or,” said Angel with a
smirk, “McCrain is just so good at hiding the story that the regular media
isn't able to research it to verify it. Likely Vicendum got it from a single
source and just ran with it without verifying it...he's done that many times,
and sometimes he's been proven right.”
“Yeah,” said Norah,
frustrated. “It sounds nice, but I don't have time to go on a fishing
expedition.”
Norah then had a look
at her phone and noticed a text message.
“I'll take it into
consideration,” said Norah as she hastily beat an exit from the break room.
June 15, 2019,
10:46 local time,
Stately McCrain
Manor,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
Alfred was still dazed
as he woke up, laying on the ground. He had no idea what hit him- in the blink
of an eye he went from struggling with the intruder to being knocked senseless
strewn across the floor. Whomever he was fighting, he was certainly experienced
and in better shape than Alfred was, which was the only way Alfred could
explain why someone bested him so easily.
As he woke up, he
looked around the house to make sure everything was still in order. The
intruder never did tell him what he was doing there, but Alfred surmised that
robbery wasn't the motive since the intruder was already gone.
The intruder was
here for something very specific,
thought Alfred. I just have to figure out what.
Alfred rummaged around
the house for hours trying to figure out what it was. Everyone he could think
of was accounted for, either at work or at school, except for Martha McCrain
who was out enjoying herself in the pool. Once Alfred realized that everything
in the house was- thankfully- accounted for, he suddenly remembered something-
or, someone- he overlooked.
Amethyst, thought Alfred. He took Amethyst...she's
nowhere to found. He then went poolside to talk to Martha to ask if she saw
the intruder- someone he described as a man dressed in a full blue bodysuit- or
Amethyst, and Martha, who had been outside all day and thus didn't hear a
thing, told Alfred that she did not.
Alfred then immediately
got on the phone with the police, hoping to get through to Norah but he failed
to reach her. He then left her a text message explaining what happened and for
her to call him back. Meanwhile, all Alfred could do was look on in worry, just
as Martha was doing. Amethyst was in no condition to be out on her own,
especially not in the arms of a kidnapper. He decided to make it his mission to
bring back Amethyst to safety, even if a voice in the back of his head told him
he didn't know what he was getting into.
June 15, 2019,
14:49 local time,
Marian City Police
Department,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
“Strangest story ever,
isn't it?” said Roy with a chuckle as he leaned back in his chair. “In all of
my years of policing...”
Roy then took a look at
his guest, Capitol Comissioner Jim Gordon, and realized he wasn't sharing his
laughter.
“Jimbo,” said Roy, now
leaning forward on his desk. “You don't find this to be the least bit strange?
You can't tell me you can't get a good laugh out of this...I mean, bunny
girls...that's the stuff of fantasy...crazy to think that it's real.”
“...but it is
real,” said Gordon curtly, unmoved by Roy's boisterousness.
Roy took one look at
Gordon and right away sensed something wasn't right.
“Jimmy,” said Roy, “is
there something that I need to know?”
“There is nothing
you need to know,” said Gordon, “and I suggest you stop prying.”
“Well your evasiveness
isn't helping you,” said Roy. “Excuse my cop tendencies, but you have 'guilty'
written all over you.”
Gordon looked at Roy
and gave him a death stare.
“I'm just going to lay
this out real simple,” he said sternly. “You and your police department are not
to investigate any further this 'bunny girl' or her story. Is that
understood?”
Roy smiled smugly. Now
it was his turn to return the steely glare.
“I'm sorry Jim,” said Roy,
“I can't do that. I got a city to protect...there's so many things this
bunny girl could bring that I can't leave it to chance. If I've got an army of
animal people about to bear down on this city, then I need to know
that. That's not something I can risk.”
“I can tell you
straight up that you don't have an animal army about to bear down on you,” said
Gordon curtly.
“How do you know that?”
said Roy snidely.
“Just trust me!”
said Gordon, banging his fist on Roy's desk, which didn't perturb the Captain
at all.
Gordon took a few
minutes to calm down before continuing, doing his best not to show Roy's
non-reaction caught him off guard.
“Roy,” said Gordon.
“This is a path you don't need to go down. There's lots of information that you
don't need to know because it's not necessary. There is nothing you can gain
going down this road.”
Roy chuckled and shook
his head.
“Let me guess,” said Roy,
“this is some kind of 'government' thing that if it were to come out, it would
cause a lot of embarrassment.”
Roy then looked Gordon
right in the eyes before continuing.
“Well let me tell you
this,” said Roy sternly. “I already made the mistake of letting one politician
off the hook for their crimes because I thought it would do the public good and
I'm not making that same mistake again!”
“You're not
making that mistake, I'm telling you!” said Gordon, as the room got testy.
“Oh yeah?” said Roy,
his voice elevating. “If I'm doing something to let some politician or other
important official off the hook, then yeah- I'm making that same mistake
again!”
Gordon again banged his
fist on Roy's desk, as the two rose from their chairs with angry scowls,
appearing as if they were about to come to blows.
“It's for the state's
own good Roy!” said Gordon, angrily thrusting his finger in Roy's direction.
“If you want The Republic of Marian to succeed, then you need to stop
looking into the bunny girl!”
“Well no can do
compadre!” said Roy. “If your state is built on a lie, then you don't have
a state at all!”
Gordon took a deep
breath, fixed his tie and then his suit jacket and then took a step away from
his chair, as if he was about to leave.
“I can't believe you're
willing to sacrifice your career over this,” said Gordon, sternly but now
calmly.
Roy chuckled
sardonically.
“Fire me Jim,” said Roy,
who was calm but raised his voice again. “Fire me, Jim! I implore you...fire
me! I don't care...I'll sacrifice my career if that means securing the
honesty and integrity of the justice system. Because I didn't sign up to be a
cop to cover up someone's dirty deeds...I became a cop to end them!”
This time it was
Gordon's turn to chuckle sardonically.
“Fine then,” said
Gordon. “Your honour is admirable, Captain. So let me put it to you this
way...if you continue with this investigation I won't just fire you, I'll fire
everyone in this Department, and hire people who will play along.”
Roy couldn't believe
what he heard.
“You wouldn't do that,”
said Roy, still in shock.
“Try me,” said Gordon
confidently. “Just try me, Roy. Call my bluff...what do you got to lose? Oh
yeah...the careers of other, good cops who won't be happy that their
livelihoods are gone because you want to play political games...but...you're
sure that won't happen. Right? Right?”
Roy let out a heavy
sigh but offered no response. Inside he was boiling with anger but his mind
told him there was nothing left for him to do except call in Coleman and Norah.
Once his two Deputies
were in his office, he delivered the news.
“Zeke, Norah,” said Roy
sombrely. “As Commissioner Gordon is my witness, I'm here to tell you that we
are officially shutting down the investigation of Amethyst the bunny girl. I'm
going to put out a press release that will state she was nothing more than a
runaway in a costume and there is no danger to public safety. If anyone asks
about the case, tell them that the case is not worth police resources so no one
should worry. Thank you.”
Norah and Coleman both
nodded their heads, indicating they understood what Roy told them. They then
left the office as Gordon looked on, satisfied with Roy's order and how easily
his charges took them.
What Gordon didn't
realize is that Roy, anticipating this move from Gordon, left the two of them
with a code, telling them that they can still pursue the case, just not
officially.
Meanwhile, the
Deputies' job would get much easier, as Alfred called them about a break-in and
assault he suffered this morning. Investigating that case would give them the
perfect cover to investigate the McCrains, especially because they knew Alfred
would be very helpful to their cause.
Still, they knew they
had to exercise caution. If the case was this important to The Republic of
Marian they couldn't afford any slip ups. The gravity of the situation wasn't
lost on the MCPD- they just worried if they could overcome it.
June 15, 2019,
18:29 local time,
Office of Daniel
Duke,
Marian, Great Lake
Crosslands, Republic of Marian
“Hey Jim,” said Duke,
answering his phone. “What's that? You've solved my problem? What problem?”
Duke looked confused as
Gordon answered him.
“Uh,” he replied, “no,
I don't know what problem you're referring to...what's that? It doesn't
matter that I don't know what the problem is? Uh...OK then. Have a good night.”
Duke then sat down in
his large lounge chair and pulled out a flask of rum from his desk. He enjoyed
the sting of the alcohol as it ran down his throat, a feeling that thoroughly
pleased and satisfied him. The rum allowed him to relax and recharge after a
long day, allowing him to clear his mind and not let his many stresses get the
better of him in that moment.
After several drinks,
he fell asleep in his chair, the alcohol getting the better of him. It wasn't a
relaxing sleep, as after just an hour of a nap, he was violently awoken by a
whack to the head.
“Wakey, wakey, Daniel,”
said Endgame, brandishing the baseball bat he used to wake up Duke.
“Wh-who are you?” said
Duke, still groggy from his sleep.
“That's not really
important,” said Endgame, lording over him with the bat. “What's important is
that you need to tell me what's going on in Pickle Lake.”
Duke stumbled to his
feet and rubbed his forehead. His head was now throbbing because of the bat
swing, and the alcohol made him walk awkwardly before he tripped on his feet
and fell to the floor, after which he gave his head a shake. He looked on in
horror as he saw his felled security guard, shot coldly in the head by Zsasz
who was now guarding the exit as Cuddles stood in the way Duke escaping.
“C'mon Danny,” said Endgame,
threatening to hit Duke again with the bat before Duke raised his hands in
protest. “I don't have all day.”
“I really don't know
what you're talking about,” said Duke, which prompted a bat swing into Duke's
belly that caused him to yelp in pain.
“Wrong answer!” said Endgame.
“You definitely know, you just don't want to tell me.”
“I...I, uh,” said Duke,
still wincing in pain. “I dated a girl once in Pickle Lake.”
“A purple-skinned girl
with bunny ears and a mouse tail?” said Endgame. “You know, I found one in the taiga
that was running away from Pickle Lake...just reunited her with her
sister...very beautiful reunion, the world would have loved to have seen
it...you didn't date one of those girls, did you? Did you, you sick
waste of skin?”
Duke turned to look at Endgame,
slowly as he was still in pain.
“Purple skinned what?”
he said, confused, which prompted a swift kick in the back by Cuddles.
“Look, guys,” Duke
said, wincing horribly in pain. “I really don't know anything about some
bunny girl or whatever it is you're talking about. I mean, I probably know as
much as you do...seriously, I know nothing. Just please...please...stop
hurting me!”
Endgame took one look
at Duke and then started to lightly bang his bat against his other hand. As Endgame
contemplated his next move, Cuddles didn't hesitate to kick him again in the
back, causing him to yelp in pain.
“Listen you good for
nothing developer,” snarled Cuddles, “we know you're working with
McCrain, and we know he's farming Animoids near Pickle Lake. We can prove
it, we have two live ones, so don't try to back out of this. We just want to
know what he's doing with them...what's he farming them for? Who's he selling
them to? C'mon...you know!”
Cuddles then bent over
and spoke into Duke's ear.
“Unless you want
another kick,” said Cuddles threateningly, “and this time, I'm aiming for your
head.”
Duke looked on, panting
heavily as he contemplated his next move. Cuddles and Endgame had him
surrounded, and Zsasz posed another threat at the exit. Suddenly, Duke's
survival instincts kicked in and he got a burst of adrenaline, which he figured
he'd use to fight to his death.
He shoved Endgame,
which caused him to drop his bat which Duke promptly picked up. He was then
knocked to the ground by a well-timed kick from Cuddles who then grabbed his
leg, bending it and twisting it into the “calf crusher” manoeuvre. Duke could
feel his knee and his leg muscles burst and rip in ever increasing excruciating
pain, with the move eventually breaking his calf.
Still, despite how
unbearable the pain was, Duke was determined. He took the bat and then took a
swing that connected hard with Cuddles' head, knocking her into the wall and
felling her to the ground, before turning around and swinging wildly at Endgame,
who was also knocked down by Duke's swings. This allowed Duke to crawl back to
his desk where he was able to sit down on it and still face his assailants.
Using his good leg and his bat, he was able to keep Cuddles and Endgame
somewhat at bay as he tried to fumble around his desk to find his phone so that
he could call the police.
Cuddles, though picked
up on what Duke was attempting to do so she ran to his desk and picked up his
phone, throwing it against the wall and smashing it to pieces. As Duke was
distracted by Cuddles, Endgame grabbed his good leg by his knee and his ankle
and, in one swift motion, Endgame caused excruciating pain by tearing several
of his calf muscles, though the leg would still eventually be functional. He
then applied the same move to Duke's already injured leg, which only caused
Duke more pain because the leg was already broken. Cuddles then grabbed Duke's
arms and held them so that he could not use them as Endgame rained punches into
his gut and his face, with Endgame switching places with Cuddles after a couple
of minutes.
After several rounds of
this, Endgame threw Duke back down on to the ground, bending down so that he
could talk right into Duke's face.
“Are you done
playing around?” he said, angrily.
“Look, you lunkhead,”
said Duke, defiantly. “I've already told you I know nothing about Pickle
Lake, and I'll die defending that. It's up to you if you want to believe
me...I've said all I have to say.”
“Can I hit him again?”
said Cuddles. “I'm still not happy he got me in the head.”
“No,” said Endgame. “As
much as I hate to say this, Dukey here may be right, though it makes no sense
to me because he's a McCrain lackey.”
Meanwhile, Zsasz was
forced to shoot at oncoming police cars, summoned to the area by a passerby who
overhead the commotion. Zsasz was able to keep them at bay, shooting out the
tires and forcing them to stop, but as good as he was at maintaining his position,
he knew the gang had to beat a getaway.
“Guys,” he said with
urgency. “Po-po's on their way...we gotta go.”
Endgame acknowledged
what Zsasz said and agreed. Before he left through a back door, Endgame said
one last message to Duke.
“When the police get
here and ask you who did this,” he said, sneering at Duke, “tell them Endgame
did it and he's here to expose your truth.”
Endgame then spat on
the badly beaten Duke before beating his hasty retreat, which he managed to do
before the police showed up.
Meanwhile, as Duke lay,
writhing in pain on the floor, woozy from what just happened, he had one
thought dominate his mind- what, exactly, are the McCrains hiding?
“Often, the devil
you see is not the one you need to overcome.”- Drusus Albinus, “On the Real
Religious Fight” (1512)
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