Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 30

Chapter 291

Iratus, "I need a break."

Clamor, "You and me both."

The calico cat, Desidia, pulled out her firearm and aimed at the black abomination, which made the other three cover their ears. The girl fired off a few shots while the other three backtracked to the previous door. The shots did very little damage as the group retreated.

The sizzling oil was loud enough to be heard from the next room. The group did their best to keep backing away from the monster, but it kept breaking through the doors. The maw opened, and a whiff of steam washed over the group. The creature was dragged along the ground by numerous metal arms, and a number of metalhead bodies were swirling within the blob. Inside the mouth of the creature were also a great many metalheads.

Eventually, Iratus and Clamor held out their swords like spears, while Desidia and Venatio tried to bash the creature with their batons. Another wave of steam poured out on the group, and Iratus noticed Clamor starting to droop. A thought crossed Iratus's mind: the metalhead sickness that puts people into a trance. With no time to think of a solution, Iratus swiped his blade and smacked the rabbit man's ear, who was jolted to his senses.

Clamor, "Ow, lad, what the bricks?"

The pair did their best, but their blades were not doing much damage. Finally, Clamor started to swing with earnest and cleaved pockets into the monster, but Iratus and the two girls were not able to hold the creature in place. Several cartoonish, long metal bodies sprung from the monster's body and jammed into everyone, one at a time. Venatio backed off and ran past the monster, clearly wounded, while Desidia followed her. Iratus was pushed back, almost falling on his butt as the metal pillar slammed into him as well. Clamor and Iratus were forced back into the room with a hole, and while Clamor jumped on the side, some flooring was left. Iratus was forced off, with the monster following him in.

Iratus did his best to roll when he landed and quickly moved as the black glob fell right behind him. Iratus thought for a second before turning and beginning to hack into the monster with his longsword.

Clamor, "Woh, you survived that?"

Iratus, "mousefolk are great-" He bore through the creature yet again, "at surviving from great heights."

The two girls had come back into the room by this point.

Desidia, "Felines too, not necessary cheetahs, and most definitely not lions, but..."

Clamor tried his best to try to climb down, floor by floor, but when he fell on his back on one of the floors, he stopped because his old body couldn't keep up anymore. The felinefolk jumped down and landed on the monster, but her eyes quickly changed from determination to fear, and she threw herself off of the creature as burning oil kept her busy trying to get the mess off of her SWAT armor. The creature was slowly forming itself, and soon it was pushing itself upright. Venatio climbed down to where Clamor was and was slowly helping him up.

---

Chapter 292

The mouse boy and cat girl had to flee again when the monstrosity was upright, running through large passageways and open areas. Unlike the many laboratory rooms full of science equipment, down here was a blur of warning signs and fenced-off areas, and Iratus nearly fell over once because his legs were still stinging from the large drop. There was only one side room that actually had a door, and the pair broke off from the path to dive in. The room was like a waiting room, with fake plants and old magazines from many different worlds.

Iratus, "What even is this place?"

Desidia, "Have you really never seen a place like this?"

Iratus, "I guess the summoners tower had all the same stuff, but there is a hospital from Venatio's people."

Desidia, "Perhaps a blackest day stitched these two places together?"

Iratus, "Sure, I guess. How do you know about the blackest days?"

Desidia, "I've found a lot of information while living in this strange, strange world."

Iratus, "Sure...this world that you've lived in for all of one day?"

Desidia, "Now you're getting it."

The mouse boy gave a light scowl, but gave up on trying to pry more informaiton out of the feline.

The monster started to beat the door, and the two quickly stopped messing around, mostly.

Desidia, "What's the plan?"

Iratus, "Didn't you live here?"

Desidia, "No way I was staying down here because this place is filthy. You are the one with the pointy blade, so I ask, Are we standing our ground or not?"

The mouse boy looked around for a second.

Iratus, "Ok, this is close quarters, and I think that should limit the creature enough for us to stab it a few more times."

Desidia, "Cool because there are a lot of warning signs and I don't know if I want to continue forward."

Iratus, "We won't have a choice. I don't know if the two of us can even kill the thing."

The door finally broke open, with the monster breaking in and leaving a large hole in the room.

---

Chapter 293

The monster blob clearly had a lot of damage on it. It had a deep cut left from Clamor, and a lot of its outer shell was gashed apart from Iratus's previous attacks. Even the fall from Desidia left a large mark on the creature.

Iratus was fueled by hope and began by attacking and retreating to avoid the metal pillars that are elongated metalheads from ramming into him. Desidia asked for a dagger and, with one, waited for an opportunity.

While Iratus took some hits, his running softened the blows. Once the creature made it half way into the room, breaking some of the ceiling in the process, the mouse boy had no choice but to stand his ground. Desidia joined in when Iratus held the monster's attention. The steam came out of the monster's mouth, and the pair did their best to retreat further into the room to avoid the steam-like air, which probably explains why Clamor went limp.

Soon, Iratus and Desidia only had a fourth of the room left to move into. Somehow they were backed into a corner instead of the other door in the room. The metalhead bodies were thrust out and slammed into Iratus, first his legs, then a shoulder, and then the jaw of the monster opened and a wall of metalheads shoved Iratus back into a couch, only to have the monster crawl up to him and slam another body into Iratus.

The feline girl did her best to stab at the monster and several pillars slammed into her. Iratus stood and cut into the monster, only for another wave from the creature's mouth to send the poor boy into the wall with a loud wham.

Iratus was also now feeling the burning of the oil that came from both the metalhead bodies and the monster's wounds, with oil sliding down Iratus's sword. Iratus stood once more and attacked the open mouth of the creature, sending his sword straight up into the roof of its mouth. The monster had already left a trail of black oil from countless wounds, and even more pooled out from the two people attacking it now. With one final thrashing, the monster finally started melting into a pool of oil that quickly solidified, with many metalhead bodies frozen like statues sticking out.

Iratus crashed on a couch to rest as the pain from all the bludgeoning took quite a toll. Desidia did the same.

---

Chapter 294

Iratus, "How many monsters are down here?"

Desidia, "I know of three big ones. Glad you didn't die; it would have been a shame if I called you here to save me and ended up dying instead."

Iratus, "Why are we even down here anyway?"

Desidia, "We are trapped in here, and the old lady thought the key to our freedom was somewhere down here."

Iratus, "It better be; this is the worst."

Desidia, "Surely you've been through worse. I can see those scars all over your face."

Iratus, "Yeah..."

After a minute, Iratus spoke again.

Iratus, "How is Providence anyway?"

Desidia, "Not bad, really. The Lionheart Republic has been at peace for a long time. You get some houses fighting every now and then. Entire cities have enough of another city and the like."

She stopped for a second to think of more things and then continued.

Desidia, "A crazy cult appeared, but it was on its way out by my time. It was quite strange to have an idea that infected the minds of the citizens. It was an idea that life itself was conquered. That hardship was over, and everyone was living with all the wealth, yet paradoxically, everyone was also poor and in need of more wealth. The cult stood no chance against people trained to understand the world. Let's see what else."

Iratus, "What about the free cities or the other nations?"

Desidia, "Once again, by my time, only the Lionheart Republic withstood the cult and the times. They emerged as the sole nation of Providence. It's a divided nation, sure, but everyone puts their family name towards the one goal of the success of the future."

Iratus, "Well, I'm from 515 Chainless Era. What came after?"

Desidia, "Like, little things. The advancement of technology freaked some people out. Uh, pfft. Two cities went to war. Then another two cities went to war. I think the only real historical craziness was when the Gemma province tried to vote out republicanism."

Iratus, "Of course the heart of the empire sees themselves as better than everyone else."

Desidia, "Two other provinces also joined the abolition movement. They were Viride Avibus and Lapis Albus."

Iratus, "That's a big oof. Regardless, it would be foolish for a fraction of the nation to demand rule changes when there are dozens of other cultures and peoples living through it."

Desidia, "I guess you could say that a major difference in culture was the incident. It was bad enough that the nation split in two, but luckily the ensuing war was quickly ended for a bunch of different reasons. The main reason was that, because of rapid technological development, the rest of the world was able to catch up to the three rebellious provinces, while the three provinces were no longer able to have monopolies on education and trade. They even collapsed a hundred years later, well, not Gemma obviously, but this was the first step in the rise of the cult I mentioned. The cult was called the Rebirth Project, and its founding members were the leaders behind the rebellion."

---

Chapter 295

After some time, the two got up and tried to backtrack. It wasn't too difficult from the monster's oil that bled out. It would be some time before Venatio and Clamor would catch up with Iratus and Desidia. They exchanged their adventures with each other, with the old pair detailing their run-in with automatic machines, like the ones in the summoners tower.

Iratus, "Yeah, I think this place is also a summoner's place."

Venatio, "Two towers so close to each other—quite a rare find. This just confirms that our being locked in here could be linked to some sort of summoner technology. I suggest we continue deeper into the labyrinth because all of these warning signs might lead us to our goal."

Desidia, "That does not sound logical, but I am curious."

Clamor, "I am really not going to like this, am I?"

The group would continue down the hallway, which spun around until they reached a wide open room. Around the room were automated turrets, though all but one were destroyed, most likely by the hydra-like creature that was torn apart in the room with its heads like that of hairless dogs. In the center of this room was a glass-cased room, though the windows on the outside were tinted to prevent sight inside.

Iratus and Clamor took everything in, and Iratus nearly walked into the room until the two girls grabbed him.

Venatio, "No, no. That room is too dangerous."

As the old fox woman explained the technology at work, Desidia looked around and headed off to another side room. Eventually, she came back and told the others to follow. The side room was actually a major laboratory area and study area with dusty desks and still intact equipment such as beakers and other machinery, but the computers were clearly broken and beyond use. Charts and notes written in multiple languages were scattered around, with Iratus taking a page and reading something about manifesting temporary material.

Iratus, "Weird."

Clamor, "You think your note is weird; check this one out." holding a note, "It turns out the people here grabbed that multi-headed dog thing by mistake."

Iratus, "Now what about the black blob or the mysterious third monster?"

Venatio, "That black blob is the original form of the metalheads. A little bit more metal than usual, but that is how they arrived here."

Iratus, "My God."

Clamor, "The summoners brought everything here, right?"

Venatio, "I'm sure I've already told you, but yeah, and that's why people are summoned here to fight the monsters. These monsters are animals, beasts, and people that take a completely different type of resource to grab."

Iratus, "Well, these summoners better be happy we killed an original metalhead...black blob thing."

---

Chapter 296

Desidia looked at some jars filled with tiny, miniature dog-hydra creatures floating in them.

Desidia, "I wonder what has become of their home then."

Venatio, "They are not in control of the space station, but they can still modify what's inside to a lesser extent and even pull things in here because they just need shards of reality to do so."

Desidia sarcastically, "Which is easy to obtain and use."

Venatio, "Exactly."

Clamor, "So this shard of reality is like some sort of floating rectangle object that is the color of the truest sense of the black void itself."

Venatio, "Yes, how did you know?"

Clamor pointed to the next room and said, "Because that is what is in that center glass room."

Everyone looked through the door window to see that, indeed, a black rectangle object was floating above a pedestal. There was also some small machinery nearby, and the group quickly opened the door and waited for Venatio to take the lead.

She took the lead, with everyone else following behind except for Clamor, who stood guard. The automated turret turned and gave a warning before opening fire upon the group, and while Iratus dove down for cover, the two girls continued forward without a care as the bullets merely cracked the super-durable glass.

Iratus got up and followed the two when he saw that they didn't pay the gunshots any mind. Venatio started to grab some of the small machinery and even handed Iratus a blocky square.

Venatio, "You want to know what we Invaders call treasure? This is it. This will sell for a planet."

Desidia, "Or we could keep them and use them."

Venatio, "How?"

But then the fox woman closed her mouth when the cat girl took out a familiar metal keycard. It was nearly identical to the one Iratus was given, and Desidia just used it to open the glass case.

Venatio used one of the tools in the room to capture the floating brick.

Venatio, "Who gave you that?"

Desidia, "What? I can find things."

Venatio, "You even said using the fragment; how did you know that was possible?"

One of the bullets finally broke through the glass and penetrated Desidia's shoulder. Iratus once again got down, but the old fox woman just stood there as the feline regained her footing and stopped yelling in pain.

Desidia, "Let's get out of here first before the glass shatters completely."

With a nod from Venatio, the three got back into the previous room, shutting the door behind them.

---

Chapter 297

The felinefolk lady did her best to bandage her shoulder as Venatio stared at her. Iratus noticed the lights had dimmed quite a bit, and then they just shut off. Venatio and Desidia pulled out their own flashlights to see.

Venatio, "Who do you work for?"

Desidia, "Are you saying I've been lying the whole time?"

Clamor, "I'm pretty sure she is."

Desidia, "Ugh. What would it matter?"

Iratus, "We've fought someone who aligned themselves with a hostile summoner faction and met someone who allied themselves with the gray masks."

Desidia, "And what about her?" She pointed to Venatio.

Venatio, "Why yes, I once was hired by one of the summoners to fiddle around for them."

Desidia, "See, it does not matter my true motives."

Clamor, "You are supposed to convince us that you are a friend."

Desidia, "You have a fragment harvested from the prime black hole, you have the tools to use it if you wish, and you have a hospital filled with all the medicine and tools you could ever hope for. It's a shame I couldn't get you guys out of the battleship sooner, but I tired and you are all still alive, so everything has turned out fine."

Iratus, "Isn't there still one more monster around?"

Clamor, "Just another location to clear out."

Venatio, "What is the plan here?"

Desidia, "Well, I'm going to see if the entrance is open."

Venatio, "Why drag us down here?"

Desidia, "Getting locked in here was a surprise to me as well. I was hoping to sneak my keycard into Iratus's bag and get going on my own. You are the one who was like, Let's go down the stairs and find the power source that I'm sure is down there. How lucky you are that you are correct."

Venatio, "Lucky? I have been part of raids on this garbage space station! I know what to expect and how to navigate these worlds."

Desidia, "Then why are you in here instead of out there?"

Venatio, "This place isn't the center of the universe or people's attention. People go missing in here, and it's their own fault. It happens, and I doubt there is anyone willing to try to find me lost out here. That and the galactic courts have been trying to stop people from going inside of here just for this kind of situation I am in."

Desidia, "Well, now you have a shard. If you wish to get home, have at it."

There was a moment of silence before Iratus broke it.

Iratus, "What can we do with the shard?"

Desidia, "Whatever the tools here will allow you, Hey, let's get out of here before monster number three shows up."

---

Chapter 298

The group would make it back to the entrance of the building, with the animated cords turned into metal dust sprawled on the floor. The group made it down the spiral mountain, and at the bottom, Desidia gave a bow and left down a nearby road, wishing the group the best.

The rest of the party headed home. Iratus would eventually get back to his stone tower and tell the girls there about the adventure.

Ignis, "And this shard of reality thing, where does it lie now?"

Iratus, "Venatio took it. She said it would be best if she held onto it."

Iratus would take the rest of the day to rest up. The following day was a rest day, where Iratus did a few physical activities while the girls did most of the work, finishing off the day with each girl cooking something for dinner and making a hearty feast for the family. Iratus was overwhelmed by all the food, and the girls were fawning over him and wishing him well.

The 135th day came, and Iratus did his best to get back into work. He carried heavy crates and watered the crops. He traveled with Ignis to the rice fields across the river, washed clothes with Aestus, and helped carry back a deer corpse from Resonantia and Victoria's hunt. Later that night, he tried to gather up ingredients to cook but was stopped.

Aestus, "Ack, no. Never again."

Iratus, "I'm just cooking the meat."

Aestus, "You need more than just cooked slabs of meat. Ignis, Victoria, back me up here."

Iratus sat down at the table.

Iratus, "I'm just trying to give back all that you girls did for me yesterday."

Victoria, "And we love you for it. Now, cooking, on the other hand, should be left to the people who know what they are doing."

Resonantia, who was also sitting at the table, licked her lips and winked at Iratus.

Resonantia, "Don't worry, love, you still got me all alone and right in the palm of your hands."

---

Chapter 299

Resonantia, "So I'm already at the fourth book, and I must say your people are quite enamored with people's bodies."

Iratus, "With a book series called Bathhouse Reviewers, it kind of comes with the territory. But, uh, yeah. We do love the natural forms of people. Glad you can finally read on your own now."

Resonantia, "Maybe we can visit that one bathhouse in the hot spring cave and do some of our own reviewing."

Iratus, "That sounds like a blast. I'm down for it."

Several dishes of meat and vegetables were set forth on the table.

Victoria, "The books have been great for learning your written language."

Iratus, "I think I got everyone caught up on the basics."

Resonantia, "At least I can read by myself."

Aestus, "Well, good for you."

Ignis, "Then the rest of us should probably go over another study night, reading some more."

Victoria, "And try to stay on track for once."

The girls all grinned with Iratus, beginning slightly bashful.

Iratus, "Let's, uh, eat."

---

Chapter 300

Day 136 came, and this time the other two groups showed up with their machinery and the locked-up reality fragment. They greeted one another, and at the table, the tower folk, Venatio, Clamor, Fractura, and Tempestas sat down to discuss some things.

Venatio, "I think it is time to discuss the reality shard."

Iratus, "I know what Desidia said, but really, what can we do with it?"

Venatio, "I've tested these two machines and found that one is to convert the shard into energy, while the second is basically teleportation."

Clamor, "Didn't the hospital conjure material or something?"

Venatio, "That pedestal is something completely different. It is like a security system."

Fractura, "The problem here is that using a reality shard gives massive negative karma. It's the literal destruction of reality itself; even if someone makes something new out of it, reality is still damaged."

Iratus, "More karma non-sense. You see, I knew it was more than just luck."

Tempestas, "You know the blackest day, right?"

Iratus, "Right."

Tempestas, "Well, the reason it is so bad is because these things are taken from reality. So if we use this thing instead of returning it to existence proper, then the blackest days will remain bad, if not worse, and honestly, it technically spreads further from the Nexus Prime."

Clamor, "What, will the whole universe suffer from the blackest day?"

Fractura, "One can argue it has already infected all of space with some low-level stuff."

Tempestas, "Give it a few thousand years, and actual planets outside of here will face the blackest days."

Resonantia, "You mentioned returning the shard somewhere."

Tempestas, "Any machine that works with reality shards can also dispel one and send it back to reality."

Fractura, "So, which way should we use the shard? I can start grabbing some copper wiring, and we could start inventing electricity."

Venatio, "We can set up a portal between two places; we would just have to walk to the other place."

Tempestas, "Are you two crazy? Dispel the shard, and we can heal reality, even if it is just a little. Besides, negative karma would probably burn down our homes or something."

Iratus, "Looks like we have a serious choice to make."

---

EPISDOE 30: END

---
Episode 30 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork, a lot of minor damage, and torso tear), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet
Weapons: Longsword, 3x Knifes, Short Sword
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 33 oval copper coins, 7 small silver bricks, 6 gemstones, 20 fine silver coins, 20 fine gold coins, metal keycard

Wounds: Shoulder, stab wound (minor, almost healed), Stomach, stab wound (minor, almost healed), Back, long cut (moderate)

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 3 glass jar, 12 empty bottles, 1 fish net, fishing gear and other supplies, primitive sewing kit, trowel, woodcutting axe, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, a strange device (Gameboy-like device), compass, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, lots of rope, a large barrel, writing material, 80 cloaks and other clothing materials, some primitive medicine, some fabrics, 6 carts, 11 tattered tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenary, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, rope ladder.

Armory: 10 wooden spears, 56 short swords, 53 knifes, 25 daggers, 34 metal spears, 2 hand bombs, 21 rusted weapons, many armor pieces, ruined metal armor, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), box of unknown ammo, 4 hunting traps, 3 snares, 2 pistols (no ammo), 12 unknown bullets, 4 backpacks
Aestus: leather vest, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword
Victoria: scrap metal breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, flashlight
Resonanita: breastplate, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar

Treasure: 88 oval copper coins, 33 oval silver coins 74 ancient metal coins, 20 fine silver coins, 44 fine gold coins, 23 fine copper coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a handful of sparkling glass beads, a small wooden trinket box, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, 107 copper lion coins, 5 silver lion coins, 14 gold lion coins, 115 wolfen metal coins

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools, glue, sandpaper), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools, first aid kit), Guest Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding)

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in)

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Special documentary on Nexus Prime #34, 16 Broken Tower documents, Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series)

Year 0, Day 136

---

(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(some time ago) The small theater was crowded with mannequins and several folk that were tied up with such thin wires that if these captees would move, the wire would cut into them. Most of the tied-up folk were wolffolk, but there were a few others, such as a sharkfolk and a weaselfolk. Two people were not tied up: some black-haired mousefolk and Desidia without her SWAT armor. She wore a more sporty bra and shorts, showing off her lithe but muscular build. She wasn't as bulky as Iratus, but her muscles were bigger and bulging out of hide, not like a bodybuilder but very athletic-like.

There was a play happening where a female foxfolk, a male raccoonfolk, and a male spiderfolk were playing out a scene, and though they played their parts with passion, there was an air of fear in their voice as if something else was on their mind.

Foxfolk actor, "It is a good thing we drove past them. That group clearly had ill intentions."

Spiderfolk actor, "They still might come after us. If we are searching for resources, then let's go into the forest."

Foxfolk actor, "No, it'll be fine. Just grab the clothes and whatever else from inside the clothing store and let's go."

The spiderfolk man walked away off stage.

Foxfolk actor, "Oh, ok then."

The foxfolk and spiderfolk dressed like stereotypical scavengers with makeshift Kevlar armor and headbands, while the raccoonfolk was dressed as a cop with his own heavy-duty vest.

Raccoonfolk actor, "I'll keep watch."

Foxfolk actor, "You should help me loot and make this go faster. We don't want those scoundrels catching us."

Raccoonfolk actor, "If that were true, then you would have kept going. Just because you two paid me to be your bodyguards does not mean I want to get into fights."

The fox girl shuffled through some things on the stage before the next scene began.

Raccoonfolk actor, "Looks like they are here. Five by my count."

The pair got back into the bathroom, where the cop dropped a shotgun.

Raccoonfolk actor, "I'll need you to back me up."

He got out some bottles of alcohol and began to get rags out to create Molotov cocktails.

Raider actor 1, "Come out! Come out with your hands up! We have you surrounded."

Raccoonfolk actor, "Get back now! We will kill you if you continue."

One of the raiders walked on stage with a shotgun.

Raider actor 2, "Don't try it. Just come out peacefully, and we won't have any problems."

Raider actor 3, "Is there more than one? We just wanted one person; what are we supposed to do?"

Raider actor 1, "Shut up and let me think."

Raccoonfolk actor, "Final warning."

But the raider came closer anyway. With some goofy special effects for fire and the prop guns believably but still fake-like firing away. A combat scene unfolded with several raiders burning; one was shot, and the raccoon cop man charged in with a metal bat to finish off the rest. The whole time, the black-haired mousefolk boy was cheering on the action.

The final scene took place outside the clothing store, where the spiderfolk came out to see what was happening.

Spiderfolk actor, "Darn it, you guys, ok?"

Raider actor 5, "Please don't; I swear I won't tell. I swear."

Despite his pleas, the raccoon cop still killed him, not literally, as they were actors.

Foxfolk actor, "Look at that moving trailer. I think they intended to kidnap us."

Spiderfolk actor, "Did you have to kill him?"

Raccoonfolk actor, "When dealing with Victorium's army, it is better to avoid any contact with the man."

Foxfolk actor, "You took on five armed guys; you're a beast."

Spiderfolk actor, "It was definitely worth hiring you."

Raccoonfolk actor, "Yeah. Just doing my job."

There was one final scene, and then the curtain would fall with all the actors coming out to give a bow, with only the main characters remaining on stage. Then a large figure came out of the curtain, covered in a large cloak that draped over her long body. Lowering her hood, she revealed a head that was similar to a spiderfolk. Looking over the spider woman, one could see she was a spider taur with the upper half like the spiderfolk people but with the lower half an actual spider body, like a drider of sorts and a large one at that. Despite spiderfolk looking quite human in a way, this spidertaur's upper body was more chitinous, and its proportions seemed a little silly, almost cartoonish and colorful with grays and muted yellows. Her hair was very long and absolutely silky black.

Spidertaur, "This concludes my play. Do any of you have any questions?"

The actors seemed stiff while the spider lady was on stage, like they were stifling their fears.

Black-haired mousefolk boy, "Yeah, yeah. Who are you?"

Spidertaur, "I am Buba, Sin Lord of Envy."

black-haired mousefolk boy, "Like what? Sin?"

Buba, "Like the idea of taking something in excess."

black-haired mousefolk boy, "Oh, I see, but still, it is unnerving to hear someone just say they are a sin person. Can you not call yourself a sin lord in front of me? I kind of take offense to it."

Buba, after blinking a few times, "Oh, I'm sorry. Then Buba is fine when you are around."

Desidia, "Honestly, anyone from Providence will take offense when someone calls themselves sin."

Buba, "Truly? Then I will try to not offend them. Regardless, any other questions?"

Desidia, "Yeah. I have proof that Kollektivi, the excess dictatorship, made a deal with someone to attack a particular someone. What's up with that?"

Buba, "Kollektivi? I didn't even know that thing could make deals. Really strange." The woman thought for a few seconds before continuing. "No...it isn't even right. If this is true, then things are progressing away from me."

She was getting angry at a thought, but quickly pushed it away to finish up her play. She pointed at the mouseboy, "You," then pointed at Desidia, "And you. You two paid to be here. The show is over; you may leave now."

Upon hearing that, many of the tied-up individuals started to resist their restraints, and the theater almost became a riot.

---

Extra Story 2

(a long time ago) The Anguis Marinus floated on the water in the bay. The crew was mostly redpandafolk, but a few new members were among their numbers. An otterfolk stepped outside and called out,

Otterfolk, "Abandon ship! Something bad is happening to it!"

The redpandafolk just stared at him until one of the other members spoke up.

Mousefolk, "I don't think any of these ones can understand our language."

Otterfolk, "Look, things just got real, and it is time to get out of here."

Mousefolk, "Why, what is going on?"

Otterfolk, "We got those fungal creatures all over the place, and some floating blade is running around killing people!"

But from the doorway, a large group of Edax Examina came pouring out onto the deck of the ship.

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