This is Unknown, a fanfiction written by Atrumvindex (Softhead) and I.
Unknown takes place in the world of Cradle in the daily lives of the SOPF (Spiral Order Police Force) officers. But we didn't want to bore you with normal crime cases. In the story of Unknown, we wanted something that would keep our readers excited and eager for more. So our story settles with SOSPF (Spiral Order Special Police Force) officers.
In our tales, you readers will delve into the strange cases that SOSPF officers experience often. Most of these cases will have their own special twists to them, with "scientific" explanations of the happenings.
Alright, enough with intros, lets get on with the story, am I right?!
Unknown
SOSPF Report
Report by: Daniel Grime
Date: 2/18/13
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Report:
It was a normal day, Lydia and I were just going about our daily patrol. The sun was burning down on our backs as we turned the corner of Stranger St. and Argent Avenue. All was calm when we strolled down the street, until I got a rushed call for help from an unfamiliar voice.
“Help, please! I’m at Moorcroft Manor. I don’t have much time. Please help me! Please! Plea-“
The line died.
Something was happening. I called backup and we, Lydia and I, raced back to our motorbikes and kicked them into ignition. We drove in the direction of the Arcade, with the bike’s red and blue lights flashing.
As we sped down the street, citizens were literally jumping out of the way how fast we were going. One time I even almost hit someone. Punish me for that later, but for now, read on. We turned down a curve and kept on speeding down the street. We turned down another. And another. The drive seemed to never end. When we arrived at the Arcade, the authorities were already there. I saw Lieutenant Barrus, the leader of my division of government, leaning against an alchemy machine writing on a tablet of paper.
“Barrus!” I called out.
The lieutenant looked up at me and grinned a broad smile.
“Daniel! Care to tell me the situation? These civilians here don’t know anything,” Barrus said.
I stepped forward, “I got a call for help from someone saying they were in Moorcroft Manor.”
Barrus pondered that thought, “Well, it seems we can’t figure anything out until we go to Moorcroft.”
“Then let’s go,” Lydia said. “Time is wasting.”
Barrus turned to the seven or so guardian knights standing behind him.
“Let’s roll out!” he ordered. “We’re going to Moorcroft!”
The guardian knights all walked to the elevators, with Barrus following. Just those 8 took up two elevators. Lydia and I strolled onto an empty elevator and she pressed the coordinates for Moorcroft.
When the elevator stopped, I walked out into Moorcroft Manor and immediately smelled the aroma of dead people. I grabbed some cloth from my pack and covered my nose. Barrus told us to split up to search for anything out of the ordinary. Instead of searching first, I went up to the front desk. The desk clerk stated his usual words, with a little pun. I sighed and turned away from him.
I was surprised to find Pembrooke standing right behind me.
“Good Evening, my good sir,” he greeted me.
“Hello, Pembrooke,” I said. “How’s Moorcroft these days? Are the Black Kats all gone?”
“For now,” he replied. “Hopefully forever.”
I scanned the room. “Think I could give your library a look?” I asked.
Pembrooke hesitated, “You know those books are my life. Be very careful with them.”
“Thanks, I will,” I responded.
I began going over to Pembrooke’s study when I heard a loud scream. I swerved around and dashed towards the source. I saw Lydia staring at something, mortified. The guardian knights ran over, followed by Barrus, and they were all equally afraid. I ran over to find something worthy of their looks.
A mutated knight lay on its side in a tomb in the Graveyard Wing of Moorcroft. It was wearing what looked like a spiral demo suit. However, its legs weren’t legs. They were pretty much purple and blue tentacles. I turned the body over to look at its face. It looked normal, other than it being bruised. I opened its mouth and found I was wrong. Sticky, sharp fangs protruded from its gums.
I glanced at Lydia. “It’s not a knight anymore.”
Barrus stepped in. “We can still bury-“
The mutation hopped onto its feet and grabbed Barrus by the neck. It opened its mouth wide and prepared to bite him. I grabbed my Valiance from my belt and shot it in the head. The creature jumped out of the coffin and retreated from the group, blood spilling from the bullet wound. Before it got too far, it fell unconscious because of the great loss of blood. I helped Barrus up.
“You ok?” I asked him.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I’m fine.”
“That must’ve been the knight that called me. This is worse than I thought. Lydia, it took us what, 20 minutes to get from where I heard the call to here?”
“About,” she said.
“Who could work so fast… making a knight a monster?” I wondered.
“Someone smart,” Barrus stated. “Someone with a lot of knowledge on the subject of the undead.”
We walked over to the Konjuring Kat, who stood in his normal spot, outside his ritual circle. The kat smiled at the sight of the knights.
“Have any… books for me?” he asked with hope.
I shook my head and the Konjuring Kat backed away a bit, clearly disappointed. “Perform any rituals lately?” I asked.
“No,” the kat said, stubbornly. “Last one I did was before the Black Kats went away. I miss doing rituals…”
“Then what is that, Konjuring Kat?” I asked, pointing towards the body of the mutated knight.
The kat looked genuinely confused. “Ugh, what is that? Oh, you think I did that? Are you kidding me?”
“If you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions then, correct?” Lydia joined in.
The Konjuring Kat rolled his eyes. “Of course I would mind. My dear, I have done many questionable things, but this is not one of them.”
Barrus stepped forward. “I don’t believe you. Konjuring Kat, you are now under arrest by order of SOSPF for not cooperating with an officer.”
“You’re kidding right?” the kat laughed. When Barrus ordered the guardian knights to grab him, he realized Barrus wasn’t joking. “Wow, really? This is so stupid…”
“Tell it to the judge,” one of the guardian knights barked.
I watched as the guardian knights and Barrus left Moorcroft to go to the surface. I looked at Lydia.
“To be honest, I don’t think the Konjuring Kat did it. He seemed pretty surprised.”
“Or he’s a good actor,” Lydia said. “C’mon, let’s go up to Haven.”
I followed Lydia onto the elevator and watched her punch in the coordinates for Haven. Once we reached the surface, Lydia and I hopped on our motorbikes and rode back to the Spiral Police Headquarters.
We parked our bikes and walked through the huge double doors of the building. We began ascending the stairs to go to the SOSPF Level.
“Barrus thought it would have to be someone with a lot of knowledge on the subject of the undead,” I spoke up. “Well, I think I know where they could have gotten that knowledge.
“What are you thinking?” Lydia asked me with a grin.
“There’s a library at Moorcroft. The person who did it could have read something about how to do it. We might be able to find a book explaining what we saw,” I said.
“It’s worth a shot I guess,” Lydia agreed.
“Back to Moorcroft Manor!”
We raced back down the steps and out the front doors of the building. We hopped on our motorbikes and sped down the street, in the direction of the Arcade.
Once we got there, I jumped off the seat of my bike and dashed towards an elevator, Lydia close behind. We slid to a stop on the elevator and I immediately jabbed my fingers into the correct buttons. The elevator began to descend and I eagerly awaited its stop. When it stopped, I hurried off it and into Moorcroft Manor, holding my nose the whole way. My first thoughts were to go ask Pembrooke for some assistance in finding the perfect book.
“Pembrooke!”
“H- Hello,” Pembrooke responded with a shaky voice.
“We need some help for our investigation and need you to find us a book with information on the events that happened in the Graveyard Wing earlier today.”
“Alright… Follow me,” Pembrooke ordered. “After what happened, I did some research on the subject. You should find what you’re looking for in this book-“He grabbed a thick tome off a shelf and handed it to me. “-In chapter 58, page 792. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was just in the middle of a great load of work.”
Pembrooke slipped away from the twosome, going off in the direction of his study. I felt the heavy book’s kat-skin covers. “Yuck,” I thought to myself. I opened the grimoire and flipped through the pages.
“Man is this a big book.” I whispered under my breath.
I turned open to a page and read the heading Chapter 58. I started going through the pages quickly to find number 792.
“788, 789, 790, 791-“
I flipped the page. I was surprised by what I saw. In all caps, scribbled across the page in blood was SO LONG SUCKERS!
I turned around just in time to see Pembrooke shut a suitcase and run off towards the elevator.
“Stop right there!” I shouted, speeding after him. I heard Lydia struggling to keep up behind me. Then I pulled out my Silversix, firing a few bullets in Pembrooke’s direction. The warning shots made him stop in his tracks, and I caught up to him. I grabbed his hands and bound them with rope.
“Pembrooke, you are now under arrest for mental and physical harm to an equal being. Have anything to say for yourself?” I asked him.
Lydia joined in, “Why’d you do it?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Pembrooke hissed, giving up the ‘weak old man’ act. “I was trying to create a black kat of my own… and in turn, an army of the hideous creatures. Knights seem to be the strongest power on Cradle, so I figured I might as well use one of their own for my experiments. But that idiot I had couldn’t take the dark matter electric charges coursing through his body. His brain got fried.”
“Well your plot has been foiled. You’re gonna be in prison for a long time,” I told him.
“Screw you,” Pembrooke cursed.
I grabbed a com unit from my bag and began speaking into it.
“Hello, this is Daniel Grimes, reporting for duty. We have found the culprit of the mutant case. I repeat, we have found the culprit of the mutant case. I need a group of guardian knights here at Moorcroft Manor as soon as possible to take him in.”
In a matter of minutes, a small group of maybe four guardian knights arrived at Moorcroft, with their weapons out. Once they saw I had Pembrooke subdued, they sheathed their swords, put away their bombs, and holstered their guns.
One looked up at me and said, “Pembrooke, eh? Never thought he’d be the criminal.”
I smiled. “Things aren’t always as they seem.”
As the guardian knights dragged Pembrooke by his arms onto the elevator, I heard him yell back at me.
“This isn’t over! I will be back, and you’ll be my first target, Daniel Grimes! Hear that? I will bring back the Black Kats! I will rule all of Crad-“
I heard the crack as a guardian knight knocked him unconscious. I sat down, thinking for a few minutes, then remembered about the Konjuring Kat. I called into my com unit again.
“Lieutenant Barrus? This is Daniel Grimes asking for Lieutenant Barrus. Come in Lieutenant Barrus.”
“This is Lieutenant Barrus, what’s the problem?”
“Sir, I have proven that the Konjuring Kat was not the culprit of the mutant case. I believe you owe someone an apology,” I said.
“He was innocent? Well I’ll be. We’ll let him go tomorrow. But I’m keeping an eye on him.”
I laughed. “Oh, I bet you are.”
I rode the Moorcroft elevator up to the surface and went home to relax. I picked up my com unit and called Barrus one last time.
“Hey Barrus?”
“Yes, Daniel?”
“I’m taking the rest of the day off,” I chuckled.
“Er, you can’t do tha-“
I pressed the off button on the com unit, then sat down and kicked my feet up on a table.
I hate busy days.
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Summary:
Crazy dude tried to recreate the Black Kats and take over Cradle.