FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Richard had gone away once his duties had been finished. This was a personal thing for him and everyone who knew him enough knew why he'd be so on edge this day compared to all of the others. He stepped into the cemetery with a bouquet of daisies. They had always been her favorites. It doesn't really take long to go and find her gravesite. He kneels in front of it and places the flowers in front of it before just sitting down and letting the emotion of the situation wash over him again. This was the only place he ever allowed himself to mourn her death all those years ago. He still missed her dearly. She was his foundation, what kept him whole. Even now, the only stability in his life is her, in coming here to go and hope she's not too disappointed in him. He was there with her for every step of the way. When she got diagnosed, when the normal means of treatment didn't work. She was incompatible with conversion, it wouldn't have worked on her, assuming her body wasn't too far gone. And it was watching her go that brought him to the military. But even with all of that she was his rock. She was the reasoning behind everything he did. To go about trying to ensure the life and world that he feels she would have wanted. That is why he fought. This is why he pushed himself to the limit and gave everything he had to serve his country because that's what he thought his wife would have wanted, to preserve the way of life that people like her would have been able to have. And so he fought in her name, trying to make sure that everyone was kept safe and his efforts in that regard were appreciated.

Of course, that was before he had converted. Thinking back on it all he doesn't know if he would have still converted knowing what he knows now, though he would have still joined this cause. The one thing that has always been the biggest factor to trigger his anger is to see active injustice. If he had never converted he might have just gone about his life and never noticed the active injustice against the morphs. But he had gotten paralyzed while overseas and the only way to ever walk again was to convert. And so he did. But the military had a strict no-Morph policy and he had to resign his commission. And all of his old friends and family abandoned him. Though he knows that Clara would never have abandoned him if she had been sill alive. She wasn't the type. Michael found him, gave him purpose and meaning and showed him the cruelty expressed against him was being done to all Morphs. And he's been following Michael ever since. That was before Michael even converted. But he had seen how things were going and was always very good at being aware of the situation, that's how he had gotten so far up the ranks. Michael was gathering people he thought would help him accomplish his goal of ending the deterioration of the status of the Morphs, to return them to being considered equal to humans, as they should be. And not to either become a serf class or worse, that they rise up and we get an all-out civil war.

Michael had shown himself resourceful and willing to do whatever it took to see the job done. He even had converted himself simply to be more convincing to other Morphs to accept his aid. Richard had always looked up to him for that, that he was always willing to do whatever it took to make sure the job was done and he had never steered him wrong yet. Every single step Michael took Richard found logic in. There was a definitive reason behind the actions, even if he did not understand it at first. The only decision that Richard doesn't understand, the only one that he feels must be a mistake is leaving that bitch alive. It simply makes no sense in any regard to have that dangerous a piece on the board that actively wants you dead.

"My, my, look at what we have here," Richard hears from nearby and sighs. He really doesn't want to deal with this kind of shit now. Not after having come all this way and being with his wife again, or at least as close as he can possibly get to being with her again. He's not a religious individual. He has no expectation of ever seeing her again when he dies. And he especially knows that no one that has done the things he's done would ever be put in the same after life as such a gentle flower anyway. "I think you're in the wrong place. This is a cemetery. Animals don't get put here. They get put into a little shoebox and buried in the yard."

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to deal with you drunken shits. I just finished paying my respects to my wife and I'd really not want to spoil her memory with the blood of the retarded."

But unfortunately, the three humans don't seem to be taking the hint. Instead, one goes about chugging a good portion of some spirit or another and then half tosses the now empty bottle at him. "You see, we have had enough shit from your kind. Thinking you're all so high and mighty over all the rest of us. Always telling us that we need to walk on egg shells ta not offend you monsters. And that is all you are. Animals that need to be put down when they disobey their masters. So that wifey of yours. She one of you as well? Do we need to dig her up and put her body where it belongs?"

"No, she's as human as they come," Richard growls, his fists balled up tight enough to almost draw blood.

"Oh?" one of them laughs, "I didn't realize that bestiality was legal in this state."

"Maybe she just needs to know the touch of a real man."

"That ain't right man," the third complains back.

"Huh? Uh, well I'm not saying we go fuck a dead person. That'd almost be as sick as anyone loving these animals. I'm talking about just showing the lady what a real man should look like."

Richard takes a deep breath and walks right up to the largest of those three and then looks down on them, trying to intimidate them as best he can.

"I'm going to give you all one last chance to be able to walk away from on your own legs. You all have no idea just who you are up against and how bad your current situation is."

"Well, the situation is, Fido," the drunk right in front of him says right back, pushing his finger into Richard's chest.

Richard takes one last deep breath and then shoves hard against the other person before kicking them in the chest. Of course, he's not putting his full force into it all. That would be contrary to what he really wants right now. Not only would he likely kill them, but it would then be over far too quickly. No. Richard wants to enjoy this. He wants them to truly feel just how wrong they were in trying to take him on. If anything he wants to bait them into thinking they have any chance of winning. And though, it isn't entirely his preferred style he goes more like how Michael would have him fight. Not so much going on the offensive but retaliation. As one would move in, he'd dodge just enough that they can feel it connect before giving them a light tap. Due to just how drunk they are, none of them seem to be at all well-coordinated. But that's fine. He's not here to challenge himself. He was here to remind himself of how much he failed his wife. That he couldn't have saved him and how upset she'd likely be in the current situation. He's conflicted about whether or not she'd approve of everything Michael is doing, but she would agree that it is something that needs doing, he's sure. And for the time being, simply feeling his flesh connect with someone else, to inflict a portion of the pain he feels at the loss of his wife on others is good enough for the time being. He wants them to hurt as he has hurt, as they have offended him. Given how drunk they are it's likely they won't entirely remember every detail. And if he keeps his attacks light enough that it is entirely feasible for a human to have done them, then it's very likely they might dismiss it as them attacking someone thinking it was a Morph. And it's only fair that Richard is given a few bruises for his trouble. He could easily beat them all without any incident. They are all far too drunk to really pose him all that much of a challenge.

But he did give into his anger and so soon after having asked his wife to forgive him his temper. And in some regard he considered it to at least be in part that bitch's fault. Alex. The fox that pretended that she couldn't hear anything to garner up sympathy. That stood defiantly against the one that had gotten this group through so much. Have gotten them so close to really accomplishing their goals. That'd she'd be upset when Noah became a blank was understandable. Everyone was upset. But she repeatedly threated Michael and Michael just let her. It was one thing that Richard could not understand. And because of his inability to really understand his leader, to understand why he lets that thing keep jeopardizing the mission that he's usually rather frustrated in all things. That if she had simply gone away he'd be so much more calm about everything. That there'd be no reason to worry because Michael always had the right answer and he could simply put all of his faith that that fox would see them to victory. And because of that unease Richard allowed himself to be goaded into attacking these three humans. And for that error in his own judgement, he deserved to have a few bruises tomorrow to show for it. It's a minor thing, they'd heal well enough anyway. Far faster than the bruises against these three at any rate. One of the humans starts seeming to get a little bit more inclined to trying to bite him for some reason so Richard turns his focus onto this human, trying to wear the human down physically so that they're too battered and exhausted to really have that inclination anymore.

And so he just goes about enjoying himself for the time being. Teaching these drunks just how much they are outclassed, even when he is throwing his punches is a great way of working off some steam. And it's not like Michael would really complain, while he probably would by going about making sure the operations is secured. And once all of the humans have been properly beaten and no longer seem all that inclined on getting back up again, he spits down at the ground near them and then turns to leave. Before he leaves the cemetery completely, though, he turns around, and gives one final bow in the direction of his former wife.

Julio goes about doing his rounds. Unfortunately for him, his role in the last event ended up putting quite a target on his back. But being a bright blue jay kind of did that, especially as he was instructed to do things that were specifically designed to draw attention. To some degree he gets teased a lot by humans that don't understand how basic physics work and so he tends to prefer to hang around other Morphs rather than people who keep asking if he likes to fly. But then again, being recognizable both helps and hurts him, though it's nowhere close to how different people reacted before he converted. A professional baseball player. Well, not the majors he has to remind himself but he was being paid quite well to play baseball. And he was fairly good at it. Probably not at the skill to get to the big leagues, unfortunately. But he was more than skilled enough to grab a gas grenade and toss it back bare-handed no problem. But then he got diagnosed with ALS and had to decide between dying a long-slow death or simply converting into a Morph. To him there simply was no question about it. He knew his professional career was over but that didn't mean he was off the team. He instead took the role of a team's mascot. Performing tricks to entertain the crowd. And having actual skill as a player, meant that he could do quite well showing off his skills. But well, he could still see the injustices levied against the Morphs, knew some of them first hand and so when Noah approached him, he gave whatever assistance he could.

And at first, he was fine. He was little more than a vocal advocate for Morph rights and occasionally helping to either raise funds or stand with a protest movement. And the team was fine with that. But then Michael and his cronies showed up and changed things. And when the police started just arresting them to be annoying his team had decided that they didn't want to deal with all the PR issues that being associated with him now brought so they dropped him. And though that was definitely frustrating to have to deal with it was something that he had seen coming. And it isn't like he really had all that much reason to complain about losing his job when Michael was also bringing with him all the funds needed to fully support their organization. Before Michael, the group was little more than a neighborhood watch. They went out and protested, they did everything they could to help the people whenever they could, but barring getting some donations from the others, they had to fully support themselves financially. This was something done on their free time. And so before Michael, Julio needed his job to help fund the efforts to help advocate rights to his kind. Michael brought enough funds that that wasn't necessary. That having a job was good for publicity, but no longer required. And so when he lost his job, Michael had him move into a smaller apartment, but covered the rent himself. Any sense of owning any sort of luxury was gone. All that was for the people of the group was this almost militaristic devotion to the cause.

Julio was a scout and like all of the other scouts his job was to patrol almost the entirety of this city and make sure that everything was on the up and up. Effectively they became the police department to the entire city of Vitraan because the normal police definitely wouldn't do anything to help them. But at the same time, trying to expect a couple dozen individuals to be able to cover an entire city the area of a few square miles is kind of expecting a lot. Especially when they have no real authority to do just about anything about any real crime. The whole thing was trying enough as it was. And pretty much meant that scouts like Julio didn't really have all that much free time to do anything anyway.

Unfortunately, that means that there will be some cracks in their patrols. There is only so much for their group to be able to do, especially when they pretty much have to coordinate with the police for much of what they're going to do. All the while being constantly hounded not only by Black industries but also the police. It was extremely frustrating and always felt like that they were dealing with a goalpost that was constantly moving on them and there was nothing he could do about it. Theoretically Michael has some sort of plan in action that will likely give them the possibility of being able to actually get ahead, at least by a little bit. Though until he's seen actual results there is nothing he can do but be aware. And on that note he sees a Morph behaving somewhat strangely. They seem to be struggling with themselves for something or other. They aren't walking in any coordinated manner. It isn't like they're drunk but rather one part of them is trying to make them do one thing while they are doing something else. And he knows full well what that is going on here. Julio takes a deep breath and gives a very sharp whistle, getting the attention of everyone. And not having anything to tap on he claps out the signal of a potential threat in the area and get a handler. The only reason to see someone like this is someone that's been given the Black and the person is still there enough to try and resist. Won't last long until the synthetic has taken full control over them.

It's not something he can take care of himself. He doesn't have the appropriate tools to handle dealing with a Black and it's usually best to just follow and report. But he's curious as to one this far along is doing out here. Or more accurately which side of their personality is currently wanting them here. But that answer is fairly reasonably answered when they see him and immediately go into a stumbling run in his direction. Apparently they were looking to target members of the Underground. Definitely something of note as it is a way of trying to strike at them without needing to use the FBI or the police. But what is surprising is just having the Black do it. An unfinished Black at that. They reach into his pocket grab something as Julio whistles another shrill sound as he backs up. No clue what they could have. Could even have a gun and it's better to be taken care of.

"Can I get a bit of help here?" Julio calls out, pointing at the Black.

Thankfully, given how preoccupied and focused it is on getting to him, it's fairly easy for a few of the other Morphs to get in and take him down safely and without any incident. And with him subdued he approaches a bit to try and figure out why they were after him and what they were trying to grab. He reaches the downed Black and kneels around them, carefully extracting their arm from the pocket. He's still a black. With as many people holding him down there's no way of him getting away. But there are still potential risks involved in getting his hand. He might be behaving because one side wants to cooperate. But the moment that hand is free he might be able to put up enough resistance to do something dangerous to either himself or someone else. And there is still no way to tell which side of his personality was trying to get to him. If it was the Black, it might be a weapon of some kind. If it was the Morph in charge, it might have been trying to give him something to help the cause and if the Black regains enough control might be able to convince him to destroy that evidence. So Julio grabs the arm that had reached into the pocket and slowly starts extracting his hand from the pocket, gripping it tightly to make it much harder for them to be able to act out. What he finds is that there is like some kind of injector. He peels it out of the person and takes a good look at it, being very careful to not accidentally inject himself with anything. The other two Morphs stare at the thing he has withdrawn as well. There is something still in it, but he can't exactly tell what it is without getting it to a lab.

"So what do you think it is?" one of them ask.

"Don't know. Best case, trying to poison me. Worst case, they've figured out a way to make injecting people with the Black far quicker and durable. Either way, we're talking about the Blacks being armed with whatever this is. I think we need to start passing word around the entire city to be cautious of any Black behaving strangely. If they're using Blacks to actively attack us now, then I don't know how safe we can even be in our town. Back before this they were only being used to spy on us. This is very concerning to me since I don't know what I can do to keep you all safe if they decide to just attack random people."

"Should we just destroy all the Blacks in the city?"

"Wouldn't help," Julio says, finally seeing one of their handlers coming into view. "Since the old Blacks haven't been behaving any differently yet, we haven't had any indication that they are interested in anything but the Underground and even if we thought we'd eliminate all of them, all it'd take is one person that was snagged to get past our awareness and it'll all be for naught. No, I think it's better that I go get this to our doc immediately and we figure out what all we're dealing with. I'll let you all know as soon as I find out."

There can be no other possible outcome for this particular Black. They will be escorted out of the public eye and then killed. There is no other way around it. Mentally that person might as well be dead soon enough, it is a mercy. At least for now. Eventually, their own scientists and doctors will be able to provide a cure to this condition. Being given the Black puts in a computer system of sorts. They are then being given instructions from somewhere. If they can figure out what part of the process is creating this part of the process, to isolate it completely without making it kill the individual then they should be able to have that person carry on a normal life. And they've been partly successful. They can stop the input of new instructions, to basically make it so that there are no instructions being given, but the old person still doesn't really have any control. For now though, Julio heads over to go turn in this new serum that's being given to Blacks.