WARNING: This story takes place between “World Revolution” and “The End Of The Beginning”. There are MAJOR spoilers. DO NOT READ THIS STORY BEFORE READING THOSE TWO STORIES. IT’S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT IF YOU KEEP READING AND GET SPOILED, NOW. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
Note: also read “Metal’s Sage” first.
A couple of weeks after the World Revolution, Dr. Erwin Stahlberg walks into the lobby of the Faucheuse Foundation.
The city was repaired in no time. Magic, remember?
After such a long, intense day of battle, Erwin is grateful to be getting back to the much more mundane task of diagnosing and treating sick and injured fluffies.
As Erwin enters his familiar examination room, he checks in on a patient in the regeneration room.
An earthie stallion, grey and silver, who lost his eye and left front leg during a horrible attack.
Iron’s eye has grown back by now, but the leg still needs a few more days in the vat.
Fortunately, there weren’t any fluffies in the vats during the World Revolution, so evacuating the premises wasn’t that hard.
The fluffies were evacuated in groups, blipped out to other Foundation branches, and brought back after the branch in the city was repaired.
You’ve completely forgotten that there are other branches, haven’t you?
Five minutes after arriving, Erwin receives his first patient.
A large, muscular man, wearing a badge identical to Erwin’s own, bringing his earthie stallion in. The stallion’s fluff is dark grey like iron, his mane and tail are as red as rust, and his eyes are a steely lighter grey.
The stallion currently has a burn on his nose, and is surprisingly calm about this.
“Gott in himmel! What happened, Mel?”
The stallion answers the question.
“Gen-giz gut tuu cwose tu da bwuddy an-viw again.”
“I’ve warned ‘im a thousand feckin’ times, it gets ‘ot when daddy’s workin’.”
Mel Baron and Genghis actually live across the pond, in the UK, in a small town that Mel’s mother June is the effective ruler of.
Of course, June is a witch, and the second most powerful witch in the world, so nobody in town wants to piss her off, and they’re all aware of how mean she can get when she’s angry. So everyone is grateful that she’s so slow to anger.
Mel owns a blipper, so taking his fluffy to a doctor on the other side of the Atlantic is not an ordeal.
“Worry not, some regen gel can fix this. You should probably keep some in your smithy. There isn’t a Flufftopia in your town, is there?”
“Nah, but that ain’t an probl’m. I c’n jus’ blip t’London, they gotta Flufftopia there. Bloody good idea, thanks.”
As Erwin starts applying regen gel, Mel notices Iron in his vat, through the open regeneration room door.
“Cor! Steely, what 'appened t’him?”
Steely is Mel’s nickname for Erwin. Mel, being the world’s greatest smith and well-versed on all things metal, quickly translated Erwin’s surname when they first met.
“Poor Iron was in an accident, lost an eye and a leg.”
Mel lets out a booming laugh.
“Iron? That’s a bit on th’nose. I likes t’think I was a bit more subtle than that when I’s named Genghis.”
“I must be honest, I don’t see what the name Genghis has to do with metal. I thought he was named after Genghis Khan.”
Mel rolls his eyes.
“He is, mate. C’mon, Steely, think about it. What was Genghis Khan’s birth name? Not a lotta people knows it.”
“I think it was Temüjin? Derived from the Turkish word temur, meaning…”
A smile spreads across Erwin’s face, as he pauses from dabbing regen gel on Genghis’ burn to look up at Mel.
“You sly son of a bitch.”
Mel lets out another booming laugh.
“I told you it was subtle. You tells that t’Iron’s owner when the bloke comes back, okay? Er, dunno if it’s a bloke or a bird.”
“Mein Gott, and they say German is hard to understand.”
“A bloke is a man, Steely. And a bird’s a woman.”
“Ah, thank you. So, um, what were you working on when this happened?”
Once again, Genghis answers the question.
“Daddeh wuz wowk-in awn a nyu sheewd fow Caw.”
“It’s bloody beautiful, Steely. Adamantium, with gold plating, and he’s gonna ‘ave it painted over, so’s no evil feckin’ mages knows it’s gold-plated. A’course, that golden fire thing he c’n do now c’n block magic.”
“Yes, but doing it takes a lot out of him, Mel. He had overcome that problem with his white flames, but now it’s back with a vengeance.”
“Tha’s what 'e said, Steely. Can’t blame ‘im f’r not wantin’ t’go all out every time.”
“At this point, I don’t know if there’s anyone left for him to go all out against.”
When Genghis’ burn has been treated, and Genghis has been given a skettie treat, Mel leaves with his fluffy, and after Erwin disinfects his examination room, Miles and Quin bring in his next patient.
A badly beaten breeder mare, currently bruised, unconscious, and bleeding from her no-nos.
Erwin immediately gestures towards the regeneration room, and the three put the mare in an empty vat.
As they watch the vat fill with the amazing regeneration fluid, Erwin questions the duo.
“Another underground mill, boys?”
Miles nods.
“Another bloody underground mill, Erwin. You’d think, after Cal killed the literal anthropomorphic personification of fate, that abusers would go oh boy, there’s a bloke I really don’t wanna piss off, I’d better leave those fluffies alone, but no, some stupid wankers just can’t take the damn hint.”
“They probably think Dad has bigger fish to fry, bro.”
“Ha, then they don’t know anything about Cal.”
“So what happened to her, boys?”
Miles frowns.
“Got knocked up, not for the the first time, and asked if she could keep that litter, so the bastards in charge decided to make a point. They didn’t want to spend money on a Bye Bye Tummeh Babbehs treat, so they beat her like a piñata until she miscarried.”
So does Quin.
“Mileton showed up a minute later. I think merging was overkill, but nothing makes a point like an angry burning silver teenager walking in through the wall and screaming at the bastards in a dual voice. The police are arresting the bastards as we speak, and the ChaotiX is searching the place.”
Erwin smiles.
“So you finally got around to training with Danny and Ghost?”
The boys turn their frowns upside down.
“What do you think me, Dad and the Marleys were doing when we were preparing for Umbra, Erwin? My Marley prefers using his nephilim powers, but it’s always good to have the X-Positive powers in reserve.”
Then Erwin chuckles.
“You’re right. We all prepared for that in different ways, I suppose. You four did that, I built Blueberry his own Stahlkörper 2.0, Victor stashed weapons all over the city, and Pierre built one last Remote Body. He set it to self-destruct when Umbra blasted it with hellfire, y’know.”
Both boys are surprised.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. It was designed specifically for fighting demons, meaning it was covered in silver. Not just the hands and suit. Hellfire wouldn’t have worked on it, and Pierre needed Cal to think he’d just seen Pierre die. Of course, he’s told Cal everything by now.”
“Mate, that was kinda ruthless on Pierre’s part.”
“It was. But it was also necessary, and Cal understands that. He drew incredible strength from his pain and loss that day. And Umbra, even with the power of a demon, even with Fate’s power, just couldn’t overcome that strength.”
“I’ve gotta theory that Fate was somehow holding Umbra back. Out of spite, possibly. But there’s no way to prove it now. I’m not asking Jack to go back and find out. I don’t wanna risk him undoing that victory by accident.”
“That’s very wise of you, Miles.”
“Yeah, bro. But Erwin, this mill thing is really serious. Now we’re certain that the people behind this are part of an organised group. We’ve noticed unusual graffiti popping up around town. The letters A.S., and none of us have any idea what it means.”
“There’s reports of the same graffiti popping up in other areas. The Netherlands, Sweden… and there’s a pattern. The places those letters are being put up in are places that have banned fluffy abuse. Someone out there is unhappy about that, we just don’t know who yet.”
“Uncle Victor is taking care of it, he’s been hunting down anyone whose name was on that list we recovered from the other mill. Some of them are already in prison, but Uncle Victor is leaving those who aren’t for the police to find, when he’s done interrogating them. If all the stories my Uncle Victor told me when I was growing up are true, he’s not usually that nice to scumbags like that.”
“And the bastard who killed Phantasm and his special friend was a member of whichever group is behind this, we just know it. See…”
You may also know Phantasm as the avenging spirit fluffy, who was taken in by Danny and Ghost after the ChaotiX solved Phantasm’s murder. Danny finally came up with a name for him.
If only every murder victim could help solve their murder.
“…when we tracked down the stupid bugger who dropped his driver’s licence after shooting Phantasm, we noticed the bastard had a tattoo. The letters A.S., Erwin. Not a coincidence.”
“Whoever it is, it’s pretty stupid to give their members an identifying mark like that.”
Quin laughs.
“Erwin, that’s another reason Des hates the Harry Potter series. If he was Voldemort, he’d have just shot baby Harry with a gun, and the series would be over before it even started.”
Miles grins.
“Des can hate 'em all he wants, I still like those books.”
“Ah, come on, bro! I know it’s just because it’s British!”
“…Yeah…”
After Miles and Quin leave, Erwin gets his examination room room ready for his next patient.
Jack brings in a feral pegasus mare, blue on blue, who looks rather… meek.
Of course, most fluffies tend to have an air of meekness about them, but this mare seems particularly meek.
“N-nice m-m-mistahs nu gun g-gib fwuffy owwies?”
See? She’s so meek, she’s stuttering.
And when Erwin puts her on the Stahlskanner…
ping!
“Eep!”
frrrt
“Sowwy! P-pwease nu gib fwuffy owwies!”
She makes scaredy poopies. A rare occurrence in the Foundation.
Erwin strokes the mare to calm her down, and makes a mental note to thoroughly wash his hands and clean the examination room before the next patient.
He’s wearing latex gloves, but he didn’t become the Foundation’s best doctor by not being thorough.
“We aren’t going to hurt you, sweetheart. Jack, this fluffy is perfectly healthy, if a bit filthy. This seems like more of a psychological issue than a medical issue. I think this is one for Des. Poor thing doesn’t seem to have any self-esteem.”
“Ah, well, er, you haven’t seen what she did.”
“What do you mean, Jack?”
“You got anything that can make her sneeze?”
“I think I do, but I don’t see where this is going.”
So Erwin retrieves a feather and tickles the mare’s nose until she sneezes.
ATCHOO
And then the mare goes from blue to yellow.
Her entire demeanor changes in an instant.
She glares up at Erwin and Jack.
“Dummeh hoomins! Gib bestest smawty bestest sketties nao!”
Erwin can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“She turns into a smarty when she sneezes? Is this for real, Jack?”
“I’m afraid it is.”
“Can she change back?”
“Fortunately, Erwin, she can.”
“Stawp ig-naw-win smawty, dummehs!”
Jack takes the feather and tickles the mare’s nose again.
“Wut am dummeh hoomin d–”
ATCHOO
The mare turns back to blue, and reverts to her initial meek disposition.
“…Wut j-jus happund?”
Erwin whispers to Jack.
“Does she know she can do that?”
Jack whispers back.
“Apparently not. Neither of her personalities seems to be aware of the other.”
“Then I think this might be one for Cal, instead. Actually, we’ll have Des and Cal look into this. For now, let’s get her a bath. She can stay here until they arrive, then she’ll probably be moved to the School.”
“I’d put her in a room by herself while she waits for them, in case she sneezes again.”
“Good idea.”
Erwin calls in Rosa, fills her in, and she takes the mare to get a bath.
After Jack leaves, Erwin cleans up his examination room.
It takes a little longer than usual, due to the scaredy poopies.
Just when he’s done, his next patient is brought in.
Dave and Slayer bring in another fluffy who has been badly beaten. This one is conscious.
It’s a stallion this time. Another earthie, brown and black, and currently sobbing.
“Huuuu… huu huu huu… BoJack nu wan mowe owwies…”
Erwin wants to comfort the stallion, but he’s too bruised to stroke without hurting him.
So instead, Erwin carefully puts BoJack in an empty vat, reassuring him that when the fluffy wakes up, his owwies will be gone, and he won’t be getting any more.
“What happened to him, gentlemen?”
Dave scowls.
“An asshole couple who had no business owning a fluffy happened. They took turns. Fortunately, the neighbors called the hotline and tipped us off.”
Yes, there’s a hotline for reporting fluffy abuse. Why wouldn’t there be a hotline?
“Daddeh an Swayew scawed da Heww owtta dem. Wit-uh-wa-wee.”
“Yeah, we showed up in demon form, and I was like there’s plenty of room Down There these days, you know! Scared the piss out of them both, too. Also literally.”
Erwin chuckles.
“A lot of low-rank demons died in that war, and unlike the first Invasion, it didn’t just send them back Down There. Those demons aren’t just dead, they’re gone.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I was so fucking sick of your uncle giving us trouble. I mean, he wasn’t a demon, but he was just as persistent as the rest of those cunts, so I’m going to lump him in with them.”
“Swayew nu can bwame daddeh. Swayew am jus upset dat Swayew nu gut a chance tu gib Hans bad speciaw huggies.”
Erwin chuckles again.
“Believe me, I was sick of Hans before you two were even born. But any backups he had left are gone too. The Hans Buster worked perfectly. So any other plans he had in the works…”
“Dey nu am gunna happun. Da dweem am ded.”
“Exactly, Slayer.”
After the half-demonic duo leaves, Erwin decides to take a break.
As he passes through the lobby, he turns to Gilda, currently at the desk.
“Gilda, I’m just going to Starb–”
Dave and Slayer run back in.
“Erwin? There’s something you’ve gotta see outside.”
“Dat nu wuz dewe wen we gut hewe.”
“What is it?”
Dave and Slayer lead Erwin outside, and show him…
Some graffiti on a wall, across the street from the Foundation’s entrance. Out of range of the security cameras.
The graffiti is the letters A.S., just like the graffiti spotted across the city.
Erwin is obviously concerned.
“Oh dear.”