((So... Chapters...
43.5 can stay as part of the story, nothing wrong with it
43.6 Uh... dunno. I'm 50-50 on it.
))
//Next day after the incident//
Orion jolted upright in a bed, a sharp pain shooting through his wounds. His head buzzed, and an unusual clarity sharpened his vision as he looked over his bandaged body.
'I'm not dead? I can move?' he thought, bewildered. Looking at his hands, he noticed an unnatural shine to everything. Even his breathing felt hypersensitive, drawing his focus for a moment.
"Spirit Tonic" A voice broke the silence. Greyson stood near the bed with Marcus at her side, observing him with a deadpan expression as she calmly spoke. "It's from Ionia. I would not suggest trying anything- its effects will wear off shortly."
"What does it do?" Orion asked, their distance shifting closer and fading with each breath.
Orion's eye caught several old men near the door wearing Enforcer uniforms, scribbling on paper every word.
"You don't have the right to ask-" Marcus snarled, but Greyson waved him to silence.
She looked at Marcus disapprovingly. Marcus threw a frustrated glance but complied before they turned back to Orion.
"It's a stimulant- a temporary boost. We need answers." Greyson said dismissively. She gestured toward his wounds. "You're lucky to be alive. The Kirammans paid a hefty sum for elixirs. Without them, you would be dead."
Orion lowered his gaze for a moment, his voice bitter. "Why?"
"I just told you- answers," Greyson exhaled sharply. Her tone grew colder. "You are the primary lead in this investigation. This is the second topside attack in a month, both tied to the Kiramman family. The Council wants answers."
"Please cooperate, Orion." Greyson's voice softened. "We don't want to resort to other methods."
Orion paused, remembering the disaster and Caitlyn's face just before he passed out. After nodding slowly, Marcus immediately asked, "Why the attack? People were injured because of you."
Orion's gaze shifted to Marcus, "It wasn't an attack. They were just kids trying to prove themselves." Heightened breathing and stress caused his vision to brighten further. He clutched his head and winced, closing his eyes as a massive headache took hold. "I was trying to stop them..."
"Kids..." Greyson trailed off in frustration, looking down for a moment in thought. She shook her head, "But that doesn't explain the explosion."
Gritting his teeth through the pain, his headache grew worse as well as the pain around his wounds. He was forced to lay down as he answered.
"I don't know either. Everything just exploded."
Silence followed. Orion was unable to see their reaction as he covered his eyes to stop the light. He was struggling to stay conscious at this point.
"They lost their bag of stolen goods during the chaos," Marcus stated factually. "We don't know if they carried any on their persons."
"Orion, tell us. Did they take anything else?" Greyson asked, her tone desperate as she shook his leg, trying to keep him focused and conscious.
"No..." Orion muttered as his consciousness slipped away.
He could hear angry cursing from Marcus as everything faded. "Names! Give us names! Damn it!"
Throughout the day he faded in and out of consciousness, unable to do further. Even if he wanted to heal, Enforcers stood guard to report his actions when he woke up.
Later that day the Council convened for Jayce Talis's trial. While the ethos demanded for his exile after Jayce revealed he was trying to create magic, certain influences and favoritism kept him from such a fate.
Shortly after, the Council convened again, but with the presence of Greyson and Marcus for a debriefing on the attack, and without Heimerdinger.
"You said this was a robbery. Did they take anything dangerous?" Mel asked.
"Hard to say." Greyson reports. "We don't exactly know what we did find, let alone what we didn't. It appears they lost most of it during the explosion."
"This mention of magic has the people afraid." Hoskel speaks politically. "The culprits must be apprehended!"
"Your attitude makes me question if your best is up to the task," Salo sneered.
"Oh, we'll find them. Don't worry." Marcus responded aggressively.
"We've conducted exhaustive interrogations, frozen commerce for half the district. With all due respect, councilor, don't you think we've pushed them hard enough?" Greyson tried to reason with them.
"Do whatever it takes!" Bolbok's angered robotic voice erupted. "Turn the undercity upside down if you have to!"
Mel, contemplative, tapped her fingers on her arm. "What of the one culprit? Is he still alive?"
Cassandra's gaze flickered, her eyes quickly darting from Mel and back to Greyson.
"Yes." Greyson replied. "He wasn't directly involved in the incident. Witnesses reported him sprinting across the city moments before the explosion. When forced awake with Spirit Tonic, he claimed to be stopping them."
"That's it?" Shoola scoffed.
Greyson remained composed. "He lost consciousness. His injuries are severe."
"If he knew where they'd be, then he knows who they are," Mel mused aloud.
Marcus stepped forward, confidence dripping from his tone. "We'll get names out of him! It won't take long."
"Good!" Hoskel chuckles merrily as if the problem vanished.
Salo sharply glared at Hoskel before turning back to Greyson. "The people still want answers. Keep scouring the undercity until he wakes! Wring those answers from his neck if you must!"
Marcus's smirk grew, but Cassandra's cold tone cut through the air like a knife.
"As the victim of yet another attack, and the one who paid to keep him alive, you shall not." Cassandra declared with a cold tone, her glare fixed on Salo who leaned back in confusion.
"You? Why would you pay such an exorbitant amount to keep that filthy rat alive?"
"For exactly this purpose. He owe me a debt now-"
Mel cut her off, "We cannot allow him to roam free. He is still complicit. He knew this would happen." Cassandra opened her mouth to protest when Mel gave her a cold stare, "We were lenient enough with Jayce Talis this morning. That's enough."
Bolbok's mercilessly pressed further. "Send him to the Dredge Prison. Let him rot there."
Mel and Shoola exchanged glances and shook their heads. Shoola spoke first, "That is too harsh for the boy. After all, he did try to stop it."
"An example must be made!" Bolbok's gears grinded and screeched with rage. "Two attacks in one month are unacceptable!"
Mel nodded thoughtfully, "Two is unacceptable. I agree." She paused before adding, "Stillwater works well. It keeps him off the streets, and it's reserved for high-profile criminals. Let that be the compromise."
Greyson remained silent as the Council discussed Orion's fate away from the public eye. Later there would be a public trial, but his fate was already being determined here.