It eaceful m that day, Camity remembered. She had some ba in her mouth and was chewing when suddenly the news she had on bee louder. "The Guard has an important annouo make. We have evidehat three Adepts and tt didates have been murdered within the Labyrinth. As such we are calling on any wito provide a statement on anything suspicious they saw oh of Ikon, three weeks ago. Unfortunately, we were uo retrieve imprints of the deceased for evidence. uard is orack of a suspect."

  The piece of baearly fell from Camity's mouth before she mao catch it and resume chewing. Once she finished swallowing, she frowhat was the day Clover had saved the team from the monster hunters in the Labyrinth.

  A few mier, the news had another annou. "The famed singer Clover has turned herself in for the sying of the five and cimed self-defehe Guard are still in pursuit of their inal suspect."

  Wait, just who were the Guard pursuing?

  Mier, the news announced, "The Guard have caught their suspect, a Horror disguised as a monster going by the name saw."

  Just like that, Camity was running. As she darted from the room while Mirn and Violet stared, she called out, "Get Grace to take you to school! I've something to take care of!"

  *Damn! They're trying to pin it on saw. Must think it's easier bming a Horror than bming a famous musi.* Darkness began swearing words Camity couldn't say.

  It wasn't a long run to the Guard outpost station. Camity barged right in. "I have a witness statement to make about the three-adept murder!"

  "You and everyone and their cousin." The receptionist arced his eyebrow as he drank his coffee, then spoke into his phone, "No, we're seeking reliable statements."

  He hung up and, ign Camity, picked back up the immediately ringing phone. "Hello? Oh, you have a witness statement to make? Let me just write your statement and taformation down."

  "saw didn't do it. I was there. And it was self-defense just like Clover said." Camity felt herself growing frustrated.

  The receptionist held up a finger. "I'll get back to you, madame. Not that I know why you're trying to defend a Horror."

  "Name's Camity. saw was my teammate on that run." Camity made unhappy squeaking noises.

  "Hey, wasn't that name oeam list we got?" one of the nearby Guard officers said.

  Just like that, Camity found herself surrounded by the Guard. Soon after, she was in a 'secure room' awaiting questioning. Said room was hot, damp, and rather tht. Camity weathered it all with a little usage of Relentless, but the boredom was harder to weather. Half a hour ter on the clo the wall, a Guard detective came in. "So why are you defending a Horror?" Her ferret-like face was rather sour.

  "Because she's pretty alright. Also, Clover did it. In self-defense." Camity rubbed her forehead.

  "...Provide a statement for the truth-recorder." The detective poi a mirror on the wall.

  "The dead men threatened us, saying they had killed other monsters. Apparently they were hunting monsters for fun, including civilized monsters. They were clearly preparing to move against us too when Clover wiped them out with Beyonder powers." Camity looked pointedly at the ferret-monster detective.

  The detective looked ily at her. "So your statement is that a famous singer killed five monster murderers in self-defense and this Horror wasn't involved in killing them?"

  "Yeah," Camity said.

  The detective sighed. "ve for this 'saw'. Also ve for her that we've been uo find any saw victims other than some hostile Labyrinth monsters whose ghosts were rather aggressive wheioned. And we've been searg."

  "That's just how the facts turned out?" Camity shrugged.

  "And you don't know of any i bodies she might have disposed of, or any possible body disposal sites?" The detective's tone suggested she didn't think she would get a positive answer on this.

  "No way," Camity said.

  The ferret ulled out a cigarette, lighted it, and drew on it. She g Camity. "I see that look in your eye. Yes, luorations oney. I know, nothing I've not heard before. Addi's a bitch."

  Camity just shrugged.

  "Okay, I'm gettis the truth-recorder checks out. We'll just end this interview now." The detective pulled out a remote with a button and pressed it with a click. "Okay, we're off the record now and this room's sound-proof. First off, I'll try ahat the truth gets through but it's up to the chief. This particur truth is politically inve for us, so he might decide on aruth instead. I'm saying this so you're prepared if he decides pinning it on a Horror is easier than telling the victims' well-ected family that we 't do anything because it's legitimate self-defense."

  Camity stared at the ferret detective, who tinued on, "Or he might decide to make a point that hunting civil monsters for jollies's not fine and if you try it you get what's ing to you. I know he's been pining about illicit monster-hunting causing problems for him."

  "Seriously? It es down to that? Some Guard Chief's mood?" Camity found herself growling a little. Not that she was entirely surprised from some of the stories she'd heard about the Guard.

  The detective just shook her head. "It es down to that too often. But if the Chief makes too many enemies? He's outta a job. So he has to pid choose. Who's he gonna piss off?"

  "Painfully frisking bzes." Camity gred.

  "Such's the way it is." The ferret uffed on her cigarette.

  ~~~

  "And that's one of the most poopy pants things I've heard!" Camity pined.

  Grace looked steadily at Camity. "Take a bite, hon."

  "An i woman is gonna--mmfph!" A sausage in a roll was stuffed into Camity's mouth before she could say any more.

  Grace crossed her four arms. "Listen. The Monster cil will take care of it. They been demanding justice for those dead assholes' as for long enough. They will pressure the Guard and the Guard will bend or they will be broken."

  Camity chewed thoughtfully on the sausage. "Mmhmm mmpf!"

  Grace's burning quad eyes fshed brighter. "The Founding Families' practical immunity will end. We will see to it. They have many Adepts, but not enough to stop us if we decide blood must flow. The Adept cil will be made to uand this and they will bend. Your friend will be free."

  Camity blinked. "Wait, are the Monster cil willing to go this far for a Horror? Not that I'm unhappy about that but..."

  Grace chuckled. "saw? A known quality. Not as good at hiding it as she thinks. We knew. She's fine, and we're fine ting her one of us."

  "That's good." Camity grinned. "We'll get her out one way or another!"

  ~~~

  saw never expected that being imprisoned and stantly grilled in an attempt to get her to fess would be b. Yet it was. Her Story was getting itchy, eager to erupt into a whirring mass of saws and create age. She held it i again and began to yawn.

  "Do yhose people?" The gobliive once again held up the pictures of the 'victims'.

  "Yeah, they tried to kill us. Clover killed them in self-defehe yawns were getting harder to resist, not that saw felt like doing so.

  "No, we know you did it." The detective smmed the photos onto the table.

  "Nah," saw said, ign the bright light shining into her eyes, the cold (not a big deal for a Horror like her), the unfortable seats, and other factors inteo throw her off.

  "Where were you at the time of their deaths?" That b asshole asked.

  "I was with my group wheried to kill us and Clover killed them." saw shrugged.

  A bloody saw covered with eyes whispered to her, "Shred him. Spray his blood everywhere. Paint the world iiful colorful spshes of red." Yet again, saw ignored her Story.

  "Liar! We know you did it!" the b moron said.

  "Kill the b asshole," her Story said.

  "Nah," saw said yet again, to both the detective aory.

  The absolute bore uttered yet more inane words and saw began ign him. She sidered falling so deeply asleep even his sps wouldn't wake her, but who knows what he would do if she did that.

  "Dream sweet dreams of blood a them iy," her Story said.

  saw could daydream at least. She daydreamed of doing runs with her team, sawing everything in their way, followed by passionate moments with a cute e-serpent-dy and a beautiful eldritch musi.

  A sp interrupted her and saw just sighed.

  ~~~

  The elf teacher drew a diagram of a Horror and Mirn copied it. Said teacher had decided Horrors were topical right now and started expining what made them tick. After drawing the diagram, he started beling the individual parts. "Horrors have three parts: their external maion, what they present to the world, internal maion which they tain their Story within, and their Story, the very core of their beings."

  He wrote "No soul, only Story" and tinued, "Horrors do not have souls as we do; instead, they have their Stories. Those Stories drive their as and are the seats of their existence. A Horror without a Story is uo exist. Stories ot be destroyed, but both their external and internal maions be destroyed, sending the Story back to the Nightmare Dimension. Then that Story will spin a new internal maion and, if it is able to return to our world, a ernal maion."

  He tapped on the beled maioions. "External maions are what give them physical form to i with our world and internal maions are what gives the Story text and decides how it is expressed.You think of the internal maion as the personality, more or less."

  Mirn raised their hand. "So the saw I know is their internal maion?"

  The teacher adjusted his gsses. "Yes. Like with our souls, what we think of as the personality is absorbed into the core oh and acts to have some influen further lives."

  Mirn nodded in uanding. The soul had three parts: the inner soul which taihe essential nature and influehe personality, the middle soul which taihe main part of the personality, and the external soul which tained physical urges and attats. But that did bring a question to mind.

  Mirn raised their hand again. "Souls have the middle parts. But what if someone has more than one personalities?"

  The elf rubbed his head. "That question isn't quite relevant to what we're learning right now, but I'll a anyways since I'm aware of your mother's situation. In such cases the middle soul is multi-yered, with each yer taining one of the personalities. Now does anyone have a question more relevant to the topic of Horrors?"

  Audent, a red-haired halfling, raised her hand. "Do you think saw did it?"

  "That's for the Guard to answer, so we won't discuss it. But I say that not all Horrors are hostile; it depends on how their internal maions express their Story. But most do have internal maions that express their Story in very harmful ways. Rare is the Horror who live peacefully in civilization. It is entirely possible saw is one of those exceptions. If she is proven to be guilty of murder, likely she isn't an exception. If she is proved i..." The teacher pushed back his gsses again. "It's likely she is an exception."