No one knew what to say. A horrified silence swelled in the lab as they exchanged stunned looks, the sheer scale of the wolfkin scheme taking all of them by surprise. Jett could barely get her head around it. A political power grab, some kind of despotic attempt to grind the other kin into submission—she'd been ready for that. This was a different order of evil, to genetically alter the entire city, person by person, child by child.

She shuddered with unbridled revulsion at the thought. Breathing in deep through her nose, Jett tried to refocus. Now that they knew the full extent of Hera's lust for power, they needed to decide just what in the Savage Fire they were going to do about it.

None of this was sanctioned by the Conclave. That, and that alone, might be their saving grace. The felkin, Zanzihar, had clearly been planning to expose the depravity of what happened in Belforra but was slain before he could accomplish his goal. Now, following in the unfortunate designate's footsteps, Jett knew they had to finish what he'd started. If the representatives of the other kin could see what was happening here, the enforcers—and the ruling wolfkin council who were supposed to be keeping reign on them—would be ruined.

Her attention eased back to the tank and the poor soul locked in there. A morbid curiosity filled her mind, and she cocked her head to one side, staring at the murky shape in the smog.

"What's in that smoke?" she asked.

"Not sure, hold on." Gallant clicked through to another screen, squinting and cocking her head to one side. "It's a mix of bharbitail, daze, and...medomentine."

"Meaning?"

"It's some kind of sedative cocktail, though there a couple of other substances I don't recognise in here."

"Can you filter it out? Vent it from the tube somehow?"

"I think so."

"Then do it. Let's see exactly what we're dealing with."

"No, don't, this is a failed subject—" the scientist began, but she twisted and slammed him back against the wall, her longclaw at his throat again.

"Not another word," she hissed. "Gallant, empty it."

A moment of quiet swept over them, filled only by the gentle clack-clack of keys as Gallant worked. The deerkin scientist's face twisted with fear, a faint whimper escaping from his lips, but with the knife digging dangerously deep, he didn't dare speak again.

The dull hiss of the tank mechanisms shattered the cold calmness of the chamber, and inch by inch, the thick, smoky substance began the disappear. With each passing second, the glass grew clearer, the form within taking on a more definite shape. As it became clear, she eased the pressure on the deerkin's neck, stepping away from him and moving over to the glass.

A sense of foreboding prickled Jett's fur as she leaned forward and peered into the cylinder, swallowing down her trepidation.

Her eyes widened at what she saw. It was indeed a bearkin, but there was something subtly off about the thing in the tank. A shaggy-furred male, he was bigger even than Bronco but fairly average size by the standards of bearkin that lived in Wildhearth. He looked almost peaceful, laid at a steep incline within the tank, eyes closed and broad chest drifting gently up and down.

But the signs were there.

Fur that would once have been glossy and dark now took on a mangy, unwashed tangle, with matted clumps clearly visible up and down the bearkin's cumbersome frame. There were shaved patches with needle-like appendages piercing the thick skin underneath, and a series of surgical scars cast hideous symmetrical lines of whitened skin down his torso. More unnerving than that, however, was the eerie sense of asymmetry the body seemed to have. The right arm lacked the bulk of the left, the shape of the paw narrowing into a set of unsheathed claws. A series of thick canvas straps snaked across the subject's upper body, lashing him to the metal slab he lay upon. Shaking her head in disgust, she peered closer.

The bearkin's eyes opened.

Jett stepped back with a gasp. The wild, bloodshot glare pierced the glass like a physical thing, cutting right to the primal portion of her brain that urged her to run fast and run far. Veins pulsed sickeningly around the pupils, and the muzzle contracted in a snarl to reveal big, yellowy teeth. Those eyes roved insanely for a moment before finally fixating on the figures beyond the window. The bearkin seemed to struggle to focus, teeth gnashing and grinding, involuntary twitches making its face contort and snap to the left and right.

"What in the Peace and Fire did you do?" she breathed

"Stop!" The deerkin exclaimed desperately. "There are extreme side effects if the treatment does not graft correctly! It can trigger a defence mechanism—"

He didn't get a chance to finish.

The bearkin unleashed a blood-curdling howl and hurled himself forward. The straps had looked formidable from the outside, but they came free with a series of muffled snaps, the metal bolts that held them breaking from their housings from the sheer strength of the test subject. His huge form surged and slammed into the glass.

The first impact sent a deep thud echoing through the lab, and Jett took another step away from the containment tank, reflexively raising the longclaw. The second sent a spider web of cracks through the glass, a crunching sound filling the air.

"Jett..." Bronco said, easing his heavy truncheon free and moving from his position by the door.

"The sedative, we have to flood that tank again!" With a shrill yell, the deerkin found what little courage he possessed and shoved Jett aside, lunging for the controls at the console. "If it gets loose, it will kill us all!"

Gallant pivoted in her chair, lashing out with her hooves and kicking her fellow deerkin's legs out from under him. He let out a shrill howl as he went crashing to the ground, scrambling at the base of the computer desk in desperation.

Jett bounded away from the tank, grabbing Gallant by the arm as she went and yanking her companion clear. Oblivious, the scientist dragged himself into the seat, claws frantically clattering across the keys.

For a third time, the enraged test subject launched his powerful bulk at the reinforced glass of the containment tank, and this time it gave way with a shrieking crash. The pane split apart into a dozen thick pieces that crashed out into the room.

Too late, the deerkin looked up. Too late, he tried to leap out of the chair, his eyes wide with panic. Too late, he tried to run.

The bearkin lunged at him with a feral scream that made every millimetre of fur on Jett's body shoot up straight in terror. They watched for a stunned instant as the enraged test subject fell upon the scientist. He managed to get out half a scream before the bearkin slammed him to the ground and tore his throat open with a single powerful bite.

Gore sprayed up the wall as the bearkin wrenched his bulging neck muscles, leaving the deerkin scientist gurgling on the ground as his lifeblood pooled around the ruin of his neck. Then the bearkin reared up to his full height, teeth bared and stained with crimson as he glared around the room.

Jett swallowed hard and raised her free paw in what she hoped was an unthreatening manner, not daring to move any more than that. She was closest to him now, barely a few meters away. Easily within leaping distance.

"Easy now," she said softly, her tail curling and hackles standing up on end as she stared into those wild, ferocious eyes.

He took a step towards her.

She flinched.

He pounced.

Jett let out a shrill yowl of fear as the bearkin hurled himself at her, jaws agape. Her lightning reactions saved her skin as she ducked and tumbled to the side in a roll, scrabbling on all fours as the bearkin thundered past. He wheeled around to follow her, but the others were already moving.

Rapid leapt into the fray, swinging and gouging a deep wound in the bearkin's massive flank. Their attacker rounded on him with a guttural snarl, sweeping one huge paw hard into the foxkin's chest. Lifted clean off his feet, Rapid was thrown across the room and smashed into the wall with a yelp of pain, his axe clattering to the ground.

Wild eyes searched for a new target. Gallant stood transfixed in the bearkin's path, her eyes wide with terror as he reared up, casting a huge shadow over her before he lunged.

"NO!" Jett shrieked desperately, too far away to do anything to prevent it. The bearkin fell towards Gallant, the deerkin medicary throwing her paws up and letting out a terrified scream.

An instant before she could be torn apart, Bronco cannoned into her from the side. The big vulkin rammed his shoulder into Gallant, knocking her flying out of the bearkin's path and turning to meet the charge head-on. He swung his heavy truncheon up hard as the bearkin crashed into him.

Big and powerful as he was, Bronco lacked the sheer size and strength of the bearkin. The two of them fell, the enraged attacker landing on top of him and trying to rip his throat out with a vicious bite.

Jett bounded into the fight, raking her knife down the bearkin's back as hard as she could. Blood spilled from the cut before the bearkin kicked out at her. His heavy footpaw thumped into her chest with shocking force, and she was bowled backwards tail over snout. She hit the ground with a gasp, wheezing to regain the breath that had been smashed out of her.

The intervention bought Bronco a precious instant. He jammed his truncheon under the bearkin's snapping jaws to hold them at bay, letting out a roar of exertion as he pushed, muscles bulging in his thick arms. Claws raked at him, tearing great rents in his stolen lab coat and scraping at the watchguard armour beneath his clothes. The vulkin curled up, wedging his footpaws against the bearkin's chest for leverage before twisting violently to the side and kicking hard.

Bronco managed to corkscrew himself clear as the bearkin toppled sideways, powerful limbs still flailing in all directions. The respite didn't last, however. The murderous rage in the test subject showed no signs of abating, and he lunged for Bronco again as the vulkin tried to scramble backwards on all fours.

Karno stepped between them.

Jett's eyes went wide with horror, expecting any moment to see him pounded into a bloody pulp by the bearkin. Instead, to her amazement, the berserk test subject halted mid-charge, its mad stampede arrested by Karno's outstretched paw. The wolfkin's eyes burned as he stared down their adversary, but Jett could see his legs trembling. He was terrified.

Indecision gripped her as she watched the standoff. Whatever grafting Hera's butchers had imparted on this individual seemed to have had at least some effect, but the bearkin was fighting it, nostrils flaring and teeth gnashing as he towered over Karno. Something stopped him from tearing the wolfkin limb from limb, but she didn't want to wait around to see if it would last. Mind racing, she glanced left and right, looking for some weapon or drug that might help them at least subdue the bearkin.

She saw nothing that could give them an edge, and anxiety twisted her gut. Then her eyes fell upon the sensor claw by the door, and an idea occurred to her. They might not be able to stop the bearkin at all, even with all five of them, but they might be able to make it somebody else's problem. Moving as quickly as she dared, Jett circled around behind the bearkin until she had her back to the door, standing between it and the bearkin. Shoving the fear of a thousand instinctive years to the back of her mind, Jett took a deep breath.

"HEY!" she screamed, tearing the enraged bearkin's attention from Karno. He took the chance to grab Bronco and heave the vulkin out of danger as the test subject rotated, bloodshot eyes fastening onto Jett with murderous intent. His hackles bristled, lips peeling back into a feral snarl of bloodstained canines, more savage than anything she'd ever seen. Not even the wolfkin enforcers that had been trying to kill her came close to displaying the sheer bloodlust she was faced with now.

She raised her knife in one paw, backing away and reaching behind her for the door release. The bearkin loomed towards her, taking heavy trudging steps, muzzle lowering and shoulders squaring in readiness to charge.

"C'mon, big guy," Jett hissed, her muscles tensing like coiled springs. "You want something to kill?" Gathering her shredded nerves, she bared her teeth at him and screamed. "COME ON!"

A hellish roar erupted from the bearkin's throat as he charged, coming at her in an avalanche of muscle, claws, and teeth. She recoiled towards the door, waiting until the last possible instant. The huge paws reached out, ready to pin her in place and tear her to pieces. In a single swift movement, she stepped back, yanked down on the door release, and threw herself towards the bearkin in a roll.

The door slid open as she tumbled between its legs. Had she been facing an adversary with any rational thought, the gambit probably wouldn't have worked, but the berserk juggernaut didn't react in time to her bait and switch. He went cannoning out into the hallway, tripping and crashing to the ground as he tried to twist around and grab her, undone by his own sheer momentum.

Before he could recover, Jett lunged back to the control and slammed it back up, sending the heavy metal door sliding shut again. A heavy thud echoed through the room, punctuated by a muffled bellow as the bearkin charged, but the sturdy construct held. Jett skipped back away from the door, her chest heaving with panicked breaths, adrenaline pounding through her veins.

Another thud shook the door, but still, it held, the several inches of solid metal able to withstand the brute strength of the bearkin. Several seconds passed. A third, half-hearted thump rang the door one more time before she heard a snarl of frustration and heavy footfalls disappearing into the distance.

Exhaling a shuddering breath, Jett turned from the door and ran across the room. Without a word, she flung her arms around Karno and squeezed him tight. His arms encircled her waist and pulled her close, and they clung to one another.

From beyond the door, they heard fresh screams.