Chapter 6

REN

Ren didn't quite know what to make of Sprague Fetch.

They couldn't quite puzzle him out.

On the one hand, he had confessed to Ashley's murder, said he was going to kill the group, and said he knew the Trinity. He had even given their names— the Lionheart, the Set, and the Destiny.

And yet nothing about him set off Ren's alarm bells. Sprague had been in their camp, in their house. No one was around —Silverlight Forest surrounded the camp from all sides— and he made no move. The offenders Ren helped track down often held a feeling that sent prickling chills down their spine, but Sprague didn't hold that. He just sat on the couch, curled up, with eyes that spoke of seeing too much.

He confused Ren, but they would figure him out.

Ren had called the Moonfall Precinct after Sprague had agreed, and they were somewhat surprised by that. He'd had such a strong opinion against it previously, but they slipped out the front door, holding it partway open as they dialed Larson's number.

After explaining the situation and that they had someone who had information on the Trinity, Larson swore. Ren silently grimaced on the other end; they had never heard so many swear words strung together, not even after the time Charlie and Ashley accidentally lit a cake on fire and they couldn't put it out and set off the fire alarm.

"We'll be there in five minutes," Larson eventually said, and Ren heard rushed footsteps and the beginning of a shouted order before the line cut off.

And they were.

The Moonfall Precinct came barreling into camp in under five minutes, and Zip had only just opened the gate when they arrived. Officers piled out of the cars, dressed in their Precinct uniforms with face masks tied securely around their heads.

Sprague had stiffened at the sound of the commotion. A door slammed shut and he flinched on the couch, jumping back into the cushions, eyes darting all over and eventually focusing on the front door until it opened.

"We're here," Larson had said, and his gaze immediately found Sprague, who shrunk back.

Ren hadn't told him much about Sprague, partially at his insistence. He could figure out what he needed to and what Sprague really knew. The fewer assumptions he had, the better.

More Precinct officers filed in after Larson. The kitchen area of the NYTE house soon filled up and grew cramped.

Ren had moved around the island over to the stools. They sat down on one beside Zip who eyed the officers with a wide gaze. His knee bounced and he took apart and reassembled his pen over and over. Kristin gritted his teeth and glared at the floor, arms crossed over his chest. Ferris ran his thumb over his forehead, looking like he needed a nap, and Charlie leaned against him, eyes blank as she stared through Sprague. Ren wondered what she saw. They didn't think they wanted to know.

Larson surveyed the scene and then waved most of the officers out of the house, leaving only a handful inside. A few pulled out notebooks and pens to take notes.

Sprague had gazed evenly at Larson for several moments. "Are you the Moonfall Precinct?" he asked, body tense as a bowstring and ducked down and angled as though he were about to bolt.

Larson nodded. "Yes, we are the Moonfall Precinct. My name is Larson Hotch."

"Do you lie?"

Larson didn't react to the odd question, although Kristin frowned. Ren inclined their head.

"I do not lie," Larson replied.

Sprague hadn't responded. He looked off to the side and fell into silence.

"Ren tells me your name is Sprague Fetch?" Larson had asked, stepping forward toward Sprague as the officers hung back. Ren stayed near the kitchen and stood beside Zip and Charlie.

Sprague's lips flattened out into a thin line. He closed his eyes as a hurricane of emotions flickered across his face.

"Yeah," he had murmured after a minute. "I'm Sprague Fetch."

He stayed quiet for another minute before asking: "Are you going to arrest me?"

"Why do you think that?"

Ren knew Larson already knew Sprague had confessed to Ashley's murder —they had told him as much— but Larson wanted to hear it himself.

Sprague's face crumpled, and Larson's expression didn't change.

"It... it-. It was me," Sprague had said. Larson had given him time, and Sprague eventually continued, echoing the words he had first told Ren: "I'm the one who killed Ashley Baok."

Even though Ren had heard those words previously, they still felt the hitch in their breath, that bit of shock. The room fell still, though Sprague didn't react. As if the room held its breath, no one moved. Ren thought if someone breathed wrong, the moment would shatter and Sprague might stop talking.

Larson's expression had still stayed the same. "Why is that?" he asked.

"I did it. I killed him."

"You killed Ashley Baok?" Larson had glanced over his shoulder, frowned, and then waved his hand behind his back. An officer approached Ren and the group.

Sprague had ducked his head, staring off through the television and paying no attention to anyone else in the room. Ren didn't think he saw the house through his blank gaze. "I killed him."

"How did you kill him? Can you describe what you did for me?"

"I killed him," Sprague echoed, though Ren wasn't sure he had heard Larson.

"Can you describe how you killed Ashley Baok?" Larson had asked again. He waved his hand again, this time with more force.

Kristin paled and covered his mouth with his hand. He looked like he was about to vomit.

"You guys should leave," the officer had whispered. "We can take it from here. You don't need to hear this."

"Come here," Ferris murmured to Kristin.

He put his hand on Kristin's shoulder. The officer softly opened the door and Ferris led Kristin outside. Zip followed close behind, as did Charlie.

Ren glanced back at Sprague one more time.

"He followed me," Ren had heard Sprague say as they left the house and walked into the courtyard.

xxxx

But now, Charlie stalked around on the grass, face a dark scowl and steps falling in something like firm punctuation. Ferris didn't follow as she paced around. Kristin watched the window with an expression as glowering as Charlie's.

Officers stood near the cars, though none sat down. All remained ready should Larson or anyone call. No one approached the former SFPU.

"They'd better find something," Kristin said.

"They..." Zip paused as officers moved within the house. "Th-they will."

Ren couldn't see Sprague since the television blocked their view, but they guessed he hadn't moved.

"How can you know?" Kristin asked, throwing his head to the side and running a hand through his hair.

Zip shrugged. "They aren't-. They're not gonna give-give up. And I... we're not gonna let-let it go. We'll catch the Trinity. Er-. Uh, the Moonfall Precinct will."

"I'll drink to that," Kristin muttered. He kicked a pinecone and it skittered across the stones of the courtyard. "But I mean, he's just in there. Sprague's not talking. Or, well, I mean, he is talking but not really. Can't he just spit it out? Can't he just say everything if he knows something and then just tell them it all and then they can go piece it all together and then Larson and Asa and Azrael and everyone can then go arrest the Trinity and then they can go to trial and then get slammed with a thousand charges and then-."

"Breathe, Kristin," Ren said.

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"I know." Kristin sat down, picking up a stick and breaking it into pieces as he spoke. "Gotta stay calm, gotta keep it together, and gotta remember that it takes time so the right people can be caught. Wish it wouldn't take so long. Wish I could just get answers so maybe it'll hurt a little less, even though I know that's never gonna happen. Am I ever going to stop wishing I could've just gone out into the Forest that night so I could've done something?"

"I don't know," Ferris murmured, sitting down beside Kristin. "It's different for everyone, of course, but I haven't. I lost my fathers in a way very different from Ashley, but I still wish I would've been there at that intersection because maybe I could've stopped that crash. I don't really know, though. I don't know if you'll ever stop wishing you could've been there. I don't know."

Ferris's words hung in the air.

Ren knew he was right. Who really knew? There could be no easy answers and nothing simple when it came to losing a friend and a brother. But Ren hoped that getting answers and holding those responsible accountable might help in some way. Perhaps it would bring a bit of closure.

The group fell into silence, each settling down a short distance from the others. No one knew what to say as they waited for answers about Sprague.

Ren pulled their knees to their chest and focused on the dogs' house. They would have to work the dogs at some point during the day, but that could wait until after the Moonfall Precinct finished.

Ren replayed the last time they had seen Ashley. They were there that morning as Ashley bustled about the kitchen, humming along to some made-up tune as he scrambled eggs and added in veggies, much to Charlie's chagrin. They're green, Ashley! she had protested, to which Ashley replied that they wouldn't hurt her. That morning was like every other— full of the usual laughter and teasing, talking about what had to be done for the day, planning out who would take what tasks. Asking when Ashley thought he would likely be back, although he never would return.

Ren wished they could go back and keep him from ever walking out the front door, now knowing that when it shut was the last time they would ever see him alive.

"Thank you for calling us."

Ren snapped back to reality and turned around to see Sedge Valentine walking toward them and the group. Everyone stood up quickly, and Ren focused their attention on Sedge.

Sedge had several inches on Ren, and his lanky frame made him seem even taller. His dark brown hair had been brushed to the side, and his uniform was devoid of any wrinkles.

"Of course," Ren replied. "I don't know what Sprague knows, but I hope you can get more information."

Sedge nodded. "I hope so as well, but we are taking it one step at a time. We are talking with Sprague, and we will go from there."

"Can't you tell us anything?" Charlie bit out.

Sedge didn't look terribly surprised. Ren wondered how many times he had been asked a similar question.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Or at least react in some way? Do you even have any emotions?"

A soft, sympathetic look spread across Sedge's face. "I apologize, but I cannot say very much. Partly because I do not know a great deal myself. We are still investigating the potential lead in Sprague Fetch. The last thing I want to do is give false information, and I also do not want to jeopardize the case. But as soon as I can share anything, I will."

"What are you doing here if you cannot tell us anything?" Kristin asked.

"I wanted to offer my thanks for calling us, and it also seemed that perhaps you could use a little company." Sedge glanced over at the officers who remained by the Precinct vehicles. "They're friendly but they don't often interact with others beyond arresting them in these situations."

"You can stay here, if you'd like," Ferris said.

"Very well," Sedge replied. "Let me know if you would like me to leave at any time. I don't want to make you uncomfortable in what I can only imagine is the worst time of your life."

"At least you're not pretending to know," Charlie grumbled as she sat back down.

"I do not know what it is like to lose someone to murder," Sedge said, "but I do know what it is like to lose someone. That pain never completely goes away, and it can eat you up. And I can only imagine what it's like for you right now."

Charlie flinched. "Oh, sorry. Sucks losing someone."

"Who did you lose, if you don't mind me asking?" Kristin asked, voice growing hoarse.

Sedge tilted his head to the side. A few moments passed by before he spoke. "I lost my sister. Her name was Saffron. Saffron Valentine. She drowned about five years ago. She was the best sister I could've ever asked for."

Kristin eyed Sedge with an even expression, and something seemed to click in his gaze, but before he could respond, Sprague walked out of the NYTE house.

Sprague walked with his shoulders hunched, and Larson followed close behind.

"I'm really sorry," Sprague said, focusing on Kristin as he followed Larson to one of the Moonfall Precinct cars.

Kristin swallowed and looked at Sprague with an expression that Ren knew was just barely holding back tears.

Sprague paused, eyes watery as he spoke: "I... I'm sorry I killed Ashley Baok, but he followed me. I was trying to will him not to and then I could say he wouldn't come and wouldn't lie since he always knew, but he followed. I-I'm sorry."

Sprague climbed into the back seat of the car, body curling in on itself. He looked like a popped balloon.

Ren let their gaze wander over where Sprague had walked. He had admitted to murder several times, which Ren knew, and yet he seemed to just want to disappear. Not in a way of running from what he had done, but instead in the way of sorrow.

Why would you feel sorrow? Ren thought. You could have chosen otherwise.

Although Ren knew they would wait for Larson and the Moonfall Precinct to reach a conclusion on what Sprague might have known and if he had truly killed Ashley. They knew they couldn't handle getting caught up in believing so firmly that Sprague was the one for anything to be determined otherwise and the fallout from that. But they hoped they didn't have to wait long. Nothing could bring back Ashley, but they wanted to know, to be able to see who was responsible, to be able to look them in the eye and find whatever semblance of peace they could so they could start trying to figure out how they would live without Ashley.

Kristin started trembling at Sprague's words, shaking his head and backing up a step, and Charlie wrinkled her nose. Ren furrowed their eyebrows and squinted at the car.

Larson got into the passenger seat, while another officer got into the driver's seat and turned the car on. It rumbled to life and turned around in the courtyard.

One by one, the Moonfall Precinct cars left the camp. Zip closed the gate after the last car left, and it rattled shut. Silverlight Forest swallowed up the officers and Sprague, and then everything fell silent.

xxxx

Soon, they were left alone.

"I'm going to my room. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency or someone has something on Ashley," Kristin muttered. His footsteps fell heavy and he let the front door slam shut behind him.

Zip watched the front door for a few moments, then turned away. "Do you... do you think he-he did it?" he murmured.

"Sprague?" Charlie asked.

Zip nodded.

She shrugged. "Dunno. I mean, I always thought Ashley's killers would look a little more... you know, killer-y and a little less sad puppy. But ain't one to judge. If he did it, he did it and I don't give a damn what he looks like. Can act however the hell he wants, but if he's guilty then he's guilty. But dunno right now. Unless Larson and Asa and everyone can prove it in court, it doesn't really count. At least, not in any official manner."

"I don't know either," Ferris said. "I do not feel like I can say absolutely no, but I also do not feel that I can give an absolute yes either. Whether or not he had anything to do with Ashley's murder, I just don't know what would drive him to come all this way. I want to wait for an official determination from the Moonfall Precinct and Asa and Azrael."

"I wish I knew," Ren replied. "I don't know, and I'm not sure what I want. I want answers. I want to know who murdered Ashley, but a part of me doesn't want to know. I don't want it to become that much more real with putting faces to the monsters who did such a thing. A part of me still wants the... the veil of only knowing them as these mysterious beings. A face that's... human and knowing who did it is what I want, but part of me is scared to know." The words began to pour out of Ren as they voiced their fears. "What if we know some or all of the Trinity? What if they're someone one of us grew up with? But what if we don't know them? What if they're strangers? I don't know which one would somehow be less bad or make it hurt less seeing the people who did this."

Charlie sighed. "I don't know what I want." She flinches, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "That's not what I meant. I'm sorry. More, I... I don't know which would hurt less. If I knew even just one of the Trinity, I'd want to go back in time and stop them. But if I don't know the Trinity, I'd still want that but I wouldn't have that stupid personal connection and instead I'd want to know how the hell they went down that road. If Ashley never knew the Trinity, then it would be so impersonal. Even colder than it already was. The Trinity wouldn't have known what they were taking away."

Her lip quivered and she shook, glaring at the ground as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Don't... think the-the Trinity cared," Zip grumbled. He hid his face in the crook of his arm wrapped around his knees he had pulled to his chest.

"Wanna make them care." Charlie wrinkled her nose in a glower. "But if they took Ashley's life I don't think they ever will." She groaned, kicking her leg out and sending a stone bouncing across the courtyard. "I need a break. I'm going on a walk. Don't worry, Dipper, I won't go far. Just need to be alone for a bit and away from people. I'll stay close to camp though."

xxxx

Ren made their way across the courtyard into the dogs' house as the group dispersed. Ferris went back into the house, and Zip walked over to his workshop.

Ren heard the scrabble of nails on the floor as they opened the door. Somnus greeted them with a wide smile and a tail wagging in a blur. Pyxis offered bright eyes and a swishing tail and Morpheus an even, grey stare and a slight head tilt.

"Hey, dogs," Ren murmured.

They changed the dogs' water bowls and then entered Morpheus's pen.

"Stand," Ren said. He complied, and Ren crouched by his side to look at the wound from Pyr Iskie. They carefully examined it for any signs of infection or healing improperly, but it held none. Baby hairs grew around it, and Ren felt he would make a full recovery and be able to continue his career as a working dog, if the SFPU ever continued again.

Ren stood back up and let the dogs out of their pens and then outside. The dogs bounded around on the grass, stretching their legs, and Ren gave a silent apology for it taking so long for them to get any true exercise. The dogs' runs provided some ability to move, but not like they each needed.

Somnus and Pyxis chased each other all around, nipping and wrestling with Morpheus trotting a short distance behind, and Ren knew none had been getting the full exercise and stimulation they each needed. They needed the work tracking through Silverlight Forest after criminals offered, and they hadn't gotten that since the day Ren and the others found out about Ashley's murder.

Maybe I should have gotten someone else to take care of the dogs, Ren thought, although they knew the effort they had put into training the dogs. Somehow, it felt like it would be a failure to give the dogs to someone else, even for a little while, despite how much they cared about the dogs' wellbeing. If they could not give the dogs a proper life, they would find someone who could. But Ren didn't want to lose someone else they cared about.

They didn't want to say goodbye again.

Ren worked with the dogs, having each perform a series of commands. Sit, stand, left, right, and having the dogs run as if they were tracking a real person. Ren had the dogs follow verbal commands and hand signals, and somewhere along the line, they felt the dogs begin to relax. Soon, they did too.

Ren could still give the dogs what they needed, and they would find a way to continue to do so. The dogs could be their outlet, and they would focus on the dogs' training while they figured out their path forward for finding answers about what happened to Ashley. Whatever their future looked like could come later, but they first needed answers. They needed to know, no matter how much it may hurt.

And with Sprague Fetch talking with Larson and the Moonfall Precinct, Ren felt some small flicker of hope in their chest. Maybe answers would finally come.