Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Certain organizations featured in this work are based on real-world organizations but been renamed and re-imagined for this work. All resemblances to any actual person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Due to the genre of this work, some contents can be disturbing for readers. Although events of this story takes place in an alternate history, references to actual historical crimes are occasionally mentioned
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Foreword
I used to have another work on this site titled “Shades of the Lion City” written under a different username, but unfortunately, I had to delete the whole story due to real-world events making some of that story’s contents morally wrong. You would probably find remnants of it on scraper sites. Consider this story a “rebirth” of the original.
Speaking of scraper sites, this work is only available on RoyalRoad.com and is completely free. If you’re not reading this story on Royal Road's website, that’s means someone has plagiarized and posted it elsewhere, or you’re on a scraper site.
Now, without further ado, let’s begin
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PILOT
08:16, Violent Othersider Incidents Division (VOID) Headquarters, Beach Road, 04 Jan 2075
“Damn it!”
Shawn Teo Wai-Lung looked up from his desk as his colleague, Joel Trevelyan, got up from his seat with a scream of frustration.
“Brother, it’s only sixteen minutes since we started shift and you’re already going berserk?”
“No! This stupid site stole my work again!”
“You’re still going on about your crappy fanfiction being stolen by some scraper site?”
“It’s my work! I don’t care how crappy they are, I wrote them!”
Shawn sighed. Joel was older than him and has been with the Violent Othersider Incidents Division, or VOID as most people prefer to say, for longer than him too, considering how Shawn has only transferred to the VOID two years ago, not to mention that Joel is also ex-special forces, and here he was, complaining about his badly-written stories being stolen by a nameless Internet pirate.
“You think they care? They’ve been doing this for years, getting aroused by ruining the passion of hardworking people. You can't get rid of these idiots, so just pretend these guys snort the ashes of their ancestors like cocaine every day and continue doing what you’re doing. I mean, what brainless buffoon steals free products? Might as well steal water from the ocean.”
Shawn sat back down, shaking his head as another of his colleagues, Ellen Han Xinqi, sighed.
“You know, he’ll be better off concentrating on his work rather than try to be an author. I don’t even understand half the things he wrote.”
“Oh, I thought you don’t read them.”
“I gave it a try. One try. All because he was complaining about view counts. The first chapter was enough to turn me off.”
“So you couldn’t resist the temptation. And you were whining about me reading his stories… Where’s Ismail, by the way? That tiger is usually sleeping in one of the offices.”
“I don't know. Maybe he ate someone and is hiding in Bukit Timah waiting for the digestion to complete.”
“Ellen, you know Ismail doesn’t eat humans,” Shawn’s tone changed as he turned to face Ellen, “If he did, we would already know. He’s a Marshal for the Night-Sea Patrol, remember?”
“It was just a jest.”
“Considering how you react towards Othersiders, it's hard for me to tell if that was a jest.”
"Come on, it's not like I'm paranoid about all Othersiders," Ellen protested when the door to their main office was thrown open.
“Alright, everyone, listen up! I know it’s only the fourth day of a new year, but unfortunately, we’ve got a situation and the higher ups decided to hand the case over to the Third Investigation Squad.”
Everyone groaned at the announcement made by Shawn’s team leader, Pravin Ernst Shankar, who had just entered the office with a phone in one hand and a stack of documents under the other arm.
“Fifteen minutes ago, a group of kayakers were heading to Sembawang Park's beaches via Jalan Mempurong when they came across what can only be described as a bloodbath along the road. Reports indicate at least three victims in total, barely identifiable given the state of their corpses. Officers have secured the entire road, they’re reporting that the Othersiders in the area are freaked out and hiding.”
“You mean the pontianaks and the langsuirs that live there? I thought they run the place,” Joel asked.
“They did, until whatever happened last night frightened them off. Clearly, we have an Othersider that either thinks they’re an exception from the law or we’ve got one that had gone feral. Zai is supposed to be on leave today, but since he lives in Sembawang, he has cancelled his leave and gone down to the scene to secure it from getting trampled by Kwok Chang’s gang of meddlers at MCD. Joel, head over there and go through the crime scene with Zai.”
“Just me?”
“Yes, because we’ll have to work without Bento today. He doesn’t come back from Portugal until this Saturday and I don’t want to ruin the first vacation of his career, so Ellen will have to take over data analysis for the time being. If you and Zai can affirm that an Othersider was involved in the crime, coordinate with the Night-Sea Patrol’s Marshals attachment and see which one of them will get assigned to assist with the investigation.”
“On it, boss.”
“What about me, boss?” Shawn asked.
“Ah, about that… I need you to go fetch a new member of VOID. She’ll probably be joining our squad.”
“Woah, who’s getting fired? I thought each squad in VOID is a six-man team?” Joel asked.
“No one's getting kicked out. Given the increase in violent crimes related to human-Othersider conflicts over the last two years, an agreement has been reached with our counterparts on the Other Side, so the Night-Sea Patrol will be sending a new Marshal to reinforce the existing attachment with VOID and she's apparently going to be attached to our squad and the Fifth. Having the Marshals' presence here has proven useful in reducing the number of Othersider crimes, but it seems the few that are still up to no good are starting to get involved with human criminals. Take the Kiba Corps for example. They now have onis among their numbers.”
“The Kiba Corps was a small-time criminal organization that tried to step over the actual Yakuza and got chased out of Japan instead. Now they’re expanding their business to the Other Side just to appear more powerful? Reeks of desperation,” Ellen commented to which Shankar shook his head in disagreement.
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“The Kiba Corps is currently one of Singapore’s five most dangerous criminal organizations of foreign origins. Whatever they’re doing, it’s not out of desperation and it’s working too well that people in their homeland are now getting worried.”
“We get it, boss. Now, before the topic strays further, about the marshal that is being attached to us, why can’t the other marshals fetch her?” Shawn asked.
“Beats me. I asked all four of them and they merely replied that she’s easy to work with but difficult to approach. Something to do with her social status back on the Other Side, from what I heard. She’s a bit fascinated by human culture, though, so they thought it better if a human officer of VOID be the one to welcome her. No need to worry about guiding her around, she’s been in our side of the world more than enough times to be familiar with Singapore.”
“Well, in that case, I shall play the role of a gentleman today.”
“A gentleman? So, you will politely initiate a round of fisticuffs in the nearest gang-related bar, then?”
“I know you're part Welsh but you sound more like a drunk German than Winston Churchill. Shut up and keep writing your crappy self-insert stories, Joel,” Shawn retorted with a laugh as a grinning Joel flipped him off while exiting the office for the elevator.
“Just don’t forget what I said to you, Shawn. Honestly speaking, I myself am treading lightly around this marshal.”
“We’re getting another Othersider?” Ellen asked as Shankar entered his personal office.
“You know, if you keep this ‘I-don’t-like-Othersiders’ attitude up, SAC Ramirez is going to transfer you, and you know very well that apart from VOID, Traffic Control is the only department left that’s willing to take you, but only as a meter maid.”
“Look, I’m okay with the Night-Sea Patrol sending marshals like elves, gnomes, nang tanis or even lizardfolk to help VOID, but do we really need the aggressive ones? I mean, no offense to the jadians, but the slightest provocation is enough for them to rip an errant driver out of their car.”
“Hey, Ismail and Kobi are doing for us what we’ve always wanted to do for a long time. Besides, they're a lot more patient than most of their kind, and admittedly most of our colleagues.”
“Patient? We’re still dealing with that lawsuit from the robber that Marshal Kobi bit.”
“You do realize that Kobi was off-duty and was not armed, right? Had to use his jaws.”
“Yeah, but that gun turned out to be a fake. That robber could challenge that by claiming that Kobi knew the gun was fake because he would have smelt the gunpowder or some bullshit like that,” Ellen argued as she and Shawn entered the elevator, "Kobi could have tackled him to the ground instead of clamping his jaws shut on that idiot's arm. Buaya jadians have the same level of strength as harimau jadians. I mean, Ismail can lift a bus, for Pete’s sake.”
“That's where the problem lies. You’ve never been tackled by any of the jadians before, right?”
“Er… No, so far, no.”
“Remember that musang jadian we were trying to arrest? Freaking civet knocked my butt through a door into a room and nearly out the window, and that was an accidental push. The average musang jadian is around your size. Imagine a crocodile walking on its hind legs, standing two metres in height and measuring twice the size of a rugby player tackling you with intent.”
“Okay, I get your point about the tackling part.”
“And it’s not like Kobi bit down hard, he just clamped shut on the robber’s arm. Teeth barely broke the skin and even the witnesses claimed that the robber was over-reacting, as if on purpose… Kobi should have done a death roll in my opinion.”
“That would definitely cause more problems! Okay, look, I get your point, but I just feel that the Night-Sea Patrol should send someone that's a bit more like 'us' than the species whose people have a reputation for eating humans. Just don’t go telling everyone I’ve got problems with the marshals like our former colleague Shantel or everyone’s gonna think I’m becoming the next Kwok Chang. You know very well I have no problems working with them, just how they do things.”
“Oh, you can trust me on that, Ellen," Shawn said with a laugh as he tossed a candy from his desk into Ellen's hands while getting up to leave, "Just be careful what you say in front of the marshal when I bring her into our office. The other marshals understand where you're coming from, but this one has never met you and would think you’re being rude.”
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VOID’s headquarters was unique given the building’s status as one of the earliest police stations built in Singapore. The building was decommissioned and used by various other industries until it was once again recommissioned by the police six years ago after VOID had to move out of the main headquarters of the SPD, moving into the building despite half of it being used as a shopping mall. However, this proves convenient for VOID not only because officers have easy access to stores, eateries and other amenities but also because, given their role in subjugating Othersider-related crimes, one of Singapore’s sixteen Boundary Gates and its largest is located in an alley just across the street from the building itself, linked directly to the capital of the Night-Sea, the main region of the Other Side which the majority of the Boundary Gates in Singapore lead to and from. And the Night-Sea is home to the Night-Sea Patrol, whose marshals are attached to VOID either on a permanent shift or just a few months.
White hair, white hair, hard to miss, Shawn thought to himself as he wandered the lobby of the headquarters where his colleagues from other investigation squads were coming in or going out as per their shift change, but all he saw were police officers and visitors looking to file a complaint or report a crime, but no white-haired girl standing around.
Where could she be?
“Hey, Johnny, you saw that girl with white hair at the mall just now?”
“Yeah, blue track jacket and jeans. Real pretty. She seemed lost, though, or maybe searching for someone.”
The conversation between two visitors were enough for Shawn to deduce what had happened. Hurrying over to the mall side of the building, true enough, a white-haired woman who appear to be in her mid-twenties was standing at the entrance of the mall looking completely lost and wary. She looked Chinese, but had unnaturally blue eyes and a light complexion, but Shawn could not help but agree with those two visitors that she was indeed quite pretty: If someone on the Other Side ever start a modelling agency, this woman could be their next top model. However, remembering what his squad leader had mentioned, he composed himself and approached her.
“Hai Yue?”
The woman spun around, surprised by her name being called, but upon seeing Shawn, she relaxed a little though she retained a strict expression on her face.
“Are you from the human law enforcement in this place?”
“Yeah. I’m Shawn, Violent Othersider Incidents Division. You’re with the Night-Sea Patrol? Here as a new attachment to VOID?”
“Yes, but this does not look like a barracks, more like one of these an indoor marketplaces that seem to litter your country.”
“Well, you’re in the wrong half of the building. The entrance to VOID’s headquarters is on the left.”
“The wrong half? Is this a shared building?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting. I’ve been to this country several times but I’ve never seen what VOID’s headquarters look like from the inside. I did not expect your department shares a building with an indoor marketplace.”
“We call it a mall.”
“A maul? You name a market after a weapon?”
“No, no, a mall. You’re not good with human terminologies, are you, sweetheart?”
“Excuse me?” the marshal asked as she turned to glare at Shawn.
Crap. Shawn had spoke without thinking, having completely forgotten Shankar’s warning about being polite to the new marshal. If she thinks he was mocking her, he’s going to get into trouble far worse than the ones he got into for the bar brawls and nightclub showdowns he’s been involved in.
Instead, the marshal's expression softened as her irritated glare gave way to a mischievous smile.
“Oh, you should have seen your face! I’m just pulling your leg, Officer Shawn Teo, I'm not so easily offended. Also, I know it’s called a shopping mall. I have been here a few times, just never to your side of the building.”
“What?”
“I was told by my colleagues who are already here that I would probably be working with the Third Investigation Squad of the Violent Othersider Incidents Division the most, so I did some research on you and your squad members. In your case, you seem like a good cop, but your knuckles also have quite a reputation, Officer Teo- Actually, that makes me sound so uptight and rigid. You won’t mind if I start going by your first name, no?”
The marshal’s sudden flip in personality, the revelation that she was just acting strict, had caught Shawn off-guard. In fact, Hai Yue doesn’t seem to act like her colleagues, who were immediately into military mode when they first emerged from the Boundary Gates whereas she was openly showing the friendlier side of herself. All Shawn could do was mumble, “Up to you, miss,” to which a now-grinning Hai Yue gave him a friendly tap on the shoulders which somehow helped him regain his composure.
"So, mind showing me around VOID? I'm curious as to how human law enforcers deal with Othersider felons."
"Of course, Marshal."
"Ew... Drop the rank thing, I'm a guest, not here to take over your organization. I'm addressing you by your first name so go ahead and do the same."
"You're the first marshal I've met who isn't particular about titles."
"Titles are annoying. Sometimes, they stop you from doing the small things that can help someone in a big way."
"Couldn't agree more," Shawn replied as he brought Hai Yue into VOID’s headquarters, thinking to himself that she wasn't really that difficult to approach and wondering why the other Marshals were nervous about her arrival...