1x01 "The Northside"

**The Northside** is the first campaign premiere of The Red City. It is the first episode of Arc One and was played on January 8th, 2022.

## Plot

After years of ridicule, detectives Sneeble and Cleck are given their first "major" case-- keeping an eye on one of the largest Anti-Mek protests in recent history. Things go south quickly when Anti-Mek prodigy, Fin Bellevue, catches wind of them.

## Synopsis

Pyrvilia has been a busy city for the past two weeks. City Council recently announced that they'd be presenting The Progress Bill to be passed, which would legally allow factories to be built on the otherside of The Bid River. This has caused outbursts everywhere-- from joyful parties in the Teal Zone to desperate pleas from those living in The Metal Strip. The most important, however, have been the major protests sparked up by the Anti-Meks that have been cause for 50 deaths in the past two days alone.

Sneeble and Cleck, two Verdan detectives, sit in Sergeant Verote's office while nervously theorizing about they have been called in. The Sergeant had been vague when summoning them, stating nothing more than that she had a "big case" for them to be on. The duo hype each other up, claiming that they're "the best" and that they'll be having "the biggest case ever" to reward them for this when the Sergeant walks in.

She reveals to the duo that the recent Anti-Mek protests have become worrisome to the PPD and could be responsible for the large influx of missing persons. As a result, they want a set of eyes to infiltrate the protest and take note of what's happening should things get violent again. Despite Sneeble and Cleck having no prior experience dealing with this, Sergeant Verote states that every other officer is too busy dealing with the high number of missing peoples cases to donate anymore time to the protests. While Sneeble and Cleck are greatly enthused and excited about the opportunity having been the laughing-stock of the department for the past decade, Verote seems less enthusiastic.

She informs the duo that Bonnie Vorsk will be leading the protest which automatically categorizes it as a high risk thanks to her long history in the Anti-Mek movement and intense efforts to spreading the cause. She also informs them that Bonnie's "prodigy," Fin Bellevue, will likely also be at the protest as a psuedo-leader. Many corpoations and nobles also want to get their hands on Fin, and thanks to him not having the same amount of backing and resources as Bonnie (yet), the PPD believes arresting him to be a realistic task. Sallly mentions this to Sneeble and Cleck while also repeating multiple times for the duo to not attempt to tackle the situation by themselves. "Once things hit the fan, call for backup, do you understand me?"

The duo agrees to the terms and conditions and are given photos for reference of Bonnie and Fin. Sergeant Verote also gives them a small, blank, white envelope and asks for them to deliver it to Gus at Pat's Piano on 3rd St. and Mid. Ave. before dismissing them.

The duo leaves the office into the main work-area of the PPD's Department of Missing Persons (DMP) where they excitedly discuss how the meeting went and what this big of a case means for them both after years of pushing papers. Sneeble points out how Fin looks like a child in his wanted photo and looks nothing like what they'd expect a wanted criminal, nonetheless the future leader of the Anti-Meks, to look like. Cleck says that this means that it will be easy to arrest Fin as he will stand no chance against "two full adults," and jokes that the most Fin will do in combat is "run between our legs." Upon saying this, however, Sneeble points out that Fin is listed as being 5'6 whereas Sneeble and Cleck are 4'0 and 4'1 respectively. Cleck then says that this is good since it means him and Sneeble will be faster than Fin thanks to being shorter. Sneeble brings up that they'll use the "Cleck Is A Table" move to capture Fin, which both detectives think is a good idea.

As Sneeble and Cleck are theorizing on their game plan, they notice Rhodarth, another detective who frequently antagonizes them, leaning against a nearby cubicle and listening to them. He claps his hands sarcastly when they do, stating that "this was the saddest thing that I have ever seen in my life." He thanks Sneeble and Cleck for their conversation due to it being entertaining. Cleck states that him and Sneeble will be the new favorites of the office by the time they finish the case, and states Rhodarth's simply jealous of not having gotten the case. Both accusations Rhodarth ignores in favor of mocking them about their "table" plan. Both Verdans defend the plan, with Sneeble claiming it's, "fucking genius." Rhodarth makes fun of the duo then for overlooking Fin's height and thinking they were "taller than someone for once."

Sneeble points out that they thought Fin was a child upon looking at his photo. Cleck adds-on that no one would expect a child "to be tall," which Rhodarth quickly combats by saying Fin is, in fact, not tall, which is bolstered by the fact Rhodarth himself is 5'11. Rhodarth then says, "do me a favor and make sure to record yourselves when you fail at there. I wanna watch it when I'm said-- it'll make me feel better," and wishes the duo good luck since they'll "definitely need it." Sneeble and Cleck sarcasticly say thanks for the luck but that they "won't need it." Rhodarth literally bows as they take their leave, leaving behind a strong smell of cologne when they do.

Sneeble and Cleck proceed to mock Rhodarth for his ostentatious appearance, height, and usage of cologne along with his rudeness before discussing who should carry which photo of Bonnie and Fin. They decide to each carry one photo and, should one of them forget what the other looks like, mentally share the image. Cleck then asks which photo Sneeble specifically wants, to which Cleck states that it might be weird to carry around a photo of a "little boy" in their pockets. Cleck offers to carry Fin's photo if Sneeble is uncomfortable, to which Sneeble asks Cleck, "what are you saying about me?" and "get your head out of the gutter." Cleck decides to take Fin's photo and gives Sneeble Bonnie's, or rather, "the ugly one." They then debate which order to carry out the tasks Verote gave them. They decide that it makes the most sense to deliver the letter first and then go to the protest as the letter can be delivered along the way.

Cleck then wonders if they're allowed to read the letter. They bicker back-and-forth about whether to open it or not before finally deciding that, since the letter isn't sealed all that well, it's probably safe to read. As they decide this, however, they realize everyone in the office is watching them. Rhodarth is watching them from over his cubicle shamelessly. Panicked and ashamed, Sneeble and Cleck scurry to leave the office, awkardly waiting for the elevator before being able to take leave.

Once on the streets of Pyrvilia, both Sneeble and Cleck have a short coughing fit from the air-quality before ducking into a small alley. Sneeble almost accidentally opens the letter as Sergeant Verote leaves the office and walks past them to go on patrol before Cleck stops him and opens the letter himself. Inside they find $200, a small key, and a small paper note that reads, "finish by 4:30, office 242." They both speculate on what this means when Cleck points out that he usually patrols in the Westside, which is where the letter is to be delivered Upon some thinking, he remembers that while the Westside is primarily gang-free, there are a few speakeasies ran by the Shrapnel Shooters, and that Gus himself is one of the members of the gang. They speculate that the letter is likely a job for the Shrapnel Shooters, but neither of them know in what building office 242 is located after thinking about sneaking into the office themselves. After looking at the contents of the letter, they put all the contents back in and Cleck reseals it by licking his thumb. The duo then make their way to Pat's Piano.

At Pat's Piano, Sneeble and Cleck meet the brother duo Rob and Bob, who are identical twins and can only be told apart by their green and red bow ties. Upon telling Bob, at the front desk, that they "need new strings," he takes them to a moving wooden panel where Rob takes them down into the speakeasy. Sneeble and Cleck speculate how to approach Gus and make the letter delivery go smoothly, and Sneeble asks Cleck repeatedly "what's the angle?" and even asks at one point if he's meant to "cosplay himself." This confuses Cleck until Sneeble cups Cleck's face and reminds him of "the process" and what happened when they neglected to do so "that one time."

The duo then proceeds to sit at the bar. Sneeble complains that Cleck is sitting too close, and when Cleck attempts to move over elbows a large, muscled, gang member with the Golden Ticketeers' symbol tattooed on his neck. Cleck panics and compliments the man's bald head, to which the man says nothing other than "don't talk to me anymore." Sneeble gets Gus's attention by raising his hand straight in the air. Confused, Gus asks Sneeble if he can help him, to which Sneeble replies, "actually, I think we can help you," and slides the letter over to Gus. This sets Gus on edge, who proceeds to ask Sneeble if he's threatening him. Sneeble says of course he isn't as Sneeble is "best friends" with Gus, to which Gus points out he has no idea who Sneeble is. Sneeble proceeds to introduce himself, and Gus makes fun of his name, forcing the two of them to bicker back and forth about the asburdity of each other's names in their respective cultures. Gus takes the letter. Cleck tries to intervene then and leave the speakeasy, but at that point Gus is annoyed and points out that Sneeble and Cleck are cops. He pours out two glasses of whiskey to force the duo to stay and proceeds to question them about the riots and what they plan to do to stop them. After more miscommunication about what roles Sneeble and Cleck play in the protest and loudly exposing themselves as cops to the entire speakeasy, Gus encourages them to drink. Sneeble, not wanting to drink but also not wanting to be rude, tries to hold the drink in their mouth to spit out later, but ends up failing as drops of whiskey spill from his mouth and onto the table. Embarassed, Sneeble rushes to leave the speakeasy as Cleck finishes his own drink and follows after them.

The episode then jumps to the Eastside where Fin is getting ready for the protest outside. It is revealed that Bonnie, otherwise referred to as "Bo," has been refusing to speak with Fin. Instead, she's been sending Ruth Jellan, a long-time but young Mekker like Fin, to send messages back-and-forth between them. Fin sits with Edward Melane, a new recruit of the Anti-Meks who is referred to as "One Hit." The two strike up some small talk. While Edward seems fond of violence and accidentally hurts Fin twice just from the brute force behind his friendly pats on the back and elbowing, he seems worried about the large amount of deaths in the past two weeks. Fin replies that it's just the price that's paid for the cause and that, overall, he feels good about the protest. He also brings up that Bo plans to hold off most of the violence on the protest until the police show up.

Ruth then shows up, clearly out of breath from running. She seems surprised that Fin and Edward are hanging out since she thinks Edward is just a "muscle-head" and that Fin is smart. When Fin defends Edward from this, she teases Fin about dating Edward. Fin only responds by jokingly winking at Edward. Ruth proceeds to bring up that a few members of the Anti-Mek are disliking the sudden violence and asks Fin if he's possibly thinking about doing something different and "less violent" than Ruth, to which Fin says "Bo is the best of us," and to follow her lead. Ruth says that she noticed Bo and Fin aren't on speaking terms and asks Fin why. He reassures her that everything is fine and that it's just easier to use messengers-- to which Ruth jokingly says she's been losing five pounds a day just from running around so much. Fin jokingly says she looks good, and when Ruth says "oh, so you thought I was fat?" Fin jokingly replies, "I'm not saying that, Ruth, I'm just saying I like watching you walk." Ruth makes fun of Fin for being horny and clearly does not think Fin's flirtatious humor is funny.

A crowd begins to gather around Fin as Ruth informs Fin about why Bo sent her over. She says that Bo wants the Anti-Meks to capture the detectives that the police will send out as she thinks the detectives will be the ones leading the preventative Anti-Mek measurements. After Fin agrees to this and gives instructions on how to capture the detectives, the crowd demands a speech. Fin proceeds to give his Protest Speech, which leaves the Anti-Meks in great spirits.

After the speech, Fin notices a non-Anti-Mek in the crowd cheering him on. He gathers Ruth and Edward to approach the woman, and it doesn't take much to put together that she's an inventor or mechanic of some sort. The woman is cheery and compliments Fin, but upon revealing that she doesn't plan to partake in the protest and simply wishes to "watch," Fin intimdates her to leave.

Back in the city and a few minutes later, the protest is in full swing. People are leaving the Eastside, panicked, and there's smoke in the air from smoke grenades. The shouting of the protestors can be hard down the street. Sneeble manages to grab hold of one of the people running away, and upon asking what's happening is told that the Anti-Meks are destroying the city. Sneeble and Cleck debate automatically calling backup but end up deciding to take a look for what's happening themselves first before calling anyone.

Sneeble and cleck end up walking into the middle of the protest and find themselves caught between Bonnie's protest and Fin's. Sneeble tells Cleck to call backup, but when Cleck expresses brief doubt, they begin to bicker about whether or not to even call. While this is happening, Fin spots them in the crowd and sends in two Anti-Meks to deal with them. As the Anti-Meks approach, Cleck calls for backup while slightly panicked. Upon realizing Cleck is calling the police, Fin approaches them directly. Sneeble and Cleck try to convince Fin that they're not actually detectives and are instead wearing costumes. This debate continues until the police arrive and a large fight breaks out.

Sneeble tries to drag Cleck to safety, but Fin follows them and uses Poison Spray to poision Cleck-- Sneeble, however, resists the poison. With Cleck seriously injured, Rhodarth and another officer attempt to join the fight. Rhodarth and Sneeble manage to skim Fin with a few bullets, but otherwise no major harm is brought to Fin. During this fight, Sneeble and Cleck notice Bonnie kill an officer and reduce him to ashes with a simple fire spell, revealing that Bonnie is a pyromancer.

During the fight, Ruth grabs Fin and informs him that Bo wants him to leave because the police intend to arrest him. After some convincing, she gives Fin a train ticket. As Fin runs away, Rhodarth grabs Sneeble and Cleck and yells at them to chase Fin and arrest him. Sneeble and Cleck manage to chase Fin throughout the city without losing sight of him once, successfully getting onto the same train as him. Fin, however, manages to disappear in the train.

Sneeble tries to steal a woman's hat while on the train to appear more inconspicuous after a communication error with Cleck, but fails and ends up slapping the woman in the face. As the woman scolds Sneeble, they succesfully manage to steal it the second time before running into the second cart of the train. Cleck asks a noble for his newspaper, and stays on the first cart to search for Fin. The duo comb through the train until they reach the last cart. Cleck discovers Fin is inside the bathroom when he opens the door and pulls Cleck inside. Sneeble is immediately alerted to this and repeatedly bangs on the door to try and get inside. Fin attempts to pull Sneeble in as well, but when Sneeble proves to be too strong, Fin lets go, sending Sneeble into a coat closet. After Fin calls Cleck and Sneeble dicks, they begin to argue. Sneeble breaks up the argument from outside the bathroom and convinces Fin to let him in. Sneeble and Cleck attempt to do "Cleck Is A Table," but Sneeble isn't strong enough to push Fin over Cleck, resulting in Cleck bending over in front of Fin for no reason.

The three of them begin to argue for thirty minutes straight. Fin insults Sneeble and Cleck as detectives and convinces them to come with him back to the Anti-Mek's base through hot-cocoa. However, they get stuck in an argument about what Sneeble and Cleck's real names are. While this is happening, a person tries to use the bathroom, but Cleck informs them they're trying to use the bathroom themselves. When the lady doesn't believe this, Fin says that a butt-plug is stuck in Cleck. A few minutes later another woman knocks on the door, but this time Fin recognizes the voice as being the same woman who was he chased away from the rally.

The woman insists for them to let her in and even offers to help remove the butt-plug. She seems panicked and reveals that she wants to speak to the detectives, not Fin. As she asks this, a large commotion occurs on the train. This makes Sneeble leave the bathroom, who asks the woman what she wants. She says that she wants "extra protection" from what's about to happen. Sneeble refuses this offer, and the woman begins to argue with Sneeble until the train becomes engulfed in darkness as people scream. Fin and Cleck finally leave the bathroom, and the group sees that the train is being surrounded by dark smoke. The train missed its original stop at the Coal District and is instead heading to Melview after the train has seemingly malfunctioned.

Sneeble, Cleck, and Fin head to the front of the train (Sneeble and Cleck insisting on holding hands the entire way, which Fin refuses to do) to speak to the conducter. The woman follows them to the front of the train, watching them as they find out the conducter is a machine that refuses to let them enter. Fin uses this as an example for why they hate machinery as the woman continues to try and convince the detectives and Fin to protect her. When they continue to refuse, she asks if they'd be willing to do so for something in exchange. While Sneeble and Cleck still refuse, Fin forces them to hear her out. She gives them three, blue, glowing vials and insists that they can heal most serious wounds. While Sneeble is largely cautious, Cleck uses it due to being poisoned still from Fin. The serum does, in fact, work, making the trio trust the woman and ask for her name. She reveals her name to be Claire Settleston, though she prefers to be called Clockwork, and that she's an inventor. Fin asks her why she was at the Anti-Mek rally, to which she replies she was sent out to scout them out for nepharious reasons. She states that she thought it was immoral, and as a result never actually carried out the task and never gave the information back to who sent her out. As a result, Fin seems more trusting of her.

The train skids to a stop in the middle of the track while still over The Bid, sending everyone flying as luggage falls. Fin helps Clockwork back to her feet. At this point, Clockwork panickedly states that she knows what the threat is as it's a half-man, half-machine, that's hunting her down. When Fin asks her what his name is, she states that she doesn't know and has instead began to refer to him simply as "Birdman." Clockwork reveals that Birdman shouldn't harm anyone and that he only wants her, but she doesn't want to return to him for unknown reasons.

The train becomes swarmed in mechanical birds and the group hears Birdman land on the train track. Sneeble and Cleck decide that Clockwork should hide, and thanks to Sneeble's suggestion, Clockwork decides to hide in a coat closet in the caboose of the train. As Clockwork hides, Sneeble, Cleck, and Fin argue about whether they should all just run away or try to fight Birdman as he makes his way through the train towards them. At the very last second, Fin convinces them all to stay and fight.

Birdman reveals himself to be a giant freak of nature who's largely unresponsive to any attempts at jokes or smalltalk. On his back are two large vats of the same blue serum that Clockwork gave to the group. He approaches the group slowly, one large step at a time, and after reassuring Fin that he killed no one, asks "where is she?" The group denies seeing any woman of interest. In confusion and horror, Sneeble asks Birdman if he's a human or a bird, he replies, "something greater." Cleck asks what this means, to which Birdman says, "The Mechanical Revolution is beginning."

Birdman seems greatly intrigued by Cleck and repeatedly says he can "smell it" on him. Birdman sniffs Cleck repeatedly and becomes agitated and angry as the group continues to deny having seen Clockwork. He angrily states that he'll find her or get what he needs by cracking Cleck in half and drinking it from his bone marrow. He attempts to grab Cleck but is too slow, and Fin last-minute makes an illusion of Clockwork behind them leaving the train. Birdman falls for the illusion and, in a horrifying, shocking display of mechanical speed, chases after the illusion and disappears off the train. This horries the group and Fin as he realizes his illusion won't last long at all once Birdman reaches it.

The real Clockwork leaves the coat closet to speak to the group. She seems oddly relaxed compared to them. Fin desperately tries to usher the group off the train, but they all realize in horror that they're too far from anywhere safe to get away from Birdman and are stuck in a precarious situation being stuck on the train tracks. Clockwork reveals that the thing Birdman is after is the serum. She says that Birdman can't smell the serum when it's in a glass bottle, but when it's in something organic, he can. She also states that the serum is mostly what's keeping him alive at this point, and that if they manage to destroy the glass serum vats, they might be able to weaken him long enough to get away.

With no other option, the group decides to face Birdman on the train tracks, Clockwork telling them that should any of their lives be in serious danger, she'll willingly go back with him.

## Trivia

* Sneeble thinks that Fin looks like a Christmas Elf
* When Sneeble and Cleck ask Fin about his best friend, he states that Ruth is one of the closest he has other than Bo
* A Golden Ticketeer is in Gus's bar, which is odd considering that the Golden Ticketeers are the rival gang of the Shrapnel Shooters
* The failed "Cleck Is A Table" has resulted in a running joke that Cleck likes to lick the floor
* Sneeble and Cleck lied about being named Sally. However, Sneeble stated he was named Sally with three 'E's and refuses to explain how while Cleck insists there's a B in his version of Sally. Sneeble becomes incredbly offended if anyone attempts to guess how the same is spelt.
* As far as Fin and Clockwork know, Cleck is named Bally.
* When talking about facing Birdman, Clockwork says it sounds "like fun." Fin says she has a weird sense of fun, which she replies by saying, "I get told that a lot."
* Clockwork was carrying an activated grenade on her the entire time, keeping it from going off with nothing but a needle. It's implied she regularly does dangerous things like this.