Night 60: Chapel

[corvus_veritas]

[Bursting in from here; m-u effects have now worn off.]

Good thing the chapel doors were already wide open, otherwise the panicking prosecutor might have collided with them on his desperate sprinting spree. As it was, he nearly fell over trying to stop himself once he actually got into the chapel.

"Kay!?"

... Where...what?

Byrne stood there at the

Comments

[melodists]

Mikado consented to the investigation easily, and Tear navigated them to the double doors of the chapel. They wasted no time passing through the entrance, but the instant she caught the stark contrast in the center, the Melodist halted in her steps to observe. In the daylight, the statue had taken the form of a benign being. At night, it had shifted to something more monstrous. Furthermore, as told, the fountain held blood as the statue spewed it, and the chapel's interior smelled of rot and iron.

She guided the flashlight's beam over the base of the statue, revealing words. Instructions for use. "Any sinner who is injured, step forward and be healed for a price," she read, before reconsidering the entirety of the structure. "It's almost surreal to think they created something like this here."

When Mikado brought up the paramedic group, Tear took to explaining, although the subject matter caused her to frown deeply. "We ran into setbacks last night. One of our potential collaborators was killed in the chaos while this morning, we found out that our organizer had been released," the girl explained in a quiet voice. "He managed to pass the medical supplies over to me, but all of it needed to go to tomorrow's M-U sessions. I figured it was best to leave them alone tonight to conduct my investigation."

There was a pained sigh. "It was my lack of foresight and planning. I apologize I couldn't treat you immediately."

[ofthemotions]

The line wasn't one that he knew but as she explored, he wandered closer to the statue, eyeing it carefully. Ah, yes... What it had seemed to be that night was... Still what it looked like closer up. His flashlight flicked on to drag the beam over it carefully. How scary. Like a funhouse's monsters. He smiled at it once, then dropped the light lower, onto the plaque Tear had read. He wondered idly what defined sinner, and what the correlation was between--

His hand tingled suddenly, pins and needles like it had fallen completely asleep. He winced and grabbed at it, surprised to feel none of the soreness that had been present there a moment ago. That was... pretty strange. He wandered back towards her. "It almost looks like real blood, too."

To the rest, he began to nod and then stopped, starting to stare again. "...Killed?" His face held nothing but disbelief and horror. "How did... Are you joking? You're joking, right? How would they have gotten--" Killed. How could-- He couldn't even start to think. He had thought he had understand the gravity of this situation. Perhaps he was entirely mistaken.

[melodists]

If Tear hadn't thrown her attentions elsewhere, she might have caught sight of the misstep. The fountain came attached with a stern warning, and the Melodist was not so willing to test caution to its limits, especially with a civilian under her protection. Instead, her eyes were on the front pews, analyzing their condition. They should be large enough to hold several people, she thought. If we go toward the back rows, the smell--

Disbelief yanked attentions away, and Tear felt a tinge of guilt. She probably should have withheld the information, but a part of her understood the futility in doing so. She would just have to elaborate. "I'm not joking, unfortunately," she said, turning back to Mikado. "I don't know the exact details, but one of the creatures in the institute attacked his group. And--"

She stopped, suddenly, eyes widening at a searing sensation in one of her hands. Pain? A prickling burn against soft flesh. She looked down in alarm at the source and without continuing her account to Mikado, began to pull off her glove.

[ofthemotions]

She was too calm to be talking about someone's death. If he was a friend of hers, shouldn't she be upset?! But if she was telling the truth, then the creatures.... The 'monsters' that people talked about.... They really were dangerous, weren't they? Mikado had thought people had meant injuries, bites, infections, not... Not loss of life! Was this... Was this something common? How could it be, wouldn't the amount of people be noticeable?

His head spun, barely noticing when she cut off and began to check something. The boy groaned, placing a hand to his head and the other on a nearby pew for support. What had he gotten into? If it was a rare thing, it might be okay, but she was speaking like she was used to it, like it was something she had seen enough to desensitize to. She had evolved to accept people's death by means out of her control.

He was horrified suddenly. Not from that person's death, but by her casual acceptance of it. And she was probably not the only one, not the only 'patient' who had become used to loss of life. His body stilled, emotions draining from him. Fine. Then he would just work opposite. He would work to gain power to defend against this. He would not evolve in this way. "Are the creatures really that dangerous?" he asked, voice opposite of how it was only moments before, level and clear. "Do people die frequen-- Grants-san?" The boy frowned, finally noticing her movements. "Is everything okay?"

[melodists]

The glove slid off with difficulty, introducing pain for every effort placed into its removal. Beneath the layer of fabric lay the scent of blood and shredded skin, a sight so familiar to be foreign to Tear's senses. She knew this injury for she had taken the time to treat it. Her line of sight instantly went to the fountain of blood as her memory recalled the warnings, before it finally settled on her companion.

It can't be...

His concerns for Javert's death would have to wait. First, they would have to check this phenomenon. "Mikado," she called out, voice deceptively quiet. "Did you touch the fountain?" If so, then she would wager a noticeable absence lay beneath the bandage.

[ofthemotions]

To his question, she asked her own. His mind slid to keep up with the subject change, curious over what had apparently happened to her hand. Had he touched the fountain? What did that have to do with anything? The boy frowned slightly. "I didn't touch it..." he started. "I was just looking at it."

His brows furrowed in a kind of concern. "Are you all right?"

[melodists]

"Just looking" could mean any number of actions, but Tear supposed it ultimately mattered little. What had been done was done, and she might as well attempt to clarify this confusion. She indicated to her hand, obviously insinuating Mikado's own. "Check your injury," she ordered. "I know it's an odd request, but I need to know why my hand is suddenly scraped like I had a bad fall."

As if to demonstrate that fact, she held out the aforementioned hand for him to see.

[ofthemotions]

It was an odd request and he almost thought to deny it. She had done a good job of wrapping it carefully, and he didn't want to ruin it. Still, because it was Tear who had requested, he only frowned once before starting to comply. "It actually felt weird a minute ago, a tingly sort of thing. I don't know what it mean--"

Mikado fell silent abruptly at the first trace of unblemished skin, and quickly moved to take the rest off. His first thought was that, somehow, they had bandaged the wrong hand. Because this one, obviously, was perfectly fine. He stared at both of his palms for a moment, before staring up at her and the hand that she held out. His scrape... was on her? Mikado blinked rapidly. "...How?"

[melodists]

A strange sensation coupled with whole flesh cemented her theory, and the young woman gave a knowing sigh. "As I suspected." The statement trailed as Tear regathered her thoughts. She only continued when she found the correct words to say. "The fountain transfers the injuries of one person to another. The power probably activated when one of us came within proximity." This meant she would have to seal off the area if the group were to utilize the chapel. "A couple of people warned me about it before I started my investigations. That's why I thought this might have occurred."

At least there was confirmation, despite the surreal nature. "It's so strange," she murmured. "I don't know how they could have created this sort of fontech. If it is fontech..." Her brows furrowed, as if Tear found the possibility worrisome.

[ofthemotions]

"The fountain--" was repeated in confused before he thought enough to stop speaking. Mikado pressed at his palm worriedly, staring at her. For a moment, he lost the function to rationalize completely. Be healed for a price, was it.... And the price was the other person....

She kept talking and a part of his brain was grateful for the easy out. "...Fontech... Technology? You think there's an accelerated technology that does this?" The boy glanced back at the fountain, staring at it in curiosity more than any fear. "It seems really useful if you know how to use it. I wonder how...." He stared as he murmured. "I wonder how they designed it to do that."

[melodists]

"Ah." It had yet to occur to Tear that the term may be unfamiliar to Earthlings. She would amend this for the future. "Yes, that is my current hypothesis. I know someone who might be able to come up with something more concrete, but unfortunately--" The Colonel would probably prefer to have his identity intact than safely stowed away in a false life. It didn't change the fact that descriptor sounded odd in her ears. "--he was released some time ago."

Although, it might be worth asking Guy. Perhaps when they're less preoccupied with other matters...

She looked at her newly damaged hand for a moment. Despite the risk of another transference, Tear was not willing to sing. It would be a waste of their earlier efforts, for one. For another, she needed her strength in the event they were overrun. Which actually reminded her in turn. "That's right. You asked about the creatures," she stated, glancing over to Mikado once more. "I'm not entirely certain if death is common here, but the monsters they release at night are dangerous enough to pose a threat. If you're not careful, you can be..." Nothing in her wanted to finish the thought.

[ofthemotions]

...Released. Something that should seem fortuitous was said by her as if it were a death sentence. 'Unfortunately,' was it?... For that man or for them? Mikado looked at her in something close to concern, but made no movements to breach that subject. It was too disturbing to consider, and anyway, she had already moved on.

To something that was just as horrifying to think of. He swallowed harshly, then nodded once. He understood. It might be hard to believe but he could understand. "I don't even... I wouldn't even know how to defend myself..." he mumbled. Should he really stay in his room at night? No, he had just decided, hadn't he--

Mikado looked up suddenly, then bowed. "I'm sorry that I gave you that wound, Grants-san. I've been pretty useless to you, it seems."