It was about half past midnight back in Aurich now and Luke, Flora, and Brenda were all fast asleep. The professor had been quietly waiting for a several hours now and kept himself busy by coming up with theories of how the malicious spirit, the burnt building, and the Auric family are tied together. Of course, that still goes under the assumption that they're tied together at all.

The professor quietly walked out of the entrance of the hotel and towards the site of the burnt building.

"It's so much quieter outside right now than it was earlier. I wonder if the chaos in this town had calmed down..."

"It is possible. Did you pick up anything peculiar with your Truesight during the investigation?"

"No. I haven't sensed any abnormalities nearby since that time we saw that soul murder someone right in front of us. That bear was chasing after it shortly afterwards, if I recall correctly. Hmm... I wonder..."

"If Travis had indeed slain that soul, then the town should at least be safe from its threat."

"..."

"Is... something the matter?"

"It just... the way that bear slays souls like that. It's completely unethical!"

"I wish that there was a way to settle encounters with lingering souls peacefully, but as cruel as it may seem, I also admit that Travis's methods truly do keep them from harming the living."

"That may be true. But, he nearly slain me as well, and I didn't attempt to threaten him or anyone else at all. Do you remember how we ended up like this, Hershel?"

"Yes... I did not realize it at the time, though."

"I know you're simply trying to show the benefit of the doubt and that's a wonderful quality to have, but that doesn't change the way that bear has absolutely no regard to anything, or anyone around it!"

"I... I'm sorry. I never intended to reopen any old emotional wounds."

"There's no need to apologize. I didn't mean to get so emotional over it."

The professor was now nearby the burnt building, "Ah... Here once again. This place looks nearly deserted."

"Out of curiosity, what exactly are you looking for here?"

The professor crawled slowly along the ground, so as to not be seen, "I am not entirely certain myself, but anything that would suggest the possibility of a link between this building and that spirit we've brought up in conversation earlier."

After opening Investigation Mode, the professor tapped the blue and white eyeball icon and turned on Truesight, which made it much easier to see in the dark. Then, he started crawling along the ground on his stomach to stay out of sight and began around the house looking for any sign of a person or soul around the building.

"You know, this 'crawling to stay out of sight' thing that you're doing is like something out of Metal Gear. You're going to get your coat all dirty."

"Then, it is fortunate that I no longer have a sense of smell... Don't you agree?"

"Yes, but the people around you do. You may be attempting to solve a mystery involving a rampant soul that has already caused the deaths of several people, but that's no excuse for you not to look like a respectable gentleman in front of a foreign society."

"Duly noted."

"Haha... I'm just looking out for you, Hershel. That's all."

"Yes... Your persistent commentary within the recesses of my mind is highly esteemed. Thank you."

"Anytime..."

"At last... I can understand how Pa felt."

"Pa?"

"Back in Stansbury, Pa mentioned the idea of marriage being synonymous with having someone having a restraining effect on a person's lifestyle for every waking moment of their life. At the time, I was only an adolescent and could not empathize with him, but it is now that I understand that his words of wisdom may yet earn him a Nobel Prize..."

"(laughing) Oh... Speaking of which, your parents never saw you like... this."

"I know. My loved ones may have learned of my premature aging in the local newspaper, but I do not know how they will react to seeing..."

During that humorous banter, the professor could perceive several heat signatures next to the basement window of the burnt building, "What on earth?"

"Are those... people?"

The professor couldn't tell entirely who it was from the large distance in between him and what he was looking at, but they looked like two people dragging a third person out of that basement window.

The professor continued to silently crawl toward these two figures to get a better look and possibly hear their voices. It was hard to tell what the two looked like, but based on their uncomfortable groans that are likely being caused by dragging a third person, they were both likely young men in their late twenties or early thirties.

The professor could make a safe assumption for what was happening, "I can only assume that those gentlemen, and I use the term very loosely, are dragging the bodies I've discovered earlier out of the building."

"Their auras don't match anyone we've met so far."

The professor crawled even closer, but stopped when he noticed a holstered gun hung on the waist of one of the men, "My word..."

"By the looks of it, an Uzi. I'd say it looks just like one that members of The Family used to wield during the final hours of my life."

"How curious... How could a German man acquire a rifle primarily used by an English mafia..?"

"Perhaps those men aren't native here?"

"That is one possibility. They may be related to The Family in some way."

The professor watched the two men drag another body into a nearby car with an enlarged trunk that contained several more bodies, "If only I had a camera..."

"A mobster automobile with an oversized trunk and no license plate. Original..."

The professor was considering his options while the two men were getting in their car, "There are no policemen in sight. If they're truly related to The Family, then they may have the local authorities here under their thumb. A direct confrontation is out of the question..."

The two started to drive away from the building, still oblivious to the professor's presence. As they left, the professor took one last look inside the basement through the window, "Gone... Those men took the bodies."

The professor took a moment to consider his options (again) when he noticed what looked like a faint mist coming from where the car drove off. The professor tapped the Truesight icon on the screen again which turned it off. With normal vision, this mist could not be seen at all, "If this mist cannot be seen normally, then..."

"A large heat signature. That automobile is leaving a trail of heat from its exhaust fumes as it's being driven."

The professor was grinning, "All that is necessary for me to do now is follow this 'trail'... This may finally yield some answers."

"You seem oddly pleased at the idea of following what may possibly be members of The Family. Why is that?"

The professor looked at his hand, "That is not it. Were I still in my youthful and healthy self from six months ago, I would not be able to see the heat signature and follow it. As much as I have missed feeling alive, I must admit that I am enjoying the irony of this situation."

()

During around the same time frame back in London, Inspector Grosky was very eager to get the full story from Emmy on how the paranormal threat over London had come to its end, "Another win for the Yard. Eh, Emmy?"

Emmy, on the other hand, was still a bit emotionally shaken after witnessing the fight between Travis and the prime minister, "That's right... That's, uh... what happened."

The inspector noticed this immediately, "Emmy, what's the matter? You're usually peppier than I am after a job well done."

Emmy pulled out several of the pictures that she had taken earlier, "It's just... these."

The inspector wasn't quite sure what to make of this, "Eh? What are these?"

Emmy kept pulling out more pictures, "Those were taken in the prime minister's office..."

The inspector was startled when he saw one of them, "What in blazes? It looks like those ruffians got the prime minister!"

Emmy knew it was much worse than that, "Actually, inspector... The 'ruffian' is the prime minister, or should I say, was."

The inspector didn't know about Bill's role in all of this, "Hm? Wait, Prime Minister Hawks was the perpetrator in all of this?"

Emmy pulled out pictures of Bill with lightning being conducted around him, "Well, I haven't figured out all of the details, but it looks like whatever gave him those... 'powers' also made him go completely insane!"

The inspector thought about what 'was' meant, "And when you say he 'was' the one responsible instead of 'is'... Does that mean you've already got him?"

Emmy pulled out pictures of Travis, "No, we have 'Mr. Jedi Bear' to thank for that."

The inspector seemed impressed at first, "Aye! Is that so? That animal was a lot more frightening than most of the blokes that I deal with, especially after the way it ripped those... things apart earlier, but if that bear put a stop to that paranormal nonsense, then I guess he's all right.", and then pointed his arm upward, "Now, I've got a lot of questions for that Hawks and not just about what happened today. I know Chelmey had his own fair share of questions for the man about a year ago, and now we're finally going to get some answers!"

Emmy pulled out one final picture, "Yea... About that? You won't be interrogating the prime minister about anything. He's dead."

The inspector saw this final picture, which shows Travis breaking the prime minister's neck with his paw, "Oh..! I..! What in blazes?!"

Emmy recounted what she saw during that moment, "After the prime minister started going crazy with that electricity, that bear killed him! I caught the entire fight on my camera."

The inspector recalled that Emmy was the one who brought Travis to begin with, "Why did you bring that animal with us then?"

Emmy recalled the weapons that Travis wielded, "You see those weapons that it's holding?"

The inspector nodded, "Aye! I remembered seeing that animal tear through those things that attacked us earlier faster than a knife through butter. What about it?"

Emmy actually had her own objective involving those weapons, "Where do you think that bear got them from anyway? I've never seen any government or military use anything like them!"

The inspector already knew what this objective was, "You're still trying to track the Illuminati down, aren't you..?"

Emmy nodded, "Yes."

The inspector showed some concern for Emmy, "I know what happened back then was hard, but that was over three years ago. I really think you should just let it go."

Emmy shook her head in denial, "You know I can't do that. I owe him this much."

The inspector didn't seem surprised, "Just as determined as ever... eh, Emmy?"

I don't have much to add right here except that the two separate plots will eventually join together in one plot. As always, feel free to review!