FATE/PARALLEL COLORS

Chapter 5: Tying Loose Connections

"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning!"

A small red-robed figure raised a lantern affixed to a wooden staff and waved it around, illuminating the magic circle etched upon the black grass. The blood-red sky provided an eerie contrast to the pitch-black surface, turning this world into a physical representation of pure hopelessness. This was a Reality Marble, the manifestation of the summoner's inner world, and there was barely anything to see within it other than some dead trees and a lone hut in the outskirts.

"I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world."

The strange druid-like person's mouth never moved beneath their hood. They weren't the ones speaking the enchantment. The voice actually belonged to the sentient lantern, who did all of the conversing on their owner's behalf.

"You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding. Guardian of the Scales!"

The magic circle shone bright blue, then burst with a rush of raw magical energy that clouded the immediate area with an azure haze. It took about a minute for it to settle, but once it did, both druid and lantern were finally able to see the Servant they summoned. It was a woman who looked to be somewhere in her late teens to mid-twenties, yet her languid countenance and gait clearly suggested she was much older than that. She donned a small straw hat with a star-shaped hem, had long brown hair tied into a braid at the side, and wore blue artisan clothes with striped red boots beneath. She always carried a massive sunflower in her hands. The blatant mismatch with her outfit suggested that she wasn't interested in her appearance, behaving as though she had way more on her mind than how she looked to others.

"Let's repaint the world together…" the woman moaned, then glanced away uneasily and mumbled, "Just kidding… Ufufufu… Eh he he he…"

"So you're the next Servant, huh? Not exactly what I'd call reliable on first glance, but beggars and choosers and all that," the lantern grumbled. "Well, what can you do? Anyway, Aisling and I have called you here for a very special reason."

"Eh he he… A special reason, huh? Whenever people use that word, it means that it's not as important as they like to think it is…"

"Well not this time. Aisling and I want to present you with an opportunity."

"An… opportunity?"

"To rewrite your history as you see fit."

The woman's eyes eerily shimmered bright blue. "My history…"

"That's right. I've already analyzed your Spirit Origin, and I must say, you are quite the mess. Aren't you unhappy with such a screwed-up existence? Don't you hate how your original life played out? Don't you live in anguish being part of such a patchwork Servant, all at the whim of an Outer God?"

She became silent. The lantern believed she was contemplating an answer to those questions. However, what came out of her mouth was an unsettling, "… Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"Your name. What is it?"

The lantern shifted between random colors, appearing to be baffled by her inquiry. "Well, I already told you Aisling's name. I'm Lochrann, her familiar and only friend in this entire universe."

"Lochrann, huh? How nice… You're so bright and colorful. If you were a paintbrush, I'd wear you down until I had to throw you away."

"Uhh… Thanks, I guess?"

"Eh he he he he."

"Look, can we get back to the subject? I'm trying to make an offer, and you're totally ignoring it."

"An offer?" the woman murmured, and her countenance immediately shifted from an unsettling calm to outright mania. "Shut up!"

"W-Wha-?"

"Ah… That was Vincent's latent personality. He likes to pop out and say hi once in a while. Pay him no mind."

Lochrann became quiet for a moment. It then asked Aisling, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I think this Servant's a total bust."

"…"

"Yeah, I'm trying to get through to her, but she's not giving me a chance. I get the distinct impression that we're wasting our time here."

"…"

"If you say so… I'll keep trying, but don't expect too much."

"Hmm?" the mentally disturbed woman murmured. "What is she saying?"

"She wants me to tell you that she's worried about you. Aisling understands what it's like to be so broken that she can't think or talk straight. That's why she wants to help you escape from the Outer God that forced you and the artist to exist as one Servant."

"You don't say. Aisling sounds like such a nice girl, worrying about a hastily put-together freak like me."

"Definitely!" Lochrann remarked exuberantly. "She's the one who gave me the name Lochrann. It means 'lantern' in Gaelic. Cool, isn't it? Up until she and I met, I was just a mindless Mi-go who suddenly awakened to the concept of humanity, and found myself unable to coexist with my fellow brethren. It's the total opposite with Aisling – she was so ostracized by everyone around her that she lost her humanity and became an 'alien' in human skin. Our Outer God deigned it worthy for us to be its followers, and paired us together. We're in the middle of our training to become full-fledged priests for our god."

"You like Aisling a lot, don't you?"

"Sure do! She doesn't mind that I'm a non-human who acts human, and I don't mind that she's a human who acts non-human. What more could you ask for?"

"Then it means… Aisling's heart is so sweet and innocent… Yes, so very innocent, like a smiling newborn baby… And that's why… everyone uses it."

Lochrann's light turned azure. "Aisling and I see it over and over again in her Imbas Forosnai dreams. It's always the naïve, broken, and innocent ones who always get used and discarded like tools. You could say that this is Aisling's rebellion against her own cruel fate."

"Her cruel fate, hm? So she wants to redo her history…"

"That goes without saying. Together, we're the First Denialist, and we provide guidance to other Servants who want to fix their tragic stories. How they want to change it is up to them though. Some want to make it better, others want to make it worse, and some even want to erase their own existences. No matter what, our god will accept any and all outcomes as equal."

"A better life… Sounds so pleasant… Apollo would finally notice me… Vincent and Theo would be together… Our sunflowers will not wilt and die so pathetically… But… But… But… But…"

"… But?"

"That's just the thing… A flower is beautiful because its life is so short. No matter what you do… flowers will always shrivel up. A flower's death is ugly, yet inevitable…"

"Well, I guess so."

From beneath her thick red hood, Aisling turned her eyes toward the woman. Lochrann noticed this and blurted, "Don't pay attention to her. She's just rambling nonsense."

"…"

"It's okay. You're doing what you think is right. Don't let anyone manipulate you anymore."

"…"

The woman kneeled in front of the short robed girl and asked, "What are you trying to tell me?"

Lochrann yelped, "She says she understands your logic, but-"

"I want to hear it from her! Not from her obnoxious mouthpiece!"

"Gh… Even if you wanted to, she won't say anything."

"Why not? Is she scared of me? Don't worry, I don't bite… much. Eh he he, I'm just kidding! You might not believe it, but I love telling jokes!"

"Well she's not laughing!" the lantern barked, then unleashed a small wave of prismatic energy while screaming, "Get the hell away from her!"

The strange Servant's manner suddenly turned to pure mania. "Ahh, so rough! What a terrifying presence! I'm fascinated! So this is the Outer God who has turned you into its tool! I want to find a canvas and paint it right away!"

"Be quiet! Our god doesn't use its followers the way you humans do!"

"Tell me, little one! Tell me with your own words how much you've suffered! I know! Let's commiserate together! We can compare our sad stories and see which one of our lives is the shittiest of them all!"

"You're nuts, you know that?" Lochrann snapped. "Besides, Aisling can't talk."

The woman ceased her ranting when she heard that. "… She can't?"

"That's because-"

Aisling's eyes suddenly glowed pink beneath the hood, allowing the woman a momentary glimpse of her vapid expression within the darkness. Lochrann's glass casing seemed to shudder on its own in response, and his light orb shrunk into a tiny dot as he squealed, "I-I'm sorry! I'm talking too much again, aren't I!?"

"…"

"Right, I'll tell her… Okay, woman. It's now or never. Either accept our offer, or get lost."

The strange brown-haired lady smiled softly.

"… Eh he he he he he… Ihihihihihi… I like you. You're in pain just as much as I am, aren't you? But, there's a fundamental difference between us."

"…"

"I love pain. It serves to help me question my existence. It makes me feel alive. But you… you want to run away from it, don't you?"

"…"

"I understand. Even without you saying anything, I understand. It's because I understand that I cannot comprehend you… Or rather… well… No, scratch that. I may be an artist, but I have trouble painting with my words."

"…"

"You're a good girl. You're trying to glue your broken pieces back together, aren't you? It's just that… you think the glue you're looking for can't be found on Earth. Am I right? Well, am I?"

"…"

"I know. I think I know what your goal is as this so-called 'First Denialist'. And for that reason… I just have one thing to say… to that chatty lightbulb and your god…"

"…?"

The woman's blue eyes dilated into period-sized dots as she bellowed her most deafening cry yet:

"GO EAT A POTATOOO~OOO!"

Suddenly, a hazy rift opened beneath her feet, and she slipped in it like she had broken through a thin sheet of ice and plunged into a freezing pond. The cold shocked her very core, leaving her unable to react as she fell further and further into an indescribable abyss. She passed out for what felt like a brief moment. When she came to, she was lying face-up within a desolate snowfield surrounded by white-capped mountains that had never been explored by humans, while a bitter wind howled around her. The temperature easily reached below 50 degrees Celsius, threatening to freeze her alive any second now.

So cold… I can barely move… Little snow crystals, biting my flesh like itty bitty termites… Ahh, it feels so nice to be alive.

She then shifted her eyes around.

But seriously. I'm in quite the pickle, aren't I? Or should it be… I'm in quite the popsicle?

A small giggle managed to escape her throat.

"Eh he he he… Just… kidding…"

Connla's head felt overwhelmingly heavy as she came to. She realized that her cranium was tucked deep within a pillow, and that a nice thick blanket was draped over her entire body. The familiar white ceiling of the infirmary greeted her vision, which caused a twinge of dismay for her. To her, it meant that she troubled the medical staff with some new injury that she sustained.

"Hey there. You awake?" she heard Cuchulainn Lancer's voice from her right side.

She listlessly looked over and found the blue-garbed spearman sitting backwards on a chair next to her bed. Behind him were Hessian and Lobo, staring at her in total silence. She didn't have the energy to answer him straight away, but his calm expression suggested that he understood how fatigued she was. He placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, and that was when she moaned, "What am I… doing here?"

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember… what?"

"You were training in the simulator with Lucius Tiberius."

She became silent as she struggled to recall what she had been doing before now. The last thing she could clearly remember was taking a nasty punch to her stomach. Even now, her abdomen felt incredibly painful, making it a real challenge for her to sit up. It was then that she also noticed the Runes he was using to restrain her wrists and ankles. She could move freely for now, but if she behaved in any way that would cause harm to herself or others, he would activate them immediately to immobilize her.

"Don't move," Cuchulainn tersely commanded, pushing her back down on the bed. "Between me and Lucius, you took some real damage back there."

Connla obliged and relaxed. She then asked, "What were you doing there? Why were you fighting me?"

"Da Vinci made an emergency announcement, and I came running when I remembered you were in the simulator."

"Oh…"

"I thought for sure you were fighting some opponent who was giving you trouble. I never would've imagined you were the one I needed to calm down."

"You mean I was acting odd?"

"'Odd' is the understatement of the year. You were totally not yourself. It was like you were conked out, and something else took possession of you."

Her dismay escalated into fear as she bit her lower lip and trembled. She felt so terrible that she couldn't look him in the eye, and she started to cry. He rubbed her head and leaned in while whispering, "Hey, don't let it get to you, okay? We all know it wasn't your fault. The important thing is that no one got killed, and you're back to normal."

"You mean Lord Lucius managed to survive?"

"'Course he did. He's resting over there," Cuchulainn said as he pointed over to another occupied bed. "Give it a day or two, and he'll be all better. He's made of way sturdier stuff than you are, that's for sure."

"I see… What about you? Did I hurt you too much?"

"Oh, come on. You know me better than that. Even if you blew me into pieces, I'd still find a way to keep fighting."

"I guess so."

"If anyone got the short stick out of this, it's you. You're gonna be stuck here for the foreseeable future," Cuchulainn said, then became serious as he explained, "I heard everything from Medb. You've been wandering around and getting into trouble while fast asleep, haven't you?"

She nodded weakly and mumbled, "Mm."

"Once Master gets back from her latest excursion, we're gonna have a meeting regarding that. She brought a lot of Servants with her since it looks to be a very difficult mission, but once they're back, all hands will be on deck to help figure out what's wrong with you."

"I… really don't want to trouble everyone…"

He quickly became angry. "I'm not going to have any of that, missy. Chaldea looks after every single one of its members, no matter what, especially since we're literally humanity's last hope for survival against the King of Mages. I want to see you hold your chin up and accept everyone's help with confidence, got it?"

"… Okay."

A couple of hours later, Ritsuka and Mash returned from their latest excursion with their group of Servants in tow. One of them was Cuchulainn Alter, the Berserker-class version of Cuchulainn who had been busy assisting his Master in this recent venture. After the Akakor incident concluded and Connla was verified to have returned safely, he was able to readjust with life in Chaldea, although the events that unfolded in the parallel world would have a permanent effect on his behavior. He seemed much quieter than usual, refusing to give his opinion on irrelevant matters, or go on like he typically did about how he was merely a war machine who existed to kill. Once in a while, he would complain about how grotesque of a Servant he was, sometimes wondering if he deserved to exist or not. Now, he didn't even make a peep about that.

Ritsuka and Mash fully understood why he was not as talkative as before. Compared to what Akakor Connla and Chaldea Connla went through, bitching about the corruption of his Spirit Origin was a total joke. Worse yet, neither Connla actually complained about how poor their life situations were, unlike him who constantly grumbled about it. It was only when he fought Nagual did he fully realize how dark the emotions Connla hid from him actually were, and they were much, much worse than his own. The whole experience must have humbled him so deeply that he couldn't bring himself to annoy others with his pointless complaining anymore.

That was why when they heard the news from Da Vinci and Medb, this was the first time that the young Mage and the Demi-Servant actually saw Cuchulainn Alter become animated. Without a word, he instantly ran for the infirmary and rushed into the ward.

"Connla!" he yelped.

"Shh!" Cuchulainn Lancer sharply shushed his counterpart. "Roman sedated the kid just now."

Alter approached the bed that Connla slept in, observing her to make sure she was okay. He was rather surprised to see Hessian and Lobo here, but paid little mind to them as he asked, "Are her injuries serious?"

"I tried to go as easy on her as I could. Her life's not in danger, but her mind's seriously screwed up. Roman and I decided that having her sleep as much as possible would help her recover."

"But she went wild while fast asleep, didn't she? Wouldn't it be better for her to remain awake?"

"We considered it, but we feared she might kill herself out of fear when no one was looking."

"…"

"For now, we've assigned some Servants to be a rotating guard until we figure out what the hell's going on here. Lobo, Hessian and I will make sure nothing happens until the shift change, so why don't you go join the meeting with Master and the others?"

"… Fine. The moment it's over, I'm coming straight back."

"Figured you would."

With that, Alter left Lancer and the others behind to reunite with Ritsuka, who was in the main meeting room with Mash, Da Vinci, Roman, Medb, Sigurd, and a surprising gallery of other Servants who wanted to contribute to the discussion. The most unusual members of the group were Medea, Crom Cruach, and Gilles Caster, along with Martha, Jack, Nursery, Emiya Archer, Boudica and Gilgamesh to add their own testimonies.

"Welcome back," Da Vinci said. "We just finished hearing what happened in the kitchen with Emiya and Boudica."

The Berserker plopped himself onto a chair and grumbled, "So?"

"It looks like the incidents in the kitchen and in Lobo's room are only the second time that Connla was sleepwalking. Gilgamesh revealed to us that she had been doing some reading when he sensed the first time she was being possessed."

"So the simulator was actually the third time."

"That's right," Roman said. "Furthermore, each possession is getting progressively worse. It could be said that our unknown entity was simply testing the waters for the first possession, then was getting acclimated with her body for the second. The third was to see how well they could fight using her Spirit Origin. Considering that they're temporarily infusing her with their own power, allowing her to teleport when that is normally impossible for her, I have a bad feeling that they're conditioning her to launch an unprovoked attack on Chaldea while she is fast asleep."

Those words sent a dreadful shiver through Cuchulainn's skin. His throat went dry, thinking of the possibility that some incomprehensible entity was going after his daughter like this. It was the same terror any parent would experience when they learned their child went missing while playing in the front yard. He visibly shuddered, and struggled to maintain his composure.

After a moment, he finally uttered, "What kind of 'entity' are we talking about here?"

Sigurd responded, "Remember what Brynhildr told us during the Denmark Singularity? You demanded to know who was trying to kill Connla back then."

"Yeah. I was butchering that genocidal wench into meat ribbons."

The Saber winced when he heard that, and instinctively glanced away while murmuring, "Yes, well… She said it was Aisling who sent her and the other Denialists to interfere with history, in exchange for assassinating Connla. It's reasonable to believe that we're dealing with Aisling again, don't you think?"

"… Probably."

"Who is Aisling, anyway?" Medb wondered. "Right after Connie woke up from her Fuyuki dream, you and I tried to ask who Aisling was to her, but she didn't know. We're also certain that it was Aisling who manipulated Aife back in that miniature Scotland Singularity, meaning she was another potential Denialist. How can we be expected to figure out who they are without any solid clues?"

"Well, we do know that Aisling has the ability to mess with the Rayshift technology," Da Vinci reminded them. "That's why Connla and Mordred were stranded in the Denmark Singularity in the first place."

"But that method didn't work," Mash said. "It wasn't long after Connla woke up from the Fuyuki dream that we went on the excursion to Akakor. During our investigation, it was discovered that the Akakor world had to be Pruned from the Greater History of Man due to Marquis de Sade interfering with that world's timeline as another Denialist. Like the Denmark Denialists, he too went after that world's Connla and attempted to kill her. He just made the mistake of actually keeping her alive as the Grail Terminal, which contradicted how Aisling wanted her dead."

Ritsuka stared down at her folded hands resting on the table. A short pause later, she whispered, "I wonder about that…"

"What is it, Senpai?"

"Is our Connla the only one that Aisling is trying to kill off? Is it possible that she and Cliste are just two out of dozens of other Connlas being targeted?"

No one really had an answer for her. Gilgamesh folded his arms and sat back with a muted huff. He was the only one who really knew what was going on, as his mind kept drifting back to the words that the adult Connla he met only the one time told him:

"If you possess a million weapons, then that person has all of the pebbles in the world to counter them. I'm sure even you could respect how many pebbles there are on Earth for them to transform into those weapons. And even if you were able to break through such a barrage, their barrier is practically perfect. Only those bearing the exact same Spirit Origin as me can remove it."

He closed his eyes and pondered on the implications. Now that he gained more knowledge about Aisling, he had a better understanding of what the actual truth was.

In other words, Aisling is afraid of any Servant with the runt's Spirit Origin in order to protect that barrier. If that shield were to be dispelled, everything about Aisling's plot will unravel. After all, who would be more appropriate for her to fear than herself?

But then, it just made things harder for him to understand. If his theory was right about Aisling being another Connla, how did she gain the ability to influence Servants to become Denialists, interfere with the Rayshift technology, possess her sleeping counterpart's body, and make her perform impossible maneuvers with teleportation? There was no conceivable way that Connla's original history could account for any of these mysterious, almost god-like powers. Even if she was the granddaughter of Lugh, the daughter of Cuchulainn, and the niece of Scathach, she simply didn't have the capacity nor a logical reason to function like a god herself. It was for these reasons that Gilgamesh hesitated in saying anything to the others. Although he didn't care if no one else believed him, he most certainly wanted to believe in his own words. He wasn't going to paint himself as a total fool trying to explain these things if he had no grounds to make such an argument. He simply needed more evidence.

"If I may interject," Crom Cruach finally spoke up, "Medea, Gilles and I have something we wish to discuss with everyone here. We believe there is some potential in this being relevant to the current discussion."

"Now that you mention it, why are you three here anyway?" Mash wondered.

"Come now. We may be Anti-Heroic Spirits, but you make it sound like we are unwelcome guests," Gilles flashed his characteristic disturbing smile.

"N-No, of course not. It's just that all of these strange happenings haven't involved any of you."

"Perhaps. It's just that we've had our own encounter with the third kind that I think you may find most enlightening!"

The Demi-Servant's eyes widened. "Encounter… with the third kind?"

Medea frowned, visibly uncomfortable with what she was about to say. Nevertheless, she mustered the courage to report, "I was using the observatory's main telescope recently, and I came across something most unusual."

She, Crom Cruach and Gilles proceeded to explain what happened when they found the alien entity lurking within the Andromeda Galaxy, and how it had affected her just from gazing at it on the monitor. She concluded with, "To be honest with you, I find it hard to believe any of this. Yet, this exhaustion my Spirit Origin feels is all too real."

"Let me see," Roman said as he quickly examined Medea with a device designed for measuring a Servant's vitals. He analyzed the amount of magical energy in her Spirit Origin, then replied with a startled gasp, "You're right… You've been on standby this entire time, yet your mana levels are much lower than they should be. Considering how you're such a renowned Caster, that is rather worrying."

"Are you saying this alien sucked out your mana just from looking at it through the telescope?" Ritsuka wondered, unable to comprehend how that was possible. "We're literally an entire galaxy away from it! How can it possibly make contact with someone from Earth!? Especially when we're the only humans left on the entire planet!"

"Perhaps distance is irrelevant to our so-called 'next-door neighbor'," Gilles murmured, then chuckled as if he just said the funniest thing in the world. "Muh hu hu hu hu hu hu… Isn't that the entire premise of being an 'alien' in the first place? To possess technology and powers that no human has ever seen before?"

"Well…"

Out of boredom, Cuchulainn took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it up, then inhaled and released some smoke as a billowing puff of acrid fumes. He then grumbled darkly, "What does any of this have to do with the kid?"

"We're not really sure at the moment," Crom Cruach admitted. "I just find it hard to believe that there isn't a connection between Lancer and this foreign being, considering all of the odd circumstances surrounding her. Of course, this is just hollow speculation. Maybe the two events are completely independent of each other."

"Then how the hell do we figure out what it is?"

"That easy," Da Vinci said with her usual smile. Clearly, she already had a plan formulated in her head. "Connla's going to be our key in solving this mystery."

Cuchulainn instantly didn't like how she worded that phrase. She spotted his eyes widening with concern, and quickly said, "I don't mean performing terrible experiments on her like what happened with Cliste. I promise you that we won't do anything that you would disapprove of."

"…"

"Even so, we have to perform some medical tests on both her and Medea."

"Me as well?" the sorceress wondered.

"The alien drained your mana, didn't it? That means there must be some sort of lingering residue of that brief connection between you two. It could explain why you're still not feeling well."

Medea scrunched her face in disgust. She didn't want to imagine walking around with any sort of 'alien residue' polluting her Spirit Origin.

Da Vinci continued, "We clean out Medea's Spirit Origin of the alien influence, contain it, and then compare it to the entity messing with Connla's Spirit Origin. If they're a match, then we've nailed our culprit."

"If that's what winds up happening, then it means Aisling is an alien," Mash realized.

"We don't even know if 'Aisling' is their real name, or just an alias they're using to hide their identity," Sigurd reminded her.

"That's true."

"Well, if we do confirm such a connection exists, that's going to raise a whole slew of new questions – likely, many of which will be directed at Connla. Still, better to gather our evidence first before asking."

"Then it's a plan," Roman said and stood up. "Medea, could you come with me to the infirmary? I would like to discuss a method of extracting this foreign essence from you as soon as possible."

"Absolutely," the irritated woman declared. "The sooner I can be rid of this vile presence, the better."

"Allow me to accompany you," Crom Cruach offered. "If there is any sensitive process she feels she cannot trust you with, then I will handle it in your stead."

"Wow," the doctor blinked in surprise. "You two are already that close?"

Medea blurted, "That's none of your business, punk! Just examine me already so I can get this over with!"

"All right, all right, no need to be so defensive…"

As the meeting broke up and everyone went their separate ways, Cuchulainn extinguished his cigar and began to head back to the medical ward. Medb latched onto his arm and exclaimed, "You're going to look after Connie, aren't you? I'll come with you."

"Tch. Do whatever you want."

"Oh my. What's the matter, Cu? Usually you're quick to push me away and tell me to get lost."

"Hmph… Nothing gets past a creeper like you."

"Of course not. You're my soulmate. We're meant to understand each other."

"Right, keep telling yourself that."

"So what's bothering you?"

"Every goddamn thing they said back there!" he suddenly growled in frustration and smacked his fist against the wall, startling the queen. "The kid, being haunted by an alien lurking in a totally different galaxy!? What kind of sick joke is this!? I thought we were supposed to be fighting the King of Mages, not an eldritch Lovecraftian abomination!"

"Well… I'm not really sure what to make of it either. Still, I'm taking what Medea says with a grain of salt. She is the Witch of Betrayal, after all. Who knows if she's just messing with us for some ulterior purpose?"

"Says the wicked Queen of Connacht."

"Hey, takes one to know one."

"Well I'm leaving that shit to the professionals. I'm more worried about what Sigurd said at the end there."

"About how we might have to interrogate Connie?"

Cuchulainn's expression turned severe, mixed with both fury and overwhelming concern as he moaned, "I keep thinking about Cliste, and how she was affected by Aisling. She had to have known everything that was going on. Her dark persona Nagual's entire purpose for creating the Artificial Beast was to jump through numerous parallel worlds in pursuit of Aisling for revenge. Connla was also good friends with Cliste, and made contact with her numerous times. She even fought Nagual in the dream world, and none of us know how they communicated with each other during that battle. I can't possibly imagine that Cliste would not reveal what she knows about Aisling to Connla before her death."

"Something like passing on the torch?"

"Exactly. The kid has to know something! I'm sure of it!"

Medb appeared wistful, uncertain of how to calm him down. All she could say was, "Why don't we wait until Roman's done his tests? The way things are right now, we're just grasping at straws. I don't know about you, but I don't want to scare Connie with so many questions until we have enough proof. The poor thing must be feeling cornered enough as it is."

"Hmph… Well I'll be damned," Cuchulainn said with a slight smirk. "You actually can be reasonable for a change."

"Eh he he he. I'm way more complex than you think, Cu."

As they approached the doors to the infirmary however, they unexpectedly burst open with a loud thud. Lobo practically exploded through the swinging double doors, with Hessian mounted on his back, and the giant wolf barreled through the halls without making eye contact with anyone in his way. Medb widened her eyes and wondered, "What was that about?"

Before Cuchulainn Alter could reply, Cuchulainn Lancer rushed through the doors and spotted the pair nearby. He ran up to them and blurted, "Have you guys seen Connla!?"

"What?" the Berserker yelped, unsure of what he meant.

"She's gone missing!"

Alter could only stand there in dumbfounded silence for a few seconds. Then, he screamed three inevitable words at the top of his lungs:

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

The female surveyor was back to work the following morning. With her equipment all packaged into her traveling bag, she left at around seven so as not to disturb Mr. Edmond during his sleep. It was still relatively dark outside, but she knew it wouldn't last long. She could see enough to trudge along the dusty dirt roads and moss-covered rocks. The air was pretty cool, so she dressed up in her thicker black coat and boots.

For her intent on surveying more of the abandoned farmlands that dotted Arkham, her worries about the 'blasted heath' refused to subside. Now that she knew something was wrong with the old Gardner residence, an irresistible curiosity commanded her to find out exactly what it was. Was it for intellectual knowledge to convey back to her superiors? Or was it for more selfish, personal reasons? She didn't know, and she no longer cared. She had to go see for herself what had twisted the entire town with fear and uncertainty, doomed to be drowned into the realm of obscurity beneath the future water reservoir.

As she reached the cursed well that was the epicenter of the 'blasted heath', the usual signs of terrestrial life began to disappear. All greenery turned grey and black, what looked like sturdy pebbles crumbled into dust beneath her soles, and not a single animal nor insect could be heard. She had breached this little bubble of reality and was standing directly within a different universe that didn't obey human laws.

She simply stood there, keeping her eyes transfixed on the well. This was the center of everyone's troubles. Something had to be hiding in there. If she could extract it, maybe she could save the dam's water from being corrupted by this thing. At least, that was the naïve hope she clung on to.

Fwooo…

Without any warning whatsoever, a dull sensation gripped her entire body. Maybe it was more accurate to say that some gigantic spiritual entity wrapped its entire hand around her defenseless little soul and was holding her hostage.

Fwooo… Fwooo…

"Ungh… Kh…"

Fwooo… Fwooo… Fwooo… Fwooo… Fwooo…

The uncomfortable sound reverberated in the core of her brain, like a heartbeat in a part of her body that didn't belong there whatsoever. One could compare it to someone incessantly breathing in her ear at a flat, ever unchanging rate. Her legs felt weak, while her chest grew heavy. She couldn't stop herself from toppling onto her knees and gasping for air. She nearly fell sideways, but she caught herself on the well's edge at the last moment. Her field of vision was too low for her to gaze into the well. She sat there in a heap, unsure if she should pick herself up and risk looking inside the abyss.

What is this? It's completely silent… and yet, I hear something… calling to me…

"…a. …a. …la. …la. …nla. …nla. …nnla."

"Who's there?" the woman feebly yelped and clutched the sides of her cranium, shaking with terror.

"…nnla. …onnla. …onn-"

"That's enough."