Chapter Five:
Once they arrived to the manor (the gates of which were closed immediately) Emil lead them into the mansion and straight into the dining room. As Kaine and Yonah unloaded their weapons and armor, Emil talked: "I'm afraid Sebastion is still feeling ill, as you know from my letter. But I can fix you something to eat if you'd like."
"No thanks." said Kaine.
"I'm not hungry." Yonah answered.
"Okay... Um..." Emil hesitated.
Kaine looked up at him.
"Where is Weiss?" Emil asked.
Kaine sighed. "I don't know..." The tone of her voice suggested the worst-possible out-come."
"I see..." whispered Emil. "...I'm really sorry..."
"Aren't we all?" said Kaine. "If anyone had a clue on what the hell is going on, it would've been Weiss."
Emil set his staff against the wall and joined them at the table. Spying the knapsack full of trinkets and books, Emil said, "Have either of you found any clues on what this new disease might be?"
Kaine shook her head. "But on the bright side, we did find a few books that might be helpful," Kaine added, noticing the sadness in Yonah's eyes. "Do you want to show him?"
Yonah opened the bag and slid The Healing Method of Sleep towards Emil, who picked it up and began flipping through it with open curiosity. "This is perfect! Maybe I can find something in here to help Sebastion!"
"What's the matter with him?" asked Kaine.
"He's showing signs of a fever; he says he's burning up, but his temperature is normal." Emil answered. "It's hard for him to stand up, or move at all, for that matter. It's strange..."
Kaine hesitated. "That is strange. What do you think it might be?"
"It could be the begining stage of what has happened to the people in the library..." Yonah whispered, shuddering at the thought of those decomposed bodies.
"Or what happened to the animals." Kaine put in.
"Do you really think those two diseases are connected?" Emil asked.
"What else could it be?" asked Kaine.
"Is he coughing a lot?" Yonah walked over to Emil. "Or having difficulty breathing?"
Emil shook his head. "No."
"I want to see him." Yonah insisted.
"He may not like visiters..." Emil spoke up.
"He could be contagious." Kaine told Yonah. "Whatever he has may not affect Emil due to his current form."
"C-contagious?!" Emil stared at the two.
"Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm just saying it's better to assume he is."
Emil let out a sigh. "Kaine's right, Yonah. We should wait until we know what's wrong with him befoe we get too close; I'll continue to check on him, but for now I want us to focus on lookig for a cure."
"Just like old times..." Kaine said with a grim smile.
"What other books do you have in your bag, Kaine?" Emil asked.
Kaine opened up the bag and emptied it's contents; books, bread wrapped tightly in cloth, sheathed daggers, maps, and Yonah's diary. Emil selected a book at random and started flipping through it.
"I've been doing my own research in my library," Emil said. "But I haven't found any clues... If Weiss were here, he'd know..."
"Yeah, well, Weiss is gone, Emil." Kaine said. "You have us now."
Emil nodded, quietly scanning over the pages of the book. "I'm glad Yonah is safe and you're safe too, Kaine, but I just... I miss him. I wish he were here with us..." There was a longing within him that he did not understand; he blamed the intensity on Weiss' disapearance, not realizing it was really Nier drifting in the back of his mind that he missed.
Yonah picked up her diary and leafed through it. "My diary mentions Devola and Popola quite often... How they used to sing and help me when I had any questions... But they both turned out to be really mean in the end, didn't they?" Yonah looked up at Kaine and Emil in question.
"They weren't mean. They were just doing what they thought was right." Emil said sadly.
"i think they were both evil bitches..." muttered Kaine.
"Oh, I think I found something!" Emil hovered beside Kaine and Yonah excitedly, showing them the book. "Here, see? This paragraph talks about a tiny insect known as Yami that thrive off of animal and plant hosts. They're harmless individuals, but when they form swarms they let out a special scent that can paralzye or even kill their victims. They can also take control of their hosts if their numbers reach over a thousand."
"Yami, huh...?" Kaine mused. "How do we kill them?"
"Umm...Let me see..." Emil placed a boney finger on the page and started looking for methods of killing the insects.
"That's so scary..." whispered Yonah. "How can something so violent exist...?"
"In case you havent noticed," Kaine spoke up, her eyes cutting to the girl. "This whole world is a violent place..."
"Kaine, don't be harsh with Yonah..." Emil said empathetically.
"I wasn't being harsh, I was just stating the facts-"
"Dad..?"
Emil and Kaine looked over at Yonah, then followed her gaze to the man standing in the doorway. it was Sebastian.
"Sebastian, you should be in bed!" Emil set down the book on the table and hovered over to his butler.
"I appreciate your concern, Master Emil, but I believed it rude to stay bed-ridden when we have company. Please allow me to fix tea for everyone."
"Um..." Emil hesitated, looking over his shoulder at the girls. "Okay. Just one cup each, then go back and rest, please." Emil told him.
"As you wish," Sebastian turned and walked into the kitchen.
"Sebastian has been in service to my family long before I was born," Emil told them as he floated back to the table. "He's always been there for me. But he won't be here at all if he works himself to death..."
"Stop worrying," Kaine said gently. "He looked fine to me. Besides, fixing one pot of tea isn't going to kill him."
Yonah, sitting at the table, continued flipping through her own diary, finding it almost foreign compared to the life she was leading now.
"Did you find out how to kill the Yami?" Kaine asked.
"It's pretty complicated, but yes." Emil replied.
"Well, spit it out."
"You have to light the host on fire, then burry the remains." Emil said quietly.
"That's bullcrap." Kaine said. "Yonah and I killed the infected ram and ..." She paused. And what? What happened to the bodies? Did she even check? She wasn't sure.
Emil looked at her, waiting for her to continue. When Kaine stayed silent, he looked back down at his book. "If you kill the host, the Yami just seek out a new host."
"What does it say about infecting humans?" Kaine asked.
Just then, Sebsatian returned, carrying a tray of tea cups on one hand. He placed the tea in front of them; the steam was sweet-scented. "Your tea..." Sebastian said politely.
"Thank you," Emil said, realizing with a jolt that he couldn't drink any with his new body.
Yonah set her diary down and picked up one of the cups, breathing in the aroma. At their side, Sebstian stood watching.
Kaine's hand lashed out, knocking the teacup to the floor where it shattered.
All at once, Sebstian turned and started running; Kaine climbed onto the table and chased after him, jumping off and vanishing from sight as she followed him into the kitchen.
"Oh no! Kaine!" Emil started to follow, then stopped, watching Yonah. The girl was unsheathing a small sword, her face contorted with rage; she ran past Emil, following in Kaine's footsteps. As she passed by him, Emil had a flash of memory; a man; Yonah's father... "Nier..." Emil sunk to the floor, almost oblivious to the danger in the next room. "I... i remember you... Why aren't you here...?"
When Yonah entered the kitchen, this is what she saw: Sebstian pushed up against a wall, Kaine's blade to his throat. Both of them were breathing hard. "What did you put in our god-damn tea?!" yelled Kaine. Sebastian took a deep breath in, then sneezed; black liquid sprayed all over her face. Yelling, Kaine dropped her sword and coverd her face, stepping away from the butler.
Yonah ran into the room, holding her weapon out in front like a spear; white-blonde hair flying behind her, Yonah fell against the butler, plunging her sword deep into Sebastian's chest. In a violent sideways motion, the girl withdrew her sword; black blood poured out onto the floor, seething, smoking. Yonah dropped her sword and went to Kaine's side. "Kaine! Kaine, are you all right?"
Laying on the floor, Kaine peeked up at Yonah between her hands, afraid to reveal her face. In this position, the woman seemed even younger than Yonah; she was vulerable. Deep in her heart, she wished her Grandma was with here- just one more time- so that she would have the strength to stand on her own.
Emil, standing breathless in the doorway, recognized Kaine's demeanor: He had also hid himself from his friends, afraid of rejection, ashamed at the outcome of his body. Emil took one quick look at Sebastian's corpse and pronounced him dead; the body was already decaying... Emil went straight over to Kaine, kneeling down beside her and Yonah. Silently, he reached out and took her hands, lowering them from her face. "Kaine...?"
Shivering under his cold, dead touch, Kaine's eyes opened wider, staring at Emil with a face spotted with decay; holes had been burned deep into her skin. "W-what...?"
"I still think you're beautiful..."
Kaine blushed, covering her face. "S-shut up...Dummy..."
Emil stood up and looked over at Sebastian once more. He sighed. "I guess the disease can affect humans..." he said quietly. "I wish it didn't have to be this way..."
"Tough shit..." Kaine stood up, rejecting Yonah's hand of assistance. "What are we going to do with the body?"
"Please don't call him that..." Emil winced.
"I think we should do as the book said and burn him..." Yonah spoke up.
Kaine shot a look at Emil, who nodded slowly. "All right..." he said quietly.
Using his powers, Emil lifted Sebastian's corpse, forming a protective barrier around him so none of his eerily black blood gets on anything. They took him outside, where they gathered sticks for a fire. Within an hour, Sebstian was burning on a pyre. Near the gates, the group could see the animals prowling, wanting in. Wanting to kill; they stalked the exterior of the walls, growling underneath the moonlight.