Chapter Twenty-Five: The Half-Breed
At the local jail, while Connor and Kyler explained what they learned to the local sheriff and mayor, Kyler set the creature in a jail cell closing the door with the others all standing behind it.
"Seth, did Ben Finn's notes say anything about finding a cure for the creatures?" Jaya asked turning to Seth who was flipping through Ben's journal.
"Sadly no, Baro died before he could have a chance," Seth sighed putting the book away in his back pocket before looking at the creature, "Ben would have never wanted anyone else to suffer like his brother did."
"Makes me sick that an alchemist is behind this! The pain all those people went through," Jaya spoke angrily then narrowed her eyes, "I will find a cure! We will save this one!"
"Hey guys," Neo spoke coming up the stairs, "the corner got something."
Following Jaya, Seth, Tercero, and Neo approached the operating table where the other tables had the other dead half Breeds.
The lead doctor an ebony-skinned woman with her hair in a hair wrap smiled when the heroes joined her, Dr. Kia then spoke, "Welcome heroes! I am glad I could assist you with this case."
"Can the gems be safely removed?" Jaya asked seeing the doctor approach a frame on a wall where she placed up some X-ray images showing the gem itself was attached to the nerves and spine.
"Not safely, if I were to try to remove this gem if this person was alive the victim would surely die, even the most skilled surgeon couldn't remove this without doing some sort of permanent damage," Kia explained.
"The pain these people must have gone through," Jaya said sadly touching the head of one of the dead Half-Breed girls.
"How was it done?" Neo asked crossing his arms with Merlin hovering over his shoulder.
"If I were to take a guess, based on the information you gave that an alchemist was behind this, then I could only guess that dark magic and a very reckless surgeon did this to these people, these 'control crystals' were made to kill its host if they attempted to remove it," Kia explained.
"Then that would only leave the other solution for us," Neo spoke looking at Jaya.
"That is if it is possible," Merlin spoke watching Neo approach Jaya.
"You're the resident Alchemist, do you think it is possible to cure the last Half-Breed upstairs?" Neo asked watching Jay go into thought.
"In theory yes, any alchemical recipe can be cured or at least given a counter agent to stop the transformations, but I wouldn't even know where to begin! I would first need Baro's original notes so that I can study and find the best ingredient to counteract his twisted recipe," Jaya spoke thinking while pacing.
"Hmmm," Melin hummed floating around, "wait something coming to me."
"What is it, Merlin?" Seth asked seeing the orb turn gold.
"It's like...knowledge is coming to me, like if I had access to a computer...is this my new power?" Merlin asked flying around, "I see it! There was another Alchemist who did similar experiments like Baro!"
"Who?!" Jaya asked seeing Merlin float and spin around her.
"Almost there! Got it!" she spoke turning blue again, "Mary Godwin! Also known as 'Witchcraft Mary' five hundred years ago she performed mad experiments to alter her form to become the creatures of Albion!"
"Well done," Neo nodded watching Jaya go into thought.
"Would it be possible for her to keep notes on her experiments?" Jaya asked the others.
"I'd say yes," Kia spoke covering the Half-Breed head with a sheet, "no one goes near the Godwin Estate on the account people are convinced it's haunted and plagued with Mary creatures she left behind."
"Then I know what I must do! I need to find Mary's notes, if her experiments are anything like Baro's it will help me to create a cure for the Half-Breeds," Jaya spoke heading upstairs with the others.
"This is a lot to take in," the Mayor of Ravenstone spoke, "you think these 'Half-Breeds' may be the culprits behind the recent murders?"
"It's the only lead we have at the moment sir, but once this one reverts to its human form we can ask him," Connor spoke looking over to the sleeping Half-Breed.
"Do you think that cell can hold it?" the mayor asked, clearly nervous being near the creature.
"If not, we won't let it get far," Kyler spoke placing his hammer on his shoulder.
"Just to be safe I am gonna keep the curfew in place, just until we are certain we've caught the killer or killers," the mayor spoke.
"Rest assured Mayor, if the killer is still out there we sure as hell gonna catch the sick bastard!" Connor spoke petting Roscoe's head.
Approaching the bars Kyler looked at the sleeping creature, "he tried to kill himself, do you think it possible to help him?"
"I do!" Jaya spoke coming upstairs with the rest of the group, "Merlin may have given us a lead to creating a cure!"
"Really?" Connor asked approaching.
"Mary Godwin, she was a skilled alchemist who did similar experiments like Baro did to these Half-Breeds, I suspect her notes must still be in the abandoned Godwin Estate, if I can get my hands on these notes, I'm sure I can create a cure for the Half-Breed, or at least create a potion so they can stop the transformations," Jaya explained noticing the Half-Breed was awake and looking right at her.
"He's awake," Tercero warned watching Jaya approach the bars keeping his phantom blade loaded just in case, "be careful Jaya."
"It's ok," Jaya reassured before kneeling, "I know you've suffered, whatever alchemist did this to you, I will make sure they face justice! Till then I won't stop till I cure you and give your freedom back, that a promise."
Saying nothing the Half-Breed turned its head before laying on its side to face the stone wall of its cell.
"How long do you think it will take before it turns back?" Neo asked looking at Jaya for an answer.
"Well," Jaya spoke thinking about it, "if a crystal is used to control their action and bodies, then it must also trigger their transformations, body altering potions are a tricky art in alchemy, I am gonna hypostasis it could be anywhere from an hour to five?"
"Guess we're waiting then," Connor spoke pulling up a seat with Roscoe laying his head on his lap.
"Hm," Tercero spoke looking out the window, "something not right here."
"What do you mean?" Kyler asked seeing Tercero approach the sheriff.
"Where was the most recent body?" Tercero asked unable to shake the feeling something more sinister was occurring in the city.
"Other side of town, in the alley between the local tavern and the bed and breakfast," the sheriff spoke.
"I am going to investigate the crime scene, I wanna see something," Tercero spoke opening a window before jumping out.
"Tercero! Don't go alone! There could be more Half-Breeds!" Connor called rolling his eyes at his friend before seeing Neo open the front door.
"I'll tail him," Neo reassured the group before walking out with Merlin following close behind.
Walking on the roof Tercero made his way to the latest crime scene stopping to look around when he felt something off in the air.
Floating over Merlin also sensed the dark presence before floating back down to the street where Neo had a hand hovering over his pistol, "sir, do you feel that?"
"Only because of you," Neo spoke having sensed what Merlin felt because of their connection, "there's something off."
Jumping down from the roof Tercero joined Neo pulling down his hood, "Just as I suspected, I don't think those Half-Breeds killed those girls."
"Merlin, Wisps are in sync with the forces of magic what do you sense?" Neo asked looking at his glowing companion.
"Give me a minute, I am still new to this being a disembodied soul," Merlin spoke her blue aura glowing as she concentrated, focusing a flash of nightmarish images flashed before her and Neo's eyes making Neo gasp and draw his pistol pointing it around him, the images making Merlin color turn purple in fear and scream, "KYAA!"
"What did you see?!" Tercero asked seeing Neo take a moment to relax and turned to the assassin.
"It's one of them, the lieutenants Gabriel spoke of," Neo warned.
Panting Merlin reverted to blue when she calmed herself down, "I have never felt something so evil before, that thing surely couldn't have been human once, right?"
"Let's find that crime scene, we need to see if the lieutenant is the killer or if he is a pawn to something bigger, something big about to happen," Neo warned watching Tercero look to the road using his Eagle Sense.
"Sígueme, we will make this quick and report to Connor what we learn," Tercero spoke leading the way. (Sígueme = Follow me)
An hour later they would find the alley with the police tape blocking the scene of the crime, climbing under Tercero approached using his Eagle Sense to look at the footprints left behind, "she put up a fight."
"What else do you see?" Merlin asked seeing Tercero study the prints almost seeing what happened play before him.
"She was ambushed, she fought but he was stronger, he slammed her against the wall with enough force it caused that blood splatter there," he pointed to the imprint where her head had collided with the wall.
"To be able to have enough force to do that to someone's skull the killer would have to be very powerful," Merlin spoke seeing Tercero kneel to the blood stain on the ground.
"It was here that he tore into her, I hope the hit to the wall had ended it quickly," Terceo spoke studying the blood stains, "it couldn't be the Half-Breeds."
"Any clues you can get on the killer?" Neo asked seeing Tercero stand and cross his arms.
"Tall, not like you and Kyler, the size of his feet and the pressure for the weight to crate them, his body does not match the strength," Tercero spoke looking over to Neo.
"Meaning we are right, the killer is one of the lieutenants, he lured us into a trap," Neo growled clenching his fist.
"We have to warn Connor!" Tercero spoke heading into the street but stopped when he noticed a thick blanket of fog started to cover the entire city.
"This fog," Merlin spoke seeing visibility ahead of them starting to become difficult, "magic is bringing this fog here."
"Connor come in," Neo spoke pulling out his seal and noticed he got no response, "Connor?"
"Neo, testing over," Tercero spoke into his seal seeing Neo seal didn't respond, "Mierde! It's cutting off our communication from each other!" (Mierde = Shit)
"We gotta get back," Neo spoke running into the fog with Tercero and Merlin.
At the station, after an hour Connor and the others noticed the Half-Breed groan its body steaming with mist slowly reverting to its human state.
Before their eyes they watched the creature shrink and turn into a womanly figure going through an agonizing transformation, groaning the woman collapsed onto the ground and crawled her way to the nearby toilet where she threw up.
Coughing the woman groaned still shaking from her transformation, her body riddled with scars, she panted shivering, and tried to regain her strength.
"It's a girl," Connor spoke watching Kyler grab a blanket and unlock the cage before walking in.
Approaching Kyler avoiding looking at her body before holding out the blanket to her. Panting the woman slowly looked up to the blanket and then looked up to see Kyler was looking away to give her privacy given the situation.
Saying nothing she snatched the blanket and wrapped herself with it, "You should have killed me."
"Forget it," Kyler spoke exiting the cell and closing it, "Jaya made a promise and I am going to back her up on it."
"You won't be saying that once I transform again," she sighed turning to Connor whose eyes widened along with Seth once they both got a good look at her face.
"No bloody way," Seth spoke in utter disbelief while approaching the bars.
"It can't be," Connor said also approaching getting confused looked from Kyler, Jaya, and Roscoe.
"Care to fill us in?" Kyler asked seeing Seth put his hand to his mouth in thought.
"You can't be her, you can't be Mika," Seth spoke watching the woman.
"Nice to you too, Seth," Mika sighed still sitting on the ground and wrapping the blanket closer around her, "what with the gloves Connor?"
"Their gauntlets," the heroes corrected seeing Mika roll her eyes.
"Okay? Fascinating," she spoke sarcastically.
"Yup, you're her alright," Connor chuckled crossing his arms, remembering how sarcastic Mika was when he knew her, "what happened? Why are you here?"
"Did you forget who ran the orphanage? That cunt sold us to Reaver," Mika spat seeing the horrified look on Connor and Seth.
"She was at the orphanage you two grew up in?" Jaya asked seeing the two boys nodded.
"At the orphanage Mrs. 'Grunt' as we called her was a vile woman, she had a strict policy that boys and girls were to be separated by floors, and the only time we ever got to see each other was either during meal times or punishments, Mika here was as terrible as Seth was," Connor chuckled getting punched in the shoulder by Seth.
"Excuse you! You were a hellion yourself," Seth chuckled looking at Jaya, "if I recall, Mika once swapped the Grunt hair dye with a horrendous green color dye!"
"One of my finest pranks," Mika laughed lightly leaning her back on the stone wall, "you're wondering how I got here correct?"
"The Grunt sold you? All of you? When?" Connor asked seeing Mika try to recall when she was taken to Reaver labs.
"It was shortly after you two ran away, there were originally forty of us, and only a handful of us survived the experiments, you lot took out the rest," Mika sighed.
"Oh no," Connor spoke his eyes widening in horror looking behind at the stairs to the morgue below, "those Half-Breeds please tell me they weren't from our orphanage!"
Shaking her head Seth stumbled backward his horror quickly becoming anger as he spun around and kicked a metal trash can leaving a massive dent, "FUCK!"
"Oh gods, what have we done?!" a horrified Connor spoke covering his mouth before seeing Mika sigh.
"There was no saving them Connor," she explained.
"What do you mean?" Kyler asked approaching the bars.
"The Control Crystal, when given an order it's programmed into us, we can't fight the order, we stay Half-Breeds till the order is carried out, or until the Control Crystal runs out of power," Mika explained.
"What were your orders?" Jaya asked seeing Mika point at Connor.
"To kill the Hero of Westcliffe, the others didn't remember him as I did, I remembered him as Connor," Mika spoke seeing Jaya think on her words.
"I see! So, because of your memories, it collided with the order making your body start to literally fight itself! That explains how you were able to regain some control!" Jaya spoke removing her book from her side and writing down notes.
"It was a temporary thing," Mika sighed, "the order is still in place, once Reaver activates the crystal again I won't be able to stop myself from trying to take Connor's life."
"Then we'll cure you before then!" Seth spoke approaching the cell and opening the door, "Tell me, were your orders also to kill those five women the last few days?"
"Women?" Mika repeated in confusion, "My pack and I didn't arrive till tonight."
"What?!" Connor spoke before the group heard a scream from a woman outside, "SHIT!"
"You guys go! I'll stay here and get Mika dressed!" Jaya spoke watching Connor, Seth, Roscoe, and Kyler rush out of the jail.
"You're an alchemist?" Mika asked seeing Jaya open a chest pulling out some women's clothes and carrying them over to Mika.
"I am, not all of us are like the bastard who hurt you, I swear I will cure you, that I swear on my ancestor's honor!" Jaya declared looking at a katana in the confiscated weapon barrel and pulled it out while Mika got dressed.
Looking up Mika caught the ebony katana that was tossed to her, raising a brow questioningly at Jaya, "Think you can handle that, Mika?"
Giving it a test swing Mika spun the blade in her hand and nodded, "bet your arse I can!"
"So Reaver only sent ten Half-Breeds?" Jaya asked seeing Mika's confusion.
"Ten? There were only nine of us," Mika spoke unaware downstairs while her back was turned Kia didn't notice one of the dead bodies on her table rise, the sheet covering its body slowly became stained in black ink and began wrapping around the figure.
Hearing a noise Kia slowly turned around before screaming out in horror at what stood behind her.