[X] Plan The Case Files of Archer Servant EMIYA
-[X] Peace
-[X] He's found a body
--[X] Whose body?
---[X] The missing person
-[X] Sister Hope has a name
-[X] Raise an eyebrow at Sayaka's obvious unintended subtext and bemusedly telepathically inform Sayaka that's it's okay to be attracted to girls as well as guys, as plenty of people are
-[X] While you're finishing the school day, have Archer confront Father Despair and Sister Hope as a Servant, if applicable
--[X] Switch perspectives to Archer
"Archer, I need you to head over to the warehouse park again. One of the disappeared that Hitomi told me about was last seen there, so I want you to investigate the 'Church' as well as anyone who might be affiliated with it and the warehouse park as a whole."
"Understood. Will that be all?"
"That will be all, Archer. I'll leave it to you."
You don't want to say that you had been waiting for this to happen, but with only a week to go before whatever the 'Church' is up to comes to fruition you were wondering when things might show themselves for what they really are. Given a day before the person could be reported as missing, and it's entirely possible that the person last seen near the 'Church' was one of the people that had been there for the Wednesday night sermon. That would be a pretty damning piece of evidence against the 'Church'- If word got out, it might scare other people away and help to lessen the number of people that the 'Black Mountain' has power over.
On the other hand, with this 'Church' having sprung up like mushrooms after the rainfall in response to the city's suffering, yet another disappearance might only cause more people to join the flock. You don't know this city as well as your master and her friends, though, so for right now you'll do as you were told, and leave the rest to your master once you've gotten the information she needs.
This time, with the police likely to be on the same trail as yourself, venturing over that way in a visible state would be a bad idea. Spirit form it is, and without the necessity of having to meet with McRemitz, your travel across town takes you all of ten minutes from your master's apartment to the warehouse park. From there, you've got an expanse of warehouses to check out, with the one housing the 'Church' as good as starting point as any.
As you arrive, you see a familiar mop of waist-length lime-green hair exiting the 'Church' warehouse. But unlike Monday night, this Sister Hope has discarded her featureless robes, exchanging them for a short-sleeved white dress shirt and a pleated tan-checkered skirt with two rows of front buttons. With a smile on her face and her teal-coloured eyes bright in the morning sun, She almost looks normal; like she isn't being drugged up by whatever dark magic the 'Black Mountain' keeps pumping into her and her father.
'Is she going to school, perhaps?' you think to yourself, watching her walk away without a care in the world.
Your eyes catch the sun reflecting off of something falling from her purse as she walks away; flat and white, with a glossy finish. Sister Hope is so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she doesn't notice that whatever it is has just vacated itself from her person. A part of you tries to call out to her, "Miss, you dropped something!" but she doesn't hear you, and continues walking until her lime-green hair has vanished amid the rows of warehouses.
Inwardly, you debate between picking it up versus leaving it where it fell. If you leave it, sooner or later she'll come back once she's noticed it missing. But that's still no guarantee that someone else won't also come along to pick it up with less wholesome intentions. In the end, curiosity wins out, and you approach the place where fell for a closer look.
The name on what is clearly a student ID card reads 'Alina Gray', written in katakana and in Western name order. So, Sister Hope has a name, after all. In addition, it appears that Sister Hope is sixteen, lives in the northeast part of the city close to the overpass, and goes to the local high school. Seems you were right to pick this up- Sister Hope may be tied to a creepy Kool-Aid cult, but she's still a teenage girl, and anyone wishing to do her ill would have access to everything they need from this one card alone. You pocket the ID card, and promptly return to spirit form lest someone see you and get the wrong idea.
Unfortunately, it takes you several hours after this before you're able to find your next piece of evidence. It would be wrong to say that it was 'stashed away' given that it's lying right there, but with the warehouse park being a maze of buildings that all look the same, combined with the completely inconspicuous and out-of-the-way spot in which it lay, and you're sure that you would have missed it were it not for the ripening stench of rancid meat baking in the noon-day sun.
Yeah, you found a dead body. Though in his condition, to what extent you could charitably call the thing you've found 'a body' is suspect at best. It's been- Actually, you can't tell. Part of it looks like it was chopped up, but upon closer inspection there are no cut or tear marks that could indicate what sort of weapon did this. And in other parts, circular chunks are cut off, indicating that the body was bitten; and again, closer inspection reveals no bite marks.
In all honesty, without a single cut or bite - or hell, any penetrative mark - marring the hideously mangled corpse, it mostly looks like the missing areas simply ceased to exist as part of the victim's body.
Cautiously, you exit spirit form, and try your best to examine the 'body' without disturbing what few pieces remain. The face - or what little remains of it - is missing a large chunk that includes an eye and part of the jaw, but based on the ID card you manage to find on his person you can at least confirm that the victim's name matches that of the person who went missing in this area.
Just as you're almost done with your poking around, what little remains of the neck snaps, causing the head to tilt the other way around, giving you a clear view of the back of the corpse's neck. Oh. Well, that's not good.
"Master, I have news."
"Is it good news?" You can only think of one person that would consider what you've just found to be anywhere within the realm of 'good' news.
"No, but it is news."
"... That's when I discovered the witch's kiss on the back of the guy's neck. So, either this guy got picked up by a witch and the 'Church' has nothing to do with his disappearance, or we've got to seriously rethink our approach to dealing with the 'Black Mountain'. Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter."
"Why is that?"
"Because this kiss looks way too close to the black-and-red sunburst the 'Church' uses as their logo to be a coincidence. And if it is, then it's one hell of a coincidence."
You pull yourself back from your conversation with Archer, wanting only a moment of mental silence to enjoy your next few bites of food. "Homura-chan?" Madoka offers you some of hers, and you accept, returning the gesture with the same from your own lunch. "You've been acting distant ever since Sayaka-chan said that she wished girls would fall into her lap."
"I did not!" Sayaka can huff and puff all she wants, but you've seen which way the wind blows too many times to take her protests seriously. "I just said that I was jealous of Homura's luck, that's all. If I had boys falling into my lap like Homura has girls, I'd have it made for life."
"You know," you say, reaching out to touch Sayaka's mind "Liking girls doesn't automatically mean you can't also like guys. Plenty of people are bisexual, and there's nothing to be ashamed of if you decide that's who you are."
"Come on, not you too Homura! Geez, I know I tease you and Madoka a lot, but I mean, come on! There aren't even any girls that I like!"
"So, you admit that you would like a girl if you found the right one?" It just so happens that you happen to have 'the right one' in mind for her already.
"No! ... I mean, I don't know; maybe? It's never something I've ever really thought about, but I mean... I didn't know that Madoka was gay until you showed up, so... Look, I don't know, okay? Maybe there is a girl out there that I'd like if I met her, but I haven't. Besides, I didn't even mean what I said like that, so just cut it out."
"I was just thinking," you say, allowing your thoughts to return to Madoka. "There's been a lot on my mind lately, that's all." "Archer, when you get the chance, approach and confront Father Despair and Sister Hope, as a servant if at all possible."
"Are you sure, master?"
"Yes. You found a body that had chunks taken out of it by a witch. We can no longer afford to presume that they know nothing about the existence of magic. We need to know, and we need to know what they know."
Do you
[ ] Keep the news to yourself
[ ] Tell
-[ ] Madoka
-[ ] Sayaka
-[ ] Hitomi
-[ ] Tomoe-san
-[ ] Kyouko
-[ ] Mikuni Oriko
-[ ] Kure Kirika
--[ ] Some combination of the above (write-in who)
--[ ] Everybody
[ ] Wat do?
