[X] Plan Dark Knight
School has ended for the day for your master and her allies, and that means that it's time to go knocking in doors. Well, it would be if you had hard proof that the 'Church' was actively involved in the death of the missing person. As it stands, all evidence points to the witch being the responsible party, with Father and Sister being little more than brainwashed pawns. As for why, you can only guess that they and their 'Church' are meant to serve as lures to bring in prey to a witch that's otherwise too weak to collect food for herself.
Or it's waiting, conserving its strength until the time is right.
You spot Sister Hope - Alina Gray - as she returns 'home' to the 'Church' warehouse from wherever her day's travels have taken her. Watching her from your position, you never see her stop to look around for the student ID that she dropped on her way out. Does she even know that it's missing? At any rate, she's 'home' now; and you're going to make your entrance a memorable one for the pair.
"Hi there," you say, emerging from spirit form in full servant cloth. "Do you folks mind if I ask you a few questions?"
The pair look at you with vacant expressions. You aren't even sure that they're aware of your existence yet, despite you standing right in front of them. "Of course," Father Despair says, as on his face you watch as something flips a switch in his brain, causing him to register your presence. Still nothing from Sister Hope, though. "All are welcome here. What would you like to know?"
You had been thinking that appearing, quite literally, out of the blue as a servant would have gotten you some kind of reaction from either Father Despair or Sister Hope; instead you get nothing. No look of surprise, no immediate questioning of how your appearance was possible; nothing. Instead, you get what you assume to be a boilerplate welcoming. That's a bad sign; it either means that their familiarity with the supernatural is so intimate that a man appearing out of thin air no longer surprises them, or that their minds are being held so tightly by the "Black Mountain' that their responses have already been chosen for them ahead of time.
Or any number of possibilities, you remind yourself, but those two are the first to come to mind. So, how do you approach prying answers from them in this situation? Ah, yes, that's an easy way to do it. You'll frame your questions in terms of things they would already be familiar with. If their responses seem like they're hiding something, it's probably safe to assume the former. If their responses sound canned, then it's probably the latter. "I was wondering if you could tell me a few things about your Righteous Sister. Who is she?" You turn your head to Alina, and add "I've heard you go by the name of 'Sister Hope'. Would the 'Righteous Sister' happen to be you?"
Alina shakes her head. "I am merely the vessel which Our Sister uses to speak to the world. I hear Her speak to me in dreams, and Father and I work to enact Her will on earth."
"What sort of things does she tell you and your father to do?"
"It was She who instructed us to build our place of worship here, and to assemble to Her a great flock of those who would be the faithful. And when that was done," Alina gestures to the maddening murals of black, grey, white, and crimson that adorn the walls "She instructed me to paint the visions which She showed to me in my dreams."
So far, you aren't sure whether you would call the pair 'willing' collaborators or not. They certainly sound all to willing to do as they are told, but how much of that 'willingness' is due to the 'Black Mountain's control over them is another matter all together. "And, what makes you and your father so willing to do what your 'Sister' tells you to?"
"Our Sister offers Her prayers to all living things, that we shall enact Her will and be righteous on earth, and join Her and all of creation in Her embrace. So we do as we are told."
She believes it, too. It's all canned, and not a single syllable sounded out of cadence with any other syllable, as though she's had that exact response programmed into her, but at the same time she genuinely sounds as though she believes in the truth of every word she's saying. "So, getting back to my original question, then. Who is your 'Sister'? You say that you've seen your 'Sister' in dreams. Who is she? What is she?"
Again, Alina gestures to the murals on the walls. "Our Sister is here, with us. All that you see here is the representation of Her image on earth." You have no indication of whether what she's saying is figurative, as if to imply that the 'Sister' is everywhere, alike to the Christian God; or if she's being literal, and the images painted on the walls are actually what the 'Sister' looks like in her visions. The colours are right, but given that you've consistently heard the coming evil described as a 'mountain' you aren't quite sure that what you're seeing is an adequate representation. These look more like spirals or waves - or tentacles, even - than they do mountains, and the only thing that's distinct enough to identify is the red-and-black sunburst used as the symbol of the 'Church'.
You point to one of the sunbursts, and ask "What about that, then? Your 'Church's symbol, what does it represent?"
"All things cast a shadow when they are exposed to a source of light," Alina says, as though you weren't already aware of that fact. "All of creation is Our Sister's shadow, and that light is the source from which Her shadow is cast."
Time to move in for the kill, it would seem. "And did you know that a dead body was found, in this very warehouse park, with that symbol stamped on the back of their neck?"
"That must have been one of the faithful," Father Despair takes over for his daughter. "If they are dead, then their loss will surely be felt throughout the flock. But they must be rejoicing, for in death they shall surely become one with Our Sister."
Okay, so no sympathy points for a dead member of the flock. Got it. "I'd argue otherwise. It'd be hard for them to be 'one' with anything, considering the number of pieces they were found in. This guy didn't go out peacefully or easily, or anything like that; he was bitten and slashed to death." Still no visual response from Alina or her father. "Actually, that's why I'm here- I've been doing some investigating into his death." You don't feel inclined to tell them that the investigation arose well before you found a body. "I'm assuming that your faithful tattooing themselves with the 'Church's symbol isn't standard practice, am I correct? Can you think of any reason why our corpse might have had your logo stamped on his neck?"
"Is that unusual?" Father Despair asks. "Our Sister's light appears on all Her faithful after a time. It marks them as ready to truly accept Her blessings. Look-" A few hundred years ago, the nape of Sister Hope's neck would have been considered the height of erotic and getting a glimpse at the skin behind her parted lime locks would have been the highlight of your day. But you're an ageless heroic spirit, she's not your type and underage to boot, and it's her father revealing the sunburst-marked skin of her neck to you, and all of that really saps the eroticism from the sight. "Sister Hope was the first of the faithful to be marked by the blessed light of Our Sister."
"And what if I told you that your 'Sister' wasn't all she's cracked up to be?" Your slight towards their chosen deity don't earn you a response, but what you say next does. "In the course of my investigation, I've come across some pretty damning evidence that points towards your 'Sister' not being as benevolent as you're making her out to be."
"I am afraid I don't follow you. Our Sister only wishes for righteousness and goodness to flourish throughout Her creation."
"I've heard tell that your 'Sister' is a witch. Do you know what a witch is?"
"Ą̵̤̟̩̱̩̭̈́̓͊̌̒̂̌ ̸͕͇̍̔̉w̴͖̩̑̉̐͊̐̍̆́͑͘͜͠ì̸͔̠̬͐́͌̄̒͗̿̽̐̓̕͠ţ̴̖̣̘̩͕̦̣̠̘̙̓̊̏͒͒͌̆̕̚͝c̸̯͕͔͍͇̝͈̩̦̭͖̣̽̓̉h̵̢̛͚͓̞̝͉̖̒̐́̿̽͊̆̓̓͑́͘͜?̴̯̱̙̭̳͍̘̰͉͔̮̼̠̐́̈́́̀̈̎͑̚͜ ̴̢͙͉̺̞̳̪̮͉̀̌͊̓̽̈́̾̆͜͝W̷͚̤̭͈̥̗̒͐̀̏̌̽̈̊̃͝h̸̢̭̠̠͙̫͓̟͚̫́̉͛̀̌͋̀̿̍̍̉̊͘a̶͎̳̹͔̬̗͕̯̪̞̞͕̭͒̎͗̈̍̆͠t̷̢̨̬͎̝͖̞͕̙͕̼͓͂̍͛̄͑ ̸̰̠́͗̌̇̿̿͛͛́͠ͅḍ̸̫̼͙̏̓͠o̵̻̹̐̋̽̎̓̔͒́̀ ̴̢̡̦̩͖͕͙͇̲͎͖̏͗̌̽̽͐̽ͅÿ̷̛͎́͌͌͛̋̏̓o̷̘͇̟̬̬͍̼̱̞̯͔̟̔͒ų̸̢͉̟̼̱̘̖̭̂̈́̈́͒ ̷̢̳̜͚̥̝͔̺͋̃͊͗͂͆̀m̸̠̻̘̱̮̉͑͂̈̌̇̔̕͝͝ę̵̛̠͕̺̟̠̞̳͇̟̯̮̰͆̊͂̍͑͊͐͆̚͝ͅą̶̡̢̮̬͉̱̜̲͎̝̗̼̂͂́͆n̵̢̛̳̟͖̆͆̊̀͑̀̐͊͒̈́̕ ̵̙͓͓̞̘̘̻̪͈̪̔͒̅̓w̷̧̙̰̫̺͎̉̐h̶̡̘̙̾̒̈́͊̈̈́̕ḙ̴̢̱̗̘̹̈́̊̊̅n̸̻̩͚̩̠͖͍̲̝͛͐̾́̎͐͊̒͂̄͒͠ ̸̧͖͙̬͓͍̥̋̍̎̈́̎̎͠ỵ̴͙͍͑̈̓o̵͖͓̫̩̯̣͂̄͊̿͛̈̍̕ͅú̷̢͙͎̱̅̇͂͌͊̃̆͝ ̶̯͖̲͙̬̟̪͈̲͔̣̜̖͋̒̌̌š̴̢̡̩̻̣̙͙͙̘̟̆̀̎̃̎̽̈͌̇̑̾̀͜͠a̴̛̛̘̰̺͖̱͈̗͂̑̉̉͆́͝y̸̨͈̠̯̾͋͊̀ ̸͍͙̩̿̐͋̓t̵̢̛͔͕̹̩͍̻̺̖̤̲̪̤͑͋̆̾͑̀͆̊͝h̵̨̛͚̰͓̩̘̮̪̺̪̹̓̏ͅa̶͍͖̓̍̊̆̈̊͋͑̈́̆̿̀͠͠t̷͈̳͕́͋̋ ̷̨̩̳̝̯̐̆̕ͅw̵̨̙͇̯͇̭̙͍̠̪̝͆́̎̈́͘̚͜ͅǫ̵̨̢̢̛͚̩͓̞̺͒͒͊̀̀́̈́͘͝ͅr̶͇̜̝̈̀͛͂͌̾͊́͆́̎͐ḑ̶̡̮͕̳̳͓͙̮̫͉̥̗̑͊?̴͍͉̮́̈́͂̿͛͆́̓"
Whatever you were expecting to hear out of Sister Hope's mouth, whatever that was was not it. It's as if her voice somehow glitched, as though it were playing through a broken sound card in an old videogame, or something. "I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat what you said for me?"
"I̸̢͔̣̠̦͎͊̉͊̐̍͂̆͆̓̒͠͠ ̷̢͍̟̬̬̩͖̼͙͍̭̈́̾̑̾͆͊̍̕͜͜ấ̴͙̞͍͈̠͍̰̦̔̅̅͆̈̏ͅş̸̼͈̲̮̫̮̮̩̟̤͉̌̂͐͊̏̂͊̃͜k̴̢̧̫͓͍̣̰̬̾e̸͕̻̯̯̙̪̜̖̼̗̹̩͑͒̂̎͂̂͝d̷̦͖̖̳̲͈̲͇̝͕̜̣̯́͂ ̶̨̥͉͆̅͗̓͆̂͛͜a̷͓̟̫̳͖̬̮̮͖͐̃̎͜b̴̗͎̞̥̹̘͛̈͒̾͛o̸͕̫͔͚̐̃̀͗͊̂̈́̈̕u̸̧̿̚̕ť̴̢̠̠̮͕̤̦̮̳̋͠͝ ̶̻̮̫̣̣͍̙͑͜t̴̢̧͉̰̜̲͙̮͙̼̦̣̙̏͗̇̔̆̑̋̽̾̚͝ĥ̵̨̨̡̛̖̞̟̙̭̫̺̏̅̐͑̇̀̊́́̒͗͝e̴̛͚̯̓͛̄͛̏́̊̈́̍͝ ̵̲̜̠͙͓̐͗͐͆̑ẁ̵̜̾́o̵̯̖̯̲̮̣̤̘̐̄͘͝ŗ̷̥́́̏͑̔̕d̵̪̟́̍͆͛̿̑̂̀̕ ̶̧̢̨̨̛̩̖͎̹̲͖̬̫̜̑͌̾̋̏͂͐̽̇͜͝'̶̹͇̤̻͍̦̹̪͕̩͇̜͓̇̽̔͝w̵̧͛̇̓̉͆͗̋̉͘͝i̴̢͎̩͍̪̭͌̂̅́͜t̶̖͙̥̹̦̬͛͋͂͛̆̅̈́͝c̵̛̞͕͈͎̙̪̹̞̺̮̽́̽̐̈́̄͊̊̕̕͜͝h̷̟͇̮͚̙̘̥̞̭̩̪̠͐͐̈́̍̈́͌́̀̅ͅ'̵̩̰͎̰̦̭̯̞͉͉͒̑͜.̶̠͖̱̫̫̪̪͍̈́̅̿͐͑̃̍̉͗̚͝ ̷͍̦̖̼̞̝̯̿W̸̧̗̩̯̤͓̘̬̓̈́̑̅͗̓̚͝h̶̨̛̛̗̪͖͓͚̮̯̔̍̃̈̏̓̿̿̇̚͠ą̷̞̪̝̟̰͍͍̪͈͇̱̿̄̏́̃͑̓̏̿̌͌̕͝t̸̤͇̤̤̠̤̅̊̃͌͊̐̒̉͜͠ ̷̼̩̞̎̋̔̈́̊̅̀͛̏͌͜͝͝͝͠ḑ̸̦͚̻̜̼̼̬̍o̴̧̜͍̹̦̪͆̅ ̴̛̰͎̰̞̣͔͙͕̯̋͋̃̈́͂̈́̓̇̅̋͘͘y̷͔͈̯̠͕̣̥̣̖̣͛ǫ̶͎̜̼̭͈̜̤̲̲͚̞̿̎͑̋͝ͅͅu̵̢̻̬͕̩̟͖͉̜̽̏̇͆̉͐̐́́̍̉̉͝ ̶̧̻̙̱͇̮͉̜̗͙̏͛̄̏͋̈́͠ͅm̸͈̺͕̫̮̙̬͕̄͒̇̇̈́̑͑́͘̕̚͠ḛ̸̢̻͓̹̰̟̜̬̤̫̍͜ͅa̷̧̬̐́̒̅̾̌̌̈́͘͝n̷̡̹͙̜̯̫̿̐̐̈́͗̔͌̀͊ ̶̛̱̱̱͓̳͎̦͓̤̘͐̊́́͜͜͝w̶̛̤̣̠͚͇̠͛͆̎̅̆̑̈̇̓̂ḣ̷̗̣̙͉͙̘è̷͉̣̤͖̺̬̫̳͎͆͂̒̉n̵̨̙͖͎̱͙̳̑͗̓́̾̇͒̿̐ ̵̺̘͚͓̖̾̃̉ỹ̵̧̪̹͍̪̟̔̅̈́́͑́̇ȍ̶̡̮̗̻̠̖͇̩̠̰̟͔̞u̶̧͙̲͉͓̫͂̀ ̷̧̪͇̙̙̖̙̱̍̇̄̂̕ś̷̨̧̩̺̻̞̊̚̕a̷̯̺̭̦̖̙͇̐̆͑̾̒̾̎̾͋̀̕͘y̵̧̧̝̟̥̖͎͊͑̄̆̔̃̂̅ ̷̣͂͗i̴̩̬̗͖͍͂͘t̶̢̳͓͎̞̹̠̗̟̾̊̈̈́̈́͆͂͋̑̚͝͝?̶̢̨̫͈̱͎͖͔̹̊̔͜͜͜͜"
You still aren't sure what Sister Hope is trying to say, but you are sure that her voice 'glitching' like this has something to do with you having brought up witches. Combined with the obvious kiss mark on her neck, and you think you've seen and heard enough to make your call. "A witch is a malevolent entity formed from curses that seeks only to consume and destroy. You're putting yourselves, your flock, and everyone in the city in danger if you let her continue to do the things she tells you to. Did you know that? Have you heard of witches before? What about puella magi? Is that term familiar to you?"
"P̶̧̼̺̹̗̱̬̦̗̱̪̗̔l̷̳̩̠̘̿͂̾̐͒͊̂͝e̴̛͎͖͈͖̰̖͇̤̪̒̿̓̾͌͠a̵̩͋̒͛s̸̡̳̗̥̪̤̺̩̹̈́̀ḛ̵̢̃̅̔,̴̧̼̬̥̠̺̙̯̙͋̋͌̈́̏̑̾̿͘̕͝͝ͅ ̷̢͙̹͓̱̳̜̪̺̖͈̀̓͝y̶̢͍̝̮̦͖̋̃̏̈́̀ͅò̶̧̩̞̮̙͚͈͉̝̩̼͎̈́̇̆̀͜ų̵̰̫̱̞̥̯͚̦̍́ ̶̜̻̼̼̳̳͔̟̰͓̇̽̌̅̓͆͐̊̏͝a̶͉̼̝̟̰̪̠̳͗̀͛̑̈̄̒̐͐͒̕r̵̨͚̭͈̀̈̒̈́͛ͅȩ̷̹̥̱͚̺͔̇̄̾̊̈́͊͆̔͑̌͛͜ṇ̸̢͇͓͙͚̱͔̝̆̓̌͘̕'̸͇̖͔̓̿̅̃̉͘t̶͇͚͆̊̀͝ ̷̧̡̰̪̮̠̪̳͚̼̖͓̪͆͌̈́̈́͒̃́́̇m̵̡̬̖̰̪͉̖̃͝ḁ̴͙̥̯̻̞̳̘͔̝̲̀̽͗͋̈́̀̅͋̚k̵̛̠̲̰̮̙͊̑̓͂̀͝i̴̡̛̗̲̭̳͇͑͗̌̈́̾̀́̔͗̀̏͠n̴̦͚̹̿͜g̷̨̳̠̖̳̐̂̄̇̇̄͌̈́͒́̚͝͠ ̸̡̻͚͇͍̾̕a̸̞͔̺̼̣̠̲̝̼̝̤͑͆̓͐̈́̋n̵̰̭͕̻͆̌̈́̕͠y̷͓̗̦͚̼̼̺̖͉̱̞͌ ̸̨̮͎̺͔̝̗̲̙̥͚͋́̀̆̂̚͝ş̵̛̙̤̃̾̋͐̈́͜͠ͅe̴̛̦͙̳̲͓̼͙̳͓̒̿̿͊͒̅͘͘͝n̷̨̛͍̼̪̫̺̼̫̻̦̗͙͖̏͛͂̃͂̄̒͆̄͋s̷̨̨͍͓̰͉̦̪̉̓͐̔̃̿̆̊̆͜e̷̦͉̮̱̘̱͖̱̻͖̫̝͇̋̀͂̊̀͆͐͌̋̌.̵̝̺̮̼̹͈̹̜̭̺͒̂̌̍́͊͆͆͘͝"
"Ỉ̶͇̻͔̤̥̠͇̂̽̂͋̑̄̌̿ ̴̢͎̭͇͚̟̼̞̩̥̦̯̮̈́̓̔͆̀́ț̸̡̨̺̱̳̩̖͊̔̎͆̌͂͛́͑̉̌͌͂̒̒̌̚h̴̛͔̍̍̂̿̃̉i̴̩̲̤͉̥͉̥̅̔͗̽̽́̍͘͝͠n̴̢̤͍̮̘̭̼̮̱̐̑̀͠k̵̢̲͙̦̦̗͂̊̆̅͐́̑̏͝ͅ ̵͖̬̺͐͋į̷̢̨̡̟̯͉̹͈͚͆̄͂͛̒̅̾̔̃̓͂͑̓̀t̴͍̭̪̒̎̈́͂̌̆̒̄̓͠'̴̟̬̙̺̖̫̝̺̦̳̞͕̦̪͚̈́̃̓͌̄͒̓̍͗̈́ͅs̴̪͚̍̌͋͌̾̒̓̒̀̆̾͋͗̚͜͝͝ ̵̱̈͝t̶̨̧̙̖̮̻̘̼̰̯͔͓̠̯̜̙̥̆̔̿̇͌͘i̸͔̤̜̳̬̅͂̈́̌̓̾̏͗̽ḿ̷̧̧̞͈̖̜̱͉͕̤͍̇͌̈́͑͊͊̄͂̒͘͜͝͝͝͝͝͝ȇ̶͎̙͖͚͈̼̙̩̠̙̼̜̣̗̞̒͌̿̂̆̓̀̉̊͠͝ ̶͖̰̙̅̐f̴̢̨͎̰̲͔͕͓͓̭̀̐̈͘̚ơ̷̡̲̥̩̺͆̏̒̔͒̆͋͑̇͊̈́̆̚͝͝r̶̢̡̗͓̼̹̼̭͕̼͖̈́̈́̅͂͗̂̿̃̑̿̉̕͠ͅͅ ̷̩̼͚̻̮̣̙̮͕̮̞͗́̑̏̊̾̚͝y̷̞̣̅͂̓́̈̾́́̔̌̕͘͝ó̴̩̄̈́̎̔̈̔̍̀̑̃̏̇͘̕͠͝ų̸̛͊̀̿͐̈́ ̵͚͔̰̈́̈́̌̀̈́̈́̀͐͑͆͆́̈̂t̵̨̨̨͚̜̜̩̫̰̹̳̲̼̝͍̣̒̀͠ǫ̵̧̬͕̬͈̠̤̋̎̋̀́́̃̃̃̈͝ ̵̨̧̯̭̪̝͕̜̜̗̪̝͆̿̌̓͒̉̌̕͝͝ļ̷̡͎̖̹̰͈̳͍̻͕͗̂̏͋̄̽̅̇͗͂́̋̕̕ͅe̶͕͍͔̜̙͑̂ą̴̭̟͎̥͚̥̜̯̔͂̂̄͘v̸̢̨̢̠̹͓̥̯̙̠̬̭̘̊͐́̌̈́̂̌͒́̌͋̓e̶̖̼̲̩̭̻͎̲̖͓̟͙͚̋̀̀̋̃̂̊́̉̈̊͑͠͠͝.̶̢̥͕̩̘̣̟̱̹͕̰̣͙̬̺̿̇̔͠"
You aren't getting answers that you can understand, and any answer you do get is incomprehensible. You would guess that that concludes negotiations. With nothing else you can think to say, that leaves only one thing for you to do before leaving. "Here," you say, handing Alina's student ID back to her. "You dropped this earlier today." She takes it with a hesitant hand, wordlessly staring at the thin laminated card. She mouths the name printed on the card, "Alina Gray" as though the name were unfamiliar to her.
"Father," she finally says, breaking her silence with an inquisitive tone as she shows the ID card to the man beside her "This girl looks like me, doesn't she? Why is that?"
"She does, Sister Hope," the man says back. "But I could not tell you why."
You've seen enough. You don't think you need to see any more.
[ ] Wat do?
