Just As Planned - Babylonia 23

Fujimaru Ritsuka

She sunk into the chair with a sigh, laying her body across the table and closing her eyes to enjoy a bit more rest. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but she was not a morning person even if nobody else in Uruk agreed with her.

"Michael, we're here again. Sorry for intruding," Mash said with a light bow to the innkeeper. She wasn't watching, but she knew her kouhai and the bow was inevitable.

"It's fine, as I've said. It's what I'm here for, after all." After a moment, the man's low voice continued. "I take it they've been working you pretty hard, then."

"There are many things to be done in the city, yes," Mash answered, prompting a low groan from Ritsuka.

"I don't mind helping, but why does it have to be so early~?" She opened one eye as she heard the familiar sound of ceramic hitting wood, then blinked blearily at the mug now steaming in front of her face. She inched forward on the table, taking a deep breath... "Ahhh..." Then propped herself up on her elbows, bringing the mug up to her lips and tasting the coffee he'd set in front of her. "You're a hero. No, a saint!"

He smirked at her, chuckling. "I can sympathize with not being a morning person, although it's been a long time since I slept in regularly." He disappeared briefly back into the kitchen, before returning with a few plates scattered with bits of melons and dates along with some bread and bacon. "Mash, would you like some coffee as well?"

"No thank you. Breakfast is plenty for me."

As usual, her kouhai was being too withdrawn and unobtrusive. After she finished another drink of her morning blessing, she smiled at their host. "If you have some tea, she'd love some."

"Senpai, there's no need to -"

"It's no trouble. If I didn't keep my guests happy I'd be a poor innkeeper, correct?" He glanced into the distance for a moment before gesturing, and a tiny glowing portal deposited a steaming glass of tea in front of her Demi-Servant. "There you are. Enjoy, both of you."

"Um... thank you." Blushing, Mash blew a bit of the steam from the top before taking a drink and smiling happily. That's a better expression, Mash. You're allowed to enjoy yourself.

There was a chirping sound, and Ritsuka held out her bracelet. "Fujimaru here."

"Did I hear that correctly?" Came the voice of Da Vinci. "You're drinking coffee and tea in ancient Babylon?"

"Yep!" She exclaimed happily between bites of sweet fruit. "It's really good, too. Just as good as the food."

Romani groaned through the communicator. "How on earth did he manage to get... it hasn't even been invented yet!"

"My my, you grow more mysterious by the day. Fufu."

Ritsuka hummed happily at the taste and sensation of perfectly crisp bacon before nodding once. "I think I'll have to come back this evening to give you a proper interrogation."

"I agree!" In her mind, she could see Da Vinci's enthusiastic nod and mysterious smirk. "I'll prepare a list of questions."

"I suppose I'd best prepare myself, then. All right, Chaldeans. I'll answer at least a few of your questions this evening."

* * *

Riley

She hummed to herself, swaying to the not-quite-tune as she pried the lion-tiger-bear's ribcage apart. Really, these 'Demonic Beasts' just don't make sense. Her Shroud formed grey tendrils to shift the larger bones out of the way so she could examine the organs more closely, and she hovered up. She leaned forward to peer inside before scowling as her blonde hair hung down, the tips almost touching the carcass.

A moment's focus and her Shroud wound around her hair, pulling it back and braiding it behind her, and she leaned in again. Hmm. That almost looks like...

"I didn't realize you dove inside the corpses, Riley," Michael's voice startled her and she hovered up, glancing over her shoulder at him. He smirked at her, and for a moment she was confused. Then his eyes flicked down, and after a moment she blushed... and smiled. Oh! Was he... did he look up my skirt? Ehehe... She shook her head to clear her mind and refocus.

"They're large enough that I have to, if I want to see how everything connects clearly. Gosh, these things don't make a lot of sense!"

"Hmm. Well, why don't I take a look with you. I'm a bit more familiar with the magical side of things, I might be able to fill in some blanks."

"You..." She blinked at him. He's never... he wants to do an autopsy with me? Um... She swallowed, confused at the strange tightness in her chest. After a moment, she shook it off with a smile. "Of course! Come here and I'll explain what I've been doing."

He wandered closer and she hovered towards one of her hybrid-computers. The display flickered to life and she started scrolling through the data. "So far, I've managed to get a pretty complete picture of their various individual functions. These things - the Uridimmu, you called them? They don't have any abilities I'd call magical, normally. Except there's a problem. I've collected lots of data from the living ones we've encountered, and the sorts of things I've recorded them doing? Their bodies can't produce that kind of power. If they were still humans, I'd say they had a passenger giving them powers, but..." She shook her head.

Michael was staring down at her, vaguely amused, and she pouted up at him. Instead of asking, she went over what she'd been saying, trying to figure out what was... oh. "Oh. Um. I guess that part was important? There's some clear markers that they used to be humans. If I had to guess, that's where all the missing people have gone?"

Michael simply nodded. "Yes. Medusa's borrowed a degraded form of Tiamat's divine power – are you familiar with the mythology?" When she shook her head, he continued. "I won't get into the whole story, but Tiamat birthed a number of Demon Beasts said to be equal to the gods. Now, Medusa's own power isn't that strong – obviously, her beasts are significantly weaker. But she also can't create them from nothing. She needs something living to be converted."

She peered up at his face. If it had been... Jacob, he would have been amused at the suffering, or said something about the irony of men showcasing their inner beasts - but Michael just looked... almost blank. "Does that bother you? That they used to be people?"

He tilted his head, pursing his lips. "It's unfortunate that it happened to them. But... bodies are just things. If their families could recognize them still, I might want to return them – as it is, the greatest good that can be done is for us to figure out how they work and make use of that data."

...Now why can't everyone else make sense like that? That's perfectly reasonable.

"Now. You were saying?"

"...Oh! Right." She cleared her throat, hovering up closer to him. "So they obviously don't have powers powers, which means they're getting it from somewhere else."

He nodded. "In this case, they're drawing power directly from Tiamat – at least, I think so. Part of her legend is that her children had great power, so even a degraded form of that power imbues them with... more. The Mana of this era is probably automatically cycled through their flesh to make it stronger while they're alive, sort of a... self-reinforcing loop."

"Hmm..." She tapped her chin. "So if we could interfere with that, that would really neuter them..."

He chuckled. "If anyone could design something to sever a magical connection to a mother goddess, I'd believe it would be you, Riley. You might want to consult with Morgan on that, though. She's much better at the theoretical aspect of magecraft and Mystery than I am."

She huffed. "She doesn't seem to like me much, though."

He laughed, reaching out to tap her nose and making her scrunch it up in irritation. "I think you just bring up bad memories for her. She'll get past it – if you interact with her in a new context. Something like this might be just what's needed." When he saw her expression, he reached up to run a hand through her hair, and she immediately smiled and tilted her head into the sensation as tingles slid down her spine.

"...Fine. I'll let you know what we come up with."

"I'll prepare myself to be impressed, Riley."

She beamed at him.