[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UgCNeNz.png[/img][/center] Brent left Emma at her room, but she had hardly felt like going back and sleeping. There was too much to do to waste time, and she was far too eager to find Hector again to be able to sleep. Instead she used her time to wander through the school, learning the layout of the campus and figuring out who could possibly give her information. She had no doubt that Zhang wouldn't let her see Hector again but she wasn't going to let that stop her. To that end she needed to learn more about Him, Clark, Miranda, and the room below the hospital. After that she needed to plan to break in. To this end she developed a mental list: Ink Lady Shane Lawrence That was all she had, actually. She sighed. She didn't really have a lot to go off of, and her 'investigation' would only get harder from here. She momentarily considered going and getting Brent to help her but decided against it. One should not be mistaken, Emma actually didn't feel any hatred towards Brent for his comments in the tunnel deep below the campus, she just decided it would be better to go it solo for now. He was right, after all. For the next several hours Emma wandered, occasionally checking her phone. There was still no word from Val. [color=8A3DFF][i]She probably thinks I'm a monster,[/i][/color] Emma accepted. It was a reasonable conclusion, after all. Before long she was stopped by a guard. [color=f7976a]"You're aware that it's past curfew, right?"[/color] For a moment Emma considered resisting, but she merely nodded, and allowed herself to be escorted back to her dorm. [hr] Later that night, while in the throes of sleeplessness, a horrible vision beset Emma. She found herself back on the white sandy beach, staring into the depths of the ocean. Deep, deep, deep below was a mass. She could see it writing, reaching. Was it getting closer to her, or was she getting closer to it? [color=f7976a]"Em! Em! Where you goin'?! C'mon, we're all havin' fun, come join us!"[/color] Riley. Emma didn't want to remember, but she did. The beach. It was the first time Riley had ever invited her to hang out with her friends. Emma remembered how pretty she was, how much she made her heart ache. It was silly. She was still calling after her, but Emma was still drawn to the thing in the ocean. She could feel it's power, impossibly strong. She could have that power, couldn't she? She'd just have to let it take a little of her to, right? That was okay, wasn't it? A piece for a piece. Fair trade. She'd be able to protect everyone, she'd be able to stop Zhang and stop DC's monsters all at once. That was an even sillier thought, wasn't it? [color=f7976a]"Emma, stay away from there!"[/color] The voice was harsh. It was her father. Her biological father, that is. She didn't want to listen to him. She wanted to jump into the water just to spite him, but she also wanted to go back to Riley. It would be safe and comfortable and she would be happy, wouldn't she? She wanted to go back to that beach and forget about USARILN and Hector and Stigmas and everything. In fact, given the chance, she would've. But all of that wasn't real. So instead she jumped into the bottomless ocean, and the thing reached up from the depths for her. [color=f7976a]"Em! Emma! Come back!"[/color] [hr] By the time Emma realized it wasn't real it was near morning. Was it just a vision? It had happened before, on the battlefield. It certainly couldn't have been a dream, she wasn't sleeping. She pushed it away. But something was off. The voices in her head were louder and more persistent. She took a shower and left. Her first stop was Room 221. Emma knocked on the door. She wasn't afraid of the girl behind the door anymore. She'd seen real monsters, hadn't she? She was too eager to find out what the women who controlled ink knew to worry about who she was anyways. When the door opened it was the same face, and she had repeated the same check she had performed before. She closed it again upon seeing Emma's familiar face. Trails of ink slid out from the door, forming a smooth, elegant "?". [color=8A3DFF]“Hi. Sorry to bother you again, but I was wondering if you could help me out. I went to see Clark, and I almost found out what I needed... [i]but[/i] I got kicked out by Zhang’s people before I could finish talking to him. I was, uh, hoping you could answer some questions about Clark and Hector? If it’s not too much of an intrusion... er, I'm assuming you know Hector?”[/color] Emma was quick to the point. The ink's shape dissolved into a shapeless puddle, like the girl was thinking about it. Eventually, it reshaped letter by letter into a new message, "Only Clark. Hector is heartless. Don't ask." That wasn't the answer Emma hoped for. She was far more interested in Hector than Clark, but she was already here, so she decided to find out what she could. [color=8A3DFF]“Er... okay… first, I was wondering if you knew what happened to Clark after last night? Things got a little, uh, heated between him and the guards, I don’t think Zhang was too pleased.”[/color] "?" [color=8A3DFF]“Ah. In that case I’m sure he’s fine… er, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is your relationship with Clark? Are you roommates? Or…?”[/color] "When Clark feels good, he helps me." Emma wasn't sure what to make of that. [color=8A3DFF]“… I see. Uh, I’m curious, what exactly is Clark’s, er, job title, if that makes sense? He works for Zhang, doesn’t he?”[/color] "Student." [color=8A3DFF]“Ah, I was under the impression the he was staff.”[/color] Emma could tell that she wouldn’t get anywhere here. She needed to know more about Hector, not Clark. [color=8A3DFF]“I think that’s about all I need to know, but I would like to make sure that he didn’t get in trouble with Zhang. Know anyone else I could ask?”[/color] Hopefully whoever knew Clark would know Hector too. "Special student. Director would keep him safe." The ink spun in a spiral for several more seconds after the message, thinking, thinking, thinking. "Rosa. Fredric." Emma nodded. After finding out who exactly Rosa and Fredric were she would be left with two more leads. Needless to say she was beaming. [color=8A3DFF]“Alright, thanks a lot. You’ve been very helpful, er… sorry, how rude of me, I don’t think I ever asked your name.”[/color] "Sarah." And some distance below the name. "Yours?" [color=8A3DFF]“Emma, or Em. Either way is fine. Nice to meet you.”[/color] Emma paused for a moment, but decided not to wait for the ink to reform, [color=8A3DFF]“Well, I should go find Rosa and Fredric. Thanks for letting me interrogate you, Sarah.”[/color] At that Emma turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something else she was wondering. [color=8A3DFF]"Actually, one more thing... Clark's a mage, right? What exactly is his power?"[/color] The ink remained shapeless for longer than usual this time, before finally drawing a series of straight, black lines in overlapping constellation patterns across the floor. A branch of the network broke off in the rendition, and the inking in that portion splashed outward, like the line had exploded. This repeated several times before the lettering appeared again. "How Clark described it. Stigma eater." Emma wasn't sure what the hell to make of that. [color=8A3DFF]"Alright. Thank's again, then, Sarah. See ya' later."[/color] With that Emma left for the hospital. [hr] The hospital proved to be pointless. The receptionist, as Emma expected, were unwilling to enlighten her about Clark or Hector. In fact they seemed to become clammy at the very mention of the name 'Hector'. Needless to say she wasn't allowed to go back to the room below. But that wasn't really the reason Emma was at the hospital. She didn't expect USARILN staff to help her, but she was hoping that Shane would know more. When she asked the receptionist about him she was given the room number but warned that it was unlikely that she would be able to see him. Sure enough she was turned away by guards outside his room, and the trip was a wash. Emma walked aimlessly, considering her next action. She would need to know more about Rosa and Fredric, and she figured that she should ask around in... Her stomach rumbled. It looked like she would ask around in the cafeteria. [hr] By the time Emma was finished getting her food her plate was piled high. She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. She had been so excited to find Padma and Alexis yesterday that she hadn't even thought about eating. Well, there was little reward for her enthusiasm. She stood at the edge of the room, considering where to go. She heard a voice from across the room. [color=f7976a]"Emma! Hey! Em!"[/color] She saw a pair of flailing arms directing her to come over, and she obliged. She recognized the girl that had called her over and her friends, Emma had met them the day before the battle when she got lunch, chatted with them for a while, and left. She was a little surprised that they remembered her. That was, she was surprised until they started talking. One of the boys at the table spoke up, [color=f7976a]"Hey, you were one of the new kids they sent out, right?"[/color] The girl who called her over shushed him. [color=f7976a]"Sorry about him. Take a seat. How's it goin'?"[/color] She said. Emma obliged, taking a seat down at the table. [color=8A3DFF]"It's fine, go ahead and ask."[/color] She said with a smile. She had her own questions after all, didn't she? The girl looked a little surprised but she didn't hesitate, [color=f7976a]"So... rumor is Benediction came and healed you guys after the battle? That's bullshit, right? I keep telling them-"[/color] Emma held up her hand, signalling for her to stop. [color=8A3DFF]"No, Benediction did come. He healed us all and left."[/color] The table collectively gasped. [color=f7976a]"Bullshit!"[/color] [color=f7976a]"The fuck?!"[/color] [color=f7976a]"Told you! In your face!"[/color] Others were pressing her for details, shouting out questions, and some stayed silent. The girl, who appeared to be the group's alpha, ushered them to be quiet. [color=f7976a]"You've gotta give us details!"[/color] She insisted. Emma shrugged, [color=8A3DFF]"What can I say? After the battle we were all in the hospital, he came through with a troop of guards and healed us, then left quick as that. That's all there is to it."[/color] The boy who didn't believe her spoke up with scorn, [color=f7976a]"Why the hell would they send Benediction to heal a bunch of newbies? There isn't a chance in hell!"[/color] Once again she shrugged, [color=8A3DFF]"Don't know what to tell 'ya. Can't really explain it myself."[/color] Emma took her chance now that she was the center of attention. [color=8A3DFF]"Listen, I'll tell you guys all about Benediction, but there's something I need to know first..."[/color] [hr] Emma ultimately spent the next hour in the cafeteria explaining every possible detail of her limited interaction with Benediction to her audience. Some didn't believe her, some ate up every detail, and a select few were pissed that there friends died without being sent any sort of healer, let alone the famous Benediction. Emma had no consolation for them. As for the word on Hector, Rosa, and Fredric, well, Emma didn't learn nearly as much as she had hoped. Rosa and Fredric were easy enough: They were Zhang's goons. Not promising. She doubted that they'd be ready to help her do exactly what Zhang didn't want her to do. And Hector... well, reactions were mixed. Most knew him, but... well, some just thought he was a particularly eccentric Aberration and some thought he was dangerous. There was one rumor that he lived below campus because he had a stigma that required him to eat other mages. It was derided as a ghost story, but was more accurate than Emma wanted to admit. And there was on other thing. Hector came out on Wednesday to got candy from the food stalls. Emma grinned. It looked like she was almost done. She was left with only one more person on her list: Lawrence Ellison.