((Collab between Letter Bee, Scarifar, and RoflsMazoy.))

The Spirit materialized as the spirit of a very young girl, with bandages loosely draped all over her. She was wearing a hospital gown and had many scars on what visible skin she had.

"Hello," She greeted. "Are you finally back?"

Ascot blinked at that. "[i]Who[/i] is finally back?"

The spirit tilted its head, staring quizically at the two before her.

"Oh, you weren't from here then. I thought Mephisto had come back." She said with a sigh. "This place has been abandoned for a long time, maybe 5 years or so? I haven't seen another soul enter since then."

"Hmm..." Michael thought out loud. There was a plethora of information to be gathered here. Michael had to hand it to Ascot; the guy had a lot more info than Michael could've imagined. All one needed was to ask the right questions. Hopefully that wouldn't be too hard. Opening up a notepad app on his phone, Michael asked the spirit, "What did Mephisto come here for?" 

Ascot would then smile at Michael; he was clearly smart, then ask the spirit his own question: "What was your structure used for?"

"Oh, magic experiments, mostly, but I think Mephisto was here for something else." The spirit said. "We did all kinds of things, really. Weapons, Alchemy, animals, you name it. A lot of people came in, but not all of them are out yet."

As the spirit talked, Michael was typing in the info onto his phone. It was vague, but it was something. "How long had this been going on? And if so many activities were being performed here, why was this place abandoned?" Michael continued to ask. 

Ascot was more blunt. "Two things; any hints as to that 'something else' Mephisto spoke? And two, were any of his experiments on [i]children[/i]?!"

"Hmmm, I think in the two years this place was operational Mephisto never once said why he did anything. He gave instructions but not all of them made sense." The spirit continued. "There were never any children here. It would've been too conspicuous, I think. He only went after people nobody would miss."

The spirit flickered for a moment, as if it were remembering something.

"The facility was abandoned when a few creations went wild. Most of the staff escaped unharmed, but well, you don't have to be the fastest when you're being chased by a hungry beast," She said. "You just have to be faster than your friend."

So an accident occurred. That was just typical of these facilities; there was always something that had to have gone wrong. Michael continued to press for more information. "Were there any experiments that the people here mainly focused on? Any that Mephisto was particularly interested in?"

Ascot paused, then asked, "Did Mephisto mention any God or Goddess while in here? Who was his chief subordinates in the facility and who among them survived its destruction? And a third question; did Mephisto use any powers here, and what were they if he did?"

"I can't be sure what they were interested in because they'd export documents all the time. Everything was gone by the time it all ended. The researchers mostly followed instructions sent to them from outside here, and the times when Mephisto came, he was usually just checking the facility." The spirit replied. "Although, the last time he came was a week before it all happened."

The spirit shifted uncomfortably.

"He used something, I don't know what it was, but there was red lightning. The animals started getting more aggresive and instructions stopped coming in. The staff didn't quit for some reason, not until everything came loose. Whatever Mephisto wanted, I think he got it."

So many questions, yet the answers only gave way to more questions. The "red lightning" part was definitely of particular interest, though. More research would have to be done on that. As for the researchers, well either they were crazy enough to continue working in such hazardous conditions, or Mephisto had far more influence on them than what even money could provide. Well, that wasn't too surprising, considering how little anyone could find on they guy, even with Ascot's abilities. 

"I have nothing left to ask. What about you, Ascot?" Michael asked.

Ascot said, "One last question, building. Do you have a list of surviving researchers? Wait, there's another one; has Mephisto ever mentioned St. Laurel's or St. Laurel himself?"

"I don't know what St. Laurel's is. I don't think he ever mentioned it, but I can't be sure." She replied. Not being from the city of Rhea, this would be the expected answer. "Well, as for the surviving researchers..."

She spent the next couple of minutes giving them a list of names.

"That should be all of them..." She finished.

Ascot yawned in tiredness, then said, "Spirit, thank you for your time." He gave a slight bow, before turning to Michael once more. "I instructed Samoth to keep any fight going as long as possible; we have time for one last trip. A trip to Andre Baumann's place. Interested?"

"Sure, why not," Michael agreed, putting away his phone. "Seems more interesting than what King was gathering Vigilantes for."