((Collab between Rofls and Letter Bee; Vernon is used with permission from his player.))

Vernon smiled at Ascot. "Always clever, William. But I think I and Michael should stay outside; someone needs to watch the surroundings."

Ascot nodded, and entered the basment of the residence; he was prepared for yet another Spirit Interrogation...

Amongst the charred ruins of the basement there were the charred remains of a few tables and chairs. In the center of it all, the spirit appeared. A man with brown hair and glasses, with a long lab coat currently on fire in various places. The man seemed tired.

The spirit of the secret lab facility hadn't provided a description of the head researcher Andre Braumann, but perhaps this was him.

"What do you want to know?" It asked simply.

Ascot frowned. "What deeds did Andre Braumann do, and did he speak about them in this building? For that matter, did he know anything about one named 'Mephisto'?"

"...How strange it is... This feeling." The spirit muttered. "Andre Braumann... His identity has been placed over mine. How strange it is, to hear his name and find it odd, when it should not be odd at all."

The spirit suddenly seemed to recoil from something, and the lit flames on his lab coat seemed to intensify for a second.

"...No matter. The man known as Andre Braumann, what acts could he have done that the spirit of the Facility could not tell you? He kept his personal life separated from his work, as he should have done." The spirit said, flames flickering as he seemed to recall events from the past. "But he knew nothing. For all he had done, for how cautious he had been, he had only ever been dancing on the palm of Mephisto.

"He knew naught of Mephisto. He was a man of science. He would not let ethics stand in the way of progress, or so he told himself. But make no mistake, his only delusion was that of making progress. He knew the morality of his actions and was prepared to spit in the faces of the Gods if he had to.

"But what a fool he was, he thought himself safe. He thought himself above it all, he thought he'd found favor in the eyes of Mephisto. Mephisto had only found the end of his usefulness.

"The result of his hubris... You can see it here, can't you? I think I should be glad you have stayed far from his path."

The spirit's lips stretched into a grin. Not a very pleasant one, either.

A deeper frown. "Mephisto killed Andre. How was he killed, as in, what power did Mephisto use to dispose of him? And for that matter...what Gods did Andre want to defy most?"

"His power would be the same one he used to loose the beasts in the Facility." The spirit said, becoming more sombre. "Baumann had studied it extensively before his death, and I was able to bear witness to it afterwards. However, there were many differences, of course.

"Mephisto has never been in this place. He has never even approached this place, and yet, the Red Lightning was there. A strange phenomena, more akin to a curse than anything else. Baumann never noticed it, as he died too shortly after it had begun. But it was almost as if there was a consciousness following behind him, trying to bring about his death.

"A curse, perhaps, or maybe a remotely controlled ability. Baumann was not able to find a solution, and neither have I for that matter."

The spirit paused for a second, as if trying to remember any more details, but it would seem none came to mind.

"As for which God... None of them. Or any of them, I should say. Had they come down to smite him, he would have spit in their eyes, oblivious to the fact that it would mean nothing at all to them. It was nothing more than dreams of grandeur, only the last remnants of humanity a man like him coud have." It finished.

Ascot clenched his right fist in abbhorence, then a thought came to him. "Does a man like him even have a family?"

"He never spoke of one in this household," The spirit said, pausing. Then the smile returned to his lips. "But he has a daughter. One who knows nothing of all this... For a very good reason. You'll find her in the hospital not far from here..."

A nod from the boy, before he said, "Has Andre Braumann ever spoken about St. Laurel's or St. Laurel?"

"No, science has long been the only thing he had lived for," The spirit replied. "Until his daughter, that is. She was not known to Mephisto, and not even to me until she passed this house by chance.

"It would be best to find her sooner rather than later, however. Not all secrets can be kept forever."

Ascot gave a slight bow, and said when he got up, "Then I will find her. But before heading to her rescue, I will ask one last thing. What summary of Baumann's studies of the Red Lightning can you give me?"

"His notes are ash, but I can dictate them to you if you wish." The spirit replied.

The boy said resolutely, "Do so."

Once the spirit was done, he would go back to Michael and Vernon, and say with certainty: "The chase continues. But it seems that Mephisto has the power to curse people, and this curse manifests as red lightning that causes cages to open and flip stoves on to set houses on fire. Like a 'programmable' form of telekinesis. But what's more important is that Andre Baumann has a daughter in a nearby hospital, and she needs our help."

[@Scarifar][@CavnderOHeart]