<Snipped quote by Legend>

I, uhh…
*Skirts my gaze around the work to look back to you and nod*
Yeah. Feel that.

<Snipped quote by Memory>

*Smiles*

Well, if we don't get a response soon, you can go ask her in person.

<Snipped quote by Audacious>

We also learned that she's a clone. Somehow.

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

That aside, 's everything stable?

<Snipped quote by Legend>

*Scratches my head*
A clone? So, are we saying Artemis is still back at your place, then?

<Snipped quote by Memory>

I can ask.

*Carefully takes off one glove to pull out a phone and record a message on it*

Would you be up for checking something? Long story short, we have tolerable guests who could use confirmation of something, and your eyes would be able to solve it if you're willing.

*Sends the file to Dawn's phone*

<Snipped quote by Audacious>

I don't think I'd go that far... that's something I want to ask about when she gets back.

<Snipped quote by Memory>

*Looks back at the metal square with a distant look in my eyes*

So far so good. We'll need to put a little extra oomph in her soul to get it regenerating, but -

*Gestures lightly with the now foot-long bit of spinal cord, which now has a slight bulb at the top end*

- the nervous system is coming along. The extra material should be get to a decent size soon, which will speed things up.

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

*Replies*
My eyes are the only way to help them?

<Snipped quote by Legend>

I mean, there’s a chance she’s a clone just because of Dark Dynamo himself. I can see him being the type to take his anger out on underlings, but then needing to replace them because he went too far…
*Shudders*

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

*Replies*
My eyes are the only way to help them?

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

*Makes a face when I draw a blood sample into a syringe*
Blood's polluted. Neurotoxins. Stimulants. It's like she was trying to die.

<Snipped quote by Meta>

Aaaand here we go.

<Snipped quote by Meta>

*Records another audio message*

I mean, I suppose I could ask Nox, but... I don't see that working out for anyone. For context, we're trying to see if our guests' friend, who got pretty severely hurt, is actually the one they're friends with. We've found that she's a clone, but we can't figure out if they knew the clone or the one who was cloned.

*Pauses*

It would give them peace of mind, at the very least.

*Sends the message*

<Snipped quote by Memory>

That would explain the soul's dimmed state, too.

<Snipped quote by Audacious>

*Shivers and rubs my arms*
What kind of nightmare world did she grow up in?

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

*Waits a few minutes between the listen receipt and the response*
I'll do it. If I'm going to meet guests, just give me a few minutes to change clothes.

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

Can you explain that part to me, pretty please?

<Snipped quote by Legend>

Whatever the world was like under the thumb of that monster? I can only imagine.

<Snipped quote by Audacious>

As weird as it is to say, that idea does give me some comfort. Better than this being who-knows-who.

<Snipped quote by Legend>

Looks like we’ll get to ask, too. These folks seem like a well oiled machine.

<Snipped quote by Meta>

<Snipped quote by Memory>

*Smiles and records another*

Thanks, Dawn. I appreciate it. We're in Lab K. I'll cover things before you get here.

*Sends the message*

Dawn'll be here in a little bit. Let's get the patient covered up.

*Looks to Envy*

Take her dad to another area for a bit, okay?

*Envy nods and picks his corpse up, walking through a door in the back as I start draping sheets over Artemis*

Oh, right.

*Places the growing spinal cord in a box*

Well, Stella, in most human-esque species, the soul is interlinked with part of the consciousness. The more you feel something extreme, especially things like hatred, the more the soul reacts. If she was trying to harm herself, for example, that would link to a dimming of her soul.

*Pauses*

But mind-altering substances can also give a temporary dimming, due to the disruption of the consciousness.

<Snipped quote by Audacious>

*Snaps*
Best in all the worlds.

<Snipped quote by Yatagarasu>

Huh. Amazing, I take it back, I was wrong.
*Listens, enamored with the lesson*
What if you knocked someone out before killing them? What would happen to their soul?