Heretical Scions Ch.6 Feverish Masses...

It's great to see you again. It is Jizelle. Since yesterday, Squall has been more like herself, but it's not like that means much anyway. I am glad that I could push her to find more meaning to live again.

We'll see how that goes for now... I let Squall recuperate for the day after what happened to her with Emilia. Now the day after, Squall came to my office to give me the report on that spirit child she fought days ago.

I hoped to discuss how we could help Emilia, and solve the problem. I wanted to help Squall, my friend as much as I can. I want to be a better friend to her. I want to be there for her when she needs it...

Jizelle said with a smile, ''Thank you for reporting that to me. That was helpful. Now, on to the matter of how we could possibly help your old friend, Emilia.''

Squall said, ''Al...right...''

Jizelle asked, ''First of all, Mmm... If it is not...too much pain, can you please tell me about how your past is intertwined?'' Squall replied with hesitation, ''I'll.....try...''

Jizelle thought, ''I need to...know all I can for their sake, ...but I also wish to.....not dredge up painful feelings as well... Hopefully, I can help her...''

Squall explained hesitantly, ''Emilia was a orphan who was left on our door... My father, who was a doctor took her in and raised her alongside our family...

Mm... As she grew older, she grew more and more frail and ill..... No one.....could ever figure out what was making her suffer so much...

Regardless of my father being a skilled doctor, he could not figure it out either...''

Jizelle thought, ''Wow... I can tell how hard it is for her, to tell me this... Poor Squall... But I need to know. I apologize, my friend... I know.....these are painful memories.....''

Squall continued, ''Soon after.....Emilia turned 11, her suffering and her condition got worse. (Groans) Sh-she.....had to stay in the hospital in hopes.....of improving...

We each took turns visiting her, but she seemed to be worse every time... Eventually, the night came when they announced that she was..... her body was, going to give out...''

I told Jizelle the rest... You already know what had happened that night... This wasn't easy to tell... I felt something stinging inside my heart, retelling all of the story...

Jizelle said quite somberly, ''Ohh my... Hearing of all that in depth..... I can understand why you.....why you didn't tell me, until now... Thank you so much.....Squall... I realize how painful that was for you now...

Now, we must discuss, how we can possibly help Emilia...'' Squall looked down and said, ''Affir...mative... Let's begin...''

Jizelle asked, ''Where to start... Like you told me, you saw Emilia's soul.....make a deal with a invisible being, right?'' Squall replied, ''Correct...''

Jizelle said, ''You believe...that this deal changed Emilia.....and the price was your whole family?'' Squall replied, ''It is, what I believe, yes...''

Jizelle asked with difficulty, ''The question is, who was that 'high being'? Hmm... Why does it hate god? .....And why.....is it using Emilia?'' Squall had a look of shock.

Squall said, ''She told me.....that she was the one.....who was in fact, driving random civilians too madness...''

Jizelle said earnestly, ''Alright... Hm... The question is, what is she getting out of all those cases? Why...does she need to do that?''

Squall said grasping at something, ''I...think I realized something... It was something she told me, before I fainted... 'Ohh, darn! I don't have enough mana left to summon my weapon.'

In that moment, my mind pieced it together...

Squall said with hesitation, ''I think...she drives people mad, .....to collect their negative emotions... Thinking back, she kept mentioning something about energy needed.....''

Jizelle said eagerly, ''That's it! That's her goal! . . . .That...makes the most sense...'' Squall explained, ''She said her.....goal was to 'bring mankind into a new era.'

Jizelle said, ''What.....does that mean, though? . .Mmm... Umm... I think, we are getting something now... . .But we need more yet...'' Squall was looking with confusion.

Jizelle said with confliction, ''I think, we need more clues yet... Let's discuss this more, another day... . .Thank you for all your sharing Squall... I know it...couldn't have been easy... Thank you, my friend...''

I didn't know what to say to her at the moment... I just stayed silent... Then...

Jizelle asked, ''Huh? Do you hear a strange thumping sound? Uh? . .What is that?'' Squall thought, ''Strange sound? . .Uh? . .! . .What is that?''

Jizelle followed this sound to the balcony of her office... When she went outside and looked down...

Jizelle said, ''What the...! Someone's slamming on my doors! Hey you! What's your problem?!'' Squall thought as she walked forward, ''Somebody... slamming on our doors? . . . . . .Umm?''

Male of strange behavior mumbled, ''Uhh? Madi___? . .Mans___? . .Uh! Uhh!'' Jizelle asked angry, ''What the...? What is with his mumbling? Squall. Let's go see if we can help him... Alright?''

Squall confusingly nodded her head.

We went to the entrance to see what was up with this guy's behavior. As we were walking down the 2nd floor steps, I could've sworn that Emilia's ring in my pocket, glowed for a second, but it went away.

Strangely behaving male mumbled, ''Pro____! Impor____!! I h_ve a c_mpla_nt! Uh! Uhh!! (Slamming more)''

Jizelle said, ''Now what is your-uhh? Wait, I recognize you now! Your one of...our staff at my factory, right? What are you doing here?''

Male staff guy said, ''Huh? How.....did I end up here? Uh... Miss Madison?'' Jizelle asked, ''You don't remember...why you came here? . .Are you feeling okay?''

Male staff guy replied in a confused manner, ''I...guess I'm...not? I was on my way home, and my memory blanked out... . .I am just as confused as you are...''

I was confused as well... Something felt so off to me. I couldn't place what felt so off, but I didn't say anything...

Jizelle said, ''Al...right... You look paler than I remembered. Maybe, you're not getting enough sleep? (Smiles) Go home and get more sleep alright. I hope you get better.''

Male staff guy was waving, ''Uhh... right. I will. See ya, Miss Madison. (Sigh)'' Jizelle said to Squall, ''That was strange. I wonder what his issue was? Hmm...''

Squall turned out and said, ''I'm going back to my room. Bye now...'' Jizelle said, ''Uhh, right.''

I went to Jizelle's library once again to read something, and get my mind off of things... After putting the previous book I read back, I found another one that caught my eye.

The title read, 'Understanding of Friends'

Squall thought to herself somberly, ''Friends..... Hm.....''

I took this book with me to my room and read it once again on my sofa. I hesitated to open it. Looking back on it, I think I feared opening that book. At the same time, I was curious on it's potential contents.

The inside guide said, 'This book delves into the complicated understanding of friendship and what that truly entails. Read below for index guide.' Squall was feeling quite sad.

The next few days, in Jizelle's office...

Now that we had figured out more, I knew at least partially what to keep out for... I tried my best at looking at reports all over the city of people causing destruction, sightings of a strange girl with indigo hair, and other incidents...

Jizelle thought over the next few days, ''C'mon, Jizelle. Do it for Squall! Your friend. After 4 years, we finally saw proof that her friend is still alive. After everything I did to help, she came to Squall herself...

Am I actually helping.....at all? Is my help...doing anything.....? Squall..... Hmm... No! No!! I must do everything I can. I got to support her all that I can... Pull yourself together Jizelle! Shape up!!''

Sometime later...

Jizelle asked herself, ''Huh? What's this? (Click) 'Strange Case: The last few days, a string of random people on the streets have been feeling drained... Some have acted slightly violent. Some look weirdly pale...'

What the...? Feeling drained? Looking pale? . .These must be photos. (Click) . .Hmm.....''

When I took a glance at these photos, presumably shot by people on the streets... Some people looked totally fine, while others looked ill. Like they needed a night of eating and sleeping...

I wasn't sure what to think of these photos. Then, I noticed something... In one of these photos. One of them showed one a person looking slightly sickly.

In the edge of the photo was the back of a girl walking with a familiar look to her. I felt like I saw her before, so I asked Squall to take a look.

Before, in Squall's room...

I started reading inside that book I grabbed... As I started reading, I didn't know how to feel reading it.

The book read, 'How people become friends can never be truly understood. How mankind determines what friends are, varies from person to person.

If you have one, why did you become friends with that person? Why do you like that person? What did that person do to become your friend?

Squall thought, ''Hmm? Is this true? . . . .Jizelle always tried to...call me her friend... How does...she define one? . .What is her ideal?''

Another page read, 'Complex research shows that good friends at one point, argue and fracture, however their true measure is if they can make up eventually.

True friends can let their issues go and find a way to move pass it, if they truly desire to be with you again. Something is wrong, if the individuals never argue about anything.

It means that they aren't showing you their true selves, or that they are bottling something up.'

Squall thought while somber, ''Emilia..... Were we ever true friends? . .Do you still care for me? No! I don't need any friends. I don't.....''

Jizelle said over the earpiece, ''Squall. Can you come to my office? I may have found something. . .Are you there?'' Squall replied, ''Affirmative... I'll be there in a minute.''

Later, with Squall in Jizelle's office...

Squall asked, ''Cases of people becoming sickly? . .Hmm?'' Jizelle asked, ''Take a close look at this photo. Do you recognize her?''

Squall said quietly shocked, ''Hm? . . . .! I.....I recognize that hair, ...and that outfit... It's her! Ahh!'' Jizelle said, ''I thought so... This photo seemed to have been shot on the southwest part of the city. I think you should investigate this...''

Squall confirmed, ''Southwest? Affirmative. I shall go out and investigate the matter... Mm...'' Jizelle said, ''Wait! . .Take a copy I made of the photo.'' Squall said, ''Right. I will... . .um... urm! T-thank you, Jizelle!''

Jizelle thought to herself, ''Hm? What was that about? . . . .''

I left for the SW portion of Genesis City staring at the photo in my possession... I forced myself to thank her as I usually didn't. It was surprisingly hard to thank her. I felt so strange after I said that...

When I made it to the relative area that the photo was taken, I hesitantly asked bystanders if they had seen the girl in that picture before.

Some people replied to my question, saying they didn't recognize her. Others seemed odd, and responded like I wasn't there. When I felt like giving up, something strange began happening...

Squall thought, ''Huh? . .What's that odd glow? . .Her...ring? What the...? Why is it flashing? She's not wearing it? . .Urm!''

By accident, I dropped it. When I picked it up, I realized that it seemed to be flashing more. I tried a experiment and held it up at a angle.

When I tried moving around. It was like bars on a cellphone. When I moved, it's flashing got slower or faster.

Squall thought to herself, ''Maybe.....it is still connected to her.....somehow... Maybe, it is somehow picking up.....on her energy? I might...be able to use this... Ah!''

I pointed it in certain directions until I was sure.

Squall said quietly while running, ''(Gasp) East! . . . .Northeast! . . . .East again! . . . . . . . .?''

Suddenly, the ring stopped flashing. When I gazed around, I noticed a mass of people standing suspiciously, looking like they were about to freak...

Squall thought, ''What the? . .Hm?'' Sudden male started laughing psychotically, 'Ha!-Ha!-Haa!-Haa!-Ha!-Ha!-HA!-HA!-Ha!-Ha!-HaA!-HaA!!!!''

Almost every person around me started attacking with different levels of force. A few others sensibly ran away. Something was different about these people.

Some had a extreme dark aura rising from themselves to fight me, while others had only a fraction of darkness amassing out of them.

Squall thought while dodging, ''What is with these people? How am I going to fix this? Urgh! Get away from me!'' Unhinged male teen shouted, ''I want everyone to shut up permanently!''

Next time...

[Time with Jizelle]

Jizelle said with glee, ''What's happening to Squall is dreadful, but we'll see what ensues next time. I am here to liven things up once again! Let's began.

Where do I start...today? Aaa! (Chuckles) Today, I will share some details about my family mansion. We live in a 2-floor mansion that has 3-floor towers on both sides.

Our mansion is built on a street with other wealthy businesses up and down the block. Our mansion is more wide then anything, with a small apartment-length courtyard in front.

My office is in the center of the 2nd floor with a window view of the street. I have a balcony in my office, that I use sometimes. Squall's room is on the 3rd floor of the east tower.

What are on the other floors, you may ask? (Chuckles) Well, I'll save that for another time. That's it for today, and I'll see you next time! Fare-well!!''