Chrono X Angel, Book 6: Branching Paths

Sticky Business

In the bowels of GARDNA HQ's labyrinthine sub-basement, a group of Oni and werewolves were carrying a massive, rusted green shipping container down the ancient stone tunnels. Trailing just behind them were the Pendragon siblings, as well as Cessily Nekomoto who had her younger sister on a video call. The four of them were discussing just what to do with the incredibly dangerous object the container held: the strange crystal that contained the temporally-frozen form of Abigail Williams, her face stuck in a perpetual shriek of terror and fury.
Back in Ireland, a few weeks ago now, Usoko and her friends had defeated Abigail by combining their elemental energies into a single burst that formed into this peculiar crystal. It was clear, though the rough and uneven exterior made seeing inside slightly difficult from certain angles. Attempts to scratch the surface had failed, with even a reenforced diamond drill shattering against the mystery substance. What analysis could be run on it, though, indicated it to not be composed of any element on the known periodic table.
Aside from the brief burst of energy it gave off just after being formed, a wave which was tracked in the aftermath and appeared to encircle the globe, it gave off no detectable radiation. Likewise, it's sole occupant was as silent as the grave, with only faint brainwaves and minimal life energies able to be detected. A part of Lydia hoped she was not at all conscious in there, but a larger part of her genuinely did. After all, Abigail had killed Grigori, and Lydia had been friends with him for a long time. Hell, they had even dated briefly, once upon a time...

"So this vault you had built down here," came Lydia's voice through her sister's phone, "It's meant to keep people out yeah? What about keeping em in? What if she gets loose?"

Mordred Pendragon could not help but chuckle.

"Lydia, if she were able to escape her crystalline prison by herself, I daresay we would have much bigger problems to worry about. No, she will be quite safe in there."

That sated the Catgirl, though the idea of Abigail breaking free made her shudder. The witch had been all but unstoppable according to Usoko and Nonami, the former of whom had been the one to come up with the idea to trap her in the first place. If she escaped now, Lydia doubted they could get that lucky again.

As the crate was moved into place, a tremor rumbled through the tunnels, throughout all of Fumizaki in fact. Not large enough to cause any major damage, but certainly detectable by the senses.

"It's like the ground knows what she is... and it doesn't like her..." mumbled Cessily, though only her sister was able to hear.

"Well that was certainly odd," commented Modred as she and two Oni moved a large cable into position between the door handles of the crate. It was quite low tech, all things considered, but to even get this far into the tunnels was all but impossible without a map. No, this would suffice for the time being, at least until a proper cell could be constructed.

Their job done, the crew began the much less arduous return trip, and soon enough the trio of leadership returned to Modred's temporary office that had been Lydia's where the Cat sat nursing her baby. There was another matter for them to discuss.

"So these reports of... crime... dodos?" Inquired Lydia skeptically as she read a recent report, "Spectral Dodos seen committing petty crimes across town, pickpocketing unsuspecting tourists or robbing snacks from a convenience store."

Modred took a seat behind the desk and brought the same report up on her computer. After a moment, the knight looked up from the screen and sighed heavily.
"You know what, after the shit we just went through, I'll take Crime Dodos any day of the bloody week."

"Agreed," replied Lydia with a short chuckle, "I'm wondering what this could be though. Think they're independent entities, or being controlled by someone?"