Here Comes The Son (Ghost Band / Papa Emeritus fic)

Come Together For Lucifer's Son

In the dark corridor near the sisters' dormitories the nun hid in the shadows. On the floor at her side sat a small backpack. Checking her watch again, Sister Grace Manipulata sighed quietly as she waited impatiently.

"Did you manage it?" A voice asked, suddenly at her side on emerging from the darkness.
"Yes, I did," she choked out.
"Don't flake on me now, Sister. I'm still angry about you trying to warn him. The least you could do for our Master is to make amends for your loss of faith."
"I did what you wanted," she replied filled with remorse.
"You told him that you saw everything?"
"I told him I was watching the Speculum Incursio."
"And Belial's banishment? You told him that you saw it happen?"
"You told me to didn't you?" She replied, growing angry.
"Good, very good, Sister. And is our beloved Papa in the infirmary once more?"
"Yes," the nun sighed, hating herself for her actions.
"And his quintessence ghoul?"
"In a coma."
"Excellent. Now, I see you have a backpack. Are you ready to leave, Sister?"
"Yes, I can't do this anymore."
"Yes, you have used up your usefulness. Perhaps now is the time to go? There is just the matter of payment now."

Picking up her bag, the nun stepped forward, her hand outstretched waiting for the promised money only to instead feel a searing pain penetrating her chest as a knife was plunging into her heart. Opening her mouth to cry out, the knife twisted before being withdrawn. It felt as if it had pulled all the air from her lungs with it and with a mouth filling with blood, she stared at her assailant with disbelief and horror.

"I told you I'd kill you if you didn't help me. I said nothing about what I'd do if you did."

Watching the nun slip to the floor, her killer waited until there was no sign of a pulse, avoiding stepping in the blood oozing from her chest wound, flowing slowly and smoothly like spilled oil across the floor.

Walking away quickly but quietly from the dead nun, her killer smiled; there was now one less potential problem to deal with.

*

Swiss stared at Copia as he lay in the bed. From the monitors he was connected to, Swiss could see his heart was beating unusually fast. Whatever he was experiencing, it was upsetting him and it was breaking Swiss's heart to watch. Feeling hands on his arms, he knew without even looking behind him who they belonged to. Placing his right hand over Aurora's left, he found himself relaxing slightly even though nothing had actually changed.

"How's Phantom?" He asked.
"No change," Aurora replied.
"Papa's experiencing something strange still, look at his heart rate. Doc says he could be like this for another few hours. Do you think it's still affecting Phantom?"

Aurora looked at the readings on the monitors before turning a worried gaze back to Copia's ashen face.

"Probably," she sighed. "Doc says that even though he's in a coma, his heart rate and brain activity are up instead of down."
"She did it right in front of us, Aurora. I'm so ashamed."
"It's not like we saw her do it. I explained everything that happened to the doc. He thinks it may have been a poison ring with a triggered spike to inject him."
"Who would have one of those?" Swiss complained, before turning to look at the ghoulette as simultaneously they realised something.
"That's a good question!" Aurora beamed. "Let's get Dew and Rain to take over and we'll go to the Religious and Occult Artefact and Antiquities Department. They might be able to shed some light on it?"
"Amazing!" Swiss's eyes lit up as he looked down at her smiling hopeful face. "I could kiss you!"
"Later," she winked.

*

Trapped within his nightmares for at least the next few hours, Copia lay perfectly still, but his heart rate and brain activity gave away the chaotic and complex nature of those nightmares. At least, that was everyone's assumption.