Resurrection

[15:53] <Ragazzo> Dusty's sitting at home, glancing out the window to see if anyone's coming every few minutes.
#01[15:55] <&Flames> Just as he glances away, there's a knock-knock-knocking on his chamber door.
[15:55] <Ragazzo> Dusty hurries to open it.
[15:55] <Ragazzo> He opens it.
#01[15:59] <&Flames> There is Otto, standing there with two other people.  "Good afternoon, Mister Cole.  We're here to pick up the delivery."  Otto says smoothly.
[15:59] <Ragazzo> "Ah, of course. Come in, come in."
[16:00] <Ragazzo> Dusty leads them in and to the coffin, which is open. Hare's in a different outfit than what the funeral home sent her in. It's a light purple sun dress. He shuts it carefully.
[16:01] <Ragazzo> "Ok..."
#01[16:03] <&Flames> "Very good, sir."  The two men pick up the coffin, then Otto sets a device upon it.  The device activates, and the eye seems to slide off of the coffin as "not worth thinking about".
[16:03] <Ragazzo> Dusty grabs a bag, that holds the aethersalve, and a few other things.
[16:04] <Ragazzo> He pauses, eventually realizing what must be happening.
[16:04] <Ragazzo> "...clever."
#01[16:04] <&Flames> "Meet us back at the chateau, please." Otto says with a nod.  "The master should be ready in an hour".
[16:04] <Ragazzo> "Of course."
#01[16:07] <&Flames> Otto and the laborers depart, heading for parts unknown...
[16:07] <Bouncl> Todd is reading in the library, for reference. In case Dusty needs him :V
#03[16:08] * Heiden is now known as Heiden_AFK
[16:09] <Ragazzo> An appropriate amount of time later Dusty shows up at the chateau, with the aethersalve, a good amount of Blood, and some other things.
[16:09] <Ragazzo> He announces his arrival into the speaker, or whatever.
#01[16:09] <&Flames> The door opens, and it's Otto, looking down impassively.  "Thank you for your prompt arrival, Mister Cole.  Come in, please."
[16:10] <Ragazzo> "Thank you, Otto." Dusty walks in.
#01[16:11] <&Flames> "Now if you'll follow me, the laboratory awaits."  Otto heads down the hall, then does a complicated knock on the door.  The door opens obligingly.  "You will need to change in the dressing room, Mister Cole.  We are under White Room conditions."
[16:12] <Ragazzo> Dusty nods, and follows. "Of course, through here?" He goes and changes in the designated room.
#01[16:14] <&Flames> Otto escorts him to a dressing room where there are several masks, gowns, and shoe covers.  It's an odd mix of science, surgery, and Hollywood mad science.  The scent of ozone tickles the nose.
#01[16:15] <&Flames> When Dusty emerges, Otto awaits, dressed in similar attire.  "Now, Mister Cole, I caution you:  Do not interrupt the Master.  I am under strict orders not to permit *any* interruption."
[16:15] <Ragazzo> "Hmmm...this reminds me, my mother always wanted me to be a doctor." Muses Dusty as he changes.
[16:15] <Ragazzo> "yes, I understand. Will he be performing the entirety of the ritual? Including the portion using the aethersalve?"
#01[16:16] <&Flames> "You will provide assistance as he works.  The Master will inform you what needs to be done.  You will then do it."
[16:16] <Ragazzo> "Of course."
#01[16:17] <&Flames> "Very good, then we understand each other.  Follow, please."  A polite command, but no less an order.  Otto leads him in deeper.
[16:17] <Ragazzo> Don't fuck up, don't fuck up, don't fuck up.
[16:18] <Ragazzo> Dusty follows.
[16:18] <Ragazzo> He's absolutely ill at ease, but more out of anxiousness, than anything.
#01[16:20] <&Flames> They walk into the Laboratory, and it is...  well.  There are aspects of Art Deco in the designs, but the equipment itself is newer than next week.  Hare's body lays on a table, covered in a sheet and with IVs in various veins.
#01[16:21] <&Flames> Harker turns, "Ah, Mister Cole, good day.  Bring your Alchemical Blood here, please, we will be readying it for injection."
[16:22] <Ragazzo> Dusty nods. "Good day, Mister Harker." He walks over, and sets out several containers of Blood. "I brought a little more than you requested, just to be safe. Please consider anything left over to be yours."
[16:23] <Ragazzo> "I have to say, your laboratory is beyond impressive."
#01[16:25] <&Flames> Harker is dressed as the rest, and nods professionally, "I believe that if work is to be done, it would be done with efficiency and with beauty."  He looks to Otto, "Prepare the solution, Otto, and then man your station."  He looks to Dusty, "Now, then, the aethersalve."
[16:25] <Ragazzo> Dusty carefully lifts the container from his bag. "Here you are." He hands it over.
#01[16:27] <&Flames> "Ah, yes, this should be sufficient."  Harker walks over to where Hare lies, and removes the sheet.  Naturally, she's nude.  "The body continues to surprise me, Mister Cole.  Rigor Mortis hasn't even set in yet."
[16:28] <Ragazzo> "I'm surprised as well..."
[16:28] <Ragazzo> "I'm not sure why..."
[16:29] <Ragazzo> "But then, this isn't my specialty."
#02[16:29] * @Heiden_AFK (~Heiden@synIRC-93255864.mem.bellsouth.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)
#01[16:29] <&Flames> Gently, Hark applies the aethersalve, starting with the pubic mons, then the navel, solar plexus, heart, throat, forehead, and the top of her head.  "It is intensely irregular, which raises my curiosity, my good man."
[16:30] <Ragazzo> "...you've...seen it before then? Do you have any idea what might be the reason?" Dusty reminds himself the man is a professional.
#01[16:31] <&Flames> The remainder is applied to the temples and behind the ears.  "That should do.  And now, if we are ready?"  He walks over to his station, "Come here, Mister Cole.  I actually have not seen this particular case before, which is why I am so curious."
[16:32] <Ragazzo> Dusty goes to stand by Harker. "I see, well, I'm grateful for the irregularity in any case. I'll save discussion for afterward though."
#01[16:34] <&Flames> "Very good, then.  And now, let us begin."  Harker's long fingers dance over the console, which looks rather like something out of the latest Star Trek movies.  Devices move down and around Hare's body, and form a sort of turning ring.  "A less sane man at this juncture would shout 'Behold!'  Try not to work with those, Mister Cole.  It will only end in tears."
[16:35] <Ragazzo> Dusty nods mutely, his eyes fixed on Hare.
#01[16:37] <&Flames> "This sort of work does draw those that strattle the line between genius and insanity.  Fortunately, I have paid very good money to those in the mental health profession."  Harker's fingers seem to caress the controls, and the Ring starts to turn slowly.  Odd energies flow from the structure into Hare's body, bathing her in unearthly light.
#01[16:37] <&Flames> ((Straddle))
[16:38] <Ragazzo> Dusty listens, and nods again, but his eyes don't leave hare.
#01[16:44] <&Flames> 4df+14 A matter of Fate.
[16:44] <Grape> Flames: A matter of Fate.: 15 (4df+14=0, #3+#, #3+#, #4-#)
#03[16:48] * Heiden (~Heiden@synIRC-93255864.mem.bellsouth.net) has joined #WanderersLibrary
#03[16:48] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Heiden
#01[16:49] <&Flames> Energies course into the body, and the cadaver starts to glow.  To Dusty's eyes, a thin strand emerges from her solar plexus, and seems to stretch into eternity.  The air is pregnant with potential life at this point.
[16:50] <Ragazzo> Dusty remains intensely silent.
#01[16:51] <&Flames> The strand thickens, and draws itself down.  A shimmering nimbus of energy pulls toward the cadaver, then moves to envelope it.  The spirit touches the face...  and the body inhales.
[16:52] <Ragazzo> As does dusty, it's really quite dramatic.
#01[16:53] <&Flames> The nimbus enters the body on that breath, and then the nimbus disappears.  The eyes open wide, and the woman screams, the cry of birth.
[16:54] <Ragazzo> Dusty starts forward, and only just barely halts himself. He glances at Harker. "Can I...is it done? Is she back?"
#01[16:55] <&Flames> Harker looks at the displays, "All right, she's breathing on her own, and her heart is beating.  Pulse is a bit high, but that should modulate."
#01[16:56] <&Flames> Harker weighs the matter briefly, then nods, "Very well, then, Mister Cole.  You may.  Do be gentle, though.  After all, it is her Second Birthday."
[16:57] <Ragazzo> Dusty nods, and approaches Hare, removing his mask. "...Hare? It's me, Dusty..."
#01[16:57] <&Flames> Her eyes blink, unseeing.  "Dusty?  What...  who?"
[16:59] <Ragazzo> "...Hare, I'm here...it's ok..." He reaches for her hand, resting his palm over it gently, then notes the the blankness in her eyes. "...can you see me?"
#01[17:00] <&Flames> "It's cloudy..."  She murmurs hoarsely...  "But I think it's clearing up."
[17:02] <Ragazzo> "Ok, ok...just relax...don't push yourself. Everything is going to be alright now..." He lightly pulls the sheet up a bit, for modesty's sake. "Can we get her some clothes, please?" He asks glancing over his shoulder for a moment.
#01[17:02] <&Flames> "Of course.  Otto, please."
#01[17:02] <&Flames> "Yes, Master." Otto departs.
#01[17:03] <&Flames> "Tell me what happened," she says.  "What's happened to me."
[17:04] <Ragazzo> "You...you died. You're back now." Dusty swallows. This is where it all goes wrong, it always go wrong here. He /knows/ it will, but he's hoping it won't, not this time.
#01[17:05] <&Flames> "I...  died?  I don't remember that.  It's all so cloudy."  She blinks.
[17:06] <Ragazzo> Dusty blinks. "I'm sure a bit of amnesia is normal...right?" He looks over his shoulder again.
#01[17:07] <&Flames> "It is typical that the revived will not remember their last moments," Harker agrees.  "It's quite the shock, and after all, when you're dying, you don't save those memories to long term storage."
[17:08] <Ragazzo> "...right, ok..."
#01[17:09] <&Flames> Otto returns with a dressing gown, and help the patient into it.  She seems relieved to be here, and starts to look around.  "This is...  one odd recovery room."
#01[17:10] <&Flames> "Well, this is my laboratory, Miss Hare, and as such it is rather unique."  Harker watches her.  "We should run some tests on cognition here, but soon.  You've had a busy day being born again, so to speak."
[17:11] <Ragazzo> Dusty looks over Hare again, a small bit of relief floating through him. He waits for Harker to finish before asking. "Are you feeling ok? You're not in any pain, are you?"
#01[17:12] <&Flames> "Thank you, Doctor, no...  no pain.  Just a bit, a bit blurry."  She shakes her head and laughs softly, "Although...  do I know you, sirs?"
[17:13] <Ragazzo> "...." Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
#01[17:14] <&Flames> "I am Doctor Harker, miss, and Mister Cole there asked me to take your case.  What do you remember, Miss Hare?"
#01[17:18] <&Flames> "I remember...  going to Sydney with my girlfriends.  We were taking the weekend off to get some rest, and then something....  why are you calling me "Hare", though, Doctor?  That's what my father calls me, short for Harriet, Harriet Fitzsimmons."
[17:19] <Ragazzo> "..."
#01[17:20] <&Flames> "Mister Cole, would you be so kind as to give Miss Harriet a mirror, please?  There is one over there by the table."
[17:20] <Ragazzo> "O-of course..." Dusty gets a mirror, and hands it to her shakily.
#01[17:21] <&Flames> Harriet takes the mirror, frowning as her eyes come into focus...  "That...  that's not me.  What?  What happened to me?!"
#01[17:22] <&Flames> "Let me run a brief scan, please."  Harker brings up the display and hits the switches.
#01[17:22] <&Flames> 4df+8 What do we have here?
[17:22] <Grape> Flames: What do we have here?: 9 (4df+8=#3+#, #3+#, #4-#, 0)
#01[17:23] <&Flames> "Interesting.  There's a full integration of spirit and body.  Miss Harriet is, shall we say, in the right place."
[17:23] <Ragazzo> "...this is really her?"
#01[17:24] <&Flames> "The face may not match, but it is.  There might be changes in the body as well."
[17:26] <Ragazzo> Dusty frowns briefly, uncertainty gripping him in the worst way. "...harriet? You don't remember me, at all?"
#01[17:27] <&Flames> "Should I, sir?"  Harriet asks.
[17:28] <Ragazzo> "...no, no..."
[17:29] <Ragazzo> "Listen...uh, Harriet? Do you remember the what the date was, when you were in sydney?"
#01[17:29] <&Flames> "So, what?"  Harriet concentrates, then gives the date she remembers, which was the day before Hare and Burke died.
#03[17:30] * Five`Four is now known as Five`Four|Out
[17:30] <Ragazzo> "...right."
#01[17:30] <&Flames> "What's the date today?"
[17:30] <Ragazzo> "Of course...I should have known..."
[17:31] <Ragazzo> Dusty gives the date.
[17:31] <Ragazzo> He sighs, rubbing his cheek.
#01[17:32] <&Flames> "A month?  I've been gone for a month?!  I've missed my finals...  I don't even have my right face any more!  What on earth am I going to do?"
[17:32] <Ragazzo> "...take a deep breath. First thing, can you tell me how old you are?"
#01[17:33] <&Flames> "Twenty."  She says on the exhale.  Her eyes are still awfully shocky.
[17:34] <Ragazzo> "Ok, ok..." Dusty rubs his temples.
[17:35] <Ragazzo> "Harriet, I...I'm afraid I've put you in a terrible situation."
#01[17:36] <&Flames> "What, did *you* do this to me?"
[17:37] <Ragazzo> "No, well, if you mean bringing you back, yes. Mister Harker handled most of that to be honest."
[17:38] <Ragazzo> "Can you stand...?" He looks back at Harker briefly.
#01[17:38] <&Flames> "Although Mister Cole did bring you to me, so some credit is to him as well.  But not the facial changes, he thought you were...  someone else."
#01[17:39] <&Flames> "I can...  I can try."
#01[17:39] <&Flames> 4df+1 Wobbly
[17:39] <Grape> Flames: Wobbly: 3 (4df+1=0, #3+#, #3+#, 0)
[17:39] <Ragazzo> Dusty goes over, and helps her.
#01[17:40] <&Flames> Good show, she manages to stand up.  "Excellent, her body is in much better condition than anticipated.  It usually takes days of intense rehabilitation."  Harker is impressed.
[17:41] <Ragazzo> Dusty sighs. "Mister Harker, Harriet will still require me to care for her, correct?"
#01[17:41] <&Flames> "Mmmm...  no, unless you wish to retain the burden.  I can see to her here, should she wish."
#01[17:42] <&Flames> "Uh...  I really don't know what I want.  I feel so...  off."
[17:43] <Ragazzo> "...she will be alright, won't she?" Dusty hesitates. He's not quite sure if he wants to leave harriet alone with Mister Harker, despite his positive impression of the man.
[17:44] <Ragazzo> He's not a monster, just because he raised the wrong person, he's not about to dump them.
#01[17:45] <&Flames> "Certainly.  I'm not without ethics, Mister Cole.  Of course, we will need resources to set her up with a new life, yes?"
[17:45] <Ragazzo> "Yes....yes, we will."
[17:46] <Ragazzo> "I'm afraid I owe you much more than I did before, Mister Harker."
#01[17:46] <&Flames> "Very well, then.  Miss Harriet, Otto will take you to a suite where you may freshen up.  Clothing will be provided for you, and I hope you will do me the honor of being my guest for the next few days?"
#01[17:47] <&Flames> "Of...  of course, Doctor, thank you."
#01[17:47] <&Flames> "It is a trifle."  Harker raises an eyebrow at Dusty.  "Mister Cole and I will have much to discuss about things in the future."
[17:47] <Ragazzo> "Yes..."
[17:48] <Ragazzo> Dusty covers his eyes for a moment.
#01[17:50] <&Flames> Harriet and Otto leave, and Harker turns to Dusty, "Mister Cole, you do match your reputation, I must say.  What an intense pleasure it is to watch you, and possess the knowledge that I am *not* you."
[17:51] <Ragazzo> "...please, call me dusty. I don't think I deserve any title at all after this."
[17:51] <Ragazzo> "That poor young woman...what have I done to her..."
#01[17:52] <&Flames> "Mmmm...  No, politeness still has its requirements.  But seriously, Mister Cole, you've given her life again, since she was indeed dead."
[17:53] <Ragazzo> "But not the one she had before. She's wearing the face of a murderer...I don't even know. I can't call this a failure, but...it's not what I expected."
[17:54] <Ragazzo> "I've gained some information, at the least."
#01[17:55] <&Flames> "Faces can be changed, and there are other possibilities.  After all, where there is life, there is hope."
[17:56] <Ragazzo> "Yes, yes there is." Dust exhales. "Concerning hope, what will be required to ensure Miss Harriet has as much as she needs?"
[17:56] <Ragazzo> *dusty
#01[17:59] <&Flames> "You may wish to give her an introduction to the members of the Hand.  Since she's falling Down The Rabbit Hole, she cannot return to her home, and since she is Reborn, the other factions would display undue interest in her."
#01[18:01] <&Flames> "The best way you may repay me presently...  is your silence.  I do not wish to have visitors."
[18:01] <Ragazzo> "You're right." Dusty nods. "And...in case she decides this is not what she wants, I know someone who can lay her to rest again peacefully."
[18:03] <Ragazzo> "I'll say nothing, but if that's to be done, I'll need your assistance. I was here only to give my Hare a proper funeral. By cremation, of course. The ashes have been spread."
#01[18:04] <&Flames> "Of course, we will provide you the paperwork for that."  Harker nods.
[18:04] <Ragazzo> "Thank you."
[18:06] <Ragazzo> "It must be quite something to not be me." He laughs hollowly.
#01[18:07] <&Flames> "And do try to be careful, Mister Cole.  You keep attracting the wrong sort of attention, and your luck will run out.  Not just for you, but for your associates as well."  Harker walks with Dusty back to the Chateau's foyer.
[18:10] <Ragazzo> "Mmm, you're right. And for that warning, I'll offer you one as well. I don't know all that much myself, in fact, you may know more than I do of this particular threat. I'll just say this, if you have a place you can retire to, a place Elsewhere, it might be a good idea to do so for a little while. It seems that malevolent visitors on the way here."
[18:11] <Bouncl> Todd's still reading.
[18:11] <Ragazzo> He stresses the capital 'E' in Elsewhere.
#01[18:12] <&Flames> "I'll remember that, Mister Cole.  Thank you, and good day to you."
[18:12] <Ragazzo> "Good day, Mister Harker."
[18:13] <Ragazzo> And dusty leaves, returns home, and is hopefully not accosted by the UIU?
#01[18:15] <&Flames> You may assume this.