032 - Cursed Cure

Among all researchers in the field of Immunology, Dr.Cheryl Jones was one of the most famous scientists of the century. Truly, you could say that her work was the foundation of a new age of human's understanding of health issues. She would bring out many breakthroughs, and a variety of solutions to the modern medical world. Her work was, to put it simply, worth of a Nobel Prize.

From the moment she wanted to study medicine, that was Cheryl's ambition. Or more accurately, her fantasy. For a while, she believed in it. 'Hope dies last', she loved to say. But the truth is, motivation alone does not make someone talented.

That motivation was enough for her to reach the status of a PhD student. Even though she braved failure after failure, she always managed to stand up. Most of the time, however, she didn't have time to stand up before falling down again. Her current position at the time was earned by not giving up, but no one except really satisfied. For the other professors, she was just 'there'. Her passion was outstanding, but that was the only thing outstanding about her. Needless to say, she was known to get on people's nerves quite easily.

Six years later. Cheryl still wasn't an accomplished researcher. As she realized how far she was from her fantasy, her only quality was withering. Unexpectedly, her coworkers were quite pleased by this change. Unfortunately, this peace was only the gateway to an aspect of Cheryl they didn't want to see.

Unlike on subjects she was passionate about, Cheryl wasn't exactly a calm and thoughtful person. Her true nature was more wild. As if the genes of a predator were encoded into her cells. When her alter ago awakens, everyone runs in terror. Metaphorically.

For six months, Cheryl isolated herself from her co-workers. She was never a very useful source of knowledge, methods or ideas, but she always played a role in her team. This time, she was determined to work alone. At first, she had no idea what she would be working on. But she worked on it. With time, 'it' turned into a clearer aim. And sometimes, 'it' changed. Because she was bored. Because she couldn't find anything. Because she couldn't move forward without the opinion of an expert. And that expert happened to be in the team she rejected. So every time, she found other ways to do it.

If it wasn't for the content of the monthly report of February, Cheryl would have been under fire. Her isolation brought up allegations of disruptive activities. But through her new results, she showed the other lab members something incredible. To be more accurate, she showed them a report that was garbage, except for one part. And it would have been sent into the trash where it belonged, if not for the intervention of a specific person.

The report was under peer reviewing by a fellow scientist. Dr.Yurich Wieczorek, an eminent researcher, stumbled upon her abnormal experiment results. Before the completion of the report, he insisted on having a discussion with Dr.Jones on that subject. Aware of her reputation among the research community, he tried to ask the right questions.

"You are the one who made all those experiments, right ?" asked Dr.Wieczorek.

"Of course it was me. Who else ?"

"In that case, don't you think there's something abnormal in this concentration level ?"

Cheryl looked at the data he was pointing at. In fact, she stared at it way too long to maintain credibility.

"Uuhh… not really, I mean. Well, it's… is there a problem with it ?"

"Oh, Lord." the reviewer sighed. "Do you still have the raw data ?"

Eventually, Cheryl managed to find the documents he was asking about. What she pulled out were unintelligible notes, written on paper that was crumpled before.

"Sorry, I thought this wouldn't be useful for later."

The reviewer explored through the raw data. He was hoping to find an inconsistency. The result she presented could have a grave underlying meaning, if true. However, he found no errors of any kind.

"There's something I don't understand. Why did you bother testing those two components together, instead of separately ?"

"Oh, well. Their structure is similar, so I thought they would unify well. Despite that fact, they have different behaviors when separate. So, I thought seeing them paired would do something… interesting ?"

Hearing this, Dr.Wieczorek was baffled. First, by the way she explained her idea. And second, because of the infantile, yet brilliant simplicity of the reasoning.

"So what you tested here is the concentration levels in the joined components ?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"And you still don't realize what those results mean ?"

Cheryl shook her head.

"It means you have created something new." he explained. "And this thing you made appears to hold a very large concentration of what we're trying to replicate."

"Oh ! So… that's a good thing, right ?"

"Well, yes ! YES, that's a good thing ! How can you not notice that ? You potentially created something amazing in your experiment ! Are you going to tell me that it was an accident ? That's bullshit !"

"I thought that it would be interesting. But usually, people tell me that my ideas are too stupid to explore, so… I never carried my ideas out, that's all. So, you're saying it's good ?"

"Listen. You need to stop worrying about what the others told you, okay ? You made… this. And I think that if you give them your report as if, they will reject it."

"Then, I'm condemned to fail ?"

"No. Because there will be my approval on it."

The discussion ended there. Cheryl didn't know how to act then. At once, she felt pride, a bit of anxiety, but mostly confusion.

"You will support my research ?"

"Yes. Now, I won't hold you any longer. You should go and prepare for your presentation."

At the end of the month, Cheryl's coworkers only had one question after her presentation. "Why did Dr.Wieczorek give you his approval ?". Unbeknownst to them, that was the exact question she wanted to be asked. Trying to hide her proud smile, Cheryl prepared to expose the true perspectives of her work. Carefully, she laid out all aspects of the experiment, following the advice she got.

That day, Cheryl became Dr.Jones.

This presentation sent a massive shock wave in the community. Her previous reputation completely shattered. Dr.Jones expanded on the subject with Dr.Wieczorek with a new project. After a few months of extra experiments, the conclusion was the one they expected. A new component with unfathomable features was discovered. In a matter of months, the paper released by 'Wieczorek & Jones' was a 'hit'. It even reached out to the curiosity of non-scientists. Supported by a wave of support in the community, the research was acclaimed. Big media started relaying it, announcing potential for breakthroughs in the medical world.

Her cunning and aggressive nature was what brought her there, so she kept up her hard work. What she was laughed at for previously, turned into one of her greatest qualities. Those who mocked her for her naivety were now praising her for her sound reasoning. Those who mocked her for her messiness were now praising her for her simple methods.

But Dr.Jones was not stupid. Behind all this effortless boot licking lied a putrid, disgusting smell. Jealousy. Greed. Disdain. And those negative feelings were coming from her former coworkers. They were harboring smiles so fake, you could see it was painful for them. Unfortunately for them, serendipity had its limits tested many times with Dr.Jones. But she always won in the end. Her collaboration with Dr.Wieczorek never ended. Even though the first paper kept being the best, results never stopped coming.

After a few years of prosperity in the research community, Dr.Jones was facing a new ordeal. And this new challenge, which was unlike all the others so far, started with a simple meeting. Felicia Gardner represented an influential group in the pharmaceutics industry. She came to see Dr.Jones with a proposition. A very simple one, in fact.

"We need you to announce that products made based on your research aren't safe."

After the formalities, the meeting only lasted 10 seconds at that point. This was enough time for Dr.Jones to realize that the person in front of her was like the devil.

"You want me to invalidate my own research ?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Tell me what you want, then."

"We want you to publish another paper on the substance you discovered. Anything that discredits the conclusion you submitted."

"What makes you think I will accept that ?"

"We are ready to make all the 'arrangements'. You don't need to worry about that aspect."

Definitely, Dr.Jones could, in no way, accept this proposition. When Ms.Gardner announced her conditions, the old Cheryl Jones was taken back from the grave. Internally debating the direction to take, she remembered her beginnings. The will to break through in the medical field. Find new ways to save lives. Make the world healthier and better.

"I refuse."

"Then, you are underestimating my offer."

Ms.Gardner pulled out an envelope from her bag, and gave her to the researcher. Dr.Jones opened it. She had no idea what was in it, but she feared its contents anyway.

"Oh… God."

In the envelope, there was no threat. No devilish contract. Just… an awful lot of money. At the sight of those contents, the original Cheryl Jones went back underneath. Dr.Jones asked herself. She asked the innovative, competitive Dr.Jones, instead of the weak and utopist Cheryl. What was the better option here ? And more importantly, what kind of person could refuse that offer ?

Seeing Dr.Jones's heavy mental struggle, the devil didn't even try to hide her smile. Not a smile of politeness, but a smile of victory.

"I… I need time to think about it." muttered Cheryl Jones, as she gave back the envelope, and left the room in a hurry.

"It was nice to meet you !" said Ms.Gardner, as her conquered prey left the room.

Dr.Jones needed to take some rest. But after three days off, following that meeting, nothing changed in her mind.
She was indecisive. Every second she happened to think about work, there was this question. What should I do ? What is the better way ? For me ? For us ? For the world ?

In the morning of her fourth day off, Dr.Jones received a call from her friend and partner, Dr.Wieczorek.

"Hello Cheryl. I have something important to tell you."

"What is it ?"

"I'm working a new paper, but you can't be a part of it. So don't try to contact me on the subject."

"Wait… but, why ? What is it about ?"

"I can't tell you that. I'm here to tell you that… you can't be on the project, okay ?"

"No, don't tell me… You didn't meet this Felicia, didn't you ?"

"Cheryl. Stop this. You lost track of your life. Goodbye."

"Wait, you piece of- !"

But he hanged up. And that was it. The last light of hope in Cheryl died, right then. Some people thought that this would only awaken a stronger Dr.Jones. What this event really did was create something awful. A person devoid of passion, of honesty. A person who can't feel trust anymore.

After being struck down, Dr.Cheryl Jones went back to being a normal researcher. Some time later, Dr.Wieczorek would go on to publish a paper. As expected, it disproved the first one they made together. Everything played right in the hands of that evil Ms.Gardner. Just imagining that woman being happy made Dr.Jones angry. At the same time, a dark part of her wished to have accepted the money. Eventually, all parts of Dr.Jones converged to hate herself, and her indecisiveness. She didn't act to keep her discovery alive, but she didn't take the offer either. She watched her utopia miserably crash and burn.

A few years later, Dr.Wieczorek became a part of a lawsuit. It was issued against Gardner's company. Taking down all actors in this horrible scheme. Seeing those news, Dr.Jones should have been happy, but she wasn't. She thought that this lawsuit couldn't validate her initial study again. And despite a few efforts to push another paper, she came to terms with the futility of this endless circle. In a way, she was kind of relieved that she didn't accept the money, considering the outcome.

What could have been the origin of a breakthrough, ended up buried deep underground. And not Dr.Jones, nor anyone around here could support it anymore. But even though she didn't feel it herself, she believed that somewhere, the flame of hope was still lit within someone. Someone who would fight to shed light on the forgotten discovery. Someone brave enough to face adversity in every situation. Someone talented enough to pursue the research with new elements.

And as the planet burns under their feet, their inhabitants wait for the rain of salvation.

031 - Solder of the Lost Gods, Part 3

This is a three-part story. Read part 1 and part 2 first.

---

As if to state the presence of a god, a storm was being drawn in the sky, loud and threatening. But in the middle of this roar of chaos, a silent, almost frozen scene was taking place.

Yoshiro, the detective had his sprint cut short by the stranger's reveal. At the same time, Yukie was contemplating the merciless demon, covered in white sheets.

"And now… You."

Only three words were necessary to make her stop and shiver and fear. And even though stood before her the murderer of her husband, she could do nothing.

The stranger took one step towards Yukie. As if shaken awake, Yoshiro began to move again, but was careful to not make sudden movements. Yukie's hand was trying to reach for her weapon, a knife hidden in her bag. She could do nothing but stare, frozen by fear. Her survival instinct wasn't helping much. She moved backwards, not sure where to put her feet.

After what seemed like hours, she realized that she couldn't find her knife. In a growing state of panic, she looked around her as she was stepping back. But the knife wasn't anywhere.

"Looking for this ?"

As the stranger said this, they showed Yukie the knife she was looking for. The tension was stronger than ever. Yukie could be assaulted at any moment. With a focused mind, Yoshiro was carefully sneaking around. For an unknown reason, the stranger didn't seem to acknowledge Yoshiro.

With a swift dash forward, the stranger jumped on Yukie, who tried to dodge the best she could. Aiming for her chest, the stranger managed to drive the knife closer the her shoulder. Yukie screamed in pain and fell down, making her evade the stranger's next strike. This time, it was over. She was lying there, clenching her wounded shoulder. The stranger stood above her, ready to finish her. With inhuman speed, Yoshiro rushed towards the stranger. He rammed through the assaillant, his shoulder forward. This heroic move saved Yukie, and defeated the stranger. Beaten, they were groaning in pain from the fractured limbs caused by the assault.

"I fucking got you, you piece of shit !" yelled Yoshiro, with a voice that sounded both proud and angry.

"It's my sister…" said Yukie.

"What ?"

"Under that mask… it can only be her.  She was absent for some time, and she could have only taken the knife while I was at her house. Besides, she sounded very suspicious the whole time… "

"Your sister ?"

Impatient to finally unravel the mystery, Yoshiro pulled out the stranger's mask. After many weeks of chasing, the detective had finally caught his prey, red-handed. In front of him, the killer was… someone he had never seen before.

"Wait… who are you ?"

Behind the mask and sheets was a woman. So far, Yukie had the right guess. But despite all the work he put into the case, and all the people he had met along the way, Yoshiro could not identify that person. Yukie weakly raised her head to confirm the killer's identity. She had the same reaction as Yoshiro.

"What ? But… who the hell are you ?"

Surrounded by confused looks, the woman started to giggle. Until eventually, she almost bursted in laughter.

"You don't know anything… You damn fools ! You have no idea who you are messing with…"

Yoshiro noticed that the whole time, the woman was slowly moving her arm. As first, he thought that it was only a natural reaction of shaking, because of the pain. But when he finally landed his eyes on her hand, he noticed a small object in a wrap. And then, he realized what it was.

"NO !"

He tried to grab the item, but it was too late. With an incredibly fast movement, the woman threw the object in her mouth and swallowed. Shortly after, she started to make weird noises, until she had a seizure. Then, she fell unconscious, frothing. Yoshiro was not fast enough, only by a single second. But that was enough time for the woman to swallow her poison.

The killer was defeated, but there was not an ounce of joy among the two partners. Both knew that they were still far away from the truth. Rained started to pour, following the thunder. Yoshiro fell to his knees, as if all strength was drained from his body. Both went very pensive and silent, until Yukie was reminded of her wound. Yoshiro noticed, and helped her get on her feet so that they could go back to the city and get treated.

"Wait… If it is the work of an organization, the body won't be here when we come back." said Yukie.

"Are you sure ? You have to get healed quickly."

"It's fine… I was prepared for this, anyway. In fact, I was prepared for worse…"

Both worried and relieved, Yoshiro immediately started his investigation. He examined the mask. It was exactly the same as the others. The sword was nothing special, quite cheap in fact. Eventually, there was nothing left to examine, aside from the clothes. While he was doing his search, Yukie took a closer look at the woman's face. She was indeed in no capacity to indentify her, but she had a very… familiar feel. There was a strong possibility that Yukie saw that woman before, but never talked to her. Who could she be ?

"Hey, there's something in there." Yoshiro said.

The detective showed Yukie something. The moment Yukie saw it, she understood everything.

That clue was… a letter. Undoubtedly, this was the same as the one used to kill her husband.

"Don't open it !" she said to the detective.

"I know, I know. There is poison inside, right ?"

Of course. That was it. By looking at the woman's face alone, she didn't have a strong chance to recognize her. But with the letter, it was like two puzzle pieces fitting together.

The woman was the lady at the counter in the Ms.Sakamoto's inn. When Yukie visited the place, she met this lady. And then, she met Ms.Sakamoto, on the counter lady's recommendation. When she left, Ms.Sakamoto was instructing the counter lady about making letters. By looking at the shape of the letter, there was no doubt that, at the very least, the one the killer was holding was made with the same technique that Ms.Sakamoto taught.

"There's nothing left. We should go now." said the detective, concluding his investigation.

"I know who the killer is. Let's go there."

"You know who that lady is, in the end ?"

"Yes, but… this is not the culprit we're looking for. I'll tell you later… I should get to the doctor now."

Following a quick treatment and a good night of rest, Yukie took the time to get ready for another trip. Later in the morning, Yoshiro showed up where she was resting.

"Sorry, I had to negociate to do the trip… But I'm ready now. You're sure that you know who it is, right ?"

"I think I do."

"You… think ?"

"It's complicated. I'll tell you on the way."

And then, the both of them departed for a trip that should last a few days, towards the city where the inn was located. Along the way, Yukie shared all her thoughts and theories with the detective. He always had that impression before, but he showed a clear interest in what she said. He didn't want to assume that she a talent, because he had his doubt. What if she was only driven by hatred towards the person who killed her husband ?

After three days, they arrived at the city, and hurried to the inn. As she saw last time, the inn was surrounded by a bunch of strange-looking people. And when they entered, her doubts were confirmed.

By her sudden entrance, she interrupted one of the customers. That customer was arguing at the counter with no other than the owner, Ms.Sakamoto. That customer was Akane, Yukie's sister.

"How can you be there ?" Akane said loudly.

For the first time since she began her detective work, Yukie smiled. Well, not really. It wasn't a smile of joy, it was jubilation.

"I was right after all, it was you." said Yukie.

"What… What are you talking about ?" Akane asked, in a panic.

Yukie turned to Ms.Sakamoto.

"This inn is the home of your cult, right ?"

"What makes you think that ?" Ms.Sakamoto replied.

"You act like you are merely the owner of a simple inn, but you train all your employees here for another kind of 'work'. You send them all over the country, and make them act like a mysterious killer. The 'Soldier of the Lost Gods'."

"Those victims aren't planned by the killer. I thought I told you that the victims were collateral damage ?"

"That is what you make it look like. In reality, you lure most of your victims at a temple, like you did with me. With that method, you could build a zealous character that only killed if necessary. But in reality, those were the primary focus… Isn't that right, Akane ?"

Akane was nervous. The more Yukie spoke, the more she looked panicked and lost. The moment she looked for the exit, her eyes met with those of Yoshiro, burning with contempt.

"Don't even think about it." he said.

Akane turned to Ms.Sakamoto. "Please, do something ! I already paid you !"

"No." the owner responded.

"What ? What do you mean, 'no' ?"

"I won't defend you. You were an awful client. The police will take care of you."

Following those words, Yoshiro raised his arm as a signal. Then, from the outside, a handful of local officers barged into the inn, and arrested Akane. She became the prime suspect for the attempted assassination of Yukie. Akane screamed and struggled, staring at her sister with a furious look on her face.

"This is why your husband cheated with me, you cold bitch !"

"As I expected… you are also the one who ordered this one too, right ?"

Akane didn't respond, as she was forcefully being carried to the station. On his way out, Yoshiro saluted Yukie, who bowed in response. As her sister was leaving the scene, the inn was getting silent again.

"Just so you know.", Ms.Sakamoto said. "I will help you bring you sister down… but do not think you can expose me so easily. Many tried, and burned their wings. This is a warning."

"Thank you. But I intend to bring you down as well, given the time."

Ms.Sakamoto chuckled. "Oh, I know you will try. You have it in you."

Yukie was heading out of the inn to follow the police, but she was interrupted by Ms.Sakamoto.

"Wait. Your husband… I went there personally. If only I knew what kind of woman his wife was… "

"Then, I guess that makes us even. Sorry for killing your disciple."

After those events, Yukie went back to her hometown. Her thirst for answers was quenched enough for her to relax, if only for a couple of days. But in the end, could she really say that she had her revenge on the killer ? Probably not. Or, at least, not in the way she thought she would. But this was enough.

Just like she predicted, Ms.Sakamoto's business was still alive and well. The 'Soldier of the Lost Gods' was still working all over the country. Despite their knowledge, neither Yukie nor Yoshiro became targets. In a way, the fight against the killer was only beginning. On that thought, and by observing her own reaction, Yukie knew what really drove her to find the murderer. She was… excited. Eager to investigate once again.

One day, she was reunited with one of her friends, who was passing by. Kouta, the traveling merchant. After catching up for a bit, Kouta proposed to help her travel once again. There was one person she wanted to work with… the only person who shared her burning desire. A desire to solve the crimes of the most affluent killer of the era.