Chapter Text
"I need you to tell me everything that happened prior to the incident, anything that could be important."
"Can you do that?"
Maru flinched at Harvey's words, though she wasn't certain why, in her head she understood it was a very simple task, but the idea of recalling past events knowing what she knew now made her feel sick to her stomach. But she knew she'd have to say something eventually, it was for his sake after all. She cleared her throat to try and remove the lump that had formed and began recounting events.
"O-Of course, it's no trouble. I think it all started... when Abigail disappeared."
Thinking back in her head to the time Abigail had officially been labeled missing around a month ago. At first, no one really noticed. It wasn't unlike Abigail to stay out late even for an entire night, but after the second day she didn't come home, Pierre and Caroline became concerned, though they knew exactly where to look for her. Abigail had always been drawn to the mines, her parents had repeatedly attempted to dissuade her from going there but to no avail, Abigail was by no means unaware of the risks but she was far too headstrong to quit.
Her parents prayed to Yoba that their fears had not been realised.
They enlisted the help of Marlon, the local adventurer's guild leader, Maru had heard her mother talk endlessly about how skilled he was at traversing the mines and how he had often come to the rescue in these sorts of situations, the town was sure that he of all people would find her, hopefully unscathed.
But after days of searching tirelessly day and night, even he couldn't find a trace of her.
Rumors began to spread in whispers around town, the community waited for the results of her disappearance with bated breath. The final verdict didn't look good at all.
In the end, Marlon had nothing to show for his efforts but a tuft of purple hair and a sword left discarded on the ground. Her parents were distraught, though they still weren't convinced that there was enough evidence, they refused to hold an official funeral service, although most other townsfolk had silently made up their minds about what had happened to her. No one liked the idea of it, but what else were they to do? To them, all evidence had made it quite clear what the answer was, even if no one wanted to outright say it.
The only other person that couldn't seem to accept what everyone else had at the time was Sebastian. Maru was aware that the two were very close, as she'd always seen the two together constantly, whether she was in his room playing that Solarion Chronicles game or just hanging out in town. She'd never thought much about it, Sebastian's life wasn't of much interest to her, not even when they were children. Though she wanted to get close to him occasionally, any attempt to bond was always shut down by Sebastian's cold shoulder. After some time, she learned to just stop bothering.
But after Abigail left the picture Maru began to notice Sebastian change, he insisted on staying outside later and later for his "smoke breaks", where he would stare wistfully into the mountains towards the mines, as if hoping that she would simply emerge again one day like she always had before. Maru had been concerned for him a few times but her parents had simply told her to not worry about it and to focus on herself, they told her he was simply coping in his own way. Maru believed them, why wouldn't she? It was none of her business.
At least that's what she'd thought at the time, immense guilt welled in her stomach just thinking about it.
This went on for about two weeks, until one day as she was preparing for bed, hoping to wake up bright and early the next day so she could finish her Clinic shift early. She and Penny had planned an afternoon chat about the book Penny had recommended. The sun had long since set and the valley had been put to sleep by a blanket of stars. Only the crickets and a gentle breeze stirred. Maru's parents had left for their weekly night out at the saloon, so the house didn't stir much either. Maru looked over to the window and saw Sebastian's silhouette barely lit by the moonlight. She considered going outside to check on him for a little but in the end just sighed and prepared to sleep, her head had only hit the pillow for a few minutes before she heard a dreadful sound.
Sebastian's voice screamed out, followed by some kind of horrid gurgling sounds, like water circling a drain. She rushed to the window to get a glimpse of what all the fuss was about and saw... Abigail.
But this was not the Abigail she could remember hanging out and playing games with Sebastian, she was something else, something wrong. She hunched over Sebastian and pinned him to the ground with such force he had been winded, though even as he choked and gasped, she kept snarling and gurgling with some kind of primal, rabid animal-like mania. Never once relenting, biting and scratching with reckless abandon.
Maru realised she had been staring for much too long and scrambled for some kind of weapon, anything to fend off this creature.
She recalled the axe Robin kept by the firewood at all times and although she didn't like the idea of using her mother's tools without permission, she felt Robin might forgive her just this once. She barged through the door and called at the thing to turn its attention away from Sebastian.
"Hey!"
The "Abigail" growled again and turned to stare Maru down, her eyes were tinted with a sickly green colour and leaked some kind of nauseating pus but despite even all that, they were still fixed on Maru with intense precision. She twitched and shook unpredictably giving the impression she might pounce at any second, putting Maru even more on edge. Maru raised the axe menacingly and made her threat clear.
"Leave him alone or I'll swing!"
Abigail stood frozen like a deer in headlights for a moment, then took one shaky step forward.
Maru's heart skipped a beat. "Hey, hey! Don't come any closer, I'm serious!"
Abigail didn't stop, rather she got even faster a shamble turned into a full sprint as she lunged forward. Maru shrieked and swung the axe with as much might as she could muster, it collided with Abigail's shoulder and dug into the flesh and bone with a bloody red explosion, Abigail shrieked and turned tail, fleeing in what looked like the direction of the mines but Maru didn't stop to watch her long as for the first time in her life, Sebastian had become her top priority.
She scooped him up by the waist and dragged him inside as quickly as she possibly could. When she was inside, she assessed the damage Abigail had done to him. She scanned the body but not for long, the wound was painfully easy to spot. Maru gasped and recoiled. In the scuffle, Sebastian's hoodie had been pulled over his shoulder to reveal bare skin, a large oozing bite mark laid bare in the middle, accompanied by a few other strange puncture like wounds. Abigail had bitten down so hard it had torn open the skin, a small trickle of blood leaked from the mark, but what concerned Maru more was the green pus-like substance that coated the teeth indents. She recalled having seen the same sort of thing around Abigail's eyes.
She rushed to her room to retrieve the first aid kit she had kept stored away for electrical mishaps but as she found it, Sebastian was already up and staggering away.
Maru urged Sebastian to stop where he stood. "You shouldn't be walking, I can help you out in just a minute, just-"
"I don't need help." Croaked Sebastian
"W-what?"
"When Mom and Demetrius come home, I don't want you to say anything about what happened, okay? Please, this should stay between us."
"Sebastian, that's ridiculous, please just sit down and let me-"
"I'm being dead serious right now, I don't need help. I don't want you telling anyone."
Maru grew fed up with Sebastian's interruption and raised her voice so that he couldn't interject again.
"You're being selfish! If you don't want me to tell Mom and Dad, fine! It's our little secret! But please don't be so stubborn that you won't accept help just because it's from me!"
Sebastian's lip tightened, he paused before managing a reluctant response, "...Fine."
"Is there anywhere in particular that hurts?" She asked.
"I think... she bit the hell out of my right shoulder, it still stings like crazy." He replied.
Maru made quick work to clean the wound of the unsightly fluids and prepared a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the wound.
"Sorry, this might sting a little." Maru apologised in advance.
"I know that, I'm not a child." Sebastian scoffed.
She pressed the ball down and Sebastian hissed and winced for only a second before the cotton was lifted again and discarded. After that all that was left was to bandage the wound and hope for the best.
The rest of the night was unbelievably uncomfortable. Once he was patched up, Sebastian only walked back to his room as if the incident had never occurred. Not even so much as a thank you for possibly saving his life, not that Maru really cared, she was just glad the ordeal was over.
The next day, Maru kept true to her promise, she didn't tell her parents what had happened. She tried her best to simply slip the memory out of her mind entirely but it clung to her subconscious no matter how hard she tried.
"Hang on a moment..."
Harvey stopped the story to add his notes.
"You're certain what you saw was really Abigail."
"I'm positive!" Maru confirmed. "Even though it was dark, I got a good look at her. I'm sure it was Abigail, she was just... off. Like she was sick or something."
"Sick?"
"She looked... I don't know, emaciated, like she'd really crawled out from the mines and there was that gross fluid coming from her eyes as well. It was horrible to look at, I can only imagine how it must've felt..."
"I see, sorry for interrupting you, please keep going." Harvey said.
"Of course, after a while things seemed normal but I noticed that Sebastian was spending more time in his room than usual, even for someone like him." Maru continued.
While normally Maru would see Sebastian at the very least come for breakfast or occasionally leave to smoke by the train station, Sebastian's outdoor activity had completely come to a halt. After what happened Maru wouldn't have been surprised he'd stopped bothering to look for Abigail but could never have expected him to cease contact with the outside world entirely. What shocked her was that her parents seemed far less concerned than she was, Robin had attempted to enter his room occasionally but after wrestling with the lock for a while, she got exasperated and gave up. Though while Robin's attempts were poor at least she bothered at all, unlike Demetrius.
Maru wanted to leave it well enough alone but as it had become almost four days without him leaving the room. She had to do something, she couldn't just stand by if he wasn't eating. She knocked the basement door lightly, when no response followed, she knocked harder.
Maru called out to her half-brother, "Hey Sebastian, can we talk?"
Silence.
Maru huffed, "Come on, please? I'm worried, Mom and Dad aren't home! It'll be just us again. Just like... last... time."
Maru paused the knocking, not certain if she'd said the right thing, the last thing she wanted right now was to reopen an old wound. Before she could say anything more, she heard the click of the lock and the door opening slowly with a long, drawn out creak.
Something deep down in her chest begged her to rethink this, a strange nagging feeling that she tried to squash down as she entered the door.
No light entered the room beyond the daylight from the open door, it was hard to make out but the room was in shambles, furniture and debris scattered about as if it had been tossed around, but why hadn't she heard it? Maru could see the state of the room better than Sebastian himself. She wondered where he had gone. Why would he be hiding if he wanted to talk?
Maru opened her mouth as if to call out but before she could, a hand grasped her shoulder, she recoiled to face the direction of the hand and saw Sebastian hunched over in the darkness, his face obscured by his oily, unkempt black hair.
She screamed, "Sebastian! Why would you scare me like that, I..."
"Maru..." He hissed raspily, pulling her closer to him.
"I- Sebastian, are you okay?" Maru asked, chill running up her spine.
"I... I need..." Sebastian trailed off.
Maru leaned in closer to his face so she could hear him better, "What do you need?"
"I need you..." Sebastian rose his head, Maru clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle a gasp. "T-to take me... to the clinic."
His face was coated with the same green ooze from the bite wound, pouring from his eyes like tears. Maru was given flashbacks to Abigail's face but she couldn't believe it could be the same thing, she was certain she cleaned and disinfected his wound with the utmost care, how could he have caught whatever she had?
As soon as he'd shown Maru his newfound deformity, Sebastian collapsed like it had taken all his energy just to lift his head, Maru dove to support him before he hit his head on the hardwood floor. She didn't hesitate to do as Sebastian had told her, taking him to the clinic immediately, pounding on Harvey's door frantically.
"And that's where we are now." Maru concluded. "I hope that helped."
"It helps greatly, I know at least where what he caught came from now at least. What it doesn't explain is... what he's got." Harvey said.
"Have you seen anything like it before?" Maru asked.
Harvey shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not..."
He watched as Maru's expression downturned and could only stare sympathetically.
"It's not your fault, you know? You did everything you should've." He reassured her.
Maru averted her gaze from Harvey's "I know that, but I can't help but feel like I could've done more, maybe if I'd just checked on him sooner I could've..."
"Hey hey, there's no point in "could'ves" right now, we have to deal with the present." Harvey said soothingly. "And presently, we need to run some tests on Sebastian."
"I don't know if it's a good idea, Abigail had the same thing and she went crazy, attacking people like some kind of zombie." Maru said nervously.
"Right now he seems perfectly docile, if we're careful and do our due diligence, we should be fine." Harvey replied, "I'll need a blood sample and some of that green fluid. I think it would be best for a familiar face to see him right now, can you do it?"
"I don't know... I'm still a little shaken from this morning." Maru answered.
"Then we'll go in together, I'll help you if that's okay." Harvey said.
Maru thought about it. "Um... I suppose it would help."
"Great, I'll get everything set up. You should get some PPE on, whatever this disease is it seems highly infectious, I wouldn't want anyone else getting exposed."
Maru nodded and as she disappeared out of sight, Harvey let out a sigh and turned to prepare for testing. He let his mind wander but could only feel sorry for Maru, he wouldn't have wished to be in her place, that was for certain. Though Maru had been training in nursing under him for not that long, she was still rather skilled when it came to medical procedures, although at times clumsy. It was mostly paperwork she despised. Though Harvey was doubtful any amount of formal training could have prepared her for something like this.
Harvey wheeled his cart of tools into the room where Sebastian was being quarantined. Sebastian was curled into a ball in his bed covering his eyes, Harvey attempted to start the typical friendly small talk.
"How are you feeling?" He said warmly.
"It's... too bright in here..." Sebastian complained.
"I see. Sorry, but we need the lights on if we want to run tests, once we're done though I'll turn the lights down for you, alright?"
Sebastian groaned. "...If you have to."
"Thank you for understanding."
Maru entered the room, peering around from the doorway dressed in a mask and gloves. "Is everything alright?"
Harvey perked up. "We're just peachy, come in! Everything's ready, we can start at any time you like."
"You're being too... loud..." Sebastian complained quietly.
Harvey lowered his voice. "Ah... sorry."
Maru asked quietly. "Have you gotten a look at him?"
"Not really, he's complaining about the lights, light sensitivity must be another symptom." Harvey responded. "But I'm rambling, can you draw his blood?"
"Oh, of course." Said Maru.
Maru momentarily absorbed the idea of a new symptom, though she figured it wasn't really new, as it seemed to explain why Sebastian's room was so dark. Harvey handed her a prepared syringe before she approached the bed cautiously, she gently nudged Sebastian to get his attention, Sebastian shifted under the covers but wouldn't face her.
"Sebastian?" She called gently, donning her professional persona. "Can you turn over so I can have your arm, please?"
Sebastian turned over, though without removing the covers from his body, he stuck his arm out from beneath the covers. Maru stood confused for a moment but shrugged it off, attributing his behaviour to the light sensitivity. She slowly and carefully inserted the syringe into his forearm, Sebastian squirmed slightly as the blood was drawn but after a few seconds grew accustomed to the sensation and relaxed. Maru handed the now full syringe back to Harvey, who then handed her a sample container and a swab for obtaining the fluid, Maru attempted to lift the covers gently but Sebastian clung tightly.
"Sebastian, I need you to lift the covers for just a moment. It will be quick, I promise." Maru said.
"I can't..." Sebastian told her.
"You can't? Why not?" she asked.
"Don't want to take it off... Please don't make me."
"But I need you to, don't you want to be treated?"
Sebastian fell silent. Maru grew irritated at his lack of cooperation and attempted to pull the covers off him. Sebastian abruptly flew into a rage and grabbed her arm forcefully.
"I said no!" He screamed.
Maru yelped.
"Sebastian, stop it! That hurts!" She yelled.
Harvey came in between the two and managed to pull Maru free. After his outburst, Sebastian's demeanour suddenly softened again and he fell silent. He attempted to apologise for what he'd done.
"I didn't mean to-"
"Why would you do that?" Maru yelled. "I'm trying to help!"
Maru’s words suddenly irked him.
"Would you listen to me for once? I'm sorry, okay?" Sebastian responded irritably.
Maru could feel a furious heat welling up in her chest, but took a deep breath to steady herself. She turned for the door but not before turning to Harvey to explain herself.
"Can you do the rest of the tests on your own? I need some time to cool off."
Harvey tried to speak, "Maru-"
Before Harvey could finish his sentence, she left the room.
"I- I really didn't mean to hurt her, genuinely." Sebastian insisted.
"I'm sure you didn't but I'm afraid she's scared right now, she needs time to come to terms with things." Harvey reassured, he placed a gloved hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "May I get that sample now, if it's not too much trouble?"
Sebastian momentarily wondered how Harvey figured she was afraid of him, to him she just seemed annoyed but he ignored it for the time being, he was more preoccupied with setting the record straight.
"I mean it though, it was like my brain acted on its... ugh, can you please turn those lights down? Sebastian squinted and shielded his eyes with his hand.
"Hm? Oh! Right, lights off, then sample." Harvey went for the light switch, he figured the samples shouldn't be too hard to get even in the dimmer light. He left the furthest away lights on, just in case.
"What were you saying earlier?" Harvey asked.
"Um, nothing, nevermind..." Sebastian dismissed the thought, Harvey simply smiled and continued testing.