By next afternoon, Kate undisguised Naomi & Serena inside the Elite Four's hotel room. By undisguised, it is meant -
- Serena & Naomi stifled their screams as Split's hair burst out of their faces, leaving their pores dripping until fog filled their wounds.
"It's not pleasant." muttered Samuel.
"T-That's the grossest thing I've ever seen done with a Revenant." winced Marisa and Matoi laughed.
"It's a very clever use -- they won't know you've arrived yet."
Serena remembered a request Yuruko had made of her tentacle, and decided that this was not the grossest thing one could do with a Revenant.
Matoi continued. "But, as I mentioned, our theory is that the missing students in Wilcook had their Revenants taken from them. Hayato alerted local criminals whenever their tablet would scan a Revenant, as local storage facilities are notified to prepare for storage. Their bodies would be brought to Dr. Fujishita, who using the machine you found in the storage unit, would remove their Revenants. He would be paid twice -- once for Revenant removal and transfer, and once to convert the Revenant with Tamer."
"And you're thinking it's Chimera hosting Tamer."
"His son, yes."
"With a Penxeno allergy to prevent verification of said Revenant."
"Serena, did you ask Yuruko about that?" said Mia.
"Yeah, um. She said there's not any study about allergies, but it's happened before with some hosts. It only works once your Revenant activates. You can't ever undergo surgery."
"Conveniently." said Matoi, relevantly. "Regardless, if we assume Chimera is hosting Tamer, and his Revenant grew new abilities past the conversion, then Leon -- possibly Peter -- transferred his Revenant to him. It's... obviously complex, but the evidence matches. Especially given the two men at the facility being allowed to flee against a national level threat of a Revenant."
Mia fanned herself. "Well, *I* happen to know a little about being a national threat, and I would never let that happen."
Kate smirked. "The thing that did it for me was the scanning ambushes. It never happened again once we stopped scanning."
"Unless Mia can Solar Beam the entire US government, there'll be an investigation into us for this, however." said Matoi.
"Well, I've never overthrown a country overnight, but I suppose I can try it just this once." murmured Mia and Serena giggled.
"Do we know where Dr. Fujishita is staying?" said Kate. "If I can get to him, I can disguise myself as him. See if I can meet with Tamer and see what I can get him to say."
"You would have to be alone." Matoi shook her head. "It's too much risk. We don't know where he is, either."
Kate nodded and deferred to Matoi's judgment. "Alright if I head out to find where he is? I won't approach him, obviously."
"Go ahead."
Kate disguised herself and left. For an hour she was gone, then returned, with knowledge of what hotel Dr. Fujishita was staying at; she did not explain how she knew, though it was surmisable she achieved it non-violently and via asking questions of airport taxis. She had no room number, however, and left this to Matoi's calling of the hotel and exercising some presidential authority. (This was delayed via the receptionist saying they first needed to "check in a few guests" and leaving her on hold.)
Nothing so much annoyed Matoi as much as lack of deference to her authority; partially embarrassment and partially how it obstaclized her. As said before, one might spurn Matoi a nascent fascist, though the irony is that for all her intelligence the more she believed in the imposition of herself upon society, even moreso because the average fascist's brain is too small to accommodate such spanning fantasies. (One reason why her existence so frustrated Kirihara.)
But, she eventually found his room number, and the delay had given her time for additional planning.
"I've already called in a student to assist with this. One of you will meet her at the airport, tomorrow, and Kate will disguise her. You'll go to Dr. Fujishita's hotel room -- however you need to do it, and she'll mind control him with her Revenant and force him to confess what he knows."
"We have a student with a mind control Revenant?" said Marisa.
"We do, fortunately. Her hero name is Vector -- Tiffany."
"…um…" said Serena.
"…Matoi, did she specifically say she can mind control people?" said Mia.
"It's listed as 'control over objects and people, via an implanted walnut'." Matoi frowned. "And I assume you're about to tell me she listed it incorrectly."
"Um, Contagion doesn't let her mind control." said Serena.
Matoi sighed. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, we are." said Mia. 'Because if she did, she wouldn't be single right now.' she thought.
"We were on a government contract with her -- she couldn't interrogate our escort, she could only control his limbs."
Matoi sighed, made another call to Tiffany, who soon answered. "Hello, Vector? I need to ask you about your Revenant. How does Contagion work? … … When Contagion is implanted inside someone, what can it do? …yes. Can you force a criminal to confess?" She sighed. "Yes, that's why I asked you to come, but..."
"Can you ask her if she can make somebody speak?" said Kate. "Just generally."
"Can you make someone speak?" Matoi nodded to Kate. "Yes."
"I'll see what I can do. I might be able to have him confess to Tamer and see how he reacts."
"Wouldn't you need to be exactly right?" said Naomi.
"Well, mostly. I've done it before with interrogations." Kate shrugged. "Generally, if I need to know how a criminal thinks, I think about what I would do as a rogue host and take away reason and morality. So I think she should still come."
"Isn't that entrapment?" said Mia.
"Only if a reasonable person would react the same way he will to it. That's when entrapment applies."
'And mysteriously it never does.' thought Mia, relevantly.
"Let me put Tiffany on speaker." Matoi set her phone down and Tiffany's voice came up.
"Yeah, so like I was saying to Matoi, Contagion doesn't mind control people. I just control their limbs and stuff. I can't make them use their Revenant either."
"But you can make someone speak?" said Kate.
"Yeah, that's just controlling their lips. Do you need a confession for police?"
"No, we needed information."
"…oh. Ugh, uh..."
"Still think she should come, though." said Kate to Matoi.
"Do you have any other questions for her?" said Matoi, and Kate shook her head. "…alright. Tiffany -- for now, keep your flight scheduled. Mia, meet with her tomorrow and bring her back here."
"Uh, Mia's with you?" said Tiffany.
"…yes?"
"Oh, great. Yeah, whatever, I'll be there tomorrow. Bye." Tiffany hung up.
With that, the rest spoke for a bit; most wanted food, and Kate & Naomi & Marisa went out to the hotel's buffet, disguised. With Matoi in the same room, Serena made a subtle gesture to Mia. Mia finagled a reason for her and Serena to leave to the other hotel room, and they sat against the wall.