"There are usually three possession stages." Quill stood before a whiteboard and began listing them. "The empty state usually takes about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the demon's need to incubate."
He walked over to the table and leaned on it. "During this time, the demon is not in full control, but sealing is not yet possible…"
"The odd thing is, usually the bodies move to do their usual everyday tasks… so you have to look at their eyes to be sure."
Arc remembered his parents, who did the same when he woke up to them. A melancholic feeling almost befell him, but then the door burst open, and Sycamore, carrying some files, looked surprised.
"Why the hell are you all here?"
He looked at Arc, Crescent, Quill, and his detectives, Cindy and Kit.
"Can't you see?" Quill crossed his arms, his eyes relaxed yet glaring at Sycamore. "We're in a class. If you want, you can take a seat and join."
"Why here?" said Sycamore, then turned to Kit and Cindy. "And you two, don't you have paperwork to do?"
"Yes... detective." Cindy said with a frown, and walked to her desk, Kit following behind.
The so-called class was in the PCU office, making use of their whiteboards and markers, which Quill thought was a perfect place for a short lesson for Arc and Crescent.
"They can listen in too, they need it as members of the PCU." Quill retorted.
"They will study that outside the office. You will compile that information for them, right, Quill?"
Quill glared at him and sighed, "Yes..."
"Thanks." Sycamore headed to his desk, and the three continued their lesson.
"Anyway..." Quill turned to the board. "The second stage of possession is when they're taken over." He wrote it down, and then his phone suddenly rang.
"For goodness' sake..." He grabbed his phone from the table and answered. "Yes?!"
"Quill, I forgot to tell you, you need to teach Arc and Crescent about light and demons," Pierrot said over the phone.
Quill sighed, a hand on his temple, trying to calm down. "I'm doing it. Right. Now."
"Oh! Then you have my thanks."
"Yeah, and we're also gonna cover the sta—"
Pierrot immediately cut the call, and Quill took a long deep breath. He nodded and smiled at the two. "They know I'm not your mentor, right?" His eyes smiled along, yet his ears and neck were red.
He exhaled sharply. "Where were we..." He glanced at the board. "Right, the taken-over stage—the possession. This is when the demon is either reactive or non-reactive in the body. Ms. Pauline was in this stage. It's usually when we need to seal them."
Crescent raised her hand. "What does reactive or non-reactive mean?"
"Reactive means the demon can move because the host body can contain the demonic spirit. Non-reactive means the opposite. The host body is too weak or has complications, making it hard for the demon to control. This results in the body being stationary or having unpredictable movements."
Arc remembered his mother's form, where she couldn't move from the floor. He shook the thoughts off and focused on the board when he remembered something.
"Isn't this their final form?" Arc asked. "What's the third one?"
"Well," Quill wrote the third one on the board. "Manifestation."
The students shared a look, then looked back at Quill.
"The taken-over stage usually ends in about an hour or two. Manifestation is when the demon adopts its true form," he looked at them alternately, "...or manifests its demonic powers... or both."
Small gasps were heard, and a grin formed on Quill's face. "But that's where exactly we should come in. We seal them before that happens," the smile disappeared, his tone now firm and heavy, "...or it'll be a life-or-death fight, even for us."
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Roy had just gotten home from Blans district, finding Wicked Wings closed. He took his keys and opened it.
As he swung the door open, his breath caught in his throat. There, sprawled on the floor, was a body lying stomach down.
He dashed to it, his things falling out of his hands. A closer look, and he noticed... it was just Pierrot. He sighed, falling to the floor, all the panic he felt—betrayed.
"Why are you on the floor?"
The man flinched and looked up, his face sunken and eyes barely open. "Roy?"
The light behind the door illuminated Roy's silhouette, and to Pierrot, he seemed God-sent.
"My savior..." he said with a smile.
Roy stood up, put his things on the table, and immediately put on an apron. "What happened to you?"
Pierrot remained unmoving on the floor. "I got hungry, so I walked to the station to fry some chicken..."
The marinated chicken was taken out of the fridge, and the fryer clicked on.
"...and then I got sleepy."
Roy sighed. "Get up, sit on the counter."
────────
"I've reported it to the Cathar office. I think they're going to send some Providences," Roy said, putting raw breaded chicken into the fryer basket for the third time and lowering it into the preheated oil.
Pierrot, who was across from him on the counter, ate the last fried chicken on his plate. He drank his cola and let out a burp. "So the boy's one of us, we should keep an eye on him."
"Mm. I've cleansed the place, but I'm afraid because of him, it will just be recurring."
"No can do, he hasn't triggered."
"Should I visit again this week?"
Pierrot paused and looked at him. "Are you sure? It's a four-hour drive."
"I'm worried the kid will start to bait more."
"Hmm." Pierrot looked down in thought, and his gaze fell upon the frying chicken. "I think that's done."
"Five minutes." Roy frowned. "But how was Arc and Crescent's training?"
"Quill is taking care of it."
Roy nodded. "They should familiarize themselves with combat too, not just weapons. They won't be able to rely on their powers in endurance fights."
"They're learning combat first." Pierrot continued to stare at the bubbling oil.
"That's good then."
Only the faint sizzle of frying made a sound, until Pierrot broke it. "And now, done?"
"It's only been a minute..." Roy groaned.