The Price of Curiosity (before battle)

The foundation that led to this disaster was laid by none other than Yi Sang, whose only sin was making an innocent, tragically casual comment.

Sometime after we ran our final tests…

Please vacate the room, people. Cleanup coming through.

Ah, apologies... Miss Don Quixote has aught to...

Prithee, avail me but a moment…! The shoelaces upon Rocinante have come undone...

What? How...? I remember tying like seven different knots on your shoes.

Ahh, yet 'twere quite the hideous access-sorry to be forced upon Rocinante... I have tied one of them once again in the shape of a ribbon!

Yeah, the knots didn't look that great. Ribbons are cute!

Oh boy…

… Yet one must begin to wonder…

… about the consequences of Miss Don Quixote freeing her feet from Rocinante at her present state?

Hm? Whatever art thou suggesting? Rocinante is none other than mine eternal steed, bound to me by fate itself! None shall ever dare sever the bond betwixt us!

It was a query posed toward Miss Faust, yet I appreciate your answer all the same…

And Faust's reply was what set fire upon that rather combustible foundation.

I cannot know.

Wha…?

An obvious outcome, given that no relevant data has ever been collected.

Well, then… no time like the present to get collectin', huh? Good thing we're in a lab too-where else are we gonna get another chance to do that?

This course of action is highly inadvisable.

Yeah, sounds like a bad time to me. I heard all kinds of horrible stuff happened on that train the moment her shoes came off.

<Sure did…>

But that's…!

'Twas but an independent decision called by Rocinante itself due to certain... extreme circumstances that had naught to do with mine will!

Well, you know. Potayto-potahto.

Hm, I was already quite aware that the core of that individual may as well lie in her pair of running shoes…

Fie on thee! Thou shan't treat a person such as I like some useless shell!

What if we slipped her shoes off and on again really quickly?

The standards here at the LCE department demand precise measurements.

In other words, these tests would be meaningless if all we are measuring is a 'hollow shell'.

… A hollow… shelllllllll…!

We have indulged your predictable provocations enough, Hohenheim. It seems necessary to remind you that you have not yet received the full report of what transpired during that incident.

In other words, you are risking the occurrence of an unexpected event.

You concern yourself unnecessarily. The construction of my laboratory boasts a rather solid build.

Not even Abnormalities on the more powerful side of things can puncture holes in its walls.

Oh, very well. I will not force your hand. However, due to your unwillingness, I am behooved to record as such in my research journal...

"Due to the concerned Sinner's utterly terrified reaction at the prospect of having to remove her shoes, I must unfortunately leave only a half-complete test result here…"

Utterly... terrified...? Terrified...?!

Ah, and for your information, these research reports…

… are stored for at least a decade.

Yes, we will have possession of a full record of your plain cowardice for at least ten years.

…….

Outcome: N/A… Reason: subject… was… too scared… to participate.

After much contemplation… I have come to conclude that dearest Rocinante deserveth a moment of respite as well.

And I, Don Quixote, shall demonstrate before thee that Don Quixote is Don Quixote in her core still, without Rocinante's assistance!

<Are you sure this is a good idea, Faust…?>

Hohenheim… If your employment at Limbus Company ever comes to a unilateral termination, I suppose the cause will be rather apparent: your highly irresponsible level of curiosity.

Not a good idea, got it...

That would be my greatest honor as a researcher.

Hey, if anything ever goes wrong, Yi Sang'll be on the ready to slip those shoes right back onto your feet at a moment's notice, 'kay?

I shall be on the ready...

Behold me not with such excessive anticipation, all! There shan't be any new revelations here…!

Don Quixote begins to untie her shoes, seething…

…….

Mm, this seven-layered knot poseth... quite the difficulty. Young Ishmael, wherefore hast thou tied these cords with such unwavering tightness?

I was hoping they'd be the last knot those shoelaces would ever tie...

Of course... Ah... there we go. Rest thee well, Rocinante...

For I...

…….

The Sinners and I were all quite nervous, but none of us stepped forward to stop this experiment.

Why didn't we stop this? Was it because we thought we knew removing Rocinante doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be losing control, because we saw its effects on the WARP train and at La Manchaland?

Or was it because we assumed that Rocinante was now just a disguise, and now that Don Quixote has accepted her past as Sancho, removing it wouldn't affect her psyche at all?

Whichever was the case, it was a mistake to ignore that nagging feeling.

These researchers don't know what facing Don Quixote... Sancho, the Second Kindred, is like.

We do.

… Mother…

O Mother...

Our existence is death in perpetuity.

Complete us, fill our hunger…!

We pray unto you, fill us with the blood of humans, with the blood of humans...

<Nngh…>

The teeming, shouting voices suddenly begin to echo in my head.

They're the voices of all the Children he had embraced…

… Or perhaps, this was the Bloodfiends' instinct given voice, imprinted upon them at the moment of their birth.

'Proliferate this disease, embrace this unending hunger for blood, and propagate the Family.'

So many voices, so much yearning, so much desire.

Every single Kindred that has ever existed in the past…

… kneels before Don Quixote.

Oh… dearest Mother.

As your Children…

When shall we be permitted to quench this thirst for blood…?

<…I must drink blood.>

<I have to drink all the blood…>

<... all the blood that the Family deserved to drink. I must.>

Dante? Dante, wake up!

A-ain't this a lot like the last time at that building when the fire on their head suddenly exploded?!

…I have to… I gotta… get a hold of myself…

<Thirst…>

My body can't even feel thirsty, this doesn't make any sense…!

<Gah, haaah… I-I'm okay. I'm okay now.>

… What did you see, Dante?

<…If we want to bring Don Quixote back, we're going to need to quench her thirst somehow.>

<We need something to sate the combined thirst… the desire… of every single Kindred…>

That's not good. Do you keep any blood in here? Let's at least try to quench what's -

Uhh, yeah. We have some blood samples. If you need them…

Dammit, have you been listening to what the Executive Manager's been saying?! It's the combined thirst of every single Kindred! A few blood samples aren't going to do anything…!

So you're going to sit here and do nothing?!

Ain't this just a matter of gettin' her shoes back on?!

Right, Yi Sang! Shoes! Shoes! Get those shoes back on her feet!

I cannot! A bizarre wall of pressure surrounds her!

This is one luxury cig. Good flavor.

I… bought those luxury cigarettes with our last bonus pay…

These readings are incredible. So much power, even in a state that is, for all intents and purposes, complete emaciation...

What? You... you egged her on knowing this would happen?

I had many outcomes in mind. Some were quite similar to this, but... this is beyond even the most extreme of my predictions.

How the fuck are you so calm about this?! We've got to do something! You haven't even seen how hard the lass hits!

What would be the use of panicking now? If the outcome does not align with the predictions, the first course of action should be to analyze the given data.

However...

It doesn't seem like our containment measures will be the answer here. Thus the task of stopping her seems to fall straight onto all of you.

…….

Time for us to pay the price of curiosity.