| Robin's walking through some slums. She sees the old woman in a wheelchair again and tries to approach her, but is stopped by a Rune on the ground. She looks up again, and the woman is gone, saying that it's "time" and that she's (the old woman is ) the hellish time that has accumulated in the world. Amon looks at the crest (which has been sent to his cellphone or something) and says that it's a Witch's Crest from the Salem Witch Trials. That rune (Hagalaz) was carved into the bodies of suspected Witches. Karasuma says that this crest has been sent to all the computers in STN-J and can't be erased from the screen and the source is Robin's computer. Robin is also AWOL. Robin investigates the slums further, and finds the old woman again. She's a witch from Salem, with the Rune carved into her upper arm. Robin says (reasonably) that this can't be true, the Salem Witch trials were 400 years ago. The Witch says that time can flow differently for different people, and is like a stagnant abyss for a small group of people. Robin's team is trying to get ahold of her, and Michael's cranky that someone hacked into HIS computer system. Amon reports to Zaizen that Robin's not sending the Rune, her terminal is just the entry point for the hacker. The first trace came a week ago, and Zaizen remembers that that's when they Hunted Narumi, who had shown no signs of Craft use before that time. They speculate that there's a Witch who can either increase or even GIVE people Craft powers. Zaizen tells Amon to keep looking for more information. Robin is still having her little tete-a-tete with the old woman, who points out that Robin's powers are no different than Witchcraft. She rhetorically asks Robin if she's a descendant of Saturn (the Roman version of the Greek god Cronus, who ate his children when they were born because of a prophecy that one of them would overthrow him). Meanwhile, Amon told Karasuma and Haruto to meet him at the Walled City, so they head off. The old woman keeps rambling about all the historical Witch Hunts in Europe, and all the innocent people who may have died. There are also people who are jealous of Witchcraft, and so they Hunt them. Robin counters that they only hunt bad Witches, and the old woman brushes it off with "I've heard that line for 300 years, whippersnapper." She offers to show Robin the truth, and starts drawing Runes in the ground with her cane. At the same time, the Rune appears on all the screens in STN-J again, pissing Michael off and knocking out a lot of their computer-based communication systems. Robin's deep in a vision now, seeing the cave paintings of Lascaux which Methuselah (who the old woman is, of course) says were the gods of olden times. Robin looks at the primitive bull painting, sees the horns, and furiously denies that people used to worship this, the devil. Behind her she sees Methuselah as a young woman, who says that, yes, the Bull God is the oldest god. Robin starts talking about how the demon fell from grace, and Methuselah asks if she's so sure that it was the demon who fell. Robin says that people who tortured Witches did it to save them from themselves, and Methuselah calls her on this BS. The Hunters were jealous of Witch powers, and therefore they tortured their comrades and the gods of the Witches were "devils." Methuselah says that Robin has the blood of Witches in her. Amon & co. trace the hacker to a laptop in Walled City, and call Zaizen. Zaizen asks him if he's heard of "Methuselah's Witches," and Amon asks if he means "the Clan of the Bull." They were just a rumor, but they might actually exist, says Zaizen. Zaizen says they might be able to manipulate people's abilities, and Amon remembers how Narumi suddenly lost his powers. Methuselah shows Robin a girl in white praying to the Pieta of Michaelangelo, saying that this is the last prayer of someone condemned to the stake. The girl has Robin's face, and Methuselah says that the Hunter will eventually become the Hunted. Robin has flashbacks to all the Witches she hunted, and them imagines STN-J pointing their guns at her. Robin freaks out, and Methuselah asks her why she's so surprised; the sad history of Witch hasn't ended, it's continuing the same as it always has. Amon threatens her, and she lashes out with her flames. It turns out that she's burning Methuselah, who looks relieved to be released from her eternal life. When Robin returns to reality, she sees a scorched wheelchair and Methuselah's burnt cane. She picks it up, marveling at the amount of wisdom about the Craft she just destroyed, 400 years' worth. She picks up a small crumbling piece of the cane, and Amon watches from the shadows. He explains to Robin that only fire could have destroyed the immortal Witch Methuselah, and that the tradition of burning Witches at the stake may be distantly related to that story. In the end, the only purpose Michael could find for the hacking was to call and investigate Robin. Amon explains the myth of Saturn to Michael, and looks Brooding and Thoughtful. In her room, Robin types a summary of the day's events and says that she's standing by for further orders. "Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. Inquisitors. Witch Hunters. A crushed fate. The child of darkness chosen by the Load [sic] shall see the judgement." [previous] [next] |