2.05 Fractures

The Titlecard.

"Fractures" is the fifth episode of the second season of Lincoln City.

## Episode

Shane has just finished eating some Chinese food and is preparing himself to sleep on his bed, he is stopped short however by a banging on his front door which wakes him up as he walks downstairs, he peers through the front room window to see who it is however cannot see anything through the rain outside so he unlocks the front door and opens it - standing there in the rain is the spirit guide, Fiona, who looks absolutely exhausted and soaked to the bone, she holds out her hand and hands Shane a piece of paper which he reads aloud: "To Shane, I hope you don't mind me dropping by so late however I need your help" - Shane raises an eyebrow: "Help? What sort of help?" - Fiona steps inside and removes her coat to reveal a long white dress, which looks far too clean for it to be real - Shane tells her to sit down on the sofa in the lounge however she declines and instead remains standing in the middle of the room as if she has no idea what to do with herself, she paces back and forth nervously while Shane questions her: "So what do you need my help with? You can at least tell me that" - Fiona stops pacing and stares at Shane: "That demon you ally with from time to time..." Shane looks confused: "Lamashtu? What's he done now?" - Fiona shakes her head and continues: "Nothing...yet but I fear he may do something...his behavior can be erratic and unpredictable...you know that better than anyone" she replies - Shane sighs: "Fiona, I'm not exactly best pals with Lamashtu...we don't exactly hang out and swap stories, we just deal with the bad guys and then go our seperate ways, he's like what Castiel is to The Winchesters on that show Supernatural...quality show by the way" Fiona looks confused, not understanding the reference: "Castiel? What does that mean?" - Shane ponders his words carefully: "Nevermind..." - Fiona interrupts Shane: "I'm scared of Lamashtu..." she says quietly - Shane walks over to Fiona: "Why?" he asks - Fiona shakes her head: "I don't know...I don't think he trusts me or something..." Shane nods: "Ok, maybe you should organize something and talk to him...keep in mind, the last spirit guide he saw was the one he grieved for...at least that's what he told me a while ago" - Fiona thinks for a minute before responding: "I suppose that makes sense...maybe I should write him a letter" - Shane chuckles: "I would do it in person" he replies - Fiona smiles and agrees to take his advice, she prepares to leave however Shane stops her: "Hold on...are you ok? You don't look well" he asks - Fiona simply shakes her head: "I don't know..." before disappearing.

Elsewhere, a Demon can be seen on the run through the Lincoln City streets as Lamashtu trails behind with purpose, he chases the Demon down an alleyway where they stop and turn to face him: "You are not welcome here Lamashtu" the Demon says - Lamashtu scoffs: "Oh really? Neither are you" he says with disdain - The Demon shakes its head: "I am not here by choice, if I was you'd be dead already you traitor" - Lamashtu smirks: "Do your worst..." he taunts - The Demon begins to transform into it's true demonic form before leaping at Lamashtu who conjures his own flames to match - The two supernatural beings duelled each other in the alleyway, sparks flew as each fought for dominance however eventually, Lamashtu won out, sending his opponent flying across the alleyway and into a wall - The Demon turned back into it's human form before collapsing onto the ground, unmoving as Lamashtu stands over him, hidden blade pointed at the being of darkness: "Anything you would like to say before I end your pitiful existence?" Lamashtu says coldly - The Demon looks up at him in fear: "Please...spare me" it begs - Lamashtu tilts his head as The Demon tries to make a case as to why Lamashtu should let it live: "I could be useful to you" it continues "I know all sorts of things...my powers are vast...I can assist you on your journeys..." Lamashtu scoffs again: "What use would I have for you? You are little more than worthless pieces of trash who feed off of pain...I can achieve much more on my own" he says however the Demon laughs: "Takes one to know one Lamashtu" which infuriates Lamashtu, as it seemingly reminds him of his past, he promptly thrusts his blade into The Demon's chest, killing it instantly as a bright light flashes and it drops dead, Fiona can then be seen in the background having found Lamashtu's location using her abilities as the demon turns round to face her - As Lamashtu puts his blade away, he looks at Fiona who is horrified at his actions: "I...I should have expected that from you" she says with disgust "Is that how you always deal with your enemies?" - Lamashtu sighs: "They are hardly enemies" he responds - Fiona shakes her head: "Don't lie to me...I can feel your anger...your rage...it burns hotter than ever before...did that demon say something that angered you?" she asks - Lamashtu shakes his head: "No" he lies - Fiona persists however Lamashtu does not want to answer her so he simply vanishes causing Fiona to close her eyes as she tries to find out where Lamashtu has gone.

Back in the suburbs, Shane can be seen sound asleep in bed, a sudden flash of light causes him to wake up suddenly with a start, as he wipes the sleep from his eyes he sees Fiona sitting on his bed - he blinks a few times before looking at her again: "Fiona? What are you doing here?" he asks - Fiona shakes her head: "I've had an encounter with that demon..." she says quietly - Shane rubs his eyes: "Lamashtu?" he asks - Fiona nods "He's upset about something...it's hard to get him to open up about it though" Shane frowns: "I already told you what it might be...you didn't tell me you were going to confront him" he says - Fiona shakes her head: "I wasn't...." she pauses for a second, contemplating her next words carefully: "I felt something else in him...something that was troubling him...it made me think...what if something else happened to him...after Constance died" - Shane sits up: "I mean I know you spirit guides share a connection and that's plausable but could you please come back in the morning so I can actually sleep tonight?" he asks - Fiona stands up: "Of course..." she says quietly "I'll see you in the morning" she adds before disappearing, as she stands outside Shane's house she looks over at a nearby lampost and finds Lamashtu staring a hole through her from under the dimly lit structure before he quickly and silently disappears.

The next morning Shane wakes up early and gets dressed before making his way downstairs to grab some breakfast. He checks his phone to see if anything has happened overnight but there are no notifications, he sighs before placing his phone down and continuing to eat his cereal - As Shane munches on his cereal, the sound of footsteps echoes through the hallway as Lamashtu suddenly enters the kitchen causing Shane's eyes to widen, a mixture of surprise and wariness flashing across his face - "Lamashtu," Shane greets cautiously, unsure of what to expect. "What brings you here this early in the morning?" Lamashtu's gaze falls on Shane, his eyes filled with a complex mixture of anger, frustration, and grief. His presence is intense, and Shane can feel the weight of his emotions hanging in the air -"I came to talk," Lamashtu says, his voice low and tinged with bitterness. "About Fiona, the so-called 'spirit guide' you've entrusted with your well-being." Shane sets down his spoon, his attention fully on Lamashtu now as he senses the deep-seated resentment emanating from the demon and braces himself for what is to come - "I don't trust her," Lamashtu continues, his tone laced with skepticism. "After what she went through, after being possessed by another demon, how can you just accept her as if nothing happened?" Shane sighs at this, realizing that Lamashtu's distrust stems from his past experiences with FIona as he understands that the demon sees her as a potential threat or as nothing more than a replacement for another spirit guide called Constance who had guided Lamashtu to become the person he is now - "Lamashtu, I understand your concerns," Shane says calmly, choosing his words carefully. "But Fiona has proven her loyalty and dedication to me time and time again. Yes, she went through a difficult ordeal, but she's grown stronger because of it." Lamashtu scoffs, his frustration evident. "She may have become stronger but that doesn't mean she can't be influenced or manipulated again. I lost Constance, and now you bring in another guide, like she was nothing more than a replaceable pawn!" Shane's heart aches for Lamashtu, understanding the pain he carries from losing Constance. He realizes that this encounter is not just about Fiona; it's about Lamashtu's unhealed wounds.

"Lamashtu, I know Constance meant a lot to you," Shane says softly, his voice filled with empathy. "But Fiona isn't here to replace her. She's here because she cares about me and wants to protect me...I dont know why or how it happened but it's just like this Constance person did for you." The demon's gaze softens slightly, his anger subsiding into a pained resignation. He lowers his head, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm afraid to lose someone else, Shane. I can't bear that pain again." Shane seems surprised at this: "Jesus, when did you get all...human?" Lamashtu looks up at him, his eyes filled with regret. "I've been thinking about this for a while now. About everything that's happened to me, about all the mistakes I've made." He pauses for a moment. "It was not my intention to interfere with your life. I simply wanted to cover my tracks all those years ago...over a decade ago now...now we are here and we aren't trying to kill each other" Lamashtu states reflecting on the pair's history together - Shane nods: "We have come a long way huh?" he says with a slight smile. "And I don't want to go back to being enemies...I need to know that Fiona is on my...our...side." - Shane ponders for a second before responding: "I have an idea..." he runs out of the room for a few seconds before returning with his laptop, he logs into the Hunter Network and brings up a map of "cold cases" he encourages Lamashtu to pick a random one anywhere on the map whilst Shane goes to Lincoln Cathedral, Lamashtu seems confused at this plan: "What are you planning?" he asks - Shane points to his own head: "I'm gonna take her on a case with me" he replies as Lamashtu squints: "That is a terrible idea, do you even know how much danger you are putting yourself in?" - Shane rolls his eyes: "Relax, if you need to communicate, look at the Tracker app on the laptop there, my phone signal is hooked up to it...once you've found a case, meet me at Lincoln Cathedral" Shane instructs as he closes his eyes to "pray" to Fiona to meet him inside the ancient, famous building in about 30 minutes time as he begins to travel to the Cathedral in the middle of the city.

As he arrives and daylight emits from the blue sky above, he pays at the visitor centre in order to enter, he walks into the great hall where various ancient statues and sculptures are present on either side of him as he moves down the aisle before reaching a sand pit of lit candles, he pays his respects to those he has lost before moving into the choir chamber where a group of tourists can be seen taking photos of the altar with their cameras. He hears footsteps behind him and turns round to see Fiona standing there in her solid form: "Did I keep you waiting?" she asks - Shane shakes his head: "I just got here" he says with a polite smile as they begin to walk through the cathedral. They explore the various rooms until they reach an area near the cloisters where Shane sits down on a bench and invites Fiona to join him, she hesitates before sitting down next to him: "You wanted to see me?" - Shane nods at this and asks Fiona: "We've established that Lamashtu doesn't trust you right? So I've had an idea...we are going to prove to him that you are indeed trustworthy to become my spirit guide" - Fiona tilts her head, her long blonde hair nearly falling across her eyes: "How exactly would we do that?" Shane smiles at her enthusiasm: "Well, we're going to go on a case together" - Fiona's eyes widen: "Are you serious?" she asks - Shane nods: "I don't see why not. You have worked with me before when we found Lamashtu so I think we will make a good team...regarding that there aren't any possessions this time around" he says as Fiona seems pleased at this development, she then pauses for a few moments: "What case have you got in mind?" she asks - Shane explains that Lamashtu is the one choosing the case which fills her with some dread as she becomes curious as to what Lamashtu wants her to do: "Why does he trust you?" Fiona asks - Shane sighs at this: "Because I'm the only one crazy enough to work with him..." he replies with a smirk as Fiona seems concerned at this revelation - "Shane, this isn't just about proving to him that I can help you...it's dangerous...I don't want you getting hurt" Shane places a hand on her arm: "Hey, I can handle myself...I've only nearly died about....three times this year?" he says partly jesting with his response. Fiona frowns: "If something happens to you whilst we're on this case then I won't be able to..." she hesitates for a second: "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you Shane" she admits - Shane blinks a few times at this confession: "Oh" he says awkwardly before continuing: "Lamashtu will be appearing any moment with a case I assume" he is clearly trying to get out of this awkward situation. Fiona is silent as they sit in the cloisters for a few moments before a blinding light erupts from the other side of the cathedral as Lamashtu appears, holding the laptop in one hand.

"Hello Fiona" Lamashtu says bluntly as he places the laptop on the ground in front of them - Fiona nods at him: "What case have you got for us?" she asks - Lamashtu smirks: "There is a man going round the city, people say he dies but comes back to life" Fiona looks up at him in shock before looking back at Shane: "The Undead?" she asks - Shane shrugs: "Who knows? Do you have an address Lamashtu? We should head there now" - Lamashtu nods and teleports Shane and Fiona to Lincoln County Hospital, Shane looks around at the numerous patients and their families in the waiting room whilst Fiona, in her transparent form, wanders the halls and heads to the morgue to find a report on this supposed dead man - As she approaches the morgue, she sees the pathologist packing away his equipment and documents before leaving, as he steps out into the hallway, Fiona materializes in front of him and stops him in his tracks, he tries to scream but Fiona tries to calm him down - "I'm not here to hurt you" she says quietly - The pathologist stammers in disbelief, trying to process what is happening before his eyes. He finally manages to say "who are you?" causing Fiona to smile "My name is Fiona, I'm here to discuss someone that died recently for official business...if that's ok" The pathologist nods at this: "I'm Dr. Paul Rapport, I'm the pathologist here. Whom are you here about?" Fiona tells him that she actually doesn't know a name but is looking for a body that was recently deceased and that a colleague had given her this information: "I'm sorry but I can't just give you access to our records..." Fiona sighs at this: "I understand your concern, however, it is very important that I find this person - it may help with the case I am working on, I can't say what the case is though as that's classified" she justifies herself - Dr. Rapport seems skeptical at first but Fiona does have a point as this is related to her job (in this case it's a hunt) so he decides to help her "Ok, we can try and find this person's file but I can't promise anything" he says - Fiona nods at this "Thank you Dr. Rapport" she says gratefully as she walks past him towards the morgue doors.

Inside, she finds the cold room where the deceased bodies are stored, she starts to examine them until she finds a folder on the third body from the door containing details of a "strange death" from a few days ago, she skims through it and finds a name on the front "James Wainwright" she memorizes it and reads the death report from the hospital stating that he was pronounced dead from heart failure at 9:43 AM but was revived with CPR at 9:47 AM but then he died again at 9:51 AM this time from "an unknown cause" - As she leaves the morgue, she quickly tells Dr. Rapport the name that she discovered before saying goodbye and returning to her transparent form.

Back in the waiting room, Shane secretly uses an EMF meter however the test is unsuccessful and returns it to his jacket pocket, Fiona soon returns and Shane asks her about what she found - Fiona tells him what she found, telling him about James Wainwright and how he died twice within 10 minutes, Shane is confused by this as he knows there are multiple possibilities as to what killed him such as possession or even a witch curse, however, he prefers to not jump to conclusions and thinks that they should just investigate first before making a hasty judgement - "I think we should give the Wainwright's a visit...see what they can tell us about James" he suggests to Fiona who agrees that this is a good idea as the pair uses Fiona's teleportation abilities to get to the Wainwright house in suburban Lincoln, the house is a grand Edwardian style two storey with a white tiled roof and brick walls, they ring the doorbell and are greeted by a middle-aged woman, Shane greets her and shows her his fake detective ID explaining that he and his colleague (Fiona) is here to discuss James' death with her - Mrs. Wainwright lets them into the house where they sit down at a table in the kitchen and ask her about her husband's death, she tells them how at about 9:40 AM he was standing in the kitchen when all of a sudden he collapsed and his heart stopped beating, she panicked but managed to resuscitate him however he passed again 3 minutes later, the paramedics were called but they didn't know what was wrong with him so had no idea how to treat him as they had never seen anything like this before, Shane asks about James' condition before he passed away again which she describes as being completely normal however when he died again at 9:47 AM she described him as "a pale blue colour" and that he looked like he was "suffering" - Fiona looks at Shane worriedly who seems deep in thought, he then asks Mrs. Wainwright: "Before his death, did you experience anything out of the ordinary? say cold spots, flickering lights...anything like that?" Mrs. Wainwright shakes her head and says no as she gets up from her chair and tells them that she needs to go and check on something outside which they accept as they move into the lounge where they hear a phone ringing upstairs, they head upstairs with Fiona finding the phone and answering it - "Hello?" she says into the receiver - A male voice comes through and says: "Oh hello, is this Mrs. Wainwright? This is Dr. Rapport from the hospital, I just wanted to check up on Mr. Wainwright's case" Fiona answers "No this is Fiona, Mrs. Wainwright is currently outside, me and my colleague are currently doing an enquiry about James' death" she says - Dr. Rapport replies: "Oh ok, well can you tell her that there has been a development in his case and that he needs to be admitted back into the hospital..." Fiona confusedly asks down the phone: "He was dead in the morgue..." Dr. Rapport responds: "We know but he has come back again...he keeps dying over and over again, it's like some sort of curse" - Fiona freezes for a few seconds before saying: "Ok...me and my colleague can come if you wish" Dr. Rapport replies: "Yes please, we are currently at the hospital and I am in the mortuary if you want to meet me here" - Fiona thanks him and hangs up the phone before phasing through the wall back into the lounge where she tells Shane what she heard from Dr. Rapport and that they need to go to the hospital as James has come back to life again, they lie to Mrs Wainwright saying that they will be back later before walking out the door and teleporting to Lincoln County Hospital where they find Dr. Rapport waiting for them in the mortuary, he leads them into the cold room and opens one of the drawers revealing James Wainwright sitting there alive, Shane examines him before saying to himself: "Mrs. Wainwright was right, he does look pale blue in colour."

Fiona, out of panic, pulls out her silver blade and points it at James (who puts his hands up in confusion) - Shane quickly intervenes and says: "Woah woah woah! What are you doing?" Fiona asks: "Why did he come back to life?" she asks Shane: "I don't know Fiona" he then walks over to James: "Hello Mr. Wainwright, my name is Shane...this is gonna sound weird but I'm here to talk about your death" - James looks at Shane in confusion as he tries to process what is going on and what is being said to him - Shane then asks James: "You are aware you died right?" James nods at this: "Considering I felt my heart stop beating in my chest I'd say that would be an obvious answer" he replies with sarcasm - Shane ignores his tone and carries on: "How long were you dead?" James ponders for a few seconds: "About 3 minutes..but then I wasn't...but then I was, yet they still put me in this morgue...why?" he says with confusion - Shane sighs at this and begins to explain: "I'm not sure how to say this but...you have died three times today already..." James chuckles at this "Yeah I'm aware of that now" he replies sarcastically - Shane continues: "We need to check your vitals and stuff to see if we can find anything out" he says as he reaches for his bag - Fiona, still visibly shocked, watches as Dr. Rapport examines James' body and monitors his heart rate, blood pressure etc... After a few minutes of observing James' vitals Dr. Rapport stands up and says: "I don't know what is going on here but I know that you can't do anything else to help him..." Fiona breaks her silence: "Why?" she asks - Dr. Rapport explains that his heart rate has remained steady and constant for about 5 minutes now and that the only time it changes is when he dies again which causes it to skyrocket to 200 beats per minute before it crashes again and he dies, like someone fitted him with a malfunctioning pacemaker or something... But I've never seen anything like it" Shane looks at James who is seemingly unaffected by this however he is confused, he then looks back at Dr. Rapport and asks: "What about his skin colour?" Dr. Rapport tells him that a bluey colour is normal for people who have been dead for months or years but not minutes or even seconds - Shane turns back to James and asks him: "Do you feel like you're in pain?" James shakes his head "No" he replies - Shane then asks him to stand up which he does - Shane then asks him to run his fingers down his torso which he does, however, he is unable to feel anything, it's like he's come back to life but his body hasn't - "I feel like an empty shell" James says as he sits back down on the bed - Shane then asks Dr. Rapport if there's anything that could be wrong with James' brain as he mentions having hallucinations which Dr. Rapport responds: "That would be impossible as we took several scans of his brain whilst he was alive for the second time and he was sound of mind." - Shane nods at this and says "I guess we're done here then" before turning around and heading out of the cold room with Fiona, Dr. Rapport tells them that they are welcome to use any of the equipment in the morgue if they need to which they thank him for.

The pair leave and soon talk to each other in another room, Fiona seems flustered: "I should be used to seeing strange things but I've never seen anything like this before" Shane nods: "He could be a zombie but then again, they don't go from dead to alive at random" Fiona thinks about this and says: "So what do we do?" Shane replies simply: "Check the lore" which causes Fiona to nod as she manifests an old looking scrapbook from thin air, it looks like it is centuries old and features many notes, markings and various other symbols written inside with various notes about witches, vampires, demons etc. however they can't find anything about a being that constantly revives itself, as they theorize; a scream can be heard from the mortuary - "Oh my god!" Fiona says as she grabs Shane's arm and pulls him into the mortuary where they find the double glazed and barred up window in the room destroyed and Dr. Rapport clutching a cut on his shoulder, caused by a large glass shard on first observation he is bleeding heavily, soaking his white lab coat red as his body convulses "He escaped!" he says to Shane as he staggers to his feet - "Dr. Rapport what happened?" as Fiona tries to calm the Doctor down as he explains that James had a severe rush of adrenaline and proceeded to jump out the window: "I tried to grab him but he stabbed me in the shoulder with the shard, it was so fast I didn't even see him move until it was too late!" he says as Fiona takes his hand and examines the wound before putting pressure on it: "This needs stitches" she says as she looks to Shane: "I'll take him up to the waiting room, stay here and wait and if James comes back...get ready to smoke his undead arse" Shane says like he is giving out instructions, he the grabs Dr. Rapport and assists him out of the mortuary and along one of the hospital's many winding corridors as Fiona stands guard nervously, she even manifests her silver blade again and prays for protection against whatever may enter the room.

Elsewhere, Shane guides Dr. Rapport down another hallway as they try to reach the Accident and Emergency department: "Tell me about yourself...it might take your mind of the bleeding" Shane says in a polite way: "I'm 36 years old, I've been doing this work in morgues across the UK for about 9 years and I've worked here for 6 years" Dr. Rapport replies with a smile - Shane smirks "Any family at all? Kids maybe?" he asks: "No, I was married once but it ended poorly and I never got over her leaving me for another man so I dedicated my life to my work...the hospital helped me cope with my broken heart" Shane nods at this as he continues to walk down the hallways, they soon reach the Accident and Emergency department and Shane leaves Rapport with his colleagues as he heads back to Fiona in the mortuary - as Shane heads back: Fiona's enhanced hearing picks up a strange tapping on the broken window of the cold room and she sees James standing outside the window tapping on it with a grin on his face - "What are you?" Fiona asks in an authoritive way as she backs away towards the door - James giggles as he pushes his hand against the rest of the window causing it to smash and break into numerous pieces as he enters the room and walks towards Fiona who is backing away even faster until she's backed up against a wall - James then leans in towards her face and stares at her before saying: "You look so scared...so frightened" - Fiona panics as she raises her blade and aims it at his neck - James just continues to giggle as he slowly grabs hold of the blade with his hand and twists it out of her grasp as he wimpers showcasing James now has unnatural strength: "How are you DOING THAT?" Fiona yelps as she begins to panic even more - James simply laughs as he pushes Fiona back against the wall causing her to hit her head against it before saying: "You really have no idea what's going on do you?" as he pins her to the wall with one hand - Shane enters the room and sees Fiona pinned against the wall with James looming over her, his hand still gripping her wrist tightly "HEY" Shane yells as he runs over to them - James then turns his head to see Shane: "Oh hello there!" he says with a grin as he drops Fiona and walks over to Shane who engages in close combat with James but James is easily overpowering him and manages to push him to the floor before straddling him - Shane cries as he squirms under James' grip - James then leans in and whispers into Shane's ear: "I will make you suffer..." before punching him in the face causing blood to spill from his nose: "Don't worry though, I won't kill you...that would be too quick" he says with a grin as Shane looks up at him in fear as Fiona suddenly emerges and places James in a chokehold, her happy go lucky expressions have changed to an angry serious look as she keeps James in a chokehold before saying: "I'm sorry about this" as she uses her other hand to punch him in the side of the head knocking him unconscious, the two take a moment to recover as Shane suggests they check the lore again and quick as James will likely come round again and continue to attack them - Fiona skims through her lore book for anything that could be related to what they've just encountered at a rapid rate as James starts to stir causing them to become more anxious - "How do you fight him?" Shane asks "I don't know" Fiona says in frustration as she continues to frantically flip pages, searching for something that could help them - James then snaps back to life and is now on his feet looking at the pair: "You can't hide from me!" he says as he begins to sprint towards them as they both step back - "Fuck" Shane says as he begins to panic "We have to run!" which causes Fiona to grab Shane's hand as a chase ensues along the hospital corridors with the two constantly running away from James - As they continue their chase: Shane and Fiona arrive at the main reception area of the hospital, she tells everyone to evacuate as there is a threat as she orders everyone to head out of the doors and into the carpark - A man in his 40s standing at the reception counter tells them: "But there are so many people still here" he says with concern - Fiona looks at the man sternly as James bursts in, making his presence felt, causing everyone to scatter as Fiona yells: "Everyone get out NOW" causing the man to scurry away - James giggles at this as he dashes forward towards Shane and Fiona - Shane stands up on a chair and asks: "What are you?" in an authoritive tone which causes James to laugh as he grabs Shane by the leg and lifts him off the chair and throws him across the room, he then turns around and begins to walk over to Fiona who begins to panic again, she pulls her silver knife out which causes James to stop in his tracks now he has a full look at what she is calling, his face beholds an expression of confusion - Fiona stands her ground as she holds her blade up in an attack position which causes James to almost recoil in fear at the sight of compared to the scene in the mortuary earlier - Fiona steps forward: "Come on then you undead bastard...let's see if you can actually die!" she yells as she lunges forward with her blade towards James who dodges her strike as he pushes her back and knocks her off her feet, she slides across the floor as he legs it down another hallway, Fiona gets up and picks Shane up - "Whatever he is, he hates Silver" Shane nods sarcastically as he holds his head: "That narrows it down..." he says as he begins to chuckle - Fiona helps Shane to his feet and orders him to bring everyone back in as she announces that she is going after James herself - Shane nods and proceeds to help everyone file through the main entrance, getting the hospital back running in the process.

Fiona, silver blade in hand, cautiously wanders the hallways of the hospital hoping to find James - Her enhanced hearing picks up faint whispers coming from a nearby room and she cautiously creeps up to it before peeking her head inside - She doesn't find James but does find what looks like human skin hanging off a rack, she touches it and feels very odd as it tingles her fingers and has a very wet and mushy sensation when touched before pulling her hand away quickly. She notices a small office door that's unlocked and proceeds to check inside, there she finds a table with a dead body laid out on it, it's Dr. Rapport, his eyes are open and there's a knife sticking out of his chest - She gasps "Shane!" she yells out before noticing a sheet of paper on the table, it reads:

 "Dear whoever finds this note, my name is Dr. Rapport, I am writing this note in advance for future generations as I know I will not live to see tomorrow...the gods must have decided my time is up as someone I once tried to help is now trying to kill me - This man was not who he appeared to be..." before Fiona can finish reading, Dr. Rapport (who's body is in the room) enters casually: "Did I miss something?" he asks with a grin - Fiona screams in shock as she turns around "AH" she yells "Dr. Rapport, what happened?" she asks as she steadies herself - Dr. Rapport looks at her confused "I'm not sure what you're referring to..." he says with a smile as he leans against the doorframe "I just wanted to tell you I've stopped the bleeding and I'll be back at work tomorrow..." Fiona points to the body of Dr. Rapport in shock, he glances at it and says: "Oh yes...him...I don't know what happened but I was attacked by an unknown entity as I was heading back to the mortuary, it came at me so quickly that I didn't even have time to react before it grabbed me by the arm and stabbed me in the chest...well, I say me..." he then proceeds to lock the door but we see or hear nothing other than a confused Fiona who can be heard wimpering with it being unclear what "Dr. Rapport" has done to her.

Back in Accident and Emergency: Shane is still waiting for Fiona to return, he looks to his right and notices Lamashtu sitting next to him, Lamashtu asks: "How's the case going?" in a sarcastic tone before standing up and walking over to the window to look outside "I hope you are doing...well" he says as he watches as cars drive by before turning around to face Shane: "Do you know what you have on your hands here?" Shane looks up at him confused and says: "Can you tell me?" he asks - Lamashtu chuckles at this as he says "It's an abomination...you should kill it immediately" - Shane just sits there confused as Lamashtu explains that he could say what it is but he wants Fiona to prove herself by working it out herself stating that he sees Shane as a "third wheel" in this case as the demon's main priority is to test Fiona: "I chose a pretty interesting case...don't you think?" Lamashtu says with a grin as Shane remains silent, he then disappears leaving Shane alone as a small child, who presumably wandered off earlier, comes back and tugs on Shane's hoodie: "Where's your mummy and daddy?" Shane asks the kid who looks up at him blankly before saying "There's a monster here" before turning around to point towards the hallway Fiona went down, Shane nods and tells the child to go find his parents and that he will deal with the monster, he pulls out his hunting knife from a concealed place in his hoodie and walks down the hallway, almost mirroring Fiona's footsteps from earlier, as he arrives at the office where Fiona was: Fiona is nowhere to be found but there are scratch marks on the door and blood splatters on the floor, he looks at the door and proceeds to push it open revealing Dr. Rapport's corpse laid out on a table, there are also signs of a struggle evident with chairs knocked over and papers scattered across the floor, he sees a note on the table reading "Dear whoever finds this note..." as he picks it up Fiona emerges from seemingly nowhere and hugs Shane in a frightened manner: "Thank god you're here...you recovered very quickly!" she says as she takes a deep breath "I have no idea what's going on, Dr. Rapport is dead but he isn't....it's all very strange." Shane nods as he says: "I agree, I bet Lamashtu's having a field day thinking about what we're doing here...he chose this damn case after all" Fiona shakes her head as she says: "I don't think so...I think Lamashtu knows what's going on here because he was talking about it earlier" she says with a stern look on her face - "He said we were dealing with an abomination...he paid me a visit whilst you were...well...here" Shane says causing Fiona to tilt her head in confusion: "What do you mean by 'paying you a visit?'" Shane shrugs as he says: "He came into the waiting room and we started talking..." Fiona suddenly looks nervous as she says: "W-Wait...what did you guys talk about?" Shane looks at her in surprise as he says: "Well...he told me that James is an abomination, which is very fitting" Fiona just stares at him in silence before letting out a big sigh and saying: "What else did he say?" Shane thinks back and says: "He said we should kill it" Fiona slowly turns around and says "Ok...and what of Dr. Rapport over here?" she asks with a worried look on her face - Shane ponders this for a second before pushing the body off the table "We should probably call..." as he starts to speak, Fiona grabs him from behind and holds him in a chokehold whilst saying: "No...I want to know everything Lamashtu told you first..." Shane questions her but she tells him: "Not now...not yet" as she continues to hold him in a chokehold.

Shane wakes up in the mortuary with a headache, his vision is blurry and his clothes are soaked in blood, there was clearly a struggle between him and Fiona, however, he does not remember much of what happened - he looks around the room for signs of Fiona and finds her sitting on James' mortuary bed, staring blankly into space as the lights above them flicker: "Ah good, you're awake" she says as she turns to face Shane, her eyes white with a black pupil in the middle: "We need to talk..." Shane prepares himself for combat as "Fiona" gets up off the bed and proceeds to walk towards him, he quickly grabs his knife and stabs her in the chest but she just laughs and says "I'm sorry...but that just isn't going to cut it...no pun intended" - "What are you?" Shane asks "Because you clearly aren't Fiona" Shane says as he readies himself to fight "Fiona" but "she" just replies: "I'm nothing, not really...I am many, we are many...we are many, all at once" Shane tilts his head at this: "So what, you have multiple forms?" "She" then replies "That's a good way of putting it, I can be anyone or anything I want to be" - Shane lets out a laugh at this and says: "So, you're a Shapeshifter?" "She" then replies: "You got it..." Shane scoffs at this and says "Well then...show me what you got" - "She" then grins and says "With pleasure..." and a fight ensues.

The Shapeshifter looks identical to Fiona, however, her skin is slightly discolored from the shifter's time as "James" - Shane's fighting abilities are very impressive as he is able to counterattack the Shapeshifter's attacks and even briefly gain the upper hand but eventually, the Shapeshifter overwhelms him and knocks him to the ground, he is then pinned to the ground by "her" foot against his throat: "This is how it ends for you...I will take great pleasure in killing you slowly" she says - Shane just grins at this and says: "Oh yeah? Just tell me one thing..." he pauses for a second "What's in this for you?" the Shapeshifter laughs at this as she says: "Me? Nothing, I assumed Mr. Wainwright's form after he died the first time, he was quite an interesting man and I enjoyed seeing how things turned out..." Shane looks at her confused as he says: "So the killing? the deception? this is just...kicks for you?" Shane asks as he tries to lift the Shapeshifter's foot off his chest, she just laughs at this as she says in a brutally honest way: "Oh yes...this has been amazing, you humans are so stupid and gullible that it is an absolute pleasure to trick you and watch you run around in circles until you die..." she then continues the beating by repeatedly kicking Shane in the head, The Shapeshifter then puts her hands on Shane's cheeks and whispers: "Just imagine I'm Fiona" Shane struggles to speak but manages to say: "You're...not her..." The Shapeshifter just smiles at this as she says: "You're right..." she takes out Shane's hunting knife and lifts in the air for the killing blow however she is stopped when Fiona, who looks absoultely fuming, forces the Shapeshifter to turn around as she screams: "LOOK AT ME, BITCH" in an uncharacteristic way before driving her silver blade into the Shapeshifter's heart - it screams in pain and shapeshifts into Dr. Rapport's appearance and then finally James', it's eyes are still white with a black pupil in the middle as it collapses to the ground dead. Shane stands up weakily and asks Fiona: "Are you ok?" She nods in response before turning to face Shane with a smile and saying: "Yes...I am fine" as the pair depart the mortuary, Fiona glances back at the dead Shapeshifter as she leaves with a smile on her face.

Around an hour later, Shane and Fiona rejoin Lamashtu outside Lincoln Cathedral, Shane is quick to praise Fiona but is told to leave and go home by Lamashtu, leaving Fiona and the demon alone as the Cathedral as a backdrop - Lamashtu speaks up after a long pause: "I have to say, I was a little worried when I talked to Shane in the Emergency room, you were nowhere to be found...I thought that you might have failed the test" Fiona shakes her head as she says: "Nope...not at all" Lamashtu nods at this: "You DID however show moments of a side of you I think you keep locked away, there's anger and remorse in that soul of yours, it's truly fascinating" Fiona furrows her brow and bombards the demon with questions: "So...are we good now? Are you satisfied? Are you pleased?" Lamashtu pauses and thinks for a second: "For now...but this doesn't make me like you any less, I'm still watching you" Fiona smiles at this as she says: "I would expect nothing less" The Demon then disappears leaving Fiona alone outside the ancient Lincoln Cathedral as she finally steps onto Constance's old lookout post at the top of the building's main tower to catch a view of the city below, she sighs as she takes the view in and also wonders what she must do to win over the trust of the beings she wants to protect.

## Characters

* Shane
* Fiona
* James Wainwright
* Lamashtu