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"That pour soul. She was such a good girl."

"Elm is still a good girl today. Maybe a little stupid at times."

"You should have let her rest in peace... you fool."

- Dr. Peaberry, Ashuhit

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Chapter: Intermission

First release: May 4 2008, in Jump SQ 06/08

Length: 11 pages

Colour pages: none

In a small country church, a young man is the only visitor, sitting at the back of the church and reading a book. The priest, an small, elderly man, approaches him, and asks him what he is reading, since it does not seem to be a Bible. The young man replies that it's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

He outlines the plot, and the priest comments on the blasphemy that it for a human to attempt to imitate God. The young man goes on to explain that Mary Shelley's story is fiction, but it is based on something very real, though how she learned of it, he does not know.

This seems to attract the priest's attention. He asks where the man is from, since he's obviously a traveller. The young man replies that he is from Ingolstadt. The priest smiles now, and drops the facade:

He knows who the young man is, namely one Ashuhit Richter from their secret organization's headquarters in Ingolstadt. The church is actually an outpost meant to supply Frankenstein creators with whatever it is that they need for their work. He tells Ash that he's been waiting for him, and that his order is ready.

While he leads Ash through a hidden door and a secret passageway underground, the prest talks about what an honour it is to have him here - apparantly Ashuhit is from a highly regarded family, and his father an extraordinary and famous Frankenstein creator.

Oh, and he tells Ashuhit that there is currently another Frankenstein researcher staying, too. They enter a room and there is Dr. Peaberry, lighting a cigarette. When she sees Ash, she smiles and greets him with an amused "long time no see". Yes, they know each other, and Ash is very surprised to see her here.

He explains to the priest that she used to be his father's assistant, ten years ago - at this, the priest's face lights up because he has a major hard-on for Ash's father - and Peaberry adds that that was then, but these days she is "marked", which apparantly means that she is a traitor to the organization - and at this the priest gets very angry, and at once whips out a pistol to shoot her. It looks like traitors are not to be left alive.

Before he can shoot anyone, he is knocked out, by both Peaberry and Ash, who is not nearly as fanatic as the old man, or maybe he is just too cool to be worried by the appearance of a traitor... whatever it is that happened ten years ago that made Peaberry betray them...

Ashuhit asks why she is here, and Peaberry answers that her Frankenstein got damaged (she means Fury's mishap with the electrodes, of course) and she thought that if she had to do any repairs on him, she could as well use the high quality spare parts that the organization - apparantly named "Polar Route"? - produces. She explains that she created a Frankenstein to destroy all Frankensteins, and that she used Ash's family's secret method to make him.

But if she was expecting Ash to get angry at this, she doesn't know him well. He says he does not care, and that he has no interest in Frankenstein creation, anyway. All he does is maintaining them.

Ashuhit turns to leave, explaining that Elm is waiting for him. This surprises Peaberry. She remembers that Elm was killed ten years ago. Ash explains what had happened, but we readers are not let in on the secret. Only that Elm was turned into a Frankenstein by Ashuhit's father, and that it was Ashuhit's wish at that time.

When Ash has gone, Dr. Peaberry quietly remarks to herself that this was a foolish thing to do of Ash, trying to revive his dead friend by turning her into this undead monster. (But we know Elm. She's cute, right?)

Speaking of Elm, she is still wandring about the countryside, by herself, upset because Ash is nowhere to be seen. Of course, he only left to get his supplies at the little church, and intended to be back before Elm would wake up, but that obviously didn't work out.

Elm is crying because she does not know where she is, where Ash is, or where London is. And then, ahead of the path, a pair of wanderers appear, a man and a woman...

Previously: Chapter 5

Continue: Chapter 6

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