The interruption came in the form of a group of colour-coordinated turtle Yokai. The purple banded member seemed to be the one who made the loud interruption, which was incredibly rude of him, but Casey could tolerate his actions because it was a compliment to the architecture of the cathedral. He loudly clacked his feet against the marble tiles as he entered the hall, properly making his presence heard as if whistling wasn't enough. A tall red turtle looking awfully shy for someone his size followed in, accompanied by a blue banded turtle, who were silently following the loud purple one. The group was completed with a fourth who wore a whole suit of armour in contrast to the others dress code, ironically wearing the smallest orange mask on his already masked face. They seemed to be travellers, unlike most of the people who came to the cathedral, packing light despite the heavy-looking armour that one guy was in. The purple yokai took the lead of the group, strutting around the hall without much care.

       “You aren’t from around here are you? I don’t think I've seen you four before.” Casey sat up slowly, her legs wobbled a bit as her nerves roused. “You’re here to learn about Letoism?”         “Pass,” he dismissed with a wave, ”we aren’t exactly the religious type.”          She was a little annoyed at how quickly he had shut him down but remained civil.         "To know God is to know hope, that's what Father Harold always says. If i had it my way, I'd be screaming my lungs about the glory of our God, but it's a sin to be a public nuisance. Since discovering and believing in the divine grace, impossible has become possible."          Casey scans them quickly, and finds herself questioning just how possible these strangers’ salvation could be.          The red banded one- it was a mouthful to think, he needed a new name. “Big Red” would do - Big Red folded his arms, his expression thoughtful before he spoke."So whaddya think about bringing back the dead? Ya think that's possible?"          “Yes, I do,” came the easy reply. It had to be true, Father Harold had been proven to be capable of so much. He promised that he would bring back Casey’s family, she just had to be patient. She had faith that he would carry it out. Lying was a sin, and Father Harold wouldn't lie.          The purple banded yokai, which she nicknamed, “Eyebrows”, sighed and reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a small worn notebook, flipping to a bookmarked page.          “Water: 35 litres. Carbon: 20 kg. Ammonia: 4 litres. Lime: 1.5 kg-”           Great, he’s speaking in tongues.

          “-And various other trace elements.”            He snapped the book shut loudly.           “That list represents the complete chemical makeup for the body of an average adult,” his gaze turned back to her, “it’s been calculated to the last microgram, but modern science has failed to produce any reported cases of creating a human or yokai life.”              He rolled his eyes- no, eye- she realised upon further inspection.

           “But yeah, I’m sure just praying is gonna make it happen,” Eyebrows’ voice dripped with sarcasm.             This boy stepped into God's home to insult His power, and Casey’s anger was starting to boil over. Her fists clenched at her sides as she resisted the urge to glare, schooling her expressions to look somewhat neutral. "Don't underestimate Leto’s power! So long as we have faith, He will answer our prayers!" Casey was ignored as Eyebrows continues to drone on as if she never spoke at all.            “Oh, and those ingredients? Mere pocket change,a child could get it from the corner store.” Eyebrows smirked, seemingly as if he had won. “Turns out people are made pretty cheap.”             Casey’s arms strained with tension as she was starting to lose against the rage that was taking over her mind, her balled fists turning white and painful. She couldn't help but glare as she ground out the next sentence, "That's blasphem-"            “Alchemists are scientists, we don't believe in unprovable concepts like creators or God.” Eyebrows looked up from the floor he had been looking at for the past few seconds, his line of sight moving up until his gaze connected with hers. She felt attacked. He came into the cathedral just to mock her religion she so whole-heartedly believed in for some sort of petty self satisfaction. He paused for a moment, having a minor staring contest with her, which ticked her off immensely. He lingered before his gaze travelled up again, this time to look at the statue of Leto behind the altar, watching down on all of them. It was rude to stare at God like that. They were His children, not his challengers or equals.          “We observe the physical laws that govern this world to try to learn the truth. It's funny, really.” He closed his eyes, as they reached God's face, as if pondering what he could achieve with his oh-so powerful alchemy he spoke of. "Through the application of science, we have in many ways been given the power to play gods ourselves…” 

          The audacity of this bitch.

          “So you’re putting yourself on the same level as God? Do you even hear yourself when you speak?”            Instead of answering the question, Big Red spoke in his friend’s place. "Ya know, back where we came from, there's an old myth about some guy- a hero who flew with wax wings." Red paused again, seemed like this band of Atheists could join a play, they'd be able to pull off the prose with all the dramatic pausing-or maybe a circus would fit these clowns better. He gestured his hands a little, looking down to try to find the right words, sighing before he continued with the story. "He thought he could touch the sun, but when he got too close..." He trailed off, making her anticipate the next part of the story.           "The wax melted right off. His wings? Gone- all that work for nothing. And he came crashing back down to earth," he finished grimly.            His expression felt rueful, more like he was recalling a memory rather than a myth. Eyebrows shared a look with Red, their gaze communicated some form of assurance that only made her question what exactly the quartet had come there for. They seemed to forget her existence for just a moment, stuck in their own bubble of reality.            Casey felt awkward, like she was intruding, yet they were the ones who were coming into the Lord's house, not the other way round. The silence stretched for a few moments longer, and she was beginning to wonder whether she should say something, but then again she didn't know what she could say.            Thankfully, the blue one- Stripes- stepped forward to save her from the tense silence.            “Sorry for the trouble, this is hard for me to ask.” Stripes glared at his friends, a subtle message to get their asses out of their moping session, before looking back to her in a sheepishly apologetic manner. ”But do you think your Father Harold could save even a couple of arrogant scientists like ourselves?”             Casey perks up at that,at least one of them was willing to consider, this conversation wasn't wasted getting pissed off at inconsiderate assholes after all. "If anyone can make you see the error in your ways, he can!"

Casey held the gun steadily, her expression hardened with determination. Though somehow, the brothers could tell that she wouldn't blindly shoot them.

“Like I said, the stone was a fake.” Leo’s gaze bore through her. His brothers were still on edge from being startled. However, Leo had relaxed his shoulders almost immediately after he realised it was Casey, perhaps a little too confidently. “Besides-”

"Liar!" Casey screamed, her arms tightened in anger, her face contorting even more. "You want to keep it for yourself, don't you?" 

The gun was shaking in her hands, her finger pulled the trigger closer towards her, but not enough to fire. Still, the boys tensed at the threat of danger, Mikey taking a step forward to shield them with his body just in case. 

"So you can use it on your bodies," she continued, and she wasn't wrong to say that.

"And so you can bring your old man again-"

"You shut up," Raph ground out. She had struck a nerve in them. He glared at Casey, angry and pained.

"People don't come back from the dead,”  Donnie added, his tone somber, “not ever.”

"But he promised me... he said if I prayed it would happen." Tears pooled in Casey's eyes, her resolute expression wavering, giving way to desperation. She dropped onto her knees, as if all the strength had been knocked out from her as she faced the truth.

"What am I supposed to believe in now?!" She screamed at the brothers, who gave her pitying looks. Her anger wasn't directed at them, not really. It was aimless, perhaps to the god she believed in or the pastor they had just defeated. The gun was useless in her hands, it was obvious she wasn't going to attack them, she was too distraught to.

"What do I do?" This time the question was pointed at them, the fog in her eyes clearing even as tears started to overflow. 

The brothers looked at eachother, then back to Cassandra. Raph started to walk past her, the brothers following closely behind him. Casey tensed in fear but was left confused as they almost ignored her presence entirely.

“Stand up and walk- Keep moving forwards.” Donnie instructed, his tone harsh but not unkind. “You’ve got two good legs, so get up and use them.”

The brothers continued to walk down the stairs, not sparing a glance at Casey. They faced the horizon, the sunset painting the destruction a yellow-orange tint, leaving only a soft but still resounding message for Casey to hear.