A/N Hello to everyone that knows me. This here is a new fic that is made with the collaborative effort of Myself, Draconichero20, and Bartholomew Kamiro. This fic was originally supposed to be on Bartholomew Kamiro's profile, but some urgencies occured on his side and now it was left with me to keep on my own. Credit to this fic obviously goes to all three of us, so the profile links to the other auther's will be posted below (remove spaces). Go check out their personal works and such, they don't dissapoint in quality.
Also, to those who read my (Xerosonic's) fics. Take this as me not quitting, i got myself together and running like oiled gears on their first day. You shoudl see some updates within the week...If Deus Ex: Human Revolution doesn't keep me too distracted.
Anyway. Enjoy the first chapter!
Bartholomew Kamiro's profile: fanfiction.n e t/u/2588267/Bartholomew_Kamiro
Draconichero20's profile: fanfiction.n e t/u/2139647/draconichero20
Chapter 1: Footsteps of Fate
It had been many years since she had last wandered to this part of the world. The soft grass crunched softly under the heels of her leather boots; winter had ended little over a month ago and with it nature had begun its natural course of life once again. Buds were just beginning to form on the branches of the nearby elm trees, slowly bringing a green hue to the once brown and white landscape.
No matter how many years pass, there are some things that never change, thought the woman. A sad smile momentarily ghosted across her face before vanishing as fast as it had appeared.
It was still early in the morning; a gust of wind licked at the woman's exposed skin, causing a chill to run through her body. As she continued to trudge onward she could feel the moist ground, almost turned mud from the earlier rainfall, continue to tug on her footsteps as though trying to hold her in place. For a moment she was tempted to just throw her back upon the dew-covered grass and rest, but another gust of icy wind urged her to continue.
The woman carried on until she crested the last hill. Below her, nestled in a valley of green, was the capital city of Zaphias, oft labeled as the "Jewel of the Empire." The stone walls stood firm and resolute yet the marble spires conveyed an equally strong impression of beauty and grace. As the sun emerged over the eastern mountains, the marble walls of Zaphias seemed to glow a golden color. The pulsating barrier that encapsulated the majestic capital only seemed to heighten the radiance. A small smile graced the girl's face; truly, the city was deserving of the title it had been given.
As she stared down upon the city that held so many memories for her, the woman could not help but find it ironic that she was drawn back here once again. The symbol of the Ouroboros flashed across her mind, the meaning not lost upon her in the slightest.
Back to the source of the river, is it? Thought the woman with a smirk. Even after all these years the woman thought that she would have figured out fate and its trappings by now. She remembered in her childhood how her teacher once lectured her about how nothing happened by chance. Fate had a hand in all matters, from the treasured moments of joy to the bitter regrets of despair.
Another rush of chilling wind blew at her back, causing her hair to billow out in front of her. She almost laughed; it was as though the wind was encouraging her on her journey. The girl pushed a loose strand of her light green hair back behind her ear before resuming her walk down the hill towards the capital.
The cogs of Fate slowly began to creak to life once again.
-x-
It had been an excellent dream, up until the loud boom jolted Yuri from his sleep. He realized at this point such occurrences shouldn't come as a surprise to him. If there was one thing Yuri Lowell knew about his life it was that he was cursed to always have misfortune follow him wherever he went. Groggily, Yuri rubbed the sleep from his eyes and pulled the curtain of his window open. He had to shield his eyes as the resultant sunlight nearly blinded him.
Is it already that late? Yuri thought as he checked the clock hanging on the wall. It was still fairly early in the morning; however, it appeared the sun had decided to finally come back with a vengeance after days of nothing but clouds and rain. As he cast another glance out his window, Yuri noticed a strong yet steady stream of water pour down the paved roads of the Lower Quarter. The canals were already on the verge of overflowing. At this rate, the Lower Quarter was going to be underwater.
Ah hell, don't tell me the aque blastia has broken again, thought Yuri as he let out a frustrated sigh.
That blastia had been a contradiction to everything it should be doing. It was essential to the life of those living in the Lower Quarter as a water supply, yet it proved to be a burden more often than not with how many issues it seemed to have. Yuri remembered it had been acting strangely of late, which had prompted Hanks to get some guy Yuri had never heard of to fix the blastia before it got worse. Judging from the constant stream of water though, Yuri could only assume that things hadn't gone so well, to put it mildly.
Yuri took his typical seat on the windowsill of his room as he observed the events below him.
"Yuri! Yuri, we have trouble!" shouted a young boy. Suddenly Yuri's door flung open only to reveal a kid no older than ten in a bright striped shirt.
"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" quipped Yuri.
"This is not good, Yuri. Not at all!" panted Ted. The kid was soaked to the bone from the looks of things.
"Whoa, slow down there, Ted. What's going on?"
"The aque blastia broke again! Big time too! And the worst part is they just finished fixing it."
"What's the big deal? Just leave the blastia to the mighty Imperial Knights. Isn't that what they're there for?" Yuri's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Hah! The Knights? You know they never come to the Lower Quarter."
"Whatever happened to the 'heroic Flynn?'" asked Yuri as he left his windowsill perch.
"I tried to get him, but the Knights wouldn't even let me see him!" exclaimed Ted.
"Oh, so I'm Flynn's replacement, huh?" smirked Yuri.
"Does it really matter right now? We're short on people right now and need all the help we can get."
"Ted! Ted, you get down here! We need your help too!" came the unmistakable voice of Ted's mother.
"I'll…I'll be there in a sec! Yuri, come on already!" When Yuri didn't move Ted glared at him before darting out the door as quickly as he entered.
Yuri walked back to the window and took another look at the area. Things were already pretty bad and at this rate it was only going to get worse. "That's weird. Flynn always comes running at the first sign of trouble. If this keeps up, it won't be long before this place becomes an aquarium."
Repede snatched a quick glance at Yuri before standing up and making his way for the door. As he let out a sigh, Yuri retrieved his lightweight, compact sword from the wall before leaping out the window. Ted saw Yuri and grinned upon seeing the man leave for the central plaza where the blastia was located.
"First the trouble with the Knights the other day, and now the aque blastia breaks again. Why it is this kind of stuff always happens to the Lower Quarter?" Yuri sighed as the memory of the Knights rushed through his head.
Repede let out couple of barks at Yuri to get Yuri into action instead of standing around.
"Yeah, yeah. I know whining won't solve anything. But stuff like this happens far too often and no one further up seems to notice, much less care."
Repede responded with another bark.
"Don't remind me. It's not exactly like the emperor cares about us either. We're talking about the man who claims it's the natural order of the world for the strong to devour the weak. All he's done is validate the way everyone treats the people living in the Lower Quarter," finished Yuri, a tinge of anger in his voice.
Yuri's statement elicited a low whine from Repede.
As Yuri continued along the paved road to the plaza, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for the homes that were already underwater. Most of the people lived in crowded tenements. It was the only way for many to survive due to both cost and the lack of space. The Lower Quarter was overcrowded already and it didn't show any signs of changing in the near future either.
While the common person would think the emperor would be sympathetic to the plight of his people, Emperor Charles zi Brittania was anything but. If anything the man had made life even harder for Yuri and those simply trying to get by in the Lower Quarter. People from the Lower Quarter were often treated like trash anywhere outside of their home and were expressly forbidden from entering the Upper Quarter where the nobility dwelled. Of course, that didn't stop the nobility from harassing the "commoners" in the streets. Some had even turned it into a form of sport. Meanwhile, the Imperial Knights would simply look on, some pretending nothing strange or inhuman was happening while others even joined in the "fun."
Yuri had lost count of the number of times he had beaten up some noble's kid or an Imperial Knight for those kinds of atrocities. True, he had served more than his number of jail terms and received plenty of beatings, but it didn't really make a difference to him. If the emperor was just going to spit upon the people of the Lower Quarter, then Yuri had no issue spitting right back in his face.
Perhaps it was because of their poor treatment that so many people dwelling in the Lower Quarter idolized Flynn Scifo. Flynn had come from the Lower Quarter himself and made it into the ranks of the Knights at an early age with the promise of changing the government so the people in the Lower Quarter didn't have to suffer. Still, one knight didn't seem to make that much of a difference considering how nothing had changed since then.
As Yuri arrived at the plaza with the aque blastia, he felt his eyes widen slightly at just how bad things were. The blastia continued to pump out gratuitous amounts of water and didn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down either. Old man Hanks along with several other able-bodied men were attempting to halt the flow of water with dozens of sand bags. Children and women were carrying buckets of the water and throwing it into the canals or anywhere they could afford to place it in hopes of reducing the water level.
"Come on everyone! We need to seal this thing off somehow!" shouted Hanks over the rushing water.
Yuri walked over to one of the men throwing sandbags into the blastia. "Find any sunken treasure down there, Lyle?"
The man glared at Yuri. "Yeah, but you're late so I'm not sharing."
"Haha, how nice." Yuri proceeded to pick up one of the sandbags. The bag had already absorbed a great deal of water, easily doubling its weight. With a heave, Yuri chucked the soaked deadweight into the blastia.
"You know what they say, it's sink or swim in this world," stated Lyle as he grabbed another bag. "It would appear that blue-blooded mage we hired to fix this thing decided to leave the job half-finished."
Hanks glanced up and caught sight of Yuri. "Glad you could find the time to drop by, Yuri!"
"Take it easy with the water sports, old man. You're not getting any younger after all," joked Yuri.
"You're up next, Yuri! I hope you don't mind a little bit of water."
"Heh, yikes."
Hanks grabbed another bag with both his hands. "Come on everyone! Put your backs into it. Heave-ho!"
Yuri grabbed another bag and proceeded to add that to the growing pile. "The old timer really seems to be putting his all into this."
"It's probably because he feels responsible. After all, Hanks was the one who pushed everyone to chip in to help pay for the repairs."
"And now he's the one all wet," stated Yuri. "It's not like it is Hank's fault though that the mage did a two-bit repair job though. Not to mention where are the Knights in all of this?"
"I agree," sighed the man. "I heard Hank's even parted with his wife's keepsake to help raise the money."
It was strange for the aque blastia to suddenly go berserk like this. In the past the thing had stopped working every now and then but this was the first time Yuri had ever seen the device start uncontrollably spewing water. As he inspected the device closer, Yuri noticed that the blastia core that drove the machine appeared to be missing.
"Hey, Hanks," called Yuri. "Have you seen the aque blastia core by chance? You know, that shiny piece in the center?"
"Eh? Is it gone?" asked Hanks.
"Yeah. The blastia won't function properly without it. Who did you say was the last person to work on the aque blastia?"
"Oh, it was an aristocrat named Mr. Mordio."
"I see. Does he live in the royal quarter?"
"I would imagine so. Why does that matter though? Right now we need to focus on getting this water under control."
Yuri took his hand away from his chin. "Sorry, Hanks, I just remembered an errand I have to run." Repede dashed over to join Yuri as he approached the stairs leading to the Upper Quarter.
"Hey! Wait just a minute there, Yuri!" shouted Hanks as he caught up to Yuri. "You aren't seriously thinking of going to Mr. Mordio's manner, are ya?"
"Me? Go to the royal quarter? Are you kidding? I wouldn't be caught dead going to a place like that. It gives me the creeps."
"Damn it, Yuri. Just because you can do a couple fancy tricks with that bodhi blastia of yours you think you're invincible."
"Relax, Hanks," reassured Yuri.
"Don't be so reckless. From what I've heard, the emperor has just instated new laws regarding the treatment of criminals. You may not be so lucky this time."
"Well the food they serve in jail is bad enough that it probably could be considered torture, but if that's the worst then I think I'll be fine. Later, Hanks."
Hanks let out a sigh as he watched Yuri takeoff up the steps with Repede. "I hope that fool doesn't do something crazy."
"He always seems to cause problems when the Lower Quarter's involved," spoke up one of the men.
"Don't I know it. Even the Knights have started to keep an eye on him."
"Well, for Yuri this is just a usual day. It's as he said. If that's the worst he has to deal with then we'll be fine."
"I suppose…" Hanks couldn't suppress the feeling though, that things were going to be anything but fine.
-x-
Yuri casually made his way up to the central district of Zaphias. The area didn't have a designation like the Lower or Upper Quarter did and served more or less as the median between the two. Most of the people that lived here also lived in tenements or some sort but they were kept in much better shape compared to those in the Lower Quarter. With its placement in the capital, the central district served as a common hub for the city, in turn also serving as the central marketplace for most of the people. Merchants and various vendors stood at their stands advertising their wares to anyone who'd spare a moment to listen.
"Even with the Lower Quarter on the verge of going underwater the vendors and merchants act like nothing's wrong," stated Yuri.
Repede let out a whine in response.
"Yeah, I know. No point in worrying about it right now."
Repede suddenly turned his head curiously before dashing off down a nearby alleyway. Yuri blinked in bewilderment before taking after the hound at full speed.
"Hey, Repede! Mind slowing down or letting me know what's got your attention all of a sudden?"
The blue-furred dog rounded the next corner. As Yuri turned the corner, he saw Repede sitting in front of a girl with green hair. She was dressed like a common traveler with a pair of brown boots and white slacks. She wore a short sleeve white tunic over that which somehow seemed to make her green hair stand out even more. The girl gave the dog an affectionate pat on the head, which seemed to please Repede. The dog then turned around and walked back over to Yuri's side with a content feeling.
"You have a clever friend," stated the girl as she pushed some of her hair behind her ears.
"Heh, that's one way of putting it. Repede, what was that about all of a sudden?" asked Yuri as he turned to his faithful pooch. The dog only whined in response.
"I called him here. He simply answered like a good boy," said the girl simply.
Yuri looked at her, slightly surprised. "You called him? Do you and Repede know each other?"
"No, but I am well aware of who he is, just as I know who you are, Yuri Lowell."
"I'm flattered that a pretty girl like you knows who I am," joked Yuri. "Listen, I'm afraid that I don't have too much time to chat at the moment. I have a bit of an errand I need to take care of."
"You mean recovering the aque blastia from the Upper Quarter?" asked the girl.
Yuri stopped mid-step and narrowed his eyes upon the girl. There was no way she could know that was what he was doing. Maybe Hanks wasn't too far off when he said that the Knights had started keeping a close watch on Yuri after all.
"Oh relax, I'm not here to stop you or anything silly like that," said the girl with a bored tone. "I can assure you that I am not your enemy."
Yuri raised an eyebrow as though to ask, 'Oh really?' "You appear out of nowhere and claim you know who I am and what I'm planning. Yeah, that really helps convince me otherwise."
"You aren't that hard to figure out. You act all cynical and sarcastic but deep down you really care what happens to the Lower Quarter. From there, anyone should be able to piece it together fairly easily."
"And here I thought I had such a good poker face," joked Yuri.
"You do, I didn't say it was easy to find out." The girl turned and cast a serious look into Yuri's eyes. "The wheels of Fate have already begun to turn. The threads converge upon you, Yuri Lowell. If you proceed, you will throw yourself upon a path from which there can be no turning back. Is that what you wish?"
Yuri returned the girl's stare before turning around and waving it off with his right hand. "Are you going to read my palm as well? If you're asking whether I'm going to the Upper Quarter then the answer is yes. Nice talking with you."
With that, Yuri and Repede left the mysterious girl in the alleyway. She could only smile at the memory of her encounter. Yuri Lowell was most interesting indeed.
-x-
"I wonder what the heck that was all about?" sighed Yuri aloud. He had never seen that girl before in his life yet she talked like she'd known him for years. It was disconcerting to the young man.
Repede sensed Yuri's frustration and let out a groan as well as though it meant to echo his friend's thoughts.
"I kind of wonder why I can't seem to meet people who don't seem to have some agenda with me. Between the Knights and the nobles, a mysterious girl is the last thing I want on my plate."
As the two neared the boundaries of the Upper Quarter, Yuri and Repede slipped into a nearby bush just outside of the gate. Two knights were standing guard though they seemed to be taking their line of work pretty casually.
"Did you hear about the blastia malfunction in the Lower Quarter?" Yuri overheard one of them say.
"Yeah. I heard they tried to get someone to repair it and had to raise a lot of money by selling their treasures and such."
"Treasures? I wasn't aware the people in the Lower Quarter had anything that valuable."
"It wasn't. From what I heard it was mostly junk and worn keepsakes barely worth a Gald."
"Hah! I'd like to see just what kind of junk those worthless slobs consider 'treasure' in the first place."
Yuri clenched his right fist, feeling the black leather crease over his knuckles. "Listen to them. I can't really argue about the junk thing though, sorry Hanks." Yuri scooped up two decent sized rocks before standing up and launching the first one at the closest guard. The projectile collided perfectly with the helmet with a resounding thunk, dropping the guard like a sack of potatoes. Before the second guard could make out what happened, a second stone collided with his helmet knocking him out as well. With both of them incapacitated, Yuri casually strolled over to the gate.
"If you can't understand the value of junk, you're worth less than junk yourselves," stated Yuri bitterly to the unconscious guards. He turned back to Repede. "Repede, can you find the scent leading to Mordio?"
The hound gave a quick bark and sprinted into the Upper Quarter. Looking up, Yuri noticed a blastia core was also missing from a streetlight.
So they've been stealing cores from here as well. Looks like someone's got some stick fingers, thought Yuri. He noticed the nobles talking with one another, however, none of them seemed concerned much less noticed that the blastia core was missing.
"Go figure. The royal quarter loses some blastia cores and no one even bats an eye. Meanwhile, the Lower Quarter loses one and everything goes into complete chaos. You'd think if that was their attitude they could at least afford to give a few to the Lower Quarter."
After a few minutes, Repede returned and gave a reassuring bark.
"All right, good job, Repede." The two walked towards the nearest manor where Repede had picked up the scent.
"Well Repede, it looks like the nobility is living the sweet life as usual." Yuri was answered by a whine of agreement. "The Lower Quarter is right there, and no one gives a damn. The nobility should act, you know, noble. Not just sit around and play dress-up in their mansions."
Repede let out another whine.
"If it's not the nobles, it's the Knights. Why is it neither side does anything to help, especially considering some of the Knights are from the Lower Quarter? Not to mention, how can anyone support an emperor who allows both sides to do this?"
Yuri shoved the thought aside as he approached the front door of the manor. A quick check of the door revealed it to be locked. Feeling a bit irritated by this realization, Yuri kicked the door out of frustration. Undeterred, Yuri made his way around the building to the side bordering a rather extravagant garden. A smirk crept upon Yuri's lips as his eyes spotted an open window. Yuri gave the window a slight push and it swung open completely without any issue, allowing Repede and him into the manor.
"All right, now let's see if we can't find this Mordio guy, right Repede?"
The dog let out a short bark and began sniffing around to see if he could pick up the scent of the mage. Yuri tried several of the doors but found all of them to be locked. After checking the first floor as best as they could, the two proceeded to the upstairs. No sooner did they resume their search than Yuri heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening. Glancing over the banister, Yuri spotted a figure clad in a red and white cloak with a hood obscuring his face. He had a bag over his shoulder that he set down upon reaching the front door before reaching into the folds of his robe to reveal an all too familiar blue-green orb.
"That's it!" said Yuri. Before the man could react, Repede blocked off the front door while Yuri landed behind him, his sword drawn and at the ready.
"You are Mordio, right? Why don't you hand over the blastia core you stole from the Lower Quarter?" The cloaked figure trembled a bit at Yuri's presence, but he reached into his robe and threw a black ball at the ground; creating a large smokescreen. From Repede's whine, Yuri could only assume that he had lost the scent.
As the smoke cleared, Yuri saw the man was gone but Repede had his bag in his mouth.
"Good boy, Repede." After a quick search though, Yuri realized the blastia core was nowhere to be found. "Damn, he must have kept it on him. Let's get that core back and give that mage a thrashing while we're at it."
Yuri bolted out the door to catch up with the mage only for two familiar knights to get in his way. One of them was rather tall and lanky with an out of place mustache that stood up like a lightning bolt had struck him. The other man was almost half the other's height, a bit chubby, and carried a spear with him.
"Yuri! So it is you who are the cause of all this commotion!" declared the tall one.
The shorter one shook his head condescendingly. "I know he's poor but breaking into an aristocrat's home? My, how the mighty have fallen."
"As if this day couldn't get any better," sighed Yuri. "Now I have to deal with Tweedle A and Tweedle B."
"I say, stop with those nicknames!" "Just what is a Tweedle anyway?" shouted the two simultaneously.
Yuri caught a glimpse of red from behind a wagon that belonged to the mage, Mordio. Ignoring the Tweedles, Yuri began to give chase only for both of them to block his path.
"We've got you surrounded! There's no hope for you to escape!" Declared Boccos (Tweedle B). Yuri heard the crack of a whip and watched as the wagon took off, along with the core for the Lower Quarter.
No point in running now, Yuri thought dejectedly.
"Does it look like I'm trying to escape? See, its stuff like that that keeps you from getting promoted."
"You did NOT just say that!" shot back Boccos.
"I say, you take that back!" shouted Adecor (Tweedle A). Both knights drew their weapons as they prepared for battle.
"Heh, I guess that's enough beating around the bush," said Yuri as he flicked the sheath off his sword before catching it with his left hand.
"Stand back, Adecor!" proclaimed Boccos. "I will handle this fight in the name of the Imperial Knights!"
"Nay, I say, it is I who shall fight for the glory of the Imperial Knights. Peons, I say, should stand back."
"P-peon? You are the peon!"
"Nay, I say, I am your superior!"
"No, I am!"
Yuri let out a sigh as the scene played out as the two continued to butt heads. "I appreciate that you both want a stab at me, but can we cut the catfight and get on with it already?"
His words though, clearly fell on deaf ears as the two continued their bickering over who was the superior officer.
"Hey, you guys ready?" called out Yuri. When he didn't get a response, Yuri simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have time to waste with these guys right now. Azure Edge!"
Yuri slashed his sword forward, releasing a distinct blue shockwave towards the two knights. Unfortunately for the Tweedles, their argument finished just in time to see the incoming attack heading straight for them.
"Wait, I say! We aren't rea-" Adecor never got to finish his statement as both he and Boccos were knocked promptly off their feet and into the manor walls behind them.
"Come on guys, you can do better than that, can't you?" taunted Yuri. From the groans coming from the two knights though, it was clear this fight was already over.
Yuri turned to give chase to the carriage only to suddenly be stopped by ten knights. From the crest upon their uniform, Yuri immediately recognized them as belonging to the Cumore Brigade.
Damn, it looks like I won't be catching up with that carriage anytime soon, thought Yuri.
When it came to the Cumore Brigade, Yuri had it basically down to a science. He would surrender, Cumore would taunt him about how he was a lower class piece of trash compared with the illustrious captain, Cumore would have his men beat Yuri down, and then finally Yuri would be dragged off to jail for a couple days to a week and then go free like usual. Yuri knew some people would question whether it was a good thing he could anticipate the series of events so well.
"How typical of the Schwann Brigade," came the sneering voice of Captain Cumore. Cue Captain Cumore's usual taunting speech about pedigree. "They can't even manage to capture a single lowlife."
Upon realizing they were being addressed, Adecor and Boccos hurriedly picked themselves up and stood at attention. "Our apologies, Captain Cumore, for this most unsightly display."
Cumore merely snorted. "This is why the Imperial Knights have no use for lowborn scum such as yourselves. You can't do your job properly and make those of us who can do our jobs appear inept. You should be ashamed of yourselves."
"P-please sir, don't tell Sir Schwann about this," stammered Boccos.
Yuri let out another sigh. "I can't believe our taxes go to paying these guys…" Near the gate to the manor, Yuri saw Repede with the bag in his mouth. After making eye contact, the pooch hurried off back to the Lower Quarter. Yuri was content that at least the Lower Quarter would get some of its valuables back; thus, he threw his sword on the ground in front of him as he prepared for the inevitable beating.
Repede hadn't gone unnoticed by the Tweedles either though. "I say, that tops it all! Abandoned by his faithful pooch!"
Cumore turned his pretentious sneer towards Yuri now. "Well, well. You've certainly had a busy day, haven't you Mr. Yuri Lowell?"
Yuri made no response at first as he coolly glared as Cumore. "Cumore, it's rats like you that make Flynn's job so difficult."
"Flynn, that upstart lieutenant? What he needs is someone to properly put him in his place, much like you. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time actually." Cumore's satanic grin was even broader than usual.
"Really? I had no idea you cared about our relationship so much, Cumore," joked Yuri.
"You would do well to wipe that arrogant smirk off your face, Yuri Lowell. You see, His Grace, the emperor, has issued a new declaration regarding criminal actions."
"What?"
"You see, the new law states that criminals that are deemed too dangerous can simply be executed before they are given the chance to do something to endanger the Empire."
Yuri's could feel his eyes widen. "That's insane! The Empire is basically legalizing murder!"
"It isn't murder, Yuri Lowell, it is justice," laughed Cumore. "You have no idea how happy I am to finally be rid of a nuisance like you after all these years. Men, show Mr. Lowell the will of our emperor."
"Sir!" saluted the knights before they drew their swords. Yuri was now sorely regretting surrendering his sword. He spotted it just on the other side of the encirclement, but he had no idea how he was going to break through ten trained men without a weapon.
Damnit! This is bad, thought Yuri angrily.
The first knight charged Yuri, his sword drawn back to finish the raven-haired man in one strike. Yuri sidestepped the attack and attempted to kick the man's legs out from under him, only to suddenly see another sword coming at him from behind. He ducked just in time to see the original knight come at him another time. Once again Yuri dodged the thrust and this time managed to grab the man's wrist, incapacitating his sword arm. Yuri moved in and dealt a palm strike to the man's chest. He cursed out loud as his hand screamed out in pain from the contact with the metal armor. The knight didn't seem phased in the slightest and proceeded to knock Yuri off of him. Yuri stood up and looked around to see they had him completely surrounded.
Damn, if only I had my sword, thought Yuri. He wasn't sure what was more disconcerting; the fact that he was defenseless in a life-threatening situation or that these knights were actually trying to kill him while Cumore watched with that same accursed sneer.
Rather than wait for the first strike, Yuri charged the knight right in front of him. The knight reflexively slashed at Yuri; a movement that he anticipated. Grabbing the man's arm, Yuri twisted it behind the knight's back in the attempt to get the man's grip on the sword to loosen. He saw the man's fingers loosen slightly, then more, it was almost free…
Just before Yuri could get the sword, another weapon pierced him in the right shoulder, causing him to release the knight and fall backwards as he felt a warm liquid run down his arm. Yuri took a few steps back only to hit the cold marble wall that ran around the manor. The knights formed up a semicircle effectively trapping him in place.
"What are you men waiting for?" came Cumore's voice. "He's just some piece of lowborn commoner filth. Finish him!"
Am I…going to die here? Thought Yuri as he tried to look for some way out; however there was nothing he could do. If Repede were here he might have been able to figure something out, but in this situation he couldn't find any options.
"Die!" shouted the knights. Three of them charged while the rest maintained the encirclement. There was no way Yuri could evade all three attacks. He clenched his teeth as he prepared for the inevitable.
Damnit!
"He must not die!"
Yuri could feel blood splatter upon him, but he didn't feel any pain. His eyes widened at the scene right in front of him. The mysterious green-haired girl from earlier was standing in front of him, the three swords of the knights run through his body. Blossoms of red slowly spread out as they stained the pure white clothes she wore. Even the knights seemed shocked as to what had just happened. After what felt like an eternity, the knights withdrew their swords as the girl collapsed to the ground. Yuri caught her as she fell, cradling her head close his chest as he tried to feel for a pulse, a breath, a heartbeat, anything.
"What are you men standing around for?" shouted Cumore.
"S-sir, the girl…"
"Is collateral damage. She is likely his accomplice and just as guilty of his crimes." The knights nodded hesitantly before turning back to face Yuri.
Why? Why did she throw herself in front of that attack? Damnit, what am I supposed to do? I need something, a weapon, power-
Yuri's thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt a hand tighten on his wrist.
You don't want your life to end here, do you? Yuri didn't understand it but somehow the girl's voice was inside his head. Cumore and the other knights seemed to fade out of existence only to be replaced with a series of images he couldn't make sense of.
You appear to have an important reason to keep living, spoke her voice.
The girl's voice thought Yuri in confusion. But how is this possible?
If I grant you power, could you go on? Could you continue to live? Images of the girl flashed in and out before him.
I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live a life unlike any other, a different providence, a different time, a different life. The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?
Memories flashed before Yuri of the people in the Lower Quarter suffering at the hands of the nobles and knights. He saw the events of his time in Scizotania replay vividly up until the moment that had marked the turning point for him.
"Yuri, I leave the rest to you." Yuri could only watch as Captain Niren Fedrock smiled before descending into the pit below him.
"Yes! I accept the terms of your contract!" shouted Yuri with fortitude.
The world slammed suddenly back into place. The girl still lay in his arms as her blood continued to spill onto the paved ground around them. He gently set her down and silently thanked her for the second chance she had given him. As he stood up, the knights were confused at why he had his left eye closed.
Yuri's eyelid slowly opened to reveal red winged sigil in place of the usual gray eye.
He watched as the knights charged in once again, this time intent upon finishing him for good. Yuri felt like he was watching life in slow motion. He could "see" the flow of blood in the knights, he could "see" the muscle tissue tense and flex, and he could "see" the nerves firing signals back and forth throughout the body. Most importantly to Yuri though, was that he could now easily anticipate their attacks.
Yuri charged forth and nimbly evaded the first thrust before sliding past two consecutive chops. With a well-placed flip, Yuri managed to dodge the horizontal slash coming for his backside before leaping off of a knight's shoulders. He landed a few feet away right next to his sword. Yuri swiftly retrieved the weapon before launching back into the fray. He promptly fired off an Azure Edge, catching one knight off guard. Yuri closed in and dealt a rapid blow with his sword hilt to incapacitate the knight before turning to the others.
With the power still active, Yuri gracefully dodged out of the way of two thrusts before spinning around and knocking both weapons out of their owners' hands. He followed up the assault with another Azure Edge, this one taking out both of the weaponless knights. The others surrounded Yuri, hoping to finish him with their tactic from earlier.
Not this time thought Yuri as he spun around to deflect the first attacker. The second knight didn't even get a chance to strike before Yuri planted a solid kick to the man's chest before following up with another shockwave, knocking out the knight. The remaining knights charged as one force. Yuri slid between the gap created by two of the knights before spinning around and knocking out another with a hard strike to the helmet with the flat of his sword. Another Azure Edge leveled two more knights. With only three remaining, Yuri closed in and blew all three away with a powerful spin strike.
Cumore could only watch in horror at what had happened. To him, everything seemed to have been one blur of motion. In a matter of minutes, Yuri had managed to take out all ten knights without drawing a single drop of blood from his foes.
"Now it's your turn, Cumore," growled Yuri. The captain started shaking uncontrollably before he passed out from fright against a nearby tree. Yuri let out a sigh as he felt the supernatural vision leave him. "They say those who order the death of others are the greatest cowards."
Yuri suddenly felt his vision begin to swim in and out of focus. Before he could do anything to stop it, he fell to the ground as his world faded to black.
-x-
Yuri's eyes slowly opened as he attempted to make sense of what had happened. A quick glance told him all he needed to know. He was back in the jail below Zaphias castle. How he got there remained a complete mystery to him though.
His thoughts turned back to the battle in the Upper Quarter. His vision was fine now, but he still wasn't entirely sure what had happened back there. Then there was that girl with the green hair. She had saved him from certain death; that much he knew for a fact. But that still didn't explain why he suddenly acquired that power or how she managed to move after being run through three times.
Yuri felt around his body for a bit about his wounds he was inflicted with. Feeling surprised, Yuri noticed that he was all patched up. Strange, never heard of the empire actually nursing their prisoners. This was odd to him because never before, in all his times in jail, had he been tended to for his health.
As he tried to make sense of what happened, Yuri was pulled from his thoughts by the conversation he heard going on just outside his cell. "So like I was sayin', the thief made off with the priceless treasure from the noble's mansion." Yuri heard a voice of another prisoner speaking next to his cell.
"I know, I know. Then he was caught and the loot was returned, right?"
"No. See, that's just nobility tryin' ta keep things quiet. The treasure in the mansion right now is a fake,"
"You're pulling my leg," stated the guard outside the cell.
"Hey, listen bub, you didn't hear it from me. The Darkwings are goin' nuts lookin' for the hideout."
"You mean the thieves guild?" The knight suddenly realized he had spoken perhaps a bit too loudly. "Ahem, it'll be meal time soon so keep quiet in that cell!"
Yuri shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the bed when he heard the other man's voice. "Hey neighbor! You're awake right? You gotta be getting' tired from keepin' so quiet."
"You think that little story up all by yourself, old man? You must have plenty of time on your hands," answered Yuri.
"Old man? Now you've gone and hurt this old man's feelin's. Besides, I didn't make up nothin'. I've got eyes and ears the world over diggin' up information for me."
Yuri rolled his eyes. "Sure you do, old man."
"Hey, I am what I am. Go ahead and ask me somethin'. I'll tell ya whatever ya wanna know. Wanna know about the pirate guild's sunken treasure? How 'bout the sorcerer who makes his home at the ends of the earth? Or wait, I've got it…"
"I just want to know how to get out of here," Yuri interrupted the cell mate.
"Well, I don't know what yer in for, but they'll let ya out if ya keep yer trap shut for ten days."
"The Lower Quarter will be underwater by then," sighed Yuri.
"The Lower Quarter…ah yeah, I heard about that," said the old man.
"I wonder how they're all doing right now."
"Sorry neighbor. That's one piece of dirt I don't have."
"And what am I going to do about that damn Mordio?"
"THE Mordio? You mean to say you've got connections ta the famed mage from Aspio, the City of Scholars?"
Yuri raised a curious eyebrow. Perhaps this old man was his ticket to finding out where he could find that core thief. "Do you know about him?"
"Oho! Want ta know, huh? I'm afraid that's information won't come cheap…"
"The 'famed mage from Aspio, the City of Scholars, right?' I think I got it."
There was a slight rustle on the other side, suggesting that the old man had slipped up without meaning to. "W-wait, that's not true. He's the, uh, head of the gourmet guild! No, wait, uh, it's the uh, I mean…"
The pleasant conversation was suddenly cut off completely by the creaking sound of the door at the entrance. As the footsteps drew near, Yuri's eyes widened in surprise. It was Alexei, Commandant of the Imperial Knights, and for all intents and purposes the right hand man to Emperor Charles zi Britannia. Alexei continued past Yuri's cell and stopped in front of the old man's. Yuri heard the sound of keys jingling on a chain followed by another creaky door opening.
"Out." Not much for words, are we Commandant? thought Yuri.
"Ah well, just when things were getting' good," sighed Yuri's prison mate.
"Hurry up," commanded Alexei.
Shortly afterwards, Alexei passed by the cell with a man wearing a rather bright heavy purple coat. The man had his hair pulled back into a ponytail that stuck out every which way possible. Suddenly the old man tripped right in front of Yuri's cell.
"Just who are you? What does the Commandant of the Imperial Knights want with you?" whispered Yuri.
"Beneath the statue of the goddess…" whispered the old man before he quickly slipped something through the bars swiftly and quietly. Yuri caught a slight glimpse of the object that flew to his hand.
"What are you doing? I said hurry up," said Alexei, clearly very irritated with the old man's stalling.
"All right, easy. I'm coming." The old man took off to catch up with Alexei, leaving Yuri with more questions than answers at the moment. Looking at what the old man left, Yuri realized it was the key to the cells.
"I suppose I did say I was looking for a way out. Still, just who was that guy?" said Yuri aloud. After opening the door, he took a look at the end of the hall and saw the guard on duty was already asleep.
"Glad to see they keep such vigilant watch as always," smirked Yuri. "If I leave now I should be able to check up on the Lower Quarter and be back before the guard wakes."
After a quick check of the chests near the guard station, Yuri managed to locate his sword. He was still surprised that he had ended up in the prison after that last skirmish. Cumore didn't seem to be lying about that new law either. With his track record, Yuri knew Cumore wouldn't hesitate at the chance to put him down for good.
As Yuri climbed the stairs out of the dungeon he emerged into the castle proper. There were at least three guards patrolling the area, meaning that Yuri was going to have to proceed with caution so he didn't send off any alarms.
By sticking close to the shadows, Yuri managed to elude the first guard before quickly dashing up the nearby stairs and avoiding the other two. Thus far, everything had gone smoother than he could have hoped. The stairs led to a large tiled room that was sparsely decorated with the occasional vase or two.
At the sound of footsteps Yuri threw himself behind a nearby pillar to avoid detection. Turning his head ever so slightly, Yuri could see just around the pillar. He saw a girl with pink hair dressed in a blue satin dress holding a saber in her hand. Two knights had effectively cornered her, though they had yet to draw their weapons.
One of the knights stepped forward. "Please, let's put a stop to this. Why don't we just go back?"
"I can't go back now!" replied the girl.
"This is for your own good, Miss, you know that."
"As for the 'incident,'" said the other knight, "we will assume full responsibility and will inform the lieutenant ourselves."
"How can you say that when you haven't done anything to help me?" shot back the girl. One of the knights attempted to close the distance when the girl suddenly pointed her sword right in his face. "Please don't come any closer."
The other knight held up his hands as he tried to calm her down. "Now, now, why don't you put that down? You'll only end up hurting yourself."
"I know how to use a sword!" declared the girl.
"I'm afraid you leave us no choice. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." Yuri saw both knights unsheath their swords. Down the opposite hall Yuri could hear more footsteps approaching.
"There she is! This way!"
So much for being stealthy. Yuri sighed from being caught so easily.
"Please, you have to let me go!" pleaded the girl. "I have to warn Flynn!"
Yuri took a second to process what he just heard before making up his mind. Two more knights emerged from the opposite hallway only for both to be decked by an Azure Edge.
"What?" said one of the knights in confusion.
"Flynn? You came to help me!" shouted the girl in delight; thinking that it was Flynn that fired the blast. Upon seeing Yuri, her expression sobered immediately in shock and disappointment. "W-who are you?"
Yuri stepped out of the shadows, his blade resting lazily at his left side.
"Identify yourself!" demanded one of the knights. Yuri didn't see any need to give a response and simply charged in. The first knight was unprepared and was swiftly incapacitated with a whack to the back of the head with the hilt of Yuri's sword. The other knight lunged in only for Yuri to sidestep him and perform the same strike.
Yuri let out a sigh as he sheathed his sword. "Don't they teach these guys manners in knight school anymore?"
Yuri turned when he heard footsteps behind him; only to leap out of the way at the last minute as the pink-haired girl threw a vase where he was just standing.
"Hey! What, are you trying to kill me?"
"Well, you don't belong in the castle, right?" pointed out the girl.
"No, and I'll take it as a compliment that you can tell by looking at me."
"YURI LOWELL! Where are you?" boomed a voice Yuri recognized far better than he wished to remember.
"You foul fugitive! I say, we know you're trying to make your escape!" shouted Adecor.
Yuri groaned on the inside. "Oh please, not them again. I suppose there's no point in going back to the prison cell now."
"Louder, fools! Say it like you mean it!" roared Leblanc.
"Lieutenant Leblanc, your voice is too loud. My ears…" griped Boccos.
"Yuri Lowell? You're one of Flynn's friends aren't you?" said the girl.
"Yeah, why?"
"And you used to belong to the Imperial Knights?"
"Just for three short months," said Yuri. "You hear that from Flynn?" The girl nodded. "Huh, guess he managed to find someone he could talk to at the castle after all. Then again; I wonder what happened to Hisca and Chastel?" Yuri felt a slight shiver come up his spine at the thought of Hisca "Er…never mind." Yuri was about to head down the hallway when the girl blocked his path.
"Yuri, I need to talk to Flynn." Estelle pleaded.
"Hold on just a second. Just who are you supposed to be, anyway?" asked Yuri. "I can tell you know Flynn, but why are you being chased by the Knights?"
"Over here!" came Leblanc's voice. Yuri could hear the footsteps indicating they were getting closer.
"Listen, I want to hear the whole story, but we can't really afford to stand around and chat. First things first, let's get to Flynn's place. Want me to lead the way?"
"Ah, yes," answered the girl.
The two took off through the northern corridor. Even though his stealth escape had been ruined, getting into a fight now would only slow him down. At the moment Yuri had no desire for such a quick reunion with Leblanc and the Tweedles. Motioning for the girl to follow close behind, Yuri slipped past the first guard before ducking into a nearby room to avoid the second one. He cast a quick glance outside and darted down the corridor with the girl. After a climbing a set of stairs, he recognized the hall they were in. It was the same one he and Flynn had roomed in during part of their time in the Imperial Knights.
"I believe it's somewhere around here," said the girl.
"It's this one," motioned Yuri towards the door next to him. He opened the door and allowed the girl to enter first before he followed after her. The room hadn't changed much since the last time Yuri had visited.
"He's really kept this place cleaned up," remarked the raven-haired youth. "If he's not here though, then that probably means he's off gallivanting around somewhere."
"Then…that means I'm too late," sighed the girl.
"So, what sort of wickedness did you do, anyway?" asked Yuri as he took a seat on the bed.
The girl looked at him in surprise. "Me? I haven't done anything wrong."
"And yet a bunch of knights were chasing you around the castle. …Yeah, that makes sense," said Yuri sarcastically.
The girl suddenly became quite flustered. "Um, you see…Yuri!"
"Whoa…what is it?"
"I can't be specific, but Flynn is in terrible danger! I've got to go and warn him."
"So go if you want to go. What's wrong with that?"
"I wish I knew…"
"Listen, I've got something I've got to take care of right away, too. As soon as things quiet down outside I want to get back to the Lower Quarter."
"In that case, would you take me with you? Please? Other than Flynn, there's no one I can depend on. Will you at least help me get out of the castle? Please, I'm begging you."
Yuri let out a sigh. "Okay, I can see you're serious, but why don't you at least tell me your name first."
Just before the girl could answer, the door to the room was kicked off its hinges with a loud crash. The girl let out a short scream of fright before a man with one of the oddest hair styles Yuri had ever seen entered the room. The man had pink hair layered over blonde hair. He wore a set of leather gauntlets and armor and had two short swords sheathed at his back.
"Prepare to fall to my blade!" announced the man. Yuri didn't make an attempt to react, simply looking out the window. The assassin suddenly drew one of his blades and smashed through a series of vases on top of a nearby counter.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" quipped Yuri as he stood up from the bed.
"I am Zagi…the man who will end your life. Now die, Flynn Scifo!"
The man leapt at Yuri, both blades drawn to kill. Yuri barely spun around in time to block Zagi's strike and push the assassin back. Zagi leered menacingly before charging back in for another attack.
"You've got the wrong guy!" shouted Yuri as he tried to hold off Zagi.
"Die."
Yuri pushed him aside and launched his Azure Edge arte. Zagi managed to dodge the arte but it put some distance between the two at least. "You should really learn to listen a little more."
"My name is Zagi. Remember it well, Flynn."
Yuri groaned on the inside. First he was engaged in a battle against a guy he didn't want to fight and second the idiot wouldn't listen. This was starting to become aggravating. "Listen! I'm not Flynn!"
"Hehe, oh what's wrong?" Zagi unleashed a deadly four hit strike that forced Yuri onto the defensive.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" roared Yuri as he continued to trade blows.
"I'm going to kill you and carve your name into my blood!"
Yuri grimaced slightly. "Yeah, that's pretty disgusting."
"Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun!"
Yuri back stepped as Zagi closed in and launched an Azure Edge attack as a countermeasure. The attack managed to disrupt Zagi's rhythm long enough for Yuri to turn the tables. Now Zagi was on the defensive while Yuri was on the offensive. As he continued to press his attack, Yuri managed to pin Zagi against a wall.
"I have you now! Cerberus Strike!" Yuri deflected Zagi's right hand blade before planting three hard punches directly to the assassin's face. The man slashed desperately in front of him forcing Yuri to back off, but not before he unleashed a second Azure Edge, this time connecting perfectly with Zagi's body. The assassin slumped to the ground momentarily before standing back up. At first Yuri thought the man might have been crying but that notion was quickly put down when he suddenly erupted into maniacal laughter.
"Ahh, now I feel it," muttered Zagi.
Yuri cocked an eyebrow. "You feel what? I'm not feeling anything over here."
"Yes, so full of confidence..." Zagi suddenly burst into another fit of maniacal laughter. "That's it! That's it! Now I feel truly alive!"
"What's with you?" shouted Yuri. Before Yuri could say another word, Zagi charged at him faster than any of his previous attacks. Though he had managed to block the strike, Yuri could feel the difference in strength. Zagi was like a completely different person!
"Yuri! Let me help you!" shouted the girl.
"No! Stay away!" Unfortunately, Yuri's warning gave Zagi just the opening he needed as deflected Yuri's blade before planning a slash across Yuri's chest. He followed up the attack with a mighty kick that sent Yuri sliding back a few feet.
"Come on! The more the merrier!" laughed Zagi.
"Yuri!" shouted the girl. She tried to rush over to assist Yuri but Zagi suddenly intervened. The girl raised her sword to defend herself only for it to be swatted away like an annoying fly before Zagi kicked her in the stomach. The girl crumpled as darkness claimed her.
"Damnit!" growled Yuri as he stood back up.
"Ahaha! Come on! Don't disappoint me, Flynn!" shouted Zagi.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not Flynn!" shouted Yuri as he unleashed another Azure Edge. If this guy had a trick up his sleeve, then it looked like Yuri had no choice but to do so as well.
His left eye turned bright red as a sigil appeared where there was once gray before. Yuri may have lost round one, but round two started now.