I want to thank Fenrir of the Shadows and AccessBlade for reviewing the last chapter. Just want to point out a mistake from last time, I said Sheena imagined seeing her parents getting killed. This is actually wrong, as it is the parents of Orochi and Kuchinawa who were killed in the Volt incident. I made the revision already, which no longer states Sheena imagining her parents being killed in the Volt incident when she saw Andy touching the fish tank. Other than that, we're ready to move on.

Namco owns Tales of Symphonia. AccessBlade owns Cameryn Lachance. Fenrir of the Shadows owns Azul Kharlan. Legend of Zelda 4 Life owns Oni Sheikah. I own Cabalina Ashton and Robert Ross.


"Can we go over all the facts once more, including the testimonies given by the Albane family?" Noishe asked during the team's morning briefing. A day after the second mysterious death felt like a year as the team gathered increasingly confusing evidence from the fish tank case, adding to the already large pile from the scouts' camp case. Seeing the dark bags under each team member's eyes, Noishe knew the ordeal wasn't about to end soon.

"Well, according to the forensics team, the fish tank is indeed tampered with," Gil reported from the first seat to Noishe's left, flipping through two sets of notes at once, "And campus security said the lab was open until quite late, with Andy being the only one there then. Other than renovators cleaning up, there was no suspicious activity or individual around there."

Noishe nodded. "Seems pretty consistent with everything so far, but it's leading us into a dead end," he commented, pursing his lips and cupping his chin. Turning to the petite officer directly to his right, he asked Presea for her notes from interviewing the Albanes. "What did the professor's wife say? Did she confirm the dinner party, as Miguel Albane stated?"

"Well, Maria Albane did show up late yesterday, and she did confirm the dinner party. She even showed me a guest list," Presea described, waving a long sheet of paper around, "I'm going to say unless all these people lied, it'll be hard to make them suspects," Presea stated, placing the long sheet back into the brown folder, "I was also present when Gil interviewed Cress, the Albanes' son, and Gil felt Cress shouldn't be counted as a suspect either."

All eyes turned back to the goateed man, who had an awkward grin on his face. "It was a small experiment I did with young Cress back in that interrogation room. You know, the same one that Presea sent the former renovation supplier of John Walker into?" Gil pointed out, waving his hand at the direction of the halls, "Presea was telling me the desk lamp was nearly broken last time when the suspect kept slamming his hand on the desk. So, seeing Cress all worked up when he came into the unit, I thought I'd run a test by him."

The entire unit observed Gil pull out two light bulbs from a box near his feet. He handed them to Noishe and asked the former Protozoan if he could spot the difference. "These aren't the same size," Noishe stated even without a thorough inspection, "I say these two bulbs go into two different lamps, meaning they aren't compatible with each other."

"Exactly right," Gil responded, taking the bulbs back from Noishe, "I did an experiment with Cress where I purposely turned off the main power bar to the room, meaning there is no light shining from the lamp. I then claimed it was Cress who slammed his hand on the desk and damaged our lamp, and asked him to fix it in exchange for us not demanding compensation from him. And guess what I discovered?" Gil asked, beaming in pride.

The other officers glanced at each other in silence, not sure what their staff sergeant had in mind. Many knew from the first day that Gil Irving was a man of many surprises, and had an unpredictable, and some would even say crazy, streak. What strange idea did he have this time?

When no one responded, Gil pulled the two bulbs up before his face. "The one on my right should be the one that goes into the desk lamp, but instead, I asked Presea to fetch the one on my left," he explained, shaking each bulb a few times in emphasis, "We handed the wrong one to Cress, and he didn't even bother looking at the bulb before trying to shove it in. And when it didn't work, it never occurred to Cress that we handed him the wrong bulb."

Gil gently placed the bulbs back down before turning a page on his notes. "Yet anyone who has even a minimal knowledge of electronic appliances ought to have known the difference. Captain Noishe picked the bulbs up and immediately recognized the difference, so why didn't Cress notice that?" Gil asked, "In the fish tank case, our killer must have had at least a moderate level of understanding on electronic appliances to know what wires to cut to ensure the deceased got electrocuted. If Cress couldn't even do something as simple as identifying the differences between light bulbs, how likely would it be that he cut the wires?"

Noishe nodded. "So in other words, the entire Albane family could be taken off the suspect list, all by virtue of the dinner party and the experiment with Cress," Noishe stated, "I say that puts us in another dead end. Where will this lead us then?"

Before anyone could respond, Cameryn popped her head in. "I have two messages," she listed, holding a small piece of paper, "The first is the scouts' camp renovation supplier, Frank Warner, has arrived. Does anyone want to do the interview with him?" Cameryn asked.

Gil and Noishe both looked around the room. "Frank Warner is the mysterious visitor to the scouts' camp, right? Does someone in that case want to handle the interview?" Gil asked.

Cabalina raised her hand. "I'll handle that," she replied, "I know Azul and Oni will be busy going over evidence from the scouts' camp, since Cameryn logged them in. Did Warner bring in any new evidence, like his record logs or bills?" the brunette asked the secretary.

Cameryn shook her head. "Mr. Warner said he didn't feel the need to bring anything, and just wants to get the interview done as quickly as possible," the strawberry blonde stated, "I do think he's in a hurry, so I suggest we get moving on this."

Gil shook his head. Much as he didn't like witnesses that offered to give testimonies only to become impatient with police, he knew they had no choice but to entertain Warner. "Cabalina, head off with Warner then. Make sure you flush out all the details that may reconcile ambiguities in that case," he ordered, "The rest of us should get back to our cases. I plan to do a follow-up of the fish tank case, and that means revisiting some witnesses, including Sheena and Raine."

The team slowly got up from their chairs and filed out the door, leaving Cameryn at her desk signalling Noishe to come over. "The second message is for you, Captain," she stated, waving a second sheet of paper around, "This is regarding a drugs case you were dealing with at Major Crimes. There is a suspect arrested earlier, and he's been brought into that unit."

"Ah, yes," Noishe slipped past Gil and to the desk, taking the note from Cameryn, "We have a drug addict who we suspect is also the trafficker. I'll go over to Major Crimes to keep an eye on their interrogation. Gil, can you take over from here?" he asked the staff sergeant.

As Noishe hurried out, Gil went to Presea's cubicle to compare notes with her. That left Azul and Oni by themselves dealing with the scouts' camp case. "So Oni, how was your mana manipulation class with Genis yesterday?" Azul asked.

Oni smiled. "It was easy," he replied, nonchalantly flipping through another page as he glanced up at the elf, "I was only asked to do regular breathing exercises and feeling the mana go through my body, so there's no actual spell casting yet. Wonder when he'll teach harder moves?"

"Did Genis get all obsessive with a certain body part that you're showing right now?" Cameryn snickered from her desk, gesturing at Oni's midsection, "You didn't really wear your Loni-Kyle shirt to visit Genis, did you?"

"Actually, I did," Oni responded, puffing out his chest in mock pride, "I didn't find Genis to be the belly button fanatic that you claimed. Yesterday when he was teaching me, I thought he was a bit timid, almost like he was hesitant to critique me. Is he always such a quiet kid? I've only seen him once at the scouts' camp with Azul, but I thought he's more outgoing than that."

Azul paused. Since when did Genis become that withdrawn? Even when they saw him at the camp less than a week ago, Genis was bounding with excitement. Now he was so quiet that he didn't go crazy when seeing Oni's belly button? What happened to the silver-haired half-elf?


"Mr. Frank Warner, is it?" Cabalina greeted the visitor in the halls, bringing the man into a nearby interrogation room. Before she closed the door, she could see Noishe hustling out of the unit and back to Major Crimes, which was conveniently located just down the hall from them.

Turning back to the visitor in question, Cabalina closed the door behind her and sat across from Warner. Despite the dim lighting, she could make out the man had bright red hair in mullet style, was moderately built, and wore workman's clothing. "So before we get started, I want you to know that everything we're recording is only for confirming our findings at the scouts' camp. At no time are we laying any charges on you, so you can rest assured," she stated.

The man said nothing, only nodding slightly as Cabalina opened her notebook. "So tell me," she slowly began, "after the deceased, John Walker, lost his first renovation supplier, he supposedly turned to you to be his backup. How did this partnership come to fruition?"

"John Walker has renovation suppliers working in Iselia, and refers to them whenever he loses one contract," Warner replied curtly, "I have been called to help him before. I have receipts and other information at home to confirm this. Would you like them brought in?" he offered.

Cabalina lifted her left hand while her right held her pen, which continued scribbling on the page. "That won't be necessary right now," she responded, "I would like to know how did you get called to this scouts' camp project. Did Walker just call you up, asking you to get him all this material for him, and you were there in a jiffy?" Cabalina asked, looking the man in the eye.

The return stare from the redhead was ice-cold, with two emotionless eyes boring straight through the interviewing officer's soul. "I only show up with the materials once an agreement is made for payment," Warner responded monotonously, "I go give Mr. Walker the materials, and in turn he pays me. Any other work I do for him on that campsite would be considered billable."

Realizing there was a potential lead, Cabalina brought out a weapon of her own. Getting the visitor log from the camp, she flipped to the dates around when Walker died and showed them to the renovation supplier. "Looking at this log, we can see that you did visit the scouts' camp several times during the week before the deceased was killed," Cabalina pointed out, using her pen to guide Warner's eyes to his signatures on the page, "I assume you were working with Walker during this time, yes? Can you tell me what happened on those days?"

A low grunt could be heard emitting from under Warner's breath. Cabalina squinted slightly, trying to gauge Warner's reaction to her every word. "Mr. Walker asked me to supply the materials, but since he told me he was falling behind on some projects, he requested for my help," Warner calmly described, his face stoic and still like a statue, "I have the bills available to prove my work, which only involved helping him with the renovations. Anything that deals with his out-of-work life, I cannot and will not comment on," Warner concluded with pursed lips.

Cabalina scratched her chin, feeling the room suddenly getting a lot cooler. Warner crossed his arms, his neutral expression now dipping into a frown or fume. Trying to prolong the conversation, Cabalina resorted to a more provocative approach. Reaching to find her hot-headed, stubborn side which had been dormant for months now, she tried to entice the redhead into making a mistake. "The only visitor on the day Walker died was you, so that means you must have been aware of what's going on," Cabalina challenged her opponent, again pointing to the line in question with her pen, "The time you left was around half an hour before Walker's estimated time of death, so are you sure you didn't witness anything when you were there?"

Warner's eyes nearly flashed, either in anger or annoyance, sending shivers down the arms and spine of Cabalina. "I was there for a longer period of time, not leaving until rather later in the night, but I did not notice anything unusual," Warner responded, his tone impatient and gruff, "I was asked to finish some work on the back cabins, and was away from the campfire, where the death supposedly occurred. When I finished my work, I promptly cleaned up, signed out of the camp, and left for home. I have no idea what happened in the camp after that."

"But the camp only has one route leading back to the highway, and a witness heard the sound of a vehicle shortly before the sign fell," Cabalina continued, running on pure adrenaline as she pushed back against Warner, "I was at the camp to collect evidence, and it didn't take half an hour to drive from the highway to the parking lot. What could have possibly taken so long…"

"If you want to know what kept me there, you can blame my van's engine," Warner snapped, using his harshest tone yet, "I had problems getting my van started, and that kept me there for an extra ten to fifteen minutes. And in case you're wondering, I did visit a mechanic on Monday, and have a receipt to prove my presence at the shop as well. Any more questions for me, Officer?" Warner concluded, his grimace enough to freeze even the deserts near Triet.

Cabalina took a huge breath. Apparently, her plan to provoke Warner backfired, causing him to retaliate instead of cooperate. Still, it got her some evidence to show what Warner was doing at the camp, so maybe all was not lost. Moistening her lips, Cabalina approached the issue with gentleness once more. "Again, Mr. Warner, I'm not claiming you're a suspect. It's just that there are inconsistencies and telling us what you did at the camp can remedy that…"

"You're entitled to your opinion," Warner muttered back in an unfriendly tone, "If you still want my receipts from Walker's project and the car shop, I'll get them to you by tomorrow. If not, then let me out so I can go back to work. I have other renovation projects to do," he spat.

Now it was Cabalina's turn to purse her lips. Given how testy that interview got near the end, the brunette was surprised that she didn't go down in flames. Sensing the temperature was not rising despite the heaters, she decided to let Warner go. "The police will contact you again if we require another interview," she stated, getting out from her chair and reaching for the door, "I just want to confirm that your preferred contact method is via cellphone?"

Warner got up in almost slow motion, trudging his way to the door. "Only call me if you have anything of substance to discuss," Warner cautioned, glaring at the pony-tailed brunette once more, "I'm a busy man. I have no time to waste on trivial matters like these."

Cabalina shivered for the third time in that hour, not sure what she did to deserve this torturous interview. "Why don't I escort you back to the main hall?" Cabalina suggested, her stress released with every word. Basking in the lights of the main hallway, the officer made her way to the stairs leading to front doors. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

Before Cabalina could take an extra step, noises coming from the adjacent Major Crimes Unit caught her attention. Even members of her own unit, including Gil and Presea, stuck their heads into the hallway to observe the commotion. From her position, Cabalina could see several Major Crimes officers wrestling a suspect down right in the middle of the unit.

Several individuals in uniform yanked up the suspect, who was almost in convulsions. Cabalina could see the man had a buzzcut, with only short blond strands sticking from his near bald scalp. He wore a nearly torn blue Loni-Kyle shirt and equally ripped blue jeans, and could barely stand on his own. "Wh…why'd you dr…drag me in here?" he stuttered while shivering.

"Don't lie! We found packages of white powder on you in that alley! You dare tell me you weren't trafficking drugs?" an officer roared, struggling with his colleagues to haul the man back to his feet, "Don't tell me that was a pack of detergent!"

"It, it, it…" the suspect was sputtering by the second, and things were not looking well for the Major Crimes officers. Sensing things were quickly getting out of hand, Cabalina tried to go in to lend a hand. "Gi…gi…gi…gi….give me a chance!" the man continued.

"Cabalina, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice called. Cabalina lifted her head to see Captain Noishe standing by her with his hands on his hips. "Didn't you have someone to interview? How did that go?" he asked, his eyes alternating between the officer and the addict.

"Yeah, I just finished dealing with Frank Warner. He claimed to have evidence proving his innocence, so I had no choice but to let him go for now," she stated. Turning to the Major Crimes officers, who now wrestled the suspect back into a chair, she asked Noishe what was happening. "Is this the reason why you left our unit earlier?"

Noishe clacked his tongue. "Meet Kent Ruffin," the former Protozoan stated, flipping through another folder, "This is a Major Crimes case that involves drug trafficking, and we believe this is one of our traffickers. It's a shame too, because he used to be a member of a mixed martial arts club, and competed in several matches before. Then somehow he got involved in drug trafficking and became an addict himself. It's quite sad, really."

Before the officers could return to interrogating him, Ruffin convulsed again, this time more violently than ever. His entire body went limp, his limbs flailed helplessly. Falling out of the chair, the suspect flopped around on the ground, white foam shooting out his mouth. Officers looked around the room in confusion, not sure whether to help the now regurgitating suspect or run to get medical help. "Should we call the hospital, Captain?" a nearby officer asked Noishe.

Noishe nodded. "Let's get the paramedics here," the captain decided, "He is still a suspect, so we have to make sure the hospital keeps an eye on him." Turning back to Cabalina, Noishe asked, "So where's Frank Warner now? Is he still in the unit?"

Turning back to the hall, Cabalina edged past Gil and Presea, both of whom stood outside the Major Crimes Unit watching the odd scene. "Mr. Warner…" she called before trailing off. Gil and Presea both turned back to look, only to see the red-haired renovation supplier already lumbering down the stairs. "So, I guess an escort won't be necessary?" Cabalina eked out.

Gil and Presea said nothing, only watching the back of Warner slowly descend the stairs before disappearing from view. "Hey, doesn't that look really familiar?" Presea whispered to Gil, "Frank Warner, I mean. It's like I saw that guy somewhere before."

Before Gil could respond, the red-haired renovation supplier was replaced by a black-haired Mizuho native. "Gil, you wanted to see me today?" Sheena greeted the goateed staff sergeant as she trotted up the stairs, taking long strides up to the plainclothes unit.

Gil blinked and quickly shook his head, trying to refocus his mind on the case. "Yeah, thanks for coming, Sheena," Gil murmured, rifling through the notes in his hands, "I just thought I saw someone familiar, that's all. Don't mind what I did earlier."

"Oh, you mean that guy that just walked down the stairs?" Sheena asked, turning her head back to the other end of the hallway, "Yeah, I thought he looked familiar too. It's like I saw him somewhere before, although I can't quite put my finger in it. Where did last you see him?"

Gil and Presea froze. Now even Sheena claimed she might have seen Frank Warner before? Who was this man? What connection did he have to these two deaths?


"Are you feeling better now, Sheena?" Gil asked, settling in an interrogation room adjacent to the one used by Cabalina earlier. Gil still remembered when he first approached Sheena at the university after the incident. Sheena was so shocked and frightened by the event that she could barely stand, let alone describe what happened in that lab. Now, after taking some time away from the lab, Gil hoped Sheena was in a better position to help out with the case.

"A bit better, yes," Sheena stated. There was still some hesitance in her voice, but it was obvious that she was much calmer today. "I don't think I'll ever get that scene out of my mind, but at least I can somewhat move on and not be traumatized by it. Anyway, how can I help you?"

Gil shuffled his papers around a bit. "Starting off, you said you were in that room just before Andy died, hoping to speak with Professor Albane again. From the last time we spoke, you said you didn't touch the fish tank at all. But were you at least close enough to the fish tank to notice if anything was unusual about it?" Gil asked.

Sheena licked her lips once, trying to calm her nerves again. "I was in front of Andy's desk when he confronted me, so I didn't see the fish tank," she recalled the details, "I know the fish tank was flashing, but Professor Albane told me not to worry about it. I only got two chances to get in that room, so whatever happened in between my visits is a mystery to me."

"Well, let me just confirm for you right now that the fish tank has been tampered with, and we suspect it was done after everyone left," Gil stated, stopping his writing and looking Sheena straight in the eye, "Someone might have sneaked in while Andy was away from his desk and fiddled with the fish tank. Have you noticed anyone unusual around that area?" he asked.

"Wow, you're kind of asking me to recall faces that I saw for maybe less than a second," Sheena commented, clasping her hands on the desk and dipping her head slightly in thought, "I know there was some renovation work in that building, so there were renovators going back and forth, carrying equipment, and doing all sorts of stuff. I doubt anyone of them were here unauthorized, so I can't say anyone of them looked suspicious."

Gil nodded his head. "That's a fair statement," he responded nonchalantly, "After you spoke with Professor Albane the first time, you didn't go back to the lab for the rest of the day, is that correct? You left campus altogether, and didn't return until the next morning?"

"I was in the Albane lab hoping to find the professor before the conference started, but Andy stopped me. I don't recall seeing any renovators around the floor yet," Sheena described, "The conference was due to start at nine a.m., so I was at the lab just after eight thirty. Given Andy was already there, I would say he might have been there as early as eight a.m. I doubt the department office was even open, let alone having anyone there to witness anything suspicious."

Gil nodded. With another possibility gone, it seemed more and more likely that the only time when the killer could have tampered with the wires was at night, when everyone had gone home and Andy was alone in the lab. Despite limiting the timeline, it did not limit the list of suspects. There could be plenty of individuals who might have sneaked into the lab when Andy stepped out. "By the way, when you visited the lab, did you have to sign in?" Gil asked, "Does the department have something like a visitor's log for special guests?"

Sheena smiled and shook her head. "You only sign in if you're on official business, like a guest speaker giving a conference," she explained, "I didn't sign in, but special guests attending the conference may. Do you think the renovators at the department might have signed in?"

"Not sure, but assuming they will stay on campus and alter the department significantly, I would guess so," Gil responded. Placing down his pen, he folded his hands on top of his notes and stared seriously at Sheena. "I have one more question for you, one that doesn't really relate to this case." The ventilation fan clicked on just as Gil leaned his head forward, the dim lighting seemingly focusing onto his goateed face. "You said the man who just left the station when you arrived looked familiar to you. Can you think back to when you saw him last?" Gil asked.

Sheena pursed her lips and cupped her chin with her right hand, her left arm placed horizontally across her lap supporting her right elbow. Sheena tried to remember the important details to the hum of the ventilation system. "I think it was right around the time when I left the Albane lab for the first time," she stated carefully, "There was a lot of renovation, so Raine and Professor Albane both left artefacts in their labs rather than taking them to the archives. I recall having to be extra careful when I stepped into the hallway."

Gil looked on, listening carefully to Sheena's account of the events in the hall. "I left the room, and to my left was the renovation team. There were quite a few members busy at work, but I did recall seeing someone with long red hair, similar to the style that man had. It was really dusty and loud, so I didn't stay long enough to see his actual face," Sheena described, "But if we judge by the hair and body build alone, then it's likely that man was on the renovation team."

Gil said nothing. Returning to his notes, he scribbled down something unreadable by Sheena before ending the interview with her. "You've done lots to help us, Sheena," he thanked the Mizuho native, "I couldn't have asked for more. If we want your help again, we'll contact you. You'll be leaving on Friday, is that correct?"

Sheena nodded. With that, Gil packed away his notes and escorted Sheena to the main hall. Waving goodbye, Gil watched his friend descend the stairs and slowly disappear from view, the same way Frank Warner did less than an hour ago. Once he made sure Sheena was gone, he hurried back into his unit and approached Presea at her cubicle. "Presea, we have a new lead," he stated, showing her his notes, "Do you think you can contact the university to see if they have some sort of visitor's log? I think it's time we start searching for the name 'Frank Warner' in there. It seems like our renovation supplier may be doing more than expected."


"Hey, I didn't know you were interested in spell casting!" Genis exclaimed as Azul trotted up to him on the field just behind Genis' school. It was late afternoon again, and Oni was to have another lesson in mana manipulation with Genis. The young half-elf had a rather free week, and could devote some time after school to teach Oni the basics.

But today, Azul decided to come take a look as well, just to find out what was going on. "You're not the only teacher for Oni, Genis," the elf pointed out, taking a seat on a nearby bench located a short distance away from the two half-elves, "Besides, Oni and I were discussing some stuff earlier, and I just tagged along to watch him. By the way, when will your grandma arrive?"

Genis whipped out his cellphone and glanced at the time. "She'll be here just after five, so we have almost an hour and a half," the silver-haired boy stated, "I think that will give us enough time to help Oni here learn how to distinguish mana types within his body."

Azul nodded. Oni removed his brown leather jacket and placed it on the bench, leaving the blond half-elf in his black Loni-Kyle shirt. Before leaving the police station, Azul and Oni were sorting through the scouts' camp case. Just as they investigated Frank Warner appearing at the camp, Gil announced that he suspected Warner was somehow connected to the fish tank case as well. Sheena Fujibyashi, the witness for that case, thought she saw someone resembling Warner at the university the day the wires in the tank were cut. This new detail threw a new wrinkle in their plans, one that would either solve both crimes, or confound them even more.

While Oni and Genis continued warming up, Azul pulled out a small notebook from the inside pocket of his jacket and skimmed over the contents. Before approaching the fish tank case, Azul did some background research on how fish tanks work. According to Gil, the wires were tucked inside the top of the tank. The killer must have at least a moderate amount of knowledge to make that clean a cut, removed their hands from the wires unscathed, and still left them hanging low enough to electrocute a person. "In other words, the killer must have at least gotten the time to recognize the type of fish tank it was, and how the wirings work," Azul muttered.

Flipping a page, Azul compared this to the scouts' camp case, when he and Oni had a short discussion regarding how this mysterious killer might have carried out the act. There, they found that the killer might have cut the metal chains, either during campfire or after all the scouts left for their bunks. The killer also must have known that the floorboards were weak, and that the scouts might trip over them when they headed back. While there was no evidence that the boards were tampered with, that possibility could not be ruled out either. "The thorough planning by this person is unbelievable," Azul commented, "How can anyone observe such minute details?"

But at the same time, Frank Warner seemed to be a character that did not care for such details. When Cabalina interviewed him, she noticed he was quite gruff, and tended to give short and quick answers rather than discussed anything in length. He seemed almost impatient, and even claimed to have evidence to vindicate him of anything. Gil had not ordered Warner to turn over the evidence yet, but assuming the evidence was available, where would that lead the team then? Was there any other suspect at all?

Before Azul could think about this more, a loud explosion caught his attention. The elf was nearly blasted out of his seat as a huge cloud of smoke surrounded the area. "Oni, Genis, are you guys alright?" Azul called, coughing into his sleeve while waving at the dust.

"Yeah, we're fine," Oni's voice echoed from the debris, "I was trying to cast a spell, and this was the result." Azul could see Oni and Genis still coughing and waving at the smoke, but was relieved that both individuals seemed unhurt.

"So, uh, what happened?" Azul asked, pointing at the scene before him. Oni and Genis had part of their clothing covered with dust and dirt, and Azul found he was not immune from the dust storm either. "Was that supposed to be part of the spell?"

"Uh, I don't think so," Genis stated, trying to brush the soil from his hair, "I think you were trying to cast a fire spell, right? I mean, I'm sorry if I guessed wrong, but…"

Azul raised a hand to pause Genis. This was the very thing Oni told him about the mana training that surprised Azul. Why was Genis so timid about teaching Oni? "Genis, I don't mean to be rude here, but saying that isn't exactly going to fix the situation," Azul stated, "Why don't we ask Oni to go over what he did and we'll see where he went wrong?"

Genis shivered slightly. "You mean I have to pick out what Oni did wrong and tell him to do it right? Wouldn't that be kind of harsh? I don't know if I want to hurt him like that. What if he doesn't take it well and…" Genis trailed off, his volume and stature both decreasing by the second. Had it not been the silver mop on his head, Azul could have sworn that Genis' dark blue vest just gobbled up the boy's whole head.

Azul shook off the thought. He got off his seat approached Genis. "He's never going to learn if you don't tell him what to do to make it right," the elf countered, "I mean, if I used such a passive method on Oni in the police force, he would not be ready for a case. Part of training is to root out the mistakes and get the trainee into a habit of not committing them. If you don't tell him what's wrong and go over the right method with him, how will he get it right?"

Genis creased his brows and bit his lower lip, his eyes still pointed at the ground. He lost a friend all because he tried to offer criticism. Even though he was over the incident, Genis was unsure if this would lead to the same result. What if Oni also took it hard and got aggressive?

But Oni put Genis' mind at ease. "I'm used to being a trainee. I trained in the Luin Police Academy, I'm training under Azul right now, and I'm learning mana spells from you. I can't think of any teacher better than you guys," he declared, placing a hand on the pre-teen's shoulder, "I know people may ask why I chose such a young teacher. But if I got another chance to choose, I would pick you again. I trust you and I respect your abilities, so don't let me down."

Genis sighed, a slight smile returning to his face. He kept this incident to himself the entire time, not revealing too many details even to Raine and Lynn. But now, to see his friends Azul and Oni give him a vote of confidence, it brought back a lot of positive energy. "Thanks, you guys. I was just upset after the last time I tried to offer constructive criticism to a friend, and she wouldn't take it no matter what," Genis stated, "I tried reasoning with her, and even offered to help her, but she either ridiculed me or got aggressive with me. It ended with a yelling match where I told her she deserved to fail if she continued that way, and then we never spoke to each other again." Genis shoved his hands in his pants pockets and lifted his head. Facing the two officers, he posed the question to them. "Do you think I was kind of harsh by telling her that?"

Azul glanced at Oni before shrugging. "Maybe she didn't think a friend should say that to another friend. But since she took none of the many chances you gave her, shouldn't she at least reflect upon her actions as well?" he replied rhetorically, "You were sincere about helping her, but she didn't respond to you in good faith. I say that vindicates your actions already."

"And if she was truly your friend, then she'd take your advice without being insulted," Oni added, looking into Genis' eyes with a bright smile, "Friends don't let friends down, and will give each other tips to improve. If she truly did what you described, then she was never your friend to begin with. You did the right thing to call her out and now you have to move on. As your new friend, I pledge to never do that to you. It'll be too disrespectful of your skills and who you are as a person!" Oni declared, placing a fist over his heart like he was taking an oath.

Azul and Genis both chuckled. "Well, I guess we can start taking apart your mana spell then," Genis stated, removing his vest, "I can see, from the beginning of your casting sequence, that you put too much energy into each charge. That should only be done if you want to control more mana." Genis rubbed his fingerless-gloved hands together, getting into a crouch next to Oni while motioning the blond-haired half-elf to do the same. "There are two possibilities for why there may be too much energy. One is that you aren't separating the types of mana involved in each spell, and the other is that you're using more mana than required for the spell. I suggest…"

Azul smiled as Genis and Oni got back into training, but he was happier that his young friend now finally got back into a groove. Genis was still young, and had a long way to go before he could understand the more meticulous details of life. Learning to deal with difficult people would be an important skill for all situations. One should always keep an open mind and accept criticism, like the way Oni was doing right now. "Hopefully that open-mindedness can help us solve this crazy case," Azul murmured before turning back to his notes. While the two half-elves were having a blast, Azul could not say the same for himself as he laboured through the facts.


"Looks like that crazy poster Death Angel is back again," Lloyd commented, scrolling through the forum on his website. Lloyd and Colette were at the former's house to study for a math exam. While Lloyd tried to search for background information on calculus derivatives and integrals, he couldn't help but sneak onto the website to check out the latest postings.

"What did they say?" Colette asked, leaning her head over Lloyd's shoulder as her boyfriend clicked on the posting. They both heard from the news that there was another strange death occurring, this time at the University of Iselia involving a fish tank. Colette was especially shocked at this death, given it affected the lab right next door to her father's. But for Lloyd, he became concerned after seeing comments left on the website regarding the last strange death. So when the fish tank death was released in the news, they couldn't help but investigate.

"They're making outrageous remarks, as usual," Lloyd stated, reading the unusual fan's post, "They referred to the background of the deceased, such as the academic dishonesty issue. Read this and you'll lose your appetite," Lloyd pointed out, highlighting the line with his mouse.

Colette keyed in on the lines in question. "Another scum of the earth hits the dirt. First a cheating husband, now a cheating academic. At least they can't stay in our world to do more harm to people," Colette murmured, gasping at the end of each line, "That's a horrible thing to say. How can this person possibly believe killing them would be a good thing?"

Lloyd clacked his tongue. "I don't like it either, Colette," he responded, rubbing his cheeks with his fingerless-gloved palms, "Do you think I should exercise my authority as the site administrator and write something back to this person in return?"

"Did that crazy poster write something on the website again?" Gil's voice sounded off from the hall. Lloyd and Colette both turned to see the goateed staff sergeant standing outside his son's room, his eyebrows creased and his jaw tight. "I'm starting to think something is weird with this person. It seems like they know way too much about the details behind each death. What did the user post on the forum this time?" he asked, slowly edging into the room.

Lloyd rolled his chair out of the way and allowed Gil to take a look. Even without getting through the entire line, Gil was already shaking his head in disgust. "And this is the second death in Iselia that this Death Angel person commented on too," Gil spat, "What do you think, Lloyd?"

Lloyd pursed his lips. "Well, I do plan to write something back as the site admin, but I'm not sure if that will invoke a harsher response," the spiky-haired teen murmured, "I don't know about you, but I think this guy may be unstable mentally."

Gil shrugged. "Then all the more to ensure Death Angel doesn't cause more damage, physical or psychological, to the other fans of the book, right?" he responded, "Besides, most fans know my background as a former undercover cop and a current police staff sergeant. They ought to know better than to write death threats on the forum, which is an indictable offence."

Lloyd nodded his head. Turning around, he signed himself into the website under his alias. "Twin Swordsman," Colette commented, "Isn't that what your namesake was like? He was an ambidextrous swordsman who wielded one sword in each hand."

Lloyd smiled. "It's another way to honour my mom, given how she admires this person, and the way he handled the Reunification and subsequent events. He may not be a perfect man, but at least my namesake did put the world on the right path to fight racism." Clicking back to the forum, the brunette pushed the reply button on the webpage and opened a dialogue box. "So what should I say? Just tell Death Angel to cool off or something?" he asked.

Gil could not answer that question, interrupted by the shrill ring of his cellphone. Excusing himself, the policeman stepped out of the room, leaving the two teens on their own. Glancing at his girlfriend, Lloyd tried to come up with something. "How about we say, 'Law and order is key to a stable and just society, and there is no need to spew the word justice in every situation'?" he suggested, typing the words into the box, "It's almost appropriate too, since my namesake doesn't really like the word justice. But with the world in a mess, and everybody abusing that word just to prolong discrimination for personal gain, can one really blame him?"

Colette pulled her chair closer to Lloyd and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I think that continued to even after the world was unified," she recalled, "There was discrimination between Sylvarant, which was the weaker country, and Tethe'alla, which had support from the Church of Martel. It didn't help that your namesake was siding with the Church of Martel, which really polarized people's opinions of him. Maybe that's why Emil and Lloyd didn't get along at first?"

"But they ended up getting along just fine in the end, mainly because both sides tried to understand the other group," Lloyd replied, posting his message onto the forum, "I know if there is to be too justice, then it must be by everyone's consent. Justice is meant to be fair for all, and that's why the Vanguard had to be disbanded, and the Church of Martel had its influence on the world significantly diminished." Turning back to his girlfriend, he grabbed her hand gently and asked, "Do you think this Death Angel person is trying to act like the Vanguard here?"

Before Colette could answer, Gil stuck his head back in the room. "Lloyd, Colette, I can't be here for dinner. I just received a call from the station, and they told me a suspect from Major Crimes just sneaked out of the hospital. All officers are to be on high alert, and I'm going back to see if there's anything I can do to help." With that, he hustled down the stairs and slipped out.

Lloyd and Colette looked at each other, not sure what case Gil was up to. Gil might not be part of Major Crimes anymore, but whatever this suspect was, it must be serious if it got him that worked up. Lloyd scrolled through the screen one more time before turning the computer off. "You want to have dinner with my family?" Colette offered, "Unless you're okay with making dinner on your own, I'm sure my parents are willing to let you come over."

Lloyd shrugged. "I'm okay with eating leftovers here," he answered with a goofy grin, "Thanks for helping me review calculus, by the way. Would you like a lift home?"

Colette shook her head. "I'm okay with walking. It's not too far anyway," she replied, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Lloyd got up as well, escorting Colette down the stairs and to the front door. "So let's hope we both do well on the math exam tomorrow, right?"

Lloyd unlocked the front door and turned back to Colette. Chocolate-brown eyes met ocean-blue ones in a warm interaction. "Let's both do well," Lloyd responded. With that, the two teens leaned in, their lips locking and holding for a kiss. Things might still be unpredictable with Gil's cases, but at least they knew they could always rely on each other.


It was a mad dash from the hospital room to the martial arts studio that Kent Ruffin used to be a part of. The drug addict managed to undo the straps and slip past nurses, and then navigated hallways filled with police officers before exiting the hospital. He even avoided taking a bus or taxi just to get back to this area, as that would arouse suspicion from the public. Slipping into the alley between the studio and another building, Ruffin leaned his back against the wall and hyperventilated nonstop. The stay at the hospital was an awful experience, considering medical staff and police officers were all over him, watching him like he was some science experiment. "Why can't they just leave me alone?" he groaned.

Looking around the alley, Ruffin kept getting the feeling that someone was following him. The former martial artist was unsure if it was police or some other individual, but it was not making him feel easy. He knew he was still a marked man, with the police most likely posting wanted notices on the news already. His arms still shivered from withdrawal symptoms of not getting his doses on time, and the brisk wind whistling through this narrow passage didn't make things better for him. Shadows from the edge of the alley danced in and out of the lights, almost like he was being taunted for his cowardly flight. What was going on today?

With a shaking hand, Ruffin reached into his pants pocket and felt for a set of keys. Even though he was officially tossed from the martial arts group a week ago, he did not return them to the owner. It happened when his fellow fighters found out about his addiction and involvement with drug trafficking. Ruffin himself was in that trade for a few months already, mainly during the time when he was not active in the ring. He suffered some injuries late last year, and had not really taken up an active rehabilitation routine for a while. While he recuperated, he ended up doing some favours for some friends, which led to this state.

Jingling the keys in his pocket, the former martial arts star hobbled to the back door of the studio, trying fruitlessly to insert the right one into the keyhole. Never did he imagine he would try out some of the substances he delivered for his friends, and ended up turning himself into an addict. All those nights spent in bars and tattoo parlours did not do his martial arts career any favours, and now he was reduced to being a rat-like fugitive, on the run from police and having to sneak back into his former studio to find his only stash of drugs left. "I should get some lighting out here first," he muttered, "It is way too dark to do anything."

It would be several minutes of fumbling with the lock and bumbling through the dark hallway of the empty studio before Ruffin reached the storage room. For some reason, he could only remember an old gas lamp being available. He could not recall where the owners placed the flashlights at all. Feeling his way around the narrow storage area, he bumped into several objects on the ground, giving his shins quite a bruising and nearly tripping him over. "Why did they leave such a mess in here?" he grumbled, his hands knocking over several objects on the shelves.

Nonetheless, he managed to get a hold of the old gas lamp. Grabbing it by the thin, rod-like handle, he carried the lamp back to the alley. By now, the winds already died down, leaving Ruffin feeling not as cold. The Loni-Kyle shirt he wore was a membership shirt that was sent to him via mail package when he wasn't present to pick it up. It was his only connection to the club after his dismissal from them. Placing the lamp in a safe corner, he hurried back into the studio to access his locker, where he still had a stash of drugs left.

Ruffin rubbed his arms the whole way as he stalked into the men's locker room, which was located at a different hallway than the storage area. When the team informed him of the decision to kick him out, Ruffin never cleaned out his locker and returned the keys. Rather, he still held on to them, knowing the locker was one of the safer spots where he could stash drugs for trafficking or personal use. Now, he could only hope that the studio owner didn't take the master key to his locker and turned its contents over to police. "Come on, please be in there," the former martial arts star murmured, feeling his way to where his locker was.

Finding the right spot, Ruffin slid the key into the locker and turned it a couple of times. He opened the metallic door to reveal several packets of white powder still present, causing him to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Even if he was not addicted, he was afraid what his friends would think if he lost the packages. Ruffin's own life would be at stake if he could not make the deliveries to those shady characters. Grabbing one packet, he shoved it in his pocket and closed up his locker once more. "It's not like I'm not trying to kick the habit," he stated to himself, "I just can't seem to find a way to do it without relapsing." Besides, what would other martial arts fighters in his club think if the former tough guy was found going into rehab?

Ruffin made sure to lock the back door as he left, trying to eliminate any evidence of him being there. Even though he still had to return the gas lamp, he didn't want anyone to go into the studio and find out he had gone through the storage room. Besides, once he had a dose of drugs in him, he would have enough concentration and energy to restore the room again.

Trotting back to his corner, he placed the packet on the ground and turned to the gas lamp. It was one of those models that still required pumping to light, and Ruffin was never fond of the fact that the dojo owner still kept this decrepit thing there. Sighing, he gripped the pump and pushed in and out several times, trying to get the light to go on.

But things suddenly went sour as a gaseous odour flooded Ruffin's nose. Before the drug addict could even react, flames blasted out from the lamp, engulfing his body entirely. Within seconds, Ruffin flailed helplessly around. The hot flames scorched through his skin and clothing, leaving him screaming for help. Soon, Ruffin's legs gave way, making him hit the ground like a sack of flour. Despite trying to weakly crawl out, the cries soon dissipated into the night. For the last time, the body hit the stone-cold floor, stone-cold dead.


In another strange twist, yet another person died mysteriously. What does this mean for Gil's unit? Who is this Frank Warner character? And what does the strange poster on Lloyd's website have to do with these crimes? Read on next time to find out!