Chapter Four: Blood on the Street

It took some wandering around the castle and asking directions before Yuri found Sodia's office. It was just a small room with a row of filing cabinets and a huge flag with the crest of the Imperial Knights on the back wall.

"Knock-knock," Yuri said as he walked in.

She jolted and did not react as favourably as Flynn did when Yuri barged in. She dropped the stack of papers she'd been organizing and gave him a venomous look. "What gives you the right to march in here unannounced?"

"I said 'knock-knock'." Which was even more of a courtesy than he gave lots of other people, so she ought to be thanking him. Before she could kick him out, Yuri jumped right to his point. "I need your help. It's about Flynn." He had no idea who else he was supposed to go to about this with both Estelle and Ioder out of town.

The news that this was about helping Flynn mollified Sodia, but only slightly. "What about him?"

Yuri shut the door. He didn't usually care too much about privacy, but he didn't want anyone else overhearing his fears about Flynn. "Did you hear about Lenore Avondale?"

She nodded curtly. "Yes, I was informed earlier. It's a tragedy."

"I think Flynn killed her."

Sodia's gaze turned sharper than usual. "How could you possibly arrive at such a ludicrous assumption?"

As plainly as he could, Yuri explained his evidence. He knew it wasn't a rock-solid case, but he knew Flynn. He knew Flynn had been hiding something during that conversation. The fact that he would not explain his injuries, even when confronted with the accusation of murder, meant either he was responsible for Lenore's death or there was something even worse he was hiding, and both of those conclusions warranted investigation.

When he finished explaining, Sodia was not convinced. "That's it? I admit I find it odd that the commandant put so little effort into apprehending the person who accosted him last night, but that's still a more believable story than to think Commandant Flynn might kill someone."

Yuri shook his head. "It's not just that. It's how he's been acting ever since I got here. His whole plan to execute criminals to free up space - that doesn't seem like him, does it?"

Sodia's confidence wavered, but only for a second. "It is unusual, but Flynn has been put in a demanding position. I trust him, and I trust he has the best interests of the Empire at heart. I can't judge him for the decisions he's forced to make."

"Everything about the way he's been acting is weird. He doesn't even feel like the Flynn I used to know."

"Well," Sodia sniffed and started shuffling papers together, "perhaps you don't know him as well as you think you do."

"All I want is for you to investigate this and be on alert."

"Of course the case will be investigated. Don't tell me how to do my job. Commandant Flynn is the leader we've all hoped for for countless years. Anyone put in a position of great power will be forced to occasionally make questionable decisions. I will not lose my faith in him just because he isn't spotless and perfect 24/7 now that he's the commandant. She slammed her straightened pile back on the desk. "It will take more than that for me to give up on him. I would have thought you of all people would feel the same."

"I don't know what I expected trying to get help from you." Yuri rolled his eyes and left the room, slamming the door behind him. On his way out of the castle, he drafted a letter to Estelle in his head. She was the only other person he could go to for something like that. Surely Estelle would believe him when he said Flynn was behaving totally unlike himself and might have done something horrible. She knew more about the politics of the Empire and what to do about a rogue commandant, too - or at least, she'd know what book to find it in.

Yuri left the castle, still fuming, and spotted Leblanc talking to Adecor and Boccos on the street. An idea popped into his head and he hurried over. "Hey, Leblanc."

Boccos swung around and nearly gutted Yuri with his spear. "Yuri Lowell! You can't just interrupt an important meeting between knights!"

Leblanc ignored Boccos. "Has something happened?"

"I need to talk to you. It's about Flynn. Hey, tweedles, scram for a minute, will ya?"

Adecor puffed out his chest with indignation. "I say, how dare you presume to give orders!"

Leblanc nodded and then turned to the pair of knights. "Take a patrol around the block."

They both gaped at him, but didn't comment before saluting and marching away. Boccos did spare an angry glance over his shoulder, though.

"What is this about?" Leblanc asked once the tweedles were gone.

Yuri explained again, praying he wasn't met with the same indifference Sodia had given him. He'd been right to assume Leblanc would take him more seriously, though. His face grew graver and graver as Yuri lined up his pieces of evidence, and he nodded when Yuri finished.

"It's hard to be sure," Yuri said at the end. "It seems impossible that Flynn could commit murder like this. But after everything else…."

Leblanc folded his arms and nodded gravely. "It certainly seems suspicious. I haven't been assigned the Avondale case, but I'll keep an eye on it and make sure they aren't hushing things up on the commandant's orders. That's about all I can do. I'm sorry."

"It's better than nothing. Believe me, I want the Avondale investigation to lead to a totally unrelated person, too." Then he'd have to go back to wondering who had punched Flynn last night, but at least he wouldn't have to believe his best friend had murdered someone.

"I have to ask, though - why are you bringing this to me? We worked together back in the day, but I don't think I have to say we haven't exactly been friends since you left the Knights."

"You're the one who kept arresting me. That tends to damper any relationship."

Leblanc fixed him with a level glare. "You're the one who kept breaking the law."

"Touché. Honestly, with Flynn acting the way he is, I think you're the only person in this whole rotten organization I can trust. Even Sodia's got her head too far up Flynn's ass to realize something's going on."

"I see." Leblanc nodded slowly. "Thank you for the vote of confidence. It looks like my subordinates are returning."

The tweedles were bickering with each other as they approached from around the block. Yuri said, "Don't tell them about this. If Flynn's gone to the dark side, I don't want word spreading that you don't trust him and I don't know if I trust those bozos to keep quiet."

"You don't need to tell me that. Have a good day, Yuri Lowell, and stay out of trouble."

Yuri snorted. "Yes, Dad." He felt a little better with the knowledge that at least one knight was on the case, but he knew he wouldn't rest easily until he got to the bottom of this himself.

Later, Yuri sat on his bed. Karol was crossed-legged at the foot of it while Judith sat in a chair by the window. He had just finished telling them what happened at Flynn's office, although he left out the part where Flynn had kissed him.

That was… he didn't know. It was wrong, obviously, because Flynn was his friend and they'd been friends since they were kids. There were people he thought of as potential romantic partners, and people he thought of as good friends, and then there was Flynn in a special category all his own because there was no one else Yuri felt the same way about. He'd always assumed Flynn's little bubble was attached to the 'friends' group, but that kiss had shaken things up. Flynn was just… Flynn. Besides, Flynn had just grabbed him and laid it on him, and you couldn't just go around kissing people without asking first. He was too angry at Flynn to even want to playfully punch his shoulder right now, and Flynn suddenly forcing a kiss on him just made that anger burn brighter.

The only thing that worried him was the small part of him, the part ruled by instinct and emotion rather than logic, that thought about the kiss and said, nice. When Yuri told that part to shut up because nothing about being kissed out of the blue by a supposed murderer was nice, it pestered him to imagine what it would have been like if Flynn had been acting like himself and Yuri had reciprocated the kiss. Which was nonsense, of course.

All of those thoughts kept invading his mind as he tried to focus on what really mattered: Flynn had seemingly murdered someone. It sounded preposterous, but after all Flynn's weirdness in the past few days, he couldn't help believing it. He had been sort of hoping Judy and Karol would tell him not to be absurd, but they took the news solemnly.

"What do you think we should do?" Karol asked. "If you're right and Flynn has gone… well… to the dark side, what can we do? He has a lot of power and I wouldn't want to think the commandant wasn't an upstanding guy."

"I don't know. Part of me still hopes he's just going through a funk and will snap out of it soon."

Judith frowned. "People don't kill people because they're going through a funk. If you're right and he did, this isn't something he'll just snap out of."

Karol stared at the sheets in concentration. "There really isn't anything we can do. We're from the Union. If we interfere with the Empire's commandant, it could cause a lot of problems for the relationship between the Union and the Empire."

"I won't just sit here and do nothing." Yuri's fire was starting to heat up again. "If we can't do anything as a guild, then I'll just-"

"No one is saying you have to do this alone," Judith said. "Of course we'll help you with Flynn, we'll just be doing it as Flynn's friends and not a guild missions."

Karol shook his head in exasperation. "Geeze, Yuri, like we'd let you handle this by yourself."

Yuri smiled a little. "Thanks, guys. The first thing I'm going to do is write to Estelle. Maybe she noticed a change before she left, or knows about something that happened to kick this behaviour off. Maybe I'll write to Ioder, too."

"You can't just write a letter to the emperor, Yuri," Karol said.

Yuri crossed his arms. "Why not? He's just a guy. What, does his mighty aura of power repel envelopes?"

"It's not that simple," Judith said. "Hundreds of people write to the emperor every day. He doesn't have time to read every single one. Letters to the emperor are sorted by his underlings and only official messages get through to him. A personal letter from someone from the Union is not going to reach him."

"It's the same for Flynn and Estelle," Karol reminded him. "They've just got us on a white-list to let the sorters know to forward any mail from Brave Vesperia."

That did sound familiar. Man, dealing with royalty was such a pain. Oh well, Estelle was probably a better source than Ioder anyway. If she didn't know anything, they could go to Dahngrest in person and find Ioder. "Just Estelle, then."

Karol said, "Want me to write it?"

Yuri didn't often write letters to Estelle himself. He preferred to let Karol do the writing and call out things to add from across the room. This was in part because he disliked writing in general, part because he never knew what to say when he wasn't face-to-face with someone, and part because whenever he did write, Estelle always came back offering to tutor him in penmanship or spelling. This time, though, he wanted to explain the problem with Flynn himself. "It's ok, boss, I got this."

After Judy and Karol left, Yuri pulled out a piece of paper and sat down on his bed to write the letter. He watched Repede napping on the floor for a few minutes before even starting. There was a lot to say, but he didn't want to worry Estelle too much. The last thing he wanted was for her to drop everything and rush back to Zaphias in a panic. He'd keep this short.

Hey Estelle,

Yo. How are you. Did Rita blow up her house yet. I hope you'r weather is better then ours becuz it keeps raining here. BV + I are staying in Zaphias for bout a week. Next time I see you I'll tell you about the cool mission we had. I was wondering tho, did Flynn seem ok when you left? I'm just asking cuz he seems a little tense and moody. He's acting a little wierd so I wondered if something happened before you left.

Ok I gotta go. Bye

-Yuri

He skimmed over the letter a few times, checking for spelling mistakes so that Estelle wouldn't hound him about tutoring again. It looked fine, so he called it good and folded it up. "Hey, Repede." The dog opened his eye and looked up. "Want to walk to the mailbox with me?"

Repede huffed and got to his feet and then Yuri led the way out the door.

A couple of days had passed since the afternoon at Hanks' house. Yuri hadn't heard back from Estelle, but they were still in the window of average letter turnaround from Halure. The problem was that he was running out of odd-jobs to do around the lower quarter, and he felt guilty for making the rest of his guild sit tight while nothing happened. How many jobs were they missing in Dahngrest while they sat around in Zaphias? But he couldn't just leave the city when Flynn might be a murderer and that investigation was still on-going, plus Estelle's letter would be addressed to him here and he wasn't willing to wait an extra week for Hanks to forward his mail to Dahngrest.

Night had fallen a few hours ago. It wasn't quite raining, but the heavy mist was making a valiant effort at imitating it. Zaphias had always relied on the shining barrier to provide light at night, so in the months since the Adephagos, it had been slow-going to install gas-based street lamps. The lower quarter was of course the last priority, so with the fog blocking the moon, the only light on the streets was what filtered out of windows and opening tavern doors.

This meant the streets were mostly deserted, which Yuri appreciated. Wandering through the dark, damp streets gave him time to think. Repede was still curled up at home, because he'd taken one look at the dreary night when Yuri left and gave him a look that said, are you crazy? Yuri liked nights like this, though. When everyone else was safely locked up in their houses, the night was his alone and problems always seemed more surmountable when you felt like you had an entire city to yourself.

"Who's there?" a shadow called from the fog ahead.

"Definitely not an axe-murderer," Yuri called back.

Light from a tavern window shone orange on a damp helmet. "Oh, Yuri Lowell, it's you," Leblanc said.

"What are you doing out here?" Yuri drew close enough that Leblanc was fully visible through the mist now. "Isn't one of the perks of being a lieutenant that you don't get assigned the crappy patrols?"

"Someone has to take the less pleasant night shifts, and I'd be a poor leader if I delegated them all to my subordinates. What about you? What business do you have being out on a night like this?"

Yuri held up his hands. "I'm innocent. See, no law-breaking happening here."

"That's a guilty conscience if I ever saw one."

"This is why I left the Knights." Yuri rested his hand on his waist and shook his head. "So suspicious. Anyway, while you're here, do you have any news about Flynn?"

Leblanc's moustache bristled. "Nothing of substance. The investigation into Lady Avondale's murder has concluded she was strangled with some sort of ligature. Apparently a strip of cloth with a knot tied in it, based on the bruising. They say it looks like there was a struggle, but since the body was dumped in the river there's no chance of finding any real evidence on her."

"I would have assumed there was a struggle. People don't generally stand still and let someone strangle them." He thought about this for a second and then added, "Though, actually, I've heard some people are into that. Seems pretty weird, but, hey, I don't judge."

Leblanc did not find any amusement in this. "Obviously she was not 'into' this."

"Right, I didn't mean she was, just that… oh, never mind." Jokes had never been the Schwann brigade's strong suit. "Has Flynn gotten involved?"

Leblanc's frown deepened. "The commandant has made it clear he doesn't think her activities earlier in the day are worth pursuing. He told the investigators to focus only on where she was immediately prior to her time of death."

"Which was where?"

"They don't know, because Commandant Flynn doesn't want them to backtrack to her activities earlier in the evening to try to project where she went next."

Yuri closed his eyes for a second. He'd been really hoping the investigation would prove Flynn was innocent, but this was looking worse and worse. "Fantastic. And the knights are cool with this?"

"I've discussed it with the captain in charge, Chapman. He blustered on about trusting the commandant's judgement and went along with it. Anyway, that's all I know about this case. In other matters, the commandant seems to be his normal self. He is still going ahead with his plan to execute surplus criminals, though. The paperwork is almost in order and the hangings are scheduled to begin next week."

Yuri's frustration mounted higher. "Any way we can stop it?"

"Armed insurrection against the commandant, or else you talk to him and change his mind."

Yuri grumbled, "Fantastic."

After saying goodbye, Yuri stalked away into the mist. He'd been feeling pretty content while walking through the dark streets, but his chat with Leblanc had put him on edge again. If Flynn was using his position as an excuse to kill anyone who was inconvenient… Yuri couldn't let that stand. A promise he'd made a long time ago came back to him - that if Flynn ever went the way of Ragou or Cumore, he'd have no choice but to treat him the same way. Could he really do that though? He'd been avoiding thinking about it this whole time, because while the thought of a world with an untrustworthy Flynn was frightening, the thought of a world with a murdered Flynn was unbearable. Flynn wasn't like those other corrupt bastards, was he? He was making bad choices, but he was still Flynn. He cold be reasoned with. He didn't need to be taken out. Please, oh please, let Flynn be reasoned with.

Yuri was so caught up in worrying about Flynn that he barely noticed where he was going. He knew his way around the lower quarter so well that his feet could guide him without input from his brain. Fifteen minutes after his talk with Leblanc, he'd wandered to a nest of streets that were lively with shoppers during the day but mostly deserted at this time of night. He was just thinking that it was time to turn back and warm up when a sound caught his attention.

It was the beginning of a scream that strangled out into a whimper. The sound came from a narrow street just ahead, and was quickly replaced by another muffled whine. Some people, when hearing the sound of obvious distress, used it as a signal to run the hell away before that distress turned to them, but Yuri was the sort who ran toward such cries. The fact that he hadn't bothered to carry his sword on a casual stroll through his neighbourhood barely registered in his mind. Yuri dashed around the corner and for a second he had to let his eyes adjust to the even lower level of illumination compared to the main street.

There was movement midway down the street. Yuri could only make out a dark figure pressing someone else against the brick wall. In a flash of fury, he guessed what he was witnessing. "Hey!" Yuri ran forward, ignoring the fact that he didn't have any weapons. His fists would be enough to beat the crap out of scum like this. As he ran forward, the assaulter noticed him, turned tail, and fled. Yuri was about to chase after him, but the other person - it sounded like a young woman - slumped to the ground. Yuri's desire to make that bastard suffer was overwhelmed by his need to make sure the victim wasn't hurt, so he listened to the footsteps running away and approached the moaning figure crumpled on the street.

"Are you hurt?" She didn't answer. Yuri took a step toward her and stepped on something soft and wet that nearly made him slip. Now that he wasn't distracted by rage, a thick, coppery scent reached his nose. Yuri crouched in front of the huddled shape. He could make out her face now - streaked with tears and with a clump of material shoved in her mouth. Yuri tugged the gag out and she began gasping for air.

"I'll get you to a doctor." He couldn't tell yet how she was injured but the reek of blood filled the alley. Her arms were behind her back as she gasped and let out small moans. Yuri was afraid to touch her until he knew where she was hurt, but he reached for her side to try to stabilize her and keep her from falling sideways.

When his hand reached her abdomen, it landed on something warm and wet like a thick worm. This shocked him so much he jerked his hand back and lost his balance, falling off the balls of his feet and onto his knees. His knee came down on something like a piece of meat that squelched beneath him and slipped away, and his hand landed in a warm liquid. The woman's movement was slowing down, there were long pauses between her terrified gasps for breath, and Yuri was starting to realize that what he'd walked in on had not been a sexual assault.

It was so much worse. He shoved his hands forward in an attempt at first aid. Maybe he could staunch the blood. His hands came down on her abdomen but didn't feel a bleeding wound; it was nothing but entrails squishing under his hands. He fought the urge to turn around and throw up and thanked the sky for blotting out the moon and saving him from seeing in any detail. It was bad enough just wondering which organ he'd squished under his knee.

He blurted through a tight throat, "It's gonna be all right. I'll get you help." That was a lie and he knew it. He doubted even Estelle could save her in this state, but that didn't stop him from trying to shove her intestines back where they came from so maybe he could put enough pressure on the wound to keep her alive until a doctor could get here. He had to do something. He wasn't sure if she could manage words, but he tried, "What's your name?"

She moaned as he felt around her body, frantically trying to shove bits of her back where they came from as if that would help. He almost didn't here her pained whispered, "Ma… ry…." She let out a long breath and her head slumped to the side.

"No, no, no, come on, Mary, keep fighting!" What to do? Run and get help? From whom? Yuri knelt in blood and watched the woman struggle to breathe as she sat, motionless, with most of her insides on the outside. If he left to try to find a miracle worker, she'd be dead by the time he returned. The best he could do - the only thing he could do - was make sure she didn't die alone.

On his knees, Yuri walked to her side and then wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her head against his chest and hugged her tight. "It will be over soon." And he wished he'd remembered to bring his sword tonight. Not so he could fight her attacker, because by the time he arrived it had been too late to make any difference, but so that maybe he could have slit her throat and ended it quickly.

Mary's breathing slowed and Yuri tightened his grip. He wanted to rub her back but his hands were still soaked in her blood. Yuri was no stranger to death and violence, but there was a big difference between killing on a battlefield and feeling an innocent life slip away amid carnage in his home neighbourhood. Mary let out one last shuddering breath and Yuri sighed; at least her suffering was over.

"What's going on down there?"

The sudden voice startled Yuri. He looked up and when his grip slackened, Mary slipped forward on his chest. On the main street stood a pair of knights, one of them holding a lamp.

"About time," Yuri barked. If they'd been around earlier, they might have prevented Mary from being attacked in the first place. Yuri pulled away from Mary and rested her against the wall. Her head lolled and the knights walked faster.

"What's wrong with that girl? What's - oh shit." His lantern cast the scene in grisly detail. Someone had made a long, vertical slit in Mary's stomach like they were gutting a pig. Ropes of entrails hung down her waist, while the ground around her was splattered with blood, viscera, and one partly-squished kidney. Yuri wasn't willing to look down at himself yet and see just how much blood he'd gotten covered in.

"What have you done to her?!" the other knight shouted.

"Me?!" Yuri held up his hands, but realized that was less than exonerating considering they were coated in blood like red gloves. "The man who did this ran away when I approached. I was trying to help."

"Oh yeah?" The knight with the lantern stood back, the light quivering in his shaking hand. He other one marched forwad and grabbed Yuri's arm, pulling him to his feet. "Who was it?"

"I don't know. It was too dark to see."

"A mysterious man in the dark, huh? And what were you doing out on a night like this?"

Yuri yanked his arm away. His muscles still vibrated from the panic and shock of what he'd just witnessed and he wasn't in the mood to deal with idiotic knights. "Why don't you two assholes do you damn job and go after the bastard who did this!? He ran off!" His voice was raw and barely suppressed a tremor. He could feel something thick and wet clinging to the side of his finger.

Shouting at the knights had not made them more agreeable. He was grabbed again, more roughly this time. "I think you'd better come with us."

It was amazing, when he thought about it, how he always managed to be in the exact wrong place at the wrong time.