Chapter Ten: A Long Awaited Meeting

Yuri drifted. He lacked the strength to struggle anymore, so the hands loosened their grip. His hair floated around his hand in a cloud as he stared at the moonlight overhead. Dimly, he knew he should kick and go to the air, but none of his limbs would move. He clung to consciousness by a thread, but even that was fading fast. A distant thought said he should panic - he was drowning after all - but all he felt was the relaxing sway of cool water. The moonlight shimmered on the water. So pretty….

A hand broke the moon's reflection. It grabbed the back of Yuri's shirt and pulled. Seconds later, cold air hit his face and he gasped for air. His saviour pulled him through the water and onto the bank. Still barely conscious, he noticed nothing but how sweet the air was while he heaved it into his lungs. A door opened nearby and a woman's voice murmured, "Yuri, sweetheart, we need to move." She wrapped her arm around him to help him to his feet, and he stumbled through the door.

After two steps onto the hardwood floo, he collapsed again, coughing and heaving. His limp hair hung in a curtain around his face and water dripped from every surface and pooled beneath him. A gentle hand rubbed his back while he shivered and gasped for air.

It seemed to take ages before he could breathe normally again. When he finally stopped feeling like he was dying, Yuri took a few more deep breaths to be sure and then slowly raised his head. His mother sat beside him, concern clear on her face.

"Are you all right?"

Words clogged his throat. Here she was, the mother he'd stopped wondering about years ago, with her hand in his shoulder and love in her eyes. He wanted to assure her he was fine - both from drowning, and from everything else. He'd grown up fine, he was happy, he had friends and a family and she didn't need to worry about him. All that came out was a hoarse, "…Mom?"

"Oh, Yuri." She grabbed him, pulling his soaking head against her shoulder and squeezing so tightly it nearly cut off his air again. "Yuri…" she whispered. "Yuri, my Yuri, it's really you."

Yuri had had a terrible day. He was cold, sore, scared, and exhausted and even though they still needed to find a way out of here, he let himself indulge in a comfort he'd never had before and let his mother hug him. Sometimes people asked him if he missed his parents, and he always said you couldn't miss something you didn't remember having, but now that she was right in front of him, he retroactively missed over twenty years of affection and support life had cheated him out of. As she hugged him, she quietly hummed her song that could make even this dark world brighter.

After an eternity, Yuri pulled away. "I recognized that song, you know. It's been bugging me since I couldn't place it."

She smiled and then brushed a damp clump of hair behind his ear. "I used to sing it to you every night, as your great-grandmother used to do for me."

Yuri leaned back, looking around the room for the first time. They were in a sitting room of some sort, with scuffed floors and wooden chairs at an empty table. In one corner was a pallet with a thin pillow and a threadbare blanket, next to an empty wicker cradle. Behind him was the door, and his expression darkened as he thought of the remains of Ragou, or any of those spirits in the water, coming through after him. "Is it safe to stay here?"

Mom nodded. "Yes." She walked to the door and pushed it open.

"Don't-!"

On the other side was nothing but an empty hallway. "We're safe here, Yuri. I promise."

Yuri gaped at the door. "But… where did…?"

"Space in this realm doesn't line up on a simple one to one basis. Doors may not lead to the same place twice."

His confusion deepened. "But these things have been stalking me. I can hear them coming sometimes from previous rooms."

"And sometimes they do. This isn't your world, sweetheart. It doesn't follow the same rules."

"Clearly," he grumbled, looking down at his still bloody hands. The desire to embrace his mom nearly overwhelmed him, but he didn't want to get blood all over her. "I can't get this blood off."

Mom crouched and rested her hand on his shoulder. "The blood won't go away until you stop seeing it there."

"It's kind of hard to miss." He pulled his hands close to his chest to keep them away from her.

"That isn't what I mean. It's in your head, and in your heart."

"So I can just will my hands to clean up?"

She stood. "Sit down with me. I have a lot to explain."

Yuri followed her to the table, and then she pulled out a chipped bowl from the cupboard. "Rest your hands in here, Yuri, to catch the blood."

"Thanks." The red stood out brightly against the faded white.

Mom sat on the other side of the table and smiled. "So…."

Yuri lifted his head from the bowl and found her staring at him. "What is it?"

She smiled. "Nothing. I just… I can't believe how big you are. It feels like just yesterday I held you in my arms and now… you're a grown man."

Yuri analyzed her face, feeling the opposite. She couldn't be much older than Estelle. He was almost a head taller than her, and her face looked so young and childish. She was at least five years younger than him, but she was his mom. "It's nice to finally meet you. But, honestly I still don't know why you're here, or why anything is here. I basically have no idea why anything is happening, where I am, or how to get home."

She nodded slowly. "It's understandable that you would be alarmed. I'll explain everything."

Yuri pulled his chair a bit closer and made himself comfortable.

"The world we're in now is… not exactly the afterlife, but it's not the world of the living, either. It's a limbo, from which you can move on to the afterlife or return to the living world. That is not to say that anyone who has died can return to the living world. In order to return, we require a… an invitation."

"So… who invited you?"

"It's not an invitation you consciously give. Fifty years ago, when Melanie died, her grieving husband refused to let her go. He lived as if she was still with him, creating a space for her in the house despite her death. In doing so, he made the house inviting to death. The power of his delusion invited Melanie back from the afterlife, and a door appeared to give her a way back to him. For many years, that was enough. Melanie was the only soul he carried in his heart, so she was the only person who was drawn by his silent invitation."

"Cyril wrote that he decided to follow her. Do you mean he followed her in here?"

Mom nodded. "As far as I know. I was not here to see these events, but that would make sense. This world isn't a common limbo found across the world, you see. It's more like… the entry hall of the specific door you came across. Cyril would have walked hand in hand through the door with a guilt-free heart, and so crossed undeterred into the afterlife."

A thin layer of blood now covered the bottom of the bowl. Yuri gazed into it, starting to piece together his place in this. "So that's my problem, is it? I don't have a guilt-free heart."

Mom leaned across the table and rubbed his arm. "I'm afraid you don't. When you set foot in the house, the souls you carried so close to your heart activated the door again, and all the people you've never let go were drawn in. People you've killed… people you let down… and people you longed to see."

He'd never thought of himself as longing to see his mother, but he supposed that desire had always been there at the back of his brain, put aside and smothered for so long he stopped noticing it. The other parts made a lot more sense. Hardly a day went by when he didn't think about Ragou, Cumore, Barbos, Alexei, and the henchmen and accomplices he'd killed along the way. There was a lot of blood on his hands - enough to fill this bowl and more. No wonder the house was trying to kill him - it was filled with ghosts of people he'd killed.

"This is my fault, then?"

"Not entirely. One of your companions invited someone as well."

"Raven. He said he'd let all that go."

"I don't know what 'all that' is in his case. All I ever saw was a girl. I never spoke to her, but she seemed to care deeply about him."

Casey. Raven had said he'd like to see her again… well, looks like he got what he wanted. "Did he come in here?"

"Yes," Mom said with a nod. "He met her one night and asked her to explain what was going on. She couldn't speak freely in that world, so she led him up here where they could talk. He came here to learn what was happening."

"So where is he now?"

Her brow tightened. "I'm sorry, dearest. To be honest, my focus was entirely on you. I didn't pay attention to where he went. You haven't found his body in your world?"

Yuri shook his head. "No. We've searched pretty thoroughly."

She smiled and reassuringly patted his arm. "That means he's still alive. If he had moved on to the afterlife, his body would have been left behind and fallen back to the mortal world."

Yuri pictured Cyril's body lying face-up on the floor of the basement, directly under the door. He hadn't dropped dead there, then. He'd walked into death with Melanie, and then this world spat the empty shell back out. "That's good to hear. Finding Raven will be our next goal then." As long as he was alive, Yuri wasn't leaving without him. "I'm still not clear on what this place is, though. Why have I been seeing the things I am?"

"This world is a reflection of its inhabitants thoughts." Her face darkened with sadness. "The only reason things would try to kill you is if you felt, somewhere inside, that you deserved it."

"Oh. Huh." Well… you are a murderer. You've killed a lot of people and you would do it again.

"Yuri, I don't know your circumstances, but I know my son would never do anything warranting death. I don't know who these spirits haunting you are, but if you tell me, maybe I can help."

Part of him was afraid to explain, because if she knew he'd snuck out at night and murdered a man as a vigilante - twice - she might recant her professions of love. Like it or not, his hands were dirtied. It still amazed him his other friends forgave him for his actions, and it had very nearly destroyed his friendship with Flynn. She might be his mom, but could she forgive even this? Her face was so earnest as she waited, though. She really did want to know, so Yuri reluctantly began the story.

He tried to be as brief as possible, but there was a lot of context to explain. He found himself backtracking a lot, because she didn't know crucial things like who Flynn was or why blastia were bad now. By the time he finished telling the story, his clothes had dried.

When he finished, Mom silently rose and rounded the table. Yuri started to look up, but then she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. "You've been through so much."

He felt a little awkward sitting there being hugged without being able to do anything to reciprocate because his hands were so dirty. "Mom, it's ok. I'm fine."

She pulled away and leaned against the table. "I wish so much that I had been there for you throughout this, or even just your childhood."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Me too." It was weird to think how different life could have turned out if she hadn't died. What kind of person would he have grown into?

"I think I understand what's going on, though. Thank you for telling me."

"Hey, if you can make sense of it, it was my pleasure."

"You have much more baggage than an average person, which is why this place is so much wilder than normal. You have so many regrets, too. These regrets are taking physical form in here. Things you spend too much time dwelling on, or things you think about yourself, manifest in this world."

"I get it." He'd spent a lot of time wondering how he could have handled Alexei better, or if he could have stopped him before he hurt Estelle and so many others. If they'd prevented him from taking her in the first place, or if they'd stopped him at Baction, he wouldn't have ravaged Zaphias. His regret for allowing Alexei's power to attack the lower quarter had taken life in the crying boy he'd met earlier. "Those spirits that tried to drown me back there. They looked like knights."

Mom nodded. "Based on your story, I would guess they're the souls of the members of the Royal Guard you killed on your way to Alexei."

"But I don't think about them with regret. They were soldiers fighting on the opposing side. It's unfortunate, but that's how the world works." He frowned. "I don't feel regret for killing Alexei, either."

"I know. Dwelling on the dead in general, though, opened the door for anyone looking to come back for revenge on you."

There were a few choice words Yuri would like to say about ghosts trying to get revenge on him, but he didn't feel comfortable saying any of them in front of his mother. "The ones that've been stalking me since I got here. Who're they?"

She frowned deeply. "They would most likely be the ones most determined to make you pay. I only know who one of them is; the one who tried to strangle you before you came up. I recognized him."

Yuri scowled as his suspicion was confirmed. "Alexei. Man, I'd hoped I'd seen the last of that asshole." He wasn't sure about the other. Who else would be so determined to finish him off? Cumore? Barbos? He wasn't sure who he hoped it was. "What about this blood on my hands?"

"You feel your hands are irreversibly bloodied. Here, that feeling has been given physical manifestation."

"How do I get it off?"

"The same way you can stop the vengeful spirits from coming after you: you have to let go of your regrets."

Yuri frowned at the blood, rubbing his fingers together to squeeze some of it off. "These aren't some minor quibbles I can just brush off. I murdered people."

"I didn't mean for you to brush them off. There's a difference between accepting and learning from the past and letting it rule you. It should be your mentor, not your dictator."

Yuri's nod was slow and thoughtful. He understood what she meant, but it was harder to put into practice. He'd made a decision to walk down a path dangerously close to villainy, and if he let himself be comfortable with it, he could easily turn into the very thing he'd fought. Good intentions or not, he couldn't deny that people had died because of him, either from killing them directly or failing to stop the people who did. "Ok. Well, no offense but I think I'd rather face them head-on. I've fought them before and I can do it again."

Mom shook her head. "That won't work here."

"I'm not afraid of them. I'm tired of running. It's time to stand my ground and-"

"Yuri, I do not doubt that you are brave and strong, but you don't understand. You cannot win in a battle of strength against these foes. No matter how many times you strike them down, they will rise again. They've already died - what else can you hope to do to them? They'll wear you out until you lack the strength to stand and then they will kill you, slowly. You cannot fight those who are already dead, Yuri, and I cannot bear to see you try."

He wanted to argue more, but she was probably right. Even after nearly knocking Ragou's head off and impaling him on a branch, he hadn't died. Yuri let out a frustrated breath. "Is there any other option besides… accepting zen and kumbaya or whatever?"

"If we're lucky, we can make it to the exit before they catch up with you. Then, you must leave the house and never come back. As long as you remain close to the door, you'll be in danger."

"I can do that." He didn't like leaving the case before it was complete, but if all this shit was going down because of his presence, he didn't have a choice. "Let's just hope we're lucky, shall we?" He really hoped he wasn't preemptively stabbing himself in the foot by hoping luck worked in his favour for once. "Should we get going?"

"I think we can wait a little. Since I opened the door and carried you into this room, you didn't leave a trail of blood. It will take Alexei considerable time to find us. You've been running around for so long, and we may have to run again once we start moving, so you ought to rest."

"That sounds nice, yeah." Besides, as much as he wanted to get home, once he left this place, he would never have a chance to speak to his mother again. Sitting in comfort for a little extra time to properly catch up was worth the wait. Anyway, he'd only been here for… he guessed around four hours. He could spare a little longer.

Mom walked to the tiny kitchen area in the corner and returned with a cloth soaked in water from the kettle on the stove. "Your foot must be killing you. Let me help."

Yuri let her pull his leg onto the chair across from him and tug off his boot. She tsked as she pulled it off. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to tie your shoes properly?"

Yuri crossed his arms petulantly. "I like them this way. Faster to get on and it looks cool."

She pulled off his sock and then wrapped the warm cloth around his throbbing ankle. "It looks like a great way to sprain your ankle again."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mom."

"Can I get you anything? Tea? A blanket?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

Her smile nearly blinded her and she sat down, resting her chin on her folded hands. "I'm sorry. I've never had a chance to dote on you before."

Yuri couldn't help returning the smile. "That's ok. I've never really been doted on before."

"How old are you, Yuri?"

"I'm twenty-three as of a few months ago."

Mom let out a long sigh. "Twenty-three…? Already? It seems like just yesterday you were only six months old…. Has it really been over twenty years since I lost you?"

She wasn't the only one surprised about ages though. Yuri still couldn't get over how baby-faced she was. "How old are you? Er… were you?"

"I was eighteen when I died," she said with a sad smile. "When you were born, I was still seventeen."

Yuri had been told his mother had still been a teenager, but it was so different seeing her in person. Despite being told, he'd always pictured her as an adult. She was practically a child herself! Yuri couldn't imagine Estelle having a child, and she was already older than his mom had been when he was born. She went through it alone, too, because Yuri knew he didn't have any grandparents. "I'm sorry. I probably really screwed up your life."

She rested her hand on his arm and met his eyes intently. "Yuri, don't think for one second I wish you hadn't been born. It's true that when I first realized I was pregnant, I was very frightened and distraught. Once you were born, though, I wouldn't have it any other way. In the past, I'd been drifting. I was raised by my grandmother, but after she died when I was twelve, I didn't have anywhere to go or anything to live for. When I got older, I became a prostitute so I would have some money and not have to live on the streets, but I was always living one day to the next. Then you were born, and suddenly I had a purpose in life. My own life wasn't going anywhere, but I thought if I gave you everything I could, raised you right and gave you the best that I had, maybe you could achieve more than I had. Making a better life for you was a goal that kept me going on the hard days." She broke into a smile. "When I was sick and realized I wasn't going to get better, my greatest regret was that if I left you an orphan, you wouldn't get the support you needed to reach a better life. But look at you now! You're the leader of a guild, you saved the world, your best friends are the commandant and the princess… I could never have dreamed you'd come so far. I couldn't be happier."

"I had a lot of help."

"I'm sure. I wish I had a chance to meet this Flynn person. He seems to have been a good friend to you."

Yuri folded his arms and harrumphed. "Yeah, he's great when he's not being pig-headed and self-righteous."

Mom just smiled knowingly, and then said, "Tell me more about your life."

"Ok, like what?"

She shrugged. "Anything. Everything. I missed your whole life and this is my only chance to find out how my baby grew up."

"Uh…" That was a lot of information to cram into one conversation. "Well, I'm told I learned to walk when I was eleven months old." After that, Yuri had a lot of talking to do. He'd thought explaining the journey had taken a while, but he had twenty years of stories to tell and his mother was interested in all of them. She wanted to hear about the family suppers with the Scifos and the time her got Chirpee Pox when he was eight, which kids he had a crush on when he was twelve and where he was stationed during his stint in the Knights. His mouth was dry when he finally finished talking.

"Sorry. I'm not sure how much more I can say right now." He was sure the sun would have risen by now if that was a thing that happened here.

"Of course. I'm sorry to make you go on for so long. What about you? Do you have any questions for me?"

Not really. He'd already knew most of the details about her life from Hanks and other people who'd known her. There was just one thing he still didn't know. "Well… do you know who my dad is?" It wasn't really an important fact, he just… felt like he ought to know. He had no intentions of actually meeting the guy, but it would be nice to know if he might be at risk for baldness, for example.

Mom's face fell. "No. I'm sorry, Yuri, I don't. I wondered quite frequently while I was pregnant and when you were small, but I saw a lot of clients in the weeks before realizing I was pregnant, and I didn't even get all of their names."

"That's fine. I was just curious. I'm probably better off not knowing."

"I'm sorry." She hung her head. "I know it must be hard, hanging out with people like the princess, when all you can say about your own background is that your mother was a whore…."

Yuri frowned. "Don't call yourself that."

She shrugged. "It's what I am. Or, was."

Yuri shook his head. "Maybe so, but when you say it like that… it seems like it's defining you. A lot of people would turn their noses up at the things you did, but that doesn't mean that's all you are."

"I admit, that's something I worried about when you were a baby. I feared what others might say to you for being the son of a whore, or what you would think of me once you were old enough to understand."

"What? No!" Yuri started to stand, putting pressure on his ankle. The cloth had long cooled off, but the pain had dulled up until now. He winced and re-settled, starting to reach for her but pulling back his bloody hands. "Mom, it never even crossed my mind to be ashamed of you. I know Estelle would never look down on you either. You were a teenager, you were alone, and you supported yourself the only way you could. Then you did the same while also taking care of a baby all on your own! You're amazing."

She raised her eyes with a slight twinge in her cheeks.

"I mean it, Mom. I owe everything to you, and I'm proud of you for supporting us as well as you could." Meeting her eyes so she knew he was dead serious, he said, "I would never be ashamed to tell people about you."

The twinge turned into a full smile. "Thank you, sweetheart."

She gestured around the room. "This is where we lived, you know? Well, it's a recreation of it. After Alexei dragged me back here, I stepped into the next room and found it. I think it moulded itself around my memories. You used to sleep in that little wicker basket by my bed."

Yuri smirked. "Not sure I'd fit anymore."

"It was nice. When you woke up crying, you were only an arm's reach away." She pursed her lips. "And boy did you do that a lot."

Yuri's smirk slipped. "I did?"

"You screamed every night for four months straight."

"Ah… is it too late to apologize for that?"

"Pass your apology along to the Comet's innkeeper, or Mrs. Hanks. They often watched you during the night when I was… working."

Yuri was surprised Hanks had never brought up his propensity for screaming and crying as an infant. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I definitely grew out of that. I haven't cried all night for at least, oh, six weeks or so."

Mom rolled her eyes. "I see. And who do I have to thank for influencing your sense of humour?"

"That's all me I'm afraid."

"I'm so -" she froze.

Yuri was about to question her, but then he heard the footsteps too. Dread spiked.

"He can't have found you already."

Yuri hissed the name. "Alexei."

"We have to go." She jumped to her feet and grabbed Yuri's sock and shoe. To save him getting blood all over them, she put them on for him. Yuri wouldn't have allowed this level of doting from anyone but his mother. "Remember what I said about facing him head on?"

"Yeah, I got it." The footsteps came from the direction of the door they'd entered through, but Mom led him to a side door.

"I'm going to take you to the exit. We'll have to pass through three or four rooms to get there. Stay close to me and if we get in trouble, remember what I said about letting go of the thoughts that give the monsters strength."

Yuri nodded, hoping it wouldn't come to that. Alexei's footsteps were getting close, but he'd kept up a slow pace all evening. He probably had no idea Yuri had found his mother and was getting help from her, so they would have time to outrun him and get to the exit. He'd have to say goodbye to his mom there, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Mom gave the room one last look, eyes shining with memories. Yuri took a second to glance back as well, and for a moment he thought about a life growing up in this little room with a mother who loved him. They could have been happy here.

It was too late to pine over the life he might have had. Mom opened the door.

And was greeted by Alexei. Before Yuri could protest that a second ago he'd been approaching from the other door and that the physics of this place really didn't make any sense, Alexei smacked Mom across the face and knocked her aside. She stumbled and fell to the floor, and Alexei stepped into the room.

Yuri took a step toward Mom, but Alexei stepped between them. "Yuri Lowell. At last, we meet again."

Yuri sneered at the man. "You looked better last time we met." Death did not become the former commandant. The front of his uniform bore deep red stains, and a large cut ran across his chest from where Yuri had landed the final blow. It was obvious why he'd never let his face be seen clearly, because the once handsome features were misshapen and crudely reformed. At least he was still in one piece - Yuri had half-expected he'd be flat as a pancake after being crushed beneath the blastia.

"You were quite the thorn in my side, Lowell."

Yuri glared back with venom. "Yeah, and you just punched my mother. I think we both have scores to settle."

"Yuri, run!" Mom, one hand on her cheek, had risen to her knees. "Make a break for it!"

"Be quiet, woman! You've gotten in my way too many times."

A quick glance of the room showed nothing Yuri might use as a weapon, but he still had his fists. "You're dumber than I thought if you think I'm gonna let you get away with treating my mom like that."

Alexei let out a chuckle. "What do you intend to do, Lowell? Smear blood on me?"

The last time Yuri faced Alexei, he'd had the support of all his friends backing him up, was fully equipped with weapons and healing items, Alexei had been an ordinary mortal man, and it had still been one of the toughest fights of his life. Standing before him know, with his bloody hands clenched in angry fists, wobbling on a busted ankle, he felt very small and outmatched. That was ok; he didn't have to kill Alexei this time, just hold him off long enough to give Mom a chance to escape.

"Mom, get out! I'll be right behind!" He lunged at Alexei, sending his fist flying at the bastard's face. It was like punching a marble statue. The bones of his hand rattled but Alexei hardly seemed fazed, even by the blood left behind and dripping down his cheek. His next punch landed squarely on Alexei's chest, but he didn't even budge. The bastard was toying with him, Yuri realized. He hadn't even tried to block those blows.

Yuri's fist flew again, but this time Alexei stepped to the side, snatched Yuri's arm out of the air, twisted, and heaved him off his feet. Yuri heard something pop as Alexei tossed him over his shoulder and then he slammed into the ground, dazed.

"Yuri!" Mom ran toward him but Alexei shoved her out of the way.

"I have no interest in you, woman. Get out of my way."

Yuri coughed as his senses came back to him. Everything hurt, especially the new pain in his shoulder that radiated down his arm. His eyes darted to the side and he winced; that looked dislocated. A torrent of nasty words he'd shout at Alexei were his mother not present streamed through his mind. What the hell was he supposed to do to beat this guy? Mom was right - he couldn't beat him in a physical fight. Alexei was hard enough to defeat when he was mortal, but now Yuri would have to chop him into pieces just to earn enough time to run away.

Fighting might be hopeless, but Yuri didn't have any other options. With his busted ankle, he wouldn't be able to run anyway. He could hold him off to let Mom escape, but he had a feeling she wasn't going to leave without him no matter what. All he could do was keep fighting and hope something came to him.

Getting up again was a struggle, but he managed to sit up. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, his shoulder a hot flare of pain.

"Amazing," Alexei said, strolling toward him. "Are you still trying to win? At least I can't say I was initially defeated by a slacker. However, as I'm sure you'll see, your victory from years ago shall be temporary."

A couple of steps from him, Yuri's leg kicked out and slammed into Alexei's ankle. At the same time, Yuri grabbed Alexei's raised foot and yanked. This combination threw him off balance and Alexei toppled to the ground.

"Ha!" Yuri pushed himself to his feet. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen!"

He only had seconds before Alexei would get up again. Yuri limped to the still-open door, while his mom approached it from the other side. Maybe if they got out of this room and slammed the door shut, Alexei would be left behind in a distant corner of the world, like the swamp with Ragou.

They didn't make it. Yuri heard a gasp and turned around. Alexei clutched his mother, who kicked and fought to break away.

"Go, Yuri! Don't worry about me! He can't-"

Alexei gripped the side of her head and twisted. A loud snap filled the room and then Alexei tossed her body to the side.

"Mom!" Yuri threw himself at Alexei with a roar.

He managed to land one solid punch, and then Alexei grabbed his elbow and twisted him around. Yuri's back bumped against Alexei's chest, and and Alexei's fingers dug painfully into his elbow. His arm was so twisted his fingers brushed the back of his head and he gritted his teeth against the strain.

"I hope you enjoyed your victory, Lowell. It's time to pay for everything you took from me and the empire."

Yuri snarled over his shoulder and tried to pull out of his grip. "What I took away? You nearly destroyed the world!"

"And I would have fixed it, creating an empire more powerful than ever before, had you and your little band of fools not interfered."

"You really are nuts, you know that, right?" Keeping him talking was Yuri's only chance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mom move. She was just as dead as Alexei, so lethal wounds wouldn't keep her down. If he could just hold Alexei off until Mom was able to get up, maybe they'd have a chance.

Alexei's other hand closed around his throat. "Accuse me all you want. Soon enough, we will both be dead."

Yuri's throat already hurt from the previous strangling attempt, so when Alexei's grip tightened the bruises throbbed. His fingers dug into Yuri's skin, cutting off all access to air. He fought as much as he could. Kicking was either impossible or pathetically weak depending on which foot he tried, and his one free hand grasped uselessly at his chest. With his shoulder dislocated, he couldn't raise it high enough to be any use.

He'd suffocated far too many times this evening, but it was looking like this would be the last. Spots drifted through his fading vision and his chest was close to bursting. What happened when you died in limbo? He didn't want to find out, but it looked like he was about to.

Something twanged, and then wind whipped by his ear. Alexei grunted as something slammed into his chest. His grip on Yuri loosened, and Yuri took his chance to pull away. Air sank gratefully into his lungs and he hit the door frame. Sore and still light-headed, he wasn't sure what to make of the arrow sticking out of Alexei's shoulder.