A/N: Yay! This one was done in a reasonable amount of time! . Thank you for all your kind reviews they really help me out.
An orange light covered the blossom city as the twilight fell on the gossiping citizens and the amazed militia as they observed the destruction at the front half of the city. The sky was quickly darkening, and the wind bore the chill of the oncoming night as it enveloped all that stood before it in its gentle caress.
The commandant stood before the mayors residence, his eyes firmly trained on the ground before him as the knights behind him observed the more notable damage inflicted to this city, such as the destruction of Regulus and the bridge. Sodia, on his orders, had gone off to interrogate the villagers, as to find out what had happened here.
There was a nagging feeling in his gut that sharply contrasted with the sting of the semi-healed up puncture that his friend had so kindly given to him as a parting gift. There were a thousand possibilities running through his mind, yet, there were only a few that really made sense. Perhaps Sodia would find something useful to shed some light on the subject.
The commandant glanced over his shoulder; his knights were busying themselves in assisting the cleanup of both Regulus and the bridge that had been destroyed. Flynn smiled wistfully as he brushed some of his golden locks out of his eyes. If only the knights had been like that during his childhood…
He shook himself firmly; there was no point in dwelling in the 'ifs' of the past. If anything was to be done, you had to do it yourself. Change would not occur if you wished for it hard enough, in order to get anything done, one must take up the job. So much had changed already, fruits of the blonde's labor.
Already, he could see her approaching; he hoped she was the bearer of good news. She was looking straight at him, her expression stern and posture perfectly straight. Sodia was quite the model knight, completely focused, serious, and determined to see things out to the end. She had quite the number of admirers, although she knew little of them.
"So, what did you find out?" Flynn asked, meeting her eyes briefly. Then, he looked down as he continued to observe the ground, his sky blue eyes darting over the broken terrain, his mind constructing different scenarios on what had occurred here. Of course, he could not be certain until Sodia informed him on what the villagers had to say.
"Lady Estellise was here." Sodia began calmly. Flynn's head snapped up in surprise, before looking at his assistant. She did not react to his shock, carrying on dutifully. "Two days ago Lady Estellise arrived in this town with Rita Mordio and stayed approximately one night in Denebola. The next day, around noon, the criminal Yuri Lowell arrived here in town with an unknown child about ten. "
Flynn blinked, impressed with the quality of information that she had gathered. Not only that, he was relieved to hear of both Lady Estellise and Yuri. Turning fully to her as she continued with her report as some knights passed carrying wreckage out of the city, Flynn pushed all other thoughts from his mind and focused solely on his assistant's story.
"The criminal and Lady Estellise had brief contact before the criminal was pulled into a fight with another strange male about twenty eight, perhaps one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, darker skin, almond shaped gold eyes, long messy gray hair, wearing black and red armor that exposes both of his arms. This man is who destroyed the bridge and Denebola." Sodia stopped for a moment to take a breath as the last rays of the sun shimmered over them.
Flynn's mind was already on the man in red and black armor. Why had Yuri fought him? Was it because this man had destroyed the bridge and Denebola? Had the man threatened the villagers, or worse, Lady Estellise? Speaking of Lady Estellise, he wondered if perhaps in the short amount of time she and Yuri supposedly had if she found out why he was doing whatever the hell he was doing. Or better yet, what he was doing.
"The two fought for some time, and eventually yet another man, this time about twenty one, around one hundred and sixty centimeters tall, lighter skin, almond shaped gold eyes, short silver hair, wearing the same armor as the first male, appeared and attacked Lowell from behind, seeming injuring him quite nastily." Again, she stopped, whether it was for a breath or dramatic effect, Flynn had no idea.
He was not worried; Yuri could get care of himself. Instead, he focused his thoughts on the second man with the black and red armor. It could not be a coincidence, and the way that Sodia had phrased the information, it seemed that the second man had come as to rescue the first, or was at least working with the man with long shaggy hair.
"Lowell somehow survived. But the villagers said that he began to act strange. His fighting was destructive, as though he was trying to do anything he could to his opponent while not trying to even defend himself. Apparently, he attained several wounds in this time that would have killed any normal person. "Sodia sighed, looking away briefly as the sun dipped full below the horizon. In moments it would be pitch black.
The commandant looked away as the town lamplighter passed to light the first lamp along Halure's main road along with a few more knights with rubble. Flynn watched, detached, his mind on the next tidbit that his assistant had given him. That description of Yuri made him think of the Yuri that had attacked and wounded him just outside Zaphias's castle. He had a feeling that they were connected, but he did not have enough information to make any conclusions.
"While the first of the two strange males fought Lowell, the second went to kidnap the boy. Lady Estellise prepared to somehow attack him from the opposite side of the gorge. While what seems to be that dog of Lowell's attacked. After a short battle the dog was injured, before it could recover the man took the boy and fled the scene with the other man, heading northwest." The woman continued, raising her hand to brush aside some of her bangs.
From what he had gathered, it seemed that Lady Estellise had not participated in the fighting. That was good. Yuri, meanwhile, had obviously participated in quite the brawl and now Flynn was more curious than ever about whatever was wrong with him. Also, what had happened to Lady Estellise after that?
"Lowell followed after them and the boy, and a little bit later, Lady Estellise and her comrade chased after him by descending the steep hillside. That is all." She finished, exhaling in relief, looking up at the commandant in admiration as he took in everything she had told him. His mind was in overdrive, ad he could feel her eyes on him, waiting for orders, an analysis, something.
Flynn sighed, looking up to the starry sky as darkness doused the countryside. Halure remained alight by the oil lamps that had been lit at twilight, a beacon of hope to those traveling the plains. Golden light covered the two of them and a few passing soldiers with wreckage, as the blonde pieced together his thoughts, and tried to decide what to do, what orders to give, what to think of this.
It did not surprise the commandant all that much really. Sure, there were several pieces that just did not fit into this puzzle that he was gaining the pieces of. He figured he just had not found them yet, but he knew he needed to. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced that Yuri had really had got himself into some deep trouble. Scratch that, he had understood that from the beginning of this mess.
One, who was the boy and what was his connection to those men? If they had fled shortly after getting their hands on him, it was obvious that it was the boy they had been after since the beginning. For whatever reason, Yuri had got himself mixed up with them, probably for the child's sake. Yuri had always had a soft spot for children.
Two, who were those men that had attacked and fought Yuri, then kidnapped the boy. Why had they kidnapped the boy? What were they up to? At this point, they had nothing except for a very vague description of them and that they were strong enough to fight Yuri head to head for an extended period of time.
He had other questions, such as where the hell was the princess and that damn Yuri, what was miss Mordio doing here, were they all alright, what the hell was Yuri up to, ect. But, he knew he must focus on what they, the knights, must prioritize. It took the blond commandant very little time to come to a decision.
"I understand, thank you, Sodia." Flynn sighed, running one of his hands through his unruly short blond hair as he relaxed slightly, releasing some of the tension in his back and neck. She had gathered quite a bit of information, but he needed more accurate portrayals of the boy and the two men. "Get some sketch artists and have the villagers describe the boy and the men to the best of their abilities to them."
"Yes sir." Sodia replied loyally, bowing forward slightly formally, much to the commandant's chagrin. He rather disliked people treating him as if he was above them, even if he was the commandant. However, he already realized that it was useless to try to talk Sodia out of it, especially seeing as though she acted this way even when they were alone.
"Soon as they are done, we set up camp, rest and leave first thing in the morning." The commandant commanded as some of the knights passed them, carrying the final loads of debris from Regulus and the bridge. They gave their commandant looks of gratitude as they passed, but he did not notice, instead announcing, "Then, we're going after lady Estellise."
Rita frowned as she trailed her hand down the concrete wall before her, observing the texture and the appearance of such a mixture. Already, she had several samples of the composite materials and a few samples from the surrounding area. About twenty two samples in all, she thought as she slid the last one into her pack.
She sighed as she straightened up and looked around; it was quite a pity that whatever this compound had been was now little more than a pile of ashes and rubble. Glancing to her right at the badly disfigured steel door, Rita moved over to the door and gently hovered the back of her right hand over it.
There was still a gentle heat radiating from it. The door was still warm, even though the fire had seemingly been set yesterday. Rita did not dare touch it, instead she moved over, and stepped over a half-destroyed stone-wall and into the remains of whatever this compound had once been.
Ashes, disturbed by the sudden movement, abruptly took over the air, turning all of Rita's surroundings black. The smell of burnt flesh radiated from the ashes, making Rita want to gag as she stumbled through the debris. She wiped her eyes as the ashes began to settle around her, clearing her sight.
There was melted glass in puddles across the floor, now hardened with strange and interesting swirl patterns in the glass. Rita sighed and looked away, irritated by the fact that nothing seemed to have survived the fire. Of course, she had not even explored one eighth of the compound, there could be mounds of evidence.
But she did not have the time.
Regretfully stepping out of the burnt building and back on the grass, Rita stopped suddenly, glancing over her shoulder quickly. She could have sworn that she had heard something. She was shocked by just how startled she was from that one little rustle. It was probably just a little mouse or something.
"Rita! There you are!"
Or rather, it was Estelle. Rita sighed in relief as she turned to face her friend. Estelle rounded the corner from Rita's right, having gone off to try to walk all the way around the compound. The two of them had been here for almost three hours now, and thus far, had not found anything.
It was frustrating to say the least.
"Estelle, did you find anything?" Rita asked as Estelle stopped before her, covered in ashes and dirt with a few twigs sticking out of her hair at random angles. When had Estelle got twigs stuck in her hair? Ah, never mind, there was no point asking, it was not important. "Also, did you make it completely around the facility?"
"Yes, but, there was not anything there," Estelle replied as she wiped some ash off her face. Rita frowned in displeasure, annoyed by the lack of clues. She looked away from Estelle and back to the strange building, almost not hearing her friends comment. "I think we should go back and talk to those people again…"
Rita glanced back to where Estelle was pointing, her eyes narrowed slightly as she swept her eyes over the skeletal people. They were more bone than flesh, their skin appearing as if it stretched tightly over their bones. The people were all almost completely naked except for a scrap cloth draped over their decrepit bodies.
They had not really spoken to the half-dead people, except for learning that they had been prisoners of said compound before them, and that the place had burned to the ground yesterday late in the evening. There had been little discussion beyond that, since for whatever reason over half of the prisoners would not, or could not speak.
They might as well try to find out more information, although there was no guarantee that any of the prisoners would speak up. They seemed scared, as if they had given up hope, as if life did not matter to them anymore. Rita could only feel a sense of pity towards these people, along with a hint of disdain.
"Why not." Rita said, her voice strained as she and Estelle moved over to the skeleton-like people draped over the terrain. Some of the prisoners stared at them, their eyes empty of any emotion as the two women passed them by. As the two of them approached the only talkative prisoners, Rita leaned closer to Estelle, whispering in her ear softly, "But you get to ask the questions."
Estelle glanced at her questioningly as they stopped in front of a man, but Rita waved it off, she could explain her reasoning later. The mage took a good look at the man that they were to speak to, the only one who would speak to them. He, like the others, was pasty white, his bones protruding forth from his skin, blue eyes sunken into his face with thinning blond hair. And, like every single prisoner there, he had a strange red gem at his breast.
"Uhm, hi, uh, excuse me…" Estelle asked gently, leaning down and forward, trying to catch the man's attention. He blinked lazily, before looking up at her slightly with his eyes, eyes that Rita noticed, still held some sort of hope. "Could I ask a few questions, if that's all right?"
"You just did." The man chuckled tiredly, pulling himself up with quite a bit of effort to better face her as Estelle straightened up. The man leaned forward slightly, patting the ground as an invitation for them to take a seat. The girls exchanged glances, before carefully sitting down opposite from the young blond prisoner. "But fire away."
"Can you tell us about this place here?" Estelle asked, referring to the remains of the compound behind them as Rita observed the man before them silently as he watched Estelle, detached. Some of the other prisoners were watching them with suspicious eyes as they ate just about anything green that they could get their hands on. "And why there are so many people here? What happened here?"
"That place was called Peis by those who ran it, but by us prisoners, the place was called the incinerator." The man began, his voice raspy as he hunched forward further, drawing Estelle in as Rita listened attentively. "It would be easier to just tell you my story, since everyone's who has come here, our stories are much the same..."
"Please, tell us." Estelle begged her legs folded beneath her and to the side, her hands on her lap. The cool morning breeze blew some of the ashes from the burnt remains of the building behind them into the air, creating a gray haze that smelled of burnt flesh. Rita narrowed her eyes, taking note of the stench.
"I was brought here over twenty seven years ago…I was about eight at the time. My friends and I were playing outside the town when they showed up." The skeleton-like man began, his eyes downcast as he recalled the past, holding his thin right hand in his left. "My friends and I were taken there…" He spat venomously, referring to the ashes.
Rita noted he did not specify on whom 'they' were, instead moving on to the first days that he and his friends had in the horrid place that was Peis. That had been Peis, at least, the mage thought as she glanced back at the debris. Before someone had burned the entire place down, that is, and she had a feeling she might know whom…
"We were all stuck in a windowless cage, and all kinds of things were done to us. Torture, starvation, experimentation, just to name a few… that's were we all got this," He spat, pointing to the red mark at his neck, "We tried to escape several times, but soon as we left the prison, there was a hall of bodies of those who had already died. Even if we got past that, the compound itself was a maze, and we were always foiled."
Estelle, already captured by his story, was listening attentively, probably making mental notes and plotting out a whole storyline. It would be just like her, Rita thought with a soft smile as she too, paid attention to the story. However, instead of dramatic twists and turns, she was listening for clues and details.
"As the years passed by, one by one, my friends died off, from starvation, experiments gone wrong, torture gone too far, sickness, other inmates murdering them so they could have their dinner shares… but, more people kept arriving. They never brought adults, only children twelve or younger, it was strange to see anyone my age still around." At this point, the man had to take a break, a breath.
Rita was already noting the mentioned experimentations, the only bringing children to the compound. Rita took note, of the alleged torture and experimentation, the maze-like structure of the building, the killing of all the adults, but most importantly, that red gem at his neck. Estelle was staring at it intently, and Rita knew that they might have hit gold.
"A few days ago, maybe two or three, they brought in a boy. Like the rest of us, he was taken to the blue room. After that, the ones running that place had a spat and were on sore terms…until yesterday, when the next one came." This time the man went completely silent, twisting his hands in his lap.
Estelle's eyes were downcast now, and Rita wondered if the boy mentioned in the man's tale was the same boy that Estelle had told her about. The same boy that Yuri had went to save after Savage Wolf's attack. But, if that was the case, that would mean that Savage Wolf was connected to this compound, and could spell trouble for the guilds in Danhgrest.
"The last one was one like us; we could tell when we saw him…" The man continued, a small smile blossoming across his face as he stared up into the sky. "That man who ended up saving us, and who destroyed that horrid place." As he spoke, Rita noticed that the other prisoners were lightening up, some also smiling with him.
"Who was it?" Between her and Estelle, Rita was not sure who was asking the question. She too, was terribly curious, as she was sure that she knew who it was. Yet, something still did not fit. Something was still not right…
"We do not know his name, but, most of us saw him before he went off to fight that man…" The prisoner said contently, again not specifying who the secondary man was. After a few moments of tense silence, he continued "…It was a man like a moonless night, a swordsman with long black hair. I believe that the boy called him Yuri."
He still had no idea what had happened to him.
He knew he had killed Suingam, and caused himself a boatload of problems. He knew Flynn would realize it, Flynn would figure out that he had killed Suingam. If the empire had been after him before for attacking Flynn, what would they do now that he had killed one of the council elite?
Honestly, Yuri did not want to think about that.
He needed to try to think in chronological order, beginning with what had happened and then what were the effects. At least, that is how Rita had told Brave Vesperia to think when trying to figure out something, anything. And right now he wanted to figure out what had happened back at that compound, and why?
The last thing he clearly remembered was the feeling similar of doused in ice water, the rest of his recollection dyed in contrasting red and black, accompanied by a slight feeling of insane joy. The recollection of cutting off Suingam's arm was prominent and surrounded by a feeling of giddiness. The fear in the Elite's eyes as Yuri had raised the sword over his head had triggered excitement, and the moment when he had severed Suingam's head steeped in ecstasy.
The rest of the memory was too blurry to make any sense of it. Ryker had told him that he had freed the prisoners somehow by pushing random buttons in the yellow room after killing Suingam. The yellow room? Was that the one Suingam had left from? And how had he freed the prisoners? Had he still been in that strange state when he had freed the skeleton-like people?
Ryker had also told him that he had burned down that compound by destroying all the equipment in that strange yellow room after freeing the prisoners. Yuri did not remember that either. He had wanted to give the innocent that had been killed there a decent burial, and at least let them rest outside that horrible place.
But he figured that a funeral pyre would have to settle. He could not go around feeling guilty for everything that he managed to mess up; he had a job to focus on.
He had woken up outside the raging fire that was that compound a few hours after supposedly setting fire to it. Ryker and Repede had been watching him cautiously, hidden, as the flames had danced dangerously, roasting that horrible place and all that were within it. He was not sure how he had got there or why Ryker and Repede had concealed themselves from view, but he did not wish to dwell on it.
But what was he to do now? Originally, when he had left Zaphias just eight days ago he had his heart set on finding that woman who had cursed him and make her take it off him. But now, he was not so sure. He had killed a man; one of the targets that the woman had told him would break his curse on his life and his freedom.
He had killed Suingam of the Elite, the man who had plotted to destroy the Guilds, the Empire, and Brave Vesperia. The man who had tortured many innocent souls in a place that could be only known as hell to those who inhabited it. Suingam had been a horrible person, one that many people wished dead. But it did not make killing him right.
He sighed, brought down by the burden that he forced to carry, the moral issue that had him torn between right and wrong. He did not want to kill these men and wanted to find the woman to make her free him, but what if he could not pull that off in time? What if the men launched their attack early and killed everyone? He had no idea of how the remaining Elite would react when they found Suingam dead, and besides, he had no idea who, what, where, the woman was.
But on the opposite side, he did want to kill those men, so badly it ached. Yuri was not sure whether it was really him aching with this bloodlust or the curse that made him. If he killed those men, he was a criminal worse than what he was now, even if they were horrible and trying to kill thousands of people and torturing children. In addition, if he did kill them, he could never face his comrades, even if he did not regret his actions.
Especially Estelle.
He was stuck.
Forcing his mind off depressing matters, Yuri instead concentrated on his surroundings. He was now atop of Ehmead Hill, situated under a tree and in the shade as the hot afternoon sun blazed overhead. There was a nice breeze keeping things cool and lazy clouds rolling gradually across the baby blue sky.
He was leaning against the tree, his fingers tangled in the soft grass at its base. To his left, the blond boy had curled up close by, and for the first time since Yuri met him, completely relaxed. Repede sat nearby, laying his head on his paws and taking a quick nap as the afternoon continued leisurely.
It was a good thing that they had taken some time to relax. Yuri needed time to think, and both Repede and Ryker were exhausted. They had been here for almost half an hour, or so Yuri roughly estimated. He would give them another half hour of rest and they needed to move on if they were to get Ryker to Dahngrest.
Hopefully they could beat the Empire there, it would be a tad bit difficult for him if news of his crimes reached the guild city before he did. If he managed to get there before the Empire, before Flynn, he could drop Ryker off there and then decide what to do with himself.
Speaking of the boy, he was waking.
Ryker stirred, rolling on to his back and stretching. He yawned as he slowly sat up, a twig and a few blades of grass in his hair. Yuri tried not to smile as the memory of calling Flynn a bird's nest resurfaced.
"Ahh, Yuri," Ryker murmured, glancing over at the taller swordsman as he rubbed the grime out of his eyes. Yuri smiled as the boy awkwardly positioned himself in an upright position, looking up at the swordsman with a half-asleep gaze as he concluded his previous statement, "What time is it?"
"Still noon," Yuri replied, glancing over to Repede, who remained asleep as Ryker stole a look at the blue sky. The boy was restless, wanting to get to Dahngrest as soon as he could. But something about him had changed since that place, not only was the boy relaxed, but, he seemed to act entirely different.
"I see." The ten-year-old boy responded, crossing his legs before him and resting his elbows on his knees. He seemed torn; Yuri recognized the look and the sensation, one that he too, had been feeling quite a bit recently. Ryker bit his lip and looked up at his companion, before speaking hesitantly, "uh, Yuri, there is something I would like to speak with you about…"
"Well, go ahead." Yuri shrugged, curious about what might be on the boys mind. Maybe the child would tell him more about that compound, Savage Wolf, or Suingam himself. Maybe the boy would tell him something about the hideout of Savage Wolf, or some news from Zaphias that he might have overheard.
"I am not a normal human."
"Well, I sort of figured," Ryker seemed surprised by Yuri's blasé attitude although the boy had just admitted something that might surprise normal people. But the swordsman himself was hardly normal, and explained his reasoning to the child, "You see, Savage Wolf and Suingam were not exactly trying to cover that up."
"Oh..." Ryker breathed deeply, reaching to his ratty shirts neckline and yanked it halfway down his chest, exposing a large green gem set over his heart in an eerily similar fashion to Raven's blastia. Ryker's voice was dissonantly calm as he clarified, "I am a human in every way except for this thing."
"What is so special about that thing, then?" The swordsman asked, definitely curious. If there had been anyone like Raven, with a blastia over their heart to sustain their life, which they, Brave Vesperia, had not known of, shouldn't that person be dead and their blastia a spirit of some sort?
"It is called a Lacrime, type Vita." Ryker began, running his fingers over the green gem with a look of disgust on the child's face that made Yuri pause. It did not seem right to see such a look on a child's face, "With this, I am able to see, steal, transfer, people's life force and then use it as an aid for fighting. I could transform that life force into physical power, magic, or even healing power."
"Whoa." Yuri was floored, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. How could something like that exist for who-knows-how-long and the empire not use it? Unless, the Elite had been planning this coup for decades, then it made more sense. No, that was not the focus right now, instead, Yuri focused his questions on that 'Lacrime' thing, "So, how did you get that thing?"
"My family had been planning a trip to Danhgrest for some time. Last year, we had just left Nordipolica to go and visit Danhgrest when a ship attacked us…" The boy paused, his eyes faraway and downcast, "My family was killed and they took me to one of those places…"
"There's more than one?" Yuri asked, sickened by the possibility alone as the wind picked up, playing with his hair. He did not want to believe that more than one of those terrible places could exist on Terca Lumireis, but it seemed to be the case by the solemn way that Ryker was telling him these things.
"Yes." The boy was serious, and the truth made Yuri almost ill as the child continued on, almost nonchalant about the subject. Then again, that reality that was sickening to the swordsman had been that child's everyday life for the past year, or more. "The first one I was sent to was ran by Lord Ravk of the Elite."
"Ravk? Are you sure?" Yuri felt a stone drop into his stomach as one of his fears was realized. If it was really Ravk, who, with Suingam had one of those giant torture chambers and mini hells, it would be too much of a coincidence and that could only mean one thing…
"Yes. I heard that all of what the Empire calls the Elite has one."
Pieces began to fall into place the second Ryker finished his statement. The product that the Elite had spoke of in Bluebell Meadow, the one that would help destroy both the Empire and the Guilds, could only be the Lacrime.
A/N: Woot. Any theories, anyone?
Also, I figured part of the reason I was having issues with this chapter (rather than being minus a computer and registering for college) and the others is-NO ROMANCE O.O And since that won't be around for a bit longer, I'd like to write some one shots, about 3,000 words or so. What do you all think of that?
Also, what sort of of previews do you guys prefer? Traditional quotes? Little vague one-liners? Chapter name? A paragraph from the next chapter?
Speaking of the next chapter...
Next Time: The Separation: Downpour
