Author's Notes: And the gang is off to Nordopolica. Am I the only one who found the Atherum more goofy than scary?
The Fiertia set sail before noon and they were on their way to Nordopolica. Yuri was not exactly pleased with the crew list, but he dealt with it anyway. Initially, he had been expecting to part ways with Estelle, Rita, and Flynn when they went to save the imperial capital. It wasn't his job. He and Raven were only going to Nordopolica for a simple message delivery. And the idea of Judith coming along had come completely out of nowhere.
And Flynn. That stupid blond had ruined everything at Heliord. Somehow, though, Yuri found it hard to stay mad at someone who was perpetually hung over the railing of the ship, losing his breakfast to the foam and the waves of the ocean at the slightest bit of rough sailing. Even through the seasickness, he went about the duties given to him by Kaufman, keeping the deck and cabin clean and mopping and working the sails and rudder, even if he slumped against the railing, green in the face when he was done.
Kaufman made Yuri the chef, which he didn't particularly mind, but he would have preferred being on deck with the ocean's salt spray and cool breeze in his face. Everybody came to the cabin that night for dinner, except Flynn and the helmsman Tokunaga. He knew why on both parts, but served the others first.
"Clam chowder?"
"Enjoy." He leaned over Kaufman, who nudged him playfully when he moved to deliver her bowl. She knew that her flirting with him was in vain, especially after a particularly amusing incident a few years before involving her bodyguard at the time, but that had never stopped her. Once he had delivered the food, he grabbed an extra bowl of chowder and something he had made for Flynn and went up on deck.
He rounded out of the cabin to the helm and handed Tokunaga off the bowl of chowder, which was received gratefully. He moved toward the bow of the ship, where Flynn was slumped in a pile of rope, still green in the face. His head was tilted back and his eyes closed.
"Here." Yuri plopped down and prodded him in the ribs with one of his elbows.
Flynn groaned and opened one eye, rocking his head forward just a little to look at him.
"It's not much, but it should help settle your stomach."
"Ugh. Why do you care?"
"I'm getting pretty sick of listening to you puking every time we hit a little wave."
It took him a moment to sit up and, when he did, Yuri handed over a bowl of plain fish broth and broke a roll of bread in half, giving him the larger of the two pieces. He took a slurp and ate a bit, and looked better for it.
"Not afraid I might have poisoned it?"
"You're not exactly the poisoning kind."
"I'll take that as a compliment." He stretched and leaned back, nibbling on the other half of the roll. He looked up into the dark blue-black night sky. That and the simple rocking of the ocean eased him a bit. He was still mad at Flynn, at Cumore, at the Empire, but he needed to move past the anger at Flynn at least so he could stomach traveling with him a little longer. There was no point dwelling on that negativity. The knight may have been stupid and disillusioned, but he was standing up for something he believed in. The anger was giving way slowly.
"Why do you let him do that to you?"
"What?" He turned with a bit of surprise over the suddenness of the question.
"The bite marks."
Of all the things they could have talked about, Flynn had picked that one again. "You say that like it's something I don't enjoy."
"Oh."
Just when he thought he'd shocked Flynn into silence, he spoke up again. "How long have you two been together?"
"Together? You've got it wrong. We just hook up casually when the need arises. We're not even friends."
Flynn nodded and finished his broth. "What's it like? Having friends, I mean."
Yuri sat up, staring over at him, completely disbelieving what he heard. "Are you serious? You can't tell me that you don't have at least one friend. What about Estelle?" Before he could answer, Yuri amended his statement. "Oh. Of course. In your mind, she's just a princess, someone who it is your duty to protect, not someone whose friendship you're worthy of. Do you have any siblings? It's kind of like that."
"I'm an only child."
Yuri sighed. "You're impossible." Not that he could say much. He didn't have any siblings by blood either, but he did have the experience of having had friends for the past eleven years. "Having friends is having someone you can trust to have your back when you need them. If you need help, they're there for you. And vice versa."
"I see." It didn't sound like he really did, but he let the subject rest.
Yuri stood. "Get some rest."
"Thanks."
He moved to the back of the ship, where Repede had settled in, dozing lightly. His ears perked as Yuri drew near and he raised his head with a yawn and a whine.
"Yeah, me, too." He sat down next to him and leaned back once more. The dog stretched and dropped his head in Yuri's lap and Yuri scratched the top and behind his ears. "Of course, I'm still mad. How could I let that bastard get away after what he did?"
Repede whined once more and let out a small wuff.
"Don't worry, Repede. He'll pay for what he did to Niren. Garista will get his, too."
A soft groan 'arooo...' came from the dog, followed by a growl.
For a long time, he just laid there, stroking the dog's head, fingers playing in the purple and white fur and blue furred crest. "In the long run, I guess it's all my fault anyway. If I had managed to take care of Garista in Ceazontania, the war would never have progressed this far."
Repede leaned up, pushing Yuri's hand away with his muzzle, and licked his face. Yuri chuckled and swatted playfully at the dog, whose tongue-lashing only became more merciless.
"Cut it out, Repede!" His sides were starting to hurt from laughter. "Ugh! You're getting me all slobbery." A moment and a dog drool covered face later, Repede stopped, bumping against him and picking up the pipe from Yuri's lap that had fallen out of his mouth during the playful assault
Yuri had gotten more than his fair share of being laughed at over having a dog as his partner, but he didn't care. He and Repede shared a brotherly bond, and this dog could out fight any monster or man they'd ever encountered. He was the proud son of Lambert, an imperial war dog, who had died heroically in battle and who had been the partner of the man that both Yuri and Repede admired. He couldn't trust anyone else to have his back as he trusted Repede, and he doubted he ever would. Together they had suffered through the cold of winters, the rage of storms, the heat of battle, and so much more. Even with his amazing partner, however, there were still things Yuri had to bear alone.
He leaned back and looked up to the stars once more and for a long moment, there was only him, the stars, and the waves.
Only two days at sea and the others were already sick of sailing and ready to be in Nordopolica. Obviously, no one had warned them of the week long trip by boat. His stomach had calmed a bit, now used to the uneasy movements of the ocean, but he still found himself unable to sleep through the haze of adrenaline that washed over him every time he closed his eyes. His body just wouldn't let go of his brush with death. But the past two nights had proven insightful. He and the helmsman, Tokunaga, and Yuri and Repede slept on deck. While Karol and the females of the group enjoyed the warm comfort of the cabin. Both nights he had spied Yuri pacing the deck when he must have thought everyone else was asleep. He moved, quick and quiet, but would pause for several long moments at the edge of one side of the ship to stare upward. He would lift his charcoal gaze up and his eyes would become lost and distant among the millions of stars. Flynn had caught himself following that line of sight more than once, but was unable to see what seemed to entrance Yuri so.
Standing there, bathed in soft silver moonlight, ghostly, his skin looked even paler and his storm cloud eyes glittered in the light of the stars. Flynn realized that Yuri wasn't just attractive, in spite of his scars and his rough personality and whatever blood may have been covering his hands. He was beautiful and terrifying.
By the time the sun rose on the third day, Yuri was long asleep, curled up against Repede with a blanket. Flynn had already been awake for some time as his training often forced him up at what others would consider ungodly hours.
Kaufman trudged out of the cabin, yawning, but still looking over the deck with her same eagle eye that had made her one of the fiercest traders in Terca Lumireis. Her demeanor was often pleasant, but just beneath that was a woman who would fight to get what she wanted. She also took no small pleasure in pointing out every little mistake to Flynn as he went about his duties on the Fiertia. This morning was no different.
"You missed a spot." She pointed out an area he had mopped over twice already, but he didn't argue and merely mopped over it again, making sure to scrub harder this time. He had no intention of arguing with a woman who was allowing them passage to a place they needed to go, even if it was begrudgingly.
She wandered off after a moment, leaving him with his work, and he could hear her bother Yuri for breakfast. She had flirted with him almost incessantly, and Yuri always responded with sass. Flynn wasn't sure what she wanted from him, but was certain it was something more than of a business like nature. Yuri always took it in stride though, and Flynn watched out of the corner of his eye as the as the guildsman rounded the edge of the cabin and entered on the side. It wasn't too much longer before the scent of pancakes filled the air around the cabin and everyone was waking for breakfast.
"Ms. Kaufman..."
"What is it, Tokunaga?"
"There's something up ahead that you should see."
With panic in the helmsman's voice, Flynn left behind his breakfast and hit the deck with the others. Kaufman and Tokunaga were standing at the helm, eyes wide, jaws open in surprise.
Out on the horizon was the fiery bird from Dahngrest, but that seemed to be the least of their worries. Behind it, cutting through the ocean at an incredible speed was what looked like a gleaming metallic beetle of monstrous proportions. Beams of light flashed from it into the sky. As it drew closer and the water turned violent in its wake, they could see clearly that it was not a beetle, but in fact a ship firing at the bird. It was easily the size of the imperial palace, armed to the teeth with the most state of the art blastia weaponry that was suddenly turned on them.
"What the hell is that?!"
"A warship?"
Yuri pointed to the flag that whipped in the ocean wind, blue and gold. "An imperial warship."
"I've never seen anything like that!"
"The Heracles..." Judith and Estellise were almost in unison.
"Whatever it is, it wants us gone!" Kaufman ran to the helm. "Tokunaga, get us out of that thing's path!"
"Easier said than done! We are in the open ocean!" He steered hard to the port side, just narrowly dodging a cannon blast.
The cannon strike hit the sea, throwing up steam as the water boiled red hot from the heat. The gleam of lights on the towers of the giant structure signaled that they were preparing to fire once more and they might not miss this time.
"Everybody, hold on!"
Yuri grabbed Karol by the collar and pressed him against the deck, eyes scanning the open sea. As the ship rocked hard to one side, he skidded across the deck to the helm. "Can you get us to that fog bank? We might be able to lose them there."
"Let's hope the ceres blastia can hold up."
"Leave that to me!" Rita rushed back toward the blastia engine, followed by Estellise shouting at her to be careful.
Tokunaga turned sharply once more, sending nearly everyone sliding across the deck just in time to dodge a second barrage of cannon blasts. the wake of the blast crashed against the desk, and the boat slammed into a series of rough, sharp waves. When the speed increased, Flynn knew that it must have been Rita affecting the blastia's controls directly. They skipped along the waves, putting distance between the Fiertia and the battleship. The fire bird continued its flight away from them, and after a long tense moment, the battleship continued its original pursuit just as the Fiertia drifted into the fog bank.
"That was close." Kaufman sagged a little against the wheel, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Why was the battleship chasing that monster?"
"That was no monster. His name is Phaeroh."
"What do you mean, Judith?"
"My partner and I met him on our journey. He is very wise. And that battleship..."
"Is the Heracles," Estellise completed her sentence, tightening her fingers into the fabric of her skirt and staring down at the deck.
"What exactly is the Heracles?"
"All I know is that it is a secret project that was being worked on by the order of Commandant Alexei. I had no idea that it was already complete and in commission. Or that it was a weapon."
"I never heard anything about this." Flynn stroked his chin. He had worked directly under the Commandant, and if Alexei had been working on something of this magnitude, why hadn't he heard about it, but Estellise had?
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard about it from some of the members of the Council. The budget designated for its construction was an estimated 500,000 gald, but the project went well over budget due to Alexei's constant additions to the original plans."
"500,000 gald is a lot, even for a warship. But why was it after this Phaeroh?"
"It could be that the Empire wants something from him, or wishes to destroy a creature as powerful as him."
"Why was Phaeroh attacking Dahngrest though?"
Flynn feared that the monster had not been attacking the city, but instead had been focused on attacking Estellise. It was a conclusion that he had come to some days ago, while mulling over in his brain why a giant bird of fire would attack Dahngrest, yet get driven off by pots and pans wielded by citizens. It had done no damage to the city itself and could have easily if that had been its intention. And what of the barrier? That hadn't deterred it at all. He had heard it speak as well, a deep gravely echo of a voice like the sound of a river along a canyon's bottom, dry and brittle like the the arid desert. What was Phaeroh and what did he want with Estellise? Flynn couldn't easily forget his words.
Child of the Full Moon, you are an insidious poison of this world that must be purged.
Nothing about Estellise was 'insidious'. She was good natured, pure, and kind to all who she met.
The engine sputtered and suddenly stopped and they were left drifting in the all encompassing fog. An uneasy chill filled the air around them and they couldn't see but a few feet beyond the bow of the ship.
"What the hell is wrong now?" Kaufman sighed. "Tokunaga, go check the engine."
The helmsman disappeared around the cabin to the engine room, followed by Rita. They returned after a few moments just as the boat stopped dead in the water. Rita was ashen faced, barely suppressing a shiver.
"The engine needs some repair. We really had to work the ceres blastia in order to escape. It'll take some time to repair, but there's something that you should see."
He lead them around the cabin to the rudder. The ship had bumped into something lingering there in the mist. It was another ship, huge and old, the wood long darkened and derelict with age.
"The Atherum..." Estellise read the word emblazoned across the ship's bow.
It was an old ship, far older than any Flynn had ever seen, barnacles clinging tenaciously to more than half of the ship. Above, the mast was broken, sagging against the deck for support, and the sails long ago shredded and crumbling. It was no longer flying a flag and looked as though it hadn't for some time. It was a barren wooden husk, devoid of life, floating in the sea.
"Get us away from that thing. It's giving me the chills." Kaufman shivered, rubbing her upper arms in agitation.
"Afraid we're stuck, Ma'am. At least until we get the blastia working."
'How long is that going to take?"
"A couple of hours." Rita was examining the blastia's control panel with a less than amused expression. "We didn't burn it out, but I'll have to run a diagnostic before I can determine what the problem is and take the appropriate measures to fix it."
"So you're telling me that we're dead in the water with that Heracles loose?"
"I don't think we have to worry too much about that. It seemed more interested in Phaeroh then a little merchant ship." Yuri's eyes looked over the dark and tattered ship and cracked a smile. "While Rita's working on that, why don't we go check this thing out?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Not at all. Repede and I are going. Who else is coming along?"
There were a million things wrong with Yuri's plan aside from it being just plain unsafe. Who knew what kinds of monsters had inhabited an abandoned ship? And the structural integrity of a ship that looked to have been in the water for at least a hundred years was in question as well. They could step on deck and everything could crumbled underneath them.
"I'd like to go," Estellise answered, completely unaware of the risks of such a dangerous action.
"Me too," Judith added, appearing as though she just didn't care about the possible risks.
"I'll be waitin' here." Raven slumped down against the wall of the cabin. "This old man's too old to be explorin' ghost ships."
"G-Ghosts?" Karol chattered, and Estellise repeated in a much less afraid fashion.
"Do you really think there are ghosts on that ship, Yuri?"
"I suppose anything's possible." The guildsman ruffled Karol's hair. "Hey, boss. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the Fiertia and protect Ms. Kaufman, okay?"
"O-Okay, Yuri!" The boy's face became determined and his shivering stopped. Flynn knew exactly why Yuri was avoiding embarrassing the child over a fear that was normal for a boy his age by instead giving him a mission that kept him both out of danger and boosted his confidence. He didn't make the boy look afraid, instead, brave to be watching the ship in his hero's absence.
"Yuri, you can't just leave-"
"Don't worry. You've got Karol here to protect you, and Rita, the Old Man, and Flynn."
"I'm coming with you." This was the last thing he needed right now, but he had to go to protect Lady Estellise.
Yuri cocked an eyebrow at him. "Suit yourself then."
"This isn't funny."
"You've still got these three. You'll be fine while we're gone."
Kaufman pouted, turning away from them. "Fine. Don't take too long or we'll leave you here."
Yuri just smirked and pulled the gangplank out to run between the two ships so they could cross. He went first, testing the strength before extending his hand to Estellise to help her up and over. Repede and Judith followed and finally Flynn moved to cross. He didn't look down or at least he struggled not to. He didn't need to get seasick again, and hopefully his focus on protecting Lady Estellise would occupy his mind while they explored the ruined ship. He crossed slowly, nearly fumbling onto the Atherum's deck.
The look of the deck was worse than he had expected. There were holes in the rotting wood, perhaps from age or monsters or damage taken in battle. Each board creaked as they moved but Repede traced them a safe, zigzag path where the wood was the strongest allowing them to move. It was dead quiet. At this height, he could not hear the waves of the ocean or feel its winds. It was dead and still, heavy, dark and silent.
"What could have happened here?" Estellise asked, looking around curiously as they mounted the broken steps to the quarter deck. She touched the railing of the stairs with one finger, lifting only the freshest layer of dust from atop years' worth caked there.
"Who knows? Maybe we can find something inside." Yuri and Judith both looked much too excited to be on a rickety old 'ghost' ship.
He put one hand on the handle of the door to the cabin, but the rusted knob collapsed into his hand, leaving only a hole in the door where it had once been. Yuri's next step was to pry the door open, but the door was well made in spite of its age and put up a fight, holding tightly in its frame. When he was unable to budge it along, Flynn aided the effort and the two of them rammed the door with their shoulders. The wood gave way, splintering slightly at the old iron hinges that held it in place, and the door slammed against the inner wall.
"Well, if anything's in here, it knows we're here now."
Repede entered, sniffing his way down the long hall. They followed him and as soon as Flynn cleared the doorway, the heavy door that had taken both of them to open, slammed shut.
The dog growled low in his throat, the fur of the blue crest down his back bristled and his tail arched in warning.
"I guess something is here." Yuri said that like it was nothing to him. After all, he was supposed to be an accomplished fighter. What were a few ghosts to someone like him? He touched Repeded on his shoulder and the dog eased a bit. "Thanks. Let us know if you see anything."
The dog wuffed and they continued to venture down the corridor.
Flynn couldn't figure out for the life of him why the halls were lined with mirrors. They were as old as the ship, the salt air causing the silver backing to flake off. A few of them were cracked, but all of them seemed mostly intact. He paused for a moment to look into one, his fingers running along the smooth, dusty glass surface. A chill came over him, sharp, cold and tinged with fear. It gripped him by the back of the neck and for an endless moment, he was unable to move.
The mirror darkened, a pool of blackness spreading from his touch, bubbling and seeping across the surface of the glass. He could only watch, frozen, brain a muddle of thoughts as the darkness took shape, a tall, muscular, noble silhouette that he would have recognized anywhere.
"Father..."
Flynn.
The form opened its mouth and more darkness spewed out, leaving the silvery barrier of the mirror and heading for him in a dark cloud.
"Flynn, hurry the hell up." Yuri's voice was a distant echo to his ears.
Flynn...
"What the hell is keeping you? Hurry and catch up, or you'll get left behind."
A rough hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away from the image of his father in the mirror. He spun and his eyes caught Yuri's, whose bit of concern melted easily to anger. Flynn could hear Yuri draw his sword and the scabbard clatter to the floor behind him. Everything was slow and hazy and the voice and the darkness filled his ears.
Flynn. Come with me.
"Shit!" Yuri pressed forward through the fog and the haze.
Flynn fought to move, to stop him. No, Yuri! Please!
He was too late as the guildsman's sword rent his father in two, crashing through the mirror and sending shards of glass and fragile bits of darkness across the floor.
The fog lifted and the voice in his head disappeared. Rage filled his blood, adrenaline bursting into him, and he threw Yuri back in anger, his eyes stinging. His father. How could Yuri- His father was innocent. Noble, perfect, and just. The kind of knight that all others had aspired to be. Yuri had killed him, cut him down, the guilds had killed him, the Union had killed him, and for what?! Why had his father died and why had Yuri done it?!
"What the hell, Flynn?" Yuri picked up his scabbard, sheathing his sword, but Flynn had his own in his hands already and he wasn't sure why.
"How could you?!"
"Okay. Next time, you can save yourself. If you're done playing with the mirror wraiths, I'd like to keep going."
"Mirror wraiths...?"
"I read about them once. They're incorporeal monsters known to inhabit mirrors left uncovered in abandoned buildings. They can take different forms in order to entrap their prey."
"You really know your stuff, Estelle." Judith smiled, as unconcerned as she ever seemed.
"Thank you, Judith." The princess blushed a little.
"What that means is 'stay away from the mirrors.' Monsters love eating stupid people."
Everything else was bad enough without being called 'stupid' on top of it. Flynn shook off the chill clinging to his bones and the fiery adrenaline burning his skin and moved past them quickly without another word.
Even if Yuri had been defending him against a monster, he was still enraged. With all that had happened in the past few weeks, his father's death had been a distant thought, sitting cold and heavy and quiet in the back of his brain. He had all but forgotten the circumstances that prevented his father, the noble third captain of the Imperial Knights, to return home from his tour of duty. He had died at the hands of a guildsman, perhaps even someone like Yuri who would take out an officer of the opposing army to even the odds of the war and put the odds ever so slightly in the Union's favor. And here was Flynn, working alongside the very person who might have done it, or at the very least, the person whose kinsmen could have. Even if that had been an illusion that Yuri defeated just now, it didn't change what had happened only a few weeks earlier when he had received word of his father's death along with the casket that had borne only his tattered uniform, and battle ruined sword and shield. Just because they were working together now and he had at one point felt a fleeting flash of desire for Yuri, did not change what had happened or what was to come.