He was itching for a good fight. The monsters they had tangled with lately hadn't been enough to get him out the strange slump his weary body told him he was in. A good fight would lighten his spirits. Maybe he'd finally be able to shake off the last of the icy chill of death clinging to his bones and haunting the darkness of his dreams, buried in the very marrow of his being. He was no good to anyone like this.
Karol had been right when he said that Yuri had an important job. He had to help find a way to defeat the Adephagos. He didn't have Rita's brains, or Estelle's encyclopedic knowledge, or Judith's extensive lore, or the backing the Flynn had. But he had his sword and his tenacity, and he didn't want to go down without a fight. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep him going, at least until the Adephagos was gone. He had always told himself that if he kept moving, nothing in his path was insurmountable. But the fall from Zaude had done more than simply dampen his spirits, and that had hardly been the start of it.
And then there was Flynn, rising sun of the Empire. He was someone people could, and would, get behind. Somewhere in that angry and disillusioned royal guard, a leader and a model knight had been hiding. He was someone that people could believe in and rely on. He was a hero, and Yuri couldn't say that he wasn't a little jealous. But Flynn was right for this. Yuri would never be. Why Flynn? Why did everything always come back to Flynn?
As they approached Nordopolica, he could see the Adephagos seed milling below, latching onto the walls of the city, and Yuri was finally able to stop thinking. Fighting did that for him. But he wasn't careless. Reckless was another matter entirely.
Guard or not, Yuri still jumped head first into the fray and the gelatinous terrors had no hesitation about turning their tendril-lined maws at him. At this distance, he recognized them much better.
"Aren't these like that thing from the desert?" Raven asked loudly, firing off a series of arrows into the creatures sides. The projectiles did little damage.
"That one was an illusion of Phaeroh's. This one is very real," Judith replied.
"If that's the case then we just need to focus on its core!" Rita added, readying a spell.
But the creatures weren't about to make that and easy task for them. They shrieked, high pitched enough to send tremors through Yuri's body and cause Repede to whine beside him. They sailed across the field, knocking Karol and Flynn out of the way as they moved to stop Rita's arte, gaining altitude and then diving at them. Dodging every attempt at a strike anyone made, they zigzagged, diving, hissing, and swirling fast blobs.
Whenever they managed a blow, they would heal themselves by absorbing Rita's spells. The arcs of blue-white lighting they flashed at the time were not easily dodged, even by Repede, and Estelle struggled with her healing artes to keep everyone on their feet.
One thing was certain. This was a lot more of a challenge than the one they fought in the Sands of Kogorh. But Yuri liked the challenge. This was thrilling. His blood was pumping and he felt alive again, even as he brain was scrambling to find the way to defeat these things, to get past their defenses. Spells were healing them. Swords and spears did little damage. Arrows got bogged down in the thickness of their hides. The seeds never gave them an opening to get at the glowing white cores.
Yuri and Repede finished a dual charge on of the creatures, followed by a fire arte from Rita that finally seemed to be doing some damaged, when the monster sent out spikes that Yuri was barely able to dodge from behind.
He watched from the corner of his eye the gel flesh retract, springing back, and leaving a split second window when there was only inches of flesh between the core and open air. Inches that Yuri's blade could cross given the right timing.
With Repede's help, he taunted it forward, waiting for it to spike out to defend itself as he got closer. And it did just that. He slid beneath it, dodging the spines of hardened flesh as he tried to wedge his sword up. He only had seconds to do this before it retracted and tried again. The moment it began to retract was what he need.
The spines softened a little as they started to sink back into flesh, and Yuri took his chance, jamming his sword, striking home and piercing the core. The seed shrieked at him, trying to lift away, and the grip he had on his sword was the only thing that kept him from flying back. It undulated, its dark flesh rippling. It was about to send out the spikes a second time, and its tiny, wing like fore limbs grabbed him, slithering, slinking around his arms so that he couldn't pull back, so that even if he let go of the sword, he had no hopes of dodging the attack.
Yuri dug his heels into the ground, using any bit of leverage that he could to loose himself from the creature, but it held firm. Just as the spikes started to form from the soft flesh, Karol's sword came down across its tentacles, slicing Yuri free, and he stumbled to the ground in the nick of time to avoid them. The sharpness passed chose enough to his flesh that he could feel the pressure of their movement past him, and as soon as they receded, he was diving at it for another strike.
It shrieked again, pulling its weight back, but Yuri held firm, drawing in the opposite direction. With all of his strength, he pulled to expose its delicate core so one of the others could make the final blow, and just as he did, Judith lanced it.
Wailing in pain, its form began to disperse in the air, bubbles of red aer drifting away, and when it was gone, Yuri found that Flynn was similarly occupied with Raven and Estelle in finish off the second one. A moment later, it fell, too.
The others were wiping the sweat from their brows when they reconvened near the front gate of the city.
"If those two lil things were that hard, I'd hate to see how tough big guy there is." Raven looked skyward.
"Luckily, it doesn't look like they did too much damage to the city. Well, no more than was already done," Judith added. "Shall we stop to take a rest here?"
"I'd like to get into the archives here if they'll let me. I want to see what I can find out about the previous appearance of the Adephagos." Research was, as always, forefront in Rita's mind.
"Resting for the night sounds like a good idea. Maybe Natz will have some information for us," Flynn agreed. Without Yuri's input further than a nod, they agreed to enter the Coliseum city in hopes of further Rita's research as well as restocking and resting.
It had been a long time since he had been in Nordopolica, his steps then full of an energy that was lost to him now. Even after the heat of a challenging battle, only anger and restlessness were left in its place.
They were met at the gate of the Coliseum city by angry soldier of Palestralle. If nothing else gave them away, Flynn's uniform hand. In hindsight, he might as well have been wearing the bloody Imperial flag.
"Get out of here!"
"The Empire's done enough damage here!"
The shouting that rose up form the crowd only made him wonder if a lynching was going to be in order. Thankfully, a familiar face stepped forward, calming the crowds.
"Calm down, everyone. These people are my guests," Natz said, parting through the mob.
A harsh whisper followed, the eyes of the soldiers still watching them continuously. Natz stepped forward and ushered them through the path he made in the group of soldiers. Walking through the clutter was like running a gauntlet. Everyone of them had eyes filled with hatred, for the Empire, for those who destroyed their town, for those who killed Belius. The weight of Commandant was heavier now as Flynn was reminded exactly what sort of atrocities Alexei had committed and that he was the one left to clean up afterward.
Without further incident from the mob, they were allowed to follow Natz all the way through town to the crumbling Coliseum. The town around it seemed to be slowly rebuilding in the wake of the occupation by the knights and the destruction that the Heracles wrought. The people were busy getting the shambles of their town back together, but more than a few gave Flynn a passing glare of seething hatred. The walls of the Coliseum surrounding him did little to keep him from feeling the fire and the weight of those glares, although he tried to shake it off.
Natz took them up several floors to the uppermost level of the Colisuem near were Belius's chamber had been, before they stopped.
"I'm sorry for the unwelcome reception after you defeated those monsters."
"Can't say that after what happened, we shoulda expected much more," Raven said, tucking his hands behind his head.
"Is there anything I can get you. Perhaps a place to rest for the evening and a hot meal?"
"Whatever," Rita said before Flynn could answer. Her mind was obviously on her research. "I'm interested in seeing the city's archives."
"Does this have anything to do with that monster in the sky?"
"Hate to say so, but yeah. But we're working on a way to deal with it," Raven said.
"I will do whatever I can to help then. Lady Belius believed in you, so too shall I put my faith in you. I will show you the way. The archives have been there as long as Lady Belius herself reigned over Nordopolica. Hopefully there will be something to help you. And I will have a few rooms and a meal prepared for you."
Flynn was glad that Natz didn't seem to be holding a grudge against them. Perhaps he still had anger with the Empire, and rightly so, but at least he was proving helpful.
Natz took them further into the building, past the still shattered doors of Belius's quarters to a large room filled with books and shelves and decades of dust. Rita was the first one in, scanning the shelves, and Estellise a few steps behind her. Natz excused himself, saying that he would return shortly, and Flynn gave his thanks.
"All right. There's so much here that it's going to take all of us searching," Rita explained, tapping her foot thoughtfully. "We'll split up and take a bookcase each. Check each book and scroll for anything about blastia, Entelexeia, Hermes, or the Adephagos. If you find anything, bring it to me right away."
With a collective nod, they went to work.
Flynn wasn't sure how much time had passed when he found himself on the third bookshelf, with still many more to go, his interest no longer in the contents of the books, but drifting elsewhere slowly like the tide. Natz brought them a simple, but hearty meal that their stomachs were grateful for, and Flynn returned to the search a little renewed.
As another two cases passed beneath his watchful eyes, again his thoughts began to turn. It was very late. They were all weary, and slowly, they began to turn in for the night, starting with Karol. It wasn't until Judith mentioned her need for beauty rest that Flynn realized that only he, Rita, and Estellise remained steadfast in their search, although sleep was hounding him as well. It hadn't been completely fruitless. Rita had a few pages of notes from the small number of books they found, but it seemed like a major breakthrough was far from sight.
"Geez, we're only half done with the archives!" Rita huffed from her bookcase, which had to be her ninth or tenth. "If those lazy jerks didn't need to sleep so much, we'd be a lot further."
"I'm afraid they just don't have your knack for research, Rita." Estellise smiled past a yawn and the desire to close her eyes. She looked around a second, wiping them. "But I didn't think that Yuri had gone to bed. He was here just a bit ago and didn't say anything about it."
Rita huffed again, slamming her book closed and fishing for another one.
Estellise was right, though. Yuri hadn't bid them a good night like the others had, and of everyone, he seemed like the one to bear through the longest, even if he needed the rest. Perhaps he had gone outside for some fresh air, and with as musty as this room was, Flynn couldn't blame him. It was suffocating and Flynn suddenly felt that urge to get out for a little bit as well.
"I'm sorry. I'm going to step out for some fresh air. I'll be back shortly."
"Okay, Flynn."
"Bring some tea back or something." Rita didn't look up.
Flynn left the musty room behind and felt better as soon as he was in the open breezeway of the hall outside. The clop of his boots against the stone floor resounded in the quiet emptiness of the hall as he walked once around the circumference of the Coliseum, glad for the cool sea breeze and the calmness of the night that was settling over him slowly.
A second trip woke him up a little, and brought him to a little balcony, jutting from the side, set with a small table and a pair of chairs bathed in moonlight. In one of them, he found Yuri slumped.
"Yuri?"
He was fast asleep, leaning back with his head sagged against his shoulder, snoring a little. His dark hair was spilled across his face, hiding his eyes.
If he was tired, he should have just gone to bed rather than sneaking out only to fall asleep where he could get sick. If Yuri got sick, it would only bog them down.
But with him sleeping there so calm and quiet, Flynn couldn't help himself, no matter what Ioder said. He drew his hand nearer, letting the tips of his fingers brush against Yuri's forehead slowly. He pushed the silken hair out of those close eyes, across soft skin that left a lingering warmth on his fingertips.
"Yuri." He reached for his shoulder, but flinched back.
"Flynn...?" His eyes didn't open and he didn't appear to have been stirring, so why had he called Flynn's name?
"Yuri?"
The gasp that escaped those pale lips was chilling. Sharp and abrupt, an exhale and a groan, the bloodcurdling sound a man made when stabbed. Flynn had only heard this sound a handful or times over the course of his duty and each time rocked him to the core. But why had Flynn's name come before that sound? Was Yuri dreaming? Was he reliving the moment at Zaude where he had come so close to death at Sodia's hand? But then why had he said Flynn's name with such an inflection? Concerned, questioning, soft. Flynn had been unconscious at the moment, but Yuri had been on the other side of the chaos and he couldn't have known that Flynn hadn't regain consciousness.
If he really was reliving that hellish nightmare, why had he said Flynn's name right before Sodia tried to do him in?!
The thought that answered that question was just as chilling as the sound Yuri made. Sodia said she waited for him to turn before stabbing him. Had he heard the scrap of armor, of the clank of metal greaves, and thought that - oh gods.
Even if briefly, had Yuri thought that Flynn - it was too unbearable to think of further.
Yuri had to know that it wasn't Flynn. He had even outed Sodia the second he woke. He had to have seen Sodia, but that didn't make the fact of the nightmares easier.
Those charcoal eyes shot open and Yuri jolted straight up in the chair, sweat beading on his brow. His eyes scanned frantically, catching Flynn after a mere half second and widening with the fear of the nightmare still in him. His mouth dropped open, fumbling for a word or a noise.
"Yuri, are you all right?" Flynn reached forward to lay a hand on Yuri's arm, but he flinched back quickly.
"I-I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"It sounded like you were having a nightmare."
"I was just dozing off."
The thought that was the answer to his question, that terrible thought, was stuck close to the front of his brain, burning to be asked, burning to be verified. "Yuri, at the top of Zaude, did you-?"
"That is the last thing I want to talk about right now."
"Could you at least listen to my question?"
Leaning up from the chair, Yuri pushed him away roughly with both hands. He stood, as Flynn was forced a few steps back, and followed through with a punch that missed his face. "I said I don't want to talk about it!"
"All I want to do is help!" Flynn grabbed his hand, shoving him back. Yuri skidded a step and came back full force, grappling for Flynn's arms to continue what was basically turning into a shoving match.
"You've helped enough!"
"Flynn? Yuri?"
Both stopped cold in their tracks, looking to the archway of the balcony were Estellise stood. Silence settled over them and Yuri yanked himself away, trudging past Estellise and storming back to the library.
"What happened?" She asked, brow furrowed in concern.
"I... I don't know."
Please, any further question except the one he feared was on her lips. Anything but that. Flynn was still working through that jumbled, knotted mess in his chest that may or may not have been related to Yuri and may or may not have been the thing he was fearing it was. His face was hot as he tried to guess what her next words would be. Thankfully, they were not what he expected.
"I'm sure he's just tired. Yuri's been through so much, but he can't seem to bring himself to rest. I guess that's just the way he is."
