Felinis: So you may notice that things are very similar and very different. Also true friendship is when you can have a eight day conversation based solely on saying quotes from history of japan.

Lowell looked over the papers and grimaced. A blastia like this could destroy the world. No, this couldn't be allowed. And, now humans believed they could craft cores? They were inviting death. Lowell burned the papers and headed to the window.

The door rattled and he jumped through to the hard ground below. The impact didn't hurt, but he needed to move. He slid through the courtyard and around the halls till he made it out in the open.

"Lowell?" He froze. Hanna looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

He stood straight and put on his best smile. "I came to see you."

Hanna narrowed her eyes. "Really?" She looked him over. "Then why don't we talk in my room?"

Lowell needed to get out of here, but if he ran now Hanna would be immediately suspicious. He took her arm kindly. "That would be wonderful, milady."

She rolled her eyes. "You idiot."

The crunch of their boots on the dead leaves seemed the only sound as the group made their way towards the ruins. Yuri felt like his nose might fall off from the stench. Everything, even the soil, smelled of sweet decay and briny oil. The appeal he'd smelt before was gone like the food had turned rotten. The red aer drifted around and Yuri couldn't help admitting he was a little nauseous.

There was something to all of this that screamed in his head. It felt corrupt and unnatural. Flynn walked behind hesitantly. Still troubled by his fears. Yuri pulled him aside and slyly nibbled his ear.

"Yuri!" Flynn exclaimed quietly.

Yuri smirked. "Fourteen." Flynn's hand went to his ear in confusion. "We ended on unlucky number last time. So, now you know we'll make it through." Yuri wasn't sure why Flynn's face had gotten pink, but he didn't care. He continued marching on with his slight headache.

The water in the lake could hardly be called such. As of now, it was viscous ooze. That thing living in the lake had swallowed everything and had turned it all into a disgusting cesspool. Yuri could almost feel it moving around under there squirming and writhing as it looked for more… not food. It wasn't like that thing it. It was more like it assimilated. So, Yuri would say it was gathering materials.

Crossing the bridge was relatively easy. Once inside Yuri had to cover his mouth to hide his cough. Flynn looked at him wide-eyed, but Yuri raised a hand. He was fine. The aer was just thick and he was just choking on it a bit. It cleared up in a few seconds and Yuri let out a breath in relief.

Of all the things Yuri had been expecting, being chased by a giant boulder down a narrow hallway had not been one of them. He'd barely managed to avoid falling to his death off the ledge. He lost his shield though and Yuri did not want to file the paperwork for a new one. They pressed onward down toward the tower. Yuri heard that hum on the blastia on Hisca's wrist distort into a scream as it exploded away from everyone. The core was shattered and when he listened again. Silence. His head was starting to ache. Shit. Not now.

"Is your condition acting up?" Flynn asked softly as they made their way.

"I'm fine." Yuri huffed. Now was not the time to start babying him. "And, if it does ignore it."

The blastia that sat inside the room was monstrous and ugly. Yuri felt repulsed as the aer was pulled from the ground and pumped into the machine. As he looked up noticed further along the machine in the pillar it was attached to were compartments filled red liquid. Upon further inspection, he noticed little crystals growing inside. What the… they looked like cores? But why would there be…

Niren set down a strange blastia and activated. "What's that? It looks weird."

The captain nodded. "No kidding. Very weird." The machine scuttled and stopped the flow of aer. His head throbbed again and the machine exploded knocking them into the debris. Yuri started to make his way towards the exit when the throbbing burst into agony. He clutched his head and stopped.

Please. Not now. Anytime, but now.

Flynn pulled at his arm. "Yuri get up!" Yuri wanted to move, but his body was limp and he couldn't feel his legs. "Yuri!" Flynn placed a hand on his head. "Of all the times." He picked the halfer up and started carrying him.

Niren picked Yuri up and slung him over his shoulder. "You focus on getting out of here." He jostled Yuri and slapped his face a few times. "Whatever's wrong with you snap out of it!" He wanted to. But, his head kept screaming in pain. Yuri looked at the ground and saw those small purple cores. He'd seen those before. If he could have, Yuri would have narrowed his eyes in disgust.

Get it together! This pain is nothing!

Slowly he fought through the pain and took in a deep breath. Fuck it hurt. His fingers twitched. Good. He was able to move a little. He saw the captain look startled as he looked at him. "Cover those things up quickly. You can explain that when you get back." He knew it. Fine, he'd deal with that later. They were almost out.

Boom

The ground gave way and Yuri's body was tossed up into Flynn. "Captain!" His body was dropped on the ground as Flynn made his way to the ledge. "Hurry and give me your hand!" Yuri slowly tried to get up. He had to help the captain.

"Can't." He said and held his arm that was practically charred to the joint. "'Fraid it's out of commission."

Flynn grimaced but still reached. "We deal with that later. Just hurry and try to get out." He wasn't long enough to reach him. Niren was going to die just like his father. No. He couldn't. "Is there anything longer we can use? Rope? Or something?" There had to be something they could do.

"Flynn." Niren's voice cuts in. "Focus on your sacred duty. Every one of you needs to get out while you still have a chance." Flynn wasn't leaving their captain to die in this hellhole. Think dammit. He tossed up his blastia and Flynn caught it without a second thought. "Now, move."

Yuri breathed in slowly and placed a hand on Flynn. He could finally stand, but everything was dyed in red from the aer. "We gotta go." He nodded hesitantly and they ran from the collapsing ruins. Flynn still helping Yuri's numb body and doing his best to keep his head out of sight. Once they were safe they could bandage them up before anyone was the wiser since they were barely visible. The force of the aer erupted out and Yuri felt his mind go black. Fuck. And, here he'd thought he could make it too.

When Yuri woke up he was in the medical wing handcuffed to the bed. His mouth tasted dry and his head felt fuzzy. Yuri felt his head it was bandaged, but he didn't feel horns. He did his best to sit up and look around. Yuri sniffed at the air and hoped to catch Flynn's scent. Flynn could tell him what's going on.

But, he couldn't scent him. Great. Footsteps approached and he knew it was Chastel holding a tray of food. She looked at him wearily. "Are you… yourself?"

"What happened?"

"After we got across the bridge you just sort of…"

"Disappeared." He finished. She nodded. "After that?"

She swallowed. "Flynn wouldn't let anyone near you and lashed out at Yurgis. I saw red and thought it was a head injury and…"

"How much did you see?"

She swallowed. "Enough. I forced Flynn to let me help bandage your head and, he explained what was going on to me after we got back."

Yuri took the tray. "Does anybody else know?"

"I told Hisca and we managed to get it under wraps," Chastel said pulling out a roll of fresh bandages. "You're here because you had a head injury."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "And, the chain?"

She looked at the ground. "You kept trying clawing nurses and you bit Flynn a few times. Precautions were needed."

Yuri looked at his claws. "How many days?"

"Two." Two days? Flynn must be falling apart. "The captain's funeral is tomorrow."

Yuri just nodded. "I see." Chastel left after that and soon a nurse came by to let him go. He went to the bathroom and looked himself over. Flynn must have gotten hurt trying to cut his horns while Yuri was rabid. He needed to apologize for that.

Yuri entered the bedroom to find Flynn eating his sweets with a dour look. Yuri smiled. "Hey."

The funeral had been dower. Yuri couldn't help blaming himself a little, but he tried not to. Niren would probably yell at him for that. So, he stood strong and remembered they still had work to do. He looked over to Flynn. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Flynn bit his lips angrily at the tactician as they waited to ambush him in the library. Garista walked in and found the broken core Flynn had picked up. "We found it inside the ruins. Only you use that type of core, sir." Garista fiddled with the bodhi blastia n his wrist. "Why did you do it? Were you hoping the town would be destroyed?"

Garista laughed. "Don't be silly. We were simply using those ruins as a testing ground for a new type of blastia."

Neither of them found this to be a laughing matter. "You're creating new blastia?"

"Correct. In order to maintain our way of life, we must control aer and blastia. The only method we have for obtaining the necessary aer cores is excavation." Garista smiled widely taken in by his words. "But, if we could create a artificial replacement cores it would usher in an era of greater prosperity. One free from the fear of monster!"

"But, you lost control of the blastia. So, you decided to take out it, the brigade and the town as well." Flynn accused.

Garista remained unfazed at the statement. "There was always a chance it would go awry. We don't even have a full control on normal blastia."

"Fortunately, for us, that's how we were able to bring back that core as proof."

Garista's face hardened and the turned to a sadistic grin. "You know there have been other experiments with some measure of success. Of course, there were some casualties then as well."

Flynn's face cracked in horror. "Are you saying…"

Garista bowed his head. "Do accept my condolences." Flynn charged in fury at him and was flown back by a barrier. "I apologize, but I can't let you bring this public. Flynn Scifo I'm afraid you'll have to die. As for the monster," he cackled, "Your blood is too a good catalyst for the Apatheia to lose." Garista fired a spell at Yuri driving him back. "If you surrender now I promise the experiments will continue to be humane."

They ran for the bookshelves and Yuri ran sword ready to kill the bastard only to be deflected. Flynn leaped from the other side and managed a hit before several bolts of powerful spells pushed him back into the bookcases. "Feisty one." Garista walked in with a large spell on hand only to be knocked down by an incoming bookshelf. They stood at the ready waiting for his approach. Garista stood from an explosion angry. "You're starting to annoy me." He conjured for the books to rise and sent them hurdling at them. Despite their attempts to deflect them they were slammed to the ground and stabbed with shards from the broken window.

Flynn reached into his pocket and pulled out Niren's bodhi blastia. "Yuri, we have once shot make an opening for me."

"On it." Yuri ran up to Garista. The man hesitated at launching his spell at Yuri and he took it as a chance to fling books at Garista's face.

Garista was fuming and he pushed away the books. "Enough child's play!" He looked down below to see them aiming a blastia towards his face.

"It's over!" The two yelled as a large spell activated blinding him.

Garista waited for the impact of the spell but nothing came. He didn't have enough time to move as Yuri's blade sunk into his gut. He looked at the blastia on that monster's wrist. "That's-"

"His blastia you bastard."

Garista clutched the sword trying to hold it in and wheezed. He looked in Yuri's eyes blood dripping from his mouth. "You're just like your father. A cretin who steals from me."

Yuri pulled the sword and Garista fell dead. His features turned to shock. His old man? Was that why Alexei approached him? "Yuri is something wrong?"

"I need to find a journal. Research. Anything." Yuri said running towards Garista's study.

"What are you talking about?" Flynn said grabbing his cape.

Yuri pulled free. "He knows something about my Dad. This could be my chance to finally figure something out!" Flynn nodded and they ran to rummage through the dead man's things. They searched an hour but came up empty. Yuri slammed his fist into the desk in frustration. "Dammit." Yuri finally had a lead on something that had been haunting him since he was ten, and now this! "Dammit!" Garista had either hidden away the notes or placed them in someone else's hands. The thought made him boil.

But, no. For now, this matter was done.

Yuri left the knights shortly after to head back to the Lower Quarter. He wasn't cut out for the knights. More importantly, he wanted to start figuring things out. If the knights had an idea what and who he was then he wanted in on that info.

Felinis: This chapter almost ended with Yuri in a cage... It didn't solely because I wasn't sure how exactly I'd proceed the story from here. Another note I am selling shirts. Yes shirts. Vesperia themed shirts. Ones that say "Blastia Before Boys" and "#EntelexeiaLivesMatter". They're nice shirts and pretty decently priced. Just got to my profile for a link or teechip.(you know what)/stores/memesshirts

All proceeds go to pay a starving college student. Just saying