Felinis: This note is officially an advertisement for you all to go out and watch the screwball/heist/romantic comedy What's Up Doc staring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. I love it to death and recently rewatched it. I'd write a crossover fic if it wasn't for how visual the comedy is... And I want to because the main character is a lady named Judy who brings havoc.
Karol will admit that he's not used to people liking him or taking him seriously. He's used to people older than him bashing him and thinking lowly of him because he's a coward. Even in the guilds where he didn't fight monsters if things seemed like they could get too hairy he'd run away. Maybe it's because Yuri has been in the same boat, but the man respects him genuinely. Sure, he's not honest about whatever condition he has and the like, but Yuri isn't joking with Karol when they talk guild laws.
It's refreshing though Karol admits he really doesn't know what he's doing with a guild. He's always just wanted to do good in the world and be a hero like the Don. He's not sure what to make of Judith as she barely says a word, yet seems like she is always speaking just to no one aloud… It's a little weird. She seems to know more about Phaeroh and what is going on than anyone in the group. Plus, there's the fact that Judith seems to always be staring at Yuri like he's some bauble that's caught her eye. Karol won't complain on her swearing herself as a member, but he does find it odd…
Desier… It's a continent he's always been curious about. Legends about talking monsters… Where there's smoke there's fire… Karol looks idly at Yuri as they march further onto Heliord thinking back on the red horns they found in the bag. What was that old legend again? Oh, yeah!
The Goddess Martel's council of demi-gods performed sins against her and her followers. Their power was never to be used selfishly, but many fell to using it for petty reasons. Catastrophe fell upon the world so Martel was left with no choice but to rid them of their power so It could never be used again. She turned the demi-gods who had used their powers foolishly, but without ill into Krytians and those that carried malice into monsters that would be slain. Martel would not let forget the now mortal gods forget their folly so she cursed them to be neither human or monster; thus, the Krytian race was born. It was said that one last curse was placed, a Krytian will become a monster if the blood is stirred with aim to return godhood.
When Karol was younger a woman at one of the orphanages used to tell the story all the time while she handed out food. Maybe that's where the truth is…? But, that seems silly to focus on when Karol is more excited about having a job and friends.
Upon entering Heliord, Estelle quickly notes on how empty the streets are as they walk towards the inn. "From what I heard in Dahngrest, people have been running away from here lately because the construction work's so harsh. I don't know if it's true or not, though." Yuri notes he's still being watched as they go to the inn, Estelle clearly wanting to meddle on the matter.
Karol has barely gotten ready for bed when Estelle drags Yuri along with the intent on having a real discussion. "I want to know everything. We're in Heliord, so talk!"
He wishes she wasn't holding his feet to fire on this one, because Yuri barely has the details. He looks about and drags her to the balcony where they're less likely to be overheard. "Learn some patience. So you know about the horns, I take it?"
"Yes, I had to bribe Dr. Mathis over the matter while you were sick… Not to mention I saw them once in the bag while we were traveling. I'm also certain I have some jewelry back in the palace made of the same material."
"Right… I guess that's the biggest thing to tell." Yuri says looking down below. "They just showed up when I was a kid out of nowhere. It had the whole family in a panic… I don't remember how it happened, but I know for a week everything was dark…" He's never been able to remember beyond brief sensations or emotions from his episodes. "I woke up and suddenly I was a freak with horns."
"What else?" Estelle's eyes narrow on his features and he turns his back. Yuri vaguely brushes over his episodes and the slow changes. Trying to lightly jest over things like his aer allergy. He keeps things from her, not because Yuri doesn't trust her. Yuri hides them because they're part of his dark thoughts and the things he's not willing even to tell Flynn. It's not that long of a talk in the end. Perhaps, it spanned over an hour, but it scarcely seemed it. "Every time I healed you… I feel awful for what I did…"
"It's okay. I'm breathing, right?" Estelle nods. "Then you shouldn't feel too bad!"
"Phaeroh called us both terrible things. I think I get why you're the atrocity… but why am I a poison?"
Yuri looks at the red aer floating off her skin and tastes that rotten air he's grown used to. Should he say? That when her artes are cast the aer around him makes Yuri want to choke? That despite how beautiful she is to Yuri she's surrounded by a sea of rot? Estelle is poisonous because the aer around her is festering like a diseased blister. "I'm not sure. We'll both have to figure this out."
Estelle buys the lie to his relief and takes his hands firmly. "Yuri, from now on no more secrets on this. I want us to be friends who can help each other in times of need. The same goes for Karol and Judith! They're your guildmates so you should trust them. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but you should tell them!"
"I will. I promise."
"And… About Flynn… I was wondering how you feel…"
"Don't worry. You two are adorable together." Yuri grins and her face cracks in shock.
"What?"
Yuri gives a lopsided grin. "You don't need to hide it. You two are an adorable couple."
"I-I-I that's not-"
"You don't need to be shy about it." Yuri says hugging her on the back. "You were the one he was always going out at night to see."
"Yuri!" Estelle shrieks.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about it." He winks. "Social classes and all that."
Estelle blinks a moment opening her mouth only to shake her head. "Never mind. I'm going to bed." Yuri raises his brow a little. Was it something he said? Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut on that matter. Estelle still seems a bit upset on the matter and he's not sure why as they enjoy breakfast.
As they walk around town it is very clear how unwelcome he and Judith are. Constant glances and whispers as they looks at the barrier blastia. A child's call bombards them as a young child runs up.
"Isn't that the boy from Nor Harbor?" Yuri notes.
"Miss Estelle! Mister Yuri!" The boy hugs himself around Estelle's waist with a smile.
"How have you been?" She smiles and the boy starts to talk when a woman calls running in from behind. She stops looking at Yuri and Judith.
"Who's this?" Judith asks as Estelle and Karol briefly explain their history. "I see, and what about you, Yuri?"
Yuri snorts and puffs his chest. "I was proudly kidnapped and locked in dungeon. Not to mention, I suffered my first fever!"
"Quite the feat."
Estelle looks about and crunches her brow. "Where is your father?"
"I haven't seen Teagle, my husband, for the past three days..."
"It sounds like that rumor might be true..." Karol says noting the shortage of workers.
"Don't you have any hunches?"
She nods. "Yes... The night before he disappeared, he talked again about working to become a noble."
"Become a noble? What do you mean?"
"When this city is finally completed, we will be able to live here as members of the nobility."
Estelle knits her brow and brings her hand to her chin. "Huh? That doesn't sound quite right."
"What do you mean?"
"The rank of nobility is reserved for those whose service has earned the emperor's confidence." It's something rich fops are born into, more like it.
"B-but, Sir Cumore gave his word to us! He said we would be welcomed as nobles!" The name hits them both immediately, but for different reasons. Cumore… That asshole had made throwing Yuri in jail for racial profiling a tradition. He's the creep who you imagine has antennas hanging on his wall next to his codpieces. "He is acting as the current magistrate of the city."
"I'll bet he is..." Yuri grits.
"That is strange, though. I mean, the imperial throne is empty and all." Karol says and the woman's eyes fall.
"But then... Then why on earth have we been working this hard? And what about Teagle...?"
Pauly looks up at his mother with welling eyes." Is Father not coming back...?" It's not even up for debate on whether they'll help them or not. After listening in on the townsfolk they see that the labor camp is well guarded below.
"I really think forcing our way through would be the simplest and most effective way in." Judith pouts as they stand afar looking at the guard standing by the elevator.
Karol protests immediately. "No, I won't allow it! All we need to do is draw the guard away from his post."
"But how will we do that?"
Karol pauses a moment and they all stare trying come with a plan. "...Maybe by, y'know, seducing him with feminine wiles?" They all stare at him and Yuri wants to protest, but in the end it's the only idea that they have.
"Normally, I'd be up all for it." Judith says still pouting. "But, this isn't a good place for a Krytian to prance around."
Estelle nods with a sigh. "Yeah, and my face is fairly well known."
"So I guess that means it'll have to be Karol."
"Wh-what are you talking about! Why me?" Karol shouts. "Why not Yuri? He's way girlier than me!"
Yuri smacks his head. "Excuse me! One, Krytian." He says tossing his antenna. "Plus, have you heard this sexy baritone? I would never get away with it even he didn't see my gorgeous face."
"Wow, wanna talk yourself up any higher?" Karol sasses.
"Yes, it would take so much padding to give me a girlish figure!"
"I get it, I'll put on the dress." Karol groans.
Repede looks between them and yawns. "If you ask me, I think both of you make terrible women." Well, yeah! Yuri only looks like a girl when you look at his back while drunk.
Judith is pulling away Karol with a smile as they head to get a dress. "You've gotta believe in yourself, Karol! When a lady struts her stuff, she does it with pizzazz!"
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about!" Karol is desperately trying to walk away as they are on the verge of entering. "Hey, there's still time, you guys. How about someone else seduce the guard?"
"When a man makes up his mind, he's gotta see it through to the end." Yuri declares pushing him forward.
"And this is a guild job, as well. Don't forget, 'All for the guild!'"
Karol looks like he might pummel them with his hammer. "Oh, that is so twisting the guild's laws..."
Estelle beams genuinely down at him ruffling his hair. "Karol, you'll be fine! You'll be the cutest little thing that knight has ever seen!"
"...Being the cutest anything has never been one of my life goals." Karol mutters with all the venom in the world. The shopkeeper is more than a little confused on the matter, but chooses to ignore it for his own sanity. With dress in hand they pull Karol away to doll him up in makeup and bows. The boy walks out in a pink dress and bloomers… Don't laugh. Don't laugh!
Is it really that funny?
Karol's misery at this point is almost staple to the comedy of this group. Yuir's not sure how not to laugh at his misery. "If any of you talk about this I will kill you with this dress."
Judith hums. "That seems rather inefficient." She gives a final adjustment of the bow. "This is going to be wonderful!"
Estelle nods eagerly. "He's so cute!"
Karol doesn't even bother with rage as he slings his bag over his shoulder. "No last remarks Yuri?"
"I'm sorry, man."
Karol flips Yuri off as he trudges forward. "No you're not." He's kind of right. As they all hide behind some scaffolding Karol takes a deep breath and moves forward. "I should have just let them beat up the guard." He looks up at the knight on guard and coughs a little. "E-excuse me..."
"Get closer to him!" Yuri says kicking him closer.
"B-but, this is so..."
"Be brave, Karol!" Judith says pulling him into an armful of cleavage before pushing him back out there. That's one way to encourage him… Karol takes a deep breath and marches upward.
"E-excuse me! Mr. Knight!" Karol squeaks.
A middle-aged man's voice comes from inside and they all see a shudder go through Karol's spine from the back. "Hmm? Are you talking to me?"
"Y-yes...Could you come over here? I can't find my doggy..." Karol stutters both in rage and utter humiliation.
"...N-no, I can't leave my post unattended!"
Karol's lip trembles in a pout likely rage induced along with the tears. "B-but..."
"I'm s-sorry! Please don't cry like that..." The knight exclaims putting his hands on his shoulders. "Oh, all right. I can make some time, for your sake."
"Oh...I'm so happy...! Now, please come closer!" Karol says guiding the knight towards their hiding place where he's conked out. "...And as I predicted, it came to blows in the end anyway. My pride was sullied for nothing."
"We couldn't really ask you to go all the way with it." Yuri says and the boy is burning holes in his head. Judith hands him the wallet and Yuri looks inside giving a whistle. "Wow, looks like this guy has a son. Maybe we could set you up on a date."
"All right, on to the next step." Judith says holding up the helmet. "It should be easier to go in if you dress like a knight."
"Who, me? I don't think that'll work at all, Judy. We could always use Karol."
"Fuck no!"
She smirks. "Don't worry. Put on helmet a tie up the antennas and you'll be fine." That sounds both painful and annoying. "Just let me do the work." Judith grabs his antennas soft enough that it doesn't hurt as she stuffs him in the helmet. Once the uniform is mostly on everyone starts looking at him curiously. "You seriously wore this?"
"It looks odd on you." Estelle mutters.
"Maybe I should have gone for it."
Yuri rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. I look awful in armor."
"Hey! Quit goofing off over there!" A knight yells.
"Huh? What's the matter?" Yuri feigns.
"You should get back to your post before things get even more out of hand!"
Well, that's not a term knights normally want to say. "What do you mean, 'out of hand'?"
"The mage we captured is running wild! Hurry up!" The knight yells and Yuri follows.
When Yuri enters he see Rita furiously yelling over a heap of fallen guards throwing fireballs. He throws off his helmet and calls for her to calm down. "Huh, Yuri? What are you doing here? And what's with the getup?" The door opens and her eyes get a little wide. "Estelle?... Why the fuck is Karol in that outfit?"
"Long story. Let's get somewhere more quiet." They duck into a side road as Karol comes back free from his dress and Yuri from the knight uniform.
"So, what are you doing in a place like this?" Estelle asks the mage.
"I thought I'd check out the blastia here, before investigating the aer krene."
Yuri nods crossing his arms. "And you wound up biting off a little more than you could chew. Just like always."
Rita clicks her tongue. "But what was it you got involved in?"
"They sneaked the blastia into the labor camp at night. I mean, that's already pretty shady." Rita says.
"Don't tell me you were sneaking around investigating it when you got caught." Yuri says shaking his head.
Rita turns her nose. "Of course not. I was very stealthy about it."
"...And then you got caught." Karol sighs.
"Well, I couldn't just sit around while they were trying to do something weird with the blastia. The people here have been threatened by the Knights and are being made to work."
"I bet Teagle's in there, too." Karol says.
Estelle straightens herself with determination. "We cannot allow this to go on."
"And what about this blastia you saw?"
"It was a hoplon blastia. It looks like they're gathering them up for a war."
"They wouldn't... You don't think they're planning on attacking Dahngrest again?" Karol exclaims with well earned fear.
Estelle look in the direction of the labor camp curiously. "But why? After they've just set up the friendship agreement..."
"It's gotta be Cumore. There's no way he intends to keep any promises he made to the guilds." Yuri hisses.
"Do you know him, Yuri?" Karol asks.
He nods. "You met him once, at Caer Bocram."
The light turns on and Karol's mouth gives a large 'oh'. "You mean the guy with the creepy voice." Yuri, nods as they start making plans to deal with what's going on below. They stop and duck behind the barrier blastia to overhear Cumore speak to a man with a bizarre accent. Mentions of a coup and Cumore's disdain drift to their ears as they descend down the elevator. They follow a few minutes later and look about everyone else shocked except for Yuri and Judith.
It's too close to the harshness of the Lower Quarter or the stories Yuri had heard of Krytian labor camps to be unsettling. It's awful, but he's numb to these sights. Whip cracks go off and they see a man being beat into the mud by a knight. Estelle casts a photon spell knocking the knight out without a second thought as she runs to the man's aid. It feels wrong when they see a kid running around working, but they move on knowing they have to find Cumore. The scum needs to pay for what he's done! They find him sitting cross-legged under an awning yelling at the workers.
Next to Cumore is the red-eyes of all things standing by his side along with the man with the weird voice. "Get to work! No slacking off, you worms! If it's money you want, you'll have more than you can use. Now work! Work!"
Yuri walks from his hiding spot and throws a rock straight at Cumore's widow's peakl. The man gasp angrily looking about screaming only for his gaze to stop on him. "Yuri Lowell! What is a vile thing like you doing here?" The fucker's eyes widen and his jaw drops in panic as Estelle walks from the woodwork. "P-Princess...!"
Estelle stares him down brutally as she accuses him. "You have no right to call yourself a knight! Brute force is not the way to honor the prestige of the empire. Put down your weapons now. You will also release the people you have tricked into coming down here!"
A dark grin takes Cumore's face. "This all might be easier if such a naive little Princess were to simply disappear. All of your utopian ramblings make me sick!"
"That's not the kind of thing someone with delusions of becoming Commandant of the Knights would say." Yuri prods and the man grits his teeth.
"Yeager! Get rid of them!" Cumore snaps.
"Ja, milord." Yeager says flicking out a scythe. "Nothing personal, you see. Just business!" Yeager calls and his four men run into the fray as well. Rita quickly launches a stone lance at the grunts all but one have dodged. Yuri out of ducks away from a bullet while Judith tries to take Yeager from behind only to be knocked back. Karol swings a miss but keeps a grunt from interrupting Estelle's spell.
She launches more photons while Rita casts sub-zero spheres of crushing darkness. Repede jumps a grunt and manages to drive his blade into the shoulder. Yuri furiously swings his sword as he attempts to stagger Yeager. An arte swings from the scythe and Yuri has to pull back as his chest is shallowly cut. Yeager looks around and grins. "I must admit, you're very strong."
"Sir Cumore! It's the Flynn Brigade!" A knight calls running onto the scene.
"Flynn?" Estelle gaps.
"Well, send him away!" Cumore shouts.
"We tried, but he insists on coming down to perform an inspection."
Cumore's blood is boiling. "That lower quarter lout. He simply has no tact!"
"Gauche, Droite." Yeager calls as two girls fall from above. "I think we better be making with the escape, ja?"
The girls toss down smoke bombs that cloud the air as letting them get away. "We'll get you next time!" Cumore screams.
"What an original line." Judith muses.
"If we don't follow them they'll-!"
Karol pulls her back. "Wait! Our job is to rescue Teagle!"
Estelle starts to protest as Rita clicks her tongue. "I don't know who's job is what, but are we following them or not?"
A new voice calls in the chaos and Yuri snaps his fingers with a smile. "Hey, just in time."
"Yuri...!" Flynn says feet coming to a halt.
"Sorry, but it looks like something's come up. You'll have to head back by yourself." Yuri says helping up the man Yuri assumes is Teagle based on Karol and Estelle's reaction. "Say hi to the wife and kid for us."
So we are going after them.
"Yeah. I'm sure Flynn has things under control here. Sound good, Karol?"
"Yeah. Plus, I think Estelle's going to take off after them any minute." Karol chuckles a little.
As they're heading out Flynn grabs Yuri's arm. "Yuri, wait! We need to talk!"
Sorry about this buddy! Yuri trips Flynn catching him off guard as he runs. "Gotta run, Flynn!"
"Yuri, Lady Estellise! Please… wait."
Felinis: I'd like to just say that as much as I love the idea of Yuri in a dress, he doesn't actually have a feminine face or figure. Yes, Yuri is sexy as fuck, but his voice is really manly and he does not have a delicate frame.