felinis: hey look it's this fic... ya know the one I am writing

Flynn's a little grateful for his minimal prior experience on the Heracles once they get inside. Even if he doesn't have a full map it's enough for him to say he has an idea where everything is as they beat their way past the guards. He doesn't want to say it out loud though, but they could move faster if Yuri's legs weren't well...

He noted Yuri was gripping his head and groaning, "You're not going to have an episode now of all times, are you?"

Yuri shook his head, "No. It's just very loud in here."

Judith hummed in terse agreement, "Yeah… it's kind of obnoxious how much they're screaming."

Karol put a hand up to his ear, "Is this one of those you guys hear it but we don't kind of things?"

"Oh, this definitely a us problem."

"Funny I can't hear anything like that," Flynn adds because given that he's had moments where he swears he smells them you'd think he could. It is a different condition though even if it is similar in appearance. The smell part is still giving him a headache. He's looking forward to getting to a point he can just tune it all out.

Flynn points a hall for them to hurry down that he believes is toward the control room. There's an annoying puzzle they have to solve along the way and a few guards they have to take out before they can unlock the door. Judith keeps looking back towards where he's pretty sure are where the other captured Krytian- they can't do anything for them. They don't have time or resources- or just anything!

It's not like he's happy about it. God, the looks she keeps shooting him just make him frustrated in so many ways. He gets it! He fucked up. What do you want him to do about it okay?

"Come on, let's hurry up secure the area. Once we do Sodia and the other knights can deal with the victims locked up." Flynn says readying his blade as Rita thrusts open the door.

In the vast control room, the royal guard that would have been assigned have been clearly slaughtered and he grimaces at the puddle of blood near his foot. Gross. Not to mention cruel. In the center a man that Flynn vaguely recognized as the guy from the coliseum that had interrupted them last time. What's he doing here? He turns to look at them a deranged glint in his eyes.

"You know how I hate waiting, Yuri Lowell!" He cackles turning to look at them and pausing to stare at Yuri with an expression that Flynn can only read as 'well, that is a look'. There are so many questions Flynn could be asking now.

"Why did you kill all these people?" Karol squeaks. Yeah, that was one of his questions as well.

"I don't want anybody else getting in my way." The guy cackles again twirling his blade. So far Flynn is convinced the guy almost exclusively speaks in cackles. Who is this? Is he with Alexei or some hired guild man? He's not a knight outfit aside. Also… Flynn knows this doesn't matter but what is that dye job?

That's a really stupid hairdo.

"I don't have time or the ability to play with you." Yuri spits. "Where's Alexei? Where's he taken Estelle?"

More of that insufferable cackling as he twirls his swords. "Heh heh heh. He's not here! He was never even here to begin with."

No. No. No! They did not waste time on a wild goose chase! Alexei can't have already made it to Zaphias! Dammit, can the world stop making him feel like a fuck-up for five minutes? "Thanks for wasting our time," Rita spits and they all start walking away but the weird goth clown in the center jumps in front of them.

"Hey! Hold on a minute! Aren't you forgetting someone?!" Arms splayed out in an unrefined and yet somehow functioning stance.

"I don't know who you are but I've had enough of a day as it is," He said holding up Dein Nomos at the ready. "Stand aside."

The crazy asshole snorts, "I don't care about weaklings like you. I am here for Yuri, Yuri, and the blood of Yuri."

Flynn looked over at Yuri who let out a deep beleaguered sigh, "You've got dependency issues, you know that? We don't have time for you! I especially do not have time for you."

"Oh, you'll make time. We are going to fight till one of us is dead on the ground!"

With a lunge for Yuri, the fight was on. Yuri ducked out of the way almost tripping as he held up the sword attached to his arm. He parried off the blade as whatever the hell his name is because Flynn doesn't know it backflipped over Karol's large swing.

Spells go flying and Flynn charges in keeping this- stalker? He guesses- from getting near Yuri because he's seen Yuri the whole time they've been here and his ability to fight is absolutely ridiculous. There are so many awful thoughts he can have about Yuri's inability to fight but for now, he's going to duck out of Judith's swing.

That was totally on purpose.

This ferret of an insane man pushed him into a wall and Flynn struggled to get out from under him before he had to move. Now, in all honesty, Flynn has never met or actually seen a ferret before but based on what he's been told they're basically evil furry slinkies so that sounds about right but for all he knows he's wrong and that he should be comparing this person to an otter because he knows for a fact otters assholes. Actually, let's preemptively change the descriptive word to otter and ignore the ferret entirely. Flynn's pretty sure they look like white weasels or something.

He liked that journal too. Damn, that otter.

Right, this is a fight. It's crazy and frenzy and a few times Flynn finds himself getting stabbed or slashed with Yuri playing as the distraction. "Dammit Yuri, fight me! Fight me!"

The blastia arm launched towards them exploding the back wall and throwing Yuri to the ground and he didn't stand back up. Of all times for his legs to give out! It ends being Repede that knocks their enemy out of the Heracles through the glass panes.

With him gone Rita goes to the controls quickly putting a stop to the machine and it seems like they can leave. Flynn trusts Sodia to come to this location soon to deal with this matter. For now, they have to hurry.

"Ba'ul can follow the aer disturbances to track Estelle down. It should still be safe to say that Estelle will be taken to Zaphias like Raven told us."

"Then there's no time to lose."

But another blast just like the one from before blasts them all onto the ground with the maniac laughing above them clutching his wounds. "This isn't over Yuri! Let's do this!"

Right when it seems they're going to get charged again only this time wounded and down their healer, two girls he vaguely recognizes as being from Leviathan's Claw slam into him and another bigger blast goes off launching him off again.

"Oh ho ho. What a lovely little scream he made." Okay, this person Flynn does know and it doesn't make it any less confusing. For some reason, their wounds are treated and they're told where to find Estelle, in particular, he's certain it has something to do with the fact he's an arm's dealer. Still doesn't change the fact that the Heracles is now rampaging faster and faster towards Zaphias enough that Flynn can just barely make out the shoreline.

Rita is yelling at them to move their asses to the engine room with Patty staying behind with Yuri for time's sake as they follow from behind. They're making their way through when of all people Sodia is here standing off against two knights with three more collapsed on the ground.

She's always been a firebrand, he'll give her that, "You must understand you're all being fooled! Alexei has been using the Knights for his own personal gain!"

"What are you talking about!" The knight on the left swings heavily missing as Sodia parries of the right.

"The Commandant is an honor to the knights, and someone we should all follow. You're the real traitors. You're not even acting under the orders of a captain."

It stings to hear. Yeah, he did abandon everything to save Yuri like an idiot and there were probably several times he could have regrouped with Sodia since he split from the party but instead he's just been selfishly acting on his own.

Just as they arrive on the scene Sodia has completely taken care of the men. Her gaze immediately goes to his and she gives a salute. "Captain! You're safe."

"Good to see you too Sodia," Flynn smiles and he notes she's looking among them.

"I see you've finally ditched Yuri Lowell."

"Nah, Yuri's behind us. He's not as fast as normal so we're moving ahead," Karol says and her brow twitches.

Before this can go further another knight one he recognizes from his troop runs in from behind. "Vice-captain! And Captain Flynn, too?! Perfect timing! Our fleet is in combat outside, but Heracles has too much firepower. We won't hold out long like this. We need you to take command!"

Command… but there's Estelle and his own condition and so much.

Karol pushes him from behind, "You take care of this. Brave Vesperia will handle this from here on out. You take care of what you need to do."

Right. He does need to do this. He's a captain and just because everything is going to hell doesn't mean he gets to stop. Besides there's plenty he can do from the knights that he can't if keeps running with Yuri and Vesperia. A nod as Flynn leaves with Sodia and the other knight in tow asking for details on the situation.

Meanwhile, the Vesperia crew found themselves panicked when they saw how fubared the state of the cannon room was upon entering. Red aer in a writing sea with the machines seeming to have torn themselves from their original perch. Judith was prepared to strike down the panel but Rita tells her to hold steady.

"It might stop Heracles, but the cannon could go off and blow Zaphias clean off the map! We have to cut the power." Rita hisses in frustration as she presses frantically at the controls. "We need to stop the aer."

Karol's eyes go wide in terror, but "We don't have Dein Nomos it's with Flynn."

Everyone looks to each other in horror. But Judith shakes, "No, Yuri you can't!"

Karol looks around in confusion because Yuri is still far behind from what he understands. "What are you talking about?"

Judith clenched her fists and ran towards the edge of the landing where the massive pool of aer seemed almost in reach along with Yuri leaning over the edge. "Don't you dare! Yuri eating that much aer could hurt you."

"The entirety of Zaphias is gonna fucking blow up. We don't have time for this shit Judy." Yuri shouted as despite their sudden efforts to stop him he divebombed into the pool.

The inside was burning and it didn't feel like any of the other times Yuri had consumed aer. Aer had never felt painful and condensed in his throat. It was like eating overly smoked meat and he wanted to gag but also it was food and he was hungry. He just needs to eat this to help save Zaphias. If he can lower the power level. There's shaking rattling as the Heracles is rammed into.

Flynn.

Flynn's doing his part. Yuri's going to do his. He's not gonna be a deadweight here. Yuri took in as much aer as he could with each breath the more he ate the harder it was to think but that was fine. He's damn sure that he's hungry enough that he'll keep at this regardless. He's going to- he's going to-

His head is screaming.

Help Me

It sounds… an apatheia? Yeah, that's an apatheia.

Help

Self

Save

Kill

Kill

KILL

The words are piercing through his mind and he keeps struggling to match with the aer and before Yuri knows it he's being pulled out of the mess passing out the cannon power barely dented. The next thing Karol sees an explosion large enough it blocks out the entire sky blinding them for a moment. They're not sure how the apatheia managed to get into Yuri's grasp but they don't question it. The power is pulled but Yuri passed out and Judith tells them as Ba'ul arrives that the entirety of Nor and Torim harbor are gone along with Emhead hill.

Gone. Yuri somehow wakes up moments later as they're getting him to the Fiertia. His eyes look cold ahead. Alexei. He's gonna kill that bastard for this!

They have less time than before to let themselves relax as Zaphias comes into view. The barrier is gone and something looks wrong and it's once they look down they see the plants look to have mutated. Rita could only look at the horror thinking about how much pain Alexei had to have caused to create this sort of damage.

All these people and Estelle. All of this. She doesn't deserve this! Patty reaches over and holds her hand with a smile, "it'll be all right, Rita. We just gotta rescue her."

"Right. We'll get her back."

Yuri feels his entire being shake because the closer they get the closer it feels like he's approaching something wrong. Something unnatural and slimy that will cling and eat away at him.

That's Estelle's power at work. She's stirred the aer krene enough the land in Zaphias is starting to wither.

Then it'll end up a lifeless desert. That can't happen! For a lot of reasons that cannot happen the suffering of Estelle being one of them. The approach is neck-breaking as they see Estelle in her prison screaming in pain as magic storms around her.

It hurts! Every one of them hurts seeing her at the top of that sword-shaped tower crying in pain. It hurts to listen to her cries. It makes him boil to see Alexei just laughing like a madman! But what hurts worst is hearing Estelle say she's losing control.

Only one of them is supposed to be doing that. Only one of them needs to be at risk of dying. Estelle should never be feeling her control taken away. Yuri's lived his whole life knowing that feeling and Estelle's lived her life in a cage. Despite the fact his legs can barely take it he jumps from the ship reaching out for her.

He's going to save her. Even if kills him Yuri going to fucking save her. He's not going to live much longer and at least one of them is going to make it through all of this and absolutely it's gonna be her. Even if it kills him he's getting her out of there. He can almost touch that cage- he can't breathe the miasma of tainted aer is so thick- he can barely see her face through the red as he thrown back again just barely caught onto the ship but he sees her tears and he hears her say, "Kill me now."

The shockwave strikes a second later and before Yuri can even process how much he can't stand those words the intensity knocks him out again and sends the Fiertia hurdling towards the earth.