Disclaimer: I do not own Steamboy or anything related to Steamboy

Steamboy: The Rancour

Chapter 5: Mystery Murder

The rain slanted harshly with the wind across Ray's face, he could hardly see through it. The storm was quite bad, it was madness for anyone to be out in it but Ray had to say sorry. He could see two figures walking slowly through the rain; one walked in a shirt and braces as if the rain did not exist, while the other huddled under two coats.

'Lily! Kira!' Ray knew his calls would not be heard over the thunder. He ran to catch up with them and soon he could hear Kira chatting away about the weather; he could not hear Lily speaking but could sense her cold mood anyway.

'Lily?!' it was almost a question as if he were asking permission to speak her name.

She turned around, her hair plastered in ringlets around her face. The rain ran down right underneath her eyes when she looked at him as if she were crying; maybe she was Ray would never know for sure.

'What do you want from me now? I have nothing else to tell you than what you have heard?'

'Lily, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry,' Lily still looked upon him coldly without speaking. He just wished she would say something, anything to break the terrible silence.

'Do you even know why I am angry with you?' he didn't know how she managed to be so expressionless all the time.

'Because Emma told me you were leaving and I was angry at you because I though you would tell me first. And ever since she told me I have been cold to you and if this is not the reason then I don't know why I am out here for you!' Ray was annoyed again at Lily's blank, uncaring countenance. The rain was beginning to soak through all his garments, and the cold was bone chilling.

'If you don't know why you're out here for me then go home …Steamboy,' the name seemed so like a dismissal that Ray was stunned. No one had ever called him that except for his Grandfather; how did she even know he went by that name?

'Lily wait,' she had already turned her back on him, but a thought had suddenly hit him, 'I'm out here for you because I want to help you and Kira back home.'

Lily kept walking; she could tell when he was lying. He knew the words he wanted to say, why wouldn't they come out? She and Kira were getting further away now; she probably wouldn't even hear him.

'Because you mean everything to me!' he yelled at the dark figures in the growing rain. One immediately stopped and turned around. He walked up to the figure his cheeks burning, and all of a sudden he wished he hadn't yelled that.

'You can help us then,' she smiled at him in her odd way and he walked with them back home.

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The rain was thundering down outside and it was quite possible there would soon be a storm upon their hands. The wind howled violently and shook the windows in such a way that you thought they might break. The Dr.'s sat at the table puffing away at their pipes, while Mrs. Steam prepared dinner.

'If she is who I think she is then she is a trapped soul; a trapped and tortured soul. You cannot blame her,' the elder Dr. Steam leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

'How can she be trapped and tortured; she always seems so happy and has such a beautiful voice hidden within her. She is a helpful, kind, polite girl and the only reason she has no husband is because she's so…so…manly,' Ray's mother stood hand on hip stirring a pot, trying to find the right words for Lily.

'Why would she want a husband when she is bound for greater things, like the exhibition?!' everyone in the kitchen was amazed at Dr. Lloyd, Edward stopped blowing circles in the air and almost choked.

'You are not serious now Father! A woman, enter the exhibition with inventions! A poor one at that! Who has not even a man to stand by her! I doubt it!' Dr. Steam slammed his mug down on the table with contempt.

'Now Eddie, you never know; she shows the same enthusiasm for it that Ray does. The same enthusiasm you once showed. What if they both went together! She will get herself there one way or another,' the Dr. seemed very sure of his words.

'I don't think anyone's noticed but Ray seems fond of this girl; so don't you go getting any crazy ideas like that into his head! He's bad enough as he is with both of your blood flowing through him,' Mrs. Steam waved her ladle at them threateningly before turning around again.

Dr. Edward ran his hand through his hair that was growing back and shrugged his shoulders at his father.

Emma came scooting around the doorway, her hands waving in the direction of the front doorway, 'Mrs. Steam! Ray's run after them!'

Mrs. Steam almost knocked the pot off the stove as she quickly turned around, her mouth open and moving but not making a sound.

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The stairs leading up to Lily and Kira's house weren't the most stable things Ray had ever seen. In fact he didn't quite know how they went up the creaky old things with such ease. The only good thing was the stairs were covered by a small porch roof. As they went up the stairs, shaking the water out of their hair and clothes, Lily pulled out something Ray had not noticed before; a small key on the end of a thin but sturdy looking chain.

Lily was about to do something very odd, well to Ray anyway because Kira just stood there like it happened all the time, which it probably did. Lily was in the middle of unlocking the bars on the window when she looked around at a small bang and yelped.

Their front door had just slammed into the wooden frame of the doorway; it cloud no longer slam closed as it hung wearily off its hinges. There were marks all over the door and some blood on the handle too.

'I don't recall us leaving it like that,' Lily half heartedly joked while she stifled Kira's scream with her hand. Ray stood there speechless and stunned; a shiver ran up his spine or maybe that was just the water dripping down his back from the leak in the roof. He regained his thoughts and control of his limbs quicker than the women.

'Do you have any weapons lying around the yard, like a lead pipe or something?' he asked as he looked around the soaked alleyway behind their house.

'Don't worry, I'll go in first,' Lily bent down and reached into her boot, withdrawing a small dagger. Kira still stood there her mouth agape as she stared at the silver blade, obviously this was another one of Lily's small secrets.

'If this break in is what I think it is, you don't want to go first,' Lily understood and handed the dagger over, Ray quickly looked at it and joked, 'By the way, do you ever run out of surprises?'

Lily lopsidedly smiled at Ray before turning to Kira, 'Kira, I think it's best if you stay out here. Okay?'

'Why am I never allowed to see bad things?! It's not fair! I'm not even allowed to do Rancour work!' Kira stomped her foot like a stubborn ten year old, which she wasn't, despite her age.

'We have been over this; you are not allowed to see bad things because you don't want to grow up like me. And stop acting like a stubborn, spoilt ten year old. Understood?'

'But I am a ten year old, Lily. And that's what you don't understand,' Kira said in a soft voice and turned away from her sister to face the dripping rain.

'But you are so much older in spirit,' Lily rested a hand on Kira's head but Kira drew away from her touch. Lily sighed and left her sitting there on the step, contemplating the dark sky. She nodded at Ray to enter and he stared at the disfigured door for a moment.

Ray pushed the door open slowly; it creaked hideously on its hinges. The small, dark room it opened onto smelt badly like blood.

All curtains were closed and only a tiny stream of light was coming from a crack in one of them. Dust floated lazily in the small beam of light, dancing to the faint rhythm of the busy street below.

Everything was still, too still for Lily's liking, the cat at least should be moving about.

Ray saw nothing but a few pieces of upturned furniture in the spartan room, there was no where for anybody to hide in here. He moved into the room carefully, Lily two paces behind him. There was only one door leading off the room, it did was open and did not look damaged in any way. He stood at the side of the door and quickly had a look around; again the room was bare, there was no one in it but still Ray thought he might be sick.

'Are you alright Ray?' Lily asked at the pained look on Ray's face.

'Believe me, there's no one there and you don't want to go in,' the nausea had passed now leaving Ray with a rising hatred at anyone who could be so cruel.

'Let me past Ray, please!' but Ray restrained her repeating that she "did not want to know".

'But I do!' she scrambled out of Ray's grasp and ran into the room to find their cat, Puss, dead with two bullet wounds to the body; but that wasn't the thing that drew her attention. In huge letters across the wall a message was scrawled in the Puss's blood:

'I'll be back!"

She knelt down by the cat, trying not to cry. She and Kira had loved that cat so much, she was always just around to cheer you up; and now because of Lily she had come to pass. She did not need to look up to know that Ray had knelt down beside her. Suddenly the wave of grief that she had never wanted to see again came over her and she threw her arms around Ray's neck and sobbed.

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Ray felt her hot tears, rolling down his neck; but he did not mind, he just put his arms around Lily and let her cry. Although his knees hurt from contact with the hard wooden floor boards, he didn't care. For some reason Ray couldn't explain, he just wanted to remain in embrace with Lily forever. He could feel the warmth coming from her body, even though both of them were in cold and completely soaked shirts; it was comforting.

The floor had blood stains in small puddles all over it. There was a small piece of black cloth lying on the ground, darkly stained. Obviously the cat had tried to take a piece out of the intruder before it died. The words scribbled on the wall were old, Ray could tell, and the dried blood was no longer bright red.

In a very short time Lily had completely put her grief behind her and Ray helped her up. They went over to the wall hand in hand to inspect the blood and ponder over the words themselves.

'This blood is probably about a week old,' Ray concluded after examining it.

Lily looked up at the wall, fear passing over her eyes, 'Six days exactly.'

Ray desperately wanted to ask how she knew, and where she had learnt how to track like that but he though it was best not to.

'What do you want to do now?' he asked giving her hand a squeeze unsure whether he should suggest the police.

'I don't know…..' Her voice slowly trailed off as she looked at the bed. She dropped Ray's hand as if it were a hot coal and rushed over to the bed.

Oh my Goodness! I've got to send a letter to Leroy now! I hope he isn't already hurt! We can't tell anyone!' she ran out of the room to the small writing desk.

Ray advanced towards the bed and stopped dead in his tracks. There were about three gunshots and a lot of blood spilt all over the bed. Ray quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together in his head; the cat, the blood, the writing, and the holes in the bed.

Someone had tried to kill Lily!!!

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'Leroy! Leroy! You're home!' a young girl ran to open the door; pouring rain and wind came in with the young man. He shook the rain out of his dirty blonde hair like a dog.

'Of course I am; where did you think I would go?' Leroy swept his younger sister up in a hug, dropping his bag.

'I thought the rain might have become a big rain and stopped you getting home,' the small girl was only six.

'No, Elsie, The rain was not that big, and I think you mean a flood. Besides, I have to come home, otherwise who will take care of you?' Leroy set Elsie down and took off his soaking jacket and hat. The girl followed him into the kitchen and watched with curiosity as he stoked the fire and lay his went garments over the guard that stood in front of the fire.

'Did you do your chores today Elsie?' there was no one else that lived with them in the small bottom story level; there was a family that lived over head, but other than that only Elsie and Kitty, their cat, were here in the day.

'I couldn't do some of them 'cause of the rain, but I do all the rest,' the girl patted the cat who ran into the room towards the fire, desperately trying to dry itself.

'Did,' Leroy corrected her gently as he always did, 'But I did all the rest.'

'Did,' the girl mimicked the word a few times while her brother washed the days work at the Station Yard off his hands.

'I'm going to start dinner; will you please fetch the mail and read it out?' Leroy was only just learning to cope with the child his parent's death, earlier this year, had dumped upon him.

He heard the child thumping down the hallway, pretending she was a knight on her horse. It was hard to take care of a six-year-old, they always had so much energy when Leroy hardly knew how he got to work everyday. The carrots from their very small garden out the back had grown well this year. Leroy looked out the window and laughed inwardly at the rain which was probably why everything was growing so well.

'Leroy! On guard! I have the mail!' Elsie held an invisible sword out in front of her, waving the mail around at the same time.

'Well don't just stand there, have a seat and read it out,' Leroy did not turn to look at the child's sword; he couldn't afford to lose another finger.

'Bill, letter from Aunt Jill and Uncle Robert, bill, a letter to you from what appears to be Lily's handwriting and last of all a letter from Miss Ruby,' at the last name Leroy stopped cutting for a moment and groaned. Would that girl ever just leave him alone?

'Did you say a letter from Lily?!' Lily never wrote to him unless it was an emergency.

'It's not really a letter, more just a folded piece of paper but it's from her,' Elsie had known Lily all her life and Leroy hardly ever got a letter from her.

'Well read it out Elsie,' Leroy reluctantly turned back to chopping up vegetables and putting them into a small pot. He wasn't sure if he wanted Elsie to read this, Lily's last letter had been about how her friend was shipped off with the convicts!

'Leroy,

Something terrible has happened. Someone has tried to kill me for reasons I cannot entrust to paper. I need to speak to you about this matter and training urgently. I am staying at the Steam's residence I will come to see you after work tomorrow; first I must tell the Steam's a bit more about myself and Kira. You are next in line, Take care of yourself and Elsie,

Lily T.' the girl was trembling when she finished the letter. Between them the only sound that could be heard was the pounding rain.

'Someone tried to k…kill Lily? And now…' Leroy stopped dead in his tracks.

'Le, are we in trouble? What does 'next in line' stand for?' Elsie followed Leroy as he ran down the small corridor to bolt the front door but he changed his mind.

Suddenly he stopped and looked around them, 'Grab your coat Elsie; we're going to stay with a friend for awhile.'

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A/N: Long chapter sorry, but basically all chapters in this story are long. If anyone at all out there is reading this FanFic I hope you're enjoying it! I am open to criticism. The middle chapters might take awhile to write because I need a couple of details first.