Sovereign: I forgot to say this in the last chapter. Alicia and Amelia are my OCs. They are completely my own original creations. If you're wondering how they sound like, Alicia is voiced by Julie Ann Taylor (In the same voice as Tsubaki Yayoi from BlazBlue) while Amelia is voiced by Caitlin Glass (In the same voice as Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club). Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 3: Meeting Gaius
Alicia and Amelia arrived at Elym Harbor. They see several civilians standing in front of the police line, gathering to see and murmuring to each other what is going on. Three knights stood behind the police line, preventing civilians from entering the crime scene. Alicia and Amelia rush over to the crime scene. They ask the civilians to move away so that they can go over to the police line. They show their IDs to one of the knights and he allows them into the crime scene.
They go over to the corpse, which is covered by a white blanket. A forensic expert was kneeling next to it.
Alicia kneels down next to the corpse and she removes the blanket, revealing its head and upper body. Alicia and Amelia narrow their eyes and gape their mouths open in horror. They see Alex's eyes bulge wide open and his lower jaw has been ripped apart to the side. There is a huge hole on the chest. It had been blasted from the front of it and out through the back.
"I've never seen something this gruesome before either, ma'am." The forensic expert said to Alicia.
"ALEX!" Alicia and Amelia turn to the crowd and see a woman pushing through the civilians and rush over to the police line.
"Whoa, whoa, stand back!" One of the knights yelled as he and another knight go over to the woman, grab her shoulders and stop her from entering the scene.
"ALEX! MY BABY!" The woman cried as tears are now pooling down through her cheeks. "NOOOOO!"
"Honey, please!" A man goes over to her from behind and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her back from the line.
"NO! ALEX! HE'S DEAD! HE'S DEAD!" The woman then turn around and wail in despair as she wraps her arms around her husband and sobs on his chest. Her husband hugs her back and sobs over the loss of his son as well.
Amelia could only stand where she is and watch the heart-wrenching display in silence. It was a pathetic sight to behold. Two parents clung tightly to each other miserably, their tears flowing down their cheeks like tiny rivers.
"Amelia…" Alicia said to her partner in concern. "You alright?"
Amelia turns to Alicia and nods her head. "Yeah." As an inspector, Amelia can't get herself emotional over the death of an individual. But deep down inside her, she does feel sympathy and sorrow for the victim's parents.
"There's nothing we can do for them unfortunately." Alicia said with a deep frown.
"I know." Amelia replied.
After finished examining the corpse, Alicia and Amelia left the crime scene and walk through the Bridge of Unity. The crime scene is still forbidden to the public and the knights continue standing behind the police line to prevent any civilians from entering.
"It's obvious that our killer will murder another person soon. If we don't find out who will be its next victim and stop the killer soon, the chief will have our heads for this." Alicia said with her arms folded.
"We need to know the connection between Herschel and Alex Quigley." Amelia said, straightening her glasses.
"There you are!" A familiar voice yelled. Alicia and Amelia turn around and see Leia and Jude running over to them.
"Leia? Jude? What are you two doing here?" Alicia asked the both of them.
"We heard the latest victim is Alex Quigley, right?" Jude asked.
"Yeah, so? You know something that we don't?" Amelia asked, placing a hand on her waist.
"Well, Alex Quigley and Herschel, the first victim, had a connection. There is one case that both of them are involved together." Leia said. She then takes out her tablet and shows an old newspaper article to the two inspectors. The headline of the article says "King Gaius extradites two murderers to Elympios."
"That's the case Herschel is known for being involved in." Alicia said.
"Are you saying Alex Quigley is involved in that case too?" Amelia asked Leia and Jude.
"I wasn't there reporting about the case that day, but one of the reporters for Elympios Times was. He said Herschel told him that he first heard about the murder of the Rieze Maxian soldier from one of his informants named Alex Quigley." Leia explained. Alicia and Amelia gasped as she mentioned the name of the latest victim.
"So, Alex Quigley was associated with Herschel in some way." Amelia said. Suddenly, she widens her eyes. "Wait! Herschel and Alex Quigley are both involved in the case of the murder of the Rieze Maxian soldier. It can't be coincidence."
Alicia nods her head before turning to Leia and Jude. "We finally figure out our murderer's real motive. She wants to kill everyone involved in that case."
Jude and Leia widen their eyes and gape their mouths open in horror. "Then…that would also include…" Leia uttered.
"Gaius…" Jude said. "Gaius is in trouble!"
"The King of Rieze Maxia? That's insane!" Amelia cried.
"The murder of Rieze Maxia's head of state would definitely cause political tensions." Alicia places her left hand on her waist while she raises up her right fist. "We have to stop our killer before it's too late!"
"We definitely have to warn Gaius about this." Jude narrows his eyes.
"And who knows, maybe he can tell us what happen during the meeting, who are the people involved and provide us hints on the identity of the killer." Leia said, rubbing her chin.
"Yeah, come to think of it, he never told us about what really happen that day. That was a really big incident since it involved both nations." Jude said, scratching the side of his head.
Alicia and Amelia look at each other with puzzled looks. Jude and Leia seem to be talking as if they knew Gaius and met him before. The two turn back to them and Amelia decides to question them.
"Um…is there something that we should know?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Jude and Leia said in unison as they turn to Amelia.
"You two said that Gaius never told you about what happen during the meeting. What do you mean by that?" Amelia folds her arms.
Jude and Leia turn to each other. They both sigh. Leia rubs the back of her neck while Jude scratches the back of his head. He looks back at the inspectors and said, "Inspectors, I'm sure neither of you will believe us if we told you this but…Gaius is a friend of ours."
Alicia and Amelia turn to each other and blinked. They yell as they turn back to the two.
"WHAT?!"
2 hours later…
After walking through the Mon Highlands, Jude, Leia, Alicia and Amelia arrived at the entrance of Kanbalar.
During their journey through the Mon Highlands, Jude and Leia explained to Alicia and Amelia about how they first met Gaius. They also told them about the times they had with him like how they stopped him and Muzet from destroying the spyrixes which would have led to the destruction of Elympios and the deaths of millions of innocent lives and how two years later, he posed as a civilian named Erston Outway while travelling around Elympios to investigate the public opinion of Rieze Maxia. What amazed Alicia and Amelia the most is how Gaius join the battle alongside Ludger, Jude, Milla, Leia, Alvin, Rowen, Elize and Muzet to stop Bisley Bakur from enslaving all spirits and destroy the fractured dimensions that are slowly dispersing the soul energy from spirits which are making them weaker. Alicia and Amelia find their stories and explanations hard to believe at first but the tone of Jude and Leia's voices sound very convincing. Perhaps it's true that they are friends with the king and have been through many adventures with him.
The four enter the town and Alicia and Amelia look around in awe. The buildings have a beautiful mixed texture of wood and bricks. The rooftops are covered with white snow and some buildings have colorful banners hang onto them. There are also several overhead bridges that add more beauty to the town and the roads and pavements are made of stone.
As the two walk through the town, Amelia turns to Leia and Jude who are escorting them to Gaius's castle. "You know, the way you two communicate with each other, figuring out that Herschel and Quigley are connected to each other and fighting alongside together to save Elympios and the spirits, you two seem to work together pretty well as a team." Amelia asked the two. Jude and Leia turn their heads to her. Then, a mischievous smirk appears on Amelia's face. "If I had known any better, I think you two are like a couple."
Jude and Leia's faces immediately blushed crimson. "WHAT?! NO!" They both yelled in unison.
"It's not like that all! Not at all!" Leia protested as she frantically waves her hands. "We are friends but we don't like-like each other! You know what I mean?"
"Geez, I'm getting déjà vu here." Jude said to himself as he clutches the side of his head, remembering that it's the exact same words Ludger said to them a year ago.
"What about us? Do we make a great team?" Alicia asked Amelia.
"Of course we do!" Amelia cried, turning to her partner. "I mean, we had some hiccups sometimes, but still, we do most of the time really."
"Aww, I'm so happy that you care a lot for me." Alicia smiled sweetly, intertwining her fingers together and resting her chin on them. "I'm so touched by your kind words."
Amelia turns back to the front, frowning in embarrassment. "Don't act like that in public, Alicia! You're embarrassing us!" Jude and Leia simply laughed.
Eventually, the four find themselves standing in front of the gateway to Gaius's castle. There are two knights guarding each side of the gateway and beyond that it's a huge stairway leading to the actual castle.
"Alright Amelia, we have to get inside one way or another. King Gaius needs to know that he's in trouble." Alicia said to her partner. Amelia nods her head. Jude and Leia watch as Alicia and Amelia walk up to the guards. They show them their identification cards. "Excuse me, we are from the Elympios police department. We need to talk to King Gaius. This is a-"
"Proceed." One of the guards nods his head.
"W-w-what?" Amelia stuttered as she and Alicia widen their eyes in surprise. "Seriously?"
"Yup, there is no line behind us, right? So we can just walk right into the castle." Jude smiled as he and Leia pass through the entrance and the guards.
"Yeah, Gaius listens to everybody anyway. No sacred permit needed." Leia added.
"What the-" Amelia glares angrily at the two and grits her teeth. "You could have told us earlier!" She yelled while stomping her foot. Alicia shrugged with a lopsided grin and the two inspectors follow Jude and Leia from behind. The four walk their way up the stairway and when they reach the top; they find themselves standing in front of a huge pair of wooden doors with metal orbs and handles. Jude pushes through the doors and everybody step inside the castle.
They walk through the castle hallways until they arrive at the foyer. Jude and Leia widen their eyes and smile as they see a familiar figure walking over to them.
"Good to see you again, Jude and Leia!" Rowen greeted with a warm smile on his face.
"Rowen!" Jude and Leia said as they go over to him.
"Wait, Rowen? As in Rowen J. Ilbert, prime minister of Rieze Maxia?" Alicia said.
"They're friends with the prime minister too? Huh." Amelia said, placing her hand on her waist. "How many important figures are they friends with?"
"How is your spyrite research going, Jude?" Rowen asked while shaking hands with Jude.
"Going great! It's now going better than ever thanks to the Great Spirit Spyrite of Maxwell I possess." Jude then lowers his head in sorrow. "And it's also thanks to Ludger as well. I owe him for that."
"Yes." Rowen said, bowing his head and places his hands behind his back. "We all could never overcome whatever obstacle we face today if it weren't for him." Leia nods her head in agreement.
Rowen then lifts his head back up and turns to see Alicia and Amelia standing in the distance. "Ah, I see we have two visitors. Are they your friends?"
"Kinda." Jude said, turning to the inspectors. Alicia and Amelia walk over to Rowen and bow to him.
"Good afternoon, Prime Minister Ilbert. I'm Inspector Alicia Ribery." Alicia greeted.
"And I'm Inspector Amelia Greenleaf." Amelia introduced herself, placing a hand on her chest. "We are from the Elympios Police Department."
"You two are from Elympios? Interesting. We rarely have Elympions coming to Kanbalar." Rowen said, straightening his glasses.
"Mr. Prime Minister, we need to speak with King Gaius. Is he here?" Alicia asked.
"Did someone say my name?"
Alicia and Amelia gasped as they, Jude, Leia and Rowen turn to the front, just in time to see Gaius walking over to them with his usual stern look on his face. He stood in front of them and folds his arms.
"Gaius." Jude uttered.
"Hello Jude, Leia. It's been a while." Gaius said.
"Certainly is." Leia said. The King turns his head and sees Alicia and Amelia bowing down to him.
"Good afternoon, your Highness." Alicia greeted Gaius.
"Who are they?" Gaius asked Rowen, Jude and Leia.
"They are Inspectors Alicia Ribery and Amelia Greenleaf from the Elympios Police Department, your Highness." Rowen replied.
"Elympios? What brings two Elympions all the way here to my castle in Kanbalar?" Gaius asked.
Alicia and Amelia then straighten themselves and look back up at Gaius. Alicia narrows her eyes and spoke to the King, "Your Highness, this is an emergency. Your life is in danger."
"Excuse me?" Gaius asked frowning while Rowen gasped.
"There's a serial killer in Elympios who has already murdered two people." Amelia said.
"It's true, Gaius. Not only that, but the two victims are connected to each other. They were both involved in the arrest of two Elympions charged of murdering a Rieze Maxian soldier a year ago." Jude added.
"Two Elympions? Rieze Maxian soldier?" Gaius uttered. Jude nods his head. "The two Elympions who committed the murder a year ago don't happen to be named Kyle and Tanner, right?"
"Yes, they are." Alicia said as she and Amelia nod their heads.
"And you were involved in that too, right?" Leia asked Gaius. The king closes his eyes and sighs.
"Yes. I was." Gaius said in regret. "And it's an incident that I wish that I would never remember."
"What exactly happened that day, Gaius?" Rowen asked, sounding very curious.
Gaius opens his eyes and stares at everyone present in the foyer. He nods his head. "Very well, you all deserve an explanation."
END OF CHAPTER