The reviews came from Fenrir of the Shadows, Wavebreeze, AccessBlade, and Phazon. Looks like I've got everyone twisted around like a pretzel regarding who the killer is. Well, after reading this chapter, your opinion of the culprit might change once more. And yes, you can look for another Tales hero making a cameo appearance. That would be Reid Hershel from Tales of Eternia, and the role Reid will play is inspired by a piece of fanart on Deviantart by Vesperia101. Enjoy this chapter.

Namco owns Tales of Symphonia. AccessBlade owns Cameryn Lachance. Fenrir of the Shadows owns Azul Kharlan. Legend of Zelda 4 Life owns Oni Sheikah. I own Cabalina Ashton and Robert Ross.

"Well, there's your missing person right here," Gil commented to the Major Crimes Unit officers, who gathered around the burnt remains of Kent Ruffin. Motorists driving past the road outside this alley reported seeing flames emitting from within. Fire crews were surprised to find it was a person that was on fire, but could not save him in time. Luckily, the identifications on the deceased were not too damaged, allowing police to identify him as their missing person.

Gil slowly moved up to the area where the body lied. The coroner and his staff already took Ruffin away, but there was still significant residue of his belongings and other items there. To no one's surprise, there was a packet of white powder, most likely more hard drugs that the deceased was addicted to. One forensics member scooped up the powder into an evidence bag while another took pictures with a camera. Both had to fight off darkness and narrowness of this alley, which made them take their steps even more carefully as they moved into position.

Right beside the packet in question was another strange item, one that seemed quite out of place. It was the remains of what looked like a gas lamp, with the glass shattered and the metal rods somewhat melted, most likely from the burning. With most lights being electronic, having a gas lamp still around was rare. To have one out here when the deceased burned to death would make this a likely cause of death. Did a lamp malfunction burn Ruffin to death?

The forensics team was not oblivious to Gil's stare, also targeting the gas lamp along the way. "We'll have to run a few tests on the lamp, just to see what happened to it," the team leader informed Gil, sending another member into the fray to grab the remains, "I will get night shift on this as a priority item, and hopefully we'll get the results to you tomorrow."

Gil nodded and quietly thanked the forensics team lead. He slowly moved past the alley, looking through all the nooks and crannies of this dark, damp passage. He had no idea how the suspect escaped the hospital despite being placed in one of the more secure wings. Knowing that Ruffin used to be a mixed martial arts expert, it would put the hospital staff in more danger, even though Ruffin was still high on drugs. "Either he fought his way out, or he did something totally unthinkable, like yanking out the IV in his arm," Gil murmured to himself.

Turning to analyze the alley, he could only see one entrance from the other side. There was a wider section of the alley that snaked through to the street at the other end. Ruffin had to risk going through several streets and roads where people might have recognized him. "We had a news alert going around, and still no one saw him. Either nobody paid attention or the guy did a real good job navigating through these alleys, all the way from the hospital," Gil observed.

Just as Gil turned the corner, he saw two individuals speaking just outside a side door. He recognized the shorter individual, who was female and had pink hair. "Presea, what's going on here?" Gil asked, edging closer to the officer doing night shift for his unit this week.

Presea whipped around to see the goateed man standing right behind him. "Gil, this is the owner of the martial arts studio," she introduced the staff sergeant to a man with dark, slightly spiky hair wearing a black sports jacket, "His name is Marco Aylmer, and he is one of the last people from the martial arts club who had contact with the deceased before he was thrown out."

Gil and Aylmer shook hands. "So tell me, what went on with Kent Ruffin when he was still part of your club?" Gil asked, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets as a slight breeze hissed through the alley, "I heard he had a pretty good fighting career before things went south."

Aylmer nodded. "It was a shame, because Kent was one of our best fighters, having won tournaments for us for years. But then an injury kind of took him out, and things just spiralled downhill," the dojo owner explained, "Instead of actively rehabbing, I heard he started hanging out with drug addicts and other shady characters. I can't possibly have such unsavoury people going in and out of my studio, so I gave Kent a warning to stop or I'd throw him out."

Presea scribbled furiously on her notebook while Gil read the lines over her shoulder. "When did you become aware that he was addicted to hard drugs?" she asked, flipping a page.

"We've had our suspicions for months, but only recently did we confirm them," Aylmer replied, his eyebrows creasing at the thought of how his star fighter spiralled down, "Some other fighters were in the locker room when they saw Kent sneak in from the back. They smelled strange odours and saw packages being stuffed into the locker. That's when I did an inspection and found that he was using the locker as a place for storing drugs."

"Here's a question though," Gil chimed in, gesturing at the back door to his left, "This is the back door of the dojo, and we suspect the suspect somehow got in through here. If Kent Ruffin is no longer part of your team, how can he possibly get in?"

Aylmer bit his lower lip. "Even though I did kick Kent out of the club, he actually never returned his keys to me," he described, his eyes suddenly finding the cement floor fascinating, "I kind of lost all contact with him, and things were not going well in the club. We had to find a new fighter to lead our team, and Kent's issues just weren't a high priority for us anymore."

"Kind of dangerous, if you ask me," Presea commented, staring at the dojo owner with emotionless eyes, "He's an addict possibly trafficking drugs for dealers and other criminals, but you didn't pursue when he didn't return your key? Won't that be a huge security concern?" The cool breezes whistling through the alley only added to the tension among the threesome.

Aylmer would lick his lips a couple of times before answering. "What happened was very regrettable, and I take full responsibility for not realizing earlier," he solemnly stated, "But that being said, I think even the police know that Kent is a fugitive of sorts, and I believe you only got a hand on him earlier today. In that case, there isn't much I could have done."

Gil nodded. While he did find the owner's actions negligent, he also felt it wasn't the best place to judge him. "I'm mainly wondering how the deceased was able to unlock the back and get inside to his locker, where the drugs should be stowed," Gil pointed out, "May I go in?"

Aylmer reached into his pants pocket for a set of keys. But before he could shove the right one in, he noticed something unusual. "This lock looks different than before, almost like someone tried to force an incorrect key in," he observed.

Gil and Presea glanced at each other before lowering their heads to the same level as the lock. Indeed, there were a few scratch marks near the lock, which was slightly off the central position on the doorknob. "Are you sure it's not just because the door is an older one that tilted the lock due to years of use?" Presea asked, pointing at the area in question.

Aylmer shook his head. "This door was replaced just a year ago, and I recall being here sending out the new keys to our club members," he insisted, "Kent was among those who got a new key, so I doubt he was the one to do this. Do you think someone tried to break in?"

Gil and Presea paused, worried looks plastered on their faces. With that possibility still around, there was no way Gil could look inside the dojo until the door was checked out. "Stay here with Mr. Aylmer," Gil instructed Presea, "I'll go get the forensics team over here." The goateed staff sergeant trotted back into the alley just as a cold chill descended upon the block.

By next morning, forensics had a chance to run tests on all the important pieces of evidence collected from the night before. That included the side door that the dojo owner Aylmer claimed had been tampered with, which confirmed the dojo owner's suspicions. "That doesn't really rule out anything yet," Presea stated, recalling the details from her notebook, "Both the owner and the deceased had keys to the back door, meaning it's likely they wouldn't have to pick the lock. But anyone may do that just to throw us off, so we better investigate everything first."

The two investigators pulled open the door and slowly stepped in, greeted by sounds of fists and feet hitting pads and bags. The twosome saw the dojo owner at a far ring, observing a young fighter doing his morning practice. Judging from appearance, the combatant was about nineteen years old. He stood about six feet, which was a bit tall for a mixed martial artist, and had a mop of red hair. Shaking his head a couple of times, Gil turned away from the high-flying punches and kicks landing on pads being held by an assistant. "Mr. Aylmer, Presea and I would like to discuss some things with you," Gil greeted the owner.

Aylmer slowly turned around, his eyes reluctant to leave the fighter in the ring. Upon a closer look, Gil could see the fighter did not have a shirt on, wearing only a pair of blue shorts with a white line between the legs. His hands and feet were taped, the white wrappings going around the palms but leaving the fingers bare. "Is he your new star fighter?" Gil asked.

Aylmer nodded. "All fighters here train hard, including Kent before he turned to a life of drugs," he explained, his eyes still tilting back and forth between the ring and the sergeant, "Anyway, what can I help you officers with?" he asked, finally turning to face Gil and Presea.

Presea quickly updated the dojo owner on the forensics findings, confirming that Kent Ruffin did return to the dojo for the drugs. "He most likely came in through the back door, went through his locker for the drugs, and took out a gas lamp from the storage room," Presea described, "As for whether or not he tampered with that lock, that's a mystery. The only thing I can say is that our suspicions last night are correct, and that lock has been picked."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying someone tried to break in here?" Aylmer replied, his eyes widening and his cheeks tensing up, "When did they do that? Did they get here before or after Kent burned to death? What's going on?"

"We haven't confirmed anything, so let's not jump to conclusions," Gil responded, trying to calm Aylmer down, "We only know a gas lamp was present with the deceased, so most likely he tried to use it when the incident occurred. Has that lamp malfunctioned before?" he asked.

Aylmer shook his head. "It was left from the past when we first purchased this place a few years ago, and we rarely use it. We just leave it in the back storage room, along with other items that we seldom use," the owner pointed out, crossing his arms and closing his eyes to recall the details, "Because of that, I can't say for sure if it's still good. Do you believe that thing has been tampered with as well, given the situation?" he queried in a whisper.

Presea pursed her lips. "It's possible, but we're not commenting on that until we know for sure," she replied monotonously, "On another note, do you have any security cameras around the dojo operating through the night last night?"

Aylmer nodded, leading Gil and Presea away from the fighting rings and into a small office. He pulled out an assortment of old tapes stacked almost in a random pile. "We have one security camera, installed just a few weeks ago. This was after we found out that Kent became an addict, and was trafficking drugs," Aylmer described, "We were afraid that he might use the dojo as a place do his drug exchanges, so that's why we decided as a group to place a camera in here."

Gil and Presea looked on as the dojo owner sorted through the tapes, looking for the one from last night. With management having trouble dealing with even a single camera, they were surprised that this place was not used as a trafficker's hideout sooner. With such lax security, anyone could slip into the alleys behind the building and did the drug exchanges without anyone noticing. Had Ruffin not been killed, he could probably escape unnoticed.

"I got it. It's this one," Aylmer informed Gil and Presea, waving a tape around. Gil and Presea waited for Aylmer to operate the player, wondering if there were tapes of the outside area available, especially around the two entrances of the alley. With only the body, the drugs, and the broken gas lamp, there was not enough evidence for them to piece together a complete story. It might have been a complete accident, but the possibility that the lamp was tampered with could not be ruled out. Was there another security camera, one aimed at the exterior of the dojo that might have caught on to what happened last night?

Finally, the dojo owner got the video player to work, showing the shots from last night. "What's the time of death for Ruffin?" Gil asked the pink-haired officer, leaning forward to get a better view, "Maybe we can forward the video to a few minutes before that time?"

Presea flipped through her set of notes, showing Aylmer the estimated time of death from the coroner's report. "Let's forward it to about fifteen minutes before that and we'll see what went on from there," she suggested, gesturing at the screen.

Aylmer nodded, pressing the fast forward button. Gil and Presea kept their eyes on the clock on the monitor, watching the barely coloured picture whiz by. It was the main interior of the dojo, with a fighting ring in the middle and an open area in the front. In the back were several photographs, most of which were noticed by Gil and Presea earlier. Many of them were of the martial arts team at their most recent tournaments, although whether the deceased was in any of the photos was unknown. Nonetheless, Gil and Presea chose to focus on the task at hand, which was to identify any suspicious activity during the time of death.

"Hold it right there," Presea called, causing Aylmer to slow the tape back to normal speed, "Did you see that shadow? This person went in from the upper left hand corner of the screen and disappeared through another hall. What area would they have gone into?"

Aylmer stopped the tape and squinted into the monitor. "That should be the locker rooms, I think," he stated, trying to imagine the layout of his dojo on the tape, "So if we assume that was Kent, then it's possible there are still drugs in his locker, and he came back to retrieve them."

Gil and Presea nodded. Making a note to see the locker later on, they requested Aylmer to continue rolling the tape. Nothing special happened for the next fifteen minutes or so, which they probably guessed was when the deceased was burned to death outside in the alley. Just when they were about to ask the tape be forwarded again, something caught their eyes. "Wait," Gil ordered, pointing at the screen, "Who is this person entering the dojo right now?"

Aylmer stopped the tape again, this time squinting along with Gil and Presea at a figure wearing a hoodie. The individual was completely focused on the back photos and nothing else, making everyone very suspicious. Why would someone break into a dojo in the middle of the night to not look for valuables, but a bunch of old pictures instead? "Can you zoom in at all, or does that function not exist in your player?" Presea asked.

Aylmer shook his head. "We didn't expect the camera to be anything more than a basic security feature, so we didn't install anything fancy. But I can adjust the brightness and contrast just to see if we can get more details," he described. He flipped open a front panel and turned some knobs on the television while the tape played again, this time in slow motion.

Gil and Presea paid close attention to the screen. The figure pointed a small flashlight at each photos, staring at the first few nonchalantly before moving down the aisle. The contrast in the frame also increased, making it easier for the police officers to identify some features. The figure was tall, of a moderate built, and wore cargo pants along with the hoodie. As that person moved down the aisle, Gil could see some strands of red hair sticking out from the front. "Is he part of the martial arts team?" Gil questioned openly, "How many redheads are on the team?"

Before that could be answered, the redhead in the video did something peculiar. Standing before the final picture in the aisle, that mysterious person shone the flashlight on it. The small bright circle swirled around the photo several times while the person's head shifted back and forth, almost like they were looking for something. "What's that photo?" Presea asked.

Aylmer leaned his head in again. "This seems to be our latest photo, taken not too long ago. It was when we gave out those Loni-Kyle shirts for our team members. I believe Kent got one too, even though we had to mail it to him, since we already removed him from our team," the dojo owner recalled, "In fact, I don't think Kent was in that picture at all."

Gil and Presea glanced at each other. Surely a member of the team would not be looking at the photo if they had been in it not long ago, right? Yet there might still be team members who resented the deceased after what he had done to the team. It was possible that one of them might take action against Ruffin, despite the deceased getting kicked off the team. "Was he wearing that shirt yesterday when he was arrested by Noishe?" Gil asked.

Presea shrugged. "I think so, but I'm not sure," she responded, "That being said, how many red-haired people are currently on your team? Can you provide me with a list of people?"

Aylmer smiled. "There's only one redhead on the team, and he's the same person you saw me with earlier." The man stepped out of the office and approached the ring again. "Hey Reid!" he called, "There are these officers who want to talk to you. Can you come over?"

Gil and Presea craned their necks back, watching the redhead step out of the ring and towards them. There was some inaudible talk, with the fighter asking where they would head for lunch, while Aylmer retorted that the redhead was only focused on food. "If you keep staying lazy and only care for eating, then you won't be a middleweight anymore," he scolded, "Maybe we should put you in the heavy and out-of-shape category instead!" Aylmer brought the young man in question to Gil and Presea and made his introduction. "The man is Sergeant Irving and the woman is Officer Combatir," he stated.

The redhead nodded at them. Gil and Presea could see that his arms and torso were lined with lean muscle. Linings of a six-pack could also be seen from his abs, giving him a distinctive athletic built. Could this be the man they saw in the tape, wearing that hoodie and stalking in through the back? "Reid Hershel, at your service," the young man responded, flashing a toothy grin, "What do you want me to help you with?"

"Cameryn, has there been news from Mr. Frank Warner yet? Will he still hand in some of the documents relating to each crime scene?" Noishe asked the strawberry blond secretary who just entered his office. With Gil and Presea investigating yet another strange death, there wasn't much the team could do except going over old evidence once more. They were running out of options for the scouts' camp case, and things weren't exactly rosy for the fish tank case either.

"No, Captain," Cameryn responded, taking a seat in front of Noishe's desk, "I called him twice already, and he didn't answer at all." There were still considerable ambiguities from the fish tank case, especially regarding witnesses. While there were fewer potential witnesses at the scouts' camp, surely a university bustling with professors, students, and a renovation crew would bring some information of use to the team. So why were there still so many inconsistencies?

Captain Noishe bit his lower lip, realizing they were at a dead end. "Gil did an interview with Sheena Fujibyashi, who called in to report the electrocution. She originally pointed to Frank Warner possibly being at the university with the renovation crew. But Sheena's interview was done after Cabalina interrogated Warner, meaning we can't get confirmation or refutation of this from him." Noishe flipped through the files with great interest, all of which were typed up by Cameryn for the team. At such a crucial stage in the case, what were they possibly missing?

Cameryn cupped her chin as Noishe glanced up again. "If Warner continues to ignore calls, then we may be looking at another dead end," he pointed out, "I don't want to send out wanted bulletins or arrest warrants on a guy that we have no clue about, so we have to find another way to get through this. Do you have any ideas?" he asked.

Cameryn shifted slightly in her seat. Presea mentioned an idea to her when Cabalina, Oni, and Azul were at the scouts' camp. Presea read Gil's novel and commented on the deceased being crushed by the sign at the camp, claiming it was eerily similar to the one in the book. Before Presea left the unit this morning to investigate the most recent death, she told Cameryn how the second death with the fish tank was also similar to the second death in the book. Did they have anything to do with each other? Was the killer in real life imitating the book's killer?

Turning back to Noishe, Cameryn decided to explain her idea to him, starting with how the first death mirrored the scouts' camp death. "And if you look at the second death, you may think it came from the book as well. The killer in the book had the second death occur in an old generator room, targeting someone who worked in the electrical department. The killer loosened the wires so that the appliances they connected to malfunctioned," Cameryn recalled, imagining each detail Presea read in the novel, "To make sure the target was killed, the killer poured water in the surrounding area to ensure a conducting element was present. To no one's surprise, the target came to fix the wire, touched the loose ends, and was electrocuted."

Noishe nodded gravely. This would be the second crime in a row in which the killer copied Gil's idea. With the way things were going, Noishe was starting to believe that perhaps these crimes were all linked in some way. "You think the killer in real life is a fan of Gil's novel, and knows it well enough to use its content to carry out these acts?" he asked.

Cameryn shrugged. "It's possible, but nothing is for certain unless we have evidence to show that," she replied, leaning back against her chair, "We know Frank Warner was at one, maybe two crime scenes. He claims to have evidence proving his innocence, but has yet to send anything in. But if we can't confirm Sheena's words and truly point to his presence at the university, then I think it's best we keep these crimes as separate."

Noishe wiped his chin thoughtfully, flipping through some pages of the summary reports from the two crimes. Was there anyone else they could rely on to point out what happened at the university? "Other than Sheena and the Albanes, there should be more people near the lab, right?" he stated, "What about the adjacent lab belong to Dr. Brunel and his team? Do you think it's possible we can cross-reference with them?"

Cameryn rubbed her face. While Gil had spoken with Raine Sage during his visit to the university, no actual interview was done. Now, the death of the Major Crimes suspect took Gil's attention away from that case. "We can send someone to the Sages later today. I know Azul knows them well, and Oni is practicing mana casting with Genis. Perhaps one of them would be the ideal choice to speak with Raine?" Cameryn suggested, "It's that, or have someone go to the university to get their visitor's log. I doubt the sergeant and Presea have time to do that now."

Noishe nodded. "Right now, the Sages are probably our best option," he decided, closing the file and rubbing his hands together, "I do, however, like to know if there are any fan clubs dedicated to Gil's novel. If we can get in contact with some fans, then maybe we can find out what's really going on. If the killer enjoys Gil's novel so much that they want to imitate the novel's killer in real life, then maybe a search through the fan base might be useful to us."

Cameryn winced as she slowly got up. "You'll have to ask the sergeant about that one. I'm not really sure about that," she replied, "But if you want me to tell Azul and Oni to drop by the Sage household when they get off work, then I can do that for you."

Noishe nodded in agreement. With a wave of the hand, the former Protozoan dismissed the secretary from his office, leaving him alone to deal with the files. "Gil Irving fan club," he muttered as he turned to the computer, "I wonder if I can find anything of interest over there." With that, he typed in some terms into the search engine and clicked enter.

"So Reid, tell me a bit about your history with the dojo," Gil asked as he and Presea strolled around the interior of the martial arts studio with the red-haired fighter. After the dojo owner offered to turn his surveillance tapes into police, Gil and Presea thought it was best to get a feel around the dojo. They wanted to know why the suspect in the video was attracted to the photograph in question, and asked Reid to give a quick tour while the owner went to the police station with the tapes. Now the threesome wandered along the rings where assistants prepared equipment for some other fighters that would arrive for training later.

"I didn't really want to be involved. It was my girlfriend's idea," Reid explained, hanging his towel around his bare shoulders, "Farah wanted me to be active rather than lay around only thinking about food. A couple of years ago, during my senior year in high school, she found out about mixed martial arts and signed us both up. At first I didn't really care for it, but then I got a few practices in. I made progress on my skills, and now I enjoy it," he concluded with a shrug.

Gil nodded, glancing sideways at Presea, who scanned the photos along the back wall. Both investigators had a nagging feeling that Reid could not be ruled out as a suspect yet. Out of all the fighters, he was the only one with red hair, and could access the dojo because he had the keys. While it would be odd for Reid to break in here just to admire photos he saw frequently, it was still possible that Reid fiddled with the gas lamp that led to Ruffin being burned to death.

"So Reid, how well do you know the deceased?" Presea queried, marching back to the two males, "You've trained here for the last two years, so you two crossed paths before, right?"

Reid chuckled. "Yeah, I know the guy. A couple of years ago, when I first joined, he was the big man here," he recalled, his eyes tilting dreamily towards the photos again, "He trained a lot of the new fighters here, including me. He taught me all the basics, and really got me going on competitions. I think I mastered more in my first year than anyone else, and all the coaches were really ecstatic that there might be two good fighters representing the men's team. But then Kent got injured, and that event happened," Reid concluded, his tone and eyes downcast.

Gil and Presea edged their heads closer to Reid, trying to gauge his expression. Was there a possible motive for Reid to kill Ruffin? How did Reid really feel seeing his own mentor take such a huge fall from grace? "What happened next?" Gil continued questioning.

Reid shrugged again. "Well, it was kind of depressing, and I was kind of angry at him," he responded, shifting his weight back and forth between each bandaged foot, "I didn't want to believe Kent went from all-star to drug addict in less than a year. But they suspected Kent had been involved with drugs and gangs, so much so that he gave up on rehabbing from his injury. There's no way my mentor should be like that, and from that day onward he was dead to me."

Gil and Presea both reacted with a cocked eyebrow. What if Reid wanted to make that wish into a reality, and really make Ruffin dead? "Just out of curiosity, have you ever been in the back storage room before?" Presea probed, "There has to be a place where you put your training gear. Have you stored any equipment in there? Do you know what is usually stored inside?"

Reid managed another toothy grin. "Most of our equipment underwent an overhaul the last few months, so unless it's something really old, it wouldn't be put back there," Reid replied, "I swear, this building is so old, I'm not surprised if they got some ancient artefacts stowed in that room. Seriously, who keeps a gas lamp around anymore?"

Gil and Presea glanced at each other again. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Reid was upset enough that he treated Ruffin like he was dead, and was aware of the gas lamp's presence in the back storage room. So did he to sneak into the dojo, tampered with the lamp, and allowed the deceased to use it? And what about the lock to the back door being picked, given Reid had a key to the dojo? "Unless he wanted to use it as a way to take the spotlight off of himself," Gil whispered into Presea's ear amidst the sounds of more equipment being taken out.

Taking a glance at the clock, Gil and Presea realized that Aylmer would not return from the police station for at least half an hour. With the extra time to spare, Gil decided to unleash his crazy detective mode on the red-haired martial artist. "Tell me, Reid. If I'm not mistaken, the deceased still has a locker here," he stated, gesturing grandly while keeping a goofy grin on his face, "Do you think there might still be, you know, a stash of stuff inside? Why don't we go into the locker room and find out for sure?" Gil suggested, placing an arm around Reid's shoulder.

Reid had an almost dazed look on his face. Surely the staff sergeant wasn't serious, right? "I don't know. Those lockers belong to other people, and I don't think we should worry about going through them. Besides, if Farah finds out I invaded people's privacy, she'll probably go ballistic. And I'm not sure if we should, you know, let her into the male locker room," Reid pointed out, his tone soft and his head tilted towards Presea in worry.

Gil glanced at Presea, signalling to the pink-haired officer with his eyebrows and jaw. "I think she's too obsessed by the champion fighters to want to go in," Gil responded, "Maybe she'll be a big fan of yours if you make it big one day, and wants one of those photos on the wall as a souvenir. Now shall we move on to the locker room?" Gil requested, pulling Reid away.

Reid stuttered in both speech and steps, so much so that Gil had to link his arm through Reid's elbow. "You still haven't changed back into your regular clothes. Don't tell me you're leaving this place without a shirt on, or else a lot of fangirls will come after you," Gil warned, pointing at Reid's shirtless body. With only blue shorts on, Reid's developing pectoral muscles and six-pack abs were bound to get the fighter attention he didn't want. "Try explaining to your girlfriend why you have all these young women jumping all over you," Gil snickered.

"But still, I don't have the key to Kent's locker," Reid protested as Gil hauled him into the back with great difficulty, "How am I supposed to open it for you when Marco's at the station right now? If you do find drugs in Kent's locker, and end up taking it in for evidence, it's Marco that you should inform. Why not wait until he comes back?" Reid pointed out.

Gil chuckled. "I'm sure you have some other method of opening it," he suggested, his tone a mix between patronizing and teasing, "But first things first. Which one of these lockers belonged to your old pal Kent?" he waved at the series of grey boxes with his free arm.

Reid wriggled his nose, the strange mix of sweat-stained clothes and deodorant shooting into his nostrils. Some chemical odours could clearly be detected from the cracks of a locker in the middle of the row furthest in the back. Approaching the locker, Reid's eyes narrowed to darts. "What do you want me to do with this?" Reid demanded.

Gil's sly grin now turned into a smirk. "Try picking the lock," he proposed, "If you can pick the lock, then it'll save me more time to deal with going through your owner."

Reid's expression went from shocked, to suspicious, and now to exasperation. "I've never picked a lock in my entire life!" he roared, waving his arms in the air. The towel that hung from his shoulders now fell into a heap behind him, leaving Reid's torso naked to Gil's quirky look. "Can we just not do this? I'm sure someone else is better at opening it anyway."

"It's just a regular lock, not a combination one. If you make something that resembles a key, then maybe it'll work," Gil pointed out, gesturing at the lock again, "Besides, with a death in the back alley, this whole building could be a crime scene. If I call in the lock-breaking team in the police force, there will be even more property damage. You don't want that, do you?"

Despite the prospects of dealing with more damage, possibly including his own stuff, Reid was still uncertain. Seeing a creased face and furrowed brows, Gil decided to pull out all the stops. "If you can pick that lock before the owner comes back, I'll take you out to lunch," he offered, catering to Reid's insatiable appetite, "There's an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant not too far from the police station. I'll take you there if you can do me this favour."

Reid's eyes lit up at that prospect. "You got a deal!" he exclaimed, shooting out of the locker room, "Now just let me see if there's anything that I can use to pick the lock. I've never done this before, so I'll have to…" Reid's voice trailed off as he went back to the sparring rings.

Gil's eyes tilted back to observe Reid, who now scoured the area for anything that might help his cause. Smirking once more, Gil whipped out his cellphone and dialled for the unit. He tried to stay out of the sights of the dojo assistants while waiting patiently for the call to connect. "Hi, Cameryn?" he greeted the bespectacled secretary, "Can you get Azul on the line for me?"

While Cameryn transferred the call, Gil kept his eyes on Reid. The shirtless fighter was full of energy, but Gil could also observe that he was quite clueless. Reid was just bounding up, down, and all around the dojo, not even quite sure what he was looking for. At times Reid had his hands on his hips, doing a full scan on the area. At other times Reid was scratching his head, a stumped expression on his face. Did he even know what picking locks involved?

"Hello, Sergeant Irving? Are you looking for me?" Azul's crisp and clear voice could be heard from the other line. Azul was an expert at picking locks, having done so once in their first case. Robert Ross was trapped inside a building while pursuing a suspect back then, and Gil recalled Azul picking the lock to the front gate. "What can I help you with?" the elf asked.

"Hi Azul, I just have something about picking locks that I would like to ask you about," Gil informed the Heimdall native, "If I give you a description or show you a short video of what a person did to pick a lock, do you think you can tell if that person is an expert or not?"

"Absolutely not, Sergeant," Azul spoke into his cellphone as he and Oni stepped up to the front door of the Sage household, "Based on your words and the videos you sent, there's no way Reid Hershel is an expert in picking locks, by any means." Despite after their shift, Gil chose not to go home yet, opting to stay at the station to finish some analysis. That left Azul and Oni going to the Sage household to speak with Raine, as decided upon by Noishe earlier.

"He shouldn't bend the paper clip like that," Azul recalled from the short video Gil took from his cellphone, which Gil then sent to Azul's computer, "If he twisted it too hard into the lock, it'll be damaged entirely. The lock on the back door was tilted but not damaged, so an amateur like Reid couldn't have done it." The elf commented on a few more methods while Oni rang the doorbell. "The best item is usually a thin metallic rod, which can move the lock but still let it keep its integrity. If Reid didn't pick anything like that, then it's unlikely that he did it."

Clicks from the front door prompted Azul to cut the call short. "Hello, Azul. And is this Oni, the new officer that Genis told me about?" Lynn Sage asked, gesturing at the blond half-elf.

"Yes, I'm Oni Sheikah. I'm the one your grandson has been teaching mana spells to," the rookie officer replied with a sheepish grin. Lynn pulled the door wider, allowing both men to enter. "I am training with Genis again today, but we also want to ask some questions on a case we're investigating. Is Raine available for a few minutes?" Oni requested.

"Raine is home right now, but I think she's in her room doing some research notes," Lynn responded, leading the two officers to the dining room, "Why don't you take a seat for now. I'll just go upstairs to see if Raine can come down." With that, the elderly woman took to the stairs, letting Azul and Oni ease themselves into chairs at the dining table.

After a few minutes of quiet note organizing and question refining, a series of thumps echoed from the stairs. "Hey, I didn't know you were both coming again," Genis exclaimed, bounding up to the two, "Isn't Oni coming alone just to train?"

"We have some questions to ask your sister, Genis," Azul explained, shuffling his notes on the dining room table, "If you can wait a while, we'll come over and I'll watch Oni train with you again. Besides, don't you have homework to finish? A kid in junior high like you should have quite a bit of homework every night, right?" he wondered.

Genis smiled. "I'm done my math and science homework. I spend a little more than half an hour on each topic, since they're so easy. I actually do my homework right when I get home." The young half-elf leaned into the table and whispered to his two friends, "I use the extra time at night to review anything I don't get completely. In the past, when I'm not reviewing, I help Lloyd out. He actually works harder now, to the point where he can do his homework without me coaching him over the phone. Had he stayed a lazy bum, I doubt he'll make it to college!"

Oni could only shake his head at Genis. "I don't think you should make fun of him like that," he admonished the silver-haired boy for giggling at Lloyd's predicament, "I'm sure there were problems that he had to solve on his own. Besides, now that he's turned things around, shouldn't you be happy for your friend instead?" Oni suggested.

Genis shrugged. "Oh, I'm happy for Lloyd alright. But still, asking someone five years his junior to help him with his homework is pretty bad. I'm surprised it's only now that he feels embarrassed by it," Genis declared, pressing his arms on the back of an empty chair and leaning his torso slightly against it, "But hey, at least Lloyd and I are still friends today, right?"

Before either officer could get another word in, Lynn returned with Raine following her. "You better run along now, Genis. We'll talk to you in a bit," Oni whispered. Soon enough, Genis scurried off, replaced by Raine in the dining room. "Hello, Miss Sage. Azul and I have some extra questions on the fish tank case that we would like to speak with you about."

Raine nodded, taking a seat before them. Lynn slipped back into the kitchen to prepare dinner as Azul asked the first question. "So Raine, from Sheena's testimony, she said you led her into the Albane lab the first time. But you didn't stay the entire time, going back to your own office after. Can you tell me what you saw when you stepped out into the hallway?"

Raine took a deep breath, placing her clasped hands on the table. She went through all the details in her mind before speaking in a clear tone. "There was a lot of renovation going on, and I saw renovators going back and forth. There was also a lot of noise, especially with them drilling into the walls. I didn't recall anyone approach me though," she concluded, lips slightly pursed.

Azul nodded thoughtfully, scribbling hard on his notepad. Seeing there might be a lead, Oni followed up on it. "Sheena claimed she saw a red-haired man who was supposedly part of the renovation team," Oni stated, describing some physical attributes of Frank Warner, "Do you recall seeing someone matching or resembling that profile on your way out?"

Raine's hands migrated to her face, gently rubbing her cheeks and creasing her brows. "I did see someone like that, but I'm not sure if it's the same person Sheena saw. There may be more than one red-haired renovator, since they have an entire team. You can't dismiss a theory that easily, right?" Raine retorted, threatening to go into archaeology analysis mode on the spot.

Luckily, Azul was there to steer her back on the right path. "Assuming there is only one red-haired renovator on that team, do you think this mystery person fits the very description that Sheena gave on her testimony?" he asked, his voice gentle but his tone firm.

"Then yes, that would seem more like it," Raine replied with a nod, "I recall him being close to that room when I left. I'm guessing he heard Andy storming out after the yelling match with Professor Albane, although with the way they were going at it, I think you could hear them all the way in Sybak. The renovation team was still there when I left, but they were in the process of cleaning up already, so I guess they would have left shortly after I did." Raine turned to the two officers with that distinctive glitter in her eyes, causing them to shudder in fear. "Solving a crime is like researching a historical artefact. You can never eliminate any possibility unless you have evidence to do so. You two should come to my lab when you have free time, just so we can compare investigative techniques. When will you be free?" she demanded.

Azul and Oni quickly shook their heads, trying to cut Raine off as quickly as possible before she went full-blast at them. "I think we got what we were looking for here, so let's call it a day and move on," Oni stuttered, trying to stuff his notes back in his bag, "Besides, we promised to spend some time with your brother. Don't want to keep him waiting, do we?"

The two officers hurried off before Raine could say another word, hustling into the living room where they could catch their breaths. When Oni placed down his bag and removed his brown jacket, he noticed Genis was sitting on the couch. The boy's vest was unzipped, his shirt underneath lifted and clamped against his collar with his chin. His left hand pressed against the skin on his belly, pulling the skin around his navel to maximize its area. "Uh, what are you doing?" Oni queried, pointing at Genis prodding the crater with his right index finger.

Genis' eyes lifted slightly. "I'm warming up my belly button for the spells, and I'm also keeping it clean," he declared with a flourish, "Don't forget from the first day that the belly button is the centre of the body. All mana being cast must go through it first, so it's important that you keep it clean. It's especially important for you, given the type of shirt you wear."

Oni glanced down at his exposed abs, his Loni-Kyle shirt leaving his own belly button uncovered. He never really considered cleaning his navel as being an important task. "If you don't clean it frequently, perhaps you want me to do that for you?" Genis commented from the couch, the young half-elf's eyes fixed on the depression on Oni's gut while still poking his own.

Oni winced, glancing helplessly at Azul, who only responded with a nonchalant shrug. "I guess that's why they call you the belly button fanatic, huh?" Oni responded weakly, his hands migrating to his stomach to defend against a potential onslaught of pokes from his young friend.

While Oni was enjoying his time training at the Sage household, the mood was anything but jovial at the Brunel household. Frank and Phoebe invited Lloyd and Gil over for dinner, but the police sergeant's mind was not at the dining room table. Instead, his laptop was out, showing everyone some very disturbing quotes from his son's website. "This guy here was commenting on the death that occurred in the lab adjacent to yours," he informed the archaeology professor.

Frank glanced at the quotes written by the poster Death Angel, his eyes tilted back and forth and colour flushed in and out of his face. "I heard both deaths on the news, and it's really scary that one occurred so close to me. You're investigating them both, yes?" he asked.

Gil rubbed the bottom part of his goatee. "Yes, and I say Death Angel knows quite a lot for a passerby. Even if you assume the posts are all based on what was already released in the news, Death Angel is following it very closely, almost like they're obsessed by these killings."

Frank's body nearly deflated, sinking through his chair and onto the ground. "And Death Angel also responded to Lloyd's most recent attempted rebuttal," Gil pointed out, scrolling to the bottom of the page. He turned the monitor around so even Lloyd and Colette could see. "This is the latest post after Lloyd told them not to resort to vigilantism."

Lloyd pushed his head closer to the screen, reading out each offending word. "What garbage! The only reason scum like them can roam is because the system refuses to address them. Individuals should make sacrifices and bloody their hands to better our society." Lloyd winced hard as his post was shot down by the anger-filled reply. What's with all that hate?

From the other side of the table, Phoebe chimed in, "Is there a way to get rid of a user like that? Obviously they must be breaking at least some rules on the forum by posting that much hate. If Lloyd is the administrator, then can't he remove this Death Angel from the website?"

Lloyd glanced at Gil, who had a strange twinkle in his eye. "I actually told Lloyd not to get rid of this person yet. If this is a potential lead to our case, then it's best to keep them happy and comfortable for now," he explained, "In fact, I believe Lloyd is working on a new feature on the website that may be of use to us. Why don't you reveal to everyone what it is?" he suggested.

Lloyd approached the laptop with a smile, clicking a couple of buttons that led to a blank page. "I'm trying to add a new feature to the website that allows users to chat online, almost like a chat room," he pointed out, clicking and typing in some commands, "Since we have both a forum and a private messaging system, we should allow people to chat instantly too, right?"

Gil nodded sagely. "It's with these features that I plan to figure out this Death Angel person for sure. Since Lloyd is the administrator, he has access to everyone's accounts, and can go through what email has been sent. This goes for both the sender and the recipient," Gil stated, "That way, we can keep track of Death Angel and what they're possibly up to."

Frank scratched his chin. It did seem like a good strategic move to keep an eye on things online, but somehow he still didn't feel safe. "What will happen if this person chooses to go after you personally?" he asked, "I mean, being a police sergeant makes you a somewhat public figure, right? Won't that place you in their line of attack should they turn on you?"

Gil shook his head. "I'm having a totally different thought in mind," he responded, taking the laptop back from Lloyd, "You see, I believe this Death Angel person craves attention, given the number of users that commented on their posts. For example, there is this one here, posted just a couple of hours ago, by this user named 'Pirate King' who pointed to another death that happened last night. Lloyd and Colette would know why this was of significance."

The two teens leaned their heads in again as Gil clicked the link posted by Pirate King, which was the afternoon news release by the Iselia Police Department on the death of Kent Ruffin. "This is the Major Crimes suspect that you were mentioning about last night, right?" Colette pointed out, "You rushed out the door after hearing he escaped from the hospital?"

Gil nodded. "With Pirate King showing that much support to Death Angel, going so far as to buttress Death Angel's comments with a news article, Death Angel must feel like they cannot be stopped. That's why if Lloyd or I can set up a meeting with them via the chat room, then the police can zoom in on Death Angel and bring them in for questioning." The goateed man took in and released a deep breath. "It's going to be a risky move, and the police will have to be extra careful. Any false moves and we may scare off our main suspect for good."

Just then, Colette turned to face Lloyd. "Maybe you should talk with Death Angel via the chat room," she recommended, "I think it's just a huge misunderstanding, and Death Angel isn't really a killer. If you can find out why they really feel this way, maybe you can help them."

Both of Colette's parents shot disapproving looks at the blond teenager. "Don't be so naïve. We may be dealing with a serial killer here, so what can Lloyd do to convince them to stop killing?" Phoebe scolded her daughter, "Let's not get in more danger here, Colette."

However, Lloyd was surprisingly receptive to his girlfriend's proposal, actually believing Colette had a point. "If I can use the email system or chat room to keep Death Angel's attention, then it's possible that we can reel them in," he analyzed, "I can at least make it easier for the police to confront them, should the police plan on making an arrest."

Gil slowly turned his head towards his son. "You're not saying what I think you're saying, right?" he asked, eyes flashing in surprise, "Are you seriously wanting to get involved in this case? You do realize this can be dangerous if we're doing an actual police operation. This isn't like Cruxis, where I worked with them for ten years and could predict their moves. This is an individual that we've never met before. Who knows what they are capable of?"

Lloyd was undaunted, insisting to help his father all the way. "If we can take out Cruxis, then we can take out some weird internet stalker," Lloyd declared firmly, "I'll support you on this one. If you want me on a police operation, just give me a shout."

Gil nodded apprehensively. Somehow the details were still fuzzy, but at least the wheels were put in motion. Assuming Lloyd would bait the hook, the only question was if Death Angel would bite. Shutting down the laptop, he turned back to Frank and Phoebe, who were still a bit shaken. "When will dinner be served?" the former undercover police officer asked with a smile.

I know some people might think Senel Coolidge from Tales of Legendia makes a better MMA fighter, given he's the only Tales hero to fight without a sword. But I have another role for Senel later on in the story, so Reid will take his place at the martial arts dojo instead. Besides, Farah Oersted herself resembles an MMA fighter as well, so it's only feels right she gets Reid involved.

As for everything else, canonical traits of each character are showing again. Lloyd is being hard-headed and determined, Colette trying to solve everything by being nice, Genis being kind of bratty, Raine going archaeology mania on the officers, and Gil using his weird investigative techniques (especially on Reid). Hope everyone likes what they're seeing so far, and I'll see you next chapter!