[ Flynn reaches out, grabs at Yuri's shoulder to keep him still. They're both in horrible jumpsuits and weaponless, but Flynn can at least do this: move in front of him, clear the awful high-ceilinged hallway thick with the smell of oil and the copper stench of old blood. Now that they're out here, it reminds him more of Heracles, alive with the bone-rattling hum of distant machinery.
Something drips away behind them. Flynn breathes shallowly through his mouth, scanning every corner for movement.
There's nothing.
They're alone, except for a row of other doors, all hanging open. Suspicion and fear dart under Flynn's skin, prickling at his neck. Down at the end of the hallway they're in are some metal stairs ascending into warm darkness. ]
We need to move quietly. Whoever brought us here clearly didn't want us leaving on our own. Follow me.
[ More orders. Yuri grits his teeth, moving with Flynn as he steps slowly down the hall. He keeps his eyes on Flynn even though he should probably be looking where they're going ]
I'm not one of your knights, Flynn.
[ It's snapped out, low and annoyed. Even in danger like this, when they should be working together, on the same side, Flynn can still piss him off without really trying ]
[ Flynn's teeth clench, but before he can say anything, something clanks, low and ominous, and he freezes, pressing himself against the wall with his heart hammering. A jerk of his hand signals for Yuri to do the same thing. They wait there in breathless silence, listening, but the sound doesn't come again.
No one. Still alone. Flynn lets out a breath and half-turns to Yuri. ]
We're unarmed and at a severe disadvantage. Would you trust me for once?
[ Yuri huffs in annoyance, glaring at Flynn. He shoves the hand away, even though he had instinctively followed Flynn's order when he motioned for him to wait. Now that the coast is clear, though: ]
[ Flynn shoots him a look, trying to hide his own frustration. Now is not the time to argue with Yuri, even if he's doing the same thing he's been doing for years now, assuming the worst of every one of Flynn's actions. What is it that Flynn is doing wrong? He could be more polite, he supposes, but Yuri hates when he does that too. ]
Yuri, if I were giving you orders, you would know. Now isn't the time. We need to focus.
[ Even with that, Flynn, ever the good soldier, just falls in line with frustration and fear prickling hotly along his spine. It isn't Yuri's fault, entirely. Flynn is afraid and he learned long ago to swallow his fear or use it as fuel. His frustration is a thing with teeth in his chest, hooking claws into his lungs.
This whole place is deserted. Flynn is afraid to breathe too loudly for fear of alerting someone to their presence. They need to find weapons, and then they need to figure out if anyone else has been captured (the odds of that are very high), and then they need to get free.
The air is thick with the oddly-familiar smell of old, rotting things in a way that makes Flynn's stomach turn. He follows Yuri in tense silence for a few moments, his head like a searchlight, constantly moving to spot any signs of danger, and then it ]
The smell. It's like Ragou's.
[ That's what has him so on-edge, that's what has him imagining that sneering noble voice taunting Flynn about his own powerlessness. ]
[ It occurred to Yuri, too, the memories coming back and making him clench his wrist. He feels so weird, off, without a sword, without his knuckle guard, in these weird clothes. He feels like a science experiment, and he hates it. He hates it, and he hates that Flynn is here, and he has to help get Flynn out, no matter what. The world needs Flynn, this world, or their own.
He doesn't respond, not verbally. He nods shortly and moves further into the place. There are more rooms, all full of cells like the one they woke up in, but all are empty. He has to wonder if everyone else just got out before them, or...
He spots something else, a set of stairs, and lets out a breath, pointing to them. Not talking does feel safer, and he can still hear Flynn's breath, his footsteps, to show him that Flynn is near ]
[ Nodding shortly—as clear an understood as if he'd actually said it aloud—Flynn falls into step behind Yuri, checking over his shoulder as they hurry toward the staircase.
They're still not being followed, but before they can reach the staircase, a door they pass hisses open in a cloud of mechanical steam, and Flynn is yanking Yuri out of the way before he can even think about it, gritting his teeth as he prepares for a fight that does not come. Something drips down from above, heavy and warm, and plops onto Flynn's shoulder. It runs redly through his pale hair: blood, or oil, or both. ]
[ As soon as he sees that door move, he's on edge, too, falling into a fighting stance in front of Flynn, but--
No one's there. It's an automatic door, opening to a room full of stuff, some of which looks useful. He lets out a breath, glancing back at Flynn only to frown ]
You got--
[ He reaches out to brush whatever it is off of Flynn, but his fingers come away red. He stares at them, then looks up where it dripped from and fear drops like a stone in his gut.
It's blood.
He grabs Flynn's wrist, pulling him into the room. The doors shut behind them. ]
[ That tone is never a good thing, sends a matching fear skittering along under Flynn's skin even as the door slides shut. This room is full of what looks to Flynn's eye like farming equipment: saws, hammers, a whole rack of wrenches. Flynn forgets whatever was on his head for a moment, even if it's dripping down along his neck now.
He lets go of Yuri to cross over to the rack. A saw feels too... Flynn can't fight with that. After a long moment of consideration, he picks up a solid, hefty wrench, and then grabs another to offer it to Yuri. ]
[ Well if Flynn doesn't want to think about it, Yuri doesn't either. He wipes the blood on his shirt, and takes the offered wrench, hefting it in his hand. ]
Alright. So we find our way out, smashing a few heads if we have to.
[ He looks up at Flynn, meeting his eyes for a moment, and he wonders what's going on in his head. He wonders, too, at the fierce protectiveness welling up in him. Yeah, he's always wanted to protect Flynn, as much as Flynn wants to protect him. But if either of them are going to get out of here, it's Flynn. If there's a choice, he's going to choose Flynn. ]
[ Flynn winces at the implication, frowning down at the wrench in his own hand. His fingers are smeared with reddish-black. It really can't be anything but blood, can it?
No wonder it smells like that awful basement haunted by death and monsters. ]
Let's try to avoid any unnecessary death. I don't think this place needs any more blood.
[ He tries to keep his voice steady, but it comes out sharp-edged, tinged with fear and anger. Who would build something like this? What is its purpose, and what would have happened to them if they hadn't gotten free? The metal under Flynn's feet is oddly warm, and he hates that he can feel it, that his feet are bare. It's such a tiny, stupid thing to fixate on but suddenly Flynn can't think about anything else. He misses his armor. His misses his sword and Daisy and Repede. ]
[ Yuri sees him starting to spiral and reaches out, a hand heavy on Flynn's shoulder. ]
Hey. Look at me.
[ He squeezes tight, until Flynn does look at him ]
We're gonna get out of here. With you and me? No one stands a chance. Even, yeah, if we don't kill them. No one said that you had to kill someone when you hit them on the head.
[ It's a joke, sort of. An attempt to pull Flynn out of his head, so they can focus and get this done. ]
[ How does Yuri always know...? Flynn should know better, should be focusing on their situation and not letting himself worry like this. He sets his own jaw, pulling himself back, letting Yuri anchor him in the present.
What would he do without Yuri? ]
Of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... We should go. That blood has to be coming from somewhere.
[ Yuri shakes his head with a small smile, letting his hand drop. ]
Nothing to be sorry for. C'mon, let's find out.
[ Not that he really wants to know, but he has to, now. He has to know what's causing this, why they're here, what happened to all the other Sleepers. They can't be the only two here ]
[ There is a lot to be sorry for, Flynn thinks, but Yuri is right: they have to focus on the facts, and the facts are... horrifying and don't fit together.
Flynn checks the hallway one more time before they re-enter, sticking close to Yuri with the wrench held tight in his hands. ]
This doesn't make sense. We're held captive, but without guards, which suggests they don't think there's much of a chance we can escape. Or that it doesn't matter if we do. There's machinery all around us and the tools to maintain it, but there's blood in the air.
[ Flynn keeps his voice down, a low, urgent whisper as they walk. He'd thought laying out the facts as he did for himself after Nordopolica would help, but there's something Flynn's missing, and the knowledge is prickling at him. There's another piece to all this. It has to be a bad one. ]
[ Yuri mutters it, mostly to himself. Somehow, he's following Flynn again. Maybe Flynn just can't help leading, it's just how he is. He decides not to complain this time. If Flynn wants to lead, let him lead. ]
Someone brought us here, so there have to be some people here.
[ And that blood had to belong to someone.
He jerks his head toward the stairs. Even if he's worried about what they'll find, he needs to know who's bleeding out like that ]
[ Flynn had forgotten, somehow, how nice it was to fall into step with Yuri, to be able to bounce things off him, to not be alone in his own head. He'd discussed things with Sodia and Witcher, of course, but there's something about the way Yuri thinks–about his single-minded dedication, his way of simplifying a problem into its constiuent parts—that keeps Flynn from spiralling into what-ifs.
He shoots Yuri a soft, grateful sort of look and heads for the stairs. Something bangs, like conduits do when they're full of air, and Flynn pauses on the first few steps, waiting for it to fade. Only when the sound is gone again does he start to move, slow and cautious, keeping his voice low. ]
Perhaps it's like Heracles, and they're guarding whatever all these tools are for. I just can't see why they'd go through the trouble of locking us up so tightly if they were just...
[ His words desert him as they reach the top. In fact, his breath and his voice catch hard in his throat, combining into a tiny horrified sound, because here on the second floor are—
[ It doesn't take long for Yuri to figure out what's freaking Flynn out. It's pretty obvious: in front of them, limp and bloody, are three people strung up and tied to the wall, their blood pouring slowly into buckets at their feet from cuts in their ankles.
Anger surges through Yuri. Anger, not fear, drives him forward, to check these people over. They look normal, like normal people, but pale and drained and when he looks down into the buckets, he sees that these people have to be Sleepers. Some of the blood is green and sizzling, some is blue and frigid, some sparkles dark ]
Shit. Help me get them down.
[ He doesn't wait, though. At least these people are tied up instead of shackled, and he starts on the knots around their wrists ]
[ Flynn's mind is a static overlay of horror: all he can see is those dripping cuts, their bloody feet, their half-lost expressions, the lines of pain around their eyes as Yuri—
He has to move. Flynn shakes himself out of it and forces motion into his own limbs. ]
Right!
[ He gets to work on the person on the left, dripping sparkling blood that's being collected through a tube rather than a bucket, probably to keep it drifting away. They barely move as Flynn picks at the knots, making a small, helpless sort of sound as he pulls them down as gently as he can. ]
Stay right there.
[ It's for himself more than for them: they couldn't move anyway, a limp pile of limbs. After a moment, Flynn eases the needle out of their skin, letting blood sparkle up and into the air. He doesn't mean to breathe it in, exactly, but there's already more feeling in his limbs, more strength there. For the first time since waking up, he can feel Daisy like a distant pulse, somewhere inside himself.
Flynn sets his jaw and works until they have all three of them down. ]
Yuri. Take care of the bleeding.
[ He's giving orders again but he can't care: he's too focused on calling up every bit of power he can possibly manage, every scrap of mana he barely has. Flynn has never actually cast anything greater than First Aid but he knows the incantation for it, has watched Estelle cast it enough times, he can probably at least manage Nurse. Flynn closes his eyes, pressing his hands together to focus what little energy he can gather as the floor glows around his feet. ]
[ Yuri doesn't complain this time, and after the lets the last person down, he rips strips off his shirt to start bandaging up their cuts. As he works, he glances over at Flynn, opening his mouth to ask what he's doing, but...
He probably shouldn't heal them, not in this state, but Yuri isn't going to stop him. Trying to stop Flynn from helping someone is as hard as trying to stop Estelle.
Instead, he waits until the spell is cast, makes sure the Sleepers are situated. They aren't awake, but they seem better, like they just need to heal. ]
[ Light flares around all of them at once, and Flynn sort of staggers at the amount of energy he just used, gritting his teeth at the cold sapping strength from his limbs. That was probably a bad idea. It doesn't matter. ]
We could... take them to the room we were in. With the tools.
I don't know if that's safer. We have to get them out of here, we should--
[ He's moving to heft one of the Sleepers up when he hears the unmistakeable sound of footsteps coming toward them and he looks up sharply, holding up the wrench.
Two people round the corner. They're dressed in flowing robes, faces hidden under hoods and they certainly don't look like they've been tortured. As soon as they catch sight of Yuri and Flynn, they start moving faster, raising their hands to start doing-- something. ]
Shit.
[ Yuri doesn't want to give them the chance to cast any sort of spells, so he lets out a yell and surges forward, intent to whack them with the wrench ]
He knew they were going to run into something, and here Yuri is, charging recklessly in without a plan like he always does, opening himself up to all kinds of attack.
At least Flynn knows how to fight with him like this. Even if his limbs are still weak from the spell, he can push through that like he always does and play backup for Yuri, falling back on his training to keep anything truly terrible from happening. Let Yuri charge in: Flynn will be there with his spells and his wrench to heal him until those robed figures are down. The other option is letting them through to the wounded Sleepers, and that isn't an option at all. ]
Yuri! Left!
[ He calls out as one of the hooded figures with a blade made entirely of bluish crystal darts behind Yuri mid-attack to swipe at him. Flynn is closer, so he shoves himself between the sword and Yuri, ignoring the way it bites into his skin as he shoves the handle of the wrench against the blade. ]
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[ Flynn reaches out, grabs at Yuri's shoulder to keep him still. They're both in horrible jumpsuits and weaponless, but Flynn can at least do this: move in front of him, clear the awful high-ceilinged hallway thick with the smell of oil and the copper stench of old blood. Now that they're out here, it reminds him more of Heracles, alive with the bone-rattling hum of distant machinery.
Something drips away behind them. Flynn breathes shallowly through his mouth, scanning every corner for movement.
There's nothing.
They're alone, except for a row of other doors, all hanging open. Suspicion and fear dart under Flynn's skin, prickling at his neck. Down at the end of the hallway they're in are some metal stairs ascending into warm darkness. ]
We need to move quietly. Whoever brought us here clearly didn't want us leaving on our own. Follow me.
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I'm not one of your knights, Flynn.
[ It's snapped out, low and annoyed. Even in danger like this, when they should be working together, on the same side, Flynn can still piss him off without really trying ]
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No one. Still alone. Flynn lets out a breath and half-turns to Yuri. ]
We're unarmed and at a severe disadvantage. Would you trust me for once?
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[ Yuri huffs in annoyance, glaring at Flynn. He shoves the hand away, even though he had instinctively followed Flynn's order when he motioned for him to wait. Now that the coast is clear, though: ]
I trust you. Just stop ordering me around.
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Yuri, if I were giving you orders, you would know. Now isn't the time. We need to focus.
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He waves a hand, shaking his head, and follows along a step behind Flynn ]
Get behind me. I'm better without a sword. [ "Than you are" goes unsaid ]
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[ Even with that, Flynn, ever the good soldier, just falls in line with frustration and fear prickling hotly along his spine. It isn't Yuri's fault, entirely. Flynn is afraid and he learned long ago to swallow his fear or use it as fuel. His frustration is a thing with teeth in his chest, hooking claws into his lungs.
This whole place is deserted. Flynn is afraid to breathe too loudly for fear of alerting someone to their presence. They need to find weapons, and then they need to figure out if anyone else has been captured (the odds of that are very high), and then they need to get free.
The air is thick with the oddly-familiar smell of old, rotting things in a way that makes Flynn's stomach turn. He follows Yuri in tense silence for a few moments, his head like a searchlight, constantly moving to spot any signs of danger, and then it ]
The smell. It's like Ragou's.
[ That's what has him so on-edge, that's what has him imagining that sneering noble voice taunting Flynn about his own powerlessness. ]
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He doesn't respond, not verbally. He nods shortly and moves further into the place. There are more rooms, all full of cells like the one they woke up in, but all are empty. He has to wonder if everyone else just got out before them, or...
He spots something else, a set of stairs, and lets out a breath, pointing to them. Not talking does feel safer, and he can still hear Flynn's breath, his footsteps, to show him that Flynn is near ]
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They're still not being followed, but before they can reach the staircase, a door they pass hisses open in a cloud of mechanical steam, and Flynn is yanking Yuri out of the way before he can even think about it, gritting his teeth as he prepares for a fight that does not come. Something drips down from above, heavy and warm, and plops onto Flynn's shoulder. It runs redly through his pale hair: blood, or oil, or both. ]
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No one's there. It's an automatic door, opening to a room full of stuff, some of which looks useful. He lets out a breath, glancing back at Flynn only to frown ]
You got--
[ He reaches out to brush whatever it is off of Flynn, but his fingers come away red. He stares at them, then looks up where it dripped from and fear drops like a stone in his gut.
It's blood.
He grabs Flynn's wrist, pulling him into the room. The doors shut behind them. ]
Shit. What kind of messed up place is this!?
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[ That tone is never a good thing, sends a matching fear skittering along under Flynn's skin even as the door slides shut. This room is full of what looks to Flynn's eye like farming equipment: saws, hammers, a whole rack of wrenches. Flynn forgets whatever was on his head for a moment, even if it's dripping down along his neck now.
He lets go of Yuri to cross over to the rack. A saw feels too... Flynn can't fight with that. After a long moment of consideration, he picks up a solid, hefty wrench, and then grabs another to offer it to Yuri. ]
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Alright. So we find our way out, smashing a few heads if we have to.
[ He looks up at Flynn, meeting his eyes for a moment, and he wonders what's going on in his head. He wonders, too, at the fierce protectiveness welling up in him. Yeah, he's always wanted to protect Flynn, as much as Flynn wants to protect him. But if either of them are going to get out of here, it's Flynn. If there's a choice, he's going to choose Flynn. ]
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No wonder it smells like that awful basement haunted by death and monsters. ]
Let's try to avoid any unnecessary death. I don't think this place needs any more blood.
[ He tries to keep his voice steady, but it comes out sharp-edged, tinged with fear and anger. Who would build something like this? What is its purpose, and what would have happened to them if they hadn't gotten free? The metal under Flynn's feet is oddly warm, and he hates that he can feel it, that his feet are bare. It's such a tiny, stupid thing to fixate on but suddenly Flynn can't think about anything else. He misses his armor. His misses his sword and Daisy and Repede. ]
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Hey. Look at me.
[ He squeezes tight, until Flynn does look at him ]
We're gonna get out of here. With you and me? No one stands a chance. Even, yeah, if we don't kill them. No one said that you had to kill someone when you hit them on the head.
[ It's a joke, sort of. An attempt to pull Flynn out of his head, so they can focus and get this done. ]
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What would he do without Yuri? ]
Of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... We should go. That blood has to be coming from somewhere.
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Nothing to be sorry for. C'mon, let's find out.
[ Not that he really wants to know, but he has to, now. He has to know what's causing this, why they're here, what happened to all the other Sleepers. They can't be the only two here ]
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[ There is a lot to be sorry for, Flynn thinks, but Yuri is right: they have to focus on the facts, and the facts are... horrifying and don't fit together.
Flynn checks the hallway one more time before they re-enter, sticking close to Yuri with the wrench held tight in his hands. ]
This doesn't make sense. We're held captive, but without guards, which suggests they don't think there's much of a chance we can escape. Or that it doesn't matter if we do. There's machinery all around us and the tools to maintain it, but there's blood in the air.
[ Flynn keeps his voice down, a low, urgent whisper as they walk. He'd thought laying out the facts as he did for himself after Nordopolica would help, but there's something Flynn's missing, and the knowledge is prickling at him. There's another piece to all this. It has to be a bad one. ]
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[ Yuri mutters it, mostly to himself. Somehow, he's following Flynn again. Maybe Flynn just can't help leading, it's just how he is. He decides not to complain this time. If Flynn wants to lead, let him lead. ]
Someone brought us here, so there have to be some people here.
[ And that blood had to belong to someone.
He jerks his head toward the stairs. Even if he's worried about what they'll find, he needs to know who's bleeding out like that ]
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He shoots Yuri a soft, grateful sort of look and heads for the stairs. Something bangs, like conduits do when they're full of air, and Flynn pauses on the first few steps, waiting for it to fade. Only when the sound is gone again does he start to move, slow and cautious, keeping his voice low. ]
Perhaps it's like Heracles, and they're guarding whatever all these tools are for. I just can't see why they'd go through the trouble of locking us up so tightly if they were just...
[ His words desert him as they reach the top. In fact, his breath and his voice catch hard in his throat, combining into a tiny horrified sound, because here on the second floor are—
Are— ]
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Anger surges through Yuri. Anger, not fear, drives him forward, to check these people over. They look normal, like normal people, but pale and drained and when he looks down into the buckets, he sees that these people have to be Sleepers. Some of the blood is green and sizzling, some is blue and frigid, some sparkles dark ]
Shit. Help me get them down.
[ He doesn't wait, though. At least these people are tied up instead of shackled, and he starts on the knots around their wrists ]
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He has to move. Flynn shakes himself out of it and forces motion into his own limbs. ]
Right!
[ He gets to work on the person on the left, dripping sparkling blood that's being collected through a tube rather than a bucket, probably to keep it drifting away. They barely move as Flynn picks at the knots, making a small, helpless sort of sound as he pulls them down as gently as he can. ]
Stay right there.
[ It's for himself more than for them: they couldn't move anyway, a limp pile of limbs. After a moment, Flynn eases the needle out of their skin, letting blood sparkle up and into the air. He doesn't mean to breathe it in, exactly, but there's already more feeling in his limbs, more strength there. For the first time since waking up, he can feel Daisy like a distant pulse, somewhere inside himself.
Flynn sets his jaw and works until they have all three of them down. ]
Yuri. Take care of the bleeding.
[ He's giving orders again but he can't care: he's too focused on calling up every bit of power he can possibly manage, every scrap of mana he barely has. Flynn has never actually cast anything greater than First Aid but he knows the incantation for it, has watched Estelle cast it enough times, he can probably at least manage Nurse. Flynn closes his eyes, pressing his hands together to focus what little energy he can gather as the floor glows around his feet. ]
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He probably shouldn't heal them, not in this state, but Yuri isn't going to stop him. Trying to stop Flynn from helping someone is as hard as trying to stop Estelle.
Instead, he waits until the spell is cast, makes sure the Sleepers are situated. They aren't awake, but they seem better, like they just need to heal. ]
I don't want to just leave them here.
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We could... take them to the room we were in. With the tools.
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[ He's moving to heft one of the Sleepers up when he hears the unmistakeable sound of footsteps coming toward them and he looks up sharply, holding up the wrench.
Two people round the corner. They're dressed in flowing robes, faces hidden under hoods and they certainly don't look like they've been tortured. As soon as they catch sight of Yuri and Flynn, they start moving faster, raising their hands to start doing-- something. ]
Shit.
[ Yuri doesn't want to give them the chance to cast any sort of spells, so he lets out a yell and surges forward, intent to whack them with the wrench ]
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He knew they were going to run into something, and here Yuri is, charging recklessly in without a plan like he always does, opening himself up to all kinds of attack.
At least Flynn knows how to fight with him like this. Even if his limbs are still weak from the spell, he can push through that like he always does and play backup for Yuri, falling back on his training to keep anything truly terrible from happening. Let Yuri charge in: Flynn will be there with his spells and his wrench to heal him until those robed figures are down. The other option is letting them through to the wounded Sleepers, and that isn't an option at all. ]
Yuri! Left!
[ He calls out as one of the hooded figures with a blade made entirely of bluish crystal darts behind Yuri mid-attack to swipe at him. Flynn is closer, so he shoves himself between the sword and Yuri, ignoring the way it bites into his skin as he shoves the handle of the wrench against the blade. ]
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