[ 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. ]
[ Yuri shoves the other guy back with a foot, and whips around to smack the one attacking Flynn on the head with the butt of his wrench. At least that works, and he collapses to the ground, but it leaves Yuri vulnerable again, and the robed guy he kicked is back up and grabbing at him with thin, emaciated fingers that wrap around his throat ]
Sleeper blood. [ The guy, thing, says in a raspy voice and Yuri tries to elbow it off of him, but it doesn't work and he's being strangled tight, staring at Flynn and trying to do something, anything, to get this guy off of him ]
It's behind Yuri, using him almost as a shield while it chokes the life out of him, a feeling Flynn knows entirely too well. With all his focus narrowing down, Flynn feints to the right, letting his own blood spray the floor and Yuri all at once. It's enough of a distraction that he can charge forward, swinging his wrench with all the strength and practice and technique that has gone into his sword over the years straight into that thing's throat. ]
[ He connects, and the zealot slumps back, his hands limp on Yuri. Yuri drops down to his knees, gasping for breath. The wrench clatters to the floor, but it doesn't end there.
There's the sound of more footsteps, and Yuri can't take the time to recover. He surges to his feet, grabbing for Flynn's hand and pulling him in the opposite direction. It means they have to leave the other Sleepers there, but there's no way in hell he's letting those guys get to Flynn. ]
[ It's against everything in Flynn to retreat, and he nearly protests, twisting back to look at the limp limbs of the Sleepers they just rescued.
They're barely visible already, swamped by pursuing figures in robes, at least seven at Flynn's rough count.
He has had worse odds, but at least in Hypionia he had a sword and his armor, a few other knights. Now it's just him and Yuri, and they've faced incredible challenges before but not like this, and so Flynn lets himself be pulled, cursing quietly under his breath as he and Yuri skid around a corner and come face-to-face with more Sleepers strung up, these ones—
these ones gone.
Flynn makes a rough sound in his throat like he's been punched. ]
We can't just keep running! We don't even know where we're going!
[ But the footsteps are already getting louder. They have to keep moving. They can't shut this place down if they're dead. ]
You're the one-- who always talks about having a plan.
[ Yuri's voice is hoarse and his breath is coming hard and raspy and he can't let himself look at those Sleepers for very long because they can't stop. They're going to become like them if they don't do something, and he sure has hell isn't going to let Flynn die again, especially not like that. They can find a way out, regroup, and find a way to rescue them. They have to try.
He takes a hard left and finds himself running toward a larger room, with doors and an alter in the middle and he doesn't want to know what that means, except that when they reach it, he looks around at the doors, trying to parse out which way to go.
But he doesn't have long to think, because one opens and more of those robed guys step out, and their conversation stops when they see Yuri and Flynn. ]
[ Flynn draws himself up and passes his wrench over to Yuri. He'll make better use of it. Flynn, at least, can cast more artes, although it'll be much harder without a focus or his blastia. Their captors are approaching, already spreading out into something like a practiced attack formation. ]
Watch your back. They're fast. We can't show any weakness.
[ The ground beneath Flynn's feet, familiarly, lights up as he presses his hands together. ]
[ Fighting together, at least, is familiar. They know how to do it, they're good at it. There's no one Yuri would rather had at his back than Flynn, even when the odds are terrible, like they are now.
He takes a breath, and when one of the zealots runs at him, he's able to whack them away with the wrench, before diving into the fray, taking on two of them at once. Others stay further back, seemingly casting spells like Flynn is. Yuri would want to take them out, first, but he can't, not like this. He's stuck handling the ones in front of him, hoping for some sort of luck to help them out of this ]
[ Flynn has to watch his energy, and that's very difficult in here. He seems to have more power, more endurance, in Trench than he would at home—light sears through the group of their attackers for a moment, following Flynn's shout, knocking away one that was trying to get a dagger into Yuri's side—but it's still exhausting, and he isn't Rita. Flynn is good at magic, but not that good.
Still. He pushes through, grits his teeth against his own exhaustion and bites down on his tongue to let warm blood flow, hating the way it energizes him. It's worth it, though, to keep Yuri safe, to cast as many spells as he has to. He aims the next one, a searing lance of light, at the caster in the back trying to slam fire into Yuri, and the one after that at a half-robed figure coated in blood who keeps popping out of nowhere, forcing Yuri to dodge. ]
[ There are so many of them. So many, but somehow, between him and Flynn, they're keeping them back. Maybe it's adrenalin, maybe it's the blood in the air, but Yuri feels stronger, too. Strong enough that the wrench sears with flames as he brings it down on one of the zealots before whipping it at another one, taking them down one by one.
Finally, panting and sweating, he stands in the middle of crumpled, robed bodies, looking around for any hint of movement. There is none.
They did it.
He sags a little searching for Flynn to give him a triumphant smile ]
[ There is a fierceness to Flynn in battle, an angry, hardened edge he lets out only then. This is not a fight to enjoy himself in with the stakes so high and life and death on the line, but Flynn is alive with the thrill of the fight all the same. He catches Yuri's eye and nods, already moving to shift over to him, summoning up the last of his energy to cast— ]
Divine light—First Aid!
[ Just to knit up the worst of his wounds. If they're going to fight more of these things, Yuri needs to be well.
The spell doesn't stop Flynn hurrying to his side anyway, lifting a hand for him. ]
Flynn-- [ He needs to save his strength, but Yuri can't stop him before the spell washes over him, knitting up the cuts and bruises from the right. It feels good, but concern curls in his gut.
But it isn't the time right now. He sighs, gripping Flynn's wrist to pull himself upright as they start to walk out of this strange room. ]
What do you think, up?
[ There are those stairs, that the zealots came from, which seems like the way out, but also the way danger lies. He's not sure how much more Flynn can take. He looks pale and worn out from casting all that magic ]
[ Flynn keeps their hands sealed together even though it's probably better for them to walk separately in case they get attacked again. Adrenaline is dulling his exhaustion, keeping him alert, letting him ignore the cuts and bruises he's managed to accumulate.
There's blood just... everywhere. There aren't any more bodies in sight, but the floors, the walls, everything, seems to be coated in a fine mist. It smells awful, and it looks worse, and Flynn makes himself take it in and scan for details. ]
I think it's our only option. At the very least, we need to find a way outside to get a sense of what this place even is, and it seems more likely we'll find a way to do that near the top.
[ Something clanks ominously, followed by a thud that rattles metallic walls. Flynn grips Yuri's hand a little tighter and veers toward that staircase, stepping over a large puddle of blood dripping from a crack in the ceiling above. ]
[ It's really all he can say. He doesn't pull away from Flynn, keeping their hands together because it does help, it makes him feel safer, and he's not paying enough attention to think about what that means.
They traipse up the stairs in silence, the blood in the air making him want to gag, but he stays quiet, not wanting to set off anything else, not to alert anyone else to their presence.
Of course, nothing ever goes to plan, here. As soon as they're up the stairs, they come face to face with another group of robed people, who turn to them as soon as they're visible ]
Sleepers.
[ One of them hisses it in an inhuman voice, and Yuri pulls away from Flynn, raising the wrench, ready to defend him ]
Back the fuck down. You don't want to mess with us.
[ They seem unconcerned by Yuri's threat, stepping toward him like he didn't say anything at all. One of them pulls a knife from their robe, holding it up with a thin hand, and Yuri shifts closer in front of Flynn ]
[ The blood in the air has given him some of his strength back but not nearly enough for a whole fight. Flynn has to swallow around a familiar, cold spike of fear, his eyes flicking over the group.
If this is going to happen on every floor... ]
Yuri.
[ Flynn's voice is barely above a breath. It stings to admit it, to back down, but tactically speaking— ]
We need to retreat. We can't keep winning these.
[ Especially since one of the robed figures is already advancing with a long, thin, blood-coated blade in hand. ]
[ If Flynn is suggesting a retreat, then things are bad. He doesn't think they're going to make it out of this one. Yuri doesn't know how much luck he thinks they'll have in running away, but at least it might give them a chance to find a way out or to regroup and think of a plan to help themselves and the other Sleepers they've found. He takes a step back, then another one, and then grabs Flynn's hand and pulls him back down the stairs.
At least, it seems like they aren't being followed, but as soon as they reach the bottom of the stairs, Yuri understands why. There are more of them there, picking up the bodies of the ones Yuri and Flynn just knocked out ]
Shit.
[ He pulls Flynn hard to the left, trying to run as quickly as he can before they catch on that they're there ]
They're trapped like they were in Hypionia, with enemies on all sides. Back then, an odd sort of peace had settled over Flynn, grim and resigned: he hadn't wanted to die, but it seemed inevitable, and so he'd known down in the core himself that at least he would die fighting, and give his knights and the civilians a chance to get away. At least Yuri might remember him.
If they here, they'll come back, but Flynn cannot imagine those robed figures, stringing people up for the blood and Goddess knows what else, will give them a gentle rebirth. Perhaps that's what they want: death, and rebirth, forever and ever, a constant source of the blood they're clearly collecting.
A grim thought, but a likely one.
This time there is no peace and no resignation. He can't let either of them die here, especially not Yuri, and they're stuck between two groups of people who want to kill them or at least cut them apart.
Flynn grits his teeth as they skid to a halt in another bloody hallway, this one strung up with more Sleepers and coated in an awful mix of blood slippery beneath their still-bare feet. He huddles close to Yuri, his heart and his mind racing as one. What do they need? They need a moment to think, they need better weapons. They need an idea of where they are and temporary safety from being hunted.
Mostly they need a moment to formulate a plan.
Flynn can do that. He tugs Yuri's head close and pulls him to the side, next to the pale body of a Sleeper long-gone. It's horrifying and it smells so much like blood and bile and it's leaking onto Flynn, but it shelters them for a bare moment. ]
Yuri. Listen to me. I think—I can slow them down, and buy us some time, but I'll need you to support me for a moment. Can you?
[ Yuri skids after him, ducking away from the robed guys, trying to keep as low a profile as he can, but he knows that they're following them anyway. They're following and Yuri just needs to get them out of this, somehow. Or, Flynn can.
The thing is: Yuri trusts Flynn with his life. He trusts Flynn more than he trusts anyone else, despite their disagreements. In a situation like this, he'll listen to Flynn before anyone else. He grips Flynn's arm. ]
Yeah. What do you need me to do?
[ Simple as that. Flynn will get them out of this. He trusts Flynn. Either Flynn will get them out of this, or they'll die together, and a morbid romantic part of him really always thought it would end that way, anyway. ]
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no subject
[ 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 ]
no subject
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— ]
no subject
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 ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.
no subject
We could... take them to the room we were in. With the tools.
no subject
[ 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 ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
[ Yuri shoves the other guy back with a foot, and whips around to smack the one attacking Flynn on the head with the butt of his wrench. At least that works, and he collapses to the ground, but it leaves Yuri vulnerable again, and the robed guy he kicked is back up and grabbing at him with thin, emaciated fingers that wrap around his throat ]
Sleeper blood. [ The guy, thing, says in a raspy voice and Yuri tries to elbow it off of him, but it doesn't work and he's being strangled tight, staring at Flynn and trying to do something, anything, to get this guy off of him ]
no subject
[ Anger lights Flynn's blood like hot coals.
It's behind Yuri, using him almost as a shield while it chokes the life out of him, a feeling Flynn knows entirely too well. With all his focus narrowing down, Flynn feints to the right, letting his own blood spray the floor and Yuri all at once. It's enough of a distraction that he can charge forward, swinging his wrench with all the strength and practice and technique that has gone into his sword over the years straight into that thing's throat. ]
no subject
There's the sound of more footsteps, and Yuri can't take the time to recover. He surges to his feet, grabbing for Flynn's hand and pulling him in the opposite direction. It means they have to leave the other Sleepers there, but there's no way in hell he's letting those guys get to Flynn. ]
no subject
They're barely visible already, swamped by pursuing figures in robes, at least seven at Flynn's rough count.
He has had worse odds, but at least in Hypionia he had a sword and his armor, a few other knights. Now it's just him and Yuri, and they've faced incredible challenges before but not like this, and so Flynn lets himself be pulled, cursing quietly under his breath as he and Yuri skid around a corner and come face-to-face with more Sleepers strung up, these ones—
these ones gone.
Flynn makes a rough sound in his throat like he's been punched. ]
We can't just keep running! We don't even know where we're going!
[ But the footsteps are already getting louder. They have to keep moving. They can't shut this place down if they're dead. ]
no subject
[ Yuri's voice is hoarse and his breath is coming hard and raspy and he can't let himself look at those Sleepers for very long because they can't stop. They're going to become like them if they don't do something, and he sure has hell isn't going to let Flynn die again, especially not like that. They can find a way out, regroup, and find a way to rescue them. They have to try.
He takes a hard left and finds himself running toward a larger room, with doors and an alter in the middle and he doesn't want to know what that means, except that when they reach it, he looks around at the doors, trying to parse out which way to go.
But he doesn't have long to think, because one opens and more of those robed guys step out, and their conversation stops when they see Yuri and Flynn. ]
Alright. Fine. So we take them.
no subject
[ Flynn draws himself up and passes his wrench over to Yuri. He'll make better use of it. Flynn, at least, can cast more artes, although it'll be much harder without a focus or his blastia. Their captors are approaching, already spreading out into something like a practiced attack formation. ]
Watch your back. They're fast. We can't show any weakness.
[ The ground beneath Flynn's feet, familiarly, lights up as he presses his hands together. ]
no subject
[ Fighting together, at least, is familiar. They know how to do it, they're good at it. There's no one Yuri would rather had at his back than Flynn, even when the odds are terrible, like they are now.
He takes a breath, and when one of the zealots runs at him, he's able to whack them away with the wrench, before diving into the fray, taking on two of them at once. Others stay further back, seemingly casting spells like Flynn is. Yuri would want to take them out, first, but he can't, not like this. He's stuck handling the ones in front of him, hoping for some sort of luck to help them out of this ]
no subject
Still. He pushes through, grits his teeth against his own exhaustion and bites down on his tongue to let warm blood flow, hating the way it energizes him. It's worth it, though, to keep Yuri safe, to cast as many spells as he has to. He aims the next one, a searing lance of light, at the caster in the back trying to slam fire into Yuri, and the one after that at a half-robed figure coated in blood who keeps popping out of nowhere, forcing Yuri to dodge. ]
no subject
Finally, panting and sweating, he stands in the middle of crumpled, robed bodies, looking around for any hint of movement. There is none.
They did it.
He sags a little searching for Flynn to give him a triumphant smile ]
Didn't know who they were dealing with.
no subject
Divine light—First Aid!
[ Just to knit up the worst of his wounds. If they're going to fight more of these things, Yuri needs to be well.
The spell doesn't stop Flynn hurrying to his side anyway, lifting a hand for him. ]
Well-fought. Let's get out of here.
no subject
But it isn't the time right now. He sighs, gripping Flynn's wrist to pull himself upright as they start to walk out of this strange room. ]
What do you think, up?
[ There are those stairs, that the zealots came from, which seems like the way out, but also the way danger lies. He's not sure how much more Flynn can take. He looks pale and worn out from casting all that magic ]
no subject
There's blood just... everywhere. There aren't any more bodies in sight, but the floors, the walls, everything, seems to be coated in a fine mist. It smells awful, and it looks worse, and Flynn makes himself take it in and scan for details. ]
I think it's our only option. At the very least, we need to find a way outside to get a sense of what this place even is, and it seems more likely we'll find a way to do that near the top.
[ Something clanks ominously, followed by a thud that rattles metallic walls. Flynn grips Yuri's hand a little tighter and veers toward that staircase, stepping over a large puddle of blood dripping from a crack in the ceiling above. ]
This way.
no subject
[ It's really all he can say. He doesn't pull away from Flynn, keeping their hands together because it does help, it makes him feel safer, and he's not paying enough attention to think about what that means.
They traipse up the stairs in silence, the blood in the air making him want to gag, but he stays quiet, not wanting to set off anything else, not to alert anyone else to their presence.
Of course, nothing ever goes to plan, here. As soon as they're up the stairs, they come face to face with another group of robed people, who turn to them as soon as they're visible ]
Sleepers.
[ One of them hisses it in an inhuman voice, and Yuri pulls away from Flynn, raising the wrench, ready to defend him ]
Back the fuck down. You don't want to mess with us.
[ They seem unconcerned by Yuri's threat, stepping toward him like he didn't say anything at all. One of them pulls a knife from their robe, holding it up with a thin hand, and Yuri shifts closer in front of Flynn ]
no subject
If this is going to happen on every floor... ]
Yuri.
[ Flynn's voice is barely above a breath. It stings to admit it, to back down, but tactically speaking— ]
We need to retreat. We can't keep winning these.
[ Especially since one of the robed figures is already advancing with a long, thin, blood-coated blade in hand. ]
no subject
At least, it seems like they aren't being followed, but as soon as they reach the bottom of the stairs, Yuri understands why. There are more of them there, picking up the bodies of the ones Yuri and Flynn just knocked out ]
Shit.
[ He pulls Flynn hard to the left, trying to run as quickly as he can before they catch on that they're there ]
no subject
They're trapped like they were in Hypionia, with enemies on all sides. Back then, an odd sort of peace had settled over Flynn, grim and resigned: he hadn't wanted to die, but it seemed inevitable, and so he'd known down in the core himself that at least he would die fighting, and give his knights and the civilians a chance to get away. At least Yuri might remember him.
If they here, they'll come back, but Flynn cannot imagine those robed figures, stringing people up for the blood and Goddess knows what else, will give them a gentle rebirth. Perhaps that's what they want: death, and rebirth, forever and ever, a constant source of the blood they're clearly collecting.
A grim thought, but a likely one.
This time there is no peace and no resignation. He can't let either of them die here, especially not Yuri, and they're stuck between two groups of people who want to kill them or at least cut them apart.
Flynn grits his teeth as they skid to a halt in another bloody hallway, this one strung up with more Sleepers and coated in an awful mix of blood slippery beneath their still-bare feet. He huddles close to Yuri, his heart and his mind racing as one. What do they need? They need a moment to think, they need better weapons. They need an idea of where they are and temporary safety from being hunted.
Mostly they need a moment to formulate a plan.
Flynn can do that. He tugs Yuri's head close and pulls him to the side, next to the pale body of a Sleeper long-gone. It's horrifying and it smells so much like blood and bile and it's leaking onto Flynn, but it shelters them for a bare moment. ]
Yuri. Listen to me. I think—I can slow them down, and buy us some time, but I'll need you to support me for a moment. Can you?
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The thing is: Yuri trusts Flynn with his life. He trusts Flynn more than he trusts anyone else, despite their disagreements. In a situation like this, he'll listen to Flynn before anyone else. He grips Flynn's arm. ]
Yeah. What do you need me to do?
[ Simple as that. Flynn will get them out of this. He trusts Flynn. Either Flynn will get them out of this, or they'll die together, and a morbid romantic part of him really always thought it would end that way, anyway. ]
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