[Hunt for Paladin: Day 2]
After texting Alice and Nara where she was, Lynx hadn't stopped driving until reaching Olmbridge, crashing into a hotel. Five hours later, she was rolling out of bed, speedrunning a shower and rushing out the door while throwing coffee back on her way to the prison. For a minute, she'd considered running to the local CA office, but she'd learned her lesson on that one, and instead sped straight for the place her lead was related to.
Parking the car, she hurried up the steps, glancing at her phone; Alice and Nara letting her know they'd meet her at the hotel that night.
Replying with a thumbs up, Lynx hurried up the steps and pushed inside; what waited for her was a standard lobby; chairs bolted to the floors, tall windows letting the light in and fake-marble flooring. Curious, she stepped forward, looking around; things seemed almost normal… but there was nobody at the receptionist's desk.
"Hello?" Lynx called out cautiously, still peering around; in some places, paintings hung on the walls, and in others, photographs of old men shaking hands in black and white. Still… the lobby was silent. Thinking that the receptionist may have run to the bathroom, Lynx slowly took a seat, curling her tail into her lap and waiting.
Minutes ticked by, though, and Lynx's stomach began to churn as she looked around; something felt off. Wrong. Opening her mouth, she breathed in, trying to get a feel for the area… but the senses were too conflicting, there were too many people for her to get a read of anything specific.
Standing, she finally walked toward a door that read 'Staff only' and tried it; Unlocked. Perfect.
Stepping into the linoleum-floored hall beyond, Lynx began to walk, looking around. "Hello?!" She called, trying the doors she came to; empty bathroom, empty office, empty office, empty office… with a rising sense of dread, she kept going; she could hear people now; shouting, screaming, jeering.
Finally, she reached a door more clearly marked; processing- and shoved through it, looking around at the room beyond. It was simple enough; table, metal detector, privacy screen, a few exits; but it, too, was empty, and the sounds of shouting were growing louder, making her ears twitch.
Trying to quell the rising anxiety, Lynx kept going, pushing through door after door. Common room; empty. Laundry; empty. Finally, she reached the one the sound seemed to be coming from; Cell Block A.
Once she was inside, everything became clear; people trapped in their cells were screaming and jeering, hanging onto the bars like animals as they watched something in the middle of the block floor; There he is.
Vilhelm had somebody by the neck, and as Lynx watched, he slammed his fist down into the inmate's skull and released him, letting the body bounce away. Whoever this prisoner was, he was bloodied and shuddering, barely breathing.
"VILHELM STOP!!" Lynx screamed, storming forward and launching herself over the inmates' body before Vilhelm could react, landing a kick square to his chest and staggering the so-called Paladin, who laughed and raised his hands as if to surrender.
"Long time no see, Lynx! Don't worry, I'm just killing the ones who've done unforgivable acts like murder, rape, you know? Not the ones here for theft and fraud, the things that don't really matter."
"You don't have the right to kill any of them," Lynx snapped, standing squarely between him and the bleeding inmate. "Where the hell is Contracted Arms?"
"I killed the receptionist so she can't call for help- killed the guards too," Vilhelm explained rationally, twirling a small knife in his hands; Lynx noticed the knife, but did her best not to say anything toward it.
"Why?" She asked instead, careful. "-And, those people you killed- where are they? How can not even ONE have escaped?"
"I made sure of it," He replied simply, smiling warmly and spreading his arms; around them, the inmates had fallen relatively silent, watching the spectacle. "They're all… well, they're somewhere. That's not important right now- what is important is my work."
"Your work?" Lynx asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's to say that this man can't heal and be saved?"
"Please," Vilhelm smiled. "Could his victims heal and be saved? He murdered his family; a child was there, too. Anyway, if you really wanted to stop me… why haven't you called Contracted Arms yet?" He added, smirking.
"Because they'll just kill you, and I don't want to see you dead," Lynx snapped back, narrowing her eyes, ears swiveling forward. "Vilhelm, please PLEASE come off it and explain; why are you doing this? Aerendyl said you're a good man-"
"Aerendyl?" Vilhelm angled his head, curious. "The traitor? The one who's raising a glass to the man who nearly killed you?"
"What," Lynx laughed, shaking her head, but the anxiety in her chest was making itself known once again.
"Oh yeah, let's trust Aerendyl to tell us what's good," Vilhelm nodded emphatically, walking closer. "Your Pempan dinner is throughout their records already- not hard to get access when I can just kill someone who's logged in. You don't need to go there to know who you were, though," He added, starting to slowly pace to her left; Lynx turned, tail thrashing, watching him like a hawk- or a cat on the hunt.
"What are you talking about?" She snapped, narrowing her eyes.
"You really don't know much about yourself, do you?" Vilhelm chuckled, tossing his knife up, catching it. "Your name was Ayano, and you served the assassins that run Pempa; you were sent to kill the leader of the Elevated, and you wounded him badly enough that he lost his power. Had to retire. The Giant, they call him; he's the one that Aerendyl breaks bread with on Tuesdays. Girl he's fucking? That was the Giant's bodyguard until recently," He added, laughing, rolling his shoulders as Lynx kept turning to watch him, eyes narrowed, heart hammering.
"What else has Aerendyl done," Vilhelm asked thoughtfully, slowly twirling the knife between his fingers now. "Well, he might just be stupid, but he sure didn't try to save Nara- or you. Who do you think posted your case file, and let people find you?"
"What he did doesn't matter-"
"It does, though," Vilhelm corrected her, pointing the knife at her chest and still pacing. "It matters because we're supposed to trust him- and now you're above him, sure but who says you'll be any better once you have real power? No, there's only one way to make sure that murders can't commit again."
"Vilhelm no-" Lynx gasped as he threw his knife into the head of the bleeding criminal on the ground, killing him. Around them, the inmates exploded into shouting, angrily yanking at their bars, yelling at her to kill him; and for a half moment, Lynx's vision went white under the sensation; without thinking, she dived, slamming her weight into Vilhelm with everything she had and, as he staggered, grabbing the knife, ripping it from the corpse's skull.
Immediately, her world went dark, and when Lynx straightened, she wasn't standing in the cell block- she was standing in a void. For a long moment, she froze, standing still, looking around.
"Hello?" Someone called to her; a male voice, sounding dazed and confused, and Lynx started to walk that way, the floor invisible but solid underfoot.
"Where are you?!" Lynx called. "Who are you?!"
"My name is… Alexei, I think," The voice replied, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "I'm trapped here… I need to get out… can you help me get out…?"
"Am I inside the knife?!"
"The Giant… he threw a knife into my chest, and everything went dark… are they okay…?" The voice came back from the void, and Lynx kept walking forward, looking around, hoping something would change.
"The others- who are they?"
"I don't remember… Haru, Aurelia… Alexander… the others…" The voice winced, and Lynx jolted.
"Aurelia? You know Aurelia?"
"I do," The voice came back. "I think? I can't remember, everything hurts, and I just want to rest-" His voice suddenly edged with anger, he shouted the final word, and Lynx's ears filled with the sound of slow, labored breaths. "It hurts, please get me out of here," The voice pleaded, angry and labored.
"How do I get you out?!"
"I don't know, I don't KNOW-!!" The voice shouted, and Lynx shuddered; something had slammed into her chest, and her world spun once again before she sailed through the air of the cell block, hitting a catwalk and falling to the ground with dizzying force, panting. When she stood, a moment later, world still fuzzy around the edges, Vilhelm was picking up his knife again, and Lynx swallowed, narrowing her eyes, planting her feet.
"Vilhelm, we have to get that knife away from you!" She shouted, but he, shaken, stared at her for a long moment and turned, running, and Lynx tried to give chase, but the darkness felt as though it was still clawing at her, world gray around the edges. Alexei's voice echoed in her head; just wanting rest, are the others safe, Aurelia… Aurelia…
Dizzy, Lynx hit one knee, panting. Paladin was gone.
She tried to stand, to focus; the inmates around her were screaming, and the longer she waited, the further Paladin would get- Not Paladin, Vilhelm. Who is Alexei, and why does he know Aurelia…
Ears ringing, Lynx hit the floor, dead to the world.
-
"Well, well, well- look at this. Get the cameras rolling," A voice reached her through the haze, and Lynx slowly opened one eye, groaning. Her head felt like it had spent a few hours in a vice, and when she swallowed, her tongue felt like sandpaper in the alcohol way, not the cat way. Contracted Arms agents surrounded her, weapons drawn, and indeed, many cameras were rolling.
"Chief of Aegis Order to be," One soldier drawled, stepping forward and poking her nose with his boot, laughing as Lynx jerked back. "Broke into a prison, slaughtered guards and began exacting vigilante justice. For what, Lynx? Either way, this is going to land me a very handsome promotion-"
"No FUCK THAT!!" One of the soldiers suddenly screamed.
"Quiet," The commander barked, raising his rifle, and the inmate in question yanked harder at his bars.
"Kill me then, you sick bastard! Don't you dare slander that chick, though!"
"Yeah, some sick bastard calling himself Paladin started yanking us out of our cells!!" Another man shouted, yanking at his bars on the second floor. "Lynx tried to stop him and he hit her with some weird magic attack or something- she was saving our asses!!"
"Showed up way before you did, too!" Another called, and the Contracted Arms agents were hesitating, now.
"Gonna make sure any footage you got is unusable you murderous pigs," Another low voice called, angry, as Lynx slowly hobbled to her feet, swaying. I should be more scared shouldn't I? I'm surrounded by a lot of people with guns right now…
"Cameras might have been shut down, but if you don't want the truth getting out you're going to have to slam this entire damn prison- and good luck blaming that on her!!" Someone shouted, and Lynx wormed between two of the agents, stumbling away.
"I have to go after him," She muttered, limping toward the door she'd come through before, unsure where she'd go after getting outside.
"Hold on!" An agent called after her. "Lynx, you have things to answer for!!" One of the guards tried to rush after her, but a prisoner grabbed the soldier in passing, fingertips hooking into his bulletproof vest; the Contracted Arms fired off pepper spray, but the prisoner, with pain in his voice, laughed, and behind her, a cheer began to rise up that almost made Lynx freeze in her tracks.
AEGIS.
The word shook the walls, chanted almost as one but not quite, none of them truly in sync.
AEGIS. AEGIS. AEGIS.
However the agents handled that situation, Lynx didn't care- too many eyes for them to truly commit a massacre and get away with it. Shoving through the lobby, Lynx braced herself and landed at the top of the marble steps, winter air blasting her- down below, Contracted Arms had set up a perimeter, and past the wall of soldiers, a crowd of civilians and reporters- and there, Alice and Nara. The sight of them made something in Lynx melt a bit despite the chill in the air as she wandered down; the reporters, noticing her, were clamoring louder.
Still half numb, Lynx ignored the CA agents trying to bar her and shoved through them, into Alice and Nara, who embraced her readily as she let her lips part just a bit, drinking in their familiar scents; fireplaces and marshmallows and reeds and summer monsoons.
"Hey hero," Alice whispered into her ear, sighing. "Enjoy your alone time?"
"I got a lead," Lynx whispered as Nara leaned up and kissed her cheek.
"That is good," The fox whispered quietly. "I hope that your time alone to clear your head has done you some good. Let us pursue this with you now, though, okay?"
"Lynx!" A reporter had managed to shove her way to the front of the crowd, now, and Lynx stared at her with wide eyes, angling her head.
"Yes?"
"What happened in there?!" The reporter called, and Lynx slowly disentangled herself from the two girls holding her, starting to shove through the crowd.
"Come on, I'll give you all a statement!!" Lynx jerked her head, shoving harder. People began to part, letting her pass until she'd crossed the street; the frightened crowd blocked the road, but it didn't matter, there were roadblocks in place anyway. Reporters clamored at her, until Lynx held up a hand and they reluctantly fell silent, watching curiously as Alice and Nara crept closer, attaching themselves to Lynx's arms.
"You two," She snorted, shaking her head, then raised her voice. "Contracted Arms began a project called Paladin, erasing a man from existence! His real name is Vilhelm, and he is currently a threat who believes he's in the right. I won't sit here and worry about mass panic- because panic means you'll be careful, and caution is survival. He's got some sort of possessed knife; I do, genuinely, have leads that I cannot currently share for the safety of others, but I have a concrete direction to go with this."
Nodding, Lynx cleared her throat.
"Any questions? Raise your hand please. You, go ahead."
"Katy with Channel Four news," The brunette in question shoved hair out of her face- the breeze was kicking up now, judging by the snow hitting Lynx's right cheek and Katy's left. "Who started this project in particular?"
Lynx hesitated.
The next two seconds felt like an hour; she remembered him gaslighting her into joining CA, remembered his ignoring her to sleep with a cultist, sending her into the sewers- and not even being able to show up and meet her eyes, when she escaped. The meeting, trying to discredit her- Don't you think, for a brand new figure of authority, you're…
I should out him.
Fuck him.
"I promised I would not, at any point, become a liar," Lynx began carefully. "That is true, so I'll be honest- knowing which corrupt man started this project won't help you or anyone. He's being dealt with and made to atone for what he's done already."
Restraining her anger, even as her breaths quickened, Lynx smiled. "You?"
"Cecil with Channel W," A voice called, and Lynx shuddered; it was a man with dark hair and clear eyes, smiling through the crowd. Immediately, she recognized him from the original press conference; dark, feathery wings sat folded neatly behind his back. "Go home, Lynx."
"W-What?" She asked, and Cecil turned, beating his wings and vanishing into the sky in seconds as the other nearby onlookers stumbled. For a moment, Lynx watched the line of soldiers barring the prison; they were staring at her coldly as the squad from inside slowly walked outside, looking at her and then away.
"No further questions, please!!" Nara declared, starting to usher Lynx away, smiling tightly. "Go home and hug your mothers- or someone! If you have nobody, hug one another!!" She added, and for a moment, it seemed the crowd might follow them, but Lynx found herself ushered into a car, Alice climbing into the driver seat, Nara sliding into the back.
"Wait, the other car, the one I drove," Lynx muttered, swallowing.
"We can worry about it later; let's get you to the Mirian home," Alice nodded. "I recognize that dark-haired man, he's a member of Wolfpack."
"Wolfpack…" Lynx muttered thoughtfully, head spinning. "Lottie…?"
"Yeah," Alice nodded. "That one. Just relax, you've had one hell of a day."
"Let me call Viggo…" Lynx yawned, and passed out, fatigue winning her over.
-
"She's trying to stop me," Vilhelm muttered, conflicted, staring down at the knife. "I'm not in the wrong, though. She's confused- she said that she hates the way CA runs things, she said they're wrong- and she stands against them… and against me."
Turning, he winced and shoved the knife under his jacket, pacing the run-down warehouse he was hiding in for tonight.
"The person I killed in the cafe- he was planning a prison break. The ones I killed in the prison were murderers, rapists- I was doing the world a favor. People like that don't change- why are you silent now? Talk to me!!" Vilhelm snapped, but for once, the knife was painfully silent, and Vilhelm growled in frustration, pacing faster.
"I want out," was the only feeble reply to creep into his mind that night.