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witchofthemidlands · 6 years

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The Shannara Chronicles

This is it. This is the day I finally let loose the rant. I’ve finally been pushed over the edge.

First things first I love The Shannara Chronicles. My favourite book in the world is The Elfstones Of Shannara and this adaptation has been so good that it is my favourite show besides Arrow. The acting is fantastic, the plot was amazing and there are some brilliant characters that are so complex and well crafted. The whole first season is just so aesthetically pleasing.

However, then we were given a season two and honestly, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see how they were going to tell the story from that point on. Which is when things started to go to hell.

Honestly, I could accept the devastating loss of Amberle as despite loving her character so much and feeling a deep connection to her character. I knew that she was always destined to become The Ellcrys due to the fact that I know The Elfstones Of Shannara inside out and believe me Amberle becoming The Ellcrys in the TV show was a happy ending compared to how grim it was in the book. I swear to god Wil and Eretria actually had to watch as The Ellcrys basically disintergrated Amberle piece by piece so she could form the new Ellcrys. It’s still the most horrific part of my favourite book which is why I am glad that the writers of Shannara decided to just have her step into the tree and become one with it. I was also fine with this because Poppy Drayton still appeared in season 2 as The Ellcrys. That was well done.

Poppy Drayton’s moments in season 2 were honestly probably some of the only redeeming features of the season as it just went downhill from there.

Bandon. Bandon sweetheart what the hell did they do to you? His storyline just made no sense at all that’s what! So he’s apparently ‘evil’ now. Yeah right the only darkness that Bandon was exposed to was when he was forcibly trapped in his own mind by The Dagda Mor. The Dagda Mor. Now, Bandon deserved so much better. I just still struggle to understand his storyline I really do. If in season 2 it was made apparently clear and been canon that a part of The Dagda Mor had lived on in Bandon and was possessing him having still got an evil hold on his mind. That would have been a lot more believable that what season 2 did to Bandon. I’m ending the Bandon rant there. I don’t want to think about what happened to him at the end...

Ander. Sweet, sweet Ander. How. How could they do that to him? How. I just... What happened with Ander broke my heart. He deserved more than that ending. He really did. He deserved so much more than what the second season gave him I mean the first mistake was putting him in a relationship with Catania. What even was that. That has got to be one of the most forced tv relationships in history and I’ve seen some pretty forced relationships on tv (Legends Of Tomorrow) (Wil & Mareth) I mean how? How did that even work out? To be fair I always thought it was incredibly unnecessary to kill the badass Commander Diana Tilton in season one. She was the only woman I could remotely see with Ander. Not Catania I mean what the hell? I’m guessing the writers just realised that the two did not have love interests and thought oh the smartest thing to do would be to put them together. No, it was not a smart idea. It was weird. However, the major issue with Ander is that someone actually thought it was a bright idea to kill the poor Elf off I mean seriously, who the legitimate fuck thought it was a good idea to kill him? I mean I swear to god that was one of the most pointless deaths I have ever seen on television in my life. I’ve come to the realisation that someone was probably most likely smoking something whilst choosing who to kill of in Shannara Season 2 because there was absolutely no reason whatsoever to kill Ander. Ander didn’t deserve that! He was one of the more complex and interesting characters in the whole show because Ander was real. He was flawed and he didn’t hide that he was a very realistic character who deserved so much more after everything he had been through in season one. After he had lost his entire family and the woman he loved. Ander deserved better, he really did I’ll let you all know that he didn’t even die in the books! He was one of those rare characters that actually lived! So why on earth did they feel the need to kill him in the show? His death brought nothing to the plot expect Mareth becoming Queen at the end. no one wanted that. I certainly didn’t. I just wanted King Ander. Was Mareth’s character seriously just created to replace Ander and Allanon’s characters? The only somewhat peace of mind I get when it comes to Ander is at least that he is at peace with Aine and Eventine now. Yet even still. King Ander Of Arborlon Deserved Better.

Wil. In the first season I loved and adored Wil Ohmsford he was a naive sweetheart and even though when it comes to Amberle I ship her with Allanon. I thought how they portrayed Amberle and Wil’s relationship was great. However, Season 2 Wil was just... honestly I don’t want to say anything too harsh as I love Austin Butler and Wil and he did an excellent job but Wil’s character just changed so much in season 2 and not just physically. I actually really liked his short hair it reminded me of Austin’s days in The Carrie Diaries. In season 2 Wil lost that spark he’d had in season 1 which is understandable seeing as he’d lost Amberle and that broke his heart and I could understand his depression from that and at first I was glad to see that his obsession for Storlock had gotten him to the place of his dreams but I slowly started to get annoyed with Wil when he began to blame Allanon for what happened to Amberle. Now I’ll warn you all now Allanon is my favourite, any character judges him and I get annoyed with that character. You should have seen my victory dance when Prince Arion was killed not once but twice in season 1. But seeing Wil be so against Allanon reallly upset me as Allanon has done nothing but try to do his duty to The Four Lands and try to protect Wil. Their friendship in the first season was lovely and honestly reminded me of early days Slade & Oliver from Arrow but the way he blamed Allanon for what happened to Amberle? That was not a good move. Amberle understood exactly what she had to do. She knew what her duty was an accepted it knowing the price. Wil starts blaming Allanon for all this and for not telling him earlier? Well I’m sorry Wil but whilst he may look like one, Allanon is not a god he cannot decide the fate of The Ellcrys for it and on the subjected of not telling Wil. Wil should remember that Amberle knew what she had to do but she chose not to tell Wil until the last moment. She did. That was her choice, not Allanon’s. So personally I do not think it was right of Wil to put the majority of the blame on Wil. Honestly, one of the best parts of season 2 was when Amberle basically roasted Wil in person for Wil’s lingering thoughts and feelings about what went down in the season 1 finale.

Mareth. When I first heard about this new character I was excited as she was a magic user and I immediately began to theorise if she’d be Allanon’s kid and I was happily surprised to find out that I’d guessed correctly when she revealed herself to be Allanon’s daughter. That first episode of season 2 I loved Mareth straight away she was headstrong, sassy and an all out badass. She also made harsh remarks about Wil. What’s not to love! However, when she suddenly ‘fell in love with Wil’ I began to lose interest in her because I was annoyed that she was just being made out to be another love interest for Wil. If Wil had spent the whole season getting over Amberle and finding his way back to Eretria slowly. I could accept that. That would have been good story tellling but putting him with Mareth? I just didn’t see that. The only reason I was interested at first because I thought haha Wil’s going to have to face scary ass Dad!Allanon but I didn’t even get that so nope. No interest what so ever in Mareth & Wil. It just felt increadibly forced and like ‘Wil has to be with someone so let’s choose the only female character not in a relationship’. The main reason I went off Mareth though is when I realised what her character was being used for and that was most likely to be Allanon’s replacement. Like, good luck with that and all. Malese Jow is an amazing actress and I love her and everything I’ve seen her in has been fantastic but, she’s not Manu Bennett.

Last but not least. Allanon. Now, Allanon is my favourite character he always has been ever since I read the books for the first time. I was ten years old when I first read The Shannara Chronicles. At primary school I had the job of sorting out books in our school library and seeing as I was always invisible I could stay in that library for hours and no one would even know I was gone and I did. I spent hours on that library reading the books I found on the high shelf. The Shannara Chronicles trilogy. Now, I was ten so I didn’t understand most of it. Not like I do now but the characters that I became attached to were Allanon and Amberle. Amberle was like a badass Disney Princess and Allanon was like Merlin. Kind and wise. Allanon was always my favourite from the very beginning. I always just pictured Merlin everytime I read Allanon and I felt a wonderful connection to Allanon’s Merlin like character. However, when I finished the trilogy. Allanon died in the final book and it broke my heart. I remember at the age of ten sitting in a chair crying when Allanon died. I’d felt so attached to that character. He’d taken all the characters on this wonderful fantasy journey. It was Allanon’s death that made me decide as a writer that I would never kill my main character because I could never put anyone else through the heartbreak I had gone through when my favourite character died. However, when Allanon died I came to this acceptance and told myself that if somehow one day there was ever a movie or a film of The Shannara Chronicles I would be prepared and fine and accepting when the eventually happened and Allanon died and sure enough when it was announced that there would be a tv show seven years later at seventeen I had remembered what I’d said to myself at ten and that I’d be prepared and accepting of Allanon’s death when it eventually happened. Then they cast him and all preparation went out of the window. Seeing as thanks to Arrow, Spartacus and The Hobbit, Manu Bennett had become my favourite actor. Initially it was a great thing. Despite not being exactly who I imagined as Allanon seeing as I always saw an old Merlin whenever picturing him in my head. My favourite actor was going to play my favourite book character can’t get much better than that but then I remembered. Allanon dies and if any of you reading this are Arrow fans and remember season 2 of Arrow when Slade was killed by the Mirakuru when he first had it you’ll understand what I mean. That scene traumatised me and he wasn’t even actually dead. He came back. I have rewatched Arrow hundreds of times but never that episode. For those of you who haven’t seen Arrow basically, Manu Bennett is very, very good at doing heartbreaking traumatic death scenes which is why when I knew he was going to be Allanon. All preparation I had for his eventual death went out the window and when it happened... I broke down crying exactly like I did when I was ten reading Allanon’s death yet it was a million times worse because it was actually happening on the screen. I just... I can’t even begin to describe my emotions surrounding that but I will explain my one of anger and that is due to the fact that he should not have died then! Not in the second season! I mean come on! It was trilogy for a reason! If they had done three seasons of The Shannara Chronicles, kept the stories similar to the books and had Allanon dying for Wil and Eretria and their kids at the end you know what? Fair enough. Fair enough but not like that!!! Not in the second season. Who the heck thought it was a bright idea to kill (in my opinion) the best character in the whole damn show. The best actor left and then expected it to get renewed? To be fair I’m kinda believing that when the writers went though with killing Allanon they probably thought well that’s not going to go down well. Let’s kill Wil to just to make things even more traumatic and horrific. The entirety of season two was just a tragic mess!

What annoyed me more was that they didn’t even use Allanon to his full potential in season 2. I swear he was in bed for most of an episode and barely in the first few (I don’t even want to think about him being tortured) the best thing he did was that awesome jump through the closing gates. That was badass! Now the lack of Allanon could have been due to the fact that Manu suddenly decided to return to Arrow which was just beautiful or because they just wanted to focus on Mareth and Wil seeing as Mareth was evidently intended to be Allanon’s replacement. The one redeeming thing they did was make the Warlock Lord Allanon’s emo doppleganger. That was cool and well done. I mean Manu VS Manu... I have very few words to describe how I feel about that. I was deeply satisfied I know that for certain as the more Manu the better but Allanon did not need to die at that point in the show. There was just no point for his demise at all and it just succeeded in reminding me of my childhood trauma of losing my favourite book character.

Allanon Deserved Better.

Allanon Will ALWAYS deserve better.

To conclude. The denial is strong. The Shannara Chronicles Season 2 simply does not exist. The first and only season of The Shannara Chronicles is the most spectacular season I have ever seen on tv.

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eienias20 · 8 years

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Phantom 05 - A Spirit’s Mistake

With more possible leads than they ever expected, the team buckles down and makes some more discoveries. Some that will aid them and some that will hinder everything.

A Spirit's Mistake

Another early morning brought forth another day into the Phantom investigation. Kruse's destination was once again the MMC. Solomon worked his way through Benton's personal staff and assistants, finally getting to the man and arranging a meet. Questions would be asked and hopefully, answers attained.

Until then, Kruse thought it best to use the time before he got back to work, to talk to Elma. As Jaynix put it, her being away is no excuse to drown in work. As Alexa can attest, when Jaynix is out on extended missions, she's always calling and leaving messages.

Kruse always imagined that Elma was just too busy and didn't want to interrupt but after countless times hearing relief and comfort in Elma's voice when he called her, he made it a habit.

"It was quite an experience watching this Grex pack for most the day while the rest of the Reclaimers salvaged the wreckage…Indigens are quite fascinating."

Kruse chuckled. "They are. We should go on an Indigen watching trip some time."

"I'd like that."

Kruse waited as Elma let out a small yawn, she never wanted to appear tired around the other Reclaimers but when she was on a call with Kruse, she didn't mind.

"I didn't get to ask this yesterday so I'm asking now, how's the current haul of White Whale wreckage looking? What have you found?"

"Well, there was one unit we found yesterday. The last one of the day actually…it contained countless works of fiction…books, books and more books."

A wide smile formed on Kruse's face as he whispered "Books."

"I knew you'd love that. I gave the list a quick look and it's hard to put it in words but there are a lot of books. That said there are a few book titles that stood out to me and I'm pretty sure they mean a little something to you…these books are, oh I don't know…written by an individual known as Terry Brooks…"

Kruse stood up "You did not find the entire Shannara collection did you?"

"It looks pretty complete to me."

"I love you."

"Oh you love me for the books I provide?"

"No I love you because you're amazing, honorable, brave, beautiful, kind, thoughtful…"

Kruse trailed off, smiling. He knew Elma was too.

"…and also cause you provide books."

The pair shared a laugh.

"Well…when I get back we can pick up where we left off and read the rest of the adventures of the Ohmsfords and the Bearers of the Black Staffs…together."

"Allanon is still the best."

"Please. Walker Boh is where it's at."

After another bout of laughter the pair exchanged goodbyes, Kruse sitting back on the couch as Abyssion hopped onto his lap.

"Hey there demon child, how are things going?"

The cat let out a loud meow before curling up and falling asleep.

"I take it Elma's doing just fine?"

Kruse nodded to Lin "She is…how have you been?"

"Pretty good. Though it is hard to focus knowing that there is a serial killer out there…I know it's probably too optimistic of a thought to have but I really believed we'd be done with this kinds of people after Dale Gibbon."

Kruse looked past Lin, at nothing in particular as he thought about Dale Gibbon. The very idea that a murderer like him could find his way onto the White Whale sickened him to no end. Even worse was the thought he had upon completing the mission…what if he wasn't the only one?

"Kruse?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kruse looked over to Lin.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah…Dale Gibbon…there is one thing I'll say about chasing down that…monster. I got to do it alongside Sharon and as odd as this may sound, I grew to respect her through that encounter…"

Lin crossed her arms "I did notice your interactions with her…well, actually it was the way she interacted with you that changed after that. It was nice."

"It was."

Lin thought for a few moments.

"Part of me wonders what it was like for Sharon. For that reason I kinda wish I'd been there but at the same time it was probably for the best that I wasn't."

Kruse shrugged "Can't say how you would've reacted but despite the differences I had with Sharon and still have I do think she made the right call and he got what he deserved. Sharon is all the better for it…or Murderess…I'm still not sure. Have I been calling her Sharon this whole time?"

"You have. I think you've convinced yourself that the two of you are friends."

Kruse tilted his head.

"I guess…I mean, she and Jaynix are definitely closer than she and I but…I suppose there's nothing wrong with another friend…even if we did start off on the wrong foot. I just wish tracking down the Phantom was as easy as hunting down Dale Gibbon. But I suppose they can't all be that easy."

Lin put a plate of food in front of Kruse before sitting down across from him. The pair started eating with her speaking.

"Regardless of how difficult this is, I know you guys can do it...speaking of the Phantom investigation, I've been hearing bits and pieces of some things going on. I've been trying to stay out of it, focus on my work cause you know the Outfitters have a lot to do…"

Kruse chuckled.

"Oh yeah. A lot."

Lin laughed before continuing.

"Anyway, I did hear that there has been a lot going on around the Mimeosome Research Center. Apparently a lot of Crime Unit specialists have been over there day in and day out. What happened?"

Kruse tapped his chin.

"Well…it all started when Jaynix punched out Benton."

"She did? I don't know why I'm surprised…"

Kruse tapped Abyssion, waking the cat and sneaking him a slice of ham. As the cat ate it, Lin could only sigh. She couldn't stop Kruse if she tried…and she's tried.

"Punching Benton aside, a lot more important things happened. Key among them was that, Solomon and I, with the help of an MMC Staffer named Harriet Sinclair, discovered that one of the MMC Pods was tampered with. After opening it up and pulling it apart we found that many of its core components were missing. Key among them being the fluid injection cord and from what we could gather, that is what the Phantom is using to drain all the victims of their…well, blood, basically. Without those fluids circulating inside a mim, the mim can't run and functions cease which then, as we've seen, leads to death."

Lin crossed her arms "That seems like a rather extravagant killing method…not to mention that the gear is absurdly heavy, I doubt the Phantom is carrying around the injection cord…and where does the fluid that gets extracted go? You'd think we'd fine a huge pool of it somewhere…does he carry around a tank too?"

Kruse took a few more bites before speaking.

"We figured that was odd too…but then I thought what if he set up a makeshift pod somewhere in New LA? He captures his victims, brings them there, hacks off a limb or two, drains them and finally carries the body into the city and just dumps them off. At that point they are near death and by the time anyone stumbles upon them. It's too late."

Lin nodded "That sounds plausible…but why?"

"We won't know the why till we find the killer.”

Noon came to NLA, bathing the city in a warm light. This marked yet another day that Jaynix and Alexa were in BLADE Tower, looking over and studying the myriad of dossiers all over the archive…or…they should be doing that.

Instead, many folders and countless loose pages were strewn aside with the pair on the floor, Jaynix on top of Alexa, kissing her and drawing all her favorite sounds from her favorite Outfitter.

They should be working; they knew they should be working. But an innocent enough conversation of what they could do after they got off work spiraled into a not so innocent conversation of what they could do after they got off work and…well…now they were here.

Jaynix kicked a box aside, papers and folders spilling out.

Alexa whispered for her to be careful, giggling Jaynix apologized before kissing Alexa again.

As Jaynix's hands traveled all over Alexa's body the Outfitter tried her best to form a sentence, constantly being interrupted by touches and kisses. Jaynix was only half listening as Alexa reminded her that it was very likely that someone would walk in. Prompting Jaynix to ask.

"Should I stop?"

"Don't you dare."

Jaynix began to laugh, only to be cut off by Alexa's hands and lips.

It was in that moment that Jaynix realized, she was getting better. Alexa was an incredibly fast learner.

Next thing she knew they had rolled over and Alexa was on top. A rarity. But one she had no problem with.

The pair heard another box fall over and laughed but nothing could separate them from the other.

Sometime later, the pair was lying on the floor, in each other's arms, Alexa letting out a comfortable sigh before asking.

"How long have we been like this?"

Jaynix could only shrug.

"I don't know…but I could lay here with you all day…"

Alexa smiled.

"Me too…but we do have work to do."

There was a pause before Jaynix sighed "Right. Well I guess we should track down our clothes first. I do hope you realize that this is entirely your fault Alexa."

"My fault? I was talking about tech jobs or getting a bite to eat!"

"Don't think I didn't know what you were implying with that second part."

"I wasn't implying anything! You were!"

The pair stared at each other before cracking smiles and laughing.

They were cut off by a comm device going off, untangling from each other they stood and began searching for the buzzing comm as well as their discarded clothes. Finding the comm on a table, Alexa picked it up and answered.

"Heyo! What's up Kruse?"

"Alexa? I was calling Jaynix."

"She's busy…BUT NOT LIKE THAT! She's…just…busy…"

Silence.

"With reports."

Silence.

"And files…and work…and…"

"I'm going to choose to not comment. On anything. Have you two found anything?"

Alexa laughed nervously.

"N-no…we've been trying! But she's really hot, I MEAN it's really hard…it's hard, there are a lot of files here all over the floor and…yeah…it's…hard to…find…anything…"

Silence.

Jaynix walked over, half dressed and took the comm, kissing Alexa.

"Isn't she adorkable?"

"Jaynix."

"Look bro, we ain't found shit. This place is a mess but it's always been a mess. You and Torrez have been looking through this stuff for days, as have we. Need I remind you that there is a chance none of the six victims' files are here?"

"You don't have to remind me…I'm not mad just…you…and Alexa…"

Jaynix giggled "What? Are you surprised at how adventurous she's become? Is that such a bad thing?"

"Ok. Ok. Let's. No. We are not talking about this. No. You are my Sister and I don't want to hear about it. I called for matters on a serial killer and I am clearly not gonna get anything. I'd rather cut this line of conversation right now. Goodbye."

With that he hung up. Jaynix broke out into loud laughter, tears escaping from her eyes.

Alexa walked up to Jaynix, buttoning up her shirt.

"So um…"

Wiping her eyes, Jaynix looked at Alexa "It's all good. Kruse is just…Kruse. More importantly. We have to find something to make up for this."

"Yeah. We should also clean up some of the mess we made…"

Jaynix looked at the many boxes that fell over during their…activities.

"Hey Alexa. Take a look at the main terminal."

"Huh? But I thought-"

"Solomon said he put too much trust in the words of others without checking all the facts himself. Kruse and I have been doing the same. Just scrub through it and look for any of the six names."

Alexa stepped over to the terminal.

"…would you mind…repeating them to me? I know them but I just…I need to hear them again."

Jaynix took a deep breath and turned to Alexa.

"May Alstead. Geoff Parker. Misha Idling. Evan Torre. Raymond Penn. Erick Fern."

Alexa nodded, looking back to the terminal, she began searching.

Jaynix in the meantime found her shirt and pants. Finally. Putting them on, she ran her hands through her hair, spotting her jacket she retrieved it as well before bending down and picking up a few of the fallen boxes. Whistling to herself she placed them on a table. Giving one look at all the papers and folders strewn about she tapped her chin before deciding.

"Totally worth it."

Chuckling to herself she picked up as many of the discarded papers as she could when she heard Alexa mutter something.

"What in the…"

Jaynix put the various forms and files back in a box and turned to Alexa. "What's wrong?"

"They're all here…"

"…what?"

"They're all here. Alstead. Parker. Idling. Torre. Penn. Fern. I found them all. I double checked but this is them. All of them."

Jaynix approached the terminal, pulling out her comm device and bringing up pictures of the deceased.

"They were in the terminal the whole time…which means…you, me, Torrez, Kruse, Solomon...we've wasted days, weeks even looking through these papers!"

Turning in anger, Jaynix kicked a box over, the papers flying everywhere.

"Doctor Edwin Benton. Good to see you all healed up and even better for you to finally take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.

The doctor looked up to see Solomon, shaking his head.

"I'm a very busy man, Mathias. I can't conduct my work with you and your specialists hounding my employees."

Solomon shrugged.

"If you had just met with me sooner and gotten this out of the way sooner, that wouldn't have been nearly as much of a problem as it was."

Benton sighed "Are you going to arrest me or something? Despite all I've done for that Corporal…despite how clearly unstably she is, you're going to take her accusations to heart eh? Take her word over mine?"

Solomon thought for a bit before shaking his head.

"No. I'm not here to arrest anyone…yet. But I do have quite a few questions. All our time in the MMC and seeing how things are being handled have us concerned."

Leaning back in his seat, Benton narrowed his eyes.

"Where are your shadows? Torrez and Kruse."

Solomon sat across from Benton, taking off his hat.

"Kruse would be here but he just got a call from Jaynix, with any luck she's found something. Torrez on the other hand is looking through the security tapes trying to find the moment the pod was trifled with. Which brings me to my first question. The pod. Why was this not handled sooner?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. The MMC is incredibly valuable. The pods in here are crucial to keeping BLADEs alive. One has been on the fritz for over a week. Most of the employees we asked about it said they came into work one day and it was like that. No one was around for the failure and no one inspected it. From what I've been told by some of the more trusted staff here like Harriet Sinclair and other department heads like Iris Falkan is that despite their attempts to get repair workers in here, they were told to leave it to your office…by your office."

Benton rolled his eyes.

"You've been in the MMC for a few days now and you've no doubt seen the dozens of pods that we have in here. Losing one is not that big of a deal not to mention it costs valuable materials to repair it, materials better used to construct more replacement mimeosome parts, which I might add, we've never had an abundance of…and even more vital than that we're required to use many of the same supplies to fix and repair overclocked Overdrive Gear."

Solomon tapped Benton's desk a few times as the doctor continued.

"You aren't a BLADE so I don't blame you for not knowing this…but some BLADEs rely on Overdrive a little too much and it stresses their Mimeosomes. It's one of the reasons Maximum Overdrive exists as a limit. If one was to push themselves past that, they'd begin breaking down. So again, repairing these failures before they occur is just more important than repairing a single pod."

"I have to say…I can definitely follow the logic there…we only have so many resources and with NLA gearing up for something big, we need to make the most of what we have. But the matter still stands, the pod is broken, no official report was filed and you prevented anyone else from looking into it. I know you aren't a detective so I don't blame you for not knowing this…but paperwork, accurate paperwork is vital. Omitting things is a crime. It's illegal."

Benton narrowed his eyes, but remained silent as Solomon gave him a smile.

"Paperwork. Right. That brings me to my next point. The autopsy reports with the questionable reasoning to brush off wounds that occurred on all six victims…I had Harriet provide me with the names of your 'trusted doctors' who aided you in the autopsies."

Solomon was glad he was already smiling, because Benton seemed worried.

"Doctors Arnold Bradbury and Eliza Jun. I had some of my Specialists question them and they seemed…confused about the whole thing. One look at the official report left them asking who tampered with it because that is not the autopsy they helped you file."

Solomon could see a mix of emotions in Benton's face. Moments like this reminded him exactly why it was he enjoyed his job.

"So between the faulty paperwork. The testimonies of your doctors, the staff and your handling of the MMC pod that 'broke' you can see why we're suspicious. The thing that ties all of this together being the Phantom. The killer who would most benefit from scrubbed autopsies and MMC Pod components that…fell off a truck. Not to mention all the smokescreen you're desperately throwing…"

Benton shook his head.

"So either I'm terrible at my job and have no right to be one of the head doctors of the MMC or I'm involved with a lunatic serial killer. You're a fool to believe either of those. I have all my degrees, I've studied Mimeosomes to death. I've saved countless lives. And yet-"

"The evidence speaks for itself, Benton. So…I'm sure you know this but I'll do you the courtesy of telling you that are under investigation. I'm here to seize and look through all your personal files and reports as well as scrub through all security camera footage. The whole nine yards as they say."

Solomon tapped the desk one more time, still smiling as Benton spat.

"I'd ask if you have a warrant but I don't even think that office is active yet."

"Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, it isn't but I went to Chausson with everything that I just told you and he said I was free to take a look through your offices."

Kruse entered at that moment.

"Solomon. Jaynix and Alexa got something."

Standing, Solomon looked to Kruse and nodded before putting his hat on, tipping it to Benton.

"I'll be back. We're far from done."

As the pair exited the office, Benton rested his head on his clenched fists.

Kruse and Solomon walked through the MMC, the latter still smiling.

"Did you get what you needed?"

"No…but I think I did pretty damn well. This Investigation is in an incredible place right now. All thanks to you and Jaynix."

Kruse shook his head.

"We can't take all the credit. While we have come across a lot of leads, it's you and Torrez and all your specialists who bring forth the finer details. The Investigative Crime Unit as a whole is a boon to New Los Angeles."

Exiting the MMC, Solomon pulled out a cigarette.

"Thank you for saying as much…"

Puffing out some smoke, he tilted his head.

"So. What did Jaynix and Alexa find?"

"Jaynix insists we have to see it. It's crucial."

Solomon nodded his head as the MMC door opened behind them.

"Kruse. Sir. Where are you going?"

The pair turned to Torrez.

"Jaynix uncovered something. We aren't sure what yet but we're going to go check at her insistence. How did the tapes look?"

Torrez sighed before answering Solomon's question.

"I went back to the date the machine was shut down and there is about two hours removed from all the cameras. If the Phantom did indeed come in here one night to dismantle a pod, I'm pretty certain that someone helped. That is a lot of time even in the dead of night. Someone had to have seen or heard something."

"Part of me expected as much. Ah well, ask around Torrez. Ask all the doctors and staff even if we've interviewed them already and search all of Benton's back offices. I'm certain he's involved with all of this in some way, we have to find out in what way. Intentionally or not he has to have left something behind. I know that we're looking for a lot of somethings but this is the most luck we've had in…well, ever."

Torrez bowed to Solomon before taking off.

"You're right. It's all of us working together that is getting this done…I'm glad I called you in, Kruse."

The Harrier chuckled “Indeed…all that said we really could stand to thank Jaynix, she’s apparently a good luck charm.”

"Apparently so."

Kruse, Solomon and Jaynix stood behind Alexa as she brought up the digital dossiers of the six Phantom victims.

"Son of a bitch. Right under our noses the whole time."

Kruse looked over to Solomon "Torrez told us the digital logs were incomplete and he'd searched them. Found nothing."

Solomon nodded "Same here. I checked myself before and after Torrez told me and found nothing either. I had a few technicians look into the terminal to see if anything was tampered with it but they all came back empty…what did you do to find this Alexa?"

She gestured to the search bar "I just…typed in their names."

Solomon narrowed his eyes "Someone is making a fool out of all of us…"

Jaynix crossed her arms "Whoever it is, they're probably laughing at us right now…asshole."

Solomon pulled out his comm "Torrez."

"Yes Sir?"

"We found the six victims. Their files."

"Really? Okay. About time…what now?"

Jaynix gestured to Alexa who turned around and pressed a few buttons, all six dossiers filling up the space before them.

"I was looking for a combined trait these six had. With this many people it didn't take long to find it. The first victim May Alstead. She lost a leg back on Earth long before being transferred into her mimeosome. The second victim, Geoff Parker lost his legs in a Skell training accident on Earth, again, before being transferred into his mimeosome. It's the same for all six of them…they lost parts of their real human bodies."

As Alexa finished, Jaynix spoke up.

"The Phantom is removing the parts of their bodies that they originally lost."

Kruse narrowed his eyes "You think the Phantom sees these people regaining parts of their bodies as a sort of perversion?"

Jaynix nodded as Solomon tapped his chin "The Phantom can't accept that we don't have real bodies anymore. That's what I gather…Misha Idling lost an arm…Evan Torre was a paraplegic…Raymond Penn lost an arm and Erick Fern was blind…it all adds up. Astonishing."

Torrez voice came up "So we finally have a way to save people or at the very least, a more credible way to guess who's next…"

Solomon shook his head “How did we miss this? How did no one we interviewed notice that these people were losing their same limbs again? Torrez?”

“I don’t have an answer for that sir…maybe all the people that knew just…didn’t make it onto the White Whale. Maybe they just never talked about it…”

Alexa turned quickly "Jaynix! Do you think the Phantom knows about…you?"

Kruse and Solomon turned to Jaynix.

"Maybe…"

She looked to Solomon who snapped his fingers "That's right. I read that during a raid on a terrorist cell you lost an eye. Your right eye."

Jaynix nodded as Torrez spoke up "My left hand. I lost it long ago…so the two of us are potential victims?"

Kruse crossed his arms "We're not going to let the killer get to either of you. We know how the victims are chosen, we've found something. Whether the Phantom knows it or not, a mistake was made. This is our best chance to catch him, her, it…whoever!"

Alexa and Solomon nodded as Jaynix spoke.

"If we can somehow manipulate the Phantom into targeting me…"

Alexa shook her head "No! Absolutely not! I won't let you use yourself as bait!"

"Alexa-"

"No! You promised me you'd be safe! This is not safe! Jaynix please…"

Before Jaynix could speak, Solomon cut her off.

"She's right. I'm not about to use you as bait, Jaynix. That's not a proper way at all to thank you for all the help you've been…you as well Torrez. We'll find another way. A better way. We've got a strong lead on him. It's only a matter of time."

Outside of BLADE Tower, Jaynix walked behind Alexa, the Outfitter was clearly upset. Jaynix wanted to say something only for Alexa to face her, undeniable worry in her eyes.

"Why would you say that, Jaynix? You promised me…"

Jaynix approached her, hugging her girlfriend.

"I'm sorry. I really am…I just…I want to stop this before more people die…it was the first thought that came to mind…I didn't mean to…"

Alexa hugged her back.

"I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. You know me, I'm way too tough to let anything stop me…"

Alexa allowed a small smile to come to her face, her hold on Jaynix growing tighter.

"I know…"

Kruse and Solomon stood apart from the pair, Solomon tipping his hat to them.

"Fantastic couple…I can't imagine what it's like to have such a perfect partner…"

Kruse took his comm device out, reading a few new messages from Elma.

"Hopefully, you find someone Mathias."

The head detective could only smirk.

"Once this Phantom fiasco is behind us. I'll look into it. In the meantime I should head back to the MMC and…"

Solomon's comm went off, pulling it out he read a message.

"Murder?"

"The Phantom?"

"No…it's…just a murder in the commercial district where…"

Cursing, Solomon took off, Kruse chasing after him.

Jaynix and Alexa separated, watching the two men run off, Jaynix wanted to suggest to follow when her comm device received a message from…

"Doctor Benton? Why in the hell is he messaging me?"

Alexa looked at her.

"It could be important."

Jaynix was about to deny it when she opened the message, it was one word.

"Help."

Putting her comm device away she looked at Alexa "I gotta go."

"What's wrong?"

"It's…nothing. I'll meet you back home, alright?"

Jaynix took off towards the MMC, Alexa staring after her before giving chase.

Kruse and Solomon arrived at the scene of the crime, a textile shop. The owner lay dead on the ground, multiple deep knife cuts, his mim bled out all over the shop’s floor..

Kruse looked around the place as other Crime Unit specialists filed in and began working.

"This is where I brought the cloth…the one you gave me. The Phantom knew…"

Solomon cursed and exited the shop. Kruse walked up to one of the specialists.

"Tell me everything you can about what you've learned."

Entering the MMC, Jaynix found it eerily quiet. Why in the world did Benton message her 'help'? Was this some sort of joke? If so she wasn't having any of it. She walked past the desk only to hear a faint whimper.

Walking back to the desk she asked "Anyone there?"

"J-Jaynix?"

"Harriet?"

The receptionist stood up.

"What happened?"

"I…I don't know. All the lights went off and a…a shadow…like a ghost ran by…I thought it might be…"

"The Phantom is here…"

"Help."

Jaynix's eyes widened.

"Doctor Benton!"

"Last I heard he was in the back offices with an investigator..."

"Thank you Harriet, hide. Stay quiet. I'll be right back."

Nodding, Harriet got back under her desk as Jaynix drew her pistol and a flashlight. Holding one over the other she began walking through the MMC.

There was no one around save for a few BLADEs in stasis. Where were all the workers? Did Harriet sound an alarm? Did Benton?

She found someone on the floor and approached, recognizing their clothes and hair.

"Torrez!"

She knelt down next to him, someone had punched him severely hard in the jaw. He turned, seeing Jaynix and whispering.

"Phantom…"

With that he fell unconscious.

Standing, Jaynix continued moving towards the back offices. Torrez was here looking into Benton and now both men were in danger. Why was the Phantom here? Where did Kruse and Solomon go?

She heard something fluttering, like a cape, a cloak. Kicking the door open she stepped into the back, aiming her gun carefully and calmly. Boxes and papers were strewn about everywhere, one box was on fire. Acting quickly, Jaynix ran over to it, pulling her jacket off she tried to beat down the flames.

If anyone set anything to burn here, it had to be something important.

Then she heard the rapid flutters of a billowing cloak and turned just in time to see a black mass headed her way, aiming her gun she fired several shots into the figure as it shot past her and out a window, smashing through the glass.

Acting quickly, Jaynix leapt out the window after it only to land on the outer precipice of NLA. The walls of the Habitat Unit stretching up before her and piping and other support beams crisscrossing below her, the gel pool at the bottom.

"Did I just…lose him?"

Stepping back through the window she found Alexa waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Jaynix."

Recognizing that tone of voice, Jaynix followed Alexa as she led her back a few rooms, pointing into one. At that moment Jaynix could see fear in Alexa's eyes.

Bringing her gun up she took a deep breath and kicked the door open finding Doctor Benton sitting at his desk.

She lowered her gun, her flashlight revealing to her that the doctor was dead, his head and chest brutally ripped open.

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#xenoblade chronicles x #fanfiction #fan fiction #cross #kruse #jaynix #elma #alexa #lin

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