#its erbluhen and lk

[longingfreesia]

Ain hums, chin resting on his chin, floating as always. His very presence seems to jingle (although it does literally, too, what with all his trinkets) when he turns to look at Elsword.

“Elsword, you are a child, are you not?” He asks plainly.

Elsword lifts his head up briefly from over the stove in response. “Huh? Hey, I’m a teenager now! ...I mean, I guess that’s still a kid... Whatever, what kind of question is that?”

Ain closes his eyes in thought. “You don’t act like one.”

Elsword grins, but Ain can barely see it from how he’s turned back to his pan. “Duh, I’m cooler and more mature than most kids.”

“But why is that?”

“...Huh?”

“When I first met you, you were much younger. I have now met many children that age, but they were all running around and getting dirty with each other. You did that too, but it was when you fought, instead of for no reason with other children.”

Elsword stops still, but doesn’t look up. “Well… that was cos’ I had a job to do.”

“Hmm~ Did you do that when you were even younger?” Ain swings his legs back and forth to a tune only he can hear. He hums it lightly, just enough for Elsword to pick it up. It’s a bit distracting.

“...No, I guess not. Maybe when I was real little, like, really little, but I think I’ve always just been fighting or training to.” He tries to focus on the scrape of the tools against the pan instead of his rapidly derailing train of thought.

It doesn’t work.

Was it wrong that he grew up like that? He had never thought of it like that. He had been plenty happy, so he never assumed there was anything wrong… but little kids were supposed to be… well, kids, weren’t they?

He had never gotten that. He had never gotten to just be a kid, not a knight. Neither had Elesis, huh? Both of them were… Were they broken? Was that wrong? They were happy now, right? So it was okay, right? They didn’t have to be like normal kids to be happy, right?

“Elsword, that seems too fast.” Ain says, lifting his head up (and his whole body with it) to stare at the pan, where Elswords stirring has turned frantic.

“I don’t wanna talk about it anymore,” says Elsword, and his tone says it is not up for debate. Ain goes back to idly watching him cook, and doesn’t say another word.

[bad-end]

the empty man | elsword: psychopass au | 1/14

summary: Lord Knight and his adventures within the ishmael system governed city of Elrios. 

characters (in order of appearance): ee, ath, lk, cra, dl, ch, rf

On a set of stairs the man in the long coat rises from his seated perch. Patting his pants, he climbs to his feet and begins the slow descent down with his hands in his pockets.

The blue haired detective of the first division of the public security bureau stands at the base of the stairs. He grips the Dominator tight, and raises it to where the resounding footsteps in the tower originate. The smiling man does not move, and the words echo only in the inspector's head.

“Crime Coefficient is 0, not a target for enforcement action."

"Tch," The inspector clicks tongue and tosses it aside.

The man finishes descending the stairs and meets him at its base. The two stand directly across from each other, and their eyes lock. Crystal blue and emerald green meet, and sparks dance through their gaze.

"Erbluhen Emotion." The blue detective growls.

"Arme Thaumaturgy," The man replies nonchalant and unaffected, "Are you here to kill me?"

The inspector's eyes narrow.

"I'm taking your head and bringing you into justice."

The rain pounds on Elrios and drowns the city in a blanket of water.

A single youth runs through the streets, mindless of the downpour. His breaths run ragged and heavy, but he's in a hurry so he can't afford to stop and catch his breath entirely.

He's so terribly late for his first day on the job! How could this happen? How would his co-workers reflect upon him now?

Lord Knight takes a brief moment to check his watch and tries to pick up the pace as much as he can.

A few feet up ahead, he sees the holograms projected by the drones for security clearance. The raindrops clip through the projections and cuts through the giant bobble-headed Phorus costumes. Lord Knight comes to a stop at the foot of the familiar creatures.

Sighing a breath of relief, he digs around for his badge and ID. “I’m with the MWPSB, please let me through!”

There was a time when he thought those things were comforting and protective of their society, it’s strange to be on the opposite side of that now and to be the one doing the protecting. That being said, it's definitely more exciting to be on this side than the other. To be the one doing the protecting made Lord Knight feel good about himself.

“Excuse me,” Lord Knight calls, squeezing past the drones and into the tent, “Are you Arme Thaumaturgy?

The blue haired man standing in the makeshift tent turns to the sound of his voice, “Lord Knight, right?”

He nods and salutes. “Yes, sir. I'm sorry I'm late.”

“No matter. I'm sorry to drag you out so soon after your graduation, but we’re short on manpower, so I can't afford to treat you like a newbie.” Arme turns his head to look at the truck now pulling into the courtyard. Lord Knight watches quietly, remembering now that the trucks are supposed to carry their other team members, the ‘Enforcers’.

“Don’t think of the people you’re about to meet as human like us,” His superior warns, throwing him a blue, waterproof jacket.

As Lord Knight pulls his hands through the sleeves, the doors to the armored truck open with a steaming hiss, and four suited individuals step through in a single file line.

“They’re latent criminals, just like the people were about to go after.”

When they stand in front of the truck and begin walking towards the two inspectors, Lord Knight’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Sis-“

The red haired woman breathes in a sharp breath of shock. Her face lights up in surprise that mirrors his.

As she gasps, a tall man beside her whistles. Lord Knight watches his gaze change from peering at her to looking at him.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Avenger that surprised.”

“Nice to meet you, inspector. I’m Deadlord.” He puts an arm around Arme Thaumaturgy’s shoulder, which Arme proceeds to shove off. “Looking forward to looking with you.”

Lord Knight smiles. Dreadlord seems well-meaning, if not a bit rough. “Yes, me too.”

The last man steps out of the truck is a tall man with black hair and a single streak of white. “I’m Reckless Fist. It’s a shame you got assigned to a job this bad right off the bat. Would have been nice to have an easier job than this.”

A small girl pokes her head out from Dreadlord’s side, wedging herself between Arme and Dreadlord. She pulls on her hood so it no longer covers her face. Finally, she looks up at him and sticks out her hand. “I’m Chiliarch. I hope you’re not as stiff as Arme is!”

She’s even smaller than Lord Knight. Incredulous at the notion that the girl could possibly be a latent criminal, he looks at Arme Thaumaturgy for an answer.

“Check her Crime Coefficient if you’re unsure.” Arme Thaumaturgy avoids his eyes. “I’m cutting your reunion short. Let’s get going.”

A cylindrical drone rolls up to them at the entrance of the tent. It unboxes itself to reveal six guns in the case. As everyone picks up one of the guns, Lord Knight stares at the box that had his name on it.

“Use Ishmael’s eyes and calmly bring the target to justice.” Arme reminds him. “Reckless Fist, Crimson Avenger, come with me. Chiliarch, Dreadlord, pursue from the other direction. Lord Knight, your job is to simply supervise them. If anything happens, you will be held responsible.”

“Yes, sir.” Lord Knight’s reply comes off a little too stiff and nervous. Dreadlord pats his shoulder.

“You could stand to go a little easier on him, Arme. It’s his first day on the job.”

“We have a suspect to apprehend. If you care so much for going easy on him, why don’t you make sure you or Chiliarch fire the Dominator so Ishmael doesn’t have to?”

“Sounds good, will do.”

Arme makes a noise of frustration at Dreadlord’s flippant reply.

Lord Knight seizes the handle of the last Dominator in the box and swallows.  A series of holographic screens flash before his eyes, all his information, his ID with the MWPSB, and his own mental state is reflected in those screens. A clear, soft pink Psycho-Pass stares him in the face.

Then, finally, the single cross-hair comes into his field of vision. Ishmael’s voice projects itself directly into his head. “Approach calmly and bring the target to justice.”

When he looks up, Arme, Reckless Fist, and his sister are gone, and Dreadlord waits with Chiliarch for him to get ready. He grins at Lord Knight, and Lord Knight nods in confirmation. "Ready to go.”

Chiliarch’s cheerful voice fills his ears through his headpiece. “Just leave it to us. If it gets bad, we’ll fire the Dominator before you can.”

They sneak into the alley where Ishmael’s agents, the drones, will not reach. Dreadlord explains quickly that the area was never remodeled properly to get enough electricity to flow here properly and cuts out wireless signals.

The back alleys of this abandoned district of Altera ate power like a black hole ate stars, and a good portion of the people living here still burn gas lights and candles. Yet Ishmael can't make the government demolish the buildings because they can’t relocate the squatters still living there anywhere else. Most of them don't want to.

"Unfortunately, with no drone support, we're on our own-shhh." While Dreadlord waits to see if the coast is clear so they can cross the gap between the two alleys, Lord Knight points the Dominator at Dreadlord’s back.

“Dreadlord. An Enforcer registered with the MWPSB. Criminal Coefficient is 616. A target for enforcement at will.”

616… Lord Knight’s face scrunches. At 300, the Dominator would shoot and completely decompose the target in front of them, at 616… He didn’t think there was anyone with a Crime Coefficient higher than maybe 300 or 330.

“Chiliarch’s the same,” Dreadlord replies, not bothered by Dominator pointed at his forehead. “But you know, if you don’t like how either of us do things, feel free to shoot at us. We’ll try to get out of it, though, so you gotta aim carefully, okay?”

“I won’t-”

“Dreadlord,” Chiliarch’s voice interrupts them. She sounds fearless and mature, losing all aspects of her childish tone. “I found the suspect. He’s surrounded himself with crappy explosives. Who in this age sets up bombs with wicks, still? Umm, there’s something strapped to his chest. Even I can’t survive an explosive blast that bad if I go in that close.”

“Does he have a hostage?” Lord Knight pulls himself out of his stupor.

A scream rings out in the lobby of the apartment building.  Dreadlord curses under his breath. “I wish I was surprised.”

Chiliarch laughs somewhat sarcastically. “I can’t get a clear shot on him that wouldn’t set off any bombs, but he’s near a window.”

On his watch, Dreadlord pulls up a map of the area. Lord Knight sees the blue dot blinking inside the apartment and the red dot in front of a window. “Is he checking behind him at all?”

“No, he keeps looking around frantically, but I don’t think he’s expecting anyone to go through the back.”

Dreadlord motions to Lord Knight in silence, and Lord Knight follows him to another portion of the apartment complex near the window. “I see him. ”

Lord Knight peers over his shoulder into the window where the man is, trembling with a remote control in his hand. He scans the room, and sees the blue glow of Chiliarch’s Dominator. He looks up, and notices the fire alarm.

“Chiliarch, can you get a clear shot on the fire alarm?”

Chiliarch and Dreadlord breathe simultaneously. Chiliarch complains, “Man, it’s gonna suck." but a second later, a loud ringing goes off in the apartment room and drowns it with water.

“I’m taking the shot,” Chiliarch issues a single line of warning, and she steps out from behind her cover.

At Chiliarch’s sudden appearance, the man starts screaming. He waves around his remote control, as if it would actually do something with the water still pouring from the fire alarm. The hostage squirms in his grasp.

“I’ll blow her up, you know? I’ll really blow her up, I’ll-“

“Chiliarch, free the hostage first.”

Perhaps because Dreadlord's voice is a momentary distraction, the bomber sees the opportunity to run. He throws the hostage on the ground and bolts. Chiliarch turns as quickly as she can, and fires the Dominator at the man.

The shot catches him in the arm, and it explodes in a flurry of flesh. It doesn’t stop his panicked fleeing. The hostage, though, like Dreadlord said, she needs to check on the hostage.

“He’s on the run from the front door. I'm checking on the hostage."

“Come on, you heard her.” Dreadlord brings up the map, and they make the rounds again until they see the suspect bolt out the front door of the lobby. Dreadlord begins to run, and Lord Knight runs up to join him.

A few minutes later, Chiliarch’s marker indicates she’s not far behind them.

They chase him until he falls to his knees, and crawls until he can crawl anymore.

Now, Dreadlord realizes that the thing strapped to the man’s chest isn’t a bomb but a camera instead. His face is directly reflected in the lens. Whatever it means, it can't be good for him.

“Put your hands up don’t move.” Lord Knight says as calmly as he can. Dreadlord’s Dominator is calmly pointed at the man’s forehead. Lord Knight imitates the motion.

 “The crime coefficient is 372. Lethal eliminator is activated. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target.”

As Dreadlord goes to clicks the trigger, the man babbles out something interesting.

“I didn’t- the Demons, they made me do it. They-” The man stumbles over himself, breathing heavily from the strain of blood loss and exercise. Whether the liquid on his face is sweat or water or rain is hard to determine. “They said-they said, if I could get my hands on some bombs they would- they could clear my Psycho-pass-”

The man explodes in another spray of blood and guts that only leaves his bottom half behind. The explosion splashes all over Dreadlord’s clothes, and a patch lands on Lord Knight’s cheek. With a laugh, Dreadlord lets his Dominator drop to his side. "Target neutralized."

Ishmael’s voice echoes in Lord Knight's head: “Crime Coefficient is 21, not a target for enforcement. Inspector recognized by the MWPSB.”

Another Dominator in the alley lights up blue. Arme Thaumaturgy steps out from the shadows left by the building. “Lord Knight, I’ll forgive you pointing the Dominator at me as a rookie mistake.”

He addresses Dreadlord, “What was that moment of hesitation?”

Dreadlord shrugs. “Guy mentioned something about ‘Demons’, I thought maybe they would have something to do with the anarchist group in this area.”

“Focus on your mission.” Arme replies coldly, and walks over to offer Lord Knight a hand and then pulls him to his feet.

Lord Knight thanks him, but the dazed confusion is still in his eyes and doesn’t look like it will going away any time soon.

 “Going easy on him after all, huh?” Reckless Fist emerges from the darkness behind him with Crimson Avenger, who runs over to ruffle Lord Knight’s hair. Immediately, by this contact, his features soften and life fills his eyes again.

“I’ll be expecting a report when I get back. Dreadlord, look into the activities of the Demon gang that operates in this area. The rest of you, help Lord Knight produce a satisfactory report.

The rain continues to pour from the sky above. Its drops clip through the holograms the drones project.Police sirens drown out the sound of the rain.

The four Enforcers sit in their usual silence on the way back to the bureau. Their sopping wet clothes drip on to the floor and gather into puddles.

Dreadlord runs his fingers through Chiliarch’s hair as she sleeps on his lap, somehow perfectly content with ignoring how wet they all are from the rain. He watches Chiliarch’s sleeping expression like an older brother would watch his younger sister.

Reckless Fist speaks up from across from him, and Dreadlord only just slightly lifts his head. “If they’re hiring minors to do their jobs, then we’re really in pinch, aren’t we?” He directs the question to Crimson Avenger, sitting beside him as close to the door as possible.

Her red hair covers her eyes and clouds her expression, and what she’s thinking, she doesn’t care to share with the others in the truck.

notes

im so ready for this