Chapter 8; Arthur; Hemhir 56th, 329SR; 06:43

The warm water slithered down the back of his head, riding the edges of his face and hair. Arthur stood still in the shower, letting the water run off his nose, onto his feet, and then down the drain. His eyes were shut as he continued to think about everything that had happened over the last few weeks.

'Shinra Pendragon has died in combat...'

The warmth of the water brought him comfort, but where it didn't reach was ice cold.

'Arthur, I am so sorry...'

He turned the knob and stopped the water flow, the chilly air engulfed him. He slowly opened his eyes, looking down at his own feet in the shallowing puddle. He stepped out of the tub and walked onto the soft carpet, picking up his towel rubbing it over his body. Steam drifted toward the open window, the wisps of smoke were illuminated on their path.

'We were ambushed in the North of Welis... Shinra got separated from us...'

Arthur looked at the foggy mirror, his reflection obscured. Water slid down the glass, cutting a clear line through the opaque surface. His furious red eye stared back at him through the gap.

'Leia dropped his paperwork off at your office yesterday... There shouldn't be a discrepancy...'

He opened the door and stepped out of the washroom. He walked down the hall, passing by the dining room and kitchen. He made his way up the stairs of the tower.

'I have never felt so powerless...'

He reached the top of the stairs and walked into his room, closing the door to his room and then opening his closet.

'I hate to say it, but the Lightbringers are above the law...'

He tightened his belt, then lifted his coat off the back of his chair and threw it over his shoulders.

'I don't recall letting guards in...'

He pushed each button into its respective hole.

'He wanted to know if Shinra had come by here a few weeks ago...'

Arthur stepped out of the room and walked down the stairs, stopping by the study. He looked at the desk and saw the white book.

'I don't... Recall letting guards in...'

Arthur walked over to the desk, and saw Reiu, the small dragon that was easily mistaken for a pendant. He picked up his gift and pulled it over his head, letting go and letting it hang off his neck.

'I looked over the documents Akovo sent to the bureau... But I couldn't find that book he had brought...'

Arthur looked at each cupboard and drawer. All of them were closed. Nothing on the desk had been moved.

'Noble Pendragon, we... Have been tasked with bringing in Shinra's personal belongings for investigation.'

The only thing that was different compared to yesterday, was that the guard had come and taken the documents. Nothing else was different.

"Then why didn't you take anything else... You knew what you were looking for..." Arthur muttered under his breath.

'Oh! Wait just a moment Leia! I asked Ako about the construction happening on the first floor, but she didn't know about it, who ordered that?'

Arthur stopped, his eyes widened.

'Are you sure you didn't call them?'

'Yes, I'm sure... Besides, a construction warrant requires approval from me... I don't recall approving any construction on the first floor for the last few months...'

'I'll look around, might have been a mistake...'

"The first floor..." Arthur skipped a breath, as he remembered the workers he passed by that day.

'We need more cement...'

'Why the hell can't we just get Bruno to do this job... This makes no sense...'

'Stop complaining, the pay is good...'

Arthur started to breathe heavier. 'No... It can't be... That was before my father was sent to Welis...'

'Seal a broken wall of the building, but then they want us to bury the room in cement, like... What?! Where do we get that much cement, and the equipment?!'

'Trust me, this client is worth the extra work. There's no one who would pay more.'

Arthur's thoughts all came to a stop. 'No one who would pay more... Lightbringers...' He looked up in shock as he took everything in. 'Leia was working with them behind my fathers back... Even before he died...' A sudden knock on the door broke Arthur's concentration.

"Arthur!" he heard someone yell from outside. "Arthur!"

Whoever knocked, was rapidly slamming their hand on the door. The sound was echoing through the stairwell. Arthur made his way down the stairs, they knocked again, hard enough to shake the door.

"Arthur!" a familiar voice.

'Angela?' Arthur opened the door to see the noble of house Rover, she was out of breath. Arthur paused as he looked at her.

"Hey... Why are you here so early?" Arthur asked, his thoughts from earlier still on his mind.

"We need you at the hospital, right now!" Angela stressed.

"What?"

"It's Oliver! House Lightbringer released him last night, but... But..."

"But what?! What happened!" Arthur shouted.

"He was on his way home... And... We found him... Collapsed a few feet from the door to his house..."

Arthur stepped back, he froze as he looked at Angela's pained expression. He shoved her to the side and hurried out of the tower.

***

Arthur threw the hospital door open, and then ran through the lobby. He passed by the stairwell to the upper offices, and proceeded down the hall. As he turned the corner, he passed an old man on a bench. He made his way straight to the emergency rooms. 'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' Arthur cursed at himself the entire way. 'Why did I let the Lightbringers take him! Fuck!'

"Aaaaha!" the sound of a young girl crying reached his ears.

Arthur pushed open the door to the emergency department and turned, he stopped in his tracks with wide eyes. A lot of the hospital staff were there. All of them had grim looks on their faces. Akovo was on the bench, her eyes were shut tightly as she covered her mouth. Arthur looked around, but he didn't see Leia.

"Ako..." Arthur put his hand on her shoulders.

Akovo opened her eyes, and Arthur froze. Her eyes were bloodshot red, but her tears shone in the light. She shook her head from left to right. Arthur looked up as he heard the painful wails of a woman and a child.

"Oh, Oliver..." a woman sniffled from inside the room. "Why... What did he do to deserve this... We were faithful to the celestial! Why!"

Arthur walked forward, even though he didn't want to. He didn't want to see what was on the other side of that window. He remembered Oliver's bright smile. How Oliver wouldn't take himself too seriously. How much fun he had every time Oliver visited the tower. How prideful Oliver was when he talked about his wife and child. Arthur took a deep breath, and opened his eyes.

Oliver laid on the bed, a far cry from what he looked like yesterday. His mouth moved, but he didn't seem to be speaking. The fingers on his left hand twitched, while a young woman with dark red hair held his right hand. A young girl with pink hair stood next to her by the bed with wide eyes. As he looked back at Oliver and squinted at the cloth over his face. It was stained red over his eyes. Arthur looked down and took a deep breath, he walked into the room. One of the doctors in the room approached Arthur, it was Dr. Fost.

He had short black hair, and he wore a mask over his face. He put his hand on Arthur's shoulder and pulled him to one side of the room. He was a foot taller than Arthur, wearing a white and red coat and black pants. He wasn't a lieutenant, but he was one of the oldest doctors in the building.

"Dr. Fost... What... What happened..." Arthur asked hesitantly as he kept staring at Oliver.

"He's... Unresponsive... He didn't seem to have any injuries when he was brought in, but... But, there is internal bleeding... He's not dead, but..." Dr. Fost paused. "Even if we managed to stop the bleeding-"

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"Stop it then, we need to save him-"

"Arthur, listen..." Dr. Fost tightened his grip on his shoulders. "We can save him... But he's..."

"But he's what..."

"We can't repair nerve damage to the brain..." said Dr. Fost. "He would need to be on life support constantly... He..."

Dr. Fost looked down as he skipped a breath, he shut his eyes.

"Damage... To the brain?!" Arthur's eyes twitched.

"Even if we save him... He's never going back to a normal life... I don't even think we could let him leave this hospital..."

"Then..." Arthur's shoulders sank, his eyes quivered as he grimaced.

"I'm sorry... There's nothing we can do... His wife and child are aware of this."

Arthur's eyes widened, his fist clenched tightly. His nails dug deep into his palm, blood dripped down his fingers. He walked toward Oliver's wife and child. He stopped as he looked at Oliver's daughter. He gulped. 'I could've stopped this... I could've done something... I...'

"I am sorry Ms. Bloom, we need to perform an autopsy immediately..." Arthur's voice cracked. "You can't stay here..."

"Who would do such a thing..." Ms. Bloom sobbed as she stared at her husband's face. "Why! Why!"

Arthur's fist clenched even tighter. Her daughter's gaze was still fixed onto Oliver. Arthur grit his teeth, 'I'm so sorry...' Ms. Bloom wiped her tears, but they kept falling. Akovo rubbed her shoulder, she slowly led her out of the room. Oliver's daughter still frowned. Arthur was taken aback when he saw how angry she looked, she reminded Arthur of himself. The little girl with pink hair looked up at Arthur, her tears running down her face. Hana ran past Arthur to her mother's side. Arthur took a deep breath as he turned back to Oliver.

"Have you seen Leia around?" Arthur asked Dr. Fost. "She should be present for an autopsy..."

"Leia was here earlier, she was the first to suggest nerve damage either to the spine or directly in the brain. Oliver... I mean- the patient was rather healthy though... And there are no signs of blunt trauma to the head... Or anywhere for that matter... But after some time, he started to bleed from his eyes..."

"From his eyes? And Leia claimed it was nerve damage?" Arthur squinted at Dr. Fost.

"Yeah, she was here earlier, but left in a hurry..."

"Is that so..." Arthur took a deep breath as he reached for a pair of new gloves.

***

Arthur stepped out of the room, it had been several hours since the autopsy began. He stood motionless as he looked up at the lights embedded into the ceiling. They flickered repeatedly, Arthur gulped nervously. The door behind him closed.

"I... Sir Arthur-"

"Just Arthur... Just Arthur is fine..." he replied with an exhausted tone.

"I apologize, it's just... After that... I..." Dr. Fost stuttered.

Arthur could hear the worry and confusion in Dr. Fost's tone. 'He's known Oliver longer than I have, they studied together... To see him like that...'

"Take a break..." Arthur ordered. "Get some rest if you need to..."

"I... I apologize for my weakness..." Dr. Fost lowered his head.

"You aren't weak..." Arthur turned and proceeded down the hallway.

'I'm the one who is weak...' Arthur walked out of the emergency department. With each step, he continued to regret. 'If I had just done something... None of this would have happened...' Arthur turned the corner, and made his way toward the front lobby. He walked past a message board made from cork, several bulletins about safety and job postings for the hospital were pinned to it. He noticed Akovo seated on the bench in the corner, she wore a teal coat over her uniform. Across from her was another message board made from cork, this one was empty. 'Huh...' Arthur paused as he looked at the second message board.

"Arthur!" Akovo called as she noticed him walking down the hall.

"Are you heading home?" Arthur asked, his voice was quiet.

"I rushed here as soon as I heard, Ando and my husband weren't even awake... I need to run some errands and come back... But I wanted to speak with you before I left..."

Arthur walked toward her, he could barely raise his head, his shoulders felt heavy, and his feet dragged against the tiled floor. He took a seat next to Akovo on the bench and lowered his head.

"What did you find..." Akovo asked.

Arthur gulped, then sighed. It felt like there was something stuck in his throat. Arthur looked down at his own shadow, it was hard to breathe. As he felt his tears, he closed his eyes to keep it in.

"Nerve damage... Originating from trauma in the front of his brain..." Arthur explained.

Akovo pursed her lips, she cringed as her eyes quivered. "Leia was right then..."

"The damage was done directly to his brain... There was no trauma anywhere on his body besides a few bruises he got... But it wasn't enough to explain what happened to him... As of right now... We have no idea of who did this, or how they did it..."

"Oliver..." she whimpered as tears flooded out of her eyes. "How could something like this happen... He was such a kind man..."

Arthur grit his teeth behind his lips as he looked down. The tears welled up under his eyes, he looked up in an attempt to hold them in. Arthur skipped a breath, as he felt the tears under his eyes well up. Akovo held his right shoulder and hand.

"I tried Ako, I did... I tried to..." Arthur skipped a breath and shut his eyes, and the tears he held back came pouring out.

"Don't blame yourself Arthur... You are trying your best, and we all understand the pain you're already in..." Akovo replied.

"I... I saw him just yesterday... The Lightbringer guards were apprehending him... And I tried to help... But just because its, fucking, Lawrence Lightbringer... I should've done something if I knew Oliver would-" Arthur gulped and took a sharp breath. "What the hell is the point of me being a noble!"

"Did you just say... Lawrence Lightbringer?" Akovo asked with a concerned tone.

"Oliver was at a daycare by House Rover last night... Then he just got arrested by royal guards... Lawrence accused him of conspiring against my father..."

"Conspired against Shinra?! That's ridiculous..." Akovo scoffed. "You said... Lawrence? Lawrence Lightbringer? When did you see this?"

"Huh? Like a quarter after seven... I don't remember exactly when..."

"Leia was speaking with him outside the office when I was leaving... I left shortly after you did..."

"When you were leaving..." Arthur's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah... There were also two guards... Royal guards..."

Arthur froze, and slowly looked down. His fist clenched.

"Arthur? Is something wrong?" Akovo asked.

"Leia... Has she been herself recently?" Arthur asked.

"Herself?"

"Like, has she been doing or saying anything strange..."

"Leia? No, she's... The same as she always is... Why do you ask?"

"There were two guards in the tower yesterday... I think those two guards you saw- no, I'm pretty sure they're the same ones I ran into..."

"What?! Guards were in your tower? They can't do that..." said Ako.

"When I was confronting them... Leia showed up immediately and scolded them... She claimed that she didn't know how they got in..." Arthur looked at Akovo.

"Then... What... What are you saying Arthur?"

"Leia... I think Leia might have had something to do with what happened to Oliver..."

Akovo stood up with wide eyes, she looked like she saw a ghost. The dark skinned woman clutched her handbag as she skipped a breath.

"That can't be true... You... You're wrong... She couldn't have! Arthur, that's crazy!" Akovo shouted. "Leia and Oliver trusted each other... We all trust each other! Don't say something like that..."

"How did she know it was nerve damage..." Arthur asked. "I know she let the guards into my family's tower Ako! I know she did, she had to-"

"No... No! Leia is my best friend! There is no way she would do this!" Akovo yelled at Arthur, she shook her head as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I... I have to go... I'm sorry Arthur, but what you're saying is crazy."

Akovo stood up and quickly walked off. She wiped her eyes with her hand as she sniffled. Arthur leaned back as he took a deep breath, the back of his head touched the wall. He looked up at the ceiling, feeling exhausted. The buzz of the lights almost felt like they came from the inside of his brain. The sound of the door far down the hall echoed through the empty building. Akovo had just left, the door closed behind her.

'Arthur! Arthur, you can't trust these assholes! Don't trust anyone!'

He thought about the last thing Oliver told him. Arthur stared blankly at the wall in front of him. There was a board with nothing posted on it. Arthur looked down the hall, back to the board with multiple pages pinned to it. 'The supply room is gone... I didn't notice it when I ran by earlier...' He remembered the construction that happened weeks ago. 'That day I got Reiu... This hallway was sealed for construction...'

"Filled with cement..." Arthur uttered as he looked at the wall.

'There's the point of putting a board here... There's already one in this hallway...' Arthur looked back at the empty board. He squinted again as he approached the board, he looked around. The paint on the wall was just barely a different color.

"There's no point... Unless... You're trying to hide something..." Arthur deduced.

'Why? Why did you have to do construction here...' Arthur stopped as he looked up. 'Leia left already... I'll check her office...' Arthur turned the corner and made his way to the stairwell. He sprinted up to the top floor and entered a similar shaped hallway to the first floors. He walked down the hall, and turned the corner. One of the rooms had a flat gold slab of metal bolted to it, with Leia's full name on it. Arthur grasped the handle of the door and turned it, but it didn't open. Arthur reached into his coat, and pulled out his key. It didn't fit into the lock. 'My key should open every door in the hospital...'

"Don't ever trust a spy..." Arthur whispered to himself.

Arthur stepped back, then raised his hand. A black halberd appeared in front of him, and he grasped it. He swung the pole arm around, then immediately thrusted it through the door. The blade jammed, and Arthur gripped it with both hands. He grunted as he pulled it down, the blade slowly broke through more and more wood. The spear dissipated as Arthur cut the lock. He slammed his foot into the damaged door. It swung open, only to be jerked back by a pair of golden chains. The sound of the chains rattled through the hall.

"What..." Arthur put his hand through and released the chain. "When did... When did this door get an extra lock... A chain lock at that? Wouldn't this mean she locked herself out?"

Leia's office was unlike others, it was rather messy. The shelves were filled with unorganized documents and binders. Arthur approached her desk, the only thing on it was a picture. Arthur lifted the frame and turned it. It showed a little girl with short black hair but bright red eyes, and Leia herself. They looked very similar. 'That's... Her daughter...' The two of them had bright smiles on their faces, and their eyes were locked with Arthur. He gulped as he put the frame down the way he found it.

Arthur turned to the right. He looked at the wall and shelves carefully. 'I feel like I'm going insane...' Arthur pulled some files off the shelf and flipped through them. 'These are just a manifest for equipment...' Arthur pushed the file back onto the shelf and reached for another. He reached up to the top shelf, and noticed it wasn't parallel to the wall.

"Huh..." Arthur walked to the left of the shelf and tried to see behind it.

His thoughts came to an abrupt stop as he saw a small hole in the wall. It was just big enough for an adult to squeeze through. Arthur stepped back. 'No...' He quickly hurried back to the hallway and looked to the left of the door to Leia's office. 'No... No. no, no...' He walked back into Leia's room, pulling the wooden shelf away from the wall, and managing to squeeze himself behind it. He crouched between the wall and the shelf, and crawled into the small hole. As he looked at more of the hidden room, he was taken aback by its design. The walls were unpainted, the floor was made of stone. Arthur stood up as he got through the hole.

"A stairwell... There shouldn't be a stairwell in this part of the building..." Arthur muttered under his breath.

He started down the stairs. There was no light, it was pitch black. 'Reiu...' The eyes on his pendant lit up as the dragon came to life, lighting the stairs with a soft blue light. Arthur reached the bottom. To the left was a room poorly filled with concrete, however, just enough to seal off the other side where the door out of the supply closet would have been. To the right, were metal shelves all cluttered together. 'These would have been the shelves in the closet... They didn't fill this part of the room...' Arthur noticed an open door past the shelves, he moved the shelves to clear a path to it.

Arthur gulped, he looked down and noticed a block of wood that held the door open. He pushed it open and walked through, making sure to carefully place the wedge back where it was. Arthur looked down another long flight of steps. It was an even narrower stairwell than the last, but this one went far deeper. Arthur could see his breath in the air, it was very cold. He walked down the stairwell, he reached the last step and turned to see even more steps going straight down. 'How long has this been here?! How far down does this go?'