Tales Across the MultiBurst

You're Still Awake, You Need Help

In which Shu makes a mistake during a case that may not cost anyone their lives, but will make a big impact on the way society sees him. (Try to Wake, Try to Escape AU. Alternate continuation set nine years after the You Are Awake trilogy. Inspired by Fran Bow.)

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Shu slipped in through the open window, carefully lowering himself to the floor. The warehouse was filled with the snarls and growls of the dragons, the darkness within it alive with evil. He reached into his bag, pulling out his flashlight and flicking it on, filling a part of the room with red light.

The walls of the warehouse not covered by black mold dripped slowly to the floor, which rippled with every movement made by man or creature. Red eyes scanned the room, studying the boxes tossed about and the details of the surrounding area.

"Keep moving forward." Legend Spryzen advised, its power renewed by having its Bey recovered and with the beast Blader himself. "I can sense the body nearby..."

Understood. Shu nodded, slowly standing and beginning to slink through the room. The dragons did not dare to get close, all to afraid of the beacon of light that Shu held. Even through the face mask covering his mouth and nose, Shu could still smell the stench of decay and the reek of spilled blood. It made his stomach churn with anxiety and nausea, but the detective kept on a brave face.

He continued twisting and turning through the maze of the warehouse, reaching the far north side and finding his goal. A body sat against the wall, eaten away at by rats and rot, face forever stuck in a horrified howl and forever dead, killed by the twelve bullet holes in its chest. He hesitantly approached the body, crouching in front of it just before he felt a cold presence at his back.

"Detective Shu Kurenai, eh?" The ghost's voice held a New Yorker-gangster accent that was unusual to the region he was in, but Shu recognized it from his days actually spent in NYC as a Raging Bull. He stood up, turning to where the voice came from. "I'm surprised to see ya here, considerin' that I wasn't any kind-hearted citizen."

"I don't discriminate in my cases." Shu answered simply. "You may have been in a gang, but according to your criminal records... You never committed any horrible crimes. Petty theft from a vending machine and the like is hardly just cause for leaving you in injustice."

"Heh, you're the first guy I ever met who'd say that. What brought'cha here, detective?"

"You're girlfriend brought your case." He nodded, able to feel an ache in his chest as he remembered the heartbreak on her face. "I couldn't turn her down."

"Huh... Thought she'd've just given up on me..."

Shu pulled on his gloves and grabbed his notepad and pen. "Can you tell me who did this to you?"

The ghost of the gang-member complied without hesitation, supplying the detective with every piece of information he could. Shu pulled the sole bullet left in the body out of it, put in in a slider bag, and departed so he could turn in in.

When he reached the middle of the warehouse, he heard a voice call out to him... "Your time is running out, Red Eye..."

The light suddenly flickered off and Shu sucked in a breath, flicking it on and off again desperately to no avail. The roar of an oncoming horde rang out and he cursed, tucking the flashlight back into his bag and then concentrated on Spryzen, summoning his golden battle ax into his hands. He glared up at a figure on the catwalk above him, well aware that it was Ashtem who called upon the horde.

He could hear the footsteps thundering towards him, the roars and cries of the beasts, and the pounding of his own heart. He could see their glowing eyes, and they could see his. They'd both know when to attack.