
Having left the control center, Vestil and I exit the central office to navigate the vestibule with the area’s acting sergeant and lieutenant in our party.
Each way large, glass barriers separate the three divisions used to house the prisoners from the unit’s halls. Peering to the other side of the glass reveals the two tiers lined with 20 doors each. At the corners of each of these “pods” are interconnecting doorways to allow quick access of each segment for the officers.
As our group steps before the unit’s second of three sliding doors, a hiss of pneumatic pressure sounds as the mechanism comes to life and begins to slide the large, metal door open. While my mind had already been full of the Zodiac Prison just from being in this facility, the sounds and sensations resurrect those memories all the more lucidly.
From the very instant even a crack is made in the door’s barrier, the racket begins. The prisoners locked away begin to holler and make their savage, obscene noise.
“Who is that? Who is that?! Come here! You should come here and say hi! We can be friends!”
“Hey, good looking! What are you doing here?!”
“I just want to talk to him! I just want to talk to him!”
“Go to hell, pretty boy! I’ll meet you there and then we’ll party!”
We pay them no heed and keep in step to the late assassin’s cell while the rhythmic strikes and screams from a rather deranged member of the cast acts as our soundtrack.
When passing by a particular cell, its occupant slams his body into its door and presses his face against the small glass window he has to view the outside world. A wicked grin makes his already unpleasant features all the more loathsome. But his asinine ploy for attention is for the birds. Compared to anything found in a Sin, his attempts to get a rise out of me isn’t even worth the single twitch of an eye.
I pause in step briefly before I twist my body and send my fist into the glass, blazing directly for his nose. His head reels back and a cracking sound fills the stagnant air. When I leer at him through the newly webbed surface of the glass, I see him holding his nose. That grin on his face has been succeeded by a look of fear.
But that’s all the time I’m generous enough to give him. We return to the task at hand.
“I’ll pay for the repairs if you need me to.”
“N-No, no. The captain had made it clear that as the Celestial Knight you may do as you wish in cases such as that. It is the law, after all.” A bit surprised but making do, he elaborates this law I know so well. “If any prisoner wishes to attempt any manner of harm or intimidation towards the Celestial Knight or fellow officers, the offender may immediately face corrective measures even to the level of lethal force if deemed necessary by the Celestial Knight’s judgment.”
“Consider that window on his tab. He needed that. He’s been harassing the staff a little too much recently and this ought to give him another think.” The sergeant adds. “But damn… That glass isn’t supposed to break like that. You’re really hiding a lot of power in that thin frame of yours! This entire facility is proofed against the use of magic so that had to have been all muscle, right?”
“He’s our Knight, after all. If you ask me, these freaks deserve worse than they get. This unit is reserved for serial killers and violent sex criminals. Real sickos, all of them.” Vestil speaks her own mind candidly.
The assassin’s cell had been the last at the right end of the second tier. When we reach it, we find it restored to its original condition with all extra materials removed. An empty, cold room illuminated by a dull, warm light.
Vestil and I waste no time and begin our investigation while the two knights stand guard. Regrettably, we soon enough find that there’s nothing of interest within. Nothing that could be helpful to our cause. Not even a scratch out of place on the walls.
We step out sooner than I’d hoped with nothing to show for it.
“Even though he was a killer, he was one of the better ones to work with here. Didn’t cause much trouble, was polite and did what he was told. Said that it’s what his messiah told him to do so he was bound by his word.”
“Messiah, huh?” I grimace within, realizing that these two likely knew well who messiah referred to in this case.
“We’d seen that tape. Anyone who works this unit knows the story. For being a culty criminal creep he sure did have some flattering views of our Celestial Knight.” The sergeant doesn’t waste a moment to throw in a jab. “But I guess we should be thankful you’d asked him what you did. Made our jobs easier.”
“Yeah, he was a special case, alright.” Vestil says with a wry laugh. “Not everyday you see a hardened criminal joining the Celestial Knight’s fan club.”
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for his crimes, his security level might have been regressed.” The lieutenant informs us as we stand around outside the cell. “Since he didn’t exactly kill anymore, the only thing left that was really bent about him was how much he’d talked about you. He’d always call us over and ask if we could make contact. Of course the answer was always no and he’d let us have his letters even though he knew our intentions would ultimately just be to just confiscate them.”
“These guys don’t have many rights, but they’re allowed to have at least one photo of family or friends while they’re in.” His partner picks up the chat. “He didn’t have any family he’d wanted to keep a picture of. Given what he’d said on that recording, the reason seems pretty clear. Instead, he’d wanted to use his right to request a picture of you. With enough pleading, we gave in since he was always well behaved. Hope you can forgive us.”
“I can’t say I’m a big fan of that situation, but as long as it kept him from causing trouble with all of you.” The sigh that comes out of my mouth is beyond defeated.
“You know, sometimes when I would walk by his cell, he’d be bowed down in prayer in front of it, even.”
“He’d probably be over the moon just to know you’d come to the facility. “I’d bet he’s riding high in hell right now knowing you’d finally visited his cell.”
There’s a pause in chat with the two as Vestil and I segue into asking questions about his daily life and any details they have to spare about him. But the conversation is held up when the lieutenant asks me a forward question in curiosity.
“I get that this dude was obsessed with you, but why are you coming all the way to this prison and his cell? Judging by what he did before he’d kicked the bucket, he’d finally snapped. Didn’t sound so friendly. It was honestly pretty damn shocking after everything he was about.”
“Are we allowed to know or is this above our pay grade?”
“It’s a complicated situation.” I begin and kindly let them in on the baseline, drawing in closer for a whisper to keep eavesdroppers away. “Let’s just say that my friend here had informed me that he’d passed away in prison and left a rather cryptic message behind. I was originally only coming here to see it but something else had come up recently that has changed the plan.”
Thinking it over, feeling odd myself for the totality of circumstances, I rest my hands on my hips and give what information I’m able to.
“Let’s just say that that recording had some very vital information and this prison could be connected to something larger than a single cultist. This entire prison may be connected to a threat to the security of Celestia as a whole.”
“R-Really? Damn, I had no clue!” The unit’s sergeant whisper-shouts back to me. His lieutenant reflexively rolls his eyes at his next thoughts that begin to spill out of his mouth. “Does it have to do with Astrologia? I always used to believe they’d existed but most of the other knights just called me a conspiracy nut. It was sweet vindication when the news came out that they’re real.”
“Were real.” Vestil corrects his verbiage. “When Wrath was taken out, they went with it. Good riddance too. When you cut the head off of the snake, the body dies, as they say.”
“It was crazy. Here I was saying I’d smelled something rotten just where it was. My friends who theorized with me filled up our thread that night! Voice chat was hilarious!”
“We get it, we get it. You were right. Let’s move along now.” His lieutenant says with a frazzled huff.
“Given this issue with my duties as the Celestial Knight, I’ll need to search this place as thoroughly as I can.” I take up the lieutenant’s opening and put our discussion back on its rails.
“Got it. My sergeant is assigned to this unit but I’m the lieutenant on duty for the maximum security division today. At your call we can begin arranging a facility lock down with Commander One. With your power as the Celestial Knight, that option is open to your decision. And what we can do to help, we will.”
“That may be a good idea.” Vestil advises me. “If we put this facility into lock down, we can pull each inmate out of their cell and investigate them one by one.”
“That’s… quite ambitious.” His sergeant speaks up, frowning discontentedly at the approaching workload. “The medium custody division has 4 different yards with 2 units on each of them. Factoring in the 4 pods for each unit and their 2 floors with 2 prisoners for each…”
“It’s an undertaking, but it’s necessary, I promise.” I sigh to myself. “I’m grateful for all of the help and your assistance to come.”
✩ ✩ ✩
Discussion had continued for a time before Vestil and I had requested a moment of privacy. Entering into an empty office free from any recording devices, the two of us convene a most important conversation.
“You’ve got me all to yourself now. We should be good to go.” Vestil comments as she seats herself on the edge of the table and strikes a cool pose as is a deeply ingrained habit for her. “Here I’ve been left in the dark for so long. What’s been going on?”
I kick a seat out and park myself in it.
“The reason I’d asked that you’d help me reschedule this visit to happen earlier was because there’s been quite a… development recently. And I’d rather see to getting the arrangements handled with our strength before I would ask Ophikka for help.”
“Why not? You two are pretty much brothers, aren’t you?”
“I know, but it’s just… the principle of the thing. What I can do in my power, I should. Lest I’d grow weak and jeopardize my abilities and this kingdom’s safety in time.”
“Sure, sure. I suppose you have a point.”
“To start off… It’s hard to even find a place to begin.” I lightly pinch the bridge of my nose as I sharpen up my thoughts into a point to cut down to the core of the matter. “I’d come to this prison looking for a means to enter into The Zodiac Prison.”
“What? The Zodiac Prison? That place you’d kept dreaming about?”
“I know it sounds crazy. It sounds like I’ve lost my mind even to myself, but it’s a desperate time. It’s strange to think that it was a little bit less than a week ago you’d called and told me about the Classical Killer’s death and the tape that I’d needed to see. You were right that words didn’t do it justice.
“I feel like this is all connected. That recording gave me even more reason for searching this prison and… if someone besides me has seen the Zodiac Prison…”
“He’d said that the answer is in this prison as well, didn’t he? To think that some freakish drug abusing killer would end up being such a big deal after all.” She throws one leg over the other and gives that good old gesture for thinking.
“Everything he’d said was…” I pause, unable to exactly put it all into words. “I want to search all of the cells and rooms in this prison for anything that could lead us to the Zodiac Prison. And I want to see if we can find any Retro while we’re here.”
“If there’s any Retro, it’s probably not going to be whatever that guy was putting in his body. And why the need for Retro anyways?”
“I’ve asked Uria to standby with her team to study whatever materials and resources we can find. Given what the killer had said, I think there’s good reason to seek after the cult’s own type of Retro after all. There has to be something different about it. It was used in their rituals and he himself had said that it wasn’t the same as what you’d find on the streets.”
“I’ll trust you on this even though I’m obviously going to have my own concerns.” She really doesn’t need to say it, her worries come through clearly on her features. “But why do you suddenly want to find a way to that Zodiac Prison? What’s changed?”
“That part of this issue is the reason why I’d thought it’d be best if we’d had time alone to talk this over.”
The strong raising of her brows alone let me know that I wasn’t looking at my best. With that simple reflection handed to me, I’d remembered my resolve and straightened myself out before I’d explained everything I’d learned to her.
“Neptanie… No…” As expected, the news had a major effect on her. To ever see her so visibly shaken is a rare sight to behold, and not at all a comforting one. “Then all of that talk about that Alice in Wonderland story… Neptanie’s favorite story…”
“Somehow the killer knew about her condition. There’s no way everything he’d said was magically coincidental. We have to find a way to kill the king and keep Alice safe and I believe the key is in the Zodiac Prison.”
“Even if you do end up finding the way, that place sounds dangerous as hell from everything you’ve ever told me. I just hope that I can at least go with you.”
“There’s no telling how we can or if anyone besides myself can even end up there. When I’d seen Libera in that world… I couldn’t believe it.”
Resting her face in her hand, Vestil gives herself some time to process everything and really digest it all.
“If the Sinners really are tied to the Zodiac Prison, then what you’re trying to tell me is that you’d might need to go into it through another means than physical. Am I right about that?”
“That’s one theory I’ve been pondering.”
“And then… I’m right about why you’re suddenly interested in that ritual strain of Retro, aren’t I?”
For my answer all I can respond with is silence. Although it was my own idea from the moment I’d heard the Classical Killer’s admission, even I’m troubled by it.
“You suck at lying, especially to those you love. It’s better not to lie in front of them at all, huh?”
“It could be thought of that way, perhaps.”
“I’m willing to do whatever I can to save Neptanie. She’s one of the most amazing, beautiful people I’ve ever met. If anything happened to her…” Another moment of visible consternation. She runs her hand through her hair and gives it all another breath. “We’ll make sure nothing happens to her, but…”
“I know. I’ll make sure that I really look over my options before I go for the dire ends. But if it’s the only choice I have left… for Neptanie, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Then it looks like all I can do is make sure that it doesn’t come to that. I’ll have to give it my best.”
Hopping off of the desk, she straightens her clothes out and faces towards the door. But before she leaves, I hear her closing thoughts to our conversation.
“The fact of how much duty you have, how far you’re willing to go for all of us, everyone you love, that’s the reason why I couldn’t help but fall for you.” Brandishing the radio the facility had given to her, she gets the cogs turning. “For Neptanie.”
Pressing its live button, she speaks into its receiver. “Master Control, this is Captain Vestil.”
“Go for Master Control.”
“The Celestial Knight is ready.”
“10-4” Master Control takes a pause before confirming notice. “Commander One, do you copy?”
“Commander One copies. Initiate facility wide lock down.”
“Facility lock down, facility lock down. All living units, return inmates to their cells. Repeat, facility lock down.”
Vestil reaches her hand out to me with that vibrant, handsome smile of hers. That Prince Charming smile that was used for show once upon a time before it had become true and full of life for myself and the maidens. I take hold and rise to my feet.
Partners once again, we begin our next step towards saving Neptanie, the woman we love.