Chapter Twenty Two - Reversal of Fates

  I only saw blackness around me, as if everything ceased to exist. No light shone, and no shadows were cast. It was this realm again, and the aftermath of what happened the last time I visited it. The once lit lightbulb was nowhere to be seen. It has already shattered, after all. But, something is different. Something gives off a unique air about this place, but I couldn’t put a finger on it.

  Of course, I was conscious – that is the difference. I was fully aware of what this was, a dream. I have fallen into a dream as a result of my injuries. However, that only means that I survived. And I am happy to know that.

  Soon after, I have found myself in a familiar place, fully woken up. It was that hospital room again, and that same doctor from before was looking at me. I’m sure she was happy to be pulling out yet another nail out of me. Nonetheless, I lived to tell the tale, and with that, the identity of the Flawless has been obtained. It was incredibly close, however – at several moments, I was inches away from death, and those moments will be forever burned into my mind.

  An ensemble of familiar faces stood over me. There was Sylphie, my Assistant Detective, the aforementioned doctor who presumably saved my life once again, and… Detective Debrief? One of those was not like the others, and I promptly jumped up from my lying position.

  “D-Debrief?” I exclaimed loudly.

  It was true. He was there in person, it was certainly no apparition of him, either. He looked smug as ever, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom as to why he is here.

  “Rise and shine, Detective Capleaf,” he solemnly smiled.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I dejectedly asked the outlier.

  Sylphie spoke up. “He came here to personally see you.”

  “Great,” I sighed internally.

  There were many possible reasons as to why Debrief is here, and I was willing to bet that none of them were of positive reasoning. Regardless, I was too hazy to think of his machinations right now. I couldn’t focus on anything specific in my current state, but the main feeling I had was concern – something troubled me. My body felt incredibly sore, rendering me unable to move much. Not only that, but my forehead seemed to be very sweaty. Everything felt off in some way, but I tried to keep it calm. I casually wiped the sweat off my forehead, and continued to recollect what just happened.

  Wait, I wiped the sweat off… with my hand? Sure enough, my hand was somehow reattached! I moved around with it to make sure it still worked just as ever, and it seemed practically untouched. The only thing that gave away that it was ever missing was the suture lines along the whole wrist. I felt so relieved when I realized that – one of these worries was undeniably the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to witness the end of MC-13. As for the laceration on my cheek, that one seemed to be less restored, and I felt some noticeable suture work from the corner of my mouth to my jawline.

  Then, the recollection continued. When I was at Heather Tuchet’s house, we received an unusual visit. That I still remember, the Face came in to slaughter me. She came very close to killing me, but in the last possible moment, defying my well-written fate, Faust swooped in to intercept her attempt at taking my life. I am now officially indebted to her, as not only did she save my life, but she also saved the case. If there was no one to stop the Face from ending me in that living room, she would surely be headed next to dispatch Heather and Sylphie alike. That would be the ultimate end to MC-13, where the Flawless would remain unfound forever, as the only person aware of their identity would cease to exist.

  “Sylphie… did Heather end up unscathed?”

  “Indeed. Sylphie did as you asked and provided safety.”

  It appears that our goal really has been achieved, no matter how many things I consider into the equation. Sylphie was here, safe and sound, and according to her testimony, Heather made it out alive as well. However, I was sure that I saw no Faust amidst the three watching me. A sense of panic appeared in my mind – what if she succumbed to her injuries?

  “Faust! Where is she?”

  Sylphie gave me an answer. “Here. Although not as a patient anymore, she has been discharged already, just beyond the door to your room.”

  Knowing that Faust made it, I can finally breathe soundly again. Out of all my worries, she was the most significant of them – even though the others were just as important, of course. Her being behind the door suits her, too, as she never enjoyed deep talks of the likes that we would have after this. She must also be really exhausted – that battle looked extremely taxing on the body from my point of view.

  Sylphie looked at me derisively. “Sylphie thinks that you are unaware that you have been here for three days total.”

  “What? Three days? Was I that far gone?”

  Debrief interjected. “Look at yourself – gnarled and aching. Your survival is a medical miracle.”

  He was right to a tee – this practice saved my right hand, face, and healed my left forearm where the nail was stuck. Contrasting the last time I sat on this bed, there was no trophy that was stuck inside me to be seen. I suppose that there is no need for a second Purging Nail, as my eyewitness claim is enough – I saw the practitioner herself attempting to skewer me like the countless corpses that she left behind. Still, it is almost unbelievable that the Face was such a difficult adversary to handle. I was on the brink of death, and the only thing that made it so is the appearance of Faust.

  “Well then, three days was plenty of rest to be had. Sylphie – how did the mission go after I descended into my nap?”

  Sylphie took on a professional look. “The suspect known under the codename ‘Face’ has been apprehended and is now jailed in the DPD holding cell until further notice.”

  Hearing those words made it all seem worth it. I wasn’t going to risk my life to fight her if it didn’t mean anything. Even if it ultimately wasn’t me that defeated her, I’m still glad that it ended up like this. We only ventured to the Glason District in order to find Heather, but we managed to capture the Face as a certified bonus. It really couldn’t have gone better than this. And the fact that our only sacrifices were my gashed beauty features made them worth it.

  “If you are feeling capable, I would like to ask you a series of questions about what happened, Detective Capleaf” Debrief questioned.

  “Go for it. Shoot. I am more alive and well then even your morose face.”

  I wasn’t lying. This was the most invigorating moment I have had in a long time, maybe even a decade or two. All my toil and peril led up to this monumental victory, and if even one thing was even slightly misinterpreted, that victory would quickly turn into a dead end. It really did go as well as it could.

  “Well then,” he prepared himself, “would you be willing to say what this whole ordeal of yours was?”

  “Is this some kind of media interview? Or are you just trying to find faults in my doing again?”

  “Neither of that. I want your honest truth about your doing on MC-13. It has only been two weeks, and here you are with a suspect in hand. Detective Capleaf, no one but you could’ve achieved this in such a short span of time. I am here as an admirer, and nothing more.”

  It was almost cathartic to hear Debrief speak of me like this again. The last time he resorted to such accolades was when I was inspecting the front page of MC-13’s case report. It is quite funny to think how little I knew at the start, and how much I know now. Humble beginnings, I say!

  “Well, thank you very much, Debrief. To answer your question wholeheartedly – it was a last-ditch effort to scrape up any possible leads, because you imposed on everything I was working on a ridiculous time constraint, and pretty much told me to deal with it.”

  “Ah, you mean that I would take action against you if I were to become director?”

  “Yes,” I said bluntly.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “I would never do that. A valuable detective such as you would never go to waste under my lead. No personal feelings would get in the way of that.”

  “So you’re saying I drove myself to near insanity for no reason?”

  “Who’s to say? Most of my opinions on you were formed within the last week – it is hard to think ill about someone who unveiled the secret of MC-13. If that wasn’t your doing, I would find it hard to think of you as an S-tier detective.”

  In simpler terms, Debrief planned on doing exactly that – removing me from the workforce. However, whatever I did in these past few confusing days led to this change of heart.

  “Yeah, yeah. How is your inauguration going?” I asked, referring to his plight.

  “While you were in this three-day coma, the office has already decided the outcome. You are the first person to learn that I am the newest executive director of the Detective Precinct Department.”

  “Great, so I’m not getting fired?” I asked jokingly.

  “Of course not. In fact, after your recent endeavors, I planned to make my first move in assembling a larger team for your case, if that is what you desire.”

  A larger team? It was something that I have never even thought of, but it is certainly welcome. Right now, I have deducted that the Flawless is a person who goes by the name of Raziel Seishi. However, with only a name, finding this person will prove to be difficult. Unlike his aunt, I cannot just look up his address – he is an identity that has been missing for twenty-six years, and is presumably hiding from the hands of the law. The only thing that I know about his whereabouts is that he is somewhere within Misult City, but even that could change. We just took care of his right hand, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that he may be on the hide now.

  “I’ll think about it, Debrief.”

  “Alright. Have a fast recovery,” he said as he turned around and left the room.

  Of course, the job is still not done. Quite the opposite, it is very far from done. All the toil to reach up to this point, and all the time spent to find any and all evidence – it all adds up to only knowing what to look for. What we have just reached is the starting point for most cases. However, this time I wasn’t minimizing my progress as a sign of vain, but to set a goal. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to find the Flawless.

  “Sylphie would like to congratulate you, Detective.”

  “Even you, Sylphie. It isn’t like you to give compliments.”

  “That is true. Sylphie is merely giving you your due regards,” she succinctly said before also departing.

  With her exit, I was only there in the room with the female doctor who looked like she was not up to chat with me. Truthfully, she looked more exhausted, as if taking care of me was hard work. I don’t blame her – I was afflicted with three life-ending wounds in quick succession. Even so, I wanted to get her doctor’s permission for me to move around. It wouldn’t be desirable for me to take a single step, and then have all of my stitches burst open.

  “Hey, doctor lady – is it okay for me to move around now?”

  “You can move, but don’t come near any nail-shaped objects again!” She said in a so done way.

  I took her advice to heart, and got up to check the mirror. The mirror was placed above a drawer used for medical equipment, and was sufficiently sized for me to check my outcome. My hands were both intact, and didn’t really look that off. However, my face has taken a large beating. Whenever I looked at myself in the morning, I was always greeted by a person with shorter hair and a shaved beard. But now, after having endured so much, I don’t even recognize myself. My hair has gotten considerably longer, my eyes lost whatever shine they had, and a faint black and grey beard covered the entire lower half of my face. Even so, the most noticeable thing right now is the stitch on my face. It transfigured the entire side of my face, and made it apparent that it will be my everlasting scar and reminder of what transpired on that day, and in MC-13 as a whole.

  I was a whole new person, not just in body, but also in mind. I remember that when I took on this case, I found it hard to rely on others. The notion that they were less capable of me was always there and made it undesirable to work in a team. I thought that most others were a burden, up until now. The simple truth is, I wouldn’t have gone far without the people around me. Without Sylphie, I would never keep track of so many loose threads. She has always helped with the organization part of this case. Without Faust, I would never pick up the motivation to work on this case, and would never even think outside the scope that I knew of at the time. She also contributed by saving me, which is undeniably the most important thing she ever did and will do for me. Even Detective Debrief had some part to play in this. Without him, I would have never been pushed to my limit. That little scare he gave me allowed me to work at a hundred percent efficiency. He pretty much placed me in a mental state where I had to do anything in order to survive. Even now, I am still unsure if those were his intentions or now.

  There was still one person left to meet, and she stood right outside this room. There were many things I wanted to tell her, but the only thing she would want to hear is ‘Thank you’. I took a deep breath, and stepped out of my room.

  She was there, leaning on the windowsill and watching the golden fade of the clouds and the sky. Even though she made it out of the hospital before me, she was still wrapped in bandages around her torso. Her hairdo is also a lot different, making it look more natural to her. As for her glasses, she seemingly hasn’t gotten a replacement yet, as her eyes were still bare.

  Faust turned towards me. “You kept me waiting, you know.”

  “Sorry about that, I was too busy trying not to die in my sleep.”

  “Excuses,” she sighed.

  She was nonchalant as ever, making it seem like that whole battle between her and the Face never even happened. However, I still have some faith in my memory, and I know that it happened.

  “How are you faring after that battle?”

  “Terrible. That bitch hit like a truck, and it even caused a few organs to rupture.”

  “Holy – I’m amazed you kept on fighting after that.”

  “It wasn’t a battle, it was a choice between stagnation and procession.”

  They were cryptic words, but I knew their meaning well. Faust viewed the whole situation as a choice of some kind. The stagnation – Faust could’ve given up in that battle, accepting her defeat in not just the battle, but also the fight of her life. The chase for the Flawless that she had been participating in for twenty years would have stopped then and there. On the other hand, the procession was a conscious decision she made to continue fighting despite the hardship it brought upon her. She knew what going down this path would bring, and accepted it with open arms.

  “A fighter by heart, I see.”

  “Unlike you, who was massacred in seconds before I even showed up.”

  “You couldn’t know that.”

  “I could’ve, and I did. How did you think I found you?”

  To be truthfully honest, Faust does have a keen sense of finding me whenever it is the least likely to happen. She is the embodiment of Murphy’s law, and she always found me, no matter where I was. It was quite strange, and in this last instance of it happening, it was literally impossible to happen by chance.

  “Yeah, how do you keep doing that?”

  “There is a tracker on your coat,” she said smugly.

  “What? When did you get that placed on me?”

  “In my first meeting with the new Head Detective of the case that ruined my life. I knew that I should keep an eye on you. Look how that paid off.”

  It seemed so simple. Something that I clearly wrote off as dumb luck before turned out to be a calculated effort from Faust to keep me from dying. Despite all the dumb jokes I made about it, I really had a guardian angel on my side.

  “You crafty little- “

  “You did well, too,” she cut me off, “you stalled long enough for me to show up and show you how it is done.”

  “Huh, maybe you could be my personal trainer, or something.”

  “You would need two decades’ worth of internalized hatred to fight like that. Once I finally found something to pour those feelings into, it was trivial to forget about the pain.”

  “At least I got to see Crazy Faust again.”

  She frowned upon hearing that. “Don’t say that ever again.”

  It was good to exchange quips like that with Faust once again. In the heat of that battle, I seriously thought about what would happen next if she were to lose. She is one of the only two people I can respect fully, and losing her would create and unfillable void in my heart.

  She turned towards the sunset. “I have finally gone face to face with the reason for my existence. The desire for vengeance within me sparked, and something that was missing from me manifested again.”

  “I saw the moment that happened. I can’t wait to see you shine in the spotlight again.”

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Debrief is planning to assemble a team for MC-13’s conclusion efforts. If there is one person I would like to have there, it would be you, Faust.”

  She thought for a brief second. “Perhaps.”

  “What do you mean ‘perhaps’? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  “Scars don’t heal, Vince.”

  At first, I thought of her words as illogical, but then I began to understand them. It has been twenty long years for her, and in that time, she already burnt out once. Flailing that desire in front of her again does not spark a reaction. Simply put, she lost most of her interest. It is surprising, though, that even the biggest desire she ever had could fizzle out into nothingness.

  Then, she followed up. “It is something I could consider, but that burning desire for revenge has already mellowed out into a small cinder that only very recently rekindled itself.”

  “Just remember that you are always welcome on board.”

  She got up, ready to leave. “I think you have some of your own things you would like to do right about now.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Interrogating your captured suspect, perhaps?” She scoffed.