Marconi Plays The Mamba

Title: The Hollow Men

Words: 5,328

Author : @whitnium

Rating: M

Characters: Yuri, Estelle, Raven

Summary: A Bad End AU where Yuri has to kill Estelle at the Sword Stair. As the party struggles (and fails) to keep together in the aftermath, Estelle is still with them--but only Yuri can see her. The constant presence of someone who is not quite a ghost frays his sanity until he finds some solace months later: Raven can see her, too.

Tags: Major Character Death, AU, Angst, Mental Health issues, Hallucinations, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Everyone Suffers and Nobody is Happy, Gratuitous Suffering CW: Suicidal Ideation, Mental Breakdown

There’s definitely a basis for that considering what happened to Estelle.  Alexei was controlling her with apatheia, so logically, there’s a blastia formula that can turn people into puppets.  Also I am so into this idea because, as I’m sure anyone who’s read a lot of my fics could have noticed, being forced to fight a “not quite right” version of a loved one is one of my favourite tropes.  Mind control, shape shifters, possession, alternate universes… whatever the case, having the villain look like your best friend is just good angst.

Then we get into the best angst of it: Flynn facing the possibility that there is no way to save Yuri, and that he knows Yuri would rather die than live like this, so the only way to “save” Yuri is to set him free….

Everybody suffers for eternity

–

Flynn felt like a wind-up toy worn down when he collapsed into a chair in the Aurnion inn.  Just standing long enough to pry his armour off had been exhausting.  It now lay in a heap at his feet as he slumped into the chair.

“You look beat.”  Yuri lay on one of the beds, which he had fallen onto without even taking his boots off.

“You’re one to talk.”

Yuri folded his arms and closed his eyes.  “Guess it’s been a busy day, huh?”