Cross Conviction

The sun's rays stained the field in bright gold and green tessellation. The Third Hunter team faced their captain in a tense, breathless standoff. Scharf's murderous intentions were made clear by his fingertips brushing against the top cover of his leather holster.

"Grizzler said you killed Mrs. Pauritsch..." said Max, anxiously, "Tell me that isn't true, captain..."

Scharf glanced toward Sturm, gauging the boy's potential response, before answering Max's question. "What would it matter to you if I did? You don't even know her."

Cold perspiration sparkled on Max's cheek. "A-are you kidding me?" Max stuttered anxiously, "So what? She's our comrade, isn't she?"

Throwing the stump of his right hand upward, the captain shrugged off the suggestion. "Whose comrade? Do you still think we're on the same side?"

Sturm held his breath. He knew Scharf's next words would likely cement his betrayal as undeniable. Out of a desire to avoid such a heartbreaking confirmation, the swordsman interjected before his captain could continue.

"Please, Captain Scharf!" he exclaimed, "This is just a misunderstanding, isn't it? You served with my father, you're a war hero!"

Those words caused Scharf's eye to twitch ever-so-slightly. Were it not for the enhanced senses that blessed most exceptionals, Sturm might not have noticed such a subtle tell.

"Indeed, I was a member of Wyvern Team alongside your father..." Scharf confirmed with a pained sigh, "And it was your father who took my love from me."

Magnolia's head immediately snapped toward Sturm in shocked intrigue. "Surely he's spouting nonsense, turkey?"

"I... I don't know..." Sturm replied, deeply troubled. "My dad never really talked about-"

Suddenly an image flashed in the boy's subconscious; the photo down the hall from the commandant's office. Scharf, Fiesel, Erma, and his own father. Could it be? Was the captain referring to Erma, who was cut down during Fiesel's rampage at the tail-end of the Great War? If so, what responsibility did his father have for such events?

"So you're starting to put it together, are you?" Scharf spoke up, "Your face, your rising heart rate. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Shaking his head fiercely, Sturm projected his denial with the utmost vigor. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie to me!" Scharf roared as he drew his model 96 broom handle pistol in a flash, catching the entire group off-guard.

Sturm tensed up, leaning somewhat back as he readied his blade with unstable hands. "How was it my dad's fault?!"

"He wasn't there!" cried Scharf, inching closer with weapon trained directly on the young swordsman's face.

Few circumstances had given Arthur Sturm such pause. This prospect, however, threatened his resolve gravely. Between his continued disbelief at Scharf's treachery, an honest lack of knowledge concerning his father's prior actions, and a returning pressure in his chest, the knight candidate's spirit was near collapse. 

"Nothing to say?" Scharf inquired forcefully as he took another step, "Not a damned word?"

"I-"

"Tell me the Hurricane is a hero!" screamed Scharf over his student, "Tell me that the Hurricane never abandons his allies! If you're so damned sure, then say it!"

"I don't know!"

Now less than two meters from Sturm, Scharf gave pause. "You don't know?"

Sturm shook his head in the negative.

"Your father..." huffed the captain, looking down at his gun before taking a deep breath. "When Fiesel turned on us, your father was off passing a letter to the mail carrier."

"Hey, come on!" Max shouted in defense of his friend, "How is that Sturm's fault?! And how was the Hurricane supposed to know that would happen, anyway?!"

The captain immediately responded by turning the firearm's muzzle toward Max. "I warned him of the signs. Fiesel was a psychopath and his behavior was growing more and more unpredictable."

"W-well..." started Max before gulping audibly, "Maybe the letter was important..."

Lip twisting into a snarl, Scharf spat back, "Will that comfort Erma in her grave?!"

"Not if you keep yelling so loud about it!" Max replied, his face going pale just as soon as the last word left his mouth.

Tilting his head forward, the captain's visor cast a shadow over his eye, rendering his expression ambiguous. Max's words had some effect on the scarred veteran, though to what end remained unclear.

Nervously, the boy attempted to mitigate the potential impact of his remarks. "Captain, I didn't mean to-"

"No," Scharf cut him off before exhaling sharply. "You're right, enough of this. It's about time I completed my mission. But first..."

Entirely convinced of the threat posed by their captain, Gustavo reached for his coat pocket. If he could just let his frogs loose, they might be able to stay hidden in the grass and prepare an ambush. However, realizing that Scharf might be eyeing him from the umbral shade of his visor, Gustavo hesitated, instead balling his hand into a taught fist.

"Wise..." growled the captain, confirming the knight candidate's suspicion before returning to his earlier thought. "As I was saying, I'd like to commend Max's acting ability over the last two weeks. Truthfully, I didn't think he had it in him."

"W-what?!" Max exclaimed as terror shimmered in his widening eyes. "Captain, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Acting ability, Max?" Gustavo spoke up from behind the boy, "What is he talking about?"

Max's jaw trembled as his cheeks flushed bright blue. Sweating profusely, he continued to stumble over his own words. "B-but you said-"

"Forget what I said," Scharf answered with disregard, "It's a miracle they believed that setup in the first place."

"I knew it!" cried Magnolia, "You've been working with this degenerate all along!"

Gritting his teeth, Max turned to face Magnolia. His cornered look was all the confirmation the girl required to turn on a teammate she had barely tolerated until this point.

"It's not like that at all!" Max shouted frantically, "Fine, the captain told me to swipe Sturm's wallet, but I didn't know he was a bad guy!"

"Nonsense!" Magnolia pressed, "What were the odds that Arthur would be pickpocketed by a rogue exceptional during our first outing?! The notion is completely ridiculous!"

Max shifted his strained jaw, his guilt evident to any observer.

"You never fooled me for a moment!" the girl ranted, "Now, out with it!"

Desperate for support, Max turned to Sturm. Unfortunately, he found even his closest ally visibly unsettled. 

Unable to mount a proper defense against Magnolia's accusation, Max simply prodded his friend for rescue. "Buddy?" he asked in a quiet, defeated voice.

"It... is a little strange," Sturm answered with a troubled expression. "Berlin is a big city, right? It's not like it's overrun with exceptionals, either..."

"One out of every hundred thousand people," added Gustavo.

Tiny wet beads began to form in the corners of Max's eyes as he began to lose his nerve. "Come on, man... You know me..." he choked through his dry throat.

"I know," said Sturm, closing his eyes in solemn acknowledgment.

The captain stood silently, watching with intrigue but never removing his aim from Max's figure.

Slowly, Sturm turned his head back to face Scharf before once more bearing his cerulean irises. "Which is why none of that matters right now. I trust you, Max."

Magnolia let out a surprised gasp. "Truly, you cannot be serious!" she protested, "This fool just admitted to having deceived us, and yet you trust his intentions? Are you in your right mind, or did that neanderthal dislodge your brain earlier?"

"Hold on, he did save us earlier..." Gustavo interjected, "If he was with the conspirators, he could have just let us get torn apart by Grizzler's machine guns."

"Whose side are you on? Make up your mind!" Magnolia snapped back at him.

"We're all on the same side," said Sturm, "We can figure the rest out once everyone is safe and the academy is clear."

Relieved, Max clenched his teeth in a wide smile and gave Sturm a sharp nod. "Thanks, man..."

The captain's eye narrowed as he observed the display of trust. This was unexpected. He had been well aware of Magnolia's suspicion toward Max and, given that her peers were generally more observant, had assumed such sentiment would be reflected across the entirety of the Third Hunter Team. Though it was a simple ploy, it was a notable blow to Scharf's chances of success. Whether or not the knight candidates were conscious of it, their captain had little hope of taking on the four of them in a head-on confrontation. 

 "Touching," sighed Scharf. "Be warned, however... While your bonds can be a source of strength..."

As the captain took another deep breath, the wind picked up, carrying fallen leaves from the adjacent forest upward in columns of cool, whirling air. Tension plucked at Sturm's soul. The time for talk was over. A clash was imminent.

"They might also prove your greatest weakness."

Not a second passed between Scharf's final words the sudden flick of his firearm toward Gustavo. Max's heart dropped. He knew that he was capable of deflecting the subsonic rounds fired by most handguns but only if he were to act preemptively. Because of Gustavo's positioning, Max was well out of the bullets' trajectory and would be unable to intercept them. 

Though Max's heightened senses allowed him to perceive such circumstances, even if his body was not quick enough to physically react, not all exceptionals enjoyed this ability to quite the same extent. An automatic response, Gustavo's pupils had barely begun to dilate when a shot rang out.