A/N: In the wake of Project X Zone's release, I have discovered Resonance of Fate and so this story was born. I love the relationship between the three leads so this story is a bit of exploring their relations with each other as well as a couple of other characters (who I feel should have gotten more attention in the game) rather than a straight up action story. I set this story between chapters 6 and 7 so there are some spoilers for those events (though admittedly not that many, since this story is being narrated by people who don't like to talk about the past or know much about another character's past) Later chapters will reference things relating to the opening scene of the game though, so you've been warned.
This story which will have 4 or 5 parts is probably the longest thing I have ever written, even though it's probably only going to be seen by like 3 people ^^" Admittedly I'm using this story as a guinea pig as well, but I'm proud of it, and if nothing else it will probably sit on the section's first page for a long time.
Disclaimer: Resonance of Fate is owned by Sega and no profit is being made from this story. I do this for fun!
Blind
In any line of work, accidents can and will happen. That is a fact of life that has to be accepted. There is no one to blame, and no point in dwelling. There is only acceptance and learning. If only getting to that acceptance was as easy as getting into an accident.
Part 1: -Leanne-
Reading over the letter for what felt like hundredth time, Leanne nervously glanced around the Silver Canyon, her other hand firmly on the grip of her gun, ready to be pulled out and used as the sign of any movement. Her heart was pounding, her own nervousness ebbing away the canyon's cold. So far so good, she thought. There was only snow and rocks as far as the eye could see. No people, no monsters, no life. She knew that there would be a confrontation sooner or later, but she greatly preferred later. Preferably, much later.
Beside her, Zephyr was getting bored. He too was scouting the canyon, and being much louder about it, if only because he actually wanted the rebels to appear and begin shooting. "The adrenaline will help me warm up," was the excuse he gave, but Leanne knew he was just eager to start fighting. That only added to Leanne's worries. Their mission did call for rebel extermination, but included in the letter was an order for reconnaissance. Somehow she didn't think they would get much intel on rebel activity if Zephyr blindly started shooting everyone and everything in sight. Though she did pointedly remind him of that several times on their way over from Ebel City, she just knew he would conveniently forget once his survival (or reckless) instinct kicked in. Vashyron told Zephyr before they left to follow Leanne's orders to the letter, but Vashyron's words meant little when he wasn't actually around to enforce them.
"This is just like all the rest," she assured herself, "Go in, see what they're up to, kill them, report back. It's simple." Except it wasn't like "all the rest." "All the rest" had Vashyron at the helm to coordinate Zephyr and Leanne for an effective strategy, ensuring that the mission was completed in a timely manner with little collateral damage. This time, she was in charge. With their great wise leader out with a migraine (or a hangover, as Zephyr insisted), all of the technicalities and responsibility fell to her. Zephyr could still shoot stuff; Leanne just had to make sure he didn't destroy anything important, or get himself killed. "Yeah," she sighed, "Real simple."
"I hear something in that direction," Zephyr suddenly exclaimed, taking off without even giving her a chance to acknowledge his outburst. Leanne called out to him to futilely, running to catch up. The snow, though not particularly deep, heavily impeded her movements, especially compared to how Zephyr ran across it as though it were regular pavement. Sure he was a fast runner, but now he just seemed inhuman. Even with the extra layers of clothing (which Vashyron insisted they both wear after Leanne's getting sick after their first visit to the canyon) he just sprinted across the frozen wasteland, getting further and further away from her with each step.
"Don't you dare get started without me!" Leanne hissed, loud enough for him to hear (and hopefully hear) but soft enough for no other ears to pick up. Zephyr had great hearing. His listening skills were another story.
The cold wind blasted against Leanne's face as she ran, making her teeth chatter. She really hated the Silver Canyon. She hated the cold of Level 7 in general. It had never been that cold in Chandelier and Level 4 had fairly mild temperatures as well. Vashyron generally avoided taking jobs on Level 7 as well unless they were directly for a Cardinal or very quick and easy (or as "easy" as a hunter's job could be). Zephyr oddly enough, seemed to actually like the Silver Canyon (though he was vague on the reasons), yet he was always the first to start sulking when they descended on the second core elevator. Zephyr's mood swings were always common but Level 7 just made their spontaneity reach ridiculous levels. Even now, when he finally slowed down to let her catch up, he was giving her a withering look, the previous excitement completely gone. She ignored it.
"Thank you," Leanne remarked simply, before he raised a hand to quiet. He had stopped by a low cliff, and was glaring at something below. Suddenly, he dropped onto his stomach and was edging closer for a better view. His sub machinegun was already drawn. Leanne frowned and followed his example, readying her own gun. Already she could feel the adrenaline rush warm her up. Bingo.
Below, in front of a storage cave (which Zephyr mentioned to be the chemist's closet that housed various medicines) stood a group of rebels, accompanied by several chilly dogs and a walker. The rebels stood in semicircle surrounding a large wooden crate, which they further surrounded with smaller boxes. Leanne quickly fished out the small camera in her pocket and prepared to snap a picture. The camera belonged to Vashyron, who had told her to take as many shots as she could so that she would be able to give Cardinal Barbarella a full report, with photographic proof.
"You'll need to know exactly what they're doing there," Vashyron told her, "Even if they're just there to steal Barbarella's wine, you'll have to prove it. Talk is cheap. Pictures aren't."
"Are they stealing meds?" Leanne whispered, hoping that the rebels would open the crate for her to take a picture of its contents. She wouldn't put it past them. If their mission was to disrupt Basel's stability, taking away the people's medicine was a good way to do it. Yet something wasn't adding up. There was no other place to store medicine long-term in Basel, and she really doubted that the rebels would actually destroy the stock. They needed it too didn't they? In the back of her mind she could vaguely recall something she had heard about cold temperatures once, but she couldn't place it. It didn't matter anyway. She wasn't being paid to assume; she was being paid to bring proof. The crate was too big for her and Zephyr to carry back, but they could bring pictures of its contents. And the rebels surrounding it.
*Click* The sound of the camera's shutter echoed across the canyon. Leanne's eyes widened and she bit her lip as Zephyr looked at her steely. Too late. The dogs heard the camera and they started barking and growling in her direction. The rebels whipped out their guns, and spread out ready to shoot. The Walker was guided away from the crate towards the disturbance.
"Here we go," Zephyr smiled widely, jumping and unleashing a spray of bullets. Though he shot from a wide distance and the bullets rained in every direction, several found their way on the mark, splashing the white snow with red flecks of blood. Leanne suppressed a groan. That was the other thing she hated about fighting in the snow. She was no stranger to blood, and had never feared it, but it just looked so vibrant and red against the white backdrop.
She watched as Zephyr ran and jumped across the canyon, constantly bringing down a new clip of bullets. Leanne, for her part, conserved her ammo. Though they brought a lot, their supply was finite, so she focused on making every shot count. Zephyr was good as a distraction; his speed and acrobatics tended to throw off most adversaries long enough for Leanne and Vashyron to get the killing shots with their handguns and grenades. Zephyr didn't believe in slow and steady aiming. He really got his kicks scaring the crap out of his enemies by throwing bullets every which way. Only Vashyron's yelling at him to focus or Leanne finding herself in harm's way made him switch to more lethal tactics.
Fortunately, the way things were going, his strategy made for some good teamwork. Leanne had managed to take out the dogs and three of the rebels that Zephyr had injured. While it was never a good idea to think things were going well before they were done, Leanne really wanted to think that as she shot another rebel causing him to fall face forward, but it reality something was bothering her. From her position by the crate, using it as a cover, no one had even tried to take a shot at her. The dogs had tried to go after her, but she had taken care of them first, before they could even reach her. The walker had looked in her direction and was clearly going to fire but another rebel pulled its reins in the opposite direction and made it chase Zephyr. Since then, Zephyr had shot off its equipment, but it still hadn't made a move for her. Still, the heat of battle, when they were heavily outnumbered, was not the time to dwell on tactics. Leanne wasn't a tactician so she trusted that Zephyr would see them both victorious. She just had to make sure not to slow him down. If the enemies weren't shooting at her, that was a good thing. She needed to shoot them, before they shot Zephyr. So she did.
Though their fights always seemed to stretch on forever, it was over in a few minutes. It had been a complete and total slaughter on their end, with Leanne completely unhurt and Zephyr sporting a few minor superficial bullet grazes. He always moved too fast for anyone to aim at him properly. "That was fast," he was disappointed. Leanne suspected he still had plenty of ammo left, for he was never satisfied unless he used his last bullet (and even then he was only moderately satisfied). She walked through the bloodstained snow, disdainfully looking at all of the corpses, and checking for signs of life and any ammo that would fit their weapons. It was true that she could occasionally let slip a small smile after a successful battle (usually when she had been a decent help), but it just never got any easier, especially the looting. In the back of her mind, there was still something wrong, and that piece of info someone (Vashyron?) had once told her about the cold was beginning to get more nagging. What am I forgetting?
"This crate must be really important," Zephyr smirked, approaching the crate, ignoring the bodies lying near him, "Did you see how they immediately ran from it the moment they us? I bet they couldn't risk the contents getting damaged. Get your camera ready; I'll open it up."
Was that it? Something about his words made her want to smack herself. Of course! That was why the walker had been steered away when it tried fire its guns. In her position, it could have hit the crate. Any stray bullet could have upset the contents. If that was medicine then…
…No it wasn't medicine. Something inside her knew that. The rebel mentality was to destroy what couldn't be saved if it made things worse for Basel's citizens. There had to be a reason why they refused to shoot the crate.
"Why do you keep that stuff in the freezer anyway?"
"Arctic conditions are the best preservers. Heat makes it lose its potency, and we can't have that, can we?"
"No, I guess not."
"Wait!" she called out. No, it wasn't medicine. The one conversation she had with Vashyron a long time ago when she unwittingly opened the freezer looking for ice, replayed in her head. She knew what it was now. It was so obvious. Why the rebels chose to make Silver Canyon their base. Why the rebels refused to shoot the crate. Before she could voice her realization to Zephyr though, there was movement out of the corner of her eye. As if the world had gone into slow motion, she watched in horror as the rebel that had been fallen onto his stomach slowly, but surely rolled something in the direction of the crate. There was no way to stop it. Zephyr's hands had just started lifting the cover when the rolling item hit the side. Leanne was sure she had yelled for Zephyr to get back as the world around them exploded.