WARNING: Unmarked spoilers for Arknights ahead. You have been warned.
Ashford residence, newly established Area 11. Six years ago...
Lelouch stared at the strange item Sayoko had offered him. What exactly made this, of all things, so important to his mother?
The object in question was a talisman of some sort, one that had evidently seen better days. It wasn't uncommon to find such items in the possession of both Britannian Nobility and commoners - though, admittedly, they had fallen out of favor some time ago. Supposedly, even the Imperial Family had some of these trinkets in their possession, hidden in places where guests would never find them, of course. Yet for some reason, this trinket held significance to his mother - apparently her family had asked her to keep it, saying it would lead her home. Of course, considering how this was something they had passed down for generations, with each generation telling their children the same story, it was unlikely that this tale held much water.
A closer examination revealed that there appeared to be words upon the talisman, which Lelouch squinted at, trying to make them out.
"Our journey...Is complete?" questioned the boy, examining the text upon the trinket. "Our promised land...has been found. Now we...return...to our home..."
The final word was written in a language that Lelouch didn't know (which, given that he was a former prince of Britannia, was an achievement in and of itself). A strange feeling came over him, though, and in an instant, Lelouch knew what the odd symbols translated to.
"...Kazdel..."
Without warning, the talisman began to light up. Shocked, Lelouch tried to throw it away, but found he could not release his grip on the curio. Sayoko's eyes widened in alarm as she tried to wrench the trinket out of Lelouch's hand, but the maid found that her charge instinctively pulled away from her, preventing her from grabbing the talisman.
"Lelouch, what's happening?" Even Nunnally could sense that something very wrong was happening.
"I don't know-"
A flash of light filled the room. When it faded, the trio were nowhere to be found. Hours later, the Ashford family would return and wonder what had happened, eventually resulting in a fight between the Patriarch Reuben Ashford and his daughter in law that would last much of the night, but at the moment, it appeared as if the trio had disappeared off the face of the Earth.
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Kazdel, Terra. Tower of Babel Mobile Operations Center.
Kal'Tsit could only watch in shock as her colleague, the man they had pulled out of the Sarcophagus, suddenly collapsed, hyperventilating, as their body was wracked by seizures. Despite her distrust of the man, she immediately moved to treat him, but unfortunately, she didn't know what to do - due in part to the aberrancies in his blood. they weren't sure if he had any existing medical conditions or if this was being caused by something else. The best she could do right now was try and give him some anti-seizure medication and hoped this episode passed.
Fortunately, the episode was short, and the Doctor's breathing soon steadied, after which he soon returned to normal.
Only once he was fully standing did Kal'Tsit see fit to interrogate him. "Doctor, what just happened?"
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"I...I...I have no idea. Not at all."
In actuality, he did know exactly what happened, but the truth of that matter was something he had sworn never to reveal.
Kal'Tsit stared at him for a moment, obviously trying to discern if he was being honest. Only when she felt that he was sincere did she soften, slightly. "Okay. But I am putting you on watch after this."
"I understand. Now, can we finish heading over to the commander center?"
"Of course."
It took them five minutes to reach said room. Once there, Kal'Tsit went over to check on the bunny-eared girl, Amiya, who Lady Teresa had taken an interest in, while the Doctor turned his attention toward the nearby deployment map. Carefully, he selected a map detailing where the next few supply drops they would be receiving were. Beneath his mask, the man smirked - it looked like the new arrivals had landed close by. At least now, he had an excuse to pick them up.
Though, he did wonder what race they were - their new traits should be manifesting soon enough. Assuming they had the blood of Terrans in them. Then again, they would need that to cross to this world in the first place.
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The first thing that Lelouch noticed when his eyes finally stopped having spots in them was that he was once again in a field of rubble. The second was that he has weird feelings coming from his head and the base of his spine. Dimly, Lelouch raised a hand to feel the locations in question, only to freeze in shock when he found something hard and smooth there. Lelouch felt the spot on the opposite side of his head, and found it too had something hard, yet smooth adorning it. Confused, Lelouch looked around until he found a surviving piece of glass, which he used to examine his head.
There, on the spots he was trying to feel, were a very tiny pair of horns...oh, and their was a purple colored halo above them as well.
...Wait, did he now have a tail?
"Lelouch, what happened?"
Immediately, Lelouch turned to comfort his sister, who's confusion and fear were clear in her voice. But one glance at her caused the words of assurance to die in his throat.
It wasn't because she had her own halo, horns, and tail.
No, the words died because Nunnally's eyes were open.
"Nunnally, your eyes-"
Any further words Lelouch wanted to say were cut off by the somewhat distant sound of gunfire. Somewhere nearby, people were fighting - and Lelouch had a sinking feeling that Nunnally, himself, and Sayoko, who had just pulled the siblings into the remains of a house, would get dragged into the fighting, whether they wanted it or not.
Lelouch just hoped these people weren't too numerous that Sayoko couldn't take them down - the Kunoichi maid was far more dangerous than she looked, but not even Sayoko was invincible.
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The Babel operators watched as the last of Theresis' forces die. Now that the enemy was dealt with, they could return to their primary objective - recovering the needed supplies. One of their backers had dropped off industrial equipment that Closure needed, and this carcass of a neighborhood just happened to be closest to the supply drop.
The supply drop wasn't hard to find - Babel's supporters had airdropped it in, and the remains of the parachute stuck out against the destroyed wilderness like a sore thumb. However, around the supply drop was something unexpected - refugees. Most of the Sarkaz left in this part of Kazdel were fighting for one faction or another, so to find those just trying to survive was...unexpected, to say the least.
Also, all of them looked very hungry.
For a moment, the operators pondered what to do, until the leader, Maneater, gestured for them to stand back. Wordlessly, she headed over to the corpses of Theresis' forces and fished something out of their pockets. A moment later, she returned, and promptly offered her findings to the refugees.
The leader of the group stared at her for a moment, before eventually accepting her offer - combat rations weren't very tasty, but food was food.
Maneater wondered if the Doctor would approve of her actions, but Babel had already recovered a food supply drop a day ago, and turning innocent refugees against Babel was just wrong.
With the refugees temporarily placated, Maneater gestured for them to leave. Grateful for the food and aware that the operators might not want them around, the group packed up and left, seeking shelter in some distant location. Unnoticed to the group, another operator, Namahage, radioed in to the Doctor, asking if they could pick up the group later - at the very least, they should check them for Oripathy. Plus, Theresa did seem to want to help the innocent.
As the Babel crew prepared to flag the drop for pickup, a loud crash filled the air. Immediately moving into combat positions, the team turned their attention toward the now collapsed rubble of a building. Weapons were trained upon the ruins, waiting for the dust to clear. If Theresis' forces were trying to assault them again, they would meet the same fate.
Yet when the dust cleared, it was not a group of Sarkaz warriors they met, but instead a pair of children, protected by what looked like a maid from Higashi.
Instantly, the majority of the group lowered their weapons. Only their sharpshooter, Throne, refused to drop his guard.
Maneater decided to call this in. "Doctor, we have a situation."
"Can you elaborate? The holo-screen froze up after the building collapsed."
"We have a trio of civilians here. They don't seem to be associated with any enemy group, and two of them are children and appear to be confused."
"What do you mean by confused?"
"They look like they have no idea where they are. I think that they might be shellshocked. Can we bring them in for treatment?"
"And risk them revealing our base?"
"I'll frisk them for tracking devices...or at least the maid. She can do that for the children."
"...Fine. We do need to pick the supplies up by helicopter anyway. Just be careful."
"Understood."
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Within the Babel mobile base, the Doctor let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that fibbing up an excuse to pick up the new arrivals would not be necessary. Also, they were apparently Sankta-Sarkaz hybrids. Odd.
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"...Are they real?" asked Lelouch.
Beneath her mask, Maneater raised an eyebrow. "Are what real?"
"Your antlers."
Beneath her mask, Maneater's eyes widened - it'd been a while since someone had asked her that. Then again, it wasn't a surprise - as far as she knew, there was only one full-blooded wendigo left on Terra, and halfbreeds became rarer every year. She was part of a dying breed, and though she hid it well, to know her people would soon disappear weighed heavily upon her.
"Yeah, they're real. I'm one of the wendigo."
That just seemed to raise more questions for the boy, but the arrival of the pickup helicopters prevented him from asking any further questions.
Once the supplies were recovered, the team and their new charges boarded into a transport helicopter and headed home. In the distance, several Sarkaz warriors watched on, unsure what to do next.
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The Doctor watched as the new arrivals filed into the base, amazed to see such a large facility moving on its own power. For a moment, he considered speaking to them, but decided against it - another time would be more appropriate. And he had a feeling that they wouldn't tell him every truth he wanted to know.
Still, he was surprised to see the Sankta and Sarkaz traits manifesting so quickly on the pair - he wasn't actually sure whether they would appear at all on those who's Terran blood was likely diluted down by many generations.
Those thoughts soon turned to memories - memories that the Doctor never planned to share with anyone.
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"Do you think any of them will return home?" asked the man who would become the Doctor.
"Unlikely," stated a woman, attention focused on the Sarcophagus. "At least in the immediate future, anyway. When you awaken, perhaps."
"What if I cannot find them when they return?"
The woman gave him an odd smile. "If you sense them, then you will know exactly where to find them, my friend."
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The Doctor pulled himself out of his thoughts to briefly ponder who the new arrivals were? Normal children? Royalty? Child soldiers? Assassins? And what of their guardian - she looked human enough, and it was entirely possible she was a normal human who had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that was a question for another day.
And indeed, several days passed by before the children interacted with him again. Over that time, several more operations happened. Three operators were lost, their deaths tragic, but necessary for victory. Those who were unwilling to accept the necessity of sacrifices could not win wars. Those who were too willing to make sacrifices, however, would also inevitably be defeated. Babel could train new operators, but that didn't mean the Doctor sacrificed those who could not be easily replaced. At least, not without good reason.
Eventually, though, the Doctor found himself free from his command and medical duties. Out of boredom, he pulled out a chess board and lined up the pieces, knowing that no one would dare to challenge him - especially after he beat Kal'Tsit so soundly the last time they played a game.
This time, though, the newly arrived boy passed through the room and noticed the board being set up. A wordless glance from him told the Doctor that they boy wanted to play. A quick chat confirmed he preferred to play black. Silently, he took up a seat.
Smiling beneath his mask, the Doctor made his first move.
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Secret Ruins on Kamine Island, Area 11. Present Day.
"So, this is your world?" asked Amiya.
"Yes," admitted Lelouch after he and Nunnally stopped crying joy. "Not too different from Team Rainbow's, actually, except for a few nations not existing."
"And that's because your home nation wanted to conquer the rest of the world, correct?" asked Patriot.
"It is," confirmed Nunnally, voice now somber. "Also, how is Ms. Frostnova doing?"
"She's fine," spoke the voice of Kal'Tsit over the radio. "She, Maneater, Ms. Sayoko, Schwarz, and Matterhorn are doing fine, but they still need to recover from the injuries they took breaking into the ruins."
Lelouch and Nunnally let out sighs in relief - it was good to know that Sayoko was okay. "Good to hear."
"Hey, Doctor, I found something you should look at!" cheerfully noted Closure.
"What is it?" asked the masked man in question.
"These strange people were trying to delete a bunch of files when we came in. I'm trying to rebuild the lost ones, but there's one they didn't get before we came in. You want to look at it?"
"Yes. But make sure everyone else get's to see it on their screens as well - I think everyone should know what we found here."
It was fortunate all Rhodes Island masks came with displays inside them to show videos when necessary. Moments later, the video in question began to play.
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"First off," spoke a snake tailed Duke of Ursus, "thank you for providing me with your organization's assistance."
"It was no problem at all," answered a young, purple eyed boy. Mentally, an observing Lelouch noted that the boy looked a lot like his brother Clovis and said brother's younger sister, Laila, albeit with a different shade of hair. "Your contributions to my brother's cause are equally appreciate."
"Thank you. Though I must ask, why are you so interested in destroying the one named Zero? He certainly is a capable member of Rhodes Island alongside his sister, Nemo, but the Doctor, Amiya, and many, many others are greater targets than them to remove."
"It's personal," answered the boy. "They remind me too much of a deceased niece and nephew of mine, who my brother doted upon too much. Seeing those two operators brought up memories I'd rather leave buried."
"I presume the death of those two was something you had a hand in?"
"I only arranged the death of their mother, though I will admit that I had hoped that the children would be caught in the crossfire."
"Why so?"
"My brother, the Emperor of Britannia, has better things to concern himself with then parental sentimentality."
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The recording promptly fizzled out after that - it seemed that those who had been deleting files had partially succeed in getting to this one before Closure got her hooks into this.
Nobody really seemed to care about this, though. Instead, all eyes were on Nemo and Zero. The former had a look of shock and sorrow on her face. The latter also had such an expression on his face, but another emotion eclipsed both: rage.
Indescribable rage.
Also, was the area around him growing darker?
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Several miles away from the ruins, the reporter Diethard Reid would receive a story from one of his weather forecasters noting how there had been a freak instance of darkness covering Kamine and Shikine Island, which had provoked a temporary halt in air travel. Nobody knew what had caused this freak incident, and it soon disappeared, but everyone in Area 11 was left mildly freaked out by this.
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AN: Okay, a few things I wanted to get clarified.
First off, Sayoko getting pulled along with Lelouch and Nunnally is mostly me making sure Lelouch still has one of his best aces available to him in this timeline. Sayoko has no ancient traits - she was in the wrong place at the right time.
Second, I considered having a conversation between the heads of Babel and their new charges, but never got a version that was satisfying, hence the Doctor seemingly ignoring them until Lelouch challenged him to chess match. Incidentally, this change actually feels better to me because the new final scene feels like it conveys the more sociopathic traits of the Babel Doctor compared to the Rhodes Island Doctor.
Third, Lelouch and Nunnally's Sarkaz traits come from Marianne. They get the Sankta ones from their father. The only reason this traits manifested at all was because both Charles and Marianne have the (heavily diluted) blood of Terra in them.
Fourth, before you give me flak on Maneater, Patriot is apparently the Last full-blooded wendigo. Not the last wendigo period, as everything else implies. The number of halfbreeds can still be counted on two hands, though...well, they should be (the Arknights wiki gives their numbers as being about a dozen).
Fifth, as for the scene with V.V., the only reason he bothered to record it was because Koschei asked. And if you couldn't guess, he did indeed try to take down Zero and Nemo solely because they 'resembled' Lelouch and Nunnally too much for his liking. He has no idea that they are his still living niece and nephew.
Lastly, regarding whether or not Lelouch and Nunnally have Oripathy, I haven't decided.
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!