Disclaimer: Arknights and all related characters are properties of Yostar and Hypergryph.

AN: For some reason, I feel like Rangers is the type of person to go on a ton of tangents about minor details.

"Where is… Aha!" After a few minutes of aimless wandering, Rangers had finally found a path leading to the Convalescence Garden – just in time, too, as Durin was looking like she was going to fall asleep. He supposed he could've just asked any random passersby, but he had a habit of not interacting with strangers.

Just another leftover from his life before Rhodes Island, probably.

Most operators from Rhodes had at least some strange quirk from their previous lives; Rhodes Island had a tendency to hire less "normal" operators for some reason. Rangers didn't understand this logic very well – these operators would usually be less effective than their "normal" counterparts, which could be a death sentence in any high-danger situation.

Of course, Rhodes Island was probably not doing this out of any logical considerations. More possibly, they were doing this out of compassion – from his observations, Rhodes Island's CEO, Amiya, was often became highly emotional at times.

Rangers was about to go on another tangent about the viability of Rhodes Island's leadership (seriously, who gives teenagers leadership positions?) before he realized that he had made it to the glass front doors of the Convalescence Garden.

He counted himself lucky that Durin didn't fall asleep on the way without him noticing.

The garden was a splash of bright colors in the otherwise drab grays of the hallways; looking through the glass front doors, he could spot more exotic plants and colors then he had seen in his entire decades in the valley. Sunlight streamed in from the glass roof, and to the left, he could see a row of bright magenta flowers, perfectly organized; to the right, a group of large leafy plants, leaves glistening with drops of water. Seeing all this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of wonderment and awe; whoever set this up had spent a lot of time on it, and it was paying off.

He also felt very, very out of place, but that happened just about every day at Rhodes Island.

After a few moments of hesitation, Rangers pushed open the door and walked in. A young blonde-haired Perro greeted him. "Hi, I'm Podenco, Lena's assistant here! Are you two here on a prescription, or just here to relax?"

"Just here to relax." Rangers replied.

"You are?"

"This old man is Rangers, and I'm Durin. Before you ask, I am not a child." Durin said, answering for Rangers.

"She is correct." Rangers confirmed.

"Well, okay! Need me to give a… oh." Podenco trailed off as she realized that, somehow, Durin had found her way onto a nearby bench and was now sleeping.

"She does that a lot." Rangers explained, before taking a short pause to take a sniff of the air. "It may have something to do with the flowers. Their aroma is quite calming."

"It's good that you like them!" Interacting with this Podenco was an interesting experience, Rangers realized. The other members of Op Team A4 weren't nearly as energetic.

"How large is the Convalescence Garden?" He asked.

"It's pretty big! You can look around; we have all sorts of plants here!"

"Thanks." Rangers decided to follow her words and look around for a bit, after making a mental note of where Durin was sleeping. She was true to her word; the garden held all sorts of exotic plants, all with unique shapes, colors and aromas. No two were the same, and Rangers rapidly found himself inspecting each and every one of them.

He was further surprised when he found a specimen native to the valley he once lived in; it was common back in the valley, but noticeably lacked the brighter colors it had in the greenhouse; probably as a consequence of the worse soil in the valley. Once he noticed that one variation, Rangers rapidly began finding more; the flowers were larger and grew in an increased number, the stems were significantly thicker... there were so many differences.

Rhodes Island truly was different in every way.

So lost was he in inspecting the flowers that he didn't even notice somebody approaching him until he heard her voice. "Enjoying the garden?"

Rangers turned and suddenly found a female Vulpo smiling at him. "Yes. The plants are interesting. This one was a common plant from where I previously lived, but it appears different here."

"I'm glad. Podenco and I have collected these plants from all over Terra."

"Impressive. I assume you're Lena?"

"Mhm. My codename's Perfumer, but I don't like using it. You?"

"Just call me Rangers. I'm the sniper of Operations Team A4."

"Ah, A4. I've heard of your team before. The always-reliable base of Rhodes, correct?" Lena extended her hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Rangers returned the handshake. "However, compared to some of those godlike beings in our Operators, we're nothing. My, I've heard that a few gods joined Rhodes Island recently!"

"Yes. We can't really compete; but I'm still proud of my life here and this beautiful place I've created." At that, Lena's smile grew even brighter.

"It is something to be proud of." Rangers agreed.

"Mhm. Did you come alone, or with someone else?"

"I came with another member of my team, Durin. She's probably sleeping back near the entrance – she does that a lot."

"Narcolepsy, or just a tendency to sleep?"

"A tendency to sleep." Rangers had no idea what this "narcolepsy" was, but he had never heard anyone describe Durin's condition as such, so he assumed that it wasn't the case.

"Maybe I should try my aromatherapy on her."

"Well, then I'll probably be stuck here for the entire day." Rangers chuckled. "Though that would probably be an interesting experience."

"Maybe some other day, then. I'll leave you be; if you need any help, just call me. I'll be near the entrance with Podenco."

"Got it." And with that, Rangers went back to inspecting the plant in front of him; though this time, he kept an ear out for anyone approaching him. He didn't want to be caught off guard by anything. As a ranger, he could never be too safe.

It was entirely unnecessary now, but old habits die hard.

He probably could have kept at it until late in the afternoon if it wasn't for his stomach reminding him that he still needed sustenance with a rather conspicuous rumble.

It was about time he went and did something else, he supposed. After a short walk in the greenhouse, Rangers returned to the entrance to pick up Durin. After he got there, he saw that Durin was still sleeping on the bench which she was originally on, and so he rustled her slightly to wake her up.

After a short while, Durin sat up with a yawn. "Good morning… Hi… Rangers…"

Hearing that, Rangers chuckled. "It's not morning anymore, Durin -" he paused to look at the clock on the wall – "it's two o'clock in the afternoon."

"Okay…"

"Let's get going to the cafeteria, then."

"Fine." With some effort, Durin got up from the bench and took a stretch.

"Oh, you're going?" Just as they were about to leave, Podenco interrupted them.

"Yes. We were just about to go to the cafeteria." Rangers replied.

"Okay! If you ever want any flowers for decoration, you can come here!"

"I'll consider the offer." That was actually an enticing offer. The dorms of Rhodes Island were quite boring when undecorated, and Rangers had been looking for decorations for quite some time. He made a mental note to come back to the Convalescence Garden later.

"Bye!" Podenco said as they walked out the doors of the greenhouse. "Come back any time!"

"She's very energetic." Durin remarked as they walked in the corridors.

"Yes. I was… like her when I was younger." Rangers said.

"You're still quite energetic for an old man."

"Heh, yes."

Soon, they got to the cafeteria, and Durin immediately went for the lunch counter, Rangers trailing close behind. As she reached the person serving, she went on her toes, her head just barely above the counter. "The usual, please."

"For Rangers too?" The person serving evidently recognized them. Rangers did remember seeing them a while ago.

"Yes." Hearing that, the person at the counter produced two lunch boxes, and the two picked them up and found a nearby table at which to sit down and eat.

As was… apparently normal, Durin immediately began digging into her food at incredible speeds once she sat down and was finished with it in the space of a few minutes.

Rangers could only watch, absentmindedly shoveling food into his own mouth every once in a while.

It never got old.

After they finished eating (Durin taking a nap while she waited for Rangers to finish) they began to choose their next move.

"Should we go to the deck and view the scenery?" Rangers suggested. He assumed it would be a relatively relaxing activity, good for both of them.

"Sure… though it is a bit chilly up there."

"It'll be fine." Before Durin could say any more, Rangers had already got up from his seat, and was walking towards the elevator leading to the deck. After a moment of hesitation, Durin started running towards him, her short legs doing their best to try and help her catch up.

She eventually rushed in just as the elevator closed, leading Rangers to let out a small laugh. "You can't run faster?"

"You - huff - try running with my body, old man!" Durin replied, pouting.

"Hm, reasonable." Rangers said.

Eventually, the elevator reached its destination, and its doors opened with a small 'ding', allowing Rangers and Durin to walk out. After a short walk along the deck, they reached the edge of the landship.

Leaning on the metal guardrails on the edge of Rhodes Island, Rangers saw a beautiful view. Lush green grass covered the plains on which the city of Kawalerielki sat, connected with three other nomadic cities; in the one direction, a forest stretched out endlessly, and in another, a small mountain topped with green stood. The city stood out from the landscape; even in the daytime, neon lights shined from its various streets and alleys, all advertising something. Rangers saw a few signs for beauty salons, intermixed with some restaurant signs, as well as an uncountable amount of advertisements advertising this "Kazmierz Major". As Rangers looked towards the city center, skyline became virtually covered in skyscrapers. In general, it gave off the appearance of a bustling commercial city, peacefully sitting in its environment without any disruption to it.

A normal person, perhaps wishing to find someplace new to settle down, would undoubtedly think that Kawalerielki was the perfect place to be. Rangers, however, thought of it as a lie.

A city required natural resources, and labor. The environment around Kawalerielki did not show that it was less damaging to the environment; rather, it showed that the city had enough political, military or economic clout to have other cities do all the mining and logging for them. The lack of any obvious sources of poor labor – a run-down alley of the city, maybe, or a series of drab apartment buildings – was worse. Perhaps it could have been interpreted as better treatment of workers, but that was impossible in Kazmierz; from what Rangers had heard, the country was virtually corporate-owned, and these corporations would always be trying to reduce costs as much as possible. Instead, the city probably had some form of hidden slum to hide people to source their labor from.

Rangers had seen it all before. Glimmering cities attracting his comrades to give up their lives as rangers and move in, only for them to discover – far too late – that it was all a lie.

Out of curiosity, Rangers supposed he could take a closer look at Kawalerielki, and maybe go find those hidden slums. That would have to wait until Durin decided to go back to the dorms, though; she probably didn't have the stamina to join him.

So engrossed was he in planning out the rest of his day that he didn't notice someone approaching until he felt a small tap on his shoulder.

Come on, that was the second time today!

He turned around to find the Doctor, in his full-body jacket and visor as usual. He never understood that getup, but the Doctor wore it every day.

"Good afternoon, Rangers. Admiring the scenery?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. How may I help, Doctor?" Rangers replied.

"Doctor… do you need me to…. do anything?" To the side, Durin also gave a sleepy reply.

"No, I don't need you two for anything right now. I shouldn't; you have a day off." The Doctor chuckled. "Just popping in to say hi."

"Ah, I see."

"So, how's your day off going so far?" The Doctor inquired.

"It's good. I took a walk around the Convalescence Garden. The plants were all quite interesting." Rangers chuckled. "I even found one from where I once lived."

"Well, that's good to know. I've still got some work to do, so I'll be off. I don't want Kal'tsit to hang me off the side of Rhodes Island again." With a wave, the Doctor left.

"Wait, Kal'tsit hung him off the side of Rhodes Island once?" Rangers asked to no one in particular after the Doctor left.

Durin shrugged. "Don't ask me. I have no idea."

After another few minutes of admiring the scenery, Durin let out a rather conspicuous yawn. "Hey, Rangers… I'm a bit sleepy, so I'm going back to the dorms…"

"Okay." Durin soon left Rangers to watch the scenery alone. Rangers hoped she didn't fall asleep on the way back; that would be… interesting for anybody who found her.

He knew from personal experience that a sleeping Durin looked very similar to a dead one.

Well, whatever Durin ended up getting herself into, she wasn't his problem anymore. Though she was a good person, she did often end up being deadweight whenever Rangers or the rest of the group wanted to do something more physical.

He could probably go to Kawalerielki now. Well, assuming the city guards didn't stop him for whatever reason. Asking the Doctor was probably a good idea, in any case.

With that in mind, he took his eyes off the scenery and headed to the Doctor's office. He had been there a few times whenever the Doctor needed him for this or that. The office was close enough, and within a few minutes he was knocking on its door.

"Hm? Oh, hello again, Rangers." The Doctor opened the door moments later.

"Hello, Doctor. Mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead." The Doctor's face was hidden behind their visor, but Rangers could almost sense a small smile behind it.

"Are Rhodes Island operators permitted to enter Kawalerielki?"

"Yes. Kawalerielki needs tourist income this time of the season, so they permit anybody with proper documentation to enter and stay for a week. Your Rhodes Island documentation should do."

"Got it. Thanks." Rangers smiled and left.

"Any time, Rangers." The door closed behind him, and Rangers was left to the next place in this impromptu tour of his.

Kawalerielki.

After a short trip to the deck of Rhodes Island to check for transports, he found a civilian transport taking Operators from the Rhodes Island landship to Kawalerielki, and promptly paid the fare.

Stepping through the transparent automatic sliding doors of the transport, he was treated to a surprise – Noir Corne and Yato were also there.

"What's up, Grandpa Rangers?" Noir Corne said as Rangers walked in.

"Is there a reason you use that nickname every time?" Rangers chuckled. "Not that I really mind it."

"Because you're old. Why else?" Noir Corne said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything else." Rangers said, sighing. "So, why are you going to the city?"

"I have a few buddies who want to check out the nightlife here. It's not often we get an opportunity like this." Noir Corne replied.

"I see. Where are you planning to go? I might join you later."

"Brightlight Street. It's pretty famous, according to my buddies. Ask around and you'll find it." Noir Corne replied just as the doors to the transport opened with a hiss. "That was short. Well, see ya later."

The two groups went their separate ways; Rangers to investigate the city further, and Noir Corne and Yato to… well, to do whatever Noir Corne and his buddies did in their spare time.

After an unproblematic pass through one of the many entrances to the city (somehow, the guards completely ignored his bow and arrows as if they weren't even there), Rangers picked up a tourist guide from a nearby tourist center.

After a short scan through 10 pages of various tourist sites, Rangers found no leads whatsoever on the whereabouts of the slums. He probably should've expected that; it wasn't as if a tourist guide of all things would put a giant marker on the map saying "HIDDEN SLUMS HERE" or something around those lines. Rangers would probably have to abandon that search. It wasn't a good idea in the first place; if he was punished for trying, the consequences would not only affect him, but also Rhodes Island.

What else could he do, then? Rangers started scanning through the guide again, thinking out loud.

"Knightclub training grounds… no."

"Brightlight Street… going there later would be better."

"Ah, here's something interesting. The Champion's Hall. Cheap entrance fee, too." Rangers didn't have much knowledge of the competition knights that seemed to be a key part of Kawalerielki, and he wanted to know more.

Acting on his curiosity, he took a short taxi ride there, paid the entrance fee, and walked into the museum. Unfortunately, he had to leave his bow and arrows behind, but that was to be expected.

Strangely for a museum, the Champion's Hall was decorated in a rather futuristic manner, with blue neon lights lining the borders of the display cases and whitish-grey plastic replacing wood stands, walls and floorboards. Nonetheless, the layout was similar, with one exception – there were two shops at the front entrance alone, and another three scattered in various places around the museum. It was a large museum, but surely it didn't justify that many shops, right?

With that in mind, Rangers began inspecting the various weapons and armors displayed at the front of the museum. Most were just standard weapons, except of higher quality and with various decorations. Rangers had seen it all before. The one exception was a candle holder, of all things – three unlit wax candles currently in its slots and with a large dent on its left prong

That was… unique. Rangers walked up to the display case and began reading the description.

"

The weapon of Viviana Droste, the Candle Knight, during her second Kazmierz Major. It helped her reach the semifinals with its enhancements to her Arts, but it was damaged during her semifinal match when she was forced to use it to block a strike from the Blood Knight. It was later replaced with an identical copy, though the Candle Knight reportedly "likes this one better".

"

This, this of all things was a focus for Arts? And some competition knight built their entire career around it? These competition knights were definitely not going for efficiency. Had somebody tried to use this against Rangers back then, he would have simply taken their hand off with a single blow, before taking their head off with the next. All the Arts focuses he had seen before were all tough enough to block sword blows with relative ease, and yet this one had broken with a single hit. How were you supposed to survive in melee combat with this?

Well, that was enough mental ranting. Rangers took a deep breath and continued through the museum; luckily, there were no more absolutely ridiculous weapons, and he soon reached the next exhibit - a list of the victors in previous Kazmierz Majors.

And then he realized that under the most recent Major, there was a rather… familiar name.

"

Victor: Viviana Droste, the Candle Knight.

"

These weren't knights, these were actors.

How in the world did somebody win any battle, let alone an entire tournament, with a candle holder?

Rangers found himself rapidly losing interest in the museum, but nonetheless he kept walking through it. He had to admit, the decorations were done well, and there was little exposed wiring or dust to be seen.

The rest of it was relatively uninteresting. Rangers stopped two times, once to read a more detailed summary of the Candle Knight (complete with all sorts of flowery language describing her beauty) and once to read through a summary of an Infected champion, the Blood Knight. The rest wasn't that interesting once Rangers realized that most of it was heavily exaggerated.

There was no glory in the bloodshed that Kawalerielki seemed to celebrate. Battles were often satisfying challenges, sure, rewarding in the short term – but they also had grave consequences.

Short trip through the museum over, Rangers went back to the entrance, picked up his bow and left. It was surprisingly loud and crowded outside – maybe most people had finished their shifts for the day? Trying his best to ignore the stares of everybody (it probably wasn't often they saw a Savra), Rangers hailed a taxi and went towards Brightlight Street. His own exploring was over, and he wanted to know what Noir Corne and Yato had found during the day.

Today was a good change in pace for him. He hoped they felt the same.