The Edge of the Cliff

by BanzEye

In one world, Taylor Hebert would gain her powers in a locker, become a villain and warlord, then a superhero, then feared quasi-deity. That world will not come to pass. In this world, Taylor is a doctor, helping others to live their lives without fear, wether it comes in the form of medicine and healing or swords and spears. "You, Taylor, are the key to everything."

1. Chapter 1

Alright, so I know I should probably be working on my other fic right now, but this idea in my head just won't go away. So, I'm thinking I'll just right down a chapter, see how that goes, and who knows? Maybe I'll have another project to work on. Alright, so first of all, this is combining two pretty dark universes together (Worm and Arknights) so, even if I don't like it, I'll have to include SOME angst (if someone wants to help me with that, I'll be more than happy to accept). Second of all, I own nothing except my OCs. Worm is property of Wildbow, and Arknights is property of Hypergryph and Yostar. Alright, here we go!

—(X)—

"At 2:00 AM EST, the ship liner "SS Palaemon" was declared lost at sea with all hands and passengers lost. It's last known location was near the coast of Kazdel on the Terran continent. The nation denied any involvement with the sinking of the vessel, with meteorological records that put a seaborne Catastrophe in the original route of the Palaemon. Pacific International Lines is investigating the cause of the disappearance, with the most likely cause looking to be faulty communications and human error…"

- Excerpt from New York Times newspaper, 1996

—(X)—

A flash. For a split second, there is only a void of darkness before a blinding light consumes her..

"Doctor…"

Heat. A hand on her face, slick with blood. She still can't see anything.

"Doctor…"

Cold. She feels something like water, sucking her under where all the corpses lay, arms open in acceptance.

"Doctor."

A mask. Two false eyes pierce the darkness, red like- a brief glimpse of a skirt- a smiling face-

"Doctor!"

Taylor awoke with a jolt, muscles tense and mouth tasting like cardboard. Blearily, she put her head up, looking around at the mostly unamused faces in the room – W was recording with a smirk on her face.

"Sorry, what were we…?" she trailed off, her face burning in embarrassment under the mask.

With a sigh, the person in front of her, a Vouivre in a white-gold uniform with red highlights, pinched the bridge of his nose.

"As I had just finished explaining," he shot Taylor a glare, which made a new round of snickers erupt, "The transfer of Infected and non-Infected patients is going smoothly. However, there are raiders in the area, so we have asked volunteers to scout the area…"

The man continued on while Taylor half-listened, blearily looking down at her notes.

"…reestablished contact with Sasha?"

"No ma'am. Mephisto and Alex still haven't reported in, either."

"Dammit, it's been three months, where the hell…"

'I haven't had a dream like that since the siege,' she thought, trying to pay attention through the bleary fog that infested her mind. 'Why now of all times?'

"…And that concludes my report. Sir?"

"That will be all, Thomas," a man to Taylor's right said, dismissing the soldier. "That should be all for today, we'll meet again next week? Taylor," he turned to her, eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. "Talk to you after? I need to discuss something with you."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

"Alright," Kal'tsit said, rising from her chair and picking up her mug of coffee. "I'll forward the details to the next meeting later. Until then, meeting adjourned"

With that, the room emptied out, people leaving to attend to their own business. Soon, the only ones left were Kal'tsit and the man from before.

"Taylor-" Kal'tsit began with a stern expression.

"I'm fine, mom. Just need some rest," Taylor waved away her worries, removing her mask to rub her eyes. "Just had a long day yesterday, no need to worry."

"Look, I'm just-"

"I know," Taylor interrupted, giving a strained smile. "Don't worry, I'll get some rest soon."

Reluctantly, Kal'tsit left, briefly squeezing her shoulder in comfort. For a few seconds, Taylor stayed in her seat, organizing her papers, documents and tablet.

"You realize you don't have to stay, Tyrus," Taylor finally broke the silence. The man, Tyrus, sat up. "We could talk somewhere else."

Tyrus chuckled, standing up and moving to lean on the wall beside Taylor.

"Someone has to make sure you don't collapse," he joked, though a frown soon made its way onto his face. "Taylor, I know you feel like he left his legacy to you, but you don't need to take on all the responsibility."

"I know that-"

"Clearly, you don't," Tyrus interrupted, moving beside Taylor and looking at her with a disapproving expression. "It's been like this for three years. Ever since Babel you've been working yourself to the bone."

A short pause, with Taylor not denying the accusation. After a moment, Tyrus sighed, his face relaxing. He knew that this wasn't a fight he'd win today, just like it had been for the past three years.

"Look, I didn't ask you to stay to argue about your work habits, though that conversation is not over," he continued. He hesitated, trying to find the right words to say, then finally decided to just be blunt. "There's been rumours that Ursus is trying to hire parahumans."

At that, Taylor stiffened. She didn't like being reminded of the life she'd lost, of the life she barely remembered except for small glimpses into broken memories. Looking at Tyrus, she knew that he didn't like it either, perhaps more-so considering he was a full-blooded Gaian.

"Have your spies confirmed anything?" Taylor said, standing up and facing Tyrus.

"No, not yet. But honestly, it was only a matter of time before Terra decided to get involved with the outside world again," Tyrus stated, walking out, with Taylor walking beside him.

"Parahumans are a resource that most nations on Terra would kill to acquire," Tyrus continued, nodding to the various people they were walking by in greeting.

"What do you propose, then? Send a delegation to Terra to warn them?" Taylor scoffed.

"…Actually, you're not that far off the mark. And I want you to be a part of it."

"WHAT!?" Taylor yelled incredulously, catching the attention of almost everyone in the hall. Wincing, Taylor looked around, then dragged Tyrus into an empty room, swiftly closing the door and locking it.

"Okay, so I know you may not like the idea-"

"Like? Oh hell no, I don't like it at all!" Taylor angrily swept her arm through the air, accidentally dropping her papers. "You're telling me to abandon my home for the birthplace I barely remember?"

"I'm not asking you to abandon anything-" Tyrus tried to say.

"I already have family here! If this is your attempt at 'reuniting' me with the remnants of my family, forget it," Taylor began to rant, cutting off Tyrus. "For all we know, everyone I was related to died on that ship! I have all the family I need here; my friends, mom, Amiya, Ch'en, Talulah, Alina, Blaze-"

"Look, if you'd just let me explain-"

"No, I won't! If you think you can unload your angst at not knowing your birth family on me, you have another thing coming! I don't care about Gaia, I don't care about knowing my past. My birth parents could be murdered for all I care!"

"ENOUGH!" Tyrus roared, making both Tyrus and Taylor flinch in surprise. Tyrus rarely yelled in anger (outside the battlefield at least), so for him to raise his voice, she'd had to have angered him. Looking back at what she was saying, she winced. Yeah, she had a good idea as to what it was.

"I don't like Gaia, Earth, whatever the hell those people say it is anymore than you do," Tyrus explained, calming down, though his voice was like ice. "And I sure as hell don't view it as home. But if I ever had the opportunity to actually meet my family, I'd take it in a heartbeat! So I can't stand to see you have that chance, and not even think about taking it."

"…You're right. I'm sorry; that was cruel of me," Taylor apologized, gazing at her feet.

"It's…well, not fine, but I can understand," Tyrus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, what with the meetings, running around taking care of Infected, and managing the Operators. Hell, I'd probably be in the same headspace as you if I was in your position."

He looked up with his eyes closed, forcing out a small chuckle.

"Anyways, I wouldn't worry too much. More than likely your family was on that boat. And if they weren't…well, anyone would be a fool not to like you!"

"…But would they even accept me?"

"Huh?" Tyrus asked, looking at Taylor in surprise.

"I've done…so much," Taylor said, hugging herself, her mask still in her hands. "Yeah, I've helped people, but I've killed as well, either on the field or in the command centre. Would my family, if they exist, accept me even with the blood on my hands?"

"And besides," she laughed bitterly, pointing towards her tail and horns which peeked out of her heavy coat. "I'm practically a freak. A half-Draco, half-Gaian? I probably shouldn't even exist!" She ended in a shout, tears forming in her eyes.

"Taylor, I have said it before and I will say as many times as I need to," Tyrus gently said, interrupting her rant. He put his hands on her shoulder in comfort. "I don't care wether you're Draco, Gaian, or a hybrid of the two. Even if you were born a completely different race, I wouldn't care. All I care about is the kind, compassionate friend you've always been, the person who always tries her hardest no matter what, who doesn't accept this cruel world we live in as it is. Why do you think I decided to follow you when I met you? Why I made my forces help the cause of Rhodes Island? It's because I learned that you were someone who looks at the injustice in the world, and says 'no' to its face."

Taylor chuckled, wiping her eyes.

"You always use that speech to cheer me up. Isn't it getting tiring?" she teased, her smile a little less brittle.

"Hah! You wish," Tyrus chuckled as well. For a few moments, they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Tyrus then gave Taylor a pat on her shoulder, then moved to the door.

"Look, the trip's not 'till next week. Just…think about it, alright?"

Taylor hesitated, then nodded. With a grin and a lazy salute, Tyrus walked out into the hallway, leaving Taylor in the room. With a sigh, she took one of the chairs beside the wall and sat down, looking up at the ceiling.

"My birth family, huh? Who could love someone like me, with blood on their hands?" With a glance towards the clock on the wall, she groaned and stood up. Moving towards the door, she glanced at her reflection in her mask. "'You never know until you try'. Isn't that what you said to me once? I wish you were here, Doctor."

She put the mask on, letting go once she heard the seals hiss shut, then opened the door to the hallway, walking out and moving towards her office.

'He was right, though. Both of them.' She stepped into an elevator, leaning against the wall as it moved. 'Maybe it's time I figured out who I'm supposed to be…who I really am.'

—(X)—

Kal'tsit groaned, reaching for her mug and taking a sip of the bitter nectar that was coffee. She took a moment to appreciate the unholy combination of Gaian and Terran beans, which was so strong that some Operators almost fainted when they tried it. To Kal'tsit, though, it was only strong enough to keep her awake for a little while longer.

'Speaking of staying awake,' Kal'tsit glared at the paper in front of her, the source of her frustration. It was a simple document, not unlike all the others that had passed through her desk. The request on it was also relatively benign; in short, it was a request to journey with the delegation that was headed to the Gaian-held continents. It was one of a multitude of such requests that she had seen from different Operators, and normally she wouldn't treat it any differently. But it was the source of the request itself that was keeping her up.

Signed at the bottom of the page, in the handwriting she knew all too well, was Taylor's name.

Kal'tsit deliberated on what to do. On one hand, this was Taylor she was talking about. Even if she was a grown woman by almost every metric, she still couldn't help but see the girl who'd been handed over to her and who saw her as family. And beyond the sentimental reasons, there was also the fact that their enemies could use the opportunity to attack them, and without the Doctor, secondhand or not, it would be a bloodbath. On the other hand, the logic she put on the document was sound. After all, would it not be the best for Rhodes Island if they could secure other sources of funding and resources? They'd already bled through quite a bit of their resources helping the civil war in Ursus, and besides, Valkyrie already proved that seeking help from them was a sound if risky strategy. Taylor's reasonings when she was in her office were also rational, with her mentioning that they'd perhaps be able to find Priestess or even Theresa in one of the Gaian countries.

With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes. All in all, the excuses she could put up against this move were close to nil, and while she herself could be stubborn, Taylor had inherited that stubbornness, and not all of it from her. Bemoaning her age – not that she'd ever admit that – Kal'tsit finally signed the paper, authorizing the trip.

—(X)—

Ace was tired. No, not the kind of tired that came from after a battle, nor the fatigue that was from his "old bones" (old for an active combatant, at least, though nothing compared to Hellagur). No, this was an exasperated kind of tired, the one you only got when dealing with "precocious youngsters" as Outcast described them.

"Tell me again why we're being pulled for this?" Guard asked, bouncing his leg while leaning back in his chair. Sometimes he forgot that compared to the rest of them, Guard was relatively new to this, at least compared to the rest of Elite Ops.

"Because we have to protect the Doctor while she's gathering support for Rhodes in the Americas. She's an important figure of RI, so any moron with more powers than sense is gonna be gunning for her so they can ransom her off or something," Scout replied back, checking over his sniper rifle for the sixth time already. He was probably as nervous as Guard was if that was the case, and honestly? Ace couldn't blame him. They were both there when those bunch of Gaian nutcases had tried to ram a plane into a Yan landship. And while it didn't succeed…well, let's just say Ace was glad that the golden freak had destroyed all the WMDs a decade prior to the incident.

Gaia. If Terra was hell on Earth, then Gaia was what heaven looked like, at least before the parahumans showed up. Hell, the only reason the Terrans didn't immediately ditch their home continent was more out of pride than anything else, from what he'd seen. Not that that stopped them from claiming some places for themselves. The Australian Isles, for example, were considered the dumping ground of the Infected, though it was probably a blessing for most considering they only had to deal with the fringes of Catastrophes. It also helped that they were able to mine and grow things that would normally be impossible in the harsh climate of Terra. Add in the fact that they were practically a nation unto themselves that only wanted to be left alone (a sentiment most Terrans shared) and were probably even more untrusting of Gaians than mainland Terrans after the British tried to dump their criminals there, and even Ursus only gave token complaints.

Of course, the how anyone discuss Gaia without talking about the Gaians. Ask most people, and they'd tell you that Gaians may look polite on the outside, but all they needed was a push to become truly vicious and cruel. Not that the Gaians really helped with that image. Pictures of Gaian history books on their concentration camps came to mind, and he remembered that he had to call in sick the next day after he saw the images. It wasn't the sight itself, he'd seen worse on battlefields or in the Terran version of camps – he was well aware that in many ways, Terrans could be and were far worse than their counterparts. It was the idea that a people that were blessed to not only be free of Oripathy and Catastrophes (at least until recently) could be so cruel and malicious to their own people, their own countrymen. If there was one good thing that came from that, it was that Ursus was not very popular once the gulags came to light. Hell, even the Russians were pissed, and they were their closest allies! Granted, that led to the Cold War, but hey – silver linings, right?

Actually, if he was being honest, Ace could imagine things being a lot worse for Infected if the Nazis didn't do what they did, as horrible as that thought was. Even Kazimirez had more loyalty towards their own people than those genocidal bastards.

Ace was brought out of his musings – some might say it was a rant, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong – when the door opened. Immediately, Guard and Scout stopped their little argument about beer, Outcast put her phone away, Misery put his goggles back over his eyes, and the other Operators in the room stopped doing whatever it was they were doing. The person who walked in was imposing, young, and very, very dangerous. Ace was sure that if he challenged her, he'd be nothing more than finely minced charcoal if she was really serious.

"Ms. Talulah," Ace said, his tone respectful. He wasn't stupid enough to believe she smelled fear or whatever else the rookies came up with, but he still didn't feel like pissing off the royal. Besides, when you fought with someone like Rosmontis, you almost stopped seeing age as a factor. Almost. "Is there something we can do for you?"

The leader of Reunion nodded, making the Elite Operative wince. Hopefully this wasn't like the last time she'd asked for help. Kal'tsit really didn't like the fact they gave the Perro food poisoning and got the Ursus drunk. Talulah was still banned from the kitchen, now that he thought about it…

"I would like to talk with you about something. Outside, if we could."

An eyebrow raised, Ace went with Talulah outside of the room, moving a few feet down the hallway. Only then did Talulah face him

"Alright, what is it?"

"I want you to make a promise."

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"You realize that those aren't worth as much as you think in our line of work," he replied. Gods knew how many people he knew, how many promises he'd made that hadn't been kept.

"Just…please, hear me out first," Talulah asked, her face calm, though her eyes were…pleading? Yes, pleading. It quickly vanished, but Ace knew what he saw. "You are the leader of Taylor's guard, correct?"

"Just one of them," Ace honestly answered, shrugging. Considering that Taylor wasn't the only VIP going with the delegation from RI, much less from their allies, it stood to reason that there were various leaders for the admittedly large security detail. He'd heard rumours of spec-ops units being deployed as well, including but not limited to SWEEP, Mirror, and Sicarius. Why SWEEP was involved, he didn't fully know – Kal'tsit was keeping mum on the subject. But he had a feeling it wasn't just for Taylor's protection.

"That's fine," Talulah said. "I'm sure that you're aware that while I am coming with you to Gaia, I will not always be with your group, especially at the beginning."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that. So what is it you want me to promise?" Ace asked, though he had a fairly good idea as to what it was.

"I want you to promise me. Promise me that you'll keep Taylor safe, no matter what," Talulah asked- no, pleaded. Again, Ace winced. That sort of promise was…

"That…I cannot make that kind of promise, Ms. Talulah," Ace sighed, leaning back against the wall. "You know as well as I do that Taylor will try and help however she can, consequences to her be damned," and she'd let herself die if it meant she could save ten others, was left unsaid. Anyone who met Taylor knew that.

"But," Ace continued, making Talulah look up at him. "I can promise that I'll do everything I can to help her, and that I'll do my very best to make sure she returns home."

Talulah took a deep breath, the tension easing out of her.

"I can work with that," she finally said after a minute, opening her eyes again. "Thank you, Mr. Ace. Have a good day."

With that, the Draco-Lung left, leaving Ace in an empty hallway. Well, mostly empty.

"So," Misery asked, moving behind him. "Were you just saying that to comfort her, or are you actually gonna uphold that promise?"

Ace chuckled moving back to the room.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think that if you are, you'll be dead," Misery bluntly answered. "This is Gaia we're talking about. Last I heard, those parahumans aren't exactly mentally stable."

"Those people are broken, Alex," he continued. He rarely used Ace's real name, so he must've been really serious. "Those powers of theirs come at a cost equal to those who use Arts. There's a reason they're dangerous, and it's not just because of their powers. If one of them snaps…"

"Then I'll be there to stop them," Ace interrupted him. "We both knew what we were getting into when we joined Rhodes. At least if I die, it'll be doing what I do best: protecting others." Without another word, he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Well, that's one way to look at it…" Misery mused, following him inside.

—(X)—

"Thames."

"Yes sir?"

"Do you know why I play chess?"

The large, modified chessboard between the two men depicted a stalemate. White was on the offensive, but black had a good enough defence to prevent any sort of decisive action, though it had less pieces. At either end of the board were two men, one Tyrus, the other a middle-aged Kuranta. Both were looking at the board, deep in thought. Outside the office, the sky was grey, the clouds heavy with rain.

"I'd assumed it was due to your memories of playing it with your birth family."

"That plays a part in it," Tyrus chuckled, observing the board and contemplating his move. "Though only a part."

"Then what is it?"

Instead of answering, Tyrus moved one of his knights to to take a pawn, opening up a new "front" in the game.

"Unlike how so much media depicts, chess is not the mark of a true strategist. In a real battle, there are many pawns, rooks, bishops and knights, even a few queens, each with their own rules and possible moves. Kings rarely participate in every battle. And of course," Tyrus gave a small laugh, motioning to the board with a hand, "one also rarely knows the full might of their enemy's forces."

"But there is one thing that chess can teach."

"What is that?" Thames asked, moving a bishop to support a rook.

"Sacrifice. To elaborate, the value of sacrifice."

Tyrus picked up one of the white pawns off the table, examining it. "Many can claim to know what it means to sacrifice, but in truth, few know when is the right time to make such a move."

"To sacrifice, one must have a goal in mind," he continued, putting the pawn back. "They must also make the sacrifice smaller than the reward. For example, it would normally be counterproductive to sacrifice a queen for another queen, but if you should be able to seize an opportunity of greater value than a queen," he motioned to a black pawn on the other side of the board, ready to become a queen with no hope of retaliation so long as the black player played their cards right. "then seize it."

For a while, the two men sat in comfortable silence, only the muted, distant noises of the streets of Chernobog piercing it.

"I believe it is time we got back to business, sir," Thames said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, you are right. We don't have forever to drink tea and act like men three times our age, now do we?"

With a chuckle, the atmosphere turned serious, with both men turning to the matter at hand.

"What is the status of your forces?"

"Officially, all SCO assets are helping to train the more specialized Reunion troops, alongside providing security for Rhodes Island relief missions."

"And unofficially?"

"Unofficially, all SCO assets are doing exactly as I said. Meanwhile, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Vidar squadrons have been busy in Kazdel, Victoria, and Ursus."

"Results?"

"As you know, with Dublinn under our control as of last year, Victoria is undergoing clean-up operations, nothing particularly major. It's the other two that are concerning."

"You're talking about Kashchey and the Regent, correct?"

"Kashchey is…well, from what intel we've been able to get, and it's not a lot, he's moving. Somehow, he got through our Vidar forces without anyone noticing."

"Unfortunately, that was to be expected. Vidar is good, but Kashchey is…different. I assume there are already researchers looking for any info we can grab?"

"Yes sir. While we do not have solid confirmation, what we have gleaned points to a high probability that Kashchey is more than he seems. I assume that is why you want to help find Taylor's family?" One of the black rooks was moved, blocking an attempt for a pawn to take out a bishop.

"You assume correctly, though my friendship with her play a not-so-small part. If I'm right, they could be the key to the truth, at the very least. That said, please restrain the more…enthusiastic Vidar members. As much as their skills are useful, they are still Valkyrie, and black ops or not, there are some lines I will not tolerate crossed even for them."

"Understood sir."

"Now, tell me about the Regent?" As Tyrus said this, the white king moved, allowing one of his queens to move up.

"As of now, he is the most difficult of the targets. A Vidar Operative attempted to eliminate him."

"What happened?"

"They were killed before they even saw the target. From what I was able to gather, it was done by a Sankta Vampire."

A hiss was heard from Tyrus, a white bishop taking out a black pawn and breaching the defensive line, though another piece quickly closed the gap. "A vampire…are you talking about-"

"Yes sir. It appears that the Regent has already started forming alliances."

"Damn. We are not ready, not yet. Is there any luck in finding Priestess and Theresa?"

"No sir. There have been no traces of either, and the rumours we receive turn out to be dead ends. Wherever they are, they don't want to be found."

"Well, it was a long shot anyways. Now, enough of that. Have your agents succeeded in locating the second Key?"

"On that sir, I have both good news and bad news."

"Alright, hit me."

"The good news, then. We've narrowed down her position to the north-east coast of the USA. With the Doctor coming with us, it is only a matter of time before we find her exact location."

"Good. Hopefully we're able to find her before the Radicals do. The bad news?"

"We have heard rumblings of Terran terrorist movements in the country, especially on the East Coast. They're preparing for something big, and if our spies are right, it has the potential to be…bad."

"How bad?"

"'The Gaians learning about the Ursan gulags' bad, sir."

"Well, shit. Alright, go get any and all Spec Ops assets we have in the USA to standby in that area. While you're at it, inform our regular forces as well. We may need them."

"At once sir."

"Oh, and tell one of the Sicarius units to be a part of the delegation security detail. I believe Huntsman Squad is currently available?"

Thames nodded, standing up as Tyrus did.

"Good, make them meet her once the delegation reaches Gaia. Now, we both have other business to attend to, so I shan't keep you long. Good day, Thames."

"A good day to you as well, sir."

With that, Tyrus was alone. He glanced towards the chessboard, then moved a black queen behind a knight. With that, the stalemate continued, though one wrong move on either player's part would result in significant setbacks.

"This match is far from checkmate. However…Doctor, I pray that you are able to guide us to victory, for I fear we will be in need of your skills in the future."

He then left the office, the grey clouds above the nomadic city finally released their rain, washing away the soot and dust in the air to the ground.

—(X)—

"Mom, I'm home!"

As per usual, she was greeted with silence. Sighing, she walked into the kitchen – dropping off her bag in the living room – and sat down on one of the chairs at the table. Looking at her phone, she saw a text:

"Sry, meeting ran late. See you at home?"

Texting back an acknowledgment, the girl sighed, looking around for something to eat or drink. After having a small bite to eat, she went upstairs to change. The girl in the bathroom mirror when she went inside was thin, taller than average, with slightly messy and long black hair, and a thin face that had grey eyes. She poked her small horns and glanced at her dull tail with a grimace, then stepped into the shower.

A half-hour later she was changed and her hair put in a ponytail, sitting in front of the TV with a burrito and flicking through the various channels.

'Boring…saw that already…that's for kids…fake…boring…boring…bor- wait, what?'

With a start, the girl flicked back, revealing a woman and man in a newsroom, the image of the continent of Terra behind her.

"-arious senators have confirmed that a delegation from Terra, including Rhodes Islands Pharmaceutical, is arriving in less than a week. Though speculation continues, it has been confirmed that the Infected group Reunion and Valkyrie PMC are among the members of this group, though more are sure to be involved," the female news anchor said.

"This is the largest political group of Terrans ever to set foot outside their nation since the Second World War, correct?" the man said, shuffling his papers and looking the very model of "concerned citizen".

"That's right, Kevin. This is a historic event, though some are understandably worried. After all, there's definitely a lot we don't know about their purposes here. Now, let's go to our reporter on the ground at a protest against the Terran delegation…"

The girl only half-watched as the news switched to another anti-Terran protest. Oh, they said it was simply against the delegation, but she knew that one out of three times the protestors didn't really care. And honestly, she didn't like being reminded of Terra either, if only because-

"Alba? You home?" The sound of the door opening and her mom coming in interrupted her thoughts, and she quickly switched the channel.

"In here!"

The girl, Alba, was greeted with the smiling, tired face of Annette Hebert.

After the ritualistic greeting – Alba being held back by a laughing Annette as she tried to glomp her – they settled into their familiar routine. Alba started dinner while her mom changed, with both finishing it up. Finally, they put the plates on the table and dug in, talking about stuff from work, boys (always on Alba's part, and she always stopped once her mom had that look in her eye), Emma and the others (she'd noticed that Emma was getting more distant lately), to the latest Bay news (normally about gangs, New Wave, and the PRT).

They were talking about her part-time job at Fugly's when Alba decided to broach the subject.

"Hey, mom?" She asked, moving to put her dishes away while her mom washed them. "What can you tell me of Taylor and dad?"

Both winced as Annette fumbled a plate in surprise, catching it at the last second.

"What brought this on?"

Alba scratched her neck, suddenly feeling that perhaps this wasn't the best time to talk about this…but she gathered her resolve and forged ahead.

"I saw the news say that some important Terrans are coming here," she answered bluntly.

Annette actually did drop the dish this time, though thankfully it didn't break. She placed her dish cloth on the sink and fully turned to Alba.

"Alba, honey, please…"

"Mom," Alba interrupted her, stubborn to get answers. "You always tell me to be frank about my feelings, so I am." She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She never broached the topic before, not with how she could see the pain it brought her mom, but with the opportunity before her…

"This sort of opportunity doesn't come every year. Mom, this could be the chance we've been waiting for! These are huge organizations, and if even one of those people knows just the barest details of what happened, it would be more news than we've ever had before!"

"Alba-" Annette, tried to speak,

"At the very least, I wouldn't have to see you beat yourself up over something that you had no control over! I won't have to see you blame yourself for something that you couldn't have any effect on! At the very least, if- at the very least we could have some sort of closure." She sniffed, clenching her fists by her side in frustration. "I don't- I want-"

She was stopped by a hand gently cupping her face. Looking up, she saw her mom looking at her with sad smile on her face, the barest hints of age lines on it.

"I know you worry for me, but you shouldn't burden yourself with my troubles," she said, slowly stroking away the tears from Alba's eyes. They stayed like that for a few seconds before she moved back to cleaning, sighing. "If it means that much to you…well, we could take a small trip to Washington. Maybe we'll find the answers you say they hold. And if not…well, it's been a while since we've taken a vacation. You can even invite the Barnses!" She gave a more genuine smile, though it was still tainted by bitterness. They both finished doing the dishes in silence.

A few hours later, in her bedroom listening to music and drifting off to sleep, Alba looked over at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of her mom and a man, a Draco. They were both smiling and holding up a girl, who looked like she was smiling.

'I wonder what it'd be like to have a sister and a dad…' were her last thoughts before sleep claimed her, dreams of fire consuming her dreams.

—(X)—

*Gasps for breath while crawling towards the screen* Okay…this is officially…the longest chapter…I have ever written. Okay! *Collapses into chair in relief* Alright, so fair warning: since I haven't…really played a lot of Arknights (I don't like depression, okay? Didn't stop me from looking up lore, but still), I may have mischaracterized a few characters. If I did, please tell me, it'll really help in the future. And with this, the first chapter of this crossover is complete!

Please review and tell me what you think. Don't be afraid to give me constructive criticism, wether it be on writing or how I portray characters! Every little bit helps! (Though "constructive" is the key word. If you you just tell me I suck without any reasoning whatsoever, you'll be blocked faster than Ch'en and Swire get arguing). Oh, and don't worry, I'm not abandoning my Blue Archive crossover, I'll get working on that soon…well, after a well-deserved nap. See ya next time! *Falls onto couch to snooze*