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."

2. Chapter 2

*Peeks head in, slowly moves inside. A bunch of paper flies out of nowhere, covering the face and making both tumble out of view. Comes out coughing* Okay, okay, I get it! I'll do my other story soon, yeesh…alright, now where was I? Aah, yes! Greetings, one and all! Welcome to the second chapter! Last time, we left off at the preparations for the Terrans to go to the outside world – or Gaia, as the Terrans call it. Anyways, with that out of the way, let us begin! Oh, and I own nothing except my OCs.

—(X)—

"May I enjoy my life and practice my Art

Respected by all men and in all times."

- Motto of Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Inc.

—(X)—

The plane was quiet at the moment; not surprising since it was currently night, though it'd be day when they arrived. At the moment, Ch'en was watching a movie – an action movie, it looked like – while trying not to react as a dozing Talulah leaned on her shoulder. Taylor was parsing through a few documents alongside Yith, Lin Yühsia and SilverAsh – as he liked to call himself – though the nature of said documents didn't seem to be anything too important. The rest of the people were either sleeping or staring off into the dark sky.

At the moment, Tyrus was looking at a news site. Though a few hours out of date, it was good information nonetheless. Noticing a certain article, he frowned.

'Looks like those protests aren't stopping anytime soon…better plan for that.' He mentally made a note to inform the security forces about this, though he was confident that they'd not need much input.

"Mr. Tyrus?" The man beside him, the Colombian ambassador, spoke. "You are a Gaian, correct?"

"Yeah," Tyrus confirmed, side-eyeing the Colombian. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, as a Gaian, you should know quite a bit about how their culture works-"

"Sorry, no, I'm gonna kill that idea in its cradle," Tyrus snorted. "I may have been born Gaian, but I was raised for most of my life in Kazimirez. I don't exactly have much in the way of memories regarding their way of life."

"Aah, I see. My mistake, then." With a nod, he moved away to speak with another representative, leaving Tyrus alone.

'Honestly, you'd think they'd be more subtle about it…' Discrimination against Gaians by Terrans wasn't anything new; hell, from what he'd heard, the opposite could be found in the Gaian nations as well. And though it never fully disappeared, he was kind of thankful that his whole raised-in-Terra thing lessened it considerably, especially once they realized he never really considered himself a Gaian. Not since he was seven, at least. Actually, he mused, he would be considered a "race traitor" to the Gaians, wouldn't he? Chuckling, he imagined the rather amusing faces some of the more…conservative news people would have. But eventually, sleep called to him. With a yawn, he relaxed his body and tried to take a nap.

It was swiftly interrupted by the noise of his phone buzzing, which immediately woke him up. Especially once the wave of drowsiness left. After all, there was only one person who would be able to contact him more than 35'000 feet in the air.

Opening his phone, he saw that he had a notification in his text messages. The sender was named, "Backer," though the name itself was changed for…well, Tyrus thought it was appropriate.

The_Despoiler

Have you received the list of troops?

Tyrus grimaced. He had received it, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise. Contrary to what most people though, he wasn't a fan of overkill. Yes, there were times where it was necessary – that time with the Emperor's Blades came to mind, those bastards could tank RPGs for breakfast – but for a protection detail? What was in and around Washington, D.C. made "overkill" an understatement.

Knight_Lite

Yes, but it is, in my opinion, complete and utter overkill

Knight_Lite

Do I even want to know how much political capital you spent to allow them to even be in their airspace?

The_Despoiler

No, you don't.

'Honestly, this guy-!' Even though he trusted him, he still sometimes annoyed him to no end.

Knight_Lite

While I can understand caution, and I can understand SOME of the deployments like the Yans – paranoid as they are…

Knight_Lite

Is the rest seriously necessary!? Like, why the hell did you deploy one of our Armoured Cavalries? And let's not even get into the fact we deployed a destroyer alongside three Blacksteel frigates!

Knight_Lite

The security forces we had available would've been fine! What possessed you to get almost all the participating nations to bring small armies!?

The_Despoiler

The rumblings are getting louder. You will not have long before the players make their move.

That made Tyrus pause. If he was reading this correctly…

Knight_Lite

Is it who we feared?

The_Despoiler

The mad songbird is the piece you are looking for. He has led many pawns, alongside two bishops, astray. One is filled with love, and follows in the hopes of saving him. The other is filled with fury, and will burn it all for his revenge.

He mentally cursed. This was beyond bad. If Backer's information was correct, and he had no reason to not believe so, then this was something that couldn't be stopped. Not before it struck, anyways.

The_Despoiler

You need not worry about the government interfering about the soldiers. They are all in the towns and smaller cities surrounding the capital, and I've already agreed to have them monitored by members of their military. You won't have to deal with the fallout of my decision.

Knight_Lite

Well, alright. I'll trust you once again

Knight_Lite.

One more question. Besides the prodigious amount of firepower, what else can we do?

The_Despoiler

Prepare.

With that, the messages deleted themselves one by one, leaving Tyrus with that very ambiguous message.

Sighing, he put away his phone and leaned back to finally sleep. His dreams were of the void, and the fires of a burning ship.

—(X)—

Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States of America. This was a place where the wealthy and powerful reigned, where decisions effecting the entire nation were brought out, debated, modified, then debated again. Where some of the most powerful organization in the nation, and even the whole world housed their headquarters.

The city, gleaming in the morning sun, was not all that greeted the air convoy as it arrived at Ronald Reagan International. Just west of the city was a massive structure, easily larger than anything built in the city. This form was well known to the Terrans; after all, how can one mistake the form of something you've lived you whole life upon?

"So, guess the rumours of the USA moving their capital to a nomadic city weren't just rumours," Ch'en noted, looking out over the city.

"With the Catastrophes taking place, can you blame them?" Taylor said, looking out in blatant curiosity. "It does look a bit different than ours, though. For one, our landships don't float." Indeed, instead of the traditional treads, the nomadic city had relatively small discs pointed at an angle stuck to the underside, each one glowing a faint blue.

"That would probably be the Tinker tech at work," SilverAsh explained. "It's fascinating what the Gaians can accomplish with technology no one can understand. If I could convince one of their Tinkers to come with us, just imagine the progress we could achi- hurk!" The exclamation came from Ratatos pulling on his ear, sighing in disapproval.

"Perhaps we could land first before you start your schemes?" SilverAsh's…girlfriend (?) admonished, landing a glare on him. Honestly, Taylor sometimes couldn't tell wether they hated each others guts or wanted to fuck each other whenever she saw them in a room together.

"If one stops their plans the moment they leave the ground, they wouldn't accomplish anything," he said, snorting. The non-subtle jab led to even more ear-pulling, with everyone else looking on with a metaphorical sweat drop. Eventually, it was Talulah who pulled them apart, and just in time for the landing, too.

Eight planes touched down with practiced precision, with the two passenger planes moving away from the rest of the convoy. While not officially part of said convoy, it was deemed convenient to leave Terra with them. After all, there was protection in numbers. The squadron of fighters escorting them had also left for their own airfield outside the city.

Once they got out onto the tarmac, the delegation was met by an army of cars, vans, and trucks. The ambassadors and leaders got into the cars while the guards, guests, and other personnel got in the armada of vans and trucks. Taylor herself was swiftly escorted inside a car with Tyrus, Talulah, and Plume. After a good fifteen minutes, the convoy left for the city. Taylor noticed that the fleet of vehicles was splitting up. Mentioning this, she was assured that this was a security measure.

"A security measure for what?" she asked as the car entered the streets of the city.

"There have been protests due to our arrival," Tyrus explained. "It's been civil so far, but we don't know if it'll escalate. I'm especially worries since we've had reports of villains trying to agitate the crowds. The PRT and Protectorate are handling it, but…"

"You don't trust them to do their job?" Talulah asked. Plume didn't say anything, though if Taylor had to guess from Tyrus' sweaty forehead, she wasn't giving him a nice expression.

"It's not that. It's just that…" He took a minute to compose his thoughts. "Terrans rarely go outside the continent. Anyone would have to be blind to miss the opportunity this represents, especially the villains. Wether it be for political gain, ransom, or…" He left the last part unsaid, though everyone heard it. "To sell".

Taylor knew that coming to Gaia was a risk. Both people saw opportunity in each other, and not just material. Gaians sold well on the black market, either as cheap labour or for their blood, which was valuable in greatly reducing the effects of Oripathy. Of course, instead receiving the blood through legal, if relatively small means, the black market provided even larger amounts. Of course, all this blood resulted in the corpses of Gaians, but the desperate didn't care. As for the Gaians and Terrans, the greatest "merchandise" one could get was their body. While slavers and traffickers actually getting Terrans was extremely rare, much less getting them to Gaia without burning alive, being frozen, or buried under a landslide, those that managed to be captured tended to fetch a very, very high price.

"Do you really think the 'villains' will try to attack us?" Plume asked, her gaze hardening.

Tyrus shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Remember that these people aren't completely stable," if what Taylor had heard about Trigger Events was true, then that may have been an understatement. "so while a normal person wouldn't even think of trying, a parahuman might be arrogant enough to believe that their powers will be able to stop anything."

He paused, looking out the window at the buildings moving by them.

"Then again, I don't think anyone would actually be that stupid-"

He was interrupted by a sudden explosion, rocking the car. The convoy abruptly stopped, and Taylor quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and went outside, the others swiftly following her.

What they saw was pandemonium. Operators and soldiers were jumping out of the convoy, moving towards the disturbance and yelling orders at each other. Meanwhile, any civilians on the sidewalk were screaming and running away. Taylor saw one man get hit by a ray of light and freeze like a statue.

"Soldier!" Tyrus yelled at on of the Valkyrie officers. "What's going on?"

"Parahuman, sir, looks like what they call a Blaster," the man answered. And while the helmet prevented them from seeing his face, Taylor could tell he wasn't too pleased either. "He threw bombs on the street, almost blew up a car. We're moving to contain him, but he fires these…beams of light that freeze you when you're hit by one. Doesn't help that he brought a few friends with him."

Another explosion perfectly capped the end of that sentence. With a salute, the man jogged away, his sword and shield in hand. The four stood in relative silence before Tyrus sighed.

"You can say it," it said, hanging his head.

"You jinxed us," Taylor said, Talulah and Plume nodding in agreement.

"I did, didn't I?" With another sigh, he went to the car and brought out three long containers. Tossing two of them to Talulah and Plume, he opened the one left in his hands to reveal a dull gold broadsword with a black blade. It was ornate, but it looked like it had received extensive modification, especially in the way the edge looked like it'd been replaced, though the core remained the same. Taking it out, he did a few test swings, easily wielding it, before putting it on his back with a dark blue scabbard. Meanwhile, both Plume and Talulah already had their weapons in hand.

Reaching behind him, Tyrus tossed a tablet to Taylor who caught it with practiced ease. Activating it, she saw a list of the available personnel and Operators in the area, with the enemy highlighted in red.

"I know you're not used to groups like these, but you learn quick," he explained, already moving away. "I'm trusting you not to get me killed!" was his last sentence before he sprinted into the fray. Plume and Talulah moved to join him, a "stay safe" from the latter all she heard before they were sprinting ahead.

With a sigh, Taylor plopped down on the ground beside the car and began issuing orders, idly noticing a couple of squad cars passing by.

'Tyrus better be right about my birth family, or I'll make him help W with her explosives.'

—(X)—

Talulah wished for a lot of things in her life. To help the Infected, to kill her bastard "father", and to protect her new family, to name just a few.

At the moment, the only thing she wished for was that the villains didn't have a Brute on their side to throw cars at them.

"Dammit, just DIE ALREADY YOU FUCKER!" the crazy grey-haired Lupus – Lappland, if she remembered right – screamed before hitting the Brute with her sword. Key word being "hit". No matter what they threw at him, he shrugged it off. Hell, he'd even thrown off explosives from W and Crownslayer, and Talulah'd seen the crater that that explosion had left behind! And every time another volley hit him, he threw back something with equal or greater strength. Hence, the flying cars.

"HAHAHA! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!? COME ON, MORE, MORE, MORE! GIVE ME MORE!"

"Oh great, a masochist. Just what I needed today," muttered one of the Valkyrie Heavies. He was much more heavily armoured than the regular soldiers and looked like one of Patriot's Shieldguards. Instead of a gun or shield-and-CQC-weapon combo, he held two massive swords, each with a with a pile-driver between the halves of the blade.

"There's a reason we call him Dominator, and it's not just because he can live up to the name," quipped one of the police officers. As he'd explained it, he and a few others had been patrolling before they got the call. Of course, then they'd run into the Brute, who'd run through a wall into the fray. And now, they were stuck behind a makeshift barricade with the rest of them.

"JUST GO TO HELL!"

"You think you can take on me? YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL THE DOMINATOR!? COME AND SEE YOUR DOOM, INSTEAD!"

"Gods fucking hell, NOT AGAIN-!"

"So, what can he do?" Talulah asked, peeking over the wreck just in time to see the gold-white blur that was Tyrus hit a wall, cracking it before collapsing onto the ground. Before he could get up, he was hit by one of the Blaster's rays, stunning him.

"Dominator's a Brute and Striker. Any physical force is absorbed and fuels his body, turning him into what essentially amounts to the Hulk," the officer explained. And while Talulah didn't really get the reference, she understood the subtext well enough. "Thankfully, it doesn't apply to forms of energy or non-physical attacks, so AC/DC – he's our electric Blaster, he can manipulate electrical currents – is our go-to. Seeing as he's not here yet, you have anyone like that?"

"Depends," Taylor said through a speaker. "Talulah?"

"I could use my Arts. But that's only if he's in the air."

"Huh? Why would he need to be in the air" one of the police officers asked.

"Because unless you want everything to be on fire, that's what we'll have to do," Noir Corne, who'd slid behind the same cover they were behind answered, amusement clear in his voice.

While the police officers stared at her incredulously, Talulah looked over the wreck again to gauge the current situation. Well, at least they could confirm that yes, it was possible to suplex one of Mudrock's golems…somehow.

"What about the…Blaster, I believe it is?" she said, thinking fast.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Silence," she found it ironic that a villain shared the same name as the Liberi doctor from Rhodes Island.

"He's pretty small-game. He mostly uses his powers to rob convenience stores, though he has a pretty inflated ego. As you've seen, he can make people's muscles weaken a lot with those beams of his. Longest it can do is five minutes."

"So we need to take care of him first before moving on the the Brute," Taylor said. She hummed, thinking. "…Alright, I know what we need to do."

—(X)—

"This is a stupid plan."

"We need to take care of him before he hurts anyone else. You got a better one?"

Tyrus sighed, looking up at the sky as if asking for a miracle. In Gavial's opinion, it probably wasn't coming.

"No," he grumbled. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted the grip on his sword. "Alright, here we go. When I get hit, heal me up!"

"Got it! And hey," she added, taking amusement in his plight. "think of it as getting revenge for those times he stunned you."

"…You know what? Yeah, that does make me feel a little better. Alright, wait for it…going now!" Tyrus exclaimed.

Jumping over the rubble, he dashed towards Silence – she was so teasing the doctor about this the next time she saw her – cutting, punching and kicking through the various goons in his way. Soon enough, Silence noticed him and after saying something she couldn't hear (though Gavial would bet it was pretty arrogant from what she'd heard), blasted him with one of his bright beams. Predictably, Tyrus collapsed and Silence turned away, thinking the nuisance was over with.

'Just as planned, Doctor,' Gavial thought, grinning. With a flourish of her staff, she pumped Tyrus full of healing Arts, his muscles quicly returning to full strength. He didn't waste more than a single second before leaping at Silence.

"What the-!"

"Come here, you motherfucker!" Tyrus screamed before tackling Silence, both of them hitting the dirt. Seeing as the villain really didn't seem to have many skills in CQC, the one-sided "battle" was decided in less than a minute. Though Gavial had to wince at some of the more…unique combat moves Tyrus used.

'And he calls Lappland excessive,' she thought, shaking her head. After a while though, she sighed and turned to help the others; after all, from the way he was groaning, she didn't think Silence would be walking any time soon…or be able to mate, for that matter.

'Looks like the rest is up to you, Doctor. Give them hell!'

—(X)—

"Tyrus and Gavial have taken Silence out of the count. Everyone else, now's your time!"

With that, the police officers, soldiers, and most of the Operators blinded the brute with smoke canisters, flares, and even trying to nail him with shots to the eyes, ears and mouth. This was a considerable amount, and even the Dominator with his hide of (metaphorical) steel was blinded.

"Wait for it, wait for it…go!"

With that, Lin Yüshia launched her attack, picking up sand in the area and pulling it under the kneeling villain, then formed it into one mass and launched it straight up. For a few seconds, it looked like Dominator was engulfed in a miniature sandstorm, with the end result making him look like he'd been slightly sandblasted. But the desired effect had been achieved: the Brute was now blind and distracted.

In a blur, Projekt Red leaped onto the villain and began scratching, biting, and generally making herself a nuisance to his vulnerable areas. Dominator attempted to shake her off, the final effect they wanted being achieved: he was now off-balance.

Swiftly, Talulah, Ch'en, and Lappland launched themselves towards him, and in less time than it took to say his name, launched him into the air. Projekt Red let go of him, safely landing on the ground. With the massive villain in the air, there was no way he could manoeuvre…and no collateral damage to worry about.

"Hya!" With a small yell, Talulah launched a flurry of fiery strikes from her blade, each one swift and brutal. Within a couple of seconds they found their target.

"GAH!" The parahuman, on fire and clearly not enjoying himself, crashed into the ground in a daze. Immediately, two Valkyrie heavies jammed their blades on top of the villain's limbs and trapping him, with the police launching their containment foam at him. While their version of the foam would normally be useless against a Brute, in this case, with him immobilized and in no condition to fight? Though as an added precaution, a couple of soldiers aimed their weapons dangerously close to his face.

For a few moments, both parties stared at each other. In the end, it was the Brute who conceded defeat. His body going limp as he submitted to the arrest, the sirens of the PRT coming ever closer to the site of the battle.

And with that, victory belonged to the Delegation.

—(X)—

The discussion behind the door appeared to be happening long before Matthew Yenson, better known as the hero and leader of the Washington Protectorate, Trilogy, entered the Director's office. The office itself was relatively standard, at least from what Trilogy had seen in other PRT headquarters: modern, sleek, and boring as hell. All in all, a perfect way to sum up the PRT director. Although, he mused, taking in the scene, it wasn't a complete description.

Inside the office were the heads of the various departments: the severe-looking woman with glasses involved with Public Relations, Commander Jason of the PRT Troopers, Riemann, a female Tinker who specialized in "impossible numbers" and head of Engineering and Research, that one guy from the Youth Guard, and a member of the Protectorate and Wards each who were the people of the hour.

At the moment, the two parahumans were sitting in front of Director West's desk, with said Director speaking on the phone. The PR lady, the commander, and the Youth Guard worker were all in their own chairs scattered around the room, each one leafing through documents and papers. And finally, Riemann looked like she'd just arrived from her workshop, seeing as she was wearing her…mildly revealing tank top and engineering pants with the jacket tied to them while she worked on a small object.

"-thank you, Ms. Talulah, I will be sure they're informed…alright, you as well."

With that, he put away his phone and looked at the two parahumans with a stern expression, who shifted uncomfortably. Not that Trilogy blamed them, mind you, Director West wasn't known for his nicest glares.

"Alright, what did they do this time?" Trilogy sighed, taking a seat beside Riemann, who nodded at him before going straight back to her little project. The "they" in question were the Protectorate hero Copycat and her protogé, Wallet.

Copycat was wearing her signature blue leotard outfit with thigh-high boots and long armoured gloves. She wore a metal face mask on the lower portion of her face, leaving her blue eyes and long, dark blonde hair out in the open. Her powers were the ability to copy any object and make herself appear as it in someone's mind, making her perfect for stealth ops and information gathering.

Wallet, on the other hand, was wearing a rather minimalist costume; all in all, it was a simple getup, with cargo pants and a brown turtleneck with a white poncho that ended at his thighs, with the right side longer than the other. He normally wore a full face-mask, though he'd forgone it for a simple eye mask. His powers were a sort of "hammer space" as he'd heard someone describe it, with him being able to put anything into it so long as it wasn't alive and he was touching it. The real kicker was that he'd learned to make things appear out of it at whatever velocity he wanted it to be – within reason, of course, which made thugs receive a very nasty surprise when they were suddenly dodging playing cards moving at high speed.

"Ah, Trilogy, it seems you've arrived back in the city. How was your trip to New York?" Director West of Washington, D.C. asked, finally noticing him come in.

"It was fine," Trilogy said, shrugging. "Wasn't any different from any other trip I've had. Anyways, What's this I've heard about our two resident idiot villains attempting to attack the Terran delegation? Did these two get involved where they shouldn't have?"

He directed a teasing grin at the two parahumans, who squirmed a little in embarrassment…at least on Wallet's part. Copycat still had a smirk on her face, like her namesake had caught the canary.

"The problem is that they weren't involved. I put these two on standby to monitor the situation, and report to me if any of the convoys were under attack. While these two were taking care of a burning building, Dominator and Silence attacked one of them alongside a couple dozen thugs."

"Did anything happen to the…which convoy was attacked?"

"The Rhodes Island, Reunion, and Lungmen ambassadors were attacked. And besides a frankly ridiculous amount of property damage, there were no serious injuries to the delegation."

"Of course," he continued, "the PRT only arrived after the battle was over because we didn't have enough warning." The Director landed a small glare of Wallet and Copycat.

"If we'd let that building burn, then how many people-!" Wallet tried to defend their actions, but was interrupted when Director West held a hand up.

"I understand why you made your decision. You're lucky that the members of the delegation were also understanding and that no one was hurt, because if they weren't then this would be a diplomatic incident to end all diplomatic incidents!"

At this, Wallet shrunk into his chair. With a sigh, Trilogy decided to interrupt before anyone made things worse.

"Look, Copycat, Wallet, from what I can understand, you did the right thing," he began. "However," and that made both parahumans deflate, "you had a job to do. At least one of you should've stayed behind to contact the PRT immediately once you saw any villains. As the Director said, what you did had the potential to get ugly, and we're very lucky it didn't."

"Now, seeing as they are under my jurisdiction," he continued, speaking to the Director, "I should decide your punishment. Director?"

With a nod, Trilogy gave them their punishment: Wallet got monitor duty for a month, and Copycat had to patrol with Alan Poe for a week (something she almost begged to not do, but he didn't budge. Well, he almost did, but he stood firm). With that, both parahumans left, leaving the room to the highest authorities of the PRT in the area, save the Chief Director, in the office.

"So, is there a reason everyone else is here?" Trilogy asked, taking his seat again.

"There is," Director West answered with a nod. With a click of the remote, the TV behind him began to show footage of the battle. "As much as the incident should've been avoided, if there's one good thing to come from it, it's that we were able to get some data on at least a portion of the delegation. Thoughts?"

"They're dangerous, alright," Riemann said, finally looking up from her project. "I knew Terrans were tough, we work with Valkyrie enough times to know that, but these guys…they're something else. Just goes to show you what to expect of the elite."

"Yes, and speaking from the viewpoint of PR, a worst-case scenario," the PR woman said. "They're efficient, powerful, and they have a much larger pool of manpower than we do. Frankly, if I didn't know that they probably aren't willing to get themselves involved in 'local politics' – their words, not mine – then I'd be saying that we were screwed."

"Isn't having more superpowered people who aren't villains a good thing?" Trilogy asked, an eyebrow raised.

"That's why I said from the viewpoint of PR," she answered, shrugging. "You must understand that even if I personally see no problem with what they're doing and even applaud it, I have a job to do. And that's to help make the PRT look as good as possible in the eyes of the people."

"Speaking of which," the Youth Guard representative began, "Anyone else notice the teenager who leaped onto Dominator's back and started to maul him?"

"Wait, a who did what?" Trilogy asked, incredulous. Say what you would about his…preferences, but you never got in close-quarters with the Brute. That was just asking to become a bloody smear on the pavement.

"I believe you're talking about the one they call 'Projekt Red,' correct?" Director West asked. "Apparently, she's a part of Rhodes Island's counterintelligence branch. And no, I don't know anything beyond that; as I'm not a high-ranking member of RI, her file was covered in so much black ink it almost rivals some released after-action reports of Ellisburg."

The Youth Guard member grimaced, then nodded his head. Surprisingly, though, he didn't say anything.

"What, no screaming, yelling to the heavens about 'endangering the youth'?" Riemann asked, a smirk on her face.

"In this case, no," he wryly replied. "Normally I would be; superpowered or not, you don't let a teenager fight in close quarters with a Brute, much less one with a less-than-stellar reputation for caring about lives."

"So what makes her different? Come on, she's a perfect case! Underaged, put in dangerous scenarios, has the job of what's essentially a miniature FBI, is-"

"-a Terran," the Youth Guard worker finished. "And I know enough of what Terra's like to know that this would be a fight no one would win. Well, maybe everyone else, which they'd acknowledge after they finished laughing at the idiot who decided to press charges."

"I believe we've gotten off track," the Director interrupted them both. "Trilogy, your thoughts on the matter?"

He only half-listened, humming as he noticed something.

"Could you rewind a bit, Director? About ten seconds, if you don't mind…yeah, that's good, thanks."

With an eyebrow raised, the Director waited for an answer, though at the moment, Trilogy didn't have one…there was just something about the footage that- wait.

"Who's that person on the ground? The one in the heavy coat and the helmet next to her?" He pointed at the person sitting with their back to a car, looking at a tablet in their hands.

"That would be Doctor Taylor, last name unknown. She prefers to go by the name "Doctor" in the field," the Director answered, looking at the paused video along with everyone else. "From what we've been able to gather from rumours and hearsay, she's…well, dangerous isn't even covering it."

"What do you mean?" Trilogy asked.

"What the Director means is that…well. You remember the civil war in Kazdel, right? Specifically the the side led by King Theresa?"

"A bit, yeah. I was a bit busy when the news came out."

Like trying not to die from the monsters of the Endbringer Strix. He still remembered the sight of the hundreds of flying creatures, the Catastrophe right behind them.

"Honestly, I never really looked up what was happening over there until I heard that it was over, but I at least knew of Babel. Why?"

"The Doctor was the tactician of Babel."

Blinking, Trilogy had to process that for a few seconds before realizing what that meant. "Oh. That's…bad?" Even he'd heard of the sheer brutality the Doctor's tactics caused…and how brilliant they were. He'd heard a military general talk about it once in passing while he was guarding him, describing the Doctor as, "a master of tactics and carnage. I honestly don't know ether to shoot him for the lives he throws away or to shake his hand and invite him for a drink". Although, that said…

"Isn't the Doctor here a girl? Didn't everyone say that the Doctor was a guy?"

Director West nodded, though he didn't look reassured in the slightest.

"What you say is very much a fact," he said. "However, if this new Doctor has taken up his mantle, then you don't need to be a Thinker to realize that they probably learned tactics at his knee."

That was…mildly worrying. Knowing the Wards, he knew they'd jump at the chance to meet someone who was that famous and didn't want to kill them, not knowing that she could, if so inclined, manipulate them into following suicide orders.

"You want us to do anything, sir?" Commander Jason asked.

"At the moment, just keep an eye on her," the Director answered. "Much as the think tank likes to pretend otherwise, most info we get out of Terra about stuff like this mostly hearsay and rumours. I won't judge someone for the actions of their predecessor, not until I know what they're like. Anyways, I believe that's all we have to discuss on the topic. Trilogy, we need to discuss who you believe should be on security detail for the meeting in Washington before they move on to New York. Riemann, about those forms you signed on Terran tech…"

With that, the meeting moved onto more mundane matters, though Trilogy was still plagued y thoughts of the Doctor. He'd already signed off on members of the Delegation to come meet the Wards, but hearing about the Doctor, he…well, he didn't know what to think. In the end though, he agreed with the Director's "wait-and-see" approach.

'Well then, Doctor. Guess we'll find out just what kind of person you are soon.'

—(X)—

"Well? What news do you have on the landship?"

"The Originium is on its way as we speak, and the propulsion systems are almost complete, sir! We estimate about a month before they're finished."

"You have three weeks."

"W-What? Sir, I understand that it's disposable to us, but we can't reach our target if the engines break doen! We need that week for checks and to make sure the other systems are-"

"I said, you have three weeks. Our 'friends' have arrived with a considerable amount of forces."

"…I see, sir. Very well, we'll accelerate our preparations. However, sir, I must warn you that-"

"Do what needs to be done. Everything must be done so that our people will be free, no matter the price. Understand?"

"Understood, sir."

With a quick salute, the man left the dark and gloomy basement. The person he was just talking to was sitting at a desk, poring over schematics, maps, and reports. Suddenly, the door to his left opened, another person walking in.

"Faust. Did you take care of our little problem?"

"…They won't be remembering anything for a while."

"Good, good, it wouldn't do for the Doctor and Talulah to learn that we are here."

Faust jumped, shocked. "Talulah's here? Shouldn't we share what we know with her?"

"…No. She wouldn't understand."

Silence reigned over the room for a few seconds, before Faust sat down, pushing back his hood. Mephisto handed him a water bottle, which he accepted with a nod of thanks.

"What news do you have on our 'allies', Faust?"

"They'll be with us when the time comes. Mephisto, I understand why we need them, but why do you want them? We could find any number of mercenaries or Infected to join our cause, and yet we rely on rapists, murderers and scum. Why?"

Mephisto looked over the map he was holding one last time before putting it down, looking at the person he called brother and trusted more than anyone else in world.

"Do you know why I hate the Gaians, Faust?"

"No. You've never actually told me."

"They were blessed with a world free of Oripathy, yet they ignore the lands of Terra. They could take over, truly help the Infected. But they don't, content with the status quo. But that is not their greatest sin."

He took his staff into his hands, looking at his reflection in the crystal.

"Their greatest sin is being born in a world of peace, yet still choosing to sully their lands with war. If us Terrans are evil, then the Gaians…they are all devils. Devils that must be wiped out and purged, for the good of all. Our 'allies' will simply pave the way with their blood. Do you not agree that it is a fitting fate?"

Silence greeted him. Looking up, Mephisto saw Faust look off to the side, turmoil clear on his face. Shrugging, he leaned his staff on the board next to him, his mouth forming a malicious grin. It was the grin that belonged to monsters and psychopaths, looking oh-so-very out of place on the teenager's face.

"Well, it doesn't matter in the end. All that matters, brother, is that you help us to achieve our goals. To help free the Infected. To punish these bastards who have the gall to call themselves better than us simply because they do not have crystals in their blood and on their skin."

"Mephisto…"

"There is no need to worry, brother. Soon…soon we shall emerge victorious, leading our fellows onwards to a great future. Those who oppose us? They shall all burn."

"Mephisto…what of the Gaians?"

"The Gaians? Besides killing them?" Mephisto shrugged. "They'll perhaps be useful as experiments. But if they burn or not, I truly do not care. They'll all die in the end; wether it is by my hand or their own does not matter."

He turned back to his papers, Faust knowing that he was dismissed. He stood up, his heart heavy…but no. He'd already decided on this path. He do his best to help and save his friend, his brother. And if he couldn't? Well, they were all damned, in the end.

'The game is beginning, Doctor. I hope you will do your best to stop us, because I will always stand by my family. Even if everyone else must die…including you.'

—(X)—

TheHakd: If you meant adopted, then yes. And Terra and Earth aren't separate dimensions here, they're on the same world (I kinda had to delete Africa and a bit of Australia, so if you're from there, sorry). But yeah, the rest is good.

And cut! Alright, I think that went pretty well, if a little iffy in the combat part (doubt those kinds of scenes are ever gonna be my strong suit, but you never know. And hey, nobody's perfect). As I said before, I haven't really played Arknights, so my characterization may be off target. If you have any suggestions on how to improve them, please send them my way! Oh, and if you have anything else for my story – constructive criticism, comments, your own observations and theories, or even just a regular old "hello" – put them in! I accept them all! Alright, see ya in the next chapter. Ciao!