Turn 14: The Last of Her
"The saving of a life damns another."
A few days ago W contacted the Doctor in their usual meeting spot, oh the benefits of anonymity. W reassured him that they didn't have a job that needed doing right now, in hindsight the man realized that W knew that Lungmen's people are already preparing to evacuate from the future siege that Reunion will attempt.
"Say, Doc..."
However, she didn't do anything about it. That made him more confident on where her true allegiance lies. W, Talulah, and he were the only ones who are aware of the terrorist group's true lifespan was that of an unstable game of Jenga.
They only have to play their roles, and W forming a professional relationship with him was a case to secure her position as one of Reunion's future traitors.
And in turn, one of its survivors.
"What sorta higher education did you even get your degree in?"
A strange question to bring up and it was something that was difficult to answer, "All I know is that I have a Neurology Degree. No one told me why I took that course."
"Neurology huh...isn't that the one about the mentality of people?" W stirred her spoon while looking at the bright sky.
"That's Psychology." The Doctor corrected, "Well they're both about brain activity in a way, neurology is more about actual anomalies in the brain rather than psychology's study of how people think."
The Doctor took a sip at his coffee, probably the third one he had today, "Although I did encounter some of the material if my books are anything to go by."
"Oh...so ever heard of DID then?" W's eyes glinted with an analytical gleam for a brief moment, unbeknownst to the man, "In my long career as a merc, I encountered a lot of strange people. These people tend to give me strange things from time to time, books are considered a luxury in Kazdel so I took those happily as well. Knowledge is power and all that junk."
That was of course a made-up backstory that the Doctor had no reason nor any evidence to not take her word for.
During her time in Babel, calling her stuck to Theresia like glue was an understatement. Whether it was by fate or a product of her inherently curious nature she snuck into the Doctor's office thinking that it was the Queen's, there she was drawn to a textbook about psychology in the man's possession.
That made her wonder, what were the thoughts racing on their faces as they knew that they were about to die? The thoughts behind those expressions as they were blasted away by shrapnel and explosives? The stories behind those she was fighting against, why were they there and why should she care? It's not that she had a dormant aspect of empathy within her, at least that's what she told herself in order to justify her survival at her "home."
Looking back, she really is just an extremely violent people watcher.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder huh?" A bit puzzled at her question he nevertheless answered her, "Yeah, it sounds like magic or ARTS but apparently a rare few can just manifest another identity that's so distinct from the original. They were even alleged physical transformations too, so it would be hard to know unless they reverted back in front of you."
Dissociative Identity Disorder, what a fascinating concept. The idea of two different personalities with differing ideals and preferences inhabiting the same body unaware of each other's existence. Back then. She was skeptical that people like that could even exist in Terra, much less survive if so. When the world couldn't give a rat's ass about your struggles being literally divided was just a handicap to survival. In her mind the people that have been unlucky enough to develop this strain would have been swept away by the tide of Darwinism, even though she didn't know that there was a formal term for that concept.
But now, two people make her look back on that time whenever she sees them. One of course was the "revolutionary" she's under employment on and the other being the Doctor who she was enjoying a nice afternoon coffee with. That made her think about him being a stranger at first, was it truly amnesia, or an angel unaware that they had a devil living in their soul this whole time? Did that absolve them of any guilt in her eyes? No, but if it was the case there was no point in taking retribution from an innocent sinner.
If this was truly the case then she can see why the late Queen would trust this fool. She'd much prefer to keep this side of the Doctor as well, he keeps her intrigued without the fear that he used to embody. Moreover, a part of her didn't want to eliminate someone the late queen truly trusted; yet she was fully aware that this kind of sentimentality would land her in a shallow grave.
She'll just wait and see if rationale can overcome her sentiments.
Of course, she didn't just ask him about that topic for a reason. There's been someone on her mind lately, their actions not making any sense and she'll pry the truth from their lips even if it costs her an arm or two.
Ahh...The elevator ride to the top is a long one.
0o0
There was no end to the gray skies looming over Lungmen, even as the anomaly started to slowly collapse in on itself.
Tense steps echoed throughout the alleyway, Swire and Greythroat looked at the slowly shrinking dome of darkness; stepping out of it were six silhouettes, one more than what went in.
Swire was familiar with the newcomer, the one on the Doctor's back. Was he the source of this anomaly, after this she must interrogate this kid as there were so many things on her mind left unanswered.
The distortion finally disappeared but once they were out of the dome they found that nothing changed. The newcomers felt like the battle went on for minutes, hours even but didn't seem to be the case.
Amiya reassured them that it was because of distortions like this that can distort everything around them; even the flow of time. Hours feel like seconds and seconds occur even shorter. Thankfully the bunny girl was already experienced enough that the Doctor didn't need to explain again.
"It's only been three minutes, that was quick." The rich Feline dropped down, after relaying to her superiors and comrades that the anomaly had been dealt with. She had good news on her end too, it seemed that some sectors of the attack were already being neutralized.
"Look at you Ch'en, still alive?" Swire tried to tease the dragon girl but the woman waved it off. Too tired and too shaken to give a damn which was already odd since she knew better than anyone how strong this fool can be, "Hey...what did you fight inside that thing?"
"A monstrosity." Blaze was the one who answered for her, looking over she saw the Doctor carrying the body of said monster's host, "Does someone have a disposal bag on hand? We got something to address..." The Feline didn't like the idea of just carrying one of those on hand, while treating the death of an Infected as a hazard is understandable. Something about unceremoniously dumping an Infected body until it fades into dust didn't sit right with her.
The Doctor heaved and laid down Faust's body slowly, an enemy he may be but he had to respect the fallen especially since he knows more than he had any right to. "Swire, you must have some on hand? Otherwise we're going to dig a makeshift ditch to properly dispose of his body."
He hated saying that word since it can imply that this person's body was nothing but trash to be cremated. What did being Infected mean in the sanctity of human life? In death they were all equal. Faust, Alex, and Misha, hopefully they could finally find peace once this tragedy is over. They didn't deserve the cruelty this world presented them, no child should worry about taking territory and fighting for their right to exist. Were they any better? Their CEO is a child that should have been in school, a growing girl like Popukar shouldn't be worried about, not to mention, owning a chainsaw.
Is Terra truly so screwed that even they had to accept this? How many normal lives have been uplifted just to survive in this strange world? How many more broken lives will they face as they fight for a world where no more people would be burdened or pressured to be Amiyas, Fausts, or Mishas.
Those thoughts aside, the Doctor sighed as took out his hook sword, changing Personas he was ready to snap the pavement until the Liberi girl stepped forward.
Handing out a bag to him, Greythroat noticed the remorse the Doctor had in his eyes even though she didn't understand why he looked that way. "Here, there's no need to damage their property. Reunion's already doing that for us."
"You always carry one with you?" The Doctor asked befuddled at Greythroat, to which she nodded like the professional that she is.
"Yes, just in case we needed to..." She trailed off, deciding to not finish her sentence so as to not risk setting off Blaze.
It seemed like it was in bad taste but he can understand that this girl took her role seriously, accepting that those who you are working with are always at risk of death. GreyThroat seemed to hold no hatred towards the Infected, it was more like a form of neutrality that can anger the passionate.
There comes a point where your neutrality can be seen as oppression as well, the Doctor heard Mephisto something along those words before. While he somewhat agrees with that sentiment with what he saw at Lungmen and what he heard from Ursus, so far only the citizens of said places benefited from it.
Did that mean that they deserve to be hurt? No...far from it.
Blaze looked at the exchange confused, this Doctor wasn't like the one Ace and Scout used to talk about. Ever since she heard about the amnesia, she expected a bit of deviation from the image those tales created; even hearsay from the other Operators had her curious as to what this person is like on the field.
And yet, even though she was expecting the cool and collected tactician from him, she found an empathetic idealist like Amiya instead.
"I think this is enough." The Doctor did not call upon a Persona, instead opting to crush a gemstone with his bare hands instead, an Agilao Gem obtained from foraging the souls of defeated enemies. "May the crystallized fire within their comrades' heart soothe his soul to the afterlife."
"Call Closure to deploy Lancet-2 to collect the bag, then have someone pour his ashes to an urn carefully." The Doctor ordered Greythroat whom which relayed those commands swiftly, "I'll tend to his funerary rites after all of this is done, I should have some incense left..."
"So the rumor of him respecting the Infected using Higashian practices was true..." Blaze murmured, clearly touched, witnessing his respect for the fallen first-hand.
The Doctor approached the woman with a look of gratitude, "Thanks for the save there Blaze."
Unsure of what to say from this guy she smiled back at him, "Your welcome Doc, leave it to me!"
Was this guy even worth all this trouble?
"Worth as much as Amiya and Kal'tsit." There was not even a moment of hesitation in his voice, Ace looked at the time constantly as if he himself was excited to embark.
0o0
"So the distortion was expelled?" A voice from the phone asked Wei, who was observing the madness that threatened his city dwindle, "That was fast..."
"Yes, Rhodes Island made quick work of that anomaly." Wei answered, "Although, the time they have experienced there might not be the same as ours."
"Hmm...what are you saying then..." Another voice asked in intrigue, "Are you proposing that time flows differently inside that space."
It wouldn't be strange to them if that were the case, Yan has been host to strange powers that can bend the natural order. The idea of Lungmen playing host to such a manifestation was something Wei was willing to entertain.
"Just a hypothesis and besides that is irrelevant to either of us." Wei steered away, "Besides, I'm sure you already have your own problems back at Yan?"
The person behind the line went quiet but that itself spoke volumes of the situation.
"If you want them to assist you there in the future you should consult me first, maybe I can put a good word in for you."
"That's quite the joke at a time like this, if anything that would yield the opposite effect." They shot back, "When they learn about your tactics it would be by their grace that they would still help you."
"Are you implying that I need help?"
"No." They said stone-faced, "But in regards to the whole debacle with that Duke a while back, we won't hold against you if you ever look for that elusive olive branch."
That did bring up an interesting point, even though the bastard was dead this scheme has his name written all over it. Ever since the name of the Reunion Movement's leader was dropped Wei knew who exactly was Lungmen dealing with, were the anomalies happening here his doing as well was also a question. He was fortunate however that Rhodes Island also has experience in dealing with these kinds of things. Perhaps Fumizuki wasn't just being optimistic when she figured that Rhodes Island would be more help than he bargained for.
"Moving out of that I haven't heard anything from that girl, has something happened to her?" It wasn't out of concern but usually they would be more vocal about this, "They'd be the first to object to your words given that they suspect Rhodes Island the most."
A brief period of silence came from the device.
"Actually...it is pretty odd that they aren't here."
0o0
Whatever is left of the operation's chain of command finally found an area where LGD and Rhodes activity was minimal. The level of their morale might as well have been the pavement given how distraught their faces looked, most of them weren't even fighters but rioters repurposed for it.
No food, water, and even ammunition tensions were still alright for the most part up until...
"Hey Mephisto! What the hell was that earlier?" Jace, one of Faust's Crossbowmen, asked having witnessed the horror that his commander's friend can bring using his ARTS, "That wasn't normal healing ARTS just now, those guys should have been dead and yet..."
Seeing those soldiers, with names and hopes just being on command like marionettes back at the rooftop. Those shambling monstrosities still lingered until they were dealt with by the enemy's combined efforts. The other commanders allowed this kid to run the show for a reason but he did not expect that reason being this horrifying, they want to win sure but not to that horrifying extent.
"They looked like they were suffering..."
Mephisto smiled deviously, perhaps his efforts weren't in vain after all. "Oh those...think of it as a parting gift to Lungmen. I planted seeds and soon they're about to bloom."
"Are you kidding me? So you're saying that show from before was just the start!" Clyde could see how badly things are going to go if this continues, "Just stop Mephisto! While we still have the chance to flee! We shouldn't piss off the enemy any further."
"Ah but that's the thing isn't it..." Mephisto grimly replied, "They have weapons that we've never seen before, tactics that even I was blindsided by and what's worse of all they know the layout of the board better than us...after all it is their city."
Jace raised an eyebrow, all of that was obvious the moment they set foot here. They were all horrendously outmatched and out-skilled; he knew this to be such a hasty operation, he even asked his commander if this was a wise choice to be making. After all, Chernobog had a lot of neighbors and word of their takeover was the only thing he could see in the news for a while. Even an idiot would conclude that Lungmen would be waiting for them, Rhodes Island working with the LGD just confirmed his suspicions.
In hindsight something should have tipped them off when they realized how easy it was.
"What are you getting at here?" Clyde asked Mephisto again, annoyed at how the boy seemed to relish in this madness.
"They treated us like an army! When we were just a few like-minded individuals!" He raged like a child being beaten by a game he himself devised, "But no matter with my ARTS...we still have hope to escape!"
The few Phantom Crossbowmen didn't like what the kid was insinuating.
"Hey hey...Don't overdo it chief." Jace decided to try and talk some sense to the kid, trying to salvage something out of this, "Morale already low as it is, sides if Rhodes Island is here then FrostNova's gonna come here."
Mephisto huffed, "Like that traitor would help our situation, besides I already have our predicament covered."
They can feel the pressure rising as Mephisto evoked his ARTS, his smile growing darker and darker.
"Again, what did you do..."
But no answer, they only hope to Terra that this chuckling maniac wasn't going to get them all killed.
0o0
Everyone has a shadow.
A part of themselves that no one wants to see, of course that is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our secrets, the skeletons we prefer to stay in the closet until we become bones as well.
However, what would you become when you listened to the devil on your shoulder? What if, without warning you are forced to do its bidding?
Maybe, you can find an answer in the suffering of the Herd.
The undead shambled and raged on as it saw everything living in its wake, fueled only by their former selves hunger for vengeance and justice they charged at the opposition. Originium grew on their bodies, to the point that they might as well have been skewered by giant Originium shards. The Herd grew restless and reckless as they were forced to heed their baser nature.
Reunion didn't know what was happening as suddenly in the midst of battle they were being overrun, not by the LGD but by their enduring and suffering brethren. The Herd was ready to partake, to propagate themselves as Mephisto willed those flowers blooming in the flames of the battlefield did.
The LGD facing them didn't understand why Reunion was attacking Reunion, self-cannibalizing their own forces. The idea is just horrifying but now they get to witness the atrocities one is willing to commit once they are cornered.
"I can't believe this..." Jace stood shell-shocked at what he and his fellow crossbowmen were witnessing, "Charlie, Clyde, come on..."
There were no words to be said, the two knew what Jace wanted to do after all it's what their leader would have done.
Mephisto didn't see them leave or perhaps just didn't care as the three went off on their own, unable to stomach what was happening. After witnessing his ARTS cause such destruction, he looked back satisfied.
"Hey, what are we gonna do?" Clyde asked, "I'm all for rescuing the others don't get me wrong but you could have at least asked him what happened with Faust."
Charlie nocked an arrow absentmindedly, "The little psychopath lost all his marbles, so the boss probably isn't doing so hot." He rushed towards a regular Reunion grunt about to be attacked by one of the herd. "Tch, still not good enough."
"Hey Fen, come with us!" Clyde reached out, "Didn't think I'd see you here, where's your squad?"
"Sonuvabitch, took ya long enough Clyde!" Fen knocked Clyde's shoulder playfully, "As for my squad...well it was horrible. Mephisto's herd went out of control, we're unfortunate to be in the proximity of that rampage."
"So...Where the hell is that bastard?" Fen asked coldly, "They took Ivan, Clyde! There was no reason to attack him...dammit...I couldn't do anything." The Defender broke down in front of his comrades, it was no surprise that morale was already down to the core of the planet.
While Fen was being consoled by his friend, Jace looked at the chaos on high. He hated those who exploited his friends but after hearing Rhodes Island counter Mephisto's words and the atrocities his ARTS brought and how he relished in his madness he wondered if this was really right. Most of them just wanted a normal life but they didn't just hurt those who oppressed them, they started to hurt their own people.
"Nevermind that, let's move." Jace wasn't worried about the crazy child, his herd would buy him more than enough time to escape, "We're going back to Chernobog, if we find anyone else then we'll rescue them."
Charlie observed the remnant of a comrade he killed, "Hey Jace, I sensed something off this guy. He reeks of suffering."
"Of course he is, his last moments were being a pawn of some brat from hell."
The remnants that were sane enough to flee from this disaster of an operation shrugged off Charlie's statement. It's only natural after all, since they do not possess the eyes to see a floating purple crystal hovering over the man's remains.
0o0
Meanwhile Rhodes finally reached the checkpoint after dealing with a shadowy detour. The two heads couldn't believe what was going on, the scene looked straight from a horror flick. The sight might have already beaten the Shadows for the worst thing they ever witnessed.
From a distance the LGD forces were keeping the abominations at bay while Reunion was befuddled as to why their own comrades would attack and turn into monsters.
"Rot in hell MEPHISTO!" A valiant Reunion member roared as they threw themselves into the congregation with Originium bombs lit up, preferring to die a man rather than a puppet.
Blaze looked away in frustration as she couldn't stomach the act, her chainsaw roared a requiem for the fallen.
Confusion was contagious as the battle went on. From what the Doctor and the others observed, Reunion seemed to be fighting a battle on all flanks but that didn't make sense; they didn't have the manpower to enclose the enemy. That only meant that another enemy for Reunion manifested without their knowledge.
When the Doctor saw a faint image of an Originium-laden back, it clicked.
"The enemy is erratic! The Originium in their bodies is making them go berserk!" The Doctor launched an incendiary hook at some flammables near the hoard, "Defenders hold them off but don't try to get in contact with them using your bare skin, Amiya you and the other casters will cut down their numbers, you call the shots at the timing I'm counting on you."
"Right!" Amiya opened her communications device, she'll guide her comrades while she will fight here.
The Doctor nodded back at her. "Greythroat, you and the other snipers must pick off any enemy with your bolts."
"Am I allowed to kill?" Greythroat did not hesitate to ask.
The Doctor was looking at Amiya expectantly, while he commanded them, she still had full authority on how to deal with them. "GreyThroat...In principle I couldn't let any harm be brought on them, because if I allowed that then I would just be perpetuating a vicious cycle."
Amiya looked at their enemy, unable to see why they wailed at the Defenders with all their might. "But it's pointless, I shouldn't be philosophizing about ethics on the battlefield. It's ideal that no one would get hurt regardless of their infection but reality isn't that forgiving."
It never was to begin with, otherwise they wouldn't be carrying arms like this.
"Do what you think is right, GreyThroat." The Doctor seconded as he leaped with Blaze to take the fight to them, "That's all we'll ask of you."
All that's left was the rest of Mephisto's horde, a march of the dead with crazed looks and Originium sprouting from their bodies. Amiya tried to break them out of his spell but she couldn't sense any emotion from them, these people were truly dead.
"Hold on?" Amiya noticed something else, something different, "This darkness!"
Of course! These people are walking time-bombs for Shadows to emerge as well, Mephisto's ARTS was perfect in accelerating the development of a person's Shadow.
"Grahhh!"
The legion of Infected rushed through their defense raising their arms, energy pulsated from their palms and at once threw shards of Originium at them. A myriad of black spikes rained down on the combined vanguard but in that moment, a sharp gust cast the bolts aside.
"Astolfo!" The Doctor descended from Blaze's hold, "Take this!"
He pried the enemy open with a heavy slash, then another with a steady kick followed by a strike; knocking the foe above but Blaze quickly made them eat dirt. Soon after Vanilla and the other Vanguards continued the pace quickly making work of the other berserk Infected.
"Istina!" Zima motioned for her comrade to aid her, slowing the enemy in advance allowing Zima and her ax to guillotine the poor bastard.
Skyfire and the other Casters followed Amiya's lead, bombarding the rear with ARTS attacks, and after throwing a small meteorite, pestered them with a myriad of low-powered bolts.
While the other Snipers were putting in the hurt, GreyThroat noticed an unknown person assisting both their allies and the unfortunate Reunion trying to flee from this epidemic. With her judgment sorted out she followed this person discreetly, tailing them to an abandoned building away from prying eyes.
0o0
Contrary to the noise of the chaos outside the abandoned building had no noise, GreyThroat readied her crossbow in case she spotted the unknown lurking within it.
She wandered carefully across the halls, making sure that she was silent when she found the target observing the chaos outside by the window. GreyThroat wasn't given the order to kill-on-sight so her goal was to determine if this person were friend or foe, were they the latter then at that point they must be detained.
"Relax, I'm not an enemy." The cloaked figure reassured her, never losing their cool even though they had a crossbow pointed at their nape.
"Why should I believe you?" GreyThroat pointed out she didn't show her shock at how calm this person was; almost as if they knew she was following them, "I saw you skulk around the area like you know the place, you're no Rhodes Island or LGD member either."
"Sharp, but really I insist." The figure suddenly disappeared, "I'm no enemy."
"How did they?"
The Sniper turned around to face her target, quickly recovering from her confusion.
"Camouflage ARTS...I thought only Faust had that." Greythroat muttered as she looked for her target, trying to see the light refracted but to no avail.
"Oh no, that's wrong." They corrected, appearing right back after they escaped her, "I didn't use a trick like that, who knows maybe I'm just that fast."
GreyThroat turned around again as the target faded in and faded back, almost taunting her.
"Say...why did you even follow me in the first place?"
"If you aren't from Reunion nor Rhodes Island or the LGD then why are you here?" GreyThroat answered, "You were saving Reunion soldiers from those things even if you had no business here."
"What? Can't Samaritans be left in peace?" The cloaked figure mockingly asked, "I mean someone has to help them, those crossbowmen outside are trying to both flee and help but they can't cover much. Sides, someone oughta pick up someone's slack."
"Even though it has nothing to do with you?" GreyThroat pointed out, "Were you Reunion I would have asked you for a ceasefire to help with this."
"Wait, how did they even know all of that if they truly aren't affiliated with any party?"
"Who said that I don't have any stake in this, I thought you Rhodes Island folk are all about helping the Infected?" Her captor laughed, "And really you were hoping to ask Reunion for a truce...damn you might be dumb or just naive."
"Yes, I'm naive. All I can do is follow orders." GreyThroat admitted, "I freeze up whenever I have to make a decision for myself. "
What else is she supposed to do? It's easier to just follow and hope that someone better had your best interests at heart.
"How messed up..." The cloaked figure paused, "You gotta learn how to not do that, else your life isn't gonna end well. It ain't worth it being a piece on another man's board."
"How come?" GreyThroat was confused.
"You live and breathe orders that's why and it's not like I can shame you for giving up your freedom willingly. Fearing choice and surrendering it are two different things, though they all stem from a lack of direction."
The girl couldn't refute their words because in the end they held through to her, all she wanted was to be of use to Rhodes Island but why did she want to be of use to them? Was it because she wanted to repay them for giving her direction or was it something more noble? Really, why was she even carrying her crossbow to begin with?
"Try nocking your arrows because you want to, not because someone told you to."
As the figure was about to depart, GreyThroat called out to them. "Hey wait! I still have something to ask."
"What you're not gonna chase after me?" They were amused at how she looked, it was nostalgic to them.
"I can't catch up to you, we both know that." Indeed, it was a fruitless effort, "If you're to give me life advice I at least deserve to know your name."
The cloaked figure laughed, they figured that she did have a point. "Just a do-gooder like you passing by, name's Denizen."
0o0
After bidding GreyThroat adieu, Denizen looked over the battlefield to see the Doctor and Amiya pushing back the hoard with their allies. As they were about to watch the show their phone vibrated, and they knew that they were probably gonna get chewed on or something.
"What? Are you unsatisfied with my performance there?" Denizen chuckled, "I play things by ear you know? You already know how I roll."
Their caller sighed, clearly used to the person's antics.
"Right right, no more, no less." Denizen said in mock surrender, "I don't want to encounter that guy too, if he sees me then the jig is up."
As they dropped their call, Denizen let the breeze flutter around their cloak. They looked at GreyThroat, leaving the building to fight with the rest of her comrades once more. All things were going according to plan so they decided to leave them be.
"Honestly for a medical assistant you're being a pain in the ass." They said no one in particular, a merc's creed is to not disclose their client after all, "Not that I mind, given that my choices are limited in the first place."
Like knowing this one's identity would help anyhow.
"With that being said, he's made his move hasn't he?" Denizen asked, "Two days ago? Of course, and those fools at Yan didn't notice anything strange with her."
People will just let you get away with an unexplained leave if you're in a high enough position then.
"I'll go." They sighed, touting their weaponry as they knew their task here wasn't over yet.
0o0
They were prepared for war, but a tad less so when it comes to a living nightmare.
The berserk Infected managed to break through the LGD's blockade, escaping was difficult as even one bite that hurts your flesh and you are at risk of becoming one of them. Most of the Operators there would rather be amputated or act as suicide bombs than suffer such a fate.
The red cloaks had no choice but to aid them in the light, not going into battle themselves but being their rock within this ordeal. Pincer attacks followed and the waves were being flanked, stragglers shot down by the rest. They may be extremely durable but these were all people corrupted by ARTS, their mortality is only a prolonged curse of suffering.
On another sector, a bright flash was evoked as the red cloak fired her ARTS.
"Madam Censor! You've saved us." Censor however said nothing, not even a remark on how she wasn't even supposed to help them. She instead leapt away from the hapless LGD squad, focusing her eyes on one man in particular.
A throbbing feeling of pain reverberated in her, her desire to know the truth was the single most important thing right now.
"Defenders! Fan out!" Swire commanded her allies, just when things were looking up they all were shot down by this nonsense. It's just anomaly after anomaly today and Swire's sick of it all.
Ch'en shared the same sentiment, "Recon team, fall back and hold firing position." The recon team didn't follow her commands for some reason, she then looked at her communications device wondering why the scouts haven't reported anything or why her earlier orders didn't get through, "Are those mutants interfering with radio waves somehow? Our scouts..."
"We can't hold all of them!" Swire moaned as she brought her flail at the enemy, "Haven't you cut through a whole wave of these things before? This seems like a good time for that!"
As much as she would love to, that sword was very demanding on what she was allowed to cut.
"I'd love to but this is a different matter!" Ch'en breathed out, her exhaustion from fighting that Shadow was starting to set, "I'll have you know I'm also quite drained after dealing with that thing earlier!"
Swire sighed in frustration, "Leave it to puk gaai Lung to peter out when things are desperate."
Ch'en couldn't argue with that, she's pretty much only good for her orders and her other sword, the former being jeopardized while the latter was slowly dwindling. She couldn't even gather the strength to manifest her Persona.
Still, that didn't give her the right to chastise her. "Then why don't you show us what you can do!"
"Drone!" Swire called out.
"Huh?"
At Swire's call, a drone was shot down from the sky; it was beside Ch'en ready to shoot.
"SUPERINTENDENT CH'EN SAYS: RECON TEAM! FALL BACK! HOLD FIRING POSITION!"
By her command, the recon team finally responded to one of Ch'en's orders. Swire didn't have a megaphone on hand but her roar was more than enough to get things in line.
"How's that!" Swire huffed in pride, "Hold line! Fire team!"
"Huh?"
"Explosive bolts!" On her command, a line of explosions followed her voice, "Whaddaya mean huh!?
"What did you say!?" Ch'en tried to hear her compatriot's question, "Wait am I deaf thanks to you?"
She was only half-joking but continued, "Go. Use your talents to get the word out to the communications team at Originium Transceiver Beta. Have them tell everyone: the herd is tough, hold positions, minimize casualties, and don't hold back. As for me, I'm going to ask someone if they have earmuffs."
"You're really are a #$%*" Swire whispered underneath her breath.
"I heard that." Ch'en quickly quipped.
"I thought you couldn't hear shit Shithead!?"
"I can read your lips." She then countered.
"Then you could have heard my words before jackass!" As Swire made her point, she left Ch'en to go assess the others. She'll just waste more breath with her.
As the LGD used a bunker buster to collapse a building, creating both a weapon and a barrier at the same time, Ch'en breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally, some quiet." Ch'en looked at the officer who seemed to be responding to her, "Good, I can hear stuff now. Go ahead, speak up."
"Well...it appears that we have...guests." The officer pointed at an incoming wave of Reunion, unaware that their operation was already below hopeless.
Ch'en drew out her regular sword, "Already huh? Leave it to them to never give us a moment to rest. Doesn't really change things though, let's show them how strong our city is."
"Uh...one more thing...I...I'm not sure how accurate the reports are...but..."
"Out with it."
"Some units reported catching a glimpse of some people in black raincoats."
That made Ch'en ponder for a while, "Reunion?" It could be a possibility, but no...Reunion isn't that sophisticated.
"Thankfully no, We've seen evidence of them clashing with Reunion but..."
Ch'en paused to think of what he just stated. "But what?"
"The Reunion that clashed with them all died in what I can only describe as..."
"Doesn't matter." Ch'en dismissively said not wanting to hear how gruesome the aftermath must have been, "Seriously, shadowy figures running around in a sunny day. Sounds like an urban myth if you ask me, although now I don't think that's off the realm of possibility."
She did just enter a domain that defied the laws of time and space and helped kill a manifestation of repressed emotions. Not to mention, now she can harness the power of her soul that just so happens to take the form of a mythical beast.
As she looked up to the sky, she caught the sight of a black raincoat watching over them.
"Should've known better than to jinx it."
At the same time as GreyThroat exited a building, she too caught a glimpse of the elusive raincoat.
"What is that..."
"[Sector 12 cleansed. Purged of Infected.
Teams 3 and 4 operating.
Moving to the next sector. ]"
GreyThroat against her better judgment followed the shady raincoats, wondering what they meant on "Purging." She then heard a strange distorted cry as she got closer she saw some Reunion members, desperately trying to stave off the herd; looking for a place to run.
"W- why! Why are you hurting your people? Snap out of it! N- no! Run! Hurry!" A Reunion Soldier beckoned for his comrades to run, "Get out of here! Don't let them get you! Run!"
But as soon as they made their move, the black raincoat appeared in front of them.
Relieved at seeing another person, they quickly surrendered to them even if it meant that they would be prisoners of Lungmen they would rather be that than be a part of the herd.
"[Additional target acquired.
Infected fugitive group on the border of Sectors 13 and 6. 44 individuals.
Completion estimate: within five minutes.
Operation commencing.]"
As they threw their weapons away, they were instantly subjected to slaughter. Unable to turn away from this, GreyThroat looked on in horror.
"N-no..."
0o0
"They've lost all of their humanity..." Amiya looked at the crazed look on the herd's faces, still she stood resolute in front of it all, "Rend them Miseria!"
A blast of Maeiga scattered across them, hurting their very beings.
"I'll say..." The Doctor muttered, "Here comes the second wave!"
In response to their thirsty howling the Doctor revealed a mask of crystal and crushed it in front of them. "Cure them all Ophiuchus!"
A wave of ice blasted them aside, as a third wave was ready to replace them.
"This has to end at some point." The Doctor bit his lip as he took out a Sanity Potion to recharge his energy. "Not much I can do, I'm slowly losing stock Amiya."
"I understand Doctor." Amiya looked at the man, trying to recuperate as the final battle was slowly approaching. However, before they could settle the score they have to tread through this obstacle of seething hatred.
I can't feel... anything from you anymore. That faint outline of a thread of hatred, it all came from Mephisto...
She looked at the herd with sadness, not with pity as that would defile their memory even further. All she could hope to do is to rid them of this pain, like the man she looked up to, to walk the path of a doctor in a sense.
I have to cleanse it... the poison of Mephisto's hate.
"Miseria." She withdrew her Persona, triggering her Spirit Burst, "I promise you this, I'll cleanse of this pain!"
0o0
Daylight dawned on Lungmen already, you could be forgiven for mistaking the time for noon with all the dark clouds looming over the mobile city. Ch'en sighed as she took out a weird tasting soft drink, washing the taste with a bottle of mineral water. Her quick overview in Personas told her that these things are great in replenishing energy required for continued usage of her new power, sure enough her phone's new app told her that to be the case. It just showed up on her phone after she got it, thankfully that was also explained to her.
"How nice of them to leave the vending machines unscathed."
Things have been consistently weird, after dealing with Reunion's persistent stragglers she immediately went to the slums. Seems logical that most of Reunion's forces would retreat to a place that had a lot of Infected in the vicinity. She felt a bit worried about leaving her allies to deal with the mutants without her but after hearing that there was reduction of those forces in particular she felt relieved.
Then anxiety came back after hearing that it wasn't the LGD who dealt with them.
"Who's there!?"
There was no response, but Ch'en can sense an unknown force.
"It's me!" An LGD member nearby presented themselves, "Reporting in."
Ch'en shook her head, "Not you...nevermind. Report in."
"Yes sir, we have finished our survey of the area as you ordered!" Her subordinate said, "However, this area lacked any Reunion footprints!"
Ch'en pinched her nose in frustration, "I said to look for anything unusual in general."
"Oh...Oops." Her subordinate looked at the ground in embarrassment, "We aren't familiar with this area, I mean according to procedure we don't come here unless it's a problem so serious that we have to tear the block."
"Right..." Ch'en said with a hint of bitterness, "The slums don't exist unless they make a loud enough racket."
Kind of like a virtual pet complaining about the crap they just made, cry and scream then it'll be rid off with extreme prejudice. You can't really fault the pet for making it when the game didn't allow for the purchase of a toilet, those creatures were clearly intelligent enough to use one.
"...When we cut off Reunion, there was a deafening sound heard from here and after that half the residents of the place disappeared." They couldn't make it more obvious if they tried, "Look at all these toys scattered about and tell me that it isn't out of the ordinary."
"Were there any plans about evacuating the people at the slums?"
His respect and admiration for his superior far outweighed the apathetic social programming placed onto him, swallowing his fears he glanced at the wreckage and attempted to remember every oddity that he and his crew dismissed for convenience's sake.
Most buildings in the district are either destroyed or desolated, and in turn the streets are as barren. Perhaps that's to be expected if they somehow got caught in the crossfire while taking care of Reunion. Fires were extinguished, although said fires were caused by mundane reasons like household equipment going awry, possibly due to said crossfire.
The way her subordinate was so matter-of-fact, he obviously didn't care about them in particular.
"Of course...why would you..." She muttered under her breath, it's not like they get praise for caring about the Infected. In some cases, this situation might be a dream for those in the force who despised them even.
Qing-Long sighed in her soul, her mind's made up. She wanted to protect Lungmen, but that wasn't just it. She hated the status quo of her home, why would she want to protect this crapsack system? No, what she wanted to protect is her home's soul; a slowly corrupting spirit being consumed by hatred and the malaise of Oripathy.
A dream where the kids at the slums wouldn't fear being caught at the wrong end of a blade of someone who was supposed to protect them. A Lungmen that didn't have toys as the only hope of a child's brighter tomorrow.
"It is the height of selfishness to declare yourself the weapon of your home." Qing-Long pointed out, "However, that's alright. If this is your treasure then it's only right to stake your claim on it."
Children playing out it in the streets getting in trouble for the stupid things that they did instead of getting there because of some rock growing in their skin. Just like them before all of this…
"Send out teams to lock down the area." Ch'en ordered, there was no more time to waste, "No one gets in or out, no vehicles; Reunion or not."
As she took her earlier subordinate with her to survey the area, she saw a faint shadow of an unknown.
"With me!" She said in hand-signs.
The duo chased after the silhouette north, silent footsteps snared towards the target. Once they reached them, her subordinate pointed his crossbow at them.
"Very perceptive..." It was true, a black hooded person was staring back at them, amused that they were able to track them.
As her subordinate had them at bow-point, Ch'en held back her anger. "What are you doing!?"
"Preparing to fire!" He was shaking at the sheer aura this guy possessed but his leader was counting on him, if this guy was a threat then they'll be turned into a pincushion.
"You should not follow." The hooded person took a step in front of them, "Control your subordinates, Ch'en."
"What the...how do they know my name?" Ch'en couldn't help but notice the apparel this guy wore, it was very Yan. Black silk adorned their figure, obscuring their faces to protect their identity or rather to protect others from it.
Swallowing her earlier fervor she didn't drop her gaze from them, "Find Swire..."
"But sir..."
"Go!" There was no point of him being there, this was between the leader of the LGD and a direct subordinate of who she thinks it is."
Her subordinate's departure didn't not drop the tension between these two, she was ready to take this guy down if they tried anything funny.
"So...who sent you?"
"I do not answer to you." That just told her who does.
"No...no you don't." She bit back, "Doesn't mean I'll let you run though. The LGD doesn't take it too kindly to unknown elements like you."
"Hmm...you're different now." The black hood noted, "I can sense a shift in you, however any change you make inward will make no difference outward. It's in your best interest and the LGD's to not be involved with us."
"Is that a threat?"
Ch'en had her hand on her blade's handle, she was confident that her Shadowless Techniques could cut through the phantomy agent, no matter how quick they are.
"You are the face of the LGD, the community's pillar of strength. The symbol if you will, a symbol shouldn't stick their nose where it doesn't belong."
"Gee thanks for stating what I already know." Ch'en sarcastically said, "But I'll let you be if you can answer something I don't know."
"Tell me, where the hell are all the people in the slums?"
Ch'en knows how much power she truly has over this guy, even if they wanted to silence her they just stated that they can't. Those obtuse attempts for threats didn't deter her desire to know the truth, she has them where she wants them.
"You're just one click away from blowing your cover. We both know you don't want that." Che'n smirked, "You could try to cut me off my device, but I have it rigged to release a distress signal when I'm separated from it."
The latter part was just a bluff, confidence built from facing nightmarish foes and seeing that her allies were used to the mayhem.
"Come on...buy the bluff..."
"Are you aware that your comrades are busy fighting these new forms of Infected?" The cloaked figure pointed out, "Even if what you say is true, it would be more detrimental to trigger it now."
"Tch."
Ch'en had been had. The cloaked figure almost smiled at how defeated Ch'en looked but there was no time.
"We will withdraw from this place, it's best that we both work in our separate ways."
"Hey wait!" Ch'en tried to chase after them, "You think you can just come and go as you please?"
"I think so, a suggestion however." The faux specter said in an almost mocking manner, "Do not seek out what has transpired here. I answer only to Lord Wei and will not waste my time entertaining you with banter."
As they faded from Ch'en's sight they pondered on what they saw from the Superintendent.
"Ah...it was possible that she would be able to see my attack if I called her bluff."
There was a hint of awe in that little remark, after all the symbol of the city's strength has gotten stronger. A servant such as them can't help but be glad even after what had transpired.
"Hey-!" They ignored the cry of Swire, slightly thankful that Ch'en managed to stop her in her tracks.
0o0
The Phantomcrossbowmen looked outside while hiding from the monsters that they just saw, they were sure that those were civilians but those cloaks did not care. Jace looked at the catatonic commander with a mixture of sympathy and disgust, maybe those cloaks wouldn't have been deployed had he not used that ARTS.
"Oh? You took him with you Jace?" Clyde looked at the kid with disdain, "I thought we all but abandoned him before."
"We did actually but after I saw him and those black cloaks I did what I had to." Jace shivered at the mere mention of those freaks, "Good thing those guys never saw us or we both would have been killed."
"Are you sure it's right for us to take him?" Charlie questioned, "He's quite the liability and given that the operation's all blown to shit we might as well skedaddle."
Jace understood the risk but he figured that it was probably the right thing to do, "Yeah, but even though he's such a little shit I figured that this is what our boss would've done."
"Right...boss..." Clyde reminisced about how cool Faust was whenever the guy was not with Mephisto, unlike the other commanders he seemed the most human.
W's an insane demolitions expert on Talulah's payroll, Patriot and his Shieldguards are too militaristic, his daughter and her buddies were really tight-knit but they all knew tragedy was waiting for her. Crownslayer seemed approachable but you could tell that something was weighing her down. Faust seemed like the most chill out of them, the last thing he did was protect the arguably worst commander in their roster.
"Still though...Fen's gonna be pissed." Charlie remarked, the man after all lost his friends to this psychopath.
"I know, I know." Jace raised his hands in defeat, "Tell him, I'll kill him myself if he tries anything stupid. All of us were screwed over by that bitch, you guys all knew that."
They were basically Talulah's guinea pigs, if they win she will get all the glory and if they lost then it was of no matter to her. The woman sent them to Lungmen to be slaughtered, and the fierce reception they got was proof that she was either an idiot or a malevolent butcher.
"Look kid, just shut up and run." Jace all but ordered him to, hierarchy be damned when the whole chain of command was ruined in a day, "I'm not gonna speak for him anymore except right now but I know he won't let you use that ARTS again. It did more harm than good after all."
"The LGD were damn near prepared for everything, they even had backing from Yan probably."
Jace had to admit, they were all idiots to imagine that Yan wouldn't be opposed to this. The city was also a commercial powerhouse for that nation, so the place having a security equivalent to that of a bank was to be expected.
0o0
"Who was that?" Swire was already on the prowl when she was summoned by a shaken LGD Guard, "Ch'en what's going on?"
"That's something I would like to know too..." Ch'en answered while in her mind she was already processing what she learned, for a guy who didn't want to be known they sure gave a lot away.
"I saw a glimpse of that guy you're talking too but it can't be right?"
She had heard hearsay of such a task force, it was a myth among socialites and the top brass of the LGD. To see them in the flesh, well it's like being told of ghosts as a child then actually encountering one as an adult.
"No, it is." Ch'en stated, "Lungmen's spec ops are on the move and I don't know if the people in the district are piled in a mass grave somewhere."
Ch'en grimly wondered if that child she talked to was alright, the kids that Misha girl helped too. So much for having the power to summon a giant angry dragon, for all her talk about protecting everyone it's harder to realize that ideal.
"Huh?" Swire was confused at the remark but focused more on her former statement, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh don't play dumb with me!" Ch'en heatedly sighed, "You at the very least heard of that."
Swire was dumbfounded at her superior's words, "I don't know...but wait do you?"
"No, but I'm sure your grandfather knows." Ch'en waved her hand lazily, Swire has more ties to the city's inner workings compared to her after all.
"Why are you bringing up my bed-ridden grandfather at a time like this!?" Now it's Swire's turn to ask questions, "Diu ah! Are we even on the same page here?"
"Your grandfather being bed-ridden doesn't mean he can't run Lungmen anymore." Ch'en rebutted, "You know full well how strong that man actually is."
Swire gave herself a moment to think, sorting through all the people she knew. If there was a time to use her skills as an Investigator it's now, so from her mind she dismissed the people who had no means nor motive.
She looked pensive, sorting all the information that she was capable of accessing for someone in her position. The connections she had and the chains those connections are linked to, and then she found a lead.
Until she finally reached a name, a name and a reason.
"No way!" Swire exclaimed but after a while came to a realization, "Unless...but!"
If there's anything investigation work taught her is that, once you remove all possibilities then whatever is left must be the truth. If that truly is the case then, she had no reason to doubt her suspect.
"You got someone?"
It's hard to swallow seeing that they both knew that person in question but it couldn't have been anyone else.
"Lin...Lin Gray." Swire whispered, even she couldn't believe the words escaping her mouth.
"I think it's my turn to say "NO WAY!"" Ch'en spat, "He runs the slums as his personal fief, there's no way he'd let something like this happen."
The rat king's the most important figure in the slums, the godfather of the criminal underground but he was a kind man. The idea of culling the slums was an insult to his hard work, he's their protector, never a butcher. Him acting as such provided a much needed buffer between Lungmen's brass, to remove it now would be idiotic.
"Call a few people and find out for yourself." Swire advised agreeing with Ch'en's disbelief, "On second thought, should I call them?"
Ch'en nodded silently.
"What about Hoshiguma?" Swire asked, "Should I ask her to keep a vigilant eye?"
"No." There was no hesitation, "I don't want her to get involved with this, she doesn't have to worry about his lapdogs."
It wasn't that she didn't trust her, for Ch'en this was her way of protecting her friend from the darkness of the city. The shadows that plague this city aren't something Hoshiguma can handle, if she was having a hard time on her own then anybody else would be crushed by it.
Maybe it was hypocritical of her to go be a martyr if it comes down to it.
But she's Hoshiguma, Ch'en was sure that she of all people can understand.
0o0
As the crystal that the Doctor absorbed told him the full story, it was agony to see the tale unfold. A car crash that you know was inevitably going to happen. What he didn't expect was how the child contracted the illness, a fat lady forced a piece of the infernal rock down his windpipe, irreparably damaging his vocal chords depriving him of the one thing that he wanted to do wholeheartedly.
That was also the catalyst of the horrifying ARTS that is now plaguing the streets of Lungmen, a part of the Doctor hoped that the abuser got her comeuppance but that remains to be seen. The horror set in when he realized the nature of Mephisto's ARTS, the children that bullied him turned into puppets for him to dance with as he sang forcibly out of tune with Faust, or rather Sasha, looked at the sight with the same feelings he had as an observer.
No child should ever have that gleeful expression he had as he caused pain and suffering, to others and to himself.
Healing ARTS? No, it was more like a parasitic form of mind-control ARTS. Like a fungus binding itself to a host, supercharging them to ensure their spread and survival.
That demented look on his face as Eno took the name of Mephisto, why did it look so familiar?
His thoughts were brought back to reality as Blaze called him, stating that the last batch in this area was defeated. Since Faust is not an issue anymore, all of them are focused on defeating as many of the rampaging mutant Infected as possible as they make their way to FrostNova.
Suddenly, a strike of lightning narrowly hit him. He had Ophiuchus on standby, so if he was hit by that attack, he was screwed to high heaven.
"What the!?"
Without a word to follow up on, he evaded another attack coming his way. Blaze tried to intercept but was countered by a flurry of bolts with a small explosion.
"Doctor!"
Thoughts were racing through his mind the Doctor was gradually being pushed back by the unknown red hood. Eventually he made it through a building and decided to take the sudden fight to the roof. The enemy is pretty strong and their ARTS is no joke, as he was being chased down by the red hood he had to narrowly dodge bolts coming from unexpected places.
Are they rebounding or ricocheting? The Doctor found it pointless to understand the nature of her attacks in the moment after all he had to do his best to dodge them all.
"She's not even giving me time to change Personas!"
The bolts barely grazed his jacket as he swatted the attacks by the edge of his hook, throwing a few throwing knives he picked up from the defeated clumsily as a distraction.
As the Doctor and the enemy reached the barren roof of the building, he was given time to observe his opponent. The red-hooded girl's apparel was not from Reunion, rather it was very Yan.
"Who are you?"
"It's my duty as an academic as well as an official to know the unknown, I hope you are willing to answer my inquiries...Doctor of Rhodes Island."
0o0
Blaze immediately called Amiya who was busy dealing with another sector of Lungmen, hoping to Terra that the Doctor was alright as she chased the two.
"Blaze! What's going on?"
"I don't know!" Blaze grunted as she jumped at a lamppost to see a faint picture of the Doctor dodging a lightning bolt, "Someone with a red hood suddenly attacked the Doctor! ."
"What? Is it Reunion?" Now it was Amiya's turn to be surprised, "Where are you now?"
"I'll give you a real-time update on my coordinates, focus on your end first." They still have Reunion forces to deal with, "They don't look like Reunion, the silk on their cloaks is too high-quality." Not to mention the Feline was familiar with that specific shade of vermillion.
Amiya bit her lip; an unknown third party assaulted the Doctor out of nowhere. Assembling a small force might lead into an incident that would put Rhodes Island next on the chopping block, and she can't just leave during a battle when her comrades need her to be here. Not to mention this would be a major diversion to the Doctor's plans as well.
Should she just let the Doctor be as he struggled against an unknown opponent?
"Don't worry Amiya, I'll go there." Blaze reassured her, "I'll make sure he's safe."
0o0
Censor let out a fury of bolts towards the Doctor, while he cannot afford to get hit by the cascade of lightning right now as that was Ophiuchus, his current Persona's fatal weakness. This woman was trying to get him to use his powers on her, he hadn't determined this person's end game was so it would be unwise to use different elements, not to mention that he has yet to recover from his fight earlier.
He needed to gather information swiftly before unleashing his conclusions, there must be something else as to why this woman is determined to make him use it.
"The nature of your ARTS...why am I drawn to it? What's its nature?"
"I don't have time for this!" The Doctor grunted, baiting out the enemy with his grappling hook. Igniting the small firestarter in it, the red cloak narrowly avoided his attack.
But it was a trick, the Doctor dashed towards her laterally while she was focused on dodging his tool. Ready to knock her out with the blunt of his blade, he was quickly parried by a bolt of ARTS energy that came from the ground.
As she smirked at seeing the trick, she suddenly smelt burning. Her cloak was on fire? But how could this be, she would have noticed a flame coming towards her. It was impossible for it to be an ARTS attack given the position of who she is facing.
Then she saw the metal coil snake back to its user, it was the Doctor's grappling hook. He timed it just right as she made her move after he was distracted by the parry. He played through her seeing the trick, a classic double-layered misdirection and yet she fell for it.
"Why you-" She was cut off by a slash from the blunt end of his blade. The best he could hope for was to knock the Yan official out, even if she was going rouge he can't bring himself to take yet another life.
This woman was trying to pry off information from him with every second he could feel her eyes attempting to dissect his very being for all its secrets.
"What can I do?" The Doctor was weighing all his options, not one of them good. She was a rogue element to the mission, he had an inkling that Yan would assist Lungmen from the shadows but he didn't account for the possibility of one of those officials being so enamored with rumors about a new form of ARTS. He figured the more that Rhodes' ranks would have Personas, the less questions about it would be asked.
Of all the days to regret having the Wild Card, not like he asked for any of this.
"Look, I'm willing to entertain you after I'm done with my mission." The Doctor spat from a safe distance, "Can't this wait? I mean I still have a squad to command."
"I'm quite confident in the abilities of your people too." The red hood bit back, there was mockery in her words, "So much so that you answering my inquisitions now would make little difference."
"Ok, so they don't know anything about the Yeti Squadron at all. Not all of Reunion is mindless hooligans and asylum breakouts. They actually have competent and deadly militia under their ranks!"
Little did he know that Lungmen has a trump card as well.
"Hey, like I said I don't know what you're talking about I'm using ARTS like any other normal person." The Doctor lied through his teeth, "I don't know anything about this new ARTS you keep bugging me about."
The red hood lunged at him once more, failing to attack him. "You don't have an ARTS conduit, that's all I need to suspect you."
"Have you ever considered that I'm just an Infected?" He knew that he wasn't at least infectious but hey, little lies like this are a necessity sometimes.
"Oh, can you show me a record?" She countered, "If not, I'm willing to settle for some blood to analyze."
There's no way she's serious about that remark, she's just testing him; trying to see what makes him tick. She knows that her status carries such weight and she's beating it right through him.
"The energy readings of your power...they are different." Censor noted, "Almost like it actually attacks the core."
"Why are you so gung-ho about this anyway?" The breeze blew on her hood, revealing a bit of her face and in that instant as he saw those golden orbs an idea shone upon his head. Then he used his Third Eye, the ability that highlights abnormalities.
"As I said before..." Dangerous bolts move towards the Doctor, "It's my duty as an academic."
There was a shadowy core at the center of the girl's body, right below where her heart is supposed to be but dangerously close to the muscle. His Third Eye has no x-ray abilities but the darkness contained in her was sticking out like a sore thumb, furthermore it seemed like she herself didn't manifest that ick.
"Why is there a Shadow here? Not that's not right, this person is possessed by one but how?"
There was no point in asking that question when the objective was to survive, this person was determined to isolate them both.
"This is my only option, I can't beat her like this, not when I need to recover my strength."
"You're up Sukukazine!" He injected himself with a drug from his pouch, in an instant he blitzed past the red hood and jumped off the skyscraper with the woman following suit.
Dodging a lightning bolt, he grappled his way to the other keeping his momentum and looking for any ally that can help him with this problem.
"If they're something like Yan's secret service then they'll do everything in their power to not be seen."
True to his word, the woman followed him by running and jumping through the buildings trying to intercept him. Then again it's not like they can keep up with his mobility. They are still technically allies, so a tiny scuffle like this was something even she couldn't afford to have witnesses.
But then in a blitz as he was about to change Personas to guard his weakness, she dashed towards his destination as if she knew his landing spot. While the Doctor was in mid-swing there was no way to stop it, he will intersect with her and will have to fight her again.
"Oh give me a break! If she is possessed by a Shadow of course she would have its power too!" The Doctor screamed in his head, "What the hell should I do?"
There was no answer suitable to solve this conundrum, he can still win but that would just complicate things further. Is it really worth it to escalate this predicament, no LGD member would believe him over her and the moment his allies help him, they may be the next thing Lungmen will try to eradicate.
He was in check.
"Try leaning a bit to the left?" Then he heard a voice.
Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past him as he complied with the stranger. Censor narrowly managed to dodge the attack but the one who made the shot was on the top of the same building as him.
A cloak menagerie of a person joined the fray, treating the whole ordeal as another job in their playbook.
Before the Doctor could ask them about their identity, the cloaked person stopped him. "You have somewhere to be right? I'll deal with her."
"Wait she isn't-" He didn't want to kill her, as she was just corrupted by a crystal after all.
But the person cocked their bolt-gun, showing their ammo was just a rubber bullet. "I know! I'm not gonna kill her. Go!"
"I haven't even-" The Doctor at least deserved the identity of their savior, "At least tell me your name!"
"Name's Denizen and there's no need to pay me! I've already been paid in full," The newly identified Denizen barked back, "Don't you have a place to be? Just go there already."
Without a point to argue against, the Doctor left the two alone while Denizen stared down at Censor.
As Censor tried to break through Denizen using her speed she narrowly dodged a bullet. It pierced through the concrete without much resistance, leaving Censor startled. "Don't even think about it."
"So much for rubber, I didn't even think that Originium Guns can fire non-lethal weaponry." The red cloak smirked, "You...you feel different...you're like him aren't you?"
"Whatever could you mean?" Denizen coyly asked with a smirk of their own, "I'm just fast, and I didn't lie...I am using rubber bullets, even with that piercing power I have a feeling it would feel like mosquito bites to you."
Wind gathered through their palms as Denizen readied their weaponry.
"Heh, I said I was already paid in full but really...they really don't pay me enough for this shit."
0o0
"Talk about the gamble of a lifetime..." Swire expressed as they stealthily followed a group of Reunion members that they let pass.
The black cloaks plan on eradicating every single Reunion member they can see, that means that they were the perfect bait that Ch'en can use to lure them out. Swire was unsure of what she makes of this new Ch'en more determined and calculating, she has it all figured out by now. The girl didn't care about anyone who would say otherwise but that didn't mean that she wasn't willing to take all of the responsibility.
Those guys can't act as they please as long as the LGD are in close proximity, Ch'en knew of this so she is exploiting that fact for all that it's worth. Amiya was already informed about the black cloak situation; those guys wouldn't think twice to eliminate Rhodes Island members if they somehow got in the way by accident. Or at least that's what Ch'en thinks of them.
"Ch'en...thanks for the heads-up."
"You don't have to, if we haven't checked the slums beforehand Reunion wouldn't have scooped them up." Ch'en felt like she failed again, what was she doing these past few days, "We reap what we sow I guess."
"I don't think that's true, if it weren't for your quick action in the slums then Lungmen wouldn't be able to prepare against them."
"And yet we relaxed after dealing with Skullshatterer...it was thoughtless of us to not investigate further after that."
Siesta was fun, it's not everyday that you learn that your favorite band was also your new friends. Days passed by in that artificial summer resort of a city like the very sand granules on its fake coast and the whiplash of returning to work the next few days was jarring. It felt off in more ways than one, like something was out of sequence.
Then again why did she go on a vacation afterwards? For the life of her she can't remember why she was so eager to go on a trip.
"Even though we differ in opinion towards that mission, so far you've been doing great." Amiya replied, "All of us had to deal with unexpected circumstances today and among the chaos you've been holding up well."
"The point is, you should have more faith in those who you want to protect."
A rain of arrows accompanied the reinforcements from Rhodes Island, and a blast of cursed energy trail with them.
"We're in position!" Amiya called out as she dropped down the rubble facing their adversaries, "Besides...no matter who they are, as long as they have love for their city, all of the Lungmen can unite and fight back."
A rally of Rhodes Island Operators followed the young girl's words, her little speech with what little Yan she knew managed to stir the hearts of even the Infected-averse LGD. Soon both Rhodes and her own men were fighting side-by-side like brothers-in-arms, sharing a single goal.
To beat Reunion.
"What an awesome little bunny." Swire smiled at the young girl's determination, who knew that the leader of Rhodes Island was so inspiring even though she's still young. Infected or not, it takes a special kind of strength to face this madness relative to her age.
"Huh?"
"Don't mind Swire, Amiya." Ch'en quickly said, "True in these times we can unite, but when the dust settles it's another matter entirely. Dying's easy Amiya, living's harder."
"I know, but it wasn't death that killed all these people." Amiya remarked, "If both parties live in different worlds then it was the gap between them that killed them, a lot of people fell there. Even if she died fighting, Misha still fell straight through it."
"When you obtained your Persona, that was your oath right? You want to protect everyone?" She had a feeling it was something like that, Ch'en wasn't conflicted because of her desire rather it was her approach that was the source of her doubt.
"Towards that desire, just entertaining different approaches proves that you are working towards it."
"True, but how can I say that I did a good job if there are still casualties?" Ch'en admitted, earning a puzzled look from Swire; never hearing her being open like that to anyone, "I guess that time I accepted the reality of the city, but that's just an admission of failure isn't it?"
Can a balance be achieved in this city?
"It's frustrating to see that I grew so much but accomplished so little." Ch'en drew her sword as they prepared to face the foe together, "Tell me, is there hope for such a city Amiya? Or is it just a fantasy?"
Her vow was to protect her city, its residents, its values, and its soul. Her will to that desire was awakened but now she found herself facing an invisible enemy once more. What if the true threats to the city lived within its borders? What if all her work towards Lungmen's betterment was all for naught?
Mephisto's invitation rang in her head like a whisper from a demon.
"I can't give you a definite answer but it's just a matter of perspective," Amiya explained, "But the fact that you are starting to long for such a city means that there is."
"If you can understand why Rhodes Island is willing to fight on your side then..." Amiya paused, the enemy was approaching them. They weren't worth the energy to spend their Personas on but Amiya brandished her claw made of ARTS energy, she wanted to fight with Ch'en head on; perhaps in battle she can understand her point of view.
"Here they come."
"Right, no holding back this time." Cursed energy surged into the tips of her hand.
The dark skies never wavered but even though it might consume Lungmen in darkness, this pair was a light that cannot be obscured. Swire looked at the two leaders' determination with admiration as they charged to the frontlines ready to end this needless conflict.
"One more question Amiya," Ch'en asked, "What did you swear to yourself when you obtained yours?"
Amiya looked at the chaos amidst the order of the battlefield, a sprawling district reduced to a warzone.
"To become a monster." She smiled.
0o0
It's just their luck, he can hear the LGD on their tail. He was so focused on avoiding those black cloaks that he failed to account for the more active threat.
He already accepted this possibility, he didn't have much in him in the first place. An old fogey like him shouldn't even be in service like this in the first place.
"Jace...what are you doing?" Clyde called out to Jace, who stopped his brisk walking while preparing his equipment.
Jace tossed a keepsake towards his fellow Crossbowmen and gestured for the three to leave with Mephisto in tow.
"Take him back, at the very least our leader wanted him to live." Jace coughed hoarsely, he could feel the Originium in his body go deeper as he concentrated his ARTS "Run and get as many as you can, if you see FrostNova go to her."
His ARTS wasn't anything special, it wasn't as flashy as that cat from Rhodes Island nor was it as cool as their boss's. All it did was speed up his thoughts, a second of real-world time is like five in his mind when using it. Still, that was more of a way to put him in a fair position since he's bad at quick-thinking.
"Looks like this is it for me..." The Originium in his bloodstream was going through his head, accelerating his brain's neuron activity.
Clyde tried to protest but was quickly taken away by Charlie and Fen, the two saw the look in Jace's eyes and they knew that he was dead serious.
"Sorry guys, I don't have much time yet...it was an honor to fight alongside you guys."
It was a hollow apology, more of a formality than actual guilt. If their boss was here, Faust would have thrown his life away just to save them all. He wondered what would happen if he was more honest about his infection to him, why did his pride as a hunter get in the way?
"Three...no, I can save you at least five minutes."
They can hear a legion of footsteps heading this way, there was no more time to debate this. He readied his crossbow, his knife, and his spirit.
"They're probably occupied with the herd right now, Go!"
Once the four left him, he silently hoped for their safety. As the blockade fell apart and he was facing the might of a city that shouldn't have been provoked he cracked a chuckle. It was like facing the biggest burdenbeast he hunted all over again, however this time he was not so sure that he would come out on top.
"I'll see you soon chief." Those were his last words as he charged towards his end.
0o0
The Doctor dropped towards the meeting spot of their coordinates, his mind was in a swirl of fatigue and dizziness. His sight was hazy and he could barely walk afterwards, using his hooksword to support himself.
"Doctor, you're alright." It appears that Amiya was also here, which was good to see. He didn't know what would happen if he was here alone, "Wait...what happened to you?"
The Doctor coughed and leaned at a wall to rest, "Yeah, I had help...called themselves Denizen. Didn't know who that person was though."
"Wait, who was it that attacked you?" The bunny girl saw how bad the Doctor's condition was, so she procured some emergency medicine from her jacket and injected it into his bloodstream. He wasn't bleeding all over but his sanity and energy were almost spent. His eyes reached a line between awareness and delirium.
"I didn't know who it was but that mercenary dealt with them for me." The Doctor explained while omitting his suspicions from her, his energy starting to return after Amiya injected him with an emergency sanity potion, "They were possessed by a Shadow somehow."
The Doctor shook his head, "No, an Id Crystal is more accurate."
There was at least a bright side to that encounter, the foreign object inside her was harming her as she was tapping into its power. Unlike him, the woman doesn't possess the ability to purify Shadows into raw or formed power. Id Crystals are like Originium for the soul.
"Aren't those the remnants that those giant Shadows leave behind as their core? Why would a regular person have that in them empowering their body?"
That was the thing that was bugging him, the whole battle was only difficult because they were insistent on having him use a Persona on her. That red cloak was unmistakably one of Yen's top brass and yet if he decided to fight her seriously even at his current state he was sure that he would win. The Id Crystal made her frantic and instinctual, even though there was logic underneath those eyes they were but the thoughts of a beast.
Furthermore there are three other Persona-users in Lungmen so why was he the one targeted? If this was an instinct-driven thing because of the madness an Id Crystal might have induced that would be the case but from what he noticed, Censor was still capable of rational thought though her motivations are still powered by the crystal lodged in her.
"I just hope that she's still alive."
For her sake, he hoped that Denizen kept their word.
"Even though she just tried to kill you?" Blaze's voice rang out with a displeased look on her face, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to stop her Doctor."
Blaze tried with all her might to catch up to him but to no avail, the consequences of her failure was the man trying his best to recuperate as they were heading towards their target.
"It's fine, I'm still alive after all." The Doctor smiled weakly, "Hey, where's GreyThroat?"
"Here." Oh, so she was with Blaze. GreyThroat too had a bad expression, part appalled and part pensive. From what she had witnessed it was an understandable look.
"Hey...what's wrong with you two?" The Doctor asked in concern, "What happened while I was gone?"
Before GreyThroat could say anything, Blaze recounted the battle against one of the Phantom Crossbowmen.
"One of Faust's men?" From what he saw in Faust's memories, the guy they were describing was called "Jace." "Did he give you any trouble?"
"No, all of his moves were catered to waste as much time as possible." GreyThroat noted, he didn't fight to kill. Every miss, every bad swing they made appeared to be a win in his eyes, "Should we go after them? His allies might still be in Lungmen or in the slums..."
There was an argument that if they decide to pursue them that they will get some of Reunion's higher brass to interrogate. However, whether as a gesture of respect to the late Faust or as a sorting of priorities the Doctor sighed.
"We shouldn't pursue them, they lost their leader already. They aren't a threat anymore if they are willing to resort to this." It was like kicking someone when they're already down, Faust's squad already knew that they lost and with Mephisto's herd and what he knew of the boy they were not a threat to them any longer.
If anything, Reunion itself was the true threat to the Phantom Crossbowmen.
When GreyThroat was briefed on the mission, she was confused. Rhodes Island is a company that protects the Infected right? So why would they join Lungmen in staving off Reunion? Don't get her wrong, she knew what Reunion was doing was abhorrent but Amiya giving her the go signal to kill if needed was odd.
"I don't understand...if Rhodes Island is fighting for the Infected then are we helping them in killing Infected?" GreyThroat said out loud, her confusion about the mission finally coming to the forefront.
"Oh, so now you ask?" Blaze huffed and then looked at Amiya expectantly.
The Doctor caught on with it and looked at Amiya too, "I think it's better if you answer her Amiya."
"Honestly, I ask myself the same question all the time." Amiya admitted, Misha's death only served to reinforce the doubt she had on her mission, "We see people, Infected and uninfected, die every day.
We don't, and we shouldn't fight to stop every death. That would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things."
It's a fool's errand to try and save every life when the source of such sickness thrives.
"Like now... like in this battle in front of us." Amiya stopped to see the wreckage this battle has wrought on Lungmen's citizens, "It wasn't one crossbow, one ARTS attack, one explosion, or one wound that caused all this death. What we fight to defeat is the source of all of this... the hatred the uninfected have for the Infected, and vice versa, is the reason they kill each other."
The sickness robbed them of their humanity according to society but instead of attempting to reclaim it they decided to remain ill. Who is at fault however, the weary or the restless? To Amiya it did not matter, blame is the thing people seek out to avoid responsibility.
"We must tear up the soil that nurtures hate. Using our pharmaceuticals, and our operations."
And while GreyThroat was still having questions in her mind Amiya's speech was sound. There was logic underneath those emotions but one's reason triumphed over it. The young leader was pretty aware of the contradictions that would normally question this operation's grounds, but maybe even because of that she was able to press forward.
"There you have it, even if the prejudice against the sick was done overnight. People will still capitalize on it." The Doctor added in his two cents, he was proud of Amiya's answer, "This battle we are currently on is a symptom of a much larger disease that is something our pharmaceutical company just couldn't ignore."
"This man and his leader are just another casualty of the disease." The Doctor solemnly said, "I think even if we cured Oripathy that wouldn't be addressing the real problem."
Indeed to him and many others, Oripathy is another excuse to divide the people into fighting among themselves. That aspect of society will never change unless someone does something about it.
"That's just a doctor's thoughts though."
Boom, Boom, Boom.
Small explosions can be heard from a distance.
"Fireworks?" The team looked outside to see the sparkling detonation of explosive crossbow bolts, "Oh wait...I wonder if they're trying to honor him."
A wave of weak explosives shot through the sky, and after the first another made noise.
"Pretty lousy fireworks though." Blaze stated her tone wasn't mocking their sentiments however, "I wonder who they're paying their respects to, that scaly kid or their other comrade?"
"It's definitely both." The Doctor answered her with an assurance that she cannot dispute.
"How did that kid even turn into that kind of monster?" Blaze then asked the Doctor, "Nearl said that she nearly broke her arms in defending his attacks and that's a pretty big feat. So I don't see how he could be killed like that."
"Didn't you peer into his memories Doctor?" Amiya asked, already familiar with the Doctor's interactions with bigger Id Crystals "How did he end up like this?"
The Doctor then recounted Faust's look after Mephisto unleashed his horde on them at the top of the LGD building. He was ready to throw in the towel at that point, they knew the mission was a failure and couldn't bring himself to harm anyone needlessly anymore. After that he had an encounter with a stranger, he was killed in the battle and then those regrets were made manifest.
Perhaps the guy that the two dealt with had long since abandoned his claim to life as well or that he believed his time on this world was almost running out. One thing was for certain though, for a brief moment, that Crossbowman's strings were comparable to his leader's.
"Personas...Shadows...I wonder if they had those ARTS would they survive?" Blaze asked the two.
Amiya sighed and then told a brief tale of the true nature of Misha's untimely passing, that brief epiphany she had as her life was slowly dwindling away and her resolve to have at least her last moments on Terra be something that protects.
She had no prior experience in the battlefield but it proved that even if she were to be given that kind of power would be forced to be reckoned with. Had she been more resilient or had more experience as a fighter then Infection wouldn't have taken her. Maybe if Faust awakened to his then he would have lived to contest the duo of unlikely allies.
"Honestly I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." The Doctor admitted, they were still enemies after all. Though he'd like to think that Faust would have defected to Rhodes Island had he confronted him sooner.
"I see...I'm sorry for asking you two those questions..." It must have been painful for Amiya to retell those events, "It's just that I pity them, they weren't bad people."
"No need, had the circumstances been different they would have lived splendid lives."
"It's too late for any of that now." GreyThroat reminded of the reality laid bare, they were dead and killed in a battlefield. Whatever prospects they might have had are pointless to imagine when life dealt them their cards already.
Yet Amiya denied this, "Past tragedies carry on to the present, even if it's too late for them we must use this experience to stop them from happening in the future."
Learning through practice was always the creed at the heart of Rhodes Island, being able to practice their craft with smiles on their faces is the ideal they strive for. Upon hearing Amiya's words GreyThroat without a word went back to the abandoned battlefield to pick something up.
"Did she have an epiphany?" Blaze wondered while the Doctor noticed Amiya's words triggered something in the gray Liberi.
"You don't know what she's been through?" Amiya asked incredulously.
"We aren't close, so she never shared."
Amiya looked towards where GreyThroat went. The Cautus girl could make a slight silhouette of the girl as she looked over there for something. The lass preferred to keep to herself but Amiya was someone she trusted enough to at least show some emotion. While it was in her file, one day she asked the marksman for her reasons for working here.
"Her parents were Oripathy researchers, doing work for the Infected. They died in a clash between the Infected and police." GreyThroat by extension was both not welcomed by the non-Infected because of her family's work and not welcomed by the Infected for not being one herself, "She just thinks her suffering and ours are the same. She's more sensitive than you give her credit for, it's just she doesn't express herself...though it might be because she doesn't know how to. "
The girl was used to being given strange looks. An orphan like her would develop those barriers by nature, her solitude was a defense mechanism and Blaze understood. Perhaps it was more trouble than it's worth for her, the only things left that she can count on were her skills as a marksman.
Amiya walked away, leaving the Elite Operator to ruminate over what she said.
"How was I supposed to know if she doesn't speak up?"
"She isn't obligated too, especially when you already seem to hate her before. That incident in her life may have traumatized her if her mannerisms are of any indication." The Doctor answered, "Focus on her actions if you still have doubts, then I think you'll learn more about her."
"I...well..."
"You two should talk after this, it'd be good for the both of you. Still if you are willing to entertain that then you have a good heart Blaze."
Leaving Blaze alone to think, the Feline was then hit up by Gavial. The Archosaur Medic had something important to tell the Elite, the time has come after all.
The showdown is fast approaching.
0o0
GreyThroat looked at the fallen man's corpse, picking up the crossbow they held with her gloved hands. Something felt off with this scene, like something was missing. She couldn't put her mind to it but there was something that she was supposed to see.
But what was it?
After procuring the weapon she could only wonder what sort of man Faust was to inspire such loyalty and altruism. That same selflessness brought sadness and did not reward the bearer of such character. Her parents cared for the pain of others and now they were gone, robbed from her by the selfish and angry. Why was she even at Rhodes to begin with? She hated working with them as much as they hated her.
The only thing they had in common was mutual distrust and that they were both invalids of society.
"Were you friends with them?" A figure asked her, a red coat that did not hold any hostility towards her, "It's dangerous to make friends with the Infected."
"I don't care if my friends are sick or not." GreyThroat sharply replied, "Besides, I don't know a single thing about this guy. Infected or not, I respected his spirit nothing more."
The red cloak paused, "I see...I was worried that you would start to make friends with the Infected."
"Whoever I associate with is none of your business."
"Of course, apologies for my words." The gruff voice sounded sincere, "Shall I introduce myself?"
"With an opening like that? No thank you."
The red cloak went silent before leaving GreyThroat with a few words, "Regardless, you have my condolences."
0o0
That was quick, then again upsets like these are common. Oh well, it doesn't concern me. Things are still on time so I can still watch.
Shame that Lungmen doesn't have any popcorn available. Though it might be difficult to find a snack in this chaos.
The outcome doesn't affect me either way, Leizi was more of a distraction in the first place and I still have a lot of pieces in my pocket.
Oh?
Now now, you have to be patient, my bishop.
Today isn't your turn on the board but rest assured, your time to move will come.
For now, we'll take another piece from them though I wonder who it could be? Ah, but many pieces must be developed before we advance the game state. They have to be determined enough to stain themselves for this decrepit imitation of civilization.
So in the meantime...yes...you'll do.
0o0
"Black cloaks?"
I used to believe in the power of the LGD, I was one of them after all. I did my duties in the hopes of bettering the lives of every Lungmenite, yes even the Infected. Like plants, all I thought people needed to grow was sunlight, sustenance, and gentle care. Being a part of the LGD I thought it was our job to pluck out the weeds that will hamper their growth.
Even after catching Oripathy I believed in those things.
Me and Ch'en believed that even the Infected deserved a future worth smiling for and we believed that if we keep up with our work here as part of the LGD then we could make it a reality.
At least...at first.
An organization that would use the Infected to conquer cities and ruin innocent lives, that was the mission assigned to me. Reunion was a danger not just to Lungmen but to the Infected there as well. But the more time I spent there as a mole, the more I started to understand their plights. They're just people who want to reclaim a little bit of the life that was denied to them.
Most of them would be decent people had society accepted the Infected as people.
These people weren't given that chance in Ursus and I hoped that they could find that life here in Lungmen.
Black cloaks started to emerge from the shadows from which they belong and at that moment my answer was clear.
Today, it was very clear to me whose side I should be on.
"I'm sorry Ch'en, I don't belong here anymore."
0o0
Ch'en looked stunned as her confidant said that through her personal line.
"What do you mean! Hey Only-1 you're under orders you can't just-" After giving her the info about the Yeti Squad she desperately needed she's gonna say goodbye like that? Not when they're so much in the line?
"Lungmen has failed the Infected so I'm going to take some of them away. The LGD can't help them and the city doesn't care you wouldn't fault me for that." Only-1 stated in a tired sigh, "Since this city has more layers than you give it credit for."
Ch'en bit her lip, of course she knew that. She knew better than anyone how two-faced her home was, she thinks to herself. After all, her circumstances gave her a better grasp of how the city works. What was she on about?
There was no way she's just gonna let her leave, "Nine! You're under orders!"
"I haven't been a part of the LGD for three years." Nine pointed out, "Besides, it was me who was giving you orders this whole time."
"Nine..." Guess now she knows who was reorganizing Reunion's scraps.
"Those special forces you're talking about, I've seen them snooping around." Nine confirmed before she cut ties with her friend for good, "Shame I won't be playing that new game with you but I thought too much about this city."
"Oh and before I leave, one word of warning: don't go looking for clues at the sewers."
Now that was just an invitation.
0o0
On the other side of the board the Yeti Squadron was recuperating after another encounter with the mysterious black raincoats. The enemy had retreated after realizing the unique danger they presented, a raincoat decided to cut their losses after narrowly missing a Yeti; that gave him time to freeze their weapon using the Originium their leader gave them, prompting the guy to leave.
They were strong, probably stronger than the Royal Guard that they face before at the cold tundras of Ursus. The Yeti couldn't help but feel flattered at the attention that they were receiving, they must be the cream of the crop of Lungmen and they were pushing them back somehow.
Still, the reality of the situation is much harsher.
"It's only a matter of time until they break through."
The two continued to bicker to deflate the looming dread of the situation much to the annoyance of the other Yeti at their post. Soon however they were stopped by the sudden entrance of Clyde, one of the Phantom Crossbowmen.
"Reporting in!" All of the members of the newly formed "Charlie Company" exclaimed, the name was decided on a rock-paper-scissors match between Clyde and Charlie. The former learned to never ever trust scissors for anything ever again.
"Sister." A Yeti looked at FrostNova, "These are Faust's people.
"...*cough* I recognize them..." FrostNova acknowledged, "Hmm, why is Mephisto with you and what happened to him?"
"His head had seen better days, if that was even possible."
"Didn't expect him to be traumatized." FrostNova looked at the broken kid with both pity and contempt, "Wait, one of you is missing and where's Faust?"
"From what we can gather from Mephisto's babbling, they were both attacked by some strange figure."
"Where are they from Rhodes Island or the LGD?" A possible fourth party? Now that was news to her.
"They were attacked while in an alleyway by a lone man; highly doubt it was either of them." Charlie deduced, "Oh and yeah, Jace did everything he could to stall the LGD. He was at the end of his rope according to him and deliberately stayed behind after we rescued all that we could."
"I see...he lived up to his leader's bravery. Leader and subordinate...they were brave warriors till the end."
Charlie looked at his company with a knowing look in their eyes, "If we could, we want to fight alongside you and the Yetis."
"I appreciate it, we need to get our people to safety." FrostNova nodded, Faust really did mature into an impressive leader, "Find a sniping position and await orders, we might be attacked once more so your support is vital."
"Understood." The motley crew saluted, "How's your range skills Fen?"
"So-so why?" His answer was a toss of a spare crossbow.
"Pass our location to all other teams, we will guarantee a safe route from here." FrostNova ordered, "Keep evacuating."
FrostNova had a bad feeling about those raincoats, to think that after what they did at Chernobog they would be doing this at Lungmen. How it takes her back, back when she was proud to bear the insignia that a friend made.
But like snow, they were melted by the heat of revenge. Now was not the time to be lost in nostalgia.
"I'm worried about the Infected in Lungmen...will you have them join your ranks?"
"What purpose can Rhodes Island give them?"
"You got me there, I just have a feeling that your allies are poking a sleeping dragon."
"We are enemies, isn't it optimal to not stop an enemy if you think that they are making a mistake."
"Until you're people aren't willing to settle things with words, we aren't enemies. You can try and ice this enemy commander if you so wish."
"If I did, no matter how strong my ARTS is I'll be crushed by the debris."
"True."
Meanwhile at the front guard of the makeshift stronghold the remnants made their last stand, taking every Infected inside they were surprised at the massive exodus that they are currently conducting.
"So those raincoats...are they like the Ursus military? They don't care about collateral?" A regular Reunion member tried to make talk with a Yeti to soothe her own anxieties, having survived the LGD's attack on a mall they took over.
"I don't think so, they haven't used direct artillery fire yet."
You'd think that if they were interested in dealing with Reunion quickly that they would bother to focus their wrath on them. Turns out they could care less if they could get rid of two undesirable elements, collateral be damned.
"Terra! I knew they were brutal but not that brutal." She paled at the thought of an artillery piece just bombarding them, no amount of ARTS can stop that.
"We saw firsthand how different these raincoat people are." The Yeti stated, "They aren't good at seeing whose Infected or not so they just didn't let a single one slip through, maybe they thought that we would masquerade as civilians? I guess in a way they are brutal, they see even civilians as targets. The Ursus wouldn't give a rat's ass but these guys are too ahead in their thinking."
"Talk about poking a bee's nest...there's so many coming here." Hundreds? No, thousands of Infected, Reunion or otherwise, were making way towards the refuge that the Yeti Squadron set up, "Can FrostNova handle this many people?"
"Sister won't let anyone die, Reunion or no." The Yeti shook his head, "Hah, we came to Lungmen to fight but in the end we are saving people, it's funny in a way."
Never had this Yeti dream of becoming a hero once the rift between family started to form.
"I don't hate it though, at least we came for something." There was that win in his conscience, it was a nostalgic turn of events for the Yeti. He was one of FrostNova's brethren before the shift, before Reunion. In his heart of hearts he believed that Reunion should be like this, not as an invader but as a group willing to take in those who cannot care for their kind, "Takes me back..."
"I never really knew how Reunion was before the Chernobog thing, if we ever survive can you tell me more?"
The Yeti blinked in confusion but his boisterous laugh went louder, "Alright, just don't die on me buddy!"
He fired an explosive round at the enemy forces, though they were barely damaged, which stalled them for a good minute or two.
"To think that we thought you guys were so imposing, who knew that the Yeti Squadron are all a bunch of clowns." The Reunion member's remark was met with even more laughter.
"You think so?" He said almost like he was waiting for approval, "Hey we're quiet but we're not that scary."
The Reunion member couldn't help but smile at their fellow comrade's easygoing attitude. Even though they were probably both going to die the madman still had the guts to chuckle and crack jokes despite it. Inspired by their Yeti comrade, they hefted their sword and enhanced its durability using the little metallurgical ARTS they knew.
"Whatever, all we have to do is protect this place ya?"
"Yeah bro, you're totally right."
While those stationed outside were preparing for the worst that the black raincoats can bring FrostNova had her eyes shut. She had just ordered another batch of refugees to be evacuated but to guarantee them leaving unscathed she has control of her power. FrostNova had to try and convince a duo of family members to leave the sniping position with the little Yan she knows how to speak.
Infected and uninfected were huddled in this place because it was the only fortified defense in the slums where the raincoats have yet to assault. The LGD came soon after to take matters into their own hands.
"Hold up, the terrain..." The outside was slowly turning into a frigid horizon, staying longer without the proper resistance to the elements meant dying in your clothes. The LGD were at a standstill, just as the Yeti Squadron wanted them to be.
They did not waste this time to continue hastening the evacuation of the people, those who are caught in the crossroads of battle have no place in it.
"Temperature is as low as possible!" A Yeti Squadron member shouted as he fired from his crossbow, just because the LGD were stopped on foot that didn't mean that they were out of options.
"Second wave...Fire!"
The salvo was meant for them, it was to lay waste to terrain in order to continue the main force's advance. The ARTS that the Yeti's employed would take some time to trigger again and those precious seconds are time well spent on their march.
Duelists and Dreadnoughts fought the beasts that the Yeti Squadron sent out to deal with their ground forces. The beasts being well-versed in the cold environment stalled them just enough to weaken their advance. The Reunion soldiers at the front were duking it out as well, however before they could even react some of them fell prey to the black cloaks just prancing around the battlefield like the blizzard was some freshly fallen snow.
"Where's Nesti, we need more firepower!" Another Yeti called out, firing an explosive bolt at the enemy lines, "We need more suppressive fire here!"
This isn't going well but hey it could be worse, they were half-expecting things to go to shit faster. FrostNova's body couldn't take the strain of her ARTS much longer. She knew that the more they stall the more their sister would suffer. Breaking the pavement to manipulate the terrain to their favor was also out of the question since it will prevent the evacuees from escaping.
It didn't matter to these shadows of the city on who is an Infected or not, they slaughtered every single civilian or enemy they could get their hands on.
They are as much as guilty for the current course of events as the ones they are fighting. The Yeti's know when to own up to the mistakes they have made after all, this one being that they assumed that Lungmen would care about its citizens if they weren't Infected.
It was foolish to think that shadows had any form of compassion to spare other than a quick death.
As the fighting raged on, FrostNova could feel her eyes haze over her. But even as her strength was drained her heart burned a flame like no other. Even as her body crumbles into dust her promise was the fuel she was thriving on.
"Sister, stop using your ARTS-" FrostNova knew what she was doing, every second of her ARTS being used is another nail in her coffin and yet she wore a satisfied smile on her face.
"How long has it been since we saved people?"
Intermission
It's been a while hasn't it? I suppose you can't see my face right now but it's me Sherry. I felt that I should show myself here since we have yet to read the compendium together again. I'm sure you have a lot of questions about what you just witnessed but rest assured, the one that helped the Doctor is native to this world. As for who they are well that would be a mystery.
The situation outside is terrible, shadows lurking within the distance killing indiscriminately.
I do apologize that even though it has been so long I must ask you again to be patient with me, you need rest after witnessing such horrors. Have a snack or do some work that you have kept lying around and while you do so I'll be reviewing medical cases on that there chair.
Intermission END
Author Notes
"As you can see I am not dead!"
It's been ages I'm sure and thanks for sticking around even then. College is taxing and recent world events weren't putting my mind in a nice headspace but I'll be damned before I left this work unfinished. I also tried Tower of Fantasy and worked on jotting out Sumeru in Genshin (Great story and map for a milquetoast open-world so far.)
Well you heard Sherry please do be patient, the second part of this chapter is coming in a few hours or so. Kazragoth or Kaz as we call them suggested to split it, this is originally a 30K or so chapter but that looked like a slog to read in one go.
Expect the next few chapters to come in a few hours per publishing. Sorry I wasn't able to meet what I promised you guys but I do plan on adding some more art pieces for this story. After publishing all that I can for the past few days I'm going to start on learning how to use a pentablet, I got one last August and I haven't used yet because I promised that I would only use it after I'm done with this chapter.
A lot of stuff has happened to Arknights huh, IS3 being the most impactful. Also the anime is coming out in a few weeks and I'm excited for all of that.
After Intokber I'm going to continue work on this story since I already jotted down a rough outline of the four or so next chapters, although if I ever need to deliver on Patriot's Arc I must have to-
"Keep an open mind."
God my segues to my sign-offs are getting rusty.
