Chapter 2 - Discerning The Unknown
Stelle the trailblazer and Kosaka Wakamo stood opposite one another in a tense stand-off, eyeing each other up looking for any openings to exploit. Stelle was weary of Wakamo's ranged weapon and her absurd proficiency with it. The speed of her attacks was something that kept Stelle focused as one misstep could easily end her life.
(I don't know how that trashcan girl didn't lose her head from being shot but I doubt I'm going to be that lucky if one of her shots get me)
Stelle thoughts were talking about SRT's Miyu that the trailblazer so colloquially referred to as 'trashcan girl'. Refocusing herself Stelle made the first move since Wakamo didn't look like she was going to do anything and charged forward with her bat that radiated blue lightning around it. An audible "hmph" from Wakamo could be heard as she raised her rifle and fired a shot that Stelle reacted fast enough with a sweeping motion to block while she never losing any momentum running forward.
The distance closed quickly as Stelle raised her arms for an overhead swing towards the fox to which she used her rifle to block it. Despite Stelle's bat being powered up Wakamo herself required no effort to block the attack. Stelle's eyes widened as she took a closer look at Wakamo's gun to see that the bayonet dagger attached to it was gone. Darting her eyes elsewhere she saw the glint of a blade heading towards her and moved back to evade it.
Wakamo had used her other hand to remove the blade from her rifle and strike Stelle with it but perhaps to the bemusement of the fox it was no surprise Stelle reacted fast enough to evade a somewhat sneak attack.
(Hmm I see…she's definitely radiating some sort of energy but it's not the Mystic energy we radiate on a daily basis….who even are you...)
The Fox of Misfortune admittedly became curious who Stelle was as despite being halo-less, it's clear her strength was far above the usual riff raff and might actually be a threat. Not taking any chances Wakamo began to fight more seriously as sakura petals started to appear on the battlefield surprising Stelle who wondered where these petals could be coming from.
With the flowing petals symbolising Wakamo's power she pointed her rifle at Stelle and fired a shot. Notably the fox's other hand still held the bayonet dagger. The shot fired from Wakamo was bright pink with sakura petals enveloping it and upon contact with Stelle's bat she almost lost her balance from the sudden increase in attack power. Not letting up Wakamo followed up by closing the distance seeing that Stelle appeared to be fast enough to consistently block her ranged attacks.
(Let's see how strong you are up close then~) Wakamo thought to herself.
From Stelle's perspective her thoughts were simply (She's faster than before…!). The trailblazer blocks a swipe from Wakamo however the fox's momentum doesn't let up as Stelle realises her opponent isn't in front of her anymore. Darting her gaze Stelle is just barely about to block the incoming slashes from the fox. Wakamo using her mystic energy, enhanced her own speed so it looked like she was a blur darting past Stelle and slashing in every direction. The trailblazer noticed petals around the bayonet dagger in Wakamo's hand and concluded it must be a visual indicator of an increase in power.
(Staying in one spot isn't going to do me any favours) Stelle thought to herself as she began to move further down the street to find an more advantageous position. Wakamo quickly caught up, running parallel to to her and began to let loose a flurry of slashes at Stelle. The trailblazer's chest in that moment begins to shine a yellow glow signifying the stellaron's power within her body being drawn out as Stelle's speed increased to match the fox's flurry of attacks and as they run down the streets, their weapons continuously clashed causing multiple instances of sparks and petals as well as the shockwaves from their powers shattering the windows of nearby buildings and slighting damaging the concrete surface.
Miyako watched on, her eyes barely keeping up with the blur of yellow and red that was Stelle and Wakamo. Not letting herself be too entranced for long she went to Miyu's position to check on her since she had been knocked out. Upon arriving the sniper of the platoon seemed fine for the most part and a gentle shake of her unconscious body later had her halo reappear above her head signifying her regaining consciousness.
"Ow…." Miyu strained to say as she awoke.
"Oh thank goodness you're alright." The captain of the platoon breathed a sigh of relief that her friend was fine.
"Hmm…It's really noisy…." Miyu began to say before a realisation came over her that jolted her fully awake "Wait! Are we still fighting the Fox of Misfortune?!"
"Not us but that halo-less lady from before is fighting her"
"Eh?! But she doesn't have a halo, she's going to die!" Miyu frantically said
"That's what I thought but…" Miyako began her reply as she gestured Miyu to look where she was looking which was at the intense clashes between Stelle and Wakamo "Somehow she's managed to hold her own but I still see this as a losing fight…" Miyako wasn't too hopeful of the situation. Miyu wasn't comfortable with just standing by and picked up her sniper rifle nearby tried to aim for Wakamo.
"Wait" Miyako began as she put her hand on the sniper's gun to lower it "Remember that girl doesn't have a halo, if you miss and hit her by accident then you might kill her" Miyako's blunt assessment made Miyu realise it would be irrational to try intervening. "And besides…the strength I sense from those two, is on a whole other dimension, intervening would be suicide for us".
Back to their fight, Stelle was becoming increasingly injured as Wakamo had managed to land some surface level cuts on the trailblazer, enough to cause bleeding. Her arms had a few cuts and her forehead was bleeding as well, blood dripping over her left eye. Stelle's breathing became ragged due to the strain of harnessing the stellaron's power but the resolve to protect others kept her going.
While they weren't moving all over the streets anymore their clashes continued and from underneath the fox's mask she smiled knowing she was gaining the upper hand. While her left hand continued to slash with her bayonet blade, her right hand that still held her rifle this whole time was quickly lifted up and a rose petal shot fired from the rifle. Stelle who was becoming more fatigued from blocking Wakamo's slashes wasn't able to react fast enough to completely evade the bullet and was struck in the right shoulder. The impact from the sakura petal enveloped shot pushed her back slamming into the wall of a building. The sudden burst of pain made Stelle unable to hold her bat and used her other hand to hold the wound, bloodying up her hand in the process.
Miyako and Miyu saw the sudden defeat of Stelle and frantically reached for their firearms to take a shot at Wakamo but a moment later the fox sensed a powerful Mystic presence nearby and fired her rifle to the side of her which intercepted another bullet fired from the unknown assailant. The two SRT members gasped and looked to see who had arrived on the scene
A blonde canine girl in a blue police uniform while holding a mug of coffee in one hand and a pistol in the other strolled onto the scene her expression while mostly composed still indicated a slight irritation. Miyako and Miyu's eyes widened at who this was considering the fact that SRT has had close encounters with her in the past.
Wakamo remained unfazed looking at the blonde canine "So the Mad Dog finally makes her entrance"
The so called 'Mad Dog' takes another sip of her coffee as her handgun remains pointed at Wakamo "It's Kanna to you, Fox of Misfortune".
"Hehe, in any case don't you find it amusing we both share titles that inspire fear into the hearts of opponents" Wakamo said as she reattached her bayonet dagger and rested her rifle on her shoulders showing no fear against the canine.
"Unlike you I don't find joy in being known as a wild animal so why don't you make this easier for yourself and surrender, unsurprisingly your accumulated property damage and grievous bodily harm means you're under arrest" Kanna's voice spoke with strong authority.
Wakamo in her head, deduced the best course of action for this scenario "You and Fox Platoon really are quite the annoyance" The fox said as rose petals briefly appeared around her and in a flash she disappeared, which was confirmed by Kanna who could no longer sense her mystic presence in the area. "Always leaving when it's convenient, I'll never understand a criminal like you" Kanna said to herself as she put her handgun back in its holster and with a sigh she said "What a mess, Remedial Knights you're up, go tend to that halo-less girl over there then check on those rabbits" The canine officer gestured her head to the side in the direction of the two SRT students that were watching on. This caused Miyako and Miyu to head towards Kanna as Serine and Hanae made their appearance to tend to Stelle's injuries.
"I didn't think you'd show up basically by yourself Kanna-san" Miyako being the more social one of the pair spoke.
"Of course I did, you think I'd want to involve the same Valkyrie police force that allowed their own vault to be raided by students from a defunct school and let the biggest criminal in history escape five times from captivity?"
Miyako had to agree with Kanna's assessment as even she winced upon learning about the mess that was the Valentines incident a while ago "Fair point I suppose". Miyu continued to remain silent all throughout the conversation as she seemed more fearful of Kanna then she was of Wakamo.
Right now Serina and Hanae were applying bandages on several of Stelle's wounds. "Hey miss, can I ask you your name?" Serina inquired in her usual soothing and delicate tone
"Stelle"
"Ah I see, it's nice to meet you Stelle, I'm Serina and this is-" Serina was cut off by her much more energetic classmate "I'm Hanae! Never fear Stelle for you are in the safe hands of the Remedial Knights! We hand out aid to all those that need it!"
Hanae's overbearing persona made Stelle a little nervous considering the purple haired Trinity student had a mischievous smirk on her face but Serina gave the trailblazer a warm smile that put her heart at ease, at least for the moment.
Cutting back to Miyako's conversation with Kanna the platoon captain had something she wanted ask "So why are students from Trinity with you anyway?" Miyako had noticed the Trinity logo on Serina's and Hanae's uniforms.
"It was mere coincidence since as I was heading to here those Trinity students were also heading in the same direction as well so I suppose they were just in the area when the commotion went down. Following that I could tell they were non-combatants so it wouldn't be safe for them to be directly on the battlefield but they insisting on coming with me anyway especially after they called themselves the Remedial Knights and spoke about aiding all those that need it or something" Kanna explained with an exasperated sigh. It seems those two were a handful for the Valkyrie officer "But enough about those two, Miyako I want to ask you about that halo-less girl over there, know anything about her?"
Miyako shook her head "Sorry Kanna-san I don't know anything about her but she was able to fight against Wakamo for a short while at least"
This detail took the Valkyrie officer aback "That's quite peculiar I've never heard of someone who didn't have a halo stand up to the most dangerous person in Kivotos and survive, I'll have to question her further after she recovers"
"So you're saying you saw a mysterious formation of black crystals?" Nagisa said over the phone.
"Yeah but I don't know what it is though, however it radiates some sort of energy, it's not Mystic however" Azusa began as she continued walking with her rifle slung across her back and her other hand held her phone.
"Is this mysterious structure doing anything?"
"Besides radiating an energy I don't recognise it appears harmless but I doubt that's going to be the case forever"
"I see, this structure must be what Seia-san was sensing but it brings me no joy to be stumbling in the dark like this" Nagisa paused for a moment before speaking further "So have you found Squad yet?"
"No I haven't so I'm going to keep going further and hopefully I might be able to find out more about what's going on out here"
"Alright I wish you luck Azusa-san"
"Thanks" Azusa hung up her call as she looked ahead to see ruins of a town up ahead.
(This must be that run down town that W girl mentioned earlier) Azusa thought to herself as she continued walking. Getting closer she could see that the ruins were fairly old with all the vegetation that was overgrowing on the structures. Azusa concluded that any sign of life that existed in this town was long gone by now but as she slowly walked through the open streets of ruined buildings and remains of broken down cars when suddenly she sensed a familiar mystic presence nearby. The angelic student knew it could've only belonged to one person as her pace quickened following it.
Azusa came to a ruined building that looked like every other structure and entered it so see the girls she's been tracking down. Inside the indistinguishable third year student with long dark blue hair, a black cap and face mask looked at the angelic student that entered, her face unwavering in emotion but her heart was elated from her presence.
"Saori-san…"
"Azusa-san…I sensed your Mystic presence coming here but a part of me didn't really believe it was you"
"Well…we've had our differences in the past but there's one thing that'll never change between us; We're all family" Azusa stated as her gaze shifted away from Saori to look at the other members of Squad within the building. Misaki and Hiyori overlooked the conversation between their leader and Azusa from a railing on the second floor while Atsuko was already nearby Saori, notably without her gas mask on.
Saori took a moment to process Azusa's words before responding "I'm glad you still think that even after all that had happened, well after all it was because of you, Squad and I managed to survive that ordeal with Beatrice back then" Arius's Squad leader thought back to how Azusa came through in the end by guiding Trinity's clubs through the catacombs to reinforce Squad. Since then Saori hasn't had the chance to express her gratitude towards Azusa for saving everyone. "I know it was a fairly long time ago by now but I do want to say thanks…Azusa-san, thank you for saving everyone…I don't know what I would've done if I lost Hime or any member of Squad"
"I wouldn't have it any other way" Azusa replied with her normally stoic expression now forming a warm smile towards Squad's leader. The trinity student reminisces how it's thanks to Hifumi that Azusa has learned to smile again. Before letting herself get to sentimental she cuts back to the issue at hand. Reaching into her pocket she pulls out Saori's ID card and shows it to its owner whose eyes show a sense of surprise while maintaining her stoic nature "To start I have several questions I'd like to ask, firstly did you run into trouble like I did on the way here and secondly, why did you leave Kivotos? What were you looking to accomplish?"
Adjusting her cap and taking a seat nearby on a mostly chipped wooden stool Saori prepares her explanation to Azusa's inquiry "We were attacked by one person, she was a halo-less girl that called herself W" Saori recalls back to that encounter, to how W subdued Misaki, Hiyori and Atsuko effortlessly all at once and even managed to give Saori herself some trouble.
"W…That's who I fought on the way here"
"Then you know how strong she was…" Saori laments at her struggle against W, she was an opponent so unexpectedly strong that the Arius Squad leader couldn't shake her out of her head. Her overtly frivolous nature and how she smiles in battle but yet, her movements were for more refined than anything she had seen leading her to conclude W must of gone through training more rigorous than Saori's time in the Arius district.
The Arius Squad leader pauses for a moment before beginning to answer Azusa's second question "My explanation for your next inquiry is far less believable but I can assure you it is indeed the truth" Azusa continues to remain silent as she attentively listens to what Saori has to say "Within my dreams I was contacted by a mysterious woman. She appeared to be a student just like us since she had a halo" Saori takes a deep breath before divulging more details about the mysterious woman.
"The way she spoke was cryptic, she told me my luck was far from ordinary due to me being in contact with her, she said that she understood my internal strife and talked about how she was presenting an opportunity for me to make amends for my past misdeeds; Naturally I wondered how could she possible know these things to which she replied by formally introducing herself as The Prophet of Hyakkiyako, Kuzunoha"
Unknown Location
Wakamo after disengaging from the battlefield when the 'Mad Dog' arrived found herself all by her lonesome. Of course she wasn't lost and knew where she was, as she knew she had been summoned for a purpose.
"So this is the pocket dimension that Silver Wolf spoke of…" The fox with her mask still adorned glanced her eyes to scan her surroundings showing a very futuristic like environment that looked like it stretched on for eternity. It reminded her of the SCHALE building interior just if the rooms were instead floating platforms against an infinite backdrop that repeated the same aesthetics. Wakamo could sense other presences here, while they weren't familiar like Mystic energy she knew that 'they' were all gathering. Following her instincts and the presence in the air the fox began jumping from platform to platform headings towards the supposed meeting place.
Her great speed allowed her to traverse what was likely have a large school district's worth of distance in a short manner of time and she settled herself on a smaller floating platform nearby while overlooking a main larger platform that appeared more grandiose in design. Sitting down in a seiza position as the ex-student of Hyakkiyako still honoured her traditions Wakamo eyed the girl known as Silver Wolf who was on a slightly elevated platform in front of the main one, laying down on a couch while she remained intently focused on playing her portable game console. Before the fox could speak her gaze saw on the main platform that there was already someone there who had arrived earlier.
This girl appeared young and short and could easily pass off as a child. She had short block hair, a black dress with gold trims that stopped at her thighs, white stockings and feline features indicated by her cat ears and tail. While young, the small girl was far from innocent and radiated nothing but impulsivity as she seemed to be inquiring Silver Wolf about something
"So I understand that she wants us to all work together but you do seriously expect me to work with that fucking sarkaz over there" The young feline directed her enmity towards someone standing on an adjacent floating platform to the left of the feline. The sarkaz in question had black horns, long light pink hair and wore a long white dress but her most peculiar detail was that her chest constantly shined a faint yellow glow similar to Stelle. Known as the King of Sarkaz her given name was Theresa, a ruler once thought to have perished years ago now mysteriously is alive and well. Despite the verbal abuse the Sarkaz King remained silent with an unchanging expression.
"Mandragora you should be well aware that she decided that that Theresa girl will be helpful to us so if you've got a problem why don't you talk to her about it yourself" Rebutted Silver Wolf her gaze never left her game screen. Mandragora gritted her teeth in annoyance but before she could say anything further a familiar arm was wrapped around her shoulders. The recipient being a green haired feline that Mandragora was well acquainted with.
"Ah is my dear Mandragora-chan acting up again~" Her tone was frivolous and energetic as her arms continued to wrap around Mandragora as one would caress a child much to the black haired feline's annoyance though.
"Shut the fuck up Harmonie and get your hands off me" The green haired feline feigned ignorance pretending not to hear her feline friend.
"What's that Mandragora-chan~ You'll need to speak up~" Harmonie continued to aggravate Mandragora.
"I said, get your hands off me!" Mandragora placed her one of her hands on Harmonie's face and a flash of yellow light erupted from her hand, signaling her use of arts to blast the feline in the face. A small explosion followed leading to Harmonie stumbled from the impact but was completely unscathed and still in her usual easy going mood. After all Harmonie's arts strength matched Mandragora's so it took no effort to use her own arts to shield herself from the attack.
"My, my what a powerful attack, seems like you've been training hard"
"Don't patronise me"
"What? No good heavens I would never dream of doing that to my dear Mandragora-chan~" Harmonie continued to laugh, some would say she was enjoying this way too much.
"Urgh just fucking shut up Harmonie"
"Hehe, why don't you make me~ Of course if you're too weak to that's fine after all not everyone can be born with talent" Harmonie mischievously smiled as she said that.
Taking Harmonie up on her offer Mandragora began utilising her geokinetic arts to form a large spear made from rock to hurl it towards the green haired feline. Harmonie simply smirked looking at the attack heading towards her. While this happened Wakamo and Theresa simply remained silent observing the ordeal.
The next moment faster than anyone in the room could perceive the rock spear was destroyed surprising both Mandragora and Harmonie. The one responsible was a mature looking woman with a blackened halo, long grey hair, wolf ears and a black dress with a green hue to it. She too like Theresa had a faint yellow glow where her chest was located. In her right hand held a pitch black rifle with smoke coming from the tip indicating its recent usage.
Her mere presence was so imposing Mandragora felt like time had momentarily stopped, her body wouldn't respond the way she wanted it to.
"Mandragora, you always take things too far" The haloed wolf girl spoke, her voice was soft as if from one who had given up on life but held a strong sense of authority to them and also one could say a sense of…Terror.
"Oh! Shiroko Terror-chan I had no idea you were already here but please you needn't step in, this is just how Mandragora-chan and I show our friendship~" Harmonie explained herself while still being energetic as usual
"Do not misunderstand, I did not intervene for your benefit Harmonie" Shiroko Terror's response simply led to a chuckle from the green haired feline which was silenced as the aspect of Terror continued to speak "Mandragora, you understand that we all gather here from all walks of life so it's important to work together towards our common goal, your constant impulsivity however impedes that, your outbursts continue to sully the relationship between all of us" Shiroko Terror turned around to face Mandragora as she finished speaking.
"There's no need to be so hard on her Terror-chan~ She is but a child so I'm used to her impulsive nature and besides I chose not to dodge her attacks, I assure you there is no hostility between us~"
Shiroko Terror ignored Harmonie's ramblings and continued to address the geokinetic arts user. "From now on you will show some respect around here, do you understand?" Terror's gaze peered into Mandragora whose only expression could be defined as irritation.
Terror's eyes truly had no life in them, instead those were eyes that were meant to spread nothing but death. Due to Shiroko Terror's overwhelming presence Mandragora took a moment before she responded "Oh I understand alright…I understand that I'm going to be the one that fucking kills you one day"
The haloed girl's expression remained stoic as she turned her back and said "Hmm, good luck with that"
A brief moment of silence came over everyone until it was broken by Silver Wolf "You guys should shut up now as our boss Kafka has finally arrived" The gamer girl's announcement of the individual known as Kafka made everyone in the room become more attentive and was ready to listen what she had to say.
Ch.2 End
[Author Note] Just to reiterate with this being an AU some lore stuff is made up. Some other things I want to mention is that Mandragora from Arknights is one of my favourite characters so I really enjoyed writing her dialogue even if it probably went a little overboard with the vulgarity I'd like to think it was fun.