The Dustbin
Day 36: Sick Day Part Final
10th of Wyvern Moon, Afternoon
"EP-02 has proven to be waterproof," Odesse observed through the binoculars in its infrared vision mode, "thank goodness. I thought the seawater might've compromised the Crest Engine."
A loud clunk sound was heard behind the Dark Bishop.
"Found the black powder," Dolofonos remarked as he patted the barrel that he'd set down, "a whole warehouse of em. Enough to level this whole place."
"Awesome," replied the Dark Bishop as he continued observing the ship, now being partially on fire while the waters around it being partially frozen, "... you know, come to think of it, we never really looked outside of Fodlan, right?"
"Kinda hard to when the whole fucking Church watches the whole continent like a hawk," Dolofonos pointed out as he rolled the barrel elsewhere.
Quite strange indeed, remarked Odesse as he watched the fight take place, spotting two gauntlet weapons each emitting high heat signatures and negative heat signatures, a pair of weapons that are from outside Fodlan that has elemental properties... he mused as he kept his eyes on EP-02 confronting someone that is tall and lanky like Karna, only for the former to be attacked by the high heat signature, indicating that the gauntlets as a ranged functions like the lost Relic of the [Vajra-Mushti], ... should I have EP-02 take one of the gauntlets as a sample? Ooh, my cold blood is boiling just thinking that someone outside Fodlan has advanced just as far as us! I dunno if I should resent him or her, or be impressed, doubly so when I'm both!
For the first after a long time, Odesse felt as if he'd found an equal of intellect, albeit in proxy.
"... You know what?" the Dark Bishop mused, "as soon as the entirety of Fodlan is euthanized, the first thing I'm gonna do is go on a vacation."
Aboard the Wrecked The Anzu...
On board the now-half-wrecked The Anzu, the battle inside the ship devolves into further chaos.
Karna and EP-02 were now going at it like rabid animals as both no longer holding back with veneer of civility and snark, each wrestling over each other on relative equal ground despite the latter having enough strength to punch down brick walls (although given that Karna could walk off from Rhea's fists, it's safe to assume that the fight between the two is a case of "immovable object" VS "unstoppable force" respectively).
Topaz and Kasim were resuming their duel over Zoltan's masterpiece, the former unleashing her newfound powers against the crafty pirate captain.
Elk/Claude, Rooster/Bernadetta and Wren/Selene trying to close in onto the [Crossbow] using pirate Archer, only for the latter to be surprisingly quick on the draw and fire (due to the crank-operated bowstring and less lag in-between shots and aiming combined with more punch behind shot, with Elk losing his mask and a large gash on his cheek where he was grazed by the bolt).
Dedue, Mustang/Cyrus, Fox/Petra and Lynx/Sorcha were facing the twin pirate Brawlers wielding [Ne Zha] and [Baigujing] gauntlets, the dance of fire and ice continuing as the four tried to separate the pair only to be pushed back repeatedly.
And Pallardó, Mosquera and Al were still being chased around by the pirate Mercenary and his [Wo Dao]. "Sweet Sothis!" exclaimed Pallardó as he ducked under the sword's swing under the cramped corridors of The Anzu, "will you stop that?!"
"Nuh uh, capt'n orders," replied the pirate as he deflected Mosquera's shot from his [Killer Bow] with his own sword, "that and well, I wanna hear your screams."
The Mercenary continues his pursuit towards the upper deck before belaying not to, being smart enough to preserve his given advantage. Upon realizing that the three stooges were now in the clear, they now try and figure out what to do next.
"Okay, time to bail," Pallardó suggested as he edged himself towards the edge of the ship.
"You good at swimming?" Mosquera asked Al as he and his twin readied to swim ashore.
"Eh, no," Al stuttered, "first time."
"Sucks to be you then!" the twins then jump off of the ship and began swimming for shore, leaving the young, hapless Myrmidon behind to now face the Mercenary with the [Wo Dao] who's been waiting for him.
"You really are a landlubber, aren't ya?" snickered the pirate as his prey drew his [Iron Sword] from his sheath, "you should've stayed there."
Al then clashes against the pirate's [Wo Dao], only for his own weapon to be broken in two in a single swing. Upon his disarmament, the chase resumes once again, this time, every fiber of Al's being prioritized on nothing but running away from a far superior foe.
However, Mercenary behind him chose not to run after him, but rather, chose to stay where was at, watching Al as if he were waiting for the runner to make a mistake. Upon realizing this, Al then stops running to keep an eye on the pirate, for which then he ran after the boy, causing him to start running again before the pursuer stopped.
... This... feels weird, Al thought as he kept running around the deck while the Mercenary took his sweet time going after him, if I stop, he'll run but if I run he stops... why? he asked himself, is this a game to him-
From the corner of his eye, Al spotted something gleaming. A sword's tip, with it poking into his chest. Before he could even turn around, something pushes him from behind, causing the sword to impale straight through his chest and out of his back.
"And that's why you're a landlubber," taunted the Mercenary as he removed his boot from Al's back while the latter was careless enough to run straight into a [Wo Dao] that he'd planted while Al wasn't looking, "saw your hand on the ship's rails to make sure you don't fall off or bump into a corner. Amateur move, boy."
Al coughs as the sword that he'd been pushed into started to sap the very heat from his body.
"Eh, happens more than you think," said the pirate as he untied the sword from the barrel that he'd rigged to before pulling it out of Al's chest, "kids like you try and take the leap of faith... most don't make it on their first day, and that's the only chance they're given," he smirked, "point being? You're not cut out for this."
Al's limp and cold body hits the deck, splattering blood all over the planks as the pirate walked back down into the ship's hold. Back below the deck, the fighting continued to rage on as the Mercenary joined the Brawler twins against their fight against the four disguised Dark Mages.
"Wait," Mustang pointed out, "weren't you going after the bandits?"
"Too bad, they jumped ship," smirked the pirate, "now, onto you brats."
The three pirates then reconvened their assault against the four, with the Mercenary now singling Sorcha, the Brawler with [Baigujing] confronting Petra, and both Mustang and Dedue now facing the Brawler with [Ne Zha], the latter of which began slinging fireballs at the two to create some distance from them.
"Well, back to where we came from," Dedue sighed as he peeked over the Brawler shooting his fireballs at them, forcing him to duck lest he gets burnt, "got any ideas?"
"One," Mustang then takes out his [Bowgun], "now I need something to fire it with."
Dedue looks around and finds a crate of small marble-sized balls of lead that were spilling out from being tipped over. "Will these do?" he then offered Mustang a handful of leaden balls.
"Prefer something bigger, but what the hell," Mustang then loaded a pellet before the pulled back bowstring, "on my count, get ready to jump in."
Dedue nods before another fireball was flung over their heads.
"NOW!" Mustang then aims his [Bowgun] towards the Brawler before pulling the trigger, letting loose the ball and have it hit directly into his eye. But in panic, the pirate then blindly flings his [Ne Zha] around, accidentally throwing a fireball at random directions.
During the interval after Mustang taking his shot, Dedue charged in, and while running, he dodged a flung fireball from [Ne Zha] by ducking under before Dedue finally reached the Brawler with the flaming gauntlets, wrestled him to the floor before swinging his [Steel Axe] down onto the Brawler's head, killing him on the spot.
"One down," Dedue remarked to himself before pilfering the [Ne Zha] from the dead bandit's hands. Upon doing so, he returned to where Mustang was at, he noticed something smoking behind his head. "Uh, Mustang?"
"Yes?" he replied before the back of his head then lit itself into a small fire, "OH CRAP CRAP CRAP!"
Quickly, he takes off his burning before realizing that his own hair caught on fire. With little to no options, Dedue shoves Cyrus to the floor before stomping on his hair to put it out. After the soles of the Duscurian's boots were well-antiquated with the Battuian boy's head, the latter gets up with his own head feeling rattled.
"Apologizes," Dedue bowed his head, "I was scant of options."
"I'll take frosty," Cyrus gritted his teeth as he put away the handful of leaden balls into his person, "you take the guy with the sword from Shangri-La."
The two then set off to their respective foes, with Dedue having [Ne Zha] in hand while Cyrus loaded his [Bowgun] with another ball in case needing to be fired again.
At the corner where Sorcha was pressing her [Claymore] against the Mercenary's [Wo Dao], Dedue comes in and tackles aside the Mercenary before finishing him off while he was on the ground, only for the pirate to slip away before repositioning to a more appropriate distance.
"Are you well?" asked Dedue before Lynx took off her torn mask.
"Feking prick's faster than he looks," growled Sorcha.
"Or you know, that sword of yours being the issue," taunted the pirate Mercenary as he tapped the [Wo Dao] on his shoulder armor, "seriously, what are you trying to kill with that thing? An elephant?"
"DEN LET ME KILL YE SO YE CAN FIND OUT!" Sorcha then pointed her [Claymore] towards the Mercenary before charging towards him, only for his [Wo Dao] to swat down the heavy blade with a single flick before thrusting his [Wo Dao] at her, only for Sorcha to dodge out of the way time, despite the subtle rocking of the ship.
"Huh, never took you for having sea legs," grinned the Mercenary as Sorcha dragged her sword back to where she was, "looks like I'm gonna have to try harder killing you!"
"Here!" Dedue then hands Sorcha a pair of [Ne Zha] gauntlets, "those suit better in close quarters."
Sorcha then clashes against the Mercenary and his [Wo Dao]. Dedue tries to flank from the side to catch the swordsman off-guard. In the main hall of the holds, the two dueled, with the girl's [Ne Zha] and its blazing blades locking against Mercenary's sword, neither showing fear.
"Not bad for a Fodlaner," smirked the pirate, unintentionally enraging Sorcha in the process, causing her to push the larger man back with her sudden jump in her strength.
"Don't ye dare compare me to those oppressors!" she barked out before delivering a swift low kick, only for the Mercenary to dodge it and regain the offensive, "I'M A FEKING BRIGIDIAN! AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I'M TOLD OTHERWISE!"
"Well, guess you fight better than the most of em," smirked the Mercenary before he broke off the lock to block an incoming strike from his side without looking, with his [Wo Dao] parrying Dedue's [Steel Axe] followed up with a swift kick to his knee to bring him down before facing Sorcha once again.
"Ye damn right I do!" Sorcha then began pushing back against the Mercenary's blade lock with her bladed gauntlets, "unlike others, I was raised to fight for me land and family! Nothing else matters but them!"
"I like ya," smirked the Mercenary, "forget selling you to a sultan's harem or a hooka den. You're definitely worth killing!"
Both fighters let out a fierce yell as they continued pushing their weapons against each other, equally matched in strength and bloodlust like a pair of vulture fighting over which gets the biggest piece of the carrion.
As Sorcha's rage that fueled her strength grew, a small ember began to form between her [Ne Zha] gauntlets. Before either of them could notice, the ember then exploded into a fiery explosion that knocked both of them away from each other before knocking their heads onto the wooden floor.
"Ugh... dat smarts..." groaned Sorcha as she groggily looked at her pair of flaming katars from Shangri-La that were gripped around her hands, "... wat sort of witch made this crap dat jus... e-explodes?!"
Before the Mercenary can make a quick quip as he tried to get back up, Dedue jumps in with a fierce yell before decapitating the pirate with the swing his ax.
"... Thanks," Sorcha remarked as she was offered the Duscurian's hand, "ye know... you wouldn't do so bad with us."
"My place is with his highness and no one else," Dedue turned down her offer as he handed her the [Wo Dao], "also, I figured you'll fight better with this."
Sorcha inspects the sword before sheathing it after stealing the dead Mercenary's scabbard. "Nah," she shook her head, "dis is more of Topaz's shtick."
The two then head back towards where they were separated from, now spotting Fox and Cyrus face the other Brawler with the [Baigujing] and its cryokinetic properties.
"We need help here!" Fox muffled out as she dodged another wave of icicles traveling across the creaking ship's floors.
Sorcha ducks her head upon the other Brawler swinging his ice gauntlets around madly, nearly getting her head lopped off by a launched ice blade that Dedue manages to parry.
"You wench!" the pirate with the [Baigujing] pointed towards Sorcha, "the [Ne Zha]?! What have you done with my brother?!"
"To be fair, it was me!" Cyrus then shoots another leaden ball from his [Bowgun], only for the Brawler to block the shot before erecting a wave of ice towards Cyrus' direction, pushing both him and Fox out of the fight.
"I WILL AVENGE HIS FALL!" the Brawler then immediately engages Sorcha in a deadly boxing match, katar to katar.
"Shite mate!" Sorcha exclaimed as she locked her blazing blades against his freezing punch-dagger, "yer quick on the kill, aren't ya?!"
"DIE! DIE! DIE!" the brawler's [Baigujing] blades begins to extend outwards as an outer layer of ice begins to form out from the blades of the Brawler's katar, "JOIN MY BROTHER!"
The ice blades jutting from the other's katars were starting to curve and edge their way towards Sorcha's throat. Quickly, she pulled herself out of the weapon lock to avoid getting her throat punctured, but then the Brawler used the extended reach of his frozen weapon to begin scratching towards her doggedly.
"Bloody ell' just calm down and let me kill ye!" Sorcha remarked as she jumped away from the maddened pirate's swings. Realizing that she now held the disadvantage in terms of range, Sorcha knew that she had to do something.
Normally, she would send Dedue to hold back the Brawler long enough for her to kill him, but since they have no healers available, Dedue would most likely die from it, and she knew that the last thing she needs is both the Black Eagles and the Blue Lions to hold a grudge against her and her sibling. And the former was enough for her to deal with as is.
"Waitaminute..." Sorcha muttered to herself as she then recalled the [Ne Zha] shooting fireballs between itself and that ember suddenly exploding before her, "... can I do that instead?" she then brings her katars closer together as a small ember began to form between the blades, "... well, watdoyeknow?"
The pirate Brawler with his [Baigujing] then charges towards Sorcha before the wick between Sorcha steadily grew. But before she can get jumped, Dedue grabs him from behind and holds the pirate back.
"WHATEVER YOU'RE PLANNING, MAKE IT QUICK!" Dedue yelled as the Brawler then began growing ice spikes from his [Baigujing] that inched towards Dedue's face to impale his head.
The small ember then turns into a ring of fire. Sorcha, now instinctively realizing how the weapon works, caressed her hands around the ring, molding and growing it until it was ready.
"EAT THIS!" Sorcha then lets go of the ring, which then began to float and spin before her, "[SAMADHI FIRE]!"
Her [Ne Zha] punches through the hoop of flames before it unleashed a wave of fire towards the Brawler's direction. Dedue then immediately lets go of the pirate before he could be consumed by the oncoming inferno by leaping out of the way, watching his own [Steel Axe] get melted into slag in the process. Once the flames die the down, the pirate Brawler stood there, now as a charred corpse, inanimate as its pair of [Baigujing] slipped off of its withered arms and staked themselves into the floor.
"... Sorry," Sorcha apologized to Dedue, "didn't think it would be that hot."
"No one did," Dedue replied with a sigh as he tried to pick up the unmelted [Baigujing], only for the heat of the still-intact metal to sting his fingers, "evidently, the people who made these arms didn't know what 'moderation' meant. How did you know what that combat art's name was?"
"... It just... ye know," she shrugged as she kicked over the charred body, causing it to crumple into dust upon hitting the floor, "... de name jus... burned itself into me head. As if this thin'..." Sorcha looked at her [Ne Zha], "... was talkin' to me."
"Whatever the case may be," sighed the Duscurian, "come, to the others."
The two then head towards where the others were at, still trapped in a tangle of icicles. "... Hey," Cyrus sheepishly grunted, "a little help?"
"It is starting to chill here," Petra remarked as she took off her ripped mask, "... also, my bottom is cold."
Sorcha grumbles as she then begins melting through the ice with her [Ne Zha]'s heat.
At the other end of the hold, Wren, Claude and Rooster were still trying to find a way to elude the surprisingly-quick pirate Archer with his [Crossbow]. His follow-up shots were both lethal (hard enough to take someone head off) and faster than the regular bow (a bow's reload time prior aiming is 4-5 seconds, the [Crossbow] was 2-3 seconds thanks to its crank-operated bowstring), and even with the numerical advantage, the cover and the darkness inside the cargo hold made it rather difficult for the three archers to actually flush him out.
"Dammit," Claude cursed as he tried to take a peek only for him to withdraw back to cover upon being spotted and shot, the bolt staking itself onto the pillar behind him, "who knew Almyra was making toys advanced as that? Why can't Fodlan have nice things?"
Rooster grumbles to herself, too scared to move. "... The outside world is too scary..." she whimpered under her mask, "... why does Almyra have to be so scary?"
"Because you're the one scared of yer own shadow-DAMMIT! CAN'T AIM WITH THIS SHITE ON!" Wren the rips her mask off, "... finally, I can see a bit better," Selene remarked, "I have an idea."
"What is it?" asked Claude.
"Someone draw his fire," Selene remarked as she then takes out her [Rusted Lance], "one of ye shoot, the other time de seconds between each shot."
"It's 2-3 seconds, right?" Claude remarked, "you thinking of rushing him, then you'll get shot!"
Selene smirks. "Not if he has two things to shoot at once."
With that, she takes off in a crouched sprint as Claude opens himself to shoot his [Steel Bow] at the pirate who shot with his [Crossbow]. But however, instead of aiming for the Golden Deer leader, he instead opts to aim to Selene, by shooting the metal rims cast around the barrel, having the bolt ricochet towards Selene's direction before being redirected towards Claude, only for him to dodge before another bolt fired, bounced off Selene's [Rusted Lance] and hit Rooster's head.
Thankfully, the part of the "head" was the mask's open pocket located directly above Bernadetta's head. Claude takes off the mask only to find that she fainted while foaming at the mouth from the sheer fear that she'd just experienced of nearly getting her head shot off.
"Silver lining, she's alive," muttered Claude, "... that was 2 seconds, both being ricochet shots that were aimed specifically to the backline. Damn pirate's smarter than he looks."
Selene, now on her own, realized the pirate was toying with her while really focusing his fire on Claude. She was now on her belly, keeping low to the ground in a a crawl, moving quietly as possible like a rat through the holds of the ship that were found on her family's vessels.
Good ol' days, she mused half-sarcastically while her chin brushed against the wooden floor, ... worst of all, there's nothing different of this from our usual fare. People tryin' to kill us, as usual.
Selene continued to crawl, trying to avoid the detection of the Archer. However, her [Rusted Lance] knocks over something that was stacked atop the crate, the clattering noise giving her location away.
The pirate Archer then aims for the unlit lantern above him, firing his [Crossbow] as its bolt ricochets towards where Selene was lying on. Realizing that she only has three seconds at best, she then gets up and starts sprinting towards where the bolt was fired from.
"THREE FEKING SECONDS!" she yelled at herself as the Archer was slightly surprised at the sudden cry that caused him to fumble in his reloading, giving Selene enough time to track him down and pin down the pirate before staking his throat with her lance.
The pirate gurgles in his own blood a few times before finally leaving the mortal world.
"... He's dead!" Selene called out towards Claude, the latter coming out of his cover with Bernadetta carried onto his back.
"Nice work," Claude complimented the Brigidian girl while she pilfered the pirate's [Crossbow], "... you know how to use that?"
Selene then cranked back the bowstring before pulling the trigger in a dry-fire. "Easier den de [Bowgun]," she remarked as she then took the spare bolts for herself, "mine."
"You earned it," he shrugged, "come on. We need to go find the others."
The three then make it back to where Petra and Cyrus were being thawed out at. "Hey, you guys made it," Cyrus remarked as he shook his limbs off of their numbness from the cold.
"That only lefts Professor and little girl, no?" Petra pointed out.
"Hey, nice pair of gauntlets," Claude complimented as Dedue comes back with the [Baigujing], "... where's Al? And the other two?"
"Uh, about that..." Cyrus then begins explaining of how the latter two jumped ship while the former's corpse was found on the deck.
"Ah," Claude remarked, "... well, guess the Archbishop isn't going to be happy."
"So," Sorcha sighed out in exhaustion, "... when do we start lookin' for the last two?"
At the hold where all the treasure was kept, a melee de trois was taking place between Karna with Topaz against Kasim with his [Zulfiqar] and EP-02 with his [Moplah of Mephisto] and the recently-stolen [Shamshir] from Kasim.
"Now how the hell did we get into this mess?" growled Kasim as EP-02, Karna and Topaz stared each other down after the three broke out of their weapon locks, "first you all come aboard The Anzu, then that red bastard made of metal punches a hole through the bottom hulls after I shot him, and now here we are, in the treasury, having no idea of who's after who other than wanting to see heads roll."
EP-02 lunges towards Kasim, causing the latter to block his blow with his [Zulfiqar] before kicking him away. Karna and Topaz charge at him with their [Crescent Sickle] and [Shamshir] respectively, the former imbuing his swing with [Swarm Z] for greater power while the latter crouched down as low as she could to take the pirate captain by surprise. EP-02 however comes back and tackles Karna aside, leaving the magic-imbued swing to peter out on its own, forcing Topaz to perform a [Windsweep] while the Crest of Gautier shone behind her as her Demonic Beast Arm pulsated with power.
Kasim was knocked away by the powerful swing, but was able to block the attack in time before Topaz jumped in to pin the pirate captain down with her [Shamshir] pressed against the wide width of [Zulfiqar]'s blade.
"Huh, guess ye pack more punch then your monkey brethren," taunted Kasim, "what part of Fodlan's waters made you like that?"
"DIE ALREADY!" Topaz barked as she used her increased strength to push her blade against Kasim's, "I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO SAY TO THE LIKES OF YOU!"
Kasim smirks. "Your funeral," covertly, he then whips out his flintlock pistol that was reloaded while the Hassashin was seeing red before pressing the barrel tip against her stomach.
A crack rings out, with the leaden ball grazing Topaz's side, forcing her to retreat before Kasim threw his [Zulfiqar] at her. Topaz leans under the thrown blade before running towards the now defenseless captain.
"You fell for it," Kasim then pulls out another pistol from his back before firing directly at her.
The leaden ball shot into Topaz's Demonic Beast Arm, breaking through the stoney scales and burrowing itself all the way into her bone, the force of the shot's impact sending her flying back several feet.
"Like I said," sneered Kasim as he tossed aside his spare while reloading his prior weapon with black powder from the horn and a leaden ball inserted into the muzzle, "... I dealt with your kind before." The captain then points the loaded pistol to Topaz's head as he nocked back the flint hammer with his thumb. "But you're good sport. So I'll let you say a last word before you go."
The leaden ball that pushed itself out of Topaz's Demonic Beast Arm that mended itself hit the floor before rolling back towards Kasim's foot. "Drop dead."
With her claws, Topaz raked the nails through the pirate captain's leg, cutting through both flesh and bone with a single swipe. The open bleeding causes Kasim to keel back in pain as Topaz jumps up and catches the thrown [Zulfiqar] that returned towards where Kasim had thrown it from before positioning herself to bring down the blade onto the pirate captain's neck.
"I judge you," declared Topaz, "as guilty."
The masterpiece of Zoltan beheads the pirate captain. Topaz then recites a small prayer to the reclaimed sword as she then goes back to collect everything that was on Kasim along with her [Shamshir] that she'd dropped prior.
"... Claimed," she spoke to herself as she then reloaded the spare flintlock before running back towards where Karna and EP-02 were at, still fighting and bruising each other like a pair of confrontational beasts fighting over a slain prey.
Karna was using both [Flux H] to impeded EP-02's movements while firing [Miasma ∆] to melt the insides of what was underneath the berserk Hero's armor. EP-02, still feral and unintelligible as ever, swung both his blades against Karna's own every time when he got close enough to attempt a killing blow with the prowess of that of a rabid beast rather than a skilled swordsman.
Still though, the dance continued, ebbing and flowing between ferocity and wit as steel clashed and spells slung themselves across the air.
"PROFESSOR!" Cyrus cried out as he and the others came into the main hold where the fight against EP-02 took place.
"EVERYONE!" Karna cried out as he pushed against the rabid Hero's blades before kicking him in the stomach to get him off, "FINISH HIM OFF, NOW!"
Claude, Bernadetta, Selene and Cyrus fired their [Steel Bows], [Bowgun] and [Crossbow] at EP-02, all of the projectiles being parried before any of them could hit him. Sorcha then unleashes her [Samadhi Fire] combat art towards the Hero in hopes of killing him while Dedue put on the [Baigujing] to erect a wave of icicles towards him, but both were evaded while the rest of the hold was both burning down and frozen solid at the same time. Petra and Karna, the former unsheathing the [Wo Dao] charged towards the Hero to pin him down and take him on a 2 against 1 melee, but even with the numerical advantage, EP-02 simply pushed the two off beog he flung them into the air like rag dolls.
As both Karna and Petra landed hard onto the wooden floor, the mad Hero sprints towards the two to finish them off, but a crack and a loud pop sound was heard before EP-02 was shot in the side of the head before being flung into a pile of treasure chests that buried him partially-melted gold and jewels.
"Topaz?!" Cyrus exclaimed as he and the others saw what was held in her hand, "when did you get that-"
"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!" she yelled back before pushing down a barrel of black powder that she took with her after everyone else made their way towards Karna. "ALL OF YOU!" she then pointed her other flintlock pistol towards the barrel rolling towards the flames and slag, "GET BACK!"
Everyone then runs as the little Hassashin shoots her pistol towards the barrel full of black powder, causing the contents inside to spill out into the fire before EP-02 was consumed by the explosion... along with the rest of the ship.
The entire bow and hulls behind the figurehead burst into flames and scattered gold and jewels. Kasim and his Forty Thieves were now cast into the sea along with their ships (including the corsair that was rammed into The Anzu) as the Dustbin and their auxiliary/temporary members now found themselves either swimming in the rough seas or clinging onto whatever non-burnt piece of driftwood that was currently available.
"Mwap, mwap, mwap, mwap..." Bernadetta listlessly chanted as her ears rang like church bells.
"She alright," Petra remarked as she floated with the [Wo Dao] sheathed in her hands, "... although we should go."
"We're gonna have to swim back, aren't we?" Claude groaned as he floated on a piece of driftwood, "glad Hilda's not around."
"I would make a dig at her, but alas, I also can't swim," Cyrus sighed.
"Sucks to be a landlubber den," smirked Sorcha as the waters boiled around her [Ne Zha], "Dedue me man, the weapons?"
He then holds up [Ma'at] the double-moon axe from Morfis while he used his [Baigujing] to create a small ice floaty for himself and others. "Unfortunately, the rest of our weapons have been lost to the sea," he informed, "... save for the ones we have right now."
"They're goin' te rust de longer we stay ere'," Selene pointed out as she began swimming for shore, "come on, at least start complainin' when we get back te dry land."
"So long, black powder," sighed Topaz as she let go of the waterlogged horn's contents before she swam.
"Don't worry," Karna reassured, "plenty to go around."
Eventually, the team finally reach dry land completely soaked to the last hair on their bodies. With nothing else for it, it was evidently clear that they managed to squeeze out a bittersweet victory.
The fraud [Elixir] case was now resolved, with most of its pushers and operatives all dead and their leaders on the run, Kasim and his Forty Thieves were slain and their weapons pilfered, which the Dustbin were allowed to keep (Claude preferred to stick with what he knows, Bernadetta found the [Crossbow] too cumbersome, Dedue states that a religious object like the [Ma'at] should be dealt with the Church authorities, Petra willingly surrendered the [Wo Dao] as a way to make amends with her former retainers, and no one but Topaz knew how to use the [Zulfiqar] due to its obtuse shape of its blade), and as usual, Karna now had to report the whole mission as a nominal success despite all of the civilian casualties caused by EP-02 showing up out of nowhere and bearing a slight resemblance to the Plaguebringer from last month.
But as the group trudged out of the now-ghost town in Hyrm as night began to settle in, Dolofonos was busy tying Pallardó and Mosquera to one of the black powder barrels that he'd set up around the town.
The Davino Brothers ran the misfortune of running into Dolofonos while he was in the middle of working. To make sure they were silent, the Assassin in black made sure to put them on the epicenter of the demolition to ensure that not even their bodies were to be found.
"Well, sucks to be them," shrugged Odesse as he rolled out the fuse from a spool while Dolofonos dragged the slagged but semi-functional EP-02, now with melted gold and salt water covering his armor, while his hands firmly gripped around his [Moplah of Mephisto] and a stolen [Shamshir], "still though, thought this was a... okay trial run all things considered."
"The fact that EP-02 is intact after eating an explosion that sank an entire galleon is enough of an indicator," Dolofonos remarked, "he's war-ready."
"War-ready..." mused the Dark Bishop before he snapped his fingers, "excelsior! I think I got it!"
"Got what?" asked the Assassin.
The end of the fuse then reaches its end as the spool runs bare. "His codename, duh!" Odesse remarked, "he's a red-armored badass with two swords. And you mentioned 'war-ready', yeah?"
"Meaning?" Dolofonos asked, much to his compatriot's ire.
"You're so slow, you know that?" Odesse sighed out, "anyway, the point being, I like this guy. So, he deserves a kickass name eluding to war!"
"Name him whatever you wish," Dolofonos then lit the fuse with a strike of his flint against the [Killing Edge] that he stole from Pallardó, "I only get paid to get the job done."
"Here's to you, on your okay-ish debut!" declared the Dark Bishop as the whole town blew up into an inferno behind them, "... happy birthday, Experimental Prototype #02, or should I say..." Odesse grinned manically under his mask as he recited the meaning behind the designation of "EP-02" before christening him a new name, "... Warlord."
As the case around the fraud [Elixir] was resolved, the shipment of the actual [Elixirs] were delivered to Garreg Mach, the students took another week to recover, but by then, the pandemic has been contained successfully. Karna's rescue team was then rewarded, albeit, their pay got slashed due to the entirety of a coastal town on Hyrm being burned to the ground.
However, the ruling was declared an "accident" due to the sudden pirate attack mid-operation (in reality, that was used as a cover story to elude the public's knowledge of EP-02 due to his similar nature to the Plaguebringer), and the Continental Education Board declared the ruling to be reasonable.
It didn't however, stop Duke Ludwig von Aegir from raging at Professor Karna from having one part of his governing region (before he moved in to become the Empire's Prime Minister) blown to kingdom come before the latter pointed out that his own incompetence led to them being sent to his region in the first place.
The phrase: "If you want someone to blame, look at yourself in the mirror, assuming that girth of yours can fit your reflection" was spoken before the two men started exchanging physical blows against each other in the middle of the round table like children before the two were forcibly separated by Leopold and Seteth respectively. When that didn't curb either of their aggressions, Rhea herself had to punch both them in their guts to get them to stop doing anything.
After that near-diplomatic disaster, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was reinstated back to its proper schedule, and as punishment for Karna's stunt, the Dustbin were forced to help out with the organization.
Yet despite the whole affair being handled by the Dustbin doing nonstop manual labor, Gronder Field was secured, and the Battle of the Eagle and Lion can now take underway.
27th of Wyvern Moon, Afternoon
"Be honest, Professor," smirked Byron as he and his class watched the mock war from atop the hill, "this month was just... bad luck, per say."
Vidar nods with a grunt.
"I feel sore all over..." Sorcha groaned as she stretched her back and arms, "haven't swam in a while... and me ears are still ringin'..."
"Silver lining, next month ought to be fun with these new toys of ours, innit Professor?" Selene pointed out.
Karna doesn't respond.
"... Professor?" spoke Cyrus, "... you haven't talked to us like since... in a while."
"His eyes look dead," Topaz remarked as she saw the battle reach its end with Byleth leading the Black Eagles to victory with a final charge towards the Golden Deer position.
Karna then waddled towards the Archbishop, who set down her opera glasses onto her lap before turning her head towards the corpse-like Professor. "Is something the matter?"
The Professor then lets a long and dry groan that lasted for a whole minute before he finally spoke his demands.
"I need a vacation," he stated, with tears dripping down his fish-eyes, "can I... take a whole month off?"
"Wait," Seteth remarked in utter surprise, "you have vacation days?"
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: One can only hear so many explosions before their ears start begging for mercy.
Yeah, I had plans for this chapter. Then "Ghost Stories" along with Apocrypha Book 2's "Screaming for Vengeance" happened. After that, all the fire I had for this arc just... died. Petered out. Extinguished. Burned out. Up into smoke.
Karna's state of burnout is my own state of burnout as well, from having references to Archer's "Placebo Effect" to being pared down into a 3-part arc that is basic for my standards, and the next arc might be a self-examination piece with a touch of chaos of what's going to happen with Remire Village's "The Flame in the Darkness" chapter adaptation. Giving vacation days to the Dustbin is redundant since they both have vacation every day while "working" every day.
Point being, even if they beg to god or Sothis, the Dustbin will never know rest. They solely exist to suffer under the waves of politics and bloodthirsty bastards who don't take "no" for an answer.
References:
- [Ne Zha]'s combat art, [Samadhi Fire] is a reference to Red Boy's True Samadhi Fire, which is a fire that he can breath out that cannot be put out by water, and a gag to how Red Boy is often mistakenly depicted as a figure similar to Ne Zha the Third Lotus Prince, which in turn was subtlety referenced in Lego's Monkie Kid Season Three, where Red Son is the one who is the most knowledgable about the Samadhi Fire Rings behind Ne Zha himself.
- EP-02's new name, Warlord, is an allusion to the Red Rider of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. All we have left is "Conquest".
- Seteth's last line towards Karna is a reference to Hellsing Ultimate Abridged's Episode 3, where Alacard expresses surprise when he is told that he has vacation days.