Chapter 25 - 1

Quick Author's Note. (For FFN)

To SentinelSlice, Terrans are only stronger physically (Arknights canon lore). They are on the same level as Earth people mentally and magically. The effects of All The World's Evil are psychological, so they're all knocked unconscious unless they are strong mentally like Ch'en.

Sorry to everyone. I portrayed Patriot incorrectly. Having him straight up beating Talulah early wouldn't make her any good of a threat. Will get him a good fight scene soon.

=== RHODES ISLAND ===

0530 Hours, Somewhere near Chernobog.

...

Ch'en sipped from the small can of tea. It was just regular tea one bought from a vending machine, but it helped tone down her nerves even by a little. One of Rhodes Island's operators brought it along as a refreshment, but gave it once they saw her condition.

"Are you sure you need to go...?" One medic asked. It was normal for them to worry, Ch'en looked shaky and nowhere near ready for the mission. She was pale and haggard, still sweating all over after the ordeal with Sakura. It was her first time dealing with such a presence. Ch'en could have never known the girl carried such a malevolent curse.

Ch'en had a choice- but her pride won over in the end. Rin was intent on chasing Sakura and demanded Ch'en come along. She could've said no- her condition wasn't optimal for the mission. Still, Ch'en wasn't going to back down that easily, especially when her employer pushed herself past the curse.

If Rin could do it- then so could she, Ch'en convinced herself. It was about capability. Ch'en wouldn't let weakness hinder her from the mission. She wanted to get to Chernobog and meet her sister. She was granted the opportunity by being hired by the two doctors, so she would do everything in her ability to fulfill her role.

"...I'm fine." Ch'en tried to convince herself. No she wasn't, but that meant she wouldn't try. The medic stood there for a moment before their attention moved to the newcomer.

"I need to talk to her. Privately." Ch'en watched as the medic glanced at Rin's legs. They were a bit shaky, but far more controlled unlike when she saw them earlier. The Rhodes Island operator looked between them for a little longer before sighing.

"Just make sure not to push yourselves too far...you're putting everyone in danger if you collapse on the field."

"We won't." Rin assured her. Ch'en didn't know how confident her employer was considering what they just went through.

"Alright, I'll leave you two be." The medic walked away and settled closer to the other operatives.

Ch'en released a deep breath as she forced her fingers to stop shaking. Somewhere along the way, they had started moving on their own without her noticing.

"Normally I wouldn't drag others into this...but I can't do it alone. I'd prefer to have Shirou with me but he's not here." Rin admitted as she dropped herself beside Ch'en. ­"We're not doing anything as crazy as fighting Sakura head on. We're just gonna be making sure nobody else is caught in the crossfire."

"Do you have a plan?" Ch'en asked. She didn't want to see how many victims the curse could inflict.

"I have a mystic code that keeps track of Sakura's location. She's heading to Chernobog ahead of us." Rin paused before adding- "A mystic code is like a spell. Amiya has agreed to lending a few operatives to help us."

That would be more than helpful. Ch'en was considering how Rin was going to tackle this problem with just the two of them. Yes, the LGD was aware that the Fuyuki Doctors had some tricks up their sleeve- but Chernobog and Lungmen were entirely different situations. One was a secure city, the other smoldering ruins held by terrorists.

Amiya may be young, but Ch'en believed that she wouldn't send them capable support.

"I'll explain the plan when they arrive." Rin closed her eyes. Ch'en finished the rest of her tea while watching the view outside the window.

The empty plains of rocky wilderness flew by beneath them, closer and closer to their destination. It was still dark out- not much can be seen aside from the shadowy crags in the far distance against the slowly brightening sky. Soon, the sky would become too bright for them to hide their aircraft from Chernobog's skies.

At the corner of her eyes, Ch'en kept an eye on two white-haired operatives approaching them.

"Doctor Rin." The first of the two greeted. Ch'en briefly memorized her features- white hair, red eyes, and a large sword on her back. The girl behind her was similar except for the weapon she carried- a chainsaw.

It was a weird weapon to use on the battlefield, but Ch'en wouldn't question it.

Rin opened her eyes and looked at the two newcomers before speaking.

"Before we begin- Rin meet Skadi and Specter. They'll help us find and contain Sakura."

=== CHERNOBOG ===

0600 Hours, Chernobog.

...

Warm.

If there was anything she could describe it as, it was the comfortable kind of warmth. A feeling she had not had for years. Her days had gone by in a blur, lost in despair after her efforts were dashed one after another.

It wasn't until he took over body that she began seeing results. Not the kind of results she wanted, but they were drawing more attention than she could ever imagined.

The wrong kind of attention.

Talulah watched with empty eyes as her body moved on its own, controlled not by her- but another parasite. Though, she couldn't blame him. He was also probably just as surprised as her.

This wasn't what he had expected after meeting the enemy.

For everything that went against his agenda was an enemy. Even her own friends.

Talulah had grown too weak in her own body. Wallowing in her own despair and inadequacy to help her own people. The Reunion had grown far larger than she had imagined under his leadership. The size alone would've been daunting to her. To begin with, Talulah couldn't even begin to imagine how to support them. The old Reunion would've survived off hunting and asking small villages for help. Nothing too much, just enough to get by. The Reunion of today was an entirely different thing. It was akin to a small army marching. To survive, they had to pillage towns and villages they came across in the wilderness. Something she would've never agreed to.

Still, Talulah was not so weak as to completely lose her mind.

She still perceived the world. Still saw the actions done with her body by the parasite. They all weighed heavily on her shoulders, pushing her underwater and drowning her in more self-loathing for letting such things take place.

But she couldn't take over now. She couldn't imagine how to even fix everything.

That was what she used to feel. Incapable. Unworthy. Pathetic.

If not for that thing.

Yellow? Gold? Talulah couldn't begin to describe the color of the object held by the strange man in front of her.

She had categorized him a powerful archer after the invasion. Multiple reports and witnesses confirmed enough to put him in the same tier as her, Patriot, and FrostNova when it came to battlefield effectiveness. Their presence was enough to turn the tide of any battle as long as both sides were equal in strength. Talulah was not so audacious to try that against real army corps and similarly professional parties. The Reunion should only ever face opponents they have real chances against.

Whatever she was seeing- whatever she was feeling- there was no doubt what the source was.

A glowing sheath of molten beauty, lighting up the desolate world around them. For a moment, Talulah forgot that she was on Chernobog. The soothing atmosphere around her was a stark contrast to the burning city in the background.

It was stunning.

It was dangerous.

Talulah could tell that he was also shaken. Such power would cripple the Reunion. He needed them angry. He needed them hunting for revenge.

But he wouldn't act rashly.

Faced with a new variable, he would observe it- study it- counter it.

For what did Kashchey have to do? He was on the cusp of winning. Chernobog's core was hours away from Lungmen. Hours away from giving Ursus the opportunity to ignite war with the Great Yan. Kashchey needed war. He needed it to awaken the sleeping bear. Ursus on its feet would revive the nation's slumbering spirit.

All for the motherland.

=== Shirou POV ===

The chains he summoned should keep Talulah down. They were designed to sap energy away from the prisoner and keep them under a certain threshold both physically and magically. A Clocktower standard operating procedure when Shirou joined them on a few missions.

He made sure to secure the dragon first before dashing over to Patriot.

"What in the world is that...boy?" The aged general grunted as Shirou stopped beside him.

"It's a little secret." Shirou scanned him over. Patriot's condition was as bad as he thought. His armor was superheated beyond operational wear. The metal was boiling from being exposed to Talulah's fire at blank range for a prolonged period. The shield was just a chunk of slag metal several meters away, telling Shirou that Patriot's armor was only meters and minutes away from being reduced to the same scrap.

This man had been fighting Talulah while he was getting cooked alive.

His arms were filled with shrapnel, just like the entire front of his armor. Shirou could only assume Patriot used them to protect his head- the only part that wasn't wounded.

"Bull...shit." Patriot coughed. He was still able to fight. Though, he was still thankful for Shirou's timely arrival. The fight was slowly turning against him with the first critical error of the battle. He could continue on for a while longer, but the tide was shifting against him the more damage his body took from his own armor.

Instead, it felt like all the pains were disappearing. They were still there, but Patriot's injuries weren't dragging him down anymore. His body wasn't melting, nor was the Originium fragments burning his skin like acid.

His eyes glanced at the glowing yellow sheath the younger male carried. The source of elation and soothing power he was feeling. Speechless, he couldn't describe how he felt at that moment.

"Hold on-" Shirou cut jammed his hand into Patriot's searing armor and dismantled them with precision. The general zeroed in on his apparent familiarity with the armor- something that Shirou wasn't supposed to know.

"Right...you can read the history of objects." Patriot remembered. That was the only way for the boy to know. His armor was far older than anything the Reunion had. It was smelted for him a hundred or so years ago during his service in the Ursus Empire. The model and make were different from the regular armor. They were better to wear and remove, but Patriot's was designed to stay on no matter what. It was especially designed for him because nobody could ever match the legendary Wendigo's skill in battle. The armor was extremely durable in the cold weather of Ursus, but weakened in the fires of Chernobog.

The old fighter released a sigh of relief once the burning metal chest piece was removed. Thick hot air touched his chest, but it was a cool breeze compared to the searing metal he wore seconds earlier.

"Thank you." Patriot grunted. The boy was proving himself in his eyes. In the few times Patriot crossed sights with Shirou, the general saw the hardened veteran underneath the young exterior. Yet, there was still a warmth in them that he couldn't figure out. It wasn't until seeing him help the people that Patriot recognized it for what it was.

He could see why FrostNova was melting. Her arts were just like a reflection of herself. Cold and distant to all but those she cared for. Seeing her thaw and make a new friend was comforting, but he still held some reluctance then. Not anymore.

Of course, Patriot would still break the boy's legs if he broke FrostNova's heart.

Cough-

He inwardly shook his head and glanced at what the boy was doing. He was whispering in another language- casting a spell? The sheath's glow pulsed for a moment-

And entered his chest.

Patriot blinked.

What.

Suddenly, the soothing presence left the environment and the world was plunged back into the desolate ruin it was. He jerked his hand to his chest where it disappeared into.

"What did you do!?" Patriot demanded.

"It will heal you. Look." Shirou pointed to his arms. Patriot watched and noticed the minute changes- the corrosive Originium effects had blunted, the skin actually holding them back.

No- they were pushing back. The skin was regaining their complexion. Patriot looked down at his chest to see the burns also doing the same. They were recovering at an immense pace.

"...what?"

"Stay here and stop the Reunion." Shirou needed someone to turn the tides of battle in their favor. "I think I have a way to stop Chernobog. I'll bring Talulah with me to the control tower."

Patriot was pushed aside questions about the sheath he saw earlier and focused on the objective. "Stop Chernobog? How?"

"Talulah is the key." Shirou kept his eyes on the Draco. He was still working out how it could work, but traces of a plan were forming in his mind.

"I'll come with you." Patriot stepped forward. Stopping Chernobog was the highest priority. "We can never be sure with her."

"No. Stay here and stop the Reunion. This is our best chance to weaken both sides. The Reunion will collapse without her presence, then you can convince the rest to surrender." It was a two-pronged attack. Talulah will be without support and the Reunion will be without a leader. Meanwhile, Patriot's breakaway faction still had him and FrostNova around.

"And risk the city?!" Patriot's voice rose. "How can you assure that you can stop the city?! Talulah will not give you the key!"

Shirou's mind raced. He looked around and took in his surroundings. There was no one else visible. Only the three of them. This place was as good as any to perform the ritual. Patriot's presence would also stop anyone from interfering if they came.

"Fine, but don't interfere. If anyone tries, stop them." Shirou turned away from Patriot and walked back to Talulah. His mind was running through its paces, drawing up an invocation he had made with Rin and Sakura's help.