Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

| [ 2 hours before the tragedy ] |

The bite of the Eternal Freeze had only doubled since the beginning of December. The air howled and snapped its jaws at any passerby. In turn, the wind’s bites required all folks to be bundled up to the most extreme measures and place geomarrow heaters at every corner of the city, and in every room of the house.

To say that Bronya was cold in her dress would be an understatement, she felt the vice grip of the howling wind as it crept up on her. From her nose to her toes she shuddered at the chilled air. She wrapped herself in a soft blanket that laid on the armchair by the window. Bronya peered out of it cautiously.

Her eyes met with the sight of joyous civilians, from both the Underworld and Overworld, on every street corner. There were a multitude of relieved faces she could pick out in the crowds. She couldn’t recall the last time Belobog had seemed so united. An ounce of pride swelled in her chest as she let herself truly beam.

Bronya’s wedding had been arranged to be around Christmas. It was decided that she and Seele would send invitations out for their wedding to people outside of Belobog, as well. The Astral Express was invited alongside a few IPC members, Xianzhou and Penacony civilians. She was surprised to learn some of the people, mainly Dr. Ratio, were going to attend the wedding at all.

The wedding day was to be treated as a festival among the people, all the stores closed early with chatter of the big day and coworkers clocked out together to go and celebrate. The booming ecstasy of Belobog reached out to the rest of the universe and pulled every individual star, planet, or person into its welcoming arms.

The festival included plentiful bouts of rented space and paid performers of all kinds for children and adults alike to enjoy. Gepard insisted he’d be security for the event, to ensure everybody could have a good time. And he did exactly that. He protected everyone. He protected his siblings while they went out on rides and played carnival-like games.

Serval and Lynx would stop by wherever he guarded and show him what prizes they’d won; he got left with the duty of keeping some of their belongings guarded. He complained to them over it, but he really didn’t mind. As long as everybody was safe and happy, he would do anything to corroborate that wish for the people of Belobog.

It was funny to see everybody dressed up in their nicest suits and dresses all mucking about outside and running around. A more gentle, fond smile fell upon Bronya’s face. She made note that Sampo was still out in an attempt to scam people and brushed it off for once. Though she wasn’t sure that Gepard would let it slide, In Gepard’s words; “Sampo was exactly the kind of person that people needed protecting from.”

But if Gepard fully believed those words, then he wouldn’t leave his window unlocked at night. If he truly felt unsafe around Sampo he wouldn’t let his guard down around him as much as he did. Bronya knew Gepard didn’t really think that about Seele’s inherent sibling. The same way Bronya never truly thought about Seele that way.

They were always so weighed down by expectations, while admittedly it was mainly Bronya, Seele still had her worries too. Yet here they were, about to get married. It was so strange the way things changed after time passed. Any amount of time could pass and something would inevitably change, including the time itself.

Speaking of the time. The firework show was supposed to begin soon, as the sun began its setting the sky was destined to light up with loud squeals and pops of the bright, vivid fire and sparkles.

| [ 0.5 hours after the tragedy ] |

Incredibly loud, ear-ringing screams carried alongside worried voices trying to call for all sorts of names. Sounds that mashed together to make inconceivable threads of nonsense. All semblance of unity and security was easily thrown out the window the moment things went awry. No matter the spray of blood splattering across the snow and similarly pale faces, there was nothing to save the situation anymore. Even those with torches and flashlights seemed to shine no hope at understanding.

Clothes were ripped up and scrapes and scratches covered those who made it away from the scene of corpses and crimson. Dare not to mention what may remain of the bodies who weren’t so lucky.

Far away from the original site, inside a fortified building, a small campfire blazed. Around it sat many familiar faces from the initially buzzing site of socialization and laughing voices. Only familiar by recognizable features unfortunately, as every expression wore a somber, petrified frown.

Bronya sat garbed in the same wedding dress. Just like many folks huddled around a pitiful flame to listen in on ambient screams, it was ripped, tattered and speckled with the blood of her people. It saw scenes she never hoped to watch unfold in a situation she could not prevent. With the unfortunate circumstance that she was given no comfort. Everyone else sitting around had nothing to say. The only few who might have had a smile or some security to give refused to remain idle, with Seele and Gepard and many others wandering back out with new gear to gather survivors and fight for those with something to save.

That made the room dull and bleak. Eyes with blankness, and minds with nothing to do but think.

At least, that was until a sitting survivor had the voice to speak up and break the silence, but in a quiet tone. A voice that knew to at least heed warning in whatever she may have to say. Not even for the people in the room, but for the monsters lurking outside.

“Lady Bronya,” Softly the voice spoke out in a small room. The tone could be traced back to the only female in the room with baby blue hair and light wings.. “This may be the wrong time to say this, but I saw your wife leave this at the door. I just wasn’t sure when to show you.” One of her hands reached out, holding a piece of paper that had been stomped on with dirty shoes.

No strength could be read from her face as Bronya stared at the dirtied paper. A weak hand met the other woman’s offering with hesitance. Reading loved ones’ messages at times like this rarely delivered good tidings.

Unshockingly, this one was no better. An already weakened and vulnerable woman who was once looked upon fondly now stared at a poorly written note like a child with a poorly received report card. Emotion was easily translated through her eyes and the furrowing of her eyebrows.

A short, wispy sigh flew through the air as it escaped her lungs. The blue-haired woman who gave her the note hadn’t read it previously. It could’ve contained very personal information, after all. Yet the expression worn by the supreme guardian left curiosity within her. For no reason other than perhaps knowing would allow her to bring some effect of consolation. In the dark, she could give no words to ease a heavy heart that wouldn’t just be hollow.

Still not a peep escaped the lips of the lady in a tattered dress. Just a fall of her hand as thoughts presumably swarmed her mind. Just a small look in the right direction gave almost the perfect view to the boldly written letters on the note. Even with the dirtied paper.

Such a hastily written message, as if she’d done it just before she departed through the door. Seele’s handwriting said, “I love you, don’t wait for me, just know I’ll definitely make my way back.”

Chapter Text

Bronya had clung onto Gepard for any source of warmth, the museum carried the cold air from outside and never had much heat to begin with. Robin had given in and begun to cling to Gepard as well, it had practically been freezing since none of the heaters had worked after the decline of… population. Nobody went back to their jobs like before.

Not many were left alive. The three in the room shared the unspoken idea that maybe they were the only ones left at the time, but they wouldn’t dare say it aloud. Bronya still stared at the paper from Seele. She read it again and again hoping that Seele left a clue of some kind as to where she went. Meanwhile, Robin and Gepard worried about their siblings in silence.

The Supreme Guardian let out a shaky breath, which spread fog in the air from how cold it was. Even though it was sunless, you could see the faint outlines of the warmth leaving her body. She tapped her fingers, quietly, on Gepard’s prosthetic arm. He noticed it, obviously. Despite the fact that he may have looked relaxed, Bronya and Robin knew that he never was.

“Gepard?” Bronya curled the note Seele left in her free hand. There laid an indescribable look in the Supreme Guardian’s eyes.

Gepard put almost all of his attention on her. “Yes, Lady Bronya?”

“Do you think Seele’s coming back soon?” Bronya softly muttered, she didn’t seem to have much hope left. Perhaps that explained the reason why she wouldn’t stop staring at the note her wife left a few days ago. At least what had seemed like a few days ago, it was hard to tell when there was no sun to set apart night and day.

With a mumbled response, Gepard gave his best answer. “I don’t know how to answer that.” The cold had clearly weighed down on his mind. Robin seemed to tense at the thought.

An effort of reassurance was offered by the pale blue haired woman. “We can’t say for sure when she’ll be back, but I hope it’s soon. We all value her.” It might have worked, but she didn’t know her well enough to understand if it had or hadn’t.

“Thank you, Robin.” A faint smile curled at Bronya’s lips. She held the dirtied paper even tighter in her hands, but still careful enough as not to cause any damage toward it. Thoughts darted through her mind. “Do you reckon we’re cursed?” She threw out more questions.

“We’re likely not cursed, my Lady.” Gepard answered.

Robin hummed in feedback as she stretched out her legs a tad. “I don’t think so either.” The room fell in silence before Bronya carried on with her inquisitive, more like self-loathing, nature.

“Do you think I-”

“It’s not your fault.” Gepard cut her off, as if he knew what she had planned to say or imply from the very beginning when she opened her mouth for the third question. She simply huddled closer against him and hid her face in response.

Given she probably didn’t want to be seen if she were in the midst of crying. Robin allowed herself to float within the silence, except for the howls of the wind outside, for a moment before she spoke up.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s an unfortunate thing to happen to us, to anybody, without reason or any kind of specific target in mind. It wasn’t our fault, that’s for sure.” She let herself awkwardly giggle at her words, for some reason they felt oddly nice to say in the moment.

Bronya dusted off a bit of fluff that shedded from her dress and sighed. “I’d suppose not.” Bronya tried her best to believe that it wasn’t her fault.

A feeling Gepard couldn’t find himself sharing.

He was supposed to protect everybody, to help ensure the peace and joy of the wedding, and festival, in the first place. He had failed the one job he’d insisted on. Not to mention he had absolutely no idea where both his sisters were, if they were even alive. If anyone was alive. If Sampo was alive. In this sudden moment, he found himself understanding how Bronya felt about Seele.

Which is why he didn’t lie and say he thought Seele would come back soon. He didn’t know if she would. Really he could only hope she would; she was a wonderful person, friend, family member, and to Bronya, a wife. Even if they didn’t get to be wives for very long. They were married nonetheless.

Landau was acutely aware of the fact that Robin also had her own family that she was worried about. Gepard was sure they’d find her brother at some point, he didn’t seem like the type that died easily. All he hoped was that when they found a way to fix the problem in Belobog, things could go back to normal. Or, as normal as they could be for a city ravaged by lack of illumination and something malicious stalking through the constant shadow.

As he freed his hand from Robin’s weight, he tried to form a small bit of ice, and yet only a flicker of pale blue appeared in his palm that left a cold smog in its wake that was not unlike the breath Bronya had let out earlier. He narrowed his eyes at the remnants of his attempt at his usual supposed power.

There was a nearly silent thud outside. Yet, due to the deafening silence filling the room, it was noticed by all in the room. When all else is muted, it is hard to miss such a sound. Bronya sat up immediately, as did Robin. Gepard rose up as swiftly as the other two did once they were fully off of him. Gepard had his guitar case wielded in an instant, as Robin and Bronya held their weapons immediately. They all looked to different points of entry, ready for anything.

What they didn’t expect was the sound of the door being opened and all the cold air rushing in, an odd pacing of footsteps that gave way to uneven, heavy bodies that trotted in. A few huffs of exhaustion mixed with those of pain, from the jumbled bodies. It was unclear what exactly it was that was going on until the door closed and out stepped Seele, with an arm around someone in a fancy coat that overlapped with another sleeve, dyed purple and brandishing a gloved hand.

All faces and bodies stepped into view. The sound echoes as Bronya dropped her bayonet as she lunged into Seele and wrapped an arm around her waist. Seele tried to carefully let go of Aventurine, who had been leaning upon her, but he still ended up letting out a wince. He simply shifted his weight to lean more heavily onto Dr. Ratio with an apologetic smile. The violet-haired man simply sighed but carried the weight of him without comment.

Seele wrapped her arms around Bronya and gave a chaste but sweet kiss to her wife. They still held each other even after the kiss ended. It felt like they were meant to hold each other in the first place. Foreheads pressed together and warmth flowing in their lungs at their reunion, their hearts started beating again.

“Hi.” Seele simply whispered as a faint smile had begun to grow on her lips.

“I’m glad you’re back.” Bronya whispered as she curled a gloved hand around Seele’s face.

A softly chuckled response. “Me too.”

Neither clearly had no intent to let go of the other.

“I don’t intend to break your-” Dr. Ratio put a great deal of thought into his words before he spoke up again, “moment. But you both realize we have a wounded individual here?” His words carried a scolding tone.

Quickly after Veritas spoke, Aventurine followed up. “Oh, it’s fine-” The wounded blonde stopped talking when Dr. Ratio sighed at his words.

Bronya and Seele split apart almost immediately, a flushed look went to Bronya’s face and her ears tinted red from embarrassment.

“Right, I apologize,” Bronya dusted off her dress and turned to properly hold a conversation with, respectively, the Aventurine of Stratagems and the Intelligentsia Guild member. “What exactly happened out there?”

Seele spoke up first. “I found them wandering by one of the stores, I think. It wasn’t exactly easy to see.”

Golden eyes shot a glare at Seele. “You should explain more than that.” Seele waved her hand at him and sighed.

A mumbled tone sounded from Seele. “Well, there was… something chasing me.” Confusion was laced into her voice as she tried to recall the moment. “Maybe someone, I don’t know. It didn’t sound like a person.”

“What do you mean by ‘something?’” Bronya’s eyes darted between Aventurine and Seele for an answer.

“I don’t know. I could barely hear it, but I felt it getting closer. So I tried to hide in the store and remembered some scraps I’d found of an explosive from near the Underworld.”

Dr. Ratio added, “And you set it off towards the thing.” His quick words gave the narrative he didn’t trust in her to tell the story correctly.

“I was getting there.” She hissed at him. “I didn’t know the range of the explosion, nor did I know that Dr. Ratio and Aventurine were even on the outside of the store.” Despite the previous hostility, she hushed her voice to continue. “So of course, naturally, I went in the opposite direction of what had been chasing me and the explosive.”

Not seeming to care about the annoyance it caused Seele, Veritas added more commentary. “And naturally there was unavoidable rubble from the explosion.”

“How far away was this?” Bronya urgently inquired.

Messy dark blue hair moved with the shrug of Seele’s shoulders. “Far enough away that you didn’t hear it, I’m guessing.”

Bronya reached for Seele’s hand, from fear and concern. Seele interlaced their fingers without question. “You helped carry Aventurine here, all the way from a store near the Underworld entrance?”

“It was not a short journey, that’s for sure.” Seele sighed as she leaned against one of the pillars in the room.

Bronya looked to Dr. Ratio this time. “So what was it that caused Aventurine the inability to walk?”

“Concrete. Debris from the explosion.” Dr. Ratio stated. “The impact sent many different materials flying out, but we must have been the only people alive to experience the effect.”

“It’s truly not that bad, though. I can manage.” Aventurine rushed to add onto Dr. Ratio’s words.

A confused and angry look from Dr. Ratio was shot towards the blonde. “That’s just not true.”

“It’ll heal. At some point.” Aventurine muttered under his breath.

“At a point that is slower than the time you’d normally heal in. We don’t have medicine or sanitized tools to work on your leg, and we can’t make them appear in an instant.” Dr. Ratio seemed like he’d had this (argument) discussion before.

“It doesn’t really hurt, I think my leg will work fine.” Aventurine attempted to remove the arm that was around Dr. Ratio’s shoulders off, only for Dr. Ratio to move his other arm and clamp it down in a weird twist of limbs.

In some odd attempt to withhold his obvious disdain for the neverending bickering. “This is illogical.” He stated. “How can I prove to you that you’re currently unable to walk?”

“You’ll have to let me try, Doctor.” Aventurine spoke with a bit of joking lilt to his voice.

Veritas looked at the other people in the room for a split moment. Arguing over this wasn’t working. A thought ran through his mind and he’d realized it was in fact a pointless argument. He simply wanted to end the argument and prove Aventurine was being stupid. That he did in fact need help.

An idea had appeared in his mind.

“Go on, then.” Dr. Ratio let go of him completely.

He crossed his arms and simply waited for Aventurine to stop leaning his full weight on him. Aventurine didn’t seem to hesitate all that much as he took a step forward with his uninjured leg, but when he tried to step with the injured leg he let out a sound of agony before promptly falling forward.

Showing himself prepared, Dr. Ratio was at his side in an instant. Already letting Aventurine’s full weight onto him again to raise him to a good level.

“I’m sure that didn’t hurt, did it?” Dr. Ratio stared at him, in some feable attempt to make eye-contact.

Aventurine spoke between deep breaths. “...Don’t.” Apparently his endeavor at a step forward on his twisted leg had hurt a lot more than he’d wanted to vocalize.

Bronya stared in pure shock at what the fuck had just happened before she cleared her throat, which gathered the attention of everyone in the room.

“We’ll get supplies for the pain after we get up again. Right now, just focus on resting and keeping it clean and elevated as we sleep.” Nobody disagreed with Bronya when she made the plan.

With speed, Gepard spoke up to offer. “I’ll stand guard while you all rest.”

An arm released Bronya as Seele was the first to answer him. “I don’t think that’s necessary.” Her words carried a statement, not an idea.

“You should rest, Gepard.” Bronya ordered as she walked away from where her wife was and more toward Gepard.

“Somebody needs to stand guard.” He tried to debate.

A cheerful chirp came from Robin. “I can.” Her lips formed into a slight smile. It didn’t look awkward at all, surprisingly. It looked as if she’d had years of practice of a faint smile or it was all natural.

Gepard bowed his head to her. “You should rest, Miss.” A giggle elicited from Robin and he looked at her eyes with dubiety as he subtly frowned. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no! Not at all, you’re just so proper.” Robin rested her arms behind her back, she seemed to take joy or something similar in sight of his expression. Bronya simply smiled at Robin.

The confusion on Gepard’s face only increased with the furrow of his brows. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Bronya hovered her hand over his heavily armored shoulder. “What she means is that you should take a break.”

He didn’t want to argue about it much so after about two minutes of internal conflict flickered in his eyes he let out a sigh and accepted defeat.

“Okay.” Gepard returned to where the three sat originally, and placed his guitar case down quiet enough that only a gentle ‘thump’ was audible.

With what little medical supplies they had on hand, Aventurine’s wound was tended to. Bronya helped him wrap the leg and found a small box to keep it elevated and he quietly thanked her.

Bronya picked up her bayonet then regrouped with her wife and laid next to her.

The two quietly chattered about something that nobody else could hear. Robin periodically went between entry points with a few other group members that hadn’t been talking nearly as much as everyone else was.

The blonde IPC member still sat, he didn’t seem to have much intent to lie down and sleep. He was, presumably, restless due to not actually being able to move much throughout the time everyone was awake.

It seemed that a certain violet-haired architect noticed Aventurine’s troubled state. Dr. Ratio disappeared from the gambler’s sight. He chose not to call after him. It’s not like he could have followed him very well, either.

He leaned back against the cold, stone walls of the facility that reminded him of the heavy, cold cement or rock that had broken his leg in the first place. Admittedly, his leg had swelled quite a bit after he’d tried to walk. But he didn’t say anything. There was nothing anyone could do about it, anyway. The most annoying part was that it was hard to sleep because he was not only cold and he had been having a hard time regulating heat, but he was also in dreadful amounts of pain.

In all his totally legit neurotypicality, he’d begun to wonder about his friend, Topaz. He wondered where she was during all of this. They had traveled together for the wedding and he hadn’t seen her since the beginning of the darkness. He thought that was an odd way to phrase it, but he didn’t know how else to explain what happened in such a short way.

He sighed and closed his eyes to try and ignore the pure extract of suffering that was going on in his leg.

While his mind was powerful enough to keep the slurry of thoughts going on in his brain, he didn’t notice the quieted footsteps that approached him until he felt a thick fabric drop over his legs. He jolted at the feeling of it and opened his eyes instantaneously. He expected his sights to set upon something perhaps a tad more sinister. Instead, he was met with the sight of Dr. Ratio standing by him for a brief moment. Only for him to walk away the second his eyes locked to the doctor’s own.

He couldn’t help the look of bedazzlement he gave the man as he walked away. A small tint of red went over his face towards the act of kindness. The doctor had been generous enough to give and show him a blatant act of affection, even if it was subtle. He’d decided, as he fixed the blanket in a comfortable way, that he’d make it up to him some day. With many thoughts and ideas of how to do as such, he had drifted off to sleep along with everybody else except for those on guard duty.

The supposed night that they slept through was cold and quiet except for the muted whistles of the wind.

However, the time they woke up was not nearly as quiet. The room echoed the argumentative voices of three people; Aventurine, Dr. Ratio, and Robin.

Obviously the singer had tried to defuse their argument in a peaceful way, but neither of the men had cooperated. Naturally, Seele and her wife went to go see what on Qlipoth was going on.

“Are you three trying to endanger us with your bickering?” Seele snarled, she stomped as she approached them. Bronya followed closely behind and put a hand on her shoulder to subdue her.

“No, I’m trying to explain something.” Dr. Ratio let out a sigh that made it seem like he was fed up with someone’s idiocy. Likely a certain blonde’s idiocy, in specific.

Robin spewed out her words faster than a rapper. “I’m sorry, I’ve been trying to get them to stop.”

“If anything, you’ve only added to the noise.” A merciless glare was at the famous woman from Veritas. Robin now wore an expression that was alike to if someone had stepped on her foot.

Aventurine held a bitter look in his eyes from where he sat on the floor. “We’ve all added to the noise. Now, we’ve made it a bigger deal than it ever needed to be.” The bitterness seeped into the words that slipped off his tongue.

“You’re the one who brought it up. They needed supplies anyway, given the state of things here. If anything you’ve done them a favor.” The purple-haired man spat back as he gestured a hand out to the lack of food and items in the vicinity.

“Will you leave it alone?” Aventurine sounded anguished more than anything else.

“No. You’re being ignorant.” The doctor proclaimed.

Bronya and Seele simply looked at each other with concern and extreme uncertainty.

The blonde shifted his leg off the box for a moment and made a sound that implied he regretted the movement as he quickly placed it back. “Why can’t you respect what I’ve asked of you?” Pain carried through his tone.

“Because you’re obviously in pain, I’m not going to agree to something harmful.” Dr. Ratio’s eyes had the potential to burn holes into Aventurine’s skull, but he withheld doing as such.

“It will just hurt more people. It’s not worth it.” Still wounded, Aventurine voice carried a genuine worry through his pain.

Dr. Ratio replied plainly. “They need it, anyway.”

“What do we need, exactly?” Seele asked, her tone teetered between hostile and legitimately confused.

The doctor simply crossed his arms. “Again, supplies. He doesn’t want people to possibly risk their lives to get pain-relief for him.” He prayed to whatever entity that Seele or Bronya agreed with him and not Aventurine.

“Will you just be quiet about it?” The gambler hissed out to the architect as he shot a glare at the latter.

A soft but frantic reply came from Robin. “Respectfully, Dr. Ratio is right. We do need supplies anyway.” Bronya observed the way that the pastel-haired woman’s fingers twitched with nervousness.

“Robin is correct.” Bronya walked closer to the two and looked at Aventurine, she kneeled down to properly address him. “We need supplies. It’s a worthy risk.”

“But-” The blonde went quiet immediately as the silver haired woman’s stern gaze set upon him.

“There’s no need to be concerned. We will get supplies for you and everybody else to be soothed, and have their needs met.” She declared.

Even now Aventurine tried to push his point. “I mean no disrespect, Lady Bronya, but I don’t think the medicine is worth it.”

“And what if it’s for others, as well? For all you know, maybe I need it.” Bronya pointed towards where his heart lay under layers of fabric and flesh. Aventurine was stunned to silence. She spoke softly, enough so that the two men involved could hear her as she smiled. “I know your heart is kind, Aventurine. I promise, it’s okay.”

Seele looked at her with adoration. It was evident she didn’t know what was said, but that she knew her wife well enough to trust in her abilities to resolve things. She helped Bronya back to standing and the two walked off to discuss plans for the supply run with Gepard.

Aventurine remained noiseless, even as Dr. Ratio sat down next to the gambler in equal silence.

Chapter Text

Amongst silent chatter, three people got ready to head out and look for supplies. Something that felt odd to do. Belobog wasn’t always a place you had to scavenge for your own. It felt like even through the dark you should be able to just walk down to any health service and find a bottle of pain meds. Unfortunately, ones that had been out there like Seele during all this guaranteed most things on shelves were scattered now. Likely due to the people who did and may still be trying to fight all on their lonesome.

The planned scavenge team mostly stood in the front of the museum staring out of boarded windows with shattered glass. Gepard, Seele and Bronya. Robin had insisted on standing back for this one. Both to watch the museum on its own and to keep an eye on the other two staying back.

“So, you two ready?” Seele spoke up with a monotone voice.

Even in a dimly lit room, a small glance to her side gave sight of the uneasy expression her two expedition partners wore.

Something nobody could blame them for. So much as looking outside the ruined windows gave messages that it won’t be easy to get through out there. Whether that be with a stable stomach or back alive.

With a weak tone, the first reply came from Gepard. “Yeah, I’m ready.” He answered. “Bronya?”

Now she was forced to offer a reply. After all, if she decided she didn’t want to go she could’ve easily said so. Seele and Gepard wouldn’t have said anything to make her feel guilty for it. “I’m ready.” She suddenly answered.

The other two nodded at her response, Seele seeming to nudge herself slightly into Bronya to comfort her.

Very few words were shared past that moment before a goodbye from Robin bounced off the walls and the front doors were slowly pushed open. About two mostly alright flashlights were what they seemed to be carrying for this mission. As well as some basic defense and various other items. Even with three people who know the basic geometry of Belobog, they had no idea how long it may take to actually find something. It was best to be prepared.

A sound of concern was clear the moment all of them stepped a few feet into the snow. It wasn’t even far from the door you saw speckled crimson in the deep white. However, at the point they were standing at it wasn’t too intense. It seemed more like someone wounded trying to get away from something while trying to restrain the bleeding. Not that it was a pleasant thought on its own.

Seele had likely seen things very similar upon heading to the museum. Noticed primarily when her sight of the blood red snow wasn’t anything of surprise. It was mainly Bronya who couldn’t help but wonder what may have been spotted while she hid away. Pangs of guilt struck at her heart.

It was guilt she didn’t get to hold on to for long before someone spoke up once they were a few more steps outside the building. “On top of medicine, it’d be good if we can find some sustaining measure too.” Seele mentioned. “Such as boards and nails to secure the entries more. Some food and water would be great.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to have separate patrols for things like that?” Gepard thought on the matter. Even though he was also out for a bit like Seele, it hadn’t been nearly enough to see what she’d seen as the time went by.

All she replied with was a shake of her head though. Not much more was offered. Probably to keep the noise levels low as they trudged onward.

Flashlights shined at the ground the entire trip towards medicinary centers gave far more sights of the stained piles of what was originally pure white snow. Bits of clothing were even spotted. It was certainly a grim thing to notice on the way there. Though, Bronya tried to hold her stomach as she thought her citizens must have been strong enough to fight back. They had to be. Belobog had gone through so much in recent years and so many have had to endure things most people wouldn’t want to imagine. Most of them had Seele for a while, too… Maybe there were more camps out there set up.

Thoughts were racing through her mind. Bouncing back and forth between hoping for the best and overwhelming guilt. Yet, she never said anything.

The way she felt must have still been clear, as Seele grasped Bronya’s hand tighter in some effort of comfort on their trek.

It wasn’t too long before they reached the building they were looking for. Gepard shining his light towards it gave them enough of a guess as to what most buildings around Belobog might look like right about now. It was heartbreaking and terrifying. Shattered windows, doors seemed to be knocked off their hinges, scratch marks breaking paint and wood. Yet, the most eerie aspect seemed to be the marks of blood and dragging motions around the front entrance. It seemed as if an entire corpse had been pulled out of the building. Something that made Bronya’s heart fall into her stomach.

“I don’t know if I can go in there.” The supreme guardian bluntly stated with a disturbed tone of voice. One that made it seem like she may throw up any moment.

Each of the other two looked at each other for a moment before Seele found herself replying. “Well, you can’t stay out here. It’s too dangerous, I’m sorry.” The idea of forcing her didn’t sit right, but Seele wasn’t allowing any of them to die that easily either.

No reply was given. Instead Bronya just hoped they could guess she wouldn’t fight it.

Which they did, as they had to. Walking in through the door frame allowed further inspection of what the inside looked like through a light scanning from left to right.

Something that put a stone in each of their throats. Regret for even wanting to have some idea of what was going on piled up. Blood and entrails dirtied the floor and walls. Shelves were pushed over and some remains of previous Belobog citizens still remained littered about the place. Mainly only small bits of skin and muscle.

Then a sound echoed off the walls. Noise of a shuffle, then a barely heard wheeze. The three had their attention reach a peak. There was a possibility for it to be a monster, but the sole concept it was a survivor made it too painful to fathom just ignoring it.

The first to lunge for the sound was Gepard, then Seele, then Bronya. Almost in a perfectly orderly fashion. Gross sounds of gore beneath the soles of their shoes let whatever it could’ve been know that they were coming.

Turning around a shelf and a corner gave sight of what must have made the sound. It wasn’t quite the favorable sight. Definitely not what they would’ve hoped to find.

A small child. Injured, and clearly not in a good state. Nothing savable. Seemingly it was Gepard who appeared the most shocked; perhaps by the fact the identity of the kid wasn’t obvious as they were covered in bandages and blood while sitting in a shaded area behind a counter. He quickly stepped closer to them and crouched down while the other two stayed back so as to not make anyone feel too cramped.

Not wanting to potentially hurt the kid, Gepard held his hands back while trying to assess the state of this kid. This was a medical center. It was clear someone tried to dress the wounds, soaking in all the blood.

Despite the effort of it, though, the blood seeped through too quickly, and it seemed as if the kid died just as they stepped through the door. Their chest already stopped moving. A barren expression sat on Gepard’s face. Confusion, uncertainty and mourning nipped at his heart. Even if it wasn’t who he worried most for, the idea this kid had seemingly sat here and died alone would make most feel terrible.

The emotions couldn’t jab at him for too long. He was quickly jolted by the sound of Bronya throwing up in a close corner. She must have been holding that in since they reached the blood at the door. Seele was trying to physically comfort her while her stomach was emptied, worsened by the stench of blood and the scene that she would see any time she tried to look around.

It put him back in reality. Gepard’s eyes wandered back to the recently deceased child. He had no idea if the kid had made their own way in here, or if they were left behind. Either way it was painful to think about. Though it also stood as a motivator. No matter how much it took, he made silent vows in his head. There were probably so many scared civilians out there. They’d need to start exercising rescue missions soon.

He got off his knees shortly after the sounds of Bronya’s lunch making its grand exit ceased. Seele looked back towards him. The look her eyes were wearing asked the obvious question, and Gepard shook his head in reply. Sadness carried its way between the both of them.

There wasn’t much they could do about it at the time. They really needed to get ahead on things. Thus, Gepard spoke up as Seele tried to help Bronya clean herself up with a rag that was sitting on the counter.

He started, moving his flashlight around the place. “It seems there's still plenty here. Just scattered around. People must have been here previously. Alive people, that just grabbed what they could and left what they couldn’t wherever they were able to drop it.”

A stray gaze was shot back to the deceased kid. Thoughts rampaged through Gepard’s head. Regardless, he refused to speak up about it, so as to not upset the other two. Whether it was physically or mentally. The rustling sound could probably be brushed off to the building setting due to the things it's endured lately.

Bronya nodded once she felt her stomach wasn’t on the constant verge of erupting again. “Yes, well at least we have the fact that so much has been left for us.” One of her hands reached to pull her backpack off of her shoulders. “I brought this so we could ensure to grab all we could.”

The other two seemed to have forgotten to bring any storage, expecting to have to carry it in their arms or pockets. Something that may have been basic common sense just totally slipped their minds. “Well, we’re glad you made sure of that. As expected of the Supreme Guardian!” Gepard said, trying to keep the mood from going low.

Yet, fondness was not the reply to the gesture. Instead Bronya’s face seemed to only fall.

Shock pierced through Gepard’s chest. “Ah, but anyways,” He continued. “Let’s get to grabbing some stuff.”

Trying to ignore the previous commentary, Bronya and Seele went to where the most supplies seemed to be lying around. Seele spoke up. “What exactly should we grab for this first run?”

“Well, everything, right?” Gepard answered with a question.

The other two shook their heads in almost perfect unison, but Seele was the one to reply again. “No, if people left some for others who might come in their stead, there’s possibly even more still surviving out there. We should leave what we can. These might be life or death for some still roaming aimlessly at the moment.” Her voice carried a stern tone, as usual, but her words were thoughtful.

Honestly, it should have been an expected answer, and he silently cursed himself for not thinking of that. His mind was in knots. “Alright. Well, just to have a list, though I am no professional,” He felt nervous having to note what all they should be getting on the spot. There wasn’t even a clue what the floors held exactly. “Definitely some things for pain. Antibiotics. Maybe needles and thread for them? Uh…” His palm drifted to his head as he tried to think at this moment. It was hard to recall all they might need. It definitely made him feel like he wasn’t doing the greatest job in the protection and safety aspects.

Seele chuckled at his loose thinking. “I know what to get, don’t worry. So does Bronya.”

“Oh, that’s good.” He replied mindlessly at first. Then confused shock struck his face. “Wait, why did you ask me then?”

She shrugged with another quiet laugh. Not quite giving any effort to reply with her words.

Gepard just sighed and stood guard, moving closer to the front windows and door to keep an eye out for any danger. Meanwhile the two women scavenged for the best of what they could get their hands on.

Pills were softly rattled around inside of bottles as each of them picked up many variants. Each one got a good glance through the label to make sure it was something they’d need at all, flashlights held closely to the printed letters.

Guilt was seen clearly on Bronya’s face by her blue-haired wife. “What’s wrong?” Seele whispered her way.

Really all she did was shake her head. Seele decided the best approach was to not push the topic right now. Everyone was suffering. Bronya couldn’t have felt any better than the rest of them. Usually, brash approaches were her style, even in helping, but even physically you could tell Bronya wasn’t taking to all of this very well.

Instead all she did was inch herself closer to the other for a moment. A small kiss placed on her forehead, before she drew back fairly quickly to go back to scrounging around for various supplies to bring back to Bronya’s bag.

Red swamped Bronya’s face from the sudden affection. Especially knowing Seele had just had to pat her back as she made a mess in the corner because she couldn’t hold her stomach.

She didn’t do much in response since Seele went immediately back to the work they were devoting to. Instead she just held it within her heart, holding onto the love shown to feel motivated for looking around and grabbing what she could.

Relatively quickly, the two were filling up the bag with gauze, needles, pills, and tons of other equipment that should hopefully allow them to make do without another trip for a while.

Then it reached a weight they felt was bordering the maximum they’d be comfortable carrying the mostly lengthy distance back to the museum everyone was camped out in. Especially considering they’d had to make their way to the underground to get here.

Both women looked Gepard’s way before Seele made a sound to call him over.

Quickly, he whipped around and started his steps towards them with intent on listening to anything the two had to tell him. It was mostly details about what they’d grabbed. Yet, it was cut short as a loud sound thudded atop the building.

It started with what could be akin to a booming fall. Quiet, heavy breathing. It seemed like something was above them.

To add to that theory, it began to move. Scratching, thumping, and breathing as something seemed to effortlessly trail across the beginning of the building. The group inside had held their breath from the moment it sounded, but the silence of it all was more deafening than ever as whatever it was lingered around.

Whatever it was and it seemed to be doing wasn’t getting any quieter. It wasn’t going away. Gepard’s fist clenched at the realization. This could easily be his chance to see what seemed to be bringing havoc, and most of all, prove that Belobog had room for saving.

Only as soon as it seemed like he would’ve lept for the doorway, Seele grabbed him and pulled him into stillness with a piercing glare. Even without words, it was obvious what she wanted to call him for even letting the thought of going out there cross his mind.

Silence echoed around more and more. It felt like half an hour passed before any sign of the creature leaving sounded. The heavy footsteps started to slowly move away, getting quieter and quieter. No sign of where it might be was clear as darkness shrouded around them. Nobody turned their flashlights on until the sound was entirely faded off. After all, it could’ve put them in even more danger.

Then a huge sigh of relief was shared amongst the group. While they didn’t hold their breath the whole time, it felt like they had for sure.

None of them dared to say anything about it, though. Not just yet. There was no clue if it could hear them from this distance, however much it had traveled already.

A few more moments of continued silence went on before a single peep was made. The first one to speak up was Seele. “We need to get going.” She spoke in a hurried, yet hushed tone. The others clearly agreed just through their facial expressions. “Just keep an eye on the surroundings.”

Without much wait, Bronya made sure her pack was sealed as they all climbed to their feet and tip-toed over to the door. Caution was carried in every step so as to not knock around bottles or anything that could’ve made sound to possibly draw the creature in the dark back. Though, the avoidance of noise made the first crunch of a full foot into the snow send a shiver down all of their spines. They looked around to make sure nothing would start barreling their way before proceeding.

The journey back felt like days, yet it was only a few hours. Weariness tailed the group relentlessly. Constantly peeking over their shoulders and the like to make sure nothing was about to pounce when they wouldn’t be ready for it.

Shockingly nothing of that sort actually came to be. It was a primarily safe trip. Even with their flashlights on sparingly if they felt the terrain was becoming too hectic to get through easily.

Quiet knocks echoed around them as they found their location in front of the museum doors. Gepard’s knuckles consistently hit against the wood to try and make Robin or even Ratio aware of their arrival.

Minutes passed with no answer.

His knocking grew faster. No danger was evidently present around them, but the idea of something wrong having gone inside of the museum with a still locked door and boarded windows didn’t let his stomach sit right. Seele and Bronya were clearly unsettled by the concept as well, their expressions letting each other know a shared worry.

Just as his hand would start to fall and he would’ve begun to trudge around the building to find another way in, the sound of the objects holding it closed moving was picked up. Then the large entryway was opened to Robin’s friendly face.

“You’re back!” She exclaimed at seeing their faces. Those expressions that were clearly tired, and ready to get inside.

Mainly Gepard and Seele just pushed past her at first to know they were in safety.

In contrast, Bronya made sure to lightly nod her head at Robin, as if to make up for the other two’s rush. “We’re glad to see you again.” She said with a faint smile. One that, within closer attention, was clearly forced.

Robin noticed the faint remains of vomit on her clothes. She made sure not to comment on it, not sure if it was a great time. Instead she just nodded back and began to close the door as Bronya made her way inside.

Furniture scraping the floor as it was pushed back in front of the door guaranteed the three were safe inside. Immediate relief washed over them at the realization nobody was hurt in the journey there and back. Unfortunately, the relief also brought sour feelings of things they had ignored during the trip.

Nausea, bitterness, and sorrow was quickly piled on top of them. Some more feelings even began to strike Gepard as the spare time to think about what he’d seen behind the counter was now upon him.

Finishing up securing the door allowed Robin to turn around and see the group all seemingly out of breath. She stood still for a moment. Admittedly, she had no idea what to do or say, as she had no idea what they’d seen out there.

Maybe the best approach was to get to what the ones who stayed behind had been up to during the time they were gone.

She started up. “If you all don’t mind,” A pause was given to make sure they weren’t going to stop her from talking for now. “I should alert you that Aventurine and Ratio are still further in the back of the building. Aventurine’s wound has gotten worse in the time being. It seems to have gotten infected.”

The comment definitely forced the three out of their dreary state. It was something new to worry about, and something that forced their brains not to dwell about the minute details.

First to reply was Bronya this time. Not with words, but with a sound of shock. A faint reminder of the fact she’d surely grabbed some stuff to help with infection rushed through her mind as she ran to where the gambler was last sat. Given what she could do, she didn’t want to take the risks of not being quick enough to the people under her care at the moment.

Seele gave a quick thank you to Robin for the information before the other two followed after Bronya. The pale-blue haired girl barely had enough time to respond to any of their worries. Instead she just stared forward for a moment before going after them in line.

Upon reaching the room he was told to remain, Aventurine was found clearly awake. Eyebags gave way that he hasn’t been able to sleep, but left the group wondering if they’d been gone longer than they really thought. The perpetual darkness made it hard to capture how much time passes.

Immediately Bronya got down to his level to make him aware that she was going to start working on his leg. Which meant what bandages they could put on it would have to be removed so she could properly take care of it. Gepard and Seele stayed by her side in order to give advice on certain aspects. Alongside them remained Veritas, seemingly deep in thought. He hadn’t said much since the three and Robin ran into the room.

Getting the bandage off earned a few cringes, even from Aventurine himself, as the wound was clearly far worse than when they left. The gambler’s eyes darted away from the sight. Dealing with the pain was enough. Seeing the extent it's gotten too wasn’t another worry he needed on his mind. Especially if they were going to start doing a bunch of random shit to his leg.

Several things were pulled out of the bag to start the process of trying to get it back to a normal, or just healing, state. Bronya’s main concern was ensuring to clean up the infection carefully. The last thing she wanted was to have this get any worse.

The process went on to bandaging and casting. Many procedures went through with it to ensure the leg wouldn’t be moved around too much and definitely not hurt. Small words were shared along the process.

Overall, it was a typical way to ensure the wound was safely secured and on a better path to healing.

Yet, Veritas could only watch for so long before he left the area, still silent and seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Since the five were busy, he took the liberty to walk out into the front area of the closed off museum. A place where it was a bit more quiet. Not to mention a way for at least someone to ensure the safety of the building and people within it. The idea that none of them considered someone still standing guard left the doctor baffled.

So that's what he did. He remained out in the front, drowning out the echoing voices from the back so he could think more deeply.

There were too many confusing aspects of this entire situation. Nobody was stuck thinking about the details due to how busy they all were worrying about the well-being of one another. Instead, Ratio was left to ponder the mere happenstance of something like this happening with no leads and no way to find resources that might help him come to a conclusion.

Thoughts were racing through his head. None of them were stable enough to stand their ground and be certain. It frustrated him.

Perhaps for the better, most likely for the worst, something drew his attention away from the tangling ideas in his mind. Something was scratching at the door. Perhaps footsteps or knocks built into it, but Ratio hadn’t quite noticed it until the wood seemed to bend underneath whatever was damaging it.

Space between the windows closest to the doors was too dark to see anything. It was nearly pitch black out there.

The scratching didn’t stop. Ratio’s lack of noise must have encouraged it to keep going. That put a worrying concept in the air.

Then, right as he was about to get up to see if it would react to sound, a loud bang crashed against it.

Chapter Text

Veritas, upon turning around is met with the sight of the door being open a crack. A small sliver of the void outside was all that was visible. What stopped it from opening fully was the tangle of furniture that’s pressed against the wood.

The sound of some form of struggle had muted itself, making everything sickeningly silent. Including the Doctor’s brain. Deprived of any sound or thought for the brief interlude of seven seconds. Until his brain starts working again, the cogs whirring and turning rapidly as he debated the best way to react.

He deems it a bad plan to remove the barricades without knowing anything beforehand. In case it was something like what he had run into with Aventurine and Seele, he also deems it unwise to call out and risk taunting anything.

The sudden silence compared to the scratching and the loud bang from outside was, admittedly, adrenaline-inducing.

The best plan he came up with was to see if he could hear anything else. So he leaned towards the door without a sound and pressed his ear to it.

He heard the faint crunch of jogging in snow growing closer. And a slight sound of frantic breathing before a voice, almost a whisper, called out; “Slow down!”

He thought he’d heard the other voice before. The one that speaks up from directly in front of him, just on the other side of the door.

“Ah, sorry.” Followed by strange metal shifting sounds. The voice sounded like a younger woman. At that, one he’d spoken with before. “Are you sure this is the right place, though?” The other one hummed in reply.

“I was sure I’d seen them here before…” She cleared her throat, whispering once more. “I hope nothing bad happened.”

“We should check inside, just in case.” The younger one sounded like she was trying to be reassuring or motivating. It was then, that the architect realized they would break the barrier between them to get in if he didn’t do anything.

He heard a strange noise, like something was being lifted up and got accidentally whacked against the door in the process. Another noise was a hushed grunt from someone, likely due to the object being lifted.

The violet-haired man moved back from the door. He supposed that calling out wouldn’t be so harmful anymore. So that’s what he chooses to do. “Nobody has died, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

The younger woman gasps and the sound of shuffling is all he can hear. “H… Hello?” She stumbles out the words.

She was met with no reply.

Dr. Ratio didn’t know their intentions yet. He wasn’t keen on letting them in, even if their words imply that they were worried about the group.

“Wait, Dr. Ratio?” The younger called out again, and he simply stared at the door with furrowed brows. Confusion evident as he crossed his arms to speak through the crack in the door once more.

He sighed a breath of relief. “Have we met before, then?”

The younger woman laughed out a soft chuckle. No sort of cruelty held in her tone whatsoever. It was a genuine laugh of relief, similar to his own sigh.

“Yes. You invited me to your class, remember?” He could hear the smile on her face forming. And finally, he was able to place her voice as someone he knows. It was Firefly. Yet that left the question of who she had journeyed to the museum with.

“I do,” He hums thoughtfully, “May I ask who you’re with?”

Footsteps that crunch in the snow step closer to where he stands behind the door. “I’m Natasha, a doctor from the Underworld.”

A doctor could be helpful for the gambler. Especially a doctor who’s likely resourceful because of where she’s from. Even if it was a risk, he trusts that Firefly is around good people. Natasha being one of them. “One moment.” Is all he says in response.

All the two can hear from outside is the sound of shuffling and dragging furniture until the door opens. And there stands the silhouette of Dr. Ratio in front of them. He squints at whatever it is that Firefly has in her arms, obviously confused by how large it is and how strange it looks in the darkness.

He moves aside and holds the door open for them both. Firefly smiles and thanks him, Natasha just nods her head enough so that he can see it. He closes the door again and begins the barricading process. Natasha helps him as Firefly finds a clear space to put down the thing she’s carrying.

He turns to the thing that Firefly had recently been holding. And he stares at it with a look akin to disturbance. “What is that?”

The silver-haired girl looks at him, then to the thing on the ground. “A monster of some kind. I’ve been hunting this one down for a couple of… um, maybe days?” She shrugs. The Underworld Doctor simply laughs.

“You’ve been hunting them down?” He questions, not sure whether to believe this information or not. If he were to believe it… perhaps there was more hope to the situation than he had originally believed.

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I think it’d be a waste of food if I didn’t hunt it down.”

Natasha let out a sigh at Firefly’s words. She changes the topic. But it’s hard to ignore said topic when there’s a giant monster corpse in front of you, even if it is in the dark and not fully visible.

“I’ve been trying to find Seele and Bronya since this whole thing started. I got close a couple of times, but something always managed to stop me from getting here. Whether that be exhaustion, danger, hunger, someone needing help…” She let out a sigh and crossed her arms, though she didn’t seem angry. Moreso just tired. “I kept going the direction I remembered them to go. And when I traveled again today, I ran into Firefly.” Natasha’s face lights up with a warm smile as she looks to Firefly. The other doctor’s explanation provided a lot of context for Veritas.

He nods and rests his head over his hand before speaking up. “If you don’t mind, we have someone here who’s injured, with an infection.”

A glint briefly shined in the woman’s eyes, but she’s already set in action. “Where are they?” Firefly nods in concord, ready to be helpful in whatever way she could be.

Although it’s dark, the man waves his hand for them to follow. He briskly leads them to the room where Aventurine and the others are located. Seele is the first to notice them, her eyes narrow as they adjust to the sight of the two new, seemingly unfamiliar figures as they emerge from the shadows.

“Who did you bring in?” She demands a she turns to the Intelligentsia Guild member. At first glance, everyone in the room seems tense. She stands as a blockade in front of Aventurine. As to when she had stepped so close into his personal space, Veritas did not know.

“A doctor,” He simply steps back from Seele with a slight glare, “and a hunter.”

Seele blinks at him. “A hunter?” She mutters out before shaking her head. “Never mind that. Let the doctor help him.”

Dr. Ratio holds his tongue about the fact that the Supreme Guardian’s wife was the one blocking him and Natasha. The Underworld doctor materializes into the faint rays of light in the room. Seele gasps and steps aside to give her room to help, all without a single word.

Aventurine’s pain level had decreased significantly since he’d taken the painkillers that were picked up by a specific trio earlier. At the very least, he just seemed less comfortable now.

However, there was the undeniable fact that the gambler is now extremely out of it. He stares at the ground in a nearly amused silence as Natasha tries to keep his attention locked on her. She softly speaks out questions as his growing lack of reply concerns her more.

He seems almost unaware of most things. The thought disturbs Veritas more than he would like to admit. The two had been through a lot together yet he hadn’t quite seen the other in this sort of state before.

During the midst of all his thoughts, Seele, Bronya and Firefly have been talking about the corpse in the main room. They discuss if it’s safe to eat, how Firefly killed it, how she found it, and more.

A harmonious voice reaches the architect’s ears. “Are you okay?” The pastel-haired singer tilted her head, arms behind her back.

He avoids her gaze as he crosses his arms and nods. He was relatively sure he was alright, albeit more concerned than he would like to vocalize, but he was fine. Even though he answers her, she appears unsatisfied.

But she says nothing else, and neither does he.

People begin to leave the room one by one and go back to the things that they’d normally being doing at this time. The few who are now left in the room with Aventurine include Natasha, Robin, and the architect.

Natasha walks to join the rest of the group but stops by the fellow doctor. “As long as he rests, he’ll be okay. His leg isn’t too badly infected,” out of pity or of some sick enjoyment, her lips gently curve upwards, “yet.”

Then she leaves the room, too. Without ever giving him a chance to reply.

Which is considerate of her, if you really think about it. He didn’t intend to speak to her anyway.

Robin looks to the gambler with a pitiful look on her face, the blond does not meet her eyes. His eyes instead shift to a certain violet-haired architect. The architect looks back, his gaze is still as stern as it normally is. The urge to speak rises in his throat as he looks at the injured man.

Yet, he still refrains from doing as such. The presence of a certain idol makes it much more of an onerous task to have a genuine conversation with the man with a fractured leg who is lying on the floor.

They stare at each other without a word and Robin darts her eyes between them with uncertainty. She opens her mouth to speak, the doctor notices her confusion and ignores it. Meanwhile, it seems the gambler doesn’t notice anything except for Ratio himself.

Robin cautiously leans against the wall behind her, hands crossed in front of her as if it was drilled into her brain to hold such a pose. A faint smile tugs at her lips as she spares one more glance to the pair in front of her. It feels analytical this time, like she’s drawn a conclusion from thin air.

The woman hums as she steps towards the standing man. A prying look shines in her eyes. Veritas can’t help but feel slightly on edge because of her unfamiliar behavior.

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” She murmurs as she leans toward him a little. He shifts away from her movement. Thankfully, she takes that as a sign to move back from him. Her expectant eyes rest upon him.

Her nudge doesn’t erase the millions of thoughts racing through his brain, the why’s, what’s, how’s and when’s and whatever else there may be lingering about. But it does help him realize he had been standing and brooding for far too long.

He lets out a sigh, both of relief and of newfound annoyance. Truly, he is grateful for the push. “I’d have to ask you to leave, then.”

She simply giggles and gives a thumbs up before heading out of the room, calling out; “Good luck!”

He looks back to Aventurine, who is now smiling significantly brighter. His mouth doesn’t quite return the smile, but his eyes do. After a moment, he strides over to the man on the floor and sits down next to him.

The blond turns to look at him fully. Ratio doesn’t have it in him to make eye-contact right now, so he doesn’t. Instead he opts to look at the nearly-mangled leg. The sight itself doesn’t unsettle him, really. It was more so the thought of how much pain Aventurine has been in that bothers him.

“I’ll take a guess and say your painkillers have helped.” He states, or it sounds like he states, he is actually asking how the pain is feeling now. In his peripheral vision, he sees the IPC member nod slowly in reply. “...Now, would you say the run for supplies was worth it?” The blond perks up a bit and huffs.

He stirs a little. “That’s not fair.” A part of the violet-haired man feels relieved at his willingness to bicker. Even if it was a small thing, it was normal for them. It reassured him in some way that things would be better, if not today, then tomorrow.

He liked the normalcy of it. The familiarity. He felt a light tap against his arm and turns to the blond, only now realizing he’d been all in his brain again. An unspoken question lay in Aventurine’s eyes.

The darker-haired man has the faint outline of a smile on his lips as he reaches to hold the other man’s hand. The gambler interlocks their fingers without even a first thought.

Ratio raises their interwoven hands and looks at them fondly, his smile grows stronger as he looks at them. The difference in the size of their hands, their vein prominence, their skintones, their textures, their nails.

Kakavasha looks into his eyes. Veritas looks back, fully and openly. It is the warm, soft eye-contact despite being in the midst of an everlasting blizzard, which was burdened by the now cold crimson of the ones who were hitherto residents of Belobog, that keeps them going.

Just outside the room where the pair lies with intertwined hands, there is Bronya. Who stares with great terror at the corpse of a beast lying at her feet.

Seele pokes at the body with the dull end of her scythe. It makes a squishing sound that strikes everyones ears and sickens almost all who hear it. Firefly has a distant look of pride gleaming in her eyes, plus an apologetic glimmer.

Assumingly, the look placed on her face is placed there for being part of the reason that everyone’s disgust levels were high right now. As in, the Stellaron Hunter is the reason there was an actual corpse on the floor.

Robin stares at it with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment as she hesitantly steps closer. She seems grateful for the food, but unsure of about a million things about said food.

… It looks like she wants to poke at it, too.

Bronya’s wife takes note of the singer’s reaction to it and slowly hands her scythe to the pastel-haired woman. Naturally, the one offered the scythe shakes her head reluctantly, but conflicted.

The violet-haired woman shrugs as a “suit yourself” softly slips from her mouth.

The Supreme Guardian clears her throat, concerned. ”Are you certain this is safe to consume?”

Firefly hesitates a little, but answers firmly. “I’m pretty sure. As long as we cook it, it’ll be fine.” She fidgets with her hands.

“I will take the first bite, then.” Gepard says with a bow of his head.

“If you’re all so worried, why not just accept Firefly’s offer from earlier?” Natasha speaks up, no malice comes from her words.

The aforementioned young woman nods her head. “Right! Let me be the one to take the first bite, I will reassure you all.” She swears as she places a hand over her heart.

Everyone locks eyes in their reluctance to agree on a course of action. The Silvermane Guards’ Captain makes no more complaints as he goes to adjust the fire.

It seems he’s already made his decision. He agrees with Firefly. Truly, everyone agrees, but all of them are too scared to try.

That was the only real difference between the people trapped under these circumstances. Some people tried when it got scary or hard, some people didn’t.

The smell of cooked meat fills the air. Surprisingly, it doesn’t smell putrid. Firefly tears off a small piece from near its questionable mouth and takes a bite out of it. Everyone sits in suspense as they watch her chew. She smiles queasily as her face flushes.

She swallows. “It’s really embarrassing to be stared at by so many people at once.” Gepard apologizes in an instant and she waves her hands frantically. “No, no, I get it! It’s scary. But I feel fine. I haven’t felt any strange side effects or anything like that… It tastes just like beef, too!” The young, silver-haired woman beams.

Most people cannot help but reflect that smile. Aside from Gepard, who still looks tense, everyone else has the majority of their worries dealt with after seeing that the woman is still alive after eating the mystery meat.

The Supreme Guardian stares at the cooked body. Its long neck, its lack of a face, its strange fleshy exterior. She wants to know what it is. Where it came from, why it came to Belobog of all places, and why it came when they were just getting better again.

It wounded her to see the city in shambles, destroyed, bloodied, cracked, and dark. The fact that nobody really knew if they were going to receive the help they so desperately needed or not, the fact that there was no guarantee of a future anymore.

And it really did happen right as things were starting to look up. Bronya began to wonder if she was cursed, or perhaps if where she lived had been cursed, and at that, if it had been as such for a very long time. After everything that happened with Cocolia, with Belobog, before…

This was a pointless train of thought that always blared its dread-inducing horn when everything would begin the trek of settling down. She sighs, and feels a soft weight on her shoulder. She glances behind her and is met with a softened expression on her wife’s face.

She smiles at the purple-haired woman and shifts closer to her, grasping her hand gently and placing it to her lips. Seele snickers at the act, but does it back to her own wife. The medically-knowledgeable woman from across the room seems to brighten at their affection.

It seems Bronya was less alone than she originally believed. With the note of worry from her wife, the navy-haired woman, and her best friend (and best guard), resting in the back of her mind. She lets go of the contact with her and turns to the idol who talks with Firefly hushedly.

“Miss Robin, could you please let Aventurine and Dr. Ratio know that there’s food ready?”

The singer turns to her with a nearly impish grin and skips off to inform the two. Bronya is left dumbfounded at the expression, eyebrows knitted close together and mouth open slightly. It was such an odd face to see Robin, of all people, make.

A rapid tapping gathers the two men’s attention. A pastel-haired woman peers her head around the corner to look at them. The blond man only smiles, while the violet-haired one’s face flushes as he slowly retracts his hand from the other man’s.

“Food’s ready, would you two like me to bring it to you or would you prefer to… come out?” Robin clasps her hands together and smiles. The IPC member only laughs, seeming to find great humor in her words. Apparently, the woman herself thinks the term to be hilarious as well.

The Intelligentsia Guild member feels as if he has been left out of a joke of some sort. It is not being left out that bothers him, but the fact that he doesn’t quite understand the humor in it.

The blond obviously does, as his shoulders are shaking with laughter as his grin remains wide and endearing. Ratio finds he doesn’t quite care about the joke as much as he previously thought. Definitely not because it let him see the other smile and laugh again.

He holds back a smile of his own as the other two regain their breath.

“I don’t feel like moving.” Aventurine sighs out, still looking happier than before.

She beams after solely exhaling for a solid sixty seconds. “No worries! I can just bring the food to you.” Robin skips off without giving the gambler a chance to object. She returns shortly after and hands the two of them separate pieces of mystery meat. The two let out a thanks as she leaves again to do whatever it is she normally does.

They eat their food in respective silence, they are just happy to be eating a warm, fresh meal again. No words are really necessary to convey that feeling, the warmth that only follows after a home cooked meal.

The warmth doesn’t carry to everyone who bites into the soft, steak-adjacent-monster-meat, as Gepard seems sullen. It’s not that he’s being bitter to anyone, but he’s not exactly calm and relaxed. Bronya easily notices the hardened lines of upset on his face. She’s known him for a long time, and she knows his facial expressions even better.

She doesn’t comment on it for now, instead turning to her wife and chatting with the violet-haired woman quietly.

While everyone else chatters and smiles around the delight of a truly warm meal, not a meal of canned tomato soup heated over the fire, Gepard wanders off until he’s out of Bronya’s watchful eye.

He hesitates as he packs his bag. He couldn’t seem to stop his thoughts from overflowing. The sight of the child, dying and possibly abandoned. He couldn’t help but think of Lynx. Where is Lynx in all of this? He hoped to Qlipoth she was alive. He hated the thought of losing his family, the one job he had.

He was supposed to protect everyone. He failed his only job. It wasn’t even the first time he failed it, he failed to protect his soldiers, his civilians, his friends, his family and someone he deeply loves. The soldier quietly grabs a few cans of soup and shoves them in the bag. Worried about everything and everyone he’s ever known.

He had to fix this. It was on him, so he needed to find them. That was his plan. Find Lynx, at the very least. He would do his best to try and find Serval and Sampo, too. But he couldn’t get the image of that kid out of his mind. Bloodied and bandaged beyond recognition, no one left to help them, no one left to save them.

If they’d gotten there sooner he could have helped. He could have saved the kid, they could have taken them in and cared for them like they were supposed to do in the first place. As leaders of Belobog it would always fall on their shoulders, Gepard’s shoulders, to help people as much as possible. Whether they were a Belobogian or not.

But they never could. Every time, they were too late, too far, too busy, every time, without fail it was too much, and he lost someone. No matter how many field medics, no matter how many painkillers, no matter how hard he tried. It happened. Someone always died and it was always going to be that way.

It was always going to be Gepard’s fault. No matter what.

There is no point in stalling anymore. It’s time for him to leave. To begin the search for his family. He heads to one of the windows, one that’s considered an emergency escape or entrance, and he begins to cautiously, quietly pry it open.

He perches on the window ledge and stares out at the darkness that surrounded his home, he breathes in the scent of the last memories of people he once loved and cared for, tainted by a bloody mess in the frost. The frost that was supposed to melt. He felt the cold nip and claw at his face, nothing would ever feel warm again. Not without Lynx, not without Serval and certainly not without Sampo.

He looks back at the significantly more illuminated indoors of the museum where they’ve been staying with his many failures heavy on his brain– heavier than the armor he so proudly brandishes. A sigh falls from the man’s lips and he looks back out. He couldn’t move, not when it was so cold outside.

Despite it all, he shifts forward, drops one leg down and leans out the window more as he feels a slight pull on the back of his arm. It causes him to whip back around, and in the process of doing so, he nearly hits his head. A shushed gasp leaves someone’s mouth as he manages back into the building, standing.

“Are you planning to leave again?” Goosebumps rise on his arms, and they have nothing to do with the temperature. He hesitates, and says nothing at all. Fretful silver eyes meet his distant gaze. “Please don’t.”

The soldier looks at the Supreme Guardian with an agony that she’s known before. “I have to.” He can’t bring himself to look into her eyes anymore, so he looks to the floor instead. Somewhere in the distance, the wind howls, calling for its pack without even an echo of a reply.

“Can you…” In the silence, he hears the silver-haired woman’s breathing speed up, and then it becomes a manual thing. A manual thing for her to breathe. “Can you tell me why?” She swallows. Once again, he says nothing. Reveling in the quiet as opposed to her pleads. “I don’t want to be alone. Not now.”

“There are other people that can be there for you.” He narrows his eyes at the floor, focusing on a piece of dust rather than anything more important.

She steps closer again and presses a soft touch to his arm. He doesn’t feel it through the armor. “They aren’t you, Gepard.”

“I know.”

“Do you know that I still…” He hears her grip tighten a little. It’s shaky and hesitant and strong all the same. “I still need you.”

He moves his arm out of her touch, even though it comforts him in a way. Even if he couldn’t quite feel the pressure and warmth. “No, you don’t.” He feels his vocal chords tensing, he feels the way that his voice comes out uncertain and hurt.

“Why do you think I invited you to my wedding?”

The gears stop turning momentarily, he looks at her again. Her eyes are riddled with tears and her breath is fighting to stay steady. “For security.”

She lets out a soft chuckle as she sniffles. “No, that’s not why at all.” She wipes her nose on her sleeve, the opposite of gracefully. “Because whether you like it or not, you’re my family. You always have been.”

“Please stop. I have to leave.” He moves to the window, but she jumps in the way and holds his arm in her own arms.

He jolts, his mind is telling him, yelling at him, to resist the hold. He doesn’t. “Don’t leave me again, please. I know it wasn’t forever, but being alone was so hard. To be without you and Seele hurt me like none of these monsters ever could.”

“We came back, Bronya. You’re not alone now, you have Seele.” She runs a hand through her hair and breathes in deeply.

“I don’t think you heard anything I said.” She lets go momentarily. “I wouldn’t have you again. I… I really love you Gepard. So please, talk to me about it.”

He slumps over a little and shakily voices his thoughts, feeling his ability to speak slowly drain from his body. “I don’t know where Lynx is. Or where Serval is. Or…” Or where Sampo is. Bronya knows what he means.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” She frowns a deep frown, filled with harrow and teeth.

He shakes his head and feels pressure building behind his eyes. “Since the start.” He leans forward a little and avoids her eyes again, salty water fills his eyes as she releases his arms. He stands awkwardly. “I can’t even… The kid, Bronya- What if it was her?”

“It wasn’t. She’s still out there.” She puts an arm on his shoulder again, moving to be even closer to him.

He winces and tries not to let out any audible cries, but he shivers violently and fails to hide it. “You don’t… know that.” He hunkers to the ground and hides his face in his arms, feeling his breath slowly escape him.

He feels movement around him but can’t process it right. It feels wrong, it feels lost in translation. “She’s stronger than you think.” Her voice shakes too.

“But- Serval, and Sampo… I can’t, I can’t. I failed again.” He whimpers, hushing his own cries. He feels the hearth and weight of Bronya leaning on him, arms wrapped around him.

“It’s not your fault. Nobody could’ve known.” She sounds something mixed between a laugh and a cry as she sniffles and reaches a hand to hold his face. He doesn’t look away, he looks towards her again and sees the tears that glimmer in his own eyes reflecting in hers.

She gives him a fatigued smile, far from perfect and far from practiced. It’s lopsided and human. The silver-haired woman lets out a breath, warm air exiting her lungs as fast as Robin’s words left her mouth when frantic.

After a period of silence and soft eye-contact, Gepard laughs, and she does too. A disgusting laugh where they both sniffle and try to keep their snot and spit contained, and despite everything, he feels lighter. He had forgotten the important piece of knowledge that Bronya understands him on another level, it’s similar to the way Serval or Lynx understand him.

But it was different, she could read him easier than anyone else. It’s like it was within her nature, it was like maybe he was worth something after all. Regardless of every bad choice he had made before. She forgave continuously and loved him anyways. Although they had their times where they fought they’ve always manage to find each other again.

When words are finally able to leave his throat in a way that makes sense, he sighs. “We have to go back out, don’t we?” The Rand leans on his shoulder and looks at him with understanding.

“Unfortunately, we can’t disappear forever as we wallow in our self-detestment.” She clears her throat as she stands up, brushing off her dress, which held far more mess than just dust. Far more smudges of blood and soil.

Closing his eyes, he allows himself to relax and calm down for a moment. He smiles at Bronya’s words after he considers them for a bit. “You talk in such a fancy way, even when you’re struggling... It’s kind of silly.”

The sound of her shifting is notable, he opens his eyes again to look at her. “I suppose so. It’s still a habit, despite everything,” she turns to look at him and smiles as she offers him a hand, “come on. We can’t conceal ourselves for eternity.”

He accepts the lady’s hand, and with the ghost of a smile on his face they return to the sleeping zone where everyone has set up their bedding. Seele sits on top of some blankets, clearly waiting for Bronya. She spots Gepard and her wife emerging from wherever it was that they were and smiles at them as they get closer.

“Hey, you two done hiding now?” She stretches as she speaks, and lets out a more relaxed sigh.

The Supreme Guardian rolls her eyes in affection. “Yes, if that’s what you want to call it.” She sits down next to her wife and heavily leans on her as she lets out a sigh of her own, an exasperated kind of sigh. “Do you mind if Gepard bunks with us for now?”

“I didn’t ask to bunk with the two of you, though.” He speaks fast, confusion evident on his face.

“No problem, I trust you.” The violet-haired woman looks up at him without hesitation. She doesn’t leave much room for him to argue.

Bronya clasps her hands together excitedly. “Then it’s settled! You stay near us tonight, it’s beneficial for warmth anyways.” She lays down on the blankets and huddles up to the purplette’s side. She pats the spot behind her, the guard hesitates.

“Who will keep guard while I sleep?” He asks, confused as ever. Like he truly is the only guard.

“Anyone could, but I think Firefly will do a fine job guarding for now.” The butterfly-like woman responds sleepily, gazing up at him with a fond look in her eyes as she makes grabby hands at him. “Now lay down, it’s sleepy time!”

He hesitates, unsettled. He isn't going to be the one guarding… Which, unfortunately, it makes sense that they won’t let him, he wouldn’t do a good job guarding if he was paranoid and sleep deprived. But he had made it work so many times before, it wouldn’t be any different. Only they can’t see the monsters this time and know literally nothing about them except that they have long, fleshy necks and taste like beef.

There’s a light nudge on his leg, he looks and notes that it was Seele. She looks concerned. He shakes his head with a small smile. “Fine.” He carefully sits down on the bedding closest to the wall. Bronya lays next to him and looks at him with tired eyes.

“Are you planning on resting in your armor?” She looks at the shiny, silvery plating of his shoulders with fascination in her eyes. She gently places a hand on the metal. “Let’s remove the shoulder plates, at least.” He nods, too tired to speak more.

She whispers to Seele and they both help with freeing him of his armor. They all look tired by the end of it, considering they’re all laying down and breathing slow, sleep close to consuming them. Gepard watches Firefly come in and out of the room a few times in her guarding duties, and finds it hard to fall asleep.

He stares at the dark ceiling above him, the only thing he can really see is Seele holding onto her wife as they sleep and the wall next to him. His mind can’t help but wander again, back to when he tried to leave through the upstairs window. It wasn’t even that long ago, or at least he assumes it wasn’t. He thinks, it’s probably only been an hour or two since they came back out.

The thoughts didn’t really leave his mind, they just hid. Hid around corners and in crevices and waited until it was completely dark and quiet to come back again, waited for him to really be alone. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind of Lynx. If it were Lynx, and that it could be. She could be dead for all he knows, any of his loved ones could be and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

His heart picks up, so does his breathing. He knows that everyone he ever loved could be dead right now, dead and frozen and waiting for someone to save them. Waiting on Gepard to save them. But he couldn’t, because he couldn’t even find them. He couldn’t even protect his soldiers before, he couldn’t protect Serval the way Serval protected him, not like when they were kids.

But this was so much larger than just their parents. This was different. Sure, they protected Lynx as well as they could and she protected herself, but it was different. It wasn’t the same situation and he still can’t protect her the way she deserves to be protected. Anyone he knew, anyone he loved, could be dead. This included Lynx and Serval, the people he cared for most. Sampo could’ve been dead.

Something pops, something shatters and withers.

A gentle hand rests on his shoulder and he hears mumbled, incoherent words. He jolts before he realizes that it’s Bronya, his friend. His family. Probably the only family he has left. But she’s not a monster, and she’s not dead. But she’s speaking, softly and properly, the way she always has. The only thing that’s different about her is her attire. He had seen the panicked look in her eyes before, more times than he would ever like to admit.

But he’d only seen it directed to himself a few times and this was one of them. She seems to realize he isn’t listening, or can’t listen, and grabs his hand with determination. He clings to her hand almost immediately, and on instinct. He only realized he did so because of her expression changing. Everything was cold and distant, except for the tenderness of her hand.

He hears the end of a question, but he didn’t hear the question itself. So he asks what she said. Or he thinks he does, he tries to. He feels his throat muscles moving but doesn’t actually hear the sound. It feels so wrong. He isn’t the one moving at all.

“Gepard?” He feels her hand tightening on his and hears rapid and uneven breathing. It’s not coming from her, nor Seele. Nor anyone else in the room. “Can you hear me? You’re gonna need to take deep breaths.”

He shakes his head, or tries. He feels like he does but he doesn’t feel his body move or react. Did it work? Did he even move at all? Did he even speak? Bronya keeps speaking to him, leading him through breathing deeply. But it doesn’t work, it only comes out as a shuddering sob and frantic words. A slurry of names, memories and people.

He holds onto her even more, and she holds his face in her hands. He feels a near river of tears streaming down his face as he tries to breathe and talk and regulate all at once. He never noticed them before, but it makes sense that the franticness is coming from him. “I can’t- He… Sampo! The, the… Where is? Dead and- Lynx?” More words, constantly spilling from his mouth.

Bronya stares in fear and shakes Seele awake, though it doesn’t take much to get her up, she blearily stares at Gepard in his dishelved state before she lunges to hug him. Bronya has an arm around him while the other remains at his face, in an attempt to be a dam to his tears.

She’s still going through the breathing, and keeping her heartrate as mediated as possible in some hope that it’ll help him calm down again. It kind of works, because he stops making as much sound. He’s still freaking the fuck out but it’s just in a more silent way. He somewhat composes himself, and prays to Qlipoth that his words will make sense when he speaks again.

The purplette speaks up, leaning back a little so she’s not encroaching on his hearing too much. “How do you feel?” She keeps her arms around him, as cautious as she can be.

“Insane.” He mumbles, fighting to ignore the way his voice croaks, rasps and itches his throat.

She chuckles and leans on him again. “Yeah, I feel that.” She goes quiet for a moment. “You mentioned Sampo. Do you wanna talk about it more? You obviously don’t have to but that was a little terrifying.” His expression tightens a little.

“I don’t believe bottling will help you. We’re always here to listen and give advice if you need, we care about you.” The silver-haired guardian huddles closer to him and hums out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry…” Seele stares at him in shock (for apologizing.) “I don’t- talking is hard.”

Bronya tilts her head to the side, as if considering his words and literally weighing them with her mind. “It is difficult, but that doesn’t make it any less worth doing. So, what are you pondering?”

“..Do you think we could start a patrol? To search for Lynx, Serval and Sampo.” He takes their silence as negativity. “We would pick up other people along the way, anyone out there is a potential person in need.”

“Hmm,” the Supreme Guardian once again huddles closer to him, “I suppose it’s not a bad plan. It’s our duty to help people… We will find your family, Gepard.”

Seele chimes in. “As long as we get a good time’s rest, yes. We can start when we wake up, if you’d like.”

The trio agrees, and falls asleep in a huge mess of human limbs warmer than ever before. A true family cuddle pile moment. They’re a bit like penguins, all in the cold frost and ice whilst huddling for warmth beneath the dim sky.

They wake again with the rest of the people, and they aid Gepard with putting his armor on despite his protests as they ready everyone to go out on a search party and supply run.