Bent Fate (An Arknights Fanfiction)

Chapter 91.2

Back to the base of the control tower. Granite presses a button beside the elevators. As expected, the machines do not respond. She whacks the panel, her eyes tiredly gazes at the stairs on the side.

"What even made them break down?" she muttered.

She had no choice but to take the stairs.

She reaches her destination, greeted by the sparking fires and black smoke from W's bombs.

She shields her face with her arm as she moves into the smoke. It was just a portion of the entire area that had a dense black smoke, that, and the point of explosion.

Granite stops, scanning the surroundings. "The hooded one... she's not here?"

The controls on the bridge are covered in ashes, and the smoke adds to low visibility. She bows down, getting a clearer view of it.

The side that faced the explosion took a hundred hits, and is now littered with holes from debris. Most of the systems have been destroyed.

Granite leans forward with her arms to the edge of the table, gazing out the windows she shattered a while back. The city kept on its slow crawl, the low humming of its engines at work reaching the feline's senses.

She blinks and sighs. Straightening up, her fingers went to reestablishing her channel.

"Granite to Rigel... I failed."

While waiting for a response, Granite circles past the controls and closer to the window frames, staring at the barrens Chernobog is heading to.

- "Failed, huh..." her sarkaz leader's voice came in, "How so?"

"Its that W person. She blew everything."

A sigh comes from the other end. "It just so happened that I ended up exploding a chunk of the Higashian city as well, deep inside the central plate."

"You devils like blowing stuff up."

Rigel chuckles. "The contingency plans for that are..."

"I will stop the city."

Rigel didn't respond for a while. He must be thinking while listening to Granite's gasp. "You... we'll join you."

It was Granite's turn to not give a quick reply.

"Makes things faster. Am I right?" Rigel continued.

"Yeah." Granite uttered, walking back to the smoldering mess that is the controls.

"I'm not sure if my work became a diversion for the boss, but before evening, I'll coordinate with him on our change of plans.

"The others, too. Heard from them?"

"They know better than to interrupt each other while doing work." Granite grumpily remarked. Rigel laughed. "Where are you?"

"Ah, you know... somewhere in the east plate. I planned to regroup with the Doctor but you have a good timing, I'll be there."

Granite lowers her hand. Just as their transmission ended, she coughed, repeatedly. She rushes to the stairs and heads back to the ground floor.

The osprey is halfway to its descent. Zero and Kal'tsit patiently waited behind it as it lowered the ramp and attached itslef to the edge of the palace.

"Let's go. More troops are inbound." Kal'tsit orders the sankta.

Zero walks into the fuselage without a word, even ignoring Rosmontis' stare.