We're not really Doctors. (Shirou x Harem) Arknights x Fate

Chapter 32 - 1

=== FROSTNOVA ===

There was no rest for FrostNova, not even after a day of guarding Talulah.

She trudged to meet Patriot after a replacement took her position. FrostNova wanted someone as strong as her, but there was nobody else in the Reunion who could even match Patriot, Talulah, and her. She had to concede that whoever was going to watch Talulah would be...suboptimal. The Reunion didn't really have a choice.

FrostNova dragged herself towards the closest Reunion camp. Fortunately for her, it was only a few hundred meters away from the neutral encampment where Talulah was being held. Rhodes Island was on the other side a bit further away. Close enough to keep an eye on Talulah as well, but far enough that any of their spotters would sight any Reunion movement if they decided to move on Rhodes Island.

Not that they would. Everyone was still tired after the battle yesterday morning.

FrostNova yawned. She didn't know what time it was. Shirou returned a few hours ago with extra food and it helped warm her cold body up before her arts took over and cooled it within an hour. If anything, she was thankful to even feel warmth again. It was a new and tingling sensation after years of suffering and getting used to the cold. It should've been a sensation she was familiar with, but the feeling of warmth had been long since forgotten to her ever since she woke up her magic.

She looked up and spotted two faces she hadn't expected.

"Faust...Crownslayer...?" She mumbled when she stopped in front of them. The two commanders should've been outside Lungmen with the other half unless...

"Patriot called us for a meeting." Crownslayer was the one to speak. She was looking around the city and the devastation left behind the warring factions. It didn't help that she was a known supporter of Talulah who was responsible for the mess. Crownslayer didn't know that yet. "Can you tell us what's going on? We've only arrived."

"We just saw a Chernobog plate on fire charging at Lungmen a few hours ago before it stopped." Faust was equally as lost. "Patriot sent a messenger a few hours ago for us. What happened while we were gone?"

FrostNova was tired, but she could push it back a little bit more. "Can you tell me what time it is first? I haven't had any sleep since last night." She was awake a few hours before sunrise meeting with Patriot, Shirou, and that Nearl girl about the upcoming fight with Talulah. A few hours of sleep before that was all she had.

"It's probably 1 am. We arrived in the city at midnight." And it took them about one hour to make their way to the meeting place.

FrostNova rubbed her eyes. Close to 24 hours of no sleep for her then. The tiring fight earlier this morning ate up most of her energy. It didn't help that the rest of the day had been spent guarding Talulah. Though Patriot must be worse off. The entire day had been spent stamping down on Talulah's loyalists and reorganizing the Reunion in Chernobog.

"Right...so first..." FrostNova organized her thoughts. It was a struggle but she came through. "Talulah is no longer our leader...Patriot took over."

"...that explains why it looked like there was a big fight." Faust mumbled. "But why?" Crownslayer near him was quiet, waiting for answers.

"Talulah activated Lungmen's core plate and wanted to ram it into Lungmen."

The reactions were visible from the last two active leaders of the Reunion. Crownslayer's eyes widened perceptibly while Faust hissed.

"What?!" The ensuing explosion would've wiped out Lungmen...maybe even reach the Reunion on the outskirts. "That would've killed us all!" That was not considering the aftereffects of the blast even if it hadn't reached them. The sheer amount of Originium fuel from both cities would've dispersed into the air, contaminating the entire area. The Reunion wouldn't have been able to escape. The volume may have been less than the Catastrophe that hit Chernobog during their invasion, but refined Originium designed to power city engines were far more volatile. Inhaling those particles would've done more damage to the body than being exposed to falling Originium crystals.