The Untold Story of Texas and Lappland (Arknights)

Reunited

A/N: Now I might be confused but if I'm understanding chapter 7 correctly then it takes place two weeks after doctor was rescued from Chernobog? Or maybe that's how long Rhodes Island has been working on recovering his/her memory. Either way, the timeline for this game can be a bit whack.

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Exusiai stared at Mostima. There was a saying that a picture was worth a thousand words. She had always found the saying to be nonsense. A picture of a brick wall wouldn't garner a thousand words, nor would one of a simple tree. But perhaps a face like Mostima's could hold up to the standard. So many emotions passed on the impassive crevices in her face, the downturn of lips and the narrowing of eyes as they flashed with some murky emotion. Exusiai could spend all day trying to figure out the mystery of all Mostima hid. The longer the two knew each other, the more secrets the fallen Angel seemed to garner. It was the exact opposite for Exusiai, who wore her heart on her sleeve. A sense of danger was in the air. Not sourced by them, though she knew all of them were capable of chaos, but of something soon to approach.

"Emperor. What brings you here?" She found herself asking.

Their Boss came to stand two feet back from the flames, the flickering light dancing in his sunglasses. It was odd to see someone who had just had an attempt on his life a few hours prior act so calm and collected, but Emperor still managed anyways.

"I don't know what plans you two had," a flipper gesture at Suffering and Mostima, "but I'll have to strongly recommend you post-pone them for now."

Suffering growled. "We can't just—"

Mostima sighed. "There's new trouble a foot, isn't there?"

Exusiai straightened up on the ground, trying to keep as composed as she could for this too. The night had been so tiring though, so her eyelids felt heavy. She gnawed on her lower lip, not daring to ask the thousands of questions bubbling up to her lips.

"Do you even have to ask. I'll have to apologize to your superiors later," he directed at Suffering, who was still scowling. "But right now it's best we all head back inside. Nothing good comes from talking about business in the open."

And no one could disagree to that notion. So the four of them headed back indoors to discuss the newest issue at hand.

******

Outside the city parameters the two brothers sat, gasping for air. The chill was so sharp it stabbed at beaten lungs, making it all the harder to breathe. But the pain, well, the pain was all the worse. It stung like sweat getting into eyes, like bruises pressed down upon by sharp heels. With a crooked smile they were stared down at. It was all they could see of the face of their associate. Everything else was hidden in the shadows of the robe they wore. On the way out of the city, the two brothers had spotted more than one person who looked similar to their business partner. The hats they'd worn and their varying sizes were what made the difference along with the weapons they bore.

But it hardly mattered now.

Outside of one of the many sewage drains they wallowed in filth.

Blood mixed with murky waters.

"You failed."

The voice, the annoyed tone. It spelled nothing good.

"It's not our fault!" The smaller attempted to protest. "There were so many things we didn't know! So many things you failed to warn us about!"

The robed figure shook its head. "I shouldn't have had to. You both told me you were plenty capable of handling anything. Apparently that was a lie."