Adaptation and Relaxation (Void, Witch) (06/04/2022)

## Breathing Room - [06/04/2022] | Geo-7, Camelot

Night had already started to fall by the time everyone got back to base. Void was unconscious for most of the journey, begrudgingly carried by Specter. By the time Nazareth had docked into the aerodock, he had come to. And as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the Archmage of Defense staring straight at him, before everyone in the ship's cabin looked to Hellscream as he shouted "Annnd here!" Void brought himself to his feet, disembarking the Nazareth alongside his CACG comrades and defeatedly slinking back to his lab. It was completely empty this time, with Nikita most likely resting in his quarters by now.

"Fuck, I needed this," he muttered, setting down his things on the bench beside the lab's airlock and heading to his room in the lab. It was just as warm and inviting as he left it, with a standing fan recirculating the air just to his tastes. He slipped out of his jacket, letting himself fall face-down on the cot. "Kaori, set an alarm for 9AM," he said into his pillow. "Alarm set, locking doors," KaOS responded in kind, automatically locking the doors of the lab. After an hour of tossing and turning, he had drifted off into sleep.

While he slept, that horrid day played out all over again in his mind. The day he summoned and shot A-046. The feeling of overwhelming terror that washed over him as soon as the portal opened, the way looking at the creature felt just like staring in a mirror, and how horrible felt to kill it. Could it really still be alive? His breathing quickened at the thought, and A-007 began to spread across his body. But eventually, the dream had faded away, and morning washed its light over Geo.

## An Opportunity - [06/05/2022] | Geo-7, Camelot

"Void, wake up!" Kaori shouted at Void as he stirred a bit in his sleep. Eventually, he rolled out of the bed and hit the ground with a dull thud. He clutched his head in pain and finally snapped his eyes open, adjusting his eyes to the light in the room. "Kao, what's my briefing for today?" he said groggily, fishing through drawer beside his cot for a bottle of painkillers.

"You're scheduled to brief the Roundtable Council today in two hours,"

"What? Isn't Archie supposed to do all that?"

"He's left the facility to train with the Seraphim. His instructions are for you to carry out the briefing."

Void sighed as he popped two pills in his mouth and took a sip from his trusty water bottle. He slid on his jacket and threw on his employee lanyard before heading out of his room and into the lab. "Well, well. Look who's decided to wake up," Nikita said, kicked back in an office chair on one side of the holobench. Void sat down across from him and kicked up his feet as well. "I don't suppose I should bother asking how you bypassed the lock, aren't you usually jogging around the complex by now?" Nikita chuckled and handed a dossier to him. It was a new report from the Multiversal Operations Wing, as he saw as he apprehensively opened it.

"You're shitting me," he said, staring in awe at the photo in the file. A grainy photo of a massive and derelict ship stranded in interdimensional space... bearing the Ataros coat of arms. "Their capital ship?! We have to go see it, after the Archfiend but still!" Nikita chuckled before saying "Sorry kid, I'd much rather stay in this universe, y'know." Void grinned, "I'll make sure to knock it out of the park this time Niki, just you wait."

## Briefing - [06/05/2022] | Geo-7, Camelot

The conference room had a sleepy air about it when Void walked in. He saw that all of the Roundtable Council was there, save for the Director himself. And right beside Witch and Wizard sat the Archmage of Defense, still unsure of her situation. Void walked up to the front of the room, datapad and briefing screen remote in hand. "As you all might already know, the Director is in training right now, so I'll be doing the briefing this time."

He clicked the remote to reveal a camera feed of A-079's radius, how much it had progressed since the Archmage operation. The sky was painted in an unnatural pale crimson light, with occasional strikes of lightning from black clouds overhead. "It's always storms with these things, isn't it?" Void muttered, looking back at the council. "The Archfiend's power is growing by the day. Projections, courtesy of the Arcane Research Division, suggest that the next blood moon is when it will reach it's peak."

He clicked the remote again, this time bringing up reports and headlines all discussing the escape of six potentially anomalous individuals. At least one mentioned that SACA had a major containment breach "related to the incidents in Aurette." Wizard's eyes went wide at the sight. "We... *do* have reason to assume the other six mages managed to escape all attempts at containment. SACA's currently working with us to try to locate them now, but so far they've managed to go ghost... no offense Specter."

Specter glared at Void as he chuckled nervously. "Finally though, it's to my knowledge that Witch and Wizard have a proposal to help us, why don't you two come up and demonstrate?" He smiled at him as he stepped aside, with Witch, Wizard, and the Archmage of Defense taking the floor. "Alright! So we've been busy since we've gotten back on base, right Wiz?" Witch said, nudging him. On cue, he revealed a standard CACG pistol with runes and a blue crystal attached to it. "Given the initial reports of these 'monsters' coming off of the Archfiend being impervious to standard ammunition, as well as silver bullets, Witch, the Archmage, and I devised this."

Witch continued as he finished, "As the Archfiend's defensive powers are mostly similar in power to Miss Tsubana's, we've been using her wards as a benchmark." The pair appeared to be quite giddy with their accomplishment, and they were quite eager to display it. "Miss Tsubana, if you will," Witch said, motioning for an empty patch of floor beside them. The Archmage cast a 15cm thick wall-shaped ward in the designated spot. With a steady hand, Wizard took aim at the ward and fired off three shots.

The barrier shattered before the council's eyes, leaving three bullet holes across the wall. "And that's all we have to demonstrate! The logistics team is ready to produce these en masse, all we have to do is give the word." They returned to their seats, and Void took the floor once more. "With that said, I've devised a short-term plan of action." Void took a swig of water and clicked the slide back to the Archfiend camera feed. "First and foremost, our allies in Aurette need our help immediately. Given the fact that we have our hands full preparing for the Archfiend, I think the best course of action is killing two birds with one stone, and mass producing these 'anti-fiend' weapons for both us and the Auretian military. With these weapons, our neighbors will have a fighting chance against this thing's forces while we devise a plan for long-term containment or termination."

Wizard shuffled in his seat at the phrase "long-term containment." He knew full and well who was the first person to seal this beast, and exactly who those mages were talking about when they told Witch to bring her "wizard friend." But as quickly as he got uncomfortable, Witch was there to reassure him. "Don't go thinking you're all alone in this Wiz, we're all in this together." Wizard smiled, and for a moment, he felt the weight carried lift from his shoulders, even if only for a moment.

"With that said, this briefing is over for now. Battle and containment plans will be drafted once Archangel returns from training. Thanks guys," Void said, clearing the screen and waving them out. After making sure everything was back where it was supposed to be in the briefing room, he exited and locked it shut. As he stood in the corridor though, he could feel a presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder, back forward again, and couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. "God, I hope this is just nerves," he muttered, heading to the lounge.

## The Sanctum - [06/06/2022] | Geo-7, Camelot

Witch clutched her head in her hands, leaning over a pile of documents, arcane scrolls, and pictographs. Wizard was leaning back in his chair at his desk just a few meters away, and the Archmage of Defense sat in a lonesome office chair in a corner of the room, twiddling her thumbs before starting to tap away at her phone. "Wiz, what if we can't contain this damn thing?" she finally said, breaking the silence in the room.

"What type of talk is that?"

"Neither of us are properly equipped to fight this damn thing, much less seal it away again."

"Just because the Codex doesn't say anything about it?"

"You weren't there Wiz, that Archmage blew right through my wards."

Wizard sighed, leaning forward again and looking down at the table.

"Well, there is one thing..."

Witch's eyes went wide. He couldn't possibly be talking about *that,* could he? The Sanctum, the former home of the Grail's greatest mage, Wizard's own grandfather. He reached into his desk, pulling out a large platter of obsidian and gold with runes even they couldn't understand. He got up, walked over to the opposite corner of the Archmage, and put it down. He started to whisper words in an alien tongue, placing a hand upon the platter as a ghostly purple fire manifested over the platter. He stepped away, and as the fire warped and expanded in unnatural ways, a portal to the Sanctum was opened before their very eyes.

"If there's anything to deal with that damn thing, it'll be in here," he said, gesturing towards the portal. Witch pushed herself away from the desk and got out of her chair, "Then it's worth a try." The Archmage could only watch in awe as the two walked into the flaming portal, hesitantly looking around before following the pair in.