Arknights, But the Family Has Fallen Yet Again

For this, "Talulah" was willing to pay an additional four times the commission.

"Come to think of it, she seems really afraid of you. But if she doesn't agree, isn't there no way for you to enter our bodies?"

"Negative," Oute said frankly. "Even if you don't agree, I can force my way in."

"...Can't you tell a few more lies and put me at ease?"

"Then, in practice, if you do not agree, I will not enter."

"...What do you mean, 'in practice'?" W paused and asked.

"Forcefully taking over your body against your will would most likely cause permanent psychological damage."

"...You mean you don't want to hurt me?" W froze.

"In every sense, that would greatly diminish your value of use."

"Oute!"

"You insisted on asking."

"Can't you just lie and fool me? Damn it, you used to tell so many lies. Why are you so honestly irritating now!?"

Oute changed the subject. "Did you know? Lying is a fairly advanced brain function. It is difficult to use when one is not sufficiently lucid."

"Are you sleepwalking, then!?"

The subject had actually been changed!?

"Physiologically speaking, you are the one sleepwalking."

"Ever since I took over, any actions arising from your own consciousness can be considered a form of sleepwalking."

"Speaking of dreams, I'm not sleepy at all right now..."

Perhaps because Oute was possessing her, W was in an unusually relaxed state. Right now, her thoughts were wildly scattered.

Perhaps that was why Oute could change the subject so easily?

"Do you want to sleep?"

"I do, but the Interstice is pretty interesting... Wait, do you have a way?"

"Yes."

"Don't tell me all you have to do is say 'sleep,' and I'll pass out!?"

"It is more like holding down the power button."

"What kind of shitty analogy is that!? My body isn't your terminal!"

"Regarding that issue..."

"Wait! I don't want to know! Shut up! I really should throw you out!"

"By the way, if you truly want to force me out, and I still want to stay, that will also cause additional effects. In other words, you actually don't..."

"Shut up!"

With that emotional outburst, her mind fell silent again.

But what followed was a sense of emptiness. That emptiness came from helplessness, and that helplessness was the backlash of omnipotence.

When Oute possessed her, W often had the illusion that she could do anything, kill anyone.

But Oute had made it clear to her that was only because he simply would not attempt anything he could not do...

And now, those certainties... had become illusions once more.

W could not help but shiver.

Although her face seemed to become smarter when Oute took the lead, that was merely because the mask of madness had been replaced by contemplation.

In fierce battles and brief clashes, W had always been the victor. She had always been clever.

But tactical victory did not represent strategic success.

Madness was only a mask. Confusion and daze were the true colors of the Sarkaz girl—the colors she had worn since Babel's collapse.

And Oute's possession had nearly swept away that confusion, that daze.

Though W could not peer into Oute's heart in return, the certainty in his heart had also been passed on to her.

He had a blueprint, and on that blueprint, W vaguely sensed her own place—Theresa's place.

"..."

Damn it, did I really throw him out?

After a long silence, W stretched beneath the twin moons, and the softness before her chest swayed slightly with the motion.

"W, I'm coming in."

The Proxy Protocol linked up again without warning.

"Have you learned your damn lesson yet!?"

A wild smile spread across W's lips.

First Meeting, Yet Another Meeting

"...Honestly... I can't feel anything..."

"...Liar... Then wouldn't that mean I did all that for nothing..."

Two somewhat familiar voices drifted over.

Elena frowned, her brows shifting, and then the unfamiliar sensation made her instantly realize: she was not in a familiar environment!

Elena immediately rolled out of her lying position, landed on both feet, and faced forward in a crouch.

One hand supported her movement, while the other remained hidden behind her back. Black Originium seeped out from within her body, mixed with the moisture in the air, and instantly condensed into a short sword in her hand.

As Originium churned painfully within her body, her tension rose with it.

The lone moon was about to cross the boundary and head toward the other side of the horizon. Dawn was nearly upon them.

"Ah, the white rabbit is awake." W bent down, an eager teasing smile appearing between her brows. "Even the newcomer's awake, but that damn otter's still using someone's lap as a pillow?"

Was this the mercenaries' new leader?

FrostNova gripped her short sword and leaped backward.

She looked around and asked, "W!? Where are we!?"

This seemed to be a settlement in the process of revival.

Around a plaza used for public affairs stood a church, a tavern, and something still under construction that was probably a town hall. In the center of the square, a damaged statue stood before a dead tree. Crows occasionally landed on it, leaving tiny white specks across its already mottled, faded marble surface.

Beside the tavern stood a carriage station.

FrostNova herself and a group of strange-looking people were gathered around the station.

An infected Feline clad in green outer robes made from large amounts of translucent material was scribbling in a notebook. A woman carrying a greatsword knelt with an icy expression, but on her thighs, a familiar hooded weirdo lay sleeping peacefully with both hands resting over his lower abdomen. More absurdly still, a strange nun was kneeling before this bizarre pair in prayer...

The most normal-looking ones were actually the mad W and another Elafia who looked somewhat familiar!

"Here?" W also stepped back half a pace. Spreading her arms, she theatrically repeated Kal'tsit and Oute's words. "This is the end of dreams! The nest of crows!"

With one hand over her chest and the other extended in invitation, she teased, "Welcome to... Hamlet."

Click.

Kal'tsit closed her notebook.

I knew he wouldn't behave...

Yet the paper and pen she had deliberately brought before going to sleep had successfully projected into this place!?

A thought that often passed through Oute's mind flashed through hers: Further experimentation required.

So we really do think alike, huh?

Kal'tsit ordered, "W, it seems you know her. Would you mind making introductions?"

Alina was somewhat uneasy. Her delicate hands were clasped before her as she made several nervous little movements.

But in the end, she made up her mind and said, "Actually, it would be better if I introduced us."

W had just been about to curse Kal'tsit a few times before obediently following her orders.

"Why is there only half a sky?" Oute blurted out without thinking, still showing slight signs of low blood sugar.

"..." Without a word, Kal'tsit grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the orca's lap. "My apologies for letting you see the sky last night!"

The orca girl, meanwhile, held her chest in confusion.

"Didn't I tell you not to come here recently!?"

In Kal'tsit's eyes, they had already dealt with a fragment of Oute's consciousness in the ruins last night. Oute's personality might be unstable now, and he should stay as far away from Hamlet as possible for the next few days.

Still dangling from the lynx's hand, Oute replied amid the chaos, "I found something interesting."

As he spoke, he turned to Alina. "You seemed to want to introduce us just now, didn't you? That would be for the best."

This lighthearted atmosphere made FrostNova feel like a clown for being so wary...

Alina gave Oute a grateful look and said, "Thank you, Dr. Oute."

Then she stepped forward and introduced herself to FrostNova. "It has been a long time, Miss Elena."

"You are..."

As Talulah's comrade, FrostNova had never met Alina in person. Or rather, more accurately, they had never spoken face-to-face.

She did know there was a teacher among the infected civilians, but she truly had never met her. She did not even know that her cloak had been mended by this little deer.

"I am Talulah's friend, Alina." Alina placed a hand over her chest. "When Talulah set foot upon this path, I was by her side."

"So it was you..."