| “ | You look like a bunch of kids about to go on a picnic with their daddy to me.
— Jingo
|
” |
Initially known as the Reborn Imperial Liberation Front, the group was formed as a cover by Rufus Albarea, who had escaped Erebonian imprisonment and was attempting to investigate why someone who looked exactly like him was trying to take over Crossbell. The one-man group grew to four when he encountered Nadia Rayne and Swin Abel, transporting cargo from noted dollmaker Jeorg Rosenberg. Instructed to deliver it to the one who went by "<C>," Rufus' borrowed codename, they came to realize the cargo was an intelligent doll, Lapis Rosenberg, who requested to join Rufus to regain her memories.
Since her goals took her in the same direction as him, he saw no reason to refuse, and hired Nadia and Swin as agents on the spot. The Reborn Imperial Liberation Front then headed to Erebonia's capital city, Heimdallr, to bait Rean Schwarzer and the rest of Class VII into uncovering a coup plot. With this ultimately successful, <C> publicly revealed his identity and declared that he had no more use for the "Reborn Imperial Liberation Front" name. The group was picked up by Jingo, a young arms dealer, and headed to Crossbell. The arms dealer would give Nadia an idea for a new name, the Imperial Picnicking Front. As the only objection to this name was from Swin, this was the name Nadia would continue to use to introduce them.
Upon their arrival in Crossbell, Rufus bluffed their way past his doppelganger's guards to investigate the city. They do so, and find clues leading them to the Rosenberg Studio, where Lapis was built. They infiltrate it with the help of Renne Bright, fighting off the Ouroboros machines within. They then encounter The Emperor, a supposedly-dead figure from Nadia and Swin's past, and through him discover that their ultimate foe was able to create perfect copies of other people, one of which was Rufus' double. They defeat him, and follow the trail of Lapis' memories to Crossbell's prison.
They infiltrate it with the help of Arios MacLaine and Duvalie, and finally recover all of Lapis' memories. She is revealed to have been the former administrator of a powerful AI known as Elysium, created when the Orbal Net and the Spiritual Veins running under the continent came into contact. Among its many probability simulations was the Normal End in Cold Steel IV, where Ishmelga was able to fully incarnate in the Great One. The evil of Ishmelga managed to manifest its consciousness, which kicked Lapis out of the system.
The Picnicking Front would go on to assist in the reindependence movement of Crossbell, freeing it from the imposter Rufus' clutches and proving instrumental in taking down the corrupted Elysium once and for all. Olivert Reise Arnor then declares Rufus dead, allowing the real Rufus to continue living outside of jail. While Rufus quickly realizes this isn't actually a mercy, he is content to travel with Swin, Nadia, and Lapis as they journey across Zemuria.
Battle vs. East Europan Army (by Leolab)[]
Prologue[]
A blonde man in a dark coat walks towards the wall separating New Latveria from DFederal, a picnic basket resting on one arm. A silver-haired girl with a frilly purple dress holds his other hand, her blue and yellow eyes darting around. The two are trailed by a brown-haired boy wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt and brown pants, and a pink-haired girl in a matching blouse and skirt clinging to the youth’s arm. They approach a small door in the wall, a large sign above proclaiming the establishment as “The Third Rail.” It had been there almost as long as the wall itself, alongside its elderly proprietor.
They open the door, and a man in a wig and fine silks pops out from… somewhere.
“Ah, welcome. We are The Third Rail, the only official import/export business in DFederal and New Latveria. How can I help you?”
“We’re looking for some friends,” Rufus says as his younger companions look curiously around the store. It has various odds and ends, some mundane and others seemingly artifacts of great value. A small set of dull grey tubes running along the ceiling catch his eye, before he hears Luthen’s reply.
“Oh? Friends here?”
“We happen to have friends everywhere.”
“Ah, I see, I see,” Luthen says, casting a doubtful glance at the picnic basket on Rufus’ hand and the man’s companions, “Well, for someone so well connected we do have some special stock in the back. Come, come, look around,” he says, bringing them around a shelf to a nondescript door, opening it and waving them inside, “I’ll be minding the store, so do come to the counter if you find something you like.”
Rufus looks around the decorated room, a sliver of dull grey metal once again grabbing his eye. He walks towards the table in the center as the other three fan out, surreptitiously tapping on their ARCUS II orbments. A man stands on the opposite side of the room, aware of their presence but politely waiting until they’ve finished.
The other Picnicking Front members nod at their nominal leader, taking places near the perimeter while acting casual. Nadia takes particular care to stand near a collection of masks with a discolored section of wall behind them, while Swin looks at several antique metal mirrors. Lapis, for her part, seems genuinely absorbed in the collection of glass cases in a corner. The former noble then taps on the table rhythmically, signaling that they were ready. The man turns, showing a rather nondescript face while wearing a fairly generic-looking military guard uniform.
“Hey there,” he says, voice gruff and gravelly, “You the Picnicking Front? You come highly recommended.”
“That’s good to hear, but I’m afraid you have us at a disadvantage. And we typically like to operate as equals.”
“I’ve claimed the name Ian Farmer, as I refuse to lead my life being known as ‘CIA 3’”
“Very well, Ian,” Rufus says, extending his hand, “And with that introduction, Vox Miles?”
“I am indeed. And my request for you relates to politics. The Monarchists, specifically; those bastards who have seen how the Users have run things and think they want more of it.”
“That explains why you’re asking us here instead of the Iceberg,” Rufus says, voice carefully neutral.
“Exactly. Can’t tell who’s listening in,” Ian says, leaning in closer and flicking his eyes towards Nadia, glaring at the mask she’s examining with interest. “I have reason to believe the Monarchists are getting illegal assistance from a User. The one who runs Ice-T Puppy Inc. I know they have evidence stored in their so-called Campaign Headquarters.”
“You’re going to need something more solid if you’re asking us to play thief. One of their biggest names, Cullen Rutherford, is known to be high up in Ice-T’s security corps. I’ll not risk our reputation and freedom for nothing.”
“We’ve intercepted chatter. The Monarchists are promising to add something regarding ‘Mothman’ to the DFederal Charter in exchange for ‘help at the polls.’ And we all know what his favorite abuse of power is. I can get you a map and a likely location of the intel in the base. Copy it, bring it to a drop point, and you’ll get paid big money. Might even get your fight sanctioned and score a home of your own.”
Rufus glances at his partners; Nadia and Swin give a lazy thumbs up, while Lapis is too busy sneering at a bisque doll in a glass case to notice. Taking this as majority rule, the blonde man turns back to the CIA agent and extends his hand.
“Deal.”
They shake on it, and the man offhandedly grabs a decorative sword before heading out. Nadia tosses a small object to Swin, who looks it over before passing it to Rufus. Lapis dashes over, the two looking curiously at the finely-carved, palm-sized wooden pipe organ. He gives a wry smile, exiting the back room as Ian walks out with his new sword. Rufus walks to the front, presenting it to Luthen.
“Ah, an excellent choice,” he says, taking out a small pair of stained, small metal rods. He taps the keys, sending a few warbling notes through the shop.
“Impressive,” Rufus says, looking at it, “Though I’m told lead carries sound better,” he says, looking up at the ceiling.
“Connected and knowledgeable,” Luthen says, practiced smile turning strained, “I’ll have to give you a discount.”
“Thank you.”
A quick exchange of money later, and the four of them walk out of the shop, picnic basket a little larger. Swin sighs, stretching, as Lapis plays with the pocket piano.
“Maybe we should use this one more often,” Swin says, “Like Ian said, never know who’s listening in at the Iceberg.”
“Yeaah, ’least here there’s only one culprit,” Nadia says, yawning.
“What? But we scanned it, right?” Lapis says, “Came up with nothing.”
“And you were watching that mask with the obvious eye door,” Swin says.
Nadia locks eyes with Rufus for a second, who nods at her.
“Weeell, that’s what we like to call ‘misdirection.’ The actual ‘bug’ was entirely analog. The table’s a biiiig ol’ drum that amplified what we said and pushed it through those tubes on the ceiling. There’s probably some sort of electronic amplifier, but it’s outside the room. Impressed, S?”
“As always,” Swin says as Lapis claps, halfway between impressed and mocking, “But what does that mean for us?”
“Nothing,” Rufus says, “We do the job and get paid.”
“And if we’re stabbed in the back, beat the shit out of them and get paid anyway, right?” Swin asks, sighing as his three companions nod in unison.
“But first we live up to our name!” Nadia says, poking at the picnic basket, “I even packed a super special surprise for LP!”
“Look alive, we just got new intel,” Klaus Walz says, walking into the command room. A scout and a lancer salute him, while Cymaria – the only one in a fashionable dress rather than drab black-and-faded-red uniforms – pats Nikola and Chiara on the shoulder. The two girls jump, making their way to the table with thousand-yard stares. Whatever damage Belgar had done to them remained even here. And, despite the lodgings provided by the Monarchists, they were still considered homeless. Ineligible for psychiatric counseling at DF General. Klaus sighs, pushing his concerns to the side.
“So?” Crymaria asks.
“We’ve been warned about a raid. Seems the Vox Miles suspects the Monarchists of colluding with a User, and they’ve hired some mercenaries to get at our data. Now, I know we decided to back the Monarchists instead of the Vox by a narrow majority; if any of your men feel like they can’t defend them – ”
“No need to worry about that, sir,” the scout says, “With how good they’ve been to us, everyone’s talking about repaying the favor. This’ll let us.”
“Good. I want half of our infantry inside here,” he says, pointing to the central building that contains their data repository, “And the other half patrolling outside. The armor and I will be hiding here under tarps,” he says, pointing to several locations nearby, “So that we can be ready to smash them against the building. Nikola, Chiara, do you think you can help with the building defense?”
The two girls give shaky nods, gripping their crossbows. Klaus falters again, but shakes his head and forges on. He could get this recognized by petition, and they could finally receive the mental healthcare they need.
“And what about me, Klaus? Don’t tell me you want me to sit this out,” Crymaria asks.
“No, you’ll be stationed here,” he says, pointing to a long corridor leading to the only data terminal with admin access, “This should give you enough line of sight to spear them if they bypass everyone else. Any questions?”
“One, though it might be a little late,” the lancer asks, metal helmet hiding his face, “How confident are we in this source?”
“I’m not,” Klaus says, “It’s anonymous, and I didn’t hear the call directly. But it’s a source that both Cullen and ol’ Henry trust, on a line reserved for their most important contacts. I’d rather be prepared than ignore it.”
The two soldiers salute, running off to organize the infantry, trailed by Nikola and Chiara, their eyes wide and shaking while a grin rips their mouths open. Klaus walks over to Crymaria, sweeping her in a quick hug before the two leave the room, tending to their own tasks.
Ch. 1[]
A group of four approaches the Monarchist’s headquarters in the Upper District, a large city block surrounded by walls, with multiple buildings inside. Lapis is deliberately not looking at the others, as Rufus leans on Swin to keep his balance as he laughs.
“Hey, LP…” Nadia says, only for Lapis to turn her head farther. And abruptly shift her head back, as she had been looking in the opposite direction already.
“When you said an ‘explosion of flavor,’ I didn’t think you meant literally,” the doll says in a huff.
“They were… pfft… Pop Rocks,” Rufus says, gaining control of his laughter for a split second, “hardly an explosive.”
“Hmph. I’m going with Swin.”
“But our plan requires – ” the young assassin starts, but is cut off by Rufus pushing off him and patting him on the shoulder
“That’s the thing about plans, Swin. They tend to change. We’ll meet in front of the server building. Here, a peace offering for the road,” he says, drawing a black, palm-sized pouch from his bag. He tosses it to Lapis. She snatches it out of the air, looking at the bold, red letters announcing the popping candy’s name.
She looks up, snarling, only to see the manhole cover in front of her slam shut.
A few minutes later, a klaxon blares in the upper level of one of the buildings near the entrance as several Imperial troops take defensive positions in the mess hall. The sound of blows hitting the metal door reverberates through the room as they flip tables over, the scouts and engineers taking cover behind them, while a lone sniper takes aim. The two lancers in the room move towards the door, not able to help much other than letting their armor take the brunt. The door finally bursts open, revealing a girl in a frilly dress with a massive battle axe. The sniper fires, only for the shot to stop midair.
Lapis glows with magic, using Needle Shoot to launch a spike of stone at the sniper. It rips through the man, impaling him on the wall, as she slams her axe into the ground, sending bits of flooring flying and knocking one of the lancers back with the shockwave. She spins and hits the other with her weapon, sending him flying as the axe collapses back into its carrying case. As the East Europans recover from their shock, the case opens as a skull flies out towards the left half of the room.
The doll slides behind the recovering lancer, using his armor to block fire from the other Europans while the skull explodes, sending the left half of the room into chaos as its members are incapacitated or, worse, turn on their allies. One of the scouts fires on the girl as she leaves the bleeding corpse of the lancer behind, feeling his movements grow sluggish as she speeds around one of the tables. He primes one of his grenades as he hears a sickening thud, throwing it up and over as he hears a second strike.
His opponent vaults onto the table as the grenade explodes, riding the shockwave up and over his makeshift cover as he, the engineer next to him, and the soldiers behind him all try and fail to track their target, moving just a bit too slow as the bullets trail her. The engineer finally corrects his oddly sluggish movements as she closes in. A shot hits her in the cheek, chipping off a piece of ceramic as she spins with the force. He freezes at the sheer hate in her glare as she brings her axe down onto him, using the handle as leverage to kick the scout across the room.
The Imperial hits a broken piece of table, his unfocused eyes skimming over a youth with two swords in the corner as he watches the ground itself erupt in bloodied spikes over the other half of the room. He shakes his head, refocusing and spotting the surviving lancer in front of him. The armored man’s eyes gleam madly behind his black helmet as the anti-tank lance jabs forwards.
The scout grips the warhead, slightly behind the detonator, and struggles, pushing against the mad strength of a man already able to lift and fire the massive weapon. The two strain for a second, before the scout shoves the lance back before letting go and leaping to the side. The weapon slams into the piece of rubble he had been leaning against, blowing him towards the other end of the mess and the lancer backwards, into the waiting axe blade of the doll.
The scout rolls, pulling out a grenade before making a show of closing his eyes and lying still. He hears nothing but the sound of two sets of footsteps, as he carefully, surreptitiously unscrews the cap on his grenade to toss as they walk past. He feels a sword bite into the hand holding the grenade, and his body petrifies rapidly.
Rufus sprints through an underground tunnel, one of the many branches of DFederal’s suspiciously spacious sewer system. Several shocktroopers swerve, spraying SMGs. Slim spikes speed past him, the thin needles embedding themselves precisely into the barrels of the imperial guns. Rufus’ sword glows, a few quick slashes killing the helpless guards before they could radio for help.
“You know, throwing that packet to LP might have been a bit much,” Nadia says, catching up to him and tossing a teddy bear down a side corridor.
“She was determined to work separately. So I made her mad enough that she’d make a big enough distraction,” Rufus says, matter-of-fact as the screams of imperials are cut off by a collapsing ceiling, “I’ll probably have to take her on a food tour in the Upper District to placate her fully.”
He grabs one of Nadia’s mysteriously abundant teddy bears and throws it around the corner, nodding to the girl as several dozen bullets perforate the toy. Nadia runs forwards, ACRUS II glowing as she slides around the corner. A circle appears under the shocktroopers as they adjust their aim, a few bursts hitting her shoulder as a massive lance erupts from the ground, killing them. Nadia sighs, feeling her wounds close as the spell restores some of her vitality, and turns to her friend.
“You know, I can only imagine how she’d react if she learns the provocation was actually manipulation.”
Rufus stops cold, the former assassin and the fallen noble staring at each other. A few seconds pass in silence, broken by the sound of onrushing boots.
“I was going to invite you and Swin anyway,” Rufus grumbles, his orbment glowing as he unleashes a blast of lightning that stuns the shocktroopers.
“But you’d’ve made us pay,” Nadia says, the light around her own orbment fading as several fiery butterflies descend and explode around the imperial soldiers, “This way I can gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss our way to some free grub.”
“Why can’t you just say ‘blackmail’ like a normal person?” Rufus asks, sending a blast of air up a ladder, sending a manhole cover flipping into the air. The sounds of tank fire reverberate down into the tunnel as Rufus climbs rapidly up the steel bars.
“Plausible deniability,” Nadia says, struggling to follow him. Rufus leaps up from a high rung, landing on solid ground behind a group of soldiers. His sword glows, several magical orbs appearing in front of him as he slices forwards, shattering them and taking the troopers out. Nadia hauls herself up beside him, throwing another teddy bear explosive to cause more chaos as they both look up, seeing Lapis standing on a roof and laughing maniacally, her orbment physically plugged into a charging station as she rains magic down on the lines of tanks.
“I think she’s trying to imitate you during your C days,” Nadia whispers.
“Shut up.”
Across the courtyard, Lapis follows their initial plan: make a massive scene to draw attention. There was an orbal charging station on the roof for some reason, so she had nearly unlimited energy to work with. She summons a massive stone pillar, sending it crashing onto a tank that tries to use the wreckage of another one as a shield. She dashes back slightly as another opens fire with its machine guns, the bullets raking the walls of the building. A few gaping holes in the side demonstrate a design flaw with Imperial engineering: the cannons on their assault tanks had a hard time aiming upwards.
An explosion hits the roof beside her, and she casts another spell, dropping another stone on a light tank. As long as they didn’t get the chance to correct their aim, it would take a lucky shot to hit her. She looks over the field, planning how to draw out even more armor, when Swin taps her on the arm.
“I see Rufus and Nadia. One more blow.”
“Well, since I have the energy to spare…” she says, channeling a massive burst of energy into her orbment. The sky darkens as a massive ice comet materializes in the sky, shattering as it falls towards the base. She smirks as the pieces crash and sow confusion, only to squawk in protest as Swin hauls her over his shoulder.
“We gotta go.”
“But I need to recharge – ”
“No time,” he says, sprinting across a catwalk, “They got a fancy tank set up on an incline; it’ll be able to hit us.”
“But I’m out of energy! If I can’t use my Arts, then…”
Lapis continues complaining as Swin runs, an explosion behind them confirming his fears. The walkway jogs around the side of the building, where he spots Rufus carrying Nadia under one arm. His partner gives him a cheery wave as Rufus stops, examining the door in front of him. Swin does the same, squinting at the electronic lock.
“Rufus, this one’s got an electronic lock. A little more complicated than I can figure out on my own.”
“Mine’s physical, but a bit large for me…” Rufus says, trailing off as he and Swin lock eyes, and then look at the women in their arms.
“Oh no,” Nadia says as Rufus takes a pose, activating Noblesse Rune to boost his physical strength, “Oh no no no no I know that look do not – ”
“Swin, what are you doing?” Lapis asks as the boy assassin takes hold of her feet.
“Count of three,” Rufus says, “One…”
“Stop!”
“Two,”
“Wait, Swin, no!”
“Three!”
Heedless of their companions’ objections, Swin hurls Lapis downwards as Rufus chucks Nadia upwards.
“Damnit, Rufus, I’m going to remember thiiiiiiis,” Nadia growls as she soars through the air, immediately cooling down as Swin catches her in a bridal carry. She looks down, seeing Rufus holding a flailing Lapis by the collar of her dress like a misbehaving cat.
“Sorry, Nadia, but I’m not good with these,” Swin says.
“Oh, it’s fine, S. I’m mad at Rufus, not you,” she says, hopping down as the sounds of steel rending steel reach her from below, “Let’s see if we can get this open.”
Ch. 2[]
“I was this close to forgiving you, you know,” Lapis says as the door crashes down and the pair dives to the side, narrowly dodging the hail of gunfire and explosive warheads that pour out. She points to the corner of the building, where the sound of tank treads rapidly grows louder.
“And what must a doll’s favorite attendant do to earn clemency?” Rufus asks as their orbments glow. The fallen noble leans towards the door, casting his Art and causing spikes to erupt from the earth. Lapis conjures an earthen barrier around them, blocking a shot from the tank rounding the corner.
They run into the garage, the magically slowed soldiers unable to track them as Rufus’ sword glows with energy, summoning ghostly blades in front of him. He swings his sword as he leaps sideways out of the path of a lancer’s rocket, sending the magical blades slicing through his massed foes. Another set of swipes kill the unlucky and drive the rest behind cover as he raises his sword, sending the other blades into the air, where they multiply. He swings it down, eliminating the rest in a rain of spectral swords.
“You’ll have to think about that yourself,” Lapis says, slamming her axe into another door and sending it flying, “But next time you catch me, make sure you do it in a manner befitting a Rosenberg doll.”
“I’ll do my best,” Rufus says as the two enter the building proper, making their way through the narrow, maze-like corridors. A few swings at the scouts attempting to ambush them is enough to keep them moving, as Lapis activates Palace Coppelion to reduce the impact of any stray hits.
As they run down another corridor, Lapis’s ears catch a mechanical click. She yanks on Rufus’ coat, halting him and sending him staggering backwards as a crossbow bolt flies past them, embedding into the wall. It beeps and explodes, throwing the doll backwards into her attendant, who wraps an arm around her stomach and skids back before letting her down.
“See, that wasn’t so hard!” Lapis says, rapping him on the chest as a dark-skinned girl in a red beret rounds the corner, crossbow at the ready. Chiara fires as Rufus steps in front of his charge, blocking it with a swipe of his sword. He rushes forward, sword level as he stabs forwards. His opponent deflects the strike with the crossbow’s bayonet as the next bolt mechanically pops into place, which she then fires at point-blank range.
The bolt sinks into his shoulder, and immediately the room swims. Rufus stumbles back, gasping as he collapses on the floor.
“Lapis, be careful,” he gasps out, “Bolts are poisoned.”
Chiara’s mouth curls in a sadistic smirk, which fades rapidly as Lapis lets out a bloodcurdling yell. She charges, overclocking her heart as she pulls out every inch of power she can as she leaps in the air, over an oncoming bolt. She flips, kicking off the ceiling and slamming the flat of her axe into her foe hard enough to dent the wall behind the Imperial girl. Lapis slams her axe into the pile of flesh again for good measure, her orbment glowing as she prepares a healing spell.
She turns as she hears something clatter to the floor, seeing Rufus grit his teeth as a greenish glow surrounds them both. He pulls himself to his feet, rolling his shoulder gingerly as she stares at him.
“I said it was poison. Nothing Recuria can’t take care of.”
Lapis stares at him for a second longer before several spectral vines sprout around him, fading as he feels his wounds healing rapidly.
“I’m adding my worry to your tab,” she says, striding away. Rufus jogs to catch up, patting the doll on the head as they continue further into the compound.
On the higher levels of the base, Nadia throws several threaded needles, which embed themselves in the machine guns of a few shocktroopers. She pulls on the strings, spinning as she pulls the guns out of their hands and using them as a makeshift flail to knock them out. On the other side, Swin dashes around in close quarters, giving each gun a few swipes with his blade.
A few turn to stone as he dashes out of the knot, giving the troopers space to aim for a second as he combines his two shorter blades into one larger one. He dashes back in, leaving the bullets behind as he swings Each slice hits the marks he placed earlier, detonating the guns – ammo and all – and hurling the soldiers backwards. They slam into the walls, stray crates, and their own comrades – both stone and flesh – with enough force for them to collapse into unconsciousness.
The two former assassins nod at each other, sprinting towards the doorway, flanking it and peering out into the corridor ahead. They see numerous doors lining the hall, hearing soldiers lining up on the other side of them, ready to charge out if they enter. Swin frowns, noticing keypads next to each door.
“Hey, Nadia, they use normal electricity here, right?”
“They do, S. Good thinking,” she says, as her orbment glows green. She leans out, firing a blast of lightning down the hall that fries the circuits of the electronic locks. They run through, ignoring the frantic pounding as the newly-trapped Imperials call for help. Nadia throws a bear at the door at the end, blowing it inside the room. The pair dashes in through the smoke, Nadia throwing her needles as she hears the click of a crossbow. The two projectiles collide as Nikola reloads, the blonde girl in a purple beret clicking her tongue in irritation. Swin dashes in and slices at her crossbow twice, marking it. He leaps backwards as Nadia throws an explosive teddy bear, forcing Nikola to waste her next shot to pin it against the ceiling as Swin combines his swords, leaping back in with a third strike to trigger the mark. The crossbow blows up, sending the girl across the room.
“We need to get downstairs from here, right?” Swin asks as they make their way across the room, neither noticing that Nikola isn’t quite knocked out.
“Yep. There’s a balcony in the next room. We can use my threads to get down from there.”
“Good, we can… what was that?” Swin asks, the pair noticing Nikola’s actions just a smidge too late. The girl has a manic grin as she slams her finger down on a detonator, blowing herself up. Swin leaps to cover Nadia as the floor below them collapses, the pair slamming into the floor below.
“S? S?” Nadia asks in a panic, as her partner lies still on the floor. She turns as she hears boots thud on the floor, seeing a shocktrooper aiming at them. She throws a needle through his neck, winding threads around a teddy bear as more run in. She throws it, the plushie exploding as the makeshift shrapnel tears through the onrushing soldiers.
She scoops Swin onto her back, taking small comfort in the fact that he’s still breathing, though the breaths are increasingly shallow. She skids on the blood in a daze as she staggers out through the hallway. She moves on, hoping to find Rufus and Lapis. They would be calm enough to help.
Ch. 3[]
Lapis opens a door, looking around it into the corridor ahead before yanking her head back in. A massive shard of ice flies past her, embedding itself into the nearby blast door on the other side and exploding. Rufus checks through the open doorway, noting that the massive piece of steel is warped and smoking, despite it being an explosion of ice. They hear a yell across the corridor as an Imperial shocktrooper runs into view, firing wildly behind her before a pair of throwing spikes impale her through the throat, pinning her corpse to the wall.
The doll and her attendant look at each other in surprise as Nadia stumbles through, carrying a heavily injured Swin upon her back. The other two nod in understanding, Rufus holding a hand up to stop the relieved girl from entering the corridor. Lapis casts Earth Guard, Rufus waving them through. The shield takes the brunt of the ice spike, reuniting the four. The girl lets her partner down against a wall, running over to the fallen noble in a panic as the doll examines the unconscious boy.
“Rufus, S is… He shielded…”
“Nadia, calm down,” Rufus says, kneeling down so that they’re at eye-level.
“How can I be calm? S…”
“Nadia! Look at me,” He says, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking straight in her eyes. She shudders, but seeing that her employer is calm and has a plan quickly lets her regain her composure.
“Oh,” she says, blushing in embarrassment as her orbment glows with a golden light.
“Good,” Rufus says, nodding as a halo surrounds the four of them, stitching wounds, “Seraphic Ring. It’s why you’ve got it, right?”
“Yeah, sorry, I just…” Nadia says, trailing off as she sees Swin opening his eyes and rises. Nadia tackles him in a tearful hug, as Rufus notices a pair of doll-hand-shaped marks on the youth’s cheeks. He gives Lapis an amused look as she turns away, feigning innocence. They allow a few moments, before nudging their friends back on track
“We do have a job that needs doing,” Rufus says gently.
“Right,” Swin says, tapping Nadia on the arms, “What’s the situation?”
“Long corridor between us and our goal. One hostile, throwing ice shards at us.”
“They do that,” Lapis says, helpfully pointing at the destroyed doors they could see, “Or two of them do.”
“Right. Let’s Earth Guard and Crescent Mirror up and dodge like hell,” Nadia says, “Might take a few icicles for me to figure her out.”
“Nadia, I’ll swap a Sword Breaker IV for your Lenan’s Touch. I’m full on orbal energy, and can use that to charm her as Plan B,” Rufus says, using a microfiber cloth to slide out the small, red gem from his orbment.
“Let’s make that Plan A,” Nadia says, using a cloth of her own to dislodge a small, purple gem and swap it for the red, “I think we’re getting short on time.”
“All right. We get in, scatter so she can’t aim, and rush her until I can use the Lost Art,” Rufus says, and the three children nod as Lapis’ orbment glows. He turns away from the group, putting a hand on Swin’s shoulder and whispering in his ear, “And no sacrifice plays this time.”
“It was the only way,” he mutters back as the earthen energies form a shield around them, “And I thought she’d bring me back before now.”
“If it were her corpse in front of you, would you be thinking straight?” Rufus asks as a silver light surrounds the doll’s orbment before expanding out to cover all of them.
“Point taken. Let’s go.”
Another silver glow surrounds Lapis’ orbment as they dash out into the hallway. It fades as Nadia uses her threads to run on the wall, a silver tower filling the corridor behind her. Swin uses his natural speed to sprint across the other side as a silver laser shoots out from the tower, crashing into the icicle and causing Crymaria to wince in pain as it hits her.
Rufus feels himself move faster as Swin casts another Art, zigzagging down the hall to throw off their enemy’s aim. He rolls in front of her, grabbing his orbment to start casting the Lost Art. Another icicle hits him, bouncing off of him and deflecting another. Nadia throws her needles at the glowing crystal in the center of their foe’s staff, delaying another volley enough for Rufus to summon a woman to the field, who casts a powerful magic.
The Picknicking Front feels themselves reinvigorated as Crymaria blinks and shakes her head, confused for a split second before waving them onwards.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” she says, pointing her staff down the hall as the four pass her, “I’ll hold them off.”
She fires a cluster of icicles down the hallway, which pass through the ruined door and into the throng of soldiers attempting to reinforce the position. As the shards explode, Crymaria gasps in shock as a black sword erupts from her chest.
“What… Why did I…” she mutters as the charm fades, falling dead as Rufus pulls his sword out, turning to the two girls as they access the compound’s mainframe.
“Got it,” Nadia says, pulling out a data drive, “Helped our way out, too.”
“And just for good measure,” Lapis says, raising her axe as the doors open behind them. The heavy downwards stroke shatters the machine, preventing anyone else from even trying to access it. They turn and sprint out through the shell-shocked base, only taking a few grazes from the machine guns of the tanks outside. The four disappear into the tunnels Rufus and Nadia had used to enter, quickly slipping into the underground.
Expert's Opinion[]
Each member of the Picknicking Front is a powerful combatant, enough so that the sheer weight of numbers wasn't quite enough to overwhelm them.
User blog:Leolab/DHRI: Imperial Picnicking Front vs East Europan Army