Chapter Text
“Ifa! Help me over here, will you?” Ifa rubbed his ears as he heard Chuychu shout out, but he didn't waste any time as he rushed over to one of the sloppy set-up field beds, a white sheet lying over it for the barest try at hygiene.
It was soaked in red, a delerious woman lying on it, leg twisted to an unhealthy degree, the bone peeking out, a few cuts and burns covering her body. Ifa frowned as he shared a look with Chuychu, and she nodded.
Ifa treated the smaller injuries to the best of his abilities, pulling off his hat and prying open the woman's mouth, shoving the hat inside carefully, the woman looked baffled until Chuychu snapped the twisted leg back in place, a wet crack ringing out as the warrior bit onto the felt in agony.
When the woman finally lost consciousness, Ifa pulled his hat back out, pulling a face at the new teeth markings, he let it fall onto his back. he sadly had no time to feel bad about it. Ifa didn't say a word as he went to the next patient.
The last few weeks had been hell, and Ifa couldn't remember the last time he did his actual job. Nowadays, it seemed more like he was an actual doctor like Chuychu instead of being a veterinarian, but what choice did he have right now?
First the Archon and her heroes vanish into thin air, then the first of the Fatui harbingers gets gravely injured to save their sorry asses, and now the remaining survivors are fleeing like rats everytime the Abyss catches a wiff of them…
Ifa didn't mind running away from fights whenever he could in the past, he wasn't a warrior after all, but even he couldn't help feeling cheap. Ifa stayed silent as he knelt down next to Chasca, changing the bloody bandages on her wounded leg, it was luckly nothing serious.
The woman gave Ifa a look “Ifa… you should really take a rest, even Chuychu took a break yesterday” Ifa looked up at her, laughing awkwardly as he waved a hand in front of his face “No need to worry about me, Chasca, I am a-ok!... besides, there are always more wounded people… how could I rest?” Ifa said, last part simply muttered, Chasca frowned, but didn't object, he sadly wasn't wrong, there were always more people getting hurt, and somebody did need to treat them.
It didn't help that Chuychu and Ifa were the only two people with actually substantial medical knowledge, meaning they were the only ones able to treat serious injuries… which there were a lot of.
Ifa stood up once he was finished, glancing around the makeshift medical ward, it seemed like everybody currently here had been treated. Ifa sighed… perhaps he could just take a small break and go and feed Cacucu.
Ifa yawned as he walked deeper into the cave, the survivors had turned into another makeshift base… one of way too many. Most of the time, they only managed to stay in one place for a week or two before traces of abyssal energy popped up, resulting in them having to once again flee like cattle.
It was an endless cycle that was bound to eventually lead to their death, but they were too weak to do anything beyond trying to minimise casualties. Ifa walked into his personal tent.
Ifa stripped off the bloodied lab coat and threw it into a corner, waking up Cacucu, who flew right in Ifa’s face. Ifa grinned as he sat down, rubbing the weirdly shaped saurian's head. “Hey bro… everything alright?”
Cacucu looked up at Ifa, one eye almost seeming to narrow, “For real?” Ifa smiled tiredly, knowing exactly what Cacucu meant, “...I am fine, bro, just a bit tired, alright?” Cacucu shook his head, “No way, bro!”
Ifa sighed as he let himself fall backwards onto the bed, Cacucu jumping on his chest, seeming unamused by Ifa’s overworked ways… Ifa was prone to overworking himself at times to feel useful, but it would be a lie to say he ever had overworked himself as much as he was doing now.
Ifa stared blankly at the ceiling of the tent, thoughts drifting back to one person he missed much more than he liked to admit. Ifa didnt even know if Ororon was still alive, and it pissed him off… and Ifa didnt get pissy often.
His feelings regarding the Archon's plans made his stomach churn uncomfortably. Auntie Citlali and Chasca had explained Mavuika’s plan to him and a few others weeks ago, and Ifa had cooled off by now, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't still angry.
Leaving the safety of Natlan and all its people up to a hypocritical dice toss was a move that he didnt expect an Archon to pull, and he wasnt the only one pissed off at it, even Varesa had seemed slightly miffed at it.
Ifa had been more shocked that Ororon had also been one of the heroes supposed to protect Natlan, and Ifa wished his best friend hadn't been picked. Ifa wondered if Ororon would have been here with him instead of going missing with the other heroes and the Archon.
Cacucu jumped onto his face, ripping him out of his thoughts. Ifa yelped as he pulled the round bird off his face, “Yeowch Cacucu! What the hell, man?!” Ifa whined as he stared at the bird in annoyance.
One eye blinked at him, “Snap out of it, bro!” Cacucu cawed and Ifa felt his grip loosen, letting the bird go, Ifa ran a hand over his face, brushing his slightly longer hair out of his face.
“...Sorry, bro… I am just a bit out of it, alright?... I'll be fine” Cacucu seemed sceptical still, but stayed quiet for once. It wasn't until Ifa heard somebody clear their throat that he pulled his hands off his face, turning his head to look at whoever had opened the flap to his tent.
Citlali stood there, seeming annoyed, two bowls in her hands. Ifa smiled slightly as he sat up, Citlali walking towards him. “Oh, hey, Auntie Citlali, need something?” Ifa said, putting on his best smile, though the strain was visible nowadays.
Citlali sighed as she let herself plop onto Ifa’s bed, handing him the bowl filled with cut fruit. “Drop the act, kid. When was the last time you slept? You look terrible,” Citlali said, worry seeping into her voice as she caressed Ifa’s cheek in a motherly fashion.
Ifa did indeed drop the smile, as he glanced down at the bowl “It's… manageable, and you know I can't afford to rest a lot right now” Citlali sighed deeper at that “I know, I know, but I cant just not worry about you” She lamented, letting go off Ifa and stuffing a piece of cut apple into her mouth.
Her hair was cut short, usual makeup completely missing, nobody could afford to waste time nowadays, she didnt even wear the two rings on her head today. Ifa frowned as he looked back up at Citlali.
“Auntie… did you and the others find anything?” The situation seemed grim, but Ifa didn't want to squash the small sliver of hope in his heart just yet. But Citlali’s face only sank; she rubbed her eyes, also seeming rather tired.
“...like usual, I cannot find the heroes of Mavuika, as far as I know, they might not even be in Natlan anymore, but they definitely aren't dead, otherwise I would have noticed their spirits in the night kingdom” Ifa’s eyes widened at the mere implication of her words. “Are… are you implying they turned tail and ran when things got dicey?!”
Citlali’s face turned angry as she placed the bowl to the side “I don't, especially considering the curse, but I wouldn't doubt it anymore, stupid Archon, and her stupid plan… we should have gone along with Captaino's plan from the start… at least his plan wasn’t dependent on a giant last minute asspull that never happened” Citlali ranted as she grabbed Cacucu, hugging him to her chest, cheeks puffed up in anger, said Saurian didnt object.
Ifa looked away, the thought of many people he knew just running away, leaving them all to die, was incredibly bitter… but he couldn't believe somebody like Ororon, Mualani or Kachina would just run away unless they had been strong-armed into leaving.
Silence returned between the two, Citlali feeding Cacucu some of the fruit pieces she didn't like. Ifa found it very sweet… no pun intended. It was a small moment of comfort in this terrible situation.
Ifa wished he could do something… anything to help everybody, but he was powerless, he was neither a good fighter nor was good at using his vision besides being a help in his job, it hadn’t bothered him much before the war, but now it was undeniable, he was much worse at fighting than most visionless warriors, and he couldnt help but feel useless because of that, even if he was probably one of the most important people here, but he refused to accept that fact.
He just hoped that wouldn't be a fatal flaw of his.
—
Ifa skidded back as he blocked the claw of the mimic Yumkasaurus with his arm, the sharp black claws digging into his skin, he gritted his teeth as he aimed his gun at the mimic, letting an anemo bullet go, the ward protecting the abyssal creature shattering at the swirl reaction with Varesa’s electro energy.
Varesa jumped at the creature as she saw her chance, the hit making it dissipate into dark particles. Varesa turned towards Ifa “Are you alright?!” She asked in a panic. Ifa nodded as he pulled out a bandage, tightening it around the wound with the help of his teeth, a groan of pain escaping him.
Ifa let the bandage slip from his mouth, giving Varesa a look. “Go Varesa, I can handle it, others need you more right now” Varesa hesitated slightly as she saw the fresh bandage get drenched in blood worryingly fast, but eventually nodded and sprinted towards the next abyssal creature.
Ifa switched the hand with which he held his gun, something about that Abyssal creature had been different; the pulsating energy had been glowing more, thicker in ways that made his skin crawl. But it seemed like he was the only one that had noticed it, maybe because he isn't solely focused on fighting… he pushed the thought back. The Abyss was getting faster at tracking them, it’s barely been three days since they started hiding out in this cave.
Ifa felt fear bubble up, they were running out of everything: time, soldiers, resources… Ifa pushed the thought down as another creature lunged at him, and he barely dodged it as he aimed a shot at its head.
It… didn't so much as slow it as it rushed at Ifa, Chasca was quick to shoot it, Ifa nodded at her as she ran out of the cave with everyone else, Ifa following behind, they cleared the area well enough, they should be able to get away as smooth as they could for today, lucky.
Ifa felt himself drifting as the once more smaller group ran through the Abyss corrupted wilderness of Natlan, searching for a new hiding place, water a dark purple colour, abyssal energy seeping through it and the vegetation, a horrid sight against the vibrant Natlan he remembered.
Ifa was useless, it seemed, he couldn't so much as defend himself, and had to be saved again, which ruined Ifa’s mood further if that was even possible. Ifa felt a hand on his shoulder, Chuychu gave him a concerned look.
“Should I take a look at that?” She pointed at the bloody bandage. Ifa shook his head “It's fine, Chuychu… I'll deal with it later, others need you more than me” She frowned at that, sighing “...you really should accept help more, often Ifa, none of this is your fault, you don't need to feel like you don't matter, you do, a lot more than you might think”
Ifa looked away at her words “... It's fine, I can deal with it later… please” She gave Ifa one look before sighing “, Alright… just deal with it soon, we don't need you getting sick on top of already being overworked”
Ifa let out a forced chuckle as he stayed at the back of the group, keeping his eyes on their surroundings again. Cacucu was luckly with Citlali, so he was fine, everything would be fine.
—
Kaveh scratched his head, a few strands of his hair escaping the messy bun he had pulled them in. His order of Limestone from Natlan should have arrived weeks ago! And his budget was already tight enough, he couldn't afford to push back the deadline of his project yet again.
Kaveh sagged into his chair, letting his head fall onto his arms. He probably had to cut off his alcohol consumption for a bit, absolute torture. Kaveh groaned. This was a total disaster! He was ripped out of his tantrum when somebody cleared their throat behind him.
Alhaitham leaned in the doorway, his headphones around his neck as he gave Kaveh a mildly amused look. Kaveh frowned; his day was even worse now. Alhaitham raised an eyebrow, still seeming rather smug.
“What has gotten you in such a mood now, huh?” Alhaitham asked, Kaveh shot him a look before crossing his arms, huffing, “Ugh, some of the materials I ordered weeks ago are still not here yet, and I can’t even reach the seller” Kaveh moaned, Alhaitham just sighed at the sorry display.
“Maybe you should find a more credible seller then” Alhaitham said matter of factly, Kaveh shook his head at that, glowering slightly “No, no, that seller is credible! but I really need that Limestone, and since it isn't here yet…” Kaveh deflated again, but his words seemed to catch Alhaitham's interest for some reason, a frown pulling at his mouth.
“...Limestone? You didn't order it from Natlan by chance, did you?” Kaveh looked confused at Alhaitham's words, “huh? Well, yes, I obviously ordered it from Natlan, where else would I get enough Limestone for a whole building?” Kaveh said with a huff, turning away from Alhaitham.
But Kaveh felt himself stop when he saw the face on Alhaitham’s face. He looked slightly concerned, perhaps even a bit nervous, which made Kaveh nervous in turn, because Alhaitham is never nervous.
“Uhm… is something wrong, Alhaitham?” Kaveh asked, Alhaitham sighed, shaking his head, “No… It's just a bit too… fitting,” Kaveh raised an eyebrow as he stood up, walking up to Alhaitham “What's fitting?” Kaveh asked in a slight annoyance, Couldn't the man talk clearly for once?
Alhaitham’s eyebrow twitched slightly before he sighed, “Well, all scholars from the Akademiya that should be in Natlan currently haven’t reported to us in a while either, and we havent been able to reach them through letters.”
Kaveh cocked his head “...uhm, well, i guess it could correlate to my Limestone not arriving… but shouldnt the postmen have noticed something then?” Alhaitham shook his head, sighing.
“No, because no Postmen we sent have come back from their trips to Natlan, the Akademiya has been thinking about banning travel to Natlan for researchers and students until we know more”
Kaveh blinked, a bit of anxiety creeping into his gut. “But… communication with a whole nation cannot possibly just… break off , that's ridiculous!” Alhaitham nodded, looking to the side, “Yeah, which is why this whole thing is so suspicious”
Kaveh frowned, scratching his head again, “So… what will the Akademiya do?” Alhaitham huffed, shrugging. “Nothing yet, we decided to wait a bit longer, but in a week, we will send a few scouts out to check”
Kaveh fell silent at that, his stomach churning uncomfortably; it was probably nothing serious… right?
Kaveh shook off his anxiety. Natlan wasn't known to be unstable, so it was probably just a communication error; he would get his Limestone soon enough, and then he could push any fear back into the far reaches of his mind.
—
The now even smaller group eventually stopped at a small uncorrupted cave, just to rest and get a plan going before scouting for a new, better location.
Ifa sat at the entrance, out of the sight of everybody, as he slowly unravel the bloody bandage on his arm. Pausing at the sight and pain that was inflicted when the wound came in contact with air again.
The edges of the torn skin and flesh were purple, Abyssal corrosion oozing out of the wound in waves, making Ifa’s mind fuzzy, the blood had stopped, only a purple goop flowing out of the wound from who knows where.
He… honestly didn't know what he was looking at, no wound he had seen before had looked like this before, especially merely a few hours after it was inflicted. Ifa turned his body further away from the cave.
Did the Abyss grow even stronger? Or was it because of the weird mimic that gave him the wound? Ifa was snapped out of his thoughts when a wave of pain rippled through his body. Ifa pushed Elemental energy into the wound, aiming to push out the abyssal energy as he usually would in other patients…
Only for it to stay put, clinging to his body and spirit like glue, only small traces of the corruption escaping out of the wound, Ifa pushed more energy into the wound, only for his muscles to tear painfully, blood flowing once more as he hissed in pain.
He let the elemental energy in his body dissipate instantly, the pressure from his wound sinking instantly, to his relief. He grabbed a cloth and applied pressure to the once again bleeding wound as fast as he could, his mind clouded over by pain. Ifa’s face was set in a grimace as his mind cleared up again.
This wasn't good at all, Abyssal corruption was deadly after all. Ifa eventually removed the cloth, putting on an ointment before wrapping the wound in a new bandage, being careful not to let the purple goop seep through and be visible.
Ifa eventually rejoined everybody in the cave, Citlali and Cacucu stopping in front of him, “Ifa, Ifa!” Cacucu exclaimed. Ifa waved at his companion. Citlali, give him a worried look “Is your arm ok?” Ifa looked surprised for a moment before a strained smile appeared on his face.
“Yup, absolutely! It's just a small wound, it should heal without a problem,” Ifa said with a cheery tone. Citlali looked relieved at that as she grabbed Cacucu again “Good, I am going to rest, you should too” Ifa nodded, smile still on his face.
“Will do!” Ifa said as Citlali turned away, smile falling away as he looked to the side, eyes falling onto his bandaged arm, face darkening as he felt Abyssal energy pulsate painfully in the limb.
He had to solve this issue without anybody figuring it out, he didn’t need to cause others even more issues.