ARC 2 - Prologue : Falling Snowflake

*Author note: Hello!

A little notice about this chapter - This chapter's main focus is the fight in the Hanger. In other words? This is my first time trying to write a fight scene where there are two different fights happening at the same time. If it reads a little weird or if you think that there's a part I should've expanded on/cut down on/explain more, please let me know via comments so that I can make the next chapter better!

ALSO! German speakers! Please don't kill me for awful German! I don't have any friends who speak German so all I could rely on were (multiple)online translators and guides!

Thank you for reading!

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"The Atlas Institute may not have cleared me for it,but I'm quite familiar with its operation. After all, I got a rather thorough look at its top secret manual while I was in their headquarters."

"Bzzt...bzzt...Tri-Hermes at the Atlas Institute, hmm. You detective types are always on the job, aren't you?"

"Da Vinci?"

"Yep! On the intercom since I just found out I can converse with it while in the tube. Anyway, be honest with me. How good do you think our odds are of pulling that off? Better than if we tried to fight those soldiers?"

"Thirty percent at best, I should think. For that matter, I can't even be sure where we'll end up. If all we wish to do is make it out of this predicament alive, I have no doubt there are better options available. But, if you have your sights set further than that, this is the one I recommend. I believe it will aid us in fighting this adversary in the future."

"...Understood. Expanding Void-Reality Observation Device: Paper Moon. Expanding Logic Formula on Shadow Border's external armor. Removing existence verification for Reality Space. Future prediction: hypothetically prove a mirror world plane in twenty seconds. Relaxing space-time friction decompression for 0. 6 seconds....Emergency processes, all green. Looking good, Holmes! We're all set for our maiden voyage!"

"Wait, wait. Hold on a second! I-"

"Now then, a little heads-up for those of you in the cockpit! Your souls will almost leave your body for a moment, but don't worry, you'll be fine! It's just your average out-of-body experience! But if you find yourself saying stuff like "I-I'm floating? " or "Is that my own body I'm looking at? "...just reach out, grab your body, and hold on for dear life! As long as you do that, you'll come out the other end alive!"

"How is any of that "fine"!? You've just said you're literally going to kill us!"

"Fou fou. Nnn, fooou."

"Master...! I still don't understand what's going on. Are you sure about this...!?"

"Just another day at the office."

"Now that's the Gudako I know! Then without further ado, let's get started-"

"Wait."

"Hmm? What is it, Gudako?"

Gudako pointed towards the remains of Chaldea. Her voice quivered a little bit as she spoke, "Status report on the two Servants."

"...Holmes?"

"I see. Despite having not ever meet them before, you would still go to extreme lengths to care for them. Very well. You know that we don't have much time, but I'll run a check anyway."

"..."

"....Their spirit origins are barely holding on."

"Huh?", gasped Goredolf, "They're still alive? Against all of those enemies!? And that super powerful ice girl!?"

"As unbelievable as it may sound, they are indeed still alive. But not for much longer. Even I cannot fathom as to how they are hanging on."

"Yeah, but it's because they're holding those three back that we'll be able to escape safely. Let's move quickly."

*Earlier, in Chaldeas*

"...Wow. This puny Servant is actually pretty impressive."

"Mmm. I must agree with you there, Koyanskaya."

The two beings stood in the corner of the large room, next to the massive gate from where the Chaldeans had escaped from moments ago. With their plans of destroying the vehicle sabotaged by the girl in purple and said vehicle already much too far away for any hand-held weapons to hit without a long time of charging up, the two had resolved to finish the two unknown Servants off in this room...only to be interrupted by the arrival of the Grand Duchess and the army of Oprichnik. Currently, they were watching the showdown between the Grand Duchess herself and one of the two Servants who had stayed behind.

Koyanskaya had found it quite funny to see the man dressed in gray and wearing a red scarf attack the Grand Duchess only to be instantly repelled by an invisible force and then forced to dodge an onslaught of ice and the army of Oprichnik. That surprise, however, quickly turned to confusion and then shock when said man darted around the Oprichnik as his blade phased through them. Any Oprichnik that was hit was suddenly marked by a strange watery symbol that, when hit again by the man, seemed to shake for a moment before it suddenly expelled out a blade of water that hit any surrounding Oprichnik. That blade of water triggered other marks(which caused more blades of water to appear) or applied said mark to any Oprichinik that didn't have it before. In a matter of moments, scores of Oprichnik had faded away, and the watery mark was quickly making its way through the rest of the Oprichnik and towards the Grand Duchess.

"...Viy. Freeze them."

In a blast of cold energy, the Oprichnik around the Grand Duchess were frozen solid before crumbling away as the ice dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. The rest of the Oprichnik moved uniformly back towards the entrance of the room, leaving a wide clearing between Childe and the Grand Duchess.

"Oho. It seems the little lady has made quite the nice arena. You have my thanks."

"....I have no need for it", the Grand Duchess replied, before gesturing with her hand at something behind her, "Viy. Freeze him. As all of Proper Human History will be after we are done here."

A wave of ice blasted towards Childe at a speed much faster than what he anticipated. Although he got out of the way in time, a portion of his scarf was now frozen into the wall behind him. Seeing the ice move up the scarf, he quickly sliced through it.

"Hmm, hmm. Skipping the pleasantries now? Well, I do hope that this fight will be well worth my time. You see, the fact that those crow-masked things behind you don't bleed has been getting on my nerves for quite some time now. What's a battlefield without a little bit of blood?"

Smirking slightly, he leaped towards Fischl.

"Hey, Fischl. Keep those two entertained for me will ya? I'll be amusing this one over here."

"What? Will you be okay? She's really strong."

"Hmm? What happened to your tedious words and strange phrases?"

"Uh..er...I mean, if the warrior so wishes to traverse over the void of nigh dubiety, then may the Midnight Phantasmagoria covet all who lead astray."

"So, you'll cover for me. Good."

With that confirmed, Childe moved back towards the area he was in earlier. The Grand Duchess looked at him expectantly. She had paused in her attacks when he was talking to the Servant named Fischl...although for the reason why even she did not know.

"Hey, Grand Duchess. You're pretty strong! But if you underestimate me, you'll regret it! That said, I've missed the cold for a while now ever since I was dispatched to Liyue. In other words, these temperatures are nothing. How about we make it a little bit colder hmm?"

"Insolence will only lead to your ending, Servant of Proper Human History. You do not know how cold I can make this place be."

"We'll see."

Childe chuckled before getting into a fighting stance. Reaching up, his fingers hooked onto his mask and moved it over his face. Despite all of his boasting, he knew that his chances at victory were slim. But winning wasn't his main goal. Stalling was. And stalling he could do for quite a while.

He shouldn't underestimate her either. The ice blast from before proved that when it was fired at him at a speed he didn't expect. A fatal mistake of a rookie on a battlefield. This time, there could be no mistakes. With the help of his delusion, he would be able to react faster, but that would only be a temporary solution. She currently had the advantage with a strange, invisible shield, a icy battlefield, and two backups. Childe was betting on Fischl taking care of the backups so that at least knocked out one advantage. The invisible shield probably came from whoever was also controlling the ice. This at least meant that the shield would be at its weakest whenever the mysterious being shot ice at him. As for the battlefield advantage...that would be easy to change. All he needed was time

"Hah!"

In a burst of violet lightning, he blitzed forward towards the girl. He slashed upwards only to be met with the invisible shield from earlier. From the corner of his eye, he saw the ice around the girl twitch for a second before rushing towards him. He jumped backwards, dodging the attack, before towards an opening in the girl's attacks again.

Two long minutes passed as the three bystanders watched the fight. Fischl, who focused her bow on the two enemies and resummoned Oz, glanced over at the battle whenever she heard Childe clicking his tongue. Koyanskaya, however, was quickly getting bored.

"How long is this Servant going to last? Why doesn't the Grand Duchess just flash freeze him and be done with it?"

"Koyanskaya, you should know that she has already tried that. That man simply refuses to be frozen in any form."

"Hmph. Well, we're taking too much time here. The Chaldeans are already out of firing range for any sort of hand-held missile so our only option is to have her majesty shoot a projectile at them. I say we end the battle right here!"

"Relax, arms dealer. If you have yet to notice, the enemy's partner has been aiming at us for quite some time now. She's likely waiting for us to make the first move."

"Cute~. I can hardly believe she could even singe the tips of my fur with her puny lightning!"

"That 'puny lightning' also knocked your missiles out of the sky. But no matter. I believe you should be wary this time for knocked on her bow is an arrow created from pure lightning."

"Huh, impressive. Move out of the way, Father."

"You and I are not capable of moving faster than light. You will be hit."

"It won't do anything to me."

"I must refuse. No matter how powerful you are now, Koyanskaya, you cannot afford to lose any tail, can you?"

"....Say that again and I'll torture you in the horrible way possible."

"Hmm."

"Move."

"..."

"I said. Move. It."

"...Very well, do what you wish, Koyanskaya."

Glaring at the Priest, Koyanskaya took a step forward when Fischl's arrow hit her in the chest. She took a step back, her eyes wide with shock as she looked down at the pure violet-colored arrow that was currently sticking out of her stomach. Said arrow's glow dulled for a moment before it suddenly burst apart, zapping Koyanskaya with a billion joules."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

When the light finally died down, Koyanskaya was on her knees, her clothes ripped and bloody. She had countless burns across her skin and her parts of her fur were singed black and falling off.

"You'll pay for that, little girl", she snarled as she stood up wobbly. Her eyes were now a shade of bright yellow like a beast's as she glared at Fischl.

But Fischl wasn't focusing on her. She was focused on the Priest who had been standing there silently. Creating and firing an arrow like that had taken a lot of her energy and she had already used up a lot during the fight before the Grand Duchess had arrived. If he decided to move, she wasn't sure if she could keep them from joining Childe's fight. And as if he had heard her thoughts, the Priest's next words sent chills up her spine.

"Fascinating. But it seems you've spent a little too much. Koyanskaya, I trust that you can take care of her. I will go assist her majesty."

"Perfect! You're mine to play with now~!"

No. No no no no nonononono.

While she didn't trust the Fatui one bit, she and Childe had teamed up for this battle. And the Harbinger, one of the more well known ones, had trusted her with a task. And if she failed this task, not only would he be in danger, but the Chaldeans who both of them had decided to help would be in danger. Normal humans were in there with next to no defensive system.

"Preposterous to believe that you, trespassers of this realm, dare to defy the will of the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort!"

As she spoke those words, Fischl felt a sudden burst of energy. And with it, a foggy memory.

Oh, you want to know what a Noble Phantasm is?

Heh. Fine, I'll amuse you for a bit. Just don't tell that b*tchy maid, alright?

Noble Phantasms are a realization of our life's work, goal, or story. They are how the world defines us and views us, and the stories behind them are unique to each of us. Mine, as you just saw, is one that aims to get revenge on those b**tards who executed me because of jealousy and fear. The b*tchy ice queen's, when she isn't all decked out in a f**kin bikini, is the actualization of an 'Absolute King', the peak of what she failed to reach in her lifetime.

What, you want one too? Eh. Last time when that tall woman and short girl visited, they managed to unlock their Noble Phantasms. Who knows,

When do you know it's a Noble Phantasm? Well, the first time you use it, it's like words just kinda, enter your head or somethin'. Crazy sh*t right? Yeah well, just follow those words.

Maybe when you get called over, you'll get yours too. If you do, call me in for a drink or too.

Not in celebration you f***er! To laugh at how terrible it is!

Argh! Stop bothering me and f***in' go away!

Fischl smiled slightly. That hot-tempered lady was right. It really was some crazy sh*t seeing words just pop into your head. But it was worth an attempt at speaking them out.

"The eve of night, the morning of day."

"The line where reality becomes illusion and illusion becomes reality."

"At the border of the void where nothing persists."

"It is a land of dreams and wishes, a land of fairytales."

"To me, the realm of the Immernachtreich."

"Verurteilung Reich des Mitternacht Souverän!"

The room suddenly got dark as Oz flew up towards the ceiling and grew bigger. Everywhere his shadow touched became part of the reich and, as the sole ruler of this reich, Fischl was the sovereign of this space. Anything she wanted would happen. That was her first Noble Phantasm; an area where she had full Authority over.

Childe grinned. He knew that she was pretty strong, but he hadn't expected this. To think that she was capable of holding back two really strong enemies! It seems Mondstadt was full of surprises just like Liyue.

"Well now then, Grand Duchess. I can't go letting her show me up! Let's up it a notch!"

"...Very well. Viy. Mystic Eyes open."

The moment her eyes opened, Childe felt a chill go up his spine. Something about those eyes told him that he could not let them fixate on him. Dodging around her would only delay the inevitable. But enough time had passed and he had prepared enough.

"Sorry, little girl, but this fighting ring is now mine!"

Earlier, when the two had clashed, Childe had forced any water he created to remain materialized as opposed to disappearing like it usually did. That water ended up freezing into an ice sheet over the ground which slowly grew thicker and wider as the two continued fighting. By now, the entire ground, save for the Grand Duchess's spot, was now covered in ice. The only difference between now and before was that this ice was his. And if the Grand Duchess wanted to manipulate it, she would have to put in a lot of effort to wrestle away his control.

All those skating practices before in Snezhnaya would really help him out now.

He skated around the girl, moving at a speed far faster than before with the help of his delusion and the ice. When the Grand Duchess turned rapidly to look at him, he summoned up a ramp of ice that allowed him to leap into the air and safely away from her range of vision.

His power welled as he too felt the pull of his Noble Phantasm. As he continued to skate around the Grand Duchess, doing a myraid of flips and jumps, he began his chant.

"Every moment is a decisive moment."

"This is my arrow, a shot that defies the Heavens!"

"Face it! My strike, the signaler of an end!"

"Riptide!"

But he wasn't done. Feeling his power surge yet again, he began his second Noble Phantasm.

"From the endless sea of battle."

"The clashing of steel in the eye of the storm."

"I call forth! The strength to overturn the world!"

"Celestial Voyager that Traverses the Space!"

From her position, Fischl watched as a massive whale made of pure water with electricity arcing through it seemed to arise straight from the ice-covered metal floor. As the whale rose higher and higher, the arrow from his first Noble Phantasm reached the ceiling and split into scores of more watery arrows...that grew bigger.

She watched as both the arrows and the whale crashed down onto the Grand Duchess who seemed to finally start to show some emotion on her face. Turning back to her battle, she poured more energy into the cage surronding the fox and the Father. She had locked them up and was currently fighting against the two's power which was growing stronger and stronger. Although she held the Authority here, she could not hold on for much longer. Ever since she enacted her Noble Phantasm, the territory had been constantly sapping away at her already-low energy reserves. Even Oz, who was the one who anchored the territory to reality, was beginning to grow smaller.

*In the Shadow Border*

"They're mana levels have suddenly spiked!"

"Senpai! Look out the window! Over there!"

Gudako rushed towards the window and peered out at Chaldeas which was currently illuminated by a dark purple light.

"Is that....is that a whale!?", Goredolf yelled out, incredulous.

From her viewpoint, Gudako could make out a large, blue whale rising out of the ground. At some point, the ceiling of the hanger had been broken which made the actual ceiling of the Hanger now a couple meters higher.

"Oh...oh my god...."

"Based on mana observations and the sudden existence of a foreign Authority, the two have clearly acquired and unleashed their Noble Phantasms."

"An Authority? Like how those gods in Babylonia had their Authorities?? That's insane! Among normal humans, the ones without any ounce of divine blood or blessing, Authorites are next to impossible to obtain!"

"I know Meuniere", crackled the intercom system, "But the observational results are conclusive. There is a presence of an Authority there, although it is clearly temporary. Also! There's been a total of three spikes of energy from the two of them with all three being uniquely different. Someone managed to fire off two different Noble Phantasms consecutively!"

"But wait. Holmes."

"Yes, Ms.Gudako?"

"Doesn't that mean...that they're going to die soon? Using so much mana in such a short time..."

"That's why we must hurry to the prime location for our jump. We cannot let their sacrifice go to waste."

Mash nodded, her voice breaking slightly as she spoke.

"I...I understand, Mr.Holmes. But would it be okay if we stayed just...just to see them off?"

"Hmm...Da Vinci?"

"Given our current energy reserves and defensive system, I say we can. But the moment they're gone, we've gotta hightail out of here. Got it?"

"Understood!"

With that, the staff members, minus Holmes who elected to stay and watch the computers and Goredolf who just took up the wheel, crowded around the windows to watch the battle up in Chaldeas.

Holmes smiled a little bit before pressing a button on the dashboard, causing the windows to suddenly zoom in onto Chaldeas. Although the figures were still small, Gudako could now make out Fischl's bow, Koyanskaya's bowtie, the Father's hands, Childe's mask(that he was currently wearing), and the Grand Duchess's doll.

"Even if you don't win, we'll watch you until the end. Childe. Fischl. We'll be the observers to say that you guys really did help us and really did exist in this world."

*Author's end note: Dude, Childe skating? I'd watch that. On a different note, Childe's style would probably be powerful while someone like Signora, if she even skates, would be elegant.

Also, Childe's chant is shorter because he doesn't want to waste time. It's like Cu's(dude's is literally two lines).

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