Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The meeting room was silent as Dr. Mei stood from her chair. The projector turned on, lighting up the wall behind her.

“I must begin by saying congratulations for vanquishing the honkai from this world. You all fought hard. However, as you are all aware, humanity is down to ten percent of its total population before the herrschers descended. As a result, the world’s system to meet nutritional demands has crumbled. As Fire MOTH’s leader, I have the authority to shift our focus. Since the honkai is no more, I’ve made the executive decision to-“

Dr. Mei stepped to the side and raised an arm to gesture at the projected power point.

“Switch our objective to farming.”

Agriculture for Beginners is what the title of the presentation read.

“After this crash course, we will be knowledgeable enough to proceed.”

Or so Dr. Mei hoped. 

Chapter Text

Pardofelis yawned as she rolled off of her bed.

Hua sat up at the thud of her roommate hitting the floor. She rubbed her eyes and glanced and the blinds. From the levels of light, she could tell that it was almost dawn. Hua made a face. The roosters will start crowing soon. She got out of bed and checked to see if Pardofelis was still sleeping. The cat girl didn’t stir and Hua changed into a simple shirt and work overalls. She then nudged her roommate who whined.

“I’m awaaake!” Pardofelis exclaimed as she stood up.

“I’m going out,” Hua informed.

Pardofelis nodded. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

Hua left their room and quietly descended the stairs. She picked up a straw basket near the front door. This was her new routine now. Instead of fighting honkai beasts, she fetched eggs for breakfast every morning. It was a welcome change for the most part. She exited their home and made her way to the chicken coop.

She could see a struggling rat in one of Pardofelis’ mouse traps. Good thing this one didn’t steal the eggs. The girl carefully opened the hen coop. All the chickens were resting peacefully on their nests. Hua took the gloves off of the hook on the wall. 

Carefully… Hua reached under the first hen and pulled out a brown egg which she placed in the basket. The bird wasn’t disturbed and Hua let out a sigh of relief. Now if things could always go this well. But of course they won’t.

The second chicken noticed Hua and immediately launched itself at her. Soon, the entire coop was descending on the poor girl.

Hua let out a shriek as the chickens excitedly pecked at her, asking for pats and treats. If Hua didn’t know any better, she’d think that the chickens wanted to kill her. Unfortunately, it was the opposite. They loved her a little too much.

“I’m sorry, I can’t feed or brush you yet!” Hua said trying to get on with her egg collecting.

Pardofelis opened the chicken coop door with a laugh. “You’re pretty popular today!”

“Stop standing there. Help me!” Hua shot back.

Pardofelis took the basket from Hua and finished collecting the eggs. “Here, I got them all for ya. Himeko is coming out soon so she can help you escape. I need to deal with last night’s catch.”

The grey haired girl reached out for her friend under a pile of feathers. “Pardo, don’t leave me.”

The cat girl shut the coop door.

Hua gave in and petted the chickens around her the best she could.

After a few minutes, a woman with long red hair opened the door. “Ah, Pardo said you’d be in here.”

Hua immediately scrambled to her feet. “Himeko!”

Her former squad captain swatted a chicken off of Hua’s arm. “If you didn’t pamper these hens they wouldn’t flock to you like this.”

“But the other chickens do the same,” Hua pointed out.

Himeko laughed, “maybe you’re secretly a chicken at heart.” She gave the younger girl a fond smile. “But your years fighting the honkai had transformed you into a phoenix. You’re hardly the same girl I saved all that time ago.”

Hua looked at the ground bashfully as Himeko dislodged the rest of the chickens.

The woman dusted her hands when she was done. “Let’s hurry and bring these eggs back now. Kalpas would be upset if we failed to bring a key ingredient for breakfast.”

Hua shivered at the thought. She grabbed the basket and swiftly returned to the house.

“Good morning, Hua!” Elysia greeted at the doorway.

“Good morning,” Hua replied.

The pink elf plucked a stray feather from Hua’s hair. “You got smothered again, didn’t you?”

Hua nodded with an exhausted face.

Elysia giggled, “I wish my bees were that friendly.” Then she was off to gather honey from her hives.

Hua took her boots off inside the house and put on her slippers again. She dropped the egg basket off in the kitchen. Sakura was in the kitchen with Rin.

“Where’s Kalpas?”

Sakura shrugged, “he should be back from milking the cows by now.”

Hua thanked her lucky stars that he wasn’t around. She approached Sakura at the sink. The fox eared woman was rinsing and peeling fresh fruit. Hua washed her hands and started helping.

“Thank you,” Sakura said.

Hua looked at a perfectly square watermelon. “Your melon turned out well.”

“Yes, I wasn’t sure if it would work since I’ve never tried this tradition before,” Sakura agreed.

Rin, who was setting the dining table stepped into the kitchen. “It’s really cool though! I want to convince Su to let us use molds on his pears. We can make them grow into little hearts!”

The three heard a commotion outside of the front door.

“Wash yourselves off before you enter!” Vill-V yelled at Kalpas and Emile. The two of them were drenched in mud. She grabbed the hose and set the head to max pressure. She then sprayed the two men.

Elvin peeked out the door, discreetly taking a picture. “How did you two get covered in mud?”

“None of your business,” the masked man said.

“Cow,” Emile answered and grimaced at the memory of earlier in the morning.

He and Kalpas had went out to milk a cow for Fire MOTH’s breakfast as they did every morning. He guessed that the cow must’ve had a bad night because it was extremely temperamental. It knocked the two of them over while they were getting it into the milking station.

Emile’s face contorted into a smug grin. “But seeing Kalpas eat dirt was fantastic.”

“You were the only one eating dirt,” Kalpas spat. This was mostly true since his mask did block much of the mud.

“Tell me more!” Elvin insisted.

Emile glanced at Kalpas. “You take the milk jug inside. I’m going to help Elvin with the fish.”

Vill-V finished power washing Kalpas. “Now you may enter,” the mechanic stepped out of his way.

Kalpas lifted the milk churn and shuffled inside.

“You’re late,” Sakura said flatly.

“… How much did you do on your own?” Kalpas asked hesitantly.

“Not entirely on my own. Hua and Rin helped.” She pointed towards the rows of egg dishes, fruit platters, toast, assorted cheese, congee, and glass noodles.

“I’ll cook the meat right away,” Kalpas said, hurriedly moving to the stove.

Sakura turned to Hua. “Can you please go to the cellar and grab the jams and pickled vegetables?”

Hua nodded.

Elysia returned to the house shortly after Kalpas with bowl of honeycomb. “I’m back~” she sang as she placed the bowl of honeycomb on the kitchen countertop.

Kalpas acknowledged her presence. “I need some of the honey for this chicken,” he said.

Elysia nodded, “yep, coming right up!”

Hua descended into the cellar where all of the preserved food was kept. She scoured the shelves until she found what Sakura had requested. There was one problem: Hua couldn’t carry all of the jars back up in one trip. Admitting defeat, Hua placed the jars of pickled radishes, ginger, and plums down.

“Oh? Hua, is that you?”

The grey haired girl turned around in a start. She relaxed when she saw that it was Eden.

The master of the preserves cellar stood up and pressed a hand to her forehead. “I might be a little hung over from last night.”

“Elysia was looking for you yesterday,” Hua said. She glanced back as she was climbing up the stairs, “I’ll bring you some water.”

Chapter Text

Hua placed the jars on the dining room table before entering the kitchen. It smelled of freshly cooked bacon and Hua’s mouth started to water. She stepped aside to let Rin pass by with a plate of chicken skewers. Hua picked up a cup from a cabinet and filled it with water. Sakura gave her a questioning look. “Eden is hung over,” Hua explained. “I found her in the cellar,” she quickly added when Elysia peered at her curiously.

“Ah, so that’s where my dear Eden ended up!” Elysia exclaimed. “I can take the water down for you, Hua.”

The grey haired girl passed the glass. “Can you bring the pickles I set aside?”

“Of course,” Elysia confirmed.

Hua’s gaze wandered to the dining room. People were starting to trickle in, waiting for breakfast to be served. She found Pardofelis and Griseo doodling at the table. Kosma, who often accompanied Griseo, was nowhere in sight. He’s probably helping Kevin survey the farm.

Su’s voice came from behind. “Excuse me.”

She quickly stepped out of his way. Su placed down a sizable pitcher of honey ice tea. Ice?

“We’re back,” Kosma announced as he entered the dining room, taking his spot next to Griseo. Ato followed close behind.

“Where did Mom go?” Ato asked his daughter.

Griseo shrugged. “Mama and Auntie Mobius went out,” she answered without looking up from her painting.

Hua could hear Kevin and Su speaking behind her. She turned to listen in on their conversation.

“The snails, there’re too many of them on my fruit trees,” Su said irritated.

“Even after I let my birds eat them?” Hua asked.

“That did work for some time but now we’re right back to where we started.”

“Then we should let the fowl eat more of them,” Kevin suggested.

Hua gave Kevin and annoyed face. “Corralling those birds is harder than defeating a herrscher.”

Dystopia popped up next to Hua. “What if we used Kosma’s active honkai reaction form like a herding dog?” Her voice was somewhat mischievous.

The boy in question, appeared startled. “I’m doing what now?”

“Get out of my way,” Kalpas growled. He was balancing several plates of freshly cooked meats. The group quickly shuffled away from the doorway and into their seats.

Slowly, everyone started trickling into the dining room. Himeko took her seat next to Hua and Pardofelis sat on her other side.

“Guess how many rats I caught,” Pardofelis said.

“Around seventy?” Hua answered.

The cat girl’s tail swished. “Very close! Seventy four to be precise. Kevin was really mad because one managed to chew a hole through the shed wall.”

“I can fix that easily!” Vill-V interjected herself into the conversation.

“Vill-V.” The mechanic turned around to see Mobius standing behind her with crossed arms. “You still need to repair my lab.”

“Hey, hey, I’ll get to it. You know the farming equipment is top priority.”

“The sooner I get my lab back, the sooner we can increase our yield with genetic modification.”

“Doctor, give Vill-V some time,” Klein said while pushing Mobius away. The two took a seat at the table. Mobius was still grumbling about being relegated to livestock and crop health management.

Blanca had made her way over to Ato and Griseo.

“Mama, Aunt Mobius seems angry,” Griseo said while drawing.

“Well, I believe the doctor is upset with the amount of leg work her role demands. Back during the honkai war, Mobius spend most of her time locked up in the lab. Having to walk around the farm everyday at dawn, I believe, is a good change for her.” Blanca explained. Griseo nodded.

Fuxi and Nuwa entered the dining room looking like they just woke up.

“We fed the pigs,” Nuwa said with a yawn. Fuxi slowly blinked, opting not to comment. The two were stuck helping Mobius and Klein until late in the night. They slumped on the table when they took their seats.

Elvin and Emile had returned to the house too after checking on the aquaculture. The two located Kalpas and began teasing him.

“Did you enjoy the texture of clay loam on your tongue? I sure did,” Emile snorted.

“Was the manure good fuel for your flames?” Elvin asked.

Kosma watched the scene. “Every day is bully Kalpas day for those two.” He gave Dystopia a stare. “You sure you’re not like them?”

Dystopia feigned offense. “I can’t believe you would compare my loving actions to those two!”

“Loving actions…? Such as strapping my training whistle to my disobedient dog’s collar and making me chase it?”

“It’s good exercise! You need to stay in shape now that you’re not a soldier anymore.”

Kosma suddenly looked depressed, “have I… really gotten so… I will never be able to be like Kevin, Ato, or Kalpas…”

Dystopia waved her hands, “no, no! I was just joking, don’t take it too hard.”

Rin playfully nudged Kosma with an elbow. “Not with that attitude. I think you becoming one with your pack isn’t such a bad idea.”

Griseo nodded, “Kosma, you can help Dystopia with her sheep, goats, and llamas.”

Kosma looked dejected, “I guess I’ll give it a shot…”

“Oh? Looks like we’re almost the last ones~” Elysia sang as she hoisted Eden into the room. Aponia, who came in with them placed the jars of pickles on the table. “Can someone give the fine lady a glass of water for her hangover? One wasn’t enough,” Elysia called.

Pardofelis jumped up and raised her hand. “I’ll do it!”

“Thank you, Pardo, I’ll give you a shiny gem as a treat.” Eden said.

Kalpas stood up, shooing Emile and Elvin away. He scanned the dining room, performing a headcount on everyone present. He walked over to the kitchen where he found Dr. Mei and Sakura discussing the square melon and other cultural traditions of their homeland.

“You’re making everyone wait,” he said flatly.

Dr. Mei made a face of disappointment.

“Let’s continue over breakfast,” Sakura suggested.

Dr. Mei stepped into the dining room and cleared her throat. She waited for everyone to sit down before her speech. “Good morning, Fire MOTH. Let’s work hard towards a bountiful harvest. Remember: no matter what, humanity will rebound.”

Chapter Text

Hua picked up two empty buckets and made her way to the silo with Kosma leading the way. The fowl must be fed every day. She placed one of the buckets underneath the valve at the bottom and Kosma turned the knob. A steady flow of seeds and cereal grains began to fill the bucket.

“I’m here!” Pardofelis caught up with the two leading her army of cats. The cats began to circle the silos searching for mice and rats. Pardofelis dumped her bucket of pest insects into the grain bucket. “That should give the birds enough protein!”

Hua nodded, “better the birds than us.”

Kosma, Hua, and Pardofelis grimaced at the memory of the night Kalpas served everyone stir fried crop pests.

“I don’t think Mobius minded the dish, but I won’t let Griseo eat it,” Kosma muttered.

Hua mixed in the invertebrates and picked up the buckets of chicken feed. “I’ll be back,” she told Kosma and Pardofelis.

“Good luck,” Kosma said.

Pardofelis waved to her, “have fun!”

“Heh…” Hua grumbled. Worst case scenario, she’d be overrun with chickens and will never escape.

The grey haired girl walked around the perimeter of the chicken pen while dumping chicken feed into the troughs. Hua flinched as the chickens leaped up at the metal wire gate between them. The chickens were screaming at her, begging her to come play with them.

“Sorry, I have to feed everyone first.” Hua quickly hurried to the next feeding station. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a river of chickens following her on the other side of the mesh. No! Stop following me and eat! 

Kosma looked at the river of chickens running after Hua with a blank face. My dogs don’t even like me that much…

Once all of the chickens were fed, Hua could move on to the waterfowl. She dragged herself back to the silo, covered in feathers.

Pardofelis pulled out a stopwatch. “Good job! That was three seconds faster than yesterday!”

“Could you put that away?” Hua muttered.

Kosma passed the filled buckets to Pardofelis who mixed in more pest insects.

Himeko joined the three at the silos. “I’ll feed the other birds. Kosma, Dystopia want you to herd her animals to their grazing grounds.”

“Sure.”

After preparing the bird feed, Kosma walked over to the kennel. He blew the dog whistle hanging around his neck. All of the dogs stopped what they were doing and stood still. Kosma closed his eyes. “Come here…” he struggled to get the name out. “Pretty Princess Tulipa…” Kosma internally cringed. I shouldn’t have let Elysia name my best herding dog. The Australian Shepherd trotted over to Kosma. Kosma patted the dog and gave her a treat. “Let’s go. The flock is faithfully waiting for their expert navigator.”

Dystopia and Griseo were chatting and petting the llamas when Kosma made it over to their pen.

“There you are! Come on, my animals are starving.” Dystopia said while opening the gate.

“Which hill are you bringing them to today?” Kosma asked.

“Let’s turn right past the river.”

The boy nodded and gestured to Tulipa to make the animals follow him. Kosma let his herding dog go to work on corralling the different types of animals out of the pen. He felt a small tug on his sleeve. Griseo peered at him with curiosity.

“Kosma, did you and Papa see anything this morning?”

Kosma shrugged. “No, it was the same as always. You don’t have to worry anymore, Griseo. The honkai is gone for good.” He decided to leave out the part about finding signs of vandalism at the far edge of their farm.

After the honaki war ended, many former Fire MOTH employees left the organization to live normal lives. They wanted no part in supporting civilization anymore. As a result, Dr. Mei’s agriculture project was understaffed in each region and food was scarce. The people living around them were not shy in showing their discontentment.

Come on. We aren’t a large organization anymore. We’re doing our best to feed everyone.

Griseo noticed Kosma’s grimace and glanced at him with concern.

Dystopia was ahead of them and was the first to step on the bridge over the river. “Hey Mobius and Elvin!” she yelled while waving.

Mobius grumbled as she continued to mix the fish feed.

Elvin pointed at a bucket Mobius already prepared. “Can you use your telekinesis to help us out?”

“Yep!” Dystopia lifted the fish feed out of the bucket and scattered it over the aquaculture ponds situated by the river.

“Thank you!” Elvin yelled.

“Isn’t this nice? We can use our MANTIS powers for something other than fighting,” Dystopia commented happily.

Kosma gave her a nod. He still wasn’t sure his abilities were all that useful in the new situation. He had his super strength but so did pretty much everyone else.

Griseo looked at the ground with a small pout. “But why do you guys still always watch me when I paint?”

“Erm-“ Dystopia’s face went blank. “You see, your powers are unique and would be extremely helpful.”

Griseo nodded vigorously.

“If you had more practice and training.”

“…” Griseo crossed her arms.

“You’ll get there one day,” Kosma assured.

“I want to help everyone now,” the young painter said adamantly.

“You’re doing great without your powers already. I wouldn’t be able to get all of my animals out of the barn so quickly without your help,” Dystopia said.

Griseo seemed to perk back up again. “Ok, I’ll continue to help Dystopia.”

Kosma patted her head with a smile.

“The grass looks absolutely succulent here!” Dystopia said while pointing at the hillside.

Kosma stared at her with a concerned face. “Does grass look appealing to you?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Well I wouldn’t eat it… at least more than a mouthful… but look! Perfect color, perfect length!”

The young boy was still concerned for her. Maybe spending so much time with her animals is making her a grass fanatic. Soon she’s going to be watching grass grow for fun. He shuddered at the thought but then shook the idea out of his mind. Kosma whistled and his dog soon came running back to his side. “This is the spot. Make sure none of the other animals stray from this hillside.”

Tulipa barked after she received her orders and trotted off to mingle with the other farm animals. 

Chapter Text

Kevin held out a hand to Dr. Mei as they descended from Eden’s back. Eden waited for her passengers to get off before transforming out of her meta-morph form. They were now in a branch farm many kilometers away.

“I hope the food production here is up to standard.” Dr. Mei led the other two towards a farm cabin in the middle of a grove of trees. She knocked on the door. “It’s Dr. Mei,” she called.

The farm manager opened the door and invited them inside.

Eden declined to sit at the dining table. She had no interest in their meeting. She was just Dr. Mei’s transport. Every week, she would have to fly Dr. Mei all over the continent to check up on the network of farms under Fire MOTH’s management. It was certainly an important job but there was nothing for Eden to do while Dr. Mei conducted her meetings. 

I never thought my honkai beast form would be used as a private plane… Eden sighed, at least it was more respectable than using Kalpas’ meta-morph form as a campfire or smoker. He complained greatly when Vill-V suggested it but Emile and Elvin harassed him into doing it. He didn’t seem to mind much when Griseo and Rin used him to toast marshmallows though.

She pulled up a jar of pickles. Seeing the green preserved cucumber reminded her of the similarly colored sleeping bag Mobius owned. Eden extracted a pickle and took a bite. Ellie, Aponia, I hope you two are having a more exciting time than I am…

Dr. Mei side-eyed Eden as she heard another loud crunch.

“I have many ducks,” Hua said.

Su inspected the pond. “They’ll do. Anything to rid my orchard of that vermin.”

Hua nodded and rolled up her sleeves to corral the waterfowl.

“Would you like help?” Su offered.

Hua could recall the last time he helped her with birds. It was the day they had to sort the quails for breeding or for slaughter.

-

Mobius passed Himeko a paper, “this is the quota you have to hit. Make sure there are at least thirty nesting pairs. Healthy of course. Every other bird that hit market weight can be slaughtered.”

Hua peeked at the paper. “If a dozen eggs per clutch hatch into chicks, we’d hit the minimum amount with twenty five nesting pairs.”

Mobius scoffed, “can’t expect to rebuild humanity by producing the bare minimum. Dr. Mei wants to make hunger a thing of the past.”

Hua nodded, “I know. I was making a conservative estimate in case we don’t have enough birds that meet the breeding standards.”

Mobius dismissively waved, “get to it. Ugh, now I have to walk all the way to the pigsty.”

Himeko and Hua watched Mobius leave while grumbling to herself.

“I think this is the most sunlight Dr. Mobius has seen in her entire life,” Himeko commented.

Hua shuddered while remembering the experiments she endured in the sterile labs of the honkai war. “Maybe her green hair gives her the ability to photosynthesize,” Hua joked, trying to distract herself.

Su walked over to the two with a basket of grapes.

“Hello,” Himeko greeted.

“Greetings.” Su offered them a bunch of grapes. “I’m handing out fruit samples. Please provide me with your feedback.”

Hua popped a grape into her mouth. “Mildly sweet and juicy,” she reported after swallowing.

“It’s really good!” Himeko said while reaching for another bunch.

Su seemed to glow with immense pride. “That’s high praise, thank you both.”

Hua looked over her shoulder. “We should get to work now.”

Himeko nodded, “alright. Let me have a few more.”

Su watched as Himeko finished up all the grapes he had in his basket. “There goes all of my free samples…” he mused. “May I ask what you two are doing?”

Hua opened the wire door to the quail coop. “Sorting them based on Mobius’ instructions.”

Su looked at his empty basket. “Well, since I have no more samples to hand out, why don’t I assist the both of you.”

Himeko shoved a scale into his hands. “You’re a doctor right? Weigh them as we pass them to you.” She showed him the sheet. “If they’re heavier than this or have a band around their leg, put them in the pen behind you. If they’re lighter, band them and release them back into this pen."

Hua started leading the quails towards Su and Himeko. “Pick one up and start!”

Himeko wasted no time in scooping up a quail and and weighing it. Su awkwardly grabbed one and put it on his scale. Hua snatched up a few quails in her arms that she can see the leg bands on. She dropped them off in the separate pen and repeated the process. Hua looked up when she heard Su’s undignified yelp.

Himeko laughed, “it must think you’re tasty!”

Su tried dislodging the quail that had latched onto his nose. Hua dropped off the quails she caught and came to Su’s rescue. She grabbed the small bird and yanked it away from Su’s face. Su doubled over, groaning in pain.

Himeko forced him to sit up straight. “The tip of your nose was stolen,” she observed.

Hua let the quail loose. “I’ll get a first aid kit so we can stop the bleeding.”

Su held out a hand. “Fret not. I carry a surgical needle with me at all times. I can stitch the wound shut.”

Himeko shook her head. “Now’s not the time for crazy doctor stuff.”

Hua ignored Su and made a beeline for the closest first aid kit.

-

“I think you should keep your nose in mind before offering.” Hua said, like she did that time as well.

Su chuckled to himself and sat down on the grass. “A doctor’s heart aches when they can’t help people. I can’t say I’m the best with birds but I’m improving.”

Hua ignored Su and went to go round up the ducks by herself.

“I’m really suffering here!” Su yelled over to her while peeling an orange.

“Better emotionally than physically because of a bacterial infection!” Hua responded.

Chapter Text

“Emile, have you seen Nuwa?” Fuxi asked while looking around the cattle yard.

“No, is she slacking off again?”

“She might be. Kalpas will be mad if we don’t have the pigsty clean by lunch time.”

“I can stab Kalpas to keep him off your back,” Emile offered, twirling his dagger on his finger.

“That won’t be necessary…” Fuxi said. She decided to check the river to see if Nuwa was off gossiping with Elvin again. She could also be with Griseo, but Griseo had left the main area of the farm and Fuxi wanted to avoid walking the distance to the pastures if she could.

Mobius slithered onto the riverbank when Fuxi approached. She had a patch of pondweed on her head that blended in with her hair. Fuxi stared at Mobius blankly.

“What is it?” The 10th Flame-Chaser’s sharp tongue broke Fuxi out of it.

“Dr. Mobius, have you seen Nuwa around here?”

“I haven’t seen the girl all day.” Mobius descended into the waters once more.

Elvin hopped over to Fuxi’s side. “I didn’t see Nuwa either, but I’ve been staring at clams for the past few hours so I might’ve missed her.”

“She was supposed to help me clean the pigsty… Kalpas is going to yell a lot,” Fuxi complained.

“Did you ask Emile to stab him for you?”

“Emile offered but I don’t think we should be stabbing each other now that we’re trying to rebuild.”

“True. You know what I heard last night?” Elvin looked around for Mobius and leaned in closer to Fuxi even though the scientist was submerged. “I overheard Ato and Kevin talking about some secret stash they were stockpiling.”

Fuxi’s interest was piqued. “Of what?”

“I didn’t hear, but they didn’t want Dr. Mei to know what they were up to.”

“Very mysterious.” Fuxi suddenly smacked her forehead. She was supposed to be looking for Nuwa, not falling into Elvin’s gossiping trap. “Tell me more later if you learn more information. I need to get back on track.” Fuxi looked at the bridge that lead to the pastures in the distant hills. Grumbling to herself, she began to trudge over.

Eden landed back on the main farm and waited for Dr. Mei and Kevin to get off of her back before transforming back into her usual self. The routine check ins with the satellite farms were complete.

“Welcome back Eden!” Elysia greeted. Her voice could barely be made out over the buzzing of a honeybee swarm circling her head.

“Ellie, have you considered ridding yourself of the swarm of bees before our picnic?”

Aponia waved a bouquet of flowers in Elysia’s direction.

Elysia giggled, “now you’re surrounded by both butterflies and my bees! How cute~”

Aponia nodded and walked away, insects in tow.

“We’ll be waiting for you!” Elysia called after her. She then grabbed Eden’s hand, “we set up our picnic in the usual spot.”

The two made their way to a meadow with a blooming wisteria tree at the center. Underneath was a blanket with a dainty picnic set up on top. Elysia had clearly spent a lot of time getting it to look perfect.

“Will anyone else be joining us today?” Eden asked.

“Mobius declined when she heard about the dress code.” Elysia pouted. “What would it take to get her to wear a pink skirt?”

Eden smiled, “you shouldn’t force your personal style onto others, Ellie.”

“Anyways, Sakura and Vill-V disappeared after breakfast this morning so I didn’t get to invite them.”

Aponia floated up to them and sat down on the blanket.

“Our last guest is here♪” Elysia picked up a teapot and poured a floral tea into each of their teacups. A few drops of honey were then mixed into each cup.

Eden brought her cup to her lips and savored the drink. She was thirsty after the flying she did that morning.

Aponia opened their picnic basket and took out an array of neatly wrapped sandwiches. “I prepared these after breakfast,” she said. “Help yourselves.”

Elysia clasped her hands together. “These are so adorable! Don’t mind if I do♪”

Eden was busy all morning so she didn’t exactly had the time to pick out a contribution from her cellar. “I have a jar of pickles on me.” Eden said as she placed it down in the center of the blanket.

Elysia and Aponia stared at the jar. Elysia unscrewed the cap. “You ate half of them already?”

Eden shrugged, “I had nothing to do while waiting for Dr. Mei’s meetings to conclude.” Eden unwrapped a ham, egg, and vegetables sandwich. “I’ll eat proper food now.”

Elysia picked up a pickle and took a bite. “Were you still hung over after breakfast?” she asked.

“That isn’t the case at all.”

Aponia sipped her tea in silence. Even if Elysia had snapped the threads of fate, she still had inclinations for future events. “In about three minutes, I feel like we’re going to catch you lying.”

“Aponia!” Eden said with a pout. “I really wasn’t flying with a hangover.”

Aponia smiled, “alright, we believe you. Just be sure to keep yourself safe.”

Eden nodded, “of course.” She looked between the other two ladies enjoying their sandwiches and fresh fruit. “Do you think I will ever stand in the spotlight once more?”

“Hm~? Why doubt it? As long as humanity still enjoys the arts, you will always shine on stage.” Elysia said.

“Your voice is absolutely divine. There will come a day where you’ll perform for an audience once more,” Aponia agreed.

Eden chewed on her food, deep in thought. She was sure she could hold local concerts, but the survivors likely had better things to do than to stop and listen. “Then, I’ll sing for the world again soon.”

“It’s been too long since I’ve heard your lovely songs! You better save us front row seats♪”

“Of course, anything for you two,” Eden agreed.

“What about our daughter?” Elysia asked.

“Do you mean the ELF you had made in your image?” Aponia asked.

“Yes, our dear Elfie. I’m so sad none of her sisters survived the final battle.”

“Perhaps thirteen was a bit excessive…” Aponia commented.

“We should dig her out of storage now that everything has settled down. We could use the extra hands.”

“We’d have to find a way to turn the ELFs on first,” Aponia said.

“Let Vill-V or Mobius figure that part out.” The three women were in agreement and set out to make their plan a reality after their picnic. 

Chapter Text

“Waaah! This place is so spooky!” Pardofelis said as the group approached the ruins of an old Fire MOTH base.

“I’m here Pardo,” Sakura said comfortingly.

“And so am I!” Vill-V said.

Sakura pulled out a cuboidal apple and handed it to Pardofelis.

Pardofelis stared at the geometric fruit in her palms. She looked up at her fellow animal-eared MANTIS. “Why’d ya give me this?”

Sakura looked Pardofelis in the eye. “For emotional support.”

“Thanks…” She took a bite out of the fruit. “I thought Dr. Mei would stop sending us on missions now that the honkai is no more.” Pardofelis sighed and wished to return to her blissful farm life as soon as possible.

“You’re the best at finding materials. We need scrap metal for farming equipment,” Vill-V said. “Oh look, a corpse.”

“Eeek!” Pardofelis ducked behind Sakura.

Sakura looked at the skeleton. The uniform was standard for a Fire MOTH soldier. She stopped and offered a small prayer. This soldier would likely remain nameless.

Vill-V pressed on a panel and a door rumbled open. “My infrastructure still works!” she said proudly.

“Yet the tractor you made for Ato breaks down daily,” Pardofelis said.

“I’m working with limited materials ok? Now get to work collecting all of the scrap metal here. Once we get back, I can PRI-arm that tractor!”

Su opened the gates to the orchard and Hua unleashed her duck army into the area. “Feast on the snails, my little ones!”

Su watched as a maniacal grin spread on Hua’s face. “Have you been spending too much time with Kalpas?”

Hua sheepishly laughed, “maybe his habits are rubbing off of me. He’s the best teacher for fighting with fists and fire.”

“That’s true enough, but I’m concerned how you seem to be picking up his knack for self destructing while fighting.”

“My Garuda genes won’t let me take too much damage,” Hua said.

“Do you still need to train?”

“No, but martial arts is what I’m good at. I don’t think I handle the birds that well.”

Su was thoughtful for a moment. “You handle them just fine. You can see how much your hens love you for it.”

Hua scrunched up into a ball. “Maybe they love me too much…”

Su offered her a kind smile, “if only my trees yielded more fruit if I gave them love and attention.”

“Maybe you should give it a try?”

Su stepped up to the trunk of a persimmon tree. He wrapped his arms around it, “you’re my most beloved treasure.”

Hua wheezed as she tried to contain her laughter. I didn’t think he would actually do it! 

Su walked over to his palm tree next. “Your foliage is absolutely stunning. I look forward to tending to you every day.”

“Care to explain to me why he’s acting like a fruit tree playboy? Did he lose his marbles or something?”

Hua froze mid giggle. “Good day to you, Kalpas,” she said nervously.

The masked Flame-Chaser crossed his arms. “I plan on serving goose for dinner. You got a bird for me?”

“I do, let me show you.” Hua turned to yell at Su. “I’ll be back after I give Kalpas a goose! Try not to get run over by the ducks in the meantime!”

Su gave her a thumbs up and went back to ego boosting his trees.

Blanca stared at the words with great scrutiny. There must be a good explanation for this. She took a deep breath and headed off to the fields. She had her suspicions as of late but she felt as if her thoughts were a bit paranoid. Blanca located Kevin and Ato in the nearby garage trying to start the tractor.

“My lovely wife! Our savior!” Ato exclaimed when he saw her.

“We can’t get this thing working again,” Kevin explained.

Blanca set her tablet down and crouched next to the vehicle. Vill-V had given the two of them instructions many times before but she guessed they didn’t remember. “It looks like one of the wheels is jammed with something.”

Ato got down on his belly and crawled underneath. He got up, having shoved something in his pocket.  

“What was it?” Kevin asked after Ato stood up.

“Nothing important,” Ato said. “Just a large tree branch.” “I’ll tell you later when we’re alone,” he whispered to Kevin.

“Dear, I would like to ask you something.” Blanca looked at Kevin who got the hint to take the tractor alone. Once Kevin left the garage, Blanca turned to Ato. “I’ve been reading the grain records. May I be filled in on what-“

“I didn’t do it!” Ato suddenly looked panicked.

Blanca was taken aback by his reaction. “No need to shout, I wasn’t blaming you.”

“We didn’t do it!”

Blanca raised an eyebrow at his suspicious behavior. “I’m not blaming Kevin, Kosma, or Dystopia either.”

“Leave the kids out of this! They’re innocent! Please, I’ll do anything!” Ato seemed to be frenzied as he patted himself down.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Blanca asked, becoming concerned.

“YES! I mean-“ Ato held out a picture of their family to her with two hands and head bowed. “Please accept this bribe.”

Blanca took the photo and put it back in Ato’s pocket. She then pressed a hand to his forehead. “You don’t seem to be ill but your face is so red… Are you feeling alright? Maybe you should pay Su a visit.”

“No need to fret, I’m perfectly healthy.” Ato said without delay.

“Please go just to be safe. I’ll ask Kevin about the grain stock later.”

“No!” Ato said with desperation in his voice. “We’re all innocent, I promise. If you ask us about this again… I’ll give Griseo unlimited access to your makeup!”

Blanca felt her heart sink, “you’ll go as far as to threaten me with our daughter? What are you hiding?”

“Absolutely nothing oh would you look at the time I must go back to working the fields now goodbye!” Ato sprinted out of the garage.

Blanca couldn’t stop horrifying thoughts from entering her mind. What would she do if Ato was smuggling wheat to an unknown recipient? She didn’t want to think about it and decided that in this case, ignorance is bliss. 

Chapter Text

Kalpas carried the goose Hua gave him into the butchering facility. He walked out not ten minutes later with the entire bird plucked and cleaned of any organs.

“Do you know if my sister is back yet?” Rin ran up to him. She suddenly screamed when she realized he was covered in blood. “Did you kill someone?!”

“No, you idiot!” Kalpas yelled back.

Rin puffed out her cheeks. “I’m going to tell Sis that you yelled at me. She’ll have your head!”

Kalpas felt his eye twitch and he took a deep breath. He pulled out the goose from the ice box he kept it in. “See? I was preparing for dinner,” he clarified.

Rin breathed a sigh of relief. “Good! You didn’t kill anyone today!”

“I haven’t killed anyone in months,” Kalpas said through gritted teeth. “Why’d you think I would, hm? You sister killed people too.”

“Never any of her comrades though, so we’re all safe.”

“You little brat.”

Rin stuck out her tongue at him.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Kalpas said accusingly.

“I finished my chores already. I found a weird package addressed to my sister. I’m so curious! I want to open it right now without her.”

“Hah? Open it then, let’s see it.”

They walked back to the farm house together. Kalpas paused in front of the pigsty and stuck his head in. “I’M GOING TO KILL THOSE TWINS!” he roared.

Rin made a face. “What happened to no murder?”

“THEY HAD ONE JOB AND IT’S STILL NOT DONE?!” He kicked a tree and uprooted it. “Bunch of incompetent-"

“Kalpas… why did you take your anger out on the tree?” Aponia asked. Eden and Elysia walked over to the scene afterwards. All of them were summoned by the loud crash.

“Some people aren’t doing their ¥%€£!&@ jobs!”

Aponia frowned. “Don’t use that kind of language in front of a child.”

“@&!?£!%€@$!¥€%*%¥!!?!” Kalpas raged.

Elysia nodded sympathetically. “I understand how you feel. Don’t worry, I’ll find Fuxi and Nuwa and have them finish their chores.”

Rin watched their exchange with a deadpan expression, “but how can you understand?”

“Can you silence him completely?” Eden asked.

Aponia nodded, “but he’d probably not like that.”

“By the way, Kalpas, why are you walking around covered in blood?” Elysia asked.

Eden cascaded into her metamorph form and blasted Kalpas with water. She then reverted back.

“You almost crushed us, Eden.” Aponia said.

“I’m so sorry,” Eden said tearfully. Elysia and Aponia bath patted her on the shoulders.

Kalpas evaporated the water off of himself. “You better keep your promise,” he said to Elysia.

“And if you see my sister, tell her to come to the kitchen,” Rin added.

The two of them entered the kitchen where Kalpas set the ice box on the countertop.

Rin placed a package wrapped up with yellow caution tape onto a table. “Doesn’t that look super weird?”

“That looks like a hazard.” Kalpas laughed and checked the sticker to confirm that it was indeed for Sakura. “Time to cut this thing open then!” Kalpas pulled out a boxcutter and tore through the tape easily.

“Wait!” Rin said. “This feels kind of wrong. Like we’re snooping…”

“Hahahahaha! Too bad for her!” Kalpas pulled out a yellow sundress that had Sakura’s face printed all over it. “…” Rin and Kalpas stared at the garment in silence.

“No way my sister would order something like this,” Rin said with disgust. “It’s so ugly…”

“Isn’t your sister’s face on it?” Kalpas didn’t know Rin had it in her to call Sakura ugly. “Looks fine to me.”

“You have no sense of fashion,” Rin countered. “The combat suit you wore back then was atrocious!”

“Blame Vill-V, she designed it.”

Rin looked at the dress. “Why is it so big? She couldn’t have ordered it for me then.” She smirked and mischief flowed into her aqua eyes. “If you don’t think it’s that bad, how about you try it on?”

Elysia was able to track down Fuxi quickly. She was walking back to pigsty looking depressed. “Fuxi, why so glum?”

“I can’t find Nuwa,” she replied with tears of defeat running down her cheeks.

Aponia closed her eyes. “I sense Nuwa nearby.” She turned and pointed inside of the pigsty. “Somewhere in there.”

“No way! I scoured that place this morning.” Fuxi ran inside and the three Flame-Chasers followed her. “Nuwa?!” Fuxi called but got no response.

Elysia and Eden looked around the building. Eden noticed a lock of hair sticking out from a crevice. “Nuwa? How’d you get in there?” Eden called Fuxi, Elysia, and Aponia over.

Nuwa was wedged between a wall and the feeding trough. Elysia reached in and grabbed a hold of Nuwa’s hand. She tugged hard and Nuwa popped out.

The rescued girl hugged Elysia. “I thought I was going to be stuck in there forever!” she sobbed.

Fuxi ran up and lightly slapped her sister. “Don’t crawl into tight spaces like that ever again! That’s dangerous.”

Nuwa hugged Fuxi too. “I was cleaning back there,” she said through sniffles.

“You should ask Vill-V to make a device that can reach into these cracks to clean them.” Aponia suggested.

Elysia and Eden walked outside of the pigsty so Eden could power wash Elysia.

Aponia stepped out shortly after them. “The two have gotten back to work now. All is well.”

“I’d say we did a good job♪” Elysia said with a satisfied smile.

Pardofelis, Sakura, and Vill-V returned to the farm.

“Oh! Sakura, your sister is looking for you,” Elysia said. “She and Kalpas went to the kitchen earlier.”

Sakura looked over to Pardofelis and Vill-V. “I’m sorry, can you handle storing away all of the materials we gathered?”

Vill-V gave her a thumbs up, “sure thing.”

Sakura thanked everyone then walked towards the farmhouse. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen.

“…” Rin and Kalpas stared back at her.

Sakura slowly unsheathed 7 Thunders of Retribution. “Kalpas… WHAT IN THE WORLD are you wearing?!”

Kalpas looked at Rin. “Getting stabbed right now wouldn’t be so bad.” Rin nodded in agreement. “Hey. Ignore what you saw and I’ll make you cheese,” Kalpas offered.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied with what he had presented.

“For life,” he added.

Sakura sheathed her weapon and an aura of icy calm surrounded her. She walked over to Kalpas and Rin. “Fine,” her voice had a no-nonsense tone and her eyes were steely. “But you have to explain to me how each of your life decisions led up to this point.” 

Chapter Text

“Who’s a good girl?” Dystopia cooed as she patted Pretty Princess Tulipa on the head. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”

Griseo rubbed the Australian Shepard’s back. They had just returned from the pastures and Dystopia’s entire herd was now safely back in their pen.

Kosma whistled to Tulipa and the dog trotted over to him with her tail wagging. He handed her a scrap of dried meat as a treat. If only all of my dogs were as obedient as you. He walked Tulipa back to the kennel. As if they sensed him approaching, the rest of his pack started barking and howling at his return. Kosma let Tulipa loose inside the fenced area surrounding the kennel. He braced himself for the impact of several large dogs barreling towards him. “Oof!” Kosma was knocked down by one of his Mastiffs and a Great Dane. Both dogs began to aggressively lick his face.

“Ew, is that you, Kosma?” Pardofelis exclaimed when she and Hua arrived. They had just went to the butchering facility to gather up all of the scrap meat left over to feed the dogs.

Kosma’s entire face and hair was drenched in saliva. “Yes it’s me,” he mumbled. “You two are looking bad yourself.” He said as he observed their bloodstained overalls.

“Oh come on!” Pardofelis whined.

Kosma took a bucket from Hua and the three of them distributed the meat into the various food bowls scattered around the fenced area. Then they spent some time picking up poop for the compost pile.

“We should shower and change clothes before dinner…” Pardofelis said.

“I agree,” Hua chimed in.

“Hua, I left your clothes outside the door on the bench,” Himeko said. She went back to drying Pardofelis’ hair.

“Thank you,” Hua called from inside the shower.

Hua turned off the shower water. She concentrated hard to release a small burst of flames on her body. With a puff of steam, all of the water on her body evaporated. Hua stepped out after she had changed into her clean clothes.

“Let’s go,” Himeko said to the two girls.

“Is that Boss and Kal shouting?” Pardofelis asked when they approached the dinning room.

Hua nodded, “it sounds like a serious fight too. I wonder what happened.” Kalpas she expected, but for even Kevin to be raising his voice?

“BRIOCHE!!” Kalpas roared.

Kevin slammed his fists on the dining table. “BAGUETTE!!”

“Uh…” Hua and Pardofelis stared blankly at the two men.

Himeko laughed to herself and stepped in between them. “Sourdough.”

“NO!!!” Kevin and Kalpas yelled in unison.

Hua looked around the room. Griseo and Dystopia were hiding behind Ato and Blanca. Eden was covering Kosma’s ears with her hands. Elysia and Vill-V were laughing, while Aponia looked like she was nursing a headache. Emile was sharpening a dagger and Elvin was recording. Klein and Fuxi were trying to persuade Mobius and Nuwa to come out from under the table.

Hua scooted herself next to Su, Sakura, Rin, and Dr. Mei. They at least seemed to be watching the scene calmly. Well not so much Rin. Hua felt bad for the girl who was cringing in her sister’s lap. “What are they arguing about?”

“Well,” Dr. Mei sighed. “Elysia made a comment about how she wished the bread was cuter.”

“Then they started their passionate debate to determine which type of bread we’ll have tomorrow.” Su finished.

Sakura nodded, “I don’t understand why we can’t make both types though.”

“Actually, the reason why is a bit troubling. We’ve noticed an inconsistency in the amount of grains we should be producing and the amount we have now. We are loosing produce in some way,” Dr Mei said. “With the winter months coming soon, a lot of people will be relying on grains to stay fed. We can’t spare any extras for us. Any excess must be shipped out to the rebuilding settlements.”

“Couldn’t they make half the batch of flour into brioche and the other half into a baguette?” Hua asked.

Sakura’s face scrunched up. “But this is Kalpas we’re talking about…”

“Hmm…” Hua, Su, Rin, and Dr. Mei made the same defeated face as Sakura.

“I don’t CARE if your taste buds are broken. YOU HEAR ME?!” Kalpas hollered. “I KNOW WHAT THE SUPERIOR TYPE OF BREAD IS!!” The temperature in the room suddenly spiked.

“I will die on this hill,” Kevin snarled. The room temperature abruptly plummeted.

Kalpas set his fists ablaze. “YOU WANNA FIGHT?!”

Kevin drew Judgement of Shamash. “TRY ME.”

Sakura stood up with a sigh. Time around her came to a near standstill. She grabbed the two men by their collars and dragged them out of the cottage. She threw them both outside in the lawn and time began to flow normally again. “Fight outside,” she said before shutting the front door. Everyone could hear Kalpas cussing from inside.

Elysia finally stopped laughing and clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Why don’t we eat? The food’s going to get cold.”

“Alright! I’m starving~” Dystopia said while happily taking her seat. “Got any grass by chance?”

“Wha?” Ato exclaimed in confusion.

“No grass,” Griseo reported.

“Darn, should’ve had some in the pastures.”

“Please don’t,” Kosma said to Dystopia.

Nuwa popped out from underneath the table and immediately went for a large helping of white rice. Fuxi sighed as she waited for her turn. Su, Sakura, and Hua helped themselves after Fuxi.

“Thank you!” Rin said when Sakura passed her a bowl of rice.

Dr. Mei stood up to open the door after she heard a knock. She was relieved to see that Kevin and Kalpas had calmed down enough to talk normally. “What is it?”

“May we come back inside?” Kevin asked while taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Dr. Mei took a second to enjoy the coolness on his palm. “Have you settled your dispute?”

“Uh… not quite. We’ll spar to determine the victor the day after tomorrow.”

Dr. Mei raised an eyebrow. She knew it was redundant and that Kevin was going to win but she made a note of their battle in her calendar anyways. “You two will be supervised by Sakura and I.” Kevin and Kalpas nodded complacently. “Alright, come inside. Everyone started without you.” 

Chapter Text

Pardofelis and Griseo trembled in terror as Vill-V served them with some kind of suspicious soup.

“I’m not sure if I want to eat that. The carrots and turnips look like little people and there are rat tails sticking out of it!” Pardofelis aggressively shook her head, blocking Vill-V from giving her a bowl.

“It tastes good I promise! Flavorful made it,” Vill-V said.

“Really?” Pardofelis gulped and ate a spoonful of the soup.

Griseo watched Pardofelis with worry. “Pardo…”

Pardofelis swallowed and gasped. “It’s tasty!”

“See? I told you,” Vill-V said, hands on her hips with her chest puffed out.

“I thought you were going to poison my daughter,” Blanca said. She took a spoonful of soup out of Griseo’s bowl to taste test it first. “Hm, what a unique and lively flavor. I like it. Here, try some.”

Griseo opened her mouth and Blanca fed her some of the soup. “Flavorful Vill-V uses lots of pretty colors in her cooking,” Griseo said with a smile.

Dystopia leaned in, “I want to try some too!”

Vill-V poured her a bowl. “Why help yourself!”

Dystopia picked up a rat tail with her fork. “Rin! Come try this with me!”

Rin walked over to Dystopia’s side. “That’s a weird looking carrot,” she commented. “It looks like it’s crouched over and sulking. I kind of feel bad for it.”

Kosma observed the carrot. I relate to that carrot on a spiritual level, he decided.

Rin plucked out a rat tail from the broth with her chopsticks. “Three, two, one!” The two girls put the rat tails in their mouths and began chewing.

“Not bad Vill-V,” Dystopia said after swallowing.

“Phew! I though that was going to be completely inedible but it was great!” Rin nodded in agreement. She took a bowl over to Sakura so she could try it.

“This is…” Her older sister muttered.

“I promise it looks worse than it actually is,” Rin said.

Sakura took a spoonful of the soup and ate it. “Speaking of things looking worse than reality,” she cleared her throat. “I have an inquiry to make to the people living here,” she said, gaining the attention of everyone at the table.

“What might that be?” Aponia asked.

Sakura bent down and retrieved the odd sundress from its box at her feet. She stood and held it up for the entire table to see.

“That dress is so not cute,” Pardofelis said.

“I agree,” Sakura nodded.

“But that’s your face! I think it’s darling~” Elysia said.

The fox-eared woman glared at her. “So was it you who ordered this garment and sent it to me?”

Elysia waved her hands in denial, “no no, I may think it’s cute but it wasn’t me.”

“Then who was it?” Sakura’s voice grew icy.

Emile nudged Kalpas “heh, she’s furious. You and Kevin shouldn’t have fought earlier.”

“We have to make a lifetime’s worth of cheese for her,” Kalpas whispered.

“Why?”

Kalpas just stared at Emile, who stared back with suspicion.

“Was it you?” Emile asked.

“Hell no!”

“Would you two like to share your conversation topic to the table?” Dr. Mei asked.

“Kalpas said something real strange to me,” Emile shrugged.

“I’ve already interrogated Kalpas earlier. He’s been cleared, along with my sister,” Sakura said.

“I think you were too trusting of that devious pink elf,” Mobius interjected. “She’s no stranger to forcing garish clothes onto unsuspecting victims. I simply think you should look again.”

“Jeez, I told you it wasn’t me!” Elysia pouted.

“You know.” Ato inspected the dress up close. “This image of your face looks like one of Griseo’s drawings.”

Blanca and Kosma leaned in. “Yes, I think I recognize it too,” Blanca said.

Kosma and Dystopia looked at Griseo, who was making herself small in her seat.

“Do you have information to share?” Aponia asked softy.

Griseo fidgeted before cracking under the pressure of everyone staring at her. “Uncle Kevin asked me to draw it for him a while ago,” the little girl admitted. All scrutinizing eyes turned to Kevin.

“Is what she said true?” Dr. Mei asked. Kevin stared at his plate. She placed a spoon underneath his chin and made him look her in the eyes. “Kevin, answer me. I won’t be upset. I know you must have a reasonable motive.”

“…”

“You really should say something,” Su said.

“… It’s a gift for your family. I thought it would make you and Rin laugh.” Kevin mumbled. A chill went down everyone’s spine.

“Is that it…” Sakura packaged the sundress in the box once more. “Thank you for the thoughtful present… Griseo, your artwork was impressive. I thought it was a real photo of me at first glance.”

Griseo smiled brightly upon being complimented, melting away all the tension and frost in the room. Everyone went back to their joyous meals.

Hua sighed as she picked at her plate. “So tired,” she mumbled.

Himeko chuckled, “that’s to be expected when we don’t have much free time.”

“We’re working harder than in the war!” Pardofelis whined.

“Pardo… that’s because you were rarely sent to the front lines.” Hua said.

Dystopia pouted, “yeah! You didn’t fight much yet you still got to be a Flame-Chaser. No fair!”

Pardofelis grinned, “hehe, because luck is always on my side!” The cat girl fondly remembered the rock paper scissors tournament that decided who got to fill out the twelve remaining Flame-Chaser positions in the group Elysia conceptualized on a whim.

“Here on this farm, there will be no vacations nor days off. Not until humanity makes a full recovery,” Dr. Mei declared.

“Having fun is illegal now,” Nuwa pouted.

“Not true,” Eden staggered to her feet.

“Woah! Maybe you should sit back down,” Elysia exclaimed.

“You’re drunk,” Mobius said, trying to pull Eden back into her seat.

“Don’t worry you two~” Eden slurred while stumbling her way to her piano in the living room. She sat down and began playing a tipsy but lighthearted melody. Her vocals accompanied the notes.

“Your voice is as beautiful as ever, Eden♪” Elysia cheered. She took Aponia’s hands in hers. “Come on! Let’s have a dance~”

Aponia let Elysia pull her up. She smiled and nodded, “it would be an honor to dance with you.”

Kevin extended a hand to Dr. Mei. “May I have this dance?” he asked.

Dr. Mei placed her hand in his, “you may.”

One by one, more people were persuaded onto the dance floor. 

Chapter Text

Mobius watched the dancers and scoffed. “They aren’t even following the rhythm of the song.”

Klein turned to Mobius. “Doctor, I think you should join them. You should exercise more.”

“Hah, no thank you.”

Klein shrugged and went back to eating.

Mobius finished her meal. Most of the people were now distracted by the music. She discreetly left the dining room, but not discreetly enough. Elvin spotted her and craned his neck to follow her movements with his gaze.

He watched as Mobius opened the front door and disappeared into the darkness of the night. After the door closed, he got up to look out of the window on the door. What is Mobius up to? Elvin sensed the tingle of a good story and decided to follow her.

Mobius continued walking away from the farmhouse. Little Elvin, you’re not as careful as you’d hope. I know exactly where you are. She went of road, walking down to the river bank before hiking into the orchard.

Elvin watched her disappear in the rows upon rows of trees. Dang it, he thought as he gave up tailing Mobius.

Elvin returned to the farmhouse.

“Where’ve you been?” Nuwa asked as soon as he entered the living room. “We’ve been looking for you.”

Elvin smiled, “I’ll tell you all on a bit. But hey, want to dance together as a group of former lab assistants?”

Emile tried to walk away, “I was never a lab assistant.”

Elvin grabbed Emile’s left arm and Nuwa grabbed his right arm. “You’re an honorary member!” Elvin stated. “Don’t you dare think about dipping out.”

“Fuxi, help a guy out,” Emile begged.

Fuxi linked her arms with Elvin’s and Nuwa’s. “I don’t see a problem.”

Emile cursed to himself as the four of them began spinning in a circle.  

“So, what’s the news?” Nuwa asked.

“I saw Dr. Mobius sneak away from here suspiciously into the cover of darkness.”

“She went outside?” Fuxi said with surprise. “Why?”

“I don’t know but she didn’t want me to follow her. I think she noticed me and hid in the orchard on purpose.”

“You were stalking her,” Emile pointed out.

“I was getting the latest scoop on our favorite snake scientist!”

“Uh, do you think we’re dancing faster and faster?” Nuwa asked.

“I don’t know but it’s fun,” Fuxi said.

“What if we can’t stop?” Emile muttered.

“Then we’ll crash into each other and hit the floor,” Fuxi responded.

“That’s a bit pessimistic of you,” Elvin said. “I’m sure we’re fine.”

And so they continued to spin.

“I think this is the spot!” Rin said while patting the mossy ground.

Kosma laid a blanket on the ground. He looked up at the starry night sky. “Nice. Nothing’s in the way here.”

Dystopia plopped down on the blanket and leaned back. “Yeah, and we’re on a hill too so we’re closer to the sky.”

Griseo sat down next to Dystopia. “Does it matter? The sky is so far away.”

“… Maybe not-"

Rin shoved Kosma. “It’s not about the physical distance, it’s about the feelings!” She then sat down herself.

Kosma landed on his rear, catching Griseo's attention. Griseo placed a hand on his arm. “Are you ok?” she asked.

Kosma reclined onto his back. “My tailbone is fine, I’ve been through worse. Griseo, try laying on your back. It’s much more comfortable.”

“Ok,” Griseo nodded.

Dystopia and Rin also decided to lay down. “Kosma, did you go stargazing while you were deployed during the honkai war?” Rin asked.

“No. Back then, none of us could afford to be that carefree. For many soldiers, any battle could be their last.”

Dystopia giggled, “don’t try so hard to sound cool. Remember that one time with Ato and I while we were eating dinner outside? You said that we were comparable to stars and you wanted to be the stars’ sanctuary of light, like the sun that brings daybreak.”

“Dystopia…” Kosma cringed while covering his face with his hand.

“No need to be embarrassed, Kosma,” Griseo said.

“Yeah, that sounds just like you,” Rin agreed.

“Mhm~ It was super sweet. My heart even fluttered!” Dystopia said.

“Stop talking, please,” Kosma mumbled.

“Kevin is super romantic around Dr. Mei. You can afford to be more sappy around your close friends," Dystopia responded.

“My sister is really sweet when talking to those close to her too,” Rin added.

Kosma felt Griseo tug on his sleeve. “Be Kosma. You’re cool enough as you are.”

“Guys… it’s not about being cool, it’s about the feelings.”

Griseo suddenly sat up. “I see Aunt Mobius’ color.” She pointed towards the grain fields. The three others also sat up to get a better look.

“I can barely spot her from here,” Rin said while squinting her eyes. “It’s so dark out. If it weren’t for that lantern she’s carrying, I wouldn’t be able to see her.”

Dystopia looked at Griseo. “You’ve got some good eyes.”

Griseo nodded. “They help me with drawing.”

“I wonder where Mobius went this late at night.” Kosma stood up. He knew the grain fields well so he was confident in his ability to navigate the area. “I’m going to look. She doesn’t like walking around the farm so whatever she was there for must’ve been important.”

“We’re coming with you,” Dystopia said.

The four of them walked around the fields, searching for any point of interest.

“Nothing’s out of place,” Kosma observed.

“Maybe she forgot to lock the tractor barn?” Rin guessed.

“No, Ato locked it earlier today,” Kosma said.

“What if she wanted fresh wheat?” Griseo said.

“Would Mobius really walk out here in the dark just for some wheat seeds?” Dystopia wondered. "Plus, for chores like that, she would’ve sent someone else to do it for her.”

“We might be stuck guys,” Rin said. “There’s not much that’s so important for Mobius to rush out here herself.”

“Maybe she’ll tell us,” Griseo said.

The four of them then made their way back to the farmhouse.

Mobius was standing on the patio. She was having a conversation with Kevin and Ato.

“Maybe it was business after all,” Dystopia said when she spotted them.

They decided to get closer and eavesdrop out of curiosity. 

Chapter Text

“You’re back, Mobius,” Kevin commented. The serpentine scientist made a noise of acknowledgment.

“Doctor, do you bring good news?” Ato asked.

Mobius’ face twisted into a dubious grin. “Good news indeed. In fact, the operation is progressing more smoothly that I could’ve ever imagined. Alas, that headache of a mechanic must make things difficult for us.”

“Vill-V did make the machine, didn’t she?” Kevin said. “Did she give it irrelevant functions?”

Mobius rested her chin on her hand. “Surprisingly, Vill-V managed to hold back on the machine. It does exactly what we need it to do. No, the string attached turned out to be the installation instructions manual. When I opened the manual, it folded into a music box vanity. I haven’t figured how to reset the mechanism yet.”

Ato’s attention drifted away from Mobius. He was sure he saw the bushes by the edge of the patio shake unnaturally. He felt anxiety over the potential of eavesdroppers. Ato walked over to the bush and pulled its branches apart.

“Hi Papa,” Griseo said nonchalantly. Kosma, Dystopia, and Rin, on the other hand, all looked startled.

“Heheh… we were caught,” Dystopia muttered awkwardly to Kosma and Rin.

Mobius and Kevin appeared by Ato. “What are you kids doing in the bushes?” Mobius hissed.

“We were helping Griseo look for fireflies! Isn’t that right?” Rin nudged Griseo with her elbow.

“Ah. Yes, I wanted to gaze at a jar of fireflies as I fall asleep.”

Mobius put her hands on her hips. “Is that really all you want?”

Griseo nodded.

“Why don’t you all go inside. We can catch the bugs for you,” Kevin said.

“Ok Uncle Kevin,” Griseo said.

The four kids entered the farm house. “I can’t the be only one thinking they’re hiding something,” Dystopia whispered to Rin and Kosma.

Kosma nodded, “I got that impression too.”

“But Papa, Aunt Mobius, and Uncle Kevin aren’t bad people,” Griseo said.

“They don’t need to be bad to hide something. Maybe it’s a surprise!” Dystopia said.

Mobius finished setting up a newly invented firefly trap. “That should please the child,” she muttered.

“I appreciate your efforts when I comes to entertaining my daughter,” Ato said.

The 10th Flame-Chaser avoided his gaze. “Hmph, never mind that. We need to focus on assembling Vill-V’s machinery. Once it’s complete, everything will come together.”

Dr. Mei looked around the dining room and kitchen. A substantial period of time elapsed since Kevin excused himself from their dance for a glass of water. No luck here… As Dr. Mei was retuning to the living room after checking the nearest bathrooms, she ran into Blanca. Coincidentally, the older woman was also looking for her significant other.

“Doctor, have you seen Ato?” she asked.

Dr. Mei shook her head. “I haven’t seen him nor Kevin either.”

“Mama,” Griseo said.

Blanca turned her attention to the children, who were standing in the kitchen. Blanca moved to be besides her daughter. “Yes? Are you still hungry?” she asked.

Griseo shook her head. She looked at Kosma for guidance and he gave her a reassuring nod. “Papa and Uncle Kevin are outside with Aunt Mobius. They’re catching fireflies for me.”

“How sweet of them,” Dr. Mei commented. “Where exactly are they doing this?”

“The bushes around the porch,” Kosma said.

Blanca patted Griseo’s head. “Be a good girl, alright? We will be back soon. Take care of her,” she said to Kosma, Dystopia, and Rin as she left the kitchen with Dr. Mei.

“Can you focus?” Emile snapped as their dance group continued to spin in circles. “This was your idea in the first place.”

Elvin looked at the group sheepishly. “Sorry, I just wanted to know what was going on with the Mobius situation.”

“Kevin and Ato appear to be involved,” Nuwa commented.

“Yeah, what links the three of them together?”

“Emile told you to focus,” Fuxi said.

“How do we stop spinning?” Nuwa asked.

“…”

“Do you fancy being flung onto the floor?” Emile said dryly.

Dr. Mei and Blanca stepped outside onto the porch and looked around. They couldn’t see Kevin, Mobius, and Ato no matter how thoroughly they scoured the area. The only sign of human activity was the automatic firefly trap Mobius previously set up.

“The three of them must’ve moved to a new location,” Dr. Mei said as she surveyed the scene.

Klein watched the two women through a window from the inside. Doctor, you’re up to something again.

Dystopia lead the way into the lively living room. “Wow, Elysia, Aponia, and Vill-V are still dancing. Eden is still playing the piano drunk too.”

“Some crazy stamina…” Rin said.

Su was meditating behind a couch. “Hi Su,” the four greeted as they stepped by.

“Hah! Draw thirteen!” Pardofelis exclaimed as she slammed her card down in the center.

“I WILL END YOU!” Kalpas yelled. He threw down the last card in his hand in a fit of rage.

“Eeeeek!” Pardofelis ducked behind Sakura.

“K-Kalpa-“ Sakura sneezed then sniffled. “Calm yoursel-.” She began to sneeze uncontrollably.

“Sorry!” Pardofelis jumped away from Sakura and tucked her tail behind her back.

Hua put down her hand of cards and stood up, “I’ll get your allergy medication.”

“Kid, sit down. I’ll get it,” Kalpas said.

Sakura herself stood up, “th-" She sneezed. “Thanks, but I’l- sssnnfff, get it my- self.”

“Stubborn vixen,” Kalpas huffed. “Let me do it.”

“No need,” Sakura sniffed.

Rin watched the two fight each other to reach the medicine cabinet first with an exasperated but amused face. “They’re both so stupidly stubborn.”

“Yeah,” Kosma, Griseo, Hua, Pardofelis, and Dystopia agreed in unison.

Dystopia tapped Hua and Pardofelis on the shoulders. “So, Hua, Pardo, we were thinking of having a slumber party tonight! Care to attend?”

“Yes! I’m in!” Pardofelis said enthusiastically.

Hua was more indecisive. She thought deeply about the invitation.

“Hua, if you stay up too late, you won’t be able to sleep in. The roosters will scream for you at dawn,” Himeko said.

“I know,” Hua said. “I’ll attend but I’ll have to leave early.” 

Chapter Text

Dystopia checked over the comfy corner in the living room they’ve assembled for the sleepover. “Quilts check! Pillows check! Nightlights check! Midnight snacks check! Plushies check! Firefly jar check! What else are we missing?”

“Alarm clock maybe?” Rin suggested.

“We have Pardo. She’ll wake up as soon as she hears people come downstairs,” Kosma said.

“Good point.” Rin turned around as soon as she heard her older sister call her name. “Coming!” she yelled before scampering off to the kitchen. Hua was already in the kitchen, standing besides Sakura, Vill-V, and Kalpas.

“The hot cocoa is ready. Be careful when carrying these, you don’t want to spill it on yourselves,” Sakura warned while handing both Rin and Hua a tray of mugs.

“Ok Sis!” Rin said. “I’m heat resistant,” Hua said.

Kalpas crossed his arms. “Hmph, if you drop those I’m not making you any more.” He left the kitchen to get some sleep.

Vill-V snickered, “yeah take good care of those. I spiked one of the cups with a special little ingredient.” She waved as she ran out of the kitchen. “Goodbye~!”

Hua and Rin looked at Sakura. “Did she really?” Hua asked.

“Don’t worry, she only added peppermint chocolate to one of the mugs. She and Kalpas were experimenting with the peppermint extract Su made. Good night.”

“Good night!” Rin said. She and Hua brought the hot cocoa into the living room and placed the trays on the center table.

Pardofelis entered the room with a cat in her arms. “I brought a kitty!” The cat jumped out of her arms and rested on a pillow near Griseo. Griseo couldn’t resist the urge to pet the cat.

“What game do you want to play first?” Dystopia asked the group, holding up a card box. Unfortunately the others were not as enthusiastic.

“Gee, I wonder what game you want to play,” Pardofelis said sarcastically.

Dystopia laughed. After she saw Kalpas, Sakura, Hua, and Pardofelis playing it earlier, she was itching to play a round herself. “Can you blame me? I mean Griseo worked hard on these card illustrations!”

“We all know that’s not why you want to play it,” Rin said.

“Please? I promise I won’t mess with you guys,” Dystopia said while giving Kosma her best puppy dog eyes.

Kosma knew she was lying but gave in anyways. “I also vote for Fire MOTH uno,” he said. Griseo agreed as soon as Kosma did.

“Well I don’t see why not. My luck will never betray me!” Pardofelis said, casting her vote in favor of cards as well.

Hua and Rin shared a look.

“We have no choice.”

“Let’s do our best to win.”

Dystopia dealt everyone thirteen cards to start out with. “Shall we go in Flame-Chaser order with me last?” Dystopia suggested with a devilish grin. “Rin, you can go before me.”

Kosma sighed, knowing she was aiming for an order where she can use all of her disruptive cards on him. If the order was reversed, at least her onslaught would be directed towards Rin. “Sure,” he said.

“I got you Kosma! I’ll throw everything I’ve got at her!” Rin said.

Dystopia smiled. “Let’s add one more thing onto the mix. Whenever it becomes our turn, we have to pick between answering a question someone asks truthfully, or switching your daily chores with them. We can pick the question asked by rolling a dice. One is Kosma, I’m six, follow the turn order.”

“I thought you liked your flock,” Rin said. “But I’m game.”

“I do but I want some variety, you know! Can’t be doing the same thing every day for the rest of my life.”

“This sounds fun,” Pardofelis agreed.

Dystopia revealed the starting card, a red 4. “Kosma, you’re up.” Dystopia tossed a dice. “Hua, ask him a question.”

Hua wasn’t sure what to ask on the spot. “Do you like the smell of camellias?”

Kosma blinked, “… I guess so?” He put down a red 6 card on the pile.

Griseo was next and Dystopia was the asker. “What paint color has your favorite flavor?”

Griseo stared at her blankly. “Purple,” she answered at last while putting down a yellow 6 on the pile.

“Do you have a favorite chicken?”

Hua put down her yellow 3 before answering Dystopia’s question. “That’s tough, I don’t think I do but I could be unaware.”

“Pardo, how many times have you caught your own tail in a mousetrap?” Kosma asked.

“Ummm, over thirty times I think,” Pardofelis said as she put down her yellow 12.

Rin was next and put down her yellow Aponia card.

“Do you sometimes feel jealous of Sakura?” Pardofelis asked.

“Are you kidding? Yeah! But don’t tell her I said that, I love her. I’m locking three of Dystopia’s cards.” Dystopia pouted as Rin pointed to three of the cards in her hand that she will be unable to play for her next two turns.

Dystopia’s pout turned into a grin. “I still don’t have to draw any cards.” She put a yellow 8 onto the pile.

Griseo got to ask Dystopia a question. “Can you get me hot cocoa?”

“Sure thing!” Dystopia stood up and fetched a mug for Griseo.

Kosma put down a green 8 on the pile.

“How many self insert fantasy stories have you written?” Rin asked.

Kosma made a choking noise. “… Let’s switch chores.”

“Hah! Got him.” Rin high-fived Dystopia, who returned to her spot.

“Griseo, do you love Ato or Blanca more?” Pardofelis asked.

“What a vicious question…” Hua muttered.

The girl put down a green Klein card. “Papa, by a little bit. Hua, give her your worst cards.”

Hua nodded, “I understand.” The Klein card forced her to use two cards this turn but skip her next turn.

“Hua, can you please have mercy?” Pardofelis asked.

“No. I’m using my Kosma and my Su cards.”

Pardofelis sighed as she gave one of her character cards to Hua and shuffled her hand. If she didn’t pick a suitable card from her hand, she would have to draw four cards.

“Pardo, how are your finances?” Dystopia asked.

“I’m not answering that, no way!”

“We’re swapping chores then,” Dystopia said.

Pardofelis randomly pulled a card from her shuffled hand. She flipped it over to see a green 3 card. “Yea! My luck’s at it again!”

“Rin, do you think you can learn sword fighting like Sakura?” Griseo asked.

“I’ve tried it! I’ve definitely tried it…” Rin muttered as she placed down her Griseo card. “Probably not, I don’t have combat talent. I’m changing the color to red.”

“Ok!”

“Why do you really mess with me?” Kosma asked.

“I already told you this! Because the facial expressions you make when I tease you are so funny,” Dystopia answered without a moment of hesitation. She grinned as she placed down her Fuxi & Nuwa card. “Draw two, Kosma~” Their game continued on late into the night.