The Fall Of Erebus
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Author~ Nikuchan Nikuchan



Diana Evelynn rolled off her bed during her sleep, landing on the ground with a moderately loud thud as she immediately woke up. That was not the best way to welcome a new day, but better than being under attack at least. She decided to get something to drink and opted for a BEVERAGE, just to clear her throat a bit.

It was good like usual, although it didn't help make her feel any better physically, she felt tired for some reason. It was as if she had been ran over by a truck, which definitely fits the situation. Once the BEVERAGE was completely consumed she saw Natasha who was keeping watch like a guard dog.

Wonderful, Natasha saw her roll on the ground like a bowling ball in such an embarrassing way. And now she's staring at her, hopefully she won't make fun of her for the rest of her life because of that. She did not, instead she greets her.

"I hunted and brought meat, skinned hairy creature, now we have more food, more than before."

Diana visibly cringed once she noticed the hairless dead Hound on the table, cut up in many slices and ready to be cooked. Holy shit, Natasha is like a big cat that brings over abominations instead of rats. She managed to compose herself and tried her best to be grateful about her hunt.

"Great… job, guess we will have much more to eat than I anticipated, Natasha. Though next time stick to bears, alright?"

It was a bit disturbing, but Diana found herself smiling once she saw Natasha's proud reaction to the praise. She liked having her around despite her odd behavior, because she was a dear friend. Diana was a bit used to it anyways.

This was nice.

Despite that, Diana couldn't help but groan slightly as she held her forehead. She was feeling a sharp pain all over her head, as she woke up with a terrible headache that morning. The events of the previous day surely were bothering her more than she wanted. Now alongside being tracked down by the Black Knights, she's also in the track down list of the M.E.G.

She really cannot focus on the peaceful atmosphere right now.

Of course, Diana treats this situation with an extremely handy mindset that she learned to equip everytime a situation went absolutely dogshit, "It is what it is." You get chased by a Hound and it tries to kill you and you lose an arm? "It is what it is." You accidentally fall and trip in a level and break your leg? "It is what it is." You reach a dead end and you're about to get mauled really badly? What do you wanna bet? "It is what it is". Really helps maintaining an ounce of control over your mental stability.

Her current priority was to check if Kevin recovered his energy, especially because the previous day he started acting just like the other Knights. She sat by his side with a frown, lightly touching his head in a caring motion.

She did not want to fully accept just how much worried she was for him, how scared she was when she saw how much the medication affected him. But now, she's letting herself show that worry, just this once.

Soon enough, Kevin awakened, and this time he was okay. His gaze immeadiatly turns to observe Diana, who is silent.

They both stay quiet for about 30 seconds, Diana was the first to break that same silence then.

"Goodmorning sleepyhead!"

That is not how you should start a conversation after he was feeling terrible, Diana. What the heck was that?! God damn it!

She looked to the side, her tone softening up once she does so.

"Are you… feeling alright? You know after almost going rogue and all…"

Kevin sat back up, as he thought on how to answer for a few seconds.

"I am… decently alright, I would say in great physical condition at least."

"And…?

"Mentally? Unclear"

Great, he's physically fine, of course he would be a bit shaken up mentally, but as long as he's fine she can take a deep breath of relief.

"Hopefully we will not need to use that thing to fix you up again, I do not want you to get all jumbled up so you can give me a heart attack."

She scoffed, pretending to be tough and mildly grumpy about it, truthfully she was just happy that he was not badly affected long term.

"I do not know what came over me. Regardless of that, I am back in order, and I will continue as I did before. There is no need to worry about it."

Diana rolled her eyes, now looking back at him.

"It is not about your fighting performance that I'm worried about, it's your safety, I thought that you'd get worse and that I made it even more difficult somehow. I did not give any shits about whether you could continue helping me out with punching a few robo bastards or not in that moment."

"We are not exactly robots, Diana Evelynn."

"Shh, you get my point, you know what I meant."

She was being sincere, and Kevin understood that, it confused him yet made him feel great somehow. It was a strange warm feeling.

"You said you wanted to learn how to be human… well. This is a part of being human, caring about someone's well being more than their ability to fight after they got hurt. For example… if I got hurt, what would you do?"

"I would… be concerned about your percentage of survival, I would do whatever is in my power to get you back in shape. Is that… worrying?"

Kevin and Diana stared at eachother for what felt like an eternity, before she smiled ever so slightly.

"It is worrying, caring, even if you say it in a robotic way. I understand what you are trying to explain. Even if you don't think you are like a human yet, you are making progress."

That answer gave him a sense of relief and perhaps satisfaction, they both remain silent yet this time it was a comfortable one. A silence of understanding, the one that happens when two individuals grow fond of eachother. That is until Diana breaks the silence again.

"We never get to spend much time together outside of missions… so this is nice. To just sit down, chat, and take a break from going back and forth. Although you may find it unnecessary, it is important to me."

"I had never found much use in simply waiting or doing these kind of activities that I didn't understand at first, you were right in thinking that I found them to be unnecessary and a waste of time. But perhaps it isn't as unnecessary as I believed, in the end this has a purpose, and only now I realized it."

Diana chuckled, resting back against the chair nearby Kevin. The more things he learned the more she felt accomplished.

"That reminds me, still need to tell you what "copped" means and why you shouldn't say it so casually, that's another thing to make you learn that I put on my to-do list."

She briefly explained the context and the meaning of the word, which results in Kevin staring at her with a half embarassed and half disappointed look as he raised an eyebrow.

"You have not 'copped' me, Diana Evelynn, how childish of you."

This reaction only made Diana grow playful and amused by the situation, finding it funny yes but also interesting. She had to tease him about it now.

"If you say so, but I'll get you one day, then I'll proudly announce that I truly conquered a he/they. Hah!"

Kevin's expression slightly changed into a smile. It was barely there but Diana saw it, and that made her smile too. Hers was much more genuine however, so she filled the room with soft laughter.

That is until Diana started feeling something in her gut, a feeling that was warning her about something, but what was it about? Was it impeding doom?

She got up, asking her two friends to stay there as she begins walking around the safehouse, feeling some sort of… vibrations. Like tiny electric shocks, making her body shiver. It felt like movement, like a cat hearing the soft running of a tiny mouse.

Who was there?

It couldn't be Natasha, Natasha was right there near Kevin.

Unfortunately for her, she did not have much time to think, because the moment she approached the door, she heard a loud crashing noise. When she rapidly turned to look at the window, the glass shards were on the ground.

One by one people started breaking in from the window, they were armed and they looked ready to create pure chaos. Those were M.E.G agents, some were the same that tried to capture her last time… How the fuck did they manage to track her down?

Diana briefly moved her arm to try and insert any code that would help her out in this situation, unfortunately for her the agents were quicker. She does not know what sort of machinery or object they used, but it completely shut down the power in her armor.

"Fuck!"

That was not good, Kevin was not in a good condition to fight, Natasha alone cannot deal with all those people, especially if they have some weird technology that was able to mess with their tech and temporarily disable it. They can't defend themselves, and Diana can't no-clip either, her weapon is upstairs…

The only thing to do now, is buy time for Natasha and Kevin, get her Svartalbrander, and flee.

"Natasha! Go get Kevin and his armour!"

Diana needed to act fast, some of the agents soon tried to tackle her and attack her, but she pushed them off and kicked them in the stomach, entering a fist fight.

Kevin was frantically trying to get up from where he was sitting on to help, but Natasha stopped him and lifted him up on her back. As for Diana, it wasn't easy to keep the agents at bay, but the adrenaline was giving her a bit of a hand here.

Some kicked, some tried to stab her, some punched.

Once she was sure that Kevin and the Encabulator were both secured in her grasp, Natasha began running outside. Diana was still staying behind, trying to push off the agents from the exit, punching one in the nose before running upstairs. Once Diana made sure she was far away.

She swiftly recovered her Svartalbrander and made a run for it, rushing after Natasha after pushing away the agents who tried to block her.

She didn't have much time to think, they were gonna catch up at any moment and she had to figure out a way to make her tech get back to working. The agents are catching up and Natasha is slowing down, they're so close, she's running out of breath.

She feels sick, like her entire stomach is turning and melting in terror. Her ears are ringing, and her brain feels fuzzy.

After much running and scrambling around, she finally felt a bit of power peeking through once more. And so, she stopped, she unleashed her sword in order to no-clip.

She slashed at the air, taking deep breaths, a portal was opened. She needs to make sure Kevin will land safely, she begins attacking the agents who caught up at a safe distance, thanks to her weapon it was much more easy.

Once her two companions were safe, she rushed to jump into safety, as the portal closed. Moments before an agent was about to grab her arm. They were so close.

"Damn it! They got away! Fuck!"

"Not for long… next time… we've got them next time.

Get back to Base and reorganize."

"Yes, Sir."



Diana, Kevin, and Natasha all made it out safely, they were now in a different level, but Diana didn't quite care about discovering which was it. She's full of rage and her only priority is to look for a place to stay in now that her safe place has been compromised.

Kevin seems to dislike being unable to offer assistance as seen by his clearly grumpy expression, while Natasha seems to be calm and unbothered, since everyone was safe there was no reason to freak out.

"Follow me, if I tell you to start running, we dip, got it?"

There was a mutual consensus, before the group began moving forward, that is until they stumbled upon a woman that was very familiar to Diana.

"Diana Evelynn?! You're alive! And- you're wearing black knight armour, and you have two… black knights right behind you."

The woman looked a bit frightened, but also curious, Diana shrugged off her concerns as she put up a slight smile.

"Yeah, I'm alive, could be better considering my house was swatted not even a few minutes ago. Don't mind them by the way, they are good, and they're trying to help me out with defeating the other Black Knights and all. Also, don't ask about the armour, it's a long story and I'll probably tell you in a more secure place."

Rebecca looked oddly puzzled at everything Diana tried to explain, who knows what's in her mind.

"Well, I think I have the perfect place for you all to hide in, since your goals align with the people I'm working with… Follow me, and please make sure to stay behind me."

Natasha seemed to trust the strange human woman, Kevin trusted her a little bit less, Diana however broke the conflicting opinions by walking after her collegue. Which eventually led to Natasha moving after her and Kevin being dragged alongside them.

After much walking, explaining, and resting, the group arrived at a place that was previously described by Rebecca as a camp of the Knight Errants, a group dedicated to terminate the Black Knights as they posed a great threat. She went ahead, recommending them to stay behind while dhe spoke to "someone" which she did not elaborate on.

The three waited and waited, Diana was dead silent the entire time, like she was bottling in a lot of things in order not to burst. That is until they were all let inside by Rebecca.

They were inside of the errant camp, specifically they were brought in a neatly organized study. And a man in white armour was waiting for them, sitting on a chair.

"I never expected someone wearing that cursed armour to step foot alive in our abode, but what Rebecca told me luckily spared your lives… You should thank her for delivering her message so nicely."

Diana looked down, briefly thanking Rebecca before moving her gaze back to the man in white armour, who was staring back at her with piercing eyes.

"From what she told me, your ideals align with ours, which would make you great fits for our purpose, since she claims you are against the Black Knights and have been working on eliminating them, is that correct?"

"Yes, its correct, we have killed Black knights before and we will continue to do so, we were stationed inside of a safe house before but someone tracked us down and compromised it. So well, we ran away, because they knew how to disable this tech."

The man switched position, seemingly intrigued by Diana's story, he glanced at her companions without any distrust, seems like he's willing to believe them since he didn't kill them on the spot.

"Very well, you may stay and give us a hand and Rebecca will lead you three to a tent where you'll be sleeping in. If you need any assistance you can ask her, she told me about her friendship with you, Archivist Diana Evelynn."

They were dismissed, and Diana took a breath of relief, before she was accompanied to the tent where she will be resting in with the others. It looked pretty clean, spacious and comfortable, with many beds and other furniture. Finally they could place down all the baggage they were carrying around, and Kevin was settled on one of the beds, now able to get proper rest.

Diana flopped down on the bed, exhausted, and mentally drained. Natasha lightly patted her back.

"You did good. We are safe now, and we rest. I will go watch, keep us safe." She said in a somewhat caring tone, before settling outside the tent to keep watch. Its a sort of habit she took on.

Diana decides to roll over to where Kevin was, laying close to him, but not facing him. She was gripping onto the blanket, gritting her teeth at the thought of what she lost.

It's been constant never ending danger. Never once they could rest soundly without the risk of someone taking it all away. It was taking a toll on her, the safe house was the only normal thing that was left to comfort her, and now it's gone too.

"You are… frustrated, Diana Evelynn."

"Like that isn't obvious… I'm sick of things going like shit, I want things to go well much more often."

Kevin glanced down at her, his red eyes glowing under the light of the tent, she did not return said glance, because her face loudly exclaimed "vulnerability" in that moment.

"Things are bound to go badly when there are so many threats after you, and yet you are still alive and you are still moving. That is enough reason to not let frustration take over."

That somewhat ticked her off, she didn't mean to get angry at him, she didn't mean what she was about to say but… she was just exhausted.

"What do YOU know about how difficult it is to control frustration? It can't just magically go away, I'm exhausted Kevin, I can't just get better because I'm fucking alive despite everything! You don't even know how complicated human emotions are!"

She realized only a few seconds after what she just said, frowning as she turned to face him, she looked terribly sorry.

"Shit… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, I was just angry- you were trying your best, I'm sorry."

Somehow Kevin looked surprised at her previous reaction, looking down at his legs, perhaps he felt sorry for giving the wrong kind of advice.

"I apologize if the things I said may have been hurtful, it is still difficult to get used to, understand, and empathize with another. You do not have to apologize."

Diana leans her head against his leg, taking a deep sigh, trying to convey her apology in another direction.

"Maybe next time I can try to teach you on how to respond when you find yourself in a situation similar to this one, So then you won't feel guilty as you are feeling right now. Does that sound good?"

Kevin had an hint of a smile on his face, he seemed to appreciate the idea.

"Once again, you exceed all my expectations, Diana, you always find a way to solve a situation. Fight or casual conversation, you know all shortcuts to a solution."

That made her feel flattered, she let out a tired chuckle, feeling drowsy from tiredness.

"I guess it's your way to say you're proud of me and you appreciate me… well… I feel the same, you always end up bringing my morale back up. Even if you don't do it the usual way…"

She yawns, beginning to feel her limbs relax on the soft surface of the bed.

"You truly are…a good person, Kevin, closer and closer to a human being…"

She paused, for a few seconds, then resumed.

"I cherish you."

She muttered, before falling in a deep slumber.

Kevin observed her as she slept, his hand moving unconsciously to move a strand of her hair away from her face.

He looked at his hand confusedly, but he didn't question it, he closed his eyes and let the quiet peace of the tent soothe him.


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