Days Union Oneshot Book [DISCONTINUED]

JOTA SNEAKS INTO YUTIR AT 3 AM!!! (NOT CLICKBAIT) (ALMOST DIED)

Requested by @d3c4pit4ted !!!

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The shadows of Vorbeckia's streets gave the perfect cover for the spies and criminals sneaking past the surveillance of the UMC. Civilians constantly gossiped and complained about the number of breaches in their security discovered after the results of an enemy's successful mission or the arrest of another spy. However, their conclusions would always settle on the poorly lit and maintained backstreets that could weave through the populated and guarded areas and lead to the right location with a little bit of extra walking and mapping.

But the only downside was that they could only benefit those dressed to blend in with the darkness.

A few cultists scampered through the alleyways, their bright JOTA robes popping out of the darkness like splatters of vibrant paint on a pitch-black canvas. The dried blood clinging to the fabric indicated a sacrifice cut short by an... interruption of sorts. After being discovered by a unit of UMC soldiers under GUARDIAN's command, all of the cultists had fled mid-sacrifice to leave their leader to fend them off the best that they could. Unfortunately, GUARDIAN's unit had managed to rescue the bodies of the Daynians falling victim to their sacrifice and return to the Union before Joyous could land any damage.

At first, the cultists did not worry too much about the lost sacrifices; after all, die-hard Daynians wandering through the Ashlands were a dime a dozen—Daynians were prideful like that to believe they would be the first to brave the dangers of the Nocturnes. Yet to their shock, Joyous informed them that Fegaraia was not an Elder Being to forget its exact recompense.

They had sent four cultists at random to retrieve the bodies of the sacrifices and offer them to the Elder Being before sunrise. While the others waved a wistful goodbye to the helicopter sending them out to Yutir, the cultists assigned with the task clung to each other and prayed to Fegaraia to have mercy on them and to punish the Rytsar that had interrupted its due payment. Once the plane had landed, they scurried out and rushed through the shadows as they closely followed a map that led them to the hospital.

They had managed to sneak to an alley that showed the hospital in plain view. A cultist in a pale blue robe lifted up her mask and surveyed the dimly lit street.

Finding no sign of life, Veturia whispered, "It's clear. Let's go." She led the way with the others following her until they crept into a side alley of the hospital. Looking up at a window left open, she peered at the cultist in a leaf green. "Uxia, do you have the rope?"

Uxia nodded and unfastened the rope from her belt before hoisting it into the air and catching the hook perfectly on the windowsill. After a few tugs to ensure its stability, the cultists climbed up the rope and clambered into the hospital.

Luckily, they found that the window led into a hallway instead of a patient's room. The dark halls showed no signs of anyone who could catch them, which relieved the cultists; they did not want to shed any more blood than necessary. Veturia led the way down the hall, each cultist peeking through the glass of the doors to find the civilians needed for the sacrifice.

Finally, the cultist in plum leaned back from the door and alerted in a hushed voice, "I found them!"

"Good work, Euclio!" Veturia and the others gathered around the door to watch with bated breath as Uxia picked the lock with her dagger. After what felt like ages of anticipation, the door's lock clicked out of place, and the group quietly celebrated with triumphant grins underneath their masks.

Veturia slowly opened the door to calm the squeaking hinges as much as she could before the four cultists crept into the hospital room. The overwhelming smell of cleaning alcohol made her scrunch her nose as she tiptoed closer to the hospital stretchers at the far end of the dark room. The two Daynians meant for the sacrifice were sleeping in their beds, the cuts all over their face sure to leave nasty blue scars. But they would not have to worry about how mangled they would look if they were dead.

With a nod from Veturia, Khoz began to trace a circle with an upside-down triangle on the floor with the blood that Joyous had given them to complete the ritual while Euclio worked to light the candles and place them in their proper corners. Once they signaled back their completion, Veturia clutched her dagger tighter and raised it high in the air, its silver glinting in the moonlight streaming through the windows.

"HALT, OR YOU WILL BE SHOT."

All four cultists froze in their places, paralyzed by the threat of the robotic voice. Their eyes refused to glance up for a moment at the operative standing in the doorway, its glowing gear of an eye piercing through every single one of them at once. Its heavy boots clanked and rattled the floor as it marched into the room to observe the state of the room, most notably the giant JOTA symbol drawn with blood on the floor.

"YOU ARE TRESPASSING <UNION TERRITORY> AS <NOCTURNE DENIZENS> AND CRIMINALS UNDER UNION LAW. THEREFORE, YOU ARE TO BE ARRESTED AND TRIED IMMEDIATELY FOR YOUR CRIMES," it droned, its voice slightly deviating from its flat tone to emphasize the more negative words.

The cultists felt their heartbeats throb in their ears in one collective rhythm of doom. Their dedication and sacrifices to the Elder Beings and the Joy of the Above would end in their demise without so much as a prayer to their names. Forgotten so easily by a place promising them safety from a harsh world.

"ONCE YOU ARE FOUND GUILTY, YOU WILL BE EXECUTED—"

"I do not think that will be happening."

In one swift motion, a sacrificial blade speared through GUARDIAN's chest. The glow of its eye flickered for a moment as its whirring sputtered, a few twitches of its limbs syncing with the whirring. Eventually, the inconsistent whirring fell to silence as its glow faded to nothing, and the Rytsar's body slouched off of the blade and onto the floor. Sparks exploded from the exposed wires before dissipating on the cold tiles.

The cultists finally broke from their stiff poses to look at their leader, who kicked the body of GUARDIAN aside and scoffed in a displeased tone, "That robot was always a troublesome one. I do hope its repair is much slower this time around." Joyous looked back to the JOTA sacrificial circle drawn on the ground, and their shade's smile reappeared. "What a beautifully drawn circle that is! Fegaraia will be pleased, I'm sure."

The cultists nodded along and hauled the sleeping bodies of the Daynian sacrifices from their beds and to the middle of the circle. They all unsheathed their daggers and stood beside Joyous as they recited a prayer to the Elder Being before they led the other cultists in pointing their daggers at the sacrifices.

"Now, let us finish what we have begun."