C-Team: From Here To The Multiverse

They'd both ended up sitting at the front of the room — side by side like two students waiting for the lesson to begin. It was awkward in that innocent way first meetings always were.

"So…"

Haru tried to find the words, but his brain was still buffering from just being in the same space as her.

Celia tilted her head slightly, patiently waiting for him to finish the sentence — poised, elegant, unknowingly intimidating.

He blinked and powered through.

"You excited for the mission?"

She tapped a finger to her chin, thoughtful.

"Hmmm. I wouldn't say excited, exactly…" she said, eyes drifting upward.

"I'm not really the excitable type. I'd say… driven. I don't enjoy fighting for the sake of it — even if I'm apparently quite good at it," she added with a sheepish smile.

Her voice was refined — soft but crisp. She spoke with the kind of clarity that only came from someone who had always known how to carry herself.

Articulate. Composed. Smart.

"Yeah, fair enough," Haru nodded. "This is actually my first mission… so I'm kinda a newbie."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yep…" He chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, already feeling the heat crawl up to his ears.

"How interesting. Not in a bad way," she added quickly, sensing his nervousness. "I just didn't expect it. This is my first time being paired with someone on their first run."

"Well, sorry if I end up slowing you down."

"Please," she said with a wave of her hand and a charming grin. "Don't be silly. I'll show you the ropes."

She winked playfully — and Haru, bless his soul, nearly melted on the spot.

She was so effortlessly dazzling. Like a star had just decided to walk around in human skin. He was still trying to convince his brain that this was real life.

Yup.

This was going to be one hell of a first mission.

"I, uh… noticed your number was 78," Haru said quietly.

Celia's brows lifted slightly, a flicker of suspicion passing through her expression.

Haru immediately stiffened. "Was I… not supposed to say that? I apologise," he added, giving a nervous bow, hands clasped in front like a guilty schoolboy.

She studied him for a moment — then exhaled with a soft smile.

"It's alright. You're new — you wouldn't know. It's just… kind of impolite to stare or even mention someone's number outright."

"Oh—really?" Haru blinked, straightening up.

"Mhm." She nodded. "I almost made the same mistake during my first week. My mentor gave me a stern talking-to."

Guess Uncle missed that memo.

"Numbers are considered personal around here," she continued. "They're like soulprints — tied to who we are. Some people feel exposed when they're brought up."

"Fair enough," Haru said with a respectful nod. "I sincerely apologise. I genuinely didn't mean any offense by it."

"I humbly accept your apology," Celia said with a playful smirk, voice light again. Then her eyes glinted. "Although… if you're going to point out my number, I think it's only fair I get to see yours."

"Oh—of course," Haru said quickly, lifting his hand and letting his number show. "Eighty-seven."

Her eyes brightened in surprise. "Ooooh. Interesting. We're close. Like siblings, huh?"

Haru's soul took psychic damage.

Friend-zoned already. Life was cruel.

"Well… I wouldn't exactly call us siblings," he said, glancing away, cheeks already warming. "That's actually why I brought it up — we're close in number. It felt… significant somehow."

"Makes sense," she said gently, smiling now with a softer tone. "I get it."

The air between them settled into something warmer. Haru dared a glance back at her — and just like that, he blushed harder.

Yeah. She was still stunning. And now she'd seen his number and everything. Great.

But even with the embarrassment, a small part of him felt… seen. And that was enough for now.

"I hope you've finished your useless chatting," a childlike, boyish voice rang out from the front of the room — just as a glowing figure began to materialize.

"Abel?" Celia asked, her brows lifting.

"Indeed. That is me," he replied with a proud smirk, chin tilted slightly higher than necessary.

Haru blinked, stunned as the figure fully took shape — forged from light itself.

He was small. Half Haru's size at best. A tween by appearance, maybe ten to thirteen years old. He wore a white cloak adorned with pale blue circuitry-like patterns, and around his neck hung a pendant shaped like a single eye — glowing with that same luminous blue.

His eyes matched it. Pale blue, almost ethereal, set in a face of ghost-pale skin and short snow-white hair that framed his soft, youthful features. If not for the smugness oozing off him, Haru might've called him cute. Instead, he looked like a CEO trapped in a child's body — prideful, poised, and perfectly self-aware.

"I will be your handler for this mission," the boy declared. "I'll be briefing you, overseeing your strategy, and you will report directly to me — before, during, and after. Understood?"

Haru blinked. A kid was giving him orders?

He decided not to ask.

Celia, however…

"Woah… you're awfully young to be a handler."

Abel sighed. The most dramatic, exasperated twelve-year-old-sounding sigh possible.

"I am a form of artificial intelligence, girl. And while I would take grave offense at being called a mere robot, I assure you I am as human as any of you — arguably more so. My appearance was designed to charm and disarm. Cute, unassuming, deceptive."

He ran a hand through his white hair, eyes gleaming.

"I am, after all, as formidable as I am handsome."

Celia and Haru exchanged a look — then nodded in unison.

Sure. Why not.

"I will brief your mission now. Questions are for after," Abel said before conjuring a holographic projection in front of them.

It was a planet.

Icy blue in tone, the world slowly rotated under swirling clouds, its surface dominated by frozen terrain, jagged mountains, and shimmering arctic plains. Faint auroras shimmered along the poles. No visible oceans. Just tundra. Cold. Remote. Alien.

"Planet Yuto-Muto," Abel explained. "Located in Universe 61B, in the Yuros Adriatic Solar System. It's an arctic tundra-type planet with high oxygen levels, making it breathable for simple humans like you."

Charming.

"The people there speak Yuron in the West and Mutos in the East. Central regions speak both. As Arknights your soul should be able to translate both languages to your native languages but it's important to know there are two just in case" 

Abel's point had just solved a vital part of a mystery for Haru. He finally understood why everyone could understand each other perfectly, despite being from across the Multiverse. As Arknights, their souls possess some kind of innate ability to translate languages.

Nifty.

"You'll notice key differences: Westerners tend to have pale skin and longer antennae, while Easterners have blue skin and shorter antennae. As you can tell by their insect-like features, they're ant-like humanoids."

The hologram shifted to show two example images. One pale and lithe with long tendrils; the other more robust and blue, with compact, ridged antennae.

Haru's eyes widened. Another alien humanoid species. His mind spun.

Did they have souls? Spirits? A connection to something higher?

But then Abel's tone shifted.

"They are harmless at large," he said, "but somehow—on their world, in their universe—they've found a worm."

A worm?

Haru blinked.

What the hell is so scary about a worm?

He didn't get it. Not yet. But then he looked over at Celia's face — and saw it.

Shock. Fear.

"What's a worm?" Haru asked.

"A worm, you naïve boy—"

Patronizing.

"—is similar in shape to those on your Earth-021. But unlike yours, these worms are dangerous. Universe-destroying."

The projection showed a small version. Nothing too crazy — for now.

"These creatures have mouths on either end, allowing them to consume at twice the rate. They grow fast. Very fast. And depending on size, they can theoretically consume anything — physical or not. Matter, space… even time."

Another image appeared. No — a video.

It looked like something out of Lovecraft's nightmares.

A colossal worm. Vast beyond comprehension. Slithering through the stars, its maw devouring planets in one bite, leaving black voids in its path.

Haru's jaw dropped.

"Indeed, your reaction is appropriate," Abel said. "These things never stop growing. Never stop consuming. That's why we hunt them down — either before they grow too large or once they become an immediate threat."

He turned the projection again.

"In this case, one has somehow appeared on Yuto-Muto. We don't know how. Which is precisely why this mission is urgent. Capture it, kill it, and study it. Figure out how it slipped past the Mivtzar's eyes."

Haru and Celia both nodded.

"But it won't be easy," Abel continued. "The worm is being kept in the central region of the planet — inside a top-secret base, unknown to the wider population. The facility is led by a figure who calls himself 'The Ant,' short for Anthony—"

Haru couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

"Is that funny?" Abel asked, deadpan.

"Sorry, sorry… it just caught me off guard," Haru said, still grinning.

Celia covered her mouth, trying not to laugh as well.

Abel coughed.

"—who has captured the worm and is feeding it small amounts, attempting to tame it. He plans to use it for world domination. And with this power… he very well could. But not for long. He won't be able to control the beast."

Abel's voice dropped into a more serious register.

"Which is where you two come in. Find the base. Take him down. Kill the worm. Then return to the Mivtzar. A simple mission… for a simple team."

"You're snarky today, aren't you?" Celia said in a mock-childish voice.

"Mission dismissed," Abel replied flatly — before dematerialising out of the room in a flash of pale blue light.