Chapter Text
The first time Rover goes to chop Indigoite ore, he finds himself snagged by the collar, dangling in Geshu Lin’s grip.
“What. The hell. Do you think you’re doing,” Geshu Lin says.
Rover gives him a puzzled look. “Mining. I need it to craft weapons.”
“Mining? Why are you—No, first of all, you’re going to ruin your sword like that.” Geshu Lin’s derisive gaze moves to his Sword of Night. “Then again, your sword is a piece of shit.”
Whoa, hey. “This is a Midnight Rangers’ series sword.”
“It’s a Midnight Rangers’ sword that’s a piece of shit,” Geshu Lin agrees. “Probably because you’ve been using it to hack at rocks.” He drops Rover to the ground. “Please don’t tell me that Jiyan let you fight Ovathrax with a shitty sword.”
“…I had a Tyro Sword then,” Rover admits.
Geshu Lin stares at the sky. “Unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable. What the fuck, Jiyan.”
“It’s not General Jiyan’s fault,” Rover defends loyally. “We were in a rush because, you know, Ovathrax.”
“You could literally, literally, pluck a sword off of any soldier you met, and it would be better than a—fucking Tyro sword.”
“But if we traded…I don’t know if they would survive with a Tyro Sword.”
Geshu Lin stares at him. “You’re an idiot,” he says, but can’t actually deny Rover’s statement. “Listen up, brat—”
“I’m not a brat,” Rover mutters sullenly. A vein throbs at Geshu Lin’s temple, and he decides to shut up.
“I do not have the leisure time to watch you run all over Jinzhou to mine, and kill rabbits, and pick every fucking flower and leaf.”
Rover’s cheeks flush.
It wasn’t every single one…Though admittedly, he does maybe have a tiny bit of a compulsion.
“I need them for food and medicine,” he mumbles defensively.
“Even Exiles don’t do this shit. What, are you broke or something?”
At Rover’s chagrined silence, Geshu Lin closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths in and out to calm himself.
“Move,” Geshu Lin demands. “Do not stray from the path again. We are going straight to the Mire, no detours, no flower picking, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Rover responds unthinkingly, even though he’s never called anyone sir in his life. Thankfully, Geshu Lin doesn’t seem to notice anything abnormal about the address.
“And for the love of Jue, give those poor damn bunnies a chance to live.”
Walking side by side, Geshu Lin grumbles to himself. There’s a solid foot of space between them but Rover can feel the heat of his anger radiating off of him. The unfortunate souls who cross their path while the General is stomping mad, some Tacet Discords, some Fractsidus, are instantly incinerated by his wrath.
Looking at the scorched earth where a huge TD had been a second before, Rover gulps. He obediently stays on the road, resisting the pressing urge because the herbs are right there in his line of sight. Some of these are rare.
“This is what we’re going to do. You’re going to fill out Form 3B-D435 to register as an independent contractor—Jiyan is going to do the paperwork because I sure as hell am not. You’ll still have the freedom to choose what missions you take. The only requirement for that position is that, in the event that Jinzhou is under duress, you must come to assist. Looking at the way you’ve been helping every single person you run into, I assume that’s not a problem.”
He seems to expect an answer, so Rover says, “It’s not.” He’d have to be incapacitated to not come to Jinzhou’s aid when his friends are in danger.
“Good,” Geshu Lin says approvingly, and it makes him feel…something.
“As a contractor, you may requisition necessary supplies including raw materials, medicine, and weapons from the Midnight Rangers’ Quartermaster. We have a system where the amount you can requisition depends on accumulated merit. Since you defeated fucking Ovathrax, you won’t be lacking in merit points once we tally up the tasks and missions you’ve performed on Jinzhou’s behalf.”
Oh… that’s…
“Thanks,” Rover says quietly.
Geshu Lin doesn’t look at him. “I’m only doing this because you’re just that pathetic,” he states flatly.
The words are incensing, but Rover is starting to suspect that, when it comes to Geshu Lin, it’s more about his actions and the intentions behind them.
“You didn’t tell Jiyan.” Geshu Lin’s tone is slightly cold.
“There was nothing to tell him. I get compensated for my work; I’m getting along fine on my own. Just…I got carried away trying to enhance and optimize my Echoes recently.”
It’s a lose-lose situation. His Echoes aren’t strong enough to support his combat if he doesn’t develop them, but the Echoes he has acquired are also all complete garbage. Even if he had infinite shell credits, Echoes are the one thing that can’t be bought.
Geshu Lin doesn’t respond to that, but his temper mellows, letting Rover take on some of the enemies. Feeling Geshu Lin’s eyes on him makes him unaccountably nervous like he’s being evaluated and he feels the need to perform better, to measure up to his expectations. It’s both rankling and motivating at the same time.
When they make camp, Geshu Lin spends a long time doing something on his Pangu Terminal. He takes the skewers that Rover cooks without even looking up from the gourd.
Rover doesn’t receive a word of thanks. Rude.
“You. Come here.”
“I have a name.”
Geshu Lin narrows his eyes at him. “Fine. Rover, come here.”
Is it about whatever Geshu Lin has been doing all this time with his Terminal? Curious, Rover goes over and takes a seat next to Geshu Lin.
“Open your Terminal.”
Rover does as asked.
“You’re Havoc aligned, right? Take this.”
What Geshu Lin gives to Rover is the most exquisite Dreamless Echo he’s ever seen, shining a brilliant gold, every frequency tuned to such immaculate perfection that it steals his breath away. It’s so beautiful that it’s all he can do not to break down into tears of joy.
“It’s useless to me, so it’s just been sitting in my Terminal. You may as well have it,” Geshu Lin says. “Just consider it your reward for taking down that bastard.”
Geshu Lin grunts in response to his profuse gratitude and waves Rover off, seeming annoyed. Going to clean up the dishes, the wind brings the words Geshu Lin mutters to himself to Rover’s ears: “The fuck am I doing.”
**
Traveling with Geshu Lin is, in an odd way, like traveling with Jiyan in that there’s a sense of security. Rover always maintains his vigilance outside the city walls regardless of who his companions are—you never know when you’ll run into a Tacet Discord or other hostiles—but with either of these two Generals, the burden is lightened. Though he remains vigilant, it’s less fatiguing, less stressful, something he hadn’t even noticed until the first time Jiyan had accompanied him for a trip.
The mission itself is a breeze. Once they make it to the Mourning Aix’s Mire it’s a simple matter of showing Geshu Lin the Tacet Field. After taking samples and recording readings from multiple points, Geshu Lin says, “With these readings, I don’t need the researchers’ analysis to know that this Tacet Field is unstable. I’m going to activate the Field and close it, which should temporarily stabilize the frequencies and delay the next outbreak.” He looks over at Rover. “Think you can handle it?”
Is that even a question? Rover has lost count of how many Tacet Fields he’s grinded away on. At this point, he could get a degree in agriculture: his secondary profession may as well be farming.
“Bring it.”
**
The Tacet Discords that arise from the field are abnormally strong, and the waves of enemies just keep coming without any signs of slowing, but it’s no issue when General Geshu Fucking Lin is on the field.
It’s nothing like fighting at General Jiyan’s side. Jiyan always takes into account his companions, working with and around them, incorporating their strength together to create a formidably synergistic team.
General Geshu Lin, surprise, surprise, is not a team player.
Geshu Lin just freaking—burns everything in sight, friend or foe, and ‘if your weak ass can’t handle it, then get out of my way’.
Rover, of course, can handle anything Geshu Lin throws at him.
It’s just so—ridiculous, having to leap over and dodge his own partner’s wild flames, but it’s also kind of fun, if he’s being entirely honest. He takes a page from Jiyan’s book and works around Geshu Lin. Once he has a better understanding of Geshu Lin’s combat patterns, he starts using them to his advantage. Geshu Lin blasts the TDs outward and Rover dodges in to catch them in his Deadening Abyss. Geshu Lin unleashes a burst of power and Rover uses that time to build up his Umbra, casting Devastation when Geshu Lin’s attacks wind down, subsequently going into Dark Surge to fill the gap.
About midway through the fight, he just gets it, like the wheels of a cog clicking into place, and then they’re on fire—pun entirely intended.
And it’s then that it becomes weirdly similar to fighting with Jiyan, moving in concert with each other, a bizarrely harmonious blend of havoc and fire razing the field.
The Tacet Field is closed.
Rover heaves for breath, palms leaned on his thighs, because holy shit, before he got the hang of Geshu Lin’s combat style, he’s pretty sure he took more damage from Geshu Lin than the TDs. He, literally, got burned.
Naturally, it’s when Rover still looks a mess that Geshu Lin hologram calls Jiyan to give him an update. The bastard doesn’t even have the decency to sound out of breath. Then again, he’s not the one who was burning through his stamina three times over to keep up with a lunatic.
“Oh, and your brat is still alive. I haven’t killed him yet,” Geshu Lin adds, hauling Rover into the frame by the back of his jacket.
Rover lets out an involuntary cough at the “yet”, even knowing Geshu Lin doesn’t mean it. And he really needs to make Geshu Lin stop doing that, dragging him around, because, well. Anyways.
“Uh, hey General Jiyan,” Rover says awkwardly, giving a little wave, because he wasn’t ready to be face-to-face with Jiyan yet.
“I’m glad to see you well,” Jiyan says, taking in Rover’s singed state. He has a look on his face like he doesn’t know whether he should scold Geshu Lin or commend them for their hard work. In the end, he shoots a pointed, disapproving look at Geshu Lin, who pretends not to see it.
“Good work, you two. I’ll pass the data on to Huaxu Academy for analysis.” Jiyan gives them a bullet point rundown of the goings-on at Desorock. “So there’s no need to rush back. Take your time and stay safe.” Without realizing it, he habitually slips into the tone he uses to address subordinates.
It’s only a minor detail, but it infuriates Geshu Lin, prideful and unyielding as he is. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Jiyan?” he snarls, temper set alight.
But Jiyan had earned his position, just as Geshu Lin had. They had agreed, both publicly and privately, to stand on equal ground. He doesn’t back down an inch, quiet authority in his bearing. The two Generals’ gazes lock and a long stare down ensues—eye-communicating again, Rover assumes—neither willing to give ground.
The tense atmosphere is uncomfortable, but it drags on for so long that Rover is starting to get bored. And then Jiyan says, softly, “Forgive me, General,” and a shiver goes through Rover, his cheeks warming for absolutely no reason at all.
There wasn’t anything weird about the way Jiyan had said it, his voice had just been quiet…and sincere.
Geshu Lin’s ire seems to instantly disperse. He blows out a heavy breath and looks away, running a hand through his hair. “No, you don’t need to—” He sighs. Straight off the battlefield, his blood is always up, and woe betide the poor soul that runs across him in such a mood.
“Your instructions are duly noted, General Jiyan,” Geshu Lin returns in a low, deep voice.
There’s nothing sexy in either Generals’ words or tone—Geshu Lin hadn’t even put any emphasis on the title when addressing Jiyan—yet Rover’s face is hot. He can’t pinpoint why he feels so…stirred up. He’s never been so sexually confused.
With fantastic timing, Jiyan notices Rover’s—problem.
“Rover, are you feeling alright?”
It’s fine though, because he’s got this:
“Just couldn’t handle the heat.”
**
Getting a laugh out of the two Generals—Geshu Lin quickly turning it into a cough—gives him as much of a thrill of accomplishment as Geshu Lin’s reluctant judgment of “You’re not bad” which Rover suspects to be extremely high praise.
They start back towards the Desorock Highlands the next day, only pausing when Geshu Lin sees one of the Tactical Hologram pedestals, asking what the hell it is. Rover explains the Court of Savantae’s Imitative Sonic Device to him.
“I’ve cleared up to the third level of difficulty,” Rover says proudly, because it’s damn impressive for his current level of strength and he knows it.
“Oh?” Geshu Lin slowly straightens, a glint of interest in his eyes. “It was you, and you only made it to three of six?”
It feels like a backhanded compliment. The compliment is there, probably, if he squints.
Rover explains the unreasonable Tempest Mephis’ special mechanisms that one-shot him out of nowhere, and the damn clone.
Geshu Lin is undeterred, even seeming incited by this. He grins, and it looks like a beast baring its fangs. “Let’s give it a go then.”
**
They clear the fourth level on the first try and Rover realizes that, holy shit, they can actually do this. With Geshu Lin guarding his back, the attacks that come from outside his perception are no longer a problem. His fevered excitement nearly matches Geshu Lin’s, the general elated to discover a foe worth fighting.
The fifth is more of a challenge. Then, it’s not just Geshu Lin saving his neck, Rover also pulls Geshu Lin out of harm’s way more than once. Each time they get wiped, Geshu Lin gets to his feet, cursing up a storm, and Rover gets his ass off the ground because he is not going to fall behind Geshu Lin. They trade a nod, and start again, and it’s exhilarating. When they finally take down the Tempest Mephis on steroids, Rover flops onto his back, breathless with delight because level five is down.
And then Geshu Lin says, “You good for one more?”
Rover is decidedly not good for one more. He’s completely drained and ready to pass out, his limbs so wobbly that he’s not sure if his legs can support him anymore.
But, the thing is, he gets it now—what the Midnight Rangers were talking about that one time when he had been lounging on the roof and overheard them. After being obliterated in training, the Rangers had been super-extra-quietly whispering curses at General Geshu Lin. Yet, to Rover’s confusion, they had also unanimously agreed, still cursing him all the while, that their bastard general made them want to rise to the occasion, to go that much harder.
And Rover is feeling it now, that very sentiment, because no way in hell is he going to let General Geshu Lin down.
“Let’s go,” Rover says. His agreement is met with such approval on Geshu Lin’s face, that he gets to his feet through sheer force of will and draws his sword.
When they manage the insane feat of slaying the final Tempest Mephis, Geshu Lin just about crows in exultation, laughing with exhilaration. His golden eyes blaze with wild light, his face brightened with a dazzlingly real smile, and he’s goddamn beautiful, Rover realizes with dismay.
“Well done,” Geshu Lin says, warm and appreciative, and it’s just—it’s over, he’s finished, Rover is so fucked.