The ID Branch building stood like a fortress in the apocalyptic wasteland, its gleaming structure an impossible beacon of civilization in a world of decay. Across its many defensive platforms, weapons systems fired in coordinated volleys, creating an endless symphony of destruction. The building itself hummed with power, its fusion reactor working overtime to maintain the energy shields and automated defenses that kept the zombie horde at bay.
In the operations center, Vestia Zeta sat at the main console, her fingers dancing across multiple holographic displays. Screens surrounded her on all sides, showing tactical overlays, ammunition counts, energy reserves, and real-time feeds from hundreds of cameras and drones positioned around the building. Her secret agent training had prepared her for high-pressure situations, but even she felt the weight of responsibility as she coordinated the defense of their entire branch.
"Drone squadron seven, redirect to sector four," she spoke into her headset, watching as a swarm of black disc-shaped drones peeled away from their current formation to engage a new cluster of zombies approaching from the east. "Artillery platforms three through six, focus fire on the explosive variants in sector nine. Don't let them get close enough to damage the shield generators."
Beside her, Airani Iofi operated a separate console dedicated entirely to the drone network. The alien idol's unique heritage gave her an intuitive understanding of technology that made her the perfect drone coordinator. Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, guiding fifty million autonomous units through complex attack patterns.
"I'm redirecting fifteen million drones to create a perimeter at five hundred meters," Iofi reported, her eyes tracking multiple data streams simultaneously. "The rest are maintaining suppressive fire on the main horde concentrations."
"Good call," Zeta acknowledged. "How's our energy consumption looking?"
"The drones are surprisingly efficient," Iofi said, pulling up the relevant data. "Solar panels are regenerating about twelve percent of what we're using. If we can hold out until nightfall and reduce our firing rate, we might be able to extend our operational time."
"Assuming we live that long," Zeta muttered.
On the roof command platform, Kaela Kovalskia stood with her arms crossed, her gray hair whipping in the wind as she observed the battlefield with calculating eyes. Around her, holographic displays projected from her personal terminal showed the status of all thirty destroyer-class spacecraft currently engaged in the fight. The sleek vessels hovered at various altitudes, their weapons systems providing devastating fire support.
"Destroyer Seven, your formation is drifting," Kaela spoke calmly into her communication device. "Correct three degrees starboard and maintain altitude at two hundred meters. Destroyer Fifteen, you have explosive variants gathering at your six o'clock—recommend evasive maneuvers and area-effect bombardment."
The AI systems acknowledged her commands, and the massive spacecraft adjusted their positions with mechanical precision. Plasma cannons fired in coordinated bursts, each shot precisely calculated to maximize damage while conserving ammunition. Missile pods opened and released their payloads in controlled volleys, the projectiles arcing through the gray sky before raining down on the densest zombie concentrations.
Kaela pulled up the ammunition status for each destroyer. They were built for sustained combat, but even their substantial reserves had limits. "We're at sixty-eight percent overall ammunition capacity across the fleet," she noted aloud, updating the main tactical display so Zeta and the others could see. "At current consumption rate, we have approximately four more hours of sustained combat before we need to start rationing shots."
Meanwhile, on the ground level—or rather, outside the protective energy dome that surrounded the building—the situation was significantly more chaotic.
"FUCKING! FUCK!"
Kureiji Ollie's voice carried across the battlefield with impressive volume, even over the sounds of explosions and weapons fire. The zombie idol stood knee-deep in a pile of her fallen enemies, her body covered in gore and damage. An explosive zombie had just detonated near her, and she was in the process of reassembling herself—a task that was becoming disturbingly routine.
She grabbed her severed left arm from where it had landed ten feet away, pressing it back against her shoulder socket. The limb reattached with a wet squelch and a flash of red energy as her undead regeneration kicked in. "I'm the only good zombie here!" she screamed at the approaching horde, pressing a Desert Eagle pistol into the mouth of the nearest zombie and pulling the trigger. The back of its head exploded in a spray of blackened brain matter.
BANG!
Another zombie fell.
BANG!
And another.
Click.
"Eh?" Ollie stared at her pistol in disbelief. "SHIT!"
Without hesitation, she hurled the empty weapon at an approaching zombie, the heavy metal pistol catching it square in the forehead with enough force to crack its skull. The zombie stumbled backward, giving Ollie a precious second to assess her situation.
"ZETAAAAA!" she screamed toward the building. "WE NEED MORE WEAPONS HERE!"
In the operations center, Zeta heard Ollie's request and winced. She pulled up the weapons inventory display, and her stomach sank. "But we'll lose all the weapons meant for our clients!" she protested through the communication system.
Every container of ammunition they dropped to Ollie, every weapon they deployed, was supposed to be going to paying customers. Custom rifles for independent VTubers. Specialized equipment for other idol agencies. Bulk ammunition orders for private security firms that had somehow discovered the ID branch's legitimate construction business was also a frighteningly well-stocked armory.
Outside, Ollie made a decision. "Fuck it, guess I'm using this thing then."
She reached up to her hair, where a sword served as an ornament holding one of her signature buns in place. With a smooth motion, she unsheathed the blade, revealing a beautiful weapon with intricate engravings along its length. The sword's name was etched near the hilt in elegant script: Path of Sincerity.
(author note: this is from Holocure not really direct from hololive lore, i dont know if the sword has an actual name, but it kinda looks cool.)
"COME AT ME!" Ollie roared, pirouetting through the zombie horde with surprising grace.
The sword flashed in the gray light as Ollie moved through the ancient forms she'd practiced for years before her death—and continued practicing after it. The blade cut through rotting flesh with ease, severed limbs falling away as she spun and twisted through the crowd. Despite the gruesome nature of her work, there was an undeniable artistry to her movements. Each step was precisely placed, each slash perfectly timed. She was a whirlwind of destruction, and for the first time in the battle, she was actually smiling.
"Now THIS is more like it!" she laughed, decapitating three zombies with one wide slash.
Inside the operations center, Zeta blinked in surprise as she watched the feed from a nearby drone. "Whoa... she's really going for it."
Kobo Kanaeru, who had been making rounds to check on everyone, leaned over to watch the monitor. The water-based idol was carrying a large medical case filled with the zombie antidote injectors that Kaela had somehow stockpiled. "I mean, she can't die—why would she be afraid of getting bitten when she's already a zombie?"
"Fair point," Zeta admitted.
On one of the upper defensive platforms, Pavolia Reine unleashed another wave of her light magic, creating massive constructs that joined the battle. Her elegant peafowl heritage manifested in the peacock-themed warriors she summoned—each one twenty feet tall and armed with spears of pure light. They marched in formation, their movements synchronized as they pushed back against the zombie tide.
"Ah! I'm being bitten agai—" Reine's complaint was cut short as Kobo appeared seemingly out of nowhere and jabbed her with an antidote needle.
"OW!"
"Sorry!" Kobo said cheerfully, already looking for her next patient. The young idol had gotten remarkably good at predicting when someone was about to get infected and administering the antidote before the symptoms even began.
Near the building's central support column, Moona Hoshinova sat in a meditative position, her eyes closed as she channeled a steady stream of purple energy into the structure. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the effort. She was directly connected to the building's power systems, her moon-based magic serving as a supplementary power source to help maintain the energy shields.
"How are you holding up, Moona?" Ayunda Risu asked, kneeling beside her friend. The squirrel girl's own hands glowed with green forest magic as she helped maintain the energy flow.
"Tired," Moona admitted without opening her eyes. "But I can keep going. We just need to hold out a little longer."
"The EN branch will be here soon," Risu assured her. "Kaela said fifteen minutes."
On the command platform, Kaela checked her interdimensional phone for confirmation, then looked at the tactical display showing the estimated time until the EN portal opened. "They're en route. Fifteen minutes, give or take."
Iofi's hands froze over her console. "We don't have fifteen minutes!!" she exclaimed, pulling up a projection that showed the zombie concentration increasing exponentially. "Look at this! Every explosion, every energy signature we produce is attracting more from the surrounding areas. At this rate, we'll be dealing with a million zombies before help arrives!"
Zeta slammed her fist on her console in frustration, then immediately regretted it as pain shot through her hand. "Ow. Dammit." She massaged her knuckles while pulling up the supply report with her other hand. "We're at sixty percent supplies." She rubbed her temples, feeling a stress headache building. "God, our weapons and resources are draining."
"And our money..." Reine muttered from her position, clearly thinking about all the lost revenue from the weapons and ammunition they were expending.
"Chill," Ollie called out from the battlefield, somehow having heard the conversation despite being several hundred feet away and surrounded by screaming zombies. She drove her sword through a zombie's chest, then used the leverage to vault over another one. "Once we're out, we just need to make another portal to restock supplies using another world just as planned, right?"
"Not now!" Zeta snapped, her patience fraying. "We literally got ambushed because of portal tech! And because of that damn PIGEON!"
Everyone present took a moment to curse the pigeon that had started this entire disaster. That stupid bird had caused more damage than entire zombie hordes.
Kaela's expression was grim. "Next time, I'll triple-check the coordinates. Twenty times. Every ten minutes." She paused. "Actually, I'll build an automated system that checks them every thirty seconds. And installs anti-bird netting around all portal equipment. And has emergency shutdown protocols for any coffee spills within a fifty-foot radius."
"That seems excessive," Anya Melfissa commented. The ancient keris had materialized beside Ollie on the battlefield, her blade-like hands cutting through zombies with mechanical efficiency. As a sentient weapon, she couldn't be infected, which made her ideal for close combat. "But also completely reasonable given our current situation."
"Where's our backup?!" Ollie growled, finishing off another zombie.
"Taking forever!" Anya countered, her blades flashing as she executed a perfect spinning slash that bisected three zombies at once.
The battle continued to rage. The ID branch's defensive systems worked tirelessly, but the sheer number of zombies seemed endless. For every hundred they destroyed, two hundred more appeared from the ruins of the city. The defensive perimeter was holding, but it was a near thing.
Kaela watched the ammunition counters tick down. Sixty percent. Fifty-nine percent. Fifty-eight percent. Each percentage point represented hundreds of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition that were supposed to be delivered to paying clients. Her perfectionist nature screamed at the waste, but her practical side knew that staying alive was more important than maintaining their delivery schedule.
"Reine, can you expand your light constructs to the north sector?" Kaela asked. "We're getting heavy concentration there, and I don't want to waste more missiles if magic can handle it."
"On it," Reine replied, gritting her teeth as she poured more energy into her spells. Five new peacock warriors materialized, each one wielding a different weapon—spears, swords, bows, shields, and what appeared to be a massive hammer. They marched north to reinforce that section of the perimeter.
Then—a distant beep echoed through the chaos.
It was subtle, barely audible over the sounds of battle, but somehow every ID member heard it. They were so attuned to waiting for rescue that even the faintest hint of its arrival cut through everything else.
Every ID member froze mid-motion for exactly 1.2 seconds—a collective pause as their brains processed the sound.
"...What was that?" Kobo whispered, looking up from where she'd been about to administer another antidote.
"Sounds like..." Reine trailed off, straining her ears.
Iofi was already moving, her fingers flying across her console to redirect the nearest drones toward the source of the sound. "Wait—I see something." She zoomed in one of the drone cameras, enhancing the image. In the distance, beyond the zombie hordes, something was moving. Something that definitely wasn't undead.
Zeta, from her position in the operations hub, pulled up the same feed on her main display. She enhanced the image further, and her eyes widened. "I think... that's a van?"
Kaela immediately moved to look over Zeta's shoulder at the screen. "Green van? Justice Van decal?"
Zeta zoomed in even closer. The image was grainy due to the distance and the gray, overcast atmosphere of the zombie world, but the words painted on the side were unmistakable. "Yeah."
Kaela exhaled slowly, and for the first time in hours, a hint of a smile crossed her usually stoic face.
"They're finally here."