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'Seele' awoke to the sound of quietly bubbling water and the low hum of machinery. The pale blue light of the fish tank bathed the room in a soft glow, her shadow casting a comically large silhouette of her head against the far wall as she sat up. The young girl took a moment to examine her hands, moving her arms, then wiggling her fingers and clenching her fists as if her own body was foreign to her.
“That idiot is really letting me take the reins again today, huh?” 'Seele' murmured as she quickly threw on her host's usual clothes. Seele had already had a lot of trouble catching up with everything she’d done last time they’d switched control, no need to change something as trivial as her outfit.
She frowned, “What am I thinking? Who cares? It’s my body too, I can do whatever I want!” 'Seele' stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before huffing and stalking out the door regardless. “Stupid Seele and her stupid pretty dresses.” She mumbled to herself.
'Seele' strolled into the Anti-Entropy base’s mess hall, not even bothering to try and copy the more timid Seele's mannerisms. Various members of AE greeted her on her way past and 'Seele' had to resist the urge to scoff as she waved them off in disinterest. After the first day it seemed word had gotten around that sometimes Seele woke up "weird" and her flippant dismissal barely raised an eyebrow anymore. Humans were so irritating. She was not "weird". The mess hall was always so noisy too, even at this early hour. She hated it. The sound of utensils scraping against ceramic grated against her ears and the din of conversations from multiple groups seemed to drill into her skull.
Needless to say, 'Seele' was quite irritated by the time she approached the kitchen.
The small group of morning cooks currently huddling in front of the entrance to the kitchens proper heralded yet more annoyance, and so the girl ignored them. She’d almost managed to grab a plate and begin serving herself some of the mush the military base tried to pass off as edible food before realizing there was nothing there for her to take. The sight of scraps of food stuck to the empty containers seemed to mock her. It was during this moment of intense irritation that she finally took notice of an approaching noise growing louder than the others. A voice called for her.
“Seele? Seele!"
'Seele' grit her teeth so tightly the worry that she might break Seele's teeth reared its head in the back of her mind. "What?!" She snapped.
The man jogged the few steps over to her. Now that she had to look at him, he looked rather frazzled, enough that he only looked half as taken aback as usual at the outburst from the usually reserved Seele. “You’re friends with Kiana right?”
That asshole that keeps taking up so much of Seele's attention? Her thoughts sneered. "I guess you could say that." She said instead
“She’s acting strange today, could you help us out? She kicked us out of the kitchen!”
'Seele' raised an eyebrow, “You got kicked out of your own kitchen?”
“She pulled out those weird lances!”
The girl frowned. As annoying as she was, it wasn’t like Kiana to threaten people with her Herrscher abilities. Reluctantly, she sighed. “I’ll go talk to her.”
The man clasped his hands together in relief. “Thank you! I pray you can talk some sense into her!”
Another one of the cooks swung open the door for her and 'Seele' entered into the large kitchen. As she scanned the decently large room, her eyes fell upon the myriad of half prepared ingredients left in mixers and on counters. What that girl was even trying to do 'Seele' had no idea, but she had interrupted her breakfast and for that Kiana would pay. After a few seconds, a series of loud bangs drew the girl’s attention to the back of the kitchen. 'Seele' wasted no time stomping towards the noise. ”Kiana, what are you doing?!" She growled.
'Seele' waited for a moment but received nothing more than what sounded like drawers and doors being opened and slammed shut. Groaning in annoyance she moved towards the storage compartment in the back with a fierce frown upon her delicate features. Harsh muttering from around a massive dough mixer pulled her towards her target. It had the same pitches and accent, but the way this voice uttered words seemed utterly unlike Kiana. A strange paradox that only served to irritate Seele's alter-ego even further. She just wanted breakfast, why did she have to get roped into this shit? That idiot always had to go around being helpful and making people expect her kindness whenever they asked!
'Seele' sneered, “Kiana I swear if this is some stupid game I’m going to beat some color back into that hair of yours-” Blue eyes locked with gold and the young girl froze. She was used to the strange pattern in Kiana’s eyes whenever she was in her Herrscher form, but she had never seen it paired with fierce gold before. The coldness that seeped from them felt capable of freezing the surrounding air solid despite the heat retained in the rather cramped space between the various implements needed to feed an entire military base. 'Seele' couldn’t quite put a word to why, but she felt uneasy just being near the woman. A far cry from the annoyingly comforting air Kiana always exuded. Her clothes… a strange battlesuit she had never seen before with flat tails with wider spade-shaped heads at the ends branching off from her waist that seemed to sway in a non-existent wind. Her short black dress was accented with white on the sides and lined with gold and purple. Black leggings covered her long pale legs. “You’re not Kiana.”
The woman before her scoffed, “That pathetic worm? Of course not. I have half a mind to smite you right here for such an insult.” Up close her voice sounded… otherworldly. A strange distortion to her every word making the girl sound… Alien. Powerful. It made 'Seele'’s skin crawl.
She did not hesitate to summon her scythe, though how she was going to maneuver it in this tight space she did not know. “Try it, bitch.”
The woman threw her hand forward, a black portal rimmed with dark purple energy opening behind her, the tip of a honkai infused spear poking through the blackness. “You- Ngh!” The woman suddenly ceased all movement, her arm shaking against an invisible force. The portal’s color switched from purple to gold in the blink of an eye and disappeared not a moment later.
“Why you-!” The woman seemed to strain just to get the words out. “Let me kill her! She’s annoying me!”
'Seele' raised an eyebrow at this new predicament, “Oh, you’re just insane, is that it?”
“Quiet Vermin!” she snapped. “And you!” She said, seemingly talking to herself, “I demand you stop laughing!”
'Seele' gave the woman an exaggerated once-over, “You need help there?”
“Tch! You’re making me regret permitting you to have uncontested control of this body you insolent fool!” There was a few seconds of silence before the woman grumbled, her teeth gritted with barely constrained rage, “Fine.” The shaking of her struggles to move freely stopped as quickly as they began. “You!” She immediately turned on 'Seele', who at this point was quite confused to say the least. “Since you insist on pestering me you may as well answer a question for me!"
'Seele' sighed, "Fine, what do you want?"
"Where are the cup noodles?!”
'Seele' stared up at the Herrscher- for she was fairly certain by now that was what she is- incredulously. Of all the questions to be asked in this moment, that was certainly not one that had ever crossed her mind. “Excuse me?”
“Do not make me repeat myself you filthy human insect! This is the kitchen, is it not?! Where lesser beings such as yourself store all your food?”
“What? Why would they ever store cup noodles in a properly stocked kitchen?”
“Tch. Useless.”
The Herrscher turned back to the few cupboards left unopened. However, before she could take a step towards them there was a flash of red and the blade of a scythe now blocked her path. “Not so fast. The cooks need to use this kitchen and you’re interrupting my breakfast. Leave.”
The woman before her sneered down at the smaller girl, “Or what?”
“I’ll make you.” 'Seele''s smile stretched wide enough that any regular human would find themselves quite uncomfortable, “It’s been too long since I’ve tasted blood, I wonder what a Herrscher’s tastes like? Unfortunately the last Herrscher I fought had none, I had to make do with just their screams!”
The white-haired woman’s hands shot out faster than 'Seele' could react and latched onto her collar, dragging the woman into the air. She barked a short laugh, “You think you can threaten me? You have no idea what power is! I am the Herrscher of the Void! I will rend your flesh down to the very bone!”
'Seele' tilted her head to the side in a questioning motion, not the least bothered. Her smile was all teeth, “I’d like to see you try. You couldn’t even move on your own a minute ago, your threats mean nothing little girl. Remove yourself from the kitchen or I’ll do it for you.”
The hands tightened on her collar. Those golden eyes flashed with a cold fury and 'Seele' was certain that if not for the other force keeping the Herrscher in check, she would be mincemeat right now. Whatever the Herrscher found in her eyes must have been enough, for she threw the girl down with a grunt of annoyance. “I’ve wasted enough time in this dump anyways.”
The Herrscher stormed out with nary a glance at the other girl. “Fucking finally.” 'Seele' groaned. A flick of her wrist dispelled her scythe and she took a moment to collect herself before waltzing back out into the mess hall. The chefs were full of nothing but praise for her and her accomplishment as they hurried past to get back to work. An unsettling quiet fell over the room soon after. The personnel still waiting for their food seemed unsure whether to stare at 'Seele' or the very much newly ruined bulkhead door at the hall exit. 'Seele' sighed, “Screw this, I’ll just go out to eat.”
'Seele' frowned as she looked up at the welcoming sign for the cafe. She had meant to find a place with more substantial food to eat at, but instead had let her mind wander and found herself here. How many times had they come here with Kiana and Bronya since the Salt Lake base had basically become their second home outside the Hyperion? She claimed to hate every second of it, but it certainly made her… nostalgic. Nostalgic? 'Seele' huffed. “That idiot must be rubbing off on me…”
Ten minutes later and she was stuffing her face with food. Sure her and Seele had gone longer than just a morning without food before, but extreme hunger was not an experience either of them wished to go through again.
Not long after she began her meal, a shadow fell across her small 2 person table, giving the woman pause. She glared up at the person blocking her sunlight, her stuffed cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.
"Hey there! You're Selee right?"
'Seele''s eyes narrowed at the cheerful greeting, taking a moment to properly swallow her mouthful. "Maybe. What's it to you?"
"Oh my, grumpy today aren't you?"
"And you seem much more chipper than usual… Fu Hua was it?"
The gray-haired woman beamed. 'Seele' frowned as she took the other seat at the table but said nothing. Why were Fu Hua's eyes red? "The old timer? Pfft, nah I'm the Herr-" Her head twitched to the side and the girl grimaced, "Right, I can't say that in public." Looking around conspiratorially she leaned in close to 'Seele', her voice dropping to a low murmur. "I'm the Herrscher of Sentience~" she winked, looking mightily pleased with herself.
'Seele' let out a deep sigh. Two Herrschers in one day? Fucking why. 'Seele' gestured sharply at the woman with her fork "Full offense, but buzz off. I left the base because I wanted to eat in peace." With that she went back to her food.
The Herrscher of Sentience nodded happily "I understand!"
And then continued sitting.
'Seele' grit her teeth, "Why are you still here?"
"I'm just waiting for you to introduce yourself!" She tilted her head and her smile turned smug. "It's only polite after all, considering you're not actually Seele, right?"
'Seele' gagged as her food caught in her throat.
"Shut up!" She hissed quietly.
Instead the Herrscher guffawed loudly, "BWAHA! I KNEW IT! AND THE OLD TIMER SAID I WAS WRONG!"
'Seele''s face reddened in anger and embarrassment both, the girl fighting to keep her eyes locked on the intruder in front of her rather than the many eyes now trained on their table. Seele is lucky she made her promise not to cause trouble because the temptation to summon her scythe and end this fool in front of her was intense. "That does it! Out!" She grabbed onto the Herrscher's arm and dragged her out with a strength that shocked the Honkai-made warrior. 'Seele' nearly threw the Herrscher to the floor with how hard she swung the woman in front of her once they were outside. "What. Do. You. Want?!" The girl shook with the effort it took to keep her voice at a reasonable level.
"I just wanted to hang out!" The Herrscher whined. "It's so rare I'm in this corner of the world, so naturally when I felt some strong energy fluctuations I was curious! Plus the old timer isn't here to harass me in person!"
"Old timer?" 'Seele' cocked an eyebrow. "Is that what you call Fu Hua?"
"Yup!"
"Tch, alright, that's pretty good." 'Seele' huffed. "Now can I finish my meal in peace? If you must annoy me, do it later."
Sentience grinned, giving the girl a playful salute. "Guess I'll check out the base for myself since someone's in a bad mood. Cya cranky!"
If the Herrscher had looked back, she might have thought twice about her choice of words. Or maybe the sight of the small girl with furrowed brows, gritted teeth, and hands twitching like they were trying to grasp the haft of a weapon would have only egged her on further. Luckily for 'Seele', she simply ran off without sparing her another glance.
Silently, 'Seele' walked back inside. Hopefully her food was still a bit warm.
A few minutes later a head of gray hair popped back into the cafe. "So uhh, I don't actually know where it is." No sooner had the words left her mouth did she have to duck back outside as a fork embedded itself in the wooden door frame where her head had been a split second before.
'Seele''s jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching her teeth. The idiot Herrscher she was dragging behind her had not shut up for more than five seconds the entire way back to base. She might even beat out Kiana for the most annoying babbler mouth she'd ever met. Of course neither of them knew the "prize" would eventually be her eventually snapping and crushing them with her claws. At least they were now back inside the base proper. That was something. Right?
"Where are the training grounds? Is Kiana here? I wanna fight her again. It's been too long since I've reminded her of the might of the Herrscher of Sentience! She might get ideas!"
This got 'Seele' to finally look back at her unwanted companion. "You've fought Kiana?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, after I was… born? That was a whole mess. I was trying to beat her up a bit, she was mad at me for taking the Old Timer's body even though That Wasn't My Fault!" She raised her voice and emphasized the last few words as if yelling it to the air would manifest an apology from the white-haired girl. "Anyways, we're like, kinda besties now." The Herrscher shrugged, as if 'Seele' understood anything she had just said.
'Seele''s look quickly morphed from interest, to confusion, to… even more confusion. "Whatever, lets just go. The training rooms are right around the corner. They're reinforced as much as possible for Herrscher level power as well so Kiana and Mei can train together."
"Oohhhh the lovebirds!" Sentience clapped her hands together with a grin. "Maybe we could make it a threeway!"
If looks could kill, 'Seele''s glare would have turned the Herrscher into a pile of ash on the spot.
Sentience seemed to catch herself a moment later. "What? Oh, ew! No! I didn't mean that , what the fuck? I just wanna spar with them!"
"Good." 'Seele' growled.
"Besides, neither of them are nearly good enough for ME!"
'Seele' slapped her palm against her face and groaned in exasperation.
The duo finally rounded the corner and nearly crashed right into a wall of lithe muscle. Only Sentience pulling her back at the last moment prevented an embarrassing fall for 'Seele' and the newcomer.
"Oh hey! Speak of the devil! It's Mei!"
Like Sentience had flipped a switch, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. It was as if an unseen force had multiplied the negligible air pressure a thousand fold until 'Seele' could feel it physically pressing down around her. The air smelled of ozone and left a strange taste in her mouth, but she didn't dare move even enough to try swallowing the taste away. A split second after this all registered in her mind the girl was hit by a primal urge to flee. An intense spike in Honkai Energy so strong 'Seele' was confident she had never felt something like it before. It triggered a flight response so deep within her she feared it might actually wake Seele up. The feeling that she stood no chance gripped at her heart but the girl managed to stand her ground, her own stubborn nature refusing to let herself simply cut loose and run.
She shook herself out of whatever it was that had gripped her mind so. Run? She would never run. She would be the one to kill anything that threatened Seele, Herrscher or no. A little spike in Honkai energy wouldn't shake her that easily.
"Sheesh, I guess you weren't the only one to wake up cranky today, Seele."
'Seele''s gaze traveled upwards. She expected to meet the usual violet eyes of Raiden Mei, but instead she was met with a frigid glare that glowed pink with strange, diamond shaped irises with smaller versions of the same shape pointing out at diagonal angles from four positions around the center. 'Seele' had seen Mei's Herrscher eyes before and they hadn't been like this.
"You!" The woman's voice boomed down the corridor, causing Sentience to wince. "Where is that- Where is Kiana."
Senti threw her hands up in annoyance, "I don't know! I'm trying to find her too! I figured you two would be attached at the hip! Besides, I just got here!"
'Seele' sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in increased exasperation. "Another Herrscher? Can I not have a few hours of peace today???"
'Seele' froze as those cold eyes locked onto her. "Another Herrscher?" The Herrscher of Thunder's eyes narrowed. "You've seen Kiana today…" her voice dropped to a fierce growl. "Haven't you?"
'Seele' glared up at the Herrscher, features carefully schooled into an unimpressed stare. "She tried to raid the kitchen for cup noodles this morning and kicked all the cooks out while doing it. I got roped into talking some sense into her and she tried to stab me with her little lance things. Maybe keep your girlfriend on her leash next time?"
Thunder growled, electricity sparking along her skin. "You will not speak about her that way if you wish to continue living."
"You hurt Seele and I'll flay you alive. Slowly." 'Seele' growled back.
Sentience grinned. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Hey!"
'Seele' almost bit her tongue in frustration at yet another new voice.
"No Herrscher powered fighting outside the sparring room!" A diminutive girl with a head of white hair tied into a loose side ponytail and dressed in a nun's habit stomped down the corridor towards them. She was accompanied by an all too familiar grey-haired woman clad in loose fitting traveler's leathers. 'Seele' blinked. Though she'd never say it to her face, an angry Theresa Apocalypse always looked incredibly adorable and borderline funny. Unless you were Kiana. Though 'Seele' knew firsthand how strong the tiny girl was. The thought of those chains wrapping around her again… she shuddered in revulsion. Now as for the woman next to her… well needless to say an angry Fu Hua looked a lot more terrifying than an angry Theresa. However, the woman looked more annoyed than anything else at the moment.
"Theresa Apocalypse." Thunder sneered. Then a much more cordial, “Fu Hua.”
"That's Overseer to you! Now how about instead of wrecking my hallway you step 3 meters through the door into the room designed to handle you! Kiana's already in there tearing up all our practice bots!"
"She's WHAT?" Thunder bellowed. "She was right next to me all this time… That fucking thief is going to pay!"
Fu Hua raised an eyebrow at that.
Theresa blinked and shot Fu Hua a look of confusion, who merely shook her head tiredly. "Oh okay… I didn't realize you two had such a falling out…"
Thunder paused, also glancing at Fu Hua. "No, We and Kiana are fine, It's-"
The hissing and whine of heavy hydraulics cut off anything the Herrscher was about to say. The heavily reinforced doors to the training hall next to them slowly slid open just wide enough to fit a person before grinding to a halt. The cacophony of machinery suddenly silenced itself, leaving behind a void of utter quiet. From this quiet, the hard heel of a shoe hitting the metal flooring cut through the silence like a knife. Each step seemed to cut painfully into 'Seele''s ears, like a gunshot going off too close.
After what seemed like an eternity of anticipation (though really it was only a few seconds) the owner of the footsteps came into view. Golden eyes with crossed irises roamed over the small group collected just outside the door.
'Seele' braced herself.
" YOU!"
There it was.
Golden eyes widened and her body shifted to send her momentum in the opposite direction. "Oh fu-"
A flash of lightning blinded them for a split second and suddenly both Herrschers were gone. Well, except for the sound of a body hitting the floor and the gasp of someone who just had the wind knocked out of them. Against her better judgment, 'Seele' followed Sentience and Fu Hua as they ran into the room after them. Theresa simply poked her head in and yelled "Hey! Don't kill my niece, you got that?! I'm locking you all in here until you work this out!" Before disappearing back out and shutting the door behind her, with the thundering boom of gears echoing through the massive training room.
Turning her attention back to the angry elephants in the room, 'Seele' watched as Sentience and Fu Hua sprinted after the duo. Thunder's charge had carried them nearly halfway across the massive space so it was quite an effort to catch up. Of course, Thunder's shouting wasn't any harder to hear at this distance. Thief this, arrogant bitch that. 'Seele' had to hand it to the Herrscher, listening to the stream of swears coming out of Mei's lips was highly entertaining.
Seeing as she was much eager to close the gap, Sentience got there quite fast. She jumped behind Thunder from where she was seemingly about to try to beat the Herrscher out of Kiana and tucked her arms under the Herrscher’s. Ignoring her indignant yelling, Sentience wrapped her arms around, clasped her hands against the back of Thunder's neck and yanked her off of the Void Herrscher. One final kick from the Void sent the two stumbling out of range as Fu Hua dragged her back as well.
Face twisted into a mask of pure rage, Thunder called upon her authority and coursed lightning across her whole body. Sentience groaned in pain but did her best to fight the spasming of her muscles as red lightning washed over her. Unfortunately, her strength was no match for the electricity wreaking havoc on her muscle control and Thunder broke free within a few seconds with a shout of triumph. By this time the Herrscher of the Void had also regained her footing and was now floating with three of her lances hovering over her shoulder and ready to strike.
Thunder only managed to take one step forward before the broad blade of a scythe crashed down in front of her, nearly impaling her foot. All eyes turned to the small girl on the other end of the massive weapon, fists clenched and shaking. Seeing “Seele” in such a state gave even the two opposing Herrschers pause. "Will you two KNOCK IT OFF?! You HERRSCHERS have been RUINING my day ALL MORNING and I still have no idea what your FUCKING PROBLEM IS!"
Silence. Fu Hua looked anxiously between all four girls, her leg shifting back so she could spring forward at a moment's notice.
'Seele' glared at each Herrscher in turn until Thunder sneered at the white haired woman across from her. "I'm just here to make that bitch give my Kiana her body back."
My Kiana, huh? 'Seele' raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.
The object of the Herrscher of Thunder’s hatred… pouted . Arms crossed and her cheeks puffing slightly as she turned her head away with a "Hmph!" It was almost adorable, at least if 'Seele' wasn't still ready to kill. "I just wanted a day in control for myself. Do you know how boring it is being stuck inside this idiot's head all the time? This is my body too!"
"What happened to all the 'Oh I'll flay you alive pathetic worm!' shit from this morning?" 'Seele' shot back.
Somehow the Herrscher managed to pout even harder. "The fool- Kiana … said I should… attempt to communicate in a less antagonistic way, and maybe then she'd let me out more."
Sentience laughed sharply. "Ha! So this whole time Kiana willingly let you take over and Mei was mad for no reason?"
Thunder grumbled something too low to hear.
"Huh?" Sentience leaned forward and cupped a hand to her ear with a grin. "Sorry, what was that? You'll have to speak up!"
"I said!" Thunder growled, "I'm not here because Mei was angry, I'm here because I wanted a day to myself and this was supposed to be my day with Kiana! Instead I woke up to Sirin !" She spat.
The white-haired Herrscher sneered and threw up her middle finger.
"So everyone's Herrscher decided they wanted to come out on the same day?" 'Seele' sighed, finally dispelling her scythe. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment she hadn't been able to join the brawl.
Sentience chuckled. "You mean like you?"
Everyone's focus suddenly snapped to 'Seele'.
"I told you before I can sense you're not really the Seele we know." Sentience continued. "You're the 'Other Me' she talks to Bronya about when she thinks no one can hear, right?" Sentience grinned even as the edge of a scythe quickly pressed itself against her neck.
'Seele' completely ignored the portaled subspace lances that appeared around her. "How do you know that?!" She growled.
Sentience tapped the side of her head. "Me and the Old Timer are connected. I see things sometimes even though she doesn't like me peepin' on her. Plus, I'm the Herrscher of Sentience!" She threw her arms wide, her grin growing almost manic. "It's kinda my thing to affect minds and perception, you think I can't tell when someone has two Sentiences inside their head?!"
Fu Hua was aghast. "Senti! How often do you spy on me?!"
Senti waved away her concerns. "Relaaax, I don't do it that often, sometimes I just wanna see what's going on!"
'Seele' grumbled. It did make sense, all things considered. "Just don't go around telling people!" She put pressure on her scythe for emphasis. "Or else!"
"Sure, sure." She raised her hands in surrender. "Whatever you say little lady!" The disappearance of the scythe once again served as 'Seele''s answer. The lances and portals followed soon after.
The sudden screeching of microphone feedback dug its claws into their heads, halting any further conversation. "Alright now that it looks like you've sorted that out, can I trust you're not gonna blow up our base if I let you out of there?" The tinny voice of Theresa echoed through the speakers surrounding the room.
"Yeah, yeah." Sentience brushed off Theresa's worries. "I'll keep these two in line if you give me a tour around the Old Timer's place!" She yelled, hoping to be loud enough the speakers picked her up.
Senti ignored the indignant "Absolutely not!" from the grey-haired woman next to her and kept her gaze fixed on the control room.
"Senti, I'm not letting you raid Fu Hua's room." Theresa deadpanned.
"Awwwww…"
"I don't trust any of you to behave forever so Seele, Fu Hua, please keep an eye on them."
"Oh for the love of-" 'Seele' clenched her eyes shut. Her chest heaved as she attempted to calm herself, her small body shaking in frustration. Senti looked like she wanted to make a comment until Thunder shook her head. Soon enough 'Seele''s raised voice replied "Sure thing Madame Theresa!"
Seemingly satisfied, the speaker system clicked off and the reinforced doors rumbled open.
“Hm.” Senti rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I guess it’s too bad then, Old Timer.”
“What?”
“Too bad that our connection let me see exactly where your room is!” Senti shot her counterpart a shit eating grin and took off before the words had even registered in Fu Hua’s mind.
“Wait wha-” Fu Hua’s eyes widened in alarm. “Senti!!” Fu Hua reached out to grab her, but the Herrscher of Sentience was already far out of reach, jumping onto her floating weapon case and speeding towards the door. 'Seele' looked on in wonder as the always composed Fu Hua looked around frantically for some solution for her new problem. She spun to the Herrshcers. “Thunder, please help me stop her!”
Thunder scoffed, “Why would I use one of my rare days in control doing that?”
“Look, Kiana’s an idiot and probably forgot about the plans for today but if you help me I can help her plan out days with you more often!” Fu Hua spoke quickly, desperation leaking into her voice.
“Hmmm…” Thunder held her chin in contemplation. She tilted her head as if listening to something. “That is acceptable.” Fu Hua barely had time to mutter a thanks before there was a flash of red lightning and Mei was gone.
“Sirin-”
“No.”
“Plea-”
“The Queen of Honkai is above such things as the petty squabbles of mortals.”
“I’ll get you all the cup noodles you want, I can smuggle them past Mei.”
“...Sentience will never enter your room.” The space around the Herrscher collapsed in a flash of purple light and she was gone.
“Seele come, we must attempt to head her off!”
'Seele' sighed in annoyance. “Why do I have to get involved in this?! Can’t you solve your own problems?”
“Well seeing as we were all last seen together I’m sure if Senti damages the base Theresa will be coming after you as well.”
“...” 'Seele' narrowed her eyes at the older Valkyrie. “Alright I see how it is. Lets go.”
The crackling pops of electricity coursing through the air nipped at Senti’s heels as she sped down the corridors of the Salt Lake base. Unfortunately for the Herrscher, the training areas were in a more remote area of the base, which meant this was a race to see who could get to the other side of the base first. Her heightened awareness as a Herrscher allowed her to twist and thin her profile just in time for a red bolt of lightning blast past her, leaving the hairs on her arms standing on end.
“Hey what’s the big idea?!” She shouted over her shoulder. “I’m just messing with the Old Timer a bit, why are you coming after me?!”
The glaring pink eyes of the Herrscher of Thunder flashed with power, all too close for Senti’s liking. “This fool won’t shut up unless I help Fu Hua, and the easiest way is to take you out of the picture directly.”
“Tch!” Senti grit her teeth. “You think just cuz you’re fast you can catch the Herrscher of Sentience? Think again!” Senti snapped her fingers and the air before her shimmered. As she sped through on her hovering weapons case, the shimmering air suddenly solidified into a new corridor wall. Senti grinned, chancing a glance over her shoulder. Unfortunately for the Herrscher, the loud thumb of a body against metal never came. Instead the Herrscher of Thunder cut her illusion to pieces in the blink of an eye without even breaking her stride.
“You insult me, Sentience. I’ve cut through illusions ten times stronger!”
“That’s cuz I’m not even trying yet, idiot!” Sentience snapped again, behind her this time. A large cloud of bubbles flew from her hand. Thunder readied her sword to slash through whatever tricks the opposing Herrscher was sending at her, only for the bubbles to burst in rapid succession the instant they got within reach of her sword arm with all the force and brightness of a flashbang. This time Senti kept her head forward, not quite so caught up in the chase to forget exactly what she just threw at the Herrscher of Thunder. The cry of surprise echoing off the metal walls was enough for her.
She sped around a corner, running the memories she had seen from Fu Hua through her head and realized she was only a few turns away from the officers quarters AE had provided for Hua and the Herrschers. In that moment of distraction, she nearly missed the telltale bass of something ripping through quantum space into the real world.
“Senti, stop!”
A flash of blue and suddenly Fu Hua and Seele seemed to phase into existence through the wall next to her. Time seemed to slow as Senti’s enhanced mind registered the kick and scythe haft targeting her head and legs speeding towards her with her own momentum. Kicking off her case, Senti twisted her body in mid-air to swing her body horizontal to the ground. Her face scrunched in concentration as she felt the air displaced by both attacks flying past either side of her, following through with her momentum to land back on her feet. Unfortunately she was now lacking her fastest mode of transportation, her case having continued flying on without her. Fortunately, Fu Hua’s room was nearby. She just needed to swat away the annoying flies.
Ducking to avoid another swipe from Seele’s scythe, she smashed her open palm against the metal flooring. The sound of electricity rapidly approaching from behind pulsed urgency through her veins. Red chains burst from every surrounding surface, binding her pursuers just in time to freeze the katana speeding towards her along with the woman holding it mere centimeters away from piercing skin.
Fu Hua grit her teeth as she struggled against the chains of Sentience restraining her. “Senti, don’t you DARE!”
Thunder growled, attempting to spark her electricity across the chains to no avail.
“Oh I dare, Old Timer!” Senti bared her teeth like a predator that had finally caught its prey. The Herrscher raised her hand, a red orb of pure honkai gripped in her palm. “Grip of Taixuan!”
Thunder’s growl rose to a shout of frustration as more chains wrapped around the orb and its surface transformed into that of a window into some other world. Smile widening to one of pure manic glee, Senti closed her fist and crushed the Honkai orb. The moment she did so the space crushed into her palm seemed to instantaneously expand out and cover the entire area with a flash of white light. When the light faded, the Herrscher of Sentience was gone, and their surroundings had changed to a gloomy mountainous area covered with swords of various sizes buried into the ground. From ones able to be held by a regular person, to a single giant sword as big as a mountain with its blade half buried in the ground at the center of the area. An obvious illusion by their foe, but one much more complex than the simple distractions she had been throwing at the Herrscher of Thunder.
'Seele' glanced at her companions, their expressions settling into various levels of annoyance with more than a hint of anger filling Thunder’s face. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Sentience laughed with glee as she sped around the final corner to Fu Hua’s room, now well into the living quarters of the base. Finally, that glorious door to her final goal was within sight. She came to a sliding stop in front of her target, hand already extended to tap the code into the lock when the world began spinning rapidly. The air was driven from her lungs as her body was slammed against solid metal, the last of her gasp throttled by a hand closing around her throat.
The terrifying coldness of those golden eyes would have driven any regular person nearly mad with fear. In fact, the chill that was running down her spine had the distinct ingrained feeling that came with all of Fu Hua’s memories. But she wasn’t a vulnerable Old Timer, she was the Herrscher of Sentience! She grabbed ahold of that chill and threw it back into the recesses of her mind, gritting her teeth and latching onto the arm extended towards her neck with a crushing grip.
The woman before her didn’t so much as flinch.
“You will go no further.” The otherworldly, multilayered voice that always came when the Herrscher controlled Kiana’s body grated against her ears.
“H-hey come on Sirin!” Fu Hua attempted to flash a grin at the woman. “We’ve known each other for a few months now, you know I wouldn’t do this unless I thought I could get some juicy shit from that room!” She grunted as the grip tightened, Sirin’s unamused gaze remaining as cold as ice. She gestured with her free hand and the three void lances hovering behind her raised themselves over her shoulder and pointed down at the captive Herrscher. “J-just think!” She choked out. “There’s probably some stuff K-Kiana’s done while you- ngh- weren’t paying attention. You c- ack!- Could get some stuff on her girls- use it to get her to let you out more!”
Sirin paused. “And you think I would find these things in that cheater’s room, why?”
“Well those two are dating her r-right? I bet she’s kept some sappy shit they’d be embarrassed for either of us to see.”
Sirin tilted her head thoughtfully. “I do like the thought of causing Kiana grief.” Her face brightened for the first time with a positively devilish grin. “In fact, she’s screaming at me to do anything but what you’re planning as we speak. We may not have long before she’s able to start wrestling my control away.” Having made up her mind, Sirin finally released Senti from her grip.
Senti collapsed in a heap with more than a little indignant whining. Seeing as fully awakened Herrschers had no need to actually breathe, she was more annoyed at the bruises that would be left on her neck from Sirin’s tight grip more than anything else. “Alright lets hurry before the Herrscher of Thunder finds a way to cut through my illusions again.”
Sirin smirked. “Is the inheritor of my Gem of Conquest giving you trouble, O’ great Herrscher of Sentience?”
Senti scoffed as she keyed the passcode to Fu Hua’s room. “The only reason she got through the first time is because it was a weak illusion designed to distract rather than contain.” Senti turned to Sirin with her arms spread and smile wide as the door slid open with a hiss. She gestured down the empty corridors. “Do you see that horned annoyance anywhere? The moment I put any actual effort in, she can’t escape without difficulty. Now lets get started, shall we?”
The two Herrschers entered the room and locked the door behind them. It was rather spartan, which honestly they probably should have expected considering who lived here. The meager possessions of the previous era warrior Fu Hua were illuminated by the soft glow of the fish tank Anti-Entropy loved putting in their officer’s quarters. Neither Herrscher really understood this decision, but at least it provided some light. Besides the bed, there was the dresser and nightstand that came with the room. The so far unbroken aesthetic of the room was shattered by a set of shelves filled to the brim with a myriad of colorful belongings set in a corner opposite the fish tank.
Sirin raised an eyebrow as they gravitated towards the collection. “It would seem my vessel’s no-nonsense warrior girl has gotten a lot more sentimental.”
Senti picked up a picture frame carefully positioned facing towards the bed. On it was a group picture of three women. Kiana had both her arms thrown around the shoulders of her girlfriends, her bright smile aimed squarely at the camera. Mei’s face was scrunched rather cutely, the woman obviously in the midst of a giggle at Kiana’s antics. And the third… Even in the dim room, the softness of Fu Hua’s gaze towards the other girls was apparent. Her glasses were askew (presumably from Kiana jumping the two) but she didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. Her mouth hung slightly open and the corners of her lips curved upwards in a loving smile. It was such a stark contrast to the woman in both the Herrschers’ memories- even Senti’s recent memories of the warrior woman- that they almost couldn’t reconcile them as the same person.
“Fuck, they’re so sappy it makes me sick.” Despite her harsh words, Senti set the frame back down in the exact same position she’d found it in. Beside her, Sirin was rifling through the various boxes stacked on the shelves.
“More pictures, origami, trinkets,” Sirin held up a mug with the words “#1 Lesbian” printed on the side. “This must be from my idiot vessel.”
“None of this is good enough…” Senti cast her gaze about the room. “If I was as lame as the Old Timer, where would I hide things I didn’t want to be found?” Slowly her eyes were drawn to the dark space underneath the bed. With the urgency of someone unsure of just how limited her time was, she ran over and dropped to her knees so she could shove her arm underneath. Almost immediately her hand closed around the edge of another box. Pulling it out, Senti could feel a flutter of excitement in her chest. Of all things, what physical items would a woman like Fu Hua feel the need to hide under her bed? Senti tore the lid off the old and creased shoebox she had retrieved from under the bed. “What are these?” Sirin watched as Senti withdrew white envelopes in each hand, studying their surfaces curiously. “‘To my dear Class Monitor’. ‘To Fu Hua, with love’. This garish handwriting…”
Sirin peered over her shoulder and scoffed. “That’s Kiana’s handwriting for sure.”
Seeing as the envelopes were already open, Senti fished out the paper inside. Truthfully, she had a good idea of what she had discovered, but she was nothing if not thorough in collecting blackmail. The silence of the room was broken only by the rustle of unfolding paper. Senti rapidly scanned over the pages. “Holy shit how can anyone bear to write stuff like this and continue to show their face in public?”
Sirin attempted to lean closer to read only to freeze before she could make out the words in the dim lighting. Her form began to shake, struggling against invisible restraints. “Tch! Kiana desperately doesn’t want me reading whatever you found. We best leave before she regains full control and attempts to stop you.”
Senti grinned, shoving her new prize back into the shoebox. “Time to split!” Senti leaped for the door, leaving Sirin to her internal struggle with her host. “Thanks Sirin, I’ll get back to you about the letters!”
The Herrscher’s golden eyes stared back at the retreating figure, her multilayered voice wavering as her glowing irises flickered between gold and cerulean. “Nggh- Senti, get back here!”
The door slid open and Senti cackled, “No can do, Kiana! I finally have some dirt on the Old Timer!” Now all she needed to do was make herself scarce before Fu Hua managed to catch up with her. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Fu Hua stumbled around the corner, glasses askew and hair frazzled.
The two women froze, Senti’s eyes wide like a child who’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Fu Hua’s gaze rapidly snapped to the box in Senti’s hands. The moment she registered what exactly it was Senti was holding, her face burst into a wave of bright warmth spreading from her cheeks all the way down her neck. She charged. “SENTI, NO!”
And that was when Senti knew she’d struck gold. “Senti, yes!” She darted off down the corridor away from the rapidly approaching celestial.
A certain white-haired girl chose that moment to stumble out of the room. Her eyes having settled into a familiar blue and gold heterochromia, she stared after the figures stomping down the corridor. “Hey, do you think we’re in trouble?” She tilted her head, her voice now coming out with that strange multilayered sound. “ YOU’RE in trouble, my dear host. I will be safely resting in our mind space .” Kiana turned to the side as if Sirin was speaking next to her. “Hey! That’s no fair! I was trying to help Hua!” She sighed. “Aunt Teri’s gonna have my head for all this commotion, isn’t she?” Kiana cried out as she felt her consciousness suddenly fall back into the void core, her eyes solidifying back into gold. “ You’re right, Kiana, but if we’re going to be in trouble anyways, we might as well have some more fun, right?” Kiana wasted no time bashing against the walls of her mind as an all too familiar grin spread across Sirin’s features.
The blazing heat of a phoenix burned against Senti’s back. She had escaped the officer’s quarters onto the base’s airfield. Unfortunately, the open field of asphalt ringed by hangars and landing platforms did little to aid her escape from the burning fury of the ancient warrior on her tail. The letters in the shoebox she carried quietly thumped rhythmically as she ran. Sliding under transports and jumping through maintenance setups, she did anything she could to slow down her pursuer. Unfortunately, years of chasing after Kiana had made Fu Hua rather adept at herding rowdy troublemakers. Senti soon found herself being slowly but surely pushed towards the wide open center of the airfield. With the box in her hand and focusing on dodging Fu hua and navigating the obstacles of her purposely cluttered path, she was having trouble focusing enough to conjure illusions strong enough to give the woman pause. Connected as they were, their power relied on each other’s condition, which caused them to enter a difficult dance of attempting to halt the other in her tracks while simultaneously trying to restrain from hurting each other too much that their abilities were hindered. So preoccupied was the great Herrscher of Sentience that the fact that Fu Hua had appeared alone had not occupied more than a fleeting thought.
It was at that moment, when Fu Hua had driven her into the center of the airfield, that a bolt of red lightning crashed into the asphalt.
Senti’s grin wavered. Her eyes rapidly shifted between the two women on either side of her. “H-hey giiirrllss!”
A flutter of wings like that of butterflies brushed past her ears. The same instant she felt another presence out of view, a shadow passed over her from above. Senti acted on instinct and jumped back just in time for a scythe to slice through the air where she had just been. Senti could’ve sword she felt the air of the scythe cutting past her cheek. However, Senti had never been 'Seele'’s target. A cry of dismay tore itself from her throat as the scythe easily cut straight through the flimsy shoebox held in the Herrscher’s arms. Like petals scattered to the wind, the letters held within scattered across the asphalt. Senti forgotten, Fu Hua dove into the swirling mess of envelopes and sliced letters and began snatching them off the ground and out of the air with all the desperation of a woman on the edge of madness.
It was also this moment a certain white-haired troublemaker decided to portal into the midst of the chaos.
Her heterochromatic eyes squinted in annoyance. “Goddammit Sirin! How many times do I have to tell you not to blindly portal us into the middle of nowhere just because you’re crank- Huh?” Kiana briefly acknowledged the presence of the others around her, but her attention was quickly captured by the envelopes and torn letters fluttering down around her. Snatching a relatively whole one fluttering down next to her, Sirin’s curiosity was piqued enough that she no longer fought against Kiana’s control.
“Kiana, wait!” Fu Hua reached for the paper in Kiana’s hands, but she was much too far, crouched on the ground with an armful of paper as she was.
Blue and gold eyes scanned over the messy writing across the page. “Wait, this is…” A ferocious blush blossomed across her pale cheeks.
By this time the others had also succumbed to curiosity as to what could cause the two women to react in such a manner. Senti, of course, already knew and stood there with a very pleased smirk on her face.
The Herrscher of Thunder valiantly attempted- and failed- to hide the way her lips twitched upwards as she scoffed at the paper in her hand. “What does this fool even see in you two idiots?”
Kiana had become preoccupied fighting against her arm raising under command of a mind not her own attempting to snatch the last of the letters out of the air.
'Seele' grabbed several off the ground and dashed through the quantum realm out of Fu Hua’s reach, the mighty phoenix nearly falling flat on her face in her attempts to stop the girl.
'Seele' could hardly believe her eyes. “ This is what we’ve been chasing you for?” The girl held up the letter and shook it angrily. “ THIS ?!” The small girl was nearly shaking with fury. It reminded Kiana of an angry chihuahua but she wasn’t nearly suicidal enough to say so out loud. It did get a rare chuckle out of Sirin, so there was that at least. “ LOVE LETTERS?! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?”
Thunder rolled her eyes. “Well if I’m understanding this fool Raiden’s embarrassed blabbering, Kiana kept writing Fu Hua letters every day for two months straight trying to ask her out even though they were already basically dating after the first one.”
“That’s so…” 'Seele'’s face crinkled in distaste. “Disgustingly cute.”
Kiana’s smile hovered somewhere between loving and playful. “Hua, you kept these?”
The woman- still on the ground- looked up at her girlfriend but refused to meet her eyes. Her blue irises darted around as if seeking an escape route as her face slowly regained a crimson hue. “I-” She lowered her head in a poor attempt to hide her flustered state. “No one had ever done something like that for me before and it was incredibly sweet so I wanted to be able to remember, even if… even if I lose my memories again in the future.”
Kiana blinked rapidly, both eyes finally gaining their usual brilliant cerulean hue as Sirin halted her attempts to take back control of their body. “Hua…” Her expression softened immediately. Even the Herrscher of Thunder bit back her usually harsh words. Her shared memories with Mei meant she was just as aware of everything the grey-haired woman had gone through after her host’s stint in the Elysian Realm. Thunder had to admit, the woman was quite the admirable fighter (for a human). But she was still just a human, and that was why she’d never let these two fools she was forced to live with rub off on her with their annoyingly eager affection for their “little bird”. Which was why she joined Kiana kneeling on the ground next to her and awkwardly patted Fu Hua on the back.
Senti and 'Seele' stood side-by-side, shifting from side to side awkwardly as they stared at the trio before them.
“So uhhh…” Senti began.
'Seele' sighed, “You know, as annoying as today has been, chasing you around the base was actually kinda fun.”
Senti cocked an eyebrow, “That was almost a compliment, you feeling okay?”
“Don’t start.” She dispelled her scythe with a flick of her wrist. With her other hand she gestured to the paper still littering the floor. “Should we… pick some of this up?”
Senti scoffed, “Nah leave that to the lovebirds.” She twirled a vibrant feather between her fingers. Before 'Seele'’s eyes, it morphed into a letter and then back into a feather in the blink of an eye before Senti clenched her fist and it evaporated into black smoke. She winked, “I still have what I came for.”
It was at that moment both women’s instincts lit up like a warning beacon. Whether it was something in the air or simply their supernatural senses detecting some kind of shift in the energy around them, both found the hairs on the backs of their necks standing on end. The next instant they threw themselves to either side, the same moment the whistling of a projectile cutting through air hit their ears. The clang and crunch of metal tearing into asphalt grated against the ears of all present. Upon looking up their eyes were met with the ominously familiar golden glow of one of Oath of Judah’s spears.
Unbeknownst to the girls, but the exact same chill ran down the spines of all present.
“Why oh why- I must wonder~” The new voice rang out in a sing-song tone, but the undercurrent of malice made the usually cute voice seem anything but. “Why after I let you all leave the base sensors detected an unusual spike of Honkai radiation and I came down to find a trail of chaos and destruction all throughout my base .” Theresa’s sing-song tone gradually dropped until she was practically growling by the end.
Kiana grinned nervously, the Herrschers quickly pulling Hua off the floor with them, “H-hi Auntie! Um, well, you see…” Her eyes began to glow with power and small portals flared to life underneath the scattered letters littering the floor. Theresa merely raised an eyebrow and wrapped her hand around one of Judah’s chains. Kiana attempted to widen her grin but merely succeeded in looking even more guilty as her smile wavered. 'Seele'’s muscles were tensed like a compressed spring, ready to burst into motion at the slightest nudge. “Uh, well…” She winced. “Oh fuck it. Senti!”
Their quiet corner of the airfield suddenly exploded into motion. Senti threw out another flashbang bubble, the explosion ever so slightly throwing off the aim of the veteran Valkyrie in front of them as her chains leaped from the Oath of Judah. 'Seele' avoided being blinded by jumping through quantum space, weaving her way through the writhing chains attempting to entangle the group. Kiana easily teleported Fu Hua and Thunder out of danger with her Void Authority. This just left Senti to dodge and weave like her life depended on it, grunting and yelping as the chains clipped her or missed her by mere centimeters.
'Seele' reappeared next to the frazzled Herrscher as all five of them sprinted towards the nearest entrance back to the base. “What do we do now?”
Kiana shot the girl a terrified glance. “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!”
The sound of chains and cracking asphalt rapidly approaching put an extra jump of desperation into their steps. “KIANA KASLANAAA!”
'Seele' groaned. She was gonna have a lot of explaining to do once Seele woke up tomorrow morning…