Chapter Text
Raiden Mei was- to put it simply- not having a good time.
Night had fallen and yet they could not rest. The Valkyrie had one arm held against her side where she maintained constant pressure against a rather nasty stab wound. They had first aid equipment, but if they slowed down enough to apply it, their ambushers would surely find them. However if they didn't, all this exertion would no doubt lead to her slow demise as her life blood seeped from around her fingers to the thunderous beat of her heart. The desolate canyon they had been escorting important Shicksal supplies through certainly offered places to hide. The question was, for how long? The echoes of footsteps, shouts, and the rumble of vehicles attempting to maneuver deeper into the canyon continued to chase after them.
The mawing darkness of a cave with impressive enough depth called for them ahead. Deciding it was as good as they would get, Mei's students quickly dragged her inside. The former herrscher's pain made itself known as a hiss of air squeezing between her teeth as they carefully set her down.
"Eve, what are we going to do?" Cried the shorter girl. She was browner of skin compared to her companion, clad in a short sleeved shirt and jean shorts with a yellow jacket tied around her waist. Running shoes protected her feet from sharp rocks possibly hidden in the dark. She seemed to be regretting her choice of attire, wincing as she knelt down and her scraped and bloody knees pressed against the rock. She hastily settled the massive hovering robotic gauntlets that followed her arm movements against the wall. Her golden eyes and white hair whipped about frantically. "You still have the first aid kit, right?!"
Her paler, dark haired companion was dressed in a simple t-shirt and black tradesman pants, complete with extra pockets (though Eve would vehemently defend herself if one dared to call them cargo pants). The ends of said pants were tucked haphazardly into the girl's combat boots. Over this she wore a long white coat, it's tails trailing to halfway down her calves and it's inner lining colored a stark crimson. Its hood rested agains her shoulder blades along with a custom Valkyrie longsword equipped for unleashing fire both along and from the blade. She was battered like her companion, but neither had suffered wounds such as their teacher did in her effort to protect them. Now it was their turn to take care of her. The girl nodded. "Carole, stop shouting. You'll give us away."
Carole immediately slammed both her hands against her mouth. "Sorry!" She whispered.
Not for the first time, Mei desperately longed for the rapid healing factor she had as a Herrscher. The antiseptic and bandages were quick to apply with how torn up her battlesuit had become in the fighting. Her rather expensive white jacket had been ruined. Multiple lacerations left strips of fabric hanging, not to mention the puncture wound in her side. The feather decoration on her lapel was mostly gone thanks to a bullet grazing her, and her tights had been torn both by the bullets she had taken to her left leg as well as them stumbling across the rocks in the dark. Her white thick heeled heels had certainly seen better days. Now Mei wasn't what one would call a vain woman. However, the jacket and feathered decorations that adorned her outfit had been gifts from an outing with her good friend Bronya, and she had grown rather attached to them. A saddening, if rather superficial loss. Soon enough she was sporting a partially wrapped torso with smaller wraps around her left thigh, blood already seeping into the bandages. Now if only they had water to clean all the blood off her hand. Instead, she settled for keeping her electrified Katana- still sheathed- close to her chest.
No sooner had they settled down did the rumble of footsteps echo down the cave and beams of flashlights illuminate their hastily found shelter to blind the weary fighters.
"Game's over Valkyries! Come out with your hands up!"
Mei sighed, “This was expected, but they showed up a bit sooner than I would’ve liked.”
With Eve’s help, Mei limped her way back out of the cave with Carol fearfully trailing along just behind them, rocket powered gauntlets at the ready. The flashlights in their faces made it hard to say for sure, but there must have been at least a few dozen Mercenaries waiting for them. No doubt the rest of the company was nearby just in case. A challenge for a Valkyrie- even one of her skills- but a doable challenge. At least if she hadn’t already been injured. Carole tentatively held her hands up, as the only one with both her hands free.
She used her head to gesture to her students. “Drop your weapons.” She grunted. She dutifully threw her katana to the ground, followed by the heavy clank of Carole’s gauntlets and Eve’s broadsword onto the hard rock.
“Well well, we’ve finally caught up to you, Raiden Mei.” A woman clad in tactical gear sauntered to the front of the formation, pistol pointed squarely at the veteran Valkyrie. Her face was just as obscured as her body behind her helmet. “Can’t give us the slip with wounds like that I reckon.” Her smirk practically shone in her voice.
Mei huffed. She didn’t know the woman or her mercenaries, which only made it more annoying- and alarming- that they had strategies for taking out Valkyries. To surprise the former Herrscher of Thunder on the battlefield was something few managed to accomplish. Yet this woman had managed to turn her whole mission into a failure. “Could I convince you to let my students go?”
The woman tilted her head in mock sympathy. “Sorry princess, but no. Our orders are to capture or kill the Valkyries escorting the target.” She eyed the shifting stances of said students. “Now I don’t really like killing kids, but if any of you try to fight back then your head goes pop.” She bounced her gun in imitation of a shot for emphasis. “Now just stay nice and obedient and this’ll be over soon enough.” The woman turned around and began barking orders to her soldiers. Several positioned themselves behind the trio and prodded them towards the arriving trucks at gunpoint. A few others collected their weapons. “Alright, lets get the Valkyries back to the transports and get the hell out of he- huh?” A rustle of confusion rippled through the collected mercenaries. The trio of warriors paused, their eyes meeting in their own confusion as the prodding guns hesitated.
“Do you hear that?”
“What is that?”
“Sir, is it just me or is the moon turning pink?”
“What the fuck are you talking abo- … What?”
Everyone nearby immediately snapped their eyes to the sky. True to the man’s words, those gathered in that small canyon could only stare upwards in astonishment as the usual silver light of the moon was nowhere to be seen. Instead a pink tinted haze seemed to have overtaken the Earth’s most important celestial body. The thought that maybe she was beginning to hallucinate from blood loss briefly crossed Mei’s mind. The only reason something like that would happen to the moon is…
“Kiana…” Mei whispered, almost desperately.
Carole and Eve chanced a glance at their teacher. Instead of worry they found the woman’s face practically glowing with relief, only a hint of apprehension showing in the tightness around her eyes. Their gazes fell to each other as Mei’s words slowly began to register. “The Moon Goddess?!”
The gathered humans continued to stand in confusion and wonderment as a low rumble began rolling through the sky.
Mei smiled. “You could say that.”
The rumble began increasing in pitch until it became more of a whine than anything else. The moon seemed to glow even brighter.
“Carol, Eve, get behind something solid.” A small swell of pride filled her chest as she watched her students spun around along with her as all three punched their captors in the throat and dove towards the nearby boulders.
The nearby mercenaries spun on them but before they could do anything, the mercenary leader’s voice suddenly boomed throughout the space, “FUCKING SCATTER!”
But she was too late.
The whine grew to a fever pitch until the center of the area suddenly exploded. Something had just dropped from the sky and completely obliterated everything nearby in a searing pink fire. Amidst the screams and frantic attempt to organize from the mercenaries still standing a new problem for them appeared. As the smoke began to clear, a silhouette appeared. Human. Just a young girl in her late twenties. Dressed in what looked like a cross between a wedding dress and some kind of princess-like garb complete with a tiara atop her ponytail. However her cerulean irises were split by a four pointed pink star in each eye that seemed to hold a fathomless depth behind them, glowing brightly with power. Two angular shapes half her size floated on either side of her that looked like tattered wings. In the next instant the wings ignited in amethyst fire, their bulging spines alighting into three bursts of energy arranged vertically on each wing with the middle trails much longer and more elegantly flowing than the others. Their otherworldly beauty could not be lost on any that looked upon them. The smoke now completely dissipating, they could clearly see the strange stars held within the celestial flames. Even as they moved the pinpricks of light did not. It was like the flames burned away a barrier to a sight regular mortals were not supposed to see. A beautiful otherworldly sky that was almost painful in its beauty.
Any mercenary who gazed upon the celestial fires felt a heaviness settle over their minds. A pressure certainly painful in its intensity, as if hands were trying to crush their skulls between their palms. If one looked closely into the starry currents contained within the wings and the girl’s flowing skirt waving in a nonexistent wind their poor minds may occasionally catch a glimpse of…it. Something ancient, incomprehensibly powerful, impossibly alien. Looking right back at them. And when they looked up and met the pink starred eyes glaring at them, they could only come to the horrible realization that it was here . And it was angry . The flows of celestial fire embracing the girl was disorientating at best and- at worst- made some of the mercenaries drop to the floor as their minds failed to truly understand the thing staring back at them through the elegantly flowing ribbons of energy. She lifted her hand, her fingers positioned in preparation for a snap.
“W-what are you waiting for? Shoot her!”
Those who could move fearfully squeezed their triggers and a hail of bullets flew towards the terrifying woman. One might expect a normal human to run, dodge, anything that would remove them from the paths of oncoming lead. A reasonable reaction. For a human. Instead the woman’s glare only intensified. There was the sharp sound of fingers snapping the instant before the bullets flew and the next moment she simply wasn’t there. Bullets pierced and ricocheted off of rock and stone in a hail of death that pathetically missed a mark that had not noticeably twitched a single muscle. That same instant the white-haired woman appeared on the other side of the wall of bullets, her sword piercing straight through one of the mercs. Armor plating that had given even Mei trouble was torn to shreds, useless against a blade manifested by the power of the Herrscher of Finality. Helmets crumpled under the force of the bark of the Herrscher’s returned gunfire from her double barreled Honkai pistol. Flashlights frantically attempted to follow the girl as she dashed around like a deadly pink comet. Striking down merc after merc, she displayed no concern or even care in general for the bullets flying in her direction. Pitch black portals rimmed in amethyst appeared in the blink of an eye around her body no matter which direction the bullets flew from. The burning metal simply disappeared into the void, leaving the woman completely unscathed as she continued her systematic destruction of the mercenary company around her. The woman easily dashed and portaled herself through their formations, bouncing a ball of pure Honkai energy like a ping pong through their lines before detonating it with a pistol shot, utterly destroying their vehicles. As regular humans they simply stood no chance.
From their cover, Mei, Eve, and Carol simply waited and watched the utter destruction unleashed by the final Herrscher. The one the media had dubbed the “Moon Goddess” after Honkai levels had miraculously dropped ever since her appearance. Mei’s face was impassive, eyes tracking the white-clad woman to the best of their ability. Eve and Carol stared in wide eyed astonishment, the young women unsure if they should be amazed or horrified at the ease with which the woman decimated the people that had nearly ended them. Only ten seconds later they were down to just their commander and a handful of mercs still standing back to back in an attempt to cover all angles. It was- of course- futile. As they continued to fire at any flash of white they could see in the darkness the woman simply spun out of the way and launched herself into the air. As she reached the apex of her leap, she allowed the momentum to turn her upside down. Silhouetted against the light of the moon, her eyes glittered like precious gems. With a snap of her arms to the side her wings ignited into six brilliant plumes of that frightening celestial energy.
In that moment, all Mei could think was that she appeared as an angel from her dreams. Descended from heaven to save her from her torment. Igniting the waves of Honkai energy, Kiana extended her leg and crashed down upon the last remaining foes wreathed in otherworldly flames. So devastating was her attack that even Mei was startled as telltale cracks appeared in the air like breaking glass. A sign Kiana had decimated the area so completely even their very dimension was crumbling under her assault. When the dust cleared, as the cracks in reality slowly mended and disappeared, naught was left of the last group of mercenaries but scattered ashes. Any others were either dead or incapacitated. All in all, it took a mere fifteen seconds for the woman to utterly destroy the entire company. A sudden quiet descended upon them, the silence heavy and deafening. The clacks of rubble and debris falling to the floor and settling into place seemed so loud it was almost painful in this new silence. The white-clad girl turned back and forth, eyes snapping to and fro on alert for any more unwanted presences. When none reared their head either visually or in her other senses, the weapons disappeared from her hands in a glitter of golden light. The starry patterns in her flames and clothing shifted subtly and the pressure that had built against the minds of surrounding mere mortals instantly dissipated.
Now confident she could face the woman safely, Mei gestured for her students to help her up. She managed to stumble to her feet with only a small grimace. Carole and Eve spoke in hushed whispers. “We’re going out there?! What if she thinks we’re with them?!”
“Carole, don’t be a dumbass.”
“Eve! Don’t be rude.” Mei frowned in disapproval to which the girl cringed apologetically. “She’s not gonna think that Carole. Besides, she’s known we’re here all along.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Hidden from them, the woman standing amidst the remains of the chaos of her own creation smiled gleefully. Her back still turned to them, she lifted her head. “Not to worry! Kiana the knight is here to save Mei the princess!” She spun, a bright smile on her face and her hands resting on her hips as she struck a little pose. Her eyes were locked onto the violet ones approaching her. Moving forward, she met them halfway. Her smile remained, though her eyes tightened at the sight of the woman limping towards her. Her cerulean and pink irises shimmered with worry and even... slight hesitation “It’s been a while… Mei-senpai.”
Ignoring the astonished looks from the girls on either side of her, Mei returned a loving smile. “Kiana-chan, it seems you’ve come to my rescue once again.”
Kiana’s shoulders sagged a bit as the tension drained from her muscles. The two were quiet for a moment. And then a single laugh rang out. And then another. And soon both women were laughing together, Kiana bent over from her full bellied laughter. Mei- though more reserved- still held an immeasurable amount of joy in the creases of her skin as a smile stretched across her face and an irrepressible elation rushed through her. Her arm quickly left Eve’s shoulders and the woman launched herself into the arms of her knight.
"M-mei! Don't move so suddenly! Your wound…"
Mei's arms only tightened around the Herrscher. "Kiana, please just shut up and hug me." The breath of her words caressed Kiana's skin like an embrace all their own as the taller woman buried her face against the crook of her neck.
For a moment, the woman hesitated, as if unsure whether her embrace would harm the woman or not. But eventually her desire to hold her most important person won out and armored, Honkai shrouded hands pressed against the taller girl's back and held tight.
Kiana's next breath came as a shuddering sigh. "I missed you so much. It's been a while since anyone visited." Her eyes screwed shut. If she squeezed hard enough she wouldn't cry, right?
Mei nuzzled their cheeks together and smiled against the wet droplets moistening her skin. "I missed you too."
There they stood. The princess and the knight. Origin and Finality. The beginning and the end, reunited on Earth at last. It seemed as if all the world had halted for the two women. For that moment, all that mattered was the warmth of the woman in their arms, the feeling of the muscles in their arms flexing as they held each other close. And eventually… the meeting of their lips in a burst of passion that said nothing less than 'With you, I am home'.
Gently, Kiana slid her hand downwards. Her calloused fingers softly brushed over the firmer texture of bandages. Without releasing Mei's lips, she carefully pressed against the slightly bloodied material, a soft glow emanating from her palm. The sensation unfortunately caused Mei to break away with a small gasp and a soft whine of disappointment from Kiana.
"Kiana, you…?" the question lingered in her eyes.
Kiana grinned. "I have every herrscher ability now, remember? That includes the Herrscher of Death's ability to heal. Might wanna take the bandages off so the bullets can come out." Movement in the corner of her eye drew her eyes away from Mei for the first time since they had reuinited. Over to the two awestruck girls standing a short distance away.
"Y-you're…" One began.
"The Moon Goddess." The other finished.
Kiana rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Mei did you tell them that?"
The woman looked up from where she was unwinding the bandages from her thigh. "No, the world started calling you that after enough people remembered the message you put in everyone's heads right before you started your mission on the moon."
"Ah… that…" Kiana scratched her cheek with a finger and chuckled awkwardly. "I guess with what I can do now I can't really deny it but I wish people would stop calling me that."
"Teacher… Mei… you kissed the Moon Goddess?"
"Aanndd they're not listening…"
Mei beamed, wrapping an arm around Kiana's shoulders and the other hand resting in the crook of the woman's elbow. Kiana automatically bent her arm, offering support for the taller woman. "Why yes, Carole. I love her after all."
"We're Married!" Kiana beamed.
"What!?" Carole exclaimed. "And you didn't even tell us?!" Carole touched her fingers to her chest and locked her teacher with the most offended stare she could muster.
"You know what, now our teacher's daily angst sessions staring at the moon make sense." Eve deadpanned.
"Hey!" Mei frowned. Kiana shot her an amused look and she was forced to look away to hide the embarrassed blush flooding her cheeks. "They were not… angst sessions ."
“Aww Mei…” Kiana held her hands behind her back and beamed at her wife gleefully, “Did you miss me that much? We talk almost every night though!”
“...I’ve been on so many missions lately we haven’t had much time for that though…” She murmured sheepishly.
Eve raised an eyebrow at that. “Who knew the stern instructor Raiden Mei could be like a lovesick schoolgirl.”
“Not another word, young lady.” Mei’s voice had instantly become more commanding and stern. It almost reminded the white-haired Herrscher of when Mei had first willingly become the Herrscher of Thunder. Except it still held hints of Mei’s usual soft, caring tone. Unlike when she had beaten Kiana unconscious. Which was kinda hot looking back on it.
Kiana giggled at the girl’s sheepish smile. “Wow, you know, it’s kind of hot when you do that. I wonder how many gay awakenings you’ve caused doing that.”
“Kiana!” Mei appeared scandalized, lightly smacking her wife on the head.
Kiana’s giggles only intensified. “Okay okay, I’m sorry!” Armored fingers gently grasped the taller woman’s jaw and pulled her to the side to meet her wife’s lips. Mei’s commanding aura melted near immediately, her arms encircling Kiana’s shoulders as she deepened the kiss. Much to the embarrassment of her students.
“I get called to come all the way out here at 3am to save a Valkyrie and hunt down my wayward little sister only to find them standing in a warzone with their lips locked. I have half a mind to take Mei back and leave you here, Kiana.” A new, quite annoyed voice rang out into the canyon.
A voice that made the mighty Moon Goddess immediately cringe. “H-Hiiiii Big Sis!”
Shicksal’s mightiest Valkyrie, Bianka “Durandal” Ataegina, leaped down from the cliff she had appeared on. Carole flinched as the seemingly unhappy Valkyrie’s landing shook the loose stones around her feet. The always intimidating Abyss Flower was held perpendicular to her body. “Kiana Kaslana.” Kiana flinched. This was not Bianka, the caring older sister. This was Durandal, the strongest Shicksal Valkyrie. And Durandal always meant business. “By order of Overseer Theresa Apocalypse, you are to come with me. She wants to have a… talk.” Durandal’s tone brooked no disobedience. The most disturbing thing, however, was the smile that appeared on her face at her last word.
She was so dead.
“Hey uhhh before we do anything drastic - I mean, I love Auntie, but I’ve kinda got a lot on my plate with the whole ‘Last 0.6% of Honkai on Earth’ and everything so I should proobbabblyy get back to the moon. Y’know, got a job to do and all that tellAuntTheresaIsaidhiandI’mtakingMeiwithme-” Her words were choked off as she tried to run with Mei in tow only for Durandal to latch onto the back of her collar.
“You are not dragging Mei around, they told me she was seriously injured.”
“Biankaaaaaaaaaa It’s fine! I healed her! All Herrscher powers, remember?”
Durandal sighed. “You’re still coming with me.”
Kiana hung her head with a long, suffering groan.
Durandal turned to Mei’s two students. “Are you two alright? This troublemaker didn’t drag you into anything, did she?” Her eyes wandered around the utterly destroyed remains of the Mercenary company around them.
Eve shook her head. “No, she saved us actually. We’d either be prisoners or dead if she hadn’t shown up when she did.”
“See, Dudu?! It’s a good thing I came when I felt Mei get hurt!”
Mei’s gloved hands cupped her cheeks and turned Kiana’s head so their eyes could meet. “And I am very grateful, my love.” A soft smile graced Kiana’s vision. One she returned. But Mei’s expression quickly fell into a more serious stare. “But you still need to come talk with Theresa. If only so Bianka can get back to Rita.”
Kiana could feel her sister’s glare burning into the back of her head. “Finneeee… Can you stay with me?”
Mei giggled. “I didn’t plan on leaving your side any time soon, silly.”
“Alright, lets go.” Bianka said.
“H-hey, wait-” Kiana struggled against her sister’s grip as the woman began dragging her away. “BiankaaaaaAAAAAAAA-” Kiana’s voice burst into a shrill shriek as her sister threw her over her shoulder and leaped back up the cliff she had appeared on.
Mei sighed, half in exasperation, half in fondness. “Kaslanas…” She beckoned her students to follow. Smiling, she asked, “Come on, lets go home, shall we?”