Sunset ^beta

Chapter Text

Kiana grunted in exertion as she leapt over the swing of the strange crystalline monster charging at her and kicked off of the multicoloured black hole engulfing its head. The surrounding environment was just as strange, the very air was charged with a foreign energy that the Herrscher could tell immediately was not the Honkai. Black crystals grew from the ground and inanimate objects of this seemingly abandoned town. Spatial distortions made it tricky to utilise the authority of the Void, but it would take more than that to restrict the Herrscher of Finality. Her sword parried and sliced, limbs and bodies falling to the ground and disintegrating into flickering particles like the ones hovering through the air. A flash of purple and she would reappear out of harm's way. The bark of her pistol marked the fall of another foe with every flash of the muzzle.

“Big lazy cat, behind us! Watch out!"

“I can feel it!” Kiana ducked under another creature as it attempted to pounce on her. She threw out her arm and a metre long white snake with cream colored ventral scale pattering and a bandana tied just behind its head corkscrewed down the limb and threw itself at the creature. A shimmering outer shell of glowing white Honkai energy bloomed into existence and formed a much larger, much more vicious snake around its small body in the blink of an eye and clamped its newly enlarged jaws around the creature’s neck. The crack of Kiana’s pistol beat out a rhythm of falling bodies as she kept more of the creatures from getting within arms reach of the snake currently snapping the neck of their ally. The creature soon disintegrated into those strange particles and the white snake darted back towards Kiana, its form of pure Honkai energy quickly dissipating as it slunk into the loose arm of her hoodie. A little reptilian face poked out of the hoodie’s collar a moment later.

“Is that all of them, Rice Cake?” Kiana wiped the sweat from her brow with a flick of her wrist. It was just a few monsters, why was she so drained? The energy in the air was rather uncomfortable. Instincts rang in her head, the urge to flee this place tingling just under her skin like her senses coming back after laying on her arm for too long. Maybe she should change into her battlesuit instead of a tank top, hoodie, and jeans?

“I don’t see any more...” The small snake rapidly turned its head back and forth and leaned to peer around Kiana’s neck, “Where are big sis Bronya and mama Mei?”

“We’re here, Rice Cake!” Kiana spun, both her and Rice Cake’s faces immediately lighting up when they spotted the head of loose dark purple hair jogging towards them. Not far behind was a similarly familiar head of long grey hair styled into twin drills. Both women were clad in their newer Valkyrie battlesuits, Bronya’s black and white dress and Mei’s white suit blazer designed to be something that could reasonably fit in a civilian setting while still providing them all the enhanced abilities of a Honkai powered battlesuit. Of course, they still had their own personal touches. Bronya’s feather-like shoulder cape and elegantly crafted upgraded leg prosthetics, as well as Mei’s tights and fancy thick heels were not standard issue for the paramilitary organisation. Though the battlesuit designers did seem to like heels a bit too much. Kiana had always chalked it up to a man being Overseer for five-hundred years.

“Mama Mei!” The snake quickly darted from its cover, the Honkai beast slithering through the air as easily as it might along the ground and into Mei’s arms.

The Valkyrie giggled in delight as Rice Cake lovingly nuzzled against her cheek, “It’s good to see you too, dear.” Mei took a moment to pet and rub along the rearward protruding white spines around it's face (the two arcing up between its nostrils and wide-set eyes giving her the appearance of having little horns) as well as the firm oval shaped golden discs arcing back from where they grew from above her eyes, almost giving the snake the appearance of having external ears on top of its head. Her eyes fell half-closed with glee, the white four-pointed star shaped pupils surrounded by a red iris absolutely shining under Mei's ministrations. Her tail had a rounded decoration almost shaped like a vase slid partway up her tail, only a few centimetres of the angular muscled point sticking out of the bottom, making her appear to be a rattlesnake until one looked more closely.

“Kiana idiotka, where have you teleported us this time?” Bronya crossed her arms and leveled the white-haired woman with an unamused stare. Though with Bronya’s usual deadpan expression it was hard to tell what counted as amused or unamused. Fortunately, Kiana was well versed in all the minute details of a displeased Bronya Zaychik. Though as happy as she was to see them, this place still had an undeniable creepiness about it. Kiana instinctively reached out to her family with invisible tendrils of Honkai energy, feeding them a small bit of her own power to stave off this strange new energy.

“I don’t know! I wasn’t trying to!” Kiana threw her arms into the air for emphasis, “Where are Dudu and Seele? Weren’t they with us too?”

Mei shrugged, “I haven’t seen them. I hope they escaped whatever you did that pulled us into this strange place.”

“Kiana Mama wasn’t being lazy for once and now we’re in a weird place with creepy monsters,” Rice Cake anxiously wrapped herself around Mei’s shoulders, “Is this why she’s usually such a big lazy cat?”

Kiana’s mouth fell agape and her ponytail swayed violently as she pulled her head back in indignation, “Hey!”

“Kiana,” Bronya snapped her fingers to draw the woman’s attention back to her, “Something about this place is off. You must have felt it too otherwise you wouldn’t be feeding our dormant cores Honkai energy. We need to get out of here.”

“Right,” Kiana scanned the environment, invisible waves of Honkai energy stretching out as she observed with a sight beyond sight, “Something about this place is making opening rifts more complicated,” Kiana frowned, “Space here is all messed up. Gimme a minute to figure this out.”

Almost as soon as she turned her focus inwards a voice answered her thoughts, “No, it is not any easier for me to get through all this spatial noise so don’t ask.”

Kiana stuck her lip out in a childish pout, “What if I was gonna ask something else, Sirin?”

“You weren’t. Now are we going to focus on getting out of here or are you going to keep fucking around? I could easily blast a hole through this ridiculous maze.”

“Er, not right now Sirin. I’ll let you know when you can start blowing stuff up, okay?”

There was a quiet grumble that Kiana studiously ignored as she stretched her otherworldly senses outwards, slowly but surely tuning her powers to carving a path through this chaotic mess they had found themselves in. The picture slowly took shape in her senses. Sirin was right, it wasn’t so much a jumbled chaotic mess as it was a… maze of sorts. And no maze could defeat the power of the Herrscher of Finality.

Her three companions watched patiently, alert for any more of the creatures they had encountered upon their arrival.

One moment. Two. And then Kiana snapped her fingers and shot them a pleased grin, “I got it!” A purple rimmed portal into the void burst to life before her, “Alright, in we go!”

Mei moved to enter the rift first, giving Kiana a quick peck on the cheek and letting Rice Cake slither back over to Kiana before stepping through. Bronya jumped in next. Finally Kiana hopped through, the world shifting and blurring around her as her portal launched them through the spatial distortions and spit them out a safe distance away. Kiana’s sneakers slid against sandy ground and the harsh sun blinded her eyes as she flew from her portal. The sudden entrance into regular reality and away from the strange energy left her with a sudden wave of nausea and disorientation. A few stumbles forward from these unexpected sensations sent her crashing into Bronya and both women tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Kianaaaaaa!” Bronya growled.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t think the imaginary space was going to give us so much momentum! It was probably the wack spatial interference!”

“Get off of me!”

“Big lazy cat, watch it! You’re gonna squish me! Mama Meeeiiiiii!”

“Bronya, stop shoving me! Just give me a second, I’m dizzy! You’re gonna-”

Mei watched patiently as Rice Cake quickly extricated herself from the situation and climbed up Mei just as Bronya got her legs under Kiana and pressed her boots against her abdomen. Not a second later and a white blur flew past and slammed into a nearby rock with a mighty crash.

Mei gently pet Rice Cake, the poor snake wrapped securely around her forearm as she glared towards the crater Kiana now occupied.

“Meeeeeiiiiiiii...” Kiana whined as she slowly peeled herself off of the rock, “Bronya’s being a little brat again!”

“I’m sure you must have done something to deserve it,” Mei said neutrally.

“Wha- Not even my wife will defend me...” Kiana sighed dramatically, brushing off the rock dust that had collected on her hoodie and jeans, “Bronya if you got rocks in my shoes I’m gonna give Project Bunny an extended vacation!”

“Idiotka has no authority to give Bunny annual leave,” Shot back a now standing Bronya, “Besides, I give her plenty of breaks.”

Mei and Kiana gave each other doubtful looks.

Bronya narrowed her eyes, “What?”

“Nothing!” Mei smiled.

“Hey so uhh...” Kiana gestured to their surroundings, “Looks like we’re stuck in the middle of a desert?” Indeed, there was sand as far as the eye could see, the landscape dotted with desert brush, cacti, rock formations, and no doubt a myriad of creatures hidden from sight. However, Kiana’s gaze did not linger on it for long instead turning to a rather out of place black dome-shaped mass towering over all else behind them, “My only question is, what the fuck is THAT?!” She extended her arms and waved them up and down as if the thing in question was hard to see.

“Kiana! Rice Cake is here! Language!” Mei admonished.

“Sorry!”

“Hmm,” This time Bronya did not snipe at Kiana, instead studying the strange environmental hazard with a professional eye, rubbing a feather of her silverwing cape between her fingers while she thought, “This must be the origin of the chaotic space that was giving you trouble, Kiana,” Her eyes traced the multicoloured border outlining whatever this thing was, “If I was to give a rough guess from how large it seems just looking at it, the circumference of this chaotic space could easily reach several kilometers.”

“Yeesh,” Kiana grimaced, “Well, glad we’re outta there! Now let's figure out what’s going on with this place and hopefully find some people,” She pointed towards the horizon, “Lets go! Onwards, lesbians!”

Unsurprisingly, it had only taken Kiana about five minutes to find a way to get them into trouble. They had found a road paved with asphalt not unlike those on Earth, however before they had even begun following it to wherever it lead, Kiana had nearly jumped out of her skin and yelled that she could sense her sister. Despite an earlier declaration that she wanted to limit Honkai usage until they learned more about this strange world, another portal opened and Kiana had jumped through before either of the other women could stop her. Not wanting to be separated, they had quickly followed her.

When their feet met nothing but air on exiting the portal, the Valkyries rapidly began to regret their decision. All three women fell in a heap, a sharp scream escaping Mei’s lips before it was cut off by Bronya landing on top of her.

“Kiana,” Bronya grunted, “If you do this one more time I swear on my Homu collection-”

“Oh, the four of you are here, thank goodness!”

All three looked up at the new voice, soft yet stern, and very much relieved at the sight of them. Blue eyes and long blonde hair streaked with white met them as Kiana clawed her way out from the pile of limbs and jumped to her feet. The woman was dressed in the white comfortably form fitting fabric and modular armor plating of her Palatinus Equinox battlesuit. The large lance and shield on her back certainly stood out in what appeared to be a rather modern desert town.

“Dudu!” She excitedly opened her arms to her sister, however when Durandal merely stared at her before gesturing with her head at something to the side Kiana finally noticed they were currently surrounded by some very unhappy looking individuals. On one side were a rather ragtag looking group; a man in a red jacket with two large revolvers who looked to be some kind of android or cyborg, a twin-tailed pink haired girl in a tattered white crop top and jacket with jean shorts and holding a briefcase, a small cat-like girl with two tails and cybernetic legs with puffy sleeves and pants helping her loose shirt hide her lithe frame, a white-haired woman with a white crop-top and short skirt covering just enough with her hand hovering near a sword attached to the back of her waist, as well as an unarmed hoodie-clad woman holding a strange wide-eyed creature who the others seemed to be protecting.

On the other were four individuals in what appeared to be similar uniforms; rather office-like clothing such as skirts, dress shirts, and dress pants, ties expertly done around their collars (except for the archer, who seemed to take a more casual approach with his blazer tied around his waist). A small girl who appeared to be a blue Oni stared at them with gleaming eyes, a pink-haired woman adjusted her grip on a naginata and pierced them with an analytical gaze, and the black-haired archer who- despite his messy appearance- was already trying to stealthily flank them. Though the honed senses of every Valkyrie present were quickly drawn to the silent swirling maelstrom of power that was the girl in the center. Long black hair topped with fox ears, a long flowing skirt and tights with a dress shirt tucked into the waistband and an aquamarine cloak over her shoulders covering what appeared to be a prosthetic left arm gripping a sheathed katana. Behind her was a rather squat old man in casual clothes shaking in fear.

A short blonde girl in mechanic’s work pants and a small top stood nearby next to a rather impressive truck and was scratching her head nervously despite her attempts to look laid back and casual.

In the middle of it all stood Bianka “Durandal” Ataegina. And now so did the trio of Valkyries and Rice Cake.

“Uh, Hi there?” Kiana waved awkwardly, “Hope we’re not interrupting anything important!”

Bronya sighed, “Kiana, please shut up.”

“Who are you?”

“Who the fuck are you?”

Both pink-haired women spoke at the same time.

“Uh, well, my name is Kiana, that’s Bianka, Mei, and Bronya,”

“And I’m Rice Cake!” Said Rice Cake.

“This is a really beautiful town you have here but it looks like you’re in the middle of something so don’t mind us we’ll just-”

The girl with the katana held out the scabbard and blocked Kiana’s path as she tried to walk away, “Halt. Nicole, what is the meaning of this? A portal?” Her voice rapidly gained an undercurrent of betrayal, “Belle?”

“What?” The twin-tailed girl was aghast, “You think I’m trying to trick you or something? Miyabi, We have no idea who these people are!”

The blue-haired girl behind her nodded rapidly, almost desperately, “It wasn't me! Miyabi, I promise you!”

The other pink-haired woman adjusted her glasses, “First you attempt to hide the Manager’s identity as a proxy from us and now you bring in reinforcements? Who else would armed women falling from the sky be? Are you expecting a fight? I thought we were having a peaceful conversation.”

Bronya’s keen ears pulled her attention away from the katana-wielding girl- Miyabi, apparently- as Nicole leaned away and murmured to the two people behind her, “I’m sorry, Proxy, I don’t think we can hold them off. Run as fast as you can-”

Kiana suddenly perked up, “Hey quick question, who’s side are the gunmen currently surrounding us on?

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth bullets rained down on everybody present. Miyabi unsheathed her blade at lightning fast speed and sliced a bullet clean out of the air. Mei followed close behind, her own katana wreathed in lightning as she expertly deflected and sliced at inhuman speeds. A hardlight shield bloomed to life in front of Bronya, the cat-like girl and machine man taking cover, Bronya and the man’s guns quickly returning fire. Kiana had analysed the situation at speeds only achievable by the Herrscher of Finality, choosing to teleport over to the two unarmed persons faster than the bullets could travel, small purple rimmed rifts appearing in the air before the three of them and harmlessly absorbing the bullets, only for new ones to bloom to life around their attackers. The gunmen barely had a chance to realise something was happening before their own bullets flew from the portals and eviscerated them.

In the midst of the chaos a calm monotone broke through the sounds of gunfire, “Nicole! Did you set this up? Are you really colluding with the criminals?”

Nicole yelped as Mei’s katana intercepted another bullet headed straight towards her in her mad dash for cover, “Hey! I was gonna ask you the same thing! Isn’t this armed ambush your doing?! Don’t tell me… someone else is after us?”

The roar of an engine rumbled in their bones as the short blonde mechanic started up her truck and expertly maneuvered to use the trailer as a shield for the ragtag group. Once she had stopped once more the blue-haired woman Kiana had been protecting yelled out, “Piper! Keep the truck on! Now’s our chance to get outta here!”

“Wait, you’re not getting away!” Miyabi was forced to halt her attempted pursuit as another hail of bullets rained down on her still exposed team.

The same blue-haired woman looked back at the Valkyries, gesturing urgently, “Come on! Get in!”

The Valkyries threw open the back of the truck and dove inside as the others clambered into the cab and a second nearby truck. Kiana hopped on top of the blonde girl’s truck, portals still absorbing bullets even as her own double-barreled Honkai pistol appeared in her hand and began to respond with return fire. Soon enough they were burning down the road at top speed. The road dove down between canyon walls just behind the town, and it only took a few moments for hidden vehicles to fly from between the canyon walls in hot pursuit.

Kiana laughed, “Well Rice Cake, today looks like it’s gonna be quite exciting, huh? I wasn’t planning on using this much Honkai energy, but they’re not giving me much choice!”

“I’ll show them the power of Honkai beast Rice Cake!” The little snake declared.

“Just wait until they get in range, kid, trust me when I say you don’t wanna experience needing a bullet extracted from your body.”

Rice Cake shuddered, “I’m not a kid! …But for once I’ll take your word, big lazy cat.”

Kiana remained ready, though it wasn’t until they had left paved asphalt behind in favor of compacted dirt that their foes really attempted another attack. Several cars and motorcycles used the more open environment as their chance to catch up, with several speeding past the rear truck in favor of jumping onto the trailer holding Kiana and her friends. Bronya wasted no time in flinging the roll-up trailer door back open and blasting the first man she saw. The green clad girl with short-white hair expertly swung out of the cab and onto the roof to join Kiana just in time to knock off a foe trying to climb up behind her. The woman's sword was slicing through the air just as quickly, slashing another man across the chest and sending him tumbling off the truck just as fast as he had arrived. Kiana swiftly dispatched two more, summoning her bat to her hand to deflect a swing from an electrified baton and sending a bullet through the head of the second. Her first opponent had no time to react as Kiana’s leg slammed into his abdomen and launched him with such force he crashed into his ally attempting to commandeer the second truck and sent them both careening to the sand below, no doubt snapping several bones in both mens’ bodies.

“Nice moves!” Kiana grinned, “What’s your name?”

“Anby. More enemies incoming.”

Blue flashes flew from the trailer below them, Bronya’s energy-wreathed projectiles arcing around obstacles and hitting their foes with pinpoint accuracy. Not one to be outdone, Kiana raised her pistol and began picking off the motorcycle riders. The crash of metal against metal preceded the entire truck jerking violently, their foes moving to box them in with several cars. Another car flew off an outcropping and landed in front of them, a hard brake rapidly slamming its rear into the front of the truck, nearly throwing Kiana from the roof. Anby quickly retreated back into the cab.

Rice cake poked her head out of her hiding spot in Kiana’s hoodie, “Kiana mama, I can get the cars!”

“Alright, Rice Cake, just be careful, we don’t want them to explode and damage the truck or something-” Before she could finish the shine of sunlight off of steel flashed towards her. If it wasn’t for her inhuman Herrscher reflexes the katana now lodged in her bat would likely have taken her out of the fight immediately, “Hey, what’s the big idea?!”

Miyabi’s expression did not change from its emotionless determination, “You are an unknown with strange powers protecting wanted criminals. I will incapacitate and detain you all for questioning.”

Another inhumanly fast slice that Kiana just barely managed to sidestep, ever so lightly tapping the sword with a gravitational field to adjust its trajectory, “Alright Rice Cake, never mind, you’re going to Mama!”

“What? Hey-” Kiana pulled the snake from her hoodie and bodily tossed her into a portal behind her. Another burst to life next to her, which she tossed the damaged bat into. Her eyes remained on Miyabi as she reached in and withdrew the sword of Finality, the white and amethyst blade catching the next strike from Miyabi’s katana, “Lady, I don’t know what your deal is, but if you try to hurt me or my family then I’m going to defend myself,” Kiana pushed Miyabi back, quickly raising her pistol and firing off several shots. Miyabi dashed forward along the limited space of the truck, a blue afterimage being all that Kiana’s bullets managed to hit. In the blink of an eye her katana slashed at Kiana from several different angles. Kiana managed to deflect several but was forced to dodge the last few by teleporting herself to the other end of the truck in a swirl of purple light.

“Fuckin’ hell you’re fast,” Kiana huffed, "Guess I gotta put a bit more effort in." She twirled her sword between her fingers before falling into a ready stance with pistol and sword pointed at her foe. When Miyabi was not forthcoming with another attack Kiana took her turn to dash at her foe, sword stabbing forward at lightning fast speed.

Another clash of blades as her sword was kept from its mark, the ice cold katana sliding along Kiana’s sword in a retaliatory swing. The ring of the edge as it slid down the sword's half-basket guard and up past her ear was only matched by the burning cold, the tips of her hair frosting over from the close proximity of the blade. Kiana shifted her weight, meeting Miyabi’s next strike head on. The women fell into a rhythm of dodging, slashing, parrying, stabbing, shooting, deflecting, both womens’ attacks quickly ramping up in speed until every movement was too fast to be tracked with the naked eye. If Kiana couldn’t meet an attack in time, she would portal to a new location to launch her own, only for Miyabi to react quickly and decisively, never giving an inch. After several seconds of this incredible display of skill and power, Kiana allowed the next strike to push her back to the end of the truck’s trailer. The two warriors held their gazes, each calculating their next move. However, the battle raging around them would not keep waiting forever. The entire truck shook and sent the women stumbling as their ambushers boxing in the vehicle continued their attempts to either slow it down or run it off the road with renewed vigor.

At the very least, this distraction let Kiana quickly take stock of her surroundings. Mei and Bianka had leapt from the truck at some point, aiding the second truck by pouncing on the motorcyclists and cars that Bronya had not yet targeted. Leaping from vehicle to vehicle with a practiced ease, their Valkyrie battlesuits infused their bodies with what Honkai energy Schicksal still had stored after a decade of Kiana siphoning it to the moon. Their ambushers stood no chance against the physically enhanced defenders of Earth. Kiana and Miyabi stumbled again, this time from the blonde driver slamming on her own brakes and sending the truck into a 180 degree spin, the cars attempting to box them in slamming into each other with the sudden removal of their target. Kiana and Miyabi were forced to drop down and hold onto the edge of the trailer to resist the centrifugal force attempting to throw them off. A car that had been approaching from behind slid past and Kiana swore she could see the shock on the soldier’s helmeted face. The truck lurched as the wheels spun in the dirt before its grip dug in and shot them towards the fight around the second truck.

“Kiana Mama, watch out!”

Acting on instinct another rift exploded into existence at her back. The incoming katana slid into the inky blackness within, another portal expertly positioned with supernatural senses left Miyabi with the tip of her own blade dangerously close to her neck.

Frightfully intense glowing pink stars silhouetted against the midday sky peered back at her, “Really? Right now?” 

Fluffy ears flicked, the reproach and Rice Cake’s warning bringing out a strange hesitance in the girl. It was the best Kiana could hope for, the limited Honkai reserves she had stored to expend in this strange world running dangerously low after her duel with the young woman. Miyabi jumped back and withdrew her katana, Kiana allowing the portals to slip back closed.

She chanced turning back to the voice that warned her, “Rice Cake! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Mei!”

The little snake was curled over the edge of the truck, using the looped fabric handle on the opened back door to hold herself in place through the bumpy ride, “She left me with big sis Bronya when she jumped out! But I can help! Stop leaving me behind!”

“Rice Cake, it's not safe out here! You’ve used too much of your Honkai energy! I need-”

As if fate was rushing to prove Kiana right, an explosion rocked the truck, its rear wheels sliding side to side dangerously. The glow of a second thruster rapidly approaching flashed in the corner of her eye, shining blue shots from the trailer’s single occupant flashing past the nimble missile, the truck's unbalanced movement throwing off Bronya’s marksmanship. Kiana reacted quickly and dove towards the rear of the truck, arms outstretched.

“Rice Cake!”

There was a thunderous boom and the world spun, Kiana focused solely on reaching the slender white figure fearfully curled around the only hold she had on the truck. Until a heavy weight pressed against her back and slammed her head into the earth. Everything went black.

It was cold without Kiana. That was Rice Cake’s first thought as consciousness flickered back to her. The sapping cold of concrete pressing against her scales seemed- in that moment- like the worst sensation the little Honkai beast had ever felt. The sluggishness that seemed to seep into her bones fought against Rice Cake’s desire to open her eyes. The bright sun seemed to sting more than usual as she fought to lift her eyelids ever so slightly and some sight was brought back to her. A ringing in her ears gradually faded, allowing the other sounds of the environment to bleed in over it. There was the crackling of fire somewhere to her right, a strange faint humming that seemed to come from the very air, and to her left…

“How are things on your end, Miss Miyabi? Any luck reaching your team? Um… how about you? Bronya, right?”

Calloused fingers gently stroked down Rice Cake’s scales, the snake's eyes snapping back closed as she did her best to restrain noises of contentment so she could eavesdrop.

“Yes,” Bronya replied, “And no, I have had no luck. It seems my communication device also cannot pierce this strange chaotic space.”

Miyabi shook her head, “Nothing so far, Belle. I went after you all alone after you drove off. My teammates might still be fighting the attackers outside the Hollow.”

“I see,” Belle tried to hide her anxiousness but her voice still wavered, “Um… Miyabi, could you please… let go of my hand? I-I kinda need to wipe my sweat off…”

“No. I had to get past eleven motorcycles, four cars, and five soldiers just to catch up with your vehicle,” Crimson eyes drifted over to their grey haired guest, “Only to be halted by that strange white-haired woman Nicole brought as reinforcements. It’s pure luck I found you in the Hollow. It’ll be hard to catch you if you escape again. The Hoshimi family doesn’t make the same mistake thrice.”

Belle laughed nervously, “Uh, we've already gone over what's wrong with that statement before, right? Anyway, I promise I won’t run off. Wandering the Hollow without a Carrot will just get us more lost. And uh, actually we have no idea who any of those women are.”

Bronya met Miyabi’s stare with her own unflinching steely grey gaze, “I could hear your battle. Rather impressive to be able to go toe to toe with Kiana like that.”

“People usually say it the other way around.”

“Yes, well, most people aren’t Kiana. I can gurantee you she was holding back substantially,” Bronya said rather matter-of-factly, “Also, Rice Cake, I know you’re awake. You can stop pretending now.”

Rice Cake immediately let out an exhausted whine, pressing her body into Bronya's gentle petting, “Big sis Bronnyyaaaa why didn’t you pick me up then?! Don’t you know how cold this floor is?”

Bronya chuckled softly, “Alright, come here,” She gently slid her hands under the lethargic Honkai beast, lifting her up and bringing her arms close so Rice Cake could curl up against her body and warm up. She turned to face the other two women, eyes sliding over Belle’s curious expression.

“I’ve never seen a creature like that before…” The blue-haired woman breathed in amazement.

Rice Cake’s head immediately shot up from her coils, her little face narrowed in an offended glare, “I’m not a ‘creature’! I’m Rice Cake! The strongest Honkai beast there ever was!” She spun to look up at Bronya, “Big sis Bronya, can I eat them?”

Belle gasped, “Oh! I’m sorry!”

Bronya’s lip curved ever so slightly upwards as Miyabi’s hand tightened on her katana, “No Rice Cake, no eating anyone. At least not until we get out of here, we don’t have Kiana to portal us out this time.”

“Honkai beast,” Miyabi muttered.

Bronya raised an eyebrow, “Yes, maybe if you can sit down and have a civil conversation instead of attacking her, Kiana will explain things. However, right now I have a greater interest in getting out of here than in explaining our situation to the woman that attacked my best friend.”

Miyabi nodded, eyes darting away from Bronya’s unmoving gaze, “In that case, let's sit down. The Hollow Survival Guide says it’s best to wait in a safe corner for rescue. My teammates will come looking for me. We just need to hold out until then.”

“Big sis…” Rice cake nuzzled against Bronya’s body as she whined, “Can’t Kiana Mama just tear open a rift to us?”

Bronya hummed, “She probably could if she wanted to. But she’s probably getting worried about what might happen if she releases too much Honkai energy and will attempt to locate us through more normal means instead.”

“She didn’t seem to have a problem when that mean fox lady attacked us,” She pouted.

Bronya exhaled in amusement, “The fact she expended so much defending herself is probably what has her so worried about using more.”

Rice Cake whined again, “But I’m so exhausted… I won’t be able to put all those creepy monsters in their place!”

Bronya shifted, moving one of the arms supporting Rice Cake to fish something out of the pouch on her waist belt. After a moment of blindly searching with her fingers she pulled out a small cylinder filled with a strange pink liquid, “Here.”

The small snake tilted her head, “What is it?”

“A little gift Kiana and I prepared for you just in case we ran into this exact situation at some point,” Bronya used her thumb to flick off the latch and the cap flipped up with the small pop of pressure being released, “It’s a Honkai energy canister in case my battlesuit runs out of energy, but we modified it to carry liquid Honkai. Drink it. It’ll help restore your energy.”

Rice Cake glared as Bronya attempted to feed her the capsule of Honkai, the Valkyrie tapping the edge against the stubbornly closed mouth of the snake, “I can drink it myself!” She wriggled her tail into Bronya’s hand and wrapped the container in her coils before downing the Honkai within in one gulp, “Wow, I can already feel my strength coming back!”

Bronya fought to keep the urge to smile from showing on her face as Rice Cake finished her little emergency snack and dropped the container, which Bronya quickly snatched out of the air.

Belle smiled, “She’s a fussy little kid, huh?”

“I’m not a kid!” Rice Cake denied, “I’m- Wait, big sis how long has it been since the Spring Festival dream?”

“About two years, five months, and twelve days.”

The miniscule Honkai beast turned a smug gaze back to Belle, “See?”

“Uh…” Belle’s smile quickly turned awkward, blue eyes flicking up to Bronya and back to the snake in her arms.

“Two years would still be a toddler in human terms,” Miyabi said, voicing Belle’s thoughts, “Very much still a kid.”

Rice Cake’s little eyebrow-like scale ridges pulled down, the Honkai beast looking positively furious, “Yeah? Well what would you know, meanie fox!? You tried to slice up my Mama for no reason!”

Miyabi simply sighed.

“Hey, uh, Miyabi,” Belle said, turning her gaze to said meanie fox, “Are you sure this is the right move?”

“You mean being stuck in the Hollow on Election Day, knowing there’s a dangerous case out there, while my team fights and I just sit here… is that what you’re asking?” Miyabi closed her eyes, carefully schooling her expression, “No, I don’t think this is the right move, but there’s nothing else I can do. So I’m undergoing the training called ‘maintain composure despite the emotional turmoil inside’.”

“O-oh okay,” Belle held her arm behind her back, suddenly growing rather reticent. Then, quietly, “I’m sorry, Miyabi…”

“Oh! Kiana Mama does that all the time too! Better than you, though,” Rice Cake helpfully added. The peek of an unamused crimson eye sent the snake quickly diving back into her coils. Bronya looked between the two women. Years of experience with a certain two Valkyries who’d had their fair share of rocky patches lent to her instincts telling her there was more going on than simply an authority figure chasing a criminal. Far be it for her to intervene, she was content to sit back and observe.

Ignoring Rice Cake’s antagonising Bell continued, “Well… since you also don’t want to just wait around… maybe you’d like to hear my idea?”

“Fine.”

Belle couldn’t quite hide the way she flinched at the especially cold tone, “What if we all work together? I don’t mean to brag, but I really am an experienced Proxy! I’m pretty confident about finding a way out of the Hollow! I just can’t defend myself on my own…” She tapped the pointer finger of her free hand against her cheek anxiously, “You and Bronya have the combat prowess, and I have the skills to find the exit. Let's put aside the whole arrest thing for now and get out of here together! What do you say?”

Miyabi finally opened her eyes, shooting Belle a questioning look, “Didn’t you say your important gadget is broken? How will you navigate us?”

“Well… Have you heard of the “maze-solving algorithm"? In simple terms, if we ignore the dangers in the Hollow and just consider its tendency to make people lost, it’s really nothing but a maze.”

Bronya made a noise of realisation, “No wonder Kiana idiotka was able to figure it out so quickly.”

“Finding a path through a maze is a well-studied math problem since the old civilization,” Belle continued, “With enough basic data, even the most complicated maze can be solved!”

“Enough basic data…” Miyabi held her chin between forefinger and thumb in thought, “You mean Hollow observation data?”

Bronya listened with an analytical ear as Belle explained how she could use the data from machines observing this chaotic space- what Belle was calling the “Hollow” Bronya assumed- to calculate a way out of this maze of spatial distortion using a “Carrot”. From what Belle was saying it seemed most people relied on advanced computing or these “Carrots” to make their way through, however she was capable of reading the raw data and making her own calculations by hand.

Miyabi took a moment to ponder the information. Eventually, she accepted with a serene nod, “Understood. Let's call a temporary truce and work together. If all parties agree,” She added, fixing her gaze on Bronya and Rice Cake.

Bronya shrugged, “Yeah. I’d rather get out of here sooner rather than later.”

“What?” Rice Cake looked annoyed, “We have to work with the mean fox?”

“Come on, Rice Cake,” Bronya bounced her gently in her arms, “We need to work together to get out of here. Unless you want to try and fight someone who was able to hold her own against your Mama?”

Rice cake puffed up and her tail rattled back and forth angrily, “Fine. But I’ll have you know, mean fox, that I won’t hold back like Kiana Mama did if you try to hurt her again!”

Miyabi’s expression remained carefully neutral, “I understand.”

Bronya let the mostly recovered Rice Cake slither up and sit comfortably around her shoulders, readying her weapon for the mission ahead.

“Uh,” Belle spoke up nervously, “Miya, could you let go of my hand now? I kinda really need to wipe my sweat off…”

Miyabi quickly snatched her hand to her side and took point, silently unsheathing her katana. Rice Cake shot Bronya a look, to which Bronya could only shrug. Troublesome lesbians confirmed. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long, she was tired of third wheeling womens’ relationship drama.

The anti-gravity nodes in Bronya’s leg prosthetics whined as they kicked into overdrive and aided the Valkyrie’s leap into the air. The woman flew clear over the ethereal barreling towards her, weapon dancing with blue light as energy bolts pierced crystalline skin. She landed with practiced grace, legs flexing as she let her momentum carry her under another attack and lashed out with a vicious kick, sending another ethereal flying into a nearby growth of ether crystals.

A canine-like ethereal attempted to pounce on her only for a glowing pale tail to slap it to the side, Rice Cake’s large ethereal form wrapping around its body and crushing the creature with impossibly strong muscles. Another ethereal with club-like growths for arms attempted to smash her, but the reptilian Honkai beast was too quick. She uncoiled from the disintegrating ethereal and darted out of the way, only to flip direction at blinding speeds and clamp her jaws around the ethereal’s neck, swinging her tail like a counter-weight to pull the creature around and fling it into a nearby cargo container. The ethereal crashed into the metal hard enough to shatter some of the crystals on its back, its entire body following suit and disintegrating soon after.

A flash of icy blue and the rest of the ethereals fell to the bite of Miyabi’s katana, the warrior having darted between every other ethereal like a storm tearing apart a wet piece of paper. Belle had been collecting data from a second data pile while they fended off this new wave of ethereals, Rice Cake gleefully taking to the task of proving her strength against these things that dared think they could overpower a Honkai beast. However, the longer they stayed within the Hollow the more an uncomfortable sensation crawled under Bronya’s skin. If she was still a Herrscher perhaps she could counter the ether (as Belle called it) with her own Honkai energy, but with her core dormant for years her body had long lost its deep reserves of Honkai energy, relying solely on her Valkyrie battlesuit and stigmata. Even Kiana’s steady trickle of energy had disappeared. Of course, these troubles were in addition to the palpable tension laced in every interaction between Miyabi and Belle. Despite this, things seemed to be going rather smoothly.

And then Miyabi attempted to sheathe her blade.

Bronya and Rice Cake were much closer to Belle, Miyabi’s speed having carried her several meters away, when a blue light began to overpower the light of the hollow and the clattering of Miyabi’s scabbard against the ground sounded the alarm in their ears.

All three spun to Miyabi. The warrior had both hands gripping tight to her katana, a blue fire overtaking the blade that seemed to be growing stronger by the second.

“M-Miyabi?” Belle took a few unsure steps towards the woman, “What’s happening?”

“Tailless…” The woman’s voice was barely audible over the roar of pure power being released from the blade, “It’s trying to break free?” Her eyes darted to the scabbard lying out of arm's reach, the debate of whether to run for the scabbard or retain control of the sword clear on her face. The fire roared and exploded into an ominous red, snapping Miyabi’s attention back to the balde. The fire swirled around Miyabi in a maelstrom of burning energy, a dark tornado of smoke quickly obscuring the warrior from their vision. A roar came from behind them and Bronya knew she could not help.

“Belle, we’ll hold off the ethereals,” She motioned towards Miyabi with her chin, “Go!”

Belle frantically scooped up the scabbard and ran to the edge of the twisting fire and smoke, her steps faltering as the sweltering heat blew across her skin. A shaking hand reached out, jerking back in fear as the force of the wind slapped her hand away. But Miyabi needed her help, frightening maelstrom or not. Her… her friend. The straightforward and kind Miyabi that would stop by the video store and go next door with her for noodles when she had free time. The Miyabi that saved her from Nineveh in Hollow Zero. The Miyabi that would sometimes stay late into the night, carefully observing whatever movie they were watching together with an acute focus.

A deep breath. And then another. Courage suffusing her body with each steadying breath. Belle stepped into the firestorm.

The fire burned, but not like Belle was expecting. Her skin did not blister and blacken, it was hot but her nerves were not set alight in pain. Yet she could still feel the tongues of flame licking across her exposed skin and the cinders fluttered into her face and obscured her vision. She held her breath and yet from the sheer force at which the smoke was swirling it seemed as if its tendrils were trying to work their way into her lungs with purpose. Those few steps it took to break through to Miyabi felt like hours, like if Belle allowed her focus to waver for even a moment the firestorm raging around her really would burn her to ash. Yet break through she did. In the center of the firestorm stood Miyabi, holding tight to her katana as the blade jumped and shook in her hands. She was facing Belle, the tip of the blade bobbing in the wind dangerously.

Belle’s voice instantly tore itself from her throat, “Miyabi! Miyabi!!” She held her arm up to shield her eyes, desperately trying to keep Miyabi in her sight. The fox Thiren’s gaze remained turned upwards as if in a trance, “What should I do?! Can we seal it with the sheath?! Miyabi, please!”

Belle’s voice was laced in desperation as she fought against the maelstrom, her pleas finally pulling Miyabi from whatever it was she was seeing. The girl blinked, shaking her head as if to scatter intruding thoughts, eyes almost immediately taking in the situation and locking onto the woman in front of her. And then the sheath in her hands. She turned the blade so the curved metal arched downwards, “Hold it steady!”

Belle quickly shifted her grip to point the hole of the sheath towards Miyabi, the warrior touching the tip of her blade to the opening and beginning to press it back into her father’s craftsmanship with great effort. Light burst from the opening of the sheath and Miyabi’s shoes scraped against the ground as if the very blade itself was resisting their efforts. They pushed and grunted and struggled, and centimetre by centimetre the steel slipped into the sheath, until with a final yell of effort they made one last mighty push and fully sheathed the out of control blade.

The firestorm ceased instantly and completely.

The tension and energy fled from her body, Miyabi barely catching Belle's arm as she slumped forward and fell to her knees. Belle’s chest heaved with each exhausted breath, “Did- did we do it?”

Bronya stood by, a silent sentinel as she let Rice Cake coil around her and catch her breath, eyes peeled for any threat as the women behind her gathered their wits.

Miyabi did not answer. Her eyes were locked onto the now sheathed blade, thoughts racing behind darting crimson eyes checking over every inch of the weapon.

“H-hey, uh, Miyabi?” Belle spoke around her gasping breaths, “You- you good?”

No response.

“Miyabi, are you alright?”

Crimson eyes remained locked onto the sheathed blade.

“Miyabi!” Belle finally raised her voice, “Hey! Are you good?!”

Miyabi blinked and then looked at Belle with her usual neutral expression, “This is the third time you’ve asked me that. Why?”

“Well you weren’t answering me, for one!” Belle said, rather exasperated, “And it’s just that we’ve gone through something straight out of an action movie. That weird fire tornado couldn’t have been good for you, right…?”

“I’m fine, no need to worry.”

Belle continued to give Miyabi another once over regardless, “Okay, that would have been nice to have been told before I had to yell,” Belle’s face scrunched up in annoyance, “Are you sure you’re alright though? Your hair’s all singed and curling from the fire.”

“That’s the Hoshimi family’s natural curls,” She lied without hesitation.

“No it isn’t, I’ve literally seen your dad.”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” She said rather coldly, “I’ve been through worse situations. An incident like this won’t faze me.”

Belle glared at her for a moment before something else seemed to catch her eye, “Miyabi! There’s sparks coming off your katana!”

Miyabi pulled her sword before her eyes quicker than lightning, “What-!?”

When nothing happened, Belle giggled softly, “Sorry, I lied. I would think you’d know by now that I know you well enough to tell when you’re actually unfazed.”

Miyabi frowned, finally breaking her mask of neutrality, “...That’s not funny, Belle. And my response was normal!”

Belle slowly pushed herself to her feet and held up her hands in surrender, “Alright, I just…” Her eyes grew wide, “Miyabi! Th-There’s foxfire on you!!!”

Miyabi’s gaze immediately dropped to her body, panic clear in her movements as she twisted and spun to try and check every inch of her body, “Where-?!”

Belle scratched the back of her head, “Sorry, I lied again. See? You fell for it twice in seconds. That’s what I call being fazed!”

Miyabi’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “...You! You keep mocking me. If you have something to say to me just say it.”

Belle held up her hands again and shrugged, “H-Hey, I just wanted to help you out, that’s all!”

“This is entirely different from how you usually try to help me,” Miyabi said, continuing to glare at the taller woman. She seemed oblivious to the way her ears drooped ever so slightly or the way her lower lip pulled up into what could only be described as a small pout.

“Well it’s not every day we’re stuck in a Hollow together with something weird happening to your sword!” Belle countered, “The Hoshimi family never makes the same mistake thrice! But you just did. That must mean something is seriously wrong!”

Miyabi’s glare finally softened, replaced by a growing unease, “When my katana was out of control, you rushed into the foxfire without any protection… Why? You’ve already figured out where the exit is. You could have left me behind and escaped arrest.”

“I’m not gonna leave you behind, you idiot!” Belle grit her teeth as words she feared speaking threatened to break from her throat. What kind of question was that? When Miyabi had first dropped by Random Play to see where the excellent new Hollow Investigator spent her time, Belle had been terrified she had discovered their identity as Proxies. But instead it had led to a chat. And then Miyabi came back for another. Soon they were going next door to talk over noodles instead.  It didn’t take long for Belle to begin noticing the small details. The way Miyabi’s eyes would lock on and widen ever so slightly when something interested her. The way her ears flicked and drooped when she was confused by one of the arcade games. The way her eyes crinkled when Belle got the rare smile out of the woman with an earnest gift or a stupid joke (though most of them flew right over the woman’s head). The way being around her always left her with an easy smile and warmth in her chest. Belle knew what that flutter in her heart when she met Miyabi’s eyes was. But how could she speak such feelings out loud after Miyabi had discovered just how deeply Belle had betrayed her trust?

“We’re… friends!” She finally continued, only hesitating a little, “And… and now I’m your Proxy. I promised to get you out and that’s what I’m gonna do!”

Miyabi’s eyes widened and she looked just far enough to the side to avoid Belle’s eyes. Her ears swivelled in… was that shame? After a moment she managed to look back into Belle’s eyes and raised the katana before her, “I’ve told you before about this being a Hoshimi family heirloom. It’s never misbehaved once since my father made the scabbard for me. Not even deep within Hollow Zero’s core,” She looked away, frustration ever so slightly bleeding into her usual flat tone, “I… don’t know why it went out of control. Maybe there was some external influence… my father might have the answer, but I can’t reach him until we’re out of the Hollow. Besides, he’s likely busy socializing with the mayor today, secretly swapping wine for juice… Reaching him won’t be easy.”

Belle and Miyabi continued to discuss the katana and scabbard, oblivious to the worry quickly swamping their companion’s heart.

Something was wrong with Rice Cake.

That much was clear to Bronya as she gently stroked the snake’s scales. After expending so much of her Honkai energy battling the ethereals, the little Honkai beast curling up to rest wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was the way she didn’t seem to be regaining her strength. Rice Cake remained lethargic, complaining about her body aching and not feeling well. Honkai beasts generated enough Honkai energy that only a short rest was required for them to continue fighting, which could only mean something was inhibiting this natural ability within Rice Cake. Her Battlesuit, too, was beginning to run dangerously low on its own power supply faster than it should. She’d already had to use several of her extra energy canisters to keep herself in top form. But whatever it was they would need to figure out later, as the first priority had to remain getting out of the Hollow and back to Kiana, who could easily replenish both their Honkai levels.

“Bronya!”

The Valkyrie was pulled from her thoughts as Belle ran up, eyes gleaming with excitement, Miyabi’s sheathed katana in her hands.

“I’m gonna take a look at the electronics on this sheath, and for that I need to borrow the computing power of another data pile, come with me!”

Bronya nodded, “Okay, but let's make this quick. Rice Cake is not regenerating Honkai energy as she should, we need to get out of the Hollow as soon as possible.”

“Got it,” Belle nodded, her excited expression morphing into a more serious determination, “Miyabi is the strongest fighter in New Eridu, if something is disrupting her katana we need to figure out what it is or the whole city could be in trouble. Get me to the data pile and I’ll have a look and then we can get out of here.”

“Roger that,” Bronya readied her weapon, “Lead the way.”

Belle beckoned them forward, “There’s a shortcut over here! This way!”

The women ran through more abandoned machinery and storage areas and down to another road where a rift like a blot of purplish ink opened up in the air before them. Of course, the first thing to come to Bronya’s mind was that it was like a more chaotic, uncontrolled version of Kiana’s rifts, a notion only reinforced when the women walked through and were transported to another portion of the Hollow. Laser gates blocked their way, to which Bronya responded by throwing up her laser screen to empower her shots and blasting the unprotected emitters to smithereens.

When Belle winced and commented that those laser screens were used to keep the Ethereals out, Bronya simply shrugged, “I can come out and help repair them then, but I’m not endangering Rice Cake any further to protect repairable mechanisms.”

At that Belle could only shrug and nod in acceptance.

“How are you going to fix my blade?” Miyabi questioned as they jogged towards the data pile, eyes peeled for any Ethereals.

“Well it’s not really a fix ,” Belle corrected, “It’s more like a quick patch until we can get out of the Hollow. I’m gonna give it a try, we just need to get to the next data pile.”

“Alright. That doesn’t conflict with our final objective,” She paused, “Er… and thank you, Belle.”

“Of course, Miya.” Belle smiled softly. They approached a metal warehouse door and Belle quickly ran up to the console and began punching in commands, “Dammit! It’s locked! Gimme a minute,” The sound of something clambering up the ramp from a lower area around the right side of the building drew a worried glance from the Proxy.

Miyabi’s hesitant look as she wrapped her hand around the hilt of her katana told Bronya everything she needed to know, “Stay with Belle, Miyabi,” She said, laying her hand on the katana’s hilt, “Don’t use your katana unless absolutely necessary until Belle’s done what she needs to do. I’ll take care of the enemies,” Even if her Battlesuit’s Honkai reserves were fully depleted, her weapons would continue working just fine.

Miyabi’s ear flicked, perhaps in frustration, perhaps in gratefulness, Bronya could not tell. At Miyabi's small nod Bronya wasted no time spinning on her heel and charging towards the noise. Right as she did a squad of their mercenary attackers rounded the corner. Just in time for Bronya to launch a silverwing hard-light projection. The transparent blue bird dove at their feet and promptly exploded in a sphere of blue energy, blowing her foes back down the ramp they had just run up and out of view of her more defenseless companions.

Unfortunately for her attackers, they were nothing more than regular soldiers. For a woman well versed in fighting hordes of otherworldly monsters- creatures more than capable of wiping out several thousand conventional soldiers before being taken down- these men could not hope to match the speed and ferocity with which a Valkyrie learned to do battle. Bronya had been killing men like this when she was only twelve years old. Bullets whizzed past her ears, but Bronya was already upon them before they managed to squeeze off more than a few panicked shots. A kick shattered the metal faceplate of one and sent him sprawling, a blast from her weapon blew a hole through another, a flick of her wrist and a blade of hard-light sprouted from her weapon and slashed through two more men as she darted between them. The last man attempted to follow the speedy Valkyrie with the barrel of his gun only for another blast of blue light to drill through his head before he could so much as pull the trigger.

As her last opponent fell lifeless to the hard concrete, Bronya brushed herself off and sighed, “Guess I’m still just as effective against humans as Honkai beasts.” Despite her quick movements, Rice Cake's coils had hardly been disturbed.

As if sensing her job was done, the warehouse door behind her slid up and open with the whine of hydraulics. A moment later and her two companions rounded the corner, Belle pausing only for a moment to stare in shock at the efficiently dispatched corpses littered around Bronya’s feet. Inside the newly opened warehouse was the data pile Belle needed, and the Proxy wasted no more time accessing its data and using it to recalibrate the tech integrated with Miyabi’s sheath. The same moment Belle cried out in success more voices sounded from the entrance to the warehouse. Another group of soldiers ran up the service ramp though this time they were accompanied by a rather intimidating looking bipedal war machine.

“Miya, take the blade!” Belle coughed into her hand.

“Thank you. We’ve got the enemies. Belle, go and hide!” Miyabi wasted no time in drawing her sword, dashing to meet their foes as they closed the warehouse door. Bronya activated another setting on her weapon and pieces detached from both the gun and her Battlesuit, winged drones connecting and forming a screen of energy before her just large enough that she might be able to put her head through. She took quick aim at the large machine through the energy screen as it attempted to target the speedy Miyabi.

She pulled the trigger, “Fire.”

Her shot hit the screen and the rounded energy bullet expanded exponentially and blasted forth as a concentrated beam of energy, hitting the machine dead on and- after only a second of contact- blasted straight through its entire body. The explosion wiped out both the war machine and the two soldiers standing near it, their foes falling within only a few seconds as Miyabi mopped up any remaining infantry with deadly precision.

Miyabi let out a slow, controlled exhale as the last foe fell, resheathing her katana, “My blade seems to be working as normal. You can come out now, Belle.”

No response.

“Belle?” She spun towards the back of the warehouse, “Proxy?”

Both women rushed towards the rear where there were plenty of boxes and other ramps for Belle to have used as cover. They found her quickly, Belle sitting sideways on the floor and breathing hard on the ramp for one of the other loading doors.

“Belle!” Miyabi rushed to her side and dropped to her knees next to the girl, “Are you okay?!”

“I-I’m fine I’m just… feeling a bit dizzy,” Belle attempted to assuage their concern, though her labored breathing was doing anything but, “Don’t worry about me, I-” Belle’s voice suddenly dropped off and the women watched in horror as her eyes became unfocused and she slumped into Miyabi’s arms.

“Is this the same thing affecting Rice Cake?” Bronya questioned, “We need to get out of here, quickly!”

Miyabi nodded frantically, “It must be Ether corruption, she can’t stay in the hollow much longer before she begins crystallizing into an ethereal!”

“Can you read the data she collected?”

Miyabi quickly scrambled to pull out the device Belle had been using to record the data she had pulled from the piles, “Y-yes, she has enough here I should be able to lead us to an exit fissure!”

Bronya took a moment to pat a whimpering Rice Cake, the little snake seeming to be getting worse just like Belle, “Alright, I’ll carry Belle since I don’t know how to read Hollow data yet, lead the way.”

Miyabi’s expression molded itself into a mask of steely determination. She nodded and leapt to her feet, speeding off with Bronya close behind carrying her cargo of endangered individuals.

“This is taking too long!” Kiana threw her hands up in frustration.

“They’ll be okay, Kiana,” Mei assured the pacing woman, “Bronya must be in there with her too. Trust in her abilities. And please sit down! You’re still injured!”

Kiana exhaled sharply, “My head will be fine! I’m a fucking Herrscher. If I wasn’t so worried about outputting even more Honkai radiation I’d just tear open a rift and pull them out myself! But if I’m not careful I could cause a Honkai outbreak or something with how much energy I’ve used already!” She stopped her movement a moment later and sighed, “I’m sorry Mei, I’m frustrated but I shouldn’t snap at you.”

Mei gently rubbed the woman’s shoulder, “It’s okay, I understand your frustration, Kiana-chan.”

A small smile flitted across the woman’s face before it fell back into an angry frown, “Some Goddess I am,” she murmured softly.

The group had just finished fighting off most of the remaining mercenaries, the rest of the fox girl’s companions catching up part way through and aiding them in finishing off the enemies. Now with a moment to breathe, Kiana’s thoughts were beginning to catch up with her.

“Wait!” Everyone’s heads snapped up to the pink haired woman- Yanagi she’d been told- as she pulled out her phone, “I’ve just received a message from the chief! They’ve exited the hollow and Belle is in trouble! She also says the grey-haired woman, Bronya, is with them.”

Kiana spread out her senses and almost immediately felt them light up with the familiar feeling of her best friend, “I can sense them on the edge of the Hollow, follow me!”

Consciousness came back to Belle slowly, like feeling the rising sun begin to peek through her curtains and slowly shine brightly directly into her eyes. Belle forced herself to sit up before fully opening her eyes to avoid the bright afternoon sun above her, voices coming to her the instant she began moving.

“You’re… awake? You’re awake! Manager’s awake!”

“H-hey, Billy,” Belle managed to croak out.

Nicole’s relieved laugh came next, “You’re finally awake! Phew, I’m so tired…”

Eous waddled frantically to her side, “Belle!!!” Wise’s relief was clear even without the way Eous slumped, “You’re finally awake! How are you feeling?” Eous skittered around her as Wise quickly checked his sister over, “Do your eyes hurt? Are you injured anywhere else?”

Belle took a moment to run through everything her aching body was telling her, “Uh… Huh, my ocular implants are working again? I feel… dizzy. I have a headache, my chest hurts, and it feels like my face and mouth are burning… is this real? Am I out of the Hollow?”

“Hah, yes, welcome back to the real world!” Nicole chuckled, “You made it out! If you’d stayed unconscious any longer, Wise would’ve yeeted my but into the Hollow!”

Belle rubbed gentle circles around her temples yet the headache refused to abate, “H-how long was I out?”

“Welcome back, Master,” Fairy’s voice sounded from Eous’s speaker, “I have calibrated your ocular implants via my first assistant, Eous. Approximately half an hour ago, the head of Section 6, Hoshimi Miyabi, and your new companion, name: Bronya Zaychik, pulled you out of the northwest side of the Outer Ring Hollow. Initial test results indicate that you were exposed to an extremely dangerous level of Ether energy, triggering partial corruption.”

Belle sighed, “Well at least nothing too bad happened-”

“After leaving the Hollow,” Fairy continued, “the rejection reaction caused further complications, with a cardiac arrest being the most severe. The Cunning Hares and Section 6 provided professional emergency resuscitation, however it was the actions of our other new companion, name: Kiana Kaslana, that likely prevented any serious damage to your body.”

“O-Okay, okay!” Nicole quickly jumped in, “We just gave you some emergency care to pull you back from the brink and Kiana did, uh, something! No need to go into more details! You’d better see a doctor for a more thorough anti-corruption treatment after this.”

Belle grunted with exertion as she pushed herself to her feet, Nicole and Billy rushing to help pull her up, “T-thanks,” She looked around and soon laid eyes on their new friends, the rest of the Cunning Hares, and Section 6. Except… “Where’s Miyabi?” Belle questioned, the glaring lack of the black-haired fox thiren immediately digging into her heart.

She received an answer immediately, though instead of any of the friends before her it was in the form of a cool, familiar voice that came from behind her, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” A small smile spread across the swordwoman’s lips as Belle turned and locked eyes with her, “And I mean it this time.”

“Miya-” Belle reached out only to stumble a bit as her corrupted body didn’t quite move as she wished it to.

Strong arms, one flesh and one metal, quickly wrapped themselves around her and held her up, “Belle! Be careful, you’re still recovering!” Miyabi admonished.

“Yeah, sorry I couldn’t do much more,” An apologetic voice floated over to the duo. Belle turned, still holding onto Miyabi, to find the white-haired woman that had helped them escape rubbing the back of her head and smiling apologetically, “I was able to stop the cardiac arrest and prevent it from damaging your brain or anything, but I can’t do much about the actual Ether corruption. It’s not Honkai energy so it’s kinda out of my ballpark.”

“As expected of the Chief!” Harumasa loudly butted in, “Busting out of a Hollow carrying someone affected by corruption, and showing no symptoms herself!”

“Wait!” Belle gasped, “What about little Rice Cake? She wasn’t feeling well either!”

Kiana grinned, “Yeah, something about Ether was messing with her ability to replenish her Honkai energy, but that was an easy enough fix once you all got out. She’s right as rain!” As Kiana finished speaking, Rice Cake herself poked her head out of the hood of Kiana’s hoodie, her little snout appearing over Kiana’s shoulder.

“Nothing can keep Rice Cake down for long!” She declared.

Belle and Miyabi couldn’t help but share a look and giggle softly at the little snake’s confidence.

“Asaba!” Yanagi called over to the archer, “Did you get the captives to talk?”

He stepped away to answer his superior, much to Belle’s confusion. They quickly explained that despite their efforts to fight them off, the mercenaries that had attacked them had still managed to grab Pearlman after Piper’s truck had been wrecked in the fight. By the time Section 6 and the Cunning Hares had managed to push them back Yanagi had received the message from Miyabi that she had exited the Hollow and Belle needed help. Kiana had homed in on Bronya’s location and led them.

“We hurried over and found you lying on the ground!” Nicole finished, “And Miyabi…”

“Ahem,” Miyabi coughed, “You can skip that part.”

A cheeky grin immediately bloomed on Nicole’s face, “Hmm? What, are you embarrassed?” She teased, “That’s not very like you, fox~”

“...If you keep talking, I’ll tell everyone how you performed the emergency medical care,” She stared down the pink-haired woman with lethal intent.

“Ugh, fine, fine…” Nicole groaned, admitting defeat, “Long story short, we rushed over and saved you like Fairy said after you woke up. This fox even agreed to hold off on arresting you until further investigation is complete, and she’d cooperate with you as an ally until then. You know the rest.”

“Okay…” Belle said, mind racing to take in every bit of information coming her way through the headache, “So we’re gonna have to track down Pearlman again,” She groaned softly, “Great.”

“We can approach that as it comes,” Yanagi adjusted her glasses and directed her gaze towards the newcomers, “More prudent I think, is getting some information from your mysterious backup. Wise insisted we wait until you woke up so that no secondary explanations were needed.”

“Right, right,” Belle groaned softly as she made the short walk to the rest of the group.

“So,” Yanagi began, taking a spot in the shade of the truck Nicole had commandeered, and still standing straight and formal despite the tiring fight they had all been through, “Now that Belle is awake and lucid, I believe explanations are in order.”

“Oh great,” Kiana sighed, “Rice Cake, please save me from tedious meetings and explanations.”

“Nope!” The snake immediately curled deeper into Kiana’s hood, “These boring adult things are all yours, Mama.”

Bronya let out a chuckle at her friend’s expense as Kiana groaned.

Bianka coughed into her hand, “Kiana, please try to be at least a little bit serious about this,” She faced the group and continued, “As for how we ended up embroiled in your… encounter… Well,” She glanced at Kiana who simply shrugged, “I’m not sure I can put this any more believably. But I do not believe this is our world.”

Yanagi’s eyes narrowed, “You’re right, I don’t believe you.”

Bianka nodded, obviously expecting this, “Kiana is… a uniquely powerful individual in our world. She has the ability to open rifts in reality and travel through space either to another location in the same reality or to other dimensions. She was training to push the limits of this ability and next thing we knew we were in that chaotic space you call a ‘Hollow’. I can only assume she lost fine control and we were dragged into a rift alongside her.”

“Yeaaahhhh…” Kiana confirmed, “That was my bad… Also how can you say you don’t believe us when we literally dropped from the sky in front of you?!”

Yanagi sighed, “I… will admit that I cannot see why you would make such outlandish claims if it was simply a lie. Your weapons and combat style are unlike anything I have seen.”

“The hell is a ‘Herrscher’?” Nicole cut in, she gestured towards Kiana with her chin, “I heard you call yourself that. And after watching you fight off Hoshimi Miyabi of all people while on top of a truck moving at a hundred twenty kilometres an hour in the middle of a brawl, I wanna know.”

Yanagi blinked, “She what?”

“Oh yeah, it was crazy!” Billy jumped in, excitedly miming his words, Nekomata shadowing him for additional emphasis, “She was like *whoosh!* And Miyabi went *clang!* And suddenly the other girl was over here like *zoom!* I’ve never seen someone dodge like that chick was dodging, you know what I mean? Flash of purple there flash of purple over there, suddenly she’s not even standing where Miyabi is swinging but that doesn’t stop her! She’s already swinging at the new spot the girl is standing! And the whole time we’re trying to watch this while those nutjobs were trying to drive the truck off the road, it was insane!”

Soukaku's eyes glimmered in amazement, "Woaahhh! That's so cool!"

“Chief?”

Miyabi nodded, “She was rather impressive.”

“Kinda uncalled for, though,” Kiana grumbled, crossing her arms.

“You are a complete unknown who quite literally dropped on us out of nowhere,” Yanagi countered, “It is only reasonable that we incapacitate and detain you after aiding in the escape of known criminals.”

Bianka thought for a moment, “We will answer your questions as best we can, as long as you can ensure we are not wanted fugitives for simply defending ourselves in an unexpected situation.”

Yanagi nodded, “We have already agreed to cooperate with the Proxies and the Cunning Hares. This agreement can also include you four if you’re willing to help us.”

“Five!” Rice Cake shouted from Kiana’s hood.

“You five,” Yanagi corrected herself.

Bianka nodded her acceptance. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, as long as you don’t make me use so much Honkai energy next time we’re all good,” Kiana frowned.

“Kiana, do you want to explain things, or shall I?”

Kiana shoved her hands into her hoodie’s pockets and slouched in exhaustion, “You should probably talk, I feel… off. Sirin is not very happy right now and I’ve been feeling weird ever since we got out of the Hollow earlier, it’s messing with me.”

“Right. Just rest, Kiana,” Bianka smiled and laid a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder, “I apologize for Kiana’s frustration, the energy her power stems from is not… safe. To put it simply,” Bianka stated, “Which is why she usually attempts to practice restraint when using it. It would seem she was convinced enough of the threat this Miyabi posed that she used much more than she wanted, and it has contributed to her current mood.”

Yanagi instantly shifted her weight as if preparing for an attack, “And what is so dangerous about these powers? Are we in danger?”

“I doubt it,” Mei answered, “Kiana overthinks these things because she doesn’t want to hurt people.”

“And We- I’m right!!” Kiana added. Her head twitched to the side like someone had spoken in her ear, “What? No, shut up!”

“But,” Mei continued unbothered, “I don’t believe the battle today was enough to cause any lasting harm,” She hesitated, “It’s called the Honkai. In our world it is an extremely dangerous source of energy. In its raw state it emits Honkai radiation that will gradually irradiate the surrounding environment and kill anyone exposed for too long. Some will begin to grow a chitinous material on their bodies and angular pink veins along their skin, becoming shambling corpses we call Honkai zombies, which will attack any living human they come across. The Honkai also creates vicious Honkai beasts and triggers natural disasters in attempts to destroy human civilization.”

Anby shifted uncomfortably, “You say that like it’s alive somehow.”

“There is a lot of complicated information behind that but the simplest way to put it is that it is a malevolent and corruptive force, yes,” Mei explained, a shadow passing over her expression.

“Corruptive…” Yanagi’s mind was racing, “It sounds eerily similar to etheric energy,” At the Valkyrie’s curious glances she continued, “The Hollow behind you is one of many intense concentrations of etheric energy and matter. New Eridu mines it and turns it into energy, but it is also a dangerously corruptive force if not handled carefully. Inside the Hollows the etheric energy is so strong that those without high enough ether adaptability will be corrupted into monsters called ethereals- you saw the beginnings of it with Belle- though inorganic matter isn’t safe from corruption either. Ethereals rely on this energy so much they can’t survive outside the Hollows.”

Mei frowned, “You’re right, that sounds frighteningly similar. Unfortunately Honkai beasts are not restricted to a certain area and often attacked cities around the world.”

“Thanks to the Hollow disaster fifteen years ago, New Eridu is the only city left,” Miyabi stated without emotion.

“I’m sorry,” Mei said quietly. Bronya and Mei shared a glance, “As for your question of what Herrschers are, well… They are humans chosen by the Honkai to become its vessel. Each time a Herrscher is born it creates a massive explosion of Honkai energy we call an Eruption that decimates everything for kilometres around the epicenter, leaving the landscape irradiated and birthing hordes of Honkai beasts. The Herrscher themselves become god-like beings of unimaginable power and are capable of bending the physical laws of the world. Every Herrscher can bend physical laws to some degree, but each also has a specific area of expertise. One could instantly build anything they understood the structure of, one could control everything about the concept of heat and flame, another could create vapors of incredible healing or a horrible death. The Herrscher of the Void had the ability to tear open rifts in space and create her own pocket dimensions she could connect to with said portals, or even use them to travel to completely different dimensions. Kiana inherited this ability from the previous Herrscher of the Void.”

Nicole scoffed in disbelief, “Okay I know she can do some crazy shit, but you’re telling me she’s some god-like being that nearly destroyed your world? Come on! She looks like a random twenty year old I’d see on the street!”

Kiana suddenly slumped into Bianka’s side. Alarm shuddered through all present but before anyone could move the air grew heavy and thick. Like a presence was pressing onto the very minds of all present. Even Eous winced as Wise felt the same sensation. It was not painful but rather a very noticeable uncomfortableness that settled over the body like a blanket. Both Section 6 and the Cunning Hares struggled to stay on their feet as this presence seemed to spread and morph into a physical force pushing them down, until it became too much and they fell to their knees.  All except a certain fox, of course. The Valkyries managed to stay standing, the force exerted on them much lesser, only enough to keep them from moving too quickly.

“Kiana, hey-!” Mei shouted.

The golden eyes that glared back at her gave her pause. Kiana slowly straightened back up and glowered at the older woman, “Do not ‘hey’ me, Raiden Mei,” Gone were the bright and earnest tones the girl usually had. Now her voice was deeper, harsher, and held a strange resonance to it as if multiple voices were overlapping with each other, “I heard that some pathetic insects were doubting the extent of our powers,” She extended her hand and portals bloomed to life all around her, the tips of vicious black and white lances peeking from their black voids and pointed at every resident of New Eridu before her, “It is good to finally stretch my legs again,” Her body no longer touched the ground as she rose nearly half a meter from solid ground, effortlessly hovering in place.

“Hey Sirin,” Bronya waved casually, “New friends, say hello to Kiana’s very angry sister-slash-headmate. Don’t ask, it’s a long story. Just look for the golden eyes and you’ll know it’s Sirin.”

“Tch,” Sirin stared down the grey-haired woman, “Do not introduce me so casually, Zaychik.”

“Woah!” Rice cake slithered out of the hood and onto Kiana’s shoulder, “Aunt Sirin, is that you? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

At this, Sirin smiled, “Ah, hello little Rice Cake,” She gently booped the snake’s nose with her finger, “You’ve been showing your fool of a mother how to properly crush those weaker than you, I trust?”

“Oh, yeah!” Rice Cake nodded, “There’s these weird monsters here called Ethereals and I’ve been showing 'em who’s boss! Though that Ether stuff they’re made of made me feel sick…”

“Poor thing…” Sirin lamented, “We’ll just have to show them true power then,” She said, turning back to the humans.

“Sirin, please don’t do anything rash,” Bianka sighed.

“Rash?” Sirin glared, “They doubt our power, so I shall show them our power!”

“Because externalising Honkai energy around a strange world could have unforeseen consequences!” Bianka growled through gritted teeth.

“Just a little bit of disintegration on a city-level scale won’t hurt them,” Her smile grew absolutely delighted, “Much.”

Bianka rolled her eyes, “We don’t need a performance right now, Sirin.”

Miyabi grunted in exertion as she unsheathed her katana in spite of the forces bearing down on her mind. Sirin gave the still-moving Void Hunter an annoyed sneer.

“I could kill you where you stand, you know,” Sirin said, her grin widening as she needled the warrior, “I am the Herrscher of the Void! I obtained the power of five Herrschers, and with it I laid waste to the Earth! Hurricanes, Firestorms, the mists of Death, lightning from the heavens! The cities I didn’t drop meteors on suffered under the powers of my kin!”

“Sirin,” Mei managed to grab onto the girl’s arm, “Stop antagonizing our allies. Let Kiana finish up here and you can stretch your legs once we’ve established ourselves here better. Rice Cake, come here, please!”

“But I wanna hang out with Aunt Sirin!”

Bronya gently pulled at Mei's arm, “It's okay, If Kiana thought she would actually hurt someone, Sirin would be struggling to maintain control right now. It might be better to let her flaunt herself a little than have her sitting in there making Kiana cranky.”

Sirin scoffed in annoyance and pulled out of Mei’s grip, “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for now, Mei,” Her expression grew smug, “Be a good girl and let me explain to these insects just how gracious we are for not wiping them from the face of the planet!” She snapped her fingers and a white glow overtook her form. When it faded her clothing had shifted into that of the battlesuit she had worn during the Great Eruption, six tails with eyes of Honkai energy fell from her waist, a new white dress with black accents around the edge of her bust and down the centre of her body covering her form. Black leggings and shoes now covered her legs and feet, as well as a black glove with angular veings of purple that ran up her left arm to a chitinous band around her bicep. Rice Cake was comfortably nestled in the fuzzy black collar draped around her shoulders. 

Sirin flipped her now loose white hair over her shoulder and gently pet Rice Cake’s head with her other hand, “We are the Queen of the Honkai, and that is not a frivolous title to take,” She put a finger to her chin and feigned taking a moment to think, “I wonder, should I just summon a horde of Honkai beasts right now?” She grinned back at the frowning Mei, “This outfit is making me almost nostalgic for Schicksal’s HQ,” She turned back and smiled haughtily at the fox thiren, “They are quite magnificent creatures. Back on Earth, nothing short of conventional anti-tank fire could even scratch them. I once created an army of half a million of them and decimated an entire nation within hours,” She ran a hand through her hair, looking rather pleased with herself, “It was magnificent~”

“You revel in destruction and death,” Miyabi frowned, “What are you doing in someone like Kiana, who selflessly aided us even after our conflict?”

Sirin shrugged, “Fate, destiny, the stars aligning, human arrogance, take your pick.”

“So did Kiana have a say in that?” Anby grunted.

“Neither of us had a say!” Sirin snarled, “A foolish man wanted a weapon for his own selfish ends! Little did he know that we would eventually become his undoing. Humans love meddling with forces beyond their comprehension, and Herrschers are born to show them how wrong they are when they think they're in control.”

“That's enough, Sirin,” Mei said sharply, “You've had your fun, now give Kiana back control.”

Sirin frowned, “You keep saying that. You think she wouldn't have tried already when I started using Honkai energy? Kiana passed out from exertion while you were having your little talk, that's the whole reason I'm here right now,” Sirin rolled her eyes, “The fool limited her replenishment out of concern for this ridiculous world and something about that- what was it called, Ether?- left her more drained than usual after her fight with the fox girl,” she grinned at the group as she finally released the pressure on their minds and bodies and allowed her portals to dissipate. She turned to Mei with a satisfied smile, “So I'm gonna be sticking around for a day or two until she wakes back up~ Why, don't you enjoy spending time with me, my dear other half?”

“Not when you're threatening innocents,” Mei glared, “I would much rather we spend time in a less antagonistic setting.”

A flash behind her and the feeling of sharpened metal against her throat stopped whatever response Sirin had for the woman. Miyabi's eyes tightened as Sirin merely laughed, the Herrscher seeming to find this incredibly amusing. The new lances already positioned to strike may have had something to do with it, “Careful fox, if you hurt Rice Cake I might forget my deal with Kiana to restrain from hurting innocents. I’m just so evil and unpredictable, after all.”

Miyabi's eyes darted down to the Honkai snake shivering beneath the blade pressing against Sirin's pale neck, “So you will even use her to get your way?”

“I'm not ‘using her’,” Sirin growled, “You sliced at my neck and almost hit her. I would survive regardless, but if you hurt her or any of the women We arrived with, I will single handedly destroy this last bastion of humanity and make you watch as it burns. Could you get to the moon to stop me from dropping chunks of it on your precious city? The Herrscher of Reason could hardly stall me then.”

“We can understand each other, then,” Miyabi growled with narrowed eyes, “If you hurt my companions or this city, I will stop at nothing to end you.”

Sirin laughed sharply before grabbing the blade and pulling it away from her neck, observing it carefully and completely ignoring how it dug through her black glove and into her flesh when Miyabi attempted to pull it from her grip, “Interesting. You certainly are a hypocrite, getting high and mighty about me existing within Kiana when you're carrying around such a malicious being yourself.”

Sirin released the blade and watched with indifference as the wound healed within moments. Miyabi stepped back, now flanked by Section 6, “You can sense Tailless?”

“I wouldn’t be much of a Herrscher if I couldn’t sense another powerful being right beside me,” Sirin chuckled. Her eyes darted to the still quite unamused Mei, “But… I guess I’ve made my point. You all can get on with whatever it was you were doing,” She waved her hand dismissively in a shooing motion and leaned back, crossing her legs and resting her head in her hand as if lounging on a chair made of air.

Yanagi readied her naginata, “Chief?”

Miyabi held Sirin’s gaze for a moment, the Herrscher maintaining an irritating smugness about her. Eventually she left her readied stance with a sharp exhale, “Leave it,” Miyabi sheathed her katana with a flourish, “We gave our word to work together and as a show of respect, I will trust our new companions know what they’re doing. As Sirin said, I believe she’s made her point.”

Sirin made a show of inspecting her nails, “Yes, you truly are lucky my dear host is such a bleeding heart ready to jump to the aid of any she comes across. Fortunately for you, I agreed to not obstruct these ideals.”

“Hey, uh,” Piper raised her hand, “Boss just said we got a big ol’ pack of mercs headed our way. Might wanna pack it up.”

“Huh?” Nicole groaned, “They regrouped that quickly?”

“Don’t worry, Nicole,” Piper’s expression was nothing less than completely assured, “Boss said that the Sons of Calydon’ll never let those guys run wild in the Outer Ring.”

“Hmph,” Sirin turned up her nose, “You want me to leave? I could obliterate all those mercenaries with barely a lift of my pinky.”

“Sirin, Honkai energy. Please,” Mei sighed.

Sirin settled back down with an annoyed huff, “Ugh, you’re so boring.”

“Nicole…”

Nicole gave Billy a knowing grin, “You want to help Caesar and the others, right? No need to be so shy!”

Billy sniffed, though how he might cry eluded the Valkyries, “Nicole, you really understand me! Don’t worry, I swear on the name of the Starlight Knights, I won’t let you down!”

“Alright!” Nicole pointed authoritatively into the desert, “Then let's split up and take action! Sons of Calydon will take on the mercs coming after us, Anby, Nekomata, and I will distract the nearby enemies, Section 6 will take the captives for interrogation, and our new friends will go with Belle and cover her drive back to the city. Once we wrap things up we’ll get in touch with the Proxies!”

With a plan settled, the group began to disperse. There was some chatter here and there, Miyabi pulled Belle to the side and whispered something to her, to which Belle nodded seriously. Section 6 soon sped off with their captives and Piper was not far behind. Piper dropped them back off in town and Belle, Eous, and the four Valkyries (and Rice Cake) piled into the small Random Play car. It was time to see this New Eridu their allies spoke of.

To say the ride back to New Eridu was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Sirin had been wedged into the back of Belle’s car in between Mei and Bianka, which seemed to keep her quietly annoyed and glaring at everything that moved instead of spouting threats, which was all well and good as far as everyone else was concerned. 

She had changed back into Kiana’s casual clothes in another flash of light- with only minor grumbling- at Mei’s insistence they at least attempt to blend in, despite Bianka’s current Valkyrie battlesuit looking more like half a suit of armor than elegant clothing like Bronya or Mei’s. Then came the problem of the Valkyries’ pockets being empty of dennies and nowhere to stay the night. With nowhere else to go, Belle had gotten Wise to reluctantly agree to host their new guests at Random Play. Sirin’s eyes seemed to be on constant alert and darted to any movement, and she would still make disparaging comments every so often, but that intense energy she had introduced herself with was nowhere to be seen. As they got further into the city Mei had even begun smiling and pointing out things she thought Sirin might find interesting, such as General Chop’s noodle stand. Though that backfired slightly when Sirin began suggesting she use portals to steal bowls of noodles since they lacked funds, and Mei struggled to convince her otherwise (though eventually Sirin relented after much fussing).

By the time the car was beginning to grow almost unbearable, Belle finally pulled into the backlot of the video store. There were sighs of relief all around as the occupants piled out of the car and stretched their cramped limbs. Belle quickly beckoned them to the back door and ushered them inside. On the inside was a rather cosy space lined with a myriad of shelves stocked full with video tapes of all kinds. At the front door currently flipping the open sign to “closed” was a man of Belle’s age with light grey hair and similarly casual clothing.

“You must be Wise,” Mei greeted him, “My name is Raiden Mei. This is Bronya, Bianka, Sirin, and Rice Cake.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” He replied, “Nice meeting the people who helped my sister.” He ran a hand through his rather frazzled hair, eyes darting to Sirin’s golden glare before he cleared his throat and quickly walked over to a door marked “Staff only”. He gently twisted the door open and beckoned them inside. Inside the room was a small section off to the side with a couch and tv and even more shelves of films in addition to the ones in the main store. But the rest of the room was what really caught one's attention. On the back wall was a massive bank of old box televisions hooked up to a myriad of hardware on and around a sturdy desk with two regular monitors. Continuing along the wall were multiple desks piled high with files, papers, and various other materials in what looked like a messy professional’s workspace.

Mei shut the door behind her as the last one to file into the room. Once she did, Wise turned to his guests and smiled awkwardly, “So uh, I’m Wise. You met my sister, Belle, in the outer ring. We weren’t expecting guests so uh, I’m not sure where you’re all actually gonna sleep.”

“I can make what we need with the power of Reason, I suppose,” Sirin rolled her eyes, “Or I could make an imaginary space and we could just portal back into reality in the morning.”

“Let’s… just hold off on expending more Honkai energy for now,” Mei winced, "If we truly can't find a more mundane means to solve our problem then we can come back to your powers."

Another roll of the eyes, “Ugh, fine.”

“We can figure that out later,” Bronya said, “There’s still plenty of daylight left, we should explore our surroundings and get to know this world better. Your city seems similar enough to our own world, we shouldn’t have too much trouble adapting.”

Wise’s shoulders slumped in relief, “Okay, that’s good, I was afraid that might be more difficult. We didn’t know what exactly your world was like.”

“Similar enough,” Bronya assured him, “It seems the technology of both our societies is fairly advanced. I shouldn’t have much difficulty picking it up.”

“And as for you, Belle,” Wise sighed as he turned to his sister, “You need to go get checked out for that Ether corruption or else Miyabi is going to kill me.”

Bronya raised an eyebrow, “Yes, she certainly seemed… protective… of Belle when we were stuck in the Hollow.”

Wise eyed Bronya’s knowing look and chuckled softly.

“What?” Belle looked between the two, but when she received no answer she stuck her lower lip out in a rather adorable pout, “You two are already silently communicating?! Not fair!”

Mei gently laid a hand on Sirin’s shoulder, “Come on Sirin, let's have a look around and see if anything catches your eye, hm? We’ve also got to keep an eye out for clues on if Seele got pulled in with us.”

Sirin groaned but followed after Mei regardless.

“Oh! Wait! I almost forgot!” Belle frantically dug around in her pockets while everyone turned to look at her. After a moment of struggle she pulled out her wallet, “Yanagi gave me some cash and said it was payment for our new allies ‘Aiding Section 6 in the capture of wanted criminals’,” Belle finished with a straight back and a rather amusing impression of Yanagi’s tone of speaking, “She’s probably just being nice but can’t stop being professional about it for two seconds. Here,” She handed the payment to Mei who immediately began splitting it among her friends.

Bronya snorted, “Sounds like Bianka.”

“Hey!” Bianka protested, “I know how to relax.”

“Your idea of relaxing is doubling your training regimen because you have more free time,” Bronya deadpanned.

“It’s- I like exercising!”

Bronya dragged a tired hand down her face, “You’re hopeless.”

Soft giggling filled the room with warmth and the Valkyries couldn’t help but feel the budding hope that maybe this new world wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Sirin glared at the device in her hand, as if she could burn a hole through it with merely a glance. She probably could- with a little Honkai energy- but that was besides the point. It was, after all, the source of her misery. Her reduction to a mere tool.

Before they had left Random Play they had run into the small problem of having no way to communicate at long distances. New Eridu tech was, unsurprisingly, different enough that their phones were not able to properly connect to either wireless internet or the cell towers. As such, Bronya had convinced Mei to let up on being so restrictive of Sirin's use of Honkai energy. However, the Herrscher was far from pleased. After all, what god would appreciate freer use of her powers only for that annoying wretch who used to bear the core of Reason and Truth to try and utilise her like a 3D printer? Unfortunately, Mei had become well versed in convincing Sirin to do things for her over the years, and the Herrscher soon found herself staring down a dismantled New Eridu phone with the promise that some of their new funds would go towards an extra large bowl of noodles as soon as she was done. Normally she would demand her payment first, but if nothing else Sirin knew Mei would do the utmost to fulfil her promises.

“And these are the Ether capacitors. They help my phone keep functioning in high ether environments by allowing certain helpful ether frequencies to travel with the electric current in the components, but not others. Those stay stored in the capacitor for me to release later in a safer environment. Though I'm not sure if your phones would need that if they already have that uh… Honkai energy stuff,” Belle said, pointing out the parts as she spoke. She picked up a small rectangular piece that fit comfortably across the pads of two fingers, “This is the ethernet box to communicate with the cell towers, along the side here you can see it's printed what frequency it uses.”

"I see,” Sirin took the device with a surprising gentleness, turning it over in her hands and committing every detail to memory.  Her eyes glowed softly as she probed its inner workings with her Herrscher authorities. After around thirty minutes of analysing the parts and Belle's explanations, Sirin was confident she would have no trouble altering their own tech to fit these new needs (of course she could, she was a Herrscher!). She has, after all, been familiar with the authority of reason ever since that fateful day in 2000.

Every so often Belle's blue eyes would flick up to Sirin's face for a moment before refocusing on the Herrscher's hands picking apart the device. This occurred again and again, until Sirin had had just about enough of it when Belle finally spoke, “You know, I was sceptical about you doing this kind of delicate work before, but it turns out you can be pretty gentle when you want to be.”

Sirin’s eyes immediately narrowed at the smaller woman, “Do not insult me. I am only doing this to help Mei, because otherwise I'll have to endure this gay idiot’s whining that I didn't help her precious ‘Mei-senpai’ when she wakes up.”

“And the noodle bribe had nothing to do with it?” Belle grinned.

“Absolutely nothing,” Sirin hissed, “Now leave me to my work before I smite you where you stand.” The Herrscher huffed and jumped off the stool. Belle watched as Sirin stormed out of the room with a swish of white hair and heavy, thumping steps.

Blue eyes darted back to the table where the previously scattered components now lay perfectly reassembled, “Huh, when did she do that?” She was still scratching her head in confusion when Wise walked into the staff room a moment later, “You know,” Belle began, “She's kinda cute in an angry, abrasive, still terrifying way when she's not threatening to kill us all.”

Wise let out a small huff of amusement, “Of course you'd say that.”

“What?!” Belle protested, “You can't tell me you thought that's all there was to her when everyone that knew her already obviously cares about her!”

“Well…”

Belle clicked her tongue in disappointment, “Wise…”

“I know, I know!” He groaned.

“Whelp,” Belle slid off her stool, “Now that Sirin’s done and we’re waiting for Section 6 to get back to us, I guess I'll go get that check-up. Later!” Belle was out the door before Wise could reply, though her brother was no doubt relieved that he would no longer have to worry about Miyabi hounding him over Belle's health.

For once, Sirin would admit that she was rather satisfied. She had done what Mei asked and the noodles had been excellent, so much so that she had even allowed Mei to have some of her serving. And if anyone asked, it certainly was not because of Mei's rather pitiful face when Rice Cake asked for a bite and took nearly half her bowl in one gulp. It was only so Kiana didn’t bug her about it, not because she felt bad for the woman. It was now an hour later and they were walking around a business district called Lumina square. The amount of humans here went way over Sirin’s threshold for the amount of insects she could tolerate, and her previous satisfaction was quickly bleeding away into her usual anger. 

However… it had been a long time since she’d been out with Mei like this while fronting instead of simply observing from within Kiana’s mind. It was always different being the one to control their body, and with how boring the moon was she’d had no reason to want that control besides just to prove she still could. Well, there was also Rice Cake’s presence in the base the last couple years. That had given her a bit more reason to switch with Kiana every so often. She was still a bit out of practice after so long. Though she’d never tell any of them that, lest they try to coax her out more in that annoyingly earnest way they had.

Sirin tapped her foot impatiently, these thoughts running through her mind could only distract her from this insubordinate cross-walk for so long. Why was the light still red?! The only reason she hadn’t vaporised it with a rift is because Mei continued to insist they blend in (and maybe something about public safety but who cared about that). Sirin groaned in annoyance (not for the first time), "Why are we waiting for this stupid light? We should be on the other side already, how dare this tedious, ridiculous human contraption command us to wait!”

“Sirin, it is not that serious,” Mei said, facial muscles twitching as she fought valiantly to keep a grin off her face, “Sometimes it’s good to slow down and just have a quiet moment to take everything in.”

Sirin’s face scrunched up in distaste, "I had plenty of moments to slow down and take everything in while I was healing within the Void core. Besides, nothing is quiet in this disgusting city.” Sirin glared at the surrounding crowds and various bedazzled stores and skyscrapers surrounding them.

“That is true.” Mei had to concede that one. Her eyes dropped to the woman's shoulders, a certain white Honkai snake still comfortably nestled there. Somehow Rice Cake was managing to sleep through the noisy crowd and Sirin's own dissatisfaction. Her adventure in the Hollow must have truly drained her.

Supernatural senses picked up a gaze darting over their forms and golden eyes immediately turned to glare at the offending source. She looked down next to her and staring back were the large, rounded green eyes of one of the strange creatures managing the crossings, "What do you want?”

The bangboo seemed unfazed by her sharp tone, “Sorry, I just couldn’t help but overhear your conversation! I understand your frustration at having to wait, citizen, but I assure you I am doing everything I can to ensure pedestrian safety!”

Sirin’s eyes narrowed even further, "Mei, can I punt this little weirdo?”

“Please don’t kick the police robots, Sirin,” Mei sighed.

“Yes, please do not interrupt my work. Harming a police bangboo would require me to summon my partner to arrest you,” The bangboo chirped.

"But they’re police!” Sirin protested. When Mei simply raised an eyebrow and stared at her with a displeased eye, Sirin dropped the subject with a groan. She scanned the surrounding area again, doing her best to ignore how very puntable the little police creature was. Green finally flickered to life along the cross-walk and Sirin was so relieved she might even consider rethinking her desire to watch humanity burn. If she was asked nicely. Too bad for humanity that Kiana wasn’t awake right now.

She very quickly found herself taking back such thoughts over the next hour. As soon as they stepped into the mall building, Sirin realised it was a mistake to let Mei bring her to such a place. However, before she could portal away, a frighteningly strong grip closed around her arm. The Valkyrie in question was all smiles as she pulled the Herrscher close and wrapped her arms around one of Sirin’s own, batting her eyes innocently.

“Oooooh,” Rice Cake's little voice yawned as her eyes fluttered open and the snake quickly took in her surroundings, “Are we gonna dress Aunt Sirin up in pretty clothes?” Her question carried an undercurrent of undeniable excitement.

Sirin’s eyes had frantically snapped between the frankly ridiculous amount of clothing stores, unable to identify another means of escape, before finally resigning herself to her doom. But why not just portal out? She asked herself this every time she somehow ended up being dragged somewhere by Raiden Mei. When had she begun to let Mei do these things to her? Was it the faint dream of white hair and a bright smile? The proud look in blue eyes as she twirled in clothing several sizes smaller than what she wore now? Questions that had an answer somewhere, if she cared to peer into her heart. Answers that, really, she already knew. Of course she did. However, at the moment, she did not in fact care enough to look. Sirin sighed dramatically. Oh well.

The sun shone down with a comfortable warmth as Bronya stepped out of the arcade, arms stretching up high as she turned to watch her companion sullenly follow after her. Bianka held the dulled eyes and blank expression of a woman catastrophically defeated as the door swung closed behind her.

“Even in another world I still can’t get a hang of these infernal machines,” She lamented.

“You spend too much time being the perfect athlete, even Kiana takes time to play games despite how responsible she’s gotten since being trapped on the moon,” Bronya said in her usual flat tones. In one smooth motion she had pulled her phone from her pocket and unlocked it, “Looks like there’s a subway nearby if we want to explore elsewhere. The money Mei gave us should be enough for a round trip with some extra for spending. Pretty sure she took Sirin and Rice Cake along to the nearby CBD.”

Bianka sighed, “Sirin… what are we going to do about her?”

Bronya set off at a casual stroll towards the train station, shooting a look at the blonde as she fell into step beside her, “Do what? We don’t need to do anything.”

“You're not worried at all?”

“Eh,” Bronya shrugged, “She’s just having her fun. Kiana and Mei have managed to get her chill out more than I ever thought possible over the last decade. She might still threaten people and love showing off her power, but I think getting a manifestation of genocidal hatred to settle for scaring people is a pretty big accomplishment for our resident lovebirds.”

“That’s true,” Bianka admitted, “I just… I don’t know. Kiana and Mei put so much effort into showing her kindness and love. I want to get along with her as well. But even after all this time she makes it a bit… difficult.”

“You’re such a worrier when Rita isn’t around,” Bronya smirked, “Look, don’t worry, I know you haven’t spent nearly as much time around Sirin as we have, so just trust me when I say it’s okay. Maybe this is your chance to spend that time with her.”

“She never wants to front when I’m around,” Bianka grumbled as they entered the shade of the station, “I don’t want to take advantage of her being stuck in control.”

Bronya bought two tickets and the two Valkyries now stood in the station waiting for their train. It wasn't much different than a subway back home. Which meant it smelt nasty, was very noisy, and there was way too many people, “She probably doesn’t want to switch while you’re around because she thinks you’ll try to take her on one of your training sessions. Their body is literally that of a Goddess and your workouts still leave Kiana wiped out for the whole next day,” Bronya deadpanned. Before Bianka could protest a small chime came from Bronya’s hand. The Valkyrie sent her phone a casual glance, whatever notification she’d gotten seeming to capture her attention as she quickly brought her phone up and began typing rapidly, “We’re gonna have to postpone the sightseeing, Bianka,” She rotated the phone to show her screen to Bianka, “Belle just sent us a message to meet back up. Section 6 got their info.”

Sirin displayed a surprising amount of tact on their arrival back to sixth street. The Herrscher teleported them into a side alley with a suitable cutaway to hide them from prying eyes. They walked out onto the main street with only a couple of the more unscrupulous figures in the alley paying them any mind, paired with a small exhale of relief from Mei. It only took a minute to get within sight of Random Play. Strangely, they found Bianka and Bronya standing at the news stand across the street, Bianka valiantly pretending to read the paper (it was quite obvious her attention was across the street on Random Play).

The trio quickly joined their companions. Once Bronya looked up at the approaching women, Mei gave her a questioning look, “What’s going on, Bronya?”

The Valkyrie gestured across the street with her chin, “We were coming back after getting Belle’s text when we saw a squad of three cops push their way into Random Play. We decided to wait for you to get back before we decide what to do.”

"Kill them.” Sirin immediately proposed.

“We can incapacitate them,” Mei responded quietly and shot a pointed look at the Herrscher.

"You’re really no fun. Can we bring Thunder back?”

Mei chose to ignore the comment and instead resumed her discussion with Bronya and Bianka. Though perhaps she shouldn’t have taken her eyes off the Herrscher. It was only another few seconds before Sirin’s voice sent a shock of alarm down her spine.

"Oh no,” Sirin deadpanned, “Rice Cake has escaped and is slithering over to ‘show those meanies who’s boss’.”

“What?!” Mei spun in a panic just in time to spot Rice Cake leap up and wrap herself around the handle to Random Play’s front door, “Rice Cake!”

Mei dashed across the road with Bianka and Bronya close behind. Sirin's deadpan expression quickly morphed into a positively predatory grin as she stalked after the Valkyries. Even in the short few seconds it took Mei to cross the street, Rice Cake had already opened the door and darted inside. Bronya’s shout for Mei to wait fell on deaf ears, the woman barrelling inside after the little Honkai beast. Rice Cake’s voice was only slightly muffled by the distance as the rest of her friends and family rushed inside after her mother.

“Cower in fear, human scum! Honkai beast Rice Cake is here to crush you!” She shouted. At the sound of the door slamming back open behind her the little snake turned a proud grin to her Auntie Sirin, who smiled encouragingly.

“Rice Cake!” Mei rushed forward and scooped up the little snake from where it was coiled in mid-air in one swift motion. One of the officers (one who they now saw had been towering over Wise rather intimidatingly) looked at them with annoyance. Mei affixed her face with a bright smile, “I'm so sorry officers, you know how it is when you let kids out of your sight for just a second-”

“I don't have time for this or whatever that thing is, get out of here before I arrest you for obstructing an officer. We have a job to do.” He turned his glare back to Wise, “Same goes for you if you don't open up that back room.”

Mei's smile widened, yet the sight was not a joyful one. The sweet saccharine expression did nothing but send a slight shiver of fear down the spines of all who saw it.

Rice Cake speedily slunk her way back around Sirin's shoulders, “Uh oh, Mama Mei has that look on her face.”

“Sirin,” Mei said, her voice certainly all too sweet for the cold displeasure that burned in her violet eyes, “You know how to utilise Kiana's authority of Sentience, right?”

Sirin turned a positively gleeful look on the officers, who seemed to only begin realising just how much danger they were in when Sirin withdrew her lance from a newly formed portal, "Like the back of my Core, my dear Mei.”

Bianka could only watch on and sigh as her companions rushed forward and three dull thumps signalled bodies hitting the ground in quick succession.

Mei stared down at the unconscious lead officer with a terrifyingly cold gleam in her eye, “My daughter is not a thing.”

"We should just kill them,” Sirin growled, "Pathetic humans don't get to insult their betters and live.”

Mei held her gaze on the bodies for a moment before closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath, “No Sirin. As much as that angered me, just alter their memories so we can avoid any trouble.”

Sirin grumbled in annoyance but moved to do as Mei asked regardless. It was at that moment, as Sirin had the collar of one of the limp officers in her grip, and right as Wise was shaking off his shock, that the bells above the door rang out in a frightening jingle.

“Hold it, we-” The two newcomers halted almost as quickly as they had entered, the door swinging back shut with a foreboding slam.

A golden glare snapped up and more portals immediately bloomed to life behind the Herrscher.

“Wait!” Wise jumped in between Sirin and the newcomers, “They're friends, I promise!”

“It's okay, Sirin,” Mei nodded, “Stand down for now, I'll protect you while you work.”

"I never get to just eviscerate people anymore,” Sirin grumbled. The portals vanished a moment later.

The taller of the two newcomers eyed them warily, hand tightening around the pistol at her side, “Wise? What is the meaning of this?” She demanded.

Wise chuckled nervously, “Uh, Zhu Yuan! Hi! I can explain!”

Officer Zhu Yuan's eyes narrowed, “You’d better explain fast.”

“Er, well, you see-”

Almost as soon as Wise began to suffer under Zhu Yuan’s unforgiving gaze did the door to the staff room slowly creak open. Belle stepped out slowly. Her expression was tight, ashamed, the look of a woman who had been caught with her pants down. She smiled awkwardly as she stepped over the unconscious officers and placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder, “It’s okay Wise, let me.”

Wise relented rather quickly, allowing his sister to bear the full brunt of Zhu Yuan’s intense gaze.

“Manager,” The other, shorter, woman began, “I received a distress call from Fairy so we rushed over here. Yet when we entered your store we found these strange women standing over unconscious officers and one seemed to threaten us with some kind of rift. You’ll need to explain or I’m afraid Zhu Yuan will burst a blood vessel.”

Belle nervously shot a glance at the Valkyries behind her, “Um… Wait, Fairy? Ah, um, thanks, Qingyi, we can talk about that later I guess? This is a bit… complicated…”

Leaving Belle to her fate for a moment, the Valkyries took this time to observe the two newcomers more closely. To Belle’s left, stood Zhu Yuan. She was a rather tall woman. Her black hair was highlighted with red streaks and pulled up into a functional ponytail that didn’t fall past her neck, a serious and intense focus in her eyes framed by her bangs as she watched Belle desperately try to figure out where to even begin. The other was a much shorter woman, shorter than even Kiana and Sirin, with long dark green hair styled into rather voluminous twin-tails that were held in place by circular decorations through which her hair had been threaded through the middle. Her uniform lacked the official full athletic look of Zhu Yuan’s, but the pads and joint guards made it clear she was prepared to fight at a moment’s notice.

In the meantime, Belle was having great difficulty finding the words to explain to Zhu Yuan just what had happened to her earlier today. Understandable, considering the quite fantastical situation the Valkyries had put her in. Fortunately for the store manager, a smooth and cool voice blaring from the speakers within the staff room came to her rescue.

“Allow me to explain.”

Belle seemed about ready to collapse in relief as Miyabi’s steady voice launched into a detailed explanation of that day’s events to a wide eyed Zhu Yuan, who proceeded to wander into the staff room following the Thiren’s voice. Her eyes darted around the screens, the equipment, Miyabi’s visage on said wall of screens, all of it. Her body somehow tensed even more, her steps hesitant, astonished, thick with a cracking, shuddering wave of realisation. As Miyabi finished, with a nod and smile to Belle, and her image flickered off the screens, Zhu Yuan’s eyes dropped, unfocused, frazzled, stark disbelief clear on her face.

“So,” Qingyi broke the tense silence that had fallen upon the store, “Our law-abiding managers are in fact seasoned Proxies?”

Belle’s face scrunched up in such a severe cringe that one might think she was about to curl up and die, “S-Sorry... It’s true.” She somehow managed to wince even harder as Zhu Yuan’s expression went deathly still, “But I promise we’ve never done anything bad! We are, uh... the most lawful amongst the unlawful!” Belle forced a twitching, awkward smile in the hopes her words didn’t sound quite so desperate to the others.

For several seconds the entire building was completely still. Then came the sound of cloth rubbing together as Zhu Yuan dug into one of her pockets and retrieved her wallet, quickly counting out a thousand dennies and handing them to Qingyi. The smaller girl smiled in triumph and tucked them away before pointing a finger in the direction of the Valkyries.

“And all of you... are from another world? If it wasn’t Hoshimi Miyabi herself telling me this, I’d have to wonder what new substance the Hollow raider gangs have cooked up.”

Sirin scoffed and stood from where she had been tending to the unconscious officers. Mei stepped to the side and allowed the Herrscher a clear path to the staff room if she so wished, “You’d be lucky if I was just some insect high on something. Then maybe you’d survive an attempt to restrain me.”

“Alright, alright,” Belle raised her hands in an effort to get Sirin to pause, “Qingyi?” She stared at the officer in disbelief.

Qingyi smirked, “I had my doubts about your identity. I mentioned it to Zhu Yuan on the way here and...”

“...I didn’t believe it,” Zhu Yuan finished stiffly, “I was convinced the managers wouldn’t deceive us so I was willing to bet on it.” Deep red eyes had found something to Belle’s side quite interesting, never once meeting the girl’s own blue as she spoke, “Too bad,” Her voice remained steady, even as Zhu Yuan failed to hide the underlying hurt in her tone, “I was wrong.”

“I-” Belle’s eyes narrowed as she fought back the moisture that pricked at her eyes and her heart dropped into her stomach, “Zhu Yuan, I’m so sorry, I-”

“Enough,” Zhu Yuan interrupted sharply, “Lets focus on the main issue here.” She spared a glance towards the array of television screens where Miyabi’s face had peered down at her just a minute before, “You do realise you’re levelling serious accusations against Bringer- who’s about to become Commander of Janus Quarter- during the election? Without any evidence or a key witness, mind you. By protocol, I should bring you into the precinct and inform my superiors.”

There was a soft clink as Mei’s thumb pushed her katana from its sheathe. The other Valkyries had also subtly shifted their stances, their opinion on such an action clear to the trained officers.

Zhu Yuan sighed, “But if Hoshimi Miyabi of Section 6, a Void Hunter, is willing to vouch for you...” She shook her head slowly, “Maybe I’m a fool who’s easily deceived, but I trust Miyabi’s skill and expertise.”

Belle winced. Again, “S-so does that mean...?”

“I won’t escalate this to my superiors until the day is over. You’ll have that much time to secure your evidence. In the meantime, I’ll be looking into this myself.”

Belle’s eyes widened. Almost as fast, she had clasped her hands together and bowed her head towards the woman, “Thank you for believing in us, Zhu Yuan!”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” She frowned, “If my investigation shows you’re lying... Like I said, I won’t bend the rules for you. Proxies.” She turned to the Valkyries still waiting behind them, “And you four...”

“Five!” Rice cake yelled out.

Zhu Yuan simply stared at the talking snake for a moment with tired eyes, “...You five. I’m not sure how to feel about you yet. But Miyabi vouched for your skills as well, so I suppose as long as you are helping Belle that can also wait until tomorrow.”

Bianka nodded, “Thank you, Officer Zhu Yuan.” She threw out a quick Valkyrie salute.

Zhu Yuan gestured to the still unconscious officers with her chin, “What did you do to them?”

“Just knocked them out before they could open the staff room,” Mei assured her.

Sirin eyed Zhu Yuan with her usual aura of barely restrained violence, “I’ve altered their memories so they won’t give us any trouble. I was gonna teleport them out of our hair, unless you care enough to take them out yourself.”

Zhu Yuan frowned, “I don’t know how I would explain that.”

Sirin shrugged, “Alright then.” A void portal bloomed to life beneath all three officers, who promptly fell into them and disappeared. At Mei’s questioning look she rolled her eyes, “Oh don’t worry, I just dropped them in an alley down the street. They’ll wake up soon and continue along their way doing whatever it is pathetic insects like them do.”

One last sigh and Zhu Yuan turned to request Qingyi stay and keep an eye on the store before hurrying out the door without another glance.

“Well,” Wise popped onto the balls of his feet before dropping back down and pursing his lips in a valiant attempt to maintain a casual air, “That went pretty well, all things considered.”

Belle could only groan in despair.

The Valkyries were quite happy to get back to work, the awkwardness of watching Belle and Zhu Yuan bleeding away thanks to Section 6 contacting Belle to commence a new mission. The only problem was that Section 6 was already at the target location, and it would take too long for the Valkyries to get to this “Ballet Twins Hollow” through normal means. Of course, this meant Sirin was up again, much to her annoyance- and Mei’s worry- as her Herrscher core drew upon the power of Honkai once more. First to recharge their Valkyrie Battlesuits and spare Honkai battery capsules. Then to tear open a rift to the exact coordinates provided by Yanagi.

“Rice Cake,” Mei called for the Honkai beast’s attention, raising her arm to allow the girl to slither from Sirin’s shoulders to coil around Mei’s forearm, “We’re going back into a Hollow, so I want you to stay here and rest.”

“What?!” Rice Cake stared up at her aghast, “But I can help! I handled those monsters just fine last time!”

“And then you felt sick and weakened due to the Ether,” Mei countered. Her voice softened, “I don’t doubt you could help, dear. We know you’re strong. But we’ve also yet to fully understand how this Ether reacts with Honkai energy. You rely on it the most out of all of us, so I want you to stay safe for now. We’re gonna do what we can to figure this out as part of our mission, and once we know what it does and how to counter-act its effects, I will be happy to fight by your side again. Rest and help Belle and Wise, okay? They’ll be guiding us from here, so you’ll still be able to help us even if you’re not fighting!”

Rice Cake’s expression fell, but she nodded her understanding regardless, “I- I understand, Mama... I am still really tired...” She sulked, “But I wanted to show Aunt Sirin how strong I’ve gotten! That I can help you and Kiana!”

Mei gently booped the nose of the sulking serpent with her finger, “Oh Rice Cake, I understand. We’ll have to make sure you get plenty of opportunities after your mama wakes back up, hm? And Aunt Sirin isn’t going anywhere, I promise. Even when Kiana wakes back up I’m sure she’d love to let you spend more time with Sirin if you ask, okay?”

“Fine...” Rice Cake pouted, “But if you’re gonna keep me cooped up here while you go off on an adventure then you owe me!”

Mei giggled, “Okay, deal.” The Valkyrie held out her hand and Rice Cake slid her tail against it and pumped it up and down in time with Mei’s hand in a silly handshake that pulled another giggle from Mei’s throat.

"Mei is right, Rice Cake,” Sirin added, gently petting the snake’s head, “Kiana would be quite unhappy if I put you in unnecessary danger, and for once I understand her. This Ether is strange... dangerous. Even I will admit that.”

With Sirin adding her support to Mei’s decision, Rice Cake’s pouting seemed to melt away ever so slightly. Still, she was disappointed to miss out, and this showed in the lethargic way she slithered through the air and coiled on top of Belle’s head like a spring. The Proxy jumped in surprise but seemed to settle easily into chatting with her new companion as she and Wise retreated into the staff room. Qingyi remained out front, dutifully standing guard. After a moment, Eous waddled out of the staff room to join the Valkyries.

Mei nodded that she was ready and Bianka led the group through the rift.

After the run down abandoned town they had first seen inside a Hollow, they weren’t quite sure what to expect from one called “The Ballet Twins”. At the same time, the well polished tile floor and faux marble construction that made up the elegant and impressively large skyscraper reception area they stepped into was unsurprising. They were easily dwarfed by the space, this area of the building designed for a crowd much larger than the group of eight that now filled this empty void. Large three storey high windows, some shattered some still whole, made up the front and side walls of the building, while the large reception desk in the centre was flanked by curving staircases leading up one level to a landing with single double door behind the reception desk. All along these stairs, the desk, and around the doors themselves grew those increasingly familiar black Ether crystals inlaid with glowing green veins.

Section 6 was waiting for them and Yanagi wasted no time in confirming they understood the mission. Find Pearlman, the small man that had been with them when they’d met, and take out the mercenaries that were undoubtedly lying in wait.

"I don’t need to keep these mercenaries alive, do I?” Sirin questioned.

Yanagi shook her head, “They will likely only cause more trouble if we leave them to remain active.”

Sirin’s resulting grin sent a shiver down the spines of all four members of Section 6, “Finally.” Sirin interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms over her head, letting out a pleased sigh as she allowed her arms to fall back down. A snap and her Battlesuit manifested upon her body once more, “I will ensure these pathetic fools never waste our time again.” Before anyone could stop her, Sirin teleported herself to the top of the stairs and threw open the doors with a dramatic flair, “Here in a Hollow no insignificant human is safe from the wrath of the Herrscher of the Void! This pathetic Ether cannot overpower the infinite energy of Finality! With this body I will gut you all like the animals you are!” Almost immediately a hail of gunfire burst from the room on the other side. Sirin merely laughed, gleeful smile still on her face as she absorbed it all with her spatial rifts.

The rest of the group rushed up the stairs after the Herrscher, Yanagi shooting the Valkyries a concerned glance as they reached the landing just in time for Sirin to manifest a void lance into her hand and launch herself into the room.

“So uh... what are we gonna do about her?” Harumasa asked, jabbing his thumb at the Herrscher currently skewering mercenaries below.

“What we always do when Kiana or Sirin run wild,” Mei smiled.

Bronya readied her weapon, “Run support until she wears herself out?”

Durandal sighed as she too retrieved her lance and shield, “Looks like we’ll be distracting most of the mercenaries for you.”

“I don’t know if it’s comforting or frightening that you all are used to this,” Harumasa shuddered.

“Well she seems pretty strong, so I guess it’d be fine, right ‘Nagi?” Soukaku hopped excitedly and stared up at the woman with eager eyes.

Yanagi sighed, “Chief?”

Miyabi was silent for a moment, eyes fixated on the wide open room below them. And the Herrscher within taking great enjoyment in tormenting her foes. After a few seconds her ear twitched and she turned her gaze back to Yanagi, “Yes. We’ll leave our new friends to distract the mercenaries. No doubt they’ve alerted their companions to the danger already. We may have a clear shot to the upper floors where they’re most likely keeping Pearlman. We’ll just have to go around the main halls.”

“Hey, what about me?” The group glanced to their feet where the Belle-voiced Eous was flapping its little arms in an effort to get their attention.

“You’re coming with me,” A small smile twitched on Miyabi’s lips, “Don’t fall behind now, Proxy.”

A small pout could be heard on the other end of Eous’s mic, “Awww I’m gonna miss seeing Aunt Sirin destroy the bad guys!”

“Well looks like we’ve got a plan,” Harumasa grinned, “Now lets get going before I get sick watching that girl tear these mercs apart.”

Sirin’s laughter echoed through the halls of the Ballet Twins, the intense Honkai energy radiating out from her core a constant hum in the back of the Valkyries’ minds even through the Ether saturated atmosphere.

Durandal grunted as she batted away a mercenary and skewered the leg of a large war machine before several void lances pierced its armour down to its core, triggering the mechanical beast to explode from within as Durandal jumped away, “I’m surprised you didn’t protest this!” She called out to the nearby Mei.

Mei charged another merc and expertly deflected bullets to aid her dodges until she was close enough to cut him down in one slice, “She needed to get it all out at some point, better she release Honkai energy here inside a Hollow than in the middle of the city.”

Bianka pursed her lips. Mei was right, despite the worry twisting in her gut. If there was one thing the second Herrscher had demonstrated over and over again it was that while Mei held great sway over the woman, Sirin would only tolerate it for so long. Undoubtedly if Mei asked her to stop in the middle of things she’d currently get a resounding “No” in response. Not for the first time, Bianka found herself wishing her sister would hurry and wake up. Though... perhaps she would behave the same if she was cooped up on the moon for nearly a decade. Besides the glaring issue of Sirin’s continued quickness to anger and hatred of humanity, of course. One that was only kept in check by her promise to Kiana. Sirin still despised liars and cheats.

Sirin had quickly wiped out the mercenaries on the ground floor. Soon enough the Valkyries found themselves mostly playing catchup with the Herrscher, as her command over space allowed her to expertly locate and teleport herself to her next target no matter where in the building they happened to be hiding. It wasn’t very hard to follow the trail of destruction the Herrscher left behind. Mercenaries remained impaled to the walls by void lances, limbs no longer attached to bodies scattered the floors, there were even signs that some of the mercenary’s deaths were self inflicted, though by choice or the powers of Sentience was unclear.

They had raced up several stories of the rundown skyscraper when a heavy thunk in the next room signalled they had finally caught up. And if they had been unsure, Sirin’s voice echoing through the halls as they dashed through the doors cemented it. Within another large central room bordered with planters and surrounded by second floor walkways and balconies, Sirin stood with her arms spread wide before a war machine bigger than any the mercenaries had yet fielded.

"Is this all humanity in this world can muster?!” Sirin laughed derisively. A hail of missiles was the machine’s response, one that Sirin expertly dashed through, not even bothering to use her rifts this time. Upon getting closer to her foe, she shot out her arm, palm up and fingers clenched like claws, “Insolent fool! Do you think this armour can protect you from the celestial might of the stars?!” As if triggered by her words, a sphere of inky blackness coalesced around the core of the machine, an outer sphere of deep magenta that seemed to sparkle with the terrible beauty of space itself growing ever outwards, surrounding debris and ether particles being drawn inexorably into this whirlpool of destruction as Sirin’s foe was torn apart by gravitational forces it could not possibly fight against. Sirin turned her back on the machine as it crumpled and caved in on itself, “My vengeance is as inevitable as gravity itself!” With that, the Herrscher snapped her fingers and the stars within this sphere of destruction glared bright for a single blinding moment before the black hole detonated and rocked the building to its foundations.

Bianka raised her shield just in time to defend against several large pieces of concrete and metal that had been tossed wildly in their direction by the explosion, “Has she always been this dramatic?”

Mei chuckled, “According to Kiana, her lines were even cornier during the second eruption.”

Sirin’s glare almost immediately snapped to the Valkyries, “I heard that, Raiden Mei!”

Bronya stepped forward to grab the Herrscher’s attention before she could portal away again, “Sirin, a moment, please?”

"What do you want, Zaychik? I’m in the middle of finally getting to kill again.”

“It’s about the Ether,” Bronya began, “With your constant output of Honkai energy blanketing the area I’ve noticed my battlesuit is not losing energy as quickly as it was when Rice Cake and I were in the Hollow with Belle and Miyabi. Between that and the way it exhausted Kiana when she should have been just fine, I believe it is becoming more and more obvious Ether has some kind of nullifying or neutralising effect when it interacts with Honkai energy.”

“Yes, that is why I have been irradiating the area around me in the first place. Not a problem for a Herrscher, especially the body and core of Finality.” Sirin seemed to ponder something for a moment, “Perhaps that is the answer we are looking for. If you are to continue operating in these high Ether environments, we need Herrscher level Honkai output. Though Bianka seems to be doing just fine. It must be that annoying Stigma.”

Mei frowned, “Wait, Sirin, you don’t mean...”

Sirin smiled, “Reawakening your Herrscher cores? Of course I do. It is well within mine and Kiana’s abilities and would greatly aid in counteracting this... neutralising effect... through brute force until a better way is found.” At the continued look of unsurety she was receiving from her companions, Sirin rolled her eyes, “If you don’t trust me, then know that Kiana agrees with me.”

Bianka’s eyes narrowed at that, “Kiana?”

"Oh yeah, she’s been awake for about an hour now.” Sirin blinked and suddenly her eyes had changed to a familiar pink-starred cerulean, “Hey girls! I’m back! Just letting Sirin enjoy her time in charge!” She blinked again and harsh gold once again stared back at them.

Bianka sighed heavily, “Mei?”

Mei thought for a moment. She had to admit the thought had crossed her mind already, though she had been hesitant to entertain the idea. She wasn’t exactly the unbiased source Bianka was looking for. For all the contention surround Herrschers as inhuman heralds of the Honkai and as much as she enjoyed this peaceful humanity she had fought for, she had to admit she... missed it to some degree. If Sirin and Kiana herself were in agreement this was the current best way to counteract the Ether... “Lets do it. Bronya?”

Bronya nodded, “In this strange world I am beginning to think it would be best to use every advantage we have. Bianka, if you could keep an eye out while we’re focused on this, we would be ever grateful.”

Bianka nodded, “If this is your decision, then have faith I will be your shield.”

“Okay, Sirin,” Mei smiled, “Looks like you get your wish.”

Things were going surprisingly quickly with the Valkyries causing such a ruckus. Miyabi had yet to even need to draw her blade. Several times they had run into mercenaries and prepared to fight only for a portal to open up under their opponent's feet. The soldier’s screams would disappear only to reappear somewhere nearby in the building before quickly cutting to silence. Miyabi did not want to think of what Sirin was doing to them, but at least she was efficient.

A few floors up they had found a large meeting room off to the side of the main central halls that had been converted into a forward command centre by the mercs. Section 6 dove inside, weapons coming up into ready positions to pounce on the surprised mercenaries inside. Only for their plans to be foiled by a head of white hair appearing in a flash and smashing one of the mercs into the ground face first. Almost faster than Miyabi could blink, those purple-rimmed rifts bloomed to life and lances shot from the darkness and impaled every other merc where they stood. Sirin rolled her last victim onto his back, latching onto his throat and lifting him up into the air. A strange shimmer surrounded the Herrscher, and as Section 6 watched, an inky black mist seemed to manifest around her almost like her murderous aura had become a physical presence, that heaviness from the desert settling over them as if reality itself struggled to comprehend the woman’s very existence.

Sirin gestured towards the Agents with a tilt of her head, “I broke your helmet’s air filters. You better tell these nice people where Pearlman is. Inhaling the mists of death is more painful than anything else I could do to you,” Sirin’s grin was positively delighted, “Trust me.” As if in response, the mist roiled over her shoulders and to the ground, their continued creation giving Sirin the appearance of being cloaked in a waterfall. Where it hit the ground it spread not outwards in a natural flare, but instead curved towards the mercenary’s feet dangling several centimetres off the ground.

Tendrils stretched upwards, and the instant they made contact the man began to scream.

"Better hurry. I hear being slowly disintegrated is quite painful.”

“Puh- Please! I-” Another visceral scream of pain, “Top floor! He’s on one of the top floors, that’s all I know, I swear! Please!”

Sirin smiled towards Section 6, “There you go. Now you don’t have to waste time questioning any of these worthless insects.” Sirin’s fist tightened and the mists dissipated to the sickening crunch of the man’s neck giving way under the Herrscher’s inhuman strength. Section 6 stood frozen. Not for the first time the nature of the Herrscher pressed on their minds. She looked human as always, but something about her presence had shifted even from her introduction in the desert. Her smile seemed too manic, just a bit too wide, her eyes glowed unnaturally darting too and fro as if tracking things unseen, the ease at which she tossed a full grown man to the side unnerving, an unsettling fuzziness in the back of their minds screaming that this being before them was inhuman. Pure destruction. A monster.

Perhaps that was what she wanted, for her smile only grew fiercer when she turned and beheld the looks on their faces. And in the next instant she was gone in a swirl of purple energy.

Miyabi frowned, “So this is a Herrscher unrestrained. A vicious predator uncompromising in her brutality.”

Soukaku shuddered, “That lady’s scary...”

“Aunt Sirin is so cool!” Rice Cake chirped through Eous.

“I worry for you kid,” Harumasa shuddered.

“Right,” Yanagi pushed her glassed back up her nose, “Lets get out of here. We have a target location now, lets not waste time.”

Belle followed quickly behind after one last glance at the lance-riddled computer system, “If we come across another communications hub, give me some time to break into their system! It’ll let me confirm if what that guy told Sirin was correct.”

Miyabi nodded and the group quickly fled the destroyed room.

It had been a trap, of course. Further up the skyscraper Belle had indeed found a communications centre and hacked into the system rather easily. This had done two things: Verified Pearlman’s location at the reception area for the top level performance hall and showrooms and triggered a detonation countdown that demolished the room a precious few seconds after they had rapidly vacated it. Finding Pearlman had been easy. Too easy, as Harumasa rightfully pointed out. Yet they weren’t given much choice but to continue onwards as the detonations continued to destroy room after room behind them. Pearlman had been completely unguarded, an expected occurrence considering the military-grade ordinance following them up the building.

“I hope Mei and the others are okay!” Belle’s voice wobbled as Eous desperately attempted to keep up, “Wait, why’s there only one exit result from the calculations? There should be several!”

“Proxy, we don’t have time!” Yanagi yelled back.

Pearlman squealed in terror as the sound of the explosions rushed ever closer, “Please, I don’t wanna die!”

“There’s one exit rift, just go!” Belle made a beeline for this upper reception area’s entrance where the inky blotch of a Hollow rift opened up in reaction to their approach. Belle stopped next to the rift and waved her companions forward until all had exited. As she jumped into the rift, she almost thought she caught the flash of purple hair and white armour in the corner of her eye. A gauntleted hand reaching out for them. But then the rift collapsed, and she was left with nothing but her thoughts and the trap they had so dutifully walked into.

"Fuck!” The woman who bore the appearance of Raiden Mei, clad in a black bodysuit and elegant white armour, spun to her companions. The remains of the reception area smouldered and cracked, the woman seeming completely unbothered in the explosion she had literally run into. Sharp pink eyes and angular, diamond-winged pupils snapped to the golden eyes that had just entered behind her, “Track them!”

Sirin rolled her eyes, “Do not presume to order me around, you ingrate! You wouldn’t even be here if not for me! Besides, I already know. It was simple to track the way that rift bent space.”

"Then what are you waiting for? It’s a trap! Is the mighty Herrscher of the Void scared?”

Sirin narrowed her eyes dangerously, “Don’t make me regret reawakening your core. I can take all that Honkai energy right back! I’m waiting because Kiana insists that we proceed with caution!”

The tension almost immediately bled from the other woman’s body, “I see.”

Sirin scoffed, “Really?! That’s all it takes with you? You’re so fucking whipped.”

"Says the one that does anything Raiden Mei asks if she gives you attention or a reward,” The Herrscher of Thunder snapped back, “Like a pathetic little puppy.”

"Say that again and I’ll gut you alive, bitch.”

Thunder raised a single goading eyebrow, “Bark bark, Sirin. Don’t you want your treat since you’re so well trained nowadays? Does my foolish host tuck you in and kiss you good night, too?”

"That’s it, you’re fucking dead!” Sirin snarled furiously.

Sirin stepped forward, but before she could do much more than blast the room with Honkai energy, she froze in place as if stuck in a spider’s web. A blink, and her left eye returned to its normal pink-starred cerulean, “Now now girls, lets just hold up for a moment,” Came Kiana’s voice.

"Ah, Kiana,” Thunder smiled, “Finally someone reasonable.”

Her face twisted back into a snarl, Kiana visibly having to take a moment to wrench control of her expression from Sirin. Bianka and Bronya ran into the room just in time to hear Kiana’s explanation, “Listen, we could sense others waiting on the other side of the rift. They’ve obviously run into a trap. But I don’t think we should interfere too much with this world. We can listen in quietly, help if needed, but I’m not here to play god, okay? We should still try to allow the events of this world to take their course if we can.”

The Herrscher of Thunder crossed her arms and frowned, “Now where’s the fun in that?”

Kiana smiled, “Oh don’t worry, Mei. I have a feeling we’ll all get an opportunity to flex our muscles, so to speak, sooner rather than later.”

Bianka shot her sister a questioning look, “What makes you say that? Good morning, by the way.”

“Thanks, Dudu~ Just call it... Herrscher’s intuition,” Kiana responded with a knowing grin, “Now, are we gonna eavesdrop or what?”

Just around the corner, out of sight of everyone in the alleyway before them but close enough they could just see the backs of Section 6, a void portal gently broke the fabric of space. Four heads cautiously poked out and focused their hearing as voices became clear.

“Chief Hoshimi Miyabi, you are suspected of improper dealing with Pearlman, the notorious criminal,” Boomed an authoritative, masculine voice, “I need you and your subordinates to come with me.” The man’s tone curled up at the end, a barely disguised smugness sliding beneath the smile in his words. Words that were followed by the clicks of firearm safeties being switched off.

“It’s over...” Pearlman whimpered, “It’s over, it’s all over!”

“Just a moment, Inspector Bringer, it appears there’s been a serious misunderstanding on your part.” Yanagi’s voice cut through the rapidly building tension, a stern confidence that caused even her allies to pause and look at her questioningly, “Section 6 is alleged to have had unreported private contact with an important subject. However, those actions were undertaken solely by Chief Hoshimi Miyabi.”

Bianka raised a curious eyebrow, but she and her Herrscher companions could see clear as day what Yanagi was doing. The only question was how exactly this decision would play out. No doubt having strangers from beyond reality crash the party would only make things worse in this instance. Kiana’s eyes tracked Pearlman as Miyabi tossed the small man back into the rainbow of the Hollow rift behind them and declared that as proof she acted alone. Bringer seemed rather hesitant to accept, until another voice- a woman’s- convinced him to take her willing surrender to fit within their tight schedule. The metallic clink of handcuffs and thumping of boots thundered in the ears of all present as Miyabi was arrested and taken away.

“Whelp,” Kiana began, popping her lips playfully on the p, “I think we’ve ended up in a bit of a predicament. A little bit of a pickle, even.”

“Kiana, please shut up,” Bronya sighed.

The Ballet Twin Hollow always felt creepy. But even as the man and his protective geared team went to work, he couldn’t help but sense they were stumbling upon something magnitudes more dangerous. The place was a mess, dead and dismembered bodies scattered among the wreckage of war machines and fallen debris. That’s not what they were here for. They carefully searched each room, each level the mercs had reported seeing the strange newcomers helping Section 6. The very space felt... wrong. Spatial distortion that felt distinctly unlike what was usually found in a hollow. Even within the protective suit, the longer they stayed in this building the more he felt sick to his stomach.

There.

He uncapped a small carrier tube and gently scraped it against the ether crystal before him. The rim dug into the formation ever so slightly. Just enough to scrape off the strange deep pink crystalline residue that had been left upon it.

The strange substance seemed to glow with a soft inner light as he observed it within the capsule. Almost like it was... alive. He touched two fingers to the side of his hazmat suit’s helmet, waiting for the chirp of an open communication line before speaking, “Sir. Inform Sarah... I believe I’ve found what we’re looking for.”