Author's Notes: Vacation is over. Breaks are good. Hope you guys haven't missed me. But if you did, you're in luck because everything is ready and written :) Let me know if you'd prefer an update schedule that's more frequent than one chapter per day or two, or rather one chapter per week. Hope you'll enjoy either way.
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Mei watched in horror at the state Bronya was in while Kiana could barely contain her anger. Seele sat in a corner of the dark room looking down at her feet in shame. The transmission then stopped and Fu Hua sighed.
«As you can see, the situation is less than ideal. The good news, Bronya seems to be safe. At least for now.»
Kiana turned to Fu Hua with a furious glare as she clenched her fists.
«SAFE?! She's hurt badly and all alone!»
«Kiana…» Mei tried to calm the girl down but Kiana wouldn't have it.
The Kaslana then turned her attention to Tesla and pointed an accusing finger at the redhead.
«And you… what were you thinking when you let them go there on their own?!»
Tesla sighed before standing up and moving towards the girl.
«The place was supposed to be empty and Theresa needed saving. Any longer and she would have been overwhelmed. Would you have preferred that outcome? Or rather, would you have liked it better if no one came back at all?»
«What did you say?» Kiana asked warningly and Mei placed a hand on her shoulder.
«Kiana, please. It's not-
«No Mei, it's exactly as she heard. Honestly, this brat has most likely forgotten that we are in the middle of a war. And sometimes people don't come back. We got lucky that Bronya is still alive!»
Kiana's eyes turned to gold and a dark aura surrounded her as she glared at Tesla. Mei saw this and prepared to step in if need be, her own eyes changing to a light purple color.
«You… dare…»
«Kiana, don't.»
«EVERYONE STOP!»
Kiana was about to attack Tesla as Mei unsheathed her blade when the cry was heard. They all turned to see Seele standing tall with tears in her now red eyes.
Fu Hua moved to comfort the blue-haired girl but she moved away, her breathing heavy with frustration.
«P-Please stop…» Seele called again softly and Kiana nodded hesitantly, calming down slightly but still glaring daggers at Tesla. Mei sheathed her weapon and let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding.
Seele looked around the room, now slightly calmed down and her eyes met Kiana's cold gaze.
«I… I-I'm sorry!»
And with that, Seele left the room as she ran away, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes once more. Kiana looked sad but didn't say anything. Mei turned to Fu Hua.
«Fu Hua, I assume Madame Principal is under medical treatment?»
«Yes… she is resting now but if it's a visit you want-
Kiana didn't need to hear anything else and she left the room too. Mei gave a silent apology to her former Class Monitor and decided to follow Kiana.
Rushing behind her, Mei spoke in a hushed tone that Kiana knew all too well was usually followed by a lecture.
«What were you thinking?» she asked sternly and Kiana groaned in mild annoyance.
«That shrimp thinks she has me figured out. She doesn't know a damn thing…»
«Kiana, no-one said you haven't seen your fair share of suffering. But what you almost did-
«And what about you? What would you have done if I did attack her? You'd fight me?»
«You were out of line! No matter how much I love you, we have enough problems on our hands without Anti-Entropy against us. So please try to be nice…»
Kiana didn't answer as she walked through the halls of HQ. After a couple of minutes, they had reached Theresa's room in the Medical wing. Kiana then hesitantly pushed open the door, her eyes instantly meeting Theresa's.
«Hi Auntie…» Kiana called out and the bedridden Principal's eyes widened.
«Kiana… you're here!»
Kiana and Mei walked in, closing the door behind them as Kiana took a seat next to the bed. Mei rested against the wall, arms crossed in anticipation.
«Why wouldn't I be?»
«I… I suppose I haven't been briefed on everything yet…»
«Are you feeling alright?»
Theresa smiled as she presented her fully healed arm.
«With a bit of rest, my natural healing took care of the serious stuff. The doctors won't let me leave for another day or so but, I guess it's not so bad.»
«That's good. You need all the rest you can get.» Kiana said, offering her a small smile and Theresa tilted her head curiously.
«Enough about me, tell me about you. I've been so worried, you can't imagine how happy I am to see you're okay. You are okay, right?»
«I guess…»
Kiana looked unsure for a few moments as she looked at Theresa in silence. Theresa was wondering what was going through her niece's mind until she noticed the girl's eyes beginning to water.
«Kiana?»
«Y-Yeah?»
«Do you need a hug?»
«Yeah…»
«Then come over here.»
Theresa spread her arms wide and Kiana saw this as an invitation to jump in. She practically leapt at the small woman and hugged her tight, burying her head against her small chest, letting the tears flow as Theresa gently stroked her back and hair soothingly.
«I missed you… so much…» Kiana spoke between sobs and Theresa smiled warmly.
«It's okay. I'm here for you.»
Kiana felt warm and her tears fell even harder as all of the emotions she had yet to let out finally exploded. Her cries of relief and sorrow echoed across the room and Theresa was content with simply comforting her niece. After all, it's what she was here for.
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Schicksal HQ was a quiet place most days. However, with troops and Titans descending upon the main platform, everyone could see this would not be like most days.
Another helicopter landed and from it, Cocolia, Rozaliya and Liliya stepped out as they inspected their surroundings.
Valkyries and Mechs were marching to meet their own troops as Otto, Durandal and Rita lead them to the platform.
Moments later, Otto and Cocolia were standing next to eachother as their combined forces stood before them. Otto smirked.
«I'm impressed Cocolia. Given the short timeframe you had to amass a fighting force, this isn't so bad.»
«I on the other hand think you should have brought more firepower. Your Valkyrie Squad is great and all, but we might get overwhelmed. And Schicksal mechs aren't really enough to-
She was cut off by the sudden arrival of a white-haired girl with blue eyes. She had landed in front of them seemingly out of nowhere as the ground shook from the impact of her descent. Kiana met Cocolia's eyes with a disinterested look before turning to Otto with a respectful bow.
«Everything is prepared Overseer.»
«Excellent. Cocolia, this young lady here will be leading our forces against Tesla's Anti-Entropy. I trust you don't have any objections?» Otto questioned the woman and Cocolia flinched from his cold stare.
«Hmph, you better not screw this up girl. This is important to me and I can't have some brat ruin everything.»
Kiana scoffed and left to join Rita and Durandal. But not before glaring daggers at Cocolia with her gaze.
«Don't bother me with your vain ambitions, traitor. Anti-Entropy will burn today. That's all there is to it.» she said coldly and then left. Otto smiled proudly as Cocolia stood there in shock and disbelief at what she just heard.
«Everyone. Today we march against an enemy of Humanity. This branch of Anti-Entropy is responsible for a great amount of war crimes against us and the peace we strive to attain. As such, Cocolia of Anti-Entropy and I, Otto Apocalypse, have decided to wipe them out. I will be joining you all as we attempt to secure peace for our world out there on the battlefield. However, Valkyrie Kiana Kaslana will be leading the charge.» Otto presented as Kiana stepped forward, bowing in turn. She then stood tall and called out in a commanding voice.
«It is my honor to lead a force burdened with such glorious purpose. For it is through you all that Humanity may triumph. I don't wish to bother you with more needless speeches so, in conclusion, I want to commend all of you for your bravery as we march against our enemies. Hail Schicksal.» she saluted and in turn the troops matched her actions themselves.
«HAIL SCHICKSAL!»
The Anti-Entropy and Schicksal forces were then seperated and sorted accordingly, each battalion boarding an airship. Soon enough, they were all in the air, waiting for their command.
«Durandal-sama, it would seem Kiana-sama is distressed.» Rita observed as she activated her Godsbane Battlesuit, Crescent Harvest appearing next to her.
«I'm fine Rita. Just… anxious I guess.» Kiana responded as she stepped inside the airship and Durandal nodded.
«It is expected. This is your first time after all. Leading a force of this size is a tall order even for me. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.»
«You say that Bianka, but I'm thinking it really wouldn't be a problem for someone like you.» Kiana responded with a small smile and Durandal blushed slightly.
«See Rita? Kiana has no problem saying my name. Why can't you do the same?»
Rita tilted her head curiously with a sweet smile as Crescent Harvest mimicked her movements.
«But that would just be disrespectful, Durandal-sama.»
Kiana and Durandal sweatdropped. Rita could be really creepy when she wanted to. Crescent Harvest was just adding to her creepiness.
Otto was seated in his own airship with a glass of wine in hand when he ordered for the fleet to move out. In a couple of hours, Anti-Entropy would be no more.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Mei was lying on her bed as she played with a small bolt of lightning. Throwing it from one hand to another, she stared at her ceiling with a blank look. Too much had happened in such a short while, she barely had enough time to process everything.
So, while Kiana was staying with Theresa, Mei was left alone with her thoughts as she felt her eyes close and her mind drift off.
«You are hopeless, girl. Honestly…»
When Mei heard that voice in her mind, her eyes opened to see that she was no longer in her bedroom, but in an empty canyon. However, she couldn't tell what she was standing on. The sky was dark and cloudy and the only thing she could make out was the fact that she was high up.
Suddenly, rain started pouring hard, accompanied by a powerful lightning that barely missed her, scorching the ground in front of her and knocking her away.
«Get up. I can't have a serious conversation with my host if she is lying on the ground…»
That voice was heard again but this time it wasn't distant or distorted. Mei's eyes widened and she looked up to see a person almost identical to herself looking down on her with purple eyes.
«You're the 3rd Herrscher…»
«And you're observant. Now get up. I need to ask you something.»
Mei did as told and she stood up to meet the 3rd Herrscher's eyes with her own.
«What are you planning to do when your little girlfriend finds herself against all of Schicksal?»
Mei didn't expect that question. After some thought, she raised her head.
«I'll be there to help her. Schicksal is responsible for this mess and I too want to see them gone.»
«Obviously. But… that's not quite the answer I was after.»
Mei looked confused. «What do you mean?»
«Do you think that after Schicksal's gone the world will just go back to the way it was? That every one of your problems will be solved just like that?»
«Surely not. Much work will have to be done… To be honest, I'm not sure Kiana has planned that far ahead.»
«Don't bother. I can tell you exactly what's going through her mind. Or rather, half of her mind.»
Mei's eyes widened in realisation and she sat cross-legged on the ground, eagerly waiting for the Lightning Empress to elaborate. The Herrscher did the same.
«Celine is… a freak. I'll be blunt.»
Mei blushed and the Empress realised her poor wording a little too late.
«N-Not like that! I mean she is crazy. She can go from the most power-hungry and sadistic person on earth to a love-starved, misunderstood and frankly, scared little girl in a matter of seconds.»
«Wow. You seem to know her really well.»
The Empress scoffed in response. «Please, it is only natural. I've spent a good while as a part of her core after all. And she can be talkative when she's exhausted after a good... God damnit, you put that image in my head earlier!» she accused and Mei bowed apologetically.
«Anyway! What I'm trying to say is she's only ever wanted one thing. And I don't care what that fish-brain of a girl has told you, there is no reasoning with her. She's just using her.»
Mei looked skeptical for a couple of moments. She eventually looked the Herrscher in the eyes and spoke softly.
«You're saying I should think about what's next? After all this is over?»
«I'm saying you should stop worrying about what she's going to do and start thinking of what you know you should do. You can't always stay behind her back, waiting for things to come your way. It's pissing me off.»
«And what do you want?»
The Empress looked curiously at her host. «What do you mean?»
«Why are you telling me all this? What do you hope to gain from me taking charge?»
«What, besides a world that's relatively more peaceful than what Celine plans to do with it? Not much. I just want to see you live up to the 3rd Herrscher's reputation.» she said mockingly. Mei however stood up and glared at her with a serious stare.
«I think you're overestimating your 'reputation'. I don't recall any time you were in control and something bad didn't happen. Or do you think I should be better at it than I actually am? Because I honestly feel completely out of my element. And since I never had the ability to actively train with my powers before, I believe you should stop expecting so much from me or live up to your reputation, oh fearsome Herrscher of Lightning.»
Mei stood defiantly against the Empress as she leveled her with a calculating gaze. It almost made Mei break eye contact. But she couldn't back down now. This was a mental battle for dominance. Eventually, the Herrscher sighed and looked down dejectedly.
«You have a spine after all… very well. I'll try and be more… generous with my power. Don't disappoint me after all that.»
The young Valkyrie nodded and immediately felt like she was being pulled off the ground. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was standing in the middle of her room, scorch marks and lightning crackling all around her. She sweatdropped when she realised the bed was practically destroyed.
«Kiana isn't going to be happy about that one…»