Chapter 4

Kiana sat silently on the ship staring out the window. She was worried about Mei and Rita could see it on her face. She wanted to calm Kiana's mind, but Rita was never good at that only good with orders and battle. Sitting there Rita thought of many ways to try to relax Kiana but was very hesitant. Instead she looked out her window not saying a word. No one knew about her softer side, how she was more caring for each Valkyrie. She even had a soft spot for Kiana due to her saving her life.

Kiana turned her gaze from the window and noticed Rita looked conflicted for some reason. She leaned over and put a hand on Rita's shoulder and smiled at her. Rita was surprised by this gesture. She was sure Kiana did not care much for her. Kiana's hand on her shoulder wiped that thought clean for the first time in awhile Rita smiled. "Rita, I trust you. There is no need to be worried or down." Kiana said still smiling at her.

The ship began to land at Yellowstone. Bay hatches opened and out stepped Rita with Kiana. Kiana's face sparkled at the sight of Yellowstone. "It's absolutely beautiful here." Then she took another look around and was confused. "Um Rita, where is this base at?" Kiana asked.

Rita smiled at her and was amused by her confusion. "It is hidden Ms. Kaslana. We must walk to the prismatic spring. Follow me please." Rita began to walk away, and Kiana followed.

They walked for a few miles and Kiana was tired. She was dragging behind Rita slouched over. "Ugh are we there yet?" Kiana started dragging her feet with her complaint.

Rita kept walking straight forward at an even pace. She slightly turned her head to look at Kiana. "Do not worry Ms. Kaslana we are almost there. Have some patience please." She straightened her head forward and slowed down slightly to Kiana's pace. "It is just straight ahead. You can rest once we are out of sight."

Kiana perked up and hastened her pace. "Well what are we waiting for? Lets get going." Kiana said with a smile.

Rita smiled at Kiana's enthusiasm. She was glad to see her in this mood even if something bad is coming. She thought to herself that she must keep Kiana safe at all costs. Even if it meant her life.

A few minutes have passed, and they arrived at the prismatic spring. Kiana was amazed by the beauty of the spring. Rita pushed on a tree she stood by and the ground rumbled. Slowly a hidden entrance emerged out in front of the spring. Rita began walking towards it and Kiana followed not to far behind her.

Inside the entrance was an elevator. They both entered and Rita pushed a button to go down. Kiana stayed silent for Mei was on her mind. Hoping she was alright Kiana stared down at the floor of the elevator. Rita was unsure of what to say to Kiana, so she put her hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. Kiana looked up at Rita and smiled back. They stayed quiet the rest of the way down the elevator.

Back at Schiksal headquarters Durandal stood in her office looking out of her window with a blank expression. Behind her on the computer screen were areas with increased Honkai. The numbers kept rising slowly. She knew this was unusual. She wondered why so many were appearing and why did the numbers keep increasing. "There should be no reason Honkai are appearing at this rate. This has never happened before." She thought to herself.

Durandal continued to look out the window. Just then the door opened. "Captain we have some news for you from the exploration team in Tongass forest."

Durandal turned around swiftly. "Prepare a ship immediately. I will head there now." The woman saluted her captain and left the room quickly.

Standing there silently Durandal was unprepared for anything that was coming. Slowly lifting her hands up she noticed she was trembling. She had no idea why she was trembling, but something was making her skin crawl and struck fear in her.

Durandal took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let out a huge sigh. "There is no need to fear anything it could just be honkai activity." She assured herself. She slowly opened her eyes and headed for the door as ready as she could be for whatever she may discover. She was hoping for nothing more then just honkai activity. What she would discover though she was not prepared for.

At the hidden base in Yellowstone Kiana was relaxing in her own bed trying to take things off her mind. No matter what she did, Mei was still on her mind and she was still worrying about her. Hoping she was ok Kiana decided to explore the base.

The first room Kiana found was the main frame. She never really understood all the tech parts of computers and decided to leave that room alone.

Kiana found herself in a secluded hallway after about ten minutes of searching around. At the end of the hallway was a door. The sign on it said keep out authorized personnel only. She scoffed at the sign and smirked. "No sign can stop me from seeing what is behind this door." She said proudly. Kiana pushed on the door, but it did not budge. Then she noticed a keypad to the right. "Ugh damn security codes. Why does this door have to be locked? What's behind this door that should be keep secret?" she said to herself. Kiana had many questions in life, but these ones had her imagination running wild.

Soon she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Swiftly Kiana kid behind a large crate in the hallway. The footsteps walked past her and stopped at the door. She peeked from the corner of the crate and saw Rita standing in front of the door. Kiana watched her closely. Rita then began entering in the pin on the keypad. A loud beep and shutter then the door opened. Rita stepped through quickly and Kiana silently followed behind.

Rita walked down a stretch of hallway before entering a large room with a large glass window. In the window was a young woman sitting on the ground with her legs crossed meditating. Rita walked over to a console and pushed a red button. "Hello Machiko, it is nice to see you meditating. Have you been keeping up with your lessons?"

The young woman spoke softly with a calm voice. "Hello Ms. Rita, yes ma'am I have. I got everything done early and decided to meditate for a couple hours before you got here to spar with me."

Kiana felt something strange while looking at this young woman, like she knew her somehow. The name Machiko felt familiar yet did not ring any bells to her. She began moving closer to hear better and to get a closer look at Machiko.

Machiko's face suddenly turned serious. "Ms. Rita there is an unauthorized person in this room staring at me." She said.

Rita swiftly leapt into the air while her scythe appeared and landed right in front of Kiana. The edge of Rita's blade was mere centimeters from Kiana's face thirsting for blood. Rita pulled her scythe away from Kiana's face. With a firm voice and gleaming look, Rita spoke up. "Miss Kaslana what are you doing in a restricted area? Leave immediately."

Kiana slumped her head like a child in trouble after breaking something. "My apologies Rita. I-I was simply curious. P-please forgive me." Kiana knew she was in trouble. She let her curiosity get the best of her and now she is paying for it.

Before Rita could reply to Kiana Machiko spoke up. "Miss Rita may I spar with her instead?" Machiko stood up, looking straight at Kiana.

Rita's expression changed quickly. "Machiko she must not be down here-"

Machiko interrupted Rita before she could finish. "Miss Rita, I insist I spar her." Machiko said firmly.

Rita was shocked by Machiko. She has never done this before. "I-if you insist Machiko. Miss Kaslana please step over to that door." Rita walked over to the control console silently.

Kiana was nervous. Why would she want to spar me? Who is this person? Kiana thought to herself. She walked over to the door and stood in front of it waiting for it to open. As the door opened Kiana hesitated slightly to walk into the room. The door shut behind Kiana and she was now looking straight towards Machiko with machiko staring right back at her. "So, you wanna spar me? The toughest Valkyrie around. I should warn you I'm pretty tough and I never lose" Kiana said with a smirk on her face. Kiana thought to herself that she will use a small amount of void power on Machiko.

Machiko stayed silent like she was studying Kiana. She wanted to know more about her and why she seemed so familiar like Machiko knew Kiana. Then she snapped out of it. Machiko could sense the small amount of void power Kiana was giving off.

Kiana became extremely focused and ready to fight. "Alright I will make the first- "Before Kiana finished her sentence Machiko's fist was in her gut. Kiana could feel the pain, but she could not make a sound. The wind was knocked out of her, then she finally recovered her breath. *cough* *cough* "What…the…hell? H-how did…you strike me so quickly? I didn't…even see…you coming."

Machiko reached out her hand to help Kiana up. "Just as I thought. You lack discipline. You are also hiding your true potential." Machiko said while walking away from Kiana.

Kiana was confused. "True potential? What do you mean? I harness the power of the void what other potential would I have?" Kiana did not get an answer from her as Machiko walked away. Hesitantly Kiana walked after her. "What do you mean about true Potential? She asked demandingly.

Machiko stopped and stood there for a second. Turning around she smiled "In due time. I cannot tell you what your potential is for I am not you. That is fully up to you how far you potentially want to go. Stay here with me and I will help you to control yourself more and train you."

Kiana was not sure what to say or do, but she felt like she needed to be here. She wanted to know more. She wanted to learn more. Kiana spoke up "Okay I will stay here with you and train. What first?"

Machiko smiled at Kiana. "First I think we should eat. I am starving." She said laughing.