Under Senba High
What, exactly, do you mean?
Phillip walked beside a line of large, black crates, all containing weaponry. ME Corp seemed to have decided that their safe zones needed to have extra protection for whatever reason.
Within the blue-tinted, steely complex beneath the school, there was a multitude of rooms. Some of them had beds, others seemed to be created for experimentation, while only one really had weaponry. However, how large the room was and what kinds of weapons was the thing that was impressive. The room was sizeable enough to place half the school above it within.
When it came to weapons, it was a sight to behold. The standard rift-raft was there: no small amounts of guns and a plethora of melee weapons, from spears to claymores lining the walls. Then came in the odder weapons, including several crosses and cannons, some of which seemed designed to shoot out lasers, and deployable weapons which looked like dolls.
Mei had unlocked the room with a password that she learned from reading her father's books before retreated to one of the rooms with beds to rest. Kiana went directly to the pistols and was currently inspecting them after picking out some ammo. As for Phillip...
He simply paced up and down the length of the extensive room, wondering what Gabriel meant before he decided to ask the being directly.
"Honkai energy seems to feed off of your chakra. That's what's allowing those mutations to happen."
So, no more chakra?
"No, just end the battles quickly and leave nothing to mutate from."
Phillip stifled a sigh and stopped near two medium-sized double-edge swords with white-bandaged handle and golden pummel held up on the wall with a plaque. That means he needed to use more fire attacks instead. He was much more grateful that they came to this room now.
His thoughts came to close as Kiana came running up to him, carrying several pistols and magazines for them.
"I'mma need some storage space. So much cool tech these guys have!"
Phillip shook his head at the girl and grabbed the magazines from her. They were placed into the storage seal rather quickly. He then made a grab for the guns.
"Wait!" Phillip lurched back at Kiana's cry, as she reached into the pile and pulled out two silver revolvers with black grips. "I want to use these. The rest can go."
"Why those, exactly?" Phillip asked as the guns disappeared in small puffs of smoke. "Revolvers aren't going to help against large masses."
"That's what you think!" Kiana exclaimed with a large, smug grin as she holstered the revolvers. "A warrior like me can make use of any weapon in any situation!"
Phillip rolled his eyes with an amused smile as he sealed away the items. "Whatever you say, Kiana"
It was at this point that Mei walked into the room. She seemed slightly dejected as she did, only lightening up when she spotted them after a second of scanning the room. She sent the two a small wave with a weak smile.
Kiana was the first to act.
"Mei-senpai!" Kiana yelled, leaping over cases that were lined up in the middle of the room, and glomped the entering girl. Mei stumbled back a few steps but was able to stay standing.
"O-oh! Hello, Kiana-chan." Mei said in surpise, wrapping her arms around the girl. The two stood there for a few seconds before Kiana jumped off of Mei.
"There so many cool weapons here!" Kiana said as she spun to face the rest of the room, used wide, exaggerated gestures to address it. "Who knew ME Corp made these things?" Mei responded to those remark with a slightly gloomy look pointed to the ground.
Phillip could tell she wasn't proud of this part of her father's company. She had explained to them as they came down here that the company wasn't just an energy company. It also provided the world with weaponry, benefiting off of whatever wars that happened. As she did, her expression became gloomier and gloomier with each word.
He didn't hold it against her. With how kind she was, Phillip could understand how the weapon side of her company made her feel uncomfortable.
He moved closer to the two, shooting an amused glance at Kiana before putting his attention back on Mei. "How are you feeling, Mei?"
Noting that he wasn't talking about the weapons, Mei smiled slightly. "I feel a little better." She frowned after, looking down at her feet as if pondering something. A minute later, she looked up and spoke.
"Could you and I talk?"
Phillip turned to Kiana. "Kiana!" Said girl turned towards him, stopping her spastic movements. Phillip pointed out through the door. "Go raid the kitchen for food." Not a minute later, the girl jetted past them and down the hallway.
Mei watched the events wide-eyed before settling on a stare at Phillip. "You know there's no kitchen here, right?"
"Just getting her out of our hair." Phillip then ushered her back towards the swords. When they got there, Mei stared up at the swords for a second, before adjusting her view back to Phillip, gripping her right wrist with her left hand in front of her.
Phillip sat down on a crate in the middle of the room, making sure he did so gently as to not activate anything. "So, what do you wish to talk about?"
Mei hummed slightly, before walking forward and stopping right in front of him. She stared down and their eyes met. Phillip couldn't read the expression on her face, but he could tell she had something on her mind.
"How did you know about this place?"
Phillip sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew he would have to spill the beans at some point, just not any time soon. Now, he had to determine how to handle telling her.
He could tell the truth: that he found them in the documents that he ripped from her father's company and read them on a library computer. However, he could also lie and say he strayed at some point when walking down the school halls, accidentally finding it that way, and believed it to be connected to ME corp.
Considering the latter sounded like a dumb excuse, Phillip decided it best to be truthful.
"A few months back, I decided to take a look into the ME Case. When I found out I couldn't find it the old fashion way, I went to the central building of ME and looked through there. That's how I found out about the facility."
Phillip looked up at Mei, watching her face become solemn and concentrated at the floor. He wanted to say more, but he didn't want to disturb her train of thought. What she believed was necessary was up to her. Granted, he believed there was some sort of punishment waiting, as he did violate her family's privacy.
Instead, Mei simply sighed and stared back up at the swords.
"You're not angry?"
"I am," Mei responded, eyes not leaving the swords. "I'm mad that you've snuck around my back. I'm mad that you didn't trust me enough to tell me sooner. I just want to believe we're still friends."
"Mei-"
"Are we?" Mei asked, turning back to look at him. Phillip stared back, taking in the weakened state the girl seemed to be in.
"Yes. I still want to be friends with you, Mei."
She gave a shaky breath, before continuing. "Then, tell me why. Why did you need to know about the case that much?"
This... was another part Phillip was hoping to carry to his grave. He didn't want to put more pressure on Mei, especially now that she has an alter-ego that seemed to appear whenever she got stressed.
This time, Mei would be better off not knowing.
"I needed to know more about how this world worked. Court cases works the best, so I tried finding the most talked about. It just so happened that the case with your father was one."
Mei's eyes narrowed at this, trying to search for any lies that Phillip was covering up. After a moment, she lessened the tense stance and walked closer to him. He assumed that she had dropped the issue.
"A few months ago... that wouldn't have anything to do with the Homu helmet, would it?"
Phillip cursed inwardly. He shouldn't have said that.
"No," Phillip lied. "It was simply personal reasons."
"Phillip-kun."
The stern voice of Mei pulled Phillip to look back at her. She didn't angry or frustrated, just... worried.
"Do I not deserve to know the truth?"
Phillip kept eye contact, hoping she would drop it if he remained stubborn. However, she seemed just as resilient, and he sighed once more.
"Mei, if I say this, you have to agree that you won't blame yourself." Mei's eye widened slightly, then settled as she nodded her head. "Yes, I did it back when you brought the helmet to school."
Her expression softened. "Phillip-kun..."
"I wanted to help you, in whatever way I could," Phillip explained. "Though, I think Kiana did that better than I ever could."
Mei closed the remaining gap and stood before him. Phillip looked down and away, intent on preventing their eyes from meeting. After a moment, Mei walked off back to the door, though not without saying one final thing.
"Thank you."
Phillip lifted his head to watch Mei exit the room. He gave a sigh as he leaned back slightly, running his fingers through his hair.
"Well, I see you played that off smoothly."
Stow it.
It's not that he didn't feel bad about betraying Mei's trust on this, but he definitely ramped it up to convince her that he was apologetic about it. It seemed to work, but he's not counting on it right now.
Pulling himself up, Phillip reached and plucked the swords from the plaque. He gave a few practice swings to get used to the weight before picking up the sheaths that laid on the ground below the plaque.
At this particular moment, Kiana came bursting through the doorway, grumpy about something. When she saw Phillip, she stormed up to him.
"There's no kitchen here! Why the heck did you tell me there was a kitchen!?"
"I didn't," Phillip said, placing the sheaths on his back, crossed over each other, and placed the swords into them. "I said to raid the kitchen, not that there was a kitchen." This didn't help Kiana's mood, as she decided to take it out on his choice in weaponry.
"Why swords, and why those ones? They're really old-fashion, ya know."
"I like them." Phillip then turned to face Kiana completely. "Help Mei get ready. We need to get going."
"Oh!" Kiana's eyes brightened. "Does this mean it's time to tell you my super awesome plan?"
Phillip rose an eyebrow at this but let Kiana have her moment and gestured her to continue.
Pumping her fists, Kiana explained. "So, first: we'll head east to the barrier. Once we get there, we'll get over it and go to the nearest place we can. Two cute girls can get anything there, so you..." Kiana looked him over. "I don't know, pimp yourself out maybe?"
"Classy," Phillip said with a flat look. "But, that's a decent plan for now."
"'Decent'?!"
"Though," Phillip continued before Kiana could go on a rant, "we might need to find a place to stock up on food first." With this, Kiana's stomach grumbled in approval. "And, if your stomach is to go by, we should do so fast."
Kiana gave a salute at this, coupled with a goofy grin. "Righto! Let's get going!"
"After Mei picks her weapons."
"Right!"
Night-Time: ME Central Building
Phillip scanned the streets next to the ME Corp central building, trying to spot an easy way in from the swarm of zombies that piled up. It seemed the security wasn't immune to the eruption that occurred, as several of the zombies were wearing SWAT-level ballistic vests.
He had left Kiana and Mei to take out the stock at the restaurant along with a clone, while he tried to determine the original source on the event. Right now, his best bet was here.
"Alright, how are you doing this?"
Don't have enough chakra to attack. Wasted it on clone production and the last few attacks of today. So, you know, gonna do the one thing that doesn't kill chakra.
Taking a few steps back, Phillip ran forward to the end of his building and gave a mighty leap. This was enough to clear the gap and have him hit the front of the building palms first. Now sticking to the building, he pulled himself to the nearest window.
On the balls of his feet to keep himself on the sill, Phillip laced his right fist with chakra before punching the window. It shattered immediately, causing the shards to litter the floor as an alarm sounded throughout the building. It didn't matter to Phillip, as he cleared the room with a single bound and kicked through the door.
Taking out the swords; the left sword taken by his right hand and the right sword his left, he cleaved through two zombies that stood on either side of the door with a single movement. He then chucked the sword in his right hand down the left side of the hallway, passing several zombies before impaling one in the head.
With his newly freed hand, Phillip pulled an M1911 from his storage seal and fired seven times down the right side to clear out the suddenly coming swarm on that side. Phillip gave a "tsk" as the gun clicked, sealed the gun back up, and rushed down the left side while cutting down any that was in the way.
Once he was close to his other sword, he leaped over the zombie and grabbed the hilt, bringing the zombie with it. With an overhead swing, He brought the zombie into another before slicing through them with another downward slash. With this, he was now at the end of the hallway and turned the corner...
...where another hallway full of zombies awaited him, coming his direction.
He answered the horde by cutting through the ten closest to him.
Back at the Restaurant
Kiana gave a great belch as she patted her now bulging belly. "That's the good stuff. Mei-senpai's cooking is still numero uno!"
Mei wasn't paying attention to Kiana, so she jumped when she said her name. "O-Oh! That's... good to know, Kiana-chan."
Kiana caught on to Mei's absent-mindedness. "What's up? You're usually a lot happier when I say that."
"It's just..." Mei sent the only person that wasn't sitting with them a side glance. "I don't think this Phillip is the real one."
When the group had gotten here, Phillip had left to search the higher levels. When he came back, he suggested they stay for the night after they ate. This wasn't a bad plan, but Mei felt something was off.
This "Phillip" felt too relaxed and carefree to be the real one. The real Phillip made her feel tense, but somehow safe at the same time.
Kiana looked over to Phillip as well. "I don't know, maybe we don't really know him that much." Her eyes then twinkled as an idea invaded her head. "Or maybe he was abducted by some Honkai Beast that impersonated him so they could take me out before I beat them up!"
Mei looked at her, bewildered. "Huh?"
"Thus, it will take us pretty girls to save him and beat the Honkai!" Kiana then came down from her high to give a sigh. "Of course. Guys would never get far without us girls."
Mei simply shook her head with an amused smile at the younger girl's imagination. Mei then returned her attention to back to "Phillip" and frowned once more. She stood up and walked over to him.
"Phillip" looked up to her. "Hey."
Mei looked at him, studying his features to see if there was any easy way to tell if this was, indeed, an imposter. Seeing none, and believing there was no way to go about this without being somewhat rude, Mei breathed a calming breath before speaking.
"Are you the real Phillip?"
"Phillip" blinked a few times before sighing. "Why does he always get the smart ones?"
ME Central Building: Underground Lab
Phillip typed into the computer with his right hand as his left arm was strangling a female security guard. His two swords were impaled into a rather large zombie, the metallic floor was littered with bodies, and the similar walls were stained with red blood.
Apparently, enough of the security force had resistance to the eruption to avoid being turned into the undead, bunkered down in the basement labs. They were grateful when Phillip cleared the zombies up, but immediately turned hostile when he mentioned the eruption. Most scampered off, some were unconscious on the floor, and the one he had in his hands was the only one still awake.
They did try to stop him, that much was obvious. They just weren't very good at it. Everything they threw at him was dodged or countered. Lucky for them, he wasn't in the mood to kill things, just re-killing things.
"What was Cocolia doing here?"
The guard only responded with a gurgle, prompting Phillip to sigh and continued to type away at the computer to bypass that security. Every once in a while, Phillip would peak over his right shoulder to look into the window beside him.
The room seemed to be an observation area. With two doors on either side of the long part of the room, an indent was there leading to a window into another room with several containers that lined the perimeter of that room. What was in them, Phillip couldn't see, but they unnerved him anyway.
Phillip looked back down at the computer and noted that there was no luck with him, and there was no port to get the Nep-Hack to work. He had no more time, so it was better for him to cut his loses here.
Dropping the guard, who breathed hard to regain her voice, Phillip brought a chop down to her neck to knock her unconscious. With this out of the way, he walked over to the zombie and yanked them out and began to walk towards the door leading back to the surface... only to hear something from the other room.
Looking over to the window, he saw what made the noise.
A large, four-legged creature with white armor stood in front of the window. It had a long neck that led to a flat, prism-like head that was cut slight from the neck and had a pointed-nose. Several indents in the armor led to black under-skin and pink energy pools, something that was coming out in bursts at two spots on the back of its head. The front legs were much larger than the back legs, and the slim body had two curved spikes at the back, one after the other.
However, there was an extra. A zombie was mounted at the back, near its neck, clothed in white armor and a large helmet. In its right hand was a large lance, extending past the front of the beast.
The beast looked in the room Phillip was in, who held his blades in reverse grip. He slowly rose the blades to make a plus-like cross, bracing the flat of the blades against his forearms.
The beast reared back, showing the mounter as the zombie rose the lance into the air. Once it was done rearing, the beast took a few steps back before charging forward, tearing through the metal like paper and shattering the glass easily.
Phillip muttered a single word before the spear slammed into his guard with a lot more force than he thought.
"Oh-"
Outside of ME Building: Ground level
"-SHIT!"
Phillip finished his train of thought as the beast forced them up out of the basement and back onto the streets outside of the building, lightened only by the street lamps of the night. He was flung into the air and landed on his feet at the other side of the street, cutting down the zombies around him.
The beast landed closer to the hole it created, so it was ready to attack almost immediately. It lunged, quickly clearing the street as it toppled zombies underneath it. Phillip dodged to the right to avoid it, then swung his left blade up to kill the beast just as the rider swept its lance towards him.
The weapons collided, and the impact forced both participates back. The horse-like creature fell down on its side without losing its rider, while Phillip was pushed back a few feet.
As the beast was struggling to correct itself, Phillip cleared the space between the two swiftly to bring both swords down on the rider, who blocked the attack with the lance. Pushing back, the rider swung the lance twice, forcing Phillip to duck under the first and jumped back at the second. This earned enough time for the beast to rise back to its feet.
Alright, I think I'm done here.
Phillip sheathed his weapons and weaved through some hand signs before puffing his cheeks.
Fire Art: Great Fireball!
A torrent of flames spewed out of Phillip's gaping mouth before folding over itself to form a ball. The ball rushed forward immediately, growing in size as it traveled until it eclipsed the beast. The ball exploded on impact, shaking the surrounding area.
Phillip fell forward, landing on his knees. As he struggled to get up, he coughed violently, forcing out blood.
"Damn it, I really was running on fumes."
Pushing himself up to his feet, he stared into the smoke of the explosion while panting. His senses were telling him that something was off and he preferred to know what, exactly.
His answer came as soon as the smoke cleared.
The beast was no longer white, instead sporting shiny black armor. The energy pools in the indents turned to dull magenta while the energy spilling out of the head was red and yellow flames. The rider remained the same, but its lance was consumed in the same fires.
"Shit."
He couldn't move. His legs were too numb to do so, while the beast reared once more to begin charging. He simply stayed still as the beast charged forward, lance aimed to pierce his throat.
Several gun shots were fired and the beast stopped its charge, flinching as the shots hit its head, but not piercing through. The rider looked up to look for the distraction, just as a katana came down to try and slice it.
"Get it, Mei-senpai!" Kiana cheered from a building nearby as Mei struggled to push back against the lance that blocked her attack. She was pushed back an instant later, and was sweating under the fires. Luckily, the flames didn't seem to be hot enough to damage her sword.
"Oi!" Kiana yelled out, sending down another barrage of bullets. "You don't get to hurt Mei-senpai while I'm around!"
As all of this was happening, Mei trying to attack at close range while Kiana supported from afar, Phillip's clone appeared next to him.
"Sup."
Phillip glared at the clone. "Why are they here?"
"Why?" the clone repeated while giving him a bemused expression. "Well, you made a clone at shit strength and left that clone with a smart girl and a tomboy to infiltrate a mega-corporation. The smart girl realized what happened, the clone was forced to explain the reasons why, and then shit started exploding." The clone then pointed over to the girls, just as Mei was forced to back away from a swing from the rider. "That's when the girls decided to collect your dumb ass. So, that's why we're here."
Phillip punched the clone in response, before falling back down to his knees.
Gabriel, could you get me a soldier pill?
"Will you stop getting yourself into these situations?"
…
"..."
...I only promise to try.
Gabriel simply sighed, and a ball of light appeared in front of Phillip. Phillip grasped it into his left hand, and opened it to find a black ball. Popping the item into his mouth, Phillip chewed and swallowed fast. With a burst of energy, Phillip pulled himself to his feet and weaved through hand signs as quickly as he could.
Thousands upon thousands of signs were weaved through in seconds. They all culminated to a single Tiger hand sign.
"Mei! Move!"
The girl twirled to look at Phillip, who had his checks puffed. Seeming to understand the situation, Mei dodged backwards to avoid the next attack of the rider, before ducking into a nearby alley where the beast couldn't follow.
Ninja Art: Red Line!
Like the fireball from before, Phillip launched the attack by leaning forward and breathing out. This time, a thin, crimson laser was shot forward at incredible speed. The beast had no time to react as the beam hit it directly and exploded with a force that sent a shockwave across the city. This shockwave knocked Kiana off her feet, caused Phillip to shield his face from the dust with his arms, and forced Mei back a few feet farther into the alley.
Soon, it all subsided and the only thing that was left in the street was Phillip and a large, smoking crater. Phillip watched the crater, waiting for anything to move from it. The smoke cleared soon, and nothing of the beast remained. Phillip sighed...
...before falling back, landing with a heavy thud.
"Congratulation: you just learned chakra management."
Fuck off.
From Gabriel's jest, Phillip assumed he gave him an instant pill rather than an actual soldier pill. Less chakra, less time, best for escape procedures rather than offensive protocol.
Phillip guessed it was karma for the half-answer he gave before.
He stared up at the sky as he sucked in breath after breath. After a moment, the scenery was blocked as Kiana leaned over him at his side, smiling down at him. He simply shifted his gaze to look into her eyes.
Suddenly, Kiana pulled away and looked past Phillip's feet. "Mei-senpai, he's still alive!"
Just then, Phillip was grabbed by his jacket and forced to sit up as Mei pulled him towards her. As his head sagged to the side, he noted that the look that Mei had wasn't that of relief or worry.
That was the face of anger.
The slap she gave that sent him reeling was enough proof of this.
Kiana watched as Mei stormed off as Phillip fell down on his back again. "I think you pissed off Mei-senpai."
"I noticed," Phillip muttered out, knowing he was going to have to work hard to gain back Mei's favor. With what little strength he had left, Phillip lifted his right hand up, catching Kiana off-guard. "Could you pull me up?" She did, and let Phillip lean on her as they traversed back to the restaurant.
The Next Day
Phillip walked down the hall of the second story of the restaurant, and stopped at the last room. The door was open, and Mei was sitting on her bed, looking down as if in contemplation. Phillip rapped his index knuckle on the door, startling the girl out of her head and brought her attention to him.
"Hey."
Mei stared at him for a moment, before returning to her original position.
Phillip sighed but forged ahead. "Do you mind if I come in?"
Mei didn't answer for a while but Phillip didn't move from his spot. A moment longer and he finally stepped back to walk away. It was only at this moment did Mei finally speak.
"You may."
Phillip allowed a small smile to appear on his face before he walked in. He wanted to sit down next to Mei but felt that would be testing the waters much too early. Thus, he stood near the door in case Mei changed her mind.
"How much did my clone tell you?"
Mei looked back up at him. Phillip didn't meet her eyes, hoping his own downward gaze would aid in calming whatever tempest she was feeling so he could say what he wanted to say. Silence filled the room once more before Phillip sighed.
"Mei-"
"Sit."
Phillip looked up and noted that Mei had shifted to allow someone to sit to her left. He opened his mouth, but Mei snapped her head to him and gave a glare, so he simply sighed once more before walking over to sit. Once he was seated, Mei leaned her head onto his shoulder, causing him to tense up.
Mei was the first to talk. "Why is it that the people I trust the most hurt me the most? My father left me, and now you're keeping secrets from me."
As if on instinct, Phillip's right arm rose to try and hug the girl, something he had to will down. He knew the girl wasn't looking for hugs, she was looking for answers and there was only one person who knew them. A few minutes of silence reigned over them.
Mei pulled herself back to stare into his eyes once more. "I want a promise out of you. No more secrets. If there's something I should know, please, just tell me."
Phillip nodded, out of the desire to fix the situation if nothing else. "Alright. No more secrets." Mei smiled slightly, before sitting back up, prim and proper. "That goes back to my original question though: how much did my clone tell you."
"Not much," Mei admitted, seemingly contented by his small promise. "He simply told us that you left to figure out how everything happened and started at my father's company." She then turned to him, bemusement in her eyes. "Why there?"
"I found out who made the case against your father," Phillip stated, causing Mei's eyes to widen drastically. Phillip noted this and stopped her train of thought. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know the reason why, and I still don't. That's why I went back: to see if I could learn what it was this time."
"Who was it?"
Only venom was felt as Mei spoke these words. Phillip breathed in before opening his mouth to tell her.
Later
Phillip knocked on the door of the middle room of the hall, hoping to awaken the girl inside from the knocks alone. The heavy snoring that came from within told him that it didn't.
Mei had gone downstairs after their talk to start on breakfast. A few minutes passed, and already the aroma of her cooking filled the air. If nothing else, Phillip was set and ready to eat.
However, the same smell didn't wake Kiana up. It simply made her dreams more vivid, if the sudden grunts were to go by.
"Oi!" Phillip hollered from outside the room. "Kiana, wake up! We need to eat and get moving!"
Nothing outside of some snores and groans.
"Fine then," Phillip said aloud as he turned to the right. "I'm eating your share though."
Not a second later, the door burst open and Kiana stood there, wearing nothing but a white undershirt with a frilly collar and matching bloomers. Before Phillip could get a word out, the girl zoomed past him and down the stairs. Shaking his head amusingly, Phillip followed.
Once back down at ground level, he was met with the sight of Kiana seated at a table while holding the top of her head with both hands, and Mei waving a whisk at her as if threatening Kiana with it.
"And don't touch the ingredients until the cooking is done!" Kiana muttered an apology at Mei's scolding. Huffing at this, Mei looked over at Phillip. "Would you mind pulling some meat from the freezer?"
Phillip nodded but stopped to address Kiana. "I suggest you go up and get dressed. We're staying to eat, but we'll need to leave immediately after."
"Huh? Why?"
At Kiana's question, Phillip pulled one of his swords from his back and threw it like a spear past Kiana. It pierced through two zombies that were trying to enter the place at the head. They slammed into the building across, stapled there by the blade.
"That's why," Phillip stated as he walked to the door to retrieve his sword. Kiana grumbled about "dragging him back" and "putting him to bed" as he passed, before standing up and returning to her room.
20 minutes later
"So," Phillip started, talking over the clattering of chopsticks against bowls. "We need to make a plan." That stopped the noise, Kiana stalling just when she was about to place another chunk of food into her mouth. "Kiana suggests we head east, but this does involve all of us."
"What's there to talk about," Kiana asked, seemingly confused about this. "We get to the railway, head east, and leave."
"Well, first," Phillip said, placing a hand over his seal to pull out one of the silenced guns that Kiana picked out from the facility to point over the table and shoot two zombies that tried entering. "If that's all we're trying to do, I can get us there faster than the railway."
"Huh?!"
"Secondly," Phillip continued, ignoring Kiana's sudden outburst. "This is likely the last time we'll be here, in Nagazora." Phillip looked over to Mei at this. "If there's anything you want to pick up from home, now's probably the best time."
Mei pondered this for a second, but Kiana made herself known.
"Wait, hold up one stinking second! What do you mean by 'I can get us there faster than the railway'?!"
Phillip gave her a flat look. "I could create a couple of clones and take us to the barrier within an hour."
"Then why didn't you do that yesterday?!"
"Cause you were hungry, Mei was tired, and I was running on fumes," Phillip explained, not really bothered by the deviation from his conversation. "That doesn't go into the fact that I was looking into what happened yesterday, and what I just asked Mei right now."
Kiana gave a huff, crossed her arms, and pouted with her head turned away from him. Mei giggled at the actions, causing Kiana to drop the action and smile herself.
Mei then turned back to Phillip. "I'd like to return home. I want to see it one last time, if that's alright."
Phillip nodded, sending Mei a smile, before looking back over to Kiana. "How 'bout you? Anything you need from your place?"
"Nah," Kiana said with a wave. "I keep most of my things in my bag, so I'm good."
"Alright then," Phillip said as he stood up. "Let's get going then."
"Phillip-kun, what about you?"
Mei's question stopped Phillip from stepping away from the table. He pulled his right arm out of his sleeves to show another seal there.
"Everything I own is in there, so I'm already done with my packing."
Mei seemed surprised at this but accepted it regardless. "Well then, let me clean up the kitchen first."
"Okay." Phillip walked over to the counter and pulled out a roll of receipt paper. "Then I'll seal up the food."
Outside of the Raiden Mansion
"So, you can make clones, breath fire, summon wind, shoot lightning, fire lasers from your mouth, and make yourself super-fast," Kiana said as she counted down the number of things he's done so far with her fingers as they stood outside Mei's house. "What can't you do, exactly?"
"A few things," Phillip replied as he leaned against the wall surrounding the place. "But I don't think it really matters what I can or can't do right now."
The two had decided to wait outside to allow Mei to collect what she wanted while giving her time to collect and sort out her feelings. Phillip had told her to alert him if she needed anything before she went in. Thus far, she had yet to.
"Come on, please!" Kiana gave him puppy-eyes to try and get him to reveal more. Phillip simply smirked before patting her head. This caused her to pout before swiping at his hand, causing him to laugh.
"It's not funny!"
"Sorry, sorry." Phillip stifled his laughter before continuing, "Seriously, there's not much after that. I control elements, increase my body's capabilities, and shoot lasers. The only problem is that if I run out, I can't do it anymore."
"Well then," Kiana started before pointing her gun down the street and firing, killing a few zombies coming up without looking. "Don't run out."
Phillip gave an amused glance. "Not that simple." He then stared at the Japanese mansion that stood before them. "She's been in there for a bit."
"Yeah," Kiana said, with a hint of worry. "You said that there was no one else here, right? That you checked everywhere before Mei went in."
"Everywhere I could get to."
Kiana hummed at this, before giving him a flat look. "Like her drawers, ya perv?"
"I'm going in," Phillip said, not wanting to have this battle with Kiana again. "If you want to stay out, be my guest." With that, he walked up to the door and slid it open.
"Wait for me!"
Once the two were inside, they began searching the place. Kiana almost immediately found Mei's bedroom, something Phillip had to drag her away from before she did something inappropriate. A similar situation occurred when Kiana found the kitchen, but mostly to have her continue searching while he sealed the food away.
Phillip managed to find Mei behind a rather large door at the back of the house. Behind it was a small wooden training area that led to a patio. The area covered by the roof was decorated with a single sword, sheathed and propped up by a wood pedestal, and a painting right above it. Beyond the patio was a green lawn with two trees, one with green petals and the other not yet bloomed.
Mei sat on her legs as she stared out into the lawn, eyes on the tree that has yet to bloom.
"Mei?"
She looked back over him, eyes shining slightly with tears. She turned back to wipe the tears away before speaking. "I'm sorry. I took longer than I thought. I was simply caught up -"
"I understand." Phillip walked up close and sat down at her side. He stared towards the same tree Mei was looking at before. This caused Mei to turn to the silent experience of nature there.
Later: Outside the mansion
"You've had too many Mei-senpai moments, mister! It's my turn!"
Phillip sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Kiana clung all the tighter onto Mei's back as the group got ready to leave the mansion behind. Mei simply smiled at the affection, leaning forward slightly to prevent herself from falling back.
Phillip had finished packing up everything that Mei wanted to bring, which included her clothes. Kiana, who had stayed in Mei's room when she gave up looking for the girl, made the process unnecessarily uncomfortable with comments on Mei's undergarments. She got what she was owed.
Phillip had made the offer to seal up everything, but Mei, who was carrying a sulky Kiana on her back, insisted that she was fine with what she brought. That didn't stop Phillip from taking a few extra items along in case they were needed down the line.
Phillip straightened up. "Alright, we're good to go." With the hand sign formed, two clones poofed into existence with the swords. The clones turned to face away from them and bent down. "Mei, place Kiana on one and you hop onto the other."
Mei opened her mouth to speak but was stopped when Kiana threw her hands in front of her into a large "X".
"Denied!"
"Kiana, stop being abstinent and get on the clone."
"First off," Kiana said, raising a finger at Phillip's request. "I don't know what abby stance means. Second, I want my Mei-senpai time!"
Phillip stuttered at this from both shock and exasperation. He turned to Mei, who looked slightly embarrassed. "Mei, please convince this girl we need to go."
"Would it be okay if we started slow, and use this method if things get really bad?"
Phillip wanted to get just as annoyed at this as he was with Kiana but Mei was giving him something that he didn't think he'd see out of her: the puppy look. Why it was working now when Kiana pulled it out every second to get what she wanted, he had no idea... but it was working.
"Fine, just stop with the damn look already." Mei gave a small cheer at this, causing Kiana to pull her into a strong hug again.
"Boss?"
Phillip looked at the clones. "Scout ahead. Clear out what you can, and alert me of anything off." The clones blurred away, and Phillip turned back to the other two. "So, we're following Kiana's plan then. Go to the railway and head east?"
"Yep!" Kiana exclaimed as she dropped from Mei's back, but kept a hand clamped to her wrist. "Then we'll be home free!"
"Doubt that," Phillip muttered, before looking at Mei. "Are you alright with that?"
"Well, I do need some time to get used to this," Mei said, gesturing to the pump-action shotgun strapped to the left side of her skirt, opposite of the tachi on her right. "So, maybe I'll get some experience along the way."
"We could have got through without you having to," Phillip stated, slightly bothered at this. "I know you-"
"Phillip-kun, I refuse to simply be baggage in this journey. Please let me help."
Phillip didn't answer immediately, obviously conflicted on the idea, before nodding. "Alright, but you rely on us if you get in over your head. Okay?" Mei agreed.
"Oh, you're such a worrywart," Kiana declared, grabbing both his and Mei's arms before pulling them together. "So long as we're together, we'll be great, cause the Kiana the Super Kaslana is here!"
Phillip pulled himself from her grip. "Well, Miss Super-Kaslana, I'm still taking point." He then pulled the swords from his back before turning to face the road ahead. "Keep your weapons locked and loaded." Kiana and Mei nodded and the three walked towards the railway.
Noon
The group had managed to get themselves to the railway building, doing as much as possible to avoid large groups of zombies. Phillip had the easiest time doing this, so he had to try and aid Mei and Kiana with their attempts. However, Kiana's attempts often led to the zombies being alerted and the group having to either run or clear them out.
It wasn't because Kiana was clumsy, but it was because she was still impatient. Whether it was just before completing the task involved or in the process, she would make small mistakes to accomplish something Phillip did prior by pushing herself to do it at the same time. Thus, she would tumble and cause enough of a ruckus to draw the group they were trying to avoid.
Mei chastised her a total of four times for rushing, and Kiana seemed to get it after the fourth when she started to listen to Phillip's instructions.
Regardless, the group managed to get to the primary station for the east side of town. It didn't have nearly as many zombies as the group thought: only a few stragglers here and there. The group cleared the zombies out, with Mei trying her best with the shotgun. She fell back several times from the recoil but got back quick enough to avoid having the fall be taken advantage of. They climbed two sets of stairs to reach the tracks, with only one more zombie to take care of.
"Well, this is easier than the beasts," Phillip said as he sliced through the body of the last zombie in the station. He spun on his heels to look over to Kiana, who was reloading her revolvers. "Regret using those yet?"
Kiana gave a "hmph" as she spun the guns on her fingers before holstering them. "You wish! Still a piece of cake for me."
Phillip turned to a ragged Mei, who was taking slow and deep breathes while leaning up against the rails of the top floor. "Alright there, Mei?" She nodded before standing up, pulling the arm that she carried the shotgun in front of her and had her other hand take hold of the pump.
"I'll be fine for now. We should get going though if we wish to make progress before nightfall."
Phillip looked out of the hole of the building and noted the sun was at mid-way, signifying noon. If they continued to simply walk, they wouldn't be able to reach the other end of the city within the week.
He turned back to the other two. "Offer's going back up. Are you sure you guys simply want to walk?"
Kiana sat down at a bench near the tracks and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm gonna. I really don't wanna, but I'm gonna."
"Why?"
She gave Phillip a flat look. " Because you're a perv."
Phillip sighed in annoyance at this before he looked at Mei. "What about you? Are you certain that you would like to walk?"
Mei seemed to ponder it for a second, looked back to Kiana, before locking eyes with Phillip again. "It might be best to rest, but I wish to continue walking."
"May I ask the same question I did with Kiana?"
Mei smiled lightly before walking towards the railway entrance, her right hand gripping her left arm behind her back. Phillip followed and the two were soon outside, the colder air of February chilling them enough to rid the warmth of the station. Mei walked to the edge of the railway to stare out into the city, towards the massive structure of the Nagazora Wall.
"I was born here," Mei explained, eyes never leaving the sight before her. "I've never known much beyond this city, and now I'm being told I have to leave to live." She sighed heavily, trying to collect herself. "I guess... I just want to see the city completely before it disappears from my life forever."
Phillip opened his mouth to say something, anything to defend his idea, but simply dropped it. "Alright, we'll continue the scenic route, I guess." Mei turned back to him with her smile, before continuing to look around out at the city.
"Hey!"
Kiana stomped up to them, more specifically Phillip, and put her hands on her hips. "What did I say about Mei-senpai moments!?"
Phillip gave her a flat look. "We're simply talking. It's not like I'm staking a claim on her or anything."
Mei pulled herself from the sight of the city to appease Kiana, standing on Phillip's left. "Kiana-chan, I promise to spend more time with you soon. Don't blame Phillip for something like this, though. It really isn't his fault."
Kiana simply pouted at this, before shifting back to her unperturbed stance she always seemed to have. "Alright. I'm going to keep you to that though, Mei-senpai." Kiana looked down the railway, smirking. "We got here; the rest should be easy from here on out."
"That will have to wait," Phillip said, pointing over to Mei. "Mei asked to rest for a second."
Kiana gasped and looked at Mei with a twinkle in her eyes. "I was just thinking that! We really are soul mates, Mei-senpai!" Mei simply stuttered and blushed at this while Kiana gave her goofy grin and hugged the girl, though not with the same force she was known for. Phillip simply shook his head and walked back to the station, hoping to clear out the vending machines for snacks.
Sometime later
The group rested only for a few minutes. They ate and drank what the vending machines could supply to regain the energy they lost from the journey, then set off on the elevated railways.
The Nagazora rails were different from most places Phillip had gone to that had them. All of them were higher than the small buildings of the city and made completely of steel. Right now, they were casually walking six stories high, a height that would kill someone if they had a single spill off the side. Luckily, no train cars seemed to come by, so they were safe for now.
However, other things did seem to come by. While Kiana's insistence that the tracks would be free from zombies was true, some winged beasts appeared.
White in color and with the signature pink lines, these beasts attacked them by swarming around them and tackling with the rounded front of their triangular head at an unguarded point. It was as he dodged one of these that he noticed that every part of it was segmented and floating, from the pointy end of its slim body to the pink halo and white half-oval-shaped piece of its head. It even had a hole in the back of its head that spilled energy.
The group was able to defeat the swarm, though not without difficulty. Phillip had to swing hard to cut through the beasts while Mei tried using her shotgun, but stopped after several failed attempts and pulled out her katana to cut through them. Only Kiana seemed to have little problem handling them as if she faced similar situations before.
Once the swarm finished, they continued on their way, filling the air with small talk.
"So, what's it like in other worlds?" Kiana asked, hands behind her head as she walked exaggerated steps.
"Well, not much different than this really," Phillip said as he slowed to be beside Kiana, weapons still drawn. "Some places had better technology than here, some had less. Some were places where people could destroy universes without trying, others could barely handle fighting each other."
"What about the Honkai? Do they exist?"
"Well, I don't know the Honkai well enough to know, but probably not."
She sighed at this. "Well, I think this place is great, so I don't think I'd leave." She looked over to him. "Why did you leave yours?"
Phillip didn't want to talk about that. The vague statement of destruction to his own dimension if he decided to stay was the only reason he left, but time reveals a lot when the person who stated the threat lived in his own head. That didn't go into the fact that Gabriel revealed the reasoning for him being picked, and it really wasn't flattering, to say the least.
"How about this," Phillip asked in an attempt to prevent further probing. "I'm going to ask a question and, if the answer satisfies me, I'll answer you."
Kiana looked rather confused at this. "Why ask me? You and Mei are, like, super smart and everything."
"Because it involves the beasts that attack us," Phillip said earnestly, hoping to get to the girl.
Kiana smiled her cocky smile once more. "Hah! I knew there was something I was smarter than you in!" Phillip gave her a flat look, which pulled the girl from her high. "Alright, alright. What do want to know?"
"What are they and what tactics do they use?"
Kiana gave a thoughtful look, something he believed didn't exist on the Kaslana. "Well, the Honkai are the enemy of all of humanity. We battle them to protect the normies and try to defeat them completely. So far, nothing comes."
"Okay, and the beasts?"
"Well, all I know are the names: Cherub, Cavalier, Chariot, Ballistae, and Templars. Heard there was a rare form called Aquatic though."
"Wait, Cherub? Cavalier? Are those Seraphs and Knights?"
"I've heard some people called them that," Kiana stated, before turning her head to him. "But I don't think it matters though. They're just an enemy that I have to beat to save the world!"
Phillip nodded at this, before frowning while looking ahead. "This doesn't matter though. How do they fight?"
"The way I've handled them was by killing them before they had a chance to kill me."
Honestly, it didn't surprise him that this was Kiana's answer. However, it still left a lot of holes in his information. If he was supposed to aid this dimension in surviving whatever fate had dealt it, he needed more than this to go by.
"Alright, I answered your question. Now you answer mine."
"I didn't say I was satisfied with your answer."
"What?!" Kiana actually stopped, halting the group, and stomped to garner the others' attention. "How dare you say my eloquent explanation of Honkai Beasts was crummy!"
"I also didn't say that and the fact you know the word 'eloquent' is astounding, but I suggest we keep walking. Nothing gained by standing around." Kiana simply pouted again, before walking back to Mei and leaned against her left shoulder to vent. Mei patted the sulky girl on the back while throwing Phillip an apologetic look. Phillip turned around to begin walking again, only to notice something was coming towards them.
"Girls, get ready to fight!"
The reaction was near-instant: Kiana pulled herself back together and brought out her pistols, Mei opted for her sword rather than the shotgun, and Phillip lowered his knees while resting his arms against his sides with the swords pointing out.
As whatever got closer, Phillip noted that it was humanoid, which either meant a survivor or a zombie. If it was the first, they can be friend or foe. If it was the latter, it was definitely a foe. He hoped it was the latter: they were easier to deal with.
By the time it got close enough, it was only a few feet away and Phillip could tell immediately that it wasn't a zombie. The fair skin was proof of that.
The person that was closing in on them had pink hair and wore some odd attire. The white kimono top contrasted with the pink checkered skirt. The kimono top had cut sleeves, revealing her shoulders and a bit of her forearms, and had a black trim to it and a black scarf as well. Enough of the sleeves drooped enough at the forearm closest to the elbow for a dark red cloth to appear A red sash was wrapped around her stomach along with a blue rope and, to complete her outfit, had white thigh-high stockings and similarly high blue boots. Two blades were present, one higher than the other, tied to her waist by the rope.
None of this wasn't all that jarring though. The real off part of the woman that stood before them now was the pink rabbit ears that come from her head.
Didn't think I'd see anything like that outside of Remnant.
"Don't lower your guard. She's giving off the same energy as that Herrscher from before."
Kiana, noticing that it was a girl before long, relaxed from her stance. "Aw, it's nothing to be worried about. It's just a cute girl." Kiana waved at the woman, causing her to stop before she ran up to the woman. "Hey! You're going the wrong way. If you're trying to get out of here, I suggest you go the other way."
The woman disregarded the spunky girl near her, opting to look past her to the others in her group. However, Phillip didn't feel her eyes on him but did notice Mei shuddering slightly at the woman's gaze. Phillip moved his sword to block her stare, sending back a glare.
The woman shifted her eyes towards Phillip and spoke loud enough for him to hear. "One in your group is corrupted. I'm here to cleanse that corruption."
"You're one to talk, seeing as you have the same energy," Phillip retorted before lowering his weapons. "We're here to leave. Simply walk past us, and no one needs to be hurt."
The woman's answer was simple: she gripped the hilt of the higher sword. "As the Miko priestess of Yae Village, I must cleanse her. Do not interfere."
"Wait!" Kiana cried out, stopping the sudden hostilities. She turned back to the woman. "Mei has that under control, so there's no need for this 'cleansing', okay?" She smiled that large smile towards the woman. "Everything will be alright so long as Kiana Kaslana's here!"
"Kaslana?" The priestess spoke with untold remembrance, looking over Kiana. "You remind me of her."
"Really?!" Kiana's grin grew wider if that was even possible. "Then you know how great-"
"That's why I must ask you to leave." The priestess walked past Kiana, pulling the katana completely from its sheath. "I will not allow you to die to a Herrscher, like her before you."
"Hold on!"
The priestess didn't abide by Kiana's cry, blinking from her and Mei's vision before reappearing in front of Mei to strike. Phillip matched her pace and blocked the stab with the side of his blade. With a push, the priestess skidded back, stopping a few feet away from the two.
"Kiana, get Mei away from here! I'll handle this!"
Kiana stood still, seemingly shocked at what happened. Phillip wasn't willing to let her sit there, so he pulled Mei close and disappeared before the priestess's eyes. He reappeared next to Kiana and pushed Mei into her.
"Get going! I'll be behind you in a second."
Phillip's right sword clashed against the swing the woman threw, clearly intended to behead Mei. Once again, he pushed her back and that was when Kiana started moving. She quickly gathered herself, grabbed Mei's wrist, before booking it down the monorail.
Phillip shifted himself to face the woman, swords brandished on either side of him. The woman simply sheathed her sword but kept her hand on her blade, waiting to draw it quickly.
Iaido? Haven't fought that in a while.
"You are willing to protect her? Despite the dangers of her existence?"
The questions pulled Phillip from his thoughts but didn't deter his actions. "I owe her a life debt. Until the end of mine, her life remains under my protection."
The priestess's eyes widened, caught off guard by the declaration, before closing. "I see. Then I'll make sure you are free of your debt." Phillip got ready but faltered when a shadowy mass appeared behind the woman. It lacked form, at first, before it molded itself to resemble something he had seen before: a nine-tailed fox.
"The hell?!"
The priestess spoke, not to him but to the thing behind her. "This will be the one and only time we work together, vile fiend, and only for the eradication of your kind."
Character Change: Bronya: Arcade of Homu-Land
Bronya's luck wasn't cutting it today.
After checking up on the commotion next to the ME central building and evacuating the survivors of the security team (even if most were unconscious), Bronya returned to Homu-Land after scans for the Herrscher proved unfruitful. Right now, she was playing one of the crane games in order to win a large Homu plushie from inside.
This was the third time it failed to collect her desired prize.
She was set to just break into the game and grab the plushie, but she was a gamer at heart. She wouldn't allow an infernal and inferior machine to break her resolve. Her pride wouldn't allow it.
She had just put in the correct amount of change to play once more when the scans picked up a massive amount of Honkai energy.
"Pinpointing energy influx. Location... Mid-point of monorail system towards Homu-Land station." Bronya shifted to look towards the location's general direction. More thorough scans suggest a battle was occurring there, based on vibrative signatures. She began to levitate towards the door... before looking back at the crane game.
"... Bronya will extract the Herrscher after she's worn out."
Thus, she returned to the game in hopes of collecting the plushie once more.
Welp, this took a while and a half. A lot of things I wanted to take place in this chapter, but I felt this would be a good enough place to stop.
I'd like to mention that the reason why Sakura is appearing here is that in the AE Invasion comic, Kiana states that she met Sakura in Nagazora. That's why she appears here.
Anyway, thanks for waiting patiently and I hope to get a chapter quicker next time.