Chapter 7: Flux

"Alright, alright, I got the message, hot damn."

The man let out a grumble as he sat up on the bed of the quarters he was residing in, a hand slapping onto the holographic panel that had opened up at the nightstand. The man ran his fingers through his wayward mop of black hair in an untied state that left it long enough to fall down to his mid-back. A mess of a fringe covered his right eye, a shift of the locks showing them both to be yellow in color.

"What's the buzz about now?" The man mumbled as he scratched at the stubble on his chin, tapping the holo-screen to pull up the call. "What's happening now that's making things so loud, eh lieutenant?"

"Good to know you're as perceptive as ever, Captain Kobayashi." On the screen, the woman said so in a brusque manner, the man, Hisashi Kobayashi, giving a sigh as he shook his head to get loose of the drowsiness. "The alert went off because the UN just filed out a report."

"Just when we got a day off. Man this month has been way too busy." Hisashi pulled a hand down his face, the lieutenant giving a hum.

"Well, considering that you and Major Murata spent your days off from managing the outbreaks here in Hong Kong. Speaking of the Major, I assume she's with you?"

"Where else? And not like Durandal isn't just being a one-girl show out there no matter what we do. Now, what's this about an alert from the UN?" With a bit of effort since he had to pry himself free of a pair of slim arms, Hisashi got up. He began throwing on the parts of his black captain's uniform, also throwing on a trench coat with the combat-ready attire.

"It's Nagazora City." And that name got the Captain's attention. "Several companies who had sent shipments out attempted to contact the city some nights ago and were met with total silence. Sensors are also picking up high levels of Honkai Energy there. It's possibly the epicenter of the Impact that occurred last month."

"That's also a place where ME Corp had a pretty big research facility." Hisashi put a hand to his chin as he mulled that over. "Any other information that the crew was able to gather?"

"We ran a check of scans from the past couple of days. Around a night ago, there was a massive spike in Honkai Energy located around the campus district where several schools are… but then it suddenly died down. Readings have been relatively stable since then, so we can assume Beasts will be appearing amid the zombies as well."

"Which means there's little chance of any survivors to find. We'll search anyway. Perhaps we can get to the ME Corp facility and find anything useful there. I doubt anything could have been scuttled if the city was the epicenter." Hisashi had opened a satellite scan of the city. Then he raised a brow when the readings he saw showed another, quite strange, value among the scans.

"Wait a frickin'… is there something wrong with the scanners? Why the hell is there a negative value among the readings?"

"That… we're not sure ourselves, Captain. It appeared around the same time as the large Honkai spike. It remained about as long as the spike and then also died away. We've been trying to analyze the signature, but to no luck."

"Worry about it later. Charter a course for Nagazora. Estimated arrival?"

"If we leave at top speed, we'll arrive within the next few hours. Going by the difference in time zones, around midnight in Japan."

"Perfect. I'll get the Major up and ready." Hisashi closed the windows, pulling his hair back and tying it up into a bushy tail.

He went back to the bed, where all that was poking out from the shifted cover was several strands of vibrant red hair. When he gave a tap to the occupant's shoulder, he got a whine and a refusal to move. Hisashi just sighed as he spun his hat on a finger, an eye closed.

"Now now, Himeko, it's not the time to be slacking. I know you're not hungover, so don't try and tell me you are." Hisashi placed the hat on his head, and the covers moved ever so slightly to reveal the woman's red eyes looking at him with an annoyed gaze. "And there's the firebird."

"You're not fun when you're in work mode, Hisashi." Himeko pulled the sheet the rest of the way down, exposing the rest of her pale, striking features as she sat up. Hisashi pulled the brim of his hat down to shield his eyes, considering the woman was currently naked. The motion just earned a smirk from the woman as she propped up her large chest with her arms. "And where's the bravado from a few hours ago, hmm? Why look away?"

"What, I can't afford you a bit of privacy?" Not that Hisashi wasn't smirking himself, moving his hat up, Himeko giving him another pouty look. "Just get dressed, and we'll head to the bridge. Lieutenant is probably gonna grill us for wasting time anyway. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, we just may have found a hit."

"Well then, why didn't you just say so?" Himeko immediately leaped off the bed and started throwing on her own uniform, chuckling all the while. "If we can get a good fight in, then it'll be worth the interruption. I gotta cut something up as payback anyway! Who knows, if we're lucky, it'll be a Herrscher."

"I wouldn't count that as "lucky" in any context."

"Oh, you're just a spoilsport, Captain."

"It's called not being reckless." Hisashi poked Himeko on the forehead with two fingers as he made the point, the woman bringing her hands there as she clicked her tongue. "Some things just don't change about people, huh?"

"And other times, they quite do." Himeko huffed, then grabbed Hisashi by his tie. "Be sure to pay me back once we're all clear here, alright, sweetheart?"

"Could you try not to sound like you're threatening me?"

"Ahaha! If I'm threatening you with anything, Hisashi, it's a good time." Himeko released the captain and went to the door, chuckling as he opened it, and she looked back. "Besides, you always like seeing me bloom on the battlefield."

"That I can't lie about." Hisashi chuckled as he fixed his tie, though still leaving it loose, turning on his heel and out the door. "Time for the Hyperion to get to work."

"Woohoo! Tons of ramen to pick from!"

"I'm amazed how much is here. I do apologize, but we need to take some of this."

Soleil glanced back from keeping watch at the convenience store's door with Bronya. Mei and Kiana rifled across the shelves of various amenities. As they'd expected once out of the station and into Nagazora's central shopping district, there'd been some zombies they couldn't easily avoid as they made their way through. In what had become a trend for them in the days since meeting Bronya – now heading into a full month since the Impact happened – looting whatever was left in convenience stores for good and other things was taking time out of their wandering for a way out.

"The Bronya believes when the impact occurred, every citizen in the city was instantly turned." Bronya spoke up, Soleil looking back to the short girl as her eyes traced across the shambling remnants of the people outside. "Anyone without the proper resistance turns quickly after all."

"Or other things." Soleil noted. "When we were in the ME Corp facility near the campus district, we ran into a Pseudo-Herrscher that had been a fox. Even when it turned back to normal, it still looked unusual. It wasn't the toughest thing to fight but, still… and I'm sure soon enough there's going to be stronger Beasts than just Angels and Chariots around."

"No worries." Bronya said, puffing out her chest a bit. "With Project Bunny 19C, the Bronya predicts there will be little problems going forward."

"Well, that's good to know." Soleil put a hand on Bronya's head. And not a second after he'd given the young girl the affectionate gesture, Kiana giving a yelp could be heard all the way across the store. "She's kidding, right?"

"Come on, that's not fair!" Kiana whined, dashing over fast enough to kick up dust behind her. "Why does she get attention like that, and I don't?!"

"Do something worth a head pat, and I'll give you one." Soleil said, his look going flat as Kiana got stars in her eyes. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not gonna do it."

"Come oonnn!"

"Ugh, fine, just so you won't bug me about it." Soleil caved as Kiana got in his face. Bronya stared as his hand went from her head to Kiana's, who let out a happy chuckle as Soleil lightly ruffled her hair. And then giving a snide look at Bronya, yet again prompting lightning between them.

Which also meant the head pat turned into a chop as Soleil's brow cricked, Kiana yelping as she held where she'd been struck.

"Whyyyy?!"

"None of that." Soleil said, firmly setting his tone, Kiana letting out another whine.

"Alright, that's as much as we can fit into the bag." Mei then came trotting up, handing Soleil his now stuffed as much as safely could messenger bag, which he hummed at the weight of as he put it on his back. "I packed in enough food. I think it should last us a couple more days until we find more."

"Well again, hopefully, we're lucky, and the signal clears up soon enough to contact somebody." Kiana said, going to the entrance as she drew her pistols, looking outside to check how clear it was out on the roads. "If, well, someone isn't already on their way. It's been a month, someone must have noticed by now."

"We could only be so lucky, huh?" Mei remarked, a hand to her sword, Bronya giving a small sound as she tugged at Mei's shirt.

"The Bronya will be sure to also protect Subject Mei." Said the small girl. "The crowd won't get in our way."

"Hey hey hey, what's with these declarations to my senpais, huh?!" Kiana snapped, glaring at Bronya, who gave her another flat look. "I was already doing that, thank you!"

"The Bronya has calculated that Subject Kiana's survival priority is lower than those of Subject Mei and Soleil-niisama."

"And even that style of honorific?!"

"Kiana-chan, come on now, let's not get heated. We need to get moving before it's dark after all." Mei said, between both of the other girls, Soleil with a hand over his eyes. "Considering where we are, we shouldn't be that far away from a residential area either. So by the time night hits, we can hunker down for the night in some of the apartments."

"Well, the zombies sure as hell won't be able to get to any higher ones." Soleil said, checking the map he had downloaded again to confirm Mei's statement. "But we still need to keep watch for any Beasts. They won't be so kind as to just let us take a night in a high place."

"Yeah, but we've been lucky so far. What's the worst to worry about now, right?" And the others couldn't help but stare at Kiana as she dared say the set of words that could, in all possibility, result in them being jinxed as the day went on.

"Knowing my luck, who knows?" Soleil muttered, a hand to his face again as he let out a long sigh.

"Move move move!"

"Since you're already dead, don't get in the way!"

The group's move through the city had become a dash as they'd come headlong into a group of zombies along the way. Kiana's guns went off as Soleil barreled his spear through a pair who got close. As for why they were running, it had to do with the Honkai Beast crashing through the buildings behind them.

It was a type called a Ballista. A quadrupedal variety with short back legs and massive forelegs, a divot in its front which usually carried a large sphere, but that this one had long cast away before the encounter.

The three teenagers turned with their firearms drawn, peppering the beast with shots. This larger case of a Ballista proved to have rather tough armor. The shots that hit it shaved away at its carapace but were far from doing more than just shearing away the upper layers of the armor.

"Tch, stupid thing!" Soleil raised his gun again as they jumped back from the Ballista, smashing its arms down at them. He aimed for its belly and fired a charged bolt of fire, the bolt slamming into the underbelly and making the beast stumble back as a chunk fell from it. "Come on, what's with the things getting this tough already?! And heck, where'd Bronya go?!"

The answer to that question came as the three spotted Bronya dropping down from a building. Project Bunny burst into form behind her as she fell, crashing down on the Ballista as its pile bunker shot forward. A loud sound crashed through the air as the Ballista was run through from the head, the road cracking apart around the impact area. Bronya lightly landed as the Beast collapsed and Project Bunny vanished, giving her HOMU doll a pat.

"Mission accomplished."

"Bronya, you showed up right on time! Thank you!" Mei went up to the small girl and gave her a pat to the head, Bronya making a noise that let off she was clearly proud, Kiana raising a brow.

"Why thank her? She just showed up suddenly and made a mess! I almost got caught in it to boot! What a useless midget!" Kiana said, Soleil groaning again while Bronya just glanced at Kiana.

"System has ruled that Subject Kiana's safety is the lowest priority."

"Are you trying to start a war?!"

"The Bronya has a 99999999% percent chance of winning."

"Mine will be 100%!"

"Will you two stop?!" Soleil then went and chopped both girls on the head as the stare down started again.

However, Mei was staring at the fallen Ballista as its body began fading while the other three started bickering. Well, more like Kiana whining to Soleil and him retorting about it.

It's been a while since then… and these are just starting to appear even more. And this one was even bigger than the ones we fought in the lab. Mei thought, catching a piece of the drifting remnants of the carapace. How long until they start showing up in groups?

"Hm? Hey, you took a hit." Soleil's speaking up got Mei to notice a small cut on her arm, a few trickles of blood coming from it. "Geez, didn't you notice? Give me a second I'll deal with it."

"Ah, no, it's really not that bad."

"Even if it's just something small, better safe than sorry."

Soleil's insistence as he checked Mei's arm made her shy away a bit. He reached into his bag and quickly pulled out some of the medical supplies, getting to cleaning off the cut with a swab and bandaging it quickly. Kiana and Bronya were just staring as they could sense the mood in the air that Soleil was utterly oblivious to as Mei blushed a bit as he worked.

"Soleil-senpai is kind of dangerous." Kiana said, Bronya giving a hum.

"Unintentional charm."

"I-I can hear you two!" Mei said, her face only getting redder.

"Don't jerk around." Solei firmly said, his grip on Mei's arm getting a bit tighter in response. Once he did finish the wrap, he pat the bandage and nodded. "There. Next time, make sure you catch it. Even if it's a small injury, you gotta take care of yourself. We're all getting out of here alive, so don't go neglecting anything."

"Y-Yeah." Mei held the bandage as she turned to hide the even worse blush now on her face, Soleil tilting his head and queuing the question marks.

"Soleil-senpai, you're dense!" Kiana shouted, Soleil just tilting his head more. "Geez!"

As night was starting to come down on the city again, the group had gone and situated themselves in one of the abandoned apartments. The doors were barred off by whatever furniture was easy to shove in the way to be safe. Mei was snoozing on the couch with Bronya using her lap as a pillow. Soleil was currently on watch duty, standing at the balcony and scanning the streets and buildings around them to be safe.

Sure the zombies may have been merely shuffling around on the ground below. Still, with Beasts' potential threat potentially coming around, a rotating watch was decided as something that'd be handier than if they didn't have one. And after a month together just making their way through the city, these things had started coming naturally to the four.

"Se~npai!"

Though the quiet watch stopped being such when Kiana latched herself to Soleil's back. Soleil caught the faint scent wafting off her damp hair. Considering the places were still running, Kiana had elected to shower before she took her turn to sleep as well. Soleil gaining a faint blush just made Kiana snicker since a couple of other things were pressing into his back to boot.

"Not going to sleep immediately?" Soleil cleared his throat as she spoke. Kiana shook her head both to respond and nuzzle into his shoulder. She's like an affectionate cat.

"In a bit, I need to recharge on my senpai power!"

"That kinda joke? Heh." Soleil chuckled, deciding to give his junior a pat on her head, which earned him a happy giggle. "You acting like this cause of Bronya or something?"

"I was here first, so I think I get some special privileges of my own. Geez, 'little sister privileges,' where does she get off saying that?" Kiana pouted, Soleil poking her puffed-out cheek, which Kiana responded to by lightly snapping at his finger.

"May have something to do with the fact she apparently knows my old man. Whatever the hell he's been getting up to this past year, I've got no clue… still, a hint is a hint, I guess." Soleil said, Kiana's eyes going a bit wider. "Speaking of dads, what's the deal with your parents? Or maybe the better question is what the deal is. You're a Kaslana. So the obvious thing is you're Siegfried's daughter. Or as I know him, the guy my dad thinks is the biggest idiot ever… but also a brave one."

"Well, he's definitely not wrong. Papa's a huuuge idiot, but he's also super brave. Papa kind of taught me everything I know." Kiana said with a proud smile on her face.

"So what, he a teacher for the Valkyries or something?"

"Not in the slightest." Kiana retorted, Soleil raising a brow. "Mama runs the school I went to, St. Freya Academy, along with my Aunt Theresa. But Papa had this big idea a few years ago to take me around the world for 'training.' Then, he went and ditched me right in the middle of it. I uhm… got a bit of a late start compared to some Valkyries who start as young as me… stupid Durandal and her dumb overpowered cheats."

"So, you've got a rival, huh?" Soleil mused, then looking to the back of his hand. "Doesn't sound much different from me, though. Most of my memories were all about traveling from place to place with my dad. I know he took me when he left Schicksal fourteen years ago, and I've obviously got the scars to prove how that went."

"I mean, I think the little nick in your eyebrow is cute." Kiana then poked said nick, Soleil giving a hum. "But I just think you're cute as a whole!"

"Not a word I think would be a working descriptor for me." Soleil felt a small sinking feeling as he looked to the side, Kiana chuckling as she wrapped her arms around him a bit tighter.

"You're also reliable, cool, and looking out for us too." Kiana's addition made Soleil's face redden a bit again, the boy's eyes going towards the rising moon. "Plus, it's just warm around you. Hehe, you do live up to your name, huh?"

"Now you're just trying to embarrass me." Soleil sighed as Kiana laid her head on his shoulder while giggling at him.

"Well, she's not wrong." And both looked back as they heard Mei approach, the girl putting a finger to her lips since, of course, Bronya was still sleeping. "It's a little strange but kind of wonderful, I'd say. We've all only known each other for a month, but it feels like we've known each other for a long time."

"Hehe… geez, you two." Soleil chuckled, then looked to the star-spangled sky above, giving a nod. "Kiana, Mei, I promise, we're getting out of this city. I'll protect all of you so that we can get out of here safely… and hopefully actually get somewhere afterward."

"The same goes for me!" Kiana said, giving a laugh. "You're both my dear senpais, so of course I'll protect the both of you as well!"

"Kiana-chan, Soleil-kun…"

Though as the light mood carried on, Soleil flinched as a sudden feeling hit him. A flash passed through his mind, one of a blade bearing down on the building, of rubble flying all over… and lightning arcing across the night sky.

"Guys… I think we need to get moving." Soleil said, Kiana and Mei, looking at him with confused eyes. "We need to get moving now!"

As Soleil began moving, he also realized that flash was more than just something random. Because as they all reacted, that exact blade he'd seen came bearing down on the building. Moving in time, the group went flying from the apartment as the massive, natural blade from whatever Beast had made its presence known demolished the entire center of the structure. The Beast's "eye" gleaned as it registered the presence of the people who had tripped it off, Soleil already starting to draw his guns.

The Beast then reared back its other arm, a lance-like structure. Bronya was the one who reacted faster, Project Bunny appearing with its own lance arm at the ready. The two weapons collided at their points, though as the weapons held, the Beast moved its sword arm to strike as well. Project Bunny shifted its shield, but the blade slammed into it like a paddle meant to swat a fly. The impact sent Bronya and Project Bunny flying down the street, crashing through multiple buildings due to the force of it all.

"Bronya!"

But the Beast didn't bother to wait as Soleil and Mei turned their eyes from it, its already raised blade quick changing direction to bear down on them. Soleil moved an arm out with the blue energy ribbons flowing from it, but something else pushed both him and Mei back at once.

"If you two are always thinking about Bronya, I'll get really jealous, you know?"

The two older teens watched in horror as the upper edge of the falling blade fell on Kiana. It tore itself across her back from the left shoulder to the right hip, blood spraying from the wound as Kiana fell forward onto the shocked Mei. Soleil stumbled back but kept his footing, grating his teeth, looking at Mei as the horrified girl shook. Kiana's breathing was so shallow it was barely even there.

"Ki… Kiana-chan?" Mei murmured, her eyes going wide as blood stained her hand.

"Mei, she's still alive! We just have to get out of here now!" Soleil snapped, but as he reached out to Mei, a spark of lighting lashed at his hand as Mei's mouth shuddered open.

A scream ripped from Mei's throat as the Beast raised its sword again… only when it crashed onto a barrier of electricity, the blast that followed blowing the blade, and Soleil, back. Soleil crashed to the ground amid some rubble, groaning as he stood back up while holding the arm he'd landed on. His eyes went wide as he observed the lightning gather around Mei. It began to form irregular forms like a wing, while her left arm coursed with glowing lines and a dark purple color. Her eyes glared red. And the Stigmata of the Herrscher showed on her hip from the torn uniform.

"Shit…" Soleil grabbed at his pendant, his teeth grating again.

Cradling the unconscious Kiana, Mei drifted up as the energy behind her formed into her Stigmata mark and then changed again into the Herrscher's wing, backlit by the full moon. The returned Herrscher looked at Soleil with a sideways glance, then back to the Beast.

"Lynchpin, I suggest you back away." Mei commanded, lifting an arm at the Beast as it rose up, lightning gathering into a massive ball above it. "Disappear."

Soleil ran as the ball struck down at the beast. The creature's carapace began bubbling like molten metal as it was struck, its body spasming like mad. The sparks then turned into a flash as Mei lowered her arm, the ball turning into a beam of energy that blew through the Beast. A good number of the buildings around the area were leveled as well. Soleil was blown back again by the shockwave of the impact.

"Gagh!" He yelped as he hit the ground and rolled, an eye closed as he got to a knee, staring at the rising pillar of light that, if anything were close enough, would see for miles without a doubt. "Dammit… she's even stronger than last time. This isn't good."

It didn't help that as Mei floated there, Beasts were starting to funnel in down the alleyways and roads. Soleil drew his weapons as the things circled in, obviously drawn to the now active Herrscher floating in the sky above them.

"You're all fools." Mei said, turning and looking at Soleil. "Kiana, for getting so injured while protecting that coward of a girl. And you for being so slow. As if I would let both of you die so easily to something like that. I still have a score to settle with you both… now, Kiana, wake the hell up. The only one allowed to kill you is me."

"This could only get worse." Soleil muttered, looking around at the Beasts edging closer and closer to him.

And almost as if it was in response to Soleil's griping, the roaring of massive engines boomed through the air. An enormous airship eclipsed the moon from its sheer size as it came over the buildings. And Soleil knew precisely where this ship had to be from due to the design alone.

"A Schicksal battleship." The boy murmured, his grip on his pendant tightening once more. "Is this lucky or not?"

If only the night could have gone so well…