Chapter 17: The Pledge of Sakura
In the intervening months since the Third Impact, once it had been ascertained that Nagazora had been the epicenter, a close eye had been kept on the city for any kind of Honkai activity that could be stirring in it. Cleanup operations to put down the zombified citizens, removal of any Beasts that had spawned due to exposure, so on and so forth. Theresa considered it unsavory work at times, but such was the way of their world. There was often little choice in how to handle the Honkai, especially when it came at them all so violently, so intensely.
Her solo venture had brought the woman to Senba Academy, exactly where Kiana had told her the true Impact must have happened when Mei had awoken as the 3rd Herrscher.
It didn't take long for Theresa to find who she was looking for. A classroom almost overtaken by vines, the bodies of students still strewn on the floor and wrapped in them. And in the center, a single girl who's eyes remained locked forward and empty. But, alive, the only sounds she made the occasionally pained groan. And Theresa's senses were firing off in all manners as she slammed Judah onto the floor.
"Sorry about the long wait." Said Theresa. "I can't imagine the kind of pain you're in. Curse the Honkai if you will. It's corrupted your body and left only a sliver of your will intact. So…" with a tap of her hand as she took a chain into her grasp, Judah swung open, a rack of javelins swinging out. Theresa grabbed one of the weapons, spinning it through her hands and aiming it for. "Allow me to end your torment!"
The javelin flew forward… but it was not the girl who was pierced. Thorned vines whirled through the air, wrapping around the javelin before it could reach its target. And instead it was Theresa who's blood splattered across the floor, one of the vines rammed into her abdomen as the Pseudo-Herrscher smirked. Cutting herself free, Theresa retreated as the girl rose. Gotta be thankful for my healing… Theresa looked down at her bloodstained habit as a glimmer of light shone beneath it, her wound quickly closing itself up and ceasing the blood flow. Cecilia's gonna scold me for being reckless…
"Talk about a trick…" Theresa growled.
"Haha! Humans are always so pathetic!" The Pseudo-Herrscher laughed. "You hesitated for such a brief moment, all because you saw a tear! You're a fool like that… Curse the Honkai? It's set me free! I was alone, cursed, unloved! My mother had nothing but harsh words for me, my class hated me! But now… now I have all the power I want. And now they're all dead! Ahahahaha!"
"Dammit, she's already been consumed by it." Theresa grit her teeth as she pulled Judah up, anticipating what was coming next.
"Now, time for you to die as well!" Thorns flew forward at the girl's command, Theresa using Judah as a shield against them. But as she was holding ground, a sudden cough caught Theresa by surprise, the woman catching blood coming from her mouth. What the… no way, did she poison me back there?! This is bad… I can heal wounds, but poison is another problem… I need to get away and take care of this first!
Already feeling herself growing weaker, Theresa retreated away from another attack, crashing through a window. But as she fell, already her mind was starting to slip away no thanks to the poison running its course. As she heard the crash, the Pseudo-Herrscher let out a chuckle as she turned away from the window.
"No matter. My poison will kill her in short order. I'll take my time and harvest more energy while I wait, then I can cleanse this damned world for good!"
This is bad… Theresa groaned as she struggled to try and stand. A fall like that was something she could take without a problem. But that wasn't the issue. Maybe… maybe making this a solo mission was a bad idea. Cecilia can scold me all she wants later… but… As her vision started going black, Theresa saw someone approaching. She couldn't make them out, only feel that their aura was unusual.
"Please… help…" she croaked out, before her vision went black completely.
"Tch, talk about a mess of a place."
"I mean it's been left to rot for, what, almost three months now? This is about expected."
Sigurd huffed as Siegfried kept scanning the skylines. From Siberia to Japan, Sigurd found their romping around almost amusing at this point. Had it been a few months earlier perhaps returning to Nagazora would have made a good chance for the man to check in on Soleil. But instead, it was the two men continuing their business, now that they had sent their findings to Cecilia.
"Damn Frederika though." Sigurd grumbled. "Asking for way too much so that she can get an idea of what Cocolia was even trying to do by kicking that Gem into gear."
"You mean aside from trying to get her hands on an active Herrscher?" Siegfried asked, pulling down his viewfinder. "Still, the readings here are getting pretty high… think it could be an Emperor Class?"
"After the shitstorm that went down when Hyperion found the kids?" Sigurd said. "Not likely. However… we could have a Pseudo-Herrscher going for us. There's enough for one to possibly show up. What've you seen?"
"It's off towards the school district." Siegfried brought the viewfinder back up, fiddling with some dials to check his readings. "Should we go give it a look? Better to just take care of it now if it could be a problem later yeah?"
"You did see the shuttle that came in earlier today, right? Someone's obviously on it… might be someone from St. Freya going by the markings I saw."
"The hell kind of eyesight do you have?" Siegfried got smacked on the back of the head for the remark, the man chuckling as Sigurd then swiped the viewfinder and looked through it himself. "Still think we shouldn't check it out? I mean c'mon, if it is from the school, then not like you have anything to worry about."
"Fair enough." Sigurd nodded as he lowered the device. "Alright then, let's go give it a look. Hopefully whoever they sent won't need much help."
Theresa didn't know what had happened after she passed out. All she knew was that her body was wracked in nothing but pain. She could just barely make out the ceiling above her, and her dulled hearing heard something moving around. She could at least feel she was propped up by someone. That someone currently dabbing her head with a damp cloth.
"Cecilia…" Theresa croaked out, bringing her caretaker to pause.
But it wasn't Cecilia.
A young woman, with hair the color of cherry blossoms and wearing an old Miko's uniform. Atop her head were ears like those of a fox, angled to the side as she did her best to at least be gentle with the somewhat delirious Theresa.
"Give it up. There's no cure for the toxins from a Herrscher." The young woman's face soured as a roiling voice spoke, her blue eyes shifting to the side, a dark shape forming in her vision. A multi-tailed fox, merely a shadow to her as it's glaring eyes stared daggers at her and Theresa. "You're wasting your time trying to save this corpse. Has five hundred years make you forget you and I are no different? Why bother? Or…" now the girl's face hardened again. "Is it because she looks like her? Do not kid yourself. Kallen Kaslana died five hundred years ago, same as that man who was alongside her. This one is a mere shadow of the woman. It was I who has been with you all this time, while you were alone." The shadow didn't get a reply. "We must leave, Sakura. It is no true Herrscher, but we are weak. If we are found by her, we will not win. If not, we'll merely become food for her strength."
Sakura remained silent.
"Silence? Then you don't object to me ending this one." The shadow brought it's jaws to Theresa's neck, fangs beginning to dig into the skin. "I will make it quick, for your sake at least."
"Begone, fiend!" Sakura barked, the shadow flinching away. "Don't mistake my silence for approval of your intent. I owe the two of them this much… if she is of the same blood."
"Kiana…" Theresa's hand weakly reached up, surprising Sakura when it came to her face. While clearly still not in her right mind due to the poison, it was clear Theresa was seeing something at the least. "Don't worry… I'll protect you… me and… Cecilia both…"
As Theresa's hand flopped onto the bed, Sakura felt something stir. Memories, ones so old she'd thought them faded, came rushing back. The face of the two people who so long ago, had tried so hard and ultimately risked it all for her. Who had paid a price she'd never fully know for it. The faces of the young woman and young man who had brought a light back to her darkened world.
"There is no more time." The shadow said. "You cannot cure her."
"There is a way…"
"The only counter is… No! You cannot seriously be thinking of that? If you did, we would no longer exist as we do now!" The shadow growled. "If you give her our Core, we will be trapped within it! Have you gone mad?!"
"Learn this well fiend… a lesson Kallen and Logos taught me so long ago." Sakura took one of Theresa's hands into hers, her other arm raising the woman up. "The will to protect a loved one is reason enough. So for now… I will fade so her kin can live on."
A light shone as Sakura leaned in and placed a kiss onto Theresa's forehead. As that light faded away, all that was left in the room then was only Theresa. Her eyes opened, feeling the pain from before having somehow left her. Sunlight was starting to come in from the room's windows, Theresa blinking as her eyes adjusted. She felt one of her hands closed around something, and when she brought it up, a cherry blossom of all things was resting on her palm.
"When did this…" Theresa watched as the petals drifted off from a sudden gust through the open window. As the petals flew out into the open air, something else was there. A red marking, forming on the back of Theresa's neck… a Stigmata granted to her by someone now faded.
As the new day was coming, the Pseudo-Herrscher had made her way out from the school and to the main yard. While Theresa was nowhere to be seen, the Judah was still present in the yard, standing tall and defiant even bereft of its wielder. And that didn't please the Pseudo-Herrscher much. Something in her head just demanded she get rid of it, like the very existence of the cross was offensive.
"Well, it is a bit of an eyesore." A vine flew forward, but the impact didn't even so much as dent the Judah, only a metallic slam echoing across the yard as the cross lurched for a second before setting back into place.
"Don't go wasting your strength girlie!" The Pseudo-Herrscher turned, her gaze turning placid as Theresa strolled into the yard. "The Oath of Judah is entirely made from soulium. So, it's a lot tougher than some Herrscher like you. Actually, did I say Herrscher? You're just a half-baked, unfinished, emo Pseudo-Herrscher! I don't think you can even scratch my Judah."
"My my, did nearly dying just sharpen up your tongue?" The Psuedo-Herrscher's eyes flashed green as she smirked. "I'm not sure how you neutralized my poison, but you're foolish to come back here. But, I'll gladly deal death twice for your sake."
"Please, my guard was down last time!" Theresa huffed. "Now I know what you can do, so it's time for riff-raff like you to be put down."
"Strong words for someone who was previously on death's door!"
Vines were sent flying, Theresa dodging over them and whirling in the air, planting a solid kick on the Pseudo-Herrscher and spring boarding off of the girl, landing on the Judah and crossing her legs as she snickered.
"Slowpoke! Your vines are way too easy to dodge. Your poisons aren't going to get me this time."
"Hehehe… I will admit, you're certainly skilled. I should have finished you off myself yesterday. No matter." The Pseudo-Herrscher's vines began to spread, Theresa steadying herself as she saw flowers beginning to bloom across them. "When we first fought, I felt the presence of another. Her aura stopped me from gathering energy, but now she's gone for some reason. I've been able to drain this place of any energy it had! Now I wield a power only gods would, and this place is going to fill with my sweet aroma of death! It doesn't matter if I can't touch you because you've already breathed it in!"
"Well if it's that simple then you've made this easier on us!" Theresa gasped as another voice spoke. Then suddenly, as she began to see the red vapors spreading from the flowers, the crack of gunfire split the air. Sudden threads of sky-blue light descended between Theresa and the Pseudo-Herrscher, bursting out and wiping away the poison vapors before they could reach her. More shots went off, bolts of fire cutting through the vines and setting them aflame. As the attackers landed, Theresa's eyes slowly widened as her surprise saviors looked back at her.
"Siegfried?! Sigurd?!" Theresa gasped, the two men nodding as they looked ahead. "What are you two… where have you been! You especially!"
"Sorry for the surprise Theresa, but there was business to deal with." Sigurd said, snickering as he looked back. "Looks like you finally hit that growth spurt you kept pretending you'd have years ago."
"And you haven't changed." Theresa bit. "Well whatever. Let's put this one to rest first. I can grill you for being off the grid for so long later."
"You must be rusty if we need to come in and help you." Siegfried chuckled, Theresa sticking her tongue out at him.
"More? You have got to be kidding me…" The Pseudo-Herrscher growled, her snarl worsening as her eyes fell on Sigurd. "And that one… that light reeks. What is it?!"
"Guess a mere Pseudo wouldn't know." Sigurd drew his spear and gave it a twirl, threads of light following the head of it as he did. "So what are we dealing with aside from vines and poisons?"
"About it really… other than that this shouldn't be hard." Theresa opened Judah and drew a javelin, the chain connecting it to the cross letting out a soft ring. "Let's finish this up!"
"Annoying… all so annoying!" As the Pseudo-Herrscher screamed, vines lashed out like whips as she wildly threw her arms around. Now prepared for the assault, the three either dodged through or cut the vines down, the vapors from the flowers being dispelled with each swing of Sigurd's spear as they advanced through the onslaught. "Dammit get away! Why are you so stubborn?!"
"What, now that you're on the back foot, suddenly it's unfair? Where have I heard that before!" As Theresa charged forward, her step suddenly lurched. Dammit! The bit of that poison I breathed in before… you have to be kidding. I really am rusty…
"You won't fall here." Theresa flinched when she heard a voice in her head. "There is nothing to worry about. I will always be here… so open your body to me, and together we shall purge the unclean."
Sigurd and Siegfried were perhaps just as shocked as the Psuedo-Herrscher at what happened next. The air suddenly flashed, and next they knew, the Pseudo-Herrscher was down an arm. Theresa now stood behind the Pseudo-Herrscher, the now severed arm clutched in her left hand, her nails somehow extended out into claws. With a clench of her fingers, violet lines appeared across the arm and shattered it into dust. As Theresa looked back, her eyes had turned red and slit pupiled, and her hair rapidly changed to pink as fox-like ears sprouted from her crown. A wicked, fang bearing smirk appeared as the woman let out a chuckle.
"That's not good." Siegfried muttered.
"What the hell…" Sigurd leveled his spear just in case. Why does it feel like a Herrscher? He thought. Whatever had happened to Theresa, it didn't feel right.
The Pseudo-Herrscher, her irked expression changed to a fearful one, struck out with her vines. Theresa vanished as they struck, and now the Pseudo's other arm was gone when the woman reappeared near the Judah, resting her hand on its cool surface.
"Oath of Judah, hear me and resonate with me soul!" Theresa chanted, but there was an echo to her voice, as if it wasn't her speaking. "Bare the fangs of soulium and extract your bloody toll!"
And then the cross itself changed in a flash. The golden metal turned a shade of Sakura pink, the javelins within becoming swords as it reopened, with the Schicksal emblem changing into a magatama symbol. Before anyone else could react, the swords within the cross flew out, spearing the Pseudo from all directions in an instant. Sigurd and Siegfried lowered their stances as the girl's body began to pale over, starting to fade away as her expression became peaceful.
"Well… that was weird." Siegfried muttered. "Oi, Theresa, the heck has happened in three years that you…" when suddenly the swords in the ground went flying for him and Sigurd next. "WHOA! Hey, can you even hear me right now?!"
"Threats… must be removed…" Theresa spoke in a hollow tone, her eyes going lidded. "That light… must be removed…"
"Oi, Sigurd, any clue what the hell is going on?" Siegfried growled.
"If I had to guess, something found it's way to Theresa before us." Sigurd stated, deflecting one of the flying swords with a quick swing of his spear. "But it doesn't look like she's in any kind of control… it's just pure defensive instinct."
"Meaning it shouldn't be that hard to snap her out of it. Good… cause I ain't gonna have Cecilia grill me for something like this."
"Not like it's on us anyway! Now enough talking!"
Siegfried nodded and fired as the swords came for them again. There wasn't any other rhyme or reason behind where the blades were going aside from whatever instinct was driving Theresa. Or whatever it was trying to keep a hold on her and was lashing out at them as perceived threats. Siegfried made an opening with precise shots from his dual guns, and Sigurd rushed through the gap with a burst of blue behind him. As he skid past Theresa, his right arm came down as her snarl turned towards him, slamming the back of her neck. Theresa collapsed to the ground, and as she fell unconscious, both she and the Oath of Judah returned to normal.
"What the hell was that anyway?" Siegfried asked, flicking his coat and holstering his guns.
"I've got a bit of an idea." Spotting something, Sigurd knelt and moved Theresa's hair aside to expose her neck. There, he found exactly what he thought it could be: A red Stigmata, three magatama marks like what had appeared on the Judah. "Thought so. Even if it's been so long, I know for a fact Theresa's only had a Kaslana Stigmata. She'll need to be looked at."
"Then where the hell did that one come from?" Siegfried raised a brow as he looked at the mark. "Something about this is just not right. Well… I'm sure some folks from St. Freya are going to be here to pick her up any moment now. I might as well stick around."
"No more business away from home to take care of?" Sigurd chuckled, helping lift Theresa up and lean her against the Judah.
"If I'm away any longer I'm gonna have hell to pay from Cecilia and Kiana." Siegfried sighed. "What about… nah. You still can't go there, am I right? Don't even wanna pay Soleil a visit in secret?"
"When the time's right, I may find the time." Sigurd said. "For now… well, you can at least give him a message for me. Tell him… I'm looking for somebody. Someone I should have been around to help years ago. And that I know where she is… getting there is what I'm looking for."
"You've got quite the job on your place, don't you?" Siegfried chuckled, he and Sigurd tapping fists. "Alright then, I'll tell him. Just don't go taking getting yourself killed."
"Haha, knowing my luck, I'm sure the only thing that'll kill me is old age."
As Sigurd departed, Siegfried waved the crimson haired man off. By the time a Schicksal ship had arrived, Siegfried waved down the craft as it began to descend on the school grounds. There's going to be more than a few things to do myself back at St. Freya anyway. Thought the man. Work of my own to do to help my own kid out… let's just hope that data we found actually does us good. If we can stop whatever the hell Otto has planned… it might be enough.