Chapter 41

The scenes in New York and Washington were similar yet different, but the reactions of those witnessing them were the same.

Eva Mugouki engaged Kraken-1 in New York while Shiryu engaged Kraken-2 in Washington. In addition to them, the recently completed First and Second Aerial Support Fleet began containment operations against the hordes of beasts in both cities. Targeting done by the LS3 satellites ensured that no Beast or Undead in their Sight was left standing or moving. From their hangar bays, TSFs emerged and joined in the attack, using their Mk57's long range capabilities to snipe any Beast that dared show their profile in their cameras.

The EVA's (because of course both were, even with their differing appearances) began a brawl that no one would have thought to happen in real life. Mugouki deployed its Progressive Knives and set to cutting away at Kraken-1's enormous tentacles, the blade-tipped limbs trying in vain to pierce the Eva's AT-field while using its own EM field to deflect the former's Progressive Knives.

Shiryu deployed its Anti-Kaiju armaments, a pair of arm-mounted Progressive Blades and deployable Progressive Claws and set to rip and tear Kraken-2 despite the latter's efforts to shake the EVA beast off.

Back in the Air, Archangels appeared to try and destroy the Helicarriers thinning the hordes in the ground. But the Black Widow TSFs on board fought them off with relative ease, owing it to six guns per mech and a large enough amount of ammunition.
But in the ground, there were a lot of civilians and military forces left stranded in the ruined cities. So from the secondary launch bays, a new mech deployed.

Armed with 75mm autocannons, while being smaller that the Tactical Surface Fighters, the KG-7 Aerion Kataphrakts deployed to ensure no Honkai left the cities' limits.

Himeko flew and her team ran, barely stopping to kill the beasts on their way back to Dobbins. They had received Mei's distress call and had chosen to go there. The bulk of Steel Locust mechanized forces stayed behind to deal with Kraken-3. Watchpoint saw the base half destroyed and the transponders from the other Taskforce's guys, Himeko flagged them to receive ammo pods and kept going. Despite having been cleared a few hours ago, the place was filled with undead once again.

Everyone saw their gun barrels turning white from how much they kept firing, smashing their way through he amassed bodies in their way. A lone Templar floated into their route, but a quick round of finishers left it a pile of dissolving mass. Their hearts sank as they saw the SL buildings filled to the brim with undead, littered with the remains of their Task Force's infantry.

They held their urge to vomit at the sight of the young, maimed bodies, instead focusing on reaching those that might still be alive. Their beacon so far hadn't stopped transmitting but the number of undead with strange mutations had grown the closer they got.

Using a continuous barrage of finishers, they opened their way inside. The sight that greeted them was odd, to say the least, three armored warriors were fighting their way out, and from the radio signals coming from them… they were the ones that they had come to rescue. "Tachibana? Einstein? Tesla?"

"Watchpoint! Oh, I'm so glad. We managed to get out, but we got stuck in the hallways…" The blue and red warrior slumped and rested against her drill-sword. The others rested against the walls, their handguns and knives still clutched tightly.

"I don't know how you guys can keep up with this… barely half an hour in the suit and I'm beat~" the Red warrior with a snake motif lifted her hand before almost crumpling against the floor.
"I must admit, I see the appeal of the Rider Systems." The bat themed one looked a bit wobbly but appeared to be marveling at the suit and her weapons. "So much power coming from that small of a device… fascinating."
"Yeah, yeah, the suits are cool. Is there anyone else alive?" Himeko sometimes hated civilian contractors, but then again, these would probably be joining under her command later… she'd have to talk to Yinsen about it.

"Last we heard Commander White was out there, but we haven't heard from her since…"

"Watchpoint, new objective. Find the remaining brass and then let's get the hell out of here."

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Girls, I hope you're ready. The moment you put on those suits you signed up for some of the craziest stuff you'll ever live with."

"We noticed."

"Then, let's move."

"Yua. Chariot, twelve o'clock."

"Ma'am"

"Naki, incoming Knights, three o'clock."

"Dealt with."

"Regroup, we're advancing." Commander Renée White lead the remaining staff from Dobbins she'd managed to find towards the stairs, targeting software ready to guide her bullets at a moment's notice.

The Helipad atop the building was relatively intact, and once they were out, comms, even if short range ones, began working again.

"This is Fireteam Gimmel to any survivors inside Dobbins AFB, is there anyone in there? Please respond! Mei!"

"This is Commander White to fireteam Gimmel, requesting CASEVAC on the National Guard OCS building. Survivors in critical condition. Repeat, requesting immediate CASEVAC." White looked at her escorts, who'd managed to escape the horde that rushed into the hangar buildings. Yua and Naki had taken to use their armors in order to protect the remaining survivors. Spoiler: Yua Spoiler: Naki
Naki had Chosen to go for a Shotriser and an Assault Wolf key while Yua had gone with a Slashriser and her Fighting Jackal key. Testing had come back negative for any conceivable methods of harm, but Renee had dedicated a few more processes to monitoring the first YoRHa to be harmed while on duty.

And while that title had been left behind when 179 operators lost their combat platforms along with the 30 machinist operatives, it still warranted special attention. Not everyone got something they didn't remember making out of a total sensory malfunction.

Renée looked at the designated Steel Locust Hangar and prepared the emergency data burst she would send once back in connection to the network. While it would have been more efficient to level the base with the LS3 platforms, it would also antagonize the locals and risk damaging the servers below the hangars, where most of her forces waited for new combat platforms. The jamming meant that they couldn't reach the satellites to reincorporate the operatives into the Carrier's manufacturing queue.

A new signal got in range alongside familiar ones, so she contacted them. "This is Commander White to Watchpoint and Unknown unita, status report."

"This is Watchpoint along with new suits, when did you get the new belts? Thought we were low on those?"

"We are, we're still assembling everything from what we've managed to recover." Which was a lie, but there was so much in the Manufacturing queue that the Drivers had been pushed back by a lot.

"Well, say hello to the new gals in the block."

"Commander White! Are you ok?" Mei asked the YoRHa commander, who blinked at the sudden influx of data. She would need to confirm with the network, but as Himeko noted, this suit wasn't supposed to exist.

"Hey boss lady, sorry we had to ditch the CIC, but it was getting too stuffy down there." Tesla's voice in the comms was followed by a small data burst, telling Renée all about her new situation.

"Too many dead down there, we were unable to verify for other survivors. Apologies." Einstein's monotone still conveyed her worry for her superior. Rather unneeded due to her nature, but… it felt nice, to be worried about.

"Understandable. Can you make your way to the OCS building? We've managed to contact what remains of Recon-1 and the forces stationed here. We will attempt to RV with them and wait for extraction."

"We'll get them there. Has there been any word of reinforcements?" Himeko took over the conversation and asked her own question.

"I have not been able to receive anything yet. But the rest of the taskforce wouldn't leave anyone behind a second time." Renée knew it hurt the Pilot platforms to leave the servers without someone armed to protect them, but their directive told them to keep as much active hardware in the fight.

"…You and Yinsen must tell us everything…"

"We will, once this is over."

"Right, we'll try something to RV at your location, Himeko out."

"…We need to link back to the network…" Renée felt the key in her pocket grow heavier by the second. "Commander White to Fireteam Gimmel, Research staff is in the way, secure transport or seek any means to get through the jamming, White out." She looked at the direction of her superior's last known location.

For now, she had to take charge.

Ark and Zea managed to be beamed to Yinsen with the aid of the LS3's, as he broadcasted his orders. But as they joined back the familiar 'Mindspace' of the platform they had first woken up into in this world, their processes froze.
It was hard to describe the sight that greeted them in human terms, but if they had to, they would describe seeing someone with missing gouges of his body, still moving as if normal along with someone's poor attempts at imitating their silhouette with the mass extracted from their bodies.

"Ah, they're back." Even their voices sounded wrong, as if someone who couldn't hear attempted to recreate the feel of someone speaking. To Ark and Zea, it was something close to unbearable, as they noticed that those… [Errant Data] [Unknown object]things had been the source of the irregular channels used to issue the latest orders to the network.

"Zea, Ark, you made it." Yinsen's voice was clearly tired, but to the AIs, he looked like a walking corpse.

"Father… what happened?" Zea was having a few errors begin to pile up, as she attempted to comprehend the sight. Ark stayed quiet as she tried not to attack whatever those things were…

"Well…" A round of explanations later, and Zea and Ark could mostly comprehend the situation.

"So, these are you previous selves?" Ark asked Father, looking over the terrifying mimicries, the shortest one returning her gaze with those empty holes of nothing in place of eyes.

"Eh, we really don't know? So much of reality is getting fucked over that I really wouldn't surprise us if that was the case." Father and the two-imitation shrugged at the same time. It made Zea and Ark shudder.

"So then, that over there…" Ark pointed at the window that showed the outside, where the battle raged on.

"Hm… if I respected the naming conventions of this universe… it would be Herrscher of WindHost. Nothing but the remains of the previous Herrscher puppeteered directly by the Will of the Honkai." The tallest mimicry made some motions that didn't translate well to his hand made of intestine-wrapped tendons.

"Hey, how about we go back to the battle for our lives? There is only so much the 01 Driver can accelerate our thoughts…"

"Right, back to business again…"

Spoiler: Ending Theme My battle against the Will of the Honkai would never end at this pace. I needed to break the stalemate soon of the end result wouldn't matter anymore. She would win. "Pour everything we have into the cores of Reason and Thunder!" I shouted as i stabilized my flight.

"Are we going fucking nuclear?" My teenage self shouted over whatever noise they did inside my head to do that.

"Something even worse!" I chose to go for something that might never see use again… I held the cores in my hands, Reason on my right, Thunder in my left. As I poured energy into them, I felt the heat up. Reason, your sister is here, hurting. Thunder, your name is called forth. The core shone in royal blue and purple as my own core became blazing hot. If you can't defeat it, imagine something that can.

"This… oh, I see. Then let do this!" My old self howled in joy as we used the cores to create the blueprint of something none of us could comprehend.

"AHAHAHAHA!" I thought teenage me's laugh was too loud for being inside my mind, but then I noticed that in reality, I was laughing too. Zea and Ark just gave the notification that my previous orders were ready to beam.

"Irregular, have you finally realized your situation? You cannot avoid the end." The Will looked at me from her position water and air circling around her in a perfect defense. I knew how to break a perfect defense, even it killed me.

"Oh, no, nononononono.

It is you who doesn't realize…

The end is here for you!" I gave the order and I felt it, the materials were beamed to my location, washing us in blood like material. The Will simply held her air shield to protect her from the substance turning the water near us red. I laughed even louder.

The Will looked confused, until she paid attention to the substance. "This is…"

"Quite something, yeah?…" I held both cores before me before using my AT Field at full power to capture everything in my surroundings, then compressing it and bringing it to me. I pushed the button on the Honkai Assault Grip. "DIVINE CHARGE!"
The LCL-infused Hiden Alloy took form, the liquid flowing into my hands and becoming strands, then twisting and elongating into a familiar shape. Brilliant red, as if made out of fresh blood, twisting and twisting until the end of the universe, a weapon meant to suppress rivals in the search of creating your future. Reason and Conquest were loaded into the lance, and I gripped it tightly as a fraction of my core joined them... I took aim and rushed in. Spoiler: The Lance
My thrust met the Will's power, whose owner now look extremely afraid of the thing in my hands, my lance met resistance, but it didn't stop completely. But by the time it got through, the Will would have escaped. We needed more power, but how?

"It needs a soul, doesn't it?"

"Wait, what?"

"All Evatech need a soul to function, and you do have two to spare so…"

"You sure? We don't know if you will ever come back." I know these guys might just be figments of my imagination but…

"Eh, I get to kill a god anyway, so I'll be fine."

"Yeah… Its better if the past doesn't hold back the future…"

"Very well… It… was an honor fighting along with you guys."

"You certainly made me hopeful for the future man, wish I knew this was on the table…"

"Eh, you guys certainly talk like old people. But yeah… I wish I could have had this in my life."

"We have it right here, right now." I felt as they presence disappeared and in my hands… The Lance became more than just a mere replica. For an instant, it was the real thing.

I called out its name and pressed the key into my belt.

"[TRIUS LONGINUS…!

…IMPACT!]"

My voice mixed in with that of my Driver's. The spear pierced the water keeping the Will's body together. Reaching to the ravaged organ only beating due to the power injected into it. Or rather, the cube taking power from whatever eldritch realm the Honkai came from.
Between the bident's prongs, an aquamarine jewel shone in the sunlight. Speared through was the Infinity Corridor feeding power to the vessel.

The thing gasped, and I felt her presence begin to vanish from the world. She fell on top of me, and I watched as the monstrous expression began returning to those of a little girl.

"I wanted… I only wanted Justice…" Amelia Matthew's last words… I had an answer.

"Rest in peace, your justice will be granted."

In two American cities, two beasts stood triumphantly over their foes, roaring their victory for the world to know. Mugouki was surrounded by the gutted and sliced remains of Kraken-1, while Shiryu looked at the charred remains of Kraken-2. Kraken-3 off in Florida was a mess of holes and gashed drawn from several 120mm hyper velocity slugs fired a near point blank. A team of Avenger TSAs was carefully searching the corpse for its core for later analysis.

And with all Kaiju dead, the Helicarrier were able to reach enough altitude to kill every zombie and beast within the city and some that had tried to escape. Those that had managed to get out were hunted down by the Flight Units and the Kataphrakts

The Strike Assault platforms arrvied to evacuate the remaining personnel in Dobbins AFB, clearing out a way for Pelicans and King Ravens to go in. The survivors looked on the large swathes of destruction craved on the surrounding city of Atlanta as it burned down. Some wept as they finally left the battlefield. Some swore vengance. And some kept fighting for their lives as the YoRHa Healer model tried their best at stabilizing them.

Mei looked at all of this, and felt really, really small. The belt she now wore felt heavier than the world.

I landed in the shore, right next where her corpse had been brought back by the waves. I stood above it and felt a sliver of familiar presence come back. The corpse made strange noise despite having perforated lungs and no diaphragm. I realized it was wind made to sound like someone was laughing. "Foolish thing… you think you will win…?"

I snorted. "Hell no, but I don't need to win, I just have to avoid losing."

"Heh… I'll make you drown in despair…" The smile was nasty, but soon the corpse lost its master and returned to being the sorry remains of a long-dead abused little girl.

I didn't know if she could still hear me, but I voiced my thoughts, nonetheless. "Bring it on… Bitch."

Arc 2 End

Roars from the Sea, Heart of Sky.

Also known as:

The Oncoming Storm

Epilogue.

Step 1. Crawl into the dark machine.

In a hidden room deep inside Arsenal City, a group of androids overlooked a project entrusted to them by the cores themselves. "Is it over?" one of them asked.

Step 2. The screws go tight, all around.

The patient prisoner's trashing had stopped long ago, how one managed to almost wreck such machine as the one they used was only for the Cores to know. The prisoner had been a treasure trove of information that they had drained completely. They also had to deactivate their emotion emulation module in order not to partake in the human custom of dry heaving and vomiting. They would love to purge how this knowledge was obtained in the first place.

Why would any intelligence attack their own progeny? Weren't biologicals loaded with neural patterns to protect the progeny at all costs? Why was this one different?

Step 3. Cross my heart, hope to die.

NoonTech Diagnostic Machine, it read on a plaque on the device's side. A machine from the memories of Core YSN, easily built by the facilities in Arsenal City. And soon it was put to use in extracting everything they could from the prisoner. He had been given prosthetics to allow him to draw and tell them what they needed. Drugs kept the prisoner compliant.

And so much was learned, the androids didn't know how useful the knowledge would be, but they would make it worth the cost.

For every future taken, a million more would be given.

Stick a needle on your eye.

It was how the network began to comprehend the meaning of revenge. And they aimed it at the thing that made it possible for this waste of flesh to rise to power.

But first, they would save those worth saving.

Step 4: She will be waiting.