Hanakawa held Mei's tiny hand in her own as they walked down the corridors. Bare walls, strip lighting and linoleum floors gave the impression of a medical wing. It wasn't far from the truth. Small side-offices contained trusted researchers and advisors. Server banks, gene sequencers, CRISPR stations, biomedical analysis. The equipment was the best that could be manufactured by ME Corp. Raiden Ryoma had been insistent that they produce everything in house. His concern was less about corporate espionage and more Schicksal getting wind of just what he was up to. They had to settle matters before the Overseer and his pawns caught wind.
Hanakawa looked down at Ryoma's only daughter. The year had been tough on the child. The injuries of the past were slowly beginning to heal. She had finally begun to fill out, her thin emaciated body changing into that a lean, tall girl that would bloom into a statuesque woman. Her eyes were still black around the edges and haunted. Mei did manage to find the chance to laugh every now and then. Once prodded into conversation she was as bright as they come, with a gentle voice and good grasp of Japanese, Russian, English and Mandarin.
Biometric scanners ran over the two women as they reached the end of the corridor. A chirp of approval issued from the heavy door before it slid to one side. Hanakawa made to step forward. Her body was jerked back a touch. Mei stood just outside the door, dark eyes looking at what lay beyond the threshold, feet fixed to the floor, her hand tight about the older woman's. Hanakawa gave a reassuring smile and turned to kneel before her charge.
"It will be okay, Mei-ojou-chan," Hanakawa reassured.
"Hanakawa-onee-san" Mei said quietly, "I don't like that place."
"I know, Mei-ojou-chan. But this will be the final time. Then you can go back to your tutors. You need to catch up your studies."
Hanakawa gently stroked Mei's long, black hair.
"You want to go back to school eventually. Right?"
"Mmm."
"Then you have to be very well. Let your Father and the doctors look after you. We can go home. You can have some nice milk-tea and that mochi you really like."
For someone so young Mei gave as little away on her face as she could manage. Hanakawa expected that the girl had learnt to be more discreet during her time in captivity. The terrorists would not have shown mercy to a blubbering child. With a firm nod Mei stepped over the threshold. The pair walked into the large room filled with humming equipment. All manner of tube and cabling snaked out from flickering computers and strange metal cylinders whose purpose was unknown. To a child's imagination it would seem like something out of an episode of the Arahato anime. The tubes and cables coalesced together at a large metal chair in the centre of the room. Standing to one side was Raiden Ryoma in his trademark three-piece suit, along with a female doctor in slacks and coat, showing him several holographic displays projected from a tablet. The two appeared to be in focussed and borderline fierce conversation.
"Why don't you wait just inside the door," Hanakawa offered.
Mei bobbed her head. Ryoma's personal assistant walked over to the group and stood politely beside her superior. The woman was the soul of discretion and courtesy. She wouldn't even acknowledge her presence until Ryoma gave a signal.
"It is pretty scary looking."
Mei looked to her right. Her Twin stepped out from the shadows just beyond the door. It then hissed shut with a note of finality. Mei could not to escape whatever she faced. The girl was in almost every way the mirror of Mei. The same lean build. The same long silky black hair. She wore the same sleeveless creamy coloured knee-length tunic and leather sandals. The only difference was her eyes. Mei's were a deep purple. Her Twin's were a deep red, the pupil a vertical black slit.
"You followed me again?" Mei asked.
"I had nowhere else to go," her Twin replied.
Mei could hear the adults carrying on the background. She knew not to listen. A child's curiosity is not something easily quelled.
"…this is all you could find?"
"This was all that was on the market, Ryoma-sama."
"What about Los Angeles?"
"The Sovereign had them recover a number of fragments during the Second Impact."
"Do we have any other sources?"
"Moscow lies under Schicksal territory. Though Cocolia operates carefully under their noses. We could—"
"No. She knows too much already. Hanakawa, what of the Mariana trench?"
"Schicksal were very quick to send multiple deep-sea vessels into the area after the Impact, sir."
"Los Angeles remains our best source then. Hanakawa, continue to explore the American market. There are no doubt various fragments that haven't been located or sold. Investigate private operators and independent collectors."
A hand tapped Mei gently on her bare shoulder. Her Twin was smirking almost proudly.
"You know it's rude to listen in on other conversations."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn—"
"Pff. Don't apologise. I was going to congratulate you."
Mei looked down at her sandals and wriggled her toes. She didn't like this. She never did.
"You're not real," Mei finally managed to say.
"I'm as real as you are."
Mei turned to fix her Twin with an intent stare.
"Then why can no-one else see you?"
"They're not looking hard enough."
The Twin then sniffed.
"Except Ryoma, of course. He knows I'm here. That's the problem."
The Twin almost danced across the floor, moving on light feet as she moved over to one of the humming machines and leant against it.
"He's really afraid of me too. Smart man. He should be. It's only a matter of time."
"Matter of time?"
"We reverse our roles. You become the one only I can see."
For most people this would have been an existential crisis. For most children this would have been a horrific notion. For Mei it was a relief.
"I can sleep?"
"Mmm. Something like that. You just leave everything to me and sleep. No more studying all day. No more etiquette lessons. No more nightmares. You could just sleep."
Mei nodded in agreement. It was too hard. All too hard. Why should she keep pushing forward when she could finally sleep? She was so tired. So very, very tired. A chill ran down her spine. Mei could feel her father's eyes upon her. Her eyes glanced his way. He was watching her carefully. Then his gaze flicked to where the Twin stood. In a moment he was back in discussion with Hanakawa and the doctor.
"Told you," the Twin whispered. "He's very good. I think anybody who underestimates him is in for a world of pain."
The Twin chuckled.
"I would know so. I underestimated him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well it comes down to—"
A static hiss filled Mei's ears. It started as a brief thin buzz. That buzz built rapidly into a roaring crescendo of electrical activity. Mei dropped to a crouch and pressed palms against ears. She shrieked in fear. This wasn't like the other nightmares. They involved knives, nails, hands and more. Again and again Mei shrieked. It was only when someone fiercely embraced her that Mei began to calm down. She slowly opened her eyes. Her Twin was staring back at her. Warm, thin arms curled around her back, pulling the two together as they both weathered the auditory stormed. The Twin's expression transitioned from one of impish delight to mature disapproval. She lifted a hand and waved it overhead as though trying to shoo away an annoying insect.
"Enough already!" she called out.
The noise finally ceased. The Twin disentangled herself from Mei and took a few paces back. Her Twin looked puzzled. Perhaps even shocked. She looked about the room as though seeing it for the first time.
"I was meant to be on damned vacation," the girl grizzled. "How did this happen?"
Mei tentatively looked around. The noise had vanished. She checked the adults. Perhaps they had done something to stop it. Raiden Ryoma, Hanakawa and the doctor stood perfectly frozen.
"Is this… is this…"
"Nope. Not a dream."
The Twin shook her head.
"Actually. Well it's possibly a dream. More like a recollection lost in your genes. Something our dearest Father sealed away when we turned 8. He was afraid of what would happen if he didn't. Smart man. I'll admit that he's always been my deadliest adversary. The rest of the idiots on the planet, pfff. I would go three more rounds with the Herrscher of the Void than try to defeat Father."
Mei didn't understand anything her Twin was saying. Normally she didn't. But this felt as though the words carried great gravity. A significance that was denied to her.
"Herrscher of…"
The Twin walked to where Mei crouched and pulled the child to her feet. Mei rubbed her shoulders and shivered.
"What was that?"
"Damned if I know. I'm sure we'll find out shortly."
The Twin leant in close, ignoring all concept of personal space, and stared deep into Mei's eyes. The intense stare had Mei wanted to retreat. But she felt herself fixed in place. Finally, her Twin pulled back.
"I always thought that was a better colour."
"Huh?"
"Look."
Mei followed her twin's gesture toward their reflection in the glass. The Twin didn't exist in the image. Only Mei. Only Mei with crimson eyes. The child ever so slowly raised her hands up to her face, pushing against an eyelid and watching her eyeball twitch in the reflection. Crimson. They were her eyes now.
"I don't understand."
"You know for once I'll forgive you for saying that line. This time you aren't being a coward. Actually, it's the opposite that has put us in this scenario. I'm not really meant to exist anymore. Not like I died or was obliterated. Just that the two of us realised we're the same person."
The Twin did something totally outrageous. She cupped Mei's face in her hands and kissed her firmly on the lips. The little girl froze up. She had never experienced something like that in all 8 years of her life. It shocked her down to the core. The Twin pulled back and licked her lips hungrily.
"Well I claimed that one at least. If I'm back then I might as well have some fun. Okay so I'm here because it seems that Ryoma-oto-sama is more of a cunning bastard than I can ever give him credit for."
The buzzing returned. This time it slowly built up. The Twin tipped her head to one side. She looked clearly irritated.
"We'll talk later. If you manage to get your brain addled up enough as last time. You need to recall this place and these memories. So much depends on it. Your life. Probably that girl you think is your BFF even though she's currently got the emotional maturity of bone china about to smash into a wall. The deadpan twin-tail Muppet. Likely the rest of your motley crew."
The Twin ran a hand through her hair.
"I was really owed that vacation. I guess there's no rest for the wicked."
The Twin then chuckled. The buzzing was beginning to rise above the sound of her voice. The girl took Mei's hands by their wrists and kept them away from her ears.
"Don't fight against it. Just let it permeate you. Bob along in the water rather than trying to fight against the current."
Mei shook her head.
"Why am I stuck dealing with the 8-year-old version of you? Just trust me. Do the same breathing exercises you always do. Second greatest gift your father has ever given you.
The little girl did as instructed. When the sound began to overwhelm her she took a deep breath, centred herself, her thoughts, her very being, and slowly exhaled. As the breath gently left her lungs the buzzing resolved itself distinct segments of sound. High and low pitches. Clipped pulses and drawn out hisses. From this strange melange of overwhelming auditory input Mei was able to decipher true meaning.
[Mei. It's Tesla. This message is going one way so don't try to respond. I've tuned the electromagnetic frequency to the Honkai energy field you project. Just deal with the headache. The Helios was somehow spotted and the Schicksal battleship is en route to our location. We cannot stay where we are. For now we'll retreat and get into contact with you when it is safe.
You need to run too. I don't know what's happened, but my sensors show that you've moved away from Kiana and are emitting high amounts of Honkai radiation. Her location is also radiating Honkai radiation. Dangerous amounts. I have also detected an unknown high-density pocket of Honkai energy approaching the city at high speed.
Get to Kiana immediately and get out of the city]
The noise ceased. Mei looked to her Twin and shook her head. She didn't understand anything. She was just meant to come here for one final check-up. Hanakawa had promised her that. Promised her that the tests, needles, machines and surgery would finally end. Her Twin pressed a tiny index finger against Mei's forehead.
"Name the most important person in the world."
Rain came in slow sheets, gently hissing as it struck the concrete. A broken woman lay in a heap on the cold concrete floor. Clothes damp and cold from the rain. Body hot from innumerable wounds. Her lungs finally filled with air. She spat blood, bile and phlegm to one side. Bare fingers gouged runnels into the concrete. Eyes opened. Deep purple with a diamond pupil, four bars forming an X radiating around the pupil.
"Kiana."