Hanakawa dropped into a crouch behind cover. Hands slipped to underarm holsters and drew her weapons. Twin pistols Light and Shadow hummed as the EM field activated. She peaked around the corner with one eye. Her glance was greeted with several firebursts assaulting her position. Hanakawa retreated toward a window, firing several shots back at her aggressors. Cryonic shots from her pistols were negated by the returning fire. Whoever she was facing, they were both an excellent marksman and in possession of weaponry that produced enough heat to negate Light and Shadow.
'My firepower is perfectly matched by my opponent. Considering the rapid fire, muzzle flare and acoustics they are wielding dual pistols. Neither the Fafnir nor Fire Spirit series possess such power. That would rule out Schicksal.'
Hanakawa reached the window and shot it out. She dove out and onto the street, rolling on one shoulder before coming up in a crouch, pistols pointed toward the window. A blade sat on her shoulder. Hanakawa hunched her head a fraction. Her jacket was an armoured model; reinforced with carbon fibre. Strong enough to take a blow to the collar. Hanakawa dropped the pistol in her left hand, pushed her reinforced collar into the blade and caught the end with her now free hand. She turned on the balls of her feet and pointed her other pistol at her foe.
"How?" Hanakawa managed.
Mei quirked an eyebrow. The assertion was beyond ridiculous.
"I'm expected to believe this?"
"The world ends with you going insane then dying."
"Your proof?"
An object was removed from a jacket pocket and tossed over. Mei looked at the bauble in her cupped hands. The world drained of colour. Noise stilled. Bile tickled the back of Mei's throat.
"I should know," Mei was told. "I was the one that murdered you."
The girl was struggling. These were her last moments and still she would not give up. One arm after another she continued to drag herself across the floor. Her pain was clear. Her body all but broken. Still she would not yield to the cruelties of life. Mei admired that. She pressed the tip of the blade against the girl's throat. It would be a quick death.
Mei did not like being sandwiched between World Serpent and Schicksal. Durandal hefted her lance and appraised the situation.
"What are you offering?" the Valkyrja demanded.
A shake of her head had Mei's two juniors easing just a fraction. Their eyes watched the pair from World Serpent closely.
"Coral City is doomed. The loss of the logistical resources irks me but that is that. I'm content to abandon this place and its population. The danger is the Herrscher breaking loose and freezing the entirety of south east Asia. That gets in the way of my plans."
Crimson lightning crawled over Mei's flesh. Durandal recognised the demonstration for what it was. This wasn't the Mei she had crushed in Arc City.
"I'm offering my services as the Third Herrscher and to be honest only person in this city that stands a chance of mitigating this utter disaster. I will kill the Fifth Herrscher before the rest of you incompetents turn this into more of a frozen dumpster fire than it already is."
"Thoughts, memories, dreams. In the end they are electrochemical reactions within the brain. The mind is a sea of lightning."
The kata she slipped into was perfect. The harmony of offense and defence woven as one. Mei gestured to her opponent.
"Bow before your Queen."
Orr scrolled with one hand through the information on the tablet. He was busy chewing the thumbnail of his other hand. One particular section he moved back and forth over several times before groaning.
"You're as bad as your Father," the man muttered.
"Oto-sama is a kitten in comparison."
Orr stopped at another area, eyes bulging, mouth falling slack.
"You may just be right," he admitted in a hushed voice.
"What do you think?"
"You, Raiden Mei, are utterly insane. How did you even come up with this. How the hell did you come into possession of such knowledge?"
"What I am does not rule out the validity and possibility of my goals. How I know is for another day when I can trust you."
Orr set down the tablet.
"You want to steal a battlecruiser from underneath Schicksals nose. Then after grand theft boat your next goal is to—"
"We're not stealing it. For now, we merely infiltrate the vessel and put into place everything necessary for its future acquisition."
"Should I mention you have to stealthily break into Schicksal HQ, the most secure place on the planet, first? Then get past whatever incredible security they have watching this behemoth. Then do whatever reconnaissance you need. THEN escape undetected."
"That is our role. Yours is."
Mei leant forward and tapped one paragraph on the tablet. This time Dr Orr smiled.
"I see why you need me."
"After Project-MEI was folded you transitioned to pure research. Even lacking qualifications numerous private interests sought you out. Clearly your knowledge of Honkai, Imaginary Space and the Imaginary Tree was leagues ahead of colleagues twice your age."
Orr shrugged. It was Amarant's turn to speak up. Eyes flicked over her phone before fixing on the man.
"World Serpent tried to recruit you. Jackal was most emphatic on securing you."
"I told them I would think on it. Fortunately, they haven't killed me yet."
"I'll ask again. What do you think?" Mei asked.
"You are genuinely more trouble than Raiden Ryoma. I can help here. But securing four Herrschers is something I cannot conceive of."
"Five, to be precise. Kiana is the keystone, so she counts are the fifth. With Bronya and I there are two more needed. And unlike World Serpent I need them alive and lucid."
"This is so crazy it might just work."
"We have two alternatives. Either the Honkai win or STIGMA annihilates all but 20,000 people. Assuming it even succeeds."
Dr Orr sighed and leant back in his seat. The man ran fingers through his hair as he contemplated his options. Finally, he sat up and nodded.
"I'm in. You at least have better odds than the alternatives. Oh and we'll need Makaria. I know the facility she works out of these days."
Mei gave a wolf's smile. Another piece on the gameboard was hers.