An Unexpected Impact

by LordChaldea

Death was an unknown, no one knew what awaited them after it. So when I awoke in a world so familiar yet foreign at the same time, I swore to live a quiet life so that I could live this life at least to the fullest. That was until I decided to take a damn scholarship. SI-OC Captain Reincarnation. Revamped Version now up.

51. Chapter 51

Hey guys here's chapter 51! I did tell you guys that the chapter was mostly finished before the revamp and it didn't take me long to finish it.

Speaking of the revamp, if you didn't catch my earlier update the revamp of this fic has been completed and the revised chapters have been updated accordingly(There might be like a few sentences that I missed so if there's an error please let me know). I know some of you guys planned on rereading it anyway but for those that don't want to go rereading everything here are the chapters where the biggest changes have been made.

1(Well just the beginning and it's like one sentence),3, 10, 11, 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, 32.

Other than that I do hope you enjoy this new chapter!

P.S. Also follow my twitter account ChaldeaLord for any potential updates.

Disclaimer: I do not own Honkai Impact 3rd.

---

Somewhere off the coast of Coral City

It was currently night at a coastline that was close to the boundaries of Coral City. Away from the industrial city there was nothing of seeming importance at the beach. All that was there was what one normally might see at a beach.

Lots of sand.

The ruins of a wooden boat.

Washed up seaweed.

A scurrying crab.

Yet appearances could be deceiving as despite its rather normal appearance this beach held a rather important secret.

An important secret that had just been uncovered.

Slowly something began to emerge from the sea. It was methodical with its approach, careful not to accidentally activate any motion detectors that were hidden far below the sands of its presence. The water parted to reveal the sleek black metal armor of a certain transforming cat.

As she slowly approached the shoreline, Kuro's blue eyes carefully watched for any potential guards or surveillance cameras that might possibly jeopardize her mission.

Infiltrating the hidden World Serpent Base that was in close proximity to Coral City.

"Kuro," Through her built-in communicator she heard the voice of her human, Haruto. "Everything alright so far?"

She gave a low growl in response as her metallic claws touched the cool sand of the beach. Within seconds of touching the coarse and grainy material she immediately broke out into a sprint towards a rock that would adequately cover her. There weren't any nearby patrols but leaving things to chance was just testing fate.

"Yeah, yeah I forgot. No interruptions while you're on the hunt." He apologized. Her stupid human was lucky she was so forgiving towards him. Perhaps she would have him buy her a fatty slice of tuna as recompense, yes that would do quite nicely.

"Before I end this call I wanted to give you a last minute reminder of what your mission is. Your mission is to infiltrate the World Serpent Base undetected and upload the virus that Asplud cooked up in his lab. If successful we'll be able to shut down most of their defenses just prior to our raid tomorrow on the base." He reminded.

Kuro almost wanted to snort at the reminder. Did her stupid human think she was both forgetful and not up to the job?

"Though I don't suppose I have to worry about you accomplishing the mission."

The cat turned panther gave a pleased noise of praise. There was no lie in her stupid human's words, she was after all the greatest infiltrator on the planet. There was no place on this green earth that she could not sneak into, no castle that she could infiltrate.

"Good hunting Kuro."

With that her human hung up and allowed her to resume her mission. The feline peered out of the cover of her rock one last time to ensure that there was no-one watching the beach before she bolted to the hidden entrance of the World Serpent base.

As she ran across the sandy dunes of the beach Kuro's mind wandered back to the whole reason why she was even doing this in the first place.

No she had not given up the location of the base, she would not stoop down to that level. Sure she was no longer working for the organization after they had tried to take what was hers but she did have a semblance of honor and that extended to not ratting out the location of every single one of their bases.

But she did think it was fair game to confirm whether or not there was a base near Coral City when asked by her stupid human.

From there her stupid human and his group had looked under every nook and cranny to find the hidden base and it didn't take long for them to find its location.

And since she was feeling bored from passing most of her days either lazing around or taking a relaxing stroll around the city she decided to volunteer herself to infiltrate the base for them.

She was such a kind and thoughtful feline. She truly deserved only the fattiest of tunas to feast on.

Focusing back to reality Kuro couldn't just waltz her way in through the front door. Even if she was once apart of World Serpent she knew that enough time had passed for her betrayal to be known to every member of the organization.

And even if she was still a part of the organization her existence was barely known to a handful of people, mostly including Jackal and her entourage of scientists, so the guards would most likely shoot first and ask questions later.

Instead of going through the front door the feline opted to sneak through one of the many hidden ventilation shafts that were littered around the base. Having visited this particular base more than a few times already she knew the most optime ventilation shaft that would give her the best chances of staying undetected. Finding it was trivial and her claws were able to cleanly slice through the flimsy metal cover of the shaft.

However a problem soon presented itself in the form of the size of the ventilation shaft. Her current form would make traversing through the labyrinth of ventilation shafts cumbersome, not to mention her metallic claws would create unnecessary noise.

So in a small purple flash the black metallic panther of death reverted back to the black furred feline of death.

The small feline took one last look of her surroundings before walking into the ventilation shaft. As she traversed the labyrinth of ventilation shafts she could hear the conversations of the people in the base, oblivious to her presence. Most of their conversations were trivial, but one in particular caught her attention.

"Just our luck," One guard had complained. "We're directly working under Commander Jackal for the foreseeable future."

"It could be worse." Another guard assured his partner. "We could be working under one of the Gray Serpents instead."

The two gave a shudder and Kuro could not have blamed them. The Gray Serpent was a hive mind of individuals that shared the same name. It was impossible to tell which one was the real one.

Was there even a real Gray Serpent in the first place?

"True but couldn't we have gotten to work under Commander Hare? At least she cares about those who work under her." The first guard complained.

"Commander Hare's busy overseeing a project in Siberia, one that relates to Project Stigma." The other guard responded back.

"Didn't Commander Jackal also bring something relating to Project Stigma?"

"I've only heard whispers of something called Project Prometheus. Not sure if that's the actual name because the wing where it's located is under tight security. I'm pretty sure only Commander Jackal and a small handful of people have access to that part of the base."

"Well whatever it is I'm glad we're not apart of it." The second guard laughed nervously. "I swear I've heard horror stories among the ranks of how Commander Jackal uses some of us in her experiments."

Kuro barely resisted the urge to snort when she heard those words as she continued her infiltration. Oh if only he knew how true he was.

Sneaking around the base had been almost trivial. There were no proximity scanners in the ventilation shafts so she had been able to almost casually make her way to an empty room that held a terminal that she could use to upload the virus into. She didn't need to upload the virus in the main command room itself, merely into a terminal that connected to the main system.

Watching the virus transfer be completed Kuro had now completed her mission. All that was left for her to do was sneak her out of the base and return to her stupid human and enjoy the rewards of her efforts.

…Yet the feline curiosity could not help but be stoked as she remembered the earlier conversation between those two guards. While she may have not been an 'official' member of the World Serpent she knew quite a bit of their projects through Jackal.

Project Prometheus was one of the projects that the canine wearing scientist was tight-lipped about. The feline only knew a few things about the secretive project and even then they weren't particularly useful in discerning what the project actually was.

It was apparently currently inside this base and from her recollection of the base's layout she knew there was only one place that the project could be in.

So despite having no need to investigate any further Kuro got back into the ventilation shaft and began to make her way deeper into the base, to the wing where Project Prometheus was surely housed.

Almost instantly she could tell the difference with how human personnel had been replaced by automations patrolling the hallways beneath her. A slip up here would almost surely be detected by the mechanized puppets.

But she was able to sneak through their scanners and eventually made her way to the heavily fortified room that had been previously vacant the last time she had been at the base. All she had known about the room was that it was designed to be the most heavily protected room in the base.

Dropping down from one of the vents Kuro looked at the armored door that possessed a tiny window in front of her. She knew from memory that the door was the only way for her to get inside the room. The ventilation shaft that was connected to the room was too small for her to fit through.

To make matters worse the door could only be opened by an ID card that the feline knew only Jackal possessed. Brute force also wasn't an option as she knew while her transformed claws would do the job they would surely make enough noise to alert the entire base on what she was doing.

The only weak point of the door was the window but she knew the moment that she broke the glass every alarm within the base would also activate.

She was tempted to try and think of other creative ways to force her way past the door but the sound of approaching footsteps had her quickly think otherwise. Sparing one last glance at the heavily armored door, Kuro snuck back into the ventilation shaft and making sure she left no traces of her presence behind.

Yet she wasn't entirely successful as the moment she was no longer in the hallway a small head peeked up from the other side of the reinforced window, inquisitive hazel eyes searching for the presence that had just been in front of his door.

"Kitty?"

---

The sun was barely rising when I had awoken to participate in the raid on the World Serpent Base. We had a very limited window to pull off the attack as Asplund's virus would eventually get noticed by the base's firewalls. Throw in the fact that we couldn't prepare to attack beforehand as that would surely tip off our adversaries should they see us readying up to attack.

Thankfully I was more than used to waking up at ungodly hours for missions like these. Experience with both the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps and the missions that Ana had us routinely take had made waking up early slightly bearable.

It still sucked though and I doubt that would ever change.

"Is everyone prepared?" Fu Hua asked the 6th Valkyrja Squad as we were currently all sitting around, making any last minute preparations before the attack began.

"As ready as we'll ever be." I said as I checked the energy readings of the Caliburn battlesuit. Ever since the events of the St. Freya Invasion and the massive amount of funding we got from the debuts of Mashu's and Layla's battlesuits Asplund had decided to have the Kingsbane Battlesuit undergo some major revisions.

I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, the amount of scientific jargon that he had used in his explanation to me had me quickly turn off my brain, but from what I had gathered he was making major changes to the Caliburn's systems in order to accommodate my stigma and the improvements that I had undergone with it during our stay in Coral City.

While I may not have gained the revelations I had hoped for training with Ana I most certainly did not mind the easier usage of the stigma abilities that I already had. True to the older Schariac's words she had helped me make strides in refining my control over the stigma, resulting in much better progress than I had training normally.

But a thought came to me as I pondered on my stigma and its unique nature. If Ana's abilities as Schariac weren't able to help me, then who or what could?

Before I could think of it any further Layla's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "The World Serpent won't know what'll hit them." The sniper grinned as she cracked her knuckles in a menacing manner. "It's time for some payback for St. Freya."

I couldn't help but nod as I eyed the other Valkyrja Squads that were a part of the vanguard. Some of them I recognized from when St. Freya was still undergoing repairs and needed more manpower to make up for the offline defenses. I could see that Layla's sentiment was shared with everyone else with the anticipation hanging around.

Not like I could blame them, I was itching to pay the World Serpent back for attacking out home.

"And you will Layla-san," Fu Hua spoke as she approached us, having temporarily walked away in order to talk about the plan of attack with the other squad leaders. "But be sure to not have revenge cloud your mind in the thick of battle."

"Are all squads in position?" Ana's voice came into the shared communication channel between all the deployed Schicksal squadrons. A round of affirmations quickly came in from the other squadron leaders.

"Good we will then begin the operation at once. Vanguard team, are you ready to start the party?"

"We're ready Ana-san." Fu Hua responded back, prompting all of us to stand from our current positions. At first glance it was definitely a strange strategy. Sending the most inexperienced squad to lead the initial attack on the base. Sure we had three other Valkyrja squads with us but we didn't have the sheer numbers or firepower that a vanguard would require in attacking a fortified World Serpent base.

Well maybe that wasn't all true. In terms of the latter we certainly did have the firepower with three Kingsbane Battlesuits. Numbers was something that Valkyries and Knights knew they would always lose on, but it really didn't matter if the World Serpent had five times our number.

We were just waiting for him to get ready.

"Haruto relay to Asplund and Marie the operation is about to begin." The A-Rank Valkyrie ordered me.

"I'm on it." I nodded as I brought my hand up to my ear and brought up a communication channel with the engineering corps.

"Keji you're up."
-

A distance away from where the 6th Valkyrja Squad and Vanguard were currently positioned, hidden in a cluster of trees was the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' mobile base. The engineering personnel were currently frantic as they made the last minute preparations to their contribution to the raid.

But none were more frantic than the one piloting said asset.

"Okay Keji calm down, this is practically nothing." Dressed in a skintight outfit with the colors of YAEC, Keji Furutu was currently giving himself a pep talk in the unactivated cockpit of a very familiar mech.

"You're just piloting the same machine that you commandeered during the invasion of St. Freya. Somehow your skills of playing too many video games actually have use and your boss saw that and decided to stick you back inside this machine's cockpit after working his dark magic on it…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath…

And opened them back up, revealing his distraught green eyes. "Why in the hell am I stuck back in this thing again?!" The combat operator thought disparagingly.

Being a combat operator in a war against an entity hell bent on destroying humanity was already stretching his comfort levels but now actually joining the fight threatened to have him lapse into a full on nervous breakdown.

He didn't do fighting! That just wasn't him, an introverted chess and video game loving nerd…

That wasn't him at all!

Despite the praises that he got from his sister and coworkers about how stellar his performances were in the Shiden's simulator program fighting a virtual target was leagues different then fighting a breathing, living opponent.

"But I can't run from this, not when everyone else is giving it their hundred and ten percent into this." He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, gripping the controls of his mech with a newfound sense of resolve and determination.

And not a second sooner as the screen in front of him came alive with an image of Asplund and his big sister.

"Well well I hope my pilot is ready for his fabulous debut." The eccentric pudding scientist grinned. "The Vanguard has called for your assistance."

"You'll do great otouto," Reassured his older sister with a smile.

"Thank you nee-san. I'll be sure to come back alive." He joked with a wry smile.

"You better." His sister closed her eyes and adopted a certain look that promised only the most unimaginable pain if he broke his promise. Even being stuck in the safe confines of his mech Keji couldn't repress the shiver of fear that coursed through his body. Seems that even piloting a badass mech couldn't save him from certain things.

The combat operator now turned pilot ended the video call as he activated his machine.

"Shiden Galatine," He spoke as the systems of the once formerly Anti-Entropy mech began to activate, lighting up his cockpit with various screens showing the mech's systems ."Beginning raid on World Serpent Base."

Outside the changes that the Shiden had undergone were quite apparent as it powered up. No longer was the machine the dark blue of Anti Entropy, now rather a dark gray that signified its new allegiance under Schicksal.

The Shiden line was the successor to the mechs that Anti-Entropy were famous for. Despite the upgrades it had over its predecessor the mech was meant to be a mass produced soldier, which meant that aside from the shield and rifle it came with there weren't any other features that stuck out.

Fortunately that meant that the Shiden was essentially a blank canvas of what could be possible for mechanized warfare.

And when you had someone like Christopher Asplund as a painter, well the eccentric scientist could exactly showcase the reason why his scientific knowledge couldn't be matched.

The new Shiden Galatine was now more armored than before, possessing more bulkier armor that covered joints that were previously unprotected. Fortunately the armor didn't hamper the mech's mobility all that much so it wasn't just a slow colossus.

A new shoulder mounted cannon could be seen on the Shiden's right side while the machine's left hand had been completely transformed to be a chain gun arm unit. On the other arm the manipulator fingers were still present albeit the forearms had a shield also attached to it.

The visor of the Shiden opened up to reveal the glowing mono eye of the machine before the newly added thrusters on its back activated, allowing the mech to rise up into the sky and to its destination.

"Just like the simulations Keji," The combat operator muttered to himself as he focused all of his brainpower in piloting the mech through the air and not crashing it into the ground. "Just like the simulations."

Thankfully without any complications he managed to get the Shiden to its destination, landing right next to where Haruto and the Vanguard were waiting for his arrival. Giving a quick wave to the team with the Shiden, Keji focused his attention on the mountain where the supposed World Serpent Base was located. The pilot certainly had his doubts, there weren't any obvious clues that anyone was living nearby.

But the intel was solid and Keji knew exactly how to start this raid off.

"Alright let's wake them up shall we?" Activating the Shiden Galatine's shoulder mounted cannon he aimed its targeting reticle at the spot where the main entrance of the base was supposed to be. Without wasting a second after the system pinged a lock-on he fired the cannon, shooting a powerful round straight into the ground that caused a loud explosion to ring out in the forest.

"Stand by for confirmation of the hit." He voiced out to the Vanguard as he waited for the smoke to clear from the explosion.

Before the smoke cleared however gunfire began to be exchanged from the other side. He could hear the shouts to find cover from the Vanguard behind him but he didn't pay much attention to them as he knew they would be fine.

He had the Shiden bring up its shield arm and activated the same Luminous Blaze system that was built into Haruto's battlesuit, the green hexagonal light shield appearing and blocking the gunfire that was mostly aimed at him.

Keji had his shield still kept up as the smoke dissipated to reveal two things to him. The first thing was the entrance of the base that the cannon had revealed in its destruction. The second thing was the two turrets that had activated when he had destroyed the entrance and were currently firing at him but to no avail.

Bringing up the Shiden's gun arm Keji pressed the trigger of the weapon, watching as a flood of bullets shredded through the metal armor of the turrets and turned them into nothing more than scrap metal.

When there weren't any more immediate threats firing at him anymore the combat operator cautiously maneuvered the Shiden to the entrance of the base, the Vanguard trailing behind him with their weapons out.

Thankfully there weren't any more nasty surprises waiting for them and soon he watched as the Vanguard ran into the confines of the base, disappearing from his machine's sight.

"Good work Keji-san," Ana Schariac's voice commanded through the communication channels. "Hold the main entrance while we raid the base inside. Should anything happen quickly, notify command."

"Will do," He says as he rests his back on his seat, his job technically finished. He still kept an eye on the map that had everyone participating in the raid identified by a blue triangle as the base was swarmed by the geometric shapes. While they had the element of surprise and numbers on their side, it didn't mean that they were out of the woods just yet.

Because if Keji learned anything throughout his short and hectic time in Schicksal it was that the unexpected always seemed so keen to happen just about every other day.

"Will do."

---

Ducking under a sword that was aimed for her head, Fu Hua retaliated with a swift strike to the stomach of her attacker. The man gave a groan of pain before the force of the punch launched him into a wall which he slumped against immediately.

Around her the rest of the 6th Valkryja Squad were busy fending off their own opponents but the Valkyrie didn't have to worry about them as they were handling themselves exceptionally well in

"Is it me or is this going surprisingly well for us?" Hua asked within her mind and Fu Hua could not help but find her statement to be true.

"In order for this base to have remained undetected as long as it has the defenses could not have been too much without tipping off Ana-san and her Snow Lotus Squad." She explained as she ducked under a different assailiant's attack and counter attacked in the same fashion.

"Yeah but is the World Serpent remember dummy?" Hua retorted back. "Even if they couldn't have that many defenses this is almost pitiful for them."

That she could not deny. These were not the same soldiers that had invaded St. Freya. These were not the soldiers of an organization that rivaled Schicksal's strength. These grunts were more akin to ordinary mercenaries at best.

But if that was the case then why station such a weak force to defend a facility that contained one of their greatest assets?

The age old immortal did not like how easy the tide was turning to their advantage.

"Fu Hua, is something wrong?" Haruto asked as he and their teammates finished dispatching the last of their adversaries.

"Nothing in particular," She dismissed as she turned to face them. "I am just being cautious with how fast we are dispatching our foes and taking control of this base."

"We did catch them with their pants down so it would be understandable this is going easy for us." Layla retorted as her battlesuit's floating gun barrels returned to her back.

"But this is almost too easy for us." Haruto argued as he motioned to the unconscious bodies of their assailants behind them. "Fu Hua is right. For being tasked with guarding a super secret base they weren't that tough to beat."

"Whether or not fortune is on our side we must stay vigilant." She reminded her Valkyries. Complacency in a battle could be the difference between victory or defeat. "A single moment of carelessness can shift the tide of battle in their favor. All we can do is push forward and continue to complete our task."

The team nodded in confirmation as they readied to move on to the next location. However before the 6th Valkyrja Squad could move on the communicator on the A-Rank Valkyrie's ear crackled up.

Ana Schariac's voice came through. "Fu Hua-san are you there?"

Fu Hua motioned for the squad to stop before she answered the call. "How may I help you Ana-san?"

"We've managed to get most of the facility under our control. All that's left is stamping out a few pockets of resistance. This one in particular we're dealing with is very stubborn and is holding us up." The leader of the Snow Lotus Squad answered as vague sounds of fighting could be heard in the background. "At the moment your squad is closest to where Project Prometheus is located. Can I trust you to secure it?"

"Of course Ana-san," The bluish gray haired Valkyrie answered before she motioned for her squad to follow her.

With their new objective in hand they moved towards the wing of the base that held Project Prometheus. As she had expected the closer they moved towards it the fiercer the resistance was.

Though it was nothing that the 6th Valkyrja Squad couldn't handle.

Yet as they moved closer and closer to their goal Fu Hua could not help but agree with Hua's suspicions. By the time they stopped right in front of the chamber of Project Prometheus the bluish gray haired Valkyrie was sure that their ease of reaching it was deliberate.

But there was little she could do about it now, only to be ready for whatever might be thrown their way.

"Mashu-san," She said as she moved away from the door. The Schariac shielder nodded as she walked up to the door, reared her shield back, and with one mighty slam broke the door right off its hinges. Once the door was no longer an obstruction the team surged into the room, weapons at the ready…

Only for them to lower them when they were greeted by an empty room.

"It's…empty?" Mashu confusedly whispered as she inspected the room for any possible signs of a trap.

Fu Hua's blue eyes scanned the room as well and it was apparent that was not the case. There weren't any possible spots in the room for a person to hide in and it wasn't possible to trap them in the room as they had just destroyed the door.

Still the room that housed Project Prometheus was not what the former Flamechaser thought it would be. Instead of a laboratory like she had been expecting it to be, it was more of a living quarters.

It was very minimalist, with the only furniture in the room being a bed, a small closet, and a small table. The only items present on the table was a plate of breakfast consisting of a piece of toast, some eggs, and bacon.

"Was the World Serpent possibly tipped off about the raid? If that's the case then they could've been able to move the Project to another location." Haruto theorized.

It was a sound theory at first glance but it had too many flaws, one of those being that they would've known if they had moved anything with their constant surveillance of the base after Kuro's infiltration.

Spying the breakfast on the table Fu Hua had an idea. Walking over to it the A-Rank Valkyria pressed her fingers against the eggs, noting how they were still lukewarm against her skin.

"Not for very long." She whispered to herself before she turned to face her team. "Whoever was in here left not too long ago."

"What if they managed to escape during the raid?" Mashu asked which had all of them adopt contemplative looks. It certainly was a possibility. The entire base must've been scrambling the moment their base was attacked, the chaos would've made it easy for someone to possibly slip through.

"If that is the case then they could be anywhere right now," Haruto added. "And with the chaos that it's in right now there's always an exit that we don't have eyes on that they could leave through."

"So what's our next step then Fu Hua?" Layla asked as three pairs of eyes turned to her for directions.

"I will report our findings to Ana-san and we shall proceed from there." She informed the black and green haired sniper before she notified Ana of their discovery.

After reporting their findings the 6th Valkyrja Squad were soon ordered to rejoin the rest of the Snow Lotus Squad. Being unable to secure Project Prometheus, Ana had ordered them to the command center where all the squads were meant to meet up once they were done with their individual orders.

Walking into the liberated command center the A-Rank Valkyrie saw that they were the last squads to arrive, many of the squads having already arrived and were either being briefed on new orders or simply waiting around for new ones.

At the center of the command center was Ana and her squad of Valkyries and they were all sitting around Asplund as the white haired man furiously typed away on a main terminal.

"Asplund-san how much longer until you manage to hack through the database?" Ana asked the pudding scientist as the 6th Valkyrja Squad approached them.

"Not for much longer. Their firewalls may be adequate but not strong enough for me and…" The white haired scientist grinned before tapping down on one key on the terminal. Then every single screen in the command center flashed green.

"Tada!" The scientist shouted in victory as he pushed his moving chair away from the terminal. "Firewalls have been broken down. Yes I am that good."

"That's good and all but we need to know all about Project Prometheus as soon as possible." Ana urged.

"Alright pulling up files on Project Prometheus now." Marie spoke up from a terminal that was directly adjacent to her boss'. "What are we looking for Ana-sama?"

"I want to know the identity of Project Prometheus." The leader of the Snow Lotus squad ordered as she moved over to the female scientist. "They weren't in the quarters assigned to them and none of our perimeter guards have reported anything suspicious so the only explanation is that they have managed to flee and assumedly gone to hide in Coral City."

Keji's sister hummed in confirmation as she typed away on her terminal. "Ok I found the files," The black haired scientist looked towards the screens, everyone else in the room following suit seconds later. "Putting it up on the main screen now."

Fu Hua expected to see an image of a person in their late 20s or early 30s with features that would've made it easier for them to locate…

She was not expecting to see a boy with black hair and amber eyes the same age as Sora be displayed on the screens.

"It's a…kid." Ana whispered in horror, her mind connecting the dots of what it all meant. "Marie-san please tell me this is not a joke."

"N-No Ana-sama," The scientist was also horrified as she double checked the terminal she was working on, hoping to find some sort of mistake that she might have overlooked. "This is the only file regarding the identity of the patient in the Prometheus' files."

A terse silence befell the command center as the implications of their discovery settled in. It was no secret that the World Serpent had no love lost in Schicksal, their attack on St. Freya already souring opinions of them.

But never did they think that they would stoop so low that they would experiment on a child.

And even Fu Hua, who knew that even Schicksal shared the same sin, was horrified at the discovery because it meant something more personal for her.

For it meant that her friend, someone she once believed to have condoned such an action, had willingly allowed it to happen.

"Notify our forces stationed at the city immediately!" Ana barked out furiously, snapping everyone out of their trances. "I want this kid found before the World Serpent can get their claws on him again! We'll continue to clear this base out before we join the search. Am I understood!"

"Of course ma'am!" The Valkyries assembled shouted before they frantically began to fulfill their new orders.

Even the 6th Valkyrja Squad threw themselves into getting ready as soon as possible, though Fu Hua's mind was currently preoccupied with something else.

"Kevin," The Flamechaser lamented in her mind as she thought of the friend she once knew. Of the white haired man who had led the Flamechasers, of how he took the burden that would've crushed anyone else, of despite how bleak things had been still led them to the best of his ability.

Of how she could no longer see that man in the one who now led the World Serpent.

"How far have you fallen my old friend?"

---

Kiana Kaslana expected many things to happen during their raid of the World Serpent Base they had discovered. A lot of things happened that she did not expect.

Coming across a child who looked to be around Sora's age was something she definitely did not expect.

"So Bella…How did you exactly end up here?" The Valkyrie asked as she and the steel gray haired child were walking down a random hallway that was past the cell area where she had discovered her in. Saying the child's name out loud brought the Kaslana a strange feeling but she couldn't exactly put her finger on what that feeling exactly was.

Has she heard that name before?

And if so, where had she heard it before?

"I-I don't remember." The child nervously said as she gripped her clothing in a manner that showed that she was most definitely anxious about not knowing a definite answer. "I-I just remember waking up here without any of my friends."

"And do you remember what you and your friends were doing before you ended up here?" Kiana inquired in hopes of being able to piece together the girl's story.

However it became very quickly apparent that had been the wrong thing to ask as Bella's eyes got watery and her body began to shake, both being telltale signs that it was a very sensitive topic.

"I-I don't remember," The girl hiccuped and it was with growing horror that Kiana realized tears were beginning to fall from the girl's blue eyes. "I-I was with Sirin and t-then the people in the white coats came for me and…w-why can't I remember-"

"Let's come back to that later!" The Kaslana interrupted with a frantic shout, not at all eager to see what would happen if Bella continued going down that route. "How about…" She trailed off as she desperately thought of a way to change the subject. A lightbulb went off in her head when she got the perfect idea.

"Have you seen anyone here beside me?" She asked the child with a grin. "A beautiful princess the same age as me who has the prettiest dark purple hair you've ever seen?"

The tears that were building in the girl's blue eyes stopped as Bella gave Kiana a confused but hopeful look. "A princess?"

"Yup! She's the prettiest princess you'll ever see. She's so kind that even dragons would love her and she can cook food you've only dreamed about!" Kiana absolutely felt no shame in complimenting Mei-senpai, why would she if everything she was saying was the truth.

"A princess?" Bella looked up at her with a hopeful expression, no longer looking like she was about to go through an emotional episode but as if she was about to meet an idol. "Are you a princess as well then?"

In response Kiana just grinned. "You could say something like that." The older girl placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "Hey after all of this blows over I'll take you over to the castle that princess Mei and my friends live in? You could become a princess yourself."

"I-I would like that." Bella smiled and Kiana's heart barely resisted the urge to collapse in on itself of how cute her smile was.

"I know you would," She laughed goodheartedly, hoping to continue with the momentum that she had managed to build up as the two of them walked through the empty hallways of the distorted Babylon Labs. "Let me tell you of one of the most valiant knights that serves under Princess Mei. His name is Haruto and he-!"

Before she could finish her sentence Kiana's blue eyes widened, stopping her right in her tracks.

The sudden stop also had Bella stop in her tracks. "M-Miss Kiana?" The steel gray haired child asked with an expression of worry when she saw the expression on the Valkyrie's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Stay behind me Bella," Was all the Kaslana said before she upholstered the pistols on her waist, her wide eyes narrowing before she cautiously stepped forward.

Every sense in Kiana's body was screaming at her that danger was imminent. She had already been wary the moment that she had woken up in this strange distorted version of the Babylon Labs without the rest of her team but nothing had

Yet somewhere during their walk in the hallway wariness had turned to anticipation for an attack. An attack from what exactly, Kiana had no idea.

Eventually the two of them came to an empty room with absolutely nothing of value or importance sticking out to the Valkyrie. Yet despite its unassuming appearance the feeling of danger was at its highest, so much so that Kiana felt all of the hairs on her body stand up.

The space in front of the duo suddenly began to shift, transforming into something else. At the sight of the shifting space the Kaslana had her pistols at the ready, ready to blast whatever came at them.

Yet the moment the transformation was complete Kiana did not fire her pistols, no what she did instead was drop them in horror as her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

For the space had not transformed into a hideous monster that was ready to tear her into pieces or an army of honkai beasts lying in wait for an ambush.

Instead the space in front of her had transformed into a familiar sight.

A certain room where she had spent a considerable amount of time with her friends and had made countless memories.

The 5th Valkyrja Dorm Room.

The sight before her was a complete replication of the dorm room. From the way the sofas were perfectly positioned due to Mei's insistence, to the stains of food on the carpet left from her enjoyment of eating in the living room, to the numerous gaming devices that Bronya possessed.

And in this identical replication a familiar memory was being played out, a memory of a recent conversation,

A conversation that brought pain and regret to Kiana's heart.

There sitting at the living room's sofas was herself, Mei, and Haruto. She and the red haired teenager were sitting across from the dark purple haired Valkyrie, who at that moment had an uncertain expression on her face as she looked down to the floor.

"Haruto, Kiana…" Mei began as she raised her head to look at the two of them. "What happened to you two at the night of the docks of Nagazora?"

"What do you mean Mei-senpai?" She had ignorantly said in response, thinking that Mei did not know. "We were never-!""Don't lie to me!" An unexpected outburst left Mei's lips at her denial, leaving the two of them in shock. It was very rare for her to show anger like this and it had been at the moment the two of them knew that she had known the truth.

Almost immediately after shouting those words Mei's body slumped. Having to shout those words brought pain to the Valkyrie but she needed answers. "Please…just please tell me the truth." She pleaded to them, her dark blue eyes beginning to get teary.

She and Haruto had exchanged a look with each other and both of them knew it was time to come to clean. So the two of them explained to her everything that had happened during that day. From the beginning of when the Kaslana had been kidnapped at the apartment to the end of the horrid night.

And they did not leave out the moment when Iudex's blade had descended on Haruto.

"W-Why didn't you say anything to me?" Mei sobbed as she looked at the two of them for answers, answers that neither of them could give them."W-We didn't want you to worry." She replied, trying to rationalize their decision. "To have you know what we went through would just place too much worry on your shoulders."

Their reasoning fell on deaf ears as Mei fiercely shook her head. "But aren't we friends! Of course I would worry!"

"Mei I don't regret doing what I did," Haruto had said in an attempt to placate her. "If either you or Kiana was in danger, I would not hesitate to place myself in harm's-!"

"That's exactly why!" She exclaimed as she looked at Haruto, tears now trailing down her cheeks."You did it for Kiana and then you did it for me! Throwing away your life to save us, how do you think the two of us feel after?!"

The two looked at her in shocked silence before as the weight of the words shouted took hold. Having an outside perspective of the conversation gave Kiana new things she didn't see before. She knew of the horrified expression she must've had…

But it paled in comparison to the haunted look on Haruto's face.

"Never again Haruto." The dark purple haired teenager pleaded as she moved over to them and held onto Haruto cheeks in a tender, almost desperate manner. There were tears in her dark blue eyes and her trembling lips showed that she was on the very edge.

"Tell me you won't ever sacrifice yourself for us please! And that goes for you too Kiana-chan!"

The scene in front of them shifted after Mei had said those final words, the state of the room returning to its original form. It was silent as the two girls processed what they had just seen. One of them tried to understand how that memory had happened, the other was

It would be Bella that would break the silence as she tugged on Kiana's arm, making the white haired Valkyrie look down at her. "Miss Mei really cared for you two and you two really care about her."

"Y-Yes," Kiana responded with a slightly dejected tone. "She and Haruto mean the world to me."

"T-then why did you two lie to her?" The child asked and the Kaslana could not help but sigh.

"...We didn't want her to worry." She responded once again, though now with having both time passed since that memory and having watched it happen all over again the words now tasted like ash in her tongue. "But now I see that instead it gave off the complete opposite effect."

Silence descended between the two of them again and Kiana knew that the memory had just made things awkward. How were you supposed to strike up a conversation after having watched such a sensitive memory?

Screw this distorted Babylon Labs and its memory peeking bullshit!

"M-My friend was like you," Bella spoke up, breaking the awkward atmosphere. "S-She didn't want others to know that she was hurting so we wouldn't have to worry about her but we always kept telling her that we were her friends and that we would always worry about her."

The Kaslana smiled in gratitude at the girl's attempts to break the ice. "She sounds like a great friend to have."

Bella nodded with a fond smile, no doubt thinking of her friend. "Yes she was. S-Sirin would love to-!"

Kiana's eyes would've widened at the mention of the name of the second Herrscher but she had much more pressing matters as the steel gray haired child next to her suddenly placed her hands on her head and began to sob.

"N-No she's not my friend she's my queen! Queen? I have to serve her with my entire soul and body. W-Wait what queen?! Why does everything hurt!" She hysterically shouted as her breathing began to get more erratic.

Caught off guard by the sudden change in emotions the Valkyrie immediately got on her knees and tried asking what was wrong and, completely unaware that the space in front of them was shifting once more.

It was only when the space had finished shifting did Kiana finally notice the change in the scenery around them.

"KYAA THE PAIN!" The 'Bella' in front of them painfully cried out as she was held by a purple haired girl the same age as her. Surrounding the duo were a group of kids all wearing the same clothing that Bella was wearing.

"It's killing me from the inside, Sirin!" 'Bella' sobbed as her hands tightened on Sirin's garb. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked at her friend in anguish. "Please don't let them put that thing into you!"

Before Sirin or anyone in the memory could say anything Bella's body suddenly went slack. Then appearing from nowhere two men garbed in white coats entered the scene and grabbed the now slack child, dragging her with them as they left the other children.

"Don't leave us Bella!" They shouted but to no avail as the guards ignored their plight.

"Subject 9797 has expired at 2312 hours." One of the guards that was dragging the body of 'Bella' out of the room said to his partner.

"Report to command that the batch is too weak. They're dying like flies." The other guard responded.

This memory ended much faster than the previous one as after hearing those words the space in front of them shifted back to its normal, distorted appearance. Yet despite how fast it had ended the pain of what the two had just witnessed remained.

"I-I miss them," Bella hiccuped as she released her hands from her head and began to hug her body as floodgates were broken, fat wet tears rapidly trailing down her face. "I-I d-don't know who they are but I miss them so much!"

Kiana quickly ushered the distraught girl into her arms, unable to no longer stay still to the girl's suffering. "I'm sorry," The white haired girl murmured in the child's hair as she rubbed soothing circles into the sobbing girl's back, doing everything in her power to bring the child in her arms some level of comfort.

"I'm sorry." She repeated again and Kiana did not know why she was suddenly feeling this surge of protectiveness. Perhaps it was the fact that Bella was a child and that no child should go through something like this but it felt more…personal. It was as if the pain that Bella was going through she was also feeling as well.

"I promise you that I will protect you no matter what." She vowed as she tightened the hug that she was giving Bella.

Kiana didn't know how she knew the next words she uttered but she said them with the same conviction that she had when she promised to Mei and Haruto that she wouldn't leave the two of them

"Iche liebe dich."

---

"It's only been hours since the raid on the World Serpent Base and it still feels like we haven't finished it yet," Mashu Schariac thought as she patiently stood in the middle of one of the Schicksal base's many hallways. The base itself was undergoing a flurry of activity as Valkyries were receiving orders and submitting reports of their findings.

Ever since the revelation that Project Prometheus was loose in Coral City her big sister had mobilized the entirety of the forces under her command to search the city for him.

Since then the search for him was proving difficult as the only description they had was that he was a kid that possessed black hair and amber eyes. Asplund and Marie-san were busy decoding the rest of the data that they had managed to obtain from the raid but that would take time.

Time that could result in the kid disappearing from the city forever.

However even with only an image of the child everyone was determined to put their all into the search efforts as they knew that they had to be the first ones to find the test subject.

Not only would World Serpent quickly scramble to recover their asset, there was also no telling what would happen if the person they were looking for lost control over their powers and harmed civilians.

"So it's just us two on patrol huh? Won't find me complaining." A familiar voice broke the shielder from her thoughts, who in response turned her head to Layla approaching her.

"It appears so Layla-san," The shielder responded as she greeted her teammate who grinned in return.

"Fu Hua and the captain are busy then?" The sniper asked when she noticed the absence of their other two teammates.

"Onee-san said that all of our forces are stretched thin searching for any possible World Serpent remnants so they had to do half of the number of people per patrol." She explained. "Haruto-san and Fu Hua-san are patrolling the other side of the city."
"Leaving us with the other half then." The black and green haired Valkyrie mused. "Guessing your sister is also helping out with the patrols then?"

"She's busy commanding the search efforts to join," She told her teammate as she thought about her big sister. Even when things were tense she never faltered in her duty, seemingly infallible as she commanded her Valkyries with an unmatched charisma.

Mashu could only hope one day that she would grow up to be just like-!

"Mashu."

The familiar voice stopped her dead in her tracks, her mind freezing with terror as she knew who exactly the owner of the voice was. She was completely unaware of the look of concern that her teammate adopted at her sudden shift of mood as she robotically turned around to greet the speaker.

"O-Otou-san."

Her father looked the same the last time she had seen. Tall with a stern expression that never seemed to leave his face. Possessing the same magenta eyes as herself and her big sister and also the same ash blond hair.

And the apathetic look that he always had whenever he addressed her.

"So Ana's reports of you being in a squad were not false, a pleasant surprise." He noted without any sort of pride, using the same nonchalant tone one would have noting an event on the cover of a newspaper.

"A surprise?!" Layla muttered under her breath but Mashu did not pay her teammate's words any heed as she focused her entire mind on trying to show how terrified she was being back in the presence of her father.

"I-I was given a second chance from Theresa-sama to be a part of the 6th Valkyrja Squad." She explained as she lowered her gaze to the ground below her father's feet, unable to bring her eyes to meet what was no doubt a disappointed expression.

"Yes I can see that," He said as he looked Layla up and down with an appraising look. When he was finished all he gave her teammate was a disappointed shake of his head, one that her teammate caught, before returning his gaze back on her.

"It seems that I must give my thanks to the Principal of St. Freya." Daring to look up from the ground, Mashu saw the same emotion that was ever present in his magenta eyes. A look that she had seen ever since she had begun to live at the Schariac Manor as a little girl.

Disappointment.

"Having to create a squadron just so you could be a Valkyrie. You bring shame on the Schariac name."

She tried to not flinch at his words, to show that she was no longer the scared little girl that went to bed crying at being told she was not living up to the Schariac name. That she had indeed brought honor to that name, that she was worthy of being a part of the 6th Valkyrja Squad.

Yet that's exactly what her body did as the shielder closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her rising anxiety and terror.

"Oi!" Opening her eyes in shock and glancing to her side, Mashu could see Layla approaching her father with an angry expression. "I don't know who the hell you think you are but you have another thing coming if you think that I'm going to allow you to badmouth my teammate like that!"

Before the black and green haired Valkyrie could get any closer she turned around and placed her hands on her arm, preventing her from moving any further. "Layla-san!"

The sniper gave her a surprised look. "Mashu why are you defending this piece of-!

"Please don't do this." She pleaded as she looked at her teammate with teary eyes. "Please."

The angered expression on Layla's face softened at her request but before either of them could say anything her father spoke up again.

"You disappoint me Mashu. Here I thought that you would find some measure of worth in your new squad yet you have been placed in a group that represents your potential…"

"Underwhelming." He finished.

It was in small that moment Mashu was transported from the lobby of the Coral Schicksal Base and back to the Schariac Manor. She was no longer a proud B-Rank Valkyrie but had reverted back to a little girl, one that desperately wanted the approval of her parents.

An approval that no matter how hard she tried she was never able to get, and instead all she got was looks of disappointment.

"You disappoint me Mashu."

"Pick yourself up. We are not done yet."

"Bring honor to the Schariac name Mashu,"

Her father was unaware of the memories she was reliving, only giving her another familiar disappointed shake of his head before he left the two of them alone again in the hallway.

When his footsteps could no longer be heard and his presence no longer had a grip on her Mashu whirled her body to face her teammate, a string of apologies for her father's behavior on the tip of her tongue. "Layla I-"

But before she could say anything Layla beat her to the punch as she glared venemously at the retreating form of her father. "Your father's a dick." Was all she simply said in distaste.

Apologies soon turned into mortification at the words her teammates had used. "Layla!"

"I'm telling the truth and you know it." Layla retorted before she turned to face her, barely concealing her fury. "And why did you sit there and take it all like it was nothing! I know how much his words affected you!"

"I…" Mashu didn't know if she should be horrified or touched that her teammate had known what she was going through but all that she could bring herself to do in that moment was lower her gaze to the floor, the next words she would say filled her with shame.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She couldn't see her teammate's expression but Mashu knew Layla would have an expression of shock and hurt on her face. She willed every ounce of strength she had in her body to not bring her head up.

For she knew if she did her resolve would crumble.

Layla was not one to give up so easily, especially when it concerned one of her friends. It was a trait that made Mashu value the sniper as both a teammate and a friend.

Unfortunately…

"But-!"

Neither would she at this moment.

"Everything is okay!" The shielder shouted, silencing her teammate. Her rare and sudden outburst stifled any noise in the hallway that the two were alone in. No doubt if they were in a public area her outburst would've silenced any other conversations.

She could already imagine the look of bewilderment on her teammate's face but Mashu could not bring herself to focus on that as she reminded herself why she was doing this.

There she stood as a little kid at the side of the bed. On the bed a sickly woman with the same hair color as Mashu was resting, her breathing slow and shallow as she gasped for each breath.

"Mashu…" The woman spoke as she weakly reached out for the child, her current condition confining her to the bed. "My dear daughter…"

"Yes mother." She responded as she grasped her mother's hand, holding onto to with all the strength and resolve her child self could muster. "I'm here,"

"Please listen to your father," Her mother weakly told her. "He wants nothing but the best for you."

"As my last request…Bring honor to the Schariac name."

Her younger, scared, self nodded her head vigorously.

"Of course oka-san."

After what had felt like an eternity passing from her rare outburst, did she finally bring her gaze back up and saw Layla's unreadable expression, a multitude of emotions were brewing in her green eyes.

"...I see…" Was all the sniper said before she jerked her head to the side, avoiding the shielder's eyes.

That small action brought an indescribable amount of pain and shame to Mashu's heart, somehow more painful than anything her father had ever done to her. She opened her mouth to try and explain her actions. "Layla-san I-"

"Let's go on patrol then Schariac." The black and green haired Valkyrie interrupted with an emotionless tone. Without saying much after she walked past her, not even sparing her a glance as she left her alone in the hallway.

Mashu wanted nothing more than to run after her teammate, to explain her actions and apologize for how she treated her concerns for her.

But to her eternal shame she did not.

"Bring honor to the Schariac name," She whispered to herself in hopes that it would give her the strength to continue moving forward before she went to join her teammate.

It didn't give her as much strength as she would've liked it to have.

---

"Haruto-san you've been quiet for a while now," Fu Hua's voice broke me out of my thoughts as the two of us were patrolling the streets of Coral City.

"Sorry Fu Hua," I apologized as we turned a corner of a street. "I…I've had a lot on my mind since the raid of the World Serpent Base."

"About what we discovered regarding the organization's interest in you?" She asked, hitting the cause of why I was so distracted right on the bullseye.

"You could say that," I said with a frown as I remembered what we had uncovered at the base. "I mean I already knew that I had their interest the moment that Kevin decided to visit me personally. What has me so distracted was what their interest in me would lead them to doing."

After the initial discovery of who Project Prometheus really was we had looked over the other files about him. Suffice to say what we had found was to be expected with child experimentation.

But that wasn't what was weighing me down.

Initially Project Prometheus was considered a failure. Jackal had made plans to shut down the project after there wasn't much results after pouring in vast amounts of resources in order to get a working artificial stigma that could rival a natural one.

Yet that all changed a few months ago after a certain event had occurred.

When I had first used the powers of Excalibur at the docks.

Interest in reviving the project had picked up but it wouldn't be until the event of the Nagazora Eruption that the project was fully revitalized, though this time with a slightly different objective.

Recreating the stigma that I gained from Excalibur.

The numerous experiments that were then performed were all done in an attempt to mirror my Excalibur Stigma. Each one that I had read over had a pit growing in my stomach at the brutality that each experiment forced on its subjects.

And it had all been because of me.

"There is little that can be done for them at this point," Fu Hua assured.

"I guess…" I said half heartedly as it didn't really alleviate the guilt that I was feeling for being responsible for all the pain that kid went through.

"Say Fu Hua," I started out in an attempt to distract my mind, making the A-Rank Valkyria turn to look at me in curiosity.

"Was Kevin always…like this?"

The sudden question must've thrown her out of the loop as her bluish purple eyes widened in surprise, though it did not last long as she quickly regained her composure. "...No," She answered with an unsure tone, as if she too could not believe her own words.

"As a matter of fact…" She looked at me with an appraising look.

"He was a lot like you."

"Me?" I pointed to myself in confusion.

"Yes, you remind me of him." She replied with a wistful tone. "Always willing to do whatever it took to save his friends and family. It was no surprise that he quickly rose in the ranks as the hero that would vanquish the Honkai."

She looked up to the sky with a slightly grave expression. "However our war against them demanded much from us. Where some broke under the weight he stood steadfast, determined to see our victory through. But there's only so much one can take before something gives."

"And for Kevin he lost everything that mattered to him," She spoke with a somber tone, reminiscing of what she too had lost. "So much so that I can no longer recognize him today."

"Is that so…" I trailed off before a thought came to me.

"Say Fu Hua,"I said as I allowed my curiosity to take hold of me. "If you ever saw him again, what would you say to him?"

The question must've been difficult to answer as Fu Hua fell into a contemplative silence. "I am not sure Haruto," She answered after some time thinking about my words. "I'm not sure." She repeated again as she looked down to the ground.

"Sorry for springing such a sensitive question on you." I immediately apologized, recognizing the somber atmosphere that I had inadvertently created. If I was in Fu Hua's shoes I wouldn't know what I would say to a long time friend that had drastically changed either.

In a bid to change the mood I tried to change to a much lighter topic of conversation. " Fu Hua why don't we-!"

However I could not finish what I was about to say as we had turned a corner of a street and without much warning felt someone collide with me. They were small enough that they didn't topple me over but it was more than enough to stop me in my tracks.

"Hey kid watch where you're going," I said as I placed a stabilizing hand on the shoulder of the kid who had ran into me. "You might run into danger and-,"

The black haired kid, who was suspiciously wearing only what looked to be like raggedy clothing, looked up at me with terrified amber eyes. "Y-You have to help me!" He desperately pleaded as I could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "T-They're after me."

Fu Hua kneeled next to the child, assurance in her blue eyes. "Who's after you little one?" She asked softly.

"T-The scary dog lady and her friends," He sniffled as he wiped his eyes from any forming tears. "They h-hurt me and I don't want them to keep doing it."

Fu Hua and I immediately shared a look with each other. Black hair, amber eyes, a scary dog lady…

It fit everything that we were looking for..

"What's your name?" I asked the kid, this final detail telling us whether or not we had our target. Before we had set out Asplund and Marie had uncovered another crucial clue for our search.

A name

The kid sniffled one more time before giving his name to us.

"A-Adam."

---

The 6th Valkyrja Squad and I sat in one of the rooms of the Schicksal Base. We were currently waiting with Adam for Marie and Asplund to show up to confirm whether or not he was Project Prometheus.

At the moment he was sitting on my lap, not trusting anyone but me to be with him and for kid's sake I allowed him to be on my lap with little fuss. Yet despite the fact that I had a terrified kid on my lap that was not what was at the forefront of my mind.

"Is it me or is there now a division between Layla and Mashu?" I thought to myself as I eyed my two teammates, who were sitting on opposite ends of a bench. The tension between the two of them was easily noticed by me, and possibly Fu Hua as well but she had made no comment on it if she knew, due to how close those two

And now it felt like a massive divide had grown between them and neither were willing to cross it.

However before I could ask either of them any probing questions of what had happened the door to the room had kicked open, getting a terrified yelp from Adam who immediately pressed his body closer to mine for protection.

"Don't worry," I whispered assuringly to him as Asplund, Marie, and Ana walked into the room. "They're my friends. You're safe."

"I'm here!" The white haired scientist shouted as his assistant trailed behind him with an apologetic look on her face.

"Forgive us for taking so long." Marie apologized as dropped off the bag that she was carrying on a seat near the bed.

"It's no problem Marie-san," Ana said as she approached the bed, though not without sending a worried look in Mashu's direction. "I trust you have a way to confirm the identity of Adam is really Prometheus?"

"Indeed we have." Asplund said as he took out some paper files from the insides of his jacket and handed them to the Valkyrie. "After deciphering some more data recovered from the raid we have managed to uncover some recorded blood samples of Project Prometheus that contain a certain percentage of honkai energy. A simple blood test will be able to determine if Adam here possesses the same levels or just possesses the misfortune of having the same look and name as the kid we're looking for."

He motioned to Marie who procured a simple, harmless, medical syringe from the bag that she had brought with her.

"N-No!" Adam shouted fearfully the moment he saw the needle before trying to do everything in his power to squirm out of my lap.

"W-Woah!" I said as I was caught off-guard by his sudden resistance. My arms gently but firmly wrapped themselves around the boy to ensure that he didn't accidentally fall off and hurt himself. "It's okay she won't harm you Adam."

But my assurance fell on deaf ears as Adam still tried to escape my grip, getting increasingly more frantic with each passing second. "N-No more needles! They hurt! I don't want to hurt again!"

I could hear everyone else try and give the black haired kid assurances that he was safe but he wasn't heeding anyone words.

"I don't want to!" He yelled before I felt the hairs on my arm begin to tingle. His squirming had exposed a bright red stigma located at the back of his neck that had been previously covered by his clothing. In response to his current predicament the stigma glowed so bright that it could be seen by all in the room.

However before anyone could do anything I felt the stigma on my shoulder react to Adam's stigma as seconds after the bright red glow had dimmed down a bright golden light took the spot, seemingly even brighter than Adam's stigma.

"What the-!" Was the only words that I could get out before the light overtook my entire vision

---

One moment I was in the room with everyone trying to calm Adam down.

The next moment I was now standing in a room that I had never seen before.

"Guys!?" I called out loud in panic at the sudden change of scenery. "Where the hell are you guys?!"

However before I could call out to them anymore a robotic voice interrupted me. "Success parameters are low and parameters of rescue are much lower, do you still wish to proceed Doctor?"

Having heard the voice I turned around to find out that I had been somehow placed in a laboratory. There were multiple screens, terminals, and machines that littered the place but I was drawn to the center of the room where there was a giant tube filled with a mysterious green liquid.

Near the tube were two figures, one that was in front of the tube with various terminals and instruments surrounding her and the other floating on top of the tube's mystery liquid.

"You can't live in fear forever Prometheus." The second person, who had an unfamiliar but yet at the same time familiar voice, responded back as she rested her upper half of her body on the rim of the glass tube. "There's always a risk of failure with each experiment."

"As you wish Dr. Mei." The robot responded as she continued to swiftly type away at the terminal in front of her whilst two giant mechanical hands were floating around the space, holding items or inspecting the various machines lying around them.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Mei?" The woman who was identical to Mei in nearly every way joked from her spot on top of the cylindrical tank. She was currently wearing a suit that was very similar to what divers wore, with some sort of breathing apparatus laying next to her as well.

"...As your assistant I must maintain a professional outlook and be your voice of caution." The mechanical Bronya lookalike warned. "The data for this experiment is inconclusive and you have forgone the advice of Dr. Mobius and Dr. Su by proceeding with it."

I did a double take at the names that had been mentioned in the conversation so far.

Su? Mobius? Dr. Mei? Prometheus the AI?

.

.

.

I think I knew where I was now.

Somehow in some way Adam had transported me into some sort of scene from the Previous Era.

But if that was the case I had so many questions, how was I even here, why did Adam's stigma react with mine, but the most prevalent of them being why I was even witnessing this particular scene in the first place.

"That might be so…but at the rate that we will lose in our war against the Honkai." Mei responded with a grave tone, her purple eyes taking a solemn look. "You know as well as I do that the percentage of winning against the Final Herrscher is close to none. The other Herrschers we have faced will be nothing compared to it. If this can help us in any way possible then it's a risk I'm willing to make."

"I must do this." She said with a tone of finality, not leaving any room for argument, which prompted Prometheus to finally look up from her terminal and look directly at the scientist.

The two stared at each other, an invisible contest of wills was being fought in the laboratory room as cold, calculating mechanical red eyes stared into unflinching dark purple eyes.

Eventually it would be the robot who would relent. "...Very well Dr. Mei." The gray haired robot assistant relented as they moved away from their terminal and began to move to the front of the cylindrical tube.

"Thank you Prometheus." The scientist thanked before she began to put on the breathing apparatus on her face.

"Beginning procedure." Prometheus said as she was typing away on various virtual screens at once. Dr. Mei nodded before she donned the remaining equipment she needed before submerging herself in the mysterious liquid of the tube she was in. Seconds later a hatch closed off the top of the cylindrical tube.

"Good luck." The gray haired robot said, prompting a small smile to appear on the scientist's face.

"Thank you Prometheus, please begin."

Promtheus nodded. "Affirmative, beginning Dive Procedure."

The lights in the laboratory turned red as the experiment began. Dr. Mei's purple eyes narrowed as the tank that she was in began to emit a soft pale light. In the terminal in front of the grey haired robot a progress bar began to slowly be filled.

Progress wouldn't even reach the quarter mark before complications began to show themselves.

"Ha…Ha…Ha…" The dark purple haired woman began to pant as red lines began to manifest themselves on her face, slowly spreading like an infection across her body. As it progressed more did her laborious pants begin to echo more loudly in the lab.

Positioned next to Prometheus was a heart rate monitor showing what I presumed to be the scientist's heartbeat, which was showing that it was slowly beginning to be very erratic.

"Dr. Mei's heart rate approaching dangerous levels," The robot emotionlessly intoned as she was masterfully handling multiple digital terminals with both her hands and robot hands. "Fatality probability is now high, initiating experiment shutdown procedures now-!"

"No!" Dr. Mei's pained shout interrupted, reverberating in the laboratory. Even experiencing the pain that she was now it was clear that the scientist had no intention of turning back. "Keep going!"

Prometheus merely stared at the submerged scientist with her artificial red eyes, emotionless as she processed the order. I was convinced that she would ignore Dr. Mei's words and shut down the experiment, the preservation of life no doubt being the logical choice.

Yet it seems that I would be wrong as I saw the robot nod her head. "Very well," She said as she returned her attention back to the terminals in front of her. "Continuing experiment."

Silently I watched as Dr. Mei's grunts of pain only seemed to get worse as the time went on. For a split second I was concerned that whatever experiment that they were holding would end in failure, that she would die as a consequence of it all.

But I also knew that she would not die yet, for if she did then Kevin, Fu Hua, and all of the knowledge of the Previous Era would've never ended up with the current era.

So it was feeling equal parts of certainty and anxiety as the progress bar on the main terminal in front of Prometheus inch closer to completion. Once the bar finally completed a bright flash overtook the entire room, blinding everyone present.

Having closed my eyes to avoid the worst of the light, I slowly opened them back up to see what had happened to the laboratory.

Which would've been the case if I was still in the laboratory in the first place.

"No way," I breathed out in shock as I found myself no longer in the cold lab of Dr. Mei but rather in a very familiar setting.

Luscious green plains.

Clear blue skies.

A singular great tree with a golden sword resting on the trunk of it.

This was…

Before I could think of anything, Dr. Mei suddenly appeared in front of me. There was no surprise on the scientist's face like I expected there to be but rather gladness that she had ended up in this place.

It was then I realized that this is what she had intended to happen, that she wanted to end up here…

That she wanted to meet the one that called this place home.

I saw as she looked at the golden sword before she began to walk towards where it was resting.

Yet before she could take more than a few steps forward the scene in front of her shifted to another familiar scene. One that involved standing back on that familiar galaxy plane that I had been tested by Black Swan not too long ago.

Of where I had gained the blessing of an Aeon.

This time standing in front of Dr. Mei and my invisible self was not the mysterious Black Swan but rather a hooded figure.

Dr. Mei stopped in her tracks, looking at the entity in front of her before she bowed in greeting. "Excalibur." Was all she said.

My eyes widened in shock at what I had heard, looking at the hooded entity that stood before the scientist in disbelief. The Aeon that had saved me on more than one occasion, the one responsible for the powers that I now wielded, the one that gave me more questions than answers…

And Dr. Mei had met them, and even knew them by name.

If the Aeon was shocked they did not show it, merely tilting their head.

"So you know our name, curious."

The entity that was the Aeon of Hope then motioned to Dr. Mei.

"What else have you learned about us, Seeker?"

With permission to continue speaking the scientist began to reveal what she knew. "I know of the existence of the other Aeons that watch over the universe, of how there are a multitude of other worlds that boast life of their own. I know how the enemy that me and my loved ones fight is another Aeon who's purpose has brought them to my world."

"I know that alongside the Primordial Aeon of Finality, Terminus, that you too can boast the same status as them. You who is the Primordial Aeon of Hope, Excalibur."

"I know that it is seldom for you to make your presence known, with their only being a few recorded stories from the Garden of Recollection of your intervention in the events of the universe."

"And I know that you coming to intervene means that something has happened and I can only think of one possible reason."

She then looked at the hooded Aeon with a serious expression on her face.

"Please tell me…"

"What has happened to Finality?"

The Aeon opened their mouth to speak…

But before any words could be uttered the world around me turned to black.

The next thing I knew I awoke with a gasp as I came back to the real world, my back to the ground with the concerned faces of my teammates looming over me. Yet despite their concern and questions of asking if I was alright I was more focused on what I had just seen.

"What the fuck was that?"

---

There was a certain mood that was surrounding Kiana and Bella as they continued to explore the distorted Babylon Tower for any clues of how they could escape. After the emotional memories they had both encountered it felt as if a strange burden had been lifted from the Kaslana's shoulders.

She wasn't so sure why that was but having comforted Bella it felt as if she had made peace with something within her.

"Are you sure this is where they went?" She asked the child whose hand she was currently holding.

"I didn't see anyone like the one you mentioned but I did remember hearing a bunch of people pass by me. I didn't say anything because they all looked scary and angry." The child nervously responded as she clutched onto Kiana's hand tightly.

"It must be the unconscious people we found back at the command center." She thought to herself before she asked Bella some more questions.. "Do you remember where they went?"

The steel gray haired child nodded. "They said they wanted to get to the command center, I think I know the route there."

"Then can you lead me to them?" She asked to which Bella nodded again before leading the both of them to where the group of people had gone.

As they traversed the distorted corridors of the Babylon Tower Kiana had her eyes out for any signs of danger, a hair trigger away from slipping into a battle stance anytime they had passed a suspicious door or a crevice big enough to hide a potential enemy lying in ambush.

After spending quite enough time in this strange place the Kaslana was 100% sure that someone was watching them. She didn't know who it was, as the only other person she had met was Bella, but that feeling of someone watching her never left.

But she hid it to ensure that Bella wouldn't get scared and so she decided that she would just keep a vigilant eye out.

And it didn't take long for her suspicion to skyrocket when Bella had led the two of them straight into a dead end. They were currently in a room that should've led to another hallway, only that the entrance to said hallway was now blocked off by a distortion that Kiana did not want to interact with at all.

"Bella, are you sure that they went through here?" She asked the child skeptically.

"I-It's the only route they could've taken. D-Did I mess up miss Kiana?" She nervously asked as her other hand grabbed the hem of her attire nervously in anticipation.

"No sweetie you didn't." Kiana was quick to assure the child that she had done nothing wrong, instantly on her knees and giving Bella an assuring smile. "I just think that we might've missed something on our way here so why don't we backtrack and-!"

Before she could finish her sentence her senses screamed of an incoming attack. Reacting quickly the Valkyrie grabbed hold of Bella and threw the both of them to the side, barely avoiding claws that would shredded the both of them.

Landing roughly on the ground Kiana instantly got to her feet, pushing the steel gray haired child behind her as she assessed the threats in the room with them. "What the hell?" She muttered as she saw what had attacked them.

It sort of looked like some sort of puppet. The sleek black and gold colors of its puppet looking body, with almost invisible strings that seemed to be holding the thing upright. It was unlike anything that the Schicksal Valkyrie had ever seen before.

And that was not to mention the distortion that was infecting them, sharing the same look as the Babylon Labs with how corrupted they look.

The puppet looking enemy reared what Kiana assumed to be its head and let out a shriek. The shriek was answered by many others as dimensional tears opened up all around them and other puppets joined the fray.

"Bella?" Kiana looked back at the child who was looking at her for safety. "Hide for me will you?"

The steel grey haired child understood what was about to happen and nervously glanced at the amassing puppets before looking back at the Valkyrie. "B-But miss Kiana."

She smiled at the concerned expression being sent her way before she flexed one of her arms. "I'm much tougher than I look." She assured her as she took a step forward.

"Let this knight protect her princess." She said as she touched a special button on her outfit, causing a bright flash to envelop her. When the bright flash had died down Kiana Kaslana was no longer donning a normal Valkyrie battlesuit.

But rather the first prototype Kingsbane Battlesuit for the 5th Valkyrja Squad!

The Knight Moonbeam Battlesuit!

Feeling the battlesuit materialize on her skin had Kiana smirk as she thought back to the day before the squad had left for Siberia. Ever since St. Freya had been attacked; they had spent most of their free time with the Pudding Scientist who had been given orders to outfit them with the fanciest battlesuits that he could make. Sure they had to go through a bunch of tedious tests to get all the data…

But it was so worth it now!

"Alright let's do this!" She grinned as she surged forward, foot outstretched as the heel of her foot smashed into the torso of the enemy in front of her. Seeing the flying black and gold metalbits of the puppet be ripped to shreds from her attack had Kiana ecstatic of her new upgrades.

It was time to see what this bad boy could do.

Using her momentum the Kaslana became a flurry of strikes as she laid waste to any puppet that stood in her way. Skidding to a stop the white haired girl grinned as she turned around, ready to see her handiwork first hand.

However instead of seeing the destroyed scraps of her enemies what she saw in its place was numerous black and gold cores.

"Cores?" She thought to herself in confusion. However her confusion did not last long as her eyes widened when she saw the core nearest to her flash brightly for a split second before the puppet she just smashed to pieces seemingly back to normal.

Well as normal as it could look with how distorted it was looking right now.

"So you guys have a weird little gimmick do you?" She thought as she saw the other cores in the area follow suit and the newly regenerated puppets surrounded her once more. However instead of being concerned at seemingly making no progress Kiana instead had a smirk on her face.

"Then that just means I have to leave nothing but ash then!" She shouted as wings of light manifested on the back of her battlesuit. 'The special feature of her battlesuit' the pudding scientist had told her about, only to be used when the situation demanded it.

And what better way to test it against them by using it to wipe the existence of her enemies off the face of reality?

"Here comes the Kiana special!" She shouted as jumped into the air, the wings of light shooting off from her back and splitting off into multiple beams of light. The multiple beams of light honed in on their respective targets, absolutely tearing into them when contact was made and causing a multitude of explosions..

Landing on the ground the Valkyrie whistled at the destruction her attack had wrought. Smoke was absolutely everywhere, a byproduct of all the explosions that her attacks had made when they finished off their opponents. She was sure that once the smoke cleared she would be greeted with the sight of a completely spotless-!

"Behind you miss Kiana!" Bella's panicked shout snapped Kiana out of her thoughts. Jerking her head behind her she saw that she had seemingly missed some of the distorted puppets in her attack and one of them had used the smoke cloud to mask its approach in getting closer to her.

And now she was paying the price as it had gotten close enough to swing its claws right for her neck.

"Shit!" She thought in her mind as the blade's edge came closer and closer to her. "I can't dodge it at this range!"

Kiana knew that the prototype Kingsbane Battlesuit that she was wearing was made to be super durable in a fight but she had no idea how protective it was when it came to lethal blows aimed for her neck.

Fortunately however it seems that she did not need to test whether or not her suit was invincible.

The strange looking puppet that had been poised to claw off her neck was suddenly sliced in two, alongside its core, as a massive green ring sliced through its body. The momentum of the ring continued to carry it further as the strange weapon sailed through the air, seemingly homing in on any of the remaining puppets that she had missed and giving them the same fate as well.

With the sudden intervention of an unknown combatant Kiana quickly made her way to where Bella had been hiding at, placing the child's body protectively behind her.

The ring that had just decimated the last remaining puppets sailed through the sky and back to where it had originated from. "Well this is most certainly a surprise, one that I had not foreseen." An unknown woman said as she walked into the light as the ring returned to her, letting Kiana get a good luck on her.

The most notable features of her savior was the color and style of her hair. Hair styled up with two buns that each possessed their own ponytails, a bright green color that reminded the Kaslana cabbages…

It was certainly a unique appearance.

Even the way her massive ring-like weapon was positioned around her waist like a massive hula-hoop added to it.

"Who are you?" The white haired woman demanded as she pointed her two pistols at the unfamiliar woman. Just because she had saved her didn't mean that they were immediately the best of friends.

"Hmm…" The green haired woman commented to herself as she eyed the Valkyrie, ignoring Kiana's order. "So you're this universe's Kiana, the universe that's been acting strangely for quite some time. How curious…"

Kiana had no idea what the woman was saying but at the moment she didn't care. "Hey lady I don't know if you heard me or not but you're not exactly making yourself trustworthy." The Valkyrie yelled.

Her outburst seemingly snapped the green haired woman out of her trance, her orange eyes widening as a result. "Ah forgive me I got caught in my ramblings once again." The woman apologized with a sheepish expression as she rubbed the back of her head. "Allow me to properly introduce myself…"

"Ai Hyperion," The green pig tailed hair, that Kiana realized looked strangely alot like the AI of the Hyperion, bowed in greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kiana Kaslana."

---

This chapter has alot of surprises that I hope caught you guys offguard XD. So much has happened. Adam's long awaited debut, a bit more of backstory to Mashu's story and the drama that ensues from it, connections of Excalibur and the Previous Era, Bella and Kiana bonding moments, and Ai Hyperion's sudden introduction.

Also if you're curious to what Keji's new mech look like just imagine the Lfrith Ur from Gundam Witch From Mercury but in gray and possesing a mono eye.

I am so curious about what you guys thought of this chapter. Feedback or even telling what you really liked are much appreciated, hell they practically fuel me to write this story.

There's a lot that I would like to say but I'm not sure where to exactly start. Next update might take awhile cause I've been wanting to write my pokemon fanfiction for some while and so I might not write the next chapter soon.

But that's not set in stone so who knows what will happen.

Also in addition to having attended AX 2023(Got the last 1/8th scale Mei figurine lets go!) I am also attending FFXIV Fanfest 2023 at Las Vegas at the end of the month.

God save my wallet.

Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated, they're the biggest motivation to keep writing, and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.

Also follow my twitter account ChaldeaLord for any potential updates.

Peace!