And I am back with a new chapter. Before we begin, a quickly little update on things. I may be moving to a monthly update schedule for a time. Work is getting busier and I haven't had as much free time to work on these. I might be able to make it work, but I'm trying to avoid burnout as that killed other stories I've worked on. At the same time I don't want to delay things too much as that's also killed stories I've worked on. At the very least, I'll get the first arc of this fully posted before then. There's about three, maybe four depending on how much I feel needs to be counted under this arc, before it's finished and I'm on the last one possibly two chapters.

Like I said it's not guaranteed that I'll need to move to a monthly update schedule but I figured I'd give everyone a heads up. I'll make announcement in a later chapter if that is the case.

One last thing before we start the chapter, is a review to reply to.

Kayden: In a way Honkai and Herrschers are going to show up, but not quite like in Honkai Impact cannon. Look to Taylor for an example, she uses what is called honkai energy and will have the power of a Herrscher. For the order of Kiana's Herrscher powers Taylor will be receiving, it'll be Void then Flamescion. I've already imply with in the story that she won't be getting Finality. For the reason why, here's a slightly edited block of text for my answer when someone asked me a similar question on spacebattles:

"One, I started the initial planning phase for this back before leaks even revealed Herrscher of Finality Kiana so, I built it out with only Herrscher of Flamescion in mind. Two, when it was revealed, I felt, at the time, it'd be overkill for what I had planned. And Three, Kiana's journey to becoming the Herrscher of Finality is very much particular to Kiana and her growth throughout the story of Honkai Impact. I felt it'd be appropriate for Taylor to, eventually, have her own thing."

For you final question, maybe, maybe not, wait and see.

With that out of the way, on to the chapter.

Chapter 11: When it All Started

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Taylor stood before a mirror. She knew she had changed quite a bit over the course of the month, but I didn't really hit home until now. Her figure had changed from a tall stick of a girl to one with curves and a decent sized chest. She also had a noticeable musculature tone to her now. It wasn't bulky and actually served to highlight her new looks. Her hair's once rich dark color had been bleached to a pristine white, with only strands of the original color remaining. Her eyes were mostly the same color, but a blue hue was slowly creeping into them.

However, she wasn't here to admire her new looks. She had finished her little device and now wanted to test it. With it in her ear, she taped it. In nearly an instant, a visor appeared in front of her eyes. She smiled when she saw she could see out of it clearly, but her reflection in the mirror showed it was completely opaque. While far from finished and in need of upgrades to add new features, the main function she needed from her visor was working. She turned it off then back on again.

"Yes," She cheered.

She turned it off and took it out of her ear.

"Not a perfect solution, but it should make a decent enough mask to help hide my identity." She noted.

She walked out of the bathroom and headed back down to the basement.

"Welcome back captain. Did the test go well?" Ai-chan asked when Taylor was halfway down the steps.

"Yep, it works perfectly. How's the costume coming along?" Taylor asked as she walked up to the computer.

"Almost done captain, there's only a few finishing touches left." Ai-chan answered.

Taylor smiled at that and looked at the assembler as it moved about. Its movements weren't rapid but its various mechanisms moved at a decent pace. It wasn't long before the last bits were done and the whole outfit was before her. Wanting to try it on to make sure everything fit, she grabbed the whole outfit and took it up to her room. Placing her earpiece down on her bureau, she changed into the outfit. After a bit of struggle, she managed to get the whole outfit on and was happy with the results. It fit her perfectly with everything looking like it'll hold together well. She quickly went to the mirror in the bathroom to get a better look.

The outfit consisted of a light beige buttoned up crop top jacket and grey jean short shorts over a black unitard with gear like wing design around her stomach. Long brown gloves with yellowish brown crossings covered her hands and forearms. A set of golden braids hung from her shoulder badge to a button over her left breast. Brown thigh high boots with black soles were buckled around her legs with belts at the top of them. She wore a belt around her waist. A black cape with orange lining was attached to the collar of her jacket and flowed down past her waist.

'It looks good on you.'

Given I look almost exactly like you now, that's to be expected. While not her preferred wear, Taylor still liked the outfit. Regardless, it'll work perfectly as a costume for when I go out.

'Yep, it's stylish and, unlike when I wore it, the material it's made out of will give you pretty decent protection out there.'

Yeah, speaking of which, I think you said this was your school uniform. Seems kind of weird for a uniform.

'Oh that's just what I wore, Aunt Theresa allowed us to pick our own uniforms.'

Taylor grew silent. How is it a uniform then?

'Don't worry about it. It's not that important.'

I guess… Anyways, one last thing to check. She returned to her room and grabbed the ear piece. She returned to the bathroom and tapped it. The visor appeared before her eyes. Overall she thought it looked good, not perfect, but good. She smiled. With her costume done, all that was left was learning how to fight properly. Then, she could finally go out. Even if it was just for more training.

Wednesday night…

Taylor was training with Kiana in her dreams, as she had done every night since it was first suggested. The training was difficult but effective, with Taylor's experience in the dreams translating to reality. As such, she had improved a great deal in only a few short days.

"Hiyah!" Kiana exclaimed as her fist connected with Taylor's face.

Relatively speaking.

Taylor was sent flying a little ways before tumbling across the ground, eventually coming to a stop. She groaned as she lay on the ground.

"Not bad, I'd say you've got about a week, give or take, before I feel you're good enough to go out." Kiana noted.

"Really…" Taylor grunted as she sat up. "Cause it feels like I'm getting my ass kicked just as hard as before."

"That's cause I'm upping the difficulty as needed." Kiana replied, earning a groan from Taylor.

"Now, now, none of that. This is for your own good." Kiana chided her.

"I know." Taylor moaned. "Still doesn't make it less annoying or painful."

She stood back to her feet, wobbling a bit before she steadied herself. She walked towards Kiana. Taylor took up the basic stance Kiana taught her and the two resumed their spar. Kiana would send forth punches and kicks that Taylor would either have to deflect, dodge, or block while looking for an opportunity to attack. Every now and again Kiana would throw a surprise her way, or do something that'll get Taylor distracted.

"So, when are you gonna call that friend?" Kiana asked. "Your transformation is basically finished."

Taylor sighed, dodging a jab to her head.

"I don't know." She replied. "I know I should."

She deflected a punch.

"But I get nervous every time I'm about to, I keep thinking of what ifs." She added as she leaned back from a high kick and blocked a follow up kick with both arms. "I know it's stupid. I've called her once before, we're friends now, and she'd probably be all for it."

She ducked under a kick.

"I don't know, I guess I'm still nervous that it's all too good to be true." Taylor admitted.

She deflected a punch and went in for a strike. However Kiana knocked it to the side and sent for a counterattack of her own. Taylor narrowly dodged the punch and a follow up kick.

"At least you admit it." Kiana noted while throwing a faint that Taylor didn't fall for.

She easily avoided two jabs and a kick Taylor tried to get her with.

"And I won't make you do it by force. It'd be better if you start doing things without me threatening you." She stated.

"So, no more tuna?!" Taylor exclaimed hopefully.

Said fish slapped her across the face, and knocked her to the ground.

"Don't worry, it'll still show up in training." Kiana assured the girl.

Taylor began to whimper.

"And if I really feel I have to force you I'll be sure to bring it and the frying pan back out." She added.

Taylor's whimpers turned into light sobs.

Friday afternoon…

Taylor stared at the phone before her. She knew what she had to do, now it was just a matter of doing it. She took several deep breaths before dialing her friend's number. The phone rang for a bit before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Her friend answered .

"Hey Rose, it's Taylor." She replied.
"Oh hey Tay, how you've been?" Rose returned. "Haven't talked to you in a bit."

"I've been good, and ah… sorry about that, I've been busy the past week." Taylor explained.

'That's one way of looking at it.'

Shush!

"Yeah, me too, guess we both haven't really had the time to hangout." Rose noted.

"Yeah, a-a-about that ah… you see… … you know how I've been going through a bit of a… growth spurt… kind of…" Taylor brought up.

"Uhm… kind of I guess. Why?" Rose replied.

"Well… I uhm… you see ah… I've kind of… outgrown some of my stuff, like underwear and stuff, and with me going back to school soon I figured it'd be a good time to… change up my style a bit. But I haven't done actual clothing shopping in a while sooooooooo…" Taylor explained.

"So you want my help on a shopping trip?" Rose asked.

"Yes?" Taylor replied.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Rose squealed.

I feel as though I've made a mistake.

The next day…

Yep… I've made a mistake. Taylor thought to herself as Rose led her into a clothing store on the boardwalk with great enthusiasm. Based on the starry eyed look her friend got when they entered, Taylor felt she was going to be here a while. Thankfully money from the settlement was set to start flowing around the start of next month so she was free to use her dad's credit card to splurge on clothes.

Their first stop was getting Taylor's measurements for her new sets of underwear. For once, Taylor was thankful for her relatively poor financial situation as it served as a believable excuse for why she hadn't gone shopping for them till now, despite clearly needing to. Her friend took the lead and led her to a sales clerk who was currently not busy. As she did, Taylor felt a strange sensation pass her, she stopped and turned to look at the retreating figure of a blond girl. She couldn't quite pinpoint what, but she felt something weird coming from the girl. What was that?

"Taylor?" Her friend called out, breaking her out of her musing.

She turned back to Rose.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Ah… yeah, j-just thought I recognized that girl, I didn't." Taylor assured her friend.

Rose looked at her skeptically.

"If you're sure." She stated.

Rose continued to the store clerk and Taylor followed. As she did, her mind was still on that sensation she felt. What was that, I'm sure I didn't just imagine it. She felt Kiana growing curious in her mind, pondering things as well.

"Excuse me miss." Rose called out.

"Hmm?" The sales clerk sounded.

She looked in their direction.

"Yes, how can I help you?" She answered.

"My friend here needs to get her measurements done. Her sizes have changed and she hasn't been able to go shopping for some new underwear and clothes for a while." Rose explained.

"Oh ho… a little shopping trip I see. If you'll follow me I'll get you taken care of." The sales clerk expressed cheerfully.

"Lead the way." Rose replied while Taylor just nodded.

The sales clerk led them towards an empty changing room.

"My name is Elizabeth by the way. But you can just call me Lizzy." She stated.

"Nice to meet you Lizzy. I'm Rosemary, though just Rose is fine, and my friend here is Taylor." Rose returned.

"Uhm… nice to meet you." Taylor added.

"Taylor and Rose huh. Hmm… let me guess, you're here to get Taylor here a fresh new look." Lizzy noted.

Both Taylor and Rose's eyes went wide.

"H-h-h-h-how did you…" Taylor began.

"How did I know? Well that's simple. A good sales clerk like me must have excellent intuition on what the customer needs." She explained.

Stopping in front of the changing rooms she twirled around to face the two girls. Raising arm into the air with her finger pointed upwards she swung it down dramatically to point at Taylor.

"You strike me as the type to not be super into fashion and what not. At most, you'll do just enough to look nice but nothing beyond that. You also strike me as the shy type and not keen to go out even with friends. The fact that your friend is here and there's no indication she dragged you here means you came of your own volition to improve your clothing style. For what, I can't guess other than probably not a boyfriend, not the vibe you're giving for it." Lizzy declared.

Taylor was silent, looking at Lizzy with a surprised expression while Rose looked at her with a hint of awe.

"You got all that just from that brief interaction with us?" Rose questioned.

"Of course, if you want to be a good sales clerk, you have to know these things." Lizzy declared.

"Then do you mind helping me pick out her outfits? Two heads are better than one as they say." Rose asked.

Alarm bells began ringing in Taylor's head.

"Y-y-y-you don't need to do that." She quickly said.

"Of course I do, I'm not paid to just stand around and look pretty, though I am." She declared.

"B-b-b-b-but…" Taylor tried to say.

"No buts, now let's get those sizes." Lizzy declared as she opened the changing room door.

She dragged Taylor inside while Rose waited outside. Taylor, once she got past her embarrassment and accepted the situation she was in, disrobed while the sales clerk took out a measuring tape. Once Taylor was ready, the sales clerk took her measurements. Through the whole process, Taylor's face was flush with embarrassment. Once that was finished, she put her clothes back on and went back out and informed her friend. While she would deny it when asked, she felt a twinge of pride and satisfaction when she noticed Rose's jealous gaze when it turned out her chest was now bigger than her friend's.

"Sooooooooooooo… now that your friend's measurement problem is sorted out, it's time to get her new style." The sales clerk declared.

Taylor felt a sense of dread replace her previous emotions. She gulped. Rose's mood, conversely, brightened.

"You're right, why don't you handle the underwear. I'll get her first sets of outfits ready. I'm thinking of going for simple but interchangeable ones for the first sets before moving on to more stylish and specific ones." She directed.

"Works for me, let's move." Lizzy declared.

"W-w-w-wait I…" Taylor tried to say, but it was too late.

Rose had already run off to one end of the store while Lizzy went to the other. Why do I get the feeling dad's going to regret giving me, and by proxy Rose, carte blanche for this.

Meanwhile…

Danny was at work, having to come in for the second Saturday in a row. As he went about his business, he felt a shiver go up his spin. Why do I feel like I made a mistake?

"What's the problem Bossman?" A large black man asked.

"I told you to stop calling me that Zephon." Danny expressed with a hint of annoyance.

"And I told you, I ain't gonna do that Bossman. So what's the problem?" Zephon asked again.

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, just got a feeling I'm gonna regret not putting restraints on my daughter and her friend's shopping trip." He noted.

Zephon wince.

"Yeah… you're gonna be feeling that in your pocket book." He noted.

"Thankfully I already paid the credit card bill and the money from the settlement will be coming in before the next one's due." Danny explained.

"Yeah, how much money did you say you were getting?" Zephon asked.

"A lot more than I was expecting." Danny answered. "Now enough of this, I've still got work to do."

"That's good for you, cause none of us do and we'd like some." Zephon pointed out.

"I'm working out." Danny expressed with a hint of annoyance.

"I know Bossman, I know." Zephon replied.

"Stop calling me that!" Danny shouted.

Back at the store…

Oh well, it's too late now. Taylor thought to herself. Maybe I'll try and raine things in a bit. Some of my baggier stuff fights fine so I don't need to completely restock my wardrobe. Time ticked by and Taylor grew nervous. How long are they gonna be?

"I'm baaaaaaaaaack! " Lizzy sang.

Taylor looked towards the older girl and felt her face heat up with a blush. In the girl's hands were sets of bras and panties. The plain and simple ones she had no problem with. However, the sales clerk hadn't just picked out plain ones. In plain view, there were, as far as Taylor was concerned, more provocative ones.

"W-w-w-w-w-why did you get those?!" She demanded.

"Aww come on, you need a sexy set for when you need to nab a boy you like. Or girl, I don't discriminate." Lizzy stated. "Not that you'll have much trouble with your looks."

"I-I-I-I-I…" Taylor tried to speak.

"I'm baaaaaaaaaack! " Rose sang.

I'm saved!

"Rose thank god, you need tooooooooooooooooooooooo…" She began but trailed off when she saw the amount of clothes her friend had brought for her.

"Ohhhhhhh the sexy stuff. She'll need that for when she needs to nab a boy she likes." Rose noted.

I'M NOT SAVED! She heard Kiana snicker in her head. NO LAUGHING!

"It could be a girl." Lizzy pointed out.

"Fair point." Rose conceded.

"I-I-I-I don't like girls that way." Taylor stated.

"Then it's for a boy." Lizzy cheered.

"I-I-I-I…" Taylor tried to speak up again.

"Welp, times a wastin. Get in there and see how everything fits." Lizzy stated as she shoved the underwear into Taylor's arms.

"Butbutbutbutbut…" Taylor tried to reply as she was ushered into the changing room.

The door was closed in front of her and she left staring at it, the pile of underwear in her hands. She looked down at the pile in hand, then at the door, then back to the pile, and then back to the door. She stood there contemplating the pros and cons of just breaking out and making a run for it. Eventually she sighed.

"I need to do this anyways, might as well get it over with." She muttered.

She started taking her clothes off.

Later…

"Have a nice rest of your day!" Lizzy cheerfully said, waving as Taylor and Rose left the store.

"You too. And thanks for all your help." Rose replied, waving back with her free hand, her other hand was holding bags of clothes.

"Yeah… thanks…" Taylor mumbled in a dry tone.

She was unable to wave due to both hands carrying bags of clothes. They had arrived at the store at around nine in the morning and it was currently just past one in the afternoon. The nearly four hours of shopping had left Taylor feeling drained. Note to self, never go shopping with Rose again, the girl doesn't know the meaning of restraint.

'I'll admit, that was a bit much. Though she definitely knows her stuff.'

Fair point. Taylor reluctantly admitted. She looked down at the outfit she now wore. Most of it is covered by a stylish winter coat she just bought, which she desperately needed since her old one had large sections of the stuffing missing from breaks in the seams. Under the coat was a stylish blue blouse and a pleated knee length black skirt. Under her skirt she wore winter tights. It was more girly than how she normally dressed, but she overall liked the look. As she did this, Rose finally noticed how exhausted her friend was.

"Hehe… guess I went a little too far." She awkwardly noted.

Taylor weakly glared at her, earning a flinch from Rose.

"W-w-why don't I get you lunch, I know a place nearby and it's around that time." She quickly suggested.

Taylor's glare subsided and she nodded. Rose breathed out a sigh of relief. She led her friend into a nearby 50's style dinner called Retro Diner. Thankfully, things were unusually slow for a Saturday and the hostess was able to quickly get them to an empty booth near the window. They put their bags on the seat next to them before sitting down. The hostess handed them their menus and silverware before leaving. The two sat in an awkward silence as they looked through their menus. It was Taylor who broke the silence first.

"Hey…" She began.

Rose looked up.

"Thanks for doing this with me. Even if it took longer than I'd like, it was still nice." She admitted.

Rose smiled.

"You're welcome, and, maybe next time, I'll try and raine myself in." She replied.

"We may want someone else to act as a moderating force." Taylor stated.

Rose pouted, then her phone rang. Thinking nothing of it, she took it out and answered it when she saw it was her mom.

"Hey mom." She stated.

She was silent as her mother responded to her.

"Sorry, I usually get bad signal in that store." She added.

Electing to ignore this, Taylor went back to looking at her menu in the meantime.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Rose exclaimed.

Taylor jolted,and looked at her friend who now sported a panicked expression.

"We're at Retro Diner now, we should be able to find a spot we won't be seen from." She tried to assure her mother, making Taylor nervous. "We will, bye."

She hung up and declared, "We got to go!", before quickly getting out of the booth.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked as she followed her friend's lead.

"PRT just called my parents, Shadow Stalker's gone rogue and is after us." Rose explained.

"What?! Why?!" Taylor exclaimed as she got out of the booth.

"I don't know but… LOOK OUT!" She shouted.

She pushed Taylor out of the way just as a bolt was about to pierce her. She took it instead. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground as the bolt embedded itself deep in her shoulder. Blood began to flow from the wound.

"ROSE!" Taylor shouted.

She looked towards the source of the bolt. A girl in a dark black hooded cloak over a skin tight black bodysuit and a black modified hockey mask was stalking towards them, crossbow in hand. She was Shadow Stalker, a now ex-Ward. Taylor quickly scrambled to her feet to face her as the few people in the restaurant panicked and tried to get away. Taylor felt sweat begin to roll down her face as she faced her attacker. Shadow Stalker aimed the crossbow squarely at Taylor.

"Don't think that little cosmetic job can let you hide from me, HEBERT!" Shadow Stalker shouted.

At the moment Shadow Stalker said "Hebert", something clicked in Taylor's mind. That voice… It now made sense why Shadow Stalker was after them. Perhaps a month ago, the revelation of the true identity of her attacker would cause her fear to grow her nervousness to turn to panic. Maybe it would have left her numb and unresponsive to everything as the information settled into her mind. However, Taylor had changed much more than one would expect in the month since gaining her powers. Thus her fear was forgotten, and rage took its place.

"Hess." Taylor hissed out with pure venom.

And that's a wrap, hope you all enjoyed this. Till next time. If you want me to be able to produce more content, please consider supporting me on subscribe star. (search zmanxv and the link is on my deviantart page).