The Edens Zero had just begun to depart Belial Gore. As the ship flew away from the space colony, some of the crew members watched it from the window of the observation deck and reflected on the battles they had just fought.
"That was quite the fight you had, Master. Your Ether levels were astronomically high!" Pino remarked to her master while standing on his shoulder.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without you and Hermit hacking into Drakken's life-support machine and weakening him!" Shiki enthusiastically replied, holding up his fist to offer a fist bump.
"Yes!" Pino confirmed, returning the fist bump.
"Of course we can't forget about you guys!" Shiki declared, turning toward Rebecca and Happy. "Blasting away Drakken's gross monster tentacles like they were spaghetti!"
"Yeah, let's just say that I've been tied up too many times to count." Rebecca snickered with a grin on her face.
"And if it wasn't for Rebecca's Leaper powers, we never would've defeated Drakken in the first place!" Happy touted with his characteristic open-mouth smile while lifting one hand in the air.
It was at that moment that Homura walked into the observation deck room. As she walked toward the window where her friends were standing, she couldn't help but take notice of who was absent.
"And who could forget Homura fighting as the Sword of Edens! I wish I could've seen her defeat Sylph! Did you really use a spinning blade attack to defeat her, Homura?" Shiki asked, noticing Homura walk in the room.
However, the swordswoman was too lost in thought to answer as she stared blankly at her friends, her hand covering her mouth.
"Is everything ok Homura? Pino inquired.
"Oh, yes. I just thought that everyone would be in here." She replied.
"Well Witch, Sister, Hermit, and Mosco are all in the control room, and Weisz... Actually, I don't know where Weisz is. Maybe he's in his room?" Rebecca wondered.
"I see, I'll try and find him." Homura stated as she walked out of the observatory room.
"I think Sylph's real name is Kleene." Rebecca responded to Shiki's previous statement. "That's what Jinn kept calling her."
"And now they're staying on our ship with us!" Happy exclaimed. "I never thought we'd be housing some of Drakken's henchmen!"
"I hope they become friends with us!" Shiki beamed.
"I wouldn't count on it, Shiki." Rebecca replied, all-too familiar with Shiki's friend-making ambitions.
Homura strolled through the halls of the Edens Zero until she made it to Weisz's room.
"Weisz?! Are you there?!" She exclaimed while knocking on the door.
The door opened with the press of a button, revealing Weisz, lying on his bed, slightly caught off-guard by Homura's visit.
"Oh, uhh, hey...Homura." Weisz uttered while quickly shoving an object into his pocket.
"Oh! I'm sorry Weisz. Was this a bad time?" Homura questioned.
"Oh no, I was just uhh, looking at something." Weisz replied. "What's up?"
"Nothing, it's just, everyone else was in the observation deck celebrating, but I noticed you weren't there." She revealed.
"Oh really?! You were that worried about me?" Weisz teased, raising one eyebrow with a smug grin on his face and hands resting behind his head.
"What?! Well, I mean... it's not like you to just hide out in your room while everyone else is celebrating!" Homura frantically stammered. "I really hope my cheeks aren't starting to turn red, that would make this really awkward." She unwittingly whispered while covering her mouth with her hand, unaware that she had just stated that thought out loud.
"I don't see any red, so it looks like you're in luck." Weisz smugly shrugged, maintaining his grin.
"Oh! Well, good!" Homura remarked. "So... why are cooped up in your room while everyone else is celebrating?" She inquired, still embarrassed from her previous confession.
"Well, there was... something I lost a while ago and I recently got it back. So I was just, uhh, reflecting on it." He revealed.
"Oh, what was it that you lost?" Homura inquired.
Weisz initially didn't respond, but the curiosity in Homura's eyes made him reluctantly reveal the object he was admiring. "Well, it was... this." He hesitatingly pulled a pendant necklace out of his pocket. It was silver with a yellow star in the pendant.
"Wow Weisz, that's... Beautiful! Does it hold some sort of significance?!" Homura questioned, moving closer to get a better look at the pendant.
"Yeah, you might say it's a kind of keepsake." Weisz hesitatingly replied.
"How did you lose something like that?" Homura inquired, admiring the pendant.
"I didn't actually lose it, it was stolen from me." He revealed. "Do you remember Sibir from Belial Gore?"
"That old bald man with the bird?" She responded.
"Yeah, I... actually used to be in a gang of thieves with the Sibir from my timeline." He shared.
"A gang of THIEVES?!" She exclaimed with a shocked expression.
"Yeah, I'm not perfect." Weisz retorted while looking to the side, with a bashful smirk forming on his face. "But we used to be good friends, he took me in when I was all alone. But then we had a falling out because that pendant got stolen, and I thought it was him." Weisz revealed. "Turns out it was some other bastard in our gang. I can't believe I lost my only friend at that time because of some stupid, trivial misunderstanding." He lamented.
"Your pendant was important to you, it was only natural for you to get upset when it was gone. You just weren't thinking clearly." Homura reassured.
"Heh, just like when I was fighting Drakken and got blown up. I guess I really gotta stop doing that." Weisz snickered, attempting to laugh off the realization of his impulsiveness.
"If you don't mind me asking, why is this pendant so important to you Weisz?" Homura inquired as she sat next to Weisz.
"Well, uhh.." Weisz hesitated. His eyes darted back and forth as he felt a certain uneasiness due to Homura sitting right next to him. He had never felt this anxious around her before, but perhaps it was stirred by her inquiry.
He was initially going to decline answering Homura's question, but then he glanced at her face. She looked back at him with a slight, curious but reassuring smile. It was hard to describe, but it suddenly triggered his memories of all the times she said what she was thinking out loud. She was always so unafraid to speak what was on her mind, even when she was unsure of what the outcome would be. These thoughts, along with the purity in Homura's expression put Weisz at ease. His subtly apprehensive face softened upon this revelation. He felt as if he could confide in her what he was too afraid to share with any of his other friends on the Edens Zero.
"This pendant is actually my last connection to my mother." Weisz revealed. "She passed away about ten years ago, or I guess it was actually sixty years ago because of all the time stuff with the Chronophage."
Homura nodded, listening intently.
"She died due to weakness caused by some unknown condition. The doctors couldn't figure out what the condition was, but now I know what happened." He stated.
Homura's eyes widened in curiosity in response to Weisz's statement. "What happened?"
"It was Drakken. She died because of him" Weisz revealed, staring down at the pendant.
"Drakken?" Homura responded.
"That revolting bastard drained her life force to keep himself alive, as he did with countless other unlucky people." Weisz stated. "I-I lost the p-person who meant the most to me because of that scumbag." He bit his lip to keep it from quivering. His eyebrows furrowed, masking his frown with a grimace.
Homura gently placed her hand on Weisz's shoulder. Although he did everything in his power to conceal it, she could see the myriad of emotions in his face.
"Weisz, what happened when you confronted Drakken?" She spoke softly.
Weisz glanced at Homura. His grimace softened upon seeing her curious yet reassuring face. "After Shiki used Overdrive to defeat him, he reverted back into his true form, a disgusting old man. As he was lying on the ground, I... I pointed a gun at him." He reluctantly disclosed. "I was about to k-kill him. Shiki told me not to, but I wanted to make that monster pay for what he did to my mom, and all the others who lost their lives because of him." His eyes were fixed on the floor. He was unable to look at Homura as he spoke. "B-but I just c-couldn't do it. The most I could do was fire a few shots next to him." Weisz continued to bite down on his lips, seemingly doing everything in his power to keep his lip from quivering. "What does that make me? Weak? A coward?" Despite his attempts to hide it, his flurry of emotions was crystal clear to Homura.
She rested her head on his shoulder. "That doesn't make you a coward, Weisz, and it certainly doesn't make you weak." She assured him. "You loved your mother dearly, and because of that, you understand the value of life. It was your empathy that kept you from killing him, and that makes you strong."
Upon hearing those words, Weisz looked up at Homura. She looked back at him with a comforting smile. A subtle, appreciative grin appeared on his face. "It's funny, Sibir actually said something like that to me earlier." He revealed. "He told me about how my older counterpart really turned his life around after the misunderstanding with the pendant. He went off and studied and became a professor."
"Hmph, so that's why Rebecca calls you 'Professor.'" Homura giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
Weisz took notice of Homura's expression. Her hand obscured a petite grin. He couldn't help but find it adorable, causing him to smile wider than usual. "*Heh* yeah, you should see my older self though. His hairline is receding like crazy! I think I'm ok with just being Weisz for now." Weisz admitted, his signature smugness returning to his face.
"He's so annoying when he makes that face!" Homura whispered under her hand. Weisz snickered, realizing she didn't intend to say that out loud.
"But, if I'm being honest," he added, his face taking on a more pensive appearance, "I don't know how my older self managed to do that. I mean, he lived life as a thief and then just left everything behind to become a professor. But what about me? I don't... know who...I'll..." He stuttered, unable to finish his thought. His eyes darted towards the floor as he tried to grasp his thoughts.
Homura noticed the uncertainty in Weisz's voice. "Here, look at this." She replied while activating her Soul Blade.
"Your Ether sword?" Weisz responded in a confused tone.
"It's not just my Ether sword." She explained. "This sword is what connects me to my teacher, Valkyrie. I'm only able to use it because she taught me. But more importantly, she taught me to always fight for my friends and protect those who can't protect themselves." Weisz's pupils widened slightly as he litstened attentively. "I know who I am because of her." Homura declared.
"The Sword of Edens." Weisz announced in a comically grandiose fashion while making a humorous expression.
"Yes, the Sword of Edens." Homura chuckled at his quip.
"But to be honest Homura, I..." Weisz begun to speak, but he felt a rising burning sensation in his chest. "Damn! Why do I feel like this?!" He thought to himself. He glanced at Homura. Her deep gaze only intensified the burning he felt. Her eyes widened in anticipation of what he was going to say. Thoughts of Homura started racing through Weisz's mind. All of the times she fought to protect her friends, how brave and fierce she could be, while at the same time being so pure and sweet, saying many of her thoughts out loud. Weisz's cheeks began to get warm as well. "Damn it! I can't be blushing! That might be something Shiki would do, but not me!" He frantically thought. He shot his head in the opposite direction as he suddenly had to appear as if he was very interested in his pendant.
Homura couldn't help but giggle at Weisz's erratic behavior. She thought he looked kind of cute as he nervously looked away, but for once she was able to keep her thoughts to herself. "You what?" she replied, briefly adopting his smug grin.
"I... uhh.." Weisz stammered as he searched for a response. He faced her with a smirk when he found a retort. "I was just gonna say that I think 'Arsenal' is a much cooler name than 'Sword of Edens.'" He replied with a chuckle.
Homura rolled her eyes. "I guess we'll see who's laughing the next time your suit runs out of power and you need my help." She countered while playfully shoving him.
Weisz giggled. "But in all seriousness, thanks Homura." He acknowledged as he put his mother's pendant necklace around his neck. "How does it look?" He asked with his signature smirk.
"It looks great on you, Professor Weisz." She replied with a grin of her own.
