A.N. Merry Christmas. I know some viewers already experienced it but as of writing this, it has only recently turned midnight. (Haven't caught Santa yet)
Either way I hope you enjoy this bonus chapter, consider it my gift to you all as thanks for the year.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bella questioned her charge. Kiana looked up at the dragon girl, a confident smile beaming on her face. That told Bella Benares all she needed to know about the youngest Kaslana's plan. The girl was confident, and she was going to go through with it regardless of what Bella said. Sighing the dragon had no choice but to follow the young girl, lest she is unintentionally injured in her endeavor.
Kiana carefully tiptoed through the halls while Benares merely hovered above the floor, both making as little noise as possible as they threaded through the hallway. Eventually, they found their destination, a lone door on the farthest side of the hallway. Kiana slowly reached for the doorknob, ready to enter.
"What are you two doing?" A sharp voice questioned. Kiana and Bella both jumped on the spot but before either could bump into anything an invisible force held them in place. The two turned to the owner of said voice, the middle child of the family, Sirin, who like Bella also hovered in place with her arms crossed. "Explain, now," Sirin ordered with a whisper.
"We aren't doing anything." Kiana lied through her teeth. "Right Bella." She elbowed the dragon.
Bella turned to glance at the younger Kaslana before turning to her liege. A panicked expression quickly formed on her face as she looked between the two. She opened her mouth to talk but her words were caught in her throat as she kept glancing back and forth, stuttering with whatever words did escape. "Well…you see….we um…we um…." She was between a rock and a hard place, no answer she gave could have a happy ending for her.
"Bella," Sirin spoke softly. Her eyes briefly flickered with a glow of Honkai energy. It was at that moment Bella re-evaluated all her life choices and decided that lying to her lady, the Herrscher of the Void, was far worse a crime, than ratting out her adopted little human sister. In other words, Bella Benares broke briefly before her benevolent boss.
Bella spoke and explained the little tyke's full plan, all the while Kiana facepalmed at the dragon. She knew Bella was going to be the weak link in the whole plan, but she was also the easiest one to convince. She knew she should have gone with Dad.
"You do realize that's incredibly dangerous." Sirin sighed in exasperation. "You could get hurt very easily pulling stunts like that."
"I'm not going to get hurt," Kiana argued. "I have Bella to watch my back. At least I thought she'd have my back." Kiana pouted as said dragoness looked away in shame.
"Yes, I can see that." Sirin deadpanned. "I'm starting to wonder if you're a bad influence on my dragon."
"I haven't influenced her in the slightest." Kiana defended.
Sirin looked down at her little sister, her white-haired little sister who kept said hair platted in twin tail braids. She then looked at her loyal servant, a white-haired dragon turned human, who also had her hair platted in twin tail braids. The two matching Arahato sweaters they wore did not go unnoticed to her either. At this point, Bella looked more like Kiana's sister than any of the others. Void was the genetically identical one, being a clone and whatnot, but she had eyes similar to Sirin. Bella however had both the eye color and hair color to match.
"Yeah, sure you haven't." Sirin sighed. Kiana did.
"So are you going to stop us?" Kiana questioned.
"Tempting, but I won't," Sirin admitted. "I am curious what will happen though, and I'll also want to make sure nothing happens to you," Sirin added.
"Yippee." Kiana cheered, but Sirin quickly covered Kiana's mouth.
"Be quiet, you don't want to ruin this," Sirin warned as she slowly removed her hand. She then turned her focus to the room behind them. The Herrscher pointed a finger at the door and a portal opened right in front of them. As Kiana looked beyond the portal she noticed it was the other side of the room. She flashed Sirin a confused look as if to question the need to use her power for such mundane utility. "Hey, it makes less noise." The Herrscher whispered as she lifted Kiana gently with her powers as the trio floated inside.
Upon entering Sirin closed the portal, giving the trio a good view of the room, they had entered. It was divided evenly down the middle, and one side of the room was very neatly organized with various school supplies, textbooks and katanas packed orderly on the shelves. The other side was for lack of better words, a mess, with clothes, noodle cups, and a few different game consoles; a pair of guns though were neatly mounted onto the wall.
There were two beds on either side of the room, both occupied right now by its inhabitants. The trio looked at the two beds, pondering which to target.
"I'll take Big Sis Mei," Kiana ordered. "Bella you take Void." Void wouldn't swear vengeance on Bella, nor would Mei do anything to Kiana. If it was vice versa though, Kiana knew someone would be stealing her cookies from now till New Year.
"On the count of three," Sirin whispered as she readied the two. "One, Two, Three."
"MERRY CHRISTMAS." The white-haired duo yelled as they jumped on the bed. Sirin was prepared to warp them away in case the duo reacted badly to the surprise. Unfortunately, it was not Void and Thunder who were surprised.
"Hey…wait for a second, Lady Void and Lady Thunder aren't here." Bella realized. The two beds had been stuffed with pillows and covered with wigs on top. Void and Thunder were not here.
"Where could they be?" Kiana wondered.
"Merry Christmas." A high-pitched voice called out. The trio turned to the source; a floating little fairy girl known for her dominion over time itself. It was none other than Paimon.
"Is this really a good idea?" Thunder questioned as she looked at the two stones before her, two tombstones. She had already placed her flowers on the graves and was now awaiting her fellow Herrscher to finish up.
"Not in the slightest," Void answered. "But when has that ever stopped us."
"Fair point," Thunder noted as she looked at the names. One tombstone was addressed to none other than Major Himeko Murata, a friend, a teacher, and a mother figure, also a drinker. The other was addressed to the one and only Theresa Apocalypse, an aunt, a principal, a mentor, and a role model, also the number one cutie.
The two Herrschers had gone back, back to their original world for Christmas Morning. It wasn't a permanent stay, just a friendly visit. One they'd do every year, regardless of when or where they went. These stays were strictly for these visitations but sometimes things would happen to change that. Last time they were here, they had accidentally drawn attention to themselves of their return and well let's just say their return wasn't as well received as one might like, hence the caution now.
"How many years has it been?" Void questioned.
"I've lost count," Thunder admitted. When you move through time, eventually, you forget how to keep track. Time becomes fluid and ever-changing, a day for you can be a month for someone else and vice versa. You can live a whole life while someone else lives but a moment. Only when you finally stop and settle, does time start to become rigid once again.
"It's been roughly 5 years." Another voice called behind them. Void and Thunder turned to the source. A young woman with grey eyes and grey hair stared back at the duo. "Five years since Bronya last saw you, Idiotka."
"Are you to kill us or is this a friendly chat?" Void questioned as she stared at Bratyna.
"I'm not here to fight you, either of you," Bronya admitted as she walked forward. "Not here at least." As messed up as they all were, they all still had some standards at least.
"Good to know," Thunder mused before examining Bronya closer. "Something's different about you." She noticed. "You've changed."
"You'll have to be more specific," Bronya deadpanned. "People change every day, some in the blink of an eye. It's natural that Bronya would change in the years of your…absence." Bronya explained, taking time to choose her last word.
"Not quite in the way you did." Void noted. "Wait a second don't tell me." Her eyes moved to below Bronya's shoulders. "You've finally got your second growth spurt." Void noted. "You're no longer like the great wall of China." Void chuckled.
"I see your perverted mind hasn't changed," Bronya growled in annoyance.
"Relax, I know your Herrscher powers evolved." Void defended. "You definitely felt different than before."
"The power of Truth," Thunder noted.
"I take it you two are familiar with it," Bronya observed
"We've met…other Bronyas in our travels. One was an older one from an alternate future. She explained some details to us." Thunder explained.
"I see." Bronya mused. "So even before I spoke…. you two knew I was here." She realized. How far was the gap in power if they already knew some of the powers she had yet to unlock or master?
"Eh, it wasn't so much we knew you were here; it was more like a hunch. Which other Herrscher would be as subtle when visiting the graves of Himeko and Aunt Teri?" Void explained.
"So, are you alone?" Thunder questioned. Bronya had been the last Herrscher remaining when they left, with both AE and Schiskal backing her. There were bound to be some familiar faces who would know about her whereabouts.
"Class monitor came to visit last month, she has other graves to visit for Christmas," Bronya explained. "As for the other, Durandal went of to visit her family while Rita stayed on base. Bronya is the only one here."
"Well, if that's the case, then we'll just be going now." Void told her as she opened two portals behind them. "Thunder and I have a few other graves to visit before we leave, and we rather not be interrupted like last time." She noted.
"Fair enough, Bronya has to go meet Seele and the others for Christmas as well." The Herrscher informed them.
"Well, then I guess I'll see you around, Merry Christmas." Void told her as she jumped into the portal, closing it behind her.
"Idoitka, you're supposed to wait for the recipient to say it back before you leave." Bronya sighed as she looked at where Void had been. She turned to Thunder who hadn't left yet, surprised that 3rd Herrscher remained, deciding to try her luck Bronya asked a question she hoped she didn't regret. "Is she still mad?"
"Eh, I wouldn't say she's mad," Thunder admitted. "She knows why you did what was necessary but that doesn't mean she will be comfortable with it."
"Bronya knows, and even now I know that things can never be the same after what happened. Not a day goes by that I think if things had gone differently, we would still be together." Bronya admitted.
"We probably might." Thunder said wistfully. "But we just weren't that lucky, not in this lifetime at least."
"Is it better in your new one?" Bronya questioned. "Did you even find the right one?"
"We did and it's definitely something," Mei answered. "Everyone's alive in that world, we've prevented quite a few disasters. I even became a teacher." She smiled somberly. "You know…there is a place for you there if you want."
"Thanks, but Bronya will pass." She told Mei. "I still have a lot left in this world to fight for." Seele, the twins, Carole, Adam, Timido, Lyle. "I'm not ready to start over."
"That's good to hear," Thunder noted. "But if you ever changed your mind."
"I'll still pass. I doubt Void would want me to be in her perfect world." Bronya dismissed.
"You'd be surprised," Mei told her as she took out her phone. She opened a photo that had been saved on it and showed it to Bronya. "This was taken a few weeks ago." She told her former friend. Bronya's eyes nearly fell out of her head. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
The photo showed a young girl, with a resemblance very striking to Bronya's own, no, this girl was Bronya, had been Bronya when she was but a year or so. She was being held by a Homu alongside a woman, who she knew must have been her mother and they were smiling. In the photo, she could see herself cuddled up by the Homu. The costume had been well done, hiding most details but within the Homu's mouth Bronya could make out two faint orange glows.
"Is this real?" Bronya questioned as she handed Mei back the phone.
"After we saved Sirin and the Kaslanas, the first thing we did, was search for you, your mother, Seele, and the others. It wasn't easy but with both Otto and AE working together along with all the powers and resources we had, we found them and rounded up everyone." Thunder explained.
"Void made sure we found you first followed by the others. Her exact words were that she needed to erase whatever loss you may experience, so you'd never be put on the path to be a Valkyrie, you'd grow up as a normal, happy girl and who never fought the Honkai." Thunder recounted.
"As for the photo, believe it or not, Void for whatever reason decided to take a job as a Homu mascot. She works multiple different jobs, some days she works as a delivery girl, others as a mercenary, and a few times she helped teach, and here she seemingly chose to be a Homu mascot. The reasoning she gave, of course, was to surprise our little siblings, but for some reason, you and your mother just so happen to be there when she was working." Thunder noted.
"Bronya didn't expect that." The Herrscher of Truth confessed. "I thought she'd leave and ignore me for the rest of her life there."
"Originally that might have been how we would have acted….but it's like you said…people change. Void knows what you did, but she also knows the difference between you and the other Bronyas. Likewise…I also know the difference between the Cocolia in this time and the one in my new timeline."
"You…you spared her," Bronya questioned.
"Only for now," Mei admitted. "She wasn't responsible for anything in the new timeline yet…so I let her live, but I have her on close watch. The moment she steps out of line, it's going to be a one-million-volt thunderbolt just like the one here" Thunder told Truth.
"Understandable," Bronya admitted. The topic of Cocolia had always been sore for her, and now that Thunder brought it up, Bronya wished to not be here. "Well, if there isn't anything else you'd like to discuss. Bronya will take her to leave." She admitted as she turned to leave. "Merry Christmas Mei," Bronya told her as she started to walk away.
"Bronya, you're supposed to wait till I say it back before you leave," Mei told her. The Russian herrscher froze as she waited to hear her friend's words. "Theresea knew she needed to be put down, Void and I were just too weak to realize it. It was her own choice." Thunder told her.
"Goodbye, Mei." Bronya repeated.
"Merry Christmas Bronya."
A.N. And thus ends...part 1...wait part one, shoot now I got to make sure I write the follow-up for this before its too late after the holidays...eh I'm sure it will be fine. I hope you all enjoy it and as always, fav, follow and review