"Does this train always take so long to travel?" Void questioned as looked out the window of the Express. She had thought it would be instantaneous, turns out it wasn't.

"The Express is made to give travelers a chance to enjoy the journey, it would be counterproductive to make it instantly arrive at its destination." Pom-Pom chuckled to himself as he swept the floor. "You were able to start it, but…you still need more training before you can drive my train." Pom-Pom mused.

After Void had derailed the train, the crew, as one might expect, was not too pleased or happy with her sudden attempt at taking control of their home. Understandably they did not want anything to do with her for the time being, so they had left to converse elsewhere leaving her with a few supervisors, Welt, Himeko, Pom-Pom, and Dan Heng.

Pom-Pom had stayed because he was the conductor, and it was his duty to ensure nothing bad happened. At least that's what he told them. The main reason he stayed was because he could tell the Herrscher might be lonely on the trip and it was always better to have someone to talk to on a journey.

The other three had more expected reasons. They didn't trust the Herrscher and they were also the ones with the most responsibility towards the express. Himeko was the mechanic who had repaired the train, as well as the navigator, of course, she would want to keep an eye on someone who could reroute the machine.

Welt obviously was keeping an eye on her because he was the most experienced with her. He knew her powers and had an idea of how she would fight or act. Or at least he had an idea of what her variants might do. Either way, she could tell the old man was keeping an eye out for her.

That left the last one, Dan Heng. If she had to guess, he was either a powerful individual or someone who could keep a cool head when it came to fighting her. She wasn't entirely sure what his story was, but she could feel imaginary power sleeping within him, even if he used wind more often than not.

"I shouldn't have underestimated her." Welt kicked himself. "I knew how dangerous she could be, and I still let my guard down. I should have realized it soon. She was playing us the whole time."

"Are you sure?" Himeko questioned. "While I'll admit her taking control of the train was a surprise, there must be some reason why she didn't do that immediately and choose to converse."

"Believe me, Himeko you don't want to underestimate her. The first time she was out, she waged war against an entire planet and almost destroyed it, the battle that took place resulted in the death of countless individuals, many of which were supposedly the best and the strongest warriors humanity had." Welt explained as he recalled the Second Eruption and all those that had perished. He recalled clearly how Sirin had nearly killed him as well.

"The second time she waged war, I lost a very close friend. She died trying to save everyone my wife included." Welt explained. "I can't just feel sit down and assume everything's going to be all right, not when I've seen how much loss follows her around. I just can't trust her intentions." He explained.

"What exactly is her story?" Dan Heng questioned as he cast a glance at the Herrscher. He could tell that despite her lax appearance, she was listening to them. Her previous actions with Bailu had left an impression on him that contradicted Mr. Yang's stories, but he knew better than anyone that first impressions weren't always what they seem. "From what she explained, she was a clone, but I feel like there is more to that."

"It's hard to explain," Welt told them. "I don't even know where to start."

"The beginning is always nice. Every story has to have a beginning right." Himeko told him.

"Well….it all started in the Babylon Labs." Welt began.

Void turned him off slightly as he went on with her backstory, paying attention only to find differences between what he would know and what she experienced. Suffice it to say everything had lined up with barely any distinctions to be made. The Herrscher would admit, she did feel somewhat touched when she saw Himeko gasp in horror as Welt informed them of the horrors Sirin went through and why she chose revenge above all else.

"So that's basically what happened," Cecilia informed Kallen and Teri.

"What did you do this time?" Kallen questioned her side as she and Theresea shot a glance at someone who was sitting off-screen.

"I didn't do anything this time." Otto defended. "It must have been some other version of me." He remarked.

"That doesn't make it any better," Teri told him. "Also…when can I meet my new niece?" She questioned.

"If you fly out tomorrow then maybe then. As it stands, we're all staying at Thunder and Void's place for the night. Kiana and Bella insisted on staying with their new sister/Master and Sirin doesn't want to leave either." Cecilia informed.

"You spoil those kids too much." Teri scolded.

"They deserve it." Cecilia countered. "Considering how hard they had it in other lives it's only fair."

"That's….fair, but you really ought to discipline them more in the future," Kallen added.

"We'll try." Cecilia yawned.

"Just make sure to notify us if there are any developments in the future," Theresea told them. "And get some sleep."

"You try dealing with 5 now 6 kids and then tell me about sleep." Cecilia mocked before shutting off the screen. She looked over at the bed in her guest room. Yeah, sleep sounded good now. Despite her calm demeanor, even she got overwhelmed when faced with the sheer amount of confusion that came with having time travel cloned daughters. She was thankful that her littlest one was being tended by the older set. It made things so much easier for her. Now she could just take a nap while they waited for Void to return.

Sirin sighed as she turned her game off. It was already time for class, and she didn't need another report from her teachers that she was gaming during school time. When word got around that the principal's daughter and a teacher's sister were getting in trouble, it spread fast, and people talked a lot. She put the handheld in her bag and took out her history book.

She hated history. Sirin knew firsthand how easily it was falsified and she detested it. So many big events were often covered up and so much of the truth was deliberately bent and distorted till it was anything but. So, she prepared to tune it all out, and then her teacher told them the topic.

"Alright class today we'll be covering the Second Eruption." Her teacher said. This instantly got her attention. Why were they learning about the Second Eruption?

It seems like a few others also shared her disdain for the topic, though unfortunately for Sirin, it was entirely different reasons. Sirin looked around and she could see the sorrowful looks on her peers' faces. She felt the guilt start to weigh down on her.

"Do we really need to learn about that horrible thing?" One student asked as they held their arm. It was scarred beyond recognition, a keepsake from his own time in the eruption.

"Can I be excused, my therapist says since I lost my family during the second eruption, I should try and avoid revisiting the topic?" Another student told him.

"Yeah, can't we just skip it? We all know how it happened." Himeko chimed in.

"I'm sorry class, but unfortunately we must cover it." The teacher insisted. "No matter how many of us dislike it, it did happen. Why our very own principal and her family were involved in the fight and so was Madame Theresea." They tried to change the subject. Their eyes soon turned to Sirin. "Why even our little Sirin was apart of it?" The teacher chuckled darkly as they turned to the purple kaslana.

Sirin didn't respond, merely keeping quiet as she felt the eyes fall on top of her. She gripped the hem of her skirt wondering just who this teacher was and what they knew and why they were singling her out. When she didn't respond the teacher simply relented and instead turned back to the lesson.

"Let's begin the lesson." The Teacher said as he began to read the 'facts' out. "The Second Eruption began at the Babylon libraries, where research was done for the betterment of humanity. Those scientists were all working on finding methods and cures for the Honkai that plagued us and with them numerous people volunteered. Sadly, not all those volunteers lived."

"Shut up." Sirin thought. "Just shut up!"

Sirin's nails dug into her skin as she listened to the lies that were spewed about what happened. Lies about the 'volunteers' were given the best conditions possible and had truly agreed to it for the good of humanity. She bit her lip, drawing blood as she tried to suppress her own opposing thoughts.

"In the end though, the Honkai realized it couldn't allow those…virtuous scientists to live. It sent an agent, a Herrscher, among the volunteers, the Herrscher of the Void. She killed all those innocent scientists and all those innocent volunteers.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Sirin clutched her head as she felt her emotions start to run wild.

"She even killed the towns in the surrounding area." The teacher added as they cast a glance to Sirin.

"SILENCE!" Sirin screamed, earning the entire class's attention. "That's not what happened. That's not the truth. Stop saying those lies." She could feel everyone's eyes on her.

The teacher looked at her unconcerned. "Then, what is the truth, Sirin?" They asked.

Sirin looked at them, about to voice her response when she realized just where they were and who she was talking to. "I…uh….I…." Sirin tried to find the right words. She couldn't tell them the truth. If the world knew what she did…. what would happen to Cecilia, Kiana, and the others?

"You don't know, or maybe…you won't say." The teacher told her, before returning to the class. "Children…do any of you know what the Herrscher's name is?" They asked.

"Does she have a name? She's a monster right? Monsters don't have names." One student said.

"She's not a monster. She's a Devil." Another said.

"A murderer."

"A witch."

"A maniac."

"She shouldn't exist."

The voices started repeating, going over and over the same words. Sirin felt herself drowning, each voice was like a weight pulling down, deeper and deeper into her own guilt.

"Quiet!" Sirin called out. "You all don't know what you're talking about." She told them. "None of you were there." She told them.

"And you were." Himeko voiced.

"I…"

"She was." The teacher told them. "After all,…she's the Herrscher of the Void." They told the class.

"No…I'm not. I'm not that person anymore. I swear." Sirin tried to tell them.

"Not anymore." One said. "So you are the Herrscher. You killed all those people."

"No, I didn't mean to."

"Didn't mean to…so you just accidentally killed those scientists."

"No. I did…but they deserved it." Sirin reasoned.

"They deserved it. Did my parents deserve it?"

"Did we deserve it?"

"They tortured me, they killed everyone." Sirin tried to defend herself. "I had no choice."

"We didn't do you anything."

"We never even met."

"I…"

Sirin could feel herself start to back away, as the class kept hurling curses and insults at her. "She's a liar. She's deceived us." The voices kept echoing melding into one, as Sirin bumped into the wall.

"No….I'm good now."

"She needs to pay. She needs to be punished. She needs to die."

"No…I'm good now." Sirin repeated. "I'm good."

One by one her classmates turned on her. In their place stood Valks or machines ready to hunt her down, to kill her for her sins. Sirin's heart began to race as she them closing in.

"Stay away." She told them. "STAY AWAY!" She screamed as she raised her hands in defense. "STAY AWAY!" Several void lances appeared, firing off in all directions. The lances destroyed everything but it wasn't what she wanted.

Sirin looked up at the scene before her. The Valks and Mechs were gone. In their place were her classmates…and her family. All pinned up on the wall, bloodied and dismembered by her lances. "No…no…I didn't mean it." Sirin cried. She could see it. Everyone she knew, was dead by her own hands. Her teacher, her friends….Himeko….her mom…and her sisters.

"No…NO….NO!"

Sirin shot up from her bed, in a cold sweat. Her breathing was heavy as her heart raced. Gradually her breathing slowed down, as did her heartbeat as she started to get her bearings.

She looked around, finding herself in a bedroom. It was a guest room at Void's home and Sirin wasn't alone. To the side of her, in another bed were her sisters. Thunder, Bella, Kiana, alongside Flamescion. The four of them had gone to sleep together much to the insistence of Kiana and Bella.

"It was…. just a nightmare," Sirin told herself as she tried to calm down. It was just another bad dream. She wiped the sweat off her face. There was nothing to worry about. None of that had happened.

Sirin laid back in her bed. Her mind was still wandering all over the place. She couldn't sleep now. She could never sleep when she had nightmares. Sirin let out a groan as she reached for a handheld and pulled the blankets over her head. She needed a distraction.

She tried sending a message to Silver Wolf, asking if she wanted to play but got no response. That was strange, SW was always online so why wasn't she on now? Sirin frowned. She didn't like it when she did it, but SW had always been her go-to friend for distractions. The other gamer could always tell when something was wrong but rarely did, she delves beyond asking if Sirin was okay or if she needed some time.

Now without SW, Sirin was left with her own thoughts. She grimaced once more as she got out of bed and snuck out of the room. She didn't like being alone with her thoughts. If SW wasn't around, she'd go with the next best thing. Food, and there was no easy food to make other than cup noodles. With that in mind, Sirin made her way to the kitchen.

Silver Wolf threw up for the second time in the Astral Express's washroom. She was going to strangle Elio and Kafka when she got back. She couldn't stand flying on the train, but no, she had to because it kept to Elio's script. She had complained about it before whenever they asked her to survey the train, but it was always the same answer.

"You can't avoid Stelle forever." Kafka would mock her. SW could only glare at the woman as numerous thoughts of revenge would fill her mind. SW had half a mind to rip her coats as payback. She never did. Not only would it put her on Kafka's bad side but also Blade's.

She had already been forced to leave one friend behind, she didn't want to leave another. Silver Wolf sat down on the floor, trying to ease her discomfort. She glanced at her phone looking at the cameras on the Express. She frowned as she saw her old friend hanging out with the crew.

"Just in and out," SW muttered bitterly as she zoomed in on Stelle. Elio had said that Stelle was instrumental in this script. All she needed to do was befriend the Express. It would only cost Stelle her memories, but it was for the greater good. That was always how you suckered Stelle in. "I should have known it would never be so simple."

It had been just the two of them, they had always been partners before. Heck, most of their missions for the Stellaron Hunters were together. Then this one happened. Stelle was needed and now SW had to deal with Kafka. Even worse, with the memory loss, Stelle no longer would remember to play their games.

SW had to play 38 extra accounts for various games to make sure everything was up to date for when Stelle returned but looking at it now. She wondered if that would ever happen. She saw how the Trailblaze was around the others, how she assured them and made them feel safe. How the kids adored her and how the other girls were able to calm down thanks to her.

"Guess…it's just back to being a lone wolf." SW mused as she leaned back against the wall. She suddenly felt the need to throw up once again.

"Couldn't sleep?" Siegfied questioned as he took another sip from his coffee. He had been drinking it by the kitchen counter when he noticed a figure hover into view. It was his middle child, Sirin. However…he could tell something was off with her.

"I…wasn't feeling tired." Sirin lied as she prepared her ramen.

"Are you sure?" He questioned once more. Sirin didn't respond any differently a second time and he doubted a third would make the difference.

"I've just been unable to sleep that's all." She insisted as she poured the boiling water inside.

"Is it nightmares?" He questioned. Sirin froze in her spot. "I've had my fair share of them." He told her. His other daughters also may have mentioned Sirin thrashing around in her sleep.

"What about?" She inquired carefully.

"Ever since that day…I've felt anxious. I can feel something inside of me…trying to get out." He explained. "It wants to kill the Honkai." He informed.

"Isn't that normal?" Sirin questioned. It was normal to want to destroy the thing that made you suffer, that cursed the world.

"Under normal conditions, it is…but…everything and everyone in our family has some form of Honkai in them. Whether it be stigmata like Cecilia and Kiana, or perhaps they had Honkai beast genes like Theresea and I, or even Herrscher cores. Everyone I care about has Honkai in them."

"You're afraid you'll hurt them," Sirin muttered. "Yeah…I can relate to that." She answered.

…

"How do you deal with it?" Sirin asked.

Siegfied looked at her as he took another sip of his coffee. It had been piping hot a few minutes ago but once he touched it it was now chilled, with small chunks of ice forming inside. He let out a sigh, his breath visible before him.

"Honestly…I don't." Siegfied told her. "Whenever I feel like it's becoming too much, I head out on a mission and just let loose my frustrations." He told her. "Other than that I've been taking some medication the Doctors made to help stabilize it, but…it only mitigates the side effect not remove them." He told her.

"Do you hate me?" Sirin questioned. Siegfied raised a brow at her question. "If it wasn't for me, you'd never be like this." She added.

"No, I don't hate you. You've had your own horrors, to deal with so why should I add more." Siegfied told her.

"I feel like that's just an excuse at times. I suffered so it's okay if I went off the rails." Sirin admitted.

"There are times when it might be so, but I don't think this is one of them," Siegfied noted. "You were in pain and led astray but the Honkai who preyed on your hurt and sorrow."

"And I still caused more."

"You need to forgive yourself Sirin."

"Can I really? Why do I deserve forgiveness after what I did?" Sirin said.

"Because punishing yourself won't change what happened," Siegfied stated. "If you keep living in the past, you'll never know the present and you'll miss the future."

He took another sip of his iced coffee. "So far, we've seen two versions of your future. On the one hand, you became a hero like Flamescion and helped save the world, and on the other, you become Void, someone less altruistic but still a good person at heart." He pointed out.

"Cecilia saw there was good in you. I'm inclined to believe she was right. The Herrscher we fought wasn't the real Sirin, it was just a girl lashing out from the pain. Trying to bring justice for those that had been wronged." He explained.

"If that's the case then the real Sirin has long been dead," Sirin told him. "After I killed Babylon, I should have stopped, but I didn't….I just kept going."

"It was the Honkai pushing you. It made you see everything as a threat."

"That doesn't change anything. I walk around and I see the destruction I caused." Sirin noted. "Even when I close my eyes, I see it. It haunts me."

"And you think I don't," Siegfied told her. "Every time I close my eyes, I feel like I'm taken back to…that event. I see you on snow, afraid of me and I'm ready to kill you. I see Cecilia and Kiana looking horrified at what I might do."

"It feels like you're a time bomb," Sirin said.

"Yeah…a walking bomb ready to go off." Siegfied agreed. He finished his coffee and then…he started to chuckle a little. "You know… it's funny. "

"What?"

"I always hear Void, describing her dad, the Siegfied Kaslana of the future. I always heard how she described their relationship, as rocky but loving. I always used to wonder if it was possible for me to be like that, to be like him."

"Aren't you him?" Sirin questioned.

"Are you Void or Flamescion?" He questioned.

"Touche."

"But back to the point, I always worried that the relationship I had with you, would never be the same as theirs…but well…. look at us. Talking about our feelings over a midnight snack." He chuckled.

"Is it the same though?" Sirin questioned.

"Well, maybe it's not the same, but…I'd like it to be. It turns out we have more in common than realized." He smiled.

Sirin paused as she heard his words. She had always thought she was alone, but maybe he was right. He may not understand her completely, but…he did seem to know what she was going through to an extent. "Yeah…I'd like so as well." Sirin said.

And so, the two continued on, discussing some other, more lighthearted topics for the time being. Eventually, Sirin yawned, finally feeling sleepy. She rubbed her eyes in exhaustion, having talked to herself tired. She excused herself and headed to bed, feeling a little more.

Siegfied merely wished her off as he went back to his coffee.

Once Sirin had arrived in her bed, she collapsed into it in no time. She drifted off soundly into sleep. She wouldn't have any more nightmares.

"CHOOO-CHOOO!" The house started to rumble.

"What the hell is going on?" Sirin shot up as she looked out of the window. Her eyes widened at the sight of what was there. A long black train suddenly appeared in the backyard.

"What the heck?" Thunder cursed as she looked out the window as well. She was not amused to have had her sleep ruined. She quickly went to brandish her sword at whoever thought it was a good idea to ride a train behind her house. Then she saw Void exit the train.

"I'm gonna kill her." Thunder said as she summoned her mechanical arms and her giant sword. She was going the run Void through now. She hurried down hoping to reach before the others. Meanwhile, Flamescion, Kiana, and Bella had only barely gotten up when she zapped out in a flash of lightning.