"Mr. Yang….what did she just say?" Kiana repeated as she turned to face March. "You mentioned…Himeko." Kiana whispered under her breath, carefully saying the name of her beloved teacher. Her past few hours had been…hectic, first, she met her evil half that was not evil and then she met her past self and her younger family. Now she was hearing about her mentor's name. "Why did you say that name?" Kiana asked as she took a step towards March.
March had gone silent when the girl reacted to Himeko's name. It was…unsettling how much their navigator's name had impacted the girl. She had recalled seeing the Herrscher, Void, before and how she had interacted with Welt. March didn't respond, not knowing what to say to the girl she had just met. It was obvious from Mr. Yang's face that she had slipped up, now it was time to keep quiet and let the adults handle it.
"She's not your Himeko, Kiana," Welt answered. "She's someone else." He informed as he rested a hand on Flamescion's shoulder. "The person March is referring to is the navigator of the Express," Welt reported.
"Oh," Kiana muttered under her breath. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She tried to wipe them, tried to hide, but she couldn't. Not in front of so many people, and not right now. She was exhausted. Everything had been so crazy these past few days and she honestly felt tired of it all. "I should have known." She muttered to herself. "I should have known."
"Why don't you…take some time to collect yourself," Cecilia told her. "Maybe get some sleep, you've had a hard day so maybe you should get some rest."
"Oh…uh…okay," Flamescion answered.
"Go and sleep in our room, the bed is bigger," Siegfied said. Both parents knew they wouldn't be sleeping now. They would need to pry some answers out of Welt for now. Flamescion left.
"Now…. care to explain, what just happened?" Cecilia asked (read threateningly glared at Welt with the Abyss Flower in hand).
"Yeah, it looked like you just set off a stellaron on her," Stelle added.
"I might as well have," Welt explained. "I should have known she'd react like this." He noted.
"This Himeko you speak off…is her name Murata Himeko?" Cecilia questioned.
"Yeah…that's right," March answered. "How do you know her?"
"She's my daughter's best friend," Cecilia explained. Bella coughed. "One of her best friends." She corrected.
"We just took them out for pizza just yesterday." Siegfied added.
"Huh…but Himeko's been on the express this whole time," March said. "Wait…you don't mean we're dealing with a younger Himeko." March wondered as she recalled time traveling was the issue they were presented with.
"I'm not entirely sure of the details," Welt explained. "I believe the only one who can tell as much is Void. That being said, I assure you that Flamescion isn't referring to our navigator, nor was she referring to your daughter's friend." Welt told them.
"In my time, Himeko was what we called a Valkyrie, a warrior who fought against the Honkai that plagued the world," Welt explained to his kids. "Cecilia here is also one such Valkyrie."
"Seriously?" Stelle wondered. "I can't imagine her fighting like a warrior." She admitted.
"An understandable reasoning, while the navigator you know is a refined lady who relies more on her machines and charm to do the fighting. The Valkyrie was a woman who loved getting up close and personal with a greatsword. Though appearance-wise, they are the same, they both had different pasts and backgrounds. Your Himeko was an engineer who found and repaired the Astral Express, while ours was a fighter, one who became a mentor to other Valkyries at St. Freya, and one who….died in a line of duty." Welt informed.
The last part of the explanation had been softer and slower in delivery, but it did its job well enough. It told the crew and the Kaslana clan all they needed to know. The Valkyrie Himeko had died and given how Kiana reacted, they knew the two must have been close.
"So Flamescion….she was her student?" March realized as she pieced the pieces together. She mentally kicked herself for being insensitive. "I didn't know."
"I know you didn't March, there's nothing to worry about." Welt assured her. "Flamescion was very close with Himeko, often times she even called her aunt Himeko." Welt mused. "Even her persona…as Flamescion took a great deal of inspiration from Himeko."
"So that's why they were so insistent." Cecilia realized.
"By they do you mean Mei and Void." Welt wondered.
"Yes. Mei was adamant that Himeko be kept away from any dealings with Valkyries, and so was Void. Neither wanted her to get involved." Cecilia explained. "They never said why, but I always figured it was because they knew her." It was almost funny how the roles had switched.
"How exactly did Himeko die?" To their surprise, it was not March, Cecilia, or any of the adults who asked that question. It was the smallest person in the room, little Kiana. "How did big sis Himeko die?" Little Kiana asked.
Welt looked at the little girl. The Herrscher of the Void's little sister, Sirin's little sister. He smiled gently at her. "She died a hero, saving the people she cared for." She told the little girl. It was the truth, just with some details missing.
"She did," Kiana answered.
"Yes."
"Okay," Kiana answered. Her mood was soured but at least she seemed to find some solace in Himeko being a hero. "I'm tired." She rubbed her eyes.
"I'll take her to bed," Bella spoke up as she moved to the little Tuna. Kiana didn't even fuss as she let Bella take her away, much to her parents and Welt's relief.
"How did she really die Welt?" Siegfied spoke up. It had been visible on his face, try as he may to hide it. The truth was something far more tragic than what they would have liked, he knew that much.
"As I said, she did die a hero, she did die saving those she cared for." Welt reiterated. "Unfortunately, the way she died…was against the Herrscher of the Void, K-423, Kiana Kaslana." He said solemnly.
"Wait what!"
"Let me explain," Welt told them.
"That's not good." Silver Wolf thought as she glanced at the device on her arm. The Herrschers had stopped fighting, which meant whatever info she could have gotten would be very crude. She was not looking forward to explaining this to the others.
"Is something wrong?" Sirin questioned.
"Eh, nothing really, just found out I missed an opening for some limited-time event stuff." Silver Wolf told her. "Now I'll be screwed if it turns out the rewards were actually game-breaking."
"I swear, where do you get the time to play all these games." Sirin wondered.
"Skill issue." Silver wolf chuckled. "Perhaps if you ask I can teach you how to do it." She pondered.
"Eh, tempting but I still think I'd need sleep." Sirin yawned.
"I should get going as well," SW told her. "It was nice catching up with you," SW told Sirin.
"I still can't believe you ride the magic train."
"Stow away. I stowed away on a magic train." SW corrected as she headed to the window. However just as she grabbed it to open, the window refused to budge. "Huh." She tried again but to no avail. The window didn't move at all.
"Is something wrong?" Sirin asked.
"No." SW blushed. She was an interstellar hacker, surely she couldn't be trapped by something as mundane as a window. It wasn't even anything fancy-looking or hi-tech, just glass and aluminum. She tried again but it didn't budge. Out of instinct, she punched it expecting it to break but the glass wasn't even dented.
"Is it stuck?" Sirin questioned as she went to open the window, much to SW's dismay. Just like before even when the Herrscher tried to open it, the window remained stuck much to her surprise. "That's weird." Sirin thought.
Unbeknownst to each other, both Sirin and SW tried more extravagant methods of bypassing the window. Both of them tried to teleport out of the room, SW using her reality hacking and Sirin using her Herrscher powers, but both were immediately silenced.
"Something's not right." They both thought.
As if things couldn't get any worse, the door behind them suddenly opened. "Master I'm back," Bella announced as she returned with the sleeping Kiana in her arms. The dragoness froze when she saw the Quantum Hacker in front of her. "Who is that?" Bella questioned as her eyes narrowed on the newcomer. She smelled funny, human but something else, something that wreaked of Quantum energy.
"That ought to teach you." Pom-Pom chuckled as he swept the floor of the express, casting a few glances at the house outside the train. His eyes drifted over to the window that Silver Wolf had entered. "No one messes with my record player and gets away with it." He sneered.
"Really…you're being that petty," Paimon told him while she munched on an apple.
"Hey, I like my music organized. The last thing I want when I go to relax is hearing Polka start playing instead of Wildfire." Pom-Pom grumbled.
"Why do you even have Polka?"
"To torture intruders," Pom-Pom answered.
"Paimon sees…." Paimon deadpanned. "So how are things with the crew, so far? Paimon trusts Void didn't cause any trouble."
"The kid isn't so bad," Pom-Pom told her. "I can see why you like her. She's got some ways to go with her spatial manipulation but she's one of the better ones."
"She's a simple one, but I think that makes her the best one honestly. She just wants her family to be happy and to not suffer." Paimon answered. "Easy requirements for me to meet."
"Do you still think she'll be ready?" Pom-Pom wondered.
"Hard to say…I can see the paths clearly, but any interaction I have alters them and makes the outcomes blurry." Paimon answered. "Some days, I can see her winning and standing atop foes like Nanook, the Will of Honkai, or even the Heavenly Principles and the Abyss, other times it looks like she will be beaten down and killed or worse," Paimon answered.
"She's a wild card, capable of changing her fate on a whim, but for as much as she matured past what Kiana and the Herrscher of the Void were. She is still lacking in areas where the Herrscher of Flamescion and Finality excelled." Paimon noted.
"An individual whose life is so chaotic that even the guardian of time can't predict her." Pom-Pom mused.
"Yep. The ripples she leaves no doubt will mess with even Elio's work. It's almost amusing how much sleep she makes that mortal lose with her actions."
"So, she messes with the Stellaron Hunters' big boss. Hehe, that does sound funny. The Stellaron Hunters are like a cult at times, claiming themselves to be slaves to destiny, yet when faced with this uncertainty, it shows the truth behind their bravado. They are no more subject to the chaos of destiny than we are."
"Yep."
"So, what does Flamescion play in all this." Pom-Pom wondered.
"Flamescion…. plays…nothing," Paimon noted. "Her role in my plan isn't nothing major, not in regard to the direct workings of it. However, her existence here….is a catalyst more so." Paimon told him. "She's meant to bring about some more change to everyone involved. Change that hopefully will make some of the key pieces more refined."
"That said I do need a favor from you Pom-Pom," Paimon told him.
"What is it?"
"Are you done already?" Void huffed as she lay in the snow, her head resting on her hands.
"Yeah, I'm too tired to deal with your crap tonight." Thunder said as she relaxed in the snow as well, opposite to Void. "I won't lie, it's nice having Ana's core at times like this. I feel like I can just drift off in the snow." She mused.
"Hmmph, the gem of haste is better. I'm feeling nice and toasty right now." Void told her. The two had just about finished their clash and were now relaxing.
"So that train is meant to take her home?" Thunder questioned.
"That's the theory. It's supposed to narrow down the search for her world." Void explained. "Surprisingly I found a future version of Welt on the train." She noted.
"Is he the only one onboard?"
"Himeko's there as well," Void answered.
"Oh, I see." Thunder noted. "Is she similar to ours?" She questioned.
"No. She's like her in appearance and some mannerisms, but she's not our Himeko. She's the navigator of the train. A rather…fancy dress lady who likes tea and coffee and is more of an engineer like Tesla and Einstein than the one we know. She has neither encountered the Honkai nor heard about Herrschers."
"Sounds more like my student." Thunder chuckled. "I wonder if she also has trouble getting the attention of any dates."
"Unless Welt is cheating on his wife, she seems to be single." Void chuckled.
"Damn, Murata Himeko, doomed to be single in every universe." Thunder laughed. "Eh, it's not her worst fate."
"No. It most certainly is not." Void agreed. She knew personally what the worst was.
"How do you think Flamescion will take it?" Thunder questioned.
"Hard to say… it's her first time traveling and meeting alternative counterparts. She's probably going to be freaked out about it." Void theorized.
"Admittedly I want to go and watch that whole display for myself." Thunder mused.
"Why?"
"So I can be there for her." Thunder answered.
"What? Why?" Void said in disbelief. "Why do you need to be there for her?"
"She could use it." Thunder answered. "She's been through a lot."
"So have I," Void argued.
"Eh…but you're you." Thunder answered. "She's Kiana."
"Oh….oh I get it. You found a replacement for me." Void grumbled.
"Oh come on, it's not like that," Thunder told her.
"Yeah, it is. No wonder you went down so easy. You're not focusing all your attention on me anymore, because you have another Tuna now."
"You sound like a jealous girlfriend." Thunder said in disbelief.
"I'm not jealous."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not," Void answered. "What do I have to be jealous of?" That Flamescion might be the one that everyone likes more than her. That's someone that Cecilia and Siegfied might be proud off instead of the coward that Void was. Someone who could double down and withstand the pain and make her future better instead of running away.
"Nothing. I have nothing to be jealous of." Void growled. "I've got my whole family. I got a good life here." Void affirmed. "I even have you following me to the edges of time and space."
"So, you got nothing to be jealous of, then why are you angry if I want to spend more time with her." Thunder pondered.
"I rather you not be depressed that's all," Void told her. "She has to leave eventually, hopefully, sooner than later. I just don't want you getting attached and then getting all depressed and mopey when she leaves."
"….."
"What's the silence about?"
"I was considering to go with her." Thunder answered.
"WHAT!" Void shot up and turned around to stare at Thunder.
"Look before you over react…let me explain," Thunder told her.
"I don't overreact."
"Not all the time."
"Just spit it out."
"Alright, alright," Thunder told her. "I want to go and pound my other world self." Thunder explained.
"Self-cest is still…."
"Not that kind of pound. I want to beat her to a pulp." Thunder explained.
"Ah yes…the old beat my alternate self-treatment. Can I ask why?" Void told her.
"She left her Kiana." Thunder admitted. "She abandoned her and went to join World Serpent." Thunder explained.
"I see…..so can I overreact now." Void wondered.
"Eh…sure." Thunder answered.
Flamescion sat on her parent's bed as she contemplated everything she had witnessed. It all felt so unreal to her. It was like a dream, or perhaps a nightmare. One where she questioned whether she wanted it to be real and if it was, whether she'd want to wake up. Sirin was alive, Himeko was alive, Bella was alive, Cecilia was alive, Mei was here and no one she cared for had left or died.
The third impact never happened, all the stress and pain she went through had not yet come to this world. Yet it all felt wrong to her. It felt like some sick joke being played. If she indulged herself, she feared something, or someone would just appear and take it all in an instant.
She was fine going along with everything else, funnily enough. It wasn't the first time she had been in a dream with her parents. Sirin and Bella had been an experience. It was strange meeting them for the first time with everything that happened, she felt confused at how to interact with them. For the time being, they were just names and people often referred to by her Herrscher side, they weren't anyone she knew personally like those history texts or stories about your family. You know of them, you hear about them but meeting them is a different story.
"Major," Flamescion whispered to herself as she noticed the train out of her window. Aboard that train, there was a woman who shared her teacher's name. Aboard that train, there was a woman who shared her teacher's face. Aboard that train, there was a woman who in another life could have very well been her teacher.
Yet she wasn't. That woman was her own person. She had her own life and her own experiences. Yet, Flamescion was sure that if she met her….if she met her, she knew she'd fall apart. It…scared her.
As she stared at the train, Flamescion found herself feeling very uncomfortable with the idea of getting involved with the crew and the Himeko on board. It was a childish notion; these were people who never interacted with her. It was foolish to have such bias and fear.
"It's quite a beauty isn't it." A high-pitched voice spoke behind. Flamescion turned her head to an unfamiliar voice finding a rabbit in a conductor costume, leaning against the wall munching on a character. "What's up Tuna?" The rabbit told her.
Flamescion blinked as she stared at the rabbit, another absurdity to her growing dilemma. After the elf, that could time travel she really wasn't surprised anymore by the talking bunny. "Hello," Flamescion answered.
"Really? That's all…no…cute excited girlie reaction, no trying to cuddle me and pet my ears." The Rabbit said in surprise.
"I've…had a long and strange day," Flamescion answered.
"Fair enough." He told her.
"So….who are you?" Flamescion questioned.
"I'm Pom-Pom, the conductor of the Astral Express." The bunny, Pom-Pom, answered.
"The conductor?" Flamescion repeated.
"Yeah, you know. I manage the train's affairs. I make sure everything is up to code, and ensure everyone is satisfied and happy with the trip. You know, that kind of stuff." Pom-Pom told her.
"So why are you in my parents' bedroom?" Flamescion asked.
"Well as the conductor, my job is to make sure that all my passengers are comfortable and having an enjoyable time," Pom-Pom explained. It's why he put in all the hours mopping and cleaning the express, taking care that their supplies were always stocked, and always making arrangements to ensure the train's systems were up to date.
"But I'm not a passenger on your train," Flamescion noted.
"Oh really, but Void got your tickets and everything," Pom-Pom noted. "So what seems to problem," Pom-Pom asked as he took a seat and took a clipboard out. "Tell conductor Pom-Pom what's bothering you," He told her as he gestured for Flamescion to lie down.
"Are you trying to be a therapist?" Flamescion asked.
"Yes….you seem like you need therapy," Pom-Pom told her.
"That's….fair," Flamescion said. "Let's get this over with." She said as she lay back down.
"I…. I can't even imagine." March whispered. Himeko and Welt were among the first people she had met when she woke up on the ice. They had effectively become her parents. She couldn't help but see herself in Kiana's place if her Himeko was gone.
"In my time, Kiana grew up to be a very strong and mature young lady, but even with all her power, time could never heal the wounds of loss," Welt admitted. "I know from my own experience that isn't easy, but I do hope that Flamescion will at least be able to ease her own pain."
"It seems no matter the life, Sirin or Kiana or Void always seems to have some form of suffering following behind them." Cecilia sighed as she took another sip of tea.
"Yes."
"Welt, if I may." Siegfied interjected. "It's getting late and we're still tired. You all also seemed to have been…through…a lot, so why don't we all go and get some sleep, and then we can discuss this during the day."
"That might be for the best," Welt told them. "We'll notify the others that we aren't in any danger." He told the Knight and Valk before turning his kids. "Come on you three."