7:30 am, same day,
"You should be safe here."
The group found a relatively simple solution to their problem: a nearby construction site. It was small and mostly out of sight, so it would be rather hard to find amongst the towering skyscrapers around it. This also allowed Phillip to place some seals he couldn't before, as a suddenly missing railway station would definitely raise some flags.
As soon as they touched down, Phillip started placing seals down, even adding a chakra-suppression seal in light of his mess-up. It should hide the place better than before, keeping Kiana and Mei safe.
After all, Phillip himself had very little reason to stay there.
"What about you?" Mei asked inquisitively as she leaned against a nearby cement pillar, quickly noticing that Phillip excluded himself from the equation. "Aren't you going to stay with us, hide away from that girl?"
Curled up into a ball as she sat on the floor, Kiana made her own opinion on the idea clear with a grumble. "Running away from a little girl? What kind of guy are you?"
"I heard that," Kiana looked away from Phillip with a huff. Phillip then turned to Mei with an intense expression. "I'm going to clean up a mess I made. I'll be back soon."
"You're not…." Mei trailed off, as if her thought disturbed her enough to silence herself. "No, I refuse to allow you to-"
"I'm not going kill her," Phillip spoke freely, causing the other two to hitch their breath. "However, in order to freely travel this city, we need that girl removed from the equation long enough to accomplish our goals."
"But-" Mei stammered, searching for any way to prevent the current situation. "What about the clones? We could leave now, come back when that girl is gone."
"Only if they're all shirtless."
At this, both Phillip and Mei leveled a flat glare at Kiana, who went crimson at her own words.
"…I didn't say nothing."
"Regardless," Phillip started, trying to move on from Kiana's comment. "Bronya would follow us out of the city and back again. We're only getting out if she can't follow us anymore."
"…Oh, fine then." Mei relented with a sigh, worry still dancing in her eyes. "Just, please be careful. There had to have been a reason for you rushing out, outside of just my safety."
"Right." He didn't want to admit that he had simply both been overthinking and underestimating the situations all at the same time. Combined with rather conflicting training methods that both demanded restraint and loose control, he kept making mistakes that should have been easy to see.
What is wrong with me?
"Well, let's be honest: you've always had a problem with paradoxical understandings," Gabriel spoke flatly. "That doesn't go into the fact that your split in the Neptunia pocket dimensions negatively affected your psyche."
I thought you patched that!
"The split, I did. The damage is something better left to Raphael to handle."
…I'm not going to Kill La Kill.
"Then tough it out for now," With that, the communication was severed, and Phillip was left to his lonesome.
He breathed out a sigh before turning to the opening completely. "Wish me luck."
"Hold on a second," Kiana cried, standing up and placing a hand on her hip. "Let me come too. Those clone guys can watch over Mei, so I can help you with that brat."
Phillip turned and gave her a level stare before raising his right hand to her. Kiana took two steps forward, thinking the gesture invited her to come with. However, she stopped when she noticed him bring his index finger back to his thumb, holding the finger. A moment later, Phillip flicked.
A strong shockwave was summoned from it, strong enough to almost knock Kiana off her feet. Kiana blocked her face with both arms, though she couldn't keep her eyes open in the intense winds. Once it was over, she was caked in dust while the area before her was clear.
Phillip dropped his hand but kept his eyes on Kiana. "I'm not afraid of what Bronya can do. I can't guarantee, however, that you won't get hurt from what I throw out." Phillip returned to facing the city. "Call the clones if you need anything. I'll be back soon."
With that, Phillip stepped down, dropped to the base level, and sprinted off.
"Well, I guess that's all we can do," Mei stated, still not comfortable with allowing him to leave. She gave a quick look at Kiana, who shook off the dust like a dog. "You should ask for another change of clothes."
"Like I'm gonna give these perverts a glance," Kiana huffed, crossing her arms under her chest with a pout. "He didn't have to be so mean about that."
Mei didn't dignify the statement with a response, deciding to simply gaze out of the half-made concrete construction at the silent city. With some much going on, and the second possession from that "Herrscher", she wasn't in the best of minds right now.
"Alright, it doesn't matter all that much," Kiana admitted, stretching her arms before calling out. "Oi, clones! I need ya for something."
A clone shimmered into existence before her, seeming slightly agitated at the beckon. "What?" he asked in a disgruntled voice.
"I need clothes, so strip!"
8:35 am,
…And thus, we are filing a case of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Phillip's right hand covered his face as the clone alerted him of the most recent event in his absence. He should have figured Kiana would have done something like this, but Phillip didn't pay it much thought when he had a mission to fulfill.
Phillip pulled his hand down his face, stretching the skin there slightly before the hand came off, and the skin snapped back into place. Alright. Just... listen. Provide assistance to them under normal circumstances. Ignore any order that resembles that.
Clone: Roger, roger.
Shut it, C3P0. With that, Phillip cut the telepathic connection and stared down at the street below. He was seated comfortably at the corner edge of a building, trying to pin down Bronya's Honkai levels. So far, he had tracked her down to this location, a few meters off from the construction site, before he was distracted by the clone's request for remedy.
Bringing two fingers his forehead, Phillip tried to concentrate on finding Bronya's exact location. As the world was sundered aside, he began feeling the wild energy of Honkai around him. Disregarding the highest level (which was Mei), he soon found a medium-sized source close by. Considering how anything else would be a zombie, he assumed that it was Bronya.
Phillip spotted Bronya almost immediately, hovering a few feet above a slightly taller skyscraper a few blocks away. She stared down at him with a cold, unfeeling gaze before raising her left hand in his direction, palm out. Her robot shimmered into existence and leveled its cannon arm at Phillip. For his part, he simply glared at the girl.
"Subject Phillip," Bronya called out in her usual monotone. "Surrender yourself and come with Bronya quietly."
"I didn't come here to submit myself to Cocolia's interests," Phillip stated calmly. "The only I'm here to stop you from tracking us."
"Hostile intent recognized. Taking recommended actions." Bronya's robot fired three shots down onto Phillip. He simply continued to stare up at her as the missiles rained down. While two of the projectiles landed in rather off places, the third seemed to hit dead-on.
Bronya brought her hand back to make a radio call. "Matushka, Bronya has suppressed Subject Phillip. The Bronya will collect him and then search for the Herrscher of Thunder."
~You caught him already? Good, but be sure that he's-~
Bronya jerked to her right, feeling the earpiece ripped out of her ear. Behind her, standing on her robot with relative ease, one foot on its head and another on the shield arm, was Phillip. Her radio earpiece was stuck between two fingers in his left hand.
He crushed the earpiece in between his fingers, eyes never leaving Bronya. "Let's leave this between the two of us."
Bronya flew off to her right while Phillip leaped off to land on the building below. When he landed, he twisted around to find Bronya moving towards him, the cannon arm switched out for a lance. Phillip caught it rather easily and stood still against the propulsion before bending the tip backward.
Bronya, now realizing the difference in strength, started to flee while the robot raised the shield to defend her from any back attacks. However, Phillip blurred around to her front before she could make much progress and sent a roundhouse kick to her head. The robot was able to block it just in time, but when the shield met his lower leg, it folded in two as if it was made of paper.
With both armaments devastated, Bronya made another escape attempt, only to be blocked by Phillip again, fist reared back to take her out. The robot wasted little time protecting its master, diving head-first as the fist came crashing down. Upon impact, Phillip's fist destroyed its head, and the robot slumped over immediately, soon followed by Bronya.
Phillip pulled his hand from the hole he made and stared down at Bronya, slumped down on her knees. "I'm going on the assumption that the robot was the one with scans, so I'm going to take my leave now."
"Nyet," Bronya replied as she stood up on shaky legs. She reached behind her and pulled out a hunter knife, held in front of her face. "Bronya will fulfill her mission." She lunged forward, intent on stabbing him.
Phillip dodged it easily and slammed a knee into her stomach with enough force to have her cough up blood. As she recoiled from the blow, he brought a chop down to her neck to knock her out. Finally, the fight was over.
Phillip wanted to leave it at that, leaving the girl to her fate while he returned to the girls. However, he simply kept his gaze on the unconscious Bronya, pity in his eyes.
Gabriel was the one to snap him out of it. "What do you want to do with her?"
...I should take her with me. If she wakes up, she'll find a way to contact Cocolia or fix her robot. It's better to bring her along restrained than leave her unsupervised.
"You mean you're not willing to kill her or leave her to a fate that could lead to her death."
Do you need to soul-search me right now?
Phillip could feel the angel shake his head, though didn't feel any discontent with this. "You're fine. Just make sure you bring the bot with you."
Phillip glared at the bot, clearly uninterested in taking the mechanical behemoth with him. Do I have to? It's not like we want her to have the damn thing.
"You're just paranoid. Besides, I have a feeling Bronya will become a rather useful ally as time moves on."
Phillip grumbled some disgruntled words of disbelief but summoned a clone regardless. While the clone gathered up the pieces of the robot, Phillip picked up Bronya and carried her up in a sloppy piggyback, her head resting on his shoulder. Once the clone had the robot secured, the bulk on its back and the fragments carried in one arm, they took off back to the construction site... just in time to see a pillar of purple lightning shoot up in the distance.
Phillip didn't hesitate to vocalize his distaste for the situation.
"Fuck!"
Two minutes prior,
Mei decided to exit the building, hoping to avoid being collateral in the vocal clash between Kiana and the clones. One of the clones, a calmer one, noticed her silent escape and aided her down to the ground levels before returning to the third floor. With nothing to bide her time with, Mei settled on taking a walk around the premise, staring up at the taller buildings around it. It was during this walk that she saw it.
One the building on the northern side of the construction site, Mei spotted one of the many seals Phillip said protected the area. However, something seemed off about it, as pink lines seemed to sprout out from its middle. Curious, she grew closer to it and gave it an analytical stare.
Now, isn't this interesting.
Mei jumped back at the voice, knowing exactly what had just spoken to her. She didn't need to look far, however, as the purple silhouette was pressed up against the wall of the seal, arms crossed. The silhouette's attention was completely on the seals, ignoring Mei in favor of the odd occurrence happening before them.
It seems your little boy toy has put himself in more danger than he realized, the silhouette Ystated snidely, obviously amused with the current situation. Sooner or later, the seals on his body will be consumed by Honkai, and he will become a zombie. Quite the fitting end: destroyed by his own machinations.
"N-no!" Mei yelled out, refusing to believe that could happen. "I-it couldn't happen! He said so himself that-"
Do you honestly believe such a flimsy defense would boon from a minor security increase? The snide tone sent a chill down Mei's spine. No. The boy will die, sooner or later. Though, it seems to be closer than I predicted.
"H-he would still have told me if anything would have gone wrong," Mei countered weakly. Even as she said it, Mei couldn't even convince herself of those words.
The silhouette let out a noise that sounded like a mix of a snort and a gag. Oh, please. We both know he would shrug it off and try to continue on. He only ever told you how that energy worked when he nearly passed out and would have likely not said a word if he could avoid it.
Mei backed up slightly, terror shortly etching itself into her face. "I… I need to find him." She made to run back to the construction site and ask for a clone's help but stopped at the following words of the silhouette.
Those clones won't help you. It pushed off the building to stand tall before the seal. Even if they believed you, they only follow their orders. They won't leave this place, no matter what. There's no chance you can get to him, except one.
Despite not wanting to listen to the silhouette, Mei felt the words held truth in them. The clones followed their orders and seldom showed any urgency to serious situations. That also didn't take into consideration that the clones may have some of Philip's more selfish traits. Seeing very little choices in the matter, she turned back to the silhouette, which gave a rather malicious smirk on its face.
Good, you've finally learned. Taking two steps away from the seal before turning back to it, the silhouette gave its demand. Touch the seal. I will need a boost to get to that boy in time.
Every ounce of her bring screamed this was a trap, that any other course of action was better than this, but Mei was convinced that this was the only way to get to Phillip in time. With a shaky breath, she steeled herself and stepped towards the seal with her hands extended. Once she reached out, only one thought followed through her mind before being engulfed in lightning.
I'm sorry, Phillip-kun.
8:40 am,
The lightning ceased by the time Phillip returned to the site, Bronya still secured in his arms as he landed on the highest point of the construction. Kiana had decided on heading straight into the battle while his clones… had settled on watching the fight from the third floor instead of aiding Kiana in the fight.
Phillip groaned before he dropped down from the point to the ground, tossing Bronya to his clones as he passed them. Once he touched down, he tossed his jacket off to the side and rushed forward, getting between the two brawlers just in time to stop a lightning-infused fist from hitting Kiana's temple with his own.
"About time!" Kiana yelled as she stopped herself from falling back in her own attempt to evade the attack. Once she was on birth feet again, Kiana sent him a flat glare. "Your clones are useless, ya know that?"
"Preaching to the choir," Phillip mumbled in response but spoke louder when he addressed "Mei". "Sorry to ruin your fun early, Herrscher, but I'm gonna need you to go to sleep again." Releasing the lightning chakra, he grabbed "Mei's" arm and pulled it. She stumbled forward and attempted to rectify her stance quickly but suffered a punch to the stomach in the endeavor that sent her to the other end of the lot and through the building there.
"Oi!" Kiana ran in front of him, obviously not amused by the display of strength. "Are you trying to kill Mei-senpai, ya lunatic?!"
Phillip shook his head. "That won't put her down. At the most, all it will do is agitate her."
As if to prove his statement, a lightning bolt flew out from the wall's rubble, aimed directly at the two. Kiana noticed just as it reached them and tried to move out of the way but moved too slowly. So, Phillip pulled her out of the way so he would be the attack's main target while his right hand began chirping with lightning. Once the bolt was just about to hit him, Phillip used his hand to slice the bolt cleanly in two, keeping him and Kiana safe while the building behind them was obliterated by the remnants of the attack.
A dirty "Mei" floated back into the clearing, clearly aggravated. "You seem to find the worst time to interfere, insect. Just as victory is in my grasp, you always appear to rend it away."
"Sorry, I have a bad tendency of helping my friends," Phillip retorted with a flat stare. He then raised his left hand forward, tilted slightly with all fingers straight and the back of his hand facing the Herrscher. His other arm was tucked behind him as he put his left foot forward.
"Now, let's finish this quickly, yeah?"
The Herrscher charged at his words, racing at them with lightning speeds. Phillip spun around and tossed Kiana away to prevent her from getting dragged into the battle. He turned around just in time to block the rush, but the Herrscher didn't stop her momentum. She continued to push Phillip back and up at full speed, soon carrying the two farther away from Kiana.
Soon, the two were heading towards one of the taller skyscrapers in the city, barely grazing the guard rail along the edge as they reached the top. The Herrscher halted suddenly, sending Phillip back as she gracefully landed on the rooftop. Phillip twisted to land on his feet and slid to a stop a few feet away from his opponent, almost crashing into a chain-link fence that held a generator behind it.
"I mark this structure as your final resting place, insect," "Mei" taunted as lightning danced around her frame. "Finally, a thorn in my side will be plucked-"
"Pause, hold on a second," Phillip called back, trying to wrestle his shirt off his body. Once he accomplished his venture, Phillip threw the article to the rails to his right. "Okay, we're good now."
The Herrscher froze completely, tracing every detail to her eyes' content before realizing her actions. "H-How foolish of you, insect!? Some third-rate seduction attempt will not defeat me."
"I… wasn't attempting that," Phillip confessed with a raised brow. "I didn't want my skirt destroyed in battle, so I removed it. Unless you have no plans on killing me. Then I can go put it on again."
"Of course, I plan on killing you," she replied vehemently, though her growing blush removed any intimidation she might have had. "I just haven't expected such extreme disregard for one's armaments in battle!"
Phillip rose a brow at this, clearly not deceived by the statement. "Right. Are we going to fight or just talk all day?"
Her face flushed thoroughly at this, though whether it was from rage or humiliation, Phillip couldn't tell. As the storm above them started to stir and pour rain down upon them, the Herrscher gathered her lighting to her palms before sprinting forward. As they were about to clash, however, she lurched back.
"No!" The Herrscher stumbled back, leaving forward as if in pain with hands raised to her head. "You foolish girl, stop resisting! Just stay in your dream and stay away!"
Phillip didn't make a move, trying to analyze the words the Herrscher had said. Obviously, it meant Mei was rebelling against her oppressor, but the tone of the other words had conveyed the idea of something much less hostile to its host.
Phillip relaxed his stance and slowly moved closer to the Herrscher, whose ravings had quieted down to a murmur. "Are you alright?" He was forced to jump back to his original spot when the Herrscher swung an electrified fist at him.
She glared at him with seething rage. "You. You and that girl are at fault for this!" The Herrscher rushed forward at blinding speeds, throwing punch after punch at him as he dodged them with simple steps. As the Herrscher brought her hands over her head for a downward swing, Phillip jumped into the fence and stuck to it in hopes of asking some questions.
"My fault? How's it my fault? I'm not the one possessing a girl in an attempt to destroy the world."
"You left!" She screamed, firing some bolts at him, forcing him to jump to evade the attacks. "At a moment that she needed you, you left her!" The Herrscher continued shooting lightning at him, keeping him constantly on the move to dodge the assault. "If it wasn't for you and that girl, none of this would have happened!"
"I don't think I could have stopped that regardless," Phillip shot back as he leaped over another shot, landing on the left side of the Herrscher. He grabbed her hand to prevent any more attacks as he locked eyes with the Herrscher. "But, if it means anything at this point, I'm sorry."
Her electricity dispersed, leaving the sound of falling rain to fill the silence. "Mei's" brow furrowed, trying to detect a lie in his apology. "What did you just say?"
Phillip rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, obviously uncomfortable with the subject. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stick with Mei that day. I didn't think everything would happen so fast, and when it all happened, I wasn't ready enough to help Mei when she needed it."
Another moment of silence settled between the two. As it grew out of a comfortable range, Phillip opened his mouth to ease off the tensions, only to jump back when the Herrscher tried running her other hand into his chest. He landed on the rail guard behind him and sent the girl a flat gaze.
"Mei" let out a "tsk" in disappointment, quickly bringing her arm back to her side as the electricity grew in intensity. "I believed your guard to be down. A pity, really."
"So, I'm guessing we're not done."
The Herrscher charged at him as if his statement was of great offense to her. "I don't need apologies from a worm like you. The only thing you can offer me is your death."
Phillip stepped off the rail and settled back into the Heavy Fist stance. As he opened his mouth to talk, something that probably instigated a fight regardless of what he said, Phillip heard something coming in the whirling wind of the storm. He gave a slight smile, something that put the Herrscher on edge.
"What are you-"
A figure zoomed up on the other side of the building, legs crossed with both arms out wide. When it landed, it was revealed to be Kiana as she switched to stance quickly.
"Kiana Kaslana is here to save the day!"
Phillip shook his head in exasperation while the Herrscher seemed annoyed by the entrance. It only took a moment before Kiana realized the current situation, and only one thing came out of her mouth.
"I never got a good look at your front before. You really are built."
Phillip brought his palm to his face, knowing exactly what Kiana meant. A few seconds later, he felt another pair of eyes on him. Sliding his hand down slightly, Phillip saw the Herrscher staring at him as well but not in anger or annoyance. Instead, it was an inquisitive glance that held some minor lust to it.
"The girl has a point, for a useless insect. You are a nice sight to behold."
"Can we not, right now?!" Phillip yelled out, desperate to remove the unwanted attention from himself. "Aren't you trying to destroy the world or something?"
"Mei" moved her eyes off of him and stared off into space for a moment. "Yes. For the pain she has gone through, I shall rend the world into pieces." She slowly floated up as lightning jolted about the rooftop from her fingertips. With a glare at her opposition, she continued. "And you two must vanish as well. So, come, face your destruction head-on. Show me what insects are capable of."
"Kiana," Phillip called to the girl, warranting her attention. "Follow my lead."
"Gotcha!"
9:30 am,
"No, no, no," The Herrscher mumbled to herself, glaring holes into her opponents. "This isn't how it's supposed to go."
The battle that occurred has left two of them drained. Kiana was panting heavily, having exerted her body to the max to keep up with both her ally and opponent, while the Herrscher was now leaning into the rails at one end of the building in exhaustion. The only one that wasn't winded was Phillip, who kept his eyes on "Mei" for the time being.
Phillip and Kiana had combined his speed and her agility to fight down the Herrscher, which worked to a frightening degree. Though the Herrscher never let them get off scot-free, taking advantage of anytime Kiana couldn't keep up with a lightning bolt. She never could land anything on Phillip, but the Herrscher was smart enough to not allow him to get behind her. Any time Phillip tried, she would advance on Kiana and force him to face her head-on. However, as time passed, the Herrscher had wasted too much energy fending off her aggressors, leading to their current situation.
Phillip had to admit something that he had been neglecting for a while now: Kiana was a far better fighter than he initially gave her credit for. Between the first fight he saw her in, and how Siegfried acted when she was mentioned, Phillip deemed her a spoiled princess character that barely knew how to fight and blundered through battles. Now that he actually fought alongside her, Phillip retracted that statement quickly. Kiana clearly knew what she was doing, and while her form was sloppy in some areas, she was obviously well trained in what she did.
"Planning to apologize soon?" Gabriel teased.
Later. Phillip left his thoughts on his head as he spoke, aimed at the Herrscher. "This fight has gone on for too long. Let Mei out and then let her decide who to trust."
Kiana gave him a weird look, not understanding what he had just said. "What the heck are you-"
"Is that the solution your simple mind can muster up," the Herrscher spat, not impressed at his request. "I may hold no love for my cowardly host, but leaving her to you two is a torture beyond the hells."
"You're lying," Phillip replied before explaining when the Herrscher gave him a burning glare. "While I'm certain you believe the latter half of your observation, I can tell you hold something towards Mei. Something that isn't hostile to your host."
A vibrant blush flooded the Herrscher's cheeks, indicating Phillip's hypothesis was correct. However, this didn't stop her from climbing onto the rail guard and looking back at them with a smug grin as if she had won.
"Here's my counter offer. I fall from here, and you'll be free of my host and me. A win-win, don't you agree?!" With a laugh, she launched herself from the building, set on her own death. However, the Herrscher was surprised when Phillip soon followed her, taking her hand before she could even begin her descent.
That came with a problem, though. While the Herrscher didn't manage to fall, she did launch herself far enough that Phillip couldn't reach the bar, though only barely. As the two started their fall, Kiana had reached over the rail and managed to grab Phillip's other hand, grabbing on to prevent her from slipping off the building herself.
"You two are really stupid, aren't you?!" Kiana screamed as she hung off the rail. She made several attempts to pull them up, only to flop back onto the railing to no avail. "You better help me get your ass back up here!"
Phillip let out a sigh at this, though he did feel a small amount of relief at her help. Using the new leverage to his advantage, Phillip placed his feet against the building and channeled chakra to them. After a moment, he stood up simply, causing both girls to stare at him wide-eyed. However, Kiana was the only one to voice her shock.
"What the…"
Phillip cast her a smirk as he dropped her hand. The Herrscher was brought up in front of him with a pull before landing in his arms in a bridal carry. She looked at him in shock, either from his sudden capability or how gentle his hold was, but it didn't last long. Anger soon replaced it as she gripped his collar.
"Why?"
Phillip looked down at her with a raised brow. "One, you're using Mei's body. I can't allow her to die just because you weren't happy."
This didn't cause her to calm down. "And…?"
Phillip shrugged. "I just thought you didn't deserve it. You came to this world when Mei was experiencing its worst, so I think you should live long enough to see the best."
This caused the Herrscher to lower her hands, though she still seemed rather unimpressed. "If humanity has any positives to them, they would have shown it by now."
"We haven't been everywhere," Phillip countered as a smile managed to grace his face. "And we haven't seen every person. There's a lot more than those you've met, so save the judgment until you meet a few more, yeah?"
At this point, sunlight breached the clouds above, sending small rays down upon the group. This, in addition to Phillip's calm smile, seemed to set the Herrscher's heart at ease.
"F-Fine then," she stuttered as she looked away from the boy. "I'll give humanity one more chance. At least, until I gain my vengeance on you two."
"Right. Of course." Phillip laughed this out as he took the necessary steps to finally stand on the roof once more. Kiana stepped out of the way but rushed over once Herrscher was finally on her feet.
"Hey, so, I might not get what's going on, but you seem really nice when you aren't attacking me."
"N-Nice?!" The Herrscher seemed offended by the mere mention of that word or, at least, didn't believe that word was meant for her. "Heed me, insect, that I am still the one to destroy this miserable world and-"
"It's also kinda cool that you're, like, another person in Mei-senpai. I guess she'll never be alone, huh?"
The Herrscher was, once again, bewildered by Kiana's enthusiasm. "Excuse me, but I am not a byproduct of humanity's-"
"Oh, but don't worry too much," Kiana said, completely ignoring the Herrscher before her. "Since you're a part of Mei-senpai, I'll make sure to protect you too, and when a Kaslana makes a promise, we keep them."
This time, the Herrscher was confounded as a blush slowly crept onto her face. She took several glances between Phillip and Kiana before submitting herself to her fate with a sigh.
"Very well. I guess this is what is owed to me for my previous behavior."
"Ah, don't worry about that," Kiana cried as she wrapped a hug around the Herrscher's waist and lifted her into the air, even if she had to lean back to actually do so. "We would have been fine regardless, so don't worry that pretty little head of yours." The Herrscher began struggling against Kiana's grip, pushing against the white-haired girl while the blush grew in intensity.
Phillip shook his head at the scene posting before him but knew the three needed to return to their hideout to handle a certain problem he left behind. "As much as it wounds me to break up a budding relationship, we need to get a move on." Taking a couple of steps toward Kiana, he raised his right hand to her. "Can I have my shirt back now?"
Kiana dropped "Mei" absentmindedly as she stared wide-eyed at Phillip in both surprise and confusion. "What makes you think I have your shirt? How do you know it didn't fly off in the wind?"
"Normally, I would believe that," Phillip spoke calmly, not giving Kiana an inch to dissuade him. "However, the only point it moved from its spot was when you were thrown over to it. After that, I never saw it during our battle."
Kiana flipped through several emotions before settling into a pout, deeming her hopes to be dashed. "Fine. I'll go grab it."
"Just tell me where it is, and I'll take it from there."
Her pout seemed to deepen, though it didn't prevent her from pointing to the left side of the generator. With a single jump, Phillip reached the side and scanned around. There, at the back corner and tied around the fence pole, was his shirt.
Phillip quickly untied it and picked up the shirt, dampened by the rain of the passing storm. He channeled some fire chakra to his hands and watched as it dried out in only a few seconds, while the moisture rose into the air as white steam. It took only a second to put it back on and only one more to return to the girls, stuck in a conversation.
"Alright. Let's get going."
A second later,
The group returned safely and with no unusual events occurring as they did. Along the way, Mei had returned to her normal self in the arms of his clone. She regained consciousness just long enough to notice her predicament before passing out, snuggling against Phillip's clone as she did. The only other thing of notice was that the clone handling Kiana was having difficulties with her new policy of grabbing.
Once inside, Mei was gently laid against a pillar along the outer portion while Kiana was dropped off to tend to the unconscious Mei. With that task completed, Phillip took cautious steps deeper into the construction, uncertain of what he'll find when he reached the center. Once there, he finds himself pleasantly surprised.
His five clones were spread out, each near or standing on a pillar, surrounding the wreckage of Bronya's robot. The girl in question rested beside it, curled into the fetal position as dull gray eyes stared down at the similar colored floor. Allowing his steps to be heard once more, Phillip garnered Bronya's attention without a word but only for a second before her depressed gaze returned to the cement beneath her.
Phillip rounded to the closest clone, at his left. "What's the situation?"
The clone kept its eyes set on the girl as it addressed its creator. "She woke up with a start and tried to kill us, but calmed down when she noticed her bot was compromised. Since then, she's been like this."
Phillip nodded. "Go secure the perimeter. I need to talk with her."
The clone nodded before shimmering out of existence, soon followed by the rest. With the annoyances gone, Phillip took a pace towards the downtrodden girl and settled into a crossed-legged seat in front of her.
"I want you to know, I took no pleasure in that confrontation," Phillip explained casually, though with none of his usual apologetic tone in his voice. "However, due to the circumstances, you must understand I didn't have many choices if I wanted to protect them."
There was no reaction, something Phillip knew would occur the first couple of times. Thus, he continued with his reasoning for being there.
"I need you to answer some questions of mine. I'm choosing to ask you, not because I couldn't find out on my own, but because I'm giving you the will to do so prior. Do you understand?"
No verbal response. Instead, Bronya took a discrete look at her fallen companion and held it for two seconds before returning to the floor.
Phillip let out a sigh but forged on. "First question: for what reason did you and Cocolia need to falsely accuse Raiden Ryoma and seize his assets?" For the first time, he received something in response.
"Seele…"
Phillip rose a brow at this. The first answer, maybe not a direct answer, he was given was simply the name of the other girl he knew of Cocolia's. At this, he leaned forward in the attempt to draw out more information by suggesting interest.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?"
Back with Otto,
"What do you mean they were driven out?"
Otto gave his assistant a level glare as he uttered these words, annoyed by the report sent his way by the woman before him. It was a simple matter, but it peeved him to no end.
The report was as such: the Valkyrie team sent to Nagazora was able to enter the city easily and even reached the first objective soon after entrance, thanks to the small aircraft they used. However, soon after, they were forced to retreat after some causalities on their end. Thus, they could only return with one task completed while the other wandered about unobstructed.
"It's as the report states, Lord Otto," she said despite how much those words infuriated him. "The squad managed to reach that pink-haired woman you asked for rescue but were forced to fend off a relentless offense from her. By the time they secured her, half of them were eliminated, while the rest were inflicted with heavy Honkai sickness. They… aren't likely to survive."
Otto raised his right hand to massage his temple as he groaned out his aggravation. The losses to his forces were barely a dent in its entirety, but it did mean fewer hands on board for the day of destiny. It also meant he needed to send regards to those that still have the family to do so.
"Prepare the speeches and gift baskets I'll need," Otto demanded as he leaned into his left palm. "First, though, tell me how Yae Sakura is doing."
"Yes, Lord Otto," the assistant agreed as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard. "She's currently unconscious on the returning ship and should awaken upon arrival."
Otto finally smiled for the first time today. Finally, good news has reached his ears. "Good. Direct her to the desired room, and remember to treat her gently until my call."
"As you wish, Lord Otto." With this, the assistant exited his office, leaving the doors to close silently behind her.
Otto closed his eyes to ponder the situation and what action he should take. He could simply extract the core from her, the former Schicksal's obsessions made real, but that would destroy the last living connection he could have to Kallen. He could also place her into the Valkyrie lineup, but that might put her in danger of being consumed by the core within her. No, she needed to be kept close while still having the freedoms of normalcy. He didn't need another Cecilia occurring.
Otto made up his mind and pressed the intercom button on his chair. "Send Rita to my room. I need her to pick out the best outfit for our coming guest." Not waiting for a response, he released the button and pushed himself out of the chair. Otto then started towards his door slowly as he voiced his thoughts.
"Let's see what relationship we can forge together, Yae Sakura."
Welcome to hellfire!
I kind of wanted to expand the Herrscher of Thunder fight more but was burning myself out on this as it was.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it and I'll see ya in the next chapter.