Kiana paced around the halls of the medical bay. Her hands were behind her back and worry pierced at her heart with every step she took. Every now and then, she stopped to look at the window.

Her younger sister was brought back by her aunt unconscious. It was a sight that made her see red. All valkyries on board had to assist Himeko in restraining her to prevent her from mutilating her aunt and now…

"Kiana, Cecilia's a strong girl. You need to calm down. She'll make it," Himeko said.

Kiana bit her lip. Frustration overtook her body and she punched the nearest wall, leaving a visible dent in the steel frame of the ship. A piercing headache shot through her skull, forcing her to stumble a bit. Her eyes opened with her sclera flickering between black and white before calming down.

"Kiana?"

"Huh?" she turned around to see Himeko looking at her with worry in her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't need a med eval?" she asked.

Kiana wanted to scoff but refrained from doing so. She slowly straightened her body and walked over to the window to Cecilia's room.

"How much longer?" she asked.

"The medics said that they're almost done running diagnostics so they should be out in…"

As if on cue, the door slid open and one of the medical officers walked out. He removed his mask and gloves before pressing the dispenser on the wall.

"Major Murata. Captain Kaslana," he said.

"Yes, what is it, doctor?" Kiana asked, walking over to him in a near-instant.

"Your sister is fine," he said.

A sigh of relief left her chest and she almost slid down to the floor.

"However…"

Kiana perked her head up at his words, feeling the constricting feeling in her chest once more.

"Your sister has bilateral rib fractures. Specifically, her 3rd through 6th ribs have all suffered fractures along the body. Her battlesuit's Burst Mode Features and the Honkai Energy saturating her body is the only thing keeping this from being a lethal injury," he said. "She also has some deep tissue injury in her abdomen but that's to be expected with the type of blow she took."

"Broken ribs?" Kiana said.

"Yes, but it should be nothing to worry about. She should be fine within a few weeks. Considering how you were whenever you ended up in the medical bay, she should be fine in at least 2 weeks or less," the doctor said.

"Isn't that great, Kiana? Cecilia will be a-okay," Himeko said, clapping her back.

"Yeah… that's great," Kiana replied numbly.

"If you'd like, you can go and see your sister right now. She's still unconscious because of the sedatives but-"

Kiana didn't bother to listen to the rest of his words. She rushed past the doctor and into the room to see her younger sister lying unconscious on the bed. There was a bag of IV fluids hanging on a pole with a line going into her arm. A heart monitor displayed her sister's pulse and Kiana saw the steady rise and fall of her sister's chest.

She immediately grabbed a chair from the wall and placed it next to her sister's bed. Kiana grabbed Cecilia's hand and gripped it tightly, laying her forehead on the back of her hand.

"Thank god, you're okay," she whispered.

Himeko walked into the room, looking relieved that her student was fine. She opened her mouth to speak when she got a notification.

"Go for Major Murata," she said.

A video screen appeared in front of her.

"Himeko. What's the situation?" Theresa asked in a rare tone of seriousness.

"Cecilia is here in the med bay. Doc says she got broken ribs but she'll be fine if she stays off for a few weeks. Our ETA at St. Freyja is about half an hour to 45 minutes given optimal weather. We're also having guests," Himeko reported.

"Guests? Kriemhilde is with you, isn't she?" Theresa said.

"Mmm. I had to separate her and Kiana since Kiana almost killed her when she boarded the ship," she replied.

Theresa pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I can't deal with another problem on my hands. Kiana. Kiana!" Theresa called.

"What?" Kiana said, lifting her head up and staring at her aunt.

Himeko swiped the video screen, enlarging it to allow Theresa a wider view of the room.

"Kiana, you can't kill your aunt. From what I heard, she saved your sister's life," Theresa said.

"Tch," Kiana clicked her tongue before glaring at her. "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't greenlight the mission to pursue the Fourth! We should have just left this to me like always! Or better yet, hand the Fourth over to HQ! Cecilia is a fresh-off-the-block A-Rank! How could you send her on such a dangerous mission!"

"Don't talk to me in that tone, young lady. Do you think I'm not aware of the consequences of my own decision? My niece is in that bed with broken ribs and I'm thankful that it wasn't worse," Theresa snapped.

Kiana glared but chose not to say anything.

"When we get back, we're going to discuss how to get our wayward students back as well as Wendy. Anti-Entropy cannot be allowed the opportunity to possess both the Third and Fourth Herrschers," Theresa said.

"And Cecilia?" she asked.

"What about her?" her diminutive aunt asked.

Kiana bristled at her dismissive tone but chose to restrain the anger in her voice. "Cecilia. The moment she finds out we're planning something, she's not going to stay put."

Theresa furrowed her brow, thinking of an appropriate response to her niece.

"Effective immediately, Cecilia will be placed on medical leave. If she so much as dares to overstep her leave, I'm placing her under house arrest and suspending her Valkyrie status. Does that make you feel better?" Theresa asked.

Kiana nodded.

"Good. And… again, don't try to kill Kriemhilde. We might need her help getting them back," Theresa warned.

Kiana sighed. "Fine… I'll try to be civil with her but if she tries anything… and I mean anything," she said.

"I'll turn a blind eye to it on top of not reporting your little scuffle to Grandfather," Theresa said. "I'm going to cut this line and contact Kriemhilde. I want all three of you to report to my office once you land."

Himeko and Kiana nodded before the video feed cut out.

The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was the sky above her. It was no longer the stormy roil of New Zealand but rather it was the white ceiling of St. Freyja's infirmary. A dull ache pounded in her torso and chest.

If I'm here in St. Freyja, then that means that…, her eyes widened as the memories of what happened in New Zealand rushed back to her.

M- Mei-senpai! Bronya! Wendy! Cecilia sat up quickly but almost immediately regretted it.

A sharp pain shot through her abdomen, causing her to fall forward. She clenched her teeth, fighting through the pain as she slowly propped herself upright. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her forehead.

Cecilia looked down at her arms and saw two IV needles. One in her forearm and another on the back of her hand. She quickly ripped them out and tossed them on the bedside table. She reached out and grabbed the IV pole next to her bed before turning to sit on the side of her bed for a few seconds. The mere motion of her moving to the edge of her bed made the world around her spin. Cecilia gulped, suppressing the urge to vomit from the sudden dizziness that afflicted her.

She took a deep breath and stood. Her vision flashed with a million different colors as the pain shot through her once more. However, her will and need to confirm the safety of her two best friends won over and she took a step forward.

"Oh… my fucking…" she cursed, slowly walking towards the door.

Cecilia reached out and pushed the door open, almost hitting the person behind it.

"Ah!" The sound of stumbling and a tray almost falling echoed through the hall. Fu Hua stumbled back but managed to expertly maintain her balance despite the surprise.

"Class Rep?" Cecilia asked, surprised to see her standing behind the door.

"Cecilia? You're awake?" Fu Hua walked over to her and looked her up and down. "You're bleeding down your arm and hand. Did you take your IVs out?"

"Class Rep, where's my sister?" Cecilia said, ignoring what Fu Hua had just said.

"Your sister? Kiana's in the Headmaster's office with-"

"Thanks," she replied.

Cecilia pushed past Fu Hua, almost knocking the tray out of her hands once more.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fu Hua asked sternly.

"To see my sister," Cecilia said.

"Like that? Bleeding from one arm and dressed in a hospital gown? You need to rest," Fu Hua urged.

"I can't. They took them. They took Mei-senpai and Bronya!" Cecilia replied.

"I know. That's what they're discussing right now. Kiana asked me to look after you and I'd be damned if I- Hey! Don't just walk off on me!" Fu Hua called out.

Cecilia ignored her and continued walking down the hall.

Fu Hua sighed and placed the tray on one of the tables by the door of Cecilia's room and ran after her.

"How are you planning on getting there? The Headmaster's office is across campus. Are you planning to walk in that condition?" she asked, easily keeping pace with Cecilia.

"I… I need to tell them," Cecilia said.

"At least let me bandage up your arm and get you clothes from your dorm. Then, we can head over to the Headmaster's office and see Kiana," Fu Hua said.

"I…"

"Look. Do you want your sister to freak out when she sees that blood trickling down your forearm?" she asked.

Cecilia's lips thinned into a line. She was right. Kiana would freak out if she saw her bleeding from her arm, especially while she was dressed like this. Cecilia sighed and conceded to the Class Representative's words but only so she could see her older sister and the others. She needed to tell them what Bronya told her.

It was the only way they were going to get any of them back after all.

Scolding was something Theresa usually did. In her office, she would sit behind her desk and scare students into submission while Kiana and Himeko stood behind her. Despite being a nonchalant and calm headmaster, Theresa had a temper on her and everyone in St. Freyja knew that. Even those outside of the organization at the Main HQ knew that Theresa was not to be trifled with. She was the Overseer's granddaughter after all and if anything, Theresa had the strength to back up the title she so rightfully received. Theresa was a Valkyrie whose strength was on the level of an S-Rank and only two Valkyries in this world surpassed her in pure power. But in this moment, the granddaughter of the Overseer was powerless before the tongue lashing her niece was giving her.

Theresa sat in her chair, shrinking with each word Kiana spat out of her mouth.

"I told you over and over again not to indulge Cecilia's delusions of grandeur and what do you do? Send her after a goddamn Herrscher!" Kiana yelled, slamming her hand on Theresa's oak desk.

The desk cracked, sending splinters sliding across the aged-oak table.

Theresa paled and shrank in her chair, whimpering a little.

Kiana might have resembled her mother, Cecilia Schariac, but her temper was clearly inherited from her father, Siegfried.

She really is her father's daughter. Her death glare reminds me of the one Siegfried has whenever guys stared at Cecilia... Theresa thought.

Theresa shivered in her chair, feeling the chill around Kiana grow more intense with each passing second.

"I told you that this mission was going to be mine if Wendy ever awakened as the Fourth Herrscher but nooooo… you sent three teenagers fresh off the B-to-A Rank Promotion test because you believed in them," Kiana said, pacing around the room.

"Kiana, in my defense, they did manage to pacify her," Theresa squeaked out.

"Oh yeah and look where that got them. Wendy, Mei, and Bronya are in Cocolia's grasp and my sister is in the infirmary with broken ribs!" she spat.

"Kiana, let's all calm down and thank our luck that Cecilia wasn't more injured than she was," Himeko said, holding her hand out.

Kiana huffed and crossed her arms. "I swear you two are idiots! Three days! It's only been three fucking days since they were promoted!"

"If I may interject," Kriemhilde said, stepping forward.

"Wha-"

Theresa raised her hand and silenced her niece. "What is it, Hilde?"

"I-... I told you not to use that nickname when we're on duty, Theresa," Kriemhilde said. Her cheeks flushed at the mention of the old name her brother and Theresa called her.

"It's to break the ice. So… what is it?" she asked.

"If the Third and Fourth Herrschers are truly in Anti-Entropy's clutches, then we have no choice but to stage an operation to retrieve them," Kriemhilde said. "Who knows what they are planning to do with two Herrschers in their possession. The thought of it bothers me... The Herrscher of Reason and now the Herrscher of Thunder and Wind. If Anti-Entropy can weaponize them in the way that their Sovereign uses his Herrscher Core, then..." she trailed off, leaving the implication up in the air.

Theresa closed her eyes.

The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy.

The First Herrscher and the Herrscher of Reason. He was one of Schicksal's greatest enemies and an entity so powerful that even S-Rank Valkyries had been advised not to engage him in combat. A being who could create things from nothing, turning Humanity's greatest weapons on them and even creating Divine Keys out of thin air. If the Third and Fourth Herrschers could be trained or even have their cores transferred to agents of Anti-Entropy, then it would not bode well for Valkyries nor for Schicksal.

"I know. This is why I'm proposing an off-the-books operation to rescue Mei, Bronya, and Wendy. We just need to track their location. Luckily for us, Mei's bomb has a tracking device that lets us see her location," Theresa said.

"Bomb?" Kriemhilde asked.

"Yes. When Mei first joined St. Freyja with Bronya, Cecilia, and Kiana, she expressed worry that she would slaughter everyone if she ever went on a rampage. Like that would happen," Theresa said, waving her hand around.

Several golden chains snaked out from beneath the Headmaster's desk and danced as if they had been serpents that were charmed by a flute.

"In any case, we still took the precaution and surgically implanted an explosive device within Raiden Mei's heart. It's triggered by the amount of Honkai Energy that her core produces. If it ever reaches a certain threshold, the explosive will trigger and destroy her heart," Theresa said.

"Are you sure Cocolia didn't just remove the bomb from Mei the moment she was captured?" Kiana asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes, because-"

The door slammed open before Theresa could finish her sentence.

"I know where they are!"

Everyone turned around at the sound of Cecilia's voice behind them. Cecilia hobbled in, supported by Fu Hua, who shrank when she felt Kiana's gaze on her body.

Unperturbed by her older sister's intense stare, Cecilia pressed forward until she reached Theresa's desk. She slammed her hand down, causing Theresa to jump at the unexpected action.

"I know where they are!" Cecilia said.

"You said that already, shrimp," Himeko said.

"Er… right. Anyway! Bronya said something before she got kidnapped. It was the location where they were planning to take Mei-senpai and Wendy!" she repeated.

"Bronya did?"

Cecilia froze and turned to see her aunt leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Y- Yeah," Cecilia said.

"The same Bronya that took Mei and Wendy?" she asked.

"That was not Bronya's fault! She was being controlled by… by whoever the hell it was! She wasn't acting like herself. Bronya may be an asshole but she's not someone who would turn on her friends so readily like that," Cecilia said.

She balled her fists and looked down at the carpet.

"In any case, we don't really need you to tell us where Bronya is," Theresa said.

"Huh?" Cecilia looked up at her aunt's sudden words.

"Mei's explosive implant has a tracking device that allows us to keep track of her and gives us a live update of her Honkai energy readings as well as her vital statistics," Theresa explained. "Using that, even if Cocolia is in a place that interferes with the signal, we can triangulate the last location it was before it disappeared."

"But wouldn't it be better to know their exact location?" Cecilia asked.

"Exact location?" Kiana raised an eyebrow.

"Bronya told me where they were heading just before they were taken away," she said.

"And where did Bronya say they were heading exactly," Kriemhilde asked.

"ME Corp."

Theresa raised an eyebrow as did Himeko.

"Are you sure that's what Bronya said?" Theresa asked.

Cecilia nodded. "I swear. It's the last thing I remember before I passed out and Kiana rescued me-"

"That wasn't me," Kiana interrupted.

"Huh?"

"I was on the Hyperion and was about to go out when I saw it happen. But… Kriemhilde here saved you," she said, pointing her thumb toward their estranged aunt.

Kriemhilde smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in a way that eerily reminded the two of their father.

"O- Oh! Thank you, Auntie!" Cecilia said.

"It was no problem. You're my niece, after all, Ceci. I'll come to your aid if you ever need me to," she said.

Kiana scoffed at her words. "Anyway, can you confirm that what Ceci is saying is right?"

Theresa nodded. "Give me a second." She tapped her desk, projecting a holographic keyboard. After a few keystrokes, Theresa waved her hand and projected a screen before them. A series of red dots were seen moving north from New Zealand. The group followed the trail of red dots until it stopped in one location.

"These are pings that Mei's bomb gave us with 5-minute gaps in between each ping. But based on their current trajectory, it looks like they stopped in…" Theresa trailed off.

"Japan. More specifically, they're in…"

"Nagazora… or well, Old Nagazora. Reports say that the old citizens of Nagazora have moved to the part of the city that has less Honkai contamination but most of Nagazora was destroyed by Mei's attack when she was the Third Herrscher. Looks like… what Ceci is saying was right after all~!" Theresa said.

"It's genius actually. It's the last place we'd think to look. It's just too obvious," Himeko commented.

"Cocolia is one of the upper-tier members of Anti-Entropy. It's expected of someone like her to be so cunning but… she didn't account for the fact that we have a tracking device on our Herrscher," Theresa said.

She stood up from her chair and placed her hands on her desk. "That settles that. We have a location on our girls. All we need to do now is stage a retrieval mission and then we can go back to normal."

"After this retrieval, I'll be sure to report this incident to HQ so that the Overseer may take action," Kriemhilde added.

"Don't bother. Grandpa won't sully himself by going after Anti-Entropy like that. He'll just see this as a minor inconvenience but feel free to do so if it makes you feel better," Theresa said, waving her hand.

"That's great! When do we leave?" Cecilia asked.

The room went silent when she said those words.

The sudden silence caught her and Fu Hua off-guard.

"Um…" Cecilia looked around.

Kriemhilde and Himeko refused to meet her gaze and Theresa looked at her awkwardly.

"Um… you're not coming," Theresa said.

"What?" Cecilia's eyes widened at her aunt's statement.

"I said you're not going on this rescue operation," she repeated.

"What!?" Cecilia screeched.

"Now, before you say anything-"

"How could you not take me on this mission!? I need to be on this mission! Mei and Bronya are out there and they're doing God knows what to them. And you expect me to just sit here and do nothing?" she demanded.

"Yes, we do."

Cecilia froze when she heard her older sister's words. She turned around and saw Kiana giving her a stern gaze. A shiver ran down her spine and the urge to comply with their words immediately entered her head. However, the thought of Mei and Bronya being tortured by Anti-Entropy kept her from doing so.

"I'm going," Cecilia said, standing up to her older sister.

"You're not. You're staying here and recovering," Kiana said.

"I can go! I'm fine! I can still fight!" Cecilia said.

"With your broken ribs? Cecilia, are you trying to get killed?" she replied.

"I can't just sit here knowing Mei and Bronya are out there! I'm going whether you like it or not!" she said.

"No. That's final. Aunt Theresa, tell her," Kiana said.

"Er… Ceci. Kiana is right. You should stay here and recover-"

"I'm not a kid anymore! I can take care of myself! I'm even an A-Rank now! You guys can't keep coddling me like I'm some 5-year-old girl who can't even go to the bathroom without her older sister!" Cecilia said.

"You're staying here and that's final," Kiana said.

"No! Injuries aside, why aren't you letting me go? Haven't I proved myself to you enough!? I made A-Rank! I even took this mission. Hell, I pacified not one but two Herrschers! What more proof do you need to see that I'm ready to do this!?" Cecilia argued.

"It's because you're not!" Kiana yelled.

Cecilia took a step back as if she had been slapped in the face.

"You're not ready! Do you know how long you've been an A-Rank, Cecilia Kaslana? 3 days! 3 days! How can you stand there and tell me you're ready for a mission that has a high risk of you getting killed!? Did you think that retrieving Wendy was going to be a high-risk operation? All you were doing was escorting her home!" Kiana said, taking a step forward.

"But I…"

"But nothing! I'm not going to let you waste your life on this mission when you're this injured-"

"It's just fractured ribs! And I'm doing fine! I can walk! I can fight! As long as I don't slow everyone down, it should be fine that I can go right!? And what the hell was that about Wendy? Don't bring her into this conversation. None of us expected that to happen but it was still an A-Ranked Mission so don't you bring this shit into this! This has nothing to do with the fact that you don't want me to go because you think I'm deadweight! Just say it Kiana!" Cecilia said.

"You're not deadweight! I just don't want you to get hurt! We've already lost enough people in our lives and I don't want to lose you too-"

"I'M NOT DAD!"

Kiana fell silent upon hearing her words. Her bangs shadowed her eyes as Cecilia continued to speak.

"I'm not dad. Stop blaming yourself for what happened to dad. That was not our fault! You told me that yourself but look at you! You're being held back by the fact that you think Dad's death was your fault! Grow up Kia-" Cecilia's face snapped to the side as a loud smack echoed through the entire office.

Everyone looked at the scene with their mouths agape.

Cecilia brought her hand up and touched her now stinging cheek. She looked at her older sister with widened eyes.

"You-"

"You're not Dad. I know that. But you're still my younger sister, Cecilia. I'm not going to let you throw your life away for Mei and Bronya," Kiana said. "Especially as you are right now so… go back to your dorm."

"No."

"That's an order, young lady!" Kiana growled.

Tears brimmed at the edges of Cecilia's eyes. She clenched her jaw. "I hate you, Kiana!" she yelled before running out of the office with tears streaming down her face.

Kiana watched her sister disappear around the door, followed by Fu Hua, who went after her. She sighed and walked over to a chair before tiredly sitting down and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Kiana, are you okay?" Himeko asked.

"It's better that she's mad at me like this. She'll get over it once we rescue the others," Kiana replied.

"But… she seemed really mad," Himeko said.

"Just let her stew for a day. Besides, I'd rather her hate me and be alive than be lying inside ME Corp somewhere bleeding out knowing that I could have done something to keep her from getting killed," Kiana said.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds before composing herself. Kiana stood and wiped her eyes. The comment about their father really hit home though she knew Cecilia didn't mean it. It was merely the girl's anger and frustration taking over.

"So, when do we leave?" Kiana asked.

"In a few. We're waiting for confirmation from Alvitr and Susannah," Theresa said.

"Confirmation?" Kiana asked.

She felt a pit forming inside her stomach. If Theresa had mentioned those two, then that meant that…

"We're not taking the Hyperion this time. It's too easily detectable, especially in Anti-Entropy Airspace in Japan. We'll be taking Kriemhilde's ship," Theresa answered.

"You don't mean that…" Kiana's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's right. Kriemhilde is coming with us for this mission," Theresa answered.

Disclaimer: I have no idea of the exact location of ME Corporation so I just based it in Japan because that made the most sense to me. Specifically in a part of Nagazora that wasn't destroyed by the Third Eruption.

And with that, we've reached Betrayal Has a Silver Smile. I'm still deciding on the... post-Chapter 9 era of this fic. So I'll get back to all of you on that. Most likely, it's leaning toward a sequel of My Sister's Keeper rather than a continuation of this. I discussed it with a couple of friends on Discord and if I continue this, introducing Cecilia's foil would be rather late in the game, don't you all think? A while back I said I was just going to do a 4 chapter sequel based on Everlasting Flames with Kiana and Cecilia but... I had a better idea and that's to... well that's going to spoil it. Let me know what you all think regarding this train of thought and what you think of Kiana and Cecilia's argument. Anyway, I'll see you all on the next chapter. Please remember to like and subscribe. You know the drill.