Chapter I: Prologue

"Now tell me why this was a good idea," A boy's voice echoed in the now empty hallway, his weapon dematerializing from his left hand while his right casually flicked a large revolver's chamber shut. "I thought the Legion wouldn't come here as this was supposed to be a simple supply run and drop-off for the Express. Pom-Pom doesn't like deviations unless they are of their own making."

"Now now, Ace, just focus on helping Asta clear out the Legion and make sure that any researchers you find are escorted safely out," a lovely woman's voice cheerfully rang over their shared communication. "We can discuss further in the Master Control Room once you help Herta with her project."

"Nah, I went through that once and I had every Aeon under the stars gazing at me…" The boy hummed withholding a shiver, "So respectfully, Himeko, no. Instead, I'll meet up with March and Dan Heng once I-"

"Ace?" Himeko asked, sounding concerned when he cut himself off.

A ringing on his phone, a specific ringtone mind you, started playing, "Let me call you back, more Legion appeared," Ace disconnected the line, drawing his sidearm. His free hand tapped a few buttons on a holo-projected screen before him. The symbol that appeared on screen was one he had come to know after a few run-ins…

"My my, you're here too, Ace. It might actually make this script exciting," The voice sounded like a child and in some cases, she was.

…as she was also Ace's gaming buddy and to be honest, his current crush, whether she knew that or not was uncertain as she never gave any signals regarding it. "Sylvie, it's always a pleasure. If you've reached out and are contacting me so inconspicuously, that means the Hunters are on the move. I assume she's been paired with you?" Ace didn't let her respond as he continued, dodging a Void Ranger's strike, a .500 caliber bullet passing through its skull.

"You'd assume correctly. Still aren't going to-"

Ace growled, "No, it's not time yet. At best, a glimpse. By the way, tell me if you can hear this…" Another round exited the revolver, killing another member of the Anti-Matter Legion, this time being a Centaur-type creature.

Ace heard a grimace from the other line, "I did…best get a move on, and hey we still on for later tonight?"

There was a new game out and of course, she wanted to play it. It was a gacha game that was taking the universe by storm and knowing Sylvie, she was going to whale if it had a character that interested her…same with him, to be fair. "Of course, Silver Wolf. I always enjoy our gaming sessions. I get to see a cute side to you that rarely comes out."

An indignant squeak erupted from the other side, making Ace smile, "You can't just say out of pocket stuff like that!"

"Call my bluff then," Ace countered, dealing with the last Legion who thought trying to sneak up on him was a good idea. Safety on, the revolver slid into his holster located under his left arm. Funny enough, Silver Wolf did not call his bluff, therefore making him the winner of this verbal bout. A fair trade, considering her stature.

Swiftly fixing his coat, he took note of the screen in front of him. Punklorde. Silver Wolf's homeworld, at least, what she considers her home. However, now she and her partner were on the Herta Space Station, a station that was made by Genius Society Member #83, Herta. Ace believes that she's a narcissist. With her lack of empathy and limited range of emotions, he had circumstantial evidence. It also didn't help that she had multiple copies of herself on board.

Ace's coat was more of a zip-up sweater but was slightly longer to reach over his waist, reaching to just above his hips. The purple and silver created a perfect symmetry. A simple facemask was nestled into his hair, a similar color to his coat. He wasn't a follower of the Masked Ones, he just liked the aesthetic, and for hiding his identity when it came down to it. Underneath the coat was a purple shirt and a simple pair of black silver-lined jeans with black combat boots that covered his lower half.

Of course, the holster he had that strapped across his chest held two revolvers. There was also a holster on his thigh, carrying an emergency pistol…and various packs of ammo could be spotted on various sections of his clothes. He went nowhere unarmed. He learned that lesson once and it nearly cost him his life.

Funny enough, he does carry an emergency gun in his sleeve. A simple one shot pistol. The caliber was far less impactful than his revolvers but it got the job done. Ace quietly stepped forward as he entered the next room, just to see Silver Wolf and her accomplice for a brief moment. To be fair, he never asked which direction she had heard the shot from. Seeing the hair of her companion, he paused for a brief moment, glancing over her before closing his eyes and forcing himself to not speak.

Instead, he turned on his heel passing the room with swiftness, only hearing bits of the conversation, none of which even mentioned him. He was clear for now. "Himeko, are you still with me?" He asked once he was far enough away.

A disgruntled and irritated voice greeted the magenta-haired boy—he hasn't ascended those stairs yet and it's not something he would give out for just any reason—which is fair, considering he did hang up on her, "Accceeee," Oh shit… "Were you just on the line with a Stellaron Hunter of all people?"

"O-Okay…t-to be fair, M-Himeko, it was my gaming buddy, she wanted to know if we were still on for tonight," Ace stuttered but it was the truth. The two had a shared love for games and hacking, not that the two mix as they prefer to keep that seperate. Himeko was plenty scary when she got like this, not that Ace ever said anything about it.

Himeko's voice did not sound convinced, "Your relationship with her already skirts the line, Ace. Not to mention-"

"You said you wouldn't bring it up, Himeko," Ace's voice sounded hurt at the assumption and prodding. He did give perfectly good reasons why he couldn't reveal that. Groaning, he cut through the Base Zone to meet up with March and Dan Heng. "My conditions for joining the Express hinged on those for the time being. Once that is fulfilled, I won't be in your hair any longer. I guess that the only good news is that I don't have a bounty on my head. The problem is how many times I'm mistaken for another."

While he was on the Express as a Nameless, that was it. A Nameless in, ironically, name only. He was not a full-fledged member of the Astral Express but still had his pass if he ever wanted to visit. "…Fine. Who was there?"

"Silver Wolf and…Kafka," Ace swallowed the lump in his throat. Many thoughts passed through his mind at the moment that none of them were able to be pinned down.

"Make your way to the Master Control Zone, immediately, I shall meet you there," The navigator of the Express said, leaving Ace no room for , she cut the line between them just as he did before.

A vibration rumbled in his pocket. Ace put his head on a swivel before pulling out his phone to see a text:

Sylvie 🐺: U alright? U seem freakd tf out?

Ace: nbd nbd, btw new banner is out soon, u goin for C6?

Sylvie 🐺: buncha bs ️…and yes, new character, must whale…we'll talk laters…my part is comin' up.

Ace tried not to grimace at how she knew so easily. Then again, it was Silver Wolf, the one who can hack reality as if it was a game…she probably already had him figured out the moment she texted. That was the other thing, she had his personal number and he had her personal number—something that she doesn't give out easily. She was not using burner phones like the rest of them. Then again, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that Silver Wolf changes the physical number but not her phone.

Pocketing his phone, he quickly took the fastest route to the Master Control zone, where Asta would most likely be. She was the Head Researcher on the Station, Herta's second basically. The one who runs the Station because Herta was too busy running this Simulated Universe project.

Just as he was about to leave the area, he saw Dan Heng, Arlan, March, and their newest potential crew member. In front of them was a Voidranger. Arlan looked injured and Ace didn't see Himeko at all. With grace and ease, Ace drew his revolvers and whistled, "Hey, ugly!"

An incomprehensible snarl erupted from the beast. Before it could even draw its Quantum bow, Ace had fired all the rounds in his guns. Each bullet caused a resounding BANG that rattled everyone's eardrums and blew a chunk out of the Voidranger. The beast staggered but did not falter. Ace, however, had already leapt from his higher position and drew his sword. He missed the way the new girl's eyes widened at seeing the blade. With speed and precision, the blade stabbed through the Voidranger's head and it fizzled out of existence.

Sighing, Ace stood up, twirled the hilt of his katana in his hand before it disappeared with one hand whilst reloading his revolvers with the other. Obviously, one at a time, Ace doesn't have some voodoo magic that can make the other revolver reload itself.

"Your timing is impeccable, Ace," Dan Heng said with the smallest hints of a smile, carrying Arlan. March positively beamed at him and sagged in relief.

"Of course, I've told you plenty of times that I would have your backs," his gaze shot to the girl behind them all, only for his smile to fall. His eyes glazed over as if he was in a trance. March quickly noticed and latched onto his arm, worried for the guy. A few moments later, in reality only a few seconds, Ace returned to a normal mental state. "Apologies for the mishap in my behavior…may I know your name?"

"…Stelle."

Ace clenched his fist upon hearing that, despite his expression becoming flat. It was as he thought. Damn Aeon, why?! Why her? She noticed his fists, only making her curious. "A pleasure. Arlan, you've seen better days," Ace switched to a small fake smile to hide his pain. "You promised me not to get injured like you are the last time I was here."

The security officer gave a dry laugh, "And you're still trying to crack jokes. You know how seriously I take my job."

"Come on, Himeko is waiting in the Master Control Center…even though she wanted me there a few minutes ago," Ace had to physically turn around to look away from Stelle. He could tell she had plenty of questions. Questions that he cannot answer at the moment until the time was right. Who knows when that will be?

There was a small adventure to get the elevator to work. Turns out, MArch was given an authorization card that would allow the elevator to work. Dan Heng and Ace both deadpanned at March when she was fiddling around with every single pocket she had, which was funny since she was wearing a skirt…which doesn't have…pockets…

After the whole group made it back to the Control Center, high heels clacked along the floor at a rapid pace. Ace only had a moment to turn before arms encircled him, his vision filled with lustrous red hair. His magenta eyes meeting amber. "Are you alright? You're not hurt?"

Ace gave a tense smile, "I'm fine, aunty Himeko." Aunty being his affectionate nickname for her. While she did act more like a mother to Ace, his real mother was in a bit of a rough spot. Call it a rough patch. "Happened to meet a few friends on the way, one of whom I know very well," he whispered to her, not wanting them to hear.

Himeko rested her hand on his cheek, "I see…head back to the Express, give yourself some time."

"Time…heh, sure…I've only had ten years and some change," Ace replied, downtrodden, before leaving the control center through an Anchor Waypoint. A handy way to travel, useful to those that follow an Aeon's path. They work for literally anyone as everyone can follow a path. Those that don't simply can't use the anchors.

All the while, Stelle, the poor girl, wanted to know if he knew anything about her. The first thing she knew about her life was that woman…Kafka.

The problem wasn't Ace. She had no reason to dislike him. Hell, she had no reasons at all…

Not only was she 'born' mere hours ago, at minimum, she had skills on how to use a weapon, her bat, and somehow knew some forms of combat. Stelle's eyes had watched as Ace destroyed the Antimatter Legion troops with ease and the fluidity of his style triggered something deep within the locked confines of her memory.

…but the fact remained: Why does she feel like she knows him?

Ace leaned against the railings overlooking the planet below the Space Station. The Express wasn't in the docking station as Welt was bringing it in a few minutes. His hands were nearly bending the metal even if his expression was completely neutral.

"You look tense."

Ace recognized the voice and nearly spat, "You fucking knew."

Unsurprisingly, the person gave him a flat response, "Yeah. Part of the script. He knew that you would react poorly, hence why Elio left you out."

"Silver Wolf," Ace turned his head to see the genius hacker blowing a bubble before it popped, her tech glasses resting in her hair—the drill-like ponytail swayed a little when she moved—and rested her back on the railing.

"Listen Ace, I know. You think I knew all the details? I only know what is relevant to my part. Kafka is the one that Elio lets know of the broader picture. I didn't show my surprise when she picked her but you have to remember-"

"I know!" His hand tensed and the metal beneath it groaned. Huffing, he pushed off the railing, ignoring the fact that he was able to nearly break a piece of reinforced metal with his bare hands, "I know, damn it! She doesn't know but you do realize how similar we are physically?"

Silver Wolf nodded, "Duh, that's how genetics work, trust me, I'm aware. As for Stelle, I know she meant, ah, means a lot to you…" and to her but neither finished that sentence. Both didn't pay full attention as warnings blared around them, "Haah, right on time. You better get into position."

Ace sighed, for the millionth time it felt like, "Sylvie, when are you free?"

The hacker opened a holo-screen in front of her, full of about three games doing their dailies and weeklies but a lot of it had other stuff that Ace didn't care about…

…except one…which had a lot of text on it and a heading that looked like it suspiciously had his name on it. Silver Wolf noticed his eyes straying to that window and once she noticed what was on it, she had a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks, quickly swiping the window away in front of the others so that he couldn't see it. Ace wisely didn't comment on it but his cheeks also gained a faint hue. The term 'filthy' just about covered it. Didn't know she was into that…or she had that much of an active imagination.

As if sensing his thoughts, she glared at him, "In about a week…why?"

"Just wanted to know…wanted to see if you wanted to go somewhere," Ace found himself nervous. He came from a race of people that knew no fear yet he was sweating over her answer. This was one of those rare times and he was well aware of the signs. Silver Wolf was very intelligent, pretty, has a personality that he can vibe with, and can be quite cheeky when she wants to be, and knows how to push his buttons.

"Oh? You're asking a fair maiden out? Well, at least you leveled up," Silver Wolf said but her growing smile showed how she was going to answer. Ace was looking away, not focusing on her. It made the hacker smile at this side of him, it was quite adorable to her.

"If you're not, we can make time during our game time. Speaking of…" Ace pulled out his phone, still ignoring the alerts, and checked something. "Ah, banner resets in about an hour, not including maintenance…so in about six hours…"

"Wanna race to see who gets C6 R5?" She challenged, neither saying yes or no.

The Space Station shook as the Doomsday Beast continued to cause a massive ruckus. That damn thing didn't know what was coming to it. Ah, the beast…should explain that. Something that the Antimatter Legion doesn't have a lot of due to circumstances that no one knows…but they don't come around often. "Sure. Pity?"

"Fifty-three, guaranteed," Silver Wolf responded.

"Sixty-seven, also guaranteed," Ace replied. The two shared a competitive smile. The last time they did this, Ace actually won by one ten pull.

Silver Wolf glared at him as she swiped the holo-screen away, "You've been building pity."

"Correct," he acknowledged, "…except it was on the previous banner. So, call it preparation instead of building pity, and if I got a five star, I'd still win; even though we both could modify the rates to give us them at any time. Call it copium if I failed."

"Yeah but we play games to actually pla-"

"Ahem, whale, ahem…" Ace coughed, smirking under his fist.

Another glare as she crossed her arms, "Sure, whatever but even we have standards."

Ace looked away, noticing his anger had gone away, leaving only a vain hope. Hoping that Stelle doesn't ask any difficult questions later. "You should probably get going. Wouldn't want you to be late."

"Same to you, Ace. Ttyl," Silver Wolf gave a peace sign before fading away, revealing that she was a hologram.

Ace scoffed, "Did she really just meme out of here?" A rumble brought his attention back, "And here comes the beast…right on cue…" The Astral Express crew arrived at the station as the Doomsday Beast sighted in on its new targets. All Ace had to do now was watch…such as the script demands.

...fuck those things.

Watching the fight was one of the most frustrating things he's had to witness. Normally, he would be all for the action, the thrill of the fight, and no fear. So, watching them fight the Beast was excruciating. The temptation to jump in and use his power, being a follower of IX—the Aeon of Nihility—to end it was humming in his veins. He could feel his lips curl into a bloodthirsty smile but had to temper himself. While IX considered the world pointless, alongside life, Ace had a feeling that Aeon has some subconscious polar opposite to its 'personality'.

It was feeling the presence of another Aeon that made Ace pause, that and looking down at his wrist, he could see Aeon activity spiking. Frowning, he looked up to see Stelle jumping in front of March, and then started floating. It was then that he felt it.

A Divine Gaze. Nanook gazed upon Stelle, and it was there that the script clicked for Ace. This was their plan. Anger was the least concerning thing that crossed Ace's face, gripping the railing with such force that it did break, nay, shattered beneath his hands. Ignoring the lack of grip he had in one hand, his eyes blazed with a fury rarely seen, and if it was, it was seen by Himeko once before. Stelle was looking unlike herself. Gnashing his teeth, Ace prepared to leap over the platform and break the script but was stopped. The reason being was because Ace heard a meow from his left, only to see a black cat licking its paw with yellow-amber eyes and staring intently.

"…motherfucker…" He grounded out at the cat, knowing damn well who it was. Ace wanted to say something about this situation but he knew that his contract with Elio was until the purpose was fulfilled. As for the crew, there was a reason why Ace stayed his hand, aside from the obvious. Once he controlled his emotions, he rubbed his chest, irritated.

That reason he paused and righted himself was because of Welt Yang, the badass man with a cane and glasses. By using said cane, he tapped Stelle on the head, knocking her out from whatever berserk state she was in. Ace heard the cat meow once more, and he took that as his cue to rejoin the crew. There were going to be so many questions for him and Ace didn't want to deal with any of it right at the moment.

Hopping over the now destroyed railing whilst transferring credits to Asta with an apology note and location of the broken railing, he waltzed right up behind the crew, Himeko seeing him first. Her eyes expressed one thing, to which Ace nodded. Apparently, she saw how much it pained him, or aggravated him, if her sympathetic look was anything to go by. He looked away and steadily marched toward the train that was now lodged into the Space Station.

The Astral Express, a work of machinery made by the former Aeon Akivili, capable of traversing the universe through astral warps. The rugged design was aesthetically pleasing to Ace. He fought the urge to sigh again, unsurprised to feel multiple sets of eyes on him. There was some minor contempt in their gazes, perhaps wondering why he didn't join the fight…and he was not ready to explain his reasoning, and perhaps he never will be.

Stepping into the train car, Ace sought out the conductor, Pom-Pom. Pom-Pom was a small bunny creature that just appeared on the Express, at least according to Himeko's and Welt's accounts. "Ah, you've returned!"

"Hello to you too, conductor," Ace greeted, looking nearly to the floor. Yes, Pom-Pom was pint-sized. The little conductor hat and jacket covered their form and for some reason that Ace cannot possibly fathom, their footsteps make an adorable 'pom' sound. Trying to describe it was futile but Ace would rather save the incoming lecture and questions if he could help it. That and he needed to sort out his emotions lest they become volatile and he says or does the wrong thing. "Everyone should be boarding shortly, do you require my assistance?"

"No need but thank you for always offering!" Pom-Pom cheered with literal flowers flowing off them. Again, it was better not to ask.

The Nameless strode to the passenger car, quickly going to another cabin, taking the farthest door at the end. The door slid open and shut after he entered. The room itself was near barren, aside from the obvious bed and nightstand. Yet, displayed on the wall were plenty of swords and guns. These were Ace's previous equipment, or collection, as he had upgraded his arsenal as time passed.

His master had beaten him to a pulp on sword techniques and stances, and there was even a time she—yes, she—had made his body just stop functioning. He couldn't move his legs or arms after sparring for two hours. A fond memory as he wouldn't be alive without her help.

Yet, he never did get a good reason as to why she trained him. Of course, he's asked plenty of times and a straight answer never existed in his master's dictionary. Despite that, after that spar, he was graced with a beautiful smile. It was clear that he had pleased her.

Shaking his head, he glanced away from that training sword to another wall, there were wanted posters of him, and all of them based on false charges. It was only thanks to Sylvie that not everyone knew about them.

"Ace, are you in there?" Himeko's voice called out, lightly tapping on his door.

"Yeah, just try-"

"I know but please do not seclude yourself. Explaining your actions would help ease their worries," she said gently through the door. Ace, at first, thought she wa scolding him for it but knew she was trying to help him uplift his spirits.

"They couldn't understand why I was not present," Ace argued. A weak one but it was one he was going to stick to. "You know that…"

He heard Himeko sigh, "Meet us in the main car in fifteen minutes, we'll be discussing our next destination." Ace gave no acknowledgement. Turning his gaze back into his room, more specifically the wanted posters, he started to drift into memory lane.

The first time was by far the most jarring and unexpected. At first, the governing body of Heliem had wanted him caught alive for some crime he did not commit. His first clue that it was complete and utter bullshit after they managed to apprehend him was how they said that he was 'oddly masculine for a female' and that was the only clue he needed to know who they thought he was.

Put it this way, Ace has a lot more credits than he cares to admit. By accusing the government for wrongful detainment and other various forms of harassment, Ace had them pay him thrice or quadruple times the bounty placed on him. His record was a couple billion.

What made the smile that formed on his face fade away was the picture next to the wanted poster. In the picture were two people, one holding the smaller figure, a genuine smile on their faces. Ace looked away, not wanting to admit that he missed those days.

She made her choice. As he made his. That's all there was to it. Perhaps there would be a chance to rectify that.

Ace exited his room lacking his equipment but was wearing a blank white t-shirt and his usual pants and boots. His holsters remained in his room, well, all but the emergency one. Never know when it could be useful. Ace wanted to believe they wouldn't judge him but he's been in front of multiple juries but it always seems to be that way when on front of the people he has come to know.

The biggest obstacle was Stelle. Aeons, it wasn't even her fault but the rose-tinted glasses struggled to come off when it came to her. Ace knew Stelle from a long time ago. So, to see her again and see that she did not have her memories made Ace feel so defeated.

The two of them were inseparable, Ace recalls. The times they were getting in trouble were too many to count. That was from a time long ago. Reaching the Parlor door, it opened automatically. The first pair of eyes that he saw were Himeko's, whose soft smile showed that he was making the right choice. Welt met his eyes and nodded. He understood Ace's choices.

However, upon seeing Dan Heng, March, and Stelle, he paused in his stride. March immediately strode to his side with a smile, "Hey Ace, we've been waiting, come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch. It baffled Ace how she was able to be so chipper all the time, despite the fact she also knew something was up with him.

"How are you all feeling?" Ace asked, pointedly not looking at Stelle, lest he spill on what he knows and the script pointedly made sure that he does not tell her under any circumstance. Destiny was being a right bitch on this one.

Dan Heng quickly answered, analyzing Ace's posture. The spear-wielder could see that guilt was in his posture, and even his voice. He felt guilty about something. To the Hunt follower, there was only one thing that he could hypothesize: Not helping during the Doomsday Beast fight.

While he was right, it was not the entire reason. Most of it? Yes. All of it? No. "We're alright, all things considered," Dan Heng answered, relaxing his body into the couch. While he would much rather be in the archives, there was a reason why they were all here now. They would have started earlier but Himeko had to be sure that Ace would appear. Lo and behold, here he was.

Stelle, all the while, was staring—almost shamelessly—at Ace. She felt like she knew him, at least, knew him well enough to say something but as the memory came, it went. "So, what now?"

"Now comes the time for a meeting. Since we just restocked the Express' supplies at the Station, we warp jump to the next planet, check to see if it has a Stellaron burst, then either check it out, or move on if deemed a false alarm, or stop to visit the planet. Being a Nameless does sound boring if I put it that way but on the bright side, we meet new people, form relationships, and help people, what more could we ask for?" Ace explained softly, closing his eyes. "Any information that we need to know, ask Dan Heng, he will have most of the data we need on a majority of things."

Still, Ace did not like how he had to hide his other dealings. Nothing illegal but it definitely was selfish nonetheless. Looking up, Ace saw Welt and Himeko entering with Pom-Pom behind them. "Good, everyone's here," Himeko expressed with a smile.

"Where's our next destination?" March inquired, her legs kicking idly from the couch. She's short but she was also sitting as far back on the parlor couch as she could. Ace would make a joke at her expense but the glare she gets sometimes was plenty scary.

"Pom-Pom has charted a course to Jarilo-VI, where we have detected a Stellaron Burst occurring just fifteen system hours ago," Welt said, pushing up his glasses, gaining a sheen that honestly did not make any sense whatsoever. Ace just accepted it as a 'thing' on the Express. Just like Himeko's utter obsession with coffee. He tries to get her to at least drink some water. He could swear that she would bleed caffeine one day.

Seriously, how does she not have health issues when it comes to this?

Dan Heng stood up, "I shall go fetch the information on the planet, that way, we can prepare."

"Okay, so before you huddle for hours on end, do we have any preliminary information on Jarilo-VI?" Ace inquired, shifting his position to keep Stelle out of sight. The more he looks, the more memories come up and the more that happens, the more he wants to tell her everything.

One struggle at a time.

"Aside from it being a frozen wasteland for the past few centuries and lack of contact…not much comes to the forefront," Dan Heng answered, chin in hand. "Permission to leave?"

"Granted," Himeko said. "Don't hole yourself up, once the warp jump is complete, please make your way out here with your findings. It should take us two days to make it there without complications, is that right, Pom-Pom?"

The conductor of the Express brightened up as they spoke, "Yup! The final checks will be made and the Express can make its way along the stars!"

Welt chuckled slightly at the adorable bunny creature, even if Pom-Pom denied it, the ears were a dead giveaway. The older man glanced at Ace, seeing him look out the window. March had dragged Stelle away for the time being, so Welt sat next to the young man, "Are you still thinking about her?"

"Define which."

"Well, there are three options," Welt lightly teased, the smallest hints of a smile present, "But I heard you had seen your m-"

"I did and I don't care. It's not time yet," Ace hissed under his breath. "But I also saw…" Ace trailed off with a blush.

"You current crush…which happens to be the IPC's third most wanted criminal," Welt continued, adjusting his glasses, smirking all the while. The man's brown eyes met Ace's purple eyes, "Ahh, young love. However, I will not approve or deny it but I do wish you all the best but if you are on opposite sides, what will you do?"

"The job, and I know she understands that," Ace said. "But…right now…seeing Stelle…it brings back different memories…"

"…you knew her before," Welt stated, not asked.

The magenta-haired boy slumped in his seat, "…yeah. She was like my sister. Could tell her anything and she would always listen. Now…seeing Stelle but not knowing her…it hurts, Welt…"

Welt settled his hand on his shoulder, "Perhaps one day, she will regain those memories or perhaps make new ones that you will cherish even more."

Ace gazed out the window of the Express, silently acknowledging Welt's point. The latter understood that and stood up, making his way to Himeko's side. The two began chatting about something that Ace didn't pay attention to. Feeling a gaze being directed at him, he elected to ignore it, no doubt it being Stelle. The boy idly rubs his chest again, closing his eyes, and wanted to get a few minutes rest before their trip got started.

At least until his phone buzzed in his pocket. Fishing for it, he read the text from an unknown number: 'New Script. You are not going to like it.'

As the text said, he definitely didn't like it. One thing was for certain…Ace thinks he was going to dust off the .50 BMG anti-material rifle he got from Red Babel a few years back. There was a bullet with this Aeon's fucking name on it.

His response instead was: 'Give me three reasons why I shouldn't break the script, Elio.'

…

Well, this is one of the HSR things I had in mind. First things first, it should be obvious who the OC is related too…like I couldn't spell it out. While some might think it would take away the mystery, I eventually decided that it should be there. This allows for future build up.

The two planets: The one Ace mentioned about the bounties and about the anti-material rifle, those are planets in the Star Rail universe—directly pulled from the wiki

Now, this story won't take up a spot in my 'rotation' of updates. Just whenever I feel like it. So, updates on this will be few and far between.

For the other tidbits I've reveled in this prologue, well, I'm trying a few things. As for why I didn't cover the Awakening scene, the Master Control scenes, and the Doomsday Beast scenes were because that implies they went the same as canon.

I also got inspired to make this just before 2.0. I won't be pulling for Black Swan, even though I could use an attacking Wind Character. I will be going for Sparkle and eventually Acheron. Need to make my mono quantum team, and Sparkle is a Harmony Quantum. Apparently, she's a better Bronya, which is a fucking high bar to climb.

Also, obvious Genshin reference is obvious.

So, any questions, feel free to ask but don't be surprised if i evade or outright tell you I can't answer. Gotta to keep some suspense.