Chapter 5: Don't Run Away from Living

"Of all the places… it just had to be in Nagazora?"

Sigurd was a man who considered himself cautious, astute. Someone who's wealth of experience tended to leave him well prepared for most eventualities when they came knocking at his door. Very little in the man's life had thrown him for a loop, especially in the past fourteen years since the Second Eruption.

This was not one of those times.

He ran a hand through his crimson hair as he stalked down the halls of the Schicksal base, the rolling Arizonan desert outside the windows feeling almost like an omen now as he made his way to a certain laboratory.

The news was still fresh, and barely even confirmed. But, the information of a sudden Honkai spike in Japan didn't sit well with him. And the radio silence from all but normal automated city reports didn't help matters. A city that large, that advanced, wouldn't just go dead silent in morning hours like that. Sigurd knew better than that. Even if no one was saying it, even if news wasn't out yet, something happened.

And it would only be a matter of time until it cascaded out into something worse.

Finding the door he needed, Sigurd threw it open, in all too much of a rush to bother opening it gently.

"Frederika! You…"

"Yeah yeah I heard! We all heard! Can you not barge into my lab like some careless bull?!" Tesla was quick to snap at Sigurd as he charged in, the small woman leaned over an opened supply pod, chin propped up on the red gauntlet she always wore.

Her three worker drones flit around as she glared at the now baffled looking Sigurd, dropping packed items into the pod as their owner huffed.

"What are you doing?" Sigurd raised a brow, Tesla leaning down and producing a black sword, placing it into the pod and making sure it was locked into place.

"What's it look like? Putting some stuff together for your stupid brat so he can get out of Nagazora in one piece. That bat he "borrowed" when he left won't hold up in a serious fight for long," Tesla sighed as she checked the sword she'd placed in. "This one should be good enough. He was testing it out anyway, might as well take the chance the chance to get some field data out of it… hmm, maybe some guns too. Oi, get me that pair of Mjolnirs! And that one pistol Nagamitsu sent us! We'll finish packing the survival kit after the weapons are in order."

"Frederika, I think supplies are the last thing to worried about right now!" Sigurd grumbled as he was promptly ignored while the scientist went about her tasks. "Will you listen to me?! If this turns out to be more than a simple spike, then…"

"If you're worried about your brat going Herrscher, there's nothing to worry about, we've gone over this," Tesla angled her head back as she picked up a package marked in a medical cross. "He may have a Herrscher's Stigmata but without a core it won't accomplish anything besides those pyrokinetic abilities he's got. As long as the Gem of Haste stays where it is in the Helheim Labs, there isn't a chance in hell the kid'll awaken properly."

"Yeah yeah, 'like a lock and key', I remember the lecture," Sigurd shook his head, ignoring the annoyed growl Tesla gave him in turn. "That's not my concern! You forget who else was in Nagazora with potential to go Herrscher? Ryoma's daughter! The kid who does have a Gem inside of her!"

"Sigurd, if you think I'd forget that, then you're even dumber than your son," Tesla stuck the package into the pod, then loading up the guns her drones passed her. "But we can't do anything but lend a hand from afar. If that girl does go Herrscher then we need to trust the brat to handle it before she goes past the point of no return. Besides, I doubt St. Freya is going to be silent either, you know how little Cecilia and Theresa trust whatever that bastard Oskar says."

"Then what about the stuff outside the city?" Sigurd folded his arms, eyes narrowing. "Not to mention the Church of Finality! If the outbreak spreads and causes outbursts elsewhere, we'll be too busy to get to Nagazora ourselves, leaving it wide open for that crazy cult to march in and have their way with whoever got lucky enough to survive!"

"What do you want Sigurd?!" Tesla snapped back, her irritation showing all the more. "Maybe instead of pestering me because you want someone to hear what you've got roiling around in your head, maybe make it somebody else besides me! You're the one who dropped the kid in the city last year anyway because of that whim of yours! Don't go regretting it now that it's suddenly gone south!"

"I think it's fair for a father to worry over his son."

"And I believe it's also fair for a father to trust his son," Tesla's counter silenced Sigurd. "Hagh, look, I know learning about her has ruffled your feathers a bit, but Sol's a tough one. If Welt has confidence in his abilities, then you should too. Especially you."

"I just feel I could've prepared him better…" Sigured sighed when Tesla narrowed her gaze. "I get I get it. I sent him there after all. It helps you're doing what I was gonna ask for anyway. But… where are you even going to send the pod?"

"Right to the roof of that school he was attending," Sigurd blanched as Tesla began inputting data on her gauntlet. "What? It's the best place I can get coordinates to, plus if I had to bet he's still there. Now go on and get, I need to record a message for the stupid brat."

"If you manage to actually get in touch with Sol, make sure I'm the first to know," Sigurd strolled out, Tesla waving him out. Once he was back in the hall, the man gave a deep sigh, stepping to the window and gazing out to the desert beyond. "Mayne… what kind of curse does our family have that both our children are marked by Honkai? Fate has an interesting sense of humor… hagh… Sol, good luck. You'll have to handle this one."

Thunder raged and fired roared around the rooftop of Senba Academy.

The storm only intensified as the clash between the Valkyrie, Knight, and the Herrscher continued.

Mei's blasts of lightning were met head on by Kiana's lightning empowered blasts from her new guns. Soleil met Mei's sword slashes with his own, ribbons of flame following each slash as his heavier swings kept pace with Mei's faster blows.

Mei broke away with a hiss as she got Soleil to retreat with a quick blast of thunder, raising her right arm as her eyes flashed.

"This is tiresome! I don't even need to fight you alone! To me!" At the Herrscher's command, multiple Seraph Beasts descended from above, Soleil and Kiana dodging the beasts' charges as they went barreling towards them like missiles.

"Please, small fry like that won't last long!" Soleil cleaved through the Seraphs that rounded back for him, their forms falling away with flames licking at their remains as he resumed his charge.

Mei swiped her hand, more Seraphs swooping down to try and catch him out. But before they could even close in, multiple shots from Kiana sent them careening down. The Valkyrie chuckled as Mei's snarl turned towards her, wheeling around and slamming another Seraph with a hard kick that slammed it into the ground, plugging it with an electric shot without looking.

"Too bad for you I'm a good shot! Rei-senpai!" Kiana called out as Soleil dodged a slash from Mei, turning to fire at the incoming Seraphs. "I'll deal with the Beasts and any zombies that start having funny ideas! Mei-senpai's all yours, so make it count!"

"Zametano!"

"Hah, what difference will it even make?!" Mei scoffed as she and Soleil locked blades, the Herrscher smirking past the sparks of lightning and fire as both she and Soleil tried to force the other back. "You're a mere Pseudo-Herrscher! What hope do you think you have of taking down a true Herrscher such as myself?!"

"Please! You're worn down while I'm back to firing on all cylinders! True, Pseudo, who gives a rat's ass?!" Soleil swiped his blade, shattering Mei's lightning sword yet again, the Herrscher growling as she reeled back. And with the opening he made, Soleil rammed his left fist to Mei's sternum, flames bursting around his arm as the blow connected. "So don't get cocky with me, Mei!"

Carrying the blow through, Soleil launched Mei across the rooftop, sending her crashing through the fence in a streak of fire. But, as soon as she was in open air, Mei righted out, her wing flaring as she remained suspended upwards.

"The hell kind of twist is this?!" Mei snarled as power gathered around her arms, sparks of electricity intensifying around her. "I shouldn't be losing to some Pseudo barely holding the potential I do! I should be stronger than this! I should've killed both of you already, so why does fate seem to conspire to stop me right when I'm so close?!"

"What, get on the back foot so you just start whining?!" Kiana scoffed as she kicked a zombie back down the stairwell, facing Mei as she swung the bladed underside of her pistols into another Seraph. "Quite the sore loser aren't you?!"

"Shut up!" Mei raised her arms as the gathering power coalesced, growing thicker and thicker. "All I need to do is break past that blasted Pseudo… hehe, will your luck hold out against this!? We're in my domain, Flames! Do you think that fire can withstand my thunder for much longer?!"

"I'm willing to try it," Soleil flicked his sword arm out, the portion of the hilt that wrapped around clicking off, shifting outwards to extend the hilt further as the blade locked out, its red core hissing with steam as rain hit it's burning core, flames already pouring from it and extending the blade as Soleil brought the blade to his side, gripping it two handed. "So, bring it on, Herrscher of Thunder!"

"Take this!"

Mei brought her hands down, the power gathering around her arms bursting outwards as a blast of lightning massive enough it'd no doubt demolish the very academy if it connected. Kiana flinched as it rushed close, yet Soleil's gaze remained steady as the grip on his sword shifted.

"Do it," and "Other's" voice echoed in his head. "Show this bratty little queen how hot your flames burn… hot enough to burn away this storm!"

As the beam of lightning rushed closer, Soleil let out a breath.

"Shut the hell up and let me do this my way."

And then he swung.

The slice of flames that collided with the blast of lightning caused both attacks to arc upwards. The bolt pierced through the clouds, and to the shock of Kiana and Mei, the cut of fire sliced through more of them, splitting the storm itself and letting the daylight that remained come back down atop the school building.

Mei's expression twisted with more fury, looking back to Soleil as he swung his blade down, casting off the remnant flames as it retracted back to its smaller size. And in a taunting move, Soleil raised his left hand, giving Mei a "bring it" gesture as a small smirk showed.

"Annoying… annoying… so annoying!" Power surged from Mei as she yelled, reforming her sword as she rushed Soleil once more, the floor of the roof cratering as blades collided. "Why is this so difficult?! How has this been so frustrating?!"

"Guess I'm luckier than I think!" Soleil chuckled as he dodged past Mei's blade, letting it slide off his own and slamming the butt of his hilt into her, laying into her with a three-slash run that almost broke through her sword again. "You've gotta be running on fumes now to boot! So, where'd all that smug bravado of yours go eh?!"

"You're one to talk about being smug!" Mei lashed back with a swing of her palm, blasting Soleil away with a burst of electricity that hit him dead on. "You get one lucky break and look at you! Don't make me laugh!"

"Yeah yeah, keep yapping… hey Mei, you listening to me?! I know the Herrscher's gotta be slipping, so snap out of it! This can't be what you want, so quit with this damn tantrum already!" The Herrscher snarled as Soleil danced past her swings, deflecting her next slash with his own, once more creating a divide between them with a chance to retreat back. "Cause if not we're just gonna have to keep wailing away like this!"

"Just stop talking and die already!"

As Mei and Soleil descended back into a storm of sword slashes, again bathing the rooftop with ribbons of flame and electricity, Kiana was finally getting a break from the diving in Seraph Beasts and the few zombies daring to make their way up the stairwell.

"Sheesh, only had to pile up enough bodies to make them stop!" Kiana sighed as she sent the last of the zombies back down the stairwell, her Mjolnirs hissing as sparks surrounded the heated barrels. "Hope they vanish by the time we're done here… or else we won't have an easy way down."

Turning back to the ongoing melee, Kiana's expression stilted as she saw the two still going strong, gouging the rooftop with each swing of their swords as elemental ribbons tore across it. At the rate they were going, Kiana worried they'd end up causing the structure to just start to collapse. But as she paid attention, she noticed how Soleil's sword was thrumming with heat, the vents pulsing with flames while the core was shining under the rest of the blade.

Glancing at her guns, sparking with the power of a full charge, the silver-haired girl felt a light bulb go off.

"We can finish this! If we just hit her with one after the other… hehehe, I'm so smart!" Kiana shot around on her heel, hurrying off to rejoin the real fight. "Kiana Kaslana, coming through!"

Mei turned as several gunshots sounded, dodging to avoid the charged bullets Kiana fired. The Kaslana girl chuckled as she flipped past a blast of lightning, coming down with an axe kick Mei again dodged past, the Herrscher flinching when Kiana got a clean shot off that pierced through her wing. The structure hastily repaired the damage, but Kiana caught it being slower than before.

"Hah, so your wing is core to your power! Talk about a flaw!" Kiana chuckled as she dodged a swipe from Mei, the Herrscher retreating as Soleil tried to get a hit in following suit. "Rei-senpai, we can finish this! We win if we demolish that wing of hers!"

"Been trying that!" Soleil clicked his tongue as he adjusted his sword. "But she's gotten pretty defensive of it now that we can do actual damage!"

"All you need is an opening, right?" Kiana spun her guns as she giggled. "Well, both our weapons are at full charge, yeah? So I'll make that opening, and then you sever her wing!"

"Like I'll give you the chance!" Mei swiped a second sword into form in her off hand, growling at her foes. "You must be tiring as well! You're only a mere human and a Pseudo-Herrscher! Do you truly think a True Herrscher like myself will lose in a drawn out fight like this?!"

"And that's where you're wrong!" Kiana smirked, taking aim. "I'm not some "mere human", I'm a Valkyrie! Lemme introduce myself! Daughter of S-Rank Valkyrie Cecilia Schariac and Knight Siegfried Kaslana! I'm Kiana Kaslana, the girl who's gonna be an S-Rank one day, and the Valkyrie who's gonna help beat you so hard you give Mei-senpai her body back, stupid Herrscher!"

"Then try me!"

Kiana reignited the fight with two shots, Mei swiping them aside with her swords as she blasted across the rooftop.

Soleil met her two swords head on. As Mei continuously slashed, Soleil clicked his tongue as he noticed the change. Any sense of style and refinement she'd fought with before was gone. Mei's swings were wild, desperate even. Her only goal was trying to overwhelm, using the two swords to try and face her two foes on even footing as the two-pronged attacks were, at this point, now becoming almost overwhelming for the Herrscher.

Lightning lashed across the rooftop as Mei tried to force Soleil and Kiana away, yet seemingly emboldened by their found advantage, they only pressed on with their assaults, finding gaps between her wild swings of blasts of lightning to start pushing through.

"Why?!" Mei shrieked in frustration, a radial blast finally freeing her from Soleil and Kiana's attacks. "I was supposed to be the strongest! Strong enough to wreck this damned world! So how is it possible for the two of you to stand up to me like this?! How can I be losing?!"

"Please, you're not the first Herrscher humanity's dealt with!" Kiana chuckled. "Besides, the Second was way worse than you from what Mama told me!"

"And you sure as hell won't be the last," Soleil raised his sword, Mei growling as she snapped around to him.

Both of their Stigmata markings were glowing, Soleil's burning red with flames while Mei's was purple with electricity.

"How about I continue that story about my classmate now, huh?" Soleil's eyes darted to Kiana. I need to distract her… hope you catch onto my idea, Kiana! "It's why what happened hurt her so much. See, her mom died when she was young. Ever since then, all she's wanted was her father's approval, his care, hell just to be acknowledged!"

"Shut up!" Mei shifted one of her swords, turning it into a concentration of power she loosed at Soleil, who blocked it with the edge of his sword, holding it there as Mei sustained it.

"All of her work, practicing swordplay, getting good grades, all of it seemed useless! Driving herself into a corner to be the best person she could be, even if it meant being her father's tool! But, why would it matter if it never earned her a thing from him?" Soleil growled as he put both hands to his sword, eyes again darting to Kiana as she readied her guns. He was having to dreg up every scrap of information he could remember about Mei and what that brief glimpse into her mind had given him. "Why would it matter if her father never looked her way? Never loved her like a daughter… so slowly, this classmate gave up. She thought for a while, at least at school, people acknowledged and respected her…"

"SHUT UP! Don't you dare make me remember those things!"

Soleil smirked as Mei snapped. That was a sign the real Mei was breaking through.

"But when her father was accused of his crimes, even that was taken away from her! It turned out the people at school never really respected her, they just lived in fear of her! She lost all of it, and after that, she was empty! She couldn't even be a tool!"

"Don't act like you know me at all!" Mei flexed her arm, the beam of lightning intensifying, forcing Soleil to ignite his blade just to keep holding it back. "What do you know!? Some transfer student who only arrived out of nowhere, who doesn't have any idea what I went through!? I may have lost everything, but I don't need them! I can survive in this world! With this power! It's proof of my value! You're the same as me, a Herrscher! So why are you fighting against me?!"

"You think I like this power?" Soleil growled through gritted teeth. "Don't make me laugh, Mei! I hate these flames! If I had the choice, I wouldn't have even thought of using them! But here I am, backed in a corner and doing just that! These damned flames… they took away so many things from me, and I've spent so long trying to understand why! Why me? Why was I the one who had to bear this curse?!"

"You'd call this a curse?!" Mei laughed, a mocking tone behind it all. "Then you are a fool! Do you think you'll save anything by denying yourself!"

"Please, I've got ways," Soleil snickered in turn. "Besides, don't forget there's two of us!"

Mei only seemed to realize it a moment took late, turning just in time to see Kiana bearing down on her with an energy hammer even larger than the first one she had used. Cutting off the blast holding Soleil, Mei raised her sword, the hammer and blade colliding in opposing forces of lightning.

"Wait…" Mei looked back as another realization hit.

Soleil reappeared behind her in a haze of flames, his sword in its opened state and already bursting with flames as he began to swing, his eyes locked on Mei's wing. The Herrscher moved to try and retaliate, but Kiana increased the force on her hammer, yelling as she refused to let Mei even reach out to try and stop Soleil.

And with another ribbon of fire that cut the air itself, the wing of lightning was finally severed. In the moment it finally broke, Mei let out one more scream, remnant bolts of lightning pouring from the broken wing. Soleil and Kiana jumped back, arms raised to guard themselves from the sudden onslaught. But it ended just as quickly, Mei silently standing as the remnants of her wing began to break away.

"Did… did we do it?" Kiana panted, Soleil's arm falling as his breathing became heavy, the sword in his hand clanging against the concrete as his arm went limp, though his hand refused to slack its hold on the sword.

"Yes… you won," Mei muttered, her eyes flickering colors as she shakily stood up, the wing completely collapsing away and her left arm starting to return to normal as well. "I'll admit defeat this time. But I will come back eventually… so, make sure neither of you die, because the only one who is allowed to kill you two is me!"

"That's a classic line if ever there was one," Soleil muttered, a dry smile on his face as he held his right arm. "Heh, but, fine. We'll just beat you back down time and time again, 3rd Herrscher."

"Bet on it! So, will you wake Mei-senpai up now?" Kiana holstered her guns while she chuckled, the Herrscher clicking her tongue, and one could see her Stigmata mark fading now as well.

"We'll be seeing each other again sometime soon. So, yes… I'll give her control, for now."

Mei's eyes then stopped flickering, going back to their normal shade of dark blue. The girl then collapsed forward, Soleil stepping over and catching her, Mei's eyes lidded as she looked around, clearly bewildered at what she was seeing, especially the sights of the beat to hell yet smiling Soleil and Kiana near her, with the blood from their wounds plus the fact they were still absolutely drenched from the now fully retreating storm.

"Hehe, welcome back to the land of the living, Mei," Soleil said, Mei's eyes widening as she kept looking between the two.

"You two… no… I…" Mei stumbled on her words as Soleil helped her stand upright, the girl bringing a hand to her face. "What did I do? How I was acting… I…"

"Don't worry about it," Kiana said, bending down a bit. "You're alright now. Sure, we did kind of have to fight, and, well, look at us, but everything's a-okay now!"

"I think "fight" doesn't really describe it completely, Kiana," Soleil said, the white-haired girl chuckling. With the amount of destruction they were surrounded by, it really put to show it had been far from simple. "But, yeah. Don't worry about it. Saving others is what people like me and Kiana do."

"But it… I felt like what was there for me… it felt addicting," Mei murmured, lowering her arm. "That feeling… that me who came out. All of this is because of me! I… I'm just… I'm tired. And there's no way I can fight back against that other if she comes back."

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Kiana flinched as Mei started backing away, the girl getting closer and closer to the edge of the roof, right where some of the fencing had been broken.

"I'm sorry…" Mei looked at the two with a sad smile, tears in her eyes. "But right now… I feel the best choice I can make is ensuring it doesn't happen again. The best I can do is to jump… maybe I'll find peace if I die now. Thank you, both of you. At least I can be myself when I go… goodbye."

Soleil's expression twisted as Mei backed away, her feet slipping past the edge. Kiana yelled as Mei dipped past the edge, but before she could fall far, Soleil dove. His hand grabbed onto Mei's forearm as she fell, the boy ramming his sword into the roof to serve as a brake before he could be pulled along with her.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Soleil snapped, Mei looking at him with surprise in her eyes. "We did not go through all of that just so you could throw yourself off this roof! Are you trying to mess with us?!"

"What else am I supposed to do?!" Mei shrieked back, tears streaming down her face. "Look at all of this! Everyone in the Academy City, maybe even Nagazora! All of them are… and it's all because of me! Because I gave into that… Honkai, whatever you called it! How else am I supposed to make up for that if not with my own life?!"

"LIVE!" Soleil's voice cracked a bit as he shouted the demand. "Your life isn't suddenly forfeit just because a disaster happened! So what if the Impact happened because you awoke as a Herrscher?! It's not up to you to decide those lives are on your shoulders alone! It wasn't your fault!"

"How is it not?! If I hadn't, all of these people would still be alive! You and that girl wouldn't be hurt! If I just hadn't…"

"Don't run away from living!" Soleil's words made Mei gasp, the girl facing him again, watching as his red eye returned to its normal azure. "The entire reason the Impact happened was because you were running away, so it convinced you it could be your out! Life can be hard and unfair, I get that. But running away from all of it won't change anything! There's no way to avoid that pain, so instead of running from it, face it head on! Stumble, fall, but get back up when it knocks you down! Doing anything else is admitting you've lost, and throwing your life away isn't going to fix a damned thing!"

"But… what if it happens again?" Mei screwed her eyes shut, Soleil hissing as his arm began to throb. "If she comes out again, what if I…"

"Then we'll just stop you again! Hell, I'm in the same boat as you!" Mei looked back to Soleil as he chuckled, the boy giving the best smile he could. "I'm a Herrscher to, remember? You and I have that in common. But I've been able to live with it, and you can too. So don't run away from it. You want to make up for this disaster? Then keep on living! Prove you're better than the Herrscher! Don't live for your father, don't live for other people, live for yourself first! So, I'll say it again, don't run away from living!"

"You're making a lot of great points, Rei-senpai, but doing it while hanging from an edge may not be for the best!" Kiana skid over, reaching down to Mei. "But he's right, Mei-senpai! Just because you're a Herrscher doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to live! So come on, let us help you! You don't have to deal with it alone!"

"Deciding quick would… probably be nice," Soleil winced a bit, his arm starting to feel very sore. "Arm's not liking this!"

Mei was silent as she stared at the two. Sucking in a breath, her lips went taut. And after a moment more, Mei lifted her arm, grasping Kiana's offered hand and returning Soleil's grip, letting the two pull her back to the relative safety of the rooftop. And as soon as Mei was up, Soleil fell to his back, panting while the two girls turned to him.

"Haaagh… I'm gonna be feeling that till the next week…" Soleil rolled his right arm, his shoulder not feeling pleasant as he moved it.

A moment of silence followed, and Soleil felt like he suddenly slipped back a bit, like his mind had just forward before he could think much. He glanced around, realizing that now Kiana and Mei were staring at him pretty intensely themselves, and his face began to turn a deep shade of red.

"Look, I meant what I said! Just… don't look at me weird for going off like that," Soleil muttered, scratching the back of his head as he awkwardly chuckled. "I do that sometimes. Dad always said I was a bit of a hothead and I just-ah you know what now I'm just gonna end up going on a tangent!"

"That was so cool!" Kiana shuffled over to Soleil and threw her arms around the boy's neck, only causing his face to burn even more. "You sounded so cool Rei-senpai! You looked so intense, it was like the hero of an action manga!"

"Ahhhaaa! Kiana, stop, stop! Right now I am feeling things pressing into me I should not!" Soleil yelped, struggling to get free but also remembering Kiana was freaky strong despite her size. "Mei, help me out please!"

"Well… I… I also think you were kind of cool," Mei said, also twiddling her fingers as her face tinged pink a bit, Soleil letting out a small whine as Kiana got a bit too tight with the hug.

"Kill me now…" Soleil relented with a sigh. "But just because we're done here doesn't mean we're safe… and much as I want to get moving ASAP I'm freakin' exhausted…"

"I don't feel tired at all. Just sore," Kiana said, Soleil giving the girl a narrowed look.

"You're weird. And also please stop choking me!" Soleil muttered, his face going a bit blue, Kiana relaxing her hold, the boy sucking in a breath. "Thank you! We could head for the shelter, but that's too far for now…"

"And the infirmary may not be the best spot to rest up for a little while," Kiana tilted her head.

"Well, there is a teacher's lounge on the third floor," Mei said, that getting Kiana and Soleil's attention. "It won't exactly have beds, but it'll be better than nothing, will it?"

"As long as it's something I can lay down on," Soleil managed to drag himself to his feet, ripping his sword free of the ground. His eyes trailed over to the supply pod, still embedded in the roof and luckily untouched despite the fierce fighting earlier. "And we gotta see what else Tesla packed in besides these weapons."

"Ah I'll handle that," Kiana strode over to the pod, snickering as she felt around it. "Lessee… these usually have a release for the main storage hold… ah ha! Here it is!"

With a pull of an internal lever, the pod hissed as it's core was released, Kiana freeing the item with ease and placing it over a shoulder with a cheeky grin.

"Your friend is uhm… interesting, Rei-kun," Mei chuckled, Soleil shaking his head.

"She's made the past few hours interesting… now let's go before I pass out where I'm standing. Because I already feel ready to drop…"

"Hahaha, same."