Chapter 6: Find the Route

He was surrounded by nothing but flames. Dark black and crimson flames, stretching out around him and engulfing the walls. His chest throbbed, burning as a marking on it ebbed with those flames. The heaving breaths of his mother pounded at his ears, but his own terror hardly let him register anything. Something can crashing through the walls, his mother glancing back, her heaves turning into coughs amid the smoke.

As the something came all too close, his mother dove done the stairway her running had reached, desperately scrambling down as quickly as possible, pursued by the thing refusing to get off her trail.

"Don't… worry, Sol! It'll be alright! Mama is a lot tougher than this! These flames don't scare me!"

He couldn't muster a reply, only groaning through the throbbing as that mark burned. At the bottom of the stairs, she shouldered her way through a sturdy door. The woman set him down on a plush chair, checking him over as he clutched at the mark on his chest.

"This isn't good…" The woman mulled over it, grasping the boy's arm to try and ease him. "It's okay. Sol, try and focus, don't think about it too much. I'm sure it'll die down if you just clear your head."

"Mom… it… it hurts…" the boy groaned, his mother's kind, azure eyes meeting his as she pat his head. "The… the fire…"

"I know, I know. It'll be okay. Like I said, I'm not scared of them. You can stop them, I know it…" his mother looked away as more crashes came from above, rattling the ceiling of the room as they did. "Oh Sigurd… I hope the lessons you gave me will come in handy here."

"M-Mom?" The boy reached out as his mother stood, the woman pulling a spear down from a rack nearby. "Mom?!"

"Don't worry, I'll be back," The woman pushed the door open, balancing the spear in her grip as she strode out. "Once I deal with that monster, I'll be back for you. And Papa will be here soon, so don't worry. You know how strong he is."

"W-wait…!" The boy reached his hands out, falling from the chair as his mother stepped back out into the flame engulfed halls. "Wait, mom! WAIT!"

Soleil's eyes snapped open, his breath coming out in ragged pants as he clutched at his chest.

"That damn memory again… is it because I used those flames? Dammit… after I swore I wouldn't use them…" Soleil sighed, grimacing to himself.

It was then he noticed the ceiling he was staring at was not, in fact, the ceiling of the staff lounge of Senba Academy.

It was the fine roofing of a lounge. Yet, when Soleil cast his gaze away from the plush couch and away, he was met by a far different sight. The lounge barely extended out with enough room for more people. Past it, a wide open space that on one end led to descending stairs, and on the other a structure housing a sphere encased by golden works. And past that space, an unmistakable war room of some kind, only split off by glass walling that still let one look in on the active holo-table and monitor lined wall.

A perfect divide between two different kinds of atmospheres, ones Soleil felt would be better off further separated from each other.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Soleil groaned as he sat up, patting himself over. He certainly felt solid. Yet at the same time, he couldn't shake the feeling of something being ever so slightly off at the same time. "Dammit… is this one of those Stigmata space things?"

"Hmm, well, I wouldn't say it's quite that. Buuuut, ending up here when you're still so far away is rather surprising! Visitors don't normally show up like this… so you're not actually a visitor. Not yet at least."

Soleil was quick to shoot to his feet when a trilling voice spoke right in his ear. An amused giggle followed it, Soleil taking in his surprise host. A young woman, perhaps his age perhaps a bit older. Her hair was a distinctive bright pink, flowing around her heart-like face, set in an all too pleasant smile. A brief shift of her hand revealed elf-like ears poking out from the strands. Darker pink eyes were scanning him up and down, Soleil noting the distinctive brighter accents in her irises, even extending to her pupils. Her outfit made of whites and blacks accented by lavender, hugging a well filled figure with clear intent to show off a bit.

"Hmmm… could you hold still for a moment?" The girl didn't even wait for a reply, stepping over to Soleil and tugging at his collar, exposing his Stigmata mark. "Ohhh! You're not quite there yet, but this mark is impossible to mistake for anything else. And that one! Hahaha, you're lucky a certain someone isn't here to see this, he'd probably try to kill you on the spot!"

"Back up a second!" Soleil bat the girl's hand away, stepping back. "First off, personal space! Second, answers, now! Where am I, who are you?!"

"Rude!" The girl gave a pout as Soleil got on the defensive. "You wake up to a pretty girl by your side and all you do is make demands?"

"Says the one who joked about someone potentially trying to kill me!" Soleil's retort earned a snicker. "Don't mess with me. Just answer the question!"

"Well, I suppose to be precise this is a place somewhere between reality and the other side of reality," The girl stepped down into the open space, twirling around as she took a few steps out. "Ordinarily you would need to be guided here by someone from the outside, to be a visitor here to be given answers. However, it seems you are here for another reason. Perhaps because this "world" has its cracks? Hmhmhm, I can't really know."

"Greeaaaat, people being vague with me. My favorite," Soleil sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "A straight answer would be nice."

"Ahhh, it's a good thing you're cute. I'd feel terrible to be dealing with someone so coarse otherwise! Cute things truly are the best, even if they're boys," The girl's constantly chipper tone did not help Soleil's mood.

Least of all that particular c-word.

"Cute isn't a word I'm fond of, thank you," Soleil's right eye twitched a bit.

"Hmm? But why?" The girl approaching again just meant she was right in Soleil's face once more. "I mean, your voice is obviously a boy's, but you've got such long, pretty hair, and your face looks so gentle! Though those sharp eyes of yours shift it a bit, so cute and cool! Really, that demeanor of yours almost ruins it! To be born so cute is something you should enjoy!"

"I wasn't the one who asked to look like this!" Soleil's face was burning red, worsened as the girl giggled. "I take after my mom, alright?! Only thing this damn face of mine is useful for is making sure people don't guess who my old man is… hate being called cute though."

"Would pretty be better?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ALREADY!"

"I already told you what this place was!" The girl sighed when Soleil glared. "Oh alright. Think of this space as a little garden. Somewhere your mind can retreat to when it needs to recuperate. Tapping into that Stigmata of yours must have been a lot more stressful than you realized, so it means your mind ended up here! I can't tell you how or why, just that this is where you connected to."

"Okay one question down. Next. Who are you?"

"Hmhm, why, you can me Miss Pink Elf!" The girl winked.

Soleil's expression turned flat.

"I'm not calling you that. In fact, I don't think anyone calls you that."

"Oh, you just have to take all the fun out of it, don't you?" The girl gave another pout, but oh so quickly returned to her smile. "My name is Elysia, though my friends call me Ellie. You can call me that too if you want!"

"I'll stick with Elysia. We're not exactly friends," Soleil folded his arms, sitting back down on the longue sofa.

"Not yet anyway! But really, what could you have done to make you use that Stigmata? You had to know how stressful that would be."

"Didn't have much of a choice," Soleil's brow furrowed. "What else was I supposed to do when I was fighting a Herrscher? Sit around and get blasted off the damn roof? Only tool I had left to really rely on. But… not that I liked it."

"Ahh, I see. So, you're not fully awakened either… but this did bring you closer," Elysia's eyes fell to the exact spot Soleil's Stigmata was. She giggled again as she moved to sit next to him. "So, why did you even use a power you don't like against a Herrscher? Was it really that desperate for you?"

"I wanted to save her," only now was Soleil realizing he was being bizarrely honest with this girl. "She'd just turned, so I figured there had to be a chance to bring her back from it. And… well, it worked."

"You actually saved a Herrscher?!" Elysia leaned far too close for Soleil's comfort, the young man slowly nodding. The elf looked positively amazed as she stepped back, clapping her hands together as she laughed. "Well now isn't that interesting! Anyone else would have probably called you insane. But I'm quite impressed with you, Soleil! Most people would have likely just tried to finish the poor girl off!"

"… I'd be lying if said the idea wasn't there if everything else failed," Soleil's hands bunched up on his knees. Elysia kneeled, placing a hand on Soleil's.

"But it didn't, did it?" Soleil still felt bothered by just how at ease Elysia was making him feel. He wanted to be on edge, to be wary and cautious. Yet for some reason he just couldn't muster it in full. "You did a good thing, Soleil. Though I suppose you still have a lot of work to do before you're really safe, huh?"

"That's an understatement."

"Then, let me give you something for good luck," reaching into a pocket Soleil didn't at all think her outfit allowed for, Elysia produced an item and placed it to Soleil's hand.

"A pin?" As Elysia's fingers left his hand, Soleil found she'd placed a silver pin to his palm, depicting a moth-shaped emblem. "Wait… I know this emblem…"

"Perhaps somewhere deep in the memories you've inherited, you've remembered it. But I also have one more thing," placing her fingers to her lips, Elysia then tapped Soleil on the chest, and for a brief moment a flower shaped mark appeared before fading away. "Consider that my official endorsement of you. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you accomplish, Soleil! And maybe one day you'll find your way here for real. Until next time!"

As Elysia spoke, Soleil began to feel himself growing tired, his vision darkening by the second. The last thing he saw was the girl's smile, somehow just sticking in his memory as his consciousness faded out.

Soleil let out a groggy moan as he properly woke up this time. Going from a nightmare to whatever that had been certainly wasn't quite on his list of things he liked the idea of being woken up by. But, at least now he could confirm he was for sure back. The small rest room that he'd taken to sleeping in after the fight with Mei. It wasn't much, since it wasn't like it was meant to be more than a quick rest zone for the building staff, but it served it's purpose well enough.

"But what even was that? If it wasn't a stigmata space, then what…" As Soleil put a hand to his head, he felt a brief, cool feeling between some of his fingers. Moving his hand down, as his fingers uncurled, the very pin Elysia had given to him was resting in his palm, glittering under the soft light of the room as he shifted around. "What the… where did this thing…?"

"Mmmnnn… Rei-senpaiii… nooo not there~," whatever he was thinking, it ended when pleased mutters sounded next to him. And that was when Soleil also realized something was laid across his waist.

"What."

Soleil looked down and noticed a lump in the bed next to him. In fact, because it was a measly twin-size bed, he was also finally registering there was very clearly someone sleeping next to him. And the clump of white hair poking out from the sheet told him exactly who the guilty party was.

"Sleeping in another room, my ass," Soleil muttered, folding his arms. Considering how dead tired the trio had been after the previous fight, Soleil had honestly just been focused on crashing. He was still dressed to boot, the only items he'd bothered to remove being his shoes, gloves, and equipment belt. So really, he still didn't feel like he was keen to complain beyond the flat bemusement of the situation.

But he was going to anyway.

"Let's see… what's the loudest noise I can play from my phone?" Soleil got out of the bed and flicked through his phone, snickering as he found a good song. A loud song. Taking a second as Kiana continued mumbling about whatever dream she was having, Soleil moved the phone's speaker near the girl's ear and pressed play.

The shrill sound of screaming guitars pierced the room, and the second it did, Kiana shot awake with a shout. The girl grabbed at the nearest pillow as she shot upright, and Soleil was already laughing on the floor. At the same time, Kiana looked around with wide eyes of surprise.

"W-Wha? Why did… Rei-senpai?!" Kiana shouted as she looked down and saw Soleil cackling, the boy managing to turn off his phone as he sat up, a toothy smirk on his face. "What was that for?! I was in the middle of a good dream."

"And apparently a dirty one. You talk a bit in your sleep, it seems," Soleil said, standing up and pocketing his phone, snickering again as Kiana's face turned red, the girl promptly hiding behind the pillow. "Ah, so you can get embarrassed, eh? Hehe, that's cute."

Soleil raised an arm as Kiana chucked the pillow at him hard. It actually made his arm lurch back and left a sharp stinging sensation in his forearm.

"Damn, just how strong are Kaslanas, huh?!" Soleil hissed as he shook his arm, and Kiana gave a huff as she folded her arms.

"Surprise attacks like that aren't fair," Sharply spoken and to the point. Soleil could only chuckle in response while Kiana hopped out of bed, stretching as she did. It was here Soleil noticed her hair must have come undone at some point because rather than her two long braids, now it was a fluffy, somewhat curled curtain of white that fell all the way down past Kiana's rear

"Hm… I like the loose hair a bit better," A set of words that had definitely slipped out. Soleil blinked as he realized what he had said, Kiana's head shooting around so quickly he worried about whiplash. A sly smile came to the girl's face as she turned. Soleil was already blushing as she started moving closer.

"Ohhh? Senpai, you like how I look with my hair down?" Kiana flicked the length of her hair as she chuckled, Soleil coughing into a hand.

"It was just a slip of the tongue. N-Now come on, we gotta remember the situation! We do still gotta get out of the city, so please stop getting closer to me!"

"Hehehe, don't look so embarrassed, Soleil-senpai! It's just a bit of friendly skinship!"

"What's "friendly" about trying to pull off my shirt?!"

"What? It's wrecked anyway!"

"KIANAAAAA!"

"Is something wrong?! I heard yelling!" Things froze when the door flew open. Mei barged in. First, she looked worried but then shocked. She had come right in as Kiana was over Soleil, who was struggling as she was openly trying to strip him. It looked exactly like the kind of thing one could mistake for something else. Mei's face immediately turned red, and she slammed the door. "I'm sorry for interrupting!"

"It wasn't what you thought!" Soleil snapped, getting out from under Kiana as the girl was still somewhat surprised. "Ugh… just my rotten luck!"

With the morning made that little bit more interesting, and once Mei's misunderstanding was resolved, the newly formed trio gathered up in the lounge portion of the teacher's area they'd retreated to for rest. It wasn't much to write home about, but it served the purpose well enough. And thankfully, there was enough food stocked that they could at least make something out of it for a serviceable enough breakfast.

"Alright… let's see what else Tesla packed into this thing for me…" And while Mei and Kiana were at the table, Soleil took the time to finally investigate what else the supply pod had in store. "Supply packages, a medical kit… the holster for my new sword… basic stuff I can pack into my bag, good enough… ah ha! Figured she'd pack an extra in there."

Soleil chuckled as he sifted through and removed the different packages, stacking them to the side. And a pleased grin came to him as he found yet another weapon, bundled in a full holster kit.

"What'd you find, Rei-senpai?" Kiana leaned back in her chair, flicking some bits of food off her mouth with a thumb.

"Just an extra weapon," Soleil spun on his heel and stepped over to the table. With a few flicks of the holster straps, he drew a white and black, red accented handgun from it. The weapon featured twin vertical barrels and a lightly humming, cylindrical segment that had a soft blue glow from, several other parts of the gun sharing that glow as well. "Pretty sure this was Nagamitsu's handywork. We get all kinds of stuff to test from St. 1504 over in the NA Branch. Mei, you cool using it? You're gonna need a weapon of your own while we find a way out of here."

"I can't say I'll be that good of a shot," Mei gently took the weapon as Soleil offered it, running her fingers along the blocky body carefully. "So… what's even the plan now? Can either of you contact anyone outside of Nagazora?"

"Negative on that," Kiana sighed, pulling her phone from her shirt and tapping the screen. "The signal cleared up a bit after you calmed down, but an Impact is an Impact. It's gonna be a long time before the Honkai radiation in this city clears out, and we're sitting right on the epicenter. We need to find somewhere with better signal or hope Schicksal starts sending in the Valkyrie teams to look for survivors ASAP."

"And who knows what else is happening outside of the city as just a side effect," Soleil took a chair, throwing his feet up onto the table as he leaned back. "So, until further notice, the three of us are on our own when it comes to finding a way out of the Academy City."

"And in terms of numbers, we've barely even made a dent in the number of zombies, and on top of that Beasts are already forming," Kiana leaned her head back, letting out a long groan. "So we've got our work cut out for us. It's a good thing that supply pod dropped in! We've got enough for at least a few people?"

"Knowing Tesla she probably assumed I'd run into one or two people, so we should have enough supplies for a while," Soleil drew his phone as he stood, a few pressed and flicks making the item softly ring before he set it on the table, at which the device then projected an entire holographic map of the Academy City. "So the main problem is how the hell we're gonna get out of here. Academy City only has one main way in and out to Nagazora that wouldn't take days of walking, and that's through the monorail… which is probably going to be swarming with zombies about now."

"What if we found an abandoned car and just took to the highway?" Kiana shoved some toast in her mouth alongside the suggestion. "I mean sure we'd probably be dealing with… actually, no, too much noise even with an electric engine. Hmm…"

"Well, the rail system is automated…" Mei leaned up, tracing her fingers along the marked rail lines on the map. "So, the monorail should be clear from those zombies. It's just a matter of us getting there first."

"Yeah that's the thing…" Soleil folded his arms. "Considering the time of day when the Impact hit, most of zombies should still be contained in the different school campuses… but with how much time's passed they'd definitely have started spreading out. There's who knows how many between us and the stations. There's gotta be another way that'd take us right to Nagazora…"

As Soleil and Kiana continued to go on about what they could do, Mei scanned the map, using a hand to spin it around and take in the full breadth of the Academy City. Zooming in on the Senba Building, Mei's hand hovered over it.

"I… think I know a way for us to get out," Mei's lips pursed as Soleil and Kiana looked to her. "You see, my father was one of the main supporters for Senba Academy. You two know about the restricted wing, right?"

"Yeah, I tried to get into a couple of times," Kiana's casual admittance earned her a troubled look from both of her upperclassmen. "But I couldn't even get in. Place is shut tight for anyone but staff."

"And me," Mei reached into a pocket on her shirt, pulling out an ME Corp emblem marked ID card. "Being the… former CEO's daughter had some perks. One of them was access to all of the company's facilities. I can get us into that lab section, and it should let us slip by those zombies so we can get out by the side entrance. The lab has its own rail that connects to the main line… and the last train that ran to it should still be there. It's not fully automated so we could use it to get out to the Nagazora."

"Plus, if it's a secret lab… maybe we can find some useful stuff in there too," Soleil put a hand to his chin, already running ideas through his head. "We'll need all the firepower we can get if we're gonna fight our way out. There's another thing I'm concerned about as well…"

"What's that, Rei-senpai?" Kiana tilted her head, Soleil moving his hands to his hips.

"The Church of Finality," Soleil sighed. "I remembered they had a branch here in Nagazora, so I'm concerned they're going to be mobilizing. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already working to round up survivors… they'd be easy to rope in after something like this happening right on their doorstep."

"Well, not like we gotta worry about them for now," Kiana leaned on a hand, Soleil letting out a mutter. "Let's just follow Mei-senpai's plan first! Once we're out of this Academy City, then we can worry about Nagazora proper!"

"One thing at a time I guess," Soleil shrugged. "I'll get the supplies packed up, then let's get moving. Don't wanna be here when the zombies start swarming since we're still near the epicenter."

Mei and Kiana gave their affirmatives, and the three now-former students got to finishing their morning meal. It'd probably be the last bit of non-ration based food they'd have for a while, so they certainly made sure to enjoy it while they could.

"Soooo… why would there even be an ME Corp facility on a school campus?" Soleil broached the question as the trio approached the segment of Senba that, otherwise, would be restricted to students like them under any normal circumstance.

Not that these were normal circumstances.

"My father was one of the main investors for the Senba Campus," said Mei, who looked out the window to the school grounds, still strewn with shambling Honkai zombies and a few flitting Angel-type beasts just visible in the air. "It's not quite unusual. Plenty of other companies here in Nagazora had a hand in the development of the Academy City, so naturally they have ties to some of the schools too."

"And to think, it's just us three left in the entire place!" Kiana chuckled as she sauntered ahead of Mei and Soleil. "It's like in one of those zombie movies!"

"And it's all like this because of me…" as Mei's stare turned forlorn, she was stopped as Kiana promptly stepped over and pinched her cheeks. "K-Kiana-chan?!"

"That's punishment for the Senpai who won't stop blaming herself for everything!" Kiana obstinately stuck her hands on her hips. "The Impact wasn't your fault, and the people who turned didn't have the resistance to handle that level of Honkai energy to begin with. It sucks, but that's the way it is. Best we can do for them is to put them out of their misery while we can."

"That's not easy to accept, you know?" Mei looked between Kiana and Soleil. "I'm not like you two. I wasn't raised in Schicksal. I don't know anything about the Honkai besides what we're taught in classes. Zombies, Beasts, Herrschers… it's all things I barely understand."

"You'll understand it with time, so don't worry too much for now," Soleil stepped over, tapping Mei on the shoulder. "For now just try not to end up too down in the pits. The Herrscher's gone quiet but she's definitely going to be waiting for you to slip up. If you give in, it takes over, simple as that."

"I understand that much," as Mei sighed, she flinched when Soleil put a hand to her head.

"Well I can say this version of you is a lot better than the gloomy one who was in class all the time," as Soleil snickered, a blush rose to Mei's face, and Kiana giggled at the sight. "Just don't stress it too much."

"Right… I'll work on it, slowly but… eventually. C'mon, the entrance isn't much further!" Mei took the lead as the three continue on, eventually coming to an industrial door secured by more than a few extra panels near it.

"Talk about putting measures in…" Soleil raised a brow as he eyed the panels. "Pass key, eye scanner, ID swipe… gotta have something worth keeping behind all of that. You really have access to all of this?"

"Of course," Mei pulled an ID card out from under her shirt, swiping it first, which then pinged the keypad. "Like I said, daughter of the CEO. Even if my father isn't in the position anymore, my access wasn't revoked since the case was technically ongoing. Just give me a second…"

Mei went about the process with all the ease of someone who'd had to do so dozens of times. The code was entered without even looking at the pad, and Mei leaned up to the eye scanner as that too dinged. And once that cleared, the sound of who knew how many internal locks sounded through the door. Mei pushed through the door, Soleil and Kiana following.

At first, despite all the security, the room they entered was rather normal. Like any other office you could find, one end being a lounge, and the other the proper office space of cubicles and rooms squared off by frosted glass.

"Doesn't seem like anything but some kind of office," Kiana said the thought aloud. "Are we sure there's some kind of secret supply train that's supposed to run by here?"

"Technically it's tied to the subway system," Mei said, Kiana giving a hum. "Since it would interfere with the intended layout of the Academy City, those kinds of rails were kept underground… meaning the facility we're looking for is underneath the school. I've never been inside of it though, so I don't know what would be in there."

"Then it's a good thing we're armed," Soleil put a hand to his sword's hilt, shifting it from it's across the shoulder holster. "Guessing the elevator here has some extra input for the lab?"

"Not sure," Mei looked around the space as she drew her gun, her brow knitting. "It's odd how nobody's here though. At the time it was yesterday, you'd think there'd have been at least a few people in here."

"Maybe they fled down to the lab when the Honkai energy started to spike?" Kiana's suggestion didn't lend a good mood as the three entered the elevator.

All was quiet as Mei pressed the button that looked like it would take them down to the lab proper. Hands rested on weapons as they waited, the slow ride down only mounting the tension.

When it finally stopped, the elevator opened out to a darkened, cold facility. The hums and clicks of still active computer systems filled the air as the teenagers slowly proceeded into the lab's foyer. And already the signs weren't giving a good mood. Walls stained with both red and purple fluids, bodies of scientists left strewn in the rooms visible from beyond, and even the flaking bodies of Honkai beasts.

Mei flinched when a shrill howl echoed from somewhere deeper in the lab, also looking amazed at how calm Kiana and Soleil were despite the situation they'd walked into now.

"Why are there Beasts down here?" Kiana stopped at one of the flaking away Beasts, it's body much larger than the Angels from before, being some kind of quadrupedal type. "A Chariot type… now way it's been long enough for these ones to start forming though. They take a while…"

"I don't think they formed during the Impact…" Soleil stepped to Kiana, a quick pull from his hand yanking off some of the dead Beast's body, and it was covered in dried, flaking remnants of what looked like a more viscous, dark pink fluid. "Not enough to prove it, but these things were probably being studied here."

"And the Impact woke them up…" Kiana clicked her tongue as she came to the conclusion, Soleil nodding as he crushed the fragment in his hands. "Mei-senpai, I think we're not getting to that train easily."

"I'll do my best!" Mei readied her gun, Kiana and Soleil nodding as they drew their respective weapons, right in time to another howl echoing through the lab.

If only escape could be easier than what they were bound to come across.