POV: Theresa

Theresa's blue eyes carefully watched the skies as she waited for their safe return. Her three students had contacted her and the others at the base, telling them they had located him and were bringing him back. Theresa was as proud of them as she was relieved. She had never doubted Bronya, Mei, and Seele, but knowing they were successful took a heavy weight off her shoulders.

She was more doubtful of what she would do when she saw him again. She was as likely to smash him in the head with Judah as she was to tearfully embrace him as she welcomed him back. She knew he was in more pain than they could hope to comprehend. She had no right to feel any anger at the way he was avoiding them, but she still felt it. She sighed and suppressed it. What she felt mattered less than helping him heal.

We've all lost loved ones. Kiana lost her teacher and her innocence. We all did. Mei lost her mother. Ryoma lost his wife. Bronya never knew her mother or father, and neither did Seele, Rozaliya, Liliya, or Bianka. Welt lost both his mother and father. Fu Hua…I'm not even sure how many people she's lost. But none of us have ever lost a child.

Theresa closed her eyes. She wondered about what kind of girl his daughter was. Beyond her name and age, none of them had any information regarding Lilika Kaslana. He had not been forthcoming about her, nor for that matter about anything else. But like all Kaslanas, Theresa knew that Lilika would be driven by her urge to protect the weak and the innocent. It was the same urge she and Kiana had always felt even though they were both clones of true Kaslanas. Lilika may still be only a young girl, but when she grew up, she would surely follow in her mother's footsteps and become a steadfast defender of humanity.

Kallen…who are you, really?

For all her life, Theresa knew why she had no true mother or father. She was an artifical homunculus grown in a test tube. She had been created in an attempt at making a new Kallen Kaslana. In this, she had failed. She was not Kallen. She was never Kallen even though she had the rare, sporadic dream about memories she did not remember, memories that must have belonged to her progenitor instead. These memories were scant and brief, nowhere near enough to tell her what kind of woman Kallen Kaslana used to be. It was elsewhere that she pieced together enough information to learn that Kallen was an exemplary member of their family, one whom few Kaslanas had matched even centuries later. She had accomplished more in her short life than most Kaslanas ever did. Her death was cruel and undeserved. Theresa mourned the woman she would never meet and wondered how she lived up to her memory.

No, she was not Kallen, and she did not need to be Kallen. Her life was her own. She had no one but herself to live up to. Even so, Otto had considered discarding her and starting anew, but something must have stayed his hand. Enough of Kallen must have survived in her for him to adopt her as his granddaughter and give her a name of her own. Theresa Apocalypse. That was who she was and who she would always be.

Kallen…I wish I could have met you. I wish we could have sat down and talked about who we truly wanted to be. Whoever you were, Otto must have loved you so much. Enough to create a new world where you could live again. With Johann. With your daughter.

There was an inexplicable connection and longing she felt for the two she had never and would never meet. Johann's love for his family equalled or even surpassed Otto's. His love was strong enough to change the world. She was unsure if his love for this one was comparable in any way.

But he came back all the same, even though he knew he would never see them again. He willingly chose to come back to this world, to us. So why is he still having so much trouble reconnecting with it? Does he regret his decision?

Theresa knew they had no shared experience that she could draw upon to help him overcome his grief. She decided that she would choose neither of her two options; neither would be helpful. Johann's situation was unique and lacked any historical precedent or parallel. All she could do was trust her heart and be there for him.

"I knew they'd be able to find him. I knew they would bring him back," said Kiana, who stood beside Theresa.

"Bronya, Mei, and Seele have proven themselves many times over. I'm glad they did it again," replied Theresa. She looked back at those assembled behind them. Apart from Kiana, they were joined by Fu Hua, Welt, the three scientists, the Olenyeva twins, Bianka, Rita, and Ryoma. It was a welcoming party not unlike the one that greeted Mei when she and Kiana finally reunited and returned to the same base. Theresa wished she could have been there to welcome Mei home, but she and Bianka at the time were visiting various locations that belonged to Schicksal and introducing herself as their new Overseer.

Now, a man who had likely been the Overseer in another world was coming back to her.

In that brief conversation we had after contacting him and before he stepped through Kiana's portal, he said he had to protect his world. With his strength, there's no question that he became Overseer in the Schicksal of that world. Wait…we're both Overseers. Maybe…

Theresa's line of thought was interrupted by Fu Hua's voice from behind her. "I see them in the distance."

Theresa looked up. Three indistinct shapes were visible in the sky. As they grew closer, she saw them more clearly. Bronya and Seele were on her flying motorcycle along with Mei flying with them. In between them was Johann.

You really did come back. Bronya, Mei, Seele, thank you.

Theresa raised a hand to wave at them, as did Kiana and the others. The four of them landed in front of the gathering. Bronya helped Seele dismount the motorcycle before dismissing it. They stood with Mei with Johann still in between.

"Welcome back, all of you," Theresa said to them. "Well done to the three of you for finding him." Theresa smiled at Bronya, Seele, and Mei, but it faded when she looked at him. Smiles would not help him, nor did they reflect her current feelings.

"We've already said what we needed to say to him, so we'll let you handle the rest," Mei said. She went to Kiana and took her hand. Kiana smiled at her and returned the gesture. Bronya and Seele remained where they were, watching and waiting.

Theresa approached Johann until she stood directly in front of him. Her arms were crossed. He was significantly taller than her, so she had to look up at his face. What she saw on it surprised her. Instead of pain, grief, or even sadness, there was only defeat and resignation.

"Johann. Look at me."

He looked at her with empty eyes.

"I need you to know that enough is enough. I'm telling you now that you need to sort yourself out and decide what it is you're going to do from now on." Behind her, no one else said a word. "If you want to forget about us, leave us behind, and go your own way, you can do that. Make your own life. We can't stop you. But you didn't. You came back to this world, came back to us. When you left again, this time, you came home with Bronya, Mei, and Seele." Theresa uncrossed her arms. She reached forward and gently took his hand, still gazing into his eyes. She hoped he could feel the emotions contained in hers. Her voice softened. "You came back to us. You haven't forgotten us. So…Johann…please, ask yourself this: what do we mean to you? This is something you need to decide for yourself, and quickly. If you've truly moved on from us all, then please, say so. Don't leave us clinging to false hope." Theresa said all she had to say. The rest was up to him. She stepped back to join the others in waiting.

The ensuing silence was one of the longest Theresa had ever known. She heard nothing but the sound of the wind around them. Her heart grew weary as time dragged on without providing an answer, but Johann's gaze never left her. She had not expected this, for him to not look away. She knew who she reminded him of, and she remembered how he had reacted to the sight of her the day he stepped through the portal.

Johann…

His gaze moved away from her to Kiana. Then Mei, Bronya, Seele, and all of the others one by one. At last, he answered them.

"Everyone. I'm apologizing to you. I'm sorry. I'm not ready. I'm not strong enough."

Fu Hua stepped forward. "You are strong enough. Otherwise, you would not be here."

"She's right. You've always been one of the strongest people I know," Bianka said next. "Strength means more than just being able to fight the enemies that come your way. It means being able to fight yourself and win. Johann, I can't begin to understand what you've lost, but I know that you had a very difficult decision to make. You must have fought yourself so hard over it. But you did all the same, and now you're here with us again."

"You're the man who stood up to defy Otto even before you remembered the true extent of his crimes," said Welt. "Before you had any powers aside from your own will. This takes strength."

"Yes," said Einstein. "You defied your orders and helped Tesla and me to escape from the beach resort at the artificial lake not too far from here. Otto punished you for this, but I hope now that you'll always remember what you did."

"She's right," Tesla admitted. "We may not seem like it most of the time, but we're grateful to you."

The third scientist, Nagamitsu, spoke next. "Remember when you rescued Rita Rossweisse from one of AE's drone factories and flew her all the way to Schicksal HQ? I operated on her that day, but I wouldn't have been of any use without you."

Raiden Ryoma rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder. They smiled at each other, then he spoke. "Mr. Apocalypse, I told you before how grateful I am to you for being such an effective commander to my daughter, how you did everything you could to keep her safe aboard your battleship. Let me say that you are not as weak as you may believe you are."

Kiana walked forward. In her hands, she held a red scarf. She lifted it for him to see before wrapping it around her neck. "Johann, you're still the same man who saved me after I fell from the sky. You're the one who gave me so many precious memories that I always keep safe within my heart. I only hope we can still make more memories like that together in the future."

Theresa stood beside her niece. "Johann, we're asking you only one thing. We're asking that you at least try to give us another chance. If you can't, it's okay. But you can never know unless you try."

Johann looked at her, at Kiana, at Bronya and everyone else. Theresa saw that he was wavering, but he was still not there. She tried something she immediately realized was a mistake. It was a shot in the dark she regretted making as soon as the words left her mouth.

"If it's too much, then just try with me first and me alone," Theresa quietly said as she offered him her hand.

I'm such an idiot! Why did I even say that? I -

"Theresa."

Ashamed, she looked away, but then he reached over and gently took her hand in his own before she could pull away. His hand was so warm. She looked up and saw the change in his face. Was it hope? Was it fear? Or was it only one last desperate attempt to keep himself from drowning? Whatever it was, his eyes and his words were for her and her alone.

"I promise this to you and only you, Theresa. I will try."