POV: Johann

Inside a translucent orb, there was a bright red rose. The orb was designed to bring out the rose's vibrant red colour for all to see and to preserve it from the passage of time. The flower looked as if it were still alive and in full bloom even though many years had passed since he first found it waiting for him in another room far away; his personal cabin aboard the Hyperion was smaller than his room in Anti-Entropy's base, but it too had held the same rose. It had been lying on his bed, a bright red flower with a green stem and no thorns. He never did manage to uncover the identity of the person who left it there for him to find, not until years later when his erased memories were finally restored.

Rita. It was you all along. You left me something to remember you by.

Then the rose had been Himeko's. It was his gift to her the day he learned she was dying. When that eventuality came to pass, the rose became one of the last things left of her.

He picked the rose up from the table. He stared at it, then he set it back down. There was another object on the table beside it: a plaid red scarf. Kiana had purchased the scarf for him during their time together in Soukai City. She did this because he had gifted his original scarf to her on her birthday so many years ago. His memories of that time had all but faded, but seeing her wearing it again evoked emotions he could not easily describe.

He rested his hand on the scarf. It was still soft and warm. He considered how it would feel wrapped around his neck. He held it up. He was about to put it on when he shook his head and set it back down on the table. He sat down and stared at the clock. He had an hour before Theresa came to his room. To do what exactly, he was unsure. He had given her his word that he would try, but how he would try remained to be seen.

He was still acclimating to having so much free time available to him. As the Overseer of Schicksal in his world, most of it was spent leading the organization, fighting the Honkai, and otherwise managing the chaotic and rapidly changing world that he had a duty to protect. He was left with very little time to himself, most of which he spent with his family. Now that he had so much time available but nothing to do with it, it felt wasteful. He stared at the rose and scarf again and did not look away.

An hour later, there was a knock on the door. He did not immediately respond. He was uncertain if he were ready to see the face of the person standing just outside it. After the second knock, she spoke.

"Johann, I'm here just like we agreed. Open the door, and let's talk like we promised to."

He opened the door. She stood before him, gazing up at him and holding a small box and what appeared to be a large blue scroll under her right arm. She smiled in greeting. Her smile perfectly complemented her silver hair and blue eyes, but he did not return it.

"So, are you going to let me in?" Theresa asked after he had not moved for several seconds.

He finally nodded and stood aside to let her enter. Theresa walked into his room before he closed the door. Wordlessly, he sat down at the coffee table and offered her the seat opposite his. After Theresa took it, she placed the box and the blue scroll on the table, but she did not open either. Instead, she asked how he was doing.

"Johann, is it alright if I asked about how you're feeling about now?"

"I don't know."

"You're here, at least. You didn't turn me away. You kept your promise. All of these are good things, and I want you to know that."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. Here. I brought some snacks for you." Theresa opened the box. Inside, there were rows of chocolates. "I made these for you myself. I hope you enjoy them."

He looked over them. They were round, dark brown, and surprisingly large. He glanced at Theresa, who gave him a smile of encouragement. "Go on. Have as many as you like."

He picked up one of the chocolates and carefully put it in his mouth. The rich, sweet flavour of the chocolate was apparent already. When he started chewing, it was joined by something even sweeter.

"Do you like the secret ingredient I added?" Theresa asked.

"Is it chunks of strawberry? It's very good. Thank you," he said. He appreciated her handiwork, but it was only some food.

"I'm glad to hear that. You can finish the rest or keep them for later. For now, just let me talk about things."

Johann was uncertain what she wished to discuss, so he closed the box of chocolate and set it aside, waiting for her to continue.

"I have some good news I think you'll like hearing," Theresa said. "The Hyperion has received some upgrades since the last time you saw it."

The last time he had seen that battleship was its underbelly growing ever smaller as he fell to his death after being thrown overboard by Otto, his body disintegrating to dust at the time. He chose not to mention this.

Theresa unrolled the scroll and spread it over the table. It was detailed blueprints of schematics of Hyperion, Theresa pointed to each detail as she described them. "We've installed newer, stronger engines and doubled the Hyperion's previous top speed. The force field has been improved and should be at least three times more durable. We've added four new railguns, two dorsal and two ventral, and they along with the existing ones are…"

Johann listened carefully as Theresa informed him of each and every new detail and upgrade to the battleship. She seemed to be as fond of her as he used to be. She had captained the Hyperion more than once during the times when he was absent, and she had done so splendidly.

"Ai-chan told me that she appreciated these upgrades a lot while Bianka and I were using the Hyperion to travel," Theresa said. "You know how she is. She loves taking credit for the hard work our engineers did. But I can't blame her for that; she is the Hyperion , after all."

"You used the Hyperion? You and Bianka?"

Theresa laughed. "You haven't heard? We travelled all over Schicksal using it. It helped give off the impression that I take my new job seriously and that I shouldn't be trifled with."

Johann recalled Otto's worldwide broadcast where he named Theresa as the heiress to Schicksal and then the newspaper he had seen a man reading in Vienna. As he had viewed the broadcast, he hated seeing Otto's face again. He correctly suspected they were likely flying into a trap, and how right he was. It gladdened him to know that his cousin had not been lying about Theresa.

"Theresa…" The name was difficult for him to say, but not difficult as it was to look at her face. "Are you now the Overseer? Did you gain the support of Schicksal?"

Theresa sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Mostly. I'm still having some trouble, but I'll deal with them."

"Only mostly?" Johann began to feel uneasy, recalling the man's comments about her. "Theresa, you either lead all of Schicksal or none of it. It may look powerful on the surface, and it is, but it can be more fragile than it seems."

"I know that. Not everyone likes me. Many see me as a child. I know what they're saying about me. 'That little girl is supposed to be our Overseer? She can't be any older than twelve.' 'If that little girl can become Overseer, then so can my daughter.' 'What was Otto thinking, naming her as his successor?' And worse. I've gotten used to it…but still…"

Theresa's plight was different from his when he was Overseer. He had little issue gaining support, at least from within Schicksal itself. His problems stemmed from powers outside Schicksal believing they could do as they pleased. If Theresa's position worsened, the same or worse could happen to the Schicksal of this world.

"Theresa. You can't change how people think, but if you're competent at your role, and I know you will be, what they think won't matter."

Theresa sighed again and opened the box of chocolates before looking up at him as if asking for his permission. He nodded, then she popped several of them into her mouth. "You must be speaking from experience. You were the Overseer back in your world, I'm pretty sure."

He was unsurprised that she had deducted this. "I was. It wasn't easy."

"I'm just glad that I have the support of those who matter the most to me. Kiana, Bronya, Mei, Bianka…they're all Herrschers or as strong as one. I'm glad they're all at my side." She looked up at him again. "Johann, I wish to have your support, too."

The sincerity in her voice changed something in him. He had forgotten many things over the years, but Theresa's strength was not one of them. Her will was indomitable. She never let her small stature stop her, but she was vulnerable now. She needed his help.

"You have it, Theresa," he promised. "I was the Overseer of Schicksal for a decade. I aged more in that decade than during any other part of my life. It was a gruelling and thankless task, but it was a task that someone had to do, and it could only be me." He smiled. For the first time since returning to this world, he smiled. It was a small one, but it was a smile. "I'm glad that Schicksal has someone as strong as you to lead it, Theresa. I know what you must be feeling, and if you'll let me, I will help you in any way I can."

Theresa smiled back. "I'm glad that I can rely on your experience and skill. There's no better person to help an Overseer than another Overseer. Still, what would you say if I asked you to take over again so I can relax a little…"

Johann looked away. "Theresa…I…"

She laughed. It was a bright, beautiful song. "I'm just joking. I'll be fine. It's you who needs a break from all this." She pointed to the blueprints again. "This is your ship, you know. It still is. Ai-chan has been waiting for you on the bridge. Want to go see her? She's currently docked at this base. We can go now if you'd like."

He looked again at the blueprints. He recognized the shape and layout of the bridge where he had spent so much time in the past. He had so many memories of himself standing there, sometimes alone, most times with at least one of his valkyries. He heard himself giving orders as he guided them through one mission after another. They had eliminated countless Honkai beasts together. They had grown inseparable aboard that battleship.

"Theresa, I would like that."

"Then let's go." Theresa led him out of his room and through the many hallways and corridors of the base until they exited the building and stood outside in the open air. Before them, indomitable and graceful, was five hundred meters of something very close to his heart. The cold, hard emptiness within it began to warm up and be refilled by his memories of his beloved battleship. Here, he had forged a new life. Here, he had become who he was. Here, he had loved and lost. Theresa was right. The Hyperion had never stopped waiting for her captain to return to her.

"Like what you see?" Theresa asked. "She's even better than you remember, isn't she?"

He nodded.

Theresa took him by the arm. The gesture took him by surprise, but he did not push her away this time. "Come. Let's go in. I'll show you all the new features in person. You can speak with Ai-chan. She's been looking forward to seeing you again."

"Yes, Theresa. Let's do that."

She led him by the arm to an opening in the side of the battleship, which they used to board via a gangplank. He observed the interior waiting for him. The first step was the hardest, but with Theresa there to guide him, he continued with many more.

"First, I'll show you the engine room," she said, leading him to the aft of the battleship to a large area that housed the ship's power. Here was the heart of the Hyperion. Without the massive engines that propelled her through the air, the Hyperion would be immobile. Without the Leonov anti-gravity drives that lifted her high into the atmosphere, she could not rule the skies. Johann inspected the upgraded engines. They put the old ones to shame.

"We'll be able to fly even faster with these," Theresa said with a tinge of pride in her voice. "Not quite fast enough to catch up to Herrschers, but fast enough to get to where we need to go."

"I remember…that it was a group of flying Honkai beasts that invaded the engine room once and damaged the Hyperion enough that she required over six months of repair…" Johann said quietly.

"Yes," Theresa said. "That's when we invited you to stay at St. Freya with us. I'm very glad we did, and I'm glad that you still remember."

"I do."

Theresa looked at him for a while longer before guiding him from the engine room. Next, she led him onto the outer deck. Positioned around the perimeter were ten railguns, each of them larger and more powerful than they were before. He knew that ten more were situated on the underside of the battleship, providing 360 coverage and letting no given point around them escape their collective firing arcs.

"We rarely had to use the railguns," he said. "When we did, it was only in the direst of situations. The valkyries could deal with most threats we encountered."

"That's Kiana, Mei, and Bronya for you," Theresa said. "And Himeko and me."

"The railguns…they were able to destroy many of Otto's Soulium clones," Johann continued. "There were too many to destroy, but the railguns and torpedoes reduced their numbers to a third."

"Johann…yes, you're right," Theresa said, her face worried. "And now they're even stronger than that. The next enemy that thinks it's a good idea to attack the Hyperion will regret it."

Johann did not reply. He allowed Theresa to guide him back into the interior of the battleship. She guided him through it, showing him all there was to see. The recreation room. The lounge. The sick bay, which was first used when Kiana was injured by a Templar-class Honkai beast. The galley where food was prepared. The shield generator, which Theresa explained had also received significant improvements. His old private quarters, set up for his return. And finally, the bridge.

They boarded the elevator and stepped off. Immediately, he heard a female voice speaking to him.

"Is that you? Is it really you? Oh, welcome back, captain! I missed you so much!"

No one else was visible in the bridge besides them, but he knew who the disembodied voice belonged to. "Yes, Ai-chan. It's me. Your old captain."

"It's so great to see you again. You know, they linked me to the communication device so I could speak to you through the portal, remember? I hope I helped convince you to come home."

He declined to directly address her words, only saying, "Yes, Ai-chan. I remember."

"And greetings to Theresa, too," Ai-chain said. "You're an amazing captain, too. You and Himeko."

"Thanks, Ai-chan," Theresa said. "But I was only an interim captain. It's my hope that Johann can take his place on the bridge like he used to. Johann? I won't pressure you. What you want to do now is up to you."

He looked at her, then at the view beyond the bridge. He stepped forward. When he stood in the same place on the bridge where he had stood countless times before, he hoped, if even for the most fleeting moment, that he had a chance to belong again.

A/N: The box of chocolates with strawberry filling that Theresa made are from the Sweet Confession event.