Previous fic: "In Love's Light"

POV: Theresa

The large gathering in the laboratory waited in tense silence. All eyes were on the portal that connected their world to a parallel one, the world they had failed so many times at finding before they finally succeeded. It was the world that was home to him for a decade and the world he was now forced to leave behind. They might have been waiting for nothing. He might have ultimately chosen his new home over theirs.

Theresa Apocalypse gave her niece a worried look. Kiana Kaslana was strong, likely the strongest person she had ever known, but even she found tampering with the Imaginary Tree to be no trivial task. Forming a bridge between two worlds had never been attempted in their known history. The Tree itself may have laid down immutable laws that made such a thing impossible. Until Kiana succeeded or failed, all they had was hope.

Theresa briefly inspected the others waiting in the laboratory with her. Raiden Mei stood at Kiana's side, reassuringly holding her hand. Bronya Zaychik and Seele Vollerei along with the two Olenyeva sisters were not far behind, watching patiently. Welt Yang, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, stood with his arms crossed. Rita Rossweisse stood with her eyes closed as Bianka Ataegina gently reassured her. Fu Hua stared at the device that had been used to communicate with him just minutes ago. They had also been joined by Li Sushang, Raiden Ryoma, and Amber, the last being the closest to a sister Theresa would ever have. All their hopes were laid on Kiana, whose eyes were closed as she focused on maintaining their tenuous connection.

Theresa mulled over the brief conversation they just had. With only a few words, they had learned that time passed much faster in that world; a month to them was more than a decade for him. Theresa knew better than most that people could change greatly in only a short time, let alone ten years. If he returned to her, would he be the same man she once knew? How much had he changed? Would he even come home to her? He would need to sacrifice so much to return. To him, the cost may not be worth it.

Theresa watched Kiana again. She was proud of her beyond words. People could change greatly in only a short time. For Kiana, her hardships, as regrettable as they were, had made her a stronger, better person than before. Losing Mei for the first time had nearly broken her. Losing her again was even worse. But Kiana persevered. She never lost hope that Mei would return to her. When she did, Kiana's strength only shined brighter, a fact that was clear to see now. Theresa shared that same hope for their lost captain, a castaway between endless worlds. He would come home to her. She knew he would. She only wished Himeko could also be here to see it.

"i…I can feel him on the other side…" Kiana gasped, struggling. She had already exerted herself for hours before she finally located the other world, and she could not sustain her efforts for much longer.

"You can? Good," said Nagamitsu, one of the three scientists assisting Kiana. "That's because he's answered with the same resonance on the other side with a portal of his own. It should be…ah! It worked! We've established a connection!"

Theresa watched, not daring to breathe, as a man wearing a white uniform emerged through the portal. Kiana closed it after he stepped through, breathing hard and nearly collapsing if not for Mei helping to support her. Theresa released the breath she had been holding in that same moment. When she dared to look into his amber eyes, all she saw was pain.

Johann Apocalypse met their eyes one by one. Not a flicker of recognition was seen in his. He only stood, silent and unmoving. None of them moved, not until Kiana rushed forward and embraced him.

"I knew you'd come home to us. I knew it all along…" Kiana said in a voice that sounded close to breaking.

He did nothing. He did not even seem to acknowledge her. Kiana seemed to realize this. She let him go and stepped back, worry etched on her face. Theresa walked forward. She had predicted his reaction, hoping to be wrong.

"Welcome home, Johann. We've all missed you," Theresa said in her gentlest voice.

Her voice had an effect on him, as did her face. When he turned to her, she saw tears.

"Johann? Is everything alright?" Theresa asked.

Einstein put a hand on Theresa's shoulder as she addressed the entire room. "Everyone, we appreciate you being here for Mr. Apocalypse's return. I'd only like to ask that you clear the laboratory so we can run a number of vital tests. If that's alright with you," she said, glancing at him. Johann did not respond before finally, he slowly nodded.

The gathering soon exited the laboratory, some more reluctantly than others and leaving only the three scientists behind in it. Theresa stepped into the hallway with Kiana and her other students. None of them looked as relieved as they should have been. Theresa felt worse. She felt even smaller than she usually did.

"He looked like he didn't recognize who I was. Any of us," Kiana quietly said.

"That isn't true. He remembered us when we spoke to him with Fu Hua's machine," Mei reassured her.

"Mei is correct," Bronya said. "He answered each of us by name. He hasn't forgotten who we are." Seele and Fu Hua concurred.

Theresa stepped in between them and addressed them all. "Kiana, I want to commend you for all your efforts this past month at bringing him home to us. You should be proud of yourself. You've done something none of us could."

"Thank you, Aunt Teri…"

Theresa continued. "But I need you all to understand that none of us can begin to imagine what he's lost, what he's sacrificed in order to come back to us. I'm asking that you don't pressure him in any way. Give him space to himself and the time he needs to come to terms with all of this. I know that in time, he'll be the same captain we've always known."

"I know," Kiana said. "Ten years in another world, with a family of his own…a family he had to leave behind…I'm not sure if I could have done that…"

"Ten years away from us." Theresa was much older than her appearance, but ten years was no short amount of time for even her. Ten years ago, the world had been a better, happier place. It was a world long ravaged by Honkai, but a world still filled with hope. After the second awakening of the Herrscher of the Void, hope became a rarity, and it was something Theresa had difficulty grasping now. "Ten long years where he was happy. Please, keep this in mind. Let him come home on his own terms."

The girls all agreed before going their own ways. Theresa remained where she was and stared at the closed door to the laboratory.

Only Bianka stayed with her. "Overseer, I know you might not be in the mood for this, but there are a few things you should hear," she said.

Theresa sighed. "Say them." Despite her curtness, she welcomed Bianka's advice. She had not always been fond of her. Only recently did she start warming up to the other S-rank valkyrie. Bianka's efforts in battling against Otto with them had proven her to be a valuable ally.

"Overseer, I suggest that you focus on the things you can control and not spend too much time worrying about what you can't. What you can do right now is lead Schicksal. Be the Overseer it needs. You've been doing an excellent job already this past month, and I look forward to seeing what you'll accomplish in the future."

"Thank you, Durandal."

"What you can also do is to trust in Johann's strength. He isn't a man who will abandon you. Like you said, he'll come to terms with this in his own time. I know he will."

"Thank you, Durandal. Is there anything else you have to say?"

Bianka retrieved her phone and searched through it. "Unfortunately. I just received word from Alvitr that…"

Bianka's words became mumbled, unintelligible, and meaningless noise that Theresa soon stopped listening to entirely. After Bianka finished, Theresa stared blankly at her before she remembered where she was. "Thank you, Durandal. I'll look into it. For now, I'll be retiring for the day. You should get some rest, too."

Theresa turned and slowly made her way to her room. It was no different from any of the others in Anti-Entropy's Salt Lake base. Hers was kept modest and plain with only a few personal items on display. Many would have said it was unbecoming for the leader of the most powerful organization in the world to settle for such mundane accommodations. She felt it was more than she deserved. She did not feel like she was the Overseer of Schicksal. She did not feel powerful. She did not believe the words of encouragement she had spoken herself just minutes ago.

She curled up on her bed, buried her face in a pillow, and screamed.