Chapter 4: Second Honkai War IV

Earth, Siberia, Babylon Labs Medibay Room A

A phone call rang abruptly, causing its owner to pick up and listen to the hurried report from Anti-Entropy personnel. "What is it, Dr Tesla?"

"We just received word: A string of EMP pulses was detected being emitted from the Moon, seemingly in a Morse code pattern." the scientist replied hesitantly.

"Sirin probably sent it, then… what did it say?" Welt Yang probed.

"Meet me on the moon, First. Don't even think about cheating or hiding from me… Or I'll throw more rocks at your bases until you run out of bombs to counter them. You have 72 hours before I begin. Come alone."

"...I see. So she has most likely acquired additional powers somehow. That girl used to overwhelm her enemies with just brute force, but now… she's beginning to realise her true powers and potential. Sirin has assumed a mantle of might worthy of a true Herrscher."

Meanwhile, Siegfried reacted differently. "What will you do now, Welt? She's calling you out for a showdown! We have to respond, do something!"

"I need… some time to think."

2 hours after Sirin's threat, Welt had still not acted or even uttered a word, and Siegfried was wondering what was going on in the other man's head. 'We have less than 70 hours left… Sirin clearly plans to kill Welt on the Moon, with no one else being able to stop her if she succeeds… but if Welt ignores her, many personnel at both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy bases will come under orbital fire, not to mention Cecilia and Kiana might be in danger at Schicksal HQ… What's he gonna do? What would I do if I were to face a similar choice?'

Just then, Dr Einstein entered the room, Dr Tesla having left at some point. "Sovereign, we have analysed the fragments left of the meteor fired at the Anti-Entropy Headquarters in North America." Welt held out his hand, and the scientist passed over the analysis result for him to read. There was a moment of silence, before Welt spoke up again.

"Master Siegfried… I'm heading to the Moon. There's a small favour I'd like to ask of you… I have to talk to your Overseer. There are some things I hope to discuss with him."

Babylon Labs, Overseer's Lobby

The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, still in hospital robes, sat patiently on a couch waiting for a certain man. Meanwhile, Siegfried was giving out some last information.

"Overseer Otto is on his way from Schicksal HQ. He said he'll be here in 5 minutes. He also reminded me to… err, yeah he said that this was a top-secret meeting for the leaders of both parties… so I probably have to leave you guys for awhile." The Schicksal Knight scratched the back of his head. "But I never liked to attend meetings anyway. Try to be nice to each other… I'll just go pump some iron in the gym, so find me there if things go ballistic…" With those words, Siegfried left them alone. Silence remained in the room, broken only by the occasional tick of the clock. When the 5 minutes were up, Welt Yang glanced to the side.

"I haven't seen you for many years, Dr Einstein." Wearing a simple shirt and pants, swirling a glass of wine, Otto Apocalypse stepped into the room. "...And you must be Welt, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy. I do believe I haven't met you since 1955? Herrschers truly do not age, then? How fortunate. That reminds me… I'm told that your last combat left you rather exhausted?" The Schicksal Overseer approached the AE Sovereign, leaning down with wine glass in hand. "Need an energy boost from the reactor downstairs? A medical checkup, perhaps–"

In response, Welt Yang glowed with an aura of power, crimson lightning crackling around him. Otto Apocalypse's glass shook in his hand. "Hmph. A check performed by someone who can't even hold his wine? No, thank you. Should you need proof of my full recovery, I can give you a better display of my Herrscher powers." The Overseer backed off, a smug smile still on his face. "My, my, Mr Welt. Relax, please. We face a common foe; we need to be friends…" Both Anti-Entropists resisted the urge to wipe that look off his face.

Keeping a calm expression, Dr Einstein produced glowing red holograms. "Indeed, Sovereign. Time is of the essence. We should commence with the meeting. Mr Otto, you should already be aware that Anti-Entropy discovered a number of Previous Era ruins in North America." The holograms displayed images of the ruins in question and some data taken from them. "Honkai energy abides by the 1st Law of Thermodynamics: meaning it is neither created nor destroyed; however records in these ruins mentioned a scientist who identified means of containing the Honkai. We tried looking for the 'means' in the rest of the ruins, but we found nothing at all. Some years before today, the Palace of Selene was found on the Far Side of the Moon, its grounds containing forms of the Honkai within it, proving this technology did exist before."

Raising his glass, Otto Apocalypse cut in. "And I suppose you're going to say we can try containing the Honkai by recreating that tech? Anti-Entropy is not the only one digging around, you know. Schicksal was not able to locate such technology you mention in any of the sites we control. That tech doesn't exist on Earth."

"Indeed. It's all on the Moon." A conclusion was reached. "Analysis of the lunar meteors revealed a Soulium core within a rocky crust. We also found special data codes within the Soulium. However, atmospheric entry, along with our respective base defences, dealt irreversible damage that prevented us from getting anything useful. Thus, we need undamaged samples to reverse-engineer that Honkai containment tech."

At this point, Welt Yang spoke. "I am prepared to head to the Moon. I hope you can spare an agent to help collect Soulium while I distract the Second Herrscher?"

Otto Apocalypse hummed while swirling his wine again. "Very intriguing, Mr Welt. You never fail to surprise me. But your plan sounds pretty risky… even if you have the Soulium, can you really recreate that tech?" At this statement, Welt Yang stepped closer, speaking close to Otto's right ear.

"Otto, we know you aren't interested in fighting the Honkai. Part of me thinks you're more interested in those Herrscher powers. But that girl's on the moon throwing meteors at us… And I don't think you have a solution to that problem. Her message may have called me out specifically, but she's still targeting both our organisations. Listen to what I have to offer. Trust me… You will only benefit from our deal."Intrigued, the Schicksal Overseer relented. "Go ahead… I'm all ears."

Welt Yang leaned in to whisper, some time passing as the words were inaudible to anyone else. Finally, he finished whispering, and Otto stepped back slightly. A moment later, he burst into laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! REALLY? HAHAHAHAHA!"

Bringing his hand to his face, Otto calmed himself. "Hah… Ahem, apologies, Mr Welt. As I've said before, you never fail to surprise me. Very well, we shall do it your way. You have my word: my forces shall not oppose you. I'll also throw in Siegfried Kaslana to help in any way he can. Although, the Second Herrscher's message demanded you come alone…? Regardless, you turned out to be a respectable opponent and formidable adversary…" The two leaders of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy locked eyes.

"...Lord Welt, the second of his name."

Babylon Labs, Training Facility

Just after leaving Anti-Entropy waiting for the Schicksal Overseer, Siegfried headed to Babylon Lab's gym to work out and destress.

"Hold on a moment… Why does a tower full of scientists even need a gym, anyway? I doubt any of them even work out, probably too busy with their research and sitting in their labs every day." Speaking absently to himself, Siegfried finally found the door he was looking for. "I bet the gym room is just covered in dust that I'll have to clean up— Eh?"

Rather than what he had expected to see, the gym room looked like it had recently been used. There was also a note stuck to the door that Siegfried hadn't noticed at first. "What's this?"

*"Hey Siegfried, if you're reading this, it means you've decided to visit this place's gym just like me and Salome did. Not sure why there is a gym here anyway, but I'm not complaining. Anyway, the two of us didn't have much to do after that scientist's bots took out all the Honkai beasts around the tower, so I decided to pump some iron and dragged Salome with me for company. Thank Saint Kallen I did, because this place was dusty and stale before the both of us came along. After a lot of sweeping, mopping and wiping down the equipment, Salome says I owe her a favour for all the extra work… Something about a janitor not being part of her job description. Anyway, just know that you owe me for the cleanup if you want to workout too. Signed, Niggurath."*

"Oh, so it was Shub, huh? I'll have to do something nice for them both sometime… Maybe treat them to a meal or something? I'm sure Cecilia would understand… Or maybe I could ask her to give them some training advice? I'll have to think about this…" Siegfried contemplated, walking to an empty corner of the room and putting down an exercise mat. "Let's start with some warmups…"

Some time later, Siegfried was counting out loud while doing pushups. "498… 499… 500!" Having enough, he sat on a nearby bench and began thinking.

'I'm frigging lame and useless… I should have stayed with Welt instead of retreating with Theresa and Shirou. We could have defeated the Second Herrscher as a team. She wouldn't have gotten away… and now that girl is threatening Schicksal HQ where Cecilla and Kiana are, not to mention every base under assault by her meteors... I thought I was saving a life by taking Shirou away from the fight, but it turned out he was fine, and now millions are in danger… I won't blame a kid, that'd be scummy of me, but what else could I do? This isn't right… I don't care what Welt said… I was supposed to fight, but I chickened out… I should have—"

Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Mr Siegfried? You're here too?" Looking up, he found a certain red-haired boy standing in the doorway. "Shirou? I thought you were still in the medbay. What are you doing here?"

Walking into the room, Shirou looked around at all the weights and gym equipment. "Dr Einstein cleared me for discharge, so I'm okay now. She and Theresa questioned me for a few things and are now discussing between themselves. I… have free time now since I finished making lunch for everyone, so I…"

Shirou trailed off, mind wandering for a moment: 'All the food I made these past few days had to be easier for me to cook, because… I don't have Bella to help me anymore. And Sirin… she's not here either.'

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Shirou continued speaking. "Mr Siegfried, I need your help."

"Please, teach me how to get stronger."