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Diary Interview: Karin Mered

(First Day, First Entry)

Karen’s face was the first thing to come into view as the screen flickered on, bending in front of the camera. She stuck her tongue out in concentration and she adjusted the device, trying to straighten it out. She took a step back when satisfied (though the screen as slightly crooked from the viewer’s perspective.) Karin moved back and sat on the edge of the plain-looking bedding, folding her hands on her lap, and took a deep breath before looking into the camera.

“Hi, er, hey, I guess,” said Karin, waving at the camera awkwardly. “My name is Karin Mered. I’m sixteen years old and I used to work as a delivery girl with my mom before all the craziness happened. Though…I’m not sure why I’m telling you that since, well, I’m the one who’s mostly gonna be watching this. Guess it’s because I’ve been watching too many ‘reality’ TV shows. Hehe….

“Today’s my first day. Well, technically, yesterday was my first day, but this is my first real day to relax.

“Miss Bronya – the older Bronya – suggested I make a video diary to express my thoughts as a way of managing the stress of everything that’s happening and organizing my thoughts. Which I guess is a good thing because I’m still trying to process what happened. I heard Miss Bronya used to run an orphanage – probably why she’s so wise to other people’s problems. She’s so nice. All of them are, really. They’ve really been a big help after I ended up stranded here.

“But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me explain:

“See, like I said, I used to work as a delivery girl, but now I’m a passenger on the Astral Express. The Astral Express is…kinda like a big space train that travels to different worlds. Or is it universes? The distinction is kinda weird. I mean, they are technically different planet, but there are people who live there that are basically the same as people who live on other worlds, but slightly different. I mean, so far, I’ve learned that there are at least five Bronya’s that look that same but are all slightly different. Doesn’t that technically count as alternate universes? I don’t know.

“How did I stuck on a sci fi space train? Well, that’s a lot longer to explain:

“It started out as a simple delivery job to Schicksal headquarters. I was bringing a box of bitter melon juice boxes for the new Overseer and somehow got roped into babysitting these two kids, Helia and Coralie. Only they ran off and somehow found a magic portal in space that led to the Astral Express. Naturally, I went looking for them because, well, I wasn’t about to piss off the most powerful organization on the planet.

“I started searching through the cars and somehow wound up getting beaned with a baseball. I don’t know how long I was knocked out, but it was definitely long enough for us to be invaded by giant man-eating space big! Yeah, that part still freaks me out, too.

“Long story short: we had to do a lot of pest control. Kiana – that’s the lady who opened the portal – blew up this big one the size of a moon with just her finger! It was so awesome! I even did this thing where I made this giant sword of light like an anime protagonist! But I used up a lot of energy doing it and I kinda lost consciousness again. Helia and Coralie got off safely, but I was kinda…forgotten.

“So now I’m stuck here for a while. Miss Kiana – the one who made the portal – said it’ll be a long while before we reach the next spot where she can open another one. So, I guess all I can do now is stick with the crew and try not to catch some space disease – “

Karin’s discourse was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

“Karin, you awake?” Helia’s voice came through the door. “It’s breakfast time. Everyone’s gathering in the party car.”

“Coming!” Karin yelled quickly, then moved to grab the camera. “Guess I’ll be signing off for now. Good luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it.”

Karin shut off the futuristic camcorder and stuffed it in her messenger bag; she might want to record more footage later. She put on her shoes and walked across the room to the sliding door, opening it into the hallways where Helia and Coralie were waiting.

It was crazy to imagine that these two were the same kids she had been forced to babysit less than twenty-four hours ago. (Well, Coralie was roughly around the same height, so not that big of a difference.)

“Hey, you settling in all right, Karin?” Helia asked once she opened the door. “Is the room all right? We were exactly prepared for guests, so we did our best to clean up.”

“The room’s fine,” said Karin, then made a disgusted face as she waved the air in front of her nose. “Though it does have that…strong lingering odor.”

“That’s probably from Stelle’s trash can collection,” Coralie remarked. “We should tell Pom-Pom to spray the room down again. Maybe throw in a few air fresheners.”

“Trash can collection?” Karin parroted, blinking absurdly.

“The former occupant of that room was a bit of an…eccentric,” said Helia awkwardly. “Don’t worry, Pom-Pom’ll spray down the place before tonight. Not like we’re gonna give him a choice.”

“What happened to the last person that stay here?” asked Karin, looking around her room curiously. It was mostly barren with the exception of the plain, uninspired bed, the small writing desk in the corner, and the empty shelf on the wall.

“She, March, and Dan Heng are currently stations on Earth – er, your Earth,” Helia reiterated. “We don’t know how long they’re going to be gone, so feel free to decorate the room however you like.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Karin. “But I didn’t exactly bring any luggage. Just whatever’s in my bag.”

“Ah, then we should totally go on a shopping spree when we get to Herta Station,” Coralie suggested. She retained her monotone, but her tail was wagging excitedly. “We can buy Karin some new bedsheets, some posters, some knickknacks – “

“A new hover board to replace the one you broke last week?” Helia retorted with a raised brow.

“Well, since you suggested it,” said Coralie, shrugging nonchalantly. “And maybe we could have Herta remove that pesky limiter that keeps it from going lightspeed – “

“You’re a menace at normal speed,” Helia proclaimed. “I don’t even want to imagine what kind of trouble you could get up to if you break the sound barrier.”

“Stop being such a worry wart,” said Coralie in faux exasperation. “You’ll get gray hairs that way.”

“My hair’s already gray!”

Karin covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing out loud.

Diary Interview: Erdős Helia and Coralie 6626 Planck

(Caring for Karin)

The Mar Exploration Team was sitting at the bar of the Party Car when the camera started recording. Shush, the Party Car’s self-proclaimed “drinksmith” (AKA glorified waiter) handed Helia a mug of piping hot coffee and laced an ice cream sundae half Coralie’s size in front of the dog Thiren; her tail wagged enthusiastically. While Coralie scarfed down scoop after scoop of ice cream (astonishingly without any brain freeze), Helia took a contemplative sip of coffee before turning to the camera.

“I kinda of feel bad for Karin,” said Helia, nursing the mug. “I mean, it is our fault she’s stuck on this train.”

“Technically, it was little Helia and Coralie’s fault,” Coralie said matter-of-factly, her mouth smeared with ice cream, waving her little spoon around. “We are complete innocent.”

“You know what I mean,” said Helia, shaking her head as her partner went back to gobbling her creamy confection. “the point is, she never asked to be here like the rest of us. And now’s she stuck for almost a year – “

“257 days and counting,” Coralie interjected.

“I figured the least we could do I try to make her feel welcomed,” said Helia, taking another sip of her coffee.

“And the fact that Kiana made us her partners to make up for what Little Helia and Little Coralie did,” Coralie pointed out.

“Well, that too,” Helia admitted.

Karin looked around curiously as she entered the Party Car behind Helia and Coralie. She didn’t a chance to explore the Astral Express between getting beaned, running from hungry space bugs, and passing out again.

It didn’t really fit her vision of a “Party Car” – there was a substantial lack of balloons, streams, and cake towers. Rather, it looked like a cross between a fancy restaurant that Karin and her mom could never afford, and an equally fancy upscale bar that Karin regularly delivered crates of bourbon to. In even had its own fancy robot butler behind the counter. (Though Helia insisted that it didn’t like to be called “butler” or “waiter,” an insisted on being called “Drinksmith,” even though it was clearly making pancakes right now.)

Most of the Astral Express crew was already there by the time Karin, Helia, and Coralie arrived. Miss Himeko, who Karin had met yesterday, was sitting at the closest table reading her phone, sitting opposite of Mr. Welt Yang – a different version of Mr. Welt whom Karin met briefly back on Earth. The former gave a brief nod to greet Karin before going back to her phone.

Miss Luna and Captain Hyperion were sitting at the next table with Miss Luna feeding the redheaded man (along with the appropriate airplane noises.) Miss Griseo and Mr. Sunday – the guilty party responsible for knocking Karin out with a baseball – were sitting on the opposite side of the car. Miss Griseo was trying to get in touch with someone called “Vita,” yelling into her phone about child support, while Mr. Sunday looked conflicted about the poached eggs resting on his plate.

Both Bronyas seemed to be absent, as well as Miss Kiana and Miss Entropy. That was too bad, Karin, thought. She would’ve liked to talk about what happened yesterday with the giant glowing sword thing.

As Karin, Helia, and Coralie approached the counter, Shush the waiter (I mean, drinksmith) was already serving someone else. It was Otto Apocalypse, the former Overseer of Schicksal – Karin’s Schicksal. (Many, that’s gonna be confusing to keep track of.) He arrived on the Astral Express the same time as Karin after abdicating his seat to his granddaughter. The difference is that Otto joined willingly.

Though he had been allowed to board the Astral Express the same as her, Karin didn’t miss how a few of the crewmembers gave him dark, loathing looks, namely Miss Kiana, Mr. Welt, and Miss Bronya. Even now, as Karin took a seat at the counter between Helia and Coralie, she noticed that Welt Yang was eying the man critically over his coffee mug.

But Otto didn’t seem to notice. Or even if he did, he didn’t seem to care.

The former Overseer leaned against the counter, humming a merry melody as he waited patiently. It was a few moments before Shush came back with a plate the most delicious (and possibly expensive) breakfast platter Karin had ever seen.

“Here you are, you handsome devil,” said Shush, talking to Otto like it was meeting a celebrity. “The finest bread from shipped in from Xianzhou Luofu, imported cheeses from Jirlo-VI, Lobster Frittata from Penecony, two-thousand year old wine straight from Amorphous, and I even threw in a little bit of caviar laid by extinct Izumo koi. Enjoy!”

“My, what a delicious bounty!” Otto praised theatrically. “Such a good robot. Whoever programmed you must have really been a one-of-a-kind genius. Truly first class.”

“Always proud to serve!” the Shush, giving the former Overseer the double finger gun. It then turned to the girls, its tone suddenly turned rude and uncaring. “Yeah, what do you want?”

“So much for pride in service,” Helia remarked, sweatdropping.

“Is there really no way to change him back?” Welt Yang asked Himeko.

“I tried,” Himeko with an exasperated sigh. “But VA locked me out after her reprogrammed Shush, so now it’s stuck that way.”

“Almost makes me wish he wasn’t dead,” Welt Yang shook his head. “Almost.”

Otto picked up his ridiculously overpriced meal and started walking to the empty booth away from everyone else; he seemed aware that no one particularly liked his company. But as he walked by, he suddenly stopped and looked at Karin with a thoughtful hum. The former delivery girl felt a cold chill on the back of her neck and turned around cautiously.

“Uh…you need something?” asked Karin meekly.

“Oh no, just curious,” said Otto nonchalantly. “You’re…Marin, right? The unwitting new passenger?”

“It’s Karin, actually,” Karin replied awkwardly.

“Right, Karin,” Otto corrected. “Well, are you enjoying your stay aboard the Astral Express. I know you didn’t come here by choice, but you must admit it is quite a sight to behold.”

“It’s…all right,” Karin replied. She really wished he would stop talking to her; her neck hair was constantly standing on end.

“Do you need something from her?” Helia turned in her chair, blocking Karin from his view. She made a show of reaching for the crossbows attached to her hip. And even though she couldn’t see it, Karin could sense that Coralie was prepared to jump as well. “If not, I would ask you kindly to move along.”

“Such hostility,” said Otto in faux surprise, raising a hand in defense. “I was just making polite conversation.”

Well, you conversated,” said Coralie dryly. “So now you can go.”

“I don’t think that’s a word,” Karin commented.

“It is now,” said Coralie with a comically hard stare.

“Well, that’s the sort of attitude I would expect from Miss Kaslana,” said Otto with a playful smirk, then took a quick look around the car. “Speaking of, where is our divine goddess?”

“In the engine room,” answered Sunday. “Said she couldn’t trust herself around you.”

“Fair enough,” said Otto, shrugging.

Diary Interview: Welt Yang

(Kiana and Otto)

As the camera turned on, Welt Yang took a seat in the Parlor Car, taking a sip from his mug and set it down on the table next to the chess board. At least, Karin thought it was chess; it was shaped like a pentagon and the pieces came in three different colors. Mr. Yang wasn’t even playing the game – he just thought it looked cool in the shot.

“What’s the deal with Miss Kiana and Mr. Otto?” Karin asked on the other side of the camera. “I get the sense that Miss Kiana hates Mr. Otto?”

“She doesn’t hate this specific Otto, Welt Yang hummed, finger tapping on his cane. “It’s just that…she loathes the idea of Otto in general.”

“I don’t get it,” said Karin.

“Kiana and I come from the same world, so we shared experiences with the same Otto,” Welt Yang explained. “And the first thing that anyone from our world will tell you is that Otto Apocalypse is a selfish villain. Even Otto himself would accept the claim.”

“What did he do?” asked Karin curiously.

“Five hundred years ago, he catalyzed that events that killed someone he loved dearly,” said Welt Yang. “And for five hundred years, he obsessively tried to undo that mistake. His goal itself isn’t inherently evil – I even sympathize with him in that regard – but his actions were. Many horrible tragedies that occurred in Kiana and I’s world can all be traced back to Otto’s actions, including my father’s murder. But Kiana – he family suffered the worst at his hand. The second Herrscher, her mother’s death, the cloning experiments, her sister’s kidnapping and brainwashing, the Herrcher of the Void, her…teacher’s sacrifice. All of it was Otto’s doing. And even after he was gone, Otto’s legacy still haunt us in some shape or form.”

“But the Otto from my world is different from the Otto in your world,” Karin pointed out.

“Which only makes it worse from Kiana’s perspective,” said Welt Yang grimly. “It’s proof that all the tragedies she suffered could have all been avoid. The Kiana in your world has a home, a complete family, a normal, if somewhat erratic, life. Everything that our Kiana never got to experience. The contrasting lives just makes Kiana resent Otto even more.

“And even outside of that, our world’s Otto was not the only villainous Otto Apocalypse. In some worse, he was actually much worse, such as the Otto Apocalypse in Miss Zaychik’s world. He was cold-blooded monster that would even make the Otto of my world shudder in disgust. It’s for that reason that you practice caution around any version of Otto Apocalypse.”

“If Miss Kiana doesn’t like him, when  she did let him on the train?” Karin asked curiously. “Didn’t she even him a seat on that, er, Fire Fighter council –

“Flame Keepers,” Welt Yang corrected. “And it’s not so much a council as much as a committee overseeing a much larger group, the details of which I won’t bore you with.” He paused for a moment to tap a sip from his mug. “As for why he was given the position…as much as I hate to admit it, Otto Apocalypse is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, and your world’s Otto is the lesser of many evils. And even though many of us hate the idea of working with him, we’re willing to stomach it for the greater good.

Karin order a small stack of pancakes at the bar, but they were noticeably sad and soggy compared to the extravagant feast that Otto received. There’s couldn’t be a more blatant example of favoritism. But Karin was hungry, and after the day she had yesterday, she wasn’t going to complain over soggy pancakes.

She was halfway through her meal when the door opened on the other end of the Party Car. Karin looked up, mouth slathered in syrup. Miss Bronya and Miss Bronie had turned up. The former gave Otto the stink eye when she stomped past, but Otto merely waved at her cordially. And both of them, Karin realized were carrying duffle bags that clattered as they walked, and Bronie’s drones were carrying two more bag.

The Bronya variants walked over to Welt Yang and Himeko, and Bronya said, “We’ve finished packing our things. We’ll be ready to leave as soon as we disembark at Herta Station.”

“Thank you for your hard work,” said Welt Yang, nodding his head.

“They’re leaving?” Karin asked Helia as the Bronya variants sat down and ordered breakfast for themselves.

“They’re getting off at Herta Station along with Otto, Captain Hyperion, and Luna,” explained Helia. “The crew regularly changes members between stops. Griseo is planning to get off when we reach Phosphorous,  and Sunday intends to get off at Penacony. Firefly tends to come and go whenever she pleases, but she’s usually around for often than not. The only crew members who are here permanently are Kiana, Welt Yang, Himeko, Prometheus, and Entropy.”

“We were supposed to be getting off Herta Station,” said Coralie, gesturing her spoon to Helia and herself. “But we decided to stay on to help you out since it was technically Helia’s fault.”

“My fault?” Helia shouted indignantly. “What about you?”

“Helia, you shouldn’t go throwing blame around,” said Coralie nonchalantly. “It’s very immature for an A-rank Valkyrie.”

“Why…you…,” Helia growled.

Sunday walked up to the bar, handing his empty plate to Shush with a look like he had just committed some heinous crime when he noticed Karin sitting there.”

“Oh, Miss Mered, you’re up,” said Sunday pleasantly. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than yesterday,” answered Karin.

“Good, good,” Sunday nodded. “Have you had a chance to explore the Astral Express yet? I don’t imagine you had time to look around during the Swarm invasion.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Helia, swiveling around in her chair. “Since you’re going to be here long term, you might as well familiarize yourself with the train. Coralie and I can show you around.”

“Do we have to?” Coralie whined childishly.

“Stop complaining,” said Helia, emptying her mug and jumping out of her seat. She walk over and plucked her partner out of her chair, snatching the Thiren away from her ice cream mountain. “Come on, we’ll start with the back and make our way to the engine room.”

“Hey, I wasn’t done yet!” Coralie whined, reaching out for her sundae longingly as the taller Valkyrie dragged Coralie away by her collar.

Diary Interview: Himeko

(The Astral Express)

The camera turned to Himeko as she sat in another space of the Parlor Car, scrolling through her phone.

“So, you’re like the owner of the train, right?” Karin asked behind the camera.

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it,” answer Himeko amusingly, lowing her phone and looking at the camera. “When I was still in university, I happened to stumble across the Astral Express in an old landfill when I went searching for spare parts I needed for my graduation project. I never did finish that, now that I think about it…. Anywho –

“I found the Astral Express in a landfill, but back then it only had the engine. The other cars weren’t added until later on. I spent the good part of six years fixing it up before I got it working again. Put a lot of my research funds into it – pissed off some investors who now have several bounties on my head – but I got it working all the same. I’ve been riding the star rails ever since.”

“So what is the Astral Express?” questioned Karin. “I already figure out it’s not some ordinary space train. Though, I’ve never heard of an ordinary space train to begin with.”

“There’s a lot of confusing lore behind that,” said Himeko. “But if I were to explain it in simple terms, you could just think of it as a vessel whose primary purpose is to explore the unknown.”

“So the Astral Express can go pretty much anywhere?” asked Karin.

“Unfortunately, no,” Himeko sighed. “It’s an amazing piece of traveling technology, but it’s limited to the star rails laid down by the Trailblazing Aeon, Akavilli, thousands of years ago. We can only travel back and forth along a predetermined path. That’s why we’ve been using Kiana’s power to open rifts in space to reach worlds not along the path.”

“Like my world…,” Karin murmured.

“I really am sorry about that,” said Himeko sincerely. “I know it’s frustrating, given that the new available window back to your world is out of reach for almost a year. But…I do have some good news.”

“What?” asked Karin curiously.

“Well, not so much good news for you, as much as the crew in generally,” Himeko reiterated, clapping her hands excitedly. “But we’ll finally solve our limited travel problem once we reach Herta Station.”

“Why? What’s happening at Herta Station?” questioned Karin interestedly.

“Well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” said Himeko cryptically with a playful wink. “But let’s just say the Astral Express will be getting a long overdue upgrade.”

After breakfast, Helia and Coralie showed Karin around the Astral Express since this is where she would be living for the foreseeable future.

They started in the very bad of the train. Karin didn’t really need an introduction to this place as she vividly recalled getting nailed in the forehead by a baseball on this very spot. And had the unfortunate displeasure of waking to a giant Sting in her face when she woke up.

The car, which had previously been piled high with all assortment of boxes, glass cases, and sealed containers, now resembled a disaster zone. Broken glass and wooden fragments littered the floor, and items were sorted into two piles: broken and not broken. The little rabbit in the conductor’s uniform, Pom-Pom, was clearing the mess with a tiny broom, grumbling under his breath.

It’s no surprise the place was a mess; it was the sight where the Swarm initially broke into the train.

“This is our storage area,” said Helia, gesturing to the messy car. “Or at least, it used to be. Some of the things in here are items the crew collected from other worlds like rare minerals or energy cores – “

“But it’s mostly just a place where everyone stuffs their junk,” said Coralie, rummaging through a nearby box.

“I…cannot deny that,” Helia hesitantly admitted. “Most of the stuff in here is just stuff that people collected as souvenirs and pretty much forgot about. No one’s done inventory in here, so I don’t even know what half this stuff is.”

“You do find some neat stuff on occasion,” said Coralie as she pulled her head up, wearing a comically large and colorful tiki mask.

“Hey!” Pom-Pom complained, shaking his little broom at them. “If you’re just gonna stand around, the least you can do is help out! I’ve been running up and down cleaning the Swarm’s mess by myself since yesterday!”

“But that’s your job,” said Coralie pointedly, taking off the mask and tossing it haphazardly over her shoulder (it sounded like it smashed against something expensive.)

“I’m the conductor!” Pom-Pom complained, stomping his little feet furiously (and making adorably squishy sounds.)

“Exactly,” said Coralie with the air of someone in a boardroom meeting. “And as the conductor, your job is to make sure that the Astral Express is running smoothly at all times. That also includes cleaning and repairing any damage done to the train. Does it seem unfair? Certainly. But this is a job only the conductor can do. If you were to entrust this task to anyone else, they could never do as good of a job as you. Because you are the heart and soul of the Astral Express, Pom-Pom. That’s why everyone feels at ease knowing that they can trust their faithful conductor.”

“Aw, shucks, I’m not that big of a deal,” Pom-Pom giggled, scratching his head bashfully. He then looked energized and said, “All right! I’m gonna give this job one hundred – no, two hundred percent! Time to show everyone why Pom-Pom is the conductor of the Astral Express!”

“Such a simple creature,” Karin sweatdropped as she watched the little rabbit enthusiastically return to sweeping.

“He really is,” Helia also sweatdropped.

The next area they showed Karin was the gym/training room.

Karin had seen this place before, when she and Sunday were escaping the Swarm. It looked like most of the equipment had been destroyed and moved out, so the place was half empty. There were still purple stains on the walls, along with the indentations of the giant murderous robot guy ripping through the Stings like it they were straight out of Doom.

“This is the exercise car – or…what’s left of it,” said Helia, gesturing to the sad excuse for a gym. “You’ll be spending a lot of time here for the next few months.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Karin gasped. “I’ll have you know, I can parkour, like, insanely well. There are even videos of me on ValkTube.”

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean that!” Helia yelped quickly, waving her hands. “I meant that you’re going to be training in here. Welt Yang and Kiana want you prepared in the event of a fight.”

“Why would I need to fight?” asked Karin worriedly.

“This pack of weirdoes attracts trouble like flies to honey,” Coralie stated. “Yesterday was just the latest example. Before that it was the Antimatter Legion, the Masked Fools, the Stelleron Hunters, Memokeeprs, the Tariff Trumpets – “

“Though that last group is just a bunch of self-destructive idiots,” Helia remarked. “Either way, traveling between worlds is dangerous business. And you proved you could hold your own yesterday, so Welt Yang wants you trained and ready.”

“Can’t I just sit back and cheer from a distance?” Karin complained.

“Don’t be lazy,” Coralie chastised monotonously, waving her finger. “Everyone has to pull their weight around her. You can’t just shove your responsibilities onto others.” Helia and Karin gave the short Thiren blank stares. “…What?”

Diary Interview: Welt Yang

(Training Karin)

“It’s not that I want Miss Mered to go looking for trouble,” explained Welt Yang, taking another sip from his mug, “but I’d rather she be prepared for it. She may not have wanted to join, but she’s here now. And being part of the Astral Express crew comes with its own inherent dangers.

“But there’s nothing to worry about; Kiana will be overseeing her training. She’s been working with Helia, Coralie, and Firefly and they’ve all improved remarkably. Especially Firefly, whom was a little more difficult personality wise due to Elio’s mind games. The poor girl was so fatalistic before Kiana managed to get through to her – it’s why they’re so close.

“Also, there’s something interesting about her powers. They manifested in a way not seen in any of our Valkyries. It might have something to do with the Astral Ring, though I hardly claim to be an expert on the matter. I’ll have to ask Entropy about it later.”

Karin followed Helia and Coralie into the passenger car after passing through the Party Car. There was no need to stop at either of them because Karin had already been acquainted enough with both spaces. As she walked passed the door leading to her room (formerly the room of someone called “Stelle”) the door suddenly slid open. Karin turned curiously, but no one was there. The former delivery girl quirked a brow until she heard a shuffling noise near her feet. Karin looked down.

Some kind of…creature was crawling across the floor below. From above, it looked like the top of a trash can. But when she tilted her head, Karin saw something within a little hole in the side. It kind of resembled a black cat, with its little paws, little black tail, and impossibly large gold eyes.

The little creature sensed Karin’s gaze and turned around, making a soft mewling noise at her. Karin squeed with joy.

“Oh my god, it’s so-o-o cute!” she squealed, crouching to the trash can kitty’s level. “What is it? What is it?”

“Oh, that’s Trash Cake,” Coralie turned around and answered like it explained everything.

“I get the concept behind the name…,” Karin sweatdropped, “but that’s just terrible.”

“It’s Stelle’s pet,” Helia explained. “She had to leave it behind because the St. Freya has a no pet policy.”

“Doesn’t that delusional archery girl have a pet raven?” Coralie pointed out.

“I think it’s technically part of her powers,” Helia hummed thoughtfully, “so they made an exception.”

“Aw, I can’t imagine leaving behind such a cutie!” Karin squealed, holding out her arms invitingly. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Come to Mama Karin!”

Trash Cake paused for a moment, sniffing Karin’s hand…then suddenly screeched and jumped on Karin’s face. The former delivery girl cried in pain and terror as the garbage kitty slashed her face with its surprisingly sharp claws. Helia and Coralie quickly jumped in; the former grabbing Karin’s shoulders while the latter pulled Trash Cake. The dumpster cat had a strong grip on Karin’s face and it took a few tugs before Trash Cake unlatched.

The dumpster cat flew to other end of the car, landing perfectly on its feet, then scuttled into the next car.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Helia commented as she helped Karin sit up. The poor girl’s face was covered in red marks. “Usually, Trash Cake loves people.”

“Why does live hate me…?” Karin whined.

“Excuse me,” Prometheus called out, poking her head out of the last room. “Could you please refrain from making noise. I am presently in the middle of rearranging the archives.”

Karin remembered her. She was the robot girl who had defended the portal back home before she, literally, had her head knocked off. It looked like she had “chibified” herself again.

“Ah, Prometheus, perfect timing,” Helia praised. “We were just about to show Karin the Archive Room.”

“Well then, come on in,” Prometheus invited. “but be careful where you step. As I said, I’m rearranging some things.”

Karin picked herself up, wincing at the scratch marks that littered her face, and followed Helia and Coralie to the last room at the end of the hallway. Karin faintly remembered look inside this particular room when searching for little Helia and Coralie, but she had mostly been distracted by the little chibi mascots.

Sufficient to say, it was a mess. The book shelves on either side of the room were empty, but there were mountains of books scattered throughout the room, along with towers of what looked like giant circuit boards. A giant star chart took up the entirety of the back wall, but there was a little sticky note in the center that read: “UNDER HEAVY REVISION.” And while chibi Prometheus was adorably hopping around from one place to another, her robot body, along with the giant metal hands Karin saw during the invasion, were hanging on the wall like a display.

“This is our archive room,” Helia explained with a grand gesture. “Here is where the passengers store all the collective data that they gained throughout their journey across the stars – “

“Like Penacony’s top five flavors of ice cream soda,” Coralie humorously interjected, bringing up a tablet with a useless article for that very topic.

“…I don’t claim that all of the data here is useful,” said Helia. She then pointed to the ultimate chibi lifeform skipping to the other side of the room. “And that’s Prometheus – “

“I prefer to be called by my proper title: Prometheus No. 17,” Prometheus interjected as she inspected a tower of circuit boards.

“No one is going to say all that,” Coralie stated pointedly.

“Dan Heng, another passenger, used to be in charge of the archives,” Helia told Karin. “But he was assigned another mission on Earth with Stelle and March, so Prometheus has taken over his duties – “

“More like correcting them,” said Prometheus, shaking her oversized head and skipping to another pile of books. “The state of these records are abysmal. Only a human would think it is a good idea to arrange data by topic in alphabetical world. Ridiculous. The proper method is to arrange them by category: person, place, thing, and concept. Then we organize them by the star systems they relate to, followed by worlds, then by topic, and alphabetical order.

The state of these records are atrocious. It would take hours for anyone to find the information needed. The person who was in charge before deserves to be hanged from the ceiling by their toenails.”

“Dan Heng would cry if he heard that,” Coralie commented.

Diary Interview: Prometheus

(Joining the Astral Express)

Prometheus, in her robot body, was remaking the star chart in the back of the room when Karin turned the camera on. The intelligent machine was looking between the star chart and the tablet in her other arm before making corrections to the map.

“So, how did you end up joining the crew?” Karin questioned behind the camera.

“It wasn’t my original intention, I assure you,” said Prometheus bluntly as she made another correction. “I was traveling with Misteln through the Sea of Quanta, hunting down anomalies caused by Project Stigma, when we ended up lost in a bubble universe that looked like it was made from a Luo Guanzhong novel. Thanks to Misteln’s interference, we ended up getting caught in a three-way way between three kingdoms.”

“So, how did you get out?” asked Karin.

“The Herrscher of Rebirth saved us,” stated Prometheus, making another correction. “We were then directed to the Astral Express as it was making a stop on Jirlo-VI. By that time, Kiana Kaslana and SU had already started building the Flame Keepers out of the Astral Express, looking for allies to combat against our enemy.”

“And who is our enemy?” said Karin. She still didn’t known the purpose behind these ‘Flame Keeper’ people.

“That knowledge is classified to any non-personal,” Prometheus stated bluntly.

“Shoot,” Karin grumbled. “All right, then, where’s this Misteln person? Is she on the train somewhere? Is she working with these ‘Flame Keepers?’”

“Misteln wandered off somewhere while I was distracted by the chaotic state of the archives,” answered Prometheus. “It’s no surprise, really. That woman is a free spirit, going wherever and doing whatever she pleases. Knowing her, she’s probably riding the roller coasters of Clockie Studios Theme Park while gorging on layer cake and SoulGlad without gaining any weight.”

“…That just doesn’t seem fair,” Karin groaned.

“Life usually isn’t when Misteln’s involved,” Prometheus remarked.

“So you just decided to stay here?” asked Karin. “You didn’t try to look for her or anything?”

“Misteln can take care of herself,” said Prometheus uncaringly. “Besides, someone needs to stay and fix mess the last guy made.”

After leaving Prometheus in the archives, Karin, Helia, and Coralie wandered through the Parlor Car. There was no reason to stop there – the only thing worth observing was Sunday and Himeko engaged in a game of fancy space chest. They moved on to the next car, which was the last one before they reached the engine room.

Karin’s jaw dropped in awe when they stepped through the sliding door.

This room was completely different from any of the other cars. There were no windows because almost every inch of the car was covered by some piece of high-tech equipment that Karin couldn’t even name. Dozens of computer monitors hanged from the wall, all of them displaying something different. From what little Karin understood, it seemed like they were observing various energy wavelengths, each one labeled under categories like “Erudation,” “Abundance,” “Voracity,” and “Finality.” Several thick wires were connected to an electronic pedestal in the center of the room, above which was an object that looked like an anchor made out of glowing blue crystal. And embedded in the right side wall was a giant machine with a glowing pink core that Karin instinctually knew not to touch.

“And this is the ‘brain’ of the Astral Express – the Mar’s Quantum computer,” said Coralie, showing more initiative than anywhere else on the train. “There is where all the cool stuff happens.”

“That’s an oversimplification,” said Helia. “But she’s not wrong. The quantum computer is the most recent addition to the Astral Express and one of the biggest contributors to the Flame Keepers mission. It provides not only provides of logistic and navigational support, but also serves as the main battery for the entire train. Before the quantum computer was installed, the Astral Express ran into trouble regarding a sufficient energy resource.”

“You said the Mars quantum computer, right?” asked Karin. “Like…Mars Mars? Like the fourth planet from the sun?”

“Well, that’s what the Earthlings call it.”

Karin jumped with a startled yelp as the voice echoed in the car, but she couldn’t see the source. A moment later, the giant machine on the right glowed and Entropy projected herself into existence. Though she looked the same as when Karin saw her yesterday, Entropy was noticeably…transparent.

“We Martians, however, like to call it Luoxing,” said Entropy amusingly.

“Wha? You! Glasses girl!” Karin screamed, pointing erratically at Entropy.

“It’s Entropy,” Entropy introduced herself. “We never got a chance to get properly introduced yesterday. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Are…you a ghost?” Karin gasped. She cautiously poked a finger at Entropy’s stomach, swiftly pulling back when the digit passed through.

“Please don’t do that,” Entropy requested.

“Entropy is a digital life form that lives inside the quantum computer,” Coralie explained. “She pretty much operates this entire car by herself.”

“Only to what Laylah permits me,” Entropy corrected. “She’s still blocking most of the computers functions. I don’t even know what most of them are, though.”

“But…I saw her carrying little Helia and Coralie when the swarm attacked,” Karin pointed out.

“Thanks to Herta technology combined with the quantum computer,” Entropy explained, “I can take on a solidified form using hard light constructs. Though it’s function is limited within the boundaries of the Astral Express. I only use this feature in case of emergencies due to the amount power required.”

“This is so weird…,” said Karin, looking over the bespectacled girl curiously.

“This is only the tip of the iceburg,” Coralie remarked.

“Actually, I’m glad you’re here, Karin,” said Entropy eagerly.

“You are?” said Karin, blinking curiously.

“Can you do me a little favor?” Entropy requested. She moved over to the crystal anchor in the center of the car and gestured for Karin to approach it. “Could you touch the Anchor for me? I want to test something.”

“Test what exactly?” asked Karin, looking at the anchor cautiously.

“The way your powers manifested yesterday has me curious,” explained Entropy. “I don’t exactly have an explanation for what happened, but for now I’m just looking to test a few theories. For now, just go ahead and touch the anchor. I promise, nothing bad will happen.”

Karin looked to Helia and Coralie, silently asking them what to do. Both of them nodded – they seemed to fully trust Entropy.

The former delivery girl approached the crystal anchor and extended her hand toward it. She didn’t even touch the object before the crystal started glowing brightly. Karin instinctually pulled her hand back and the glow dimmed. She looked to Entropy, and the bespectacled woman nodded encouragingly. Karin extended her arm again and the crystal glowed as before. When she put her fingers to the surface, she was surprised that it wasn’t as cold as it looked. In fact, it felt pleasantly warm, like a blanket fresh out of the drier.

Entropy projected a holographic screen and keyboard, quickly typing down her thoughts.

“Interesting…,” she hummed. “Very interesting….”

Dairy Interview: Entropy

(Karin’s Power)

Entropy is still type away at her holographic display while giving her complete attention to the crystal anchor, which has since lost its glow.

“Karin’s powers are a curiosity. How the Astral Ring works is that it can grant enhanced powers to the recipient, but only with the help of a mediator like myself. Very few people can use the Astral Ring, and even fewer are mediators.

“But Karin – she not only used the Astral Ring’s power, but she did it without a mediator. What’s more, it was drastically different from others like Helia or Coralie in that it took a physical form. I don’t know if the ‘energy sword’ is merely the default form of Karin’s power, or if she can manifest it in other ways. The reaction for the Anchor of Apocalypse only creates more questions.

“I know it might be reaching, but Karin’s power may explain things with Laylah and the secrets buried inside Luoxing’s quantum computer. I’ll have to look into it more later.”

Karin, Helia, and Coralie finally reached the last stop on their tour: the engine room.

There wasn’t much, to be honest – at least, not compared to the cars that came before. For one thing, it was only half the size of the previous cars, meaning it was still as large as common passenger shuttle on Earth, but less spacious. The majority of the room was taken up by the circular table in the middle of the room, which was projecting a hologram of the galaxy – though not any galaxy that Karin was aware of.

The only thing in there besides the table and a few chairs was the engine at the very front of the train. There was a circular window inside the massive black engine, which emitted steam and whistles at irregular intervals. A glowing light thrummed through the window, which seemed to pulse regularly. It reminded Karin of a heartbeat….

The only two people inside the room were the last two passengers that Karin hadn’t met yet: Kiana and Firefly (and that psychotic guy in the crazy power armor, but Karin isn’t looking forward to seeing him.)

Kiana was “zooming in” on the galactic map with Karin, Helia, and Coralie walked in. The white-haired goddess pointed out some things on the star map, which appeared in the form of three purple markers. She whispered something to Firefly, who eagerly jotted notes down on her tablet. Kiana “zoomed out” of the map as the trio approached the table and greeted them with a cheerful wave.

“Helia, Coralie, good to see ya!” she said sunnily before noticing Karin. “Ah, the new girl! Karin, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Karin nodded, feeling the strange desire to kneel and pray to the white-haired woman.

“Aw, none o’ that ‘ma’am’ stuff!” Kiana waved off. “We’re all crewmates on the Astral Express! That makes us equals!”

“Except the part where you the other Flame Keepers give the orders like big shots,” Coralie pointed out, earning a slap in the back of the head by Helia.

“Hehe, you got me there,” said Kiana, scratching her head bashfully. She put her hands on her hips and gave the delivery girl a big smile; the urge to pray cropped up again. “We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves after you uh….”

“Passed out from shock from learning I wasn’t going back home for almost a year?” Karin offered.

“Not how I would’ve worded it, but yeah,” Kiana nodded, slapping a hand on her bosom. “I’m Kiana Kaslana from Earth! Well, a different Earth, but still pretty similar.” She scratched her head. “The whole timeline/dimension/galaxy thing is…pretty confusing.”

“Tell me about it,” Karin groaned.

“And this is Firefly,” Kiana continued, gesturing to the other girl.

“Hello,” Firefly responded with a simple wave, then went back to the tablet.

“Don’t mind her,” Kiana chuckled. “She just needs to warm to you, is all. So, how’re you enjoying your stay on the Astral Express?”

“It’s…all right,” said Karin awkwardly.

“But you still miss home, yeah?” said Kiana understandably.

“Yeah,” Karin nodded.

“I get it,” said Kiana apologetically. “I wish I could help, but – well, even goddesses have limits.”

Diary Interview: Kiana Kaslana

(The Goddess of Earth)

Kiana straightened herself up as the camera turned on, straightening out her dress and touching up the little “ahoge” curl. She sat in front of the beating engine and smiled sweetly at the camera. Her little white snake companion Rice Cake (who had been curled up in Kiana’s room before the interview), crawled up the goddess’s arm and came to sit on Kiana’s shoulder, tilting her head curiously at the camera.

“So I hear people around the express calling you the ‘Goddess of the Earth,’” Karin spoke behind the camera. “What’s the story behind that?”

“Well, that’s what everyone calls me,” Kiana said airily, tapping Rice Cake’s nose playfully. “My official title is the Herrscher of Finality, but most people on Earth – my Earth – call me a goddess. Mostly because on the most powerful being in the entire solar system, but it’s no big deal.”

“Herrscher? Like that crazy puppet thing that’s been attacking my world?” asked Karin.

“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about her,” Kiana complained. “But, yeah, in a sense. As the Herrscher of Finality, I have all the powers of the other Herrschers and more. Basically, I’m a super badass.”

“But you still can’t cook anything better than cup noodles,” Rice Cake complained.

“Quiet, you,” Kiana chided. “And cup noodles are delicious.”

“So, you’re like this…all-powerful god, basically,” said Karin.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Kiana amusingly. “I mean, I’m more powerful than the average Emanator, like Acheron or  Jing Yuon, but I’m not anywhere close to being as powerful as the Aeons. The Cocoon, though, I’m not so sure….”

“And…you’re the one who opened the portal to my Earth, right?” Karin questioned cautiously.

“I know what you’re asking,” Kiana frowned. “And I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Because of the field surrounding the Sol System, it’s next to impossible to get inside. I can only do it because of my connection to the Cocoon of Finality, and that’s only when the other Paths aren’t interfering. Himeko’s already calculated when the next window of opportunity is…er, how long is it?”

“257 days,” Karin sighed.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Karin,” Kiana apologized sincerely.

“Yeah, I know, it’s not your fault,” said Karin. “Guess I’ll just have to tough it out until then….”

Their conversation in interrupted by a loud buzzing noise coming from the central console. The galactic map automatically zoomed in, showing a projection of the Astral Express approaching what looked like a giant space station.

“We’re approaching Herta Station,” Kiana announced. “Firefly, tell the crew to get ready.”

“Yes, mom – I mean, Kiana!” Firefly squeaked, her face tinged red with embarrassment s she quickly shuffled out of the engine room.”

While Kiana busied herself with the console, Coralie touched Karin on the elbow.

“We’re about to make our first stop on your ‘grand tour’ of the galaxy,” she said. “Feeling nervous?”

“More than a little,” Karin admitted.

“Don’t worry,” Helia told her, touching Karin’s shoulder reassuringly. “We’re here for you every step of the way.”

Diary Interview: Karin Mered

(End of my First Entry)

Karin returned to her nearly empty room and plopped onto the bed with a tired sigh. Trash Cake the evil cat beast was skulking around the shelf behind her, eying the former delivery girl like she was prey. The blonde refused to give the little shit her attention – the would only provoke it.

“Well, I just got done meeting the crew,” Karin spoke to the camera, her hands folded nervously in her lap. “Well, everyone except or that crazy bug hated in the gundam suit, but I’m fine not seeing him again.

“Helia and Coralie – these versions of them – are pretty cool. Most of the Astral Express crew is cool. Except for Overseer Otto – sorry, former Overseer Otto. He just gives me the creeps for some reason; kinda glad he’s getting off at the next stop.

“Apparently, there’s going to be some new crew members getting on at the next station, so looking forward to that. And, once you get past the whole ‘being lost in space’ and ‘almost getting killed by space bugs’ thing, this is actually pretty awesome. I always said I wanted to go on some big adventure when I was little. Guess I’m getting my wish.

“There’s still a lot I don’t understand. About the Flame Keeper guys, what their mission is, this…timeline/dimension/world things, and pretty much everything else. It’s like I’m getting a bunch of random space lore dumped on me and my brain can’t process everything. And then there are my powers.” She looked down at her hand like it’s the first time seeing it. “Miss Kiana and Miss Entropy are still trying to figure out where they come from and how they work. Apparently, they’re very different from the way Valkyrie Stigmata work on my Earth. Guess that makes me special, which is pretty cool.

“Guess there’s no real point in worry about that now. We’re about to dock into Herta Station in an hour and I need to get ready. What happens, I’ll be sure to record it in my video diary.

“Good luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it.”

ACHERON QUEST #4: "What's the Worst that can Happen?"

Chapter Text

Diary Interview: Karin Mered

(Making Our First Stop)

Karin was back in her nearly empty bedroom when the camera flickered on again. The former courier took a seat on the long windowsill, one legs pulled up to her chest while staring out at the endless sea of stars for a long moment. She seemed to be contemplating something…is what someone who was watching these recordings might think. But, truthfully, she was just trying to look cool for the camera. Give her that real “Thinker” aura, you know?

After a few seconds of “contemplative silence”, Karin put her leg down and turned towards the camera enthusastically.

“Well, how was that?” she asked the person behind the camera. “I was thinking going for a mysterious intellectual thousand yard stare to start these videos?”

“I don’t think you understand what a ‘thousand yard stare’ means, Karin,” Helia’s exasperated voice was heard.

“Yeah, and intellectual is not the first thing that comes to mind when someone looks at you,” said Coralie with a teasing tone.

“Aw, c’mon!” Karin complained, jumping to her feet and throwing up her arms. “I’m trying to make myself look cool for the shot! The least you could do is give me some advice. You’re Valkyries, right? How do you get so popular?”

“Well, first you show off your boobs – “

“Coralie, no!” Helia scolded her partner like an owner to a misbehaving puppy. “And there’s no point of ‘looking cool’ when you’re the only one who’s going to be watching these. Just…try to act like yourself. This is your video diary, after all.”

“I guess,” Karin pouted, visibly deflating as she back down on the sill. “Still wanted to look cool….”

“Let’s take this from the top,” said Coralie, speaking like a director. “Quiet on set. Camera ready. Camera rolling. Roll sound. Sound speed. Slate – “

“We don’t have one,” Helia pointed.

“Remember to get one,” Coralie said out loud. “A-a-a-and…ACTION!”

“So, I’ve met the rest of the Astral Express Crew,” said Karin without missing a beat, really getting into this ‘film production.’ “Or at least, most of them anyway? I’m pretty sure there a couple of chibis I haven’t seen yet. And some new crew members are supposed to be getting on after we make our first stop. Oh, speaking of – “

She leaned forward and gently touched the side of the camera, asking Coralie to change direction. The camera swept across the window and focused on a large object floating out in space. A giant space station ten times larger than the Hyperion 11 that Helia and Coralie used to travel between Earth and Mars.

“That’s the first stop were’ making,” Karin continued as the camera panned to her. “Well, technically, it’s my first stop; everyone else has already been there. It’s called um….”

“Herta Space Station,” Helia offered helpfully.

“Yeah, that,” Karin nodded. “Herta’s one of those bigwigs in the Flame Seekers, right?”

“She has a say in how the Flame Keepers operate, but she rarely uses it,” Coralie informed. “It’s mostly people like Kiana, Mr. Yang, Griseo, Prometheus, Entropy, Captain Hyperion and everyone else out in the field calling the shots. Herta’s smart, but completely flakey. She only does things that interest her.”

“Which is a lot – but most of it never helps us,” Helia added.

Well, we’ll be making a pit stop at the station,” Karin told the camera. “I heard the Astral Express is getting a major overhaul from Miss Himeko and we’ll be getting some new crewmates. I wonder what kind of people they’ll be….”

Just then, a sharp DING crackled through the air and everyone looked up as Pom-Pom’s high pitched voice came through the intercoms.

“Attention, Astral Express Crew!” he shouted excitedly. “We will be boarding at Herta Station in exactly five minutes! Will all passengers who are getting off please collect your luggage and make your way to the exit! All Astral Express staff is also asked to exit the train for upcoming renovations! The Astral Express hold no responsibility for anyone who chooses to ignore these warnings and get injured during said renovations! Thank you and we hope you had a pleasant trip!”

“Sounds like we should be getting ready,” said Helia.

“Gimme one second,” Karin requested, then looked back at the camera. “Whelp, this is it. My first step on an alien world – well, technically, it’s a space station, but you get the idea! Good luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it.”

Karin followed Helia and Coralie to the Parlor Car where the rest of the Astral Express Crew was grouping up by the door as the train rolled into the massive station. Those who were getting off at the station – Otto, Captain Hyperion, Luna, and the two Bronyas – were all carrying their luggage. There was also a massive amount of crates against the wall behind the group. According to the labels printed on the sides, it was filled with a bunch of lab equipment, no doubt belonging to Otto.

As Karin lined up to join the crew, the Astral Express slowly came to a stop and let out a loud hiss of steam. Everyone waited patiently as Pom-Pom skipped over to the door and pulled it open, extending the exit ramp at the same time. Anyone else could have done it themselves, but they wanted to make Pom-Pom feel useful (if only so he didn’t complain about it later.)

“Now arriving at Herta Space Station,” Pom-Pom announced, “Home of #83 of the Genius Society, and Herta’s House of Curios. Please be sure to look both ways before exiting the train and remember that the Astral Express will be undergoing maintenance – “

“They already left, Pom-Pom,” Prometheus interjected.

The bunny conductor looked up and realize he and Prometheus were the only ones still aboard the train.

“They could at least wait until I was finished!” Pom-Pom fumed, stomping his little foot adorably.

 Karin was in the back of the group departing from the Astral Express because she was too busy looking around the station in awe. To be fair, they were only on the train platform – nothing different than a typical station back on earth except for a lot of sleek chrome – but the fact that it was a train platform in space was a little mind-blowing.

As she stepped off the ramp, Karin walked around the train and saw that the platform seemingly opened up into the stars until she noticed the thin, transparent laser wall between them and the vacuum of space. The station appeared to be hovering over a bright-blue planet that seemed entirely of oceans. Karin wondered what made the planet so special….

Just then, Karin heard a sharp whirring noise coming from the other side of the platform and the sound of several people walking toward them.

When Karin thought about life on other world (and, yes, she has thought about that at least once or twice), she always expected by creepy tentacles, dozens of eyes, slimy or scaly exteriors, indecipherable languages, or even something like that one movie about Aliens that Karin can’t remember the name of. What she wasn’t expecting was a hot and sexy babe with a weirdly Chinese aesthetic marching along the walkway, escorted by a dozen or so people in matching uniforms.

“Hey, how’s it going, Less Cute Mei?” Kiana greeted cheerfully as both parties met in the middle.

“That’s Ruan Mei, said Ruan Mei exasperatedly.

“Nope, there’s only one Mei in the universe,” said Kiana with unwavering conviction, “and one other Mei in the universe will ever be as cute as my Mei!”

“Simp,” said Coralie, covering it up with a fake cough.

“Please, just ignore her,” said Welt Yang, stepping in front of Kiana to block her from Ruan Mei’s view. Kiana leaned to the side, glaring at the back of her senior’s head. “Thank you for coming to meet us, Ruan Mei. I’m grateful for you taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

“Well, with the Trailblazer currently somewhere far away – of which you have yet to inform us where,” said Ruan Mei pointedly. “There’s not much I can do about Simulated Universe since everyone else just keeps dying.” She gave a deep sigh, as if people’s deaths were an inconvenience. “And because of that, Herta now has me handling Astra duties after she quit, which was not stipulated in our contract. But when has Herta ever cared about honoring agreements?”

 “What happened to Astra?” asked Himeko curiously.

“Oh, she quit to go teach at some school,” said Ruan Mei flippantly. “She said, and I quote, ‘I’ve had it up to here with that self-centered, unattentive, condescending….’” She paused, glancing sideways at the younger members of the Astral Express Crew; Kiana also had her hands clapped over Rice Cake’s delicate little ears. “Witch. And little Arlan followed her like a lost puppy, so now we have daily issues with security – “

Right as she said that, klaxon sirens blared throughout the platform as red lights flashed from the ceiling. He Astral Express crew was alarmed and looked around wildly expecting danger. Ruan Mei, on the other hand, had a flat, irritated look on her face. After a few seconds, the alarms turned off.

“Er, sorry about that, folks,” someone spoke sheepishly over the PA system. “Hand slipped.”

“It’s a mess,” said Ruan Mei bluntly.

“Well, we’re already off to a fantastic start, aren’t we?” Otto said sarcastically, his tone dripping with amusement.

“Ah, Mr. Apocalypse, I presume,” said Ruan Mei, noticing the new face (other than Karin) among the Astral Express Crew. She offered her hand. “Ruan Mei, chief scholar of biological sciences. I’ve heard so many thinks about you, Mr. Apocalypse.”

All terrible, I assume,” Otto said with mirth, kissing the back of Ruan Mei’s hand like a gentleman.

“That just makes you more interesting to learn,” said Ruan Mei, playing with her hair. Was she…flirting, Karin wondered with a hint of disgust.

Diary Interview: Ruan Mei

(Hottest Evil Scientist)

When the camera turned on, Ruan Mei was in her office, sitting on a little swivel chair, legs crossed, petting one of her unholy abominations on her lap. There was a huge slice of chocolate cake on a little table beside her, which looked like it already had a huge bite taken out of it by the time they started recording. Ruan Mei didn’t seem to be aware that there were cake crumbs around her mouth, but Karin didn’t say anything because it was funny.

“So, what was up with that whole thing with Otto downstairs?” Karin asked behind the camera.

“Really?” said Ruan Mei, giving Karin a raised brow. “You asked me for an interview and that’s what you want to know? Aren’t you going to ask me about who I am or what my work is? Most people do?”

“You’re a scientist and you made those evil monsters – that’s all I need to know about you,” said Karin plainly. The ‘evil monster’, Grey Bean Paste, hissed and swiped a claw in Karin’s direction. “But I’m curious about the way you were acting with Otto. I kinda looked like you were flirting.”

“Oh, silly girl,” Ruan Mei chortled behind her hand. “Members of the Genius Society are literally incapable of any pursuit beyond of pursuit of science, including romantic pursuit. We are, quite literally, slaves to science thanks the Aeon Nous.”

“That has horrifying implications,” Karin remarked.

“Yes, it’s quite disturbing,” Ruan Mei admitted. “But in regards to Mr. Apocalypse, I find him to be quite…fascinating. Well technically it was another Otto Apocalypse, he managed to temporarily transcend beyond mortal flesh – beyond even Aeonhood – and manipulated the Imaginary Tree. A feat no one in the Genius Society has ever accomplished. And Mr. Apocalypse doesn’t even have a fraction of the resources or accomplishments as the rest of us, which makes him all the more interesting.”

“You do know he’s done a lot of evil shit, right?” Karin pointed out.

“Oh, but that just makes him even more attractive,” Ruan Mei beamed. “A true scientist doesn’t get caught up in silly little notions like morality, or consequences, or free will, or consent, or equal rights. A true scientist does what they do for the sake of science itself, regardless of whether it’s ‘right or wrong.’” She made little air quotes. Then, suddenly, she reached down and pulled out a magazine. “Plus, he has the most interesting article in Amoral Monthly and was voted #2 of the hottest evil geniuses you’d want to date. I make be physically incapable of seeking romance, but I can appreciate how scrumptious he is. I mean, look at him.”

“I…think we’re done here,” Karin groaned, sounding like she was ready to vomit.

“My equipment is onboard the Astral Express,” Otto informed her. “Please be careful. A lot of that equipment is handmade and very delicate. And from what I heard, your station doesn’t have the Soulium to replace it.”

“We’re used to handling delicate objects here, Mr. Apocalypse,” said Ruan Mei, snapping her fingers at the small army behind her. The men and women in matching uniforms hurried onto the train and began the long process of moving the crates. “Herta is having you transferred to the Seclusion Zone. I don’t know what you did to be allowed into such an exclusive area, but you’ve certainly left an impression of Herta. She’s been saying how much she’s been looking forward to meeting you.”

“And where might I find Miss Herta?” asked Otto politely. “I was hoping to get started right away.”

“She and Professor Alhaitham are actually waiting in the Seclusion Zone as well,” answered Ruan Mei. “They appear to be in in a heated discussion about something.”

“Then I shall go and meet them at once,” said Otto, leisurely walking past Ruan Mei towards the exit.

“I’m coming too,” said Welt Yang firmly, pushing up his glasses so that the light reflected coolly off his lenses. “I’m not about to leave you alone with them as long as I can help it.”

“My dear friend, it almost sounds like you don’t trust me,” said Otto amusingly over his shoulder.

“I don’t,” said Welt Yang plainly.

“Fair enough,” Otto conceded.

“I’ll go with them to make sure they don’t kill each other,” Himeko told Kiana. “We’ll see you later for the Astral Express’s renovation.”

“You be careful!” Kiana warned Himeko, who ran to catch up with Otto and Welt Yang by the elevator.

“And you’ll be staying onboard the Express, Miss Kaslana?” Ruan Mei questioned her interestedly.

“Not unless you have some other way of moving the new engine here from the Sea of Quanta, Less Cute Mei,” said Kiana with a smug smirk.

“Again, it’s Ruan Mei,” said Ruan Mei, sweatdropping.

“I know what I said,” said Kiana proudly.

“We’re getting a new engine?” Helia whispered to Coralie; Karin listened in because, well, they were standing in front of her. “I thought the Astral Express’s engine was an essential part for traveling along the Star Rails.”

“They probably found something better,” said Coralie with a hint of genuine interest. “Oh, maybe they finally took my suggestion to turn the train into a giant transforming Pom-Pom robot.”

“We’re getting a megazord?” asked Karin, eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Please don’t encourage her,” said Helia exasperatedly.

Captain Hyperion, flanked by Luna and the Bronyas, stepped forward and asked, “Has the Hyperion been repaired?”

“Yes, our engineers have finished the last of the patches a few days ago,” said Ruan Mei, pulling out a tablet and glided her fingers across the screen. “It was in terrible shape when you brought it in – mind you, it’s nothing short of miraculous that you survive that dreadful incident without any casualties – but we here at the Herta Space Station always aim for perfection. In addition to the standard repairs, we have fortified exterior with meteoric alloy and upgraded the engines with an experimental gravitational warp drive that Herta built herself.”

“…And I imagine it’s very expensive,” said Captain Hyperion, slumping with a dreadful expression.

“I enjoy plum-scented soybean cakes and ‘Sour Dreams’ soft candy,” Ruan Mei said with a sickly sweet smile; the captain grimaced in despair. “Your ship has been transferred to docking bay 11. Miss Vollerei is waiting to escort your crew to the Sea of Quanta.”

“Speaking of crew,” Kiana brings up as Captain Hyperion trudges away with Luna trying to cheer him up. “We’re also supposed to be picking up three members for the Astral Express. Any idea where they are?”

“Hmm, let me check…,” Ruan Mei hummed thoughtfully, swiping her tablet. “Ba-ba-ba-ba – ah, here we are! Mr. Luka is currently in the robotics lab on Level 17. According to these post-it notes, he just walked in and started boxing with the experimental military drones that were to be delivered to Jarilo-VI. And there is also a notice that we have currently lost a six billion credit military contract, so that happened.”

“Luka…,” Kiana groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“There was also a APB from the cafeteria,” Ruan Mei continued. “It seems that we’re on the verge of a food shortage.”

“Oh no!” Rice Cake cried dramatically.

“What does that have to do with the crew?” asked Firefly curiously.

“Miss Varesa is the one causing it,” said Ruan Mei bluntly. “And as for Miss Hroptr…I actually don’t know. That girl just seems to be wandering around the station at her leisure. I could ask security to track her down – “

“Nah, she probably saw the Express come into the station,” Kiana waved off the suggestion. “She’ll show up when it’s time to leave.”

“Kiana! Kiana, hurry!” Rice Cake yelled, floating ahead and trying to pull Kiana with her tail. “You heard what Less Cute Mei said! The food’s almost gone! That means they’re almost out of rice cakes! We gotta got, quick!”

“Now she’s calling me that, too,” Ruan Mei grimaced. “And we don’t serve – “

“Just – let me handle it,” said Kiana quickly. She turned around Firefly, draping the snake around the smaller girl’s shoulders. “Firefly, could you take Rice Cake to the cafeteria to get her some ‘rice cakes?’ And get something for yourself, while you’re at it.”

“Okay, ma – I mean, Kiana,” Firefly bit her tongue embarrassingly.

“I’ll go, too,” Griseo offered. “Shush’s crappy food wasn’t enough to fill me up.”

“I’ll join you as well,” Sunday offered.

“Why are you always so clingy?” Griseo complained.

“…I get lonely,” Sunday mumbled dejectedly.

“Excuse me,” Now it was Entropy’s turn as the party of Firefly, Rice Cake, Sunday, and Griseo headed to the elevator and Kiana went back to the train. “Do you mind if I borrow one of your simulated tested lab? I was hoping to do my own research while were docked here.”

“Oh, of course,” said Ruan Mei, looking more delighted than she ever did. “Always glad to assist a fellow entrepreneur of science. Give me a moment….” She hummed, swiping her tablet a few times. “Let’s see…. Looks like they’re finish up the drone cognition test in testing lab #3. Another group was planning to test unstable chemical compound in there next, but can just move them the hanger bay. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“You Genius Society people really are inhumane, aren’t you?” Coralie commented.

“Part of the job,” said Ruan Mei nonchalantly, tapping her tablet a few times. “There. I’ve arranged private access for you. Just take the elevator to the twenty-second floor and it’s be the second room on the left.”

“Thank, Professor,” said Entropy, bowing respectfully. She then grabbed Karin’s arm and started pulling her toward the elevator. “Come on, Karin.”

“Why me?” Karin yelped; Entropy was surprisingly strong for a computer program.

“I want to follow up on your powers,” Entropy explained. “The instruments in this station will give me a more detailed reading, and we can test the limits of what you are capable of.”

“But I thought you said you couldn’t leave the Astral Express,” Karin pointed out as they stopped in front of the elevator; Helia and Coralie followed close behind. “You know, because of that computer or whatever.”

“I can only maintain a solid form within a certain distance of the Astral Express,” Entropy confirmed, showing her right hand, which was switching between solid and transparent. “Which is why I’m hoping Helia and Coralie will help me out.”

“Of course,” Helia nodded.

“Sure thing,” said Coralie, hands folded behind her head.

Diary Interview: Entropy

(Experiment)

Entropy was completely transparent when the camera switched on. They were in a large square room with a grid of glowing squares marking the floor and walls and observation windows circling near the ceiling. Karin was standing in the middle of the room, stretching her arms and legs, when the camera panned toward Helia, who looked like she was scratching her head while cautiously pushing buttons on the control console. By process of elimination, that meant Coralie was the one working the camera.

“So what’re you hoping to find out?” Coralie asked behind the camera.

“Hopefully the source of Karin’s unique powers,” Entropy answered, arms crossed while switching between the camera and monitoring Helia on the console.

“Isn’t it because of the Astral Ring?” Coralie wondered aloud.

“No, that’s not possible,” said Entropy, shaking her head. “You and Helia have used the Astral Ring yourself, so you should know that it only enhances the abilities a user already possesses. So with that being the case….”

“Oh, I get,” Coralie hummed. “That would mean that Karin already had the powers before she touched the Astral Ring.”

“Exactly,” Entropy nodded. “I’m curious about the origin of these powers. Is it something like Leylah’s control over the shadows, or perhaps Karin has unknowingly come into contact with an extradimensional force, like an Aeon or something else. Hopefully Herta’s instruments will provide me with more conclusive evidence.”

“You sound like one of those scientists,” said Coralie.

“I was a student of Oxia’s Data Research Institute,” said Entropy, pushing up her glasses coolly. “Even if it was technically just one of the playable scenarios inside the quantum computer.”

“Entropy, I finished setting up,” Helia said over her shoulder.

“Ah, better get to it, then,” said Entropy, making a slashing motion towards the camera. “I’ll report my findings later.”

Otto, Welt Yang, and Himeko got off on the elevator at the lowest section of the station, past the vaulted doors that lead into the mythical “Seclusion Zone.” True to its name, the sector was completely barren save for Ruan Mei’s evil monstrosities wreaking havoc across their domain like scratching the walls, knocking over tea cups, and staring into your soul with their big, round (evil!) eyes. Though Ruan Mei’s creations seemed to gravitate towards Otto as he walked by. That makes sense – evil can sense evil.

“My, aren’t you just the sweetest thing,” said Otto, scratching the chin of a little monster named True Love's Frozen Beans.

“So you are capable of being kind,” Welt Yang jabbed, watching the man with Himeko noticeably standing between them.

“My dear friend, when have I not been kind?” said Otto with a delighted hum.

“Certainly not when you killed my father,” said Welt Yang tersely. “Or Joyce. Or Reanna. Or Edison. Or what happened to Schrödinger.”

“That was decades ago,” Otto waved off carelessly as he continued down the hall. “And even though I did the same in my universe, I didn’t do any of that to you specifically. From what I heard, your Otto was already punished for it. You really need to let go of the past my friend.”

Welt Yang’s grip on his cane intensified. A soft humming noise came from the tool as he took a meaningful step towards Otto while the man’s back was turned. Fortunately, Himeko stepped in.

“We should really check in with Herta,” said Himeko quickly, putting a hand to Welt Yang’s chest. “Um, where did Ruan Mei said she was?”

“She didn’t,” Welt Yang pointed out, calming down.

“Not to worry,” said Otto, looking back over his shoulder with a brilliant smile. “We won’t have to search far.”

Walt Yang and Himeko didn’t have to wonder what he meant; they could hear it too. Very loud, very angry voices screaming back and forth coming from a couple doors down the hall. Otto walked ahead, looking like he was expecting something fun and exciting, while Welt Yang and Himeko followed at a safe distance. They stopped in front of a large metal door marked with usual warnings like “KEEP OUT” and “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” But next to the door was a piece of flimsy taped to the wall with three names that looked like they were drawn with crayons. The names written were: The Esteemed Genius Society #83, the young, beautiful, attractive, Madam Herta, Alhaitham Big Dummyhead, and Otto.

You didn’t need to be in the Genius Society to figure out who made it. Welt Yang and Himeko couldn’t help sweatdropping at Herta’s childishness on display.

“Sounds like they’re having fun,” Otto hummed delightedly. “Shall we go in.”

Without waiting for a response, Otto opened the door and stepped inside.

Beyond the door was a very large space – almost excessively so for a room that was only being used by three people. And yet, they somehow managed to fill the room to the brim while also dividing the space perfectly into three parts. Otto’s crates of equipment and supplies had been dropped off and were sitting to the right of Welt Yang and the others when they entered the room.

On one side of the room, the entire section was cluttered with giant machine parts left in disarray, like someone who given up halfway. Dozens of chalkboards were filled with complicated equations that Welt Yang couldn’t make heads or tails opf. Holographic star charts floated aimlessly in the air and seemed to be self-updating in real time. Several workbenches were jumbled with wires, screws, and disorganized papers. And a dozen mini-Herta puppets just standing around, watching their creator screeching like a howler monkey.

The last section of the room was a stark contrast. It looked more like a library than a workshop with entire walls of bookshelves packed to the brim with thick tomes of every shape and size. The majority of the space was taken up by an ostentatiously large and ornate table, upon which there were even more piles of books with a few stacks of (neatly organized) papers and a few trinkets. And behind the desk with a ridiculously tall, yet comfortable-looking, chair fit for a king. It gave of an air of brilliance self-importance.

And in the center of it all was the two “geniuses” yelling at each other like two schoolyard children.

“Just admit the fact that you are wrong!” The Herta screamed.

“That would be asking me to lie,” Alhaitham roared heatedly. “Just as you lie about your self-purported ‘attractiveness,’ you decrepit old hag!”

“Thems fighting words, you whippersnapper!”

“So you admit you’re old?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth!” The Heart yelled, pointing at her opposition like a spiky-haired lawyer. “But the facts do not lie! I have done the math, and the results show that, without a shadow of a doubt, you are unequivocally, and preposterously, wrong!”

“I had thought you to be a fool!” Alhaitham exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. “But now I see that you are no clown – you are the entire circus! You’re ‘facts’ are little more than you obscuring your ignorance. Why, the fact that you would make such an outlandish claim is beyond the pale!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s take it easy, everyone!” Himeko yelled urgently, stepping in between the two. She was getting a lot of practice as mediator today. “Everyone, take a deep breath.” The Herta and Alhaitham do so, though they look no less aggravated than they did before. “Okay…now…an someone please be an adult and explain what you’re fighting about.”

“I’ll tell you exactly what this is about,” Alhaitham jumped in, pointing an accusing finger at the Herta. “This ignoramous deludes herself into believing that a strawberry jelly is better than grape on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“…Huh?” muttered Himeko, stupefied.

“So you agree,” said Alhaitham. “Grape is obviously the superior jelly. It’s the natural condiment that meshes perfectly with peanut butter! It’s a classic for a reason!”

“It’s boring is what it is!” the Herta exclaimed defensively. “Strawberry jelly is clearly the better option. Not only is it sweeter, but the creamy texture of the peanut butter enhances the jelly’s natural spread!”

“What do you think?” Alhaitham asked, turning his head toward Otto.

“Yeah, you’re smart!” said the Herta. “Tell this fool he’s wrong.”

“I personally prefer apricot,” said Otto with a big smile, relishing the chaos.

This sparked an entirely new flurry of arguments.

Diary Interview: Welt Yang

(This was a Mistake)

Welt Yang pinched his brow as he stood out in the hallway. The sounds of the Herta and Altheiham’s screeching could be heard echoing through the steel walls. Every once in a while, Otto chimed into the gaslight them into an even bigger row.

“What happens when you put three narcissists in the same room together?” Welt Yang asked the camera tiredly, then gestured with his thumb. “That. I was a fool for thinking Herta could set aside her own ego, and for thinking that Otto would be able to help. Herta and Alhaitham are possibly smarter than Otto, but Otto knows how people work. He gets under their skin, influences their actions while making them think they chose it themselves, then sides idly by as he watches them destroy themselves. It’s what he does best. I’m honestly worried he might manipulate Herta and Alhaitham into doing something that can’t be taken back.”

He exhaled a deep sigh.

“This was a mistake.”

“All right, all right, that’s enough fun and games,” said Otto pleasantly, stepping forward, surprising Welt Yang by how easily he captures the two geniuses’ attention. “I believe we have something better we could be spending our time on rather than a silly debate about jam.”

“Like what?” the Herta crossed her arms, pouting.

Just then, a repeated series of buzzing noise screeched from the Herta’s side of the room. The Herta shuffled through her mess, shoving clutter of her desk (Oh, she has a desk!) and pushes the button on the buzzing intercom.

“What?” the Herta snapped irritably. “I’m in the middle of something!”

“That’s nice,” Ruan Mei’s voice rang in an unflappable tone. “Just thought you might want to know that we’re ready over here in Loading Bay 3. The Astral Express has been loaded up and Miss Kaslana is ready to begin the transfer.”

“Ooh! Yay! Thanks, Less Cute Mei!” The Herta squealed excitedly, doing a complete 180.

“That’s not my – “

The Herta ended the call.

“Now that is what I call perfect timing,” said Otto cheerfully. “Shall we be off.”

“Lead the way,” Alhaitham bowed like a gentleman to Herta, like they weren’t about to bite each other’s heads off.

The three geniuses exited the lab in quick succession. Welt Yang and Himeko shared exasperated glances before following them.

They could hear it before they even got off the elevator: the sounds of dozens of disgruntled (hungry) researchers crying out for sustenance.

Firefly (with Rice Cake wrapped around her arm), Griseo, and Sunday trekked down the short hallway into the large, open-spaced cafeteria. The whole area was divided into three levels with solid light staircases going up and down between each floor, and a great floor-to-ceiling window with a panoramic view of the blue planet below.

Unfortunately, no one was interested in the breath-taking scenery – all the starving researchers were clamoring around the service drones, shaking their fists and yelling furiously. The poor automatons had formed a barricade using four turned over tables, wearing pots like protective helmets, and waving pans like weapons. Which, honestly, proved effective as one of the researchers tried to climb over the table and was knocked out by a frying pan.

“Back! Back, you heathens!” the drone screeched in a crackling voice. “I’m telling you, we’re out of stock! Please come back tomorrow when we get in fresh supplies – “

“I just finished a fourteen hour shift and I’m starving!”

“You better get us some food, you damn dirty robot!”

“I was promised Taco Tuesday and I’m gonna get it, damn it!”

“It’s Friday!” the robot retorted.

“I still want taco!”

“We can’t do anything about that!” the drone cried, whacking another hungry researcher away. “I keep telling you, we’re all sold out of everything!”

“Even the rice cakes!” Rice Cake gasped, hovering over the crowd and sticking her face in front of the machine. Naturally, it goes as you would expect.

“AH! SNAKES ON THE PLANE – er, SATELLITE!” the robot screeched, taking a swing at Rice Cake with its frying pan. Rice Cake casually curled around the swing, causing the robot to smash itself in the face and collapse to the floor. With their only defense lost, the rest of the service drones were quickly overwhelmed by the tide of hungry humans, beginning the vicious process of tearing the machines limb from limb.

“Poor guys,” Griseo grimaced as Rice Cake floated back toward them. “They didn’t stand a chance.”

“Hunger can drive a man to do terrible things,” said Sunday, nodding with a sense of understanding.

“I don’t get it,” said Firefly, ducking as a poor robot’s sparking head was punted over her head. “Could one person really cause all this?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Griseo suggested as she looked and pointed to the left.

In the nearly barren sea of table, there was only one seat that was occupied, surrounded by half a dozen towers made up of porcelain plates. There must have been a hundred plates in each stack and, surprisingly, they all looked like they had been licked clean to the point of sparkling. They table they surrounded was packed to the brim with over a dozen plates filled with all different types food, al of which seemed to be centered around a Mexican theme.

The person sitting at the table, practically vacuuming another plate of tacos into her mouth, was what looked to be a cowgirl. And I don’t mean “cowgirl” like someone from those spaghetti westerns – I mean a literal cow girl with great big horns, wiggly little ears, and a lazily swinging pink tail.

The cowgirl made a great big smile with a satisfied hum as she licked the plate clean in a single stroke, making the dishware practically sparkle before setting it aside with the rest. She moved on to the next plate – a practical mountain or beef, cheese, sour cream, and nacho chips – are started scarfing them down by the handful. Shockingly, he had somehow remained clean even as she shoveled the beef and melted cheese in her mouth.

“…Sweet mother of Tayzzyronth,” said Firefly with a mixture of awe and revulsion.

“Did she really eat all of that?” said Griseo, sounding impressed.

“That’s enough plates to feed a third of the population of Penacony,” Sunday muttered dumbfoundedly.

“Does she have any rice cakes?” Rice Cake asked hopefully, hovering a few feet over Firefly’s head.

“I don’t think she has any,” said Firefly, tugging the white snake back down.

“Well, we won’t know unless we ask!” Rice Cake complained like a child when their parent tells them they have food at home.

“You know, I don’t get it,” said Griseo, scratching her head as she watched the cowgirl finish the nacho mountain and lick her plate clean. “If everyone is so hungry, why don’t they just take it from her instead of attacking the robots.”

Conveniently, there were a few disgruntled researchers who were thinking along the same lines as Griseo and were doing just that. While the cowgirl had moved on to another plate of tacos, three men were trying to sneak up behind the cowgirl, one of them armed with the robot’s frying pan. The men were practically on top of her – the man with the frying pan raised his weapon overhead –

Suddenly, as if sensing the danger, the cowgirl jerked her head back, head-butting the man directly behind her. She then flipped backwards out of her seat, lifting her legs and planting her feet into the next man’s face. She continued her flip and flattened the last man’s head with her big round booty; her looked astonishingly happy when she stood up. The cowgirl went back to her table and continued eating like nothing happened.

“Oh, that explains it,” remarked Griseo.

“Think maybe we should leave?” Sunday suggested.

“But I’m still hungry,” Griseo groaned.

“Well, I doubt we’ll be able to do anything as long as she’s hording all the food,” said Sunday.

“Maybe we could sneak something while she isn’t looking,” said Griseo.

“Considering how well that worked out for the last group,” said Sunday, “I don’t think we stand much of a chance.”

“You never know!”

“Hey, where’s Rice Cake?” Firefly chimed in. The other two spun around, noticing the little floating snake was missing. They started to look around –

“Hey, lady, you got any rice cakes?”

And immediately snapped their heads towards the cowgirl, who tilted her head back curiously to the little white serpent floating above her table. She seemed to regard Rice Cake curiously, tilting her horned head to the left with big questionable eyes. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she picked up the plate of tacos and offered them to the flying snake.

“I don’t have rice cakes,” she said. “But you can help yourself to some tacos. They’re not as good as back home, but soak them in a little hot sauce and they’re be just as tasty.”

“Yay!” Rice Cake cheered, diving headfirst into the tower of taco goodness.

“Well, that’s certainly one way to break the ice,” said Sunday humorously, watching Rice Cake slither in an out of the taco tower, swallowing them whole.

Diary Interview: Varesa

(Meeting Varesa)

Sometime after the adventure at Herta Station, Karin had (unsurprisingly) cornered the Natlan cowgirl in the Party Car, ravaging an entire pan of enchiladas by herself. When the camera started recording, Varesa had stabbed an entire tortilla with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth without getting any sauce on herself; truly the mark of a professional foodie. Varesa touched her cheek, squealing with delight as she chewed.

“Hey, Miss Varesa,” Karin spoke from behind the camera, catching the cowgirl’s attention. “Do you mind if we do that interview now.”

Varesa took a moment to swallow the enchilada down in one gulp, set her fork down, and swiveled around in her hand with her hands politely on her lap.

“Sure, Karin,” said Varesa kindly. “And you don’t have to call me ‘miss’. Just Varesa is fine.”

“Thanks Varesa,” said Karin gratefully. “So I guess the first thing I need to ask is: who are you and where’re you from?”

“Well, for the longest time, I was an orchard manager for the Teteocan Tribe,” Varesa hummed, touching her chin and looking up thoughtfully. “That’s one of the six tribes that reside in Natlan, one of the seven nations of Teyvat.”

“I’ve heard of Teyvat, but any of those other things,” said Karin. “That’s the same place as those uh…what’re they called. Those…Anchor gods or something.”

“Archons,” Varesa corrected. “And, yes, Lady Mavuika is the Archon that presides over Natlan.”

“So why’d you end up joining the Astral Express?” asked Karin, diving in to the biggest question she wanted answered.

“The food!” Varesa answered cheerfully.

“Huh?”

“Er, lemme rephrase that,” said Varesa, scratching her head sheepishly. “See, I wasn’t actually supposed to join the crew in the first place. When The Astral Express started recruiting people from Teyvat for their quest, Lady Mavuika offered the Six Name Bearers to help.”

“The Six Name Bearers?” Karin repeated.

“Yeah, they’re special warriors that received the ancient names of their tribes,” said Varesa with look of admiration in her eye. “The Name Bearer for Teteocan is my fitness instructor, Coach Iansan! She’s super tough despite being a shorty!”

“I don’t think she’d be happy to hear you say that,” Karin remarked. “But if Coach – Iansan, was it? – was supposed to be the one joining, how did you end up here?”

“Well, Natlan got attacked,” said Varesa, frowning. “But it wasn’t like any of the Night Warden Wars before. These monsters were new – I think Lady Mavuika called them Honkai. They came out of nowhere and were stronger than the Abyss we used to fight before.”

“Did Iansan…die?” Karin asked worriedly.

“Thankfully, no,” Varesa, relieved. “You expect people to die during the wars, but Coach Iansan managed to survive with only her legs broken. Unfortunately, this meant she couldn’t help the crew, so the chief picked me instead.”

“Well, sorry you got wrangled up in this mess,” Karin apologized.

“There’s no reason to feel sorry,” said Varesa, clenching her fists in conviction. “I may not have been the first choice, but I promise to do my best help. Because that’s what coach would’ve wanted me to do!”

“So, how does this work?” Karin asked curiously, looking around at the glowing boxes on the walls and floor of the simulation room.

“See those squares all around you?” Entropy pointed out, pointing her transparent finger along the floor. “Those are solid light projectors the station uses for closed environment testing when testing their research. We’ll be using this room for simulated combat scenarios to test the range of your abilities.”

“Combat scenarios?” Karin yelped, spinning around wildly.

“Duh,” said Coralie bluntly. “How do you expect test out a giant laser sword without combat?”

“I prefer to call it the Great Fantasy Sword,” Karin remarked.

“Regardless, you won’t be in any real danger,” said Entropy. “What you’re be seeing is just very solid holograms. As long as you remember that everything you see isn’t real, you will be fine.”

“I’m done setting up,” Helia informed Entropy. “Ready when you are.”

“Thank you,” said Entropy, then turned to Coralie. “Coralie, give Karin the Astral Ring.”

The dog-eared Thiren reached into her pocket and tossed the crystal anchor jewel through the air. Karin caught it. The second the Astral Ring was in her palm, the same spine-tingling sensation Karin felt during the Swarm Invasion coursed through her body once more. It was like electricity was traveling up her right arm, passing through her breast, and circulating down her left. That surge exploded out of her free hand and took the form of the oversized anime sword like a character from Kallen Fantasy VII. The weapon was composed of pure energy, so it had no weight to it, but edges certainly looked sharp enough to cleave through steel.

“Hmm…interesting,” Entropy hummed, leaning over Helia’s shoulder to look at the readings on the console.

“Find anything?” Helia questioned curiously.

“The energy wavelengths look similar to the Valkyrie’s stigmata,” answered Entropy. “But at the same time they’re…different.”

“Different how?” asked Helia.

“We’ll have to do more testing to find out,” said Entropy. “Activate the simulation.”

Helia pressed a few buttons and five of the glowing squares on the floor intensified. When Karin turned around, what looked like giant suits of black armor materialized into existence. The suits of armor took combative stance, fabricating equally large blades attached to their arms.

Oddly enough, they didn’t scare Karin as much as the Swarm did. Then again, Karin hated bug and these guys just looked like oversized action figures.

“Who’re these weirdos?” Karin asked.

“The Antimatter Legion,” Coralie answered blandly. “They’re the bad guys.”

“That’s an oversimplification,” Helia commented. “But she’s not wrong. The Antimatter Legion are agents of Nanook whose only purpose in existence is to wipe out all of creation.”

“What’s the point of that?” questioned Karin. “I mean, what do you get out of destroying existence?”

“No one ever said the Aeons were sensible,” said Entropy. “We’ll start from level-1. These simulacrum won’t pose much of a threat to you compared to the Swarm, but I would like you to give it your best. The purpose of this test is to see how much you’re capable of.”

“Okay, sure,” said Karin, shouldering her Great Fantasy Sword. “I’ll kick their asses no sweat.”

“Beginning simulation,” Helia announced, tapping the console.

In a few moments, the Antimatter Legion straightened up and sharply turned their (sightless?) gaze toward Karin.

The closest Antimatter soldier rushed Karin while the other four remained rooted in place. They were surprisingly fast and Karin stumbled backward a few steps when they closed the distance in a few short seconds. The former delivery girl let out a high-pitched yelp  and leaned out of the way as the Antimatter soldier jabbed its blade in the spot where Karin was standing a moment ago. Karin fell on her butt, her Great Fantasy Sword clattering on the ground beside her. The Antimatter soldier looked at the blonde girl as if not believing that Karin had dodged its attack; like she had broken some kind of rule.

Nevertheless, the soldier oddly jumped back into its previous position, giving Karin the chance to recover. Once she was back on her feet, weapon in hand, the next Antimatter soldier leapt into the air, raising one of its blades, and brought it down on Karin with an overhead slash. This time, Karin was prepared. She sidestepped the blade, letting the Antimatter soldier hit the floor beside her. Once again, the soldier looked at Karin like he was offended that she would dodge. But Karin gripped her Fantasy Great Sword and swung it across the Antimatter soldier’s neck, decapitating it. The blade soldier exploded into a thousand little cubes and flickered out of existence.

Karin stumbled around momentarily, unaccustomed to wielding such a huge weapon, but quickly grounded herself. As she did, another of the Antimatter Legion charged at her (once again, the rest of the party stayed in place.) It followed the same pattern as the first soldier – stabbing its blade at Karin – but the former courier effortlessly sidestepped the attack. Karin brought her energy sword down with an overhead slash, slicing the Antimatter soldier in two, they watched it explode into a thousand little cube.

“Hey, this is pretty fun!” Karin whooped, her excitement growing. “WHOO! All right, suckers, who’s next?”

The next Antimatter soldier rushed forward (once again alone), and Karin ran forward to meet them halfway with an overexaggerated battle cry.

“Hey, Entropy,” Coralie chimed up after watching Karin cut the soldier’s knees off. “Why are the bad guys only attacking one at a time instead of all at once?”

“Apparently, everyone outside the Sol System follows a very strange set of rules for combat,” Entropy answered, her eyes never leaving the charts. “Everyone has to take turns attacking, and no one is allowed to dodge or block.”

“That’s stupid,” Coralie retorted.

“Yes, but it makes things easier for the rest of us who don’t follow the rules,” Helia commented while tilting her head aside as an Antimatter leg flew past.

After Karin made it through the first set, Helia produced another squad of Antimatter soldiers, which Karin ran down with enthusiasm. But as she cleaved her through the simulacrum, she didn’t realize she had an audience in the observation windows above.

A fiery redheaded man with an arm of steel was energetically punching left and right, pretending he was in Karin’s place.

“Yeah, that’s it!” shouted the redheaded man, throwing a pretend right hook. “Duck left, swing – and down he goes! Watch your footing! Keep up the pace – oof, really should’ve tied those shoelaces. That’s right, get back up! Nobody can keep you down! Faint right, swing left – another one bites the dust! Er, cubes, I guess.”

“Luka.”

A silky-soft voice called out to him from the left. The man named Luka dropped his pretend boxing match and scanned to the side. A young girl with midnight-blue hair divided into two long ties marched up to him, holding an silver-bound tome with great blue gemstone pressed against her chest. His mismatched eye – right gold, left purple – looked at the boxer for a moment, then turned her attention curiously through the window.

“Hey, Ark!” Luka greeted with a friendly wave.

“Arkria,” the girl, Arkria, corrected him.

“Ah, but I always screw up when saying your name and then you start pouting,” Luka laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Like you’re doing right now.”

“I’m not pouting,” said Arkria, who was, indeed, pouting. She stepped closer to the window and looked down. “Who is that girl?”

“Dunno, never seen her before,” said Luka, shrugging. They both watched as Helia projected another group of Antimatter soldiers. “But she’s good, if a little clumsy. Probably some newbie the Express picked up on the way.”

“Another stray?” Arkria said exasperatedly. “Miss Kiana just keep picking up new drifters everywhere she goes.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” questioned Luka. “I mean, that’s how she found you. And where would you be if Kiana didn’t bring you aboard?”

Arkria pouted again, refusing to dignify the question with a response. She stepped closer to the window and looked down as Karin bisected one Antimatter soldier before spinning around to slice another diagonally, completely breaking the turn-based rules. The more enemies she slayed, the more confident she became. The blonde courier looked like she was playing a realistic video game.

Such a goof, Arkria thought. She’s acting like this session means anything. Facing simulated drones is one thing, but fighting in the real world is another. I would love to see how confident she is if she got into a real battle –

Huh, who said that?

Arkria jumped with a startled gasp; Luka looked at her strangely.

Just for a moment, Arkria heard a voice in her head other than her own. At the same time, Karin suddenly stopped moving and was looking around, searching for something. The blonde courier looked up to the windows and suddenly loked eyes with Arkria. That’s when it suddenly dawned on her:

This new girl had gonna inside Arkria’s head – literally.

Karin and Arkria stared at each other for a long moment, both wondering what happened….

Karin was snapped back to reality when the Antimatter soldier punched her in the face, throwing her flat on the ground.

“Ooh, that’s gonna leave a mark!” Luka winced

“Okay, I think that’s enough!” Entropy announced. “End the simulation, Helia!”

In a few moments, the Antimatter Legion flickered out of existence, leaving Karin lying on her back, holding her face from where she got sucker punched.

“Not real, huh?” she moaned. “Sure felt real to me….”

“All right, you big baby, get up,” said Coralie, standing over Karin with her fists on her hips. “C’mon, before the cleaner bots sweep you away.”

Coralie grabbed Karin’s hand, pulling the former courier to her feet, then provided Karin with an ice pack that she just happened to have in her pocket for some reason. They walked together to the console where Entropy was inspecting the data.

“So, what’s the verdict, doc?” asked Karin.

“Unfortunately, I never received my doctorate,” said Entropy. “However, based on these readings, I can conclude that you powers function in the same way a Valkyrie’s stigmata works. The weapon you wield itself is made of pure Honkai energy, generated directly from your body.”

“I’ve never heard of a Valkyrie who could make Honkai energy weapons,” Helia pointed out.

“Yeah, well, that’s the big mystery,” said Entropy, pushing up her glasses with a thoughtful hum. “I have no idea how it works, or where that energy is even coming from considering Honkai energy does not exist outside the Sol System. It possible that it could be a mutation. I believe something similar happened with Durandal and the Schariac family. Karin, does your family have a history with Honkai?”

But Karin was unresponsive. Entropy, Helia, and Coralie looked at her. The blonde courier was focused on the observation windows above. When the girls followed her gaze, they saw Luka waving good-naturedly and Arkria, who was slowly backing away out of view.

“Something you want to tell us?” Helia asked Karin.

“Huh?” mumbled Karin, finally snapping out of her stupor.

“You were watching them with an intense stare,” said Entropy. “Could it be that…you are attracted to Luka, perhaps.”

“Who?” Karin tilted her head, confused.

“The rugged redhead with the metal arm you were staring at so passionately,” Coralie chimed in. “I didn’t think he was your type, but to each their own, I suppose.”

“Wait, what’re you…?” Karin stammered before her brain finally caught on to the implication. “Wait! No! I wasn’t staring at him!”

“Hey, we’re not here to judge,” said Coralie, throwing her hands up in surrender. “You do you.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not listening?” Karin groaned.

Up in the viewing section, a similar conversation was going on.

“Hey, I think she was looking at me,” said Luka, sounding awfully excited. “I mean, I haven’t met her yet, but she seems pretty cool, and definitely knows how to put up a fight. Think I should go talk to her? You know break the ice?”

When his little companion didn’t answer, Luka turned his head and noticed Arkria walking away quickly.

“Hey, where’re you going?” asked Luka curiously. “Don’t you wanna meet her?”

“Later!” Arkria shouted as she turned the corner, leaving Luka to scratch his head.

Diary Interview: Arkria Hroptr

(Strange Connection)

Arkria was sitting in the Parlor Car, staring out at the passing stars when the camera turned on, her magic tome resting on the table in front of her. She gazed out the window in thoughtful silence until the person behind the camera called for her attention.

“Okay, Arkria, tell me what happened,” said Himeko.

“Do we have to do this?” asked Arkria anxiously.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want,” said Himeko kindly. “But you’re the one who came to me for help. And I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“And no one else will see this?” asked Arkria.

“This is strictly confidential,” Himeko reassured her. “This is a separate type I’m recording for my own purposes. I promise no one will see it, especially Karin.”

“Okay…,” said Arkria, turning slowly towards the camera. “It just…happened so suddenly. One moment I was lost in my own thoughts, then all of a sudden I could hear Karin inside my head. And I’m pretty sure she heard me as well, given how she reacted after it happened.”

“Has this ever happened before?” questioned Himeko.

“No,” Arkria shook her head. “This was the first time.”

“And thoughts on why is happened?” asked Himeko.

“It might have something to do with…the Heart of Darkness,” Arkria hummed.

“Your Stigmata?” said Himeko interestedly. “I believe the Stigmata from your world differ from the ones where Kiana and Karin come from. Any idea why you two suddenly connected like that.”

“I don’t know,” Arkria admitted.

“Hmm…this will require further investigation,” said Himeko. “For now, just try to keep it on the down low until we can learn a little more about this connection. And I promise, no one will see this tape other than me.”

“Thanks, Himeko,” said Arkria, smiling slightly.

“Any time, sweetie.”

The Herta, Alhaitham, Otto, Welt Yang, and Himeko existed the unbearably cramped elevator together.

“Remind me to install bigger elevators,” the Herta grimaced, rolling her shoulders as they marched down the hall.

“Madam Herta!” The Herta looked to the side as a random researcher came running up to her, carrying a large steel crate covered in caution tape. “This just arrived for you, Madam Herta. It’s marked urgent, so I thought – “

“Can’t you see I’m busy,” the Herta groaned, rolling her eyes. “Just put it in my office. I’ll get to it when I get to it.”

“Um, yes, Madam Herta,” said the anxious researcher. “Sorry, Madam Herta.”

The researcher scuffled away while the Herta and the scientists made their way to Loading Bay 3. Except for Welt Yang. He seemed to regard the researcher with suspicion for a moment, watching them flee around the corner. He stands there for a few moments until he hears Himeko calling out to him. Welt Yang moves on, but remains alert the whole time.

At the meanwhile, the researcher fumbled with the card reader to Herta’s office while juggling the crate in the other hand. When he finally managed to get the door open, he stumbled into the room and quickly set the crate on Herta’s desk. He quickly shuffled back out of the room, closing the door behind him, not wishing to incur the Herta’s wrath for leaving her office unlocked.

A long period of stiff silence passed.

…

…

…

…

…

Then, quite abruptly, there was a series of bangs on the lid from the inside.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

With each bang, the crate was knocked across the desk until it finally fell over with a clatter. The lid popped open and a giant ceramic puppet spilled out across the floor. The puppet laid still for a few seconds before it swiveled its head and contorted its limbs, first crawling on all fours and then rising to its feet. The puppet looked around the empty office and chortled.

“Wow, Kafka was right,” said the Herrscher of Dominance. “Getting into this place is easy.”

The puppet waved its hand to the empty space beside her, suddenly generating a tear in space. The Herrscher of Dominance stepped back as four figures stepped through the rift, led by a regal-looking woman in a flamboyant military jacket, her cane clacking on the floor dramatically.

“Nicely done, Domi,” Houraiji Kyuusyou complimented the puppet. “I was hoping for something with a little more dramatic fanfare, but I guess the best entrances are the one you least expect.”

“Is there really any need for you to be here, ma’am?” asked Kafka. “According to Elio’s script, this mission will be successful with or without your help.”

“You think I’m gonna listen to a man who calls himself a ‘slave of destint?’” Kyuusyou scoffed. “Destiny is just an excuse people use when they don’t want to admit their own failings. I’ve see ‘destiny’ be shattered a hundred times before, so forgive me if I don’t put much stock in his ‘scripts.’ Besides, Kiana is onboard this station, and I’ve wanted to see how she matches up compared to my Kiana. And I wanted to show off my new outfit.”

“Well, you’re the boss,” said Kafka, smiling slyly.

“Yes, I am!” said Kyuusyou brightly. “Now, let’s get to work!”

Diary Interview: Karin Mared

(Closing Thoughts)

Karin adjusted the camera in a way where it wouldn’t fall over then took a step back, revealing that she was standing in the middle of a random corridor of the station, a large window with a view of the blue planet behind her.

“Well, I guess the first stop has been interesting,” said Karin. “I got to learn more about my powers – even if it’s not much – and I got to be a total badass and kick some Antimatter Legion ass! I mean, they’re simulations, but it’s the same thing! Kinda!

“But I still help thinking about that girl,” she hummed, touching her chin thoughtfully. “Call me weird, but I feel like we had some kind of…telepathic connection or something. I mean, I heard someone else’s voice in my head. And before you go saying anything – no, I’m not crazy! I swear I heard her voice in my head! I just wish I knew who she was….”

Just then, the corridor was flooded with flashing red lights as the claxon sirens wailed throughout.

“Ah, probably just another false alarm,” Karin waved it off.

“Attention, Herta Station! This is not a false alarm! Repeat, this is not a false alarm! There are intruders on the station and they’re – wait, are those flaming skeletons? H-Hey, stay back! I’ve got pepper spray! But…you don’t have eyes. Hey, hey, let’s talk about – AAAAAHHH!”

“Uh, oh, wow, okay,” Karin stammered, biting her thumb fearfully as she looked left and right, then quickly grabbed the camera. “Guess I better go. Good luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it!”

(FORMER CREW)

|
V

(CURRENT CREW)

Acheron Quest #7: Never Let You Go!

Chapter Text

Diary Interview: Karin Mered

(Secret Meeting)

Several days before arriving at the Herta Space Station, and before the chaos that followed, Karin did a solo exploration of the Astral Express.

The camera screen flickered on as Karin entered the Astral Express’s engine room. She waved the camera around the room, zooming in on all the screens and switches, the function of which she couldn’t understand. She flickered over to the engine itself where the strange glowing light through the window continued to pulse in regular intervals like a heartbeat. Karin had asked Himeko about what was inside the engine, but it seems even she didn’t know what it was – she was unable to crack it open in the six years she had been fixing the Express.

Speaking of whom, Karin turned the camera away from the engine to the projector table in the middle of the room. Kiana, Himeko, Welt Yang, and Entropy were gathered around along with the flickering image of someone she had never met before. He was a long-haired man (though, admittedly, he looked quite feminine) with his eyes closed, floating a single leaf above his outstretched hand. Karin thought he might have been another AI like Entropy, but the way his transparent image flickered every once and a while, it gave her the impression of someone making a long-distance call.

All five of them were looked at an image being projected above the table. From what little Karin was able to glean on camera for a few seconds, it looked like the locomotive of the Astral Express. Though, after looking back at the footage later, there were a few cosmetic differences – namely what looked like a revolver in the back.

Karin stayed quiet as they spoke among themselves.

“Everything ready on your side, SU?” Kiana asked the flickering man.

“Preparations are complete over here,” the man called SU replied. “We ran into a few bumps since we don’t have access to Vill-V’s original schematics, but it should work for what you need.”

“I never would have imagined that something like this could exist,” Himeko hummed with approval, leaning closer to the image and blocking Karin’s view. “What did you call it again?”

“It’s called the – “

“You might want to hold off on saying anything,” Entropy interrupted, tilting her head and looked straight at Karin’s camcorder. “It seems we have a guest.”

The group immediately turned their heads toward Karin, who stumbled back slightly with a hint of apprehension. Welt Yang shut off the projector before she could film anymore. With all five adult staring at her, Karin chuckled anxiously and waved; she probably should have shut the camera off at this point.

“S-Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupted,” Karin apologized.

“You’re all right, sweetie,” said Himeko gently with a reassuring smile. “We were just finishing up anyway.”

“Just so we’re clear,” Entropy continued, looking away from Karin to SU, “you’ve made sure that everything has been readjusted to not only to merge with the Astral Express, but can also accommodate the Luoxing’s quantum computer?”

“The notes you sent me from Miss Ajita certainly helped,” answered SU. “But I can’t be sure of anything until we begin the actual transfer.”

“Then I guess we’ll be seeing you at Herta Station,” said Kiana.

“I’ll be waiting for your signal,” said SU.

Welt Yang reached for the console and SU’s flickering image vanished. The meeting was quietly adjourned after that; Entropy, Welt Yang, and Kiana exited the room, leaving Karin with Himeko. At this point, Karin really should have shut off the camcorder.

“I really didn’t mean to barge in on your meeting,” Karin apologized again. “I just wanted to explore the train for a little bit, maybe interview some of the passengers for my video diary….”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetie,” said Himeko, reaching out to ruffle Karin’s hair off-screen. “Though you really should knock before entering a room. What if we hadn’t been decent?”

“Would people really be…indecent in the engine room?” Karin questioned strangely.

“Well, there was this one time when Stelle, Firefly, and March were trying some new – “

“Nope, Nope! I’m not listening! LALALALALALALA!!!” Karin yelped swiftly, the camera swiveling wildly around the room as the former courier covered her ears. Himeko chuckled amusingly and let the matter drop, thank Aeons. After a full minute of staring at the ceiling, the camera lowered back down on Himeko. “So, about that Astral Express – “

“So you did take a peek,” said Himeko, crossing her arms with a raised brow.

“Only a glimpse – not a whole lot,” Karin excused. “But sounds like you’re about to make a huge change to the train. Does this have anything to do with that ‘upgrade’ you were talking about the other day?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait and see until we get to Herta Station,” said Himeko, leaning forward with a teasing smirk. “For now, It would be best if you kept this under your hood from the rest of the crew. We don’t want to say anything until we are certain everything works out.”

“Okay, I won’t say a word,” Karin promised.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Himeko smiled. “Now, I believe you have a train to explore. Good Luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it.”

-=O[ 27 MINUTES BEFORE INVASION ]O=-

The party consisting of Herta, Otto, Alhaitham, Welt Yang, and Himeko made their ways across the space station; Herta in particular was skipping along like a an excited schoolgirl, humming a happy little tune under her voice. The source of her glee lay ahead of them, beyond a pair of thick steel doors emblazoned with the words “Loading Bay 3.” The doors slid open automatically as soon as Herta approached; it didn’t escape Alhaitham’s notice that the doors tried to close when he got close and only stayed open because he was walking side-by-side with Otto. The little brat….

The area beyond the doors was more of an observation deck with a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window and a single console in the middle. The actual loading bay was through the window where thousands upon thousands of sleek, silvery containers were meticulously stacked on in tight rows reaching all the way to the high ceiling. The bay’s left side opened up into space with a perfect view of the blue planet view, sealed off by a transparent energy barrier. Dozens of floating machines could be seen flittering around like worker bees, loading and unloading containers without disturbing the stacks, implying they were held in place magnetically.

Kiana was looking out the window with Pom-Pom hopping around her ankles, and chibi Prometheus was at the console, standing on a cardboard box (marked “Fragile”) to reach the buttons. Kiana turned around when she heard the door open and her expression immediately shifted to one of visible exhaustion as Herta skipped toward her.

“Oh, Ki-a-na!” Herta greeted in a sing-song voice, approaching the Herrscher of Finality with the biggest smile. “It’s so lovely to see you again! You really should stop by more often. It almost feels like your avoiding little old me. Did you do something with your hair. It’s looking extra shiny today – “

“Rice Cake isn’t here,” Kiana interjected bluntly.

“Anywho,” Herta immediately switched gears, dropping all pretense of friendliness and stared out the window. “Is the Astral Express ready?”

“Loading in at approximately seven seconds,” Prometheus responded mechanically.

All present company approached the window and watched as the wall on the right-hand side exhaled a hydraulic hiss, rotating a quarter to the right, and spit horizontally in the middle. A long, narrow platform rose from the floor, lining up perfectly with the doors. Exactly seven seconds passed before the Astral Express glided through the doors, the engine stopping on the platform.

“Decoupling engine from main body,” Prometheus announced, tapping her tiny hands on the keyboard.

There is a thunderous crack like a miniature explosion went off. The Astral Express’s engine moved forward slightly while other cars rolled backward off the platform. With another tap of the keyboard, Prometheus erected a transparent blue barrier around the Astral Express’s engine, giving it the appearance of a model train stored in a display case. The chibi android tapped another button and the engine descended through a hole in the floor. Pom-Pom stood on the windowsill and smooshed his face against the window as he watched the Astral Express run off to who-knows-where.

“Where are you taking it?” he squeaked, peeling his face off with a pop!

“Relax,” Herta waved him off nonchalantly. “It’s been transferred to my personal collection in the Gallery of Shadows. Even if we are replacing the engine, I still want to study it’s composition, maybe even learn how Akavili created it and the Star Rails. If possible, I would love to reproduce the results and expand the stellar railway.”

“Multiple Astral Expresses creating new tracks to uncharted worlds,” Otto hummed with delighted amusement. “And ambitious goal to say the least. But who knows, maybe one day we’ll connect the Sol System to the wider universe.”

“For now, let’s focus on the one we have,” Himeko reminded them as Prometheus raised another narrow platform in place of the previous one.

“That would be appropriate,” said Alhaitham, craning his head in Kiana’s direction. “Miss Kaslana, your turn.”

“On it,” Kiana nodded.

The Herrscher of Finality raised her hand to the loading bay and her ethereal-purple eyes began to glow. A massive portal suddenly ripped open on one side of the raised platform. Not long after, a large vehicle rolled backwards onto the platform, lining up with the rails with great precision. It resembled the Astral Express engine in a lot of ways, but there were several small differences in design; where the Astral Express was sleek and stylish, this one was sturdy and fortified like it was riding into a war.

“The Second Divine Key – the Cosmic Juggernaut,” Welt Yang murmured aloud, watching the new engine come to a stop on the platform as the entry portal flickered out.

“The similarities are uncanny,” said Otto amusingly. “Almost as if intentional.”

“Cosmic Juggernaut loaded and locked in,” Prometheus announced, tapping her tiny palms on the keyboard, sometimes doing an adorable hop to reach a far button. “Beginning coupling sequence.”

The disconnected train cars were nudged forward to the back of the Cosmic Juggernaut. There was a booming noise akin to a giant block of metal smashing onto a steel floor.

“Coupling Sequence complete,” declared Prometheus. “Connecting Cosmic Juggernaut to Luoxing super computer.”

“This is where is where it might get tricky,” Herta hummed, leaning forward and touching her chin thoughtfully.

“Commencing uplink,” said Prometheus. A reverberating hum filled the loading bay; the holographic monitors above the console displayed several numbers and gauges that Kiana couldn’t even begin to understand. “20% connection established…32%...47%...53%.... All systems showing green. No signs of irregularities or fluctuations.”

“So far so good…,” Himeko muttered, clutching her arm nervously.

“61%...75%...88%...94%.... Uplink complete!” said Prometheus as the screen flashed a big green checkmark. “Energy readings stable. Systems check nominal. No sign of rejection or backlash from administrator. The Cosmic Juggernaut is fully synchronized with the Luoxing super computer. Engine transfer is a 100% success.”

“Glad to see that not everything in life has to be difficult,” Welt Yang commented.

“We’re not done yet,” said Herta with underlining enthusiasm. She reached into her oversized hat, pulled out a slip of paper, and handed to Prometheus. “These are the coordinates for the railway platform on Jarilo-VI.”

“Inputting coordinates,” said Prometheus. “Coordinates received. Transferring power from Luoxing super computer to Cosmic Juggernaut. Cosmic Juggernaut engine at 200% efficiency. Activating Cosmic Juggernaut’s 0^th power in three…two…one….”

At her word, Prometheus pressed the big red button that has been tempting Kiana for a while now. The Cosmic Juggernaut whirred to life as it’s revolver-like component slowly turned, quickly picking up speed as multicolored patterns crisscrossed along the surface of the engine. Everyone watched in anticipation as a small tear ripped open in the air before the Cosmic Juggernaut, gradually stretching higher and higher until it blasted open with a noise akin to a window shattering.

A portal had formed in the loading bay. Beyond it was a snowy landscape with a sprawling city faintly seen in the distance.

“Connection established – portal stability at 100%,” Prometheus announced. “Congratulations, everyone, we have just achieved transdimensional travel.”

Kiana, Herta, and Pom-Pom let out celebratory cheers and high-fived one another. Himeko chuckled and offered her hand when Kiana requested a high-five. Otto and Alhaitham merely clapped politely, the latter retaining her eternally smug grin while the former refused Herta’s offer for a high-five. Welt Yang only smiled in approval as the portal closed.

Diary Interview: The Herta

(Astral Juggernaut or Cosmic Express)

The camera roamed along to capture the Cosmic Juggernaut in its entirety while it was idle on the railway platform. After doing a second scan, the viewfinder moved down to The Herta, who was sitting on one of her Herta dolls like a chair while tapping away at her holographic computer.

“So this is the upgrade, huh?” Karin spoke from behind the camera.

“This is it,” Herta nodded, looking sideways and gazing at the Cosmic Juggernaut like a jeweler appraising a rare gemstone. “The Second Divine Key – the Cosmic Juggernaut. Though, since it’s attached to the cars of the original Astral Express, it might need a new name. The Astral Juggernaut? The Cosmic Express? Ah, that’s more of a ‘you’ problem, anyway.”

“Using a Divine Key in place of an Aeon-created machine?” Coralie noted off-screen. “What makes it such an improvement?”

“With the original Astral Express, you could only go from one place to another via the Star Rail,” answered Herta. “Those trips tend to take days, if not weeks to reach your destination. But with the Cosmic Juggernaut, a weeks’ long trip can be shortened to just a few minutes. As long as you know the coordinates, that is. And it even has this neat little feature where you can observe various worlds from a distance. I don’t know who the original inventor was, but I would love to recommend them to the Genius Society just so I could pick their brain on how they made such a device.”

“I was under the impression that the Cosmic Juggernaut had limited reach on the Imaginary Tree,” Helia’s voice came from the right. “It’s original purpose, after all, was to traverse the Sea of Quanta.”

“Yes, Otto did mention that,” Herta crossed her arms and nodded seriously. “Luckily, we were able to get around that pesky issue by using the Luoxing super computer as a power source, combined with the Astral Express’s navigational charts. I’m honestly astonished that all the components managed to harmonize so seamlessly. Maybe Otto was on to something when he said the design might have been intentional….”

“But the Cosmic Juggernaut can’t create any new star rails,” Entropy’s voice came from the left. “Doesn’t that mean we can’t travel to any unexplored worlds?”

“Yes, that is a bit of a problem,” Herta nodded. “Which is why I hope to study the Astral Express’s engines and learn how it’s able to create the star rails. With any luck, I’ll be able to replicate the feature and we can expanded universal connectivity. For now, we already have an extensive chart of the universe to suit our needs. And it’s not like our enemies are able to travel to unexplored worlds any more than we can?”

“Er…enemies?” Karin repeated uncomfortably. “What enemies?”

“…I’ve said too much,” Herta blurted out, suddenly lunging forward to shut off the camera.

“This calls for a celebration!” Herta threw up her arms in cheers. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the lab!”

“As long as they’re grape jelly,” Alhaitham huffed.

“Don’t start this again,” Himeko grimaced.

But their celebration would have to wait as the warning siren above their heads flashed, bathing the room in red as claxon sirens bounced off the walls.

“What’s happening now?” questioned Welt Yang.

“Ugh, it’s probably Paul messing with the buttons again,” Herta groaned, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. “Just ignore it; it’ll turn off in a few seconds.”

“Attention, Herta Station! This is not a false alarm!” Paul the security guy’s voice wailed through the loudspeakers. “Repeat, this is not a false alarm! There are intruders on the station and they’re – wait, are those flaming skeletons? H-Hey, stay back! I’ve got pepper spray! But…you don’t have eyes. Hey, hey, let’s talk about – AAAAAHHH!”

A haunting death rattle followed the bloody wail, joined by what sounded like the crackling of fire. Then – silence.

Everyone in the room looked up at the loudspeaker, blinking dimly, then everyone craned their heads towards Herta, who crossed her arms from a grumpy expression.

“Aw man,” Herta complained. “Does this mean no peanut butter and jelly party?”

“Obviously!” Kiana yelled.

“This is the second time in two trips where the Astral Express Crew where this station has been invaded,” Himeko grimaced, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Exactly how many times has this happened before?”

Diary Interview: The Herta

(Invasion Record)

“How many times has this station been attacked?” Coralie asked off-screen.

“More times than I care to admit,” Herta answered unhelpfully.

“Sounds like someone should do something about this,” said Otto with unmasked amusement. “Before more people end up getting hurt.”

“Let me guess: someone other than you?” Kiana glared at him.

“Someone has to stay behind and watch the train,” said Otto, gesturing to the Cosmic Juggernaut still stationed inside the loading. “This invasion could, in fact, just be a distraction for the enemy to see our only means of transport.”

“Admittedly, that makes sense,” Alhaitham agreed, walking over to standing beside Prometheus. “Can you lockdown the area until the danger has passed.”

“Initiating lockdown sequence,” Prometheus replied. A few moments later, the observation windows were sealed off by heavy steel doors. “Lockdown complete. That should be able to hold off any intruders for now.”

“We, on the other hand, have other things to worry about,” said Himeko, touching Kiana’s arm to get her attention. “The kids are scattered throughout the station.”

“If I recall correctly,” Welt Yang hummed, pushing up his glasses, “Griseo, Sunday, Firefly, and Rice Cakes, went to meet Miss Varesa in the cafeteria, and Helia, Coralie, and Entropy took Karin to the simulation chambers.”

“We still don’t know where Luka and Arkria is,” Himeko said worriedly.

“Luka can take care of himself; it’s the kids I’m worried about,” said Kiana, frowning while glaring at Otto. “Since some people aren’t going to help, Mr. Yang, you and Himeko head down to the cafeteria and find Firefly and the others. I’ll head down to the simulation rooms and look for Helia’s group. If you see Arkria, send her my way. They’ll be safer with me.”

“Agreed,” Welt Yang nodded.

“Well, you all have fun with that,” said Herta leisurely, waving over her shoulder as she headed out the door.

“You’re not going to help?” Himeko questioned in disbelief. Surely the owner of the space station would feel a little concern about her personal property being invaded.

“I have something else to take care of,” Herta replied unhelpfully. “But feel free to tell me how it turns out when it’s over.

The self-important genius didn’t hear their indignant cries as she closed the door behind her and went her merry way toward the elevator. She stepped inside and pressed the button to the Storage Zone. It’s only after the doors close that her happy-go-lucky smile sours.

“Attention, Herta Station! This is not a false alarm! Repeat, this is not a false alarm! There are intruders on the station and they’re – wait, are those flaming skeletons? H-Hey, stay back! I’ve got pepper spray! But…you don’t have eyes. Hey, hey, let’s talk about – AAAAAHHH!”

“Uh, oh, wow, okay,” Karin stammered, biting her thumb fearfully as she looked left and right, then quickly grabbed the camera. “Guess I better go. Good luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it!”

She jabbed the buttons with her shaking fingers twice before she finally hit the off button, her ears ringing as the warning sirens blared throughout the halls. Karin stowed the camera away in her bag as Entropy (still as literally as transparent as ever) came out of the  testing room flanked by Helia and Coralie. The two A-Rank Valkyries immediately faced either direction of the hallway with their weapons drawn like trained professionals.

“North corridor clear!” Helia announced, lowering her guard slightly.

“Same over here,” said Coralie, shoulder her rocket hammer.

“Karin, are you okay?” Entropy asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” said Karin, though she was clearly frantic. “What’s happening? Are we under attack? Are we in danger?”

“Nah, this is standard Herta Station canon event,” Coralie waved nonchalantly. “Though the flaming skeletons are new.”

“This is no time for joke, Coralie,” Helia chastised her partner. “We don’t understand the full scope of the situation just yet. Our best move would be to head back to the train platform and wait for the rest of the crew.” She walked in front of the other. “I’ll take point. Coralie, you cover the rear.”

“We could at least wait until we’re in our room for that,” said Coralie teasingly.

“CORALIE!” Helia yelped, her face flaming-red. Karin and Entropy hid their snorts behind their hands, agitating her further. “Ugh, whatever! Just protect Karin until we reach the train!”

“Hey, I can fight, too!” Karin complained.

“We still don’t know the capabilities of your powers,” Entropy argued. “On top of that, you were fight simulacra for sixty-eight minutes straight. You need to recuperate, then you can fight.”

“You heard her,” said Coralie, giving Karin a nudge with her hammer from behind. “Now get going. Mush.”

“The dog girl telling me to mush…,” Karin grumbled.

But nevertheless, the group raced down the hallway – Helia taking the lead with Karin between them and Coralie trailing behind, dragging her rocket hammer across the floor. Entropy, Karin noticed, she to have blipped out of existence after they started running; Helia reassured her that Entropy simply warped back to the Luoxing super computer. Karin wished she had that kind of skill; would save her a whole lot of running.

The trio ran down six different corridors without running into any trouble until they made it to the elevator room. Helia caught herself before she nearly ran into the elevator doors and jammed her finger on the button over thirty times in desperation, muttering “come on, come on,” under her breath. Coralie faced the corridor they came from with her rocket hammer ready. She didn’t see or hear anyone coming.

“I think we might be in the clear here,” Coralie said over her shoulder.

“Don’t let your guard down until after we make it to the train,” said Helia pointed, still furiously pressing the call button as she watched the elevator number go down.

“Maybe we won’t run into anything,” Karin suggested optimistically. “I mean, this space station is huge. What are the chance were gonna – “

“Don’t say it!” Helia and Coralie yelled simultaneously, making Karin jump with a squeak.

The elevator soon arrived with a sharp ding! Helia, Coralie, and Karin waited until the doors opened, then reeled back in unison with varying expressions of shock and panic.

The elevator was filled to the brim with at least twenty black skeletons with skulls swathed in blue flames. Comically, the skeletons all turned their heads towards the girls together and several did a double take. A long period of awkward silence passed between them. One of the skeletons in front poked its neighbor then gestured to the girls with its thumb. The other skeleton shrugged like he didn’t have a clue and just waved uncaringly at the Valkyries like he was saying “Yeah, might as well.” The skeletons then flooded out of the elevator, lunging at the girls with raspy battle cries.

“You just had to say something!” Coralie complained as she lifted her hammer.

“I’m sorry!” Karin apologized.

“Get back!” Helia yelled, pushing Karin away as several skeletons tripped and fell at their feet, causing more skeletons to trip over them, forming a dogpile of black bones. Coralie activated the rocket of her hammer, spinning around once before striking the skeleton pile with a sideways swing. The skeletons clattered against the wall, breaking like glass and littering the floor with their bones.

The few that weren’t in the pile shuffled like zombies towards the girls with their bony fingers outstretched. Helia took aim and shot the flaming skulls off of each other their bony shoulders. The headless skeletons raised their hands where their skulls used to be, somehow giving off the impression of shock despite having no facial features. They got down on their hands and knees fumbling around the floor looking for their heads. The skulls were snapping their teeth like they were trying to give their bodies directions.

“Like something out of a cartoon,” Coralie commented.

“Uh, guys, they’re starting to get back up,” Karin announced, noticing the scattered bones starting to piece themselves back together.

“What do you expect? They’re skeletons,” Coralie commented.

“This calls for a tactical retreat,” said Helia, sniping the head off a skeleton that had just recovered its skull. The skeleton put its fists on its hips as if saying ‘Are you kidding me?’ “See if we can find another way up. There has to be more than one elevator on this floor.”

Karin and Coralie doubled back the way they came; Helia shot off a few more heads before sprinting after them. But as Karin turned down the second hallway, she ground her heels to a stop, causing Coralie to run into the former courier and fall on her back.

“What’s the hold up?” Coralie questioned, sitting up.

Karin didn[‘t answer, but pointed ahead. Coralie tilted her head to the left, Helia peeked over the courier’s shoulder, and both of them blanched. Another group of flame-headed skeletons were blocking the hallway head, though she seemed comedically lost. Several of them were looking at the director like it was written in a foreign language – one even popped off their head and looked at it upside down. Unfortunately, one noticed the girls out opf its periphery (which was weird, because it didn’t have eyes) and pointed at them with a garbled shout. Helia popped its head off like a carnival game, which only reaffirmed their position.

“Nice one, straight-a dummy,” Coralie grumbled. She smacked several approaching skeletons with a single swing, popping their heads off, then used their skulls like croquet balls to knock down half a dozen more. “Now what do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Helia admitted, backing away slowly while sniping the skeletons. “I don’t know the layout the area.”

“Well, we gotta do something fast,” Coralie warned, toppling another row of skeletons with her hammer, then looked back. “They’re coming at us from both sides.”

Karin spun around and saw the bony army they had been escaping from clogging the hallway. Coralie shoved Karin against the wall and swung her hammer to knock down the first row, but more just kept coming. And with Helia making no progress on the other side, they were thoroughly trapped.

“This isn’t working!” Coralie yelled, jumping back as one of the skeletons lunged at her.

“I can see that!” Helia snapped, backing up while headshotting several enemies.

“If you have an escape plan, now would be a good time!” said Coralie.

“I’m working on it!” shouted Helia.

And Karin, caught in between the two, was close to having a full blown meltdown. Her head swiveled from right to left so fast, she thought it might come unscrewed. They were in a long stretch of hallway with no doors and enemies closing in on either side. They were royally fu –

Use the window.

“Huh?” Karin muttered out loud, looking around. She heard a voice – sounded like it was right in her ear – but it didn’t sound like Helia or Coralie; too softspoken. “Did you say something?”

“A little busy at the moment, Karin!” Helia shouted, ducking when a skeleton took a swipe at her.

Use the window, the voice spoke again. Above your head. Enter the room and take the opposite door to the other hall.

Karin didn’t know who the voice belonged to or where it came from, but as Karin stepped away from the wall and looked up, she noticed a row of narrow windows near the top.

“Helia! The windows!” Karin shouted, pointing them out to the markswoman.

Helia jumped away from another skeleton, then followed Karin’s finger to the top of the wall. Relief broke on her face when she saw them.

“Karin, you life-saver!” Helia complimented while shooting another skeleton in the head. “Coralie, we’re getting out of here! Get ready to jump!”

Coralie, who had dodged a swipe from one of the enemy, looked back at Helia, then to the upper windows. It took a few seconds for it to click, and she nodded resolutely at her partner.

Helia whipped her crossbow at the upper window and shot a single bolt, shattering the glass with a loud crash! Helia immediately ran at the wall, kicking off it for extra height, and grabbed the edge of the sill with one hand before pulling herself up. Helia dragged herself through the window, which was a little difficult with her ample bosom, wincing as a few remaining shards cut her skin. But she managed to pull herself through and Karin heard her land inside with a thump.

Karin went next, moving to the back wall for a running start, and leapt forward, catching the windowsill without the added boost. She always knew her parkour skills would come in handy! Karin dragged herself through the window (she didn’t have the same trouble as Helia), but miscalculated her landing and fell on a workbench on her back before rolling over onto the ground.

“You okay?” asked Helia, kneeling next to her.

“Fine; it’s just my spine,” Karin grimaced as Helia helped her sit. “What about Coral – “

BOOM! Helia and Karin snapped their heads up at the echo of a muffled explosion on the other side of the wall. Coralie sailed through the window a moment later, stretching her arms and legs straight like a plank, flew over their heads, and landed in the middle of the room with her arms raised like she was receiving an imaginary cheering section.

“Nailed the landing,” said Coralie with a smug glint in her eye.

“Come on, get up,” Helia tolded Karin, pulling the courier to her feet. “This way.”

They ran to the door on the opposite end of the door. Helia was the first one out, whipping her crossbows left and right cautiously, followed by Coralie, and then Karin. The hallway they came out of was thankfully clear of flaming skeletons.

“It won’t be long before they find their way around,” Helia told them.

“So where do we go now?” asked Coralie.

Go left.

“This way!” Karin yelled, suddenly sprinting down the hallway past Coralie.

“Wha – wait! Karin, hold it!” Helia yelped as she and Coralie ran to catch up with her. Karin was surprisingly fast, able to outpace two well-trained Valkyries. “Do you even know where you’re going?”

“Not a clue!” Karin admitted.

“Then how do you – “

Go right.

“Down here!” Karin shouted, rounding the corner to the right.

Karin had no idea where the voice was coming from, but she felt like it was worth trusting. After all, it did save them from being ripped away by flaming skeletons. Karin followed the voice’s instructions (Left, left, across, right, middle) around the maze of hallways, narrowly avoiding detection from the skeletons looking for them. The voice eventually led them to a door at the end of a long hallway marked with a bright red “EXIT” sign overhead.

“It’s an emergency stairwell,” Helia gasped, taking a moment to catch her breath.

“I think this qualifies as an emergency,” said Coralie, pushing through the door and staring down the long shaft of winding staircases. “We can head down to the train platform from here. Does look like any of the skele-bros have found out about it yet.”

“How did you know this was here?” Helia asked Karin quizzically.

“Would you believe a voice in my head told me?” Karin responded flippantly.

“Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that’s happened,” said Coralie. “C’mon, this way….”

The trio began descending down the stairs (after Coralie broke the lock on the door behind them.)

“I hope everyone else is okay,” Karin hummed worriedly.

“We are not okay!” cried Rice Cake.

The white snake slither her slender body through the air, narrowly slipping through the bony claws of the skeleton army. The flame-headed soldiers stumbled over one another chasing her around the cafeteria, unwittingly running face first into a metal. The leading skeleton craned its head looking up, realizing that the “metal wall” was just Firefly in full SAM armor. Firefly looked down at the bony monster pressing up against her armor…then pulled back her fist and delivered a literal explosive punch that scattered the entire groups bones all over the floor.

“Yeah, that’s what you get!” Rice Cake boasted over Firefly’s shoulder, wiggling her little tail bell at the skeletons. “Don’t go messing with me and my lil’ sister!”

“How am I the little sister?” questioned firefly, turning her head to Rice Cake.

The white snake opened her mouth to respond, but only came out as a yelp before she slithered behind Firefly. The iron soldier snapped her attention back as dozens of skeletons suddenly swarmed her like a black wave. The skeletal army pushed Firefly back by several yards before the iron warrior planted her heels into the floor, cracking the linoleum. Firefly struggled to push back as more and more skeletons added to the pile, becoming a singular driving force with surprising strength despite having no muscles. She could hear her armor creaking ominously and her feet sliding back several inches, scraping the floor.

Then, just as she thought her body was going to give out, a passionate scream echoed through the cafeteria.

“HERO INCOMING!”

Varesa suddenly ran in from the side like a locomotive, tilting her head down as she ran headfirst into the skeletal legion. Like a bowling ball striking the pins, the skeleton swarm was sent flying in all directions, crashing into the walls and littering the floor in black bones.

Varesa threw her hands out to catch herself before she plowed through the window and looked back. Roughly eight or nine skeletons managed to avoid Varesa’s bull rush, but they were quickly dispatched by Firefly.

“Thanks for the help!” Firefly said the Varesa appreciatively.

“No problem!” Varesa smiled proudly.

Firefly turned around and yelled, “How’s the evacuation coming?”

“It could be better!” cried Griseo as she sliced a skeleton in half with her laser sword.

Behind Griseo was a massive crowd of crowd of workers (most unfortunate scientists who missed out on lunch) chaotically trying to make their way through the doors on the opposite end of the cafeteria. When the undead army had flooded the area, many had literally climbed over one another to escape, which expectedly clogged the exit and slowed down evacuation considerably. Sunday, who was the least combat effective in this situation, was regulated to evacuation duty while the girls fought off the invading army.

“Please, everyone, remain calm!” Sunday yelled over the cacophony of frenzied screams. “We’ll get you out safely! But I need everyone to form a single file line – “

But no one was listening; everyone’s rationalities were overwritten with fear.

“There just no end to them!” Griseo complained as she decapitated another skeleton, only to watch it stand up and snap its head back on. “Where did these things even come from, anyway?”

The former Flame Chaser bisected another skeleton diagonally when a second undead lunged at her. Griseo instinctually ducked underneath its outstretched arms, press a hand on its ribcage, and flipped it overhead. Unfortunately, this caused the skeleton to land next to the crowd behind her, where it proceeded to lunge at the nearest scientist. The skeleton tackled the unfortunate researcher, who suddenly exploded in a burst of blue flames, screaming in terror. The blaze quickly died down just as fast as it started, and when the skeleton rose again, the researcher had become another undead just like it.

The two skeletons rounded on the other researchers, but were blasted away by two spheres of light thrown by Sunday.

“Guess that answers your question,” Sunday grimaced.

“So these skeletons are actually people who were killed on this station,” Griseo frowned in disgust. She sidestepped an undead, severing its spine from its hips. “But how did this even start?”

“We shouldn’t be worrying about that now!” yelled Firefly as she and Varesa tackled another group of skeletons. “Just makes sure that can add any more to their ranks!”

“She’s right,” Sunday agreed, then yelled to the panicking crowd. “Everyone, please, remain calm – “

Without warning, the exit exploded and a torrent of blue flames flooded into the cafeteria. Griseo reacted swiftly, diving past Sunday and cleaving the wave of fire in two with her laser sword, then swung her weapon to generate a brief gust than blew out the flames. She was able to save a good number of researchers, all of whom were ducking behind Sunday, but there were just as many lying on the ground, their flesh and sinew eaten away, leaving only piles of ashen bones. Unsurprisingly, those bones gradually came to life, adding to the number of enemies.

But then, the reborn skeletons parted down the middle, bowing their heads in reverence. Someone – a young girl – floated through the wreckage, gently touching down a few feet away from Griseo and Sunday. She patted down the apron of her maid uniform and her blood-red gaze met with the heroes’

Marie the Skullgirl had arrived.

Diary Interview: Peacock

(Bloody Marie)

304 days after the attack on Herta Space Station, Karin wandered around Schicksal Forward Command Base Epsilon, weaving through the frantic crowd of people. Everyone was in a hurry to get to their stations – understandable with the imminent Aeon invasion that would kick off what everyone was calling “the War of the Gods.” Karin’s camera eventually fell on Peacock, the living cartoon that seemed to defy real-world logic.

Peacock was smoking a cigar (and exhaling the smoke through her nose somehow) when looked up and noticed Karim filming her.

“Hey, nice glass ya got there, toots,” said Peacock, speaking like a stereotypical mobster from the roaring 20s. “Be sure to get ma good side, ya hear.”

“You’re Peacock, right?” asked Karin. “From New Meridean, right?”

“That’s ma name; don’t wear it out!” Peacock chuckled. “Ya lookin’ fer an interview, doll face? Cause I gots loads of time. Ya know, before the possible end of the universe.”

“Someone told me you were friends with Marie the Skullgirl,” said Karin. Automatically, Peacock’s expression went from cocky to somber. “I met her, like, a dozen times while I was out in space, but I can’t say I know much about her. I was hoping you might shed some light.”

“Ah, Marie,” Peacock murmured softly, dropper her cigar and snuffing it out with her shoe. “Poor Marie. Ya know, she was always a good kid. Never did anything bad ta anyone, never wanted to hurt anyone neither. Her biggest dream was ta be a maid, ya know. Never understood why, but Marie was Marie and that’s all there was too it. We actually met in the orphanage after the war, and the two of us became thick as thieves in no time.”

“So when did she start…you know, raising an army of flaming skeletons?” asked Karin.

“It was those Medici bastards,” Peacock growled. “Excluding sweet ol’ Filia, the Medici were a buncha evil mooks who kidnapped all the orphans and made them into slaves. I managed to get Marie out by distracting the assholes, but they decided to made an ‘example’ outta me. You know, I didn’t always used to look this way.” She added, stretching out her mechanical limbs.

“And Marie?”

“I know she found the Skull Heart, which is how someone because a Skullgirl, after escapin’,” said Peacock. “

“And the Skull Heart is…?”

“Evil magic god shit – I dunno,” Peacock shrugged. “Basically, anyone who finds it becomes this all powerful demi-god that can all kinds o’ crap, like raisin’ the dead Squigly, or makin’ someone immortal like Annie. Can’t tell you how Marie found it, though. All I knew is that the next time we met, she was the Skullgirl and I was made into an Anti-Skullgirl weapon. Even though she was technically on the bad side, she was only doing it because those Medici jerks kept getting’ away with their crimes. Filia had the right idea turnin’ her sleazy grandpa into street pizza.”

“She killed a lot of people of Herta Station,” Karin pointed out.

“Eh, who hasn’t committed genocide?” Peacock shrugged nonchalantly.

“So, she became the Skullgirl out of revenge,” Karin summarized. “But if the Medici are dead now, why is she still a Skullgirl? And why is she would for Kyuusyou and the Round Table?”

“Honestly, toots, I wish I knew,” said Peacock, pulling out another cigar and lighting it with a flamethrower. “I wanna believe that she’s still on the right side of things. But either way, you best not get on her bad side. Friend or not, there’s a reason she’s called ‘Bloody Marie.’”

“There is nowhere let for you to run,” said Marie ominously. “Join my army, or be swept away like dirt.”

“I think she might be the leader,” Sunday whispered to Griseo.

“What was your first clue?” Griseo hissed back. “The undead army, or the ominous threat?”

“You don’t have to be so mean all the time,” Sunday pouted.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Griseo apologized. “But she looks pretty strong.”

“Think we can take her?” asked Sunday.

“I’ll say this one last time,” said Marie impatiently. “Join me or die.”

“Here’s my answer!”

Marie turned her head slowly and watched with an annoyed expression as Firefly rocketed across the cafeteria, her fist clenched to strike. The armored avenger punched Marie across the face, generating a large fiery explosion that caused the surrounding skeletons to fly. Firefly remained in place with her fist extended, waiting for the smoke to clear to see the extent of the damage she caused.

Then…she made a strangled gasping noise.

Marie was still standing with half of her face torn off like a cheap latex mask, exposing the polished white skull underneath. Firefly leaned back, startled, as the skin and hair reformed like nothing had happened. Marie’s eyes turned up to meet Firefly’s through her visor and the two of them stared for several awkwardly silent moments.

Then Marie pulled her fist back, summoning a giant skeletal fist, and punched Firefly with a booming clang! The armored warrior was sent hurtling across the linoleum floor, crashing through a dozen tables, and slammed into the opposite wall hard enough to dent the metal. Firefy slumped with a painful groan, holding her helmet. Rice Cake yelped in a panic and dived into Varesa’s cleavage for safety. Griseo and Sunday craned their heads slowly from Firefly to Marie; the latter folding her hand primly in front while the giant bony fist remained hovering next to her.

“…Yeah, we might be in trouble,” Griseo commented.

Welt Yang and Himeko emerged from the elevator on the same floor, but unfortunately on the opposite side from the cafeteria. Himeko was the first out, darting out of the elevator before the doors finished opening.

“Himeko, wait!” Welt Yang called out, struggling to keep up with her, his cane clacking against the floor. “I’m not as young as a I used to be!”

“I can’t wait – the kids are in danger!” Himeko argued, rounding onto her senior impatiently.

“You understand that most of them are full-grown adults, don’t you?” questioned Welt Yang, finally reaching her and pushing up his glasses. “All of whom are capable of taking care of themselves. Perhaps even more efficiently than us.”

“They’re still kids to me,” said Himeko, glaring. “And as the ones who brought them aboard, we have a responsibility to protect them.”

“I understand that,” said Welt Yang calmly, resting a hand on her shoulder. “But we will be no help to anyone if we rush in bullheaded and separated. We don’t know who the enemy is or what they are capable of. Our best plan of action is to search or our crewmates in a calm and orderly fashion so we don’t accidentally miss them. And should we encounter the enemy, we approach them with a level head – observation, study, and then reaction. You understand?”

Himeko breathed in deeply through her nose, then exhaled through her mouth. Her shoulders slumped as the tension was metaphorically lifted.

“You’re right – approach this rationally,” she nodded. “Sorry. Sometimes I lose my head when it comes to those kids.”

“Just like someone else I knew,” Welt Yang smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry; we’ll find them. Now, the cafeteria should be just down this – “

They managed to walk two steps before they are suddenly stopped by a transparent wall of red energy suddenly rising from the floor, completely sealing the path forward. Welt Yang looked at the wall, his mind running a thousand miles per minute, then twisted around and dashed back the way they came. Unfortunately, another red barrier appeared in his path. The old veteran couldn’t stop himself in time, hitting the barrier, and was summerly repelled off his feet, hitting the floor with his back.

“Welt, are you okay?” Himeko gasped, kneeling to help her mentor-figure.

“I’m fine,” Welt Yang grimaced. Despite his words, he was leaning heavily against his cane as Himeko helped him up. “What is this?”

“It’s the station’s defense system,” answered Himeko, approaching the barrier cautiously. “It’s supposed to catch would-be these and stop invaders by trapping them in high-impact kinetic field barriers.”

“And yet no one in this station thought to use the other dozen times it was invaded,” Welt Yang grumbled.

“But how did – “

Himeko’s voice was lost in her throat when she heard the clacking of heels against metal. The redheaded woman leaned her head to view the side hall beyond the barrier. Her expression quickly contorted to anger as Kafka appeared around the corner, a pleased smile on her lips and a tiny remote in her gloves hand. Kafka walked up to Himeko, meeting the woman’s heated gaze with her mirthful one. The way Himeko was glaring, Kafka could tell she wanted to strangle her if not for the barrier between them.

“Security in this place somehow always gets worse whenever I visit,” Kafka hummed amusingly, waving the remote in her hand. “I mean, who in their right mind just leaves the controls to the station’s security just lying around on a bench in the break room.”

“Kafka…,” Himeko hissed.

“Yes, love?” Kafka replied playfully.

“Don’t call me that!” Himeko snapped uncharacteristically. She slammed her hands against the barrier and was repulsed a few inches, stumbling slightly. “You don’t get to call me that!”

“Still upset, I see,” said Kafka evenly. “Not that I can blame you. What happened was…unfortunate, but necessary.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Himeko leered, literally spitting in Kafka’s face. Or would have, if not for the barrier.

Kafka’s smirk fell slightly, but quickly curled back up again.

Diary Interview: Himeko

(Himeko and Kafka)

“So what’s the deal with you and that Kafka lady?” Karin asked Himeko, who had been enjoying a leisure cup of tea in the Parlor Car. The redhead’s kind expression quickly soured at the name. “Is there something going on between – “

“No comment,” Himeko replied shortly.

“But a lot of rumors are going around that you two used to – “

“I said, no comment!” Himeko repeated impatiently, reaching out to snatch the camera from Karin.

“H-HEY, WAIT! STOP THAT! YOU’RE GONNA – “

“What is this, Kafka?” questioned Welt Yang, pulling Himeko back by her shoulder and stepping up to the barrier. “Is this part of Elio’s ‘script?’”

“You’ll be surprised to know that this isn’t Elio’s play,” said Kafka calmly. “He set the script, certainly, but the other actors don’t feel the need to play their roles like I do.”

“So it’s the Round Table,” said Welt Yang suspiciously. “You’re working with them.”

“Surprised you know about that,” hummed Kafka. “Yes, we’re working with them – even have a nice little seat on their council. Though that doesn’t mean much when most of just take orders from – well, I shouldn’t say. Wouldn’t want to spoil anything.”

“What are you planning, Kafka?” Himeko questioned. “What are you after.”

“Sorry, but my lips are sealed on the matter,” Kafka replied with a mirthful smile.

“Then what do you plan on doing with us?” asked Welt Yang.

“Nothing,” said Kafka, shrugging. “I’m just here to keep you out of the way until my companions finish their parts. Trapping you with the station’s defense systems was a spur of the moment decision. Keeps you both docile and stops Mr. Yang from using that little tool in his cane, which endanger the lovely Himeko is used.”

Welt Yang glared, but said nothing.

“Now, I must be off,” said Kafka, walking away nonchalantly, stopping to set the remote on the ground a few feet away from the barrier. “You two get comfortable in there. I’m sure someone will come along to let you out. Of course, by that time, we’ll already be gone.”

“Kafka, you better let us out of here!” Himeko yelled as the feme fatale walked around the corner. “Kafka, get back here! KAFKA!”

Kiana ripped through the skeleton army like they were little more than tissue paper. With her left hand swathed in flames and her right coated in lightning, she bolted straight down the middle of the group, coming out the other side in the blink of an eye. The undead army was launched in opposite directions, smashing against the walls and collapsing in piles of ashen bones. Kiana waved her hands, flickering the powers away, when she noticed the bones slowly moving together, beginning to reform again.

“Guess you can’t kill what’s already dead,” Kiana commented. “In that case….”

Kiana stomped her foot on the ground and a sheet of ice formed where she stepped, spreading through the corridor. In moments, the entire hall resembled the inside of a freezer, complete with icicles hanging from the ceiling. And the black bones were literally frozen stiff.

“That’s one problem outta the way,” Kiana hummed as she carried on down the corridor. “Helia and Coralie should be in one of these simulation rooms. Wish they would’ve left a note or….”

Suddenly, Kiana felt a prickling sensation; like the hairs on the back of her neck rising up. It was a bone-chilling sensation that had nothing to do with the frozen hall. Kiana hasn’t felt something like this since she first encountered Kevin  almost a decade ago – and that was before she became a goddess. For something to cause this kind of reaction in her present state would have to be….

The Herrscher of Finality whipped around urgently, staring a side passage with her hands tensed up, reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there.

Kiana heard it before she saw it – the clacking of a cane against the floor. At first, she assumed it was Welt Yang, but Mr. Yang never incided a reaction like this before. As the clacking got closer, a caped figure appeared around the corner at the end and stood in center of the hall, standing poise like a wealthy aristocrat attending a formal party.

Houraiji Kyuusyou.

A period of tense silence passed between the two legendary figures, each one gauging the other, until Kiana finally broke the silence.

“What are you?” she asked.

“That’s your first question?” said Kyuusyou, looking genuinely surprised. “Not ‘who are you?’ That’s a little rude.”

“You’re not like anyone else I met,” said Kiana.

“Well, I do consider myself pretty special,” said Kyuusyou, sweeping her bangs dramatically. “But thanks for the confirmation.”

“You’re not a pathstrider or a Valkyrie,” Kiana analyzed. “Your don’t have a vision or a stigmata. You’re not a Herrscher, an Archon, or an Emanator. You’re sure as hell aren’t an Aeon, or a Sugar, one of SA’s creations. So what are you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Kyuusyou playfully, striking a fantastical pose. “I’m the chosen one!”

“…So you’re an old hag with chuuni tendencies – got it,” Kiana sighed exasperatedly.

“Hey, I look good for my age!” Kyuusyou cried, stomping her foot childishly.

“So what do you want?” Kiana questioned seriously. “Are you responsible for all this?”

“Nah, my buddies are the ones doing all the work,” said Kyuusyou. “I’m just here for one thing….” She pointed dramatically. “You, Kiana Kaslana.”

“What do you want with me?” questioned Kiana, leering suspiciously.

“There was a Kiana Kaslana in my branch of the Tree once upon a time,” said Kyuusyou. “She was…a complicated person, but in the end ascended beyond my world and beyond the Tree itself. You’re the first Kiana since her to have transcended beyond the Finality, and I just wanna see how you match up.”

“If that’s what this is about,” said Kiana, moving into a crouch, “then you got it!”

Kiana lunged down the corridors swift as lightning, encroaching upon Kyuusyou in half a second. With a handful of flames, she struck at the elderly chuuni. But to the Herrscher’s astonishment, Kyuusyou raised her cane and blocked the attack. The collision of two opposing forces generated a shockwave that shattered the ice and cracked every window on their level. Though Kyuusyou was visibly struggling, she was managing hold Kiana back with a slight effort.

“Phew, that was a close one,” said Kyuusyou. “If that’d hit, that would’ve left a nasty bruise. But I’m the chosen one, remember? You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that.”

“Okay, then,” said Kiana, grinning at the offered challenge. “What do you say we take this outside?”

Kyuusyou’s eyes widened in surprise as Kiana suddenly generated high-pressure flames beneath her feet acting as rocket boosters. The Herrscher of Finality pushed through and tackled Kyuusyou, carried her down the hall and smashing through the window into space.

Despite the situation, Kyuusyou looked excited.

“Aw yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about!” she cheered.

 The self-proclaimed chosen one grabbed Kiana by the head, spinning them around so that Kiana was face down as they plummeted at terminal velocity toward the Blue Planet –

Exit now.

“Through here!”

Karin kicked the stairwell exit door open and turned left down the hallway with Helia and Coralie playing keep up. Thank the Aeons there were no flaming skeletons in their way. According to the sign on the wall (written in a language Helia translated for Karin), the train platform was just up ahead.

“We’re almost home free!” Karin cried in relief.

“It amazing we managed to escape the way we did,” Coralie pointed out. “Karin knew exactly where to go, and we avoided all the undead mobs along the way. Almost like she knew exactly where everything was.”

“Yeah, Coralie brings up a good point,” Helia said suspiciously. “How do you know your way around the station. This is your first time here, isn’t it?”

“I told you, it was the voice in my head,” Karin repeated.

“Wait, you were serious about that?” said Coralie, eyes wide as dinner plates. “Helia, I think the pressure has finally gotten to Karin.”

“Hey, I’m not crazy!” Karin argued, shooting a look back over her shoulder. “I heard it before all this, you know! During the training – “

 As they reached the end of the hallway, someone or something appeared from a side corridor and collided with Karin. The former courier felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Karin panicked and started flailing about, kicking her legs wildly and punching the arms holding her up in desperation.

“Hey, let me go, you walking Halloween decoration!” Karin cried. “I’m warning you! I know parkour!”

“Whoa, whoa, easy there,” a masculine yet easygoing voice rang in her ear. “Relax, I’m on your side.”

It took a few seconds for the courier’s mind to process and calm down. It took another few seconds to realize that the arms holding her arm were flesh – well, one of them, at least – and not bone. Karin blinked and looked over her shoulder; Luka smiled with an awkward chuckle.

He was kinda cute, Karin briefly thought.

“Sorry about that,” Luka apologized, setting Karin down on her feet. “Almost ran into each other there. My bad.”

“No, no, it was my fault,” said Karin, unconsciously tucking her hair behind her ear. “Should’ve been looking where I was going.”

“You’re…Luka, right?” Helia stepped forward.

Ah, so that’s his name, Karin thought.

“You’re the new passenger joining us on the Express?” asked Helia.

“Yup, that’s me,” said Luka, flexing his mechanical arm (which seemed rather pointless in perspective.) “Personally recommended by the boss. I’m looking forward to working with you and Miss Kiana.”

“And you’re…Hroptr?” Helia continued inquisitively, looking to Luka’s left. “Miss Arkria.”

Karin nearly jumped when she realized that there was standing between her and Luka. She was so quiet, she didn’t even notice Arkria there (then again, she was partially distracted by the good-looking boxer.)

Karin tilted her head to the side as she examined Arkria. She gave off the impression of the stereotypical gothic wallflower you would see in high school dramas (the kind where the actors aren’t really teenagers.) She was hugging a leather-bound book close to her chest, which added a witch aesthetic to her gothic appearance. But the most interesting part (in Karin’s opinion) were the eyes. You see Heterochromia in all kind of shonen anime, but seeing it in real life was something else entirely. They had an odd glistening effect – like a sapphire and a topaz together.

Arkria turned her head away, fidgeting until Karin’s gaze.

“Yup, this is her,” Luka answered, petting the gothic girl with his metal hand; Arkria glowered indignantly. “Our VIP passenger.”

“VIP?” Karin repeated curiously.

“The boss wants her delivered to um…,” Luka struggled to answer for a moment. “The…Lunar Ruins…on…FM2.”

“What’s ‘FM2?’” questioned Coralie.

“No idea,” Luka shrugged cluelessly.

“You’re a big help,” said Coralie sarcastically.

“Do we really have time to be standing around here?” said Arkria impatiently. “There are undead monsters invading the station. Shouldn’t we be heading to the Astral Express for safety?”

“Wait…,” Karin spoke slowly, looking closely at Arkria, who refused to meet the courier’s stare. “That voice…. I remember now. From the training room – “

“Let’s hurry now!” Arkria shouted urgently. “Before they catch up with us!”

“She’s right,” Helia agreed. “Everyone, to the platform!”

“H-hey, wait up!” Karin shouted, running to catch up with them.

Diary Interview: Arkria Hroptr

(Voice in Her Ear)

Arkria was still sitting in her seat from the last video, flipping through her magic book. Himeko offered her a cup of tea cup off-screen. Arkria closed her book, placed it on the table, and accepted the tea delicately.

“So she found out it was you, huh?” asked Himeko off-screen.

“Kind of hard not to when we actually met up,” said Arkria, taking a delicate sip before answering. “I was literally a voice in her ear the whole time she was running. I had to guide her through the whole station to get her to the platform.”

“How did you guide her, by the way?” Himeko questioned inquisitively.

Luka and I went to the security room when everything went down,” Arkira answered, setting her teacup aside. “There were monitors and motion sensors all over the place. I just reached out to her with the Heart of Darkness and told her where to go. Luka and I ran into  her after – literally.”

“Smart girl,” Himeko complimented. “So did you talk to her about your strange connection.”

“Didn’t really have time,” Arkria evasively. “Once we got to the platform, we had a new set of problems….”

The team of five finally came out of the corridors and dashed down the long walkway leading to the train platform, all of them panting their lungs out from the extensive running they’ve been do. But as they arrives on the platform itself, they realized –

“The train’s gone!” Karin shrieked.

“Yes, we can see that,” said Arkria irritably.

“Why is the train gone?” Karin continued screaming.

“Didn’t Himeko say they were taking the Astral Express for upgrades?” Coralie reminded everyone.

“They couldn’t have done it at a worse time,” Helia complained, clicking her tongue in annoyance. “Now what’re we supposed to do?”

All of a sudden, the platform began to tremble.

“Wha – what’s happening?” cried Karin, spinning her arms like windmills to keep her balance. “Is it a space quake?”

“That’s not a real thing!” Arkira snapped.

A giant mechanized hand suddenly arose, gripping the edge of the platform. Another appeared on the opposite side. Next came the body – an armored torso of black and gold disconnected with the other limbs. A head popped out of its spherical body and two burning-red eyes flashed behind the golden faceplate, leering down at the heroes.

“And where do you think you’re going?” they spoke with multiple overlapping voices.

“It’s the Herrscher of Dominance!” Helia recognized, drawing out her crossbows defensively.

“Just when it couldn’t get any worse,” Coralie grumbled as she summoned her hammer.

“Make this ease on yourselves,” the Herrscher of Dominance threatened. “Hand over the witch, and I might spare you.”

The witch, Karin thought curiously. Was she talking about Arkria. She certainly seemed like a witch from a certain perspective, but Karin wondered what made her so important enough for a giant-ass robot to come chasing after her.

Thankfully, Luka threw out her mechanical arm to shield her, and yelled defiantly, “You want her? You’re gonna have to go through me!”

“You mean us,” said Helia as she and Coralie moved in to cover Arkria.

“Fine by me,” said the Herrscher of Dominance as she rose to her full intimidating stature. “I love it when they do things the hard way!”

Diary Interview: Karin Mered

(To Be Continued)

Karina shuffled the camera around for a bit as the camcorder flicked on and started recording. She was off to one side of the platform facing the camera toward herself. The blurred outlines of Luka, Helia, and Coralie fighting the Herrscher of Dominance could faintly be seen over her shoulders in the background.

“Well, this isn’t exactly how I imagined my first stop going,” Karin spoke to the camera. “I was kinda hoping for a tutorial before jumping into the cosmic shonen adventure. But I guess it’s kind of a sink-or-swim thing in these types of situations.

Learned a lot of things today. About my powers, about some of the passengers, and some of the freaky ass enemies we’re going up against. But the whole experience has left me with even more questions as well. Like, what’s the deal with that Hroptr girl, and how she talking in my head. I know it’s her, because I recognize her from that time in the training room. Wonder why no one else could hear her. And why’re the bad guys after her? Is she really a witch? And why do we need to take her to some ruins at the FM2 place – “

“Look out!”

Karin looked over her should and quickly ducked as Luka went flying over her head with a mighty crash.

“Right, probably not the best time for this,” Karin winced. “I should probably get back to it. Good Luck, Karin – you’re gonna need it.”

Acheron Quest #8: Shoulda Taken that Left Turn