"Seele," Rozaliya says. She steps in front of you, and puts her hands on your shoulders. Her eyes are incredibly serious. "You're the last one. Out of everyone from the orphanage, we're the only three left. If we're going to die, we're going to die together. We're not going to get in your way, but you're not getting rid of us. You hear me?"
Liliya nods.
"Yeah," she says. "We're not letting go that easy."
You stare into their eyes, then nod. In truth, there's a lot you could say to try to convince them. You could guilt-trip them, explain how horrible you'll feel if they get hurt, but that... that would be far too unfair. They feel the same way, and...
It's comforting. Having them here.
"Alright," you say. "I guess I don't get a choice."
Rozaliya, serious expression breaking, gives you a hug. Liliya follows, and you smile as warmth fills your chest. They're trying to make up for lost time. It's nice.
ooOOoo
Your parents died during the second Honkai eruption.
You don't remember them, of course. You were a baby at the time, and your first clear memory is of your Matushka, in the orphanage, telling you off for making the twins cry. Even today, you remember how unfair that felt; how unfair it was that Roza and Liliya were so much better actors than you, despite being smaller. You were probably five years old at the time.
You don't recall who actually stole the cookies, but you bet it was Roza.
It's always a safe bet to blame Roza.
Your next clear memory, however, is of sharing cookies with the twins after they found you hiding in your toy chest, and that's one of your fondest memories. Not because it's the happiest, or the funniest, or for any truly worthwhile reason. Just because it's the first you have of the twins, your sisters and best friends for most of your life, and it was so very--
So completely--
So utterly *Roza*.
Even back then, Liliya was always the quiet one. She's Rozaliya's little sister, but that's not why she's a centimeter shorter and always tired. They're the same age, after all.
--
No, it's because of the lack of good cookies.
You were an orphan, after all. The cookies were probably stale.
Stale enough to stunt Liliya's growth, at least according to your Matushka. And she would know.
Lucky for you, you're a good thief and you learned from the best. To this day, nobody can beat your record at the Orphanage of Scared Children. You ate well, so now you've grown tall.
ooOOoo
"Roza, what are you *saying!*" you demand, staring at her in disbelief. "Don't teach Veliona nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense." She pouts. "Liliya never got enough cookies."
"That... is because Roza-idiotka ate them all," Liliya says.
You feel the warmth settle into your heart. God, you love these two.
"Eh. So, it's a little late, but welcome to the family," Rozaliya tells Veliona. "Your first task is to steal some cookies, or other baked goods. Your second task is to bring them to me."
"Baked goods?" Veliona asks, raising an eyebrow. Oh, she's having fun. "What kind?"
"Doesn't matter, just some for me to sample. I may be a little addicted to cookies. I'm a growing girl with a fast metabolism."
Certainly two of these things is true. You smile, but it quickly fades. The thing is-- and you didn't want to stress this-- that Liliya isn't exactly healthy, and your youngest sister has been sick, on and off, ever since you first saw her with the augmentations. More 'on' than 'off' over the last year. She seems fine right now, but...
No. You don't want to think about this. Sure, she's a bit sickly, but it's not going to matter. It rarely extends beyond falling asleep early in the evening.
You'll find some cookies later; there's bound to be some on the ship. For now--
"I'll do my best to take care of them," Vel says, sensing your mood. Her own smile fades a little, but just a little. "Them, and you."
"Vel, you don't need to--"
"I'll do my best to take care of them," she says again, more forcefully than before. You're not sure what to make of it.
"Okay." You nod.
Vel looks around at your friends, smiling a little. "We'll take care of them," she repeats one last time, before turning on her heel and looking at the rifts. You watch her, sensing her mood. She feels... Determined. Maybe a little dark, even. Nothing new about that, only, it feels different than usual.
Warmer.
She's changing. That's got to be a good thing, right?
"We'd better get started," you say. "Stay back a little, okay?"
Liliya nods. Good, at least you won't have to worry about the twins, like, accidentally falling in. You're worried enough already, and though Veliona doesn't show it, you think so is she. This isn't going to kill you. It's still... scary. You've never done anything like it before.
"We'll be fine," Vel says. "Don't worry so much."
Don't worry, she says. Like that's going to happen. Vel looks away, focusing on the rifts. The air around them shimmers and vibrates, threatening to tear your eyes apart.
You should probably start working too.
"I'll see you in a bit," you say, and step inside her.
It's like being hugged. That's the main impression you have, whenever you're one person and Vel is taking the lead. She isn't always *nice*, but it's impossible to mistake her for someone who doesn't care. It's comfortable.
You can sense the rifts now. They're not alive, exactly--they're just part of the ship, but they're broken. Each rift is a place where another reality tried to overwrite yours, and was only partially rejected. It happens more in the air, you think, because air is just air regardless of world.
Vel walks up to the closest rift.
It's a flaw. A place, seen from here, where the concept of 'place' grows vague. Vel and you have a rapid, mental discussion, and you settle on trying to smooth it out by overwriting it with the concept of 'place' from a random segment of air right above you. You can do that, you think, because you're a lot more real than both the Hyperion, and the bubble universe it's collided with here. If a bubble is what it is. You're not sure.
Kiana just has to point at it and will it, but she's cheating. The Core of Void does all the work. Not that you'd want to borrow that cheat code, necessarily...
You're about to touch it, when it changes. It shimmers, the colors moving and reorganizing themselves eagerly. It's not just a rip in reality, now--it's a painting. An winter paradise in the countryside, with sunbeams shining through trees from above.
You draw back, alarmed. Vel does, you mean. A trap? No, that makes no sense. Could it be...
You're about to investigate further, when suddenly, it changes again. This time, it's not a change in the rift, but rather the world inside it that's changed.
The gentle sunlight has turned red, and a horrible, burning acid falls from above. The... painting changes rapidly, monsters -- honkai beasts -- materializing from nothing.
It seems like...
It can't be a memory.
= = =
As usual, the answer is obvious once you see it.
[ ] Destroy it.
[ ] Keep watching.
[ ] Write-in?
