Seele Vollerei: The end of reality, and what came after.

Baughn said:

<Baughn> Short answer: Yes, any colour is possible. Long answer–
<Veliona> Light gets tired and stretched.
<Baughn> This is technically true.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I was looking over earlier parts of the story, and came across this. Now possibly it's all really obvious, but in case it isn't, the way Veliona colours her hair is:

- The inside of her body is a high energy environment. The air she breathes breaks down, turning into assorted exotic particles which are only stable in the metastable configuration of physical laws she usually uses to interact with reality.

(She has a functional, biological body. It's not clear how, and it remains a puppet.)

- The majority of the particles are collected and discarded, or else used for power generation.

- A certain subset is collected and channeled up to the crown of her head, where these relatively safe high-energy particles enter the innermost, transparent layer of her hair.

(This isn't done in physical space. They use an adjacent possibility for this sort of logistics.)

- By introducing a measure gradient in her hair, she drastically reduces the speed of light in said hair. This means she can use relatively safe particles. Just a fun aside.

This process is what produces the cheerful blue glow characteristic of Seele's hair, and also of unshielded nuclear reactors. They assure me the final radiation dose of someone hugging them in their sleep is not high enough to measurably increase their lifetime risk of cancer.

In Veliona's case, there's final post-processing step using an intense gravitational gradient to shift the Cherenkov spectrum down towards the infrared side of the spectrum.

Lesson over!

<Veliona> We had a lot of time on our hands, okay?

Roza and Liliya had already made their way back to the village, explained to Annie and Pip what had happened, and–

Rubia wished she could simplify what had happened, but it wasn't really possible. It was complicated. Her little sister's friends were complicated. The twins were complicated, a lot more than she'd realised last time she'd met them. Life was complicated, in a way her sister's memories hadn't covered. And deciding what to do about the children had been an adventure in itself. In her refined adventuress' opinion, it was not much helped by having the twins along.

Right now, as they made their way out of the village and into the surrounding tanglewood, the two little demons were still bickering like children.

"Hey, Annie. Your mom is dead, but we stored her soul in this box. Wanna take it?" Roza looked askance at Lili. "Was that how you wanted to tell them?"

Liliya rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up," she told Roza. While—Rubia noted—levering herself over the top of a boulder as if gravity were a suggestion for other folks. Since Rubia herself was flying, and had no trouble keeping that up, the folks in question would have to be the villagers who weren't coming along. She didn't want them dead, after all.

The two girls were making a bit of a spectacle, but it wasn't a bother. It was actually rather fun.

"We dunno how or if she'll ever wake up again, and we're the only ones with a prayer, so why don't you stay behind and hope we come back some day? Oh, and we'll take her with us."

"That's not how I was going to say it!"

They hopped over a not-so-small stream, Roza stopping on the other side to glare–

Rubia corrected herself. The diminutive girl wasn't glaring at her sister. She was grinning, and it was a look that Rubia knew well. She'd worn it often enough to know that her best option was to stay out of this.

"You might as well have, Lili-idiotka. It's a good thing I'm here to make sure you don't go off and do anything stupid."

"Like when you spied on big sis on her date?"

"I didn't spy! I was–"

"In a pit, with copious tentacles, as I recall. Roza-idiotka."

"I definitely enjoyed seeing you pulled in ten seconds after. Idiotka."

"I was behind a wall! How was I supposed to know that Vel could–"

"Idiotka."

They glared at each other. A tree met an untimely demise, as Liliya's hand snapped its trunk. It was thicker than she was, and the trunk fell towards her before she kicked it away. The two of them were still arguing, but they weren't really making any progress.

She looked up at the sky, where clouds were gathering. If she couldn't feel the twins' amusement, she'd be worried. Clouds were nice. They didn't shout. They weren't loud. And she knew, quite well, how hypocritical that sounded, but maybe she could have them help cut firewood later?

"I was trying to help," said the girl.

Rubia's eyes snapped back down. She wasn't sure which one of them had said that. Which was impossible.

"You were trying to be a pain in my ass," said Rozaliya.

"You were trying to be a pain in Bronya's."

They glared at each other a second longer, then burst into laughter.

"You know," said Liliya, "I think she was right. Vel. When she said we're both idiots. That's got to have been Vel."

"You sure are."

"And you." Liliya's voice grew softer, and her tail grabbed Roza's as they kept walking. "Just maybe not today. You're right; I would have bungled it. I'm glad you were there."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"

Lili laughed.

"I really couldn't believe it when Seele tried pretending that was her. I mean, it was kinda funny, but–"

"Pit of tentacles."

"Hundreds of them."

"She was stuttering. Veliona wasn't."

"For real though. What do we do about Pip and Annie?"

They both looked at Rubia. She shrugged.

"I'll take care of them. You two just try to be kids; you've done enough for them already. They've got an uncle in the village, but I bet they'll want to stick close to their mother. So I'll bring them back to the Hyperion with me when we go. Their little sister has a better chance that way as well."

"Okay," said Roza.

Lili seemed to struggle, but eventually nodded.

"Okay. You're coming back with us?"

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Ruby grinned, ignoring the creeping horror in the back of her mind. "I'm not so childish that I'd forget where I came from. Besides, I have some stuff to do. Back on the Hyperion, not here. Gotta check on Aisha too, I'm sure she misses me. I don't suppose..." She trailed off, and her grin faded. "Have you seen Ayesha? Or any of the other kids?"

Roza shook her head.

"No, sorry."

"I figured. I'm sure she'll be okay. Sora wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"That's true."

The conversation stalled, and Rubia found herself wondering if she should have left well enough alone. Her friends were important, but so was the rest of the world. She'd been away a long time. She doubted Ayesha would even recognise her anymore,and her own feelings...

She sighed.

"Let's get going," she said. "We're running out of time."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's hurry, before the storm hits."

The two girls continued to bicker as they walked, but it was nothing but entertainment for the two of them. Rubia's mind wandered. Ayesha, even though she was just ten, had been one of her best friends; she had a real talent for dragging people down to her own level, then beating them with experience, and she'd also had a talent for making Rubia forget fifty thousand years of Hua's memories.

She didn't suppose there'd ever be more of those games, but they remained some of her most precious memories. They always would.

She wondered if her sister had ever been like that. Carole sure had, for those few precious years when nothing bad was happening. Come to think of it, hadn't the old lady had a friend who looked very similar to her? Back when she was a teenager. Acted it too. The language had changed, but she was sure it had been...

"Where's Seele?" Roza asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Ruby looked up at the sky.

"Somewhere," she said. "I'm sure she'll be around."

It was better than admitting she hadn't the faintest clue how those two worked. Seele was a mystery. Ruby was the Herrscher of literally-understanding-people, and yet she hadn't the foggiest. They didn't even register as alive.

She lagged behind the twins, giving them another glance now and then.

Try as she might, she couldn't tell the difference between them with her powers. It was as if they were both the same person, split into two different parts.

It worried her. And that was yet another conversation she had to have with Theresa.

.oOOo.

"Um, Vel?"

You'd landed in a crater. You were standing on the edge, staring at the mirror-polished surface of what was a perfect hemisphere cut out of the forest floor, your bare toes digging into crumbling dirt. You had not known you could polish dirt until it shone, and the dissipating smell of ozone suggested you actually couldn't. The surrounding forest was a mess, all rocks and tangled undergrowth, and there was no sign of your friends.

You felt the sun on your entire body. It was warm, but not uncomfortably so. The air was moist, and you could hear trees rustling. It was a great day. Early morning. Whichever.

You were in a clearing, but only because the surrounding jungle had been blown to the ground. You were surrounded by a sea of broken branches and smashed trees, the trunks of which had been shattered to sawdust. Some of the smaller trees were blown clean into the canopy of the jungle.

A haze of Cherenkov radiation rose from the surrounding landscape, harsh enough to rival the midday sun.

Also, you were totally naked.

"Vel? Vel?"

You won't lie. Your voice went a little higher than you thought it should. You stumbled backwards, landing on your butt next to the crater and, incidentally, confirming that you were indeed suffering from a bare everything. Your blush could light a fire.

"I... augh. Those were holographic too. Let me just–"

Vel sounded mortified. You twisted around, spotting the equally naked girl behind you for a fraction of a second before you squeezed your eyes shut. It didn't help—you could still see her, now you knew where to look —but it made you feel a little better.

"Clothes!" you squeaked out.

You'd gone red as a tomato. There was a moment of silence, and then Vel's laughter echoed across the crater. If it was a little too loud, well, that was okay.

"We don't have any! I left everything with Roza! I've got a battlesuit, undersuit included. And a... jersey?"

It was scant relief that your sister seemed just as embarrassed as you. At least no-one else was nearby. Which meant you'd missed, a lot, but it was probably best not to think about that.

.oOOo.

"Okay," Veliona said, a few minutes later. "Um, that looks..."

She'd given you the battlesuit, taking the jeans and jersey for herself without so much as a discussion. You'd have argued, except that when she put them on, she did so with a far-away and entranced look on her face.

"Awful?" you suggested, studying her in the meantime.

They were just simple, cheap-looking things, covered in burn marks and the occasional bullet hole, but they seemed to fit her, despite being too large for her. The jersey had an advertisement on it, for a singer you'd never heard of–

"No, it's... um... it's... it's fine," she said, finally looking at you.

An advertisement written in a language you'd never heard of. You weren't idiot enough to miss what was going on here, given the clothes had been stuck in the same armoury that otherwise just held weapons from the previous age. You were starting to put one and i together. You also had a large number of questions for Hua the next time you saw her.

"I look like a kid playing dress up," you grumped. "I don't care how adaptable it is. The armour's far too big."

"It was built for adults, after all. It'll be fine."

"It'll be a pain in the ass." You didn't protest any further. It was just a little awkward; the suit still fit well enough, and you weren't planning to ever improve on that. "What did you say this thing is?"

Veliona waved at the hardware surrounding you. The majority of your body was covered with some kind of protective plating, neck to toe. Despite leaving the helmet and arms off, it was so heavy you'd had to lock space around you just to keep standing. A set of stubby, metal wings jutted out from your back, and no less than three different guns were mounted on your sides, one of them suspiciously identical to Bronya's. A heads-up display in front of your eyes explained that everything was currently on standby, or so Veliona had said—you couldn't read that either.

All in all, you looked like a child's toy. A very, very dangerous, expensive, and extremely powerful child's toy. It looked almost identical to what you'd been wearing in Kiana's dream, except this thing was even more over the top, in an unpolished way. It was only partially painted; a deep blue, where it wasn't the grey of armour-phase Soulium.

"Fifth generation 'Godsbane' battlesuit," Veliona said, amusement clear in her voice. "It's the most advanced model I have. The honkai radiation it emits would kill any normal person in about a minute, so you should be absolutely fine. The documentation says it was built for some doctor with zero honkai resistance, but they didn't like it. Can't imagine why, but I think you look cute. Want me to turn it on?"

"Why doesn't the wearer get any buttons?" you asked, squinting at the HUD.

"Well, it wasn't done." She shrugged, fiddling with the side of the suit for a minute. "I think it's voice-controlled. On anyone but us it'd be a death-trap. There's a pretty good chance it'll kill the body you're using, actually, so maybe we shouldn't try this."

"I'm not bothered by that, sis," you said firmly. "I am bothered by being naked. We'll be fine so long as one of us is still synced, so I'm either wearing this, or not staying here at all. So, on or off?"

You studied Veliona's outfit while she hmm-ed. Cheap clothes, yes, but comfortable-looking. Roza said you could learn a lot from how someone dressed, and before this whatever had happened, your sister had evidently favoured clothing made of fleece, the same type that Bronya loved. The ad stuck out like a sore thumb, but the rest of the outfit was red, black... and blue, the exact same shade you favoured yourself. It wasn't elegant at all; just the sort of clothes a random teenager would wear. Reality made less sense every day, but you'd learned to roll with it.

"Off," she decided. "I'll just turn the exoskeleton on, so you can walk. Okay? There's no controls worth mentioning besides 'on' and 'off', anyway."

You nodded, she said something that sounded vaguely Greek, and the suit shuddered and hummed to life. At this low a power setting it hardly even tickled, but you made a note to stay away from any villagers. A normal wearer would've already been in intense pain, so... Vel was right. This thing had never worked, which made you wonder why it had been in your armoury.

You took an experimental step forwards, and the suit moved along with you. It felt weird, but it was surprisingly natural. You'd expected to feel like you were floating, or to have to lean into the suit to move, but it was more like you were walking in thick jeans.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Vel said, grinning. "But you look pretty good. Almost like a super hero."

"I look ridiculous," you protested. "I look like a kid playing dress up."

"In a battle-suit worth a few billion dollars? You'll be fine."

"I don't know how to fight in a battlesuit."

Vel giggled. She giggled, like a schoolgirl. The sound was utterly adorable.

"Oh, come on. You've got three guns. Just point and click. Don't aim the one on your left towards anything less than a hundred meters away, or you might accidentally kill yourself. Or me, and I get a headache every time that happens. In fact, don't fire any of them if any of us are within two or three hundred meters."

You shook your head. It made absolutely no sense for you to wear this, but whatever made her happy. You'd swap it out for normal clothes later.

"I thought you said I looked cute."

"Cute and deadly." Your sister twisted it into a chuckle this time. "I'll give you a chance to test them once you're used to walking. Come on. Let's go find the twins."

The suit was heavy, and you stumbled after your sister. This dratted thing... you'd much rather have your regular clothes. Kiana was more the type to enjoy things like this. And why was she– she was practically running.

"Wait up!" you shouted, hurrying after her as best you could.

The setup for your avatars was usually Veliona's plaything. If you'd given a single moment's thought to how distracted she'd been, you'd have realised that going back to reality without doing anything at all about the hologram system had been a bad idea. You were lucky it was just a lack of clothes.

"Hey, Vel? Who's the girl on your jersey?" you asked, once you'd caught up. "Is there any chance the Hyperion's got a record?"

"Of Eden?" Veliona looked back at you. "Not that I can think of. Why?"

"Just curious."

She laughed.

"What?"

"It's just funny. Of all the things to remember... her songs are crystal clear in my mind. She's a legend. Like the first human to sing in the language of the gods, or the last songstress at the end of time. I think she was the most popular singer of all time, just about. Eden was an angel; not just a good singer, but generous and kind. The stories they told of her..."

"Sounds like you're a fan."

Vel slowed down, letting you catch up. You took her hand when you did, catching her pensive look.

"I was. But she's gone now. She died, I mean. The world ended... a long time ago, I think. She probably died before I did."

You squeezed Vel's fingers gently.

"But you remember."

"I'm sure I'm the only one who does," she said, and you heard the sadness in her tone. "I went to one of her concerts once, with Roz and Liliya and..." Her voice wavered. "Bronya. I was young, barely thirteen, and my parents didn't want us out on our own, so they asked the neighbour's daughter to watch over us. That was Bronya, though her mother came with us most of the way. We took the train to Sydney, then the bus to the opera house and the concert. The audience loved it. It must've been a hundred thousand people, and she was the star of the show. I never saw so many fans. I was in awe.

"She was the last one," Veliona said. "The last songstress. The world was already fading. There was hardly any hope left, and so many said it would be better if we stopped trying for anything but survival, but Eden never agreed. I'm so glad that didn't happen for you, even at the end. I remember I wanted to join her."

She smiled, but it was a sad smile.

Bronya.

You felt a strange sensation in your chest, like you'd swallowed a handful of lead.

"I can still see the lights from the stadium. It was so beautiful. And the music... it was like nothing I'd ever heard before. It was like the universe had come to life, and it was singing. She was amazing. I think it was the greatest night of my life."

"What was she like?" you asked. "Your version of Bronya, I mean."

"She was..." Veliona trailed off, and you saw a shadow pass across her face. "I barely remember. Isn't that odd? I never met Eden at all, yet I remember her like it was yesterday. I remember going to school, and fighting with Roz over the bathroom, but when it comes to my girlfriend I..."

She closed her eyes, and you could see tears trailing down the sides of her cheeks.

"I don't know why," she whispered. "I don't know how. I just remember that I missed her. I missed her so much I could die. Or kill someone. She was... I want her back."

You felt her strain, her mind reaching out, searching for something. Whatever it was, she didn't find it in the stigmata.

"I don't know." She opened her eyes, and you could see her pain. "I don't remember. Just that one night. Bronya jumping up and down, singing along with the song. We got hushed half a dozen times. She kept looking at me, laughing and dragging me along. I wanted to kiss her, but I was too shy."

You put an arm around her shoulder.

"She sounds pretty different," you said.

"Rozaliya used to call her 'bunny'. So not all that different, but I can't remember much more. She loved her computer. Her hair was silver..."

You blinked at her, and she smiled.

"Silver, and way too long. I liked tying the drills into knots."

You laughed.

"I never did that," you said. "I think I was too scared of her back then. She'd have been so confused; she had no idea what to do with me. I was a little kid. She was a big, scary woman."

Veliona's brow furrowed as she considered your words.

"I didn't have the same perspective, but I'm pretty sure she was smaller than you."

"Yeah, well." You swatted at the air. "I was a kid. We both were, but Bronya didn't look it. Or act it."

"She's been making up for it ever since."

"I guess she has."

Vel's smile was a bit brighter now.

"Roza did tie a knot in Bronya's twintails once," you said. "Do you remember?"

"I remember the aftermath!" Vel laughed. "I think that's the only time she ever got angry at her. That never happened when I did it, though. She was... she was so sweet."

"I bet she was."

"And she knew just the right things to say to make everyone feel better. I remember she told the principal that I was a good student, and he should try harder. Truth was, I was just bored and didn't care."

You nodded, and walked in comfortable silence with your sister.

The forest was quiet. It was the early morning, but a deep, honkai-driven mist had settled over the trees and undergrowth, and you could barely see ten feet ahead without tapping into your other senses. Veliona seemed to be enjoying the walk. She was walking a few steps behind you, but you could tell she was happy to just enjoy the scenery.

"Penny for your thoughts?" you asked.

"Oh, nothing much," she said. "Just how I wish I'd remember more. She had a sister, you know. It wasn't me; she'd been adopted, but her mother had a younger daughter of her own. I think she was ten or so. Always running around, always smiling."

"Oh?" You raised a curious eyebrow. "What sort of girl was she?"

"A real troublemaker. A lunatic, even worse than Bronie." Veliona laughed. "I remember her running after us on the bus, shouting, 'Hey! Hey, you, get away from my sister!' I was so embarrassed. She'd spotted us kissing, and she was trying to stop us. Bronya was so mad, she grabbed her by her ponytail and tied her to the seat. But– she loved her, too. They fought like cats and dogs, except the little sister always won. Bronya made sure of it."

Her smile was broad.

"She... died, though. Her and her mother both, when the..." Veliona faltered, and you saw the grief again. "I don't even know. Something from the sky. A meteor?" She shook her head, and you could see the tears glistening. "Bronya cried for days. She was so upset. I never knew her so... so sad."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago."

You nodded, rubbing her shoulder. Veliona leaned against you, just for a moment.

"Do you remember anything from when she was younger?" you prompted. "Anything about her family?"

"No. I mean, I don't..." Vel hesitated, and you saw her eyes narrow. "I think I remember the first time I saw them, right after we'd moved to Canberra. Bronya was out playing ball with her sister, and we were in our garden. I remember I was hiding behind the rose bushes, and she kicked the ball right past me, and it bounced off the wall and hit my foot. I was crying, but she just laughed, so that made me laugh as well. It's odd. I can't imagine acting that way. I don't remember what I was thinking at the time, I just remember laughing."

You were nodding along, but your nods stopped at that description.

"Sounds nothing like her."

"That's because she was from the non-wallflower section of the universe," Veliona said, and you could see the smile in her eyes. "Just like me. I wish I remembered more, but..." She shrugged. "I don't. Yet."

You smiled at each other.

"I guess I shouldn't be worried," she mused. "I wonder if it'll stop. I hope it doesn't."

"Me too," you told her.

Veliona snapped her fingers.

"Natasha," she said. "That was her name. I'm sure they're still together."

.oOOo.

The forest grew denser around you, until eventually you saw figures moving through it. Three. Your little sisters? The horns suggested as much. There was a lot of haze in between you, so you doubted they could see you, but you kept walking.

"Roza! Lili!" you called. "We're right here. Wait a minute, would you?"

They stopped, and you could see their heads turn. You looked to Vel, wondering how she'd react, but she'd already broken into a run.

"Vel! Wait up."

She ignored you. You watched, bemused and slightly worried, as she ran to Roza and threw herself in her arms.

"Seele–"

Roza's complaints died half-formed. She stared at Vel, who was crying with her face buried in the younger girl's chest.

"Vel?" Then she looked at you. "Seele?"

"It's a long story," you said, smiling bitterly at your twin and little sister. This scene simply did not compute. If there hadn't been an incoming horde barely twenty minutes out, you'd have been tempted to laugh. You would definitely have joined her.

"What's going on?" Lili demanded. The blue-haired girl stared from Vel to you, and then back again.

You could see Veliona's shoulders shaking, but she didn't move from her embrace. You weren't quite sure how to explain.You saw Rubia approaching, and you gestured her over. She took the hint, and walked over to the three girls.

"What happened to your sister? Is she okay?" she asked. "And is that– Are you seriously wearing a godsbane suit? Do you have any idea how to use one?"

"Not a clue," you stated flatly. "I've never even seen one before. Veliona's... about as far from okay as you can get. She's only just realised she's lost her entire family. Her original family."

"Oh," Roza said. She swallowed, took another look at the girl who was crying in her arms, and her expression softened. She awkwardly tried patting her back. "I'm sorry, Vel. I'm so sorry."

"Also, one of them was you. A different version of you. Who may have turned into a dragon." You looked into the sky, willing reality to start making sense. "I don't know what to do anymore. If we weren't going into combat, I'd say we should just take the day off."

"No, no," Vel said, finally pulling away and wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. I'll be alright. I just... I need to talk to Roz–" She caught herself. "To Rozaliya."

"We all need to talk," you said.

Lili came forward and hugged Vel.

"It's gonna be okay, Vel. I promise."

Veliona nodded, but her gaze was distant.

"Roz, I..." she started, but her voice faltered. "Roza. I know you're not Roz. I just wanted to see you."

Lili gave you a sharp glance, which faltered when Vel turned the same look on her.

"Vel's not okay," you said, meeting their eyes. "She's not okay, but she isn't hurt. She's scared, but she's not hurt. She's just..."

"Just what?" Roza asked.

"Lost."

It was quite a tableau. Two pairs of twins, one a dubious pair of half-honkai beasts, and the other two copies of the same girl from two different timelines. Or two points on the same timeline, maybe, you hadn't a damned idea anymore. Every single idea you'd had either contradicted facts, or else made no sense. And Rubia, of course; a young woman or a ten year old kid, take your pick. All stuck in front of a rapidly closing horde of honkai beasts, none of them half as cute as your little sisters could be.

In other words, you were out of time.

"I don't think Veliona should fight," you decided. "We're not hurt, but I did kind of accidentally break the hologram emitters. Which means no tentacles for a while, or claws, and I don't think she's in any fit state to fight anyway."

"You can't be serious," Veliona said, her cheeks flushed. "I can! We still have that entire armoury."

"Vel, you shouldn't," you said firmly. "I won't try to convince you, though. If you're truly, honestly sure you won't be too distracted, you can. It's your call. And we'll be finishing this conversation after."

"We'll be expecting a full explanation," said Roza.

"Yes, you will." You nodded, meeting Liliya's gaze. "And you'll get one. But right now, we have to finish the mission. How does it look? Where are the honkai beasts?"

"They seem to be coming from the north-east, but there's a lot of haze around, so I couldn't see much. There was something flying overhead, though. I thought I saw a dragon, but..."

You glanced at your twin. At least it couldn't be hers.

"The village is to the south-west?" you asked, just to confirm. "That's where they're headed?"

"Well, I doubt they care that it's there. They're just going to destroy it in passing."

"I'll bet you're right," you said, thinking. "How many do you think we're up against? Can you get a count, Roza? Rubia?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Too many to say. Hundreds of thousands at least. I'll try to route most of them around us, but you can expect stragglers."

"What about you, Roza?" you asked.

"...too many." Roza's usual smile was gone. "It reminds me of when St Freyja's was destroyed."

"Okay," you breathed. "Okay. So what's the plan?"

"We lead them away from the village," Roza said. "No way we can kill them all. We just need to keep them far enough out so they don't spot it. Then we wait for them to pass. Hopefully."

"Hopefully," you said. "Alright. That's our best shot."

"They're going for the radio tree you saw earlier," Lili mentioned. "I hope you don't want to stop them."

You shook your head. If the impossibly large group of ruination beasts were going for a mysterious, artificial structure instead of anything you cared about, you'd happily let them.

"No, no," you said. "Let's just keep them away from the village. What's the range of the guns, Vel?"

"Um... I didn't check." She blushed. "Probably a few kilometers. The one on your left fires antimatter pellets. You've also got a honkai laser and a plasma rifle. That last one is basically a flamethrower."

"...is there auto-aim on those?" you thought to ask.

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on these." Vel shrugged. "They should be pretty easy to use, though. Just point and shoot. At something in the distance."

Maybe you should put them back. You gingerly looked inside the gun, then wished you hadn't.

"I think that's our cue to get ready," Lili said. "Right, Rubia?"

"I suppose so," Rubia said, looking at you with some concern. "Are you sure?"

"About what, wearing several grams of antimatter?" You chuckled nervously. "I don't have my scythe, but..."

Roza and Lili looked at each other, and then back to you.

"Maybe you should both sit this out?" Roza suggested. "You look like you've been through a lot. Let us handle it."

"I'm not going to leave you here alone," Vel said, glaring. "I can help. I just... I need to do something. I can't stand by and watch you get hurt."

"Vel, you can't–" you said.

"I'm not letting you go in there without me!"

Okay. ...okay. This was terrible, terrible timing, but you'd have to deal with it.

.oOOo.

You have a number of options on how to proceed, for which this can only be an incomplete list of examples. The characters' opinions are so widely mixed, I can think of a spokesperson for practically any set of choices.

They'd all argue for their own if they had time. For example, Seele and Veliona are essentially immortal; and so should be the only ones to take risks, as much as that is possible. Of course Rozaliya and Liliya would object strenuously to this, and both might argue that the two are almost as much a liability as an asset right now.

That would be false. Vel is tough, and so is Seele, and if either makes a mistake it's unlikely to hurt anyone who'd be notably inconvenienced by being skewered. On the other hand, Roza and Liliya aren't easy to hurt either. Nor does anyone here register as a threat to the Honkai beasts before you actually attack; until they do, the aforementioned beasts would be happy to have Roza and Liliya helping them.

Unless someone keeps an eye on them, it's very possible they'll try that tactic.

I can't reasonably provide commentary for every combination, so I'll add some when asked. Not all combinations make any sense at all.

As usual, please think of this in terms of what story you'd find interesting. Votes are by plan, and you can write-in any plan you feel would be superior.


[ ] [Battlesuit] Keep using it, as-is
[ ] [Battlesuit] Wear the whole thing
[ ] [Battlesuit] Take it off

- A Godsbane suit can take at least one blow from an Emperor-class Honkai beast without significantly harming its occupant. On the other hand, Seele can't use it effectively at all. There are multiple ways to learn, and this isn't the greatest one. Vel could find her a decent scythe if she took it off; that won't be feasible otherwise. Nothing that can compete with Path to Acheron, though.
- Neither of the twins can use it without dying. Technically neither can Seele, but she isn't planning to tell the other three that; it's not a concern. Rubia has no use for it.

The difference between the first two options sum up as whether or not it's any good in close combat. The full suit provides a massive buff to strength, which will push Seele to use that instead of her own skills.
- Practically speaking, leaving it half-on will relegate Seele to a support role. Strategy, oversight, and occasional sniping. Otherwise Rubia will take that role, but will be worse at it.


[ ] [Seele] Help as much as possible
[ ] [Seele] Hang back to keep an eye on Veliona
[ ] [Seele] Stay out of things unless needed

- No-one will be overly bothered if she stays out of it. Roza and Lili mostly just want to know she'll be safe, to be honest.
- Seele will not stay out of things entirely, no matter what you vote. That would not be her. But she's willing to be persuaded, at least when given Veliona as a reason.
- Practically speaking, this determines whether you get a strategic or tactical view.


[ ] [Veliona] Allow her to make her own choices
[ ] [Veliona] Write-in

- I don't feel capable of overriding her wishes here, but perhaps someone has a bright idea.
- Vel does not wish to see Roza or Lili hurt. Or Seele.
- She is very insistent on all of this.
- Practically speaking, please don't make her hurt me.


[ ] [Rubia] Create an illusion suitable to lure the honkai beasts into avoiding the village
- [ ] Such as a bottomless pit
- [ ] Or a mountain that reaches into the sky
- [ ] Or anything, really
[ ] [Rubia] Write-in

- Rubia's power doesn't fool reality. It does fool literally anything with a mind; her trouble with Seele is more unfamiliarity than inability. Normally the Core would cover for that, but it's unfamiliar with her type of being as well.
- It also isn't omnipotent. Like many illusions, if you do something that contradicts it, it can break. This is most likely to happen by accident. The larger the illusion is, the more likely that is to happen.
- Ruby likes dramatic gestures. In many ways she's still a kid.
- Practically speaking, this is a vote on what sort of terrain you want to fight on. Not all the time, but it'd fail instantly once you attack if you e.g. vote to make yourself invisible; air cannot shoot things, so the contradiction would be immediate.


[ ] [Twins] Expect them to do their best, as always
[ ] [Twins] Suggest they might stay close

- These options aren't well phrased. Essentially, the Olenyevas are experienced soldiers. They know how best to handle this situation, and if you say nothing, they will act that way. They'll be okay, that way; they're used to handling themselves. Not usually on their own, but they're never really on their own. The two of them together make up a single, S-rank Valkyrie.
- No-one in this group is at their best right now.
- That is not why Seele wants to ask them to stay close.
- Practically speaking, if she does say this, it'll be a complete failure of tactical control. The one who might say that is the teenager who's scared for her family, not the girl who's spent years learning to be a Valkyrie. It's up to you which side should be taking charge right now.