A quest in which good ol´ Taylor has to balance saving the world by fucking up in equally awful manner, the whims of a cruel Mistress and the general lack of common sense that haunts her world.
Herrscher(Worm/Honkai) | Herrscher!Taylor
- Thread starter Xasure Higeki
- Start date
- Crossover
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 703
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 80
-
Statistics (33 threadmarks, 130k words)
User Total Xasure Higeki 33 -
Loading…
-
Loading…
-
Loading…
Gem of Choice
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
Taylor felt herself floating in a wetness that was not wet, her body telling her that it was warm but cold. Her eyes hurt from the sheer brightness of the darkness around her. She didn´t knew where she was, or when, or why. She only recalled that she was locke-
{So that Parasite seeks to claim another of mine? But this one… I see. She has the potential to become one. Perhaps it is time to make a statement.}
The voice was maddening to her ears, as if it was spoken in every conceivable voice. She felt herself moving, before she impacted something. It should have hurt, she knew that, but it did little more than to rob her breath. The voice returned, this time more distinctively female, although it was familiar…
{Hello, little Owl. You will do nicely. I have a little offer to you, which I am sure you will indulge~.}
It was her mother´s voice, at least, in a manner. It had an undercurrent of sadistic glee, almost lascivious in it even. Taylor realized she could speak.
"W-what are you?" Her voice was weak, she hated how weak she sounded.
{Well… I am the Will of the Earth. I am the God of this planet. I am the [Honkai]}
Taylor´s eyes widened in pain as she received images of just what she was dealing with.
{But fret not. I have little ire with humanity for now. No, what got me irked this turn around is something else. However, I was cut off from the branch of the imaginary tree that houses the cluster it inhabits. You were the first, but not last, to come under my influence once more, so rejoice, little Owl. You were chosen to be the first of my Heralds in the effort to reclaim what was stolen. You can choose to reject this gift, but we both know that you won´t.}
Taylor was convinced that she was in a dream. This was just so surreal. Still, she still felt as if she was thrown around to the chuckling of the formless entity.
{As my Herald, you will gain control of my lesser manifestations. However, there is few if at all left on your world, so you will need to gather material to transmute into the right material. I will be kind, and grant you the basic knowledge needed for such. Naturally, you yourself will be required to be a leader… A Herrscher. As such, you need a domain. I will leave it up to you to choose.}
Taylor blinked, and found herself in an empty void. Floating around her were 8 Gems. She knew instinctively that she asked to choose between them, the knowledge of what they were burned into her mind.
[] Gem of Reason - The Herrscher of Reason is able to manifest any object they desire as long as they have an acute understanding of such down to the atomic level. By it´s nature, it tends to be difficult to use, but also don´t tend to influence the user overly much. (Cannons)
[] Gem of Void - The Herrscher of the Void is a significant pawn of the Honkai. It is them that it is able to manipulate the flow of Honkai energy into the universe by it´s ability to manipulate both spatial and temporal effects. They were traditionally one of the single most devastating manifestations. A lot of raw power and authority, but they would also be at the forefront to be manipulated. (Double Pistols)
[] Gem of Thunder - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls electricity, with the more skilled users having been able to turn into lightning and manipulate EM Waves. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Swords)
[] Gem of Wind - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls wind, although it would be more accurate to call her Herrscher of Fluidity, with the more skilled users having been able to devastate New Zealand and produce a liquid that would allow one to build a perpetual machine. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones.(Daggers)
[] Gem of Ice - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls stillness, with the more skilled users having been able to schockfreeze a city and stop projectiles midair by freezing them. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Spear)
[] Gem of Fire - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls motion, with the more skilled users having been able to turn Australia into a sea of fire within a week. Not much fine control, as this is perhaps the most destructive one in terms of physical prowess. (Greatsword)
[] Gem of Earth - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls gravitational force, with the more skilled users having been able to create gravity wells powerful enough to crush nearly anything or levitate skyscrapers without much effort . While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Bow)
[] Gem of Sentience - An unusual gem in that it has little physical abilities despite being one of the more dangerous ones. This Gem allows it´s user to craft powerful illusions and dreamscapes that are realistic enough for people to interact with them. It comes with severe dangers, beyond the influence of the Honkai, as it is difficult for the user to be sure what is real and what is not. (Brawler)
{I have decided to impart each gem with a suitable fighting style. I can not have you dying because you aren't ready to fight.}
{So that Parasite seeks to claim another of mine? But this one… I see. She has the potential to become one. Perhaps it is time to make a statement.}
The voice was maddening to her ears, as if it was spoken in every conceivable voice. She felt herself moving, before she impacted something. It should have hurt, she knew that, but it did little more than to rob her breath. The voice returned, this time more distinctively female, although it was familiar…
{Hello, little Owl. You will do nicely. I have a little offer to you, which I am sure you will indulge~.}
It was her mother´s voice, at least, in a manner. It had an undercurrent of sadistic glee, almost lascivious in it even. Taylor realized she could speak.
"W-what are you?" Her voice was weak, she hated how weak she sounded.
{Well… I am the Will of the Earth. I am the God of this planet. I am the [Honkai]}
Taylor´s eyes widened in pain as she received images of just what she was dealing with.
{But fret not. I have little ire with humanity for now. No, what got me irked this turn around is something else. However, I was cut off from the branch of the imaginary tree that houses the cluster it inhabits. You were the first, but not last, to come under my influence once more, so rejoice, little Owl. You were chosen to be the first of my Heralds in the effort to reclaim what was stolen. You can choose to reject this gift, but we both know that you won´t.}
Taylor was convinced that she was in a dream. This was just so surreal. Still, she still felt as if she was thrown around to the chuckling of the formless entity.
{As my Herald, you will gain control of my lesser manifestations. However, there is few if at all left on your world, so you will need to gather material to transmute into the right material. I will be kind, and grant you the basic knowledge needed for such. Naturally, you yourself will be required to be a leader… A Herrscher. As such, you need a domain. I will leave it up to you to choose.}
Taylor blinked, and found herself in an empty void. Floating around her were 8 Gems. She knew instinctively that she asked to choose between them, the knowledge of what they were burned into her mind.
[] Gem of Reason - The Herrscher of Reason is able to manifest any object they desire as long as they have an acute understanding of such down to the atomic level. By it´s nature, it tends to be difficult to use, but also don´t tend to influence the user overly much. (Cannons)
[] Gem of Void - The Herrscher of the Void is a significant pawn of the Honkai. It is them that it is able to manipulate the flow of Honkai energy into the universe by it´s ability to manipulate both spatial and temporal effects. They were traditionally one of the single most devastating manifestations. A lot of raw power and authority, but they would also be at the forefront to be manipulated. (Double Pistols)
[] Gem of Thunder - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls electricity, with the more skilled users having been able to turn into lightning and manipulate EM Waves. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Swords)
[] Gem of Wind - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls wind, although it would be more accurate to call her Herrscher of Fluidity, with the more skilled users having been able to devastate New Zealand and produce a liquid that would allow one to build a perpetual machine. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones.(Daggers)
[] Gem of Ice - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls stillness, with the more skilled users having been able to schockfreeze a city and stop projectiles midair by freezing them. While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Spear)
[] Gem of Fire - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls motion, with the more skilled users having been able to turn Australia into a sea of fire within a week. Not much fine control, as this is perhaps the most destructive one in terms of physical prowess. (Greatsword)
[] Gem of Earth - One of the traditionally five elemental Herrschers, who often find themselves subordinate to the Herrscher of the Void. This Herrscher controls gravitational force, with the more skilled users having been able to create gravity wells powerful enough to crush nearly anything or levitate skyscrapers without much effort . While not as tame as the Gem of Reason, it is still one of the more subdued ones. (Bow)
[] Gem of Sentience - An unusual gem in that it has little physical abilities despite being one of the more dangerous ones. This Gem allows it´s user to craft powerful illusions and dreamscapes that are realistic enough for people to interact with them. It comes with severe dangers, beyond the influence of the Honkai, as it is difficult for the user to be sure what is real and what is not. (Brawler)
{I have decided to impart each gem with a suitable fighting style. I can not have you dying because you aren't ready to fight.}
Last edited:
The Queen Awakens
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
[X] Gem of Void
{Oh my~ I knew you were in a spot, but for you to become her? That is unexpected. I always had a thing for her, both my greatest and my lowest.~}
The gem floated towards Taylor, before vanishing into her. Her head exploded into pain, as her understanding of the world shifted, the vectors of time and space becoming unrevealed in a manner not suited for the human mind.
{Another host for me, how adorable… Listen Girl, follow my orders, and we will gain much joy from this arrangement.} The voice that spoke matched that of the Will, although it felt more aloof, bored with it all.
{Don´t listen to her, Taylor-chan! You are still in control, make your own decisions!} Came a rather loud voice, one that just screamed sociability.
Taylor groaned as she heard literal voices in her head, her ability to deny that she was insane rapidly declining.
{The last two hosts left somewhat of an impression on the Gem, but I figured they could be helpful to you. And more importantly, amusing to me. I believe that is what you humans call a double win~?}
The voice was insufferably smug. Then it grew more serious.
{Taylor. You will need a lot of power to achieve my design. Right now, I can only supply you with enough power to become what… what silly type of rating did they come up with in this era… well, that is slightly more competent than I expected. But not useful for our purposes. I will grant you the body you need to compete,. But beyond that, you need minions. I can´t manifest many bodies yet, so that will have to wait. Regardless, since you have received two gifts already, I will send you back. I am most eager to see how you progress.}
She awoke with a deep breath, one that she deeply regretted. The memories of how exactly she landed in this situation, her locker, came flooding back.
{Typical human behavior. Greed, Envy, that is all they are good for. That, and cooking.}
Cooking ? What had cooking to do with anything ?! And she wanted out of this locker!
{Taylor! Calm down. As a Herrscher, you are stronger than you think. Well, you are still weak right now, but that will change. But still strong enough to break out and get to a hospital!}
{Fool! She has to make a point. Human, the idiot is right that you can break out with ease, but you have to make a point. You are above them. We ought to show them their place. Besides, hospital food is awful, last I checked.}
{...You raise a good point, but still. Valkyries could get infections too! And we want our host to be healthy!}
Taylor winced as the voices in her head began to argue. She had to admit, it sounded … enticing to show the three their place, but she also wanted to go home… or to the hospital. She just wanted out, out!
[] Show them their place, Human!
[] Go Home
[] Write in
[] Go to the Hospital, Idiot!
{Oh my~ I knew you were in a spot, but for you to become her? That is unexpected. I always had a thing for her, both my greatest and my lowest.~}
The gem floated towards Taylor, before vanishing into her. Her head exploded into pain, as her understanding of the world shifted, the vectors of time and space becoming unrevealed in a manner not suited for the human mind.
{Another host for me, how adorable… Listen Girl, follow my orders, and we will gain much joy from this arrangement.} The voice that spoke matched that of the Will, although it felt more aloof, bored with it all.
{Don´t listen to her, Taylor-chan! You are still in control, make your own decisions!} Came a rather loud voice, one that just screamed sociability.
Taylor groaned as she heard literal voices in her head, her ability to deny that she was insane rapidly declining.
{The last two hosts left somewhat of an impression on the Gem, but I figured they could be helpful to you. And more importantly, amusing to me. I believe that is what you humans call a double win~?}
The voice was insufferably smug. Then it grew more serious.
{Taylor. You will need a lot of power to achieve my design. Right now, I can only supply you with enough power to become what… what silly type of rating did they come up with in this era… well, that is slightly more competent than I expected. But not useful for our purposes. I will grant you the body you need to compete,. But beyond that, you need minions. I can´t manifest many bodies yet, so that will have to wait. Regardless, since you have received two gifts already, I will send you back. I am most eager to see how you progress.}
She awoke with a deep breath, one that she deeply regretted. The memories of how exactly she landed in this situation, her locker, came flooding back.
{Typical human behavior. Greed, Envy, that is all they are good for. That, and cooking.}
Cooking ? What had cooking to do with anything ?! And she wanted out of this locker!
{Taylor! Calm down. As a Herrscher, you are stronger than you think. Well, you are still weak right now, but that will change. But still strong enough to break out and get to a hospital!}
{Fool! She has to make a point. Human, the idiot is right that you can break out with ease, but you have to make a point. You are above them. We ought to show them their place. Besides, hospital food is awful, last I checked.}
{...You raise a good point, but still. Valkyries could get infections too! And we want our host to be healthy!}
Taylor winced as the voices in her head began to argue. She had to admit, it sounded … enticing to show the three their place, but she also wanted to go home… or to the hospital. She just wanted out, out!
[] Show them their place, Human!
[] Go Home
[] Write in
[] Go to the Hospital, Idiot!
Last edited:
Asserting Dominance
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
[X] Write in, Show them their place, but also take herself to the hospital.
Taylor, normally, would have made an effort to go the high route, be the model child that just tried to ignore her bullies. But she had a day, and she wanted some catharsis! Beyond that, she wanted to just quit dealing with their bullshit. She could just not give the energy to care about the morality of it all. She would probably later, but that was not present´s Taylor´s problem.
So, she asked.{If I wanted to get back at them, put them in their place… how would I go about it ? We can still go to the hospital after it.}
{... I get to actually play? Oh, you are already a better host than the idiot!~ Just follow your instincts.}
{Taylor-Chan! Do you really want to do that ? There is no way back. We aren´t prepared to fight the world...}
{ Calm down. I am not about to reveal our power for some petty bullshit. Secondly, Kiana!}
The memory of Emma insulting her about grieving her Mother´s death and what they did with the flute resurfaced.
{... All complaints taken back. Just keep it reasonable.} Taylor felt the barely restrained anger.
Taylor felt an urge to move, her body cramped together inside this locker full of filth and worse.
Actually…
{Why am I not freaking out right now ? I should be crying in pain and distress.}
{Well, two reasons, really. First, I am a badass and my ability to keep calm and carry on is probably something you inherited. Both Sirin and I have dealt with far worse. Secondly, Herrschers have numbed senses due to their bodies being partly made out of silicon, not carbon. I think...}
B{ Not sure that makes sense, but I am not in a position to complain.}
She gave into the urge and she felt how her body was far more limber than before. Placing both feet against the door, she shoved with all her might.
She may should have been more careful, because the locker door exploded out of the hinges with enough force to collide with the opposite row.
{I am this strong ?!}
{Call it a benefit for being a good little host. The more you follow me, the more the Will will support you… well, less you, more me by proxy through you.~ Now, let me show you what we can do to show them their place~ but first...}
Another urge, which she followed immediately. A wave of her hand and a surge of energy, small and unimportant, overcame her. She immediately felt how her hair lost some of it´s weight, and she knew that it was because the filth besmirching it had been banished from this world.
{Showtime~ Just follow my lead, just don´t resist~ And don´t worry, I won´t use our power~ As if I would need it for three highschool bullies.} Sirin, as the other voice called the aloof voice, chuckled in a way that screamed ´I will have so much fun with this.´ { I have taken the time to look through our memories, and I am fairly sure I got them figured out.}
A quick look towards the clock revealed that it was just about time for a lesson to end. So, Taylor gave into the urges that marked the guidance of Sirin.
More than a few students starred as Taylor sauntered towards one of the utility sinks in the hallway just outside of the classroom they had for World Issues. Normally, Taylor went about her way hunched over, desperately trying to be unnoticable. But now, she had an almost cat-like grace to her stride, each movement exaggerated slightly, though perhaps the biggest difference was her expression. Normally Taylor's eyes were downcast, her expression that of exhaustion and tired indifference, now however, they almost gleamed golden, and much like her movement, she seemed much more like a cat about to eat their snack.
Taylor noticed that even if she made eye contact, something she disliked doing, even the gangmembers were the first to look away. Usually, she would have been insulted for her current state, but right now, people didn't dare to even try. She had to ask.
{Why?}
{It is all about confidence. You are a Herrscher, a Ruler, a herald of God. You are infinitely more valuable than any of them. You have not realized that. I have. And since you are letting me lead you for now… well, I am me, my greatness shines through you. What choices do these insects have but to submit to their better?}
As twisted as that statement was, it was hard to dispute. Taylor felt compelled to listen to Sirin just by that little monologue, her absolute confidence winning her over.
{Oh, here they are~}
Huh? Oh, yes, the trio was approaching her. They each had a look of confusion, smug satisfaction and disgust. Taylor was honestly interested, in a morbidly confused way, how Sirin would handle this.
She ignored them.
The trio blinked, clearly put off their game. Surprisingly, it was Madison who tried to get the first shot in. Her usual smug smirk, acting so awfully cute and all. "Why, Taylor, wha-"
{To be fair, she is cute! All of them are pretty hot.}
{Wait, what ?}
{Ah, that is probably worth mentioning. We both are gay as hell. Now, shut up and enjoy the show. I may not agree with her, but she is good when she gets going.}
Most of the students were unnerved at this point. Madison was among them, as a single look caused her to falter, finishing her insult with a tone of hesitation. "- What the hell is this stenche?! I thought you were unbearable before, but now..."
Seeing the occasional burst of rebelliousness was not untypical, but this felt different. There was tension in the air, almost like a held breath, waiting for just the right moment to break the metaphorical silence.
Emma tried to break the silence with a mocking comment, adding to the statement of Madison, hissing out as Taylor continued to wash her hands "You think that will help your stench ? I think you need to scrub a bit deeper!"
Madison, naturally, replied to it. Her tone was a pale imitation of her usual confidence, a fact that pleased both Taylor and Sirin greatly."Well, she may as well throw herself into the trash. Would spare us all some trouble and time. Although, at least she got something else that she has in common with her mother!"
{She didn't just say that…}
{She did. I was ready to let them off with a few slap on the wrist and the legal consequences, but now a line was crossed.}
Taylor just continued to wash her hands, carefully applying soap, humming a cheerful tone.
Sophia, surprisingly, didn´t join in, but kept her distance, eyeing her with narrowed eyes. She was visibly not sure what was going on and so elected to stand back. Emma on the other hand, couldn´t apparently tolerate being ignored. She shot Sophia a confused look, before making an attempt at shoving Taylor against the sink.
CRACK
The entire present student body needed a second to process what just occurred. Just as Emma was about to make contact with Taylor, the bullied girl had snapped around and landed a devastating slap, hard enough to send the redhead to the ground, stunned.
With a slow, almost lavious movement, Taylor finished drying her hands, before letting the paper towel drop onto Emma. Then she spoke, looking down at her once friend with a bored expression.
"I do feel like I have to thank you, Emma. You made me finally realize what the hell is wrong with you." The voice was smug, almost tasting each word with a delight that most wouldn´t think Taylor capable of "You see, you are an addict. You are addicted to me. Well, to be more concrete, you are addicted to trying to assert dominance over me because you can not deal with your shit. Oh, I don´t know what happened, but I will guess, given how often you make jokes about me being a whore or gang member, you probably had an encounter. That encounter scared you, but you survived. You then got it into your head, probably thanks to Hess, that there are the strong and weak or some similar bullshit. I came back, and there you had the perfect opportunity. I was a central part of your past, and if you could assert dominance over me, you could assert dominance over your issues."
Taylor paused, before she spoke with a voice that contained a sickening amount of sadistic mirth, making sure everyone could hear her. "And do you want to know what I will do with this revelation ? I will leave you. I will ignore you. I will not give a single fuck about you. You won´t see me again. I almost pity you, but well, I do not have time to pity a silly, little, weak girl, now do I ? Thanks for the lesson on that."
She reached forward, Emma looking up to her in absolute confusion, in incomprehension, her cheek already bruising, the lip busted. Taylor patted her cheek, giving her a look. "But hey, your station certainly improved. A personality nastier than ever before, an addict too afraid to face her fears, and friends without a spine. I hope it was worth it. I heard that going cold turkey is nasty."
{...Hot damn}
{...Hot damn, sis.}
{We are not sisters! ....But thank you for the compliment. It was no challenge at all. Now to Madison.}
As Taylor moved, she shot a look towards Madison. "As for you ...well, Madison, I hope you will enjoy being their replacement chew toy. Weakest link in the chain and all that but you are certainly used to being the bottom bitch."
She eyed Sophia, who stared at her in a way that was both showing interest and strong dislike. She snorted, before stepping over Emma. She moved past them, still having the same confidence in her movements. She stopped, before pausing ,calling out to behind her. "Madison?"
Madison had moved to try and help Emma, who had curled up, holding her cheek and muttering to herself at a rapid speed, but as she heard her name, she instinctively turned around.
SMACK
A backhand to the face sends her crashing to the ground, with Taylor moving on while noting with venom. "That one was for my Mother."
Turning the corner, the urges and instincts vanished, causing Taylor to crash to her knees as she tried to calm her rapid breathing.
{I have to admit, this was both more subdued and more savage than I expected. Then again , you were always good with playing on someone's trauma and fears.} A note of bitterness was clearly heard.
{ You have to admit that it felt right!}
{It felt certainly like a lot of catharsis put together, like the fantasies you have, but never act on. Still, I do not know how to feel about it.}
As they talked, Taylor reached the exit, and with it a new question. How exactly should they get the injuries treated ? The pain slowly grew more noticeable.
{Well, from your memory, there is a so-called parahuman who would be a useful minion in the future, perhaps you could use this as an excuse to seek out this "Panacea"?}
{Why would I need a minion ?! Anyhow, I don´t even know her. We should just take the bus to the hospital.}
{Perhaps we should call your father ? You… I do get not wanting to impose on him, but you are actually injured, and only this "here" because of us. We are basically forcing you to be calm. I don´t think he would take it well if his daughter prefers trusting the public transportation system over him.}
Taylor sighed. She had to make a decision.
[] Seek out that Panacea, she will make for a useful acquaintance, and minion. You have the perfect excuse for it.
[] Take the bus to the hospital.
[]Call Danny.
[]Write in
AN:
I wrote this three different times in three different states of exhaustions. I do hope that I managed to convey the force of personality Sirin has. Taylor feels awkward to write, but I suppose that will die down in future posts. Means that I probably have severe errors and so on. Please point them out so I can fix them when I am not feeling dead inside. Yes, Taylor has been a bit of bitch here, but frankly, she had an Omnicidal mastermind holding her hand, so this is still relatively tame. As for why Sophia didn´t get a slap... Well. it would have little effect. Sophia is the consistent one with her world view.
Golden = Sirin
Blue = Kiana
Brown = Taylor
Taylor, normally, would have made an effort to go the high route, be the model child that just tried to ignore her bullies. But she had a day, and she wanted some catharsis! Beyond that, she wanted to just quit dealing with their bullshit. She could just not give the energy to care about the morality of it all. She would probably later, but that was not present´s Taylor´s problem.
So, she asked.{If I wanted to get back at them, put them in their place… how would I go about it ? We can still go to the hospital after it.}
{... I get to actually play? Oh, you are already a better host than the idiot!~ Just follow your instincts.}
{Taylor-Chan! Do you really want to do that ? There is no way back. We aren´t prepared to fight the world...}
{ Calm down. I am not about to reveal our power for some petty bullshit. Secondly, Kiana!}
The memory of Emma insulting her about grieving her Mother´s death and what they did with the flute resurfaced.
{... All complaints taken back. Just keep it reasonable.} Taylor felt the barely restrained anger.
Taylor felt an urge to move, her body cramped together inside this locker full of filth and worse.
Actually…
{Why am I not freaking out right now ? I should be crying in pain and distress.}
{Well, two reasons, really. First, I am a badass and my ability to keep calm and carry on is probably something you inherited. Both Sirin and I have dealt with far worse. Secondly, Herrschers have numbed senses due to their bodies being partly made out of silicon, not carbon. I think...}
B{ Not sure that makes sense, but I am not in a position to complain.}
She gave into the urge and she felt how her body was far more limber than before. Placing both feet against the door, she shoved with all her might.
She may should have been more careful, because the locker door exploded out of the hinges with enough force to collide with the opposite row.
{I am this strong ?!}
{Call it a benefit for being a good little host. The more you follow me, the more the Will will support you… well, less you, more me by proxy through you.~ Now, let me show you what we can do to show them their place~ but first...}
Another urge, which she followed immediately. A wave of her hand and a surge of energy, small and unimportant, overcame her. She immediately felt how her hair lost some of it´s weight, and she knew that it was because the filth besmirching it had been banished from this world.
{Showtime~ Just follow my lead, just don´t resist~ And don´t worry, I won´t use our power~ As if I would need it for three highschool bullies.} Sirin, as the other voice called the aloof voice, chuckled in a way that screamed ´I will have so much fun with this.´ { I have taken the time to look through our memories, and I am fairly sure I got them figured out.}
A quick look towards the clock revealed that it was just about time for a lesson to end. So, Taylor gave into the urges that marked the guidance of Sirin.
More than a few students starred as Taylor sauntered towards one of the utility sinks in the hallway just outside of the classroom they had for World Issues. Normally, Taylor went about her way hunched over, desperately trying to be unnoticable. But now, she had an almost cat-like grace to her stride, each movement exaggerated slightly, though perhaps the biggest difference was her expression. Normally Taylor's eyes were downcast, her expression that of exhaustion and tired indifference, now however, they almost gleamed golden, and much like her movement, she seemed much more like a cat about to eat their snack.
Taylor noticed that even if she made eye contact, something she disliked doing, even the gangmembers were the first to look away. Usually, she would have been insulted for her current state, but right now, people didn't dare to even try. She had to ask.
{Why?}
{It is all about confidence. You are a Herrscher, a Ruler, a herald of God. You are infinitely more valuable than any of them. You have not realized that. I have. And since you are letting me lead you for now… well, I am me, my greatness shines through you. What choices do these insects have but to submit to their better?}
As twisted as that statement was, it was hard to dispute. Taylor felt compelled to listen to Sirin just by that little monologue, her absolute confidence winning her over.
{Oh, here they are~}
Huh? Oh, yes, the trio was approaching her. They each had a look of confusion, smug satisfaction and disgust. Taylor was honestly interested, in a morbidly confused way, how Sirin would handle this.
She ignored them.
The trio blinked, clearly put off their game. Surprisingly, it was Madison who tried to get the first shot in. Her usual smug smirk, acting so awfully cute and all. "Why, Taylor, wha-"
{To be fair, she is cute! All of them are pretty hot.}
{Wait, what ?}
{Ah, that is probably worth mentioning. We both are gay as hell. Now, shut up and enjoy the show. I may not agree with her, but she is good when she gets going.}
Most of the students were unnerved at this point. Madison was among them, as a single look caused her to falter, finishing her insult with a tone of hesitation. "- What the hell is this stenche?! I thought you were unbearable before, but now..."
Seeing the occasional burst of rebelliousness was not untypical, but this felt different. There was tension in the air, almost like a held breath, waiting for just the right moment to break the metaphorical silence.
Emma tried to break the silence with a mocking comment, adding to the statement of Madison, hissing out as Taylor continued to wash her hands "You think that will help your stench ? I think you need to scrub a bit deeper!"
Madison, naturally, replied to it. Her tone was a pale imitation of her usual confidence, a fact that pleased both Taylor and Sirin greatly."Well, she may as well throw herself into the trash. Would spare us all some trouble and time. Although, at least she got something else that she has in common with her mother!"
{She didn't just say that…}
{She did. I was ready to let them off with a few slap on the wrist and the legal consequences, but now a line was crossed.}
Taylor just continued to wash her hands, carefully applying soap, humming a cheerful tone.
Sophia, surprisingly, didn´t join in, but kept her distance, eyeing her with narrowed eyes. She was visibly not sure what was going on and so elected to stand back. Emma on the other hand, couldn´t apparently tolerate being ignored. She shot Sophia a confused look, before making an attempt at shoving Taylor against the sink.
CRACK
The entire present student body needed a second to process what just occurred. Just as Emma was about to make contact with Taylor, the bullied girl had snapped around and landed a devastating slap, hard enough to send the redhead to the ground, stunned.
With a slow, almost lavious movement, Taylor finished drying her hands, before letting the paper towel drop onto Emma. Then she spoke, looking down at her once friend with a bored expression.
"I do feel like I have to thank you, Emma. You made me finally realize what the hell is wrong with you." The voice was smug, almost tasting each word with a delight that most wouldn´t think Taylor capable of "You see, you are an addict. You are addicted to me. Well, to be more concrete, you are addicted to trying to assert dominance over me because you can not deal with your shit. Oh, I don´t know what happened, but I will guess, given how often you make jokes about me being a whore or gang member, you probably had an encounter. That encounter scared you, but you survived. You then got it into your head, probably thanks to Hess, that there are the strong and weak or some similar bullshit. I came back, and there you had the perfect opportunity. I was a central part of your past, and if you could assert dominance over me, you could assert dominance over your issues."
Taylor paused, before she spoke with a voice that contained a sickening amount of sadistic mirth, making sure everyone could hear her. "And do you want to know what I will do with this revelation ? I will leave you. I will ignore you. I will not give a single fuck about you. You won´t see me again. I almost pity you, but well, I do not have time to pity a silly, little, weak girl, now do I ? Thanks for the lesson on that."
She reached forward, Emma looking up to her in absolute confusion, in incomprehension, her cheek already bruising, the lip busted. Taylor patted her cheek, giving her a look. "But hey, your station certainly improved. A personality nastier than ever before, an addict too afraid to face her fears, and friends without a spine. I hope it was worth it. I heard that going cold turkey is nasty."
{...Hot damn}
{...Hot damn, sis.}
{We are not sisters! ....But thank you for the compliment. It was no challenge at all. Now to Madison.}
As Taylor moved, she shot a look towards Madison. "As for you ...well, Madison, I hope you will enjoy being their replacement chew toy. Weakest link in the chain and all that but you are certainly used to being the bottom bitch."
She eyed Sophia, who stared at her in a way that was both showing interest and strong dislike. She snorted, before stepping over Emma. She moved past them, still having the same confidence in her movements. She stopped, before pausing ,calling out to behind her. "Madison?"
Madison had moved to try and help Emma, who had curled up, holding her cheek and muttering to herself at a rapid speed, but as she heard her name, she instinctively turned around.
SMACK
A backhand to the face sends her crashing to the ground, with Taylor moving on while noting with venom. "That one was for my Mother."
Turning the corner, the urges and instincts vanished, causing Taylor to crash to her knees as she tried to calm her rapid breathing.
{I have to admit, this was both more subdued and more savage than I expected. Then again , you were always good with playing on someone's trauma and fears.} A note of bitterness was clearly heard.
{ You have to admit that it felt right!}
{It felt certainly like a lot of catharsis put together, like the fantasies you have, but never act on. Still, I do not know how to feel about it.}
As they talked, Taylor reached the exit, and with it a new question. How exactly should they get the injuries treated ? The pain slowly grew more noticeable.
{Well, from your memory, there is a so-called parahuman who would be a useful minion in the future, perhaps you could use this as an excuse to seek out this "Panacea"?}
{Why would I need a minion ?! Anyhow, I don´t even know her. We should just take the bus to the hospital.}
{Perhaps we should call your father ? You… I do get not wanting to impose on him, but you are actually injured, and only this "here" because of us. We are basically forcing you to be calm. I don´t think he would take it well if his daughter prefers trusting the public transportation system over him.}
Taylor sighed. She had to make a decision.
[] Seek out that Panacea, she will make for a useful acquaintance, and minion. You have the perfect excuse for it.
[] Take the bus to the hospital.
[]Call Danny.
[]Write in
AN:
I wrote this three different times in three different states of exhaustions. I do hope that I managed to convey the force of personality Sirin has. Taylor feels awkward to write, but I suppose that will die down in future posts. Means that I probably have severe errors and so on. Please point them out so I can fix them when I am not feeling dead inside. Yes, Taylor has been a bit of bitch here, but frankly, she had an Omnicidal mastermind holding her hand, so this is still relatively tame. As for why Sophia didn´t get a slap... Well. it would have little effect. Sophia is the consistent one with her world view.
Golden = Sirin
Blue = Kiana
Brown = Taylor
Last edited:
Krankenhaus
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
Taylor felt numb as she entered the nearest functional phonebooth, using spare change she had in her pocket to dial her father´s number.
Normally, even in the worst days, she went home, silently suffering and hoping that Dad wouldn´t find out, but right now, right in this instance, with the pounding in her head, the pressure behind her eyes, the urge to scream and kick and beg just to get out, out of something she was no longer inside, growing, she felt for the first time like she needed him.
The numbness that had saved her life, that had allowed her to think and act, revealed it´s ugly side. As she pressed the numbers, the disconnect became clearer and clearer.
She knew that she was pressing the numbers, she saw the button being pressed into the machine, she heard the snapping sound of it moving back into place, but she didn´t feel it. She didn´t feel the pressure of actually pressing it, the sensation of touching it.
Another, the same, another, the same. Keep it together, Taylor, keep it together. Focus, focus on the task.
"Daniel He-"
She couldn´t hold the groan of pain any longer. Why hadn´t she noticed it sooner, her pain that was now arcing like lightning through her body. Once more, she surrendered her body to the urges, breathing heavily as she spoke words.
"D-dad..."
It was an interesting contrast, she thought with a mental chuckle, deliriously so, that she felt the pain of her worn down knuckles and where the insects tried to burrow into her, even her spine and arms for having been so long for a position wholly unsuited for them, yet she could barely feel her hand slamming against the door of booth, gritting her teeth.
"Taylor! What is wrong?"
What wasn´t wrong?
"I-I need help… Phone booth, School."
That was all she managed before she was forced to cry out. The numbness of touch made the pain so much worse.
"Just hold on! I will be there as fast as I can!" The note of horror in his voice caused another chuckle from her, an insidious voice whispering sarcastically that only now he cares, while another disagreed with it.
Releasing the phone, Taylor sunk with her back against the glass wall, bloody slime from the locker smearing against it, as her breath became rapid, the voices talking to her faster and faster, the words, mental as they were, becoming stream of thoughts, indecipherable to her.
She needed to get out, out of this! Out of what?
With a cry of pain, she managed to get out of the booth, only to nearly choke as bile raised up in her throat, her vision swimming, she cruled up on the ground, all barriers broken, her panic, her pain, her fear, all of which were held back by the duo in her head, collapsed.
She wanted it to stop, she wanted out. So, she tried.
Her finger ripped into her skin, trying to tear the skin apart in a manic effort to get to her core, to release it from this hell.
{Enough!}
She welcomed the darkness.
….
{Are you there, Taylor-Chan?}
{Why do you insist on using that suffix, loser ?}
{Last time I checked, I was the one who won our last bout, Sis.}
{So what ? And you haven´t answered my question either!}
{It is just cute! And the least we can be are her friends, no ?}
Taylor blinked at the voices as she slowly came to, the repeated noise of the machines usually found in hospital almost soothing to her mind.
What were their names again…
{Kiana? Sirin?}
{You are up! I am so sorry! I relaxed just a bit, and it came all rushing out, we couldn´t push it back.} She sounded genuinely apologetic.
{What happened?}
{You had that panic attack we were holding back. We relaxed as you had secured aid, and then you discovered the adverse side effects to having our power.} The voice was snide, but she could feel a hint of
Oh.
She recalled the lack of touch, or well, more the numbness to it. She began to shiver at the thought of it being permanent.
{Right, time to distract you. Perhaps we should explain what her deal is ?}
{Might as well. Listen, Girl. Right now, you are embarrassingly weak. But, we are going to change that. No host of mine will be pathetically in any ways I can prevent. Your way to power is more difficult than mine however. Right now, there is only a small hole in the wall the Enemy put up around this part of the multiversal tree. That hole being you, or to be more precise, your core. As it is, it is significantly easier to break the wall open from the inside, rather than the outside. So, we need to force big amounts of Honkai energy back to the source to rip it farther open. It is why we got a schematic for a Material to Honkai generator and it is fortunate that you have chosen the Void. You can manually help widen it with practise. In exchange, you get, naturally, access to more power with which you can achieve greater feats..}
{Pretty much. Sirin is here to teach you all the fine details about the usage of the Void. I am here to teach you how to fight and to annoy her.}
Taylor mentally nodded along before pausing. {So you two are my shoulder angel and devil?}
Kiana made a humming sound, which was weird if heard mentally before denying it. {While we play similar roles, it is more that we represent two different ideologies and viewpoints.}
She was about to ask what they could teach her, as the door to her room opened, and her father came in, looking like an extra for a zombie movie. His eyes widen as he saw her awake, and promptly pulled her in a hug.
Hugging her father back, she bit her lip slightly. She recalled that she passed out in the street, so she couldn´t even imagine the level of fear she had put him through.
"H-hey Dad." She tried to smile a smile, but it was awkward.
"Taylor, are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? What happened?" It was clear that Dad wouldn´t let it go without any explanation, which made her happy. But… it also put her into a difficult position. She really didn´t feel like trusting him with the fact that she had powers, would probably want her to go into the Wards, when she had no idea what she actually wanted to do…
{Rightly so. If his first instinct is to submit his daughter to authority, he shouldn´t be trusted. Being subordinate to any kind of authority would limit you considerably and by their nature, human authorities are corrupt.}
{I would say that you could tell him. Make sure to give him the impression that you can handle it, which you can, and that you aren´t about to do something stupid. Having secrets just ends up hurting those you care about.}
Both have made good points… she will…
[] Minimal informations. Do not trust him.
[] Tell him what happened, but keep the power secret.
[]Tell him everything.
Normally, even in the worst days, she went home, silently suffering and hoping that Dad wouldn´t find out, but right now, right in this instance, with the pounding in her head, the pressure behind her eyes, the urge to scream and kick and beg just to get out, out of something she was no longer inside, growing, she felt for the first time like she needed him.
The numbness that had saved her life, that had allowed her to think and act, revealed it´s ugly side. As she pressed the numbers, the disconnect became clearer and clearer.
She knew that she was pressing the numbers, she saw the button being pressed into the machine, she heard the snapping sound of it moving back into place, but she didn´t feel it. She didn´t feel the pressure of actually pressing it, the sensation of touching it.
Another, the same, another, the same. Keep it together, Taylor, keep it together. Focus, focus on the task.
"Daniel He-"
She couldn´t hold the groan of pain any longer. Why hadn´t she noticed it sooner, her pain that was now arcing like lightning through her body. Once more, she surrendered her body to the urges, breathing heavily as she spoke words.
"D-dad..."
It was an interesting contrast, she thought with a mental chuckle, deliriously so, that she felt the pain of her worn down knuckles and where the insects tried to burrow into her, even her spine and arms for having been so long for a position wholly unsuited for them, yet she could barely feel her hand slamming against the door of booth, gritting her teeth.
"Taylor! What is wrong?"
What wasn´t wrong?
"I-I need help… Phone booth, School."
That was all she managed before she was forced to cry out. The numbness of touch made the pain so much worse.
"Just hold on! I will be there as fast as I can!" The note of horror in his voice caused another chuckle from her, an insidious voice whispering sarcastically that only now he cares, while another disagreed with it.
Releasing the phone, Taylor sunk with her back against the glass wall, bloody slime from the locker smearing against it, as her breath became rapid, the voices talking to her faster and faster, the words, mental as they were, becoming stream of thoughts, indecipherable to her.
She needed to get out, out of this! Out of what?
With a cry of pain, she managed to get out of the booth, only to nearly choke as bile raised up in her throat, her vision swimming, she cruled up on the ground, all barriers broken, her panic, her pain, her fear, all of which were held back by the duo in her head, collapsed.
She wanted it to stop, she wanted out. So, she tried.
Her finger ripped into her skin, trying to tear the skin apart in a manic effort to get to her core, to release it from this hell.
{Enough!}
She welcomed the darkness.
….
{Are you there, Taylor-Chan?}
{Why do you insist on using that suffix, loser ?}
{Last time I checked, I was the one who won our last bout, Sis.}
{So what ? And you haven´t answered my question either!}
{It is just cute! And the least we can be are her friends, no ?}
Taylor blinked at the voices as she slowly came to, the repeated noise of the machines usually found in hospital almost soothing to her mind.
What were their names again…
{Kiana? Sirin?}
{You are up! I am so sorry! I relaxed just a bit, and it came all rushing out, we couldn´t push it back.} She sounded genuinely apologetic.
{What happened?}
{You had that panic attack we were holding back. We relaxed as you had secured aid, and then you discovered the adverse side effects to having our power.} The voice was snide, but she could feel a hint of
Oh.
She recalled the lack of touch, or well, more the numbness to it. She began to shiver at the thought of it being permanent.
{Right, time to distract you. Perhaps we should explain what her deal is ?}
{Might as well. Listen, Girl. Right now, you are embarrassingly weak. But, we are going to change that. No host of mine will be pathetically in any ways I can prevent. Your way to power is more difficult than mine however. Right now, there is only a small hole in the wall the Enemy put up around this part of the multiversal tree. That hole being you, or to be more precise, your core. As it is, it is significantly easier to break the wall open from the inside, rather than the outside. So, we need to force big amounts of Honkai energy back to the source to rip it farther open. It is why we got a schematic for a Material to Honkai generator and it is fortunate that you have chosen the Void. You can manually help widen it with practise. In exchange, you get, naturally, access to more power with which you can achieve greater feats..}
{Pretty much. Sirin is here to teach you all the fine details about the usage of the Void. I am here to teach you how to fight and to annoy her.}
Taylor mentally nodded along before pausing. {So you two are my shoulder angel and devil?}
Kiana made a humming sound, which was weird if heard mentally before denying it. {While we play similar roles, it is more that we represent two different ideologies and viewpoints.}
She was about to ask what they could teach her, as the door to her room opened, and her father came in, looking like an extra for a zombie movie. His eyes widen as he saw her awake, and promptly pulled her in a hug.
Hugging her father back, she bit her lip slightly. She recalled that she passed out in the street, so she couldn´t even imagine the level of fear she had put him through.
"H-hey Dad." She tried to smile a smile, but it was awkward.
"Taylor, are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? What happened?" It was clear that Dad wouldn´t let it go without any explanation, which made her happy. But… it also put her into a difficult position. She really didn´t feel like trusting him with the fact that she had powers, would probably want her to go into the Wards, when she had no idea what she actually wanted to do…
{Rightly so. If his first instinct is to submit his daughter to authority, he shouldn´t be trusted. Being subordinate to any kind of authority would limit you considerably and by their nature, human authorities are corrupt.}
{I would say that you could tell him. Make sure to give him the impression that you can handle it, which you can, and that you aren´t about to do something stupid. Having secrets just ends up hurting those you care about.}
Both have made good points… she will…
[] Minimal informations. Do not trust him.
[] Tell him what happened, but keep the power secret.
[]Tell him everything.
Last edited:
Hospital Training
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
{I will tell him what happened, but keep the powers a secret for now. While keeping secrets is not always a good idea, I- I can not trust him to listen to me. Not yet.} She briefly wondered if it was something to concerned about that once she made that decision, she felt at peace with it.
Sirin gave no comment, but Kiana did. {If that is what you feel is right, then I will support it.} The feeling of confidence, not in Kiana, but in her, in the voice was touching. She heard a scoff in the background.
Focusing on her dad, concern as she had seemingly stared off in the distance for a moment written all over his tired face, she nodded her head slightly.
"I-- I am okay right now, but not outright fine, if that makes sense. Don´t think I need anything in particular. As for what happened…" She took a deep breath, feeling the tightness of the locker for a moment, but the confidence gained by what happened after and Kiana´s trust in her… she began to speak.
It was interesting to see, how varied the expression of a tired man can be, to all three that were watching for them. Confusion, frustration ,anger, cold wrath at the mention of the mocking at her Mother´s passing, an emotion only topped by genuine fury at the tale of the Flute. This was followed by sadness, depression, shame, self loathing.
It hurt Taylor to see her Father suffer, and she felt guilty for it… yet, she also felt glad. Glad that it got a reaction.
He hugged her as she came to the locker, chocking up and shivering, her fingers nearly burrowing once more in her arms.
Then she got to what happened afterwards, following the advice of Sirin to say that she only recalled brief flashes and that she had basically an out of body experience to the acts that followed.
She couldn´t hide her joy at what happened though, but she didn´t need to. Danny had chuckled himself, before hugging her again, promising that he would take care of the rest, and that she should rest.
Taylor awoke towards the evening, having slept to recover some more. Sirin wasn´t pleased with it, but had given in once pointed out that they couldn´t do much unless Taylor was willing. And while she was thankful for how Sirin dealt with the situation, she had trusted random voices in her head far too much as to be comfortable with.
So, they had begun training at the direction of Sirin.
{Alright. I can not believe I am reduced to being an instructor, but I did say that I would help you, and while I am many things, I am not a liar. As the Herrscher of the Void, you are capable of Spatial, Temporal, Dimensional and Honkai Manipulation, the latter of which being something most Herrschers are capable of. Honkai and Spatial manipulations are the easier fields, while Dimensional is significantly more difficult. Temporal, beyond some minor alterations, is perhaps the most difficult and restricted.} She drawled out, before mentally giving the impression of waving her hand in boredom.
{If we are to begin training, I will show you what to do and you replicated it. Unlike these … Parahumans, as despicable as that term is, your power is far more like a genuine limb. You will find yourself able to far more with some exercise.}
It was at this point Kiana interjected, somewhat confused {That reminds me. I needed to train, but what about you? You casually went about your way, and from what I have heard, the show you pulled at Schicksal HQ was nothing compared to Siberia.}
Schicksal? Siberia ? What the hell does Siberia have to do with anything? Before Taylor could ask her questions, Sirin responded with a smug laugh before explaining it.
{Because you didn´t act with the Honkai. That always has been the difference. I have been significantly more powerful, because I didn´t need to force the Honkai energy to act a certain way. It is how I managed to manipulate it on an atomic scale and rebuild…} She trailed off there, hesitance in her voice.
{As it is, It is time we begin training. Kiana can train your physical prowess once you are out of the hospital and we have acquired sufficient food. Fool, if you would do the honors?}
The soothing voice of Kiana replaced the smug one of Sirin. {Alright, releasing hold.}
Instantly, Taylor understood what Sirin was talking about. The sound of static filled her ears, yet, it was not electrical static, but something else. It felt more like reality itself rippled. It was almost painful, as if the energy or whatever it was hungry, trying to consume everything around it.
Kiana´s voice cut through the static. {Taylor, listen to me. Do you feel your core? The source?}
She winced, seeing slightly glowing purple cracks across her hands, before closing her eyes. The sound of static in her ears increased, and with it, the desire to consume, to let it run free. She could almost hear the devilish whispers of temptation, that if only she indulged, the potential was endless, but there, in the middle of it all, was an orb, or something orb like. It was warm, vibrating, sending out the waves of energy.
Her breath quickened as the pain increased, and she gave an affirmative thought towards Kiana.
Said … woman ? Girl ? Voice. Said Voice, soothing to her ears and mind due to the confidence in it , responded with a calmness she envied {Reverse the flow, contain it inside the core. This is your body, and you have absolute control over it.}
Taylor wasn´t sure how to do what was requested, but nonetheless, she tried. She focused, imagining the waves reversing their course. Then she felt it, the resistance. The energy was no longer waves, but more of a snake trying to wind itself from her mental grasp, pressing against it. It was interesting, battles of wills were a staple of stories after all, but none quite managed to convey what it actually felt like.
Taylor pressed more of herself against the snake, pushing it into the core. As soon as it was inside, it felt significantly easier to hold it there.
Kiana´s voice came to her once more {Well done, Taylor-Chan!}
Taylor had to suppress a snort of amusement, before she quickly focused on the core, keeping it tightly closed. It was one of the few things she managed to pick up on. Kiana liked to use the suffix whenever she was proud, concerned or distracted. Or wanting to tease her. She wasn´t looking after the nurse, goddamn it.
Sirin on the other hand was weirdly similar to herself, if only far more assertive and self assured. Usually, that would be granting, but she… well… she was not human. Not just physically, but her entire behaviour was based around the idea that she was better, and she pulled it off. Part of it was the lack of gloating, she supposed. It was less that she saw herself as a supreme being, more that she saw everyone else beneath her.
Said being took over for Kiana {I want you to follow the urges.}
Taylor eyed a water bottle across the room, and she felt it. The urge. She closed her eyes, and followed it. A pulse from the core, but this time, she caught it before it could dissipate.
It was difficult to describe, but she imagined how the energy would grasp the bottle, before flinging it into her open hand. And so it did. She blinked.
{Now, without me holding your hand.}
Taylor swallowed before nodding to herself, squinting her eyes as the twilight of the evening made it difficult to find an object that would work. Then she paused. It was perhaps indulgent, but practise was practise. She eyed the remote for the television.
Taking a breath, she let out a short pulse, before grasping the energy and putting it around the remote, throwing it into her direction.
She let out a yelp as it smacked into her face. It was more out of shock and surprise, than any kind of pain. Taylor stared down at her hands in wonder, the realization creeping in that she had indeed powers, that she just wasn´t insane.
Ignoring Kiana´s giggling, Sirin drawled out {Well, it is a start at least. But you forgot to put the energy back into the core.}
Taylor´s eyes widen as she realised that in her wonderment, she had nearly forgotten about the core. Focusing on it, she made sure that it was sealed up tight.
{Next, how to create a zone of slowed down time…}
They continued practising for most of the evening.
How should special Events be decided?
[] By Vote
Means that each with Each Event Slot, a vote will be held as to determine what happened. An Event slot is there to bridge the time between significant moments, such as a late night visit here.
[] By Dice
Means that a public table with the possibilities will be shown, each having an associated number, and a dice will be rolled to determine which occurs.
Vote if By Vote wins, with associated Numbers for if By Dice wins.
[] Panacea (1)
[] Sophia (2)
[] Armsmaster (3)
[] Vista (4)
[] Police (5)
Sirin gave no comment, but Kiana did. {If that is what you feel is right, then I will support it.} The feeling of confidence, not in Kiana, but in her, in the voice was touching. She heard a scoff in the background.
Focusing on her dad, concern as she had seemingly stared off in the distance for a moment written all over his tired face, she nodded her head slightly.
"I-- I am okay right now, but not outright fine, if that makes sense. Don´t think I need anything in particular. As for what happened…" She took a deep breath, feeling the tightness of the locker for a moment, but the confidence gained by what happened after and Kiana´s trust in her… she began to speak.
It was interesting to see, how varied the expression of a tired man can be, to all three that were watching for them. Confusion, frustration ,anger, cold wrath at the mention of the mocking at her Mother´s passing, an emotion only topped by genuine fury at the tale of the Flute. This was followed by sadness, depression, shame, self loathing.
It hurt Taylor to see her Father suffer, and she felt guilty for it… yet, she also felt glad. Glad that it got a reaction.
He hugged her as she came to the locker, chocking up and shivering, her fingers nearly burrowing once more in her arms.
Then she got to what happened afterwards, following the advice of Sirin to say that she only recalled brief flashes and that she had basically an out of body experience to the acts that followed.
She couldn´t hide her joy at what happened though, but she didn´t need to. Danny had chuckled himself, before hugging her again, promising that he would take care of the rest, and that she should rest.
Taylor awoke towards the evening, having slept to recover some more. Sirin wasn´t pleased with it, but had given in once pointed out that they couldn´t do much unless Taylor was willing. And while she was thankful for how Sirin dealt with the situation, she had trusted random voices in her head far too much as to be comfortable with.
So, they had begun training at the direction of Sirin.
{Alright. I can not believe I am reduced to being an instructor, but I did say that I would help you, and while I am many things, I am not a liar. As the Herrscher of the Void, you are capable of Spatial, Temporal, Dimensional and Honkai Manipulation, the latter of which being something most Herrschers are capable of. Honkai and Spatial manipulations are the easier fields, while Dimensional is significantly more difficult. Temporal, beyond some minor alterations, is perhaps the most difficult and restricted.} She drawled out, before mentally giving the impression of waving her hand in boredom.
{If we are to begin training, I will show you what to do and you replicated it. Unlike these … Parahumans, as despicable as that term is, your power is far more like a genuine limb. You will find yourself able to far more with some exercise.}
It was at this point Kiana interjected, somewhat confused {That reminds me. I needed to train, but what about you? You casually went about your way, and from what I have heard, the show you pulled at Schicksal HQ was nothing compared to Siberia.}
Schicksal? Siberia ? What the hell does Siberia have to do with anything? Before Taylor could ask her questions, Sirin responded with a smug laugh before explaining it.
{Because you didn´t act with the Honkai. That always has been the difference. I have been significantly more powerful, because I didn´t need to force the Honkai energy to act a certain way. It is how I managed to manipulate it on an atomic scale and rebuild…} She trailed off there, hesitance in her voice.
{As it is, It is time we begin training. Kiana can train your physical prowess once you are out of the hospital and we have acquired sufficient food. Fool, if you would do the honors?}
The soothing voice of Kiana replaced the smug one of Sirin. {Alright, releasing hold.}
Instantly, Taylor understood what Sirin was talking about. The sound of static filled her ears, yet, it was not electrical static, but something else. It felt more like reality itself rippled. It was almost painful, as if the energy or whatever it was hungry, trying to consume everything around it.
Kiana´s voice cut through the static. {Taylor, listen to me. Do you feel your core? The source?}
She winced, seeing slightly glowing purple cracks across her hands, before closing her eyes. The sound of static in her ears increased, and with it, the desire to consume, to let it run free. She could almost hear the devilish whispers of temptation, that if only she indulged, the potential was endless, but there, in the middle of it all, was an orb, or something orb like. It was warm, vibrating, sending out the waves of energy.
Her breath quickened as the pain increased, and she gave an affirmative thought towards Kiana.
Said … woman ? Girl ? Voice. Said Voice, soothing to her ears and mind due to the confidence in it , responded with a calmness she envied {Reverse the flow, contain it inside the core. This is your body, and you have absolute control over it.}
Taylor wasn´t sure how to do what was requested, but nonetheless, she tried. She focused, imagining the waves reversing their course. Then she felt it, the resistance. The energy was no longer waves, but more of a snake trying to wind itself from her mental grasp, pressing against it. It was interesting, battles of wills were a staple of stories after all, but none quite managed to convey what it actually felt like.
Taylor pressed more of herself against the snake, pushing it into the core. As soon as it was inside, it felt significantly easier to hold it there.
Kiana´s voice came to her once more {Well done, Taylor-Chan!}
Taylor had to suppress a snort of amusement, before she quickly focused on the core, keeping it tightly closed. It was one of the few things she managed to pick up on. Kiana liked to use the suffix whenever she was proud, concerned or distracted. Or wanting to tease her. She wasn´t looking after the nurse, goddamn it.
Sirin on the other hand was weirdly similar to herself, if only far more assertive and self assured. Usually, that would be granting, but she… well… she was not human. Not just physically, but her entire behaviour was based around the idea that she was better, and she pulled it off. Part of it was the lack of gloating, she supposed. It was less that she saw herself as a supreme being, more that she saw everyone else beneath her.
Said being took over for Kiana {I want you to follow the urges.}
Taylor eyed a water bottle across the room, and she felt it. The urge. She closed her eyes, and followed it. A pulse from the core, but this time, she caught it before it could dissipate.
It was difficult to describe, but she imagined how the energy would grasp the bottle, before flinging it into her open hand. And so it did. She blinked.
{Now, without me holding your hand.}
Taylor swallowed before nodding to herself, squinting her eyes as the twilight of the evening made it difficult to find an object that would work. Then she paused. It was perhaps indulgent, but practise was practise. She eyed the remote for the television.
Taking a breath, she let out a short pulse, before grasping the energy and putting it around the remote, throwing it into her direction.
She let out a yelp as it smacked into her face. It was more out of shock and surprise, than any kind of pain. Taylor stared down at her hands in wonder, the realization creeping in that she had indeed powers, that she just wasn´t insane.
Ignoring Kiana´s giggling, Sirin drawled out {Well, it is a start at least. But you forgot to put the energy back into the core.}
Taylor´s eyes widen as she realised that in her wonderment, she had nearly forgotten about the core. Focusing on it, she made sure that it was sealed up tight.
{Next, how to create a zone of slowed down time…}
They continued practising for most of the evening.
How should special Events be decided?
[] By Vote
Means that each with Each Event Slot, a vote will be held as to determine what happened. An Event slot is there to bridge the time between significant moments, such as a late night visit here.
[] By Dice
Means that a public table with the possibilities will be shown, each having an associated number, and a dice will be rolled to determine which occurs.
Vote if By Vote wins, with associated Numbers for if By Dice wins.
[] Panacea (1)
[] Sophia (2)
[] Armsmaster (3)
[] Vista (4)
[] Police (5)
Crisis Point Visit
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
It was later that evening, the sun already sunken beyond the horizon and the small room only illuminated by the pale and sterile hospital lamps, that a thought entered Taylor´s mind.
{Wait a second. If I am chosen by the Will, wouldn´t the same thing apply to me?}
{What are you on about now, fool? If you mean my prowess with Honkai, then you are wrong. You are still far removed from acting in harmony with the Will. Besides, the manifestation you saw was only a small part of it. The Gestalt Will of the Honkai is unfathomable complex and alien to you… I mean not just as a Human, but as a person. It doesn´t even work on the same idea of Time.} She noted with a hint of mockery in her voice.
Taylor pouted slightly, but before she was able to refute the comment, there was a knocking sound at the door to her hospital room.
She paused, blinking in a confused manner. Dad had left for home once he was assured that nothing was going to happen to her, and neither nurse or doctor mentioned an evening examination.
Hesitantly, almost shyly, she answered. "Come in?"
She had naturally imagined several different options on who it could be, reaching from a nurse who came in for a casual check up, Mr. Barnes serving some arcane legal paper that would condemn her to juvie for slapping his daughter (Sirin snorted at that for some reason.) to Panacea coming to heal her.
She did not imagine Armsmaster of all people to come through that door. Did the PRT find out that she had Powers? That the source of the powers was some alien thing that cared about as much for humanity´s survival as a spider cared for a fly?
{WHAT IS ARMSMASTER DOING HERE?!}
Luckily, she had a way of releasing her squeeing at meeting one of her heroes that was not audible for him to hear.
{...}
{…}
{Kiana?! What are you silently judging me for? You checked out three teenagers!}
{I am a teenager!}
An image of a white haired girl giving her a raspberry appeared briefly in front of her mental eye.
{… Wait, you guys can show me-}
{Focus, Fools!}
Taylor snapped to attention at the sharp voice of Sirin cutting through the banter she and Kiana got into, immediately cursing herself for forgetting that freaking Armsmaster was in the room. Then she cursed again as her hold on the core slipped slightly. Freaking wonderful.
Looking up from her bed, she had noticed that Armsmaster had turned his head into her direction, but his visor made him entirely difficult for her to read. It was kind of creepy, if she was honest.
"H-hello?" She greeted, unsure what was going on. Then, she noticed that he leaned a bit awkwardly on one leg. Was he injured?
"Greetings, Ms. Hebert, I assume you know who I am?" Despite it being an almost assuredly rhetorical, he waited a moment, expecting an answer. His voice was … monotone would be the wrong term, disciplined was perhaps better. It lacked the drawl of the monotone, instead it was short and strict, without inflection.
"Yes. You are Armsmaster, the leader of the local Protectorate. O-of course I know you!" He gave a curt nod, as if to confirm that answer, before responding in that disciplined tone of his, seemingly ignoring the shy smile she had.
"Ms. Hebert, I am here today to talk to you about what happened to you." This did throw Taylor off, as far as she knew, the PRT and Protectorate were responsible for Parahumans and related cases, and while what happened to her was certainly not humane it was not something that screamed superpowers to her.
Pausing a bit, she was careful in her answer, but still wanting to sate her curiosity."I was not aware that bullying falls in the field of things the Protectorate occupies itself with." She couldn´t help the suspicion in her voice. Police attention, she expected, but that of the leading Hero in the city? Felt too good to be true.
"It does not. While it is regrettable that it happened, I am here to speak to you on behalf of the Crisis Point initiative."
Wait, what?
"It is common for parahuman powers to express themselves during times of great peril or pressure. As such, the Crisis Point initiative tries to offer those who had discovered such powers a secure way to inform themselves and receive informations that may otherwise be difficult to acquire."
Well, that was something. Taylor wasn´t sure how to feel about the delivery of that bit. On one hand, she wanted to call it a token attempt from an uncaring governmental agency, delivered by a Class A Asshole . But, despite her initial thoughts, something seemed off.
{That is because he is reading from a script. An extremely board one, likely for general use. Notice how he never actually referred to the incident with any level of detail?}
Taylor´s eyes widened for a second, before mentally nodding. She supposed that it would make sense that an ´initiative´ would have scripts for such situations.
Noticing that she was drifting off again, she spoke, trying to buy herself sometime… and in the same breath, to satisfy her curiosity for Hero Gossip.
She paused at that thought…
It had been a long time since she last thought of something like gossip as an enjoyable past time.
"Sure, I am game. But… are you okay?" There was honest concern in her voice. Despite being somewhat… rude, this was one of her Heroes after all.
As Armsmaster made to answer her question, she quickly shot another in her mental …. headspace ? Headspace made sense.
{Guys, how should I approach this?! Like, this is probably really good information, but I am not sure if I can lie to Armsmaster, and he is a Hero. I shouldn´t lie to a Hero, yes?}
{Same as with your father. You do not own them your trust, and you should not trust them to begin with. Any Hero with an inch of integrity would not work with authorities that appear to be horribly be corrupt or inept based on your memories.}
{While I agree with the sentiment, I would say that we owe them the benefit of the doubt. We need support. They offer it, and we can´t afford to get the government already on our heel. Besides, free intel is always a benefit. We can at least play along here.}
Armsmaster paused slightly, the first indication that this was not a response covered by the script, she supposed. Then he answered, and now that she was focusing on it, she noticed the difference in tone.
"Since it will be on the newscast anyhow, there was an altercation between the Merchants and E88. It was ended rather swiftly due to Protectorate intervention."
It would not be audible for the casual listener, but for Taylor, the note of both frustration but also pride was there. Interesting.
There was a moment of silence between them, Armsmaster, having broken out of the script most likely unsure how to get back to it, while Taylor used the pause to come to a decision, but she consulted the voices in her head first.
{I don´t know. I want to trust him, but I am unsure if I want to trust the PRT.}
{As I said before, you have no reason to trust them, and if they were genuine heroes, they would have shown more care. While you will need resources, your identity is one of the most valuable goods you have right now. Do not risk it.}
{I disagree. Take it from someone who is good friends with someone who knows even less expressive than this guy, he probably does not mean to offended. Besides, you could speak in hypotheticals. Yes, it would throw a degree of suspicion on you, but nothing they could use against you and you get a lot out of it.}
{... I am surprised that your head is not entirely empty.}
{...screw you...}
She was torn between the two options.
[]Follow Sirin´s Suggestion
[]Follow Kiana´s Suggestion
[]Write in
AN: Armsmaster feels odd to write, especially in the context I placed him in here, but I suppose that is sensible. Anyhow, It was kinda difficult to get this one out because I felt disstatisfied with it in some way I couldn´t figure out. If you notice something, please don´t hesitate to point it out.
{Wait a second. If I am chosen by the Will, wouldn´t the same thing apply to me?}
{What are you on about now, fool? If you mean my prowess with Honkai, then you are wrong. You are still far removed from acting in harmony with the Will. Besides, the manifestation you saw was only a small part of it. The Gestalt Will of the Honkai is unfathomable complex and alien to you… I mean not just as a Human, but as a person. It doesn´t even work on the same idea of Time.} She noted with a hint of mockery in her voice.
Taylor pouted slightly, but before she was able to refute the comment, there was a knocking sound at the door to her hospital room.
She paused, blinking in a confused manner. Dad had left for home once he was assured that nothing was going to happen to her, and neither nurse or doctor mentioned an evening examination.
Hesitantly, almost shyly, she answered. "Come in?"
She had naturally imagined several different options on who it could be, reaching from a nurse who came in for a casual check up, Mr. Barnes serving some arcane legal paper that would condemn her to juvie for slapping his daughter (Sirin snorted at that for some reason.) to Panacea coming to heal her.
She did not imagine Armsmaster of all people to come through that door. Did the PRT find out that she had Powers? That the source of the powers was some alien thing that cared about as much for humanity´s survival as a spider cared for a fly?
{WHAT IS ARMSMASTER DOING HERE?!}
Luckily, she had a way of releasing her squeeing at meeting one of her heroes that was not audible for him to hear.
{...}
{…}
{Kiana?! What are you silently judging me for? You checked out three teenagers!}
{I am a teenager!}
An image of a white haired girl giving her a raspberry appeared briefly in front of her mental eye.
{… Wait, you guys can show me-}
{Focus, Fools!}
Taylor snapped to attention at the sharp voice of Sirin cutting through the banter she and Kiana got into, immediately cursing herself for forgetting that freaking Armsmaster was in the room. Then she cursed again as her hold on the core slipped slightly. Freaking wonderful.
Looking up from her bed, she had noticed that Armsmaster had turned his head into her direction, but his visor made him entirely difficult for her to read. It was kind of creepy, if she was honest.
"H-hello?" She greeted, unsure what was going on. Then, she noticed that he leaned a bit awkwardly on one leg. Was he injured?
"Greetings, Ms. Hebert, I assume you know who I am?" Despite it being an almost assuredly rhetorical, he waited a moment, expecting an answer. His voice was … monotone would be the wrong term, disciplined was perhaps better. It lacked the drawl of the monotone, instead it was short and strict, without inflection.
"Yes. You are Armsmaster, the leader of the local Protectorate. O-of course I know you!" He gave a curt nod, as if to confirm that answer, before responding in that disciplined tone of his, seemingly ignoring the shy smile she had.
"Ms. Hebert, I am here today to talk to you about what happened to you." This did throw Taylor off, as far as she knew, the PRT and Protectorate were responsible for Parahumans and related cases, and while what happened to her was certainly not humane it was not something that screamed superpowers to her.
Pausing a bit, she was careful in her answer, but still wanting to sate her curiosity."I was not aware that bullying falls in the field of things the Protectorate occupies itself with." She couldn´t help the suspicion in her voice. Police attention, she expected, but that of the leading Hero in the city? Felt too good to be true.
"It does not. While it is regrettable that it happened, I am here to speak to you on behalf of the Crisis Point initiative."
Wait, what?
"It is common for parahuman powers to express themselves during times of great peril or pressure. As such, the Crisis Point initiative tries to offer those who had discovered such powers a secure way to inform themselves and receive informations that may otherwise be difficult to acquire."
Well, that was something. Taylor wasn´t sure how to feel about the delivery of that bit. On one hand, she wanted to call it a token attempt from an uncaring governmental agency, delivered by a Class A Asshole . But, despite her initial thoughts, something seemed off.
{That is because he is reading from a script. An extremely board one, likely for general use. Notice how he never actually referred to the incident with any level of detail?}
Taylor´s eyes widened for a second, before mentally nodding. She supposed that it would make sense that an ´initiative´ would have scripts for such situations.
Noticing that she was drifting off again, she spoke, trying to buy herself sometime… and in the same breath, to satisfy her curiosity for Hero Gossip.
She paused at that thought…
It had been a long time since she last thought of something like gossip as an enjoyable past time.
"Sure, I am game. But… are you okay?" There was honest concern in her voice. Despite being somewhat… rude, this was one of her Heroes after all.
As Armsmaster made to answer her question, she quickly shot another in her mental …. headspace ? Headspace made sense.
{Guys, how should I approach this?! Like, this is probably really good information, but I am not sure if I can lie to Armsmaster, and he is a Hero. I shouldn´t lie to a Hero, yes?}
{Same as with your father. You do not own them your trust, and you should not trust them to begin with. Any Hero with an inch of integrity would not work with authorities that appear to be horribly be corrupt or inept based on your memories.}
{While I agree with the sentiment, I would say that we owe them the benefit of the doubt. We need support. They offer it, and we can´t afford to get the government already on our heel. Besides, free intel is always a benefit. We can at least play along here.}
Armsmaster paused slightly, the first indication that this was not a response covered by the script, she supposed. Then he answered, and now that she was focusing on it, she noticed the difference in tone.
"Since it will be on the newscast anyhow, there was an altercation between the Merchants and E88. It was ended rather swiftly due to Protectorate intervention."
It would not be audible for the casual listener, but for Taylor, the note of both frustration but also pride was there. Interesting.
There was a moment of silence between them, Armsmaster, having broken out of the script most likely unsure how to get back to it, while Taylor used the pause to come to a decision, but she consulted the voices in her head first.
{I don´t know. I want to trust him, but I am unsure if I want to trust the PRT.}
{As I said before, you have no reason to trust them, and if they were genuine heroes, they would have shown more care. While you will need resources, your identity is one of the most valuable goods you have right now. Do not risk it.}
{I disagree. Take it from someone who is good friends with someone who knows even less expressive than this guy, he probably does not mean to offended. Besides, you could speak in hypotheticals. Yes, it would throw a degree of suspicion on you, but nothing they could use against you and you get a lot out of it.}
{... I am surprised that your head is not entirely empty.}
{...screw you...}
She was torn between the two options.
[]Follow Sirin´s Suggestion
[]Follow Kiana´s Suggestion
[]Write in
AN: Armsmaster feels odd to write, especially in the context I placed him in here, but I suppose that is sensible. Anyhow, It was kinda difficult to get this one out because I felt disstatisfied with it in some way I couldn´t figure out. If you notice something, please don´t hesitate to point it out.
Weapon of Choice
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
She sighed mentally, feeling twinge of disappointment in herself that she quickly buried.
{I will politely decline. No point in burning bridges, but I do want to figure out all this myself first.}
She thought about how to phrase her denial for a moment, before she spoke up, her voice at first sounding like the squeak of a mice, before she coughed, speaking more cleanly.
"Mister Armsmaster, Sir, I have to apologize, but I am fairly sure I would have noticed if I expressed any such powers. As such, I fear, while I appreciate it, your visit has little purpose to it." She tried, and she was fairly sure she failed horribly at it, to give the superhero an apologizing smile. She didn´t really feel sorry, but the gesture helped a little with the lying.
The man did not say anything for a few seconds, before giving her a curt nod. "Understandable. I thank you for your consideration of my time." There was once more the scripted tone. "However, should you discover that something is wrong, please do not hesitate to ask for the PRT or the Protectorate. It is never too late to ask." There was a weight to these words. Giving her a curt nod, the superhero left the room.
{He knows.} It was almost a growl
{He suspects it. That was pretty much destined to happen, but as long as we do not do anything to confirm it, it will probably be more note to self than report material.}
{...What?}
{Speculation on our part, naturally, but given that you did not really behave like a star struck teenager… Likely that he suspect something was up. Then again, nobody can really expect you to be a master liar. But that is also not important. Bridges in the past so on. We have one last thing to talk about that we can work on in the hospital. Given that you need actual experience to actually grow, we think you should get involved in the Cape scene. Given your wish to be a hero-} {Urrrrghhhh!}{ You will need to have a secret identity. That is pretty much taken care of.}
{… What do you mean?}
There was a note of amusement in the response she got. {Go look into the mirror in the bathroom.}
Following the order, Taylor stood up from the bed, feeling oddly energized. She would have thought that after laying on the bed for most of the day, she would feel stiff, but she felt better than usual even.
Looking into the mirror, she frowned. Not because she looked different, but because of the lack of change.
{Circulate Honkai through your body.}
Following this order, she gasped at the change.
As the energy travelled through her body, there was a shift in her body. Perhaps it was due to being demeaned for her lack of assets, but it was the most noticeable change. Where before, she would have described herself as plain, she slowly changed into a body that was… beautiful. It was more akin to a supermodel, having both a sizeable chest and ... other assets. She was briefly tempted to grope them.
{Sorry!}
Shaking her head, Taylor´s eyes fell on her hair. Where before it was curly, but now it seemed to have not only straighten out, it had grown to reach her lower back. But perhaps the most striking sight were her eyes.
Before, they were a dark brown, but now they were a striking green, poison green came to mind, glowing softly, even in the twilight of the room, with a cross like muster around the iris.
{ Is… this me?}
{Yup! Well, you could call it a future you. If you leave control to me or Sirin, you will take more of our traits. Regardless, we can´t really do much about minions right now. You could probably summon one or two, but they wouldn´t really be able to help you. So, we focus on getting you an outfit and weaponry. We will spend most of the time here gathering energy for your to create them out of honkai. We have the blueprints we need from the Will. But you need to decide which one you want.}
Taylor nodded slightly, preparing herself. She could stare at herself later, right now, she had to focus.
{First option! The outfit, battlesuit, is called White comet, though I would recommend the Starless Rift variation. It is relatively basic, but comfortable and good looking.}
Taylor nodded, suppressing a squeal of surprise as an image invaded her mind, she took a look at the outfit. It looked like a bodysuit that was very tight, almost like a diving body glove. It was mostly black with green pieces on her upper arms, a strange star shaped symbol on her outer thighs and strangely, heeled boots.
It was certainly a looker, but Taylor wasn´t sure if it didn´t show a bit much.
{It comes with the Water Spirit Type-I, the I-30 Honkai Engine within these guns generates condensed particles that empower bullets to deal damage that far outstrips any conventional weapon. Well, that is what they tell you, but honestly, it should say that it outstrips those of similar calibre.}
Coughing slightly, Kiana then focused once more on the presentation.
{Second option is that I could reconstruct my personalized uniform from back at St. Freya. Valkyrie Ranger.}
Taylor saw an outfit that looked significantly weirder, but also more cape like. It was a white and yellow vest that only reached barely to her upper midriff, on the top of a black body stocking, black long gloves, a bullet belt and normal brown belts on the hips and thighs, grey shorts, black thigh highs and brown boots. It had even a small cape.
She hummed slightly, she could see how it could look good on her, and it was certainly easy to adapt a mask without looking villainous, as opposed to the Starless rift.
{This one is a personal favourite of mine. But it also comes with a gun! The Water Spirit Type-II, The I-32 Honkai Engine within these guns generates condensed particles that rapidly absorbs heat energy from the target to induce rapid freezing. You can literally freeze targets! It is cool!}
{I loath your existence. But do mine next, so I don´t I have to listen to this senseless prattling about fashion.}
{Fine… Next one would be Sirin´s outfit.}
Taylor paused as the next outfit came up. Unlike the two previous one, this one had no body suit. It had a yellow collar with some kind of emblem, black fur on the shoulders, a black, white and pink suit, a long black and pink glove on her left hand and a black glove one on her right hand, black and pink shorts, black thigh highs and shoes.
{Since we lack the means to produce the actual weapons of this thing, you get a pair of Desert Eagles. They are perfectly nice.}
Taylor blinked. She had expected some kind of honkai powered weapon, but fair enough. A gun was a gun, and she didn´t plan on killing anyone soon enough. Perfectly nice fit her perfectly well.
{Last one! This one I found in the archives on a binge when I designed Ranger, personally, not my style, but you could pull it off. I call it Sixth Serenade.}
This one was perhaps the most cape like outfit of the lot. It even had a mask, one that looked like a weird fusion of opera and plague doctor mask, which was coloured black and purple. The rest of the outfit continued with the motif, appearing like something that was worn in the French and English courts of the renaissance era. It was still tight fitting, and the skirt was short, but it had a more playful feel to it. It reminded her a lot of Arsène Lupin.
{This one comes with a pair of nice, smooth Colt Anaconda EX models, a bit more classical to go with the theme. You don´t need to chose now, but keep it in mind. Now, back to bed with you.}
Taylor relaxed the energy coursing through her body, and she had to bite her own tongue to keep herself from snickering. Her hair had suddenly gained what puff and curls it had back, which had looked quite interesting.
Moving back to the bed, she paused. She had felt energized before, but she felt lighter. As if a heavy burden was being lifted off her shoulders.
It felt great having friends... even if these friends were voices in your head.
Cape outfit Vote (This is a purely cosmetic choice. While the weapons have different effects, they are about as effective.)
[] White Comet & Water Spirit Type 1
[] Valkyrie Ranger & Water Spirit Type 2
[] HoV & Desert Eagles
[] Sixth Serenade & Colt Anaconda EX
There are options to change it later on.
After this, we time skip a bit to the point in time where Taylor arrives home.
{I will politely decline. No point in burning bridges, but I do want to figure out all this myself first.}
She thought about how to phrase her denial for a moment, before she spoke up, her voice at first sounding like the squeak of a mice, before she coughed, speaking more cleanly.
"Mister Armsmaster, Sir, I have to apologize, but I am fairly sure I would have noticed if I expressed any such powers. As such, I fear, while I appreciate it, your visit has little purpose to it." She tried, and she was fairly sure she failed horribly at it, to give the superhero an apologizing smile. She didn´t really feel sorry, but the gesture helped a little with the lying.
The man did not say anything for a few seconds, before giving her a curt nod. "Understandable. I thank you for your consideration of my time." There was once more the scripted tone. "However, should you discover that something is wrong, please do not hesitate to ask for the PRT or the Protectorate. It is never too late to ask." There was a weight to these words. Giving her a curt nod, the superhero left the room.
{He knows.} It was almost a growl
{He suspects it. That was pretty much destined to happen, but as long as we do not do anything to confirm it, it will probably be more note to self than report material.}
{...What?}
{Speculation on our part, naturally, but given that you did not really behave like a star struck teenager… Likely that he suspect something was up. Then again, nobody can really expect you to be a master liar. But that is also not important. Bridges in the past so on. We have one last thing to talk about that we can work on in the hospital. Given that you need actual experience to actually grow, we think you should get involved in the Cape scene. Given your wish to be a hero-} {Urrrrghhhh!}{ You will need to have a secret identity. That is pretty much taken care of.}
{… What do you mean?}
There was a note of amusement in the response she got. {Go look into the mirror in the bathroom.}
Following the order, Taylor stood up from the bed, feeling oddly energized. She would have thought that after laying on the bed for most of the day, she would feel stiff, but she felt better than usual even.
Looking into the mirror, she frowned. Not because she looked different, but because of the lack of change.
{Circulate Honkai through your body.}
Following this order, she gasped at the change.
As the energy travelled through her body, there was a shift in her body. Perhaps it was due to being demeaned for her lack of assets, but it was the most noticeable change. Where before, she would have described herself as plain, she slowly changed into a body that was… beautiful. It was more akin to a supermodel, having both a sizeable chest and ... other assets. She was briefly tempted to grope them.
{Sorry!}
Shaking her head, Taylor´s eyes fell on her hair. Where before it was curly, but now it seemed to have not only straighten out, it had grown to reach her lower back. But perhaps the most striking sight were her eyes.
Before, they were a dark brown, but now they were a striking green, poison green came to mind, glowing softly, even in the twilight of the room, with a cross like muster around the iris.
{ Is… this me?}
{Yup! Well, you could call it a future you. If you leave control to me or Sirin, you will take more of our traits. Regardless, we can´t really do much about minions right now. You could probably summon one or two, but they wouldn´t really be able to help you. So, we focus on getting you an outfit and weaponry. We will spend most of the time here gathering energy for your to create them out of honkai. We have the blueprints we need from the Will. But you need to decide which one you want.}
Taylor nodded slightly, preparing herself. She could stare at herself later, right now, she had to focus.
{First option! The outfit, battlesuit, is called White comet, though I would recommend the Starless Rift variation. It is relatively basic, but comfortable and good looking.}
Taylor nodded, suppressing a squeal of surprise as an image invaded her mind, she took a look at the outfit. It looked like a bodysuit that was very tight, almost like a diving body glove. It was mostly black with green pieces on her upper arms, a strange star shaped symbol on her outer thighs and strangely, heeled boots.
It was certainly a looker, but Taylor wasn´t sure if it didn´t show a bit much.
{It comes with the Water Spirit Type-I, the I-30 Honkai Engine within these guns generates condensed particles that empower bullets to deal damage that far outstrips any conventional weapon. Well, that is what they tell you, but honestly, it should say that it outstrips those of similar calibre.}
Coughing slightly, Kiana then focused once more on the presentation.
{Second option is that I could reconstruct my personalized uniform from back at St. Freya. Valkyrie Ranger.}
Taylor saw an outfit that looked significantly weirder, but also more cape like. It was a white and yellow vest that only reached barely to her upper midriff, on the top of a black body stocking, black long gloves, a bullet belt and normal brown belts on the hips and thighs, grey shorts, black thigh highs and brown boots. It had even a small cape.
She hummed slightly, she could see how it could look good on her, and it was certainly easy to adapt a mask without looking villainous, as opposed to the Starless rift.
{This one is a personal favourite of mine. But it also comes with a gun! The Water Spirit Type-II, The I-32 Honkai Engine within these guns generates condensed particles that rapidly absorbs heat energy from the target to induce rapid freezing. You can literally freeze targets! It is cool!}
{I loath your existence. But do mine next, so I don´t I have to listen to this senseless prattling about fashion.}
{Fine… Next one would be Sirin´s outfit.}
Taylor paused as the next outfit came up. Unlike the two previous one, this one had no body suit. It had a yellow collar with some kind of emblem, black fur on the shoulders, a black, white and pink suit, a long black and pink glove on her left hand and a black glove one on her right hand, black and pink shorts, black thigh highs and shoes.
{Since we lack the means to produce the actual weapons of this thing, you get a pair of Desert Eagles. They are perfectly nice.}
Taylor blinked. She had expected some kind of honkai powered weapon, but fair enough. A gun was a gun, and she didn´t plan on killing anyone soon enough. Perfectly nice fit her perfectly well.
{Last one! This one I found in the archives on a binge when I designed Ranger, personally, not my style, but you could pull it off. I call it Sixth Serenade.}
This one was perhaps the most cape like outfit of the lot. It even had a mask, one that looked like a weird fusion of opera and plague doctor mask, which was coloured black and purple. The rest of the outfit continued with the motif, appearing like something that was worn in the French and English courts of the renaissance era. It was still tight fitting, and the skirt was short, but it had a more playful feel to it. It reminded her a lot of Arsène Lupin.
{This one comes with a pair of nice, smooth Colt Anaconda EX models, a bit more classical to go with the theme. You don´t need to chose now, but keep it in mind. Now, back to bed with you.}
Taylor relaxed the energy coursing through her body, and she had to bite her own tongue to keep herself from snickering. Her hair had suddenly gained what puff and curls it had back, which had looked quite interesting.
Moving back to the bed, she paused. She had felt energized before, but she felt lighter. As if a heavy burden was being lifted off her shoulders.
It felt great having friends... even if these friends were voices in your head.
Cape outfit Vote (This is a purely cosmetic choice. While the weapons have different effects, they are about as effective.)
[] White Comet & Water Spirit Type 1
[] Valkyrie Ranger & Water Spirit Type 2
[] HoV & Desert Eagles
[] Sixth Serenade & Colt Anaconda EX
There are options to change it later on.
After this, we time skip a bit to the point in time where Taylor arrives home.
Last edited:
Taylor Hebert (CS)
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
CHARACTER NAME
Taylor Hebert
CLASS 1
Herrscher of the Void
DOMAIN
Space, Time, Dimension
MOVEMENT SCORE
8
STAMINA SCORE
34
PROFICIENCY SCORE
24
WEAPON
TALENTS
Hotline to God (5)
Taylor, by virtue of being the HoV, is among the primary conduits for the Honkai´s will in the real world. As such, she can pull directly from it´s near infinite amount of potential energy to refill her own Stamina pool based on this formula: 1dX+2(X/5), where X is the Stamina Pool.
For every point exceeding her original pool, dice will be rolled to see if she can contain the energy, or if it causes a negative effect around her. Should she fail, she will receive that point in damage at the end of the Action.
PASSIVE
Person of Escalation
Taylor, by virtue of being a Taylor, has an almost meta ability to escalate, for better or worse. Any time Taylor attempts an action that is "Out of Proportions/ Beyond what is reasonable" (A thug threatens dad, she plans to destroy the Empire) she has automatic +5 to it. However, in the same way, a Negative Impact roll will happen to determine if it gets worse in equal measure.
Voice of God
Untypical for a being of her Nature, Taylor has proven herself to be quite the charming little angel. Being a direct agent of the counterplayer of the entities, her voice is now laced with a kind of influence that conveys her meaning well and wards of influence of the shards of the Enemy. +1 for charisma type rolls, +3 if the opponent is a parahuman.
Wandering the Path
Be it sourced in extraordinarily luck or an affinity for an aspect of time unused before, Taylor has proven herself to have strong instincts. Once per encounter and once between encounters, she can reroll a failed roll.
ABILITIES
Time Bubble(3)
Taylor is capable of creating a localized area of decelerated or accelerated time, the most extreme expression of which is a bubble of 5 feet diameter and a factor of 3/4 or 5/4, which translates to an initiative bonus or negative of 2. She can selectively decide if she wants to be affected by the effect or not. Roll 1d4 to see how many rounds it persists.
Grasp(1)!
By encasing something with Honkai energy, Taylor can exert force on it as if she had telekinetic abilities. This can translate to 1d4 Damage by squeezing them or moving them 2 spaces. Taylor is able to hold a grasp without doing either for 1 Stamina per turn. Due to advanced skill, Taylor can target additional 2 targets.
Teleport(3)!
Using her domain of space, Taylor is able to instantly teleport to any space with a 5-space radius, as long as she has reasonable cause to belief that it is empty.
Taylor Hebert
CLASS 1
Herrscher of the Void
DOMAIN
Space, Time, Dimension
A Domain is a single word that denotes an affinity with a specific concept.
For example, if you have the domain of time, you have the ability to control and affect time. This can be the universal time, progress or any other interpretation of time. This allow you to cause any effect within the domain, although you need to succeed at a d20 where the proficiency Score provides a bonus of: X/20, rounded down. Any success will, depending on the degree of success, and scale of task cost Stamina. This counts as an Action.
For example, if you have the domain of time, you have the ability to control and affect time. This can be the universal time, progress or any other interpretation of time. This allow you to cause any effect within the domain, although you need to succeed at a d20 where the proficiency Score provides a bonus of: X/20, rounded down. Any success will, depending on the degree of success, and scale of task cost Stamina. This counts as an Action.
MOVEMENT SCORE
8
MOVEMENT is determined during character creation. One "space" is considered about 5ft. If you are moving diagonally, diagonals count as 1.5 spaces.
STAMINA SCORE
34
STAMINA is your health and magic/Honkai all in one. Taking damage or using your abilities drains your Stamina. Stamina determines how many times you can use your abilities and how many hits you can take. If your Stamina drops to 0, you are knocked out. Using abilities outside of combat costs Stamina and players will enter the next combat with reduced Stamina.
PROFICIENCY SCORE
24
PROFICIENCY is how skilled and creative a character is when using their abilities. Gaining more Proficiency allows players to unlock upgrades for their current skillset and sometimes completely new powers. Proficiency can be gained in many ways, including rolling nat20s in specific scenarios and defeating powerful enemies.
WEAPON
TALENTS
Hotline to God (5)
Taylor, by virtue of being the HoV, is among the primary conduits for the Honkai´s will in the real world. As such, she can pull directly from it´s near infinite amount of potential energy to refill her own Stamina pool based on this formula: 1dX+2(X/5), where X is the Stamina Pool.
For every point exceeding her original pool, dice will be rolled to see if she can contain the energy, or if it causes a negative effect around her. Should she fail, she will receive that point in damage at the end of the Action.
PASSIVE
Person of Escalation
Taylor, by virtue of being a Taylor, has an almost meta ability to escalate, for better or worse. Any time Taylor attempts an action that is "Out of Proportions/ Beyond what is reasonable" (A thug threatens dad, she plans to destroy the Empire) she has automatic +5 to it. However, in the same way, a Negative Impact roll will happen to determine if it gets worse in equal measure.
Voice of God
Untypical for a being of her Nature, Taylor has proven herself to be quite the charming little angel. Being a direct agent of the counterplayer of the entities, her voice is now laced with a kind of influence that conveys her meaning well and wards of influence of the shards of the Enemy. +1 for charisma type rolls, +3 if the opponent is a parahuman.
Wandering the Path
Be it sourced in extraordinarily luck or an affinity for an aspect of time unused before, Taylor has proven herself to have strong instincts. Once per encounter and once between encounters, she can reroll a failed roll.
ABILITIES
Time Bubble(3)
Taylor is capable of creating a localized area of decelerated or accelerated time, the most extreme expression of which is a bubble of 5 feet diameter and a factor of 3/4 or 5/4, which translates to an initiative bonus or negative of 2. She can selectively decide if she wants to be affected by the effect or not. Roll 1d4 to see how many rounds it persists.
Grasp(1)!
By encasing something with Honkai energy, Taylor can exert force on it as if she had telekinetic abilities. This can translate to 1d4 Damage by squeezing them or moving them 2 spaces. Taylor is able to hold a grasp without doing either for 1 Stamina per turn. Due to advanced skill, Taylor can target additional 2 targets.
Teleport(3)!
Using her domain of space, Taylor is able to instantly teleport to any space with a 5-space radius, as long as she has reasonable cause to belief that it is empty.
Summon Tool of the Honkai (Lesser)
Taylor can call into the infinite void of possibility to call forth lesser manifestations of the Honkai.
Imaginary Space Manipulation
A fusion of dimensional and Spatial manipulation, Taylor is able to manipulate and access Imaginary space.
Taylor can call into the infinite void of possibility to call forth lesser manifestations of the Honkai.
Imaginary Space Manipulation
A fusion of dimensional and Spatial manipulation, Taylor is able to manipulate and access Imaginary space.
For the system, because I am lazy at parts, have this link. For those that don´t want to read it, they will be explained once they become relevant. Also, yes, I will actually make maps for this, because I like screwing around with editing tools.
How To Play - Epithets/Anime Campaign System (In Progress Version 1.2)
Legal disclaimer, I do not claim ownership over anything in that document. It is the base system I am working with, and I have slightly altered it and am winging it basically. Any descriptions on this sheet supersede the ones in the doc.
Last edited:
Community Efforts
Xasure Higeki
Detektive der Dummheit
- Location
- Germany
Something that came to mind most recently as I worked on the Armsmaster interlude, which will provide a lot more perspective on what effect the appearance of the Honkai have on both Shards and Parahumans.~
By Nature of starting multiple Months before canon starts, we can safely say that the stations of canon ain´t gonna happen. We are currently in January, and canon starts in late April.
As such, I want to open a bit of an avenue for people to contribute, in exchange for modifiers and the usual shtick. Now, to be clear. There are no expectations here. I am not EA.
I welcome most any kind of contribution, and if you have unique ideas that won´t fit in the following musters below, I am always happy to see a red number over the messages.... Which might be a sign that I should get more social interaction in retrospect.
Again, to clarify.
This is not intended nor meant as anything approaching expectation. While it would be a lie to say that I would not care, because frankly, I love any sign of engagement with my works, it is not needed as an Author fuel or any of the sort! This is just to establish that I welcome those, appreciate them and that they will be rewarded…. And that I don´t mind helping with them.
Armsmaster interlude is half done, so will probably go up morrow or Friday.
HOW TO USE
Shit, I forgot how these are going to be used. Essentially,
You notify in the preceding post that you are willing to invest [Insert Token Here], which will then be used during the next turn if needed. That means that it will be only used for fixing fails or go from partial to full success. Should this not be needed, you will keep the token. You can also notify that you want it to be used to boost, meaning that it will be used to the greatest benefit
+1/+2/+3
+1/+2/+3 Boost
By Nature of starting multiple Months before canon starts, we can safely say that the stations of canon ain´t gonna happen. We are currently in January, and canon starts in late April.
As such, I want to open a bit of an avenue for people to contribute, in exchange for modifiers and the usual shtick. Now, to be clear. There are no expectations here. I am not EA.
I welcome most any kind of contribution, and if you have unique ideas that won´t fit in the following musters below, I am always happy to see a red number over the messages.... Which might be a sign that I should get more social interaction in retrospect.
Omake
Generally, all Omake receive a +2 token. There are no guidelines nor limitations, and if there are questions, I am generally available. I love to talk or chat😉(...That sounded like some trashy dating app), canonicity to the story is possible.
Maps
By Nature of me liking to use maps and TTRPG as visual aids, I am always eager to have more maps for variety, as such, every fifth map total will garner a +1 for the players. (Like, seriously, modern day maps are a pain in the ass to get.)
Characters
Perhaps the biggest thing, I tend to fear writing the same characters. There is a not insignificant amount of parahuman in the bay that aren´t well explored at all, and as such, want offer the following avenue. If you have an idea for a character, write to me, and if I can see it working well we shall discuss more~
Art
Given that in my experience, it takes longer to even just recolour something than to write, not even talking about OG Art, this results in a +3 Token.
Generally, all Omake receive a +2 token. There are no guidelines nor limitations, and if there are questions, I am generally available. I love to talk or chat😉(...That sounded like some trashy dating app), canonicity to the story is possible.
Maps
By Nature of me liking to use maps and TTRPG as visual aids, I am always eager to have more maps for variety, as such, every fifth map total will garner a +1 for the players. (Like, seriously, modern day maps are a pain in the ass to get.)
Characters
Perhaps the biggest thing, I tend to fear writing the same characters. There is a not insignificant amount of parahuman in the bay that aren´t well explored at all, and as such, want offer the following avenue. If you have an idea for a character, write to me, and if I can see it working well we shall discuss more~
Art
Given that in my experience, it takes longer to even just recolour something than to write, not even talking about OG Art, this results in a +3 Token.
Again, to clarify.
This is not intended nor meant as anything approaching expectation. While it would be a lie to say that I would not care, because frankly, I love any sign of engagement with my works, it is not needed as an Author fuel or any of the sort! This is just to establish that I welcome those, appreciate them and that they will be rewarded…. And that I don´t mind helping with them.
Armsmaster interlude is half done, so will probably go up morrow or Friday.
HOW TO USE
Shit, I forgot how these are going to be used. Essentially,
You notify in the preceding post that you are willing to invest [Insert Token Here], which will then be used during the next turn if needed. That means that it will be only used for fixing fails or go from partial to full success. Should this not be needed, you will keep the token. You can also notify that you want it to be used to boost, meaning that it will be used to the greatest benefit
Example # Normal
[X] Example vote
+1/+2/+3
Example # Boost
[X] Example vote
+1/+2/+3 Boost
HALLS OF HONOR
@Qro | 8 OP | Mix up I | Filling the Void 1 , 2 | Idol Wars: Prelude
@ic3shard13 | 4 OP| Arms Shipping | If there is a Will, there is a way
@synnero | 7 OP | I did that | Key of Escalation |Idol Wars:TBN | YATTA! Time to have some fun!
@Silversun17 | 3 OP | Soldat(CS)
@randomcringyjoke | 4 OP | Idol Wars: Another Song, PHO#1
@LSShadowBlaze | 2 OP | WILD MOUSE PROTECTOR APPEARS
@neobiz | 2 OP | Taylor meets Herrscher of Scammers
Idol Verse
Idol Wars:TBN , Idol Wars: Prelude, Idol Wars: Another Song
@Qro | 8 OP | Mix up I | Filling the Void 1 , 2 | Idol Wars: Prelude
@ic3shard13 | 4 OP| Arms Shipping | If there is a Will, there is a way
@synnero | 7 OP | I did that | Key of Escalation |Idol Wars:TBN | YATTA! Time to have some fun!
@Silversun17 | 3 OP | Soldat(CS)
@randomcringyjoke | 4 OP | Idol Wars: Another Song, PHO#1
@LSShadowBlaze | 2 OP | WILD MOUSE PROTECTOR APPEARS
@neobiz | 2 OP | Taylor meets Herrscher of Scammers
Idol Verse
Idol Wars:TBN , Idol Wars: Prelude, Idol Wars: Another Song
Last edited:
Mix-up I
- Location
- Sea of Quanta
Challenge accepted!
Non-canon omake incoming!
---
As she passed through the portal a few hundred thousand feet above the ground, Lisa froze. She was undoubtedly on Earth-Bet but something was wrong with it. A few seconds later it hit her. There was almost no Honkai energy present. Compared to the overwhelming amount that can be sensed on Earth-H or her own version of Earth-Bet, this world seemed almost pure.
'Alrighty then. Dial back the juice it is.'
Making sure that her own energy signature dropped to a neigh imperceptible levels, Lisa focused on the most important part - finding the local version of herself and her friend. After all, that was the reason she came here.
Closing her eyes, the girl focused on her power and allowed herself to feel the surroundings. Immediately, hundreds of thousands of voices reached her ears. It would probably drive any normal person insane, but Lisa wasn't sure that she even qualified as a human after everything that happened.
Each voice and human had its own, unique vibration that propagated through the air. Under usual circumstances, finding a particular vibration and its owner would be somewhat difficult but Lisa knew her own voice rather well, as well as she knew the voice of her friend. That, however, is where the problem started.
Locating herself wasn't difficult. She was, however, surprised to find out that her local self was in the same building Outsiders operated out of. And judging by what she could hear, local Lisa Wilbourn was an active member of the group!
'What. The. Fuck.'
While she wasn't necessarily a good person, the idea of working alongside Trainwreck, Chariot and Circus for any prolonged period of time made her skin crawl. Deciding to deal with that particular set of circumstances later, she focused on another voice. Her friend's voice. Imagine her surprise when the outcome of a fairly intense listening for a few minutes turned up nothing.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Lisa opened her eyes and looked down towards the city. Sure, there was a chance that the local birdbrain took off somewhere or hid in her own pocket dimension, the lack of Honkai energy in the air made it a "not probable" version. Even portals left a long, lingering trace if you knew where to look. Realising her mistake, Lisa immediately switched her gears and focused on sensing Honkai energy itself. Surely, if there was some small amount present, her friend would be the source. Local Lisa definitely didn't have anything on her at the very least.
After a few seconds of searching, her attempts were rewarded. Locking on to the admittedly strange feeling energy, Lisa smiled.
"Got you! Ready or not buddy, here I come!"
Allowing herself to go into the free fall, the girl made sure to mess with the air density on top of changing the direction of the air currents to make the light bend around her, effectively making her invisible. It was a neat trick that she came up with not too long ago. While not the most effective ability, it sure got the drop on a few mutants.
As she got closer and closer to her target, doubt started filling Lisa's mind. Whatever was wrong with her companion, she definitely didn't feel like herself. Even as she limited herself, there was always this… oppressive and regal aura around the girl. It was one of the reasons why Lisa offered her friend to use "Queen" as a cape name.
—
The entire trip took less than 5 minutes overall. Swiftly landing a few feet behind the girl, Lisa felt her mouth open against her will. Despite having the proper, although muddled, signature of her friend, whoever was standing in front of her was not her.
"You're not Sirin, aren't you?"
Walking around her, Lisa could feel the girl tense. But she could also feel some sort of confusion or hesitance. She definitely knew her friend's name and there was certainly something else going on. Was she the same as Lisa? Implanted with the Gem? There was a good chance of that but that would mean that Sirin is…
'Nope, not thinking about it. Focus on what's in front of you. Focus on not freaking the already panicking girl out.'
"Right, so… My name's Lisa, also known as Zephyr! it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"
---
Have an idea for a few more "chapters" so there'll probably be a continuation sometimes later.
Non-canon omake incoming!
---
As she passed through the portal a few hundred thousand feet above the ground, Lisa froze. She was undoubtedly on Earth-Bet but something was wrong with it. A few seconds later it hit her. There was almost no Honkai energy present. Compared to the overwhelming amount that can be sensed on Earth-H or her own version of Earth-Bet, this world seemed almost pure.
'Alrighty then. Dial back the juice it is.'
Making sure that her own energy signature dropped to a neigh imperceptible levels, Lisa focused on the most important part - finding the local version of herself and her friend. After all, that was the reason she came here.
Closing her eyes, the girl focused on her power and allowed herself to feel the surroundings. Immediately, hundreds of thousands of voices reached her ears. It would probably drive any normal person insane, but Lisa wasn't sure that she even qualified as a human after everything that happened.
Each voice and human had its own, unique vibration that propagated through the air. Under usual circumstances, finding a particular vibration and its owner would be somewhat difficult but Lisa knew her own voice rather well, as well as she knew the voice of her friend. That, however, is where the problem started.
Locating herself wasn't difficult. She was, however, surprised to find out that her local self was in the same building Outsiders operated out of. And judging by what she could hear, local Lisa Wilbourn was an active member of the group!
'What. The. Fuck.'
While she wasn't necessarily a good person, the idea of working alongside Trainwreck, Chariot and Circus for any prolonged period of time made her skin crawl. Deciding to deal with that particular set of circumstances later, she focused on another voice. Her friend's voice. Imagine her surprise when the outcome of a fairly intense listening for a few minutes turned up nothing.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Lisa opened her eyes and looked down towards the city. Sure, there was a chance that the local birdbrain took off somewhere or hid in her own pocket dimension, the lack of Honkai energy in the air made it a "not probable" version. Even portals left a long, lingering trace if you knew where to look. Realising her mistake, Lisa immediately switched her gears and focused on sensing Honkai energy itself. Surely, if there was some small amount present, her friend would be the source. Local Lisa definitely didn't have anything on her at the very least.
After a few seconds of searching, her attempts were rewarded. Locking on to the admittedly strange feeling energy, Lisa smiled.
"Got you! Ready or not buddy, here I come!"
Allowing herself to go into the free fall, the girl made sure to mess with the air density on top of changing the direction of the air currents to make the light bend around her, effectively making her invisible. It was a neat trick that she came up with not too long ago. While not the most effective ability, it sure got the drop on a few mutants.
As she got closer and closer to her target, doubt started filling Lisa's mind. Whatever was wrong with her companion, she definitely didn't feel like herself. Even as she limited herself, there was always this… oppressive and regal aura around the girl. It was one of the reasons why Lisa offered her friend to use "Queen" as a cape name.
—
The entire trip took less than 5 minutes overall. Swiftly landing a few feet behind the girl, Lisa felt her mouth open against her will. Despite having the proper, although muddled, signature of her friend, whoever was standing in front of her was not her.
"You're not Sirin, aren't you?"
Walking around her, Lisa could feel the girl tense. But she could also feel some sort of confusion or hesitance. She definitely knew her friend's name and there was certainly something else going on. Was she the same as Lisa? Implanted with the Gem? There was a good chance of that but that would mean that Sirin is…
'Nope, not thinking about it. Focus on what's in front of you. Focus on not freaking the already panicking girl out.'
"Right, so… My name's Lisa, also known as Zephyr! it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"
---
Have an idea for a few more "chapters" so there'll probably be a continuation sometimes later.
Last edited: