Empress of Thunder - 5

"So where do you think this is coming from?" said Kiana, glancing at Soleil as he was got into a ready stance. "Developed from her frustrations towards everyone around her?"

"That and the obvious incident. Mei must've been bottling up who knows what!" Soleil readied his bat as 'Mei' lifted the lightning blade into a readied hold. "No time for chatter though!"

"Oh, there certainly won't be!" 'Mei' laughed as she charged, the lightning sword meeting Soleil's bat as he met her charge, flames sparking off the blunt weapon as the clash shifted into a flurry of blows. The only interruption to the melee exchange was Kiana looking to line up a shot, the few she fired off being blocked by sparks of lightning from 'Mei's' wing.

Soleil vaulted back as Mei slashed at him with a wave of electricity pulsing from her hand, the sensation of the sparks singing his clothes and tingling his skin. And in the following moment, Mei shot forward with her other hand, a burst of lightning firing from it and slamming into Soleil, sending him careening back across the roof and rolling across the ground. But, Soleil managed to rise, a flickering coating of flames ebbing away as he stood.

"Tch… you'll take a bit longer to kill," 'Mei's' wing shifted and blocked more bullets, the girl drifting back a bit when a kick from Kiana came sailing at her, Kiana quick to follow it up with several more accompanied by shots from her guns. "Stupid human-agh!"

As 'Mei' moved to strike again, she was forced to block when something came right at her head. The deflected item clattered to the ground, revealing it to be a throwing knife with a glowing edge of light, the energy edge flickering away as it skittered to a stop.

"Don't go forgetting there's two of us!" Kiana said, firing again, and as Mei deflected the shot with her wing, another throwing knife from Soleil, coated in azure flames, slammed right through the construct, earning a snarl from their foe. "Nice one Rei-senpai!"

"Always gotta have a sub weapon on you." Soleil said, flicking a few more of the throwing knives into his left hand, holding them between his fingers as their edges activated. The three knives were thrown out and deflected, though that just left an opening for Kiana to land a kick as she also wheeled back, Soleil shooting back to the front. 'Mei' slashed in kind with her wing, though when they clashed this time, Soleil's bat cracked the gathered energy of the wing.

With Mei in place, Kiana aimed just as Soleil was forced back again, the bullets she fired sailing for the nick in the wing… and just as it pulled back, they impacted, 'Mei' yelling as the upper segment of the "feather" shattered off.

"How dare… how could mere humans damage a Herrscher's wing?!" 'Mei' growled, moving her head when another swing from Soleil damaged the wing more. 'Mei' retreated as the damaged "feather" flickered out of form. "I need to gather more power…"

"Like I'd let you do that!" Kiana shouted, grabbing 'Mei' by her right arm. "Perks of being a Kaslana, my Honkai resistance is high enough I can even grab a Herrscher!"

"Ggh, let go!" 'Mei' snapped, her attempt to swipe at Kiana with her left arm being stopped by Soleil grabbing her too, and as she looked at him, his other hand was glowing with blue flames. "You!"

"Let's see if we can't snap you out of this!" Soleil shouted, slamming his hand onto Mei's chest, eliciting a sharp scream from Mei as the blow landed. Lightning arced out in retaliation to the two, Soleil and Kiana gritting their teeth against it.

And then Soleil felt a flash in his mind, and a voice…

"Please… help me… Father! Help me… Don't leave me alone!" Mei's voice, fearful and calling out.

"This… what the Honkai is amplifying in her!" Soleil grit his teeth again, and the arm he had slammed onto Mei was starting to bleed from the backlash of energy from the Herrscher.

"Father! Why did you abandon me… why does everyone treat me so badly now after what happened?! Why? Why?! WHY?! This world… I hate this world!"

"Ggh… get out of my mind!" 'Mei' screamed, another burst of lightning blowing Kiana and Soleil away, both rolling to a stop. Soleil clutched his bleeding arm as he attempted to prop himself up on it, his right hand gathering blood under it. "With more power… nobody can hurt me!"

"Stop it!" Kiana shouted. "You're just being controlled by the Honkai Energy! If you keep giving in to those negative feelings, you'll lose yourself again! Don't do it!"

"It sounds nice, right?" Soleil muttered, panting between the sharp pain coming from his arm. "What it tells you… it sounds nice and pretty… but whatever you're being told by the Herrscher is just lies!"

"Hmph. You really think you're talking to the weakling right now?" 'Mei' muttered, Soleil growling, and then 'Mei' started drifting upwards. "You're one to talk, Flame Bearer. Both of you… I'll never forgive you. Next time we meet, you won't be so lucky, that much I promise you!"

"Hey! Stop running!" Kiana shouted, aiming, but her finger froze on the trigger, leaving 'Mei' to fly off, and the dark cloud above them followed her off further across the campus district. "Well at least we know where she'll be. Hmm… Mom said the worst thing about a Honkai Impact wasn't the Impact itself, but the thing born inside of it. So that's what a Herrscher is like."

"Someone who's sacrificed their heart to "God" to escape their suffering in exchange for power to change their fate. Obviously though, it's not that simple… you stop being "you" when you accept that offer. Talk about the worst-case scenario," Soleil muttered, flinching when he adjusted his grip on his arm. "Damn, this hurts like a bitch. That lightning hits hard that's for sure… definitely lives up to her name."

"Ah, your arm! You okay?" Kiana stepped over and gingerly helped Soleil move the arm up, the older boy giving a harsh hiss.

"Obviously not. But this area should start being safer. The zombies are going to follow Mei since she's the biggest source of power for them to follow. Good thing we swiped all that stuff from the infirmary, huh?" Soleil gave a chuckle, Kiana rolling her eyes as she started pulling him along.

"Laugh about it after I patch you up! Come on!"