The Kitty Arrives!

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

Croak, croak, croak!

Unidentified insects had been chirping relentlessly, their chorus joined by the newly awakened frogs. Michael tossed and turned in bed. It wasn't late, just past nightfall, but he couldn't sleep. He wasn't used to this much downtime, and the noise outside was grating on his nerves.

He opened his eyes, then closed them, then opened them again. At first, his eyelids felt heavy, but the more he tried to sleep, the more awake he became.

Then the feral cats joined in, their yowls echoing through the night.

Michael buried his head under his pillow, but it was no use. The room's soundproofing was fine. The problem was him. Even without his core, even without the physical enhancements of his Herrscher form, he was still a MANTIS soldier.

His senses, especially his hearing, were amplified. The faintest sounds from outside were magnified a thousandfold.

He rolled over again, restless.

"Tch!" He kicked off the covers, letting the early spring chill seep into his skin. Then, just as quickly, he pulled them back up, scolding himself. He couldn't blame the blankets for his restlessness.

Tap, tap, tap.

A soft knock echoed in his heart. A sudden urge to open the door welled up, then subsided. He stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Michael-boss! Are you there? Open up! I can't do business with a closed door!"

"..." The familiar voice stirred something within him. Not a violent urge, but a gentle warmth, like a hot spring flowing through stone. The corners of his lips twitched upwards, then he forced them down.

He rolled over, turning his back to the door, ignoring Pardo.

Then came a scratch, scratch, scratch, like a cat pawing at the door, each scratch etching itself onto his heart.

He sat up, then flopped back down.

"I'm sorry… Pardo…" He'd said those words so many times, but it never felt enough. He wasn't hiding just out of grief and guilt, but… He didn't know how to face anyone, especially those who'd known Seele.

Especially when no one blamed him, when everyone was trying to comfort him, telling him he'd done nothing wrong.

Sending Seele to the Sea of Quanta had been a viable solution. He'd been negligent, failing to offer her companionship and support.

But Seele becoming a Herrscher… Who could have predicted Vishnu causing fluctuations in the Sea of Quanta? Who could have predicted those fluctuations pulling Seele back to the real world?

This wasn't an excuse. It felt like fate itself was mocking his attempts to change the outcome, twisting the story into a cruel joke.

His efforts to alter destiny were probably nothing more than an ant trying to move a mountain, a laughable display of futility. Fate could, with a flick of its finger, twist the tangled threads of causality back onto their preordained path.

What about the next Herrscher? What about Captain Himeko? Michael scoffed. Forget it.

The thought of his intervention causing even more suffering… he'd rather do nothing. Better to let others suffer than to inflict the pain himself.

I can't do anything anyway. Maybe the reason I exist is to demonstrate fate's power. Struggle all you want, nothing will change.

The thought made him even less inclined to leave the room, to face Captain Himeko, to face… Elysia.

The scratching at the door turned into a clicking sound. Pardo was picking the lock. The sound didn't annoy him. It… gave him a flicker of hope.

He hoped she'd get in. He realized, beneath the layers of self-recrimination, he was lonely, restless, yearning for connection.

How can I feel this way?!

He punched the bed. The clicking stopped. It didn't matter anyway. He'd blocked the lock. The only way in was to break down the door. Pardo couldn't do that.

But someone else could… Even with his eyes closed, he saw a flash of pink, the internal conflict erupting again. He both wanted Elysia to barge in, drag him out, yell at him, hit him… and he wanted her to hold him, to let him cry in her arms.

But there was a third option, the one he'd probably choose – to escape through the window, to hide somewhere she couldn't find him.

He still didn't know how to face her.

Pardo seemed to have given up. Silence returned. Michael stared at the ceiling, then at the air vent.

Thud. A muffled sound from inside the vent. Then another. And another.

Michael's confusion lasted only a moment. He chuckled. Of course it's Pardo…

He rolled over, debating whether to escape.

Crash!

Thud!

"Oof!"

"Shit!"

Pardo landed on the bed, then rolled onto the floor. She looked up, dazed, to see Michael curled up on the bed, gasping in pain.

"M-Michael-boss… are you okay?"

"Ugh…" Michael groaned, clutching his side. Pardo touched his forehead – it was drenched in sweat.

Where did I hit him? she wondered, seeing his agony. It reminded her of her own monthly… no, this was a thousand times worse.

Panicked, she rummaged through her hood, pulling out a vial of essential oil. "Michael-boss, Phyllis's Miracle Elixir! Cures backaches, leg cramps, even stops your heart… I mean, makes it stop hurting! Guaranteed to cure what ails ya! Wanna try some?"

"N-No thanks…" Michael winced, the corners of his lips twitching upwards before he forced them down again.

Pardo, seeing her performance fall flat, looked away awkwardly.

After a while, the pain subsided. Michael sat up, leaning against the headboard. "Pardo, what are you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound calm, almost scolding.

"Uh… I…" Pardo panicked, then remembered – she wasn't here to buy goods. She had no reason to be nervous.

She straightened up, puffing out her chest. "I'm here on Mei-nee's orders! To deliver your medicine!"

"…Really?"

"Uh… yeah!" Michael's silence made the air thick with tension. Pardo shivered, the hairs on her arms standing on end. As his hand reached towards her, she instinctively recoiled.

But a stubborn defiance kept her rooted to the spot, watching his hand approach.

He opened it, palm up.

"Well? Where's the medicine?"

"Oh! Right! Here!" She fumbled through her bag, pulling out the jar and handing it to him.

Michael opened it, examining a pill in the dim light. It wasn't the familiar oblong, L40-engraved Lurasidone, but a small, almond-shaped tablet.

"New medication? From Su or Mobius?"

Pardo bit her lip, silent.

Michael shrugged. He pulled a small note from the jar – the prescription.

"Fluoxetine, 10mg tablets, once daily. Start with one tablet. You know how to adjust the dosage. Take it in the morning, not before bed. It can cause insomnia."

Alright, Mobius, I'll listen to you. He sighed. The thought of Mobius brought a wave of complex emotions.

"So… uh… Michael-boss, if there's nothing else, I'll be going! I have… business to attend to!"

"Oh? Where are you going?"

Pardo froze, glancing at the vent, then at the door, then at her hands. "Michael-boss, could you… maybe… stuff me back in the vent?"

"Pfft-" Michael couldn't help but chuckle.

Pardo stared at him. He braced himself for accusations, for her to call him heartless, useless…

But she didn't. She sighed, a look of relief washing over her face. She patted her chest. "Michael Brother, I'm glad you can still laugh!"

Michael fell silent again. Pardo fidgeted, wondering if she'd said something wrong.

She opened her mouth several times, then finally sat down beside him, watching him quietly.

"Michael Brother…" She'd stopped calling him "boss," using the old, familiar address.

Michael's vision blurred. He saw a fiery sunset, a street bathed in its warm glow. He was walking down the middle of the road, hands in his pockets, flanked by Pardo and Elysia…

"Pardo… I wish… I could be… like you…"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Michael Brother?"

"I wish… I could be as optimistic… as positive… as you…"

Pardo's eyes narrowed. She scratched her head, her voice tinged with sadness. "I… I thought… you didn't like me… because I'm so… carefree…"

"…No, I think it's… good."

"Really?" Pardo looked up, her eyes, in the dim light, like two stars in the night sky.

The starlight flickered. Even the ever-optimistic Pardo felt sadness.

"Actually… that night… when I heard about Seele… I felt… really bad. I didn't cry or anything, but… I couldn't sleep. Tears just… kept falling…" She sniffled.

"In the Lower Quarter… people come and go… I thought I was used to it, but… every time… it still hurts. But… what can you do? The next morning… everyone… Big sister Ellie just stared at her pastries… Kevin Brother stood in a corner, silent, leaning on his sword… Hua-nee ate seven bowls of noodles and six steamed buns, then sat in a corner, silent…

Brother Su just sat there, eyes closed, his goji berry tea ice cold… Kalpas Brother nearly demolished the training room because it had the 6th Herrscher's data loaded… Snake-nee paced around the lab, doing nothing, but she broke the door because she kept opening and closing it… Only little Griseo didn't know anything, but Blanka-nee took her away… If only Eden-nee or Aponia-nee were here… but Eden-nee, along with Raven and Dystopia were injured… and Aponia-nee was taking care of them… so… so…"

Pardo's voice rose, her fingers fidgeting. "So… I had to do something! Everyone was so sad! I thought… someone had to cheer them up… I remembered… Michael Brother, you and Big sister Ellie always smile when you see me… So I thought… maybe I have a talent for making people smile… Michael Brother, look at me… Smile again, okay?"

"Pardo…" Michael's lips trembled. He couldn't smile.

Pardo reached out, gently pinching his cheeks, pulling them outwards. His stiff facial muscles stretched into a smile.

Satisfied, Pardo pulled back her hand, wiping her tears. "Okay! Michael-boss, you gotta cheer up! I have a big job to do! Gotta run!" She took two steps, then felt a hand on her collar, lifting her like a kitten.

"It's late. What big job?" Michael pulled her back, grabbing the last two tissues from his nightstand and wiping her nose.

"Hee hee! It's a secret! It's called… what was it again…? Oh! A trade secret!"

"Alright, alright, trade secret. Just be careful. Don't get caught."

"Don't worry, Michael Brother! I can sneak in and out of Kalpas Brother's room and Snake-nee's lab! Nothing scares me!"

"Just be careful." Michael set her down, ruffling her hair. His arm ached, not from weakness, but because Pardo wasn't a little girl anymore.

He got out of bed, surprising Pardo by removing the barricade and opening the door.

"Whoa! Michael Brother, you're going out?"

"Keep it down!" He tapped her forehead, his expression darkening. "I'm sorry. I… I still don't know how to face the others, especially… And…"

And since the core rejected him, since he no longer had his Herrscher powers, what could he even do? He couldn't even defy fate again, couldn't send Captain Himeko to the Sea of Quanta. Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

"Then… Michael-boss… promise me… no matter what… no matter how long it takes… you'll come back! And… you'll take your… ahem… medicine! And don't hurt yourself… I'm not good at… sappy speeches… but… everyone's waiting for you!"

After Pardo left, Michael barricaded the door again, leaning against it. His nose stung, but he didn't cry. He'd run out of tears. Or maybe it was Pardo's words… There was something in her voice… a strange comfort that settled in his chest.

He reached for the barricade, wanting to go out… but stopped.

He wasn't ready.

Not yet. But he was starting to be.

…

"Core analysis: 93.78%…"

"94.27%…"

"94.36%…"

As the mechanical voice recited the progress, the intricate structure of the Herrscher core unfolded on Mei's screen.

"100%. Core analysis complete. Print blueprints?"

"Yes."

"Construct 3D model and upload to holographic projector."

Mei took off her glasses, her eyes stinging. Tears welled up. She hadn't slept in three days.

"Mei, you need to rest." Kevin, warming his hands on a heating pipe, walked behind her, gently massaging her temples. His body temperature had stabilized around 20°C – cold, but not dangerously so.

According to Mobius, the resources spent on reversing Kevin's post-surgery side effects, thanks to Michael's veto of her "Mass Production MANTIS Soldier Program," could have funded 30,000 Meta-Morph surgeries. Even that stabilization wasn't entirely Mobius's doing. Michael, using his Herrscher powers, had painstakingly repaired Kevin's chromosomes, gene by gene.

Michael…

The name brought a sigh from both of them.

Prometheus removed the core from the scanner, presenting it to Mei with a mechanical arm.

"Thank you, Prometheus." Mei put her glasses back on.

"Doctor, please call me Number 17. Thank you."

"Ah, yes, Prometheus Seventeen."

Kevin gently pulled Mei's head against his chest. "Rest, Mei."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No, I can't. We need to reschedule the Vishnu Meta-Morph program… And the 6th Divine Key test is in an hour. And I need to analyze the 1st Divine Key while I have the chance… I have too much to do. Even if I tried to sleep, I couldn't." Her voice was weary. Kevin wished he could do it all for her.

"Hey, can't Prometheus handle some of this?" He snapped his fingers, thinking he'd found a solution.

"First, call me Seventeen. Second, I'm not as intelligent as you think. My programming lacks human… 'judgment.' I'm not suited for these tasks. And finally, even if I drafted perfect plans, your Dr. MEI would rewrite 90% of them. So it's more efficient for her to do it. I'm an AI, but I get tired too. Thank you for understanding."

"..."

"Okay, okay, you two are actually having a conversation." Mei chuckled weakly, staring at the core. A sudden urge overwhelmed her, a voice whispering in her mind: Take the core. Take it. Take it. Take… me…

"Ugh!" She sat up straight, reaching for the core with trembling hands.

"Mei!"

"Dr. MEI!"

Kevin grabbed her wrist. Seventeen inserted a sheet of specialized glass between Mei and the core. "Dr. MEI, while the inactive core emits less Honkai energy than anticipated, allowing for unprotected observation, my calculations indicate that direct contact would transform you into a Zombie within 0.0001 seconds. I advise against such… enthusiasm."

"Prometheus, even I wouldn't tell such a bad joke."

"First, call me Seventeen…"

Mei giggled, then her head drooped. "I'm… just tired… Reaching my limit…" She glanced at the clock – 4:00 AM. Pardo's mission should be starting now…

Lezren, what are you doing?

A commotion outside. Kevin instinctively moved towards the door, only to be slammed into the wall as it burst open.

A masked man strode in, ignoring Kevin, his gaze fixed on Mei.

"Where are Immer and Pardo?"