A 2nd Chance (Honkai Impact 3rd/Worm) [re-write]

[QroGrotor]

Otto Apocalypse was quite confident in his abilities to adapt to unforeseen situations on the fly and modify any among dozens of plans to take advantage. In this case, however, he found himself quite displeased. The situation at Babylon Labs was a catastrophe.

The death of the entire staff was an unpleasant blow, mostly due to the fact that some of the staff were truly great scientists, and would not be easy to replace. The loss of the Herrscher, providing it was one, however, had the potential to be far more headache inducing. If it was indeed the Herrscher of the Void, he'd have the time to further refine his plans in approaching the Fifth Herrscher. If, however, it had appeared now, then he had to track it down immediately.

'Where are you?'

The blonde man crossed his arms as he stood in front of three holographic displays, each one tracking the levels of Honkai across the planet. Could the girl have simply escaped, leaving the other captives alive despite slaughtering everyone within? It was certainly a possibility, yet with the data from the Previous Era, and over three hundred thousand people dead simply as a side-effect of the First Herrscher's birth? The comparatively tiny amount of deaths made him doubt that it was Herrscher of Death.

"Lord Otto." Theresa's older sibling Amber stepped forward, a datapad held firmly in her hands. "We've received information that all of the children had been successfully transported. Theresa and Lady Cecilia are insistent that they are to join St. Freya High as students and for observation. Do you wish to approve the request?"

It was a bit of a complicated question. He'd agreed that developing a new facility to increase Valkyrie numbers could be quite beneficial, and an accelerating state of conflict with the Honkai would certainly support that. The fact that it was located in the Far East would limit his oversight, and introduce the potential for agents of other parties to infiltrate without his notice. But it would also increase recruitment.

On the gripping hand, though, Theresa had become deeply invested in the project since Cecilia had talked to her about it. And he really didn't want to disappoint his granddaughter.

"Approve their request. And do inquire if any further assistance will be required," the man replied, a small smile forming on his lips. While his body was effectively ageless, his soul was still that of an old man, and it was sometimes hard to disagree with whatever Theresa requested.

'Tesla would undoubtedly comment that I lack a soul to begin with,' Otto chuckled to himself, before turning his attention back towards the screens. All distractions aside, locating the girl, this Sirin, was paramount. Whether she was indeed Herrscher of the Void was still uncertain, and just in case the girl was indeed Herrscher of Death, he would never allow her to fall into Anti-Entropy's hands.

"Lord Otto, if I may ask?"

"What is it, Amber?"

As he turned to face the young woman, the man felt a pang of guilt at the familiar visage. Even after so many years, he couldn't escape it, nor, in truth, did he want to do so. It had been his greatest mistake, and one he would correct, no matter the cost.

"Is there a chance that we could not locate the girl because there is nothing to locate? From the report provided by Valkyrie Highsmith, the girl had absorbed all of the Honkai energy from the reactor before fleeing, yet she didn't feel like a Herrscher."

"You are suggesting she burned herself out? An interesting hypothesis, though I am quite certain that it's not the case. Of course," he reached out with his hand, accepting the datapad from his assistant, "it doesn't mean that your theory isn't sound. But if all that energy had erupted out of the girl once its container failed, we certainly should have noticed," Otto finished.

The woman nodded silently, though he tucked the statement away as he continued reading the report she'd brought. It wouldn't do to ignore any possible avenue, however unlikely they seemed. And even if the girl had burned herself out, her body could be a source of priceless data.

'Patricia Highsmith, A-rank Valkyrie, formerly of Snow Wolf squad. And an Anti-Entropy agent. It seems there is still some use for you,' Otto thought, noting that the prosthetic replacements for Miss Highsmith's arm and leg were ready to be delivered to the woman. A few quick taps had them redirected to his personal workshop for a final checkup. The security of such devices was always so paramount.

"This is excellent, Amber, thank you." He smiled at his assistant. "But if you could leave me for a short while, I have a call to make."

"Of course, Lord Otto. By your leave."

Amber stepped back and quickly left the room. She'd left the datapad with him, but that was alright. The woman truly was brilliant and quite possibly more devoted to Schicksal, or perhaps her sister, than himself. She and Theresa would keep the organisation and those it protected safe once his plans would finally come to fruition.

Hopefully any losses as a result would be minimal, though. What was the point of bringing her back to the world that was teetering on the brink of destruction?

Luckily, when it came to things like this, he had subordinates.

There was someone who had been fighting the Honkai for longer than Schicksal itself had existed, and it just so happened that the woman was now part of his forces. It only took him a few moments to connect the call.

'If she can't track her down, perhaps there's no point in searching for her here.'

"What do you want?" The once Celestial of Shenzhou had never been polite, but that was part of the severe woman's charm."

"Is this a bad time, Master Jingwei? I hope you are doing well," he replied smoothly, making a mental note to check the the records of the Void Archive regarding the second Herrscher's abilities. If what he now suspected truly happened, Cosmic Juggernaut would become the top priority for several teams.

"You know exactly where I am and what I'm doing, Otto. What do you want?"

This. This was why he appreciated the Celestial of Xianzhou so much. She cared only for the goal of her journey, much like him. The past, the memories, the connections, all were important, but nevertheless secondary. The woman's obsession with her duty ensured that so long as he kept his side of their deal, she'd never even consider betraying him.

"A certain suspicion has been raised about our runaway," he said. "I'd like you to return to Shicksal HQ as soon as possible. I can send transport to pick you up."

"I can be back in two days. If this is urgent, send a transport."

Shicksal's Overseer considered the answer, then nodded to himself. "Remain where you are then. I'll have transport arranged."

"Very well," she agreed, voice clipped. "You know where I am." And then she dropped the call before he could add anything else.

'As blunt as always,' the man thought wryly. He sent a transfer order to Amber for transport, ordered a few devices to be brought out of storage, and then switched his monitors to what little information they held on the Sea of Quanta. Hopefully, the upcoming procedure would help his old friend recover the memories of where the Second Divine Key was hidden. Attempting to search for a Herrscher within that nightmarish realm without it would be quite the undertaking.


****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

A/N: A first chapter of the side-story series that'll delve into what's exactly happening on the Earth of HI3rd. First of many, hopefully.

As always, thanks to Snowfire for beta'ing this side-story!

Hope you're all doing good and wish everyone wonderful holidays!