!!! - THIS IS A REWRITTEN VERSION OF THE CHAPTER - 12/30/24
Disclaimer: I don't own Honkai Star Rail and any of their characters. All belonged to their rightful owners - Hoyoverse.
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"Dan Heng, on your left!"
Receiving March's call, Dan Heng quickly adapted and changed his stance, blocking the attack from the void ranger. Eyes focused on its blade, he pushed it back with all the force he could muster. He swept its feet in a quick motion and it fell to the ground. Using this opportunity, he pierced its chest using his pear.
The creature groaned before disappearing into a clouding mist.
Dan Heng, together with March, took down several AntiMatter legion forces within minutes. March looked quite satisfied at taking several down, while Dan Heng kept a straight and focused expression. Quite the opposite would say.
"That should be the last of them, right?" March asked with a nervous yet cautious expression. Her eyes went left and right, afraid that another space warp might show up and dozens of them would appear again.
"Don't jinx us, March" Dan Heng gave the girl a flat look.
"Ah right! I'm sorry" March let out a sheepish smile "So, have you contacted Miss Himeko yet?"
Dan Heng shook his head "The signal is still intercepted. It would seem this was a coordinated attack by the antimatter legion"
In his words, March grew confused. "Coordinated? I don't sense any emanators around and that's saying my senses aren't usually sharp but still, aren't they mostly more in going with the flow stuff in destroying planets?"
"That may be true but we can't really judge capabilities on what we hear from witnesses. They might change up their strategies to get what they need." Dan Heng said "And also, if there were any emanators around, I doubt they would attack the Space Station head-on with Madam Herta here. I doubt they will be that stupid."
"That is true." March nodded, finding that argument reasonable "So, what should we do next?"
Dan Heng's eyes quickly scanned the area. "We pressed onward."
"Seriously? Shouldn't we take a breather first? A pretty lady like me needs some quality time to rest up, you know?" March pouted.
"There might be more civilians still trapped," Dan Heng pointed out.
"Muuu," March's pout intensifies. "Well, I can't say no to that." Despite wanting to rest, helping innocent civilians was always their priority.
Without any more words to spare, Dan Heng took the lead with March following closely behind. Their walk was cut short, as Dan Heng took an abrupt stop. March looked at him, confused. Before she could question why, she heard him say.
"Something is coming…no rather someone."
"Eh?" March decided not to question Dan Heng's words and quickly pulled out her bow, aiming steadily in front. "How many?"
"I don't know."
Suddenly, Dan Heng extended his hand in front of her, blocking the view.
"Dan Heng?" March stared at him questionably. "I can't aim properly if your hand is blocking the view."
"It's not an enemy." He stated plainly, eyes focusing up ahead.
Curious, March decided to take a closer look at herself. There were two figures up ahead, one was a girl they were unfamiliar with, carrying a boy with his shoulder over her, appearing to look unconscious. However, when she got a good look at the boy's face, March's eyes widened in surprise.
"Eh, Ethan?!"
+++++====++++
A few minutes earlier…
It was a shock to her, after seeing Ethan go his way to distract the creature to push her out of harm's way. Why would he do that? Wouldn't that endanger him?
Stelle thought, and a feeling of frustration went its way over her.
Why go all that for her? She wanted to question him yet he was not here. Not with her. Instead, he was alone with that monster.
"Stupid.." A word uttered from her mouth subconsciously.
Despite it all, this act of his encouraged her to push on. She resisted the pain cursing through her body and managed to stand steadily with some support.
"Woof!" The dog…Peppy was it? She recalled its name. It seemed that it also wanted to encourage her if that's what she was getting at from his bark. She smiled at the sight and wanted to pat the dog on the head. She didn't however due to the pain down to her waist.
However, what surprised her was that the wounds she sustained from the creature began to heal itself and just like that, she was able to move again without much difficulty just a couple of seconds after standing up.
"Woof?"
Stelle looked at Peppy again and now, she patted its head before holding him tightly in her arms. Looking around, she wasted no time and went to find Ethan.
Just after a moment of searching the place. She found him lying unconscious.
However, that wasn't the thing that concerned her after finding him. It was the tons of blood stains on the floor and adding to that was the creature, dead just in front of him. Looking at the creature, she could see burn marks on its chest.
What happened? Tons of questions ran through her head and she shook them off. It wasn't the time just yet.
She quickly went up to check on Ethan and found his body sustained no wound whatsoever other than the large hole on his robe located in his stomach. Surprise, and concern she had earlier twisted into curiosity and bewilderment.
"Woof!" The dog voiced his concern.
Seeing he wasn't waking up despite trying to wake him up. She took it upon herself and decided to carry him. At the very least, he was alive.
Peppy seemed to grasp her intent and slipped out of her hold.
"Woof!"
Stelle reached out to grab the dog, but it dodged her attempt.
"Woof!"
At that point, Stelle understood his intention.
Ethan wasn't heavy, surprisingly she found him to be lighter than expected as she pulled his arm over her shoulder, lifting him altogether.
With Peppy by her side, Stelle navigated through the place, finding difficulties on which path to go. However, it seemed that sheer luck managed to lead her to the exit. Her eyes shone with happiness as she was finally out of the place that took forever for her to get out.
"Mom…"
Stelle's moments of happiness faded shortly after she heard Ethan mumbling something from his mouth, Mom?
He seemed sad after mentioning that word. It made her curious even more. In fact, she had a lot of questions regarding him on what happened. Nonetheless, she decided to pursue that topic for another time and began navigating through the strange place she found herself in. Her memories and past lives, she didn't know anymore. It saddened her to the point she began wondering, what kind of person she was before this.
She lifted her head, eyes focused on ahead, and found two figures just a few feet from her
"Hey, over here!" A girl with pink hair waved at them.
Stelle stared at the two figures, halting for a moment, showing a brief moment of hesitation.
"Woof!" The dog in her hold seemed hesitant as well.
"I-I mean, we'll go there, So stay put!"
The two figures then cut the distance between them in a span of seconds and what the pink-haired girl said next surprised her when they drew closer.
"Is Ethan okay?" She asked, looking at the boy with concern.
Stelle blinked, staring at the girl. "You know him?"
"Well, he was our guide here in the Station so of course we know him." She replied, "So what happened?"
"He got hurt," Stelle answered, drawing a shock to the girl.
"Wait really?! We need to get him a medic now–"
"No need."
"Eh?! What are you saying, Dan Heng?"
"He's not hurt, bleeding or injured." Dan Heng took note of his observations, especially towards the torn part of Ethan's clothes. "And where would we find a medic?"
"That is true but she did say.." March began but was quickly cut off.
"That's the strange part." Dan Hen said, agreeing with what she was about to say. He looked at Stelle "You don't know as well, I presume?"
Stelle shook her head, confirming his suspicions.
"I see." Dan Heng nodded "Can you put him down?"
"...."
"Don't worry, I will only come to check on him." Dan Heng assured her then turned to March, "March, can you scout the area?"
"Wait, Why me?" March whined.
"You wanted them to scout the area?" He gave her a blank look.
"Muuu alright" March relented and proceeded to do what she was told.
Stelle placed Ethan down on the hard metallic floor. Meanwhile, Dan Heng, despite having no expertise in medical areas, was quite confident in his ability to treat small wounds that weren't so severe so he took it upon himself to inspect the wounds sustained by the researcher.
"So?" Stelle asked, looking at him curiously
"Physically, he's fine. He got marks of the area of which he should have at least signs of wounds but strangely it's not there." Dan Heng explained from what he gathered, "Mentally, he's not okay. He seemed to be in a semi-comatose state. It seemed to be that his body took a huge amount of stress that he was forced to be in this state."
"Oh…"
"Simply put, he is tired"
"OH"
Dan Heng quickly stood up "For when he is to wake up, that is undetermined—"
"Gah!"
At the scream, Dan Heng closed his eyes, sighing "...Nevermind"
++++====++++
Ethan POV
When I woke up, it felt like all pain was inserted down my body at the speed of light, it forced my eyes to open as I let out a scream. It was as manly as a little girl getting frightened by a Halloween costume in Halloween.
"Gah!" My point is taken. I sat right up straight, panting, sweats dropping on my face like it was raining. My vision was hazy and I couldn't see anything clearly.
Naturally, I panicked like any sane person does.
I'm not dead? That was the first question that went through my head.
"Hey, you're okay. Calm down." A voice. A familiar that is, tries to assure me.
My breathing slowly became steady as I tried to keep myself calm, doing what was told by the voice. My vision slowly became clear, blinking as I did so, it became increasingly clear.
I finally saw who the voice came from. "Sir. Dan Heng?"
"I told you. Call me Dan Heng"
"Ah.." Right, I forgot.
"You are still in a state of panic though much less. I need to stay put for a moment."
I looked at my two hands, feeling a bit nauseous.
"Ethan?"
"Stelle?" I lifted my face and saw the amnesiac girl looking at me, concerned. "You…you're here? How?" What happened?
"I carry you all the way here"
"Wait, carry?" I asked, not even bothering to hide my shock. How the fuck did she do that?
Then I felt it, a slap down my right cheek. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"For being stupid" I saw her pout.
Eh? I didn't understand. What the hell did I do wrong?
"Ah, you're awake! "
A yell broke through my stance, looking at the side, I saw the familiar pink-haired girl, March approaching.
"Good thing you're awake. I thought you were…" Her words trailed off, not knowing the right words to say.
"Dead?"
Her eyes widened "N-No!"
"Don't worry, I thought so too," I assured her, feeling the events coming back at me. Dying almost the second time felt kinda horrifying.
Dan Heng eyed me closely "That said, how did you not contain any injuries?"
I looked at him "What?"
"Your clothes are torn, front and back, yet somehow, no signs of wounds."
Stelle also looked quite curious, tilting her head while awaiting my answer.
"...." I fell silent for a moment, considering my words for a moment "You know, I honestly don't know myself" It was half lie and half-truth. While I had some guesses, it had no valid proof and they might have mistaken me for being crazy if I told them about it.
It seemed my words were half satisfactory for the guy as he nodded "Understood. March get ready, we will continue onward"
"Eh, now? Can't we, you know? Get some rest first?"
Dan Heng turned to me "Can you walk?"
"I-I'll try" I tried to stand but when I tried to do so, I failed miserably. "Uhm… the second try's the charm?"
"No need." Dan Heng shook his head " March, stay here. I'll scout the area for the time being to search for any more civilians from the premises."
"Okay!"
Dan Heng's eyes gazed upon the girl "Take it seriously"
March took an offended expression "I am always serious, Dan Heng! What are you talking about?"
Dan Heng's face was neutral "Just making sure"
"That's not an excuse." March glared at him before her gaze softened as she turned to the girl beside her "But before that, we haven't introduced ourselves properly. I'm March 7th and this guy right here is Dan Heng, don't mind him from his rude comments most of the time, inside he's a real softie, you know? Anyways, it's nice to meet you" She then extended a hand towards Stelle.
"I'm Stelle," Stelle responded after a short pause.
"Alright! I'll remember that" March nodded, looking at Stelle and Me back and forth" "So, how did you two meet?"
"He saved me," Stelle answered on my behalf.
"...." March took on a surprise expression, staring blankly at her and Stelle did the same.
Was that really unbelievable? I gave March an incredulous look before cutting in "Long story short, I found her unconscious. Found out she has amnesia. Got a few hurdles with the Antimatter legion goons."
"So part of where you saved her.."
"Well, that happened somewhat" I shrugged, showing no pride in my save. No matter how I looked at it, it was incredibly dumb to do but it all worked in the end. It would have gone way worse if it weren't for my….watch.
"Huh, never knew you were that type of person to begin with," March said.
I don't know whether to feel insulted or not. I thought, not bothering to argue with that.
"You mentioned she has amnesia. You don't remember anything at all?" Dan Heng questioned Stelle who shook her head.
"I see." Dan Heng nodded slowly, "It's time for me to get going"
"Good luck Dan Heng!"
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Was walking this hard? Seriously, it felt like I was a toddler again and walking was my first step to achieve the first success in my life. It was embarrassing as it was struggling.
"Don't force yourself if you can't," Stelle reminded me, holding my arm for support.
"No, I can handle it, don't worry," I said, steadying my balance. When I felt I could do it alone, I continued "You can let go of me now"
"You'll fall," she told me.
"I will not," I argued.
"Ok"
As soon as she let go, I lost all my balance and immediately fell to the ground.
"Not a word."
After that, it took me a good few minutes to get a hang of it again. This time, I felt some improvement and progress from my effort.
"Okay, I think I got it this time," I smiled to myself.
Stelle nodded and slowly let go. I still maintained my balance, which was a good thing. I took the first step and the step after that and so on, with slight difficulties on the way but the more I walked, the more everything went back to me.
"Congrats Ethan!" March celebrated from the side, cheering me on.
"You could at least help, you know?" I shot her a non-impressed look.
"Uhm, I was busy" March averted her gaze.
"Busy playing with Peppy?"
"What? No!" March hotly denied
"Woof!"
"Yeah, I can clearly see it" I rolled my eyes. It was surprising that March was familiar with Peppy to begin with. Peppy was always a good-behaved dog especially to strangers with no ill intentions and with March's innocent-like behavior, they were a match made in heaven "Anyways, since I could walk now, why don't we catch up with the xianxia boy?"
"Who?" March looked puzzled.
"Dan Heng"
"Oh," March nodded, feeling confused about my choice of words but decided to not question it. "Okay, so I've actually contacted him just in case and he did the okay emoji, See?" She showed me her phone. "So, we'll get going first."
"To where?"
"The elevator duh? I think Dan Heng will meet us there soon so we don't have to worry about him"
"If you say so," I said, having no choice but to believe her words and trust her on this one. "Then, lead the way, boss"
"Heh, of course. Leave it to me!"
On the way, we encountered several forces of the Antimatter legion. I stayed behind, waiting for March to take them out. Stelle also took part in the fight leaving me behind leaving the two girls to fend for themselves for my sake. I patted Peppy on the head, trying to calm him down. I had to swallow any form of pride just to escape unscathed, which meant hiding behind the two young women to protect me. If my friends on Earth saw me like this, they would look down on me for stepping so low.
As we entered another area, it was as empty as a barren which was a good sign. I noticed the elevator up ahead. My expression turned to glee.
"Ah, I knew it." March let out an exasperated sigh.
"Knew what?" I asked her curiously, peeking from behind.
"It worked?" Stelle also asked beside me.
"Nah, I think the elevators are broken. I pressed all the buttons but nothing seemed to happen," March sighed again. At that moment, my happiness quickly turned 180.
"Woof?"
"It's alright buddy, March is just a little confused that's all."
"Hey!"
"You can fix it, right?"
"Do I look like a mechanic to you?"
"..." I stared at her in silence. "Okay, let me try." March stepped aside, letting me through. I cracked my knuckles as I placed my hands on the interface.
A couple of seconds passed.
"Is it working?" March asked, peeking from behind.
"Not working," I shook my head. It seems my knowledge of elevator fixing is nonexistent. That would be obvious given the fact that I'm in an office job, not a technical one. "Maybe Dan Heng knows how to fix this? That guy always gave off some strange aura around him of being a genius." Unlike me.
"You're right. He's basically a walking encyclopedia. He knows a ton of complicated stuff, maybe even elevator repair." March agreed with a nod.
"Oh, I don't know that one." A sudden voice crept up on us.
March and I jumped in surprise at its intrusion. Stelle... Well, she didn't even look surprised or show any other reaction in that matter.
"Whoa, why are you here?! And how did you get here before us?" March exclaimed with a question. The fact she was angrier than being surprised was confusing.
"More importantly, how did we not notice you?" I added, eyeing him, then Stelle. "You knew he was approaching us, didn't you?"
She tilted her head. "Yes?"
"Ah, figures." That explains her lack of reaction.
"To answer your question, I took a route here to the upper levels and I saw you guys up there,"
"So did you find any civilians on the way?" I asked.
"It seemed the place was fully evacuated. However, I did find someone."
"Someone?"
He nodded. "Arlan, the head of the Security department"
"Wait…..Arlan?!"
"Arlan is in the control room. He's injured, but not fatally," he replied, frowning.
I don't know what's more surprising: that Dan Heng found Arlan or that Arlan got injured. If he got injured, that means there's something even stronger than the mere goons of the Antimatter legion.
"Then Dan Heng, do you know what to do with this elevator? We can't figure this out," March asked, scratching her head.
"Maybe Arlan knows," I pointed out with a finger raised. "He's the head of the security department after all."
Dan Heng nodded, agreeing with me.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go talk to him," March quickly said.
On the way, we did the same thing. Walk, eliminate some goons in our way, walk again, and eliminate again until we reach the control room. There, we found Arlan standing, though judging from his posture, he seemed injured in his legs.
"Arlan!" I shouted suddenly much to the surprise of the two nameless and Stelle... actually, she didn't even flinch nor show any visible reaction.
"Ethan?"
"Woof! Woof!" Peppy immediately jumped off my hold, tails wagging left and right as he proceeded to tackle Arlan right on the spot.
"Eh?! H-hey!" Arlan exclaimed as Peppy didn't show any hesitation licking his face "Peppy, I miss you too"
I smiled at the reunion of the two. Well, that's a good riddance. Don't get me wrong, I love Peppy but having him during life-threatening moments was kinda like baggage.
"I didn't expect to see you here Ethan"
"The feelings are mutual." I shrugged "So what happened? And more importantly to your legs?"
"Uh about that…it's a long story"
"I can tell"
"Anyways, you're all together?" Arlan began questioning as he looked at the group.
"Yep, we're from the Astral Express—well, only Dan Heng and I," March explained, gesturing between herself and Dan Heng. "This right here is Stelle, a new survivor we found in the control room. And I guess you already know Ethan," she added, nodding towards me with a small smile.
Arlan nodded with a dawn realization taking over his features. "Oh, right you came here for…What was it again?"
"We came to deliver the rare relic Herta trusted us to find... We didn't expect to arrive during an invasion." Dan Heng explained with a frown.
"Talk about bad luck, right?" I joked with a snicker
"It's more than bad luck" March huffed, clearly displeased.
"Why is the Antimatter legion targeting you guys? It seems they just ignored the surface of the planet and came straight to you guys," March decided to ask while placing a hand on her hips, her expression was that of puzzlement.
She did have a point. Even I agreed with her on this one. That said, I never actually knew what this planet near us was.
"I... have no idea." Arlan shook his head, pressing his lips tightly. " The legion came at a very suspicious time, almost right after the security system suddenly failed."
"Wait, failed?" As I listened to Arlan, I could not help but question it. "How did it fail?"
Surely a spaceship as large as this has better defenses than some mere shields, right? Where are the space cannons? The laser beams that could destroy a planet like the Death Star? Don't tell me that the one I am boarding now doesn't have actual counter defenses.
Arlan looked at me and shook his head. "The problem was unknown. We couldn't detect them as they went right through the station. All the outer shields failed to keep them at bay."
"Do you think there's a mole in your department?" I suggested a guess. "That could explain why the shields failed. I mean, they could deactivate them when the invasion started."
"That's... one of my few guesses but it's highly unlikely. Every week, the security department team will be checked thoroughly. If there was a perpetrator, I doubt they could slip easily like that unless with some luck and good skills." Arlan replied. "In the end, Lead Researcher Asta immediately began to organize the evacuation. I was supposed to cover everyone as they evacuated, but... I didn't expect to end up failing in this task," He continued with a sullen expression. "The security team got overwhelmed immensely thus resulting in many casualties."
His hands curled into a fist, clearly shaking.
I could feel the room's atmosphere drop. We shared a look amongst one another and in the end, I approached him and patted his back assuringly.
"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Arlan. Don't fret about the people you've lost. Think about those who you saved. The silver lining, you know?" Images of the deaths of the researchers were still fresh in my mind. How they died, their screams, and their mutilated body would probably haunt me for the rest of my life. Without me knowing, my hands began to slightly tremble as I recalled the memory of it
"Really? That's your assurance?" March shot me an unimpressed look.
"What?" I just stared at March, deadpanned. Was it not good?
"No, he's got a point," Arlan suddenly interjected, prompting me to look at him. "It's a good thing to be positive about the person you save rather than dwell on the people you failed." His sullen expression rapidly disappeared as he spoke, replaced by a sheer determined look.
In response, I stared at March smugly. See that? This is how I'm good at reassuring and even motivating. Now take your words back!
All I got was an eye roll. Ouch.
"Ethan's right, don't be too hard on yourself. Your legs and dominant hand were injured. It was a wise decision to hide here and avoid a head-on encounter with the legion," Dan Heng said. "Most of the staff have been evacuated safely, so right now our highest priority is to return to the master control zone and plan a counterattack."
I nodded at Dan Heng's plan. As expected of him.
"So... uh, do you know how to use the elevator? We couldn't start it," March questioned Arlan who looked at her in response.
"Since your Lady Asta guest, I assume she must've given you the encryption key for accessing the elevator system?" Arlan inquired, now looking at the two members of the Astral Express in a questioning manner.
"March... you were the one who talked to Asta back at the cafeteria, am I right?" Dan Heng questioned, while March turned her head to look away in response.
"Encryption key?" I also looked at March. Heck, everyone was looking at her like she was a suspect.
"Ehehe, uh, where'd I put it," March sheepishly smiled, patting down her pockets and glancing around nervously. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Oh! Here it is!" She showed Arlan the key.
Dan Heng facepalmed.
I stared, my brows twitching. We could have saved that much trouble.