Lights in a Starless Sky - A Honkai Impact 3rd Fanfiction

Act 8: Twister

(A/N: I've wanted to include a more immersive expierence in this story for a while now, so now every major fights such as Herrscher battles and other important events will include interwoven music. You don't have to listen, but it is recommended for the full expierence.)

A loud ringing sound disturbed Perceval from his deep sleep, he put his fingers to his right ear. "Hmn... Perceval, responding." His voice was sluggish and groggy. "Wake up, Perceval! I've called you three times already!" Theresa's voice startled Perceval from his half-asleep trance. "Madam Principal, it's currently 3AM here. Why call me so early?" Theresa sighed, then gave a spiel. "I've sent Kiana, Mei and Bronya to the Oceania Branch of Shicksal." Perceval unwrapped himself from the bed sheets and Durandal's arms and sat up on the bed. "Go on." Theresa continued. "We've noticed a large spike of Honkai Energy in New Zealand, It's the Gem of Desire." Perceval shuddered slightly. "Is it a Herrscher?" Theresa sighed. "Thankfully not. Just a large scale Honkai Eruption, but we noticed that the Gem is in the Shicksal lab. I want you to head over and assist the girls, I've already informed Grandpa." Perceval stepped over Durandal and off the bed. "Understood, I'll be there at once." The connection cut off and Perceval was left standing in the pitch black room in dead silence. Durandal stirred. "Perceval? Are you alright?" Her voice was filled with worry. "I'm perfectly fine, I've just recieved a mission." Perceval threw on the 'Spirit of Ash' battlesuit and quickly splashed some cold water on his face. "I'm going with some St. Freya Valkyries to recover the Gem of Desire from New Zealand." Durandal sat up and nodded. "Good luck, come back safe." Perceval smiled. "I'll be fine, trust me." He slid the door shut behind him and made his way out to the hangar. Durandal stretched her arms. "He slept well last night. There were a few times he might have slipped into a nightmare, but he did well." She held her hands to her chest. "He really is something special." 

5AM: Shicksal Oceania, New Zealand

Perceval flew through the air as the turbojets he installed in his battlesuit propelled him forward at mach-speeds, the wind rippled through his hair and tore at his face as he soared over the Indian Ocean. The smell of the sea filled the air and the crashing waves splashed water high into the air. He took a quick right as to avoid flying over Australia entirely, it was still completely infested with Honkai. The latest Eruption in New Zealand would've definitely not helped quell the numbers throughout both countries, as Perceval crossed over the next ocean he saw the entirety of New Zealand from his spot in the sky. He dove lower and checked his Heads-Up-Display on his flying visor, the Valkyries he was to meet up with weren't far away. He disabled the turbojets and landed with a slide on the pavement roads of Auckland. As he stood he noticed Kiana in the distance, he walked over to her. "Hello, Kiana." The girl was shocked. "Perceval? What're you doing here?" Bronya stood by Kiana. "The Bronya believes that Madam Principal asked Perceval to provide assistance." Mei smiled with delight. "That's a good idea, we don't know our way around this branch of Shicksal; but Perceval does." He smiled. "Yeah. And besides, I left some things at the branch anyway. So I wanted to come back here eventually." Kiana turned to face the city. "So, which building is it?" Perceval put his hands on Kiana's shoulders and spun her back around, he gestured to the gargantuan steel building they stood in front of. Kiana's mouth dropped open. "That's it?" Perceval smiled emptily. "...Yeah." He walked up to the door and tapped his Shicksal ID card onto the scanner.

Authorisation Level: 5, ID: 2894. Welcome back, Perceval Avlonia.

The robotic voice caused the steel doors to attempt to slide open, the grinding of gears and cracking of glass prevented them from opening. Perceval put one of his hands inside the gap of the doors and thrust them open, sending the doors flying off the rails. Perceval sighed as he looked inside the lobby, the furniture was all frayed and snapped. "Perceval, where's the stuff kept?" Kiana asked with a puzzled expression, Perceval walked inside and gestured for everyone to follow. "Bottom floor: B25." Perceval pressed the button to call the elevator, as the doors open he leaned on the back wall of it. The other Valkyries walked inside and the doors slid shut. "B25." Perceval said out loud. The elevator made a dinging noise and slowly began to descend. "Voice recognition? In a lift? In New Zealand?" Mei questioned. "What's wrong with that?" Perceval raised an eyebrow. "You didn't speak with an accent and it worked." Perceval chuckled. "What? Did you expect me to say 'Ye bro, B25 would ya?' Because one of my colleagues said that and the lift didn't function. It's built to recognise something akin to an 'American English' accent." Mei nodded. "I see. That's interesting." The elevator rocked as it hit the bottom floor, again the doors didn't open. Bronya had Project Bunny, the invisible mech that stood behind her, pried the doors open. Perceval sighed as he looked out the elevator door. "There you are..." He looked upon the broken remains of the Wraith Gateway he'd built: The soulium rings that formed the gate had corroded away and collapsed from the main structure, black burn marks adorned the floor where the entrance to the gateway stood. Perceval walked up to the place where he was pulled into the gateway, he ran his hand along the wall where he struggled to make his way to Jack. Dried blood was splattered where his hand was pierced by a bolt of Honkai. He remembered the event like it was yesterday. "Is the Perceval alright?" Bronya walked up beside him, having Project Bunny put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes. Thank you, Bronya." Perceval smiled at Bronya who simply nodded. He walked over to his old office and twisted the door handle, it was still unlocked. He opened the door and looked at the wall in front of his desk: it was plastered with design notes and reminders. In the corner was a large steel box, it should contain the Gem of Desire. Perceval laid his ID on the lock and put his finger against a fingerprint reader, the lock clicked. Perceval slowly lifted the lid, he gasped. "Damn!" The Gem was missing, so it definitely did cause the Eruption. Perceval's stomach turned, this was the work of a Herrscher. "Everyone! The Gem isn't here!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, the Valkyries came running to his office. "Perceval, are you sure?" Mei frantically asked, Perceval nodded. "The Gem is probably already in someone, they're likely to-" Perceval stopped mid-sentence, he covered his mouth. "No. The fool, he didn't!" Kiana looked puzzled. "What is it?" Perceval's throat felt tense and his stomach churned, he felt that sick sensation in his body. "Shinji... He was my colleague. He did experiments on the Gem, and its effects on humans." Mei covered her mouth. "H-He wouldn't!" Perceval nodded somberly. "He would. Shinji played with the Honkai like it was a toy, he thought he could control it." Perceval's face turned angry. "He thought that by creating a Herrscher, he would get promoted." Perceval stood and walked to the door of his office. "That's why he was infuriated when my Wraith Gateway got more funding from Shicksal then his little Herrscher project." Perceval turned towards the Valkyries. "I think he must have sabotaged the Gateway to get me killed, then he could work on his project without any restrictions." Kiana then stood up. "Then we have to find the person holding the Gem!" The Valkyries ran out the door, Perceval tapped on the back wall of his office, revealing a small gun. "Huh, so the Stigma is ready." Perceval had neglected having Stigma printed on his back at St. Freya and Shicksal because he had developed his own, he didn't trust Otto to put a good Stigma on his back. As he took off his battlesuit jacket and shirt, he noticed that there was already Stigma on his back. "What is this?" The top section was a set of four wings angled outwards, the middle had a shield with an elegant sword behind it, the final section had twelve different weapons that formed an arc pointing downwards from the point of the sword from the middle section. Perceval raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "I guess I have Natural Stigma then." He put his shirt and jacket back on and made his way to the elevator.