Wendy
The heavy door of the containment unit slid open again, the hiss of the doors cutting through the silence.
Wendy looked up from the chocolate bar wrapper she had been idly folding into intricate, tiny shapes.
She blinked, surprised to see Kiana and Mei standing there. They had only left an hour ago.
What confused her even more was that they weren't in the visiting chamber. They were inside her room.
"Huh? Why are you back so soon? Did you… forget something?"
Kiana didn't smile this time. There were no snacks in her hands, no forced cheerfulness. She walked into the room with a purposeful stride. Mei followed close behind, her expression serious.
"We didn't forget anything," Kiana said, stopping a few feet from the bed. She looked Wendy dead in the eye. "We found him."
Wendy's hands stilled. She didn't need to ask who. "Kenji?"
"Theresa got the intel," Kiana confirmed. "Cocolia took him and Bronya to one of ME Corporation's facilities. We're launching a rescue mission in three days."
Wendy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Relief washed over her, followed instantly by a sharp pang of envy.
They were going to save him. They were going to be heroes. And she would be here, safe and useless in her glass cage.
"That's... that's good," Wendy whispered, looking down at her lap. "You'll get him back. I know you will."
"We will," Kiana agreed. "But we're going to need an extra pair of hands."
She took a step closer, leaning slightly forward.
"We want you to come with us!"
'...She wants me to what?'
Wendy's head snapped up. She stared at Kiana, sure she had misheard. "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly?"
"Yup! We want you to join the rescue squad!"
"We need you, Wendy," Mei added, her voice soft but firm. "It's going to be a heavy assault. Mechs, Cocolia... we don't know what they have waiting for us. We need every bit of firepower we can get."
Wendy stared at them, her mouth slightly open.
For a second, a spark of hope, maybe, or excitement appeared in her chest.
But then she looked at her hands. She felt the Gem of Desire pulsing inside her, the storm that loomed over her existence.
She remembered the garden. The wind is tearing up the earth. Kenji's mangled arm after he countered her attack.
How Kenji, Kiana, and Mei's words fell on deaf ears as the gem consumed her mind, until it was too late for her to do anything.
The spark died, suffocated by fear.
"No,"
"Wendy, come on—" Kiana started.
"I said no!" Wendy cried out, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up, her bare feet hitting the cold tiles.
"Look at me!" she pleaded, gesturing to the glowing suppression cuff on her ankle. "I'm unstable! Like Cocolia said, I'm a literal ticking time bomb! I can barely control the wind without it trying to tear me apart…"
She wrapped her arms around herself, looking away.
"I might lose control again…I was too easily corrupted to see that you were trying to help me, and you paid the price for my weakness." She looked at Kiana with wet eyes. "If I go with you, I'll just be a liability."
/ — /
Mei
The silence that followed was heavy. Kiana looked like she wanted to argue, to shout that Wendy was wrong, that she wasn't a liability.
But Mei beat her to it.
She stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Kiana's shoulder. Kiana looked back, her blue eyes wide with frustration, but she saw the resolve in Mei's eyes and stepped back, letting Mei take the lead.
Mei walked past Kiana, stopping just in front of Wendy.
"I was terrified, too," Mei said quietly.
Wendy didn't respond, waiting for her to continue.
"When the Third Herrscher awakened inside me," Mei continued, her gaze drifting slightly as if looking at a distant memory. "I didn't want to live. I was scared of my own shadow. Every time I got angry, every time I got scared, I thought I was going to kill everyone around me."
She looked back at Wendy. "I tried to push everyone away. I tried to run. I even thought about ending it."
Wendy's said nothing, entirely focused on Mei's words.
"But instead of hiding," Mei said, her voice strengthening, "I chose to control it. I chose to take the curse I was given and train until I can protect the people I care about most. It may still be a long time until that happens, but I'll never stop."
She took a small step closer, forcing Wendy to hold her gaze.
"Schicksal put that Gem in your legs. They treated you like a lab rat. They made you think you were nothing but a tool—a battery to be used and discarded."
Mei's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to let them be right?"
Wendy flinched, the question striking a nerve she didn't know was exposed. Her breath hitched, her hands clenching into fists in her lap.
"Prove them wrong, Wendy," Mei challenged, "You weren't just a test subject. Before all of this... You were an A-Rank Valkyrie. You were a prodigy. You were one of the best."
Mei pointed to the door, to the world outside the cage.
"Don't let Cocolia decide who you are. Don't let Schicksal decide who you are. Show them that you're not an asset."
Mei held out her hand, mirroring Kenji's own actions at Oceania.
"Show them you're a Valkyrie not to be messed with."
Wendy stared at Mei's hand. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She felt the sting of tears threaten to fall down her face, but beneath the fear, beneath the guilt, something else was stirring.
A memory of who she used to be. The girl with so much potential. The girl who was proud of her strength.
The girl who didn't hide in cages and faced every challenge head-on.
She looked at her own hands in her lap. She thought of Kenji, bleeding on the ground because she hadn't been strong enough. She thought of the way he had looked at her—not as a monster, but as someone worth saving.
Slowly, Wendy reached out. Her fingers brushed Mei's palm, and then she gripped it tight.
But this time, nothing was going to stop her.
Wendy's hand was small and cold in Mei's grip. She held on tight, as if a part of her mind was afraid that something would happen to Mei too.
Mei simply smiled at her, and her worries slowly melted away.
But even as she held on, her eyes darted to the glowing cuff on her ankle. The yellow light was still pulsing and holding her back.
"I want to help. I really do. But, if I step out of this room, or if my Honkai levels spike, this cuff will shock me."
She looked down, her shoulders hunching. "And without the cuff... I don't know if I can stop myself."
"That's why you're not doing this alone," Kiana said. "You're not a solo act anymore, Wendy. You're part of the squad."
Kiana reached up, tapping the small communication earpiece she wore. She looked straight at the security camera mounted in the corner of the room with a smug grin.
"Auntie… You seeing this?"
There was a crackle of static, and then Theresa's voice filtered through the room's speakers, sounding weary but resigned. "I see it, Kiana."
"Then you know what to do," Kiana ordered, followed by another one of Theresa's signature sighs from the speakers.
'Very well… Be careful.'
Wendy froze. She instinctively wanted to step back, but Mei held her arm firmly.
"Kiana..." Wendy whispered, a flash of panic flaring in her chest. "What are you doing?"
"We can't fight through Anti-Entropy alone," Kiana said, turning her gaze back to Wendy. "Having an extra set of hands would make us feel at ease. We worked well together last time, didn't we? We need you."
A metallic clank echoed through the room.
The light on Wendy's ankle died. The magnetic seal hissed, and the heavy metal cuff split open, falling to the floor with a dull thud.
Wendy stared at her bare ankle. For the first time in three days, there was no weight dragging her down. No feeling of suppression dampening her senses.
Suddenly, she felt as if the air in the room shifted. She could sense the currents from the ventilation system, the subtle pressure changes as Kiana breathed, the static electricity in the air clinging to Mei's clothes.
It was both overwhelming and horribly terrifying.
"I..." Wendy took a step back, her breath quickening. She felt the power inside her—the Gem of Desire—waking up. It swirled in her chest, a tempest waiting to be unleashed.
"It's getting louder. It's too loud—!"
"Focus," Mei said gently, squeezing her hand. "You fought through once. You can do it again. We're here with you."
Wendy closed her eyes. She focused on the feel of Mei's warm, steady hands. She focused on Kiana's trusting voice.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the sterile air of the containment unit. And then, she exhaled.
The air in the room stirred.
It wasn't the violent, tearing gale that had destroyed the garden. It was a soft, rising updraft. It ruffled Kiana's white hair and made Mei's long, dark locks dance. It swirled around Wendy's feet, lifting the hem of her hospital gown.
Slowly, Wendy's feet left the floor.
She floated weightlessly, suspended by a cushion of air that responded to her will as easily as moving a finger. She rose until she was eye-level with Kiana, her toes hovering inches above the cold tiles.
She opened her eyes.
The dull, fearful haze was gone. In its place, her irises glowed with a vibrant, emerald light. But it wasn't the harsh glare of the Fourth Herrscher.
It was softer. Gentler. It was the color of new leaves after a storm.
Wendy's color.
"I can feel it," Wendy whispered, looking at her hands. The wind danced through her fingers, playful and obedient. "It's... quiet."
Kiana grinned, crossing her arms. "See? I told you. You're not a monster. You're just Wendy with some cool wind tricks."
Wendy looked at them. The fear was still there, lurking in the corners of her mind, but it was overshadowed by stronger gratitude and resolve.
She slowly floated back down and looked at the fallen cuff, then up at her new teammates.
"Okay," Wendy said. Her voice was steady now. "I'll go with you. I'll help you bring him back."
The wind gently lowered her until her bare feet finally touched the cold tiles. But as soon as her weight settled, her knees buckled.
The adrenaline of the moment faded, leaving behind the reminder that she hadn't walked properly in literal years.
Her fight at the Oceania Branch had been fueled by pure adrenaline and the wind carrying her weight.
Heck, adjusting inside the containment room was hard enough. Suddenly going from floating to walking again was something that still needed getting used to.
"Whoa there!"
Kiana was there instantly, wrapping an arm around Wendy's waist, hoisting her up before she could hit the floor.
"T-thanks, I still get surprised at being able to walk again sometimes. I'm alright now." She said as Kiana slowly let go of her.
She paused, looking down at her oversized, shapeless hospital gown. A flush of embarrassment colored her cheeks.
"But... I don't have a battlesuit anymore," she whispered. "I can't go fight Cocolia wearing this."
Kiana laughed, clapping her hands together. "Oh, don't worry about that! Theresa's personal armory is full of stuff. We can fix that, no problem."
'And how do you know about that, exactly?' Theresa's voice asked through the speakers, the annoyance clearly dripping from her tone.
"Not important right now!"
'...Fine.'
She grabbed Wendy's hand, pulling her toward the door—toward the exit, toward the outside world, toward the war.
"Come on, Wendy," Kiana said, pushing the door open. "Let's go get you out of here."
Kiana pushed the heavy door open.
The moment they stepped out into the hallway, researchers in white coats stopped to stare.
Guards tightened their grips on their rifles, their eyes locking onto the green-haired girl.
Wendy shrank back, the shame burning hot in her chest. She instinctively tried to pull her hand away from Kiana.
But Kiana didn't let go. Instead, she glared at the guards, her blue eyes icy.
"What are you looking at?" Kiana snapped, her voice echoing down the hall. "She's with us. Keep walking."
The guards quickly looked away.
Mei squeezed Wendy's shoulder. "Ignore them. Let's get moving."
Wendy swallowed hard, fixing her eyes on Kiana's back. Letting herself get carried away by Kiana's unwavering energy.
/ — /
Wendy
"W-wait, I thought we were heading to your dorm?" Wendy asked, as Kiana continued to persistently drag her through the empty St. Freya halls.
"You said you need a new battlesuit, right? Well, we're getting you one!"
"Now?!"
"Yes!"
Mei chuckled as she kept pace, "Slow down Kiana. Wendy just got out of Containment Bay. Give her some time to breathe."
Realizing that she might have been too enthusiastic, Kiana slowed her pace and muttered a sheepish apology.
Soon, they arrived at the Logistics Armory. The palace was a world away from the dull and suffocating atmosphere of the containment bay.
It smelled of grease, leather, and all the other materials whose fumes would make a safety inspector cry. But to a Valkyrie, it was akin to a new car smell.
Kiana led them to a heavy, unassuming blast door at the back of the warehouse. She punched a code into the keypad with a grin. "You would think the Principal of St. Freya would have a more secure password than her birthday."
The door hissed open, revealing a space that felt less like a storage closet and more like a secret clubhouse.
Unlike the main warehouse, this room was pristine, the walls lined with high-tech racks holding prototypes, spare parts for the Oath of Judah, and rows of sleek, experimental gear.
Wendy stepped inside, her eyes wide. She was used to the cold, impersonal feeling of labs.
This place was too cool, far better than any armory she had used in the past.
"Okay!" Kiana announced, clapping her hands. "We can't order a custom suit without alerting HQ, and Himeko's stuff is too obnoxiously big. But lucky for us, Theresa let us use her personal battlesuit stash!"
She dove into a crate marked 'SPARES,' tossing aside spare gauntlets and half-finished chest plates. "Besides, you two are pretty petite, so we should be able to—Aha!"
She pulled out a suit and held it up. It was sleek, aerodynamic, and made of a dark, matte material that seemed to absorb the light.
"I always look around Auntie's stash, so I know my way around this place. This was a prototype for a high-mobility unit. Never went into production because it lacked heavy armor. But for you? It's perfect."
Wendy reached out, her fingers brushing the fabric. It was cool to the touch, light as silk, but super tough.
She ran her hand along the seams, feeling the high-grade material on her fingertips.
"Wow…" she whispered, a strange, breathless feeling in her chest. She already forgot what her old battlesuit felt like, making a new one all of a sudden made her a little emotional.
'I never thought I'd ever put one on again…'
"Go try it on," Mei encouraged, pointing to a partitioned area in the corner.
Wendy stepped behind the screen. Shedding the hospital gown felt like leaving the dark memories behind and stepping into a brighter life. A life of freedom.
She pulled on the bodysuit. It fit snugly, compressing her muscles in a way that felt secure rather than restrictive.
When she stepped out, Kiana let out a low whistle. "Looking sharp! But… It's a little bland."
"It needs some color," Mei agreed. She was standing by a workbench, holding a roll of fabric she had found—a high-tensile, thermal-resistant cloth in a vibrant green, and another in white. "And maybe some protection."
Mei pulled Wendy onto a platform, then put the fabric into a slot to the side. "Stand still." She pushed a button, and the fabric was etched onto the battlesuit, painting it a white color with green accents.
Wendy was too focused on her new look that she yelped in surprise when Mei fastened lightweight, armored gauntlets onto her wrists.
"These are stabilizers, right Kiana?" Kiana made an approving hum as Mei tightened the straps. "They'll help you focus the wind currents without tearing up your hands. You used to have trouble with feedback damage, right?"
Wendy nodded, touched by the thoughtfulness. "Yeah. My hands would cramp after a while. How did you know?"
"...Call it intuition."
Kiana grabbed a pair of armored greaves from the table. She knelt in front of Wendy—a gesture that made Wendy flinch instinctively, memories of doctors and restraints flashing in her mind.
But Kiana just gently clasped the armor around Wendy's shins, securing them with a satisfying click.
"Gotta protect the landing gear," Kiana grinned, looking up. "Since you're gonna be flying circles around us—Wait! I forgot to give you this."
Kiana quickly ran to the other side of the room, opened a closet, and pulled out a light green scarf.
Mei's eyes widened. "Wait, so the reason you ran off before heading to recruit Wendy was to put her gift here?"
"Yup!" Kiana confirmed, "I thought back to her Herrscher form and how a scarf really fit her style, so it was a good thing that I had one lying around that fit you." She said as she ran over to her and tightened the scarf around her neck.
Wendy touched the scarf gently, able to instantly tell that it wasn't an ordinary one. It was made from a material as strong as their battlesuits and durable enough not to be a hassle when in battle.
She looked down at herself. Her new battlesuit. The armored gauntlets. The green scarf flowing around her.
She walked over to a large mirror hanging on the wall, catching her reflection. The girl looking back wasn't the terrified victim from the garden. She wasn't the broken toy in the wheelchair.
Her eyes were bright. Her stance was steady. The green scarf fluttered as the wind in the room picked up gently, responding to her rising confidence.
She looked like a Valkyrie again.
"Well?" Kiana asked, bouncing on her heels. "What do you think? Does it fit?"
Wendy took a deep breath. She clenched her fists, feeling the power of the Gem hum in her chest.
She turned to them, a small, fierce smile breaking through her hesitation.
"It's perfect," Wendy said. "It feels… light."
"Good," Mei said, placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Because where we're going, we're going to need you light on your toes!"
"..."
"..."
"O-oh come on, I tried!" Mei shouted, embarrassed.
Wendy and Kiana chuckled at her expression.
Kiana grabbed a standard-issue pistol from a rack and tossed it. Wendy didn't reach for it. She simply flicked her wrist, and a gust of wind caught the weapon out of the air, floating it obediently by her hand.
She looked at the pistol, then at Kiana with a raised brow. "I don't think guns would work well with my wind powers."
"Ok, I didn't think that part through. But hey, guns are cool!"
She coughed into her hand, "Alright, team. We have two days to prepare for our mission. Let's head back to our dorm and start planning!"