Right as Alex realized that, he saw Mei about to coat her blade in electricity, about to activate her Herrscher powers to take down the last core of the final mech standing.

Acting quickly Alex grabbed Mei's hand, preventing her from doing so as he took care of the core himself.

Mei wasn't to pleased at this however Alex quickly explained his actions as he whispered to her.

"Look, that puppet has an ulterior motive. You heard how she addressed your Herrscher powers right?"

"Yes?"

"Well, it plans to nab your Herrscher powers just like it did to Bronya. You use them even for a second, and they're swiped. It's gonna be difficult but I'm gonna need you to hold off on them until absolutely necessary, okay?" Explained Alex as Mei nodded.

The two would catch up with the doll as it had been waiting for them.

"My, you sure took your time. Wouldn't your Herrscher powers have made things faster?" It asked.

"Alex and I's swordsmanship will be enough to suffice." Said Mei.

The puppet merely sighed as it continued on its path with the two following.

Upon getting back down to the first floor this time on the other side of the stairs, the two were greeted with another round of mechs, this time more than the first.

"A lot more toys this time. You two better hurry up or you'll both be left behind." Said the puppet.

"Don't worry about us. We'll catch up in no time." Said Alex.

"A Herrscher that wields a blade? How unbefitting! I'd prefer lightning if I were you." Said the puppet who by now was clearly making its intentions clear.

It walked on ahead as Alex and Mei would take down this second round of enemies without any issues.

They'd walk up the steps that were ahead of them, reaching a dead-end as up ahead was the puppet completely stopped in the middle as this area had a large circular window on the wall in front as two stairs were off to the left and right.

The puppet showed no signs on continuing on as it had already caught on that Alex and Mei knew what was going on.

"So, what was that about taking us on a tour?" Asked Alex.

"You can go ahead and drop the act now." Said Mei.

"Tsk. Oh well, it couldn't be helped I guess. Could you blame me for trying to be deceitful? I just wanted to see the legendary Herrscher of Thunder in action." It said half-heartedly. "And about that tour, I wasn't lying. Would you like to see the rest of this place? Of course, the boy isn't allowed to come with for he's already seen it all."

"Like I even wanted to go in the first time."

"I'd rather discuss something more important. Such as why you seem so insistent on me joining you?" Asked Mei.

"Because we were all weak, desperate, and considered losers. We couldn't handle the cruel mistress that was reality. Just like that boy a few days ago." Said the puppet as it pointed at Alex.

The boy merely shrugged the puppet's remarks off.

"Of course now you're all different and powerful however, earlier in your life you would've been a perfect fit. Still, you're welcome here even at this current moment."

"Oh really? How so?" Asked Mei.

"Because despair still lingers in your heart, just like despair still lingers in his." Said the puppet.

Alex was a little shocked to hear this as Mei still kept a stoic expression on her face.

"I know how you feel. AE can't save that girl, neither can Schicksal. You're the only one who can make a difference regarding her fate."

"You keep Kiana's name away from your damn mou-!"

Alex was about to charge at the puppet however Mei held a hand out in front of him, allowing the puppet to continue speaking.

"Just like you two, everyone here also once fought hard against injustice. Unfortunately for us, it never made a single difference. Solve one problem and another pops us. Correct one mistake and another one happens. In the end, anything and everything we tried to do always ended in failure."

"Sounds like you've been through a lot." Said Mei.

"Yeah. You saw the man out there, didn't you?" Asked the puppet.

"You talking about the guy who was guarding the box?" Replied Alex.

"Yes. His sister died a few days ago. The entire time she was lying in her hospital bed, he never once came to visit her. Can't you imagine how desperate she was? How desperate I was?"

Mei remained quiet for a bit before coming to a conclusion.

"Were you........born from her despair?" She asked.

"Indeed I was. After she was gone, that man suddenly grew a heart and realized that he had lost the only family he had. Unfortunately, it came too late. Fortunately for him, I came to be. I approached him. "Don't cry big brother, I'm right here.", I'd tell him. Since then, he's been following my orders and taking me wherever I want. We were gonna make him apart of us, but unfortunately you three apprehended him before we could do so." Explained the puppet.

"You make me sick. Taking advantage of a man's despair and manipulating him to do your bidding. You aren't his sister." Stated Alex.

"If I'm not his sister, then that means that the creature you slayed long ago wasn't the child you were supposed to protect?"

That line struck a nerve with Alex as Mei grabbed his wrist, imploring him not to lose his temper right now.

"Anyways, it's okay if you don't wanna join us, Herrscher of Thunder. There's another way you can lend us assistance! We can turn you and Kiana into normal girls!" It proclaimed.

"And how exactly do you plan to achieve that?" Asked Mei.

The puppet would approach the two, clasping its hands together before moving her hands apart to reveal a ball pen as it dropped to the floor.

"What's this?" Asked Mei.

Alex felt a strange sense of familiarity from the energy it gave off as he came to a quick realization.

"T-This is Bronya's isn't it?" He asked in an upset tone.

"Correct! It's the Herrscher of Reason's power! Unfortunately, I stayed in the hospital for far too long to think of anything cooler to create."

Mei was definitely caught off guard at the puppet using Bronya's power as a way to coerce her however she'd quickly go back to questioning.

"What exactly does the Herrscher of Reason's powers have anything to do with this proposal you're offering me? Do you plan to reshape me and Kiana using her power?" She questioned.

"Of course not! Surely you must've figured it out by now. We wanna take your powers. That would turn you back into a normal girl wouldn't it? Just take my hand and I'll nab them in a jiffy. Simple isn't it? You let me take the Herrscher of Thunder's powers, and in return I'll help you take the Herrscher of the Void's powers. In the end, you'll both live your lives in peace and never have to worry about the Honkai ever again." Offered the puppet.

"You're crazy if you think we're just gonna let you nab a second Herrscher power." Said Alex.

"While it does sound convincing, I do wonder about something. How can you ensure that Kiana won't try to take it back again?" Asked Mei.

"Why ask if it's impossible? No mere mortal could ever stand a chance against us."

Mei thought over this critically before jumping to a conclusion.

"If I were to take tour words into consideration regarding nabbing our powers, then why do I have to give them up first? What's wrong with taking the Void's powers first and then coming back for mine?" Asked Mei.

The puppet struggled to find the words to respond as Alex was a little impressed.

'Damn. What a slick way to use its words against it.' Thought Alex.

"While that does make sense, I fear that without your power, we won't be able to nab hers." Said the puppet.

"My thoughts exactly." Said Mei, slowly grabbing her blade as she motioned Alex to get behind her.

"What're you getting at?" Asked the puppet.

"I personally don't think you can defeat Kiana in any circumstance, therefore your proposal is worthless to me."

The puppet remained silent, brewing with anger as it sighed.

"And here I thought th as you would understand, but I guess I was being too nice. Oh well, guess the hard way will have to do."

Alex and Mei got into a battle stance as the puppet was about to snap its fingers and bring forth an enemy, until a gunshot rang out as the puppet had been shot down in the face by Raven.

"Hey. Apologies for being late. This place was a nightmare to get around." She said.

Almost immediately after the puppet fell to the floor unconscious, the three's vision went completely white once more and when it came back, they had returned to the real world as they were back in the warehouse.

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Chapter 34: Complete