Honkai Impact 3rd Main Storyline Chapter 16: Imminent Storm

Part 5: Remembering The Past

Clang... Clang...

I walked down the stairs and saw Hephaestus fixing the outmost graduals. "Wow... it's Arahato!" Said one of the residents. Small children swarmed to the mecha, their eyes twinkling with excitement. "I love it too! The anime series is just divine! I can still recite the coolest line from the 3rd episode! "If you're for philosophical explanations, don't sweat it - I'm just clearing some stumbling blocks today." The scene where Taixuan Imperator took down the prime mechas is wickedly awesome! I watched it ten times!" "Hey, you probably watched too much television, kid!" Tesla jumped out of the cockpit with a sullen face.

"...I went to the last location. Nothing. Not even a single clue they left. Kiana, Patrick, and Toriyama should have left the east city." "I asked the children here, and someone saw them heading to the other side. We should get moving now and search the west part of the city." "Mei, I understand how you feel now. But it's getting dark, Let's call it a day and prepare for tomorrow." "But..." "We know they're out there, and that's why we gotta be more careful. The last thing we need is more surprise now." "Understood... but we still have some time before it turns dark. I'll scout the path ahead." "Remember to get back before sunset." "Oh... one more thing. Is there any way... for us to help the children here?" "I'll talk to Mophead and see what we can do. Our Salt Lake base just took in some orphans... In fact, our medical supplies are running low. And the sensei... ...Right now, we have to be realistic and can't afford to overstretch."

I went to ask Sora on how to get to the west city. "To get to the west city, you need to cross the Nagazora Wall. It's a tough path. Let me lead the way for you please." "Much obliged then. If we run into  any danger, we'll protect you, Sora." "Don't worry, I'll hide in a safe place when you fight."

On the way to the wall I protected Sora from the Honkai and we made it to the wall. "We're at the wall now. The west city is up ahead." Said Sora. "That's it for today. We should return now. Sora, please come back with me to Helios for a checkup, just to be sure. And then we can have dinner together. Thank you. You've been a big help today." I said. "Huh, really? Em, it feels embarrassing to say this, but all we have is canned food. Something else would be nice." "OK, let's go. ...Huh? What's that?" I paused my steps since I found something. There was a building in the ruined jungle. Through a forest of collapsed buildings, my eyes reached a building in the distance.

"That's... Chiba Academy?" "Lemme see... Ah, yes, that's the famous Chiba Academy for rich kids. People said the school was a pass to a successful life." "Ha, it's exaggerated. I used to study there." "Huh? So... you were... born with a silver spoon in mouth?" "I was in the school when the Honkai eruption happened... Can't believe I'd be back now. A lot has happened." "Where is your family?" "I'm the only child in the family, and my mom passed away when I was very little. Dad raised me up alone, but he was crammed and went to prison shortly after I enrolled in Chiba. Of course, he is out now. Someone cleared his name and sent him to a safe place." "So you haven't seen him in a while?"

"He is on an important mission, we only talk on the phone, but he keeps saying he's safe and tells me not to worry. ...After he was jailed, I had a tough time. Dad was taken away from me, and the family name fell. People who covered my dad's possessions tried to fool me, and my old friends began to distance me. My world crumbled as dad went away... I began to see they cared only for the Raiden name, not me as a person. I distanced myself from the crowd and began to act alone, cutting myself from the outside world. Until the day Honkai came... Someone changed me forever. We finally met each other."

"Who is this person?" "Kiana, Kiana Kaslana." I flashed back to the time when Kiana saved me. "She saved my life in the chaos. She reached her hand and pulled me out of the darkness. Such a frail arm, but with incredible strength. All of the dragging and swinging failed to take me from her hand. I looked up and saw her big blue eye that spoke of innocence and mischief, but also sincerity and comfort."

"You're not dying on my watch!" I remembered what Kiana said to me. "She tried desperately to pull me out of certain death. How strange. We never met before, and there's no way she knew my past, my life, my sufferings. But somehow... I felt like I had to believe her. For the first time in my lonely life... I wanted to trust someone."

The flashback ended and I returned back to the present. "In the end, we left Nagazora together. We were taken by Schicksal Valkyries and enrolled in St. Freya... I've lived a different life ever since. Family, friends, home, and future... what I once thought were lost forever came back to me bit by bit. Thinking back, exactly that moment... My life was changed, and she did it." Sweet memories brought back Mei's gentle smile, which was missing from her face for months. For a brief moment, the innocent, content, and carefree girl was back.

"What about Patrick? Did he have any affect in your life changing?" "Well... I first met him a few months after enrolling in St. Freya." I flashback to when I first met him.

"He was a great guy to be around with. He was an Otaku, and a man of culture for knowing a lot about pop-culture. When we had time off he loved talking about pop-culture with us. About Anime, Video Games, Cartoons, TV Shows, and Movies. And he loved making pop-culture references while fighting against the Honkai. He talked about his favorite franchises like "Pokémon", "Dragon Ball Z", "Sailor Moon", "My Hero Academia", The Avangers", "Transformers", "Spyro", "Star Wars", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Super Mario Bros", "Minecraft", "Naruto", "One Piece", and "Skylanders". While being the only Knight in St. Freya, I, Kiana, and our friends helped him get used to being in St. Freya and accepted him as one of as and as part of our family. When ever he saved me in battle like Kiana does, I could always feel my heart beating faster. He was the first boy I ever felt that way. My old male friends distanced themselves from me but Patrick Ewing was there for me like Kiana Kaslana."

the flashbacks of Patrick stopped as I felt my heart beat faster. "I know that he is strong and filled with determination. He has a family back at his home, and has no backstory. Deep down he cares about protecting people from the Honkai and protecting the ones he loves." I suddenly blushed when I finished talking about him but quickly made it go away before Sora could see it. "...Haha, sorry, I got carried away." "No, not at all! They must be very important to you." "So many past memories here. They just keep floating up as I walk along."