The two were shocked to hear about Bronya's Herrscher powers being taken as Alex thought about just what this potentially meant.

'If this Herrscher puppet was able to take away Bronya's powers like it was nothing, then god forbid what would happen if it came into contact with Kiana or Mei. This things is beyond dangerous.' He thought.

It'd take a moment before Bronya could stand on her own as Seele made sure she was okay as the two chatted on where the other had been before what had recently just happened.

After that conversation ended, Seele patted Bronya on the shoulder before turning her around to face Alex as she gave the boy a look.

Alex was a little confused as to what she was trying to hint however that was quickly answered as Bronya immediately hugged him tightly.

The boy was a little caught off guard by this as he awkwardly chuckled before hugging her back.

This hug would last for a while until Bronya finally separated.

"It's been too long since the Bronya last saw Subject Alex in person. Where has Alex been?" She asked.

"That's a long story that I'd need adequate time to explain which we don't have right now." Said Alex as Bronya pouted a bit.

"The Bronya is owed an explanation later then." She said as Alex nodded.

"Yeah I know. Onto the topic at hand, have you two figured anything new about who or what we're dealing with?" He asked.

"Dr. Einstein had a meeting just prior to the base being attacked. There, she revealed the identity of who we're dealing with." Said Bronya.

"Let me guess, it's a Herrscher isn't it?" Asked Alex who already knew but just wanted confirmation.

"It is. The 10th Herrscher, the Herrscher of Dominance. Known as The Legion Herrscher in the Previous Era." Said Seele.

"Damn. Just our freaking luck then." Said Alex as he sighed. "I'm assuming you two are already aware of what makes it unique right? It's basically 1000 individuals all acting as one. It's basically an army that we're dealing with."

"If the enemy was able to completely strip the Bronya of her Herrscher powers, then they're far more dangerous than expected. Seele, Subject Alex, we need to leave immediately." Said Bronya as Seele nodded.

Though Alex wanted more answers from the puppets, he knew that fleeing was the smarter option as to not run into anymore puppets.

"We're gonna have to find a natural exit somewhere here then. I doubt the  Herrscher will just let us leave like last time." He said.

Seele would head over to the railing and stare off at the Theater's center stage in the distance as a thought came to her head.

"Hey. Maybe that center platform could be an exit." She said.

"That'd be too obvious. Probably feels like a trap if we went there." Said Alex.

Bronya would approach the railing herself before closing her eyes for a moment, eventually opening then.

"Seele's right. The Bronya senses a weak spot in this domain from that area. If we attack it, then the Bronya's sure that we'd be able to make our own way out." She said.

"Just be on guard then. They're definitely gonna be defending that like crazy." Said Alex.

The group would begin to make their way towards center stage as Alex and Seele would retrace their steps from the first time they were here.

With there being no mechs to contend with, this felt like an eerie calm before disaster.

After reaching the turn, the trio were met with a massive horde of Puppets basically blocking the path.

Bronya and Seele were shocked to see this as this was their first time seeing so many.

For Alex it was his second however even he was still shocked as he saw way more puppets this time than the first, counting up easily to about 300.

What made the whole scene even more bizzare was that the puppets were somehow creating and making random weapons out of thin air like scythes, chainsaws, guns, and swords as they talked amongst one another.

"Wow wow wow! These new toys are super fun!"

"We should be greateful for Jerry's sacrifice! Long live Jerry!"

"If it was up to me, I would kill the traitor right away."

"No no no! We can't play with our new toys if she's dead!"

"I wanna play too! Let me play with the new toys!"

The trio watched one as Alex turned to face the two.

"How the hell are they doing that?" He asked.

"It's one of the Herrscher of Reason's, of my powers. As long as you understand the basic makeup of anything, you'll be able to create it." Explained Bronya.

"Why? Why are they using its ability though?" Wondered Seele as Bronya held her head in pain.

"Tch..............they're really using it after all." She said.

"Come on don't be petty! We're just borrowing it!" Said one of the puppets, finally acknowledging their presence.

"Besides, we didn't REALLY take it from you. See, you're still paying the price for it!" Said another.

"Well ain't that convenient. You can yank a core's powers without any consequence for yourselves because the user still suffers from its usage."

"Correct correct! We are the Herrscher of Dominance after all! Thanks to you, we're even stronger now!"

"I-If that's their plan..............then we were right to split our forces..............if Kiana's powers were to be taken..............the situation would be cataclysmic.....we need to leave and send the message...."

"But Bronya we can't let them keep your powers!"

"Seele. I trust that Bronya has plan once we escape. Let's just consider this a small victory for these bastards and move on. They may have won this battle, but they ain't winning the war." Said Alex.

Seele knew that they were probably right as the massive horde of Puppets would dissappear right before their eyes.

"They probably already know where we're headed and are saving their forces. Come on. We're busting out of here." Said Alex.

The group would continue forward however Bronya would notice something wrong.

She looked down and noticed her arms were glowing an bright pink as ominous purple mist flowed out.

"This space is corrupting Bronya's body. Why? Is it because the connection to the Herrscher core was severed?" She wondered.

Alex and Seele would notice the slowly deteriorating state of Bronya's body as they picked up the pace.

Of course now was when the controlled mechs appeared in full force, clearly trying to prevent the group from reaching center stage as Alex and Seele would handle them as quickly as possible while Bronya stayed back as to not further harm herself.

They'd finally reach the end of the hallway where the rift to center stage was as Bronya kneeled down behind the two.

"Go on and make that exit. I'm positive that we'll all leave together." She said.

Alex and Seele agreed before looking at one another and nodded at one another before going through the rift and arrived at center stage.

Just up ahead, there was a small crack  in front of them.

"Is that the weak point?" Asked Alex.

"Yes. Looks exactly the same as the one me and Bronya found back at the Salt Lake Base." Said Seele.

At that moment, a large horde of enemies appeared as the fight was on.

The two mowed through them taking down the cores that controlled them as fast as they could.

Despite them going down with relative ease, the numbers didn't slow down in the slightest, if anything they seemed to increase the more mechs that were taken down.

'Is this a result of them using Bronya's powers? They can essentially make an endless amount of mechs. Any longer and we'll get outnumbered and overran.' Thought Alex.

Over with Seele, she too began to realize that they were slowly being put into a bad situation.

'This isn't good! There's too many of them!' She thought.

"The Theater's master is absolutely hellbent on keeping us here this time." Said the voice in Seele's head. "The 10th Herrscher truly knows no limits."

'The longer we take, the more worse Bronya's condition will get! Other me, how'd you manage to get me and Alex out last time?'

"Same as what you two are doing now except back then the master was solely focused on you two and wasn't watching me closely, allowing me to crack it open in one hit. I can't ensure that it'll work again this time."

'It's worth a try.'

"Alex cover me!"

"Alright!"

Seele would step back, kneeling down and placing her hands on her scythe as Alex did his best to fend off the horde on his own, not questioning Seele as he figured she had something in mind.

"Seele. Are you sure about this?"

'Yes. Only you are able to use this body to its full potential. I understand that I'm not able to handle everything alone and that's okay, because I have you. We both need one another. If our best chances are escaping are in your hands, then why wouldn't I trust you?'

The voice in Seele's remained silent for a bit before chuckled a bit.

"After you tried to be independent for the longest time, now you ask for my help? Honestly, you never cease to surprise me, Seele. Are you really certain you wanna lend full control of the body over to me?"

'Of course. I've never doubted you before, and I don't have a reason to doubt you now.'

"If you let me out and to take control of the wheel, then everyone will know of my existence which you've been so adamant on hiding."

'I don't mind. I've been meaning to introduce you for the longest time anyways.'

Again, the other Seele would have a small laugh.

"Honestly, you're way too kind for your own good. I'm gonna give you one last warning. If you go through with this, you won't be able to force-switch personalities like you had been doing for a long time."

'I know.'

"You don't know what will happen if I go at full power."

'I understand.'

"What if for some reason I decide to never wake you up from limbo? You'll be stuck in a long slumber forever."

'I'm aware of that.'

"You wouldn't be able to stop me if I went full berserk and bullied your close friends and family."

'I have no need to worry about that because I know you wouldn't do that.'

The other Seele was taken aback by how much trust Seele showed in her as she just sighed but had a small smile on her face.

"You truly are a mystery you know that? You're quite the headache." She said as Seele had a small laugh. "Alright then I'll get serious now. Let's bust it open."

'Thank you, Seele...'

"..................Seele...........I like that name............"

At that moment, Seele's body began to glow a bright white before suddenly turning to a dark red.

Then, the glow went away as a shockwave occured, blasting the mechs away as Alex nearly lost his footing.

The boy noticed black and red butterflies flutter around the stage as he turned back and laid witness to Seele's new appearance.

She now had crimson red eyes and medium lengthened black hair with some red strands in it as she now wore a short black-and-red dress which parted at the bottom to reveal a red patterned skirt.

The material covering her chest was a light grey and had a metal decoration shaped like wings just below it.

She had black garments covering her forearms, red gloves, and she wore tall, black, heeled boots.

Lastly, she was accompanied by two large gauntlet like hands similar to Mei's except these were red.

Alex had no clue on what to say or on how to reaction as Seele had a laugh.

"I like that look on your face Alex~. Now, do me a solid and get the hell out the way!" She said, suddenly switching from sweet to harsh as she grabbed her scythe which changed to match her appearance.

Alex nodded and immediately moved out to the way as Seele delivered a powerful slash at the weak spot as it shrunk for a split second before immediately expanding as everyone's vision was obscured by a white light.

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Chapter 26: Complete