"I believe you two are already aware on how Legion Herrscher operates, right? It lives in its own domain and seizes power from other Herrschers. Not only that, but there are also many of them. Individually they're rather frail and weak, but they excell at working together and from the shadows." Said Jackal, wanting to make sure Alex and Mei were caught up on everything as they waited for the elevator they were on to reach its intended destination.

"Correct we're aware. I also know that back in the Previous Era, the Legion Herrscher wasn't capable of this level of cooperation and planning." Said Mei.

"Well, that's to be expected. The Herrschers of yesterday didn't fight other Herrschers who rebelled against the Honkai. It's only natural that they'd have evolved over time. It's as if the Legion Herrscher of today was specifically born to counteract your existence, praying on Herrschers and taking their powers."

"Correct. Because of that though, something doesn't add up."

"I'm listening."

"If the Herrscher's main goal is to snatch other Herrscher powers, then wouldn't they have targeted World Serpent first?" Asked Mei as Alex seemingly understood where Mei was coming from.

"Yeah she has a point. Isn't a big part of Kevin's plan for Project Stigma recquire taking cores from any and all future Herrschers? The puppets logically should've raided this place ages ago." He said.

"Aside from mine, the Serpent currently holds three other Herrschers cores. Infiltrating this place wouldn't be difficult for the puppets at all. Despite all that though, they never did a thing. In fact they even referred to me as an unexpected guest when I entered their theater by accident. Adding all of this up, it doesn't make sense." Added Mei.

"I see. You make a great point. Here's what I think. Firstly about the cores, I think it's pretty clear that they're only interested about the powers a core holds and not the core itself. In their eyes, a core with a proper vessel is much more valuable than a core on its own." Explained Jackal.

"Is it because a core on its own cannot output the same amount of energy that it could if its within a host?" Asked Mei.

"Correct. Why settle for a neutered core when they could just aim for a full powered one?"

"In that case, Mei should've been targeted by them long ago. Even when we entered the theater, they didn't show much enthusiasm or effort to take her powers. In fact they weren't even subliminal about it at all. They were practically telling Mei to do use them despite us being clearly aware of what they were plotting." Said Alex as Mei nodded.

"With how obvious they were making it, it made me think that they were trying to cover up a fact." She said.

"That being the fact that they can't actually take your Herrscher powers and were just bluffing the whole time? There, that's your answer." Said Jackal.

"I suspected as such."

"The process of them snatching a Herrscher's power is like a wrestling match. The stronger side will win and reap the benefits while the loser will lose everything and suffer the consequences." Explained Jackal.

'It's all starting to make sense now. They were able to snatch Bronya's powers and manipulate my psyche via my infected arm because their Herrscher Energy was way stronger. However when matched up against Mei who's more in tune with her powers, they have no chance in taking hers.' Thought Alex.

"So it seems as if that when against one that holds stronger energy than theirs, they have no choice but to back down." Said Mei as Jackal nodded.

"This basically tells us that there are indeed risks that they can't take. Who knows what happens to them if they lose the power struggle. They're aware that a fully awakened Herrscher such as you can easily beat them. They fear you, for now at least." She said.

"That's why I'm here. I can still feel that the Legion Herrscher and the theater are still out there. The puppets exchange information in real-time among themselves sharing senses, intel, and seized power. The Legion Herrscher is like a complicated network linking all the individuals and the theater together. If so, we could use the network to our advantage and visit the theater before they grow even stronger." Said Mei as Alex realized what she was planning.

"Hold up. Are you saying there's a way to enter their domain on our own accord without needing their help?" Asked Alex as Mei nodded.

"Correct. If there's anyone who could have potentially figured that out, then it's you Jackal." Said Mei, facing the scientist as the girl had a light chuckle.

"I never expected us to hit off so well, Mei Raiden." She said.

The elevator then stopped, having reached its destination as Jackal stepped off and motioned for the two to follow her.

Alex and Mei would get off and follow her as they ended up in what seemed to be a secret lab ran by Jackal which was filled with tubs, pod, and containers.

"The hell is all of this?" Asked Alex as the two were shocked to see this space.

"Something that allows you to access the Legion Herrscher's network. Exactly what Mei asked for." Said Jackal. "You two are better off looking around yourselves instead of relying on my explanation."

Jackal would approach a cabinet and revealed a crystallized core, similar to the ones Mei had presented earlier except this one had its color faded as Jackal began to operate on the equipment skilfully.

"Raven said in the report that you two were accidentally sent into the theater by coming into contact with the puppet, correct?"

"Yes. It was broken after we left the theater." Said Mei.

"The touching must be a signal then. If we can somehow modify this form and send back the signal with recovered cores, we might be able to open the gate to the theater on our own." Explained Jackal.

Suddenly, Alex and Mei heard the sound of a snap in the area as something in the air seemed to be burning and twisted.

"Did you both see that?" Asked Jackal as they nodded.

"A line shot past." Said Alex.

"That was a spatial fissure. Unfortunately it was small and didn't last long. I need more cores like this." Said Jackal as she then pointed to the cores Mei handed her. "As I said, these three acted on their own and didn't blend in, making them unique individuals. Rare outliers of a collected, uniformed mass. These specific cores are perfect to pull this off without attracting any unwanted attention. Just give me two days and I'll get it to work." Said Jackal, though Mei immediately shot her down.

"That's too long." She said.

"What else did you expect? Something like this takes time to achieve a fissure with the right size, correct position, and long duration. Of course it'll take some time."

"One day is all I got." Said Mei as Alex backed her up.

"These puppets are quite smart operating in the shadows. Who knows what they could accomplish in two days time. Time is something we can't afford to spend critically." He said.

"Aren't you two listening to me.................hm?"

Jackal stopped herself from speaking, gaining confused looks from Mei and Alex as the scientist noticed something odd about the core.

"Hey. Isn't the core smaller than when you first gave it to me, Mei?" She asked.

Once all three paid attention to the core within the container, it suddenly shrank until it was completely no longer visible.

"What the!?" Shouted Alex in shock.

"The core, dissappeared?" Asked Jackal in bewilderment as Mei acted quickly, grabbing the box in Jackal's hand as she put it on the lab bench.

"Hey what're you doing?" She sternly asked.

"Alex, get close to me! Jackal, turn on the equipment now!" She shouted.

"H-Hold on you wanna enter their world now!?" Said a shocked Alex.

"Are you crazy!? This is the absolute worst time to do this!" Shouted Jackal.

"Just do as I say!" She shouted.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Hastily replied the boy as he immediately rushed over and stood right next to her.

"This is the console, right?" Asked Mei as Jackal realized that the girl had out-smarted her.

"Y-You!"

"My apologies. Thank you for the assistance, Dr. Cleo."

At that moment, Mei activated the console as a flash of white enveloped the room.

Once it went away, Jackal uncovered her eyes to see that Alex and Mei were now no longer present.

--------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 36: Complete