Work Text:
Beep… Beep… Beep…
The room looked as if its colors were drained from it. A small window overlooking a grimey roof sat a few feet away, sunlight barely making its way through. The stench of cleaning chemicals was so strong it could easily be mistaken as a chemical spill.
An older woman sat beside a bed with dark circles under their eyes. Her face showed her exhaustion, fear, stress, and worry. Her hair was a disheveled mess and looked as if it hadn’t been brushed in days, which was unfortunately the case.
“Dr. Planck, you’re free to leave if you need to. We will keep you updated-”
“I’m not leaving,” she snapped. “I won’t be leaving until I know she’s okay.”
The doctor just sighed and shook their head. Tapping their pen on their clipboard. “About Frederica Tesla-”
“It’s Nikola Tesla,” she corrected. It was so small, yet she felt like she had to for her sake.
“.. Well Nikola Tesla is still stable, however similarly to Lieserl she has yet to awaken. We’re unsure if they will or not,” they spoke calmly, writing down a few notes before walking out again.
“Oh little Lieserl..” She wanted to cry, she wanted to do something. Anything. Her eyes were dry, and she was too exhausted to cry anymore. It’d been the only thing she really could do the past few days.
All she wanted was to know that Einstein was okay. It was the only thing she could even think about. Guilt was slowly eating her away, knowing she played a part in all of this. Despite the fact she wouldn’t admit it, she even wanted to make sure that Tesla was okay. Despite the two being at each other's throats she still worried about her. She was her student, and her little girl's best friend. However, she didn’t want to leave Einstein alone for even a second in case she awoke. She desperately clung to the hope that she’d awaken, even if the chances were slowly decreasing every hour that passed.
“I’m so sorry, dear..” Her voice was hoarse and strained. “None of this should’ve happened.. Neither of you deserved any of this. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like I promised.”
A few tears managed to force their way out. She crossed her arms on the bed and laid her head down.
“I’m so sorry, Karl.. I promise you I’d keep her safe and..” Planck clutched the blanket on the bed, trying to keep her calm. She knew it wasn’t helping her, and she knew it was only making things worse, yet she couldn’t help but think of him.
“.. mom..?”
Planck shot up, hearing the barely audible voice. Despite the pain, she couldn’t help but start crying hysterically, hugging her. Einstein looked at her, eyes barely open. She was too weak to move, and everything was still fuzzy for her.
“W.. Where are we?”
Planck just started crying harder. “Lieserl you’re okay, it’s okay. I’m here. Please rest, it’ll all be okay.”
She slowly tried sitting up before Planck stopped her. “It’s okay, just please rest Lieserl. You need it.”
“Where’s Nikola and Welt,” Einstein spoke softly, trying to glance around for any sign of them.
“P-Please Lieserl, don’t worry about them. Please just rest..” She couldn’t keep her calm. How was she supposed to tell her that one of her friends was dead and that the other might be following soon?
Einstein looked at her, slowly regaining her energy. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”
“L-Lieserl.. Please stop asking questions..”
Tears began to pool in her eyes. Her memory was fuzzy, but she still knew what happened. “Emma.. Please tell me they aren’t gone.. Please tell me..”
“Listen to me, Lieserl..” She could barely choke it out. “Welt.. Welt’s gone honey.. N.. Nikola is.. She’s alive still..”
“Where is she?” Einstein nearly yelled as she sat up before being met with excruciating pain.
“Honey let me finish.. We’re still not sure if she’ll.. If she’ll wake up.”
“Please Emma.. Where is she?”
Planck looked at her. Einstein just stared at her pleading with tears in her eyes, confusion still evident.
“We can go visit her later.. Please lay back down-”
Suddenly, a knock came at the door and a doctor walked in. “Dr. Pla-”
The nurse dropped their clipboard and stared at Einstein with a horrified and shocked expression. “Sh.. She’s awake-”
“I told you my little girl would get through it,” she spoke through the tears, putting on a forced smile. “She’s too much of a stubborn brat not to.”
The nurse shook their head quickly, trying to remain professional. “Dr. Planck, I was coming in to ask if you would be willing to discuss a few things with our head doctor.”
“I would but-”
“It’s okay, I’ll be okay here for a few minutes,” Einstein said with a slight smile.
“Lieserl I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“I’ll be okay, I promise. I’ll stay on my best behavior and co-operate with the nurses while you’re gone.”
Planck hesitated for a few moments. There was a certain tone to her voice that set off alarm bells to her. Though she wasn’t sure if she was simply going insane from lack of sleep or not. Surely she’d be fine left alone for just a few minutes. She looked exhausted, anyways. She wouldn’t just leave.... Right?
“.. Okay, but Lieserl if you need anything please yell and I’ll come right back.”
“Okay, Emma.”
Planck stood up, looking down at her for a few seconds before following the doctor away. Einstein sat up, hissing from the pain. While she was no longer injured, the area where she’d been stabbed still hurt from where it healed. Glancing around, she fumbled around with the wires connected to her.
‘.. Whoever put these on me did a terrible job,’ she thought to herself. ‘They shouldn’t be this messily put on. Perhaps they need better training.’
Standing up, she immediately lost her balance and crashed to the floor. She hissed through her teeth and slowly stood up again. Part of her just wanted to stay there and wait for Planck to come back, but as her memories came back to her she couldn’t. The image of Welt and Tesla haunted her, and knowing one of them was dead and the other might be following sent her into a state of distress. Too many deaths in her life didn’t allow her to say goodbye, she didn't want to add another to the list. She didn’t get to say her final goodbyes to Welt, and if Tesla ended up not making it..
She shook her head, she didn’t want to consider the possibility. Besides, it was as the saying goes. Assholes tended to live longer than everyone else. Even if she wasn’t particularly that much of an asshole, she had hope that it would apply to her as well.
Looking around, she realized that the nurse didn’t pick up their clipboard. Stumbling over, she picked it up. Flipping through the pages, to her surprise, she found Tesla's paperwork.
‘Whoever was put in charge of us should be fired. This is heavily unprofessional, and has to be breaking some sort of law.. Unless..’
Analyzing the papers, it quickly became evident as to why their papers were together. They were at the American branch of Schicksal, and were being taken care of by specific doctors with instructions.
‘.. Wait, why are we here?’ Fear shot through her. Maybe everything she thought she remembered was wrong.
It didn’t matter, she knew where the other was now. If she continued to sit here and think about that Planck would return before she could escape. Looking out the door, she quickly made her escape while nobody was watching. As she tried to run down the halls a few nurses and doctors looked at her, worry on their faces.
She didn’t recognize them, however considering her status in the organization as of now it wasn’t a surprise they knew her. The overseer tried to kill her, and she’d be worried if she saw her too. A few of them sent calls to tell the other doctors and to figure out what to do.
Eventually she found where she was going and ran in, un caring of who was in there already. Walking in it had become evident that Planck had been there at one point. Tesla’s coat was folded neatly on a nearby shelf, along with her glasses and ribbons.
Tesla, meanwhile, was laid there barely moving. It was haunting to see the girl who once looked like an absolute mess as she slept looking as if she was ready for a funeral.
“Nikola..” Einstein choked out, trying desperately not to cry while grasping her hand.
She was truly left alone. Welt was dead, how or why she wasn’t quite sure. However, with the development that he was a herrscher, and considering he had already put his life on the line to protect them before, she had a sinking feeling. Though it was just as possible that however they were saved didn’t work for him, and Otto was the sole reason. Either way, it didn't matter. As of now she was one of the only survivors along with Planck.
“You have to wake up, Nikola. Who’s going to pull me into ridiculous bullshit and pranks. Who else am I going to relentlessly tease if you’re gone..” Her voice was shaking as she laid her head down on the bed.
The events of the past month replayed in her mind. Regrets slowly picking at her. Knowing that Welt died before he even got to live his life. Dying with the realization that he was a herrscher, one of humanity's greatest enemies despite the fact he was more human than almost anyone else she’d known. Dying without even being told by his two ‘saviors’ that they cared about him and would never forget him.
Knowing Tesla could be dying as she thought to herself. It hurt knowing that her final moments would’ve been knowing the two people she cared more about than anything were hurt and there wasn’t anything she could do. It hurt knowing that she would’ve died thinking that she’d failed trying to protect her, even if there wasn’t anything she could’ve done. Knowing she would die not knowing that she cared for her more than anything, even if she bullied her relentlessly.
None of them deserved any of this. They were caught in a war they never asked for. They were victims of the circumstances. If only things had been different, maybe they all could’ve stayed together and caused trouble. Maybe Welt could’ve even gotten his degree and moved up from pathetic lab assistant to pathetic lab trainee. She had to stop herself from thinking about it. It wasn’t possible. It was a ridiculous hope, especially when faced with the reality they were living in.
Joachim suddenly came to her mind. She desperately wanted to hope that he was okay, and with his mom now. He was just a child, barely eight. None of this should’ve been his problem. She could still see his sparkling eyes while he helped Tesla and her with their experiments. Remembering Joachim reading with Welt during their free time, remembering how he helped Tesla in tormenting Welt.
Schrodinger.. Einstein desperately wanted to have hope that she was okay. Just like them she was a victim of circumstances. She wanted to believe that she was still here, somewhere. Despite the fact she was often silent, she was still a sweet person. Despite her being corrupted from Honkai and trying to kill them, Einstein still cared. She couldn’t hold it against her. Honkai is a strong force that can change even the gentlest of people.
She sobbed into the blanket, her grip on Tesla tightening. All she wanted to do was go home. She desperately wanted to see Tesla threatening Welt because he accidentally annoyed her. Watching as Tesla became a flustered mess as Planck relentlessly teased her over Einstein again. Laughing because Welt’s confused as to what’s going on, and is scared of them and their eccentric tendencies. She wanted to be back in the lab with three of them working on an experiment only for it to go completely off the rails. Even if it blew the lab up again, she didn’t mind. She just wanted to see the two of them smiling and laughing again.
“Dr. Einstein,” A voice came from behind her. “You can't be in here. I'm here to take you back, please come with me. This is a restricted area and you need prior authorization to be here."
She looked up, glaring at the man. “You’ll have to drag me out before I leave, and your chances of succeeding are very low.”
He shook his head annoyed yet not surprised, “Well if you’re going to be like that you leave me with no other choice.”
Suddenly, Einstein used her remaining strength and stomped on the man's foot.
“OW!?!? YOU LITTLE BRAT-” He yelped, jumping around on one foot holding onto his other. “Who’s bright idea was it to hire a teenage brat?!?”
“As I said, your chances of succeeding are low. That was me giving you a warning,” she said lying. She didn’t have the strength to continue fighting the man, and she knew it. “As for why I was hired, ask your overseer. I’m sure he’d love to explain.” She spoke, her voice cold and unfeeling.
“I’m telling Dr. Planck, about your behavior. You will receive consequences for this!”
“Do as you wish, now leave before my good graces are gone. Remember you’re messing with her daughter, and she will not have mercy on you nor will I.”
The man angrily mumbled something before slamming the door shut, leaving her alone again.
Laying her head back down, she tried not to cry again. ‘Come on Nikola.. You can’t just die on me like this. What happened to always getting the last laugh and winning? You never even got your revenge on me..'
“Lieserl..”
“Leave me alone, I do not care how many security guards you bring with you,” she said coldly, looking up before realizing it was just Planck.
“Oh.. Sorry, Ms. Planck.”
She sighed, and pulled a chair beside her. “I won’t make you leave, Lieserl, but I’m staying with you. I’m not mad, but Lieserl you can’t just disappear like that..”
“Why, Emma,” she said crying, “The overseer will find us one way or another if you’re concerned about us running.”
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore, Lieserl. This isn’t Schicksal anymore. We’ve officially broken off from them,” she said softly, hugging her. “I wouldn’t have brought you two here otherwise. I might be a crazy old lady, but I still want to protect you two.”
Einstein just looked down at Tesla, tears in her eyes still. “What’s going to happen to us now.. Otto’s going to want to finish the job if he realizes we’re still alive..”
“Don’t worry, Lieserl. Everything will be okay, I won’t let anything happen to either of you,” her voice was calm, but it was still strained. Tears welled up in her eyes, “I love you both, you know I would do anything to protect you.”
She stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Planck let go of her before sitting Tesla's jacket over her shoulders.
“It might not help, but it might comfort you a little,” she said softly. “I know how much that jacket meant to her, especially when it came from you. While I waited for you, I worked on fixing both of your clothes up for you. I have the scarf Karl gave you too, but it’s at home.”
The soft fabric comforted her. Using her free hand she pulled it tightly around her. Both of them sat in an unsettling silence, the soft beeping of medical equipment in the background.
“What happened to Welt?”
Planck was taken off guard, and just stayed silent.
“Emma. Please.. This is all I ask of you.. I have to know.”
“He..” Emma choked, unable to force herself to say it. Einstein still hadn’t looked up, just staring down.
Her chest hurt. She didn’t want to tell her that he died trying to protect everyone. That Joachim had taken on his role. Even she couldn’t process it herself.
“He.. He used his..”
“He used the herrscher powers I assume?” She said, emotionless.
“.. Yes, Lieserl.. I’m so sorry.. We tried, we really did..”
She didn’t say anything. Just staring silently downwards at the bed. “How are we alive? We shouldn’t have survived wounds that size through our chests.”
“... We used the abyss flower. It healed all three of you, but.. Welt..”
“I understand,” she said, cutting her off. It was too much, she didn’t want to hear any more.
Laying her head back down, she stayed silent. She was exhausted. It was all too much for her to handle. Silence took over as they sat there for the next hour. Occasionally nurses would come in to check both Einstein's and Tesla’s vitals, though it didn’t make her feel like speaking. Planck occasionally tried to, but she was met with a deafening silence.
Slight movement caught Einstein off guard, causing her to sit up. Tesla had lightly tried to grab her hand back, though she was too weak to really do anything.
“Ni-Nikola??” Planck nearly yelled. “Oh thank god you’re okay,” she said, nearly crying once again.
She just barely mumbled something, sounding scared as she tried to open her eyes. Seeing Einstein by her she seemed to calm down a little.
“It’s okay, you’re safe Nikola.” Einstein spoke, desperately trying to hold back tears.
She looked up at her, confused. “Where..”
“You’re at the hospital dear.. You’re okay, don’t worry.”
“W.. Wait.. Lieserl.. Where’s that..”
Einstein shook her head, knowing what she was going to say. “He’s gone, Nikola..”
“That fucking bastard,” Tesla said looking down, desperately trying to not start crying. “If I ever get my fucking hands on that goddamn bastard..”
Planck was crying from relief. If she was honest, she didn’t believe they’d wake up. It shouldn’t have been a surprise considering they were both stubborn and refused to give up, yet it still shocked her to a certain extent.
“It’s okay, girls,” she choked out, “I promise you both he’ll get what’s coming to him in due time. We won’t let what happened here be forgotten and swept under the rug. We’ll come back stronger than ever and become his worst nightmare that he can’t escape. In the wise words of the 'great and wonderful' Nikola Tesla, he's going to learn what 'fuck around and find out' means soon."