Chapter Text
The story begins just as it’s written.
When the master control system of the Herta Space Station ceases to function, a beautiful woman takes a stroll across the invasion site, meets up with a helper and breaks through several security barriers to enter a hidden treasure room. There, the Hunters lay their hands on the rarest items the owner of the starship has found in the entire universe.
Then, everything derails.
“Uwahhhh~”
Kafka's expression is unreadable as she observes the two receptacles rolling on the floor in front of her. Well, they should no longer be called ‘receptacles’ after receiving the Stellarons, though they certainly aren’t acting any less empty-headed right now.
“...Interesting,” mutters the Stellaron Hunter. “Silver Wolf, is this intentional?”
From behind, the genius hacker shakes her head. “No idea. I merely transported the receptacles from the coordinates Elio noted in the script.”
“Did Elio say the receptacles should be this—" Kafka pauses, trying to find the right word, "—small?”
Silver Wolf shrugs. “No specific instruction.”
“Hm. I see,” Kafka says, standing up straight again. “If Elio didn’t say anything, it shouldn’t matter.”
“...I feel like this is something Elio should have warned us about.” Silver Wolf comments, though she sounds no less nonchalant about the entire situation. “Regardless, we should take our leave. According to the scripts, the Astral Express Crew is coming soon.”
Kafka hums at the reminder. “Fine. Saying anything to them now is useless anyway.”
She is about to turn away but decides against it at the last second. The mysterious woman looks down at the little Stellaron holders one more time.
“Listen: Stelle, Caelus.”
At the sound of their names, the babies stop fussing and snap their attention onto Kafka.
The Hunter smiles, realising that the little infants do have some awareness despite her prior assumption. "Be good, and stay safe,,. We’ll meet again."
It would be a lie to say Kafka was not surprised by how this whole ordeal has turned out. Nonetheless, she is confident that Elio must have foreseen everything. If it's up to her, Kafka would also choose to leave these kids to the Astral Expressers to look after in their stead.
“If we leave now, how much will they remember?”
“...They’ll remember you.”
“Good.”
Having achieved their objective, the Stellaron Hunters make themselves scarce, leaving behind two confused infants and more chaos to come.
*******
Herta, Genius Society member 83 and the master of the Space Station, only shows up once everything is over. She would likely not appear at all if Himeko didn't inform her about someone touching her precious collection.
“So… These little twerps have the Stellarons now?” Herta inspects the two children who are napping peacefully in March and Dan Heng’s arms. “Hm. Let me take another look.”
March quickly steps back, twisting her body around to hide Stelle from the puppet’s hands.
“No, madam Herta. Can’t you see they’re sleeping? Please stop poking them!”
Next to her, Dan Heng lets out a sigh, patting Caelus’ back as the boy stirs briefly at the commotion. “March, you shouldn’t move around so much. Babies get startled easily.”
The bubbly girl pouts at the lecturing tone from her friend. “Not fair. Why are you scolding me instead?!”
March is definitely not adept at being quiet. It’s lucky that she is holding Stelle who seems to be a deep sleeper unlike her twin.
“How curious." Herta mumbles to herself, tapping her chin in contemplation. "The Hunters came all the way here, yet did not take the babies away and only left a note with their names. The Stellarons inside their bodies are stable too... How did they do it?”
When the genius looks over at Welt and Himeko again, the look on her face spells nothing but trouble. “Can I bring them in for some research?”
Though Himeko masks her expression well, her mood definitely sours at the suggestion. If the kids were bigger, they could have asked them to decide what they want to do (and hopefully, they would have enough sense to run from Herta’s grasp). However, since the twins are still too young, that’s not an option.
The Astral Express' navigator exchanges a glance with her older companion, Welt, who also quietly shakes his head. It is easy to come to a consensus that Herta isn't the epitome of a caring guardian for the children.
“Herta. Even though the Stellarons are stable right now, I believe we should be careful with the kids. Conducting research on them at this stage is out of question,” says Himeko.
“Huh. Are you worried about them?” Herta waves off Himeko’s concern. “Come on. They have the Stellarons inside them. I bet even if we threw them at a Doomsday Beast, they would come out unscratched.”
The confidence in her statement only raises more concerned looks from the Astral Express Crew. March and Dan Heng hold the twins a little tighter into themselves, as if they are afraid the crazy researcher may snatch the kids away and make a run for it.
“...You are not throwing them at anything.” Himeko chastises the genius, sounding exasperated yet firm. “Alright, if you don't have any other suggestion, then... I think the Nameless should take custody of these two from now on.”
A cricket silence follows her unexpected proposal.
Welt is the first to recover. “Himeko. Are you sure?”
“Yes... Well, I know it is a sudden request, but right now, we seem to be the best choice. You and I can monitor the Stellarons while the kids are on the train. And even if one of us may be away for expedition, Pom-pom will always be there for them.” The navigator explains to her crewmates. Then, she also sends a meaningful look towards Herta. "On the other hand, the researchers here may not care about anything other than their experiments.”
“Hah! You think we can’t take care of these little twerps?” Herta snorts. “How hard can it be? I can procure the most expensive nanny robots to look after them.”
Another cricket silence.
It's uncertain whether Herta is trying to make a point for or against herself.
Himeko sighs. "They are children, not items in your collection that you can carelessly leave somewhere as you please."
March takes the chance to chime in.
“Wait. I agree with Himeko! Let’s bring them along on the Express. We have more than enough room, and we can take turns watching them!”
“...” Dan Heng doesn’t say anything, but that just means he isn’t violently against the suggestion.
Noting that the young ones are already in agreement, Welt clears his throat. “I also think this is the best course of action. Children can be unpredictable. If the research goes wrong and they become unstable, the Stellarons may act up in response as well. It's best to keep a close watch and not attempt any risky experiment.”
While Herta's grump face is right there, Himeko smiles charmingly and concludes the discussion. "Excellent. I'm glad we've all agreed... Don't worry, Herta. Children grow up in a blink of an eye. You won't have to wait too long."
A few years is certainly nothing compared to Herta’s actual age, though the genius is never pleased to have her toys taken away. Nevertheless, she'll have to admit that the Astral Express Crew's argument has some merit.
“Fine. But once they are ready, you better bring them back to me.”