[Clown TF, Corruption]
"Remember, Kiana. Don't lose sight of what we're here for. The Honkai will try to trick you if you do."
"I know, I know! I don't need to be told every time!"
Kiana and Fu Hua were out on a mission together. Not an ordinary pair-up, but their respective skills were deemed the best for this task. Despite their fundamental different personalities, it was deemed appropriate given what they had been able to show under pressure.
The target? A strange congregation of Zombies. That's all that they were told, with none of the staff assigned to them even trying to explain what they had seen. And Himeko...
Well, Himeko was too drunk to explain what it was. All that they had gotten out of her was a laugh. It didn't give them confidence, but it's not like they were in short supply considering the white-haired girl currently taking the lead.
"What's the worst that could happen, anyway? It's not like there's a Herrscher here!" Kiana cried out as they approached the target area, having grabbed a baseball bat alongside her usual pistols. Just in case she needed to get up close and personal without using her suit's abilities.
Fu Hua sighed as she made the wise move to stay a bit further away from Kiana. While her offensive abilities were limited to close combat, that didn't mean she was about to get caught off guard. "If you say one hasn't appeared, one'll appear. It's like you're beckoning an omen." She explained, all while adjusting her glasses and keeping her eye on the enemy that was up ahead.
Indeed, there seemed to be nothing except Zombies present. Dregs of Honkai infection. But there was something that did make her a little concerned as she looked at them.
Namely, it seemed as if there was some sort of substance that covered them... No, more accurately their skin had mutated. Leaving them looking like they were split into purple and white colors, almost like they were dressed like clowns? Jesters, perhaps... She wasn't exactly the kind to distinguish them. Comedy, especially of the physical kind, wasn't her expertise.
Kiana saw the Zombies as well, and immediately started snickering. "Really? Clowns? That's what we have to deal with, Hua?" She chimed, as she quickly started to spin the bat she had on hand. "If they wanna look funny, then I'll knock 'em silly!" She shouted with her usual infectious enthusiasm.
"And there she goes again." Fu Hua said with a sigh as she ran after the girl. Knowing what the Honkai had at their disposal, even funny enemies like these ones would be a threat if they were to take them lightly...
The Clown Zombies definitely noticed them too, each of them making laughing spasms as they started walking towards Kiana. They were brandishing different sorts of weapons, each of them looking like they were ready to fight... And perhaps pin her down, so that they could spread their infection to her. Just as ordinary Zombies would. What made them so special, then?
Kiana slammed her baseball bat into the face of one of these laughing Zombies, grinning as it bounced upon impact with the ground. "Here you GO!" She shouted, slamming it into the side of the bouncing Zombie, knocking the whole horde over...
And making a Strike sound echo out? Huh, weird, "Do they usually make sound effects or am I just getting really into it?" Kiana asked herself, patting herself across the body. "Or did Bronya install something in my suit when I wasn't looking?" She wouldn't doubt the lazy gamer genius doing something like that to prank her for being, in her own words, an 'idiotka'. But it didn't seem like anything was wrong.
"Remember to focus, Kiana!" Fu Hua shouted, as the horde that had been knocked down by a single swing started to rise once again. Not a good thing to see when they were tasked with clearing out this horde. They had to figure out how to kill them, but how...
Before Fu Hua could figure out a plan, she noticed that the lot of them had begun to pull out various types of equipment. Or rather, circus items. One was juggling pins, one was juggling balls, another had pulled out a couple of flaming rings intended for a beast to jump through, and yet another had pulled out pies. And yet more was coming, each a different flavor of silly.
"You can't beat me by juggling!" Kiana laughed, far too amused by this entire ordeal as she quickly threw her own bat into the air, and then her pistols as well. She'd show them how to juggle, and kick their butts in the process.
But instead of the items falling back down, she was left completely unarmed. Which made the valkyrie quietly blink in confusion. "Huh? Wait, that's not fair, I needed those!" She shouted, as she tried looking up...
Right up into a big ring that was falling down on her really fast. It was like the bottom of a circus tent or something, how was she supposed to dodge that-
"KIANA!"
She didn't. Kiana was swallowed by the falling tent, which only briefly showed signs of struggle. After that, the tent seemed to disappear. Right as Fu Hua got over and tried to grab it and yank it away...
"Kiana..." Fu Hua muttered, before quickly steeling herself. She couldn't afford to lose focus right now. She'd find out exactly what happened to Kiana later. Right now, she needed to deal with the enemies at hand. And since there were so many of them, she just had to go for it.
Rushing towards the horde, most of them tried to throw various things at her. Most of them missing, because none of them were able to predict how she'd move. Or rather, she predicted how they moved due to all the experience that was still accumulated within her body after so many years.
The only one that ever slightly managed to distract her and land something worthwhile, was one of the Zombies that held a red cloth. Trying to play matador. But she dodged right around that very same Zombie...
Only to end up running straight into another one of these tents, barely able to react in time. It seemed like these fools were more than she gave them credit for, something she had to admit as she was swallowed whole by this strange living cloth...
Leaving the Zombies to giggle, as they were going to have brand new companions soon enough...
---
"Where am I? What happened?"
Kiana asked herself as she found herself stuck within... Well, it seemed to be a big dark room. She couldn't really see anything. All she could see was the endless expanse. That's what Hua would've called it, anyway.
"C'mon! Can't this place light up a bit?!" Kiana shouted as she tried to use her suit in any meaningful way. But even her suit... Wait a moment, was she even wearing her suit..?
At that moment, the lights started to turn on. One. Two. Three spotlights shining down on her from different angles, as if she was in the middle of a stage...
The light was blinding, but that wasn't the part that concerned Kiana. No, the part that really surprised her was what she was wearing. Something that brought a big blush to the young valkyrie's cheeks.
She was wearing the same sort of weird colorful garb as those Zombies from before. Or was it really wearing? She could touch herself, and it was like it was her skin. But it was also extra shiny and rubbery, and it made her blush as she touched herself...
"What's Mei-Senpai going to think when she sees me like this? Bronya's probably going to call me 'Kiana Klownka" or something stupid like that!" Kiana whined as she tried to pull on the strange fabric that clung to her skin like a second layer...
Only for her to very suddenly be hit in the face by a cream pie. The tin sticking to her face comically for a few seconds as laughter started to erupt around her.
"Not funny." Kiana muttered as she pulled the tin off her face before she wiped away the cream. Only, she seemed to brush her arm up against something on her face. Something... Red?
Indeed, there was something poking out from the middle of her face. Namely, a big red nose. A big red honker of a nose that just kinda looked out of place. Then again, considering how the rest of her looked like a clown, she wasn't that surprised.
"Ha ha. This type of Honkai's really messed up, thinking it's funny to mess with me!" She said, as she started grabbing that nose. Squeezing into it, to try and pry it free.
But instead of it budging, it simply just let out a completely normal and utterly 'hilarious' Honking sound. One that frustrated Kiana more than she would like to admit. Especially as she tried to tug on it more and more, and all she got out of her efforts were yet more honks. Over and over, only intensifying in volume as she put more and more effort in...
Not only that, but it sounded like there were... There were more honks than just her? But that didn't seem right, there should only be her...
At least, that's what she thought. Until yet another light turned on. A single light that illuminated a girl that looked kind of like her. But she was a bit more angry. A bit more furious. Even as she kept on squeezing that honking nose of hers...
Kiana immediately approached the other version of her. She seemed familiar, yet she couldn't tell why. All she could tell was that she wanted to squeeze that nose. Reaching out... And grabbing it, before squeezing hard.
The same sort of honking noise was released from that nose, but the girl that looked like her didn't seem pleased. So she returned the favor. Honking Kiana's nose in turn, until a small symphony of honks echoed between the two.
A small symphony that was making both of them slowly but surely lose themselves to the sound. There was just something about what was going on that felt... Right? It's like the constant honking just did something to their minds.
Like wiping away everything that wasn't central to their acts as clowns. After all, the laughter around them made it clear that they were amusing their spectators. And if they were amused, then they should be amused too. Right? That's how it went in clowning, right..?
For a second, Kiana stopped honking the other girl's nose. It's like... It's like she was forgetting something. Was she really a clown?
The thought was only allowed to persist for a scant few seconds, before her nose was honked by the other girl. Then, the thought was buried under that repetitive sound, and she simply started to giggle and laugh like the clown she was.
The other girl also seemed to be amused at this point, giggling and laughing like yet another clown. Both of them far too happy with the simple act of squeezing into their extra honking noses.
Unaware of the colors of their bodies creeping up their faces. Unaware of how they were losing themselves to the laughter. Because it just felt right to hear all of that fun laughter. It just felt right to play into it.
So what if they started looking like a pair of twin clowns with no real faces, once the white and purple colors had consumed them? They were still making people laugh. That was ultimately what mattered. And what left them more than happy.
So happy that they simply just kept on squeezing and squeezing, until the show seemed to reach an end... So that they could step on stage again later, and make everyone laugh...
Happy to fill the role forced upon them, as they kept on honking like a pair of stupid clowns...
---
Fu Hua drew deep breaths as she stood within the darkness. She knew that she was stuck within some sort of Honkai field. That's the only way to explain what had just swallowed her. Which meant that she needed to concentrate. Otherwise, she'd lose herself and become a Zombie. Even somebody as durable as her had her limits...
As long as she kept her concentration, there's no way that the Honkai would be able to consume her. She just needed to keep her focus, and then...
The lights started to turn on again, revealing several Zombies... No, they weren't exactly Zombies. In fact, they looked remarkably like her...
Because they were her. Or at least, they looked like previous versions of her. One even looked like her more natural self, Phoenix. The only way she could tell that any of them were meant to be who they were was due to their hair, because their bodies otherwise looked identical.
Each of them nodded to one another, and started to juggle. One by one, they each began juggling balls. The balls went up, then they went down. Then up, then down. Over. And over. And over. and over. Repeating the same process over and over...
It was almost mesmerizing. Almost. If anything, it just reminded Fu Hua of how many times she had gone through the efforts of keeping people safe. Only to fail. Again. And again. And again. It was all just... just...
She blinked. And she found herself... Staring at herself? Not only that, but she was... She was the one juggling this time. Not the Fu Hua she was looking at. But rather, she was doing it herself...
Fu Hua naturally wanted to stop. But it was like her body wasn't her own. She could only repeat the doomed action. Repeat what she had done many times before. Over and over and over. Juggling as much as she could...
She blinked again. And she saw herself yet again. This time, that version of herself was holding those very same balls that she was currently juggling. Balls that just kept going up and down.
It was like she was watching her own descent. Unable to do a thing about it. Unable to change her past, because she was going to fall into the exact same habits. Unable to change her future, because she was stuck in those habits.
Once again, her eyes closed. And this time, she saw herself juggling. Just as she was juggling. The one that had only just started juggling was definitely not good at it. But she was trying. And that was the part that hurt her the most. Because she shouldn't be trying. She shouldn't be giving in at all.
"Stop..."
She tried to speak. She tried to make it all stop. But the words wouldn't come out. She could only keep staring at that repetitive action. As she just kept on doing it. Over and over and over...
Fu Hua closed her eyes once more. This time, she saw all those other selves. And she wondered something. Why were they all seemingly so sad when they looked at her?
They were juggling... Just as they were meant to. Just as they had always done. Maybe it was because they weren't laughing. Maybe that was why they seemed so sad. Yes, that had to be it.
Little by little Fu Hua started to laugh as she juggled. And little by little, the other versions of herself began to join in. Each adding to the symphony of laughter as they repeated that identical task. Juggling more and more...
Unaware that the main version was being consumed by colors. Leaving her a giggly clown just like all the others. With almost no way to tell her apart from all the other versions of herself, barring the hair...
Leaving her consumed by the Honkai, because she lost all concentration to the perspective switches and the laughter.
As she had done so many times before...
---
"You're absolutely sure this was where they disappeared, Bronya?"
"Absolutely. Be careful, Mei. It's one thing for Kiana Idiotka to disappear, but the Class Monitor is actually competent."
After the disappearance of the two Valkyries assigned to deal with the strange Zombies, Raiden Mei and Bronya Zaychik were sent out. Well, it was less sent out, and more the two went to try and save their friends on their own terms.
Bronya was hanging in the back as she kept a close eye on every kind of data that she had available to her. She could tell that there was something foul in the air, but it was hard to tell exactly what. "Mei, you have that Herrscher power still sealed inside you, right? Can't you tell that something's wrong?"
She could. But she couldn't focus on that, because of what she saw up ahead. A sight that sent shivers and fear through her...
There was Kiana. Among the Zombies. Among those giggly Zombies. Simply honking her nose together with what looked like a second Kiana. And... Not far from her was a small horde of nearly identical Fu Hua zombies, each of them barely distinguishable from one another.
"Mei!"
Bronya tried to call out towards Mei, but it was too late for both of them. That distraction was all it took for them to end up in the sights of the tents that had consumed the other two...
Leaving them both to be swallowed up by these strange white and purple tents, that seemed to laugh just like the Zombies that had once been human. Laughing, because yet more had been served as meals for these tent-like Honkai Beasts.
And before long, they'd release the brand new Clown Zombies. So that more delicious Valkyries could become meals. So the laughter could grow ever stronger.
So that all of Humanity would laugh at how futile their struggle was...