Rebirth
[noun] the process of being reincarnated or born again
"My, my, my… To think someone like you would find themselves here…"
A voice stirred me awake. My eyes opened, greeted by writhing darkness. Everything was pitch-black. I was unable to see anything, but I could tell there was someone or something here. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, it began to pull away. Everything grew into focus and revealed my surroundings. I was floating, hovering above a pool of red (blood?) with pulsating orange walls of pus and flesh surrounding me. Rust orange grates decorated the walls, red fluids seeping out and pouring down into the pool. Behind those grates were eyes, all inhuman.
Despite the nightmarish presence of this place, in front of me was a stage with a black-and-white checkered floor with a fireplace. Above the mantle was the stuffed head of a goat, candelabrums on either side and sitting on the fireplace mantle. In the center of the room was a brown circular table with a vase. Inside the vase was a single black flower. Next to the table were two people. One was a woman clad in black and a veil over her face as though she were attending a funeral. In front of her was an old man sitting in a wheel chair, dressed in an expensive-looking white suit and holding a cane. He looked ancient; numerous deep wrinkles and sunken cheeks, graying platinum blonde hair and milky gray eyes.
I stare at the old man in wonder, and he in turn stared back. At that moment, I felt something writhe in my head. A wave of unpleasantness takes hold. I felt confused, disgusted and…terrified. I felt weak and helpless, as though the man's presence rendered me little more than an ant he could crush beneath his heel. The longer he looked at me, the more uncomfortable I felt.
The old man raised an eyebrow. "Oho…? So, the Warrior's Mind has taken root within you has it? How interesting…" He leaned on his side, knuckles providing his neck rest. "And I see the beginnings of uncertainty. What was once a pillar has begun to crack, and rising up from its corpse is a new possibility… But what sort of possibility is it that you carry? A mindless drone who caters the words of the Divine Host? Or one who yearns to cast off your chains?"
The throbbing pain in my head grew worse. I curl in on myself, holding my head in my hands as if it would help me. I felt something tear its way into my mind. It clawed its way deeper, shifting through everything that made up 'me'. It did so not because of malice, but of curiosity. Something intrigued it, and it did not care if it caused me discomfort so long as its curiosity was satiated.
Something inside of me rejected it. It fought back, pushing back against this foreign invader. A soundless scream ripped from my throat as the pain intensified.
Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. The invader pulled away and
it relented.
The old man's smile widened. "I see, I see… It would appear you would walk the path of thorns. Yet I see it leads to a crossroad…"
He turned his head to the woman behind him and gave a nod. The woman bowed her head and stepped around him, approaching the edge of the stage. It's only then I noticed something in her hands.
"It is not often a human catches the attention of my master, Taylor Hebert," the woman said lamely. "Nor is it common for him to take such an interest in one touched by the worms. My master has seen fit to give you a gift—in honor of your meeting with him, and to prepare you for the trials that wait."
She extended her hand and threw the object in her hand into the air. It flies through the air slowly and in a straight line, as if attracted toward my being. It looked like the petrified remains of
something, vaguely resembling a worm with large pincers and curled into a comma-like shape. As it drew closer, I could see it pulsate. Red sparks danced across its body. It started to twitch.
It was
alive.
"Fret not, Taylor Hebert. It will hurt for only a moment."
It's only now that I realized something about the woman's voice. It sounded very much like my mother. But what should have been kind words were something else. I could feel encouragement and the gentleness of a mother's words, but it's perverted and wrong.
Suddenly, the petrified remains unfurl and writhe. I tried to pull away, but I found myself frozen. My limbs were heavy as if weighed down by something. I can do nothing but watch as the worm-like thing writhes its way toward me, a series of blood-red eyes staring back hungrily.
It slithered toward my eye.
"This will make you into a
demon."
The old man showed his teeth, smiling as the worm tore through my eye and burrowed its way into my skull.
I screamed.
I found myself flying up from a bed, panting and covered in sweat. It took me only a moment to realize I was not in pain, and a moment longer to realize that I was not in my bedroom. I looked to be in what I assumed was a medical ward or something. It was not the hospital as it lacked the plain white walls and gurneys I was used to seeing from my brief tenure there as the walls were dull gray, and there was a distinct lack of beds.
There was also the fact that my wrists were bound in handcuffs, which was worrisome enough all on its own.
"Where am I?" I asked no one in particular. "I could have sworn I was…"
It came rushing back to me then. The image of Sophia Hess—of Shadow Stalker being killed by some monster that was about to kill me too. I remembered the feeling of helplessness, the rush of anger and fury, the explosion of murderous intent. I remembered how much I wanted to live and how much I wanted to kill that thing before it could kill me. I remember beating it into the ground and tearing it apart.
My stomach lurched and threatened to expel bile up my throat.
"I feel sick…"
I still don't understand who or what that thing was, or what came over me. What happened back there, it felt primal, like my instincts kicked into overdrive and told me to fight like hell. If I didn't fight, I would die. And so I fought; I kicked, I clawed, I punched, I bit, and I tore it apart until it was reduced to splatters. The part that frightened me the most was the sheer adrenaline and
excitement of it all.
It was disgusting, enjoying such violence. That I liked killing someone, even if that person was trying to kill me.
The door to the room slid open. I looked up and blinked. It was a man in a suit with a badge attached to the lapels of his jacket and the PRT insignia branded on his sleeve. He looked like he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days judging by the dark rings under his eyes. When he saw me, his eyes widened for a moment before a wry smile began to form on his face.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Hebert," he said tiredly. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions?" I nodded slowly. "Today's your lucky day, then. My name is Thomas Calvert."
From there, he proceeded to explain where I was and why I was here. We were currently in the PRT headquarters' infirmary. After my panic attack, realizing the extent of what I did when I fought that shadow bastard, Triumph had taken me back to treat my injuries. That was unnecessary since they later discovered my wounds had somehow healed while I was unconscious. For my own safety, as well as theirs, Tinker-designed handcuffs were fashioned to my wrists and to the bed railings so I didn't get any funny ideas.
From there, he asked me about what I was doing in the area, followed up by asking about my side of the story. He bluntly told me that I was under suspicion for the death of one of their Wards. I told him the truth; I was taking an alternate route home, discovered the body of a Merchant and was about to get out of the alley when Sophia came flying through a wall, missing an arm and a leg before being killed.
"You had a history with Shadow Stalker?" Calvert looked surprised.
I nodded. "You could say that, yeah. To be honest, I was hoping I wouldn't have to see her again anytime soon."
"I see…" He wrote down something in his little notebook before he closed it, putting it away in his coat pocket along with his pen. "Thank you for your time, Miss Hebert. By the way, regarding your appearance…"
I frowned. "My appearance?" I looked down at myself and gasped. Now that I was fully cognizant, I saw the pulsating, glowing tattoos that marked by body. I looked down my shirt, finding the tattoos there as well. "W-what the… What is this?"
"Well, you
did undergo a horrific event not too long ago. You are aware that people develop powers after undergoing traumatic circumstances such as yours, yes?"
"B-but that can't be right. I Triggered back in January!" I realized my mistake the moment those words fell from my mouth. Calvert stared. I cursed under my breath. "It…it was back in school, at the start of the school year. I was trapped inside my own locker for a whole day, and no one came to help me. I was stuck in the hospital for two weeks before I was allowed to go home. After that, I learned I could control bugs."
The PRT officer looked skeptical. "You mean you could control bugs?"
I nodded. As a demonstration, I tapped into my power. Almost immediately, I connected to at least thirteen dozen bugs hiding away in the building. With nothing but a mental snap of my fingers, the bugs began to converge. The ones closest to me came from their hideaways in the vents and cracks in the floor. Slowly, more came until a small gathering of bugs formed on the wall across from me and Calvert.
He looked at the bug-infested wall, back at me, and then back to the wall. I knew then that this situation became a lot more complicated.
Two hours later, I was taken from the infirmary. I would have squealed in awe and utter giddiness for getting to meet Armsmaster in person, but the seriousness of the situation, plus the grim look on his face, told me everything I needed to know.
I said nothing, too worried and afraid of what was going on. Was it possible that the PRT considered me a criminal for murdering that man, even if it was in self-defense? Did they really believe I killed Sophia? Part of me wanted to rage and cry foul at the injustice, but at the same time, I knew nothing. For all I know, this was about something else, maybe a recruitment pitch.
After ten minutes of walking through the halls of the PRT and a two minute elevator ride, Armsmaster led me inside a large room. Sitting behind a desk was none other than the Protectorate ENE Director Emily Piggot, who looked like all she wanted to do was lie down and rest. Sitting across from her was…
"Dad?"
Dad leaped up from the chair and made a beeline for me. I could do nothing but accept the bear-crushing hug he gave me. "Oh, thank god you're okay!" he sobbed. "I thought that you…"
Well, this was awkward. I wrap my arms around him and return the gesture. He didn't want to let go of me.
Director Piggot cleared her throat. Dad and I jumped and part from each other. "As heartwarming as this is, may we please get to the matter at hand?"
"Er, yes, of course…" Dad and I took a seat across from the Director. I glanced over at Armsmaster, who was standing near the door like some sort of sentinel. Did he think I was going to try and make a break for it? "I take it this is about my daughter and…what happened?" I looked away as he cast a small glance in my direction, no doubt looking at the tattoos and the horn on my neck. I hadn't even noticed that until I went to rub the back of my neck, nearly impaling my own hand in the process.
Director Piggot frowned. "That's one of the reasons, yes…but I'm afraid the major reason is to discuss your options."
Wait, what?
"Options?" I asked. "W-what do you mean?"
Rather than answer us directly, the Director nudged her head toward Armsmaster, who did
something on his gauntlet. The large TV screen fixed to the wall flickered to life, showing what looked like a video feed of an open street and—
Oh.
Oh, Jesus Christ…
"W-what the hell is this?" Dad said, his face growing pale.
"That, Mr. Hebert, is the worst possible situation to ever happen," Calvert said morosely. "This recording was taken hours ago by an unknown civilian, who then proceeded to post it on numerous social media sites."
I felt my blood turn cold. My heart sinks to my stomach. Dad whipped around and gaped at the two, his mouth opening and closing. "W-what? I don't understand, w-what does that mean?!"
"What it means," Armsmaster's voice rung hollow in the deafening silence that followed. "Is that virtually the whole world now knows your daughter is a cape."
Dad stumbled and collapsed into his chair, pale as a ghost. I looked at the ground, my heart hammering against my chest.
Everyone in the world was seeing that. They saw me, beating down a criminal who was going to kill me if I hadn't killed him first. They knew I was a cape. Emma, Madison, Greg,
everyone knew.
I felt like throwing up.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry this happened," Director Piggot sounded sincere. "Dragon attempted to remove the video as best she could, but as it stands…"
My fingers curl into my shirt. "…what happens now?"
"That would be up to you two." Both me and Dad looked up. "As it stands, you have two options. The first would be for you two to relocate. You would have to change your names, enter protective services, move to another city. Granted, it would be difficult for Taylor unless her current appearance is temporary or she can change it at will. The other option would be…"
She did not finish her sentence. She didn't have to. The second option was obvious.
Dad squeezed my hand. "…Director Piggot, could I have a moment with my daughter?"
"Of course. Take all the time you need, Mr. Hebert."
Aaaaaand here we are with the new arc. Not much to go into here, except maybe the opening segment involving the Old Man and the Woman in Black.
I'll say this before people start making claims. The Woman in Black is not Annette Hebert. Let me explain why for those who have not played Nocturne.
There are two Women in Black. One is an elderly woman who is almost always seen with the Child who dumped the Magatama into the Demi-fiend's eye, and the other is a younger woman who provides an info dump every time you progress far enough into the Labyrinth of Amala. The Woman in Black who accompanies the old man makes certain remarks and gestures that makes the player think they are Miss Yuko, the Demi-fiend's teacher who goes missing when the Conception occurs.
It's implied that the second Woman in Black is using Yuko's form as a means to earn the Demi-fiend's trust, or at the very least dons a form similar to Yuko to make it easier for her boss to test him.
In this case, the Woman in Black in Adapt is using Annette's form. Hope this clears up any confusion.
(It endlessly amuses me that DDS has fucking 'Gun' as an elemental type)
