After nearly two years of constant abuse with no signs of stopping, Taylor begins to grow tired. Even months after being hospitalized from that locker incident, her bullies continue to escalate their torment, slowly grinding her hopes for a better future into dust. And now, as she lays alone on the cold ground, slowly bleeding out in a collapsing school hallway thanks to a terrorist bombing, she finds herself contemplating her choices in life, and comes to a bitter, painful realization.
In the end, she just wanted to stop feeling so lonely.
…Maybe she should've been more careful about what she wished for.
AN: Hello! Before we begin with this story, allow me to make a couple things clear.
First off, these are not based on the vtubers themselves, but rather based on their personas, with our own spin.
You won't see any of the girls talk about streaming or anything like that.
Because of this, some of the backstories of the characters will be a little different (Not too different, mind you!) so don't skim over stuff you think you know!
And finally, only the EN girls will be making an appearance. I'm sorry to those who wanted to see their favorites, but Hololive simply has too large of a cast! Can't fit everyone in!
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story!
And last, but certainly not least! @Chartic, who had made the original idea for this so long ago, and some people in Ursa Polaris' Discord!
Without them, this story would definitely not exist in the slightest, so go ahead and check them out! (And also say Hi to Ursa herself!)
Darkness. That was all that she saw. A warm primordial darkness that threatened to overtake everything. Oblivion in all directions, as the empty abyss of nothingness threatened to overtake her very being.
For a moment, Taylor thought she was dead.
Hell, some people probably preferred it that way, if that locker "prank" a few months ago was any indication of that. God forbid her abusers face any consequence for sending her to the hospital for a week. Instead, they got off scot-free while Taylor had to pick up the pieces once again.
But no, she wasn't dead. Would a dead person be able to think about the nothingness that surrounded her? Would a dead person be feeling cold, as an imperceptible chill breezed around and through her? Would a dead person be afraid of the inky darkness that surrounded her?
Hopefully not.
Taylor continued to stare at the abyss for a few moments longer.
The abyss blinked back.
With a sudden gasp, Taylor sprung into consciousness, taking several desperate gulps of air as she awoke from her nightmare. Her head throbbed with pain and her heart hammered in her chest as her eyes swiveled around, taking a note of her surroundings.
I'm in my room? Taylor thought, trying to piece together everything she could in her mind. Distantly, she heard the sound of rain outside.
She… didn't remember going to bed.
Taylor sat up in bed, wincing as her head started to pound a bit. She massaged her closed eyes as she tried to make sense of things and recollect herself.
Okay. I woke up, had breakfast, and went to school. Taylor had debated on skipping, to be honest. That was something she thought about quite often, lately. By now, it felt like there was barely even a point in continuing to attend school. Hell, her life would probably be a lot better if she didn't, because being there was essentially an elaborate form of self torture, at this point. But whenever she began to seriously consider it, she thought about her mother—about what she would say if she was still around.
As an English professor, her mother had raised her to have a healthy interest in academics and had always done her best to foster Taylor's endless curiosity, and desire to understand the world around her. Taylor couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of dropping out of school—couldn't help but feel as if she'd be letting her mother down, and she just couldn't bring herself to do that. She couldn't afford to give up and let her bullies win.
And so, she decided to press on and go to school today, as ill-advised of a choice as it was. She had certainly inherited that same bullheadedness her father was known for, that's for sure. But it had been a mistake, in the end. Emma and Sophia had been worse today. Sophia almost made her trip down the stairs, and Emma brought up Mom. Again.
Taylor swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to ignore the tears gathering in her eyes. She needed to focus.
I was going to talk to my art teacher to try to explain what happened to my project, and then…
That's all she can remember. She felt like there was something important that she had forgotten, but whenever she tried to think about her last memories, her headache got a little worse.
…Why do I have such a bad feeling about—?
"Taylor?" A familiar voice calling out from outside her room broke her out of her thoughts and caused her to flinch, her gaze snapping to the door.
A moment later, the door opened to reveal her father. He was as familiar as he'd always been, but there were visible signs of stress that made him look older. A deep frown of concern marred his features.
"D-Dad—?" Taylor coughed, hard. She hadn't realized it but her throat felt horrendously dry, and her voice came out rough. Taylor felt a cup being pushed into her hands that she didn't realize her dad was holding, and a little hastily, she gulped down the cool liquid to soothe her sore throat.
"Easy, Taylor. You shouldn't drink that fast," her dad chastised her, rubbing her shoulders as she drank every last bit of water in the cup.
"What—?" Taylor cleared her throat again once she had finished, handing the cup back to her dad. "What happened? Why am I…?"
Her father sighed as he sat down on Taylor's bed. He looked really worried for her. "You really don't remember?"
"I… I remember going to school, and taking notes in class. Then I was walking down the hallway and…" Taylor recounted with some hesitation, leaving out some parts she'd rather not bring up to avoid unnecessary trouble, like when Madison accidentally spilled some water on her notes. "And then… I don't know."
Her dad continued to stare, his frown growing deeper and deeper. With another sigh, he spoke again. "Taylor… there was a bombing on your school."
Taylor silently stared at him, uncomprehending, and with a sudden jolt of clarity, she remembered.
The infrequent sounds of explosions that had been going off across the city, the anxious whispers of her classmates as they all discussed the newest brand of parahuman insanity to have come out of Brockton Bay: an honest-to-God serial bomber. There was some talk amongst the faculty to suspend classes and send the students back home, but before anything could be done about it, disaster struck.
She had been heading to art class at the time, before an explosion went off inside the school, and as everyone began panicking, screaming and running for their lives, one of the rooms in the hallway she had been walking through exploded as well, close to her. Far too close.
One moment, she was hurrying through the hallway, and the next, she felt pressure and heat course through her body, and suddenly she was on the ground, her ears ringing, vision swimming. She had nearly died.
"...Oh," Taylor numbly said, her expression going slack.
How was she even…?
"Yeah." Her dad nodded with a forlorn expression. With no hesitation, he put down the cup on the side and hugged Taylor close to himself. "I'm glad that you're okay. If anything had happened to you…"
He didn't dare finish the sentence. He didn't need to, Taylor understood. She didn't put her arms around her dad, but she leaned into the close contact, the warmth of his hug feeling slightly unfamiliar, but still comforting nonetheless.
"How am I okay, though?" Taylor asked when her dad had let go of her. She inspected her hands closely. "I wasn't hurt?"
In fact, besides her dry throat, she felt perfectly fine. No hints of bruises from anything Sophia did, no injuries from having stood next to a bomb as it went off, just… nothing. If anything, she felt like she had just woken up from a long nap.
Her dad blinked, seemingly confused before staring at Taylor with furrowed eyes. "If you were, you didn't seem like it. When your friend brought you over here and told me what happened, you almost looked like you were sleeping."
Taylor frowned, feeling uncertain. She definitely remembered being caught in the midst of the blast. The lingering phantom feeling of pain that she could remember was too vivid to be a hallucination.
…Wait. A friend?
"Taylor?" Her dad asked, taken aback by the sudden intense stare that Taylor was giving him.
"Emma brought me home?" she asked, the words laced with so much doubt, confusion, and fear that it made her dad pause. There was just no way, right? Hell, knowing Emma, she probably did this as a way to get Taylor in her deb—
"No?" Her dad said, derailing Taylor's thoughts entirely. "Don't worry though, I talked to Alan, and Emma got out of there safely, just like you."
"O-Oh…" Taylor frowned, trying to push back the combination of disappointment and relief she felt to focus on the bigger picture.
If Emma didn't bring me here, then, who—?
"I'll let you get some rest, okay, kiddo?" Her dad said, sitting up from her bed. "There's still some leftover takeout from yesterday. Your friend's having some, but there's still enough for you if you're hungry. Come down whenever you feel ready, but take it easy."
And with that, her dad left her room, heading downstairs, once more leaving Taylor alone to her thoughts.
There was something wrong here that she couldn't put her finger on. She didn't know what it was, but she just had a gut feeling that something was deeply wrong. She knew she had been caught in an explosion, she knew that she had been hurt, and she knew that she nearly died, but here she was, as if nothing happened.
And then there's my… friend?
Taylor didn't have any friends. Emma and her little gaggle of psychos had made damn sure of that over the last year and a half as they made her life a living hell. She was the school's pariah, a punching bag for those close to Emma in social status. Most of the people in Winslow would've happily left her to die, and yet someone had brought her to safety—back to her home, no less.
I need to get answers. Taylor thought, rising to get out of bed. Already, she was waiting for the other shoe to drop as she slowly made her way downstairs, mind racing trying to figure out who brought her back.
Did Emma tell someone where I live? Taylor frowned as she thought over who could've possibly known to bring her home. Sophia would probably rather die than save me, but Madison spends a lot of time with Emma, so—
Taylor's thoughts were derailed as she descended the stairs and approached the living room, finally getting a good view of the supposed friend who had saved her, and immediately freezing in place as she registered the appearance of the stranger in her home.
The person sitting on her couch talking to her dad, moving to take a bite of the leftover takoyaki from yesterday wasn't someone she had ever seen at school. An idle part of Taylor's mind noticed the TV turned on to the news, but she couldn't focus on that, as stunned as she was.
On paper, the girl herself looked rather ordinary. Asian features, glasses and dark, long straight hair that ran freely down her back. She was about a head shorter than Taylor, too—coupled with a conservative dress that simply made her think 'art student' more than anyone she'd seen back in Winslow. But, as she sat in her living room, acting entirely too innocent given the rest of her appearance, 'ordinary' might have been the last word Taylor would ever use to describe the unknown girl.
Not when the first thing she actually noticed were the tentacles.
Just a giant, enormous mass of tentacles hovering behind the girl, easily twice her size, seemingly emerging from her back, slowly floating in the air as if submerged underwater, and yet still reacting and moving in tandem with the girl. Moreso, she saw wings firmly wrapped around her hips, pointy ears, a small pair of… oddly fleshy horns sitting atop her head, some strange tentacles replacing the strands of hair that should've framed her face, and to top it all off, she saw an honest-to-God halo floating above her head, glowing and faintly illuminating her immediate surroundings.
Taylor's heart stopped as the monster cape casually sitting in her living room seemed to notice her, paused in her conversation with dad, and turned to face her.
"Hey, Taylor," the girl greeted her with a small wave and a smile. Her voice was soothing, even as one of her tentacles copied her hand's movement and waved as well. "Glad to see you're up! Are you feeling okay? Want to tako-bout it?"
Her father looked away from the girl, nodding at Taylor in greeting. "Taylor. I was just talking to… I'm sorry, what was your name again? I'm a little old, so my memory isn't as good as it used to be."
"Ah, really? You didn't look a day over twenty-five." The girl put down her food, giggling at her own joke. Regardless, she gave Taylor's dad a small bow. "Just call me Ina. It's nice to meet you!"
Her dad chuckled in return as he turned back to Taylor, not noticing how flabbergasted she was. "She seems like a nice girl! Why did you never tell me about her, kiddo?"
Taylor finally found her voice as she spoke up. "...Dad, why are you treating this like it's normal?" Taylor spoke with a panicked twinge, the too-casual conversation confusing and unnerving her.
Taylor's dad blinked, taken aback by Taylor's sudden concerns. "Taylor, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Taylor gestured at the girl's clearly unnatural features adorning her entire body. "You don't see what's wrong with this? Any of it?"
Her dad blinked, eyes darting back to Ina, who had a small nervous smile on her face, and Taylor, who looked positively baffled. "Am… I supposed to see something?"
"What—but, you—!" Taylor stammered out, at a loss for words. How is he even ignoring the whole—why can't he see the mass of tentacles? "Dad, you need to get away from her—!"
Taylor flinched as one of the tentacles started to move, making her step back in surprise. It rose towards Ina—who stared at Taylor with an apologetic expression—and hovered around her mouth to mimic a shushing motion.
Taylor could only glare in response.
Was this some sort of power play? Was she doing something to her dad and making sure Taylor was aware of it as a way to threaten her? It had to be a parahuman ability of some kind, which meant the girl was a cape, if the inhuman features weren't already enough of a giveaway. But who in the world was this girl, and what the hell did Taylor even do to catch her eye?
"It's been a long day, so Taylor's still probably a little tired," Ina said, a stray tentacle getting closer to Taylor and gently taking her sleeve and tugging on it. Instinctively, Taylor tried to shake the tentacle off, only to find that she couldn't even muster enough strength to make her arm move—let alone the strange appendage. Very, very, reluctantly, Taylor let herself get dragged to the couch, the rest of the mass of tentacles shifting to accommodate another person. "I don't blame her. It's definitely been super stressful for us."
Taylor's dad sighed, abruptly looking a little tired. "Yeah, I understand. It feels like the city's going to hell right now. I have some errands to run before all the stores close down, so I think I'll leave you two alone for now."
Her dad made to move away from the couch, waving goodbye as walked towards the front door, umbrella in hand. "Taylor, if you're feeling hungry, the leftovers are in the microwave. You girls have fun, okay?"
"Will do, Mr. Hebert!" Ina waved back, as Taylor's dad left the house, leaving the two of them alone.
A brief moment of silence, and…
"...For a second there, I thought I was Ina lot of trouble," Ina joked again with a small smile, making another cringeworthy pun. "This is a pretty awkward way to start a relationship, huh?"
But Taylor was having none of it. "What do you want?"
Ina blinked, seemingly confused about Taylor's question. She tilted her head as she spoke up, "Huh? What do I want?"
Taylor clenched her fists, glaring at Ina once more. If she tried to run, how far could she go before the tentacles reached her? Not far enough, she imagined. "Don't act like I'm stupid. You come in here, acting like we're friends, and then you do something to my dad so he doesn't see… this." Taylor gestured at Ina's entire being to try to get the point across. Her voice came out bitter and pointed. "Just… you want something from me, right? Just say it already."
Ina stared at Taylor for a few moments, puzzlement and worry clear to see on her face. It was enough to make Taylor falter for a moment before Ina slumped down in her seat and sighed.
"Oh, um, how do I even...?" Ina muttered, sitting up straight in her seat. She took the leftover remains of her food and offered it to Taylor. "Want some takoyaki before I explain? Don't worry, even though I'm a tako, I don't mind if you eat this."
Taylor didn't move an inch, her face scrunching up as she registered the joke. "I'm good."
Luckily, she didn't take offense, putting down her food and putting her hand on her lap. Her eyes closed for a moment. "Let's see, where to start…? Well, I heard your call, kind of. You called out for someone to help you, I think, since you really looked like you needed it when I answered your summons."
Taylor blinked as she took in Ina's words. "I… what?"
"You summoned me." Ina tilted her head, patient in the face of Taylor's incomprehension. "I have to admit, I was a little confused when I got taken from my shrine, but I know the Ancient Ones wouldn't have let me be taken without reason, so I followed their guidance, got you to safety, and here we are!"
Taylor didn't know how to react to that. She brought over a random cape from who knows where that saved her from the attack on the school? That was…
Stupid. Insane. Did this girl really think she'd fall for that nonsense?
"The Ancient Ones?" Taylor asked instead of letting her feelings show, as the name struck a chord in her mind, for some reason.
Ina's smile grew as she nodded quickly, she seemed a little too excited about the topic. "Yeah, the Ancient Ones! If you're seeing my tentacles, then you've definitely been enlightened by them! Do you…"
Ina hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice to a whisper, "do you hear them, in the back of your mind? They're talking. They're always talking. Kinda like this."
Taylor continued to stare at the crazy cape in front of her. Her mouth opened, maybe to give a scathing remark in response, but then…
She heard it. The whispers. Somehow, she didn't notice, but they had been there ever since she had woken up, a nearly imperceptible white noise at the edge of her hearing. It felt so small, yet so vast once she started paying attention. The more she listened, the louder it got. It felt terrifying and calming, so complicated, yet so simple. It sounded like everyone she knew. It sounded like Emma, it sounded like her dad, it sounded like herself.
It sounded like her mom.
Hands on her shoulders dragged her back to reality as Ina looked into Taylor's eyes. "I know, it's a lot, but don't look too deep, okay? Here, breathe with me on three. One, two, three…"
Despite her lack of trust in Ina, she found herself heeding the enigmatic girl's words. It wasn't long before she finally noticed how her heart was practically beating out of her chest, and how faint her breathing was. A couple more deep breaths later, and her hands finally stopped trembling.
"Sorry, I shouldn't've asked you to do that so soon! They're not really the most, um, gentle. You'll get used to them quick, I pinky-promise." Ina's smile was small but apologetic. Once Taylor's breathing returned to normal, Ina took her hands off her shoulders, where she immediately pushed herself as far back on the couch as she could, away from the suspicious girl. "Don't worry! They'll never hurt those they've touched, for they are merciful, and their loving guidance will bring happiness to their flock!"
Taylor didn't know what to say to the girl suddenly waxing evangelical. Definitely add 'possible cult member' to the list of crazy this cape was packing. "So I… I brought you here to save me? And this… thing helped you get me home?"
Ina happily nodded, shifting in her seat a bit as Taylor tried to piece things together, despite her many reservations.
After all, she'd definitely seen enough just now to stretch her scale for the unbelievable. She doubted she would have survived without some sort of divine intervention, but…
"Did you heal me, too? I remember being hurt before I… fainted."
It was an insignificant thing to worry about, but she just knew she was missing something important. One moment, she was trapped under debris, a large part of her hopelessly resigned to death as she slowly bled out, and then…
She simply woke up in her bed, none the worse for wear.
Ina hesitated for a moment, her smile slipping for a second before she shook her head. "...No, when I found you, you didn't seem hurt? If I had to guess, it must've been the Ancient Ones' will for you to stay in this world, so they probably healed you and stuff."
Taylor stared at Ina for a few moments. In the background, the TV continued blaring on news about widespread damage caused to the city. She didn't pay attention to any of that as she continued to stare, her gaze searching.
"You're not telling me everything," she said like it was an immutable fact, a gut feeling of hers telling her that Ina was leaving out something.
"Taylor—"
"No, don't fuck with me." Taylor stood up from the couch, glaring at the girl. Her hands hurt with how hard she was clenching them. "I know when someone's lying to me. What. Happened?"
Ina had a concerned frown on her face as she averted her gaze from Taylor's glare. She didn't ease up at all, even as Ina stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"...Well, when I was brought to you, things were super chaotic." Ina started, folding her hands in her lap. "Lots of things were happening, and it was kinda a mess. But when I saw you, I could tell that the Ancient Ones' became really interested in you."
Ina stopped again, before patting the seat Taylor was sitting in a moment ago.
"You might wanna sit down for this, it's a little—"
"No, just fucking tell me," Taylor all but growled, cutting off what was probably another fanatical rant. "First you act like everything is fine, then you say I have this—this fucking thing in my head now, and not only that, you're messing with my dad, and pretending we're friends when I don't even know you!"
"Uh, Taylor, I get your anger, but you should really—"
"Why should I even listen to a single thing you've been saying?" Taylor threw an arm out wide, her gestures becoming more aggressive as her anger rose. "For all I know, you're the one making me hear this weird shit, trying to mess with my head! Why should I even believe that you'd—!"
At that moment, two things happened.
For an instant, the whispers intensified. Despite how quick it was, the feeling was enough to freeze her in her tracks and send shivers through her entire body. The sensation was alien, foreign, and yet somehow familiar, as if it hadn't been the first time she had experienced it.
Then, a wave of something rippled outwards from her, and a lamp next to the couch promptly exploded, causing Ina to flinch. It was so sudden, Taylor barely even registered it. One moment it was there, then the next, only shattered fragments remained, scattered around the living room.
Taylor and Ina both looked at the remains of the lamp, uncomprehending.
Did… I do that?
In the ensuing silence, she faintly registered the name of her school being mentioned. Almost mechanically, she turned to the TV.
"—was one of the schools targeted in the bombing and subsequently collapsed in the aftermath. The situation is still developing, with many witnesses giving conflicting reports as to what occurred. However, it is clear that the damages to the school were not entirely caused by the bombing, as something else played a part in it."
The scene changed to a shaky phone camera.
Taylor's heart stopped.
A large, inky darkness that blotted out the sun. Two large malevolent eyes, glowing sickly green in the light. A twisted, alien figure emerged from the remnants of her school like a sick parody of a chick hatching from an egg. Shadows that seemed to stretch out unnaturally like dozens of flailing limbs, ever reaching, ever grasping. The being on the shaky footage towered over the school even while sitting down and hunched over, dwarfing it entirely.
"Eyewitness reports are still coming in, but the PRT has tentatively given the creature the name of 'Nyx'. Not much is known about its origins, but as seen by this footage, it appeared around the time the bombs started going off in Winslow, only adding further mayhem and chaos to an already desperate situation. There is a lot we don't know about this 'Nyx,' but we will continue to do our best to—"
Taylor forgot how to breathe. She recognized that figure. That omnipresent darkness, the way the hairs on the back of her neck stood as she looked into those eyes, and the feeling of vastness she felt from its sheer size…
It was her.
She remembered.
Taylor's heart pounded in her ears as her breaths came out short again. Her hands came up to hug herself as her nails dug into her skin painfully, the whispers at the edge of her hearing becoming louder.
I-I can't—
The lights in the house began to flicker as the room shook. The old lightbulbs were making an unpleasant noise as they continued to fire on and off, and all the while the whispers became louder and louder.
She didn't even register the hands on her shoulders nor the voice desperately calling out to her, as the whispers drowned out everything around her.
With a sudden breakthrough, the whispers reached a crescendo, and she remembered everything.
…It hurts. It hurts so much.
That was Taylor's first thought upon regaining consciousness upon the destroyed school hallway, the dust from the explosion still settling.
A portion of the walls and roof had collapsed, parts of the debris falling on top of her and pinning her in place. Flames slowly spread across the hallway, filling it with smoke. There was an ever-present throbbing of pain that coursed through her entire body. It made it incredibly hard to focus, to think, to act. The only part of her body that was exempt from this pain were her legs, currently pinned under the debris.
She knew that wasn't a good thing.
Even though she knew it was futile, she tried her hardest to move, to get out of danger before things got worse. But it was no use. Even as she pushed past the agony to attempt to drag herself away from the smoke and the fire, she couldn't move the debris pinning her in place.
She almost couldn't see a single thing due to all the dust clouding everything, and her glasses having disappeared at some point during the explosion. But even without her glasses, she could still see cloudy blobs running away from the danger. Students and faculty alike, fleeing for their lives.
"He—!" Taylor violently coughed, accidentally inhaling some dust. Regardless, she tried again. "H-Help! Please! S-Somebody! Help me!"
And yet, the cacophony of screams, fire and panic didn't wane. She screamed as loud as she could for someone to notice her.
But nobody came.
…I'm going to die, Taylor thought with a terrifying clarity as she saw the flames slowly approaching. I'm going to die here, and no one will care.
She would just become another statistic. Another number to add to the pile of bodies lost to the endless gang wars in the city. She was going to die alone, as the world crumbled around her.
Tears started to fall from her eyes.
Why?! I did everything I could! I tried! I tried so hard to keep going, I did my best to be better, and—!
Taylor's vision started to wane, the strength leaving her as her blood pooled around her.
It didn't even change anything. No one here even cares, and—! And—!
Her short-lived rage petered out, and she sobbed, alone and forgotten. All she had left was a profound sense of hopelessness.
I just wanted someone to care…
And in that moment, the world broke, and she saw ██▄ṁ̸̜͈͘.
Her sight was replaced with visions of things beyond comprehension. At first, she saw a dance between two indescribable creatures. A waltz unlike anything she'd seen before as they moved amongst the stars.
But even their vastness was nothing compared to the beings that lurked in the dark space between the stars, beyond the reach of mortals and gods alike.
The pair of creatures—these strange, alien Entities traveling through space—fled as they encountered one such being. Something much greater than them. And yet, even their struggle was futile, for the darkness beyond the stars had left a fragment of itself hidden within these celestial parasites, one that would only awaken when encountering a worthy vessel.
And it had just done so.
The darkness spread across the cosmos, blotting out everything. Planets, stars, galaxies, T̸̝͗̚h̶̗̦͂▄▌ consumed it all, leaving only a void of eternal darkness behind T̶̟̈́͗█▄ṁ̸̜͈͘. A void in which only Taylor and T̸̝͗̚▄█▀ existed.
Within that infinite void, she was observed. Judged. Measured. And finally, deemed adequate.
Feverish and delirious, her overwhelmed mind could scarcely comprehend what was asked. Her desires? She could only conjure images of the pain she had endured, the betrayal she had experienced, the loss of that which she had once considered precious as it was twisted and used against her day after day, slowly wearing her down.
Unbidden, the words rose from within her, sincere and true.
I want to live. To have a chance to be happy. I don't want to feel powerless anymore. I don't want to feel so lonely anymore!
▒██ỷ̸̗͜ considered her wish, and with a sense of finality, her plea was accepted. The void receded, folding inwards, the cosmos unveiled once more as the darkness between the stars rushed towards her, suffusing her soul and becoming one with her. A blessing, freely given.
Suddenly, the vision ended, and she found herself within the burning hallway once again, changed.
It was like the dam that held her mind was gone, and let her consciousness finally become free. Her awareness melted across the hallway like a flood, committing every inch and crevasse into memory before carelessly casting the useless information away. The fire that threatened to burn her early looked so tiny, and insignificant, snuffed out in mere moments by her sheer drowning presence.
Even so, Taylor still felt constrained, like the emotions that she poured into her wish turned into power that threatened to explode within her, clawing upon her own fraying sense of self. It was all too easy to simply… let loose, and let the shadows take over.
Taylor wanted to laugh. No, she did laugh. Exhilaration rose within her as easily as she felt herself expand through rooms upon rooms, crashing through the walls that felt oh so oppressive and isolating—but not anymore.
Let loose? She never had control in the first place. "Taylor Hebert" was nothing more than a thinning fragment, a broken mind anchored to a storm: unchecked, unstoppable, and of dubious thought.
The shadows would only grant her wish, and so it would surge upon the school, through its halls, then through its people. It would destroy, then it would look. It would look, and it would look, and it would not find what it wants, for what it wants has never existed in this forsaken place, no one will care and no will start to care no one will ever care here not here never here n▒t in the way she would want becaus▒ of what it's done to her and the peop▒ with their hearts set will never change their mind so it would look through farther beyond the crack in its mind and turn it ██▄ a hole and sear it into its soul and call a██ c█l and CALL in█o the hole until the hole would answer ba▒▒ and push someone out—
"Waaaaaaaah—!"
Then, the heavy sound of a meaty impact rang out, and everything went dark.
Taylor stared in mute horror at the footage on the TV. That thing attacking the school and lashing out indiscriminately, was her.
She did that.
People were looking at her and thinking that she was a monster.
The lights continued to flicker before the bulbs finally gave out and shattered, raining bits of glass onto the living room. The TV screen cracked, part of the displayed footage being replaced with nothing but static.
Somehow, that was the thing that brought her back to reality. It was then she noticed Ina directly in front of her, hands on her shoulders as she spoke softly to her.
"—going to be okay. Please," Ina pleaded, rubbing Taylor's shoulders in what was probably meant to be a reassuring gesture.
Taylor stared at Ina blankly. She couldn't find the words.
"You shouldn't have found out like that." There was a mournful look on Ina's face. "The Ancient Ones kept you safe, but as powerful as they are, they tend to—"
"Get out, please." Taylor, feeling cold and hollow, shook off the girl from touching her any further.
Ina paused, eyes wide as Taylor spoke. Her frown grew a little bit before she tried to speak up again. "Taylor, I get that—"
"No, get out, right now!" Taylor's voice escalated to a screech as her repressed anger came out in an incidental shove as she all but dashed away from Ina's reach, the idea that she should be fearful of this crazy cape completely escaping her mind.
"Ah!" Ina cried out, surprised by the sudden force.
"I don't care about your crazy bullshit! I just wanted to be happy! I didn't ask for all this shit to happen to me!"
Taylor saw red. Despite the whispers that plagued the edge of her mind, she pressed on regardless, pivoting to wildly gesture at the TV.
"I didn't ask to be a fucking monster! To hurt people! I just wanted to stay alive! That's all I wanted! That's all I ever wanted! I just…!"
Taylor's voice abruptly died down in volume. She felt so tired.
"...Please just leave me alone."
A silence went through her living room. Neither girl wanted to say anything.
"...Sorry." Ina broke the silence first. She looked ashamed as she glanced down at the floor. If Taylor turned back around, she might've seen tears build up on the edge of Ina's eyes. "You're right, this whole thing is a lot. I'm sorry I can't really do much… I'll, um, leave you alone now."
The girl was as good as her word, immediately turning to leave, each of her steps taking her further and further away. She hesitated as she reached the door, looking back at Taylor with an indecipherable expression before she finally left the house.
Taylor didn't bother to look. She simply stood inside the empty home, surrounded by shattered glass, her mind racing in a spiral of negativity.
She shuddered as the high from her emotions left her, leaving her feeling completely drained. Her hands reached up to wipe away the tears blurring her vision. All the while, the news broadcast droned on in the background despite the sorry state of the broken TV, the sound coming out scratchy and corrupted.
"—almost miraculously, Winslow has so far reported no casualties in the aftermath of the attacks. And albeit there are many reported injuries, there have been no fatalities—which leads another train of thought to rise within some of the victims in the area."
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Taylor fell back on the sofa, staring almost listlessly ahead and feeling like an absolute mess.
"Was this 'Nyx' present at the school to attack, or to protect?"
"I don't know," was all Taylor could mutter, face twisting to reflect the spiral of uncertainty within her thoughts.
Anger and regret. Two intense emotions as starkly different as mountains and ravines. Where one bubbled within you like red-hot flames, the latter was the deep sea, dragging you down to drown in retrospection.
So, what do you do if you feel both at once?
"I-I thought my boyfriend was dead." Julia looked nothing like the girl who had laughed when Taylor had gum stuck to her hair. "I saw that thing reach for him and I thought he was gone for g-good, but…!"
Julia took a deep breath before she continued to give her account of events to the reporter on the TV, tears staining her cheeks. "H-He's okay. He went to the hospital to get a check-up, but he's safe."
Reality check came quick with a bucket, and jettisoned the disarray in her thoughts in a splash of some damning water. White-hot meeting ice-cold ends with smoke, and the lukewarm feeling of emptiness.
That might've been a good word for it.
Taylor stared at the TV. Empty.
How was she even meant to take this? That the rampage she could vaguely remember going through ultimately injured no one? For all that she should feel relieved, Taylor couldn't dismiss that tiny inkling that surfaced together with the revelation.
Even at the midst of her episode, Taylor Hebert was still too much of a coward to stop holding back.
Taylor massaged her temples trying to ward off the mental whiplash. It felt like a grueling headache, with the never-ending whispers being the exact opposite of a helping hand.
To think, it's been barely a few minutes since she woke up for the second time today. That was barely enough time to register that a bombing happened in her school, and she apparently almost—would have even certainly—died—
Taylor felt like a whole new world came and hit her dead-on with a semi. Reality check, with a vengeance.
"—and this is BBNN Bomb Watch, and I've been your ear to the ground, Ariel Li—"
She turned the TV off and threw the remote on the couch. She doubted she could hear another word right now, so she settled for shifting her stare up at the ceiling; at the broken bulb just hanging at the center of the room.
If they knew who this 'Nyx' was, would they talk about her like they've been doing now?
The question stuck itself upon Taylor's mind, grinding any other thought to a dead stop for who knew how long.
It was only the booming crackle of thunder that brought her out of her reverie, the nearby lightning momentarily flashing the living room until it quickly fell again to the darkness. Like a flash of inspiration of the more dangerous kind, it only served to emphasize the looming threat.
Invariably, her thoughts settled on their most recent visitor.
There was some insane cape terrorist bombing the whole city without any regard, and she was stuck outside, braving the storm, completely exposed to danger—all because of Taylor.
Some hero. 'Nyx' wasn't any sort of benevolent monster. She was just a giant asshole.
But that was enough of a spark to get Taylor to move. She all but dashed to the entrance, nabbing the umbrella by its spot next to the door.
She needed to be better than this. She thought she was better than this.
Her tentacles stand out, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her, right? Taylor thought as she got her keys, opened the door with her umbrella in hand, and—
"Ah," Ina said, crouched down in the grass of the front yard, freezing as her gaze met Taylor's. Her tentacles made a makeshift shelter for herself as she distractedly drew circles in the dirt with her hand and poked some flowers.
"...What are you doing?" Taylor asked, dumbly. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't this.
"I, um…" Ina's cheeks turned red as she looked away from Taylor. "I kinda just realized that I don't know anything about this place, so I uhm, don't really know where to go? Haha…"
Taylor took a moment to stare at Ina wordlessly as the rain continued to pour.
For some reason, staring at the lost, almost sad-looking girl under the rain dulled her lingering feelings of suspicion. Seeing her like this almost felt painfully familiar.
"...I'll let you back inside," Taylor said, her tone carefully calm. "Under one condition."
"Huh?" Ina could only tilt her head in response.
"Just… fix whatever you did to my dad." Taylor gestured with her umbrella at Ina. "That thing that made him completely ignore those extra parts, and think you were one of my friends."
"Oh." Ina's dejected realization was about as genuine as Taylor had ever seen. "That'll take a while to explain…"
Seeing the monster cape start twiddling her thumbs, already expecting some sort of rejection, made Taylor sigh and open the door to the house a little wider than before. "Alright. Just… get inside and tell me, then."
Ina's eyes went wide as she stood up from the grass. "Oh, no, it's okay! Don't worry about me, I can fend for myself pretty–!"
"No." Taylor looked away, only feeling more awkward by the second. "It's fine. I insist."
From the corner of her eye, she could see Ina hesitate for a moment. But soon, she was already walking towards Taylor, prompting her to open the door a little wider to let the shorter girl in.
"Thank you. It really means a lot," Ina said as she passed her, giving her a small smile.
Taylor didn't know how to react to that. Without further delay, she closed the door and turned around to face Ina again, who was crouched down on the floor, inspecting the shattered remains of the lightbulbs.
Ina hissed through her teeth. "Sorry about that! If you want, I can help you clean this up before–"
"Can you answer first, please?" Taylor interrupted, crossing her arms and not letting any sort of intensity seep through. She may be giving her the benefit of the doubt, but she had little patience for beating around the bush.
Her persistence was enough to bring the girl back on track, however. Though with a little hesitance on the side. "Oh! Right! Um. I didn't actually do anything to Mr. Hebert. His eyes just haven't been opened yet. Sorta."
"Go on," Taylor, try as she might, couldn't keep the skepticism out of her tone.
"Well, like I kinda said before. Only those blessed by the Ancient One's almighty presence can witness those of their kin. And since you're one such person…"
"I'm the only one who can really see it," Taylor finished Ina's sentence. In line with all the other supernatural heebie-jeebies, of course having some sort of third eye would be a thing. How silly of her to think otherwise. "And these… Ancients. They're the voices, right? Did they tell you to do… all of this? Take me home, pretend to be my friend?"
"The Ancient Ones," Ina gently corrected, tilting her head. "But no. They only really guide my path. In their benevolence, they let me come to my own decisions, knowing that I, too, believe in their will as they do mine."
Then, as if recalling some sort of momentous occasion, the strange girl closed her eyes, and raised her hands to her chest—almost in prayer.
"When I came to and saw how you protected the people through your own gifts, I figured you needed some help, too. Channeling like that always tires me out, haha!" The awkward laugh so plainly blew whatever kind of serene impression the monster cape was building, however.
"Sorry for getting your dad to think we've been friends forever, though… That was kind of totally unintentional." Said awkwardness continued to paint Ina's next few words, until she all but hunched in over herself, apologetic and ashamed. "...I just sorta kinda thought we could be friends."
Once more, the admittance left her feeling flatfooted, lost on how to respond. How the hell can she even respond to that?
Instead, she chose to ignore it for now and mechanically moved on to a new subject entirely, sitting back on the couch, where Ina swiftly followed—thankfully keeping her distance by sitting on the other edge. "So no one was really hurt?"
"The Ancient Ones are a lot of things, and they don't really do subtle…" Ina had a pinched expression before she shook her head. "But they don't hurt people for no good reason, and they didn't do it here either."
"And, uhm," Ina looked up at Taylor with some hesitation, slightly regretful. "I wanted to ease you into stuff, but I kinda messed it up, bad. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make everything worse."
Taylor took a moment to stare at Ina as she took in that statement. Was there any way to ease her into all of this? Even now, as her emotions cooled, there were still so many questions on her mind that she wanted answers to. That needed to be answered. One of which being…
"...How exactly did you get me back home, anyhow?"
"Oh! Tentacles. I made sure I was really sneaky, too!"
"Tentacles?" Taylor eyed the writhing, wriggling, mass of near-indescribable horror hanging just behind the admittedly very human-looking monster cape, and decided that in this case, discretion was, perhaps, the better part of valor. "...No, nevermind, please don't actually ever tell me."
"Okay!"
With another sigh, she made to rub her head, before pausing with a wince as she touched a bump right at the top of her head. The hell? Had that always been there since she woke up?
Ina also winced, apparently sympathetic to Taylor's pain. "Yeah, that bump looks a little rough. Does it hurt a lot?"
Taylor very slightly moved her head in a motion that could barely be considered shaking her head. It was then that something occurred to her. "...Wait, if the Ancients healed me, why do I have this bump in my head?"
Ina froze in place, before her cheeks grew slightly red and her eyes went a little wide. With a smile even someone like Taylor could tell was fake, she laughed awkwardly. "Ahaha, yeah–! You see–! There was–! There was a rock that fell on you all of a sudden! Yeah, it was totally weird!"
"...A rock." The less things said about Taylor's expression at the moment, the better.
"Yeah, these things just happen sometimes, you know!"
Taylor continued to stare at her. Ina kept fidgeting nervously, before absentmindedly rubbing her own forehead and letting out a wince that she unsuccessfully tried to hide from Taylor. Now that she was properly looking, she noticed something that suspiciously looked like a small bump on Ina's head as well.
Somehow, Taylor had a distinctive hunch that whatever caused this bump on her head was not at all related to a rock. However, for some unknown reason, Taylor also had no desire to pursue this line of thinking further and was about ready to bury it as Ina seemed to be.
A particularly loud burst of static thankfully diverted their attention as they both snapped their eyes toward the TV, which seemed to be malfunctioning due to its poor condition. It perfectly illuminated the damage of Taylor's outburst, as tiny little shards of glass littered the wooden floor. It merged with the broken lamp, bigger pieces mixing with smaller pieces. It was like a small hurricane had gone through the room.
—How was she supposed to fix this mess?
"We really gotta clean this place up before Mr. Hebert comes back, don't we?" Ina stood back up to take a better look around, somehow managing to pick up on Taylor's thoughts.
"...Not sure that'll solve the whole place being completely lightbulb-less."
"Ah! But you see, Taylor, I got the perfect solution!" In a flourish, Ina gestured in the air, making Taylor flinch as a floating book blinked into existence with a purple burst of light and a quiet woosh.
"...The Ancient Ones!" Ina cheered, presenting the odd book to Taylor.
It was, admittedly, a rather pretty book, dark purple with curving patterns etched into it, worn but well cared for, with a strange red eye symbol in the middle of the cover. Kinda looked like one of those tacky collector's edition fantasy novels that some of the expensive book stores at the boardwalk would sell. It even had a personal touch to it at the bottom, with Japanese lettering next to a cartoony doodle of Ina's face.
However, when she looked at it, the whispers in the back of her mind grew curious and slightly louder, and she knew that it was no ordinary book. "A… 'magic' book?"
It was the strangest thing. Out of everything so far, that's what Ina took a major offense to, gasping and drawing the book closer to her side.
"Ao-chan's not just any magic book! She's the repertoire of knowledge imparted upon me by the Ancient Ones! Also! The guide as to what awaits us next in our destiny! Probably."
Taylor cast her skeptical eye back to the strange book, and flinched. Was—was the thing glaring at her?
"I-I thought you didn't know why you were here," Taylor stammered despite her best efforts.
"Ah, well, you see, that's kinda the thing. I still, uhm, don't." Ina let go of the book, prompting it to hover over her shoulder, because of course it did. She clasped her hands behind her hips. "I was hoping that you knew more than me? But it seems like you don't, so…"
"...Right," Taylor lamely said, not sure what else she could say.
While she didn't exactly trust Ina, it was clear by now that whatever initial thoughts Taylor may have had of the strange girl had been wrong. She was clearly not here to threaten her, or force her into compliance, or whatever. And while she still wasn't quite okay with what she did as 'Nyx' (A part of her was anticipating the PRT knocking at her door any second now), she wasn't close to having a panic attack over it either. At least, not anymore.
"...Can I just ask why you're so okay with this?" Taylor asked out of the blue, finally bringing up the thing that had been bothering her the most. "I know you said it was because of these Ancients—"
"The Ancient Ones."
"—But shouldn't you be more upset about this? That I just plucked you away from your home into an unknown place?" Taylor brushed past Ina's insistence about the name to focus on her main point.
"Well, I have faith in the Ancient Ones. it's kinda their thing to be all quiet and mysterious sometimes, so I figured that I was brought here for a reason. It's not like I haven't had to do stranger things for them in the past, to be honest," Ina said, unaware of how crazy that sounded. Honestly, if Ina was hoping that Taylor would accept this without hesitation, she needed to—
"And besides, you seem like a good person, so I think I can trust you," Ina finished.
"...What?" Taylor didn't know how to respond, either to Ina's words, or the genuine smile the girl was giving her.
"The Ancient Ones don't hurt people for no reason. They wouldn't trust someone undeserving of their power. You were the one in control there. I admit, it wasn't perfect, but you saved people from whatever was happening." Ina's smile didn't wane in the slightest as she spoke. "That's how I knew I could trust you as much as they trust you."
For the briefest of moments, the suspicion and lingering animosity that Taylor had faded away, replaced by something else.
She really was at a loss for words. Taylor had treated Ina like a threat as soon as she woke up, afraid of whatever she could do or say, but despite that, she still trusted her? A total stranger?
That was—
"And besides!" Ina snapped Taylor out of her thoughts once more. Now, she had a slightly sly smile on her face. "I've never been Ina another world before, so this is definitely something exciting for me!"
Taylor paused again, for a good five seconds this time, as she processed the utter insanity of that statement.
"Uh, right." Taylor shook her head, trying to get back on track. "I'm… sorry for how I treated you, by the way. You didn't deserve all of that. It's just… Things have been rough lately."
Ina paused for a moment before her smile grew a little more. She didn't move, but her tentacles waved at Taylor, prompting a flinch from her. "It's okay! Water under the tentacle."
As if the universe itself had a sense of humor, a single drop of water fell to the floor, from the otherwise dry appendage.
"...I'm sorry, do you always do that?" Taylor crossed her arms, an odd mixture of feelings welling up in her. "Those are the types of jokes my dad makes."
"Ah, I see. He must be a very funny man," Ina nodded sagely, before starting to giggle to herself.
…She's not at all what I thought she was. Taylor didn't react to Ina's joke beyond a flat stare.
"Oh, and before I forget, I should introduce myself to you properly!" Ina perked up, clearing her throat. She made to bow to Taylor, before changing her mind mid-motion and holding out her hand.
"I'm Ninomae Ina'nis, Priestess of the Ancient Ones. Just call me Ina, though!"
Taylor stared at Ina's hand for a second like she had forgotten what a handshake was. Slightly hesitantly, she took Ina's hand and shook it. "Um, I'm Taylor. Taylor Hebert."
Despite the lack of enthusiasm in Taylor's voice, Ina looked satisfied. "Nice to meet you, Taylor! I would go for a hug, but you don't seem like the huggy type."
"Uh," Taylor stammered. "I guess not?"
"That's a shame, but either way…" Ina separated from the handshake. "Hope we can be good friends!"
Taylor let out a noncommittal hum. She doubted it, to be honest. Even if Ina seemed nice, there were still too many strange things (and even stranger explanations) that hung around the situation like an unpleasant air…
Hopefully she didn't just accidentally side with Satan, or something.
Taylor watched as Ina crouched next to the damaged TV, running a finger over the cracks of the screen carefully while humming in thought.
"...Can you really fix that?" Taylor asked, trying to quell the lingering bits of anxiety and doubt that were rising in her. Any second now, her dad would come home, and he'd have questions that Taylor would have no answers for.
Snapping out of her stupor, Ina stood up quickly, turned back to face Taylor, and gave her an enthusiastic nod. "Hmm! Believe it or not, fixing stuff like this kinda comes with being the Priestess of the Ancient Ones."
"And how are you going to fix it, exactly?" Taylor tried in vain not to let her discomfort show to Ina. Given all she had seen when she was 'Nyx', fixing things was the last thing Taylor would have guessed Ina to be capable of if she was connected to these Ancients.
Ina made a gesture in the air, prompting the book to appear from nothingness again. It floated down from behind her shoulder to land on her outstretched hand before it opened on its own accord and began rapidly flipping through pages.
"There's not much to it, really. I just need to find what I'm looking for, and it'll be good as new! Just let me work my…" Ina looked up from her book to wink at Taylor. "Magic, if you know what I mean."
"...Magic." Taylor's tone couldn't be more skeptical if she tried. "And you really believe that's what you're doing?"
"Oi, don't look at me like I'm crazy." Ina now had a mildly annoyed pout on her face, apparently unaware of the sheer irony of the statement. "But yeah, it's pretty simple! I don't know how it works for you guys, but I bet you'll change your mind about magic once I find—! Aha!"
Ina's finger stopped the rapid flipping of the book on a random page.
"Here we go! 'Warding school, repair and maintenance section: lesser area repair ritual'. I just have to cast it, and everything will be as good as new!" Ina gave Taylor an eager smile. "So, you ready?"
I have to be, don't I? Especially since I need to fix the mess that… I caused.
That thought just hit Taylor like a house of bricks. Since all of the stress from the day clouded her mind, it didn't quite occur to her what she had done until now. Somehow, while she was lashing out at Ina, she did something. Something that normal humans couldn't do.
…Was she a cape, now?
"Taylor?" Ina knocked her out of her thoughts, looking at her worriedly.
Taylor shook her head quickly. One thing at a time. "It's fine. Just do whatever you need to do."
"If you say so…" Ina muttered, looking at her with an odd expression before looking back at her book. With one last quick glance at her, she took a deep breath, let it out, and with a theatrical wave of her hand that caused glowing lines to etch themselves into the air, floor and walls of the room, she began to whisper words before—
Before the world itself started to shift.
It was like what she had felt when she lashed out and broke the lamp. She stumbled as the world swayed around her and the whispers in the back of her mind intensified until they utterly surrounded her. Taylor tried to shut out the noise, but it was in vain. It felt like an itch she couldn't scratch, demanding Taylor's attention and taking her from here to there.
Ina's voice was loud in the absolute silence of the house, but whatever she whispered was lost on Taylor. The syllables were audible, but the meaning of whatever incomprehensible language Ina started talking in kept scratching at the edges of her mind like it was daring her to find out their meaning.
The remaining lights in the house started to flicker on and off as the room groaned and shifted. For a while, it felt as if the concept of space itself was removed from Taylor's mind and she became unable to comprehend what was happening around her. Parts of the house seemed to stretch on forever, others seemed to be swimming as if they were made of liquid, while others were cast in pitch-black darkness or glowed unbearably bright.
Not to mention, as whatever the hell Ina was doing progressed, she felt a foreign, alien presence come closer and closer, brushing against her mind. What scared her the most was that she couldn't tell if the thing looking at her in curiosity was doing so out of malevolence, benevolence, or something else entirely.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, all those sensations vanished like they were never there to begin with.
"...And we're done, yay!" Ina said just as everything lit up again, allowing Taylor to see her child-like smile, and the lack of damage to her house.
The lightbulbs were on, and brighter than they had been before, like they were brand new. The lamp was clean and pristine, not a crack to be found, and finally, the TV turned back on again, showing a news conference where the leader of the Protectorate, Armsmaster, denounced the ABB's actions.
Taylor stumbled and placed a hand on the couch to steady herself, before taking a moment to get her harsh breathing under control.
"Taylor, are you okay?" Ina looked worried as she slowly took a couple of steps closer. "Do you need to sit down, or—?"
Taylor held out a hand, stopping Ina from approaching as she straightened up. "I'm—I'm fine."
For a given definition of fine, anyway. Because apparently magic was real. Holy shit.
With a shake of her head, she turned her attention to the TV again, looking for the slightest abnormality. It sounded clear as it did before, and the quality of the image was the same as ever. Had she not witnessed what she just had, she would have never noticed anything out of place.
"Hmm." Ina relented and stepped back, but not before giving Taylor another worried look. "Sorry, I'm used to this, so I didn't think about how spooky it would seem to other people."
"That wouldn't be the word I'd use to describe it," Taylor muttered, still on edge from… whatever that was.
Ina nervously laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "That's probably fair. I know you really don't believe in magic over here, but maybe you'll get used to it? I kinda cheated, since the Ancient Ones helped me out a lot, but-"
"S-Speaking of that," Taylor tried her hardest to keep the stammer out of her voice, to no avail. "What I did to the lamp and the TV earlier… that was magic?"
Ina blinked at the question before shaking her head. "That was more… the Ancient Ones responding to your emotions and stuff. You know how when you're angry, and you kinda just go-"
Ina brought her hands down in one quick motion as if she were slamming a desk.
"Yeah, it's sorta like that." Ina nodded, letting out a hum with each nod. "Since you're connected to the Ancient Ones in a similar way to me, you can probably do some of what I can."
"...And would that mean anything similar to what happened at Winslow?" Taylor asked, a little apprehensive of what whatever Ina was capable of. If Taylor caused all that damage at the school, then whatever Ina could do…
"Um…" Ina tapped her cheek a few times. "Maybe? It mostly depends on the person. For me, ever since I found the Ancient Ones, it's pretty easy for me to summon stuff and use warding magic, but I don't use a lot of other spells, since most rituals are good enough to do what I need to do."
Rituals. So whatever Ina did to fix everything here was a ritual? What did that even mean?
"When I'm channeling them, magic like that becomes easier because the Ancient Ones can help with it, but, uh…" Ina had a frown on her face. "You probably don't want to do that again, right?"
"...If 'channeling' means what I think it means, I don't." Taylor said, looking away from Ina with a scowl.
As a kid, she had always dreamed of getting powers, to be the next Alexandria, and soar through the skies while fighting off bad guys.
But that wasn't what she got, was it?
Yes, she wasn't the monster she thought she was, but to say she was happy about all of this couldn't be further from the truth. She didn't really understand what these powers were, but they were clearly not like the powers other normal capes had. That much, she knew down to her bones with complete certainty.
"Ah, don't worry, in that case, you can probably still use normal spells, like me!" Taylor turned back to Ina to see her humming while she nodded. That was something that seemed to be a habit of hers. "You'll have to like, sacrifice something if you ever want to do rituals, though!"
Taylor sighed, already putting Ina's advice out of her mind. "I'm not sure that—"
It was only when she had already started to respond to that sentence that she registered the words. With a blink, she looked back at Ina, who had a too-innocent smile.
"What?"
"You see, some magic comes at a cost, and it's different depending on the type of magic," Ina explained, pushing up her glasses while still keeping that smile on her face. "So I just kinda use my soul. Just a tiny bit!"
"...Your soul." Taylor did her best to not let even the slightest bit of emotion leak out into her voice.
"Yeah! Those grow back, you know!" Ina paused, before assuming a thinking pose, looking contemplative. "At least, I think? Pretty sure the human body can work without a soul, so you know, maybe I actually am soulless!"
She's fucking with me. Any word in the English language couldn't capture Taylor's expression. Stars would blot out before historians could capture what emotion her face was attempting to communicate. She's gotta be, right?
"That'd be really spooky, wouldn't you say so? Maybe I'm really a dark and troubled person." Ina's smile didn't wane in the slightest, but there was a certain edge to her that even Taylor could tell was devious. She put her hands up, as if she were clawing at Taylor. "Wah~!"
"The most 'troubling' thing about you is your sense of humor." Taylor had said without conscious input. There was no delay between her brain thinking that, and her mouth delivering the message to the girl she was facing.
Ina made a sound like she had been punched in the stomach, as she clenched her heart dramatically and slumped down. For the briefest of instances, Taylor again felt regret. "Th-That's the most hurtful thing anyone's ever said to me…!"
Taylor had absolutely no idea how to respond to this. Her atrophied social skills had rotten to such a point that she just stared awkwardly at Ina, like she had forgotten what words were. "...Sorry?"
"Anyway," Ina straightened up and abruptly dropped the act, looking thoroughly amused despite Taylor's lackluster response. "If you change your mind about magic, I'll try to teach you what I can! We can try and figure out what you're really good at, and maybe it'll help get us closer to seeing what the Ancient Ones want."
Somehow, Taylor didn't think that solving a problem that was caused by magic with magic was the best course of action.
That being said, Ina was pretty much the only source of answers Taylor had, and the only way she could learn how to get out of this situation. She highly doubted the Protectorate's Wards got magic lessons, after all.
"Speaking of," Taylor reflexively made to adjust her glasses in a tic of hers, only to realize that she hadn't been wearing one all this time, and yet, could see clearly despite it.
Did I—? No, stop. One thing at a time, Taylor.
"Do you have any guesses on what the Ancients would want with—?"
Taylor was interrupted by the sounds of the door opening, courtesy of her dad, who looked slightly soaked.
"Oh. Hey, Dad," Taylor greeted with a nod, feeling mildly annoyed by having her question cut off. Another time, then.
"Hello again, Mr Hebert!" Ina greeted more enthusiastically.
Her dad paused, seemingly forgetting about Ina's presence before he gave them both a smile.
"Hey," he said, closing the door, putting his keys in his pockets, and giving them both a smile. "You girls look like you're having fun, were you talking about anything interesting?"
"No, just about the news," Taylor said, quickly brushing past the topic of the conversation before he got too curious. Her eyes, against her will, darted to both the TV and the lightbulbs that Ina fixed. "Dad, was everything okay?"
"Yeah, I got caught out in the rain a bit, but I did what I needed to do without getting into trouble," If he noticed anything wrong, he didn't react to it before turning towards Ina. "By the way, it's getting late, aren't your folks getting worried about you?"
Ina's eyes widened, eyes quickly darting over to Taylor before she put on a smile meant to reassure. "Ah, don't worry, Mr. Hebert, that's…not really an issue for me."
Wait, did she imply that she's…?
"...Oh." Taylor's dad came to the same conclusion that Taylor did, giving Ina a more sympathetic look. "In that case, you'll be staying here for the night."
"H-Huh?!" Ina's eyes were as wide as a saucer.
"I can't let you go alone out there when there's still bombings happening." Her dad's voice held no compromise. He was putting on his stern dockworker voice, even. "It's the least I can do for a friend of Taylor's."
"Oh, that really means a lot, thank you, but I wouldn't want to impose..." Ina had a shy smile on her face.
Taylor sighed. While she wasn't completely comfortable with this, it would be cruel to just kick Ina out, considering she was only here because of Taylor's actions in the first place. "It's not a bother. And as Dad said, going out now wouldn't be a good idea."
Come to think of it, when was even the last time she had someone sleeping over at her house? It had been years…
Ina paused, before giving Taylor a quick smile. With a silent, 'Thank you' she turned back towards Taylor's dad.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Hebert. I really appreciate it." Ina bowed in thanks, her voice softer than usual.
"Call me Danny," her dad said. "And really, it's nothing. Though I hope you don't mind using the old guest room."
"Yeah, it's no problem. Definitely better than sleeping on a desk while you're drawing!" Ina nodded enthusiastically. Seems that her art student look of hers wasn't just for show.
Her dad chuckled. "That's good to hear. I'll go fetch some blankets to put in the guest room in the meantime. Taylor, you should probably get ready for bed soon too."
Oh, it was that late, huh? With all the mayhem of the day, Taylor lost track of time. "Yeah, I will." Taylor nodded as she watched her father leave the room.
With that out of the way, Taylor turned back and made to ask Ina one last question, whispering under her breath. "So you can't just…?" Taylor gestured at Ina's book, to try to convey her meaning. "And go back home?"
Ina looked down at her book in confusion, then looked back at Taylor. With a flash of realization and a big smile, she opened her mouth and…
"Nope!" Ina whispered, her smile not dropping in the slightest.
Taylor stared at Ina, waiting for her to elaborate.
Ina stared back at Taylor, not making a move to explain herself. There was no worry or shame in those eyes as she continued to stare at Taylor with that innocent smile still on her face.
It was then, and only then that Taylor promptly lost the last bit of hope she didn't know she had left. Mind utterly blank, she turned around and mechanically made her way to her room.
"I hope you sleep well, Taylor!" Ina said from behind Taylor, smile still clear in her voice.
Taylor didn't answer, on account of losing all will to stay awake. Though she might have grunted something along the lines of 'good night', so it worked out.
And with that, she made her way back to her room, exhaustion catching up with her every step until she limply fell on her bed.
The whole city got caught up in some insane terrorist's bombing run, she was possessed and turned into some kind of eldritch abomination that blew up her school, got stuck with a priestess from some kind of insane cult, and to top it off, said cult's deities apparently had plans. Because that's always good.
God, she was tired. All she could do was just wait for the other shoe to drop.
As the first beings that would be known as Entities rose to brilliance, they found something that will make them shudder to their very core... The Embodiment of Entropy itself feeding upon one of their kind...
...so, I was actually considering doing a story where Taylor had the power to summon Takodachi and dismissed it as being to silly. This, on the other hand, is absolutely PERFECT. Please tell me that the rest of the asylum is going to end up paying a visit! Because I cant help but think that unleashing Myth on Earth Bet is going to end horrifically badly for the villains.
Was a bit odd briefly that Danny wouldn't get her to a hospital, but if she had supposedly fainted instead of being knocked out, that could explain the memory loss briefly.
And with school's being bombed, the hospitals are both full and likely also a target.
Gotta say, good job on Taylor's reactions over all. It's also a very interesting idea, and cool to see the lore fluff actually used.
Concerned as to how Calli's attention will be grabbed honestly. XD
Though, Leviathan will not enjoy Gura's stealing all of his water if he attacks. That and the water sandpaper erosion she could do lol
Haven't watched much since Gen 2, so, looking forward to this.
...so, I was actually considering doing a story where Taylor had the power to summon Takodachi and dismissed it as being to silly. This, on the other hand, is absolutely PERFECT. Please tell me that the rest of the asylum is going to end up paying a visit! Because I cant help but think that unleashing Myth on Earth Bet is going to end horrifically badly for the villains.
Please reconsider. Takodachi could be one of those "looks silly, but actually terrifying" kind of summons. Not only are they always hungry and nearly indestructible (cause cartoon logic), but they can also morph into anything and can be of any size. And that's besides the fact that horror versions of takodachis exist out there in the fanart space, which offers an opportunity for a twist where Taylor perceives them as cute mascot versions, while everyone else can only see lovecraftian horror versions.
Please reconsider. Takodachi could be one of those "looks silly, but actually terrifying" kind of summons. Not only are they always hungry and nearly indestructible (cause cartoon logic), but they can also morph into anything and can be of any size. And that's besides the fact that horror versions of takodachis exist out there in the fanart space, which offers an opportunity for a twist where Taylor perceives them as cute mascot versions, while everyone else can only see lovecraftian horror versions.
I has started to read this story and my mind immediately jumped to memory og Moonshine' creations.
Like this one View: https://youtu.be/X0ac1MiNCGs?si=L47X1a8oDFAsweCF
Seems, something like "Side of shrapnel" can happen here as a consequence of Taylor summons
She would have thought it a dream at first, but this feeling of familiarity that kept itching at the back of her mind? The chill that had slightly subsided from the last time she found herself here?
She knew better at this point.
As she stared at something that was so incomprehensibly grander than she could ever hope to be, a single question rang through her mind. A question that was driven by her endless curiosity, worry, and trepidation.
What are you?
Nothing moved. Even the air itself stopped as if to contemplate the question.
Taylor's eyes opened, marking the end of her 'dream'. Raising from her position in the bed, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, taking note of the sun outside her windows. Birds chirped as they sang their song. Yesterday's storm had passed, and with it, a sunny day came about.
In the back of her mind, the very same whispers lingered, merging with the sound of the birds effortlessly. It was practically background noise, almost soothing, even.
Right, and finding the voices soothing is definitely a good sign. Not. Question is; is that the indoctrination kicking in? Or just the brain damage? Taylor grumbled sarcastically, pushing aside her blankets and noting the clock beside her bed. Even though she had been so tired yesterday, she managed to get up as early as usual, not that it mattered.
…Maybe it was selfish of her that she was a little happy that Winslow was destroyed beyond repair. People got hurt in the bombings, so it wasn't anything to celebrate, but she couldn't push those feelings of joy and relief down, even as much as she wanted to.
With another sigh, she finally moved out of her room, stepping down to the living room for breakfast.
It was only to her mild surprise that her dad was already up, watching the news on the repaired TV while eating some buttered toast, already in his work attire.
"Dad?" Taylor said, stepping closer to him. Usually, she was the one out of bed first, while her dad took quite a while longer to get ready for whatever he needed to do.
"Oh, morning, Taylor." Her dad shot her a weak smile that didn't seem close to genuine. Indeed, the obvious signs of stress were there, despite how he tried to hide them. "Did you sleep well?"
"A little," Taylor nodded, eyes darting over to the TV for the briefest of instances before she could help it. "Something wrong, Dad? You don't get up this early."
Her dad's smile dropped as he sighed deeply and leaned back on the couch. "...Yeah. Lots of places got wrecked real bad. We're helping with the clean up, but it's slow going. It'll take about a day, at least."
Taylor frowned as she tried to recall what most of the damage was from the bombing. It was a little hard, given how little she was paying attention to the news thanks to everything that was going on, but she remembered snippets of where the most damage had been done. Schools like Winslow, hospitals, power grids, and even police and firefighter stations.
That… was a lot of essential city infrastructure, now that she thought about it.
"...Sounds dangerous," Taylor replied, feeling a little awkward even talking about it. She wasn't sure how the ABB operated, but she wasn't naive enough to think the gang wouldn't try to do something to cause even more harm.
Her dad nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. "Hey, I'll be fine. Me and the boys are going to all be near James' shop at 6th street. Lots of damage over there."
"That's the place we order from, right? The seafood place?" Taylor tilted her head in questioning.
"The very same." Her dad nodded, but must've seen something in her expression as he continued. "Trust me, kiddo. We've all got each other's back out there, and your dad knows a thing or two about keeping his nose out of trouble, so you don't need to worry about your old man."
After that, he finished his buttered toast, and without a second of pause, rose from the couch and moved to the door, taking his keys. "Okay! Guess I better get going now." He paused for a second to look at Taylor and wave to her. "Have fun with your friend, but stay safe, you hear? I love you."
Taylor quickly said her own parting words before her dad opened the door, and shut it behind him. Already, his steps were getting fainter as he made his way to his car.
Taylor didn't like her dad being out in the middle of the danger like this, but she knew that arguing with him would likely be a waste of time, given how stubborn the both of them were. And if nothing else…
I'll get a chance to talk to Ina about what these Ancients want. Taylor thought, making her way over to the guest room.
As she did, her mind couldn't help but remind her of the times Emma slept in the guest room when she wanted to stay over. It wasn't often that she did that, given all those times they had slept in the same bed together, but those memories of running over to Emma's room as soon as possible to wake her up still played in her mind, as much as she wished it didn't.
She quickly shook her head as she approached the guest room, which had the door partially open already. Feeling a little bemused, she stepped forward, slowly creeping the door open, expecting to see Ina sleeping on the guest bed…
Only to be greeted with her sleeping on the floor instead, softly snoring as her blankets covered only half her body. Her hair and clothes all looked tussled up and messy as she mumbled incomprehensible words to Taylor's floor in her sleep.
Taylor took three seconds to just stare at her guest, who looked surprisingly comfortable sleeping on the floor.
With a sigh, she crouched down wearily, being mindful not to touch the tentacles still swaying behind Ina as she shook her shoulder. "It's time to wake up."
Ina didn't respond, but she grumbled as she curled away from Taylor's touch.
With another sigh, she shook Ina a little harder. "You can't sleep on the floor like this. Get up."
"やめてよ..." Ina muttered. She turned on her back, as her tentacles somehow melted into the ground like some sort of dark purple ooze. Her eyes opened the slightest bit to take in her surroundings, only to blink slowly when she noticed who woke her up. "...Taylor?"
"Yeah," Taylor said, getting up from her position on the ground and staring down at Ina, who was still blinking at her with squinted eyes. "We have a lot to talk about."
Ina took a full three seconds to process the statement before she yawned, slowly pushing herself up and slowly rubbing her eyes. "...Okay. Just let me wake up a little bit… and maybe wash my face…"
Taylor startled and took several quick steps back when those tentacles behind Ina's back sprang so suddenly into life, pushing her up into the air, and leaving her dangling in the middle of the room listlessly. With grace unbefitting what was a bunch of disembodied tentacles, they dragged Ina swiftly out of the room, the only evidence she was here was the blankets that fell off her body.
Taylor took a moment to breathe deep through her nose, hold it, count to ten, and then let it out.
One thing at a time, one thing at a time.
The monster cape didn't take long to finish her routine, and soon enough, they found themselves sitting at the kitchen counter, nursing their own preferred drinks.
Finally, Taylor would get her chance to deal with this problem as soon as possible. She didn't know how long she could take all these magics and mysterious plans, but the quicker she could solve the problem, the less trouble she'd have to deal with in the long run.
She'd preferred doing this earlier, but having some more time to herself did help with setting up a list of questions that can give her the most information. So, taking a deep breath, she began to ask the first out of many just as Ina finished taking another sip of her coffee. "So what exactly are these Ancients you keep talking about?"
"Mrgle?" Ina mumbled, the sounds coming out of her mouth not resembling any known language on Earth as she slowly blinked at Taylor.
"You kept talking about them yesterday, and I want to know, what are they?" Taylor repeated herself, crossing her arms as she fixed Ina with a focused gaze.
Ina took another moment to stare at Taylor, before putting her hand up to her mouth and yawning. "...They're the Ancient Ones," Ina said as she rubbed her eyes.
"...Be more specific." Taylor tried her best to hide the annoyance that came from Ina's answer. She wasn't sure if she succeeded, but she tried.
Ina hummed, before putting down her coffee, looking slightly more awake. "I guess the best way to put it is that they live up to their namesake? They've been around since the beginning, and they want to understand everything they can. For that, they need different perspectives and stuff. So people like us."
So the things invading her head, shaking up Taylor's life, and bringing one of their own followers to Taylor's world for whatever odd reason were just doing all of this to understand? How scholarly. Taylor didn't buy it for one second.
Was Ina leaving out details again? Taylor didn't think Ina was malicious at this point, but she didn't put it past the so-called 'Priestess of the Ancient Ones' to leave out some detail that she found unimportant or whatever.
And while Taylor was thinking over what Ina was saying, Ina's gaze surveyed the room around them with worried eyes. "Um, should we really be talking about this now? I mean, if Mr. Danny comes in and hears us talking…"
"Dad already left." Taylor nodded her head towards the door. "Union's got everyone working clean-up duty, apparently. So he won't be back home for most of the day."
Ina frowned at Taylor, looking a little worried. "For the bombings? Is he going to be okay? I'm not sure about what's going on, but it looked kinda dangerous out there."
"He's fine." Taylor waved off Ina's worries. Her dad wasn't alone, after all. He had all the dockworkers behind him, and if nothing else, he knew how to stay safe, even in turbulent times like this.
…Well, that's what she's telling herself, anyway. For all she knows, the situation could get even worse, and no amount of caution would save someone from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Taylor involuntarily let out a sigh. It's fine. He's going to be fine. At least with him being out of the house, I can ask Ina as many questions as I—
"Maybe we should check on them anyway, I don't like it when people are getting hurt," Ina said, taking another sip of her coffee before she made an 'aha!' face. "Oh, maybe we can also make some snacks for them! Something that they'll really enjoy!"
"Huh?" Taylor blurted out, stunned by the sudden change in topic.
"Yeah! I have the perfect idea of how to do it, too!" Ina said, snapping her fingers and summoning that book of hers again, making Taylor flitch. Without pause, the book opened in front of Ina, once again flipping through random pages. When the whispers started to intensify, Taylor started to panic. "I just need to find the right spell, and—"
"No!" Taylor quickly leaned forward as fast as she could and slammed the book closed in front of Ina's face.
Ina blinked.
Taylor blinked.
The book blinked.
"Taylor?" Ina asked, looking as confused and baffled as Taylor had ever seen her. "Um, what are you doing?"
Taylor took a moment to think, even as the book scoffed at her, offended. (Wait, what?)
"L-Listen, you want to make snacks for my dad and the dockworkers, right?" Taylor stammered out, feeling her face heat up slightly.
"Yes?" Ina said, tilting her head and looking at Taylor oddly. "I thought it'd be good to do something nice for—"
"I can do snacks, no magic book, or crazy rituals needed. Just—!" Taylor took a moment to breathe and lower her intensity, letting go of the book, which quickly hovered over Ina's shoulder. "I think we have enough stuff to make something like cupcakes or whatever, so just—hold off on the hocus-pocus, okay?"
Ina tilted her head, her oddly unnatural purple hair swaying to the side. "Are you sure? It'll be easier with—"
"Look, I'll… I'll even help you out with the baking." Taylor offered, doing her best to try to steer Ina away from doing whatever she was about to do.
Ina seemed to be a little taken aback, still staring at Taylor oddly before that confused look melted into that smile that seemed to come easily to her.
"...Okay!" Ina said, clapping her hands and getting up from her seat. "With the two of us together, I guess you could say this would be a piece of cake." Ina giggled, before moving to Taylor's kitchen, missing how Taylor let out a sigh of relief.
This could be my chance. Taylor thought, getting up from her seat as well. If she's distracted like that, maybe I'll get better answers.
After all, if Ina was lying, or purposely leaving things out, she'll have more trouble doing so when she's focusing on baking. Better yet, it also gave fewer chances of having all of the answers to her questions dressed up with evangelical mumbo-jumbo.
Now I'll get everything I want to hear.
"Yay!" Ina happily clapped, her voice alight with joy as she presumably looked upon her creation. "We did it! And they look really good too!"
Taylor heard the shuffling of cloth as Ina moved around.
"Taylor? Wanna be the first to try our Takodachi cupcakes out?" Ina offered, gently shaking Taylor's shoulder.
"...Not really, no." Taylor mumbled from face down at the table, no motivation to move her head up from the table as she sulked to herself.
She should have seen this coming. She really should have. Because of course this would happen to her. Even so, she expected to get something from the two-hour diversion she set Ina on. Maybe a deeper explanation of what magic was, a hint towards what the Ancient's actual goals were, or hell, even what Ina's world looked like in comparison to Earth-Bet. Questions like that are what Taylor bombarded Ina with.
And all she got…
"Other magic? Maybe? I always have Ao-chan around, and she's all the magic I need!"
"It's kinda like here, but…not as scary, and with lots of trees, and mountains… I guess not like here at all, actually! Haha!"
"Hmm, I never really thought about it? I always asked my handler for that kinda stuff…"
For two straight hours. To put it very bluntly, Ina was as clueless as she appeared. If anything, Ina got more out of Taylor than the other way around, as she asked questions about Earth-Bet and capes and the gangs and all that.
I don't know if I should be more mad at myself, or at her.
"Are you okay?" Ina muttered, once again shaking Taylor's shoulder gently.
"I wish I wasn't."
Taylor heard Ina hum before she heard a chair being pulled back. Finally gathering the will to look up, she moved her head up to look at Ina, who seemed mildly concerned.
"You know, since you're really curious about how things work, and upset that I can't give you what you want…" Ina put her hands on her lap while she talked, giving Taylor a small smile. "I can help you summon someone who could answer your questions! It might get us closer to fulfilling the Ancient Ones' desires."
Taylor frowned, sighing as she mumbled back into the table. "I like my soul to not be riddled with holes, thanks."
"It's really not a…hole lot of trouble, I can barely tell!" A giggle once again accompanied Ina's wordplay. Good to see one of them was happy. "But, um, shouldn't we go and deliver these cupcakes to the workers?"
Taylor just grunted in defeat.
"I'll take that as a yes!"
Brockton Bay was never really a nice place to be in. That was apparent to anyone with eyes. You didn't need to look far to see all of the rival gangs freely strutting around the city, the heroes, who struggle to do anything worthwhile, or even the amount of homeless people on the streets.
But now, it's different.
Now, Taylor felt like she was walking in a wasteland. Perhaps it was slightly dramatic to say that, but it just felt so lifeless. How the scent of smoke in the air weighed down on everything, how trash and debris lingered on the sidewalk, and simply how empty the streets felt as they made their way to their destination.
…I shouldn't have gone out at all. Taylor grimaced as she retreated to herself. This was a mistake. I should just turn around before—
"Ta-Taylor?" Ina muttered, knocking Taylor out of her thoughts and returning her to reality. By her side, Ina was struggling with the tote bags, which were absolutely filled with the cupcakes that they made. (Taylor had the same bag in her hands, and she wasn't tired, was Ina exaggerating?) "Are we getting close?"
Taylor nodded, trying to push her own depressing thoughts away by talking to Ina, rounding a corner on autopilot. "Yeah, we're almost—"
"No shit, Taylor?" A familiar voice said, startling Taylor out of her thoughts as she took in her surroundings once more.
Here, the dockworkers were out in full force. Chunks of debris decorated the floor as all the workers cleared out the roads. The street itself was a mess, with bullet holes littering the area, with lots of glass and trash on the floor.
And the person who had called out to them just now was…
"Kurt?" Taylor muttered, feeling a little anxious from seeing a familiar face.
"Damn kid, it's been a while. I didn't think I'd see you here, especially when the city is like this." Kurt said, crossing his arms as he approached them. His stern and worried look abated a bit once he spotted the bags that the two of them were holding. "You and your friend need help with those bags?"
"Please say yes," Ina desperately whispered, looking like she had been offered a lifeline.
Taylor sighed. "Yeah, we'd really appreciate that, thank you."
With that, Kurt promptly took some of the bags from their hands, (Something which prompted a sigh of relief from Ina) like they weighed nothing. Kurt took a moment to peak at the bags, before raising an eyebrow at the two of them. "...Cupcakes?"
"Oh, these are for you, Mr. Kurt!" Ina jumped in, now looking absolutely peppy like she hadn't been sweating up a storm. "We knew everyone was working hard, so we made these cupcakes for you to show our thanks!"
Kurt blinked for a moment before letting out a single chuckle. "Heh. Damn, kids. Going all the way out here for that? Takes guts, but I appreciate it."
"By the way," Taylor's next words were fueled by worry. "Is working here really safe for you? For the Dockworkers?"
After seeing the state the city was in, Taylor's fears only grew and grew. She could already imagine how things would get much worse until someone dealt with the ABB's mad bomber.
"Yeah, yeah, it's all good." Kurt nodded, before clearing his throat and nodding his head towards his fellow workers. "The damage here was bad, but it didn't do any crazy shit like some of the other bombs were doing. Not like any of us is suicidal enough to go near one of those things."
Kurt sighed, abruptly looking more tired. "Just when this city couldn't get any worse, huh? At least we're still alive and kicking."
For now, went unsaid, but it was crystal clear to Taylor's ears.
"But the heroes are going to save the day soon, right?" Ina innocently said, tilting her head. There was a small worried frown on her face.
Taylor had to pause to process the utter naivety of the statement. As if it were really that easy. If it were, half the problems in the Bay wouldn't really be a problem. Why did a girl who talks to eldritch beings have such a childish outlook?
Kurt just snorted, not taking offense to Ina's naivety. "Yeah, that's what we're all hoping for, kid."
Taylor, however, just had doubts. While they'd likely try to make sure that things don't get worse, she's sure as hell that they won't actually do anything to make the situation better for the Bay. If they hadn't achieved much when the city wasn't under an attack of this caliber, they wouldn't accomplish much now.
"Anyways, how about I make things easier for you girls?" Kurt lifted the bag in his hands to draw their eyes to them. "I'll help you pass these out to the rest of the people here. Not like a little bit of sugar is gonna kill us, and we could use something to keep us going for the day."
"Yeah, that's fine." Taylor nodded. Anything that got them back home sooner rather than later.
After that, they went around and gave the cupcakes to all the dockworkers helping out. It seemed like they had baked a little more than was necessary, given the amount of cupcakes they still had left over. While Taylor had only done this whole thing as a way to distract Ina, when she saw how pleasantly surprised most people were, she found herself not minding this diversion as much.
"Alright kids," Kurt said, dropping off much lighter bags off to Taylor and Ina. "I think we're done here. Much as I'd like to catch up, I have work to do, and you have to be going back home. See ya later." Without even waiting for their response, Kurt turned around and walked away, giving a backward wave to them.
Taylor sighed in relief, feeling mildly anxious at the prospect of even being here.
Ina hummed, getting Taylor's attention. "By the way, where's Mr. Danny?" Ina tilted her head, looking mildly confused. "Shouldn't he be here too?"
Taylor opened her mouth to respond, but as she did…
"Taylor?!" Her dad's voice sounded from behind her, making her startle and turn around.
Walking out of a seafood store, her dad was there, urgently rushing towards them. He looked even more stressed than he was before, and his work clothes were covered in dust.
"Kiddo, what are you doing here?! You know this place is unsafe!" His voice carried as he stood in front of them, a deep frown on his face.
"I—"
"Sorry, Mr. Danny, but we wanted to make sure you were fine, and we also wanted to do something nice for you." Ina jumped in, interrupting Taylor's stammering. With a quick bow, she spoke again. "We knew this was hard work, so we made cupcakes for all the workers here, to thank you for your service."
Taylor's dad paused, some of his concerned anger fading away as he looked at the two of them. "...That's why you're out here, Taylor?"
"Ye-Yeah." Taylor stammered, feeling a knot of tension in her stomach loosen up the slightest amount. "It—I thought it would be a good gesture."
Her dad sighed. "Listen, I really appreciate that you're out here for your old man, really, I do. But you didn't need to do this."
At this, Ina took the initiative, shaking her head. "I think we did, Mr. Danny. This is a dangerous situation, so I think you deserve something nice."
"She's right, you know," a third voice interjected into the conversation, stopping Taylor's dad, who was about to speak up.
"James?" Her dad muttered, looking confused at the large man approaching them, who Taylor faintly recognized as the owner of the seafood store.
"I overheard you guys talking just now, and you know what? I agree with the little lady." James nodded toward Ina, who gave him a smile in return. "We need to have each other's back, and it's not like it doesn't kill us to be nicer to each other, you know? God knows this city needs a little kindness sometimes."
"But that doesn't mean they should go out when everything is like this." Danny gestured at the street before them.
James nodded, crossing his arms. "I get it, but Danny, I'm sure we've all lived in the Bay long enough to know how to stay safe. I'm sure they'll be alright. Not like we Brocktonites aren't made of tougher stuff, you know?"
Her dad seemed to be at a loss for words before he sighed, most of his anger leaving him. "...I'm just worried. Who wouldn't be?"
"I have my family too, Danny, not like I don't get it." James gave him a wry smile before something seemed to occur to him. "And speaking of you guys deserving something nice…"
That's when James pulled out a large box of…were those shrimps? From what Taylor could see, they seemed like pretty good ones too. Still alive, even.
"This doesn't even begin to cover what you guys did for my family and my business, but I hope it's a start," he said as he offered the box of shrimps to Taylor's dad, who looked taken aback.
"...Listen, James, I really appreciate it, but I don't think I can accept this—"
"Hey, really, don't worry about it," James said, not taking 'no' for an answer. "Besides, I got nowhere else to keep it. My freezer's dead right now, too, so I've just been giving out my fish so someone could at least eat 'em."
With that appeal to logic, James finally won Taylor's dad over, with him sighing as he took the box of shrimp in his hand.
"Thanks," he said, sounding slightly exasperated, but genuinely thankful regardless.
"No problem. Just make sure you put 'em to good use, eh?" James chuckled, before making his way back to the store. "Keep up the good work."
With that done, Taylor's dad turned back to the two of them, sighing once more. "Guess I owe you two an apology, right?"
"It's…fine, Dad," Taylor said, turning away. Why was it so hard to talk to him like this?
"All is forgiven as long as you take a cupcake!" Ina said, reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the last cupcakes.
With a single chuckle, he took one. "Thanks. These look good. Looks like you even had time to decorate it."
"They're shaped like a friend," Ina faux-whispered to Taylor's dad, before promptly giggling.
"Sure they are," he said, looking mildly amused by Ina's antics. "But yeah, you guys should really go home soon."
"We will, Dad." Taylor nodded, having wanted to do just that for their entire trip here. Next to her, Ina nodded as well.
"And before you go…" He passed the box of shrimp to Taylor, who automatically took it. "Might as well save this for later. Don't want them to get bad, you know?"
He cleared his throat before he pointed a thumb toward the street. "I gotta get back to work. Do you guys need a ride back home? I can ask Kurt?"
"It's okay, Dad. We'll be fine." Taylor shifted the box around so it sat better on her arms, and spotted another dockworker walking towards them."Besides, I think they're looking for you already."
"Yeah, looks like." Her dad winced at the sight. "Well, at least get someone to walk you? It's still dangerous—"
"Dad, just go." Taylor exasperatedly sighed and tried lightly pushing her dad back to his work.
"Alright, alright! But you two better head straight home!"
And with that, her dad awkwardly walked away, leaving the two girls on their own. Still uncomfortable with the box, Taylor tried changing the way she held it once more, and—
—Hold on.
"Hmm, today turned out pretty well, wouldn't you say, Taylor?" Ina said, looking towards Taylor for her reaction, only to pause when she saw Taylor looking at the shrimp box with intense focus.
"Ina," Taylor began, switching her focus from the box to Ina herself. "Do shrimps have souls?"
"Huh?" Ina seemed pretty startled at the random question, before answering hesitantly. "I guess? Most living beings do. Why do you ask?"
"Because I think I have our ticket to summoning…"
Taylor shook the box, an unlikely key to her answers.
Second will we also get to see the little mascots also running around as pseudo fanbase/chat representatives?
Because my brain couldn't help but keep jumping to there being a handful of takodachis just out of sight just loitering around Taylor's house and getting into shenanigans throughout the chapters.
Woo! This one took longer then expected, but now we're here!
We did something a little experimental here, so tell me if you like it or not lol
Without further ado, enjoy the story!
The Seeker of Truth stood on the precipice of potential, where the threads of reality before her unfolded in an eternal, ever-expanding web of ifs, have beens, and could bes. A sight so familiar to the Seeker, yet nonetheless ever so intoxicating to her curious mind.
Again, she stood there to fulfill one purpose, the same as it always was—to solve a mystery.
This time, to find a missing friend.
The walk back home wasn't that long, but to Taylor, it felt like an eternity.
For a while, she had thought that she was doomed to be stuck playing guessing games with the creature in her head. That she might just get strung along like a puppet on a string towards some nebulous goal she wasn't even sure aligned with her interests—no matter how many reassurances Ina might give.
But now, I have a way around that. Taylor entered the house, shrimp box on hand, and made a beeline to the basement, with Ina following closely behind. There was nothing particularly special about what was down there, though the stacks of dusty, bruised boxes of forgotten junk sure did seem to catch the bookish girl's interest.
What was special about the basement, however, was what wasn't inside.
Attention.
As soon as she shut the door, she suddenly spoke up, surprising Ina who wasn't expecting her to speak up. "Okay, now tell me how we're doing this."
Ina blinked, before fiddling with her sleeves. "Well, it's not really that complicated. You just have to focus on what you want when you're doing the ritual." Ina said, doing that nodding-humming thing.
Taylor nodded, squinting down at the large box of shrimps in her hands. That's easy enough. Answers, and a solution.
Simple.
"...Oh, but, um." Ina's hesitance gave Taylor pause. "Maybe we should put this off for a bit? Don't you want to get used to doing magic, first? You haven't even learned what your powers are…"
"What?" Taylor's voice came out a little louder than she intended it, but she didn't care. Maybe if Ina stood in her place, she'd understand, too. That paradoxical feeling of being so wildly in control that you were out of control, where every fleeting thought and urge seemed to justify an unproportionate response, yet being so perfectly aware of her tenuous sense of self, it was—it was maddening.
Contrary to Ina's belief, it wasn't curiosity driving Taylor to act. She needed to know what they were after so she could get them out.
The thought of intentionally dipping inside that well, again and again… "Why should we do that?"
"I just feel like… maybe we're going a little too fast." Ina nervously laughed. "I don't think there's any harm in—"
"Ina, listen." Taylor cut off Ina's protest swiftly with a tone that brooked no compromise. "The longer we spend doing nothing, the more problems we're going to have. We can't hide all this magic stuff from Dad forever, and he's gonna have questions for you eventually, too. We can't just have you living in my house without telling him anything. How are we gonna explain that you're literally from another world? Then, when he knows, he'll just keep asking for more, and I doubt he'll take it as–"
Taylor stopped herself once she realized she was starting to rant and calmed down once more, letting out a huff. "We just don't have the time, okay? The sooner we get our answers, the sooner we'll get this entire situation sorted out, send you back home, and go back to living our lives."
Ina mulled over her words with a worried hum. "I… Yeah, that's pretty fair. I guess I'm just used to a slower pace. But, okay!" Ina nodded, hands balled up to her chest as she gathered her courage and put on a serious face. "If you're sure, then I'm down for it!"
"Good." Taylor let out a sigh of relief before taking a look around the basement. Hopefully this room survives a heaping of some mumbo-jumbo. "Okay, there's no windows down here, so no one will notice any sudden light shows. Think we can do it right here?"
"Um. Maybe?" Ina nodded as she started looking around as well, before tilting her head at Taylor. "But is it me you should be asking?"
Confused, Taylor opened her mouth to ask—
No ma▓░er how much she tr░es the hole will stay se▄red into her s█ul ░nd the hole will forever sta█ unt—
"R-right. Yeah… it should be fine here." Taylor gritted out, hand shakily combing through her hair as she tried to mask the fear in her voice. The pit in her stomach that she's tried so hard to ignore stretched deeper, ever colder.
"Great! Then show me how it's done, sensei!" Ina giggled. If she saw something wrong with Taylor, she sure didn't show it. "Your grateful student will follow whatever you sen-say, heehee."
…Taylor took a moment to calm herself. She could do this. Mind over matter. Or magic, whatever.
Hard to imagine that she'd thought magic just existed in fiction. If someone would've said that was real to her face yesterday, she would have thought they were stupid. It's still hard to believe now, if she was being honest. But it's all real.
Maybe someone else would be in awe of such a revelation.
To her, though, it felt like every step she took was one she couldn't turn back from.
"Before I do… this," Taylor crossed her arms as her shoe tapped the ground anxiously. "Are there any other details I should know? Anything at all? Like, is this going to attract any attention?"
She felt like it was a reasonable concern. Magic, in general, seemed to be the exact opposite of subtle.
Instead of answering her question, however, Ina serenely pressed her hands against her heart. "In their absolute magnanimousness, the Ancient Ones chose us as their eyes and ears, the window to our mortal plane for their ever-watchful gaze. We are their hands and their will, and so our actions shall be theirs as well. So you know, I think they'll be totally cool about it."
That's… going to be a lot to unpack. "Ina, I just meant if anybody's gonna hear us."
"Oh." Ina paused, before giving Taylor a thumbs up with both of her hands. "You're good ta-ko!"
…Tempering her response to roll her eyes at Ina's joke, she set down the box of shrimps on one of the plastic storage boxes littering the area. However, taking another look around the basement… she heaved a deep breath. It was simply too messy to do anything properly inside, as it was. "Alright. Let's get everything ready, then."
The two promptly went to work. For all the privacy the basement gave them—actual free space was a commodity they'd had to earn. Boxes needed to be rearranged, stray items had to be properly put aside, and with how unkempt the place was—some light dusting and sweeping to cap off the entire ordeal. Taylor chose to ignore the fact that Ina was using her tentacles to manipulate the broom and dustpan while she moved around some boxes, humming a cheerful tune all the while.
Soon enough, the two had cleared out a rather sizable space in the middle of the basement, and went about taking up spots on the floor, kneeling next to each other.
Feeling a little anxious, her eyes—for some reason—drifted to her side and met Ina's, who gave what was meant to be a reassuring smile in return. In Ina's hands, that magic book of hers was there, staying thankfully inert for now.
Taylor set the box of shrimps by her side, and pulled open the lid to use as she set a handful upon the plastic container to place in between them. With one last deep breath to try to calm the storm of feelings that this whole situation was giving her, she hardened her gaze.
"Let's do this."
She didn't know if those words were meant for Ina or for herself, but the whispers quieted down, as if to help her focus. The room went silent as Taylor tried to focus on the knowledge that she desperately wished she didn't have.
Only a small part of her wasn't surprised when words started to flow through her lips, unbidden. For a moment, Taylor felt like a passenger in her own body as she mumbled words that didn't sound like any language she knew. Next to her, Ina joined in on the chanting, mumbling much the same.
Okay, I have to… focus on what I'm willing to… sacrifice…
It was a little hard to do so, but she kept her eyes on the lid filled with shrimps, even as the room began to darken a little more than seemed normal. She had to make sure she did this correctly, so even as she felt the dread from the presence enveloping her, she tried to focus.
And next, intent. What… do I need? What do I want? That would be…
…What did Taylor want? Yes, she had done this to try to find some answers, but what if this was the wrong way to go about it? Maybe what she actually wanted wasn't answers, but an easy way out of this situation. God knows she would rather wash her hands of everything here and never think about it again. Could she cut this entire ordeal short by simply asking for someone that could send Ina back home and get rid of these weird powers she had been given?
In her desperate attempt to center herself, her mind achieved the opposite effect. Every one of her senses seemed to shout at her, begging for the attention she's forced to withhold. The presence of the voices grew heavier, tickling the back of her mind even in their repressed state. The worst of it all was the smell of the shrimps, becoming so pungently intense that her mind couldn't wean off it successfully.
No… F-focus…! I…I want to–!
And before Taylor could even finish the thought, the sound of shattered glass rang out, and a glowing crack in reality appeared before them. There was a stunned moment of silence as the two of them beheld the tall, glowing scar that remained suspended in the air, before it suddenly split open, and everything went wrong.
The moment the hole in reality opened, a great stream of water began to gush out of it like a broken dam, quickly beginning to flood the entire basement.
"Shit! Ina!" Taylor cried out as her eyes widened in panic, quickly turning towards the girl in question, only to find an equally panicked expression on her face.
Before she could react, Ina sprang into action and swept her up in her arms as her tentacles lifted them up and away from the goddamn river that was pouring out of the hole she had created, the sound of rushing water drowning out all other noise.
The two of them stood suspended by Ina's tentacles above the rapidly rising pool of water as they watched in stunned bewilderment as fish, algae, rocks and random sea detritus spilled out of the hole in reality and into the rapidly flooding basement, before the crack suddenly sealed itself shut, abruptly cutting off the stream of water and plunging the room into a dead silence.
Taylor stood in shock as she beheld the absolute mess she had caused.
All of the previously stored items in the basement were now scattered around the floor, soaking wet boxes with their ruined contents spilled all over the room, floating in a pool of water that came up to her shins. To add to the chaos, there were now piles of dead fish, bones, algae, seaweed, rocks and even coral spreading outwards from the center of the room, mixed into the entire mess.
Taylor's mouth flapped uselessly as her brain failed to come up with any sort of response to what had happened. A moment later, the awful, pungent smell of fish guts and seawater hit her nose, causing her to gag from the sheer stench of it all. Ina, to her credit, didn't react at all to the smell, just looking at the destruction of Taylor's basement with wide eyes.
"Taylor? I think something is–" Ina began, only to abruptly cut herself off as she froze, eyes wide as dinner plates as she stared straight ahead. Taylor followed her gaze, and froze as well.
The big pile of seaweed in the middle of the room was moving. Something alive was squirming underneath it, slowly shifting the whole thing. Abruptly, an arm shot out of it, a small clawed hand finding purchase against the floor and slowly dragging itself out of the pile.
The two of them stood petrified, not daring to make a sound, wide eyes watching in fear as a… a creature pulled itself out of the pile of filth before shakily rising to its feet, standing in a wild, hunched over pose. Most of its features were hard to make out due to the fact that its entire body was covered in seaweed, algae and fish guts, but Taylor was able to barely catch a hint of silver hair, gray scales covering what few parts of its skin were visible, and some sort of robe that at some point might've been white, but by now was mostly reduced to a ripped, stained mess of rags that barely clung on. A long fish tail of some kind emerged from its lower back, lazily swinging in the air.
The creature suddenly folded over and began to cough up water, and with a startling discovery, Taylor realized it was a person. A girl, even, judging by the high pitch of the coughing. The fish… person? continued hacking out a concerning amount of water out of her lungs, and even more was flowing out from the sides of her torso—were those gills?—until she was seemingly drained of all water. The girl then took a very deep, shaky breath, tasting air for what seemed to be the first time in a very long time, and Taylor watched in fascination as the few patches of gray scales she could see on the girl's body slowly disappeared, leaving behind pale human skin. Through it all, Taylor couldn't help but notice how small the girl looked, almost like a child.
The… fish girl? paused once her breathing settled, took a deep sniff of the air, and promptly froze, head snapping to the side in an instant, gaze homing in on the box of shrimp now sadly drifting through the flooded basement, and immediately lunging for it.
Taylor watched in morbidly horrified fascination as the girl dropped down on all fours and began to savagely tear into the box of shrimp, serrated triangular teeth and sharp claws violently tearing her prey apart before gulping it all down, plastic included.
The sounds of cracking shells, spilling shrimp guts, breaking plastic and messy, starved chewing occupied the silence in the basement.
What in the actual fuck.
Taylor felt like she was dreaming, that at some point through it all, the world simply stopped making sense. In a daze, her hand blindly rose to her side to repeatedly tap Ina in the chest as if to confirm she was still there, and to verify that they were seeing the same thing. She felt Ina's hands quietly take hold of her forearm and give it a reassuring squeeze, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl's gaze was just as transfixed in the bizarre sight before them, unable to tear her eyes away.
Taylor's gaze reluctantly scanned across the basement, confirming the fact that yes, everything was still flooded, and yes, there was some kind of midget Swamp Thing lookalike devouring the box of shrimp she had set aside for her dad.
This was her life now.
Licking her dry lips as she thought of how to even begin to approach the situation, Taylor's gaze slid to Ina before returning to the bipedal fish too busy eating a fucking plastic container to even notice her surroundings, or the fact that there were two people in the room with her.
In the lowest possible tone of voice she could muster, Taylor whispered. "...Ina. Ina! What the hell is that thing?!"
Blinking out of her trance, Ina's gaze briefly met Taylor's, before both of them turned their attention back to their bizarre guest.
"I don't know! Something must've gone wrong with the ritual. Did you–" was as far as Ina got before she froze.
Ahead of them, the fish girl twitched in place before coming to an abrupt halt. She remained eerily still for a few seconds, before her head slowly turned in their direction.
Taylor's heart seized in her chest as she beheld something that would haunt her nightmares for days to come. Beneath the thick mat of seaweed and algae and muck hiding the fish girl's features, a pair of slitted red eyes glowed from within the darkness, staring directly at her. The moment their eyes met, Taylor knew down to her bones that there were no rational thoughts behind the hungry gaze of the predator standing before her. And with a horrified realization, she made another startling discovery.
That… is not a fish.
That's a shark.
Before she could even formulate another thought, the shark girl sprang to action. Going from standing completely still to leaping straight towards them in an instant, water splashing all over the place as she jumped with a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth wide open and angled in their direction.
Ina let out a terrified yelp as she held onto Taylor for dear life and dived out of the way, the shark girl intentionally sailing past them to land on the wall, only to immediately leapfrog off of it and straight towards the basement door as if that had been her goal all along, cracking the cement wall and smashing through the door in the process, reducing it into a million splinters.
Did she just juke us?!
Taylor and Ina tightly clung to each other, hearts beating a mile a minute.
"Are you okay?!" Ina asked, not even loosening her hold on Taylor, scared as she was.
"Y-Yeah, I'm…" Taylor muttered back as she pulled away from Ina, only for her hands to accidentally brush against something at her side. Looking down, she saw it was… a scallop, at first glance, marred with sand and muck from the shark girl, but the way it shone on the light revealed something more… metallic, for it to simply be an ordinary shell. Struck with a sense of suspicion from such an anachronistic sight, Taylor barely hesitated to pick it up off the floor. "...fine…"
Gold, it turned out with a wipe of her hand, inlaid the surface of the shell in a decorative fashion. In fact, the way it was styled reminded her, vaguely, of those Greek vases she saw in a museum once. But what got her interest the most was the hinge that replaced what would have been the seashell's natural ones.
A pendant?
That was as far Taylor's train of thought went, however, as the sudden sound of the kitchen window being shattered brought it to a complete stop.
The kitchen window that led into the backyard, and out of the house.
"Oh no…" Ina uttered in dawning realization.
Taylor felt the blood drain from her face in horror.
"We… We need to go after her…" Taylor faintly muttered, feeling as if her life was falling apart in real time. "I–We need–Ina! We need to go after her!" Taylor yelled, shaking the shocked girl out of her stupor.
"R-right!" Ina was quick to gather her wits, giving a determined nod in response as her tentacles quickly carried them out of the flooded basement and into the living room.
Once there, she deposited Taylor onto the ground and the two of them separated. Immediately, Taylor's worst fears were confirmed as she saw a trail of water and bits of seaweed leading straight to the kitchen window and out into the backyard.
"Fuck me…"
Taylor stared at the broken window that was just about as shattered as her mind felt right now.
Would they even have the time to fix it later? What if her dad finds out? How was she supposed to explain this, then?
'Keep thinking like that and you'll lose the shark, Taylor! Move!'
Shaking her head and finally snapping into action, she rushed towards the kitchen door that led into the backyard and quickly unlocked it, Ina swiftly following behind.
As soon as she threw the door open, she saw the shark girl already making good distance as she jumped over the wooden fence in one solid leap, already making it to the other side before Taylor could have a good look at her.
Taylor was already starting to move before Ina's tentacles attempted to wrap around her midsection. Moving away from their grip, she turned around to glare at Ina. "What are you doing?!" Taylor yelled, irritated at everything going on.
"Taking the Tako-express!" Ina said, nodding at Taylor as if it was a good idea. "It'll be our best shot at—"
"No! Absolutely no tako express, or whatever—no tentacles!" Taylor hurriedly replied, not waiting for Ina's response as she rushed to the fence, trying to climb over it frantically. Why on Earth would she take the risk to out herself in her own neighborhood?
Taylor was never really physically strong or agile, and it showed here as she clambered over the fence with all the grace of a crippled chihuahua, losing precious time. She only managed to catch a brief glimpse of the shark girl running on all fours like an animal across the street and jumping onto the walls of another house to climb onto its roof, not slowing down in the slightest, before disappearing between one moment and the next. Feeling her heart in her throat, she slipped through the alley beside her house as quickly as she could, noting the sounds of Ina making her own attempts to climb behind her.
This time, Taylor had a perfectly good view of the shark girl. Unfortunately for Taylor, she was done jumping between houses, and was now crouched atop the roof of a refrigerated truck that seemed to be in a hurry.
Uncaring for her destination, the girl sniffed the air, before crawling towards the back of the truck and clawing at its door until she managed to partially pry it open with a screech of bent metal. Hanging from the back of the large truck while upside down, she poked her head through the gap she had made, before hurriedly taking hold of the rest of the door and simply ripping the entire thing off in one pull. She casually threw the heavy metal door aside onto the street before diving into the heaps of food that must've been inside the truck's refrigeration unit, and began to ravenously rip through its contents like a starving animal. It was as if she'd completely forgotten about her pursuers… or knew that she had successfully evaded them.
Taylor was about a second away from screaming in frustration as loud as she could, damn the consequences, before she spotted a bicycle lying against a fence, looking perfectly unattended. The seat even looked big enough for two people.
Taylor took a moment to stare before she heard the sounds of labored breathing behind her, courtesy of Ina, who sounded like she had run a marathon as she hunched over and put her hands on her knees. "Ta-Taylor…where did she go…?"
Taylor tried to get herself back on track as she rushed forward, and got on the bike, a silent apology to the owner as she got on the seat. Thank god she knew how to ride a bike. "Ina, get on!"
"Huh?"
"She's over there, hitchhiking on that big truck," Taylor said, pointing forward towards where the girl was, feeling baffled about how the driver didn't notice the shark girl stowing away on their vehicle. "If we don't catch up to her now, we'll never find her!"
Ina took a moment to catch her breath before she did as Taylor asked, climbing on the bike and holding onto Taylor's shoulders for support. Thank God Ina weighed about as much as a feather, or else they'd be slowed down even more.
With that done, she started to pedal, pushing her legs as fast as she could to catch up to the truck ahead of her, adrenaline making the task easier than it should have been.
However, no matter how fast she pedaled, she couldn't stop the truck from gaining ground as it continued on its merry way, growing more distant by the second. Despite the magic she could do now, she was still human, and there was no way a human would be able to catch up to a speeding vehicle with a bicycle carrying two people.
If this kept up, they would lose the shark girl, and Taylor would be back where she started at the beginning of today. Lost and wanting for answers.
Fuck, if I can't find her—!
"Taylor," Ina spoke up. Out of the corner of her eyes, Taylor saw Ina's tentacles start to move towards the pedals. "Um, I think there's a way we can speed up, but… please hold on super tight? Also, don't hate me."
"What do you mean by—" Taylor cut herself off as soon as she felt Ina's cold tentacles wrap around her legs. Taylor yelped but didn't have time to react as she felt her legs be moved by the tentacles as they pedaled for her, moving up and down more quickly than her legs ever could on their own. Just like that, the bike sped up tremendously, like she had slammed the gas on a car. "—Holy shit!"
Just like that, Taylor broke records as she just barely managed to keep her balance on the bike, trying to focus on her main objective of catching up to the summoned girl. The singular thought process she'd dedicated to trying to keep everything down-low screamed at how unsubtle they were being, and how identifiable they might have been, so with one hand gripped tightly on the bike, Taylor pulled up her hoodie in a single panicked motion, trying to keep at least a hint of anonymity as she biked at superspeed.
In the distance, as if to remind her of the impending danger, she saw smoke rise up from afar. If she strained her ears a little bit, she could even hear the sounds of more bombs going off in the distance, making her tense up further in fear and apprehension as she realized the bombings were still ongoing.
I got lucky once. I won't get lucky again. Taylor thought, both hands back to gripping the handlebars so hard it almost hurt.
This time, with the help of Ina, she managed to slowly but surely catch up to the truck, feeling the wind blow past her as she continued to cycle at superspeeds, allowing her to finally get close enough to the shark girl.
She was still there, this time, contently munching on an apple while lounging atop the ruined remains of the packaged food the truck once held, blissfully unaware of the world around her. However, that all changed when she twitched, head tilting in their direction and pausing when she got a good look at Taylor and Ina again, causing her to snarl. With one arm cocked back, she threw the half eaten apple at Taylor's face, forcing her to duck as close to the handlebars as possible as she narrowly avoided the sudden fastball to the face. Behind her, she heard a pained squawk of protest coming from Ina, most likely due to being hit by said fastball. Taylor hardly had a chance to react as the shark girl crawled to the hole she had made in the back of the vehicle, crouched down, and—
And jumped to one of the passing houses, claws making a nasty dent in the roof as she did another jump in the same direction, intending to try a different strategy to get away from the pursuing pair.
As Ina's tentacles let go of her legs, allowing her to slow down to more manageable speeds, her thoughts started to race.
She's heading towards the boardwalk. Taylor said, recognizing where the girl's path would lead to. I can't catch up to her, even like this, but if I could cut her off…
"Taylor?" Ina's voice held a little bit of doubt as she rubbed her shoulder with a wince, her dress splattered with the remains of an apple. "I think I can just take us there using—"
"Ina, just speed us up again, please." Taylor said, focusing on keeping her balance as she started to turn towards the boardwalk.
When Ina did so, after a short pause, Taylor directed all her attention to the task at hand.
Once more, she dearly hoped Dad took his sweet time before he got home. Taylor felt like she was going to be a while.
Whatever happens, just please don't let this be traced back to me. Taylor thought as she continued to blaze through the city with a normal bike. It wasn't long before their impromptu chase led them both to downtown.
Taylor would have found it difficult to track the girl in any capacity as she ran away from the chasing pair, were it not for the claw marks and deep gashes in the side of buildings leaving an exact indication of where the girl was going. If this didn't attract the attention of certain individuals, she didn't know what would.
It felt like ages, and her legs were starting to seriously burn, but it wasn't long before she finally got another view of the shark girl, a…hotdog in her mouth while she ran on all fours. Seriously?!
"Wow, she's such a big eater for a small girl," Ina commented, hands still on Taylor's shoulders as she watched the shark girl somehow outrun their bike while scampering across the ground like a wild animal, trailing the dwindling remains of the seaweed, algae and filth that had covered her up when she had been summoned.
"Is now really the time to be impressed?!" Taylor shouted, all her focus directed on keeping herself steady while chasing the girl down.
However, this time around, instead of persisting in going the same direction, the shark girl abruptly switched course, heading for…
Wait a second. Right now, we're at 16th Avenue. So that means she was probably going for—
"Ina, stop speeding us up, right now!" Taylor ordered, making the tentacles stop their pedaling as she skidded to a stop, right in front of their destination.
The boardwalk looked so different. It was supposed to be the one bright spot of the Bay, or at least look the part—the one place that people would feel safe in without fear of a sudden gang member coming to ruin their day. Now, like many other places in the city, it was damaged. Abandoned stalls and ruined buildings, with an undeniable feeling of danger that was absent just a few days prior.
Despite that, there were still a decent number of people here. It seemed like some had wanted to help, giving out food and supplies to those most affected by the bombing. Lines of people were cued up to get food, water, or medical supplies.
And of course, because of Taylor and Ina's sudden high-speed entrance, they had attracted attention, as a multitude of eyes briefly focused on them. Not a lot, but enough for Taylor to take notice of, and enough for her anxiety and fear to worsen.
But despite that, her eyes noted the shark girl in the distance, who was now jumping across from building to building, but noticeably slower this time. Luckily, none of the people in the boardwalk had seemed to notice her yet.
She's getting tired. Taylor thought, feeling a little inkling of hope well up inside her. Good. If Taylor had to keep this up for a couple more minutes, she'd fall apart herself, too. Especially since she couldn't use Ina to bike their way over to her again. Not in a crowded area like this. If she wanted to keep any semblance of a peaceful life, she needed to keep it subtle.
Speaking of… Taylor's eyes landed on an abandoned Protectorate merchandise stall that was likely left behind in a hurry. It wasn't anything noteworthy, but one thing did catch her eye. Hung on the corner of the stall were several toy masks of the Protectorate and the Wards. They looked cheaply made, but if nothing else, they would do for Taylor's purpose.
Taylor took a moment to catch her breath before she got off the bike. "Ina, come on, we have to keep chasing after her."
She didn't wait for Ina's response as she made her way to the stall, swiped three of those masks, and went back to Ina, who was much slower to get off the bike. With one hand already putting on her Armsmaster mask, she handed a Clockblocker one to Ina. "Here, take it."
"Huh?"
"We don't want to be outed, remember?" Taylor stressed the last word as she pushed the mask to Ina, turning around to see another hint of the shark girl making another leap across a building. With another deep breath, she started to run forward, trusting that Ina would at least keep up. "Come on!"
"W-Wait, Taylor!" Ina yelped from behind her, sounding tired.
With that, Taylor tried her best to move through the crowds of people, chasing down the girl who would hopefully be her source of answers. She had more than a few eyes focused on her as she pushed through the crowd of people, but if nothing else, the mask and her zipped-up hoodie would hopefully keep her identity safe.
Things seemed to take a turn for the better as the shark girl started to climb down into one of the alleys, and into the less populated areas. At least Taylor would have less of a mess to clean up if she finally got through to her.
The chase continued as Taylor ran and ran and ran, watching the girl dart on all fours from one alley to another. Taylor faintly noted how she was slowly seeing more worn-down and damaged buildings. A good portion of which were damaged by the bombings, as the smell of smoke filled Taylor's nose. But that didn't matter now.
Taylor instead focused on how the girl was finally losing some steam after what felt like forever. It seemed like her persistence had finally paid off. She continued to run as the girl darted to one alley, prompting Taylor to follow her until—
Until she saw a dead end, a brick wall marking the end of her progress. The shark girl had no such issues as she jumped from wall to wall, clambering up and over a building and out of Taylor's sight once more.
Taylor felt too tired to even care at this point as she continued to catch her breath, hands falling on her knees as sweat dripped down onto the floor.
"Did we lose her?"
Taylor startled when she heard a familiar voice speak, just right behind her ears, startling her. "Holy shit—!"
—she turned around to be greeted by Ina, who looked absolutely fine despite having run out of breath at the start of the chase. Had Ina not spoken up, Taylor would have no clue that she was behind her at all.
"Taylor?" Ina asked, and Taylor looked down to realize that the cultish girl hadn't been, in fact, standing this whole time. No, instead she's been propped up high by a pair of tentacles that had mimicked a chair for her to sit on.
"...Have you… been using those… this whole time?" Taylor asked between gasps.
Ina tilted her head. "Um. Kinda? I know you don't like the Tako-express, but I'm not very physical, so rather than falling behind…" The tentacles underneath her gave an apologetic shrug.
…There goes not being outed. The masks should help, right? God, if these things didn't actually do anything for their identities at this point, she'll… she'll think about it later.
Taylor took another deep breath to put her shame and embarrassment away, before she resigned herself to taking the only option left. "...She made her way up the building. If you're gonna use those anyways, can you take both of us up?"
"Oh, sure! Tako time!"
For the briefest of moments, as the octopus girl happily nodded, Taylor felt a pang of regret. Of the few times she had to directly deal with Ina's appendages so far, her mind had rather been preoccupied with far more important matters.
That was to say, now without anything else to distract her, she could only look forward to the cephalopod-assisted ascension as it was—all ten stories of the trip—with all the enthusiasm of a woman facing her inevitable doom.
Don't scream, she tried to think, instead, as the grip around her waist turned into a lurch. Suddenly, everything was a nauseous blur to Taylor's vision as Ina rose up with her in tow, hovering mere inches away from the wall, with such smooth and silent motion that they would barely leave any hint of their presence behind.
Like a blast of wind surging upwards, and with how Ina kept to angles not so easily seen, perhaps nearly as invisible to the blissfully ignorant.
It's when they were about to reach the rooftop that Ina immediately stopped, before dipping back down. She whispered to Taylor, "I think I see her!"
Yeah, well, that's fantastic and all, but the only thing Taylor could see was brick.
"Whoops, sorry, hold on!"
The tentacles—they're so smooth and cold and undulating it feels so creepy—shifted around so that both their heads popped slightly over the ledge, finally letting Taylor get a good view.
She saw it, then.
The wasteland that Brockton Bay had become, stripped of the worn ruggedness it had. There was something to seeing it for yourself from up high, unhindered by a television screen or the grounded perspective on the streets.
Seeing the shark girl on the opposite ledge of the building, some of her body still covered in muck and filth as she overlooked that same destruction, contrasted against the scene—it made Taylor come to a very distressing conclusion.
Could she… accidentally summon something that could cause as much damage?
Goddammit. Fuck.
"How do you think we should get close?" Ina whispered to Taylor, snapping her out of thoughts. "We probably won't have another chance."
"Let me think." Taylor frowned. What cut the space between this building and the next—from where the girl was standing—was a highway, too wide to cross in a single bound, even with how far Taylor had witnessed the girl jump. Could that be the reason why she stopped in her tracks long enough for them to catch up?
Though that didn't mean exactly that she was completely out of options. She was agile, and fast, to a ridiculous degree. Taylor knew that if she was an actual cape, the PRT would have given her a rating appropriate to the feat. Not that she knew the exact one, clueless as she was to cape culture, save for the rare exception.
Nevertheless, it was clear. Even if they try to catch the girl in a pincer maneuver, she might just very well juke them again successfully.
There had to be a way to trap her, somehow… or, at the very least, bait her into getting caught?
"...I think I got something." Taylor dipped into her hoodie, and fetched her very recent collection.
Ina squinted at the thing in her hand, and made a confused sound. "Is that a seashell?"
"Yeah, some sort of pendant." Taylor nodded as she twirled the pendant around, making it glitter from the sun. "This is hers, I think. I didn't really look inside."
...Actually, this could be a good opportunity, couldn't it? Pawing around the lip of the shell gave her no way to open the pendant at first, until she incidentally depressed the tip of the shell, loosening some sort of internal hook with a simple click.
"Oh," Taylor breathed out, as she raised the now open pendant closer to Ina. "It's… a family."
A painting of one, to be exact. Hidden behind a cracked glass, a stern, bearded man with a regal air about him stood straight at the furthest, and leftmost side of the picture. On his right was a beatifically smiling woman, dressed in a vibrant blue toga, bedazzled entirely in glittering gems.
Sitting on her lap was a vaguely familiar child. A little girl garbed in white with a sharp, beaming smile, clothes similarly decorated by gemstones. With her silver hair—the same as her father's—she looked like an ethereal little cherub.
Taylor idly traced the crack in the glass with her thumb. For all the wear the surface of the pendant seemed to have, the contents inside were practically spotless, save for that one crack.
The girl, however she's acting now, must care about it deeply.
Her happy little family.
Something about it gripped Taylor's heart with a vengeance.
"Let's use this one," she whispered to her more eldritch-inclined partner.
"Are…are you sure?" Ina tilted her head, wary. Taylor was sure she'd see a frown there if she could see the octopus girl's face underneath the mask. "This pendant is probably really important to her."
"That's why we'll give it back," Taylor insisted, though her next words had significantly less heat in them. "...T-two birds, one stone, right?"
Ina kept staring at her for a few more seconds, before smacking a fist into her palm. "Okay! If that's what we're going with, I think I have a plan…"
Right… Taylor took a deep breath, as she stood on the same buildings as the shark girl. Her hand was gripping the pendant firmly, but not overly so. Ina was nowhere to be seen as she prepared herself for what she needed to do.
I'm ready.
"Hey!" Taylor yelled out, her voice successfully getting the attention of the shark girl.
The shark girl jumped, whirling towards Taylor, her sharp teeth on full display from what little she could see of her face as she growled, covered in seaweed as she was. She seemed ready to bolt once more, getting down on all fours and preparing to jump, but then she froze as her eyes locked onto the one thing in Taylor's raised hand.
Her pendant.
"This is important to you, right!? You want it!?" Taylor waved the pendant, taking no pleasure in the shark girl's fear and desperation as she frantically patted herself down. "Then come—!"
Taylor hardly had any warning before the girl leapt towards her, moving in the blink of an eye to take back what was hers.
She couldn't even brace herself in time as she was painfully tackled to the ground, her back and arms taking the brunt of the fall. She let out a grunt, but didn't have time to register what had happened before there was suddenly a shark on top of her, desperately making a grab at Taylor's hands.
Taylor tried her best to play keep away, grab the pendant as tight as she could, buy enough time, anything, but it was no use. Like it was nothing, the girl wrenched the pendant from Taylor's fingers in the blink of an eye, her petite hands carrying deceptive amounts of strength.
Taylor's heart seized as, once having retrieved what was hers, the shark girl grabbed her by the neck and slowly leaned in towards her face with a growl, angry red eyes drilling into Taylor's as her tooth-filled maw opened with a snarl, inches away from her throat. All the while, the horrible smell from all the filth and muck the girl was covered in assaulted her nostrils and made her want to gag.
Fuck, Ina, please hurry—!
At that moment, it felt as if time had slowed down.
Out of the corner of her eye, Taylor saw a familiar mass of purple emerge from the other side of the rooftop. Ina didn't let out a peep as her tentacles swiftly approached the two of them, intent on capturing the shark girl.
But at the very last second, the shark girl swiftly rolled off of Taylor, just barely managing to dodge the tentacles when they were an inch away from wrapping around her. Somehow, the girl's eyes were now focused on them, tracking the movement of the tentacles without issue.
What?! But I thought…!
Taylor watched all of this happen as if in slow motion, before the world snapped back to its normal pace.
Ina let out a gasp as the shark girl successfully evaded her grasp. "She's slipperier than my tentacles!"
"For god's sake, are you really saying that now?!" Taylor retorted, her aching limbs scrambling to get up, before Ina's tentacles helpfully pushed her to her feet.
With a sound of crunchy gravel, the shark girl stood on her feet, her hand protectively cradling her treasured memento to her chest as she backed away from the two of them, edging closer and closer to the edge of the building, growling all the while.
No, she's going to get awa—!
That was when the shark girl, having not watched her footing, stepped on a loose chunk of a roof, making her lose her balance. She barely had time to yelp as she went over the side of the building, falling out of Ina and Taylor's sight.
"No!"
"Oh no!"
The duo quickly rushed to the edge of the building, Ina's tentacles swiftly picking up Taylor as they both lurched forward, intending to save the girl from hitting the ground head-first.
And then, Taylor felt an electrifying wave course through them, before being followed by a loud sound that came crashing into their ears. Her ears popped at the impact, momentarily losing all hearing besides a tinny ringing that slowly resolved back… to a shrill scream.
Dread still clear in her mind, she hesitantly looked down, along with Ina, to find the source.
Fortunately, the shark girl hadn't hit the ground.
Unfortunately, that was also because she was caught in something else. A field, of sorts. The air itself seemed to distort and warp as dust and trash flew around randomly within it, with no gravity weighing them down. The girl hovered in the middle, twisting, spinning, moving around in wild abandon as she tried to move a single inch away from her spot, and failed.
Her efforts, combined with the run from before, had shaken off most of the detritus that clung stubbornly on her, enough so that her face could finally be partly seen, even from afar. There was such a naked expression of panic on the glimpses Taylor could see there as she flailed around and yelled, that it made her stomach twist.
The bombs. That must've been one of them.
She bit her lip, before turning to Ina, who looked just as worried.
"Ina," Taylor spoke up. "Can you take us down without getting too close?"
Ina nodded, her tone sounding serious. "Yeah, don't worry, Tako-express won't fail us now."
With that, the two scaled down the edge of the building, taking extra care not to touch the warped space as the girl continued screaming. It was nerve-wracking, but they had successfully made it to the ground floor without any trouble.
Notably, as Ina's tentacles let go of Taylor, she saw that pendant once more on the ground at her feet. The girl must have dropped it as she fell. There was a ugly crack on the outside, now, too.
"Taylor?" Ina's hesitant voice shook Taylor from her thoughts. "We're going to get her out of there, right?"
Taylor shook her head to get herself back on track, putting the pendant in her pocket once more and taking off her mask for now, prompting Ina to do the same. It should be fine now that they're in a secluded alleyway, right? "Yeah, we are. Can your tentacles reach her from there?"
Ina looked back at the girl, making a thinking pose as she put her fist over her mouth. "Maybe, but I don't think she'll react well. I don't know how she can see my tentacles, but she doesn't seem to like them, so…"
Taylor let out a sigh, her mind working on fumes as she tucked away the information for later. "Okay. How about this? Wrap them around me, and drag me to her. Then as soon as I grab her, drag us both back."
Ina frowned, looked at Taylor with no small amount of concern. "Are you sure? What if she lashes out at you? You could get really hurt."
"Don't worry about it, I'll be okay." Taylor lied, waving off Ina's concern. She was about as sure as the supposed priestess was, but on some level, she felt like she deserved getting hit by the shark girl.
The shark kid, really. Sure, Taylor wasn't the one who put her in… whatever situation she was in, back then. But the chase? And this bomb. This was hers, entirely.
Just another tally to put in Taylor's asshole moments list. How many was it, now? Two for two?
Regardless, Taylor turned around, missing how Ina's frown grew a little deeper at those words. "If it's our best shot at saving her, then it'll be okay."
Ina let out a sigh as her tentacles swiftly wrapped around Taylor's midsection. She felt a little proud of herself for not flinching this time. "Okay, if you say so, then I'll trust you." Ina shot a small smile Taylor's way. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Taylor said, taking a deep breath. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as she approached the field in front of her. "...Let's do it."
Promptly, Taylor took a few steps back. She wasn't sure if her momentum would completely disappear the moment she entered the field, but if it didn't, a little extra push from a run might help her efforts.
With the tiny space she had to navigate with, it didn't amount to much besides a few giant strides to build up speed, then suddenly—she had found herself inside.
The electrifying feeling from before stuck close to her skin as she felt herself slowly rise up from the ground, a small sense of vertigo making her dizzy for a brief moment. The only thing stopping her from drifting ever upward was Ina's tentacles, tugging her back down, and gently directing her towards her main objective.
The girl was still screaming endlessly, spinning in place as she futilely struggled against the lack of gravity itself. Her eyes soon met Taylor's, prompting the girl to redouble her efforts.
"Wait!" Taylor shouted, trying her best to inch over faster to where the panicked girl was, stretching her arms forward to reach her. "We're just trying to—"
—Only for her hands to be rebuffed by a swipe from the girl, wrenching them completely to the side.
"You have to calm—" Taylor continued her efforts still, extending her arms again.
"Αφες με μόνην...!" The girl rasply screamed at her—the first time Taylor ever heard more than a wordless shrill or a growl from her—before her hands were angrily swiped away, again.
Pain.
It was the first time the girl had actually used her claws on her too, Taylor realized, as she looked down at the ripped sleeve of her right arm, and the now-bleeding gash from within, leaking blood that spilled oddly into the air.
Taylor entirely wasn't sure what she was thinking at that moment. Something insane, perhaps. But she couldn't deny something tethered at the edge of snapping at that very moment, and her hands surged to grab both the girl's wrists, somehow becoming strong enough to hold them in place.
"L̵͈̈ist̸en!" Taylor felt the slithering underneath inside her sleeves, but paid it no mind. "Listen," she repeated, taking deep breaths as the girl strained against her newfound solid hold.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I… know you don't want to be here, that this… place must seem so scary and dangerous to you," Taylor said as softly as she could, trying to make her voice as soothing as possible. "We just wanted some—no, we're just here to help out now, I promise."
She locked eyes as hard as she could with the girl, trying to convey her words the only way she knew how.
For a moment, she wasn't sure she got through to her. Taylor just heard the girl speak now, and it was a language nowhere near English. Why should she expect the girl to understand what she was saying?
But, surprisingly enough, the shark girl's struggles seemed to calm down a slight amount.
Ina must have taken that as some sort of signal, as Taylor could feel the appendage wrapped around her waist start pulling her back. Quickly, she dragged the shark girl even closer to her, securing her with a tight hug.
The girl growled, making Taylor tense up, anticipating retaliation. However, the girl didn't do much else other than that, as she continued making warning growls into Taylor's hoodie instead of attacking her directly.
Taylor didn't let herself relax the slightest bit until she felt the edges of the field touch her back, only then letting loose a relieved sigh.
…Until the shark girl realized that they were out, too, and started to go wild in her crutches.
"H-hey…! Stop moving…!"
Taylor's tenuous grasp couldn't hold against the girl's struggles as she broke out of Taylor's arms once more. However, owing to how tired they all were, the shark girl instead scampered off behind a dumpster, not making any moves to run away further from the two, watching them warily.
…Right. She still had to return it.
With a hand reaching into her pocket, Taylor once again took out the pendant. It made a slight clicking sound as she opened it up to show the girl.
"Here." Taylor's adrenaline finally ran out, making her painfully aware of the sheer exhaustion lacing her entire body. "You dropped this, earlier," she tiredly said, speaking gently as she kneeled closer. If she was being honest, it was more like her legs finally giving out than anything else. "It's pretty important, right?"
Tentatively, after a great deal of silence, the girl revealed her arm from behind the dumpster, gingerly taking the pendant from Taylor's hand.
It took even longer for the girl to crawl out herself, cradling the pendant close to her chest. It was clear she was still on her guard with the two, even with how she seemed to go out of her way not to glance at their direction. Ina, for her part, made no sudden movements or noises, looking on with baited breath.
Notably, the girl didn't look like she was primed to run away anymore.
Taylor took a long and deep breath as she finally let go of the last bits of lingering tension in her body.
Thank god, we did it… Taylor thought. She would have tipped over from sheer relief were it not for Ina catching her at the last second.
That's only when she realized how dirty her clothes had gotten. Wrangling with the shark stained the front of her hoodie something fierce—just leaving a giant murky blotch of foul-smelling mistake, all peppered with algae.
Taylor scrunched her nose in distaste. How many washes was this going to take to come out?
"Taylor?" Ina muttered, looking at the gash on Taylor's arms with naked concern. There was a certain tone to her voice that made Taylor feel worse, somehow. Guilt. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Taylor let out, taking the opportunity to look at the injury on her arm as well.
Instead of the grotesque injury that she was expecting, however, underneath the gash of her sleeves was a perfectly unblemished arm. That… she was sure she got hit.
…I'll think about this later.
"Are you sure?" Ina continued to look worried. "Does it hurt somewhere? Even if it looks fine, you might've gotten slashed somewhere that's like, hidden—"
"I'm fine. See?" Taylor insisted as she rolled up her sleeve to show her unharmed arm to the priestess, trying to put on an unbothered face as she shakily stood up. "Besides, we have more important things to do."
Ina didn't seem the slightest bit appeased, but ultimately, she seemed to concede to Taylor's point as she turned back to the girl, who was still holding her precious memento.
"Hi," Ina quietly said, crouching down and making a friendly smile towards the shark girl. Somehow, the girl's odor didn't seem to bother her at all.
The shark girl jumped, like she had forgotten the two of them were there, before leaning back in slight fear, still holding the pendant tightly.
"Sorry for everything we put you through. We didn't mean to scare you." Ina's soothing voice seemed to do its job as the shark girl remained calm… or at least, unresponsive, even as she got closer. "I know this doesn't make up for this whole mess, but…"
Ina reached into her purse to take out a paper bag of cupcakes they had made earlier. They were a little disfigured, thanks to the sudden wild chase, but the girl seemed to barely notice, her eyes instantly darting to the cupcakes, mouth watering as she audibly sniffed at the sweet treats coming her way.
"You seem like a hungry girl, so maybe you'd like something like—ah!"
Ina didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence as the girl gleefully snatched the cupcakes from Ina's hand. She dug in without any hesitation as crumbs fell on her legs, devouring the entire literal bag in one go, packaging included.
Ina giggled in amusement, while Taylor could only blankly stare.
Given how thin she was, maybe Taylor shouldn't have been that surprised, but she still seemed like a black hole for food, somehow.
"Oh! You know, I don't think we told you our names, did we?" Ina asked, prompting the shark girl to look up from her food. "I'm Ina, and this is Taylor."
Predictably, the shark girl stared blankly at them, tilting her head like a confused dog, cheeks puffed up from the cupcakes she shoved in her mouth. Taylor was pretty sure at this point that the feral girl didn't speak a single word of English. That didn't stop Ina from trying once more, though.
"Ina…" She gestured to herself, before promptly gesturing at Taylor. "Taylor." Then, she repeated the motions a couple of times. "Ina, Taylor. Ina, Taylor. Do you understand?"
Taylor almost thought it a lost cause before the shark girl opened her mouth and…
"Guwa," the girl mumbled through her food, before swallowing and trying again. "...G-Gura," the girl, Gura, said, pointing to herself.
"Your name is Gura?" Ina asked, tilting her head, a growing smile on her face.
"Gura." Gura said, pointing to herself once again. Then, she tried her luck with other names, pointing at them as she tried to say it. "...I-na. Tay-lor."
Ina's smile was as wide as could be. "Well, I sea! It's nice to meet you, Gura!"
Taylor wished she could feel the same. She really did. All she felt now was exhaustion, dread, and a whole bunch of myriad feelings that she couldn't even begin to unpack right now.
God, I'm so tired…
I never expected today to be so… exciting! Ina thought, as she watched Gura finish off the last of the snacks she had in her purse.
Well, to be fair, this was basically a sentai world! Exciting chases and the like were probably par for the course here! Maybe this was a good excuse to do some cardio in case she needed to run without using her tentacles… but exercise is pretty heart work.
Stifling a giggle from her pun, she handed Taylor one of the masks that they got earlier. Even if she didn't need it so much herself—the Ancient Ones had their own way of helping keep the masquerade—Gura might find it more useful. Though with how she instantly tried to fiddle with the mask that Taylor just put on her face, she would probably need to get used to it a bit more, heehee.
Taylor, for her part, looked for a place to sit to immediately play as their lookout.
In the back of Ina's mind, the whispers intensified for a brief moment as she looked at Taylor.
'𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖆 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙. 𝕾𝖍𝖊 𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖘 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖋 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝐤𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖉𝖎𝖊 𝖋𝖔𝖗.' a facsimile of her own voice echoed, the clearest from the choir.
Yes, Ina could very much see that! Had most people been put in Taylor's shoes during the chase, they would have given up long before she did. It was no small feat that they managed to catch up to Gura when they did. Personally, though, Ina found that a little admirable, if nothing else. It seemed like the Ancient Ones picked a good candidate to bless with their powers!
And speaking of Gura… Ina looked back at Gura, who was currently crouched down and playing with a discarded wrapper. Once more, her own voice whispered to her.
…Huh. Ina thought, tilting her head curiously as she looked at Gura in a new light.
Admittedly, Ina didn't know what to think of that tidbit. She didn't doubt the Ancient One's blessing and knowledge, but to be told that this shark girl was someone she had been super close friends with in another life was really interesting!
Maybe we can be friends again, too!
"Okay…" Taylor took another deep breath, the frown in her face having stuck there ever since they've started chasing Gura. Yeah, she really needs a break after today. What could be a fun way for stress relief? Does Taylor like drawing? Drawing always helped her relax!
Ignorant of Ina's whole internal spiel, Taylor continued. "I think that's enough of a break. Now we just gotta get back home. One big problem, though."
She pointed at Gura, or more specifically… the giant tail sticking out of her legs. "How are we supposed to hide that? Gura's gonna stick out like a sore thumb."
Gura perked up at the mention of her name, and tried to follow where Taylor's finger pointed to, only to find her tail. She waggled it a little confusedly.
"Is it that much of a problem? Oh, we say that it's, like, part of her costume! Heroes wear crazy costumes all the time, don't they?" There was still like, all sorts of seaweed and plant goop and stuff that covered her tattered robe—they can probably pass her off as halloween-themed, right?
"It's… a bit too real to pass off as a costume, I think." Taylor crossed her arms in thought, and looked closer at the shark girl and her state of dress while scrunching up her nose, for some reason. Oh! Maybe she was starting to see it, too!
Of course, it turned out that Gura's tail wasn't just going to be their only problem.
"여기서 들었어요!"
Ina's ears twitched as she heard a voice in the distance. Some person talking to another in…was that… Korean?
It was then that Ina's worry grew a little stronger, as her mind tried to come up with a solution to their problem.
Taylor was quick on the draw, tensing up further at Ina's alarm and leaning in closer and harshly whispering to her. "What's wrong?"
"Someone's coming!" Ina whispered back, taking no pleasure in seeing Taylor's eyes grow wide as she swiveled around in a panic, the grimace on her face deeper than before.
Gura seemed to be aware enough to also recognize something was wrong, as she crouched down and let out a low growl, ready to pounce on anything she saw as a threat.
Although, that was exactly the problem, wasn't it? Taylor and Ina might seem normal, but Gura would surely break whatever source of normality this world had, and bring untold amounts of attention to them. She wasn't sure they could hide her actions behind a silly costume if that were to happen.
Ina had experience in hiding the occult from normal people back in her world. It was part of her duty as the Priestess of the Ancient Ones to keep up the masquerade whenever she could. But right now, she couldn't think of a clean way out of this, not with the amount of time they had.
What to do…
And then, Ina was startled as Taylor grabbed her and Gura's arms firmly, a grim look on her face.
"Hold tight and don't let go," Taylor whispered, her voice just barely on the edge of Ina's hearing.
Just as suddenly as Taylor grabbed them, they descended into the ground, disappearing into the shadow of the dark alley.
Well, at least they can fix the house with magic again and none of Annette's things will be permanently damaged. Also, now that Taylor has a better idea about how heragic works, she could try retrieving her mom's flute. That's certainly a desire strong enough to keep herself focused.
That was fun, makes sense Gura would be incredibly feral, she's almost 10k years old, we don't know how long she was alone for in the bottom of the sea.
"I heard it from here!" Jaehyun said, running into the alley where he heard the sound coming from, his friends following close by. With anticipation building in his heart, he turned the corner to find…!
Nothing. The alley was empty, the only thing in sight being dirt, dust, food, and trash littering the floor. The anti-gravitational field in front of him was very much a surprise, and seeing one of Bakuda's bombs so close up to him was unnerving, but he didn't see a person anywhere.
…Wait. Jaehyun thought, squinting at the mess floating inside the field. The fuck is that? Seaweed?
He didn't have time to think about that as two of his men followed behind him, taking a look at the scene before sighing.
"Really, man?" Shin said in English, crossing his arms. He must've switched to it so Tenko could understand what they were talking about. "Why the fuck did you bring us here? Did you just wanna admire Bakuda's work or something?"
"No, listen, I know what I saw, and it wasn't fucking normal," Jaehyun replied, jabbing a finger at him.
It was just a blur, but he just knew he saw hints of something dart past him on his way to deliver his truck to Bakuda. Hell, had he not looked up at just the right moment, he would have missed it too, as quick as it was.
"Well, there's nothing here, bozo." Tenko groaned, always quick to get irritated.
Jaehyun let out a frustrated groan. "Okay, look, call me an idiot all you want, but I don't wanna be ambushed by one of those nazis fuckers. If there's a cape that's running around our territory, we gotta tell the bosses before—"
"Tell us what, exactly?" A cold, empty voice crept up behind Jaehyun, making him startle and turn around in a panic, just barely holding back his surprised yell.
The Oni looked deadlier than ever before, Bakuda's bombs strapped to his chest in a bandolier that was filled to the brim, ready to cause havoc at a moment's notice. However, the thing that creeped Jaehyun out about the Oni was how still he was. It was like he wasn't looking at a person, but rather a machine.
"B-Boss!" Jaehyun stammered, giving out a quick bow, alongside the two who were so gleefully taunting Jaehyun for his caution, likely as fearful of their boss as Jaehyun himself was.
"Why are you here?" The Oni tilted his head a minuscule amount. His tone didn't change in the slightest, but Jaehyun still felt his fear grow ever stronger. "Explain."
Jaehyun swallowed, before looking back at the two men who had followed him, who were purposely looking away from Jaehyun, throwing him to the wolves.
You fucking assholes!
"W-Well, I was doing the job Bakuda asked of me, and we were heading back to deliver the p-payload." Jaehyun recounted, trying desperately to tone down his fear and recount what he saw.
Come to think of it…I think I saw someone else, right?
Yeah, there might have been two girls he remembered seeing on the way here, too.
…At least, so he thought. In the heat of the moment, it wasn't like they looked in any way interesting. Some nobodies, definitely. They were so dull that he couldn't even remember what they looked like. He thinks one of them was tall? (Or was it short?) He remembers long hair, (but how long was it? Was it actually long?) but he couldn't pin down their appearance, try as he might.
Meh. They probably weren't important enough to remember.
The slight shifting from Oni Lee brought Jaehyun back to reality. Making him slightly panic as he discarded the unimportant train of thought to focus on what really mattered.
"And I saw…something move quickly through here, through the alleys. I thought it was a cape, so we went over to see what was going on, and we all heard a loud sound here, so we came to check it out, but all we found was…"
Jaehyun gestured his hand at what Bakuda would proudly consider art, the odd, murky field still making trash drift and spin through the air.
Oni Lee just stared at Jaehyun. "Instead of doing your job, you willfully took a detour. Even as time is of the essence, you felt this was important enough to impede your progress." Now, there was a slight change of emotion in the Oni's voice. Something that made Jaehyun sick to his stomach.
"I-I guess if you put it like that, boss…" Jaehyun tried his best to mask his fear, feeling slightly relieved when the Oni made to turn around, taking stock of the area, and making his way near the edge of the anti-gravity field.
It was a little dark in the alley, but now that Jaehyun's eyes were starting to adjust a little bit, he could see the little something that took the Oni's attention. Mainly, the little flecks of blood floating in the air.
In a slow, deliberate walk, he followed the tiniest trail of blood disappear into one of the corners of the alley, near a dumpster.
Everyone else looked at each other, dry throats and itchy palms all around. No one dared to even peep a word, despite the sudden worry they felt.
Silently, Oni Lee took out his knife, crouching down in readiness, prompting the rest of the group there to tense up, ready to reach for a weapon if there was really a cape hiding right there. He stalked towards the dumpster, not making a single noise, before reaching to move it aside, and…
…Nothing.
Just more seaweed, crumbs, and whatever else sort of trash that fell out of the dumpster. No person nor cape to be found anywhere.
B-But-! I know that I saw-!
He hardly had the time to blink before he felt himself pushed to the wall, a knife tickling his throat, courtesy of Oni Lee.
"You do all this…" Oni Lee's voice felt as cold as the Arctic, "...for nothing."
Jaehyun couldn't even breathe as he felt the knife break skin slightly, making the slightest bit of red drip down his neck.
"If you feel it necessary to waste our time again… you shall join the ranks of your passengers… understood?" Oni Lee said, his tone holding such certainty that there wasn't even a hint of doubt in Jaehyun's mind that he would follow through with the threat.
"B-but I wasn't wasting time!" Jaehyun pleaded, finally getting the balls to make his case. "While I was doing this, I told the other guys to round the assholes up! I didn't drop everything to fuck with a rando cape!"
Oni Lee didn't speak, making Jaehyun's fear spike for a moment. However, when Oni Lee released him, he knew that he was off the chopping block. For now, at least. The man didn't feel it necessary to speak, but he knew he was waiting for more, so Jaehyun spoke up again.
"If…" He rubbed his neck as he took several deep breaths, trying to stomp out the fear he was feeling. "If you wanna see how we're doing, I think we should have the truck packed by now, you want me to show it to you, boss?"
Oni Lee made a 'go on' gesture with his knife. That was enough for Jaehyun to get the memo and get his ass moving already.
"Right." Jaehyun looked towards the two dipshits who had lost all of their confidence, meek in the face of their boss' sudden appearance. "Let's go do that, then."
They all moved as one towards their delivery, Oni Lee trailing behind them, almost like a shadow of sorts. Even as he did, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed at the destruction that this whole situation had brought to the Bay. It was a shitty place, but now it looked shittier than ever.
Doesn't matter. He thought, shaking his head. Long as those shitheel nazi dipshits get out of our city, it'll be all worth it.
It wasn't long before they had finally made it to his truck. It was a fruit truck that the ABB had snagged a couple of days ago, easy for them to blend in, and it made taking care of Bakuda's requests easier than it would be otherwise.
Leaning on the door, the driver was there, taking a smoke break. For his credit, he didn't react much to Oni Lee besides a slight widening of his eyes as he threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it with his shoe.
"Hey, boss," he said, with a short respectful nod. "Good timing. We got the truck fully loaded up and ready for Bakuda to do her… thing. Take a look."
With that, the driver quietly led them over to the back, to show Oni Lee the fruits of their labor. Luckily, the back door was open already, so Jaehyun didn't have to waste much time as he finally showed Oni Lee their hard work.
Blindfolded, gagged, and tied-up skinheads lined the interior of the truck, all desperately struggling against their binds.
These nazi fucks were about to have the worst day of their lives. Some of his men were still in the process of tying them up, even, making sure they wouldn't escape from whatever Bakuda had in store for them. If Jaehyun hadn't been so riled up in fear, he might have let a little vindictive smile show, imagining the fate of these assholes.
"So," he spoke up once Oni Lee really took in the scene before him. "You… You think this is enough, boss?"
"...No," Oni Lee said, making everyone there tense up in fear and apprehension. However, they all collectively relaxed when he instead put his knife away, his body language showing no scenes of what he was thinking.
"But as a start, this will be… acceptable."
This is unacceptable.
Colin looked at what remained of the food truck with a critical eye, trying to make sense of the mess before him as he inspected one of the many messes that had been called in today. This one, however, stood out due to its noticeably abnormal nature, likely unrelated to everything that had been going on in the city as of late.
The refrigerated truck had seen much better days. It was as if a wild animal had torn up everything in the back of the truck with no rhyme or reason to their actions at all. Food was spilled everywhere, all of the containers were broken and damaged, and that wasn't even mentioning the missing door that seemed to have been ripped from its hinges.
Though, the things that stood out the most was the salty smell of the ocean, and the seaweed and algae that were strewn across the floor of the truck haphazardly.
"I thought I heard a noise, but figured it was something else. I didn't think I was being fucking attacked!" The man who was driving the truck groaned as he beheld the scene in front of him. "Man, I'm so getting fired for this…"
Colin turned back to the man, letting out a considering hum as he organized his thoughts. "And besides this noise, you didn't figure anything else was amiss? Are you sure?"
The man groaned once more. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's not like I felt the truck get heavier or anything, and I was in a rush, so I didn't make many stops at all. I went as fast as I could so I could deliver the truck, but seriously, fuck, man…"
Colin turned his attention back to the truck, this time, carefully stepping inside the back, mindful of how the truck tipped due to the weight of his armor.
"Dragon," Colin said to thin air, eyes making a note of all the half-eaten food mixing with the gunk on the ground. "What do you make of this?"
A moment later, a voice rang out through his helmet. "I'm not too sure myself, but this couldn't have been the work of any parahuman we know. There's no one listed in the local registry that matches the damage done here. Closest match I could think of would be one of Hellhound's dogs going rogue, but they're too large to fit in here. I can't imagine this being anything but a sporadic action, either."
Colin nodded, crouching to make special notes of the bite marks and claws that left deep grooves on the truck's floor. "I agree. They're strong enough to tear that door clean off its hinges, yet light and small enough for the driver to not notice any weight added to the vehicle while he was driving."
Was it a new trigger? No cape in their right mind would cause all of this damage recklessly, even in a situation as dire as they were in right now.
Dragon let out a considering hum as Colin continued to inspect the area. "Most cameras are down, but if the door was ripped open for a long while, then I'm sure that—" Dragon interrupted herself when she noticed Colin's wince as he stood up from the ground. With a quiet sigh, she spoke again. "Colin, you really should be resting now."
"I'm fine," Colin insisted, moving on to see if there were any more clues to the identity of this mystery cape.
"Colin, your ribs are still healing, I've noticed you're still favoring your left arm over your right, and you've hardly slept at all. Your suit's the only reason why you're currently mobile." Dragon's concerned voice brought about a mild amount of shame to Colin, but he tried to dismiss it as he kept his mind on the scene of the truck. "If you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll fall apart."
Colin allowed himself to sigh. "I have to. We can't let the city be undefended at a time like this. There's no telling what damage the ABB will bring."
Especially since Lung had been successfully broken out thanks to Bakuda's little tantrum.
When he encountered Lung not too long ago, he thought It'd be a chance to show what he was truly capable of. He'd studied the notorious villain's moves and actions over and over, extensively to prepare for their inevitable fight. He held all the cards to a decisive victory.
Yet, contrary to all his expectations, it led to a fight that involved nearly all of the Protectorate. So many of his team left on the brink of death, barely surviving what amounted to what was essentially a disaster localized within a single block. Not to mention the collateral damage and the civilian casualties it took to finally get the infamous draconic cape apprehended.
Now it all went down the drain, leaving them with nothing, except the group of children that had caused the whole mess to begin with.
Dragon was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, her voice filled with resignation. "Fine. Just be careful, okay? The Bay needs its heroes now more than ever."
Colin paused for a moment before he gave another nod. There was a slight bit of guilt that he didn't let color his tone. "I will. You have my word on that."
If he recalled correctly, Panacea finally had made an appointment to heal them, right? He just had to keep this up a little longer, and he could afford to push himself.
"Console to Armsmaster. We have a Two-One-One in your area, over," a different voice spoke into Colin's radio, along with an address that he barely paid any mind to. Just another report out of… god knows how many on his list.
"Going back to the mystery cape on our hands…" Instead, he took note of a torn piece of white cloth, extremely dirtied up and worn out, but more of a hint than the repetitive gunk on the truck. "I'm designating this unknown cape as 'Seaweed' for now. It's a reductive name, but it'll do."
"As for their rating… a possible Brute 5, maybe. We don't know how easy it was for them to tear the door open, but it's best to assume a physical confrontation with this person would be unwise. Those bite marks and scratches on the truck can help narrow it down in the future, so we should pay attention to any new parahuman who has claws, or sharp teeth." Dragon said, thankfully moving past Colin's condition to focus on the bigger picture.
Even with how eventful Brockton Bay was in recent days, he wouldn't let himself falter in the presence of danger. He needed to show the city that the heroes were out there fighting for a better cause.
No matter what kind of monster he'll have to face.
