Journey of Wyrms and Gods (Hollow Knight x Worm crossover)

And? Bugs aren't obligated to conform to our social mores, hell humans are barely able to determine what their social mores are. I can't imagine anyone who sends their kids to Winslow or ignores it when their kid tries to tell them she's in danger is all that concerned about child safety. Hell if these people were actually concerned parents they'd have moved out of Brockton fucking Bay or sent their children to be fostered elsewhere.

Removing the obstinate elements from a captured group in order to simplify information exchange with the co-operative elements is hardly unreasonable. I'd trust the kids with the bugs before I trusted them with random Brocktonites.
What I woukd expect is that upon actually achiving communication for the bugs to realize that what they did woukd be seem as deliberately hostile and subversive, attacking people and rounding them up and stealing their offspring to be subverted by "parahuman" powers. And because of them realizing this, they would take an about face and return the children and apoligize, because they don't want to spark a conflict. For them not to do so says that they knowingly intend to portray hostility, which increases the chance of violent conflict. What else are they supposed to do? Double down and keep the humans, forcing them to submit to the bug's way of life?

At this point I really can't believe that Hornet and Hallownest aren't hostile. Hopefully the Knight shows back and and slaps the shit out of them, otherwise the only real option is to invade Hallownest to free the hostages and keep them from taking more.
 
And if I was in charge I wouldn't have, because it takes hours or days to process that kind of info into a reasonable course of action, being able to say 'hi, how are you?' in German doesn't give you great and perfect insight into German culture.
 
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And if I was in charge I wouldn't have, because it takes hours or days to process that kind of info into a reasonable course of action, being able to say 'hi, how are you?' in German doesn't give you great and perfect insight into German culture.
And what woukd the appropriate response be then? To find out, but never give a shit and spark a war because you refuse to let the hostages taken from an unprovoked attack go? Just keep the humans as slaves, and indoctrinate the children into loving their new masters?

Simply put, the reason why the latest chapter fails to have any effect is because saying "We're totally good and everything is fine" doesn't work when the Queen of Hallownest has established that she knows what they did is considered an inexcusable hostile act but doesn't actually care or feel remorseful, nor does she let everyone go.
 
1. I don't get where you're getting either that it's inexcusably hostile, or that Hornet acknowledges such.

2. This chapter doesn't say anything new, merely gives us a detailed view of what we already know, the adults freaked, and the kids didn't. Thus the bugs directed their efforts towards making contact with the kids.

As for my response, I would ask for clarification as to why the children are more rational and intelligent than the adults. Also if I could talk to actual leadership because clearly all the human representatives are too old to be trusted to run a lemonade stand, much less a civilization.
 
And what woukd the appropriate response be then? To find out, but never give a shit and spark a war because you refuse to let the hostages taken from an unprovoked attack go? Just keep the humans as slaves, and indoctrinate the children into loving their new masters?

Simply put, the reason why the latest chapter fails to have any effect is because saying "We're totally good and everything is fine" doesn't work when the Queen of Hallownest has established that she knows what they did is considered an inexcusable hostile act but doesn't actually care or feel remorseful, nor does she let everyone go.

Okay, first of all, you are exaggerating, trying to make things out to be worse than they are.

Like, slaves? really? The Bugs don't need slaves, especially not Human ones, seeing as Bugs are, in general, physically superior to Humans and are better suited to manual labor than humans *cough*ants and bees*cough*. Also, in the last chapter, didn't Hornet agree to release the Humans they had detained?
"As I said, we are prepared to release them; tonight if that's what you would prefer.

And "unprovoked attack"? Dude, Their a sovereign nation, they found people who are not citizens of their nation within their borders, of course they would detain them. What Government would willingly let randos cross their borders without so much as a "how do you do?"?

And honestly, I don't see what the problem is. Their Gods fought an enemy, the enemy enemy exploded, and now their somewhere else, with Green all around and not hint of the Wastelands for as far as the eye can see.

They go out to scout and find these weird shell-less pink things sleeping in their borders. So, naturally, they detaine them and try to question them, find that there is a language barrier and try to use Soul Magic to bridge gap. Half of them cooperative, the others weren't. The uncooperative half got in the way of the cooperative half, so they separated the two so that progress could be made.

Communication is achieved, they learned about the local government from those who were cooperative, and are now in talks with said local government to ensure that no twitchy fingers pull any triggers. During this meeting, Hornet, their leader, agrees to release the weird shell-less pink things.

Cue the newest chapter where we, the readers, find out that Soul Magic can make Shards and Hosts play nice, and that Dinah is safer around the Bugs than she is with the corruption infested shitstain that is her local government.

Where did you get "keeping Humans as Slaves" and "Indoctrinating Children" in all of this?
 
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As for my response, I would ask for clarification as to why the children are more rational and intelligent than the adults. Also if I could talk to actual leadership because clearly all the human representatives are too old to be trusted to run a lemonade stand, much less a civilization.
For clarification it's not so much as the children were more rational or intelligent then the parents, (some of the kids were and some were jus confused and scared), the adults were just all around more belligerent and uncooperative. The decision was made that the kids needed to be separated. This allows the bugs to maintain better control of the situation and break the language barrier quicker. (I might just put a little omake in later from the mantis captains perspective).

Just keep the humans as slaves, and indoctrinate the children into loving their new masters?
As stated by others there are no slaves and no children being indoctrinated. Except for Dinah/Lurien, the kids will leave Hallownest with sometrinkets, no more arachnophobia, and second language.
 
The bugs should set up a language school, the ability to trade languages like that with so little set up time would make them a mint.
 
This does make me wonder how QA reacted to meeting the God of The Void and what effect it had on Taylor (other than the fact they seem to get on well).
 
Okay, first of all, you are exaggerating, trying to make things out to be worse than they are.

Like, slaves? really? The Bugs don't need slaves, especially not Human ones, seeing as Bugs are, in general, physically superior to Humans and are better suited to manual labor than humans *cough*ants and bees*cough*. Also, in the last chapter, didn't Hornet agree to release the Humans they had detained?


And "unprovoked attack"? Dude, Their a sovereign nation, they found people who are not citizens of their nation within their borders, of course they would detain them. What Government would willingly let randos cross their borders without so much as a "how do you do?"?

And honestly, I don't see what the problem is. Their Gods fought an enemy, the enemy enemy exploded, and now their somewhere else, with Green all around and not hint of the Wastelands for as far as the eye can see.

They go out to scout and find these weird shell-less pink things sleeping in their borders. So, naturally, they detaine them and try to question them, find that there is a language barrier and try to use Soul Magic to bridge gap. Half of them cooperative, the others weren't. The uncooperative half got in the way of the cooperative half, so they separated the two so that progress could be made.

Communication is achieved, they learned about the local government from those who were cooperative, and are now in talks with said local government to ensure that no twitchy fingers pull any triggers. During this meeting, Hornet, their leader, agrees to release the weird shell-less pink things.

Cue the newest chapter where we, the readers, find out that Soul Magic can make Shards and Hosts play nice, and that Dinah is safer around the Bugs than she is with the corruption infested shitstain that is her local government.

Where did you get "keeping Humans as Slaves" and "Indoctrinating Children" in all of this?
I'm surprised you and others don't like the idea. If being friendly and trying ti avoid conflict is bad, then the opposite shoukd be good, but apparently not. And "trespassing" is a bit of an exaggeration, given the himans were campers camping on a campground, not armed military infiltrators.
As stated by others there are no slaves and no children being indoctrinated. Except for Dinah/Lurien, the kids will leave Hallownest with sometrinkets, no more arachnophobia, and second language.
And that's what I don't get, as it implies they were being nice, and its already been said they don't care about the humans or being nonhostile to them. Mainly because none of them seem to care in the slightest that abduction of nonhostile people and stealing their children would be considered hostile and malicious by humans. That, and not releasing everybody. Given they don't care abour humans or what would be good to them, it isn't really believable (to me, at least) that they aren't pulling some mindfuckery to keep Dinah as a tool because she has powers.

Narratively the problem you have here is that Hallownest going and being hostile without provokation to humans interferes with them being the "good guys", so continuing to act like they are good when they've disrupted that interferes with the narrative because it imples they can just go around doing bad things and everybody will love them. This is why at first I was expecting Hornet ti smack some bugs for being idiots, but there's been nothing that takes their actions back in the other direction.
 
I'm surprised you and others don't like the idea. If being friendly and trying ti avoid conflict is bad, then the opposite shoukd be good, but apparently not. And "trespassing" is a bit of an exaggeration, given the himans were campers camping on a campground, not armed military infiltrators.

And that's what I don't get, as it implies they were being nice, and its already been said they don't care about the humans or being nonhostile to them. Mainly because none of them seem to care in the slightest that abduction of nonhostile people and stealing their children would be considered hostile and malicious by humans. That, and not releasing everybody. Given they don't care abour humans or what would be good to them, it isn't really believable (to me, at least) that they aren't pulling some mindfuckery to keep Dinah as a tool because she has powers.

Narratively the problem you have here is that Hallownest going and being hostile without provokation to humans interferes with them being the "good guys", so continuing to act like they are good when they've disrupted that interferes with the narrative because it imples they can just go around doing bad things and everybody will love them. This is why at first I was expecting Hornet ti smack some bugs for being idiots, but there's been nothing that takes their actions back in the other direction.
Not really? Like, if anything they are being way friendlier than any local police department would be, given that they have yet to kill any of the people they have detained. So far they have been reasonably cautious by any stretch of the imagination, and you would be have to really looking for a casus belli to take these as malicious actions.
 
And "trespassing" is a bit of an exaggeration, given the himans were campers camping on a campground, not armed military infiltrators.
that abduction of nonhostile people
???
If you tried to cross a border without a passport you will be detained, regardless of whether your a "military infiltrator" or not. Doubly so if the nation whose border you were trying to cross was in a state of emergency.

Likewise, they were in a state of high alert because THEIR GODS FIGHTING AN INVADER. We, the readers, might know that their Gods were fighting an Entity, that their Gods won and the danger has mostly* passed, but they don't. Next thing they know, their entire nest gets transported somewhere else. We, the readers might know that those humans were just camping, but they didn't, not until the language barrier could get bridged. So it makes sense that they would detain the humans campers.

stealing their children

They are not "stealing children", they were trying to establish communication and bridge language barrier, but among the people they detained, only like, half of them were cooperating and the other half were probably getting in the way of making any progress, so of course they would separate the two if they wanted to get anything done.

Given they don't care abour humans or what would be good to them

How would they know "what would be good to them" when the closest thing to a human they've ever had to interact with are Flukes?

*unless you count being on Earth Bet to be a danger, which you wouldn't be wrong about
 
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Yeah, basically you're painting a pretty rosy picture of humans in order to make the bugs seem hostile. So far the bugs have treated the humans better than most IRL governments would, much less Bet governments.
 
All in all, while it could definitely seem hostile from the outside, it can also seem reasonable from the outside as well, as it was also easily described from some of the campers' point of view with how countries usually hold people who have crossed their borders without the permission of their country's government, and then separated their children because that is also a standard procedure by countries (though some countries handle the entire process better than others in real-life).

They had their home plonked in the middle of nowhere and they were generally securing themselves in an unknown environment they were suddenly thrust into without their choice and then as soon as they figured that out, they tried to open diplomatic channels as soon as possible. More importantly they then explained their actions, explained non-hostile intent behind it, because of societal differences, the fact no-one truly got hurt, and that they were willing to hand the people taken into custody/hostages back while just asking to have a guarantee to not be invaded and that the current borders set up stay where they are, it is easy to see they are being as reasonable and diplomatic as possible under the circumstances they were thrust into.

Generally from the outside can seem like a non-hostile people who just acted to the best of their ability to figure out what situation they were in, because they literally have no idea where they landed, not even knowing a local language much less the geographical location or geopolitical situation of the world they were thrust into, and then acted as diplomatically as possible once they understood everything.

Generally, considering this is essentially a first contact situation between two different species, I think a certain amount of letting initial contact friction slide is allowable by both sides, especially since it involved literal displacement of an entire nation within another nation's borders without any of them realizing that was going to happen and to prepare for it.
 
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Solidarity: Part One
"You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight."
- Pale King



Solidarity: Part One

She saw something beautiful.

Stars made of blinding Soul were surrounded by peaceful nothing. Roiling clouds of soft gold buffeting magnificent marble edifices. She saw nothing, a void so beautiful and kind.

She saw two things, made from shards of light and thought, twirling around each other in a mating dance of eternity. A piece of these beings left the union; it fell.

It was falling right towards her.

It was going to hit her.

It was going to hit her!

"Wait, I've seen this befo-"

XXX

In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret
For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met
Under palest watch, you taught, we changed, base instincts were redeemed
A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed


It was a Kingdom of sorrow and misery, a realm at the end of a far and cracked road. Something drew her to this place, something familiar and indescribable—a call to the Soul in this hollow shell she wore.

The winds thrashed and cried along the top of the sandy wastes. In the distance, she saw lights, hallow, and stark reminders of a different time. What time?

It was there she recalled a memory of light.

She could not remember; how long had self been in the open fields of nothing?

She could not remember?

Someone with a kind and old voice spoke to her. She turned to the sound; it belonged to an old bug by a bench.

"Ho there, traveler. I'm afraid there's only me left to offer welcome. Our town's fallen quiet, you see."

The Elder Bug was very kind.

XXX

Dodge left, past the first sister then Jump over second sister blade. Now, dash hit, hit, continue the attack as much as you can before the second sister comes back. Don't lose concentration and don't get cornered, or they will kill you. She wished she could do that spinning blade trick right about now.

The three fought fiercely and with honor. What is honor? They were sisters she believed, Warrior Lords of their people. Their thrones blocked the entrance to Deepnest, where the monsters lived. It was where secrets lied.

They always fought on the front lines and judged those who wanted passing. She did not plan to disappoint or lose to them.

Jump!

She was getting better at this.

XXX

"Hello there! How delightful to meet another traveler on these forgotten roads.

"Can you imagine this place in its prime?"

He is a kind soul. The wandering scholar was always a pleasant conversationalist… and maybe a friend.

Friend?

"...Incredible…"

Don't die Quirrel

XXX

JUMP!

She hated this, hated this, HATED THIS STUPID PLACE!

Self did not know she could hate; did that mean she could love?

She-Self did not love saws blades?

XXX

She
wanted to cry, but no tears would fall. They wept in their Soul where nothingness reigned supreme.

The nail split bone and flesh and sinew and took the life — the exhausted and tortured life — from the shell that was her friend. Oh, Myra… Emma… "C'mon Tay-tay, let's go to the mall!

"I'll wait here forever… till light blooms again…"

Self waited there for a long time.

She hoped her friend found peace.

XXX

Stars, they say, burn bright and die young. In their throes of death comes new life to pass the torch and keep the lanterns lit, till true death comes.

She grabbed for her Dreamnail, the new weapon smith-friend had made for her. Little-Grimm chirped and chattered beside her.

The smooth and conspicuous voice of the dying star spoke up.

"Dance with me, my friend. The crowd awaits. Show them you are worthy of a starring role!"

XXX

She climbed the chamber of death. She left the pit where her siblings' shells lay broken and abandoned.

There was a light at the top, a pure light that called to self. She climbed higher and higher. Why was she climbing?

The top!

Brother! Father!

She reached out.

XXX

"Ghost of Hallownest, you possess the strength to enact an end of your choosing. Would you supplant our birth-cursed sibling, or would you transcend it?"

She had found Hornet, the gendered child and sister. Her skills were sharp, and her mind was as fast as Last Stag.

She had a sister?

Hornet had a plan, Mother had a plan, and Godseeker had a plan; self must choose. Hevey is the mark of a king.

Is this what Father felt?

Choose your own path.


XXX

It was here, and the moment had come. She had fought the Hollow Knight, her sibling. She had no siblings? She entered the Dream and into Godhome where thoughts were formed. Self battled endlessly until they came here.

Golden light blazed in a mad panic. The dream nail cut and slashed with an angry god's power, and the vessel was furious. The great moth Tyrant was going to die.

It screamed.

It thrashed.

It cried.

It begged.

Self called his siblings, appealed to the Void. The nothingness answered to the cry, for self was the Heart. Self became Void.

Self was not killing the Radiance, no. Self was consuming it.

She gazed upon eternity!

Taylor screamed.




A/N: First; The next, much larger part, will be coming in a couple of days. I'm almost done with it and then it needs to be looked over. Second; Yes this chapter is weird and yes it's meant to be that way. Third; all the thank yous to those that helped me with editing this one, much appreciated. Four; Thx you all for reading any comments are welcome and stay tuned for the explanation of what in the name of the Void Heart is going on.
 
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Solidarity: Part One
needs threadmark
Hornet had a plan, Mother had a plan, and Godseeker had a plan; self must choose. Hevey is the mark of a king.
Heavy


Now, wonder why the little Void showed all these to Taylor?
Oh, Myra… Emma… "C'mon Tay-tay, let's go to the mall!
here's proof.

Maybe Taylor's QA shard got noticed by the little dude? Or maybe the act of soul communication showed unexpected side effects, either through QA data mining, or just interactions between Soul Talk and parahumans/humans, or maybe even just a special case for Void?
 
I don't know what's happening, but I love it.
Looks like TayTay got a re-run of Little Ghost's memories of going through the events of the game.

Maybe Taylor's QA shard
Or the humie emulation model that the shards slap together to interface with their hosts, come to think of it.

Although it sounds more like TayTay proper based on this bit:
She hoped her friend found peace.
 
I'm thinking that taylor somehow started experiencing little knights memories, but is adding her own personal inflections on it, and the all consuming void that is little knight realized and so that's why they were a crime fighting duo or something idk
 
Solidarity: Part Two
That pulsing emptiness... Truly, it has been transformed by the revelations it found.
- White Lady



Solidarity: Part Two

Taylor screamed as she collapsed down on to the ground. Her head was on fire, and her eyes stung with tears. Thoughts flew through her brain quicker than she could process; what had happened, what was that, and finally, where was she?

"HATYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"

That wasn't her!?

Taylor's head whipped towards the sound of screaming.

Herself?

Taylor's mouth hung open at what she saw. The person was...Taylor, a gangly teenage girl with long dark hair and baggy clothes. The other Taylor was crouched on the ground, hand over her head, and shaking. It was a pitiful scene that cut Taylor deeper than she ever could have expected; was this what she looked like at school?

Taylor tried to think quickly, not easy with a massive headache, about the correct response. Someones crying infront of you, what to do?

Her legs shook as she went to her feet. The other Taylor was only a couple feet from herself, and it didn't take long to make the distance. Taylor just barely saved herself from falling on her twin but ended up throwing an arm over her shoulder in a half hug.

Hug? Idly Taylor recognized the ludicrousness of that statement. She couldn't remember the last time she was hugged by… by anyone, really. In fact, Taylor wasn't sure why she rushed to this unknown person that looked like her. Taylor noted that she was probably not responding to this situation in the usual way.

The other Taylor froze under her touch, and her screaming turned to sobs. A sudden feeling of awkwardness came over Taylor as she tried to soothe the other… her. The thought of how her mom dealt with a younger Taylor, crossed her mind. Taylor swiped the stray memory of yesteryear away; she didn't have time for that.

Taylor finally looked at her surroundings as she rocked the 'other' back and forth. They seemed to be on a great pillar of some kind, a familiar location. The sky was filled with golden clouds that passed both above and below. Taylor turned to where she knew the throne was; Godseeker sat-

Taylor paused.

Where did she know that name? Taylor winced at the small spike of pain shooting through her head.

There was movement beneath her arms. Taylor moved a little as the other Taylor sat back on her haunches. Slowly, she made eye contact with the other Taylor.

They were white; her eyes were pure white. Taylor could do nothing but stare.

[Query… I am confused. Host?]

The girl did not speak the words. Taylor looked around in confusion until she realized that the voice sounded a lot like herself.

"Are… did you just speak to me? In my head?"

The pale eye Taylor nodded. Taylor forced her heart to calm itself; this was getting very weird.

"Who are you, and why do you look like me?"

[I… I?]

Taylor wasn't sure how she knew, but she was given the impression of confusion and distress from the other girl. It was on her face, but Taylor could also feel it. That could just be her own feelings, though.

[Self can answer your questions]

Both girls turned to see the owner of the new 'voice' that spoke. The person, being, was a very familiar figure. The memories flooded back into Taylor. She remembered the roof, and Lung prepared to kill her and… and the shadowy person that saved her.

Yes, she remembered his name; he was self and Void.

Self, Myla, Quirrel, Grimm,

Sister, Brother.


Those memories were not hers, they were his; memories of a god. Those memories of that buried kingdom belonged to Self.

"Gods!" Taylor palmed her aching head.

[Self is sorry. Self did not expect the process would be painful]

[What?]

"Was that," Taylor finished the other Taylor's thought.

[Yes, This happened because Self connected to your Soul. This sharing of memories was to understand and to change]

Soul: The thing, the power that animates bug's bodies. Taylor's brow creased in concern; how did she know that?

[The memory transference]

Taylor looked back at the other, wondering if she could hear her thoughts. It was a scary thing to think about. Taylor still was unsure how she could do that.

[It's because of what I am]

The other Taylor suddenly looked a lot more apprehensive.

[This is so strange, I shouldn't be feeling like this. I know what emotions are but this is different]

"What does that mean?"

[Her name is Queen Administrator, that was her role at least. She is what you would call your power]

Taylor said nothing; she thought of nothing as well. All she did was blankly stare as she processed what Self said.

"So powers are alive. Where did they come from? And what did you do to her!?" Taylor couldn't help the anger from her voice, and the small feeling of possessiveness. It-she was Taylor's Power after all, which was still weird, and Taylor didn't want people to mess with her Power. It was one of the few things that was hers.

[Their origins are hard to explain. What did Self do to her? To answer that, you must understand her purpose. Queen Administrator?]

She did not answer immediately; instead, Queen Administrator looked at her host. Taylor wasn't sure, but it seemed the Power was looking for something. The question was, what?

Encouragement maybe? Noting that she still had Queen Administrator in a half hug, she gave her a small squeeze. It had been so very long since she had a friend that would do something like that.

[I am… I was a shard of an entity. They have no names, but Star Wyrm is a good enough description.]

Taylor remembered; the two great whales twisting in the Void of space. The light that came for her that slammed into her was-

[That was me. Those two great beings were the closest thing I have to "parents" although it's not that simple] Queen Administrator paused, her face contorted as if unsure how to continue. Taylor was amazed as she looked at her Power, this was incredible. Taylor was sure she should be panicking right now, either at the truth bomb she was being hit with or the blatant use of telepathic communication. Yet, Taylor didn't feel overwhelmed at the moment; that probably should have scared her even more.

[Our purpose was data, to gather it, and to experiment. We would learn and take this Data back to our "parents" at the end of the cycle-] a sob came out of the girl as she started crying again.

Self walked over and placed a shadowy hand on Queen's shoulder. Instantly after contact, the girl calmed down, regaining control over herself.

[Self may have underestimated the result of the data exchange]

"Data exchange?"

Self turned his gaze to Taylor. There was a subtle shift of his appearance; it became close to his true Voidself.

[The Star Wyrms love data, they love information, as you might know, knowledge is power. So that's what Self did, but then that, Self gave her more data than she could handle. with your help, we changed Queen Administrator]

The whisper of a quote floated into Taylor's mind, 'If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.' It was evident that her Power gazed too long… and Taylor realized something else.

She gazed into that abyss too. Is that why.

But the question of why was still bugging the teenager.

"So, she became more human? Something like that, right? Why would that cause a panic attack!?"

[Empathy]

Taylor looked back into her copied face with confusion.

[So many… so many are dead]

Dead? Taylor was confused by this… this confession. Who was dead?

The surroundings shifted, the clouds raced by as Taylor found herself at the bank of a small golden pond. The air felt frozen as Taylor let out a breath, the clods were also frozen in place.

Taylor looked over and let out a small gasp. They were all here; the towering figure of Unn, Voidseeker, is formally known as Godseeker and her family. Taylor shook her head; it was self's family, not hers.

There was a small pang of sadness in her gut.

They were all nothing but window dressing compared to the two figures in the center of the lake. Self was tiny in this form, and he was even smaller compared to the six-foot being he was practically standing on.

The second figure was fascinating, His skin was a Golden-red, two giant moth wings protruded from his back, and his four great horns added another couple feat to his height. They were also lit on fire.

The figure was on his knees as Self held onto the Dream Nail buried in his chest. Void tendrils were shooting out of the ground, holding the golden man down.

Soul and essence poured from the wound that was being created by Self. A visible wave of power was pushing the liquid gold away from the two.

Taylor noticed that, like their surroundings, and everyone else, the scene infront of her was frozen. It was as if time was at a standstill.

Taylor was hit with a sense of confusion and worry that was not her own. Turning her head, she found her Power standing next to her, a series of complex emotions rit on her face.

[This is a memory]

Looking to her left, she found Voidself standing. His gaze was fixed on the frozen moment of time.

[Tell me Taylor does that remind you of anyone you may know of]

Taylor thought about the question. What other golden man has she seen-Taylor froze mid-thought as she recognized the connection. Her immediate response was to deny; it was insane to think of it.

[That is an avatar. The Warrior, my 'Father' uses a similar one as well. You may know him as Scion, or Zion]

Scion was a Star Wyrm, an entity that gives people powers. That must mean he was one of the giant whale things from before. Taylor didn't know what to think; the revelation of the world's first parahuman was too much, although it made a weird sort of sense. There were other questions to be asked like why this particular Wyrm and Self were they fighting.

[They're fighting because there is no other way]

"Why is fighting the only way?"

[Because… at the end of the cycle, the Star Wyrms will destroy the host species, their planet, and all versions of that planet in all possible universes they can find. Omnicide complete and total… To make sure the host will never threaten them]

Taylor saw a world much like Earth, destroyed, and all life snuffed out. A prediction or memory?

"Wha………."

Taylor felt her legs give way as she fell on the grass-covered marble of the plinth.

"This is," Taylor didn't continue, what could she say? She looked up to her Power, her face still creased with indecision and worry.

"That's what you meant by data, isn't it? We are just lab subjects to be used and discarded." The comment was biting and heated, but Taylor didn't have the energy for any real force to her word. Taylor was just too mentally exhausted at the moment. Her first day caping had really gone off the rails.

The sound of rustling beside her alerted Taylor to Queen Administrator sitting down beside her.

[For what it's worth I… I'm sorry]

Taylor sighed; there was nothing she could say. She could be made, but that would be pointless. The shards don't really have a choice, at least from what Taylor had piece together. No, Taylor wasn't going to be angry with Queen Administrator, because where would that leave her? Back in the locker, most likely.

However.

"Your father sucks, though."

That got a laugh from the other girl, [He's also an idiot. His partner, Eden my 'mother' died when they came to Earth]

The other Wyrm; Taylor's eyes rose, "How did that happen?"

[Not all Star Wyrms are as vindictive, paranoid, or mean as Zion and Eden]

Taylor's mind was filled with images of a Small Thing. Its surface was warped and shaped like polished obsidian near unrecognizable to the darkness it traveled. It offered a trade to the Thinker, to Eden. It left, bypassing Earth entirely.

Eden was distracted; she fell to the Earth and was killed. The Loner, The Small thing, had poisoned Eden and sent her to her death. Earth had a secret benefactor, it seemed.

Good, but Taylor just wished it stayed and finished the job and did just a little more to help but who was she? Only a tiny human. Taylor wondered if it would have been too much to ask for some of its mightiest children to help out at least. Maybe some anti-endbringers.

[Eden is not the only dead Wyrm]

As Self 'spoke' the world seemed to unfreeze. Taylor was almost swept back by the pure force emanating from the conflict in the lake's center. Her hands came to her ears of their own volition as the sound of battle reached her ears.

The Wyrm was shrinking, wailing, a sound unnatural to human senses. The beast was thrashing as the memory of Self held onto his Nail, as Self plunged it deeper into avatar's chest.

[IT'S DIEING], Taylor's Power shouted over their mental link. She, too, seemed affected by sheer weight behind what was going on.

Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder, locking her to her spot. Looking up, Taylor found Self was standing between herself and Queen Administrator. He had a hand around her as well.

[Prepare yourselves]

As if responding to his words, the battle between Wyrm and God stilled. The Golden monster fell to the water, as flakes of white essence floated into the endless sky.

Was it over?

BOOOOOOOM!

Past Self was blown back as the corpse of the Star Wrym exploded into a red-black vortex of hate. Taylor felt her clothes start to be pulled towards the thing. Although this was a memory Taylor was glad that Self was holding her in place, she didn't want to test what would happen if she was pulled in.

"It's self destructing!" The large form of Unn shouted. The mother goddess started grabbing the Little Vessels too weak to hold themselves down.

"Is this happening in reality TOO," shouted a panicked Hornet. Taylor looked behind her, and saw the family and friends of Voidself were struggling to hold themselves down.

Taylor turned her head to her Power; she was met with a grim look.

[Evrey Wrym is different, but a suicide revenge function is not out of the realm of possibility]

Taylor watched as rock, stone, and liquid was thrown about, creating a dense tornado of debris around the vortex.

"How did you survive this!"

[Not all of us did]

The epicenter of destruction began to pulse in an ominous shower of dark reds and purples. It was at that moment, something burst beneath the surface of the water.

Roots.

Dozens then hundreds of roots began rising, throwing themselves around the terrible corona that the Wyrm created. Taylor's eyes widened as she recognized the bright white color of the wood.

Her suspicions were confirmed as a pale figure rose out of the gold. It was the White Lady, not as tall as she was in Taylor, no Self's memories. Taylor had to remind herself of the difference. Emotions of longing and regret, some her own and some not, rose through her gut, but Taylor pushed them away. There was time for that later.

The difference in height was not the only change to the old Queen. She looked far more… human, strangely enough. Her hair was that of leaves, and her feet were root; those roots connected her to the vast spherical prison she was creating around the Wyrm's corps.

As the vines, and tree bark closed, the pulling sensation dissipated.

Hornet and the memory of Self rushed forward to their mother. Taylor tried to move forward without realizing it, but Self's grip was secure and did not yield. Taylor looked up into the eyes of the God and sighed. No words nor thoughts need to be exchanged.

The memory played out, as the two siblings talked with their mother. There was a shout from Hornet, a cry of negation, and suddenly, Hollow Knight was rushing to his sister. There was a brief struggle as the much larger sibling picked up Hornet and leaped back to the shore. The Gender child had tears rolling down her face as she reached for her last living mother.

"No, Mother! Please!"

Sounds of screeching tires and twisting metal. her mother's phone clicking off.

The White Lady did not respond to her daughter and instead focused on the prison she had created. A golden light was shining through the cracks of the Pale bark, pulsating with sinister intent. A slow, humming noise reached Taylor's ears.

There was a moment where Self bloomed into his full extent; The Void Heart. Shadows sprung to his command and swallowed the sphere.

The next second was filled with an all-encompassing vision of white-hot light.

And then...

Taylor was back on the roof.



A/N: So I rushed this one definitely so any criticisms are appreciated (thank you to the Beta's that took a look at this one). I will admit that this one is a bit exposition-heavy.
A/N 2: I'm thinking about putting a spoiler post about what Self actually did to Taylor and QA, because he did not explain the full extent. Not sure though so tell me what you think.
A/N 3: Solidarity is a short chapter and will go until it catches up to Collision. So this means about two more parts may be as few as one depending on how things work out.
 
I definitely wouldn't mind a spoiler post, though I do feel like I got most of what you were trying to convey in the update.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the adventures of Self, Taylor, and QA.
 
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