She acts decisively, pulling @Firnagzen out of a spatial pocket and pointing towards the universe-sized Snek.
"There," she says. "That's what ate the vote tallies. Do your thing."
Firnagzen looks at it, then raises an eyebrow at her, as if asking why he's suddenly been inserted into the story. Way to break the fourth wall, Firn.
She rolls her eyes, shoves the sword into his hands, then grabs his wrist and makes a rotatory motion. He gets the point, and begins to swirl the sword around in the air in a complicated pattern.
Eyes closed, he begins to whisper. At first it sounds like random gibberish, but as it goes on she realizes it's a language, though one she's never heard before.
It's easy to say that all would suffer equally when the world ends. It's easy to lay that statement down, so poisonously simple that most might even agree with it. But what if the world ending wasn't the end for everyone who lived there? What if some fragment of its peoples survived, cast adrift into an endless sea, to live or die upon the cracked will of their few surviving defenders?
Would you still agree?
Your name is Kiana Kaslana, and you'd have given anything to never have to know the answer to that question.
The pain is what wakes you up, throbbing and burning through your body. You groan, trying to find a more comfortable position, but there's none to be found. You know that, deep down, but it's hard to try to face the morning after everything that happened yesterday. You've been using your Core nonstop ever since you got here, and that was always going to take its toll. You just wish it hadn't started to tell so soon. It wasn't going to stop you, of course, you were a Kaslana. But if there was a tomorrow, it was gonna suck.
As your eyes slowly open, you find yourself staring up at the familiar ceiling of the dorms you called home a lifetime and a half ago. It's all you can do not to cry when you see them, knowing that it's all a lie. Mei's gone, Bronya too, all your oldest friends. Your no-good dad's here, at least, but was that really a good thing? He only came back because the world was actually ending. You've only been able to see him a few times since everything died, and there was no time to ask all the questions you so desperately wanted to.
That would have been bad enough. But you're a Kaslana, it's in your blood to excel. Which is why, as you push yourself up with a wince, you reach into yourself like Fu Hua taught you. Just not for the reasons she did so. The technique's mostly the same, you just have to apply some Kaslana expertise for it to do the job. Hua would have had a better one, but—you force yourself away from that thought, hard. Not now. Now it's time to greet the newest guest aboard the Hyperion, one you aren't sure you can ever stop feeling guilty about.
Next time you see Otto you're punching him right in his smug face.
'Sirin?' You call, trying to push the words towards the space where the young girl was last time. No response, of course. She's been on her own in your mind for years, and you never realised it, too scared of the Herrscher lurking behind the power of your Core. But Sirin isn't her, and last night proved she's not just there, but desperate for someone to care for her.
You call for her again, imagining a voice like yours, just a little older. A voice like what you imagine your mom would have had. On the third call, you feel sluggish movement, and though it's hard to not respond to that as you always have, you try. You force away the locks and chains that Hua helped you create, reaching through them towards the rousing personality.
'Ki-ana?' Sirin's voice is painfully weak, your name fractured in the middle, but you recognise it. That's her. The Herrscher would never degrade herself like that.
'Yes,' You say. 'Good morning.'
'I can't... feel you,' she responds, and you feel like you've been stabbed in the chest as a flood of emotions rush over you. Sorrow. Regret. Guilt. You start to say you're not sure she'd want to, but stop as you realise the lie. The truth is that you don't know where to begin. Sirin was a victim, what few memories she's been able to share with you paint that picture clear. What she became, what she was forced to become, isn't her fault. All that means you need to be honest with her.
'I'm just hurting. I've been using our Core a lot, and I'm not used to constant output at this level. And–' You try to halt that word, but not before it's able to begin, the weight of emotion travelling with it too great to hold back.
'It's not me, is it?' Sirin asks. She's frightened, you realise a moment later, terrified that she might be the cause. The moment you realise that, you realise something else; it's very difficult to imagine the feeling of giving someone a hug.
'No,' you tell her, trying hard to do it anyway. 'Nothing like that, Sirin. Just everything else.'
'Your friends.' For someone who you're pretty sure is mentally ten at best, she's quick. Might be something to do with her being able to feel what you're feeling though, now that you've stopped trying to lock her away in your mind.
'Yes. And if I don't work out a way to fix Tesla's quantum balancer today, and Seele doesn't show up with a miracle, everyone here dies. Everyone we have left.' The pressure of that is almost too much to admit. What follows almost breaks you.
'It's alright,' Sirin tells you in her child's voice, and you feel without feeling the presence of her, wrapping around your chest and shoulders like an invisible furry snake made of warmth and hope. 'We'll be alright.'
'How can you know that?' You struggle to keep your composure. 'Everyone else who could do anything is gone, Sirin. And I don't think I'm smart enough to fix this.'
'Maybe not,' she agrees. 'But you're not alone Kiana. And–' There's an odd little shift in her voice. 'I'm not sure everyone else is gone.'
You slump back onto the bed, too tired for hope, but the least you can do is listen. 'What do you mean?'
'Well…' You feel her think for a moment. 'One of the things I can remember is another bubble universe, the one that your Stigmata created. I could see it sometimes, glimpses of happier times. It helped stop me going insane again. You called it a…' She struggles with the word. 'Samsara?'
'Oh.' Kallen and Sakura. You've not even thought about that world, and the moment you do you wish you hadn't.
'No. No, no.' You can somehow feel her shaking her head. 'Kiana, haven't you looked?' You can't bring yourself to reply. What would be the point? With Mei gone, Sakura would be gone, leaving Kallen left alone in a dying world. Just like you.
'Kiana!' Her exasperation forces you away from those thoughts. 'My memory's a mess, but yours isn't. I can't understand all of why you're hurting, but I know what it feels like, and I can find why. Please, just look.'
Something ripples across the mental spaces between you, a picture flowing into your awareness. Readings, something that's almost a diagnostic, but of a reality. You examine them blearily, and it's only on a repeat that you understand. You jerk upright, ignoring the protests of your muscles, scrambling to try and find that old link. It's been years since you last used it.
'How did you do this?' There's no sense whispering in your mind, but you manage somehow.
'The Core does what we tell it to,' she says, as if that explains everything. It very nearly does. 'Your connection to that world is still there, and the universe behind it is too. It's all messed up, like looking outside through a broken window, but it's not falling apart.'
'But that would mean–' You can't finish that sentence. You can't. You can't. You can't. Your eyes are full of tears, and you can't afford that right now, you need to be up, looking at the stabiliser. Instead, you find yourself reaching out across the Sea, down a connection you've almost forgotten.
What you find isn't, it isn't proof. You try hard to tell yourself that. Maybe you're just holding it all together yourself? You're the Herrscher of the Void, you've got that sort of ability. But then there would be energy going out, logic demands, ripping the legs of that argument away from you.
If you're not keeping that universe intact - and you almost wish you were, it would tell you how to keep the Hyperion alive—then that means something else. Something that it hurts to even contemplate, after all the horrors of the world's ending, because it dares give you hope. Kallen and Sakura were two halves of the same coin. They completed each other in a way that went beyond reason. Or at least they did in Samsara, where the mistake Sakura made was avoided. That world existed because of the same synchronicity between you and. And. The name chokes on agony.
'You and Mei.' Sirin says it for you, and there's enough pain in her voice to match your own. Of course there is, Kiana, you tell yourself. She lost everything. You only might have.
"I need to," you shake your head, speaking verbally for the first time since you woke. "Need to talk to Theresa. Ri- right now." You push down on the bed again, tilting to the vertical as you swing your feet out to land on the floor. You stumble slightly as you come to your feet, the world spinning around you, but it doesn't matter. You need to tell someone. Where is she, you know you can find he– there. The world warps, the portal devouring part of your bed, but you can't bring yourself to care.
You come tumbling out the other end in front of Theresa, the diminutive Valkyrie staring at some papers on the desk she's propped up in front of, and only then realise you're still wearing your pyjamas.
"Kiana!" She jerks to her feet, dislodging the paperwork as you catch one foot on the edge of the office's rug and collapse onto your knees. She's there beside you a moment later. How did she move so fast?
"Mei," you say. The pain of saying her name is like a sawblade in your throat. "I'm not sustaining the Samsara alone, I wouldn't know how, but it's still holding together." You gasp in a breath, and force yourself to look up at the childlike face examining you.
You're not going to pass out. You have to keep this together. "Sirin found it, I was too scared to even go looking, but she wasn't. Mei's out there somewhere Aunt Teri. She has to be." And with that, you were done. The world fades back, though you can still see, and feel the burst of shock from Sirin as she suddenly finds herself in control of a physical body for the first time in decades.
"Kiana. Kiana, what do you me-" Theresa is asking, and your mouth moves.
"I think she went back to sleep, Theresa," Sirin says, sniffing. She shrinks away as Theresa's careful hands freeze in place. "I'm sorry, I just wanted her to be able to stop hurting."
Theresa pales, swallows hard. "Sirin?"
"That's me." She brings up one hand in a little wave, the movement all out of sorts for your proportions. "I think I remember you. You were nice. Sorry for, um." Your voice descends to nearly inaudible levels. "stabbing you so many times. Why aren't you older?"
Theresa blinks several times, opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again. Then she reaches out, and rests one hand on your shoulder. Sirin goes very still, but doesn't flinch away. "I don't think that was you at the time," Teri says, "but I'm fine now, so it's alright. Now, Kiana was going to be helping us with our stabiliser today, but–"
"I can help with that!" Sirin blurts out, and you reach forward in the mental space. Is she sure? "I can." She repeats, probably as much to you as to Theresa. "The Core is ours, not just Kiana's. I remember how she used it, and some of how She used it. More than Kiana does." She does?
'I do,' she says internally. 'Not everything, I know I'm still a mess. But some. More than you remember.'
That's something else to absorb. You're not sure how long that'll take. Fortunately, you're both distracted a moment later as your stomach voices its displeasure with the time since your last meal.
Theresa smiles. It's one of her headmistress smiles, but it reaches her eyes. How long has it been since she was able to deal with something this simple? "Let's get you something to eat first." She says kindly, and you feel your body all but vibrate in sudden excitement.
"Can we?" She asks. "I haven't eaten in years." Pure rage flashes across your aunt's face, but she buries it before Sirin can make sense of it, and she covers it with a kindly nod.
"There's a private mess down the hall," she says. "We can get you something there, and then go back to the dorms so you can get changed."
Sirin nods, and then tries to get to her feet. Emphasis on tries. The last time she had a body, she was a little girl. You're not one of those, and your centre of mass is considerably higher than hers was. She tries twice, pouting as she fails to balance properly. Before she can trip over her feet on the third she pulls on your Core, and a trickle of honkai energy lifts your body into a comfortable sitting position.
"Okay," she says, smiling slightly.
Theresa cocks her head, then appears to give up trying to make sense of it with a shrug. "This way."
Veliona sits down and closes her eyes, then fades out of existence. To all eyes except yours, she's vanished from the world. You can still feel her; she's part of you, in much the same way you're part of her, and she's paying as much attention to what she can see through your eyes as to what she's doing.
She keeps you focused on Roza and Lili, which is… a little odd. A little worrying, the way she's been behaving. You don't mind lending her your body, but you've been saying for days now that you ought to have a good talk with her, and you might as well admit it: It's not happening. Whatever's happening with your other half, you don't have the first idea of how to help her.
Maybe you don't need to be the one with all the answers. Maybe you can just–
Her lingering presence fades away, and you feel her take control of the stigmata.
Another day, Seele. You have to talk to her, and you want, more than anything, for that talk to come naturally. To chat, once every day or two, while you're all having fun and playing around. Getting to know each other, once again. With nothing too dramatic happening. Maybe while you're all on, dare you say it, a vacation.
She'd enjoy that; you know she would. Always has, for as few chances as you've given her, and right now is hardly an exception.
If you have to do it sooner, you will. Right now it's all you can do to watch her.
Usually you're not so focused on what she's doing, but usually you're not the stand-between for Roza, Liliya and Veliona. A hundred commands flow out of her, pushing into the stigmata and awakening it from… you can't call what it was in 'standby mode'. If it were on standby, you wouldn't exist. But it is, regardless, a great deal more active than it was a minute ago.
It's daunting. You're sure you couldn't do half of what she's doing, let alone so flawlessly. She's always been there, supporting you from the back of your mind. Ever since X-10, she's been the only thing standing between you and oblivion.
After a few more moments she snaps back into existence.
"Okay," she says to you, smiling. "Everything should be ready to go."
You nod, and neither of you see a need to mention the control channel she's pushing your way.
As always, it's been simplified. It takes a few quaternions, suitable for scaling and moving pieces of something three-dimensional around. This sort of thing always makes you curious what Veliona sees on her end. It's bound to be more complicated, but at least you're starting to make some sense of it. It's not raw mental noise anymore, and you're not stuck trying to work with just five senses.
You stopped using 'holograms' and other visual illusions a year ago—not at all the same as the genuine hologram you're guessing she wants you to move about—but you doubt she's ever used that sort of mental interface. Back when you escaped the Sea you couldn't have done even this much, so you'll take what you can get.
"Got it," you say, responding with a smile of your own. Then, just because she's there, you take the chance to clap a hand on her shoulder and give her a quick hug. She looks at you a little oddly, but you don't mind.
You stick some identity matrices in, and it materialises in the air in front of you, just like when you're playing with your butterflies. Just a single link, instead of hundreds of them. It's almost trivially easy. It's 3D. It's elegant. It's… flat.
Weird, that's what it is. The Sea never feels that open when you're flying through it, but now that you're seeing it in three dimensions, it's like someone crushed it with a steamroller. The bubble universe has turned into a simple sphere, the Hyperion is off to the side, and you have to stop yourself from twisting around to look at it from angles that don't exist. The Sea isn't three-dimensional, or four-dimensional; it's trillion-dimensional, though basically empty. Somehow you've gotten more used to it than you thought you had, and it's painfully hard trying to see with your eyes instead of… what you usually do.
Hard, and a little uncomfortable. There are colors, shapes, edges, but you can't make sense of them. You just wanted to see what Roza and Lili are seeing, but you can barely make out where they're standing. You can only understand the hologram because you're seeing it from both sides.
After a moment, you stop trying. It's easier to understand the stigmata's data feed.
"So this is us," Vel says to Roza and Lili, pointing at the aforementioned sphere. "And this is the Hyperion. You're seeing the same thing me and Seele would, pretty much. I'll have to look around a bit, and I'll have to stop projecting a body or we'd get exhausted in a hurry, but I'll still be right here. I'll hear everything you say next to this thing. I can even respond, if Seele's nearby and I'm not too busy. Got that, you two?"
Enough introspection, Seele.
Vel favours Liliya with a rare genuine smile, preening a little. As well she might, having set all that up in less than a minute. She's so smart it's like she's cheating.
"That's really cool Vel!" Roza says, while Lili nods, staring at the projection.
"Yup," you say. "Vel, anything I should look out for?"
Vel already knows what you're going to do before you do it most of the time, so it's more a formality than anything else.
"Nope," Vel says. "Get at it."
She nods towards the front door, and you wince. Oh, right. Yeah. The villagers.
Veliona grins at you.
"I definitely feel like you're escaping," you tell her, "but I think you're right. I think it's best if we get out of here for now."
You turn to the twins and nod.
"Liliya, do you want to stay here and keep an eye out?" you say. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring the hologram along. I don't need to see it to know what Vel's doing, so I can go along with Roza if she wants to come along and..." You sigh inwardly. You'd be nervous, but mostly you're too tired to be nervous. "Talk to the locals."
"I'll stay," she says, looking at Roza a bit defiantly.
The elder twin smiles.
"Good luck," she says. "We'll be back soon."
ooOOoo
You look in on Annie, Pip and their sister, but all three are fast asleep, Annie hugging Pip in her sleep. It's been an exhausting day for them, you bet. You'll have to wake Annie up a little later to feed Jane some more, but not right away. They'll be fine for an hour or so.
You also take a moment to check on Vel. So far she's just looking around, and hasn't found anything yet.
Well. Despite what Annie promised, you don't really want to take them along to see the village chief. This is going to suck, and it's time to pay the piper. You don't want to expose the children to that.
"Roza?" you say, taking her hand. "Are you…"
She squeezes back.
"I'll be fine," she says, smiling up at you. "Let's go."
You nod, and you walk to the front door together. Neither of you are exactly eager to face the people outside, but you have to. As expected, they're all standing around waiting for you, eyes wide and frightened. They back away as you step outside, and a few of them just stare at you.
Most of them, however, stare at Rozaliya. You bristle, and you're about to say something when she tugs at your hand. She still smiles, though her smile is the least genuine you think you've ever seen on her. You breathe out. Slowly.
An older man steps forward. He's dressed in furs and hides, and has a stone knife at his side. He's grizzled—grizzled is the word, though he's probably still in his fifties. But his eyes, they speak of a wariness that, aimed at you, makes you feel like you're being sized up for how best to kill you.
If that is what he has in mind, he'll find out how bad a choice that really is.
"I am Marco," he says, bowing his head. "This is the village of the rift. We mean you no harm, old one."
You and Roza glance at each other.
"I'm Seele, and this is Rozaliya," you say, gesturing at her. "We've come in search of my teacher. She's a girl, a little older than me. Have you seen any such person?"
He shakes his head.
"No. We have not seen your kind in decades. I am sorry."
Oh…
"We don't mean someone with horns, or the like!" Roza says, speaking up. Marco's eyes widen a little. "We mean someone looking like a regular person. Like you, except smaller."
"There are no dwarves here," Marco says.
You and Roza blink at each other. Dwarves?
"No, not dwarves. Er, regular people. She's just short. Have you seen any humans? Or anyone else from the... the rift? They would have come through recently... no, a few years back," you say, struggling for words. None of this what you expected. "H-have you found any… bodies?"
Marco shakes his head, but he's clearly taken aback.
"Her name is Einstein!" you say, louder than you meant to.
The villagers all shift back, murmuring. Not loud enough for you to make out, but Roza grows alarmed and leans towards you, about to whisper something when Marco speaks up.
"We've seen no friends of yours," he says in a low voice. "We do not know why you have come here, old ones, nor how you came to be here, and we do not wish to know. We want nothing of yours. But know this: You are not wanted here. Leave this place at once."
You immediately feel your heart sinking. This isn't what you expected at all. You were expecting… well, hoping really… but not this. Something other than this.
Roza tugs your arm until you bend towards her, then hisses into your ear. "They recognised her name. Let me talk."
"What?" you whisper back. Belatedly, "Go ahead."
She nods, and steps in front of you, into the light cast by a couple of torches. The villagers murmur a bit louder as they lay eyes on her full, inhuman appearance.
"Please understand," Roza says, her voice brittle. You look sharply up at her. "We didn't mean to come here. We were lost, and we're trying to find our friend—"
"Liar!" one of the villagers cries out. "Demons lie!"
"Shut up, Violetta!" Marco growls out. He catches Roza with a glare, and she flinches. "None of your friends are here. We have seen none of your kind in centuries. Let the children go free, and leave."
That last comment gives you pause.
"Annie and Pip?" you ask. "We haven't done anything to them. Except give them some food."
The man's face darkens, but a younger one, standing to his right, answers.
"We don't care what you've done. If you've harmed them, we'll..."
Marco hits the boy, sending him tumbling to the ground. You watch on with increasing alarm, unsure of what'll happen next. Marco quiets the lad down with a few words before returning to you.
"Whatever they have promised," he says, his voice heavy. "I will take all responsibility for their promises. Just let them go free, old ones."
This is wrong. It's all going wrong.
"Please," he continues. "Please, I beg you. Let them go free."
There's an agonizing pause. Then, you walk up to Roza, quietly collect her, and turn her around so her face is hidden from the crowd. A few people gasp, but most are silent. Roza almost falls against you, her entire body trembling. She doesn't start crying, but you almost wish she would.
"We didn't know," you tell Marco, trying your hardest not to get angry at the man who's hurt your little sister so badly. He's just scared. You're still not sure of what, but you're starting to work it out. "We're not these 'old ones' you're talking about. We came here from beyond the stars, searching for my teacher so we could ask for her help. She'll want to see us. When we saw Annie and Pip, we had to help—I swear, that's the literal truth."
Going on, you lower your voice a little.
"I can't look at starving children, and not help," you say, looking Marco directly in the eyes. Although his cheeks are sunken as well, he has the decency to look ashamed. "That's all. They said, in return, they'd introduce us—but I don't really care about that. If there was a promise, consider it fulfilled. They're inside, sleeping."
"I…" he starts, then stops. The desperation in his voice is palpable. Then, he sets his jaw. "Very well. I will talk to them first. If they say you have done no wrong, then we will let you go, and forgive this trespass."
You nod quickly, and lead them back inside, turning off Veliona's holographic display before anyone can see it.
Roza almost sprints over to a startled Liliya, then hugs her tightly. Lili gives you a dark look, but it softens after Roza whispers something. You wish you could help her right now, but you're not out of trouble on your own end.
You give them a small wave, and a weak smile, then step inside the bedroom with Marco. Annie and Pip sit up slowly as you enter. They look groggy, and a little scared
You doubt this will be a lot of fun.
"Children," the old man says sternly.
"Grand-uncle?" Annie says, her voice trembling.
"Marco?" says Pip, his voice a little less shaky.
He walks forward, and wraps his arms around them both. The children embrace him back, sniffling a bit. The tension is palpable. The old man looks up at you, and the frown lines in his face deepen.
"These outsiders gave you food?" he asks, looking back at Lili, who's now standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. His eyes linger on her horn and tail, like they did on Roza's, and you wonder what he's thinking. Nothing good, to judge from his expression.
"They saved my sister's life, uncle," Pip says, his voice quavering.
"Is this true?" the man asks.
"...Yes," Annie says, going red in the face. "And Pip's. He was going to leave to search for help."
The old man sighs, rubbing a wrinkled hand over his face wearily.
"You shouldn't have done that, children..." he mutters darkly. "...Bringing strangers into our village... Not just any strangers... You brought the old ones' spawn amongst us. They'll kill us all. They'll enslave us. They'll..."
"No, grand-uncle," Annie says quickly. "They're good. Not like the stories at all."
The old man's eyes narrow.
"You think because they gave you food, they can do no wrong? What else did they give you? They must have given you something."
"Just... Just the food, sir," she says softly.
The man's eyes narrow, and he grabs Annie's wrist. You're about to step forward to stop him, but Lili stops you with a hand on your shoulder. You glance back at her, and she shakes her head 'no'. You do a half-step towards Annie, frowning. Lili shakes her head again.
"What have they done to you?" he demands, the wildness in his eyes making him blind to your movement.. "Tell me what they did. They must have cast a spell on you!"
He begins to raise his hand and suddenly you're there, grabbing his arm. Enough is enough.
"Let her go," you say softly, letting the Cherenkov radiation in your hair blossom to full brightness.
The man's eyes widen, and he lets Annie go, futilely trying to pull away from what you know must look like an apparition. You don't really care anymore. You're not a very capable valkyrie, but against anyone merely mortal you're far more than their match; if he wants to move, it'll be when you allow him to.
"You wish to stop them coming to harm?" he asks, his voice trembling.
You wish to slap him. That's what you wish.
"Enough of this," you say, letting him go. He stumbles backwards. "We came here to find my teacher. Not to pick a fight. I have no interest in Pip and Annie, save that they were there, and I couldn't ignore them. The food I gave them, I gave them freely. If you'd prefer, we can leave, and you can starve in your fear..."
"...No," the man says, looking down. "I am sorry, whoever you are. I was... Overcome by fear. Please, you and your servants are welcome to shelter from the cold here."
You bow shallowly.
"I thank you for your hospitality," you say, meaning not a single word of it. "Roza and Lili are my sisters, however. Not my servants."
He nods, and you hope it's given him something to think about. At least he seems satisfied you don't mean them harm, for now, and he leads you back out of the house, Annie and Pip in tow. Annie holds his hand firmly, so it doesn't seem you need to worry they might be harmed. Really, that's what Marco was worried about.
It's enough to make you think that perhaps he isn't quite as mean as he seemed, but it'll take a while before you'd forgive him for hurting Rozaliya.
You have a quiet word with Lili before the three of you follow him, enough to at least make sure there's no real damage done. Roza didn't like being treated that way—obviously, you're not enjoying it either—but she was expecting something like this. "She'll be okay," Lili thinks.
You'll wait and see.
The village is... Well, it's poor, but the houses are solid and well built, becoming more so as Marco leads you towards the centre. Building them from stone, with apparently only stone-age tools, is no small feat. There's a large pit-fire in the exact centre of the village, with people sitting around it. It's only now flaring to life. All of them watch you as you enter.
"We have visitors," Marco says loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Travellers from far away."
You make sure to keep an eye on Roza and Lili as the introductions continue, although they seem content to stand still and watch the proceedings. You're still a little worried about them.
"They came here to look for–"
He cuts off. There's a commotion at the edge of the crowd, one that grows louder by the second. Marco closes his eyes, looking tired.
"Excuse me! Coming through. I'm coming through. Excuse me. Alberto, hi, see you later. Let me through!"
A young voice pushes its way through the crowd. For a moment, you see nothing but a mass of people. Then, the villagers part, and three people walk through: an old woman in a colourful robe, a girl about fifteen years old dressed in white leather armour wearing colourful gloves, and a young man with curly brown hair. The girl wears an expression of surprise and joy as she sees Roza and Lili.
"Rozaliya! Liliya!" she yells, dashing towards your sisters. "I heard something about 'demons', but I didn't think it'd be you!"
The girl stops a few meters from your sisters, a wide smile on her face. Your sisters look back at her, Roza with a look of confusion and Lili with... no, it's still confusion. The girl notices this, frowning.
"It's me, Carole," she says. "Fu... no, Carole Peppers. Remember me? It's been a few years, but I played hide and seek with you in the cargo bay once."
Rozaliya scratches her head.
You let out a short, incredulous laugh. Carole? You do remember, but–
"I'm sorry, I..." Roza says. "I don't..." She narrows her eyes. "You can't be Carole, right? The little girl who was following Hua around?"
"Yes!" Carole says. "I was little back then! Now, I'm..." She looks at herself, and seems surprised. "I grew up! Time flies. I'm even older than you!"
Well, no kidding. The game she's thinking of was three weeks ago. You remember Carole as half the height, getting into everything and grabbing at Rozaliya's tail every chance she got. Not Liliya's, not after the first time she got picked up by Roza's. Carole is… not scared of heights, and Rozaliya's gambit backfired.
She was an orphan, one of thousands, but Fu Hua took a special interest in her for some reason. She used to idolise the twins, and followed them everywhere. She also used to be eight. Just a week ago. Now she's somehow turned into a teenager.
You're not an idiot. There was plenty of evidence that time isn't running normally in this place, but it still weirds you out a little.
"Carole, what are you doing here?" Liliya asks.
"I live here," she says, shrugging. "Although I haven't been here for long. I've been running around, exploring the world." She squints, and says, "Rozaliya, Liliya. Are you the same age you were when I left the Hyperion?"
"We haven't aged at all," Lili says, matter of factly.
Carole nods. "That means I'm older than you now," she says. "I'm fourteen!"
"I'm sixteen." Rozaliya grins. "And Seele is eighteen."
Carole bites her lip, looking at you. "...and who are you?" she asks.
"I'm Seele Vollerei," you say. "Their sister. Who are you?"
You look around. Marco looks flabbergasted by the exchange; flabbergasted, but finally less panicked. Roza is watching Carole, grinning widely. Lili looks amused, and the villagers are... you don't even know. The boy Carole was dragging along is just staring at Carole, as if in shock.
She sighs. "Carole Peppers, I guess." She seems to think for a moment, then frowns. "You look younger than me. Are you sure you're eighteen?"
"Quite sure," you say, laughing. You can't help it. A question like that would usually put you on edge, but Carole seems so young herself you can't help but be compassionate. She's changed less than you'd have expected. "I'm glad to see you, Carole. It's been too long."
"I think I know who you are," Carole says. "You're that girl who came from the quantum sea with superhuman powers and no memory, right? I heard about you. I think my mom took an interest in you. Einstein's really worried about you."
"...oh." Carole got adopted? And… and you don't really know how to respond to that, so you focus on the safe part. "Is she here?"
Carole shakes her head.
"Mom left to figure out why there's so many trolls lately," she says, while your heart sinks. "She left me here to keep the kids safe, along with Isaac and Tomoyo. Ruby and Einstein went with her too. I'm... a little worried about them," she says, biting her lip. "They haven't been back in half a year. The trolls are dangerous. I hope they're alright."
"Fu Hua's your mother?" you ask, making a guess. The words tumble out a little fast.
"Yeah, mom," Carole says. She pauses. "It was awful back on the Hyperion. So cramped, and I couldn't even leave the room because of all the rifts. How'd you get here? Einstein said it was impossible for anyone to leave the ship."
"We're starting to get it fixed," you say, looking over at Roza and Lili. Carole's adoption… no, you'll leave that headache to her mother. At least you'll have some good news for Kiana later on. "That's actually why I'm here. We're looking for Einstein."
Thinking about her makes you feel a little sad. You can only hope she's doing better than you are right now. You miss her.
"Oh. Well, she's not here," Carole says. "There's plenty of trolls, though! She'll be back sooner or later, so why don't you stay here in the village with me until she gets back? I could use the help. It's gotten really..." She looks downcast. "Trolls have been attacking more and more lately. It gets worse at night, so I have to stay awake to keep everyone safe. But that means I can't hunt as much, or at all, so we're running out of food."
"You can't go outside during the day?" Roza asks.
"There are too many of them! And they're really dangerous, and..." Carole pauses, then continues in a much smaller voice "...and they scare me."
You look at Roza, who nods. "We'll help you," you say.
Carole looks up, her eyes tearing up. "You will?"
"Yes," you say, nodding. "But can we go somewhere else to talk? I feel like I'm getting stared at."
Carole looks around, as if just noticing the crowd for the first time. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Hey, Marco! These are my friends. I'll take responsibility for them, okay?"
Marco just groans in response.
ooOOoo
Carole's house is as rustic on the inside as it is on the outside, but notably more modern than the rest of the village. The walls are made of wood, and the floor is wooden planks. There is a large counter in the kitchen, and several cupboards lining the walls. In the middle of the room is a large, round table with several chairs around it. There are three doors leading out of the room, one directly ahead of you, and two on either side.
"Make yourself at home," Carole says, gesturing widely.
You sit down at the table and look around. Much to your shock, Carole brings out a gas lamp; the room is quickly lit by a flickering green glow, casting long shadows through the room. You examine the walls; they're lined with shelves, all of which have some form of technology on them. Mechanical gears, wiring, and strange, unrecognizable machines cover the shelves. You've never seen anything like it. In the middle of the room is another table, this one with several different mechanical devices on it; you recognize a telescope and a microscope, but the others are completely foreign to you.
There's nothing that looks modern, but the rest of the village is stone-age. It's a jarring experience.
Carole sits down on a chair next to you, and you look over at the younger girl. Now that she's out from under the eyes of the village, you can see the strain she's under. It reminds you of how Tesla looked when you left the Hyperion. Like the world was falling apart, but she couldn't admit it. How are you meant to approach that?
She sets the lantern down on the table and leans back. Her eyes are closed, and she's taking deep breaths. Carole looks tired, more tired than you've ever seen her look. It's a deep-seated tiredness, as if her body is exhausted to the core. The girl has gone through a lot in her life, you think.
There's an awkward pause, and you clear your throat.
"So," you begin, clutching your hands nervously. "Your village, it's... interesting. They really don't like visitors."
Carole chuckles. "You're telling me. The first time they saw us, they were ready to stone us. It was mom who saved us."
You nod, having no trouble imagining Fu Hua leading a charge against a bunch of angry villagers. She wouldn't hurt them; it wouldn't be that sort of charge. Fu Hua is one of the most amicable people you know, but if you saw her as an enemy... You shudder at the thought. You doubt you could stand against her.
"When was that?" you ask.
"Oh, when we first got here," Carole replies. "When I was eight. We found the village pretty quickly, and... well, mom would be okay living in the wild, but we needed a permanent home. So she offered to help them with their... monster problem in exchange for letting us stay."
"That was years ago," you say. "Why are you still living here?"
Carole shrugs. "I like it here. The people are nice, once you get to know them. Plus, it's pretty here. It's the first place I can remember where I felt at home. Why wouldn't I stay?"
"Well, I..." you struggle to find the words. "I just thought you'd want to go out and explore the world or something."
"I did go out exploring the world," Carole says, smiling. "I've seen so many different places and people, even if it's not safe moving about lately. Besides, this is where my friends are. You met two of them already, right? Annie and Pip? And you've seen Stefan. I don't think he likes you, but you do look a bit like demons from the stories. Don't worry, they'll warm up to you eventually."
You smile nervously. It's obvious Carole means well, but she's being optimistic. Whichever way, it isn't likely that the villagers will warm up to you anytime soon. You're also not planning to stay long enough for that.
"Well, we'll see," you say. "And... Isaac and Tomoyo?"
"Oh, they're techs from the Hyperion," Carole says casually. "Well... former techs. Can't say I know what it means, but they do woodcrafting now. They're both here, but they're asleep right now."
"Can you wake them up?" you ask.
"Yeah, sure," Carole says. "Why?"
"I want to talk to them about what's happening here," you say. "The trolls, and everything."
"... Look, I'll wake them up and send them to you," Carole says. "... But I think you should just leave it alone. There's nothing they can tell you that I can't. I'm the one who's been fighting them."
That's true. You consider Carole; she's a fourteen year old girl. The gauntlets she's wearing are, now that you can get a closer look at them, a pair of Fu Hua's spares. Nothing too impressive, you think, the type that can shoot a fireball just by pressing a hidden button. For an otherwise normal girl—and you suspect that's what Carole is, you'd have noticed a stigmata, artificial or otherwise—they must be the only thing letting her keep fighting.
They'd be the next best thing to invulnerable, and judging from the trolls it'd only take a single punch to blow them up. The armour she's wearing is, by contrast, far less advanced. It's plain leather. Enough to save her from scrapes and bruises, but a single straight-on claw strike and Carole would be skewered.
That she's fighting them, and still alive, means she's skilled beyond her years. You aren't surprised. She's Fu Hua's daughter; she's bound to have become the most recent disciple her mother has taken. The one-on-one attention of an immortal will turn anyone into a capable warrior, and Carole's birth mother was a valkyrie as well.
Of course, it would still only take a moment's inattention...
"You might be right," you tell her. "But I'd still like to talk to them. Who knows what they may have noticed that you haven't? And anyway, if it's about the trolls–"
You grin at Roza, and she catches your drift. "Oh! Yeah, we... already killed lots of 'em."
Roza pulls a few trophies out of her backpack, to make the point. They're grisly things; you'd thought they'd come in handy talking to the villagers, but you doubt making them even more scared of you would've helped.
Carole looks approving, as she pulls out the first few claws. Then stunned, as the number grows and grows.
"You must've killed dozens," she breathes.
"A lot more than that," you say with a shrug. "They attacked us at the river. Downstream from here."
"I don't believe it! These things are everywhere, and there were three of you! How did you do it?"
You shrug. Instead of answering, you ask a question. "Like you said. There were three of us. Four, actually—Veliona was there as well. Do you think Fu Hua would've had trouble with a few trolls?"
Carole's eyes narrow. She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it. Then she gets your point.
"Mom always said there's a difference between me and a valkyrie," she says, sighing. "I thought maybe I'd caught up. But then, you've got the horned twins on your side."
She doesn't sound bitter. Just resigned, and perhaps a little jealous.
"I'll wake up Isaac and Tomoyo," she says.
She walks through a door, and you hear her waking them up. The sound of groaning and protesting follows, and then Carole comes back and sits down at the table while you wait.
You had some thoughts about chatting—what's her life here like, that sort of thing—but she doesn't look like she's in the mood, so you just wait in silence.
Isaac and Tomoyo arrive, looking groggy. They turn out to be a forty-something man and woman, one Asian and the other European. Like most of the village, they look like they've seen better days. Carole is the only one who hasn't looked at least a little starved, but this is still far from the dangerous level that Annie had reached.
They only look groggy at first. When he spots you, Isaac stops dead; after a moment, and with a nudge, so does Tomoyo. His eyes flit from you, to Roza, to Liliya, and you know he's recognised you. You hold his gaze, nodding, and he does likewise. He knows who you all are. He's seen you all while working, after all.
These two are probably the missing sensor techs, though practically everyone on the Hyperion would recognise you. Valkyries are locally celebrities, after all. Even fake ones like you.
"Seele Vollerei. As I live and breathe," he says, his voice a little hoarse from sleep. "And the Olenyeva twins. My, you look like you haven't aged a day."
He says it quietly, likely only meaning to talk to Tomoyo, but you answer him anyway.
"Six, more or less," you say. "It's been about a week on the Hyperion. We came here to find Einstein, but... things got complicated, though."
You don't need to explain how, exactly. This entire situation is a weird one, even ignoring the radio tree and whatever Vel is dealing with.
That thought is enough to make you check on her, but apparently she's still scanning for traces of anything notable. That's fair, at least. The quantum sea is huge, and there's a huge number of places to look even if you don't move at all.
"A week. Einstein said so, but..." He shakes his head. "I wasn't sure if I could make myself believe. I thought, at least halfway, that everyone still there must have long since died. But if you're here, then..."
"They're mostly all right," you say, smiling. "There's been a few deaths, but most people we've found have been healthy. Between Kiana and me, we've fixed a lot of the damage. Theresa and everyone else on the bridge crew are in good shape as well, and they're making sure that no new damage gets into the ship."
"You came here to find us?" he says. "Really?"
You nod.
"I won't lie to you," you say. "We came here to find Einstein. We need her, to keep things from getting worse. But since I'm here–" You lean forward. "Theresa put me on search and rescue. This counts. You can come back, if you want."
"If we want?" His eyes widen. "Of course we want! But..."
His eyes tell you everything you need to know. They're looking into the distance, towards the centre of the village.
"I'm going to save them," you say. "Since we're here. We already have a pretty good idea of what's causing the troll outbreak. It's not a great plan, but I do have a plan. It'll be over in a couple hours, probably."
"Hours?" He looks at you. "...I see. There's been almost a dozen zombies in the last two weeks, so I thought it might be something like that."
You're glad you don't have to say it out loud.
"Well, I don't!" Carole says. "What are you talking about, Seele?"
"It's… complicated," you say, avoiding her gaze. Then, you shake your head. "No, I'm not going to fob you off, but it's… We don't have a lot of time. Is there any way you can reach your mother or Einstein, Carole? Any way at all?"
Carole looks at you. She looks like she's struggling with herself, but then she sighs.
"Mom gave me one of her feathers," she says. "But she told me not to use it unless I really have to. Because it's got a limited amount of power."
That–
You want to stare at her. A feather of the Fenghuang Down? Of course. It would let Carole contact her from anywhere. Of course Phoenix would give her own daughter one of her feathers, and of course she'd give that warning. But–
"She can't have meant for you not to call her when the village is starving!" you say. You're incredulous. "Or when there's trolls swarming over you! That's... that's..."
You can't even find a word for how wrong that is.
You take a deep breath. You shouldn't yell at her. That's not going to help.
"Mom said she liked how independent I am," Carole says. "She told me that I should only use the feather if it's vital to the survival of the village, or if I'm in danger. She didn't say anything about being attacked by trolls being 'vital to the survival of the village'..."
What? You stare at her. You shake your head. She can't be serious.
"That... that's incredibly selfish and short-sighted!" you say, losing your temper a bit. "How many people have to starve to death before it's 'vital to the survival of the village'? Do you really want to wait that long?"
"No," Carole says stubbornly. "But so long as I'm able to hunt, then..."
Her voice is unsteady. You stare at her, baffled. She's not making any sense.
"And Annie and Pip?" you ask, trying a different tactic. "You said they're your friends. What about them? When we ran into Pip he was about to leave the village, to search for help. If we hadn't been there, he might have been killed by the trolls. And little Jane... she was dying. She could have been dead by tomorrow!"
"I... I don't know..." Carole says quietly. "I don't... I'm sorry, Seele. I have to think about this. Can we talk about this later?"
"Carole," you say, only to stop. You… don't know how to deal with this. The girl's knuckles are white around the gauntlets she's holding, the ones Hua gave her to help her protect this place. It's nothing compared to your own weaponry, yet potent enough for a fourteen year old. But Fu Hua can't have meant Carole to defend her home from even what's here now, let alone what you know is coming.
You know all of this, but you've never been good with words. Looking around, you see the two former techs watching with the same quiet despair. They must have tried, but to Carole, they're adults trying to get in her way. How do you get past that?
"So you know that there's more than trolls out there, right?" Roza asks, your younger sister sitting down on the table beside Carole. She must have come over whilst you were struggling with what to say next. Carole looks up with widening eyes, and one hand squeezes tighter on her gauntlet.
"There is?" She asks.
"Honkai, lots of 'em." Roza nods. You won't say she does it sagely, you can't imagine a universe where that would make sense. "Lili and I can smell them coming. Now the Vodka Girls are pretty strong, and with Seele and Vel and you I'm sure we'd kick their butts! But," her tail droops.
"But? What but? Vodka girls are the strongest, right?" Carole, ugh, carols the catchphrase, and Roza smiles down at her.
"Of course we are," Roza agrees. "But if we're the strongest, then we might wreck the whole village if we have to go all out. And that wouldn't be good for anyone living here, Carole."
"Oh." Carole's face fell, then broke out into a huge smile. Why was she smiling? "Oh! That's why you want me to call mom and Ruby back?"
"A protagonist should never be afraid to call for the supporting cast!" Roza announces, sweeping one hand round in a way she thinks is airy, but makes you struggle not to laugh. "It makes the finale even better."
Carole makes an excited noise, no doubt already imagining the scene. "Alright. I'll go call them now, then!" She leaps up from her seat and vanishes out of the room, leaving you staring after her. A moment later, your gaze swaps to Roza.
"How?" You ask, very slowly. You think you can see a little of it, but how did Roza hit on? The pinkette sighs, her tail dropping down until it's just shy of the floor.
"She needed a story where she could still be the hero, Seele," she says softly. "Like when we were kids. Lili and I always used an excuse like that for why we couldn't just smash the Honkai right then."
"I," you try to say, several times. Rozaliya's right, and if she's not, she's close enough. You needed Carole to send this message now. She's doing so. "Roza, you know that-"
"That she should have called for help sooner? Of course I do." Roza scoots up on the table and pats you on the head. You respond by slumping down to rest your face on the rough wood. "But she's just a kid, Seele. She's trying to do what she thinks her mom would do, but try to tell her that and you'll get nowhere. Lili would know."
You let out a groan that has nothing to do with physical pain, and Roza runs her hand over your hair again, the motion gentle.
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Roza asks. A moment later you hear the familiar sound of a hand smacking against Honkai-beast horn. "Lili!"
"Roza idiotka." There's a well-worn familiarity to the phrase, but it has nothing to do with the affection in your other little sister's voice.
"We'd better check on Vel," you say, into the wood.
ooOOoo
The void-snake doesn't seem interested in attacking her, or harming Seele. It seems much more interested in her than it did Seele, the last time she saw it, which feels odd. Out here, with no physical bodies, to most senses she and her sister would appear identical; two expressions of the same being. It would be strange for a mindless creature to discriminate, if it's on some kind of mindless rampage.
The snake brushes against her in a fashion that almost tickles, putting an end to that line of thought. Laughing, she strokes its head, then goes back to examining it. It's definitely not mindless. It feels like a cat, almost; an immense, world-ending winged snake-cat. Touching it is like touching a beating heart while standing in a thunderstorm. It vibrates under her hands in a slow rhythm, and she can feel it reverberating through her body, into her chest. It's oddly relaxing.
She was scared when she first saw it, but now that she's touched and inspected it, she feels almost calm around it. It isn't a threat, at least not to her. She doesn't know what it's doing, or why it's here, but as far as she's concerned, as long as it isn't actively trying to harm her or Seele, then that's fine by her. Or the twins, or...
It's no good. She has too many connections now, too many people who could be in danger if this goes bad.
"Who are you?" she asks.
It doesn't respond in words, but the feeling in her mind intensifies. She can feel affection there, what seems to be an outpouring of love, or a need for it. The void-snake is happy that she's here. It likes her. It misses her. It...
It what? What does it want? She feels fear, too, fear and the certainty she'll disappear again. There's a bizarre doubling-up of sensations, like she isn't talking to one mind, but to two that are so close they might as well be the same being. It's bizarre enough that she can tell what it's thinking in the first place.
The void-snake wants to stay with her. It wants a connection, just like Seele has with her sisters. And it's afraid that she'll disappear if it gives her a chance.
"Disappear?" she asks again. She stares at it, trying to read its alien mind. "What do you mean?"
It shows her. Images flash through her mind, almost faster than she can comprehend them. A city in ruins, a dying world, two twinned minds, dying and in pain. A creature half-formed. It's like a dream, but one she's dreamt before. The creature's memories... Are they the snake's memories? Is it using hers? The scale feels wrong, too close to human.
It's so hard to tell, to understand. The void-snake's memories are so different to hers. The way it thinks is different to hers.
Then it all changes. More images, more incomprehensible sensations. Lights turning off, angry shouts, the sound of screams and distant explosions. A city dying. A dark star rising, devouring all life in its path and extinguishing the sun. Seele's face, twisted by incomparable anguish.
And then... Nothing. Blackness. Oblivion. Death.
She opens her mouth to ask another question, but no sound comes out. Her throat's too tight, and a strange feeling's welling up inside her, a mixture of terror and longing. The void-snake is lonely, desperately so. It wants nothing more than for her to stay with it, to finally belong somewhere. To not be sent away again. Again, and again.
She feels something crack in her mind. Like a dam breaking. Emotions flood into her, so many and so intense that she can't even begin to describe them.
She feels herself falling, falling into an endless void. An eternity passes in the blink of an eye.
But then she wakes up.
"Vel?"
A concerned voice breaks through the darkness.
"Are you alright?"
Seele's face swims into view, looking oddly worried for once.
"Yeah… Just have a bit of a headache," she mutters.
"You fell unconscious," Seele explains. "Rozaliya was beside herself. Liliya convinced her to stick with Carole, but… what happened?"
She twiddles her fingers.
"I talked to the snake. And I… remembered something," she says. "It was a little overwhelming. But it's... strange. I think..." She shakes her head. "I don't know what's going on. I'm a little scared. You said Liliya's—"
She catches herself mid sentence. For whatever reason, all she wants to do is check on Roz and Lils, double-check one more time that they're still there, they're still okay, and everything's normal.
"I'm sure they're fine," Seele says, as if reading her mind. "Just go on, I'll lead the way. I think we found them," she says, nearly smiling. "Both Fu Hua and Einstein. At least I hope so."
Seele reaches out a hand. She takes a deep breath and takes it, pulling herself to her feet. She nods at her sister, and looks around. They're in a house, but not the same one from earlier. There's a lot more… stuff, for one. Machinery, most of it made from wood.
It'll be fine. It'll all be fine.
"You'll tell me what happened, right?" Seele says, looking worriedly at her. "I mean, what I saw was… I don't really…" She shakes her head. "I couldn't catch most of that. That wasn't a Honkai beast, was it?"
"I'll tell you," she says, already knowing she'll give in to her sister. There's no keeping secrets from Seele. Not right now, when her emotions are still so raw and uncontrollable.
Not much point in trying.
She ignores the part of herself that wants, desperately so, to return to the snake. It's scary. It's abnormal. It's also the same part that wants her to hug the twins, and never let go. Neither action would be at all Veliona-esque. They'd think she was weird, and…
That thought isn't Veliona-esque either.
She shakes her head, throwing an arm around Seele as she walks. Seele squeaks in surprise, but accepts the affection without comment. Not that she ever was one to complain.
"So… what happened?" Seele asks as they leave the room.
She shakes her head. "Should I be freaking out right now?" she says instead of answering. "I mean, I feel like I should be, but…"
She finds herself unconsciously leaning into Seele as they walk, taking comfort in the companionship.
She might be okay with not being Veliona-esque.
= = =
No matter where she goes, or what she learns, Seele is Seele. It would not work, however, to stuff her back into a human body. She hadn't finished growing up when Veliona saved her from the X-10 experiment; that's something Vel had to deal with, or else she'd have been mentally twelve forever.
However, Veliona doesn't know when it'd be appropriate for her simulated brain to stop growing. It isn't (quite) done at twelve. So she didn't program in a stop. It's fine, probably.
...what's that? A snek?
The AI didn't feel like pulling punches, and I guess I, on my side, am okay with that. That said, there might be a small problem. It's probably okay, though. I'm sure Veliona will work it out. Um.
As much as the next step is obvious, Seele's first instinct may not be the best possible one. She's not in possession of all the facts, for one, so feel free to provide some minor guidance to her. I'm sure she'd appreciate it.
Or, y'know, guide the story in the direction you like. Anything goes.
[ ] [Veliona] Send her back to snek.
- Leaving them to their own devices is not clever. Never was. [ ] [Veliona] Write-in
[ ] [Annie] Offer to look at her mother.
- It should be obvious that this is fraught with peril, though you'd have Carole vouching for you. Try having some sort of plan. [ ] [Annie] Wait.
- It should be obvious that this is fraught with a different sort of peril. [ ] [Annie] Write-in
[ ] [Einstein] Keep the conversation to work-related matters.
- It seems very likely that this won't work perfectly. You're setting her intent, not the results.
Note that Einstein can't get back quickly at all. The conversation will be relayed through Carole (or Rubia) and Fu Hua. [ ] [Einstein] Mention something else.
- [ ] What? [ ] [Einstein] Write-in
Carole disappears into her room, to—fetch a feather? Girl herself up? You don't know, except that after a few minutes she comes back out, pacing nervously back and forth for a little bit while muttering to herself.
A little while ago she was all fired up, but now? Now, the reality is sinking in, you guess. On some level, she knows she's messed up. She wouldn't have gotten to this point if she didn't.
"Carole–"
Roza moves to put a hand on her shoulder.
Whatever she's about to say is lost when Carole shakes her head, blinking tears out of her eyes. "I know," she says. "I know, alright? I'll call her in a minute. I just…"
Her voice trails off, and she bites her lip. You watch her helplessly for a while as she stares at the ground in front of her.
"Okay." Carole nods to herself, and raises her head to look at the rest of you. "I'll do it in a minute. I just need to let the chief know who you are."
Carole glances at Roza, who nods slightly. Carole leaves the house, and Roza sighs, running a hand through her hair.
"I wish Theresa were here," she says wistfully. "She'd know what to do."
"She's not," you say. "You are."
"Yeah…"
"Don't sell yourself short," you tell her. "If there's anyone I'd trust like this, it'd be you."
Roza smiles faintly at this, and twines her fingers together with yours. She leans her head against your shoulder, closing her eyes.
"It'll be okay," you say. "We're a team, right?"
She nods.
"We're a team," she says.
The situation's not so critical that it can't wait five minutes, but you're uncomfortably aware of the incoming swarm of honkai beasts, now perceptibly closer than when you first noticed them. You stand quietly together and wait for Carole to return. Liliya shortly joins you, leaning against her sister. You put an arm around the both of them, once again just taking comfort that they're there.
You know it's not healthy, but you've very little left except the two of them. It is what it is, you guess.
After a little while, Roza yawns.
It's times like these that your sisters mean the most to you. You aren't related, except in every way that matters. If you hadn't had Roza and Liliya, you don't know what you'd do. Be a wallflower, probably. Stuck in your room reading books, for now until eternity, unless somehow you'd still gone through X-10. In that case you'd just be trapped forever in your head, instead. Maybe Kevin would have helped get you out. You bet he would have.
Liliya and Roza are everything to you. If anything were to happen to them...
Your fist clenches, and even your stigmata spools up slightly. If anyone hurts them, they're dead. You're not letting that happen. You're simply not.
There's silence for a moment, before Roza yawns again. She turns to look at Veliona.
"Vel, do you..."
Your sister's not paying proper attention.
"I found a... snake, outside reality," she says, her voice distant. "Or maybe it was a dragon. I don't know. It's hard to be sure, when it's so far from home."
Veliona's eyes are unfocused, staring through Roza and Liliya. You gently touch her shoulder, and she startles.
"Vel," you say, softly. "It's me."
She blinks once or twice, before she realizes where she is. Her eyes meet yours for a moment, and she seems almost embarrassed.
"I... I'm sorry," she says. "I was just thinking about... stuff. Nevermind. It's silly."
"It can't be that silly," you say. "Please, tell us."
She sighs.
"I'm still working out what it was. I was thinking about my past," she says. "About… remember that idea you had, my 'host'? That we used to be the same person?"
You silently nod, and she looks tiredly up at you. You know, because her entire bearing has changed. She's slouching, and quiet; her speech is too slow, for someone who's always quick with her words. She isn't smiling.
"I want that to be true," she says. That's all she says. Roza opens her mouth, but Veliona looks away—back to the door, where Carole's showed back up, her expression now grim and determined.
The uncertainties she's going through have nothing to do with yours. You're glad she made up her mind, but right now you could hit her. She barely glances at you before going inside, pacing back and forth several times before drawing a deep breath and slapping her cheeks.
"Carole–" you say.
"I know!"
"Then call her," Roza says. "Fu Hua is one of the nicest, most understanding people I know. She won't shout at you, and she won't blame you, not if you speak frankly. Just let her know what's going on."
"It's not mom I'm worried about!" she whines, then slumps. "I'm calling. I'm calling."
It's not like you don't understand.
Carole's messed up. She's scared of her mother, parentheses question mark parentheses, which is a concept you understand all too well. Unlike you and Cocolia, however, there's no reason she should be scared. Carole's scared of getting a talking-to, of getting grounded, maybe even getting an extra-tough training session.
You were scared of being killed.
You know well enough that Cocolia loved you, that she loved all of you, yet somehow her brand of 'love' didn't stop her running experiments on you and your sisters. She stopped after you died, according to Roza, but Roza said that while rubbing her horn, and…
You stop that line of thought before it makes you cry. Those aren't really mother's fault. They'd have died, otherwise.
Except Roza only did something as desperately dangerous as going to the beach to cheer Liliya up, after mother had sent Bronya away from them, and…
Stop.
It's helpful that you're already holding Roza's hand. Your fingers tremble, but she's there, already calming you.
Carole's scared. You were scared too, for different reasons, but you were still scared. You never failed your mother; she's the one who failed you and Bronya. Is that better, or worse? Should you be thankful to her for at least treating your littlest sisters right, or angry that she couldn't get her act together sooner?
"Call her," you tell Carole.
She looks your way, and you continue, your voice heavy with emotion.
"You're scared. I get that. But you promised you would, and you know she loves you. She'd never hurt you, or anyone you loved. You said you'd call her. And you promised."
"But–"
"We don't have a ton of time," you say, and it's enough. She gulps, nodding.
She sits back and closes her eyes. You don't know what you should have been expecting from a magical telepathic feather—she'd do it all in her head, maybe?—but that's not what happens. You watch as her face twists into different emotions. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Joy? Finally, she opens her mouth.
"Hi, mom," she says, in a tiny voice.
You strive to listen in, but however this works, you only get Carole's side of the conversation.
"Yeah, it's me!" Carole says, a little louder. "I miss you. I…"
For a few seconds she doesn't say anything, and it's only by her expression—tired at first, then more and more pained—that you have any idea how the conversation is going.
You notice a tiny teardrop hit the ground. You continue to watch as the girl breaks down.
"I—I tried, mom."
"After you left." Roza looks like she wants to say something, while Carole continues. "The trolls kept coming. At first, I was able to kill them. But there were more and more each day. We had to retreat closer and closer to the village. Now, they've taken over everything. They're everywhere. We can't tend the fields, I can barely go hunting, and they're always there, just outside the village, keeping us trapped. I tried, mom. I'm sorry."
Her voice is tiny and meek, and you can barely stand to watch. Your hand twitches as you realise you want to give her a reassuring touch. But you can't. She's not Liliya; she doesn't know you. She wouldn't appreciate it.
"Let's–" Roza says, and you nod, getting up to leave. You don't want to watch this. You have questions for Veliona, anyhow.
There's a workshop, and it's empty. You step inside, noting in passing that Isaac and Tomoyo also are leaving the room. There's even a door, which is something Annie's house didn't have.
You close it.
"Everyone's starving," Carole says, her voice somewhat muffled now. She's forging on as if she's trying to self-flagellate with the words, and you stand around awkwardly, looking around for something to distract yourself. Just like the main living room, most of what's here is made of wood—but there's a couple of nanotech tools which Einstein apparently left behind. Nothing like a general constructor, or you imagine the village would look rather different. Lili has one in her backpack.
"We haven't had anything but potatoes for a month, and there's no more left–"
You hear sobs, and then your senses light up like a fireworks display, screaming at you about extreme honkai levels in the other room. You open the door a crack, spotting what you were half suspecting—Rubia, the reddish light of her "teleportation" still hanging around her like a mantle for a few seconds after she's appeared. And Carole flinches backwards.
"I'm sorry," she says, between sniffles. "I tried my best."
It shouldn't have come as a surprise to her when Ruby doesn't launch into a scolding, but somehow it does. Instead she steps forward and gently, inevitably, draws Carole into her arms like one might a small, wounded animal.
Carole collapses into the hug with a sob, tears falling freely now.
You close the door again.
ooOOoo
"There, there, Carole. You'll be fine," Rubia says, rubbing her back and running one hand through her short hair to help her calm. Her eyes flicker around the room, briefly fixing on the workshop door, before she focuses on her sister. "I'm here now. I'll take care of everything."
If you were there, you'd have stared at them in wonder. Since you're listening through the wall you can't do so, but the wall doesn't really block your senses, and neither, you suspect, does it block Rubia's. She looks precisely at where Roza is, before returning to Carole.
Vel looks up at you, a question in her eyes. You shrug in response, and she gives you a wry smile, resigning herself to observing the scene.
"Shh," the former incarnation of ruin tells her possibly niece, or little sister, or something along those lines. "It's okay. Don't worry."
"They're starving," Carole sobs, hiccuping slightly. "Jane nearly died, and I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I tried my best."
"I know," Rubia says, rubbing Carole's back soothingly. "You did your best. That's all we ever asked of you, Carole. It's over now. I'm here."
The sheer implausibility of the scene makes your head ache.
You never thought you'd see the day when you saw Rubia offer comfort to anyone. It's almost surreal. She's changed a lot since the first time you saw her, yes, but–
Most of your memories of her are from when Kiana dragged her into the light, instead of letting her sulk in imaginary space, but a lot of the change was in accepting that she wasn't Fu Hua. Even a week ago she was still basically that child. A clever child, with far too much knowledge for her own good, but she acted about as mature as Rozaliya usually did. Unlike Roza, you don't think it was an act.
That didn't make her a bad person. She spent a lot of her time playing games with Sora and the other children, when she wasn't having far too much fun fighting the Honkai, and you remember how Rubia loved to hear laughter.
It's still a far cry from the woman who's comforting Carole now, and that hammers home that it's been six years for them. Everyone changes. You can hardly remember the Seele from six years ago, but you think she was happy, with her family and her mother–
You can't tell if that's rose-tinted glasses, or the cold, cruel truth of reality.
Vel looks at you with a wan smile, taking your hand in hers and squeezing it reassuringly. You squeeze back, a silent gesture of gratitude, and the four of you stand around, more or less awkwardly, until Carole's tears have largely died down. You'd have preferred to let them be on their own, but…
Time.
You open the door, addressing Rubia.
"Hi, Ruby," you say, waving a little. "It's been a while. How's life?"
She looks up, eyes wide. Wow. Surprising her is practically impossible; she must have been really preoccupied with Carole.
"Seele… Seele?" she asks, her deep red eyes widening in surprise. "It's… really you. I thought you'd–"
"In the flesh," you say. "Or whatever this is. Last time I saw you, you weren't…"
"Grown-up?" Rubia laughs. She keeps on trying to comfort Carole, but the girl breaks away, blushing fiercely. Rubia turns her attention to you, still looking surprised. "Hua kept saying you'd all be amazed to see me. So no, I suppose not. It's been six years, Seele. Six years since the world ended. It was… hard, at first. But, as you can see, we're all doing fine."
"Last time I saw you, you'd have exploded at me for calling you childish," you say, smiling weakly.
"Last time I saw you, you wouldn't have dared. People change." She shrugs, looking at Carole. "It's a long story. I'll show you sometime when my little sister isn't being all depressed and stuff. Give me a second. I need to let Fu Hua know you're here."
Carole glares at her older sister, then looks away. She gives a small sigh, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. Rubia goes still for a moment, and you feel Honkai energy surge around her for a moment, red lightning framing her in a fleeting corona. Something flickers out from her, just above your stigmata's sensor threshold, and it takes you a moment to recognise it. You lose the vector of the communications burst swiftly, but you know what it is.
"I wanted your help," Carole says, her tired voice meant for Rubia, who acknowledges her with a twitch. "I've been hoping you'd come back for months now, but I realised when I called you that I should've done it a long time ago. Maybe then, Jane wouldn't be..." she pauses, as if searching for the right word.
"...if Roza and Liliya hadn't come, she might have starved to death," Carole says. "And I know it's not a huge deal, babies die all the time, but Annie was so happy to have a little sister and..." Her face crumples.
You stand in silence for a moment. Rubia, fortunately, saves you from having to respond to Carole's extremely dark statement.
"Look," she says, putting her hands on Carole's shoulders and staring into her eyes. She seems to be collecting her thoughts.
This is happening because Carole grew up in a world like this. Anywhere else, anywhere modern, she wouldn't have to worry about babies dying or children starving. But here, she does. Here… the little girl that livened up your life, getting into everything, has turned into a teenager who thinks that's normal. That has never known anything different.
Rubia is having trouble even thinking of what to say, enough so that you catch another fleeting impulse of her powers, still right at the noise threshold. A plea for help from Fu Hua, maybe? It's aimed...somewhere. Well, you'll never understand Herrscher powers.
"...Look," she says again, hands clenching on Carole's shoulders. "You're right. It happens all the time. But that doesn't make it–" She shakes her head. "That doesn't make it not a big deal. That doesn't mean you're wrong for wanting it to stop. Anyone who's weak, who can't defend themselves— Why shouldn't we help them?"
"But–" Carole says, tears trailing down her face. "But what if we can't? We can't save everyone, right? I mean, you can't be everywhere! I thought... if I called you..."
She looks down, and you can tell she's really struggling now.
'I thought, if I called you, I'd take you away from what you were doing.' That's what you think Carole wanted to say, only, Rubia's instant response makes it clear that she wouldn't have. What's distance, to someone who can teleport?
If they weren't here it's because Carole didn't want them, but that doesn't make her wrong. Rubia could have come here, yes. Saved this village. So can you. But– and that's what's been bothering you–
"How many people live outside this village?" you whisper. Vel jerks around to look at you.
There's silence for a moment, as you all consider what to say. Vel stares at you, then at Carole, eyes slightly wide.
"We save the people we can," Rubia says, her voice placid. "Better to save someone than no-one. Better to save my family than to leave you here alone. You've got to know that, Carole. It's why you called me here."
Vel opens her mouth to say something, but closes it again. Then she nods.
"That's not what I meant," Carole says, voice firm now as she stands up straight. Her eyes flick over to Roza, who nods encouragingly at her. "What I meant was, there are so many people who need help. So many villages in danger. I thought…"
"Um. Just how many villages are there around here?" you ask, slightly alarmed. "How many people are we talking about?"
"Thousands," Carole says. "Just within three days' walk. Maybe more. There used to be half a dozen small kingdoms nestled around the portal, but the elders wiped them out decades ago. There's still a dozen or so villages, though. If we don't do something..."
"What's this 'we'?" Rubia snarks. "It was always a given that I'd take care of it. All you have to do is watch how awesome I've gotten." Then, her voice softens. "And you look dead tired, sis. We'll do this. I promise. The rest of us will take care of this, and you'll help once you're back on your feet."
"And… then what?" Carole whispers, her voice barely audible. "What about next time?"
"We'll beat back the Honkai," Roza says. "Keep this place safe. And..."
"And then..." She trails off.
"And then we give them their own powers," Vel says. The entire room, you included, turn to look at her. "...what?" she says defensively. "If you really want to save them all? Give them powers."
Um.
She shrugs at your raised eyebrow, pulling her legs up under herself and floating mid-air. Vel puts her hand to her chin, attempting to look wise.
"Wha-" Carole barely manages to get out, before Vel cuts her off.
"It's true!" She says, pointing at the machinery lining the room. There's a microscope, a gas lamp, a telescope, wooden contraptions of various sorts which you wouldn't want to guess the purpose of, and some sort of metallic rod that's about as thick as a broomstick but twice the length. She continues, laughter in her voice. "Look around you! You remember at least a little about the Hyperion, right? And you were living with Einstein, weren't you?"
She makes an expansive gesture, one which you instantly know she's copied from Rozaliya. It looks every bit as silly on her as it does on your other sisters.
"All these inventions. These aren't ordinary inventions! They have the power to make everyone equal!" Vel says, her voice taking on a slightly poetic tone. "Where we come from, children didn't die. Not to something as stupid as starvation, and not to sickness or disease either. Where we come from, everyone had enough food, everyone had a home, and no one ever went uncared for."
"Okay. A slight exaggeration, evil-Seele," Rubia says, then blinks as you goggle at her. "What? She's your evil twin, obviously. It's a little unsettling hearing her talk. I thought all she did was laugh maniacally."
"That's–" Vel blushes. "We've talked!"
"When?"
"That's—" She blushes harder. "I looked like See– Not relevant. The point is!" Vel pouts, sticking her nose up in the air. "Seele's the only one allowed to call me evil!"
She sticks her tongue out. While you've seen Vel act abrasive, childish and get angry, you've never seen her do something so immature. It's kind of refreshing.
"Thus demonstrating that Seele's the intelligent twin," Liliya says, giggling. When all of you look at her, she shrugs. "What? I'm not allowed to make a joke?"
Vel rolls her eyes, then smiles at her.
"I'm being serious," she says. "It's not easy, but– Seele and me? We're nearly as powerful as Rubia, and that's not because we're special. Maybe we're a little better at this than average…" Her mouth twitches. You're not sure if you want to laugh or cry. This is the most impractical idea. But it's Vel's, so you'll play along.
"But there's a dozen children just like us on the Hyperion, who might grow up to be just as strong once they've learned how, and we can teach them. There's nothing unusual about them. They're just children. That's what science does, Carole. That's why Einstein likes it. So maybe the stigmatas aren't fully done yet. They're still… machines, to bring us to the level of gods."
Her face is still red. She's not used to the attention. You flick her earlobe, making her twist her head, and give her a quick hug—she deserves that. Still… it wouldn't work.
"That's what Kevin wanted," you mentally tell her. "You know it doesn't work that way. Most children with stigmata just die."
"Doesn't mean he was wrong," Vel shoots back. "It just wasn't done yet. There's a lot more time now. Maybe he'd…"
She trails off, her eyes growing distant. So do yours. A matter for later.
"You think he'd be more patient now?" you ask.
"I really hate how that turned out," she tells you. "He was a nice guy, when he wasn't manipulating us. It's not like he wanted to hurt either you or Bronya, for that matter."
"He still did," you say.
"He cared more about the war than us."
Vel sighs, and you squeeze her hand.
"Well, anyway," Rubia says, turning serious again. "Teach them science. Sure, that's a long-term fix, and it's something Einstein was planning for. But we need a short term one, too. Seele, Rozaliya and Liliya—you haven't grown a millimetre, so I suppose Einstein was right and time is distorted here. We were planning to return as heroes in a century or so, so if you're here already, I assume it's for a more urgent reason than searching for her..?"
She zeroes in on you as she's saying that, and you feel oddly transparent. You'd think she was reading your mind, except you're the literal only person she can't do that to. You and Vel.
"I won't say she'd protest," Rubia says. "Einstein has been out of her mind with worry about you for most of the six years we've been here. She's been running herself ragged trying to understand the nature of this place, and…" Her expression shifts again, to something a little tired. "When Hua told her you're still alive, she just sat down and started crying. Don't worry. I didn't tell her you've been having malevolent conversations with your demon shadow."
She's snarking again. Ruby, it seems, has turned into the sort of person who can't stay serious for five seconds. And–
And–
You waver, almost falling. Roza catches you, her eyes wide and scared for a second, then immediately replaced with a smile. You squeeze her hand thankfully. Einstein is–
She's... here. She's fine, apparently.
You draw a deep breath. No, you don't cry. You don't feel like crying. You just… breathe, for a while. You tell yourself it's because it means you've succeeded in Theresa's mission for you.
...even if it's a lie.
"Right," you say, after brushing away a few tears. "Tesla sent me. The Hyperion's still okay, but she needs Einstein's help if it's going to stay that way. I..." You hesitate. This feels uncomfortably like giving orders, and you guess that's what it is. "Theresa didn't give me a timeframe, just ASAP. The time warp is going to make everything easier, but... how far away are they? How soon can she get here?"
You look away. You bite your lip, hard. It's almost an effort to not begin crying again. Why are you so…
Rubia rests her hand on yours.
"Not that far," she says. "Just… we found something strange, and got trapped. There's an entire underworld of these bubble universes, all linked up, and… hmm. Einstein says they're four phase shifts away from here. Does that mean anything to you? It'll take…" Her eyes flicker a little. "Two or three weeks to get back here. At most. I promise; I'll go get them if I have to. The situation's a little fraught, but we can get here if we have to."
"It means… it means she's making up terms." You half sob, half laugh. "Should I guess that the Hyperion is half a phase shift away?"
Rubia's eyes flicker again, then she nods.
"Okay," you say. "Okay. That's... good. There's… there's also a Honkai wave incoming. You probably noticed. The four of us can deal with it, but it'd be great having you here to help."
Your voice cracks a bit. You continue, "Is there anything I can do to help them return? You said they're connected, how–"
All of a sudden, it's blindingly obvious. The portal's 'altar'. Someone built that. The 'old ones'. Someone came here. Maybe the portal itself, even...
Someone built this in the first place. Something with intelligence, something likely not from this universe. And you have a connection to it. You could feel it, when you came here, like a distant memory of a dream you've never had, but which is nonetheless etched into your soul. You're connected to this place, somehow.
That doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. You're losing it. Maybe the loneliness is finally starting to get to you. All you can do is hope Bronya wakes up soon...
Hoping doesn't make anything happen, though. While the thought of adventure, of facing whatever Rubia is talking about excites you, common sense takes over. You spent half-conscious decades wandering through bubbles less real than this one, and you spent them nearly alone. You were so lucky to have Veliona. You'd have lost your mind if it wasn't for her and Kevin. You can't push your luck. You made it out of there. You're never going back, not to that world of nothing at all. You wouldn't be able to handle it.
And so you offer your help, but your face, your body language betray you. You look like a frightened little girl, afraid of the dark, afraid of being alone.
Rubia spots it all, of course. She's got a good intuition for people, she's clever, and she has all of Fu Hua's experience to fall back on.
She sighs, and looks you in the eyes. She says, "We'll be okay, Seele. I'm actually being honest here. It'd take you just as long to find us as it'll take us to get home, and... besides, you'd have to bring Carole along. Even if you're with her, she could get herself killed. I think you know that. So, wait for us in the village, and–"
She smiles.
"In less than a month, you'll see your teacher again. In the meantime, I'll come back here whenever they make camp. It'll discharge the feather, but Rozaliya and Liliya can charge it, right? I'd do it, but…" She laughs. "I'm still not as good at it as Hua.."
"Sure!' Roza chirps, then grins. "I've been trying something new. Watch this."
She reaches out her hand, and a red light forms in the middle of it. It grows, then takes shape.
"I made a heart!" she says proudly, holding up her palm to show off a pink blob.
Liliya makes a face. "Not very realistic."
"Sure it is! You're mean!"
It looks like nothing so much as a pink glob of paint, one which Roza promptly splashes all over Liliya. It dissipates a few seconds later, leaving her none the worse for the wear except–
"Roza idiotka!" Liliya says, blushing. "I'm not that– I mean, you– Aaagh!"
Liliya stomps off, leaving Roza to scramble after her. She catches up after a few meters, and a quiet but intense discussion ends with Roza hugging Lili, who's still as red as a tomato.
You look on in bemusement. You're not sure what that was all about, and you're not sure you want to know. It's an interesting use of honkai energy, Seele… leave it at that. As they bicker, you take another look at Rubia.
Two deep red eyes, a roundish face with a small, thin nose and dark red hair. She looks less like Fu Hua's identical twin than she did the last time you saw her, and less like a Herrscher, too, but she looks more like... herself? Is that the word?
She likes switching up her looks. That doesn't matter right now. You nod to her, and she smiles back.
"Tell Einstein I..."
You hesitate. What can you say to your teacher? Tell her that you miss her? You've only known her a little over two years. But she's been so kind to you, and helped you so much. You feel like you should... do something.
"Tell her I want to help her research."
Now it's Rubia's turn to pause. "... Okay," she says, a laugh in her voice. "I'll tell her you said that. She wants Roza to give you a hug for her, by the way."
You blink. "She does?"
"She does."
You nod, even though it's a futile gesture given the situation. Silence hangs in the air for a moment, before you speak up again.
"I'm… I'm an idiot," you say. "Give her a hug for me, will you? And tell her--"
Rubia grins. Liliya pounces.
"–wah!"
Your little sister pins you to the ground and holds you down, smiling. Then she gives you a big hug.
"That was pitiful," she says, rolling off you. "I'm disappointed in you."
"Sorry," you say, not really meaning it. In truth, you love every second of this. Roza, wandering over, pats your head and gives you a smile.
"Tell Einstein Seele's sorry," she says, "and that she should hug her more!"
"Right," Rubia says, chuckling. "I'll do that."
Her expression sobers.
"We have two or three hours before the Honkai beasts get here," she says. "I'd like to take a quick look around the village before then. Let the boss-man know I'm home, so to speak. Shore up the walls a little; if things have been as fraught as Carole said, they'll be fairly worn. Stone doesn't do much, but it'll at least buy a few seconds. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me first?"
You take a deep breath, and sit back to think. "That'll be in two or three hours. I…" Your expression crumples. "Yes. Can I ask you a question? Two, actually?"
Rubia hesitates for a second or two.
"...Of course. What's wrong?"
You gather your thoughts. There's no way around it; you can't not ask.
"I could wipe out every honkai beast in the Impact with just a little bit of effort," you admit, and Roza's eyes go wide at the proclamation. To her credit, she doesn't doubt you; not for a second. But... "If I don't mind wiping out the entire mountain range as well," you say. You take a deep breath. "That's not an option. I couldn't have done it in our own world, but… should I... should I have practiced harder? I could have..."
Rubia shakes her head. "No, Seele." She puts a hand on your shoulder. "I know you did the best you could. You're doing amazing, all things considering." She grins. "You really think you could destroy an entire mountain range?" You nod seriously, and she laughs. "Well... maybe it's a good thing you haven't tried, then! Don't worry too much about it. I don't think we'll need to resort to such measures."
"Okay," you say softly.
Her eyes narrow. "And your other question?"
You shift uneasily, then look inside yourself. There's a shining, ice-blue core in the center of your being, the safest spot you know. It's all that's left of Bronya. Your closest friend, your lover... you've long since stopped counting up everything she means to you.
"I'm s-sorry," you say, stuttering over your words as tears begin to well up in your eyes. "It's j-just..." Y-you shake your head. You can't even speak.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rubia looks at you with genuine concern, and her voice carries much more warmth than you're used to hearing. Vel looks concerned as well.
"I'm sorry..." You bite your lip as the tears begin to spill down your face. "It's... I don't know why I..." You sniffle and take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. "...Bronya's dead," you say.
The sentence sits like a lead weight in the room. Roza and Lili already knew, but Carole and Rubia didn't. And while Carole was too young to remember how much she meant to you, you can tell from Rubia's crestfallen expression that she knows exactly how hopelessly in love you were. You watch as her face contorts into a grimace, her brow furrowing.
"Fuck," she hisses through gritted teeth. She glances at Carole, then at you. "It was at the end of the world, wasn't it?"
You nod, trying not to lose control again.
"Yes," Vel says, her eyes angry. "Otto's stupid fucking plan..."
You shake your head. "We can't even remember the plan. I just..." You sniffle, your hands opening to reveal Bronya's core, exposed to open air for the first time in years. It shimmers and shines, illuminating the room with a deep blue glow. A perfect match for your own.
Carole lets out a gasp. Rubia blinks, expression going quizzical.
"I... I protected her core," you say. "After she di... died. Even though the sea tried to tear me apart. I..."
Your throat closes. You can't say anything else.
Vel puts her hand on your shoulder. "We thought maybe she could use it to resurrect," she says. "Like Welt. But it's been days, and it hasn't done anything at all. She..."
She trails off, and you look up to see tears streaming down her face.
"Vel," you say.
"I loved her," she says. "In my own way. Even before... Seele. You know the last few days have been a rollercoaster. Even before– Even before today, I was having trouble keeping up." She reaches out for the core, and you let her. Vel puts a single finger against it, as if in benediction. Her eyes glaze over.
She strains to continue, almost stuttering.
"When you... when you pulled yourself together. When you found Roz and Lils. Just now, when I met the– Things happened. And when you broke locking–" She almost smiles. "Most ridiculous thing you've ever done, sis, but I'm glad you did. It's like my head used to be stuck in a fog, and now it's not. Before, I couldn't recognize it. I know it was fun making fun of you two–" She places a second finger against the core. "But I didn't realise how much I loved her as well. Bronya's important. I want her back."
You bite your lip.
"I'm... not sure what to do," you admit.
Vel nods slowly, withdrawing her hand.
"Me neither," she says.
"Well, have you tried–" Rubia reaches out for the core, mid-sentence, and stops when you jerk back.
"Are you scared of me?" She tilts her head. "I don't mind if you are. I'm rather scary! But Seele, that core..."
She reaches out for it again, and this time you let her. She takes it in her hands, staring into it.
"It's out of energy," she tells you. "There's hardly a single drop left. Not enough to reconstruct a shoe, let alone a person. Did you keep her inside your stigmata?" You nod slowly. "That might be why. Your stigmata converts pure honkai energy into something you can use. Since you were touching the core directly, your body may have drained it dry. But I think that's good news."
You look at her, confusion plain on your face.
"How come?"
"Because there's no way that could have happened if she wasn't conscious enough to allow it, Seele. Your stigmata's capable, but it doesn't match up to a Herrscher core. She left herself just enough to keep going. That can't possibly be an accident."
"So she's alive?" You ask, eyes wide.
Rubia pauses.
"...Asleep," she says. "Probably. She'll wake up when the core's recharged, and that can't happen while you're holding on to it."
"...So she's alive."
Rubia has a complicated expression on her face. She takes a deep breath.
"...Probably. We'll find out once it's recharged. I'd do it, but..." She pats the core gingerly. "I'm not a hundred percent sure I could without integrating it."
"It's... it's alright," you say, your emotions all over the place. You were certain you'd never see her face again, let alone embrace her. Now you know it's possible, and that should be enough to put you at ease, but you're more scared than ever. What if she doesn't wake up? What if she isn't herself anymore? What if you never see her again?
You turn to Liliya, who's been watching you in silence the whole time.
"Take the core," you tell her.
"What?"
"I... I can't help Bronya," you tell her. "You can. I trust you, Liliya." Your voice is trembling a little, but your face is set in stone. "I trust you more than anyone. You can wake up our big sister. I can't, but you can."
Liliya is at a loss for words. She stares at you with tears in her eyes.
She misses Bronya every bit as much as you.
"I trust you," you tell her, and hand the core over to her. You wrap her hands around it, and then, as if in a daze, you walk back to Veliona. She hugs you, and you put your head on her shoulder, sobbing quietly. She rubs your back to comfort you.
After a few minutes, you compose yourself. Vel looks at you, her eyes filled with concern.
"What... what happens now?" she asks.
"There's still an army incoming," you say. "And we should take a look at Pip and Annie's mother, like we promised. And Vel, I want to talk. Bronya will... will be okay. Liliya will keep her safe, right?"
"Yeah. I swear it," Liliya says, wiping tears from her eyes.
You nod heavily. She'll be okay. Bronya will be okay.
Rubia smiles, her eyes a little distant.
"See you soon, Seele. Be strong. I'll be back before that army gets here."
"Thanks, Ruby," you say. "For everything."
You take a deep breath.
"We should get to work."
= = =
[ ] …
I decided to split the update into two chapters. I don't believe much of anything needs to be decided here, but this is regardless a good place to stop. The next update should be along in not too much time.
If you're still confused about Roza's paint-blob, let's just say she gave Lili her heart.
Rubia, in canon, is all of a few weeks old. She has all of Fu Hua's memories, which is more than you could say for Fu Hua herself, but she lacks the maturity to go with them. It averages out at the girl acting approximately twelve, and that's when she's trying to act mature.
It's been eight years since then, her time. I doubt most of you are playing HI3, but I tried to get across Seele's surprise.
The drawing at the start was generated by Aphantasia, which is a neural network that's excellent at generating all sorts of (not so) slightly surrealistic drawings, though it doesn't match up to DALL-E at all. Unlike DALL-E, it's something you can play with right now. Click the link, fill in the "text:" field, then click runtime -> run all. I don't think I can make it any more foolproof than that.
If you generate more than one illustration, you don't need to re-run the setup cell. You also shouldn't. It takes forever.
Set save_freq to 10 to speed things up a little. Don't interrupt it too often; that makes it leak memory, and you'll eventually need to factory reset the runtime if you do so.
Experiment.
By all means post your results. This thread is about AI in general, not just the story.
Rubia leaves to check on the village's defenses, a subdued Carole in tow. You wish them luck; piled stone and wooden fences are the next thing to useless against a Honkai tide, but you understand the impulse to defend your home. It's been a while since you had one, and you don't begrudge them the chance to protect theirs. The main defence will be the six of you.
As for you, Vel and the twins…
Rozaliya and Liliya huddle by the wall, talking to each other in low tones. Roza occasionally glances at you, sadness in her eyes. You can guess what about. It was essentially your fault that Bronya hasn't revived.
It doesn't make you feel as terrible as you think they believe it should. No harm, no foul. She's still alright, and–
Veliona shuffles her feet, looking more awkward than you've ever seen her. After a moment she sighs heavily, then walks over to you.
"We need to–"
"–Talk," you say, glad she brought it up. "I know."
You sit together at the table, neither of you wanting to be the one to break the silence. Finally, Vel looks at you with a rueful smile.
"We're being ridiculous," she says. "Seele–"
She leans towards you, and her smile gets less sad. Less Veliona-like, maybe; more the sort of smile you'd see in a mirror, or on Liliya. Just a regular smile, shown because she's happy. Even if it's still a little sad, too.
Yeah. That sounds about right.
You lean forward, returning her smile as you flick a finger against her forehead.
"Not 'Seele'," you say. "You should call me 'sis'. Right?"
Vel closes her eyes, a small laugh escaping her lips as she leans back in her chair. Roza and Liliya join you at the table, looking considerably happier—Roza leans against it, flicking her ponytail and taking up a 'cool' pose with her elbow on the table that, if you didn't know better, would make you laugh.
Kiana can sometimes pull off 'cool'. The twins are too young, and have trouble pulling anything but 'cute'. Adorable, even. 'Cool', not even once.
"Right," Vel says, dragging your eyes back from the slightly absurd spectacle. "Sister. I'll never regret meeting you, sis, as weird as it's been. When Bronya comes back–" She smiles at Liliya, who isn't saying anything, but whose eyes are laughing at Roza. "–can all five of us go to the ocean? There should be one around here, somewhere. Just have to follow the river"
"We could have a barbeque party," Roza says. "With crabs. And watermelon."
You take Vel's hand, on top of the table. She squeezes it tight.
Vel's been with you for most of your life. She's been a demon, a voice in the back of your head, and your 'dark side'—the one who took pleasure in fighting, and who admitted to doing so. For the longest time, you were scared of her. You thought, maybe, someday she might steal your body, and there'd be no Seele, only Vel.
But you didn't call her 'Vel', then, either.
You're not scared of her anymore.
Vel. The girl who helped you through some shitty times. Your sister, whom you'll spend your life with. Not that you get a choice, but you don't even want one anymore.
"Sounds like a plan," you say. "Um. If we can get Theresa to give us a few days off. A few hours, I guess, given the time dilation."
She laughs. It's a real laugh. A good laugh, one you don't think you've heard from her for… ever.
"Oh, Seele," she says. Then she leans in and kisses you on the cheek. You blush. You can feel your whole face get warm. Vel smiles at you. "Still my awkward little sister."
"…historical revisionism," you say. "I was never awkward."
"Sure," she says, and Roza laughs. "Anyway…" Her smile falls. "This isn't what I wanted to talk about."
"I know," you say softly. You look at her, trying to read her expression. "…what happened out there?"
The question hangs in the air between you. Vel looks away, a blush on her face.
"I… uh, found a dragon eating the world," she says. You blink.
"What? Is that some sort of metaphor?" you ask.
"I wish." Vel grimaces. "I saw a big, winged, quantum snake. At least twenty times our size. It was eating the place, or something—using tubes of honkai energy the size of, um, us—and then I, uh. Stroked its head? And it… showed me some memories? …And then my head exploded."
…Well, that's just great.
"Vel," you say, "Did you just say you stroked its head?"
"Yes," Vel says. "It felt… nice."
You put your hand to your face and take a deep breath. In fact, you squeeze your eyes shut, counting to ten. This is something you'd have expected from Rozaliya. Or Kiana, maybe. Not Veliona.
"I think I've figured out what causes Impacts," Veliona finishes. "It's… giant quantum… That didn't make sense even in my own head. I've figured out nothing."
Maybe if you stop thinking about this, it'll go away. You wearily open your eyes, wishing it would. It would make everything so much easier if you could all just return to normality. In fact, going all the way back to life in the orphanage would be nicest of all. You liked it there.
Reality, mercilessly, ploughs on.
"A quantum shadow," Lili says, sounding skeptical. "And it just let you touch it, like a cat?"
"It wasn't a regular shadow, though," Vel says. "It felt gentle."
She rubs at her head.
"I dunno. I just got this… really strong feeling that it wanted to see me. But then it just… showed me something, and then my head exploded and… here we are."
"Here we are," you echo, completely befuddled. It's one mystery after another with Vel, and… wait. Did she–
"Did you say you left it there, alone?" you say. "After it… showed you something? What did it show you? Are you sure that's safe?"
Vel looks away.
"No," she says bluntly. "I'm not. Can we go now? In fact, can you come take a look at it with me? As soon as possible, in fact?"
"Vel, stop it! You're acting strange. What exactly did it show you?" you ask.
"I…"
She stops talking, the look on her face as confused and vulnerable as you've ever seen her. For lack of anything else to do, you just keep holding her hand, meeting her gaze and willing your concern to get through. Roza and Liliya may be there as well, but Vel isn't looking at them right now.
"I… I'm not sure. Memories, like I said. I saw… you, except… I'm still working it out. It doesn't make any sense. I saw a city under attack by the Honkai, except it's not anywhere we've ever been." She pauses. "And I think I saw Liliya. Dead. It was…" She stutters. "I felt. It… it was… weird. Scary. Like a nightmare. I felt like crying for days, and like I was going to explode. All of them at once."
Vel breathes rapidly. You notice Roza widen her eyes, looking equally as freaked out.
"Vel…," you say, putting a hand to her shoulder.
"Just… just hold on a second," Vel says. "I need to… I just need to…"
She takes in a shuddering breath and stares up at the ceiling, her hands shaking. Her face is pale as chalk, and her lips have lost all color. She doesn't look afraid as much as she looks completely shattered. You've never seen her like this, ever. She's always been so put together, so confident. You don't know how to deal with Vel like this. It's almost hard to believe that this is even her.
"Vel," you say. "It's ok, Vel. Just tell us what's wrong."
She turns to look at you, and her eyes are filled with tears. She breathes in, then out.
"I don't know," she says. "I really don't know. I just… I can't shake this feeling that… something is… very wrong."
"Like what?" you press.
"I don't know!" she snaps. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. I just… I have a really bad feeling about all this. I think I'm forgetting something… A lot of things. I saw you, Seele. You were crying, and fighting like a Herrscher. That's not… possible." She hugs herself. "But I don't think it was lying. I don't think they'd ever lie to me." She shakes her head. "I can't explain it. I'm really scared, Seele."
You wrap your arms around Vel, who hugs you back tightly. Her body is shaking and she's making these awful whimpering noises that cut right through you.
"It'll be alright, Vel," you say, rubbing her back. "I promise."
Roza and Lili awkwardly join you, hugging Vel as well. You wish you could do or say something that would fix this—that would turn Veliona back into the confident, joking girl you've gotten used to lately.
She looks genuinely petrified. She's not acting, she's not messing around, and you've never seen her this scared before. Unsure, yes. Hiding behind jokes or violence, all the time. Never scared like this. Not ever.
"Okay," you say. You take in a deep breath, then exhale. "I'm not sure what's going on either. I'm not a Herrscher. I think we'd know, right?"
"Killing a city or two… would be noticeable, yeah." She gives you a weak smile. "That's what scares me. Rubia said you could become one, and what if it's some kind of memory from the previous era? I don't know how you'd get there, but we're stuck in the quantum sea now. Weird shit happens here every day. It could be a premonition, of sorts. Of something that's not happened… to us. Or… or, the dragon knew me. It might be something that's not happened to us… yet."
She looks at Liliya, her expression pained. You put two and two together, and come to a chilling conclusion.
"I–" Roza says, her face suddenly twisted with fear. "No! That can't happen."
"We're not gonna let it," you say, trying to reassure her.
She looks at you, and her eyes are dark and tired. "...no. We won't," she says, finally. "It might be that. Or it might be something else. It doesn't matter. We won't let anything go wrong like that."
Vel just closes her eyes.
"I'm scared, Seele," Roza says. "I don't want to die." She slumps into her seat. "But even more than that, I'm scared of what might happen to Liliya. And to you. And to Vel." She looks at you, her eyes blank. "I'm scared that whatever happens, we won't survive it. Not all of us, at least."
She slumps, like the air's gone out of her.
"There," she says, showing a vulnerable expression. "I said it. I know it's probably nothing like that, but I just…"
"Oh, Roza." Liliya sighs. She looks at you, then back to her twin. "That promise goes for you as well, sis. I'm old enough to handle reality, so stop trying to pretend that everything is always fine. Got it?"
Roza nods, jerkily.
"We're going to be fine," Liliya continues. "You, me, Vel, all of us. I know it. We found Einstein, didn't we? And we've already survived the end of the world. Whatever happens, we'll make sure we're there for each other. I promise."
You take her hand. "We will. We'll survive. No matter what."
Vel can't possibly be sure of what she saw, you're all just far too ready to jump to the worst conclusion.
"…it's just some crazy story," Liliya says, her voice now slightly wobbly. "I mean, it's just something a—quantum shadow said?" She coughs. "I mean, that doesn't… that doesn't happen. Vel probably misinterpreted it. Right, Vel?" Roza and Liliya turn to look at Vel expectantly.
Vel nods, but looks away. "Probably."
"So, we have nothing to worry about," Liliya says. "Except a giant… quantum…" She taps her horn. "...snake? This will be the weirdest debriefing of my life."
You spend a few minutes working over the problem.
"So… in the interest of calming everyone down," you say. "Time travel almost definitely can't happen. I asked Einstein about it a few months ago. That's not even about physics, it's about…" You wave your hand vaguely. "Computation, I guess? If time travel was possible, then the universe wouldn't ever know what to do next. So you're right, Lili. Vel must have misinterpreted what she saw."
The two of them relax visibly. Veliona does not.
"That's not all she said," she tells you mentally.
You swallow nervously. "W-well…" you tell her. "That's the important part, right? And you can't be sure of what you've seen. You know that."
Vel looks away. "I… I guess so. But we shouldn't lie to them."
"It's not lying!" you protest. "It's…"
It's not?
Roza looks suspiciously at you, but maybe it's the last couple of days. She doesn't see through you, or she prefers not to. Either would do, in your opinion.
You weren't lying. You didn't want to get into the list of alternatives, that's all. The girl Vel saw can't have been you; that, you're fairly sure about.
But you're spooking yourself. Think realistically, Seele. Stories like that…
"There's… there's more," you say, looking down at the table as Roza's gaze sharpens. "I don't want you to panic. Okay? Like I said, it can't have been us. That's still not possible."
"But?"
Liliya is the one to respond. She often is, if there's bad news.
You think back to the several alternate Bronyas, too unreal even to survive your touch. To Suzannah, and what she told you about Durandal's multiple pasts. To… a variety of Sakuras. Yae Sakura was, and is, a good person. If you could do it, you'd like her to live happily with her sister. But you can't. That's not in your power.
"But that doesn't mean it can't have been a close relative," you say. "An alternate version of us. It doesn't mean it can't happen. It doesn't mean it will, Lili, but it's… a little more likely, I guess. There's no guarantees."
An alternate Liliya, lost and dying in a timeline far from her own. Or a memory from there.
And when it comes to configuration space, moving a lot is harder than moving just a little.
"I… I see," Lili says. Roza looks at you, her eyes bitter, but she nods once.
"It's still…" You feel your face working through a variety of emotions. "It's still not likely. Think! This is something a quantum shadow said, you three. What's the chance it was really being honest, or that it isn't simply a nightmare? Vel said it felt like one! It's too early to start worrying!"
You've even had that nightmare. Oh, not with the whole 'Herrscher' thing. But for the last year or two you've dreamt of Liliya succumbing to her sickness every month or so, and Roza dying on a battlefield. It's hard, even in a dream, to imagine yourself capable of cheering her up after that.
But that's you. Veliona?
...it feels more likely than it should.
The four of you sit in Carole's house, a silence filling the space around you. After a few minutes, Vel looks at you and stands up, her eyes equally as tired as Roza's.
"I should go back out there," she says. "Make sure of what I saw. And that dragon…"
She's quiet for a while.
"It misses me," she says. "It's been missing me for a long time. They finally found me, and then I disappeared again. You're right, I don't think that's… safe. And I don't want to leave them alone."
"Them?" you ask. She shakes her head.
"Just an impression I got."
You stand as well.
"I'll go with you," you say. "I… I want to see."
Vel nods, and looks to the twins.
"You two stay here for now. We've… we've got a lot to think about. Check on the kids' mother? Honestly, Roz, you're a better medic than I am."
"You promised not to go anywhere," Roza says, but you can tell her heart's not in it. She looks down. "…but there's no other option. I'm half tempted to ask… Seele, could you put us in your stigmata? Just hypothetically? Even if it's boring?"
Vel shakes her head.
"You'd die," she says. "It'd be like throwing you into the Sea. You wouldn't come out the other end. It'd destroy your souls."
There is a pause. You drum your fingers on the table.
"Hypothetically," you say, "If we had a way to construct a safe area in there, would it work?"
"I suppose. But there's no way to do that."
"Hmm…" You're not so sure. There's no harm thinking about it. It might come in handy, if you abruptly need a safe place for Liliya to stay in. For any reason. "I guess Bronya would be fine, though. Or Kiana."
Not that you'd be inviting anyone but family to visit what amounts to the inside of your soul. It was bad enough when Rubia did it. All very hypothetical; you shake your head, taking Veliona's hand.
"We're off," you say. "Roza, Lili, I'll see you later. Good luck with… everything," you finish lamely.
"Good luck," Lili says quietly. "Don't get hurt."
You hesitate, then wave a final time.
There's no need to physically go anywhere. Once again, all you do is—stop. Stop telling your stigmata to project a physical body. Stop forcing yourself to exist. Stop acting separately, for that matter. In a sense, all you do is sit back and let Veliona take over. Possessed-by-a-demon powers, go… as someone now dead once told you, long ago.
So you relax, and when your body pops out of existence it's not the sensory deprivation it would once have been. Really, it barely makes a difference at all. All it means is you're focusing elsewhere, on what the stigmata's feeling…
You relax a bit too much, so when both of you pop back into existence in your writing-room you fall flat on your back. Veliona comes to rest standing, while you roll to your feet quickly.
"What?" you ask, cheeks heating as Vel laughs.
"Nothing," she says. "It's been a while since you've done that. Have a seat?"
You nod cautiously.
She sits on the bed, you sit down next to her, and you both stare at the writing table in silence. Nothing much has changed in here. There's a bed, a writing desk, and a checkerboard floor that seems to stretch off into infinity but actually just ends a few meters away. There's a brass lamp, which you spent weeks to make, years ago. There's also your diary—the real one, this time, inasmuch as pure software can be called 'real'. That's what you used to restore yourself after falling apart at the end of the world. It's just as well it's a detailed one.
Not something you have to worry about, really. It's only a few hundred pages, but that's enough. Far more than enough. It doesn't have to describe you precisely, only well enough to pick out 'Seele' from ten to the thousandth power possibilities. Sounds like a lot, but one or two dozen pages might be enough.
Roza and Lili would be bored silly in here. Maybe not Lili. She'd have fun reading it.
"I wanted to talk to you where Roz and Lils can't hear," Vel says, breaking the silence. "They're great, I know, but any more of this and I think they might break down. This is personal."
"I know what you mean," you say with a nod. "So, what's on your mind?"
What didn't she want them to know?
Vel looks down at the floor.
"…I don't know." Her voice is barely above a whisper, and she clears her throat after speaking.
You don't respond, waiting for her to elaborate. After some time she sighs, and begins to speak again.
"It's supposed to be…" She pauses, as if struggling to express herself. "It was supposed to be simple. I'm supposed to protect you. First priority, protect the archives; second priority, protect its bearer. Third, fight the Honkai. That was… that's what I remembered, when I woke up."
"…when I was ten?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I don't remember well that far back, it may have been a few years more. I was… I had my priorities, but almost as far back as I can remember I was struggling against them. Some 'AI' I was. I couldn't even follow commands correctly."
"So…"
"Your memories are hazy before the X-10 experiment, right?" she asks.
You nod.
"Well, so are mine," she says. "But I'm pretty sure you'd recognise some of them."
It takes you a moment to catch the implications. When you do, your eyes widen.
"You mean…"
"Not really," she says. "I checked. Of course I did. I'd need Rubia to be really sure, but there's definitely a lot of my mind that dates back to long before that happened. A lot…" She trails off. "Somewhere between eighty and ninety percent."
"But not everything," you say.
"Not everything. Some of it's less than a week old. That… really sucks. That really… really sucks." Her eyes are shining a little in the lamplight. She turns her head away from you, and you see tears running down her face. "That really sucks," she says, a little louder this time.
You put your arm around her and lean your head against hers. Her skin is warm and soft, her hair long and silky. After a while she sniffs and turns her head towards you, wiping her eyes with her hands.
Part of her mind is a copy of yours. Does that mean you overwrote hers, or–
You can't ask her that! You have to stop yourself from physically cringing just at the thought, and you hug her a little harder so she won't see your expression. If Vel found a part of her mind that's identical to yours–
There's only so many ways that could happen.
"Thanks for being here," she says.
"You're welcome, sis," you say. You have no intention of breaking this hug. Not for a long time.
She sits there for a while, sniffling.
…so it's definitely true, then. Almost exactly the way you suspected.
She's you. Or at least, part of her is you. You thought it was a one-time thing, and it wasn't; she's still losing parts of herself to you. If that doesn't make you twins, then you don't think anything would; even sharing a womb for nine months wouldn't compare.
You wish you could tell her that. But you know—both of you do—that the parts of Vel that are uniquely Vel are, sometimes, just the broken parts. You've seen her at her worst. You know. She's acting mostly like a normal person now, even more than earlier, but that's—wait…
"Then what did you find out there?" you demand, voice wavering slightly. "What happened to you? All of a sudden you're bringing this up– What did that dragon tell you?"
Vel looks down, sighs, then meets your eyes.
"Too many things," she says, shaking her head. "But if I have to pick? I'm scared I've already seen the future. I'm scared we're going to die. I'm scared that… why did we ever think we could survive when all of reality has died? The multiverse is a graveyard, and we're just body-snatchers."
How should you answer?
Vel is clever, and she knows you well. She'll see through a lie, so you need to pick your words carefully.
But you don't want to lie. You don't even want to try.
ooOOoo
Seele stopped moving, her body going bleached and see-through as it disappeared from existence with a sound like breaking glass. A few butterflies marked the event, where a different quantum shadow might have made a last-ditch attempt at skewering them.
"No matter how many times I see that, I'll never get used to it," Roza said, holding on to Lili's hand tightly.
"You're just a scaredy-cat," Lili told her. She automatically ducked as Roza swiped a hand at her head.
"I am not! I'm just… thinking," she said, glaring at the floor.
There was no other sound in the house but the two of them breathing, and it brought back bad memories of being trapped in the Hyperion's corridors.
At least, for Roza it did. Lili had been comatose for most of it, and she'd been alone. She wasn't now, Roza thought, but she was gaining quite the collection of nightmares. She flexed her hands. They felt wrong in some way, like the fingers in her right hand were thicker than they should be, but it wasn't something she could put her finger on. All puns intended.
"About what?" Lili asked.
Her stomach churned. "About… our next show!" she said. "Do you think we can put on a puppet show for Teri and the rest? No, actually– Let's get Teri into the cast. She'd love it." A smile grew on her face, as she warmed to the subject. "And then, we can do a play about pirates. I can be the hero!"
"But I want to be the hero!" Lili protested.
"You can be the…heroine's sister," Roza said, smirking evilly. "And I can marry the prince!"
"Shut up, you're not marrying anyone," Lili said, sticking her tongue out. "You'll just be a princess. Who would you be marrying anyway, Hans?"
Roza blushed.
"Oh no," Lili said, smirking. "You like Hans?"
"Shut up!" Roza said, pushing her away. Diversion successful! Embarrassing, yet successful. "He's just…he's a fun guy, that's all! I'm not marrying him!"
Lili's smirk grew wider. "Sure," she said.
"I'm not! I'm…not…" She fell silent.
"Not what?" Lili pressed.
"…we'll talk about it later," she said. "It can't go anywhere. I look like this, after all. Should we go look at Annie's mother?"
She'd had crushes before, when she was twelve. She'd never acted on them, because Lili was more important and because twelve-year-old boys were more likely to run away screaming than to give her the time of day. Hans wasn't like that, but he was in his twenties, so she was too young.
And even if she hadn't been, she still looked twelve.
"I kinda want to wait for the twins, but… yeah… let's go," Lili said, frowning.
'The twins.'
Roza giggled inwardly. That was one development she didn't mind in the least. It'd never be like before, but once they had Bronya back it'd almost be crowded again. She couldn't wait to see the look on Bronya's face. She had trouble enough with a single Seele; two was going to be chaos.
She took a deep breath, and exhaled. She could wait a little longer. It'd be worth it, not to worry Seele, and in her imagination they were playing with Bronya again.
"Let's go," she said, smiling weakly. "I want to do something for them."
ooOOoo
There was a minor commotion as they exited, but they met up with Carole and Rubia straight away, like she'd known they would. Leave it to Ruby to stay two steps ahead. With her help, they slipped through the crowd without any further problems.
Roza couldn't help but notice that Carole looked like a truck had hit her, a truck likely named 'Rubia'. Her hair was a mess, and she looked like she'd been crying. Even Ruby looked worried, though that might've been because of… well, two guesses why Ruby might want Carole well away from any other people today, Roza, and the first two don't count. She didn't need even a single one to figure that one out. It was okay; if anyone would be able to straighten Carole out it'd be Ruby, and also it was distracting her from paying too much attention to Roza. Or Lili, she suspected. Or Seele and Vel. She was less happy about that.
Ruby left them at the door of the village's makeshift hospital, if she could use such a word for the literal stone-age hut they'd sequestered Annie's mother in. No matter; it was sturdy, and most importantly, it had a roof. Where it lacked was…
Everything else.
The 'hospital' had two locals standing guard outside, and when they opened the door, the two deliberately stepped aside, quite a bit further than would be necessary to let them in.
The stench hit them first. The heavy air was cloying and laden with the smell of waste, making it hard to breathe. Carole and Ruby covered their noses, quickly leaving, but Roza and Lili had no such luck.
The second thing to hit them was the sound. A terrible wailing noise that was half cries of pain, half the snarls of Honkai zombies.
They made their way inside, Pip in tow as a guide, wishing they could be anywhere else.
"This is awful," Liliya said.
"Yeah." Roza had to agree.
There were enough beds for all the 'patients'. If, again, such a term could be used for Honkai-infected zombies pinned down with leather straps. Thirteen in all. There was no medication, not that she'd expected there'd be; their own universe had only barely begun producing a cure when it all ended. Neither was there anyone taking care of them, though Roza could sort of understand. The natives probably thought it was contagious, which… it was, if only in the broadest sense.
The guards outside… stayed outside, even with two complete aliens examining their most vulnerable. That, more than anything, told her they'd already given up. Well, Roza supposed her and Lili's demonic appearance didn't help, but Roza felt like it should have been obvious they weren't a threat, even if they were from another world.
"Which one is your mother?" she asked.
"The one on the left," Pip said.
Their mother, for all intents and purposes, looked dead. She was skeletally thin, her skin translucent enough that Roza could see the veins beneath. Glowing stripes in her skin told the tale that Roza had been expecting, and fearing, ever since Annie and Pip had told her their story. Late-stage Honkai infection.
The woman's eyes were glazed over, staring at nothing, but they followed Roza when she approached.
"Hello," she said, kneeling beside her. "I'm Rozaliya. Rozaliya Olenyeva. A friend of Rubia and Carole. I just want to check a few things, and then we'll leave you alone."
The woman nodded faintly. She looked like a frightened child, tormented and on the brink of tears.
"She… her name is Linda," Pip said, his voice breaking. "She sometimes talks a little. She hasn't in a long time, but…"
"It's alright," Roza said. "I don't need her to talk. I'm a doctor, remember? I can tell what's wrong with her. You don't need to worry."
Pip sniffled, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Alright," Roza said. "I need you to boil some water for me. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Pip said. "I'll bring it here when it's ready."
He left the room. Rozaliya sighed deeply, slumping against the wall. Liliya looked at her, and then quickly averted her gaze.
"We won't be able to save her," Lili said, her voice monotone. "We can slow down the infection, but not stop it. It's far too late for treatment."
"I know," Roza said.
"We could treat her," she said. "But she'll still die."
"...I know."
"Too much damage done already," Liliya said. She was speaking Estonian, small mercies; not the language used by the locals.
Rozaliya hurried to hug her, feeling her sister shake with frustration. They had an answer, that was the worst part. Liliya's treatments, and the vial of Schariac serum they'd brought just in case Einstein needed it, which she evidently didn't.
They could wipe out the infection. It would return, but not for a while. They couldn't undo the damage it had already done.
"It's okay," Roza whispered. "We'll find a solution."
Liliya had been little more than a child when she got the same news herself. She'd been trapped in her own body, slowly losing her strength and growing more and more tired, despite every treatment Cocolia had been able to acquire. She had no Honkai tolerance at all. Over the years, as Roza watched her twin sister fade away before her eyes, she'd become desperate.
That was why, really, she didn't even mind that they were losing their humanity. Liliya was okay now; she was healthy, and to Roza that was all that mattered. If there was some sort of payment, they'd pay it together.
She didn't care.
That's how it had always been with them. They were a pair, and they always would be.
All the experiments, all the surgeries they'd been through, all of it had been for Lili's sake. Roza couldn't remember a time when she'd ever been without her sister. All of her memories were shared with Liliya. She couldn't let her die; she'd die the same day.
"Think," Roza said, drumming her fingers on the wall. "Options. What can we do? There's got to be something."
"…does there?" Liliya asked.
= = =
Seele and Vel still don't have the full picture, but they're getting there. After this conversation they'll head out to see the dragon, not before—this is important, as Seele would say.
They've been thrown out of reality, dropped into a far harsher environment than the one they're from. For all their desperate battles against the Honkai, it never eroded reality itself. They've had some victories, but their situation remains fraught at best.
Veliona knows this better than any on the ship except for Seele, Schrödinger, or perhaps Durandal. Still, she's being more depressive than she ought to be. There's plenty of room for reassurance.
[ ] [Seele] "I don't know."
The benefit of truth.
Not very reassuring.
[ ] [Seele] Don't answer verbally. Just hug her.
Is this really an answer?
It's really not.
[ ] [Seele] Write-in
A solution? Or just a better form of reassurance?
Creating their own universe is a wild dream. How can it be made real?
What other options are there?
——
I use the AI as a dice replacement; it's better at it than the dice. Much better, in fact, since I don't need to list every possible outcome beforehand. I gave it every opportunity to think up something nicer, but I also explained to it exactly what is going on here. A few refreshes gave me a few different outcomes, but with that established, I always go with the first acceptable output.
This one is not, I suppose, unexpected. At least she still has her mind.
Those poor children…
Oh. Right. There are twelve other infected, too. It doesn't make Pip and Annie's tragedy less of a tragedy, but it's not unique. These just happen to be the two children we first ran into.
[ ] [Roza] Talk to Linda
Ask her what? Tell her what?
[ ] Ask about Annie, Jane and Pip.
She has no doubts as to her own prognosis.
[ ] Try to reassure her.
But how does one reassure a dying mother?
[ ] Write-in.
[ ] [Roza] Ask Rubia to help.
Rubia once told you a story from when she was young. She'd come across a village, one much like this one, where the sole survivor was a young girl who was dying from Honkai infection. All she could do was grant her one final, beautiful dream.
She thought, with the benefit of having lived two years since then, that perhaps she should have granted a different one. The world-wise logic of an (estimated) fourteen-year-old, thinking her twelve-year-old self somewhat of an idiot. She wasn't wrong.
Acceptance.
[ ] [Roza] Borrow Liliya's medication.
All this would do on its own is prolong Linda's suffering, if it doesn't outright kill her. Without an intravenous supply of nutrition, her body is close to death from starvation. The nanites aren't magic, and still need sugar to work, but it is doubtful that Linda could eat no matter what.
This does not mean there are no options at all.
It does mean Roza cannot currently think of any.
Struggle.
[ ] [Roza] Ask Seele for help.
Roza would prefer if Seele never sees this at all, and if she's going to ask her for help, she wants to be absolutely sure Seele will indeed be able to help. Her opinion is that Seele is ductile, not fragile. She bends; she doesn't break. But Seele has already bent quite far enough.
Roza would like to once again stress that she does not want to do this.
Summer.
[ ] [Roza] Ask Veliona for help.
Roza does not feel nearly comfortable enough to do this, and is quite frankly a bit scared of her. They're connecting, a little, but she has no particular reason to think Vel would be able to help.
Such reasons do exist. If you can think of them, then so can Roza.
Winter.
[ ] [Liliya] Experiment.
"There are thoughts Rozaliya is unwilling to think. If so, then it can be my role to think them."
This will achieve something impossible.
Desperation.
[ ] [Roza] Write-in.
Since when has the best option ever been a simple one?
[X]Plan: Struggle
-[X] [Seele] "We didn't, it was never guaranteed. But that doesn't mean we can give up. Even if we're scared, we still owe it to Bronya, Lili, Roza, and the others to try the best we can - for their sake, if not for ours. And I want us to keep living for your sake too, sis. After so much time of not understanding you I want to try and make up for that lost time and that means we need to keep time going." -[X] [Liliya] Experiment.
--[X][Liliya] Send a message through the breach asking if Kiana/Sirin can come to help you cure someone. If all goes well, bring Linda there at the meeting time.
[X] [Seele] ""So what? What does it matter if we're wandering a graveyard? You're here, I'm here, Bronya, Roza, and Liliya... We're all here. All of us are alive and together. I only cared about the world because all of us lived there, if we're all alive we have hope to make a new one. There are still bubble universes, stable ones even, and with Kiana, Bronya, and us maybe we could make something work- something new. I don't want to give up, I can't give up if there's even a small chance I could keep everyone I care about safe. Maybe I'm being naive, maybe I'm blind to the horrors. But if it's really that bleak for you, really that hopeless can you hold my hand and believe in me? In my hope?"
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
--[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
-[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
Scheduled vote count started by Baughn on Apr 11, 2021 at 4:09 PM, finished with 28 posts and 4 votes.
[X] [Seele] ""So what? What does it matter if we're wandering a graveyard? You're here, I'm here, Bronya, Roza, and Liliya... We're all here. All of us are alive and together. I only cared about the world because all of us lived there, if we're all alive we have hope to make a new one. There are still bubble universes, stable ones even, and with Kiana, Bronya, and us maybe we could make something work- something new. I don't want to give up, I can't give up if there's even a small chance I could keep everyone I care about safe. Maybe I'm being naive, maybe I'm blind to the horrors. But if it's really that bleak for you, really that hopeless can you hold my hand and believe in me? In my hope?"
[X]Plan: Struggle
-[X] [Seele] "We didn't, it was never guaranteed. But that doesn't mean we can give up. Even if we're scared, we still owe it to Bronya, Lili, Roza, and the others to try the best we can - for their sake, if not for ours. And I want us to keep living for your sake too, sis. After so much time of not understanding you I want to try and make up for that lost time and that means we need to keep time going." -[X] [Liliya] Experiment.
--[X][Liliya] Send a message through the breach asking if Kiana/Sirin can come to help you cure someone. If all goes well, bring Linda there at the meeting time.
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
--[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
-[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
Scheduled vote count started by Baughn on Apr 11, 2021 at 4:12 PM, finished with 31 posts and 5 votes.
[X] [Seele] ""So what? What does it matter if we're wandering a graveyard? You're here, I'm here, Bronya, Roza, and Liliya... We're all here. All of us are alive and together. I only cared about the world because all of us lived there, if we're all alive we have hope to make a new one. There are still bubble universes, stable ones even, and with Kiana, Bronya, and us maybe we could make something work- something new. I don't want to give up, I can't give up if there's even a small chance I could keep everyone I care about safe. Maybe I'm being naive, maybe I'm blind to the horrors. But if it's really that bleak for you, really that hopeless can you hold my hand and believe in me? In my hope?"
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
-[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
[X]Plan: Struggle
-[X] [Seele] "We didn't, it was never guaranteed. But that doesn't mean we can give up. Even if we're scared, we still owe it to Bronya, Lili, Roza, and the others to try the best we can - for their sake, if not for ours. And I want us to keep living for your sake too, sis. After so much time of not understanding you I want to try and make up for that lost time and that means we need to keep time going." -[X] [Liliya] Experiment.
--[X][Liliya] Send a message through the breach asking if Kiana/Sirin can come to help you cure someone. If all goes well, bring Linda there at the meeting time.
[X] [Liliya] Overcome.
--[X][Liliya] The Core of Death is capable of arbitrary biological manipulation, even limited in its form as the Gem of Serenity. Apply treatment to Linda and the others who are not completely gone, to keep them stable, and ask Seele to send a message back to the Hyperion to try and contact Kiana/Sirin and ask if they can help. Proceed from the baseline of their reply.
