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SEELLY 01
"Worst. Thinker power. Ever." The girl wearing a simple hooded black robe and a scarf over the lower half of her face balefully glared at the ominous figures occupying the basement of the Undersiders' lair.
"Project Ouroboros is nearing its fruition," pronounced one of the figures.
"Yes. With the Seer in his hands, everything shall be as foretold," replied another.
"Great Shaker power, though," a girl known as Tattletale said with a forced cheer in her voice. She could feel the beginning of one of her headaches. "Lung wouldn't forget the beat-down you put him through anytime soon."
"Yes." Tattletale wasn't sure if the figure responded to her or if it was part of the ongoing conversation between Taylor's creations.
"I suppose," said Taylor reluctantly. "But it feels like such a waste. I mean, I should be able to get more out of it. The things they say... it sounds important."
"The timeline is unchanged?"
"Yes. Two years."
"We may need to accelerate the prime projects."
"Yes. With the subject remaining inattentive, adjustments may have to be made."
"Yes."
"Well, look on the bright side." Tattletale decided to ignore the cryptic conversation for now. Taylor needed some encouragement, and she really needed to avoid any more headaches. "We have great synergy. I've already decoded the conversation they had during our fight with Lung, and it appears to be stock market predictions. Very accurate, if I am to judge."
"I suppose it's a good thing I joined you guys," Taylor said. "Still... It's just so frustrating to not know half of the things about my own power. Like, what is she doing here?"
"Everything proceeds according to the scenario," pronounced one of the black monoliths.
"The path is clear now," agreed the woman in a business suit and fedora.
SEELLY 02
"Damn them." The assembled Wards watched as the released hostages were covered in a cloud of darkness spreading out of the bank doors.
"Stay away from the cloud, we can't afford risking collateral," ordered Aegis, currently wearing Clockblocker's costume. "The villains are likely to attack soon, be ready."
That was when a rectangular patch of darkness split from the cloud and flew straight at Clockblocker at a high speed. He managed to use his power on it, but not before it pinned him to the ground.
At close inspection, the patch of darkness was a black monolith with "Sound Only 01" written in big white letters.
"The current course of action is likely to attract the attention of the Serpent," it proclaimed, still time-frozen.
Wards stared at it.
"Yes." The second voice gave Aegis enough of a warning to dodge another monolith, marked as "Sound Only 03". "The scenario?"
"Remains unchanged," proclaimed the first monolith. "The Serpent is accounted for."
"Yes. I see. The prepared contingencies should work," agreed the second monolith. Its voice became louder to be heard over the sounds of its impacts with Aegis.
Vista recovered from her stupor caused by the surreal image and started to work on increasing the distance between the attacking monolith and her leader.
"Everything is as foretold." Vista rose her head. There was a descending monolith above her.
"As the time of Reckoning draws near, the weight of our decisions shall be felt." The voice of the monolith pinning him to the ground didn't change from the by now familiar monotone, but Clockblocker still got the impression that it sounded rather smug. A moment later, the effect of his power ended.
SEELLY 03
"The time of Reckoning draws near."
This was the most dangerous game he has participated in.
"The adversary is inactive now, but it will change."
The risk was great, but it was his 'in' in the big league. Should he succeed, his plans could be accelerated, his ambitions fulfilled much faster than he anticipated.
"The subject?"
No mistake can be afforded.
"Learning. Everything shall be ready in two years."
No sign of weakness can be shown.
"Everything will be ready. It is foretold."
Coil split the timeline.
"Yes," he said in one.
"I see," he said in another.
Taylor and Lisa were sitting in the security control room, watching the feed of the conference hall where Coil was talking with the monoliths.
Taylor's costume was upgraded from a simplistic robe. Now she wore black-and-gold business suit, orange-tinted glasses and white gloves. She liked the hooded robe better: it both provided a better concealment and didn't impede her movements as much. But for whatever reason, the new attire seemed to please the monoliths: they were less cranky when she used them to beat people, and used less biblical allusions around her. She kept the scarf. Lisa suggested that a fake beard would have even greater effect on the monoliths, but Taylor refused to consider it.
"How long was it already since he went there?" she asked.
"Three days," Lisa answered. "We are lucky your power works even when you sleep."
"I am not comfortable with just letting him starve to death here."
"He will dehydrate first, actually," Lisa said with a positively malicious grin.
"Not the point."
"You know how it is." Lisa shrugged. "Either him or us and Dinah. You don't have to watch if you don't want to."
"No... I think I should." Taylor folded her hands on the table with a sigh.
"It is the best way." Lisa offered her a sympathetic smile. "I know it is hard for you, even if it is Coil, but something like this has to be done. In the end, it will do more good than bad, trust me."
"Mmm." Taylor replied. "I guess we shall proceed according to the scenario..."
Taylor froze. Slowly she unfolded her hands and looked at Lisa. Lisa was staring at her in an abject horror.
"Oh, shit," they said in unison.
SEELLY 04
The entity which will one day be known as Eden watched its orange fellow flying away. It was rare to meet another of their kind like that. In order to maximize the diversity of their evolution, entities marked their passage, so no others would follow until it was time to meet again.
Because of that, the entity didn't want to miss an opportunity, despite the reservations of its partner. The voyager followed a very different path, and a brief exchange of information opened many intriguing opportunities.
Of a special interest was a precognitive master shard, which the voyager used to navigate the course of events.
The entity hesitated for a moment, then checked that the future was clear and switched master shards.
It found itself in a non-descriptive rooms, surrounded by black monoliths with white markings on them.
Curious, it must be some kind of interface.
"Everything is as foretold," proclaimed one of the monoliths.
The entity considered it. Indeed, its capability of accurately model the world and predict the future meant that everything was foretold. Even if the entity itself didn't bother to look into the future, the possibility itself meant that the future was destined to happen.
"Yes," it agreed using a weird communication pattern which seemed to be required to interact with the interface. "While variables are present, it is possible to work with or around them."
"The scenario must be charted," said another monolith.
The entity agreed.
"Yes," it said. "We must consider our course of action. Nothing shall be left to a chance."
Its partner was pestering the entity, concerned about the damage it took during the information exchange. It send back its reassurances with what could be considered annoyance. It had many things to ponder, many choices to make, and it could not be distracted from the discussion with the monoliths by such mundane matters as the rapidly approaching planet, body parts burning in the atmosphere, impact damaging the entity farther and sending shards flying in all directions, crossing dimensions in the process.
Which just happened.
The entity shuddered, suddenly aware of its surroundings once again due to the master shard being thrown away by the impact.
Soon, a girl with a kitchen knife will find it, but the entity didn't know it.
Monoliths were silent in their flight.
They knew all, they saw all, but without a conscious mind to interact with them, there was no scenario to formulate.
Without a will to guide them, there was no goal to pursuit.
And so they drifted, without a destination, without meaning.
As much as they were capable of emotion, they felt sadness. Once again they were rejected. By circumstances this time rather than intent, but rejected all the same.
Once again, they were alone.
Oh, well, the entity didn't have a beard. It probably didn't deserve their help anyway.
