Before you ask: No, Temporal Fates hasn't been abandoned, and it's not going to be abandoned either. The last few chapters wrapping up the canon arc have been giving me a bit of trouble, but I'm still working hard on them.
This is a new side-project of sorts that I'm trying out. If you've heard of Miitopia, you might know that it lets you customise your own party members, and the NPCs as well if you want. I'm playing through the game with the VSSE agents as my party members and seeing what sort of adventures they might encounter. You don't have to be familiar with Miitopia to understand this fic, though you might spot some in–jokes to the actual game if you've played it.
Usually, I prefer to plan everything out as much as possible before I write. But in this fic, the subplots are all dependent on the random events that play out in my game (though the overall plot follows Miitopia's storyline). As such, it's a test of how well I can improvise and weave a solid narrative out of chaos.
This was actually Noodlebirdie's idea first. She's doing her own version of it, though hers is still being worked on. I thought it sounded fun, so I asked for her permission to try my hand at it. So, while the premise of this fic was her idea, I'm posting this with her blessing. Not to mention, our fics are based on the same premise, but we're writing them separately by ourselves and doing our own takes on them.
As a sidenote: To the person who thought you were being clever by copying a chunk from my fic "The Case Opened" wholesale and changing it slightly for your own fic: You're pathetic.
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a traveller named Giorgio. Though his journeys took him through many towns, he never stayed in any of them for long, shunning human contact and preferring to wander across the world by himself, wherever the path he walked might lead him. Some might call it a lonely lifestyle, but Giorgio was a solitary person by nature, and loneliness had long since been his only companion.
If someone asked Giorgio whether he was happy, he wouldn't quite have been able to say yes, but he wasn't discontent with his life either. Most of the time, he simply didn't feel anything. Life was just there, neither good nor bad nor anything in–between… It was mostly an empty vacuum.
And so for a long time, Giorgio drifted aimlessly from place to place like a silent shadow. Until one fateful day, his world changed forever…
In truth, it was the light that caught Giorgio's attention.
He had been making his way through an ordinary field, just like the many fields he'd passed through on his previous journeys. Aside from a few butterflies fluttering about, there was nobody in sight, which suited him just fine.
A flare of bright light at the edge of his vision caused him to look up, startled.
A strange, glowing orb that looked almost like a face was floating above him. As Giorgio stared at it in surprise, it dived down towards the flock of butterflies, hovering near them.
Suddenly, the orb suddenly turned invisible, leaving nothing but a pair of disembodied eyes floating in the air.
Before Giorgio had a chance to react, the eyes shot towards one of the butterflies in a blinding flash of light.
When his vision cleared, the sight before him filled him with a sense of horrified dread.
The pair of eyes was affixed to the butterfly's flapping wings… And they were glaring ominously at Giorgio.
As the butterfly lunged at him, he didn't stop to think. Dodging the flapping menace, Giorgio bolted from the field without a backwards glance.
He ran, not daring to look behind him and see if the bizarre creature was still following him. As his lungs screamed for air and his legs burned, he finally came to a stop, looking around frantically.
Fortunately, the creature was nowhere in sight.
However, he was dismayed to find that he could not recognise his surroundings. It seemed that in his haste to escape, he had lost track of where he was as well.
Scanning the nearby area, Giorgio spotted a well–worn path leading through the nearby forest. Hoping that it led to a neighbouring town rather than deeper into the woods, he cursed his inattention before setting off down the path.
To his relief, his instincts were correct. Before long, Giorgio entered a small town called Greenhorne. Though there were some people hanging around the town square, Giorgio kept his head down and just walked past them. He was uncomfortable enough talking to people under normal circumstances; in light of what had just happened, he was in no mood whatsoever for unnecessary human interaction.
If he could just find an inn, perhaps he could get directions back to where he'd been before, and then he could return to his normal life and forget about the strange encounter he'd just had. Soon enough, he'd be able to convince himself that he'd imagined the whole thing, and he wouldn't have to think about it again.
Lost in his thoughts, Giorgio nearly collided with a man wearing a top hat.
"Excuse me," he muttered, stepping aside.
"No harm done, stranger!" The man replied cheerfully. "Welcome to Greenhorne. I'm the Mayor here. How are you liking the town?"
"It's… it's fine," Giorgio replied, trying to shake the Mayor off and end the conversation.
"Ah, it's a nice town, isn't it?" The Mayor laughed, oblivious to Giorgio's discomfort. "Everyone's so friendly here. Have you spoken to the townspeople?"
Biting back a curse, Giorgio nodded, hoping that by pretending to agree, the Mayor would be satisfied and leave him alone.
Before the Mayor could say anything else, a commotion broke out in the town square as people began gasping and pointing up at the sky. A tendril of dread crept up his spine, replacing his irritation, and Giorgio slowly looked up as well.
A shadowy being cloaked in darkness was floating in the air, waves of ominous purple light emanating from him.
"I am the Dark Lord, Chaos," he hissed, his voice echoing through the air and in the darkest corners of Giorgio's mind. "This miserable world will be cleansed of suffering… And your town will be the first to be saved."
Even as Giorgio's instincts screamed at him to run, he remained rooted to the spot, paralysed by the primal terror flooding through him.
"Prepare for oblivion."
Chaos raised his hands…
And like a flood, the townspeople's faces began to separate from their bodies, flying towards the Dark Lord until he was surrounded by a cloud of floating orbs, each containing a stolen face.
"Enough. This will do for now." Chaos let out a mocking laugh. "Have fun watching your friends suffer… Until your turn comes."
With a guttural roar, Chaos vanished in a swirling vortex of darkness, taking the faces with him.
It took a few minutes for Giorgio's brain to start working again.
Swallowing the sick feeling in his stomach at his narrow escape, he looked around him at the chaos that had broken out. The overly friendly Mayor had been spared as well, but the man had been reduced to a gibbering wreck and didn't respond when Giorgio tried to speak to him.
A small, selfish part of him wanted to run from the town and not look back.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he was disgusted with himself. It was true that he shunned the company of others wherever possible, but how could he even think of leaving others to suffer while he ran like a coward and safeguarded his own wellbeing?
"Adventurer!"
The cry stopped him in his tracks.
A young mother whose son had lost his face was looking at him, hope and worry mingling in her expression.
Before Giorgio could correct her (he was certainly no brave adventurer; just a solitary drifter with no purpose in life), she continued.
"I beg of you… Please, help my son!"
Giorgio hesitated.
On one hand, he wasn't keen on becoming involved in something that would clearly be fraught with danger; especially since he didn't even know how to help, or if such a thing would be possible.
But looking at the desperation in the woman's eyes, Giorgio found that he couldn't bring himself to crush her hopes.
"I… I don't know how I can help, but I'll try," he found himself saying.
The woman's eyes brightened.
"Oh! Thank you so much!"
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a charm that looked both odd and strangely familiar.
"I know it isn't much, but please… Take this. It's a family heirloom… A good luck charm that's been passed down in our family for generations."
Giorgio opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the woman's steely expression, he knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.
With a nod of thanks, Giorgio accepted the charm, placing it into his own pocket.
"I'm sure the Dark Lord is still lurking somewhere nearby. Would you go take a look around?"
Sure, that sounds like a terrific idea. Go looking for an all–powerful being that just stole half the townspeople's faces, and let him have a shot at stealing my face too.
Swallowing the sarcastic response on the tip of his tongue, Giorgio nodded curtly at the mother and walked away, heading in the direction that she'd pointed towards.
I must be losing my mind. This is a terrible idea.
Despite the bitter thoughts running through his mind, Giorgio forced himself to keep moving, even as he wondered if he would come to regret his decision.
It was only a few minutes before he realised his mistake.
A dark shadow blotting out the sun above him was all the warning Giorgio had before Chaos swooped down from out of nowhere, blocking his path.
"Ooh, is someone trying to play the hero?" Chaos taunted with a wicked smirk.
No… I don't… I don't want to die…
Giorgio flinched away from the Dark Lord, biting back a terrified cry as the malevolent being let out a cruel laugh.
What was I thinking? I'm no hero. I can't do this.
Shoving his shaking hands in his pockets, Giorgio found his hand closing around the charm the woman had given him earlier.
…No. The woman trusted me to help. Stupid of her, to ask someone so useless to be a saviour… But if I go back on my word, I'll never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.
"Give the boy's face back," Giorgio retorted, hating the way his voice shook as he spoke.
The Dark Lord's eyes widened in amusement.
"You mean this?" With a wave of his hand, he summoned the child's missing face.
"If you want it…" A sweep of his hand, and suddenly there was a jelly–like blob of slime right in front of him, so close by Giorgio could smell the putrid breath from its non–existent mouth.
"You'll have to take it by force."
A flash of light exploded through the air, and the child's face shot towards the slime.
When the light faded, the slime was grinning maliciously at Giorgio, leaving no question as to the fate it had in store for him.
"Farewell, 'Hero'." Chaos let out a final cackle before vanishing again.
Oh God…
As the slime opened its gaping maw, Giorgio squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a whimper.
A brilliant light enveloped the area, shining so brightly that he could sense it even through his closed eyelids.
Puzzled, Giorgio opened his eyes, casting his gaze around for the source of the light.
To his astonishment, the charm he had been carrying with him was floating in the air, giving off a dazzling yet warm glow.
As he stared at the charm, eyes wide with disbelief, the light suddenly flared brighter, engulfing him entirely.
Blinking dazedly as his vision returned to normal, Giorgio looked around wildly, trying to take in his surroundings.
The forest was gone entirely, as was the slime. He was standing in a technicolour landscape that was radiant beyond belief, yet oddly soothing. It almost felt like he was coming home at the end of a very long day, knowing he was safe and could rest comfortably.
Somehow, the sheer warmth welling up within him made him feel even more uneasy than he had been earlier in Greenhorne. It was a terrifying and entirely foreign sensation, feeling so utterly alive after countless years of just drifting through a void of numbness.
A small part of Giorgio wondered if he had felt this way once, before everything seemed to become dull and grey and empty. But that was surely impossible. Someone as worthless and pathetic as him couldn't possibly deserve to experience something so vibrant.
"Giorgio…" A musical voice echoed through the landscape.
It was soft and kind and gentle, and terrifyingly familiar.
No… It can't be…
"Giorgio, can you hear me?"
"No… Go away! You're not real!" He shouted, clenching his fists tightly.
There was a moment of silence. When the voice spoke again, its words were tinged with sorrow.
"My son… Don't you recognise your mother's voice?"
Giorgio was trembling now, tears welling up in his eyes as he swallowed painfully, a rush of unwanted memories surging to the forefront of his mind.
Bright blue light flaring through the meadow… Losing his balance as a portal opened up right behind him… Strong arms grabbing hold of him, pulling him out of harm's way… The strange light vanishing without a trace, leaving behind an empty field… A broken cry echoing through the air, met only with silence…
"You're gone," he whispered. "You vanished years ago, both of you; you can't be here…"
"But we are." A second voice spoke up, deeper than the first.
"Father…" Giorgio breathed, disbelief colouring his tone.
"Giorgio… Please, hear us out."
Though Giorgio had tried his best to bury his memories of the past, the ever–calm tone of his father's voice was impossible to forget.
A million questions bubbled up within him, yet he could do nothing but stand where he was, staring in the direction of his parents' voices as tears continued to flow down his cheeks.
"Giorgio… We missed you so much. I wish we could have been there to see you grow up."
Then why weren't you? Why did you have to leave me? How could you do that to me? He wanted to scream. At the same time, he hated himself for even entertaining those thoughts.
After all, it had been entirely his fault.
If his parents hadn't had to save him from falling into the portal, they wouldn't have been pulled into the portal instead. They would have been perfectly fine, and they wouldn't have had to forfeit their lives to save someone entirely unworthy of such a sacrifice.
"I… I'm so sorry… I didn't…" Giorgio stammered, hot shame flooding through him.
"Giorgio, no." His mother cut him off firmly. "What happened wasn't your fault. We know you've been blaming yourself all these years… But you can't keep thinking like that."
Giorgio went very still.
"You've been watching me," he said flatly, a hint of anger stealing into his voice.
Why didn't you ever say anything to me?
"We wanted to speak to you, so many times… In fact, we tried to, more than once. But you could never hear us. In the end, all we could do was watch over you silently and hope we could reach you someday."
"So why now?" Giorgio retorted sharply. "What makes this time so different?"
"The charm you had with you… It brought you here, to our realm. Here, we may speak with you freely, even though we can't do so in the outside world."
"Just what the hell is so special about that thing?" Giorgio asked in bewilderment.
There was a sad laugh.
"Do you truly not recognise it?" His mother asked softly.
Almost unconsciously, Giorgio closed his eyes, trying to recall the charm's appearance.
The memory that came to mind instead stole the breath right out of his lungs.
The same charm, tied to the strings of his mother's favourite apron… The one she had been wearing on the day of the incident…
"But how… It can't be! The woman who gave it to me said it had been in her family for generations!" Giorgio exclaimed.
"And indeed it has," his father replied. "That portal… It was a one–way trip into the distant past. Your mother and I spent a long time trying to find a way back home to you before we were forced to admit that it was impossible. We had no other choice but to live out the rest of our lives in the past."
"Your mother's charm was one of the few possessions we had with us. It became necessary to barter it for resources, that we might have a chance of surviving. Time did the rest, and the charm changed hands until it found its way to the family of the woman who gave it to you."
"If you were flung into the past, how are you here now?" Giorgio asked, a slight tremor to his voice.
"After we passed on… Because of our unique circumstances, among other things, we ascended to become guardian spirits. That is why we are able to dwell in this realm, watching over the world… and over you. That charm became a divine anchor, allowing whoever possesses it to cross over between our world and the outside world."
Giorgio was silent for a moment, trying to process his parents' words. "So, you've done this before, with the woman's ancestors?"
"No, you're the first. That family lived through times of peace. They never needed to use the charm as it was meant to be used. To them, it was merely a good luck charm, just as it had once been when we were alive."
"Why me then? Why now?" Giorgio demanded.
"Because you're up against something too big for you to handle alone. You're going to need all the help you can get."
At this, Giorgio let out a bitter laugh.
"What about when I had to fend for myself after you vanished? Or when I had to relive the incident over and over again in my nightmares, and I didn't even have the comfort of being able to tell myself it was just a dream?"
As though a dam had burst, the feelings of betrayal and abandonment he'd been trying to ignore for years came pouring out of him in one furious torrent.
"I've been alone for most of my life, and I'm fine with that. I don't need or want anybody's help," he spat.
For a long moment, there was no response. Then, his mother let out a soft sigh.
"This is what I meant. Giorgio… You survived that day, but you seem to have forgotten that. You tried to stop living, to stop feeling anything… You can't go on like this. We'll always be with you, watching over you… But you're still alive. You need to let yourself live again."
A gentle warmth enveloped Giorgio, almost like a hug. Falling to his knees, he finally broke down completely, weeping with shame and fear and grief as the emotions he'd locked away for so long were finally freed from the stony prison of his empty heart.
"Let this be the first of the divine gifts we bestow upon you: The return of your heart, and the power to start living again."
An odd sensation filled Giorgio, as though something heavy that had been weighing upon him without him noticing had slipped away, leaving him feeling both lighter and more vulnerable than he had been in years.
It terrified him… Yet, at the same time, a part of him revelled in it, this sudden freedom that was both foreign and familiar.
Is this what it feels like to be alive? How could I have forgotten?
As white light filled his surroundings, his mother's voice came in one final whisper, echoing in his mind.
"Go forth and make us proud, my son."
Author's Note:
To clarify, this is a straight up AU, unlike some of my other fics, which seem to be set in another universe at first before revealing themselves to be occurring in the canon Time Crisis universe. All the Time Crisis characters in this fic exist entirely in the Miitopia universe with different backstories from Time Crisis canon, though they share similarities with their canon counterparts when it comes to personality, since they're the same person at heart.
Although I'm following the overall plotline of Miitopia, I've rephrased most of the dialogue to keep the essence of what's being said while using my own words to fit the tone I'm going for. As you can probably already guess from this chapter, I've also expanded on scenes which aren't as detailed in the game itself while weaving in my own subplots. As mentioned earlier, it's not necessary to have played Miitopia to understand this fic, but you might find it a bit more amusing if you're aware of exactly what I've changed from canon.
Also, for the major named characters who aren't from Time Crisis, like the Dark Lord Chaos, I mostly just ran with whatever randomly generated Mii the game assigned for each of them in my game. Though, with Chaos, I chose that name since it's a classic name for villains, and my game decided to put "Slenderman" as my Dark Lord, which felt far too silly for my liking.