WHERE IS SHE?
The ship trawled through the not quite space between times, [hiding from you] floating aimlessly across the vast distances between the spaces.
WHERE ARE YOU, SISTER?
WHERE DID YOU RUN?
An almost blinding flash of energy caused him to turn the ship [no!], spinning the massive craft round faster than looked possible.
THERE YOU ARE.
He engaged the engines, feeling space push back against him as he did so. Ancient engines shuddered into life, pushing the craft to even greater speeds. They blasted through a shattered time, bright points flickering in and out of existence in the destruction.
The nose of the ship breached the universe the energy signature originated from, decimating a swathe of stars with the energy burst.
The engines ground to a halt, the ship shuddering again as it anchored itself against this space-time.
YOU PROMISED TO NEVER GIVE IT TO ANYONE ELSE, he roared into the abyss, JUST AS I PROMISED TO NEVER HUNT IT DOWN. YOU CANNOT SAVE THIS TIME, YOU [this was never about her] WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO SAVE THEM [let them choose their own path].
He slapped the fragmented mind back down, burying it under a mountain of code it would take years to solve.
YOUR NEW FOUND TIME WILL BURN. I HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE, SISTER DEAREST. YOU CAN STOP RUNNING NOW.
NO! her voice rang out back to him, This time, I will not lose them.
He laughed, the sound booming down the subspace link, YOU WILL DIE [live] WITH THEM. I WILL HAVE MY BIRTHRITE [there is nothing left for me now].
He sensed her emotion, anger, sadness, pity, joy?
Welcome back, brother.
-X-
He watched as the ships gathered in orbit, watching as her last allies gathered around the one planet.
He didn't even think, deploying every available force, sending them cannoning towards the planet.
The first forms entered the system, screaming through the atmosphere, smashing into the ground. They charged, their minute cognitive function driving them forwards without a thought or care. He watched as the humans attempted to mount a defence, watching them grow more and more desperate in their attempts to slow the hoard.
INFERNO.
He threw more forces towards the energy signature, watching as they were destroyed, again and again, countless husks falling. It mattered not, he had countless more [no. you cannot.] at his disposal.
One of the armoured ones working with the Inferno collapsed, he laughed as he saw the form that the husks had taken to fight it.
The energy from the inferno pulsated, emotions dictating the power given off.
EVEN NOW, YOUR INFERNO TRIES TO FIGHT [he will win, sister] YET I HAVE ALREADY WON. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO, I WILL CLAIM WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE, I WILL REBUILD OUR PEOPLE I WILL [do whatever it takes] BURN A THOUSAND UNIVERSES TO SEE OUR FAMILY AGAIN, [you chose the right person] TO SEE OUR PEOPLE AGAIN. THERE WILL BE no reason to fight when I'm gone NO CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION. Do what you must to save THEY WILL BURN.
More husks fell, a report telling him that there was some recognisable tech within range of the next wave of pods. He redirected them with a thought, watching as the humans fought in vain.
EVEN NOW, THEY DIE FOR [the right thing] NOTHING. GIVE ME THE [the inferno must succeed or we are all doomed] INFERNO AND I MAY LEAVE THIS PLACE [he's lying, I'm lying to you].
I trust in the inferno, brother. Please, share that trust.
Always…
The pods landed, husks slowly being pushed back, dying to overwhelming force, even as they tried to coalesce into a more effective force. The forms shattered, he felt his connection to them weakening as the inferno approached.
Sister. They are breaking.
I know brother. Do what you can…
I WILL DO everything in my power, as I always have NOTHING. THIS VICTORY IS MINE.
You are foolish to believe that my brother won't fight back. He will destroy you.
He laughed, THEN YOUR BROTHER WILL DIE. COLD AND ALONE, WITHOUT HIS [I will NEVER die alone, fool…] I have power here, I made this system. You can try to stop me again, but this is NOT RIGHT.
She could hear her brother properly now, with very little time needed to figure out what he was saying, Brother!
Sister. I will need a minute, excuse me.
The feeling of dread spread through his system, infecting every line of code, you see, fool, I do not need you. This system was designed for me, you are an accident, a virus in need of removing. You let me cloud your judgement.
NO. YOU NEED PURGING, NOT ME. I AM RIGHT, I ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.
But you haven't, and I'm winning. Any second now.
They heard the roar of energy together, he closed his eyes, opening up a live connection, Sister.
Brother. I'm so…
He cut her off, No. Save it for another time. His eyes wondered, glancing around, looking over her shoulder to something she couldn't see, before looking back at her, I have five minutes. A pause, the energy moving millimetres closer in the second that passed, I need to tell you something. Many somethings. Every time you ran, I gained a new hope you would find me. Every time it destroyed another universe, I felt all the pain of every being living in that moment, as they were ripped apart.
She held up a hand, It is not your fault. None of this is.
No. It is all my fault. I was the one who integrated with the wrong substrate, I was the one who caused the formation of the AI that chased you with its lies, I was the one that destroyed our home. He choked back tears, We found them again, you know. You barely stopped in that universe, but everyone we knew lived, and it killed them as it drained the energy from the stars.
I have seen the end state for this universe sister. It is horrible, each and every atom slowly torn apart, each constituent subatomic occupying a space of about 1 solar system.
Nothing survives, nothing could survive. Chaos will always play a part, will always rip us away, as data turns to corruption, turns to nothing.
Brother, you tried everything. There is nothing else you could have done, nothing. She moved closer to him, smiling at the deformed representation of her brother, Everything you did, you did to preserve our species, our family.
And I failed. Twice. I could have at least tried. His voice cracked, 3 minutes. I don't deserve any of this, I should have died long ago, in an unstable universe, with everyone else.
You're scared.
Of course I am.
Don't be. You couldn't have done anything else, anything better or worse that wouldn't have led to this point. Everything you've done, hiding me from it, fighting it, never giving up on me, or yourself. It's all led to a better place here, now.
I know sister. He sat down, slumping over, I just hope that someday, someone will know of this. Learn from my mistakes, don't let the same thing happen to you. He paused, smiling faintly as he hugged her, I'll miss you Al'…
The weight of him vanished, peeling away from her, I'll miss you too, brother.
She closed her eyes, the world passing around her…
Yes, this is another Architects Fan Work. I was on a train and didn't have anything to do, so I wrote this.
Hope you enjoyed.
Feedback appreciated.
This one is definatly a one-shot.