The Tale of Three

Chapter 35

Wrong place, wrong time

"Anything?"

"No. Still nothing. Just...gone without a trace. No footprints, no supplies lying around, nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I made sure to triple-checked everything. There's no sign of her anywhere."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"DAMMIT!" Jenkins yelled, and not wanting to waste an opportunity to physically express his anger, he reared his hand back, curled it into a fist, and smashed it into a nearby wall, causing the entire thing to shake violently and for dust to fall to the floor in literal clumps.

Mariposa, who had been practically standing right next to him, cringed away from this outburst and took a step or two away from him, but didn't go any further. He wasn't mad at her after all. He was more mad at himself for not finding Meteora and letting her disappear into thin air, even after a whole day of searching. It was clear that this whole thing was beginning to take its toll on his psych. Mariposa was coping in her own way, in that she ignored what might happen if they didn't find her and simply focused on the actual search itself. Treating it like a scavenger hunt, if you will. Only the thing she was trying to find was an actual person and not some object.

"Dammit…" He repeated, placing both his arms against the wall and leaning on it. "Where could she be?" He asked for the hundredth time. "We've checked everywhere! There's nowhere else to hide! Nowhere else to go!"

"Calm down." Mariposa said. "Getting angry about it won't solve anything. And by the way, you've said that a dozen times already. I get it. Everyone gets it. She's gone. But doing..." She motioned towards the crack he made in the wall. "...this won't help us find her."

"Of course. You're right." Jenkins said. "You're right. I have to calm down. Think about what Meteora would say if she saw me like this. I can already hear the criticism…"

Jenkins expected Mariposa to laugh behind her, but instead the girl groaned and sat down in a nearby chair, placing her elbow on the armrest and pressing her face into her hand. She had an expression similar to a person who wanted to quit their job and take an eternal vacation, only to realize that they couldn't because that would mean destitution.

'What an absolute fucking mess.' She thought. 'If we don't find Meteora soon, then I swear I'm getting the hell out of here as well. I knew that Jenkins might go a little crazy if one of us vanished, or god forbid, died, but this is too much. I think I'm literally watching the process of this man's descent into insanity.' Mariposa then thought back to something he said earlier and scoffed, thinking of how ridiculous it sounded. 'There's nowhere else for her to go. Yeah. Sure. Give me a break dude. She can fly. Meteora can go anywhere she wants. And if I'm being completely honest, considering that we haven't found her anywhere, the only thing I can think of that would explain this is…'

"How do you know she didn't just fly away to go find her mother?" Mariposa asked, bringing her ideas into reality. "I feel like by this point we should start to consider all the possibilities."

"Yeah, we should." Jenkins said, turning around to face her. "And I get it. I see why you'd think she would do that. After all, it might not even take that long. Depending on how fast she can travel in that form, she might be able to make it to Eclipsa's settlement by the end of the day. A couple hundred miles is nothing when you have magic. And with just how much magic she has fueling her…" He shrugged. "Yeah, she could probably do that if she really wanted to."

"So…so then do you think-"

"No. No, that doesn't mean I think she did it." Jenkins said. "Not like this at least. Not by disappearing without telling us first. That's not like her."

"Are you sure?" Mariposa asked. "I mean, we both saw that random light in the forest, back when we were still hanging out at the Avarius's house. That might have been her transforming into her Butterfly form."

"I haven't forgotten about it." Jenkins said. "Beside finding Meteora, whatever that light was has been at the top of my mind ever since I saw it. But it wasn't her going Butterfly. When Meteora shifts into that form, she emits a green light, not a golden one. Do I think that she was casting something out there? Yes. Do I think that she turned into a giant bug again and took off? Definitely not."

"Fair enough." Mariposa said, slightly peeved that she had forgotten that detail. "But I don't see any other way she could have vanished like this. Like you said, we've checked everywhere. She's not in Echo creek. The portal is still blocked. And Meteora's not stupid enough to go out in the Wastes alone on foot. I honestly don't know what other option there is besides her going Butterfly and leaving!"

"No! There...there has to be another way." Jenkins said, calming himself and not wanting Mariposa to think that his anger was directed at her. "Think. Think. That golden light has to be connected to it somehow. Where have you…Star maybe? Her Butterfly form was golden. Maybe she-no. No, that doesn't make sense. No! Wait! It might! Eclipsa knows where we are! If Star gained magic again, then Eclipsa might have sent her to-agh, that doesn't make sense either! She wouldn't come here alone and then kidnap Meteora for no reason. But what else...what else…"

At this point, Mariposa decided that enough was enough. She couldn't stand to see him rambling on like this. It was too painful. The thought of losing both her sister and her foster father on the same day (one literally and the other mentally) was something that she didn't want to see. As Jenkins continued to contemplate all the possibilities, she stood on the tips of her toes and snuck outside, taking in the old and stale air for the millionth time. It tasted like how chalk felt. A feeling she had gotten quite used to after all these years.

"Now what?" She asked herself, standing in place and shifting her feet. "Go back inside the mayor's office and make sure he doesn't go mad? Keep trying to find Meteora, only to probably fail again? Do nothing?"

The third option was the most appealing, but also one that she knew was the least productive. That's how things usually were around nowadays.

She sighed and her stomach grumbled, a byproduct of her not eating for the past five and half hours. Behind her, Mariposa was sure that she could hear crashing noises from inside the mayor's office as Jenkins tossed a chair around, followed by an obscene number of curses, most of which ended in either "k" or "t". That would probably go on for a while. She had already seen the wrecked meeting room that didn't have a single piece of usable furniture left, no doubt Jenkins work as well. Why he had trashed it was anyone's guess, although Mariposa suspected that it was likely due to personal reasons and thus didn't bother asking. But she knew that whatever these personal reasons were, they took their toll on him a lot more than he liked to show. She had only stopped a few times to think about how all this must have been affecting him (badly), being in the decimated capital of the world that he was supposed to help govern and protect.

And we all know how that turned out.

But that whole issue was another story altogether. And frankly, Mariposa didn't have the time or the incentive to spend the next few hours thinking about it. At least not here. As she heard more yells of anger coming from the mayor's office, this time with "h" words added in, she figured it would be best to leave Jenkins alone for the moment and let him...cool off.

She walked away as casually as possible, the only thing on her mind being food. It had been too long and she was too tired at the moment to keep looking for her sister. Her and Jenkins search had lasted well into the night, eventually reaching a point where she forced herself to stop, lie down, and fall asleep on what felt like a pile of gravel. (It was actually human bone fragments, something she discovered the next morning, much to her discomfort/disgust.) After she woke up, she had wandered around until she found Jenkins asleep in a tree, something that she was given no explanation for.

And after tossing a few sticks at him to wake him up, the two of them had set off again, literally following the exact same search patterns from yesterday like a pair of machines.

It was repetitive and boring and hopeless and she hated it.

They'd never find Meteora like this. Not by looking in the same places over and over again and expecting a different result. She was gone. Wherever she went, it wasn't here. The realization had already hit Mariposa, and she had been trying to convince Jenkins of it, but he ignored her. And continued to ignore her. Mariposa

actually began to wonder if he would even notice if she went missing too. But in all honesty, she couldn't blame him for acting this way. Once she put herself in his shoes, tried to imagine how it feels to have one of the people whose lives you're responsible for snatched away from you so unceremoniously, possibly to never return, she understood.

Also because her own coping method, which involved focusing on the "now" instead of the "later" was beginning to fail. Jenkins wasn't the only one with an urge to trash everything in sight, and if this kept going, then he might not be the only one to give in to that urge either. Mariposa felt the need to punch something just as much as he did, but unfortunately, any attempts at punching her surroundings would leave her with some bruised knuckles, at best. There wasn't really anything soft out here.

So that was not an option. She only hoped that curing her current hunger pains was the solution to fixing her mood, although that was likely a bit too much to hope for. So Mariposa marched on, walking smack in the middle of the street, lining her feet up with the faded white lines of paint she was trampling on in a futile effort to distract herself. But as she gave up on that and looked upwards, she caught the sight of something that was far more distracting, and ten times more interesting to look at.

Butterfly castle.

The early morning mist that had covered the entire town was starting to fade, giving Mariposa a clear view of the enormous structure, standing in all its glory. It still looked like it might collapse at any moment, but it had lasted this long, so Mariposa knew that wasn't as true as it seemed. Besides, she had already been inside, and it hadn't collapsed then. So it simply falling over for no reason wouldn't make sense.

Her initial reaction to the castle was to scoff however, as her mind went back to Jenkin's plan from a while ago, where he hypothesized that they might be able to kill some demons if the three of them got the tower to topple over and function as a makeshift crusher. It was a terrible plan. Mostly because they all might die as well. How would they get the demons over there in the first place? Fetch a cape and do it matador style? (yes, she knew what a matador is, which is a story and a half)

Talk about ridiculous.

Although even after all this, the castle still intrigued her. She looked around. She was still alone. It was just her. For some reason, she felt something pressing her on, telling her to move forward and investigate the castle. She had no idea why. Jenkins said he had already checked the entire building from top to bottom, something that took a good three hours. By the end of it, he looked absolutely exhausted. So it's not like she'd find Meteora in there. Especially when there were more pressing matters to attend to. Like food.

And yet, she didn't move towards the forest where they had put all their supplies. She changed direction and walked towards the castle, not even knowing what she was trying to accomplish. As she got closer it's size truly started to reveal itself. She had forgotten just how big it was. From a distance, it looked so much smaller. She could almost fit it between her fingers. Like she had done the sun when she was younger, before Jenkins told her that her eyes would melt if she kept doing it.

It had almost seemed funny to think about back then. Her eyes literally melting like ice cream or something out of a cartoon. But she had never seen a cartoon, and ice cream was a food that she had never eaten, but had craved for years until she realized that the odds were against her, all things considered. It took her a while to accept that she would never taste it. She almost shed a few tears, until she remembered what Jenkins once told about only doing that if absolutely necessary, as crying might make them dehydrated faster than one might think.

'God, what a fucked-up childhood.' She thought, shaking her head. 'He really needed to teach us not to do things in a better manner. How saying all those things didn't traumatize us is beyond me. Although that's probably because we grew up with that kind of shit and got used to it all. I'm hardly even fazed by blood, and someone dying right in front of me doesn't do a thing. I've seen all that a hundred times over. And even this…'

The "this" that Mariposa was thinking about was the sight that greeted her as she approached and entered the gates of Butterfly castle. The same sight that she had seen last time. Hundreds of Mewman skeletons, piled up to the point where some parts almost reached her shoulders. All of them coming here, afraid of the bombs, having no idea that the gates and wall would provide zero protection.

But at least they weren't in any pain now.

Mariposa cleared her head and walked on. There was no time or need to dwell on any of that. Maybe if Meteora "saved the world" or whatever and it was somehow repopulated to a point where society thrived once again, those bones could be buried. But was all that could be done for them now. More likely than not, all of them would be thrown into a mass grave, unmarked and forgotten. With so many bodies, a couple hundred more would be nothing but a statistic.

That's all they were. And soon they might not be anything. If she, Jenkins, Meteora, Archibald, and everyone else in the Underworld died, then technically, they wouldn't even exist. No one else knew that these bones were here like this. Sure, maybe a few scavengers did, but if she was being honest with herself, they were either found by Archibald and sent to Hell, or likely tried to steal something from him, so he ran, they chased him back to the Underworld, and were subsequently killed by Dave's guards out of self-defense.

And then that would be it for them. Frozen in history, with nobody there to remember them, just a blank spot in time. And while Mariposa knew that it was impossible to be truly immortal, that eventually everyone was forgotten about with their bodies tossed away like trash, she still wanted to try. It was natural for a person to strive to be eternal. To want the entire universe to know that they were there, that they existed, and learn about all their deeds and accomplishments.

But deeds and accomplishments was something that Mariposa was significantly lacking in, despite the fact that Jenkins had plenty by now and Meteora would have some soon enough. But she accepted this, like everything else. It's not like the world would forget about her. Jenkins and Meteora wouldn't let it. She knew that if she had been the one to disappear instead of her sister, that office would still be torn to shreds by Jenkins all the same. He cared about them both, to the point where he'd shield them behind any type of harm.

But this was just common knowledge to the two teens. The dozens of times he had literally thrown himself into danger to protect them was proof enough of that. So she didn't need to think about this any longer. No point in trying to solve a problem that already had a substantial answer.

Mariposa sighed and moved into the main castle, which was actually quite boring and empty, if she was being honest. Just like with checking places for Meteora, she didn't know why she expected anything different than the last time she was here. Not that there was much in the first place. In fact, the only thing that was worth mentioning from the last time was when they found the tapestry room. All those Queens. All those depictions of people that Jenkins and told them so much about.

(Well, really, he had only told them about three of the Queens and their tapestries, but still. It made four hours and hours of good story material.)

And coincidentally, that room was the one she had just come upon after turning a corner. Like the rest of the castle, it looked like a photograph, stuck in time. Mariposa entered the room and looked from Queen to Queen, as if expecting their unmoving, weaved eyes to look back at her. They didn't, of course. But it didn't matter. She looked. She stared. And before long she got to the one that she knew the most about. She almost turned into a statue as she lay her eye on it, before glaring at the depiction with some unknown emotion.

The Queen of Darkness.

Eclipsa Butterfly.

Meteora's mother.

So many names, but they all meant the same thing.

Mariposa paused and gazed at it like it was stuck in a thick fog. This was her. The one who had been the reason behind so many actions, the one who would be behind so many actions yet to come, and a person that Mariposa was honestly so sick of hearing about all the time that she wasn't even sure she wanted to meet her this point.

She sat down in front of the tapestry, her legs crossed. Her head looked from side to side, before she spoke up in a vexed tone.

"Hey." She said. "Before I begin, I suppose I should say that I...I know you're not real. I know you can't hear me wherever you are. But I still think I need to talk to you. To say what I feel about this whole crappy situation."

Mariposa cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"You...you're taking everything away." She said. "Before you, magic, and the Voice, it was just us. Alone out there in the Wastes. But now it feels like you're here too, with Meteora talking about all the stuff you told her. When we're not doing anything important, it's like you're the only thing on her mind. And I get it. If I was in the same situation as her, I'd be thinking a lot about you too."

She stood up and glowered at the tapestry. "But not like this. She's obsessed with you. With magic. With the Voice. She only speaks to us when it's necessary and not for general conversation. The past week I've been noticing that pattern. And it's getting worse. She keeps running off instead of hanging out with me. Do we do anything interesting? No, not really. But still. It's nice. Because that's how it's always been. Before, of course, you."

The tapestry stared down at her. It expression didn't change, as one would expect, but Mariposa could feel what it was trying to say deep in her soul.

"I'm not jealous!" She yelled at it, before crossing her arms and turning away. "Don't give me that look. I was just...worried. Worried that one of these days we would lose her and never get her back. And guess what? That's exactly what happened. She's gone. She's gone and I'm betting she's not coming back until she finds you. But am I positive of this? Am I absolutely sure that this is what happened? No. But at this point, because we can't find her anywhere, and because she disappeared without a trace, I don't know what the hell else she did."

Mariposa then growled and ran towards the effigy, before grabbing the edges of the fabric and attempting to tear it off the wall.

"It's-umph-unfair, that she gets you and I don't! She gets to know that her parents are fine and dandy, waiting for her in a safe zone that we somehow haven't found even after fifteen years of searching! As for mine, they're gone just like she is. Probably dead! And you're…" The tapestry started to rip. "Ruining…" The seams tore in half at the middle. "Everything!"

With one final tug, Mariposa successfully managed to rip the cloth in half with a violent tearing sound, making one part fall to the floor in a heap while the other remained hanging up, otherwise undamaged by her attack.

Meteora stood there for a second, breathing heavily and feeling the soft textile in her hands. She sighed again and let it and herself flop to the floor before facepalming.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I guess I really am just jealous. No matter how hard I try, there's always a small part of me that can't accept the fact that you're alive and they're dead."

She fell onto her back, using the fallen piece of fabric as a makeshift pillow. "But who knows? Maybe they're not. Maybe they're out there somewhere, surviving just like we did. Beating up scavengers, searching for supplies, and occasionally having to deal with evil magic priests or giant demon-"

Mariposa realized that she did not want her parents to survive the exact same way as they had.

"...I take that back." She said. "But like I said, they might still be out there. Waiting for me. Thinking of me and my brother every day. Just like how Meteora...thinks about you everyday."

Mariposa paused and then chuckled as she turned back to the portion that remained on the wall. "Guess it's the same thing then, huh? If I get mad at Meteora for thinking about you, then I'd have to get mad at my parents for thinking about me. And I can't get mad at you either, because we're in the same position Eclipsa. We both occupy someone's thoughts."

She sat up and pushed herself off the ground. "I'm not sure I still want to meet you. After all, that would just lead to Meteora spending less time with me. With us. But if that is what happens...I think I'll be cool with it."

Mariposa smiled before suddenly frowning as she looked down at the crumpled tapestry.

"Now I can only pray to god that she doesn't come back and see what I did..."

Ery's Hut...but not really

Cold.

She was once again in a cold place.

It bit at her skin like a thousand needles stabbing her at once, creating a painful feeling that spread through her entire body like a virus, pushing past every barrier and taking over without reason or cause.

Not that Meteora cared about that. She had felt worse. Whatever this cold/needle feeling was, it was nothing compared to the three times she had been stabbed, that time her ear had been shot, or you know, when she had died. Twice. One of which was by a cold much worse than this. She was more worried about why it had returned. It wasn't as bad as the frigidity from the Canadian wilderness, but still uncomfortable enough that it made Meteora want to jump into a pit of lava to warm herself up.

'Oh god, what now?' She complained/thought, mentally preparing herself to open her eyes so she could see what the hell was going on. 'Did Ery throw me out of his hut to fend for myself? I swear to the level five being, if he-'

She opened her eyes and her thought train came to a skidding halt, although it would be better compared as a full-on derailment. Because Meteora was most certainly not outside. Or still in the hut. Or anywhere else that she could think of being "cold."

She was back in the Monster Temple.

Yes, there was no doubt. She was back. In an instant, she was on her feet frantically looking around to make sure that this was real life and not some weird dream. And with every glance she took, there lay more and more evidence that this wasn't a figment of her imagination. The statues. The walls. Even the cracks in the damn floor were uncanny to how it had been back when she last saw it, back in the remains of Echo cree-

Wait. Something was wrong.

This was definitely the Monster Temple.

But it was not the same one she had seen in ruins back at the town. It was cleaner. Sturdier. With less damage and brighter colors. It almost looked...normal. Like it should have looked before the bombs hit.

Meteora began to get a very bad feeling, one that began to eat her up from the inside. If this was still the past...before the bombs hit...did she somehow teleport from Ery's hut to here? Was that even possible?

'I mean...of course it's possible.' She thought. 'I literally traveled through time. Teleporting somewhere can't be any more difficult.'

'...'

'At least, assuming that that's what actually happened. Speaking of which, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON."

But Meteora was well aware of the fact that there was only one way to find out. She calmed herself before carefully taking a step forward like she was standing right next to a cliff, feeling the hard ground against her feet. It was a nice change of pace after stepping on snow and wood for the past few hours. It made her feel...at home almost. Like this was right, and she was where she was supposed to be.

But she shook those thoughts off. This was hardly a surprise. After all, this was her home. It had been at one point. No doubt these floors felt familiar because it was the same one she had crawled on as a baby. Why wouldn't she feel right at home?

Although "right at home" to her would feel more like a deserted landscape than this. Much like the beds, she had gotten so used to the environment of the wasteland that being near anything else felt odd and occasionally uncomfortable. Even this place. The sense of familiarity she got still had a tinge of weirdness to it. More so now that it was all intact and looking like it had been. Fascination aside, all of it unnerved her.

However, these feelings were irrelevant considering her current situation. Meteora walked on, looking for proof that she was still in the past and actually at the Temple. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but there had to be something. Any clue or hint would be nice, but the thing that'd obviously prove it beyond a doubt was seeing an actual person. When the Voice took her to it's memories, no one else could see her. Because that's all they were. Memories. But if someone saw her, and actually reacted to her presence, then that would be enough for her. And it felt too real to be a dream. (Even if she had had some pretty vivid dreams before. Or visions. Or whatever they were.)

But despite her hopes, nobody appeared, and for some reason she felt too scared to call out for someone, as if she was supposed to keep quiet. So the only thing left to do was to keep moving until she found what she was searching for.

And she did.

After turning yet another corner, Meteora tensed up as she spotted a beam of sunlight shining onto the floor. She slowly followed where it was coming from and saw a window in front of her with no glass covering it. Nothing but a square-shaped hole in the wall. She gulped and walked towards it, taking one step every second and avoiding the sunbeam like she'd die if it was touched. Once she reached the window after what felt like hours, she gripped the edges of it, her breath being taken away from her as she peered out into the world.

It was the town.

Just like she had seen in the Voice's memory. Whole. Together. Complete. With bright blue skies and a smell that filled her nostrils with ecstasy, she knew at that moment that this was no vision. This was one hundred percent real. She stumbled backwards at the sight, despite having already seen it before. Because unlike last time, she was actually there. She could leave the Temple and interact with actual people that she didn't have to be constantly suspicious of. There were no scavengers. No evil magic priests. No evil Janna. No Underworld. None of it.

And for a split second, a small part of Meteora told itself to stay in the past and forget the future. Because here she had a better chance to unite the three species of the world. It'd be easy. First she had to find Eclipsa, and…

and…

Oh.

This wasn't going to be easy, was it? That wasn't her mother after all. It was the past version, nothing less, nothing more. There was already a baby Meteora in this timeline that was to do what it was supposed to, and now she wanted to selfishly intrude on that and shove her younger self out the way while she hogged all the glory. Meteora almost slapped herself in the face at this, wondering where this had come from. It wasn't right. It wasn't-

'No.' She thought. 'What am I thinking? Thinking like that is completely natural in this type of situation. Who wouldn't want a chance like this? Doing it in this timeline is obviously a much easier task than doing it in one where most of the world's population is a pile of ash.'

She sighed and crossed her arms. 'But still, calm down.' She told herself. 'Don't get too excited. Whatever this is...however I got here...it's nothing but a temporary setback, just like being thrown into the past in the first place. I have to find a way to get back to the future, but first, I have to get out of the monster temple. No matter what, I can't let myself be seen by anyone. I won't allow myself to screw up this timeline. It's not fair then. So stay out of sight, especially-'

"Excuse me." A sudden voice from behind her said. Meteora's entire body turned taut at the sound and then froze in place, like a thief caught in the act. Her heart rate was turned up to eleven as she realized who that voice belonged to. A voice she had heard before. A voice she had never forgotten the sound of, and likely never would. Even if the one she heard had obviously belonged to an older person, it was still instantly recognizable. She couldn't believe her accursed luck. Out of everyone she could have run into in the past, of course it had to be her. Meteora didn't dare turn around, lest she possibly be recognized as the daughter of the woman standing behind her.

"How did you get in here?" The person asked, Meteora not even wanting to name them in her mind. "The Temple is currently closed to all visitors, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

As they said this, Meteora's mind began racing madly as she was once again trapped by another person from the past, only this one was somehow worse than Ery ever could be.

"WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo-" She thought frantically. "What happens if she identifies me? Wo-would she even be able to in the first place?" Meteora then bit her tongue, although she hardly felt any pain due to her brain going into overdrive. "Ah, who am I kidding? She's my mother! Even though she's only ever seen me as a baby...wait, no, she also saw me in my monster form back when I was still evil or something. But whatever. The point is that if she saw me like this, as a teenager, she'd still know who I am. And besides, it's not like there's any other monster-Mewman hybrids around. Even if I managed to escape without her seeing my face, I'd stick out like a stain.'

While Meteora quietly contemplated all of this, her mother's past self got more agitated, although it was more out of fear for the fact there was a stranger in her home then out of anger.

"I-I'm not going to ask you again." She said. "I need you to leave the Temple or I'm calling the police to have them escort you off the premises. I'm not-"

"NO!" Meteora blurted out, making Eclipsa take a reflexive step away from her. She then quickly added, "P-please don't. Please…", knowing how threatening that first word must have seemed, but it had been just as much a reflex as her mother failing to hold her ground. Being arrested was one the last things she needed right now, and what would she even tell them? That she was from the future? Ludicrous. Meteora didn't even know what to do if she was arrested. Jenkins has hardly told them about that kind of stuff, considering that there were no real laws anymore.

But she knew that this was probably an inevitability. Her only choices now were to either flee or turn around, both of which carried their own problems. Fleeing meant having the police after her. Turning around meant her mother possibly having a panic attack out of shock. (She was pretty sure that was possible.) So none of these options were particularly appealing.

It would have to be fleeing however. Her mother seeing her daughters older self might cause irreparable damage to this timeline. At least, assuming that Eclipsa wouldn't faint and then pass it all off as a bad dream.

Just as Meteora was about to run, she heard her mother gasp like she had realized something important. This shouldn't have made her pause, but it did. Had she already recognized her? How did she even…? The tail maybe? The horns? What-

Her eyes went wide.

Her voice.

Eclipsa has to have heard it before. Back when she was in her monster form, or when the baby version of herself babbled. Those two things may have sounded different, but Meteora knew that while age changed a person's voice, the ones who had grown up alongside that person would always know. It was something she had learned with Mari, and Jenkins' voice also seemed to obey this rule. She was sure the two of them could age a hundred years and she'd still be able to tell it was them.

And just like that, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Your voice…" Her mother said. "It sounds...familiar. Too familiar. Have we met before?"

Meteora flinched at this question, but couldn't help relaxing a bit. Okay. It looked like that while Eclipsa did admit that her voice was one she was well-versed with, she didn't appear to know that it was her own daughters. Meteora honestly felt a little hurt at that, but shrugged it off. She had to focus and use this to her advantage.

"No." She said, trying to put on a different voice but failing miserably. "I've never met you before in my life. This is the first time I've even seen you in person."

(Technically true)

"A-are you sure?" Eclipsa asked. "I swear that you sound like someone I know. And the way you look...that hair."

"What about it?" Meteora asked, wondering why her hair was what set her off. How would she recognize that? Her hair was uncombed and raggy. There was no way that-

It suddenly dawned on her that "uncombed and raggy" was probably how her monster form's hair looked. She bit her tongue again and sighed.

"I've seen it before." Eclipsa said, taking a step forward. "And it's the oddest thing. The way you talk. The way you look. If I didn't know better, I'd say you..." He eyes darted down to Meteora's legs and she spotted her tail. "Remind me of…" She noticed the purple monster markings on her arms alongside normal Mewman skin.

"My daughter."

"..."

"..."

"Meteora?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Is it finally time to-"

"NOPE!" Meteora yelled, and without waiting for a second, she sprinted away down the first hallway she saw. She heard her mother calling out behind her, but she ignored it and kept running. Her only hope now was to hide somewhere until Eclipsa gave up trying to find her. Then she might pass it all off as a hallucination or something like that. But even so, this was slim at best. She didn't know her way around this place, but the person she was running from certainly did.

At least, she would be, if "the one she was running from" was even chasing her to begin with. But when Meteora looked over her shoulder, her face became one of confusion as she saw that Eclipsa wasn't anywhere in sight. But as she briefly slowed down to catch her breath, thinking she was safe, several loud shouts were heard, although with the clanking of armor. She cursed under her breath and picked up the pace, realizing that her mother was not the one running after her. That kind of job was left to the guards.

'Why?" She thought. 'Why did this have to happen like this? Why am I here? Why was I teleported? Why did I come to the part like this in the first place? WHERE IS THE FUCKING VOICE?!'

All very good questions, and with no way to discern the answers, Meteora continued to run, with the guards hot on her tail. Eventually she saw a light from around a corner. Sunlight maybe? A way out? She'd definitely have a better chance outside, even if she "stuck out like stain." However, this might not even be a problem. Once she got away, it'd nearly impossible to find her. After a week or so of exploring the outside of the post-apocalyptic version of the town, Meteora knew almost every place where one could hide. (The Monster Temple was actually one of these places, but obviously the circumstances prevented that.) One of which was right outside.

This was it. She put on a burst of speed and ran around the corner, ready to burst through whatever door or window was there so fast that she'd leave behind a cutout of her silhouette. However, only a second after doing this, she stopped in her tracks.

Dead end.

A stone wall that was almost entirely blank stood there, with a single torch directly in the center of it. A few glass tapestries were hanging to the walls on her right and left, and Meteora's mouth gaped open as she realized that she had been duped yet again. The torch light reflected off the glass and gave it the appearance of sunlight, making this the second time that Meteora had been tricked into turning a corner because of a false promise of escape. But at least she hadn't done it alone the first time. Now that it was just her, it felt so much worse.

Meteora stood there for a moment as the footsteps behind her grew closer and closer. She almost couldn't believe it. She had been so close. (Not really actually). She could have gotten away. She should have gotten away. Her fists clenched up as the guards chasing her rounded the corner and took up defensive positions after spotting her. Meteora hardly paid them any mind for he moment, instead continuing to chastise herself

for getting stuck like this. Why didn't she spend more time in the Monster Temple?! If she had done that, she'd already be halfway across town. None of this running around and hoping an exit magically appears crap.

"Got you." One of the guards said, in a thick accent that Meteora had never heard before. "Time to give up girl. Surrender and make this easy on yourself. There is no need for us to fight."

Meteora gave no response to this and started to sweat. Despite how bad everything looked, she had a plan. They just had to get close enough for it to work. There were only three guards behind her, and Meteora felt that there was enough magic in her for a low level Solis spell. Doing this, she could momentarily blind them and then get away. Surprise would be her only advantage. Hopefully they'd take her in normally instead of shooting her with a tranquilizer or taser or something like that. It'd give her a chance.

Although considering how archaic their weapons and armor looked, she had a feeling that she wouldn't have to worry about them having anything even mildly related to Earth tech...

"Last chance." The heavily accented guard said. "Put your...uhhh...what do the humans say? Ah yes, put your hands in the air and don't try to resist."

Meteora did as she was told, throwing both her arms above her head but still refusing to turn around. This was it. Once they got close, it was all or nothing. She had to be ready.

The accented guard let out a relieved sigh and then moved forward along with the other too. "See?" He said. "There is no need for any violence."Now, you will come with us, and we will take you to police so they can sort out this mess." The guard and his accomplices finally got in range for the spell and Meteora closed her eyes and concentrated. Just one second more…

"But I must say." The guard continued. "I am impressed. It is very hard to sneak in here after visiting hours. As you must know, with all the terrible riots happening, Eclipsa has made sure it have extra-"

"SOLIS!" Meteora screeched, and she turned around and stuck her hand in his face whilst making sure to keep her eyes shut. He only had a second to react with confusion before her palm practically blew up with a burst of light, making him cry out in pain and granting all the guards a temporary blindness.

Meteora didn't wait. The second she heard them yell, she dashed away, making sure not to touch any part of them. There was no time to try and mask the sound of her footsteps. If they caught her again, they wouldn't be as nice as they had been the first time. She had to get out now.

"AH!" She heard behind her. "You little brat! I swear you will pay for that!"

"Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit-" Meteora cursed frantically, the familiar clanking sounds of the guards footfall now following her again. They had recovered much too quickly for her liking, but after all, they had been wearing helmets, so she shouldn't have expected the spell to work to its full potential.

Not that that mattered. Right now, she just had to run. She turned another corner-

Only to slam smack dab into something large, red, and hair. Both her and the person she collided with fell to the floor, although Meteora took the brunt of the hit. Dazed but still conscious, she forced herself to get up off that ground and tried to resume her get away, but couldn't. It felt like she had a migraine. Only a thousand times worse, as Meteora knew that if she wasn't able to shake it off, then she'd be caught.

The red and hairy thing she ran into was also on it's feet rather quickly, and Meteora could feel it's angered gaze directed towards her after it brushed itself off.

Wait.

That wasn't an angry gaze it was giving her.

More…dumbfounded? Shocked? More confused than anything had the right to be? That was how they were looking at her. Meteora was briefly confounded. Why would they be confused instead of scared or angry at a random intruder running into them like an out of control spell? Why…why….

'Hold on.' She thought groggily, rubbing her head as he vision started to de-blur. 'Red hair? Who do I know that has red...hair...oh fuck.' Her eyes widened as the monster before they finally came into view.

'It's my dad.'

The two stared each other done for a moment, Globgor still having the same bewildered expression in his face, while Meteora had one that was devoid of hope, knowing that the odds of her getting out now and still leaving this timeline unscathed were slim to none. Behind her, the guards approached yet again, rubbing their eyes and glaring at her furiously. Meteora barely even heard them and continued to focus on her father, her eyes growing wider by the second. This was the first time she had seen him after all. Words couldn't express how much Meteora wanted it to happen in literally any other situation. The first reunion with her mother had been heartbreaking and loving to her. But the first reunion with her father?

She felt nothing but sorrow.

She just stared at him, and he did the same until the knights spoke up and he lifted his head slightly to look at them.

"King Globgor!" They said. "Our deepest apologies for not having caught this intruder yet. Please be careful! She had some kind of secret light weapon! Here, let us take her away from your sight and-"

"No! Wait..." Globgor said, putting a hand up to halt their speech. "I…" He gulped. "You and the other guards are dismissed. Go to your quarters and take the rest of the day off. I can handle this on my own."

"...My Liege?" One of them said, befuddled by this order. "But...that would leave you totally unguarded. And this girl may not look like much, but like we said, she had some kind of light-"

"Power, yes, I heard you." Globgor said. "Don't worry. She's not going to hurt me. Now as your king, I am ordering all of this to lever and fetch my wife. Make sure to tell her to bring Meteora as well."

"..."

"...Do it?"

"I...yes, my King." The lead guard said, and in unison, they turned around and left to go look for Eclipsa, wondering what was up with Globgor acting so much like someone that wasn't him. Meteora watched them go and then turned to her father, who for some reason now looked a lot less intimidating. He looked down on his daughter as she looked up. Meteora could sense the tension between them that was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Awkward, but not hostile in any way. At least coming from him. But she knew that whatever Globgor was planning and/or thinking, it certainly didn't involve harming her. His gaze was almost comforting in its own way, similar to how Jenkins looked at her in the old days, like in that flashback she had in the bathroom of Ery's hut.

Somehow, someway, that gaze confirmed that he was already aware that the girl standing in front of him was his own child.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice filled to the brim with concern. "Did they hurt you at all?"

Meteora hesitated to answer as she considered her options, ignoring the odd fact that her father already knew who she was and had saved her. But as for the options, there were quite a few of them. The first and most obvious one was to try and escape again. Now that her head had stopped throbbing like she was having an aneurysm and all the knights were gone, it might be possible. However, it was more likely than not that Globgor wouldn't let her. Judging by his size, he could cover more ground in one step than she did in three, so if she tried to get away she'd be caught in an instant. Escape was still not a viable option. She scratched that off her mental list.

A second possibility was to try and use "Solis" again. She wasn't completely drained of magic just yet. There was maybe a little left in her, a few scraps that had been left over from the last spell. She could jump up and blast him in the face with it, thereby making escape possible. (The whole escape thing was going back and forth it seemed, something that was greatly annoying to her and most likely everyone else.)

But, while using Solis again might work, Meteora couldn't help but internally slap herself for even thinking of such a thing. This was her father. Her one family. Even if he was from the past, she wasn't allowed to treat him like they weren't related, similar to the way she had reacted to her mother earlier by running away. She was not going to hit him with any kind of spell.

And besides, she sensed no bad intentions. Doing any of that stuff would accomplish nothing besides making her look like a jerk. After a picosecond more of contemplation, Meteora made up her mind. She'd stay here and see how it all played out. Timeline damages be damned. It was already irreversible at this point, so why not take it further?

"No." She said, looking down. "If anything, I hurt them more."

Globgor smiled at her and kneeled down to her level. "With that little light power they were talking about, right?"

"...Yeah."

He nodded and stared her in the eyes. "I'm going to cut straight to the point." He said. "Even if it's going to make this feel rushed. You sound like her, in a way. You look like her. Same tail. Same ears-" He tilted his head. "Err...sorry. Same, uh, ear. Singular."

"Yeah, that's a bit of a story." Meteora said, knowing full well she'd have to explain it later. "Let me guess. You think I'm your daughter, right? Meteora Butterfly?"

"Are you?" Globgor asked. "Because I'm about ninety percent sure."

She took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly. "Hey dad." She said, making Globgor's eyes widen. "I know you probably have a lot of-"

Globgor didn't let her finish. Without any warning, he leaned in and hugged her tightly, making her squeak in surprise. She had expected his arms to be like tree trunks crushing her, but they weren't. They were...soft. Gentle. Like the hug her mother gave her had been. She let herself sink into it.

"Finally…" He said gratefully. "We've been wondering when you were going to arrive."

Meteora stopped sinking into it and pushed away from him. "W-wha-what?" She asked, wondering if she was actually crazy.

"Oh. I...probably shouldn't have said that." Globgor mumbled. "I know you have a lot of questions now. But first…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders, and Meteora began to feel safe again.

"Let's hold off the explanations until your mother gets a look at you…"

End chapter 35

A/N: Yeah, her parents kind of knew she was coming, in case anyone didn't understand. And I'm sure you have a lot of questions as well. And they will be answered, and this will be important. Meteora is still in the past and is not dreaming. This little excursion to the Monster Temple is only temporary however, so don't think that we're done with Ery. He'll be back eventually.

It's all a giant mess, as per usual.

But thank you for reading and please PM me or leave a review if you have any questions or comments.