Darkness.
Just darkness.
He didn't know if he was falling now. He just knew that he was in darkness.
He closed his eyes. Something forced him into the realm of sleep...like one last dream before reaching his destination.
He could see he was in the Hero Base of Earth X. Sitting there opposite of Darkmega.
"It's odd. It's one of those dreams, the ones I haven't had in a while. The alternate Universe?"
Darkmega nodded, looking a little concerned. "Yeah? What happened this time?"
"I...I died."
"You? Dead?...This isn't because we ventured into the Farplanes right? Didn't just get a dream because of that? I mean it's been a helluva ride lately with Trigon, Chaos, Richard, Diamas, Necron…"
Chad shook his head. "No. I mean. It could be? Hmm. It's like I was in the Farplanes but I was, broken inside. I wasn't suppose to be there. Then I saw a woman called Lucy. I knew her."
Darkmega raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Well don't let Anna catch you saying that. She might get funny."
"The thing I saw, images. Meeting others, another me. Only moments but I saw them. Then I heard Roll call to me. But it wasn't Roll it was Anna and I...I killed her."
His friend looked genuinely worried now, leaning forward a little. "You? Killed Anna?"
"Well this, me did. I killed her in blind desperation. Then Richard was there, another me was there and they battled. But during this Richard transformed. He was...very different."
"I take it in this nightmare you didn't do what you've been doing in the real world and lost to him?"
"I was thrown out of this cavern we were in. And as I fell I felt...cold. Alone. That's when I woke up."
Darkmega looked his friend over. "You, seem quite disturbed by this."
"If I wasn't I wouldn't tell you about it. Do you think I should tell Dr Hikari and Dr Regal?"
The navi now sat back, whilst Roll walked by them with Shademan beside her. "Honestly? I don't know. But you've seen this other timeline a fair few times now. Maybe this is the end of it though? If this other Chad you're living through is dead?"
"I don't know...oh-" Chad looked past Darkmega as another walked into the main room. Light Rich the 6th clone. Clad in light blue armor from neck to foot and wearing a white cape. "Hey Richard. You got a moment?"
"Of course." He came and sat with them. "Is everything alright?"
"It's about what you said to me about...the other universe? You remember?"
Light Rich's calm and relaxed demeanour that he had around him seem to darken on recalling. "Yes. I recall those nightmares...the whispers in the dark, luring that other me into a sealed room without warning others...the glint of purple."
Oblivion.
Colours were washed out.
Everything felt numb.
Only the faintest hints of smell existed.
Sounds were muffled and weak.
Everything had next to no taste.
Shadows always existed in each and every corner. No matter what light sources there were.
No day. No night.
The void waited with it's eternal embrace.
Loneliness.
When he opened his eyes from the realm of sleep, he woke up within his room inside the Hero Base of Earth X.
At least, he was sure it was.
That had been some time ago, as far as he was aware.
He looked all over.
No one was here. There was no wind, no sign of movement but the weakest humming of the lights he left on.
He had to leave them all on, all the computers, all the lamps. All of them.
The darkness was too much to look at. The corridors which were unlit as he refused to walk down them...He never went near them. It felt like something was always watching.
He had opened the main entrance once.
But there was nothing beyond it.
No ground, no earth that this base existed on. He was in his own little space in the ever expanding emptiness.
The computers were a mess. They made hardly any sense and the only thing he could access was his own profile the docs had. The hologram rooms never worked. The bar was stocked, but the shadows got too much for him within 10 or so minutes.
Time was hard to define here. Nothing kept a record of it. Anything that had the time on would change what they displayed just by him blinking.
He tried so hard not to blink for a long while but that didn't work.
He was now sitting in the main room. Right in the middle of it.
He had put a chair there. He was keeping his eyes closed.
He didn't want to see this anymore. Those shadows lurking in the corner of everything. Sometimes he would have to check though. His mind making him believe there were other sounds...footsteps, voices from afar.
He was already feeling his sanity slip.
"This is what he wanted. This is what he wanted. He wanted me to go crazy. He's just waiting for me to lose it entirely before he collects me. This is what he wanted…" He mumbled to himself each time he was sure he heard a noise.
He couldn't stop sweating, stop letting tears escape him and end the shaking of his body.
He desperately wanted some of the voices to be real.
He needed someone. Anyone. Just to confirm he was alive. That this isn't the end.
But nothing responded to him. Nothing was there but his own thoughts.
He was alone.
Chad leaned down grabbing his head, staring at the metal ground through the blurry vision of his eyes as the tears dripped to the floor.
"I can't do this...I can't do this..."
Lucy waited.
The edge of the Abyss felt so terrifying right now. She refused to step over, to even try was out of the question.
Darkmega, Light Rich and Dark Rich, all standing with her, were not of the same mind.
"...Lucy its been six hours at least! We have to go in there and find him!" Darkmega was getting antsy. He didn't like this one bit.
"I agree with him. We should go and drag him out. He's been too long." Light Rich agreed with the dark navi.
"No." Lucy looked at them. "Roll sensed the connection between them. So long as she can feel him he's not been cast to Oblivion. We have to hold on."
"OR he could be getting slowly dissected by the goddamn hellspawn insects! Maybe they have a taste for torturing Oswalds!"
Lucy glared at Darkmega now. She didn't need to hear that and he noted her look soon going quiet, waiting once again.
But this had made Lucy want to ask something. The longer this was taking the more she felt the need, eventually focusing on Dark Rich. "...What did you and Chad se-"
"I'm not in a position to say." Dark Rich quickly shot her down.
"No. Not this time Dark. You'll tell me."
"Why?"
"Because whatever it was took Kei from you! It took Blue from Iris!"
"…" Dark Rich folded his arms and closed his eye.
"And right now, it's taking Chad from Roll and me!"
"I doubt he can."
She stared at him, a little surprised at this answer. "Pardon?"
"Chad drove him away before. He caught us by surprise and that's what allowed him to take down the others. Kei was unlucky. She came up behind him and he thought she was trying to surprise attack him."
"Wait, it was a guy?" Darkmega was now very interested in this.
"Don't know. He was...he felt, empty. We knew it was a human at least because Chad took his hood down."
"And? What did he look like?" Lucy asked.
"Chad. It looked like him."
That's when Iris arrived, landing gently close to them.
...Her grim expression didn't give any of the four a feeling of good news she was bringing.
They didn't even have to ask her. She looked at them all, and especially locked eyes with Lucy. "Roll...is gone."
"What!? What do you mean gone!?"
"She faded away. She just left us. She said he, needs her."
"No. No no no no no!" Lucy quickly looked over to the Abyss, hoping he would be even just a little visible before turning back to Iris and moving closer grabbing her shoulders. "What the hell happened!? Tell me everything!"
Iris stared at Lucy, wincing slightly at how tight she was grabbing her shoulders. Once the pink haired woman noticed she eased off before Iris explained, stepping back to get some space as it was becoming clear she was still trying to accept whatever happened back at where they lived. "Roll felt something. It made her hyperventilate. She said someone was trying to use the connection against her and Chad. Something knew it. She screamed claiming it was him and was begging me to get Chad away." Iris paced a little, looking across the Farplanes. "I was about to tell Chaos to come to you guys to try and rescue Chad when she was yelling out to Chad. Screaming about him to not do something, that she wants to be there with him even for one last moment. Then the glow on her chest suddenly died. She was transparent Lucy. I asked her what happened and she stood there looking right at me, she gave one last smile, said that he needs her and she just, faded away."
"Him? Who's him? Who could Roll mean-" That particular part stuck with her though. It took Lucy a few seconds, her facial expression going from shock to confusion and disbelief. "You don't mean—but I met him! He wanted to help us! Richard was there when we buried Chad in the mortal realm!"
Iris nodded. "I know. But she's certain that's who she felt try to grab her heart. He wanted to link to their connection...but then they…"
Lucy broke.
She left them. Running into the Abyss. The mIst cloaking her out of their views and their calls for her to come back.
She didn't know where she was going...but she instead wanted it to come to her. "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! SHOW YOUR FACE TO ME! RIGHT NOW!"
Nothing dared to approach her. Nothing got in her way as she sought out just one thing.
And eventually, it answered. As she came to a stop at a crossroad point on the paths, and hearing, Light Rich, Dark Rich and Darkmega come up to her from behind demanding her to listen to them, he walked into view.
His walking though was more swaying back and forth and having difficulty to keep himself on his feet, shuffling as he moved. The right side of his head was melted off, the cells and blood around the wound were very sluggishly healing. He was missing an arm, a part of his torso, hip and six of his claws, his right leg barely connected by flesh...he was glaring at her. His remaining eye glowing the purple tint. "Well now. After the pain they caused me, the second whore of Chad comes to seek me out."
"Holy shit. It is him…" Darkmega already took a few steps back. Whilst Dark Rich eyed up what looked like the DNA his existence and Light Rich's came from, who had pulled out his energy saber and was glaring at their father.
Lucy on the other hand "GIVE THEM BACK!" Around her rapidly appearing were vectors, hundreds of them, their transparency giving way to becoming solid and white, rapidly flying towards Richard.
A dark purple barrier appeared to flicker as each one collided with it an inch away from Richard, each vector falling limp on impact and falling to the side as he stood and observed. "This I understand. Rage and vengeance. Perfection."
Lucy screamed, the Vectors were more and more numerous, like a tidal wave of utter rage and lust for revenge that washed down on Richard, not a single one reaching him as he stood in the midst of almost blinding white.
He even reached out into the Vectors and made them all disperse in one motion as he grabbed Lucy by the head and swung her over the side of the pathway with such force her neck audibly snapped, making her go limp leaving the odd twitch as the only response her body could give now. She had charged towards him to try and get him off guard...it was about to cost her everything as his grip on her head and face was vice-like.
She felt him close his hand, her skull was feeling the pressure, the pain was rapidly mounting as his remaining eye was staring straight at her. Blood seeping down her face and his hand as she felt her skull crack.
He was not enjoying this moment. He just seemed irritated she was even here. He didn't even get fazed when Darkmega charged at him with a cyber dark sword and stabbed it into his chest.
"Unlike some of the other ones of you, you lack that special gift. You aren't worth anymore of my time."
Crunch.
Her blood rained down into Oblivion along with bits of bone and hair and even an eye, her body still before Richard let her go.
He stood there looking to his blood covered hand, bringing it close to him whilst Darkmega was deeply horrified, pulling his sword out and stepping away. "...I still cannot taint it. The connection and it's existence...I have to find somewhere else for the souls to be stored. Another island will do...somewhere out here."
He looked to the three that remained.
"She needs company."
"Just slowly move your fingers. The synthetic skin's nano-implants should make you feel the movement."
"It's, it's hurting."
"Probably due to the damage to the muscle. It's going to take some time."
Yuichiro Light, Dr Hikari, was with Blue and Elie in the hospital. He had just left the morning meeting and came in along with Medi, who had gone to the cyro room.
His father and Dr Wily had told them of what was going on. He didn't mind the change round that much, personally he had little concern towards Chad and feels it'll be the same with whoever replaces him. Blue and Dr Richard were not included in the meeting due to the former clear focus on Elie over anything else, and the latter recovering. Both can be informed later down the line.
The only ones who questioned the whole change plan was Lan and Keira. Both opposed the idea until they heard about the state of Chad and the fact the leader wants it done. Now everyone who works on the base itself were up to speed, his father said the replacement Deity will arrive soon and as soon as he does, an issue should arise that'll lead them to the replacement for Chad.
For now he was tasked to see over Elie and any others who come to the hospital as Medi was tasked to watch over Chad and make sure his body remains intact and useable. As Dr Wily put it 'I expect him to come back, and the last thing he needs is to wake up confused and to think we've treated him like Roll and left there as dead.'
The two old docs had operated on Elie last night and attached the synthetic skin on her damaged arm with no issues. Yuichiro had already given her further medication to take for the next week to help her body adjust and to heal and was right now helping her on her feet with Blue making sure she had his shoulder to lean on at any given time.
Getting her on her feet wasn't hard, the sleeping gas that put her into long term stasis was already wearing off and the medicine he gave her on waking up helped with that. What was difficult was getting her to use the hand to see if the skin was working with her nerves...what remained of them. The old docs tied what they could and replaced what bits that whatever Richard used destroyed. But it was already clear, as she was trying to grab a hard plastic cup of water, this was going to take time as it feel out of her hand and the water inside sprayed across the floor.
"It's alright Elie, you just have to practice over time. It'll work." Blue reassured her, looking at the synthetic skin...which was ever so slightly a different colour of her regular skin, paler.
Elie looked to him, giving him her best smile she could. "I, I know Blue. Not exactly how I wanted to arrive here though...Now having to relearn how to use this arm again."
Dr Hikari seemed happy with her regardless. "Well in a couple of days you can come back and we can colour the skin to match the rest of you so it isn't so obvious to you. We don't have the advanced skin which can adjust automatically but if you ever require another change later down the line then-"
"Thank you." Elie cut him off, biting her cheek a little to not mention the fact she didn't want to talk about her, to her view, mutilated arm right now. "I will consider it. For now I just want to rest and practice in my room."
"Ah of course. I'll call up Hub to show you where it is. Blue I assume you'll be going with her?"
"Yeah...Although you and me need to talk sometime. Mom too."
"I agree."
Hub got to the hospital and led to the two away, letting Yuichiro relax for a moment. He went over to the hospital computer to check it over, and noticing the lack of any other arrivals at the moment, wanted to go back to his own room to talk to his wife. He headed over to the cyro room door and opened it a little just tot talk through it. "Medi? I'm gonna head out. Call if anyone arrives."
"Of course Dr Hikari."
She heard the door close.
Thank Azrael he didn't ask her what she was doing.
Because she didn't know either.
It was like...a visual flashback she was going through, standing next to Chad's body.
She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. The pain still hurt inside. Coffee was the only solution to getting herself back on her feet for the meeting.
Right now though...she was...seeing things, beyond the cyro room.
She had this last night, except it was when she was asleep.
That was a horror show. She saw Jasmine dead, in a far worse state then what had happened. Her guts and chest torn open, blood all over Medi's hands as she tried to weakly put it all back in. Darkmega's laughter in the background. Then seeing Roll lifeless on a hospital bed, Chad, Anna, another her. She remembered walking over to herself but as she was about to check, she heard the sound of an energy buster being activated and charged up behind her.
He said to her 'You're ready to join them like your operator.'
The shot woke her up and made her not sleep for the rest of the night.
This time she was awake. She was sure of it. Her thoughts on her past, her time in this base...a different way of doing things.
Rejecting Darkmega. Telling him there and then what he did to her and Jasmine on Zebes, it gave her a little thrill.
Hurting him felt good. Pushing him away, even better.
Then she saw herself in Twinkle Park. The beautiful lights, the air around her, the feeling of happiness. It was all real at this moment.
She saw Roll. Anna. Chad.
Roll had taken the moment to grab Chad by his hand. "Hey come on! Let's go exploring together!" to her, she decided to just forget Anna was there for the moment, and just go and have fun while she could, and quickly begun tugging him away, trying to make him run…not like he was resisting that much.
"I can think for myself ya know! Don't have to tug!"
"Hey, Roll?"
The Pink suited navi looked to Medi as she walked up to her and Chad.
"Maybe you should let him go with someone who knows how to enjoy things here."
She motioned the girl to step back, which she did albeit reluctantly as Medi put her arm around Chads. "So? Wanna see this place for it's full potential?"
Chad was completely baffled and having gone slightly red. "I, uhh, well I mean I don't mind if that's okay with Anna…"
For a moment, her vision greyed out and went slightly static, a red line of coding appearing at the top of her vision with a warning of errors before it disappeared and all went to normal.
She looked back at Anna, who was clearly fuming a little and then looked to Roll, who was looking away and was avoiding eye contact with everyone before Medi looked to Chad and smiled. "Don't let Anna hold you back. I won't."
It seemed to flicker. Then they were at the arcades. The regular sort that had the claw machine games, shoot'em ups, racing machines and other fun activities that didn't need a hologram room. No one had followed them. She stayed right close to him as he played the claw machines, winning her a teddy bear with a red heart in the middle. They played the shooting games together, air hockey, basketball hoops, she cheered him on at the racing games, hugging him each time he won which at first he was uncertain about, but soon enough she found him returning the affection. Each game she saw felt like they passed by in seconds, only momentary visions before they moved on.
And she was loving it.
As they left the arcade, heading to the beautiful colourful streets of Twinkle Park...She saw herself sitting at a bench.
She stopped along with Chad, looking at the copy.
"Medi? Something up?" Chad asked her, a little worried. "Seen a ghost?"
"I, listen Chad. Why don't you head to the love tunnel and wait for me? I'll be there soon enough."
"Aw really? That sappy thing Medi?" Chad was clearly unhappy with the idea of going on that.
"It'll be special treat. For both of us."
Chad decided to go with it and headed off, her saying it'll be a treat certainly got his mind wandering. Meanwhile Medi went over and sat with her copy. "...What is it I'm seeing here? What is this?"
"Something we wouldn't have before. We have memories that are real. Imagination that can spawn from theories and ideas. That leads to possibilities and solutions. But we've never let it go. We never dreamed before."
Medi looked to her copy. "This...is a dream?"
"A day dream. You know psychically where you are correct?"
"The cryo room. Next to Chad."
"Yet your mind has created this simulation of fantasy. It is from being tired and what is happening to you. Right now it is using this moment to allow your body to rest. A made up brief realm of existence that'll turn into a memory. This time you are aware thanks to me. But like the one last night, I will not be around each time to let you know what is real and what is not."
"The one last night. I can't recall it completely. It's like a blur. A set of brief videos, corrupted images."
"Dreams are stored fully but are treated as junk to the system, accessing them is not a priority unless you focus on it enough. Most will be blurs."
Medi sat back on the bench. "This feels real. Like that one did."
"As I said. A made up realm. This is all based on your knowledge and experience." Her copy crossed her arms and one leg over the other, sighing a little. "And it's one that your body is enjoying unlike last night."
"...Why him?"
"Why not? You fancied him in the past. You never minded what he saw of you and you of him."
Medi sighed. "But I never wanted to act out on it. It was just my way of...it's my-"
"—personalty. Constructed by your life. You used to explore the net a lot in your free time, looked up a lot of stuff in the deeper parts, videos of humans, interacting, to put it very mildly. It made you. But you knew boundaries." Her conscious looked over to Chad as he was walking away into the crowd of clouded faces, humans and Mobians. "You saw Chad as Anna's. You detected her body signals and movements around him, like with Roll. But you knew his to Anna's, unlike to Roll which was clearly friendship. You stepped in back in Twinkle Park because you knew the prediction that he had a low chance of responding positively to her. If I recall...28.5% chance. Whereas if Anna confessed, it would spike to 89.9%."
"...Then why am I trying to alter it?"
Her conscious looked a little surprised on hearing that question. "In reality you're not as I said. But this exists because you want to see how things would be if you dropped your predictions and decided a third choice...what if you went with Chad and left Darkmega behind?"
Medi went silent, looking to the brick pattern path that led away from the bench.
"...You find him more attractive now. He's made you realize that in this dream. That's what confuses you."
"Yes. I felt it the moment I saw him in the hospital. When that Life Soul was moving the body I felt, extreme concern for his well-being. I wanted to protect him more so then before."
"I can't be sure as to why. But a predictive theory I can construct is; without restrictions, your true feelings are activating."
"You mean, I've always wanted this?"
Her conscious simply shrugged, giving Medi a weak smile. "Well, what will you do this dream?"
"I don't want it to end yet."
"Unless an outside source alerts you enough to focus away or a powerful emotion surges through you, it won't."
"…" Medi got up from the bench. "Then I'm going to enjoy it."
"Please be careful. An illusion is simply that. Nothing else."
Medi felt it all flicker again. She was now before the red neon lit love tunnel. The silver gleaming swan boats with red leather seats waited before herself and Chad. She got on, feeling it rock a little in the water as the red female fox mobian made sure she was on the sawn okay before focusing on Chad to help him step on.
"Medi. I dunno about this. I mean Anna is literally over there." He motioned close by to them. It was clear he wasn't comfortable right now.
Anna was standing at the side of the rather large queue to the love tunnel...and boy the daggers and death glares she was giving Medi whilst Zhang He was clearly telling her to calm down. Roll was near them too, and she was glancing at Medi, but clearly was already keeping her head down to avoid getting involved in fear of Anna's obvious anger.
Medi though was smirking, her confidence only getting stronger as he remembered the predictions, mentally tossing them aside and thinking to herself 'If they're the 28% and 89% chances...I'm the 100% chance.'
"Anna is just your friend Chad. I don't recall her having the right to decide who you can sit with...or go out with."
Chad went bright red in the cheeks at what she was implying. "OH!...Wow I mean...but I thought, you and Darkmega might be-"
"If you want to be with me just get over here."
Chad got on the swan after one more look at Anna and Roll and sat right beside Medi, letting her lean on his shoulder, sighing with content as the boat begun to enter the red lit tunnel, images of love, joy and companionship spread out on the walls, the lights eventually mixing between red, purple and pink, the music relaxing and gentle.
Chad put his arm around her. On his lap was the bear with the red heart that he won her. She tried to think what she called it at the arcade, it started with an R, but that's all she could think of, her mind not really focusing on it and more on the feeling of Chad's arm.
This felt, right.
Yet at the same time...
The image of him flickered, and there was Darkmega instead in the exact same spot, the bear gone.
Medi looked up to him and his sweet smile back just...washed out the brief shock of the change.
She didn't hate it either.
And it confused her. Each set of lights they passed, they would change. Chad, Darkmega, Chad, Darkmega.
She felt comfort and pain with one.
Comfort and sympathy for the other.
She placed her hand on Chad's chest. She was beginning to feel anxious on this mixed reaction...the realm her mind had created starting to melt and flicker. "What is happening to me? What do I want?"
A set of lights went by overhead.
"Medi? What is it? You know you can-" Darkmega spoke to her, before another set of lights went by.
"—Talk to me, right? That's what I'm here for." Chad smiled at her.
She looked away from them, looking ahead at the fading out tunnel.
"Medi?" Darkmega asked.
"Medi? You okay?" Chad asked, a little louder.
She closed her eyes. The mixed feelings within spinning and twisting.
"Medi? Hello?" Darkmega was louder now.
"Heey-o! Medic girl! You in there?"
That wasn't Chad or Darkmega.
Medi opened her eyes.
She was back in the cyro room. Standing besides Chad still on her right. To her left at the door, was Jak and Daxter.
Jak was looking worried at her, whilst Daxter seemed to be looking between her and Chad.
The former was the first to talk. "Hey. I was just wondering if you knew where Keira was? Samos' been on the com-link to me saying about wanting to talk to her in the forest close to the base but she isn't picking up at the moment."
Medi got herself back to this reality, blinking and shaking her head slightly, not moving from the spot as she looked to him. "I saw her in the labs last, but I heard her mention about the Wily Fortress and getting on with a project?"
"Got it...is, uh, Chad okay?"
"His been put into a deep state of sleep for now. Suffered a malfunction. The docs are gonna fix him soon."
Daxter nodded a little bit, but was still looking between the two. "Uh huh, so what's with his shirt being moved up and your bare hand on his torso? That a way for you to scan him because I don't recall you doing that for me or Jak before."
She looked to Chad.
His shirt had been moved up, and her glove was off. Her hand was right in the middle of his chest.
He felt warm.
Deciding to feign that she knew why, she slowly took it away instead of as quick as she wanted to. "Well, yes. It's a program upgrade, I am trying it out. Suppose to be able to, monitor his, heart-rate without the need of the terminal."
God she was praying to Azrael they would accept that.
"Well I'll get myself in for an appointment sometime and you can rub me down for my heart rate sweethea—HEY!" Daxter found himself having to focus on holding onto the shoulder pad he was standing on as Jak shook it with his arm on purpose to stop his friend talking.
"We'll let you get back to it. Come on Daxter. We need to ask the docs about getting over to the Wily fortress."
"Can't we just tell the old sage that his daughter is trying to advance the end of the world through science? I bet that'll make him move his butt back here to go see her-" Daxter's voice trailed off as he and Jak left the cyro room.
She quickly made sure his shirt was put back down and found her glove hanging off the side of the table and putting it back on. She was concerned and confused now. When did she do that? Why didn't she notice?
'A part of you moved all on it's on. Sleep movement. One of many possible side effect of this change. The more your body adapts, the more the flaws of being human become. You were sensing for something though. That was partly true.' She heard in her mind.
Medi didn't answer. She decided she needed more coffee.
This day was gonna be a long one.
U sib'r rgubj tiy agiyks fi vlxj ri rgw dierewaa. (AUTO-TRANSLATOR: I don't think you should go back to the fortress)
"Lucy I'm going to have to at somepoint. My back is a lot better now. I can bend down...a moderate amount without pain."
Rgwb u'n xinubf qurg tiy. U xlb gwko Jwuel. (Then I'm coming with you. I can help Keira.)
"So long as she doesn't give you tasks that include typing or writing anything...Don't glare I'm just pointing out facts."
Dr Richard of the Hero Base was wearing a blue short sleeve top with black trousers and shoes along with his machine monocle like his grandfather whilst sitting on Lucy's bed. She herself meanwhile was sitting at her computer.
Whilst he was suppose to be resting after the accident at the Wily Fortress he was instead spending time with Lucy. Since the discovery of her being able to communicate his been keeping her company to help her open up, see if anything clicked to her in the information around here and the net.
A fair few names of those here she's admitted to knowing, sure it was related to her past somehow. She also had knowledge on Net Navis, and finally...the name Oswald seemed to make her pause. She's sure that's something important but again, nothing came out of it.
Meanwhile he had pulled up what information he could on the name Lucy Valentine. Dozens of results came back, but of those with profiles, there was only one that matched her hair colour and eyes.
And she's still alive and active. Currently working in Twinkle Park as an IT specialist.
Richard tried to theorise that she could be a clone or perhaps the Lucy before him is from a different point in the timeline or an alternate universe. Beside those though they had no links there so ruled her out.
Now he was aiming for tomorrow to be the day he gets back to work on the dimensional gateway. He knows Keira has made a little progress whilst his been away but didn't want her to run into complications without him around. Lucy wasn't too happy on the idea as it was clear to her whenever he stood up or sat down he was still suffering.
Lr kwlar fwr l xgwxj yo dein Nwsu vwdiew tiy fi. (At least get a check up from Medi before you go.)
Dr Richard frowned. "Nah. I don't need her eyeing me up again. Trust me I'll be fine. If anything goes wrong you can teleport me back."
Lucy gave him a quizzical look before typing;
Lg twlg, lbs qglr si u alt? Lg qlur lkk u fir ua 'Bty!', kujw rgwt'kk vw lvkw ri relbaklrw rglr ri 'Euxgles'a fibw veijwb gua slnb vlxj lflub okwlaw veubf ya ginw! (Oh yeah, and what do I say? Oh wait all I got is 'Nyu!', like they'll be able to translate that to 'Richard's gone broken his damn back again please bring us home!')
"...Just get Keira if it's in another room? Just say 'Nyu!' and point where to go and I'm sure she'll get it."
Tiy vwrrwe giow agw siwa ie tiy'kk vw vkwwsubf iyr qgukar agw'a kiijubf die ainwibw siqb l qwkk. (You better hope she does or you'll be bleeding out whilst she's looking for someone down a well.)
"I see you've been watching a few films in your spare time from the net."
Tiy sib'r jbiq giq gles ur ua ri dubs lbtrgubf fiis qurgiyr rtoubf lbs ibkt yaubf fwbwelk rioux qiesa. (You don't know how hard it is to find anything good without typing and only using general topic words.)
They heard someone's stomach growl between them. Lucy knew she already went to food hall and had breakfast. Freya, Hua Xiong and Samus all tried to keep her company but with her only going 'Nyu.' it's awkward to maintain any conversation.
"So, I may have skipped breakfast to come and visit you this morning." Dr Richard explained, a little sheepish over the fact he made the sound.
Lucy got up from the desk chair clearly not happy, pointing at him to get up, turn around, and leave.
He sighed as he stood up, wincing a little and gritting his teeth slightly. "Ah. Alright alright I'll go grab an apple or something."
She eyed him up.
"...Alright more then. I take it you're going to make sure?"
Lucy nodded adamantly.
With that he left her room with her walking beside him. "You know eating is not a that high of a requirement for me right? I can survive longer then normal humans."
"Nyu." Lucy sounded annoyed by his excuse. "Nyu." she showed with her hands, pointing a finger at him, then making it upright, using the finger as a stand-in for him, before she used her other hand to making a swirling motion around the top of it. Then she put that finger horizontally.
"Your worried I'll faint when working on the dimensional gateway?"
She nodded, but then shook her head a little after thinking on it.
"And in general?"
"Nyu."
"Alright alright."
They passed by others of the base as they were heading down the corridors. Shadow, Captain Falcon, Xiahou Dun and his cousin Yuan, Charlie who was typing away on a datapad as he nodded at them in passing-
Dr Richard stopped. "...Oh my god."
Lucy looked a little confused at him as he looked to her.
"Lucy? Can we put the breakfast thing on hold for like...ten minutes? Why don't you go there and wait? I got an idea that can help!"
He didn't wait for an answer, he was already doubling back muttering a little 'ow' now and then as his back was still evidently sore, leaving her standing there for a little while, before she walked on.
She hoped he would get to the food hall. She was worried for his health and knew that even if he was part-navi he needed to maintain his organic side well enough to make a strong recovery from what happened to him.
Lucy didn't take much notice of the rooms she went by, most didn't mean much to her of course and she just wanted to focus on herself.
But one room's door she went by made a creaking sound as it opened slightly.
She stopped and glanced back to see if someone was watching.
There was. That woman in pink and black with the antennas in her helmet that she saw before in the hospital. Before she went to the cryo room and Chad had gone in there to see whilst Keira was helping Lucy pick out what clothes to wear. She was peaking out from the door.
"Nyu?" Lucy said to her.
There was no response.
"...Nyu?" Lucy walked towards her.
The door shut, making Lucy stop.
Curiosity got to her as she decided to investigate, wondering why that woman...Ruth if she recalled, would be spying on her.
She got to the door and tested the handle.
It went down meaning it was unlocked. She opened the door. "Nyu?"
Upon opening, she saw the room was in a state. Red shirts and black jackets were strewn about across the ground, the cupboard doors and drawers were wide open as was the bathroom door. The keyboard to the computer in here was on the ground as was the mouse and dozens of battlechips.
She walked in and looked around, checking the bathroom and everything. No sign of Ruth, but there was a feeling here. A feeling of despair. Of rage. Of loss.
She rubbed the back of her head slightly, unsure of what was going on, before guessing maybe she dived into the net to avoid Lucy...why though? She had no idea. She just decided to leave the room and close the door behind her.
But she stopped as she was about to go to it, noticing the door was closed now, yet she was sure she had left it open.
A little flicker of movement in the corner of her eye made her turn to the bed.
Sitting on the other side of it away from where the door was, was Ruth. Looking away from Lucy. The only odd thing she noticed was the fact her hair was metal, whereas she was sure Ruth's was normal...and for that matter, she didn't have a helmet.
"...Nyu?" Lucy felt chills down her spine. The coldness in the air now became something she was aware of. She was certain it wasn't there a moment ago but now looking at Ruth, it was. She moved over to the same side of the bed where the navi was, trying to look at her face.
But as she blinked the moment she was close to seeing anything, Ruth disappeared.
Instead, there was a washed out, dull damaged photograph. Exactly where Ruth was. Picking it up and looking it revealed it was the same family photo Dr Richard had shown her before. The Wily family.
Except there were two major differences.
The young boy Richard was in two clearly divided halves. One side of him was normal bar the fact he had fragments of data littered around him and his chest had an open wound, like he had been hollowed out, and the other...it had claws, purple skin and a glowing eye. The little girl in the image had hollowed out eyes and her mouth was wide open, pitch black.
"...You're linked to him too…"
A hissing whisper blew into her ear saying that. It made Lucy glance over to the bathroom with nothing in there that was different to when she last looked, but on looking back at the photo it had vanished from her hand. She looked around for a moment to figure out where it went, then came to a dead stop when she looked to the wall nearest to the door leading out of the room.
That was enough. She headed to the door and left the room, the cold air and the feelings she had gotten from it vanished on stepping through...the door slowly closing itself shut.
The shadow of a long haired girl was on the wall near the door.
She eventually found herself in the food hall. Sitting by herself at one of the large tables. She was just trying to process whatever it was she had experienced there….She knows it was obviously paranormal, what it exactly was is another matter.
She looked around, noticing the few people here. None of them had taken any notice of her...but she felt watched. Someone was watching her now.
She tried to shake it off. She focused ahead, closing her eyes for a moment and just telling herself she'll explain to Richard later on when they're back in her room or whenever they use a computer. Report it to those in charge and let them handle it.
"You were tested too…"
Lucy shot her eyes open and looked around behind her, knowing that was where the whisper came from.
Her heart was beating fast now. She knew something was around her.
She looked down to the ground.
There were two shadows. One had longer hair then her own.
That's when Dr Richard jogged in, making sure to avoid Medi as she just past him with a mug of drink in her hand with him apologizing a little before he saw Lucy and called out to her. "Hey! I got something for ya!" And started making his way over carrying a datapad and a rather long white cable with the same attachment on both ends of it like that of a USB.
Lucy focused on him for a moment, relieved he was here before glancing back at the ground.
There was now only one shadow. Her own.
As he got close, Dr Richard seemed to slow down and glance behind him. "...Huh...odd. Thought I felt something…" before deciding to ignore whatever it was and sit down next to Lucy. "Alright so, before I grab anything to eat I got this nifty little thing!"
He showed her the datapad, not seemingly noticing at first her attention elsewhere. "I grabbed this from the labs. Gramps wanted to know why and I had to explain which of course took it's sweet time since he wasn't happy with how I was spending my recovery time but anyway. I also brought along a connector. See, I got this idea-...you okay?"
"Nyu…" She looked to him, nodding a little. "Nyu."
"...Okay well this is a good time to show then. Now-" He got one part of the connector and placed it above his hand, which of course, being part-navi caused it to sink in slightly and link with his system. He attached the other end to the datapad causing his eyes to glow a little and, faintly seen, little 1 and 0's to flicker in his iris'. "You know I can translate what you type. Well it's all good you using stationary computers but what about-"
"Nyu," Lucy motioned at the datapad, then at herself before pretending to type away in the air, looking...not that impressed.
"Okay I'm guessing by your facial expression and reaction you know where I was going with this. Well why didn't you think of it before me?"
Lucy frowned at him.
"I'm just saying. Well right now I'm installing the translation onto the datapad and removing all others so it knows what you're pressing and what they actually mean without defaulting to galactic basic. It's kinda destroying the factory default settings but hey, I can always get a new one if this goes wrong."
She gave him a few minutes, waiting patiently as he completed his modifications before he seemed to sigh in relief, detaching the cable from himself and the datapad and handing the device to her. "Alright. Turn it on and test it out whilst I grab a snack." He got up and headed over to the self service part of the food hall, by the looks of it to grab some toast and jam.
Lucy looked to the datapad and turned it on allowing it's green glow to illuminate her face slightly, the touch screen keyboard soon appeared and it...seemed to normal.
She typed with it.
Hello. My name is Lucy.
Despite the fact she did figure out where he was going with this idea, it still caused her to smile when she could read what she put now.
Lucy Valentine. Now I can read what I want to say. Everyone can understand me. I am not alone.
Her smile got wider as Dr Richard returned and sat down next to her with two slices of brown bread toasted, with some sort of purple jam and butter on. "I'm guessing it's working great."
Lucy wanted to hug him, but she learnt from before doing that is a no-no with his back, so only nodded and showed her smile before focusing on the datapad, typing into it before showing him:
Thank you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I know we should've thought of this idea sooner but still, thank you. Now I can tell you about what's been going on when you headed to the lab.
That got his curiosity. "Hmm?"
I think this base is haunted.
Medi was in food hall only for a brief time before leaving it as Dr Richard walked in, carrying a mug of milky coffee with her. He barely avoided her as he quickly said "Sorry sorry!" Before looking into the hall for someone. "Hey! I got something for ya!"
She sighed in annoyance slightly as made her spill a little bit of her drink but continued on, heading down the corridors to get back to the hospital. Sipping her drink as she went. "So much for letting his body rest I suppose…"
The net navi was on her own thoughts, nodding to people as she past by them and thinking about how to help maintain Chad's body in the long term. Whilst keeping the temperature down was good and all the docs should know better then that being enough to keep it from rotting. She started to think on what documents she should read up on to help refresh her knowledge so in turn she could find ways to help him...or at the very least, as her head went to the worse case scenario, perform a reset on him.
...Can that even be done on someone whose more organic then navi? Would it even work or would just cause him to wake up? On one hand he IS like Roll at the moment. The body alive but the mind is dead, but on the other he is effectively classed as deceased. His body is not supporting itself but external forces are right now unlike Roll's body at the time.
Her thoughts stopped as she arrived outside his bedroom.
The door was wide open, showing the fact his room was a tip right now. She walked over and looked in, surprised it's in this state. "...Not like Chad to leave it in a mess…"
She walked into the room and put her mug down on the computer desk before going about and putting things back.
Hanging the black sleevless jackets and red t shirts up, putting the battlechips away, tidying the bed and so on.
'Don't want him coming back to somewhere in this mess. He's gonna need his rest when he gets back.' She thought to herself.
'He'll need someone to look after him. And he needs to look after Ruth. Guardian work...I wonder if he'll be able to if Ruth gets pulled into the new guys destiny.' her conscious spoke to her in her mind.
'Pulled into it?' Medi stopped fluffing Chad's pillows for a moment.
'You know, due to the gods getting mixed in. They'll no doubt make those around us leave Chad. You might have to as well.'
'...No. I'll make sure nothing changes for him. Ruth will be his friend, we all will be. I know I agreed to the boss' order but no way am I letting Chad be left alone. He's a good friend.' She got back to sorting out the room.
'Darkmega will want to help him too.'
Medi went into the bathroom and started giving it a little clean around, using the chemicals stored in the small metal cupboard in the corner. 'Darkmega...I don't know how to deal with him. Him and Chad are good friends, but I want…' She stopped again, looking in a nearby mirror. 'I...I don't know what I want still. I honestly hate this indecisiveness that's been rapidly growing in me.'
'You know there are three of us here right?'
Medi stared at her reflection...her conscious as it was glancing over to the left of them, back out of the bathroom.
Medi looked and saw nothing, her eyes focusing back at the mirror. 'Got an error there or somethin-'
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of dozens of battlechips hitting the floor from the desk as she spotted when she quickly turned back.
She looked annoyed at the sight and decided to finish cleaning in the bathroom first.
'...You can feel it right?' her conscious asked her. 'Something so familiar.'
'It doesn't matter.'
'Why do I not matter?'
Medi was confused by that question. She moved over to the bathtub, getting a sponge and cloth before bending down to one knee and wiping the metal tub down, ignoring the sound of the door in the bedroom opening. 'Of course we matter. But you're not around. I am. At least I think I am. But perhaps we're the same. We've slipped away and something else is here. But you're not around. It was dark. The 10th level. Closed eyes. When I was young, there was a pain-'
Medi came to a full stop.
A chill ran down her spine. Her mind quickly backtracking on what she just thought. Her eyes widening a little at the realization of what she, more or less, said in her mind to herself. 'What the fuck?'
"Medi? What're you doing here?"
Medi felt her heart and body jump in sheer shock as she spun around and got to her feet, seeing Dr Richard and Lucy standing outside the bathroom. "By Blind Io you could've knocked on the door!"
Richard noticed she was panting from the shock. "I'm sorry. Just that Lucy said about feeling and seeing odd things in this room. Decided to leave my toast and get right here as she's sure it's related to someone I know. That got my attention real quick. Why you were here?"
Medi forced her body to settle, taking a few deep breathes before speaking to them. "Well Chad's room was in a mess. I felt as one of my duties to looking after him, I should clean it up….and who's Lucy?"
Lucy got her datapad and was typing on it as Richard talked. "Short story. I know Nyu's real name and it's Lucy-" She quickly waved at Medi before getting back to typing "-and now she's using this modified datapad to communicate with us. So what's happened to Chad then that requires you to keep an eye on him? Has he gotten Ruth mixed in something he shouldn't?"
"No his just...well...dead."
Lucy was stunned, before soon deleting whatever she was typing before and writing something new. Dr Richard was just in the same state of surprise. "He's what?"
"Dead. Something happened to his body, his soul was temporarily extracted and...he died."
"Those two goddamn old idiots. What the hell did they screw up this time? Is Ruth fine?"
"Yes she's okay. Why do you ask about her?"
Lucy now showed the datapad to Richard:
That explains the haunting. Kind've. Doesn't explain the shadow or the illusion of Ruth but it's a start. At least we have someone who is dead that would link to this room.
Richard nodded. "Hmm. Yeah. Maybe his trying to say he wants to talk to her?"
"Uh, what's she put?" Medi was intrigued.
"Oh right. She encountered paranormal activity in this room." Dr Richard explained to the nurse navi. "It's related to Ruth. I'm guessing now it's Chad though and his thinking of Ruth instead of it being her."
"Well of course it wouldn't be Ruth. I'm sure your grandfather would tell you if she...if she…" Medi seemed to just...phase out, staring off in the distance.
"Nyu?" Lucy asked, at least to try and get her attention.
"Medi? You alright there?" Dr Richard asked as he moved towards her.
Medi just continued to be distant, mumbling aloud as she stumbled back a step; "I...I just feel...so cold…and I...and then...it's not the same..." before she dropped to the floor.
Intrusion in Input connection 1521 detected.
Unknown program (R*!&%^O$%£&L&$^£L) detected.
Program has been detected and ejected.
Unable to disable error 0xH5L16M5
Unable to disable error 0xC8A4
Unable to disable error 0xT8E4A18K
Unable to disable error 0xY15U1R5
Unable to disable error 0xN15T13E
Unable to disable error 0xY15U19T15L5
Unable to disable error 0xF18O13M5
Medi noticed the red lines of words soon vanish, and instead she could hear muffled voices.
"—So you let his soul get yanked out and his dead. Ruth's guardian gets taken out by your ineffectiveness to keep him safe old man."
"I didn't agree to the idea. I was busy on Mobius. The thing was already done by the time I recovered. If I had a choice on it I would've suggested against it at this current time."
"So who's looking after her now?"
"For now Hub will be. For a short time. Then when Chad is restored-"
"You expect him back?"
"I honestly hope he will be. When he is, she'll be placed under his care….I don't want Thomas to hear this but I intend for her to remain away from, our new guests, who'll be here in time."
"Right, you said about them earlier. Castiel and Scott?"
"Another annoyance for a deity and a boy who is an Oswald. Should fit right on in."
"What about Medi? She alright now?"
"Her programming is showing, unusual errors. But I think that's due to something happening to her lately. The hourly readouts hadn't changed so it's not progressing, and that haunting you mentioned could also have had an effect. Now, you think it's Chad? You and this Lucy?"
Medi began opening her eyes, everything blurry and just hardly defined shapes.
She could make out someone with reddish pink hair holding something up to two others.
"You saw a shadow of a girl? In the food hall with you? And you saw Ruth?"
"Lucy why didn't you say this to me earlier?"
Everything was becoming more defined now. Lucy was using her datapad, then showed it to Dr Wily and Dr Richard again.
"...Alright yeah I didn't exactly give you time to explain further on what you meant by the fact it was linked to Ruth fully. Sorry. But even then that could be projected images? Perhaps his way of calling out? I mean she's not dead so that doesn't make sense if it's her."
Dr Wily seemed to think on it, walking over to the hospital computer as Medi was now aware she was in the hospital, the humming of the machine was behind her head. "...Lucy, go and head to the bar. Use your new datapad and get a small drink. Ask Ridley to call and I'll pay for it. My grandson will be with you soon."
Lucy looked at Dr Richard in worry for a moment, trying to show through her facial expressions if he would be okay right now. He nodded to her and she slowly walked out, the doors closing behind her.
Dr Wily then came back into view with Richard looking at him. "I'm impressed Richard. You've managed to figure a way to communicate to Nyu and get her name. I thought you would be doing nothing in your spare time besides fiddling around in my fortress."
Dr Richard was clearly annoyed by that, turning away from his gramps and walking to the other side of Medi's bed. "Yeah well I can do things gramps. When I'm not being left alone and struggling with loss."
"...Well. I'm going to get Regal to place sensors on Chad's door and a couple of cameras in the room. I'm locking it out until his back. I'm not sure if it's Chad...it could be a Super Child. Maybe he was feeling it's suffering long after the body was destroyed because-"
Medi could feel her body coming to life. A tingling sensation was running through.
"A haunting is a haunting. Let him or whatever it is rot. We don't need him."
"Why? Because then you can have Ruth's attention? You won't be able to make her recall even if you were her guardian. That's the only reason you hold something against him. That boy is key to a lot of things here."
"Bullshit. All you care for are results. I'm surprised his not disregarded by you yet. I got pushed aside when I was alive and you cling onto him in death?"
Dr Wily gave one hell of a mean glare to his grandson. "You were not the only one suffering from loss at that time...Leave me."
"You're exactly like her. Don't forget that." With that, Dr Richard walked out of the hospital, slamming the door behind him.
Medi began sitting up as Dr Wily returned to the hospital computer, her head feeling light from the shift in position. "Dr Wily? What happened to me?" She asked as she turned herself to sit at the side of the bed, noticing the white cabled attached to her right shoulder.
"You suffered in unexpected shut down. It's been 7 hours and 28 minutes since it occurred. Scans show errors but nothing that's going to led to anything dangerous. They appear stabilised. How do you feel?" He had sat down in the nearby office chair and turned it towards her, hands on his staff and leaning forward in curiosity.
"I feel a bit, light-headed. Beyond that nothing else. I just...shut off."
"You were in Chad's bathroom. Richard had to call Charlie and Samus to help you over here. Do you remember why you shut off? Anything before it?"
"...Confusion. Alot of confusion." Medi thought back to that moment. "I'm not sure why. Still, I think I'll be fit for duty shortly."
"I see. If that's how you feel Medi." He leaned back. "If you begin to feel anything unusual though, please tell us."
Medi got herself up slowly from the bed. "Yeah. Sure. I will."
"Darkmega was deeply worried about you. He rushed here when I informed him of your arrival. He said you've been odd lately. Normally you spend everyday with him yet lately you haven't? I think his in the main room still. Probably wants to make sure you're okay." Dr Wily watched as Medi removed the cable from her shoulder and placed it nearby the computer. "He mentioned you were...overly joyous in your room. Like something wonderful happened."
"...It's…" Medi didn't know what to say. She forgot he had seen her rolling around in her bed cover once.
"Tell me in due time Medi. When you're ready." With that, Dr Wily focused back on the computer.
She stepped towards the door, taking a few deep breaths. She didn't want to step out there. She didn't want to face him.
But sometime she had to.
The nurse navi walked into the main room, looking around and spotted Jak, Samos the sage and Daxter one part of the room. Laserman and Shademan at another, Diamas looking at one of the computers...and there was Darkmega, sitting at the chairs around the room quickly on his feet as he spotted Medi. He looked relieved to see she was okay as he walked towards her.
'He cares.' Her conscious spoke to her.
"Medi. You alright? I got so worried when they said you just, fell." Darkmega held her hands, his genuine worry clear as day.
"Darkmega...I…" Medi meanwhile had a twisted feeling in her gut. She wanted to walk away from the murderer of her operator, yet, he cared for her. Like she did for him before this…
"Medi?"
"I just want to rest. I want to go to my room and rest. I feel tired of everything at the moment. Chad's in good hands with the docs so-"
"What?" Darkmega stared straight at her, eyes wide. "What's happened to him?"
Medi looked back in those red eyes.
He has no idea what's been going on. His been left out of the loop.
A part of her wanted to be alone and away from him. A darker part wanted him to remain in the dark as a part of her spiteful intent in Jasmine's name. But his look right now...No. Despite her mixed feelings, she swallowed them down for now. He deserved to know. "...Darkmega...Come on. I'll tell you in my room."
As they left, Castiel appeared in a flash of white, grabbing the attention of Laserman and Shademan. "We've set out the Life Virus. You need to get people over to Gaia III. He'll need help as planned."
Zuo Ci meanwhile, was on Gaia VII.
He had purged Gongaga and Nibelheim. They weren't important to the game. They were usable for what he needed. A decent collection of mortals to harvest.
As night settled in he was on the mountains close to Midgar, his summon, the creature known as Griffon once a minion of the being known as Mundus, now in the service of the deities was flying overhead. Watching closely for anyone to approach them.
The deity had placed a blue crystal orb, the swirling colours within emitting faint cries of souls, close him and a blood circle that was drawn out within the ground of the flat ground they were on within the mountains. Letters of the lost language of the Leviathans written all around it within.
Translated from Thu'um, written was:
Dinok (Death)
Dinok (Death)
Vortii Vulom Ahrk Kun(Beyond Darkness And Light)
Bo Nol Faal Oblaan (Come From The End)
Dinok (Death)
Dinok (Death)
Vortii Kiindah Ahrk Ahkos (Beyond Creation And Existence)
Bo Nol Faal Gon (Come From The Beginning)
Whilst many can translate to other languages and use it, Zuo Ci prefers to keep to what the deities have been taught to use in events that the higher ups won't call for him personally.
He had just cleaned his hands of the blood of humans that he used. The blooded bottle left on the ground a fair distance from him.
He picked up the crystal orb, holding it close to him as he closed his eyes and spoke. "Death. The reaper of souls. I call to you through this circle of endings and beginnings. I ask you to grant me an audience with you. This creature of the realm of life seeks the master of endings."
The blood and words glowed, billowing out dark blood red smoke rising higher and higher up into the sky as they blinded any possible vision to whatever was now within the circle. Griffon has to avoid the smoke to be able to keep a lookout.
"I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WOULD COME TO ME."
Zuo Ci opened his eyes. The smoke hid who was within.
"Death…" He bent down to his knees, lifting up the crystal orb of souls. "I have for you an offering."
"I KNOW WHAT FOR. THE BOY. LET'S GET TO THE POINT-"
The smoke seemed to just get blown away in a small breeze, dispersing and vanishing into nothingness as Death stood there with his scythe in one hand and a slice of thin crusted ham and pineapple pizza in the other, which clearly had a few bites out of it. "YOU WEREN'T LOOKING."
"I'm sorry?"
"OSWALD. YOU WERE DISTRACTED. BLIND IO MUST BE DISAPPOINTED IN YOU." He shook his head. "HE BROUGHT UP YOUR COUNTERPART."
Zuo Ci lowered his arms a little, looking surprised Death would know this. "H-how?"
"I'VE BEEN READING."
With that the pizza slice moved towards Death and just seemed to lose more and more of itself before the crust was left. He seemed to eye it up before looking over to Zuo Ci. "I SUPPOSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BOTWOON SPECIAL ICING MIX ON YOU DO YOU?"
The humbled deity didn't know what to say, before Death gave a small irritated sigh and tossed the crust away. "NOW. HAND ME THE SOULS."
Zuo Ci extended his arms once more, barely feeling the cold brushing tips of Death's fingers which caused him to shake as the Reaper's spare hand reached out and grabbed the orb, bringing it up close his face to examine.
"38 SOULS. ALL BY YOUR HAND. TOO MANY FOR WHAT YOU WANT YOU KNOW. BUT I WILL ACCEPT IT."
"Thank you Death. Please then, accept my request to bring back Chad Os-"
Death turned away from the deity, clearly a little annoyed whilst the crystal orb seemed to just, catch fire, consumed by blue flames before disappearing as the circle of blood began to burn. "WE DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH ANYMORE OF THE ROUTINE. I'LL BRING HIM TO THE HERO BASE WHEN I'M DONE. HIS BODY IS STILL THERE."
A whirl of colours, and Death was back in his office. The orb that contained the souls was on his desk along with an open greasy cardboard thin box containing his pizza, about a quarter of it left. He walked over, clicking his fingers as he went by the orb to sit down, the souls within the orb escaping and vanishing away, being allowed to flow into the lifestream of their world. "DESPERATION. THE OLD FOOL COULD JUST RETIRE INSTEAD OF GETTING MIXED UP IN THE OSWALDS AFFAIR ANYMORE. A RARE CHANCE FOR A ZUO CI."
He used his power to sense for the soul needed to be brought back from the farplanes. He didn't need to go there personally. Once he could detect them one snap of his fingers and he'll have them here.
The problem was, as he began to notice, was the fact Chad wasn't in the farplanes. "HMM."
He sensed around in the Abyss.
Still nothing.
"THIS IS ANNOYING. HE CAN'T HAVE DROPPED INTO OBLIVION-"
He quickly stood up from his desk.
Not just one Chad.
"OH BLAST! WHAT WERE THEY DOING THAT LED TO THIS!?"
Whilst Oblivion was a realm he could watch and monitor, he only bothered to venture to it if he had to maintain a collapsing realm of a person there as requested by the deities or gods, or if he had to go and collect the souls. Normally souls there would live in a self-made punishing existence, as it crumbles to nothing they are exposed to the knowledge of the Multiverse then destroyed into easily collectable fragments of energy he gains as black seeds in a brown sack near the house, that he can scatter into the wheat field to grow new life.
Sometimes those just left to go through the phases though don't get that chance. Things within the Void between Multiverses can leech life from oblivion, Langoliers being one example. It's all game at that point since the lifeforms due course is, well, the end.
Thankfully a barrier halts them ever getting through to the Abyss and thus, into the actual Multiverse.
But the problem was the soul he had to bring back was down there. He had to fish it out himself, and quick.
He left his desk behind and marched out of his office. Albert was about to say something but stopped as he noticed the pace his master was going. Susan was sitting on the stairway eating her own slice of the pizza when she watched her grandfather go by.
The reaper went to the stable and got on his horse, riding off into the stars. "TO OBLIVION BINKY. WE MUST GO TO OBLIVION."
"Chad please come back! I need you on Beyondard! I need you to come back with me!"
"Chad, why won't you help me? Please come and stop him from hurting me!"
"Chad why did you let me die? You chose between us and I had to die for it."
"I should've known you'd be a failure Chad Oswald. I never should've accepted you into the base."
"I can't handle Richard alone with the Death Soul! I need your help Chad! Why!?"
"My own son falls into the end of all things...looks like we've both got what we deserved."
"You had a destiny, Chad Oswald. I was to guide you, but instead you have found an ending so soon...a shame. I shall have to find another."
Chad was in the corner of the lab.
Curled up, knees to his chest.
He was on the verge of completely accepting what he was trapped in. The whispers were clear now. They were loud, they were washing out any thoughts he tried to bring up to his mind.
His eyes were wide, body shaking violently, his teeth clenched. He could see movements in the shadows. Constant movements. He didn't know what it was or why it was there, but it was hounding him, keeping him in this corner he was sure of it.
He tried to explore again as time went on. He did try. But the shadows out there, in the main room and beyond...He knows they are people he knew.
They all look at him accusingly. They all glare at him like he was the worst thing to be in their lives. The first he saw was Lucy. His Lucy.
He tried to hug her, but she just...dissolved away, after whispering to him harshly "You forgot me. You never came home."
Anna was next. She was cut, bloody...and carrying a broken hourglass. "This is mine Chad. This one is mine. And you broke it instead of hers. Why? Why did you choose?"
She vanished into the shadows before he could form an answer.
Roll appeared in his room. Her chest was hollowed out. "You let them erase me. You didn't stop them. I'm gone. He'll find her. He'll kill her too. You won't stop him now."
More and more appeared, some didn't even speak, they just looked at him.
He just couldn't stand it. He just wanted all this to end. He was ready for it to stop.
The lights seemed to have dimmed as time went on. Corridors had vanished entirely. Computers flickered and died. The base fell apart the more he did.
A part of him knew, if he let it all go. Accept this last death...it would vanish. The lights would go out once and for all.
He wanted to take that step. He closed his eyes. "Please. Please stop it...I can't do this…"
The whispers seemed to fade...the lights brightened through his eyelids.
He opened them and noticed the shadows had rescinded. They had backed off.
He heard footsteps. Were they real? Were they a new illusion to pull him deeper in to this false realm of life?
The lab doors opened.
"Well. Good thing I can sense energy even in this dead realm hell. You okay there?"
Darkness.
Binky hooves moved, but there was no sound.
Death knew they were moving, they were seeking. But nothing here existed to create the feeling of movement. As it should be.
He could sense the odd stray soul. It wasn't the one he wanted. No distractions were allowed. He didn't know how stable the realm of existence created by him would last.
As he moved on, he sensed Langoliers. They wouldn't approach unless they wanted to experience Death. He was safe.
As time passed, he sensed some familiar souls. Ones he was sure would be the Farplanes...but now they were in Oblivion.
He had to wonder what that fool had done now.
He could feel them already allowing their realms slip away, to vanish into the void.
Death was fine with that. Their time was over. If anyone wanted them back, he could rewind time at his leisure. Fixing errors like that were not a problem for him.
Then he sensed them both. Together.
"...INTERESTING."
There was, dead ahead.
The Hero Base, floating in the void...breaking down little by little at a quickened pace. It was running out of time, and thus, so was he.
He could see an opening, motioning Binky to head down to it.
Death heard them talk.
"But. I can't leave."
"You can't without help. But if we focus on this realm, on it's existence, we can hold it together and eventually, he'll come."
"W-who?"
"ME."
The sounds of hooves rapidly filled the main room of the fading Hero Base as Death came out of the shadows of one of the corridor entranceway's, riding atop Binky, slowing to a trot and stopping before the Chad of Universe 3, and Chad of Universe 2, in his final beast mode still. Lacked the helmet and face covering, dried blood down one side of his face, his armor damaged and beaten with several holes in it that were covered in his blood, puncturing wounds that weren't present anymore. His hair a mess and one eye clearly damaged as he had his left one closed, dried blood all around it.
"I DON'T THINK YOU CAN HOLD THIS BASE FOR MUCH LONGER. IT'S ALREADY MOSTLY GONE." He looked to Chad of Universe 2 "YOU'RE ALOT WEAKER THEN YOU'RE LETTING ON," He then looked to Chad of Universe 3 "AND THE ONE I WANT IS CLEARLY TOO MUCH OF A MENTAL MESS TO BE ABLE TO FATHOM ANY NEED TO FOCUS CORRECTLY."
Chad of 3 looked up to Death, getting to his feet. "You, You want me?"
"YOU'VE BEEN CHOSEN TO BE BROUGHT BACK. IT APPEARS THE DEITIES WANT YOU. THOUGH YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSE TO BE HERE. I THOUGHT THE FARPLANES WOULD BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU PESTS."
"We ran into, complications." The other Chad now got to his feet too as Death got off his horse, still carrying his scythe in one hand whilst the other hand he had behind him.
"THANKS TO YOU BEING HERE THERE WILL BE A, SMALL DELAY BUT I'M SURE ZUO CI WILL UNDERSTAND. SO THIS COMPLICATION, I TAKE IT THAT MEANS THE ONES I WANT GONE?"
"It's name is Xenomaker." Chad of the 3rd informed him, bitterly.
"XENOMAKER?" Death rubbed his chin. "INTERESTING. NO NAME LIKE THAT EXISTS ON THE HOURGLASSES OF MANY OF THE ANNOYANCES. THE DARK ONE I ASSUME IS XENOMAKER?"
"You don't even know which one he is...You don't even understand what it is do you?!" Chad of 3 marched towards Death and grabbed his robe...which was icy cold to the touch, his hands rapidly going numb but he clung on. "You just tell people to try and deal with it and leave us in the dark! Anna isn't gone! You fucking lied to me! You lied! Thanks to him she's not gone! I had to experience this place! This hell! Everyone hates me! Everyone despises me because I failed! You don't care though! You only want things to go ahead as normal! Mortals are just, NOTHING, to you! I tried to save Roll from the fucking Abyss but instead-"
"...THIS IS VERY EMBARRASSING. DID I COME AT A BAD TIME?" Death looked to the other Chad.
"His having a rough time with some new memories and being here." Chad of 2 explained briefly as Chad of 3 was rambling on. "Go easy on him."
"—I tried to fight him! I wanted to fight him but I was so afraid when he told me! I killed her again! Not with an Hourglass this time but with my own fucking sword! You don't understand-"
"PERHAPS I SHOULD STOP THIS."
"Can he even hurt you if he wanted to?" Chad of the 2nd decided to ask.
"I CAN DIE. BUT I WOULD BE RESTORED...AS ALL LIFE IN THE MULTIVERSE DIES."
"That ain't good."
"OBVIOUSLY." Death reached out with his spare hand, placing on the younger Chad's head as gently as possible. "FORGET."
For Chad of 3, it was like a faint breeze touched his face before the world turned black entirely and he stopped moving, his arms and legs going limp, falling to his knees whilst his eyes glazed out to nothing and mouth hung open.
Eventually, some sort of sense came back to him.
Chad felt himself laying on the horse. He sensed that much.
Felt it move, the base vanish behind him.
He didn't know who was on the horse, he couldn't see well enough. He just knew there was a light coming into view, blinding and powerful...
Chad felt his back twist up in an arch.
He felt air flow into his body.
Pain. Pain surged through him as the numbness mostly was in his arms and legs. Struggling to keep air in.
His heart was slamming in his chest. It was suddenly being forced to work again.
He fell off the cold table, slamming into the ground finding his blurred view was made worse by the cold misty air covering the ground.
His body was stiff. It couldn't move correctly at all. He was trying to pull himself up just to try and figure out where he is or what was going on.
He could feel something, words in the distance whispering in his mind.
"the Heart Connection."
"His body can't handle it, and he can't control it."
"You can alter what is supposed to be."
"You can make Xenomaker learn of fear properly."
"Talk to others, ask for help. You have that chance."
Chad found his voice, weak, dried out, each word difficult to utter. "Someone...Anyone...I...I need help…"
Notes:
1. Castiel is based off the character from Supernatural, now he'll be in focus more in time.
2. This chapter links to Multiverse: Other Stories Chapter: Xenomaker, which pretty much sets in stone the origin of the being, the Dark One.