You do not need knowledge of Stardew Valley to read this fic. Knowledge of Worm will help you understand Taylor's mindset, but isn't technically necessary. Enjoy!
A shot to the back of her head followed by the words, "I hope you find the peace that neither of us could afford to have."
Another shot and the world went dark.
"Well I'll be. Another meteor. The one before this was last summer right?"
"Yup. Last time we had two this close together must've been 20 years ago."
Taylor tensed, instinctively trying to push the splitting headache and agony she was feeling to her swarm so she could focus on the voices. A moment later she realized she couldn't feel her swarm, couldn't feel anything with her power. Is that what Contessa meant about finding peace? Taking her powers away and dropping her off somewhere, defenseless and alone?
A part of her, a significant part of her, wished that Contessa had meant she was going to kill her. She was just so tired of it all, of doing her best, of doing everything and anything to win, and being forced to do it again and again.
These thoughts, along with the panic and pain that was going through her, caused her to let out a sob.
The two men that were nearby heard this, and while they were both momentarily shocked, one of them hobbled over as fast as he could and upon seeing her, he immediately went into action.
"Lewis! Grab the tractor and get over here. There's a kid who got hit by the rock!"
The rest was a blur, the minutes possibly turning to hours as Taylor felt herself be moved, bumping on a road, being put into a bed, and finally a pleasant warmth. She tried to move, to do anything, but her body refused. Eventually she slipped off into sleep, feeling fear, pain, and frustration, but above all else, tired.
A wizard glanced up from his project, several of his instruments going haywire before stabilizing once more. He would have to look into whatever caused that, but for now he was hard at work trying to transmute this dwarven artifact.
Robin perked up as she heard her step-daughter come back from work. It's been hard for the kids to get used to each other, and sometimes it seems like no one wants to talk to each other. Still, everyone got along well enough, and if she had to be the only one in the house to start conversations, then she would do so!
"Hey Maru, long day at work?" She questioned politely.
"Yes, the traveler that the old farmer and the mayor found is very injured, I was not sure that she would survive." Maru responded flatly.
"Wait, that girl is still there? I thought she was found 2 days ago?" Robin asked in shock.
"Yes, even the Doctor seems perplexed as to what happened to her. She was found on top of a meteorite, but it is evident that she was not hit by it, nor did she arrive on it from outer space, as Sam is claiming." Maru explains in exasperation.
"Well I hope the poor girl gets better soon." Robin finishes.
At that, her step-daughter heads towards her room, no doubt immediately going to her research without a break. That girl was so much like her father, it was funny the way the two of them could be distracted for days on end by something. Looking back down at the lumber she was organizing, Robin continued her work.
Taylor found herself awake, and kept her breathing steady. This wasn't the first time she woke up in an unfamiliar place, and her experience and training taught her that it was best to pretend to be asleep until she could discover more about her situation.
The sound of a door opening caught her attention, and as footsteps grew closer she attempted to vault out of bed to catch the person by surprise. Her plan did not come to fruition however, as she ended up stumbling and falling out of bed instead. Despite her intentions, her limbs did not cooperate and couldn't follow through.
"What are you doing? Get back in bed immediately, do you have any idea how injured you are?!" A stern voice scolded her.
The man then helped prop her up and rolled her onto the bed again before sighing.
"You have two broken ribs and several fractures, second degree burns on half your body, and your one arm is also broken. On top of that, you were severely dehydrated and your body showed signs of exhaustion. You likely had a concussion that you were recovering from, and your old injuries certainly didn't help.
Whatever your profession is, you need to take better care of yourself. The human body can take a lot of strain, but nothing is without consequence. If you continue like this, you'll be confined to a wheelchair by the time you're 30."
Despite the stern tone of the probable doctor lecturing her, Taylor could only focus on his last words. Heh, if you had told her last month that she'd live until 30, she wouldn't believe it. Except now…she won. Humanity won. But at what cost.
Memories came back to her in vague, chaotic flashes. Everything was a blur, but she still had impressions and feelings about what had happened. The thought of what she had done, what the casualties were…it was nauseating. To top it all off, she didn't know if she had killed the people she loved, she wasn't sure. The pressure and emotions threatened to burst out and overwhelm her, and for once, she had no legion of insects to push them into. Taylor sobbed.
Much later, Taylor was able to stop her constant crying. Harvey had been kind to her, and while it was clear that he didn't know what to say or do, his heart was in the right place and he comforted her. It reminded her of dad, and the uncertainty of what happened to him had only made her feel worse.
Once she was finally calmed down a bit more, Harvey asked some questions about her for her health. He was careful not to be too invasive, probably cautious about setting her off again. Taylor felt her cheeks flush, it had been a long time since she had a breakdown like that, let alone to a stranger.
Eventually she remembered to ask some questions of her own, and find out what the situation was.
"This is a weird question, but where am I?"
"Lewis and Pete found you on the outskirts of Pete's farm. They brought you over here as soon as possible, here being the Pelican Town clinic." The doctor replied kindly.
"Er…where is Pelican Town?" Taylor hesitantly asks.
Harvey gives her an odd look, but answers her, "Well we're in Stardew Valley, which is at the south-east end of the Ferngill Republic."
"Ah got it, thanks."
Harvey fixed her with a serious look and then warned, "I don't need to know about what you were doing until now, but Pelican Town is away from all the fighting overseas."
There's some kind of conflict going on?
Before she could open her mouth to ask about it, someone called for Harvey from another room and he apologized and ran off, but first handed her a bell to ring if she needed help.
Alone again, Taylor had a chance to think and gather herself. It seemed that Contessa put her on another Earth. Taylor recalled the words spoken to her, the last words she heard before getting knocked unconscious. This is supposed to be my 'peace' then? Well it certainly wasn't a good start to peace. She had been in much worse condition in the past, but she still felt terrible.
The lack of her 'Passenger' bothered her, but if this really was another Earth, hopefully she wouldn't need back to Chicago and Brockton Bay, if Stardew Valley was even half as exciting, it would be too much.
Yes, I changed my name. Here's a new story again! I like the idea of Taylor being able to heal through being transported to another world. The best part is that this is what happens in the canon story anyways (Although it's not this world). Same as always, there won't be regular updates, but I will never abandon a fic without a lot of forewarning. If I take a long time to update, that's all there is to it.
Fic recommendation will be Trailblazer by Lord0fHats. This is a very long Worm x Gundam fic, though no knowledge of Gundam is needed.
Game recommendation is ….Stardew Valley! It is where this fic will take place after all. If you like farming games and somehow haven't heard about it yet, give it a try! And remember there are many mods for you to go through as well, the game being very simple to mod and to install mods.
Lastly, I'd recommend the anime 'Bocchi the Rock!'. A cute series with a socially awkward girl who becomes a rockstar. Honestly probably my favorite series of 2022.
Future chapters will be longer, don't worry, I'll update something else soon!