Chapter Four: The Conscience
Argent was the first up the following day, carefully shaking both her agents to wake them up. Mercury came to easily, but Galena growled and buried himself in his jacket's hood until she gently peeled it off of him.
"Galena, come on."
"Mmph."
"We need to get out of here Galena. You know why."
He sighed and rubbed an eye as he sat up, starting as a bowl of his breakfast was shoved into his hands. He fumbled with the spoon, but set it at his side and downed its contents in a single gulp, giving it right back to his superior with a raised brow. "I'm ready."
She gave him a flat look before placing it back in the kitchen, returning with a lent plasma rifle to find Aleka had joined them in the living room. She waved to Argent, but her eyes were filled with worry as the three gathered in the middle of the room.
"I know you aren't…ours, and you can't promise anything, but…" She paused and sighed in the direction of her daughter's room, "Get back safe, okay?"
The three looked amongst themselves, but seemed to hesitate before Galena's ears flattened inward.
"We'll try."
The three filed out the door, but just as it clicked shut, Aleka was alerted to a loud slam at the back of the house. She jumped and spun around, rushing straight to the laundry room as Hammerhead started to cry out for her and Liko.
"Hammer-what happened?! What's going-" She stopped dead in her tracks to see the lab veteran panting on the floor next to the chair he'd set up to watch the back. He looked as though he'd just woken up, his ruffled fur bristling in the early morning light as he shakily gestured towards the door, "They ran. They're gone!"
"What?! How?" A startled Liko exclaimed as he entered the room behind Aleka, "How'd they even manage to notice?"
"Not sure…" Hammerhead carefully stood up and checked his arm for damage before narrowing his eyes at the door, "But I do have a hunch as to who came up with their escape plan."
"Right. Cal's grounded if-when we catch them." Aleka said, crossing her arms, "We're going to have to move fast. You still have your trackers on?"
Hammerhead nodded, "Give me a moment to activate them. Once I do, we're off."
Cal and Scratch stuck together, both keeping ears and heat sense on high alert as Scratch led them through the forest trail. Argent, Galena, and Mercury were…very easy for Cal to track in particular; even when he closed his eyes, he could practically see white-hot clumps he knew belonged to his two counterparts. For Scratch, all three were bulky enough to where he could hear them from far off, his ears swiveling back and forth to check in case they were being followed, and to follow the trio.
The path they were following was unfamiliar to them; it cut straight through the forest and began to wind around a creek. None of them recognized the layout, and Cal and Scratch found themselves having to clear vegetation so the humans could safely traverse.
"Wonder why they chose this trail…" Kaia said, carefully stepping around a rock jutting out of the path, "It's leading to a really remote stream."
"You've been here before?" Lyra asked, and she nodded, "Course; I'd come here with Nani sometimes before she went to university, but that was a long time ago. And we never went this deep."
"Hmm…" Lyra squinted at the trees before her eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Oh-wait; I know where we're going."
Kaia and Lilinoe peered at her curiously, prompting Lyra to continue, "We're weird in terms of universes, but we're coming up on what Galena and Mercury would call Gantu's clearing. It's the area he crashes in when he gets marooned on Earth in their timelines."
"And if he crashed there, then that must be where Arsenic and the 609 and 10 fusion are, right?" Lilinoe asked. Lyra shrugged, "It's odd he'd choose the place, but from what I've heard of the twins, they're actually not from Hawaii. They're from a completely different country, so to them, it's probably just more shelter."
"Maybe…" Kaia crossed her arms as the trees began to thin out, "Speaking of which…"
"We're here. Keep quiet." Cal whispered, he and Scratch crouching down in the brush. The Lilos shivered as the air slightly cooled around them, which meant…
The three agents were still outside.
Scratch huddled next to Cal as the experiments watched the three from a distance. They were clearly planning amongst themselves, Argent pointing at the waterfall at the far end of the clearing. Galena nodded, and Cal and Scratch's eyes widened as he constructed a massive shield and stepped towards the falls.
"Ooohh…" Scratch gasped as a cavern was revealed behind the waterfall, Galena shielding the other Agents from being hit as they helped each other into the cave. However, once he was alone, he turned to gaze out at the area.
He knew they were there. Cal gulped as Galena's eyes settled right on the bushes their group was hiding inside. The alternate version of himself sighed in annoyance before snapping his fingers and disappearing behind the falls. Cal couldn't see what he'd done at first, but a pink glow from behind the waterfall soon revealed exactly what.
"He sealed the entrance." Scratch said as the group carefully stood back up, flattening his ears, "Now what? Naga think we can get in anymore."
"Gaba are those, by the way?" He asked Lyra, "Isa powers?"
She nodded, "Galena can't use his laser anymore, so he makes light constructs instead. Think of it as like the comic books. You know, where people can make stuff like that?"
Cal nodded, "Neat. But now, we have two problems. One-he saw us, and he didn't look too happy about it. And two, we're blocked out for now."
"We can deal with Galena after we get in…only…hm." Lyra pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she thought to herself, "Wait a minute…"
"Those barriers he makes rely on his focus to work." She explained, gesturing towards the waterfall, "So…"
"If he loses it, then we'll be able to get in." Kaia said, "I can lead us up to the falls-there's a few paths that'll get us close enough."
The others nodded, letting Kaia and Cal take the lead.
They were about three-quarters of the way to the falls before they heard it; the sounds of sprinting and shouting echoing through the brush signaling that their absence had been discovered. Kaia's eyes widened and she yanked Lilinoe forward, Scratch helping her up as they scrambled next to the cavern's entrance.
"LILO! CAL, GET BACK FROM THERE, NOW!" The adults' voices were near indistinguishable from each other as they burst into the clearing, immediately causing all three Lilos to scream and rush behind the falls. Scratch shielded them from falling, his ears back and his face magenta with embarrassment. However, as he looked in the direction of the barrier…
Lyra had been correct and then some; it was completely gone, its remnants flickering on and off from time to time. Lyra immediately took notice, leading the other two by the hands as they silently rushed in. He covered them, grabbing Cal as the thermal experiment reached him.
They'd just gotten inside when a robotic hand grabbed for them. The noise must've alerted Galena to their presence, because the barrier flickered right back into view-and in the process, sliced Hammerhead's cybernetic hand clean off. He yelped and stumbled in shock, grabbing onto the rock and panting as he steadied himself.
"CAL, GET THEM OUT!" He screamed, pounding the sparking stump against the barrier, "YOU KNOW THEY CAN'T BE AROUND HIM, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"
Cal gulped and stepped back on all fours, glancing back to the Lilos in shame. They were huddled up against the cave wall, all averting their eyes from Hammerhead and himself.
He turned back to Hammerhead, but could only pick up the hand that'd been sliced off and carefully place it against the barrier. "I…"
"Do not do this Cal; why are you-"
"It was my idea, not his!" Kaia exclaimed, a tear streaking down her face as she ran up next to Cal, "And Lyra's-it's was all us! Not Cal or Scratch!"
"What?!" Hammerhead's face twisted into confusion before he shouted through the barrier, "WHY?!"
"'Cause I'm not leaving Argent-or the others!" Lyra said, "I just-I didn't wanna lose her…"
"Lose her? I don't want to lose YOU!" Hammerhead snapped, "You can't fight someone like him, you know this!"
"No, we can't. But…we're not supposed to." Lyra said, stepping forward, "I just wanna make sure he's not gonna do anything to her."
"And. I want to make sure I don't disappear." Kaia added, "Look, Hammer…just…we're going to be okay-I promise, I've been swept out to sea before, I…"
"I want a hand in making sure we get through this. Lili…might be similar, right?" She asked, and her final counterpart nodded, "I wanna get home, and I know I can't unless Arsenic gets defeated, so…"
Hammerhead bit his lip as his own tear slid down his face, "Tell me you're not getting involved beyond this."
The group looked to each other before Cal glanced back down the cavern. He could sense it now.
Both an absence and abundance of heat.
"I think…I think we're too far in Hammer. I'm sorry." He said, turning back to his trainer, "What if he beats them? It will be up to us if he does."
"Then I'll call the others-you can't-"
"Hammer…" Cal searched the ground before sighing, meeting his eyes. "Have everyone on standby, okay? If things go wrong, then…"
"Then I'll run. All of us will. Right?" Kaia asked the others. They nodded in agreement, and Hammerhead sighed in resignation upon seeing he'd failed to reach them.
"Alright…" He said, "I'll round up the other lab vets. And Lilo?"
"Yeah?"
"Your parents are calling Jumba. And depending on what happens, we may get the Federation in on this."
Kaia nodded, "Thanks Hammer."
He nodded, rushing away from the barrier as the group began to make their way further into the cave.
The three agents had sensed them coming. Galena glowered at the five as they walked up, gesturing for them to crouch down. Argent turned and froze in horror at the sight of all three Lilos, shaking her head in disapproval as Lyra stubbornly folded her arms. Mercury was the only one who didn't acknowledge them, instead drawing his ears inward as he narrowed his eyes at the scene taking place in the final part of the cavern.
The group obeyed Galena, Lyra especially crawling across the ground to join her mentor in their hiding spot. The others followed suit, taking notice of the red light illuminating the cave.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Galena hissed as they reached them, "Lyra, you know better than this."
Lyra pointed at Argent, who angrily sighed and turned her attention back to the scene, "You came at the worst time."
"What's he doing out there?"
"Trying to get his way."
Cal and Scratch exchanged glances before the latter blinked, his eyes turning bright red as he focused on the rotted 033 and reality-benders.
It took a moment, but Arsenic's voice gradually became audible to the group.
"This is all I want; you'll never see me again after you make these changes. At the end of the day, I just want to go home."
The warpers responded, their voices echoing through the minds of the group alongside the experiment.
"Neither of us know if we can even reach that far. We can remake yours, but every world has different circumstances, and we aren't sure how we can account for each."
"I've been across the multiverse; I can assist you if you need it. And I'm far from alone."
"What do you mean by that?" The voices hardened at the question, but Cal sensed the movement of an arm being waved, "It's not a threat. I do have friends, but I work alone."
"...It just seems like too much."
"...Don't you want to be solid again?"
"You don't know how we became like this."
"No, but I can guess it started after you got to Earth, right?"
Silence from the two. Frigid silence at that; Mercury stepped closer to Galena as he shivered at the drop in temperature.
Then…
"We can't deny that it did."
"Do you think it'd help if you never came to-"
"Why are you really following us?" Cal gulped. He recognized this voice, now that it was separate. It was his. And Mercury's. And Galena's. He felt a chill run up his spine and drew back from the group somewhat. He didn't know what had happened to this version of him, but, like Galena, he suspected he didn't want to.
"Because, to be honest, I can see right through you." His voice continued, "I know your version of me's dead, but erasing humans will only decrease the chance, not completely eliminate it."
Silence.
"...Don't you think there's a better way around this?"
Silence within the central cavern. Everyone waited for Arsenic's answer; the hidden agents looked to each other in apprehension. Then…
"I…I can't just rewrite things, I need her gone! All of them! Not a single experiment can come here; it all turns to shit if we do. I mean-look what happened to you! Do you not think you'd be better off if you didn't come here?!"
"Maybe I would. But the opposite's also a possibility. And I'd rather us not mess around with that."
"In fact…" There was a sudden increase in temperature as the warpers seemed to condense, "I-we-are going to tell you right now- but…we think all of this might be for nothing."
"And what do you mean by that?"
The flickering white figure tilted their head, "Well…"
"Your Heat is alive, and he's been following you. I can tell. You have the same dimensional strings, and…now that you're together, maybe you should take him and leave us, yeah?"
They didn't get to finish their sentence; it faded out as Arsenic whirled around in shock-and then, fury. "YOU!"
Kaia's blood ran cold. Everything happened in an instant; Arsenic ran and slashed at the direction of the group, his claws scraping against the glowing pink barrier conjured up by Galena. The rest of the group lept back as the rotted 033 continued to pound at the shield, Galena straining against the force of his blows as he snarled at them.
"YOU WON'T STOP ME! NONE OF YOU-NOT EVEN THEM! YOU HEAR ME, YOU BITCH COUNTERPART?!" He screamed, Argent taking aim with her plasma gun as she protectively jumped in front of the Lilos, "YOU THINK ANY OF THIS MATTERS? YOUR BLITZNAK PILE OF A GROUP? YOUR SHIT KID YOU BROUGHT HERE-!"
He was cut off by the shield spontaneously producing spikes, throwing him back towards the central cavern. The entity huddled up in the far corner next to a ledge, aiming black shards at Arsenic in case he tried to attack them as well. Galena glared at the alternate 033 before turning back towards the rest of the group, "Permission to fight him?"
Argent nodded, "If he breaks your barrier, engage."
"Right." Galena turned back towards the rotted experiment, who had gotten back up and was rushing back towards the group. "Wait a minute…"
He squinted. Was it just him, or was Arsenic…leaving a trail of flesh behind him?
Galena grimaced and held both hands up to the barrier as it was battered yet again, but it was evident it was starting to fail. Despite his full attention being on it, he could feel it reducing his energy levels too quickly…
"AAAGH!"
He shrieked as the claw breached the barrier, impaling him right through his chest before pulling him to its edge. As it did so, the shield flickered out of view…and Galena was face to face with the cracked but still very formidable nose of their enemy.
He gasped and liquified, reforming and leaving the 033 counterpart to rip his jacket to shreds. Galena coughed and struggled to absorb energy as Arsenic approached him, a claw reforming into a massive blade.
"You really are just like me." He mused, "That should've killed you-you have organs. I stabbed your heart- why aren't you choking on your blood? Heat?"
Galena flinched at the mention of his old name, but fixed him with a glare as he generated his own weapon; a glittering pink glaive, "That's for me to know and you to never find out."
"Then you'll be good target practice before I move on to them."
He lunged. Galena copied him, parrying his blade and shoving him back towards the central cavern. He was aware of Argent and Mercury covering for the rest of the group, Lyra crying out for him as Argent pulled the Lilos back towards a crevice just out of sight. He, thankfully, had Arsenic distracted, so, hopefully he hadn't noticed them…
Another swipe from Arsenic's claws tore through his face. He reformed it and pushed forward, sensing that, despite his attacks, the older series was tiring.
He was glad for his regeneration. It was a gift from their founder and medic team to commemorate his initiation to the group's field division. They knew his Stitch ripped him apart, and they made sure it'd never happen to him again. At least, not with the threat of death.
Because by now, he would be dead if he wasn't like this.
Another slash beheaded him, but only for a moment. Galena cackled as Arsenic screamed in rage at watching him reform, "WHAT ARE YOU?!"
"Best defensive editor in the multiverse, what're you?" Despite the situation, Galena found himself laughing at Arsenic; truth be told, it was funny to see reactions as extreme as this to his new abilities. He swiped at the 0-series with his glaive, dissipating the arm that'd been attacking him and watching Arsenic's remaining bones clatter to the floor, "Unlike my teammates, I can reform when you rip me apart!"
"Dirty bastard-" Arsenic slashed at him again, "Why?! Didn't she ruin you too?!"
"FUNNY YOU ASK, IT WASN'T HER!" He retorted, driving the glaive at the 0-series' stomach, "It was my Stitch! HE made me, you gonna erase him too, or are you gonna stop assuming she's always the problem?!"
"Maybe he wouldn't have done that if she didn't-"
"MY LILO NEVER MADE HIM DO THAT!" Galena screamed, now feeling genuine rage start to rise in his stomach, "She had her faults, there's a good reason I ran from both of them, but he did this to me. HE gave me all these, that was his choice to do!"
He withdrew the glaive, but just as quickly swiped it at the 033 counterpart's nose, chipping part of it away on impact, "How DARE you pry that out of me! You have no idea what I've been through, you stupid piece of blitznak!"
He was suddenly joined by a blast from Mercury, absorbing its energy as it passed through his chest. He wished he could thank him-he'd been depleting himself too much for this…
Arsenic's face mirrored his; it was enraged, and even more so, Galena realized he'd been right; more and more skin was peeling away from the alternate's face…
Argent and Mercury covered the Lilos and their experiments, Scratch and Cal readying claws and laser in case Arsenic turned his attention to them. Lyra watched the fight in horror, trying to shield the other two from seeing the carnage; this was the most she'd ever seen Galena use his regeneration powers, and despite making him physically unkillable, she knew it still hurt him. Even though he was winning…she still worried for him.
"Argent-we've gotta help him! He's not gonna last by himself!" She exclaimed, and Argent nodded, "I know. Mercury? Scratch, Cal?"
The experiments turned to her and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Mercury, cover me and warp us over. We're joining him. Cal and Scratch? Make sure he doesn't touch the Lilos."
"Right!" Scratch and Cal stood defensively in front of the Lilos as the agents joined the fight.
Argent led Mercury by the hand as they ran towards the portal he generated from Galena's cannon, but…there was another reason they were rejoining him. One-they had to help him. Try as he may, he was still vulnerable to energy loss, and two…
The entity's words were weighing on both of them.
"This doesn't make any sense…" She huffed, "Mercury, which world did you come from? Your history doesn't match with what they said."
"You think they're mistaken?" Mercury asked, and Argent shook her head, "I don't know. But we can't ignore what they said."
"Yeah." He sped ahead of her to join Galena, while she hung back and readied her weapon. The entity was still huddled in the corner, but she could tell they noticed their return from their face turning in Mercury's direction.
"You!" She exclaimed at it, causing it to jump, "What was that you said? About his Heat being alive?!"
Their voice flowed through her brain as though it were a calm river, "He's helping the one renamed Galena."
She froze. Confirmation. It was Mercury…
The others heard this, because there was an immediate cease in action. Arsenic stared in the entity's direction, then looked between them and the 609 agents incredulously. Galena fell back and wheezed, Mercury catching and steadying him as both agents eyed him warily.
Arsenic was the first to speak. "How?"
"You tell me, now-how is that piece of shit mine?!" He snapped, stepping forward to glare at the entity as he pointed an accusing spike at mercury's throat. It cowered, but shrugged, evidently at a loss for words, "I just do. You have the same dimensional makeup. I can feel it."
"How?" Mercury asked, gulping and carefully backing away from the alternate, "Or do you just know?"
"The latter."
"This. This is…" Argent bit her lip and turned back towards Mercury, "Didn't you say you almost died from the cloning?"
Mercury nodded, "...I did. My charge went down to 5%..."
"But a bunch of other fire and energy experiments saved me-I didn't die! I was comatose for a couple months, but I woke up eventually." He explained, crossing his arms in confusion as to the connection, "Am I really-"
"...I ran off once mine dropped past 10%."
Argent slowly turned and stared at her alternate, who nodded in confirmation, "I didn't want to watch him go…"
"So you ran before you had confirmation he was dead, is that it?" Argent asked, her voice frigid in the cavern's returning ambience, "Is that what all of this has been for? A misunderstanding on your part?"
"It wasn't a misunderstanding!" He snapped, "I-I ran into someone-they promised me they'd help, and they did, but-"
"But there's a catch, isn't there?" Mercury lapsed into thought, but only for a few moments before his face hardened, "There was Negatorium in the area he was last seen. At first, when I ran into you for the first time-I thought you came and took my 033. That you did something to him. But…looking back on it…"
"The whole reason I thought that was because you acted so much like him, in the short time I knew him." He said, fixing Arsenic with a horrified stare, "And it's because you didn't take him or kill him-you are him! You just ran and assumed I was dead-and then you blamed Lilo!"
Galena went to place a hand on his shoulder, but was stopped by Mercury's own, "Merc…"
"I know what you're gonna tell me Galena, it's not okay. This whole time I've been looking all over for you! Why?!" Mercury cried, stepping towards Arsenic, "You left everyone! And for what, so you could erase an eight year old?"
"She almost killed you-"
"Oh! So it's 'almost' now that I'm alive, huh?!" Mercury snapped, feeling a knot start to grow in his throat, "Do you have any idea how alone I felt when I woke up and you were missing? How worried everyone's been for you? You didn't just leave me, you left Plasmoid and Thresher! You left all your old lab friends! And for what, this-this dimensional erasure bullshit?!"
"I'M DOING THIS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!" Arsenic roared, causing Mercury to take a perturbed step back, "Almost is enough for me! Almost means she could succeed next time she gets any ideas!"
"And frankly…" His voice dropped to a strangely low pitch as he continued, "...I don't think you are my Heat. I think those two are lying; mine would never-"
"Yours would never do what, try to find you? Be upset you left us? Be mad at the whole reason you did? Is THAT what I would never do?!" Mercury screamed, feeling a boiling pair of tears escape his eyes. This wasn't how he wanted to find his old guardian-not at all. He'd succeeded, but…it all felt so hollow…
"YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME!" Arsenic snarled, "I'm doing what's good for you-for the others, for the lab itself! It turns out fine for us if we don't come to Earth, I've seen it! We don't need her!"
He won the verbal fight. Mercury sobbed and scrubbed his eyes with his palms; he knew this was wrong, and he should say something to counter, but he was so tired of the back and forth with Arsenic…no…
Hammerface. His Hammerface.
He felt Galena's hand go around his shoulder and hug him close, his counterpart nuzzling him to try and calm him down. Argent, however, began to advance towards Arsenic, her face frozen into a mask of tranquil fury.
"You dirty little coward." She hissed, coming to a stop right before him, "Your Heat's right before you. Alive. Unharmed-about as much as he can be, and this is how you react to that? Rejecting him, disowning him from your world?"
"And on top of that; you can't even face your family-you abandoned them for this? Something isn't adding up…" She crouched down and looked him right in his eye, "Usually, we care about all four later series. I have never seen such a bizarre fixation on one over the others."
"They don't need to know."
"Perhaps you're right on that. They would be just as repulsed by you as your Heat is."
He snarled at her. Argent curled her lip as she felt purple spittle land on her suit and nose.
"What was all this about?" She hissed, crossing her arms at her alternate, "Was this really about Heat? Or did you just want revenge?"
"Or both?" Argent finished, deftly wiping her counterpart's spit from her suit.
The two stared at each other in mutual hatred, red-tinted eyes burning into purple and green. It was then Argent noticed something.
Something worrying.
Red was starting to creep into the corners of her counterpart's eyes. Looking at them more, she realized she wasn't just seeing hatred for her. She was seeing shock. Disgust. Fear. And…deep down…
The whole reason he'd been trying to do this. All of this.
Love.
Arsenic abruptly broke eye contact, gasping and collapsing to the ground. Argent leapt back as Galena gasped, grabbing Mercury and preventing him from rushing forward, "What the hell…"
"Mercury, stay back-033, can you hear me?!" Argent exclaimed, but was cut off by a pained cry from the experiment, "Oh no…"
"Argent, what's happening to him?!" Galena asked, "Why's he turning purple?!"
She didn't answer. Instead, she rushed forward. She had to try and stop what was coming…
"033, deep breaths, don't focus on anything!" Argent said, but as she spoke them, she knew her words were falling on deaf ears.
Arsenic gazed up at her. His eyes swirled a violent mixture of red and purple shadow. She took a step back upon seeing it; she was too late.
He turned in the direction of the two 609 agents.
"You…"
Mercury gulped as Galena grabbed and tugged Argent back towards the rest of the group.
Arsenic hissed, his voice distorting as shadows began to envelop him. "If you really are my Heat, you won't be for long."
The resulting explosion knocked Galena back, but he felt his arms grabbed by Argent to steady his barrier. It was good she did, or else they'd all be dead or infected by now. At the moment, all he could see was dark purple tinged with red, a single spot of white at times revealing the twins were still in the cavern with them.
The shadows cleared, and Galena retched at the shadowy, spiky figure standing in Arsenic's place.
"What the hell is that?"
"A Blackout." Argent growled, "Only, he's been poisoned, not bonded."
"And that means."
"It seems self-explanatory, doesn't it?"
There wasn't much time for talk after Argent answered. The figure pounced on the shield and began to pound on it with its head. Amazingly, the trademark head of 033 remained even with the massive horns protruding in place of antenna, and the hands were still his-they gripped the sides of the barrier to steady it as it continued to bash at the shield.
Galena panted in fear as he held his hands out, trying in vain to maintain the barrier; he was failing, and he couldn't afford to-not now, not ever, but especially not now…
He felt tears seep over his cheeks before a hand on his shoulders alerted him to Cal, who-as it seemed, had been leading the group to them to assist. He was evidently lending him some of his energy; Galena's had been depleting, and he seemed to have caught on. Galena nodded in thanks as energy surged through the pink spots on his palms.
"Any ideas?" He screamed at Argent, who'd frantically whipped her communicator from her pocket and was jamming a finger into the button on the underside of her earrings, "Call them! I can't hold him forever!"
He was abruptly cut off by a scream as he felt the barrier start to crack. A pair of jaws gnawed at it before the head began its final assault on the barrier. Galena gasped in horror as he felt panic begin to set in.
"Please…I can't-I don't wanna reform to-"
A white light was suddenly in front of them, and the blacked-out experiment stumbled back, shadows sloughing down around them as Galena restored the barrier. He felt his knees start to give out, Cal and then Mercury supporting him as he held the field.
"Where did he go-"
"I'm going to help him."
"WHAT?!" Galena screamed at the light, "You can't!"
"It's not what you think."
"What do you mean?!"
"He's not going to be like this when we get back."
They vanished. So did Arsenic. The group was plunged into darkness.
Galena panted and collapsed onto his back, his barrier finally failing as he did so. Twin lights above him served in place of his initial source, and a hand gently took his and squeezed it. He gazed up at Lyra, who despite looking shaken and having her face coated in a greasy combination of sweat, dust, and tears, was relieved.
"Gal, you did great-it's okay." She said, sniffling through her words. He smiled up at her, hoping it'd be enough to calm her down, "I'm just tired Lilo; I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
She nodded and took off her glasses to wipe her eyes. Galena held up his hand and gently took them from her, and another pair-this one belonging to Mercury- took them and began to clean them off with his undershirt.
"Agh. The bottom's chipped…" His words were quiet despite the horror of what they'd just endured, "Let me know when you're done…"
Argent's presence was evident by her movement, diligently checking each member of their group to make sure they were unharmed. She moved between Scratch, Cal, and the other two before coming to a stop before Lyra, who she wrapped in a tight hug and nuzzled, "Gods. He didn't do anything to you…"
Lyra only burst into tears and hugged her mentor back, "But…what about…
"It's alright Lilo; just try to keep calm. All of you." She said, nodding to the remaining group, "You shouldn't have witnessed any of that…I'm so sorry…"
"...I-if it helps, we didn't see him mutate. Isa…something at least?" Scratch asked, hugging Lilinoe to him, "Meega mean…"
"You shouldn't have had to see a Blackout at all." Argent countered, and Scratch gulped and nodded, his ears drooping, "Soka…"
"Argent, I'm sorry I came after you, I just…" Lyra began, but was shushed by her mentor, "No, no, it's alright. He's gone; I…I'm just glad you're safe Lilo. That's what matters right now."
"So…" Kaia said, breathless after the brief fight in the cavern, "What do we do now…"
"And…"
She looked over at Argent, the twins' words from before they vanished weighing on her, "What's…what's going to happen to us?"
Argent didn't respond, only shaking her head in confusion as to the entity's final words, "I don't know. I…"
"I don't think he meant erasing you, but..."
"We'll just…we'll have to wait and see." She sighed, Lyra accepting her glasses back from Mercury. "Either way…if this is…the end, then…"
Her words ended in silence, the Lilos and their experiment partners looking amongst each other in worry. If they really were being erased, then…when, if ever, would it happen?
Would they all be frozen here? In time? Or would it all end at once?
None of them wanted to think about this. Not more than they had to.
The minutes ticked by, Argent silently dusting off her communicator and booting it up to provide more light as Cal sat down next to Kaia.
"You…you okay?" He asked, his voice a low whisper in the cavern's darkness. Kaia-Lilo again, she supposed, shook her head and gazed up at the ceiling, "I…don't know. Are they going to come back?"
"Maybe. But I'm same as you." He turned his light to the far end of the cave and sighed, "All we can do is wait."
"I know."
"If this is really it, then…I want you to know…I'm gonna try and find you again. Even if I don't remember. Even if you're something, or someone else." He said, his voice cracking as he finished his thought, "I'm not letting Barney the Moldy Dinosaur stop me from seeing you again."
Lilo sniffed, managing to smile despite his words, "I'm gonna do the same Cal; just so I can hear that nickname again."
He laughed and cleared his throat, wiping his face as the two continued to giggle at his sarcasm. They were quietly joined by the other two, Scratch and his Lilo giving them reassuring smiles and Argent and hers offering wry ones to counter. Galena and Mercury hung back, the former still on his back recovering and the latter sitting down to keep watch next to him. Cal could tell by Galena's quiet snort that's he'd managed to hear his nickname and smiled, "How're you doing Gal?"
"Shut up and focus on your kid."
"That's Galena for 'getting there'." Lyra said, her experiment partner rolling her eyes at her agent's comment, "Galena, you can stand to be a little more polite at the end of the world."
"Nah, I don't think I will."
Argent was about to retort when-
A popping noise made Argent jump up, the cavern illuminating once again with red light. "They're back…"
Stealing out into the space revealed two people; the entity, and…
"What in the…" Argent muttered, but Mercury gasped and rushed forward, "Hammerface!"
"Merc, wait-" Galena hoisted himself up and gasped as he leaned against the cave wall, "Come back!"
He was too late. The flickering shape stood back as Mercury reached his Hammerface, who was lying on his side on the cavern floor. He was breathing deeply, and Mercury turned him onto his back to see…
"What the…"
Hammerface wasn't coated in shadow anymore; the crack that'd previously stretched across his nose was gone, the green tint to his fur replaced with the usual dull blue. His limbs and tail were flesh instead of shadow, and the sharp purple spines that once bordered his tail were reduced to the stubs Mercury remembered them as. Turning his head to the side revealed the purple gashes across his mouth and the top of his head were also gone, replaced by short, blueish-gray fur. His eyes were closed, but Mercury suspected they were back to the typical reddish tint he'd seen the night he was activated.
Mercury stared at his old guardian in disbelief before gently shaking him, "Hammer, Hammer; wake up…"
When he didn't get a response, he whipped his head back up to stare at the twins, "What'd you do to him? He's-"
"Doesn't have any poisoning?"
Mercury nodded, "Did you…"
"We went back. We changed things. He…never meets the Shade who gives him his mutation."
Their words echoed matter-of-factly as Mercury suddenly gasped. He brought his right ear out to see the purple tear from his first encounter was disappearing, its old splotches returning to orange skin. "So…this means…"
"I want you to keep your memories. Everyone still has them, no need to worry on that front. But he never remakes any timelines. Still travels the multiverse though, sorry I couldn't give him a cannon like your teammate."
The glowing shape turned back towards the cave, opening up a portal at its edge.
"I think I'm going to deep space. This is my last time on an Earth." Their voice sounded sad, and Mercury drew his ears back in dismay, "We can help you find a dead one-"
"No. I wanted to keep seeing this place. But…now I-we, know we can't do that. Too many people wanting to use us, and…we're dangerous anyways. We'll find a way. For now…just let us go. We know you'll be watching."
The portal closed. He was back in darkness, but only for a moment. Pink light illuminated the cavern as Galena and Argent rushed to join him, "Mercury, put him down, he's been rewritten." Argent said. He complied, putting his old guardian back on the floor as she placed two fingers to his neck.
Argent narrowed her eyes and sighed after a few seconds, "He's alive, just unconscious. Negatorium-free as well, they must've reworked him to not have it."
She growled and rubbed her temple as she stood back, "Not ideal, but I'll take this over his dead body."
"You gonna call the base?" Galena asked, casually prodding Hammerface with his boot, "He's pretty dead to the world, so we can talk at full volume."
"Yes, and, no we will not be." Argent activated the device and looked over towards the exit, "Lilo-Kaia, I presume?"
She carefully approached the 0-series, "...Yeah?"
"Go take the others and get your parents. We'll be right out after you."