Past Lives 1.1
"P-Please…" Annette hears Amy say as she watches the girl closely.
The flare of her mana was still at its most mitigated output. She was not at full strength, yet. Given the memories she received and the application of the library of spells and concepts that were now basically etched into her mind as if they were there forever, she found herself at a happenstance that should the optimal flow of her progress resume, she would far outstrip any person she knew in Brockton Bay just by potential alone. Perhaps even more…
She looked at the scared little girl and quickly realized that she was escalating this a lot more than she previously thought. Annette let the flow of energy minimize to a much safer and more comfortable degree as she watched the girl visibly decompress from the fear quite a bit.
"I apologize, dear Amy. It was not my intention to scare you this way." She admitted it as a half-truth, while she watched the girl's expression turn confused. "It was just a precaution, given that I am very much sure you're like me."
"L-Like you, ma'am?" the girl wheezed out.
Annette smiled. Her expression created a duality between friendly and subtly intimidating at the same time. It had the air of someone with authority. Someone that had an air that was larger than life, confined but not imprisoned in a shell that was much less impressive than what she had before… in another life. Her personality as Annette Hebert remained, but the little subtle details that made up the inevitable rise of the life that she once walked were taking root, and due to her cunning ability to keep them situated behind a veil, none were able to notice anything off or different. She was an evolution of the two halves, one that lived as Annette and the other of a very checkered, violent, but powerful past.
So far, only Danny and Taylor, her sweet Taylor, knew about this other side of herself.
That was until now when she finally met Amy Dallon.
True enough, she was recognizable just from the very weak aura around her alone.
Pity and a shred of guilt enveloped Annette, but she retained her previous expression.
"Yes… do you not recognize me? The aura around me at least… or the signature stare that would render people to freeze in place? Or perhaps you don't recognize the flow of energy around me?" Annette challenged, as she looked at the girl, helplessly trying to piece together a puzzle she had no clue to start with. "I guess not." Annette finished with a smile as Amy clenched her fists.
"P-Please… don't hurt them. D-Don't hurt my family." Amy said fear was still in her expression but there was a determination there, and a shred of the iron will that Annette remembered from a memory long past.
"I'm not, Amy… certainly not. Didn't I already tell you that this was all just a precaution? One created so that nothing and no one would know about this little reunion of ours. I half-expected that some violence would occur, given the last time we met, but I suppose that's not on the cards anymore. Greatly so when I also have my own family within the house to care for."
"W-Who are you? You keep saying you know me, but I don't even know you." Amy said as fear still clung to her bones. Annette could only frown at the girl's words as her current hypothesis on both the other girl and Amy Dallon may need some revision.
"You should… at least I expected you to, but you're not her… aren't you? At least, not yet." Annette said with some amount of disappointment as she sighed.
"I don't understand… what's with all the cryptic words, the use of magic, t-the fact that you recognize me, despite my memory telling me that we have not met at all." Amy expressed, as she looked at Annette.
"Patience, Child of Prophecy, all will be told. In time."
Annette wanted to smile at how shocked the younger girl was, but she only found pity.
A pity that this was Artoria at her weakest point in life.
Alarms were blaring at full volume as the hallways of the Rig were forced to its backup generators. The lights were flickering constantly as the putrid smell proliferating in the halls was starting to make Hannah come close to vomiting. Communications were broken, technology was either stalled or fizzled out and the elapsed time since this entire disaster occurred was just in the manner of six minutes. The chain of command was broken quickly without warning as the scattered heroes around the base and the personnel who were either compromised or lost made the entire building into a maze of death.
Dragon and Alexandria would respond in due time. With the Canadian heroine having noticed the blackout and with Alexandria dealing with 'important matters' just within Brockton's borders, there was some level of hope…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhH!"
Hope that was dwindling with each second as another smell filled the air.
Hannah swallowed deeply as she slowly peered through the corner and saw it. It was a trooper, she knew her as Vanessa struggling as she kept screaming and scratching her face and skin. The severe itch, pain, and just the sheer smell of it all drove her insane as blood started to emanate from the scratches. Her skin started turning purplish-black as she continued to howl.
Hannah tried turning away but she saw in horror as Vanessa ran to the nearest wall and started to ram her face wildly at it as blood smears started appearing. Her screams still continued even against the painful winces in-between ramming her face into the wall. Pure instinct forced her to irrationally commit suicide due to all of the pain seeping under her body, but before she can even reach death, the purplish-black influence managed to succumb her as the haunting screech of the damned followed.
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrghhh!
Hannah once again saw another comrade turn into one of those things. She manifested a shotgun within her grasp as she got out of the corner and aimed at its head.
THWOOM!
The proximity of the blast managed to blow off the transformed Vanessa's head as the smell continued to spread as wisps of purplish-black smoke came out of the aftermath. The body fell to the floor as the mass of wisps started to slowly reform the head once more.
Half a minute, last she saw as she tried to permanently kill these things. She made a mistake before trying to save them from themselves as she recalled poor Chris' cries as he was subsumed by two transformed comrades barely four minutes earlier. Everything after that went downhill…
The screams were loud at first, but each minute, the speed and proficiency of this strain or effect effectively destroyed the local Protectorate and PRT team without much of an issue. The attack was far too fast, far too calculated, and worst of all, had crippled them in a means that nobody detected it in the first place. Not even Dragon, Alexandria, Colin, or the like were able to, and Hannah was scared that maybe she too was next…
She shook her head as she quickly sped away, as fast, and as quiet as she could to try and get out of the building. She wondered where her comrades were, where everybody was, and who was ultimately to blame for all of this. There was only one culprit that she could think of quickly and it was the disabled Tattletale, but how? And why? She was never this dangerous, to begin with, and despite the analyst's work on determining how good she was a Thinker before the Lung incident, she was never this violent nor deadly. Must this be an outside factor? A person who wished her to be freed?
The level of terror this caused almost made her think of Bonesaw and the Nine. W-Were they here? Were they the cause of this? Certainly, a clean decapitating and debilitating strike as this would have been part of their M.O., and it would serve well to enact their chokehold on the local populace…
So many questions rattled her mind as she quickly got herself through the hallways.
Hallways were littered with the purplish-black ooze and the horrifying smell that was like a combination of a bloated corpse being burned through all of the decaying gases within it and the smell of sulfur and nitrogen oxide. Thankfully, her suit had given her a mask, otherwise, she was sure she would be unconscious in mere minutes. She would have run to get herself one of the gas masks from one of their departments, but her position and the fact that each minute became more dangerous than the previous, forced her to abandon that idea completely. Still, the smell got through her bandanna, and as time passed, she eventually stopped completely as she forcibly tore off her bandanna and vomited.
It made the entire atmosphere worse as the yellowish-brown complexion of the fluids ejected from her mouth only served to make Hannah sickly. She wiped her mouth, only to see a bit of red in her fingers. Her hands started trembling as that red was close to being purplish black.
She audibly yelped as she stepped away. The blinking, unresponsive lights of the hall started to make her feel unsure as she stared at the puddle of vomit she had released seconds earlier. Fear started to wrack her mind as she was horrified by the possibility of her turning.
Hannah began contemplating those thoughts until her experience and honed senses had all her alarms blazing at full.
THWANG!
A familiar spear landed just behind her, forcibly and with enough punch to break the floor into a small miniature crater as Hannah was lucky enough to duck and dodge the attack in the first place. She then realized, in horror that had the spear throw been more accurate and focused…
She would have died right then and there.
"M-Militia… g-get away…" Shawn, better known as Dauntless stood there at the end of the hall, trembling with great effort as red lines emanated from his face and skin. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at her with pain and complete agony.
"Shawn…" Hannah started until she was completely interrupted when the sound of soft, unbothered footsteps came into her ears. Hannah then turned her head behind her as she saw her.
Tattletale looked unharmed, clean, and uninjured from her former disabled state as her troubled expression turned into intrigue as they met eyes with each other. Armsmaster, sharing the fate as Dauntless was beside her left as he was forcing himself to stand upright, halberd in hand, and an unconscious Vista in his other. Velocity was to her right as well, holding a struggling Carlos who was looking scared at Hannah.
She manifested a rifle into her hands, but they were trembling so much due to the sickly state she was in and with the fear wracking down her whole body.
The flickering lights that seemed to make a demented spotlight under Tattletale only served to rile up the fears within her as the young woman's face seemingly radiated a sense of chill that accompanied the troubled, but unphased expression she wore.
"Miss Militia, you're in my way." The young woman stated as Hannah raised her gun.
"A-Are… are you from Britain?" Amy asked, scared to acknowledge the possibility, even if it was sitting in front of her now. Annette merely nodded in response as she looked at the girl who seemed to have a crisis of faith. As well as deep, unpronounced fear of what Annette could only assume was fear of her past coming back to get her.
It was amusing but at the same time sad. Her experience as Annette allowed a degree of care to come within her emotions as she reached for the mug on the table beside her and moved closer to the girl to offer it to her. "Drink."
Amy looked fearful at first, but Annette reached out and pressed a warm, motherly hand on the girl's own. Her face remained neutral, but the small gesture allowed Amy to relax and take it. The girl sipped and finished the drink in seconds as the nerves cooled for her in a more comfortable fashion.
"That was… tasteful. Thank you."
"There's no need. Like I said, there is no quarrel between us. Child of Prophecy. I'm simply here to make sure that whatever hate or animosity we had in our past lives, is by and large, behind us… pun intended." Annette explained as the girl's eyes widened.
"You're… you're her?" Amy stared with realization.
"Oh? Recognize me finally? I thought you never knew me, Artoria?" Annette said with a small smile as Amy visibly deflated and flinched from those words.
"Your majesty… I… I don't know what to say." Amy said, almost in a whisper with her conflicted words. "I… do you truly not wish harm against me? O-or for my family?"
"Yes. I very much do. I am no longer High Queen of Britain… Tyrant Ruler of the Faerie Isle, and once was the Child of Prophecy herself. I am merely Annette Hebert in this life. A simple English Professor of Brockton Bay's college... and wife to Danny Hebert. Loving Mother of her child, Taylor Hebert." Annette proclaimed with both a sense of pride as well as a form of melancholy as she approached the latter part. A wistful smile appeared on her face which was eventually replaced with genuine love and heart.
Amy, however, shamefully bowed her head as the uncertain emotions and fear despite the kindly aura and appearance Annette exuberated only served for her to grow meek in her presence. "T-Thank you for the a-assurance, Queen Morga- I-I mean Mrs. Hebert. Y-Your mercy is unequaled."
Annette giggled as she looked at the girl's attempt at respect. "Raise your head, Amy. I'm no longer Queen, nor was I ever in this life. You're free to see me as Annette, and nothing else. Understood?"
"Y-Yes your ma-, I mean… ma'am." Amy fumbled as Annette warmly smiled.
"You must have questions… more so now when we're here. Reunited."
Amy looked confused still as she looked at Annette. But some of the bravery that Annette recalled from a life long ago seeped through the lines. If not for herself, but for how much she cared for her own family this time. "How is this possible? And why do you imply that we know each other? When I was barely anything even to the day of my own death. I h-hardly think I was important at all."
"But you were. In the end, fate would always triumph for the part you needed to play. The part I abandoned completely." Annette said as she traced a finger on Amy's palm. "Your destiny was no fluke. The will of the world will always make sure of its desire to be a reality. In our case, it is for the destruction of Britain… and you dear child, succeeded at it. To the best of my memory."
"H-How? I was barely ten years old when I died… I never saw to its end. T-this fate you mention."
"Perhaps, but the you I remember succeeded despite all odds, and I'm afraid with your presence here, that could only mean one thing. A far younger Artoria than the one I knew, the one I exchanged words with, means that the dye is still yet to be cast."
"Y-you mean…"
"I have friends and ears around the city and the world, Amy. We are but three in this New World. Three individuals were sent for a reason greater than ourselves. We may live different lives now, but we are still bound to that fate as if we were married to it."
Annette watched as it started dawning on the girl what this all meant.
"B-But I am weak. Even if what you say is true, this world is not in danger compared to Britain. I don't see a reason for the Child of Prophecy to be relevant." Amy argued.
"Really? Is that what you see? Amy Dallon? Even if you were not to believe the reason for why we are here, you must understand that your awakening is no minor event. This is not a dream, it's simply reality and if I have to guess, it's no wish that was granted without consequence."
Amy looked affected by her words, especially when she mentioned the word, wish. Annette then proceeded to press a motherly hand on the nervous girl. It reminded her of Taylor at times. "Don't be afraid. I have seen you triumph before and with your will and determination, you can do it again."
Amy looked uncertain but she nodded in response. Annette simply stroked the scared girl's hair as she looked at her. "Your mother tells me, you don't remember your time as her daughter, Amy Dallon, yes?"
Amy shamefully nodded. "Fear not, I'm not accusing you of anything… but it is rather strange that I lived the life as Annette and was only reintroduced with memories of my last breath and you did not."
"L-Last breath?"
Annette nodded. "Yes. Pain. That's what I remember. A blunder. An obsession. My arms reaching towards a throne. A throne I would never again see."
Amy listened in rapt attention as Annette sighed. "Then I woke up. Just barely a year ago… right after a coma from my past accident while I was driving. I woke up and saw my little girl older by three years as my body, stuck in a stasis-like state, was miraculously able to sustain itself through the transition. Nobody could understand what happened, some even deemed me as triggered… but it all went away when they found nothing about me, except being a cripple."
Annette then smiled. "And everything started to be clear after." Annette then opened her palm and a gust of energy turned itself into a blue, beautiful flower as she placed it into Amy's hand. "Little bits and pieces of my past life were present in my life before the accident, but it was only after that every bit of detail was returned with full clarity. This is not Queen Morgan possessing a crippled mortal woman. This is Annette Hebert, a reincarnation of a Queen who's failed her own destiny."
Annette then patted the girl's head… "And I've never been happier ever since."
"Why are you so comfortable around me? If you admit I was once an enemy?" Amy curiously asked.
"Because I have nothing to gain from the hate… I have lived an entire simple life without thinking of being queen. Without obsessing over a throne or destiny that I never wanted. I don't wish to dwindle in a past that no longer exists… I'll just be exhausted if I chase for it still, I'll merely return to a cycle of hate and agony that was only ever justified by loving a throne and country that never loved me back."
The flower in Amy's hand disappears as Annette snaps her fingers again.
The bounded field vanishes instantly as Amy once more hears her family's voices around them.
She looked at the time and saw that barely a few seconds passed. The sheer mastery Annette had was baffling and she wondered if her words of her ever beating her in the past were true. Or perhaps it was just a lie to make her comfortable.
"You're pretty much in a reversed state compared to mine, Amy. Whatever that means is worth investigating, but at the same time we're all here to celebrate in good faith." Annette said, her accent and tone returning to a more natural state as Amy stared. The transition between expressions and mood was masterful, almost too quick, and spotless.
"We can talk further about this little situation after or in the future. At least with your mom's permission… for I do have a proposal that I believe we can both benefit from."
"A proposal of what kind, Mrs. Hebert?"
"A mutually benefiting one, of course! It includes Taylor in the mix… something that'll make sure that we both get what we desire at the end of everything." Annette said with a grin as Amy heard Victoria and what she assumed to be Taylor, talking as they headed down the stairs together.
The grin had a lot of layers to it and given what Amy experienced earlier, she was unsure of what it all meant. Especially since she could not gauge yet what Annette Hebert wanted.
"May I think about it?"
Annette giggled.
"Don't take too long… the last two girls who abused my patience got the short end of the stick."
Annette then saw Amy become frozen in fear. She continued giggling despite it while waving her hand.
"Oh, don't worry… they're not dead. They wish they were though…" Annette said, whispering the latter part of her statement as she smiled candidly as if nothing was wrong with that statement.
She was still vindictive after all, especially when it was for her family's happiness.
"M-Militia… just get out of here!" Armsmaster screamed as he tried to retake control of his body to no avail as Hannah stood in place with fear keeping her from taking any action completely. Especially with the apparent hostages on both sides of the hall, she was in the middle of. People she cared about, people that she always promised to save given that they were all her comrades, regardless of their position or rank. She had seen far too many people turn and die from the abominations that spawned out of their bodies in mere minutes and she was unsure of what move to do when faced with a position like this.
"Why are you doing this?!" Hannah shouted as she stared into Sarah Livsey's eyes.
Her expression was still unchanged as she aimed the barrel of her gun right at her head.
"I hate being chained down." The young woman replied as Hannah's eyes widened.
"At what cost?! You've already killed hundreds of people. Even if you get out of here, everything you've done is going to act against you. You've done too much damage to just simply be ignored."
The girl looked troubled at those words but remained unphased. Hannah then saw the young woman raise her hand and red translucent strings appeared on it before they transformed in mere seconds into a doll-like projection. That projection floated in front of her and Tattletale pointed a finger towards the doll's chest. Piercing it slightly…
Until pain surged through Hannah's own chest.
"AAARRRGHH!" She fell to her knees afterward as she felt as if her heart was being carved out all the while as the heroes Tattletale kept under her leash screamed in anger and pain at their comrade's torture. Hannah lurched and began screaming in pain on the ground as the doll continued to glow brightly in red as she suffered.
The pain continued to invade ferociously within Hannah's chest as even her own voice hurt from all the screaming as the pain reached a tipping point.
Blood started to tinge her lips, until…
BROOOOUMMM!
A heavy crash right in front of her was heard while the entire floor shook. The ground rumbled as Hannah blinked and found herself smiling as the visage of her mentor's cape flew in front of her.
Alexandria rose as Tattletale made the doll vanish.
"Cease. Otherwise, you know the consequences of further aggression." She stated as the young woman's frown deepened. "Remove your hold on these people and perhaps you won't be sent to the Birdcage."
Hannah watched as the young woman's face slowly curled into a sinister smile…
And all hell broke loose.
AN: Lisa chapter next… which means a lot of blood, personality disorders, and well… hey, Castamy might look into Annette's deal.
