Disclaimer: I do not own Knack 1 and 2 or Worm/Ward. Most of my knowledge of Worm is from other fanfics and research. Spoilers for Knack 1 and 2, and Worm. Very much AU, this is my first time trying a Worm fic and only my second fic over all. Will probably not portray the same dark feel that Worm does. Maybe some TINO as this is my first time doing this kind of fic.
Chapter 1: Awakening
Earth FSMW-2-KW0 - Prime
Locally known as Earth Bet
Brockton Bay Winslow High School
January, 2011
I screamed.
I screamed until I destroyed my vocal cords.
I slammed my body against the door that kept me trapped.
It was pointless. There was no way I could get out. I could feel the insects crawling over my body, biting into any flesh they encountered.
I couldn't think straight. My mind was hazy. Why did they do this? Why had my former best friend shove me in here?
I knew that I wouldn't get my answer. I knew that I was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it.
The last thought I had before things truly went black was, "I am sorry Dad…"
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
I saw stars.
[Destination]
Two beings of great proportions circling each other.
[Agreement]
A piece from one of the beings headed towards me.
[Trajectory]
Then a bright flash and everything was gone.
[Agre-]
"Nope, sorry but this is not going to happen, whatever you are"
[Confusion]
"You can be confused all you want, doesn't change the fact that I am hijacking this operation and that you will have no part in it."
[Indignation]
"Also, no reporting this to your superior."
[Warning]
[Error]
[̸E̴r̶r̷o̵r̷]̶
[̵̡̛̼͓͍͇̞͖͎̒̋͋̈́̿̓͂̂̀͝Ȩ̸̯̭͎̞̣͎̀̾-̶̨̧̱̬͍̳̲̤͖̦̫̝̫̺̤̩͓͍͔͖̾͜ŗ̶̢̧̖̘͔͕̞̰̝̰̪̭̹̖͎͓̼͎̺̗̬͕̕ͅ-̶̢̛̛̘̤͔̞̜͈̻͕̥̃̂̑̐̏̃̓̔͊̈́͛̽̓̄̐͒͐͑̀͂͛̕̚͜͜͜͝ợ̸̧̡̧̲̦͉̠͓̩̜͓̮̪̫͍̲̝̺̠͊̒̎̀͛́͛̒̃̾̆̂͛̈́̓̈́͛͐̇͛̀̇̕̚͠͝͠ͅ-̸̛̱͇̭̪̜̙̳̦̍͂̉͐̚͝ŗ̵̛͕͎̳̖̱̤̻͉͎̰̰̞̩̲̩̫͔̳̳̥͚͎̭̿̋̈̒̅̐̒̈́̃̅͆̏̕̚͜͝͝ͅͅͅ]̴̧̧̧̨͖͍͚̤͓͉̰̰̪̜̣͚̥̿̉̃͜ͅͅ
"There we go. I may not be able to kill these things, but they are close enough to a computer that I can still mess with a few things. Now it's time to meet with her."
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
When I woke up, I was no longer in the locker. Or rather, I was nowhere at all. Just floating in an endless void. I didn't know if I should be grateful or panic
"Is this death..?" I murmured out loud. It's not like anyone would hear me anyway.
"No, this is not death," A slightly gravely, yet oddly comforting voice said, "At least, not that I know of."
I gasped in surprise at the sound of someone's voice and frantically searched for the source. Of course, I did not see anything, however a few moments later, gravity seemed to have been turned back on as I had fallen onto a solid surface.
Standing up and continuing to look around I asked, "Who are you? And where am I?"
I heard a chuckle come from behind me and I spun around to see a golden orb with a glowing blue gem in the center floating a few feet away.
"In regards to where you are, this is a sort of space within the mind. Some may call it a mind space, and it is not really a wrong term, but it really is just a dream that you have more control over." The Orb said, the glow of the gem strobing with each word.
As for who I am…" as Orb continued, I heard the sound of clacking objects. I turned to see what looked like a few hundred small objects of different sizes and shapes flying towards the Orb. They gathered around the Orb before they started to shift, interlocking with each other to form first a torso, then arms, legs and a head.
The being that now stood in front of me looked like he came straight out of that Dungeons and Dragons game that my Dad used to play. A sort of gollum if I remembered, a very ornate one if the gold and gems around his body indicated as such. He was close to a foot shorter than me, maybe somewhere around 4'10".
"My name is Knack," Said the being, "I do hope that you are alright. I pulled you out of a pretty nasty situation."
I gave him a deadpanned look, "You think?" Shaking my head I introduced myself, "My name is Taylor… Um, thank you for saving me."
Knack smiled sadly, "I'm just glad that I could help, at least temporarily. There is not much I can do in the condition that I am in now."
I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean temporarily?"
With a sigh, he explained, "Your physical body is still in that locker unfortunately. I could get you out in a sense, but I didn't want to cause you more harm by doing it without your permission."
"Why can't you get me out? You look like you could rip the door off the hinges easily!" I said, a little exasperated.
"I'm not able to form a physical body. I have spent far too long in slumber." Knack explained apologetically.
"Then how could you get me out?" I ask, now curious as to the solution.
He looked me in the eye then, somehow having a very serious expression on his stone like face. "I would involve a process that would change you permanently. In simplest terms, I am dying. As such, my Core," he indicated to the orb in his chest, "the vessel that holds my soul is nearly empty."
My eyes widened at the implication, this being, cape, hero, gollum, whatever, was dying, but chose to try to help me, even if it was for a moment. It was… comforting, that there were people that could still do good and not stand by and do nothing. But what was he getting at? He couldn't mean…
"For me to get you out of that locker would require me to draw you into my Core, your soul replacing mine, you taking over my body and making it your own." He finishes.
I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head, "No, no no nonononono. You are not saying that to save me you would have to give up your life!"
He gave me another sad smile, "In a sense, I would. But you would not need to worry. I would still be connected to you, as your progenitor in a sense, so I would be able to guide you at times. That is if you accept. As I said, I don't want to force this on you. Fully honest, I am looking for a successor." He said the last part with a bit of guilt, "You happened to be my best option as well as in great danger."
I felt a slight flair in anger regarding the idea of being used in some way, but I decided to have him explain. "What do you mean 'I was your best option'. I am just a weak, ugly, high school pariah with no friends! What would make ME so special to attract your attention!" My voice grew louder as I spoke, it almost seemed that the void-like space was shaking.
Knack's eyes grew wider for a moment at my outburst, but nodded solemnly. "First, if I could have helped you any other way I would have the moment I saw that you were trapped, but I couldn't. Second, I found you because I was looking for someone strong enough to hold the power that I have."
The last but confused me, in what way was I strong? I spent around one and a half years being bullied and beaten into the ground. What about that made me strong.
"Despite what you may say or think, Taylor, you are far stronger than you realize. There are many strengths in the world. Yes, there is raw power and physical strength, but the strength that you have so much of that it can even shake this space is your own will power. Your mental fortitude." This statement from Knack was even more confusing.
Apparently he saw my confusion. "Back when I could form a body, I did so by exerting my will over pieces of ancient technology called Relics." He gestured at his body. "You can see them now. That was hundreds of thousands of years ago, when I was with friends and family. My will is weaker now. But you, you have the strongest will I have ever seen. And yes, this space did shake when you were growing angry. Not only that but your moral character is incredible. Despite going through what could be considered hell from what I could gather from your situation, you still want to help make the world a better place." He said this with an impressed smile.
I look out to the blank nothingness around us than back at him, "What would you do if I don't accept?" I asked tentatively.
A slight disappointed look crossed his face, "I would do what I can from here to keep you alive until help arrives. I wouldn't be able to do much and that would result in needing extensive help, but I would not condemn you to death for not accepting the burden that I would be placing on you."
He was honest, I could tell that much. He was a being that only wanted to help in any way he could. He was also very powerful from what I could tell, even if he was weakened. There was one more question I wanted to ask however.
"What would be this burden?" I asked.
He looked at me with sadness and understanding, "I can't say much as you are not ready for such information. I don't even know everything. All I can say is that there is a threat to your world, one that I want to help with, but can't due to my state." He looked down in sadness at his own apparent weakness.
That… was a bit cliche if I was being honest, but made sense. Knack seemed to be someone, something powerful, and if he wanted to help even when he was dying, that meant something. He also wanted to help me, no matter what choice I made.
There really was only one choice I could make.
"I accept."
Knack's head came up with a look of surprise and confusion, "What..?"
I smile at him, "I accept. I have not had many people actually care about me in a long time, even my dad is absent in a way, though he is trying his best. You not only care about helping me, but also about something greater. So I accept, and I hope that I can prove that you did not make a mistake."
Knack looked at me for a long moment before smiling himself, "Very well then. Your original body will turn to dust, along with what is in the locker when we make the transfer of your mind and soul."
I saw a slight problem right away, "How will I be able to fit in? It's not like I can just go home looking like something straight out of a fantasy game."
Knack paused at that, "That could pose a problem, but we can only find a solution after the transfer."
I guess that made sense, he probably didn't need to think about that kind of thing originally. "So what else is involved in this transfer?" I asked.
"Well, You will relive some of my memories, mainly so that you can use your new body and have some abilities to begin with. You will probably see the first two of my adventures." Said Knack.
"That doesn't sound too bad," I remarked, "So what are we waiting for? Begin the transfer."
With a grin, Knack said, "Very well then, brace yourself." And everything turned white.
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
When I regained my senses, I could remember everything from Knack's first few adventures with his family. His creation by the Doctor, his brother in all but blood Lucas, the battles against the goblins and greedy and insane humans, Ancient constructs of destruction. His world had been beautiful.
Looking around, I was still in that void space, but something felt different. Looking down at myself, I saw Knack's Core, or rather my Core now, in my chest surrounded by Relics. In fact, just like Knack, I was completely made of Relics.
I looked back up to see Knack staring at me. "What is it?" I asked.
Instead of answering, Knack pulled a mirror out of literally nowhere (because of course he can do that here) and showed me. I looked like a female version of Knack, not as beast-like, and slimmer, not as bulky. My hair was less spiky and came down to my shoulders. It was the only thing that I regretted. I still had the general look of him and looked nowhere like the old me, but it was nice to have some distinction.
"Seems like the process went well," I muttered.
Knack smiled, "Indeed it did."
That was when I noticed something else. I understood Relic based technology. Not Relic Tech like the Guardians, though I did know how to make more Relics, it was just easier to collect them, but the things that Knack's people made that ran on Relics. In fact, I could build stuff to help me in whatever I do.
I told Knack about this and he said, "That makes sense. I did help the Doctor and Lucas make things and they taught me in turn. People may think I am a dumb brute, but I am, and now you are, effectively an Artificial Intelligence, though that is not quite what we are."
I rose an eye ridge at that, "What are we then?"
"That is something I will tell you as you gain more personal experience." Knack said, "AS much as I want to tell you, I don't think it is wise to do so yet."
Though I was annoyed, he did have a point, so I let the subject drop.
"You should return to the real world now and figure out a way to fit in." Knack said, "While not enough time has passed to cause problems, it is getting close to the evening and you don't want to worry your father. Besides, you should tell him what happened."
"No!" I said immediately out of reflex, "I can't tell him what happened! It would crush him!"
"And it would irrevocably destroy him if he found out because of an accident. Remember, you are not invincible, just really really hard to kill. It just takes something strong enough to destroy your Core and then it is game over. Would you rather him find out because you died?" Was Knack's rebuttal.
I sighed, knowing that I was not going to win this argument based on the memories I got from Knack. He helped Lucas get through a lot of tuff spots emotionally.
"Fine, I'll tell him, I just… Fine, besides, I am not planning on going out any time soon. But there is no way I am joining the Wards. Not only would they try to experiment on me if they found out what I am, but they would try to stop me from doing what I need to do." I said.
Knack smiled, "I'm not saying anything contrary. I may have been part of a team, but I could only do what I did because I had the freedom to do so. Now, when you are ready, focus on your Core and return to the real world. Once there, work your way through the Relic Temple, the defenses will likely still be active so practice with them, and find your way to the surface. Who knows, you may find abilities that I never knew about."
"Got it."
"Also, I won't be able to speak with you for a while. So don't do anything that could get you killed."
"Don't worry, I won't. It's not like I have something in my head driving me towards violence. I don't even plan to go out for a few months anyway." I assured him.
With that, I thanked him for saving me again and we said our goodbyes. Focusing on my Core, I felt my body fall apart as the world around me dissolved away.
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
Coming to, my awareness was limited. For a brief, terrifying moment I thought that I was back in the locker and everything that had happened was a hallucination. However, when I tried to hit the sides of the locker, I noticed that I did not have any arms, or legs, or a head for that matter.
It finally dawned on me that I was just my floating Core and that I had limited awareness because I didn't have a full body. Finally calm, I reached out with my mind and called to the Relics that I could now sense orbiting me. There were fewer than I would have liked, just enough for the most basic body. I couldn't even speak in this form.
Resigned to what I had, I took a look around the chamber I was in. The walls and ceiling were made up of many geometric patterns themed primarily around squares and cubes, despite the chamber being circular.
I had to be honest, it looked pretty cool. It was equal parts ancient and futuristic. There were also a number of small (for a human sized being, they were the same size I currently was) yellow crystals that I recognised as Sunstones. From the memories that I got from Knack, there were two things that provided power that humans from his time used. The primary one was Relics as a sort of fuel and to power everything. Sunstones were like batteries, as they could absorb, convert, and store energy, even the natural occurring ones could hold vast amounts as they converted both heat and light energy. It was these Sunstones that gave Knack and now me our strongest abilities.
From what I remembered, I could absorb the energy from breaking these crystals to do one of two things, charge a shield that would protect me, or save it to unleash different devastating attacks.
Personally, it did not make sense to me that some of the attacks, like the Relic Storm, would require Sunstone energy. I had complete control over the relics in my body, so those actions should be easy. Maybe Knack had been limited at the time and the energy let him break those limits? Or were they more powerful than doing it without the energy. Something to test later. Not to mention the tech that I could build that would enhance the Sunstone abilities.
Walking over to a crystal, I shattered it with a punch and the energy flowed into me. It… I had no words for how it felt, how it somehow tasted. It was like eating a spoon full of the best honey in the world, while sitting in a really relaxing hot tub. In the back of my mind, I felt the shield start to fill as a glowing hexagonal pattern appeared around me for a moment.
Quickly breaking the rest of the crystals, I had a full shield charged. Confident that, despite my small stature, I was now ready, I made my way out of the chamber and into the rest of the Relic Temple.
I DEFINITELY did NOT get my butt handed to me by my first enemy, that being a scorpion. And I did NOT lose my entire shield.
…This was going to take a while…
When I finally found more Relic parts, I had fought 10 scorpions and 5 exploding beetles, and 10 non exploding beetles. This was ridiculous, how the hell were these things still around! These were creators from Knack's time!
Thankfully I had not run into anything stronger, otherwise things would have been worse with the few Relics that I had.
The Relics that I found were stored in a glowing cube set into a pillar, as I got closer, I could feel the Relics in the cube and pulled. The cube lost its glow as the Relics started to flood out of it and into me. I grew to the height that I was as a human, 5' 9", and could feel the increase of strength.
While before I looked like a small doll, now I looked like a human made of Relics, although I was a bit bulkier than my human self. The red Relics that would make up Knack's spiky hair, sideburns and beard, formed a red main down my back instead. Looking at my reflection in a Sunstone, I quite liked what I saw, though I still wanted to find a way to look like my original self, if only to be able to fit in.
From that point on, things both got easier and harder. I started encountering Relic Constructs, Machines made to harness Relics and Sunstone like Knack and I, but no soul and they were not made of Relics, but rather stone infused with the energy of Relics. They had the single purpose of maintaining the Temple and keeping out intruders. I collected some more Relics, growing to a size of 8' 7". I also got the hang of dodging thanks to an encounter with a Relic Guardians Sentinel, a slightly larger than human Relic Constructs that used Sunstone energy to create barriers and projectiles.
There is not much to say about the Temple other than it had a lot of resources, defenses, and rooms. It was like the place was made to be used as a sort of self-sufficient forward operating base… That actually gave me some ideas of using this place as MY base once I had the security system under control.
Eventually I had accumulated a lot of Relics, to the point that I was 10'5". I was big, but not the biggest I could get. From what I remembered Leviathan was 30 feet tall and Behemoth is over 45. Knack could grow to almost 32 feet with basic Relics, and three times that with all of the Large Relics that villiness business man Viktor discovered, not to be mistaken for the E88 Villain, Victor. Almost giddy, I imagined myself taking on the giants at their own level. However, I would need to find those big Relics.
Now I was facing a big door, eight circular alcoves arranged in a circle along with a number of geometric patterns. It's a Relic Lock Door, if I remember. Some require a specific Relic Key to open, but this one just needs me to put some in. Standing in front of the door, I open my arms wide, before removing Relics and placing them in the door. This reduces me in size to 9' 5", but at least the door is now open.
I step through the door, looking around for any danger. Not seeing any at the moment, I go further in. The new room is a very large 50 foot radius circle, columns lining each wall. It made me think of an arena or coliseum.
Just as I finished that thought, the door I just walked through slammed closed. "Crap," I said to myself, "It is an arena, isn't it." I passively noted that my voice was an octave deeper and a little gravely.
On the other side of the Arena, A large construct dropped from the ceiling. A Relic Guardian Goliath. Over 15 feet tall, these Constructs harness Sunstone energy to generate a shield, before unleashing a massage shockwave. They also could create a sword made of Sunstone to attack. This was going to be a challenge.
Immediately, the Goliath created its sword, swinging at me when I charged. Jumping, I fling my body over the sword, smashing into the head of the Construct, similar to the way a blue video game character did in a game I once saw that could home in on a target with a spinning jump.
Moving pack with the recoil of my attack, I land on my feet and charge forward again only to be pushed back by the Goliath's shield. Unfortunately for me, I didn't dodge in time to avoid the shockwave as the beast slammed its hands into the ground.
The small amount of shield I had left was immediately used up and a good chunk of my Relics were blown away, shrinking me down to 7 feet tall, and causing me to stumble, halting my charge.
It was really frustrating me that I was struggling with this guy. I remember Knack plowing through a bunch of these guys and here I was struggling with only one!
I kept my distance until my Relics returned to me. Thankfully, even if they are knocked out of me, I could still recall them after a moment. I knew that I had to play this smart as I couldn't damage this guy enough before he pulled up the shield. Looking around, I noticed a bunch of Sunstone.
Dashing out of the way of another swipe of a sword, I charged over to the crystals and smashed them, letting the warm energy engulf me. This time, I focused the energy not into my shields, but the normal storage. The Crystals were large enough that I was charged enough for one attack.
Spinning around to attack the Guardian, my eyes widen as I saw the Sunstone sword swinging to make contact directly with my Core. Time seemed to slow down as I thought frantically about what to do. It was instinct that saved me though.
Immediately, I released my hold on my Relics, letting my 'Doll' form fall out of the way of the blade. Rolling away, I recalled the Relics, growing back to size as I pulled back and punched. The Relics in my body shifted, spiraling up my arm, fortifying and accelerating my punch. The Heavy Punch technique that Knack had learned from Ava, a monk. The punch connected with the back of the Goliath, sending it stumbling away.
Not giving it a chance to recover, I charged forward again. This time staying back far enough that I didn't run into the shield that came up, then jumping over the subsequent energy shockwave that traveled across the ground.
Landing on the ground after the shockwave, I drew on the Sunstone energy that I had absorbed. Doing this for the first time was strange, but exhilarating. The energy suffused throughout my body, further energizing the already energetic Relics. I half expected to explode into a Relic Burst, but I held myself together.
Relics detached from my arms, gathering at my hands, then lengthened. Once there were two four foot long poles in each of my hands, the Sunstone energy burst forth, encasing the poles in energy, forming a pair of swords of my own.
This took all of a second since I landed, even if it felt longer. I charged forth, my new swords flashing as I closed in on the Goliath. The stone beast didn't stand a chance and was soon cut down, leaving behind chunks of stone, smoking from where my blades melted through.
These were the Crystal Swords, however I shouldn't be able to use them yet. Knack had only been able to use them when he found a special Sunstone that super charged him, and the crystal that I just broke was not one.
Wanting to try something, instead of letting the energy dissipate, I tried pulling it back into my Core. To my surprise, it did just that. The energy returned to my Core to be stored and my Relics returned to the rest of my body. I couldn't help but smile. This could be useful.
I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard a rumbling from the center of the arena. A pedestal was rising from the ground. On it was a glowing blue orb, some sort of aspect of Relic Energy. I walked over, inspecting the orb before reaching out to it. Before I touched it, the orb rose slightly and flew into my Core. And my understanding expanded.
The orb of Relic Energy was a sort of command key for the Temple. I now had command over it, as well as a map of the layout. I could walk around now and the only problem that I might run into would be the annoying killer bugs that I might encounter. I also knew how to get out now. That was one problem solved.
Now I just need to figure out how to look human enough to not be noticed.
I started walking to the exit to the surface while I thought about it. Curiously, I thought back to how I controlled my Relics when performing things like the Heavy Punch and the Crystal Swords, even when collecting more Relics. My Core could grow larger or smaller. Some Relics would change to fit in my body. I could transmute the Relics to look different.
As I walked, I tried pulling the Relics in my body closer together. Making my body smaller, down to 5'9" again, but denser, not leaving any space. The outermost layer changed to look like jeans and a gray sweater. My feet looked like shoes. My hands became more human and my head returned to what I once looked like. Even the Relics that made my hair shifted to look more human.
But no matter how much I might try, I would never be the same again. It was only a shell, a disguise to hide what I looked like now. But, I was proud to have the appearance of a once great Hero, and there would be no changing that.
I reached the exit and stepped through the door. I found myself in a small abandoned warehouse, not big enough for a gang like the Merchants to be interested in, just small enough to go unnoticed. It seemed that the floor had collapsed to reveal a tunnel that led to the Temple… I really needed to find a better name for the place… but it seemed that the Temple had a camo field that was preventing people from finding it.
Walking outside, I looked around to see where I was. The sun was setting, meaning that I needed to get home soon. From the buildings, it looked like I was somewhere in the Docks, the amount of warehouses in the area at least gave me that impression. Thankfully I had an idea of where I needed to go.
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
Keeping hidden, thanks to Knack's stealth experience, it took me another 30 minutes to get home. I was getting better at understanding his skills and techniques and was able to avoid a few Merchants. Otherwise, the shifting of my Relics was enough for me to look human, even if my body was very much solid stone and other things.
My Dad's car was in the driveway and the lights were on in the house. I really hoped that he had not yet called the police. Walking up to the steps, I knocked on the door.
A few moments later, my Dad answered the door. His face was drawn, worry and sadness plainly evident. Those shifted to relief and joy when he saw me. I couldn't help but give a small smile.
"Hi Dad, sorry that I am late." I said meekly, before I got pulled into a hug.
It was odd. I couldn't remember a time when we hugged like this since Mom… Well, let's just say it was nice. We stayed in each other's embrace, only separating enough to close the door. We held each other for a solid 30 seconds before the moment I was dreading came.
Dad pushed me out to arms length and looked me up and down. Worry was once again shown on his face. "Taylor… Why is… Your body feels… What…?"
Sighing, I say, "We should sit down first, this is going to be a long story."
We moved to the living room where my Dad sat in an armchair and I on the couch. Thankfully, I was not heavy enough for it to break, I had to shed a fair bit of Relic when turning into my human disguise.
My Dad looked at me intently. I knew him well enough to know that he was not going to let this go. Not. One. Bit. While the worry was still there, his face was now hardened by a stern expression.
"Alreight, Taylor. We are sitting down. Now why don't you explain to me why you nearly gave me a heart attack by being late getting home and why it felt like I was hugging a stone statue by the door." It was less of a question and more of a demand. I didn't really like that he was now demanding me, but this was a lot more than what he has done in a while, it felt nice knowing that he still cared.
"Dad," I sighed, "The easiest way is to start from the beginning. And it is not going to be pretty. I need you to stay calm and not do anything rash or that you might regret."
"I am very calm right now, Taylor. I just want to know where you have been and that you have not gotten into anything bad." was his very much expected response.
Looking at him in the eyes, my own face became a mask of seriousness. "It started two summers ago when I was at the summer camp you sent me to…"
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
"... And it finally culminated to today, when Sophia shoved me in a locker full of used female products that had been sitting there all winter break and left me." I finished. My Dad had sat silently, yet horrified of what I told him. I couldn't blame him. It's not like every day you hear that the daughter of a close friend, who had been the best friend of your daughter, had betrayed and been doing such horrible things to your daughter.
He sat there for a moment, just processing what I had told him. I was kind of surprised that he had been able to stay calm as I told him what happened. What happened next was less surprising though as I watched him stand up.
"Where are you going, Dad?"
"To beat the answer as to why Emma did what she did to you from Alan myself."
I did not like the way he said that so calmly.
"Dad! No! You can't do that! Besides, there is no evidence that the locker happened!" I pleaded with him. I still wanted my Dad OUT of jail. I instinctively reached out to stop him, grabbing his wrist. It was when he turned around in shock that I realized that I had reached across the room without moving away from the couch. The Hook Shot, if I remembered correctly, another move that Ava taught Knack.
My Dad looked at me for a moment, then down at my arm made of Relics that was holding his wrist.
"This is the other thing that I needed to tell you, and the reason why there is no evidence and that I was out so late."
That was enough for my Dad's anger to simmer down. He sat back on his chair and waited for me to continue.
"When I was in the locker, something happened. I am not sure about everything, but at some point I blacked out. I saw some things that I am still trying to process, but I soon woke up in a sort of void." I explained
"In there, I met someone. A Hero, capitole H, from a very very long time ago. So long ago that he is not even in our history books. His name was Knack and… well. He wasn't human." Checking that the windows were covered, I turned back to my Dad and let my Relics return to their natural state, growing to 6' 3" in the process.
"This is somewhat like how he looked at the time, but shorter, and more bestial. He, and now I, were known as Relic Golems. Sentient constructs with control over small items of energy known as Relics." I showed off some of the Relics by floating them out of my body.
"He told me that I was dying, that I had two choices, he could do his best to keep me alive until help arrived and brought me to the hospital, resulting in me having health problems for possibly the rest of my life, or he could pulley my mind and soul into his Core, destroying my original body and the mess with it, and giving me the chance to continue to live like he once did. You can see what I chose."
He sat there for a moment again before saying, "So you are a Parahuman now?" His tone was dejected.
"Kind of? Not really, no. I am not human at all anymore." I said with a grimace, "And before you ask, I can't join the Wards."
"What! Why?! You are a Cape now! It's not safe!" Dad exclaimed and from his point of view, he was right, but he didn't know the full story yet.
"I can't Dad," I said as I shrunk back to normal, "Not only because I am no longer human andI risk being experimented on, but also because of the facilities that are now under my jurisdiction and Knack's successor."
That caught his attention. "What kind of facilities?" He asked.
"Deep under the city, there is a massive structure. A temple dedicated to Knack's kind. It is from there that I can draw on countless resources. Relics that make up my body, Sunstone to empower myself." I describe, "The best I can describe it is that it is a Reliquary, my Reliquary, and I plan to use it to help this city, maybe even the world."
"Can't you just stay home? Live a normal life? You don't have to go to Winslow, hell there is no way I am letting you go to Winslow. I will have you homeschooled if I need to." He begged.
I gave him another sad smile, "I am sorry Dad, but I can't. The way I am now wouldn't let me. Besides, I have a legacy of epic proportions to live up to. I have the power to help. There is no way I am just going to sit by for the rest of my life while the world turns to shit. Not with what happened to me. Too many people do that."
This time he sighs, "You are really not giving me a say in this are you?"
"Yes I am. While there are things that I will do whether you like it or not, I am willing to discuss with you limits."
"Well one of them is no Endbringers." My Dad said with more than a bit of finality in his voice.
"That is something that I can agree on for the most part." Dad's eyes narrowed at this.
"Why for the most part?"
"Dad, I have the potential to fight Endbringers on their own level, if not beyond that. I can't do it yet, and I have no intention to do so any time soon, but eventually, I will need to fight. Especially if one like Leviathan decides to come to the Bay."
Once again, Dad sighed, though he did have a slightly grateful look on his face. "At least you are thinking things through, even if you won't go to the Wards. I have heard that most capes go out as soon as they can, without thinking."
This time I gave a smug smile, "Well, I am not most capes."
That got a chuckle from him, "That you are. Damn, you really remind me of your mother. Determined to help and do the right thing, no matter what other people say."
This time I chuckled, "I think I get the unwavering stubbornness from you though."
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
We continued talking. It was the most we had talked in a long time and it felt good. We agreed that I would be homeschooled due to it being easy for people to out my just by bumping into me. He preferred that we find a way to transfer me to Arcadia, but that was a moot point. He said that I wouldn't need to go to school tomorrow, and that he would let the school know what we were doing.
One thing he did require of me was for him to be able to see the Temple, or what I am now calling the Reliquary, and to see me fight. Even though he didn't want me going out and heroing, he at least wanted to make sure I could defend myself. So we planned that after he pulled me from school, he would drive us to the warehouse where the entrance to the Reliquary was.
That night, I found something both alarming and interesting. I no longer needed to sleep. I should have guessed this because I was now living stone and metal. I lay on my bed for a bit before letting my Relics relax. All but the bare minimum for me to have a body fell away and gathered in a pile near my bed.
In my Doll like form I lay, trying anything to fall into unconsciousness. It really didn't help. Eventually, I gave up, gathered by Relics into my body, and went downstairs. I was going to need to find a way to keep myself occupied during my literal sleepless nights.
As I was walking down the stairs, my thoughts wandered to the things I had learned from Knack. Specifically some of the tech. There were a lot of useful gadgets that could be used to help me in combat.
Some made sense, like the Secret Detector, a radar like gadget that would help me find hidden areas. Some were complete bull-shit in their function like the Time Dilator, one that could slow down her perception of time, or the freakin Combo Meter, a gadget that would increase the power of my attacks with each successful hit without taking a hit. It was like something straight out of a video game. Something that the Gamer Tinker Leet would make. But it worked regardless.
I even knew how the stuff worked. The Combo Meter is able to store kinetic energy with each hit the user landed, and once a threshold was met, would use that energy to strengthen the attacks of the user. The user getting hit by an attack would disrupt the field created by the device, causing it to reset.
Of the gadgets that I could link to my Core for use in combat and patrolling, the two easiest were the Relic Detector, name is the explanation, and the Sunstone Bomb, a sort of Stun Bomb gadget that would activate each time she broke a Sunstone Crystal, stunning Enemies.
Since I had almost 8 hours before my Dad woke up, I decided to try and make these items.
Going to the basement, I looked around for what I might need. I found an old workbench and some old tools, even an old soldering iron that I remembered using a few years ago when I tried my hand at making one of those Blackberry PI computer kits. Speaking of which, I also found the half built thing. Perfect for the Detector. I also found an old large glass ornament for the shell of the Sunstone Bomb. a few stacks of metal junk and electronics rounded out the rest of the materials that I would need.
Realistically, it probably would have been easier to have the equipment at the Reliquary do the work, not to mention, there were rooms there that I had yet to explore, rooms with names like Garage and Armory, but that was for later. Right now, I needed to keep myself occupied.
*\ /*I*\ /*
O
./ \.
Only slightly related - Omake
Fulcren Skyfall: [Resting in standby mode as the monitoring system for the world designated as Remnant FSMW-1-MR was waiting to update]
{Very Very Loud Klaxon}
Fulcren Skyfall: [Startled so badly that his jump jets fired, launching him into a nearby bulkhead.] "HOLY SHIIIIII -" {Crash}
Fulcren Skyfall: "Ow…" [Gets up and goes to see what caused the alarm] "Well this is interesting."
On the screen was obviously a new universe, but it was different from the one that he was already monitoring. Universe FS1-MR looked like a multicolored orb with a lightning bolt floating in it with four colored lights orbiting the orb, each one red, white, purple/black, and yellow.
This Universe also looked like an orb, but instead of multicolored, it had a transparent golden hue with a single vibrant blue dot. Encircling the orb were two creatures made of what looked like crystals. These "worms" had two different colors, one was gold and the other silver. What made the world even more interesting was the fact that it looked like there were echoes of itself behind itself, no matter what direction Fulcren looked at it.
Fulcren Skyfall: "Well, looks like I have my work cut out for me." [He took a quick look at the preliminary results of the universe scan.] "Well… This universe is going to be interesting…"
Fulcren typed on the screen before tuning to go check on a few more instruments. On the screen was two lines:
Fulcren Skyfall Monitored World - 2 - Knack/Worm
FSMW-2-KW
A/N: The first real chapter of a new story, my first short at the end. I hope you enjoy.
Also, just a basic overview of what Knack is if you don't know:
Knack is a platformer beat 'em up game for the PS4, following the adventure of the main character, Knack. When it was released along with its sequel, it received a lot of criticism. However, there are a lot of people who actually like the games.
I may not have had the chance to play them, but if I could, I would. I think they are interesting games and I wanted to do a Worm fic since I got hooked on the idea of them. Now you have this.
If you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. I'm just someone who is doing something they enjoy so please keep your hate to your selves. However, if you have some good constructive criticism, by all means, I would love to hear it.
Thank you all, and happy holidays.