A/N: Hello, hello. Welcome one and all to my newest multi-chapter fic, since I don't have enough wips already, apparently.
This is a very self-indulgent fic that takes place past the Unknown Together ending. In it, The Long Quiet and The Princess/Shifting Mound have mutually decided to part ways, and now Quiet is returning to the Construct to rescue all of their voices.
As such, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, this is not a Princess/Shifty friendly story, and it can possibly be considered bashing. I don't like her, and that will inevitably show up in my writing. If you do like her, and you disagree with the interpretation that her relationship with Quiet is abusive and toxic, that is totally valid; the devs said we were free to interpret STP however we want, and all endings are canon, after all. But this might not be the story for you, so Shifty enjoyers, read at your own risk.
Secondly, there will be no romantic ships in this story. I'm aroace and romance repulsed, and I just don't enjoy writing them. All the voices and Quiet will eventually settle into a sort of found family/queerplatonic polycule.
Last but not least, every voice will get his own chapter, then there will be an epilogue to wrap things up. I don't have an order in mind for each voice though, so feel free to let me know which one you would want to see more of. I have vague ideas of how each chapter will go, but ideas are welcome. I may not use them all since I have my own interpretation of the characters, but they are always welcome.
Without further ado, let's begin!
The Long Quiet, or simply Quiet as they go by now, is on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a voice.
They're here to save him. If they don't, it'll be the end of his world.
Quiet shakes their feathered head at themself. He doesn't understand why he keeps doing that, imagining his voice, narrating their actions. Do they really miss him that much, after everything they put them through? They supposed Hero had a point; the Narrator, or Echo, or whatever he was called, had been with them since the very beginning.
Hero. Quiet felt a pang of sadness stab their heart as they thought back about their oldest voice, and they realized too late, their oldest friend. They can't believe they left him behind, chose her over him, in a way. But now he was back, and he was not going to make the same mistake again. He would not leave until Hero, and every single one of his voices, was back where they belonged.
With this in mind, Quiet proceeds to the cabin.
The interior of the cabin is exactly how he remembers it, dusty, barren, with nothing but a plain wooden table and yes, the pristine blade is there, perched On its edge.
He takes the blade.
They remember that Hero said they had more options with it than without, and though Quiet doesn't think there is anything left to use it on in the Construct, they figure it's better to be safe than sorry.
Hopefully thinking like that won't cause there to be threats in the first place, a nasty little voice speaks up in the back of the former god's mind. Not a literal voice like his other voices, just a thought voice like everyone has. It makes him shutter. That's been happening more and more often since he left his voices behind. Could it be a punishment?
Quiet decides that it's best not to linger in this room for much longer; there's nothing left to do here, and it's not doing anyone any good, including Quiet himself.
Quiet enters the basement.
They swing the door open gently, the familiar creek as it opens making their feathers stand on end. It's okay, he tells himself. She's not down there anymore, none of them will be. It's just Hero… I hope.
As if to answer their silent plea, his voice, so familiar and warm, but run-down and tired, reverberates up the stairs. "Hello? Quiet? Is that really you?"
Quiet's heart skips a beat. It's been so, so long since they've heard that voice. And it's really weird to hear it outside in the environment, instead of within the confines of his mind. Does Hero have a body now? They found themself excited to find out.
But then, to their annoyance, another stab of paranoia grips their heart. They didn't want to think like this. He hated it when his mind went down these paths, as it had become increasingly likely to do. If Quiet didn't know any better, they'd say that Paranoid was still with them.
But he wasn't. And he never would be again if they couldn't shake this fear that the voice they just heard wasn't Hero, but some monster disguised as him.
"Hero?" Their own voice comes out hesitant and shaking. "Yeah, i-it's me. Is—Is that you?" Quiet cringes, he'd developed a bit of a stutter as of late. After he'd left the Construct with her, it had creeped upon them slowly. So slowly that they weren't even sure when it actually started. Stress usually worsened it.
"Yeah," Hero's voice, hesitant as it might be, echos up the staircase again. "Yeah, it's me."
His voice calms them a bit. It always does. But the nervousness lingers. It will until he sees for himself who this really is. "C-Can I come down?"
"Of course." This time, hero's voice is full of pleasant surprise. Why? Did he not expect them to come down? Well, they shouldn't waste any more time.
They continue down the stairs.
And sure enough, there he is. The Voice of the Hero, given form, somehow. He looks so similar to them, but different all the same.
Hero is leaning against the wall, but thankfully he doesn't seem to be chained up. But there's a layer of dust coating his feathers, and a sort of glazed look in his eyes that makes Quiet worry. Has he just been sitting here the whole time? He wonders.
Thankfully, Hero's eyes seem to get a little more focus back in them when he sees Quiet. "It really is you," he breathes. "You're actually back."
Hearing his first voice say that seems to make it more real for Quiet, and a burst of overwhelming emotion rocks his soul. Before he realizes what he's doing, he's moving, and the two of them crash into each other in a clumsy, but fluffy and heartfelt embrace. Hero makes a shocked sound at this turn of events, but soon he is returning the gesture, and Quiet can't help but melt into it. It just feels so right.
"I-I missed you," Quiet mumbles, their voice muffled in Hero's feathers.
"Me too," Hero replied, his voice softer than Quiet had ever heard it. "But… why did you come back?"
Quiet tightens their grip at the sound of their voice's bewildered confusion. "I couldn't just leave you behind, not after everything." Oh, good. Their stutter seems to have gone away, for now.
"But what about the Princess?"
Quiet tenses. He knew this was going to come up, they just weren't sure when. But he supposed it'd be best to put it out there as soon as possible. "I… left her."
The basement seems to get more silent than it had already been when they say that. "What?"
"It was… I—It was all just too much," they say, the words seeming to fight and claw at each other to get out of them. "I didn't want to slay her, but after everything she did, a-and everything I did, I-I thought that we could—I-I really thought we could be happy together, but the memories just wouldn't go away! But they never seemed to bother her at all," Quiet somehow manages to finish, but he feels what he managed to say didn't even capture the surface of the situation. But still, Hero seems to understand, like he always had, and doesn't protest when Quiet tries to bury themself in his feathery chest.
"I… I get it," he says softly. "I really do. I don't think—I don't think she's like us, you know? She doesn't understand us."
Quiet doesn't have the energy to reply. They want to, but it's taking everything in them not to lose themself in their emotions. This had been happening more and more often, too.
Hero seems to understand that it's not the best time to question them further about her, so instead he says warmly, "I'm glad you're back."
How does he always know the right thing to say? Quiet thinks.
The two of them share a quiet moment, just enjoying their reunion. Quiet finally manages to get his emotions back under control, and slowly disentangles himself from the hug. A small cloud of dust wafts from Hero's feathers when they do so, and they let out a soft sneeze. "Choo!"
"Bless you," Hero says, a hint of amusement glinting in his eyes. "Sorry about that. Everything's been mostly a blur since you left. I guess I haven't really moved since then."
"I-I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry about it. You came back; that's what really matters."
Hope begins to bloom within the long Quiet's heart. "So… y-you will come with me, then?"
"Yeah, I will. It'll be good to finally get out of this cabin. And, much as I never thought I'd say this before, it'll be good to see the others again, too." But then the Hero's face clouds over slightly, hesitant. "We… are going to get the others, right? Because I wouldn't feel right leaving them behind."
"Yes, yes, we are," Quiet is quick to clarify. "That was the plan all along. I'm not leaving without any of you, not again."
Instantly, Hero looks and sounds relived. "Good. Thank you, Quiet."