Disclaimer: No, I didn't stole this story from Loss and found on Archive. In fact, I AM Loss and found, we are the same person. I use a different username here.
So please, don't start harassing me for stealing a fic from myself, okay?
Chapter 1: The crack in time
The time has come.
Sitting on her throne, the powerful Monster Lord patiently waited for her once travelling partner to arrive. Luka, the fake hero, would overcome all of her cute subordinates and even the Heavenly Knights themself.
Some would say her sheer confident in this outcome is due to all of her effort in training him for the past couple months they have been travelling around the world. Either that, or this was all a part of her cold calculation and the fake hero was only walking into a trap set by the evil monster from the very beginning.
Nay... It was a lot simpler than that.
As absurd as it sounded, she had faith. It was an unfamiliar emotion to her, but it's there nonetheless.
Faith that Luka would succeed in reaching her, faith that he wouldn't falter against her Heavenly Knights, faith that he would appear before her in the end.
To face her on this very throne room...
The one where his father and his friends killed her mother...
...and the one where she'll have him kill her too.
It's the only way, after all.
A dream as big and grand as the one they shares is bound to have an equally massive price to pay.
The Echidna took a deep, calming breath as she reaffirms her belief.
Indeed, to pave the way for a future where humans and monsters could live in coexistence, Alice Fateburn would gladly sacrifice her own life in exchange.
It's the only way, after all.
To both atone for her mistake back then, and for the sake of their dream.
In the corner of her golden slitted eyes, the Monster Lord saw the black and white ribbon Luka has bought for her back during their journey. Proudly placed on end of her long scaly tail, she gingerly took the cherished gift off and allow herself a brief moment of weakness.
To mourn and recount the memories as she then carefully places the ribbon into a treasure chest behind her.
It's the only way, after all.
She hopes... with everything she has...
It's the only way, after all.
That he would keep it as a reminder of her when she's gone...
It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all. It's the only way, after all.
"It's the only way, after all."
With the perfect definition of melancholy on her face, she said the words she doesn't even believe in.
...
...
...
The sounds of footsteps broke the Monster Lord out of her miserable mussing.
This is it; the time has come.
Putting on her mask of a cold and malevolent tyrant, Alice Fateburn prepare herself for quite possibly the most challenging fight of her life. Even harder than the one she partakes in for the throne, even harder than when she fought that damn goddess at the star of the year.
This is going to be a fight for a purpose bigger than both of them, one she could not afford to hold herself back on. She needs to put everything she have into it, for she may regrets more than she already has.
As the footsteps grew closer, she stood from her throne, her voice reverberates across her future tomb.
"...Hero. Well done making it-!?"
Alice didn't even manage to finish her sentence as she finally realize what her previous somber self couldn't.
That being, the frantic footsteps coming towards her weren't that of Luka at all. In fact, there's not one, but two pair of footsteps.
How did she not pick up on this sooner? Was her mind so heavily distracted that such obvious abnormality escapes her?
Something has clearly gone wrong with her plan. And before she could theorize more about the matter, she finally saw who was hurriedly running towards her this entire time instead of the fake hero.
They were...
""Mother!/Mom!"" A pair of young voices shouted out.
Alice's eyes widened as she saw two monster kids around the age of 12 enters her throne room.
...
...
...
Now, where does she even start?
Not only did her plan got derailed by two kids, both of whom resembles her to a point the Monster Lord had to consciously hold back the unexpected maternal instinct from taking over her at that moment.
The look so distraught! Ask them what's wrong!
Quick! Check for any injuries! Use eyes of recovery!
Why are they crying!? Coddle them!
She shook her head in exasperation.
Honestly, this was supposed to be a big moment in her life, a historical action that would kickstart their dream into reality, and now she has two crying children to worry about?
She supposes, it's better if she went ahead and took care of this as fast as possible before Luka gets here.
'With how he is, he'll probably forgot about any fighting and tries his best to help the kids instead.'
She gave a small laugh at the thought, before turning to her current problems.
"How did you two get in here, children?" As calm as she possibly could, the Echidna question them.
Instead of answers however, Alice ended up getting a lot more questions instead.
One of the kids, a rare male monster wearing a black button up shirt with short dark blue hair, bright golden eyes and pale skin took her left arm and started to pull her away from her throne. "There's no time, mother! We have to get you to father or the others will get to him first!"
They know their father? That's rare for most monsters.
"That's right! I don't want to get erased out of existence!" Said who is probably his sister, a small monster girl with long dark purple hair style in a pig-tail with red ribbons, bright golden eyes and an adorable light blue dress.
"Who are 'they'? You said they're after your father?" The Monster Lord ask again, trying her best to understand the situation.
Back then, before her journey across the world with Luka, she would have probably just used her authority on them and demand an answer. But whether or not she even acknowledges it, Alice has grown more mellow out and understanding of everyone around her.
It makes sense, considering who she was travelling with after all.
But despite her best effort, the kids would only continue to confuse her. In their distress, they stutter up something about 'time magic' going wrong, 'paradox' being created, several step-siblings showing up alongside them, so on and so on.
In the end, she ended up having to play the role of their mother and console them until they could talk properly again.
Holding them close, one of her hands softly patted the boy's back as her other one brushes the tears off the girls' face.
It feels... weirdly natural for her to do this...
After a couple minutes of reassuring them that no, they aren't going to be erase out of existence (how the hell did they even come to that conclusion?), the Monster Lord instruct them to explain what has happen from the very beginning.
"W-well..." The blue-haired boy nervously started. "At first, we just wanted to try out some magic from the library because we were bored..."
"...The library, as in, you two were inside the castle's Grand Library?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah! Aunt Tamamo would always do her cool magic thingy there!" At the girl's reply, the eyebrow raises higher.
Since when did her surrogate mother took in another pair of children without her noticing anything? Even then, since she's the owner of this whole castle, wouldn't she have been notified of this at some point?
Not once did Tamamo mention adopting other kids to her throughout her entire journey the past couple months with Luka.
This is all not even mentioning the fact the Kitsune would allow two children to enter such an important/dangerous place without any supervision like a responsible adult should.
...Now that she thinks about it, the Heavenly Knight definitely would.
'Damn fox. Always giving me troubles...' Her eyes twitch in annoyance as she cursed those fluffy menaces in her mind.
"And then what happen...?"
"We found some unsolved time magic theory..."
Alright, that's not so bad.
"Used to be unsolved!"
Nevermind...
"What do you mean 'used to' girl?" Her eyes fixed on the purple-haired girl.
Gesturing about wildly, she pouted at her. "Neris! My name's Neris, not 'girl'!"
"Neris..." Again, the familiar feeling appears. "What's your brother's name?"
"I'm Nero..." Answered the boy shyly.
At least now she knows their names. Another step in solving this whole mess.
She took a page from Tamamo's book (how she treated her back then) and put on a softer voice when talking to them.
"Nero, Neris, did something happens after you two find that unsolved theory?"
Alice proudly patted herself on the back internally when they became a lot less hesitance to answer her. The tone changing must've work.
"I solved it."
...
...
...
The Monster Lord blinks.
"You... solved it?"
"Nero did! My twin brother is super smart!"
Right, because of course he would. A 12-year-old manage to solve a complex multi chapter theory on time magic on his very first try.
A migraine is starting to from in her head.
Is this what it's like to be a parent for monster children? She's starting to sympathies with Tamamo more and more now.
"That's... great, Nero. What happens next...?"
"A giant crack shows up in the middle of the library."
"It just shows up! We don't know where it came from!"
For fuck's sake!
That is literally the worst thing that could have happen when using time magic! There's a reason most monster doesn't use it!
Struggling to keep her voice steady, Alice continues with her questioning.
"A-And then what happen?"
Shaking his head, Nero told her they don't really understand what happen next. One moment they were fine, and the next everything was too bright for them to open their eyes.
"And then we met Daddy!" If she wasn't already, Neris started getting even more hyperactive in her explanation.
"But he doesn't remember us..." Contrasting her sister, Nero somberly said back.
"He doesn't? What do you mean?" At the thought of their parent forgetting about them, a dark, ominous aura surrounds the Monster Lord.
In the world of monsters, lackadaisical parents who can't even remember their own children is unfortunately a somewhat common occurrence. Too busy to care for their young as they selfishly do as they pleases for the rest of their life.
Some monsters are slothful by nature. Some choses their greed over their own blood. Some are even depraved enough to feed on them in gluttony.
However, those who would bring harm to these two deserve nothing but her absolute cruelty. Was it wrong of her to pick favorite like this? Probably, not that she cares.
Alice had never claimed to be good person.
"He couldn't, Neris. Did you forget we're in the past?" Nero tried to placate his sister.
...A thought occurs to her then, in the back of her subconscious.
"I know that! But I'm still upset daddy doesn't remember us!" She cried, stomping the marble floor in a tantrum. "And then the others started taking his attentions too! It's not fair! We're the original!"
No... there's no way...
"That is... kind of presumptuous, sister..." The boy awkwardly rubs the back of his head.
But what if...
"We could fix it! All we have to do is get daddy together with mom again and it's guarantied we'll be born again!" Said the girl confidently. She pauses then, a thought crossing her mind before grimacing.
"Urgh... I can't believe we have to play matchmaking with them..."
"Neris." Gone was the shyness in his voice, Nero fixed his twin sister with a hard look. "I know what you're thinking, don't you even dare."
"..."
"..."
"It should have been me..."
"What was that!"
"I said I know! I won't do anything stupid like that okay!?"
"...Good."
"Hmph!"
As this was all going on, the Monster Lord took on a conflicted expression. Hundreds of thoughts going on in her head, her mind is like a raging ocean.
These two... came from her...
At first, she had simply presumed them calling her their mother to be simply a child's way of comforting themself in an unfamiliar environment, a defense mechanism of sorts, relying on any capable mother figure they could latch on to defend them.
But it clearly wasn't the case.
They are of Fateburn's blood. She could sense it in them both.
This fact is impossible. Not due to a lack of evidence (Their standing right in front of her), but due to the fact she has no memories of ever giving birth to a pair of twins.
One does not simply give birth one day and forgot about it. Especially not someone like her, the current ruling Monster Lord!
There is only one explanation... the time magic they had used to get here.
If what they had said were true, then that means that-!?
"Luka..."
It's him, isn't it?
The only one who could've convinced her not to go through with her plan, the only person who she would gladly start a family with.
It's him... and these are their...
The mask slips.
"M-Mother!?" Nero panic, finally realizing the state of his mother after wrestling down his twin sister's unholy thoughts back into her head. "Mother! Why are you crying!?"
"Wait what! She is?" Turning to face her too, Neris saw that yes, the Monster Lord has two streaks of tears running down her cheeks.
From the look on her face, Alice didn't even realize it herself.
"Don't cry, mother! Well get father here, just you wait!" Frantically trying to console her, the boy looks to his sister for assistance.
"R-Right!" Gathering to her sides, her kids gently patted her on the back and brushed away her tears just like how she did previously. "Mom! Please don't cry! I won't try and steal daddy from you, I promise!"
...
She'll deal with that can of worms later, not now.
Getting herself together, Alice pulls them both close to her in a motherly embrace. Like the one her own mother used to give her back then.
Alipheese Fateburn XVI is acting very much unlike her usual self at the moment. The usual Monster Lord would never openly cry before another, she would never bear her heart to them like this, and she would never be so caring...
But after everything that she had gone through in her life. Knowing, with undeniable proof in front of her, that there's a bright future ahead, one that is very much possible, is cathartic on a level not many would be able to understand.
There's something she needed to do, or rather, say.
The words she wishes her own mother would say to her once more.
Now, she has the ability to say those words to her own kids.
"You two..." Her voice came out weak and brittle, unlike her previous soft tone. This one is that of a woman crying in relief and happiness.
"Yes, mother?" Nero's voice was muffled against her shoulder.
"What's wrong, mom?" Neris ask from her other side, equally as confuse and worry as her brother.
She didn't get to say what she wanted to, however, as an explosion strong enough to shook the entire throne room echoes throughout the castle.
BOOM!
"W-What was that!"
"Ahh! My ears!"
Instinctively, her dark magic flares up, forming a shield of shadow around her children as her golden eyes scan the room in indignation and cold fury.
'Who dare...'
Soon, the whole room became uncomfortably cold and heavy as her anger reached its peak. Standing up from her embrace, the Monster Lord burn the people before her with a glare that would make even the sun envious.
"I was having a moment with my children! Who dares to interrupt us!"
Her voice booms in power as she looks forward where a group of monsters stood. They seem to be in the middle of a fight seeing as there's multiple scratch marks on the ground and the traces of powerful magics in the air.
""Oh dear..."" Two Kitsune spoke at the same time.
""My Lord! Forgives my mistakes!"" Two Dragonkin bows to her in shame.
"We're in for it now..." A cyan Slime Girl said quietly.
"..." The bigger Slime Girl next to her looks at her with a conflicted expression.
"See what happen when people don't take my advices?" Another rare male monster said sardonically.
"To be fair to them, our actions are hard to control in the heat of passion~" A Succubus playfully replies back.
Despite the colorfull cast of characters before her, in the end, Alice's gaze ended up meeting his own.
Bright blue eyes filled with wonders as Luka, her fake hero stare at the Monster Lord, flank by two children who looks so much like her.
"...Alice?"
TO BE CONTINUE
Author's note: Technically speaking, their hair should still be white like their mother by this point, there's no reason for them to hide their identity after all. But eh, I wanted some variety. Plus, I'd be too easy for Alice to figures out they were her kids.
Let's just say, hypothetically, Luka and Alice told them to put a barrier on their strength due to how powerful they are normally. And they decided to made themself looks more like their father in this 'holding back' form of theirs in respect to him.
