Title is from 'No One's Here to Sleep' by Naughty Bot ft. Bastille
GotG and characters belong to Marvel.
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Chapter 11: No One's Here to Sleep
"So you and your father are an element? I have never heard of such a thing as a living creature being an element."
"Elementals, Drax, we're Elementals, apparently, which just means we can control the elements or something like that. I'd never heard of it either."
The rest of the Guardians, minus Rocket, were eating dinner with Peter as he shared the information he had learned with them. Even Nebula, who had joined him on his walk back, had decided to stay to hear his news, though she made a rather obvious point about staying far away from her sister.
"And Cosmo has his powers drawn from one of these... 'Givers?'" Nebula asked from her seat next to Drax.
"Yeah. Ego said drinking from the head on Knowhere should have killed him but, it's not completely unheard of for this to happen. He was just lucky I guess."
Nebula pursed her lips in disapproval at the mention of luck. "This does explain a few things," she murmured.
"How is your progress with your own powers going?" Gamora asked from where she sat two seats to his left, in the corner diagonally across from her sister.
"Oh!" Peter shoved his chair out so he could stand up and step away from the table. "Check this out!"
Peter was still pretty tired from the day's work, so he only managed to form a crystal about the size of a baseball, but it was satisfyingly round and toeing the line of being called truly transparent. "It's usually a bit bigger," he confessed, slumping back into his chair and placing the crystal on the table with a thunk. "But it's a big improvement from this morning and it's getting easier to summon and control the Light."
Drax reached forward to grab it, chewing loudly as he rolled it around in his hand.
"And how is this orb supposed to help us defeat Ronan and Thanos?"
"Well, it's not, but eventually I'll be able to make bigger things. When I fought my father last time I made these massive rock-bodies, like gigantic fighting robots," Peter waved his arms up dramatically to emphasize how very gigantic these bodies were. "It was pretty cool."
"On the subject of fighting," Gamora said, her arms crossed neatly on the table in front of herself as she stared at Mantis, sitting across from her. "Do you know how to defend yourself at all, Mantis?"
Mantis blinked her huge eyes in surprise at this question. "I have never needed to defend myself. Ego is very powerful, and I am always with him."
"No one has ever tried to hurt you?" Gamora asked.
"Well, I have met... unhappy people, but with my abilities, I can sooth them back into a happier state if they come too near. I rarely speak to others, though, so it does not happen often."
"Peter," Gamora turned her eyes on him now. "How did she manage in combat in your timeline?"
"Uh, I guess we looked out for her if it got too physical, but she's tough, and she was learning. And she's not joking about putting people down with her powers if they get close enough to touch." He shrugged, not sure if this was the answer Gamora was looking for. Mantis was, compared to the other Guardians, pretty frail in terms of physical strength and fighting ability, but it had never been a big issue in their travels. They hadn't actually had many big fights after Ego's planet, though. Mostly it was some contracts that led to a couple firefights, and Rocket's shenanigans leading to their usual violent endings. Someone was always there to keep an eye on her, and she walked off any bruises or injuries she incurred with admirable grace.
"If you are planning to take her with us, she will need to know how to defend herself in a fight, at least." Gamora narrowed her eyes at him like he was an idiot. "You can't take someone with no real experience into battle against my father. She'll be dead in an instant."
"Why don't you guys teach her?" he asked. "I'll probably be too busy with my own lessons to do anything about it, but you and Drax would give her occasional lessons in my timeline."
"I would love to 'take lessons' with you and Drax!" Mantis piped up eagerly. "I have never had lessons before. This is so exciting!"
There was scoff from Nebula's corner of the table, and Peter glanced over to see her glaring into her food like it had personally slighted her.
"It's getting late," Gamora said, glancing meaningfully at the light fading rapidly through the glass panes. "We can start in the morning. There are no lights here, and I don't want you injuring yourself in the dark."
There was a clink of utensils as Nebula set hers down and shoved her chair out. "I'm done," she said matter of factly when she noticed Peter staring at her with his brows raised in question, her good mood from earlier in the day seemed to have vanished.
"Are you going exploring again tonight?" Peter asked.
Nebula shot her sister a darting look before answering, as though considering whether or not she wanted to give away her plans where Gamora could overhear them. "Yes," she told Peter. "I'll be in the canyon beyond the river if you need me."
"Okay," he said, as she made her way to the open doorway. "Thanks. Let me know if you run into Rocket?"
Nebula didn't look back, but she waved a hand in acknowledgment of his request as she left.
When Peter turned back to the table, Gamora was staring after her sister with her lips pinched in the corners.
-x-
Mantis was apparently eager to get to work, Peter thought to himself, as the pounding on his door came much earlier the next morning. Lifting his head from the pillow with a groan, Peter opened his eyes and could barely make out the features of his room under the starlight glinting through the panes of his window.
"Mantis?" he asked, suddenly wondering if it might be one of the other Guardians instead, but couldn't think of any reason the others would be pounding on his door at who-knows-when in the morning.
The knocking came again, more insistently this time.
"Hello?" Peter kicked off his sheets and groped around for his boots. "Who is it?"
More knocking, this time the door shook in its frame under the abuse.
"It's open," Peter called, giving up on his boots and crossing to the door. "What do you want?"
He flung the door open wide, but there was no one there.
"What the?" he mumbled, glancing up and down the hallway. "That's not funny! Come on. Go wake up someone who your life doesn't depend on their beauty rest!"
Something made a noise from outside.
"Rocket?" Peter asked, suddenly hopeful. Maybe Rocket wanted to speak to him without the other Guardians nearby.
Peter stepped out into the hallway and immediately his foot slipped out from underneath him. He had to grab the door frame to keep from going down. "Ugh, what?" he grumbled, lifting up his foot to stare down at where he had left a track through a thick layer of dust that coated the marble floor. Peter swiped at his sock cautiously, but it appeared to just be normal, unremarkable dirt. A little plume of dust rolled off of his foot and settled back to the floor. As he watched it settle, he noticed that, other than where his foot had just landed, the rest of the dust lay sleek and undisturbed. There were no other tracks in the hallway. So... maybe not Rocket.
Curiosity peaked, Peter stepped out into the hallway, careful of his footing this time, and made his way across to Drax's door. The layer of dust muffled the sounds of his steps, making him feel like a ghost himself.
"Drax?" he hissed, rapping on the door with his knuckles. Unnerved by the silence -not even the sound of Drax's snoring leaked through the walls- Peter shoved the door open. Inside, the room was empty and a thin film of dust coated everything in here as well. The dust sat the thickest in a clump on the bed like someone had been sleeping there and the dust had settled into the groove left behind, but Peter could find no clue as to what could have caused this or where Drax had gone, so he stepped back into the hallway and slid the door shut. He pushed Gamora's door open next, but her room was in the same state, and just as unhelpful.
Peter licked his lips and tapped his fingers against his pants, pausing when he realized something else here was out of place. Peter held his unbandaged hands up, marveling at the perfect, unbroken skin in the dim ghost light of the hallway, and it dawned on him like someone had raised a curtain after he had already guessed what was behind it. He'd known, but not really known, until just now.
Peter was dreaming again. This may be the most real one yet, or at least the most aware he had been without waking up. They were getting stronger.
Peter cast his gaze up and down the empty hall, not sure what he was supposed to be doing here. Was this a test of some sort? Peter closed his eyes and reached out towards the Light. He didn't know if he could reach it in a dream, or whatever this was. If nothing else, it could provide him with a way to light up the hallway. Ego would probably be disgusted at the notion of using his powers in such a way, but as far as Peter was concerned, his father's annoyance was just more incentive to do it. But when Peter felt the familiar sensation of the power drawing to him the world around him began to shudder. Peter's eyes flew open to see the walls dancing and rippling unnaturally. A wild, unreasonable panic seized his mind and Peter quickly severed the connection he had built, pulling away from the Light as if it had burned him.
The world around him settled back into place, and the panic receded, leaving his skin prickling despite the pleasant temperature. So that... was not a great idea...
There was another noise from outside. A grating sound, kind of like a cat scratching at a door, but louder, and it echoed unnaturally through the building around him. Feeling pretty confident that this was a dream and he was safe, Peter shook off the chills and moved towards the front doors to investigate. When he pulled the massive copper door open, he had expected to find the usual scene of galaxies, but was met instead with a bursts of hot air and a bright burning sky. Peter held one hand up to shield his face and peered through narrowed eyes into the wind. The world around him was lifeless and barren- even more so that when he had fallen asleep. All of the plants had died, most of them seemed to have blown away, leaving behind clumps of shriveled up sticks and vines scattered across an endless landscape of dry cracked dirt and sand that blew about and danced in the harsh wind.
"Ego?!" Peter called. His voice was snatched up by the whistling wind and blown away.
The scratching noise came again, this time echoing through the empty world around him like something was trying to dig in through a ceiling that didn't exist. Something moved in the corner of his eyes, and Peter squinted against the acrid wind until he saw it again. In the distance, beyond the softly rolling remains of the garden, something was sending the dirt flinging upward where the wind then caught it and carried it off.
Peter tugged his jacket tight against his neck and waded into the wind. The sandy ground and bits of brittle leaves crunched under his socked feet, and the closer he drew to the flinging dirt, the louder the scrabbling noise became, but still the sound echoed from all around, rather than from his destination. As he surmounted a small roll in the desert, he was able to get a look at what was causing the strange phenomena. A series of rectangular holes had been dug into the dry dirt. Eight in total, all lined up neatly, like graves. As Peter watched, another clump of dirt was flung out of the nearest one, and he approached with a sense of trepidation to peer over the edge. Inside, some four or five feet down, Rocket's striped tail bobbed as he dug furiously at the dirt with his bare hands, pausing to grab the loose dirt he had churned up and flinging it out from the hole. The scratching noise was louder than ever, and Peter had to shout to hear his own voice over it.
"Rocket?!"
Rocket paused in his digging again and straightened up to peer at Peter looming above him. The scratching in the sky above, which had not stopped when Rocket had been throwing the dirt, stopped now. Slowly, his lips split into a wicked grin. "This one's for you," he promised ominously.
"What?" Peter took an unconscious step back.
"I told you to dig," Rocket said. "I was very clear. And that's a very difficult thing to do from here. If you can't dig fast enough on your own, I'll have to help."
"Rocket," Peter said slowly. "Where are the others?"
Rocket paused to look behind himself like he could see the other graves despite being underground. "We're all dust in the end," Rocket said. When Rocket turned back his eyes had changed, but instead of the red and blue Peter had seen on the Starburst, his eyes were flooded with stars and swirling galaxies. "One way or another. All but me. But if you help me dig, it doesn't have to be so bad. If we dig together, it will take much longer."
"What does that mean, Rocket?" Peter asked, ignoring how his skin shivered under that gaze. "None of that made any sense- why would it take longer to dig together?"
"Isn't that what you want, Peter? To delay the inevitable? I want that to, but I can't help you until you dig me up."
"What I want is to wake up," Peter said, crossing his arms and hunching miserably against the wind which hadn't relented in its assault. "I want these dreams to stop."
"Then keep digging." Rocket gave one last tooth flashing grin that was only a step to the left of a sneer and his body began to fall apart like dust in the whipping wind, sweeping away and swirling into nothing. The scraping noise started up again, rattling Peter's bones and filling his skull until he screwed his eyes shut against it.
-x-
Peter did not immediately awaken this time, but fell instead into a black and dreamless void so that by the time he stirred to wakefulness the next morning, the worst of the shudders and disgust had faded. The memory of what had occurred was still fresh enough, but the feelings had grown stale and he did not leap from bed with a shout or awaken in a pool of his own sweat. Instead, he lay on his back, his fingers laced together across his stomach as he stared mutely at the ceiling until Mantis came to alert them breakfast was ready.
"You are very quiet today," Drax told him between bites of his second plate. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," Peter lied, taking a bigger bite of his own food as if to prove it. "I just didn't sleep well."
"More dreams?" Nebula had deigned to grace them with her presence again. She had appeared after everyone else had sat down to grab her own plate and sit down in a chair that Peter was pretty sure Drax had intentionally saved her away from her sister, and while a part of Peter wanted sorely to say something, to tease her for her continued refusal to be a part of life, he was a little afraid she would actually leave if he did, and having all of them here and whole and alive was making him feel better. All but Rocket, that is.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Hey, did you happen to see Rocket last night?"
"I saw him from a distance, but we didn't speak. It seems he is still trying to find a way off of this planet."
"Ego's ship-?"
"-is rubble by now."
Peter didn't feel even the slightest tinge of annoyance or regret at learning of the destruction of his father's property.
Mantis was clearly excited for her lessons. She could hardly sit still through breakfast and was clearing away everyone's dishes almost before they had finished cleaning them off. Drax nearly upturned the table, lunging over it to snatch the last bite from his plate as she pulled it away after he had turned away to say something to Groot and she had thought he was done. She was so upset by her mistake it took Drax taking her hand and placing it across his chest to assure her that he was not angry.
When everything had calmed back down the group moved out into the court beside the cliff where they had first stepped from the horseshoe shuttle. The fountain was out of the way enough that it still left plenty of open space to practice in, and even provided a place to sit for Groot who happily perched on the edge, toying with the false metal fish as they drifted in their endless cycle.
"Do you have any weapons here?" Gamora asked as she finished inspecting their footing. "A sword, or staff, or anything like that?"
"Oh!" Mantis exclaimed. "I will be right back!"
She vanished into the main cathedral that loomed over the court, returning a few minutes later, face flushed and panting, but held the item she had retrieved up for Gamora to inspect with a proud smile. It was a long staff, almost the height of Mantis herself, a brilliant gold with sparkling emerald carvings that didn't quite resemble dragons, but made Peter think of them nonetheless.
"Often, when Ego and I would visit planets, the locals would offer Ego great gifts- things like clothing, or food, or decorative trinkets and weapons," Mantis explained. "Ego has no need of such things, so he either refuses, or disposes of the items later. When Ego and I visited the planet of Kleinert, he saw how much I loved this item, and allowed me to keep it."
She said this with such pride, like a little kid telling the story of how their parent had purchased them the exact pony they had wanted for Christmas. The sheer joy and gratitude sparkling in her eyes over something that had cost Ego nothing, and he probably didn't even remember doing, made Peter want to reach out and draw her in for a very long hug.
Gamora took the staff and balanced it carefully in her hands, testing its weight and giving it a few experimental swings before handing it back. "It is surprisingly well made for such an ornamental piece," she said, loud enough for the others to hear. "Kleinert is known for its metalwork, and prides its self on combining beauty with durability and function. My father had considered commissioning me a piece from their smiths, once."
From behind Peter, Nebula let out a short huff of air through her nose.
"This will do," Gamora finished and Mantis positively beamed under the assassin's cool approval.
"First, lets show you the basic stretches and stances."
Peter got comfortable on the steps and let his anxieties melt away as he watched Gamora guide Mantis through the familiar routines she had shown to him once. He was wincing in sympathy as Mantis struggled to find her balance in a stance that he had almost pulled a hamstring learning when he heard the scuffling of his father's shoes approaching from behind him.
"Are you ready to go?" Ego asked in that tone that clearly said 'I'm not really asking.'
"Yeah." Peter stood and stretched, dusting imaginary dirt off of his pants before turning to follow his father down the familiar pathway to their own practice grounds. "Aren't you going to ask what Mantis is doing?" Peter asked as the walked.
"No," he answered with disinterest. "She's yours now, you may do with her as you wish."
Peter's nose wrinkled and his brows drew together into an ugly glare at his father. "She's not a thing." Peter just couldn't understand how Mantis could feel anything but hate for the monster walking beside him.
Ego didn't answer him, and they continued on in silence.
Again Peter was led to the center of the courtyard. "We're going to begin expanding on your usefulness today," Ego informed him. He snapped his fingers and a bubble of light rose from the ground between them, bursting outward and forming into a wide basin, about a body length across and nearly coming up to his hip. After that, he reached one hand out to hold it over the basin, in his hand swirled a smaller ball of Light. Slowly he tipped his hand over, and water began to spill from the orb, splashing into the basin below. Peter watched the orb carefully, but no matter how much water poured through, the amount of Light never changed. After a couple of inches had gathered in the bottom of the bowl Ego closed his hand and the light vanished, the last drips of water fell into the pool below where the ripples slowly settled into a pristine and unblemished surface.
"How did you-?" Peter began to ask, but Ego cut him off.
"You can take a break when you have filled the bowl to the top," he said, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping back to stare at Peter expectantly.
"But how do I make water?" Peter finished his original question, feeling the familiar spark of irritation at the lack of direction stirring to life.
"The same way you made rock. I suggest you get started, or you'll be here all night."
Peter's lips pulled into a deep frown. He was running out of patience for these cryptic games. With an angry flick of his wrists, Peter held his own hands out over the bowl and began to gather Light. It came easier than ever, and he had a respectably heavy ball of light knitted together within the minute. He tried to focus on the thought of water, the feel of it, and the light seemed to change in his hands.
Instead of growing heavier or denser, like it had when he was forming crystal, it changed in its behavior. Before, it had felt like it was made of strings of lightning, moving in darting, unpredictable ways. Now it was beginning to grow more sluggish and uniform, swirling in a slower fashion and trying to leak out the bottom. Peter tried to hold it together as long as he could, but before the light had cooled from the orb in his hands he lost control and it slipped from his hold. Rather than the explosions of yesterday morning, it burst like an overfilled water-balloon. Chunks of still dimly-glowing liquid plopped into the bowl where they sizzled and bubbled into the existing water.
"You should tip it earlier," Ego told him, ever-so-helpful only after the fact. "And you cannot hold the water between your hands after it is formed, try to change only one section at a time."
Peter tried again, deciding to stick with smaller balls of light for the time being to avoid more big messy bursts of liquid light.
Trying to control the Light in sections was a much bigger challenge than Peter had anticipated. Edges would slough off when they became too heavy, unbalancing the energy still in his control, or the section he was working on would be reabsorbed by the Light if he lost focus for even a moment. Eventually, he tried Ego's trick of tipping his hands and letting the formed bits trickle out, aided by gravity. This way he could put most of mind to the task of making sure the water formed from the center and guiding it out through the same hole. This trick made the process less messy, but it was agonizingly slow. Each ball of Light only produced so much water before it had all been transformed and drained away and Peter had to start back over at the beginning.
The water level in the narrower base bowl had only raised a palm's worth by the time Peter had to pause and catch his breath, leaning with one hand against the smooth lip of the basin.
"How am I supposed to fill this?" Peter panted, his head hanging low as he stared at his reflection in the shallow puddle of water. "This is going to take forever."
"Keep digging," Ego's voice answered.
"I am digging," Peter snapped, turning his glare up to the celestial across from him. "This is me digging."
Ego raised a brow at him. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, if you are feeling comfortable enough with controlling the Light in parts, why don't you try refilling the Light you posses as you drain it away."
Peter huffed out a mouthful of air and straightened himself back up to try again. As he stared into the Light, obediently swirled into existence between his hands, Ego's impatient voice again broke into the silence.
"You're not digging deep enough."
The tiny orb in Peter's hands wavered, but he held it together.
"You're wasting your time with this, keep digging."
The bundle of light he had gathered flickered out with a tiny 'pop' as Peter looked up to shoot Ego a deeply annoyed look.
"What are you doing?" Ego asked. "Focus."
"Gladly," Peter grumbled, not amused by this new game.
Things fell back into silence after that. Hours of practice had left Peter fairly exhausted, and he was beginning to run out of steam. The Light was growing just a bit more difficult to summon every time. He was considering whether he should drag out just a little more before he began trying to summon and modify the Light at the same time, or if he should just give it a go with the Light he already had, when Ego's voice cut into his concentration again.
"You're taking the long way," his voice rumbled with frustration.
Peter huffed his annoyance but didn't want to spare the energy to look up or answer, so he dug deeper and pulled another thread of light into existence.
"You have to keep digging if you ever want to save your friends."
"That's it!" Peter screamed, throwing the ball of light down in a fit of rage where it burst violently against the water's surface below and sent up a spray of water and mist.
Ego's eyebrows shot up at Peter's outburst. "Peter-"
"I'm here aren't I?" Peter shouted over him. "I'm learning to use this stupid Light and doing everything you've asked, so why are you doing this? What is the point of this endless needling?!"
Ego drew himself up to his full height and had the audacity to look shocked and offended. "I don't know what you're-"
"Don't lie to me!" Peter stepped around the basin and pointed one finger accusingly at the celestial before him. "Those dreams were bad enough, but now you're threatening my friends!"
Ego's lip peeled back into an ugly sneer, but his voice remained calm under Peter's storm of accusations. "I have not threatened your companions. I have no need to."
"Yes you did. Just now!"
"No, Peter," Ego's eyes narrowed. "I didn't"
"I heard you!"
"I haven't said anything in quite some time."
"But you-" Peter's burst of rage was cooling under Ego's calm denial, and a strange spark in his father's eyes.
"What did you hear, exactly?"
"Keep digging," Peter repeated, watching Ego's face carefully. "Keep digging or... or I'll never save my friends."
"And you heard this in my voice?" The dark shadow of suspicion in Ego's eyes was replaced with a spark of understanding and something angrier that was making Peter's skin itch. "Just now? You're sure?"
"Yes?" Peter asked, suddenly not so sure of anything.
Ego ran his tongue over his teeth and made a face like he was tasting something sour.
"What is it?" Peter asked. "What's going on?"
"Celestials aren't the only thing that walk on other planes," Ego muttered darkly. He raised his hand up and placed his thumb against Peter's forehead much like he had the first time they had met.
The immediate result was less spectacular this time, perhaps because Peter knew what to expect, or perhaps because Peter already had some access to the Light so this was less overwhelming, he really didn't know. A strange tingle rushed through his body, and the late-morning forest around him transformed into a landscape of stars over the seafoam court. As Peter stared at the stars in amazement, he recognized the colorful galaxies of his nightmares.
"Finally," Ego's voice rang out from behind Peter, entirely disconnected from the body of his father which still stood in front of him, his mouth unmoving. Peter turned around to find a second Ego standing across the court. His eyes were bright with triumph and lips split into a toothy grin that revealed the stolen visage of Yondu's pointed teeth. "Found you."
"What the f-?"
A hand came down on Peter's shoulder and he risked a glance to find the Ego he'd come with had stepped up to stand beside him. His eyes were narrowed dangerously at his twin.
"Eternity," the Ego by his side, which Peter was pretty sure was the real one, growled over Peter's shoulder. "What is your business with my son?"
End
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Chapter 12 Preview: "...Oh, Ego," Eternity turned his head, Gamora's head, to regard Ego with a look of pity. "My loneliest child." Gamora's form rippled. "There are so very few things in this life you ever learned to love."
The hand on Peter's shoulder tightened into a crushing grip, but Peter barely felt it over the fresh wave of revolution as Eternity's shifting form resolved this time into cascading blond curls and bright blue eyes. "M-mo-..."
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The end of this chapter was actually written as the end of the last one, but I decided to flip around the small 'Elemental & Celestials' explanation with this much larger reveal and the followup explanation about the deeper origins of celestials, why Ego came so late and alone, and a few other things because I thought this order might make it easier to understand.
I know at least one of you knew this was coming (because I told you, lol. You know who you are! ;) ) In retrospect, I kind of feel like I should have made it more clear from earlier on that the dreams were coming from a different source, or maybe even just had Eternity show up and reveal himself sooner. I feel like I fell into the classic pitfall of new writers where they try to withhold some important plot detail for a big reveal and just kinda end up frustrating the reader. Hopefully this worked out okay or at least you'll forgive me. I was, technically, dropping hints all along, but they were intentionally difficult and the kind that were supposed to be more obvious in retrospect.
Kind of like the final conversation Peter has with ego. All the lines that involved 'digging' were Eternity reaching out to Peter, so I was careful to make sure he wasn't looking at Ego when they spoke. In the first version (last chapter) Ego's voice was coming from behind Peter, and he only looked up at the end to see Ego was in front of him. I liked the flow of this better, though I feel like it cost me some clarity. It should read one way on the first pass, and another if you go back and re-read it after.
Eternity, for anyone who doesn't know, is a character from the original 'Infinity Wars' comics. He's not going to be playing the exact same role here, I'll be changing him and a few other cosmic entities around a bit, but hopefully this will make the story lines join up much smoother, and give me a way to keep Thanos relatable to both the movie and the comic version (which is very different).
I made a stupid mistake on the Tenebris book. I literally started writing it out of order. lol. When I started writing, I forgot that I had to rearrange a couple things due to the wonky cinematic timeline, and the entire first chapter I wrote takes place a year into the story, roughly even with what's happening in Luciferous right now. The good news is I still have two real chapters done, and might just turn part of what I accidentally wrote into the epilogue and be done with it.
Thank you everyone for continuing to read this story! And for the comments and support! It means a lot.
(Sorry I talk so much in the end notes.)
~OMaM
