A/N: Hey! This story is a continuation of my other story "Nepzaki: Before the Branch". Pleaseeee go read chapters 1 - 3 for the first 3 parts of the prologue before you start reading this and/or the brother story. If you have already done so then do carry on!
CHOOSE YOUR FATE
Superdimension Nepzaki Re;Start 1T: Return of an APL (Side T)
"Have I… been here before…?"
Superdimension Nepzaki Re;Start 1S: Return of an APL [Side S]
"What is this place…?"
…
…
Side S follows Sylvia Tamazaki on her journey through Gamindustri and beyond.
Please note that choosing Silver will lock you out of Trenton Tamazaki, his storyline, and various characters exclusive to his side for an indefinite period of time.
Knowing this, would you like to continue?
Yes
No
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Yes
No
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…
Previous save data from the "Hyperdimension Nepzaki" series has been found. Would you like to import it? (Bonuses in Side S greatly differ from those in Side T).
Yes
No
…
Yes
No
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Import successful.
… So you have chosen to follow Sylvia Tamazaki…
… I wonder why that is? Perhaps it's because you found her character interesting…
…Or…
[... Maybe you've met her once before…?]
…
… Either way, there are no right or wrong choices. The story will continue regardless…
… I hope you're prepared for what's about to come…
… Until we meet again, dear observer…
…
…
It was a chilly day in November. It shouldn't come as a surprise why I remember that day, but… the finer details suddenly came back to me. I was in my last year of middle school and since it was our birthday I had just turned 14 and Trenton had just turned 12. Alex was… 5? Yeah, 5 sounds right.
Like I said though, it was our birthday — our refers to Trenton and I. Our grandparents didn't know when our actual birthdays were so they had us pick a random date and whatever we chose would be our birthday. Trenton and I ended up choosing the same date by sheer coincidence and we ended up sticking with it since neither of us cared too much… I know for a fact Grandpa cared, and he wasn't too happy with the idea of buying twice the amount of presents.
Despite our birthday being on a national holiday, I remember still having to go to baseball practice that day since we had a game coming up. For 5 hours coach put us through more hell than a newly turned 14 year old should ever go through. By the time practice had finished, I was basically a zombie and wanted nothing more than to go home and hibernate for the rest of eternity.
"Um… Happy birthday."
"Huh?"
Not even 5 seconds after I walked through the door did I see Trenton waiting for me with a baseball bat-shaped gift in his arms… Heh, his face was so red. The poor kid couldn't even look me in the eyes because of how embarrassed he was.
"This is your gift… Here." He handed me my gift while he was still looking away.
I didn't waste any time taking and opening his gift. It was fairly obvious from the get-go what it was, but that didn't stop me from being curious. I tore open the wrapping paper and held a shiny new bat in my hands.
"W-Whaaat…?" I was so bewildered. It didn't feel like what I was holding felt real.
"Well, enjoy your gift…!" Trenton would blurt out before attempting to speedwalk away. Unfortunately for him, I was faster and nabbed him by his collar before he was able to escape my reach, "Guh!"
"Now hold on a second!" I pulled him back towards me, "What's this all about?"
"Ngh…" I know for a fact he was grumbling about something but I can't remember what it was, "I just wanted to get you a new bat so you don't have to use some dinky spare during your games anymore-ack!"
I knew almost immediately that he was lying and pulled him by his ear. While it was true that I was using a "dinky spare" at the time, it didn't matter since my next game would be my last as both the season was ending and I was planning on dropping baseball completely.
"Okay you gave me the made-up reason, so how about giving me the real one next?"
I think at this point I was in my rebellious phase so I was a bit harsh and kinda aggressive towards a lot of people. I went a little easy on some people like Trenton, who was definitely in that awkward phase of puberty, but honestly, no one was spared during that time.
"Okay okay!" Trenton squirmed, "IboughtyouanewbatusingmysavedupallowanceandbirthdaymoneybecauseIknewyouwerereallyupsetwhen'Batrick'brokeandI'dknewyou'dbeevenmoreupsetwhenyoufoundoutallGrandpagotyouforyourbirthdayweresomedumbtextbooks!"
Trenton was taking a few deep breaths after saying all of that in one breath but I was completely dumbfounded! I wish I could've seen the look on my face cause I know my jaw was hanging wide open.
"Trenton…"
"I know you're done with baseball after this but… you…" His face was as red as a tomato, "...You'd always come to my rescue with a bat in hand so… I thought I'd get you another one just in case…"
He rarely ever puts in the effort, but when he wants to, Trenton can be the sweetest person in the world. He can be so sweet that it's enough to make someone cry-
"...*sniff* *sniff*"
"H-Hey, are you crying?! My gift wasn't that bad was it…?"
-like I did. I think I was feeling super vulnerable since I was drained from practice, but I was really lucky that Trenton had taken advantage of it to make me happy. I couldn't tell him that though since I was about to start bawling uncontrollably.
"Please don't cry! I'll, uh, return it if you hate it that much!" He was really doing his best to calm me down, "Don't cry sis-OW!"
"STOP MAKING SISSY SAD!" Alex heard me crying and thought Trenton was doing it to be mean so he started throwing his toys at him.
That was probably the best birthday gift I'd ever received. Not only did I get a new bat but.. I was reminded that you two, no matter how old you got, wanted your big sister to be there to protect you when you were in danger.
You wanted me to be there to save you…
…
…
… So why couldn't I do either of those things when you needed me the most?
Everything is a blur.
Everything sounds so muffled.
My head was pounding but I didn't know why.
There were voices… So… So many voices. Some were whispering, and others were yelling. There was only one voice—one person—that was screaming.
Whose voice was it? I couldn't make it out clearly because everything around me was so muffled. Their voice sounded familiar though, but I couldn't quite remember.
The noise around me gradually became less muffled and I was able to hear the sounds around me much more clearly than I could before. People were yelling for help, others were frantically shouting into their phones, and some were talking to me, I think.
That person who was screaming was still there though. Their voice had only gotten louder as my hearing gradually returned to me. That was also around the point when I recognized who it was that was screaming.
It… It was me.
Right, it was coming back to me.
Prologue
Trenton
The truck it… It was about to hit Alex. No matter what I did I couldn't move my body—I was frozen. My baby brother was about to die.
That was when I saw Trenton move. I mean… I think I saw him move. I blinked and Trenton was there in the middle of the crosswalk. I saw him hug Alex and turn his back to the truck.
…I had blinked again when the impact happened.
When I opened my eyes, all I saw were my brothers, still clinging onto one another, rolling across the pavement before stopping and just… lying there.
…Lying there?
Why were they lying in the middle of the street? That's… That's dangerous.
My body must've been acting on its own. I vaguely remember patting Cameron on the head before walking off the sidewalk and into the street towards my brothers. I don't know when I was able to move again, but I could question it after I got them out of the street.
I slowly walked up to the two of them and got down on my knees.
"Aww, my boys are finally getting along. You two fight so much I never thought I'd get to see the day," I'd say, "Still though, you shouldn't be hugging each other in the middle of the street—there are cars you know!"
Nothing.
"Silver…?"
"… Oh I get it! This is a prank, right? I've been really hard on you both lately so you wanted to get back at me for nagging at you all the time," I chuckled and turned to Celia who was standing beside me, "They're funny like that, wouldn't you agree, Ce-Ce?"
"S-Silver…-"
"But you got me good! Now that the joke's over, you can get up now~!"
I pulled them into my arms and immediately noticed how limp their bodies were. Trenton still had his arms wrapped around Alex but I doubt it would take much to pry them off of each other.
"Sil-"
"So whose idea was it? I bet you're the one who came up with this silly prank, weren't you, Le-Le?" I looked at his face, "You've always been so smart and cunning. That mouth of yours gets you in more trouble than it's worth but that's what makes you special, isn't it? I could totally see this elaborate prank being your idea."
"And Ton-Ton! I never took you for the 'prankster' type! I bet this was payback for saying all those horrible things to you earlier, huh?" I turned to him, "I suspected you of something you clearly didn't do after all. You had every right to be upset with me, but I went ahead and wished you would've died instead of Grandma and Grandpa! You know I didn't mean that, right?"
"S-"
"C-Come on you two, this isn't funny anymore. People are starting to stare…!" What… was I doing? "I'll apologize to you as much as you want! I'll get on my knees! I'll wear a dumb outfit! I'll do anything you want!"
"So just get up already…"
"Get up…"
"Get up…!"
"GET UP!"
"GET UP-"
"SILVER!"
Celia caught me off guard and interrupted my screaming fit. Before I could say or do anything else I felt her wrap her arms around my body and hug me as hard as she could. "Please stop…" Were the only words of hers I could make out in between her sobs.
I couldn't do much else but sit there with my brothers in my arms and Celia wrapped around me. Everything was blurry for a while but before I knew it, those colorful flashing lights in the distance got closer and closer.
… Disabling Perspectives…
"Because of his brother's intervention, Alex is fortunately still alive. However, he's in critical condition," The doctor said, "Our staff is doing everything we can to save him but… if I'm being honest, it's not looking too good."
"…And Trenton?" Mr. Fitzgerald asked.
"His sister mentioned that he had gotten severely injured in an altercation at school. It was a miracle that he was even able to walk afterward but…" The doctor paused, "I believe on top of his already serious injuries, the impact of the truck was too much for his body to handle. By the time the ambulance got to him, he…"
"… I see," Mr. Fitzgerald's voice grew soft, "Thank you. Please do all you can for Alex."
The doctor nodded before leaving the man. Mr. Fitzgerald, being a police officer, was one of the first to arrive to the scene of the accident when calls started pouring in. The man had seen quite a lot during his time on the force: A tipped-over truck driven by a driver who was incapacitated, people scattering about trying to help those in need, and various pieces of public property destroyed.
All of that was something he was accustomed to more or less. What he wasn't prepared to see when he stepped out of his cruiser was his son, who was in hysterics over two bodies he instantly recognized as Cameron's best friend Alex, and his older brother Trenton. When he saw Sylvia, who just had this blank look on her face, and Celia, who was as much of a mess as Cameron was, he realized how dire the situation was.
As Mr. Fitzgerald was beginning to walk back to the waiting room, he heard footsteps quickly coming up behind him. The man turned and was met face-to-face with his nephew, Kashi, and a young woman with unnaturally white hair.
"We… came here… as soon as Celia texted us…" Kashi panted, trying to regain his breath.
"Denikè wishes we… were able to come sooner…" The young woman, seemingly referring to herself in the third person, panted. "What… happened…?"
"… A truck driver from out of town had a stroke while he was at the wheel." Mr. Fitzgerald explained, "Despite being incapacitated, his truck kept going and destroyed everything in its path for over half a mile before it stopped in front of Monty Park,"
"Monty Park…?" Kashi echoed before he came to a horrific realization, "Oh…Oh God. Cameron and Alex were at the park! Uncle Evan, please tell me they're okay, please!"
"…" Evan took a deep breath before continuing, "Cameron is physically fine, but… Alex was one of the casualties. The doctor told me he's in critical condition and that his chances weren't looking too good. Cameron's barely holding it together…"
"N-No…" The blood drained from Kashi's face
"O-Oh gosh…" Denikè was about to cover her mouth before she had her own moment of realization, "If Cameron and Celia are that big of a mess, Denikè can't even imagine how Sylvia and Trenton are right now…"
Hearing those words caused Evan to involuntarily wince and inhale through his teeth. He realized that Kashi and Denikè had caught wind of that judging by how they looked even more worried than before. Evan removed his hat and looked at each of them individually before speaking.
"… I'm sorry but… Trenton is dead."
It felt like the world had fallen silent as the words left the man's mouth. The two stared at Evan in silence as his words processed in their heads.
"What…?" Kashi's voice grew weak.
"Alex is in critical condition but he'd be dead had Trenton not shielded him and taken the brunt of the impact." Evan couldn't make eye contact with his nephew, "It's possible he could've survived, but the doctors say that on top of how bad he got roughed up at school his body just … couldn't take it anymore."
"Uncle this isn't the time for one of your jokes," Kashi grit his teeth before noticing his uncle wasn't making eye contact with him. The young man approached him and grabbed him by his collar, "I'm serious, Uncle! Trenton is fine right? H-He…He just got a little banged up, right? R-Right?"
"... I'm sorry, Kashi."
I'm sorry.
Those words hit him like a slap across the face. Kashi knew his Uncle who'd tell a lot of jokes, especially those of the dark humor variety. He thought that this was just one of his many poorly time jokes and that he'd find Trenton in an arm cast acting like nothing was wrong.
But no.
That's not what happened.
When he realized that this wasn't just another one of his jokes and that his best friend was gone he fell to his knees and broke down crying. He continued clinging onto the man's clothing despite being unable to stand and let the tears fall freely down his face.
"Denike,"
The young woman, still trying to process what was said to her, jolted slightly as if she was startled and looked at Evan. The man placed his hand in his crying nephew's hair and gently caressed it while taking notice of Denikè's startled expression. "The way to the ICU is back the way you came, only you take a left instead of a right," Evan spoke softly, "I'll take him back to the waiting room where Celia and Cameron are."
"Mister…?"
"... She started acting strangely after talking with the doctors. She was pretending everything was fine when she sure as hell knows it's not. It might be her maternal instincts trying to convince her or her mental health taking a plunge, I'm not sure at this point. Eventually, she said she was going to take a walk and hasn't been back since." Evan told her, "I'm hoping she's there, otherwise we're going to have more problems on our hands. Go take a look and if you see, lend her a shoulder. I think she'd drop the facade if she saw you."
Denikè stared at the officer for a moment longer before quickly shaking her head. The officer gave her a subtle head shake in return before getting on his knees and helping the sobbing Kashi up and to the waiting room.
Denikè had been to the hospital more times than she could remember in her life. She often came here since she was prone to getting into accidents growing up thanks to her family's… peculiar nature. Anyway, that was when she was younger and more reckless.
However, it was at a hospital like this one where she met Sylvia for the first time. Denikè had broken her elbow on a fishing trip fighting a stray cat who took her generosity for granted and landed in the ER. It was fairly late and Denikè's parents needed to leave on a business trip, so she stayed at the hospital for a few days until her Uncle from out of town came for her.
While she was staying at the hospital, she shared a room with a bored girl who had her leg in a cast and was mindlessly scrolling through channels on the tiny television. Denikè had spoken to the girl and learned her name was Sylvia and that she had somehow managed to fracture her leg while she was inside a bounce house at some party. Trying her best to cheer her up, Denikè told her the reason why she was there, which caused Sylvia to break out into a laughing fit that lasted a lot longer than anticipated.
That was the start of their friendship.
Denikè walked past all the doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other staff members who were doing their jobs and tried her best not to disturb them. When she grew some distance from the noise and turned the corner, she suddenly stopped. Someone was sitting at the end of the hall outside of a patient's room. Denikè took a few steps toward the person, but they didn't look her way. Denikè got closer and closer until she was standing right beside them.
Denikè looked at the person and noticed they had this vacant look on their face as they stared ahead blankly. The young woman took her attention off the person and glanced at the names that were on the door:
Trenton Tamazaki
Alexis Tamazaki
She'd look into the room to find only one bed in there. Denikè could only assume that Alex was still being operated on somewhere else in the hospital, which meant that the bed belonged to Trenton. She wasn't quite sure if he was actually in there or not though since she could only see the bottom half of the bed from where she was standing.
Denikè met Trenton not long after she met Sylvia but couldn't really call him a friend until they were in their teens. Very few of his sister's friends liked him and some ended their friendship with Sylvia because they knew how much trouble Trenton was, or he got into a fight with their siblings. Trenton knew Denikè was his sister's best friend so he chose not to get involved with her until her persistence won him over years later.
She certainly wasn't as close with him as Kashi, but he's put up with her antics quite a few times and never once thought of her as weird (well maybe he did, but he certainly never said it out loud). The point is he was special to Denikè too, which is why she found it odd that she didn't have a similar reaction to Kashi when news of his passing hit her. Maybe it just hadn't sunken in yet.
Denikè turned back to the person who continued staring blankly at the wall in front of them. She took a deep breath before speaking, "Sylvia?"
"Huh?" Sylvia snapped out of her trance and looked up at Denikè, "Oh! Den-Den! I didn't think I'd see you here! I thought you were out on a trip with your family?"
"N-No, no. Denikè came back early this morning, but she was also sleepy and had to unpack, so she took an extra day off," Denikè rubbed her arm, "But Sylvia-"
"Ahh, I get it no worries, no worries. It was pretty crazy today, you know. They had the winter pep rally over at Monty High so work was pretty packed leading up to it," Sylvia chuckled, "Pete was really struggling at first since you weren't there, but I gave him a little talk and that seemed to have ignited a fire in him!"
"T-That's um…-"
"Oh, but never mind that, what're you even doing here?" Sylvia gave Denikè a once over, "Unless it's for that big forehead of yours, you don't look like you need a check-up, haha!"
"A-Ah, um…" Denikè slowly turned back to the names on the door. "C-Celia told Kashi while he was with Denikè, so she came along."
"I didn't know that you knew Celia! It's a pretty small world, huh?" Sylvia's smile brought a sense of uneasiness to Denikè, "She's like this little sister I ended up adopting back when I was doing sports in high school. Felt nice to have another girl to hang with— not that there's anything wrong with you of course! You're always going to be my number 1-"
"Sylvia, stop it."
Denikè vaguely understood what Mr. Fitzgerald was talking about earlier when he mentioned that Sylvia was acting like everything was fine, but she immediately understood after seeing it for herself. As a matter of fact, this wasn't the first time she had seen it. Denikè had seen this side of Sylvia many times while they were growing up, and given the current situation, there was no doubt something awful would happen if she let this continue.
"Stop… what?" Sylvia tilted her head and followed Denikè's gaze. Eventually, she landed on the names, "Oh, that! Yeah, the boys just got into a little accident. Stuff like this happens all the time, they'll be fine~"
"F-Fine…?" Denikè turned to Sylvia, "Sylvia, Denikè knows she's not the brightest knife in the bathtub, but even she knows that-"
Denikè stopped herself when she noticed something. Sylvia was staring directly at her with that same head tilt and jolly expression… but she was shaking, oh so very subtly. It was a bit hard to notice at first, but then she'd noticed her bottom lip would tremble slightly every so often and that her eyes glistened more than normal—like she was on the verge of tears.
Was she like this the entire time, or did this start only when they began talking?
"... Hey, Sylvia. Can Denikè tell you a story?"
"Ooh, sure! You tell the BEST stories!" Sylvia would pat the seat right next to her, gesturing for her friend to sit down. Denikè would get down, yes, but on the floor and take Sylvia's hands into hers. "H-Huh?"
"Okay… One day, while Denikè was at home thinking if she wanted to try cooking goat testicles again, she heard a knock at the door. Curious, Denikè went to answer it, and who did she see at the front door but Trenton! Denikè looked around, thinking she'd see her bestie close by, but was shocked to find out that it was just him!" Denikè said, "It was cold outside, so Denikè invited Trenton in. When Trenton got settled, he asked Denikè if she could teach him how to cook,"
"..."
"Denikè was shocked once again! She never thought anyone in her life would seek mentorship from her, much less the cold and stoic one of the Tamazakis! Denikè thought she was dreaming but was quickly reassured that this was reality when the thought of taxes and bean paste came to mind," Denikè continued, "Anywho, Trenton wanted Denikè to teach him how to cook! Since this was out of the blue, Denikè had to know what spurred this on so she asked. That's when Trenton let Denikè in on a big secret! You wanna know what it was?"
"..."
"I've decided I'm not going to college when I graduate. Sis gave up on her dreams of going to law school and becoming a defense attorney to care for Alex and me, so I wanted to give her a chance at that again while I stayed home and cared for Alex. It's been hard but I've already got my driver's permit and I'm working on getting my license with your Uncle's help. Mr. Fitzgerald said that he'd teach me how to do taxes when I finally got a job too, so I've been trying to do something about that for a while."
"Wow, Trenton! That's very mature of you! Though are you sure this is a good idea? Denikè has spoken to Sylvia about it before and she doesn't really seem too interested in that dream anymore,"
"Everyone's got a dream. Even if law school isn't in the cards for her anymore, I know there's something she wants to do but can't because of us."
"..."
"Sylvia gave up everything for me… for us. It hurts like hell seeing her stressed out when she's giving it her all, so I wanna do what I can for her."
"..."
"I'll do anything for her… that's how much I love her."
"... Denikè…?"
"Yes, Sylvia?"
Denikè noticed that Sylvia's shaking had become much more apparent and that she was visibly tearing up.
"H-...H-Hug, p-p-please…"
Denikè got up off the ground and pulled Sylvia up, whose hands she was still holding. Denikè carefully let go of her hands and pulled her into a tight embrace. Sylvia buried her face into her friend's shoulder and… wept. Denikè rubbed her back lightly, prompting Sylvia to cry even harder. Having her friend cry into her like this was all it took for "it" to finally click in her head and make Denikè begin to tear up as well.
Trenton was gone.
… Enabling Perspectives…
Despite how badly I wanted to stay, visiting hours were up. I guess it didn't even matter much since I wasn't able to see either of my brothers for longer than 10 minutes due to all the tests and procedures they needed to do. We had no choice but to leave for the night and come back tomorrow, where we would figure out how to handle Trenton's body… and only Trenton's body.
I'm barely holding myself together over losing Trenton. If I lost Alex too I…I don't know if I'd be able to do it anymore…
…
Kashi and Celia wanted to stay as much as me, but if I wasn't allowed to stay, they couldn't let either of them stay. Uncle Evan reassured them by telling them we'd come back tomorrow, which seemed to be enough to convince them that it was time to go.
"… Can I talk to you about something, Silver?"
I had just finished seeing off Kashi, Cameron, and Uncle Evan with Celia. The two of us were sitting on a bench off to the side of the parking lot when Celia started talking to me. Her parents had yet to arrive so I was just waiting with her until then.
"It's something I was going to tell you and… Trenton… earlier, but I never got the chance," I could see the pain in her face as she said his name, "I… promised both of you that I would tell you…"
I do vaguely remember her mentioning something along those lines when we spoke at Monty High. I think I was pressing her about her issues before everything with Trenton came up.
"… Cel, do you mind if this waits until-"
"I CAN'T!"
Her sudden shift in tone and volume startled me. I don't think I'd ever heard Celia raise her voice like that before… or at all, actually. I could only look at her in stunned silence as she shuffled in her seat, seemingly trying to regain her composure.
"I… I'm sorry but… but it can't wait… I can't miss this chance… not again…" Celia clenched her hands in her lap, "I know you're really hurting right now and you don't want more issues on your plate but… if I don't tell you now, I won't ever be able to tell you again…"
She won't be able to ever tell me…? "Celia, what's this about…?"
Celia kept on shuffling in her seat, trying to find the words I guess. Even though she was silent, I could see how distraught she was just by taking one look at her face… so I just went and placed my hand on top of hers. She looked really surprised at first, but she looked at me afterward and that seemed to have calmed her down.
"Silver, I um…" Celia started, "I'm… going somewhere tonight and… I don't think I'll ever be able to come back…"
…
…
… Huh?
"I don't know how to word it b-but… I'm going to be going somewhere very far away, and I won't be able to see you, or Alex, or Trenton, or… or anyone ever again." Her calm composure was breaking bit by bit, "I… I tried for so long to delay it, you know? There were times when I was supposed to leave a lot earlier, but I couldn't… I didn't…I didn't want to…"
"Celia…? You aren't… you aren't thinking of doing something drastic, are you?"
"N-No! No, it's nothing like that! I-I mean… maybe if you thought of it that way then it'd be easier to digest but… gah, no! That'd be horrible, especially after what just happened!" She was starting to shake and stutter more, "I just… I didn't want to leave you after spending so much time with you. I-It might've been a couple of years for you, but it really feels like I've known you my entire life."
…
"B-Being with you guys… has been the happiest period of my life. That once unattainable dream of living the life of a regular teenage girl ended up becoming my reality after all… even i-if it was short-lived." Celia sniffled, "I'm so so SO sorry that I had to drop this on you now of all times. I felt like I owed you that much, even if it doesn't end up mattering in the end…"
…
"... Alright," I let out a pretty loud exaggerated sigh and opened up my arms, "C'mere."
"H-Huh…?"
"You heard me," I made a motion with my hands, "I said 'C'mere'."
This girl was looking at me like she didn't understand a word of what I saying when I knew she did. I let out another exaggerated sigh, this one much louder than the last, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "It's fine, we do delivery too~"
"S-Silver…?"
"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't hurt or bothered by any of this. We just lost Trenton, and I don't even know if Alex is still going to be with us in the next several hours… So losing someone else I've loved just as much as either of them really… really… really fucking hurts, you know…"
"..."
"... But that's okay. Even though it hurts, it's okay. You wanna know why?"
"...Why?" She asked.
"It's because, at the very least, you're telling me goodbye. You're looking me straight in the eyes and telling me 'Hey! I'm going somewhere far away, and I don't know if we'll ever see each other again!'... You're giving me time to process and not just leaving abruptly and letting my emotions take the wheel."
"..."
"I… don't want you to go, but from the sounds of it, that's not something you or I have control of, huh?" She shook her head, "Yeah, I thought so… I really don't want to say goodbye so… let's just say 'See you later'"
"See you… later?"
I nodded, "Yeah. It kinda illicits this feeling of hope, you know? That no matter how many days, weeks, months, or years that it takes… We'll see each other again."
"That sounds silly…" Despite her words, I could hear a small giggle coming from her.
"I didn't hear a no~"
"... Okay."
Celia separated from our hug and stood up, motioning for me to stand with her. When I did she ended up reinitiating our hug and squeezed me with everything she had. I did the same, wrapping my arm around her back and running my other hand through her smooth pink hair.
"Take care of yourself, Ce-Ce." I whispered, "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, I'll see you later too…Big Sis." She whispered back at an even lower volume, " I…huve few…"
"Hm-"
"Sylviaaa! Appa is here!"
Our hug was cut short when Denikè shouted at me from across the parking lot. I'd let go of Celia to turn and face Denikè to see her waving at me, with her… "Appa" in the car right behind her. Even though my ride was here I didn't want to leave Celia all by herself at this hospital, so I turned back to ask when her parents were going to get here-
"...Celia?"
Only to find that she wasn't even there anymore. I looked around thinking that I'd see her walking away but I didn't see her anywhere.
It was like she vanished into thin air.
"-stories of heroes and monsters… they're one of the reasons I want to be a huntress."
"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"
"Well, I'm hoping we all will! As a girl, I-"
I couldn't focus on the show we were watching. I couldn't focus on anything. I was too deep in my thoughts to pay attention.
After we left the hospital, we went by Denikè's place so she could get some of her belongings. She had said that she didn't feel comfortable leaving me alone so she was going to stay with me for as long as she could. I… didn't even argue with her. In truth, I was really scared of being alone tonight since that meant I'd be left with nothing but my thoughts…
A little later, Denikè's Appa dropped us at my place. It was a little after 12 when we arrived so it had just started getting late. During our car ride back, her Appa was talking to me and I think was he trying to cheer me up, but just like now I wasn't able to pay much attention to anything. I just sat there thinking about Celia:
"Where did she go?"
Kashi:
"I hope you were able to get through to him…What if he hates you?"
Cameron:
"He had to watch that horrific scene all because you couldn't do anything. Poor baby must be crying in his sleep."
Alex:
"Our precious little Le-Le wouldn't be dying in that hospital had you done something."
And…
"..."
And…
"..."
… Yeah, it's just been rough. It's been a couple of hours since we got back and I've been doing everything I can to keep myself distracted like watching TV but… nothing I do is working.
Nothing I do is going to stop the thoughts from getting worse.
Nothing I do is going to stop the pain from getting worse.
… Maybe swinging something around will help.
I placed the remote down on the coffee table and carefully pulled the blanket off of me. I say carefully because-
"Mmm… Nooooo…"
-Denikè. Denikè was snuggled up against me on the couch and, despite vowing to stay awake for as long as me, was fast asleep. I didn't mind since her being here was more than enough for me… plus, she's really cute when she sleeps, hehe~. Me moving must've rung an alarm in her head because she pushed herself up against me more, like she was trying to stop me from leaving.
"Den-"
"Nooooo…"
"Den-De-"
"Noooooooo…"
She was whining like a puppy who didn't want you to leave for work. She was, without a doubt, the only reason why those dark thoughts hadn't spiraled out of control yet. I placed my hand on her head and ran my fingers through her hair.
"Den-Den, I'm just going to the backyard for some fresh air, okay?" I attempted to reassure her but I'm not sure how much that'll do for a person who's fast asleep, "I'll come back as soon as I can, okay?"
There was silence between the two of us afterward with the only noise filling the room coming from the TV. I attempted to move again and was met with little to no resistance. I sighed a breath of relief and grabbed a pillow to rest Denikè's head on.
*FWOOSH*
…
*FWOOSH*
…
*FWOOSH*
Not long after I left Denikè did I find myself in our backyard swinging my bat in place. Seeing that it was the middle of November in the dead of night, it was naturally cold out. I wasn't planning on going out anywhere so the most I wore was a heavy jacket over my loungewear.
To be perfectly honest I didn't really like baseball all too much. At first I thought it was fun, but eventually I only played to keep Grandma happy. Apparently she used to play baseball when she was around the age I started and tore a tendon or something. Whatever it was that left her unable to play anymore so when I showed the faintest interest in the sport, she lit up with joy and signed me up straight away.
Maybe she just wanted to live vicariously through me or wanted to see her only granddaughter play her favorite sport, I don't know. Either way it made her, and by extension, it made Grandpa happy… Now that I think about it, I didn't get into as many fights as Trenton growing up, but I was still a problem. Yet our grandparents never scolded me as much as they did with him. Was it because they thought I was a prodigy and cut me some slack? I'll never know.
"We'll never know because they're dead. They'd still be around and kicking if you didn't suggest that trip."
… I continued swinging my bat in place and did my best to ignore the voice in my head. Having to deal with that pain in my ass every time something remotely inconvenient happens gets old fast, yet there's nothing I can do about it other than pretend it isn't there. So annoying…
"Didn't you call Trenton annoying too?"
I nearly stopped swinging my bat.
"You also called him unloved, and problematic. We knew how sensitive he was about his childhood, yet you used it against him in the worst way possible."
I tightened my grip on the handle.
"You even went ahead and blamed him for trapping you in this prison you call a town, knowing full well you're the one who did this to yourself."
I swung faster.
"... Trenton's dead. Our Trenton's dead. He died because you weren't there for him when he needed you the most. The big sister who would always be there to protect her siblings? Pfft, what a joke."
…
"Our brother is dead."
"You did it."
"You killed him-"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"
"I KNOW, OKAY?! I KNOW I'M THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM! YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP REMINDING ME!"
"EVERY TIME I CLOSE MY EYES, THAT SCENE KEEPS REPLAYING AGAIN AND AGAIN! I CAN'T UNSEE IT NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY!"
"IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME! I SHOULD'VE BEEN THE ONE IN THE STREET, NOT ALEX, NOT TRENTON, NOT ANYONE! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME! I SHOULD'VE DIED! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"
…
…
…
I hate this.
I hate being me.
I hate that I have to exist because whenever anything like this happens, I know my mental state just gets worse with no sign of recovery.
I looked down at my hands and took note of how shaky they were… as well as blurry. I rubbed the tears out of my eyes before scanning the backyard to find Mat Bat halfway across the yard lying in front of a tree. I guess I threw him when I had my little outburst… sorry buddy, you didn't deserve that.
I'm sure I woke the entire neighborhood with my little performance… I doubt Denikè woke up though. That girl wouldn't wake up even if you set her on fire, heh…
I walked over to the tree where my bat was and-
-got down on my knee to pick it up. I inspected the bat to make sure it wasn't damaged or anything, and once I confirmed that it was fine, I looked to the tree to see if it had-
…
…
… Where did the tree go?
Actually, while we're on the topic of missing thingies… where did everything go? The tree, the tire swingset, the fences, the other houses, MY HOUSE… they were all gone. Instead of any of that, I found myself standing in this room of pitch black… nothingness? I think? It was like I had fallen into the void, only without the tick damage and the falling feeling.
So… It's been established that I'm not mentally well, right? You know, bouts of extreme depression, self-deprecation, the voices, we know about all of that by this point, right? Yeah? Okay.
I don't know about you, but THIS ISN'T NORMAL! Not once in my life have I ever found myself standing in a pitch-black void of seemingly nothing—and I say seemingly because I don't know if there's some horrid eldritch abomination lurking out here or not!
… Can you hear me…?
Ohgodtheremightactuallybeaneldritchabominationlurkingabouthereafterall.
… Please don't be scared, I do not wish to cause you any harm, Sylvia…
Oh, great! The eldritch being knows my name and says they don't want to harm me! That's typically step 1 in the 3 step 'I'm going to kill you' plan!
… I'm not an eldritch abomination either if that will soothe your fears…
Yeaah, nice one buddy. I'm not falling for-... Wait, did I say that out loud? I didn't say that outloud. Is it listening to my thoughts? Hey, are you listening to my thoughts?
… Yes, I am. I apologize for the breach of privacy, but it's very important that I speak with you…
Mmm, yeah sorry sweetheart, but I'm going to have to ask you to get out of my head pronto. There's so much negativity up in here that it could literally kill a Victorian-era child should they even absorb a fraction of my thoughts.
… I'm afraid I don't understand what you're trying to say, but I will try my best to explain what I need to speak to you about as quickly as I can…
Fineee, make it quick.
… Sylvia, you are an important variable in this operation to stop a powerful adversary from taking over this world, your world, and the entire multiverse as a whole…
Woah, I was expecting a lot of things but that certainly wasn't one of them. Me? An important variable? What's that supposed to mean?
… It is exactly how I said it. You are an important and unique variable in this operation… Solely because you aren't supposed to exist… or at the very least, this current iteration of you isn't supposed to exist…
Ouch, that's a little harsh… I think. I do a lot of self-deprecation on my free time, so I'd appreciate it if you could tone it down on the stuff like that.
… Wait, I almost missed that "current iteration" part. What was that about?
… I apologize for what I'm about to say, but to put it bluntly… You were supposed to die today…
… What?
… I cannot say too much for fear of being found out, but today was supposed to be the day of your death. However because of a certain individual's actions, you are standing here instead of them…
I… I was supposed to die today? And that certain individual… Are you talking about…?
… Yes, Trenton Tamazaki. You were destined to die and he was destined to live, but it seems the tides of fate have shifted and your roles were reversed…
"... Hah hah, wow that's crazy. Even someone else is telling me I should've died instead of Trenton…" I involuntarily chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm well aware of that fact. Been regretting it for a few hours now~"
… No, Sylvia. This is a good thing, not something-
"Good…? How is this good? How is any of this good!?" I shouted, "You just told me that my little brother would still be alive if I just did my job properly! Hell, Alex probably wouldn't even be in the hospital right now if I didn't fuck up so bad! So tell me, how is me standing here right now supposed to be a good thing?! How?!"
…Please understand that I didn't mean to cause you distress with my statement…
… As I have previously stated, you're important and unique simply because you are alive when shouldn't be. This has opened an entirely brand new path that will lead to a different string of events and outcomes that have never been seen before. If your brother were to have lived, then the fate of the multiverse would have been doomed…
Why does it feel like you're speaking in riddles? Could you just tell me what you want already and let me go back home?
… The… system, as I'll call it, wasn't prepared for your existence. If we play our cards right, I believe we will be able to save the multiverse… and your brothers…
What?
…Sylvia, I understand you have been through much, but your cooperation is crucial if we wish to stand a fighting chance. Will you please help me…?
Hold on hold on! You're going WAY too fast for my liking! System? My existence? The multiverse!? … Oh, I get it now. I should've pieced it together the moment the eldritch abomination thing started listening to my thoughts: I've gone crazy!
… No Sylvia, you aren't insane. Everything that you are currently experiencing is real…
… Does the name "Gamindustri" trigger anything within you…?
Gamindustri? Like the Gaming Industry? I've played a lot of video games in my life if that's what you're asking.
… It isn't but your response told me everything that I needed. Gamindustri is a land that lies at the very forefront of this predicament. I would like for you to travel there and familiarize yourself with the land and its people. Eventually, an individual will contact you and attempt to guide you down a certain path. I do not know what forename they will use in this path, but they will most likely have the surname of Alistair. Listen to them and do what they say unless you are given a sign to do something differently.
… Are you sure that I haven't gone insane?
… Sylvia, do you love your brothers?
Excuse me?
… Do you love your brothers?
Well… Yeah, of course I do, but-
… Then please… trust me. There are too many lives at stake…
…
…
…
…
…
…
… So you wanted me to do what again? Go to this "Gamindustri" place and look around until this "Alistair" person contacts me and do what they say?
… Yes, do as they say unless you are given a sign to do differently…
What exactly is this sign supposed to be?
… You will know it is when the time comes…
… I'm sorry for forcing all of this on you. You've only just entered your grieving phase yet you've barely had any time to mourn…
I… know you said this is to save my "brothers", but Trenton is already gone. You acknowledged that much yourself…
…
But, Le-Le is still around, and you're saying that doing everything that you're saying will save him?
… Yes, that is correct…
Then that's enough for me. This could all just be a part of some mental breakdown I'm having, or I've just become delusional… But I'm going to trust you.
After I said that, this painfully bright light appeared and nearly burned my retinas. I shielded my eyes as the light grew brighter until I took a quick peek and noticed it wasn't blinding anymore. Floating in front of me was this cross-no, a d-pad. Like the ones you'd see on a game controller.
… Then without further ado, take this. The condensed energy within this crystal will grant you travel to Gamindustri, amongst other things…
… One other thing: Whatever you do, please do not mention my existence to anyone. There's always someone out there listening, so if anyone were to find out about me, then all would be for naught…
… Should I need to speak with you again, I will speak with you in a similar manner to how we are conversing now. Do you understand?
"Yep, loud and clear random disembodied voice I'm choosing to believe in." I reached for the strange energy thingy.
… One last thing…
Hah?
… Thank you, Sylvia…
… Thank you… for trusting me…
And with that, the final part of the prologue AND the first arc/chapter of Superdimension Nepzaki Re;Start1 [Side S] has come to an end! I really hope you enjoyed it!
But MAN writing all of that tragedy, drama, and angst was rough! When I was writing parts of these chapters, I did my best to channel the emotions I felt when I lost a loved one and was also grieving. I didn't get to go on an adventure to another world after, but it did make me reevaluate my life, haha.
Sorry if these last few chapters were a bit much for anyone! I had to do it for the sake of character development
Silver: "Giving me severe depression, putting my baby brother on life support, and killing my little brother was your idea of character development?"
Yep!
Silver: "Wow, you fucking suck."
I know! Don't worry though, you're free from the character development chamber… for now. Sleep with one eye open~
So in the event you're reading this as it's being uploaded, you've probably noticed that I've released one chapter a week. The reason for this is that I like to write all the chapters in an arc before posting so I can keep the overall flow of the arc consistent for myself at the very least. For example: if I got a really neat idea for chapter 2 while I was writing chapter 4, I could just go back and implement it since I hadn't posted it yet! I can't tell you how many times that's happened in this first arc haha.
With that being said, the next bunch of chapters might take more than a week to come out. At the time of this being posted, I'm probably busy preparing for finals (since I'm a suffering college student) and don't have much time to write. So you probably won't see anything for a week or 2. maaaaybe 3, but hopefully nothing more than that. I hope that isn't a problem!
Oh, also! Thank you to everyone who has been reading, and a BIG thank you to the few on my old stomping grounds of who followed, favorited, or left an AUTHENTIC AND TOTALLY NON-BOT REVIEW (What the fuck does 'The first family…' even mean? Also Hi ZX~) on Nepzaki: Before the Branch.
Similarly, thank you to those on AO3 who have been doing the same and also left a kudo, bookmarked, or commented (I'm glad I piqued your interest Flavioka! And Hi ZX2~)
Also I had a question that I'd be interested in hearing opinions on if possible: Do you personally like reading longer chapters? Or would you rather them be shorter? Every chapter I've posted up to this point has been pretty beefy and I know reading for long periods can get pretty exhausting, so I wanted to know if I should trim chapters down or keep them the same length. Trimming them down would probably mean cutting a chapter into two parts and I'd upload the second half a day later or something. Let me know what you think!
Now that we've set everything up in this first arc, we'll finally be heading to Gamindustri in the next one! What could possibly be awaiting our protagonist? Who knows! … Well, I do, but I'm not telling you. You'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks again for reading, I'll see you all later!