Liminal Aperture

 

Mundus of deemstering delilah

From the purview of the sunsetting horizon, we find the foggy melt of the skyline giving clarity amidst the cobblestone streets as the slippery raindrops settle on an old antique shop. The Augustway Augury, known by some for its eucalyptic oiled incense that would perforate the void when one opened the door, and others the acidy feeling of its talismans, charms and plethora of textures to every bronzed chime and porcelain doll across it's idle shelves. And to none, and nobody was it known for it's foremost laborer of the countertop, tethered to its schedules and meager paychecks. This maiden sought many things, to a life that protects the world, to find the severed rose from which bond might transpire out of her daily transactions. In skintight vinyl armor underneath stretched like a second-layer of rubber underneath a baggy white cotton sweater and pleated plaid skirt, the silverfanged mysteries flowed like her ruff of white laid over the surface. What did she believe in, and who did she love? Her supple cheeks laid on the bronzed patina across the shop counter, indifferent to the flickering lights of her tome, the Dr. Pages Codex turning through WebWeaver+ chapters one swish of her glossy fingertips after the other.

"New Somaformic cream can invigorate your-"

"In local news, the manhunt for the so-titled 'Mange Nomos'

has enforcement on-"

"Study notes on hexaform superstructures, part..."

Codex tabs:

Criminology|Serial killers

Psychological|Horror

Disappearances|Torture

Supernatural|Occult Occurrences

Yuri|Rubberporn|BDSM|Somaforms

The chimes rang, signaling guests. From a tired look up, they were unwelcome guests at that. Hardly customers. She closed the tome up, and the projection dancing in the backlight of her rubber collar ceased. Karley cleared her throat, eyeing the three schoolgirls approaching. No, three, one. One visitor, donning three skirts across a trio of forms, soft gloss and facial masks over a sailor fuku, a bat in one's hand, a rusty plow in another. Their main lead stood sharp in glossy heels, electric blue flowing out the back of their head.

Triplters. She remembered these three from her physical aptitude class, the ones that formed a selfmind. Psychics beyond her paygrade.

"Welcome to Augustway Augury, where menagerie.." she read the store's motto sarcastically and quit halfway apathetically. "Just don't overstay." She folded her arms.

"Wow, what a marvelous collection of trash. Do you have the hex that can make me give a shit, maybe a candle that can make me comfortable in your sickening scent." Ceifa said, her two groupies holding their nose. "You smell that? Demons that should put to rest maybe?" They snickered, Esta smashing an antique mirror. Their laughter echoed in the hollowed halls of the shop. "What's the matter, little bitch get mange?"

Karley laid her head on the desk, eyes sunken deep. "Will you look at that. Our store policy on theft, is that you're no more allowed to come back, ever."

"And with such an attitude, we'll take a few of these trinkets that are just a pile of rocks in a jewel box." The blue hair, aka Ceifa, pointed to the backroom where her three companions had already gathered up the trinkets from the counter. "This'll have us all in stitches."
"If you wanted stitches, that can be arranged." Karley pinched her gloves, the snap inciting the three into a fury. Still she refused to look up at them, face-half planted.

Ceifa, Esta and Mamon. These three, the one, their thoughts exchanged without a word and Ceifa's purple lips grimaced. "Cut the shit. She picked a fight with me, and then your Syzygy called the disciplinary wards on me for cutting class.Vice-Prez."

"Sigrid is in her rights. What the 'class president' does isn't my concern."

"The fuck it isn't!" Esta and Mamon ran around her and Ceifa grabbed her by the sweatcollar, "that little brat is just your pet. You may have everyone lapping at your feet, but even you know what we can do." Objects in the Augustway Augury began to levitate. In a dry voice of indifference, the clerk snorted. "You think I care what happens to this junk? Smash it. I don't care." All of it rotated, pointing in her direction.

"You will if it's smashed on your head."

She felt Mamon groping her from behind, nails squeezing into the latex around her posterior. "What's your deal?" She asked, again a hint of sarcasm. "Recant the wards. And. I want a position on, no, over your little freakshow back in school."

Karley's cold stare met Ceifa's fiery gaze. She exhaled slowly, the weight of the levitated objects bearing down on her, but her indifference was evident. "Trading angry delusions for my patience. You can't force me to do anything." She waved her hand, the Codex levitating, flying and hitting Esta. All three gave a yelp.

The counterworker got up. "If it's vengeance you want, stores closed. My shift ends in about, 45 minutes, and once dusk comes the Shadowkeeper will be at my beck and call. But you know.." She rubbed her eyes, slight bags under them as the silver of her eyes gleamed. "I don't feel like waiting that long. So I'm giving you 5 minutes. You won't leave by then.."
"If what? Then what?" Ceifa kicked a mirror, shattering it. She held up a sharp piece of glass. "Sunset's not here yet, your little familiar won't save you."

"There is no if."

The clerk sat down, leaned back in her chair and threw her boots onto the countertop. "You're going to lick my boots, I'm going to ruin your girls hairstyle abit then leave and go find a grief councilor for your daddy issues. In less than 5 minutes."

"And why the hell would I do that?" She said confidently.

"Because if you don't, I'll send this message I wrote an hour ago." She held a small booklet, no larger than a cellphone- her Virtubook Pocketdex. Her fingers slid into a page, the projections concealed within its flaps.

"You're going to bring the law into this shop? Do you know who we are, what we can do? I don't think that's in your best interest." Ceifa smirked.

"It's not a 9-11 number, or any backup for that matter."
"You can walk out right now, or I send."

The room went silent, then burst into laughter, the booming cacophony of the three teens repeating itself thrice over. Cacophony. That's a funny word, kind of like Kaww-ca-phony, rhymes with bony. Woops-whoops, I mean the coiled babel of eros shall find its virgin nectar in the everlasting gaze of the white haired maiden's evergaiden. Wait, I said that line too soon. "Need a therapist or what? Get lost." The clerk insisted.

Ceifa shrugged. "We don't have the budget for one."

"You can pay it off with a stripshow." Karley replied.

"Better idea. Girls!" Esta and Mamon raised their hands, the dozens of artifacts going flying at Karley. She closed her eyes and gently concentrated, rolling her body. The pathways of all harmonic and chronological movement in the cosmos danced in the back of her mind, every scenario where she was pelted, torn, bled, dragged out into the gutters and eviscerated playing out in a multitude of infinities. Her rubberclad body frolicked. When she opened her eyes, every shot had missed.

"Also.. one of you is going to pick all that up. My boss would kill me if you trashed this store."

Ceifa had heard enough. She tackled Karley onto the counter, holding the shard to her neck. "I'll save them the trouble." She held her hair and jerked it out like a plume. As she pulled, her target waited for the spaces between seconds inbetween where pages are bred, and spoke.

"He gives you goosebumps."

Ceifa's heart froze. Four words. Her skin went cold, she stammered as her eyes dilated and crossed with fear. Ceifa penetrated her mind to find out what Karley was planning. "Too many nights, your dad whoring you out so he could get promoted along the Arcane bedrock society. But one thing's for sure, he does give a spine-tingling sense of danger, doesn't he?" Karley's mental voice was dripping with sarcasm even as the shard pressed against her skin. She showed Ceifa what she intended to send.

Ceifa's eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, her grip loosened. There's no way this third-rate storehand could've read her mind. "You wrote that before I came in. How did you-"

Karley swiftly took the chance, gripping Ceifa's wrist and using her momentum to throw her off. They both landed on the floor, Karley now on top. "This isn't your playground," she whispered fiercely into Ceifa's ear, "and you're way out of your league here."

Esta and Mamon, in synchrony, launched a new psychic attack, aiming to force Karley off their leader. However, Karley, with her newfound focus, had formed a protective barrier that blunted their psychic abilities. She'd figured out their psychic signature in the last minute and already prepared countermeasures. 

Ceifa was furious and disoriented. Before she could get back up, Karley showed her the book, opening it to reveal a message.

"Ceifa Rosehart is daddy's favorite whore. List of clients attached:"

Any semblance of certainty in Ceifa shattered. She felt confused, the other two sharing every wild sense of disarray. Shame, humiliation, ire. "You know these have vocal apps to send, yes? I only have to say the word. Everyone will know what kind of disaffected custodian of cock you are, who had paid access to those pretty lips of yours and your father's self-promotion. Great use of taxpayer money by the way. Unless."

She dragged Ceifa upwards and placed her boot down over her.

Ceifa looked at her, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Fuck you."

The white haired witch looked down. "If you insist."

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

The door swung open, a figure in a grey robe observing four girls in civil understanding. Mamon had finished cleaning the store. Esta was being stroked like a dingo in heat. Ceifa's tongue had shone the surface of the shopkeeper's boots to the point of numbness, Karley texting on her book bored. Ceifa forgot the last half hour but her mind felt in a hunt for its own sense of what had befallen it, accounting for her oral vice. All Karley had to do was whistle and saw some strange words and she felt like falling to her knees in worship. At some point she had started licking this girl's heels. And someway after that, she had enjoyed it. The tingly gospel in her head and fraud of senseless objectification wore off even among the strange pleasure, instincts witness to her own revulsion. She wanted to vomit.

Malaise Mannerly of the Clawthorne Pedigree Duchy Dupré pulled her hood back and gasped. Or her boss and the owner of the store, Miss Mannerly for short.

"Miss Quinn! Whatever is-"

"Oh hey, my break is over now. I'm heading home for the night. Gonna see a movie." Her boots skipped over Ceifa, leaving a trail of saliva before she hopped away. Her boss looked at her indignant.

"What have you done in my SHOP! We're to have a discussion-"

"About this monday. Cya byeeee-"

And she hurried out the shop, gently pulling her white sweater off and shoving it into her sack. Around the dusk of streetlamps and leaves the shade gathered around and rose up, congealing into tendrils of shadow sleeking into the rubber details and depth of her ensemble - one with her familiar. The gleaming light of the moon reflected off her catsuit and was only acquainted on her glossy surface with the surface light of her Pocketdex. She flipped thru the pages until she reached her DMs and tapped 'vocalize'.

"We still on for skelecrabs tonight?" Karley asked.

"Aughh, yeah you know I was all for it, but I got this training thing with Alex, and on a fullmoon like this, wanna see if I can crank a sess out."

"Oh come on," Karley pleaded. "It's only you and me. It's been so long since we-"

She heard a tsk tsk on the other end.

"Alright. Good luck."

"Good lucks for the docile. Wish me bad luck next time, k-luv."

"Yeah, you got it blackcat." Her hands clapped and closed the book. She looked around in all directions before sighing. Her eyes closed. The emotions of countless beings wafted towards her in a flowing pathway to the future, and in that flow the promise of carnal satisfaction gravitated into her perceptions. None of them had the one she felt at home with. In the passing of Harvest's stars and leaves alike, she'd aimed rid herself of emotions like frustration, loneliness, regret. Something lay close, something lay beyond. In a pathway she could faintly make out, like a trace of vin de table tasting of  thinly veiled disdain and disgust in an ocean of colorless dissipation.

Something was on the horizon. She opened her book again, checking her DM vocal links.

"Lincoln?"

 

Elsewhere across town, wandering the mysterious air of a mausoleum a town away, Koko closed her Pocketdex. "You cancelled. Have you ceased as a novitiate in the invocation of your partner because it would permit you prolong the suspension of your desire?" The voice in her head said, a distinct caaw interluding between her own thoughts.

"Nah, that movie was never happening. What do we need a monster movie for when I'm here?" Koko threw her arms around her head and hopped into a strange tunnel.

"She appears quite the a brave sycophant. While her loyalty is to be distinguished, I question why you don't see utility in her instrumentization." Alexander asked.

Koko shrugged. "In the wise words of an imaginative boy and tony the tiger, oh greatest of love, love love love. Thank you for elevating emotion, reducing thought, and stifling imagination." Alexander felt her rolling her eyes. "A princess that has her knight has nothing to fear." Her hands morphed into bony blades, extending through her arms until her shoulders drooped and she sliced apart the gate ahead of her. "And you know the best part of a maiden in waiting's chivalrous knight?"

"Yes?"

"A knight will wait outside her tower and kneel by her window in loyal service, for as long as it takes." She turned a pointy black hat on her head.

Geesh, get a lookers-snookers of this spooky sheila.

 

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Apposition Apotheosis

               "Ah, dear reader reader dear st. peter, have you enjoyed this tale of the white haired broad and her nuggety nights amidst the Augustway Augury?  Oh, my naive novitiate, prepared to be regaled with tales where princesses don't simply sleep as they languish in lustrous lethargy. You haven't even begun to delve deep into the depths of my delightful duplicitous drama. The paragon of pendragon awaits their morgan le fay in luster to follow, and the autonomasis of deciphering what they teach us of desire so bold to contradict their dreamer long-some has yet to reach its long-awaited vivacity for which a ripe fruit of literature may blossom. So you have come seeking the next rhapsodic revelations of my pages, have you? Doth my pleonasmic prose sing wonders of the retaliatory or seductive nature abroad in the realms unseen by your jestereye, my dear fabled Wickpie?"

I snapped the jokebook shut, the one from the book of sorrows. Wasn't this thing supposed to have been burnt in some old yarn or another? Eh, who's keeping track? Oh sups pups! Woof woof, surprise, it's me, Wick! Wick wickity Wick! This book is really annoying, and kind of impossible to read most of the time, like trying to read hieroglyphics written by chickens. With plot twist thicker than my favorite milkshake – ta-da!

Also it was I, your humble joker, Wick, was the maestro behind that nutty narrative. Actually technicolorly sortamaybesowellkinda was me reading from this book while narreading it. Yeah, I'm pulling double duty: reading and ridiculing! A poet? Nah, more like a clown.

Oh here comes Rhode Sinclair, she's got her Bauble with her and is giving out cubes like jello. Or Christmas? Giving 'em out like candy on...well, some festive day. Halloween? Arbor Day? Heck, maybe it's Baubleween.

I think these Baubles were supposed to represent Christmas, atleast the gigantic jiggly quadrupedal with antlers would seem as such. Inside is the only girl with a paler face than me, Janice Jolly, from the glooming hail of Undervale. I never miss a chance to visit their teashop. The mermaid-bot is in a slick squeaky dolphin splashing around a lake which goes around the circumspherence of a very special perimeter, one lap at a time. She has the Chartreuse bauble. Helps her whole, fish out of water situation if you ask me. Probably helps her feel less like a sushi roll on dry land.

Whoa, looky there! It's Zelga... or maybe Zelgita? Zelgina? Zelga Jr.? She's her daughter and that might be spoiler because when was that mentioned? Ugh, spoiler alert. Or should I say "spoil-back" since this twist came from a blast from the past. A Pssstoiler? Or a spoilast?  Let's just call it a "spoil-back-flash," okay? I think this entire story is using its ridiculous made up word limit prettyfast so let's hope Binydumb doesn't fine me for that. I won't narrate this entire adventure venture cuz that's a lotta work and this is ppose to be like a picnic or festival for me. Even though my kind don't need to eat, owing to the geometrically absurdstract.

So, mini-Zelga (whose name might just be Sssssandra given her love for hissing. Why did she name herself Sandra? Oh yeah, wasn't there a Star atop the Tower named that or something once?) has gotten her claws on mama's Bauble. She's joining the bauble bash BBQLGBTower bouncehouse super trounce too! And where is here? This is at the metaphysical bottom of the Tower, where the Antiquarian and Aegnus live. There use to be this huge Tree called the Algae Mama here. Remember that Big Green Thingy? Yep was a thingading. But Ellie played hide and seek with it and made it hide far far away. Now there's a huuuuuge dome made of marble and painted like the sky above, held up by thousands of columns and pillars like a stadium and a grassy bowl valley where we are! We? The Bauble owners. Me, Nia (Good fren. She goes by the Curator now, she got fancy on us!), Misaki, this bug girl, Janice and Rhode, hot Meadow mama, some SkullLord, Merbot, Lizardgirl, the cutie Annabel, and one that hasn't arrived yet. Up up and up, is the lovely Kaliedo Premier herself, Miss Ellie Elanor Ellington is fixing decorations and prettying up the tome, using finger zaps to make everything as zany wow ka-pow as possible. She's jazzing up the joint, giving it the ol' razzle-dazzle with her finger zappity pap-pap-zaps! There's also two of her nieces, Mercy and Sway having a little punchfun in the woods, we can hear the tremors. Apparently the last time Sway was here she got into a huuuuge fight too? So pretty fitting, don'cha think? Remember when Sway last visited and it was WWE forest edition? Some things never change, amirite? 

So this place an Isle around a place called the Sea of Despair, it used to house a huge Mama-tree for all to see but Ellie sent her away on maternity leave or something. Anyway, Aegnus and the Antiquarian built a huge panopticon around the entire island! It's large enough that the dome houses forests, marble columns in a circular ring and at the center is a huge platform with a spiral staircase around it. Gracey Spacey over there setup a bunch of magical wards and barriers, so no one will get in less we want them to. A private VIP hang for the baubble and Ellie gang! Whaddaya thought of that thinkadoodle pokiepoodle?

The last Bauble User hasn't arrived, her and Ellie kind of go way back. Getting her here is no easy task! Ellie had to ring up her sis 'cause Miss Last Bauble was off having a space staycation in the Xi galaxy.. Did you know White Nebula used to be a Star? Not the Hollywood type, like or Liv Tyler, Howie Mandel or Jeff Foxworthy. Like a sentient wishing, wish! That's almost as abstract and dumb diddly-dum as whatever flatland I sprang out of. There is a special guest that's supposed to be arriving, one of Ellie's aunties! Which is kind of funny because Mercy and Sway have Ellie as their aunt, and this guest will have her niece there whose nieces are here. Pretty spesh family gathering, especially when that auntie's niece's nieces are already here. Try to keep up, will ya?

There are two others, one other? Well an other-other we'll call it that's here as the guest of honor! But they're pretty close to Ellie so they cannot be called a guest, so they're a non-guest of honor! The whole reason we're throwing this, she's like the team mascot! Hihi don't tell SmellyEllie I said that. She is, drumroll, the librarian! Happy happy bookkeeper! The thing we're celebrating is her un-librarianification day!

That is to say the day she un-becomes a librarian and is returned to a normal girl again, while her library, spirit lady lives on whatever?  So, from librarian tower lady to just... lady? Who's keeping track? Anyway the entire point of this occasion was Ellie summoned all her baubles and auntie to help.  Did she need us? Nah. Honestly she didn't need me or any of these less-funny clowns to un-library her librarian, but who misses a chance to throw a party?

The Kaliedo Premier arrived in a puff of rainbow smoke, a sprinkling flood releasing out from where she stood and sweeping towards the long fields, pushing many of through until the water left this marble cage and joined the Sea of Despair.

Blocking the tidal wave with a petite umbrella, a tall figure approached her. I summersaulted between them. "Nia!! You've gotten so got big!" Ellie said, tape measuring the Curator rapidly.

"It seems like just yesterday you were changing Crocodragons with the lessons I taught you until magic sheep and painting peasants into princesses. Good times."

"I had a good teacher." The Curator smiled. "And it's nice to see you too, Els." They exchanged smiles of friendly knowing and Ellie placed a little red nose over the Curator's own. "Psst, by the way. Is 'she' really coming? The last time she tried to step in her I was a black and white salesmen at the time with abit of ritz.. don't really remember what my Auntie Mony is like!"

"She'll show herself, my condolences she's running a little late." Nia replied.

Ellie's laughter rang out, musical and light. "That's our Auntie Mony. She might be from the vintage reels of black and white, but she's colored with whimsy and pizzazz. But what about you, Nia? All grown up and teaching little bunnie boys and adventurers their ABCs?"

Nia smirked, brushing an imaginary speck from her robe. "Well, someone's got to keep those mischievous creatures in check. You did teach me all about magic discipline, after all." I finally got her attention. "And then I learned how to loosen it.."

"Sup Cure!" I somersaulted onto their back.

We got her attention alright. She spun, and punched me like a rubber chicken. "As slick as ever Wick." I spun with her and she took a punch, a little too fast and hard. With a crack, my arm disintegrated into a bunch of sparks. She laughed again. "Oops."

Ellie laughed and patted her on the back.

"Didn't mean to Al-Arm you." I winked.

"Here, let me paint you a new one." The Curator took out a brush and started swiping it down my shoulder, creating a new limb in short time. "Well, I know you, auntie and a bunch of other non-guest-of-honors are busy elsewhere.  I'm sure she'll be delighted to see me!" Ellie winked, slinking away to greet the other guests. I heard a loud vroooom, followed by footsteps approaching and then a tall woman's voice.

Their presence loomed like a shadow over heaven, her hair flowing like the ocean, outfit sparkling in white. There were some sort of strange missiles strapped to her back that she took off, behind them was some kind of elf with green hair. He took her missiles and put them in a duffel bag to set down. She folded her arms and held her broom upwards.

"Oh, look who finally decided to join our little cosmic shindig! Not too good for us little people, are you?" Ellie teased the Space Witch.

The Space Witch glared back.

"I'm merely returning a library book. Don't mistake my presence for one of your trash."

"That's what I thought!" Ellie stuck out her tongue.

"Eldric, get me a drink from across the pond." White Nebula ordered.

"Yes, Madame." he bowed.

The Space Witch spoke in a voice that was a little like a robot, if robots grew up listening to opera and being callous to everyone.

"Give this book to Grace and congratulate her on overlooking the fine. Then I'm leaving." The Bauble of hers still glowed, embedded in her broom. "Don't think I'm here to mingle with the peonies in this room, Eleanor."

Ellie shrugged. "Always the same old story. Party crasher space witch from outer space who doesn't want to party at my party. I like you, though." She patted her on the shoulder, but the witch brushed it off as if she'd been brushed by fleas.

"I hear you've been busy in Xi lately! Sissies domain treating you right?" She asked.

The Space Witch's gaze softened for a split second, but it was quickly replaced by her usual stoic facade. "I've no time for such games. Your little parties and puns mean nothing to me."

Ellie sighed, rolling her eyes. "Relax, witchy. Life's too short to always be so...witchy. Let your hair down, have a dance, and maybe, just maybe, let that cold cold heart of yours warm up a little."

There was a gigantic shockwave, Mercy and Sway went flying through the air as they spammed a gattling of beams at one another over by the curvature. "Hey, that looks like fun! Bug girl, Mercy! Wait for me!" Ellie said, her hands charging and crackling with multicolored energy as she started to levitate up and joined their clash and bond with her niece.

The Space Witch watched the display, her fingers tapping the handle of her broom. Eldric looked at her expectantly, awaiting her next command.

"Every time I visit, it turns into a circus," She described.

Suddenly, a playful energy beam zipped right past her, missing her by mere inches had she not gracefully tilted her head. The attack went into the Sea of Despair and created a sunbeam that scorched its diameter. She looked up to see Ellie floating above, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

 "Oops! My bad, witchy! You sure you don’t want to join the fun?"

"You reckless idiot." The Space Witch looked down at her glowing Bauble and sighed, "Perhaps just one dance wouldn't hurt." She mounted her broom and with a burst of speed, joined the aerial dance, her own silvery energy beams blending with the colors of Mercy, Sway, and Ellie in a lightshow brighter than any fireworks on the forth of july.

Which I'm quite sure, as a construct of time and datekeeping has no meaning out here as far as most of the funny friends are concerned. Kind of puts all those tacky calendars you bought at the Clown store to shame doesn't it?

The fight went on for abit, Mercy was apparently leaving streaks of light behind her now, a halo ring around her body which repelled and reflected everything with some kind of holy light. Sway's body emitted swarms of some nebula that corroded everything it touched into goo and decay, save the so-called White Nebula that is. Mercy kept accelerating.

Faster.  Faster. Faster. Faster.

"Oh, don't you fuckin' go waveflight state on me, Merc!" Sway screamed. As a pure flash of light she was bouncing off Ellie and White Nebula like a pinball. Within White's vision, even in the slowest of motions she could just barely dodge a fist flashing at her with the chaos of an avalanche of air behind it. Mercy crashed into the Sea of Despair, leveling a fountain of water kilometers high.

For all her growth, seems that nutty shemiss couldn't control her own motions.

"This new generation." She shook her head. "Think they know everything." When Mercy flew back, the fighting continued. They formed new gaps. Sway's light and dark swarms were mixing now, creating some more nebula and darkness in the sky. Some kind of space mimicry of the sea. A lightshow, yes, but with the weight of gravity behind it. A little heavy to be dancing in the air.

Then it all stopped. Rhode Sinclair plugged her guitar into gigantic electronic speakers to announce the guest of honor.

Everyone gave it up for the wit of writ, the maiden of gaiden, the praise of literary days. With hair coiled up and a shimmering indigo gown, Grace walked down the spiral staircase around the center pillar, everyone turning their eyes to her gentle descent. She reached the surface after several minutes and stepped onto grass.

Everyone observed Grace. She went flying.

Sway crashed into her from the sky down and tackled her, gnawing at the hem of her stretchy rubber skirty and squeezed Grace's cheeks. "Member yoo!"

She let go, rubbing her face.

"Aw, this is too much Sway!" Grace wiggled. "Not again!"

"Aw!" Sway wagged her finger at her. "Memb' when yoos wuz a dumbass little squirt n I almost ate ye tree? Missed chu girly." She gripped the librarian perversely. "I recall, Sway. Would not be a proper sendoff without your presence back in the Tower."

Grace sniffed, stroking Sway. Even with all the fighting and noise Grace had been looking at her, and felt that familiar feeling of being with someone friendly from long ago. Everyone gathered near, the other Baubble users, Mercy and Ellie, even Aegnus and the Antiquarian gathered for the special guest. Everyone was here for her today.

"You've changed us Grace, all of us." Merrow said. "You've proved that even wild expats like us can change and live free if want to. You're the legendary Grace, protector of books."

"Oh, but Ellie did all that." She said, dismissing the praise.

There was a heavy sense of hesitation in the air. "Am I, really that special to you all?"  She asked.

"Yes!" shouted the Baubble holders.

"Then am I doing the right thing for Luma?" Ellie drew near to comfort her.

No one answered her. The librarian turned and hugged her mistress tightly. Her own tears dripping onto her shoulders, "It's been an honor, serving you Mistress."

"I won't." Ellie stroked her hair. The two words sank in heavily.

"And you will just have to wait. I won't abandon you."

Grace nodded, looking at her. "But, we still need aunties help to do it cuz I failed Aegnus's potion class. So until then let's PARTY!"

The atmosphere shifted instantly. A blast of energy, not one of battle but one of jubilation, erupted. Ellie summoned holographic lights and music with her powers, the ground below them pulsating to the beat. As the music played, Aegnus conjured a banquet table, laden with food and drinks from all corners of reality. Exotic fruits that sparkled and drinks that bubbled with colors not seen on any Earth. The Antiquarian, ever the historian, began documenting the moment with a series of floating picture orbs, capturing candid moments. Sway, her chaotic energy now channeled into fun, spun around with Grace, the two of them laughing as they tried to outdo each other in their dance moves. The buggy wuggy ZesLethiska threw her fists up and down with swift gifts in contrast to Grace's more delicate dance moves, both grinning at one another. Ellie and Mercy had a playful duel, their energy beams creating a spectacular light show above the revelers. Somewhere Zelga the second sat on the tall stairs looking up at the top of the dome and out to the sea of despair, wondering if the people she had known had become the arbiters of her fate that her mother spoke about.

A sudden roar pierced the celebration as a large bolt of lightning cracked overhead, leaving the sky a strange hue of white and green for several minutes.

Harmony looked down, glaring sternly at the crowd below.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

 Plight of the Teensters

Karley looked down. The entire school looked up at her, her prepared speech lecturing on the ethnical and responsible use of magic and finding one's place, respecting the arcane, somaforms and even the mundane. Intolerance is a bad look, scowling was for outcasts. Her baggy eyes betrayed herself. She felt like a carnivore lecturing to meat, to great lament. The place of using your hands for the devil's work, for idle playthings and for violence, they weren't the tools of a good leader. She was the Vice of the Syzygy, having put Sigrid in charge so she didn't have to do this kind of pageantry.

Everytime she had to pay lip service to her classmates, the silver haired hunter sunk to the lowest of the low. The lethargy she felt didn't obscure the sensory overload of kindness's web, the peaceful hum and vibrations of their fates needling her from her toes down to her shoulders. No amount of rubber could dampen it all, she closed her eyes and these souls, their paths, their feelings and futures forming threads of light that danced in her vision and felt constricting over her neck. She had to get to the good, signals could the light up the dark. Karley could hear it in the trees. Something was tugging on her psyche, screaming to be bested.
"We have to fight for those different and weaker than us, that's the only law of nature I want to follow." She declared, rubbing her eyes. The tugging got stronger. She closed her eyes to shut the visions out. Sigrid was standing at the side of the podium, addressing waves of girls in pleated skirts, some staff in robes and various suits, floating balls of fire, thunder, water listening intently as familiars. Sigrid wasn't a top grade empath like the one who'd given her Nightfalls position, but even she could see the distress on their vice-prefects face.

A whimper tore her lip into a frown. "Though, if nature has a more benevolent or just form of order, what is that form?" Her eyes opened again, that monstrous force again trying to serenade her with control She couldn't feel her hands, her legs and even her feet. She was an ally to the devil, and being able to see what the future held, what lied in the hearts of man wasn't her biggest fear. "I'm glad you all agree and want to support the Syzygy and the work we do."

It was that she might actually take control of it. Every so often that devil would crawl all over in her mind, the pressure and power betraying every word she was currently saying. It ate her up. It used her up, a tool of a darker, more dangerous and more ancient force. "We can live in any world we want to, if we're willing to make that change, be it for the better or the worse." Her heartbeat quickened, lust flowed through her. "As long as there is a world, we should respect it and protect it. We will always be here, as long as we are not corrupted. We're all on equal footing, and I think if we start by understanding that, we'll be on our way to something more just..."

Karley rubbed her temples, the tugging became almost unbearable. Few could see or experience what Karley was trying to say. For a young, troubled prophet with pure white hair to speak of such a noble idea when the world was run on intolerance and the will to power was a brave thing. "Just.." Her words stumbled. It all became unbearable. "Just do your best! Hopefully we'll make this semester the best, thanks." She said hastily, clapping her notebook and running out. The girl wasn't even really the true prefect of this academy anymore, for once all that she would have to be is who she was. She shouldn't be giving these guiding speeches anyway. A part of her never wanted to guide or lead anyone. Be inspired. Lead. Take control. Take away wills and turn them into her whims.

She quickly ran through the schoolyard, clutching her head. Visions of her were replaying, her and that innocent boy.

"It'll be fine, you'll be alright. Your heart is my shield. Your body is mine to use." She remembered herself saying upon saving him the void as she held his body, suppressing every desire she had to make him hers. The only problem was, the boy dancing in her vision wasn't the one she knew.

Lincoln.

She checked her phone, its pages interrupting her volatile attack. When her mind settled in, she flipped it to respond and Linc's voice came out.

"Karley? Did you still want to do that, thing? Prima's going to teach me a new technique after we patrol this afternoon, you said it was important.."

"Yes yes." She said, as if not wanting to go herself. "I mean- yeah, I'll be there." She said, turning to his holograph with a sigh and a tired look. She'd been fighting it for weeks, but she knew if it got it close, it'd be over.

As she reassured him and ended the conversation, something, or someone trailed her.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Deep within her lab, Intellica tapped her foot. She snapped her fingers and a Query brought Lucy on the line. Several vats were shattered, the cool fluid spilt out and still puddled on the floor. Scans showed that entire quantum gigadrives of data had been stolen aswell.
"Auxilitrix. It would greatly do us both a brevity of torment not to rummage through my personal belongings" "Swear toots, wasn't me. Not this time." They said, Lucy always less sincere than one could possibly sound.

"Lucy," Intellica began, her voice icy, "Every trace that pertains to these incidents leads back to you. Every time there is mischief in my labs, you seem to be at the heart of it. Tell me why I shouldn't send my Query and dismantle your little operation right now."

Lucy let out a laugh, "Come on, Intellica. If I had done something, it wouldn’t be this sloppy. Do you really think I'd leave such obvious traces? Give me some credit."

Intellica's eyes narrowed. "I don't lend what's undeserved. But I need answers, Lucy. Someone broke into my lab, stole valuable data, and wrecked my experiments."

Lucy stretched lazily, "Listen, dollface, it ain’t my style to be spilling the beans all willy-nilly, ya know? And while I'd love to say it was me and rub it in your face, I have no reason to lie. But, if it will get you off my back, I might know someone who might have had a reason to break in."

Intellica’s patience was wearing thin. “Speak. Now.”

There was a crash upstairs, Intellica gave pause. "After I return momentarily."

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Karley stood surrounded in the empty park. 8 figures, several wearing skater helmets, colorful festive masks and spandex for their costumes. Ultras, wannabe superheroes. She recognized their leader, Nexil by the green lines over his rubbery suit and flower tattoo. The sun was setting, painting the sky with shades of crimson and gold, but the ethereal beauty was lost on Karley as she locked eyes with the figure before her. Nexil's smirk was barely concealed beneath his mask. He gestured to the group around him.

"It's her! You're the one behind the Mainland Nomos incident." He said accusingly. She narrowed her eyes, trying to recall where she had seen them before. The Teenfenders weren't exactly top-tier when it came to the world of ultras. They were misfits, rebels, teens who had been given powers but not the maturity or responsibility that usually came with them.

Tess, the one with flaming hair, took a step forward, her hands already glowing with embers. "Remember me, Karley? Or did you forget the girl you left behind in that warehouse fire?"

Another one, who looked no older than 16 but had the voice of someone decades older, said, "You may have bested us individually, but together, we're unstoppable." His hands crackled with electricity, lighting up the dimming environment.

"I left you because you'd live." She told the girl.

"In a burning warehouse?" The girl, Junas Brooklyn aka Miss Shimrock said, her golden gloves pointing their fingers directly at her.

She scratched her head. "Yeah.. I can see the future so.. you'd have been fine."
"But you CAUSED that fire by interfering!" Another hero quipped back, a teenager with scruffy hair and a crucifix in hand.

"Because you were going to aggressively end a D-tier villain for a minor burglary which would lead to our Congressmen being assassinated and a bus of schoolchildren dead. I wrote this all on a note." She glared at Nexil.

"You think we'd take the word of someone who works with the Nomos? Or dresses like some sort of supervillain freak?"

She reached into her bag and took out her rapier. They all looked on and stood guard. To their confusion, she set it on a park bench and walked back, along with the rest of her belongings.

"You kids should be home studying or something," Karley was so tired of dealing with these clowns. The light glowed around them in her unyielding vision. She could tap into their emotions and undertake the finalities ahead. Consciousness was malleable. Time and fate saw her as their mistress. Make them all leave. Make them love her and lap at her feet. Or make them kill each other until they were all dead. Within minutes even. In her mind she saw exactly how to do it and how easy, how passive the aura of her voice could bring these situations into reality. But none of them would bring her satisfaction. She hated that part the most. She was in a bad mood. The only thing she wanted to do right now was humble these brats.

Teenfender, Aero, floating in the air, his hand directing the gusts. Nexil seized the opportunity, lunging at Karley, his hand crackling with an odd energy.

Karley dodged, but seemingly just barely. A blade of energy narrowly missed her, digging deep into the ground. The Teenfenders were pressing the attack from all sides. Tess let loose a volley of fireballs while the electric boy, named Voltfly, sent jolts of energy towards her. She dodged without issue. Rancor charged with physical agility unmatched in the animal kingdom, she stuck out her foot and tripped him casually. Right before Flashfight could re-appear into reality and assassinate her, she stuck out her elbow a millisecond before and clocked her.

"H-how?"

Tess took out a flame flower and lit up an isolated tree. Her hands reached into the flame and began absorbing it, her strength, regeneration and power increasing in aura. Volt fired off electro-echo, voltage rapidly rocketing between Karley, a metal lamp and his hands. To his surprise she stood there unaffected. "Can you all just chill? This cannot be the goddesses will." Karley said. Aerogale roared and wind gathered. "We're not negotiating with supervillains." The wind formed a construct of herself a dozen times her size and charged out.

Karley closed her eyes. In an immediate future whispered something, and with a wave of her hand a soft leaf flew into their hurricane-like body, jabbed their eye, blocked their vision until they lost balance and flew into the ground hitting the pavement, their cracked head pooling with blood. She walked that fate back.

"Too harsh." Her mind navigated the web and other possibilities that all emotions connected to the enigmas unearthed, until she found the future preferred. She picked up a rock and threw it at them, the wind sending it directly up like a tornado funnel.

"Ha, what was that supposed to do?" Aerogale boasted.

She blinked.

It fell back on her head and broke her nose, she fell onto the ground hitting the grass on their bum. Zexil turned to Shade Weaver. "ENOUGH, this is why I told you to ambush her! End this."

"R-right." Weaver crossed their arms, all the shadows in the park began to grow and coalesce around Karley. They formed a miasma hundreds of meters wide, a dark cloak which robbed all senses of those targeted, and only them.

Sight, sound, smell, even touch. Most couldn't even walk properly. The only thing it couldn't remove was pain. "How do you like that! A world of blind, deaf despair! Take one move and you'll be helpless!" Zexil yelled, not that she could hear him.

Karley stood perfectly still. She closed her eyes.

And began to sing.

"We've got her!" Driftwood turned their arms to a hard-bark drill and sped forward. Karley whispered something, as if gently singing and a moment before they reached her she side-stepped. The ground imploded beneath them and they were collapsed into a crater.

"H-how-" Spirit Pulse asked, holding a sharp stake out and rosary in another that shot out growing circles. Explosive orbs of light thrust towards her, and even in the dark depths she sidestepped them effortlessly as if annoyed. When she reached for his neck, her hand stopped and she tapped his head hard with two fingers. A minor, forgettable aneurysm - he took a dirtnap.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Within the Gourdnest deep underground, Lincoln lay across a stretched table, his leg in a cast. "Come on, do pullups with me! You'll recover quicker! 1.. 2.. 3.." Prima was already trying to get him pumped up. "A-aah, careful! Yo, I just bandaged that. P-please be careful.." Jaz requested, before Prima picked her up and started to lift her like a weight.

Tina in the corner sighed. Wasn't that white haired witch supposed to get here? She turned towards a small object left in the corner from her last visit- a petite black latex mask with a breathing apparatus, smelling heavily of rubber. "A gasmask?" It was exactly the one Karley used to wear.

Still wore? They'd never see her with it off before her and Lincoln began to connect, the ominous gimped monster of the sewers, running with the Nomos always gave her the creeps.
Although admittedly made her tent go full mast. She picked up the mask as Prima held up Lincoln and began to jog with him inside the spaceship like a football. "E-easy Prim!" He shouted, Jaz trying to catch her before she made her injuries more injurious. Tina held the mask up to her face, then tighter and tighter until its latex squelched against her skin. She paused.

The sharpest mind of Ivyhall couldn't parse what she was looking at.

That is to say, nothing.

Prima and crew came back from the halls. "What the frick?" She showed it to the others. "Did she really used to wear this?"

Prima and Jaz looked at each other. "Y-yeah, it was her signature look I guess. Why?" Prime leaned in and put it on, then wobbled blind and walked into a wall.

"Tina! Someone turned the lights out!"

Her sister took it off and shook her head.

"It looks like she.. spraypainted and covered the lenses." She scratched her head.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Nexil. Tess. Driftwood. Aerogale. Shadeweaver. Flashfight. Voltfly. Shimrock.

All of them lay earthside.

As the dust settled, the park bore the scars of the intense battle. Scorched earth, toppled trees, and shimmering residual energy from their felled bodies. None of them had been seriously injured- she'd made sure of that. The quality of mercy and empathy were traits she believed extended to everyone, even the undeserving. The Teenfenders lay scattered around, their energies drained, their pride shattered. Karley, with minimal signs of exertion and cold silver eyes, gripped Nexil by the collar, holding him against a thick tree trunk.

Nexil gasped for breath, the pressure from Karley's hand just enough to remind him of his vulnerable state but not enough to completely choke him. The green lines on his suit seemed dimmer than before, reflecting his waning energy. "You're putting me by a tree? Big mistake." He concentrated and the roots began to slither towards her.. then quickly wrapped around and pulled him to the tree again, immobilizing him.

"What? How? You weren't even phased by Shade Weaver. How did you control-"

"Every soul, every power or weapon, each attack you use has its own personality. It's feelings to consider, to choices. You cannot just walk all over it." She shrugged. "I asked your abilities to go easy on me, soften. They went tame as a kitten."

"You talked to our.. powers? When?" Zexil squirmed in place.

Her glare pierced his gaze for the first time, turning his expression into pure fear.

"Yesterday. From my bedroom. It took a few minutes, I wanted to enjoy today in peace."

The girl turned to the tree. "You're an Ultra who can connect to the Evergreen right? Lincoln's also talked about it a little.." She patted the wood trunk gently. "Whenever anyone attacks you, you can transfer the damage into the Evergreen and nearby flora takes the pain and damage instead. In this way you can use plant life to deflect and ignore attacks, you must've felt invulnerable right?" The roots tightened, not enough to choke but make Zexil uncomfortable.

"But that invulnerability was a lie. You were just abusing your partner and your power to masquerade as a hero. Did you ever consider how the Evergreen felt?" She went to the bench to get her rapier and walked back, cutting his cheek. The blood flowed. "That won't happen anymore. I've ensured it. It won't be your ally, and no one will follow you without your invincibility."

"If you could do what you say, you could've shut off our abilities from the getgo? Then why do any of this, why fight us? Was it just to humiliate us?"

Karley knelt down, making sure Nexil was okay before addressing the group. "Because I was once like you. Lost, unsure, wielding a power I didn't understand. It took me years, countless mistakes, and a lot of pain to find my way. If I can spare you even a fraction of that, then it's worth it." She left him to mourn his bruised ego.

Shimrock, rolling onto her side, called out, "So what now? Are you going to lecture us on the 'great responsibility'?"

"You're not my responsibility. Bye." Karley walked over Tess, gave one last sympathetic look and saw a distinct urge brewing, the potentialities emerging out.

In the web of light dancing in her eyes ahead, Karley extended her hand to Nexil, "It's never too late to change. Will you join us?"

Nexil, his pride wounded but his eyes showing a glimmer of hope, reluctantly grasped her hand, "J-join you?" This girl, lead them? After what she'd done in a mere afternoon, his resolve was drenched in her molten charisma.

"Yes. I hope I don't flatter myself in saying I can fix you all. Your greatness is there." Karley smiled, "That's all I wanted to hear. Now, let's begin anew, together." She took off her glove and began to help them up, time speeding up before her eyes until they were her new proteges following her highest wish. They went from miscreants to idols. Their potential soared, within months they would be world reknown with power they never dreamed of. Within years, they'd be S-class Ultras atop a scraper, with a wood-carved statue of Zexil and crystalline garden built. In a tux and suit Karley stood, white hair flowing as their manager, the group having become among the most respected heroes in the world. They clamored towards her with affection, Tess kissing her thigh as she pet her. Freed, grown, trained and blessed.

Controlled.

"NO." Karley ripped at her hair, her head shook.

The light in her eyes dimmed, emphasizing the dark bags instead. She discarded the vision and clutched her fist, as if shattering that glimmer of a future. Too many, she'd have to tear them apart from her like thorns in vines choking her every moment.

And most days she didn't know where to start.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that she was blind? All the time?" Lincoln asked, genuinely stunned, still trying to stabilize his injured leg.

"It looks like she chose to be," Tina answered. "Or maybe not all the time, but it was a way for her to filter the constant influx of information, given her abilities."

Jaz, gently wrapping a bandage around Prima's hand, added, "Could be a sort of self-imposed limitation. Or perhaps, a training tool. By taking away her sight, she was forced to rely more on her other senses and predictive abilities."

Prima grunted, adjusting to the tightness of the bandage. "Or maybe she just really really likes Halloween!! She's always been a bit... aloof. Dressing up as a toilet doesn't get the best chocolate bars!" She declared proudly.

Tina placed the mask back on the table, her fingers brushing against its cold latex surface. "Aloof or not, she did always come through for us when it mattered most. She's like some insane chess master, seeing multiple moves ahead while the rest of us are still trying to figure out our next step. But if I'm being honest, that always made me extremely uncomfortable."

"But yo, if she can see every possible outcome, doesn’t that make her life a kind of hell? Every moment, having to choose from a million possible futures, and bearing the weight of every decision," Jaz pondered.

Lincoln looked deep in thought. "Maybe that's why she always seemed so distant. When you're constantly deciding the fate of everyone around you, how do you ever find peace?"

The electronic sliding door pulled upwards, revealing the white haired teen with her school-jacket draped over her shoulders.

"Hey.." Karley said, abit sluggish.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Intellica stepped into the training room, her heels clacking against the cold sterile tiled floor as she stepped forward. "Violet Everdeen, what is this commotion?" She observed the damaged query. They'd been sparring.

"I didn't mean to attack it that hard. But once the face.. chipped it off I saw." Violet looked at Intellica confused. "That. And blood."

The corner of a single eye could be seen with blood dripping from their forehead, injuries of a clear flesh and blood person. Overtop, the Query covered the rest of them.

"It was merely a miscalculation. On this setting they shouldn't be this injured, I hesitate to say you've grown to this extent."

Violet furrowed her brow. "That's not what I'm talking about! I was worried for it.. her?" She ran forward towards the dazed Query. "What, what are they?" Intellica shifted towards her as if annoyed. "What do you mean? They're Query." Her apprentice winced. "But what are they." She looked at it afraid. "I always thought they were, like, robots? Or something." She looked at the blood against the wall.

"Do all of the Query have, people inside them? Are they-"

"They're Query. Nothing more." Intellica insisted. "No further questions. You're done training for the day." She waved her hand and several cubes levitated the Query thru a portal before it vanished from sight. 

"WAIT." There was visible anger in her voice. "I demand the truth! Did Query used to be, people? What's going on here.."

Intellica turned around. "Oh? You're in a fashion to contradict me and be making demands to me now. This is news." She looked at the apprentice and tilted her head. "Do tell."

Violet's gaze never wavered, her anger and confusion unwavering. "After all the time I've spent here, training, believing in the vision you set for me, I deserve to know the truth. I've given you my trust, Intellica, and now I want answers."

Intellica's piercing eyes seemed to analyze every part of Violet's being. A tense silence enveloped the room, with only the flickering of the sterile lights overhead.

"Query," Intellica began, "is an advanced project that I've been working on for years. They are not robots or mere machines. They are a fusion of organic and synthetic elements. To achieve their unparalleled adaptability and efficiency, I had to utilize a combination of advanced cybernetics and... human hosts."

Violet's eyes widened in shock. "Human hosts? So, they were... people?"

Intellica paused, choosing her words carefully. "Yes, but not in the way you might think. The individuals used for the Query project were already in a vegetative state, with no hope of recovery. Their bodies served as the perfect medium for the cybernetic enhancements. The Query, therefore, is neither machine nor human but something entirely new."

"I, I don't understand.." Violet replied.

"Come with me," Intellica finally said, her voice a chilly whisper. She lead Violet along a path, several Query following behind, going through a doorway she'd never been in before. Along several more cold, mechanical steel paths they eventually came across a chamber.

Violet covered her mouth. The stench of blood and bile made her feel sick.

Hanging atop the wall was a girl with a fair complexion, Long tangerine-colored hair 50 ft long extended around the room. She was held up by restraints and pinned to the surface, numerous mechanical devices embedded in her body,

"WHAT THE FUCK IS-"

"Mute." Intellica said, and suddenly Violet found a digital symbol around her mouth blocking all sound.

"They are not 'human' or people in the conventional sense. I found them in another dimension, caught between realms. Neither living nor dead, not fully human nor machine. They were anomalies, beings of potential," Intellica began, her voice void of emotion. "These beings are caught in a liminal state, where time, space, and consciousness overlap. I tapped into their energy and essence, fusing them with technology to create the Query."

Violet's eyes widened with horror as she took in the sight before her, the reality of Intellica's experiments sinking in. The girl on the wall, with her long, tangerine hair, seemed to look straight at Violet, but there was no recognition or life in her gaze, just an emptiness. "They were created by an unknown individual. I have reason to believe they may have been engineered by someone similar or baring some relation to me, simply due to some of the neural-architecture, circuitry patterns and design elements. I had Nora Wakemen analyze them, but as far as origin goes she could only say they were stranded somewhere in the Void."

"The.. void?" Violet found she could speak again. "They?"

"Yes, more specifically from deep within the Tower. There are areas in there even I haven't modeled. Not for a lack of trying either.."

Violet shook her head and nearly exploded, but remembered the mute from a moment ago. "But, how could you do this to her?"

"To it." Intellica corrected.

"Her." Violet's words clawed back.

"They are tools, Everdeen. Instruments to be used for the betterment of our world.

Their original state was of suffering, trapped between realms. I gave them purpose."

"That looks horrifying! How much pain is she in?"

"We gave it numerous nerve-suppressant amplifiers and modified blockers. It doesn't feel anything. Much less pain."

"But you've kept it for these, sick experiments! Gotten rid of its personality, turned it into a tool!"

"Gave it a purpose." Intellica corrected. "Whoever discarded it initially, I assure you gave it lesser care than I. What would you have me do, return it to the void?"

"Idunno.. Set it FREE." Violet shouted, hesitating to see if she'd be muted again.

Intellica blinked, the silence cutting into her apprentice's feeble reply.

"You said there were multiple of these? Of them?"

The Novus nodded. "Yes my little worm. But not every Query is one, the lower castes are mere replicants from the same architectural cybergene model and material. Impressively, even I couldn't recreate them completely. The armor and augmentations I've given them keep them functional, and cognitively set their... minding." She informed her.

Violet went over to touch her, seeing the palest flicker of life in the Query's eyes. But it was the brightest she'd ever seen for these entities.

With a flick of Intellica's wrist, Violet found herself being levitated off the ground, a digital symbol forming around her neck, choking her. As her vision blurred and darkness encroached, she thought of the girl with the tangerine hair and the countless Query she'd trained against. There was no such thing as negotiation for the Novus.

The last thing she heard was Intellica's whisper, "Sleep now. Perhaps in time, you'll understand."

And then, everything went dark.

She returned back to her conversation with Lucy briefly.

"Telli, we've got a real shituation on our hands. A Hindenburg about to hit the titanic."

"Yes? Be curt with it."

"A couple of souls have escaped from my domain. I cannot lick the speciffy-spiffy but, me and Grahim have gone over the charts. We think this was a big one, the biggest hellbreak we've ever encountered."

"Say what? Are you absolutely certain?"

"I'm saying, between your shindig upstairs and mine below,  all hells 'bout to break loose."

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

In the Gourdnest, Lincoln and his friends finished an intimate discussion.

"So the whole thing you were proposing because you needed to, check something out? You were rather vague before. I know you've peered into us before but.."

Karley nodded and sighed, understanding the complexity of the situation. "Let's make a pact. I won't force my vision on any of you. We will work together, shape our futures collaboratively. If at any moment, you feel I'm controlling, you're free to leave. That way you can have your freewill."

Prima raised her hand, as if in class waiting to be called on. "Ooh pick me, pick me!"
Everyone went silent. "Uh.. yes?" She replied.

"If you can control our future, couldn't you also potentially shape a future where we don't FEEL controlled and don't have a desire to leave? In a way that like, makes your Pact about having free-will meaningless?"

"Yes. That's valid. Look its harder for me than it is for you."

Everyone looked at one another, and Karley held her head down as if in submission. Whenever around these friends - if she was so fortunate to consider herself among them, she prioritized keeping all foresight and ego out of the picture. The fears serenaded her, latex boots pressing her feet to the ground while she awaited there judgement. "Whatever you're, checking out. What will it change?" Lincoln asked in earnest. "Will it be good for you?"

Karley's head remained drooped. "I don't know." She shivered saying those 3 words.

"Then, what is the point of doing this in the first place?" He followed up.

"I don't know again." She wanted to appear compliant , not pathetic. Too late.

"It's very rare I don't know something, so this is, difficult. I haven't dealt with any real unknowns in so long. But I promise you I will ensure your safety."

Lincoln heard her out. "Then, I'll leave it up to you. If you want to go through with this, what do we do?"

She turned to Jaz. "You know how to maintain the ships medical equipment, yes? Track his vitals and monitor Lincoln while we rest. That's all."

Everyone took an awkward moment to process the exchange, and seemed to agree. "Lay down." Lincoln sat on a medical bed and laid back while Karley prepared another beside it. She took out some pitch-black candlewax, lit it with a simple spell and dripped the wax on her finger. The inky smoky liquid dripped about. "This is going to sting abit. It's just to help put you in a meditative trance." She traced sigils over his forehead, watching his consciousness slip into mindlessness and when she was done she kicked her boots aside and slipped out of her clothes. Tina blushed and turned away while she took a small silky gown and laid next to him. Jaz carefully connected various medical equipment to Lincoln, monitoring his heartbeat, oxygen levels, and brain activity. The equipment hummed softly in the dimly lit room, while the pitch-black candle continued to emit a faint, mystical glow, which harmonized with the sigils on Lincoln's forehead.

"Sleep well, Linky." The white haired girl closed her eyes next to the white haired boy.
The sigils on Lincoln illuminated. Whispers of an unknown language filled the room, originating from the duo. The symbols seemed to dance between them, creating an ethereal bridge that connected their minds.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Them the Splits

Outside the Gourdnest, the cosmic expanse stretched endlessly, filled with stars, nebulae, and the unknown. Within this vastness, the lives of Harvest felt infinitesimally small, and the troubles of its inhabitants even smaller. Across the great expanse, a Novus descended at the depths of the Tower to see everyone's eyes on her.

Harmony strode cautiously, her presence anchoring the mood of the world within like an iceberg atop a trireme.Soon she laid eyes too on the baubble users, her relatives in Mercy and Sway, afterwards Ellie. Ellie. Goddamn Ellie.

This wasn't the first time she'd encountered her- but the last time, Ellie had been afflicted by the Tower's magic in a cartoonish B&W form, in rubber overalls and suspenders. In her original state, Eleanor was a splitting image of her mother, tinted in cobalt hues. When Ellie approached, the familiar silhouette of Prime gave Harmony's heart fright.

"It cannot be.." The Novus's voice was a melancholy wail.

She approached Ellie with fear and disbelief. As she approached and laid a gentle hand on Ellie's cheek, the cosmic stars beyond the Tower seemed to move with her, following her along on the voyage. The night became warm around the people of Orchid elsewhere, and the winds within became calm. In the dome, the whispers became thunder, the voice of her cooing filling the room with static and reverberation that seemed to deafen all sound.

"H-" "Shh." Harmony wouldn't let her speak yet, she refused to allow brevity.

Harmony looked down to see the Kaleido Premier was holding a fist sized bubbling pile of a mysterious rainbow gelatinous liquid. She held it delicately between her palms and fingers, as if afraid to break it. She glanced up at Harmony, who had a look of concern on her face. Fear set in. Nightshade.. Shadow. Salvation. It was the same power Prime possessed, but in multicolored hues rather than jetblack.

It was a part of the that monstrous being, capable of forming life, but capable of erasing it in an instant. "My sister, that maniac. Going this far, to do something as horrific as make you.."

She wanted to scream, but the voice of her was too soft. Harmony whispered it to her instead. "You're too young. It would be irresponsible for you to wield such power."
Ellie cleared her throat. "Um, Auntie Harmony was it? It's nice to meet you again I guess grumblegrumble!" Grace approached slowly, taking careful observation.

"I just wanted to ask you a question."

Harmony blinked, then looked behind her and realized the answer to the question she was about to ask. Her confusion and piercing shock grew further, she only had to take one look at Grace to know her presence was connected to her own.

"Prime. Where did you get this one."

"Um." Ellie coughed. "It's sort of a long story but.." She objected to that name. "I like to be called Ellie."

Harmony frowned.

"Your request." She turned to "Mercy told Grahim who told me. You want to split this girl's soul in two and help restore her former self again."

Ellie nodded. "If that's okay with you! Suppose you can do that? I mean I'd try but, my kits abit like using a rocket launcher to put out a fire y'know? I figured if anyone could do it, one of mom's sissies could. It seems like mommy's been a little busy lately and kinda forgot to teach me how to use my powers yet, so I kind of need you, so if you don't mind?"

Harmony distrusted those words. "Plenty of people have." She scowled. "It never ends well."

"Nah, it's all cool! I'm sure if anyone can do it, you can! A mom who's a world-class scientist like you should be able to do it! I heard from some sources you and mom used to work together? Also your Flora's mum who Sandra loves, so.." She twirled her fingers together while Harmony looked at her intensely after the mentioning of Flora.

Harmony had never been so angry before. She was seething inwardly.

She approached Grace. "I can separate you, but I didn't come here for that purpose." She threw her hands over her face. "I didn't want to come here, or see that sort of thing." Her hands pointed towards Ellie. "You should have never asked me to come." Harmony's fear was justified. Her energy was so violent, it could kill all life in the blink of an eye. Ellie knew that, too, even she felt it.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry? I just want her to be okay."

Harmony fumed. She took a deep breath. She let her fury evaporate.

"That wasn't my intent. I'm here because I fear you. I fear you, and I fear you will get hurt."

"Pardon me." A voice said that Harmonica immediately recognized. Approaching was a familiar face- her apprentice. The Curator waved, Harmony giving a soft subtle gasp.

The Curator approached, a black leather book in her hands.

"Nia." She said warmly. "I'd forgotten you were one of the Premier's companions before you were mine."

Harmony's gaze softened as she looked at Nia, the Curator. Memories flooded back of their time together, of lessons taught and learned, and the bond they had forged. For a brief moment, the tension in the room seemed to lessen.

"Hello master." Nia gave a soft smile. "Those days seem like a lifetime ago, but I haven't forgotten you." She glanced at the book in her hands, its worn leather binding contrasting starkly against her pale fingers. "I brought this with me. It might hold some answers."

Ellie watched the exchange, a puzzled look on her face. "So, you two know each other?"

The Curator nodded. "She taught me everything I know about painting! And singing, theater, dance, love. Me and Harmony have, quite a special relationship." Her flushed face told it all.

Nia opened the black book, flipping through its pages. "The answers lie within. This book contains ancient spells and rituals, some of which might be able to help." She looked at Harmony, her eyes pleading. "But we need your expertise, Harmony." Every single spell and page was written in stanzas.

"Well." Harmony cut the Curator off and turned to Grace. "You're right, I can't let you suffer anymore. But this is very dangerous. I'm only doing this so I can better manage what your troubled existences poses. Do you have a way to put her to sleep? If I'm to separate her, we haven't much time." Ellie and Grace looked at one another. "Why?" The former asked.

"Because I've begun to have prophetic visions. What's to transpire today will shatter all our fortunes."

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

A mote of light in a sea of void, the dragged herself through the tides until a labyrinth beneath the sea awaited what spirit portrayed. The water's displacements and the condensations told of seismic shifts in spiritual proliferation, a violence tearing away at the metonymies and metaphors of the psyche that produce the shifts of identity. Upon opening the first entrance, Karley found purchase into her targets speech and a filmreel-like thread of blew past her, a great web of articulation and sound playing past the sublime. She held onto a handle, twisted it, and tossed herself on the other end, closing the exposed gap with the door. Inside bloomed a verdant black growth of dark roses along endless hallways. The presence of multiple linguistic voices was presented to her in hushed whispers, some authoritative, others robotic and only one truly stout of heart. The decorations resembled a french Chateau, lavish yet undeniably stricken with gloom.

The teenage witch began to wander these sacred halls as she descended further into Lincoln's subjectivity. Her procession into the uncovered realm was miles distant, rural chapels and gloomy treks over endless halls that rank of a perverse trouble-maker. She opened doors occasionally- in some instances, finding toys, comicbooks, innocent artifacts of Harvest. But they were few and far between. She was becoming impatient. As it happened, a cat materialized with neon-red eyes. The form was recognizable as one of Lincoln's integrations: a cybernetic consciousness of Loom's doppelgänger. When she'd left the planet a time ago, their psychical machine double stayed in Lincoln maintaining his chimerical status. She followed the cat into an amphitheater, something playing on a projector into the center of the field.
Footage of two children playing, passing a ball in black and white, the grainy texture of the projection giving her a sense of solace. Karley's attention began to wax and wane, bumbling into solace as the hypnotic footage retreated her into her own clothes. She rocked back and forth, each scene shift reducing her height and age backwards. When she fell back, a figure appeared overhead.

An adult, peering at a young white-haired child in a small dress, their tophat blocking out the light of the ceiling curvature.

"Good morrow." The mysterious lady said.

"WaaugggHHH." Karley panicked, running over with the cat and hiding behind a set of pews. She shook her head, what was happening? What was she doing? The smoky grey-white complexion of the woman was lighter than anything she'd ever seen. So light, that knowledge of her visage quickly reverted Karley's visionary faculties until her sight was rendered in the blackness.

Prime leaned down, smiling serenely.

"A little blind child wandered on my diddly-home. What a delight."

Karley's heart raced, her ears straining to make sense of the voice emanating from this ethereal presence. Prime's voice was honeyed and lyrical, but beneath it lay an undertone that made Karley shiver. "Are you meant to be here?" Prime asked.

“I am not lost,” Karley mustered the courage to reply, though her voice trembled.

Prime's laughter echoed in the vastness of the amphitheater. Karley couldn't see them, she hadn't felt like this in a long time. There was an unease to it, but not a surprise.
She was born blind afterall.

The lady took the little girl's hand. "Come with me, seems its going to rain in this room."

Karley reluctantly nodded, her blindness sharpening her other senses. She could feel the cold emanating from Prime, a chill that penetrated her bones. Prime extended an impossibly long finger, directing it towards a distant, tall door shrouded in mist split into two openings. The two halves opened inwards, and she guided the silvery child inwards. "Are you, Lincoln?" Karley asked, only for Prime to start  laughing to the point of having tears roll down their cheeks. She brought her into the door and it slammed behind them, a lounge room with a hearth met their weary souls. The lady guided her guest to a velvet couch and sat on a leather sitter by the fireplace.

The warmth from the fireplace seemed to contrast sharply with the chilling presence of Prime, who was now sitting gracefully in her chair, observing Karley with her shimmering, otherworldly eyes. Karley couldn't see those eyes, but she could feel their weight upon her.

Karley tilted her head, "You know Lincoln though, don't you?" She couldn't read Prime's feelings, the tone and aura around her was scratchy and eerie and intense, protecting any of her mentality from leaking out like a blackhole sucking in radiation. There was both a relief, and an uncomfortable vibe in that. Prime took a cup of tea from a teacup and began to pour it.

"A Lincoln? Like old honest Abe? What a charming question. What brings you here?"

"I... I'm not sure," Karley admitted, hugging the cat tightly to her chest. "Everything happened so quickly. One moment I was facing the Teenfenders, and the next, I'm here with you."

Prime nodded. "Ah, the web of destiny can be so unpredictable. But you, dear child, are here for a reason."

Karley took a deep breath. "What is this place? Why can't I see here?"

The lady seemed tickled pink by this question. "You were blind as a child, were you not? You merely pretend to see."

She pulled herself up the oversized couch, running her hands up and down her legs.
"I could see into the future.. lifetimes.. or seconds. If you look milliseconds ahead and cast it in perpetuity, its no different than seeing."

Prime began to stir her cup after dropping a sugarcube.

"That's one way to see it. I wouldn't know dear. Even looking ahead in the present is much too much to bother with." She flapped her hand dismissively. "More likely, you enjoyed being blind. Having sight burdens you doesn't it, Miss Quinn." She leaned forward. "I've been watching you. The boy seems rather fond, if amused. You are the thin line between morality and depravity, saving people one moment and ensaring them the next." Karley stiffened at Prime's words. They struck a chord, echoing her own internal conflicts and the dual nature of her powers. She had always struggled with her ability to peer into the unpredictable strands of the future, at times providing a glimpse of salvation and other times revealing the dark abyss of the soul. "It's not that simple," she whispered, her voice laden with the weight of years far beyond her teenage years. Even if she was a pipsqueak in this form, her gentle voice of a child betraying her defiance.

"A shame. The best ones are."

Karley cut her off. "Where's Lincoln? I need to find him, to understand this connection. To understand what's happening to me. To everyone.."

"So stingy, whats the rush? There's a saying where I come from that goes those that hurry to seek the truth, will feel damned by the truth seeking them." Prime took a deep sip and set her teacup down, letting the warmth of the fire kindle the room.

"He is I, and I am him. We were always the thaumatrope of one another. He is my shadow."

The girl's eyes widened.

“Shadow? You mean.. a reflection?” Karley tried to grasp what Prime was insinuating.

Prime smiled, her teeth gleaming against the fire’s glow. “In a way, yes. Every light casts a shadow, every person has a part of them that remains hidden. Lincoln is my light, and I am his darkness.”

Karley’s heart raced as the weight of the revelation began to sink in. “So you are… what, an aspect of him? A split personality?”

Prime chuckled, her laughter low and haunting. “Personality is too finite a term. It is more complex than that. Lincoln and I share a bond, two sides of the same coin. Where he is joy and innocence, I am the sorrow and the torment. Where he is the day, I am the night. But we cannot exist without each other. Without me, he would be blind to the darkness of the world, and without him, I would be lost in it. My shadow was taken from me at some point, and in birth, Lincoln came to embody it in place.”

Karley tried to digest the information. “But why am I here? What do you want from me?”

"Pardon?" Prime listened attentively.

"The visions I've been having.. aren't you responsible?"

"What visions? What have you been seeing that has you believing I'm involved."

The little girl crossed her legs and pouted.

Primed poured her a cup of tea and slowly attempted to hand it into Karley's hand. When she let go, the blind girl grasped centimeters off and it shattered on the floor.

Karley bunched up into a wall, welling her face into her legs. She concentrated, the psychic gifts expanding like a morning sunrise and elevating an aura of light around her. Despite the inclination to suppress her fever visions, she began to see again. 

When her visionary abilities kicked in, her eyes opened to a door where the room's contents played the image of her father, A preacher, speaking of fire and brimstone. He was calling her a useless child, cursed with a disability due to her mother's sins. Witchcraft was the charge. The little child ran away from home. She slammed the door and would gently stride to inspect the other doors. "Miss?" She opened one, revealing what looked like a fetish video. In full rubber gear she was with other teens, feeling one another in a sensual pile. She slowed it and kept looking.

Rooms with her with her head bogged down on the desk, her classmates snickering.

Rooms with her store and djinn, spirits and demons causing havoc for customers.

Rooms where she embodied a slick monster with a monstrous slither of tendrils and eyeballs behind her - her best friend.

She stopped at one room, and watched the scene unfold.

 A young maiden devoid of sight played within, casually propelling a stone upon cobblestones, accompanied by another with raven-black tresses. A blonde maiden, her hair coiled in intricate spirals, and her haughty siblings sneered, issuing a cruel command for the friend to end her life. Fueled by righteous anger, she charged forth, managing to land a solitary blow against Maribelle's skirt before her inability to see betrayed her balance. As she lay vulnerable, a pair of the blonde tormentors set upon her with unrelenting kicks and tugs at her attire. The lithe figure with black hair ran ahead and decked Maribelle and Lucy, throwing fists and kicks wildly before they retreated. 

Koko helped Karley up.

"If you're going to practice your kissing with me, the pavement won't do."

Regaining her composure, Karley responded with pride,

"Did you witness my strike? I am destined... to be your knight in shining armor!"

"My knight?"

Koko leaned in, teasing her as if to offer a kiss.

When Karley came near, Koko slapped her.

She sneered a chuckle,

"A knight, it seems, who occasionally requires the princess's rescue."

Standing outside the door, Karley stood watching - now a teenager again. She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Unrequited love. Is anything more bitter?" Prime asked.

The white-haired witch turned around, eyes looking very tired. "What?"

Prime shrugged. "She will never reciprocate your feelings, I'm sure you know. That one is incapable of love. Even when you were blind you could see it. That 'princess' is one of my own. Ravens afterall, only delight in bonding with relentless narcissists and find joy only in forging ties with the profoundly self-absorbed."

Karley closed the door. The demure and compliant little girl from before was gone. The limber teen was in her latex catsuit with disc-like runes spinning around her wrists, her hair reaching to her hips. With a swish of a hand, a rapier appeared. "I'm done playing around."
Prime wiggled her fingers, feigning shock. "Oh really? There are ever so many games to play. Come, tell me more of your dilemma. These, 'visions' you spoke of sound quite extreme. I'll show you what fun games a lonely lady like myself can teach you."

Crassly grinding her boots against the wooden floor, Karley followed along to the foyer.

"Ugh, my head is killing me," Karley said. "Like seriously, life has been so weird lately, and I'm just here wondering who I even am anymore. I mean, it's a total mystery," Karley continued. "I just don't know what my identity is anymore. Ever since I helped Lincoln complete his pact, I've been having strange visions about another life."

The swell dressed lady sipped her tea as she listened, attempting to take in her words.

"And who are you in these, prophecies you speak of? Do your sights delight?"

Karley took off her boots. "No, they're similar to this existence but, there are a few differences." She paused.

"Do tell."

With a sigh, the teenager leaned back on the couch abit. "I don't know? Jaz used to be some guy, Vale was different. Lincoln wasn't fused with Loom for a time or, genderbent for awhile. He had sisters - different sisters. And I..." she sighed. "I wasn't hunting down aliens on spaceships or miserable as I am now most nights."

Prime nodded. "Indulge me, was I there?"

She shook her head. "I've never seen you there. I'd suppose you weren't part of this version of my world."

"My sincere sentiments, my dear guest. I, too, have found myself in possession of your abstracted missives, chronicling the narratives of individuals tangentially associated with the ongoing regional conflicts. Alas, it is a futile endeavor to attempt a literary exposition on their behalf, for their content is, to employ the pedestrian vernacular, 'dumb as hell'," She explained. "The gravity of this situation necessitates a more precise approach. It beckons for the deft touch of a surgical instrument, finely honed to navigate the labyrinthine complexities that cloak an enigmatic entity, such as myself." Prime elaborated. "The temporal anomaly we find ourselves ensnared within has granted me a profound sense of purpose. It is a mission that bears the appellation 'New Game Plus.' An artifice of reality, a simulacrum of beginnings, it beckons our exploration," Prime elaborated.

"That was a mouthful. Meaning?" Her brow raised.

Prime stuck her pinkie out. "Your reality was rebooted, my dear. You could think of the old world as a, Beta or even Delta story. It's since been, refreshed in a way."

"R-rebooted?" The explanation defied belief. "You mean like, in a television show?"
"Or movie franchise, owing to the industries dying creative levers."

"Really.." The teen let her head down.

"Indeed, you have cast these nascent entities into a vacuous void, ostensibly for the sake of levity and preparation for the veritable confluence of events. Alas, the task at hand proves to be challenging in the extreme. One might posit that the anticipation of events detracts from their inherent amusement," Prime pondered. "If it weren't so funny to ponder what your world was like before my designation within it, that is."

"It's just crazy that these so-called 'fans' can't appreciate Caliborn. He's, like, the essence of Homestuck, distilled and stuff. So distilled that there's nothing good anywhere else. I remember when nobody cared about those weird abstract things, or inviting narrasyte mind-entities to mess with your brain. But now, who knows? It's like, from when or whom do these interventions come? It's a total mystery.."

Karley turned her attention. "W-what?" She didn't understand any of that.

"What is.. Homestuck?" Her eyes went wide. Caliborn, who?

"Oh, I've overplayed my hand here. Nevermind it. There's normal stuff we could talk about. Limbo's still a thing, and its babies are gonna disappear soon and spring out from the Void. But, honestly, everything the author doing is just not good. So, I'm sticking to regular exposition. Rolling with this clunky script assigned to me. No weird text, no narrative gimmicks or authorial takeover like Shion would. Maybe we should find some delightful entertainment in a different reality. Just for kicks. Hey, do you even know what a Gaian Serpent is? It's when a Cherub-" Prime shared.

"NO!" The teenager knocked a pillow over frustrated. "I don't give a shit about, a god snake or whatever. I want to know what this older reality means, and why I'm having these visions."

Prime put a hand to her chin. "Well... I'm afraid this is a conversation for another time. I find it a curious experience, I'm not uninterested in the notion, but it's not, proper. I can't be doing that. I have too much to take care of and, there's nothing you could do to help. But for now, what is your next step, my dear?"

"Get back to a point where I feel like I matter. I just want my old life back, I'm not asking for too much. Just be able to think that I matter, to other people." Karley explained. "I thought being a hero was going to be a thing, but here I am, miserable. I don't know why I'm the leader of this team, I have no clue if I could do any better. It just seems like a total fucking failure."

The lady threw her arms up and shrugged. "Were you any happier in this, previous life of yours you keep talking about?"

"I, I don't know. I think so? I felt the feelings of her, and I felt like I mattered."

"Indubitably, you must have felt, in that time," Prime nodded.

Karley sighed. "It's been so much that I've been going through. It just feels like a complete waste of time. But, I know I'm supposed to be some leader, so I'm supposed to just suck it up." She stated. "I'm not good enough for anyone, even the people I care for. My own teammates don't care about me. And my best friend... we just can't even be together."

Prime reached her hand out.

"Play a game with me. And then maybe, I might be able to help you out. I'll tell you a little story, a tale of my children."

There was a tense silence. Reluctantly, Karley reached out and took her hand. She was guided up, and Prime began to show her out of the room, through the halls and into another bedroom full of dolls and toys, piling to the ceiling, a teaset and a pink-bedset and a chest full of boardgames. "Now let's see.. here it is." She took out a board.

"Chess?" The teen was skeptical.

"I've beaten supercomputers in that, what's the point?"

"Oh, this is a very special kind of chess. Sit down, so I can explain the rules."

Karley took her seat.

"I'm no grandmaster, but I'm fairly decent," Prime offered. "Anyway, we'll play, and let's say you win. Would you like it, if you could choose where we ended up afterwards? Because if you would, you might be pleasantly surprised."

"Yeah, uh, sure, if you say so." The teen shrugged.

"Very well, then." Prime smiled. "Alright, ready? We're going to play the game of the gods." Prime began to put pieces on the chess-board, but soon added additional pieces.

"Huh?" Karley was surprised.

She added equal amounts to both, until the entire board was filled. Then, she took out the single kings from both sides. "This chess is played quite like regular chess, but pawns can move backwards, and rather than moving every piece, you can only move this blank square with no-pieces here. Pay attention dear, it can perform any movement of pieces around it, provided the motion corresponds to pieces already with allowable movements. When your blank square overtakes an existing piece of the opponent, its replaced with what we call a 'Durge pawn' or simply a drone." She introduced a new piece, similar to a pawn but without the orbous bulb. "Durge can move 1-space in any direction similar to a king, but they cannot be reclaimed unlike pawns. When every piece of your opponents is a durge, you're declared the victor."

The older lady grinned. "Wanna know why it's called 'the game of the gods'?"

"But it has something to do with that. I'll tell you after we play, after you beat me."

The teen stared at the board, thinking. "Cool."

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Grace sat on a clothed table that Ellie had brought out. While the other Baubble users waited in anticipation, Harmony inspected the librarian as if she were a doctor.

"Between me and Luma, will she be-"

She held Grace's hands firmly, and spoke gently. "Please remain silent." She began, her hand beginning to glow a bright green. A rippling current flowed throughout her aura, and Grace could feel it course throughout the room. The Curator sat patiently, and so did Ellie. "You were changed by my sister's tree, Auxilitrix has been known for such tricks. I was wise to them since we were young and found how to undo her illusions and little magical acts long before we had a realm to call our own. This will require a minimum of focus."

The light in Harmony's hands seemed to turn black. "This won't take long.." She said, her hand on Grace's head. Grace closed her eyes, she felt her entire body coat with white light as Harmony's chords began to vocalize and the sounds moved through her, like colors dyeing a silky river. Grace's entire body was pulsating with that light, but also with energy, electricity, but not a destructive force. "No, that's too fast." Harmony gripped Grace's head hard, the pounding of her own heartbeat echoing as her chords vibrated, reverberating. The sound of that song was beautiful, as if a heavenly choir of angels were singing to her. Grace was in ecstacy. "That's wonderful. I'm pleased I chose the right person for this." The holy white burst and enveloped Grace, and the very essence of her being was extracted until she dissolved entirely. In Harmony's hands two spheres appeared, one glowing green, and the other violet. She took both with care and gripped them both in her hands. She closed her eyes. She began to chant.

The light began to coalesce. She could see it forming into a being. It took shape as a human girl in one sphere, and as a wolf in the other.

Their eyes were a soft golden brown and a pale seafoam green.

Grace the Girl and Luma the Wolf.

Grace stood, separate in body and mind from her former self.

Luma "Awoo?" She looked at her former tail. "Why am I.. a dog?"

She turned and sat down, her paws curling and uncurling before a table.

She looked up. "I.. I have.. these."

Harmony meditated on it for a moment, then looked over at Ellie.

"Oh." An exasperated breath left her pale lips. "It would seem, because a part of you wanted to be close to she."

"She?"

She nudged her head towards the Kaliedo Premier. "She."

"OH. Oh..."

Ellie's eyes grew big. "Wow.. that's.." She looked up abit at her own ears, her tails in back brushing abit. "Is that you Luma? You're separate now but-" "Arf!" Luma replied. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting to go all doggy. Kind of funny, since the last time we were here and you were changing nonstop, I remember you became animals too, no?" "Can you fix her?" Harmony gave Ellie a curious look, but shook her head. "It doesn't matter. This is a bigger issue than your embarrassment." She looked at the girl again. It was difficult to fathom Grace was the same.

"Maybe we could get Flora to help? She's rather-"

Ellie stopped cold, as Harmony shot her a deadly glare.

"Oh, wow, you know Flora?!" Luma was delighted to learn.

Ellie nodded her head. "Yeah, she's really nice. But, yeah, I don't think my mom knows her at all. Harmony is-"

"Arf!" Luma wagged her tail as if to give herself some confidence, then looked around.

"Where's Flora?"

Harmony looked at her angrily. "How do you know my daughter?"

Luma the wolf put her hind-legs up. "Oh I, we wrote whole treatises on her and your world. Quite fascinating really.. I mean, I guess Grace did. But since I was her too, I remember alot of what we did together."

"Oh yes, those were some rather intricate candlelit nights. I do recall-"

"This is all too complicated for me to understand!" Ellie cut Grace off. "Can I have a go? I mean I have plenty of power, and you know what you're doing too. And since it's you, and you're supposed to be as smart as my mom it's kind of reassuring I guess?"

The last line stung deep. Intellica. The mention irritated her.

Harmony gawked. "One shot, do not press your luck further after." Ellie nodded.

"Be careful mistress." Grace said, gently cupping her mouth from afar like a cone.

The two of them went over to pet Luma, Ellie and Harmony both concentrating. Rainbow aura and bright yellow-white light merged and swirled around her.

A whirlpool formed around Luma and she was constricted from the density of magic within. The aura was expanding, yet it moved in fluid synchrony as Harmony's voice guided her from within.

Grace looked over from afar, watching as Harmony began to condense more magic, energy in the form of chords and light- like a halo made of golden chords.  It descended from the air to the ground to completely wrap over Luma, Ellie providing more power to stabilize the result still. As the halo rose again, it formed the lightbound silhouette, until its movement and intensity dissipated.

Both Ellie and Harmony stepped back yet leaned in. "Luma, you okay?"

Standing where a wolf was, now presented the same Luma that Ellie had met so far back. Almost.

She had a few, animalistic features - creme colored fur, dog ears and a tail, slight paws and clawed tips. She appeared much like Ellie, observing her snout. An anthromorphic fox. "Oh, this is.." Ellie chuckled. "Wow! I kinda like this look." Luma hunched her shoulders, and shook a paw at her.

"Awoo." Luma walked to Ellie, wagging her tail. "I like you. You're.."

"Like you?" Luma asked.

"Was just gonna say cute." Her Mistress leapt forward and rubbed her black snoot on Luma's, before hugging her closely. Grace came near and the three held hands, her body flickering but the magic holding them all together. Ellie looked around at Harmony and the Curator. "Can I ask how this works?" She pointed at Grace. "She's not really there, right?"  "Correct." Harmony said. "But Grace's spirit is.. like a sort of homeostasis of energy. It takes form as that to you. But she'll be fine as long as her mana holds."

"Then, we'll be separate then?" Luma asked, tail wagging.

Harmony nodded.

"I'm afraid so. But, her mana was compromised, when she split so it's difficult for her to exert herself in terms of abilities. So, we need to help her rebuild that energy, it's her mana that gives her body life. But she's a spiritual being, her potential for knowledge and the arcane will be much higher, while you are flesh and blood Luma."

"T-thank you so much Miss Harmony. I don't, know what we'd have done without you."

"Blow you up maybe." Ellie snickered. "Joking."

"Alright then." Harmony said, "Ellie, I need you to sit in the chair here."

She pointed at an armchair.

"There's a grave matter we must discuss."

"Discuss?" Suddenly the air went rather tense.

"I am being deadly serious. Do you know how you were born? Did your mother reveal what was required to bring you forth?"

"Oh that's easy!" Ellie laughed. "I was born from, fruit!"

The air practically cracked as Harmony grabbed her collar and electrical halos danced from her fingertips, sparking in and out. She was stern, her voice sharp and cold. "Eleanor. Tell me the truth. And I will not tolerate any further lies. If you continue to withhold information, you and the rest of your family will all suffer."

Her cheeks stained red. She was staring into a very, very angry expression.

Ellie nodded as best as she could. "Fine, fine.. okay? But, my mom didn't really tell me m-" The sky suddenly split. Everyone in the entire isle began to turn upwards as a flaming figure streaked down, eventually hitting the ground with a blazing 'thud'.

Gold light enveloped a figure the size of a teenager. They were all enamored as the figure was quickly brought to a stand. It was a silhouette, all light washed away. Its form, not that of a man, but that of a teenage girl, was outlined with silver and gold hues, standing perfectly straight before them. In their hands was a smoking armored, burnt entity. The girl held Raven Master by the neck in one hand, and a cellphone in the other hand, she had a series of bows attached to her waist.

"R-ravenmaster!" Ellie cried out.

The girl threw Raven forward

"Are you.. Prime?" Were her first words.

"Who the spooks?" Ellie yelped. Her voice was trembling, her heart was going boom.

She looked at the others and saw they were similarly amazed.

The girl slowly, delicately and calmly walked forward, her hair long, her outfit all shimmery black and gold. Along her back was a single white wing. Over her head a small panache sat above her ear in yellow and purple feathers. She had an icy, cool air that seemed to shimmer with the air itself, and her feet were cloaked in golden hooves, seemingly either latex boots or part of her legs like a satyr. With this she floated as she moved forward to each member. She approached Ellie and smiled. "It is you.."

Her voice was pleasant and smooth, yet she still seemed unsettling to Ellie. "Finding you, has been like, my greatest honor in centuries."

She knelt before Ellie, even though she dwarfed Ellie, standing over her in her long dress held by a sash. "Oh wow.." Ellie gasped.

Suddenly, a series of thunderbolts struck past the dome again and rapidly crashed, their impact sending debris and forest all about like a hurricane. The winged girl looked up. A tres of explosions rocked as the new incursions made themselves known.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Between Scylla and Charybdis

In the deep dark of the whereknown's absence, beyond the light of all day two damsels played a game, one coated in the black of the night, the other lonely and grey. Piece by piece they collected the pliable, resilient, and unyielding upon the board, and they built a masterpiece in arms. A symphony of strategy, work of pure art, akin to both magic and music. For the damsel in grey, she would continually lose. But every loss was a moment to grow, another round to mourn her further losses, frustration and futility intertwining. The game continued until sunrise, when the dark-coated damsel won enough times that they'd lost count.
Prime leaned back, observing the ethereal sun within the nexus horizon outside.

"So tell me, why do you work in an Antique shop?" Prime asked.

Karley simply shrugged. "It's a side job. What teen doesn't have one?"

"When I was a teen, I was conquering neighboring star systems. But I suppose we all have our station in life." Prime chuckled to themselves, musing about everything Lincoln had told them and what they'd seen about this girl thus from his eyes.

"And that familiar of yours."

"Yes?" Karley stopped moving her pieces to look up.

"The Shadowkeeper was it? How charming. Did you think it was unusual to have a shadow as a familiar?"

The white haired girl was starting to get a little embarassed by this woman's forwardness. She swore she looked like someone she knew, but immediately dismissed the thought.

"I guess."

Prime folded her arms. "You are aware, that your familiar is a Shadowling right."

"I studied familiars extensively in top magetrack."

"Then you must know Shadowlings, in their native state are simply ravenous. If familiars are said to reflect on their masters, what do you believe that says about you? Do you think an ordinary student or user of any sort would be host to a creature like that, to command its incredible desires and powers."

She sighed. "I suppose I, the ordinary student would not have a clue what fantastical nefarious metaphysical implications of conjuring a Shadowling out of my soul exist in the grand scheme of things. Can we focus on this dumb game or what?"

The lady seemed tickled. She concentrated for a little bit, before cinching the game.

"And that's Durgemate. Had enough yet, my sweet child?"

The child's brow furrowed. "Why is this such a difficult game?"

"Difficult is an understatement," Prime said, standing from her armchair. "That isn't an excuse despite your baroque digressions, just an observation. But we all start somewhere."

The child shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we all just like winning." She looked up at Prime, recognizing the same shrill aura that Alexander possessed. "It's thanks to you isn't it? You reset this world when you entered it. That's why Lincoln is the way he is now, and Koko has strayed like this. She's trapped in the abyss."

Prime's head dropped to her chest. "She's not trapped in anything."

The white haired child sighed. "We're both in here. You, Koko, Lincoln, Prima, even Loom and Callimasis... all of us are in here. We're trapped here with you. Even Alexander, despite what he claims. That world is in you. We're all in you."

Prime's head shot up. "I am not your captor. The only ones who are truly caged here are you and I." She clasped the girl's shoulder. "And I assure you, I did not reset or corrupt this world, for whatever it was prior. Which I'm sure was pleasant, but is this Harvest not the perfect algma to reap?" She clasped her hands together as if praying to an unseen god. "Oh, the wonders of this dimension. It has soared beyond the bounds of reason, and I sense that this reality is soon to experience a significant shift. Ah, this is something to which I have long anticipated. What marvels await us! Surely, our existence shall undergo a transition. The future shines upon us, and the past is forgotten. Let us leave that sordid existence behind us. My heart pulsates with tremulous ecstasy, thinking what you children will do next."

Karley went dead silent. "Liar." She said.

Prime's eyes shifted. "Come now?"

"Your heart. I know the reason I've been losing these games, and why I cannot read you at all." She stuck out her tongue. "You have no heart."

Prime pondered for a moment, turning over the words in her head. "How amusing." She began to clap, every meeting of her palms sounding of condescension. "You knew?" The elderly nexus-dweller inside this forsaken innerspace laughed. "Heh, I see you're far too perceptive. But then, I suppose I deserve your scrutiny, for I do believe I am a very good judge of character. I'd say that you are a rather odd little thing, you and your oddball chum." She pointed to the child. "Now, perhaps you can show me what your odd game looks like?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Her hands picked up her teacup and she crossed like. "Tell me, what does it feel like? For those that have a heart? What does it.." She began to stir her spoon in the cup rudely.

"Sound like."

Karley turned away. Her jaw clenched. "You know nothing."

"If I remain so, if I halt my motions, it shall not serve as a deterrent. I shall persevere, my sweet, and not allow them to diminish me in any manner." The woman leaned in. "Indulge me. You don't need to beat me at that game, I'll share my secrets if you spill yours."

"I am not some fraudulent game you can play with some absurd set of rules." She knocked over a few pieces on the table with a swipe." The white haired child looked at her. She knew she would not budge. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Oh my, you are a sour one, aren't you? Sorry to disappoint." Prime snickered.

They sat in silence for a minute before Prime continued.

"You have to see, what the world is really like. It is so much more colorful and beautiful than this. This pathetic excuse of an existence. It's like we're walking through a dull field of nothing but mounds of straw, and we've forgotten our true form and our true essence, and we have no way out. But I'm tired of walking in this pathetic hellhole of a straw field. You want to know why your world was reset right? Why don't you tell me abit about what you hear, and I'll tell you why. It's not possible to find out who I am when you're hiding your heart." Prime told her.

"The Realm of Descent, how inane. I shall dub it the realm of Ascension, a more fitting title, and not one in vogue."

"You dare? Insolent scoundrel! I had yet to reveal my finest. And I warn you, should thou ever approach the border of my domain, you will forever be subject to the malevolence of this unimaginable domain!"

Karley's fingers clenched tight, and her face dropped.

"Perhaps this shall be useful in my coming peregrinations, as well. I feel that some fresh knowledge might lie ahead, or even-"

"Okay, okay."

The white haired teenager finally took a deep breath and swallowed her pride. "It's true, that I can hear the symphony of the universe. The whispers of every leaf, the sigh of every wave, the heartbeat of every creature. The world around me sings, and its harmony is both a gift and a burden. It tells me tales of joy and sorrow, love and loss, creation and destruction. I can hear others abilities, I can see their past with a touch and look into their future. I can hear their fears, what they love or hate, I can hear their weaknesses and what will make them shatter with a few words. But when I look at you, all I hear is a deafening silence. A void where there should have been a melody."

Prime leaned forward, her curiosity evident. "And yet, you've been losing our games. Why?" She placed her king on the board. Karley looked down, the board full of pieces- save a single empty square.

"You're not a melody or a voice. You're the empty space." She finally understood now.

Prime smirked, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Ah, the paradox of existence. While everyone focuses on the music, few realize the importance of the silence between the notes. It is the pause that gives meaning to the sound, the void that shapes the form." She smirked.

"I am the void."

Karley met Prime's gaze, the gravity of the revelation weighing on her. "So all this while, I've been trying to understand you, listen to your song, when in reality, you're the absence of it. The embodiment of silence. No wonder I couldn't win." Karley's fingers brushed the lone empty square on the board. "Will, you tell me about my universe now? And where I fit into it?"

The older woman put her teacup down.

She got up and tightened her sleeves abit.

"Follow me, we're going for a trip.." Both began to walk with Prime leading the way.

Soon Prime lead her to a room with a projector, and flipped a few switches. She needed help from the teen to pull a huge lever, which began rotating all the gears and platforms in the room to create a spire of light holographed above from the floor to the ceiling. A trunk of light with numerous layers of dusk inbetween was seen. With one press of a red button, dark fog from various machines began to come out and fill the room.

"This, is the Great Ocean of Darkness. The most wretched, malevolent expanse that has ever existed. They say it contains the essence of sin, as the world is filled with it and we are all infested. But what you see above us is but an empyrean veneer, a mere drop in the ocean that defines the sea." Her arms brushed by the smoke. "And sitting in this ocean, are the Echelons."
"The Echelons?" Karley squinted at the huge light spire, the rings around it moving up and down as if fighting one another in a neverending transgression.

"Oh, yes dear, oh yes! Behold, stand aghast! How strange this occurrence feels! Incredible! My dear Quinn, were you perchance apprised of the fact that we are now in the grandest Echelons of the Book of Life?"

As they walked around the room, Prime told Karley all about the Nexus.

"It was always an exquisite pleasure to behold these myriad other worlds. They were, however, uncharted territories, and I could traverse them without the aid of so much as even a map. Such was our existence, at least within the bounds of this dimension. This reality possesses multitudes of universes, and groups of universe, and groups of those- and above those hierarchies, the Echelons stand at the pinnacle of reality. Each higher than the next by an existentially significant degree. The Multiverse is merely a small fractal part of the Void, which itself is superseded in scope by the Plemora, underneath the Aether which is an infinitesimally minor expanse within Paradox Space and so on.."

But enough. You sedentary readers of our fine chronicle. How your greed for my word festers, I, the unending specter of the Void! All that I articulate holds no value, and you shall not peruse these words with your prying eyes. I can only conclude that you are not a reader, but a skimmer, one of those whom I have long detested. These are the individuals who do not ponder upon the content and absorb it in their minds, but instead they flit from page to page like a flock of homing pigeons, and then they stare perplexedly at the text and scratch their heads in confusion, wondering why a such prose should exist in the first place. Haha, I pity their souls, for their minds have been rendered useless. To be more precise, they are the epitome of uselessness.

But nonetheless, I shall not succumb to these detractors and shall continue forward.

And only in a manner that shall please the creators of all that is, I believe.

Karley looked at Prime who was staring madly atop the spire of light, muttering madly as if talking to someone even she couldn't hear. "Are you.. okay? Who are you spouting off to?"

Prime smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I do apologize for the inane conversation just now, I was simply enraptured by the idea of the world's creation. There was a time when I pondered the idea of creation, though this was some time ago. And then I was presented with a rather odd offer- a gift, if you will. I was asked to simply create it. That was the only rule. I was simply told to go ahead and create it. I didn't think twice about it, of course, I had so much to do already, but I had no choice in the matter. It's just as well.." She reached to the bottom of the projector, lifted it as if it were a glass lid and pulled something out from a cool, oceanic liquid underneath.

A turquoise seashell with a white symbol on it's curved exterior- half a circle, meeting half a ring. There was an otherworldly glow to it. "For all that one's trouble, this was all she could get me."

"Whose?" Karley asked.

"Oh, just some failure. Someone meant to sing to and talk to the Echelon. I had raised her to be a warden of celestial echoes, but she only ever disappointed me. How funny that another one of mine became the Warden of the heavens instead of her."

Karley's gaze was fixed on the seashell. "Is that...?"

"Don't worry about this."

Prime was searching through the holograph, moving her finger up and down as if looking through a chart. She turned her head back down. "Oh yes yes, in the cosmic ecosystem let's see now.."

The Real Primordial Reality	Erythrocytes, Flesh and Bone C2952​H4664​O832​N812​S8​Fe4
Discordia Harmonia Chaosium	Realm of Authors and Worldbuilders Wifi and Writ Ideas and Protoplot
Narraverse Scripted Cosmos	Narrasytes, Alice, Lords of Nightmares, Skaia Plot Tulpas
Omnigigarealm Infinite+ Expanse Realm of Desire Soul Nexus, aka “Ovid”	The Caravan, Arthur Payne, Bear, Celi Vox Solyndra Brides of Solyndra Nebula
Snyderverse The Ethereal Copescape Seethisphere Troubled Cosmos	Superman Luke Skywalker with Preptime The Rebootium Overthinkers Vsbitchium Saltysphere Lord Kaliborg
Paradox Space Temporal Enigma	Horrorterrors, the Oceanic highforms, Cherubs, Seraphelle, Nebulae, Denizens
The Aether Elysian Etherium	The Matreon, the Oceanic  lowforms
Plemora Lustrous Pleresphere	The Abyssals, the Etherealyn, the Lustrael, Shardts Protected by the Lightkeeper  of Heaven (Intellica)
Void Abyssal Nihility	Prime
The Multiverse Many Realms	Novus, and their Sentrimates Genesis Frogs

 

"Here we are! Vox Solyndra. They're known for consorting with The Rebootium and the Protoplot quite abit, if any universal resets are in doubt one can always point the finger at them." She poked the airy, angelic appearing figure along the 4th highest ring.
"And how do you know any of this?"

"Such is the course of our world, I surmise. I have not yet formulated a complete answer, but the notion that my being has traveled on a quest of great magnitude and length has not faded. I must have, I suspect, explored many realms and experienced a plethora of events.."

Karley shot her an incredulous look. "That said, my previous apprentice was supposed to sing to the highest rungs of the Echelon so they may provide me with the answers I sought. Such as the death of my beloved. I presented her to Solyndra so her hymns may be blessed, but Solyndra found her spirit.. lacking. And her inner quiet far too loud for any tranquility."

"Oh, that's why you're here, because of this.." She hopped off a platform to approach the teen. "YOU'RE the one I need! After that, failure of a daughter of mine. Your voice, your ears." She attempted to put her hands around Karley, only for her to back away. "You can hear her cannot you? Solyndra's call. She makes those who have reached true perfection their brides, to show their true beauty. And you, are you not perfect enough?"

The girl shivered. "Just.. please.. don't.. touch.. me.."

"Oh.. but the Echelon has already claimed you. You don't know yet, do you?" Prime smirked. "Know what?" She turned briefly back to the holograph, eyes making their way below Solyndra's rung. "Nevermind dearie."

She put her hands together. "Tell me your name."

The teen kept her gaze lowered. "No."

Prime shook her head. "We're gonna be traveling a lot, and we don't have the time to make mistakes." She poked her chin. "Don't be so prideful, my dear, I do think it's quite becoming to a good sort."

Karley scowled. "It is not my name that you wish to know, it's who I am."

"No need to tell me everything, just tell me your name."

"I.." She glanced down at the girl, her eyes filled with hesitation. "My real name is Katherine Quintessa." She finally responded. "I changed my name to Karley Quinn upon running away from home to feel more.." "Pedestrian?" Prime interrupted.

"I was going to say, normal."

"Well my dear, we shall surely emerge victorious with this knowledge. If you can someday sing to Vox Solyndra, I can have my answer and you may get the former world you seek to reclaim." Prime said, meeting her gaze.

"I have to sing to get my world back? What? That sounds insane."

"Yet, I confess, my erudition remains largely unenlightened. Alas, my dear Kathley, you, in your jesting humor, might be reckoned a buffoon, for I do declare that my intellect perceives an increment of one solitary point with each intrusion of a paranormal entity into the realm of our terrestrial existence. I jest, of course!" She waved her hands as if dismissing her very words.

"Good heavens, how the time flies!"

"Wait! You haven't told me how I'm supposed to do this task, or what happened to the previous person who tried. And.." She turned her eyes towards the object Prime was holding.

"What's the deal with that Seashell?"

Prime, with a coy smirk, looked at the seashell she had held, as if it held answers to questions Katherine hadn't even thought of yet. "The seashell, dear sweet Kathley, is but a conduit, a link between realms, between echelons. It resonates with frequencies beyond mortal comprehension, acting as a beacon for those of the Echelons. But of course, the intervention it brings is quite the mortar. Rumors were it was possessed by the very first dyad of the Joining Rose, and has very specific properties pertaining to all Dyads, that's rather complicated to speak of."

Katherine frowned, confusion evident in her eyes. "And the previous person who tried this task of yours?"

Prime's face darkened slightly, and for a moment Katherine thought she saw genuine sadness. "Ah, my previous protege. My daughter, as you've heard. A voice like crystal, clear and sharp, but not with the depth and breadth of emotion and nuance that the Echelons seek. You, my dear, have an untrained rawness, a sincerity in your voice that cannot be faked." "So you used your own daughter, sent her to Vox Solyndra, and she failed. What did Solyndra do to her?" Katherine's voice was thick with accusation.

She looked away, the weight of a thousand memories pressing down upon her. "Solyndra did nothing. She simply rejected her. But the rejection... it broke her spirit. She couldn't bear the weight of failure, not from such a high entity, and especially not after the immense hope and pressure I placed upon her."

"To hear from, Solyndra and the Rebootium?"

"Heavens no, I delight in change. I don't run from it. I was looking to have Solydra introduce me to the Overthinkers to explain to my why I had to lose my heart and why she was taken from me. See I too, know the torture of impossible love my sweet Kathley."

Her black lips extended into a grin of pure malice.

"Anyway to make up for her, disappointment, I had turned her to another task. As punishment for another one of my daughters failures. Two letdowns, what a disgrace from my future bloodline! Oh, I feel a draft. It's quite chilly in here, why don't we turn off the lightshow. I'll tell you about that story by the fireplace.."

 

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

A Ballad of Starlight

Deep dark beneath the surface of all reality, in a Tower beckoning from the eons of time, a group of children sat. They had been abandoned by adventurers long ago and collected by a cruel mistress, to be given a new purpose. The very air they breathed felt uncertain, like a dream from which they might awaken at any moment. There were 12 of these children that had shown any promise, and many others would live and die in this tower living meager lives at best. Some would go out and escape to become adventurers, others merely custodians to nearby kingdoms. Among the 12, three stood out for their vast intellectual powers and scientific potential.

Melisma

Tesla.

And Astrid.

Tesla had developed her faculties as an enlightened rationalist, and Melisma hers a prodigy in the studies of empiricist thought. The third, Astrid developed a great intuition for patterns, clockwork and tessellated intricacies, making her a gifted mathematician. She was given a single spot away from her cell every day, a purview into the sky where she may observe the stars. And yet, Octavius had told her even these stars are merely the product of this floor's realm, a different kind of cell, wider but still a fraction of all that was out there. She was informed that someday, her master would mold these children to talk to these stars and bring reality under her dominion. And Astrid wanted nothing more than to do so.

However, when she was 13, a great change befell. Octavius had gathered all the children to an auditorium where, for the first time ever, they were to meet face to face with the mysterious Prime. She stood in the center of a dark stage, a white and purple sleek robe covering her form completely. When she spoke, it was in a silken voice akin to the most revered sages of a goddess. They were to be told of a great vision she held, to overcome reality and defeat truth itself. For that end, all of them would have to die- but the lucky ones would be reborn as her children.

When Astrid heard this, she felt a rush of blood flow into her mind, and felt almost overpowered by it.

It was then, when a light shone down from the ceiling, as if an angel was appearing to her and offering her its gifts. For the first time, she could see the stars of the night sky, glowing in pure white, without the confines of her own prison cell. She was shown an empty space, filled with nothing but the stars she loved so much, and the stars she would grow up to rule over. Even without a telescope, the world seemed clear to her now, and Prime had given her it. Everything was possible, and all the children would be offered it. She felt her own blood gush in her, squirming with delight and suddenly realized what the woman had offered her. Astrid loyally prayed to and coveted Prime and her vision. 

Prime would play a game with them, involving chess. The game of gods. Every space full but two. If the players won, they'd get a treat, even if they seldom did. Astrid always insisted she'd ask one thing if she beat Prime - that she be rewarded by making her Prime's own daughter.

She worshiped her. To her, Prime outshone even the stars she loved so much.

Her adopted siblings however, were not as enthusiastic.

To them, she was a despicable tyrant.

And yet, Tesla and Melisma were chosen to further studies and develop unique abilities with this woman. To Astrid, it was almost a punishment. She still revered the woman in her mind, she still wanted to become one with her. It was something in her, a lust. Astrid knew only that something would never be denied to her, and she had to keep that from herself. She, using her vast mathematical, scientific and creative mind started studying her own abilities, believing she could surpass the other two. She even started teaching many of the other children abilities and gifts of their own. Astrid began a personal campaign to convince Prime to take her into the upper floors to see the world she coveted, and promised that in the end, her gift would be more powerful than the others'.

She wanted to be worthy of her.

How Tesla and Melisma spoke badly of Prime, saying ignorant and destructive things of their great master. And Astrid often hated them for it. Even with this resentment, she still saw the two as friends. Astris and Tesla developed their own friendship, but not of the kind Astrid had in mind. For Tesla and Melisma, their love of philosophy and the sciences was all they had. Melisma would strum her guitar as Astrid observed the stars from their telescope. But for Tesla, her relationship was more complicated. While she disliked her speaking ill of Prime, she respected and admired Tesla aswell.

Tesla loved Melisma. Yet they never let Astris know anything of a romantic nature. They never even shared a kiss, even on the cheek with her. Astrid thought she understood their love, and even tried once to make a move on Tesla. But that had all ended one day when Prime had arrived, and she attempted to show her the gifts.

Glowing and twinkling, her body reached great speeds and sharp insights while she crackled with energy. She called this gift 'Pulse' - something she'd learnt while observing the stars. The girl threw herself like a shooting star at Prime, but landed like a comet to her side, cratering into the floor. Prime looked down with a cold stare at the crying girl, while Melisma stepped in.

"She doesn't love you, Astrid."

The girl was crying too hard to hear the next part.

"She doesn't love any of us."

Realizing her failure, Astrid looked to Tesla as a rolemodel to earn Prime's attention, knowing she was the brightest and most promising of the bunch. She hoped if she emulated Tesla, if she became like her then Prime would acknowledge her. That she'd be picked to be reborn as her child. Astrid wanted this more than anything, she grew more frustrated and frantic.

Everyime an experiment failed, each day she couldn't solve an equation, every waking moment she looked at Tesla was pure torture. She wanted to have the qualities she had, and earn the same praise she got. Melisma tried to warn her of these obsessions. To help her see where they'd lead, to give her some clarity. No amount of support or warning, nor reasoning would uncloud her judgement.

Her admiration had become obsession. She began studying every aspect of her, her lifestyle and her habits. Whenever Tesla and Melisma weren't present, Astrid would study her things, read over her books and watch her work. Even this though was in vain, and she grew more miserable overtime. Astrid grew more unhappy and aggressive, failing over and over to surpass Tesla for Prime's favor. Soon, she began to have violent outbursts, which soon turned into full fledged riots. Many of the other children were so afraid of her that they would run away when she approached them. Those that didn't, began turning to her as a kind of cult leader- the children who knew they could never earn Prime's affection. Even Melisma and Tesla started to fear her, and tried to keep their distance.

But she still loved the stars. When she'd be in the tower, Astrid would always go to the telescope, even when the others wouldn't. It was all she knew, and all that she had.

As she gazed upon the stars, looking to Prime's gift as she had always hoped to, her soul grew tired. The obsessive nature she suffered grew heavier and heavier, her mind and body more sore. She didn't have the luxury of rest that night, especially when Prime had told the kids the selection would be soon. Come Thermidor, those who were chosen would be reborn as her children. Those who were not, she wouldn't say.

Tesla had come into her room with a knife.

She was crying and apologizing profusely. A greatly emotional and empathetic prodigy, Tesla pushed the girl to the ground and held the knife to her neck, hand shaking. The girl whispered something that sounded like 'sorry.' The edge reached the tips of her skin.

Tesla dropped the knife. She failed.

She ran away crying.

As it turned out, Melisma had also failed her task aswell. She'd been tasked by Prime to sing to a great and powerful entity in the cosmos, one who could show Prime to the greatest powers within reality's grand echelons, the forces that could provide Prime with the answers she was seeking and the means to end truth. Prime was greatly disappointed in Melisma, almost distraught. For her punishment she would take up the task that Tesla had failed at.

Astrid would learn that day she wasn't as empathetic as poor crybaby Tesla.

When the other children had been selected to be reborn as a new race of the Prime's children, Astrid's time finally came. She'd huddled together those that supported her, the rejected from the Tower's solemn ilk. Inside Melisma's telescope observatory, her and her friends made their final stand. None of them understood why they had to die, and even Astrid looked shocked. All the other children looked to her, unsure as to what to do, as if pleading to her for salvation.

Melisma walked in, weapon in hand. Astrid threw her arms out to protect them all, swearing they would become Prime's chosen. She remembered Prime's words. "Those walking regrets shall never stain my womb, if you wish to stay in my graces go to them. Rid the rabble. Begone with them my sweetnote." She paused. "Or perhaps, your dear Tesla shall be the one I rid of.."

Wrapping a cloth around her eyes until she was blind, for she did not need to see to complete the task, nor did she wish to. The voices of all things would guide her blade, and she could complete the task with a simple vocalization of her own. Melisma did the only thing she knew how to.

She began to sing.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

End of Starlight

Tesla paced back and forth in the hallways. The cells and rooms had all but been emptied out, whereas protests and clamor from the faces they'd grown up with were now all but silent, the lone sound of footsteps drew the girl's attention. Her mound of black long hair shifted and forth along her head when she turned around to the encroaching figure, a few inches of height over herself. Melisma's shorter spikier hair contrasted, her well-toned arms and muscles walking with a certain swagger as she approached from the other end of the dark lit hall. In her hand was some sort of sharp-edged weapon, Tesla recognized it immediately and began to fear. She could see that Melisma was trembling. When she finally stepped out of the light, she got a glimpse of what had transpired, all the denial in the world flooding her mind from the emotions the sight brought.

Melisma was covered in blood.

The gushing red dripping onto the floor, her eyes shut, and one open.

"M-Mel-"

The girl reached to take hold of her, a wave of nausea rushing into her stomach. The light began to go out and Tesla struggled to catch her as she fell forward. Melisma looked at her as a dying animal does at its keeper, she knew she'd done something too terrible for sense.

She knew she could never come back from this.

"I-I'm sorry Tesla..."

"Shshhs." Tesla held her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, I had to." Melisma whispered, tears flowing freely.

"I know," Tesla replied softly, taking her friend's hand. "In our next life, let's leave this nightmare behind finally."

Outside the tower, the stars shone ever brighter. Astrid's obsession with them became a distant memory, while Melisma's song was carried away by the wind, never to be heard by these children again.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

So there's this Seashell..

"Oh." Kathley Karley Karline Kathessa the Kintessential looked down at her cup of tea. The story sinking in deep as Prime finished it without so much a single regret, sipping casually. "You... you knew them?" Kathley's voice trembled slightly, her usually stoic demeanor betraying a hint of emotion. This woman had seemed aloof up until now, but suddenly she seemed, absolutely mortifying.

Prime set down her cup with a gentle clink against the saucer. Her face was a mask, impossible to read. "Yes," she responded, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I knew them well." She gave Karley a cold, stoic look. "And that is exactly why I had to do it. That one, Astrid was.. quite dangerous. A fanatic even." Prime chuckled softly, a sound that felt oddly out of place given the gravity of the story she had just recounted. "Oh, Kathline. Stories like these, tragedies born from ambition and manipulated love, aren't unique to just one tower or one world. The cosmos are filled with tales of souls seeking power, love, and redemption."

Kathley Karlson the Kittykat shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her grip on her tea cup slightly more tense. The warmth of the tea did little to comfort her in that moment. "Astrid? But your story portrayed her as a victim.."

"Dear Quintessa, one time she came to me after showcasing her abilities. 'Pulse', it mimics some of the features of the more advanced Cascade, a rather pale imitation atleast. Do you know what she tried to do with it?" Her tone turned deadly serious. "She tried to stab out my eye. My EYE. In hopes of impressing me. Or perhaps she thought if she possessed my vision, she would be selected and become like me. Quite frankly I don't have the time for that recklessness. All her little followers, were similarly 'devoted' to me, if you could call it that."

"What did you expect? I'm not a savior, I'm not one to be worshiped by some insane, fanatical sycophants. I am only a being." She tapped the edge of her plate. "If anything, I'm glad those children who were born, came to their own. The juxtaposition in talents is unmistakable."

A shadow of remorse passed over Prime's features, real or genuine was anyone's guess. "I did what had to be done. I neutralized the threat she posed, ensuring that countless worlds, especially those belonging to me, and civilizations would remain safe from her zealous intentions. To give that one the gifts I gave the others such as my children, would be irresponsible beyond measure."

Kar pressed. "Was it worth it?"

Prime sighed, her gaze drifting towards the window. The stars twinkled outside, each one holding its own secrets and tales. "Every action has a price, Kathley. But only so few are willing to pay it. In my long and fulfilling existence, I've had to make many such choices. I've paid dearly for each one, but I stand by them."

"How have you paid for them? How does one live with actions like this?"

Karley asked indignant.

With a smile, Prime looked at her hands.

"How have I paid? Sweetie, do you know where my body is now?"

"W-what?" The teen didn't understand.

"Nevermind. Our time here is running short." She pulled out the seashell.

"I said, nevermind. We have a lot to do, and little time to do it."

Prime stood up and extended a hand. "Give me your hand."

Reluctantly, Karley did so. Prime set it between Karley's fingers, as if she were a queen giving a ring as a betrothal. "Let's keep our little pact in mind. Someday you will face the Echelons and sing, but for now, you wish to help your flock as its shepard yes? I give you this."

"Why, a seashell?" The girl asked.

"Legends have it that in the Joining Rose, the seashell represented the jewel of salvation for both halves of the Dyad. Fragments of civilization, order and speech for those who knew freedom, and fragments of freedom from those atop their ivory tower, ensuring those that find it are destined to be reborn on the other side. Like a key, and a lock."

"I don't.." The teen spoke, barely understanding the words of this woman. 

"You know what a key and lock is for, yes? To bring in intruders. Or guests!  That's someway to understand the seashell's purpose. It lets unseen forces intercede and enter your reality, magnetizing, inviting them into your world. And, it lets you escape your symbolic world to theirs."

The concept wasn't too unfamiliar for her. "Okay, got it or whatever."

Prime got up and picked up her umbrella. "One last thing. Are we friends?"

Karley nodded her head. "I think so."

Prime smiled back, hugging her rubbery surface affectionately. "Good. Come, lets go."

Prime led Karley out of the building. The two walked along a familiar garden path, where flickering shades of all Prime's salubrious children were and a place many of them called paradise. The manor her kids grew up in, the manor they rebelled in. The Novus.

Absent, was Astrid and her flock.

They walked to the end, where one side was blacked out by an enormous portal.

With one last smile, Prime guided her through it.

The girl woke up back in the Gourdnest, Tina was reading a book observing their vitals.

"Welcome back." She said, unhooking Lincoln from various equipment.

Karley opened her hand. Inside was..

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

The other side of the Dyad

 

In  epochs past and time so vast,

I've twirled my elegant shell,

Sipping from ancient waters cast,

Their secrets, to me, they tell.

 

The might of realms, both near and far,

Dwells deep within my core,

For within me shines each distant star,

The world's power, evermore.

~Astrid

"A seashell?" Luma asked. In her hands was a glowing turquoise seashell.
The smoke from the impact nearby was finally gone, and the winged figure swiftly flew towards heading towards the clearing to join three figures. Harmony, Ellie and the rest of the community gathered to see the newly arrived trio facing them back.

They were surrounded by flickering flames, with fireflies dancing around them. Their heads bobbed up and down, as a melodious bell chimed, dangling from the main figure, her hair in a bleached-white ponytail with bells attached to her waist and a star-shaped hairclip over an ornamented ribbon in her hair. She wore a sleeveless dress that was split at the skirt draped over her legs, silvery white tights, and black boots up to her knees. A belt with numerous buckles held around her waist, each bell shaped like planets and nebula.

The two other figures didn't move. One of them, a taller, darker skinned figure with a long straight haired look meeting a bowl cut and torn magenta gown winced at the crowd, she appeared to be scowling. "You should've been more careful, we almost hit her! That would've been amazingly tragic, I'd have to masturbate to it." Alexi Thymia said.

The other a shorter woman who looked closer to the winged girl's height- her bubblegum pink hair was slicked upwards and she wore a feminine blazer over tubedress, stockings and sandals. She had tribal markings across her cheeks and eyes and numerous bangles. "As always, your emotions are out of wack. Couldn't you present more more elegantly for our beloved Prime?" Morosanne sighed.

"And you too young lady.. What kind of 1st impression was that?"

Fluttering close by in forth was the original winged girl, she raised a middle finger at the two and went back to scrolling on her phone. "This is more your big hoopla mine, so whatever." She pulled her bangs over one eye and stuck her tongue out, walking off.

"Dasa, get back here!"

"Stop embarrassing me mom." She flicked her bangs abit and flew off.

The tallest woman with a ponytail walked forward, star symbols in her eyes. She looked at Ellie with a longing and depraved sense of want. "It's you. It's really you." Her hand reached out, the confused Ellie stepping back instinctively. "Me! I.. don't know you." Her eyes started to glow a multitude of colors as a rainbow aura surrounded her. "But if you play as rough as you did with Ravenmaster, I'm going to have to ask for a time out.."

The woman paused. Why was she talking this way, what was with her? "You're different. They did something to you, but I can still sense it, I can smell your scent anywhere." She got on her one knee and bowed her head, taking Ellie's hand. "Please, accept my apology for allowing those wretched Novus to do this to you, my Prime."

Ellie looked at Harmony, then backed her hand away. "I don't know whats happening but, you have the wrong gal!" She tried to slide away. The girls eyes turned livid.  

"It cannot be.." Harmony put two hands on the woman to get a good look. The body was clearly different, but the lust in her eyes she'd never forget and the want in her voice confirmed her fears.

"Astrid?"

The woman looked at Harmony, an oddly familiar expression. "Melisma. So you go by Harmony now.." She stood up and bowed to Ellie once more, "My name is Astromica, Novus of Starlight. But you may call me Astrid, and I'm here to take you home." Ellie's body shuddered instinctively with fear.

Harmony stepped forward. "You are no Novus." She stepped protectively in front of her niece. "And she, is not Prime."

The woman took another step forward. Harmony tensed. Ellie began to shake.

Astromica stepped up into her face, as if to kiss her.

Ellie recoiled and slid her head back.

They sighed. "If you don't understand what I'm talking about, it's because these wretched children of yours have manipulated you. From butchering your body, to rebuilding you as this, and making you some mockery." She looked up and down at Ellie's clownie exterior.

"They've taken all of your beauty, that which you deserve-"

"That's enough!" Harmony's eyes began to glow. "I think it's time for you to go."

She smiled, it was a cruel, sickeningly beautiful smile. It revealed teeth and jaws unlike that of any mammal. She sniffed once, a sharp, snorting smell. "Your children. They're still attached to you.." She began to stroke her hair, "But that's okay. I can take you back to your people, and free you. I can free you from this hell they've cast on you." Her left arm began to glow a rainbow aura around it, and she stuck her hand out. "IMPULSE STRATA." A multicolored beam of light shot forward in a spectacle of spiraling towards Harmonica. Its shockwaves rocked the area and sent her piledrived far back. The lightshow illuminated this quaint world below from isle to sea.

"Harmony!" Ellie said, everyone looking onwards.

From out of the explosion and cleared smoke, a larger 6' Hen appeared with harmony's hair, clucking in grief.

Astromica smirked. "That's a good look for you, you won't be singing any highnotes like that." She turned to Ellie. "Now, come with me."

"Lady you're out of your rocker! And I'm the clown saying that." She placed her palm forward and shot her own beam. Astromica matched it perfectly with her own, Ellie finding herself struggling to push the chaotic energies forward. The two spells clashed until they bounced off into a column elsewhere sending it toppling in a thrashing burst.  

"How?" Ellie had never met someone able to give her pause like that.

Slowly, Astromica took off her glove. A stitched arm was revealed underneath, one she proudly showed off. "How do you like it? I stole this little gift from Tesla's lab. It's only fitting if that butcher should be so greedy for you, that I-"

"I don't care!" Ellie began to float and glow, she charged ahead. With a smile, Astrid's body began to glow a pinkish-magenta color and she began to rapidly bounce around Ellie, appearing at all places at once and speeding off in any direction. She bounced from tree to roof, each flip bouncing off Ellie's chest as a hard knock. "Please my Prime, remember yourself!"

"I do remember! And I'll do as I please!" Ellie kept punching, and Astromica's body flashed back to being completely pink once more. 

Grace attempted to rush close, her spirit form like a wisp able to quickly move inbetween Ellie. Luma rushed close in. The tanned figure that'd arrived with Astrid had pale whitelips, she trembled as she approached the two.

"Get back!"

"Okay! I will! I love you so much.." She said giggling.

"Huh?"

"Hug?" The woman drooped suddenly. "I-" "You hate me. It's always like this, I get so close. I knew we were destined to be enemies." "What are you saying?" "Yes, I do! I believe in myself too! I k-knew you did. You've given me hope. I can see my sister's eyes in you. Don't let these humans do this to you! Hope prevails." Alexi Thymia glowed in a magenta hue, her emotions seeming to bounce wildly between despair and mania. She took out a dual set of dice and flicked them forward.

(6/6)  

"Oh no, a perfect roll! That's terrible! I'm so happy! Splatter with me."

Ellie felt a sudden stab to her gut, as if some invisible force had burst inside her chest. She leaned forward and spit out a grotesque chunk of blood. "Mistress!" Grace held Ellie up and panicked.

The rest of the Bauble users started to catch up, but the original 1-winged figure flew forward. "Where are you going?" A pink aura from her body began to shimmer and expand, dissipating through the airwaves into sparkles that everyone was caught up in. She put one one hand up, one to her side and another knee forward as if a ballerina about to spin. "Aren't you forgetting me?"

Wick looked at Zelga, the Lady of a Thousand Meadows remembered the same thing as Sinclair and Merrow-1. They all ran towards the girl in adoration. "Hehehe.. I love you too." Luma said, a smile forming. They huggled her and stood on guard, protectively standing guard over the girl. "Dasaaaaaa right." She folded her arms.

Luma was pushed aside so the other Bauble users could join protecting Dasa with crazed addled looks in their eyes. Alexi Thymia flew out of the way quickly as Grace tossed a series of pages at her, different spells from every page.

Strikes of light, granite strikes, fire pillars, ice shards. Everytime Alexi Thymia would keep a series of d20 dice close, rerolling along her fingertips. "4..7..1.. 12.. Terrible. You should know the more your luck runs out, the more you'll face, catastrophe. Isn't it great! I'm so sad for you.. hug time!" She threw her body forward at Grace and wrapped her arms around, dice spinning.

(20/20)

"Perfect misfortune. Astral Arrow!" A bright arrow made of streaking energy pierced them both and crashed them into the woods, Alexi taking the pain with a mix of despair and ecstasy.

Flying up through the sky, Mercy and Sway sighted the group and started to head towards the center. "Somethings up with that weird winged girl, don't get too close." Mercy warned, seeing everyone else cuddling close and observing the two with mistrust, guarding her with their life. Sway spit out. "Stoopid tricks." She saw the third woman to arrive, Morosanne suddenly floating above the two. "You two should go back, for your own propriety. You won't like the rules if you trespass.

"Rules?" Mercy raised one brow. "Silence!" Morosanne threw her arms in exaggerated dismissing motions.  "Your does not excuse your improper behavior. You ignorant girls. Do you not care where you fly?"

"N-no, why?" Mercy asked.

"It's disrespectful to the trees. I have already made a decree that those trespassing on their boundary shall be fined. The weathers, frost and thunder shall not stand."

"Froost n lightins? Dun be ridiculoos." Sway gnashed her teeth.

The ceiling began to form with clouds and icy flurries fell, electrical storms gathering. "How?" Mercy looked up. She attempted to fly towards Morosanne, only for gigantic hailstorms to begin pelting her path. "All that from some, ridiculous decree?"

"What's ridiculous? I decreed it. It's only difficult to grasp for feeble minds." She clapped her hands. "For instance, if I decreed that time move faster or a month becomes an hour."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Mercy threw her fist at the woman. A faded clock appeared around Mercy and ticked ever so slowly while Morosanne moved in accelerated time, appearing behind her, grabbing her leg and tossing her through the forest. "Merc!" Sway flew back to retrieve her, thunder from the sky zapping her repeatedly along the way.

"A zapped flea. How fitting for an insect."

As the other baubble holders protected Dasa, Wick started to thinkadink the scene and second guess it. Everything seemed serene and blissful one moment and confusing the moment.

Wait a second, why was I slobbering ovah this this sassy teenybopper sheila? I don't even know her. But of course I should, I love her more than anything. Even if she is perfect in every possible way. Isn't that just a buncha hippy malarkey however? I sure don't remember ever meeting a fiend teen like this. Seems like everyone else has started simping for a pimpin.

Over there, I can see the Spacewitch fendin off Mercy Gercy Gertrude mcPunchy NoMercy from trying to rumble-tumble and smack down Dasa. You should see the two fighting, its like POW and WOW and KA-CHOW! Wonder why Mercy isn't seeing our Cupid as the Cute-pidiest-kapooshiest? Might be cuz she was recieving love letters her whole childhood and decided romance just stinks, less its with a stinky buggo for gay's sake. She's doing pretty well for herself, but White Nebula had Eldric bring the big boomysticks and now they're giving a wild goosechase across the isle, never thought I'd see a face to face like that in my Wicktime.

 I see that, Alexi girl being tackled by Ellie. She squealed, then got up and flew across the sky, her eyes flickering between a glistening bluish hue and the colors of the rainbow.

"Astrid! I'm so happy!" She ran over and hugged her. "You're so pretty! I love you!"

"Get off me! Lexi, damnit!" Astromica raised her hand, and suddenly the sky was full of stars. They began falling and showering the entire panopticon, sending everything into chaos. As many bauble users tried to push themselves into Dasa, the rest began fighting for a place up through the woods to reach the center and the clashing of thunderstorms and hail came down.

Zelga, her own wings, and the other bauble users flew after her, as she sped across the forest. "You must go. This is now a crime. The Baubles have gone rogue!" Aegnus shouted, watching Zelga flea to attack Ellie and pull her off Morosanne.

"Z-zelga?" Ellie said.

Astromica smirked. She traced her finger in a sphere around herself and Ellie, creating a three dimensional barrier. "Finally, I have you back. Finally.." She said, feeling the relief of a thousand generations wash over her. Rocketing in rapidly, Mercy and Sway attempted to punch through the barrier. Astrid's body Pulsed rapidly in magenta, she shoved Prime's hand through the ground and created a kaleidoscopic shockwave, sending the two flying back in the rainbow shockwave. She then threw her arm around 

"Oh Nyyyx~"

A shadowy figure arose from behind Astrid. "What goes better than Starlight and Night afterall?" She stuck her tongue out. Ellie attempted to swing at her, only for her to catch her wrist. "You're not your true self yet, that awful woman did this to you. But soon.." She looked at Ellie with a maddened gaze, a sliver of drool leaving her mouth. Her fingers started fondling her breast with her unused hand, then nearly reaching down to her damp crotch.

The hen-Harmony, finally adjusting to her new vocal ranges and finding inner focus clucked out the vastest of squawks. Her body popped in light and then in the implosion, she returned to her original form. She went quickly towards where Ellie was held and looked over.

"You couldn't even defeat me with your own power, so you had to rely on such a despicable implant. You're just as rotten as Intellica." She remarked.

"Using this arm is a gift, of course a philistine like you wouldn't appreciate it." She pointed and shot another beam, Harmony striding forward and dodging this time.
"You already put my foot in the grave, Harm. I won't allow you to keep her from me."

The Novus's eyes radiated with golden light. She put both hands on each breast and sang, a golden, crystalline texture spreading all throughout her in the most metallic of hues. The shimmering radiance was sharper than ever, the light was so bright that it was nearly impossible to look at. Her body began to stretch, to elongate and then her wings extended into a more majestic form, like a butterfly from a cocoon. Gigantic wings spread out her back, and a spear appeared in her hand. Each wing was now like armor, the light radiated through each vein and bone of her being. She lifted her wings, stretching out the furthest tip, held up her spear, sang the highest note she knew and threw the spear through Astrid's barrier, shattering it and knocking everyone within back. Harmony began to look up, "Ellie! Run! Go!" She shouted, and Ellie immediately took flight.

The Novus took a glimpse of the world as it was, and smiled. She was ecstatic, having been a Novus for so long, and never truly experiencing true freedom. She took a moment to admire it, and began to sing again, marching towards Astromica.

"Tsk." Astromica winced, she whistled and Morosanne and Alexi gathered back. Shadowy tendrils began to wrap around them, elsewhere rising up Dasa's form aswell. The four were shielded by the nightbound energies who protected them on. "Did you know, that ? That's how we found her in the first place. We were waiting for the right time when her Librarian was disarmed. Because she, you see, is the one that setup all the defenses in this wretched Tower. Leaving the void, was difficult without that.."

Hundreds of thousands of creatures began to flood out and into the panopticon. The golden Harmonica observed their spread as they climbed out of the sea of despair.

"Shadowlings? That's a new low."

Her throat began to emulate the echos of a single chorus. Thousands of spears appeared around her with golden tips of light, and once she hit her final note, they spread out in a gattling of thrusts towards the hoard. Everywhere they hit, they radiated enough dispersion of light and energy to create a blazing ring around the Isle and disintegrate the enemies.

The Shadowlings gone, she turned around. Astrid was disappearing into a dark puddle on the floor within the dark miasma. "Until next time. And let there be no doubts, Prime will be MINE. Send a message to Tesla for me, next time we meet it will be me she chooses."

She threw a single spear towards her head, cutting a single bled area over her forehead and then hitting only an oily dark puddle as it stabbed thru after. All of the baubble users, who were in the midst of thinking how best to protect their beloved cupid felt themselves come out of a trance. The stormclouds and odd weather soon ceased. All calm returned to the isle as simply as it had always been.

Grace floated down behind Ellie, who was wiping abit of blood from her lips.

"Mistress, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. What the clown's ass was that all about?"

"I'm, not sure. They must've taken advantage of my momentary lapse in maintenance when I was split to sneak through here. Still, those guys displayed abilities on the severity level of a Novus." Grace observed.

"They're not Novus." Harmony said, walking towards the two and inspecting them both. "I hate to say this, but I don't believe we can leave you so carefree as you've been. There will be.."

She looked down, nearly stepping over Ravenmaster's damaged shell. She picked them up, her winged feathers stabbing into them, slowly healing the injuries and restoring their exterior.

"Consequences from here on out for negligence."

Luma blinked a few times, the pinkish glow fading from her eyes. "Ugh, I'm so sorry! I got sidetracked by that, weird girl. It was like, all I could think about was taking care of her and being her friend. I thought about being one. I was her friend." She looked back to see if her tail was still wagging.

Ellie gently patted Luma's head. "It's okay, Luma. We all got taken for a loop there. I couldn't think straight either." She clenched her fists. "The one time I fought my mom though, I remember her attacks had a similar pattern. I think that lady, Astroboy or Astis had the same arm as her? On the opposite side though."

Harmony stood silent, almost unable to comprehend what she'd seen. She never thought she'd have to face a group that she already had to kill before. "I need to speak to my sister, and siblings about this. You should get somewhere safe, do not put yourself at further risk, understood?"

"Geez, don't have to tell me twice." Ellie said, sighing at her rather severe aunt.

Luma came close, clearing her throat. "Ellie, there's something I want to say! I've decided, now that I'm, well myself and separate again." She folded her arms. "I want to get strong! My mind still has all the knowledge from my Grace-bod times, so I want to put that to good use. Will you help me? Before I even think of leaving, I want to do my best to, really look out for you guys!" She smiled.

"Course." Ellie scratched her snoot and chin. "We cannot let a few killjoys like that take away the achievement of you leveling up into well, you." She threw her arms around Grace and Luma and huddled all 3 of them into a tight caress.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

The

 Xovus, daughters of Thermidor

Astromica - Daughter of Starlight and Decimation

Alexi Thymia - Daughter of Chance and hellacious Misfortune

Morosanne - Daughter of Sovereignty and Slovenity

Nagathyis - Daughter of Crest and Conquest

Cybelle - Daughter of Obituaries and Oblivion

Slain by Harmony and rejected by Prime, they seek to retribution for the Novus that cast them aside, especially Harmonica. Their goal is to revive and recover Prime, believing her to be resurrected by Intellica's mad science, to that end they seek to kidnap Ellie. Each of them harbors an obsession with being acknowledged by and worshiping Prime, as her self-appointed apostles. They designate themselves 'Xovus' or 'X-Novus' as the ones barred from being reborn as Novus proper, despite being seen as the proper inheritors of Prime's will. Because they were not born as heirs of Prime, they discovered their own aspects and declared themselves the daughters of these integral grand powers.

Sentrimates

Alexi ✦✦✦〖Dasa "Cupid" Dähnhardt〗✦✦✦ Nagathyis

Back in the dark, the worlds of the Darklight, in a place that the darkness had not touched. The nightmare. The void. Beyond the final ring of the Tower, where Prime's shadow resides and cloaks the void beyond secrecy. Within a dark castle within the Darklight the Xovus had taken for their own. There, Cybelle sat, gazing into her cauldron and contemplating that which they consider Prime- Ellie. A dozen shadowlings crowded around her doing her bidding, under her influence and control. She turned to Luma's imagery in the cauldron, looking at a seashell she was holding. It seemed almost alive, almost thinking, responding in some unknown way, but she was sure. She would wait with Nagathyis for the other 3 to arrive back.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Stasis of the pendulum

Lincoln got up, observing Karley on the table, her eyes bandaged up. "Crap crap, you alright? Did the process injure you?"

She shook her head. "No, no I'm fine. I just preferred to cover up abit." She looked down. "Maybe I should've down there." She said, her chest bare and exposes. Lincoln turned away. "The others went home, but the process went pretty well." She told him.

"A-ah, alright. I'm glad." He slowly got off the table and held her hand. The white haired girl smiled. "This is it, this is your last chance, and I want to see you shine." Lincoln nodded. "I know. And when we're through, that's when I'm going to get you that tea." He said, squeezing her hand. "Tea huh.."

"Well, I need to get home, but.. are you hungry? I brought something home, and I'd love to share it with you."

Lincoln nodded. "N-no, I'm alright, but you should eat when get out. My sisters usually have a big meal around now, you can hangout."

She smiled back.

The two began making strides through the Gourdnest's steel and echo-y halls. Eventually they reached the elevator platform and began to ascend back up. The two popped up in Lincoln's backyard. A shadow crept on the horizon, rapidly making pace until it lounged for them both. Karley sidestepped out of the way, leaving Lincoln piled on the ground.

"Vira?!" He said, staring at her uptop. Her immense form pinned him against the grass.
"Who the fug else? Lame-o." She grabbed him by the shirt collar. "You didn't give me the spesh telescope I asked your sister to make yestahday! Don't act like a turtle, I ain't about to start killing you. Come on, or I might just kick your tail to town, and that's just embarrassing." She rearranged so her bum was sitting on his face.

Karley scratched her head. "Vira.. get the flip off him."

She sneered. "Oh if it ain't that punk always duking it out on the blacktop. Wuz the use of those moves of yours if you're hidin behind a mask? I've got a nose like a hawk, think I don't know you're pulling rank up there?"

She rolled her eyes, and picked up a blade of grass to blow it forward. It carried with the wind, Vira snorted it up in a laughing fit and started coughing until she hacked it up. Karley pulled Linc out while she recovered herself.

"Psst, trying to murder me with grass is lame!"
"You should try listening to the grass sometime, Vi. It's quite pleasant company."

 Lincoln, catching his breath, replied, "Maybe you should try not sitting on people for once. It's not the best way to ask for something."

Vira pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "You should be grateful! Not everyone gets my special treatment." She smirked, but then her gaze shifted to the still-bandaged eyes of Karley. "So, Phantom, what's with the bandages? Playing mysterious now?"

Karley sighed, "Just a personal choice."

"Ha! Some confidence you've got there."

Lincoln gently touched Karley's arm, "Thanks for sticking up, but I can handle her."

She nodded, "Sorry. Just looking out for you."

Vira rolled her eyes, "Ugh, this is nauseating. I just came for the telescope. Who do I have to poundtown to get it? Ain't gonna start kissing the student prez's ass or joining that freak ratpack."

"Where indeed.." The voice of a woman said, accompanied by the sound of bells.

★★★★★――――――――――――――――――――――――★★★★★

Astromica stood in her lab. She looked at the vat and the sputtering of tubes, wires, beakers and absolute mess of equations on a dozen blackboards. The mess paled in comparison to the amount of disposed attempts and heartshattering stillbirths. "Intellica did it.. she was able to do this. She could clone life like it was nothing, bring HER back like nothing! How.. how.." She smashed her control deck and wiped her table of vials clean, kicking her devices and pulling at her ponytail in a fit of despair.  "...HOW? The system is so complex, how did she.." She thought." She started to shake and cry, everything had been for naught. How many times had she retried this? How many failures, whole batches that never made it to even the basic gestation stage. "HOW?!"

"Theoretical possibilities only. To my knowledge, no research has confirmed it." Cybelle sat at a small table in the corner.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME I'VE WASTED THE LAST SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS?! INTELLICA WAS ABLE TO CLONE HER I AND RUINED MY LIFE FOR A THEORY?!"

"S-stop, Astrid. I meant-"

Cells began to divide. It was, from the soul-crushing fruits of her intellectual labor, the miracle of life.

"NO." The woman stormed out of the lab. "I've had ENOUGH. I'm done!" She paused when the machine connected to the bio-vat gave a ding, a light turning green. Astrid turned around in disbelief. Her tears dried up, then continued again in pure revere. "Finally.. finally.."

8 months later.

Astrid embraced her daughter.

☠Novus Prime☠ ✦✦✦〖Vira〗✦✦✦ Astromica 

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"Vira!" The woman said, leaning over and observing the company she kept.

"Mom!" Vira turned around, caught off guard. She always hated when she crept up on her like that.

"Are you bullying that sweet boy again?" She went over and nuzzled the kids head, having nothing but indifference for this little pest. "And his girlfriend too no less."

Karley cleared her throat. "We're not-"

"She was just trying to get a toy my sister promised her, Miss Astrid." Lincoln looked up at her slightly. "It's my fault really, I forgot to deliver it. I know how she loves her.. Stars."

Miss Astrid looked down at Lincoln, her stern gaze softening ever so slightly. "Yes, she does have a certain... fondness for the heavens," she said, her voice betraying a hint of nostalgia. Miss Astrid turned her attention back to her daughter, her voice taking on a gentle but authoritative tone. "Vira Astrid, apologize to Lincoln and Karley this instant. And after, you will help me in the observatory for the evening."

Vira huffed, "Fine! Sorry or whatever." She threw a glare at Karley,

"You too, weirdass girl."

Karley merely nodded, "Accepted, or whatever." She mumbled.

Her daughter looked up. "Um, mom? You got a lil cut there.." She pointed to the tiny trickle of blood from her forehead. Miss Astrid shrugged. "I was mishandling lab equipment, you never can be too careful."

She leaned over to look at Lincoln. "Weren't you, how they say, experimenting with finding your Somaform abit back? I could've sworn you made a cute girl at the last bakesale."
Lincoln, regaining his composure, shrugged. "Maybe? It comes and goes, who knows. And it's alright, Miss Astrid. And yes, I have the telescope. I'll make sure she gets it."

Miss Astrid smiled, a genuine but rare smile that was reserved for those few moments when her guard was down. "Thank you, Lincoln. Please, ensure it gets to her. A telescope is not just a toy, it's a reminder of where we come from and what we're capable of." She paused, gazing up at the sky. "The universe is vast, and we're all made of stardust." She patted Lincoln on the head, before walking to take Vira's back home.

Karley scratched her head. "What's her deal again?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Uh, my mom really didn't like her for some reason and vice versa. They had an intense weird rivalry, but idunno why.  She's always been pretty sweet to me." They watched the two walk back through the streets and into the sunset. As they waved goodbye to the two white haired teenagers, the evening sky turned a deep shade of purple, and the first stars began to twinkle in the vast expanse.