12

Chapter Text

Brave 3.1

"Hey, hey, listen…"

-Navi

-Dream-

The world is a white void; my body is made of lights, small orbs dancing in tune, and in a vaguely human shape. A dark blot of space slowly forms; a golden shard in the middle slowly appears. I know it.

[Host Marie] My passenger says. Its voice echoed inside my mind like the roar of an engine.

"Yeah?" I ask.

[I… I'm sorry. Pain is inevitable. Shard self distance from Host Marie is measured in Planck length.] The tone with which it replied indicated that there was genuine emotion there. I never considered that the connection was two-way… Fuck, which means that this shard is experiencing the full spectrum of emotions, not just data and research. It also meant…

"Ah, and since I'm still human…" I said, and it nodded, confirming my fear. There was no way to avoid the pain outside of renouncing my body and most of my mind. I would need to become a shard or something like it to handle the data. 

[Overflow, dimensional instability, pain . Apology, Administrator host requires your attention. Good fortune, host.] It said as it disappeared. Or perhaps fading into the back of my mind is a better term.

-March 29, 2011, Hebert Household-

My chest hurts a lot, fuck it feels like someone took a jackhammer to my ribcage. I slowly begin to feel out my body; each muscle and bone react accordingly. I open my eyes to see Taylor about to begin her best attempt at manually pumping my heart.

"I'm alive!" I manage to yell, stopping her on time. She stares at me before gripping my shoulders tightly.

"I thought you died." She said in an eerily calm tone. From the corner of my eye, I could see the spider swarm milling around almost in a spiral. "Marie, could you stop scaring me for one day?" Her voice broke. Fuck, I'm doing it again, making people worry.

"Hey, Tay. It's not something that can be stopped. I mean it, my power had a nice talk with me and explained things, for the moment there's not much that can be done about the pain. Maybe I'll find a solution to it, but that will be later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go to bed. Would you tell Belle that I'm alive?" I replied, forcing myself to move, fuck everything felt stiff. It was slow going, but I managed to get to my room, and I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. 

Danny woke me up; in his hand was a cup of black sludge that could be considered coffee. I groaned and realized several things simultaneously, the least of which was that when given the chance, I was going to rip reality apart because cramps fucking hurt. I can't imagine the face I was making when he saw me, but however it looked, it was bad enough that he asked,

"Marie, are you okay?" I could smell the coffee, and it made me want to puke for once.

"Uncle, get Taylor here. Please." That was all I could reply to him despite my desire to curse loudly. Fucking Mother Nature, fuck puberty! Fuck it, making myself a damn robot! Shit, I need to clean these sheets…

Taylor came in soon after and took one look at the blood-soaked sheets and just nodded. It took a quick change and an awkward conversation, but it was done. Then Taylor asked,

"Didn't you say that you could control your body and blood?"

"Yes." My tone was waspish, but it didn't seem to affect her as she asked,

"Why aren't you releasing endorphins and the like to deal with it?"

"..." Oh gods… I forgot.

"You forgot, didn't you?" I refused to answer; I could feel my blush getting to a near-perfect red. I felt like the world's dumbest fuck for a total of 5 seconds before the pain-relieving chemicals flooded my system. I giggled as I sat down and was ready for the day.

-Stonewell, after school-

"Damn girl, what did you take?" Emily asked me. It seems that my smiling was odd enough to make her think I'm on drugs. This, to be fair, is true; however saying: I modified my body and mind to allow myself to control all my biological faculties to a cellular level, and to spite nature I'm getting high to avoid dealing with uncomfortable pain. It is not the best way to express oneself. 

"Just some extra strength pain relief. Tay swore by it, and I have to agree that it works." I replied, with the technical truth. Hmmm, given the fact that I can now make decent armor, I should probably get her something. Maybe a shield with a tunic? 

Snapping her fingers, Emily gets my attention once again. "Those happy pills must work miracles. Do you think you're capable of playing today?" Her tone is more amused than anything; I can feel her eyes on me, soaking up as much detail as she can. Searching for something… Do I look that high? Hmm, I need to turn it down a bit… There, dull pain but no cramps that feel like someone took a spiked bat to everything below my stomach, so a win in every book.

"Yeah, let's go. It's my turn to teach you how you play today." I replied, a sheepish smile adorned my face as we left the classroom. The halls were rapidly emptying, and by the time we arrived at the music room, we could hear only the sound of instruments. A few of the kids were calmly playing on one side of the room while others were with a stack of books doing their homework over at the one desk the room had. 

Emily took up the old violin while I took up the one she gave/lent me. I took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. My muscles relaxed, and I said, "On three. One, two, three…"

At Emily's insistence, we started playing Enter the Sandman. She said that it was the first song she had ever learned to play on the guitar, so it would be the first song she would learn on the violin. Slow, steady, and rhythmic, the music flowed outwards. My mind wandered while I wanted the master sword; there were other things I could build. Even with Alchemy, it would take hours to forge, and it needed to be forged; there was no escaping that part of the process. So, until then, I needed to figure out what I wanted to do first. The Sheikah slate was a good start for me, with access to several items and functions, all in a portable tablet. Power bracelets were another, while I would build golden gauntlets for the costumes, something a bit more subtle would provide some use.

Potions were another thing I needed to consider. Red potions to restore health, yellow to grant invincibility and health, air to improve diving… Wait, I can make the tunics! Those would be better for me, at least. Given how weak my costume is to fire, a Goron tunic would work.

"Hey, shard , mind telling me if I can make a Goron tunic and wear it under my armor? " I ask my passenger. There's no sound, nor voice but blueprints form. It seems it would work, I'd have to modify it, unfortunately, I can't combine it with the Zora Tunic, which would've been nice to have. I just realized that I'll need something like the inventory system to manage all the stuff I want to make.

[ Function ]

Oh, it's not that hard to make, God bless the koroks, the sheikah, and their ingenuity. Zelda's inventory is bullshit and I love it. I just need to make the damn thing first. A discordant note interrupts my thoughts as Emily stops playing. We were halfway through the song, shaking my head. I tell her,

"You know we could've continued." She frowns for a moment before her expression changes to one that screams determination to me. She smiles and says,

"Maybe, but I'd rather start and reinforce the muscle memory than continue after screwing up." I can certainly understand the sentiment. I've also done that several times. I smile at the memories that flood my brain, they're of a gentler time, taking up the proper pose, I say,

"Fair enough. From the top again. One, two…"

"Three." "Three." We say at the same time, in the same tone. Perfect synchronization, I smile as the song begins again. Slow, steady, constant, smooth…

We played for about an hour before Emily's phone rang; she took one look and frowned.

"I gotta head home early." That was all she said. I nodded and followed her. The bus took us downtown, and I saw where she lived. It was a simple two-story house. I passed it a few times before, and it never drew my attention. Emily left the bus and walked to her house,

"Belle, can you keep an eye on her?" I asked the little drone that disguised itself as an accessory. It nodded and flew towards the house. I saw it slip in under the door as the bus drove away.

-Hebert Household, 10:00 p.m.-

I breathed out slowly, the carved jewel settling into the simple bracelet with a satisfying click. I placed my hand through the bracelet and made a one-ton block of steel appear through the use of alchemy. Grabbing it firmly, I lifted it; it weighed nothing.

"Hahaha hahaha!" I laughed loudly, the power bracelets worked! One fucking ton and it feels like a feather in my hands. I place the block on the floor and transmute it back. I yawn as the time hits me, stretching idly. I look at the bench and smile, a set of deku nuts, a fire rod, and a gale boomerang lay there. There were also some half-finished topaz earrings and the beginnings of the Goron tunic. I will finish those tomorrow; there's no need to hurry.

And speaking of hurrying, I had forgotten to take some spice in the morning, so I decided to create some and drank it with water. The rush of it slowly coursing through my veins helped relax me.

Mush was knocked back against the truck. Armsmaster swore as the giant made of trash picked it up and threw it in his direction, missing him by a hair's breadth. Emily screamed as the truck hit her window. Her corpse…

"Fuck!" I swore, rushing out of the house. I didn't bother locking up behind me; I barely registered Danny's stunned look as I kicked down the doors and ran. Alchemy transformed my clothes into a gray body suit, a simple domino mask, and a change of hair colors was all I could do while speeding across the city in the direction of Emily's house. My communicator rang, and Belle said,

"The PRT is fighting the merchants near the downtown area… Creator, why are you already heading there?"

"Vision, Emily, Mush. Kill." I replied dodging past traffic, my body a blur. I could feel the drain, but I needed to move faster. Fast enough to save her, fast enough to stop them. I could feel the air chill around me as the heat from my surroundings began to fuel me. 

"Understood. I will assist you directly." Belle replied, her voice taking a hard quality. Normally I'd ask what she meant by directly, but at the moment all my mind could process was going faster, I heard the rattling of metal before the call was cut off.

In front of me stood several merchants, some covered their faces with old Halloween masks, and others used rags to cover the bottom half of their faces. They were firing on the protectorate patrol as I approached, just a few dozen feet from them stood Mush fighting Armsmaster. I sped up, and one of the merchants fired as soon as he saw me, the bullet whizzed next to my head, and my fist met his face with a crunch, another aimed and I jumped, using him as a stepping stone for a second jump…I heard the crack of it breaking as I almost flew into the sky. I could see Mush; I clapped my hands and landed. 

Mush screamed as he was pierced from all sides by concrete. He would hurt my friend, even accidentally, and I would show no mercy to him. My mind decided on a course even as the heroes began to notice me, I moved past them, a spear in my hand, and I drove it into the center mass of Mush. 

One-second passes.

I clap my hands and transmute the earth beneath him.

Two seconds pass.

Armsmaster stares and opens his mouth, but it's too late. I wasn't going to stop.

Three seconds pass.

Lighting, condensed plasma, electricity, call it whatever you like, it coursed through Mush burning away the trash until the man screamed. A fist made of concrete pierced the trash and knocked him to the ground. His body smelt of burning trash; I could see that he was still alive. Bleeding, balding, burning, but alive nonetheless. Then, Skidmark's attack came.

A shotgun blast of sharpened glass hit my back, digging into my flesh. I coughed even as I used alchemy to heal myself. I stared at the leader of the merchants. Thin, high as a kite, and with a barely functional costume, he sneered at me and started talking. I couldn't be paid to care about what came out of his mouth; the little bitch tried to backstab me. A man who I once shared a name with…

I'm going to enjoy this.

Brave 3.1, end.

Paralogue: Timeline I- Record of an end

If I'm to write this record, then I'll start by stating the following: what I've done is nothing less than a sin against creation itself. And I would do it again if I had to. Whoever reads this may call me Trish. And even if what you read is a lie, know that it was once the truth.

June 1, 2015, 8:00 am, The Rig, Brockton Bay

"Wake up, sleepy head," I said to my roommate. her purple eyes opened slightly, glowing with power before she closed them again and threw her pillow at me. I grabbed it mid-flight and tossed it back at her.

"Okay, okay! I'm up!" Marie Flynt, the heroine known as Aether, and the girl that saved me from Bonesaw, wasn't and would never be a morning person. She was still small next to me; her hair was shorter but no less straight, though if you called her small, she would likely shrink you and chase you around as Mouse Protector found out. The PRT forbade her from shrinking Mouse Protector after the latter had decided to take advantage of her size and played several pranks on the entire staff. How she managed to fill the staircase, which went several floors down and near the sea floor with parmesan cheese, is still a mystery to this day.

"Sure, you are, Marie. Come on, today is pancake day. And I'm not missing that." I replied, she slowly stretched out, the various scars she had seemed to glimmer under the light, each line a mistake or a sacrifice. Her right arm, in particular, was just a mass of scars piled on top of each other, yet I couldn't find it ugly. No matter what, I would always remember the girl who broke through a wall with a giant wrench and no mask. Her skin was caked in grime, and her eyes were ablaze,

"You needed help. That's more than enough reason for me to come."

I smile at the memory; she quickly changes into her PRT-issued uniform, and we walk towards the mess hall. Khepri, otherwise known as Taylor Hebert, waited for us in front of the mess hall. She silently glared at me and opened the doors. She and I have never gotten along, even when Marie and she were rogues without any money or plans. Yet, I can't help but look back at those days with some fondness. Marie used to smile more often back then. 

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Khepri asks us while Marie looks at the cup of coffee in her hands with reverence. I never understood why but the girl had an odd relationship with the drink, she would always decry that it tasted like someone's asshole, that the damn beans were shit, and that they added too much sugar, yet she drank it and had a smile on her face.

"Yeah, less than 24 hours until judgment day," Marie replied after taking a bite of the pancake that had enough syrup on top of it to count as a health hazard. A little bit of it overflowed from her mouth, and I quickly handed her a napkin.

"Thanks." She said quickly, going back to eating.

"No problem. So, what do you want to do, Marie?" I asked, biting into my own set of pancakes. Delicious and soft, without drowning it in syrup. Speaking of drowning, Khepri ate a piece of toast while glaring at me all the time. I hoped she wasn't thinking of drowning me in roaches or worse.

"Hmm… Passenger is quiet, so maybe you can finally…" She started saying before a loud beep was heard from the intercom,

"Aether, please report to research and development. I repeat, "Aether, please report to research and development." The droning voice of the unpaid intern rang out across the rig. Marie frowned and shook her head. Drank just a sip of the coffee in front of her and left in a hurry. 

"Shit," Khepri said, frowning and closing her eyes. There was a yelp, and the intercom was cut. "And before you ask, no, he's still alive. But… Fuck look tomorrow. I need you to stay away." This argument again… it's the fourth time this week alone!

"Why? Because I haven't triggered?" I asked fully expecting something along the lines of You have no powers, you're dependent on technology, etc… Instead, Khepri looks stunned for a moment before she said,

"No! Look, we both know that Marie is dense. Really, really really dense. To the point that a block of Osmium is significantly less dense than she is, but I would have to be blind and dead to not notice what both of you are skirting around. And for what it's worth, I approve of it." 

"So you think I'll hold her back?" I asked instead of asking what she meant. I wanted to know, but I also wanted to hear it from Marie.

"No! I asked Dinah, and she said that if you go there, Marie will die." Khepri answered with frustration growing in her voice.

Dinah Alcott, I wish I could say I knew her well, but the seer of bet, as she was called these days, was above all things well guarded. So, she rarely interacted with anyone anymore beyond making predictions. Marie told me about the operation to save her, about the necessary operations after Coil lost control and shot her, about how that fucking bitch known as Echidna had complicated the matter.

I breathed deeply and let my breath flow out slowly. If the seer said that Marie would die if it didn't go… then I probably shouldn't go. Fuck, I need to tell Marie. I nod at Khepri, who looks relieved, and I head over to research and development.

Marie is not there; a small handwritten note stated that Dragon needed help setting up the traps, so both left and wouldn't be back until nightfall. I go back to our room and pick up the violin. I close my eyes and do what Marie does whenever she's troubled; I play. From memory, from habit, from the heart. By the time Marie comes back, she's looking tired and just falls to her bed, her uniform is a mess, and so is her hair.

"Hey Marie, about tomorrow…" I start saying, but she interrupts me by stating,

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be by your side and you'll be by mine. We're partners, right?" My heart flutters for a second before I reply. 

" I can't tell her. "

"...Yeah, partners." I drag myself from my bed and lay next to her. Like she used to do when she joined the PRT. I remembered what she said the first time she did this,

"You make me feel safe, just please don't let go. At least for tonight, hold me, I don't want to be alone."

If I had known what would happen, I would've said so many things. I would've done so many things… I would've told her how I truly felt. I'm not sure if it's just infatuation or love, maybe a mix of both? Yet that's not enough to describe it. She saved me nearly five years ago, gave me a place to live, and let me join her when fighting capes. All because I needed help. She closed her eyes, gently brushing my hair with her fingers.

"A heaven that's only for the righteous? That's no place to live." She gently sang as she lost consciousness. It had been a while since she sang. I missed that voice of hers.

"I love you; please humiliate me. Rob me of my dignity and laugh, my honey. Strive, future, a beautiful star…" I sang back to her. Her breathing was stable and soft. One heartbeat, two, three, a sound that lulls me to sleep. A veritable song just for me.

I never told her that she made me feel safe as well. It was the best sleep I had in months.

June 2, 2015, 6:00 am, Brockton Bay

It had been a bit over an hour since the battle against Scion started. The time transfer dropped him at exactly 4:55 a.m., and every hero and villain had shown up to fight. We had technology that bent the laws of physics, we had capes whose entire existence was destructive to reality, we had the endbringers, and we were coordinated.

It was not enough. No matter what we threw at him he would recover. The Simurgh was the first endbringer to die, pierced by a million little black holes. Legend lost his left leg as a beam of light managed to tag him, and Alexandria was punted into space.

We kept him in one place, but that was it. No matter what we tried, he would break or pierce. No matter what we did, he would counter, his eyes met mine, and he moved. Marie screamed my name as she moved even faster; she stood between me and Scion, her eyes met mine, and I heard a scream. Marie and I were blasted away, rolling on the ground when we saw it. Taylor's body, half of it. When she saw that Marie was going to get hit she pushed her and took the hit for us. Marie screamed, Scion smiled, and the world turned red. Marie's eyes glowed as she said in a voice that was more sound than anything,

"̵̢͚͙͂I̸͇͛̕̚͝ ̴̠͕̲̖̩̂̎̐w̴̧̃̑͘ḯ̸̺̳͙͙́s̸̲̲̙͐͂̆͊̕h̶̖̤̙͐̈́͝ ̶͍̝͌̍̐̇ṯ̴͇̝͂ȯ̵̡̬̗̥͎͊͋͑ ̴̤̪͙̺̑k̴͚͕̘̮͖̆͊i̸̼͕̼͚̎̒̽̉̿l̷̤̜̟̩͍͗̀̕͠l̴̳̉̂͝ ̷̫̖̽͌̔̽̕a̴͙̹̋̿͒l̵̞͕͗̈́͊l̴̡͚͍̮͚̄͂̚ ̶̻̀̏͗̋t̶̡̙͙͍̊̒̅ͅh̸̯̥̻͐͋e̸̫̒̿ ̸̬͈̉ę̷̑n̴̫̜͈̍͛̔t̶̖̽̊i̷̩͔͋̾̿͑t̵̞̯̼͒͊́i̶͖̱̽̂͝e̸̗̞̘̟͖̾̄͘ś̸̙̫̳̕.̴̺͕̔̓̔̇̚"̶̡͖̜͔̐͜

There was an unnatural silence for half a second before the world around me shattered. A light came from the old Hebert house. Marie had told me that she had only once built something she regretted that it was a monkey's paw. A devil's deal even, but that it could bring victory at the cost of everything. I asked why she didn't just destroy it, and she answered,

"Because one day, all hope may be lost. And if that happens, then I will become a spark. Maybe I'll burn out; maybe I won't, but everyone will be safe. And that will be enough."

Scion screamed in pain as a monster bit into him. It was around 12 feet tall, eyes glowed across its body; if it had fur, then it was made of smoke. A chimera, the head was that of a wolf, a vaguely human body, adorned with dozens of arms, some looked insectoid, others looked like claws from birds. Jet black wings grew out of its back; an unearthly screech was heard as its talons tore into Scion. 

The entity tried to fight back; every trick it could muster was not enough, I felt Scion stop time and yet the monster moved and slammed his face into the ground, cracking it as fire flowed from its mouth. Scion teleported away and launched orbs that exploded into blue flames, they had barely stopped the beast as it drove its arms into him. The monster screamed, and blood-red tears fell from its glowing violet eyes as it ignored the damage done to it. I could hear the screams of the stars themselves as they were extinguished in the wake of the creature's wrath.

[Impossible!] said Zion in a voice that seemed to come from the earth itself.

[ DIE!!!!!] The monster screamed in a voice that seeped with pain and sorrow. The golden man screamed as the creature grew, its maw devouring his shards, and its rage tearing apart reality.

Meanwhile, I heard,

[Trajectory]

[Destination]

[Agreement]

I saw the world break above, and below me, a single light pierced my chest like a burning arrow. Every nerve in my body flared up as the information of another world entered my body. As every single possibility coalesced into one, I often wonder if this is what she felt; she said it was just a headache. Every 14 days, no worse than that. Yet, she would also downplay her pain. I know I fainted because the sun was coming down when I awoke. A thin barrier surrounded the immediate area, and wisps of shadows danced along the edges.

The white cat, rabbit, thing appeared next to me.

(Well now, this is unexpected. She will never become a witch, but she will become a devil. One that hunts immortals, an agent of entropy.) It said in a sickeningly sweet voice, (I'm well aware of what she told you about me. But she knew the risks and the price. And she paid for the power that she wished for.) Its voice echoed in my mind, callous, cruel, uninterested in what it had done to my hero. This thing was guilty of cursing her!

"I will kill you," I said, grabbing a half-melted sword and approaching it. My body ached, but hatred is one hell of an anesthetic.

(Probably, I'm the only one for my species, not much to live for if I'm being perfectly honest. She was very thorough when making me. I don't have immortality, nor the orange and blue morality of my species proper. So I'm filled with regret for doing what was right. If there was one of my species left, I believe it would dedicate years of its life to killing me. That's what I am, an aberration, a mistake, and I'm proud of it.) It said with some amusement seeping into its voice.

(However, you inherited a sliver of her power, which means there's still a piece of her that wants to save herself. What a troublesome master… May I suggest one thing?) It said, still staring at the body of Zion, the corpse was slowly fading away into pure light.

"And that would be?" I asked as I brought my blade up.

(If you intend to change time, make sure you're willing to live with the consequences.) I swung down. It went through the creature with a satisfying swish, blood pooled around my feet. And I looked up to the sky. The barrier fell, and Marie was gone, Taylor was dead and in the end I had triggered.

I screamed. The stars glimmered and faded from my view as Dragon found me.

Timeline I, to be continued.

Notes:

Sorry for taking so long.