Chapter Text
"JUST STOP TALKING, FAUNA!"
Both deities were taken aback by the sudden outburst. The clock tower bounced the fit of rage through its walls for a few seconds, before falling silent again. Seeing Kronii, of all people, lash out like this was shocking. Neither Mumei nor Fauna knew how to react.
Before either of them could talk, Kronii yelled once again through shaky breaths. "Time Warden this, Time Warden that... Yeah, well, I'm sure it's easy for you to bring up my duties." The warden turned towards her, looking down on her from the top of the stairs, her blue eyes reflecting frustration and bitterness. "You take care of an oversized garden and make sure idiots don't burn it all down, and that's all. Job well done, time to go home!"
The kirin furrowed her eyebrows. Mumei took a few steps away from her, noticing that Mother Nature was close to erupting. Owlish as she could be, Mumei would often get to see that side of her through some antics and her connection to Humanity. It was... scary, to say the least.
"...Kronii, we are worried about you. What's going on? How can we help?" Somehow, she had managed to suppress her anger. Her usual elegance remained, of course, even if it was coupled with slight exasperation.
"Help?" A bitter laugh escaped her lips. It was equally scary to see Kronii act like this. A completely new side to the time Warden, one that hid beneath the surface.
"You didn't show up to our last two meetings." Mumei shuffled her feet as she spoke, uncomfortable with the situation as a whole. "And lately, you've looked exhausted." Worry was the one thing on her mind, and that was very clear to see. Clear enough for Kronii to see.
"Not only that, we've also heard someone hasn't been taking care of their domain." Fauna's tone was harsher by contrast. She was great at scolding, but most importantly, at making anyone she scolded feel like a child next to her.
A heavy sigh permeated across the room. Eons of exhaustion fueled it. Kronii slowly made her way towards the chair atop the small stairway, a contraption decorated with gears and clock-like mechanisms, looming over her. As she sat, she laid her head in her hands. The other two began to approach her but stopped in their tracks when they heard a quiet whimper. A pitiable sob that instantly crushed Mumei's heart.
"I just... I can't take this anymore." The floodgates were open. No one had ever seen the Warden of Time cry. The woman they knew by that title was proud, narcissistic, and even vain at times. Her sarcasm could get a little too much but rarely failed to be amusing. Her dry sense of humor brought lightness during Council meetings. A stranger now sat on that chair, and neither of them knew how to speak to her.
"I've- I've managed so many different timelines. Kept them stable, fixed their problems before they could collapse. So many horrible things. Worlds erased, monsters born, entire countries floored. Plagues, starvation, the pure and unfiltered cruelty of humanity, in all its forms, through too many histories." Her voice was caught in between her sobs, disturbing her breath once again. "You two have died right in front of my eyes... Too many times to count."
Mumei couldn't help but feel guilty over her ignorance of her friend's anguish. Fauna's expression was indescribable. She could only listen while frozen in place like a statue.
Kronii pulled her head from her hands, revealing slowly reddening eyes and a tear-riddled face. "This used to be easy. I'd jump in a timeline, correct the mistake, come back, and repeat. I wouldn't even care how many people I had to kill to fix it." Her eyes looked for solace in the space around her, but everything there only reminded her of the fate she'd been given. "...But after we started holding meetings... After I met all of you..." Her sobs became louder.
Mumei couldn't stand still any longer. Footsteps reverberated around them before the owl threw her arms around her friend. "Kronii, it'll be okay! We're here for you." Kronii didn't even have the energy to retaliate. Fauna approached slowly, unsure of how to handle the situation.
It wasn't long before she continued her rant, while trying to repress her sobs. "I wish that were true. There's no fixing my situation, though. I'm the Warden of Time. This is my job, this is my life." Kronii gently pushed Mumei away. Even in that state, her friend was careful not to hurt Mumei, and that somehow broke her heart even further. "Yes, I'm running from it. I know I am. But, I can't do it anymore."
"That's very selfish of you." Fauna bit back, and there was undeniable rage behind her voice that had been boiling as she stayed quiet. "Everyone in the Council is doing what we were made to do, no matter how hard that is." She put a hand to her chest as she spoke. "I won't say taking care of nature is as hard as managing timelines, but I've seen my share of tragedies. We do what the world needs us to, and that includes helping you."
"So, you're only here because you need to, huh?"
"That's- That's not what I meant." Nature got closer to Time, her expression softening, finally bringing out the kind and motherly woman Mumei adored. "I'll say it again. We're all worried about you, okay? I hate to see you like this, that's why I want to help, and that goes for everyone." Mumei nodded in agreement, looking for Kronii to see some sort of resignation or agreement on her part.
"Oh yeah? Where's Sana then?" Fauna quickly fell quiet. "If this is so important to all of you, where is she?"
"...Sana can't come see us right now, Kronii. You know that." Mumei's voice was but a whisper. Sana had been gone on her journey for a long while now, and bringing her up like that felt petty.
"Ah, yes, you're right. What about Bae?" Mumei was wordless then. Kronii got up from her chair, mockingly looking around the room. "Where's our great leader, Hakos Baelz? Is she invisible? Surely, she would come solve this whole mess for me, right?"
It was almost routine now for the two deities to be completely unable to say anything in this conversation. Mumei clasped her hands together. Fauna bit her lip.
"Of course she won't." The navy-blue-haired girl walked back to the chair, leaning against it now, while wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes. Then, she began laughing at herself. "How pathetic. Look at me, ever so perfect, crying over something everyone else is handling just fine. I used to think only someone like me, a flawless being, could handle the flow of time... Look at me now." She hid her face behind her gloves once again, keeping away any further miserable expressions from her two friends.
Then, she turned towards the wall behind her. A gigantic clock sat upon it, over a blue banner. It ticked away, signifying the flow of... Something. Mumei couldn't exactly remember what, and yet, she knew it was important somehow.
As the avatar of Time stared at the clock, it was as if the ticking of its hands got louder. The owl couldn't see her face, but even so, the way she was staring at it almost made it seem like she was in a trance. The words she spoke next felt both hollow and full of meaning at the same time.
"Why don't I just let it all die?"
"What?"
"What's the point of me doing any of this? Let the timelines engulf themselves."
Fauna waltzed over to Kronii, intending to slap her, having quickly reached her boiling point.
Mumei was faster though. "Please don't say that." The owl's expression was blank, in contrast to Kronii's miserable state. There was no emotion in her voice as she spoke, completely composed in every sense of the word. "I got to meet you because of the roles we were all given. We all became friends because we had time. If everything ends now, we can't see each other anymore, right?" Kronii's hands twitched.
"I understand if you doubt we can help you..." Mumei cupped her hands over hers and looked her in the eye. "But, don't doubt that we will be here for you. Even if it's just to ease your mind a little."
The owl flashed her one of the sweetest smiles she could manage. Kronii was frozen in place as tears crawled back to the corners of her eyes, and hesitantly, she slowly hugged Mumei. There was still misery in those tears, but also, a small feeling of relief mixed into them. Mumei softly rubbed her back, while Fauna watched, a little ashamed of how she almost lost her composure.
All of this was very new. Never had Kronii been vulnerable enough around anyone to ever willingly throw herself into their arms, crying. How many walls had been taken down that day?
"Everything will be fine, okay? Anything you need, we'll be there to help you."
The world was cruel.
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Through the remains of the destroyed city, amongst the many corpses, and to the attention of the many crows around them...
A laughter roared. A twisted, demented sound that questioned madness itself. It was far from what anyone could call human. It was hard to tell if she was even human anymore. The things she knew had warped her mind enough to destroy any humanity inside her, mangle any sanity left in her. The debris around her concurred.
She smiled softly, silencing the sound that had plagued her seconds ago. A girl approached her. Her distinct purple hair had somehow stuck out first to her, rather than the tentacles that appeared behind her. Her face was one of agony, confusion, and anger. Yet, curiously, in the debris of the building in which the Archivist found herself buried under, she was completely unscathed. Not a speck of dust sat upon her shoulders.
"Came here to finish the job?" Shiori laughed to herself. A streak of red had blocked the vision in her left eye, and through her right, the girl approaching fazed in and out of existence as she came closer.
"Why? Why did this happen?" Even with her concerned look, she sounded relaxed. Ina just stared at her hand, pondering the situation. She looked back towards Shiori, fishing for an answer. "Why did you do this to me?"
"...Because. You'll destroy the world one day." The nonchalant way in which she had explained it got a reaction out of the priestess. Her look of anger was amusing in Shiori's eyes. The little whispers in her ears got more erratic, excited for what was to come.
"Were you trying to kill me because of that? To prevent it from happening-"
"Actually, I was trying to kickstart it."
Her eyes widened. Ina was unaware of who this woman was, or where she came from, and now she was claiming that she was trying to use her to end the world.
"...Don't drag me into your creepy little plans." Ina raised her hand, and a portal appeared next to Shiori's neck. The Archivist was unfazed by Ina's cold, murderous look.
"I won't have to. It'll happen one day, whether I help you or not." Shiori shook her head, disappointed. "I wish I could be there to see it."
Ina realized she was fully prepared to die, and that was off-putting. A complete lunatic sat before her, stuck underneath piles and piles of rubble, bleeding all over, arm broken... And she eagerly awaited her death.
"What are you waiting for?"
Ina didn't know. Shiori couldn't help but laugh. Or, well, she wasn't exactly sure herself if she was laughing, but it sure sounded like it.
"There's no need to show me compassion. You're no longer human, after all. You haven't been for a long time. It's time you embrace that. The beast you've become-"
A tentacle shot through the portal, and in an instant, twisted the woman's head clean off her neck. Ina was already panicked then, but the moment the former human's head hit the ground, the priestess fell back. Her eyes were fixed on her face.
Shiori was left smiling.
The world would be cruel.
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"Awh, come on!" The shark threw her hands in the air. The game-over screen taunted her, causing her to slouch over the couch. She lazily reached out to the bag of chips next to her and stuffed a few into her mouth. Amelia hadn't come back yet.
It wasn't unusual for the detective to take her sweet time with the cases she got, it was her passion after all, but that didn't mean Gura was used to it. Ever since she had moved in with her girlfriend, boredom was a predominant feeling throughout the days in which she was gone.
"...Girlfriend." A quiet mutter, quick to derail her train of thought. The word lingered on her lips. Despite being together for two years now, it still felt new to her. Every day was fun and vivid, and it was always a new opportunity to explore different sides of each other. Whether it be in their kitchen, in front of a console, or in their bed. Her tail swayed from side to side as she thought about her, and her cheeks flushed red as she realized what she was doing. "Love does things to a person", she thought.
A creak of the door was enough to pull her away from those thoughts. Gura's sharp teeth were visible through her shit-eating grin, foreshadowing the many pranks she was cooking up to get back at her for making the shark wait for so long. That was all gone in a second when she heard a pained groan from the entrance.
Her feet stomped against the ground and then slowed when her eyes met the front door, still half-opened. By the entrance was her Watson, close to crawling on the ground. Her eyes were groggy, almost as if she wasn't all there, and the reason was pretty apparent. Crimson stained the floor, the door, and most importantly, her stomach area. It crept through the corners of her mouth. For a moment, Gura was frozen in place, unable to process the scene right before her.
"...Hey, goob." Ame huffed. Her voice was weak and she sounded half-awake, barely holding onto consciousness. "Missed me?" Somehow, she had managed a smile, snapping Gura back to reality.
She took a few hazy steps toward Amelia. Then, she stopped. "...I-I... I need to call 911- No, wait... First aid-" Before she could rush to the bathroom, the bleeding doctor grabbed onto her arm. Or, at least tried to. She was too weak to stop her. All she had accomplished was bloody up Gura's wrist.
Returning with the kit Amelia herself had prepared, Gura's shaky hands rummaged through it. "This is real, right?" The atlantean didn't want to believe it was. Her girlfriend was dying right in front of her, and she would, if she fucked this up. Her heart beat faster with every second, and her vision became hazy with the pumping adrenaline.
"...Is it messed up... If I say you look cuter than usual right now?" Watson had snapped back to consciousness at some point, smiling at Gura once again. The sight of the bloodied Amelia, smiling in such a carefree manner on her death bed completely crushed Gura's heart. "...I don't think I'm making out of this one."
"No..." Gura hadn't used the first aid kit at all, and the instructions the detective gave her a few weeks ago were beginning to fade together into moments they spent together, happy memories that were now being stained with red. The shark threw the kit aside and scooted over to Amela. "W-Watson, I'm calling an ambulance, okay? Just hold on a little longer, you'll be fine-"
Amelia shook her head. "They won't make it in time..." Gura's face went from terrified to teary. She hadn't even realized when she began crying. Watson reached out to Gura's face and caressed her cheek. In response, the shark cried harder, letting herself go in the palm of her hand. "...This reminds me of that movie we saw Friday, huh?"
"Who did this to you...?" That question had been stashed away up until now, but the moment it popped up in her head, sadness was slowly mixing with rage.
"...Dead. In the parking lot." Amelia coughed, hurting her throat further and making her voice hoarse. "A... convict I put away. Guess he got the last laugh." Her laugh became a coughing fit. Blood now stained the clothes of the detective's closest confident.
Gura couldn't stop crying. All of this was too sudden, and she was absolutely helpless. "Hey." There was still a little fight in her. She wasn't about to let her cute girlfriend drown herself in misery. "I'm sorry... I should've spent more time with you. Having the job take you away from me... It's pretty shitty, to be honest."
"Ame, please..." Gura didn't care how, she just wanted this to stop. When she began calling out Calli's name, a soft hand enveloped her own.
"Can you promise me something?" Gura could only shake her head erratically, holding onto every word Amelia said. "I want you to try and be happy. Even after I'm gone."
"But-"
"But nothing. You have to promise, it's... My wish. For you." Amelia slowly began to zone out as she spoke, her eyes getting grayer and grayer. "...It's because I love you. More than anything in the world."
Gura wrapped herself around Amelia. "..M-Me too. I... I love you too, Ame." She tried her best to stifle her erratic sobs.
"...You're so warm... I missed this feeling..."
Those were the last words she would ever muster again. Gura was left there, a cold corpse wrapped in her arms for hours, as she cried and cried and cried.
The world has been cruel.
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"Time-traveling detective Amelia Watson, at your service!"
Her world, however, was bright.