Chapter 27: Magic Sure is Convenient
A/N: the photo above is a drawing I drew of what Fate looked like :D
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[Entering: Dreamswap_101(05)...]
[Access has been granted...]
[Relocating Error.exe...]
[Relocating Gradient.exe...]
[Relocating complete.]
[DS_BALANCE_101(05) requests to integrate Error.exe]
[DS_BALANCE_101(05) requests to integrate Gradient.exe]
[Request pending...]
[...]
[Request denied]
[Good luck, travelers.]
Gradient shifted and shook his head slightly when he felt something tickle his skull. After another moment of silence, his eyes snapped open and he sat up with laboured breaths. "D-Dust!" He choked, tears welling as his mind replayed the events that had occurred in the last two days. "Where am I? Mr. Mercy?! Anyo-"
"CaLm dOwn." a voice interrupted his panicked shouts.
Gradient looked up and through his blurry eyes, he saw the otherworldly teacher. "Mr. Mercy!" He yelled, "Mr. Mercy, are you okay?! Oh, stars, Dust, he-"
"BrEath, bReatH. DeEp bReaths."
Gradient did what his teacher told him to do. He took deep breaths. In, out, in, out. In.. Out...In....
"GoOd. LiStEn cLoselY, GraDiEnt. We'Re cUrrEnTLy iN anOther MulTivErse." Mercy explained calmly, too calmly for Gradient's taste.
"Another multiverse?!" He wailed, "like-like the same way you came to my multiverse?"
Error nodded.
"So, let me get this straight. You came to my multiverse, posed as a teacher, something happened and now I'm in a different multiverse?! What happened back there? What were those red strings! Oh, the screams-"
"GraDIeNt cALm dOwn-" "I CAN'T CALM DOWN!" The child shouted. "I just watched my new friend DIE and w-what happened to my world?!"
Mercy blinked, eyes boring into Gradient's own eyes. "it'S gOne." He replied nonchalantly.
Gradient stared at him, eye sockets wide in disbelief and glowing pinpricks shaking.
"What?" He whispered, voice weak and wobbly.
"YoUr mUltIvErsE iS gOnE." Mercy repeated. "DeStRoYed. RiPPed To shReAds aNd aLl tHaT rEmAinS is lEfT to bE cOnsUmEd bY tHe vOid."
Gradient sputtered, eyes gaining a desperate glint to them. "W-what about my classmates? They were alive! I saw them! What about my parents?! Dad? Mum?!"
"..." Despite being confused about why Gradient would still care about the two skeletons that had hurt him, he answered. "ThEir exiStenCe wilL bE broKen iNto a milLioN pieCes, puT bAck tOgEthEr AgAin, and rEpeAtEd ovEr and oVEr aGaIn. FoR-"
"-Eternity..." Gradient ended in horror. "Is there nothing we can do? We survived, didn't we?!" his voice was gaining a hysterical edge to it, "We can go back and help them! We can save them! We-"
Mercy pulled Gradient into a hug. The child's body shook as he collapsed. Gradient sobbed and screamed, mourning everyone that he had known that he would never see again. Why did this have to happen? Why?
After a couple of minutes, Gradient pulled away. He rubbed his face with his sleeves, wiping away the tears from his magic-tainted skull. "aRe yOu feEliNg betTEr?" Mercy asked softly. "...yeah." Gradient lied, voice rough and sore.
"... i'M alwAys hEre iF yOu evEr wAnt tO taLK aboUt it MorE."
"I know... " Gradient gave him a tired smile. "...what do we do now? We're in an unfamiliar place with no home to go to..."
Mercy shrugged. "wE cAn sTilL enTer mY aNti-vOid. I chEckEd eArliEr. We cOulD alSO loOk arOunD. The ChoIce iS yOurs, Kid,"
Gradient thought for a moment, trying his best to ignore the horrific memories that taunted him. Staying in a large, almost entirely white space with only his own traitorous thoughts to torment him was the last thing he wanted to put himself through. "I want to look around...it's not dangerous, is it?"
"nOt iF i'M heRe to pRoTecT yOu." Mercy promised.
Gradient stared at him skeptically before finally agreeing with a sigh. "Alright, let's go."
Mercy nodded in approval and quickly checked the code again. "thAt wAy. ThErE's a tOwn nEarBy."
The two left and walked.
And walked.
And walked.
...
"How far is this place!" Gradient panted, legs feeling like jello. "I don't think I can walk any longer, it's been hours!"
"We'lL be tHeRe soOn."
"You've said that 5 times now, how are you not tired-"
Mercy gave Gradient a smug smile. "God privileges."
"And these god privileges don't give you magic powers?"
"They-" Mercy cut off and went silent.
"Mr. Mercy?"
No response.
"Mr. Mercy."
"..."
"Mr. Mercy, I swear to stars, if you have powers that could have taken us to the town earlier, I will-"
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Meteor is no fool. They know about the way some of the others on the council would whisper and gossip cruel things about Fate, things that couldn't possibly be true. While they are aware of her small manipulative habits and subtle, carefully thought out words, it does not make her evil.
Living beings are not so black and white as good and bad. While they may not be the judgment siblings, they are well aware of morality, right and wrong.
Fate is a quiet, observant individual who's intelligent and diligent. Her actions are not driven by if what she does is morally right, but rather how the end result would benefit her and those around her. If she needs to use back-handed tricks to complete her task, she would undoubtedly use them. That is how firm her will and determination are.
It's not a secret that Fate has been quieter than usual, indicating that she's been busy lately...alright, perhaps it's not her mannerism that tipped them off.
Meteor noted Fate's hair and clothing. The way the strands of white stuck out at odd places and the clothes weren't as tidy and neat as normal seemed to scream that Fate had arrived at the meeting in a rush. That, or she had just woken up.
The space deity glanced at the obsidian clock that hung high on the wall. The hour hand was pointed near the gold plated 11, almost 12.
It wasn't uncommon for Fate to work for weeks on end, privileges of a deity aiding in her task of staying awake, before crashing and sleeping for days. They were rather sure that it's called being a "workaholic".
"Are you...alright?" Meteor asked, voice wavering when the higher tier deity's head snapped over to where they stood. Now that they could see her face, they knew which of the two situations was true. Dark bags hung under her hypnotic eyes. It was red, with a vibrant gold fade. Also... 'had...she been...crying?'
"I am fine." Fate answered. Meteor laughed nervously, they could hear the irritation in her voice clear enough.
"Who initiated this meeting?" They whispered to her, changing the subject. "It's too early for the monthly council meeting, so who called for this one?"
"It was Change" Fate started. "according to her-" Fate eyes the pink wristband on the amber deity's arm, "there were some... issues she needed to address."
"Important enough to call the entirety of the council? Is everyone going to attend this time?" Meteor huffed. They gazed around the room, quickly counting down the deities that were going to attend this time.
Destiny was there, the opposite of Fate. Mind and Memory were also there, the latter oddly nervous. Karma and Chaos were chatting animatedly. Change was sitting opposite to Crow, glaring at him with a strange glint in her eye.
'Oh dear' Meteor sweatdropped, 'this isn't going to be good'.
"The meeting is in session" Fate finally spoke, her euphonious voice echoing through the room. The other deities quietened and suddenly, all eyes were on her. Meteor almost regrets sitting beside the leader. "Today, the attending deities are Space, Change, Karma, Mind, Destiny, Memory, Void, and Chaos. The absent deity is Time." "as always" Karma snarked, "This meeting was initiated by Change. Change, you can begin."
Change nodded and stood up, glaring down at the draconic deity opposite of her. "I accuse Crow of neglecting the Multiverse under his care, it has now fallen and all those souls may never enter the balance of life and death." gasps came from multiple of the deities.
"Surely not!" Meteor quickly spoke up, "my brother may be careless at times, even stubborn, but he wouldn't subject an entire world of people to such a fate! Right, Crow?"
Crow was silent, his jaws gritted as he looked away from his humanoid younger brother.
"...right?"
"Enough" Fate interrupted before Crow could muster the courage to answer. "What is everyone else's thoughts on this development?"
"This is terrible!" Karma yelled, "do you know what happens to those who fall into the in-between? It's a type of void but it isn't the type of void that you can control, Crow! What are you going to do to fix this?!"
"There's nothing that he can do." Chaos snorted, "it's too late to save them, and even if we did fish them out of that hellhole, their mental stability would be wrecked to the point that even Mind can't fix them."
"Is that true, big brother?" Memory asked, looking over at Mind with her large royal blue eyes. Mind flinched, "I...it's true. There's nothing I can do, not once they've been touched by the in-between. If they had only seen it...there would have been a chance. It would take a lot of care and time, but they would've been saved."
"Is that everything everyone wishes to share?" everyone nodded and she continued. "As the head of the council, I judge Crow, deity of the void, to be guilty of failing the multiverse he had been given charge of".
Meteor's breath hitched.
"The punishment will now be discussed."
"I saw we exile him!" Change hissed, "what he did is unforgivable!"
"That's not going to do anything" Chaos rolled his eyes, "his sister, Ancient, lives there despite not being exiled. She would help him."
Meteor smiled in relief, that's right. Ancient wouldn't abandon Crow, no matter what he did.
"We could restraint his abilities" Mind offered, "it's not like we really need another deity of the void to take his place right now. He destroyed his own multiverse, and all the existing voids don't need much maintenance."
"Isn't that too much?" Destiny frowned, "that would be like sealing the thing that makes him, him."
Meteor nodded, "I agree, it's too much. Our abilities are what makes us deities, you all know what happens when we lose our powers."
"We vanish" Karma muttered bitterly, "that's what happened to Death, isn't it? Without Life, he couldn't do his duties and...disappeared."
The others continued to argue, getting louder and louder as time went by, until finally, Fate had made her decision.
"Silence," she spoke. None heard her.
"Silence!" She yelled. Still, no one heard her.
The deity narrowed her eyes and all 6 of her scarlet red wings flared out. "SILENCE!" Fate commanded, the room darkened, her voice demanding the compliance of all the others.
The room was still, silent as everyone shrunk under her piercing glare. "The verdict has been decided," she spoke, calmer now. "Crow, the deity of the void, will no longer be authorized to care for a multiverse. When dealing with subjects in other deities' multiverses, he must be supervised. Restrictions will be set on his abilities, but they will not be sealed. That is the final decree. Judgment is complete. This session is over."
It was quiet for a couple of more moments before the chaos began once again. Fate stood up and turned to walk away, her gaze lingering with Mind's for a split second. 'Complete the task.'
Mind nodded shakily and looked down at Memory who was eager to leave. "Come on, let's go, big brother! I want to go see the flowers in the garden again!"
"Alright", he smiled, "let's go while the others finish arguing."
For the final time, they left the room together. Hand in hand, both aware of what was to come.
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Nightmare and Cross
Cross sat in the plastic chair, hand holding the glass cup tightly. He was staring down, not having the will to look either in front where a certain spirit sat or to the left of him where his friend was laying on the bed motionless.
"So..." Cross started, not sure what to say. He looked up at Myth, only to see the ghost struggling with his own cup of juice. Cross couldn't help the snicker that escaped his mouth and Myth looked at him accusingly. "I'm a ghost!" he hissed, "I can't touch things!"
"Why did you accept the drink then?" Cross asked with a raised eye socket. "Because I have manners" Myth huffed, looking away with what seemed to be a pout. 'I don't always accept drinks' Cross thought to himself.
"Well, mister 'I-appear-in-one-of-the-most-dangerous-villains-castle', tell me how you got here. Again."
Myth looked back at Cross. "...I live here" He spoke truthfully.
"That liar!" X hissed scornfully, floating close to the small skeleton. "If he lived in this stupid castle, Nightmare would have told us. And we never even saw him!"
"Mr, I don't really appreciate being called a liar." Myth scowled, almost looking like Nightmare.
"You can see me?!" X screeched.
Both Myth and Cross winced at the loud sound. "Please quiet down, you're right in front of me. Yes, I can see you. I thought we already established that I'm a ghost, like you."
Cross and Myth redirected their attention back to each other, ignoring the angry spirit. "...alright, let's say that I believe you, why have we never seen you before?"
Myth was silent as he pondered over how he could answer, after another couple of moments, he finally decided on what he deemed as the best answer. "I don't know, maybe you just need glasses."
The silence that invaded the room was almost suffocating. "..I-" Cross muttered, not knowing words to even begin with. After a moment, he decided that the best course of action would be to defend his wounded pride. "Who are you to tell me that?! I don't know about you, but I have perfect 20/20 vision! And besides, how old are you again? 10?
Myth squawked, "excuse you, but I'm..." Myth quickly counted up all the time he had been conscious, since judging himself physically wouldn't be fair, "I'm 28 years old!"
"And I'm still older than you, therefore, I know more than you."
"What kind of logic is that?!"
"My logic"
The two of them jolted when the sound of footsteps finally reached their non-existent ears. "Are they back already?" Cross frowned, "...wait, they're coming towards here!" he looked around and noticed a closet in the corner of the room. "Quick, get him inside!" he ordered X. Cross opened the cabinet and hid inside, Myth being shoved in soon after. The door was shut so it was open only slightly. Their hiding place was small and cramped. Despite Myth being a spirit, Cross still respected his space, which only led to a more uncomfortable position. "...Cross, I-" "shhhh, they're coming inside..."
He watched as Horror entered the room followed by... "Lust? Reaper?!" he hissed under his breath, "why did Horror bring them here?!"
"Oh my fox!" Lust gasped once he saw Killer's still body, "Ink did this to him? He said that the injury was minor!"
"I think all of us know how little to trust Ink by now, Lust." Reaper shrugged, making sure to keep his distance from everyone. "There was the threatening, the talking book-" "talking book?" Horror muttered, "-the chasing us through the woods, yeah, I'm pretty sure he's untrustworthy."
"You don't need to rub it in my face" Lust snapped. "It's been months since that attack... can't Nightmare wake him up?"
"Nightmare isn't able to" Horror shook his head, "he specializes in dream magic, not coma magic."
"So that means we just have to wait then." Lust bit his thumb, thinking in concentration. Horror frowned at the action and pulled Lust's hand away from his face, "don't do that."
Lust blinked before rubbing his head sheepishly, "ah, sorry. It's a nervous tick."
"Yeah yeah, lovebirds, quick question Horror, is Cross here?"
"Yes." Horror nodded after a moment of thinking, "he should be. Nightmare was heading to the library the last time I checked."
"Alright, because there's someone listening to us talk" Reaper pointed at the conveniently-placed cabinet.
Horror tilted his head and flung the doors open before Cross could teleport away. Cross yelped and raised his arms, "I-it's not what you think!" he looked over where Myth was only to find no one there, 'traitor!'.
"Cross, why are you in the cabinet?" Horror asked bluntly.
"I...I was cleaning it, yeah!" he sweatdropped, quickly coming up with a terrible excuse. "I don't think anyone will believe that" Reaper scoffed.
"I'm telling you, I-"
"Nnnnn...what's with all the noise?" a raspy voice asked.
"Killer?!"
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