Chapter Text
The castle isn't supposed to be here.
How could it be here? It's not like it can walk! Dark World fragments can move, but the landmarks inside them can't. And it couldn't be an identical castle, because how would an identical castle have Thea's anchors attached to it? Like, sure, it wouldn't technically be impossible, but the odds of it would be astronomical! This isn't even the Dark World!
It was terrifying enough being picked up and carried at supersonic speeds by Castalia. Now, Thea has been dropped in front of what is, essentially, her house. The house she ran away from only a few months ago.
And nobody else in the group seems to recognize it.
Although, to be fair, why would they? None of them have been there, have they? Most of them couldn't survive in the Dark World even if they did have the inclination to pop in for a house call to the Dark Rebellion. Which they wouldn't; Thea is fairly certain she isn't fun or interesting enough to merit a social call. She knows what people see when they look at her. At best, she's a ball of anxiety with legs and a tail and absolutely no social skills. At worst, she's a monster.
Some days she thinks she might be both.
Should she speak up about the castle? She thinks about it, and then sees that everyone is already starting to go inside, and it feels like the moment has passed, and, and, oh, she really hopes no one gets mad at her for not sharing right away.
"No one getting mad at her" is its own sort of pipe dream, of course. When they find out she's Luna's master, she's 95% sure everyone is going to hate her. The Preservers will…she doesn't even know what the Preservers will do when they find out. And she doesn't know how to stop them from finding out. She's not a good enough liar to hide it forever.
"Luna mentioned you lived in a castle before, right, Thea?" Chloe asks as they enter the entrance hall. "Is this anything like yours?"
She sounds friendly, and she's radiating sincere curiosity. Would she still feel the same way if she knew the truth?
Thea swallows. "It's pretty similar," she manages to say. "Um. But…"
Now that she's inside, looking around, it seems…different, somehow. Maybe it is a copy.
"…But this one feels weird," she finishes, truthfully. It does feel weird. It's so similar, and yet so wrong. "I think the layout is not too far off, though. If this were…that place, then my workshop would be through that way."
"Is it a sensitive subject? I'm sorry," Chloe backtracks. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up."
"It's fine," Thea squeaks.
Bean and Carbuncle lead the way down a wide hallway. It twists and turns, and Thea doesn't remember the corridors being this…labyrinthine.
Then, just as they're approaching an intersection, the ground starts to rumble, and before anyone has time to react, a wall slams down, splitting the corridor in half: Jim and Bean on one side, Thea, Chloe, and Castalia on the other.
"Shit," Chloe swears, knocking on the wall. "Hey! Are you okay over there?"
A muffled reply comes back. Thea can't hear it well enough to make out the words.
"Okay!" Chloe says. "Thea, unless you have a spell in that book of yours to make a door, I think we're splitting up."
Thea does not have a spell for that. "I could…try to invent one?" she offers. "But, um, I don't know if I understand this d20 well enough to do it safely…"
Every time she reaches for the magic of her d20, it comes with the creeping sensation that someone—or something—is watching her, waiting for her to push beyond her limits, ready to punish her if she does. It feels like she can push her luck, and it would probably work, but it also might backfire horribly. It's almost a shame her magic isn't powered by fear in this place, because she's sure she would have plenty to spare.
"I could make a door," Castalia offers, pointing her sword at the wall.
"No! No, that's okay," Chloe says quickly. "Blowing up walls is a great way to also blow up whoever's behind them, or, worst case, make a building fall down on top of us. We can split up and regroup. We'll cover more ground that way anyway, right?"
Castalia ponders, then nods.
Thea can hear the emotional nudge in Chloe's voice, injecting just a liiittle bit of yellow-green into her speech to soothe the listener and help prevent panic. She's not sure if Chloe is even doing it on purpose. It's probably fine, though.
"Okay," she hears herself say. "We split the party, then. What could go wrong?"
"Let's try going up these stairs," Chloe says, with a confidence that all three of them know is feigned. She leads the way up a spiral staircase and through a trapdoor.
The trapdoor opens into a desert.
Thea is pretty sure there wasn't one of those in the castle before.
Jim sighs. "Well, I guess we're splitting up."
Bean is not ready for this level of stress. Bad enough to be sucked into a game world. Bad enough to have their best friend ripped away right after they just got her back. Bad enough that this goddamn fucking castle seems to have non-Euclidean spatial properties. Now, on top of everything, they're trapped in a one-on-one social situation with their crush? It's a lot to handle! Reality shouldn't be allowed to dump this much bullshit on one person all at the same time!
"Bluh," they manage, totally failing to sound cool.
"Which way should we go?"
"I don't actually know," Bean is forced to admit. "Carbuncle was only able to trace the teleport to somewhere in this castle. He couldn't tell me where, exactly."
Carbuncle responds with a cheerful electronic warble.
"Let's try this door, then," Jim suggests, pushing open a wooden door.
Yeah, okay. Sure. Bean shrugs and follows.
The door leads into a pet store.
"Shot in the dark, Jim, but this wouldn't happen to be the pet store you work at, would it?" Bean asks.
Jim sighs. "Right in one. Except…not. Something's off."
There are pets here. But they're acting strangely. All of them seem to be turning in unison to watch as Jim and Bean walk uneasily through their midst.
"Yeah," Bean agrees. "This is creepy as fuck. Maybe we should go…back…"
The door they entered through is gone. It's just a wall.
"What—how did—"
But there isn't enough time to process this development before Anath crashes through the ceiling and attacks.
"This—this is my dad's old army camp, in Iraq," Chloe says, looking at the military trappings around her. "I've seen it in pictures. How…I don't understand. Is this real?"
"It's a game," Thea says quietly. She can almost glimpse it in the fabric of this reality—the layers of math and metaphor underpinning space, time, and physics. "A game. But it's real, too. Just because something is a game doesn't mean it can't be real."
A jeep rolls down the road towards the camp, dust billowing in its wake. The girls watch quietly as it pulls up and several bewildered soldiers pile out. One of them steps forward. "What's this about? We weren't informed of any Earth Guardian operations!"
Chloe's eyes widen. "Dad?"
The soldier frowns. "Apologies, Miss. You must be confusing me for someone else."
"No, I recognize you from the photos," she insists. "You're my dad—Rob McNeal—aren't you? But you're so young!"
"That…is my name," he concedes, cautiously.
"It is good to meet you, Sergeant McNeal," Castalia says. "We are here by accident. Apologies for troubling you."
"Y-yeah," says Chloe. "Sorry. We're from…the future. I guess. It's so weird, seeing you with a full head of hair. And both your legs."
His eyes widen. "Excuse me?"
"Oh! Spoilers."
"This is really fascinating," Thea murmurs under Rob's sputtering. Antipathy tech was able to reconstruct this, this facsimile of a distant time and place out of…memory? Emotion? How accurate is it? It can't require firsthand memory of the events in question if Chloe was never there. So is this something Luna could reproduce for other historical events? The potential applications…like, sure, it would be dangerous, and the Preservers would never allow it, but…
Melpomene would love it. Her stomach sinks as soon as the notion crosses her mind, and she glances back at the others in hopes of derailing that particular train of thought.
Looks like Chloe's dad has accepted his daughter's story and is throwing his arm around her shoulder in a side-hug. "So, my daughter from the future is pulling a River Song on me. And she's an Earth Guardian! How about that! I'm proud of you, Chloe."
"I'm not an Earth Guardian, actually. Just tagging along with my friends here," Chloe clarifies. (Thea blinks. She already thinks of me as her friend?)
Sgt. McNeal lets out a long exhale. "Oh, thank God! I would be proud, and I'm very grateful for the work your friends are doing, but—"
"—it takes a toll," Chloe finishes for him. "Yeah. I've seen it firsthand."
He nods. "But I don't understand. If you're not an Earth Guardian, what are you doing here? How did you end up traveling here from the future?"
"Well, it's…a long story. See—"
"Incoming," Castalia interrupts.
Thea follows her gaze and feels another spike of fear. A streak of red light is burning through the sky in their direction like a guided missile. She's not sure what it is, but she doesn't hesitate. "Enhance Attack! Enhance Attack!" she cries, starting her buff routine. "W-wall of Force!"
As the shape resolves into their field of view, Chloe gasps. "No! You said she never—she didn't—this isn't what happened back then!"
"What is that?" Rob asks.
"The rogue Earth Guardian," Castalia answers, readying her sword.
Jim throws his staff in the way of Anath's slash, barely blocking in time, and the force of it throws him backwards. Something is wrong with her, and it's more than just a manic state—there's a wild, crazed look in her eyes, and as she presses the attack, it's like she's in a berserker trance. "Anath, stop! You don't really want to hurt us!"
She doesn't speak. She just growls like a feral creature and moves to charge again.
"Carbuncle, get her!" Bean calls, aiming their gun—but before they can get a shot off, they're tackled from behind by a swarm of animals. All the pets in the store seem to have decided, in unison, to join the fight, and now pets of all shapes and sizes are breaking loose from their enclosures and tearing at Bean's clothing as the Neo swears loudly and struggles to keep their footing.
True to Bean's orders, Carbuncle crashes into Anath from the side, throwing off her balance and slowing her down enough for Jim to dodge the assault.
"Anath, please! I know you're better than this!" he pleads. "I don't want to hurt you!"
Then time seems to slow down for him.
"WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO FIGHT, GODBINDER?"
"She's not herself," Jim explains to the Bear. "I know she's made bad choices. But I also know she's been through a lot, and she's probably in a mental health crisis right now. Whatever else she may have done, I can't not see her as a person who needs help."
"THAT IS THE WAY OF CIVILIZATION. WE ARE OF THE WILD, RED IN TOOTH AND CLAW. IF YOU WISH MY AID IN THIS BATTLE, YOU MUST AGREE TO FIGHT TO KILL, AS NATURE INTENDED!"
"I'm not sure I can do that. Couldn't I owe you a favor instead?"
"MY PRICE IN THIS IS FIRM. DENY IT, AND YOU STAND LITTLE CHANCE OF VICTORY, GODBINDER."
Jim remembers Anath coming to him when she was in a deep depression, and his heart aches. In spite of everything, when she felt like she had nowhere to go, he was the closest thing she had to a friend. But then he looks at Bean, frozen in time under an onslaught of what should have been friendly animals, and he feels his priorities settle into place. "You're right," he sighs. "I accept the bargain."
"THEN BE TRANSFORMED!" bellows the Bear.
Jim is sure for a moment that he feels a ghostly kitten rub up against his leg, but then the sensation is gone. I'm sorry, Anath, he thinks, as he feels the wild magic flow over him.
When the flow of time resumes, he finds himself in the shape of a massive Siberian tiger.
His roar rattles the walls.
The first arrow from Nanaya shatters Thea's protective barrier. She's barely able to put up a second one in time to block the second arrow. By then, Castalia has had enough time to disarm the red mage of her violin, and the battle begins in earnest.
"All I have is a melee attack! I can't get in close enough to death-touch her if she keeps flying!" Chloe says, frustrated.
Thea layers a buff spell onto Castalia. "You don't want to get in close! Stay behind my shields!"
But Nanaya is healing faster than Castalia can blast her, and something needs to be done to tip the scales.
So Chloe takes a deep breath. Purple bitch thinks I can't be manipulative? she thinks. I'll show her manipulative. And her Voice reverberates across the sand, echoing with magic: "You're better than this."
Even before Nanaya drops to the ground, Chloe can feel that it worked, feel the yellow-green shackles tightening around the other woman's soul. She strides forward, no longer afraid.
"You're better than this," she reiterates. "You're supposed to be a protector, not a destroyer. You were good, once. And that good person is still there, inside you. I'd like to see more of that version of you."
Nanaya falls to her knees and screams wordlessly in pain and rage and frustration.
Chloe places a gentle finger under Nanaya's chin. "Hush," she commands. "This fight is over."
Nanaya grits her teeth. "As you wish…Master."
The strength is unbelievable. It's not just physical muscle—Jim is intensely aware of the primal magic infusing his body, toughening his striped hide and reinforcing every bite, slash, and rake. Is this how Eliza feels when she transforms?
Felt, corrects a part of him that he doesn't like to listen to. How Eliza felt.
Shut up, brain. We need to finish this fight quickly, or else Bean is going to be past tense, too.
Anath laughs with visible delight when she sees her newly formidable opponent, and she attacks with renewed gusto. Jim twists out of the way and swipes at her. Fur flies—but the damage is superficial. He presses the offense, trying to stay focused on her and not on Bean.
Pounce. Slash. Dodge. Counterattack. Grapple. Bite. Each move flows into the next as if it were choreographed, and despite everything, he can't help but lose himself in the thrill of it. Anath is doing the same, but she doesn't have the blessing of a god behind her.
When he pins her underneath the full weight of his new body, it's over. His claws rake across her belly, and—
What?
Underneath the fur and flesh and blood and exposed muscle, Anath's body is criss-crossed with wires and circuitry.
The sight of it shocks Jim out of his battle trance for only a moment. How—what—
Unfortunately, a moment is all Anath needs to tear out his throat.
The last thing he hears is the disappointed growl of his god. Then the world goes red, and he doesn't hear anything anymore.