Chapter Text
If nothing else, Cleopatra had always been a straightforward person.
At least, that's what she liked to tell herself. When she saw something she wanted, she went for it. When she knew a destination she needed to get to, either literally or metaphorically, she went towards it, quick and straight as a shot, and didn't stop for anything until she got there.
And when she was completely and utterly aimless, with not a clue what to do? She defaulted back to basics.
So, right now, destination: racing as far away from PYRAMID Academy as she could get, with her hoverboard on cruise control. Just like her brain right now. (Though some would call that preferable to when Cleo actually did try using her head.)
How far would she go? Until its power packs ran out. When would that happen? Who cared?
No, seriously, literally. Who. Cared?
I definitely don't care. No way.
She'd been through so much in so little time, while also, you know, thousands of years of time. She'd been thrust into the future, told that she was supposed to be some kind of savior, then told to go to a school she didn't want with people who were lame and then told how much of a screw-up she was at everything everything, everything, everything!
And then there was a timeline—which, to be fair, no longer existed, but Cleo would never forget it—when this future put its money where its mouth was.
And proved how much it didn't care.
Cleo felt drops under her eyes, and wiped them, doing her best to keep a forward view. She might have succeeded, had she then not felt drops above her eyes as well, and on her arms, and all around her, and arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh she'd forgotten to bring an umbrella!
This was exactly what she was talking about! How did one even check what the weather was going to be in this stupid future? Back in her time, they had instruments for that, but everything here was so future and tech and 'electric' that even with all of her schooling she didn't know what half of it did and—
WHAM!
The hoverboard hit a rock that Cleo didn't see through the rain, toppling forward, hurtling Cleo herself at projectile force. She closed her eyes.
This is it.
She waited for herself to smash into something, anything—but it never happened. Instead, gravity gradually took over, and she hit the ground, tumbling over and over, through wet moss, and grass, until she was finally stopped by… something.
Thank goodness for holo-helmets.
Groaning, she opened her eyes and deactivated said helmet, looking up to see that a huge tree trunk had stopped her—and there were several just like it around.
She was in the forest, not far from Mayet City. She'd been here on team training runs before. Runs which were usually ruined by her "antics"—but which, she now knew, were really her just trying to act like she knew what she was doing, and failing, and being mad that she was failing, so just doing it harder.
She was Cleopatra. She was 'the savior'. Everyone kept telling her that. So why not try to live up to that as hard as one could?
Unless I really was expendable.
Cleo crawled under the tree, taking shelter under its large, green, leaves—leaves which crisscrossed the air above her to form a canopy.
A canopy whose protective properties only went so far. Even with her legs bunched up against her and her head buried in her knees, she eventually felt more drops, much harder than the ones who brought her here.
Instinctively, she took off her backpack, and looked inside, only to find a large hole. Everything in her backpack had gotten either scattered across the landscape… or smushed. Including her food.
As usual, I was wrong, she thought as her heart plopped into her stomach, and the new wave of tears pushing at her eyes were unable to be controlled. THIS is it.
"Cleopatra, what am I going to do with you? If you're trying to get booted out of the academy, this amount of property damage is certainly the way to do it!"
"How was I supposed to know this planet's atmosphere caused explosive reactions to Volatilian food?"
"By listening to me! It's in the name! It's why vacuum-sealing-shields exist!"
"Geez, Khensu! It was an accident, okay?"
"It's always an 'accident' with you! I swear, Cleo, sometimes you make it actually hard for me to see why it's worth putting up with your ability to have so many of them."
"Then why don't you have me shot and get it over with?"
"What? How dare you suggest I do such a thing?"
"Because you already did it once! You did it instead of trusting me!"
"What do you mean by that?.. Cleo? Cleo, wait!"
The rain began in earnest, with thunder far in the distance and she sobbed as hard as it fell. Sobbed for the events that brought her here. Sobbed for all the terrible things she'd done that she couldn't take back. Sobbed for destroying Akila's model of the school that she'd worked so hard on, no less than twenty times over twenty timelines. Sobbed for failing to measure up to the name 'Cleopatra', even with her minor victories.
Sobbed for her life, and for all of those that she'd made miserable on the way.
Both here, and back home.
It's okay, though. If I'm not around, the world can go back to normal. Even Egypt's probably better off without me. I'm so sorry, Dad. Sorry I let you down, in so many ways.
Eventually Cleo stopped crying, the worst of her despair now drops on the grass and soil. She still didn't feel like going anywhere, but at least the horrible pains in her chest and shoulders were going away a bit. Good thing, too, the rain was stopping.
Wait… no, it hadn't. It wasn't coming down in buckets anymore, but it was still coming down. Yet, nothing was touching her. Being pelted, she was not.
That was when she looked up, to see the large canopy of an oversized umbrella over her—to say nothing of the last two people she expected to come after her, if each for very different reasons.
"Callie? Akila?" Cleo said, her voice still all sorts of cracked. "How the heck long have you been watching me?"
"I mean, it looked like you needed some time?" Akila said, with a shrug and a concerned slant in her voice.
"Yeah, which turned out to be way too long," Callie scoffed. "Get up, already. We're here to grab you and bring you back, and stuff. Also, you're getting my hairdresser bill—and Akila's."
Slowly, Cleo rose to a full sitting position, and looked around, patting herself. "How'd you even find me? You don't have me microchipped or something, do you?"
"Brian said he considered it once, but there's no need," Akila said, "since apparently you're, like, five walking energy sources at once. He listed them out, but I don't remember a single one… on purpose, maybe?" She tilted her head. "Either way, he's monitoring all our positions from back home.
"Which is where you're going, with us," Callie said, reaching for Cleo's arm and pulling. "So come on, get up."
"No way!" Cleo resisted, pulling in the other direction. "No way am I going back! No one wants me around, and I don't want to be here, either!"
"That's not true, Cleo!" Akila said. "Well, at least, not the first part?"
"I mean, what do you do if you're not at PYRAMID?" Callie asked. "What, you're going to sit here and rot?"
"Yes," Cleo declared, crossing her arms and pouting—at least she tried, before giving out a forlorn whimper, and burying her head in her hands. "It'll…" Her words—and sniffles—were muffled. "…it'll be better for all of us if I don't take any chances going back. So just go home, already."
For a while, the only sound was that of the rain, falling onto the umbrella, the leaves above, and around all three girls… as well as Cleo's sporadic sobs. Things went on for a full minute, until finally, Callie spoke up.
"Whatever," Callie said, stalking off. "Akila, let's go. She's made up her mind."
"What?" Akila said, shaking Cleo's shoulder. "No, way! Cleo, you've got to—"
Amidst thunder and a flash of lightning, Cleo looked up, teeth bared, staring daggers at Akila, as if she were one moment away from launching into a screaming tear—a violent one.
"…fine," Akila said, her voice soft and defeated. "If… if that's what you want."
She turned and followed Callie out of the woodland area.
Cleo's Sphinx Bike and Callie's scooter—the vehicles which Akila and Callie had used to get here, respectively—were parked minutes away from where they'd found Cleo. Seeing the bike at first had made Callie scoff. Of course she'd have something that swank. Didn't Cleodorktra know how good she had it?
Clearly, she didn't. And that notion rendered Callie far more thoughtful than she wanted to be about this—about anything Cleo-related, really. "Ugh. Is she always this big of a baby?" she said, leaning on her scooter.
"She's not a baby! She's hurting!" Akila snapped. "Or can someone like you not see that? Actually, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Shut up! I can see just fine, no thanks to any of you," Callie snapped back, before adding in a quieter voice, "I'm just not used to seeing her… like that."
Akila sighed. "None of us are. Something set her off, and she won't tell anyone what. Brian says he might have a clue, but it involves debugging one of his…" Akila's eyes shifted. "…inventions."
"Inventions?" Callie repeated, noticing Akila's weirdness.
"Ehhh, just, uh, science fair stuff," Akila said with a nervous giggle. Ugh, why did these three nerds always act so weird about each other?
Whatever. Not Callie's Problem.
…but what would be Callie's Problem would be if they went back without Cleopatra, and then everyone would just be asking, "where's Cleo?" over and over again, and calling Callie heartless for not being able to bring her back and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh it was impossible to win with that girl whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
She resisted the urge to scream—but she couldn't resist a hunch that she had, which had been nagging at her this whole time. May as well go follow it… otherwise she'd never get a moment's peace. "Akila," Callie said, pulling the other girl over to her.
Akila followed. "Yeah?"
Callie took a deep breath. "…give me and Cleo some space. I'm going back. Alone."
Akila took a surprised step back. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I wanna talk to her," Callie said, her voice taking on a slight edge. Gimme a shot. Just one."
"Right." Akila rolled her eyes. "Leave my best friend alone and secluded with her biggest rival, and the one girl responsible for the most grief she's experienced at PYRAMID Academy—well, besides herself?" Akila crossed her arms and scoffed, looking aside. "Yeah, no."
A 'no?' From Akila? That was new—that girl was known for jumping up to do chores at 4am if one of the teachers asked. Or one of the students, for that matter. Whatever, stuff for later. "Look, if you trust me this little, then why did you even let me come along?"
"Because Brian asked to stay back to keep track of us, Khensu and rain don't mix, and don't think I've forgotten how you nearly tackled me as I was starting to head out here alone!"
"Yeah! Alone!" Callie started in on Akila. "Like an idiot! Even I wouldn't let you do that, okay? 'Alone' is how Cleo got into this mess!"
After a long silence, Akila huffed. "Okay, yeah, whatever, thanks, I kind of appreciate it. Fine, one shot. But can I ask why you're so dead set on this?"
Callie looked up at the sky, through the rain, and sighed.
"Let's just say… I owe her one. And exactly one."