Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     It was the beginning of a pleasant day. The sun was chirping, the birds were blooming, the flowers were shining, and the Shadow Knights were going to school. For once in their lives they were bored enough to force themselves through the prison called school. Since they already knew everything the school has to offer, and that's not even counting some of the propaganda being taught, the Shadow Knights only saw school as a prison that kept you from actually doing things with your life.

     Unfortunately what the Shadow Knights could do with their lives wasn't much. Along with memories of the past, another side effect was having to watch over Aphmau, the protagonist as she always has to be, and her buddies, the deuteragonists. The only amusing parts of life and the reason they continue to live in general is watching the dramatic irony of the lives they have to spend their eternity overlooking. It was hilarious to see Laurence, Dante, and Garroth constantly, in actuality it's more most of the time, try to charm Aphmau. Alas they never can and she always ends up with someone else. 

     This was actually what the Shadow Knight trio had dragged themselves out of bed to see, there had been news of something big regarding Aphmau's circle and they'd hoped to find dirt so that in a different world where maybe they'd be friends the three could tease them about past exploits.

     Walking into the classroom they could hear whispers around them, it wasn't very often that the Shadow Knights attended class. Usually they had to be forced to by authorities or those of that sort. 

     "You'd think the teacher would start teaching instead of glaring at us the one day we go to class." Sasha leaned over to Gene, chuckling a bit at the teachers reaction to her sudden movement. 

     "If we don't have to learn anything then I'm fine with this curriculum." Gene said, a smile gracing his lips when the teacher visibly reacted to his words. 

     "Open your textbooks students, we'll review what we learned about the Greek Mythos and the role it played in our society a long, long time ago." The teacher said, finally taking his role as a teacher seriously. 

     The rest of the day went on in a similar manner. The trio had been split in a multitude of ways, some classes Gene shared with Sasha, some with Zenix, some with neither and none one with both. It was clear that a mistake was made that even let the trio be near one another in school. It was nearing the second to last period. Zenix was straight out exhausted.

     "I cannot believe I was put in the same Werewolves class as Aphmau and Aaron!" Zenix puffed out as they walked together to their potions class. "Can you believe Aaron has  crush on Aphmau even in this world?!" Exasperation was clear in every muscle of Zenix's body. 

     "What's wrong with that? Didn't they marry in the first timeline?" Sasha replied a bit distracted with the shock of the amount of homework she just realized the trio had, thankfully, dodged. 

     "Aaron's a senior and Aphmau's a freshmen." Gene supplied.

     "OH that's a lot of red flags my dude, also since when were you in werewolf class?" Sasha questioned taking her attention off her phone.

     "Wha- You mean you don't even remember signing me up for it?!" Zenix, loud asf as always, screamed. 

     "Of course not!" Sasha's response was quieter and it stunned Zenix with how blunt she was.

     "Shush both of you, let's get into class now," Gene interrupted their banter with anticipation of the events the next periods were sure to hold. As the three of them separated and went to class the other students stared, and in some cases glared. Despite their determination throughout the day the others were convinced they wouldn't make it through the day. But the Shadow Knights were anything but cowards and were determined to face through school without skipping a single class. Sasha and Zenix shared a potions class while Gene was in the class down the hallway, P.E. 

     "A pleasure to see you two here for once," The potions teacher, Ms. Hyria, had said when she noticed them.

     "Good Afternoon Ms. Hyria," Sasha responded, her interest in potions making Hyria the only teacher she'd bother keeping relations with.

     "Do you two remember where you sit in class?" Hyria questioned them, not in an insulting manner but more so a way to show that despite their absences she wouldn't treat them any less than the other students. A stark contrast to the other teachers. The reason why she'd acted this way to the Shadow Knights was honestly a mystery. If Sasha were to guess she'd say it's because Potions and magic were the only classes all three had intrigue in. If Gene were to guess he'd conspiricize that Ms. Hyria had somehow also retained her memory of the past and knew of the string of fate the trio was tied to. If Zenix had to guess he'd say it's because they were just awesome like that.

     "Yes Ma'am." Sasha politely responded. The two of them were separated as to make sure they wouldn't cause too many distractions with their antics. 

    "Alright, today is an experimental day. We will be making potions, grab the proper materials and safety gear and we will head over to the lab. Do not forget the procedures and steps needed to be taken, as high schoolers I expect nothing but the best behavior." Ms. Hyria's voice was barely heard over the excited whispers. It was a rare occasion where the class would be allowed hands on experimentation. As Zenix was grabbing his materials he had noticed a light thin layer of dust over his stuff. Not thinking much of it he blew the dust off, grabbed his stuff, and ran out the class. 

     When the class had gone down the hallway Sasha looked to her right into a classroom and saw Gene and Aaron in the midst of a fight during class. Resisting the urge to eyeroll, she swiftly turned away and continued walking down the hall.

     "Did Ms. Hyria even explain what kind of potion we're gonna be making?" Zenix asked from right behind her, a bit outa breath from running to catch up. 

     "It's gonna be a illusion type potion, one that'll create a flimsy disk that depicts an image of the most memorable moment in your life," Aphmau, surprisingly right next to them, added. She seemed to have caught herself only after she'd finished speaking and rushed to correct her mistake. "I was not eavesdropping by the way! Sorry, I'd been spacing out and didn't realize what was happening. Oops." 

     "It's fine Aph, in fact would you like to be our partner for the lab?" Sasha took initiative and burned a scrutinous gaze into Aphmau's brain. Zenix immediately moved to protest and Aphmau seemed to want to do the same but Sasha elbowed Zenix before he could talk and Aphmau saw her chance to escape quickly dwindling. "We don't have a third since Gene's in P.E. right now and since you oh so eagerly wanted to talk to us why not?" 

     "Oh well, actually I'm sort of in a partnership with Katelynn-" Aphmau tried to point to her friend only to find her paired up with Kawaii~Chan and Teony. "Or maybe not. Well I wouldn't want to intrude on your lovely duo so I'll probably find a different-"

     "Don't worry about it Aphmau, you wouldn't be intruding on anyone, and we'd be happy to have you," To fully sell the performance Sasha even gave a small smile which caused Zenix to snort. Aphmau glanced at them suspiciously but reluctantly agreed. Sasha had successfully trapped her. 

     "Hurry it up! We have very little time during the period and I don't feel like wasting the two senior helpers time," Ms. Hyria called out from the front of the crowd. 

     "Who are the two senior helpers?"

Chapter Text

    Cogito ergo sum. (I think, therefore I am.)     

     "Who are the senior helpers?" Travis, one of the very few Freshmen in the class, had asked.

     "Troublemakers." Hyria's voice boomed with annoyance and exhaustion. Similar to how Zenix felt about school the entire day. Whispers broke out about which seniors were and they continued until the class reached the lab. "Alright everyone, pick your partners, desks, put down your materials and we'll start when the helpers arrive."

     Aphmau tried to sneak away to hopefully join Travis's group but was caught before she could make it far. "So, which desk do you wanna sit at?" Sasha said, normally she doesn't put much effort into anything regarding but she'd already expended enough energy that she felt she'd be cheated on if she didn't get front row tickets to the show. Zenix on the other hand really didn't want to have anything to do with Aphmau, for reasons he's constantly reminded of. 

     "Oh Yeah! Um maybe that table over there?" Aphmau pointed over to a table next to Laurence, Dante, and Garroth. 

     "wHat" Speechless blubbering could be heard from Zenix as he was dragged over by Sasha and led by Aphmau. As soon as they reached the table Zenix shut up immediately and started pouting.

     "Ar- Are you pouting, Zenix?" Dante, one of the few with a inside view of the SK's activities and personalities, had blubbered in shock. As Gene's younger brother he was sometimes invited to their more tamer hangouts. So he's seen what they do on occasion and Zenix definitely didn't pout. Not like he's so emotionless he doesn't do stuff like that but it just never seemed physically possible for him to pout. 

     "Shut up" 

     "Hey, Aph, how come your working with-" Garroth glowered at the two Shadow Knights but still kept his 'Prince Charming' persona. 

     "I asked her to." Sasha interrupted. Laurence seemed shocked but before he could even utter a word Ms. Hyria started speaking.

     "Ugh, quiet down everyone. The 'helpers' seem to be late so before we waste any more time let's get on with class." Ms. Hyria began demonstrating how to recreate a specific potion. She gave out recipe lists and told everyone to follow it to the T. 

     "Okay, so, uh, I think the potion's meant to show a significant memory in a glass mural. What kinda memory do you guys wanna put in? hehe." Aphmau was so nervous Sasha was surprised she wasn't shaking or any of the sort. 

     "I'm not sure, maybe a meeting of some sort? Zenix, what do you think?" The class was getting quickly boring, nothing was happening and Sasha feared all her efforts were for nothing. At least I know I'm never doing that again. Both had even refrained from their usual snark and sharp comments.

     "Pfft. Don't even ask them Aph, they're so 'edgy' they'd say they have no memories to revisit." Laurence piped up.  

     "Maybe we show make one of Laurence actually shutting the fuck up for once." Zenix mumbled under his breath. 

     "Umm well how about the uh... " Aphmau trailed off. "Well, we don't need to decide so quickly, how about we make the choice once we're done with the potion?" 

     "Fine, I'll go get the materials," Zenix stood up and left no room for debate. 

     "Hey, Aph, do you have any extra chroma(not real)?" Dante leaned over and whispered. When Aphmau looked over she noticed a lack of materials on their desks, most likely due to the helpers being late and not bringing in the boxes of materials she needed. 

     "Sorry I don't think so, maybe you don't need as much? Chroma only adds to the color so it'd just be a bit muddy right? I'm sure Ms. Hyria wouldn't mind too much." Aphmau consoled Dante. He took her words into consideration and returned back to his group. "Oh, how strange." 

     "What happened?" Sasha asked, she paused her potion making and turned to face Aphmau.

     "The, uh, toluene seems to be a bit chunky. Is it supposed to look a but grey?" Aphmau questioned, she was considering the possibility of it not even being toluene and some different liquid but before she could put it down to observe it better Zenix came back. His hands were full and his attention seemed to be on the ruthenium. 

     "This chemical looks like shit." Zenix said before walking directly into the table and pushing the toluene into potion. 

     "You fucked up." Sasha stared at Zenix with a stare that revealed nothing about how she felt. 

     "Oops," Zenix almost looked apologetic. "This won't affect you buying me the pink shoes will it?" or just sheepish.

     "Nah, just come here with the other ingredients." 

     "We're here!" The door burst open with a loud slam. Practically everyone in the room turned their heads and faced Gene and Aaron in the doorway.

     "It took you both long enough. Have caution, Gene, we are dealing with chemicals here." Ms. Hyria studied them both before turning the other way and gesturing for the two to put down the materials they brought.

     As they placed down the materials Gene caught sight of Aphmau and co and decided with all the utter brilliance in his two braincells he was gonna walk over to them. And walk he did, before he ran straight into Zane who was carrying a ingredient Aphmau wasn't able to identify. 

     "Zane! Are you okay?" Garroth rushed to Zane's side. During the collision Zane also fell onto a countertop and got the breath knocked out of him.

     "I'm fine! I don't need your pity!" Zane's shouted back upset that he was embarrassed in school by his older brother's concern.

     "Didn't see ya there, oops." Gene shrugged it off and sauntered over to his friends.

     "What an-" 

     "Laurence! Language." Dante joked. Rolling his eyes Garroth picked up the material Zane dropped and placed pieces of it on his table. 

     "Hey, doesn't this kinda look like chroma?" Laurance inspected the chemical and noticed the similarities. 

     "Ooo try it out! Maybe it'll work," Dante encouraged, because obviously putting in a chemical that you have what it does in place of a different chemical is a great idea. Laurence shrugged and threw it in. 

    "Are you stupid?! that wasn't-" Zane was cut off from his shout when a big, honestly pretty cliché, explosion of dust crowded the room. There was a pink cloud around everyone and it took Hyria casting a spell to make the dust fly away. Surprisingly, not even opening the windows worked.

     "What did you do?" Hyria slowly stalked towards the students. If everyone's attention was on Aph and co now it was on Lucinda.

Chapter Text

     Cave Canem (Beware of the dog)

     "What was that?" Whispers broke out and everyone was concerned at the dust cloud. It wasn't often that something went wrong ya know? 

     "I'm sorry Ms. Hyria, I don't know what happened I promise!" Lucinda looked panicked. Never once had she guessed she would mess something up, not in an overconfident way but in a way where she just knew her potions to were doing such a thing was a rookie mistake. Ivan was by her side trying to dust off the soft powdery substance left from the potion off her hair. 

     "What did you put in your potion?" Hyria didn't go straight to anger, she had delt with Lucinda long enough to know that anger wasn't any way to get the answers she wanted.

     "All the usual ingredients. The only abnormal ingredient was the glow dust I used to make the image stronger!" Lucinda defended herself. She was certain nothing was out of place so what went wrong?

     "We don't have glow dust. It ran out last week," Realization bloomed on Lucinda's face. "Unless the senior leaders brought some in?" Hyria turned to face Gene and Aaron and when both shook their heads negative her attention as refocused on her daughter. 

     "Then what was in the box?" Ivan questioned a bit louder than he had intended too. As a self-proclaimed master warlock, it was just as shameful to him as to Lucinda to have messed up in such a simple, it's really only simple to them, potion. 

     Hyria picked it up and examined the dust which didn't get cross contaminated with the explosion dust.

     "It's cotton candy." 

     A deafening silence spread around the room before Zenix let out a little snort, heard by everyone despite his futile attempt to keep quiet. 

     "Zenix, shush." Aphmau partially glared at him. She knew her friend must've been embarrassed by the mistake and having people laugh at her would not make it any better. 

     "Everyone, get back to work. I'll give you the last fifteen minutes of class to clean up before your last class." Hyria dragged the attention away from Lucinda, the witch in training was very thankful, and she returned the students' attention to their own projects.

     Nobody wanted to face the wrath of a doting mother, and many were friends with Lucinda, so the incident was forcefully forgotten by mostly everyone. Never to be brought up again. 

     …At least until Travis noticed a pink shard of glass on the ground. Out of curiosity, he abandoned his project and bent over to pick it up. It was big enough that Travis could see his entire reflection yet once in his grasp was small enough to sit snug in his palm. Travis decided not to bring it up to anyone though since he had no idea where it even came from. It certainly wasn't there before the explosion, and no one had dropped it afterwards. Anyone with hindsight could tell that it was a stupid decision and obviously he should've asked around even a bit to see if someone lost it but alas Travis had no hindsight, nor did he know that a few others had found the same thing.

     The fifteen-minute mark hit, and everyone quickly dispersed. Luckily the gym was nearby so the only thing to do was explain to the gym teacher why the students were covered in pink dust and why they needed to use the bathrooms to change. The explanation may or may not have had some details missing and changing with the seniors may or may not have been really awkward, but no one really needs details in this modern time. 

     "That was disappointing." Seeing as nothing had happened the three shadow knights decided to skip eighth and try to avoid thinking about what a disaster going to school was. 

     "I'm honestly kind of surprised nothing notable happened." Gene said while tagging the back building of a 7-11.

     "Other than the whole Lucinda messing up thing." Zenix pointed out.

     "Speaking of which, what did the potion even do? I tried replicating her process on a tinier scale and nothing came out of it." Sasha questioned, most potions have purpose and even with the foreign ingredient something should've came of it.

     "I think it created this thing." Gene pulled out a shard, just like the one Travis found (surprise surprise!), from his pocket. 

     "What's even the point of making a fucking useless shard of pink tint?" Zenix looked at the shard as if it were a possum that just raked through his garbage can and his mother forced him to clean up the mess afterwards. 

     Suddenly, the shard grew in size and lessened it's opacity. It looked a bit like a hologram. The...thing also displayed 3D words saying, 'The point is to answer questions.' 

     "Questions huh?" Gene said in an unapprehensive manner. 

     'Indeed.' 

     "Does that mean you could do my Spanish homework?" Zenix questioned with a bit more intrigue.

     'Firstly, no. Answers come from memory, and you have no recollection of such answers. Secondly, no characteristics are possessed in this cube. Using 'you' would be incorrect.' 

     While Zenix was hung up on the fact that the cube implied he was stupid, Sasha and Gene were more interested on the idea that the cube was not alive yet was able to process words as if a sentient being. 

     "Are words the only thing that answers can be shown by?" Sasha was careful with her wording. She didn't want to be constantly scolded by a strange witchcraft-made object.

     'No, images can be shown as well.' 

     "How would one ask to see those images?"

     What was even the point of that if the only answers you could get were things you already knew? Was what Gene meant to ask but he felt it would've been rude to refer to something's entire (non)existence as useless.

     'Ask for a probability. 'Have I ever gotten married?', 'Was there ever a point to my existence?', 'Should I have been born?' Are questions often asked by the few who have discovered the potion in the past.' 

     A pretty confusing explanation if you asked the Shadow Knights. The cube couldn't answer a question about a mostly well-known language but could answer about things that couldn't even be answered until far into the future? What even were the logistics of that? 

     Almost seeming to see their confusion it continued, 'Access to memories prior of reincarnation was unlocked the second questions were asked.' 

     The trio looked at one another in shock as the answer sunk in and they, never would they admit it, panicked. 

     "Does anyone else have a shard like you that answers questions?" Gene was whisper screaming.

     'You have seen a white-haired teenager pick one up. Remember, no characteristics are possessed in this cube. Using 'you' would be incorrect.' 

     "White haired teenager? Is there anyone else?" 

     'Answers come from memory and you have no recollection of such answers.' 

     "Do you mean that one Valkrum kid?" Zenix knew who the cube was referring to but still asked to keep the flow of questions steady.

     'Valkrum is correct. Using 'you' however is not.' 

     "Oh shut up about that! What would him having a copy mean?" Gene looked at the cube with little hope an answer would come. 

     Apparently, the cube liked to be contrary (Not really much of a shock with the personification I added on accident) and displayed a picture Travis and Dante around a table looking at something that wasn't the cube.

     'This is an image taken from your memory, it doesn't depict the exact answer however it is the best possibly done.' 

     "Does that mean with the right questions they could see...that?" Zenix hesitantly asked. 

     'Should they ask, 'show me the word that' then yes, they would be able to.' 

     Sasha laughed at that and rephrased the question properly.

     'It depends on which cube they have. Since access to your memories have been granted only memories from your perspective would be shown. Should they question the cube in their possession, they would see it from their perspective only.' 

     "Does that mean that our memories are locked onto specific cubes?" Sasha took the lead. 

     'Indeed' 

     While the Shadow Knight trio had attempted, and partially struggled, to get answers from the cube others had been put in a similar situation. Although the answers they received weren't anything they'd ever expected to hear.

     "So, what do we call you?!"

     'do not.' 

     "Don't what?"

     "Dante, I don't think asking it that hundreds of times is gonna change its answer." Travis interrupted, sick of hearing the same thing on repeat like a broken track record.

     "WhAT! It's not answering me, all I want to know is what it is!" Dante let out an indignant and quite frustrated whine. 

     'A cube.'

     "Oh so now it answers?!"