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Static. Her vision is a blur, her memory scattered. Falling over and over through infinity, the many pathways and portals. Like roots to a tree, she’s divided, torn and spread across the fabric of space-time.
She wakes up with a gasp, heavy breaths like she had belly flopped into the ocean and got the air punched out of her lungs. Tatting around her body everything is still numb, the pink in her eyes slowly fade as the concoction’s effects drift into the ether. Her immortals rest peacefully.
She gets up. Water. Need. Water. Tip toeing toward the kitchen she stumbles into some walls. As the numbness recedes an aching burn replaces it, she can’t remember why. The water is nice, refreshing in a somewhat warm night. She feels it flow, like a river, helps her forget the pain.
The tv is turned on, the sofa is way too warm so she sits on the ground. No channels work, it’s all static and white noise, her vision, blurry again. Suddenly a channel starts working. A movie, she thinks. There’s gun fire and explosions, the tv volume is low but the sounds are echoing around her skull.
She changes channels again. Another movie, weird. This one is quiet. Too quiet, a horror movie perhaps? There’s a loud crack that makes her freeze, the character is running, lemon-yellow lightning crackles and suddenly they’re somewhere else. Wait a minute. The protagonist is holding a 9mm, their vision tunneled, they shoot and run until something hits them. It hits her too, a pulsating migraine. She tries turning the tv off but it only changes to another channel.
More running. She gets up to unplug the tv, when the character starts falling, vertigo overtakes her and she’s falling too, head going directly toward the corner of their table.
“Ame!” Cold, small arms catch her. Everything is spinning.
“Hey, Ame, oi, talk to me” She’s blinking, the voice of her shark is hooking her back to the ground. She’s being brought down, slowly to the ground.
“It’s ok, breathe, I’m here” Comforting whispers bring her senses back, she’s being hugged tightly.
“H-hey” Her voice is gravel.
“Sorry to wake you up”
“Shush. What happened to you? Too much jumping?”
“I-I guess. I need to turn the tv off, don’t want to wake Ina up”
“Turn it off? It has been off this entire time”
“What?” She looks at their tv, dead silent. “No- I’m sure I turned it on, no channels worked though, that was weird” She lets out a weak giggle.
“Ame… What’s going on?”
Her shark’s voice is a waterfall of worry with every word she lets out, it stings her soul like needles sting cloth. It unravels the detective’s walls. She had been gone for weeks, at least for her. She missed Gura’s embrace, Ina’s calming voice.
“S-sorry. I went too far, time came back to bite me on the ass, should’ve listened to Kronii” She sighs.
“Can I help?”
“You already are” She smiles. A beam of sunshine, it’s super effective on small ancient sharks. Gura hugs her closer.
“I know your tricks detective, won’t work on me this time, you’re hiding something” Her voice trembles a bit, face a shade deeper of crimson the detective can’t see.
“Guess I need to step up my game” She giggles. Her shark’s tail is lazily flopping, she knows what this means.
“Fine, fine. After going through the channels on the tv-“
“But the tv is off”
“It wasn’t! Well, not for me. Whatever. One of the channels showed me something, a memory I think.”
“A good one?”
“No, one from the jumps. It was too loud so I switched. The next one was also a memory, I was somewhere dark and quiet, had to run from something, didn’t see what, don’t remember what either.”
“Huh, anything else?”
“One more, I was running again, got hit in the head, that’s when I decided to get up to turn it off but then got dizzy”
“What the hell Watson”
“Hehe, sorry” She gives her worried shark an awkward smile, one hand on the back of her head. Her shark eyes her and lets a sigh out.
“Well, you’re here now that’s all it matters. C’mon, you need a bath” She coos her detective.
“And maybe something to eat, how long were you gone for?”
“How- My watch! Wh-“
“I’m confiscating this” A dark curtain falls around them along with Amelia’s watch. A small squeak comes from the two.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to hear Ame’s stories”
The detective reaches for her watch but the tentacle holding it takes it just out of her reach.
“Nah-ah. You need to rest. I’m taking this” The tentacle takes the watch with it to the void as more show up to get her girlfriends off the floor. The detective looks like she wants to protest but before she can, her Priestess is saying.
“Now, c’mon let’s get you on that bath Gura mentioned” Her shark is smiling proudly, she gets a pat on the head as a reward, her tail swaying slowly.
“Can you get her something to eat? I’ll take care of the bath” Gura nods and goes to the kitchen.
“I can take care of myself y’know?” The blonde pouts.
“Oh, I know, I would never doubt the number one” The Priestess says. “But you, my love, look shattered like an old mirror”
“How can you be poetic this late in the night?”
“You inspire me” She winks. Her detective can’t help but smile.
“Fine, tonight I’m in your care” She gives into her immortal’s touch. “But I want my watch back”
“Do you promise to take a break?”
Amelia grumbles something Ina can’t hear.
“Hmm? So? Do you?”
“I can’t win with you both”
“No, you can’t!” Her shark says from the kitchen.
“Shut it stinky” She laughs. “Fine, I will. A week, how does that sound?”
“Good enough I suppose” Her Priestess frowns.
“Ok, ok. Two. No more.”
The flaps on the immortal’s head perk up, she’s smiling.
“Can I have it back now?”
“Your watch is where it always is”
“Wa- Did you just-“
“Bargaining with Eldritch horrors is dangerous you know? They usually give you something you already have. Tricky bunch” Ina giggles.
“You’re not an eldritch horror!” She’s saying as Ina closes the door of the bathroom.
She gets into the bathtub and sinks in the cool, refreshing waters. Guess that’s a case for later.
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