Chapter Text
Universes; such beautiful places. Thousands upon thousands of different worlds and realms ripe for the taking. Explorers and exploiters alike had infinite possibilities only limited by their imagination for accessing and using these treasure troves. These beautiful and fantastic places had their own stories and people, keeping reality rich and exciting.
For Aleera, untouched universes were perfect for her. Find them young and find them fresh was the motto she and her cronies always lived by. The seams of reality were only just woven, the strands of threat floating around in the most delicate of materials. It would make any money lover’s eyes pop open with dollar signs and waggling tongues.
Her line of work probably didn’t fall under the most glamorous of descriptions if she only said she collected rare materials. The curiosity would pique slightly, but niche jobs never went anywhere. If someone decided to throw their life away though and become a universe hopper and bounty hunter, then they would be rewarded with the highest of praises. Though even a verbally thankless job like Aleera’s, she let the money do most of the talking.
These strands of reality, the very fabric of time and space but in the form of silk, glittered like gold and rainbows, ready to either fizzle out or be mastered by magic. To say that Aleera had been the best at this in her field would be an understatement. All she needed to do was run the delicate material through her fingers and it would be forever preserved. Unfortunately, the years that she would’ve had went with it too.
She scanned the field around her, taking in any bopping heads or voices carried over by the wind. Behind her, another woman quickly yet steadily pulled out a huge bag and extended long poles with wicked pikes on the ends; her accomplice and partner in such a strenuous business. She hesitated to unpack everything and only looked cautiously up at Aleera for confirmation that they were alone.
After seeing no life other than herself and her partner behind her, Aleera gave a nod to her and in turn was passed the long pike.
Secrecy also had to do with the big bucks this line of work, as harvesting these strands was tricky business if a universe character laid eyes on them. The longer the presence of characters, the quicker these threads would vanish, slowly polishing the new universe and making it smooth along the edges. Forests, fields, oceans, and anything away from prying eyes were treasure troves galore.
“So Brune,” she started, steadying the pike in her hands and pointing it to the sky, “You free after this?”
The other woman sighed, dark hair falling over her face as she bent down to pick up her own pike. “You expect me to answer anything other than joining you for whatever restaurant you go to.”
“I was just making conversation! Takes my mind off the years I’m losing here.”
Brune only shook her head with a smile. She finally stood up and held the long stick aloft, now slicing it through the air as if trying to hook cobwebs from a corner of a house. The sky above her tore slightly, as gold strands became illuminated in reds and greens and yellows and pinks.
It only took a small second of watching her did Aleera finally focus on her own task at hand. She swept the pike along the grass around her, the strands of rainbow peeling from the blades and weeds.
And then she saw someone standing not far from the two of them.
Immediately, she paused and straightened up, giving a small whistle of warning to Brune. The other in turn turned and froze as well, eyes going wide. This really wasn’t good, universe character or not. Would it be too late to mention that harvesting threads really was looked down upon by those with any social standing?
The person ahead of them didn’t move, only watched ahead. Aleera didn’t like one thing about them, from the way it looked like their feet weren’t touching the ground to the pair of metallic claws and hands surrounding them like a full set of bug legs. They stuck out like a sore thumb, an indigo splotch against the bright green and blue of the sky, like a shadow without an owner.
They didn’t look like a universe character, that much felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders. No, no character like that would be hanging suspended, hands and legs limply at their sides with a stare that she couldn’t even feel. But it only made her blood become a slush of ice. This was incredibly unnerving, she could say that with confidence, though if they were here to destroy her small operation, it would be smartest to flee or talk her way out.
“Hey!” she found herself shouting at the horned person, “What are you doing here?! This is my turf here and if you want a piece of our haul then try going somewhere else! This place isn’t under the jurisdiction of anyone right now!”
A hand found its way onto her shoulder and it squeezed in silent warning. She glanced over her shoulder for only a second, seeing Brune’s dark hair. Okay, good, she had her back here. Why wouldn’t she though? This was their business, and freaky over there had no business being there.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” the stranger said, “You best clear out now.”
Brune moved away from Aleera, reaching for her holster and eyes narrowed. In response, or perhaps already on their mind, the intruder floated forward, the massive claws on either side of them beginning to unfurl and drift apart. It gave the uncanny appearance of a vulture stretching its wings. It kept getting closer, kept inching along the empty expanse of air.
“No, we were here first!” Aleera argued, “Hey, not another step! Get out or we’ll make you!”
Her teeth gritting behind tightly closed lips, she held out the pike again. It pointed in front of her, both lethal points aimed directly at the entity. The glittery threads that had been caught on its end slowly began to vanish, like smoke into the sky.
At her side and equally as tense, Brune pulled a pistol out of her pocket and aimed it true. Anybody outside of the universe stepping foot into these places always meant bad news. Having the proper means of defense went a long way; they couldn’t be wanted by the law any more than they already had.
“I told you to stop moving!”
The thing paused in its advance, but only for a moment. It tilted its head to the side, dark blue locks falling over its face as it raised arms only connected by doll joints. The large clawed hands on either side of it flexed their fingers out, hooks slicing the sky as they moved.
“Sorry. Conflicting orders, so request denied,” it replied.
Aleera’s grip on the pike wavered, but she screwed up her face with a determination that she desperately wanted to keep. Once more, she renewed her grip on the gathering tool-turned-weapon, ready to stall enough for them both to get out or at least convince whoever weirdo this was to leave them alone. Incredibly easier said than done, but she didn’t want to run away immediately. Even with threads disappearing by the second, she and Brune still had enough time to get a profit out of this visit.
“Leave now or have your puny lives be crushed. You have one warning.”
A sudden loud noise exploded from Aleera’s left as Brune fired her pistol. She didn’t even have time to think about the ominous offer, though she knew if given the time, she would’ve added some much more unkind words to the denial.
The bullet raced through the air and the thing swerved to the side faster than any of them could blink. Its feet rose into the air as the claws fully extended. This was it. Though even before Aleera could charge forward with the pike, the puppet stirred and faced them head-on again.
With dead eyes in a sunken skull, it shot its hand forward and in turn, the corresponding claw moved. It extended its fingers as if reaching, though didn’t leave their side. As the palm faced over Aleera’s shoulder, she knew immediately what it meant and didn’t hesitate to finally rush forward with the pike aloft.
Though before she even made it two steps the puppets way, an odd shape like an eye emerged on the palm, the pupil glowing white. In a fraction of a second, the glow intensified into a beam of light and a loud noise echoed throughout the field.
A guttural noise erupted from Aleera’s throat as the shot zipped through the air and impacted Brune right in the chest. The former skidded on her heel to face her as the other fell, her chest now scorched black with red singes along her clothing. That thing-- it just killed Brune--
Hands balling into a white-knuckled grip, Aleera let out a war cry of pain and anger. That thing just gunned down her partner and would expect her not to take it lightly?! Too soon, Brune wasn’t meant to die yet! She had so much longer to go. None of that mattered, she was dead and Aleera would avenge it by skewing this thing through.
When she turned around, she nearly found herself struck through with those obsidian claws. Heart leaping into her throat and sending all of her nerves awry, she threw herself out of the way. Though when she expected to have a hard but at least cushioned landing with the grass beneath her, suddenly something huge and metallic slammed into her chest. The other hand. Even through the sudden stars popping in her eyes and the world becoming a blur, she felt her chest snap and pop.
Then the ground met her. Aleera landed hard and her head slammed against it. If she could breathe anymore, she didn’t feel like she could. Winded with more broken ribs than she could ever ask for, she stayed on the ground, gasping and pleading for air in her lungs.
The attacker approached her and raised the gigantic claw. The palm’s eye emerged again, the pupil glowing a blinding light.
--
With the battle over as soon as it began, the puppet lowered its arm and in turn, the massive claw relinquished its active status. On the ground laid the smoldering remains of those who tried to oppose it. Well, it did warn them what resistance would bring.
Now that those distractions and interferers were out of the way, the puppet could finally set to the work it had been sent to do. It held its hands out in front of it, palms unmarred by symbolic eyes yet characterized by small dark pads facing the sky. As if conjured by a holographic device, the outlines of a blocky item in the shape of a box began to materialize.
Seconds ticked by and a book finally made its appearance, blank cover facing the open blue sky innocently. It needed a story and it thrummed with hunger in the hands of the puppet, ready to open its pages and intake all that was around it.
Universes; such beautiful places. With countless places so rich with stories and characters to accompany them, any new universe that dared emerge in the pitiful string of reality would be exploited to no measure. Whether they be common smugglers or promising new life, they existed for those purposes.
To the great relief of those above the puppet, that chance was ripped away from those hopeful individuals and now put to use for a more practical matter. This would be used for far more noble purposes in the pursuit of research and control over such lawless spaces. All control was a lie in the state of this miserable reality and those who knew what they were doing kept getting tossed to the side.
And to smile at the puppet’s existence, played a pinnacle role in establishing this control. Its multitude of uses was far and wide, but this was where it truly shined, or so the others say.
Silently and through watching dead eyes, it opened the cover with ball-jointed fingers. Through the stillness around its carrier, it eagerly opened up and the same blue that once constructed it shot in all different directions, passing over the bodies of the falling, through the field, soaring into the sky, and reaching through the air. The universe itself shivered from the unnatural phenomenon as if it were shaken to its core.
Though the puppet didn’t seem to care. All it did was stare down at the pages rapidly filling up with pictures and words. Paper flipped faster than the eye could catch, every single nook and cranny documented and put into place. No doubt it would all spring back to life once the book opened in its desired place once more.
Upon observing the phenomenon, the puppet couldn’t be counted as a good descriptor for the rest of the event. All they did was stare blankly as if the flipping pages weren’t in front of them. Nothing about the rapidly moving environment around them fazed them either, only serving as background flashes and noise, completely unimportant.
Seconds ticked by and soon the book finally had its fill. Satisfied, its pages became stagnant and still as if it were nothing more than just a plain old book that wanted to be read. As much of a fast reader it was, the puppet had no interest in making that inviting offer follow through. There was no time for reading and it had other things to attend to.
No time would be wasted after this. With a snap of pages slamming together, the puppet closed the book and tucked it under an arm. Its job there had come to a close, and now the time came for it to leave the scene. Everything had been performed in a timely manner, just like the others wanted.
But before the puppet could move, it was suddenly stopped as if whoever was in control yanked back on the strings. Its eyes widened slightly, though it handled the interference with grace.
“You. You’re needed right now so you better stop doing whatever useless crap you’re doing right now and come see me.”
The voice resembled Dolian’s. The puppet’s mind traveled to recall what he might need, though only conjured up blanks. Whatever he needed the puppet to do, this suddenly popped up. It would be best not to keep him waiting.
“Very well.”
There went the plans of safely returning the book to their high master. Perhaps they would not mind if the puppet arrived behind schedule due to Dolian’s rescheduling of plans. Though knowing that the High Master always knew where the other went off to, this no doubt would already be known. All the puppet needed to do was follow along.
Ahead of the puppet, the horizon puppet split into two with an indigo tear. The rip opened like a gaping maw, soon taking the shape of a deep blue eye much like the one on its chest and the palms of those clawed machines. It sightlessly stared down at the puppet, who did not heed any gaze. Instead, it only drifted through, leaving the tarnished and ravaged universe behind.