Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What attempt was this? It had to have been in the hundreds, but Suzie had long since lost count.

This was all she had left. She had to save her people. If she didn't save her people, what was the purpose of it all?

Suzie failed attempt after attempt after attempt, but she never gave up. She never faltered. Her end goal was in sight, she just had to chase it down and never stop. Eventually she would hold the solution tightly in her hands.

Her hands, littered with scars. Even though the wounds had long since healed, Suzie kept her palms bandaged up as a reminder of her mission. She wouldn't have been scarred if it weren't for that day.

The day that sent the world into ruin. The day Suzie had been trying desperately to reverse. The day that would never happen once Suzie succeeded.

And succeed she would, no matter what it took. No matter the cost. No matter the sacrifice. Anything was better than this hell on earth.

"Are you ready, Chronos? One more time. This'll be it, I swear."

She had said something along those lines every time she tried again. Each time, the lie grew thinner and thinner until it was so transparent anyone could see through it.

After so long, Suzie was beginning to lose hope.

But no! Suzie would not give up! She would not give in! She would try and try and try until she died trying!

The ground began to shake. Suzie felt the rattling deep in her bones. Chronos had decided to let her try once more.

As long as Suzie remained in Chronos' favor, she had all the chances in the world. She had all the chances in the world, but this would be the last chance she needed. After all this time, she would finally succeed in saving everyone she loved.

The quaking grew to a climax as Suzie tore through time and space and found herself standing atop a ruined temple. Chronos had retreated into its Capsule, but that wasn't important. What was important was the group of people standing at the bottom of the long flight of stairs leading up to the destroyed Graphite Temple.

"We've destroyed Graphite Temple," Suzie said, partly to herself, but probably loud enough that the others could hear.

She wanted to apologize for wrecking such a historic monument, but no. She had to hold her tongue. She had to make sure she came across as dangerous.

Suzie-- no. It was Zaviera now. She wasn't Suzie when she was in the past. Suzie was the name belonging to a girl who died a long time ago. (Metaphorically, of course.)

Zaviera began her slow descent down the stairs. She had practiced this a thousand times before, like a ballet dancer rehearsing her routine hundreds of times over. If Zaviera was just a smidge too fast or a bit too slow, the entire façade would be ruined. They would still be afraid of her, yes, but not as afraid as they could be. Resetting the timeline had some surprisingly mathematical elements.

Zaviera's fancy shoes clicked against the cold stone stairs, the sharp sound they made echoing through the sky. As she neared the bottom, a light breeze played with her hair and clothes.

Perfect. Not too strong, not too weak. Just enough to add onto the intimidation factor.

After thirty seconds or so, Zaviera was standing face-to-face with them.

They were Zaviera's friend, once upon a time. Now they were a bitter rival, just one more obstacle to her ultimate goal.

"Oh.... it's you."

Their presence here was one of many factors that fluctuated with each attempt. In some timelines, they didn't solve the maze before Zaviera arrived. In others, their mother didn't force them on the Key Hunt, so they didn't even bother with leaving Sketchvale. Sometimes, even their name changed.

The Elder had given Zaviera detailed instructions when it came to the Keys that her past self hadn't been present for. This Key Guardian was named Nimbus. He guarded the Thunderstorm Key. He had the fearsome ability to summon rain and lightning, but was extraordinarily rusty when it came to Doodle Battling. This Key was rarely a problem to obtain.

Zaviera took in a deep breath, but not too deep that it gave away her nervousness.

"Key Guardian," she began, projecting her voice and artificially deepening it slightly to make herself more intimidating, "Give me your Key and I'll spare all of you."

Nimbus stared Zaviera down, his expression never wavering as he said with nerves of steel, "I'm sorry, I seem to have misplaced it."

So it was one of those timelines.

Zaviera gripped her Golden Capsule tightly, quietly letting out a regretful sigh. She outstretched her hand, making sure not to accidentally drop the Capsule early.

"Okay. Chronos, come on out."

She let the Golden Capsule fall to the ground, releasing the Doodle inside with a brilliant flash. The burst of light illuminated Nimbus' features, revealing fear shining through his storm-grey eyes.

"How did you get Chronos? That's the Elder's Doodle!"

He was afraid of her now. Zaviera felt guilty for doing anything that would make anyone afraid of her, but it was a necessity.

"I was.... persuasive."

Not technically a lie, but Nimbus took it as such. He turned to the others and ordered them to run. His voice remained calm, even though Zaviera knew he believed he was about to die.

"I'll hold her off. Take the plane."

No. Zaviera would not let this opportunity pass. If they escaped, who knew if she would get a chance to grab the Thunderstorm Key again?

"Chronos, destroy the plane!"

A blinding bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky above. It hit the plane's engine, the high voltage setting off an explosion. The plane would've survived had it been a regular thunderbolt, but Chronos' lightning was no common electricity.

Zaviera whispered an apology for the pilot inside, an unavoidable casualty. It was a policy of hers to avoid harming people whenever possible, but sometimes people had to die at her hands.

She always told herself that the ends justified the means. Whoever she killed would never die once she prevented her future from coming to pass. So that made it just slightly more okay.

"I know you defeated the Key Guardian," Zaviera said to her friend from once upon a time. She didn't want to automatically assume their name, so they remained nameless in her head. "I know you have the Thunderstorm Key. Just give it to me and nobody gets hurt."

They took a few paces back, shaking their head "no." Out of the corner of her eye, Zaviera caught Quincy and Portia whispering to one another.

Wait. Wait, no.

"My teleportation device gets very unstable when I'm teleporting this many people!" Portia announced.

No!

"I don't know where any of us are going to end up, but let's meet up at Graphite Lodge, okay?"

In a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation, Zaviera lunged forward, reaching for the collar of her friend's shirt. They vanished in a flash of blue, and Zaviera landed gracelessly on the dirt of the sky island, coming up with only fistfuls of soil in her grasp.

Zaviera wanted to scream, but she held her tongue. She was a fully-grown woman, and she would not stoop so low as to act like a child, even if confronted with frustrating failure.

"So that didn't go as well as it could have," she said, pushing herself to her feet and brushing clumps of grass off of her clothes, "But it's okay! We've got all the time in the world!"

Chronos stared down Zaviera, electric eye crackling, and she knew its patience was wearing thin.

It wouldn't go along with her antics much longer.

Chapter Text

The ground began to rumble, nearly knocking Quincy off-balance. A growing dread emerged deep in his chest, fearing what would come next.

"Wh-what!?" Dulcis von Sweets's voice was panicky and weak, a complete 180 from Nimbus's steel-nerved bravery.

"This is what happened at Nimbus's sky temple--" Quincy said, partially to himself, "Someone very powerful is coming!"

"Very powerful, indeed."

Quincy's heart nearly stopped. He turned his head, and there she was standing.

"It's her! The girl from the sky temple!"

The strange woman had long blonde hair falling around her shoulders, reaching her knees. Her bangs were cut haphazardly, as if she had done them by herself in a moment of heightened emotion. The one eye she allowed the world to view was a soft pink, contrasting with her highly dangerous demeanor.

"She snuck up on us!" von Sweets yelped, "How did she get into the factory!?"

Zaviera's very presence struck fear into people now. She half-wished that wasn't the case.

"I don't think I've introduced myself yet," she said, ignoring the question, "Where I come from, people call me The Savior."

Her tongue lingered on the S sound, making her sound like a hissing Incinelisk.

"But I don't like that name. Please call me Zaviera instead."

Monologue time. Zaviera had practiced this one a hundred times in the mirror. Gaze slowly moving between each person standing before her, she began to speak.

"I need these Keys to save my people from extinction," she said, "I'm sorry, but the end justifies the means. Give me your Keys, or you'll--"

Her voice wavered as her eyes fell on Quincy. Crap! Did they notice? They had to have noticed, right?

It's okay. Just keep going. You've got this. He's still afraid of you. You have more power than him.

"You'll all be burnt to a crisp by Chronos."

The threat was utter Bubbullshit. They didn't have to know that, though.

"I can't let you do that," a playful voice rang out, disembodied, "These two are under my protection~!"

No.

No. She thought she could outrun him. She thought she was fast enough this time.

That familiar echoing voice teased her, sending chills down her spine.

"We aren't even close to the end of the opening act~!"

A blinding light, and Zaviera failed once more.

Where was she? She didn't know, and she didn't much care.

An enraged scream formed in her throat and ripped its way out through her mouth. Curses and insults and dirty words she wouldn't repeat poured out of her like an endless riptide.

Zaviera was acting like a child and she knew it. She was throwing a tantrum instead of plotting, planning, thinking ten steps ahead like she should've been.

You are a fully-grown woman, Suzie. Act like it!

She told herself at Graphite Temple that no matter what frustrations she came across, she would maintain her maturity and act like the twenty-something she was. That promise had already been broken.

The voice inside her head was telling her to get a grip and act her age. But a second, smaller voice was asking "what age?"

Oh, god. Suzie had forgotten how old she was. She had been at this for so long she had forgotten how old she was.

No, it's not Suzie. It's Zaviera. Zaviera.

Suz-- Zaviera drilled that name into her head over and over again.

She would never allow that old name to pass through her teeth. That name didn't belong to her anymore.

How old were you when you started this? Fifteen, right?

It didn't matter. Her age was inconsequential.

But some small part of her grieved for the lost child that still lived inside her. The girl who just wanted to make friends and have fun. The girl who had this heavy responsibility thrust upon her, with no say in the matter. The girl who was brutally murdered and replaced with someone who shared her body, but not her mind.

Zaviera hadn't finished maturing either physically or mentally when she cast her old self away. She had spent her adolescence trying desperately to reverse something that she wasn't even a part of.

Maybe, when this was all over, she'd ask Chronos to take her back to the start of it all, so instead of living as Zaviera, she could finish her childhood as Suzie like she wanted to.

Zaviera began walking forward, hoping to eventually find her way back to someplace familiar. She knew her old hometown like the back of her hand, so she knew her internal compass wouldn't lead her astray.

She eventually found herself on one of the high ledges overlooking the town. She sat down, dangling her legs off the edge. Trash piles and fires and pollution littered the streets below.

It was a terrible place to live, and Zaviera's lungs still bore the scars of the low-quality atmosphere, but it was home to her. Her heart ached with nostalgia, with yearning for a better past.

She was tempted to jump down and run to find her parents, to see them after years and years of trying to bring them back... but no. She had to restrain herself. The heartwarming reunion would have to wait for Zaviera's success.

There was the sound of someone teleporting behind her and walking closer. Zaviera turned her head slightly to see him beside her.

Zaviera growled. "What do you want?"

Riffraff hummed a short note, then spoke. "I just have a feeling that our goals aren't so different."

Zaviera studied Riffraff's mannerisms, the way he was holding his body, the expression of his eyes behind the white mask...

Suddenly he seemed quite familiar.

Zaviera quickly stood up to meet Riffraff's eye level. "I knew it! You're Lu--"

"Shh, not so loud, dear~! I'm impressed, Miss Savior. I thought I hid it well! But be careful about spilling any more secrets, because I have the strangest feeling someone is listening in on us! Someone not of this world..."

"Cryptic," Zaviera deadpanned. "But I don't really care about that. All I care about is obtaining the Keys to save my people."

"As long as you don't work for DoodleCo, you can have them. Hmmm.... what do you say about a deal? Let's not interfere with each other's business."

"What's in it for me?"

Truth be told, Zaviera had been only half-listening that entire time. She nodded along as Riffraff asked her to refrain from interfering with the Tamer who was collecting the Keys and as he described them being his "dutiful servant," finishing with some cryptic message about "fate willing it."

Could this man not speak in riddles for once?

Zaviera snapped back to attention as Riffraff stopped talking, waiting for her response.

"I wasn't supposed to interact with them in the first place. The Elder made that clear. Alright, fine, you win. I won't help them, but I won't attack them for now. But if I find out you're lying to me...."

Zaviera trailed off, hoping the bluffed threat made itself clear. She hated telling people she was going to hurt or kill them, even if it was a lie.

"Scary~! I assure you, this is in our mutual best interest."

"Fine. I'll leave you to your own devices. I'll come to collect my Keys in the future."

Riffraff smiled (or at least Zaviera thought he did; it was hard to tell with that mask) then teleported away.

Zaviera sat down again, watching the people walk up and down the streets like small ants marching to and from their nest.