Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Riebeck's head hurt...a lot. They'd been a part of the space program for quite a while now, but they still couldn't seem to match Feldspar or Gabbro's grace in their spacesuits. Sure, the extra padding they'd requested wasn't helping; but still, they should at least be able to walk by now! Their hand came up unconsciously to rub their head, awkwardly bumping into their oversized helmet instead of massaging their throbbing skull and bruised ego. They tripped and stumbled and fell plenty, but this time was somehow even more embarrassing than anything yet. They'd just left their makeshift camp on the equator, trying to find a way into the Southern Observatory, when the stairway they'd been on ended abruptly and gave way to...eugh...gravity crystals. Maybe the worst thing the Nomai had invented. Sure, the science said that they were 100% stable and it was impossible for them to spontaneously stop working, but Riebeck's mind very much said otherwise. Still, the Hanging City was right there, and the Southern Observatory had to have a trailhead from there, so they'd pushed on. Then they saw the black hole. They'd heard about it, of course. Every campfire before Feldspar disappeared was filled with their tales of using it to travel; slinging around it so fast they started blacking out - a terrifying concept, really. Hearing stories was scary enough, but seeing it was another beast entirely apparently. They'd been so focused on seeing the black hole that, unfortunately, they didn't see the gravity crystals at their feet. One stubbed toe and a terrifying fall later, they were several meters beneath said gravity crystal, setting up a camp. Observatory and Hanging City be damned they were not moving from this spot. Their little scout said it wasn't falling in, and they needed a few days...weeks...maybe a month to calm down from THAT fall. Ugh, just thinking about it made them nauseous. How did Feldspar ever to those stunts of theirs?

Shaking their head off Riebeck popped the top off a can of fresh marshmallow rations and speared one off a twig snapped from a nearby tree. The peace that roasting one over a campfire brought them was desperately needed right now. As they rotated the treat their thoughts wandered to the Hatchling. The young'n was supposed to take off today. They were the youngest pilot to ever be in the program - just a bit older then Hal and talented as hell, though their flying was pretty rough last Riebeck had seen it. Popping the now golden mallow into their mouth they pulled out their banjo. It was an old tradition amongst the travelers - If someone new was joining them, the whole group would play. A sort of introductory orchestra, to welcome the newcomer. 

Riebeck had been playing for just a short while, not even getting through the looping melody five times, when they heard thrusters. They snapped to attention, thinking through who could be visiting them? It'd been forever since they'd seen a friendly face, but the travelers weren't really the 'visiting' type. They all kept to themselves, letting the others do their research (or in gabbro's case, relaxing) in peace; so, who would be visiting anyone? Riebeck was snapped from their thoughts suddenly by a very concerning series of sounds. A loud thud first, then the thrusters cutting to a silence, followed shortly by near constant jetpack thrusters firing, another thud nearby, then the click of a scout launcher. What was happening out there? Right as they were about to put down their banjo an unfamiliar helmet popped around the corner. of the little nook they were camped in.

"Hey Riebeck, mind if I sit with you?" Their guest's normally young and energetic voice was muffled by their helmet, and seemed more toned down and off. They still knew that voice though, it was the Hatchling!

"Oh, you launched! That’s great. Great job, you. Wow, I guess that means I’ve been out here a while, huh. Well, um, this is Brittle Hollow. But you probably knew that. Lots of history here. ...It’s great.” Oh stars, they forgot the Hatchling's name! They definitely still hadn't recovered from that fall, huh. Maybe they should pop back to the village in a day or two to get checked out for a head injury. The hatchling settled in across from them at the campfire, removing their helmet and producing a marshmallow from their belt before roasting it with shocking expertise and speed. Their eyes were focused on the fire as they spoke with a slight shake in their voice.

"What'ch'ya doing here?" Their smile was oddly placating, like dealing with a child, and the words sounded practice. The shake in their voice was still there, reminding of Riebeck of themself after that fall recently. The Hatchling were so...different...to the last time Riebeck had seen them. Just a few weeks ago they'd been energetic and excited to take off. Full of that signature energy of theirs, polishing off that invention and talking miles a minute with Hal. Now they resembled Gossan or Hornfels right after their losses. That incident with Gossan and Feldspar's disappearance had broken something in them both; their smiles gaining a tinge of bitterness and their energy diluting down. Like they knew something terrible everyone else didn't about life. This young astronaut resembling them was worrying, so yeah, maybe Riebeck was a bit indulgent in their response. They spoke about their research, and their fall, and the hanging city. That concerning look never went away, but as they spoke the Hatchling seemed a bit less shaken - a bit more at peace. After they'd spoken all they could the hatchling stood up and walked away with a simple wave and a goodbye. Their leave faltered, however, before they left the nook completely. Hovering in the entryway, they turned back. Even with their helmet obscuring their face Riebeck could feel the anxiety flowing off them.

"Hey Riebeck, how would you feel about going to see the hanging city?" ...Eh? That wasn't an easy trip for a new astronaut - hell Riebeck was still too scared to feel confident with doing it. The Hatching stood their, fingers knotting together as they waited for a response. sigh Riebeck was already forming a soft spot for their youngest member. A big one too, if they were about to traverse a collapsing planet so they'd feel better. With a small groan they tucked their roasting stick into their poncho and stood.  

":Sure, Hatchling. Um. We'll need to be careful though." They tried to put on the proper voice. One of the more experienced explorer and astronaut they thought they were. 

"Oh! Don't worry too much, I've been before." The hatchling's voice was less shaky now, more excited. Riebeck blinked all four eyes in succession. That was concerning, to say the least. No part of their training took them even close to Brittle Hollow. "Let's go!" Okay Riebeck, deep breaths, they thought to themself, hard. Sure the Hatchling was concerning them. and sure, they should never have been in the Hanging city. But they were going somewhere Riebeck had always wanted to go, and they could keep the Hatchling safe if anything happened. The two left hte nook, side by side, the Hatchling's energy having returned in mass as they pulled Riebeck along, talking on about their trip excitedly. Tuning back into the conversation Riebeck only became more concerned. "...And then I slammed into the Attlerock! Does it still count as landing if you can't take off again without repairs? I'll ask Feldspar later. Anyways, after talking to Esker - they're lonely by the way - and exploring a bit I left again. This time, instead of going to the Attlerock I went to...ember twin." Their voice grew small at the mention of the last planet. Riebeck was just getting plain worried now. And what'd they mean they didn't go to the Attlerock after they went to the Attlero...OH. Across the bridge ahead of them towered the Hanging city. Whatever thoughts of worry were in their mind temporarily were washed away at the sight. This was an xenoanthropological treasure trove!

Riebeck took but one step forwards before the Hatchling's hand shot out, catching them on the hood of their poncho.

"I...wouldn't go that way Riebeck." Their voice was decisive and dark, hinting at some rough experience held within the phrase. "That one'll be crushed soon, and we don't want to be on it when it does. These rocks hurt like hell."

"What?" Riebeck was confused again. How could they know? They hadn't even fired their little scout! How would they know that? Still, they chose the other path to be safe. Just as they passed across the center of the bridge, a loud crumbling sound could be heard above them, as a rock came sliding down. Damn! Riebeck began sprinting. An awkward motion in their suit, but doable in an emergency like this. Their blood was pumping and their eyes were blurring as they looked back to make sure the Hatchling was following and...they weren't?! They were just stood in the middle of the bridge, watching calmly as the falling chunk of planet narrowly missed them and crushed the opposite side of the bridge, just like they're said it would. After it passed they did a jetpack jump (How did they know that?? That wasn't a training move, that was learned through experience.) and landed next to Riebeck. Putting an arm around their back the Hatchling spoke softly.

"You doing okay? I know you don't particularly like space, but if we waited for that to be over we might have run out of time..." Their body language was apologetic, but their words weren't exactly comforting. As the two astronauts traveled through the Hanging city, Riebeck's excitement was slowly overshadowed by their worry. Sure, seeing the classroom was AMAZING. The notes? The different writings between adults and children? Riveting. But more than amazing it was concerning how the Hatchling knew where everything was. How they could apparently fluently read Nomai writing with how they just pointed out what everything said. How Riebeck had to stop them from pulling some moves that went beyond even Feldspar's brand of risky, entering into suicidal territory. Once the two go to the eye shrine, and the Hatchling took less than five minutes to find every single missing scroll, going directly to each one, they decided it was enough. Halfway through the Hatchling's enthusiastic description of the Nomai's theories Riebeck interrupted them.

"Hey, uh, Hatchling," The constant flow of words coming from the Hatchling's mouth stopped abruptly at the careful words, " How about we go. Back up to the surface maybe? And...talk over a fire for a while?" Riebeck wasn't looking forward to facing that gravity crystal walkway again, but something was off here and they needed to get to the bottom of it. If that meant facing those things Riebeck could do it.

"Sure!" The hatchling's excited tone made it obvious they hadn't caught onto Riebeck's concerned tone, "I know a shortcut!" ...What? Before they could process the implications of the Hatchling knowing a shortcut no one else was aware of, they were off again. Riebeck being dragged up stairs, across a treacherous pathway, and to a gravity controller. Up the gravity column and...How was there daylight?

The two travelers padded through the watery tunnel  to the surface, before the Hatchling dragged them both to a pair of ruined surface buildings. After setting up a small fire and some emergency trees they settled in, removing their helmets and warming their faces.

"So, What's on your mind?" The hatchling's gaze as they spoke was knowing and tired, bereft of any energy. Suddenly the theory that they weren't aware of Riebeck's worry stopped holding water, replaced by a much worse one. They were actively ignoring it so that they could have fun in the city. Masking it with that excitement that used to be their signature emotion. Riebeck's mind worked fast to find something to say. Some way to put all the concerned thoughts into words, but nothing came to mind. Whatever was going on, it wasn't something they knew enough about to comment. Realizing their pause was too long Riebeck said whatever first came to mind.

"H-How?" Well that wasn't enough, they struggled to add some context, "How do you know all this? Didn't you j-just launch" Their voice was more desperate than they intended, wanting for answers. The hatchling's answer wasn't a simple response, but a question instead.

"Did you know the Sunless City on Ember Twin has been completely filled in by now?" The hatchling's hands were knotted together again, the shake in their voice back, "I didn't, not until last loop at least."

"Loop?" What did that mean? What was a 'loop' in the context of anything? and was there ever a city on Ember Twin?? The Hatchling kept talking, hardly even noticing that Riebeck had spoken, ignorant of their questioning.

"It's fun to explore, ya know? yeah, you do. You wouldn't be out here unless exploring was more exciting than space was terrifying. It's so exciting sometimes I lose track of time. Last loop I got careless, didn't pay attention to things I guess. The caves there fill in with sand over time. I was checking in on the high energy lab, but I was too late. By the time I realized it was getting late, the cave I was in was already sealed. The sand just...kept coming..." They voice was shaking now, and it tapered off without finishing the statement. A statement Riebeck wasn't loving the implications of. All the answers they could want were overtaken by another feeling.

"Are you okay?" The whispered words came from them unintentionally, and the hatchling's gaze was all the response Riebeck needed. They looked up, all four eyes meeting Riebeck's, and they tilted their head to the side. Their eyes were tired and troubled, but underneath it all was that same old excitement.

"You know," They said after a while, "I don't know. Normally the loops don't effect me much, but those ones. The brutal ones that make me panic when I wake up...those leave me in rough shape. I think I might be claustrophobic now." The final joke fell flat with a hollow chuckle. 

"Heh, I doubt you'd be scared of much after that bridge scene Hatchling." Riebeck's response avoided the confusing situation, like the Hatchling was clearly also doing. They didn't know exactly what the Hatchling was going through, but as the conversation had progressed they realized they didn't need to. Maybe just knowing the Hatchling was at least kind of okay was enough. They shifted to sit next to the Hatchling, pulling out a marshmallow and their stick. They spun the white cloud of sweetness slowly as they spoke.

"How about you tell me more about your travels?" And the Hatchling did. For a long while they regaled Riebeck with stories of the system. Of Feldspar lost in the Dark bramble, and the Nomai Solanum and her adventures. Of Gabbro and the (terrifying) islands on Giant's deep, and two pairs of friends who predicted the actions of one another while building a canon. They didn't know how much of it was true, but the stories were a good way to pass the time. Plus, the Hatchling seemed comfortable. They weren't overly excited anymore, nor were they shaken. They seemed almost fond of the Nomai and Hearthians in their stories, voice warm with familiarity as they spoke about them like old friends. Riebeck may not know everything that was happening, but this seemed like a nice way to spend the Hatchling's first(?) visit. Just as the young traveler finished a story about some pun-loving Nomai a small shockwave passed over the planet, and the sky went dark. Terror gripped at Riebeck's very soul as they saw the sun collapsing in on itself, before they looked over at the Hatchling. They were a sight in the dull glow from the center of their system, a slight smile painted across their face and their eyes sparkling in the scattered light. All the tension gone from their body, relaxed into a lounging position set on their hands. 

"It's always beautiful, ya know?" Forcing themself to look up again, Riebeck couldn't help but agree. A splattering of lights, painted against the oddly empty backdrop of space, rushing towards them. The hatchling spoke once more as the energy approached them. "Next time I'll make sure you aren't so worried about me..." Riebeck wanted to respond. To tell them worrying was a part of being the older traveler, that they could help with what ever was happening to the Hatchling. To tell them that their company was always welcome, worrying or not; but nothing could leave their mouth before the exploding sun reached them, erasing the two astronauts and their planet in a painless second.

Riebeck's head hurt...a lot.

Chapter Text

Chert’s helmet sometimes seemed like more trouble than it was worth. It has taken months of tireless work in Gossan’s grimy hut to figure out the details, and months more of revisions after testing. After that was all of Hornfels paperwork. Now, Chert was raised right by Gneiss. They had pushed Chert to always be polite and proper, but that mountain of paperwork pushed the limits of how many forms they could accept with a smile. That being said, it was magical in practical use. It reminded them of nights whittling instruments next to a homemade telescope with Gneiss out on the field where the radio tower now rested. Nothing around but a sparse few trees and the s t a r s. They stretched overhead on those days, swirling around as the planet spun. It was a backdrop for carving and silent company, and the most treasured days of Chert's life. One day stood out most of all today, a day were Gneiss pointed out a supernova in the distance, calling it a bright star. Chert had gone off about it, how it happened, what was happening all those millions of miles away. Gneiss hadn't really understood, but that was okay. She seemed content to listen back then, like always. Riebeck’s helmet was safer, sure, but it had one tiny porthole - Chert’s had the night sky in it and they wouldn't trade that for anything. No matter where they looked it was stars everywhere - and nowhere was better for stargazing than Ember Twin.    

So there they sat, on Ember Twin, in their troublesome-to-acquire but beloved helmet, faithfully redoing the star charts for Hornfels with their drums laying to the side. Honestly, they complained about these things a lot, but the star charts were probably Chert’s favorite part of the job. Sitting down in their helmet, with their drums by their side, playing away and occasionally marking down an error or change was cathartic - and if they managed to get some carving in who was going to judge, eh? This time though, it was a bit of a different experience. There were more errors and it was starting to worry the astronomer. Still, no reason to panic. A few extra supernovae weren’t really a concern, it was probably just some bad math or something the like. They wouldn’t let that get in their way!  

It’s been a while since they had last marked anything down. There were too many supernovae now to be coincidence. They’d already redone some of the quicker calculations again and again and it all led to one conclusion - things were ending. I mean, all they had to do was look dead ahead. In front of them was their solar system’s own sun, red as a ripe berry and ready to pop like one too. They’d since accepted it now, ready to accept whatever fate came about. That’s how they were prepared to be until the end - nearly comatose, reminiscing on their friends and time - when a burst of thrusters snapped them out of it. It was really quite gentle, as far as thruster bursts go. They’d expect it from Gossan maybe - the seasoned flying vet always did care for their peaceful states - or maybe even Gabbro. That one cared for their own peace far too much to be loud. However it was neither that interrupted their calm acceptance. Instead it was the little Hatchling, just launched today, that landed on the bridge to their campsite. 

It was the Hatchling who strolled up to them, not speaking a word. Just sitting on the rock next to them and staring at the broiling mass of a sun directly ahead. They…really quite reminded Chert of themself honestly. They were calm, just staring at the doom ahead. Like it didn’t matter at all. They had obviously long passed the hysteria of panic and overwhelming fear. Or maybe Chert reminded themself of the Hatchling, in this moment. Because despite being older and more experienced, Chert wasn’t the one to have the fearlessness to break the silence - that silence that felt like it was holding the sun and this moment in place - that was the Hatchling. While Chert was still overcoming their panic, the Hatchling spoke . When they did it felt like hearing an elder of the village speak. Their pace was slow, taking up all the time they wanted despite the oncoming end, and their tone was peaceful. It made the end times bomb before them feel like just another peaceful campfire under the stars. And what they said? Well, it barely made any sense.

“When you think about it, isn’t what we’re doing right now just another kind of stargazing?” Chert had heard them speak just yesterday, but something about their speech echoed with disuse. “Like, the sun is just the closest star to us. We’re just watching another one of today’s many supernovae." 

What an odd thought to have at the end of their time. Chert supposed it was correct in a way. What a pleasant way to think of this - it really was just like another night out with Gneiss. With a pleased sigh Chert picked up their drums and removed the little blade, handle shaped perfectly to their hand, that they always carried on their waist. The thing wasn’t more than an inch long on the blade, and it had a bulky handle that settled nicely between their fingers - made for carving and nothing else. Their drums settled into their lab comfortably. It was a familiar weight, like the other traveler’s instruments had been when they helped gneiss as a hatchling. They whittled away, taking off material here and there where it hadn’t been perfect before. Gneiss had tried their best, of course, but honestly their hands were too old and worn by the time these drums were made. And of course the heads needed  to be tensioned again. They've been playing too much lately. And then there was that forsaken knot in the handle. Maybe it could be whittled away more. As they wore away more and more material, refining their instrument, they tuned out everything else. They didn’t hear the Hatchling remove their helmet, nor did they hear the crack of a can of Marshmallows. They didn’t hear the light sigh the Hatchling gave off as their internal timer told them it was time, and they didn’t hear the whoosh of their own sun compressing. They didn’t even hear the gentle explosion of it’s force pushing back out. All they could hear was the reverberation of wood being carved away within their suit, and the gentle crackling of the fire.