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It was cold around Ariane. Cold air above and cold, rough ground below her. It felt like… concrete? Something about the feeling was oddly familiar to the young woman as she drifted from the deep, soft embrace of unconsciousness.
Suddenly, she gasped and sat up, snow falling off of her body and onto the floor around her, with more following as she looked around, jerking her head in all directions. Concrete walls that reached far, far up surrounded her, electrical wires and the occasional whirring box of nondescript technology hanging meters above her head.
She pushed herself up onto her feet, her legs shaking slightly from the cold as she dusted the snow off of her shoulders, looking around.
“Is this… Rotfront?” she mumbled to herself, leaning against the nearby wall for stability. She remembered taking one of the interplanetary tunnels from the palace, trying to hurry home to New Vineta, hoping to make it in time for dinner, when…
When… when what? Ariane vaguely remembered that there was some kind of… sound? Or maybe she saw something and then took a turn, and… Slipped out of the tunnel?
Her head ached as she rubbed her eyes, trying to get a better read of the situation she had found herself in. She had somehow managed to land on Rotfront, probably having been guided through the other realm by her Bioresonance - it wouldn’t be the first time, after all. She sighed a half-relieved, half-frustrated sigh as she shook her head, wondering how long she had been out.
Whatever the case, something told her that she had missed dinner… and maybe even breakfast at this rate, which meant that Ellie was most likely freaking out, maybe even organizing a search party at this point. Ariane couldn’t help but smirk a bit as she pushed herself off of the wall, her headache abating very slightly.
She just had to figure out where on Rotfront she was, and then she’d take the transit system to the central interplanetary tunnel hub to get back home before Ellie would decide to go on a warpath to find her. First things first though: Finding out where exactly she was.
Ariane stumbled towards the hydraulic doors that served as the exit of the small inner yard that she had woken up in, briefly stretching before she opened it - the cold had seeped into her muscles, and she felt like she had to wake them up slowly, one by one.
The door slid open and Ariane’s ears were filled with the loud buzz of the lighting, which flickered gently as she took a step into the warm corridor, the door sliding shut behind her. She immediately felt a strange sense of familiarity wash over her, accompanied by a smell she couldn’t quite place and a comfortable, gentle warmth she remembered from her own childhood.
Her steps echoed through the short hallway as she quickly walked forward and into the light, stopping almost immediately, her eyes drawn to something she hadn’t seen in a while. There, on the wall before her, hung a flag. A black, a red, and a yellow stripe, topped with a crest showing a telescope and three stars surrounded by a wreath.
It was the flag of the Old Eusan Nation, the oppressive, totalitarian nation that Ariane, Ellie, and their friends had overthrown some years ago. What was it doing here? The white-haired woman stepped closer, gently grabbing one side of the flag and rubbing it between her thumb and index finger. It felt smooth, like it had just been made.
“Oh, hey,” came a voice from behind her, making the woman flinch slightly as she turned around.
There, standing in the entrance of the hallway, stood… Ellie? Ariane narrowed her eyes slightly, blinking into the dim light of the corridor. She was undoubtedly facing an LSTR unit, with their intense gaze and red breastplate which, in the case of the woman before her, was covered in little splashes of slick oil and other dirt. Her cadence certainly sounded like Ellie’s, and the Replika seemed to know Ariane as well, but something felt… off.
“Ellie? What are you doing here?” Ariane asked tentatively and the Replika stepped forward slightly, smirking. Had she somehow managed to track Ariane down that quickly? Maybe there was some reported issue with the tunnels and they had managed to follow her unintended detour? She would certainly not put it past their maintenance team.
“I know, I know- I got off work early today for once and wanted to surprise you,” Ellie said, stepping to Ariane’s side and examining the flag briefly before continuing, “So, they finally hung this up, huh? How long did it take them?”
Ariane blinked, confused. Ellie was acting as if having an old Nation flag hanging around was normal - not only that, but she was acting as if Ariane should know something about it. Was there some Nation-related memorial that she had signed off on and forgotten?
“I don’t… know?” she answered, unsure of what to say. Ellie just shrugged her shoulders.
“Must have been longer than I thought, then,” she told the confused woman before turning to a nearby door, pointing at it, “Anyway… How about we go check on Isa and Lily?”
Ariane’s confusion mounted - what was Isa doing here, and who was this “Lily”? Before she could say anything, Ellie had gently grabbed her arm, moving her away from the flag and towards the doors.
“I’m sure she will be surprised to see me this early. Say, why were you outside-” she began, opening the large doors before them. Ariane suddenly realized what she had smelled before - the smell of old paper and books that were synonymous with the Itou family bookstore, which they found themselves in now. It looked identical to what Ariane remembered, with shelves upon shelves of books on both sides forming a narrow corridor that led from the front entrance to the counter. Behind said counter sat… Isa, as Ariane recognized with some shock.
Far more of a shock was the woman who was half-crouched down next to one of the shelves however. Red eyes stared back at Ariane, their surprise palpable, only comparable to Ariane’s own sense of shock. She was staring back at… herself?
“...anyway?” Ellie finished her sentence, promptly letting go of Ariane’s arm and taking a step to the side. Silence filled the room as everyone stared at each other in shock. Then, Ariane heard movement from behind one of the shelves, followed by a head appearing from around a corner. Attentive eyes and brown hair that, as Ariane noticed, was just beginning to go white at its roots. The little girl looked at her, then at the other Ariane who was crouched some distance from her, then back at Ariane herself.
“...Mom, why are there two of you?” she asked, sounding almost as confused as Ariane felt at that moment. Her thoughts were all over the place and full of questions, most of which were only half-formed. Why was there another version of herself? Why was Isa on Rotfront? Who was this child? Also… did she just call her “mom”?
Isa made brief eye contact with Ellie, and Ariane saw the Replika nod slightly before taking a step forward, and letting out a deep breath.
“Lily. Would you mind playing in the back area for a while? We’re going to be talking about grownup things,” she said, walking over to the girl and crouching down slightly to be on eye level. Ariane could see the girl walk out from behind the corner hesitantly, answering something that was too quiet to hear.
“I know, I know… You know we don’t often do this, but we are a bit…” she trailed off, turning back to look at Ariane before continuing, “...confused, that’s all.”
The girl said something again, this time slower, and got a small nod in response from Ellie. Then, she turned around and walked away, presumably disappearing into the store’s back area. Ariane took a small step forward and the front door closed behind her. In the meantime, the other Ariane and Ellie had stepped towards the counter while Isa had stood up from whatever seat she had been sitting on. Six eyes fixated on her silently as she took another step forward, unsure of what to say. She felt strangely… judged, reminding her of her time in Mandelbrot Poly.
“So,” she said, unsure of what to say next. “What is… going on?”
The three women before her exchanged brief glances, their focus briefly breaking down. It was clear that they were just as freaked out as Ariane, if not more. The other Ariane cleared her throat, shifting around slightly.
“Who… are you?” she asked slowly, and Ariane could see that one of Isa’s hands rested on the woman’s shoulder. She pondered her answer for a second, then sighed.
“Ariane Yeong-Itou, if that helps,” she answered, eliciting an involuntary chuckle from Isa. She gave the brunette a questioning look.
“Oh, nothing. It’s supposed to be ‘Itou-Yeong’, though. That’s the order we agreed on, not the other way around.” the woman replied, crossing her arms and giving Ariane a suspicious look for a second or two, her eyes looking for… something.
“She certainly looks the part,” Ellie spoke up, pointing at the door behind Ariane, “I found her staring at the new flag outside like she had never seen it before. She looks exactly like you, Ari.”
“I can see that, Ellie.” Ariane’s counterpart answered with some mild annoyance in her voice, though she quickly turned back to the topic at hand, “The question is WHY she looks like me.”
“She looks as confused as us…” Isa added, stemming her head onto one of her hands thoughtfully.
“I assure you: I am MORE confused than you three combined,” Ariane jumped in, pointing behind her, “Because, that flag? I haven’t seen that hung anywhere in a few years.”
“Maybe she’s an alien clone, here to replace me…” Ariane’s counterpart mused, earning her a glance from Ellie.
“That would presume the existence of intelligent aliens capable of cloning, all without being detected by the Nation at all,” she stated, moving her gaze from a nearby book back to Ariane. The girl crossed her arms, an idea coming to her mind slowly. It was… unlikely, to say the least, but maybe…?
“I’m not an alien, no. But… I think I don’t belong here, to say the least,” she started, wandering over to a nearby shelf and casually grabbing a book before continuing, “In this… world, I mean.”
The three women before her looked at her with varied levels of confusion, ranging from Ellie’s stoic interest over Isa’s slight lean forward to the other Ariane, who crossed her arms and squinted, confusion and worry apparent in her eyes.
“And that means…?” Isa asked, and Ariane could hear her nails tapping against the countertop.
“That means… That I am from another world, of course. One that is very close to this one, but not the same,” she started, shaking her head, “Reminds me of when I slipped into the other world for a while, but this is… different. Makes me wonder if the other world connects to other places…”
As Ariane mused to herself, she heard Ellie step forward slightly.
“What are you talking about? Another world? How would… How would that even work?” she said, and Ariane felt a strange sense of nostalgia at her reaction, and an innate familiarity with the woman before her… Even if this most likely was not 100% the same person she knew.
“Good question - we’re still trying to understand that as well. Right now, we’re still researching how the Red Desert works, but I was able to map routes through it using my Bioresonance - it’s how we get around quickly back where I come from.” Ariane explained, trying to sound as relaxed as she could be while describing things that, even with her powers, somewhat freaked her out.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her counterpart take half a step back instinctively, but when Ariane looked at the other woman, she had already caught herself again and was pretending as if nothing happened. Ellie hummed.
“Bioresonance… Ari has powers related to that, too…” she mused, eliciting a slightly disgruntled groan from Ariane’s counterpart. Quickly, Isa put a hand on the woman’s shoulder, massaging it.
“Hey, it’s ok… If anyone should be ok knowing that, it’s… yourself?” she said, giving Ariane a questioning look. The white-haired woman shrugged in response before turning to her counterpart.
“So, ever dropped into another world before?” she joked. Strangely, her counterpart glanced away for a split second before taking a deep breath in.
“No… But I can glance into your mind and communicate with people telepathically,” the woman answered, pausing for a second before raising an eyebrow, “Actually, do you mind if I glance into yours? I just… It’s still hard to fathom that you’re… me, you know?”
“Oh yes, go ahead. Fair warning though - it’s a mess in there on a good day,” Ariane joked, eliciting a chuckle from Isa in the background.
“I like this version of you, hun,” she said, shrugging before continuing, “Though, I’d probably like almost any version of you…”
Ariane gave the woman a confused glance while her counterpart walked up to her, letting out a deep sigh before closing her eyes. Ariane followed suit, closing her eyes as well. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was necessary, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Suddenly, there was a feeling in her mind, as if she were looking into a mirror. No, that was not quite it. It was… deeper, rippling with movement and sound, a reflection with a dense tension hiding beneath.
It was an ocean.
Both Arianes opened their eyes at once, gasping as they stumbled away from each other. Ariane’s head pounded, forcing her to grab a hold of the nearby shelving. She heard the sounds of steps quickly approaching, followed by worried whispers.
“Ari? Are you ok? What happened?” said Ellie, only a blurry, vaguely black and red shape in Ariane’s vision. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands around her shoulders, grabbing her - not forcefully, as she realized, but merely to stabilize her.
“Hey, are you alright? Don’t go fainting in my bookstore now, you hear?” Isa’s voice said as the woman gently shook Ariane, receiving a grunt in response.
“So… much. I’m ok, just… ah, my head. It feels like someone just made me read a whole book in a second…” the counterpart - Ariane decided to call her “Ari” for short, much like this world’s Ellie did - grunted. and Ariane could only agree. Her head was full of knowledge that was not hers, but it still felt like she had lived through it.
A distant radio post, Ellie as its maintenance unit. A similar story to the Penrose, but different. A return home, tentative first steps, a rekindling of a romance that went overlooked. Improvements of life, love, the birth of Lily, more love.
“You’ve been… up to a lot, huh?” Ariane chuckled half-heartedly as she held her aching head, nodding at Isa to signal her that she was alright.
“Oh, YOU’RE one to talk, miss Empress of the Republic,” Ari shot back, her tone a combination of baffled amusement and frustration, “I don’t even know what to comment on first. You weren’t kidding when you said that it’s a mess!”
Isa and Ellie exchanged a brief glance as Ariane and Ari both managed to slowly recover from their exchanged brain blast. After both seemed better, Ellie crossed her arms.
“...Empress of the Republic?”
The question stood in the room for a moment before Ariane shrugged slowly.
“It’s… a long story,” she said, earning her a nod from Ari, who turned to face Ellie as well.
“She went on the Penrose program, can you believe that? And you were there too, as the ship mechanic,” she mused, grabbing Elster by the arm. The Replika furrowed her eyebrows slightly, as if she was remembering something, but then her face relaxed.
“...I suppose we were always fated to meet, then,” she joked calmly, and Ari nodded.
“Honestly, it’s kinda weird… We are really similar, but also very different in many ways,” she said, not addressing anyone in particular, though she glanced over at Ariane briefly, who knew what she meant.
“Differences and parallels are present, yes. For example: I am not in a relationship with my Isa,” Ariane added, and Ari continued, “Her Isa IS a mom though.”
“Assigned mom in all timelines,” Elster said flatly.
“Assigned mom in all timelines,” Ari repeated, and Ariane nodded in agreement.
“Assigned mom in all timelines…” Isa mumbled, her tone a mixture of begrudging agreement and amusement.
“What about Lily?” Elster broke the ensuing silence, but Ariane could only shrug apologetically in response.
“I don’t have any kids yet, and Isa had twins, so…” she began, giving a small smile,. “I think she’s entirely, uniquely yours.”
“I can hardly imagine a life without her…” Isa said to herself, turning partially to the back area of the store before stopping. “...Lily, I saw you.”
Ariane leaned to the side slightly just in time to see the little girl hesitantly walk out from behind the furthest shelf, looking guilty. Isa turned back to the group, giving a slight sideways nod, which Ellie answered.
“We’ll try to… explain this to Lily. You two probably have a lot of things to talk about in the meantime.” Ellie stated, putting a hand on Ari’s shoulder. The shorter woman wanted to protest, but a sharp look from Isa quickly put those ambitions to rest. Ariane wasn’t surprised - they probably wanted a summarized explanation from Ari after the fact instead of listening to the two of them spout random facts about each other’s worlds. Ariane gazed back at Ari, who gave Lily a little wave before turning back and putting a hand on Ariane’s shoulder.
“Let’s head up to the roof - we should be uninterrupted there,” she said quietly while Ellie and Isa walked over to Lily, who stood there, unsure of what to do or say. Ariane nodded back, letting Ari lead her out of the bookstore.
The way up was spent in nearly complete silence, with neither Ari nor Ariane knowing what to say to the other. Only once they had stepped out and onto the roof did Ariane find some words to say.
“It’s nice to see Rotfront having actual seasons, even if it’s not exactly warm out,” she said, looking over the large, old buildings dotting the scenery, accompanied by smaller buildings that had sprouted around them. Ari stepped up to the handrail that surrounded the rooftop, the vents around them humming as condensation rose from their slightly rusted grates. Ariane followed her counterpart’s example, leaning on the railing.
They stood in silence for a while until Ari sighed.
“You know… I’m not sure if I’m thankful or jealous right now,” she said slowly, turning her body to Ariane, who cocked her head to the side.
“What do you mean?” she asked, unsure of what Ari was talking about.
“On one hand… All the stuff you went through makes me feel like I… haven’t done much,” she started, turning back to look down on the buildings around them. “But, on the other hand… I don’t know if I could do all of it.”
Ariane waited for a second before shaking her head.
“You and I, we may be… different in many ways, but I’m still you, and you’re still me. I can see myself going down your path in a different life, and, as impossible as it may seem… I think you could have done what I did, if life had pushed you that way.”
Ari gave a short chuckle in response - it didn’t sound very convinced. Ariane groaned inwardly, trying to think of some way to get through to her counterpart.
“Hey, are you… happy?” she asked instinctively, some part of her thinking faster than she herself could. Ari turned her head around, nodding.
“Yeah - I love my wives, and I love my daughter more than anything. It’s a simple life, but… I’m happy,” she added, a smile sneaking its way onto her face. Ariane blew air out of her nose.
“Then does it really matter how you achieved that happiness?” she asked, giving Ari a small punch to her shoulder, which the woman replied to with a flick to Ariane’s chest.
“Nope. I guess… it doesn’t. It’s just… this is a lot, you know? And… the Red Desert…” she trailed off, apprehension in her voice. Ariane knew what she was talking about: There, in the memories she had glanced from Ari, was the desert. It was similar, and yet… different - less a realm that would adapt to whoever stepped into it, and much more like a nightmarish world filled with strange whispers and the distant droning of a “throne”, whatever that meant.
“I saw it, yeah,” she said intentionally curtly.
“It’s… not the same thing as your Red Desert, is it?” Ari asked after some hesitation.
“I don’t know. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. It certainly felt different from what I am familiar with, but who knows? Could be that there are regions to that realm and I just happened to miss the field of horrible screaming and ominous deities,” she tried to joke, but Ari just hung her head a bit.
“You know, I thought that it was just a dream until now,” she mumbled quietly, causing Ariane to put her hand on Ari’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her.
“Hey, look at me.”
Ari looked up, studying Ariane’s face for a second.
“It’ll be ok. Whatever you stumbled into there… if it ever happens again, you have me now,” Ariane said, giving her counterpart’s shoulder a squeeze. Ari nodded slowly.
“Yeah… I guess I do, as strange as that sounds,” she started, straightening up with a thoughtful look on her face. “Though, that reminds me… How are you going to… get back?”
Ariane sighed - she had asked herself the same question during the elevator ride, and had drawn a blank.
“I don’t know, honestly. It’s just… I need to trust my Bioresonance, I think,” she started before an idea entered her mind, and she turned to Ari. “Or… maybe… I need to trust yours.”
Ari gave her a bewildered look. “Me? I- Look, I saw what you can do with your Bioresonance, and I can’t even begin to approach that. Why would I-”
“Because this is your world, not mine. I’m a visitor here, and I don’t even know how I managed to stumble my way into it. You… You should have an easier time looking for a tear.”
Ari wanted to protest, her eyes darting between Ariane, the buildings around them and the ground beneath their feet.
“I- But how do I do that? I can… I can try, but…” she gestured to nothing in particular. “Even if I find something, how do I open it?”
“I’ll take care of that, don’t worry,” Ariane answered, putting a hand on Ari’s shoulder. “You… Just do your thing.”
“My thing?” Ari asked, chuckling in disbelief. “I don’t really have a ‘thing’, you know?”
“Of course you do,” Ariane said, closing her eyes demonstratively. “What you did before. I have no idea how you did it, so… that’s your ‘thing’ now.”
Ariane opened her eyes just in time to see Ari give her a slightly dirty look, but then the woman before her closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.
“I… I don’t know, I can’t see anything different,” she said after a few seconds, but Ariane put a hand on her shoulder.
“Of course not - your eyes are closed,” she started, seeing Ari’s face scrunch up and her mouth open for an answer, but Ariane continued immediately, “You need to FEEL it. It’s like… a tickle at the back of your mind.”
Ari’s face relaxed slightly before she furrowed her eyebrows, clearly focusing.
“I… I think, maybe? It feels like… You know when you put your shirt on backwards and it just feels off? It’s like that, but more like a tugging at the air around me… Is that what you meant?”
Ariane nodded before realizing that Ari couldn’t see her, and so she quickly cleared her throat.
“If that’s what you feel, then yes. Can you follow the feeling to its origin?” she asked, keeping her hand on Ari’s shoulder as they both began to move.
They inched their way across the rooftop, with Ari frequently stopping to reorient herself, turning her head from side to side before continuing onwards. Ariane stayed silent, listening to Ari’s mumbled words as they made their way towards something that only Ari could see.
“It’s… here?” Ari said, suddenly stopping, “Like… like someone left a window open and there is a draft coming in.”
Ariane let go of Ari’s shoulder, stepping forward and reaching out into the resonances. They were different from those she was used to - different frequencies, different melodies, even - but they were familiar enough for her to orient herself. Immediately, she saw the tear floating before them.
“Bingo… See? I told you we had it in us,” she said, reaching out and tearing at the edges. The familiar sound of paper ripping echoed around them, making Ari stumble backward with her hands over her ears.
“Ow! That’s way louder than it was in your memories!” she cried as she stood up, blinking the shock out of her eyes. Ariane meanwhile stood next to the open tear, slowly raising an arm to gesture towards it.
“Ta-Da! Portal’s open, for now,” she chirped, leaning sideways slightly to peek into the opening and being met with the familiar landscape of the scarlet desert beyond. Behind her, Ari gasped.
“It’s… it’s real, just like in your memories, and my dream…” she mumbled, reaching a hand out towards it before pausing. “So… Is this it?”
“Hm?” Ariane hummed back, unsure of what Ari meant.
“I mean… Are you leaving us?” Ari explained, eliciting a shrug from Ariane.
“For now, yes. I uh… I wanted to be home before dinner, and I think Ellie might be getting a bit antsy without me around,” she explained with an awkward smile, “But… I can always come back, if you’ll have me.”
“Are you sure you’ll find your way back?” Ari asked, tentatively sticking her head through the tear before backing out again.
“Of course - once I know the spot of a portal, I can always find my way back to it,” Ariane replied, stepping around the tear and in front of Ari. “Actually… I have an offer.”
Ari looked at her with suspicion, but then loosened her shoulders.
“What is it?”
With a bit of theatrical bravado, Ariane reached out her hand.
“How about you join me?”