Chapter Text
It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, the Princess just wanted to curl up in bed, and sleep till noon.
As the Princess began to stir, her hand brushed against something – someone – next to her. Her eyes shot open. Next to her, still asleep, was the – Killer, Dragon, Birdface, Little Bird, Fledgling, My Hero, Wretch – from the Cabin.
Her heart stopped. What the hell was he doing in her bed? How did he get here? How did she get here? Where the hell even were they?
Quickly scanning her surroundings, revealed a quaint little room. The only pieces of furniture besides the bed was a dresser opposite them next to the door and a desk underneath the window. A vase full of flowers sat upon it.
As the Princess continued to scan the room, the body next her to started to stir as well. The Princess waited with baited breath as the other’s eyes fluttered open. The two sat in silence before Quiet screeched as he tumbled out of bed.
The Princess winced in sympathy. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah. I’ve felt worse,” he admitted as he rubbed his head. He still looked nervous though. Understandable. The two had lived many short painful lives together. She herself was just as wary. And yet she couldn’t escape the feelings of warmth and devotion rise within her.
She watched as the other surveyed the room. “Do you know where we are? The last thing I remember was us breaking the Construct.”
The Princess paused as she too thought. The Long Quiet had brought her all the required vessels. The two had awoken to their power as the Narrator finally broke. They had debated what to do before Quiet had finally relented and agreed to leave the Construct with her as awakened gods. They had been free. And now they were here. Wherever here is exactly.
“I’m as lost as you,” she admitted begrudgingly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, someone – several someones – hissed that he couldn’t be trusted. Meanwhile others were delighted for the two to be together again.
Quiet rose from the floor. His gaze landed on the window. Sunlight – Sunlight! He had never seen the sun or the day before! – shone though the window. “The world was supposed to end,” he said carefully. He turned back to the Princess. “You were supposed to end the world. But it’s still here. How?”
The Princess paused before glaring. “You think I’d know or even tell you if I did,” the shrill voice of the Witch hissed.
Quiet glared back. She’s as pleasant as ever, a voice pipped up. The Princess watched as Quiet’s whole demeanor suddenly changed. The other god had suddenly become a quivering mess, almost bursting in tears on the spot.
“Are you alright?”
“You-You’re still here.” Quiet’s reaction didn’t make sense. It hadn’t been that long since the last time he heard Hero. And yet it felt like they had been separated for centuries.
Hey, big guy. It’s good to see you again too.
“Hey.” A gruff voice got their attention. Adversary. “Are you still with us?”
“Yes, sorry.” He wiped his eyes. “More to the point, maybe we should go investigate. See if anyone can tell us any information.”
The Princess changed again. “If we are going to try and investigate,” Prisoner started, “then we are going to need to be less forthcoming with our information. Better to keep some cards close to our chest.
Quiet wasn’t sure that was the right course of action, but for now they held their tongue. They had more pressing issues currently.
***
Vivian had been getting ready for the day when the Longs left their little cabin. Something was off about them. Like they weren’t sure what…was…Oh. Ok, showtime she guessed.
“Morning, neighbors!” she called as the couple froze. Ok, yeah, they definitely just woke up. This was always the difficult part. Despite having several universes’ smartest minds and talented magic users on the case, no one had been able to figure out how, when, or why someone would ‘wake up’.
“Uh, hi, neighbor. How uh how have you been?” the bird creature stumbled through.
“Ok, I’m going to just cut to the chase. Been through too many awkward awakenings. I’m Vivian, you’re in Bellmare, and the two of you just woke up into your true selves.”
Quiet and the Princess blinked in confusion before sharing a look. Someone else came forward in Quiet’s mind to take over. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Boss. But I’m afraid we’re not sure what you’re talking about.”
Oppty.
Vivian and the Princess watched as Quiet started tearing up again. “Hmm. Well, that’s just a damn fucking lie, dearie. Like I’ve said, I’ve gone through enough of these to know you aren’t the people you were yesterday. Now how about you two go get your kid and we’ll go get you some answers.”
“OUR FUCKING WHAT?!”
***
“Hey, Lina, we gotta a couple of new ones!”
The Watcher of the Stars turned as the living shadow called to her. Behind her was the Long family. The couple looked so out of place as their daughter skipped merrily in front of them. Despite the tragedy that was her former life, Misfortune still kept her bright spirit.
“Welcome, newcomers. I am…” Rosalina paused as she took in the bird’s face. “Are you alright?”
Quiet had been bursting into tears several times by this point as voice as after voice continued to return to him. The entire time, Damsel had been cooing and comforting her lover as Beast and Witch hissed in disgust the entire way.
The four adults quickly settled as Misfortune ran off to go play with the other children and the lumas. “I am Rosalina, the Watcher of the Stars and Guardian to the Lumas. I typically allow newcomers to voice any questions before I explain our situation. Is there anything you’d like to know before we get started?”
“What is this place?”
“Bellmare. The first to awaken had built this place as a sort of a safe haven to anyone who wished to settle here, both those who’ve awakened and are still dormant.”
“You said something along those lines too,” Prisoner pointed out to Vivian. “What exactly do you mean by we’ve ‘awoken’?”
“It’s the term we use when people get their memories back,” Vivan explained. “Everyone who’s arrived here at some point has this fog around their memories. And before you ask, no. We aren’t sure why or when a person decides to wake up.”
In the back of Quiet’s mind, both Skeptic and Paranoid started grumbling. The Princess rose an eyebrow at Quiet’s chuckling. “My voices don’t like that answer.”
“Ah.”
Why are you telling them this?! Opportunist all but screeched as Paranoid groaned. They’re going to think we’re insane. Others don’t have voices in their head!
Our angel does, Smitten chirped happily.
Before an argument could truly get started, the Princess tapped their shoulder. “You zoned out.” Quiet couldn’t tell which Princess he was talking to. “Miss. Rosalina was about to explain our situation. Whatever’s going on up there,” she tapped his temple, “should be put on pause.” Turning back towards the two other woman, she commented. “Please continue.”
“Right. About roughly eighteen years ago-.”
“Butterfly won’t agree to that.”
Rosalina glared at her friend. “Well Star isn’t telling this story.” Gaining her composure, the Guardian continued, “A planet had collapsed on itself in my galaxy, creating a blackhole. At the same time, in multiple other universes, other planets and galaxies experienced their own apocalyptic events. That many world enders should have wiped out everything. Instead, they created a sort of collision of worlds. Multiple universes combined into one, creating a whole new galaxy.”
Quiet and the Princess shared a look with each other. World enders? Like two gods awakening into their power after millenniums of being forced into mortal shells?
“And everyone from those worlds lost their memories in the jump over to this one? Correct?” The Princess asked.
“That’s right.”
“And…?” she nervously started. “And how long have we been ‘dormant’?”
“It’s hard to say,” Vivian commented. “I remember the two of from about two years ago. But Misfortune has been around for about six, and I always remember you two as her parents.”
The two friends watched as the information sank in. Both looked – Shocked? Devasted? – It was hard to tell. Fuck no wonder it felt their lives had been intwined and Quiet was blubbering with every voice. There was no telling how long it had actually been. “It’s a lot to take in,” Rosalina broke in. “Trust me when I say that no one takes this easily.”
“You seem to know a lot on this subject,” Skeptic pointed out.
The pair watched as the blonde’s face fell. Vivian took her friend’s hand. “Yes. I do.” The Watcher refused to give any further information. Despite several voices and vessels wanted a further explanation, both Quiet and the Princess held their tongues. Whatever story was behind that look was not theirs to know.
“As Lina said, it’s a lot to take in,” Vivian interrupted. “We’ll give you two sometime alone. Especially since my rugrat is currently trying to eat a luma-YOSHI!”
The former gods watched as the two woman ran off towards a star and dinosaur-like creature. Neither said a word.
“We have a daughter.”
Quiet looked at the Princess as spoke. She wasn’t looking at him. Her gaze still remained on the two women and the children surrounding them. Misfortune was among them. “We have a life now. We had a wedding and adopted a little girl. I can see the past-fuck, I don’t know how long we’ve been here!” She was panicking now. Quiet’s heart broke.
“We were never supposed to have this,” she continued. “We were supposed to end the world. I can still feel that power to end it all.” She gaze met the other god’s. “I know it’s what the Shifting Mound wants. What the Echo expected. But it’s not what I want.”
Quiet intertwined their fingers together. “I’ve always just wanted to go home,” Spectre admitted. “All of us just wanted our own version of freedom. It’s conflicting and messy, but I want to love life. To experience everything we were denied for so long.” She looked at their intertwined fingers. “I understand if you don’t want that with me though. Not after all I’ve done to you.”
The voices’ chattering filled Quiet’s brain. So many conflicting emotions and thoughts were swimming in his head. Among them all, there was one that came stronger than the rest. Everyone went silent as Quiet pressed a kiss to her hands. Smitten swooned when a deep blush rose to her face.
“There are no premature endings. Nor wrong decisions. There are only fresh perspectives and new beginnings. Have heart and see them through. For we have always been a love story.”
Spectre snorted. Connie perked up at the sound as the others groaned. They were going to be insufferable about that. “Where did you come up with that? That’s so cheesy.”
Quiet shrugged. “Don’t know. Does it matter. I just know even after everything, I still wish to be with you. Yes, you’ve hurt me, but I’ve hurt you plenty of times too. We’ve been through too much together for me to want to walk away.”
A shy smile was his only response.
“Mama! Papa!”
Both deities turned to see their daughter coming towards them. Their daughter…how strange was that to think they of people to have a child.
“Hey, sweetheart. Did you need something?”
“This is boring. Can we go get ice cream and glitter?”
Quiet hummed as Contrarian took over. “I don’t know. Are going to try eating the glitter again, kitten cake?”
“Don’t give her that idea,” their lover interrupted as the child quipped, “But I want my insides to be pretty too!”
“Oh, but you already have such wonderful insides, kitten cake!”
The Princess watched in silence, a large grin on her face. She nor none of her facets knew what life held for them now. They had lived so many painful lives. Maybe now, it was finally time from to live a peaceful one.