Chapter Text
The multiverse is alive.
It is full of aimless energy. Consuming itself, spitting itself up wherever it sees fit, churning about here and there for no reason at all. Voids flicker in dark nothingness like stars in the night sky, as far apart as stars are. These are universes, usually isolated. There's no telling which one will outshine its neighbor or for how long.
The multiverse is alive, but Broccoli is dead. They must be.
They float in darkness for a long while (a while for a Broccoli, at least). They do not know yet that they are in the nothingness in between their Void and others like it. They are certain everything has been destroyed.
It was all there. Then, in a calamitous blink, it wasn't. Something had happened, and what once was there is now...gone. Everything is gone. Lady Doris is gone, Sucre is gone, Waffles is gone, Olive is gone- Everyone is gone. The list of names Broccoli once knew, once loved, who are now erased from existence and who they'll never see again, is endless.
They could scarcely understand it. It's too painful to dwell on. The thought leaves them hollow enough, weightless. Unable to tell if they even have a body anymore, they let whatever force that may be here in the emptiness carry them. It's not like they have a choice, now. What feels like ages passes. The darkness around them never changes. There is no difference between closing their eyes and having them open. There is only silence. Nothing.
Maybe they'll always be nothing. It's a thought that is less painful to think. Maybe this is a punishment for failing everyone. For being unable to stop it.
Unable to even...
Something draws Broccoli out of their thoughts. Something changes. There's a flicker of white in the distance. They just catch it in the corner of their vision, which already does not amount to much here. With nothing else to see, they watch it.
They watch it for a while. Time passes, time they couldn't bare to count. All they know that its been some time since it all ended. They don't wonder what it could be. Their curiosity had no place here, now that it had cast them into the dark.
The speck is growing bigger. It isn't obvious, at first, but over time it goes from a speck to a sizeable blob. They're approaching it. Knowing that changes the feeling in their chest. It is subtle, quiet, but something about the hopelessness shifts. They don't know if its good or bad that they are nearing it yet, but they don't want to know.
The closer they get, the faster it grows. As if a thing with gravity, a thing alive, Broccoli's body is tugged into motion by the space. Closer and closer, the intricate yet familiar weaving that makes it up sharpens in detail and dazzles their eyes.
The Void! Broccoli thinks. But, there is no way it could be. They are certain of what they had witnessed. It was a total ending, an erasure, something surely irreversible. The strange sight forces them to wonder again.
Then, what is this?
Had they somehow traveled back in time? Had so much time passed in the nothingness that it folded under itself and sent them back to the beginning? It's such a hopeful idea that Broccoli doesn't notice how close they are to the Void, up until they crash through the webbing and-
They land with an "oof!".
It certainly feels like the floor of the Void. It is hollow, light, almost like air. It is cool against their face, which isn't against it for long. When they look up at the white around them, they freeze.
They see Doris.
There she is, sitting at the table like nothing had happened and everything is fine forever. She stares at them, covering her mouth in shock. So many things run through their head. They want to cry, to laugh, to beg for her forgiveness, to run up to her and hug her-- the overwhelm keeps them in place. Maybe they are right and this is a second chance.
The swirl of emotions almost makes Broccoli miss the other Doris sitting across from her. She is so startled by their entry that her bangs are parted, revealing her wide red eye. Still, there is a spark of recognition in it, as if they had brought up an old memory.
For a moment, Broccoli panics. They had somehow messed up again and ruined time. There are not supposed to be two Dorises.
“Broccoli?” Doris asks, lowering her hand.
Both of them are turned in their chairs, holding tea boots over a table. Broccoli had interrupted a tea party. Broccoli mentally chides themselves for their Impolite actions of turning up uninvited and creating a paradox.
“Uh- hello!" They stammer, giving their truest, albeit shaky, smile.
“Hello,” Doris says, and smiles back at them. For a moment, things seem normal. Maybe they could work with the wonkiness of time now.
“You are not supposed to be here,” Doris continues. Broccoli's smile falls. It feels like a spike to their heart. Of course she is upset about what they did. Why would they hope differently? They shrink, lowering their head.
“Yes. You should go back to your void,” The other Doris says. Her hair is back in place now. Turning from the table, she starts a tear in the fabric of reality with a claw. This worries Broccoli even more. They furrow their brow, mulling over just *what* exactly she had meant.
"Wait, is this not the Void?" They ask after coming to no conclusion. This causes the other Doris to shrug, lengthening the cut.
"Well, it is a void, but it's not your void. I'm sure we can send you back to-”
Broccoli's eyes widen, shoulders tensing.
“Wait!”
Their outburst catches both of them off guard. It almost stuns Broccoli, too. Doris had always been unflinching, no matter what happened. To see her startled is an odd sight. They did not want to go back to the darkness, back to the nothing they left behind, even if they deserved it, but...
Somehow, this isn't their void. Their void is gone. They had not traveled back in time, but they are not supposed to be here. Broccoli lets their head drop face first on the ground, drained by confusion.
“Sorry, I don't, uh, think I have that anymore?” They say, muffled by the floor.
“Elaborate,” One of the Dorises says. They can't tell. Broccoli stays silent.
They don't want to think about it.
Doris breaks the silence again.
“Where are our manners? Care to join us for tea, Broccoli?” She says. Broccoli lifts their head just so they can see them. Doris is gesturing to a third chair at the table that had not been there before. They do not move.
“Does your Doris not…have tea?” She questions, and Broccoli imagines one of her eyebrows is lifted underneath her bangs. The question makes Broccoli wince, and in an effort to escape the feeling they get up.
“Uh- she did- sorry, I-” Dusting themselves off from the floor, they walk over and sit down in the empty chair. It's awkward. It should be familiar, and it is, but it feels more like a memory than them being present.
"How is the weather?" Doris asks.
That's a familiar question. Broccoli's eyes feel weird.
"Thanks for asking!" They reply.
"This is so fascinating. They're quite similar to our idea for them," Doris tells the other Doris, who shrugs.
"Of course they are. We're all us," The other Doris says.
"So, Broccoli, what brings you here and not in your void?" Doris asks, tone conversational. Broccoli makes a weak laugh and hides behind their tea boot. The tea even smells the same.
“I'm sorry, but wouldn't you know already?” They ask.
“Ah, so you're post-boop,” Doris says.
Boop?
“Unfortunately, we don't. You're not from this void. We only see the timelines of our own voids,” She explains. Broccoli nods like they understand. Well, they kind of do, or maybe they don't want to, but its rude to not make an effort to understand.
“You mentioned you don't have yours anymore?” She asks.
Broccoli wants to rub at their eyes, but they don't. They shift in their seat. It almost feels like the stitching on their knuckles may pop from how hard they grip their boot.
"Yeah, but I don't really remember-"
“Do you not remember? Or do you not want to tell us?" The other Doris cuts in. There's the tiniest hint of an edge in her voice. Before Broccoli can continue, she leans towards them, her eye glowing faintly from underneath her bangs. Her shadow is long and cold as it falls over them. They flinch back.
“Did you do something to your Doris?” She asks. It's more of an accusation. Broccoli bites back a gasp, squeezing the boot so hard that some tea spills out from the top.
“No! I-”
Doris sets her hand on the other Doris's shoulder. This seems to draw her out of her focus, and she sits back in her chair. Broccoli slumps a bit in relief.
“Do you really think Broccoli could ever hurt one of us?” She says to the other Doris, smiling as if the notion was just ridiculous. The other Doris pauses in a moment of thought. Then, she gives up with a sigh.
“It's…not a possibility, you're right. Apologies,” The other Doris says, looking at them. Broccoli bristles at how certain they both are of that. No one speaks and they take it as a cue to continue. Letting their hold on their tea loosen, they sigh.
"Well, my void is- it's-" It is weird they have to specify that it is their void and not another. For all of their life, Broccoli had only known theirs. The idea that there are more is scary. "It's gone."
"Gone?"
Broccoli nods. They stare down at the table in an effort not to burst into tears. Perhaps, they can dance around the truth, since no one would fully know what happened except for them. That way, it won't hurt as much to talk about it.
"I'm not sure what happened to it. It happened so suddenly. All I know is that I can't go back," They say. They still tear up.
"That is unfortunate," Doris sympathizes. A silence settles over them all. Broccoli tries the tea- it tastes like it should. This really is just another void, exactly like theirs. They try and pass of their tears as from the bitter-hotness of their drink.
"I didn't know there was more out there, in that...darkness," Broccoli says, thinking back to when they first saw this void as a speck. It had been the only one they saw, but they now wonder if there are more. These two couldn't be from the same void. There's a story there.
"Yes. The space outside the void is largely not Ideal. It is hard to come across the Ideal parts," The other Doris replies. Broccoli shudders at the possibility of just how long they would have floated out there had they not found this void.
"Well, seeing as that is the case, you could stay here if you'd like," Doris offers. This causes the other Doris to whip her head towards her, and for Broccoli to almost spit out their tea.
"What?" Broccoli asks at the same time she does.
"It's only Polite to offer, and besides, doesn't their story sound familiar?" She says, leaning her head toward the other. The other Doris sighs, though she smiles, leaning her head as well. There are hints of that story.
"It does."
"You'd really let me stay?" Broccoli asks, and the Dorises look at them. They are both Doris, but Broccoli doesn't feel like they know them. It's the equivalent of letting a stranger into their...void. It's not something to take lightly, they'd assume.
"Of course. It would be no trouble," Doris says, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. If they had destroyed their own void, what fate would be in store for this one? It's selfish, Broccoli knows, but they don't want to float forever in nothingness. They really, really don't.
"If you're sure, then, I will, thank you! I promise I won't ever be a problem," Broccoli declares. That weird eye feeling returns.
"You couldn't possibly be. You're Broccoli," Doris says, voice warm. Even the other Doris seems happy about it, as she hides her smile behind a drink of her own tea.
Wait until I am, Broccoli thinks as they beam back. Just wait.