Chapter Text
My team is continuing to impress me with each convergence. I’m proud of them, proud of us, proud that we can handle these borderline swarms without any real worry anymore, and with Amaterasu backing us up, even the strongest monsters are no match for us.
Meaning we can spend more time in here training and trying out new spells.
Yes! God I am so sick of always being caught off guard by the ‘Dark Rebellion’ or whatever they’re calling themselves now, seriously, you chose that name? I swerve in the air, creating a gust of wind at Veritas’ back, giving her already considerably fast charge exponentially more momentum than before, launching her forwards like a bullet towards a distant monster.
So fucking pretentious. With all the people they’re putting in danger with the Antipathy artifacts they’re scavenging, the only thing they’re 'rebelling' against is common sense.
Oh! That reminds me! We should try out that spell we were talking about earlier! The one to disable that combat robot they keep sending out.
Against what? It only really works against machines and Antipathy relics, none of these monsters will be bothered by it.
Just to figure out the range! Uma said it would be pretty big, we just have to be careful with it, we aren’t that far from the portal back to Earth. We’ll be heading back once we clean up these last few stragglers.
Alright, go for it.
“Ok team, I’m going to test a new spell real quick, great work!” I shout, hovering in the air above the carnage. Amaterasu is doing some stretches, Aurora is healing a scrape Veritas got on her chin, things look good!
Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Sʜᴜᴛᴅᴏᴡɴ.
A shocking bubble of thin green lighting pulses out from my stone in all directions, expanding further and further and further and wow that is a way bigger range that I thought!
Let’s see that bucket of bolts dodge that.
It spreads far and wide, well past where the portal to Earth would be. Wait, would it pass through the portal? Well, even if it did, it shouldn’t hurt anyone, it just might cause a small blackout. We’re headed that way anyway, so we can just- Oh hey! Luna and Chloe are here… What are they so afraid of?!
"You sure they'll be passing through here?" Chloe asks for the umpteenth time. I nod again, pointing to the convergence tracker on my phone and the dark clouds roiling to our left. We're pretty much right at the edge of the evacuation zone, but today's convergence isn't likely to be very big. The Earth Guardians should be popping back out any minute now, gleaming and triumphant. By all accounts, it probably shouldn't have taken them even this long, but I bet they're taking today pretty slow. After all, it's the first day that Veritas and Aurora are-
-I have detected a massive spike in eastern-aligned magic approaching our location rapidly, estimate time until impact: .03 Seconds.
-That is not nearly enough time for me to do a̴̭̥̻̅͆̉͂n̷̨̬̿̇̋̔ͅy̸͇̩͓̒̍t̸͇͎̓̀h̵̼͌a̶͈̯̫̬͑́̆a̶̼̿̏̉̚ä̵̙́͒a̶̻̎̇̂͠ä̷̛̠́̆͐ä̷̲́̍̓͜ì̴̧̫ǵ̸͇͖̐͝n̵̟̅̔̓ẁ̷̘͔i̵͙̼̜͌̎r̶̡̝̺͚̐̓ǘ̶̖̰̈͗g̷͇͙͙̓͒̓̽b̶̺̫̣̾̈́̔̊ṇ̴̙̦͂̀̚ņ̷̩̊̕ǧ̷͔͚̕ T̸̙̹͕̈́͜͝h̷̳̪͝ȩ̶̧̪̗̈́̀ ̷̻͑́̉F̶͈͎̑̕̕i̶̟͔͖̬̓̇̓̀t̷͙͓̜̚ņ̶̝͗͆ḙ̷̮̝͉͋͋̋͝s̵͉̊̓̆ş̵̹̚G̵͓͋̄r̷̡͉͕̱̈́̚à̶͚̱̙͉̇m̶̩̤͓͐̆ ̴̡̔P̵͒̐͐͜͝a̵̓̊͌ͅc̷̛̫̳͆̐e̴̥̳̽̂ȑ̷̢̤̚ ̴͉̺̿̊͗͘ͅt̴̡̚e̵͈͇̥͌͝s̸̬̱̲̋̈̉ṯ̴̥͙̱̃̽ ̴͚̀̊͒͘i̵̘̘͚̅̊̍͝ş̴̼͕͕́̍ ̶̲̠̉̑̿͝ȁ̴͖̮̰̌̓ ̴̛̜̣m̵̡̠͔͋́͐͜͝u̴̩̖̗̪͑ĺ̶̫̪͈̕͠t̵̤̫̓i̵̜̼̫͛̅͘͝s̸̭̄͘͝t̵̪̝̼̯̉ä̶̢̝̬́́̓̈g̵̦̻̏͛͘͝ě̵̤̪͖̇͂̐ ̷̣̫̬̼̊̓͝ạ̸̼̐̐ȩ̷̢̫̣̇̄r̸̺̈́͌́̕ó̷͈̏͘̕b̷̜͎̒i̷̡̽͊̉͗ĉ̵͎̹͖̎̿̓ ̵̪̼̙͊̏̓̚c̴̢̹̭͚̓͐͝a̴̡͎͛̄̀p̶͇̘̑̐̕ạ̸̫̤̼͊̍c̴̝̬̬̠̄̄͛̑ǐ̴̫̺̺̽ẗ̴̛̝͙͘y̷͇͕̰̌ ̴͈̍̈ţ̶̤̖̻̎e̶͙̳̪̒͗͝͝s̶̭̘͍̿t̵͇̭͚̬͝ ̶̤̟͖͊͋ṭ̵̡͆͒̏h̵̼̩̱̀ḁ̴͉̰̅ț̴̳͋ ̸̲̞͇̀̀p̸̢̹̐r̵͖̪̰̤̓̆͆̏o̶̬̘̼̿̃g̶͚͈͑́̇̇r̷̺͘ẹ̶̛͌͋ş̸͇̜̝̎s̷̫̲̑̕i̶̧̩͍̦̿v̵̺͚̲͒͊͒͝e̶͙̮̽̓̓l̸̯̥̎̐y̷̗̤̥͒͗͆ ̷̛̬̓̌͠g̸̻̔̏͜ė̴̩̠̬͓̌̈t̵͐̈́̈́͂ͅs̸̘͐ ̶̛̫͖̰̕͝m̶̢̤͈̲̎̔͛̄o̷̩̊̔̕r̸̛̛͉̝̞͚̊e̷̛͉͌͜ ̴̻̪̟́͋d̷̖̝̅̀í̶̧̖̳̊̈́́f̵͔̣͋̐͛f̷̭̃i̵̤̲̤̘͆c̶͔̀u̴̙̪̚ḻ̶̂͆t̶̢͓̖̉̈́̓́ ̸̯̻͕͓͛͋͛a̸̪̥͕̐̀͗š̸̝͎̕ ̷̜͖̥̔ǐ̸̜̼̞̋͝t̵̠̫̭͚̀̋ ̸̻̝͇̒̅͝c̵̰̫̭͗̎̈́ő̴̰̬̳͠n̷͓̹̦͓̽̇̉̕ṫ̷͕̮̽́́į̸̤̝̍n̷̥̈́u̴̩̘̘͎͌̿̅ẻ̴̛͖̺̝̀s̴͙̹͇͋.̴̬̒́̎OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!
Critical systems in jeopardy, initiating emergency shutdown and repair protocols.
I instantly fall limp, all my systems are turning off, my lifeless body clatters to the floor, all of my “act like a human” protocols are shot, my heartbeat spoofer is offline, the airbags that pretend to be my lungs are the only thing that functions. Wonderful, and my brain is slowing down now, everything is starting to blur around me. What the fuck do I do?
We fly out of the portal between worlds, instantly scanning for monsters that might have escaped, Amaterasu is right behind, and quickly zips around the area, her ears flicking about as she tries to pinpoint any threats. I don’t sense any, but I quickly realize why both Luna and Chloe are so afraid.
Luna is lying in a heap on the ground, and Chloe is… Making out with her?
That’s CPR dumbass! She's giving Luna CPR!
Chloe quickly shifts off of Luna, pressing her hands down repeatedly on her chest, humming a song along with the beat of her thrusts.
“Eliza!” She screams. “Luna fell when that weird lightning storm passed, her heart isn’t beating and my phone is dead! We need to get her to a hospital!” Chloe is panicking, but is controlling herself well, she must’ve had to be ready for something like this to happen with her dad.
I, on the other hand, am not. The power I gain from fearing that killed someone I could maybe consider a friend and someone Castalia certainly cares a lot about is useless in the face of this. Did I kill her? Did my spell fry a… pacemaker or something she has?
What the fuck are you doing? MOVE!
I killed her, I killed her, I killed her, I killed her-
Oh fucking- just let me handle this.
“I Wɪʟʟ Nᴏᴛ Fᴀɪʟ”
“Fᴜʀɪᴏᴜs Aᴠᴇɴɢᴇʀ Sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴏʀ Fᴜʟɢᴏʀᴀ”
“Aurora, Keep Luna stable! Amaterasu, go to the hospital and warn them we’re coming! Veritas, help Aurora get Luna into Chloe’s car! Chloe, get in the fucking car!” Barking orders comes much easier to me than I expected, I guess I haven’t completely lost that skill.
“Hai!” Amaterasu disappears in a flash of light down the road.
Chloe scrambles into the car and starts frantically trying to turn it on, the engine sputtering and failing to start.
“I-it won’t start! The battery’s dead!” Chloe shouts from the driver’s seat.
“I-I’ve never healed a human before! I don’t know what-“ Aurora stammers.
“Why is she so heavy?!” Veritas grunts.
Wouldn’t it be faster to just fly Luna straight there?!
Luna might die before we make it, Aurora is the only one who might be able to slow that down, and I can’t safely carry them both, but I can carry something that is holding them both.
Wait, what are you-?
“Just try to keep her alive, don’t worry about the engine, we don’t need it.” I dismiss, helping Veritas load Luna into the back.
“Wait, what are you- AAAAAHHH!?” Chloe screams, because I’ve started to lift the car off the ground and hoist it onto my shoulders. Castalia taught me some of the basics of telekinesis, which is the only reason the car isn’t crumpling under it’s own weight around me.
“KEEP LUNA ALIVE!” I shout, and leap off the ground.
Flying through the city while carrying a passenger vehicle is, all things considered, great practice. We should probably train like this more often! Flying while carrying heavy, unwieldy things, not flying our friends to the hospital. Veritas pokes her head out the window to shout down at me.
“Aurora says-“
“WHAT?!” I shout, because I can’t fucking hear her.
“AURORA SAYS THAT LUNA IS BREATHING AND HER SOUL IS STILL IN HER BODY! BUT HER HEART STILL WON’T BEAT!” She shouts back.
“Fuck, tell her to-“
“WHAT?!” She shouts again.
“TELL HER TO KEEP GOING, WE’RE ALMOST THERE!”
Only a few minutes of flying later, and I touch down in the parking lot, scaring the shit out of anyone nearby as I gently place Chloe’s car onto the pavement. Chloe’s hands are white-knuckled in their grip on the steering wheel, her eyes wide and mouth agape. Amaterasu bursts out of the front doors, waving behind her for someone to follow. A few nurses are right on her heels, wheeling a gurney along with them.
I don’t waste time, I run over to the passenger side door and open it, pulling Luna into my arms and- oh wow she is heavier than she looks. I don’t bother hiding what I am, I fly across the lot while carrying Luna, meeting them barely outside the entrance.
“H-holy shit!” One of the nurses stumbles backwards as I skid to a halt, placing my passenger on the gurney.
“She needs- I don’t know! I used a spell that shuts down machines and it knocked her down and her heart isn’t beating!” The other nurse, who barely avoided tripping herself, just blinks at me. Before I can curse her out, Amaterasu beats me to it.
“Get her inside! Now! Her soul is still in there, we can still saving her!” She shouts, starting to push the gurney herself. This seems to jostle the staff into action, quickly barking orders to others within the facility. I follow behind, because what else am I going to do, and who is going to try to stop me?
We wheel her into an emergency room, and a new person in scrubs runs in right behind us.
“Who are- Oh.” His name tag identifies him as Dr. Kumin. He seems furious for a split second at a random person in his operating room before he recognizes me. Being this distinct of an Earth Guardian has its advantages. I briefly repeat the story of what happened, and to the doctor’s credit, he does adapt quickly and starts checking for a pulse.
“No pulse, no heartbeat, but she’s still breathing?” His brows furrow as he moves a stethoscope across her chest.
“She’s still alive, I wouldn’t be able to sense her soul otherwise.” I add, trying to help in any way I can.
“Her- Ok. Ok. Why do you think your… Spell-” He starts, in disbelief that he’s even asking this question. “Why would your spell do this to her?”
“I don’t know! It was only supposed to shut off electronics and Antipathy relics! I thought maybe she has a pacemaker or something?” The doctor furrows his brow even more, holding his finger beneath Luna’s nose.
“…She’s not breathing,” He states, with more confusion in his voice than concern. “There’s no air coming in or out of her mouth or nose, and I still can’t even find a vein. Ah, fuck it, Linda! Get the X-Ray fired up!”
We wheel her back into a different room and place her in a different chair, I don’t let him waste time trying to lift her on his own, if there’s one thing I can do here, it’s lift heavy shit. I stay by Luna’s side as the machine whirrs and activates, snapping photos for a few seconds before shutting down again. A few moments pass in silence, I look to Dr. Kumin, who is staring at a screen in utter disbelief, a pair of nurses behind him just as baffled.
“Uh, question, Ms. Earth Guardian-“ He starts.
“Fulgora.” I interrupt.
“Right, Fulgora, are… Are androids a thing?”
“What?”
“Androids, y’know, robots that look like humans? Are those like, something the… Preservers deploy on Earth?” He asks, barely shaking off his bewilderment.
“Uh, no?” I answer.
“Ok, then what the fuck is this?” He turns his monitor around, showing a photo of the X-Ray he just took. My eyes go wide and my own heart nearly stops.
No freaking way.
It’s… The Artifact. The goddamn attack robot the Corrupted have been using for the past eight months why is it inside of Luna’s- Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
I turn around to face the woman lying on the hospital bed, her unmoving eyes seeming to stare right at me.
Great. Just perfect. Let’s review how fucked I am:
One: Eliza has a spell that can turn my brain into swiss cheese, I will need to make countermeasures for that as soon as possible-
-Spell core offline, repairs needed.
-Oh great, that’s good to know, I can’t repair myself without my spells and I can’t fix my spells without repairs, just great!
Two: They took me to a fucking hospital and put me in a damn X-Ray. My brain was still stuck watching a repeated and corrupted clip of Anath biting into an oversized bag of cheetos at the time, so I was completely unable to hack into the damn thing to make a fake X-Ray. And NOW Eliza and the hospital staff are looking at concrete proof that I am a robot in a skin suit.
Three: My power reserves are at 15%.
Well, I certainly can’t kill Fulgora without spells, and killing the civilians would only piss her off, a sub-optimal combat stratagem given her western alignment-
-And fucking unnecessary!
-So, my orders involving keeping my identities separate are a bust, my orders prioritizing my own safety on the other hand.
I leap off the bed in one motion, bolting directly towards the wall that leads to the exterior of the building. I’ve calculated it’s composition, structural integrity, and significant weak points in the half-second it takes me to reach it. I don’t even need to punch it or anything, my accumulated momentum will be enough.
I explode through the wall like the Kool-Aid man before me, and fall three stories towards the ground.