Chapter Text
Everything was okay.
Niko was at home, in their village, waking up from a wonderful and calm sleep.
His mom came to get him ready,
usually this is the part of the day where Niko would begin to worry, and her mom would have to reassure her that she was going to be okay;
but nothing like that had to happen, as School was off for today and Niko didn’t have homework! They could do whatever they wanted!
They ran outside, running through the fields of wheat, spreading their arms out and making an airplane noise while doing so.
The feeling of the stems and spikes of the wheat brushing against them… It felt comfortable, like taking a warm bath. (despite the Ears’ prickliness)
It felt like nothing could harm them, like they were safe, like they were home.
Niko’s mom called for her, so she zoomed back out of the wheat and hugged her tightly.
Her apron still carried the scent of freshly baked pastries, which she had been busy making for the rest of the town, including pancakes. It was one of Niko’s favourite smells. Pancakes in general always brought them back to one of the best birthdays of their small life, which was every birthday xe had!
The smell and taste of pancakes reminded Niko that xey were, and always would be, loved, despite everything else.
Niko looked behind xer mom and saw a large wooden pastry stand.
Xey asked why it was there. His mom told him that word on the street is that there was a really big group of people coming to move into town soon; apparently their home towns were destroyed by famine and a natural disaster and they needed a place to stay, so everyone in town was preparing a market and welcoming ceremony to welcome the refugees.
Niko was really excited, but also worried. New things were always scary… to everyone. But Niko tried their best to not be afraid. Ze chose to always remember what their mom would say “Never assume the worst of someone you haven’t talked to.”.
As Niko walked down the market looking at all the stalls, ze started to realise that, maybe ze wasn't scared, ze was just overwhelmed.
It was always overwhelming for something to just happen without him being told it was going to happen.
But, Niko decided, this was actually a good thing! Now they get to say hi to everyone in town and catch up! And so they did.
It was wonderful, everyone was so friendly and seemed really excited about the new people coming to visit, and Niko didn’t have one bad conversation. Everyone was just as happy to see him as he was happy to see all of them!
Niko always loved listening to people’s stories,
whether it was about things in their life,
things that had happened in their past,
made-up stories,
and even sometimes sad stories! (sometimes…)
Niko just liked listening to them talk and being able to talk themself, Niko was always quite sociable.
With some people, Niko even got to help them set up their stalls!
Niko loved to help people, in any way fae could, fae wanted to make people feel better; and most of the time, that meant helping.
But usually, the most fae could do to help was listening, so that’s what fae did.
Once Niko had finished talking to everyone, they went to one of the tables in the very middle of the village square, they were all arranged and prepared as though for a summer picnic.
It was cute, comforting even.
Niko sat down, the blankets covering the tables were just the right texture, the sun was bright but not blinding, its warming rays mixed with the cool breeze reminded Niko of sitting by the fireplace on a cool day.
Niko looked up, the sky was not cloudy, but not so not-cloudy that it looked boring and weird.
It was pretty.
The clouds that were in the sky spiralled into beautiful patterns and shapes that made Niko feel like he was in a fairytale book.
Niko looked behind himself, almost everyone xey had ever known was in the village square at some kind of stall or doing some kind of thing.
It felt almost like a family reunion, which Niko didn’t really understand as hir family was very small, just her, her mom, and her dad (who had a tailor shop he worked and lived at that ze and hir mom would sometimes visit, so maybe THAT was what a family reunion was?).
Niko looked down, they were wearing their favourite outfit, the outfit they usually wore, despite their mom’s advice. (Their mom let them wear it often because it looked cute)
The coat was made as a gift by xer dad when xey were around 5 years old.
It was one of his first works so… it didn’t come out very good… It was completely the wrong size for Niko.
Niko may have remembered how embarrassed their dad was that day and how her mother could not stop laughing and laughed even more when Niko put it on.
It wasn’t a mean kind of laugh, it was the kind of laugh where you aren’t laughing at the person because of the mistake they made, you’re laughing at the mistake they made because its just so silly and absurd that you can’t help it. Deep down, you do feel bad for the person.
Niko may have remembered seeing his mother comfort his dad and his dad eventually taking his head out of his hands and begin chuckling about it too.
Even still, Niko’s dad expected Niko to be disappointed, or even outright hate the coat, but Niko loved it! They adored it! It had just the best texture, and was much better than anything from the store, and they enjoyed smacking things with their sleeves.
When their dad realised just how much Niko was enjoying it, he was so touched that he could’ve cried, and he probably would have, if Niko didn’t start chasing him around, slapping his legs with hir sleeves.
That was the great thing about the coat too, it flowed behind Niko when they ran, which made them feel like a cool superhero, and it didn’t reach down SO much that you would trip on it;
also, it’s airflow was great, which was useful as the sunny days were usually quite hot in the village.
Niko would wear the coat everyday if she could, but her mom says that’s bad for you.
Niko was wondering when those refugees were going to arrive, and remarkably, they did a few seconds after!
Niko looked ahead and could see them on the horizon! They were still a bit overwhelmed by all this happening so suddenly but-…wait… was that…
Was that Calamus??!! And Alula!?!? And Kip and the Lamp Lighter and-
Niko practically leaped off of the table and ran towards the horizon, it was! It was them! They were here!
Niko pounced onto Kip with a hug and Alula did the same to them.
Everyone in the village began introducing themselves to the refugees and shaking hands with them, before returning to their stands.
Niko couldn’t believe it, they were really here!! Everyone! Everyone they’ve ever loved was here!
It was… amazing! Niko couldn’t help but cry as everyone began gathering around them.
They hugged Alula tightly, she hugged them back.
The sun was still perfect, the sky was still perfect, the weather was still perfect.
Today was perfect.
It was the best day of Niko’s life!
The people of the decaying world, but mainly Alula and Kip, told Niko how happy and relieved they were to see xem, how they had been so worried and wondered where xe had been, how much they had missed xem.
Niko, still squeezing Alula tightly, spluttered out words through their tears,
“*sniff*…Me… *sniffle*….too….”
“I’ve *sniff*… missed you all…*sniffle* so… *sniff* much…”
Alula responded,
“Really? You mean it, Niko?”
“Yes!..” they blurted out without hesitation.
“then why did you fail us”
“…”
“I-…s-sorry….wh-what…?”
A buzzing sound, all too familiar, caused Niko to stumble backward and fall down.
They looked back up at Alula and Kip. They were replaced by a convulsing, buzzing mass of the black squares that vaguely held her silhouette.
Niko looked around in a panic, the rest of the decaying world’s inhabitants suffered the same fate.
The sky was gone, the ground as well, yet Niko was still laying on it somehow.
Terror pierced through them.
Everything was coming down, the village began to be infested by the squares.
Niko wanted to run, but hir muscles ceased to function.
They looked back, they saw entire houses be deleted, leaving nothing but empty space.
They saw the field of wheat, it was dead still, there was no breeze.
Niko watched in horror, as the squares spread through the fields like a wild fire, reducing the wheat fields to nothing more than a memory.
Everything was pitch black.
The only thing Niko could make out were the inhabitants of the decaying world, or what was left of them.
“why, Niko"
"answer"
"the"
"question"
They spoke in garbled, yet somehow understandable voices, as though they were speaking in corrupted gibberish, but implanting the intent behind the sounds they were making into hir mind.
Niko was shaking.
The tears of joy that had been running down his face earlier were now replaced by tears of helpless terror.
They stared at the shadows of the people that had placed so much of their hope upon their weak, weak, shoulders.
It was then that Niko realised just what they all were saying.
They had believed in her.
They had helped her,
they had encouraged her,
they had placed their full faith upon her.
They had told Niko of their destiny, their duty, their goal…
'Put the sun at the top of the Tower.'
Something so simple, a baby, just like Niko, could do it…
…
They had trusted Niko to do it.
And Niko…
…
couldn't make the choice in time…
Why?
Why didn't they just do it?
Because…
Because if they had saved everyone then they…
they…
they would…
they’d never get to…
“selfish brat”
“how could you”
“how could you even consider choosing yourself over an entire world”
“we put our faith in you and you did nothing in return”
“you are scum”
“for shame”
Their words left a heavy, agonising, pain in Niko’s chest…
“I…”
“i-i…I’m…sor-“
Something large and smouldering grabbed Niko by the legs.
Niko’s heart sank, and faer head darted to look behind faerself.
Fae saw a portal, similar to the one that had taken them from the decaying world to that city, except this one was gigantic and cavernous, it looked like a hole stabbed in the veil of reality.
A pitch black, gigantic tendril with a point that resembled a hand, glowing with red accent, had extended out from it and was now pulling Niko into it.
“N-NO! ST-STOP!! LET GO!!”
More tendrils emerged and latched onto Niko one by one.
First the legs, then xer right arm, then hir left ear, then her scarf, then their other arm, then his neck…
Niko tried desperately to keep hold, but there was nothing to hold onto. They grabbed and begged uselessly as they were pulled closer and closer to the hole.
Before something broke their concentration.
A voice,
ringing through their ears,
the voice they trusted almost as much as their own mother.
The voice that provided them guidance through everything.
The voice that only they could hear.
“You’ve disappointed me, Niko.”
“All of that work, just for you to beg for my answer rather than think of your own?”
“How could you be so cowardly?”
“The people of this world rooted us on, gave you everything, and begged, on their knees, for you to save them,"
"and you hesitated?”
“I expected better from you.”
…
Niko felt num...
They couldn't muster up any emotion... nor any words...
They stopped struggling...
Before the portal took them,
Niko managed to see one last thing, out of the corner of their eye.
The sun.
Laying on the ground.
Abandoned.
Niko jolted awake, gasping for air, fatigued and dreary from being knocked out back at the bar.
Her heart was pounding, xer eyes were wet with tears.
A loud bursting sound had freed them from their nightmare.
Bursting, of pipes (or metal?), due to strain.
Niko looked up, they were in a hallway,
or a… cave? Their head was hurting so much they couldn’t tell.
They forced themself up, still dizzy and wobbling.
They… don’t remember how they got here.
They vaguely remember a robot opening a portal for the shovel knight to go through and then…
something… exploded..?
urgh.. it hurt to think…
Ze looked around for someone, anyone who was with hir at the bar, maybe they could-… Niko wasn’t even fully sure what was happening really…
Did they really never explain that?
They… seemed to know more than Niko did… from what ze could remember and-
wait did they even introduce themselves?!
Niko remembers introducing himself, but did the others not do that…? Or was his memory just-
Niko heard something.
Something.. creaking…?
and then… bursting open…
and rain…
a lot of rain…
…
Rumbling.
Niko was now panicking,
she felt in danger.
Fae tried to stumble into a run but fae tripped over faerself due to the fatigue.
Niko tried to get up, panting heavily.
Xey heard groaning, deep groaning.
The roof was going to cave in.
They were extremely scared now.
He began to scream as he desperately pulled himself up, finally succeeding to walk.
He was well awake now and his eyes darted everywhere looking for anything that could save him.
He caught a glimpse of a… glowing yellow plant...thingy?
It projected an image of… something… from its… whatever it was, as well as an arrow that pointed just to the room to the right.
Niko was confused by this sight,
but that confusion was quickly forgotten when THE ROOF BEGAN TO LEAK.
Critical thought was no longer an option.
Niko immediately did what they assumed the plant wanted and hurried to the next room, where they found...
A door!
On the ceiling?
With the same weird symbol thing the plant was trying to show her!
Xe didn’t have any better idea then to go into it.
It led to a tiny, cramped room with nothing much in it aside from a very mechanical looking hallway door thing.
Said mechanical door thing sprung to life and clinked and clanked and clamped shut, VERY firmly locking the door and leaving Niko in a pitch black room with no lights and no way out.
Niko was beginning to regret her decision.
But… xey couldn’t hear the rain anymore…
Maybe this was some kind of safe space…?
Or they just got tricked and now they were now trapped in here and in a couple of days some kind of creepy monster was gonna come through the door and eat them…
…
They began pounding on the door
“HELP! P-PLEASE LET ME OUT!! SOMEBODY! PLEAS-“
Niko jolted backward as something like an alarm began to blare after they began banging on the door, as though warning them to stop.
“O-oh…”
The alarm stopped once Niko did.
Maybe it really was a kind of safe room.
“P-please let me out.. w- when it’s safe.”
...
Niko sat in the corner for a very long while.
Nothing happened.
They were getting tired again, but they’d rather do anything then go back to sleep after the nightmare they had just had.
As xey recalled what happened in the dream, which xey are rarely able to do, xey realised something that made their face pale.
They didn’t have the Sun with them.
It was probably still back at the bar…
or was it..? AAargh they couldn’t remember!! It was so annoying!
They tried desperately to recall what happened…
they… helped the sword person… then the yellow robot opened a portal for the Shovel Knight to enter..
then…
…
then… ze got knocked out by… something…
but… what happened to the…
…
. . .
. . .
Niko was so afraid.
What were they gonna tell Kip?
Alula?
Prophet bot?
Calamus?
The robot lady from the Barrens?
God?
…
what would God think to see them return with nothing…
What would any of them think…
What would they say to her…
Thinking about this… Niko felt a deep pang of guilt…
To think of their faces, their words…
They all had hoped so hard to see the Sun one day…
They all… believed in Niko…
To think about that…
to think about all those good people getting their hopes crushed…
how…
disappointed… they would be in Niko…
It made him cry…
It made him feel a way he couldn’t describe…
an emotion he couldn’t put a name to…
which is to say…
he felt ashamed of himself.
Xe felt like a failure…
Niko wished xey had someone to comfort xem while xey cried at this moment.
But xey didn’t, xey couldn’t,
because xey were trapped in this stupid metal box in the middle of nowhere…
xey just wished the shovel knight was with them…
he was nice..
Or the cup person…
they were cool too…
or Calamus...
or Kip…
or…
or…
their… mom…
…
Niko began to cry even harder.
It was then that they truly took in that they were completely alone…
maybe God would answer them if they called but…
they couldn’t comfort them…
so Niko cried..
and cried..
eventually… crying themself to sleep… despite their own wishes.
Niko was walking through the decaying world, aimlessly.
No matter where xey went, they never seemed to end up where xey wanted to go.
No place was where it meant to be… nothing made sense... it was like a maze…
Xe looked around…
...
Everything looked…
dead…
No matter where Niko looked, there was no longer any phosphor in the barrens,
making it a boring, lifeless, grey wasteland with the occasional dead robot…
Niko could never find an alive one…
even Prophet bot and Silver had all but turned into rusted frames…
“You are a failure.”
There was no green left in the Glen, only drab purples and greys…
anything green had either rotted away or wilted and become a sickly greenish brown…
there wasn’t any light left…
no lamps, no fireflies, nothing…
Niko was delighted to see there were still people living in the Glen that were... moving...
but... they...
...
Whenever Niko would approach people in the Glen....
they would just silently and methodically go back into their houses…
Niko couldn’t enter in with them…
no matter how much they tried...
And people who weren’t near houses...
just.... turned away from Niko and remained completely silent.....
Even the sheep at the ranch didn’t make any noise when Niko was around.
And...
Alula and Calamus…
when they turned away…
Niko could just barely see the expressions on their faces…
...
they looked…
guilty…
as though they wanted to talk back to Niko, but weren’t allowed to,
Alula especially…
Niko could see the tears in her eyes…
it broke hir heart…
“You are a failure.”
The Refuge city was in disrepair.
Everything was infested with those same stupid squares…
Niko couldn’t go a second without seeing one of them…
But the worst part…
were the people…
Just like those in the Glen, they also refused to talk to Niko,
however, they didn’t turn away from Niko, nor stop talking entirely.
They were eager, happy even, to talk to each other.
...
Just not to Niko.
Not a single person ever said a word to Niko.
In fact, they wouldn’t even react to Niko’s presence whatsoever.
Whenever ze tried to talk to them, they all pretended to not notice or hear hir.
They continued talking amongst each other…
bantering and having fun...
all the while acting like Niko wasn’t even there waving in front of their faces to get their attention...
and whenever Niko would catch one of them alone…
they would quickly leave and go to find someone else to talk to...
just so they had an excuse to ignore Niko’s presence…
It was like everyone was pretending Niko didn’t exist.
It made Niko feel... awful.
It made them want to pull at their friends’ clothes and skin and beg them to talk to her…
to pull her friends to the ground just to get them to acknowledge him…
but...
fae just couldn’t bring faerself to risk hurting any of them…
to risk making things even worse…
“You are a failure.”
…
The Tower was gone.
No matter where Niko went.
No matter how much they walked.
He never could find the Tower.
“You are a failure.”
But after walking for what felt like years.
They found something else.
The Sun.
Dim.
Grey.
Lifeless.
It had no glow,
no shine,
no warmth.
It was dead.
Looking at it
made the world
go silent.
As though there was nothing to say to excuse it.
Niko felt an immense, crushing, encumbering dread from staring at it.
A sense of being confronted with consequence weighed on them.
Like a murderer looking upon what they have done, only then being overcome with remorse.
Niko stared.
They couldn’t stop staring.
They couldn’t
They couldn’t
They couldn’t do it
They couldn’t
save them.
…
“Why couldn’t you do it.”
…
They didn’t know.
…
“You are a failure.”
...
They knew.
The loud and sudden sound of the door to the outside opening woke Niko up.
Xe was crying.
Xey left the safe room immediately.
Wiping their tears on their sleeves, they opened their eyes to see,
the same plant from before…but…
It was showing another symbol.
One that…
looked.. strange....
A face that… from what Niko could tell…
was covered with…
a Pyramid?
oh.
It was a raincoat hood.
That made more sense.
What it meant, Niko couldn’t tell, but they had no better options then to follow it.
So, they choked down their tears, burying their emotions, and forced themself to get a move on.
After all, it saved his life before.
And walking long distances seemed to be one of the only things Niko was good at.
Niko thought “Maybe it'll lead me to someone who can help”
And that was in fact, who it was leading them to…
Well,
to some extent, anyway…