Chapter Text
It all stemmed from a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that started many months ago. One that rooted itself into the minds of others like weeds. Inconspicuous enough that they allowed it to sit in the background, but big enough they could give it just enough attention for it to grow until it became warped.
Windforce was not one for misunderstandings of any type: even less so for ones that Umbrella had ‘created’. She had made that abundantly clear since Umbrella had first spawned in Playground, weak-legged and dazed. They had watched her punish another, older newspawn for failing his trial, had watched her soldiers throw said newspawn off the floating archipelago, and promised themselves that they would not make the same mistake.
They supposed it was about time for their words to come back and bite them. Windforce was cruel, and they had seen many Inphernals banished in their time working under her. They had even banished some themselves when they were climbing the ranks of her army. And, sure, they didn’t have the greatest relationship with Windforce, for they had enough self-respect to not follow her orders blindly, but they were skilled enough in their craft that she could not just throw him out like she did with the others, less she had good reason for it.
And maybe that was why this was happening. Maybe her distaste for them was why they were in the middle of a large room, their fellow soldiers standing on the sidelines, the judge watching Windforce as they spoke as if one syllable said wrong would send them to the stands instead of Umbrella.
“For misrepresenting the Splintered Skies as a Faction Ambassador, you are stripped from your title. For being stripped from your title as Faction Ambassador, you have brought shame to Playground, and therefore will be banished from the Splintered Skies forever, and must roam the lands of Craterdust until your untimely demise.” The judge paused, and seeing as nobody spoke, they continued. “Are there any disagreements?”
As if Windforce would listen to them. Standing up now would mean greater punishment. None of their squadmates could say anything, either, for if they did, they too would be banished for assisting the banshee. It was a sick system, made so Windforce was the ultimate power, and it worked. Too well for their liking.
“Umbrella is now banished,” the judge announced.
The floor dropped.
And Umbrella began to fall.
<<0o0>>
Two days before The Fall.
Umbrella sat at the table with the other four Faction Ambassadors. They watched each other with varying levels of distrust, as usual. The lion-masked Inphernal, Sunburst, cleared their throat. They were always the quickest to jump to accusations despite being the representative for a Ninja’s colony. “I’m sure we were called for a reason?”
Firebrand smiled. His fingers tapped against the table thoughtfully, long nails drawing out the sound. “Of course, Sunburst,” he soothed, “there was just something I thought I should clear up.”
Zuka scoffed, rolling his cigarette in his mouth. “I’m sure there is,” he drawled, a slight blackrockian twang present in his voice. “It’s been months and we still don't know anything about you or the other Swords.”
This made Firebrand sigh loudly. “Please,” he said, “Patience. We’re figuring out things as we go, just like you are.”
The environment quickly plunged back into the icy-cold staring contest. Umbrella would’ve scoffed if it wasn’t for his training as a Splintered Skies guard. The Lost Temple Inphernal, however, did not share Umbrella’s silence.
“Are ya’ll Inphernals or newspawns?” she huffed. Her sword hung limply from her side, cowboy hat tipped far enough to hide the upper-half of her face, but not enough to hide her scathing glare. “You lot are worse than my two sons.”
“Now, now,” Firebrand said, and everyone shut up. The wonders of a Sword. “We came here to discuss, not to bicker. I believe we have already gone over this?”
“Yes, Sir,” the four chorused.
“Now. What we are here for. Other than Umbrella, what is your knowledge on the state of Splintered Skies?”
They all looked at each other in surprise, but Sunburst was the first to speak. “That it’s run by Windforce in the sky,” he started tentatively, “and they receive their wares from Craterdust below.”
Umbrella stiffened. They weren’t sure what they were expecting, but that certainly wasn’t along the lines. Windforce took great care in making sure everything from Splintered skies came from it, for she wanted to make them look like the supreme region, one that could always hold their own. By painting the picture she did, it stopped the other regions from joining the Blackrock vs Playground war, for they believed that Playground was invincible: they could not target their homes, nor their people, nor their supplies.
In Windforce's eyes, this information would be very damaging on her and her region's image, for it would imply that they had lost too much in the war and they were not as strong as they used to be.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Firebrand said.
The three ambassadors scoffed.
“They pay ya’ to say that?” the Lost Temple Inphernal sneered.
Before Firebrand could say something, Umbrella cut in. “Who spread this?”
Firebrand grimaced. He sat further back in his chair. The four ambassadors' eyes were back on Firebrand. Eventually, Firebrand motioned someone to come forward with his hand.
An Inphernal stepped forward in the same clad Umbrella wore.
“...April?”
<<0o0>>
The day of The Fall
Umbrella was falling.
But they didn’t have to be for long.
Summoning their gear, they opened it up, wincing at the jolt of pain as the wind caught their gear. They could faintly see Craterdust below them, a large city quickly building outwards. It hadn’t been long since Windforce rose Splintered Skies into the sky, reaching its 30th year when Umbrella spawned, but it was building quickly.
They weren’t sure how the residents would react to them. Their horn shape and horn colors were not the most common, and they still wore the Splintered Sky’s army outfit. All they could do was wait to fall and hope for the best.
They reached the ground with grace. They were on top of a roof, and they quickly shed out of their army outfit. They had prepared for this by not wearing their traditional undergarments, and instead wore a black shirt with some hastily drawn design, black dress pants they were hoping was not too fancy for Craterdust Inphernals. They knew the environment down here was much, much different then the one in the Splintered Skies, and a day’s worth of research forced them to stretch their limited knowledge.
They jumped down the house, landing with a roll and shook themselves off of dust. Now it was time to walk and pretend they had any clue of where they were going.
The Inphernals passed Umbrella without a second thought. They looked a bit barebones compared to the other people in their style: mesh gloves reaching up to other inphernals elbows, piercings on their horns, and other miscellaneous items scattered around their outfits.
Small things that Umbrella couldn’t have gotten in the time they had. Small things that they could get now, with some quick hands and clueless inphernals. They heard most Craterdusters were violent, worthless animals, but even newspawn Umbrella knew that was nothing but propaganda. Propaganda that their fellow soldiers ate up.
Maybe that was why Umbrella wasn’t well-liked within the soldier community. Because they spoke for the worthless.
It didn’t take a genius to realize why Craterdusters hated Splintered Skies. Hell, they were from it, and they still felt the claws of hate shake their core, even more so now they had been thrown out.
They still remembered the first time they had learned to hate. They had pretended to hate many things before; the training all newspawns went through, making friends with older spawns just to never see them again, the lies and obedience Playground shoved down their throats. Never did any of it compared to that day, or the days afterwards.
They promised they would make it together.
Umbrella forced themselves to steel their gaze. There were much more important things to do–such as figure out what to do now. Their livelihood was torn from their grasp, although they supposed it was now something they had in common with their… fellow Craterdusters. They relaxed their stance, trying to act as if they hadn’t been a soldier for the past thirty years of their life. It seemed to work. A small blessing, but one they would take.
They slipped into an alleyway, only to be suddenly stopped by a flick of fire appearing from in front of them. They took a hasty step back, summoning their gear and sending a furrowed brow towards the flame as it grew larger, eventually settling into a familiar form. Firebrand.
He looked squeamish, and Umbrella would be lying if that didn’t give them a small form of gratification. Jumping from foot to foot, Firebrand looked down at Umbrella with a grimace, opening his mouth a few times before muttering a weak, “Hey.”
“Firebrand,” Umbrella deadpanned.
He winced. “Look, Umbrella, I–”
“I don’t want to hear it,” they hissed, “leave your apologies elsewhere.”
Another wince and more half-hearted words. “If I had known it would’ve affected you… like…” He hesitated. “I would’ve gotten rid of it immediately.”
“Right. You didn’t know how your sister would react. I understand.” They twisted on their heels, only to jump back as Firebrand formed on the other side instead.
“I know why you’re angry, Umbrella, but you know better than most that she’s difficult.”
Umbrella winced. “I wish I didn’t, Firebrand. Like I wish you weren’t here.”
A moment of silence.
“Where will you go?”
Umbrella sighed. “I don't–Look. Firebrand. I get it. You’re feeling guilty, if you Swords can even feel that way, but you don’t need to apologize to me to make yourself feel better. Just leave. I spent thirty years as a warrior. I can spend another thirty learning how to be an inphernal.”
“You don’t have to. I have a place you can take. We both know how skilled you are. Do you really want to leave it all?”
“I already have!” Umbrella snapped, quickly reeling back their loud tone. They refused to acknowledge the crack in their voice–how could they be upset, when they were better off down here?--”I’ve already lost everything, Firebrand, and it’s your fault. You and that stupid… that stupid…”
They massaged their forehead, pulling it down their face to look up at Firebrand. They were sure they weren’t a pretty sight, frazzled and in clothes unfamiliar to them, exhaustion pulling down at their shoulders and eyes. There was a tight silence, broken by a long sigh from Umbrella, eyes falling down to their hands instead of Firebrand's face.
“Just leave,” they half begged.
The alleyway was enveloped with light, and Firebrand was gone.
They leaned against the concrete wall, suddenly feeling nauseous. They closed their eyes, breathing deeply, only to jump up again as a growl sounded from behind them. They spun around, half-expecting to see Firebrand still standing there, only to be greeted by a wolf the same size as them. The wolf tilted its head, and Umbrella’s head began to race. Something was familiar about it. A memory long lost, but a memory nonetheless.
“You know the Swords,” The wolf said, and Umbrella forced themselves not to flinch. The wolf stepped closer. “You know Windforce. Were you cast out as a soldier?” It growled, although something about it felt as if it was laughing. Umbrella furrowed their brows.
“What if I say yes?”
The wolf made that same growling noise. “Oh,” it said, “Oh, then we’ll have much to talk about. Former soldier to former soldier, yes?”
Umbrella paused, unsure what to do, the nagging feeling of familiarity still biting at their mind. They waited a beat, before forcing themselves to relax. “Fine. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
The wolf smiled.