"Rosalyn? Come on, talk to me. What's around you?"
I gritted my teeth, holding the radio tightly, waiting for a reply. Brea, myself, and the guy we'd saved were perched up on a rooftop, overlooking Rosalyn and Maddie's route, trying to figure out where they were. Only, we couldn't, because Rosalyn wasn't giving me any information to work with. All we could hear through the speaker was the sound of heavy breathing and stifled sobbing.
"I think she's having difficulty speaking," Brea said. "It's not an uncommon trauma response. Given that the other two aren't saying anything either, something bad must've happened that really scared her."
Brea's tone was clinical, and I could tell she was just repeating something she heard in one of her classes, but the look on her face betrayed just how scared she was by the implication behind her words.
Something had happened to Viv and Maddie.
I forced down the dread, turning back to the radio. "If you can't talk, can you at least give us some sort of signal so we can find you?"
A rush of wind blew from behind me as Maggie and Hex landed on the rooftop with us. "What's the situation?"
"We're still not sure," I replied. "Maddie and Viv aren't responding at all, and Rosalyn seems to be struggling to speak. We're trying to find them."
At that moment, a bolt of fire shot into the air some distance away. A little bit of the tension left my shoulders. It had to be them.
"There!"
Maggie and I left Brea and Hex to look after the civilian as we took to the air, heading for the flame. Flying in Maggie's arms probably would've been pretty exciting, if not for the circumstances. As such, I barely even noticed the ground blurring past, too busy worrying about what we were going to find at the bottom of that signal.
The sight of the three of them from up in the sky made my heart fly up into my throat. There was just... so much blood. Maddie was covered in it, pretty much head to toe, and Viv had it splattered across her face. Rosalyn stared up at us, eyes wide, curled into a ball next to her wife.
We landed and I immediately thrashed out of Maggie's arms, running over to Vivienne. I kneeled down, pressed two fingers to her neck, and thankfully felt a pulse, steady and strong like always. I sighed, relief flooding my body. Whatever happened, she was alive. That was the important thing.
With the potential heart attack taken care of, I checked the actual damage. Her left eye was entirely destroyed, the eyelid ripped and bleeding, but other than that, she seemed to be alright, though of course I couldn't be sure.
"How's Maddie?" I asked, looking over to where Maggie was checking her.
"I'm not sure," she hummed. "Her costume's all ripped up, and there's blood everywhere, but she has no visible injuries aside from her leg, and that looks more like it was amputated and already healed over."
We both turned to Rosalyn, who was still hugging herself and shivering. "What happened here?" I asked, going over to her.
She looked up at me, then back to the ground. "G- g... th-the Godling," she hissed out.
Maggie frowned. I was right there with her. That made no sense. Why would It attack but then leave them all alive? And heal all of Maddie's wounds, if the blood was anything to go by?
"I- I'm s-s-sorry," she whispered, holding a shaking hand up to her throat. Anger flashed across her face. She took a few deep breaths, and spoke so quietly I almost didn't hear. "...Talking is hard."
Maggie and I shared a look. "We'll save the explanations for later, then," she said. "Right now, we need to get back. Jordyn, you tell the others."
I nodded, pulling out my radio to report the situation as Maggie scooped Madeline up into her arms. "Can you walk?" she asked Rosalyn.
Rosalyn nodded, climbing to her feet, but her knees almost immediately buckled.
Maggie stepped closer, shifting Madeline around until she was hanging over one shoulder. "Here, lean on me."
I finished up my report and pulled Viv onto my back with my shadows, hooking my hands below her knees and her arms over my shoulders. "Everyone's heading back to HQ," I said. "We should get going too."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Maggie replied.
It stung to have to leave all the people we'd missed, but going on with one of our teams completely disabled and our transport capabilities cut off was just a bad idea. Especially now that we knew the Godling was roaming around the area.
Regardless, we met back up with Brea, Hex, and the civilian, and headed straight back for the Union, moving as fast as we could. Viv and Maddie didn't appear to be in danger right now, but I was far from qualified to make that call on my own. The doctors the hospital sent over would need to look at them before we could be sure.
Eventually, Rosalyn regained enough composure to walk on her own, but she continued to hug herself and stare at the ground, not saying a word.
Slowly but surely, we made our way back to the Union and rushed inside. Apparently, the other groups all made it back before us, because they were all waiting in the lobby when we arrived.
"Vivienne..." Steve muttered, his face paling.
I pushed past them all, heading for the conference room where the doctors were. Maggie and Rosalyn followed.
The space had become much more crowded since we left, thanks to all the people Vivienne saved. I ignored them, bee-lining for the doctors. When they saw us, they immediately made space on the conference table. One beckoned me over, while the other called for Maggie.
I set Vivienne down on the table and the doctor immediately got in front of me, looking her over. She'd be alright now. I breathed a sigh of relief. The world spun slightly and I wobbled in place.
Ah. The caffeine crash.
Hex's telekinesis caught be before I could slam my skull into the ground. That was good. The doctors didn't need another patient.
But maybe it would be okay if I just... closed my eyes for a little bit. Just rest them for a few... seconds. It'd be okay.
Vivienne was gonna be just fine.
—-
Madeline slowly opened her eyes, staring up at a bland ceiling, dimly illuminated by a lamp on the bedside table. She recognised it as the one in the dorm room she and Rosie had claimed a few days ago. Speaking of, she could feel someone wrapped around her, and a quick glance down at zebra-coloured hair confirmed who it was. Rosie was safe. Thank god.
Oh. And... Maddie was alive. That was good. A little surprising, but good.
She remembered what happened, up to a point, at least. Apparently, getting gutted wasn't a death sentence. Viv must've brought her to the hospital or something. But... why wasn't she still there?
And why wasn't she in any pain?
She looked down at herself. Most of her body was covered by a blanket and/or Rosie, but the arm that the Godling broke wasn't in a cast. In fact, it wasn't even bruised. She reached under her shirt, expecting to feel gauze or stitches on her belly, but there was nothing except for smooth skin.
Was it all a dream?
Rosie shifted a little, froze, and then suddenly jerked up, looking down at Madeline.
"You're awake!" she whisper-shouted, placing a hand on the hinge of Maddie's jaw.
"Yep," Maddie whispered back. She remembered what happened to Rosie when the Godling appeared. "Are you... okay?"
She glanced to the side, and Madeline prepared herself for a lie or deflection. "I... I wasn't even hurt. I'm fine."
Maddie frowned. "But..."
"So, that means you remember?" Rosie deflected, as predicted.
Madeline sighed, looking away. "Most of it. Uh... Everything up until..."
The wind rushed out of her as Its hand plunged into her gut. The only thought that went through Madeline's head was how similar it felt to just being punched normally. Then It started tearing downwards, and the real pain began.
She just patted her abdomen and hoped that got the point across.
Rosie looked at her sadly. "It's not too surprising that you forgot some stuff. You were hit in the head pretty hard."
"How hard?"
Rosie looked away again, her eyes glazing over like she was lost in a memory. "Very."
Madeline blinked up at her. "How... am I... okay?"
Rosie sighed, lying back down on Maddie's chest. "Vivienne healed you. Before you ask, it was... some weird Godling shit. I don't know exactly what happened. It just grabbed her, and dropped her, and she was... different. Literally put you back together. Then it came back and... undid whatever it did to her. And poked her eye out."
That was a lot to wrap her head around. "Is she okay?" Madeline asked.
"I think so," Rosie muttered. "Apart from her eye. I... was a little distracted by you, so I didn't really get a chance to check. No one's freaking out, though, so it can't be too bad."
"Shit," Maddie sighed. "I'm too sober for this. Also, I need to piss."
She moved to get up, but Rosie stopped her, jumping up and putting her hands on Maddie's shoulders. "Wait!"
Madeline raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
Rosie was doing that glancing thing again. It was so unlike her to be this skittish. Last night must've really affected her. "Um... It's..." She sighed, meeting Madeline's eyes. "Just... take a deep breath, okay? And try not to panic."
Of course, at that statement, dread immediately filled Maddie to the brim. Despite that, she still sucked in a lungful of air at her wife's request. "...What's wrong?"
She looked down. "Viv wasn't... able to heal everything."
Madeline blinked, processing that. "But... nothing hurts."
Rosie smiled ever-so-slightly. "That's good, at least. But... Look, I'll just show you."
She pulled the blanket off of Madeline, and...
"Oh..." she croaked out, staring down at the end of her left leg, a little ways below the knee.
She sat up, reached down and touched it. There wasn't even a scar. It was as if she'd somehow teleported into an alternate universe where she never had the leg in the first place.
"How do you feel?" Rosie asked after a few seconds of silence.
"I... don't know," Madeline whispered, still unable to drag her eyes away from it. "I think... I'm gonna need a bit to process this."
Rosie rubbed her back. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
"What... Am I gonna do?" Maddie eventually muttered.
"We can look into prosthetics or something," Rosie replied. "After this mess is sorted out, I mean."
"Yeah, but... What about before then? I won't be able to help out anymore. I won't... even be able to walk anymore."
She just couldn't help but be a burden, could she? It seemed like no matter how she tried to better herself, the universe was always there to bitch-slap her back down into the dirt.
"Hey, we'll figure it out, okay?"
"I suppose so..."
"C'mon," Rosie said, patting her back. "Let's get you to the bathroom."
Madeline wanted to protest; to say that she wasn't a baby and could get there by herself, but she held her tongue. Rosie always jumped into full caretaker mode when she was stressed, and Maddie wasn't about to deny her that coping mechanism. Not after the way she screamed last night.
What was it the Godling said It did to her? It... reminded her of the time they spent together. While she was dead.
Madeline gritted her teeth. That whole time, she thought Rosie was just... sleeping peacefully, or whatever. But no, she was being tortured. What right did she have to complain about one night of it when Rosie went through it for five whole years?
"Maddie?" Rosie questioned. Madeline realised she forgot to respond.
"Yeah, um... Y-yeah, let's go. But... Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm... I'll..." She glanced away again. "I will be. I'm just... a little shaken, still. It'll pass. I'm already feeling a lot better than last night. And... it's not like I was actually injured, right?"
Madeline frowned. "I'm not sure that really matters. But... I guess I'll take your word for it. Just... you know you can talk to me whenever you need, right?"
Rosie smiled. "Of course."
Finally, they got out of bed and exited into the halls. According to her phone, it was only just past six in the morning, so there weren't very many people up and about. That was good. The less people she had to explain the leg situation to, the better.
Getting to the bathroom wasn't too difficult, all things considered. It was just slow-going Madeline leaned on Rosie and hopped her way forward, one step at a time, trying to remind herself not to bother with her left leg. As she experienced right after getting up, the muscle memory of wanting to take a step was strong, but would only end in her eating shit.
They made it to the bathroom, but unfortunately, they weren't the only ones present. Diego was there, leaning against a wall with a mug of coffee in his hand. More surprising than that, though, was Andreas, mopping the floor on the other side of the room.
"Morning ladies," Diego greeted. "You both feeling better?"
"Yeah," Rosie replied. "But... isn't it a little early to be doing that?" She nodded over to Andreas.
Diego shrugged. "Dude's an early riser, and someone needs to be watching him. If he wants to clean the bathroom, I'm not gonna get in his way."
Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, just make sure 'cleaning the bathroom' is the only think that's happening. I still don't trust this."
Andreas glanced over his shoulder at her, but paused when he saw her leg. A confused expression overtook his face. Irritation bubbled under her skin.
"Hey Andreas, how's the jaw? Still broken?" she taunted.
They glared at each other for a moment, before he grunted and turned back around.
"Let's just get this over with," she sighed.
Rosie helped her into a stall, and Madeline got to work pulling her pants down. Only, something was different.
"Wait, I forgot-" Rosie started.
"What," Maddie stated, looking down at her distinct lack of a penis.
Rosie winced. "Sorry, I totally forgot to tell you. Honestly, I... thought I might have just dreamt it. When you didn't notice after waking up, that was just what I assumed."
Madeline's first instinct was to assume (worry) that she was smooth as a barbie doll down there now, which would've really sucked, because she happened to quite enjoy having sex, especially since Rosie came back. But then she reached down and checked properly, and discovered a slit between her legs.
A strange feeling flooded through her; one she hadn't felt so intensely in years, probably not since she legally changed her name, or even way back when she started hormones.
Euphoria.
"Holy shit."
"Uh, let's sit you down," Rosie whispered. Madeline barely heard. Tears filled her eyes and she let herself be led down to the toilet seat.
"How did this... happen?"
"I'm not sure," Rosie replied. "Maggie and I first noticed when we were washing you off last night. My best guess is, Viv did it when she was putting you back together."
Maddie... didn't know how to feel about that. Yes, waking up with a vagina had been a fantasy of hers ever since she was old enough to know what genitals were, but Viv just doing that without asking felt a little... violating. Even if she had good intentions. It wasn't like Madeline even hated her dick that much. It was more just like it was there, and while she would've preferred the alternative, she didn't lose sleep over it. Yes, this was overall a net positive, but she still felt a little weird. Maybe they'd need to have a chat about it.
"I guess this means... kids are off the table, huh?" Rosie muttered quietly as Madeline went about her business.
Maddie glanced up at her. Once again, she had this faraway look in her eye, though this time Madeline could easily guess why.
Rosie had always wanted kids. Yeah, she had other dreams too, like getting an apprenticeship and becoming a motorbike mechanic, or her activism work, but starting a family always sat alongside those as a big milestone in her plans for life. It was why she was so excited about Madeline reciprocating her feelings (as if Maddie wasn't already madly in love with her), because they had compatible biology to have their own kids. Ignoring, of course, the chance of estrogen making Madeline sterile.
It was part of the reason Madeline never bothered looking into surgery. Apart from not really having that many negative feelings about her junk, she figured she would've needed them someday for the inevitable baby-making. Then, after Rosie died, it was more a matter of not thinking about anything, ever.
But clearly, the choice had been made for her.
...By Vivienne.
...Yep. Definitely uncomfortable.
She brushed it off for later. "We can always still adopt. Or..." A new idea popped into her head; one she'd never considered before, because why would she? Excitement tingled in her gut at the prospect. "One or... both of us, could... carry a donor baby."
Rosie seemed to realise the same thing that had occurred to Madeline. Her eyes lit up. "You're right. I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this about me. I should be happy for you! I just..."
"Hey, it's alright. I know how much of a dream this was for you."
"Yeah, but... Y'know... It's your body."
Madeline grinned. "Hey, I'd say you had just as much of a stake in my genitals as I did. It's cool if you need to process it, too. It is a pretty big change. For both of us."
Rosie was silent for a moment, then looked back up with the type of smirk that meant she was about to say something lewd. She opened her mouth and-
"Hey, are you two... alright in there?"
They both froze at the sound of Diego's voice.
"Uh... how much of that did you hear?" Maddie replied.
"...All of it. These stalls aren't exactly soundproof. So... you good?"
Maddie couldn't help but chuckle. She'd found that Diego was generally a pretty chill guy, so she didn't mind him knowing. "Yeah, we're good. I woke up with a pussy this morning, so we're dealing with that."
Silence.
"Uh... Is that... unusual?"
Oh, bless him. "Yeah, dude. I usually have a dick."
"Oh. ...Oh! Uh... Congrats...?"
"Thanks."
Meanwhile, Rosie covered her mouth, her shoulders hitching with suppressed laughter. The slight embarrassment was worth it just for that.
—-
She tried to open her eyes, only to immediately regret it as a horrible spike of pain stabbed through her skull.
"Mmmmmgrhhhhhhhhhmm," she groaned, gingerly pressing her hand to the spot that hurt, only to find a thick layer of gauze covering her left eye and wrapping around her head.
What happened? Where was she?
...Who was she?
A jolt of alarm shot through her for a moment as she tried to remember something. She opened her good eye to find herself on the couch in the Union rec room. A woman lounged in the armchair across from her, fast asleep. She remembered her. Jordyn. Right. And her name was Vivienne. Okay. She remembered. Everything was fine.
But just in case, she ran through everything one more time, holding a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart.
"My name is Vivienne Matthews," she whispered. "I'm 24 years old. My partner's name is Jordyn Garcia. My best friends are Brianna Moore and Madeline Garcia-Holmes. I'm a hero at the Tombguard Union, and a nurse in training. My uncle's name is Steve."
Okay. False alarm. Everything was still there.
Her eye throbbed again and she flinched, clenching her fists. Sweat prickled across her skin. She felt feverish.
Okay, what was the deal with that? Think back. What was the last thing she could remember?
She remembered last night. The explosion. Going out to search for survivors. Checking up on Rosie and Maddie.
The Godling.
Something... happened to her. But she couldn't remember what. It felt like there was a very, very large blank spot in her memories. And after that...
Huh?
She remembered healing Maddie's injuries somehow. Remembered feeling the atoms that made up her body and pulling them back together. Remembered the shape of her soul. Remembered... a strange enlightenment, that was then ripped away from her before she could finish her work. Ripped straight out through her eye.
So that was what happened. It didn't explain the whole 'healing Maddie's body and feeling the very fabric of the universe' thing, but at least it explained what happened to her eye, and why her head hurt so bad.
Suddenly, a ripple. A shiver that seemed to echo across her awareness. Something was moving far away, reaching out and manipulating the space around it.
Holy shit. Holy shit. That was the Godling. She could sense the Godling.
The team needed to know right away.
With great effort, Vivienne forced herself up and off the couch, only to immediately collapse when she tried to stand up. Another lance of pain shot through her skull and she yelped. It wasn't just her eye this time; her head pounded like she spent all of last night smacking it against a wall. Her entire body shook with weakness.
"Viv?" Jordyn mumbled quietly from her seat, clearly still half-asleep from the sound of her voice. Vivienne really didn't want to wake her, but...
Fuck. She couldn't move. Try as she might, her arms were shaking far too much to get her even a foot off the ground. Even if she didn't urgently need to tell everyone about her discovery, she sorta needed to go to the bathroom at some point, and she didn't want to piss herself because she was too prideful to ask for help.
So, that was just what she did.
"Help," Vivienne groaned, the words cutting hoarsely against her aching throat.
Immediately, she heard thrashing movement behind her as Jordyn jumped to attention.
"Oh, shit!"
Strong arms wrapped around Viv's shoulders and pulled her up off of the floor, into a warm embrace. Vivienne managed to get her feet under her so that Jordyn wasn't dead-lifting all of her weight, but it was a challenge.
"Are you okay?" Jordyn asked, her voice laced with concern.
In truth, No. She wanted to curl into ball to hide from the pain in her head, and now that she was moving her joints were aching too, but she wasn't about to say that just yet.
"Need to get to Ashley's office," she managed to croak out. "Also... painkillers 're in there."
"Painkillers? Are you hurting?"
All Vivienne could do in response was whimper, gingerly hiding her face in the shoulder of Jordyn's hoodie.
"Okay. I'll get you there. Just hold on tight."
Vivienne said nothing as Jordyn scooped her up into a bridal carry and started walking her down the hallway. She wanted to protest, try to do it herself, or at least try to teleport there instead, but she knew that was a bad idea. The last time she tried teleporting in a state like this, she ended up in the dumpster outside her apartment — which, it must be said, was not where she was trying to go. And, well, she could barely hold her own weight up. Ashley's office might as well have been on the opposite side of the world for how difficult it would've been for her to get there under her own strength.
But, get there they did. Jordyn opened the door and carried Viv into the office, where everyone appeared to already be waiting, just as she'd predicted.
"Hey guys," Jordyn greeted for her. "Uh... Are there any painkillers in here?"
"Yeah, here," Ashley said, rifling through his drawers before pulling out a bottle of pills and tossing it to her. "Is she alright?"
"I think so, other than the obvious," Jordyn replied, snatching the bottle with a shadow whip. "But she's burning up a bit."
"Why'd you bring her here? Why not grab the pills and go back to her," Steve asked.
Vivienne forced her arm up. "I gotta say somethin'..." she mumbled.
"What?"
"I gotta say something," she tried again, a little louder.
Jordyn raised an eyebrow, walking her over to the couch and setting her down, next to where Rosie and Maddie were sitting. "How about you take these pills and wake up a bit first, huh?"
Viv couldn't argue with that, so she did as she was told and settled in for a while, waiting for them to kick in as everyone lightly conversed around her.
"Feeling alright, Maddie?" Jordyn asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," she replied. "It's been a weird morning. I'm still getting used to the whole 'missing leg' thing, but Steve let me borrow his crutches, so at least I can get around."
"What about you, Rosalyn?"
"Better," she muttered quietly.
"So, now that everyone's here... What actually happened last night?" Ashley asked.
Rosie sighed. "We, um... ran into the Godling on our route. It attacked us, and... my radio wasn't working, so we couldn't call for help. Maddie got hurt really bad, Viv showed up, but then It did... something to her, and left. Then Viv healed Maddie somehow, but the Godling came back before she could finish regrowing her leg, and... undid whatever It did, I guess. Poked her eye out and left."
That all mostly tracked with Vivienne's memory of events. It was good to know everything in her head was as it should be.
"What happened to you, though?" Maggie asked. "You were really shaken when we found you."
"I... don't wanna talk about it."
Silence stretched across the room, until Madeline broke it.
"Viv, do you... remember what you did last night?"
Vivienne shifted a little, trying to sit up a bit more. The pain in her skull had begun to subside, and she was feeling just a little bit more like herself.
"Um, most of it. I remember healing you, if that's what you're asking, though I don't know how I did it. I don't think I was really... me. At the time."
"Do you... remember... uh... Giving me a vagina?"
Vivienne blinked, about to deny it on instinct, before thinking about it some more. Maddie's genitals were destroyed along with the rest of her abdomen, so when she was putting her back together, Vivienne just followed the shape of her soul.
Which... in hindsight, may or may not have matched the original shape of her physical body.
"Oh. Oh shit. I think I did do that."
There was a pause. "Why? I... I'm not super upset about it — I mean, if you'd asked me beforehand to do it I probably would've said yes, but... I don't like that you just... did that to me without my consent, dude."
An oddly intense flood of emotion rose up in her chest, threatening to bubble over into tears. It was probably just the fever, but that didn't make the feelings any less overwhelming.
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking. I was just following the shape of your soul and trying to match everything up with that. L-like I said, I wasn't really... me at the time. It didn't register in my mind that you should've had a penis instead. I... I-I'm so so sorry."
Humiliatingly, Vivienne started crying.
"Hey, c'mon, it's not that big a deal," Maddie said, scooting over to wrap her arm around Vivienne's shoulders. "I get that you didn't mean it. Honestly, it's pretty cool. I was just... y'know. I thought you did it on purpose. ...Wow, you are really warm. Are you sure you're okay?"
Vivienne sniffled, wiping her eye. "I just have a fever. My body's probably just freaking out because the Godling stuck Its fingers in my head yesterday. It should pass."
Something shifted again. The Godling was still out there. Still moving around and hurting people. Vivienne could feel the ripples of Its each and every action. It still hadn't come this way, thankfully, but they couldn't spend too long licking their wounds. They needed to do something.
She perked up. "Oh, right! I can still feel where the Godling is!"
Everyone stared at her. "What?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you all. Whatever the Godling did to me, It didn't seem to take it all away properly. There's still a connection there. I can feel where It is, and whenever It does stuff."
"Where is it now?" Steve asked.
Vivienne pointed at a wall. "That direction."
"We're lucky It hasn't come over here yet."
"That's probably Sebastian Beaumond's doing," Vivienne said. "I think... I don't think the Godling took over his body; I think it's more like they're working together. So his personality is still controlling some stuff."
"That would explain a lot," Maddie said. "And I bet that's why he hasn't hunted us down yet. He seems like the type of guy that would be so confident in himself he'd let his enemies gain power so that they'd present more of a challenge."
"That's what I was thinking."
"Well, knowing where It is doesn't really help us unless we need to evacuate," Maggie said. "We saw what happened when you guys tried to fight It. What are we supposed to do against It if It can take out one of our strongest pairings single-handedly?"
"I might have an idea."
Everyone turned to look at the entrance, only to find Andreas standing there, crossing his arms. Everyone shot to their feet, except for Maddie and Vivienne, for obvious reasons.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Maggie demanded. "Where's Diego?"
Andreas raised his arm, showing off a black cuff around his wrist, with a box attached to it, much like an ankle monitor. "The young man gave me this and left for the security office. Apparently, it tracks all my movements and alerts him if I attempt to leave the building. It's just a shame I never thought to fit you with one of these."
Maggie's fists clenched. She was about to charge forward, but Jordyn placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her back. She looked at Andreas. "What do you want?"
"Like I said. Magpie questioned what you could possibly do to fight the Godling. I have an idea that might help."
"Don't call me that, motherfucker!" Maggie yelled, her feathers puffing up.
"You're the one who released it in the first place," Madeline said. "Why would you want to help?"
Andreas scowled. "Believe it or not, I want that thing running around and ransacking our city just as much as you do. If Jordyn hadn't made the wrong wish when she released It, I would've been able to completely destroy It. That was always my plan."
Jordyn flinched at his reminder. Vivienne clenched her teeth.
"Don't put the blame on her! If not for your actions, no one would've pulled the sword out at all! The Godling would still be safely sealed away, and none of us would've gotten hurt!" she yelled. The action caused her head to start throbbing again, but she was past caring.
"Hey!" Ashley snapped. "I know we're all stressed, but yelling isn't getting us anywhere. Andreas, are you actually going to try and help, or are you just going to keep antagonising my heroes?"
Andreas rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll answer your question with a question. Do you really think I'm the sort of man that would've gone through with a plan as risky as releasing the Godling without some sort of contingency in place? I'm not so arrogant as to believe there was no chance of the plan going wrong, and as such, I made preparations for this exact scenario."
"Well?" Steve prompted. "We'd love to hear them."
"You're aware of what gave the Godkiller sword its abilities, correct?" he asked Ashley.
"It was forged with the bones of the Godling's previous hosts. For some reason, It can't manipulate matter originating from Its hosts, meaning It couldn't just destroy the sword or negate Its damage."
"Correct, and-"
Maddie's eyes widened. "Wait, I just remembered something! Last night, when I punched the Godling with ice around my fist, It actually bled!"
Andreas scowled. "I was speaking."
"I don't care. And this is important! I think it means that our powers can damage It!"
"It makes sense," Vivienne said, her mind supplying up knowledge she didn't quite know the source of. "Our powers are stolen from the Godling, just like the previous hosts' bones. When we manipulate spacetime for our abilities, the Godling can't supersede that. It can't prevent our powers from damaging Its body."
The more she spoke, the more knowledge flowed into her head, like a light shining on the dark, forgotten recesses of her brain. Unfortunately, it also hurt quite a bit. She held a hand to her aching head and continued. "And... the Godling needs a host, otherwise... I think... I think It might die. It lost too much energy during Its imprisonment. If we can just... kill Sebastian Beaumond, and prevent the Godling from taking any other hosts, It's gonna fizzle out. Its energy will unravel, just like any other soul without a body. We can... actually beat It. For good."
"How do you know all that?" Ashley asked.
"I'm not sure... I think, whatever the Godling did to my head last night, It left some stuff behind. I think that's why I can feel where It is, too."
"Though, again, that doesn't really help keep us safe," Maggie said. "Being able to hurt It won't matter if It can just rip us apart with a thought."
Andreas loudly cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "If you'd allowed me to finish, I would've offered a solution for that."
"Well fucking hurry up then!"
He scowled, but moved on. "When I designed the clones' combat suits, they were also built to be used in the eventuality that something went wrong. As such, while planning out Project Genesis, I also sent out a team to raid the tombs of the previous Godling hosts, for their bones. I incorporated Godling host bone into each of the suits designs, and amassed a stockpile of weaponry built with the same material. Given that the Godling couldn't manipulate the Godkiller blade, it stands to reason that the armour would protect you from Its control, as well.
"I had suits commissioned for every clone that made it to combat training, as well as multiple all-purpose backups. That means one for Five, Six, and Seven, as well as works-in-progress for Eight, Nine, and Ten. It may also be possible to adjust the measurements of the ones still in development to fit whoever else decides to join the fight. Though, I would need a team to do so."
It all sounded almost too good to be true. "What's the catch?" Vivienne asked.
"The catch is, all of that was seized by the police when they raided my facility. Meaning, it's all probably still locked up tight in one of the evidence rooms of the central police station."
"Which is... right smack dab in the middle of the zombie-infested ruins..." Ashley finished. "Of course."
"Why should we trust you?" Jordyn asked. "You've never been one to help other people before. Why now?"
Andreas sighed. "What could I possibly gain from lying to you at this point? My... My plan — my life's work — failed. My city is currently being destroyed, largely due to my own actions. Is it so hard to believe that I want to rectify that as best I can? I'm not some crazy megalomaniac, looking to hurt people for the sake of it, Jordyn. I never wanted things to turn out like this. And, as much as I openly despise most of you, I'm not so prideful that I can't recognise you're the only ones capable of fixing this. I'm not so childish as to sit and do nothing out of spite when there are things I can do to assist you."
Silence hung over the room like a dark cloud. As much as she hated his guts, Vivienne couldn't help but respect his pragmatism and maturity, given the situation. It would've been easy for him to just hide away in his room and sulk about his entire life going down the drain, but instead, he was helping with the menial labour, and had given them a solution when they had nothing left.
It made her wonder. If he hadn't gotten so caught up and obsessed with that dream of his, could Andreas de Vygon have turned out to be a good man?
Maybe. Maybe not. Could someone with the capability for good ever stoop so low that they would drill a fucking muzzle onto their daughter's head?
Vivienne didn't know. She wasn't a fucking philosopher.
"Okay, well... I suppose I'll get started on a plan of attack," Ashley said. "The rest of you, either get to work or get some rest. Vivienne, if you ever feel like the Godling might be coming this way, be sure to scream at the top of your lungs."
Viv saluted. "Aye-aye, captain."
He nodded. "We'll move for the police station tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Why wait so long?" Andreas asked.
"I don't know if you noticed, dear cousin, but our primary means of transportation has a hole in her head. She needs rest. And after what happened last night, I'm not sending anyone out into the city without a quick way to flee."
Andreas huffed. "Duly noted."
With that, everyone went their separate ways. Jordyn carried Viv back to the rec room, which was apparently their bedroom now.
"I just woke up, but I already feel like I need another eight hours," Jordyn said as she sat Vivienne down on the couch, taking a seat next to her.
Vivienne laughed. "Yeah. Hard to believe that life seemed normal yesterday."
"By the way, um... I didn't really get to say it yet, but... I'm glad you're okay."
Vivienne forced a smile, reaching up to touch the gauze covering her eye. "I don't... feel okay."
"Hey..." Jordyn placed a hand on her cheek, turning her head slightly and planting a soft kiss on her lips. "You will be. We will be."
This time, Vivienne smiled for real. Jordyn's optimism was infectious.
"Yeah."
