***

There was no way Tracy should’ve survived that.

That was tons. Tons of wood, metal and plasture—all tumbling down at once and on way, someone at the center of the impact zone should be alive right now.

But here Tracy was. Should be dead, isn’t dead, and is hoping that she appears to be.

Behind her makeshift ruin of wall, she was pressed against the junk, the only reason she could stand at this moment. She stopped breathing, she barely moved. Those hours of practicing staying dead paid off in the best way possible.

Using her ears, she heard N’atural Savage groan and stirred from her crater that was once Tracy’s home.

Her mind was racing. How the fuck did she manage to erect a wall? Wasn’t her ability based on what the enemy saw, versus hers? In fact, how the hell did siVis manage to aid her in the very last second and managed to achieve that?

For any of this to work, Tracy figured that as N’atural sailed across the air towards her apartment… She was head-first, facing her, and in that moment where Tracy saw her coming, her siVis responded more to her moment of panic than her vacant surrender to fate.

All in that order.

This was all on brand, really.

Her lungs started to shudder for air, but she and she alone fought against the motion of her body. Moving means never worrying about doing so anymore.

Especially since, as Tracy sweated in place while still mimicking a cadaver, she was the one that exploded at this beast and told her she was nothing—

Her thoughts were cut off by creaking and groans, so low but rumbling that it could either be just the debris falling away or the sounds of N’atural.

“How the hell is he… Getting the hang of this better…?”

Tracy herself was caught between the extremes of listening intently—so that she can run whatever detail back to the confused masses and mentally and primally screaming at the monster girl to go away. Thankfully, an expanded mind allowed for both.

A hum was soon dragged out, signaling crackling of bone and the crushing of objects.

“Trying to one up me, trying to get there first… Trying to take my moment away from me…”

Tracy heard the scrapping of extended, long talons. This confirming to her that she’s far along with the transformation again, despite the confusion over the fact she can do this seemingly multiple times now.

“I have to beat him, before he goes off kilter, killing that Davenport fool… At least that’ll provide some cover for me…”

What followed was a pregnant pause of silence. Before the rumbling and impact of N’atural launching herself was made apparent.

Tracy waited. Waited for minutes until she just heard the outside screaming and exploding. And she really had to force herself to lower her wall. What was stopping her? To accept that she has no place here anymore? To just become a sad bit of trivia to this day’s toll and have her memory be just that—until the rest bleeds over. And she wouldn’t have to explain herself, about all that.

Regardless, she needed the air, no matter how caked it was with dust and small rock. The wall gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor like the gawking fish she was.

She looked upon her pathetic body, silk robes not being the best protective wear regarding falling buildings after all. Cut up, lesions, debris sticking out of places she’s sure she can’t pull out—and perfectly matching with her previous injuries trying to heal.

Cheek against the shattered floor, she looked out to see the chaos brewing before her eyes.

Living on Luminous Hills, despite being on the metaphorical “bottom” of such a place, it was still such a cozy and starwort part that represented… A normal city. Davenport as a whole was just too weird, too hard concept, and that opinion was coming from a native despite wanting to move away. It was what everything what everyone envied and were in awe about regarding a city.

Now? Now it’s bending in multiple fashions—buildings buckling and bursting at sections but not tumbling down at once. The streets were stretched, no elongated but up at places and down at it’s sides, creating uneven but equally desolate ground where people try to run, but struggle to. And whatever was left, was being looted by people, and not people society would instantly think of or ascribe to. “Normal” people.

Tracy couldn’t exactly blame them—in fact had she not fucked her life further; she’d probably be the second coming of Cal—

Her thoughts ended, when she felt her floor—or whatever’s left—suddenly jerked vertically. Down vertically.

She closed her eyes. And she hoped that it’s not going to hurt this time.

And soon, the entire floor, thus the rest of her destroyed apartment, fell out of the cavity created and left behind. All crashing within a clutter of various material that provided the soundtrack to this awful day.

Tracy’s shot open once again, another instance where she really shouldn’t have.

“HUAHHOO” the nonsense groaned out of her mouth, yet summed everything up. “How am I still fucking alive--?!”

She took in the sight around her, and she found her answer.

She saw her hands, clutching the sides of the ruggedly formed raft out of the floorboard.

She arched her back and looked over her shoulder, to see that her legs were extended, enhanced by siVis.

And finally taking in, the fact that she was a few, but critical, feet away from the wreckage that was her apartment suite—again, only the affected part was just her section, versus the whole.

“…I don’t get it…” Tracy turned towards her rising hand, moving her fingers to make sure that it was really her body.

Tracy rose up in a daze, looking around and panting, confused about this situation, now confused about her body… Confusion, written all over her face.

“How did you survive that--?!”

She panicked, going doe lite watching a battered, middle-aged man that came from the haze.

“O-“ the man raised his blackened hands, stumbled back. “I’m not doing that—I’m not that guy, I just—I just saw you, I saw the whole thing--!”

He was wearing torn business clothes, remnants of a black suit that stuck to his ruined blue dress shirt. Dust-covered black pants, and ripped opened dress shoes. Tracy studied the look, up and down, to search intention, tells, or even weapons.

“Look, I was just out for lunch—I didn’t even know what happened, I’m just surprised that I found someone else… Wait.”

What was once a fearful, doughy face tightened with realization.

“TEACH ME—GIVE ME SIVIS!” the ruined man shouted.

Tracy immediately started walking backwards, with the ruined man prowling towards here, and struggling desperately trying to maintain his promise of space, but really really can’t anymore.

“PLEASE, JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING, ANYTHING!” the ruin man slobbered in his fear. “A trick! Just a trick so I can survive! Please! That’s all I’m asking…! Are you one of the crazies--?”

Tracy furiously stook her head, as her legs wabbled below her as she still backed up. She couldn’t chance running away, especially since her body was betraying her so harshly.

“You people are selfish, that’s all you are!” ranting and raving, while picking up the frantic pace he set off on, closing in on the woman. “And you have the gall to go crazy like you do! Go crazy about real issues and help the rest of us out-!”

Someone managed to scream for Tracy, causing her to turn around in a fervor.

She saw a lady, maybe a few years older than her, hair in a hazel bun, on her knees with her back turned to Tracy. She was shivering, clutching at her arms to the point the nails were digging into skin, drawing beads of blood…

Until she started to glow white and said blood gave way to familiar sparking.

“FINALLY!”, the ruin man screamed, running past Tracy towards the woman, and in turn Tracy backed away again.

The shivering woman started to shake violently, curling up into a ball, until her blouse ripped open from the back, exposing it bare as it was covered in sweat.

Soon, it gave away. As if her back opened itself up and revealed a violet radiating void.

The ruined man couldn’t stop himself, as he looked on with acute dread.

Tracy chanced it, and began to run in a sprint.

All she could hear, within a second later, was the man’s screams.

And all she could feel at the moment, was the immense pull from behind.

Almost like a vacuum, Tracy was being sucked away as she runs away, gaining ground, losing it, and then finally hauled backways without any say in the manner.

She gasped, but the air around her was being taken away.

She tried to flail away, but her arms were jerked from her sides and daggled from the back.

Then she remembered.

Using her enhanced legs, she pogoed from side to side, her stiff legs standing firm as slowly but surely, she was removed from the force, and begun even jumping high from the mishappened ground, from the shock of having that work more than anything.

Jumping and darting away from that mess, away from her apartment, away… From what she thought could’ve been her punishment. Should have been.

She stopped, landing on both of her bare feet, getting on her knees herself as she clutches her chest. Panting. Disorientated. Confused.

Then she heard a cry. A miserable cry.

Turning her head, she saw her. A small child, must be 10 or something. She was trapped under a wreckage. It was once a small shop, but has collapsed from the wear and tear of the reality bending. The child was behind some fallen planks, but the gap was enough to see her struggling under the part of the roof that has pinned her down.  Her blonde curls flat against her red, sweating face. Crying, screaming for someone, anyone.

Tracy gritted her teeth, her clay-like face creating the pure expression of adject terror.

“Ohmygod—HEY! Little girl! Where are your guardians?! Where’s your parents?!”

The girl shook her head and wept more, confirming what Tracy figured.

The pathetic woman put her hands on her head, knowing that the worst person couldn’t possibly do what needed to be done.

Screaming from the tops of her ruined lungs, “HEEEEEEEELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE PLEASE!”

The girl shrieked louder in response. The fact that it’s most likely due to severe pain caused the pathetic woman’s mind to break further.

“I CAN’T DO IT—I CAN’T SAVE HER! I NEED SOMEONE TO SAVE HER!”

The screams penetrated her mind and scrambled whatever left’s in seconds.

“I’M A TERRIBLE PERSON!” she pleaded, not to the child but to whatever was making her face this. “I ACCEPTED MY FATE! I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING FOR ANYTHING! AND I ACCEPTED THAT! WHAT’S THIS NOW?! WHY THIS?!”

Tracy banged her fists against the asphalt, over and over again. To the point that she wanted to draw blood…

But as she finally stopped, she rose her hands up, and noticed the small cracks forming.

“…Right,” she finally understood.

She got up, looking towards the crying child.

“Dear…!” she tried to get her attention. Tracy begun waving her arms, “Dear! Darling! STOP IT! STOP CRYING!”

Tracy walked towards the wreckage, stumbling, feeling the effects of her condition coming on, the crackling of herself.

By walking forward, this caused the poor little girl to look up at her, still sniffling and groaning in pain.

“That’s it, darling,” Tracy said in a hush. “You’re beautiful, I want you to know that. Gorgeous.”

The woman crouched at her spot, getting in eye level with the child despite the distance. “I need you to listen to me. Whatever you do, you look at me. Okay, darling? You’re so pretty—I know you’re smart too. Just look at me, no matter what happens, okay?”

While confused, the girl curtly nodded.

Tracy smiled, but she knew it looked hallow. But it was fine. This needed to happen. This is her calling. This is her fate.

She extended her arms out.

PERSPECTIVE FLIP

By using the planks, she painstakingly puzzled them out of their wreckage and positioned them under the visible holes of the prime wreckage, wedging them firm.

Tracy rose, struggling under the weight of this task, as she growled into a pained scream as she kept rising and rising, using her upper body to lift the wreckage up and away.

The girl was surprised, looking around her instinctively in zeal.

Tracy instantly slammed down, as if an invisible hand slapped her onto one knee. “DARLING PLEASE—LOOK. AT. ME!”

The child shot back towards her, both in fear and sorrow that she forgot to do what this nice lady was asking.

Tracy panted, even started to cry due to the pain of the strain that she was experiencing, but pushed on anyways despite feeling the cracks run up her sides.

Screaming out in pained shouts and agonizing wails, she managed to lift the wreckage completely, leaving the girl just on her belly—her overall-covered legs covered in black and dust.

“W-what do I do now, Ms--?” the small voice asked in panic.

“GET AWAY!” Tracy screamed. Far away! Forget about me!”

She shook her head instantly. “I-I—”

“YOU CAN!” Tracy yelled, but not out of malice. “Look at you! You’re like a s-star! You light the room and you’re so sharp! You can f-f-forget some mess like me—so go!”

“Ooooor—”

An Australian boy scrolled up beside Tracy, with a brown bag around his wrist, his hands in his pockets.

“We’ll help you ladies with that,” Bentley said, cocking his head towards someone Tracy couldn’t see yet.

He went in so fast, he was like a blur, but Chimney never the less rushed in between the propped up wreckage, and carefully pulled the girl from the wreck.

You had to have enhanced hearing to experience the following, Chimney asking if the girl was hurt, carefully putting her on his massive back, saying “backies, yay backies!”

He paced himself, but of course made his way out quickly, letting Tracy to finally crumble into dust.

She fell around the same time that the wreckage did, almost passing out but something was keeping her together.

“Easy there, luv—” it was Bentley’s turn to catch someone, holding her gingerly.

Tracy looked up at him with her glassy, doughy eyes. “I thought… The next time you saw us…”

“My eyesight’s all fuzzy today,” Bentley quickly responded. “Shite allegories or something. So I’m not really looking at ya’.”

“Ughm,” Tracy closed her eyes. “No wonder they make fun of you. You really are cheesey.”

“You can’t see it, but I’m rolling my eyes—” Bentley batted back. “Kinda… The weirdest look to have in times like these—”

“I didn’t have time to change when N’atural Savage rammed into my apartment…”

“…Holy fuck—” Bentley audibly blink via his words, pretty much. “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. There’s a pile, ways away from here that used to be where I slept and stuff.”

“…” Bentley’s silence was just as palpable. “Harv. Take uh, Chim’s skills and run back and try to find the wreck. Maybe her dresser survived or whatever search for some pants at least—”

There was an animation that could be subtly heard, before “SKILL SWAP” rang out, and the sound of someone darting away.

The least she could do was open her eyes.

As she did, she can see Bentley holding her still, looking over to Gently hold was stand-off-ish about the whole thing, darting to Chimney next to him, clearly using siVis to hold himself up so that the girl can stand on his back.

“Better be lucky that this shit forced us to be citizens, girly,” Gently snarked.

Tracy got out of Bentley’s hold, wabbling.

“You said that you tangled with N’atural briefly?” Bentley questioned.

“Well… We did…” Tracy admitted. “A few weeks ago. But no, this was literal random chance… She crashed right into my apartment when I was accepting that I was gonna go out drinking wine and crying.”

“Jesus Christ, woman—” Bentley spattered out.

“No wonder you’re all fucked up…” Gently said. “You’re cracking. Had a friend that cracked.”

“Did he get better…?” Tracy asked innocently.

“… ‘Had’, girly.”

“Yeah, I was just clinging to hope, it’s a terrible habit…”

“But there’s people out there—” Bentley reasoned. “That can help, we just have to high tail it to those ferries and you stay strong, promise that—”

Tracy shook her head. “That’s… That’s just not what…”

“Are you girls just fixated on terrible ideas that get you killed?” Bentley astonished. “Is it a kink—a kink you all share, is that how you lot met--?”

“No… I… Better part of my sad, short life was trying to find a way out. A way out after tearing my family apart, all because that I thought I was making their lives better… I’m a terrible waste of everything. There was never redemption for me, and nor should there be. I was thinking… That crying and whining after ruining my life further—that being my ultimate punishment I deserved. No… It’s this. Making lives better as I lose mine. Figuratively or literally.”

“You’re right, Bent,” Gently nodded. “They’re masochists, straight up.”

Bentley wasn’t paying attention to either of them. He was digging into his brown bag, from some café.

He pulled out some croissant, holding it up, and pretends to put it under his nose, making a mustache.

All for the amusement for the little girl, as she laughed despite being so tired, despite her face drenched in tears. The sight was so alien, for Tracy.

He held the croissant up to the girl’s face, making her have the mustache, which continued to make her giggle in fits, before giving to her, as she nommed as Bentley fed her.

“Yeah yeah,” Bentley dismissed Tracy. “So after you get your pants, we’ll leave you be, get this girl looked at.”

“Noooot exactly…” Tracy winced.

Bentley looked at her, while still holding up the food for the child.

“Take me to Steppe Ave, before you do that,” Tracy asked. “That’s all I want. They’re doing something there…”

“You’re not going to stop it!” Gently shouted in disbelief.

“Of course… That’s why I’m going to be the human shield for the people that will.”

“Seriously woman—” Bentley sounded exasperated. “Not really into helping people march to their bloody deaths!”

“Who knows…?” Tracy shrugged. “Maybe my punishment and karma makes this life long…”

“At the rate you’re fucking going—” Gently spat.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to the sound of Harvey walking with a bag of his own, filled with some ruined clothing that looked familiar to Tracy, his hands and clothes covered in dust.

“h-hey—” the boy said. He walked up to the girl, but then backed up, but held the bag up soon after. “I didn’t—y’know, I didn’t do anything uh, I just got the pants and shirt, I swear—”

“Of course, I trust you…” Tracy smiled at him, knowing that he was sweating bullets and was so nervous.

As she took the bag, however…

“I—Heard all of that. I wanna say—you can’t die, because I wanna… Walk. You can’t die because I wanna walk with you, after all of this is over.”

Bentley’s expression was one of pure confusion, horror, and excitement, shifting as much as he could’ve with siVis. Chimney blinked while looking at both of his friends, while Gentley just stood there in silence.

Tracy? She… She just nodded.

“Yeah,” Tracy said, processing it. “That sounds nice.”

“There, because now it’s a promise,” Harvey stumbled and sounded like on the verge of dying. “You promised me. You can’t break a promise.”

“Of course…” she found herself smiling. “It’s a promise. Thank you.”

Harvey could only nod, to the nod that it was just his head bobbing per second.

“…This really must be it, boys—” Bentley looked about in shock. “This whole thing just got heavier, this shit is super real now—”

“Seriously,” Gently just said.

Harvey gave Chimney his strength back and thus was able to hold the girl without siVis support.

“Just give me a bit to change, boys…” Tracy looked towards the city. “I have work to finally do.”