When I finally open my eyes once more, all I see is darkness.
I do feel cold floor beneath me however, so I don't think I'm dead...
"You're finally awake?" An unfamiliar feminine voice says, surprising me.
I sit up suddenly and whack my head against something hard.
"Oh dear... Don't sit up so suddenly." She says.
I grip onto my head.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I ask, hoping my eyes will finally adjust to the darkness surrounding me.
"I am...you can call me R. As for where we are...I am unsure as well." She says.
"R? Like the letter?" I ask.
"Yes. Now if I may ask, what is your name?" R asks.
"I'm Scara. Scaramouche Shogun." I say.
Hey, I'm already trapped with Archons knows who, who cares if they know my real name?
Brown haired woman did.
Speaking of the two females from last night....(at least, I assume it was last night.)
"Do you know who captured me?" I ask.
"There names are Topaz and Akechi, brown and pink haired respectively." R says.
"Um, can you tell me your real name? Refering to you as 'R' is kinda hard." I say.
"You've never had to say my name yet. What do you mean referring?" R asks.
"Uh... internal monologue?" I try.
I hear R give a short laugh.
"You're funny. I like you. Ah, it's been so long since I've been able to be a part of human society. My name is R. Nice to formally meet you, Scaramouche Shogun, especially since you initially thought I was an enemy." R says.
Deja Vu runs through my body for a reason I don't know.
"Did that make you...feel anything?" R asks almost dreamily.
"Are you trying to flirt with me or some shit? Because I've got a boyfriend." I say.
And he's the best person in the entirety of the world, even above my brother and his husband.
"I didn't mean like that. After I said that sentence, how did you feel?" R asks.
"Intense Deja Vu. But what do you mean I initially thought you were an enemy?" I ask.
"You felt Deja Vu? Really? Then it is real!" R says excitedly.
"Context please?" I ask, beginning to feel overwhelmed.
In my defense I still can't see who I'm talking to.
I have no idea what R even looks like.
"Scaramouche Shogun...what do you think of time travel? Do you think it will ever be possible? Do you believe engineers and scientists will be able to create time machines?" R asks.
"Huh? Time travel is science fiction." I say.
"You are correct. That is because the past, the present, the future...they all exist at the same time." R says.
Wait a damn minute, this is starting to get interesting.
"Elaborate?" I ask.
"Think of a scenario like this... You own a cat. One day you let that cat out and it gets hit by a car and dies. You, engulfed by sadness and guilt that you could have saved it but didn't, you travel through time back to that morning and stop the cat from dying. Wouldn't that mean you never had a reason to go back to the past from the future in the present you created, meaning the past you also created would never have existed, meaning that cat would still be dead?" R asks.
"I think I'm starting to get that you mean, but can you explain that in more bark bark terms? I'm a bit dumb." I say.
"Okay. Imagine you buy a pack of Pokemon cards from Target. You open that pack to find no rare cards. The pack is a waste of money. You go back in time to before you bought the pack and instead buy the pack you could have bought. That would mean once you opened it and found a rare card, you never would have gone back in time. It's a paradox." R explains.
"But if you change the past, you change the future, right?" I ask.
"But what would happen to the future where you had the non-rare pack of cards? Would it cease to exist? Everyone in that future with their own wills... they and everything that had happened to them would cease to exist?" R asks.
I think for a moment.
"It would just go back though, right? It would never exist." I say.
"No. That is why that girl with the pink Post It notes says your brother will never return to you." R says grimly.
What?
WHAT?
"What?" I ask.
"He was sent back in time by that Kamisato boy to change something bad that happened in this present. When he returns... He will return only to an alternate reality. It is impossible to change any future, only to redirect yourself into another world, one where your problems are solved." R says.
My heart drops from my chest onto the floor and seeps through any cracks.
"How do I fix that?" I ask.
"What?" R asks, clearly taken aback.
"I refuse to lose my brother. How do I fix this? How do I bring him back to this... world?" I ask desperately.
"Scaramouche....only the gods have a slight chance at changing the future." R says.
"Then how do I become a god?" I ask.
I'll...I'll do anything to not be alone.
I'll do anything to get my brother back.
R stays silent for a moment before speaking up again.
"Surprise surprise, that's what Topaz and Akechi are planning to do with you." R says.
I stop for a moment.
"What?" I ask.
"The call it the 'God Creation Plan.' Apparently it was started by one of Topaz's students but she took it over. They were planning to use someone from your family but decided on you because you have a stronger mind than your brother." R says.
"That is true...I really don't care what other people do or say to me..." I mutter with a smile.
"That is a strength, but it can also be a weakness. It means those with exceptional manipulation powers can use you easily." R says.
"You make this sound like an anime." I mutter.
"However....there is another way to get your brother back." R says.
"Then tell me." I say.
"How familiar are you with Norse mythology?" R asks.
"Where is this going?" I ask.
"Answer me." R demands.
"I mean, I'm familiar with it, I guess." I say.
"Do you know what Yggdrasil is?" R asks.
"Do I know what what is?" I ask. "OH WAIT isn't that the tree? The world tree thing?"
"Correct. Now, in Teyvat we call it Irminsul. The holder of all knowledge and memories in all of Teyvat." R says. "Only through Irminsul will you have a slight chance to change the past. Since that Kamisato boy is from Inazuma and not Sumeru, he did not know about Irminsul and chose to use standard stereotypical time travel."
"What about that whole 'God Creation Plan' thingy? I mean, I'd like to become a god." I joke.
"No you do not. That kind of power would corrupt you no matter how strong willed you are." R says sternly.
"Damn, no faith in me. No one has faith in me, not you, not even my own boyfriend." I say, mock sadness ringing through my voice.
"Are you sure you should be dating that man then?" R asks.
A flash of anger runs through me but I push it down.
It's not her fault.
"That was a joke. He just didn't want me to go do something by myself because he thought I'd die." I say with a laugh.
"And yet you got kidnapped and get to listen to my conspiracy theories." R says.
"Oi, don't be mean. So, uh, are we just going to wait around until they come back or do something else?" I ask.
"I normally just wait until they come back. There isn't anything else to do." R says.
I frown and shakily stand up.
It's still pitch fucking black however, so I do it carefully.
"Scaramouche? What are you doing?" R asks.
"Just call me Scara. And I'm standing up. My legs are falling asleep." I say, stretching my arms.
"If you're trying to escape, don't bother. For one thing, to you it's so dark in here that you're basically blind, and for another, the only door can't be opened from the inside." R says.
"What makes you think I was going to try to escape? I don't have to follow the stereotypes, you know." I say.
"Because the ones you love are inaccessible to you at this time and I'm sure you desire to see them again." R says.
"Incorrect. It's been, like, one day. I'm not at the 'melodramatic heartbroken stage's quite yet. You see, I'm not as clingy as my twin brother. He can't be left alone for more than thirty minutes or he'll start to get nervous." I say.
"Is that so?" R says.
"Yeah. I have no idea why. Actually, even we were younger, our mother had to cut his hair really short because he'd chew on it whenever he got nervous and that kept giving him split ends. It just kinda kept after all these years." I say, motioning to my own longer hair.
"It is also good for differentiating between the two of you." R says.
"That's true. Although I'd say I tend to smile more." I admit.
"That really only helps for those who are observant, I guess?" R says.
"Yeah. So how long do I have to wait for my inevitable demise?" I ask.
"As long as they want." R responds.
"Vague. Hey, how come you're here?" I ask, sitting back down.
"They....don't like me." R says.
I catch the barely audible twinge of sadness in her voice.
"How long have you been here?" I ask.
"What year is it?" R asks.
"2182." I say.
"Oh my. That is.... it's been a long time, huh." R says.
"Can you see in this darkness?" I ask.
"I've been here so long that my eyes have adjusted." R explains.
"So you're a cat." I say.
"Basically." R says.
Suddenly, I hear the door to the room we're in open.
Oddly enough, no light shines in from the doorway.
I guess they keep it dark outside as well.
"Rise and shine, Scaramouche Shogun. Ready for today's 'fun'?" The brown haired woman from before, Topaz, asks.
"Wait, was I supposed to be asleep?" I ask.
Topaz grabs me roughly by the arm and pulls me to my feet.
"Ow! Hey! I can stand up on my own, thank you very much." I say. "And why the hell is it so dark in here?"
"I do not need you seeing her face. You have no business forming a coalition." Topaz says.
I'll assume she means R, since I can't see if she nodded to some other woman in this general area.
"I wasn't intending to. I don't even know what a coalition is." I say.
"It's an alliance." Topaz barks. "You need to accept that you'll never see any of your loved ones ever again."
"Damn, I kinda don't care. Just hurry up and do you terrible 'experiments' to me so I can go home." I say.
"No sense of defense on this kid at all, is there." Topaz says. "Oh well...."
".....if you insist."
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Kinda a short chapter today.
I bet all of you can guess who R really is.
If not then I'm a bit concerned lol
Today is my birthday (April 18th) and my present to you all is that I'm finally updating some of my stories 🥳
Yes, I am giving my readers a present rather than myself, but what are you going to do about it?
Okay bye
Thanks for reading
Until next update!
-Coin