"False, I need to tell Grian about Gem." Jimena said as they left Chromia after their weird llama therapy. False's hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel. "You don't have to come." Jimena said. "Grian just needs to know about this." "I thought you didn't trust him?" "I'm trusting him a little more, I guess." Jimena responded. "I don't want you to go." False said softly. "What if you're in trouble?"
"I think I can handle myself, False." Jimena huffed, crossing her arms, although she knew that False couldn't tell that she was doing it from the backseat. "Yeah, she can handle herself," False said, and then she frowned. "Not you too." She muttered. "The fact that there's two of you is getting kinda weird." Jimena commented. "Hey, I was always here; just suppressed in her subconsciousness."
"Well, False, you're overruled; I'm going to talk to Grian." Jimena said, unbuckling her seatbelt. There was a resounding screech as False slammed the brakes and everyone jumped in their seats. "Don't do that again." False warned. "Hey, you're the one who stopped the truck like that." Jimena grumbled, rubbing her head where it had hit the ceiling. "Well, I hope it teaches you a lesson about vehicle safety."
Jimena left the truck after promising False to stay safe and immediately fly away if anything bad happened. Then she flew to Hermitopia to go talk to Grian. She landed a while away and tried to get closer inconspicuously, just for False's sake. But apparently you can't really sneak up on hermits.
"What are you doing here?" Jimena whirled around to see Pearl there, looking like she'd been crying somewhat. Jimena wondered what happened. "I'm just here to talk to Grian..." She said as calmly as possible, backing away from Pearl. She had an ax in her hand and Jimena felt like it would be the wrong day to mess with her.
"Jimena?" Jimena turned again to see Grian there, for some reason trying to wrangle a rabbit. "Grian!" Jimena shouted in relief. "It's about Gem-" "If this is about how Gem is a Watcher then you're a little too late to warn me." Grian said grimly.
"Wait, what? You already know?"
"Yeah, Gemini accidentally transformed into her Watcher self and I saw her."
"Gemini? Oh, 1. What's she doing here anyway?"
"I have no idea."
"Wait, Grian, Pearl's here. And we're talking about Watchers."
"Pearl knows about me being a Watcher. I told the hermits. They also know you're a Watcher too."
"Oh. But couldn't you have asked me first?"
"Considering you almost killed me and my friends that one time at Cogsmeade I wasn't very inclined to keep secrets for you."
"...Fair point actually."
"Well, at least we're agreeing. Wait, how do you know Gem was a Watcher?"
"Me and False went to llama therapy and the llama therapist told us that she was."
"...What?"
"I am just now realizing how weird that sounded."
"Well, we're used to weird over here." Pearl said, as if she was trying to get along. Jimena turned back to her and shot an uneasy glance at her ax, which she still held as if ready to wield it. Pearl followed her eyes and immediately relaxed her grip on the weapon. "Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you unless you hurt us first, Watcher."
"You're from that evolution world, aren't you?" Jimena asked. "Sorry about 2." "It's in the past." Pearl said guardedly, watching her carefully. It was evident that she didn't fully trust the girl, if she even did at all. Jimena didn't harbor any ill will about that; in her opinion it was pretty deserved.
"Guys, what's she doing here?" Jimena glanced around to see who had spoken and came face-to-face with a short hermit who was wearing an extremely shiny glowstone cloak for some reason. It made her sensitive eyes hurt. "Uh, hi?" Jimena waved somewhat uncertainly, blinking at the glare.
"Be nice, Bdubs," Grian said as if talking to a small child. Bdubs, understanding his tone immediately, swelled instantly as if to make himself appear more threatening, but the effect instead made him look more cutely enraged more than anything else.
"How am I supposed to be nice if she's friends with the enemy?!" Bdubs protested. Immediately Jimena glared daggers at him and he backed down hurriedly. "False is a nice person." She said coldly. "It's you hermits who are on the wrong side."
"Let's just not get into a fight here," Pearl said evenly, pulling out her ax and holding it as a barrier between the two short people. "Okay, Bdubs, you're the one who says that False has a sad villain backstory, and Jimena, she killed innocent people just to get at our False, so there. It's just perspective."
"She did that as revenge." Jimena found herself saying, turning to Pearl and glaring at her. "And you think that it's justified?" Grian asked. "You don't know what hermit False did to her!" Jimena shouted. The other hermits hesitated slightly and Jimena caught it. She'd struck a nerve, a weak spot. "You don't like what she did either, do you?" She pointed out.
"I'm more worried about the fact that your False tried to kill me multiple times." Bdubs huffed angrily. "She was just trying to destroy the tower to keep us safe! You wouldn't have gotten into any trouble if you stayed away." Jimena said. "Our False was there and we weren't going to just let her die." Grian said suddenly, locking eyes with her.
Jimena paused, trying to think of a good comeback. Nothing came to mind. "Let's just simmer down a bit, 'kay?" Pearl tried again to smoothen out the tension. "Mellow out, you guys!" Everyone calmed down somewhat and stopped talking. Pearl sighed in apparent relief. But then she came. "What's going on?" False asked, walking in and then spotting Jimena.
They immediately tensed when they noticed each other, locking eyes. "Uh oh," Grian said quietly. "What are you doing here?" False asked, glaring at Jimena distrustfully and pulling out her sword. "I was just going to talk to Grian. It's nothing to do with you." Jimena said truthfully, somehow glancing at the blade while still glaring at the hermit.
"I don't buy that." False said darkly. She pushed the blade against the girl's throat. "She sent you here, didn't she? What's she doing?!" "False!" Grian yelped, rushing forwards. "Don't-" "You stay out of this, Grian!" False shouted, pushing him away while simultaneously knocking Jimena against a wall where she had nowhere left to run or fly.
"What's False up to?!" False asked her, pushing the sword in closer. "False, calm down-" Pearl said, moving towards her. The hermit ignored her and stared at Jimena in her eyes. She looked at her eyes' reflections in the hermit's blue ones, which interestingly seemed to make hers erratically flicker blues. "She's trying to have a normal life now." Jimena answered, gritting her teeth. "Without you around trying to kill her she'll finally be safe and happy."
"Me trying to kill her?! That's the other way around you-" False abruptly cut herself off. "Don't you know all the people she's killed just to hurt me?!" "I do." Jimena said sharply. "But I think you deserve it after what you did." Somehow False was able to glare at her even more dangerously than she already had.
"I deserve it, huh? Well, I'm not sure what you deserve for helping that clone of mine but it's nothing good, I can tell you that. But don't you even care about all those people she murdered?! Don't you?! Oh, right, you're a Watcher. Grian says your kind doesn't care about other people's lives, just about themselves." False said grimly. Jimena laughed a cold, high-pitched laugh that rattled everyone's nerves.
What's so funny? Why am I laughing? She idly wondered. She thought about what False had said. I do care about those poor people False's other personality murdered, don't I? But I care about False too. What do I say? Jimena was about to say something when she stopped. Her mouth just wouldn't open. It wasn't listening to her. Her body wasn't listening to her.
"Oh, so you finally accepted your fate, Xelqua?" She found herself saying to Grian, who narrowed his eyes at her and started to go pale. "You told them about the Watchers. And False," She added, mechanically turning her head to look at the hermit in her blue eyes again, "To answer your question, no. I don't care at all."
Jimena didn't mean to say any of it. She started to panic. What's happening? She tried to deny what she'd just said, but her mouth clamped shut. She wanted to look at Grian, to signal to him that something was wrong, but her head wouldn't turn. She couldn't even blink. Then she heard Grian's voice echo ominously. "Jimena... your eyes... they're blue."
Without meaning to, Jimena suddenly blasted False away with an eruption of purple. The hermit shot into the opposing wall and collapsed to the floor. "False!" Several hermits shrieked, drawing their weapons and glaring at Jimena. She cackled, spreading her wings and summoning more balls of violaceous energy, ready to fire.
Anxiously Jimena tried to stop, to do anything, but nothing was working. She could only watch as her body moved of its own accord and started to attack. "Guys!" Grian shrieked, pushing Bdubs out of the way of a magic blast. "Her eyes are blue! 2's possessing her!" Qiron's possessing me...? Jimena thought.
Suddenly Grian sprouted wings and his fists glowed crimson as he charged Jimena into a wall, winding her, but apparently her puppet body wasn't fazed in the slightest. It pried Grian away and knocked him to the floor, firing purple bolts at him while he was down.
Then Grian thrust his red hand onto Jimena's head, his magic pouring into her. Suddenly Jimena felt her body relinquish its control to her again and she fell to the floor, panicked and shaking. "Grian, I- I-" She mumbled, unable to say anything straight. Then she glanced up at the hermits, still holding weapons, panicked again, and flew out the window.
She made it to her house just in time for a migraine to strike and she curled up in bed, shivering in fear and tugging frantically at the sheets. She didn't even register the pain this time; she just zoned out of reality and disconnected from it entirely.
Then she realized she was in her mind again. And Qiron was there, messing around with her grayed-out memories. Again. <What are you doing here again?!> 2 demanded, flying up to her dangerously. Why are you always in my head?! Jimena retorted angrily. And why did you possess me?!
<Simple enough. I needed some chaos to feed on. You were currently starting up some nice tasty strife for me and I wanted to add a little cherry on top before Pearl diffused it. I hope you understand.> 2 said smugly. 'Hope I understand'?! Jimena shrieked in outrage. You just took over me! Just because you were hungry!
<You forget that I need energy to continue to use my powers.> Qiron glowered distastefully yet tolerantly at her. <I have been spending nearly all of it on some important matters and for some reason there are no wars between the empires. And that cat hasn't tagged anyone yet, the foolish incompetent creature. This is why she was only in Last Life. She doesn't give me enough of anything.>
What are you even doing? Jimena's gaze trailed to the gray memories, which were a sickly shade of blue now. What are you doing to my memories?! <You will not ask any more questions.> Qiron said warningly, but Jimena wasn't listening to him. She rushed to the memory that he'd been doing something to and then activated her powers on it.
A rush of forgotten memories about the Watchers flooded her head, but these were only half-true. The real experience was half washed in blue that tainted and painted the story in a good light. The way 2 wanted her to see it. Jimena left the torrent, gasping in realization. You're altering my memories!
<Yes.> Qiron said, not even bothering to deny it. <I don't want to fight you, Herodias. It's better to have you on my side.> So the memory of the Watcher meeting, Jimena thought, thinking quickly, Was that just to get me to distrust Grian and join your side? Grian was right the whole time?
<Correct.> 2 answered. <I can see that I wasn't fast enough to fix you, but no matter. I still have another card to play.> Whatever you're doing, I don't want to listen to you! Jimena shouted at him. I'm not on your side and I never will be! Get out of my head; stop doing whatever it is you're doing in this world!
Qiron sighed and opened his hand. A swirl of blue came out of it and began to construct something next to Jimena. She watched in astonished fascination as the blue magic made a familiar purple figure with twilight-tinted wings and a violaceous robe and mask. That's me in my Watcher form, Jimena suddenly recalled, tapping the figure on the shoulder.
The figure suddenly recoiled at her touch and spun around, grabbing her wrist with her much larger hand and glaring at her. Jimena squeaked in surprise and backed away hesitantly. Qiron sighed again and put his hand on the figure's shoulder restrainingly. He looked beseechingly at Jimena. <You may not be on my side,> He said, <But I'm on yours.>
And just like that, Jimena was back in her body and bed. But something felt... different. Her mind didn't seem... right. It felt sort of stuffy, like she was sharing the space with someone else. Like there was someone else in her head. Hello, Jimena. A thought came up suddenly, a thought that she hadn't thought of herself. I'm Herodias. I think we'll get along just fine.
---
Gem found herself waking up at the crack of dawn like she always did in the empire world. She looked at the rising sun. Why am I still doing this? My secret's out. Grian's probably told everyone by now anyway. I don't need to put up any facades anymore. She sighed and glanced around the colorful wooden bedroom. For a second she didn't know where she was but then she remembered.
Right, I spent the night at Scott's tavern because I was too busy crying to go home. He's not even charging me anything for it. What a good friend he is. Gem shapeshifted her clothing to something more comfortable. She wasn't elf Gem or Princess Gem anymore. With overalls, a green sweater, and a sunflower in her hair, she was almost Tay. But she still had red hair and green eyes. I'm not Tay anymore. But I can't be any of the Gems either.
She walked downstairs, already planning what to do for the day. She had to go see her friends, if she had any other than Scott left, to see if she could persuade any of them to still accept her. The odds of that were pretty low, but she still wanted to do something. It was in her nature to be always doing something, even when she didn't know what to do. But that would be after breakfast.
She nodded conversationally at Owen behind the counter as she sat down at a nearby table. For some reason the weird llama that was a therapist was also a bartender. But apparently even llamas could pour out drinks and serve them, albeit spitting in the cups every so often, but Gem found that she didn't care after a few bottles of Chromia's strongest alcohol.
Scott came in and greeted them both. "Are you okay, Gem?" He asked. "Why wouldn't I be?" Gem asked tiredly as Owen served her a steak. Who knew, maybe he'd even cooked it himself. She couldn't find the strength to wonder what else that weird llama could do. "Gem, you were drowning your centuries of sorrow in my drinks last night like the world was going to explode." Scott stated flatly.
Gem hummed nonchalantly as she cut into the steaming meat and forked it into her mouth, liking again how it burned her tongue. "Who knows, maybe it will. It happened a thousand years ago in this world, you know? And history repeats itself." Scott paused. "I didn't know that." He said. "Talk to Pix. He'll set the record straight." Gem said.
"Gem, are you sure you're feeling okay? Your secret is no longer a secret and I think you just got rid of my whole stock of whiskey." Scott said. "I'm a Watcher, Scott, did you expect a god-level being to not be able to hold her alcohol? But anyway, I'm even stronger than Joel, so there." Gem said abruptly, sawing into her steak a little more ferociously.
"Well, if you say you're okay..." Scott said slowly. Gem hummed pointedly and started to chew faster. "But I'm going with you. You might need some... emotional help." "Just because I cried last night-" Gem started, but Scott grabbed her arm. "I'm not abandoning you." He said, slowly and surely, and Gem nodded.
After breakfast they went to Sanctuary. Gem wanted to talk to her oldest friend in this world. "Sausage?" She called. "Yeah?" Sausage asked from right behind them, making them jump. "Wow, I snuck up on a Watcher and the thing that Scott is!" Sausage beamed proudly. "And both of you have strange eyesight."
"About me being a Watcher..." Gem started seriously, but Sausage looked at her in the eyes and she stopped. "Don't worry, Gem, I already knew about it the whole time!" "You what?" Gem blinked. "Did Owen tell you in llama therapy?" "No, I haven't been to llama therapy yet." Sausage said seriously. "But Bubbles told me. She's a multiversal being that transcends all reality so of course she knew a Watcher was here and informed me about it."
Gem and Scott eventually left Sanctuary and went to Tumble Town to talk to Jimmy. He was her next friend after Sausage and the one she was more worried about, because to be honest she half expected Sausage to just do something really weird, and he did. It was a relief, though. But what were the chances that all her friends stayed?
"Jimmy? Sheriff?" Gem asked hesitantly. Jimmy poked his head out of a barrel. "Get me out of here." He ordered, and Gem and Scott both managed to pull him out without laughing. "Thanks, and I know why you're here." He said when he was on solid ground again. "Grian told me." "I suspected as much." Gem sighed, twitching nervously.
"So you're the first one, huh?" Jimmy asked seriously, staring up at her. Gem nodded quietly. "It's a long story." Scott added. "Apparently everyone has a sad backstory these days." Jimmy blinked and glanced at Gem, who was furiously telling herself to keep her cool and not cry. "Gem-" He started, but she jerked away.
"Oh, you're going to leave, aren't you?" Gem said like she'd known all along. "Just like the rest of them. Never could stand what I really was." "...What?" Jimmy looked at Scott for context and he whispered something in his ear. Jimmy's eyes widened and he looked at Gem in a new light. "Gem, I wasn't going to leave you." He said veraciously. "Really?" Gem asked softly.
"No, you're my friend. And friendships last forever. They should, anyway. And besides, I'm somehow friends or something like that with grand architect False, so might as well be buddies with the Watcher along with the serial killer." Gem and Scott both nodded uncertainly. Then Scott started to sing in his thick accent.
"You've got a friend in me..." He sang, and Jimmy's eyes would've popped out of their sockets, except that toys didn't have them. "No, don't you dare," He warned, but Scott kept going. "You've got a friend in me..." Scott grinned with glee. "Scott!" Jimmy yowled. Gem couldn't help it. Even though she knew it would most likely turn the sheriff against her, she really couldn't help it. She laughed.