Chapter Text
it had been months after the fateful battle between the long quiet and the shifting mound.
at the end, it was just the Hero, the Contrarian and the Decider, going back to the start of their journey, and leaving hand in hand with their princess.
now they settled in their house, but it was quiet. all of them, now remembering all of the events that took place in the construct, felt lonely. with just the three of them, it was unsettlingly empty in their head now.
not even the narrator there to bother them on the daily. contrarian rarely took control of the body, not even wanting to do things to spite the idea of an authority figure.
The Decider was more quiet than usual, wallowing in his silent grief in the princess' arms, who could feel the absence herself in their actions, well before they told her about it.
and the Hero… He kept the body alive. the other two were useless at the moment, he had to step up.
he cleaned, ate, preened. couldn't feel his own grief for favor of keeping their machine running smoothly.
it had been 175 days, 18 hours, 48 minuets, and a handful of seconds since they escaped from the construct. The Decider was keeping track, in the back of their mind and hero cooked.
him and the princess had found themselves in this small house, with everything they had needed to get themselves settled in for a life time of… well life. as if the universe had predicted their decision, and prepared ahead of time.
The Hero moved the knife, slicing lettuce, carrots, and a few other in season treats for a mid day meal. their princess, had gotten into gardening, despite the amount of farms around their small home, she grew things for them instead. lovingly made…
the thought caused a blade of sorrow to hit Hero's gut, the Decider crying silently.
|hey…| hero spoke to him, as they were so used to at this point. |it's going to be okay. it's usually just the two of us anyways, right?| his comforts landed on deaf ears. |the others were so much to deal with. they just made everything fuzzy and hard to do, you remember don't you? all of us yelling at you to pick a different choice|
again, his help was ignored.
so, hero gave up. the Decider was likely not even here anymore, as far back as he could be while still in the body.
Hero was tired, so tired of comforting everyone else, and not getting a lick of help back.
what did he do to deserve this? all he did was tried to do the best by everyone. He didn't try to stir trouble, or fight for no reason, or stab the others in the back. he was arguably the most helpful of all of them. and here he was, left to seethe and suffer, all so the others could wallow and leave the body to rot.
the knife slipped, cutting across their scaled hand, just barely slicing.
hero hissed, setting the knife down and putting pressure on the wound.
he missed the others. they would be so much better at this then him. Cold, or Stubborn could hold themselves together better. he just wanted to rest…
for five minuets…
|we're bleeding… i leave for a few moments and we are already hurt again… am not that important, am i?| a familiar flat toned voice faded in, causing hero's heart to skip a beat.
|Broken? is that really you?| hero stood up straighter, as if Broken was actually physically in front of them, and not just in their head.
|i believe it's me… though after everything we've been through how can i be sure…? how can any of us be sure…?|
|oh my god you have no idea how happy i am that you're back!| hero chirped, wings flapping excitedly |are any of the others with you, or…?|
|just me… i can see how much of a disappointment that is for you…|
the Hero paused, not meaning his words to come off like that. he was hopeful that The Broken wasn't the only voice to reappear, but he wasn't disappointed that it was Broken. |oh no, not at all! i wish the others came too but… I'm so happy you are here too, you have no idea how hard the others have taken losing all of you…|
|and you haven't taken it hard…?|
|i-…| hero paused |I'm doing better than the others are…| that, of course, was a lie. outside yes, he was doing better. he was taking care of the body and being productive but… on the inside…?
|I… can see that…| sarcasm as clear at he could make it.
|any way- how did you get here? we assumed you all would never come back. if anything we would have to… die again… and we weren't sure we would come back anymore, none of us wanted to risk it…|
|I know as much as you all do… i can tell you what i remember though… if that's what you want…?|
|please| hero nodded
Broken smirked, a rare change in his expression |well… one moment we were in front of that mirror… our host touched it… and then it was dark…| he paused, grasping at his memory |then… blindingly white… all the others were with me, chattering… it was like everything they had ever said, could have said, and never said, playing all at the same time… that lasted for a long while… and then it was dark again… maybe for half an hour…? and now I'm here… again… with you…|
Hero paused, putting Broken's timeline in with his own. |so… mirror, and then… that's when the decider was fighting the shifting mound…|
|what?|
broken was promptly ignored |you must have been part of the shifting mound like i had thought.|
|???|
|so then decider, contrarian and i when to the princess and left the cabin, and found ourselves here not too long after. but that was months ago. and all of that felt like an hour to you?|
|yes??? you realize I have almost no idea what you are talking about, right?|
|sorry! i just- I'm so excited that you are back! that means the others could come back too and- and we wouldn't have to feel…| hero paused, the word he wanted to use… might not be that nice to say…
|broken, anymore?|
|is that offensive to say?|
|not at all. i get what you mean| broken paused as well, taking this break to look around their new home. |i… found myself to miss you all as well... some more than others…| their eyes landed on their still bleeding hand, and Broken took it upon himself to wash it off and patch them up.
|who did you miss most?| hero found himself silently hoping broken would say him… but would understand if it wasn't… they did bump heads quiet a bit.
|i missed the narrator the least… is he still here…? i haven't heard from him yet…|
|no. and you are avoiding the question. I won't get upset, I promise|
|i… there is no winner for first place… so i cant say only once voice. i missed you all for different reasons… i never truly got to meet them, or… other reasons… i miss Cold, he understood me, even in our minimal interactions. same reason i miss Cheated… and Paranoid was always sweet to me…| Hero nodded, that all made since. Hero wasn't sure if there was any one voice he missed the most either… |i missed you too… a bit… you never fully wrote me off… even when i acted…| he searched for the right word |foolishly, around the princess…|
|its understandable| hero shrugged, ignoring the warm feeling in his chest when broken said that he missed him. him. out of all them. |it was a scary situation, and… she was very persuasive|
|i turned our lungs into pincushions.|
|Yeaaah….| hero scratched his neck |but hey, i forgive you. that's all that matters right? we are alive, and fine, and… water under the bridge and all that, right?|
… |right…|