For having only turned fourteen a short time earlier, Dakota Coalbright had been through a lot in her rather young life. It had started with having herself and the rest of her family controlled by an evil monster plant (okay at this point she was pretty sure it was more like evil bacteria controlling the plant, but still) into killing one another, leaving then-nine-year-old Dakota the only survivor. From there she’d spent years in a mental hospital, escaping after hearing that evil voice in her head once again, in a desperate attempt to save others from the same situation she had gone through. From there, she had eventually been taken in by the rebels from Eden’s Garden. Her powers, powers she had gained thanks to her deep connection with Kwur the evil plant, allowed her to help their special vines grow and bear fruit so they could create new Boscher Heretics. Those same powers she had spent so long trying to ignore, being disgusted and horrified by given their source.
And yet, she couldn’t ignore them forever. They were part of her. And they weren’t evil, just like she wasn’t. Both she and those powers had been used to do evil things. But they could also be used to do good. She wanted to use them to do good. She could help plants grow and move, she could talk to them. They weren’t evil.
Kwur was evil. He was still out there somewhere. And now the Reapers wanted to talk to her about something. But only after they consulted one another extensively. What? What had they seen inside her? What did they want to discuss? Was she evil after all? Was there something irredeemable inside her that could come out? Did they want to tell her she was broken, right when she had just begun to believe things could be okay? Damn it, why did they have to bring it up and make her wait for answers?!
Dakota might have spent much longer obsessing over that question. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how she looked at it), a very effective distraction had presented itself. Eight portals apparently leading to eight separate Reaper Archives which the Prime Archives and the Solemn Ones had completely lost contact with.
“Okay, wait, wait wait!” Casey was shaking her head rapidly as she looked back and forth between the portals and Jones, that pink-haired Reaper woman whom she had apparently Bonded with (in more than one way). “Those guys, the Reaper leaders, can’t contact these Archives, and they want us to just sort of waltz in there and check on things? They’re all a lot stronger than we are, so why don’t they just do it themselves? Or send an army of Reapers to do it. I mean, not that I’m scared to do something dangerous, but anything that could cut off a Reaper so they can’t contact their leaders seems like– you know, walking in on it might be a bad idea.”
“She’s got a point,” the green-skinned, golden-eyed Aspect known as Crow put in. “What exactly are we gonna be able to do that the Reapers themselves couldn’t?”
Aureus, standing straight and tall, cleared her throat while looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I hesitate to agree with those two, but we are all woefully inadequate to stand against anything that could pose a threat to multiple Reapers. And while I do not wish to refuse any of their requests, I must at least question why they think I–or any of you–would be useful.” Her tone had become very formal, that and the queasiness in her expression making it clear just how uncomfortable she felt simply at the very idea of believing the Reapers could possibly be mistaken about anything.
Dakota found herself nodding rapidly. “It’s not like we have some super-special powers they don’t have any access to. They’re Reapers, don’t they have, like, every power?”
Austin raised a hand. “Let me guess, they’re afraid that anything that could cut off the other Reapers out in those Archives might be prepared for anything they could do. But it might not be ready for people who aren’t Reapers. In which case… uhh, are you sure you should go?” He directed that toward Jones. “Sure, you’re a different sort of Reaper, but still. Seems like anything that could be dangerous for them would be dangerous for you too. Though it also seems like it would be dangerous for anything less than a Reaper. And I’m feeling pretty less right now.”
Jones shook her head. “Well first, you shouldn’t, you’re amazing. You all are, every single one of you. That said, yes anything that could be a threat to a Reaper would stampede over all of you like ants on a sidewalk. But here’s the thing, apparently it is safe for us to go. You’re right, the Solemn Ones have basically every power. That includes a lot of different types of danger senses. When they think about sending anyone else in, all those danger senses send up every alert they can. But when they think about sending us in, it’s… I mean, not perfect. But a hell of a lot less dangerous. No total apocalypse alarms, anyway. We can go inside because their powers tell them it’s better if we do. And no, they have no idea why. Or if they do, they aren’t telling me. Which is just as likely.” With that, she offered them a bright smile. “The point is, you should worry a little bit, but not so much that it cripples you. Anyone who wants to stay here, that’s totally fine. I’m gonna take a peek and see what’s going on.”
“I’m going too,” Denny quickly put in. “The others are out there. If they’re in trouble, then I’m gonna help them. They’re family.” Her words were echoed by Austin, Crow, and Flak, the rest of the present Aspects. None of them were going to leave the lost members of their Carnival behind, no matter how apprehensive they might be.
Before she really thought too hard about it, Dakota agreed, “Me too.” She knew what it was like to be alone and cut off from people. Besides, as much as she wanted to get answers about what the Solemn Ones had seen in her, she really didn’t want to stay behind without the others. Not in this place. Looking around and seeing all the rapidly transforming hologram-like people in this jumbled-up city full of random buildings was too disturbing. Maybe it was fine and there was nothing wrong with them, but it just felt bad to her. She didn’t want to be alone with them and the regular Reapers.
“I guess we’re all going,” Tristan murmured, glancing first over at Dakota, then to Aureus to ask, “That is, if you’re interested in seeing these smaller Archives.”
The Seosten girl gave him a dark look. “As though I would allow you to go without me. The honored one deserves true escort.” Her eyes had shifted over to look at Jones. There was still a deep sense of awe coming off her whenever she saw the woman, even if it had also been joined by a bit of confusion over how strange and different Jones was compared to other Reapers. “If she is going through, so am I.” She had already drawn herself up to her full height, golden-blonde hair shining with the way the nearby lights from one of the alien buildings were reflecting off it. The effect almost seemed to make the girl herself glow with some sort of inner power. Dakota couldn’t help but be impressed. Even after the effect was somewhat spoiled when she saw the bronze coin in the girl’s cupped palm that appeared to have been enchanted to draw the nearby light and create that effect intentionally.
Okay, to be fair, in a way, knowing that girl had actually enchanted the coin to draw nearby light to her just for effect like that was even more impressive than if it had been a coincidence. She really did have a sense of style and flair.
But, with that, it was settled. They were all going through to check on those private Archives. There was some discussion about whether it would be better to use as many of the portals as possible at the same time, but that was quickly dismissed. They all felt like separating was a bad idea. Dakota was relieved about that. Determined as she was to help, she definitely didn’t want to split up. She’d already lived through and been a part of enough horror movies without adding that particular trope.
That, of course, made her briefly think about her family and that dreaded night. It was a night she always kept shoved far down in her memories, locked in a metaphorical box. But every now and then, it managed to creep out and send stabbing pain up through her stomach before passing over her rapidly-beating heart and transforming into bile in her throat. She saw the bodies of her family cross her mental vision, their eyes wide and terrified with accusations. She survived, why didn’t they? Why did she deserve to live? Why should she be here now? She should die like them. She didn’t deserve any of this. She didn’t deserve– With effort, Dakota shoved those memories and thoughts back down. Her fists clenched tightly. She almost didn’t notice Jones moving until the woman was in front of her. When she looked up, the Reaper met her gaze with gentle eyes. “This place holds so many ancient memories,” she softly noted, “it has a way of bringing powerful ones to the surface. Are you okay?”
Dakota saw the way the others were looking at her, with those same gentle and worried expressions. Even Aureus didn’t look judgmental or angry about the delay. Sure, her expression wasn’t nearly as welcoming and understanding as the others, but she didn’t seem to be condemning or dismissing her either, which was different. It was almost like she knew what it was like to have horrific memories creep up on you like that. Which, considering what she’d been told about Kushiel and her–no, she couldn’t focus on that. Taking a deep breath, she gave a slow nod. “Not really,” she answered truthfully. “But I will be. At least, good enough. I can do this, I promise. I want to help.”
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And then she would come back here and find out what those Solemn Ones wanted to tell her. Maybe that, the prospect of coming back and hearing what they had found when they looked so deeply into her soul, was what was worrying her so much.
“Here.” From out of nowhere, Jones produced a small action figure, green with orange pads and bandana. “You know Michelangelo? Sometimes I think he’s the bravest turtle. He just wants to have fun and hang out with his family and friends, but he goes with them to help fight. He protects the people he cares about, even when it’s hard for him. He might not be the strongest, the smartest, or the most tactical, but I think he’s the most important when it comes to making sure they all remember who they really are. Could you hold onto him for me?”
With slightly weak fingers, Dakota accepted the action figure, swallowing as she gripped it tightly. Her throat had closed up, making it hard to find her voice.
“Which portal do we choose?” That was Austin. From the tone of his voice and the look he had given her just before deliberately stepping over that way to start gesturing, Dakota was pretty sure he was intentionally diverting focus away from her so she could take a moment to collect herself without everyone staring. “Are any of them giving off any sort of vibe for you people? You know, the Reaper-adjacent ones. Do we go in order from left to right, right to left, choose eenie meenie miney moe?” He offered a shrug while pivoting on his heel to look back at them. “Anything?”
Casey was the one who replied, taking a step that way to stand next to him while examining the portals for herself. “They all look the same to me. I think we should just go in order, left to right.”
No one else had any objections, so they all moved to the first portal. After exchanging brief looks and encouragement to be careful, no matter what they saw, they started through. Jones was first, followed shortly by Casey. Aureus was next, then Tristan, Bang-bang, Flak, Denny, Austin, then Crow, and finally Dakota brought up the rear. Just before going through the portal, she glanced over her shoulder at the tower where the Solemn Ones were and murmured a soft, “I’ll be back after we find the others, and you better tell me what you found out.”
Ignoring the hammering in her heart, she stepped through the glowing portal, bracing herself for whatever could possibly be on the other side.
And yet, no matter how much she had tried to prepare herself for anything, Dakota couldn’t have expected what she immediately saw as soon as the light from the portal faded. She was underwater. Deep, deep underwater. So deep the pressure was immediately painful, the darkness around her suffocating. She felt herself dying, felt the cold, dark water seep into her lungs. The surface was so far away, miles it felt like. Nothing was nearby save for the oppressively punishing water. She couldn’t swim, she couldn’t move. She could do nothing but float there in that water, accomplishing nothing more with her life. She would die here like this. She would die and no one would miss her. No one would even notice she was gone. She was insignificant, a worthless, broken little thing. She was nothing more than a gnat. Dying here, failing, being swept away and crushed, was the most she could possibly expect out of her life. And why should it be any other way? She had helped kill her family. She murdered them, the people she loved. She didn’t deserve anything better than this. She deserved worse, so much worse. Just let go. Just fall away and let herself be–
A sharp pain went through her fingers, from the force of her grip on… on something… on a toy. Michelangelo. She was holding Michelangelo.
No!
It wasn’t her fault. What happened to her family wasn’t her fault. She was a child, a child with absolutely no magical protection, no training, nothing. She had been controlled by a power so much stronger than her. She could no more have controlled her own actions on that night than a puppet could control itself when a man lifted its strings. She couldn’t save them, couldn’t stop them.
But she wasn’t helpless now. She wasn’t. She wouldn’t let herself be. There was nothing right here but water, and yet she wasn’t limited to what was right here. This might be the bottom of the ocean, or near to it (and she wasn’t ready to examine why she hadn’t already died, to be honest), but there were plants everywhere. She just had to reach far enough, just had to try harder.
Lungs screaming, legs kicking as she was held in some sort of invisible grip, Dakota stretched her senses out as far as she could. Nothing, nothing, there was noth–there! She felt a cluster of plants on some sort of rocky outcropping. Her power enveloped them, stretched around them. She pushed that gift, and it was a gift no matter its source, into those plants. Which allowed her to feel more of them nearby. And even more slightly further off. Her power extended through them all, through every plant she could sense.
It was like her eyes had been opened for the first time. She could see through her plants, could see the others. They were all down here, all of them held like this. Not just those she had come in with, but the other Aspects as well, the missing ones. They were all here, all held in this underwater trap. And it felt like something was draining them, pulling the life force from each and every one of them even as it kept them alive long enough to do so. Dakota could feel it herself. She felt not only the crushing weight of the water surrounding her, but something else, something ancient and terrible squeezing her like an orange. It was trying to wring every bit of power, everything that made her who she was, out of her soon-to-be-lifeless body.
How were they being held like this? How had they all ended up here? Why hadn’t the Solemn Ones known what would happen and warned them? None of those questions mattered in that moment. The only thing that truly mattered was not dying, not allowing any of them to die.
With effort, Dakota pushed more of her power into those plants. Not only to see through them, but to make them grow. They exploded outward, the power she had shoved into them magnifying their size several dozen times over instantly. The first plant slammed into the girl herself, wrapping itself around her and growing even more. She shaped it into a cocoon surrounding her, forcing the water to drain out the sides instantly to leave her within a small, safe area where she could suddenly take a deep breath.
All around her, stretching off into the distance, Dakota caught the rest of their group and the missing Aspects with more plant cocoons. Then, once they were safely held within them, she pushed even harder. The plants grew more, the vines extending, pushing up, up, up. They rose through the water, heading for the surface.
Through it all, Dakota could feel something trying to drag them back down. It was angry, terribly furious. But she didn’t let up. Even when it dragged at the vines, even when it tried to rip them back down, she kept pushing. She could feel something even worse trying to tear her plant cocoons apart. But she also felt something protecting them.
Jones. It was Jones. She was using some sort of power to fight off whatever was trying to break the plants. And… and protecting them from the effect of rising too quickly out of the ocean. Dakota wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she did. It meant she didn’t have to slow down or stop now and then while pushing them upward. She could just keep going.
So she did. Bit by bit, foot by foot, she pushed the plants all the way up to the surface. Finally, they broke through the last of the water and into open air. Dakota let the plants open, like bulbs flowering. The cocoons became a single platform of leaves and vines on the surface of what turned out to indeed be Earth’s ocean.
Everyone was coughing, sputtering, looking around wildly. When the Carnival Aspects saw each other, they rushed over the makeshift surface of cocoons to embrace. And as they did, each vanished into one another. Just like that, Austin, Flak, Bang-bang, Crow, Walker, Tucker, Tailor, Flock, Letters, Feisty, and Rocky were absorbed back into Denny. They had been separate for a moment, only to become one body again as they embraced in a huddle.
“What–what?” Denny spun in a circle once she was a single body again, seeming to take that in. “What happened? Where are we? Why aren’t we in one of the Archives? Where–what? Letters and the others, they said they just… they just appeared underwater like that. We showed up right after they did. How did… what?”
Coughing violently and spitting up water, Aureus growled out, “That… thing was connected to their Archives. It took the Reapers first. It was still digesting them, that’s why we were able to escape. They were its meal. We were a snack.” Her gaze twisted, searching out Dakota until she found her, adding a soft, “… thank you. I couldn’t… I was unable to teleport down there.”
“But what–what was it?” Denny managed to stammer out. No, not Denny. Her body had shifted form to look like Letters. “We couldn’t move, we couldn’t do anything. It would’ve killed us if you hadn’t…” She swallowed and repeated, “What was it?”
“Lotan.” That was Dakota herself, voice soft as she looked down at the water beneath their feet. “It was Lotan, wasn’t it?” She named the eldritch monster trapped deep beneath the ocean, the one responsible for creating the Nuckelavee.
Jones’ voice was quiet. “Yes. Yes, that’s precisely what it was. But that raises more questions. First, how in the hell did it reach into the Reaper Archives and grab eight full-grown Re–wait.” Her head turned a bit as though she was listening to something. Then she paled. “Oh… those indescribably imbecilic, cretinous, shit-brained, drawlatch jobbernowl, lobcocks!”
In that moment, she clearly realized everyone was staring at her, and blanched. “Sorry, it’s…” Exhaling long and slow, Jones took a second to collect herself before speaking tightly. “So, it turns out that what happened back there is that someone accidentally made a few tiny pinprick holes in the Prime Archives. Enough to end up linking your Carnival grounds there, but in the process a few of you were sucked through and into the other affected Archives. To put it simply, something made a hole from regular space into those other Archives, then carried on into your Archive. The Reapers who were in those individual Archives were sucked out through the opening, like someone being yanked through the hole of a spaceship. Your Aspects were pulled through from your Carnival, through those other Archives, and out into the regular world. Specifically, into the ocean.”
“Was it the–the thing down there?” Dakota stammered nervously. “Was it Lotan?”
“No, it just took advantage of the situation and grabbed them while it could,” Jones informed her before narrowing her eyes. “The reality is much stupider than that. Apparently someone at Crossroads has been playing with some very old, mostly-forgotten teleportation magic. Magic that punches holes through universes. And if someone doesn’t stop them from trying that again, the Solemn Ones will do it for us.
“By wiping this planet out of existence.”