Echoes of Timelines Past

Zora rarely delved into the Ultra-Wormholes after what she had seen within.

Her mind had shattered and she had been plagued with horrific nightmares. She was afraid to go near them, but now Kris’s Lunala insisted that she go in to find a Solgaleo that had been taken and entrapped. She left the three children with the man who she now called boyfriend, and set forth with dread in her heart.

Getting near the wormholes caused her peripheral vision to fill with the cracks of the universe. She fought people she loved, felt the burn of irradiation, the humiliation of being thrown out of her home. The void twisted around her heart again, but this time, she felt able to harness it. It couldn’t break her again, it was hers to command.

Within minutes, Zora and the beast who calls the moon were light years away from home, following the power of the sun. They came to a stop in a wilderness, the scent of freshwater carrying on a brisk breeze.

The Lunala drifted toward a boulder, where a shattered Beast Ball lay in pieces. The capture mechanism was broken, forever trapping whatever had been within. The tremendous bat shifted forms slowly, not seeming to care whether he could be seen, into a man that was tall and gangly, with graying hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“We can fix it.” Zora mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“Brother...” The man shook his head, picking up the pieces. “I bloody well hope you’re right.”

“It’s not damaged beyond repair. I know someone...”

“Very well… you must never tell my son what you’ve seen. About me.”

“… There’s no need to. He can find out on his own. We need to find out who did this...” She rubbed her eyes again. “Fuck...”

“You didn’t need to come with.”

“No… what if you got into trouble? They’d notice, you know… the visions are really bad out here.”

“Perhaps we should--” The man jumped backward as Zora fell backward, clutching her eyes.

“AUGH- it- it broke something broke--”

“Love!”

“Shattered it broke it’s broken destroyed--”

“Love, come now. I’m here. You’re here. Nothing’s broken.”

“It’s coming it’s coming ITS COMING-”

A loud, terrible snapping noise came from the direction of the Ultra Wormhole. Pulling themselves through, of their own volition no less, was a woman in a bright purple dress, draped in scarves that flashed with light in every color. At her back, a blade bigger than she was. As she stood to full height again, her form and figure was unmistakable.

This was Zora, but at the same time, it wasn’t. Her hair was messy and disheveled, and her hands looked caked in a strange black ichor. She radiated a power distinct and terrible. She turned around to face them, and blood ran down her face in streaks from a pair of eye sockets containing nothing within, merely a flickering light somewhere deep inside.

The original Zora trembled in her presence. “She- I- She- she comes- I-”

The man stood in front of the charge he brought with him, fearless. “State your business.”

“… I have no business with you.” The visitor’s voice was rough and angry, but almost quiet. She sounded tired, above anything else. “Let me see her. The Broken One.”

“I can’t let you-” The man felt himself pushed aside effortlessly by the air itself.

“I said, let me see her.” The visitor kneeled down. “… Hey, kiddo.”

“W-what do you want WHAT DO YOU WANT-- if you’re here to kill me just- just do it.”

“I don’t know what you’re seeing right now, but the me in the here and now is done with that. I’m done with my revenge boner. I already found out that everyone’s still alive. You, you’re lucky that you never thought you lost them. You’re lucky your Anya never went crazy.”

“Wh-”

“Shhh. Quiet now. My days are numbered now. I just had one thing to do before Jackdaw and I fix our timeline for good. You aren’t the only one who sees beyond. How do you think I knew you were here?”

“But-”

“Shhh...” The visitor papped her face. “Never take what you have for granted. The void reached out to you across the multiverse. You have a power no one else from your world has. Take it, and harness it. You’re gonna need it. The timelines are fraying here.” From her back, she took the tremendous blade and laid it on the ground before them. “You’ll want this for what’s ahead. By the time you know of me again… nothingness will be waiting for me. My battles against the multiverse are done. Yours are just beginning.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The one who did this is drifting in Ultra Space. His echoes across the worlds are just as bad as I was. I have to fix what my session started in order to protect the timeline. I’m no hero. I’m the opposite. But you… you’ve saved them all so many times… that’s why I leave my blade to you. I don’t need it anymore. You can still save him.”

Before Zora could replay again, the visitor stood up, and left through the same Wormhole she had entered from.

And even in her mind’s eye, there was silence.