Tessera

Claggor @ofzaunbrawn.bsky.social · 2y ago

“The rest of the saying is ‘satisfaction brought it back.’”

Claggor@ofzaunbrawn.bsky.social · 2y ago

𝕆𝕙 𝕟𝕠. 𝔾𝕠. 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗.

"At least," I confirm. It's clear that I had been concerned about doubles. Multiples definitely doesn't settle my nerves. "But you have something? A 'Z-Drive'? You can get us back then. I haven't done any of this type of multiverse travel before. I don't know how to get back."

' You're not from here either? ' He let out a loud groan, damn it. At least he wasn't the only one though. ' Great, so there's at least three of us running around? '

They're fighters. Soldiers. Warriors. I'm just a man.

"In my defense, she found me first."

' Why have all of myselves met my wife- '

"Is now a bad time to mention I've also met your wife...?"

"Yes, but..." There's no point in hiding the truth. This multiversal convergence throws a lot of rules out the window. "There's something you should know. This alternate reality you're in...I'm not from it either."

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑶𝑾𝑳 @theruthlessowl.bsky.social · 2y ago

He gave one quick nod, feeling the weird resonance between the two of them. That practically confirmed what he was thinking. ' And you're me. ' But from a better world. . . he thought, why did he draw the short straw with his timeline?

( evelyn. ) cough cough-

|| I guess I'm the "I Can't Help but Wonder" version.

𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐎 @theb0ysavi0ur.bsky.social · 2y ago

( evelyn. ) The inspiration for this character, oops.

Wow, that version of me is. . . Harsh.

I'm not battle torn at all. The only marks on my skin are from experiments gone awry. And even then, they're nothing compared to the aged wounds on the face I'm staring at now. "You're Ekko?" I know it's a dumb question. If the face isn't enough evidence, there's a strange resonance between us.

' You think I know? I was messing with my Z-Drive and it blew up on me. ' He huffed, rubbing his head over his mask. ' Now I'm here. ' How could this be him. . ? He looks so normal, less battle torn.

"How are all the other one's of me so... Am I fighter in every other universe?"

I can't help it. I flinch at the sight. I've met my other version. The one that belongs to this universe. At least I thought I did. Does this mean that there's another other version of me? "You're...you're..." I try to form a complete sentence. "How?"

He gave him one last glance up and down, before letting out a word in a low growl. ' Liar. ' He pulled off his mask to reveal a scarred face, glaring at him. ' You can't be me. '

Zaun's Royalty. The Boy Savior. And now, The Owl?

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at. The masked figure in front of me sounds familiar but their voice is muffled by the armor. This must be one of the Firelights of this universe? "I'm Ekko." I say, pretending to be my otherworldly counterpart: The Boy Savior.

Ekko looked his clone up and down. ' Who in the hell are you? '

Imagine if he said "was it you?" right here. That would have been insane. Right?

Post nicht verfügbar.

"Who else could be gone?"

Maybe I’m not so different in this world. Would I do the same thing if the roles were reversed? I’d like to think so. I chew the inside of my cheek and then take his hand. “You still go by Ekko?”

' I know. ' He smiled. Powder needed him, so he was more than happy to help. ' Then let's figure it out, dude. Two of the brightest brains in Zaun? We got this. ' He nodded, extending a hand for a handshake.

My hand closes around the hexgem in my pocket. The reality of the matter is that I’m out of my depth. Transdimensional travel had never been on my radar and is far out of my area of expertise. “I just want to go home, too.”

' It was rough. ' He rubbed the back of his head once more, thinking back to the hell they'd endured. ' But I made it back, helped save the world and saved her. . . That's all that matters. Let me help you too. ' He tilted his head to one side, smiling softly.

I wish his answer wasn’t as good. It’d have been easier if he said something infuriating. The anger in my chest deflates and I release it with my breath. “I met your…Jinx. She told me a bit of what you had to go through here. It sounded pretty bad. Not gonna lie to you.”

' Because. . . ' He thought. It was true, why did he come back? He wracked his brain for a moment. ' Seeing your world made me realise mine needs my help to make it better more than ever. Plus the Powder of my world, Jinx, she needed saving. . . I saw how she could be when people cared. '

// Other Ekko shows up to help. Immediately gets yelled at. Sorry 😓 //

I start pacing. I don’t know what else to do. I’m hoping that some of the angry heat will dissipate with each step. I try to tell myself it’s not his fault. That there’s no logic in being angry at him. I won’t lie. It’s hard as hell. “Then answer this: If my world was so great, why come back?”

𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐎 @theb0ysavi0ur.bsky.social · 2y ago

' No! I mean- ' He rubbed his head, this was a bad idea. He shouldn't have approached the other. ' Not on purpose. I was just myself. I was working tirelessly to get myself home, to give you your body back. And. . . you have the life I lost. An amazing world that I can never get back. '

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑶𝒀 𝑾𝑯𝑶 𝑩𝑹𝑶𝑲𝑬 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬.

“A month!” My voice raises uncontrollably. A month that I don’t remember. A month that I lost. “And you…you just pretended to be me?”

' About. . . a month, I guess? I didn't really keep track. ' He sighed, lowering his hands and looking off to the side with a frown. ' If you wanna hit me, go ahead. But I'm not the bad guy, I didn't mean for any of this. I just wanna help you get home, Powder deserves to have you back. '

“And you just accidentally took over my body?” I don’t even know how to grapple with this revelation. Even if I believed that it had been unintentional, how else could I react? I have no recollection of this at all. “How long? How long were you there?”

' Not by choice! Calm down! ' He waved his hands up as a surrender. He knew he could take him, but honestly. . . Ekko felt bad about this. ' I accidentally fell into your universe, it wasn't my decision. '

“You were /what/?” I must have misheard him. He must have misspoke. My fists clench and my jaw locks. “You took over my body?”

He let out a sigh, well, no going around it. ' I guess my travel was slightly different. I was in your body, I think. ' He shook his head, how much does he explain?

I catch the look. I guess there’s some benefit of knowing my own face. “Did you? Why? When? I think I would know if there was another me running around my universe.”

' I spent. . . A little time in your universe. ' He rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly, then looked off to the side. ' Look, I'm just offering you some help here. I've done it before, I can help you. '

“You know Powder?” I close my fingers around the gem and return it to my pocket. I can’t explain why but I feel…apprehensive? He’s me, after all, but technically not. Aside from maybe a few childhood memories, he’s lived a whole other life than me. He’s a different person.

He placed a hand on his hip, looking the other up and down, then staring at the hex crystal. ' Huh. Where'd you get that. . ? Well, short answer yes, but with a LOT of engineering genius as well. From both Powder and my mentor. '

I’m slightly taller than the other-me, but he definitely has more muscle mass. And more scars. “So I’ve heard. How did you manage that? With this?” I hold up the glowing hex gem.