ok actually wait before i go to bed my brain just threw some stuff around suddenly
what would happen in the normal AITRPFT Au if Nova had ended up being found by and staying with Nightmare?
He's probably a bit less of a Dream fanboy, for starters. Considering Nightmare raised him, he probably knows the ins and outs of JR and that it is not good for his precious papa.
On top of that, he's probably both sneakier and more mischievous. He goes from one or two pranks a week to near-constantly having one shenanigan or another going.
I want to say learns to control his illusions faster more out of necessity than for fun like in the original.
Maybe when he's not on the run, he can still go hang out at the theater club with Ruby (discreetly)
I’m spinning my guys (the clones) in Sunfall… I know we already threw Parchment and Tune at it, but now I’m spinning the others who the originals probably have never met.
Also they may not want to be part of this, but there’s a nonzero chance Emmy and Clip might get chased by the Maelstrom. I’m sure Clip is having a blast. (Sarcasm)
Plus if you mess with one or two clones, you get the whole pack en route to kick your ass. The clones will make the Maelstrom go down if it’s the last thing they do.
Emmy might not want to fight unless she has no choice, and Virus might not be very experienced in fighting, but they can probably find ways to help outside of it somehow.
First thought is Emmy and Clip hearing about (Guardian) Nova going off on his own and being like "well. fuck. that kid's going to get himself in DEEP shit. maybe we should go help him" and track him down and refuse to leave. he can't shake them. But Emmy insists that sticking with him and trying to keep him safe isn't that much dangerous that them going their separate ways (not true; emmy and clip's auras are way way weaker than his and they both know it), and they both know how to fight, so... maybe its okay?
Regardless of how much they want to fight, Emmy and Clip can still defend themselves and get each other and Nova to safety. And Nova will be trying to avoid trouble anyways, so mostly the other two would just be helping him keep an eye out for beasts and reporting back to the others periodically.
probably for the best if emmy tries to keep Nova safe though. Orion, Temp, and Glaze are trouble enough already. do NOT add more reckless idiots to the mix (i say, as if it's not too late because tune's already there)
Random question: how exactly did Nova find out Dream was his dad?
sO funny story actually! he and Mal got kidnapped! 😁
Long version:
Someone else who does not like JR figured it out first, and kidnapped Nova and Mal as an attempt at bargaining.
Blue, in a panic, calls Dream. Because while he has limited interaction with Dream while raising the kids to prevent associations that would lead people to making exactly this realization, he knows this isn't something he can handle himself.
somewhere before this, positive Nightmare ending happened, so the Parental Units is sort of just figuring out their issues in JR. Dream and Ink have not mentioned Mal and Nova, because this is a lot to lay on Nightmare and Error and they're waiting for a good time.
...the kids getting kidnapped was not a situation they were hoping for (quite the opposite) but since they're immediately on the situation (Dream a little more urgently because children in danger, not that Ink doesn't care, she's just calmer on the outside/not as attached to her kid at this time) and are far more interested than they should be in two "random" kids, they have to explain.
Aaaannnnddd then all four parents team up to kick the kidnappers' asses and retrieve their children.
Once the kids are safe and the kidnappers are dealt with, the bio parents + Blue have a quick discussion and decide that the kids are old enough to know, and at this point it might be more dangerous to keep it secret. After all, they've been kidnapped once and their immediate response to the situation/seeing the kids and their parents together is probably going to make the relation clear.
Once Nova recovers from the panic of "holy shit we got kidnapped and might die," he's ecstatic to meet Dream in person. Him!! Nova's idol! He's so cool!!
...WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S HIS BIO DAD- (shock/excitement)
(And Nightmare's here too. but sorry dude Nova is more excited to meet Dream than you)
And then there's Mal and their moms. Mal has no mental energy to deal with new people. They proceed to leave as soon as they're allowed and don't contact their moms for a few days while they process/recover. Which, fair. Error can probably get most of the details from Ink in the meantime.
Something feels wrong. I felt it when we first got onto the shuttle, but I kept my worries to myself. Clip was already shaking so hard that Emmy had to secure his harness for him, and even though she was acting as confident as ever, we knew each other well enough that every one of us was well aware Emmy was as freaked out as the rest of us; she just didn't show it because no one wanted to call attention to the pilots' nerves
Because a few short months ago, JR sent two shuttles down to the surface of Genesis III— shuttles that were sabotaged, or so the news said. I'm not sure what to believe, when the ships both carried dangerous criminals that claimed to have changed their tune. After everything the new CEO had gone through to pull himself to that position, I could imagine him wanting to make sure they didn't take revenge or try to take back JR. And the civilians… well, the last CEO had made it clear what JR thought of civilian casualties when he'd left Genesis III as a wasteland and given people a week to travel to twenty evacuation ships before they left permanently.
I'd seen pictures of the planet before the harvest; our genetic donors (I knew none of us wanted to call them our parents) had drilled the reason why we were made into us countless times. Beautiful, green, with brilliantly blue oceans. Looking at the viewscreens in front of me, a broken planet stared back. Coated in shades of brown and gray that looked completely unnatural. Even the oceans were a dull, off color that made me think of disease. I could feel my friends— the other clones— shifting in their seats behind us, hear Clip's frantic gasps for air, Xenon's muttered reassurances.
My stomach— and possibly every other organ in my body— lurched into my throat when we started decelerating. I heard Clip squeak in fear. We'd trained for this, been drilled on what to expect, but knowing this was it somehow made it worse. We were either going to be the first successful landing on Genesis III after the harvest, or we were going to become another scorched patch of debris, another scar among thousands to this world.
For long minutes, Emmy and I were completely focused, working in tandem to monitor the ship's descent. We had a landing location already marked, recommended by JR when they approved our landing and triple-checked by our donors. JR had offered to give us a functioning shuttle left over from their own reclamation project. Our donors had refused.
A sharp jolt startles me from my thoughts. Emmy is carefully running her hands over the dozens of buttons in front of her, eyes darting between readouts. "We're down," she says, glancing at me with a quick smile; the sort of smile that says she's won whatever game she's playing.
This is it. No going back. Now that we're down, we're considered a part of the quarantine. The only way out is to fix the environment, which as far as we know has been completely destroyed. No biggie. Definitely not terrifying at all.
Tune unstraps as soon as it's clear the shuttle is completely stopped. "We lived!" She whoops, pumping her fist in the air.
I unstrap myself and turn just in time to catch a high-five from her, as she proceeds to pester every one of the others to smack her hand; Cherrie and Virus both return the gesture, along with Emmy. Xenon holds up his hand, but his focus is completely on Clip, who's doubled over and sucking in sharp breaths. Making my way over, I tap Xenon's shoulder to get his attention. "Is he okay?"
Xenon shrugs. "Just motion sickness. He's going to be fine."
Nodding quickly, I turn to Cherrie. The shuttle's cockpit, like the rest of it, is made to be as compact and light as possible, which means I barely have to move to be at their side. "You alright?" I ask. Cherrie was the last of the cloning batch that made me and Tune; even when humanity has mastered the stars, risk-free cloning has still evaded us. Dozens of clones across our whole project were rejected for one reason or another; the ones that were rejected before full-term were terminated, but the handful that made it to full life with us were given away to families who loved them.
I wonder if that would have been better, sometimes.
Cherrie, oblivious to my thoughts, grins. "Yup!" They offer me a thumbs-up, freeing themselves from their straps and stretching. "All good!"
Looking around, the whole group seems in good health. Even Clip is slowly lifting his head, still looking vaguely ill, but without the immediate threat of vomit. Xenon apparently decides this is good enough, because he starts checking up on everyone else.
Emmy appears at Virus' side, gently removing their straps and pulling them up into her arms with a flourishing spin. With a laugh at the gesture, Virus stands on tiptoe to peck her on the cheek. "Nice flying," I hear them whisper.
"I like to think so," Emmy says, clearly preening under her partner's praise.
My lips quirk up into a small smile, watching my crew mingle and congratulate each other. Just as quickly, it's gone with the reminder that we have so much to do, and so little time. The shuttle is designed to have everything we need to get started, but it's all we have. Turning away from the minor celebrations throughout the cockpit, I stride towards the door to the hold. Xenon appears at my side, and when I raise an eyebrow he mirrors the motion.
"What do you want?"
"To check on my supplies," he says, as if it should be obvious. "You know what you're looking at, but I want to make sure for myself that it's all secure."
I concede with a shrug, tapping out the code to unlock the hold. The door slides open with a loud creak; it was shocking our donors had managed to find a landing shuttle for as cheap as they had, until we realized she was basically a glorified heap of scrap metal; but when you had some of the brightest minds left from Genesis III collaborating on a project, they tended to make it work. The shuttle wasn't pretty, but she got us and all our supplies safely to the surface, and that was really all we needed.
Slipping inside, it looks like most of our things made it without even budging; a good sign that Cherrie and Clip had secured everything well, I think as I wander through the maze of things. There are a handful of cases scattered, but checking them over proves they aren't anything extremely fragile: all of Clip's seed packets are intact, and so are Xenon's medical supplies and crates of food.
So why doesn't this feel right? I think, turning a slow circle. Everything's in one piece, we're all in one piece. Nothing's wrong— so why do I still feel a prickling on the back of my neck?
A loud thunk makes me whip around, hand darting to the knife strapped to my hip. Xenon's already mirroring me, eyes narrowed in the same direction as me: deeper into the hold, where I can see a food crate has been tipped on its side. Exchanging a look, Xenon and I slip forwards.
My mind is racing through everything this could be— an alien, some mutated monster broken in from the wasteland, a saboteur preparing to destroy our supplies or kill us all?— when we turn the corner, where a stack of crates blocks the flourescent lights.
I make out four people in the half-light: one is on the floor, wheezing. Two more are holding their arms, trying to pull them up. The fourth stands off to the side, shoulders hunched as they wring their hands. None of them seem to have noticed us. Xenon loudly clears his throat.
All four of them freeze. The one standing aside and one of the lifters jump and turn towards us. The lifter— goddamn he's tall— lets out an undignified squeak.
For a long moment, none of us move, aside from the remaining lifter managing to haul the guy on the ground up onto their feet. I hear a clatter as they arrange a cane in one hand and lean on it; I'd missed it before, lying beside them.
Finally, the guy who was on the ground takes a deep breath. "Hi."
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Xenon still hasn't sheathed his knife, and neither have I. I keep an eye on him out of the corner of my eye as he speaks.
The second lifter steps forward, holding her hands out wide and empty. "We're… sort of lost."
"How the fuck did you get lost?" I demand. "How did you even get in here?"
The guy from the floor shrugs. "We were following him," he points at the one who dropped him.
The kid— because now that I'm looking the guy that squeaked and the one that stood off to the side are both teenagers— makes an offended noise. "I didn't make you follow me!"
"We weren't going to just let you waltz into this ship all by yourself!" The cane user snaps, wheezing. I can see Xenon tense, glancing at me sharply. That ragged breathing could be for any number of reasons, especially after a shuttle landing where they had nothing securing them, and I don't like any of them.
The other teen, the one that hasn't spoken yet, lifts their hands and starts signing. "She's right," they say. "You don't listen, and now here we are." Turning to me and Xenon, they continue. "Sorry, he's being stubborn."
I blink. I hadn't recognized them before in the low light, but now that I'm looking closer, now that I've seen them sign, I realize I know this teen. "Mal?"
They twitch, then nod. I look around at the other three, and realize I recognize them as well. "Nova? Star? Hope?"
The three siblings stare at me, clearly awkward. "… Hi, Parch." Nova squeaks out after a moment, curling in on himself.
"What are you— why are you here?" I snap, eyes sweeping over them now. "You could have died!" And that's still a very real possibility, I realize with a sinking feeling. They could have suffered any number of injuries, unsecured back here during landing. And we were only sent with enough food to support seven people for up to a year. Enough to (hopefully) get us to self-sufficiency. With four extra mouths to feed, that's going to be stretched thin. I'm already starting to run through the math, and I don't like any of the answers I'm coming up with.
Hunching his shoulders further, Nova doesn't meet my eyes when he speaks. "I— I wanted to help."
Gritting my teeth, I sheathe my knife and gesture Xenon forward. "Hope, are you okay? You're breathing weird."
She holds up a shaky thumbs-up. "Just… fine. Got knocked over by some stuff." She wheezes in a very unconvincing tone.
"Bullshit," Xenon says simply. "C'mon, let me get you to the medbay, take a look."
"I said I'm fine—"
Xenon is already shaking his head. "Nope. All of you, with me." He glances at me for approval.
"Go," I tell them. "I'll tell the others, and we'll figure out what we're doing after Xenon gives you the all-clear."
Taking a deep breath, I wait long enough to make sure they're all going with Xenon. Hope is moving stiffly, leaning heavily on their cane. Star's walking beside them, clearly worried. Mal and Nova move side-by-side, with Nova looking like he's about to be chewed out by someone. Which is honestly probably in his future; if his dads aren't here to tell him off, then I'm probably the closest thing he has to an authority figure right now. I can only hope he'll listen to me.
Turning back, I start to make my way back to the cockpit, knowing full well I have to explain to everyone else what's going on. Get some ideas on how exactly we're going to deal with this.
I’ve just realized there’s a nonzero chance if Hope livestreams that some member of his family has seen his streams (or at least clips).
Dream probably wouldn’t seek them out (these kinds of streams aren’t his thing + no time because Work), but Star? Nova? Mal? Probably Nightmare? They all strike me as the type to enjoy Hope’s content.
Which would then be funny when they do find out Hope is a member of the family and they’re all just??? You’re really cool?? We’ve been watching your streams for forever??
Guardian Nova in Sunfall. This is definitely fine and he’s having no problems whatsoever.
The world is fucking ending and suddenly he’s got all this power that he can’t control and oh god the world is actually ending and what do you MEAN Dream and Nightmare are his biological dads and somehow he’s supposed to keep going to school WHILE THE WORLD ENDS and oh god what if he accidentally hurts someone with his new powers and-
Wh. What do you mean the Maelstrom is after him. Why would it be after him he’s just some kid what could it possibly want from-
Actually how would Harrier react to Guardian Nova AU if he came across their multiverse.
I’m assuming Guardian Nova (and his friends/family) are taking one look at him and going “all of the nope” but curious what Harrier’s thought process is upon seeing a world where the guardians are dead and it’s just Nova.
he’s very confused at first. But he’d probably carry on as usual.
However it happened, Nova is partially corrupted. And that corruption needs to go, by whatever means necessary.
Nova’s not trained to fight, but that could be just as dangerous to Harrier if it comes to a fight because he’d be throwing out all sorts of shit at random trying to survive, so the safest thing to do is try to make him fully positive. And we know how well that’ll go for poor Nova
Harrier’s got a lot of “dont worry about it just keep moving” going on. Definitely not because he feels bad about killing his version of Nightmare and misses him and if he stays idle too long he starts seeing ghosts (not real ones) hahaha
…although, if Harrier is the reason Nova’s dads are dead, that might get him to pause for a minute.
Because he can’t fathom why all of that negativity went from Nightmare and right to his son. Who doesn’t even know that they’re his parents, and couldn’t have done it on purpose.
