The Structure Fell About Our Feet (And We Were Free to Go)
Chapter 1: Try One, and Try Two
Summary:
Some time after the Rapture, Gem used a spell she found in some far-flung ancient library to let an Eldritch Entity™ share her body in exchange for power and protection.
There's just one problem; when it comes time to introduce those she's close to to her new headmate, fWhip isn't exactly happy about her decision.
Notes: This was partly inspired by Prompt #1,051 by @pluralprompts, except we sorta accidentally stopped reading halfway through because we got Ideas after just reading the first bit. Oops?
Read on ao3 here.
Fic:
“You’re not Gem.” fWhip said, fixing her with a glare that made her feel the need to turn her practice sword on him in self-defense.
Gem wouldn’t like that, though, so she refrained, letting it swing idly by her side. (Oh, to have hands with which to hold a sword, and arms with which to swing it!) This was earlier than they’d planned to tell him, but, well, now was as good a time as any.
“Not… exactly?” she replied, face contorting into an awkward expression she was starting to become very familiar with.
fWhip’s red-orange magical aura, smelling of ozone and fire and a strange sort of crisp decay she couldn’t quite place (Autumn, Gem informed her kindly, it makes sense that you wouldn’t recognize it, since the End has no seasons, but you’ll experience it for yourself soon enough), exploded outward in an angry wave.
(Hang on, she thought, I was under the impression you were both human.
Mostly, Gem replied, by which I mean about three eighths, I think. We’re changelings.
That explains a lot, she thought back.
Thanks. Gem’s grin was inseparable from the feeling of the word.)
“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?” Sausage broke in.
“I go by Gem, now that I’m here,” she gestured at the meat suit Gem had been so kind as to share with her, “but I’m not the Gem you know.”
She was shaking. Why was she shaking? It felt like the rush of adrenaline that came with battle, but without any of the focus, without any outlet. (We’re nervous, Gem informed her, not exactly calm, but warm and safe, take a deep breath.) She did, and was surprised to find how much it helped.
“Oh,” Sausage replied, clearly not understanding, “then if you aren’t Gem, how are you in Gem’s body?”
“She let me in. We have an agreement,” she stated.
“My sister would never let someone take over her body,” fWhip accused, shooting daggers at her with his eyes.
(Stay calm, Gem told her, if you…
I know, I know, she replied, You’ve sent me practically every memory you have of him in preparation for this, remember?
Right, Gem answered, just worried, is all.)
“I didn’t take over,” she replied to Gem’s brother, “your Gem has just as much control as I do. We take turns. I’m mostly in control right now, because I wanted to spar with Sausage, but she’s here too.”
“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it?” fWhip asked incredulously. “How long have you been in there with her without telling us? Without telling me?”
She could feel the fire that was her headmate pulse hotter for just a moment. Remembering what Gem had told her, she took a deep breath, and the inferno quickly returned to its customary warm glow.
“Maybe we should trust Gem, fWhip,” Sausage spoke up before she had the chance, “you know how cautious she is, she wouldn’t do anything like this unless she knew it was completely, 100% safe.”
“Maybe she didn’t have a choice, Sausage,” fWhip replied, “also, you let yourself get possessed by a demon, so forgive me for not totally trusting your judgement in this matter.”
“Will you at least give me a chance to explain?” she interrupted.
Sausage and fWhip turned back towards her. fWhip didn’t look happy about it.
“Gem was the one who suggested this… arrangement. She wanted power and protection, and I wanted to experience the world,” she began, an uncomfortable, restless churning sensation filling her abdominal cavity, “I’m not sure all the details of how she bound us together, some spell book she found in a dusty basement or something, but it was completely her choice. You can ask her about the terms of our arrangement later. She’ll corroborate what I’m saying.”
fWhip fixed her with a skeptical glare, “I want to speak to my sister. Now, not later. Prove she’s really here and you’re not just controlling her.”
She paused, closing her eyes. Gem’s wordless and slightly playful outrage drifted towards her.
“Gem says to tell you that it’s rude to demand she come out when I’m already here,” she interpreted.
“Then ask her what the heck she was thinking, inviting a strange demon-spirit-entity-thing she knows nothing about into her body!” fWhip demanded, having apparently judged the message she’d passed on as something his twin would say.
The sting of betrayal welled up in her chest, alongside a strange sort of exhausted exasperation, and tears pricked at her eyes. The feelings weren’t hers, but she felt them, and Gem carefully shoving them down, all the same.
“Just because Gem’s your sister doesn’t mean you know what’s best for her, you know,” she spit out, “We both know you mean well, but she’s an adult; she can make her own decisions.”
(Reva… Gem scolded, somewhere between dryly amused and anxious.)
“Besides, I’m not a stranger; I’d already been working with Gem for years before she bound us together,” she added.
fWhip opened his mouth as if to respond, then closed it again, storming off.
She and Sausage stared after him for a minute.
(That could’ve gone worse, Gem thought, tone as cheerful as she could muster.
Yeah, no, that went great, she replied. Are you okay?
Gem’s lack of a response spoke volumes.)
“So… do you wanna continue sparring, or…?” Sausage asked.
“I think we need to go home and rest after all that,” she replied, “sorry.”
“No problem!” he said, “It was nice meeting you, uhh… Other Gem? Can I call you Other Gem?”
“Other Gem works,” she shrugged. “See you around?”
“Anytime.”
She flew off.
Additional notes:
This is sorta a prequel to some planned Gem-centric works in our plural!hermits series, but since we haven't actually written them yet this is more like a sneak peak/fun preview.
Other Gem's name before Gem bound them together was Revañae, a word from a conlang we made for the inhabitants of the end in a different mcyt series. It literally translates to something along the lines of "void dragon" and is really more of a title than a name, so Other Gem decided to start going by Gem once she and Gem were bound together and she started creating a proper identity for herself. Gem still calls her Reva in the headspace sometimes though.
Also! Other Gem will eventually become hermit!Gem. Hence why this is relevant to the plural!hermits series. That's still a long way off at the time this takes place though.
Right, posting this here because no one involved in this follows us here. But.
For some reason we decided doing an rp pokemon battle royale type thing would be a good idea (Gem has asked me to inform you she stands by this decision and she's pretty sure Joe does as well) with a bunch of online friends in which everyone plays as the pokemon that best fits their character in another rp we're doing and, uhhh...
