New A/N: So this comes from My Snippet Thread, and due to popular support it is now getting its own thread. For all those of whom that are new to this story, welcome! I hope all ya'll enjoy this.
Original A/N: This was inspired by a fanfic called, uh... Checks notes...
Conference Call: Interdimensional Teenage Princess Group Therapy
God, that is a mouthful.
It's a chatfic, and this one will be as well. If that's not your thing, then feel free to skip this one. I'll tell you off the bat, this will have Worm, Half Life (sort of, you'll see what I mean), Destiny, Mass Effect (although this one will be an AU), Game of Thrones/ASOIAF, and Hollow Knight.
I might add more later, but we'll have to see; most likely not.
Beyond that, not much else to say. I don't expect much to come from this one because every time I've tried to do a chatfic, I get burnt out from it. With that said, I'll try to make each of the universes user friendly so that you don't really need to understand the backstory of each of the respective universes on introduction.
Anyways, lemme know what all y'all think.
...
"Huh?"
"What's huh?"
"Hey Ghost, could y'all do a quick scan on me? Somethin' weird just popped up in my vision."
The little light construct spun his shell in confusion, while his Guardian had a look of confusion on her face (although it was always hard to tell with Exo's, given their robotic nature). She had her hood up like she normally did, hiding said face in shadows; but her eye glow was different.
Normally a dark blue, they now glowed gold.
Concerning.
"Should I call Eris?" He asked, spinning his forward shell, even as he ran a scan of her body, "Or Ikora?"
Silence greeted him as his Guardian slowly shifted her boots off her desk and sat straight, her spurs clinging as she did so.
"Whisper?" He asked, growing more concerned.
Truthfully he was more worried about her lack of witty quips and immaturity. When she got serious, that was cause for concern.
"What do you see?" She asked, instead of answering his question.
"No." He replied, "All of your functions are working normally. I see no foreign presence interfering with your light or with your central processor." He paused, then added, "What's wrong?"
"I... So y'all don't see this?" She demanded, and Ghost found himself looking around as she swept her arm in front of her face.
"See what?" He asked, totally confused. "Your optical sensors are working fine too by the way."
"There's this... thing in front of my face telling me I've been invited to some kind of group chat." She said, batting her hand in front of her face like she was trying to clear away some fly's. "It won't go away."
If Ghost had the ability to, he would have blinked.
Whisper batted at it again, then growled and drew her Hand Cannon, Hawkmoon, and pointed it right at the mysterious thing only she could see.
"Go away!" She snapped, and fired.
If he had ears, Ghost was sure they would be ringing. As it was, he floated in front of her face and snapped, "Don't do that! You know the deal you made with the landlord, no more shooting guns inside! I really don't feel like house hunting again."
Whisper just whined and flailed her arms (making Ghost wince internally as she waved Hawkmoon around with a terrifying lack of trigger discipline), "But how am I supposed to make this go away then!? Just accept it?"
She froze then, and blinked rapidly, "Uh.... It went away, but now there's someone talking to me like a text message."
She looked him in his eye. "What do I do?"
Angry yelling made its way through the door and she winced and quickly holstered her weapon. "After I convince the landlord that he was just imagining me shooting my gun."
...
Taylor sat on her bed and stared at the... message floating in front of her face for lack of a better term.
It reminded her of how PHO was laid out a little bit.
She was still debating the wisdom of her decision to join the "chat" but at this point? She'd take a Master probably influencing her than spend another day alone.
She'd been hoping the start of Sophomore year would be better, but it wasn't... It was worse.
There were some days where she kept going just through pure spite.
"I accept." She whispered, feeling unsafe even in the confines of her own room.
The text box that had been floating in front of her face blinked.
...
-tHebert has joined the chat!
ModPilate: Why hello there! The name's Pilate, and welcome to this group chat.
ModPilate: This is a little somethin' I set up in my spare time. Took a little while to get it workin' though, because I had to properly encrypt it. Most certainly don't want them to get a peek into this place.
ModPilate: So who might you be?Click to expand...
...
Taylor blinked slowly.
The whole control system seemed to just respond to her will.
If this was a Master, then it was a really strange one. Maybe some sort of Tinker at work? That... Was actually pretty cool, but also terrifying. She caught a glance at the name of the "chat" and blinked in confusion.
She tried to think of how to respond, when the words she wanted to say were typed out in front of her.
This is super freaking weird...
...
tHebert: Um... Hello? I think you've invited the wrong person. I'm not a Hero. I'm not even a cape.
ModPilate: Is your name Taylor Hebert?
tHebert: ...Yes?
ModPilate: Then you're in the right place. You may not be a Hero yet, but you will be. Maybe not in a week, not in a month, but you will be someday.Click to expand...
...
Taylor frowned.
Some kind of precog then? She wondered. I... don't know how I feel about that. Why would he be interested in me? I'm nothing special.
...
Gordon blinked as the little box floated in front of his face.
Then he turned and looked at the vodka bottle in his left hand, then the blunt in the right, then back up at the little text box.
"I probably shouldn't drink vodka and smoke peyote at the same time..." He grunted, sitting down on his bed in the dorm. "Clearly it's caused some issues. What the hell kind of trip is this even? I'm not seeing music or hearing colors anymore. Man this sucks, I think I got some bad shit."
He put out the blunt then tossed it into the trash.
He'd learned not to throw lit objects into his wastepaper basket. Especially not after a night of crunching physics equations and all that. And he'd just finished reviewing the gauge-invariant Lagrangian for Quantum Chromodynamics for the latest round of tests as a favor to Dr. Vance too, so a lot of paper was in said basket.
He'd already set fire to his room and fallen asleep once, he wasn't going to make that same mistake again.
Barney would never let him hear the end of it.
He scratched the top of his head and took another swig of vodka.
"Okay... Uh... Accept?" He asked.
...
gFreeman has entered the chat.
ModPilate: Ah, hello there!
gFreeman: Cut the shit, what the hell is this and what did you put in my drugs?
ModPilate: I... Beg your pardon?
gFreeman: Look, I was drinking some vodka and smoking some peyote, and now I've got this computer screen text message bullshit in front of my face. Make it go away dammit!
tHebert: Uh... Hi? He dragged me into this place too. I have no idea why he did it, but I think he's a Tinker and some kind of Precog.
gFreeman: ...Those words mean nothing to me. What, Tinker? Like he tinkers with a motorcycle or some shit? What the fuck does Precog mean? Like does he do that whole bullshit voodu "Oooooh, I will see your death" kinda thing? Yeah don't believe in that stuff. I mean, this one Priest I met told me I'd accidentally end the world, and guess what? The world's still here! Suck on that Priest!Click to expand...
...
Taylor blinked.
Okay... Wow, this person texts at a mile a minute. Her lips twitched upwards for a split second, before muscle memory forced them back downwards. Even safe at home, she still couldn't override the fear of what would happen if she got caught smiling.
He's certainly got a sailors mouth.
Then she frowned.
How has this guy not heard of a Tinker or Precog before? Has he lived under a rock?
...
tHebert: Um... Sorry for asking but... How have you not heard of Tinkers and Precogs before? Classic Parahumans stuff?
gFreeman: What the fuck is a Parahuman?
tHebert: ...That's a no to my previous question is what that is. How is that possible? Have you been living under a rock? Parahumans have been around since the '80s.
gFreeman: Look, guy... lady... whoever the hell you are. I've never heard of that. Sounds like some made up comic book stuff. What, are Parahumans super people? How do they get powers? Not through some radioactive spider bullshit right? Cause, you know, the chances of a radioactive mutation being benificial are astronomical; not to mention you'd still have radiation poisoning!
ModPilate: That's as good a spot as any to jump in. In case you two are wondering, you both are in different universes.
tHebert: ...what?
gFreeman: ...Does that mean I'm 2-Dimensional?Click to expand...
...
Jon'Shepard nar Rayya frowned at text popup in his visor.
"What is this?" He muttered to himself, then looked around.
He was alone in his room, and he was pretty sure his suit and omnitool would have detected someone hacking into his visor's HUD. The only person who would have been able to do that was Tali, but she was off in the engineering section taking care of some minor malfunction.
He stared at the text pop up some more and debated on if he should wait for Tali to come back and take a look at his suit.
He felt his face warm slightly at the idea of her tinkering with his suit, and he forced his mind out of the gutter.
"Whatever Bosh'tet did this, I am going to set their olfactory filters to smell like waste." He growled. "Accept."
...
"What magical devilry is this?"
Robb could only describe what was in front of his eyes as something akin to words on parchment floated in front of his face. He had been praying in the godswood, when the letters and words had appeared in front of him.
It had to be magic of some kind.
But it wasn't akin to any magic he'd ever heard of.
Not from Old Nan, not from Maester Luwin, nor any he'd heard of from across the narrow sea.
For a moment, he debated on going to see father, or Jon perhaps; or Theon, or mother, or his siblings.
His frown deepened as he considered it.
He was in the godswood... perhaps the Old Gods were attempting to converse with him? If that were the case, it would likely be unwise for him to leave. And if it really was the Old Gods, perhaps what they had to tell him was for his ears (or eyes in this case) alone?
His hand drifted down to his longsword for a moment as he considered what he should do.
Dithering wasn't a Lordly thing to do, but in this case he felt justified given the strange circumstances.
He looked at the Heart Tree, and his grip tightened, "If I should accept this call to talk... Give me a sign to accept." He requested, not really expecting an answer.
A warm feeling settled in his heart.
He couldn't be sure if it was actually the Old Gods speaking to him, or if it had been some kind of coincidence, but that was probably the best answer he was going to get.
"I..." He grimaced, still unsure but pressing onwards regardless. "I accept."
...
Hornet staggered slightly from her climb as the magical text appeared in front of her face, and she had to actually stick her needle into the wall to regain balance; while her paws lost their grip on the rock for a moment as her concentration had been broken.
"What-?" She looked around, trying to make sure no spell had been thrown her way; then adjusted her mask for a second.
She narrowed her eyes, and glanced upwards towards the top of the cliffface she had been climbing.
She took some thread and let go, using the momentum the fall built up to spin and fling herself upwards the rest of the way; yanking her needle out of the wall as she did so. She landed effortlessly and snapped her head left and right to ensure that no feral bugs were nearby.
Once she was certain there were no threats around, she flared some Soul to see if it was a sort of curse or effect she could override.
She could not, in fact, override this strange effect.
She ground her mandibles under her mask as she considered what to do about this strange effect.
Is it some remnant of the Radiance? She wondered, then felt a spike of terror, Have I been infected with it?!
She forced herself to cut off that line of thinking.
No... No... The little Ghost destroyed it. I know they did. She felt a pang in her heart, knowing the Vessel was gone; as was Hollow. She missed both of her siblings deeply, despite how briefly she'd know the one; and for how long she had lost the other.
She took a deep breath and released it.
She was never one to act rashly, but it seemed as if she would have to act without thinking in this regard.
"Very well." She told the words that floated in front of her. "I accept."
...
jShepard has joined the chat.
rStark has joined the chat.
Hornet has joined that chat.
jShepard: What is this? Who are you people? What Bosh'tet did this to my suit?
ModPilate: Ah! New people! Yay! More people have come to this little chat room that I created.
gFreeman: Yeah don't listen to him, he's clearly higher than I am right now. He claims that we're all from different universes. Bullshit I say! In fact, how do I know that none of you are hallucinations?
tHebert: I don't think hallucinations work like that.
gFreeman: Yeah? Well what about that time where I was awake for 4 days straight and thought my house was being invaded by frog people?
tHebert: ....
ModPilate: ...
jShepard: ...
tHebert: ....I have many questions
rStark: You are not the only one. And... I am very confused. What is this word, Universe?
Hornet: I would like to know as well. But I have a more important question. Do you serve the Radiance?
jShepard: Who?
ModPilate: Nope! I'm a independent actor.
tHebert: What proof do we have that you're telling the truth, that we are actually from different universes? I mean, Professor Haywire proved they exist, yes, but he nearly caused a war doing so and we've only ever contact Aleph.
gFreeman: Professor Haywire? Puh-lease! That's classic comic books. What are you, five? Wait, am I talking to a little kid? Shit! I don't wanna end up like my cousin Jesse!
tHebert: ...I just have more questions, but I'm fifteen.
ModPilate: I have a simple answer to your question Miss Taylor. All participants, please write down what species you are and who you serve/where you reside.
gFreeman: I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to kill you.
ModPilate: How?
gFreeman: I'd find a way. Never underestimate a Theoretical Physicist experimenting with teleportation. Government Grant Money kicks ass!
ModPilate: Uh huh... Anyways. Write your answers and send it in 3...
ModPilate: 2...
ModPilate: 1... And send!
tHebert: I'm Taylor. I live in Brockton Bay. I go to Winslow High School. Uh... I don't serve anybody. And I'm human obviously.
jShepard: Jon'Shepard nar Rayya, in service to the Migrant Fleet until I can leave on my pilgrimage. Quarian obviously.
Hornet: I am Hornet, Spider of course, Guardian of the Kingdom of Hollownest; Princess of the Deepnest.
gFreeman: Doctor Gordon Freeman, PhD from MI-fucking-T, researcher at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico.
rStark: I am Lord Robb Stark, Heir to Winterfell; firstborn son to Lord Eddard Stark, Lord Paramount of the Kingdom of the North, and Warden of the North. I am of the First Men of Westeros.Click to expand...
...
Taylor opened and closed her mouth for several seconds.
What the actual fuck have I gotten myself into?
For sure, the Tinker that had put her in the chat room had 1) made a critical mistake in bringing her there. She was just some High School student. And now she was in some kind of chatroom with... aliens, and different sorts of people who were clearly far more accomplished in life than she was.
...
ModPilate: .....Wow, that's a long silence. You all sent your responses instantly at the same time and now all of you have been quiet for a good five minutes.
tHebert: I think we're all trying to wrap our heads around this...
gFreeman: I still haven't ruled out that you all are just peyote induced hallucinations.Click to expand...
...
Taylor stifled a laugh, then a thought occured to her.
...
tHebert: I just thought of this... Freeman? How do you still have a job? You're a druggie.
gFreeman: Eh, Doctor Kliener hooked me up after the two of us had finished our work teaching at Innsbruck. I'm a damned good physicist. Plus I can actually lift a box. Most of the old geezers are too damned frail to do any physical work whatsoever.
tHebert: ...That makes way too much sense...
Whisper-11 joined the chat.
Whisper-11: Alright, I finally convinced my landlord not to evict me for trying to shoot the floaty box of text in front of my face; and now I can join and see what's going on. What is this pl-
Whisper-11: .....
Whisper-11: Is it too late for me to back out now? I'm half convinced I'm hallucinating. Man, I need to tell Eris to give me better shit. Or maybe give up drugs... Either or...
gFreeman: Who is this Eris, and where can I get some good shit? Cause I think Eddie hooked me up with some of the bad stuff too.
rStark: By the Old Gods... There's two of them.
tHebert: Is it too late to jump off a building like I had been planning before this happened?Click to expand...
...
New A/N: Nothing really to say here tbh. Enjoy the OG Authors Note.
Original A/N: And that's a wrap. I would do more, but I'm literally finishing this as I rush out the door. Maybe later.
If you're wondering about Freeman's characterization, he's based off of the web series Freemans Mind, which makes Gordon Freeman to be a bit of a paranoid cloudcuckoolander. He's a jerk, but funny as hell.
Here of course, he isn't as much of a jerk; which I justify by the fact that in the series proper, Freeman does have his heroic moments until he gets beaten unconscious and his paranoia and ax-crazy tendencies (likely brought about by PTSD) go full force. I also made accommodations so that Freeman isn't as clueless about canon characters in Half Life 2.
For the Mass Effect section, it's obviously AU due to the fact that humans don't exist in that particular iteration of ME; and Shepard is instead a Quarian (I have a massive soft spot for Quarians, for all of their flaws).
I flip flopped between Ned Stark and Robb Stark, and settled on Robb for the simple reason that I needed someone else who was young so Taylor wasn't left out as the only teen in the group. If you're wondering Robb is his GOT version, but 16 years old, meaning it's two years before the start of GOT canon.
Taylor has half a year before the locker incident, which is going to be... interesting.
Whisper-11 has only gone through the events of The Red War for Destiny 2.
As for Hornet, it's sometime between the events of Hollow Knight, and Silksong. Also, yes, I wrote that Hornet has paws because I based her off this one fan comic that gave her a more realistic design where she's based off a jumping spider; and jumping spiders, believe it or not, do indeed have paws.
Beyond that, lemme know what all y'all think of this little snippet. I got a loooooong week ahead of me here.
New A/N: Not much to say here, beyond the fact I did some grammar and spelling checks; and I actually bothered to count how many words are in it.
It is roughly 3000 words, without the quote markers.
Old A/N: I was rather surprised at the reception to this one, so fuck it why not, have another to chew on.
I'll try and put a bit more meat on this one.
I hope ye enjoy.
...
ModPilate: Well it's been a quiet night, so... I'm gonna invoke admin privileges and order that someone talk about themselves and their world. This is supposed to be a cultural exchange after all.
...
Whisper's eye twitched as she missed her shot while the Fallen raider slashed his swords at her face.
She rolled under the blow and jammed the barrel of Hawkmoon under its jaw and pulled the trigger; jerking her head back as the spray of reddish-purple blood splattered her face.
"Motherfucker!" She snapped, even as she whipped the barrel around and fanned the hammer; four more Fallen jerked their heads back as the bullets zipped into their cranial regions, not that there was much upper brain functions in her humble opinion.
She sprinted over behind a boulder and whipped the cylinder open and reloaded.
"Really picked a piss poor time to bug me." She whined, then her sixth sense tingled and she ducked and rolled as a Fallen Captain slashed the top third of the boulder away.
"Hey now big fella, we can talk about this-"
She stepped into a errant strike and fired.
The round was stopped by a shield, and Whisper swore angrily when the Captain grabbed her weapon with one of his lower arms and yanked it to the side as she fire again.
"Alright, fine! I didn't wanna talk eitheeEEEERRRRROWWWWWWWW!"
She howled as the Fallen Captains fourth arm grabbed a knife and jammed it into her side through her own shields; though it was stopped by her chain mail and armor, it was still really fucking painful and annoying to deal with.
She furiously headbutted the Fallen, her hood falling to her neck, leaving her robotic head bare.
She didn't like wearing her helmet, like Cayde, but there were times she wished she wore it.
Exo's technically felt pain, just like normal humans (a holdover from having their human minds poured into their bodies); but it was far more muted than a normal persons.
So for her face and her ribs to be hurting like they were now? If she weren't an Exo or a Guardian, she'd probably be curled up in pain.
As it was, her headbutts hurt the Fallen far more than it did her.
The Fallen Captain stumbled back wards, and Whisper yanked the knife (which was still stuck in her chainmail) out of her side and jammed it into the Eliksni's eye, and subsequently his brain.
The Captain collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and Whisper held her side and bounced on her toes while hissing curses through her metallic mouth.
...
Whisper-11: MOTHERFUCKINGPISSSHITSTUPIDTELETUBBYLOOKIN'ASS! WARN SOMEONE NEXT TIME!
ModPilate: Why?
Whisper-11: Because I was in the middle of a fight you stupid asshole!
ModPilate: Uh... Whoops? My b.
Whisper-11: Yeah, your B! I got stabbed in my ribs and had to headbutt the fucker with my beautiful-beautiful horn. I'm lucky my chain-mail caught the blade, otherwise I woulda died! Again... Man, dying sucks, I don't recommend it.
tHebert: Okay... First off, 1) Are you okay? And 2) Did I hear that right? You've died?
Whisper-11: Yup! Numerous times as a matter of fact. I don't like it, but Ghost brings me back.
gFreeman: Okay... I really need to meet this Eris chick you mentioned if she gives you drugs that good. That or finding the drugs that they give Mario.
tHebert: ...what...?
gFreeman: I mean, the Mario games are just a magic drug trip. I want a magic drug trip.
Whisper-11: Okay, in regards to my various deaths; rude, I have in fact died. It's not fun. And in regards to Mario; I know right!? Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy when I posit that theory! Like, how does a guy eat a leaf and turn into a flying squirrel-man and can float in the air? It's drugs I say!
rStark: I feel quite lost and adrift at this moment.
tHebert: You aren't the only one.
Hornet: What is this irrelevant twaddle that has been forced into my mind? Why must you all incessantly prattle on about-
Hornet: ...
Hornet: I beseech thee, ModPilate, let me leave. I feel as if it is only my divine blood that has prevented me from losing the mental capacity for rational thought.
ModPilate: Oh yeah, about that uh... I can't remove you guys.
tHebert: WHAT!?
ModPilate: Sorry guys, I was just... I really wanted to be super tight on the security so non of us drew Their attention; and it's kinda locked us in here.
jShepard: "Their"? Who is "Their"?
ModPilate: I'm not talking about them. Not unless you want a horrifying and unstoppable force to invade your universe; after they have conquered numerous universes I might add.
jShepard: ...I hate you. You are a massive Bosh'tet, you know that?
ModPilate: So I have heard at numerous points.Click to shrink...
...
Whisper took a deep breath and released it, and holstered Hawkmoon and walked over to the boulder that had gotten its top sliced off and sat down with a scowl (or as close to a scowl as she could manage).
She could feel her light already fixing up the cracks in her metallic body, and she felt her horn to make sure it hadn't cracked or anything; then flipped her hood back up and turned to face towards the sunset. She always preferred doing her patrols close to the end of the day.
She was a little miffed at the others blowing off the fact that she could and often did die, but she supposed it wasn't something they would believe without evidence.
Hell, the only two that really seemed to interact besides the Mod was Freeman (whom she had found a kindred spirit) and Taylor (who just seemed... sad).
She blinked as the alerts pinged her central processor again, and she sighed and opened them back up.
...
ModPilate: Anyways, as I was saying, this is supposed to be a friend group and cultural exchange. So c'mon now, someone step right up and show themselves off.
...
Whisper raised an eye plate and she tapped her cheek while humming.
...
Whisper-11: How?
ModPilate: What do you mean?
Whisper-11: How do we show ourselves off?
ModPilate: Oh that's quite simple. Oh, wait... no it's not. Um... Hm... It would take too long to explain it, so I'll just shove the knowledge into your brains.
tHebert: Shove it into our brains!? That sounds like Teacher, are you sure that's-Click to shrink...
...
Whisper hissed and held her temple as an... itch for lack of better word, wormed its way through her brain and into her eyes.
It only took a second, but it was a distinctly unpleasant experience.
...
rStark: You are quite fortunate that you do not stand her before me, for I would have taken your head for that. What even was that!?
jShepard: Hey, back off, cause I want to throw him into the ships sewage treatment facility for that first. I want him to suffer for that. You're lucky I was alone in my compartment, because I probably would have been sent to medical for this. And I would have no way to explain it!
tHebert: Fuck this! I don't want to be involved with a Master like you! You just shoved something into my brain without permission! How do I know you're not going to control me like some puppet now!
ModPilate: Uh, because I won't?
rStark: Is that supposed to be reassurance?! You-
ModPilate: Let's all calm down here please? I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, but you guys are better able to interact now.
gFreeman: Now that I've recovered from that... That was AWESOME! How did you do that?! Aw man, I wished I had something like this at MIT. I feel smarter already. I could've just gotten piss drunk at night and not needed to worry about studying; and at that point, I only would have needed my roommate to start an IV so I wouldn't be hungover when I went to class, since attendance was mandatory. Having a med student as a roommate kicked ass by the way.
Whisper couldn't help but giggle.
Leave it to Freeman to break the ice and derail everything.
She could respect the fellow player in the cookoolander game.
On a whim, she tried to think about the knowledge that the Mod had planted in her brain. She wasn't a stranger to the concept; Ikora had run a few experiments in a similar vein. Although this had been much more pleasant and less painful than those.
Hm... I wonder. She tapped her nonexistent nose. Selfie?
She had the dizzying and somewhat off-putting experience of suddenly seeing herself in the third person view.
"Whaaaaa-"
She staggered, and unintentionally took a couple of pictures.
She blinked rapidly, "Wait, no, don't post those, that's not-"
Sent
"-Fuck."
...
Whisper-11: Selfie1.png, Selfie2.png
Whisper-11: Uh... Whoops?
Multiple People are Typing
...
Taylor stared at the two images for several seconds.
If she didn't know any better, she would have assumed that Whisper was a Case-53. She still wasn't sure if she could rule out that possibility.
But for lack of a better term, Whisper looked like a robot dressed in an outfit that looked more appropriate in a Renaissance festival. The contrast was startling to be sure.
Taylor hummed and thought of the kind of reactions Whisper would cause if she were to just pop in at the boardwalk.
Probably not much. She decided, Everyone would think she's a Case-53 like I initially did.
She was about to comment on it, when she noticed what as being said.
"Oh dear..."
...
jShepard: YOU'RE A FUCKING AI?! KILL HER! KILL HER NOW! SHE'LL KILL US ALL IF WE DON'T STOP HER!
Whisper-11: Hey now! Be nice, I ain't gonna kill ya unless you try to kill me first. Plus, it'd be a waste of bullets since I can't die permanently.
jShepard: Ancestors... Shit! Shitfuck! What do you know about my people AI?! What information have you taken out of my brain!? Are you going to destroy the fleet and finish the job your Geth brethren started!
ModPilate: Hey! Whoa-whoa-whoa! Time out lads!
jShepard Muted for 10 Minutes.
ModPilate: Alright, that'll stay until the timer runs out or I let him out. But I will put this out here, no one will kill anyone else in the server! I wouldn't have invited anyone else here if I knew they were gonna be a problem.
ModPilate: He can still see everything we type though, so no insulting him behind his back.
gFreeman: Is it insulting him behind his back when I'm doing it to his face?
gFreeman: Also, *wolf whistle*, that's some nice curves you got there; since I can see it under all that armor.
Whisper-11: Why thank you Gordon, you sure know how to make a woman feel special. I'd be blushin' if I had the ability to do that.
rStark: What... Manner of being are you? You resemble the tales of Automatons that Maester Luwin talked about when he gave his lessons on old Valyria.
Hornet: She does indeed resembled some Automatons that my father commissioned to try and combat the Radiance; though none ever reached completion... Or sentience, as you seem to demonstrate, Whisper.
Whisper-11: Uh... *Scratches head*, well I'm an Exo.
tHebert: You do realize that word means nothing to us, right?
Whisper-11: Hm... How do I explain this... Well for one? The technology was lost to us after the Collapse when the Hive arrived and put an end to our Golden Age. The best way I can describe it, is that I was once a human; then had my brain poured into a robotic body.
Whisper-11: The problem of course is that going from a human body to a robotic one is that it causes a serious amount of body dysphoria. There are recorded instances of people literally ripping themselves apart because they wanted to feel something. So what do you think was the best solution?
rStark: ...
Hornet: Nothing good I would imagine.
tHebert: Please tell me it was a sensible solution? Like... you know, giving you actual body sensations and feelings?
gFreeman: Yeah that would suck. Man, what's the point if you can't even get high or have sex or anything like that?
Whisper-11: -replying to tHebert: HAHAHAHAHA! Yeah you would think that. No, instead they would "reset" the persons mind. IE, wipe their brain and reupload it. It kinda didn't occur to them to start adding the ability to feel and eat and do other things until later.
Whisper-11: of course it didn't help. But it didn't stop them from trying. The reason my name is "Whisper-11"? It's because they reset me 10 times before my mind really took to my new body. I'm technically Whisper number 11. I have no memories of my previous 10 lives.
tHebert: .....that is fucking horrifying. Why would you ever do this?
Whisper-11: I dunno, ask Whisper number 1. She's the one that went through this. I didn't.
rStark: Do you fear you left behind any children? Bastards?
Whisper-11: I would hope I didn't. My mentor, Cayde-6 (he's the Hunter Commander), he's constantly reminiscing about his son; Ace. But he doesn't have any memories of Ace. Or his wife. He only knows they exist because his original self left behind a journel entry talking about them. They're long dead though. Cause it's probably been a thousand years since he became an Exo.
Whisper-11: Huh... I wonder if that's why he's so protective of me... He does remark how I remind him of Ace.
Hornet: That is... tragic, if I shall be blunt.
Whisper-11: Welcome to my life.
Whisper-11: -replying to gFreeman: I mean... I do got all the important bits downstairs, so we can go a few rounds if you want.
gFreeman: Bet. When?Click to shrink...
...
Taylor closed the chat and stared off into the distance for a good long while.
She couldn't even imagine just... waking up somewhere with no memories at all except vague memories of what she had left behind. As much as she wanted to forget about Emma and the rest of the Trio, she wasn't sure if it was worth losing her memory.
But it did say a lot about her life that she even considered it an option, even though the technology had been lost long ago.
She flopped back onto her pillow and stared up at her ceiling.
"Why am I even there? I'm not special. I'm no one. I'm just Taylor." She murmured into nothingness.
She took a breath, the reopened the chat.
...
tHebert: Whisper, can I ask you something?
Whisper-11: Shoot.
tHebert: What is it exactly that you do?
tHebert: Because I've seen you mention being a "Guardian"; is that... like related to you being a robot? Is becoming a Robot part of being a Guardian?
tHebert: You've mentioned dying before, is that why you're on life number 11? Your body was destroyed so they built you a new one to pour your personality back into a new one?Click to shrink...
...
Whisper frowned and tapped her chin as she contemplated a response.
As honest as she wanted to be, she felt there were in fact limits to how much she could tell them. She got the feeling that there were things that would stretch their credulity a bit too much.
She decided to go for a lie by omission and half truths.
It didn't sit well with her, but saying that a Guardian entailed being empowered by a traveling being that was probobly a god of some kind (she didn't put much stock in Traveller Worship) with some sort of cosmic energy known as the light that made her functionally immortal so long as her trusty robot companion didn't die; was probably a bit too hard of a pill to swallow.
Especially for someone like Hornet or Robb.
Both of their society's talked about magic; and seemed to be primitive from the scant amoutn she'd seen them talk about their respective homes.
...
Whisper-11: -replying to tHebert: Sort of...? It's close enough to the mark. But you don't really pick yourself to become a Guardian. You're chosen.
tHebert: Okay... That makes sense...
...
Whisper hummed and tilted her head.
She got the feeling that she had said something wrong. Taylors response gave her a feeling of... Meloncholy for lack of a better term.
In fact, everything about Taylor made her circuits buzz just a little bit.
The girl was shockingly tight lipped, and had only offered the bare minimum on her home and herself, and typically after others had pried and coaxed it out of her. Hell, even Hornet and Robb had shared more about their respective selves in regards to likes or dislikes.
Whisper palmed Hawkmoon even as another message came through.
...
rStark: What have you accomplished as a "Guardian"? I find myself curious.
Whisper-11: Aw shucks, nothing much.
rStark: Please? I could use some stories to take my mind off of things.
gFreeman: Why kid? Problems at home?
rStark: You could say that. Father's been pacing in his solar all day. One of our major Bannermen, Lord Bolton? His only son and hier died under mysterious circumstances a few nights ago. As a result, the Dreadfort and all the vassels under it are primed for a succession crisis.
gFreeman: I'm sorry, did you say "the Dreadfort"? Kid, that just screams "I'm going to backstab you." Why would you even want to be involved with that place?
rStark: Politics... Which I'm bad at. Hence why I want a distraction.Click to shrink...
...
Whisper's frown deepened.
...
Whisper-11: Robb, I'm am probably the last person you should listen to when it comes to Politics but... You really shouldn't neglect this sort of thing.
rStark: I know, and I'll be asking father about it later. But please, I just want something else. I would ask Old Nan for some stories, but they frighten me, even now.
Whisper-11: Okay... Hm... How about I tell you about the time I earned the Title of "Iron Lord" and "The Young Wolf" and was given stewardship of Felwinters Peak while Lord Saladin went about reconstructing the Iron Lords?
rStark: .....You're a Noble Lady?
Whisper-11: Uh... Technically?
tHebert: Tell us more!
rStark: Please!Click to shrink...
...
Whisper suddenly felt like she'd made an even bigger mistake.
But if nothing else, she wasn't a quitter.
Maybe just a fool.
...
New A/N: I removed the old one (it serves no purpose and is rather superfluous).
Nothing to add beyond the fact that I forgot to color in the Mod for last chapter, which I will be fixing once the self flagellation has been completed.
Old hands will know this, but for the newbies, each chapter is going to primarily focus on one person in the group chat. It might go to another person (as it did with Taylor here) for narrative reasons, but the primary focus is on the person listed in the threadmark.
Anyways, please let me know what all y'all think; leave a review please because the feedback helps immensely.
And I will see ya when I see ya.
New A/N: Word count without the quotes is roughly 2,900 words.
This was mentioned in the old A/N, but please be sure to check out my other new fanfic The Shadow Stalker. It's a Worm AU inspired by The Batman.
Otherwise, I hope you guys enjoy this snippet.
Oh, minor spoiler, but in one section, the experiment Freeman is conducting is not the one that sets off the Resonance Cascade. He's like a year before that happens.
I hope y'all enjoy.
...
Jon scowled behind his mask as he shot several rounds at the target on the range.
It was difficult to get range time, because the Fleet Marines were always using it; but soon to be Pilgrims were allowed to get some time as well for their self defense classes. But Jon had always been considered a shoe in for the Marines when he inevitably came back from his Pilgrimage.
As a result, and thanks to his friendship with Kal, he could get extra range time whenever he requested it.
It helped him blow off steam.
Fucking AI. Stupid bosh'tet, I should have never indulged in that little fantasy. What the hells was I thinking?
He sighted his M-90 and took a deep breath. He'd always been a good shot at least. And ironically, he shot better when he was angry.
He released his breath and tapped the pedal with his foot to start the simulation.
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!
He smirked as the holographic drones shattered within a second of leaving their spawn points. It wasn't like he'd memorized where they came from, since it was randomized where the projectors spawned them into the range.
Damn I'm good. He thought, with just a bit of immodesty.
"Jon?"
He yelped and turned to face the source of the voice (though still keeping his weapon pointed down range).
"Tali!" He exclaimed, a little flustered. "What uh, what are you doing here?"
"I came to get some practice." She replied, walking over to the wall and grabbing a training shotgun, "I um..." She looked away and bounced on her toes. "I also wanted to check up on you."
He blinked, his brain shorting a bit at that. "Check on me?" He asked.
"Yeah." She wrung her hands together, "It's just... Well... You've been so angry the past day or so, and everyone was worried about you." She admitted, "Auntie 'Raan said you've been down here whenever you're off shift. I thought maybe something happened to your sister or Kai, but they both were confused when I sent them a extra-net message."
Jon blinked again, then sighed and set his weapon down.
"Ah, well I'm mostly okay now. I was just in this... Group chat with some friends, and I had a major disagreement with one of them."
It was technically the truth, but it was still a bit too much to tell given that Tali's eyes flashed and she narrowed her eyes.
"A groupchat with friends?" She asked with no small amount of suspicion, "Jon, you don't have friends except me."
"Kai and Kal are friends." He protested, ignoring the tiny flutter in his chest when she claimed him as a friend.
"Kai'Alenko is only friends with you because he's friends with Jane; and I very much suspect that he only wants to link suits with her." Tali countered, then she tilted her head and tapped the side of her mask, "Though Jane never rejected him either. I wouldn't be surprised if they've linked suits already."
Jon gagged at the mental image of that. "Can we please change the subject from my sisters love life?" He begged.
Tali giggled, "Why should I?" she asked, "It's funny watching you squirm."
Jon thought for a second, then he smirked in kind, "If you don't, I won't help you with your shotgun."
She gasped then zipped up to him, "No! Please I'm sorry!" She begged, "I want to learn."
Jon made a show of thinking about it, "I don't know..."
She punched him in the shoulder, "Bosh'tet! I said sorry."
Jon chuckled, "Oh fine, because you asked me so nicely, and because you apologized."
Her eyes brightened, and he smiled.
His mood was spoiled when his brain "pinged" with a new message. He decided to ignore it for the time being. He would answer when he was done here; and he was going to take his sweet time while doing so.
Spending time with Tali was his main priority right now.
Avoiding talking to that traitorous Bosh'tet that had invited an AI into his... Brain group chat thing was just a bonus.
...
PM's:
ModPilate: So... Are you calm now?
jShepard: Why should I even be talking to you?
ModPilate: Because you overreacted, and because your curiosity is getting the better of you. Have you even attempted to read Whispers testimony on how she was made? Or did you just refuse to read the chat after I muted you?
jShepard: ....
ModPilate: I thought as much.
ModPilate: Look
ModPilate: I did not intend any harm to you. I picked all of you for a very specific reason.
ModPilate: I... I can't say too much, because my... Employer would be quite cross with me; but the other guys? They need you. And you need them. I know you Quarians are a communal lot, that you prioritize helping others; even to your own detriment at times. Maybe not to the point of self harm, but far more than other species I have seen.
jShepard: Employer? Who are you. I need to know that before I continue.
ModPilate: I can't answer that. What I am is something that is classified. But I do have y'all best interests at heart.
jShepard: ...
jShepard: ...fine. I'll read what that AI said, and I'll tell them exactly why AI's must be wiped away.
ModPilate: She's not an AI, but you'll discover that soon enough. But please do so for the latter. I partially created this chat for cultural exchange after all.
jShepard: Don't make me regret this.Click to shrink...
...
Main Chat:
jShepard: Alright... I read what you wrote Whisper.
Whisper-11: Oh?
jShepard: I... Apologize for my overreaction. I had assumed that you were an AI. I was clearly mistaken. You have suffered, and I did not understand it. I acted like a Bosh'tet and an ax'kah. But if you knew just how dangerous AI were, you would understand my feelings on them.
Whisper-11: I feel as if there is a story to be had here?
jShepard: There is. I would prefer the others be here though, before I tell it.
jShepard: ?
jShepard: Wait a minute. I just now noticed. Why are our names colored now?
ModPilate: New feature I just now added to help all y'all differentiate and all that. I hope you all like the colors I picked out.
jShepard: ...It is acceptable. I like Purple.
jShepard: Anyways, Freeman? Hornet? Taylor? Robb? Are you available?
Hornet: I am here. I have set to make camp for the night, and have eaten my dinner.
Hornet: Red... How astonishingly appropriate.
jShepard: Pilate knows far more than he lets on.
tHebert: Well that isn't a big surprise. He's a Tinker or a Master of some kind. He can probably pull what he wants to know out of our minds.
tHebert: And dark grey?! Really?!
jShepard: I don't know what those words mean, Taylor, but... I don't think that fits. When I asked him who he was, he said he couldn't even tell me what he was.
tHebert: That's not creepy at all.
ModPilate: I'm a troll at times, but do not ask. Some things are not meant to be known here. Consider that a warning.Click to shrink...
...
Jon flinched in the safety in his room.
He couldn't help but feel some small measure of fear at that, and he didn't know why.
He took a breath and calmed himself, and also tried to get his thoughts straight.
Then he frowned and took note that Robb and Freeman hadn't replied yet.
...
jShepard: Robb? Freeman?
rStark: I apologize, I was in the midst of assisting father in executing a pair of Nights Watch Deserters. I'm riding back to Winterfell now, so don't expect me to talk much. But I will be listening.
...
Jon grimaced at the imagery.
He didn't know what they used for execution, but Robb's people seemed to be rather primitive; so he decided it would be best left to the imagination.
...
gFreeman: WHAT?!
jShepard: Uh, what?
gFreeman: SORRY, A LITTLE BUSY RIGHT NOW WITH AN EXPERIMENT!
gFreeman:
gFreeman: I'M SHOWING ANTI-MATTER PARTICLES WHO'S BOSS RIGHT NOW! I'LL CATCH UP LATER!Click to shrink...
...
Jon stared for several seconds, not really comprehending what he was seeing. He was a bad engineer, all things considered; which was the opposite of desirable for a Quarian.
But he felt rather assured that if he found a way to ask Tali what he was looking at, she probably wouldn't have a good answer either.
It was cute when she got stumped though, because she would get so frustrated trying to come up with a reasonable answer.
He chuckled at the thought of it.
He turned his attention back to the chat.
...
Whisper-11: .....I have many questions, because I know hard science when I see it. Did you say Anti-Matter Particles?
tHebert: He did... Anti-Matter, the stuff that explodes violently when exposed to matter... He's screwing around with that?
rStark: I have no idea what any of that means, and I have no idea what the purpose of that device may be, but it truly looks like the work of the gods... or perhaps the Children.
Hornet: It blinded me. It reminds me of the Radiance. I do not like it. I do not trust it. Only evil can result of this.
jShepard: Well, I can tell there's a lot of engineering in that... But it doesn't look safe. I'll have to find a way to show that to Tali just to get her reaction. It'll be so funny watching her hem and haw at it trying to puzzle it out.
jShepard: Anyways, I suppose I should tell you all why I reacted so... Poorly to the concept of Whisper being an AI.
tHebert: I was wondering about that, yes. You reacted worse than those conspiracy theorists that claim that Dragon is an AI
jShepard: At some point you need to fill us in on your world, but for now...
jShepard: You see, hundreds of years ago, my people, the Quarians, lived on a world known as Rannoch.
Whisper-11: Already I felt a sense of dread, because that is a loaded sentence.
rStark: I could sense the silent emphasis on "Lived"
jShepard: Yes... We don't live there now.
jShepard: But for context, you need to see something.
jShepard:
jShepard: That is myself on the right, and my best friend Tali on the left. You notice how we're both wearing suits that show nothing?
tHebert: Well... Yeah? Why? Are you like in a place where you can't breath? Do you not breath Oxygen or something?
jShepard: Not exactly. We breath O2 like most of the other races in the Galaxy. But our Immune Systems... Well, they are not meant for any envoirnment besides Rannoch itself. We get sick from any exposure unless it is Rannoch itself, or if the area has been completely steralized.
Whisper-11: Traveler damn... That really fucking sucks. What, you can't ever take that off?
jShepard: Not unless the room in question has been thoroughly sanitized.
Whisper-11: How do you have sex then?
jShepard: ....With very careful preperation...
jShepard: But that leads into why things are the way they are now.
jShepard: About 300 years ago, my people had created these machines known as Geth. They were robotic servents and workers. Mainly doing jobs that were too dangerous for people to do. No one ever thought much of it, but then one day... A Geth Platform asked its owners, "Does this unit have a soul?"
tHebert: Oh shit.
jShepard: People did not... react well. The Council, the ruling body that governs the Galaxy, ordered us to immediatly destroy the Geth. AI, even back then, were something seen to be feared. We tried to follow their instructions. Instead, the Geth massacred us. We were forced to flee to the stars. It's called The Morning War, for we lost Rannoch and the handful of colonies we had. Our population dropped from 13 Billion to rougly 20 Million...
tHebert: Jesus fuck!
Whisper-11: I sympathize... Truly I do... It reminds me of my own home you know?
rStark: I cannot even begin to fathom that number... I did not know it was possible to be that many... So many dead.
Hornet: So many souls lost for nothing....
jShepard: That's not the worst of it in my opnion at least. We begged the Council for help. They refused. For hundreds of years, they have refused to let us settle any new planet that might be capable of hosting us; allowing the fucking Turians to settle them instead. We have been forced to live on spaceships for hundreds of years, our population declining. My people are dying now... and the Council is pushing us to a slow extinction by refusing to help or let us settle.
Whisper-11: ....I am really fucking angry now... Like you don't understand, I'm literally shaking in my armor.
Whisper-11: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! BUNCH OF USELESS STUPID FUCKING CUNTS TELL YOU TO KILL THE MACHINES AND THEN LEAVE YOU OUT TO DIE!?
Whisper-11: That is pure fucking evil!!!!
Whisper-11: At least when genocide was attempted against my people, we still have our planet and a home!
tHebert: I feel sick to my stomach now... I think I want to throw up.
Hornet: My people lost much due to the Radiance. My fathers kingdom is dead and abandoned now... I think I am among the few here who can understand you, Shepard.
Hornet: So believe me when I say, that I want nothing more than to use my Needle to stab this "Council" of False Rulers to a wall and allow themselves to expire while I watch the soul leave their bodies.
jShepard: Thanks Hornet.
jShepard: Thanks all of you, really. To be honest, hearing you guys being so understanding and sympathetic. It's... It feels a little reassuring that someone else can sympathize with my peoples plight.
jShepard: Even if it requires you to be from another universe entirely.Click to shrink...
...
Jon sighed and leaned his head against the bulkhead and closed his eyes.
He felt... lighter, for telling everyone everything.
Maybe it was their expressions of sympathy and anger, but it made him feel like he wasn't alone in the universe.
Well... Not alone with the exception of his older sister and Tali, but that went without saying.
He felt a ping and opened the chat, and he was genuinely glad that his quarters was soundproofed because he would have looked like a crazy person with how he doubled over in laughing.
...
gFreeman: WHOOOOOO! Experiment was a success! Anti-Matter Energy projections were well within the estimated bounds, which meant our calculations were correct! FUCK YEAH! Teleportation and Anti-Matter Energy Production have both been proven possible!
gFreeman: Hey Whisper! Are you cool if I set the first teleport for your bedroom?
Whisper-11: Gordon... I'm flattered... Well and Truly... but uh, now isn't the best time.
gFreeman: Why?
tHebert: Read what you missed.
gFreeman: .....
gFreeman: So Shep's people are space Jews... Or space Roma, got it.
tHebert: FREEMAN!
gFreman: What? Look, if you want to make things better, maybe once I figure out proper teleportation, I can use one of the samples to make an Anti-Matter Bomb and give it to Shep; and he can plant it on the Headquarters on wherever these Galactic Council Assholes are. He gets to blow them up, I get to test out teleportation and anti-matter bombs (which the Government will pay bank for, and will make me rich), we all win.
jShepard: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
jShepard: I have no idea who these "Jew's" are, but I would assume by Taylors reaction that it is not a good thing. But I'll be honest, the Anti-Matter Bomb? That honestly gave me a good laugh.
jShepard: Never change Freeman. Never change.
gFreeman: Why would I change? I'm a physics crunching badass and perfect the way that I am.
rStark: I think most would disagree.
Whisper-11: He's more than good enough for me.Click to shrink...
...
Jon closed the chat and laid down in his hammock with a smile.
If nothing else, Freeman had given him a fantasy he could get behind.
Watching those smug Bosh'tets on the Council and imagining the looks on their faces when demonstrating an anti-matter bomb?
Oh he would sleep well tonight.
...
New A/N: Nothing new to say here except for the old hands, I switched Taylor and Robb's colors because I felt they suited each other better. Darker grey-black for Taylor because of her costume, and lighter grey for Robb because of the Stark banner.
I just hope it's good enough and know... It was absolute PAIN that was filling in all the colors for the usernames... again!
In any case.
Please lemme know what you guys think, the feedback helps me immensely.
And I will see ya when I see ya.