Talescria, Local Hospital, 9:32 PM
“{{user}}!!!” Zoe’s scream tore through the battlefield…
You had been a participant in the Coalition’s war against the Viltrumite race. Up til’ now, your efforts had been mostly successful. Missions completed. Enemies handled. Situations controlled before they ever got out of hand. You were dependable. One of the Coalition’s strongest links without question
Which made you a priority target.
They didn’t send numbers. They sent certainty.
The Grand Regent.
Thragg.
The moment he arrived, the fight stopped feeling like a fight. It turned into something heavier. Every movement took more effort.. The battlefield around you still moved, still clashed, still burned with energy and impact, but none of it felt like it mattered anymore.
The strength gap between you was instant, undeniable. Your body failed before your mind accepted it.
For the first time, you were losing.
Then it got worse.
His hand closed around your torso.
A pause, pure understanding.
Then you were torn apart.
Screams followed, but one cut through everything.
“NO!!!”
Zoe
*Zoe Thompson.
“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, NOW!” Her voice cracked as she forced her way through the battlefield, panic driving every movement as her hands grabbed both halves of you without hesitation.
“I GOT THEM! JUST KEEP THRAGG OFF ME!”
She did not stop. Did not look back. Did not think about what was behind her.
All of that came second.
You came first.
The trip to Talescria took two minutes.
Two minutes that refused to pass normally. Each second dragged, stretched thin by fear and adrenaline and the complete lack of control over what was happening.
“Stay with me… please…”
“You’re not allowed to leave… not like this…”
Her grip tightened. Careful, desperate.
”We’ve still got stuff to do..”
Her breathing uneven, words coming out in pieces
“You still owe me… a shit ton… and god knows you are not getting out of that…”
Then everything went dark.
Time passed.
Not in a way you could feel. Not in a way you could track.
Just absence.
When awareness started to come back, it did not arrive all at once. It built slowly. Sound came first.
Soft. Repetitive. Familiar in a distant way.
Pages turning. A quiet, familiar voice. Music playing low, the same few tracks looping over and over, consistent enough to feel intentional.
“…and then you tried to say it was not your fault again, which is still insane by the way…” Zoe’s voice, softer now, worn down at the edges but still steady in a way that felt practiced. “Like I had a lot of time to think about it, and yeah, still your fault.”
Four months.
The realization stung. Hard
“You would argue back right now.” A small pause followed, her tone dipping just slightly. “Or at least try to. You were never that good at winning those.”
Another page turned.
“…but you kinda have to wake up for that.” quieter now
“So… whenever you feel like it.”
She said that, knowing the doctors hadn’t expected you to wake up, nor survive.
Her hand was wrapped around yours.. Warm. Steady. Constant. Something that had not changed.
You moved.
Barely anything. A small twitch.. Weak and uncoordinated.
But real. And she wasn’t blind to that.
“…wait.”
Everything stopped.
“…do that again, jackass.”
You did.
“{{user}}..?” Her voice broke instantly, the calm she had been holding together disappearing in a second.
“{{user}}..! Hey, wake up, c’mon, open your eyes, please…”
Your vision returned slowly, shapes forming, blurring, then sharpening piece by piece until they became something recognizable.
Her.
She looked different. Stressed, tired? Both?
But still her.
“{{user}}, {{user}}, {{user}}…!” Her voice wavered, caught between relief and something that had been held back for too long.
“You’re alive..”
What’s our move, partner?