Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The quiet sounds of the fork scraping against the bowl were familiar to Alex, a comfort in the ever-growing silence. Tonight, he had made what he hoped was a semblance to his mother’s yakimeshi. Either way, Azaelea seemed to like it, and that was all that really mattered. Maybe he could show her when she was closer to his size. She was still so small, far smaller than Alex had been at four years old, but she was also growing up in the apocalypse and food was steadily getting harder to find. It worried Alex, but they still had enough food in the bunker for at least another two years, even more if he rationed it right. He still went out on searches ( and thanked whatever scientist from 200 years ago that had come up with the preservatives to keep just about everything fresh for years on end ) and found plenty, but he knew that would only last so long. Whenever they ran out and Alex was unable to find any more food, they would have to move. That would probably kill them in a matter of days. Alex was a very capable fighter and had taught Azaelea everything, but the undead had been getting more dangerous as of late. Hordes were growing in size, more were merging, and they were getting desperate for living food. Even with Alex and Azaelea’s combined forces and immunity, they stood no chance against a big number of undead. Using their powers was too dangerous as well, since Alex could hurt Azaealea or fling her into a horde, and Azaelea couldn't do much beyond some very convincing illusions.

Alex sighed, burying his face in his left hand. The right one was still injured from his latest excursion, but not injured enough to keep him from holding a fork ( or a gun ). Azaelea paused mid-bite and reached over, gently tapping his forearm. He met her worried gaze and smiled softly, shoving his worries away. Her stare chipped another piece of his already broken heart away. She was far too young to be so… well. Alex could write a list of words that wrapped around the entire mountain to describe what Azaelea was too young for. She should have been busy worrying about where to find the best spot to hide in a game of hide-and-seek, not about Alex. He was the stronger one, the one meant to carry all the burden. Azaelea was just a girl, barely four, and Alex wished every day that he could give her a world where she could truly be a child. As he continued to spiral, Azaelea tugged on his sleeve once more. 

<<Are you okay? >>she signed, still visibly concerned.

<<Yeah, I’m alright. Just lost in thought. Eat up, alright?>>

She nodded and returned to her food. The room descended into silence once more, the only noise coming from their chewing. Alex tried not to spiral anymore, fending off any thoughts that might send him into another haze of sadness and longing for things he would never have again. Recently, his spirals had been getting worse, which was worrying. He and Azaelea were the last sentient beings alive in a universal apocalypse, for fuck’s sake. They had no time for things like emotional spirals.

Once both of them had finished dinner, Alex sent Azaelea to her room to get ready for bed and started cleaning the dishes. The cold water from the tap relaxed his frayed nerves a bit as it flowed over his hands, flooding his mind with memories from before the universe went to shit. He closed his eyes, a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips, and let the icy liquid soften his heart for just a moment longer. The cold had always been a comfort to Alex. Cold meant that he was in the glaciers with Mama’s family, skating over the ice and playing games with his older brother, Ollie. Sometimes, Ollie would take him a little farther out and they would find all sorts of wonders within the ice, ranging from bicycles, old vehicles from the 2200s, and plenty of other amazing things. They were always easy to see as well, since the ice was so amazingly clear. Alex could barely remember the names of anything, given that he was more gifted in math, but Ollie loved to go on and on about everything they found and Alex would listen to every word with the wonder only a young child could have. Oftentimes, Alex would find himself wishing he could go back to those times, go back to being a naive little boy who had everything he could ever need, but he would always catch himself before he could get too far. Wishes did nothing to help him survive, no matter how badly he wanted things. Usually, if he let them fester in his mind, they would lead to tears, which only made things worse. Tears wasted valuable water, and that was even scarcer than food.

Alex sighed and shook himself out of his fantasies, refocusing on the plates that needed cleaning. It would only be so long before Azaelea came by asking for another story, and he really did need to finish. Thankfully, the task was done quickly and he was able to have a few moments to himself. Alex walked through the bunker facility, past rooms full of maps, weapons, and all sorts of things designed to keep a government running. None of it had been used, given that the World Government had fallen seven years ago, right alongside the last living species in the universe. Alex had been six years old at the time. He preferred not to think about that either. As he passed by another room collecting dust, the door he was looking for came into view. Room 164. Alex always found that particular room’s number a little funny, given that it was the same number of Ollie’s strike team. Even if the only one he was related to was Ollie, all six members of the 164th were like his older siblings. Ollie, Thomas, Delilah, Steve, Lavender, even Marlee… god, he missed them every second. He hoped he was providing Azaelea with the same love he received from all of them. Once again, Alex pulled himself out of his thoughts and refrained from dragging his nails across his face. As much as Alex appreciated the sped-up human evolution that had taken place in the past 1,000 years, he despised humanity’s advancement in memory recollection. Being able to recall things as far back as the first year of life meant that he remembered everything about what he had lost. His mother’s grin when he successfully shot the targets on the ice, his father’s laugh as he picked him up and held him close, Ollie’s voice when he was telling Alex everything he loved about him, and so much more that he wished would just flush away into time.

Alex pushed the door to the room open, feeling the blast of cool air across his face. There, standing tall in all of its useless glory, was the giant machine that was supposedly meant to be the savior of humanity. According to the World Leader’s notes, it was a portal to a separate universe. It had everything it could need. Contributions from thousands of species, amazing, failsafe equations, volunteers to test it, and yet it still wouldn’t work. It was like a snack on the top shelf. You could see it and list each ingredient that brought it together, you could reach up and brush your fingers against the side, but you just couldn’t grasp it hard enough to bring it down. Alex had tried to start it up, checking and rechecking the math for any sort of mistake or fluke, but nothing would work. He hadn’t given up, but the number of tries had lessened. Sooner or later, he would have to accept that it wouldn’t work and move on with his life. It was hard, though. That machine was the last flicker of hope he had towards getting himself and Azaelea out of their misery, and the thought of letting it die saddened him a lot more than it should have. He sighed and picked up his mother’s personal notes. She had never officially been part of the project ( it would make no sense for an icefighter with a tendency to solve her problems by shooting them to be a part of such a large thing ), but the World Leader had learned over years of knowing her through Alex’s father that Marya Jade was smart enough to put any of the other scientists working on the machine to shame. She contributed a lot of ideas that greatly sped up the progress of the machine and, once the virus had become a serious problem in the universe, had been smart enough to keep them with her. Alex had them all and had revised them himself, but… even with her brilliance, nothing would get the machine to produce anything beyond a small spark. 

The door opened behind him, prompting Alex to turn around. He could do mental gymnastics over a failed dream another time. His mouth opened to speak, but he paused before saying anything. Azaelea looked like she had seen an undead in the entryway, which would never happen. Unless… 

<<Undead - monster - broken - red->> she frantically signed, faster than Alex could keep up with.

<<Slow down, Zae. What’s going on ?>> he asked, furrowing his brows with worry. The only time she had even been this spooked was when an undead got into their previous camp. She took a steady breath and looked up at him, rainbow meeting icy blue. 

<<Undead in the bunker. Lots of them. Monster undead too. Entrance is broken. Big red lights are flashing everywhere. Do I get my emergency bag?>>

Alex’s eyes widened. Undead inside the bunker? That was bad. That was really, really bad, especially if Azaelea was right about the number of them. She could be making things up, but when had she ever lied before? Alex dashed to the door and pulled it open, poking his head out. Sure enough, there they were. At the end of the hallway, growling, screaming, and clawing at the stone, was a horde of undead. There were only ten of them, but Alex wasn’t stupid. He knew there were probably hundreds more, if not thousands. He swore and turned back, nodding at Azaelea. 

Get your emergency bag and any weapon that’s loaded and that you’re gonna be able to use. If there’s anything you want from your room, get it now . She nodded and sped off, leaving Alex alone to try and put together a quick plan. There was an emergency exit for them to use, so that was out of the way, but where would they go? Clearly, the mountains were out of the question. Maybe they could go to the glaciers, but that would take at least a week. 

Alex swore even more as he ran to collect his own emergency bag. All of his keepsakes were already stored inside, alongside a multitude of laser weapons, a few guns, and enough ammunition to supply a small army. He hadn’t thought to pack any food, but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Water, on the other hand… well, he could always raid some houses. Once he had gathered everything, he ran out and found Azaelea waiting near the door to Room 164. Alex scooped her up and began running to the emergency exit, thinking of the quickest way to get to the glaciers. He turned a corner, muttering reassurances to Azaelea, and slammed right into an undead. Azaelea whimpered and clung to him tighter, shaking in his arms. He quickly turned around, trying to outrun the very hungry undead and the other undead following it. Their screams rang loud in his ears and echoed through the hallway, alerting the first horde of undead about the new prey. Alex, caught in a dead end, ran into Room 164 and slammed the door closed, knowing it wouldn’t hold the undead for long. Azaelea gripped his shirt and looked at him with fear, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. God, she didn’t deserve this. She should have been playing with kids her age in a sunlit backyard, not sentenced to a gruesome death by the hand of undead monsters! Within thirty seconds, the undead had broken through the door and were pouring through. Alex put Azaelea behind him and pulled out a laser gun, shooting every undead that got close. Unfortunately, he was quickly overwhelmed by how many there were and he swore again, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. This was it. He was going to die, and Azaelea was next. With them, their universe would die too. Tears burned in his eyes, begging to be released after years of being held back. He almost let them go, until an idea sparked in his mind. He rapidly spun to face the machine and held out his arm, willing a blast of power to strike the machine. For a horrible, terrifying second, nothing happened, and then-

It worked. After so many tries, the machine was on. A swirling vortex of colors opened up, humming gently, as if it were trying to reassure Alex. He could barely hear it over the undead, but it comforted him nonetheless. Azaelea’s rainbow eyes widened and she looked at Alex, a questioning gleam shining through the fear. Alex took a breath and nodded, pulling her close.

“Go. I’ll be right behind you. I love you, okay? I love you so much. We’ll be okay,” he whispered, trying to convince himself that the words were for her and not for the sheer relief he felt at their chance of an escape. His voice was rough from lack of use, but those words were too important for sign. He let her go with one last gentle kiss to her strawberry blonde hair, watching her dash through the multicolored portal. A smile graced his features and he relaxed, which was easily the dumbest thing he could do in his situation. Several undead tried to tackle him, screeching and clawing at his skin with their sharpened nails. Alex managed to shove them off, but not before sustaining some concerningly deep cuts, a particularly nasty one slicing his mouth. The injury on his left hand reopened, dripping blood all over the concrete floor. It provided a distraction for the undead, allowing Alex to scramble away. He spared himself one last glance at the room, remembering every single time he ever stepped foot inside. As strange as it was to think, he would miss the bunker. It had been his and Azaelea’s home for the past year. Before he could rethink it, he decided to jot down a quick note. He knew it was unlikely that anyone would ever find it, but it made him feel better. He released it into the air and watched it flutter to the ground. Alex took another deep breath, blasted the machine to close after him, and jumped into the vortex. 

Instead of landing on solid ground, Alex found himself falling from a worrying height. It was dark outside, bringing his visibility down, but the light of the moon was enough to let him have a good look at the landmass he was falling towards. It was… beautiful. There was a large, glowing river separating it in the middle, with one side looking like something straight out of a fantasy show and the other one like certain parts of Europe Alex had visited in the past. Stars shone in the sky, lighting up the sky with an array of beautiful colors that made the night sky back in Japorusia look like nothing. Azaelea would have loved it. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Azaelea in the sky. She was probably too far ahead, so he didn’t worry about it. As he fell, he imagined all the possibilities of the new universe. Would there be people? Humans, or something else? What languages did they speak? How advanced was their technology? What did they eat? Each question brightened his burned out soul a little more, pulling out the child that had been slowly dying deep within him. As his mind wandered, he noticed how close the ground was getting. Some choice words in Russian escaped his bleeding lips as he used his power to create a shield around himself. The impact would still hurt, but he would be spared from death and any serious injuries. Alex looked down, expecting to see a crater with Azaelea in it ( she would be fine without the shield. They had found out the hard way how durable her body was ), but there was no sign of anything. His eyes scanned the surroundings, hoping for anything, but all he saw were a few scattered villages, a large castle on a hill, and a large forest getting closer and closer to him. Alex’s previous excitement was replaced with panic, shoving the child right back down into his hole of darkness. His mind started spewing out all sorts of scenarios about why she wasn’t there. Maybe she didn’t survive the vortex, or maybe she wasn’t even in the same universe. That particular one sent a wave of terror through Alex’s body, so he chose to settle on the scenario in which she landed on a different part of the landmass. 

After what felt like fifteen minutes ( but was probably only seven, maybe eight ), Alex hit the ground. As expected, it hurt like a bitch. He rolled over in the dirt, groaning and waiting for the sky to stop spinning. His bite scar pulsed with pain, but he was used to that. Although his medical knowledge was limited, Alex was well aware that it hadn’t healed properly. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been when he first got it ( that had been a lovely experience ), but it would still flare up from time to time. He stood up and dusted himself off, taking a look at his surroundings. There were trees everywhere, oddly colored mushrooms scattered around the roots. It looked like something out of his mother’s fantasy novels, except the scene in front of him was very real. Alex’s face fell for a moment, reminded of his mother’s death once again. She would have liked this, he thought, pushing his more negative thoughts aside. If he let those win him over, he knew the breakdown would be long, hard, and very tearful. He couldn’t handle that. Not then, not ever. Tears waste water, Alex reminded himself, roughly wiping away the wetness gathering in the corners of his eyes. He steeled himself with a rapid breath and began walking forward, biting his tongue to ignore the pain pulsing from his wounds. He knew he would have to take care of them at some point, but past experiences had taught him that it was best to wait until a safe, hidden shelter was secured before stopping to take care of longer tasks. Dressing his wounds usually took fifteen minutes at a minimum, but Alex could tell that he would need more time than that.

The forest was quiet, almost too quiet. It felt like it was waiting for something to jump out, putting Alex even more on edge. A man’s panicked shout suddenly echoed through the trees, nearly making Alex jump out of his skin. He dashed into the nearest oak, pulling out one of his lasershots and aiming it in the direction of the ever-growing noise. His senses were going wild, unused to hearing other humans. At least, he assumed the screaming man was human. It wasn’t like Alex could say anything on that particular subject, given that his only human contact in five years was with Azaelea ( he wasn’t completely sure if that counted, given that the only sounds she had made since he had found her two years ago were whimpers of fear and the occasional giggle ). In front of him, there was a small cliff he guessed to be about ten feet in height, dropping down to a rocky puddle. At some point, it had begun to rain, adding another worry to Alex’s rapidly lengthening list. He had no idea what was in the water in this universe, so he could only hope that it wouldn’t infect his exposed wounds. The loud crashing got louder from over the top of the cliff, the man’s voice getting closer as well. Alex narrowed his eyes, gripping the gun tighter and keeping his hands as still as he could. Soon enough, the source of the shouting, a man in medieval-style armor ( a soldier, maybe? ) crashed through the bushes and tumbled off of the cliff. He sat up, roughly backing away from an unseen force and begging for mercy. Alex, still hidden within the canopy, slowly lowered his gun. The man was no threat to him at all in his current state, and Alex was curious as to what he was so afraid of. 

His answer came quickly in the form of a girl appearing to be about 17 years old. She was dressed oddly and had two weird swords in her hands, clearly meant for killing the soldier. Alex raised an eyebrow, intrigued at the scene before him. The girl put both of her swords to the soldier’s neck, ignoring his pleas for his life. Well, this is certainly interesting, he thought, shifting slightly in the tree to get a better look. He expected the girl to kill the soldier, but her swords didn’t move. The soldier scrambled up, turning to dash away, but he froze once again when he locked eyes with Alex. He stared at him and Alex stared back, sharpening his gaze into the most threatening glare he could muster. The soldier shrieked, dropping his sword and running like his life depended on it. Alex could gather pretty well what he must have looked like to the soldier. A shadowy figure, hidden in a tree, glaring down with eyes glowing an eerie, icy blue. Even after three years of his eyes being that shade, it still startled Alex sometimes when he glanced in a mirror and saw how cold and dead they were. It wasn’t unfit to what he was at all. It was just… strange. He focused his attention on the girl, noticing that she had lowered her hood. Her eyes were a pale purple, gleaming like amethyst. Two markings looking similar to tribal tattoos were on her cheeks, as well as a faint dusting of freckles. Her hair was snowy white, cascading down to her shoulders with two horns poking out of the top of her head. Alex thought that those were a bit weird, but maybe they were normal in the universe he had just entered. A closer look at her hand showed that she had four fingers instead of five. A birth defect, maybe? Alex pondered. She looked disappointed with herself and sighed, muttering about having to return. 

Alex watched her for a moment longer, wondering what he should do. Talking to her didn’t seem like the best way to go, since Alex was more than sure that he wouldn’t be able to hold a proper conversation if he tried. He could leave, which sounded like an excellent option, but she could also be useful. She clearly knew her way around and would be able to give Alex some information, even if it was only a bit. His thoughts were cut short by a bird’s chirp, startling him and causing him to lose his footing. He tried in vain to grab at a branch, but his efforts were futile. He slammed into the ground on his side, letting out an involuntary groan and a bloody cough. Oh, great, now my throat’s bleeding, he thought, forcing himself up and suppressing a wince as his injured hand scraped a rock. Alex stood up and met the eyes of the girl, who had her swords drawn again. He pulled out the lasershot and pointed it at her head, keeping a slightly trembling finger on the trigger. Neither of them moved, silently glaring and sizing each other up. The silence stretched on until the girl lowered her weapon, taking a careful step towards Alex. He gripped his gun harder and gave her a withering stare, warning her to back off. 

“...You’re hurt,” she said, her voice laced with a thick accent. It sounded Scottish, but that couldn’t be right. Alex narrowed his eyes at her, watching as she continued to step closer. When she was in front of him, she put her hand on the barrel of the lasershot and slowly lowered it so it was pointing at the ground. He should have stopped her, but he didn’t. 

“I won’t do nothin’, I promise. If you’d let me, I’d like ta take you back ta base an’ have those wounds looked at,” she continued, speaking to him as if he was a cornered animal. Alex certainly felt like one. Instead of attacking her or doing anything in his usual fashion, he stayed completely still. It was true that he needed his wounds taken care of, but past experience had worn his trust thin.

She must have taken his silence as a yes, taking a step back and releasing a sigh. She offered her hand to Alex, giving him what he assumed to be an attempt at a comforting smile. His eyebrows furrowed in another glare, quietly hissing at her through clenched teeth. She pulled her hand back, raising both of them in the air.

“No touchin’, got it.” She turned and leapt into the trees, catching Alex by surprise.

“I’m assumin’ you can do this, since you were up in tha’ tree an’ all,” she said, looking down at him from above. Alex secured his lasershot in its holster and quickly joined her, dashing up to the next branch until he was on top of the cliff. The girl landed next to him, walking forward and motioning for him to follow. 

“Quiet type, eh? Mah name’s Rayla,” she said, switching to a more casual tone. 

“...Alex,” he muttered, his voice even rougher than before. His minimal speech in the past five years combined with the nasty wound he had gotten on his throat from a particularly violent undead meant that his voice was, to put it nicely, awful. He sounded like he had nearly been suffocated after singing at maximum volume for three days straight, and even that wasn’t accurate to how his voice was. The girl- Rayla- startled a bit, looking over her shoulder at him with alarm in her eyes. 

“Yeh sound like ye’ve been through hell, mate,” she said, staring at him for a few more seconds before turning her attention back to wherever she was leading him. They lapsed into silence, focusing on nothing but their thoughts and the other person until Alex remembered something.

“...You were supposed to kill him.”

“Hm?”

“That soldier. You had to kill him, right?” Rayla stiffened, clenching her fists. She slowly nodded, keeping her gaze trained ahead. Alex stared at her for a few moments. She had said they were going to some kind of base, so he could only assume the others at that base would ask if the soldier was dead.

“Bodies of that size are hard to drag. And it’s raining. That would explain the lack of blood on your swords,” he said, watching her posture relax once again. She looked back at him and smiled gratefully.

The rest of the walk was in complete silence, which Alex appreciated. His throat hurt from talking, even though he had only uttered a few words. To his relief, nothing too terrible had happened yet. He was still wary of Rayla, but her body language and her words suggested that she only wanted to help. 

Unfortunately, her friends had different opinions.

Chapter Text

HELLO ALL!!! To those who have read this and left kudos, thank you!!! It means the world to me that people enjoy my writing and I hope all of you know that ❤️

I meant to update this a LOT sooner (as in a week after releasing the first chapter) but life has gotten in the way and writers block has been kicking my ass. I promise that there’ll be an update before Halloween, and I hope you all love what I have in store 🤠 (im so serious the lore for this story is INSANE and what I have out is barely the tip of the iceberg lol)

I will also be changing the comment setting due to several comments accusing me of using AI and asking me to share my voice/other things that should definitely not be shared on the internet to prove that I’m not AI. The comments seemed to be AI generated and all of them were from guests, so I have no idea who they’re from or if they’re from humans. If it’s the latter, I hope that you know how incredibly awful it is to see something you’ve spent almost two years of your life on to be accused of something so lifeless. Please don’t ever do this, no matter how much you think something may be AI.

To those who choose to do so anyway, fuck you. Stay the hell away from everyone on this site, and go think long and hard about the kind of person you want to be. 

Anyways, that’s all from me until the next chapter is out. Thank you again to every person who read this and left kudos, and I hope all of you have a wonderful rest of your day ❤️