Prophecy Approved Companion

It was difficult for Qube to understand the emotions she felt in that moment. As the voice reached her ears, it was as if the separation between her inner and outer selves had been torn apart.

No longer was there an inner self, full of rage and sadness. Instead it grew and grew, until she was struggling to keep herself intact. The compulsion that had dragged her forward exploded, and for a moment Qube was afraid she’d lost her mind. Not since that day in the village, where she’d apparently been partially murdered and severed from the Golden Prophecy’s narrative, had she felt such blinding pain.

The sensation sharpened, tearing at her, and she knew, in her very bones, that she was supposed to be behind that throne. That she was but a ghost, and all that was real about her was a few short steps away.

It was agony.

Qube dropped to her knees, her hands pressed against her heart. The pain intensified, and the feeling of being torn apart was overwhelming. Her inner self had broken free, and it was only through the utmost effort that Qube could keep her sense of self together.

“I’m sorry,” the Evil Emperor whispered from amongst the chickens. When the Chosen One had picked the gauntlet up they’d gone quietly insane, running around in tight circles. “I—”

A figure stepped out from behind the throne.

The observational part of Qube, the rarely-silent little voice that constantly pointed out inconsistencies and strangeness about the world around her, wondered why the person before her had waited until this very moment to reveal themselves. After all, hiding behind a throne seemed very inconvenient, and waiting for the Chosen One to grab the gauntlet was needlessly dramatic. All in all, it was the sort of thing cooked up by someone with far too much time on their hands to think about the most impactful arrival on the scene.

The rest of Qube was rather more concerned with the fact that she was staring at her own corpse. Or, to be more specific, her own severed head, inexpertly attached to a body that bore only a passing similarity to Qube’s.

One major difference was that Qube was unable to change out of her Healer’s garb, leaving her form permanently clad in robes. This version of her had clearly not only mastered removing her Healer’s outfit, but also decided to wear some of the most impractical armour Qube had ever seen.

For one thing, the spikes on the skimpy black platemail were far too large. If the mysterious lady turned her head too fast, she would be in real danger of taking an eye out. For another, the whole point of plate armour was to provide maximum physical protection, at the expense of manoeuvrability. Someone who prized dexterity would choose an outfit closer to Sexy Screamy Spider Briar or Sencha Bard, where more flexible material offered less protection in exchange for greater freedom of movement.

People like Definitely Bad Guy eschewed physical protection all together, instead focusing on magic.

Which made the frankly bizarre design choices around this newcomer’s armour even more baffling. Large sections of skin were unprotected, and several vulnerable organs exposed in a way Qube had never seen before. It was both a Fighter and a Healer’s nightmare.

The only explanation that the gibbering remains that made up Qube’s logic centre could come up with was that it was intended not for practical purposes, but rather as a display of intimidation. Look at me, it seemed to say, I’m so powerful that I mock your very notions of protection.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more intimidated Qube was by the woman before her. And not just because — and this could not be stressed enough — of the whole severed head side of things. Someone had to be really, really confident in their strength to wander around wearing armour that was both heavy, and exposing.

Either that, or they’d been forced into wearing it to make them vulnerable.

Qube found herself looking away from the horrifying sight of her slightly undead-looking twin in order to glare at the Evil Emperor. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the Chosen One’s face.

“Oh [snacks],” he said quietly. “I’m going to kill them.”

“Wait,” Sencha Bard’s eyes narrowed as he looked between Qube and the corpse-lady. “How can this be? Are we supposed to slay both—” He cut himself off guiltily.

“A phoenix spell,” Definitely Bad Guy said softly, as if gazing upon a sacred item.

Sexy Screamy Spider Briar, however, wasted no time on words. Instead she bolted from the doorway towards the throne, grabbed Qube by the arm, and violently pulled her up and away from the approaching figure. Qube, jolted out of her desperate mental attempts to focus on anything other than the feeling that she was being split apart, allowed herself to be dragged.

“Get back, stranger,” the Hunter commanded the corpse, bringing to bear the full authority of the heir to the Thorny Crown.

“They’re so dead,” the Hero muttered.

“Stay behind me,” Sexy Screamy Spider Briar ordered Qube. “I don’t know who that is, but I don’t want it anywhere near you,” she said over her shoulder joints at the puzzled half-elf.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the figure said breathily as she continued to approach Qube. Her eyes, a dull white, were fixated on Qube. Her hair was also pure white, and across her neck was an unsightly scar, covered in clumsy stitches.

Qube rarely saw stitches — it was normally a better idea to just [Heal] the injured person. Unless… this poor person had been stuck here with the Evil Emperor, who most decidedly was not a Healer, and hadn’t had anyone to tend to her wound?

Seeing anyone in pain hurt her Healer instincts. Seeing this figure injured was more akin to seeing herself wounded. Qube reached past Sexy Screamy Spider Briar, seconds from casting a healing spell. The figure mirrored her, reaching back. The closer they got to each other, the more ghost-like Qube felt.

But she had no choice. She had to help. She had to save her.

“No!” Sexy Screamy Spider Briar said sharply, pushing Qube further back. Her action seemed to bring the others back to reality. Several of the chickens fled as Squiggles, who’d been patiently waiting at the doorway, suddenly broke and dashed into the room. The Mage and Bard shook themselves. The Evil Emperor, a man who’d faced down armies if the stories were true, flinched from the Hunter and stepped away.

However, it was the Chosen One who surprised them.

“Get her out of here,” he shouted at Sexy Screamy Spider Briar, gesturing at Qube.

“Wait, what?” Qube felt all jumbled up, trying to make sense of what was happening. She had to reach out to her not-twin. She had to do something. It was all wrong, and she had to fix it.

“You!” The white-haired version of Qube practically growled at the Chosen One. “You dare?”

“That’s right, Evil Qube,” the Chosen One said, stepping between Qube and the newly named Evil Qube, “focus on me. All your attention, now.”

“She’s not Evil!” Qube protested faintly as she was pulled away by Sexy Screamy Spider Briar. Everything was happening so fast, she felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. The blinding pain didn’t exactly help her concentration either.

Even through the pain, she heard the clang as the throne room doors slammed shut, trapping the party inside. It seemed Squiggles had been keeping the exit open.

“Please, don’t be alarmed, my fair Healer,” Sencha Bard said, taking his place in front of her, shielding her from the newcomer with his body. To her surprise, he looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “This outcome, while naturally tragic, is far better than I had feared.”

“How is this better?” Qube asked, her mind swirling. Why was he talking about this right now?

"Well you see…" the Bard actually looked sheepish. "I thought you were the adored that had to be slain. Later, I feared perhaps you were a spirit given form, and we would have to lay you to rest. It was all quite distressing."

"Oh," Qube said quietly, unsure of what to make of this mid-fight confession, before her counterpart made her opening move.

“You left me to die!” The potentially-Evil Qube screamed at the Chosen One. Dark clouds formed around her hands, and just the sight of them made Qube feel queasy. Whatever spell her counterpart was about to unleash wasn’t going to be pretty.

"[Betrayal's Embrace]," she cast with a snarl. Purple and black mana streamed out of her, heading towards the Chosen One. Unlike any other spell Qube had ever seen cast, this one made a noise as it moved. It was a high pitched, whining scream, that seemed to twist as the mana spiralled towards the party.

The background music was practically screaming as well. There was no cohesive melody, only jarring, jangling notes clashing together.

Even the chickens were screeching, all of them looking at the increasingly-unarguably-Evil Qube with accusatory, beady eyes.

"[Lesser Shield]! Squiggles! Get the chickens out of harm's way!" Qube forced herself to think as she wrenched herself out of Sexy Screamy Spider Briar's grip. The last thing they needed was a bunch of indestructible poultry on a battlefield.

Her magical shield slammed into place around the Chosen One seconds before the curse hit him. But it made no difference. The curse punched through the protection immediately, and hit the Hero's actual shield.

The shield instantly withered.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the entire party watched the shield that had taken blows from giant scorpions, clocks, and every beast in the woods, curled up on itself and shrivelled into a lump.

"[Fiddle] me," the Chosen One said, shocked.

"Astonishing," Definitely Bad Guy said with far too much admiration for Qube’s liking. "I have never seen such destructive power in a single spell before. You are magnificent."

"My dear," Sexy Screamy Spider Briar said, her voice throbbing with emotion. “Your Evil self is deadly.”

“Is this power something you’re capable of?” Sencha Bard asked Qube, his eyes wide with possibility.

“I don’t think so?” Qube replied uncertainly, before realising that there were much more important things to be focusing on. Such as the fact that her counterpart had just unleashed a spell capable of withering a shield.

However, the effort of the spell seemed to wear Evil Qube out. She jumped back, panting, and took up a defensive stance. As she did, the Chosen One’s shield started to somehow recover from the attack, slowly refilling.

Which wasn’t how shields worked. Or metal in general. Or even organic things. But this was magic, and thus unconstrained by such practicalities.

“You betrayed me,” Evil Qube said, and the pain in those three words made Qube feel like her heart was about to break. “You were supposed to protect me.”

“He didn’t betray you,” Qube said from behind the wall of her party.

“Don’t talk to her!” the Chosen One snapped, and Qube rocked back in surprise at his tone. He glanced over his shoulder at her and grimaced at her expression. “Sorry for snapping,” he said tersely. “But I don’t want her infecting you, or anything. I don’t know if you can come back from that.”

“Alas, it is always a pity to battle such a beautiful female,” Sencha Bard said with a sigh. “But we cannot allow our worthy Healer to be threatened, even by herself.” He pulled out his lute and strummed a few notes.

“You can’t fight her!” Qube protested.

“If that’s what it takes to protect our sweet sugar-Qube, then count me in,” Sexy Screamy Spider Briar said, pulling out two of her crossbows.

“She needs help,” Qube said, pulling at her own hair in frustration.

“If it is what must be done,” Definitely Bad Guy said dubiously, grasping his new staff.

“Why won’t anyone listen to me?!” Qube shouted.

Everyone seemed to be going insane! Sure, that [Betrayal’s Embrace] was extremely powerful, but they’d fought heaps of powerful things before! And what had happened to the Chosen One? He’d never acted like this! Ordering her around, ignoring what she wanted, not even looking for a way out of a fight, not even considering a third option. It was almost like he was… scared.

And the further away she was pushed from Evil Qube, the more she felt like she was being torn in two.

It was all utterly, utterly wrong.

And it was up to her to fix it!