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Reverser watched as Alix was consumed by the purple miasma he knew so well. Her tear-stained face and wide eyes hidden as it spread.
Business as usual.
They considered the irony in how Alix joined the akuma team, and wondered if they would be able to defend themselves from her ire long enough for backup to arrive or if they would poetically die.
A tiny speck of joy pushed through the normal wall of negative emotions, a hint of hope. Monarch misunderstood it, he always did. He believed Reverser was happy at a job well done, he thought nothing of it.
"Reverser! What's going on?" Monarch's voice demanded in their head.
Right. Work.
They reached forward, not entirely sure why the man was demanding to know what was going on, couldn't he tell? It was a normal akumatization.
Reverser blinked.
What... what was that...
They reached forward to grab at Alix, to disperse whatever apparition had caused him to have double-sight for a moment. Because that's the only thing that made sense. Someone's powers, maybe even Timebreaker's herself, had caused a second, older Alix to appear for a brief moment. Her arms crossed as her younger self fell to her knees. She winked at him, held a finger to her lips as the younger Alix held her head.
"Sir... I think--"
Reverser started to say, only to immediately be interrupted by their liege lord demanding immediate agreement and no thinking. They sighed. They finally put a hand on Alix, the younger Alix, her shoulder.
The older Alix was still there.
The purple miasma spread around them all, encasing them in a slowly growing bubble that didn't let them see outside. The older Alix looked more solid now, felt it too. She punched Marc out of step with Reverser.
As Marc rubbed his chin, he took in the new scene within the strangle white bubble.
Timebreaker, with her hands on a green and black helmet as she knelt on the ground and quietly screamed, frozen in time. Reverser with a hand on her shoulder, his fingertips slowly, ever so slowly, turning black with blood ink from where he touched her. Somehow, overlaid on top of them, he could see that if nothing was done, the ink would run up his white paper body before eventually flash-drying, and disintegrating him in place. Because somehow, and he knew it but not how he knew it, Timebreaker would be unable to stop her powers from going haywire.
Marc tapped a fingerless glove to his chin and turned to the older Alix, to an Alix that wasn't Timebreaker, and never would be Timebreaker. He held out his free hand to her as his mind was filled with memories of another timeline.
"Alix. I'm sorry."
"I get it, Marc."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him in close into a one-armed hug, he followed the path easily and his eyes watered, he could see another him in his mind, one that still wore that damned red hoodie, still smiled and joked, being friends, actual real friends with Alix. The both of them lovingly bullying Nath, a boyfriend to Marc, a best friend to Alix. The three of them smiling and laughing as they climbed over one another.
Marc felt himself collapse in her arms, too overwhelmed with the emotions of the other hims. The other Marcs he kept seeing in his mind's eye, the Marcs that got to be happy. Alix ruffled his hair before kissing his head and murmuring, "it's alright, Marc, I get it, I really do. And I'm sorry about all this."
He could have been happy.
With no dead friends or family. No one missing from his life. No one pretending at being human for some evil plot.
Instead... instead what he got was...
"I lied to you--"
"Marc..."
"I could have said no, I could have fought harder, I didn't need to make you think I was Nath, was your friend--"
"Sphinx has his hand on your heart. If he squeezed, you'd die. Marc. I get it."
No, no, she wasn't listening. He shook his head, opening his mouth and trying to explain again. This time she sighed, held him close and let him talk. Let him say every word on his mind about the entire shitshow that was their lives.
Yes, his life was literally at risk. If he denied Monarch, at best he would get another butterfly crawling into his mouth and feasting on what remained of his insides, at worst he would die immediately. He should have chosen death. He should have just died. Given up on his revenge for a cruel and fear-stricken Paris that saw an undefended Future Akuma and thought to make themselves feel better. He should have just died. Either one of the times he had been attacked before becoming an akuma, or by refusing to work with Monarch. He caused so much pain since he agreed. He's hurt so many people, none of them even deserved it (well except for that one blond asshole whose whole akuma thing is paralyzing kisses) but no one. Not one person that he's hurt since, had deserved what he's done under Monarch's command.
Least of all Nath and Alix.
It had taken literal years, a feigned friendship with Alix while Marc ordered the sentimonster version of Nath around from nearby. It had taken Marc forgetting he was supposed to be Nath when seeing and speaking through the sentimonster's eyes. But eventually, Marc had realized what he hadn't realized during the rush of negative emotions when he had been turned.
Nath had goaded him on.
Nath had willingly chosen death rather than keep obeying Monarch.
Marc should have done the same once he realized it could be done.
He should have!
He's sorry he didn't.
Marc hesitated and licked his lips.
"I... I didn't want to leave him alone. I'm sorry, Alix. I could have stopped his plan at any time, I chose him over you..."
He didn't clarify who he was. He didn't want to.
But whatever this bubble was? It told on him. In what he considered the worst way possible.
They watched as phantoms appeared, silently acting out Marc's worst fears, and proving they very well could have happened.
A phantom Monarch squeezed his hand around seemingly nothing and a Reverser stood there, choking as the purple miasma consumed him completely. When it stopped, Reverser still stood there, now devoid of any and all personality. A fully white paper man, no black spots or sections at all. Like a paper mannequin. A puppet whose strings hadn't been pulled yet. The phantom puppet went through the base, acting fully as Monarch's own body to experience the world.
A phantom Silencer appeared, smiling at the puppet and kissing it sweetly before frowning and stepping away. The puppet grinned and grabbed him. The scene thankfully changed but it still hurt to watch. The Monarch-puppet stepped on the sentimonster, saying something to it before the fake Nath nodded. Volpina appeared, as equally dead inside as Reverser was. Marc took note of the powers of the people the puppet brought to heel, and realized very quickly that something big was going to happen.
Marc stared in growing horror as his dearest friends in bondage stood together as phantom images. Even Paris's heroes stood with them--
Alix grabbed his face and turned it to her, settling her firm gaze upon him.
"Hey, no. Marc. Listen to me. I need you to stop doing that."
He tried to focus on her. She sighed.
"Okay... let me explain where we are. You were always good at ignoring things when you had something to think about instead, yeah?"
He gave her a little nod.
"Right now? We're in the Burrow. But it's not what it's supposed to be. Sphinx wanted to give Mini Me the power of Time Travel, because he forced Mayura to create a sentibeing that would let him know if a universal force liked a person enough. And me? Well the time bunny likes me a lot, say hi to Big Ears."
A tiny white rabbit with blue eyes popped out from behind her shoulder. Marc obeyed.
"Hi, Big Ears."
"Hi, Not Wonderland."
"Fluff!"
Marc blinked at the address, why was he called that?
"We're trying not to melt the punk's brain too much, it's just Marc or Reverser in this world of theirs, not any other name."
"That's why I said not."
Another world.... where Marc was known as Wonderland. Cool. But not important to now. Just like their argument on what to call him wasn't important.
"How is this Burrow different?"
The.... time travelers paused, and Alix definitely smiled at him and he thought the rabbit might have too.
"This world... hasn't had the Burrow manifest before. Big Ears wasn't really sure how much effort to put into appearing in this world now that a link was made. But also they don't want the link made. Sphinx wants the link made, and he tried to force it, tried to force Fluff here to enter the world. Right now? Fluff and Nooroo are being forced to fight each other. But they don't want to. And they're both still Universal Cosmic Forces, so it's having side-effects."
Marc nodded slowly, he thought he was following along easy enough. Universal cosmic forces, gods. Fluff was the time god. Nooroo was the... mind control god?
"Fluff is trying to stop Mini Me from gaining her powers by locking us into the Burrow, like a time bubble. We can see the past, present, and future here. And you, my dear punk, are not trained for the Burrow. So you're having some issues since you joined us."
Marc is not trained for the Burrow, for the fact that all possibilities can exist and are simultaneously existing within the Burrow. It made sense. Another nod.
"Normally all these worlds are kept behind like TV screens, they're not overwhelming like this. A bunny holder could view them at their leisure. But not like this. The slightest thought of another world, another possibility, is causing it to play out like we pressed play. Fluff grabbed me so I could get some control over this place."
Time's Most Beloved. Alix was basically a priest then? To be a god's mortal instrument through which to affect the world. To be... the mediator between the world and the infinite cosmos.
Sphinx had been right to try to manipulate her, she would have been a powerful akuma. But he knew she wasn't, the butterflies within him could sense kin, distant kin, she only had the barest trace of an akuma. A stain of a corrupted butterfly that didn't last long at all, and yet did infinitely.
"We knew this was coming, we prepared for it. The only way you could have stopped it, Marc, would be to become the bigger villain. And I wouldn't want that for you. You think what you saw a moment ago was bad? There's another path. Where the moment you became Reverser, you killed Sphinx and Nath, and chose to further akumatize yourself."
Marc squinted at her, before letting his gaze trail away, wondering if the Burrow would show him that possibility. But she had a firm hold on it, it seemed. Nothing appeared. He pursed his lips, she gave an exasperated but affectionate sigh.
"Really? Really, you have to know, don't you? No, I'm not biting, and you're not either. You can barely handle your other selves' emotions overlaying on your own."
"That's because I'm not used to happy emotions anymore."
"You understand how that's worse, yeah?"
"Fuck you?"
Alix lightly head bonked him, he felt a surge of affection as he matched her.
They kept their foreheads close as she sighed again.
"I'm sorry... that friendship you had with Mini Me while being Nath... that's the only friendship you'll get from me. Outside of the Burrow. And I'm sorry that you'll never get to see how much we vibe together when no one's plotting to use one of us. And I'm sorry that you probably won't even remember your time here with me."
"What do you..." Marc trailed off, his brain working overtime before he simply nodded, "yeah... it's a shame."
And it would be. Will be? Is? Always has been?
If the Burrow was everything everywhere all at once, then Marc remembering any of this once he left the broken Burrow would be akin to him going mad. Even if they spent a hundred years in stasis in this time bubble, getting to know each other, this iteration of each other. His brain wouldn't let him remember any of this. It was safer that way.
"How long do we have before..." He trailed off, realizing in that moment that he didn't know if or how someone would save him from Time just disintegrating him.
And Alix didn't seem willing to tell him which would happen.
"A while yet, if you're ready, I could show you some of my favorite timelines while we wait?"
"Yeah... that would be nice."
Marc and Alix settled together on the floor, leaning on each other and watching what equated to reels and shorts of timelines. The Reverser and Timebreaker stuck as anchor points, behind them and moving infinitely slowly as real time events happened to them outside the bubble of time.
---
"Hey..."
Marc rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. When had he fallen asleep? How long had it been?
"Sorry... you're a great pillow."
"Yeah, yeah, wake up kid."
"I'm only a few years younger than you."
"Which means I'm the adult."
"I'm 23--"
"Ah yes, you are baby."
"Fuck you!"
"No thanks~"
"Ugh, please tell me you didn't wake me up just to tell me that cringe-worthy joke, Alix?"
Marc rubbed the bridge of his nose. It had been a few years, he thought. Hard to tell time when it's happening around you. But his fellow punk still made those groan-worthy jokes. She was not a clown at all, something he told her often.
And he knew clowns, he was the son of one.
She smiled, almost sadly. He could see the story writing itself as she opened her mouth and spoke.
"It's time, Marc."
He slowly frowned, an almost foreign feeling after so long being happy in the bubble. He swallowed, tried to. Then again and finally the spittle went down. He licked his lips and took a deep breath before nodding.
"Okay... can I--"
Alix hugged him tight and Marc felt the tears burst without his permission.
He did his best to memorize the hug. The kindness he had been shown over the decades in the burrow. He still didn't think he deserved any of it, but Alix had made it perfectly clear that it didn't matter what he thought he deserved, she would love on him.
Because they were friends.
It was in another world, another life, but that friendship still left its mark on other timelines.
In another life, Alix teased Marc about his hair being a bird's nest.
In another life, Marc plotted with Alix the best way to help some friends get together.
In another life, Alix calmed Nath down while Marc waited at the alter for him.
In another life, Marc found a sticky note on a book he had thought he lost, left by Alix on his desk with a cheeky little message.
They can be friends and still want to murder each other for being assholes.
And Marc prayed to the gods he now believed in that he would be able to hold onto the lessons Alix had taught him while they had been...
Had been dying.
In the corner.
Marc swallowed again as he slowly let go of her and turned to the anchor points he had long since learned to ignore.
Timebreaker on her knees, silently screaming as neon green and purple lines raced up her body, pulsating getting noticeably faster.
Reverser touching her shoulder, slowly disintegrating as his blood vessels popped, internal bleeding at its finest.
It was definitely time.
They were finally dying.
Because he had gotten to know Fluff, and he knew the little god would rather his most beloved die than be subject to Monarch's power.
"Do you know how it will happen?"
"There's... possibilities."
Marc gave her a very unamused look as Alix let a shit-eating grin cross her face.
"Brat."
"Punk."
The near-statues suddenly changed and Marc blinked as Alix let out a relieved sigh.
"Looks like you're getting outta here, punk. This is one of the better ones."
"I don't understand."
She laughed and shoved Marc closer to Reverser.
"There's just some things you'll never get, you'll have to let it go. But... I suppose I can try?"
There was something shining as a black and white figure appeared with red hair. Marc recognized the figure as Caprikid, was he joining them in the death spiral within the time bubble?
"You hated Nath for what you thought he did. But you still loved him. You loved him enough, that when this Nath was made, he got that drive you had. To love to the point of destruction, no matter who or what it cost."
Marc saw the shiny thing blur closer to Timebreaker as Caprikid... cried?
It was a knife.
He was going to kill Alix.
He still... cared enough about her without Marc directing him?
With Reverser having reverted all the changes he had made?
This was just... default Sentibeing Nath.
With Marc's emotions and heart when he was akumatized.
Fuck.
Marc turned back to Alix even as she kept pushing him closer, back into step with Reverser.
"Wait--No! You can't just--! You'll be alone--"
"I won't. I'll get my bestie back. He's coming with me."
"I'll be alone--"
"You won't. You never were, you never will be, Mar. If you forget everything else, please, please, remember how to love, see how many people love you. Safe trip, punk."
The knife connected as Caprikid wrapped his free arm around Timebreaker, to hug her.
"Fluff, clockwise!"
Someone's voice yelled before the time bubble broke. Before time stopped completely for Reverser, for Marc.
All he knew was the pain in his arm, in his being, as he rapidly aged and de-aged in the same instant.
Someone had him in their arms.
Reverser tried to speak.
Fingers were pressed to his lips as he was shushed.
What was going on?
Reverser didn't know anything--
Was he even Reverser right now? Or was he Marc?
Useless, angry Marc that no one cared about--no.
Not true.
There was a voice, it called him names. There the phantom feeling of his hair being ruffled. Laughter he couldn't explain.
It all said that was a lie.
But he was Marc.
Human. With blood, a heart, lungs, eyes.
The figure carrying him kept murmuring something.
It sounded... affectionate.