A History, A Possibility

[Glyph]

Um, yeah. Kiara beat me to it. (DARN YOU. ) XD

Anyway, just a thread for small drabbles about my characters' backstories or possible AU scenarios. I'll update as they come. XD

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Character: Vesper
Type: Alternate Universe
Time: N/A
Likelihood: Low

A black plain, smoking and charred beyond recognition, filled the bottom of the crater. It was huge, a mile across from the beginning of the wreckage to the skyline, which had miraculously escaped unscathed, and all throughout the steaming slag poked jagged bits of metal and melted glass, gleaming dully in the gray twilight. Pools of light spilled like blood from the fires that still blazed in the aftermath of the disaster that had hit, burning anything and everything it had touched; swirls of shadows, even now, were still pocketing the ground, the slowly dying remnants of the total eclipse that had shrouded the area only hours before, killing the streetlights and neon signs, blinding the masses.

The city’s death had come as a surprise in the dark. No one had seen it, and no one could have escaped.

No one had survived… Save the single soul still standing in the midst of the charred ruin - the single soul responsible for this apocalypse.

Blankly, he surveyed the damage.

Nothing remained of the old city. Nothing recognizable, anyway. Just wreckage.

Everything else was gone.

Sirens whooped hollowly in the distance. Shouts echoed into the abyss, and a blinding terror began to creep over him, seeping into his brain, pulling a hood tight over his heart.

Gone. His fault. A monster did this. All gone. All his fault.

He stared at his hands - pristine white gloves mocking him - in utter revulsion.

They’d never even seen him. He’d never even showed himself. He'd denied them even the knowledge of their executioner's face, denied them the hatred they'd deserved to feel - the last thing they had experienced was the terror of utter darkness.

After all this time, with all that power at his disposal, he had still been a coward at heart.

Coward. He reeled back, as if struck by the very idea, pain beginning to pool in his eyes. In a teary haze of shock and nausea, and still shadowed in the glowing darkness that had caused the city’s destruction, Vesper did the only thing his numb, horrified, cowardly mind could think of to do.

He ran.

[Hally]

Oh,
my
Chaos. Vesper attacked Westopolis.

Joking aside, very descriptive. Very touching. <3

[Glyph]

Thank you! :3

*smacks Vesp* STOPPIT, YOU IDIOT. QUIT BEING SO SELF-DEPRECATING. YOU ARE NOT A COWARD. You're just a big softy...

[Hally]

Makes me wonder what the state of the internet is when a creator of a char smacks the char for their "faults". XDDD;

[Meryck]

Hally, the internet was sane for one second after it's conception, then went wonky.

I SPAZZED ON THE DA VERSION ALREADY. But I still love this.<3

[Glyph]

Really? For that long? XD

^/////^

[Meryck]

Yes, that long. XD

:3

[Glyph]

Character: Glyph, Vesper
Type: Backstory
Time: A year or two before TRZ


Face awash with the glow from the monitor, Glyph began to nibble the end of her pencil, thoughtfully turning over the cache of information in her head. She straightened suddenly, reaching for a heavy notepad across the cluttered desk, and lazily flipped it open.

“Memo,” The hedgehog said aloud, glancing back at the screen, “Westopolis – research major movements involved in rebuilding project of ’38.” Her gaze skimmed the page again, arm still poised above the fat book of questions. “Cash crops of Ancient Shamar - measures taken against Robotnik’s rule – How far did the ash cloud from Red Mountain reach? - famous Guardians of Angel Island…” She frowned once she’d finished jotting the last down, then scrawled something else in the margin.

“What the heck happened to the ‘Master Emerald’ anyway? Or those ‘Chaos Emeralds’ we’re always hearing about?”

“I though you were a history geek, not a superstitious nutball.” A voice smirked above her ear, and she nearly fell out of her chair in shock. “Don’t you know that those are just stories for little kids?”

“I’m not a nutball!” On the floor, the hedgehog scowled and reached for her scattered papers. “Don’t you know that there’s a grain of truth in everything?”

“Right. A hedgehog saved the world with rainbow colors and sparkly rocks. Completely irrefutable.”

“Watch it.” Glyph huffed indignantly. Must he constantly remind her how ridiculous hedgehogs always seemed in myth?

After a moment, she sat up and cleared her throat, fumbling with her papers, “Besides, wouldn’t it be cool if even a tiny bit of it was true, and Mobians really could do all of that stuff? Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Probably wherever your precious ‘Master Emerald’ has been hiding for the past century.”

Vesper met his best friend’s frustrated growl with a cheeky grin.

“You know what?” She snapped suddenly, hoisting herself back into her chair. With a toss of her long quills, she looked away, hunching her shoulders against his stare. “You’re boring. If everyone was a kiljoy like you, the world would suck.”

Maybe Vesper didn’t believe, but Glyph couldn’t help but sometimes wish that the legends were true… Well, some of them, anyway. Glowy stones were all well and good, but psychotic megalomaniacs bent on global annihilation? Not so much.

“Oh, and by the way,” When she heard him sigh and begin to leave, the hedgehog looked up from where she’d resumed her lethargic scribbling, glaring up at the bat, “Bucket and mop are in the laundry. I am not cleaning your footprints off the ceiling again.”

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Glyph's a major history buff, and she loves all things cultural or strange, so naturally she'd eat up all the stories and legends about Chaos Emeralds and the like. She would kill for a chance to go on an archeological dig in the Mystic Ruins, or for just five minutes to poke around the ARK. Vesper, on the other hand, is a skeptic, and likes to tease her for being "superstitious" and unscientific.

He also likes to hang around her room and leave muddy shoe prints on the ceiling.

[Meryck]

I APPROVE.

[Glyph]

What, of Glyph's geekiness? Or Vesper tracking dirt across the ceiling? XD

[Meryck]

OF BOTH.

[Glyph]

... OF COURSE. XD

[Meryck]

>D

[Glyph]

Character: Glyph, Vesper
Type: Spin-off, Oneshot/Sequel
Time: Shortly after Misery Loves Company
Likelihood: Certain (as it played out in my head)



"… So, you gonna tell me why you were having a *MWF death match beneath the city with that weirdo?"

"Ack-" Vesper flinched, breath catching his throat. Glyph started guiltily, quickly withdrawing the dripping rag from her friend's skin. Antiseptic ointment against scorched wing membrane couldn't be pleasant. Still…

"Sorry," she apologized quietly, and dabbed again, more gently. "Has to be done."

A soft grunt escaped his clenched teeth, but he didn't flinch this time, instead letting his head hang, hiding his face from view. It didn't seem like he was going to willingly answer her question.

Glyph frowned and tried to focus on his burns instead of her frustration, but within a few moments she had to lower her throbbing arms. They ached something fierce.

Carrying Vesper wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were only for a few minutes-he really didn't weigh that much-but "minutes" had turned to blocks when he'd passed out again on the way to the hospital. When he'd grown limp in her arms, she'd all but panicked and ran as fast as she could-and, being a hedgehog, that was pretty darn fast-to the nearest medical center she could find, which just so happened to be a little walk-in clinic just a stone's throw away from the hotel.

They'd garnered some alarmed looks from some of the patients-probably something to do with bursting through the doors so fast they'd nearly been knocked from their hinges-but the nurses had taken it all in stride. Glyph had told them he'd had an unfortunate run-in with an elemental, and they'd left it at that. When Glyph considered how many Mobians there were with powers, she supposed it wasn't that unusual of an occurrence.

Vesper had returned to the world of the living shortly after his worst burns had been cleaned, while his ribs were being bandaged-boy, had he made a fuss!-and had taken care of the bill (his father would not be pleased) before they'd stumbled back onto the streets, bound for the edge of Station Square.

And so, here Glyph was, sitting on the floor in the middle of her hotel room, patching the rest of him up the best she could.

Band-Aids and antibacterial could only do so much, though. Wearily, she finished patting gauze onto his abused wings and let her hands fall back to her sides.

A long, awkward silence followed. She picked at one of the threads in the carpet, debating.

"… Vesp?" He twitched. "Talk to me, please." She dropped the bandages onto the floor and stared down at her hands, biting her lip. "I see you for the first time in almost a year, and you're lying on the ground, hardly breathing..."

Frustrated, she balled her hands into fists and thumped the floor suddenly, "For Order's sake, you weren't even conscious." He'd turned slightly to watch her from over his shoulder, and she saw his ears lower when she looked up to meet his eyes. Her voice changed from agitated to plaintive, "I was scared half to death…"

Guiltily, the bat cast his eyes away. Glyph's ears pricked.

"… He tried to kill me."

"I could gather that much."

Scowling, Vesper clenched his jaw, clamming up on her expectant silence.

She took a deep, shuddering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

It didn't bother her so much that he didn't want to talk about it. It was perfectly normal for Vesper-his response was to cover up whatever was eating at him with an enormous brick wall of apathy and pretend nothing was wrong. No, what bothered Glyph was that she'd been considering leaving today. What bothered Glyph was how close she'd come to checking out of the hotel that morning and just leaving.

Then what would have happened? What would have happened if she hadn't shown up in the subway today, if she'd been on a train bound for Shamar, or Central City, or Westopolis instead?

Her eyes closed, the thought too painful to process.

But she knew. She wasn't as good at pretending as he was. The next time she would have seen her best friend would have been at his funeral.

And that bothered her. A lot.

She stared at him suddenly, eyes hardening into chips of sun-lit ice. "You know what? I don't care why you were down there." Vesper's eyes widened from their narrowed state at the positively murderous tone in her voice.

"I don't care what was going on. I don't care if he was trying to kill you. I don't care about your pride, or your ego, or whatever it is that makes you think you're a coward if you don't stand your ground and take a beating. You should have run." She watched him flinch and snarled to herself, clenching her fist like she dearly wanted something to punch.

"There are only two people on Mobius that I worry constantly about. One is Gemma, and she's back at home with Mom and Dad. The other is you, you complete moron." She paused, trembling and pursing her lips when Vesper turned to look at her in surprise. He found an accusing finger pointed directly at his nose. "I spend an entire year trying to tell myself I don't have any reason to be worried, and then you turn around and get yourself into… this." She gestured wildly to the bandages wrapped around his chest, eyes frantically tracing the burns, the scratches on his muzzle, and her own contorted in concern. "If I hadn't gone down there… If I had been a second too late…"

She couldn't hold his gaze. Trembling, eyes disappearing into shadow, she let her finger fall.

"Pull something like this again, and I swear I'll kill you myself."

Vesper's shoulders sagged, but he ignored the pain in favor of watching her quietly.

That was no threat.

His throat ached, and he was starting to feel a bit lightheaded. Smoke inhalation, maybe.

"… T-thank you…"

Glyph raised her head and smiled shakily.

"… Idiot."

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Needless to say, Glyph did not enjoy having to play the Big Sister card. XD

Also, MWF = Mobius Wrestling Federation. XD

[Glyph]

Character: Glyph, Vesper
Type: Oneshot, AU
Time: A few years into the future
Likelihood: Possible



“J-jealous? W-why would I be jealous?” Glyph tried to keep her voice level, but the pencil bending in her grip betrayed her. Gritting her teeth, she ignored Vesper’s wondering stare and tried to finish her homework instead.

“… Glyph?”

She flinched, and the lead snapped, tearing a hole through her half-finished term paper. Swearing loudly, Glyph threw the pencil down with so much force that it broke in two and turned away, breathing heavily. She felt her friend’s stunned gaze on the back of her head, and she swore again, pounding the table with her fist.

How dare he accuse her of being…How dare he think she wanted to be anything like that… that…

“I am not jealous of your freakin’ girlfriend.” The hedgehog snarled, rounding on him, trying to pretend that the hurt that flashed in his eyes didn’t bother her, trying to pretend the protective, righteous, loving anger that appeared didn’t bother her…

“I’m not. So just drop it.” Glyph muttered lowly, heart sinking into her stomach.

“Fine.”

Stonily, he grunted, and she ground her teeth. She knew that grunt; it meant that they were finished, and the subject would never be broached again…

But for some reason, she couldn’t let it go.

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

Whirling, she watched his eyes widen, and then narrow defensively. Internally, she screamed at herself, panic warring with rage. She was making it worse, she was ruining everything, but she couldn’t let him walk out like that. She wanted him to argue with her, to yell at her, anything to keep him from leaving…

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go, and it would tear at her heart if she stopped being furious long enough to let it. Unfortunately, staying mad when confronted with the look of total and utter hurt presenting itself on her best friend’s face wasn’t exactly her strong suit.

“You thickheaded moron. You think you understand, but you don’t. You don’t understand anything.” She was trying… trying… Failing…That blasted soft heart of hers was catching up. “I mean, j-just because she’s pretty and brave… and kind… and… Doesn’t mean that I…” Voice wavering, breath catching, she dropped her head into her hands, muzzling flushing in shame as her voice hitched in her throat.

It was barely a whisper when it finally emerged, “… You don’t understand at all…”

“Then make me.”

Her shoulders sagged under the weight of her sigh. The look on his face was as effective at putting her on the spot as any interrogation. It wasn’t too different from looking into the sun… A hurt, angry sun… Gods, what had she done? What was wrong with her?

Painfully, she swallowed, averting her eyes from the intensity of his stare.

“Vesper… I’m not… I-It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s just that…”

She’s taking my little brother away.

The words caught in her throat, and she floundered, wringing her hands anxiously. He was watching her, she knew, but how did she finish?

How could she finish?

Glyph honestly wasn’t jealous. She actually liked Vesper’s new date, but the truth was that she was too afraid for it to matter. Vesper was growing up, and it scared her. It scared her to think that he wouldn’t need her anymore. It scared her to think someone else would suddenly whisk him away, out of her life forever, to think she might one day be shed as easily as a pair of training wheels from a child’s bike… That the last thing she’d see of him might be his back as he rode away…

What would she do if she was given up? Just what would she do then?

It was selfish of her, but… Glyph just couldn’t bring herself to give to do it. She wasn't ready to give him up.

She bowed her head, ashamed. Looking at him wasn’t an option.

“I’m not jealous, Vesper, I’m not. I’m… I’m j-just…”

Terrified.

Something hot and wet streaked down her cheek, faster than she could hope to catch. Angrily, she scrubbed her eyes with the back of a trembling hand.

“… D-damn it…”

She couldn’t do this, not here, not now, not while he was watching. For the Gods’ sakes, she was supposed to be the strong one. She was supposed to be there to pick up the pieces for him; she couldn’t just fall apart like this in front of him. Big sisters were supposed to be supportive and kind, not like this, not weak and selfish and absolutely, agonizingly horrible for wanting to stay selfish…

What would he think?

“You know what I think?”

His voice was close, too close, and Glyph’s eyes darted up from between her fingers. She flinched at how close he’d come, both to reading her thoughts and in physical proximity. When she looked up he was just a few inches away, kneeling in front of her, staring her right in the eyes even though she’d gained a few inches from the chair.

Dimly, she wondered at that. When had he gotten so tall?

Another tear dripped down her face, unbidden, and his eyes narrowed, tracing its progress to the floor; she had to muffle a sob when they refocused on hers.

If Glyph was waiting for him to round on her, to snarl at her stupidity and selfishness, imagine her surprise when she was violently yanked out of her seat and enveloped into a tight hug.

Gruffly, his voice whispered past her ear. “I think you’re an absolute idiot.”

Shocked, the hedgehog froze. Slowly, as best she could with her arms pinned to her sides, Glyph leaned back to study him.

Something about him was… off, the odd scruffiness of his fur, the angle of his chin… And was it just her imagination, or had his eyes sharpened?

For a moment, Glyph was at a loss for words; then, to his surprise, she untangled their arms and threw them back around him, hugging him with such force that he almost fell over.

“… Quit t-that. Just b-because you’re all g-grown up now—” Eyes stinging, she buried her face into his shoulder, cheek pressed against his jaw, “—doesn’t mean you get to steal m-my lines… You big j-jerk...”

Between fits of trembling, she felt him smile.

“Idiot.”

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Not my best, but... I use italics a lot, don't I? XD
*FLEES*