Simply A Projection (Worm Projection Quest) (2024)

Current Energy: 32

Current Senergy: 20

Current Early Morning Crafting: Cassette Player (Complete!)

Current Midnight Training: Gastrodon (Complete!)

As Taylor adjusted her hat and ran her hand along Gastrodon's back, she took in the surroundings. Cynthia had shown her Pasio's Pokémon Center and her room in the Pokémon League, but now they were in a beachside villa. She could hear bird Pokémon calling in the distance, and the sparkling sands of Undella Town looked quite appealing through the window. Unfortunately, leaving the villa itself wasn't allowed, so Taylor had to settle for a nice view instead.

Gastrodon was asleep, the Sea Slug Pokémon making the quietest gurgling noise in place of snores. Somewhat disturbingly, none of its three eyes were closed, and Taylor had a sneaking suspicion that the third eye wasn't actually an eye at all.

Sitting on the villa's couch was Cynthia, who was explaining the last things Taylor needed to know before taking Gastrodon out of the dream.

"Make sure, if you keep her out of her ball for long, to give her frequent baths. Oh, and don't worry too much if she loses some flesh — it'll grow right back in an hour or two. If she starts to crawl her way toward the sea, that means she's bored and wants to swim. She's a spoiled little princess, so don't be afraid to lay down the law when it's necessary…"

Taylor listened with half an ear, her mind focused more on how this would be the last time she saw Cynthia for a while. Learning that she could meet the other Projections once she reached certain prerequisites helped alleviate some of the pain she had felt at Cynthia and Mitsuru's "deaths", but like a child clinging to mommy, she didn't want to let Cynthia go.

Pausing in her lecture, Cynthia fondly sighed and pulled Taylor in for a kiss to the forehead. "You'll be okay, Taylor. Queen Administrator is always around, and she'll remember this moment as clearly as if she had lived it."

"I know it's stupid," Taylor muttered, leaning into Cynthia's arms. "But that doesn't mean I'm not upset about not being able to see you. Even if you're all the same person, you have little quirks that make you individuals. And every time QA changes, those quirks are lost."

"One day, I promise we'll see each other again," Cynthia hummed. "Until then, cherish the people you currently have in your life. Enjoy every moment to the fullest so that you can live without regrets. When we meet again, you'll have plenty of stories to tell… Won't that be nice?"

Taylor sniffled and clutched Cynthia's shirt. The dream was ending. Darkness filled the corners of the world, and she felt like she was losing her mother all over again.

"Cynthia, please don't go!" she cried. "I don't want to be alone again!"

Cynthia smiled sadly, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "You will never be alone, Taylor… Never again." The Undella sun vanished, replaced by a dark new moon. No stars shone in the sky, and all remaining light dimmed to nothingness. Darkness… it was pure darkness.

A voice, not Cynthia's, and not Taylor's, spoke, "The day the sky weeps, pray not for shallow hope. Naught will claim the world, severing its own rope."

Swirling away, the Dream Mist took on a black pitch as it faded. The villa crumbled to ashes and dust, and familiar corpses cooled half-buried in the sands. The ocean churned with fury and despair, surging forth to claim her, pulling her into its depths. Taylor thrashed, tried to escape its pull, but the abyss came for all and she was a fool to think herself an exception. She felt her very being dissolve into the waves, lost forever.

"Enemies abound, chaos before the fall. A moth flaps its wings, a taboo siren call."

Unspeakable pain and rage welled up within her. Lost… everyone was lost, none more than her. But she wouldn't give in… Not now, and not ever. It felt like her heart was beating out of her chest as the bottom silt beneath her feet turned to ancient bone. She coughed out gallons of inky water, then smashed her fist into it once, twice. On the third strike, it sparked, and flame consumed her.

"Seek not golden sun, for its facade distracts. Queen's equal succumbs, its willpower retracts."

Taylor stood on shaky feet. The agony was unbearable. It was as if spikes of ice were being stabbed into her and spreading. Reaching to her hip, she grabbed the hilt of her sword. It vibrated with an unsung melody… the will of humanity itself. The blade cut through the air, the land, the sky, the night. She screamed her grief to the uncaring new moon, for its proclamations were false. Nothing would destroy her home!

In opposition to the nightmare, she cried, "The hearth burns in hope, the monsters follow me! Shove it up your ass, I'm my own destiny!"

The darkness receded, replaced by a blinding red. She heard something shout in shock and triumph, and even the lingering darkness seemed hopeful. She turned doom away at the door and told it to f*ck off. She had more important things to deal with than the end of the world, like making her girlfriends happy or getting Mrs. Lee a Mother's Day gift! Imminent apocalypse… She'd show it who was boss. She was the Queen Administrator! None would defeat her! Not even that asshole Warrio-!

"OW!" Amelia yelped from the floor, kicked out of the bed by her asshole girlfriend. Groggily, she shouted, "What the f*ck was that for!?"

Mads groaned underneath Amelia. "Melly, you're crushing my stomach…"

She shot to her feet and continued to glare at dumbass Tay. Beside the apparently messy sleeper (this had never happened before), Elle blinked owlishly.

"Taylor. Wake up. you are having a nightmare," she quietly said, shaking their mutual love's shoulder. Amelia frowned and pulled herself back up, accidentally stepping on Mads's face in the process, and slapped Tay across the cheek as hard as she could. Unsurprisingly, that just hurt her hand a hell of a lot, and Tay barely stirred.

"The f*ck? Why isn't she waking up?"

She licked her pinky and shoved it into Tay's ear, but that didn't do anything except make the girl bite the air like an angry dog. Elle then tried kissing their princess awake, and Amelia had hope that it worked when Tay returned the kiss, but nope. Tay remained stubbornly asleep and Elle was now too kiss-drunk to help.

Amelia yanked the covers away, then froze. Laying where she had been moments ago was a pitch-black Egg. Worse, it was located where her ass had been. Mads, peeking over the edge of the bed, asked, "Did you lay that?"

"I better f*cking not have," Amelia grunted, grabbing the Egg and holding it up. Why was it black? Every other Egg had been cream with green spots. But this was just… a black Egg. Did that mean there was something wrong with it? It would suck if her Pokémon was defective or something.

While she was distracted with the mysterious Egg, QA appeared in the room and calmly walked over, grabbed Tay by the ankle, and swung her like a hammer face-first into the floor. In retaliation, Tay kipped up to her feet, grabbed Amelia's baseball bat from the corner, and tried to crack QA over the skull. The Projection vanished just before it hit, then reappeared in time to pull Tay into a gentle hug, which finally woke the crazy bitch up.

"Wha-?" she slurred, swaying on her feet. "What the…? Why am I standing…?"

Amelia walked over carefully, like Taylor's confusion might have been a trap. "You awake now, you f*cking weirdo?"

"I guess?" Tay grunted, grabbing her head and moaning in pain. "I feel like I just had the worst kind of nightmare…" Pulling away from QA, she went and gave a round of chaste kisses to Amelia, Elle, Mads, and Vicky — who she had to jump up to drag down from the ceiling. "Urgh… No, I don't think I'd handle any of your deaths well at all…"

"Ouch," Mads winced. "One of those, huh? It's been a while since I had a dream like that."

Vicky stirred and asked, "Whassit?"

"Nothing, I just had a bad dream," Tay sighed. She looked at the Egg Amelia was still holding and asked, "Did you lay that?"

"Goddamnit. No, I didn't lay the Egg," Amelia rolled her eyes. "And even if I did, you'd be the dad since it's your f*cky power."

QA's eyes lit up, and Amelia knew she made a horrible, horrible mistake.

"Oh, Host, I would love it if you gave me les petite-enfants to spoil!"

Amelia hoisted the Egg. "This is it, then. Come spoil it."

Taking the Egg, QA extracted a handkerchief from her pocket. She was just about to start polishing it when the Egg melted into a puddle of pure darkness on the floor. Everyone else jumped back, but Amelia felt… an emotion, coming from the shadows. A single blue light appeared in the dark, and she gasped.

"No f*cking way…!"

The mass shifted, and a humanoid figure rose. It was only a little taller than Mrs. Lee was, with pointed legs, a ragged skirt, clawed fingers, a crimson collar, wispy white "hair", and a single, glowing cyan eye.

"DARKRAI!" she cheered, dashing forward to inspect her new Pokémon. It was so cool! The way its legs retracted into its body, leaving it levitating in the air, was awesome! Its baleful expression — unchanging even past its relative contentedness — was perfect for intimidating any lesser lifeforms! The way its body rippled and flowed like a hollow mass of cloth come to life, the way it crossed its arms in dismissal of its surroundings, the way it resembled a nightmare made manifest…!

"You!" Tay screamed, poking Darkrai in the chest. It looked at her dispassionately, even as she hissed, "If you're going to give me nightmares, make them comprehensible first, you prick!"

Darkrai rolled its eye, flicked her on the forehead with a finger, and dipped into the floor. Amelia's own shadow darkened into an impenetrable blackness, and Darkrai's eye appeared in the center of her shadow's head.

"Hey, don't talk to our child like that!" Amelia pretended to scold. "It's sensitive!"

"Sensitive my ass," Tay grumbled, glaring at Amelia's shadow. "It cut off my Cynthia time."

As if to prove a point, she grabbed a Dream Ball and called out a new Pokémon: Gastrodon. The sluggular thing glorped happily, her feelers wiggling with delight.

"At least I have you, Gastrodon. You'll never betray me, right?" Tay asked, patting Gastrodon on the head. Amelia shoved her girlfriend's shoulder, and the two engaged in a playfight that continued well into actual training.

About halfway through beating each other into the ground, Tay suddenly remembered something and ran off. Everyone shrugged and carried on, Amelia focusing on using Darkrai's Disable to stop Missy from using her power. That meant the younger girl was forced to dodge incoming attacks, though Antiope's Wind magic was annoying to have to fight.

There was a horrible screeching noise from the direction of the engineering bay, and all combat stopped. Lowering her sword, Mrs. Lee took a cautious step toward the door… then her eyes blew open, she screamed "WAIT!" and a focused Agidyne laser slammed into her. Her jaw dropped open, Amelia watched as Mrs. Lee was actually damaged by an attack, and not just a little scratch, either. Her left arm lowered, magic barrier having failed in the wake of the attack. A charred hole bore through her shoulder, only to be quickly repaired by Dinah's Diarama. Watching the Mimeosome heal via magic was odd and a little disturbing.

But not as disturbing as what happened next.

From the slagged ruins of the engineering bay's door came a horrible creature. It resembled a giant beetle, at least seven feet tall. Armored panels opened up on its sides like vents, six blue tentacles protruding downward and carrying it along like some kind of demented insect. A gold band wrapped around where a normal beetle's neck would have been, and a single sapphire gem peeked out from between two gold flaps. A pair of shining horns arced over it, adding another three feet to its height, while a miniature sun floated between them.

"See this, Amelia? You aren't the only one who can cause nightmares now."

Oh Giratina no. Tay's voice came from the monster, chittering and multiplied like a swarm of insects speaking all at once. Forget nightmares, that was a devil born in Hell and brought to the mortal world by a vengeful god.

And New Wirral had things like that just wandering around!? Why the f*ck did Elle want to visit the place so bad!?

Recouping from her initial shock, Ceres leapt into action to avenge her mother. "Brave Blade!" Anesidora's bundle of poppies gleamed as a blade of energy cleaved straight toward the beetle, only for the attack to barely scratch its shell with a flicker of TV static.

"I barely felt that," the demonspawn said. "This form is much more durable than expected. I think we should intensify the training."

With a splash of Dream Mist, Garchomp roared into existence. Despite not visibly using her Evoker, the shattering of glass and a rush of blue flames signaled Hestia's arrival to the fight. Lined up between them in this new form of hers, the true context of Tay's power took on a whole new meaning.

"Now, let's test something…"

That was the last thing she heard before the horrible beast used Bulletino Dash to close the distance and knock her lights out.

It was an abashed Taylor who treated her girlfriends (and her girlfriend's girlfriends) to a "carnival date" during the Free Healing Weekend. She had expected the event to die down some time, but killing Ziz had made the Garden Brockton Bay's most central attraction. With the excuse provided by the Free Healing Weekend, people from all over were there to party and celebrate, toasting the death of the Endbringer with alcohol that wouldn't linger past the actual healing.

She still felt bad about Mrs. Lee's arm, but her adoptive mom had been utterly forgiving. Not even she had foreseen an attack that was powerful enough to almost ignore her natural resistance to fire, even through the anti-magic Sothis Shield. As it turned out, Hestia's powerful magic combined with the Cassette Beast Khepri's ultimate magic was just too much for someone with only Persona-based defenses to handle. And further testing revealed that her transformation's durability was nearly impenetrable by anything less than an Almighty spell.

Fingering the purple cassette player clipped to her belt, she asked Amelia, "So, how's your seventh hot dog of the day?"

Amelia gagged on her last bite of the hot dog and answered, "Not as good as the first six. You still owe me three more."

Taylor sighed and pointed to the next stand. That one was vegan, so its hot dogs would be marginally healthier. Hopefully Amelia's stomach would last through this misguided venture.

"Taylor, look. Applin is eating a candied apple. Is that cannibalism?" Elle asked, pointing to where Anne and the Lees were having their own family date. Applin was, indeed, eating a candied apple… somehow. She didn't have a mouth that Taylor could see, but bits of the treat were disappearing and her eye stalks were wiggling, so she was eating it.

"I think Applin is the worm inside the apple," Madison pointed out. "Its tail looks like it's poking out of a hole, see?"

Magearna and Goomy passed them with Lucario acting as a chaperone. Taylor had let him out to interact with the other Pokémon some, and he had taken an instant liking to the newly-hatched kids. Darkrai was still within Amelia's shadow, and didn't seem to find much merit in coming out to play.

Victoria returned from buying an Eden-theme tee shirt that had a chibi picture of Taylor in Cynthia's Sygna Suit on the front. She smoothly grabbed Madison's hand, then circled around Taylor to grab Amelia's. Amelia completed the chain by grabbing one of Taylor's hands; Elle had never not been holding the other.

Flustered, Madison blushed and looked down where Victoria had threaded their fingers. It was amusing to see her so quiet and shy, but she didn't look upset at all. Even more adorably, she eventually leaned into Victoria's arm to hide her blush from the world, returning a kick peck on the cheek when offered.

Letting go of her quiet worry that Madison was being pressured into a relationship she wasn't ready for, Taylor led the group through a crowd which parted like the Red Sea for them. Cameras and phones were pointed at them the entire time they were out, but she was getting used to strangers' nosiness. Many people approached and asked for autographs and pictures, but the girls directed them to an after-healing table event that had to be tacked onto the Free Healing Weekend just for that purpose. Given the frequency of the Weekend, very few people actually complained.

They reached the hot dog stand and were just about to order when a few of the pedestrians gasped.

"Halt, evil doers!"

Taylor immediately dropped her girlfriends' hands and grabbed a certain trading card from her pocket. Ever since she had heard this hero was in town, she had been ready for an encounter.

"I see you're beset by a great, dark aura! Alas, I shall rescue you!"

Most kids, when asked about their favorite heroes, usually referred to powerful capes like Alexandria, Armsmaster, or Miss Fortune. Inspiring figures who led the Protectorate, hometown heroes who fought the good fight, or maybe just whoever looked the coolest or wore the skimpiest costume.

"Now, draw your blade!"

Taylor was not like most kids. Her favorite heroes included people like Stall — now a personal friend — or Chubster, who worked with a funny name and was still a competent hero. But out of every cape in the world, Taylor liked one most of all.

"You face the might of the joy injector!"

Who could appeal to a rebellious, lonely girl like Taylor? A hero who was rebellious, and worked alone. Even before her disastrous Trigger week, Taylor wouldn't have worked with the PRT, and this hero was part of the reason why.

"The grand defector!"

Someone who could keep up a smile against all odds. Who stuck to their guns in the face of adversity from all sides. An inspiring figure who wielded the very same kind of weapon as Taylor herself. There were so few who could compare…

"The cheese inspector!"

Taylor had a favorite hero, yes, and while she might have lied and said she liked other heroes more, there was just no beating the woman who had been there for most of her childhood. The face on every cereal box and comic book, who brought more whimsy into the cape scene than any Protectorate stooge could manage…

"Iiiiiit's… MOUSE PROTECTOR!"

With the pop of a firecracker and an inflatable hammer's squeak, the armored form of Mouse Protector appeared. Her sword, polished steel with a delicate engraving along the hilt, was held aloft to declare her combative intent. She wore a deceptively light gambeson under a breastplate, with matching gauntlets and greaves. Atop her head (with a mask obscuring her eyes) was a kettle hat, fake mouse ears attached to the top. A belt cinched her waist; from it dangled a number of pouches, a few throwing knives, and a single decorative block of cheese.

Taylor opened her mouth to fangirl when her appreciation for the world's best hero was interrupted by another announcement.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!"

…That was Missy's voice. A part of Taylor wanted to be elated that she and her friends were playing along, because there was nothing Mouse Protector enjoyed more than a good bit. Another part was mortified. If those brats embarrassed her in front of Mouse Protector…!

"None shall disturb the sanctity of the Free Healing Weekend!"

Dinah, you were supposed to be the reasonable one! Why… Why would you do this to Taylor!? She slumped as Amelia and QA patted her back. Elle was watching intently, eyes sparkling, so at least she was having fun. Madison and Victoria… where were they?

"And if you want a ruckus, you're gonna get a ruckus!"

That question was answered as a spotlight shone directly on a section of the crowd. The curious bystanders cleared a path from there to Mouse Protector, but Taylor was the only one cursing the flying Brute holding the spotlight itself. Madison was on the ground with a controller in hand, covering her face with the other.

Dressed in matching Stall costumes — Missy's was blue, Dinah's was white, and Aisha's was black — Eden's youngest members struck a pose. Taylor could see Missy's blush from here, which made her feel marginally better about the girl's participation. Dinah and Aisha were on thin ice, their smirks too evil to not be deliberate.

"Under harshest light!" Dinah shouted. The spotlight brightened.

"Under blackest night!" Aisha followed-up. The spotlight shut off.

"Succumb as evil does!" Missy continued. The spotlight turned back on at a normal level.

The three girls changed their poses, pointing directly at Mouse Protector. In unison, they called, "To the fruit of Eden's might!"

There was a beat. Then, the crowd and — much more importantly — Mouse Protector applauded, and Taylor felt her bones turn to jelly.

"Oh thank Sothis," she groaned, collapsing into Elle's arms. The much smaller girl struggled to hold her up. "Remind me to ground those little sh*ts, Melly."

"Sure thing, 'Mom'," the brunette giggled. Taylor cursed her damn luck that she was surrounded by traitors and villains.

The three brats cheered and shook hands with Mouse Protector, and Taylor didn't even have it in herself to be jealous of them. She'd get her chance.

"That was a pretty nifty show there, kiddos," the hero said. "I like the rhyme! How much did you practice?"

"Not much," Dinah brushed off. "Just enough to be ready in case of any eventuality."

Mouse Protector laughed and patted Dinah's head. f*ck, that should have been Taylor!

"Well, it's obviously paid off! And I gotta say, it's refreshing having someone shoot back with their motto. Not many capes out there are willing to pal around, you get me?"

Okay, so Taylor needed to be funny. A tall order for her, considering her humor was a mix of Amelia's signature absurdity and Taylor's own deadpan. Maybe she needed to workshop some puns?

"So, how're you kids enjoying the party? Eden treating you well?"

"Always," Missy nodded, smiling proudly. "Ever since I joined, I've never felt more free. And my work as a hero has never felt so fulfilling. Miss Lindez has been ensuring my rights and safety, so don't worry about that!"

Oh, Taylor had forgotten about Eden's PRT liaison. Where… Ah, there she was. Taylor waved, and Erica waved back.

"Yeah, things have been kinda rough without my bro around," Aisha admitted, taking on a more laid-back affect. "But Eden's got my back. We even did some training and stuff this morning, and watching Amelia scream like a little b-like a baby was funny as he-heck."

Dinah, the angel, pointed to Taylor and said, "But you're not here for us, right? We'll have another chance to talk at the meet-and-greet later, if you want."

Bapping herself on the forehead, Mouse Protector said, "Right, right. You kids have fun!" Spinning around a full three sixty, she continued the turn until she was facing Taylor and marched over. "Lo, Keter! It is I, the Protectorest Mouse!"

Taylor cleared her throat and donned her most professional smile. Beside her Amelia facepalmed. "Greetings, Mouse Protector. I am indeed Keter, though you may call me Taylor."

"Taylor? Ah, did you make those clothes yourself?" Mouse Protector joked.

Taylor was about to clarify that her name was spelled with a "y" when she realized… Wait a second, she did make these clothes herself! "Why, yes. Yes I did," she declared.

"Why are you talking like that," Amelia deadpanned.

Ignoring her, Taylor continued, "And might I say what an honor it is to meet an individual of your esteem! Why, might I make a request?"

"Anything for a fan!" Mouse Protector chirped.

Revealing her old Mouse Protector trading card, worn and faded from years of ownership in the days before Taylor knew what card protector sleeves were, she asked, "Could you sign this, perchance?"

Mouse Protector smiled and glanced at the card. Her smile dropped. "Why… that is a limited edition Mouse Protector's Protectors card, is it not?"

The card's art wasn't a photo. It was a lovingly painted illustration by one of the PRT's premier designers, a man named Glenn Chambers, depicting a much younger Mouse Protector in her first costume. Beside her were the rest of the inaugural Wards team, including Miss Militia, Chevalier, Reed, Drakthar, Firelight, Warning Sign, Walk On and Walk Off, and En Dolphins. They all looked happy, valiantly fighting together against a horde of faceless enemies. It was a tragedy that only two of the ten remained.

An official collaboration between the PRT and Mouse Protector, it was the first and only of its kind, and ran in packs sold in the United States northeast for only four months. One thousand copies of this card were printed — only three hundred of those were confirmed to remain. This limited-edition card was a birthday gift from Emma years ago; Taylor's former sister had blown three months' worth of allowance to buy all the packs it took to get one.

"It's… a memory from better days," Taylor whispered, offering the card to Mouse Protector. "You don't have to sign it. You can take it, if you want. An apology for failing to protect your protector."

Mouse Protector gasped. She reached out, then pulled her hand back and hastily undid the latches on her gauntlet, unwilling to risk damaging the card. Between gloved fingers, she held it up to her eyes.

"My protectors, way back when… A memory from better days, you said?" She stared for a few minutes more before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a sharpie. In quick, snappy cursive, she signed a name over the card's flavor text, leaving the illustration itself untouched.

"To the girl who brought light back to my life. Never retreat to the mousehole. You never know what cheese is left for the taking.

Suzy Payton ~ Mouse Protector"

Handing the card back, Mouse Protector said, "You didn't fail her. All along, this was her choice." She sniffed loudly, thumbing her nose. "Aw, man. Why'd you have to go and make me all emotional? I was just here to have a fun time, make some jokes and meet one of my favorite heroes…"

Solemnly, she started, "You know, I had been planning on retiring soon, actually. Thought it was high time I took a break, let the world go on without the Mousest with the Mostest. I was losing hope — said to myself, 'You're not making enough of a difference. This world's troubles are cats all the way down. Cheesy jokes won't keep the streets squeaky clean.' And the day Hannah died, I thought all my fears were proven true. My hope was crushed by the mouse trap. I was driven then to at least die a hero's death, like my fellow inaugurals before me."

Her voice softened. "And then you killed Ziz, and I saw those sparkles fall from the sky. And you know what? I realized something… something I had tried so hard to shove down and forget, because remembering hurt." She cleared her throat, wiped her eyes. "The reason I left the Protectorate wasn't just because I disagreed with their policies. It was because, as a Protectorate hero, I wouldn't have been able to make people smile. That was why I wanted to be a hero in the first place. And dying… Well, that wouldn't have made anyone but maybe Ravager happy."

Her teary grin was false, but it was becoming more real by the second. "So I'll keep living, and I'll keep being a hero Hannah would have been proud of. She was the one who told me to chase my own 'American Dream', and now here you are reminding me of what I value most. In one day, you made the whole world smile. Keep up the good work, Keter. I'll be right beside you as your biggest fan!"

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. People were talking, but she couldn't hear them. Taylor went through the motions, casting Mediarama and Amrita, and watching as Mrs. Lee cast Fortify and Restore. The people cheered — as they always did after a healing. Everyone from Eden participated in the meet-and-greet, but Taylor's mind was elsewhere the entire time.

Hours later, she was alone with QA in their apartment. Still stunned from earlier, all she had the wherewithal to do was lock that precious trading card in a sturdy frame with a clear front so that it'd never be lost. Sitting on the bed with only QA around to see, she finally allowed herself to cry.

Taylor was distracted when Dinah, Ceres, and Clover picked her up to go check out how the Café was doing. Dinah watched as Taylor ambled through the furniture store like a zombie. Her eyes were red from crying, but she didn't look upset. And while Dinah could have asked her power for a "Path to cheering Taylor up," she didn't want to go down that slippery slope.

"Here, these benches look good," Clover pointed out, talking softly so as not to disturb Taylor. "We can put them near the windows, right?"

QA nodded, running a finger along the back of one. "Good quality wood, not coarse or unsanded… and red is a classic color combined with checkered floors…"

"I found a rug," Ceres skipped over, hauling a rug over one shoulder. Magearna was carrying the sagging back half of the rug over their head. "It's got a nice vine pattern, just like you asked for."

"Good," QA said. Whatever was bothering Taylor didn't seem to have phased her, so it probably wasn't anything really bad. Dinah cast one last look at Taylor — who was now by the barstools — and turned her full attention back to shopping. QA was in the middle of saying, "-with the gramophone itself, once we find one. Now, the original Café had posters on the walls. I believe pictures of the Worlds would do better, no? Unique scenery and the likes. Let's get some frames for those while we're here."

They continued shopping, and Taylor would occasionally add things like cushions or a set of pots and pans to their trolley without a word. Most of their purchases were bulk orders of tables, chairs, and benches. They also had an order for kitchen appliances ready, and QA had found a red mailbox to put near the door… for some reason.

The decorations were left to Dinah and Clover to choose. They wasted about an hour as Clover kept finding more and more ridiculous options to add. She had wanted to add a stage to the Café, but everyone else vetoed the idea, so she had to lug her prop guillotine back to its corner of the store.

Taylor's listlessness continued all the way to having everything scheduled for delivery to the Café. Actually, there was a brief intermission as she argued with the store owner who didn't want to let them pay for everything. She eventually convinced the good-natured man that, by not paying, Eden would set a precedent for entitlement in their fans. He hadn't found a good counter argument for that, and so begrudgingly allowed Taylor to spend some of the money she got from her healing trip.

It was when she noticed an extra deposit from the PRT for killing Jack Slash that she returned to her thoughtful silence.

After that was working on the construction itself. Helping the drones move materials around, setting up support beams where needed, was hard work for a girl Dinah's size. She was often helped by Magearna and Lucario, who casually lifted a two hundred pound pillar like it was nothing.

Finally, as they were leaving to return home, Taylor spoke. "Dinah, Path to making everybody in the world happy without mind control or mental manipulation of any kind."

Dinah winced as the Path unfolded before her. It had so many branches and so many recursive steps that she wanted to say it was impossible… but there was an end. It was billions, trillions of steps in the future, and there were no shortcuts, but she could see the end. There were lives lost, there were disasters averted, there were so many factors that had to stay the same, that the end result could eventually be summed up as… "You'd basically need to become a god, Taylor. Making everyone happy… it's an impossible goal."

Clover asked, "What brought this on, Taylor? I saw you talked with Mouse Protector earlier. Did she say something to you?"

Shaking her head, Taylor said, "Not exactly. I've just come to a realization that, no matter what I do, something will always go wrong. But even then… Even then, sometimes things can also go right. Simply by making an effort to do better, to be better, I can save people, who go on to save others, who go on to save yet more. It's an endless cycle of hope, disguised as an impossible goal." Looking around at the streets of Brockton Bay, nearly empty of beggars or homeless, with not a pothole or broken window in sight, she said, "The Path to making everyone happy means I'll have to become a god? Fine. Then a god I'll become. That doesn't sound too difficult.

"I am the Crown of Eden, after all."

Status

Current Energy: 32

Current Senergy: 20

Current Early Morning Crafting: Kuneko Cassette (3/10 Progress, 5 Energy to Complete)

This vote is for:

Dinah's Destiny

Dinah's Patrol: Dinah wanted to make sure her fellow precog was clean.

Dinah's Activity: The Mini Triumvirate would triumph over Keter!

A/N: A lot of new Quests to choose from, some more urgent than others. This should hopefully help indicate which Activities hold the most impact. I'm also thinking of making the current Morning Patrol a permanent addition. Yay or nay?