#valonabditus

That’s a very good suggestion! However I already know what happens, I just need to type it haha. 

you’re not wrong but I don’t like it at all

I’ve got enough bad ideas as it is and this one is just… entirely too evil to ignore even though I would really like it to not be anything close to canon

ohoho, I forgot about that

I have several fun ideas but my general thoughts are this:

Where my hero is at the moment (as a combination of actual game canon and my headcanon) she’s starting to really notice the consequences of her mistakes, becoming more aware of how easy it is to go wrong and how devastating the results can be, realizing that it can happen to her as easily (really, more easily) as anyone. Every day it’s harder to ignore her shortcomings, keeping things together is quickly becoming an uphill battle and, privately, she’s not sure how long she can keep it up.At the same time, Sepulchure is... I’m not sure what I’d call his current trajectory or whether my predictions are at all correct, but he’s sort of recovering from the consequences of his own mistakes, or trying to. He’s fucked up about as bad as you can fuck up, and he’s not eager to do it again.

And they have this weird relationship and they’re getting to understand each other, learning what made the other do what they did before and what’s keeping them going now, and I think the better he knows her the more Sepulchure can see her starting to crack. She’s doing her best to keep it all together, sure, but then so was he at one point. He knows that feeling, and he’s all too familiar with how bad it can get if she lets it. And what happens if she does let it?

What I’m saying is, yeah, Sepulchure having to right Hero’s mistakes is... not the least likely thing I’ve thought of today, definitely

There was no other choice.

The power twisted in her core clawed at her skin wounditself into her, icy stabbing tearing and she’d won, she’d saved them, no oneelse would die today, but the thought was distant behind the shrieking chilland the power that twitched in her hands, the voice that said what have you done and I’m sorry and there was no other choice.

Wasn’t there?

Her tears froze her eyes open so she couldn’t shut out the brokenscene, the destruction she couldn’t avoid, the dawning horror on the people’sfaces as they tried to understand what had happened. She fled. So much fasterthan she was before. Her heart pounded, pushed ice through her veins. By thetime she realized where she was going she was halfway there.

He’d understand. If anyone would, if anyone could. He’d feltthe desperation and weakness, the power and the regret, and he would know, betterthan anyone, what had driven her to it.

Avatars, he had to.

She placed a hand on the door. It opened. He stared at her.

“Please,” she said, her voice scraping her throat. “I didn’tknow… who else to come to.”

Silently, he opened the door and allowed her inside. Closingthe door behind her, he turned slowly to face her.

“What happened?”

She shook her head. The icy flames in her peripheral visionmade her nauseous. “The whole town was going to be destroyed. I wasn’t—I couldn’tdo anything. I was too weak. I…”

“What did you do?”

“I’ve failed too many people! I couldn’t let it happenagain! How can I call myself a hero if—if I can’t save anyone? What else could I do?”

“What did you do?”

“I—Aegis—” She couldn’t find her voice to say it, but thechange in his expression told her he had filled in the rest.

“You didn’t.”

“He let me do it. It… was the last thing he said.” Sheclenched her jaw. “I don’t… I don’t know how I can stand it—”

“I don’t know how you could do it in the first place.”

She stared at him with pleading, frosted eyes. “I didn’t havea choice! Those people were going to die, and who knows how many more afterthem! I needed an advantage! I thought you of all people would understand!”

He looked down and was silent for a moment. Finally, he mether eyes again, his own flashing scarlet. When he spoke, it was through clenchedteeth.

“You thought I would understand?”

Stephanie shrank back from his gaze. “I—you’ve made choices—”

“Even I would never have done what you did.”

She shook her head, lost. “I wanted to save them! I had tobe stronger! You know what that’s like!” Her vision was clouding now, but hereyes still refused to shut. “I can’t forgive myself, I know, I know it waswrong, it was horrible, I don’t know how I can live with it—I—I just need someone to know what I’m feeling!Please!”

“There are sacrifices that shouldn’t be made. Lines that noone should cross. Magic that shouldn’t be dealt with. I would know.” He narrowedhis eyes. Stephanie could barely make out his expression, but his voice was hushedwhen he spoke again. “I thought you were better than this. What are you?”

She stared straight ahead. The silence closed in, brokenonly by the creaking of the ice in her flesh. She couldn’t bear to look atherself.

“I don’t know.”

Sepulchure regarded her with something close to pity. Hereached out, took her chin in his hand, tilted her head up to face him again. Hisvoice was almost gentle.