Days — Roleplayer Guild

Who knows, a this point?

Nova's weapon felt heavy in her hand, both foreign and familiar. A chilling tremor coursed through her as Nick stood, threatened Von, and collapsed again. Then, he mentioned the Hallow. The news hit her like smoke swirling up, stinging her without mercy. What was she even doing here? She was a scientist. A basement dweller. Archery had once been just a sport—a way to blow off steam from her work, her financial troubles, and bloody Brenda's antics. Now, her arrows had felled both a glimmering dragon and a towering entity. Her aim was true, but her confidence wavered. Yes, she was skilled, perhaps even the most knowledgeable person when it came to the Heart of Hearts and CDE. But damn, did she feel out of her depth. Nova hated how Von Galloes poked at her greatest insecurity. Not figuring out what was going on while so many people counted on her. 

Why had she come at all? After last year's battle, she’d promised herself she’d focus on her studies and nothing more. But Annalise—that’s why. Nova didn’t fully understand it, but she’d go to the ends of the earth for the girl. As would Kai.

The thought of her husband made Nova blink, her back straightening slightly as her eyes swept over her companions before locking onto the taunting man behind the glass. Right now, she missed Kai more than she missed the sun on winter mornings, more than she missed the calm of a life before all this chaos. Before the Ethera. A hot pressure built behind her eyes, but she pushed it down. Now wasn’t the time to cry, or let emotions take control. Besides, someone shifted beside her. Nova broke her stare from the man to glance at Cosy, who was finally stirring. She offered the girl a reassuring smile, almost moving toward her, if Von Galloes hadn’t continued speaking.

He knocked the woman off her axis completely. An awful, sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she stared at the hologram atop the table—Cosette, Annalise, Nick, her companions, and... herself. Her eyes widened as the reason for the dread clawing at her consciousness became clear. The gun felt heavy in her hand. Nova dropped to her knees, her eyes wide in disbelief, her free hand covering her mouth as a tortured sob threatened to escape.

The real world. 

She wasn’t real. Not right now, at least. Her body in the tube wore the earrings Kai had given her before the Gala at the Louvre. Had they been trapped there since the battle at the Ethera? Had they never escaped, as she thought—as they all thought? The realisation crept in like a cold tide, and with it, hindsight. Tiny inconsistencies she’d overlooked. Minuscule. Things she had blamed on the damage to her body after the fight. One less plant in her sunroom. Annalise’s sudden appearance. Brenda actually succeeding at something. All too small to notice—until now. 

Von Galloes talked but Nova barely registered as he showed Stella, in a tube in a different room- no, different locations. But when it was her very own husband, the man she loved and adored, shown in a tube, unconscious, his eyes closed and unaware, Nova's eyes watered and the harsh reality of it all hit her like a punch to the gut. He never got down on one knee in front of her. He never slid a ring onto her finger. They didn’t exchange vows. They never signed any papers. She never kissed him at the altar.  She never moved into his house. Annalise never joined them. She never married Kai. The weight of all that was lost crashed down on her, suffocating in its finality.

It was all a simulation. 

And it pissed Nova the hell off. The sight of her suspended, unconscious husband—reality be damned—had her seething, her desperation morphing into rage as she pushed herself back onto her feet. She spun around to glare daggers at Von Galloes. Her fingers itched to grab an arrow and send an explosive round toward his smug, ugly face, but she was sure the glass was reinforced. He was positively gloating as he explained that they would be released to play more of his wicked games in the real world, tasked with finding Stella and Kai. She’d go far for Stella but for Kai?

Nova would burn down the whole goddamn world.

Beside her, brave Annalise spoke up, but her actions pulled Nova from her resolve, forcing her to focus on the one she was meant to protect. She watched Annalise dash toward the man who had been on the slab. Instinctively, Nova followed, driven by a need to safeguard Anna. But when Annalise grabbed the man and closed her eyes, Nova realised what was happening. She was going to try to get them out of this on their own terms.

Nova took a shaky breath. Her consciousness was about to be thrust back into her own, actual body. Kai wasn’t here right now, but he was in the same simulation, wasn’t he? He must be. At this moment, she was still connected to Kai's simulation, even if he might be unaware of being in it. Once she woke up, she was tasked with finding him. Nova lifted her hand to the device in her ear, her wedding ring reflecting the shimmer of their surroundings. "Kai— I don’t know if I’m reaching you, but... I love you. And I’m going to find you."

Dropping her hand, her eyes were on her ring, her heart sinking as an odd sensation swallowed her whole. 

And spit her back out into the real world. Her eyes opened wide, blurred by being suspended in some form of clear liquid, her heart hammering in her chest. Immediately, she stretched her fingers and glanced down at them. 

Bare, and without a loving ring. 

Looking up, she noticed Annalise at the controls just before her tube began to drain, slowly lowering her feet to the bottom and returning her weight as the tattered gown she had worn at the Gala—and during the following battle—felt heavy against her body. Once the water fully drained, a hatch popped open, and Nova disconnected herself from the wires, taking a shaky step out. She coughed, her long hair dripping onto the floor and forming puddles of misery.

“Anna...” she breathed, gratitude shining in her eyes as she glanced toward the other tubes draining. With unsteady legs, she walked to the one beside her, where Cosette had been suspended. As the liquid drained, her hatch opened. Nova reached out her hand. “Come on, I’ve got you,” she said, ensuring Cosette could step out safely before turning her attention to the other tubes holding Nick and their two new companions. 

“Nick, you good? Jay? And—God, what’s your name?” she asked the hungry man on the slab, who had somehow helped Annalise get them out.

Nova gathered her hair, twisting her locks and squeezing out the moisture. It was time to get her damn husband back.
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