The Good Life: Time Away (ch. 113) (Fallout Return)

A reminder that I will be taking next week off to celebrate Best of Intentions ending. But, I will be back on the 2nd with the first chapter of Going Native: Rewritten going public with four advanced chapters posted on patreon.

...

“Aerith, you must not lose hope! So long as we are alive, we can fight! And so long as we can fight, we can win!” Yamato spoke to a demure Aerith, who sat in the corner of her cell. It was the only way that I allowed the two to communicate, a purposefully planted flaw in my holding cells. 

Yamato was still in the brace, largely because she had to be. The woman would try to escape at the first sign of weakness, and her building up a bond with Aerith was a calculated decision on my part because I figured Yamato was less likely to try escaping unless she could bring Aerith with her. 

“He's won, Yamato. He won in every way that matters,” Aerith replied in a voice a hair above a whisper. 

And she was right on the mark with that. I walked through my lab, Typhon partially summoned, and revealed another one of his abilities. Back in my old world, and apparently this one, Typhon was the ‘Father of Monsters.’ Every monster that walked this planet could trace their lineage back to the summon that hung over my shoulder like a specter. Summons themselves weren't living beings though, but rather stories and memories that were wrapped around a core of truth and powered with magic. The result in this case was that Typhon possessed his ability to create monsters that he could puppet as an extension of himself, and thus, of me. 

A good dozen of the puppets, made of magic, were working tirelessly to break down my lab for movement. All of them looked like blank puppets, or perhaps mannequins-- featureless faces, segmented limbs that allowed mobility, only instead of strings they were puppeted by magic. Sensitive materials that I didn't want falling into the wrong hands and were just safer elsewhere. Among them were two cells that were part of the same block. 

Yamato and Aerith. 

Aerith settled into her clone body, which still had a connection to the Planet even with Jenova still calling the shots. But, in the months that followed, that proved to be a detriment to her mental health. Which, admittedly, wasn't exactly great to start with on account of that whole ‘being a prisoner’ thing. So, her developing a bond with Yamato had helped her some, but not much. Yamato had become an anchor for the Ancient, an endless source of determination and confidence, while she passively learned the changing state of the Planet. 

It had been a few months since I defeated Omega and the Lifestream was subjugated. The world itself hadn't truly recovered from the Lifestream attempting to cut and run from the planet. The monster migrations, which had already been a problem, became infinitely worse. As were the migrations of people, as large swaths of land suddenly became completely inhospitable, forcing those living there to turn to the already overburdened cities. 

Sephiroth and Zack had been run ragged along with what was left of SOLDIER. That probably wouldn't change for months. 

While all that Mako had since returned to the planet, there were still vast stretches of extreme climate change but what was even more problematic were the Mako reactors that had suddenly run dry as the Mako reservoirs they tapped were rerouted. 

Partly as a natural occurrence, but also because of my plan. 

The power outages across the world opened the way for alternative power production. Such as solar and wind -- I was keeping fusion tech in my back pocket until Final Fantasy had made contact with Runeterra. But until then, Shinra was rapidly making do with alternative, if lesser, means of generating electricity. It would be spotty in many places, but that worked to my advantage. After all, Vought was a power and robotics company, and one well-suited to meet the power demands. 

“Aerith! Defeat is only true if you believe it!” Yamato scolded, absolutely certain they would escape, utterly unaware that my puppets were lifting their prison cell with a touch of gravity magic. The cell block was hefted and carried down the hall behind me, while other puppets broke down equipment -- some to be destroyed, others to be carried out. “We may have lost, but we have not been defeated!” 

I had been curious about Yamato. Robin hadn't known that much about Haki, and even less about Conquerors Haki, only that it was rare. So I wanted to know more about how the two of us could use it, and Yamato’s memories were rather informative on that front. 

Conqueror's Haki was stubbornness in its purest form. The stubbornness to refuse reality, God, and anything and everything that stood in the way of what you wanted. It wasn't something you were born with. It was something that you could gain. Yamato herself had gained that spark when she watched the real Oden be executed, saving his retainers and cracking a joke as he died. The determination to inherit his will, even if it meant defying her all-powerful father, gave her that spark that became an all-consuming flame. A flame that remained undaunted in the face of ten thousand brutal defeats. 

Yamato just licked her wounds, grit her teeth, and went back in for another round. Every time, she was absolutely determined that this would be the time she won and Wano would be freed. 

A belief that was vindicated when Asami showed up. 

They’d dealt with Yamato's father, Kaido, in a similar way to how they dealt with Yoruichi. They waited for Kaido to get drunk and had him stumble into a portal before closing the door behind him. An empty world devoid of all life, a wasteland in its truest sense. 

A wasteland I knew the cosmic coordinates of because of Yamato's memories. 

In any case, it made her a tough nut to crack. I had a methodology for corrupting people at this point, one that I figured I had largely perfected with Tifa. Undercut their motivation, sweep the legs to their confidence and sense of purpose, discombobulate them with moral and emotional compromises, and then finish them up by offering them a hand at their lowest point. Yet, even then, I’m sure Tifa would try to slip the leash the moment that she felt she had the chance to do so and that there would be no blowback towards whatstheirfaces and their families. 

That approach just flat out wouldn’t work on Yamato. So, if I wanted to bend her to my will… I would need to get creative. Something that I didn’t mind. 

After all, there were few things that I loved more than a challenge. 

Aerith didn't reply, but I felt the hum of a fragile resolve in her heart. I wondered how long that would last? We continued through the lab, heading down an elevator that brought us deep beneath the surface, and when the bulkhead doors opened, I saw it. 

The Dias.

“Took you long enough,” Yoruichi remarked, an arm draped around Tifa and Jessie. “I was starting to think that you didn't want to leave.” 

“As if,” I replied, my gaze on the Dias while Jinx was performing the final system checks. The Dias looked different once again. There were four rings in a spinning gyroscope now, while everything else had been further slimmed down and refined. For nearly ten years, Jinx had been working on the blueprints of the Dias, and the inefficiencies that came up because of the deadline back then were smoothed over or reworked. “Is it ready?” 

“Just about~!” Jinx shared an eager grin with me. Both of us were excited, though for very different reasons. Jinx was looking forward to her reunion with her sister. I was looking forward to returning to Fallout. 

Plans that had long been in development were at last ready to be implemented. 

“How close can you get us to our departure?” I asked Jinx, and she gave me a cheeky grin. Wordlessly, she brought up a screen, and I recognized the data. It was the same as what I saw when Jinx unveiled the ability to travel through space and time, only it was far more refined. The accuracy was dramatically increased, seemingly to the point that we could land within the same month without needing an Anchor. “Oh… good work,” I praised her, patting her on the head and Jinx leaned into my touch. 

I could sense Tifa and Jessie's confusion. They thought they suspected what was going on, but I highly doubted that they guessed that we were about to take a trip through the multiverse. 

“Boot it up,” I instructed and Jinx locked onto the Fallout Anchor, selecting the time of our arrival, which was about five seconds after what would be our departure into Fallout. I was looking forward to returning, watching as the gyroscope disks began to spin, locking onto the coordinates. 

It was something that only revealed itself in hindsight, but I really should have stuck around in Fallout for a day or two before heading into Final Fantasy. Because, for the better part of ten years, there had been a lingering question that had fermented in the back of my mind -- a question that I was determined to answer all these years later. 

What in the hell had happened in Fallout, and what did Taylor do? 

The hum of power became audible and we gathered up before the Dias. Yoruichi, Jinx, and Jenova. Meanwhile Tifa and Jessie lagged behind, watching the Dias power itself up. Power that was fueled by the souls of the dead, something that was far more efficient with my tweaks to how Mako was utilized, so it only took a few to power the Dias. Then there was a sudden burst of light as a familiar sight appeared, and with a lazy smile, I strode through the Dias. 

“I take it your trip was a productive one?” A familiar voice that I had missed more than I realized remarked, and my gaze went to Robin, who still stood in the exact same place as she had when I departed nearly a decade ago. But, for her, it had only been five seconds. Time travel was pretty neat. 

Her bright blue eyes were searching for something in me as I led the others into Fallout. Wondering how much my time away had changed me, and the smile that I gave her was all the sign that she needed. Ten years, a hundred, or a hundred thousand. No matter what, I would always be myself. 

“Wow,” Yoruichi immediately remarked, spinning on her heel as she got a look at the market in Fallout. It was every bit as baffling as I remembered. Naked men and women on display, prices dangling off their bomb collars, and if they lacked one then it dangled from a piercing on their ear or nipples. The thuggishly tall, built Supermutants numbered through the streets, carrying cargo or supplies, pushing wagons filled with occupied cages of people. “This is…. Wow. Some things have changed while I was away, huh?” 

“A few,” Robin replied, smiling at Yoruichi. “Taylor was just about to walk me through those changes. We hadn't expected your return to be so swift. I hope that your time away wasn't too unpleasant?” Yoruichi laughed, striding up to Robin as the two began to catch up. For them both, they had been separated for a few months. Meanwhile, Tifa and Jessie openly gawked at the market, feeling horror, terror, and dread in equal measure. 

That brought my gaze to Taylor, who still sat on the back of… Piper, if memory serves, stared at me with a half-startled expression. She licked her lips before her gaze refocused, “You feel… stronger.” 

“It's been ten years for me,” I replied, knowing that her gaze lingered on Typhon before flickering towards Jenova. “A lot has changed. Other things, not so much. How about you tell me what you've been up to, and we can get started with the next phase of the plan?” All the while, my puppets began to march out of the Dias, carrying my research and the prison cells that Yamato and Aerith were inside. 

“Right,” Taylor replied, going into business mode and offering a short nod of her head before standing and pulling on the leash that both Piper and Cait were connected to. “Follow me. I have a room prepared.” 

From behind, Jinx grabbed my hand and pressed her head into my shoulder. Then, a half second later, Robin held my other hand. Glancing at her, there was a softness in her eyes as she gave my hand a squeeze. “How was the last decade?” She questioned, and she wasn't asking for a status report. 

In response, I pulled her closer with a bit of gravity magic and kissed her cheek. “Missed you,” I told her with absolute honesty. 

“Is that so? It seems you've certainly found other entertainment,” Robin remarked, turning her gaze to Jenova, who was walking with us and looking around with an entirely dispassionate expression. 

“But none of them could hope to replace you,” I replied shamelessly, earning a faint smile, and I felt Robin's sense of assurance that I was still me. Those ten years hadn't made any noticeable changes. I was stronger. I was more focused, maybe. But I was still me, and what I felt for her hadn't changed in the slightest. 

Robin rested her head on my shoulder while Yoruichi started harassing Taylor, who led us through Nuka-World. And, I had to say, a lot of things had changed while we had been busy in Piltover. There was no sign of the damage caused by the battle. The roads had been reworked, the buildings were restored and refurbished -- they weren't made out of stone or wood or even concrete, but something else. Something vaguely organic. Like a better version of an anthill. 

I could feel it under the roads as well, a sewer network of tunnels that doubled as ways to move Taylor's insects unseen. It was starting to look more like a real city than a post-apocalyptic hellhole that we jury-rigged. 

Taylor led us towards the old castle in Nuka-World, and in the years since I had last seen it, it had undergone significant expansions. Most of the original construction had been replaced, the weak and crumbly concrete instead that same solid mush that the rest of the buildings were made of, but stronger. The interior even gave the vibe of a proper castle, just with modern convenience. And a lot of scantily dressed women acting as servants. Piper and Cait, along with Tifa and Jessie, were left in the lobby as the conversation we were about to have didn’t need prying ears. 

An elevator brought us to the top of a tall tower, which let me get a view of Nuka-World as a whole. And the area around it through bulletproof glass windows. 

The soil looked… Well, not great. Honestly, it looked pretty shit. However, given that it was a literal wasteland, any scrap of greenery or soil that wasn't half sand was a marked improvement. There were leaves on trees that weren't dried-out husks, and beyond the wall and the lake that Nuka-World was surrounded by, there were farms. 

“I've created a large variety of insects with the nuka-gen-replicator,” Taylor noticed my impressed look, allowing some pride to leak into her voice. “Recently, I've created a strain that consumes and digests radiation in the soil and air, and when they die after a week or so, their bodies quickly break down to a high-quality compost. I have implemented them across North America.” 

As she spoke, Taylor took a seat at a large round table, and at its center was a digital map. 

I saw her progress outlined by shading and points of interest. She hadn't been exaggerating when she said that she secured all of America, and in this universe, that had included all of Canada too. There were dots for notable settlements, cogs for vaults, various materials for resources… but, most interestingly, there were thin lines denoting some kind of internal division. 

“You managed to extend your range that far?” I asked, inspecting the map. From the looks of things, there had been a few major players to the west. In particular, the western coast. Someone had most of California, while another took a large chunk of the southwest, including Arizona and Colorado. There was also someone smushed between them based around Las Vegas, who had carved out a decent chunk of territory for themselves, likely from the two that surrounded it. 

“I can with synths of myself,” Taylor answered easily. “My range decreases depending on how many insects I control, but with synths, I can use them to extend my range. And with enough of them in the right places, my range extends across America.” Huh. Won’t lie, that was pretty impressive. 

And I could see how Jinx hated that. Jinx, in large part, had based her actions over the course of the last ten years on the snapshot of approval she saw me give Taylor. And, for ten years, Jinx had never really had to share my attention. She did once Yoruichi returned, but she didn’t seem to hold any animosity for that like she did with Taylor. And, from how Taylor’s eyes narrowed a fraction, that animosity was observed and noted. 

“Impressive,” I admitted, choosing my words deliberately, making Taylor sit taller while Jinx slumped. “So, wanna tell me what's going on here? In a bit more detail than last time, please.”

I expected Taylor to blush, but she just nodded with a somewhat exasperated expression on her face. “In one part, it’s due to the supermutant strain,” she began. “It makes them… dumb. Dumb and angry, but not mindlessly so. They can be reasoned with and hold conversations, but their control over their emotions is that of a six year old… who is going through puberty.”

“So, boobs,” I reasoned with a nod. Made sense so far. There were precious few things that boobs couldn’t fix, and apparently, one of those things was hyper-horny green rage machines. 

“... Yes,” Taylor half sighed while Yoruichi snickered from the side. “The… other aspect,” she continued, her tone becoming a bit more grim, “is due to factions that lay to the west. Slavery is a widespread occurrence across the American Wasteland. It’s more unusual for a society to not have some form of it, usually taken from defeated rival tribes. However, there were two major factions that we encountered that were easier to… integrate than outright conquer.”

Taylor made a gesture, and the TV behind her came to life. I decided to ignore how she turned it on with a bug and a remote in the corner. On the TV, the two factions were highlighted, and Taylor named them, “Caesar’s Legion and New Vegas, which is under the control of Robert House, the CEO of RobCo Industries.”

Interesting. My eyes narrowed as I took a seat in the chair, immediately understanding the implications. “Immortality?”

“That would be a generous word for it,” Taylor answered. “House has extended his life for two hundred years by sealing himself into a hyperbolic chamber. He spent most of that time entirely inactive, but fifteen years ago, House emerged from his seclusion and began to recruit various nearby tribes to New Vegas. Then, eight years ago, with the second battle of Hoover Dam, which was being contested by Ceaser’s Legion and a faction called the New California Republic, House managed to secure the dam. Which made him a major local power, and in the time since he has been expanding at the NCR’s expense.”

Interesting. That was unexpected. Very unexpected. My knowledge of Robert House was lacking in specifics, but I was a big fan of his company. Frankly, of all the Old World companies. I would have been proud to have any one of them as part of my empire. RobCo Industries, in particular, would serve as a good rival for Scarlet in Shinra. 

“Integrating both factions… required compromises, but they were necessary. And not entirely… not useful.” She was struggling to admit it, dancing around the topic, and I could see Jinx itching to push Taylor into the mess that she made. The long and short of it was that it was easier to accept slavery, especially when a growing portion of the male population was turning themselves into eight-foot-tall, green-skinned, hyper-horny rage-filled morons. 

Honestly, it sounded like a call that I would make for a laugh. Taylor, though… I had a grasp on her character. I had a decade to ruminate on her possible motivations for this, and, at her core, Taylor was someone willing to do the wrong thing for the right reason. That, more than anything else, was her motivation. Her lever of control. And, so long as I could convince her that it served the greater good, I genuinely don’t think there was anything that she wasn’t willing to do. 

In this case, she wanted integration over conquest because it meant less blood spilled. And, upon integration, it had the added benefit of making the horny green monsters easier to control… that just meant it was a smart call. 

“And the Legion?” I prompted, and Taylor let out a small breath, and I realized she had been preparing herself for condemnation. Like I would look out at the madhouse she had created and denounce it. Denounce her. And that was genuinely hilarious. 

“They’ve modeled themselves after the Roman Empire. Sort of,” she sounded particularly disdainful about that. “Legate Lanius leads the Legion after the death of its founder, Caesar. While they lost the battle of Hoover Dam, they’ve expanded aggressively since then. Likely in an attempt to gather strength to avenge that defeat. They’re…” Taylor seemed vaguely unhappy. “Organized. Structured in ways that most factions aren’t. The Legion is… functional.”

Jinx snorted, draping her arms over me while she rested her head on the top of my chair. “Geez. Really gushing with praise for ‘em, eh?”

“They’re an autocratic, traditionalist, imperialistic slaver society under totalitarian dictatorship.” So… they were like us? Minus the traditionalist bit. “Women have nothing resembling rights in their society, and they scorn all technology. Except for when they find it convenient.” I got the impression that she wasn’t a fan, but that didn’t really matter much to me. They were clearly a terrible influence on Taylor, so they had that in their favor for me. 

“But they submitted?” I prompted, earning a sharp nod from Taylor. 

“With some concessions, such as a degree of autonomy,” she admitted, but that was fine. What mattered was that we had their territories and the resources within them. Then she allowed herself a small smirk, “An army of super mutants and eight-foot-tall bugs made a compelling argument.”

“I imagine so,” I mused, looking over the map on the TV again, factoring it all in. I could easily work with this. It impacted a few of my plans, but they were good changes. Robert House. I hoped President Shinra didn’t mind a few peers. Though, I would admit that Final Fantasy did have an edge in terms of quality and industrial base. But no one ever said that competitions had to be fair. “Anything else worth mentioning?”

The TV screen changed again, showing off a couple of floating brains in jars with monitors attached to the base that floated off the ground. “We managed to uncover a team of scientists known as the Think Tank in a location called Big Empty, a hollowed-out mountain that served as a research center. The scientists themselves are half insane, but they’re undeniably brilliant. There are a number of inventions that they’ve created that are worth a mention, but the important part is that I’ve relocated the Institute scientists that still remain to Big Empty, in case Asami attempts another strike there.”

As she spoke, insects brought me a thick file and inside it were the inventions that the Think Tank were responsible for. And it was a long list, ranging from chemical weapons that made mustard gas look cute to invisibility suits, biological horrors, cybernetic implants, and…

“A matter converter?” I mused, my lips twitching as I realized that Taylor had found a real gem. The details were scant, but there were functional prototypes in a place called Sierra Madre. It required a special kind of material to be produced, but by feeding it into the machine, you could create food just as easily as you could create a hand grenade. “Interesting. Good find, Taylor. And good call moving the Institute,” I said, and Jinx pouted.

Closing the folder, I gave it a quick think. “I want to talk to them. House and Lanius. And whoever you feel is worth a seat at the table,” I decided, though that meeting could come later. I could afford to spend a few days here, trusting my synth to take care of things in Runeterra for a brief spell. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to return to explain away my supposed assassination if my synth got himself killed. 

“How has your little adventure gone?” Robin asked, leaning forward on the table and propping her head up with a hand. “I do hope you haven’t just been playing around for the last decade,” she added with a teasing smile. 

“Oh, Asami is going to cry tears of blood when she realizes how badly she messed up leading me to that world,” I answered with a laugh. “I didn’t outright take it over, but I’ve got significant pull inside the megacompany that does all but effectively rule it. Right now, they’re aware of the multiverse, and they’re currently building a jumbo-sized Dias in the middle of their capital called Midgar.”

The Mako reactors were now effectively useless, but President Shinra wasn’t one to let an opportunity slip him by. The reactors were being recycled, melted down to be repurposed into materials to create a massive Dias. Five hundred and fifty feet by four hundred and fifty -- large enough to fit a skyscraper into the portal. It would then be surrounded by lesser portals while others would be located in tactical positions for expansion. The man had a vision for the future, and when life gave him lemons, he sure as shit made lemonade. 

“It’ll be complete roughly eight to twelve months from now. Their first contact will be Runeterra, where they shall meet an intrepid entrepreneur by the name of Trafalgar Water Law, CEO of Vought Industries.” I started with a smile, and there was a flash of interest in Robin’s eyes. 

“And they won’t notice an uncanny resemblance to you?” She remarked, sounding amused as she guessed where I was going with this. 

“Of course they will. But, how can we be the same person if there are two of us?” I teased with a smirk, making her chuckle. To those involved, Trafalgar Water Law and Lawrence Waterloo were entirely different people that were separated by a universe. The same man who was born in both. Just as similar men with similar faces and talents would be in other universes beyond what we had laid claim to. 

Yoruichi made a noise of understanding, “That explains that story you had me feed that Shinra guy. But, if you’re going to play it like that, then who is going to be leading this little empire of ours?”

“Heartless will.” 

And luckily, Heartless wore a mask. With synths, I could have them act out the roles I created to infiltrate various universes, then leave them behind to continue the relationships I fostered with the unwitting people of those worlds. Then, once they were ready, they could get a peek behind the mask and realize who really ran the empire that had laid claim to their world. It would be a simple thing to occasionally harvest their memories to keep myself abreast of any changes. 

“How devious,” Robin mused, understanding exactly what I wanted to accomplish with the bait and switch. “It is unfortunate that your identity has already been revealed to Asami.”

I shrugged, “I don’t need a perfectly kept secret. Just one kept well enough.”

Things were changing. We had resources and power that we simply didn’t have a few years ago, back when Fallout was teetering on a knife's edge. And with those resources came options. Options in how I could approach how I took worlds. I could infiltrate them and nudge them from the shadows, as I did with Final Fantasy. Or, I could do as I did to Fallout, and conquer them outright with overwhelming power. 

Heartless could be the closed fist that offered no pretenses as to what I wanted from a world, and that being everything it had to offer. While Law could be… anyone. A friendly face. A helpful scientist. A good doctor who just wanted to help. Whoever I needed to be to get in the position I needed to twist a world around my finger and make it dance to my tune. 

“I thought you would be bored of wearing a mask,” Robin added, and I shrugged. 

“I don’t mind it much anymore. It’s fun.” Not for every world, of course. But it’s an option that I wanted to have on the table. “Especially when people are talking about you to your face, and they have no idea.” That never got old. “Anyway, beyond that, the world was a great place for resources. They have magic, I got some personal upgrades, and more importantly, we have-”

“Done,” Jenova interrupted in a sweet voice, bringing my attention to her. 

I blinked, faintly surprised. “Done? Already?” I asked, feeling kinda… let down, honestly. I figured that it would be more involved. Some kind of grand sacrifice, or something. At least a light show. Instead, Jenova had stared blankly ahead as she usually did, apparently doing all the work unseen. 

“Yes. This world lacked a Lifestream,” Jenova answered, her head bobbing. “My expanding to this world was uncontested.”

Yoruichi’s reaction was immediate. She hid it well. Almost too well, but I knew her well enough to see that the idea bothered her. It always did any time I fiddled around with souls. She never outright protested, not exactly, but I saw that she wasn’t comfortable with it. Not enough to do something about it though -- it was just something that was easier for her when it was out of sight and out of mind.

“What happened to this world's afterlife?” Yoruichi asked, her gaze turning to Jenova, who couldn’t understand the undercurrent of tension in her voice. 

“It was unpleasant. A stagnant sea of souls, warped and tainted by magics that echoed the death of the planet,” Jenova answered, turning her head and looking at Yoruichi with unblinking eyes. 

That remark earned one from me, though. “This world has magic?” That was a shock. If it did, then it certainly wasn’t like what it was in Runeterra or Final Fantasy. 

“Yes. Very limited. Very dark. It was unpleasant even before billions of souls died in nuclear fire. Which has left a stain that will never fade.” Ominous. And interesting. Who didn’t love black magic? “There are also three aliens. They are unpleasant.”

“Aliens?!” I immediately perked up, eyes widening with the sheer boyish excitement. “Are they little green men?!”

“Yes,” Jenova answered without emotion, her face scrunching up at me like she couldn’t possibly understand my excitement. This world was so much better than I gave it credit for. I owed it a serious apology. Aw, man, I shouldn’t have been wallowing in my self pity about Homelander. I should have been out there, exploring, finding those little green fuckers and that black magic stuff! Missing one would have been bad enough, but how in the hell had I missed them both!?

“Law, would you care to elaborate on what she is talking about?” Robin requested, but it was Yoruichi who answered. 

“Her name is Jenova, and she’s the face of something called a Lifestream. It’s… basically an afterlife,” Yoruichi said, and she audibly didn’t seem to know how to feel about that. “And now, she’s taken the afterlife of this world over. Apparently.”

Jenova’s head bobbed while Taylor was quietly uncertain, her eyes flickering between me and Jenova. 

“Oh my,” Robin sounded fascinated. “May I know how the afterlife of this world functioned?” Now she had me curious too. 

“Souls would fade in the sea until enough traces of their previous life faded before being reincarnated. If their soul was large enough, then the soul could be divided into another infant,” Jenova answered, her gaze beginning to wander in a tell-tale way that meant she wanted snacks. So, I shambled her up some cookies and a nuka-cola. She accepted both without thanks. 

“With Jenova, provided that further afterlives in other universes are the same, we can spread the Lifestream across the empire,” I began, feeling a smile start to consume my face as all eyes went to me. “And with her, we are able to convert souls into power to fuel the Dias. Meaning, starting now, we have removed the throttle on our expansion -- power.” 

I could feel everything changing. Power had always been the issue. It was why we couldn’t maintain a stable connection between worlds. It was why we couldn’t constantly jump to new ones. It was the biggest check against us, and at long last, it had been removed. 

We had the resources. This world was falling to heel under Taylor’s boot. Nora was bringing El Dorado under hers. Final Fantasy would soon join the fray, while I had another year to conquer Runeterra. We had armies of insects, machines, super mutants, and powerhouses like Yoruichi, Sukuna, and me. 

That old thrill of excitement hummed in my veins, and I knew a familiar manic smile had consumed my face. 

“Today is the start of a new era for us. The multiverse is an endless sea of possibilities… and at long last, we have the means to seize them. Asami took her shot at us, and she missed. As far as she’s aware, we’re still twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the juice to rescue Yoruichi. We have the initiative. We have the means. We have the power. We have everything that we need to fuel our expansion and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

Expand. Conquer. My empire would be the swarms of locusts that spread across the multiverse like a punishment from God himself. 

My Haki slipped from my control, filling the room and I could see the effect it had on the others, but I couldn’t quite swallow my excitement down. 

Because that endless sea of possibilities that was called the multiverse?

I intended to claim it all.