[FRAG] Keep A Secret

What the fuck is that, Rend asked.

Jubilee breathed in slowly. Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow his throat hurt.

He half-stumbled forwards, eyes glazing over slightly as he watched the two halves of Bereave hit the ground and shatter into a thousand, tiny, itty bitty pieces, falling to the ground in bits and pieces of dust. Holy shit. He'd just done that.

He fell to his knees, feeling the bones crack slightly. All the energy had drained out of him in that one blast. He wasn't surprised, really. He threw everything he'd had into that attack, that final stand, his final stand. 

"Oh my god," he said, enunciating each word slowly and clearly, "the plan worked."

JUBILEE!!! JUBILEE ARE YOU OKAY??

He breathed in slowly. Rendgen's hand gently came to rest on his back as Dijamant scrambled over to him, worry plastered on his face. He hugged Jubilee tightly, looking worried as all hell.

You look exhausted!

Kolo still stood a ways away, his arm healed and crossed, but the look of mild amusement on his face was comforting. HE PROBABLY IS, WOULDN'T YOU BE?

Morning Star's quiet voice cut through the celebration like a knife. "Did you just... kill him?"

Jubilee exhaled, slowly, trying to keep the burning sensation out of his throat. "I... I think so?"

"Oh stars. Oh stars." Morning Star let out the world's most terrified whimper, hiding his face behind his hands. 

Are you kidding? Rendgen cut in, That asshole totally deserved to die.

"I didn't - oh my stars, are we - I, I don't think, I-I don't want to kill anyone!"

Magnotris scrambled over, half-draping himself on Morning Star as the latter broke into tiny, choked sobs. Jubilee stared at the other, feeling his chest rise and fall as the adrenaline leaked out. Ah. He hadn't meant to make Morning Star cry.

Sterling trotted over to the duo, crouching to draw Morning Star into a hug as well. 

Look at them. They were - they were such good friends. United in love for one another. He was almost jealous, deep inside of - oh wow that hurt really bad, actually, he-

Jubilee lurched forward, acidic bile rising into his mouth. He cough and vomited, feeling magic dump out of him - the leftovers of his brush with Bereave. He heard Rendgen say something, sounding panicked, shaking Jubilee slightly. After a ragged breath, Jubilee licked his lips. He really should - augh, fuck, more magic rose inside of him and he had to vomit that out, too. 

Uuuugh that hurt like hell. 

The only think keeping him from slipping into his own garbage was his shaking arms, braced against the floor. He stared at the vile acid for a second before Dij's hands took him by the sides and pulled him into a sitting position.

Are you okay? Do you need a water? 

"I'm fine," he hoarsely replied. "It still kind of hurts but...." Jubilee scrubbed at his eyes. 

He looked to his right, breathing in slowly. Sundae was still sitting on the floor, legs splayed out in front of him, leaning back on his arms. He looked incredibly dumbfounded, mouth still slightly agape, breathing heavily. Had they all shared that adrenaline rush? 

Their eyes met, and Sundae exhaled slowly. "Hey."

"Hi," Jubilee offered, wondering dully how intimidating he was at that moment, the remnants of god in pieces around him, the primordial deities all crowded around him. 

"I guess you just. Killed Bereave," Sundae started.

"Y... yeah..." Jubilee inhaled sharply. 

What could he even say to Sundae? Surely there had to be some words, rotting in his head, that would lead this conversation somewhere useful. He wanted to talk, so desperately. Everything still felt fake. Did it even really happen? Had he, quite literally, torn Bereave into half? 

He wanted to talk. He did, he knew he did, deeply inside of him. He needed to talk. What else was left in him? There was no more anger. It had been burnt up by the fight, by that final stand against his murderer. Somehow, that felt like a relief, like a weight had peeled off his back, a weight that he'd never truly realized he'd gotten used to.

What was it going to be like, to breathe freely for once in his life? What new heights could he reach?

"Hey, Sundae," he managed.

The other looked over to him.

"How'd the talk with Morning Star go?"

Sundae narrowed his eyes, leaning forwards to rest his elbows on his thighs. "I had Wage do- wait, is Wage-?"

"He's fine. He came back to the Coalition and found me right away. It's how I was able to get here so fast, with Magnotris and Sterling." Jubilee wiped down his face. "Obviously really upset about what happened to you. But he wasn't injured or anything."

"Thank the stars. ...Why are you asking about the talks?"

Jubilee managed to blurt out, "Do you wanna be friends again?"

Sundae narrowed his eyes, raising an eyebrow. His gaze flicked to the shards of Bereave on the ground, the remnants of the world they'd just flipped on its head. What was going through Sundae's mind? He could only guess, only fathom what the other was thinking. Oh, he'd love to be privy to those thoughts, to truly understand the mind of another. 

But not in the way Bereave had. No, that was - that was disgusting, invasive, horrible. He would not do such a thing. He just wanted to observe. To know. To understand. But maybe even that was an invasive wish. Ah, well. He couldn't beat himself up for a small, private desire.

It still made him want to shudder, thinking about the cold touch of Bereave. It had been so familiar, so terrifying. If it hadn't been for his and Rendgen's pent-up anger... what would have become of him? Would he have been frozen solid by the callous cruelty?

Ah, remember to breathe.

"I don't know," Sundae finally said. "But... I'm okay with opening borders again. I feel like we're going to need to, after... this."

Jubilee nodded listlessly, reaching a hand up to take Rendgen's fingers in his own. After a split second, a smile formed on his face, slowly spreading. Tears came with it, bubbling out of the corners of his eyes.

Joobs!?

"I'm fine," he said, voice cracking, "I'm, actually, better than fine. I'm - thank you, Sundae. Thank you, everyone."

He turned. Morning Star had stopped crying and looked less on-edge, although he was still curled into a small ball. Magnotris and Sterling had attached themselves to either side.

"You're welcome?" Morning Star offered, wiping at his face.

"We did it," he said, voice breaking. "This is what I wanted."

"Huh?"

"All along, this is what I wanted," Jubilee repeated, tears streaming down his cheeks, "ever since I became aware of who I was, this is what I wanted, this is what I reached for! This was my plan! Nobody believed in me-" Kolo and Dij averted their eyes, "-everyone said it wouldn't work, that it was crazy. But I did it!"

We're going to have a lot to tell Pya, Dij said with a weak smile.

"Your end goal was to kill Bereave?" Morning Star quietly asked.

Jubilee nodded, feeling excitement bubbling in his chest, "Yes! You - you understand, you have to! He killed Timelines! He was a mass-murderer! He locked a Mag Frag in the Alpha Timeline after ruining it so badly that it couldn't function otherwise! He deserved to die, he had committed so many atrocious crimes and he wasn't going to stop."

"I mean, I guess," Morning Star nearly whimpered, cupping one of his cheeks in a hand, "I don't... I don't know. I don't like that. I don't l-like killing people for any reason. Maybe we could have talked some sense into him."

What? Bereave would listen to no words. Jubilee had been on the receiving end of the other's fury and cold manipulation. There was nothing he could've said that would've stopped the other from not murdering them all on the spot... right? What was this self-doubt overwhelming him, all of a sudden? This was his life's work. This was everything he'd been reaching for.

Jubilee stared at the tears streaking down Morning Star's face. These tears... they were nothing but anguish and pain, hyper-empathy personified. Morning Star pitied Bereave, in some way, and he couldn't help but see the good in the other. Was that it? Was that why Pyatiugolnik had Blessed Sundae and Morning Star instead of him? Was it because of that empathy, that empathy that shined for even the most horrible of creatures?

Bereave had deserved it. He'd destroyed Jubilee. He'd killed Timelines. He'd done so out of a cruel, callous jealousy, out of a desperation, out of a horror. That, Jubilee could remain solid in. He could take comfort in such things, in such faith. And yet, he still felt something sad worm inside of him. He hadn't meant to upset Morning Star so thoroughly. And the poor boy had Bereave's blood on his hands, too. 

Jubilee breathed.

He opened his mouth, slowly, then closed it, and then finally spoke, "I... I can understand that. I'm sorry, Morning Star. I'm being fairly callous towards you. I didn't mean to."

Morning Star wiped at his cheeks for a second before looking up, a twinkle of hope and understanding in his eyes. "O-oh. Thank you, Jubilee. I'm... I'm glad you got to succeed, even if... yeah."

He smiled, warmly.

"This was so weird," Sterling muttered, crossing his arms. "This was soooo weird."

"I'm sorry, Sterling," Jubilee said, keeping his shoulders set.

The other cast him a side glance. "I figured. This is... I mean, don't get me wrong. I still hate you, with like, every fiber of my being. Maybe. I don't know if that hate will ever fully go away. But... I guess I kind of get it, too. You were a real jerk for treating me the way you did, even though we were... more similar than you let on."

Jubilee nodded, shakily. "Y-yeah. Yeah, you're right. And I'm sorry. When I went to say sorry to you before, I really meant it. And I mean it now. I mistreated you."

Morning Star cast a confused gaze to Sterling, who just gave a light shrug and sighed, uncrossing his arms. "Yeah. I guess maybe I shouldn't have attacked you or anything."

"No, no, I can see exactly why you would. Honestly, I'm not surprised you didn't believe me. It was kind of out of the blue and really poorly timed."

"You're practically asking to get punched again," Sterling retorted, but he had a small smile on his face.

Jubilee grinned. "Well, I did say you could punch me after we saved Morning Star."

Sterling snorted, then leaned over to deliver a weak, simple punch to Jubilee's shoulder. The Overseer giggled, then burst into soft laughter, shoulders shaking with the sheer joy in his body. It was all going right. It was all going right, for once. Success had finally fallen into his lap. This wasn't how he'd pictured it, sitting slightly bruised in a circle of a few of the Mags, with Sundae, and Morning Star, and Magnotris, and Sterling, but really, could he have wished for anything else? Could he have wanted for a better end to his tale?

J... Jubilee?

He wiped at his eyes and turned to Rendgen, taking careful note of the way Sundae lifted a hand to block his view of the Mag. 

Are you going to come home?

He paused, turning to glance back at Magnotris and Morning Star. The former was watching with keen interest, eyes narrowed over the frame of his glasses. 

"I... I'll come visit," Jubilee said, after a second, smoothing out the wrinkles in his dress. "Most definitely. I promise. I can't abandon the Coalition, though. It's - my quest might be over, but that's still where I belong. Helping people and preserving Timelines."

Rendgen stood up, trotting to Jubilee's side to wrap him up in a great big hug. I... okay. I can accept that. 

"What does this mean for you, though?" Jubilee pressed, tilting his head slightly.

Huh?

"The - The Shards. They were... they were because you were frustrated at how long I was taking. And now it's over. What are you going to do about them? I... I don't want to have to fight you any longer."

YOU KNOW, YOU COULD ALWAYS COME BACK, Kolo helpfully offered. Rend turned to stare. NO, I'M SERIOUS. PYA'S MENTIONED IT BEFORE. OBVIOUSLY SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL UPSET WITH YOU, BUT... THEY WERE UPSET WITH DIJ, TOO. THEY'LL GET OVER IT.

I can- I can come back?

Dijamant slung an arm around Rend's shoulders. Well, yeah, of course! Pya will probably demand someone keep an eye on you for a while, but we all miss you, really. And you, too, Jubilee! I'm really glad you're going to come back!

Jubilee nodded at Dij. He could see, behind Dij and Rend, Morning Star creeping over to hug Sundae tightly. Sundae hugged back, and Jubilee could breathe a sigh of relief. 

YES! Rend shouted, throwing his hands, balled into fists, into the air, I'll come back! AND I'LL DISBAND THE SHARDS!!! O-Or at least come up with like... something else to do with them. I'm, uh. I'm kind of attached. Is that ok?

"That's fine, Ren," Jubilee toned, smiling. 

THEN I WILL DO IT!

"This is so cheesy," Magnotris complained. He'd flopped onto his back next to Sterling, but he was smiling, too, a great big grin that he couldn't quite hide. "Hey, Jubilee?"

"Mm?"

"You know Crvendach, right?"

"Oh, yes, I do. Why."

Magnotris sat up. "Wanna come out drinking with me and him in a few days? I feel like I barely fuckin' know you. And, uh, well, we just sort of... y'know. Did the impossible together. I think that kinda friendship's worth working on."

"Oh!" Jubilee let a smile spread over himself to match Magnotris', "I'd love to! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, no problem. Are you gonna... uh, come out as a Timeline to the rest of the COR? Or should that stay a secret?"

Jubilee paused, glancing back at Kolo. The Mag gave him a reassuring nod. "Er... I'd prefer to keep that secret. I don't want people to look at me weirdly, or think of me differently. I mean, obviously you all will, but I'm okay with that. I'm not okay with random Frag six knowing my entire life story. I just... I don't want people to pity me, or obey me out of a misguided feeling of who I am. I'd like to be respected on my own hard work. I may be a Timeline, but I'm still a person."

"That's fair," Magnotris said. "I mean, personally I'd tell. People probably wouldn't fuck with me after that sort of thing went public, y'know?"

"Haha, but that's half of what I love about my job!"

Magnotris ran a hand down his face. "Oh my stars. You like random assholes getting up in your business?"

"I love meeting people! And you meet most people when they want something from you. You can learn so much about someone by what they're searching for, what their goals are, and how they want you to help them."

"Suit yourself." but Magnotris was smiling.

"I wanna go see Wage," Sundae piped up. "I wanna go home. He's worried sick."

I CAN TAKE US BACK, Kolo remarked. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE... CORPSE?

I can ask Pya about it later? I mean, he probably already knows, right? But we can figure out-

"Guys," Morning Star said.

Jubilee glanced over. "Hm-?"

"Guys the pieces are moving."

Almost instantly, the entire group took several paces back, putting as much distance between themselves and the bits of Bereave that they could. Sure enough, about half were vibrating slightly, shaking and clattering against the ground. How had Jubilee not noticed earlier?! Was Bereave coming back? He wasn't sure if he could fight him off a second time-

"Do any of you know what's happening?" he nearly barked to the three Mags over his shoulder. 

I- no, not at all! Dij's face was smothered in fear, wide eyes, shoulders raised. 

"What should we do?" Sundae called to Jubilee.

He turned to stare at the pieces. They were drawing themselves together, into a tiny pile. "I-I don't know!"

I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'VE KILLED BEREAVE BEFORE, I DON'T THINK ANYONE KNOWS HOW IT-

There was a flash of light as someone else teleported in, with large wings and a curled horn. Jubilee blinked just as Sundae and Morning Star in unison shouted "PYA!"

Pyatiugolnik nodded gingerly, giving his Blessed Frags a warm, kind smile. It brought some form of instant peace to Jubilee as well, pulling on his faintest memories. He'd never been particularly close with Pya, but the other's warm presence had always oozed off of him, even when he'd tried to be cold and withdrawn. He'd always found the other comforting.

Pya! Dij cried, What's happening?! Should we run? Should we attack?

it's alright. there's nothing to fear.

Jubilee watched with wide eyes as Pyatiugolnik crouched down to the shards, reaching to cup them in his hands. "How do you know that?"

Pya looked up. look.

His hands lit with magic, gentle and careful. The purple wrapped around the shards, gently helping them coalesce into a new, smaller ball, smoothing them together and rounding out their edges like clay. It looked vaguely familiar. Jubilee couldn't quite place his finger on it, though. He'd surely never seen something like this before? Fragments certainly didn't look like that when they died.

But wait... was it....

Pya held out his hands as the glow faded. No one from the group moved, apparently still locked with fear and terror. After a second, though, Jubilee took a cautious step forwards. If this was some sort of glamour, illusion, or trap, he'd willingly be the test monkey for it. Very few things in this world could hurt him enough to kill him.

At the steps, Pya smiled encouragingly, gesturing to the ball in his hands. Jubilee took several more steps forward, peering over the edge of Pya's fingers at the small, glowing light. It was just on the tip of his tongue. Why was this so familiar? 

Pya lowered his hands, and the ball remained where it had been, albeit floating in air now. Jubilee narrowed his eyes, mouth falling open slightly. Wait. This was definitely familiar. Floating, glowing balls of... of magic? That was a-

The ball's light grew brighter and brighter, and then stretched and pulled, first into an oval shape, and then further, and pulling in different directions until a bright white shape of a body had emerged. Jubilee stared with wide eyes. It was a pearl. A pearl, a baby Fragment, that hadn't been fully grown when a Timeline started. They had an entire division of the Coalition dedicated to taking care of them!

And when the body sprouted a single, short, curved horn from the top of their head, Jubilee let out an audible gasp. Two more horns followed, but they were just background flavoring.

The glow faded, revealing a mottled yellow coat and maroon hair and a long, whip-like tail ending in a point. Their eyes were closed, although their mouth was slightly open as they hovered slightly. Only for a second did they linger before crumpling to the floor and coughing violently.

Jubilee stared at the small horn. He turned, slowly, to stare at Kolo, Dij, and Rend, at the curved horns on top of their head. All three's eyes were wide, mouths open.

IS THAT, Kolo started.

OH MY STARS, Dij managed.

NOW THERE'S TWO BABY MAG FRAGS, Rendgen screamed, hands flying up to either side of his head.

you're going to scare them! not so loud!

Jubilee turned back to face the newborn. Pya had leaned forwards, cupping the newcomer's chin in a hand and gently tilting their head up. When they opened their eyes, they'd all know - oh, stars, stars, there was another Magnitude Fragment.

"Did we really just witness that," Magnotris weakly whispered.

"I didn't know new Mag Frags could get made!" Sundae cried, throwing his hands up.

Jubilee blinked. Right. Farley's status was a secret. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Yeah, that summed up his feelings, too, Dij.

Jubilee clasped his hands in front of his face as a smile spread over his cheeks, and then his eyes watered. He'd just witnessed the birth of a new Mag Frag. Of a concept given life, just like him. There was something so beautiful about it all. Was he going to cry? He felt like he was going to cry.

The Mag stirred, groaning softly. A hand came up to rub at their eyes under their glasses. They'd fully-formed with clothes, even. They were a proper Mag Frag.

"Bluh," they squeaked out, voice higher pitched, "where am I?"

They opened their eyes. Jubilee gasped in sync with the other Magnitude Fragments. 

Swirls. Their pupils were shaped like swirls.

WHAT'S YOUR NAME? Kolo nearly barked, stumbling forwards. He crouched next to their side, hands just barely ghosting over the other's body.

"Oh!" they smiled up at him, face stretched in recognition before the grin slowly faded. "Wait... what is my name?"

They paused to assume a thinking pose, a hand over their chin as they glared at the ground. Apparently, it contained the answers to all of life's mysteries, such as the one newly placed before him.

the integral spiral structure. Pya's voice was wavering just slightly, in pride and awe.
we thought we'd never meet you.

welcome. you have risen from the ashes of the end of the world.

"Spiral...? Oh! OH! Oh yes that's me! I'm spirals!" their grin was back, open-mouthed. Holy stars was it adorable. "Yeah! I'm Vodovorot!"

IT'S WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU!!! AHHHH!! BABY!!!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! PYA THIS IS AMAZING!!! PYA ARE YOU SEEING THIS

HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT

"Nice to meet you," Jubilee managed, holding out a hand to Vodo. 

They stared at his hand before grinning wider, the most precious smile, and shook his hand with more energy and gusto than Jubilee had dared to hope for.

He'd help bring another Mag Frag into the world. He'd helped bolster their ranks. Now there was twenty-three.

The other three Mags tackled Vodovorot, squealing in delight and hugging the literal air out of the poor kid. He choked slightly, but the smile never left his face as he wrapped up the others in a grand hug right back. Pya simply sat back and watched, but the expression on his face revealed how much he was trying not to cry in delight.

Jubilee smiled, and then turned his head.

There were more shards. There was still half of Bereave, lying on the floor. The sight was enough to give Jubilee a stab of panic - in the birth of Vodovorot, he'd totally forgotten about what exact circumstances had led them here.

"P-Pya," he managed. The Mag looked over. "Are... are those going to form another Magnitude Fragment, too?"

Pya narrowed his eyes, then got down on his stomach, squinting. He stared at the shards, then sat up and frowned.

i have no idea, truthfully. 
they don't appear to be reacting to anything. 
i would rather not try to trigger a birth if they're inactive.

but i will take them, regardless. perhaps i can look after them, see if they will do anything.

His hands lit with magic as he bubbled the shards up and teleported them away, probably to his house. Jubilee nodded, nervously.

i do think we're done here, though.
i can teleport you and your friends h-

"You're not mad at me or anything, right?" Jubilee blurted out.

Pya blinked. 

of course i'm not, jubilee.

i may not agree with all that you did, but i will always care for you.
and i do believe that you are a good person. please, do not fret.

Jubilee exhaled, slowly, a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Okay. Okay, we can go home."

Pyatiugolnik smiled at him, and snapped his fingers.

In a blink, they had gone from floating in empty space to standing in Jubilee's office. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around. Sundae, Morning Star, Magnotris, Sterling. Oh, good, they were all-

"SUNDAE!!!"

"WAGE!"

Jubilee blinked as the two collided together in front of him, nearly falling apart as they struggled to squeeze each other tighter. Wage was nearly sobbing into Sundae's shoulder.

"I THOUGHT I'D LOST YOU!" he wailed, squeezing Sundae harder. "I-I- YOU WERE- AND RENDGEN - AND IT'S MY FAULT! I SHOULD'VE BEEN MORE CAREFUL!"

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY FINE," Sundae yelled right back, tears streaming down his face. "YOU'RE FINE TRUST ME YOU'RE FINE! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT! YOU HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING!"

Jubilee smiled quietly and glanced towards his desk. Roseline had found their way to Morning Star and hugged them tightly, face buried in his chest. Morning Star was cooing soft, loving things in their ear. Magnotris and Sterling were next to the duo, looking at Morning Star fondly.

"SUNDAAAEEEE!!"

"WAGE!"

Oh, wow. They were really cute, actually. He'd known they were close, but this was-

Wage grabbed the back of Sundae's head, and yanked him into a deep kiss.

Jubilee's eyebrows went up. Well then. He hadn't known they were dating. He'd always assumed Sundae hadn't the mind for romance, that it had never interested him. Then again, Wage seemed to bring out all the exceptions in the other. It was rather sweet.

Wage pulled from the kiss a second later, blinking rapidly as tears filled his eyes. "I- I'm sorry, I just - I've loved you forever and I had to like - I kept thinking you were dead and I'd never get to tell you anything and-"

"-No, no, it's okay," Sundae peeped, grabbing Wage's arms, "kiss me again?"

"OH MY STARS YES!"

Jubilee let out an amused sigh, heading for his desk. Suza was still sitting in his chair, smiling brightly. Jubilee tilted his head. "You've heard the news?"

"About Vodovorot? Of course!" Suza's beam was massive. It was precious. "Pya told everyone! I can't wait to go meet them!"

"Well, you're dismissed, obviously. Go greet the new-"

"What's going on in here?"

Everyone turned towards the door. Profound stood in the entrance, a hand on the knob, confusion spread on his face. He looked, slowly, from Sundae, to Wage, to Suza, to Magnotris, to Sterling, to Morning Star, to Roseline, and then finally to Jubilee, expression falling more and more the longer he stared.

"Wh... Jubilee, what..." was all he could manage.

Jubilee glanced around the room. Everyone was staring at him, now, waiting for a reply. He set his shoulders and turned to Profound. His friend. His oldest friend, one of the first he'd made in the Coalition, his friend who he'd stuck with through thick and thin. He'd trust Profound with his life. He trusted Profound.

"Profound, can you keep a secret?"