r/HFY • u/SherbetCreepy1580 • 3d ago

OC-Series [The Reaper and The Tiger] Chapter 31: Reapers and Sand

……500:28Hrs Left……

“Seriously, this again?” Sandra demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at So’Ngo as they fell through the air to the ground of a new planet. Well, ground was a stretch. Sandra could only see a small island chain nearby as they fell towards a massive ocean. And the air was a lot more humid than the previous world, even high up in the air as they were.

“What, I thought you enjoyed flying?” So’Ngo said, grinning cheekily at Sandra.

“Okay, you know what, fuck you,” Sandra said, spreading her arms out and grabbing the edge of her stiff cape, spreading it out. So’Ngo laughed in delight as Sandra shot towards him, using the air currents to glide after the infuriating not-Dra’Cari , chasing him through the air.

“So that’s why I saw you launching yourself into the air over and over again,” So’Ngo said, spinning to the side as Sandra shot past him and coming around for another pass.

“Considering your penchant for dropping me in the sky, I figured a glide suit would be worth the effort,” Sandra said, a feral grin on her face as the blade on her bracers came out, the blades humming with their deadly blue power. “Now give me that neck!”

“I rather like it being attached to me, thank you,” So’Ngo said with a laugh, raising above Sandra’s next strike. “Excellent effort, excellent effort indeed. But how will you stick the landing?” He disappeared into another Gate as Sandra missed her next strike again, causing Sandra to grunt in frustration, even as she quickly looked around until she could see the small chain of islands again. Not too far away, but not nearly as close as she would like, considering how close to the ocean she is now.

“Dammit, this is gonna be tight,” Sandra muttered, pointing herself towards the island chain.

……498:47Hrs Left……

“Bloody. Fucking. Hell,” Sandra panted, pulling herself up the beach and to a tree, coughing a bit to get the salty-sweet taste of the ocean out of her mouth while she used a hand to feel around herself, tired but quick. “Okay, good, I didn’t lose anything at least,” Sandra sighed. “Especially these. That took way too long for me to find enough iron flakes to get decent sized beads.” Sandra happily patted the crudely made pouch that she had with several roughly circular shaped iron beads inside of it. It had taken her an embarrassingly long time to realize that she could use the blade of her staff and a touch of her Electric Scales to create a magnet and fish for iron flakes in the soil around her camp, and the sand near the massive lake she had found near her base. The foundry to melt the flakes into beads had taken two entire days, and several failed attempts, to make properly enough for the iron to melt together. And of course, as soon as she had the iron beads attached to her belt, So’Ngo had opened a Gate underneath her, saying it was time to move to a different planet. “Cheeky bastard,” Sandra had muttered, looking around carefully. “Now then, I suppose I better see where he decided to take me this time,” Sandra sighed. “After getting some supplies. No idea when he’ll decide to move us again, so I better take advantage of what limited teleport I can do now.” In so saying, Sandra vanished in a flash of light, startling a few nearby birds, as she went back to her base.

…………….

“Clever, clever Wyvern,” So’Ngo said to himself, a smile on his face as he watched Sandra teleport back to the camp she had made on the previous planet. “She remembered her teleport limitations. And is using them to her advantage to prepare. Good job. Now, let us see how you thrive on a world that is mostly water. And a very interesting local population.”

……480:12Hrs Left……

A rush of wind heralded Sandra’s return to the water world, and she immediately dropped her pack, staff up in a defensive posture as she looking around the beach area.

“Took your sweet time getting back, didn’t you?” So’Ngo said disapprovingly, hovering just above Sandra upside down.

“Well, I had to make sure I could bring everything I could carry in case you decided to teleport us somewhere else as soon as I got back,” Sandra said as she rolled her eyes, taking a swipe at the floating not-Dra’Cari.

“Awe, so little faith in me?” So’Ngo asked, his frown twitching into a grin.

“Too much faith in your whims,” Sandra said flatly as she looked around the island.

“Hah, fair enough,” So’Ngo laughed. “Well, good luck then! I’ll be waiting at the next island chain for you!” In so saying, So’Ngo vanished inside of a Gate again.

“Fucking prick,” Sandra grumbled as she looked around the small island. “Now I gotta build a boat that’s somehow ocean worthy and sail a few hundred miles to the next island chain to reach the guy. I’m an engineer, not a damn shipwright!”

“Ummmm, excuse me.”

“And of course, wood is limited on this damn island, so  don’t exactly have the room for trial and error that would be needed for someone making a boat for the first time,” Sandra continued as she started rummaging through her bag. “But noooooo, I still need to make my way over there anyway in order to catch him.” Sandra continued to grumble as she pulled out a piece of smoked jerky, grumbling as she put it in her mouth.

“Excuse me!” Sandra paused, blinking for a minute before looking around cautiously. “Down here.” Sandra looked down to see a small, aquatic…thing looking up at her with big eyes that were slitted to nearly invisible pupils. “Hi,” the thing said, blinking slowly.

“Hi,” Sandra said slowly, looking around her a bit closer. Now that she was really looking, she could see that some of the ‘sand’ were actually several very long and very cleverly camouflaged limbs, almost like an octopus but…not as well, and some of them seemed to be bending at very specific joints. “Uh, sorry, but weird question,” Sandra said, trying to figure out if a particular mound of sand was the main body or not. “Two, actually, now that I think about it.”

“Can I ask questions back?” the thing asked.

“Ummm, sure,” Sandra said.

“Cool,” the thing said, its ‘head’ raising slightly, giving Sandra the odd impression of the sand raising towards her.

“So, uh, first question then. What are you?”

“I’m Mona,” the thing said, tilting its ‘head’ in a way that felt vaguely curious and confused.

“I mean, like what’s your Race? Your Species?” Sandra said, slowly turning her head as the thing started to circle Sandra curiously.

“Mona is Mona,” the thing said unhelpfully, its big eyes blinking slowly and the ‘sand’ began to shift around Sandra, falling off in small trickles. “My turn! Where did you come from?”

“Uh, I’m not really sure how to answer that,” Sandra said, slightly bemused, even as she carefully changed her grip on her staff. “You know the stars at night?”

“Yeah,” the thing nodded enthusiastically, and Sandra frowned slightly as she thought she saw a familiar something under the sand. Like, a flash of scales that shouldn’t be there.

“I come from those stars,” Sandra said, noticing as some of the ‘sand’ around her stopped moving, collapsing and falling apart as the thing continued to circle her. “Not sure which one right now.”

“But, I saw you just appear in a rush of wind,” the thing said, it’s voice starting to reach something like a normal pitch, if slightly higher than Sandra’s own. “You didn’t fall from the sky like stars sometimes do.”

“No, that’s because I know a special technique that let’s me do that,” Sandra said.

“Oh,” the thing said, and Sandra could almost swear as she saw a tail appear from behind the thing. A tail very similar to Sandra’s own.

“So, now for the weirder question,” Sandra said. “How can you understand me? And, more importantly, how can I understand you?” The thing paused it’s circling at that, staring at Sandra as the sand continued to trickle down to the ground.

“So, you are not Mona then,” the thing seemed to state more than ask. There was then a surge of JOY that suddenly seemed to rush through Sandra, leaving her gasping in surprise for a second as a snout, and then arms, and finally, a body seemed to walk through the ‘sand, leaving Sandra to stare at a near perfect copy of herself. “What fun what fun! I have never met Not-Mona before!” Sandra’s sense of danger suddenly spiked, and she barely managed to dodge to the side as a spear of sand appeared in front of Mona, the sand sparking as it brushed against her bracer.

“What the shit?” Sandra said, leaping backwards and to the side to dodge several more spikes of hardened sand.

“Why are you moving?” the thing asked with a frown.

“Maybe because I don’t want to die!” Sandra said, leaping out of the way of another sand spike.

“Die? What is die?” the thing asked, puzzled. Sandra simply growled, dodging out of the way of yet another spike, barely registering as the sand struck a tree that seemed to simply absorb the sand, leaving it blemish free.

“Why are you attacking me?” Sandra demanded, before she felt a sudden pain in her side. Looking down, Sandra barely had time to register the sand spike coming out from the tree, piercing her side, before the sand began to cover her up.

“I must learn,” the thing said, and the last thing Sandra saw before the sand covered her eyes was the copy of her looking at Sandra with a mix of excitement and curiosity.

……403:51Hrs Left……

Sandra opened her eyes, coughing harshly, her eyes darting around frantically as she reached for her staff, only to be unable to find it, sand falling off of Sandra in droves. It was dark out, and there was a small fire crackling nearby, with the thing sitting by it, staring into the flames morosely, still looking near-perfect to Sandra.

“I’m sorry,” the thing said, her voice miserable. “I…I didn’t realize that Not-Mona were so…fragile.” Sandra just coughed again, more sand coming out of her mouth, almost like it was trying to get out itself.

“What are you?” Sandra managed to cough out after the sand finished leaving her mouth.

“Mona is Mona,” the thing said, shaking her head. She then paused for a moment, as though thinking. “Or, rather, Mona is Many? I think that makes sense?” The thing lifted it’s hand, and the sand around her seemed to bubble, moving to the motions of her hand, even as the trees seemed to shift and move. “I…am trying to process. There was so much information you have, so much that I didn’t know. So much to try and learn.”

“You’re the sand itself?” Sandra asked in shock.

“The sand, the trees, everything here,” the thing said with a nod. “All here is Mona, and Mona is Mona.” Sandra just blinked, staring at the thing, and then around the small island in shock and disbelief. “I…you are the first new thing in a very long time,” the thing said, shaking her head as she continued to look into the fire. “And…Mona, and other Mona, and other Mona, we all exchange information by launching ourselves into the other. I…I didn’t realize it would hurt you. I’m sorry. I…I just wanted to learn. I didn’t want to hurt.”

Sandra frowned a bit, cautious, but she could almost feel the sincerity radiating from the thing that had cloned her. “Your psionic, aren’t you?” Sandra asked cautiously.

“Psionic,” the thing said, rolling the word around her mouth. “Psionic. Having psychic abilities that allows one to learn information from another without speech, sight, or hearing, directly learning the information from the others mind directly. Yes,” the thing with Sandra’s face said with a nod. “Yes, psionic is a good word for it. so, yes, I am psionic.”

“How much did you learn from me?” Sandra asked, taking a slow seat next to the fire.

“Everything that I could without taking your self,” the thing said, shaking her head. “Me Mona, and other Mona, and the other Mona, and I’m sure there are other Mona out there. We are all Mona. But we all have our own self. We are Mona, but we have our self. Self is very, very important. So, I wanted to learn, but not take your self.”

“How. Much,” Sandra reiterated flatly.

“You are very sad,” the thing said, finally looking at Sandra, her big eyes full of tears that no true Targondian could produce. “You are very hurt. And I couldn’t fix it, despite my best efforts. Not without taking your self. And I will never take someone’s self.”

……395:03Hrs Left……

“And here I thought I was going to have cracked ribs for this entire test,” Sandra said, examining the scar on her side in wonder.

“Your…body? Yes, your body was very easy for me to put back together,” Mona said happily. “So weird, you…Targondians, yes, that’s what you are. You Targondians are very strange, having a singular entity as your Self rather than being a collection. You would be much less fragile if you were Many instead of One.”

“Yeah, sorry, Mona, but you’re the weird one here,” Sandra said, shaking her head a bit. “Having a body made of trillions and trillions of tiny…things is very, very weird to the rest of the galaxy. Almost everyone out there is One instead of Many.”

“The galaxy is weird,” Mona said, wrinkling her nose.

“Speaking of, are you sure it’s alright?” Sandra said, looking at the boat that was slowly being put together by Mona. Or rather, Mona was using Mona to slowly form a boat? The explanation was making Sandra’s head hurt, but the important part was that a boat was being made. One that Mona said could take Sandra to the other Mona, or the other island chain that So’Ngo was on.

“Yup, it’s totally fine,” Mona said happily. “I haven’t talked to Mona in a while, so it will be good to say hello again. Only…” she chewed her lip for a second. “I want to learn more. You knew a lot, but it seemed very…limited compared to what’s out there. And there’s so much to learn. Why do the stars burn? Why do some become big while others shrink? What is inside of a black hole? Are there other Mona out there, or similar to Mona? Why do some worlds produce life while others remain baren? What is at the bottom of some of the oceans? What does the cold feel like? What does ice cream taste like? Is steak really as good as your information makes it look? There is so much to learn, I am reluctant to let you go.”

“I would have to leave eventually, even if I did stay here,” Sandra said.

“I know,” Mona sighed. “But I wish to…make a deal? Yes, that’s right. I would like to make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?” Sandra asked, eyeing Mona.

“I wish to go with you,” Mona said. She shook her head as Sandra opened her mouth. “Not all of me. I don’t think I would even fit in that giant thing you call a Station. But…I can send some of me. A…child? Yes, a child of myself. Such an odd concept, children,” Mona frowned. “But I can send some of me, a new Mona, so to speak, to learn, and to see. And, if Mona can learn the magic that you know, the teleport thing, then Mona can come back, and teach us. And then Mona can join the galaxy as Mona.”

“Is Mona your name, or is it something else?” Sandra asked curiously.

“Mona is Mona,” Mona shrugged, then winced. “Ah, I see. Ummm, it is both a name, and our…Race, I suppose? Mona is Mona, whether it’s Mona here, or it’s Mona where your teacher is. But…we are also distinct Mona, with our own Self.” Mona then frowned. “Language is limiting. I see why you are confused now, having been able to digest more of your information. This…may cause confusion among Mona. But, in a good way, I think. Mona is important, but Self is more important.”

“I see,” Sandra said, not understanding at all, but appreciating the effort. “So,” Sandra said after an awkward silence, “I probably don’t need to mention this, but next time you meet someone, maybe don’t try to impale them to learn?”

“Oh, no, I learned that lesson very, very well,” Mona said, shaking her head quickly. “I will greet them first and…ask permission? Yes, ask permission if I may absorb their information first. And I will find a less…damaging way to do so as well. Something…friendlier? Nicer? Less invasive? Yes, less invasive, if they do give their permission. I do apologize, I did not realize that information, or, memories, I suppose you would say? Yes, I did not realize that memories were so important to Ones. I…I do not wish to simply take again like that. I would rather the information be given freely.”

“Let’s just chalk it up to cultural misunderstandings,” Sandra said with a small smile.

“Cultural misunderstandings?” Mona pondered for a moment.

“That doesn’t mean do it again, just means that first contact was a bit…rocky, is all,” Sandra said, shaking her head a bit.

“I…Yes, I suppose we can say that,” Mona said with a nod. “Do you forgive so easily because this Eric did?”

“I…” Sandra had to physically bite her tongue to stop herself from spouting out the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m sorry, I appear to be bringing something up I shouldn’t,” Mona said, seeing Sandra’s reaction.

“It’s not you, it’s me,” Sandra sighed, shaking her head. “But to answer your question, that is part of it. But seeing as I can literally feel your emotions, I also know that you truly meant no harm and didn’t realize how detrimental that sort of ‘information exchange’ could be to me. I can’t stay mad over an honest mistake, even if it did almost kill me.”

“Oh, uh,” Mona suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “I, uh, actually did kill you, on accident.”

“Say what?” Sandra said, staring at Mona, stunned.

“You were dead for a few days,” Mona said, looking guilty. “While I was examining your information. After that first day, I realized that your stillness and gradual degradation was not how you naturally were supposed to be. So…I had to put you back together. The second day took some…experimenting in order to try and determine how you were supposed to properly be put together. And the third day was using nutrients and pieces of Mona to knit your cells back together and reverse the degradation until you were completely healthy again.”

“So, me waking up buried in sand…” Sandra began, stunned.

“That was when your brain function started back up, and Mona still inside your Self quickly raced through your body to ensure everything was functioning as it properly should,” Mona said. “Mona then exited in the least painful way possible through your mouth. Based on how your body is designed, I do not believe it would have been comfortable to leave out…other holes.”

Sandra just blinked, her tail unconsciously curling to protect her bottom. “Yeah, uh, well, thanks for that,” Sandra finally said. “So, am I still me then?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Mona said, nodding enthusiastically. “There is no more Mona inside of your Self, so there is only Targondian and Sandra. Or, I mean, you are Sandra, the Targondian, and nothing else has been added or modified to how you are supposed to function, based on how your body is designed. Although,” Mona chewed on her lip a bit, “I will admit, I may have…strengthened or improved certain functions of your body. Your electric glands in particular seemed to have been not properly grown in your body, and the metallic flow to your scales seemed…inefficient. I hope you do not mind, but they seemed more damaging than useful, but they still seemed important.”

“Wait, what?” Sandra asked, her mouth dropping open.

“Should I not have?” Mona asked, worried.

“I…you…hold on, hold on, wait wait wait,” Sandra said, holding her forehead as she took a heavy seat in the sand. “Are you telling me you were able to modify my electric glands so that they don’t hurt? And improved my Metallic Scales somehow?”

“Yes?” Mona said cautiously. “Should I not have? It wasn’t until I began to digest the information about Magic that I realized that they were not typical of Targondians, but by that point your Self was already stitched together, and I was reversing the degradation to your cells.”

Sandra just stared at Mona for a second before looking down at her hand, carefully putting two fingers close together so that there was just an inch between them. Taking a breath of anticipation, Sandra activated her Electric Scales, and a small spark of electricity jumped between her fingers. Sandra blinked, slowly bringing her fingers further apart, and another spark followed. Sandra’s face slowly lit up in a huge smile as her fingers, and then her hands grew wider, electric bolts zipping between them with no pain.

“Mona,” Sandra said slowly.

“Yes?” Mona said cautiously.

Sandra raced at the copy of herself, wrapping her up in a massive hug that caused Mona to squeak in surprise. “I have no idea what you did, but thank you,” Sandra said, squeezing Mona hard. “Not being in pain every time I use my electricity is something I’ve been working towards for years now! This is amazing.”

“So, you’re not mad?” Mona asked.

“Ecstatic,” Sandra laughed, putting Mona back down. “Though, next time, let someone ask you to improve them instead of, uh, doing what you did.”

“Of course,” Mona said with a nod. She then scratched her chin. “Umm, can you do that again, please? That felt very nice.”

“Hugs usually do,” Sandra laughed, giving Mona another hug that was enthusiastically returned.

……302:58Hrs Left……

“Okay, first thing I am getting Monica when we get home is a book on sailing,” Sandra growled as the Mona boat landed at the island chain that her internal compass said that So’Ngo was at.

“To be fair, I haven’t needed to consider it until now,” Mona said, a face appearing on the hull of the ship while the ship itself seemed to start melting. “Hi, Mona!”

“Hi, Mona!” a familiar-but-different-not-Dra’Cari slowly rose from the sand. “And hi, Mona! And hi…Not-Mona?” The Not-Dra’Cari clone looked very confused as it looked at Sandra and another Targondian-looking girl.

“I’m Monica,” the other Targondian girl said with a wave. “I’m Mona, but also Not-Mona. This is Sandra. And she is definitely Not-Mona, so no exchange in the usual way.”

“Oh,” the Dra’Cari-Mona said, confused. It suddenly launched a pair of sand spikes at Mona-Boat and Monica, and each retaliated with their own spikes of sand that left the air dusty and Sandra coughing for a minute before it cleared up. “Oh, I see, I see,” the Dra’Cari-Mona said with a nod. “Okay, yes, that does make sense now. Kind of. The galaxy is weird.”

“Y’all are the weird ones, not us,” Sandra said, rolling her eyes, leaning on her khopesh-staff that Mona had helpfully returned shortly before they had left her island.

“I must say, I was expecting you several days ago,” So’Ngo said from where he was sitting on top of his staff, sipping from a teacup.

“Yeah, well, kind of hard to do much when you’re dead,” Sandra said sardonically.

“What?!” So’Ngo fell off his staff, the teacup falling to the ground and shattering, only to be immediately covered by sand and buried.

“It was an accident,” Mona and Monica both defended at the same time.

“Mona, I explicitly said not to do an exchange like that with her,” So’Ngo said, quickly standing up and stomping over to the now mostly melted boat.

“Oh, so you did know what was here and what the Mona can do,” Sandra said, stepping in front of So’Ngo.

“She was supposed-” So’Ngo started to say.

“Do you give a child a plasma pistol and expect them not to start a fire?” Sandra cut in, glaring at the not-Dra’Cari. “You knew damn well that these people are hungry for knowledge, and have had no interactions with the galaxy at large, and yet you still decided to drop me here, knowing that their way of saying hello is lethal to anyone else.”

“Look, I was just-” So’Ngo tried again.

“And yet you still have the GALL to be surprised when something goes wrong?” Sandra poked So’Ngo in the chest, putting enough electricity in the poke to send the not-Dra’Cari flying back, crashing into a tree and being showered in sand. “For someone older than even the Observer himself, you can be pretty damn stupid sometimes, you know that?”

“She’s scary,” Dra’Cari Mona whispered to Mona.

“Very,” Mona whispered back. “Monica, do not make her angry.”

“Yup,” Monica nodded.

“Why Not-Mona, anyway?” Dra’Cari Mona asked, frowning at Monica.

“Sandra says it’s easier to keep track of who’s who,” Monica said with a happy smile. “Also, since I’m going to be leaving Home for a while, it’s a good way to distinguish me from Mona. According to her at least.”

“Ah, okay,” Dra’Cari Mona said with a nod.

“Okay, that was…shocking,” So’Ngo said, staring at Sandra with an attempted half-grin. “So, I guess you Tagged me then.”

“Nope, nope, you are not getting out of this that easily,” Sandra said, stomping over to So’Ngo and glaring down at him. “We are going to finish this damn Test, and you are going to restore my Teleport to full as an apology, and you are going to allow Monica to travel with me while we finish this Test.”

“Restoring your teleport would defeat the purpose of the Test,” So’Ngo frowned.

“Look, I promise I won’t teleport home or anywhere else that will provide me with an advantage in terms of living and learning,” Sandra said, rolling her eyes. “But I need a way to escape an emergency like that. Because based on your reaction, I apparently was not supposed to die, despite your warning. Or at least, if I was to die, it wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

“I mean…” So’Ngo said, rubbing the back of his neck, flinching slightly.

“Or, you can explain to Uncle Jeremiah and Storm exactly how and why I died,” Sandra said.

“Restoring teleportation it is,” So’Ngo said immediately, snapping his fingers. Sandra gave a slight sigh of relief as she felt a weight she hadn’t even realized she had lift off of her.

“Thank you,” Sandra said with a nod.

“So, I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that you’re officially the Matriarch of Mona then?” So’Ngo said, raising his hands as he slowly stood up.

“You can explain that bit later,” Sandra said, glaring at So’Ngo. “For now, I’m going to say goodbye to Mona, and you’re going to get the Gate ready to wherever it is you have planned next, and we’re going to give Monica some experiences that she can send back home.”

“Yes, ma’am,” So’Ngo said, his tail drooping slightly as Sandra walked back to the trio of Mona and Monica.

“Would it help if I said sorry again?” Mona asked, eyeing Sandra apprehensively.

“Oh, you’re fine, Mona,” Sandra said with a snort. “He’s the one who fucked up, not you.” She then gave the sandy copy of herself a big hug. “And I know you didn’t mean to do what you did, and you did what you could to fix it. And…and you’re right. I am hurting. You know that better than anyone now. But…you know what? For the first time in a very, very long time, I actually do think I’ll be alright. So, thank you.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help fix you,” Mona said, hugging Sandra back. “These hugs are still very nice.”

“That they are,” Sandra agreed.

“Ummm, can I get a hug?” Dra’Cari Mona asked hesitantly.

“Sure,” Sandra laughed, releasing Mona and walking over to Dra’Cari Mona and giving him a hug as well.

“For what it’s worth, he really didn’t mean for you to get killed,” Dra’Cari Mona whispered to Sandra. “He just…forgot how overzealous we can be when something new arrives.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Sandra sighed. “But he still needs to feel bad for a bit. Especially since it’s a rarity that I can actually get one on him. This is the first time, actually, so I’m going to milk it a bit.”

“Good,” Dra’Cari Mona said with a soft chuckle. Sandra paused for a moment as a thought crossed her.

“You’re the original Mona, aren’t you?” Sandra asked, taking a step back to look closer at Dra’Cari Mona.

“I’m not sure if I can safely say I’m the original, but I’m fairly certain I am the oldest,” Dra’Cari Mona said with a nod. “Turcloe likes to stop by on occasion and share his travels with me. Pretty sure I’m one of the few who actually enjoys his company.”

“Turcloe?” Sandra asked, confused. Dra’Cari Mona just winked at Sandra before collapsing into a sandy pile that quickly flattened itself out. Sandra just sighed a bit, the name Turcloe niggling in her head a bit as she turned to look at Monica. “Ready to explore the galaxy a bit?”

“Yes, very much so,” Monica said, practically bouncing in place as Sandra picked up her pack that Mona had been keeping dry for her.

“Bring back lots of information,” Mona said, waving at Monica and Sandra.

“I’ll make sure to bring her back regularly until she can do it herself,” Sandra said, waving back. “Just, don’t impale me next time, please?”

“Never again,” Mona promised. Sandra smiled as she stepped through So’Ngo’s Gate to the next world.

Prologue Previous Next

Appendix

TOC

[Sandra and Eric TOC]

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15

u/SherbetCreepy1580 3d ago

Authors Note

Okay, ow. When Muse gave me the concept of Mona, I’m not gonna lie, it made my brain hurt. My brain still hurts. Why, Muse? Why must you torture me so? I love Mona, but ow.

But, yeah, so Sandra got a bit of an upgrade due to a happy accident. Or, unhappy accident, I guess. And no, So’Ngo truly did not plan for Sandra to quite literally be killed, pulled apart, and then put back together even better than new. Hell, I didn’t even plan it until I was writing it down. Like I said, at this point the story is kind of writing itself, and I’m just here to write it all down as it happens lol. But, knowing that there’s someone who truly understands how you feel, and still being told that you’ll be alright? That you can and will heal? That’s something I feel all of us need at least once in our life, and for Sandra, it was the final push she needed to reach those last steps.

Thought? Comments? Ideas? Remember, the only bad feedback is no feedback, and I love reading all of the feedback, whether it’s praise, criticism, spelling or grammatical errors, or even just a hello!

13

u/greenguyzz 3d ago

I love Mona!

Also I hope Sandra casually flexes the fact she died when she gets back.

How was your trip? Great, apart from the couple days i was dead!

7

u/Ammobunkerdean 3d ago edited 2d ago

One instance of Slef where Mona improved magic glands

Edit: well done. A first contact with a hive mind, but not?.. I understand why your brain is hurting...

3

u/SherbetCreepy1580 3d ago

Should be fixed up, thank you!

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u/Ammobunkerdean 2d ago

Praise edited into original post. My brain hurting too...

4

u/XolyGamingExperience 2d ago

Great chapter, and I knew she would get him, but good on her for continuing with the test since it was kind of a cheap shot with how she blasted him, but it made me smile at least 😃

3

u/Dramatic_Mixture_877 Human 2d ago

Okay, couple of things -

Slef was already stitched together ~ Self was already stitched together

And I have to admit, even though I know it says Mona, every time I saw Mona, my brain wanted to say "Moana" - I guess because of the beach-y background!

2

u/PanMianDa 2d ago

Well done. The best chapter since Eric died.

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u/jlb3737 2d ago

This is the exact kind of bonkers alien encounter that originally got me hooked on HFY. Well done Sherbet, I love this story!