Gaiden: Your Time Is Running Out
A/N: Special thanks to InsanityStreak, Amethyst Blade, Thelykenking, refferee, and Spah for your thoughts last chapter. I hope to continue hearing fro you, and I hope to hear thoughts from more of you as well!
This is the first gaiden chapter I started on, and in fact it has been nearly done since the first day I wrote for the Sirens. I had nearly all their dialogue finished all at once when I worked them into the story, so this was the first real instance of me having a post-series chapter that didn't really fit into things. These chapters are going to be about all sorts of things, so here's one dealing with the other Sirens!
Chapter title from "Under Our Spell", the Siren song.
I hope you enjoy, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
It was dark.
Occasional flashes of light would illuminate the darkness, and of course there was always the unnerving shine coming down from unknown sources to light up the platforms that littered the cave-like setting. But sparks and small beacons across a large landscape did not make a welcoming environment.
It was quiet.
Sounds might occasionally echo across the plane, but their sources occasionally gave up hope after little time. Powerful beings brought down to a state of weakness, such that they were unrecognizable to their previous selves, would first try to escape, these attempts did not last long. If Cerberus left enough of them to even survive, that was.
After realizing their helplessness and knowing the eternal torment they would be faced with in Tartarus, many died off by either lack of self-care or through more proactive methods.
More than anything, though, it was lonely.
“Aria…”
A Siren laying on her back stared lazily off into the darkness above her, her eyes falling just below the light beating down on the stone platform she was confined to. Sure, there were steps down towards the exit, but without any power and with barely enough strength to stand she was quite sure Cerberus would maim her.
…though if it ended the slow, prolonged death she was suffering in this forsaken realm…
“Adagio.”
Even if another person had been there, they could not have heard the second voice. It was confined to Adagio’s own mind, a voice that was within her very soul…for it was no longer hers alone.
“I don’t see why we can’t work this out.”
It had been quite some time and despite that so little had been said between the two. Adagio had been so distraught by her defeat that she was near comatose, and without prompting Aria did not want to be the one to start and thus give in to her literal soulmate.
She had been bitter before, but their current situation did nothing to endear her partner to her.
“You killed me!”
Adagio closed her eyes and tried to imagine the pure, purple form of Aria. They had fought and lost, and in desperation Adagio did something rash she would admit…but it was not as if she had many choices if she was going to come out on top, “She would have killed us both if I didn’t.”
“Well she didn’t, she wasn’t planning to, and you didn’t win anyways!”
Aria’s tone might be biting, but Adagio had trouble blaming her for it. Sure, Aria had been rough for as long as she could remember, but now she actually had reason to be…
“Only because you were fighting me from the inside, though I admit I made a mistake. Perhaps if Sonata had—”
Her words continued no further due to a sudden backlash from Aria.
“Oh you wouldn’t dare have that airhead in here too! I’d rather actually be dead.”
Adagio almost smiled. Aria might hate Sonata, but Aria had been the one who questioned leaving Sonata behind…perhaps the bond the three once shared had never really left the purple Siren, even if only like a phantom.
Still, Adagio was surprised Aria wasn’t dead. She should be. She should be gone…not linger like she was.
Adagio opened her eyes to look up once again, the light shining down on her causing them to remain in a half-lidded and tired look, “Well, you would be, at least fully, if I had my magic. Your entire being was absorbed, and I was supposed to suppress your personality until it assimilated into my own. You fought back unlike all the others, who were too weak to.”
That silenced Aria for a moment, but the biting tone soon returned after the initial shock wore off.
“Wait…have you done this before?”
Adagio scoffed as she brought her only usable arm over her eyes, “Ever wonder how I’m stronger than either you or our blithering idiot of a partner?”
Aria gave pause once again. Adagio had definitely been the most powerful…and they did feed off of energy, but Aria had never known Adagio to completely absorb another with her powers. Had she been feeding off others over the years in that way? Was that how she managed to keep all three of them alive on power on the near magic-less Earth?
Adagio had no other minds and souls stirring within her though. That fact made Aria worry, as if she had done this before and they were missing…what happened to them?
“So the others...”
Adagio felt her stomach tumble. She had tried not to think about that ever since she had come to regret her decision. And she did regret it, which is why she was trying to come to terms with it and reconcile with Aria…not that she would ever fully express that feeling if she could help it.
Admit it? Maybe. Tell Aria that the thought of her sarcastic, caustic voice fading forever scared Adagio even more than the thought of being left here for the rest of their extended lives.
After all, the others were gone because their minds, souls, and wills were completely consumed by Adagio. They became one with her like any other food joined its consumer.
“They all were just whispers until they faded away completely…”
Adagio could swear she could feel Aria’s soul tense up at that…or perhaps that was just her hand that was no longer under her control, but Aria’s. That was more likely, as Aria held sway over that particular limb now.
“Is—is that gonna happen to me?”
Adagio used her own hand to touch the unmoving arm, allowing her eye to see underneath the now moved limb it had been covered by to see Aria’s arm. It was as close as Adagio could get to touching her, even if it was technically her own arm.
“I don’t know. Probably…”
“So…what now?”
The caustic tone was gone in place of pure fear. Aria might act tough, but the thought of slowly fading away into nothingness, of losing herself into the abyss that was Adagio, had her stricken.
“We have to get out of here, obviously.”
“Well duuuh, but what next?”
That was assuming they even could get out…but once they were out, what then? Adagio did not really have the answer to that.
“I don’t know…” she sighed as she remembered her defeat, “My magic is completely gone. World domination won’t be possible anymore, especially since that insolent girl has probably taken over everything and stolen every last ounce of magic, using our powers to control everything in her path.”
“How about we go and find me a body?”
Adagio growled at the insolent woman. Did Aria really even think they would get that far? Was she losing her mind in addition to her soul?
“Yes, because it would be so easy to escape this place, find a body for you to inhabit, and then also find a way to transfer you to it. You really are an idiot, you know that?”
“Shut up! You’re not the one trapped inside the body of the person who killed you! You’re not going to slowly fade away into nothing, because you are still alive, you bitch!”
Her words actually made Adagio wince. She was not normally empathetic, but she could not help but understand what Aria was furious about. Ever since her magic had been removed Adagio had felt a haze lift from her mind…as if the power itself had held her in its grips.
She still did it all though. She had made the choice at the time to kill Aria…and now she had to live with it failing, for the time being.
“Aria…”
Adagio could feel the spirit within her sobbing like she had never known Aria to before. She not only was scared, but she was hurt and her fury was driven by the sense of betrayal.
“I wanted her to kill you…”
Adagio did not really blame Aria for that. She would have wanted the same thing if—
“Wait, what are you doing?”
The arm she had been touching in a consoling manner had moved until it was on Adagio’s chest, its hand now gripping at and attempting to choke her.
“Aria! If you choke me we’ll just pass out! What will that accomplish?!” Adagio yelled as she used her other hand to try and fight Aria’s off.
“You’re right…” Aria’s voice whispered, its intonation cracking as she suddenly focused on gripping a specific section rather than the entire neck, “But if I crush something so we can’t breathe this will be so much quicker.”
“Aria, please!”
The lost soul within Aria continued to sob further as she tried to kill them both. Seeing that Aria was not relenting and not having enough strength to fight off her marginally stronger arm, Adagio choked out another plea.
“I—I don’t want to die!”
That worked, but not because Aria pitied Adagio but rather because of her own fear of death.
“I don’t want to die either…” Aria sobbed, “But I…I…”
She hated Adagio with all of her heart…but she was not sure herself if she was willing to actually die to drag Adagio down with her. She had at the height of her anger and betrayal, when she realized she could force some control upon Adagio’s body when she still had her own power…but now she was left weak in someone else’s body, someone she had once considered as the closest thing to a friend she had.
Which made the “friend” betraying her in such a brutal, nigh unforgivable manner hurt even more.
Pushed to a state of heightened emotion by Aria’s moment of weakness and her own near-death experience, Adagio began to sob herself as she let go and let her arm fall to her side.
“Aria, please forgive me…”
She was beyond forgiveness, but Aria did not resume her attempt to kill them both for a reason beyond Adagio’s understanding. Instead things quieted down, leaving Adagio to begin feeling the damage done to her throat by Aria’s attempt at suicide.
Silence fell between them as their struggle ended and died down.
“When did this all start?”
That got Adagio to shake herself out of the desperate hyperventilating, which she just realized she had been doing following her ability to breathe without restriction again.
“When did what start?”
“You and I…” Aria’s voice trailed off inside of Adagio’s head before picking up again as she came up how to finish her sentence, “I don’t even remember how we got to this point. I remember that there was something before us being enchantresses, but I don’t remember anything specific…”
That actually got Adagio thinking. It had been a thousand years since she really last thought of their previous lives…when Celestia banished them, they became bound to new lives with no real relation to their old ones. They did not spend all day reminiscing, so they had forgotten with time much of who and what they were outside of the basics.
Despite that, Adagio had a feeling that one of them might know…or have known. The only sentimental one may have been stupid, but perhaps her genuine compassion for the other two would leave her with some care for their history.
“I think only Sonata does…” Adagio winced as she realized that she misspoke, given that as far as she knew Sonata was still dead and in the ground now, “Or did, I should say.”
Sonata had died because they abandoned her…something else Adagio felt pangs of regret for. But she wouldn’t get the chance to ask Sonata for forgiveness so long as she was here…but even if she left, what more could she do than ask a grave forgiveness?
“I really hate you Adagio.”
Adagio sighed and closed her eyes. She was beginning to hate herself too…but Aria was still a bitch.
“I hate you too, Aria.”
Still, Adagio did not know what she would do without her lifelong companion, even if she couldn’t stop complaining at any point ever.
“Hey Adagio?”
It was impossible to tell how much time had gone by given the never changing sky in its constant darkness. Still, Adagio was beginning to panic internally about the prospect of her partner fading away, and as much as she thought about it the more she began to fear she would be unable to do anything and be left alone…
Still, she wasn’t about to let Aria know she was worried. So she replied to Aria’s faint voice with a low growl, to make it seem like she was more irritated than she really was.
“What is it? Is my peace of mind that irritating to you?”
“I…”
Adagio’s eyes shot open and she removed her arm from her eyes as she noticed that she could barely hear Aria.
“Aria?”
“I feel weak…” Aria continued feebly, “Does this mean I’m…you know…”
Adagio shook her head violently and grit her teeth. She refused to let Aria just leave her alone. Not as much for Aria’s sake but for her own.
“Oh no you don’t! I’m not going to let you leave me alone here. Wake up!”
Adagio felt the presence that was Aria within her swell up a bit at that. Apparently getting yelled at was enough for the highly confrontational Aria pull herself together.
“Hey, hey, calm down will you?” Aria’s tired voice responded, but it was stronger this time, “I’m fine…”
That relieved Adagio, who let herself relax once again when the urgent sense of loss faded like her companion had seemingly begun to.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
“I thought you wanted me to finally leave you alone?”
That…that was not true at all. Adagio knew it was selfish, but she did not want Aria to leave her alone to suffer in this place alone. If they could be together then perhaps she could manage, but to be alone would drive her insane if it did not cause her to just end her own life in despair.
“Believe it or not, Aria, being alone for the rest of eternity isn’t exactly something I want to do…”
Adagio felt herself sniffle as she fought back tears. She truly had nothing, and even a complaining harpy in her head was better than eternal solitary confinement.
“Besides, I can’t remember anything either…you’re all I have left.”
“Pfft. You’re so sappy, Adagio,” came the sarcastic voice in her head.
Being called out on expressing positive feelings towards Aria by Aria set Adagio off, who was insecure enough about her growing concern over her partner without being mocked for it.
“Oh excuse me for caring! If you really think I’m too sappy, why don’t you go and hurt me by just dying? That’d solve everything!”
“Hey, hey, calm down!” Aria hurriedly said, her voice sounding like she was surprised that Adagio was so incensed, “I…”
Aria paused before admitting to herself a truth she despised: she had even less than Adagio, in that she had no body of her own and was slowly drifting off and fading away. She could feel it, even if she didn’t want to get Adagio too worried. But why did she care about Adagio’s feelings, she wondered?
“I’m sorry. Okay? Don’t be mad at me…you’re all I have too.”
To make it up, Aria had an idea. She tried moving the arm she had control over only to realize that she could only move the wrist and hand now. She truly was slipping away, but she couldn’t do anything with just the hand laying beside Adagio like this…
“Aria, what are you doing?”
“I’m feeling a bit fuzzy, but I can still kinda move your hand…” she grunted as she failed to move the limb on her own, “Move your arm.”
Adagio looked down and smiled at Aria’s movement, and so she relented.
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
“No, this means we’re sharing a body, so I’m gonna see if this feels as good as when I do it.”
“You and I both know you can’t feel anything but in that hand.”
“Shut up and help me.”
Adagio awoke on another occasion to the sound of Cerberus growling, a person yelling about revenge in the far distance, and the flapping of wings.
“What is that noise…?”
The platform closest to the one Adagio was on was the one receiving a new prisoner. Such a thing was rare given how few entities needed such a specialized prison, so this was actually a new experience for her: she had only seen it from afar before.
Still, perhaps they could ask the jailer for mercy concerning Aria’s condition…help perhaps. Would they even care?
“Aria, do you hear that? Someone…Aria?”
Adagio tried clenching the hand that had belonged to Aria and realized that she could do everything but pull her fingers in to her palm.
“Aria?” the orange Siren worriedly inquired, hoping to rouse Aria from her ‘sleep’.
No response came.
Adagio shot to her feet and began looking around for where the jailer was. Noticing their flying figure moving away from the one platform, Adagio saw that Princess Luna was about to pass by this one, giving the Siren a perfect opportunity to flag her down.
Flailing her arms and yelling, Adagio called out to Luna with all the might she could muster even in her weakened state.
“Please, I need your help! Don’t go!”
Luna did hear her, and she did stop to Adagio’s relief. It was not out of genuine concern, but rather curiosity and disgust directed at the former villain.
“And why should I listen to you?”
She shouldn’t…but it would be the moral thing to do, to save a life, wouldn’t it?
“My…”
How could she explain her relationship with Aria? Friend could work, lover…but friends don’t kill eachother. They don’t betray eachother. Still, if she was going to win Luna over she was going to have to phrase this in a way that garnered sympathy.
“My friend is going to die if I don’t find a way to save her.”
“Friend?” Luna scoffed, seeing no friend nearby the Siren.
“My fellow singer Aria…” Adagio explained nervously, sensing that she was beginning to sound crazy, “During the battle she lost her body, but her spirit is inside me. She’s fading away though and I don’t want her to die.”
Luna rose a brow at Adagio, “And what are we supposed to do? Find her some innocent’s body to possess?”
She did have a point, but...
“I…”
Adagio was surprised to find herself crying. She didn’t want to lose Aria. She wanted things to go back to however they were before they all had become so twisted. She wanted Sonata to ask her something stupid. She wanted Aria to question her every decision. She wanted their family to be back together, and she did not want to be all that remained.
Now knowing how pathetic she must appear before the Princess and Queen, Adagio hung her head and fell to her knees.
“Please, every moment counts. I don’t care if you keep me in here, I…please…just let me help her. After all I’ve done, please let me do this…”
Adagio looked up to Luna and wiped her tears away. The other woman was looking at her seriously, but some of her malice had become replaced by pity.
“You were a villain once too…” Adagio bowed her head again, resenting how she was now an inferior but knowing she had no choice but to display that very fact in order to win sympathy, “Please, let me at least do this one thing that can be considered good.”
It took awhile, but Luna nodded. She understood the pain loss brought, and given that the Sirens were no longer a threat and never would be she did not fear them, “I will look into the matter. If it can be done without harming an innocent, I will give you your friend back.”
Before Adagio could thank her, Luna departed, leaving the prisoner behind to contemplate what might happen. Would Luna do as she said? Would it be in time?
“Aria…?” Adagio whispered, “Please, don’t leave me alone…”
“Adagio…”
She was still in there…just that thought made the Siren sigh in relief as she lowered herself to the ground again.
“Whatever happens, Aria…I’m sorry. For everything…”
“Yeah, whatever…”
“I…I love you Aria.”
“I…may or may not feel warmly towards you as well.”
“Please, hold on a little longer…”
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The intro into this chapter was brilliant, it really set the dark theme and hopelessness of the situation.
I was in 2 minds with how you portrayed Adagio and Aria in the story but it has definitely been a great end result. How they both behaved here seemed genuine to what I would see anyone in this (admittedly dark and over the top) circumstance would do.
Well, this chapter won't be considered canon for me because it is conflicting with the canon IMO.
But, it is interesting to see...
I guess if there's one thing that's true here us that power twists, not really 'corrupts'. Another example would be Trixie, she had all the power that the sirens had and more but it didn't corrupt her, no. It merely amplified her emotions to such a degree that even a minor tip had disastrous results. Probably a good thing that Adagio didn't get that far but also probably not. Another Catch 20 situation so to speak.
Here we are, left to ponder on their fate in the aftermath. Unless there's another Gaiden chapter that either follows this up or partially references it. We may never know.
As an aside fact, I guess it was probably unrealistic to think of Luna having on hand access to something that could rip out souls or at least separate it from the physical body. Then again, that would probably be just me thinking. And here's another thought; If Adagio was suppressing Aria's personality be it conscious or unconsciously, why not have Aria strengthen or even just embolden her own personality while Adagio suppresses hers? Could slow down the process, could not but it's a fan theory.
6430011 It might be more of an instinctual proccess though, like breathing, your heart beating and so-on, she might not be able to do that, not without a long time of practice, and she doesn't have time, not to mention it wouldn't be guaranteed she'd even be able to do it.
6432795 True which why it was an open question to whether it was subconscious thought or not but it most likely is. But even in this situation, wouldn't you think it be better to try and potentially succeed than simply not at all? Somehow, I think Luna and Trixie fits for this saying as well...
6429627 I actually worked a bit on the intro to this chapter unlike most chapters, so I'm glad you enjoyed
Things really do suck for those there, but at least they earned their place away from all others...
I did not get to explore Adagio and Aria as much as I would have liked to given that my plan for the story's arc and end initially did not include the Sirens at all (as I had come up with the general direction and the overall plot months before their movie even came out), and so I could only spare so much time on a group added wholesale. I had come up with their whole story, this part included as well as its follow up chapter, all at once though so I think they are better served when this is included in their overall arc (which is why I felt the need to put this out there, since their full arc couldn't fit into the story but I don't need to worry about that now).
Over the top?
What's so over the top? 
Not saying nothing is, but I don't have the same view on it all as you guys so it's hard for me to gauge.
6429945 Conflicting?
How does it conflict? It barely had any connection to the other stuff, which is the opposite of conflicting...perhaps conflicting in tone, but then again this was made with the rest of the story and thus has the tone of it.
Least it was interesting to you.
6435603 It does show. The beginning was really well done.
I say over the top just as a basis for the idea of tartarus and super evil criminals in general. Mind the immortal, feed off negative energy and sharing bodies thing is kind of over the top haha, but majority of that came from the show so it's not meant as a dig just kind of ridiculous in general to me
6430011 Ehhh, power does corrupt in this story as shown explicitly with Trixie's breakdown, which wouldn't have been nearly as severe if not for her having far more power than she ever ought to. She was twisted as you said, but what resulted was a corruption of her former self...really depends on how one views corruption. It didn't corrupt her ideals or who she was, but it did change her. As for Adagio, she never got to Trixie's point because she never overdosed (Trixie's limit for magic was about where she was when she fought the Ursas, while the ceiling was the limit for Adagio because she feeds on it). But she can't even remember how she was before...but it's quite possible she was once better, only to slowly end up here.
Here Kael will explain the effects of magic on the brain (44 second mark):
There will be another follow up, as it would be cruel to not follow up. Besides, I already have it close to done since I made all the Siren stuff way back...just have to touch it up with the info that I came up with an extra Sonata subplot mid-story (Sonata-Fandral). So you'll get to see how things turn out.
Luna is smart and quite capable with magic, but it was a sudden request so we'll see how she handles this task. As for Adagio, for her this is akin to having something slowly digesting in your stomach, an involuntary process that she cannot simply undo or stop. She doesn't want to finish her meal, but it'll happen whether she wants to or not.
6432795 This.
6435632 Haha, don't stop it with the praise. I'm not much for flattery in real life, but it surely helps in terms of encouraging me to write more
Glad you liked the start! Hopefully you'll enjoy other things in the follow up chapter that's to come sometime in the future, when I finish the Sirens and their arc.