Shadow Slave AU: Fluid Fate

"Are you awake now?"

Fate was a funny thing. Sunny knew Master Jet spoke those exact same words to him last time they went through this.

Sunny focused on Jet and gave her a curt nod, his face having grown serious.

"Good. Cause if you keep spouting gibberish, I'll have to knock some more sense into you. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to insult a lady?"

Maybe, it isn't like Sunny would remember for sure.

"Can't remember, if I'm being honest." Sunny spoke, mostly to relieve the pressure of his flaw. His voice came out quiet, and he let a bit of annoyance slip into his tone.

'This is bad.' Sunny thought. Ironically, he was getting along a lot better with Master Jet the first time she was on duty to make sure he didn't succumb to the Spell. The main difference was mostly due to Jet getting some rare humor out of the dumb kid last time.

This time, Sunny was much older mentally, and he was even more jaded than she was, so the atmosphere quickly turned gloomy.

Still, just the same, Jet shook her head.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. Congratulations on surviving your First Nightmare, Sleeper Sunless."

***

Sleeper Sunless.

After his time as a military commander, the quaint title rang hollow.

Sunny's head was full of racing thoughts. He was tempted to believe that everything he experienced until now was all just his First Nightmare, after Jet spoke those words to him. Luckily, he had proof he was from the future.

He dove into he soul sea and opened the Runes.

***

[Name: Sunless]

[True Name: Lost From Light]

[Rank: Dormant]

[Memories: Puppeteer's Shroud, Silver Bell]

[Echoes: ]

[Shadows: ]

[Shadow Cores:1/7]

[Shadow Fragments:12/1000]

[Attributes: Fated, Mark of Divinity, Child of Shadows,Rewoven]

[Rewoven: Your thread of Fate has been frayed and then reweaved, Consequently, it is easier to affect Fate and the future at less cost to the balance of the world.]

[Aspect: Shadow Slave]

[Aspect Rank: Divine]

[Innate ability: Shadow Bond]

[Aspect Legacy: 0/7]

[Flaw: Clear Conscience]

***

Eventually, as he was studying the runes, Jet snapped him back to reality.

"Are you seriously staring at my boobs right after I welcomed you back into the waking world?"

...so much for avoiding the pervert tag.

Luckily, Sunny was able to quickly explain that he was studying his runes while Jet gave him the slap happy smile again. Actually, it helped liven up the atmosphere, surprisingly.

"I am Ascended Jet. You can call me Master Jet. These past three days, I was on watch duty due to your Nightmare."

Indeed, Sunny was more and more certain he was sent into the past every minute. He didn't want to lose the connection he made with Jet the first time, so he quickly fished up his memories and spoke up, hoping to copy his past conversation.

"Master Jet? I have a question."

"Go on."

"Why were you put to watch duty over a Sleeper? Isn't it a little below your pay grade?"

Jet's face grew dark, just as it had the first time he asked.

"You're a smart kid. There were a lot of Gates opening in this sector recently. Most of the awakened are either fighting them, cleaning up after them, or just dead. It's always like that this close to the Winter Solstice."

Jet finally unbound Sunny from his restraints and took a step back.

"Plus, there aren't a lot of Awakened who, like me, work for the Government. It's the least lucrative and glorious carrier that one of us can choose. Would you abandon wealth and fame to work abysmal hours and risk your life, fueled only by altruism and sense of duty?"

Sunny remembered what he had said last time, and tried to repeat his words, only...

"The abysmal hours, I could do without. I'm not an idiot."

Huh, that sentence didn't come out quite the way he wanted. Antarctica really did instill a sense of duty into him. Damned patriotism.

Jet stared at him with a confused expression. She could tell this kid was a natural born killer at first glance, but he also didn't seem like the type to only think for himself.

This was far from what she expected from a kid who grew up in the worst slums of the Outskirts. It felt less like she was looking at some street rat teenager and more like she was seeing a more youthful Wake of Ruin. The thought sent shivers down her spine.

Still, she smiled at his strange remark and spoke up. "See, I was right. You really are smart."

***

Sunny was taking a hot shower in the accommodations of the police station. The despair of everything that had happened to him was weighing on his heart. He remembered what Cassie had once told him about how knowledge could be the heaviest thing in the world.

There was a lot to do, and much, much more to consider. He stared at himself in the mirror for a while. He was a bit uglier, he supposed. It was quite the stark difference when compared himself to how he looked as a Master, but he was not quite the same as he should have looked at this time.

He realized that somehow, he was more nourished. He still had that unhealthily pale skin tone, but before, when he was on the brink of starving, he should have had to eat well for weeks at the academy before he improved this much.

He chalked it up to a bonus he got for coming back to the past. He was checking his physique when he saw his shadow move in the mirror. Right, he had forgotten about Gloomy! Whipping around, he turned and asked Gloomy if he remembered about the future. Gloomy stood there for a while, and then carefully nodded its head affirmatively.

Sunny was relieved that he at least had one of his Shadows to keep him company. It might have been because he was so used to the silent emotions being sent through his connection to him constantly. His Shadows were indeed his closest companions, even over the cohort.

Belatedly, a shadow fell over Sunny's face. What was he going to do? Sunny was unsure of how much of the future he was willing to change, and he certainly couldn't just blabbering on about what would happen to the world around him.

There were many events that Sunny felt the need to change, and many others he felt the need to keep the same. Of course, there were some events he was conflicted on, like whether he should free Mordret, or whether he should prevent Nephis from having to endure the Nightmare Desert and the Second Nightmare.

Sure, it sounded good on paper to help Neph avoid the coming tragedy, but there's more to consider than just her suffering. With that suffering came an immeasurable growth that tempered her like a sword straight out of the forge. She became more aware of the possibility of failure and became more flexible in avoiding it. She earned many memories and tempered her skills greatly.

No, no way he was going to baby Nephis, no matter how much he loved her. He might reconsider connecting her to his shadow bond in the future if he needed someone, but he certainly didn't want someone having that kind of power over him. He considered the option of keeping his flaw and his weakness a secret altogether, but he realized that his trust issues are what ruined his friendships and caused Cassie and Nephis to betray him like that in the first place. If he wanted to change, he had to draw hard lines and soft ones into the dirt.

There was nobody in the world he knew better than Nephis, and the only other person he could possibly trust with his greatest weakness was Kai. The problem was that he didn't know if his powers would synergize with Kai's, and even if he did, it would pale in comparison to the strengths of two Divine Aspect wielders, so if he was considering a last ditch effort to save his skin, he was definitely giving the bond to Nephis if he could.

Sunny wrapped up his shower and familiarized himself with Shadow Sense once again. It felt like one of his limbs was returned after a long time, but also strangely stifling, since his range was much smaller. He wore his police issued tracksuit and went to meet up with Jet and eat some grub.

Just as he had expected, Jet eventually started to speak while they ate.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sunny replied nonchalantly, "I was thinking that you were about to ask me about my thoughts."

Jet looked at him strangely. Ah, this gaze feels more painful than a slap. Too bad for Jet, Sunny's ego was harder to kill than a cockroach.

"Alright. Are you finished with your food?"

Sunny shrugged and nodded.

"Then I'll begin..."

The conversation flowed exactly as it had the first time. Sunny remembered to ask the same questions, as well.

...It was off to the academy with Sunny.