In a large-or small, hard to tell-room, Evelyn levitated several feet above a polished, platinum disc. Her hands gently encased a small, glowing crystal, trying to bend it to her will. A collection of blue crystals in a spheroid shape flew around her, trying to guide her. “For so long you have merely torn through time without regard to the consequences. It is time you saw through this, see beyond. Weave through the timelines, and tell me what you see,” said Harmony. Evelyn could not breathe out as a human, but mimicked the action anyway. Her fingers wove around the crystal, and she looked inside. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// As a non-tangible observer, Evelyn gazed into the lightest part of the crystal she saw. A timeline of peace and Order had triumphed once and for all. The Sheriff’s department, the Order, the GAR, all of them had passed away. A new Order brought in by the 13 had ushered in peace and prosperity. At first glance, it was a paradise. No hunger, no war, no evil. All was orderly. Evelyn delighted in this logical timeline, searching for herself in this world. But she could not. Scanning for her original energy signature, there was nothing. Had she… died? Her denial evident, Evelyn continued searching. Every planet, every plane, every prison could not hold her. And yet, she was not there. Like a vengeful storm, she found the 13 tyrants sitting on their thrones. They noticed her, and laughed. “Where am I?” Evelyn demanded. “You have been dispatched by your own son,” they chuckled. One of the 13 bodies waved their hand, and a figure of cruel, demented gold appeared, fashioned as a mockery of themselves. “No… no...NO!” Evelyn screamed, recognizing the matricide. Releasing the crystal, the timeline faded into possibility. She did not touch the crystal again that day. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Once again, Evelyn concentrated on the crystal. Determined to make things right, she sought a timeline of less brightness. Opening her eyes, she arrived in a peaceful, quiet grove. Gentle, sloping hills surrounded her. A slow river ran by her, a waterfall at the edge of the ring of hills. Scanning every wavelength, she wondered what this timeline had in store. Taking a step forward, she noticed something was wrong. Only grass, trees and bees remained. No other lifeforms in a 100 mile radius were spotted. Concerned, she rose into the sky, scanning for undead and robots, nothing came up either. What peaceful timeline had this arisen from? Star charts confirmed her position at the center of Offtopic. Geological landmarks matched 100%, but nothing was changed. It was as if everything… died. With a faint hope, she emitted her signature frequency loud and clear, hoping beyond hope for a response. And it came. Emerging from hyperspace, a massive dreadnought 10 miles long arrived. Mobius rings emitted from it, seekers deposited in the thousands, and all she could do was stare. This was her personal starship. Warping into the throne room, she found it empty. The glass ports gave familiar readouts of weapons, shields and radar. It was all… hers. Afraid to turn, she hesitated. “You’re scared of what we become, aren’t you?” said a familiar voice. Turning, Evelyn gazed upon her original form in sleek, black Celluloid alloys. “You haven’t changed. What have you done?” said Evelyn. “You need no explanation other than: Imperative Protocol Complete,” said her alt. “You… you killed Acro? But the planets, why are they all dead? That wasn’t in my coding.” “I succeeded, yes. But no one would let me be. I had only done what I was meant to, but no one would forgive that. The powers of “good” assembled the mightiest host ever seen. The Deep, the 13, the Empire and the forces of darkness could not let me survive either.” Alternate Evelyn pressed a button on the throne, and footage of the battle appeared. The flotilla was mighty, a combined force the likes of which have never been seen in our dimension. They were winning at first, cutting down the seekers and cruisers. Alternate Evelyn sighed, and pressed another button. Footage played of a single black and white equine standing before them, trying to get them to stop. Unfortunately, the mob did not listen, and cut Zbruh down where he stood(or rather, floated). “No… he… died…. For me?” Sighing once more, footage of the aftermath played. Corpses floated through space as well as the ruins of Eve’s planet base. “In the end, only Father and I remained. He would not even look at me, his disappointment immeasurable.” Evelyn tried to grasp the amount of blood on her hands in this timeline. So… much… blood. “You can hate me, but I am happy. You will search a hundred, a thousand, a million alternate realities, and in only this one will you be happy, because you are alone.” /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// It was quite some time before Evelyn held the crystal again. Her left eye was cracked, the strain on her mind upon realizing she would only be happy once alone. “Light shines brightest in the darkness. Give it a chance,” said Harmony. “Teehee! That’s what they all say before dying tragically,” said Random, twirling his dice. Evelyn nodded, and dove deep into the darkest depths of the crystal. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Opening her eyes, Evelyn noticed how bright it was. The sun beat down on her, lying in the sand. Standing up, she noticed the massive desert around. Valleys of glass and melted concrete stretched beyond, hallmarks of a nuclear apocalypse. Geological landmarks matched only at 12%, which wasn’t too bad. Star charts were only at 1.2%, which aroused her concern. Evelyn blasted off into space, noticing the scorched land below extended beyond visual range. Planet wide scans detected no life, and undead brought up nothing either. But robotic found a single ping. Honing in on the signal, the signature was… familiar, but different. She wanted to bet on it, say it was someone, but couldn’t be certain. Blasting away a mountain and bunker, the signal lay at the bottom. Leaping hundreds of floors down, she arrived at the signal source. It was weak, faint and dying, she hurried to pinpoint it. Before Evelyn had a chance to scan, a hand tried to grip her throat. It phased through her, and a massive, black robot lunged past. “Target undefined. Identify yourself.” Evelyn could only gasp in horror at the maw of Cell-4, her predecessor. His shining, famous water-proof plating was covered in rust and badly dented. It didn’t take long to recognize what happened here. “Target has refused to cooperate. Initiate countermeasures.” Numerous mini-nukes screeched out from the aged frame, whirring to life. Evelyn held her hand out, and repeated the shut-down command for Cell units. He laughed, having removed the command long ago. “Target identified: Celluloid related product. Explain survival.” “I… am not from here. What happened?” “User not recognized. Source….. Not recognized. Explain survival.” Evelyn sighed, and began walking around. Finding a terminal, she uncovered data logs last entered 30 years ago. Poring through thousands of footage hours and logs, Evelyn learned of how Cell-4 reduced everything to ashes. Before leaving Cell-4 to this self imposed solitude, Evelyn noticed how much this world mattered to her. Billions across the universe had died, and she felt it was her fault. Cell-4 was puzzled, failing to identify or damage her. “Sad.” And then she was gone.