Archer
Location Unknown

The first thing I notice was the stillness, a far departure from the cacophony that echoed around the Vertibuck cabin.

But what vertibuck? My name… It’s Archer. I repeated the name a few times as I tried to figure out the sensations that are flooding my head.

“It wasn’t easy, was it?” I looked up and saw Dusk brush through the cloud of mist like an ghosts.

The memories… Dusk said he was going to show me how his so called ‘crapshoot’ started. That’s how he did it. “Well…” I muttered “I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re right.” Well coming back to reality wasn’t easy, that much is certain.

“If it makes you feel better the confusion shouldn’t be a problem as we keep going.” Dusk said, trying to sound reassuring.

“Fine…” I groaned. “But I need a break.”

Dusk nodded and pulled his stool out of the ether again and sat down. “I’m well aware of that. But before I cut you loose for the night I want to try and pick your brain a bit.”

I shrugged and sat down on the stool that had appeared off to my left. “What about?”

“Look, you just watched me let someone die. It took me a while to fully get my feelings about it tied down, so what do you think?”

“Considering that I just had a bunch of memories stuffed down my throat so to speak… Kinda meh.” I replied.

“See, that’s what kept me up at night!” Dusk shouted. “How could I-”

“You’re doing it again.”

Dusk stopped and took a deep breath. “Right… Anyway, some stuff on Spark did crop up for me and Gramps about a week later. We’ll go over that tomorrow night.”

“Don’t tell me.” I groaned. “I just slept the night away, didn’t I?”

“Yup.” Dusk chirped. “You did get carted off to a bed in the infirmary… Which in my experience is far more comfortable than some chair in the command center.”

“Alright… Thanks?”

“Your welcome.” Dusk started to fade away and darkness began to creep into the edges of my vision. “Now wake up.”

My eyelids fluttered a bit before I finally managed to force them open. ‘Dusk’ wasn’t lying; at some point someone had dumped me in a bed surrounded by a bunch of beeping machines.

Sitting up in bed it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one in the room. Off to my left were two beds occupied by the familiar faces of Phalanx and Cloud Runner, both friends of my father. Phalanx seemed to be worse off and was the source of the beeping machines that were hooked up to a bunch of contacts stuck at seemingly random spots on his chest. Cloud Runner, on the other hand, was sitting up and reading the contents of an unmarked manilla folder. For a brief moment he stopped and glanced over at me before going back to the papers that were the center of his attention. “You sleep well kiddo?”

“For the most part.” I said with a sigh. “What are you reading?”

“After-action reports.” Cloud replied. “You know something? It’s amazing how easily someone can boil down me getting my ass kicked to a few simple sentences.”

“You got your ass kicked?”

Cloud nodded. “And I’ve already given Dusk the bill for the new suit of armor.” I couldn’t help but internally cringe at the thought. Having seen Cloud Runner’s armor myself I already know it’s one of the most technologically advanced pieces of engineering built to date… And it’s likely scrap if he’s telling Dusk to replace it.

“Well… That sounds like fun!” I said, trying to put on a chipper face. “Now if you’ll excuse me I must be going.”

***

The Grotto, Command Center
Dusk

I kept staring at the display for the security camera in the infirmary. My focus was glued on Archer as I studied the mannerisms that I could observe through silent black and white footage. How she was carrying herself, the change in how she appeared to walk… And the forced wry grin. All things that I recognized, having done them myself for years. Cosmo might be oblivious to the changes but the memory orb has definitely changed something in Archer.

Finally I sighed and took a step back from the security console. “What did I say about skulking around in the shadows Cosmo?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Archer’s father flicker into view as he dropped his invisibility spell. “You’re the one watching my daughter, so all bets are off.”

“Do you at least want to know what I’ve learned?” I groaned.

“Please Dusk, go ahead and enlighten me.”

“The orb did something to her.” I replied. “Her mannerisms have changed. Remember how she’d roll around on the balls of her feet if you told her to stand still?”

Cosmo nodded. “How could I forget?”

“That’s gone.”

“What?” Cosmo asked.

“You heard me.” I spat. “Since she got back on her feet Archer hasn’t done that once. Instead she’s been trying to stay on the fringe and acts far more reserved than juvenile.”

Cosmo was quiet for a moment before I noticed him clutch his fingers over the bridge of his muzzle. “She just survived a warzone. Wouldn't you be acting-”

“She’s got my smirk.”

“She’s got your what?” Cosmo asked.

I rewound the security tape a few seconds and paused as the frame changed to a clear shot of Archer’s face. “See that?” I asked as I jammed my finger next to the eternal copy of the grin Archer was wearing. “That’s my smirk.”

I stepped back and let Cosmo get in and get a look at the frame of footage that I had stopped on. “Son of a bitch…”

“See what I’m talking about?”

Cosmo nodded and finally turned towards me. “She’s never done that before.”

“I know!” I exclaimed. “It’s incredibly creepy.”

“Just creepy?”

“Yes, just creepy.”

Cosmo clutched at his muzzle again. “Where is she now?”

***

Location Unknown
Archer

Alright, lets recap the last few minutes. Shall we? After leaving the infirmary I said to myself ‘hey, why not go down to the gym and lift some weights?’. So here I think that a hundred pounds might be a good standard to start with… Then I dropped the bar on my chest and now in the least ceremonious manner I’ve once again returned to the metaphysical smoke-filled room.

“Archer?” Dusk asked as he appeared in a flash of light. “Didn’t I say we’d be doing this again tomorrow night?”

“You did.”

“So what makes you think you could handle weights when you’ve never dealt with them a day in your life?”

I sat down on the magical ‘disappearing’ stool and rolled my eyes. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“And obviously it wasn’t.” Dusk pointed out. “Just don’t do something you think of off the cuff in the future, ok?”

“Fine by me.” I replied as I looked around the smoke-clouded corner of my consciousness. “I’m gonna be here a while, aren’t I?”

“We at least have a few hours.”

I nodded and let my shoulders drop a bit. “So what happened Neighfair?”

Dusk shrugged. “Where do you wanna start kiddo?”

“Well…” I muttered as I finally settled on my question. “You said that you and the General found some stuff on Spark about a week after you blew up the Chicacolt. What was it?”

“Not what was it.” Dusk said. “What wasn’t it.”

“And now you’re confusing me.” I retorted.

“But that’s just it. We didn’t find anything. There wasn’t even any evidence he-”

I just held my hand up and Dusk stopped short. “Look, just show me. It’s easier than listening to you droning on and it’ll kill some time.”

“Ugh…” Dusk groaned. “We’re about to do Jedi, aren’t we?”

“What do you mean ‘Jedi’?” I asked.

Dusk must’ve snapped out of it because he went from annoyed to actually interested. “What do you have against Star Wars?”

“I don’t even know what Star Wars is!”

“It’s a human movie... “ Dusk stopped and nodded. “Sorry. I think the author was trying to be funny.”

I offered a curt nod. “And this ‘author’ obviously isn’t that funny.”

“Well he’s trying to break the fourth-”

“Dusk!” I yelled. “Just shut the fuck up and get to the flashback before I smack some sense into you.”

“Flashback?” Dusk muttered. “Flashback, right! Let’s go freeze our asses off.”

“Absolutely!” Wait he just said something about cold, didn’t he?

Author's Note

Well there's the first interlude... Yes, I tried a fourth wall break. I got a giggle out of it myself, but I wrote it and I'm biased towards myself. Now the interludes won't do much except advance plot points in the "present" slowly until we hit the sixth arc, which will revolve around the final battle between Dusk and Kovac.

In the meantime, anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker