Author's Note

And here we go! The second full Fractures pitch to choose from. Together with PE#16, this chapter represents the other path that Fractures here on Fimfiction may potentially begin.

This start is, by its nature of who the characters are, far closer to how the theoretical original fiction version of Fractures would eventually begin. You'll notice that there are a number of identical moments between this chapter and PE#16, where Twilight, Gadget, and Spike swap out Lisa, Zoey, and Caleb, respectively. This was done in order to keep both pitches more or less on the same pace as each other, as well as to make sure that they functioned just as they intended--as alternate versions of each other for y'all to pick from.

Regardless of whether PE#16 or PE#17 is chosen, the next chapter that'd follow would be one that introduces, in a new, standalone Fractures, Void Gadget.

I hope you enjoy.

Lisa, Zoey, and Caleb were displaced into an alternate universe? (PE#17)

“Okay, now lower the tip to the pin. Careful, careful—you want the flat edge of the iron’s tip to be what’s touching the pin, not the tip itself. Remember, the larger surface area transfers heat faster.”

She nodded, moving her hand under the guidance of her mentor. She felt the heat radiating off the device in her hands even as she held it with the safety of work gloves. A curl of smoke rose from the pin as she touched it.

Just like in the videos she’d watched, the thin, silvery wire she fed in with her other hand melted on contact, almost… kinda being sucked in to the pin in a way.

She flinched at the associated sizzling.

“Don’t worry about the smoke. That’s just the flux. You remember what it does?”

She momentarily turned her gaze to her mentor, expectant eyes peering through her safety glasses, then back to the board in front of her. The metal had already resolidified without the heat of the iron, its shiny molten surface fading back to a dull sheen.

“Go on, you’re the one holding the soldering iron.”

“It… makes the metal stick better?” she tilted her head, her voice muffled behind the thick mask covering her face. “Lisa, can’t we just use the fan thingy to suck away the smoke? This mask is making my face all sweaty.”

“Close enough. And no can do,” Lisa reached beside her, flicking on the switch. A dull whine rose from the boxy fan in front of her. “But thanks for reminding me about the fume extractor anyway. Now you’ll be extra safe!”

She stared back at her.

Lisa pulled her stool closer to the workbench. “Listen. Zoey, if you get yourself hurt in any way here, there’s a good chance your parents won’t let you come around anymore. They were already pretty iffy about me when they found out about what I do, so the safer you are, the better. Just… endure it for now, alright? I’ll try and find some lighter masks for next time. Careful now—” Lisa placed her hand over her own again, guiding it back down. “Zoey, if you’re not using the soldering iron then put it back in its stand. Don’t wave it around, ‘cause not only is it sharp, but it’s pretty burny too. I’m sure you know that second part pretty well at this point.”

Right. She mentally winced at the memory of the first time she’d tried soldering. The blister on her finger took a while to finally go away, and Lisa got into big trouble for letting that happen. It was also the moment she learned it was probably a good idea to tie her hair into a bun when working with hot stuff instead of her favorite ‘roostertail’ style.

But… yeah. No touching burny hot things, and no letting those things touch her hair either.

Zoey placed the iron back in its metal stand, shaking her hands out.

“Sweaty hands?”

“Yeah.”

“Want to watch me solder the first few pins before you try again?”

Zoey’s gaze fell to the circuit board in front of her. Then, up to her mentor.

“…Yeah.”

“Alright,” Lisa pulled the iron in its stand closer to herself. She pulled it from its mount, gesturing with her free hand for the board. “Especially when soldering down bigger things, what’s the first thing I should do? Pretend you’re teaching me this time.”

Zoey slid the board over, her brows already furrowing in thought. “You touch the tip to the pin, right?”

“’Dunno, teach,” Lisa poked the board with a finger. “You’re the expert right now, don’t ask me.”

“Okay then. Touch the tip to the pin.”

Lisa did exactly that. She looked back up at her.

“And then… feed the solder wi—no, flux!” Zoey grabbed a pasty-yellow syringe and passed it over. “Take off the iron from the pin and squirt a little bit of flux paste across the pins you wanna solder.”

“Alright, that’s done,” Lisa set the syringe aside. She was fast at squeezing out the flux paste!

“And then next, you get the solder wire, and you hold it near the pin.”

“Done.”

“After that,” Zoey gestured with her hands, constructing a makeshift diagram. Her gaze shifted for a moment to the tip of the soldering iron in Lisa’s hands before returning to Lisa herself. “After that, because we’re using a knife-style tip, you want to press the flat edge against the pin. That way, more heat can transfer faster.”

“Good,” Lisa did exactly that. “And nice work on the explanation, too!”

Zoey grinned underneath her mask. “Okay, and now, you push some of the solder wire into the part of the pin that’s touching the soldering iron. And you want to make sure that it makes a nice cone around the pin when it melts, too.”

“And that’s it!” Lisa soldered the pin in place before replacing the iron on its stand. “Though, we’re using the rosin-core kind of solder wire, so we don’t exactly need additional flux in this scenario. Now, you try doing it yourself. I won’t say anything this time, ‘kay?”

Zoey nodded, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. It’s just soldering. She’s watched Lisa do it so many times before, and just now, she’s even pretend-taught her how to do it. She can do this.

She opened her eyes and reached for the iron, simultaneously pulling the circuit board back in front of her. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Lisa adjust the temperature of the iron.

Focus.

She lowered the iron’s tip to the next pin over. That same sizzling from before returned as the remaining flux in the area melted and boiled. The iron teetered a little before she adjusted her grip. She pulled the length of solder wire over.

Control is everything.

Well, heat too, but Lisa was controlling that for her already.

Control is everything, she mentally repeated again. She touched the solder wire to the thin crevice between the pin and the edge of the soldering iron, feeding until what looked like a decently-big cone of metal had formed around the pin.

She shifted to the next pin after that and repeated the process. And the one after that. And again and again.

“Looks like you found your groove,” Lisa chuckled. “If you’re feeling brave, I’ve got some surface-mount boards sitting around that you can practice with as well. You gotta have a very steady hand to work on those without screwing something up.”

“I know. I do,” Zoey finished up the final pin on the board, holding the completed construction up to the shop light. “How’s this look by the way?”

She set the iron back in its stand and stretched, letting out a quiet squeak as she did so.

“You used a little bit too much solder on some of the pins, but that’s not a problem with these big through-hole stuff,” Lisa hovered over her shoulder. “Textbook work there aside from that, though. Definitely better than the blob of conductive glue you showed me when you said you wanted to build a robot like the ones you saw on TV. You wanna try your hand at surface mount stuff tonight?”

“Mmmnah.”

Lisa retreated back to her stool. “Hmph. Fair enough.…”

Zoey traced her mentor’s gaze to the garage window.

“It’s getting pretty late.”

“Yup,” Lisa kept her eyes fixed on the window. “If you need to stay the night again, I’ve already got some spare blankets and stuff set up from last time. I know your parents work late…” she blinked, a grin spreading across her face. “Actually, you know how I liked to spend my evenings when I was your age?”

“Hm?”

“Ice cream,” Lisa’s grin grew wider. “Especially on summer nights like tonight! A nice bowl of ice cream and some movie or show to watch. You remember that one ice cream shop we went to a few weeks back? The uh—” she twirled her hand in thought. “The one where they have the weird flavors. Chocolate syrup on—”

“Grape ice cream!” Zoey cut in. She tore off her mask. “Oh yeah, I definitely remember that place. Are they even open this late?”

“Mmm, probably not. Wanna see what we’ve got in the freezer instead?” Lisa stepped around her to the bulky chest freezer against the wall. “Come pick something for yourself. With how often you’re over, you’re practically my little sister at this point. It’s only fair that I treat you like one. Actually—” she pulled back, leaving the door open. “Yeah, find something for yourself real quick, I’m gonna go ask Caleb if he wants anything too.”

She dashed for the garage door, flinging it open.

“Oh hey, Lis,” Caleb’s voice responded to the intrusion. “Was about to ask if you two were done yet.”

“Yeah, just finished. I was gonna ask you if you and your friends wanted any ice cream. How smelly is the basement getting with the three of you down there?”

Zoey rummaged through the freezer, pushing aside frozen burritos and waffles until the layer of ice cream bars met her eye. It didn’t look like there were any tubs of ice cream though, so it was just this one flavor.

She took a cream-orange colored bar. Lisa was still talking to Caleb about something, so she’d might as well grab one for her as well.

“Get one for my brother too,” Lisa stuck her head back in the garage.

Three orange ice cream bars it is!

She shut the freezer door, following Lisa into the house. “I got the ice cream!” she held a pair of bars out in front of her. “I didn’t see any other flavors so I just got orange for everyone.”

“Sweet,” Caleb took one. “And uh…” he let out a small chuckle. “I think I know what happened to the rest of the ice cream.”

“Goober squad down in the basement ate it up,” Lisa began unwrapping her own ice cream bar. “That’s my guess.”

“…Yeah.”

“Called it.”

A dull shudder ran through the house. Nothing very big, but definitely noticeable.

Lisa’s eyes shifted to the stairwell going down to the basement. Then back to her brother.

“You two stay here. I’ll send your friends back up and check the basement.”

Zoey watched Lisa descend the stairs. Maybe there was another earthquake happening? Or maybe one of Lisa’s things went pop in storage for some reason. Though, she didn’t really keep much if anything in the basement as far as her stuff goes, and the only thing that could possibly go pop were batteries. And in that case…

She pushed the idea from her mind. The fire alarms weren’t going off, so it probably wasn’t batteries.

Another shudder rolled through the house.

“We should probably head outside,” Caleb interrupted her thoughts. “I wouldn’t want anything falling on my head if this turns out to be the Big One that people keep saying is coming. Even if it’s not an earthquake, Lis will take care of it. She always does.”

Zoey pulled open the garage door. “Y-yeah.”

Lisa will take care of it.

She eyed the swaying tools hanging on the wall as they exited. Even here in the garage, the house swayed with whatever was happening underneath. The movement wasn’t all that noticeable through the floor, but—

“Zoey, c’mon,” Caleb’s voice cut through the fog. She shot one more cautious glance at the closed door to the house behind them before following.

Hopefully, Lisa was okay. Same went for Caleb’s friends. They were taking a pretty long time to come out from the basement.

“You think they’ll be alright?” she joined Caleb on the concrete.

“Hopefully.”

Her attention lingered on him for a little longer before returning to the house in front of them.

Caleb was scared, too.

A heavy boom echoed out from somewhere inside the structure, causing both herself and Caleb to jump. The entire house groaned in response.

“Alright, I’m calling emergency services,” Caleb reached for his pocket. “Zoey, you stay here. I’m not sure if Lisa’s coming back out anytime soon, so I’m in charge of you now. ‘Kay? I’m gonna tell our neighbors to stay back just in case. This could be a gas leak.”

He motioned for her to back away even further, grimacing as another shudder, this one far stronger than before, rocked the pavement. He dialed a number, holding the phone up to his ear.

“Get away!” a voice rose from somewhere inside. Zoey’s eyes lit up as Lisa emerged, coughing. “Go! It’s not safe to be near here!” she shooed them away. “Caleb, call mom and dad! Zoey, I need you to get in touch with your own parents, now.”

“What about my friends?” Caleb shouted back.

“I’m working on it.”

“Bu—”

“Don’t let anyone come close. Got it?”

“I—”

“I’ll be back. I promise.”

Caleb’s frown deepened as he turned his attention to the emergency operator on the phone. Lisa slipped back inside.

Hushed voices whispered amongst themselves behind her. Zoey looked over her shoulder, peering at the gathering neighbors on the sidewalk. They must’ve heard whatever kind of explosion that was from earlier.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Lisa was taking an awfully long time inside.

Zoey looked to Caleb again. He was still on the phone, his eyes looking increasingly frantic.

“Where’s Lisa?” a voice behind her asked.

She turned, golden-brown eyes meeting her own blue.

She shifted her glance back to the unstable structure in front of them.

“You can’t be serious,” the girl stood back up. She jogged over to Caleb. “What the heck is happening? Is your sister still in there?”

Caleb pulled his phone aside for a moment, covering the microphone with his hand. “Emily, now’s not the time. Lisa’s trying to ge—”

“And let the friend I’ve known for almost as long as you’ve existed hang around in there?”

“Seriously, Emi. Lisa said to not let anyone get close.”

“And you’re just gonna let that happen?” Emily stepped back. “Caleb, that’s your sister in there! Shouldn’t you at least try to help?”

“I am!” Caleb choked, bringing his phone closer again. “I’m trying! She told me to not let anyone go in!”

Emily stared at the house. Then shot a glare at Caleb.

“I’m going in.”

“Seriously, don—”

Another boom rose from the house. The lights glowing behind the windows flickered in response.

Zoey kept her eyes on the garage door.

Lisa was going to come out any second now. And she’d have all of Caleb’s friends with her, and then the firefighters or whoever Caleb was calling would come and make sure that the gas leak was all fixed before anything else can happen! And then after everything’s done, Lisa’s mom and dad would come back from work, and nothing would be wrong.

That’s how things were supposed to work, right?

A slow, rolling crackle tore through the air. The sides of the building teetered inward ever so slightly, as if some invisible giant had begun crushing the house in on itself.

Please, let Lisa be—

The door slammed open, the thud as it hit the basement door behind it pulling her from her thoughts.

“Lisa!” Emily took off. “Thank goodness you’re safe! I’m pretty sure the whole neighborhood is closing in… on…”

Her steps slowed to a tentative shuffle. “Lisa?”

The corridor was empty.

The doorframe let out a final groan before buckling, tearing itself hinge by hinge from the door it once retained.

“Firefighters and ambulances are coming,” Caleb finally lowered his phone. “Emi, don’t go any closer. You know my sister wouldn’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

A muffled thumping drew their eyes back to the door. Or at least, what was left of it.

Another bump bounced the door back by its one remaining hinge. It momentarily shut against the warped frame before slamming open again to reveal a panting Lisa.

Tears streamed down her face.

Her lips spoke for her where her voice had faltered.

“I couldn’t save them.”

She stumbled down the few steps between the doorway and the garage, coughing weakly as she supported her steps with the work tables she passed. “Caleb… I’m so, so sorry… I—”

Caleb rushed past, wrapping his arms around her in a tear-stricken embrace. Zoey joined in after him, quiet sobs rising from herself to join the bawling of the boy beside her.

“Save them from what?” Emily’s voice cut through their cries. Zoey felt Lisa’s arm lift off her head as they started moving back out to the driveway.

“The darkness.”

Zoey pulled her face back from Lisa’s shirt, peering up into her trembling eyes.

“The darkness,” Emily repeated. She ushered her friend to sit. “Is there any more specific way you can describe it?”

The house shuddered in front of them again; violently enough this time that several tools clattered to the floor in the garage.

The sirens drew closer.

“It’s happening again,” Lisa muttered under her breath. “It was almost up to the main floor when I got out.”

“What is happening again?” Emily pressed. She squat down to Lisa. “C’mon, you’re always the one using the big fancy jargon words out of the two of us. Spit it out.”

“The darkness!” Lisa repeated. “How else can I put it? It’s this… this ball of darkness. Like a hole, but hanging mid-air. And the cracks—”

As if on cue, a ray of black shot past them. It hung in the air, thickening for a few seconds as if it were a blotch of ink bleeding into paper. It lingered for a handful more before shrinking away into nothingness.

Zoey’s eyes shot to the source.

The house.

She watched Emily trace the same path with her own gaze before turning her focus back to Lisa.

“What was that?”

“Do you think I know?!” Lisa tore away from her brother. “Those things shot off from the hole that swallowed my little brother’s friends! Do you think I’d even dare to touch them?”

Zoey peeked out from under her mentor’s arm.

Emily sighed, her face remaining fixed in a furrowed mix of frustration and confusion.

“Nevermind.”

Another tendril rocketed past, taking a sharp turn and shooting up above their heads.

Zoey gasped, burying her face again in Lisa’s shirt. She slowly pulled away again, staring at the jagged, inky-black beam hanging in the air above them.

“Lisa, I’m scared.”

“We have to go,” Lisa said through gritted teeth. She pushed herself off the ground. “Emi, you help keep everyone else back. Even the first-responders if you can. There’s nobody left to save. All we can do is keep everyone else at a safe distance. We’ll get out of this,” she stepped past Emily. “Figure out what’s happening from a safe dist—ack!”

Zoey stumbled, eyes wide with horror as her gaze latched onto the widening strip of darkness Lisa was now ensnared in.

“Fu—” Lisa seethed, pulling on the leg sunken into the darkness. “No, no, no, it’s not coming out!”

“Lisa…”

Lisa craned her head as much as she could in her current position.

Zoey’s gaze drifted downward. To that same inky darkness that surrounded her own feet.

“Lisa, I can’t feel my feet.”

Caleb grabbed Lisa by her arms, tugging as hard as he could. He glanced down at the encroaching darkness and adjusted his footing. “C’mon, Lis,” his erratic voice came out in an almost-laugh. “We gotta go now! You said so yourself.”

A sudden pain shot through her legs as Emily’s arm hooked around her own. “You too, Zoey. Your parents would kill Lisa if she let you d—”

“We are not going to die!” Lisa snapped back.

“You’re lying,” Zoey wheezed, her breaths growing shallower. “I can hear it in your voice.”

She glanced downward. The darkness was up to her knees now. Or rather, she’d descended down to her knees. The same went for Lisa, despite Caleb and Emi’s efforts. From the corner of her eye, she saw the crowds of people that’d come to watch approach.

Maybe to help.

Hopefully to help.

“Stay back!” Lisa shouted. “Stand back, and get as far as you can from here. I don’t want anyone else to be caught up in this.”

She stared directly into her brother’s eyes. “You too. I’m sorry, Caleb. Emi. Please. Run.”

Zoey felt Lisa grab her hand, a determined look on what parts of her face she could see.

The last thing she felt was Lisa dragging that hand downward, ducking into the darkness against her brother’s anguished screams.