Back in Froufrou's original timeline, Kahli and the Supreme Time Protector were alone in the pitch blackness of the void, quite confused as to how there was nary a version of Froufrou to be seen. However, Kahli was already starting to feel more like herself again, as she had been released from the powerful grasp of alternative Froufrou's exceedingly high [CHAR] usage of [Tale Teller].
"You know, Supreme Time Protector, I'm starting to think that the Froufrou we'd been interacting with wasn't the normal Froufrou," said Kahli. "Almost like maybe it was a Froufrou from another timeline or something. The Froufrou I know and admire pretty much only squelches, she doesn't talk like that - and she's never been that mean to me."
"Ah," said the Supreme Time Protector with a nod, stroking their bright white cowl as they considered this. "Yes, that is indeed quite a possibility. It had seemed at first too absurd for me to rightly consider, perhaps indeed because that version of Froufrou seemed remarkably masterful at persuasion, but I do think you might be in the right. I've seen this sort of thing happen through use of a high amount of [LIN] before, although generally I've been able to avoid any bad actors as far as alternative versions of myself."
"That's... great, Supreme Time Protector," said Kahli with more than a little hesitation. It took all of her focus not to let it slip that, in her opinion, normal versions of the Supreme Time Protector from different points in the same timeline seemed to be just as much of a liability, if not moreso, than alternative Froufrou was - after all, pretty much every time the Supreme Time Protector was in a nested [checkpoint] with differing versions of themself, they ended up killing each other. That is to say that, the Supreme Time Protector was plenty malicious towards themselves without any sort of alternative or parallel timeline version of themself coming into play.
And then, the inexplicable - at least to Kahli and the Supreme Time Protector - occurred. That is to say that, Kahli suddenly found herself propelled into a twisted scenario without so much as glancing down at her big left foot.
[Now viewing scenario 3 (twisted)]
"You know what, Oma-" Kahli stopped mid sentence as she looked at Omar goading as he jiggled her purse containing Froufrou around threateningly. "Theseosus' pincers, are we seriously doing this again?"
"What? What the fuck do you mean?" Omar said in confusion, lowering his flaming arm. "I was just about to burn your pet, and you're complaining like it's boring to you?!"
"Oh my fucking single god!" groaned alternative Froufrou from within the purse. "I fucking hate this guy so much. If I had the tendril strength, Omar, I'd grab your neck and choke you to death right now!"
"This thing can talk?!" blurted Omar, in but further confusion and shock.
"Don't call her a thing!" Kahli growled.
"I'll call it whatever the hell I damned well-" Omar glanced in the purse and did a trouble take. "What the shit? It's gone!"
Kahli rolled her eyes and sighed. And then, mid eye-roll, she saw it once again. It being Sahdi's perfect hair tumbling through the air in the distance, and as a matter of fact Sahdi was indeed attached to it. With that, she proceeded to zoom forth just as she had the last time she'd experienced the scenario, snatching her empty purse from the befuddled Omar and soon flying up to snatch Sahdi out of the air in a flash.
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And so it was that, indeed, much of the third scenario played out as previously in the alternative timeline, just as it had in Froufrou's home timeline. However, there was one key change that made all the difference - even when alternative Froufrou was under the spell of alternative Omar's malicious disguise.
"Wait a second, this is a peach pie!" spat alternative Froufrou as she writhed over to behold the discarded pie laying on the cobblestone floor. "Gazpacho, I'm allergic to peaches!"
Froufrou herself had no such allergy, however, this was a unique quirk of alternative Froufrou that was indeed a perfect fit for a minute twisting. See, all the Froufrous really had to do while deep in meditation was alter the timeline so that alternative Omar, when concocting his evil foods, flipped one page past the cherry pie recipe in his cookbook and instead selected the a recipe for peach pie. With that, alternative Froufrou was not poisoned and paralyzed. Of course, alternative Kahli still fell prey to alternative Omar's wicked ways, but with both Froufrou and alternative Froufrou acting together in awareness of his treachery, Froufrou hoped that the timeline might turn out differently.
"Well damn!" spat alternative Omar. "Regardless, since your little tauman friend Kahli is poisoned and paralyzed, I'll be happy to snuff both of you Froufrous out like a light!"
"Pfft! I'd like to see you fucking try!" spat alternative Froufrou. "Omar, first of all, it's really fucking fucked up that you pretended to be Gazpacho for so long. I saw you as a member of family. I saw you as… Theseosus' pincers, I fucking saw you as a father figure. And what are you? Some conniving jerk ready to paralyze me, and Kahli, and an alternative timeline version of myself! You're a fucking crook is what you are!"
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While alternative Froufrou was going on and on about how awful alternative Omar was, Froufrou was charging up her [Putrefy] attack. And indeed, in an instant she released it with such a mighty and stinky squelch that it emanated throughout the chamber like a thousand burning skunks as it exploded all over alternative Omar's countenance.
"AGHHH! My olfactory system! By the one god, I may never smell again!"
"Hell yes, you won't!" spat alternative Froufrou. "Good call, Froufrou, giving this jerk anosmia. It's his just deserves."
Froufrou squelched in sad agony at how low her alternative self's [INT] was for a moment. Then, she shifted focuses as she watched alternative Froufrou produce a large bat from one of her tendrils and wallop alternative Omar in the face with it.
[Omar is unconscious]
"What a fucking prick," said alternative Froufrou as she spat a loogie out of an indeterminate area of her writhing, tendril-clad bodice. "I'm still trying to decide how, and if, I'm going to kill him. But don't worry, I'll spare you the details."
Froufrou squelched in appreciation. She was finding she wasn't one for murder. What did that have to say about her status as the Harbinger of Doom? She decided not to dwell on it in the moment.
"Don't get your tendrils in a twist, me," said alternative Froufrou with a chuckle. "You know, me, I'm gonna kind of miss you. In a, fuck, I hope I never fucking see you again kind of way. Catch my drizzle?"
Froufrou squelched in the affirmative. She was in some ways glad to have met this strange, alternative Froufrou, but in almost every way she was incredibly relieved not to have to deal with her ever again.
With that, the two Froufrous exchanged a bit of an awkward, tendril-based hug that lasted all of half a moment. When that hurdle was over with, Froufrou used her [LIN] to reach forth and grab the inside of her purse from her home timeline, and alternative Froufrou raised one of her larger tendrils.
"Alright, then. Pay attention, because this [skill] is really fucking cool. Keep on working on your [class] and you might end up with it one of these days." Alternative Froufrou waved her tendril over the open air and with a loud slicing sound reality itself seemed to tear open and unzip.
Froufrou squelched with a startled interest as she beheld the rift in time. It seemed like a whirring, unfurling tunnel of endless contorting light in all sorts of directions and in colors and patterns that Froufrou had never before beheld of conceived of, and scarcely could presently.
"Don't get too worked up or I'll have to push you in. I can only keep it open for so long, you know," said alternative Froufrou with a chuckle. "Though, I get it. Time rifts are some crazy shit."
Froufrou squelched in the affirmative. Then, with a bold writhing of her tendrils, she passed through the rift, her tendril still grasped firmly on the purse so as to use her [LIN] to ground her passage from timeline to timeline.
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"Kahli!" said Sahdi, her voice shrill yet her hair - of course - flawless as if she'd just styled it. She tussled it for effect. "You saved me!!"
"Oh. Yea. I guess I did," said Kahli. "That's funny."
Froufrou squelched with glee.
"Froufrou!" Kahli cried, holding up her purse with a smile. "You're here! And you're squelching!" She hugged her purse to her face, smelling Froufrou's putridity with glee.
"Doesn't she always?" asked Sahdi with confusion.
"Yes, she does," said Kahli as she wiped a tear off her plaster-covered face. "She sure does."
And then, it happened. It, being what Froufrou was waiting for. The bone dragon swooped down from the air, seemingly unpursued by G'athoong, preparing to greet them. Sahdi and Kahli were full of fear, but Froufrou knew exactly what to expect in this moment.
Do not worry, taumans - I am not here to harm you. I am here to inform, thought spoke the dragon. We bone dragons are not simply entering your world at whim, for no reason whatsoever, as you may have somewhat assumed.
This was about all the bone dragon could explain, however, before Omar zoomed over to greet everyone with a burst o his flaming posterior.
"Alright, what in the flying fuck is going on over here?!"
[End scenario]
Froufrou was in the void.
The pitch black void, that is.
She was there inside her purse, held by Kahli. And if she looked up from over the side of the purse, she could indeed see the bright white cloak of the Supreme Time Protector.
Froufrou was finally back in her own timeline. And indeed, it felt triumphant.
"Well, that was a doozy of a timeline," replied the Supreme Time Protector. "I suppose you have decided which scenario you're choosing?"
And indeed, as a squelch confirmed, Froufrou and Kahli both were on the same page. The twisted scenario was the one.
[End scenario]
Froufrou was in the void, but this time, she was alone.
Well, alone in that she was no longer accompanied by Kahli. She was, however, writhing there in the void across from none other than the younger version of the Supreme Time Protector in their billowing off-white robes.
"Wow," said the Supreme Time Protector. "I mean, wow. Like... what the fuck even was that, Froufrou? Did you just twist a timeline within a twisted timeline? All while switching over to a parallel timeline?"
Froufrou squelched.
"I... I mean, I've got to be honest, in all my time as a Time Protector I've never even fathomed something so... bizarre. And you just barely got your [class], didn't you?"
Froufrou squelched.
The Supreme Time Protector scratched the back of their shrouded head. "Well... um... well done? I think? Sorry, I'm a little speechless. Do, uh, you need anything from me? Or are you ready to proceed through your chosen timeline?"
And indeed, Froufrou was ready to proceed. She'd had enough of this [checkpoint] - it was time for the present to rear its ugly head. With a decisive squelch, Froufrou looked down at her tendrils and prepared to enter her twisted, nested timeline. She wanted to know what that bone dragon had to say.
As she looked down and beheld the timeline, Froufrou felt a familiar tingling and realized that she was ready to level up.