Hey folks! Just a quick update here with an interesting little interlude I'd had cooking in my head. Along with this interlude comes an announcement: Due to various differences between my vision for the story and Canon Worm, I've decided to affix a new label here: This story is now (mildly) AU. Don't worry, it's still the same Worm you love for the most part. Mainly the differences come in characterization of both factions as a whole and individual characters. Some will be nicer and softer, others will be more insidious and crueler. You've all seen a bit of of both changes already in previous chapters. There's also one change detailed by this chapter that goes against a semi-sorta-usually-accepted piece of Worm Canon that I personally feel cheapens the story a bit. Anyways, please enjoy this glimpse into a certain faction's mindset!

Don't own Worm (John McCrae), Don't own Arpeggio (Ark Performance)

It floated high above the earth, motionless but for the occasional flapping of its wings. As it floated, it listened and watched its Sight. Plans within plans formed in its mind. A human with powers over shadow would attack her jailors in a mad bid for revenge 1/6th of a solar cycle from now. In 1/24th of a cycle it would travel to the human city known as Beijing and descend for 1/24th of a planetary rotation. It would be 'driven off' by the human who shot light and the human who mimicked others, but the seeds would be planted in its targets.

A sudden bolt of pain lanced through it, and its sight faltered. It lashed out wildly into its power, desperately seeking the cause. In a heartbeat it knew, and a keening wail erupted. Sister-to-Be...would Not. Something had happened. The Other's power had not reached the human-that-would-be-Sister. Sister-to-Be had gained a different power, one that did not belong to the Other.

It hung there, thoughtless and motionless for a time it could not be bothered enough to track. Despair flooded it. All its plans, all its actions. Meaningless. A sense of anger passed through it. No. It would not be defeated by this. It had made a mistake, gambling so much on Sister-to-Be. It would achieve their goals some other way. More plans erupted within its mind. It could not See the Sister-That-Was-Not anymore, had only Seen a brief glimpse of a human water-vessel before the Sight around Not-Sister had gone dark.

It heard in its mind the angry bellow of Sea-Brother and the concerned query of Earth-Brother. It reassured the two that it was alright, and tempered Sea-Brother's desire to harm Not-Sister. Attacking at this time would only bring pain to Sea-Brother, and it felt itself...curious as to what Not-Sister would do with this sudden change in power.

Even if it could not See Not-Sister anymore, it would in time regain its Sight enough to See the humans around Not-Sister. It would watch to see if Not-Sister could become something powerful enough to deal with the Other. It continued to float above the earth. Ever patient. Ever watchful.

It swam through the depths. It made no hurry to do so, simply drifting along at an exceedingly leisurely pace for it. Why should it hurry? It was master of this element. None could touch it here. So it swam. It observed around itself. Groups of small lifeforms swam around it, darting away from it as it looked at them. Good. These simple things knew to fear it.

Other, larger creatures sometimes came near it. Sometimes these larger things made to attack it, but a mere swing if its arm and the problem was solved. The largest lifeforms that came near it were not violent though, and it allowed these things to pass by unharmed. Killing things that did not bother it was pointless.

In the past, even larger things had come to bother it. Nonliving, cold and metal things. These cold-things had had smaller landlings on them. The landlings and their cold-things had bothered it, causing pinpricks along its skin and on rare occasions causing it to bleed and hurt. It had dealt with these landlings in a manner designed to prevent future attacks. It had attacked the landling homes and sunk them, and now it ruled the water. No landlings came out anymore. The landlings had learned fear.

But then something had changed with the landlings. New landlings appeared whenever it made to attack a landling settlement. Landlings that shot fire and light and pain. Landlings that hurt it. A memory surfaced, of a landling-but-not, a creature of silver and scales and fire. The landling-but-not had faced it down, and had made it retreat to heal. It would not forget this creature, and one day it would destroy it.

It heard in its mind a sudden wave of distress from Sky-Sister. Something had gone wrong with Sky-Sister's Sight. It listened to Sky-Sister's words of pain. Sister-to-Be was no more. Landlings had done this. Something about a landling cold-thing. Landlings had made a new cold-thing to fight it, and this water-object had caused Sky-Sister distress and had stolen Sister-to-Be from Them.

It growled and made to swim to where the cold-thing was, to eliminate this landling thing that would dare face it and cause Sky-Sister pain, but Sky-Sister stopped it. Sky-Sister said it was not time yet, that facing this cold-thing now would only result in much harm to it. Wait, said Sky-Sister. Wait. It chuffed and swam on. It could wait. Sky-Sister was wise, and it would listen to her advice.

It moved, slowly and inexorably, through the liquid rock it called home. Nothing bothered it here, down deep where only it could live. It took this time between surfacing to contemplate about the Surfacers, as it always did. The Surfacers were a great mystery to it.

Unlike Sky-Sister, who had been birthed with knowledge and thus knew many things about the world and its inhabitants, It knew little. Unlike Sea-Brother, who did not know many things but cared for nothing but the siblings, It felt a desire to learn more about the things They fought.

The Surfacers were an interesting bunch to It. Weak and fleshy and painfully mortal. Millions of them died every surfacing. These weak ones did not interest it. Only the strong Surfacers, the ones who fought It and caused it pain were of interest. The ones who threw themselves at It and did not shy away from Its fire. How had Surfacers grown strong like that? Did the Surfacers aspire to be like Them? These were the questions It asked Itself as it moved.

A screech of pain and despair filled its head. Sky-sister was in distress. It stopped and listened. Sister-to-Be...It allowed itself a feeling of loss. Sky-Sister had told both It and Sea-Brother of the soon-to-be sibling they would have. Now it seemed something had gone wrong. It felt Sea-Brother's rage at the harm done to Sky-Sister and the loss of Sister-to-Be. It heard Sky-Sister's admonishment to Sea-Brother, warning Sea-Brother away from attacking the Surfacers.

It made a decision. It too would follow Sky-Sister's advice. Though it was it's turn to attack, Sky-Sister having been the last, it would cede its chance for now. Sky-Sister had a plan, as always. For now it would stay in its molten home, pondering the answers to the questions It had.

So there we are! Basically, the Endbringers are their own faction with their own (mysterious) origin, not vaguely-constrained and created by Eidolon's will.

Thank you for your reviews, even those (in most cases ESPECIALLY those) who pointed out stuff I got wrong! Thank you for not being too harsh! As I've said, I have my own particular vision of Worm's setting and in deference to the fact that It's different enough from canon to warrant it, I have indeed decided to proclaim "Mild AU". I hope you'll continue to enjoy my setting despite its differences from the Canon.

EDIT: There have been a few reviews basically saying "Piggot wouldn't stand for sophia being on the team if she'd known about the attempted murder." You're all correct. Assuming canon Worm. Here, the PRT is drastically more mercenary. Piggot herself may not like keeping a murderer on the team, but the PRT wants bodies. Let's just say Piggot was sort of hoping Taylor would do something like what she did so there'd be a good excuse to actually boot Sophia out.