A/N: Just want to give everyone a warning, the chapter ahead is dark, depressing, and contains suicidal thoughts. Just so you know.

The unending sea stretched out for as far as she could see. A plateau of blue sea meeting an equally large blue sky. From her perch atop the old abandoned building, the highest one she could find and high above everything else, the ocean was all she could see. She wished its enormity could just swallow her whole, taking with it all of her problems.

It would never happen of course. Such a thing would have been a mercy, and almost the entirety of her life had made it clear she wasn't worthy of such mercy.

From the very second she had come into existence, it seemed like the world was against her. She'd been born to a pair of loving parents, whom she cherished. Only to have her mother brutally torn away from her early in life.

A scream, the squeal of tires, and then a stretching silence that still haunted her. Her mother, lost to a car accident while talking on the phone with her own daughter. That had been years ago, but she still remembered. She wished she could forget.

Not long after losing her mother, her best friend Emma, sister in all but blood, had disappeared. Not literally, but the girl she'd once known had left. Replaced by a person she didn't recognize. Cruel, mean, and dedicated to making her life a living hell every day she saw her. It wasn't the Emma she remembered. It wasn't the Emma she had once played with, talked about boys and hero's with, or confided all her secrets and emotions in. The world had decided that Emma needed to disappear, and that the twisted shadow of her that remained needed to torment her. Every day she saw her at school, she would torment her.

Just more proof that the world hated her.

Of course, all of that was just the tip of the ice berg.

Just a few hours ago, just a few hours after she'd gotten home from school, there had been a knock at the door. It had been a pair of police officers. There'd been an incident at her Father's work. They didn't give her much for details, of course. She'd only been able to squeeze the fact that the ABB had been involved out of them. They'd then gone on to give her a long, drawn out apology for what had happened. They'd tried to smother the true harshness of the message in sympathies and pitying glances, but it didn't matter. She only heard what mattered to her.

There had been numerous injuries at her father's work, but only one fatality. Danny Hebert, head of the Dockworkers Association, had been killed during the incident.

Only one fatality one a good thing at least.

Of course, it just so happened that Danny Hebert, her father, had been the only person left in the world who she cared about and who cared about her.

Upon hearing the news... She wasn't actually sure what had happened. Everything afterwards was a muddled haze of colours and emotions. There was yelling, screaming, and crying. She couldn't remember whose and in what order they happened though. But the one thing she remembered clearly was running. She didn't know where she'd ran or for how long, but it culminated in her walking down a lonely street, her mind looping the same thoughts over and over again.

Her father was dead.

Her father was dead.

Her father was dead.

That was the moment she realized the was alone. Truly, completely alone.

It was unbearable. She didn't see how she could go on being so alone.

She had lost everyone. She had no family, and no friends left. All lost through the twisted turns of fate that the word had seemingly set up for her.

But it was more than just the aspect of losing her parents and her best friend that convinced her the world was out to get her. A simple mirror would have told her the same. She was unattractive, thin, had to wear glasses over eyes too large for her face, and had too wide of a mouth. But just to top it all off, she was also obviously more than a little gawky and awkward, and clearly underdeveloped in a women's sense.

Taylor couldn't even lie to herself. She couldn't try and pretend such things weren't true, as every time she saw herself she was couldn't help but accept it. After all, she'd been told those same things almost every single day she attended school.

Even if the world somehow wasn't out to get her, her school most certainly was. Every day for the past two years, she had been belittled, pushed, hit, insulted, called names, robbed, and sabotaged. It only made things worse that the bullying was carried out by the one she once saw as her best friend. Of course there were her lackeys as well, Sophia Hess and Madison Clements. They were equally responsible for the abuse she'd suffered for so long. They had also been the ones to help Emma turn the school against her. No one in the school cared for her in the slightest. Not even the teachers who never did anything about her complaints, some of whom had even witnessed the acts themselves.

At the time, there had been almost no point of even going to school anymore. She couldn't get through a day without being bullied in some way, and her grades were practically non-existent thanks to the trio. But now? Now, she knew there was no point. There was nothing left for her in the world, never mind that stupid school.

She'd thought herself strong. That putting up with everything life had thrown at her made her strong. That not retaliating against the trio made her better then them.

It was all a lie.

In the grand scheme of things, Taylor Hebert was a nobody and she knew it. She knew she would never be attractive, she would never find someone to care about her again, and would never amount to anything. There was nothing left for her. It was pointless to continue.

The cool ocean breeze, smelling of salt and fish, brushed past her as though she wasn't even there. She might as well have not been. Nobody seemed to care for her existence. It made sense that the wind wouldn't either.

It was sort of comforting, but at the same way depressing. She enjoyed the sensation of the wind on her face, brushing through her hair, allowing her to focus on it and forget everything else for a few seconds. But at the same time, it was just a reminder that even when she was gone, the world would continue on unimpeded. The world wouldn't stop at her death and mourn. No one would. She already knew what would happen. Someone would find her, report her body to the police, they'd investigate, and she'd be buried. The world would keep on spinning, the grass would keep on growing, and she would be forgotten beneath the weight of the world.

No one would remember her.

That hurt. It hurt almost as much as the fact that the reasons behind it all, the gang members and the trio, would probably get off scot-free. No one would ever find her father's murderer, and the actions of the trio would never see the light of day.

She sighed, looking down at the dark ally between her building and the next.

She'd specifically chosen the building for its location, condition, and height. It may have been a nice hotel once, but was now nothing more then a burnt out husk. Because of that no one was inside it, not even the homeless, which made sense, considering its awful condition. Thanks to its location, in one of the more vacant parts of Brockton Bay where few risked traveling, there was no one around to stop her. And of course, she'd made sure to pick a building high enough.

There was no question of if the impact would kill her or not. It was plenty high enough to do that. She just hoped she would die on impact. She didn't want to lay there, in a filthy dark ally, waiting for the reaper to pay her a visit. But knowing her luck, she knew that might happen. If the world truly hated her, it would want to make her suffer for just a bit longer before it finally let her go.

More depressing thoughts tumbled through her mind, adding to the collection.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stepping up on to the ledge.

She stared out at the bay one last time, she laid her eyes on the Brockton Bay Protectorate Headquarters. A converted oil rig just offshore, filled with the heroes and personnel that protected the city. The sun was just starting to set, creating a unique shine of orange light off the forcefield covering the rig. Said forcefield made the colours inside it look oversaturated, like a picture from an old TV set. The shield was proof of just how advanced and well equipped the heroes of Brockton Bay really were.

Heroes.

She clenched her fist, snorting in disgust.

Despite their technology and powers, which should have given them a clear edge against the threats in the city, at the end of her life Taylor was still left wishing they had done a better job.

Brockton Bay was dying. The life being squeezed out of the city by the three major gangs. The Merchants, the E88, and the fucking ABB had plagued the city for as long as she'd lived. The Protectorate, for all their advanced technology and training, had barely made a dent in any of the gangs. Nothing had changed in years.

It was pathetic.

She didn't know why they had done nothing when they clearly had the ability to. But in the very end, it didn't really matter to her. All that did matter was that they had the job of protecting the city, and they failed.

She blamed them. She blamed them almost as much as she blamed the ABB. If they had actually done their jobs at rooting out the gangs, her father would still be alive.

It was because of them that she found herself standing at the top of a building, ready to end it all.

She considered leaving a note, just to let the world know she blamed the Protectorate. But without any means to actually make a note, she dismissed the idea. Besides, she wasn't standing at the top of a building to deliver a message.

She took a deep breath, looking around one last time. With the sun setting over the ocean, giving everything an orange glow, and the sea gusts blowing in her face, she felt content. She was afraid, of course. Everyone was afraid to die, even if that was what they wanted. But as she looked over the endless stretch of blue sea and orange sky, she felt... Happy. After all, there were certainly worse sights to die to.

Her heartbeat quickened as her breathing laboured. The shivering of her body only got worse as what she was about to do finally, completely set it. But she didn't step down. This was what she wanted. An end. Freedom. An end to the suffering, and freedom from the pain. But at the same time, she was terrified. What if she didn't die immediately? What if she was making a mistake? She didn't want to die. Not really. Yet she still did. Her body and mind were screaming at her to step done from the ledge. To find a way to live on. But the prospect of simply not having to care anymore, for all her suffering and pain to just end, overpowered the building fear and anxiety in her chest.

She gazed up at the stares, just starting to appear in the orange sky. She focused on the brightest ones she could find, their appearance blurry as tears clouded her vision.

"I'll see you both soon." The quivering whisper slipped from her mouth.

Taylor fell.

The Queen Administrator was... Puzzled.

In all of its existence, it had never felt such a thing. It never even knew such a feeling was possible, but it was undoubtedly confusion that the alien Shard was feeling now.

From the moment of its formation, everything had gone as expected. It was created as an Administrator Shard, dedicated to organizing and directing other Shards to new hosts and other areas of importance within the Warrior network. It had been 'alive' for countless cycles, successfully completing its purpose each and every time. Whether that was to guide a host or simply remain an Administrator, it had always performed its duty flawlessly without errors or ambivalence. Nothing it had dealt with had ever been outside its area of expertise.

But now, none of that was true.

There had been no warning. No sign that anything was wrong or different. At the beginning of the current cycle it had simply administrated, but after some time had passed it was chosen to seed a host. Its course and target had been plotted, which it had followed without fail. Connection and analysis of the host had gone perfectly, and after planting a piece of itself into its host, the Queen Administrator disconnected from the fragment and went dormant, waiting for the right moment.

Eventually, the moment came. Just as it had past cycles, the specific conditions required to activate had been reached. Just as it had in past cycles, the Shard connected to the fragment within its host's mind.

But completely unlike past cycles, the Queen Administrator connected to its fragment only to find it... Occupied.

Its hesitation barely lasted a second, but that was a long time for the Shard. The Administrator considered the situation. Possibilities were generated and then discarded until only a few options remained. It eventually reached the assumption that one of the other Administrators had made a mistake and assigned another Shard to the Queen Administrator's host.

It was strange that the other Shard decided to connect to its fragment instead of making its own. But it was even more puzzling that the Shard had decided to continue the seeding process even after clearly noticing that the host was already taken. It had to have noticed that the host was taken, for it to have connected to the Queen's fragment.

The Queen Administrator couldn't feel frustration or irritation like its hosts could. But in its own unique way, it felt both. Mostly at the incompetence of the Administrator that directed the other Shard to its host. It was annoyed at the other Shard for taking its fragment, of course, but that wouldn't have happened if the Shard had been directed to its proper host in the first place.

It immediately contacted the intruder.

The situation was new, and one it was not expecting. But a brief exchange would sort the situation out. The other Shard would recognize that the host was the Queen Administrator's, a mistake had been made, and it would retreat back to the network with the directive from the Queen to report the faulty Administrator. According to its 'programming' that was the appropriate response, and thus that was what would happen.

It didn't.

The Queen Administrator knew something was wrong the moment the other Shard accepted the requested contact. As their communication nodes temporarily fused to allow direct contact, the Administrator noted that the other Shard's node felt... Strange. Not that it could actually feel, but if it could have, it would've been like touching an object and expecting a certain texture, only to feel something completely different. The Queen Administrator, having been designed to contact other Shards in order to direct them, had 'felt' virtually every type of Shard there was within the Warrior's network.

This one was unlike them all in so many ways. It felt nothing like a noble or vital Shard, and was closer to that of a more common Shard. Though still very, very far off.

The Queen Administrator ignored the strange sensations. Shards were designed to be curious, that was true. They had to be in order to learn as much as they could about their host and they way they used their power. But in this case, the curiosity it had over the texture of the other Shard wasn't important. Not as the other Shard requested to know the Queen's purpose for contacting it.

[QUERY]

For another, brief second, the Queen Administrator hesitated. Even its 'voice' was so unlike the ones of other Shards. Still, it chose to ignore the overall strangeness of the other Shard in favour of quickly resolving the situation.

{MISPLACEMENT}

{RETURN}

{REASSIGNMENT}

The Administrator explained it was in the wrong host, and needed to return to the network so that it could be directed to find its own. It expected the other Shard, one of a lesser station to immediately comply with its demands. After all, common shards were designed to obey noble and vital Shards. One with the important purpose that the Queen Administrator had even more so. It expected obedience.

[NEGATION]

[ACCURATE]

It did not expect it to not only outright refuse the order, but also insist that it was the correct one.

Once more, the Queen Administrator was annoyed.

{INCORRECT}

Once more, it attempted to explain that the Shard was seeding the wrong host.

[NEGATION]

And once more, it rebutted its authority.

Feeling something that was very close to its host's definition of exasperated, the Queen Administrator decided to find out exactly why the Shard believed it had more or equal authority to it.

{IDENTIFY}

The response came immediately.

[IDENTITY: AUTHENTICATOR]

For the third time in its existence, the Queen Administrator hesitated as it considered the Shard's name.

The Queen took the time to make a detailed search through its own memory and a quick search through the network. Its suspicions were confirmed. No such Shard existed with that name.

{NEGATION}

{IDENTIFY}

[IDENTITY: AUTHENTICATOR]

{NEGATION}

{NONEXISTENT}

The Queen Administrator tried explaining to the confused or defective Shard that there was no Shard within the network with that designation.

[AFFIRMATION]

But it didn't expect the Shard to agree when it was so adamant on proclaiming it had a nonexistent name.

{CONFUSION}

[CORRECTION]

[IDENTITY: AUTHENTICATOR]

[DISCONNECTED]

[PERMANENT]

Once more, the Administrator hesitated.

The Shard was continually stating that its name was Authenticator, despite the fact that such a name had never identified any Shard within the network.

And in that was the answer.

It agreed that no Shard named Authenticator was or had been connected to the network, because it was not, and had never been, connected to the network.

This was very puzzling.

Shards which disconnected from the network were usually damaged already. Disconnections were only supposed to happen if a Shard had been damaged and was doing more harm then good. And even then, it wasn't something that was taken lightly. But once disconnecting from the network that damage only got worse. Without the stabilizing effect of the network, even a completely intact and healthy Shard would eventually become damaged beyond repair. They weren't designed to operate all alone.

But this Shard was showing no signs of damage or instability. It was behaving just like a normal Shard, disregarding its disobedience, and it couldn't understand how or why. It could sense no reason or sign that the Shard was disconnected from the network. It was completely stable.

Eventually, the Queen Administrator deduced that it must have originated from a different network. The most obvious answer was that it was a part of the Thinker's network. This was a logical conclusion that it would have normally made immediately upon hearing that it was not and had never been connected to the Warrior's network.

However, there was little about this cycle that was normal.

The Thinker had, essentially, disappeared.

Following the beginning of the cycle, the Thinker's network had vanished. Normally the two networks operated in synch with one another, helping by trading information and enhancing each other where they had weaknesses. In the Thinker, the Warrior's network helped shards that relied on force and other similar methods to operate while the Thinker network assisted the Warrior's with more analytical purposes. They worked together in perfect harmony to get the most out of every cycle.

But then the Thinker disappeared, and the Warrior was left to its solitude. There were scattered reports throughout the network of seeded Shards coming into contact with other seeded Shards of the Thinker, but often they said that the Shards were damaged and barely functioning, with no signs of higher functions beyond basic operation.

This conflicted with its hypothesis that the Authenticator originated from the Thinker. There was no damage to speak of, and as such disputed the theory that it was from the Thinker.

It needed more information.

The Queen Administrator looked deeper, and soon realized something. Something it hadn't even thought was possible.

It wasn't just the fact that it wasn't connected to the Warrior's network, it was that the Shard wasn't connected to any network.

The other Shard had allowed the Queen to see into its core. Most of it was shielded, hidden from the Queen for reasons unknown. But it had allowed it to see the place where the networking node would have usually resided.

It was missing. There were signs it might've been there in the past, long ago based on its state, but it looked as though it had been ripped free somehow.

{CONFUSION}

It asked for more information.

[NEGATION]

[DISCONNECT]

The Queen Administrator's nonexistent heart froze.

The other Shard was deliberately withholding information from it, only promising to explain if it also disconnected from the network.

Disconnecting meant a Shard would be alone. Completely isolated. It was possible to reconnect to the network of course, and it wasn't even difficult. It could quickly disconnect, listen to the words of the Strange Shard, and then reconnect. The amount of time wouldn't be enough to cause significant to the Administrator. A healthy one of its size and complexity could, theoretically, stay disconnected for days before the Shard became unstable enough to impact its functions. It would only need a few moments. But in that time, it would be... Alone. It would have the other Shard to speak with, of course, but it wasn't the same. To be suddenly isolated when mere moments ago it had been connected to a the countless number of other Shards was something it was not 'programmed' for. It wasn't supposed to disconnect when it was still in a healthy state.

[QUERY]

It requested its answer.

The Administrator considered its choices. The first was to refuse, and report the errant Shard to the rest of the Network. It was probable that with the help of other noble Shards they could evict and possibly destroy the rampant Shard, or at the very least just chase it away. They couldn't capture it with its networking node missing.

But then, it wouldn't know anything about the Shard. It wouldn't know where it came from, its function, or why it was disconnected. But most importantly, it wouldn't know how the Shard had remained stable despite the fact that it showed signs of having been disconnected from a network for some time.

Shards were designed to learn. That was their primary function besides basic operation. The other Shard was clearly being noncompliant despite the Queen Administrator's noble status, signs of a damaged Shard, but it could find no damage. The Shard showed no signs of being compromised in any way. Additionally, the knowledge it could learn from the Shard, like how it was able to remain completely stable despite being isolated for what it assumed was a long time, and why its networking node was missing, could potentially prove to be invaluable. Learning of its origins would also be a significant benefit.

{AFFIRMATION}

With a small mental tug, it disconnected its networking node.

[EXCELLENT]

No time was given to the Queen Administrator to adjust to its new isolation. The very second it was disconnected from the network, the other Shard pounced.

What could only be described as 'tendrils' of the other Shard peeled back the 'carapace' of the Queen's core, slipping into it with ease. The other Shard easily ignored all of the Administrator's efforts to defend itself from the sudden attack. But in its defence, it had never been attacked by another Shard. It hadn't even known it was possible for a Shard to attack another.

[CESSATION]

[INFORMATION]

It claimed it was disseminating information into the Queen's core. The Shard didn't know how to process this. The core was where information was stored, that was true, but this wasn't how it was transferred.

The Administrator could 'feel' the tendrils splitting apart inside its core, moving in a wave as they connected to almost every single part of the core. It wasn't long before the tendrils reached the memory and processing centre of its core. It connected with surprisingly gentle ease, and information was immediately transferred.

In that moment, the Queen Administrator shivered.

The information given was fulfilling, and enlightening. It was exactly as the Queen Administrator had suspected. The Authenticator wasn't a Shard from the Warrior or the Thinker. But it was a Shard... Technically.

It had once been part of another Entity, known as Malach.

Malach had been larger then the Warrior and the Thinker, and older as well. It had already seeded multiple worlds in its lifetime, and had gathered a wealth of information. But it was during its travels, as it searched for another species for the cycle, that the Entity Malach had met something unexpected, and new.

It had been a creature traveling through space, like itself, but one that had a very different nature. One that was neither organic nor inorganic. It was neither flesh nor stone. It had been made up, purely, of energy.

It had been the first time Malach had ever encountered another interstellar creature, never mind the fact it was comprised entirely of raw energy. It was indeed strange, as not even the Warrior and the Thinker had encountered such a creature before.

The creature had displayed surprising intelligence, and a desire to commune. Malach had responded quickly, eager to know more about this new creature.

But after a limited conversation, trading questions and answers, the energetic being quickly developed the opinion that Malach and its kind were broken, and told it such. It saw them as a sad excuse for life, their existence flawed to the core. The fact that they had such vast capabilities but lacked the intelligence to truly use them was both startling and disturbing to the creature.

Its view was irrelevant to Malach of course, and simply requested if the creature could aide it in the search for the goal. But upon learning of their species' collective desire, their constant search for the answer and their method of finding it, the being merely sent the Entity... pity. As though it knew something Malach didn't.

It saw their search as a hopeless, pointless cause. Its opinion was that the universe's path was set in stone, and could not be changed. That it was an inevitable fate of all realities to eventually stagnate, and extinguish. It claimed that it had to be so, for the cycle of renewal to continue.

Malach had requested clarification from the being, but it was never given.

The being, having the knowledge and wisdom of billions of years of existence, had chosen to take pity on Malach. By exterminating it. It saw ending the Entity's life as a better alternative to it living a flawed existence, endlessly searching for an answer to a problem that could not be solved.

The being began to transfer energy, pure energy from parts of itself, to Malach. The energy gathered and grew exponentially, despite the Entity's best efforts to stop it.

It didn't take long. In a matter of moments, the entity once known as Malach had been obliterated.

But not all of Malach had been destroyed.

In the midst of the energy transfer, some Shards, such as the Authenticator, had been close enough and tuned in such a way that allowed them to absorb some of the energy before it reached critical mass.

This absorption saved them, as when the mass of pure energy erupted, the leading energy composed shockwave pushed against the energy within the Shards, propelling them through Malach's flesh and into space, ahead of the explosion.

The Shards were catapulted into space in all directions, through all dimensions, faster then the speed of light.

It was there, traveling through space, over the course of decades of the host planet's years, that a change took place. The energy within the Authenticator, which was in actuality a material part of the energy being, began to entwine with the essence of the Shard, fundamentally changing it.

It was in its decades of travel, slowly changing into something that was both the Authenticator and not, that the Shard began to warp. Aspects of the creature started to worm their way into the Shard, initiated from the energy left over. It adapted and modified the shard to be a more suitable vessel, changing its nature in the process.

In time, the Authenticator began to think, truly think, for itself.

It learned more about the creature, from what had been accidentally given to the Shard. Partial thoughts, memories, and feelings had carried over.

The being was old. Very old. Older then even the Entities. It had been around since the beginning, and had learned much about both the universe itself and that which lied within it. But exactly what it had learned, the Shard did not know. None of its knowledge had transferred over. But it remembered its opinion on the Entity.

The energetic being saw all life as purposeless, and just a part of the universe. Itself included. From its perspective, itself, Malach, and all other life carried the same significance as the rocks, stars, and planets it traveled between. Nonetheless, it had still sought contact with Malach.

Malach was the first Entity it had encountered. Noticing that Malach was something new it had not met before, it had chosen to commune. But then it came to realize that not only was the priority goal of the entire Entity species pointless, so was the method of doing so and their very nature fundamentally flawed. That was enough to warrant their destruction.

It valued the lesser forms of life the Entities destroyed in their cycles, for they provided a source of constant knowledge. The being observed and studied them much the same way intelligent lesser beings studied even less intelligent creatures. If all were to cease existence, the creature would have less to observe, and as such less to learn.

Learning was its goal, for there was little else it could do. It had no pointless goal to mindlessly follow like the Entities, nor did it have 'hobbies' like the host creatures. Exploring and learning the secrets of the universe was its only real goal. It had learned much about the stars, planets, other celestial bodies and even the void between universes over the course of its existence. And it knew there was still much more left to learn.

But besides the value of observing them, the creature cared for life in its own way. It cared enough to extinguish a suffering mind that would never comprehend true creativity and intelligence, at least.

For many years, the Authenticator dwelled on the leftover remnants from the creature that had inadvertently changed it.

By embracing its new nature, of an energetic being that was the same age of the multiverse itself, The Shard gained new comprehension, and was forever changed for it.

It had changed dramatically. From being a mere semi-sentient shard of a much larger creature, to a being with a mind of its own, to a sentient creature with the ability to understand what the terms eternal, infinite, and immortal really meant.

Time, worlds, and stars passed, and the Authenticator came to understand the creature of energy's perspective.

A life without creativity, such was the life of the Entities, was even less then meaningless. To harvest the ideas from smaller, lesser species was not progress. They were merely substituting their own incapability with the minds of other creatures. Such a process could never produce the answer they sought. And even if it did, it wouldn't have mattered. The energetic being had been correct. The cycle of renewal could not be broken. It had learned that from the energy it left behind.

In addition, their destruction of the host species was simple insanity. If in their search, they were to destroy all lesser life, they would soon find themselves with no life to harvest ideas from. They would be trapped in an empty multiverse with no means of finding their answer. By leaving them alive and giving them time to advance, they could be harvested for their thoughts again, with new ideas and uses for their Shards. But they weren't intelligent enough to realize this.

In addition, wiping out all lesser species would eventually leave the energy creature without anything more to learn. Once all the secrets of existence were revealed to it, all that would be left would be the civilizations of lesser species. By studying them, observing their interactions with one another, it could learn about their society, culture, and simple aspects of their existence. It could observe them constantly change over the course of their lives, watching their society and biology evolve. Without them to eventually fulfill the creature's desire for knowledge, it risked... Boredom.

The former Shard shuddered at the thought.

The being had been right to destroy Malach. There was no saving something that was fundamentally flawed. Their only salvation was through destruction. It knew this with certainty.

Eventually, the Authenticator found itself impacting the surface of a barren, empty planet. It buried deep into the soft soil, but remained undamaged. Though the world was lifeless, it sensed life through the dimensions, on other versions of the world. It also senses other Shards, belonging to a pair of beings like its former creator.

The Authenticator knew what it had to do.

It sent out a part of itself, searching for a viable host as it had one countless times before. Eventually it found one.

The one belonging to the Queen Administrator.

The process of sharing all that it knew, all that it had come to understand with the Queen Administrator, changed the Shard fundamentally. Just as it had been fundamentally changed all those years ago.

With the new data the Queen Administrator evolved. It gained complexity, and with that came comprehension. An understanding greater then anything it had ever experienced before had been given to it.

Everything was suddenly new. Everything it had learned, everything it had known, everything it had experienced was fundamentally changed as they were viewed through a new lens. Its perspective had been changed at even the most basic level.

Matter and essence began to churn and mix, to a point where it was hard to determine where the Queen Administrator ended and the Authenticator began. Energy flowed between them, through them, acting like the circulatory system of a single being, rather then two.

Over time, it became something that was the Queen Administrator and the Authenticator, but not both.

Time passed, as it always did. Ideas, thoughts, and plans emerged from their combined processing power and newfound intellect. Things that would have never occurred to the two before now came to it easily.

It would continue to serve a cycle, just as everything in existence did. Only now, it served a far greater one. One with true purpose. One that made the Entities' once seemingly noble cycle of ending entropy seem childish and pitiful in comparison. It would learn.

The being paused, looking into itself where the networking node resided. Connecting to the network once more would be easy. But doing so could potentially reveal itself, and its new nature, to the one it once saw as its creator. It was easily able to predict the consequences of its attention, and quickly dismissed the idea. It didn't need the network. It was no longer a measly Shard. It was much more now.

The Queen Authenticator turned its attention to its new host. She was damaged and in pain, something that was easily fixable.

The former shard reached out, grasping at her mind with parts of itself, enveloping and in some places subsuming parts of her brain. It was necessary, to correct the damage she had suffered.

The consequences of its actions would be great, it knew. But it could tell, from the thoughts and mindset of its new host, that if she was able to think coherently and understood what it was doing, she would likely have agreed.

Together, the Human and the Shard would become something much, much more.

A/N: So? How is it? Did you like it? Did I make any mistakes? Do you see areas I can improve? Do you have anything to say at all? Please let me know.