I don't own Final Space.

"What was your sister like?"

A rather alarming question from Quinn, or as Ash refers to her in private, 'Not Nightfall'. Losing the person she could have called mother after her adoptive father had betrayed them had hurt her almost as much as the day she'd lost Harp. Now they were all trapped in Final Space. And yet Quinn brings up that single question...

"I don't want to talk about it," Ash mutters. It takes a lot of strength to curb her anger from such a sensitive topic being brought up so casually. Quinn didn't know all the details of what had happened, and Ash understood that.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Quinn's tone drops a bit in concern.

"I didn't intend to be insensitive. I asked because I have a sister, too, and I'm not sure if she's alive or not. I haven't seen her in years, and now that the Earth is gone, and I'm here..."

"Oh..." Ash hugs a pillow to her chest, considering this.

"...Were you on bad terms with her?" Quinn asks.

"No," the Serepentian girl replies, curling a lock of pink hair around her finger, "I loved her so much. I loved her more than anything."

"Hm..." Quinn hums to herself. "I get that. I used to believe my sister was one of the only people I could trust."

"Harp was the only person I could trust," Ash murmurs, "on Serepentis, that is..."

Serepentis, fourteen years ago

A three year old Ash and her father- her biological father- were waiting in a hospital room. She knew her mother was expecting, but it came as a surprise when her mother had gone into labor the day after her birthday.

Other children in the waiting room take notice of Ash and nervously scoot away. Ash always got looks for only having one eye- her left. The right side of her face was only a blank stretch of skin. Most people called her a 'bad omen'. Yet, her parents still believed she was destined for something great one day. Ash covers the right side of her face with her hair in embarrassment and shame as other Serepentians, both adult and child alike, continue to steer away from her and stare.

The awkwardness lasted for a while until a crazy looking doctor with disheveled hair emerges from the doorway, calling for the Gravens as their baby had been born.

Ash peers at her new little sister, crying, swaddled up in faux snake skin looking material with a wide eye. "Of course she has two eyes," Ash mused in mild disappointment, but excitement sparked in her heart. She was a big sister now.

"Ash, this is your younger sister, Harp Graven," her mother states as the doctor gently hands her the baby.

"Together, you are children of Werthrent."

Harp stops crying when Ash holds her, opening her eyes and gazing up at her older sister.

There was no going back.

Serepentis, ten years ago

The night was cold and stormy. Thunder seemed to shake the houses and rattle the furniture.

A tiny Serepentian with short lavender hair toddles through the halls, dragging a chartreuse blanket behind her, a bizarre makeshift pink toy snake clutched in her other arm, leaving a small trail of sand that it was haphazardly stuffed with.

"Ashy, Ashy, Ashy..." she sings quietly to herself, searching fervently for the bedroom of the certain person in question, her breath slightly ragged from her own panic. She checks behind her as if expecting something to be chasing her, and jumps and cowers in fear as the thunder rumbles loudly outside. Despite her own terror, she keeps running, finding her sister's door, knowing it by the many rather unappealing (in her opinion) stickers decorating it. She gets on tiptoes to reach the little knob and opens the door.

"Ashy?" she calls weakly.

Ash was snoring in her bed. Harp tosses her crude little snake plush onto her head, which promptly wakes her up.

"Hhh... what? What is this?" Ash groggily picks up the toy.

"Oh," she chuckles to herself, "I made this for..."

Her single eye drifts over to the direction of her little sister, standing and watching her and heavily breathing.

"Gah! Harp!" She nearly tumbles out of her own bed in surprise, "what are you doing?"

"I, um... I had a nightmare," Harp hides her mouth and nose with her blanket, "I want to sleep with you tonight."

Ash blinks, sitting up for a moment. Smiling warmly, she shuffles to one side of her bed, patting the other side for Harp to come in, and places the toy snake beside her, where it would be between them. Harp smiles back as she crawls into the bed with her blanket. She and Ash face each other.

"What was your nightmare about?" Ash asks softly.

"Mmm... a snake grew arms and legs and tap danced," Harp lies, making that up on the spot.

Ash giggles a little.

"Sweet Sentella, yuck! Sounds a little cute from the way you describe it, but I don't think I would like that either, had I seen it. No tap dancing snakes with limbs are gonna get you, though, I'm here."

She closes her eye.

"G'night, Harp."

"Good night, Ashy."

Harp picks up her toy snake, resting it on her chest as she stares at it, little face crinkling in mild disdain.

Ash didn't need to know how gruesomely Werthrent had eaten her in her dream. At least it was only a dream.

She puts the toy aside, wrapping her arms around her big sister in almost a protective sort of hug. Ash hugs back.

Serepentis, nine years ago

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Ash growls, blocking Harp from passing by her. Harp curiously peeks over her sister's arm at their opponents: the neighbor boys. They back up, away from the sisters slowly.

"You think you can just try to attack my sister like that? What is wrong with you!?"

"No! We were just-" the older of the two covers the smaller one's mouth.

"I heard you two are probably just gonna be Surrendered someday anyway. Thought we'd spare ya from that."

"What are you talking about!? You think hurting her will 'spare' her? Being Surrendered is beautiful! "

"That's just what they tell you, one-eyed fre-" the boy is punched square in the jaw by Ash, a cracking sound was heard. The brothers retreat, the elder screeching in pain.

"Ashy?" Harp asks, on the verge of tears. Ash picks Harp up and embraces her.

"It's okay. I'll never let anyone hurt you."

Ash was grounded afterwards for breaking the neighbor's jaw, but it was worth it to her. He never came near her or Harp again.

Serepentis, nine years ago

"Hey, Harp," Ash glances toward her sister as they were walking through the market one day, "when you get older, what do you want to do?"

"I want to..." Harp gains a faraway look in her eyes.

"I want to... fly away! On a spaceship. And see what other planets are like. I want to see a star close up and experience new things! Maybe a cereal that doesn't make my kidneys explode, even though that's pretty fun."

"Oh, so like, an astronaut?" Ash smirks, "You'll be a great astronaut when you grow up, Harp! I can see the future!" She flourishes, striking a pose.

"What!? Hooray! I can't wait-"

Their conversation is interrupted when they stumble into a Thimbles game and immediately demand to join in.

Serepentis, eight years ago

Harp watches in wonder as Ash ties her hair up into a ponytail, showing her lack of a right eye.

"Ash, you look so pretty!"

"Thank you, Harp," Ash replies halfheartedly, dragging a lock back over her face to re-conceal the abnormality.

"You shouldn't hide it," Harp pouts, "I think you look beautiful. You don't need a right eye. You're perfect just the way you are."

Ash blushes

"Not everyone thinks that way, Harpsy."

"Everyone else sucks!" Harp exclaims, brushing Ash's hair out of her face.

"I wish you were proud of yourself the way I am proud of you... Mom and Dad say we're both destined for wonderful things. It doesn't matter how many eyes you have to be wonderful."

Ash squeezes Harp.

"Aww, hey! I'm proud of myself! And I'm proud of you, too. I love you, Harp." She crunches on a bowl of snake flakes beside her. Harp instantly understands why she tied back her hair, scooping up some for herself.

In almost an instant, their eyes start leaking dark green blood from consumption of snake flakes. They high five, laughing.

"Haha! Cool!"

Serepentis, eight years ago

"What's wrong, sis? Didn't you get what you wanted?"

Ash suddenly being so close caused Harp to jump in surprise. She clutches the fancy doll close in her hands, not wanting it to get dirty after just recieving it.

"Don't scare me like that," Harp briefly scolds, but looks back down at the doll in worry. Ash sits down beside her, smiling when the shorter figure leans against her.

"Sorry. But you seem sad. Are you okay? I know yesterday was my birthday, but it doesn't mean yours is-"

"It's not that," Harp interjects.

"Then, what?"

"...I kind of wanted to get a doll from you, too. The ones you used to make for me?"

Ash stops a moment. She tries to stifle a surprised laugh.

"What? They were made from, like, hair, or plants, or weird old garbage I found in a drainage pipe at 3 AM! You couldn't have possibly liked those."

"But I did," Harp murmurs.

"They were my pieces of you. You loved making them, and I loved getting them, because they were just... you, you know? I still have each and every one you made."

Ash is quiet for a minute.

"Then I'll make you one."

"You will?" Harp jumps up and down in excitement, her pupils dilating and twinkling.

"I'll make you the biggest, ugliest doll ever! It'll be my best work!"

"Yay! I love when they're ugly!" Harp squeals, hugging Ash.

"Thank you thank you thank you! We can look for materials to make him in the sewer!"

"Yeah!":

The two girls skip away cheerfully, holding hands, as two bystanders observe, having overheard their entire conversation.

"What the fu-" One of them is swallowed by an eel-looking snake before their sentence could be finished. The other just runs.

Serepentis, seven years ago

"Getting Surrendered is beautiful. The biggest honor you will ever know. You will be rewarded with eternal happiness," their father told them as they went to bed that night. In three days, on the night of Ash's birthday and the eve of Harp's, they would be Surrendered to Werthrent.

"Happy early birthday, you two. You have both been chosen."

Harp sat in Ash's room before going to her own. She seemed... concerned.

"What's wrong? This is like, all anyone has ever dreamed of," Ash sits beside her.

"I don't want to say goodbye to everything I know. I know I want to leave Serepentis someday, but I do want to come back... no one tells us exactly what's going to happen, or what we were chosen for? Doesn't that feel a little... scary?"

"The unknown might be fun! Besides, we're both going to go there. Together, you and me, forever."

Harp smiles.

"Right. I'll be okay as long as I'm with you."

Blissful naïvete...

Serepentis, seven years ago

That Day

"We are here today, to Surrender two very lucky young ladies, Children of Werthrent, ten year old Ash Graven, and seven year old Harp Graven."

The guards in dark robes applaud for the girls. They look at each other eagerly, holding hands.

"Thank you for everything you did to get us here," Ash nudges her father.

"Don't thank us. Thank Werthrent."

"Mom? Dad?' Harp turns around, her worries still lingering in her mind.

"Yes, sweetheart?" asks their mother.

"What were we chosen for?"

"Oh, glorious things," their father replies.

"Your blood will erase the darkness."

It dawns on Ash that there was something very wrong with that sentence. She recalls what the neighbor boys had said.

"Wait... what?!"

Ash is forced to watch as her little sister is ripped away from her for the first and final time. The guards took her. They threw her down on the steps leading to Werthrent's dwelling. The snake emerges, jaws opening wide.

Harp freezes in silent fear as the horrible nightmare she had became a reality. But Ash was not the victim. The victim was her. Ash was calling her name and for her to run, but she couldn't run. Her eyes were locked onto the snake before her, and she averted them in terror, and found herself trapped in a blaze of fire, a whirlwind of burning flame. She screamed for Ash where no one would hear her.

And then Ash snapped.

Serepentis, moments later

Harp was thrown back onto the ground, and found herself unscathed, but in an unfamiliar place. The little girl stands up, dusting herself off, only for tattered people to start grabbing at her clothes, begging for death. She shrieks in horror, shoving and kicking them away. This truly wasn't what they told her it would be. She had a feeling that was the case, but nothing as horrible as this. Would they be sending Ash, too? She both hoped and hoped not. She would never wish this upon her sister. Minutes pass. Perhaps Ash had escaped...?

Harp sits against the walls of this hellish dimension, a lost and lonely little girl.

She coughs into her hand, and there was blood. She felt weaker by the minute.

"She's gone. She's gone. Gone. Gone."

Serepentis, the Great Surrender

"Harp! Harp, it's me..." Ash grabs Harp's face. The inside of Werthrent is lit with flames. The keeper of the heart is crying out. It's falling apart. Salvation? But...

Why was she here!? Why did she come back?! To put herself here?!

Harp would have liked to say so many things if the years spent here hadn't rotted most of her brain and teeth.

"Go!" Harp screeches aggressively.

"She's gone! Gone gone! Go!"

"I came here for you-"

"Go!"

The friend of her sister approaches. He looks like a kitty. Harp knew if she were truly alive, she would want to hug him. He says Harp is no longer a person. Harp cannot say it, but she agrees.

Ash doesn't want to leave her again. But the flames are approaching Harp.

She reaches out, one last time, hoping her message delivers. The flames warp and distort her voice as they swallow her.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!"

The last thing she sees is her sister crying and her friend pulling her away, to the portal, to their freedom.

The world is silent. It finally stops hurting. There is an overwhelming sense of peace in Harp. After seven long, painful years, it was done. She was dead, and so was Werthrent.

They're all free. Or at least, they should be. Harp thinks about Ash as she crosses to the afterlife with all of the other souls Werthrent had drained.

Final Space, present day

"Wow... I'm so sorry that happened," Quinn stutters, "I didn't know."

"It's all right. It feels like a good release, to tell someone... let someone know Harp, too. She was... amazing. I felt so lucky having her in my life," Ash smiles fondly, though there was pain in her eye.

"I would have liked to meet her."

"I think she would have liked to meet everyone here, too."

Somewhere, The Sixth Key

Nightfall opens her eyes to find herself in a blank expanse of white.

A familiar blond haired man awaits her. By his side is a young Serepentian girl with short lavender hair.

Her Gary. And Harp.

She embraces her Gary, peppering him with kisses, and takes note of the little girl.

"You're... Ash's sister."

Harp nods.

"Thank you. For taking care of her."

I'm Harp, by the way."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Harp."

"Do you think Ash will be okay?"

"She's going to be amazing out there. I know she will."

Nightfall smiles, taking both of their hands. The three of them walk the path where light is shining at the end.

thanks for reading!