Here's a very long and convoluted story about what happened when I moved out of Athens and tried to make friends in a new county. It's really long.
*
When you're a mom, it seems like you'd have a lot in common with other moms. You're both exhausted. You both can change a diaper while eating a hamburger while making a doctor's appointment while driving a car. She has spit-up on her shoulder? Yeah, well you have Goldfish in your hair.
But it's surprisingly hard to make mom friends. Go to any park or playground, and you'll see lots of Lone Moms dotting the landscape, swiping at their smartphones while their children play. I don't know why this is, but it's always kind of bothered me.
Raising children can be a terribly isolating endeavor. You are busy, but also bored, since most of the tasks required of you are mundane, repetitive ones like loading the dishwasher, cooking food, and extinguishing the dog. You are surrounded by people all day, but these people are mostly pre-verbal, so you end up feeling lonely a lot of the time. I would think that moms would flock to each other like toddlers flock to the one thing in the house their parents forgot to baby-proof. But no. It turns out that most moms don't mix.
When I lived in Athens, GA, it wasn't so hard. I'd figured it out. I'd spy a mom fiddling with her Maya baby wrap next to the sensory play area, sidle up to her, and hit her with my opening conversational gambit: "What's your position on ancient grains?" And thus would begin a heartfelt conversation about Quinoa and Amaranth and what cereals they prefer. But I didn't really care what we were talking about. I just cared that we were talking.
So I was anxious when I moved out of Athens to the tiny town of High Shoals. It's just over the border from Oconee County, and most moms in Oconee County don't talk about ancient grains. They talk about things I don't have any experience with and thus can't comment on, like who is their favorite area aesthetician. (The last time I had anything resembling a facial was when I fell asleep in the middle of feeding the dogs and woke up with one of them licking my face).
Oconee moms talk about where they're spending their family's spring break ("not Destin"), and how Grayson was just robbed at the regional gymnastics finals. Oconee County is very affluent, and very conservative. You still can't get a beer there on Sundays, but at least the Zaxby's drive-through stays open til 10 pm.
Nonetheless, I resolved to try to make new mom friends. I practiced smiling in the mirror and repeating "What's your home church?" (my new conversation starter) until there was only a hint of crazy-eye brought on by sleep deprivation. I worked on not making sweeping generalizations about people based on what county they live in. I reminded myself to brush my teeth and my hair every morning, instead of on alternating days like I usually do. Finally, shortly after Christmas, I was ready to go.
Now, at the same time all of this introspection about friend-making was going on, my oldest girl asked me for a puppy. I told her no and she went away. Then two days later she came back with a compromise: "How about a rat?"
Probably most folks consider "provide a rat-free environment for your children to live in" to be up there with other parenting dictates like "don't feed your baby Jagermeister." These are rules that are so obvious that they don't even bear mentioning. But when Sadie asked for a rat, I thought back to what happened when my teenaged self and friends watched the punk-rock adolescent classic "Suburbia."
Inspired by a character who had a tame rat as a pet, several of my friends rushed out and secured rats for themselves. They would carry them around in the pockets of their leather jackets when they went to the mall to ask an adult to buy clove cigarettes for them. These rats, I remembered, were well-mannered, good-natured varmints.
A quick look on the web confirmed my memories. Rats, the internet assured me, are smart, and social. They are friendly, and loyal, and can be trained to learn their names and do tricks. If you aren't squicked out by the naked, scaly tail, the bulging genitalia, the beady eyes and twitching whiskers, and the general association of rats with things like plague and death, a rat might be just the thing for you.
My husband was not enthusiastic about this plan, mainly because one of his morning rituals is going out to check the trap in our chicken coop to see what predator was snared overnight. Sometimes he'll come in in the morning with a possum in the trap, or even a black snake. But usually, it's a rat.
"Robin," he said, trying to sound reasonable, "Please don't go out and voluntarily purchase more vermin. We have plenty of rats right here." He pointed at the hissing, red-eyed rodent trying to gnaw its way out of the cage he'd just carried in from the coop.
"Yeah, but those rats are different," I said, hoping he wouldn't ask me why.
"Why?" he said. "It's exactly the same thing. It's a rat."
"Well..." I said, trying to stall. "Not really. See, this is an outdoor rat. We're getting an indoor one. Plus, these rats are free. The rat I'm going to get costs $18."

My husband loves me, and he loves Sadie. But mainly, he's tired. And so eventually Sadie got her rat. Honey lived happily in Sadie's room in his 3-tiered Rat Palace, and every day I would take time out from soothing the infant and wrestling with the 3-year-old to play with the rat, something the pet store warned I had to do if I wanted to socialize him. 

"Time to coddle the rat," I'd announce to the children, disappearing up the stairs to Sadie's room. I'd take Honey out of his cage and scratch his neck and ears. I'd hold him in my palm and encourage him to climb up my arm to my shoulder. I'd turn on Sadie's radio and the two of us would listen to Katy Perry together.
Eventually, as Honey grew, I started taking him downstairs on brief field trips. I'd put him in the sleeve of my sweater, down by my wrist. If I kept my arm bent he would rest there contentedly, and eventually I would become embroiled in making baby food or putting away toys and would completely forget that I had a rather large rat in my sleeve.
One afternoon in January, Sadie suggested that we visit a park in Oconee County. We got ourselves ready and, as we were heading out the door, Sadie stopped and said, "Hey, why don't we bring Honey?" I agreed and so Sadie cleaned out one of her purses and stuffed Honey inside.
When we got to the park, I decided it would not be safe for Sadie to run around on the playground with a bag full of rat (I do have some standards), so I offered to put Honey in my sleeve. She handed over the rat, which settled in the sleeve of my v-neck sweater, and ran off to play.
At first, we were alone on the playground. But after a while a mini-van pulled into the parking lot and a mom and her daughter climbed out. The daughter was the same age as Sadie, and they began enthusiastically playing together as soon as the girl hit the playground. I stood on the other side of the jungle gym from the other mom, wishing I had some of my daughter's friend-making mojo.
Then I remembered my resolution. "This could be it," I realized, watching the other mom through the slats in the climbing structure. "This could be my new mom friend."
I remembered that if I wanted to enlarge my social circle and meet people in this new town, I'd have to invest some energy and take some risks. I remembered what I had told myself about being friendly and open and willing to meet someone where they are. I remembered all of those things. Sadly, I forgot that I had a rat in my sleeve.
I circled around the jungle gym closer to the other mom, trying to make it look like I was moving just to get a better view of my kid. When I was close enough to her to not have to yell, I gave her a big, friendly smile, and said "Our kids seem to enjoy playing together."
"They sure do!" said the other mom, brightly. She smiled, too, and the conversation with my first Oconee County mom was launched.
"How old is she? Oh, mine too! What school does she go to? Does she like it? Yes, we do live close by. We just moved. You grew up here? Seems like a nice place."
Outside, I was engaging in normal-sounding small talk. But inside, I was rejoicing. "I'm doing it!" I thought. "I'm having a normal conversation with another adult! I'm not crying, or babbling, or forgetting where in the sentence I am! I'm just a few more comments away from suggesting our kids meet up at the library some time, and when I do that, she'll say sure, and she'll have to come to the library, too, since her kid is only six and can't drive, and then we'll see each other again and then Bam! Mom friends! Yahoo!"
I decided to close the deal. I said, as casually as possible, "It's great that our kids are having so much fun together. Do you guys ever do any of the afternoon art things at the library?"
The other mom smiled and said, "Yes, we...do. We do go there sometimes."
"Great!" I said.
But things were not great.
Something had happened in between my question about the library and her response. I didn't know what it was, exactly, but I could sense it. The other mom was still smiling, still making eye-contact with me. But something had changed.
I replayed the conversation in my head. The slight pause in her answer to my question about the library. "Yes, we...do." Her eyes had flicked away from my face and down to my chest for a split second -- just a momentary glance -- before meeting mine again. I'd seen her do it but had thought nothing of it, because she'd looked back at me and finished answering.
And she was still looking at me, her face absolutely calm and straight and normal. Nothing bad was happening. She was still standing there, probably waiting for me to suggest a meeting. So what was the problem?
As surreptitiously as possible (which was not at all, since she was standing 2 feet away from me, watching my face) I dropped my own eyes down to my chest. And then I understood.
Honey, the rat who was so at home in my sweater sleeve that I often forgot he was there, had crawled up my sleeve and around to the front, and was now poking his head out of the point in the "v" of my v-neck sweater.
Looking at it from my perspective, I'm just a mom who is trying to make a new friend and who also happens to have a rat crawling around in her sweater. What's the big deal? But from her perspective?
I can hear her standing in her kitchen, staring into a big glass of red wine and telling it to her husband. "A woman tried to talk to me at the park today, but there was a rat in her sweater, so..."
I looked up from the trembling pink nose and sharp eyes of the rodent poking out of my cleavage and into the face of the woman I was never, ever going to be friends with. I had absolutely no idea what etiquette was called for in this situation. Should I acknowledge what was happening with a breezy "oh, ha, don't worry, he's tame"?
Or should I feign surprise, and act as shocked as she? "Oh my gosh," I could shriek, batting at my sweater, "How did that get in there?" Was it worse to be the kind of person who puts vermin in her sweater on purpose? Or the kind who gets fully dressed without realizing there's a rat loose in her clothing? I couldn't decide.
Because this is the South -- the place where one's darkest character failings are met with a sweet "bless your heart!" -- the other mom didn't do what some other moms might have done (e.g., pepper spray me while calling Child Protective Services). Instead, she decided to do the polite thing, and pretend that our casual conversation hadn't just been interrupted by the appearance of a clothing rodent.
She stood there, her serene expression belying the tsunami of WTF? probably roiling in her head, and exchanged a few more banal pleasantries with me. Taking my cue from her, I also tried to ignore the rat, who had crawled down to the waist of my sweater and now nestled there like a distended appendix.
"Well," I said finally, "I guess we'd better get on home." All the other things I wanted to say -- "Maybe we'll see each other again!" "It was great talking to you!" -- felt like chalk in my mouth as I walked with my daughter to the mini-van.
"That girl was really nice!" said Sadie, climbing in her booster seat. "Maybe we could meet her here again."
"Maybe so," I said, reaching under my sweater and extracting Honey. He thrashed and twisted as I inserted him into the purse Sadie had brought along.
"We could play with Honey, maybe," Sadie said as I started the van. "Do you think she likes rats too?"
"I don't know, Bean," I sighed. Should I tell her that, no, she probably doesn't like rats very much at all. Should I tell her that if she wants to be accepted in her new town, she needs to lose the rat and turn her face to more normal little-girl pursuits, like weaving bracelets out those damn rubber band circles? Should I tell her that the weird things she loves are the very same things that will make her lonely? The way her mom sometimes is?
"I don't know," I said again. "But I'll tell you what. If you find a person who likes both you and your rat, you snag 'em, OK? That's when you know you've found a friend." I pulled the car out of the lot and drove myself, my daughter, and our pet rat back home.

/uw TLDR: A bunch of Cocos from alternate timelines and dimensions fall through a rift and land in this current world. They all have slightly different personalities and hobbies, and go their own separate ways. All of their stories are told on this account, while the original Coco's story remains on the main account. /rw
“And… hah… why are we hiking up a mountain for this?”
“Because his ability will affect basically anything near him. Out here, his powers won’t bring about too much chaos… Thank you for bringing those fruits here, Coco. It means a lot.”
The two women, dressed in black and white, stood out like a sore thumb amidst the greens and browns of the forest leading up the mountain. Coco trailed behind Alentu as they ventured higher, her exhaustion quite apparent compared to the latter’s calm and collected steps. Though their physical capabilities seemed miles apart and their gaits completely unalike, there was an invisible harmony to their movement. This ironic harmony extended to their clothing, their outfit and hair colors the exact inverse of each other. In Coco's hand was a basket of various fruits, freshly picked to be delivered to a certain someone.
Today was an unfortunate day for the Ventures. One where each would 'pay the price' for their position in the family. All except Alentu, who took it upon herself to look after her family at their weakest and most vulnerable. She had, by chance, also ran into Coco that day, who she had forged an unexpected bond with, one almost unimaginable to anyone who knew her well. They agreed to meet at the outskirts of the forest to bring some goods to Error, who had isolated himself in a cave atop one of the mountains within the grove.
It was late afternoon, and they were now halfway to the peak where the cave resided. They had walked uphill for well over an hour, and the incline only grew steeper. To try and ignore the numbness of her feet, Coco tried to strike up a conversation.
Coco: "So Alentu, do you... T-think they'll... accept us together?"
Alentu: "Accept?" She giggled. "I was the head of the Venture family long before many of the rules were in place, so you have nothing to worry about. You won't go forgetting about me anytime soon, even if you don't officially marry into the family. And after today, you'll see why I don't want you becoming a Venture, for your own sake."
Coco: "Ah, yeah... I-I was more meaning, like... Would your family... Like me?"
Alentu: "Hmm... It'd be hard to tell without you talking with them one on one. But if we're talking about Error, you've got nothing to worry about, Coco. He certainly isn't as scary as he looks, even today!"
Coco: "R-right. Well that's good... To be honest, I have been a bit nervous about it all... Not just meeting your family, but telling them we're p-"
Alentu: ahem "M-maybe not that part yet... One thing at a time... Let's just focus on first impressions and making sure he's doing alright, okay?"
Coco: "Oh, sure- HUH?"
Coco's exclamation made them both stop in their tracks. Alentu turned her head quickly, but Coco's finger pointed her gaze ahead of them to a nearby waterfall, or what would be one, if it hadn't been flowing up into the sky. That wasn't all. Loose rocks and trees floated around the mountain's peak, birds flew through the air backwards, and the stone faces of the mountain were jagged and blurry. It was as if they had walked into an unstable simulation of reality. Coco stood in shock as she tried to comprehend what she was looking at, but a tap on her shoulder brought her attention back. Alentu signaled to keep walking and stay cautious, taking her hand and leading her through the lawless, almost artificial world they had entered.
As they neared the peak, the anomalous sights grew more and more common, and the terrain more and more hazardous. They carefully climbed the last incline, and atop the mountain awaited a beautiful mess of nature. A sea of flowers and grass covered the ground, the variety of which was exotic and almost timeless. The local flora was still intact, but among it grew untamed vines, metallic displays that mimicked plants, and all kinds of life that had never once grown in that area. There were also several shrines in the area, each having the same features, colors and style, but of completely different makes and materials.
Coco: "What the... I-is this what Error is capable of? Holy shit..."
Alentu: "Yes... It's just as bad with everyone else... Having such little control over such strong powers... It's why today's so important for me. I have to protect everyone..."
Coco: "Alentu... I-I'm so lost in what... What this is. Everything feels so... broken..."
Alentu: "...We should head into the cave. Watch your step, and whatever you do, do NOT go near any smoke. Understand?"
Coco: "I do..."
Alentu wrapped her arm around Coco and helped her across the dense foliage. They soon reached the cave, and in it layed a blurry mess of static and black smoke. Heeding the warning, Coco kept her distance, averting her gaze from the eyesore within, while Alentu called out into the darkness.
Alentu: "Error? Are you okay?"
Error: Am I...
Alentu: "Error! What's wrong?"
Error: Am I so hideous you have to look away!?
Alentu: "...Seriously?"
Error: "Sorry, sorry! He laughed. Just wanted to lighten the mood. You've had a busy day, haven't you Alentu? Oh... And who's this you've brought with you? Do ya live around these parts? Sorry about the mess, everything will be back to normal by midnight! Well, probably..."
Coco: "O-oh, I don't... I-I came here with Alentu to bring you some food. S-she's my... My..."
Alentu: "Coco's my wife."
Error: "Oh, I see! Wait... WHAT? You? Wife? After all this time?? Oh, I see! Getting me back for my joke-"
Alentu: "I'm not joking. It won't be official, but... We both found it in our hearts to share our love with another."
Coco blushed from the sudden introduction, having never heard her say those words in public, and while Alentu had a confident demeanor and tone, even she looked a bit anxious. The cave was silent apart from the crackling of the rifts forming in reality, as no one really knew what to say next. After a long pause, Error finally came to process what she had said.
Error: "I hope Conat's watching... I think he'd be happy knowing his wife found love again... As am I."
Alentu: "Thank you... I hope he is watching, too..."
Error: "Now, I would say celebrations are in order, but... Well, I'm sure you know why I can't hand ya a cold one. I am, however, very hungry, so let's have a little picnic, shall we? That'll give us the chance to get to know each other and such...
Coco: O-oh, s-sure! I'd be happy to!
Alentu: "But I really should... Ah, I've already checked up on the others at least once today... Alright, but I need to be back by evening, for everyone else's sake. Today's not a day I can slack off, you know."
Error: "You got it, ma'am! Nice and quick. Now, let's see if I can peel an orange or two without sending it to another dimension!" He chuckled lightheartedly.
Coco and Alentu took a seat at the entrance of the cave, sitting in a patch of stone untouched by the smoke. They unpacked their basket of fruit, dividing up the softer fruits between the two, while rolling the ones with peels to Error for him to reach himself. Most of the food he touched was whisked away through time and space, or replaced with another version too unripe or rotten to eat. He did, however, experience the opposite as well, having fresh fruit pop into his hands out of nothingness. It was at least enough to not go hungry for the remainder of his voluntary exile.
During their picnic, they chatted about how Coco and Alentu met, skipping over the more intimate details, and sharing stories from their life to break the ice. Everyone got along well, and though Error couldn't even be seen, it was clear he greatly valued the company. Sooner than anyone would've liked, the banter and fruits were no more, and the time to leave was upon them. The sun had fallen low enough to be visible from the cave, and the breeze began to pick up. Coco began to pack the leftover peels and stems back into the basket as Alentu stood up, walking into the sunlight as she stretched.
Alentu: "Ah~ Alright, it's best I head back now... I hope you don't get too cold when night comes, Error. It feels like it's gonna be a windy night..."
Error: "Oh, don't worry about me. Thank you for the food. Especially you, Coco, you don't know how happy I am to meet you!"
Coco: "Oh, you're fine! I share what I grow at home with everyone! It was nice to meet you, too!"
Error: "Pleasure is all mine... Damn, I can feel the breeze even in here... The breeze... THE BREEZE! GET OUT!"
Alentu's eyes widened, turning around and running towards the cave, reaching out for Coco.
Alentu: "COCO! RUN! The wind is gonna push the smoke into us!"
Coco looked in horror at the floor under her, their unaffected safe spot having shrunk to just the space she occupied. Black smoke began to blow around the cave, trapping her in a hazy web. She looked to Alentu, her eyes desperate and in disbelief as her heart sank. What would happen if she got touched? Would she disappear forever? Would she be thrown into another time and space with no way home? Would she be transformed beyond recognition? She screamed in terror and made a run for Alentu, ducking low and reaching out for her. Their hands stretched out for each other, but just as they almost touched, a veil of smoke covered her vision. The smoke had consumed her.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing on a bridge in an endless void. There was no land in sight whichever way she turned her head, and the sky was a starry night completely alien to her. Her fear made her too scared to open her mouth, let alone yell for help. She looked down, and saw her reflection rippling in the darkness... No, multiple reflections. The void became a sea of her form. Terrified, she stumbled back, but tripped over the rope suspending the bridge, causing her to fall in.
As she fell, she felt her body get caught up in a mass of limbs and hair. These body parts were connected to her reflections, and as one began to scream, the rest followed. They fell together for what felt like forever, but as Coco looked up, she saw the other countless reflections looking back at her, slowly fading from view. She closed her eyes, accepting what was likely her demise. Eventually, she hit the bottom, but instead of the cold impact of death, she fell into a warm embrace, and instead of falling straight down, she fell forwards.
Alentu: "Coco! Coco, are you o- AH!"
Coco's eyes jolted open, and before her was Alentu, holding her like she never wanted to let her go again. Their hug was tight, but behind her black hair, she saw the familiar sight of the corrupted mountaintop.
Coco: "A-Alentu... A-am I still here with you?"
Alentu: " Y-yes! T-thank god you're safe, if you had disappeared for good- I-" Alentu's eyes were teary, and her voice unusually shaky. "You only vanished for a second, but that was one of the scariest moments in my life... B-but now..."
Coco: "Alentu, I-I was so scared, I-I don't know what happened..."
Error: "That's a relief... It seems only your jacket was lost... but... Miss Coco... Please turn around."
As instructed, while still hugging Alentu, she turned her head to look behind her, and realized the nightmare she experienced really did happen. The reflections she saw were real. The bodies she got tangled up with were even more real, and they were all right behind her.
https://preview.redd.it/g7j91mvnas0d1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=2448c5e661a34adb003dfa39743f611ed0cfb6a9
One by one, her mirror images began to climb up from their dog pile. They were all as confused as she was, though they didn't seem to recognize where they were. Getting a good look at them, she could see that they were almost exactly alike, at least in terms of appearance. Once they all realized they were looking at replicas of each other, their panic ensued.
"W-what the fuck is this? God damnit, did I drink too much?"
"Ah- Mom? Where are you? Where did you go? W-why am I here?"
"Mimics? Damnit, what have I gotten myself into?"
While their appearances were quite similar, they all seemed to have slightly different personalities and reactions. Some were confrontational and agitated, some were lost and scared, and some were speechless, still trying to understand what happened. The original one stayed in Alentu's arms, holding her close as she watched the unbelievable scene unfold.
Error: "I see... It appears that when Coco contacted the smoke, she became a bridge to other versions of herself in different times and dimensions."
Alentu: "W-what... S-so, t-this Coco is fine, b-but all of these others have..."
Error: "Have been snatched away and thrown here, it seems. All from different times and dimensions..."
Alentu: "And these other Cocos... They can't go back, can they?"
Error: "Not by me. Safely, anyways..."
The crowd of altworlders began to yell and shout at the voice in the cave.
"What the hell? You brought us here, but you can't bring us back?"
"Shit! I have to get back home, now! I don't care if I need to give my soul to a chronomancer..."
"T-this is the future? O-Or the past? Or even a d-different dimension?? No, that can't be!"
Error: "Hey, wait a second! If a bunch of clones start running off on their own-"
"I'm not a god damn clone!"
One by one, they ran away, each resolved to accomplish something different. The sudden crowd poured down the unstable mountain, until only one remained, staring back at Coco and Alentu in disbelief.
Alentu: "And you?"
AltCoco: "Alentu... T-thank god you're here, too?"
Alentu: "Hm? Ah, so we've met in your world... Since you're here, I think we need to figure out how we're gonna fix this mess. Please, come with me..."
They moved to sit by one of the many shrines near the mountain path. Alentu then led a discussion between the three, asking the other Coco what she remembered about her own world's history. Her description appeared to describe a similar reality to their own, but at an earlier point in time. As such, the events that lead her life were different, and she was only able to recognize Alentu. The two forms of Coco began to discuss more specifics about their own lives.
AltCoco: "Huh, s-so you're getting married to someone else, and have a family of your own already... B-but, you're also with Alentu?"
Coco: "Yes... But I'm honestly amazed to hear how differently my life could have been if I was born only a few decades earlier..."
Alentu: "Where you only met me..."
AltCoco: "Yes- A-and Alentu, y-you're almost exactly the same as the one I know... I-it's like I'm talking to the same person. Everything we did together matches up too... B-but now she's..."
Alentu: "I'm sorry, Coco... There's not much we can do. I still love you, but..."
AltCoco: "Wait! Please! Let me stay with you, Alentu! E-even though we're from different worlds, you're still the same woman I love! Please..."
Alentu: "But this world's Coco is..."
All three fell silent as an uncomfortable truth settled in: There were two Cocos, but only one Alentu. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that even more were out there in the world, with absolutely no way to control their actions, however reckless they may be. Despair began to creep onto the altworlder's face, tears falling from her eyes as she began to accept her cruel fate. Coco's own face was clouded deep in somber thought, but after gathering her resolve, she spoke up.
Coco: "I... I have a proposal, but... You might not like it, Alentu. And it doesn't really solve our other problem..."
Alentu: "We're already in a shitty situation. Please, just tell me."
Coco: "My family at home needs me. I'm about to have little Iza, and... Since this Coco was ripped away from her own family... Well, I don't think she should be deprived of that joy... You should also be able to spend time with your kids..."
AltCoco: "Y-you want me to raise this Alentu's kids instead of you?"
Coco: "And... Stay with her... Be a good wife to her, so we all can get a happy ending..."
Alentu: "But Coco- A-are you saying you want her to take your place beside me? But that would mean you, yourself, wouldn't be with me... This hurts you more than any of us!"
Coco: "I suppose so... I do really care for you, but... I'm the only one that can be there for Mikhail and the kids I planned to raise with him. If we want to spend as much time as possible with family, you, Alentu, are the only family this Coco has. I don't want either of the people I care about to feel like I'm not there for them, so..."
AltCoco: "I... I understand... If you're really okay with it, both of you, then... I'd be so happy... I'm honestly scared to think about what I left behind, but, if I can be with Alentu, no matter what time or place..."
Alentu: "I'm okay with that... This feels... strange, but... I think it's for the best for each of our families. I love you, Coco, but I know your family needs you. I wanted to make it work despite that... I didn't want to lose you, but-"
Coco: "Don't think like that, Alentu! Let's not look at this as a mistake, but a blessing... One that lets everyone find their own happiness. You didn't lose me! Instead, you'll now be able to spend all the time you like with your love! I want to protect your smile no matter what, and leaving it in the hands of someone I know will bring you happiness... I can't possibly be sad about that."
AltCoco: "I agree... It means neither of our families will worry... This world's Coco can be with her family, and I can become yours, just as it was before with both of us. I want to make this work, for everyone's sake!"
Alentu: "Hah... Coco, that's why I love you. You always know how to cheer me up, and make me feel loved. When I'm with you, my worries always seem to melt away... I accept your proposal. You're both my lover, so I could never look at either of you any differently. To a bright future with our families..."
Alentu pulled the two in for a big hug, and gave a kiss to this world's Coco. The two shared their goodbyes and well wishes to each other before Coco sat down in front of her counterpart, a happy look on her face that inspired the other to brighten up. Alentu stood up and ruffled both of their hair, leaving the two by themselves as she waited nearby. The Cocos then turned to each other, smiling as they shook hands.
Coco: "To a bright future with our families"
AltCoco: "To a bright future with our families"
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Hope you all enjoy the show! (Fair warning, it's very long)
We start off as a flashback during early Ancient Egypt times, where Mothra was flying over the deserts, peacefully scattering her godly lights over man and animal alike, bowing down to her in reverence and becoming docile respectively, before she senses a disturbance somewhere. She rushes over to it, and sees Abaddon (using my idea for him, a huge-ass Dragonfly with a functional mouth, a stinger tail, and the forelimbs of a Praying Mantis) using his swarm to hunt for food.
Mothra dispels the swarm and attacks Abaddon with her God Rays, with Abaddon territorially attacking the Queen, and Mothra, in a show of stubbornness, engaging his challenge, and both insectoid Titans engaged in a brutal aerial battle as the Ancient Egyptians watched. It looked as it was going well for the more nimble Mothra, until Abaddon trapped Mothra in his raptorial forelimbs, brutally slamming and dragging her across the sands, before he lifted her and raised his stinger. It cuts to the Ancient Egyptians, who gasp and look on in horror as the sound of a sharp object and crunching sounds fill the air. Abaddon drops Mothra's lifeless corpse as he flies away, having satiated his hunger, while the screen zooms in on Mothra's eye. Whatever epic opening your mind makes happens, before the title lights up.
We follow Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her surrogate daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) again, this time joined with the Chen Twins, Dr. Ilene and Dr. Ling (both played by Zhang Ziyi) as Jia dreams about Mothra…'s hatching, that is. That's right, sometime after the battle in Rio de Janeiro, Mothra has flown to the Borneo Jungle and laid an egg there, and the main cast arrive to witness it in person, and naturally, when the larva hatches, it was a magnificent sight for all involved. When the night falls and Jia goes to sleep in the Borneo Outpost, she once again shares a dream with Mothra, joined by the Chen Twins, due to their history with the Queen… until the dream started going out of control, wildly flashing and prophesying, among other things, a high-pitched whining sound, unblinking red eyes, the earth collapsing, and darkness enveloping the skies.
Everyone in the dream, from where they are, wake up in a cold sweat, until they get an urgent call that the Mothra Larva was displaying an unnatural and out of character level of agitation, proven correct when they see the slightly nervous Mothra pulsating yellow and orange, before breaking free of her containment and vanishing into the forest. It was pretty easily seen that something big was about to go down if Mothra of all Titans was getting upset. And soon enough, it looked like it came true when a devastating earthquake shook a large part of Asia, splitting the ground asunder and causing ruin, all while energy signatures shows Mothra venturing into Hollow Earth. At this point, the humans knew something was up. So it was decided, one team, with Dr. Ilene Chen, would stay up on the Surface World and monitor any more earthquakes or disturbances, and another, with Dr. Ling, and newcomers to the series Lance Gibson (Donny Lucas) and Scarlet Wilde (Emilia Clarke) would venture into Hollow Earth to keep track of Mothra.
As Team Hollow Earth follows Mothra, understanding that she is sensing something they don't, they keep a close eye on her. Mothra continues making a beeline, hauling ass towards wherever, until she enters a foggy quarry and sees a flashing light that comes closer to her, causing Mothra to tense up, until the fog dispels and she sees… Battra. The flashing light was his horn, and Mothra, seeing this larva that shares the same similarities to her, softens up. Team Hollow Earth were stunned at seeing another Moth Titan, especially with scans showing they share the same genetic material. Mothra appears to be slightly taller than Battra, with Lance suggesting the possibility of them being siblings, and Mothra having hatched first, something that everybody agrees on. Battra has sensed Mothra's presence and vice-versa, with the Queen of the Monsters being visibly overjoyed to be an older sister. Until Battra's horn glows red, and he glows in agitation, before beckoning Mothra to follow him, and the humans trail after them.
Mothra and Battra's venture in the rest of Hollow Earth lead to the Moth Siblings getting ambushed by a large and aggressive Praying Mantis Sub-Titan called a Scymantis. Battra, who has never been in a serious battle before, was scared and hid behind Mothra, who fortunately, did know how to fight. Mothra does battle with the Scymantis, and Mothra, filled with a huge protective big sister instinct, had actually led to her killing the Scymantis, a move that stuns everyone watching, even Mothra herself, though she quickly collects herself and continues on to follow Battra's signal. Both Moth Siblings take a breather in a large beautiful grassy plain, where they see large glowing aphid-like creatures called Flight Lights, one of whom Mothra grabs and directs it's abdomen to her mouth, before eating in a delicious (to her) substance like an ant eating honeydew from an aphid. Battra tries to do the same as his sister, but he doesn't know how to, which visibly saddens him. Mothra, seeing the trouble her younger brother is facing, teaches him how to properly eat from a Flight Light, and does so properly, causing him to light up in happiness.
Meanwhile, with Team Surface World, Monarch is helping the areas of Asia that has been led to ruin by the earthquake, when they see the skies slightly darkening, something they identify to be a sign that Abaddon is arriving. Sure enough, he does indeed show up, his swarm following him. Abaddon was highly aggressive, something that confuses the Monarch team up above, until Abaddon reaches in and pulls out a huge insectoid Titan. The humans back away as Abaddon engages in a battle with the creature, before killing it, and feasting on it. Abaddon leaves, but the humans are left to ponder at what came out. Back in Hollow Earth, the Moth Siblings a large chasm in the ground, going several kilometers down, called the Gaping Maw. The Moth Siblings leap down the chasm, falling underneath and dispelling a veil of natural steam, with the humans following them, until they reach the bottom.
Mothra bravely treads ahead, while Battra cautiously trails behind her, his horn staying red. Until the humans manage to direct the two of them to a veil of what looked like webbing, with Scarlet confirming it not belonging to the Moth Titans. Both Moths rip it open, and see a huge hive, all filled to the brim with Meganulons, almost all of whom stop and stare at them. Battra was nervous, but Mothra crawled forward. Up until she sees a Meganulon about to fall to its death, at which point she rushes forward with no hesitation and saves it. As the Meganulon stared at her in what looked like awe and wonder, a loud screeching is heard, and all the Meganulons back away as both Moth Siblings. Battra looked terrified, while Mothra was defiant, as the Queen of the Meganulons, Megaguirus, emerged and hovered down to greet the newcomers.
Megaguirus sniffed Mothra out with her antennae, and understood that she came from the Surface World, which is good news for her, seeing as she wants to expand her hive. Until she sensed something else on the Surface. One of her own was dead, murdered. The same one that Abaddon killed. Furious at one of her brood's death, Megaguirus engaged the Moth Siblings in battle (yes, she treats her subjects with remarkably more respect and kindness that Skar King). Mothra valiantly fought her, even as a larva, while protecting the terrified Battra. While it looked like Mothra was doing well, Megaguirus, due to being mature, being incredibly speedy, having razor-sharp wings, and able to fly, managed to overpower her, grappling her in a deadly lock with her pincers and stinger tail, and even absorbing Mothra's energy with her stinger. Battra was scared, but upon seeing Mothra struggling, he decided to charge in and his horn lights up with yellow electrical (what looks like it, anyway) energy, and using it to force Megaguirus off of Mothra, who tag teams the Meganulon Queen and slams her to the ground.
They would have continued, if not for Megaguirus' wings glowing and letting out a roar. Suddenly, the ground erupted, and out came Megalon, whom Megaguirus treated almost like a brother, with Megalon in turn, being unfailingly loyal to her. And so, used his abilities over the earth to severely injure Mothra and Battra, forcing them to retreat. As the humans escape the Gaping Maw and bring the two Moth Titans to a secluded but humongous cavern to rest, the humans found ancient tunnels with writings of an ancient tribe, explaining that their God, Megalon, created the Vile Vortexes to Hollow Earth, but after getting touched by a "Golden Ray of Light", he had become destructive after meeting Megaguirus, a "kindred spirit", and have a solution should they ever attack the world. Unbeknownst to them, the Moth Siblings found that solution: a huge influx of Hollow Earth radiation, not only healing their wounds, but supercharging them, and accelerating their growth. When the humans finally notice the blinding lights behind them, they saw the double cocoons, and the literal blinding beauty of both Moth Siblings gracefully emerge in their Imago Forms.
Battra was amazed at his new form, while Mothra makes a dash and flies out, zooming out. Meanwhile, Battra flies back into the Gaping Maw to keep an eye on the Meganulons, he sees that Megaguirus is on the move, with Megalon and a crap-ton of Meganulon Warrior drones to assist her in her invasion of the Surface World. Battra flies back to the humans and warns this to Jia, who relays it to the humans, until Lance asks where the hell Mothra went to, with Scarlet bringing up scans revealing she went to the Surface. Back up in the Surface World, the team there reads Mothra's signatures erupting as she flies out, but she is making a straight beeline for a specific Titan. To Abaddon. Mothra is directly provoking him to get him to follow her to combat this threat, which worries Dr. Ling, seeing as she was aware of what Abaddon was capable of. Sure enough, the two Insect Titans collide in Bangladesh, where a furious Abaddon engages the challenging Mothra in combat once again. It seems as if history is going to repeat, until Battra steps in between the downed Mothra and Abaddon, and explains the situation. Abaddon was motionless for a few moments, before he backs off and follows Mothra and Battra to Hollow Earth.
With Team Hollow Earth, they were now tasked with holding the line between Megaguirus' forces, and the Vile Vortexes to the Surface World until Mothra comes back, knowing that they're in big trouble if they manage to get there. While this happens, Battra and Abaddon get into some skirmishes about one-upping the other due to Battra's newfound confidence with his powers and Abaddon's dislike of anything moth, but manage to hold it in enough to get to their destination. Soon enough, the three insectoid Titans arrive at the battlefield, where they charge in as Megaguirus and her forces do to. Mothra engages in a dogfight with Megaguirus, Battra attacks Megalon on the ground, and Abaddon makes some snacks out of the Meganulons, as the humans attempt to both escape and join in on the fight. During the brawl, Megalon manages to make the ground unstable enough for him to fall into a Vile Vortex, causing the other Titans (and humans) to follow suit.
In the Surface World, all the combatants find themselves in Barcelona, Spain. Megaguirus commands her hive with a high-pitched whining to arrive, with Megaguirus' absorption of Mothra's ability darkening the sky in a huge electrical superstorm, one Meganulon almost grabbing the humans, until Abaddon swoops in to save them, and the Moth Siblings follow suit. Their battles takes them to the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone. During the clash of insects, Battra realized brute force wasn't going to work on Megalon, so he continued beating down the huge beetle, until he grabbed the fatigued Megalon, and aerial suplexed him, making the ground give way and having him plummet to the depths of the earth. Now without her biggest ally, Megaguirus attacks more furiously, but fails when both Moth Siblings tag-team her with slashes and stabs, as Battra amplifies Mothra's own abilities, when Mothra grabs her and stares her down. Megaguirus roars defiantly, which is when Mothra flies up to the superstorm and throws Megaguirus in there, electrocuting her, before Mothra slams Megaguirus down on one of the volcanoes, immolating her to death. Both Moth Siblings and Abaddon roar triumphantly as Mothra uses her God Rays to dispel the superstorm. Mothra looks at Abaddon, who seems to give her and Battra a look of respect, before he flies off.
Mothra is seen patrolling over the skies of the Amazon Rainforest, until she is greeted by Battra, as both the Moth Siblings exchange a cute little bioluminescent show of affection towards each other. Both teams of humans watch as Mothra and Battra fly off, casting a bigger light than the sun, and fade to white as the ending scene before credits roll.