Season 3: ______

Welcome Back...

Mouse stared at a young woman. Her blonde hair was cut short and parted to the side. Her steel-blue eyes stared back. She was no older than Mouse when she chose a name of her own.
The girl, Amberlie, fidgeted with her hands. Her head turned toward a commotion gathering on the other side of the street. A crowd gathered around a makeshift stage.
Mouse shook her head. "You sure you wanna do this?"
"Yes," Amber replied.
"And is this really the name you want?"
"Well, at first I thought maybe taking my mother's name would be appropriate, but there are far too many bounties out on her." Amber replied with a smile. "Not a healthy choice."
"Good point."
Amber nodded. "Mhm, then I considered something more me. I mean a wayfarer's name is supposed to represent who they are, right?"
Mouse nodded. "Yes, but not as others see you."
Amber narrowed her eyes, "No, this is exactly who I am, to myself and to others. I appreciate all you've done. Not everyone gets to call a hero their mentor, but-"
"Hero? No," Mouse laughed and shook her head. "I started a civil war."
Amber returned the laugh and added, "Yeah, one that ended with the babysitter putting our entire species In timeout. You're still a hero, though. That's not me. I just want a way out."
"You'll have it, then. Lord knows you deserve it." The smile fades as years of memories pop up in Mouse's mind. "Amber, I'm-"
"Don't," Amber said, holding out her hand. "I don't blame you. You've said sorry more than anyone else and you don't even owe me an apology."
Mouse nodded and gestured to the stage. "It's time. Drive the knife deep, and don't forget to give a little twist."

Hello Everyone! Welcome to the teaser for Season 3, which is currently being planned for World Ember. If you have yet to catch up to the story as is, don't worry. If you manage to do so, this teaser will still be here to be enjoyed! Spoilers lie ahead.
I wanted to give a little glimpse into what this new season will bring, and some changes that are happening to the world as a whole. Before that, let's introduce our new narrator and protagonist.

Theme

This season will be much more focused. It follows Amberlie Hurst and is explicitly told through her eyes. While trickling in scenes of her past, the story will follow her as she seeks a way to fix her broken family, answers to her many pressing questions, and most of all, vengeance for her stolen childhood.
When last we saw her, she was alone and lost. Since reaching Safeharbor, things have only gotten worse. She's had a rough go. It's been fourteen years since the end of season two, and those on Safeharbor have not been kind...
As you will see, there are two quotes here, each written in different tenses, and different perspectives. While the POV shift will never be seen again, the tense matters. This is to demonstrate what is current and what takes place in the past. We will be learning much about how Amber grew up, often giving insight into her actions through flashbacks.

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This season, we move back to Bring Me The Horizon for a theme song, and it's particularly in line with Amber's life, as well as her future. This one is gonna be just as emotionally driven, full of just as many moments of elation and sadness as the past seasons have been. I hope it will be a fitting conclusion. I think it's time for some answers, don't you?
Warning! Explicit Language.

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I stand before a crowd, one filled with those who were meant to be my peers. I speak, my voice amplified so all can hear the words. The edges glisten, for my words are sharp and all will feel the sting. "When I came to this planet, I expected to find people like me. I did not."
I can already see them laughing, a select few faces among the crowd. They mock my achievements, yet they still came to hear my name. I hold my anger in. "It's funny, actually. So many among you have contributed to what I'd call a life not worth living. Here you stand, though, ready to receive me as an equal only because I bested you at your own game. Despite your best efforts, I get to be a wayfarer too."
My thoughts flicker back to that night, my eyes fixed on the thousand-foot fall from the tallest building on Safeharbor, and the one woman capable of talking me down. "I stand here at the top of my field. I didn't gloat when I surpassed you. I didn't point and laugh when you came up short. There's a lesson in that fact."
I straighten my posture, my chest filled with pride. "You treated me like I was less than garbage. I felt every thrown stone. I've been berated, spit on, and chastised for something I didn't even do. The sins of my mother followed me everywhere I went. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' they said. I heard it from your parents, your elders. How right they were. You don't have a shred of decency either."
I notice them getting uncomfortable, some frowning as they come to regret their actions, others crossing their arms with a look of disgust. "I lived as a castaway for far too long, an outcast among outcasts." My voice rises more than I intended, breaking with every word, "I liked staring at the stars too, though you never stopped to ask me. I was turned away, night after night. I was forced to find my own stories in the sky. I didn't have anyone to share them with, like you."
I fight the tears in my eyes. I won't give them the satisfaction. "My father was the only thing I had for the longest time. He once told me the naming ceremony was sacred. I hope I've tarnished this tradition for you. I hope I've defiled it in every way possible. You want to know my name?"
I pause for effect. What came next was meant to cut the deepest. I spit the word out, a name I chose with both shame and pride; such an odd combination, "Pariah."
I smiled, the anger finally breaking through in a fevered stream of callous words, "Where will I go? The one place that leaves you shaking in your boots." I pointed to the sky, to the only constellation I really cared about. "You can have the rest. I'm obviously not welcome there anyway. I'll seek my fortune elsewhere. I'll trace the horizon, my ship forever fixed on The Old Dawn. Perhaps The Others will be more welcoming. Goodbye, and good riddance."

Changing times

Safeharbor has changed quite a bit. It's been fourteen years after all. Mouse is now an elder, the representative of Dawn. Caydie joins her alongside Lethe.
Mute and the other wayfarers continue to explore. Styx operates the pulse as always, and Argus prepares for an uncertain future with her adopted mother.
That's the gist of what's going on this season. While not forgotten, this story is Amber's, and she won't be on Safeharbor for long. We're heading somewhere we've never actually seen before...

No more seasons

The Void Between began with the idea of having seasons, each populated with articles detailing a cohesive story. This has to change, sadly. On top of how it creates an increasingly complex storyline, it also gets more intimidating for new readers who have yet to begin, and even those stuck in the middle.
More than that, there are many other perspectives and themes in this world. There are so many stories and even other characters outside of what's already established I'd love to explore.
For these reasons, I've decided to shift how the stories will be presented. Instead of seasons, I'll be creating stories in smaller cycles, most only having what would normally consist of a single season. The current cycle, which I've tentatively labeled "The Wayfarer Cycle," ends with this final chapter, what would have been called season 3.

Season 3

Heaven

Whether reading about the past or the present, this conclusion can't be reached without a few scars. Preconceived notions will be challenged as we see through Amber's eyes. She grew up in a time of upheaval, a child with a broken family.
Her mother is still in cryo, her father is… not what she expected, and to top it all off, humanity forced her to bear the responsibility for her mother's breach of heaven, among other things.
I won't spoil much here, but let me give a taste of what's to come. It's likely only those who've been around since the beginning of the world will truly know of its significance, though they may not fully remember. It's a seed that's been growing for some time.

…I stumble through the rocky caverns, beyond the steel sarcophagi filled with lifeless bodies. I find myself faced with a console. Words appear on the screen, the translator quickly deciphering them.
Access requested: Name
I see the lens of a camera embedded in the black stone. It watches me hopefully. As if I'd refuse. I nod and a wave of heat passes through my body. It's hacking the hardware, scanning my mind for something, anything it could use for a name.
A name appears, one I didn't expect, "Caesar"
"Caesar?" I say with a laugh. "If that's what you want to be called."
I can hear the entire complex slowly preparing. It's about to take its first breath in a long time. Gears turn, machinery springing to action after millennia of gathering dust.
Before I can wake it up, I hear a voice from behind me. "Amber, stop."
I know this voice. I shake my head, my body freezing in place. "Of course they sent you."
"No one else cared enough to step in. Move away. All I need to do is give the trigger a squeeze."
"I need him," I say, my voice breaking.
"You can't trust it."
"It has a name," I scream.
The voice screams back, "I don't care."
"Do you have any idea what was taken from me? Again and again, I still can't seem to win. No more."
The voice is calming, like a mother's voice should be, "I can't even imagine. I'm sorry, but this isn't the way."
All the pieces are in place. I just need to press one button. It's funny how it always comes down to one button. "He knows something about Gibraltar. Shoot me or don't. I need to speak with him."
I let my hand fall, and the moment the button is pressed, I dodge to the side. Space warps around me and I find myself nearly twenty feet from where I was. Eden tech really is the best.
She hesitates. She fires far too late and the bullet ricochets off the stone. My attacker cries out but is cut off by a far bigger voice echoing throughout the complex.
Caesar speaks, and his words filter through the translator with ease. "Thought Grave operational…"