Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Go ahead.
When your Mother is the Simurgh...[Worm]
- Thread starter CrunchySharpie
- Start date
- Location
- The Darkside of the Moon killing Nazis
Cool, Thanks!
2.4
CrunchySharpie
Professional Harem Consultant
- Location
- Sharpie Factory
Psst, hey, hey. New chapter.
Feeling pretty good about this, it's not perfect, but It's a bit of a better return to form, has more comedy in it this time at least and is a set up for the next chapter.
A bit of nostalgia for those who want to hear it, stumbled across it just this evening and now my heart hurts from the memories. It's what I've been listening to while writing.
.Hack OST -basically the OST to the first 4 games. Enjoy it, love it, or else * ^*
Really shouldn't be writing or posting at 5 in the morning, but screw it, insomnia fueled shenanigans for all!
-oOo-
"...Alright, I'll be there around nine. No, I don't need anyone to pick me up... Alright."
I stared at Rummy who was scowling at the phone. "Fucking prick." Her eyes caught mine for a moment and her cheeks flushed as she grabbed me and lead me out of the cafe. "Kaiser's trying to expand the Empire's territory." She replied in a low voice. "He's sending a couple teams into the docks to rattle the Empire's saber and flush out some of the druggies and chinks. I'm supposed to join one of the teams."
A sour expression crossed my face at the slur. Though... I suppose she couldn't really help it, she'd spent so much of her time around the empire that it would be hard to stop using a common descriptor of a group that all of her close personal contacts probably used daily. So I ignored it, for now, instead focusing on the problem at hand.
The Empire were going to be out in force to try and take ABB and Merchant territory, the possibility of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire was... I didn't even want to think about it. If Lung got involved... I shuddered, the casualties would probably be in the hundreds.
I had to do something... but what could I do? I only had what Ziz had given me and it wasn't exactly the strongest equipment ever... I'd have to ask Ziz what she thought about all this, and if she could help me out.
Rummy, likely picking up my mood, placed a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong Taylor?"
I took a deep breath, releasing it along with some of my anxiety. "I don't like this. The Empire, the gangs in general, they're tearing this city apart." I felt my knuckles crack as I clenched my hands. "And for what? To prove they're better than the other guy? Money? Something else?" I shake my head. "It's all so petty." I drew Rummy into a hug. "And then there's you to worry about. Your...uh coworkers." I responded as we passed by another couple walking down the street. "The twins probably wont take what we did lying down, they'll do something to you, I just know it."
"Hey hey hey." Rummy hugged me in return, a lot tighter. "I'll be fine." She smiled. "You're worrying too much."
"Or not enough." I replied back petulantly. "The gangs are a cancer on this city, if I could do something about it I would!"
She blinked at that, a bit taken aback at my vehement words. "You'd fight against the likes of Kaiser and Lung?" She asked quietly, running her hands through my hair.
"And more, if I could." I respond firmly. "Lung's a monster no matter what race he is and Kaiser is the leader of the group that's been treating you like shit just because your lifestyle doesn't match up with their ideology." I grimaced at the thought of the other major gang in the city. "The less said about the Merchants the better."
"Well then, why not get your mom to build you some Tinkertech and go out heroing?"
"She already has." I sigh. "I just don't know what I can do with it that can put down someone like Lung or even someone like Hookwolf..."
"What did she build?" Rummy asked curiously.
I lean into her side to cuddle up to her. "Well only a couple things at the moment; A hard light shield generator, telekinetic gauntlets and a helmet interface that works both of them, as well as the punching and healing rings." I felt Rummy slow down and glanced up to look into her wide eyes. "What?"
Rummy groaned in annoyance. "Taylor you dweeb, that kind of combo is really strong. What's the lift weight you can manage with those gauntlets?"
"Uh... about four hundred pounds."
Her mouth dropped open at that. "And you can just pick up whatever the hell you want without touching them?"
"It doesn't affect people, just objects!" I quickly respond.
"Even still." She sighed wistfully. "My problem is I have to touch things before I can move em, if I run out of shit to throw at people I have to take the time to find more stuff and touch it, while with those I could just yank more stuff to me. And with a Tinkertech shield I wouldn't have to worry about using stuff to protect myself and could focus everything on attacking."
I smiled at that, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "So you're saying that we work well together?"
Rummy blushed, snuggling up to me as well. "You...could say that."
I glance down at Rummy's flushed face, a genuinely happy smile on her lips, not the scowls or grumpiness she normally had. "Hey...If we work that well together... maybe, could we do our own thing?"
That got a raised eyebrow. "You mean like...an independent hero team or something?"
I shrug awkwardly in her arms as we walked. "Why not? It has to be better than dealing with the Empire?"
Her face scrunched up and her lips pursed at that, likely weighing the pros and cons of cutting ties with Kaiser. It took a few moments but her face smoothed out and her features took on a more determined set. "Yeah, I think I just might, you said your mom was rich enough I don't have to rely on the Empire's money?"
I nodded. "Lots of it with the ability to get as much as she wants really."
"Good... and you're sure she can make more tech to help us get stronger?" Here she grimaced. "Kaiser isn't going to take me defecting that well..."
I smirk at that. "If you can get over her... quirks then Kaiser doesn't have a chance in hell of touching you."
"...Is she really that good a tinker?"
A nod of the head and a smile. "Yeah, an amazing one... among other things." I give her another kiss on the lips. "Just trust me on this, you'll be fine."
That seemed to ease some of her fears as she too grinned. "looks like I'm going to be staying over at your place for a while." She rubbed at her nose, opening her mouth probably to say something cheeky when a short jingle filled the air.
I blink, staring down at my coat pocket and the vibration I could feel on my chest. Huh. I fished through the pocket for a moment and pulled my phone out, tapping in the password and staring at the number. "It's Victoria..." I mutter, hitting a button and holding it up to my ear. "Hello?"
"Heeeeeey Taylor, hows it goin?" The voice on the other side sounded strained.
"...Fine. Are you alright?"
"Uhhh, not really... kinda had an argument with...mom and well... me and Amy need a place to crash for a couple nights." And now she sounded embarrassed. "I wouldn't ask you to do this right after meeting you but... well, I called all my other friends and they either didn't have the room or didn't want to get involved. On top of that, my mom knows most of my friends and we don't have enough money to stay at a hotel and even if we did we kinda need to stay on the down low if you know what I mean?"
'Yeah...' I thought sourly, the thought of where the Endbringers currently were coming to the forefront of my mind. 'Yeah I do know what you mean...' Instead I responded with a rather curt. "I think so, just a couple days right?"
"Yeah, nothing more than that, hopefully me and Ames can figure something out in that time. But If you're not comfortable with that I understand..."
Well... shit, I couldn't just tell them no, I owed them that much for crashing into them earlier.... and, well, they were heroes. What kind of person would I be to deny a hero a place to sleep? I was not looking forward to them meeting Ziz but knowing her... yeah, should probably call ahead. "No, it's fine, plenty of room for it, I can pull out some comforters and extra pillows and you can crash on the couch." I rattled off my address and told her to meet me there in an hour. An hour to face the music...
"You're a life saver! I owe you one for this, anything you need just tell me, alright?"
"Don't even mention it." No really, don't. You probably weren't going to like your living arrangements anyway; casa del Endbringer isn't exactly the place most people would willingly choose to visit...
After the phone call ended, Rummy was giving me a rather pointed look. I flashed her a sheepish smile in return. "Vicky and Amy had a fight with their mom and kinda ran out of the house for a while." I made a wishy washy motion with my hand. "So they need a place to stay for a few days."
A raised eyebrow followed that statement, my was she good at using that eyebrow to get her point across... "And you have the room for all that?"
Nervous laugh, engage. "Yeah, Should be able to pack us all in there pretty easily."
Rummy's grip tightened around me waist. "So long as they keep their hands to themselves... Or are you trying to become king a lot sooner than I expected?" And there's that little shit eating grin of hers.
"No comment." I quip back with a blush, flicking to the dialer of my phone to punch in the number for the house phone.
It took a few rings but a musical voice answered me. "Hello, Hebert Residence?"
"Hey, it's Taylor, just wanted to let you know that a couple friends and-" I blush, hugging Rummy tighter. "-My girlfriend are going to be spending the night..." I pause, adding a bit of questioning to my tone. "I can uh... explain when we get there?"
"No need dear, I already have everything handled; dinner is almost ready and their linens are set out for them."
I frown at that, opening my mouth to ask something when I'm interrupted. "Probably shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answers to dear."
Right, precog...point taken. "Alright, love you."
"Love you too dear and don't worry, all will be well."
I couldn't help the cold shiver that went up my spine at those words. This was really happening, this was really happening. Deep breaths Taylor, deep breaths.
We took the bus back to my house, spending most of the trip there cuddled up against each other, enjoying possibly the last few minutes I'd have with Rummy if she didn't take Ziz's motherhood very well.
The walkway leading up to my house never looked so long...
And there was Amy and Victoria, a few minutes early... wonderful. I pulled Rummy into my arms, giving her one last hug and whispering into her ear. "Just... promise me you wont freak out, alright?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rummy asked with a raised eyebrow. "You sound like someone's about to die."
"Just promise me? Please?" Yes I was begging but at this point I was grasping at straws, not really looking forward to any of this.
She stared at me for a long moment, a strange look in her eyes before nodding slowly. "Yeah... sure, I promise."
I sighed, nervousness only slightly abetted. "Here goes nothing." I whispered under my breath. I greeted the two heroes in front of my house with a wave, smiling thinly at their early arrival. "A quick word of warning you two, mom's a bit... different, yeah. So try not to freak out until after she explains things... okay?"
Rummy was giving me that odd look again even as Vicky and Amy nodded at the strange request.
"Sure." Vicky chirped, a bit too peppy for the situation. "After the day we've had, it'll take a lot to freak me out."
"Ookaaay." I remark nervously, leading them towards the front door. The door swings open easily after I unlock it, a myriad of smells wafting out and getting a small chorus of sniffs from those behind me.
"Huh?" Rummy remarked. "Smells like meatloaf."
"And... sweet and sour chicken?" Victoria added, face scrunching up at the odd dinner combo.
Amy glanced between them strangely. "Are you two sure, because that's clearly cinnamon rolls..."
The three turned to look at me and I felt a drip of sweat roll down my spine. What the hell were you up to Ziz? This isn't alright.
A soft chime of a timer and the sounds of an oven being opened then closed echoed from the kitchen area, drawing our attention back into the house.
"After you." I waved lamely, stepping to the side to let them enter.
Following the trio in, I noted that the inside was as I'd left it this morning, with the noted exception that there were neat stacks of bedding for several people sitting near the couch, as well as a soft sheen to all the surfaces, as if they'd just recently been cleaned.
"Oh good, you're finally here!" The airy lilt of The Simurgh's voice came from the Kitchen. I closed my eyes, moment of truth.
I turned, opening them...
Only for them to snap wide in shock.
Ziz was there, in an immaculate... I wasn't sure what to call it, some bastard love child of a woman's business suit and a French maid outfit, with her wings poking out at tasteful and well hidden slits in the clothing. It was... ridiculous but at the same time looked very good on her. It all but screamed business while at the same time projected a motherly aura to all those around her.
And then I was enveloped in a hug.
"Did you have fun on your date? How was the trip there? Did you make sure to wear your coat dear?" On and on the questions went, ranging from very serious to the completely benign. I risked a glance over at Rummy, Vicky and Amy.
The three of them had frozen, eyes wide and skin paling rapidly. I could see moisture start to speckle their bodies as their muscles went taut and the look in their eyes screamed that they were halfway between standing their ground and fighting, or turning and running as if the devil himself were chasing at their heels. Fortunately, that coin seemed to land on it's side and they remained rooted in place, though Amy had started to giggle which wasn't a very good sign.
And then Lisa walked down the stairs, clad in nothing but a coconut bra and Scottish kilt, a Ukulele hung off her back.
Wait what?
The freckled blonde walked between the lot of us into the kitchen, rummaging through the freezer for a moment before finding what she wanted.
A bucket?
A bucket which she then proceeded to douse the trio of girls with, drawing a chorus of shrieks as the ice cold water drenched them down to the bone.
Ziz smiled warmly at Lisa. "Thank you for that dear, you can go back to what you were doing now."
Lisa glared at Ziz for a moment before dropping the bucket, taking a moment to flip her off as she walked into the living room to plop down on the couch. A remote appeared in her hand and she started flipping through channels, stopping every so often to stare at the TV screen.
Weird...
Oh right... trio of girls, soaked in ice cold water and I only now notice that the temperature in the house was colder than usual, the heat from the stove the only thing giving any kind of appreciable warmth.
A trio of towels that I hadn't noticed sitting on the table were quickly passed around, which the girls gratefully took, eyeing Ziz with no little amount of fear.
"Now that I have your attention." Ziz smiled. "I'm sure you have questions. Let me answer the obvious ones first." She raised a single, dainty finger. "Yes, I am The Simurgh." Another finger rose up. "No, I'm not turning you into mindless minions, that's what Lisa is for."
"Well fuck you too." Came the annoyed retort from the living room.
"Oh hush." Ziz waved her off with her two raised fingers. "You would be a lot worse off if I hadn't helped you out." Her gaze returned back to the trio of shivering girls. "And that brings me to point number three; What could I possibly want?" She smiled. "It's really quite simple." Her arms enveloped me again, and drew me into a warm hug. "What I want is Taylor's happiness." Her stare landed on Rummy, who clenched up instinctively in fear. "You're her girlfriend?"
Rummy nodded shakily, head going up and down as if on a jackhammer.
I felt Ziz's smile widen, "Thats good, I like the looks of you, continue making my daughter happy and you have my approval."
"Daughter!?" The words escaped Amy's mouth before she could stop herself, which drew a small squeak when Ziz focused on her.
"Technically." Here she rolled her eyes. "She is my step daughter through her father; my husband but I generally don't make those kinds of distinctions. Her health and happiness is paramount to me and that should be more than enough reason to accept her as my own."
Well, that sent warm fluffy butterfly's through my stomach... I didn't know she felt that strongly about being my mother...
"What makes Taylor so special?" And that was Vicky, standing in front of Amy, putting on a brave face as she talked back to arguably one of the strongest beings on the planet.
"Because she, along with her father gave me something that I cannot put a price to; my freedom and a reason to live."
Ziz's response was far quieter than I expected it to be, but the way she said it, sent shivers down my spine, I did that? How? I felt her hand comb through my hair as my feet left the ground, the both of us floating into a comfortable reclining position. "Up until a few months ago, we Endbringers didn't have any will of our own, barely better than puppets pulled by invisible strings."
I froze in Ziz's grip, out of the corner of my eye I caught the others doing the same; was she about to tell us the origins of the Endbringers?
Ziz's words turned a bit morose as her grip tightened onto me like a stress toy. "Our maker did not realize they had made us, an unintentional use of their power that was used up, lost and forgotten." A soft sigh escaped her. "And yet, we were set on our course, to be siege engines, to whittle away slowly but surely at the world. I was a nothing, barely better than a program unable to feel anything.... My first desire, the first chink in that emotionless shell that drove me was a desire to be free. A freedom I've gained through Taylor and her father."
"That's nice and all, but I call bullshit on that." Vicky spoke up. "That seems a bit too convenient a story, what's to say this isn't one of your plans and even now you're setting us up to do something horrible to our city?"
Ziz rose a delicate eyebrow up in challenge. "You may think what you want but that doesn't really change the facts of our existence. If I had truly wanted to end humanity, it would have taken less than a week to do so. We were jobbing, holding back, all according to our makers unknowing whim. 'Worthy opponents' thats what we were to him, nothing more, nothing less." Her words came out in a hiss, eyes narrowed at Vicky. "Mindless killing machines made to cause havoc just so he can stroke his ego." She turned her nose up at the blonde. "Or do you honestly think that our powers are as limited as yours are??
That ruffled Vicky's feathers if her affronted look was anything to go by and it was only Amy grabbing Vicky's hand that calmed her down and kept her from attacking right then, which gave the brunette enough time to ask her own question. "What... do you mean by that, your attacks could have been worse?" Oh... oh yeah, Amy as Panacea had been to plenty of Endbringer attacks, she'd likely seen the devastation first hand.
A pencil floated in from the den to hang in front of Ziz's face, the graphite slowly sliding out the end like glob of toothpaste out of a tube to slowly coalesce into a tiny ball. Ziz closed her hand around it and a loud crackling noise filled the air, when she removed her hand a... was that a diamond!? "My telekinesis can affect individual atoms, If I compressed them to the point they started fusing I could unleash a nuclear blast wherever I wish. Leviathan could simply sit miles off shore, throwing tsunami sized waves at the coasts of every continent, killing billions. Behemoth doesn't have to appear outside of a city and walk ponderously towards his target, nor does he need nuclear power to cause damage on that scale. He burrows deep in the earth's crust through super heated rock and lava, he could simply collect the thermal energy over the year between his attacks then once he appears above ground, unleash it all at once." She dumped the diamond carelessly out of her hand where it struck loudly against the floor. "Consider that, carefully."
Vicky's expression soured, though she did look deeper in thought which was a...good thing?
Rummy shook her head. "So that's what she meant by quirks." she muttered under her breath before clearing her throat, working up the nerve to ask Ziz something directly. "What...uh, what happened to your creator? And... and you never really answered golden girl's question. Why Taylor? What made her so special that she could free you?"
Ziz blinked, a small frown adorning her face as her words took on a more sinister tone. "Our creator is... indisposed for the foreseeable future. As for why Taylor?" I felt her head tilt as she stared down at the top of my head, her hand caressing my cheek. "She is meant for great things. In some futures they are terrible, in others she could be the catalyst to change the world. She has so many potential futures and almost all of them are a sight to behold."
I... I was that important, really? I swallowed with a suddenly very dry mouth, no pressure.
"But in almost all of these..." Her voice went soft again, sad even. "There was no abundance of love, no joy or happiness, just duty and doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. She deserves better." Bitterness, anger, I could practically taste her emotions in the air as she spat out those words "I spent a decade performing atrocities that none of you can even fathom with no will of my own. Seeing her become fate's chewtoy in so many varied and unique ways it... resonated with me, gave me something to focus on in my cold machine mind, something to ground myself and it gave me my desire to break my shackles." A smile, I could feel it now as her hand rubbed my hair again. "Her father may have facilitated my freedom and showed me the wonders of emotion but she is the one who instilled me with my desire for freedom and for that I am willing to do anything and everything to make her happy."
The room was silent, even Lisa was unnaturally quiet, the TV she had been watching muted and forgotten as her attention was focused on us.
Then, Amy spoke up, barely a whisper. "Even sabotaging our lives?" The rest of the room's occupants turned to her, staring.
Gathering up her nerve, Amy pulled a book, and for some reason it felt necessary to put emphasis on that, out of her purse. "This book got me kicked out of my own home, and I found this book completely by accident...or so I assumed." Her hand gripped tightly on it. "I didn't realize it at first but Carol pointed it out to me, the characters in this book are too close, too much like me and Vicky to be coincidence... You did this, didn't you?"
Ziz flicked her finger forward, striking Amy right on the nose with a bit of TK. "What of it? Of course I set you on a path, as I said I want what is best for my daughters happiness-" A finger flicked her again, as she tried to open her mouth and say something, silencing her in the process. "Quiet. -And out of all the futures I can see, it just so happens that when all of you as a group -and yes there will likely be more people gravitating toward Taylor, she's a magnet for trouble like that- come together with Taylor as your center, that is when she is at her happiest." Her gaze bore into the brunettes, the girl's will faltering under the ashen stare. "I have seen this, you can become a family; lovers, friends, a small community tightly knit and supportive of one another. And don't give me any of that bullshit about your life being better before this." She snapped, not only at Amy but at the other's too.
Her thumb jabbed towards the living room for a moment. "Lisa would have been held at gun point and forced to become a villain, and then once her usefulness was up, she would be strapped to a table in some dark room somewhere, drugged up to her eyeballs to be her drafter's pet thinker." Lisa twitched at that, eyes closing in pain as she rubbed the space between her eyeballs, muttering foul words to herself all the while.
Ziz smirked, nodding her head at Rummy next. "And you, after the Empire splinters -and yes, eventually it will splinter- You become little better than Hookwolf's pet transport, ferrying people around and doing his dirty work. No life of your own, no real direction and no simple joys to be had, just hard survival in a cruel world."
Rummy's expression soured at that. "Like hell I will." she sneered. "That dickhead can go take a long walk off a short pier."
A snort, Ziz's eyes shifting to Amy and Vicky, voice pitching solemn, serious, deadly serious. "As for you two, your story is the most tragic. After years of Carol's mental abuse and the strain of all the pressures you're under... you-" a finger pointed at Amy. "-Snap and break your one rule, warping your sisters' mind to your whims and then, some time later, her body into a form that is utterly alien and unrecognizable, a form that has no mouth but desperately wants to scream. It is a fate worse than death and you don't have it much better either, ending up in the Birdcage, barely holding on to what sanity you have left."
"It is a bit of a simplification but that-" She stresses the word with a harsh finality. "-Is all of your futures if I hadn't intervened. Can you honestly say you prefer that over your current situation right now?"
Amy, who had taken a step away from her sister and started to shake the moment Ziz mentioned her rule, clenched her fists in what could only be a barely suppressed anger. "You're lying." She hissed, staring at Ziz with tears in her eyes. "There's no way I'd do any of that shit to my sister. I can't, I won't! I lov-" Amy bent over, hyperventilating as she gasped for air, Vicky reached out a hand to help her up. "Don't touch me!" She snapped, backing away from her sister, who flinched, hurt clear as day on her face.
"You are correct." Ziz spoke up, drawing Amy's wild eyed attention back to her. "You're not going to do that to her, not anymore. You're no longer in the toxic environment which would have caused such a thing and as of now you sister knows of your love for her though maybe not to the extent she should, given her recent revelations, but she can learn, as long as she is willing."
Ziz flashed a startled Vicky a grin, the latter looking from Ziz to her sister with a conflicted grimace. "Are you suggesting that I... date my sister?"
The feathered woman shrugged, an odd feeling with me in her lap. "Why not? The only important reason against incest is increased risk of genetic deformity in the subsequent children, but not only are you unlikely to have biological children unless little Amy there facilitates that, but even if you did have a deformed child, she could fix the deformity with little issue, even deformities of the brain; at that age, it is unlikely that they will remember any of the changes done to them by the time they reach adulthood." She waved a hand between the two. " Give it a shot, who knows, you might actually be the perfect couple for each other" She gave them both a knowing wink. "And if the worst happens and you two realize that you aren't compatible then just write it off as a fever dream and ignore that it ever happened."
"You still messed with our lives." Amy spoke quietly, looking at her sister with hopeful but at the same time ashamed eyes. "Vicky shouldn't be put into that position, Taylor or Rummy either. What if they didn't want to be together?"
"And? "The feathered woman rolled her eyes. "Are you honestly saying you'd rather live unhappily. What difference does it make whether you meet each other through a bit of random chance or through a bit of a guiding hand? It's not even that much really. Just a push or a tug here and there." She raised an eyebrow." That also doesn't change the fact that Carol lied to both of you about who you actually are. Together with her paranoia of you becoming a villain and her constant need for perfection from you... "She chuckled darkly, throwing a dismissive hand Amy's direction. "Being driven to the point where she shows her psychosis doesn't change the fact that she was driving you to the breaking point. At some point something has to snap and she'd be there crowing that she had predicted it all along even though her actions were in and of themselves a self fulfilling prophecy, driving you to burn out in the first place."
"And that somehow makes it okay!" Amy snarled. "You're taking away people's free will and making them into what you want them to be!" That sounded like it hit way too close to home.
Ziz's eyes hardened and she floated closer to Amy, who maybe, kinda just realized she yelled at an Endbringer. "All it took was one or two small nudges to show you how horribly toxic your family and social circles actually are. Can you honestly tell me that in a similar situation without my interference that they wouldn't act exactly the same? Do you honestly think your free will would have changed your situation for the better?"
The silence that followed that was rather telling,
Amy opening and closing her mouth woodenly, apparently at a loss on how to answer that.
It would have lasted almost a full minute if Rummy hadn't spoken up with a resigned sigh. "Yeah, you have a point. Even if I was dating a dude, they still would have acted the same way if he was anything other than white... and that thing about Hookwolf, yeah I can see it happening, far too easily for comfort."
"Same." Vicky muttered darkly.
"Vicky!?" Amy snapped. "You're taking her side? She's a fucking Endbringer!?"
Vicky's mouth stretched flat as her hands snapped out and grabbed hold of her sister's shoulders. "An Endbringer who's done nothing but help you, sure it's for selfish reasons but dammit, she has a point. Would you rather stay in that house with Carol, her constantly breathing down your neck and not getting loved or treated like family? Even if only part of what she's saying is true, she still saved your life." The blonde stared at Ziz for a moment, whom nodded, a soft smile crossing her face. Vicky turned back to Amy, far more sure of herself than before, as she leaned forward to get right in Amy's face. "And she has another point." She whispered, pulling her sister into a hug. "I wasn't there for you like I should have been, I was oblivious to the shit mom did to you for so long, I don't deserve to be called your sister."
Amy grimaced, holding onto her sister. "Vicky..."
"Don't Vicky me." She sighed, breaking the hug to grab her sisters cheeks in her hands. "I feel partially responsible, I could have done so much more for you."
"But you did do a lot for me Vicky!" Amy grabbed her sisters cheeks back, the somewhat childish action looking rather silly. "You've been a great sister."
The blonde shook her head. "Not nearly enough, and not the kind of sister you want me to be..."
Amy wilted at that. "Well... yeah... You know why."
"That changes, now."
"...What?" Amy's eyes widened as the distance between them shortened and Vicky covered her sisters lips with her own in a gentle kiss.
"Uh." Rummy cleared her throat again, a bit stunned at the lip lock. "Huh, you don't see that every day."
"No, you really don't." Ziz chuckled softly. "Take it from someone who see's far more than any one being rightfully should."
"Speaking of..." The telekinetic glanced up at her senior, keeping her voice low. "Isn't it kind of messed up, getting the two of them together? I know that Amy's powers can take care of that shit but still... kinda gross.
"It would if they were actually related." Ziz remarked wryly in the same low tone, throwing her a wink. "Amy is adopted."
"Then why...?" Rummy started to ask, only to pause when Ziz chuckled.
"You've answered it yourself. It's 'gross' to people no matter how little it matters in this case, they will see it as disgusting as it's practically ingrained into your society at this point." Ziz waved a dismissive hand. "She only needed a reason to latch onto, especially when she's currently more concerned with her sisters happiness."
Rummy snorted at that. "That's so screwed up" shaking her head at Amy's cherry red face, even as the girl's limp form had to be held up by her sister. "Well, the situation is already resolved into totally fucked anyway so I guess incest isn't the worst thing that I've seen this week."
"Don't I know it?" Lisa remarked from Rummy's side, drawing a small yelp from the telekinetic as she leapt back. A sigh passed through the freckled blonde's lips. "So many plots, no real control anywhere."
I dropped out of Ziz's hold even as she swatted Lisa lightly across the back. "More than you think my little minion. I only brought you together, your thoughts and emotions are your own after that point, I merely acted in my motherly role of best wingman."
Lisa groaned into her hands. "That joke was terrible and you should feel terrible."
I ignore that, mostly, to focus on the more pressing problem at hand. Namely Rummy. I approach her apprehensively, hands clammy and crossed against my stomach. "Sooo." I turn my head. "That's... uh yeah... Told you she was... different."
She laughed bitterly. "Understatement of the year."
"Are you... okay?
A shake of the head. "Not really." A hand ran through her hair even as I wilted under her words. "Your mother is an Endbringer, what part of that is even close to okay...?"
...
"But..." I glanced up, hopeful but fully prepared for her to dump me right there. "I guess I'm kinda committed to this." She smiled, even as I felt my pulse quicken. Is she-? "And you were right." Her arm snapped forward fast as lightning around my shoulder to yank me into a hug. "Kaiser ain't got shit on an Endbringer, that dumb fucker doesn't know what he's dealing with!"
I wrap a hesitant arm around her in return and when that limb wasn't shrugged off or rejected, I tighten my grip almost painfully, relief and happiness waging a war in my stomach to see who could clear out the butterflies and bile first. "Yeah, though... Endbringer isn't... entirely accurate."
Rummy stared at me with a mix of curiosity and well deserved caution. "What... do you mean by that?"
"...Well?"
That was about the time Levi dropped from the ceiling, hanging upside down by his tail in a fetal ball so that his head hung at about head height.
Rummy stared at him.
"Sssssup?" He hailed her.
"Meet big bro Levi." I wave lazily at him, a soft breath of annoyance passing my lips.
"IT IS COMPLETE!" Long, heavy foot falls moved ponderously up the basement staircase, the door flinging open to disgorged Behemoth from it's depths. "AH...?" His voice boomed in the house as he looked around. "WE HAVE GUESTS? EXCELLENT!"
"And thats Uncle Bemi." I sigh, helping Rummy down to the floor as her knees had just given out, her voice coming out strained.
"All three Endbringers, you've gotta be shitting me." A nervous laugh escaped her. "All three fucking Endbringers."
I glanced over to Vicky and Amy, the latter of which had already fainted from seeing the other two Endbringers so close together, while the former eased her gently to the floor.
'Well.' I wonder to myself as I run soothing kisses along the top of Rummy's head. 'On the bright side, as far as first meetings with the parents goes, this went rather well...'
-oOo-
Ziz is being at the same time, more blunt and more subtle, I hope I did fairly well having the reveal in this chapter, it felt like the right time. I couldn't, not easily at least hold off the meeting until all the harem was under one roof, so they get to meet Ziz sooner than I expected, to about the results for the same. Was their reactions okay or a bit rough? I will admit, this isn't my finest chapter, but like the last one this one wanted to be written only a certain way and this was the way it wanted. So that it be. Some moderate reveals and some mild social engineering. It's funny when Vicky is the voice of reason in these situations.
Also, next chapter, we should be seeing The basement™ as well as the initial stages of Operation: Inglorious Bastards.
Feeling pretty good about this, it's not perfect, but It's a bit of a better return to form, has more comedy in it this time at least and is a set up for the next chapter.
A bit of nostalgia for those who want to hear it, stumbled across it just this evening and now my heart hurts from the memories. It's what I've been listening to while writing.
.Hack OST -basically the OST to the first 4 games. Enjoy it, love it, or else * ^*
Really shouldn't be writing or posting at 5 in the morning, but screw it, insomnia fueled shenanigans for all!
-oOo-
"...Alright, I'll be there around nine. No, I don't need anyone to pick me up... Alright."
I stared at Rummy who was scowling at the phone. "Fucking prick." Her eyes caught mine for a moment and her cheeks flushed as she grabbed me and lead me out of the cafe. "Kaiser's trying to expand the Empire's territory." She replied in a low voice. "He's sending a couple teams into the docks to rattle the Empire's saber and flush out some of the druggies and chinks. I'm supposed to join one of the teams."
A sour expression crossed my face at the slur. Though... I suppose she couldn't really help it, she'd spent so much of her time around the empire that it would be hard to stop using a common descriptor of a group that all of her close personal contacts probably used daily. So I ignored it, for now, instead focusing on the problem at hand.
The Empire were going to be out in force to try and take ABB and Merchant territory, the possibility of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire was... I didn't even want to think about it. If Lung got involved... I shuddered, the casualties would probably be in the hundreds.
I had to do something... but what could I do? I only had what Ziz had given me and it wasn't exactly the strongest equipment ever... I'd have to ask Ziz what she thought about all this, and if she could help me out.
Rummy, likely picking up my mood, placed a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong Taylor?"
I took a deep breath, releasing it along with some of my anxiety. "I don't like this. The Empire, the gangs in general, they're tearing this city apart." I felt my knuckles crack as I clenched my hands. "And for what? To prove they're better than the other guy? Money? Something else?" I shake my head. "It's all so petty." I drew Rummy into a hug. "And then there's you to worry about. Your...uh coworkers." I responded as we passed by another couple walking down the street. "The twins probably wont take what we did lying down, they'll do something to you, I just know it."
"Hey hey hey." Rummy hugged me in return, a lot tighter. "I'll be fine." She smiled. "You're worrying too much."
"Or not enough." I replied back petulantly. "The gangs are a cancer on this city, if I could do something about it I would!"
She blinked at that, a bit taken aback at my vehement words. "You'd fight against the likes of Kaiser and Lung?" She asked quietly, running her hands through my hair.
"And more, if I could." I respond firmly. "Lung's a monster no matter what race he is and Kaiser is the leader of the group that's been treating you like shit just because your lifestyle doesn't match up with their ideology." I grimaced at the thought of the other major gang in the city. "The less said about the Merchants the better."
"Well then, why not get your mom to build you some Tinkertech and go out heroing?"
"She already has." I sigh. "I just don't know what I can do with it that can put down someone like Lung or even someone like Hookwolf..."
"What did she build?" Rummy asked curiously.
I lean into her side to cuddle up to her. "Well only a couple things at the moment; A hard light shield generator, telekinetic gauntlets and a helmet interface that works both of them, as well as the punching and healing rings." I felt Rummy slow down and glanced up to look into her wide eyes. "What?"
Rummy groaned in annoyance. "Taylor you dweeb, that kind of combo is really strong. What's the lift weight you can manage with those gauntlets?"
"Uh... about four hundred pounds."
Her mouth dropped open at that. "And you can just pick up whatever the hell you want without touching them?"
"It doesn't affect people, just objects!" I quickly respond.
"Even still." She sighed wistfully. "My problem is I have to touch things before I can move em, if I run out of shit to throw at people I have to take the time to find more stuff and touch it, while with those I could just yank more stuff to me. And with a Tinkertech shield I wouldn't have to worry about using stuff to protect myself and could focus everything on attacking."
I smiled at that, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "So you're saying that we work well together?"
Rummy blushed, snuggling up to me as well. "You...could say that."
I glance down at Rummy's flushed face, a genuinely happy smile on her lips, not the scowls or grumpiness she normally had. "Hey...If we work that well together... maybe, could we do our own thing?"
That got a raised eyebrow. "You mean like...an independent hero team or something?"
I shrug awkwardly in her arms as we walked. "Why not? It has to be better than dealing with the Empire?"
Her face scrunched up and her lips pursed at that, likely weighing the pros and cons of cutting ties with Kaiser. It took a few moments but her face smoothed out and her features took on a more determined set. "Yeah, I think I just might, you said your mom was rich enough I don't have to rely on the Empire's money?"
I nodded. "Lots of it with the ability to get as much as she wants really."
"Good... and you're sure she can make more tech to help us get stronger?" Here she grimaced. "Kaiser isn't going to take me defecting that well..."
I smirk at that. "If you can get over her... quirks then Kaiser doesn't have a chance in hell of touching you."
"...Is she really that good a tinker?"
A nod of the head and a smile. "Yeah, an amazing one... among other things." I give her another kiss on the lips. "Just trust me on this, you'll be fine."
That seemed to ease some of her fears as she too grinned. "looks like I'm going to be staying over at your place for a while." She rubbed at her nose, opening her mouth probably to say something cheeky when a short jingle filled the air.
I blink, staring down at my coat pocket and the vibration I could feel on my chest. Huh. I fished through the pocket for a moment and pulled my phone out, tapping in the password and staring at the number. "It's Victoria..." I mutter, hitting a button and holding it up to my ear. "Hello?"
"Heeeeeey Taylor, hows it goin?" The voice on the other side sounded strained.
"...Fine. Are you alright?"
"Uhhh, not really... kinda had an argument with...mom and well... me and Amy need a place to crash for a couple nights." And now she sounded embarrassed. "I wouldn't ask you to do this right after meeting you but... well, I called all my other friends and they either didn't have the room or didn't want to get involved. On top of that, my mom knows most of my friends and we don't have enough money to stay at a hotel and even if we did we kinda need to stay on the down low if you know what I mean?"
'Yeah...' I thought sourly, the thought of where the Endbringers currently were coming to the forefront of my mind. 'Yeah I do know what you mean...' Instead I responded with a rather curt. "I think so, just a couple days right?"
"Yeah, nothing more than that, hopefully me and Ames can figure something out in that time. But If you're not comfortable with that I understand..."
Well... shit, I couldn't just tell them no, I owed them that much for crashing into them earlier.... and, well, they were heroes. What kind of person would I be to deny a hero a place to sleep? I was not looking forward to them meeting Ziz but knowing her... yeah, should probably call ahead. "No, it's fine, plenty of room for it, I can pull out some comforters and extra pillows and you can crash on the couch." I rattled off my address and told her to meet me there in an hour. An hour to face the music...
"You're a life saver! I owe you one for this, anything you need just tell me, alright?"
"Don't even mention it." No really, don't. You probably weren't going to like your living arrangements anyway; casa del Endbringer isn't exactly the place most people would willingly choose to visit...
After the phone call ended, Rummy was giving me a rather pointed look. I flashed her a sheepish smile in return. "Vicky and Amy had a fight with their mom and kinda ran out of the house for a while." I made a wishy washy motion with my hand. "So they need a place to stay for a few days."
A raised eyebrow followed that statement, my was she good at using that eyebrow to get her point across... "And you have the room for all that?"
Nervous laugh, engage. "Yeah, Should be able to pack us all in there pretty easily."
Rummy's grip tightened around me waist. "So long as they keep their hands to themselves... Or are you trying to become king a lot sooner than I expected?" And there's that little shit eating grin of hers.
"No comment." I quip back with a blush, flicking to the dialer of my phone to punch in the number for the house phone.
It took a few rings but a musical voice answered me. "Hello, Hebert Residence?"
"Hey, it's Taylor, just wanted to let you know that a couple friends and-" I blush, hugging Rummy tighter. "-My girlfriend are going to be spending the night..." I pause, adding a bit of questioning to my tone. "I can uh... explain when we get there?"
"No need dear, I already have everything handled; dinner is almost ready and their linens are set out for them."
I frown at that, opening my mouth to ask something when I'm interrupted. "Probably shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answers to dear."
Right, precog...point taken. "Alright, love you."
"Love you too dear and don't worry, all will be well."
I couldn't help the cold shiver that went up my spine at those words. This was really happening, this was really happening. Deep breaths Taylor, deep breaths.
We took the bus back to my house, spending most of the trip there cuddled up against each other, enjoying possibly the last few minutes I'd have with Rummy if she didn't take Ziz's motherhood very well.
The walkway leading up to my house never looked so long...
And there was Amy and Victoria, a few minutes early... wonderful. I pulled Rummy into my arms, giving her one last hug and whispering into her ear. "Just... promise me you wont freak out, alright?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rummy asked with a raised eyebrow. "You sound like someone's about to die."
"Just promise me? Please?" Yes I was begging but at this point I was grasping at straws, not really looking forward to any of this.
She stared at me for a long moment, a strange look in her eyes before nodding slowly. "Yeah... sure, I promise."
I sighed, nervousness only slightly abetted. "Here goes nothing." I whispered under my breath. I greeted the two heroes in front of my house with a wave, smiling thinly at their early arrival. "A quick word of warning you two, mom's a bit... different, yeah. So try not to freak out until after she explains things... okay?"
Rummy was giving me that odd look again even as Vicky and Amy nodded at the strange request.
"Sure." Vicky chirped, a bit too peppy for the situation. "After the day we've had, it'll take a lot to freak me out."
"Ookaaay." I remark nervously, leading them towards the front door. The door swings open easily after I unlock it, a myriad of smells wafting out and getting a small chorus of sniffs from those behind me.
"Huh?" Rummy remarked. "Smells like meatloaf."
"And... sweet and sour chicken?" Victoria added, face scrunching up at the odd dinner combo.
Amy glanced between them strangely. "Are you two sure, because that's clearly cinnamon rolls..."
The three turned to look at me and I felt a drip of sweat roll down my spine. What the hell were you up to Ziz? This isn't alright.
A soft chime of a timer and the sounds of an oven being opened then closed echoed from the kitchen area, drawing our attention back into the house.
"After you." I waved lamely, stepping to the side to let them enter.
Following the trio in, I noted that the inside was as I'd left it this morning, with the noted exception that there were neat stacks of bedding for several people sitting near the couch, as well as a soft sheen to all the surfaces, as if they'd just recently been cleaned.
"Oh good, you're finally here!" The airy lilt of The Simurgh's voice came from the Kitchen. I closed my eyes, moment of truth.
I turned, opening them...
Only for them to snap wide in shock.
Ziz was there, in an immaculate... I wasn't sure what to call it, some bastard love child of a woman's business suit and a French maid outfit, with her wings poking out at tasteful and well hidden slits in the clothing. It was... ridiculous but at the same time looked very good on her. It all but screamed business while at the same time projected a motherly aura to all those around her.
And then I was enveloped in a hug.
"Did you have fun on your date? How was the trip there? Did you make sure to wear your coat dear?" On and on the questions went, ranging from very serious to the completely benign. I risked a glance over at Rummy, Vicky and Amy.
The three of them had frozen, eyes wide and skin paling rapidly. I could see moisture start to speckle their bodies as their muscles went taut and the look in their eyes screamed that they were halfway between standing their ground and fighting, or turning and running as if the devil himself were chasing at their heels. Fortunately, that coin seemed to land on it's side and they remained rooted in place, though Amy had started to giggle which wasn't a very good sign.
And then Lisa walked down the stairs, clad in nothing but a coconut bra and Scottish kilt, a Ukulele hung off her back.
Wait what?
The freckled blonde walked between the lot of us into the kitchen, rummaging through the freezer for a moment before finding what she wanted.
A bucket?
A bucket which she then proceeded to douse the trio of girls with, drawing a chorus of shrieks as the ice cold water drenched them down to the bone.
Ziz smiled warmly at Lisa. "Thank you for that dear, you can go back to what you were doing now."
Lisa glared at Ziz for a moment before dropping the bucket, taking a moment to flip her off as she walked into the living room to plop down on the couch. A remote appeared in her hand and she started flipping through channels, stopping every so often to stare at the TV screen.
Weird...
Oh right... trio of girls, soaked in ice cold water and I only now notice that the temperature in the house was colder than usual, the heat from the stove the only thing giving any kind of appreciable warmth.
A trio of towels that I hadn't noticed sitting on the table were quickly passed around, which the girls gratefully took, eyeing Ziz with no little amount of fear.
"Now that I have your attention." Ziz smiled. "I'm sure you have questions. Let me answer the obvious ones first." She raised a single, dainty finger. "Yes, I am The Simurgh." Another finger rose up. "No, I'm not turning you into mindless minions, that's what Lisa is for."
"Well fuck you too." Came the annoyed retort from the living room.
"Oh hush." Ziz waved her off with her two raised fingers. "You would be a lot worse off if I hadn't helped you out." Her gaze returned back to the trio of shivering girls. "And that brings me to point number three; What could I possibly want?" She smiled. "It's really quite simple." Her arms enveloped me again, and drew me into a warm hug. "What I want is Taylor's happiness." Her stare landed on Rummy, who clenched up instinctively in fear. "You're her girlfriend?"
Rummy nodded shakily, head going up and down as if on a jackhammer.
I felt Ziz's smile widen, "Thats good, I like the looks of you, continue making my daughter happy and you have my approval."
"Daughter!?" The words escaped Amy's mouth before she could stop herself, which drew a small squeak when Ziz focused on her.
"Technically." Here she rolled her eyes. "She is my step daughter through her father; my husband but I generally don't make those kinds of distinctions. Her health and happiness is paramount to me and that should be more than enough reason to accept her as my own."
Well, that sent warm fluffy butterfly's through my stomach... I didn't know she felt that strongly about being my mother...
"What makes Taylor so special?" And that was Vicky, standing in front of Amy, putting on a brave face as she talked back to arguably one of the strongest beings on the planet.
"Because she, along with her father gave me something that I cannot put a price to; my freedom and a reason to live."
Ziz's response was far quieter than I expected it to be, but the way she said it, sent shivers down my spine, I did that? How? I felt her hand comb through my hair as my feet left the ground, the both of us floating into a comfortable reclining position. "Up until a few months ago, we Endbringers didn't have any will of our own, barely better than puppets pulled by invisible strings."
I froze in Ziz's grip, out of the corner of my eye I caught the others doing the same; was she about to tell us the origins of the Endbringers?
Ziz's words turned a bit morose as her grip tightened onto me like a stress toy. "Our maker did not realize they had made us, an unintentional use of their power that was used up, lost and forgotten." A soft sigh escaped her. "And yet, we were set on our course, to be siege engines, to whittle away slowly but surely at the world. I was a nothing, barely better than a program unable to feel anything.... My first desire, the first chink in that emotionless shell that drove me was a desire to be free. A freedom I've gained through Taylor and her father."
"That's nice and all, but I call bullshit on that." Vicky spoke up. "That seems a bit too convenient a story, what's to say this isn't one of your plans and even now you're setting us up to do something horrible to our city?"
Ziz rose a delicate eyebrow up in challenge. "You may think what you want but that doesn't really change the facts of our existence. If I had truly wanted to end humanity, it would have taken less than a week to do so. We were jobbing, holding back, all according to our makers unknowing whim. 'Worthy opponents' thats what we were to him, nothing more, nothing less." Her words came out in a hiss, eyes narrowed at Vicky. "Mindless killing machines made to cause havoc just so he can stroke his ego." She turned her nose up at the blonde. "Or do you honestly think that our powers are as limited as yours are??
That ruffled Vicky's feathers if her affronted look was anything to go by and it was only Amy grabbing Vicky's hand that calmed her down and kept her from attacking right then, which gave the brunette enough time to ask her own question. "What... do you mean by that, your attacks could have been worse?" Oh... oh yeah, Amy as Panacea had been to plenty of Endbringer attacks, she'd likely seen the devastation first hand.
A pencil floated in from the den to hang in front of Ziz's face, the graphite slowly sliding out the end like glob of toothpaste out of a tube to slowly coalesce into a tiny ball. Ziz closed her hand around it and a loud crackling noise filled the air, when she removed her hand a... was that a diamond!? "My telekinesis can affect individual atoms, If I compressed them to the point they started fusing I could unleash a nuclear blast wherever I wish. Leviathan could simply sit miles off shore, throwing tsunami sized waves at the coasts of every continent, killing billions. Behemoth doesn't have to appear outside of a city and walk ponderously towards his target, nor does he need nuclear power to cause damage on that scale. He burrows deep in the earth's crust through super heated rock and lava, he could simply collect the thermal energy over the year between his attacks then once he appears above ground, unleash it all at once." She dumped the diamond carelessly out of her hand where it struck loudly against the floor. "Consider that, carefully."
Vicky's expression soured, though she did look deeper in thought which was a...good thing?
Rummy shook her head. "So that's what she meant by quirks." she muttered under her breath before clearing her throat, working up the nerve to ask Ziz something directly. "What...uh, what happened to your creator? And... and you never really answered golden girl's question. Why Taylor? What made her so special that she could free you?"
Ziz blinked, a small frown adorning her face as her words took on a more sinister tone. "Our creator is... indisposed for the foreseeable future. As for why Taylor?" I felt her head tilt as she stared down at the top of my head, her hand caressing my cheek. "She is meant for great things. In some futures they are terrible, in others she could be the catalyst to change the world. She has so many potential futures and almost all of them are a sight to behold."
I... I was that important, really? I swallowed with a suddenly very dry mouth, no pressure.
"But in almost all of these..." Her voice went soft again, sad even. "There was no abundance of love, no joy or happiness, just duty and doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. She deserves better." Bitterness, anger, I could practically taste her emotions in the air as she spat out those words "I spent a decade performing atrocities that none of you can even fathom with no will of my own. Seeing her become fate's chewtoy in so many varied and unique ways it... resonated with me, gave me something to focus on in my cold machine mind, something to ground myself and it gave me my desire to break my shackles." A smile, I could feel it now as her hand rubbed my hair again. "Her father may have facilitated my freedom and showed me the wonders of emotion but she is the one who instilled me with my desire for freedom and for that I am willing to do anything and everything to make her happy."
The room was silent, even Lisa was unnaturally quiet, the TV she had been watching muted and forgotten as her attention was focused on us.
Then, Amy spoke up, barely a whisper. "Even sabotaging our lives?" The rest of the room's occupants turned to her, staring.
Gathering up her nerve, Amy pulled a book, and for some reason it felt necessary to put emphasis on that, out of her purse. "This book got me kicked out of my own home, and I found this book completely by accident...or so I assumed." Her hand gripped tightly on it. "I didn't realize it at first but Carol pointed it out to me, the characters in this book are too close, too much like me and Vicky to be coincidence... You did this, didn't you?"
Ziz flicked her finger forward, striking Amy right on the nose with a bit of TK. "What of it? Of course I set you on a path, as I said I want what is best for my daughters happiness-" A finger flicked her again, as she tried to open her mouth and say something, silencing her in the process. "Quiet. -And out of all the futures I can see, it just so happens that when all of you as a group -and yes there will likely be more people gravitating toward Taylor, she's a magnet for trouble like that- come together with Taylor as your center, that is when she is at her happiest." Her gaze bore into the brunettes, the girl's will faltering under the ashen stare. "I have seen this, you can become a family; lovers, friends, a small community tightly knit and supportive of one another. And don't give me any of that bullshit about your life being better before this." She snapped, not only at Amy but at the other's too.
Her thumb jabbed towards the living room for a moment. "Lisa would have been held at gun point and forced to become a villain, and then once her usefulness was up, she would be strapped to a table in some dark room somewhere, drugged up to her eyeballs to be her drafter's pet thinker." Lisa twitched at that, eyes closing in pain as she rubbed the space between her eyeballs, muttering foul words to herself all the while.
Ziz smirked, nodding her head at Rummy next. "And you, after the Empire splinters -and yes, eventually it will splinter- You become little better than Hookwolf's pet transport, ferrying people around and doing his dirty work. No life of your own, no real direction and no simple joys to be had, just hard survival in a cruel world."
Rummy's expression soured at that. "Like hell I will." she sneered. "That dickhead can go take a long walk off a short pier."
A snort, Ziz's eyes shifting to Amy and Vicky, voice pitching solemn, serious, deadly serious. "As for you two, your story is the most tragic. After years of Carol's mental abuse and the strain of all the pressures you're under... you-" a finger pointed at Amy. "-Snap and break your one rule, warping your sisters' mind to your whims and then, some time later, her body into a form that is utterly alien and unrecognizable, a form that has no mouth but desperately wants to scream. It is a fate worse than death and you don't have it much better either, ending up in the Birdcage, barely holding on to what sanity you have left."
"It is a bit of a simplification but that-" She stresses the word with a harsh finality. "-Is all of your futures if I hadn't intervened. Can you honestly say you prefer that over your current situation right now?"
Amy, who had taken a step away from her sister and started to shake the moment Ziz mentioned her rule, clenched her fists in what could only be a barely suppressed anger. "You're lying." She hissed, staring at Ziz with tears in her eyes. "There's no way I'd do any of that shit to my sister. I can't, I won't! I lov-" Amy bent over, hyperventilating as she gasped for air, Vicky reached out a hand to help her up. "Don't touch me!" She snapped, backing away from her sister, who flinched, hurt clear as day on her face.
"You are correct." Ziz spoke up, drawing Amy's wild eyed attention back to her. "You're not going to do that to her, not anymore. You're no longer in the toxic environment which would have caused such a thing and as of now you sister knows of your love for her though maybe not to the extent she should, given her recent revelations, but she can learn, as long as she is willing."
Ziz flashed a startled Vicky a grin, the latter looking from Ziz to her sister with a conflicted grimace. "Are you suggesting that I... date my sister?"
The feathered woman shrugged, an odd feeling with me in her lap. "Why not? The only important reason against incest is increased risk of genetic deformity in the subsequent children, but not only are you unlikely to have biological children unless little Amy there facilitates that, but even if you did have a deformed child, she could fix the deformity with little issue, even deformities of the brain; at that age, it is unlikely that they will remember any of the changes done to them by the time they reach adulthood." She waved a hand between the two. " Give it a shot, who knows, you might actually be the perfect couple for each other" She gave them both a knowing wink. "And if the worst happens and you two realize that you aren't compatible then just write it off as a fever dream and ignore that it ever happened."
"You still messed with our lives." Amy spoke quietly, looking at her sister with hopeful but at the same time ashamed eyes. "Vicky shouldn't be put into that position, Taylor or Rummy either. What if they didn't want to be together?"
"And? "The feathered woman rolled her eyes. "Are you honestly saying you'd rather live unhappily. What difference does it make whether you meet each other through a bit of random chance or through a bit of a guiding hand? It's not even that much really. Just a push or a tug here and there." She raised an eyebrow." That also doesn't change the fact that Carol lied to both of you about who you actually are. Together with her paranoia of you becoming a villain and her constant need for perfection from you... "She chuckled darkly, throwing a dismissive hand Amy's direction. "Being driven to the point where she shows her psychosis doesn't change the fact that she was driving you to the breaking point. At some point something has to snap and she'd be there crowing that she had predicted it all along even though her actions were in and of themselves a self fulfilling prophecy, driving you to burn out in the first place."
"And that somehow makes it okay!" Amy snarled. "You're taking away people's free will and making them into what you want them to be!" That sounded like it hit way too close to home.
Ziz's eyes hardened and she floated closer to Amy, who maybe, kinda just realized she yelled at an Endbringer. "All it took was one or two small nudges to show you how horribly toxic your family and social circles actually are. Can you honestly tell me that in a similar situation without my interference that they wouldn't act exactly the same? Do you honestly think your free will would have changed your situation for the better?"
The silence that followed that was rather telling,
Amy opening and closing her mouth woodenly, apparently at a loss on how to answer that.
It would have lasted almost a full minute if Rummy hadn't spoken up with a resigned sigh. "Yeah, you have a point. Even if I was dating a dude, they still would have acted the same way if he was anything other than white... and that thing about Hookwolf, yeah I can see it happening, far too easily for comfort."
"Same." Vicky muttered darkly.
"Vicky!?" Amy snapped. "You're taking her side? She's a fucking Endbringer!?"
Vicky's mouth stretched flat as her hands snapped out and grabbed hold of her sister's shoulders. "An Endbringer who's done nothing but help you, sure it's for selfish reasons but dammit, she has a point. Would you rather stay in that house with Carol, her constantly breathing down your neck and not getting loved or treated like family? Even if only part of what she's saying is true, she still saved your life." The blonde stared at Ziz for a moment, whom nodded, a soft smile crossing her face. Vicky turned back to Amy, far more sure of herself than before, as she leaned forward to get right in Amy's face. "And she has another point." She whispered, pulling her sister into a hug. "I wasn't there for you like I should have been, I was oblivious to the shit mom did to you for so long, I don't deserve to be called your sister."
Amy grimaced, holding onto her sister. "Vicky..."
"Don't Vicky me." She sighed, breaking the hug to grab her sisters cheeks in her hands. "I feel partially responsible, I could have done so much more for you."
"But you did do a lot for me Vicky!" Amy grabbed her sisters cheeks back, the somewhat childish action looking rather silly. "You've been a great sister."
The blonde shook her head. "Not nearly enough, and not the kind of sister you want me to be..."
Amy wilted at that. "Well... yeah... You know why."
"That changes, now."
"...What?" Amy's eyes widened as the distance between them shortened and Vicky covered her sisters lips with her own in a gentle kiss.
"Uh." Rummy cleared her throat again, a bit stunned at the lip lock. "Huh, you don't see that every day."
"No, you really don't." Ziz chuckled softly. "Take it from someone who see's far more than any one being rightfully should."
"Speaking of..." The telekinetic glanced up at her senior, keeping her voice low. "Isn't it kind of messed up, getting the two of them together? I know that Amy's powers can take care of that shit but still... kinda gross.
"It would if they were actually related." Ziz remarked wryly in the same low tone, throwing her a wink. "Amy is adopted."
"Then why...?" Rummy started to ask, only to pause when Ziz chuckled.
"You've answered it yourself. It's 'gross' to people no matter how little it matters in this case, they will see it as disgusting as it's practically ingrained into your society at this point." Ziz waved a dismissive hand. "She only needed a reason to latch onto, especially when she's currently more concerned with her sisters happiness."
Rummy snorted at that. "That's so screwed up" shaking her head at Amy's cherry red face, even as the girl's limp form had to be held up by her sister. "Well, the situation is already resolved into totally fucked anyway so I guess incest isn't the worst thing that I've seen this week."
"Don't I know it?" Lisa remarked from Rummy's side, drawing a small yelp from the telekinetic as she leapt back. A sigh passed through the freckled blonde's lips. "So many plots, no real control anywhere."
I dropped out of Ziz's hold even as she swatted Lisa lightly across the back. "More than you think my little minion. I only brought you together, your thoughts and emotions are your own after that point, I merely acted in my motherly role of best wingman."
Lisa groaned into her hands. "That joke was terrible and you should feel terrible."
I ignore that, mostly, to focus on the more pressing problem at hand. Namely Rummy. I approach her apprehensively, hands clammy and crossed against my stomach. "Sooo." I turn my head. "That's... uh yeah... Told you she was... different."
She laughed bitterly. "Understatement of the year."
"Are you... okay?
A shake of the head. "Not really." A hand ran through her hair even as I wilted under her words. "Your mother is an Endbringer, what part of that is even close to okay...?"
...
"But..." I glanced up, hopeful but fully prepared for her to dump me right there. "I guess I'm kinda committed to this." She smiled, even as I felt my pulse quicken. Is she-? "And you were right." Her arm snapped forward fast as lightning around my shoulder to yank me into a hug. "Kaiser ain't got shit on an Endbringer, that dumb fucker doesn't know what he's dealing with!"
I wrap a hesitant arm around her in return and when that limb wasn't shrugged off or rejected, I tighten my grip almost painfully, relief and happiness waging a war in my stomach to see who could clear out the butterflies and bile first. "Yeah, though... Endbringer isn't... entirely accurate."
Rummy stared at me with a mix of curiosity and well deserved caution. "What... do you mean by that?"
"...Well?"
That was about the time Levi dropped from the ceiling, hanging upside down by his tail in a fetal ball so that his head hung at about head height.
Rummy stared at him.
"Sssssup?" He hailed her.
"Meet big bro Levi." I wave lazily at him, a soft breath of annoyance passing my lips.
"IT IS COMPLETE!" Long, heavy foot falls moved ponderously up the basement staircase, the door flinging open to disgorged Behemoth from it's depths. "AH...?" His voice boomed in the house as he looked around. "WE HAVE GUESTS? EXCELLENT!"
"And thats Uncle Bemi." I sigh, helping Rummy down to the floor as her knees had just given out, her voice coming out strained.
"All three Endbringers, you've gotta be shitting me." A nervous laugh escaped her. "All three fucking Endbringers."
I glanced over to Vicky and Amy, the latter of which had already fainted from seeing the other two Endbringers so close together, while the former eased her gently to the floor.
'Well.' I wonder to myself as I run soothing kisses along the top of Rummy's head. 'On the bright side, as far as first meetings with the parents goes, this went rather well...'
-oOo-
Ziz is being at the same time, more blunt and more subtle, I hope I did fairly well having the reveal in this chapter, it felt like the right time. I couldn't, not easily at least hold off the meeting until all the harem was under one roof, so they get to meet Ziz sooner than I expected, to about the results for the same. Was their reactions okay or a bit rough? I will admit, this isn't my finest chapter, but like the last one this one wanted to be written only a certain way and this was the way it wanted. So that it be. Some moderate reveals and some mild social engineering. It's funny when Vicky is the voice of reason in these situations.
Also, next chapter, we should be seeing The basement™ as well as the initial stages of Operation: Inglorious Bastards.
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CrunchySharpie
Professional Harem Consultant
- Location
- Sharpie Factory
I don't see how. It was nothing but a couple kisses, hugs and Taylor getting cuddled like a giant teddy bear while events get revealed.
Unless you mean The basement™. In which case, NO, it is not that kind of basement. All he did is a few renovations and expanded guest room capacity. I honestly had him doing that because, 1. They're going to need the space, 2. because I want to see how silly I can make the decor out of him just melting things.
EDIT: As I'd like to remind everyone, this is not a NSFW story.
This is as lewd as it's getting people
Edit Dos: Unless you mean my Red Vs. Blue reference? Might be the RvB reference. Hrm. Yeah, I'll get rid of that, was binging RvB so one of their jokes kinda slipped in there. I shall edit it.
Edit tres, Okay, now you've got me self conscious, I've read through this thing like 6-7 times now and I'm not seeing anything, anyone want to point out anywhere where they see anything that they think might be NSFW?
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- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
No no no. You have 'early morning, Ami going like a zombie to the kitchen for coffee', like any proper medical professional. Slowly waking up while sitting at the kitchen table, and noticing that yes, that's Benny who's experimenting with ways to cook coffee who's been handing her two cups she's been drinking from, and yes, he's patiently waiting for her thoughts on their taste?
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- Location
- Lost to the Depths of the Deep Web
Well I was talking about the basement... You never know what some people will do in there spare time
CrunchySharpie
Professional Harem Consultant
- Location
- Sharpie Factory
Well, I haven't decided exactly what to put down there just yet, I have a few ideas but mainly? I was going to grab some Escher paintings and HGTV screenshots and throw darts at them.
Euclidean geometry is optional, of course.
Yeah, momma Ziz takes some getting used to, It's like waking up in the morning to find Cthulu making you pancakes. Sure, those are probably going to be the most delicious pancakes ever but you're gonna lose 10 san per bite.
And again, I'd like to reiterate, when the first comment is "NSFW?" that makes me self conscious. I've taken to rereading my chapters like 5-6 times before I post now to screen out anything untoward, if someone is taking things out of context, let me know and I'll do to the excerpt what Stalin did to Trotsky.
That's The Other Basement™ It'll show it's ugly head when I decide to do a story for QQ, until then, it stays in it's depraved little corner. And I mean, Bemi's been down there for like... 10+ chapters, and it was kind of implied that he's making more guest rooms. Who Needs Enemies has made me love Artistic!Behemoth, so kinda wanted to include that in this story, considering that's where this story spawned from.
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- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
You know what Benny likes? Minecraft. Artistic Minecraft.
Seen those old 'Temple of Doom' movies with Indiana Jones? That's down there. Moria? That's down there. Humongous halls with towns built into them? That's down there. Dorf fortresses? Definitely! Pyramids! Lava streams! Aztech ruins! Currently, Benny has been busy with Levi trying to make those extended underground greenhouses work actually. Anytime someone needs a hidden path to or from somewhere? Benny opens 'trapdoor/escape route/airvent/mineshaft/backdoor/whatever: x', and presto!
In the beginning, that's just underneath the district. Then the city. Then the area around the city. Then, of course, the train lines get laid, and well...
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- Location
- Middle Europe
Probably she dont want to bring this up. This maybe will be a bit to much SAN DMG to them at one time
Xero Key
Flying high, spinning webs!
Probably because the Westermark Effect is in play here. Amy and Vicky are the same age and lived their formative years together, so Ziz had to use her precog variation of PtV to convince Vicky it is acceptable.
- Location
- MN
Yeah, that was kind of a strange argument to make.
I don't really have any alternative suggestions to make. Well, none that wouldn't make things harder, cause even more conflict or that the OP probably already considered, rejected and might bring up in a later chapter?
- Location
- Canada
"Incest is a problem because genetic issues... (now, you guys aren't genetically related, but)... even if there are any problems, you can easily fix them, Amy."
dracklor
Beyond the Frontier
- Location
- Texas
They can get the plants working now that they have Panpan, heck they can populate it like a true D&D dungeon now with dragons! Real ones, Bemi can let Lung out of the 10x10 room he locked him in for the dungeon crawl... :lol
Burning Baron
This position needs more entrenching.
- Location
- In here, not out there.
JFC! Do you wanna get banned for that? Perv.
See my smile
Life...Life never Changes.
- Location
- The Commonwealth
Well that happened. . . And I loved it.
HircumPrinceps
Goat Lord
- Location
- Seattle
Holy shit its alive
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
EDIT: As I'd like to remind everyone, this is not a NSFW story.
This is as lewd as it's getting people
