NABC [329] 4.50 A Heart-to-Heart… to Heart
[329] 4.50 A Heart-to-Heart… to Heart
Chloe and I make our way back to our room. With some help from Hank, who, yes, knows spatial-enlarging glyphs, we’re able to turn our room from little more than a walk-in closet into a respectable place to sleep. And then Hank pulls out a spare bed and mattress for me, because after all his discussion earlier about making proper use of our [Inventory]... Well, why wouldn’t he have an extra bed just ready to sleep on?“Can I have those glyphs?” I ask. “The ones you use for spatial expansion, specifically? I think they might help me in the future.”
Hank pulls out another book and hands it to me. “Please, Sera. You are humanity’s hope. If there’s anything I can do–”
“Please, Hank. Not right now,” I say. “I’m not in a position to be a savior to anyone. I’m honestly… not sure if you picked the right person to be some sort of great hero.”
“I see.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Hank. I’m still going to try to defeat the System. I’m just not going to do it out of a sense of duty or heroism. I’m going to do it for my own selfish aims, because I want to live a long time, and share that life with Chloe. And I can’t exactly let the end of the universe get in our way, now can I?”
It’s Hank’s turn to chuckle. “I suppose not. Still, even if your reasons are selfish, as long as your actions and intentions are in accordance with protecting and defending humanity from the System, then your motivations are your own.”
“So, um,” Chloe asks. “Dad. Are you okay with everything?”
“I– I don’t know, dear. I haven’t been the greatest husband to Leece, and I certainly haven’t been the greatest of fathers to either you or Sera. I don’t regret what I did, but if Leece and I end up separating, then…”
“Maybe we can talk to her?” I mention to Chloe silently.
“I was thinking the same thing. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
“We’ll talk with her,” Chloe says. “At the very least, I think she’d be more receptive to hearing from us than from you right now.”
Hank’s eyes raise for a brief moment, then lower along with his head. “I don’t want to ask either of you to intercede on my behalf, especially not with my own mistakes. But, if you still would do so of your own volition, I would appreciate it.”
“Of course, Dad,” Chloe says. “It’s the least I can do to help.”
“Thank you. In the meantime, I’ll work on setting up some other glyphs for you two. Heating and temperature control, lighting, sound suppression.” He glares at both of us. “Definitely going to need some good sound-suppression systems. I’d say a strong lock as well, but–”
I stare at Hank before reluctantly conceding the point. [Unlock] was one of the first glyphs I’d learned; there was no way he couldn’t use it too.
“Anyway, we’ll see you back later.”
Chloe knocks on the door to the master suite, where Alicia is currently staying.
“Go away, Hank! I don’t want to talk with you right now!”
“Mom,” Chloe says. “May Sera and I come in?”
“Did Hank send you two here to butter me up? Because I am not going to–”
“No, Mom,” I say. “We wanted to talk with you of our own volition. Can we please come in?”
A pause of several long seconds; I vaguely hear the sound of a long sigh through the door.
“Go ahead,” she says, though she doesn’t sound pleased.
The door slides open, and I can immediately see Alicia’s red, puffy eyes and the half-used box of tissues lying next to her on the bed, not to mention the pile of used ones on the ground beneath. Not being a high-enough level yet, she has no [Inventory], suggesting that Hank probably left those for her in anticipation of her reaction. A small gesture, and while I know there’s a lot of work to do to truly reconcile, it seems to me that Hank really does care about her and is trying to give her the time and space she needs.
Chloe takes the lead. She’s back in her [Healer’s Robes] rather than the [Auracite Armor] she now dons in battle, and her [Swords of Repose], like my swordstaff, are nowhere to be found. She sits beside Mom on the opposite side of the bed from the door and wraps an arm around her, saying nothing. I follow, disappearing the used tissues away with a wave of my hand and a mote of silver light.
“You know, Sera, that’s probably unsanitary.”
“More or less unsanitary than us all sitting around in so much mucus while we all talk as a family?”
“I… I suppose you have a point.”
A good minute of unspoken air follows, Chloe’s and my arms each wrapped around Mom’s back, while Mom sits there in silence punctuated by occasional sniffles. She stands up and pulls us both into a big hug, which we eagerly reciprocate.
“Careful, Chloe!” she says. “Don’t forget how much stronger you are now!”
“Told you, Chloe,” I add.
“Sera!” Chloe’s tone is filled with playful indignance. She gives me a light slap to reinforce her amused displeasure.
Mom laughs. “I’d say you two have always been as close as real sisters, but I guess your relationship ended up going in a different direction. Maybe it was fate that it’d be this way.”
“I don’t think so,” Chloe says. “Regardless of data or past memories, I’m still me, and Sera’s still herself, and we chose to go down this path of our own free will.”
“You’re really not mad?” Mom asks. “If I were you, I’d be furious at this.”
“I won’t speak for Chloe, but I’m glad to have this second chance.”
Chloe nods. “I agree with Sera. I don’t necessarily think he did everything right, but I think, knowing what I know now and thinking about what he knew then, that he did what he thought was right at the time.”
“I still think Hank should have talked with me first,” Mom says. “It wasn’t his right to do something like that to our unborn child without us both being on board with it, let alone without so much as letting me know beforehand.”
“I agree,” I say. “I’m not going to say that the violations are comparable, but in the months since the System has arrived, Chloe’s accused me of being reckless plenty of times before. And she’s not wrong. I’ve jumped into battles, used magic I didn’t fully understand and couldn’t fully control. Multiple times, mind you. How do you think I lost my arm?”
“She’s right.” Chloe gives me a sly smile. “But I still love her, recklessness and all.”
“So, what, you want me to just forget? Just forgive, because his heart is in the right place? I–”
“No, Mom,” Chloe says. “I don’t think you should forgive him, ‘just because his heart is in the right place’. I think you should forgive him because the two of you love each other, and I don’t think staying mad at him will make you happy.”
“Which is the same thing.”
“I don’t think so,” I say. “Hold his feet to the fire. Make him re-earn your trust. Make him demonstrate his commitment and partnership through deed instead of word. He already knows he’s fucked up–”
“Sera, since when did you start dropping F-Bombs like a rapper?”
“Since a demon showed up in the middle of my class and started trying to kill my students, that’s when.”
“You know, with everything that’s gone on these past few days, I actually forgot that that happened not even two weeks ago.” Mom sighs. “I guess that once again the day is saved, thanks to the two of you. It just feels wrong that it should be our children who he did all that on.”
“I think it had to have been us,” Chloe says. “Wouldn’t it have been even more unethical for him to experiment on anyone else’s unborn children? I think he wanted us to have that choice when the System arrived.”
“I wonder if that’s why they went after Mom— Lily— the day the System arrived,” I said.
“It’s fine, Sera,” Alicia says. “You can call her Mom just the same. No one ever said a girl can’t have two mothers.”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “Maybe so, but I wouldn’t expect grandchildren anytime soon if I were you.”
“You two are still eighteen, you know. And especially with all this System stuff? I highly recommend you take a few more years for things to settle down before you even think about… I was going to say something about you two getting each other pregnant… But, now that I think about it, there probably actually is some sort of magic symbols or glyphs or whatnot that allows for just that.”
“We’ll be responsible,” Chloe says.
“I know you both will.” Mom hugs us again. “If it’s alright with you, I think I’m going to take a couple hours to rest and think about what I want to say to Hank.”
“Alright,” Chloe says. “Love you, and see you later.”
I wave as well. “See you later.”
The two of us make our way back in our room, now well-fitted with quite a bit more creature comforts thanks to Hank’s tireless efforts. Chloe lies down, and I snuggle in next to her. Come to think of it… I look down at my purple blouse and my distinct lack of armor.
“Did you take me out of my armor at some point while I was sleeping?”
Chloe giggles. “Did you only just now realize?”
“I passed out so hard I didn’t even think about what I was wearing.”
My armor appears in a flash of golden light and then disappears again in a silver shimmer.
“Anyway,” Chloe says. “There’s something else I wanted to ask you about.”
I nod, inviting her question.
“When you first saw the body of the original Seraphina, you were completely transfixed, almost like some sort of hypnosis spell was pulling you in. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I think it might have been some portion of ⸢The Anomaly⸥ calling to me, or her, or whatever. I guess I’m that Seraphina’s daughter and clone, but I’m also partially her and… Honestly, I think the less I think about the exact relationship between us, the better.”
“Hah!” Chloe pecks my cheek. “My Sera, not rushing in to investigate some strange phenomenon that baffles her? I daresay she might just be maturing!”
“Well, yeah, I do still want to do some investigations later, but not just yet.”
“So, do you want to read through these research notes I was telling you about earlier?”
I narrow my eyes at Chloe. “Also yes, I definitely want to do that. But that’s not what I want to do at this exact moment. Assuming my lovely girlfriend is so inclined, of course.”
“Oh?” Chloe gives me a sly smile. “And, my lovely Seraphina, keeper of my heart, what would you like to do right now?”
Keeper of your heart? I’ll have to remember that one for later. “Hank said he installed the sound-suppression glyphs, yes?”
Chloe’s smile only grows wider. “Why yes, he did.”
I glance at the walls, seeing quite an advanced variant wedged in not far from the door. Exquisitely designed, and with a couple runes I’ve never seen before, along with another few I’m not accustomed to using in that particular manner. I take some mental notes, promising that I’ll study them in greater detail later.
“And he did quite a good job with them, from everything I could tell.”
Chloe opens up her robes and reveals her toned abs. “Should I go ahead and remove this now, or would you like to do the honors?”
I kiss Chloe. “I think I’d enjoy doing it myself this afternoon.”