Halloween Special - 2. Is Splitting Up A Good Idea? (Patreon)

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our ATM Protag in this 'spooky' special!)

In-Line Edit 

Holiday Specials

Previous Chapter

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Sora floated away from the odd, far too confident undead girl, carrying Rhea and her daughter to the side as Rachel, Scarlet, and Clover completed their circle.  Her daughter was totally engaged with Rhea and her two Pokemon, questioning their odd salt-and-pepper color scheme.

Rachel’s long ears tilted to the left, studying Elinor.  “You mentioned Ishtar…  I’m guessing you’re the despicable elder sister that dumped all your responsibilities onto her and took off to some godly battle royal?”

“Ho-ho.  Is that what Ishy told you?”  the white-haired woman mused.  “She’s such a tease.  I wouldn’t want you to spoil her report when Voukey contacts me.  What I would love is to learn more about you and Scarlet, since it appears our worlds were linked during Dagon’s invasion.  Tell me about yourself and this… unusual degree of misfortune I sense following you…”

Elinor’s narrowed emerald irises shifted to the vampire as the raven-locked girl strained a smile, putting her fangs on full display and drawing Emilia’s critical eye.  “What is within you, on the other hand… is most fascinating.  I don’t expect this will be the last time we meet.”

“Eh-hehehe.  Yeah… you really are related to Ishtar with that all-knowing look.  You’re not going to try to suck our souls out like she said, right?”

Rachel flashed her teeth.  “She can try!”

“No.  Haha.  However, I suspect I will be at odds with the tragic mutant within you… or she will believe it so.  A divine nephilim and bunny inside the hare, while an abomination lies inside the vampire…  Cute!  I look forward to getting along with you.”

Sora wasn’t sure if the two parties were going to drop the subtle ploys and attack one another as a teenage girl appeared beside Rachel—a construct to hold the bunny’s consciousness—and she could already see Emilia squealing, which, of course she did.

“Ooh!  Are you my age; you’re a bunny girl?!”

The smug teenager puffed up her small chest.  “Hehe!  I am the ultimate power, Nia, the Supreme Leader of the Secret Society of Denier!”

Emilia’s eyes sparkled.  “You’re a soul-linked outfit?!  That’s so cool, and you’re the leader of a whole secret society!”

“Ho-ho-ho!  Praise me, fox friend!  You shall be the burning ghost, Fluffy-Fire, the Ethereal Ember of the, uh… End, no… Abyss!  Fluffy-Fire, Eternal Ember of the Abyss, and we will conquer this Halloween night and its terrors together, collecting all the sweets!”

“Yes!  Yes!  Oh, let me swap to red fire to match the name.  This is so cool, Mom!  Best birthday ever!  Scarlet!  Scarlet!”

“Mmh?”  The confused girl pointed at herself as Emilia reached into her pocket dimension of clothes to pull out a gothic-looking vampire dress that had Elinor give an impressed nod.  “Woah, that’s…”

“Amazing?  Super cute?  Meant to be worn by you?  Yes!  Yes, it is!”  Emilia giggled, using her magic to adjust the size for the girl.  “Can we go trick-or-treating, Mom?  Please!  Rhea can come, too.  She’ll keep us out of trouble!”

“I will?”  Rhea asked, completely blindsided by the babysitter role she’d been thrown into.

Nia huffed, crossing her arms.  “I don’t need a chaperone; I’ve fought demons and fish monsters and everything all on my own!”

Rachel gave her a lifted eyebrow.  “Alone?  When have you ever fought without hiding behind my tail?”

“Huh?!  No!  I totally fought those fish people when you abandoned me!”

“I don’t remember that,” Rachel mused, appraising Elinor’s innocent smile and extended hand before taking it.  “Points for recognizing me as a hare.  I wouldn’t mind learning more about you and getting a few answers myself.  Scarlet, mind chilling with the flat-butt?”

“You are the worst big sister!”  Nia hissed.  “Emilia, Big Sis, Nia, Rhea, let’s get out of there and leave the boring old ladies to do their own stuff.

Sora’s mouth tightened when a sensual-looking black-winged angel exited from within Rachel’s Core to give them a chuckling bow from the air.  “I will guide them toward the… appropriate amount of mischief, Mistress.”

“Yseress,” Rachel warned, making Elinor laugh.  “We’re not talking about your standards; I know you had your fun with Alexa, Elinnila, the poor succubus, and teasing Jeanne d’Arc, but let’s show a little restraint.”

“Naturally!  Aren’t I half angel?  I could make a halo if you’d like.  Hehe!”

“I’ll keep them straight,” Scarlet hissed, glaring at the twinkling-eyed nephilim before taking out a shimmering, pure-white crystal that made the woman freeze in the air.  “Yseress, hehe, I still have some Heavenly Dew that Ninatta and Ishtar gave me…”

“You have my attention, Little Fang!”

“Ugh…  Let’s go,” Scarlet sighed, waving at them, and Sora could feel the sincerity in the girl’s emotions to make sure nothing bad happened to her daughter.  “Is that okay, umm, Sora?”

“Haaa.  Sure… but just to make sure…”

Emilia puffed out an annoyed sigh as Sora directed one of her chakrams toward her daughter, and she held up her wrist for it to close around.  “Mom…  You don’t need to put a tracker on me.  I’ve been practicing really hard with White to defend myself.”

“I know,” Sora grinned.  “You’re getting so strong, but we are in a completely new Existence.  Okay?”

“Okay…  Let’s go, Nia!  Can you like, become any clothing?  I can make anything.”

“Haaah?!  You’re like my perfect counterpart!  You make them, and I’ll eat them!  Oh, I’ve had so many ideas for Rachel, but she never takes me shopping; she’s the worst big sister, and she always makes fun of my ears and tail… she’s so bad!”

Rhea cleared her throat, scooting closer to Sora while staring at her three flaming tails.  “So… we’ll be sent back at midnight?”

Sora hesitantly nodded, trying to give the confused blonde a confident smile.  “I think so…  If not, I’ll be sure to help you return to your world.  It may take a few days to build up the proper amount of energy, but we’ll figure this out.”

“Alright…  Thank you, Ms. Sora.  I guess I’ll just try to have fun then.”

She ran after the teens as they waved and called for her to join them with her Pokemon.

Sora surprised herself that she was willing to let her vulnerable daughter out on her own—she was improving on not becoming a helicopter parent—then again, her father had been fairly protective when she was younger.

Rachel, Elinor, and Clover were the only ones left; the hare and Elinor had already finished shaking hands, continuing their exchange while everyone else sectioned off.

The crimson-eyed girl jumped into the conversation with the pair with a grin.  “I look forward to whatever conflict the future may bring, Ms. Death Fingers.”

“A little rude,” Elinor scoffed as Clover hummed, left hand on her hip.  “My fingers may be a tad cold, but my heart could melt an Existence!”

“I’m sure,” Sora mumbled, shifting her focus to Clover as she silently observed each person’s reactions.  “Why do all of you have white hair?”

Clover, Elinor, and Rachel drew around their locks to stare at it as Emilia flipped around and shouted from down the street, more than likely still hearing their conversation.  “You have white hair, too, Mom; you just make it look like fire to match mine!”

“Don’t go exposing your mother,” Sora laughed, glaring at her grinning daughter as Nia and the others laughed.

Elinor shrugged.  “I didn’t have white hair before taking on a mortal form.”

“Why question something that you’re born with?”  Clover asked, flipping her braid back.  “So, you’re not spirit users or Rassi…  Sora, are you sure you’re not from the East Skydream Fairytale Rassi Faction?”

“I’m a vulpes Founder slash Null-Void user,” Sora laughed.  “I’ve never heard of a spirit user as an identifier or anything like that. Primordial, Founder…”

“Primordial?”  Elinor interrupted.  “You wouldn’t happen to know the Primordial Thor?”

Sora’s gut tightened, seeing Rachel carefully observing them.  “Eyia’s big brother?”

“Eyia’s alive?”  the undead woman breathed a sigh of relief.  “I’m sure Thor will be thrilled to hear his baby sister survived the collapse of their Great Existence.  What of his wife, Sif?”

“I… can’t say for sure.  I could ask when I return or ask my mom, but…”

“Hehe.  It’s fine,” Elinor said, waving a hand dismissively.  “So… the Primordials went to your Existence?  Hmm.  I suppose it does allow me to give him some guidance in finding his people again.  Founders?”

“Yeah…”  Sora forced a laugh, not wanting to get into the whole Founder/Primordial War and the death of Odin by Kari’s grandfather; she didn’t know how this woman would react as Eyia already had a target on her wolf friend’s heart without Sora keeping them apart.  “Umm.  So…  Another one?!”

An octagon of fire erupted from the earth, yet all the trick-or-treaters simply took one look, shrugged, and kept going; a few clapped at a tall, muscular man’s appearance, showing what appeared to be monk bottoms and a bare chest.

“Wooh… what a mess,” the man said, and Sora felt a strange union of forces that mirrored the bond Rachel had with Nia, yet far more intertwined as two young women split away from him, one in a swirl of water and the other in flames; they were powerful elementals with Divine Energy.

“Try not to run off, Ruby,” the water elemental sniffed, clearly not on good terms with her counterpart.

Ruby rolled her eyes, arms crossed under her modest bust as she smirked.  “Sapphire, quit projecting; you’re the one that got us in that mess with your caring heart.  If you had listened to Val, then none of this would have happened.”

“Girls…”  the man sighed, watching them turn away from each other.  “Please, bond with me again; we’re in a dangerous place.”

“I don’t like her attitude,” Sapphire growled.  “She doesn’t care about anyone.”

“Huh?  I care about Valmorious more than you could ever understand!”  Ruby snapped.

Sora’s attention was pulled away by a golden halo and a shift in Existence from a third party that brought two 8-year-old children through; the was golden-blonde while the other was snow-white, like Elinor, yet this little girl was riding on a white bear.

Electricity sparked around the blonde’s frame as she calmly hovered to the street beside her, electromagnetic waves rippling around the environment; her Intelligence was on a level Sora had never experienced.

How many more are in this mess?  Wait…  She doesn’t have the spirit of a child.

“Hmm.”  the golden-haired young woman centered on Sora, focus drifting between the various animals and fantasy creatures around them.  “I’m not on Elestveeve anymore, and the electromagnetic field in this atmosphere is not the same as my planet…  Huu-haaa.  Liz’s ability is so erratic.”

Clover moved off to talk with Valmorious and his arguing bonded elementals, causing the two young women to return to the man’s Core, unifying on the deepest level, which wasn’t easy given the hot and cold attitudes of the two spirits.

Elinor and Rachel appeared to get along shockingly well after the initial introduction, waving at Sora in a way that said they were going off to discuss things, yet the undead woman departed with a warning.

“Careful, Sora, there are enemies hidden nearby, and I’m sure the blonde beside you is more than intelligent enough to realize she’ll need your support.  Oh, also, if you could draw most of the dangerous stuff, that would be appreciated; we wouldn’t want your precious daughter’s Halloween and birthday to be ruined, would we?”

Rachel laughed.  “I see you don’t want to get your hands dirty.  I appreciate the help in defending our world and London, Sora; have a wonderful night!”

“Huu-haaa.”  Sora waved at Clover and Valmorious as the two moved off to do some training of some sort, it seemed; the man utilized a type of spiritual force called neidan and waidan that the noble-looking girl was interested in, leaving her alone with the confused floating child and the blonde, carefully observing everything.

Well…  Somehow Emilia managed to worm her way away from me, as usual.

Sora turned to smile at the two kids.  “Umm.  Can I get your names?  I’m Sora, by the way, and I hope you’re the last arrivals from this backlash anomaly.”

“Helena,” the blonde responded, electromagnetic pulses analyzing her environment like a physicist that could play the fundamental forces.  “There are irregular particles vibrating against our atomic structures that differ from those around us…  It appears at approximately 12 a.m., the resonance will dissipate, which will likely draw us back to our original destinations.  The source… is this way.”

The girl on the bear straightened, face full of confusion.  Meanwhile, the blonde promptly moved down the street in the opposite direction her daughter went with her trick-or-treat party.  “Eh-hehe.  I’ll pretend to know what she said.  I’m Summer.  Umm, I really need to get back to my kingdom, so…  Is there a way to get back sooner?”

Sora was about to shake her head when Helena answered.  “No.  My current theory is that something powerful has tugged on our unique bioelectrical identifiers, centering in on some commonality we all share to target a specific individual.”

She paused to glare back at them.  “I haven’t ruled out the possibility one of you or the others that recently left are behind his plot, but our best solution for answers will come from the source.  Sora, Summer, I believe both of you have qualities I will require.  Shall we crash this mastermind’s hideout, or should I proceed alone?”

Sora shrugged.  “I mean, sure.  I’m pretty strong, so… not much actually scares me.”

Summer’s bear floated near her.  “Well, that’s good because I am terrified of monsters!  Are we… going monster hunting?”

“Humph.  Fear will only get you killed,” Helena replied, distrustful gaze shifting between areas as her electromagnetic waves picked apart everything within a hundred meters.  “I’ve been trained to identify magical signatures, which is how I know Sora is one of such creatures while, Summer, you bend causality by the ripples your aura radiates…”

Summer’s laughter became strained.  “So… my luck, Sora’s magic, and your… intelligence?”

“I need to gauge your abilities, Sora.”  Helena pointed above them, still in motion.  “A shift in space will occur above us in three, two, one…”

Sora’s chakram expanded as a  giant, shadowy arm exited to snatch the unperturbed blonde, hands returning to her back and not even looking at the attacker; a beam of Null-Void radiated out of Sora’s ring, vaporizing the very existence of the creature and making Helena pause for the first time.

Why is everyone a girl?!  Well, there’s Valmorious, but he didn’t stick around long, leaving with Clover…

The blonde turned to give her a narrow-eyed glare, distracting Sora.  “Hmm…  Matter dissimilation and conversion…  Are those strange particles… converting matter and energy into your unique force?  You were practically built to annihilate universes.  Interesting.”

Summer peeked open an eye, having covered them not to see the attack.  “We win?”

“For now,” Sora sighed.  “Hehe.  Well, I do want Emilia to have a good Halloween, so…  If you know where the boss is, Helena, lead away!  I’m starting to get curious about who managed to draw us all together.”

Helena smirked, her lime-green irises pointing Sora toward the white-haired child on the bear.  “Look no further…  Summer’s frequency is entangled with yours; she drew you here for protection.”

“M-Me?!  I don’t have that kind of power,” Summer rejected, locks bouncing against her shoulders.  “I can just heal a little.”

“Deny it all you want; I could care less,” Helena returned, motioning for them to continue.  “We’re here.  Destroy the source of the anomaly, and it can’t spawn any more shadows from our past…  It’s been trying to dig into my mind since I arrived.”

Sora stiffened at the news, scanning for what she said, and the child was right; she hadn’t noticed it due to it functioning in a Reverse Existence spectrum she wasn’t accustomed to, and dread instantly filled her stomach.

Are we fighting Kari’s dad or a fragment of one of his spores?  Not good!

“Realize who we’re facing, Sora?”  Helena asked, head shifting slightly for her penetrating stare to look right through her; it wasn’t anything magical but pure intelligence, analyzing all reactions through her magnetic fields.

“Good, perhaps you can enlighten the class.  If I am going to determine a strategy for our success, I need all the information I can get, and yes, splitting up was the correct choice; distance weakens its influence on a multiplicative scale from what I’m sensing, and the majority of its focus is on us.  It appears to know who the real threat is…  Summer.”

“Haaa.  It must hate the power of cuteness and positivity!”  Summer huffed, seemingly finding her strength as she straightened on her bear’s back.  “Let’s do this, Sora, Helena.  We’re not going to let this monster ruin Halloween for everyone.”