ATM Rewrite: B2 — 5. Resolution (Patreon)

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our Fox Girl Has A New Problem!)

ATM Rewrite Index

Previous Chapter

Google Document (In-line Comments)

--------------------

Throwing out every other strangeness and bizarre thing that had happened thus far, Sora placed a silencing spell around Diane before she could jump into any other random topic and derail the real reason why she was here.

The thrilled French woman walked forward a few steps, opened her mouth, and then closed it, crossing her arms and shooting a sour stare back at her.  Hinote didn’t breathe a word, which was standard at this point when something big happened, instead staring around and observing.  On the other hand, her shy best friend was already behind her, trying not to draw attention to herself until she said it was safe.

Sora moved forward with the others after a few seconds of silent study, keeping her focus on the mystical moon wizard, yet he patiently waited and observed them.  It was obvious why Diane wanted to meet with this powerful magic user now; she’d met him before, and apparently, he was disappointed in the decision she’d made.

“Do you know who I am?”

The wizard’s staff shimmered and turned into a puff of smoke, putting them on guard.  When it cleared, the elderly man held a wooden pipe, his free hand making a swirling motion that brought a few herbs from their surroundings to him.

His deep-set, illuminated turquoise eyes shifted from them to the casual task of preparing the smoking pipe, aged tone slow and filled with experience.  “Sora Moore, I would be blind if I was not aware of the marvelous actions your mother took only a few days prior.  I am the Grand Moon Wizard Pynerius, the last archon of the ruined Lunar Realm.”

He chuckled as Sora mouthed the strange name.  “You may call me Pine if it is easier, my lady.  As for the troubles beyond what remains of my home realm, you needn’t concern yourselves; time flows in uneven parallels.”

Wendy glanced right at Diane’s impatient posture before returning to the wizard’s slow actions.  “Uneven parallels…  Yeah.  Were you… expecting us?”

“Hmm-hmm.  I am not that impressive, my dear child,” he mused.  “I expected someone of importance to eventually make their way into my prison, but I had not expected to entertain such a distinguished entity as a Founder.  It has been quite some time since I encountered your esteemed kind.”

His finger traced a red line under the pipe as he finished loading it; it brightened momentarily as it completed before fading away.  The wizard sat back and drew on his pipe before letting it out in a soft stream of amber vaper.

Sora wasn’t exactly sure what to ask, yet he appeared to understand her conflicted plight; there were so many things she wanted answers to.

“You came not for answers but for clarity, young vulpes princess.  Those within your party have their own impulses and desires.”

He waved his pipe in a broad gesture, and Sora blinked as all the ancient trees around them now had doors of all types in them; twinkling stars sparkled around him with a pale light before he faded away.

“Find one that calls to you, and what you seek will be within.  I await your arrival.”

Wendy’s mouth dropped open at his exit.  “So cool,” she breathed.  “He’s a real moon wizard that came from a ruined lunar realm?  You know what kind of goosebumps I’m getting?!”  she squealed, nudging Sora and referencing the childhood anime they’d been obsessed with.

Hinote seemed less impressed, though.  “Hmm.  I couldn’t get a read on him at all, and the energy in this place is totally different than the magical forces outside…  It’s far more potent and invasive.  What did you get from him, Sora?”

Sora walked toward the stump where the wizard had previously sat, running her fingers down the smooth, polished wood; there was a powerful hum that reacted to her touch.  The mystical force within the realm brought a sense of peace, unlike the elements she’d experienced on Earth.

“I don’t feel threatened if that’s what you’re asking,” she returned, spotting Diane briskly marching away, scanning the trees.  “Diane?  Uh…  Here, you can talk.”

She stopped several meters away, her agitated expression now curious and positive again.  “No need to be frightened; I can’t talk about such experiences in the other world because I can’t remember them!  Haha.  My memories were taken some time ago due to a contract.

“Pynerius is a very powerful and experienced wizard, who has vast cosmic knowledge.  My suggestion, think carefully about what you seek from him because there is nothing that comes without a price.  He will tell you what that is, and you must be willing to pay, and pay I suggest you do.  Hmm-hmm.  You are a perfect access card, Sora.  I love you!”  she sang, leaving them to find her precious door.

Wendy’s tight eyes followed her exit.  “Is it just me, or does she get creepier by the minute?”

Hinote’s tails weaved behind him.  “I’m with you there, Wendy.  Well, I suppose we came here for something…  Even if I don’t know what I want.  Isn’t that part of the adventure?  Shall we?  Sora?”

Sora’s gaze was still on the throne built into the side of the trunk, feeling the wave of magical impulses ripple through her fingertips to the tip of her ears and tail; this place was far grander than the tiny bubble outside led observers to believe.  She did feel a pull, but it wasn’t from the doors.

“I think we can trust him…”  Breaking contact, her fingers twitched as she looked back at Wendy.  “Hehe.  Do you really want to be a moon wizard?”

She hugged herself and looked away, cheeks coloring slightly.  “I mean, I’d rather be a moon princess, but, you know, beggars and choosers.  So… should I pick a door?  I just want to have some way of keeping up with you…”

Hinote’s brow furrowed as he saw Wendy’s pained smile and Sora’s drawn-in lips.  “Am I missing something?”

Sora sighed, moving to face her best friend.  “I’m not going to leave you behind.”

“It’s not about that,” she whispered, fidgeting with her sleeve and averting her gaze.  “We both know in every story, the powerhouse heroine always gets super OP, and everyone around her becomes a liability—like it or not.”

Hinote nodded.  “I’m just going to go.”

Wendy’s concerned brown eyes centered on hers.  “I don’t want to be a liability.  I’m human.  You’re the flipping uber goddess fox empress of the outerverse, or whatever; you can’t tell me that hasn’t crossed your mind.  I don’t want to address this after I become the childhood friend who gets kidnapped plotline—again!  Or some other story bull plot takes over.  You know?”

The male fox pointed to the side and walked off.  “Yeah, I’m going to go door hunt…”

“Wendy…”  Sora came closer to hug her.  “Okay, I see your point.  Diane said there is always a price, though…  Talk to me about it.  Okay?”

Squeezing her back, Wendy pulled away and put on a brave face while fixing her bangs behind her ears.

“I have to be strong enough to stand on my own, princess,” she snickered, making Sora give her a light pout and magic up a tiara on her head.  “Funny!  Still, I get we’re best friends, and we need to rely on each other…  Just trust me, too.  Okay?  If we’re going to be sisters, I’m not going to be left behind since I’m the big sister!  Humph.  I’m older, remember?”

“Okay, Big Sis,” Sora giggled.  “Just be careful.”

“You, too!”

Wendy took a few steps back and a deep breath before flipping around.  “I’m going to find my magic door…  Alone in a magical forest…  Where we have no idea how to get out because the way back is totally gone.”

“What?!”  Sora twisted to see nothing but trees and forest behind her.  “Okay, that’s a yikes, but yeah…”

Cupping her hands, Wendy called back as she went further into the forest.  “Did I mention I’m alone?”

She laughed with her before waving and turning back to the stump, shaking her head at Wendy’s mumbled comments.

“Alright.  So, a cool door that stands out…  Hey, a white cat door!  Hmm.  But curiosity killed the cat.  Maybe more of a tiger, though…  Cats also have nine lives.  Nilly’s a cat, and Nilly’s supposed to be stupid strong, I think…  I like cats, and Luna was a cat.  Hmm.  Moon Cat door for Nilly luck?  Let’s send it!”

Sora’s ears twitched as she touched the throne again, experiencing the thump of magical energies.  This was the center point of the realm; she could feel it like a heartbeat, and looking up at the partially charred, ruined stump, she could see the damage done to what had once been a pillar for the mystical sphere.

Tail curving around her front, Sora sat on the throne.  A sudden plummeting feeling in her gut made her fur bristle as gravity pressed against her frame; the stump rose into the sky, or the earth dropped into an abyss, as she was thrust into a star-like nebula overhead.

In a matter of seconds, the forest had fallen away, showing her a glimpse of a massive tower in the distance before that, too, was left in oblivion below.  Skin tingling, she blinked; she was surrounded by colorful nebulae and galaxies.

Throat dry, she shakily got to her feet on the green patch of grass only two meters from the void.  Yet, star-like steps twinkled into existence, providing her with a stairway that led to a similar platform she hadn’t noticed due to all the colors, comets, and star clusters.

Only hesitating a moment, Sora took a step onto the platform, taken in by the majesty of the mysterious place she’d been brought to; she could feel it wasn’t a typical space but an interdimensional gateway of sorts, bridging to areas far beyond their tiny section of the universe.

Sora was speechless as she drew closer to the top, experiencing a wealth of life and energy in every step she took on her rise that quelled all panic and uncertainty with wonder and mystery.  What she’d taken as a platform was a nimbus swirl of magical energies, where several shades of lunar spheres orbited.

Weaves of magic floated through the air in symbols and patterns that Sora couldn’t read, but instinctively, she knew their purpose in containing some colossal necrotic force.  At the center of this nexus of power, robes spread around him, sat the Grand Moon Wizard.

His aged lips lifted into a gentle smile as she approached him.  “Only one other has managed to reach me here…  Well, other than Zen, but his interests usually only extend to teasing this old man.”

“Zen?”  she asked, sitting down across from him while taking in the wealth of potent magic that washed through her like fresh water.

“Haaa…  That would be me, princess,” a masculine voice answered.

Sora’s gaze darted to their right as a fluffy white rabbit appeared.  Azure blue, glowing moon and star symbols dotted his fur.  The bunny rolled out of the clouds of condensed magic they sat on with a yawn.  He wore a cute golden bow and a floating crescent moon as a crown.

“It has been ages since we’ve had guests here.  Should I fetch some star-lilac tea, Gramps?”

Pynerius chuckled, hand rising to stroke his white beard while eyeing the sleepy rabbit.  “I would think you too busy for such things, my prince.  How the mighty have fallen.”

“Hmm-hmm.  Says the lonely old man protecting something that should have died long ago,” he shot back before licking his paw.  “In any case, we should greet our guests properly.  My, I am in such a sorry state.  My apologies; I wasn’t expecting company until… well, never.  Hehe.  Please, give me a moment.”

The bunny dipped into the cloud, causing Sora to turn her focus to the Grand Moon Wizard, piecing things together rather quickly; she could feel the emotions of the pair practically woven into the fabric of space around them.

“So… you were part of a realm that was destroyed, and Zen is the prince of that realm that you’re keeping alive and protected?”

Pine took a deep breath, deep turquoise eyes fixating on her as he summoned his already-lit pipe.  “What a refreshing pleasure you are, princess.  Hmm-hmm.  Typically, those who seek out my sanctum are only here for their own benefit.  That being said, why don’t we start with why you are here before Zen returns and takes over the conversation.”

His frame shook with silent laughter as he puffed out the amber smoke in his lungs.  “He can claim I am the lonesome soul all he wants, but it is he who seeks companionship, which is why he has become distracted by talking with your friend; he is quite the troublesome boy.  Now, what troubles you, my dear?”

A positive wave and smile lifted Sora’s mouth as she stared at the place Zen had vanished; there was a sort of grandfatherly and grandson energy colliding from the pair.  She had her own impressions given through her awakened supernatural senses that she wanted to explore later.

“I’m just… lost, I guess.  Overwhelmed.  I woke up, and all I find is a world screaming for my attention…  My mom said she’d contact me, but I don’t know when that might be.  I have these weird visions everyone forgets, an organization trying to recruit me, and a million questions I have about myself and my family—heh, after everyone I cared about almost died.”

Pynerius hummed and made a simple gesture to the left, where a violin, flute, xylophone, chimes, and a piano appeared out of nowhere to start playing a beautiful melody.  His deep-set eyes and soft tone returned to her, pipe resting in his lap.

“Have you considered the possibility that you’re taking all of this far too seriously?”

Ears tilting with her head, Sora’s eyebrows drew together.  “What do you mean?”

He looked to their right, where Earth rose out of the depths of the abyss to spin in the distance, larger than life.  “It is easy to get caught up in the scope of overwhelming threats…  Has the Foundation survived without you?”

“Yes?”  Sora whispered.

“Has your mother told you she would make contact when she can?”

“Uh-huh…”

“Are your father and friends safe and resting with a powerful guard protecting them?”

“They are.”

He flicked his free wrist to dismiss the planet and turned his bright blue eyes back to her.  “You are blessed, Sora.  Savor what you have before diving into conflicts that do not concern you.  May you feel compelled to get involved at times?  It is likely.”

Sora swallowed and nodded, playing with her fingers in her lap.  “I do have some things I need to do.  Save Sela before her contract kills me, for one.”

Pine breathed in his pipe before releasing it to the side, seemingly seeing something in the distant past.  “Not so.  You have no contract binding you that I can sense.”

“Hmm?!”  She held her hand against her breast, searching her soul, yet there was nothing.  “My mom… must have broken it?”

The wizard made a star symbol in the air, gradually branching out from the base in ever more complex designs as he spoke.

“Troubles will find you whatever happens; without chaos, we cannot evolve and grow.  I have learned reality itself is designed in a way to promote suffering that will push us, whether we like it or not.  It is how we respond to that pressure that is the critical difference.  There is no such thing as eternal happiness without eternal suffering.”

He completed the symbol and flipped it on its axes to make it 3D, continuing to casually move it around to make more complex patterns.  “What will you do, now that you are free from Sela’s contract?”

Sora’s cheeks sucked in, looking up at the cosmic spectacle that embraced them.  Despite all this power Pynerius held, there were limitations and a horrible ending at the end of his journey; she could feel the collapse in the pattern itself.

“I promised I would save her…  Sela, as evil as she may be, has helped me, and I don’t think I can just abandon her after giving my word.  Haha.  It’s probably stupid, but I have a lot of power, apparently, and it should be something I can do.  Right?”

“Hmm.”  Pynerius paused to examine the spell he was crafting.  “You must be the one to set boundaries if you are to find happiness, Sora.  No one can tell you how to live.  You must choose that road yourself.  Yet choices always bring reactions.  We may not decide what happens to us many times, yet it is always within our control to decide how to react.”

He swapped to another magical weave, the color red instead of blue, as he laced it around the outer edges, taking care in how it was formulated.  “The ability to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ is something one should cherish… choice is something to cherish.  My words are but dust on the wind unless action is taken, and action is always required to make a change.  Do you want my advice?”

Sora forced a laugh, her tail pushing the clouds behind her into an orbit around them.  “What will it cost me?  I’ve heard nothing comes without sacrifice.”

“A truer statement has never been made,” Pynerius chuckled, completing the beautiful, radiant star that sent a rush of magic into the aether to manage the failing design and buy time.  “The price has been paid by your answers.  It is I who must offer my own sacrifice in return.”

“…Meaning?”  she hesitantly replied, noticing a shift in the lunar orbs gravitating around them.

His focus returned to her, wrinkled face creasing with a distant smile.  “My advice is to leave the Foundation to do what the Foundation does.  They obtained your attention and delivered their plea for support.  Set boundaries.  Enjoy a well-deserved rest and offer thanks for what you have while you can.  Prepare for the battles that will most certainly come, but, at this moment, live and enjoy the fruit of what you have fought for.”

Sora felt a rush of relief wash over her; it was as if she’d been waiting for someone to say those exact words.  Diane had made her feel so overwhelmed and stressed with all the insane protocols, entities, and colossal forces looming overhead that she had lost focus.

Her gaze shifted from him to a moon nearby that hovered far behind the wizard, showing an old stone room lined with books.  Wendy sat at a table, lifting an eyebrow at Zen as the fluffy rabbit chuckled, tapping the book in front of her friend while saying something sarcastic that made Wendy snort and shake her head.

“Joy and happiness can be so fleeting that we can squander what little reprieve we have from suffering by focusing on the past or future.  It is rare the past gives anything but sorrow, and a future feared is a future fated for ruin…”

Pynerius rose to his feet, prompting Sora to do the same as he walked to the side.  The clouds followed them, moons on both sides showing an aerial view of Sora’s past.  “We should be thankful for the past for its part in who we are in the present, but never live in what has been, for nothing new can be gained from a road we have already walked but regret and woe.

“Only the actions in the present can lead to a fulfilling future.  Not pleasure, because pleasure is fleeting.  Joy and fulfillment are built in a journey of long-suffering, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and mistakes confronted and made right…  Such as a friendship fostered over many years.  We mustn’t lose sight of our purpose in life…”

He pulled her attention to people shopping, sports, and doing activities together.  “Money, power, and influence mean little without someone to share them with…  Suffering, loss, and desperation are unbearable without the support of a trusted individual.  Connections are what bind life and make the existence of suffering worth living…  Isolation truly is the worst curse.”

They stopped in front of a white moon that showed Pynerius; only the elder was a young, handsome, white-haired man wearing a crown with a sleeping rabbit in his arms.  A mystical realm of glorious light and power was torn apart from the top of a tower, where Pynerius knelt, silent tears running down his cheeks.

Sora felt the flood of emotions that stabbed the Grand Moon Wizard’s heart as he stared at the horrific darkness.

“My brother,” he whispered in a somber tone.

“That’s… your brother?”

“I am known as the Moon Wizard to the people of the Foundation.  Yet, once upon a time, I was a candidate for the succession to the Wizard King’s Throne.”

“There was a dispute?”  Sora mumbled, allowing the history to flow into her from the magic cycling around the space.  The malevolent force ripping this entire realm apart wasn’t new; she felt it within their own moon.  “You sealed him here?”

Pynerius held his hands behind his back, aged eyes showing remorse.  “I was headstrong and foolish, thinking his love for our kingdom and people was more than his envy of me…  In our duel, he would rather see all we loved destroyed than let me have, as he saw it, power over him.

“One thing led to another…  During our battle, he kidnapped my wife and son.”  Pine opened his mouth and closed it, pushing out a long stream of air.  “I chose to first rescue my wife, resulting in Zen sustaining a curse that trapped him in suspended animation as a beast…  Only for a delayed curse to afflict my wife as a result; my brother had predicted my action.  His powers came from something unlike anything I knew, and he… took her from me…”

He refused to look away from his withering wife, grief on her face.  “She died, asking me why I didn’t save Zen first.”

Sora hugged herself, seeing the hollow look in Pynerius’ eyes.

“Despite all that my brother did—all his schemes and powers—I stood on top; I refused to back down, and I stood victorious over him in our duel.  Yet, he could not accept that, so he unified with the horrific entity trapped within our realm’s magical maelstrom to defeat me, sacrificing our very realm…  I barely teleported out in time with Zen to watch the destruction unfold.  Helpless.”

“This was all you could save?”  Sora asked, looking down at the tower and forest.

“My tower… the place my magic was at its peak, under the Nine Moon Constellation.  My pride and power I’d fostered…  All that strength, and all it gave me was this small section of isolated land, merged with this universe, and acting as a stop-gap for its next invasion…  I became the Grand Moon Wizard.  Although, my brother’s curse and my failings weren’t finished there…”

The tortured, searching gaze of Pynerius broke Sora’s heart as they showed her the scenes of him seeking to break this curse for what felt like an eternity.

“For ten thousand years, I tried to break Zen’s curse and our prison here; many sought me out, seeking support in their adventures.  I used that, and they provided me access to the outside by bringing me artifacts and items of power…  All of them were not even worth noticing compared to the power of my realm, the power I already possessed, until… a Founder visited my doors…  Morgen la Fée.

“She came with a disciple, the one you know as Diane, and she spent time with me, helping me to understand the entity that my brother had become.  How it connected to the curse… and my part in it by killing him.  There was no complete solution, yet she said she would seek out a Founder by the name of Mia for support, and that was the last I saw of her.”

He showed her a scene where a dark-haired woman, clothed in a dress-like warrior’s fashion, performed a ritual of sorts.  She held a sphere of crimson energy over the small rabbit; a pair of rainbow-like wings flared out of her back, tinting ruby red.  A beautiful weave of magic was crafted with a release seal that pulled in raw magic until it would be activated.

“In the end, all we could do was give him a single year every few decades to enjoy living, and not even as a human.  Now, you have come, and I have one request…  Free my son of this curse, and take him beyond these walls.  He can grant your friend what she desires in the way of a magic tutor, and I will use my power to cease all the chaos happening with the Foundation.”

“I mean, taking in another person?  Hehe.  Ugh.  I’ll have to talk to my dad, but I can try to free him, at the very least.  Is that okay?”

He chuckled and looked back at the moon mirror that showed Zen and Wendy; it almost looked like hours had passed, and she now had her tongue half out the corner of her mouth, kneeling on the floor with chalk and trying to draw a diagram.

“That piece of hope is worth more than you know.”

“Uh-huh.  What about Diane?”  Sora asked, not sure if she could do it.  Still, she wanted to try and learn more about moon magic, or whatever stuff the bunny prince knew, which could be fun, and she liked the promise of normality for at least a bit.

“Diane will be busy for a time, studying what materials, books, and items Morgen left behind.”  His wrinkled brow tightened as he stared at the enthralled witch, sitting in a chair while examining a dusty tome.  “Be cautious of Diane, Sora.  She is a creature of curiosity and lust for power… much like I used to be.  Hubris is a deadly disease of the soul.”

“I’ll… remember that,” Sora mumbled.  “So, should I take a look?  I mean, I can’t promise anything, but I can try!”

He nodded and gestured to a nearby nebula; Zen’s ears popped up before his head, looking left and right in confusion.

“Huh?!  Hey!  Gramps, I was having a splendid time with the Earth girl…  Ah, eh-heh.  I did forget to bring tea, didn’t I?  My apologies,” he said, hopping forward to give her a courteous bow.  “Shall I fetch—uh… what are you doing?”

Sora giggled and knelt down to look at the glowing symbols and fur of the prince.  Her desire magic spun out in a trail of living flames as the bunny’s ears drew back suspiciously.

“Hmm…  I can sense a taint inside his soul.  Wow, Morgen’s spell is really complicated.  Umm.  Are you sure I can do this?”

“Do what?”  Zen grunted.  “I’m not an animal, by the way.  Examining my soul?  This is an invasion of privacy!  Gramps…”

Pynerius knelt down to place a hand on his back.  “Bear with it for a moment, Zen.  Since this space is within your family’s domain, you should have total authority within—is something wrong?”

Sora frowned, catching Wendy looking under the tables and shelves for the bunny, thinking he’d run off; she seemed to be teasing him by asking if he was trying to catch a look up her skirt to make him reveal himself.  It was a tad dubious to Sora for the shy girl, but she did think of him as a rabbit and not a person and was operating on anime logic right now.

“If a powerful Fae Founder couldn’t do it, then…”

Her tail froze as black spikes and vines began to rip through space around them, inside Zen’s soul, wrapping around the entity that infected the prince, and a dark-dressed woman fixated inside of Sora’s mind; she wasn’t anywhere in imparticular, only within her and her perception.

A feminine voice whispered into her very essence.  “I can help.”

Pynerius and Zen’s words died as all of reality lost color, and the entity breathed into her being in a way that was unlike anything she’d felt from Nilly, the purple-eyed lady, her mother, or Stephanie.

Who are you?  she asked, a quiver running through her ears as the haunting whisper returned.

“Take the amulet, and I will show you.”

Sora looked to her left, where a seven-pointed star amulet hovered, the middle point aimed down and utterly devoid of all color; yet, to her, she knew there was a radiant glow within its center so bright it would destroy all of creation.  Something foreign to everything was reaching out from the artifact.

Without realizing what she was doing, Sora took it; the world vanished, leaving her in a void without dimension or form, but there was shape nonetheless, unlike anything she had ever perceived.

Straight spikes of nothingness permeated all that was, a black star overhead, radiating within the unholy sphere was an aurelian glory that reflected within the large eyes of the lady that knelt across from her, delicate hands folded in her lap.

Vine-like thorns grew from the dagger-like pillars around them, reforming, seeking, aching for something to sink their points into.  The woman ignored their white-void surroundings and the endless barbs, her ruby-like lips holding a curious smile as she studied her.

The lady’s smooth, alabaster skin was without any sign of blemish or wrinkle, her shoulderless, intricate dress and thick black hair only drawing attention to the only color on her; the woman’s blood-red claws or lips could captivate gods, yet it was her solid golden eyes that pulled Sora in.

“We finally meet,” she whispered, claw reaching out to stroke the side of her face.  “How are we connected?  I should not be allowed in such a place…  Hmm-hmm.  How curious.  Hold my amulet to the creature, and I will take my fill.  Haaa.  What a shame.  Until next time.  It was lovely meeting you.”

A crack appeared in the woman’s eyes, splitting open for intense purple irises to take their place; she blinked, and it was gone.  The spiraling nebulae and galaxies returned into motion, and Sora was left in a partial daze.

Blinking as the white noise died down, she held her hand against her chest, realizing she was still clutching the mysterious seven-point star amulet.  The strangest part was that Sora didn’t feel fear or threatened by the golden-eyed lady; her racing heart came from the purple that took their place.

Zen and Pynerius were looking at her in silence, the aged wizard realizing something was wrong while Zen had taken a different attitude altogether.

“You can free me?”

Sora cleared her throat and hesitantly held out the mysterious artifact.  “Can… you see this?”

“See… what?”  Zen questioned, staring at her hand.  “No?  Is this a game?”

A little nervous, Sora shifted uncomfortably.  “Can you put your paw on my hand?”

“Sure?”

Zen looked at his father before complying.  In the next instant, a hand rather than a paw was on hers.  In whiplash, Sora looked up to see a muscular, tall—and quite naked—white-haired young man, likely no older than seventeen.

“What…  I—huh?!  I didn’t even sense any magic?”  Zen mumbled, face going red and snapping his fingers; twinkling lights collected around him to create a black robe.  “What was that, Gramps?”

“I… don’t know.”  Pynerius slowly stood up and took a step back, waving his hand in the air for thousands of books to start appearing around them; every page that opened was blank.  “This is impossible…  I cannot remember how you became a… a what?”

He turned from the grand library worth of now blank research volumes to stare at her ‘empty’ hand.  “You… erased almost every concept of… whatever happened to my son.  How?”

Sora could almost hear the echo of the thorn lady’s voice in her head.  “You’re welcome.”

“I-I don’t know,” Sora honestly said, getting to her feet and staring down at the pendant; the oddest part to her wasn’t the erased moments in time but that she’d felt every single one—a volume of information beyond her comprehension—instantaneously flow into her before vanishing.

Pynerius blinked and rubbed his head.  “I know I was researching something… for millennia, but now…  No.  It doesn’t matter.  Zen, my son…  You’re free.”

“I’m free?”  Zen flexed his fingers, looking down at his body as his father stumbled forward to hug him.  “I’ve… never lived as a human before.  Hehe.  It’s weird being taller than you, Gramps…  I…”

Seemingly speechless, he tried to comfort his aged father as Sora contended with her own internal confusion.  Wendy was shocked when they teleported to the room to collect her; Zen was going to join them at the facility, and Diane was thrilled at that.  The witch had gotten what she wanted, after all.

Hinote was quiet when they found him in one of the tower’s libraries, several empty books surrounding him.  He laughed at the strange experience of losing so many memories of what he’d read.  Wendy was nudging her with eyes that said, ‘Look at him’ when walking behind Zen; he did have a striking resemblance to a certain prince they’d grown up watching.

Zen was jumping around, stretching his arms, and studying his new form like a boy that had just got his first car and wanted to examine every part of it while testing it out.  Hinote laughed, commenting that his twin would be thrilled to have a new friend to ‘hang’ with.

She spent a bit of time with Pynerius, trying to see what he could remember.  There were inconsistencies that he could see, such as all the library of books filled with blank pages, but there were significant changes in his life that made the man go into isolation to ponder everything she’d been able to convince him had happened.

No matter what angle she took, he couldn’t remember anything about the amulet or how it happened, attributing it to her abilities alone.  As it turned out, the unusual power she’d used had done such extensive damage to the entity below the surface of the moon that it had retreated into its core.  It gave Pynerius the leeway to teleport them out, and when they arrived back at Site-04, Delvin gave them yet another shocking surprise.

Still, the Grand Moon Wizard was true to his promise; every containment trouble they were having was swiped away as if nothing had happened at all.  That’s not to say the hellish knights did nothing; in fact, most of it was already handled, but Pynerius had restored all the damage done and placed a powerful seal on HAREM that would keep her contained.

Everything was solved, and Kari seemed to be in a slightly better place; the wolf isolated herself after her session with Mary to think, so Sora had no idea what would happen with her.  At least, she was willing to return to Miami Beach after Sora had a quick talk with the Senior Site Director, Devlin, and Diane about Zen, the twins, and even Fen and her ‘man.’

Her father would be transported to their suite, and Sela was being brought to the nearby Florida SCC Site where Sora could meet her the next day.  Eyia was remaining with Jin and her father until they left, unsure what was happening but trusting her.

Naturally, Eyia, Jin, and Aiden would be making the trip with the rest of her friend group. They were homebound with full SCC monster credentials, her father would have a medical team at the suite to care for him, and almost everything was more or less done with.

Zen was now a rabbit, using his magic to transform into the form; it seemed he was comfortable like that for now, despite not remembering anything about it.  He didn’t even recall being a bunny once until she mentioned it, and he took on the form, which then felt comfortable to him.

It lingered on Sora’s mind after he described his life of falling asleep only to wake up every few decades, only as a human.  The tricky part was that the moon wizard and the prince had filled in the gaps of whatever the black thorn lady had taken with a fantasy or simply shrugged it off.

Sora couldn’t linger on it for long since all she had to do now was enter her father’s dreams to confirm what he wanted her to do.  Except, one more late birthday present came from a buzz on her nightstand that would change everything.

Wendy held her pillow tighter while staring at her vibrating phone, dressed for the sleepover party, which drew the bunny boy’s fixation on the buzzing device.

“What’s that?”  He asked, hopping up to see it.  “Oh, is that one of those new Blackberry things?  I saw one on this satellite transmission thing, and it looked cool; I want one.  Does it come in white?”

“Uh, Sora, why is your phone ringing… on the moon?  And we can totally get you a phone, Prince, but, heh, you’ll need fingers.”

“I’ll figure it out!  Don’t make fun of me,” he snarled, doing a flying backflip to smack her with his ear.  “Ha!  That’s five points to three!”

“It has to be a pillow!”  Wendy shot back, chasing the bunny down.

“Eh-heh.  How should I know?”  Sora asked, walking over to pick it up as they ran around the room; she’d put the amulet in the drawer, not sure what to do with it since no one could even grasp its existence.  “Umm…  unknown number.  Weird.  Hello?”

Answering the phone, Sora’s ears went straight up at the voice on the other end.

“Hey, Sweetie, umm…  I’m kind of calling long distance—Andromeda Galaxy distance, but, umm…  I think I can be there in like… threeish days…  It’s complicated.  Can’t talk long, sorry for causing you trouble—love you—explain later!”

“She… actually hung up.”  Sora pulled the phone away from her ear with a stunned look.

“Who was it?”  Wendy asked, glaring at Zen under the bed before moving closer to look at it.  “Tom?  Wait, no, Tom’s not a girl.  Who?”

“…My mom…  She’s going to be here in three days.”

“Huh?!”

“Mom!”  Sora snarled, throwing her phone on the bed and shouting at the ceiling.  “How the heck am I supposed to sleep and talk to Dad now?!  Agh!”

---------------------

Next Chapter