ATM Rewrite: B2 — 22. Rolling Stone (Patreon)

Author Update:  I thought this was the message about Val's editing being delayed.  To be clear, it has not been edited by Val yet.  Lol.

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our Mom Trusting Fox Girl!)

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Sora glanced between the three girls she’d become surprisingly close to over the past month: her former best friend turned book and sister, her former arch-nemesis, revealed Founder and broken wolf girl, now ‘pending’ friends, and the naive Primordial Valkyrie super-warrior that was her Sister-in arms.

“Wow,” she beamed, catching a questioning look from all of them as Pynerius, her mom, and her dad waited.  “We really do make quite the rescue squad.  No wonder HAREM ran.”

“Indeed, Sister!”  Eyia chimed, summoning her spear to slam the butt against the ground.  “We ride to the training grounds on beams of moonlight, passing the stars to rise to the Hall of Heroes!”

Wendy’s big tail weaved behind her, blush still present with her grin.  “Cool.  I can’t wait to see what I can do now!”

“Bore them to death?”  Kari grumbled, agitated tail flicking to the left while glaring at the Moon Wizard.  “Can we go already?  If you have somewhere we can get stronger, then why are we wasting time gawking at one another?”

Bushy brown tail pausing, Wendy huffed.  “No need to be a downer.”

Pynerius wasn’t smiling as he puffed on his pipe, deep-set eyes drifting between them to her mother.  “I don’t know what you expect of me, children.  I can hardly extend my reach beyond my realm for this simple projection.  If you wish to reach my sanctum, you’ll need another way to reach the moon.”

“Huh?”  Sora looked at her mother as she fiddled with her father’s phone, him attempting to help his technologically-impaired fox wife.  “I thought he was our ride.  What’s going on, Mom?”

“Mmmgm.  One moment,” her mother snarled, ears pulled back as she tried to get used to using her finger instead of her medium-length nails to tap the screen.  “I curse this Infernal device and myself for not giving myself proper instructions on how to use them—ack!  Went back again, Jarl!  What am I doing wrong?”

Silence fell with all eyes on the aggravated goddess of vulpes, unable to figure out a simple phone as her nine tails absently beat against her husband’s back, no doubt unconsciously, with all her focus on the device.

“Eh-hehe.  Here, Sweetie, eh…  Darlin’, that’s the wrong app.  Swipe it—no, not down; the other way…”

“Burn my tail!  What did I click now?”  Mia asked, ears twitching and pulled back.  “Why is it questioning my age?  It couldn’t possibly have a number that would be appropriate.”

Sora forced a smile as her mother’s cheeks continued to color as she fumbled what was probably supposed to be something cool she’d prepared in advance.  “Umm.  Need some help, Mom?”

“No, no, I’ve got…  The little white bubble picture… I found it!  Yes, and I just message something to the last contact…”

“That’s it!”  her father cheered.  “Just like we practiced yesterday…  Mmm.”

“Eh…  It sent?  I wanted to delete the previous message!  Damn you, Jarlath!  Gah.  You do it!”  she snarled, shoving the phone away.  “Why do they have to make it so complicated?  I’ve fashioned omniverses with less trouble!”

“Sorry, Dear,” he sheepishly chuckled.  “It was supposed to have another effect.”

Confused about why she was suddenly cursing out her father, she walked over as her mother almost knocked him over with her tails upon storming to a couch.

Sora giggled upon spotting the last message sent to Raven, the big boss of a shady organization that basically ruled the world.  “Fluffy tails are the best pillow…  Awww.  And he sent question marks back!”  She looked up to see her disgruntled and embarrassed mother, arms crossed and glaring at the window.  “Mom, that’s great!”

“I’m not used to being so… incompetent,” she whispered as her father sent the proper message, saying they were ready.  “I apologize you had to see that, girls, Pynerius.  I’ve been… struggling to adapt to the many uncomfortable things that come with being mortal.  It has been—”

Her eyes widened, vision darting to her husband.  “Speaking of which, there is something I must do before we make the journey…  Such a nuisance.  I shall be back in a moment.”

Quickly rising to her feet, she left the room at a rather swift pace, catching everyone’s eye as Jarlath jogged after her.

“Raven will be here shortly, Sora, and thank you, Pynerius!”

Understanding came to Sora when she heard the ground-floor bathroom open down the hall before slamming shut; her father soon joined her flustered mom, being far more gentle with the door.  Her mother really was going through a rough adjustment cycle.  It reminded her that she hadn’t gone to the bathroom since beginning her transformation.

Wanting to give her mother the privacy she deserved, Sora weaved a silencing spell around the bathroom so the wolf and her sharp-eared sister wouldn’t hear anything.

Eyia held her arm across her front, spear gone.  “Is there anything that we can do to support your mother, Sora?  I am still learning the sorcery of the phone.  Perhaps we can study together when available?  The little woman inside that speaks when spoken to can be quite resourceful.”

Kari rubbed between her eyes and retired to the now empty sofa.  “What a shit show.”

Wendy ignored the wolf and chuckled while joining them.  “Maybe that would be good.  It looks like she’s really struggling with some things…  Honestly, not to be mean, but it’s a little funny to know that your amazing mom made herself a techno-dunce.  Like, it had to be for a reason, right?”

“Mhm…  Mr. Pynerius?”

The Moon Wizard’s features had softened.  “I will await your arrival, Sora.  I recognize that Zen is not in mortal danger, but a prisoner that is kept by a jailor.  My son has been caged by a curse for the majority of his life; it is nothing new to me.  Therefore, it is wise to prepare, and prepare properly.  Excuse me.”

He vanished in twinkling lights, leaving the four of them alone.  Kari was the one who broke the ensuing silence, eyes closed, head on the armrest, and tail draped over the opposite side.

“Just because HAREM isn’t going to be harming anyone doesn’t mean we should take things slow.  She’s stronger than when I felt her presence at the Moon Base.  The more control she has, the more powerful she becomes; it’s pretty obvious… and Mia said it herself that the golden Barbie doll over there can’t take her alone at her current strength.”

Her dull amber eyes opened to center on them.  “How are we going to handle Eric and HAREM if Aiden is empowering them?  His specialty is enhancing others, not actual combat.”

Eyia crossed her arms, leering down at the wolf.  “You never cease to question my aptitude, Granddaughter of Fenrir.  I have vanquished many foes far more fearsome than this HAREM creature.  Her abilities are quite easily understood if one was paying attention to our adversary.”

“Ooh!  Nice, Eyia,” Wendy praised, tail wagging again.  “You were scoping her out when we first woke up?  What’s her weaknesses?  How did you figure it out?”

Mind returning to their escape from the bone-chilling AI’s environment, Sora moved to form a circle between them; it did feel like a good time to analyze the scary, pink-haired digital parasite in order to hone in on how they should train.

“She’s hyper-intelligent, plays mind games, wants to capture, not kill, gains power from attention, and can use magic and technology to manipulate to get what she wants.”  A shiver ran up her tail to her ears.  “I think she can manipulate dreams and mentally attack people sleeping, because I saw her when Dream Weaving, and she noticed me.  What do you think, Eyia?”

The blonde shifted her weight to the opposite hip and locked eyes with her.  “The dolls she keeps transmit her power.  Therefore, when consolidated, she’s far stronger than when apart.”

“Fits the name,” Wendy grunted.  “No, actually, it should be ‘Reverse HAREM,’ but I guess that’s too long.  Mmgm.”  She scratched her head.  “And I actually like that genre.”

Eyia looked totally lost as to what she was talking about, making Sora giggle inside.

“I am confused,” the warrior slowly responded, eyeing the brown fox as her ears began to turn red, which was a surprise that she could change fur color.  “Is there some hidden aspect to this foe that reverses at some point, and by releasing all of her puppets, she then gains great power by becoming a solitary figure?”

“No!  No, no, no!”  Wendy protested with a strained laugh.  “No, I just like the loner, bullied girl stories where she gets the hot princes and all the guys doting on—no, never mind!  Go on.  My bad!  My bad!”

Kari rubbed her face.  “This is ridiculous!  Are any of you—besides Ms. Dense over here—actually taking this seriously?”

She swung her legs off the couch to glare at them, and Sora stood a little straighter as the wolf suddenly went into a strategy.

“It sounds pretty simple for a game plan.  We need Sora to devise some way to overpower HAREM’s influence; everything depends on how effective her purifying power is.  To weaken her, we need to spread her out, and she’s going to expect it.  She also wants something.”

Sora slowly nodded.  “Us.”

“Bingo,” Kari grunted, rising and pointing at her as they backed up a few paces to give plenty of space between them.  “Point to the fox for listening.  Look, we all have our differences.  Blondie hates my guts, bookworm wants me dumped in acid, and you want me to be a little puppy dog on a leash.  We all have our specialty on the court when the buzzer goes off in this game, though.”

“W-What?!”  Sora stammered, flustered at the cute image of a wolf Kari with a bow in her hair, tail wagging at the park, towering over the curious dogs.  “No!  I never said anything about a puppy—I wanted to be friends, not a dog, eh, wolf owner!”

Her brain went back to the discussion she’d just had with her mom, making her wonder if she’d somehow heard them talking past the silence field she’d made.

Wendy glanced away with a low growl, ears folding back a little.  “Dumped in acid is a little strong…  I’m kind of indifferent at this point, personally.  I just want my bunny prince back, so I can accept the help of a wolf—wait, that kind of sounds wrong…”

Sora was somewhat shocked at the sudden attitude from the wolf as she took the initiative in steering them on course.  Eyia didn’t even offer her own biting words, instead choosing to carry on from where the wolf left off.

“Indeed, Granddaughter of Fenrir.  You are not a favored companion but a companion nonetheless, and you do hold a great amount of suppressed power to contribute to this war.  We will be at our most vulnerable when asleep within HAREM’s domain.  It is imperative that we understand each of our weaknesses and issues with one another so as not to be caught in her web.”

“Eesh,” Wendy hissed, scratching her left ear before fiddling with the seven-pointed amulet.  “That’s not terrifying, Eyia.  So, do you think she can do a whole ninja genjutsu thing on even you?  I hate mind-game-bad-guys that make you think everything you’re doing is working and then…  Psych!  Got you!  It was all in your head.  Ugh.  Not fun.”

Sora lifted an eyebrow, actually liking that kind of ability.  “Maybe I should look into doing something like that.  Hehe.  You know, wave my tail with a little fire, and anyone that looks at it becomes my slave!  I’ll turn HAREM into my slave.  Fair punishment?”

Kari rolled her eyes.  “You’re seriously joking right now about shaking your ass to—”  she cut off as a single black feather drifted from the ceiling between them, spontaneously multiplying into a swarming whirlwind to reveal the tall, dark-dressed man.

“Am I interrupting something, ladies?”

All of them looked at one another and shook their heads.

“Wonderful!  In that case, your chariot will be here shortly,” he said, taking off his fedora to gesture with it to the corner of the room, where Sora felt space twist, the area slowly twisting as a gateway gradually formed to connect the lunar base to her suite.  “It will take a short bit to complete; things have been… hectic at the base, and we are short-staffed.”

His smile widened.  “I hope you have been faring well since dinner, and…  Wendy, what has happened to you, my dove turned fox?”

Wendy’s fingers tightened against her forearm.  “Eh-hehe.  No comment.  Anything on HAREM?”

“Hmm…”  His thin, cunning eyes lingered on Wendy for a second as silence swept the room.  “In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, Cora is on her knees; she shoots to kill and aims to please.  Our lovely Black Queen is a busy bee, living as a rolling stone, seeking answers to what you seek in places most unpleasant, but such is the life of such a woman.”

Wendy’s open mouth hung for a moment as she processed the man’s strange, flowery way of speaking.  “Huh?  Speak English!”

“Ho-ho-ho.  It seems we have a short moment while we wait for your parents, Lady Sora.”  Raven smoothly slid into the chair the Moon Wizard had used, passing between Wendy and Eyia.

He placed the hat on the armrest and crossed his legs as they all looked at him, unsure what the untrustworthy Foundation Executive was up to, as he breathed out a soft, reflective sigh.  His bright yellow eyes fixated on Sora, making her feel like he was looking right through her.

“I find times like these rare where I can sit and reflect…  What do you know about Cora, our musical songbird of pain and darkness?”

“Why is this important?”  Kari bluntly asked.  “I’m sick of all this waiting.”

Raven clicked his tongue and shook his head.  “The young are always so impatient, missing the importance that comes in the slow wake of wisdom shared.  Hmm-hmm.”

Closing his eyes, he sighed and rose to his feet, leaving his hat while moving to a painting on the wall of a rainy, somber cityscape, where a woman held an umbrella, the only one in focus, surrounded by blurry figures.

“The Foundation does not interfere in other dimensional fragments, which is why HAREM left for a new world.  It is not our assistance you will need once this is done, but My Lovely Mockingjay… she will be the one that supports you.”

He reached out to run his fingers a hair’s breadth away from the oil covering the canvas as they came near to look at the painting; an aura of solemn joy overtook the man as the artwork impressed upon him while reflecting on the leader of the Occult World Order.

“It seems we have enough time for me to tell you a short story.  Care to hear about my first date with a dazzling woman in black who would stab my heart for all eternity?”

Sora knew better at this point to know that this man didn’t do anything without a purpose.  There was something he was trying to impart in his own unique way.  She couldn’t quite tell how the pair felt about each other; lovers, enemies, and everything in between—there had to be a story to it.

Glancing to the hallway, where her father was still helping her mother with whatever bodily issues she was having, Sora started to fear something might have happened.  A quick sonar pulse told her that they were still inside and fine, though.

Wendy cleared her throat, still holding her seven-pointed necklace and making Sora worry a little.  “If you want us to hear her side of this story, too, then go ahead and speak your romance.  I’m at least a little curious.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Raven snickered.  “I’m sure this will make an impact.”

Kari leaned against the wall.  “Humph.  If it’s quick.”

Raven took a few seconds to collect his thoughts as he stared at the woman on a hazy European street.  “…When I first met Cora, it was in a city in a place now known as Belarus…  A vespertine, she reflected the divinity of day and night…  A beautiful crepuscular, contrasting a place most debase, dancing the go-go for the bourgeoisie.”

A little taken in by the light Raven was painting the Black Queen in, Sora could see the red streaks cast from a new angle on the canvas as he went on from a time far in the past; she could feel his bittersweet memories.

“You could see it in her eyes that this was not something that Cora chose, yet I was captivated by the music she could create with every part of her body.  She hated the cheating and the lies… her particular talents.  I wish more than anything that I could give her what she seeks.  So I thank her for her charm and take her in my arms whenever she is on my doorstep, but I am never the place she stays.”

His hand fell to his side.  “Cora will do whatever it takes to avoid her grave… cross any line, break any promise, and she won’t apologize for it, as much as she hates herself for her weakness.  I think you might have some things in common with her, Wendy,” he whispered, shifting to smile at the brown-furred fox.

Wendy swallowed.  “How so?”

“Hmm.”  He turned back to the painting with a sad smile.  “She can’t stand being alone and unloved; her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was a monster… but so much more.”  Raven turned toward them with a small smile as her parents exited the bathroom.  “You are lucky to have Sora.  Now, why don’t we head to our destination?  My Goddess!”

Mia walked into the room, her aura far more cleansed than it had been previously as she gave him a dubious stare.  “I trust you haven’t been meddling, Raven.”

He offered a deep bow.  “Only stories of the past, My Lady In Fire.  I am humbled to have been contacted by the divine.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other responsibilities to see to.”  Raven plucked his hat off the armchair and was the first to the gateway.  “Thank you for your ears, ladies; please, give My Mockingjay my best.  Defiance is most ravishing on her.”

“What a strange man,” Eyia mumbled, which was soon followed by a giggle.  “He kind of reminds me of my father.”

Wendy winced.  “I don’t know if that’s a good thing.  Umm.  Everything okay?”

Sora reflected her sister as her parents joined them.  “She’s right, Eyia.  Umm-yeah, we’re ready?  You’re going to be training me.  Right, Mom?  Eyia will do the combat stuff, but you’re going to help me with magic?  And what about Wendy or Kari?”

Her mother ushered them to the gateway as her father darted to a bag Sora hadn’t noticed behind the couch, seemingly filled with goods her mother and he might need for a trip; it probably included the essentials, like tampons, toothpaste, and other hygiene products.  It was actually just like her dad to make sure they were taking everything they’d need.  He often reminded her of certain things to pack when they went on vacation.

“I’ll be popping in for all of you.  Consider me the coach’s assistant!”

Sora saw a surprised smile on Kari’s face from the comment upon stepping through the black portal.  Blinking as she entered the base, she reoriented herself, frowning as she found the place almost empty compared to how busy the moon base had been before.

Kari stepped out beside her, ears raised.  “Humph.  Looks like she took all the scientists.  I guess that explains the short-staffing thing Raven was talking about…  I can smell her.”

Nose crinkling, Sora spun in a slow circle in the arrival lobby; dozens of Little Devils had split off from the location, and so many scents of people she couldn’t count them.  They really were lucky that HAREM wasn’t the ‘hostage killing’ type of rogue AI.  Her comment about being the ‘demon lord’ while Sora was the ‘heroine’ had her worried, though.  It was something to think about in the future.

“Well, we’re back!”  Wendy breathed, rubbing her shoulders.  “It feels like an eternity, even though it’s only been several days.  It’s so empty…  Hey, Sora, do you think everything Raven said was true about Cora?  I don’t know how I should feel about it.”

Sora shook her head.  “I try not to think about the confusing parts right now.  All I know is we need to train!  I’ll think about all that when I feel ready to break Aiden’s shield that’s deflecting my fire.  Ready to go, Mom?”

Her mom’s lips drew in as she scanned the zone.  “There should be a guide…”

“Here!”  A panicked, elderly man came stumbling through a door that slid open, almost tripping and breathing hard.  “I’m here!  I-I only… I’m not as young as I used to be—damn, I hate old age…”

Walking to the man as he wheezed, he kept rambling on.  “Despite the Foundation’s longevity methods, I keep getting worse—two hundred years is too short.  Anyway,” he showed them a wrinkled grin, “I’ll guide you to the Wizard’s Tower.  Please, can you tell me more about Mr. Pynerius?  I’m so curious.”

Sora let Wendy do most of the talking as they made their way to where the Foundation had a sealed-off space leading to the barrier.  She couldn’t keep her eye off the necklace around her sister’s neck.  All of the craziness just didn’t sit right with her.

No one even glanced at her fingers or hand when she was fiddling with it.  Why was she fiddling with it?  Why weren’t there any more black thorns?  Why had all of the insanity surrounding it suddenly stopped?  It was scarier being dormant than anything else since this item was above her own mother’s perception at her most powerful, and not even the purple-eyed, blonde lady could get rid of it for good.

When they left the salivating researcher for the ‘impassible’ barrier, Sora glanced back just before he went out of sight; the man was somehow totally nonchalant about all his coworkers disappearing.  Then again, maybe he had his memory wiped; it seemed in line with what the Foundation did.

Sora bumped shoulders with Wendy, trying to bring the brown fox’s mind back to what she was doing.  The brunette followed her eyes to the changed seven-pointed star that no one could remember.

“Hmm?  Oh!  Uh, it just helps keep me calm,” she mumbled.

“No voices, black-and-white ladies, or thorns?”  Sora pressed, letting Eyia pepper her mother with questions about a schedule; they were on a clock.

Wendy shook her head, holding it up.  “Nope.  It is weird no one else can see it, though.  Was it like this when you were using it?”

“Using it?”  Sora scratched her left ear.  “I never used it.   Wait, well… I held it against Zen, but yeah.  No, it just feels weird to me.  What does it feel like to you?”

Lips pulled in as they walked through the forest of trees—each having a unique door—Wendy let the item fall from her grip to her chest.  “Like… I’m safe in my bed, under my covers, and cuddled up to my stuffed animals.  Weird, huh?”

“A safe place…”  Sora whispered, translating what her sister meant.  “I am worried about it.  Can you take it off?”

“Not here,” Wendy hissed, drawing Kari’s uninterested gaze.  “I don’t want to eat my dress, lose my clothes, or collapse into a book.  It’s the only thing keeping me stable, Sora.  I told you, I can’t keep going like this without it.”

“Okay.  Okay.  No, I get it,” Sora hastily replied, “but when we’re alone…  I just want to see if you can.  Alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  No problem,” Wendy returned, showing a toothy smile.  “I’m not corrupted or a fish-loving cave-dweller yet, Sis.”

“Yet being the keyword there,” Sora teased.  “Haha.  Oh, Pynerius!”

Spotting the man on the tree stump throne, puffing on his pipe, they gathered around him.

The Moon Wizard revealed a few doors.  “The green one is a shared living space for when you are each done with your individual daily training.  Your names are on your doors.  You have four weeks for a single day to pass.”

“Pynerius,” her mother addressed, stepping forward to give him a short, courteous bow, “I thank you for your hospitality and acceptance.”

His piercing gaze fixated on her for a few silent seconds.  “…I am trusting you to rescue my son; use this time I have given wisely.  And… a guest is here.  One of the few to have made it past my barrier.  Speak my name and what you need; I will hear it.”

He vanished in twinkling starlight, leaving them as the green door opened, showing a raven-haired woman in a dark, spaghetti-strap dress.  Hands held at her front, Cora gave them a slight smile.  “I hope my intrusion is not seen as hostile.  I have HAREM’s location.”

Kari ran her fingers through her hair and walked past her, forcing the woman to shift to the side.  “Where’s my damn door.  I’m done with talking.”

“On the left, down the hall.  Good luck…  You will need it.”

“Mmm!” the wolf grunted back.

Sora sighed as her mother went in next.  “You’re more than welcome to join us, Cora.  Now, why don’t we start, girls?  Cora, we’ll talk while they’re busy.  Jarl?”

“I’ll get everything unpacked.  It’s crazy how much this ‘bottomless’ backpack can hold.”

“A what?”  Sora and Wendy asked in unison.

They stared at the item slung over their dad’s back as a small voice came from inside.

“H-Hey!  What’s the big idea?”  A cute little fairy crawled out of the flap, wings spreading out to stop herself from hitting the ground.  “I woke up in a pocket dimension?  Rude!  Lady Sora!  Oh, are we going somewhere?  Woah, where are we…  Neat magic!”

Sora entered the spacious hotel-like lobby area in a daze; she shouldn’t be surprised by this stuff, but it still got to her.  The fairy she’d saved followed with a curious smile, peppering Wendy with questions.

It was then she realized her dad must have slipped her purse inside the backpack if the little woman was with them.  How much had he packed?  However, they didn’t get a chance to pursue the topic because her mom was hustling them toward the hallway, including the bewildered fae.  It was time to really start digging into their powers.

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