ATM Rewrite: B2 — 25. A Book, Crown, or Scepter? (Patreon)

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our Protagonist Fox Girl)

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Sora sat at the table with her family; this was what she’d dreamed about growing up, having Wendy, her mom, and her dad together, having a happy meal together.  She had gone through a lot of heartache and headaches to reach this point, and there was a lot more trouble to come, but at least she wasn’t alone.

Her tail swung back and forth through the back of her chair as she saw Eyia, her adopted sister-in-arms, and Kari, her former bully and growing friend, getting along better.  It also helped that Abby, her new fairy follower, was provoking her mother to not neglect her father; she was just so sweet and supportive that she could totally see how her mom might feel threatened, which was cute.

However, halfway through their dinner, the raven-haired, petite leader of the Occult World Order drew her gaze; she wasn’t sure what to make of the mysterious woman or her tentative Foundation lover.

Cora cleared her throat and broke right into the topic.  “Ahem.  Apologies, but I will be brief.  My agents have managed to infiltrate the splinter world that HAREM has invaded to build up her strength.  We have a gateway open.  That being said, I expect HAREM to have already anticipated such, and a trap will be sprung the moment we enter, cutting off support from this side.  Once we have crossed, there will be no going back.”

“Perfect,” Kari mumbled between bites.  “All I care about is confronting my brother while freeing Aiden and Mary.”

“Mary, huh?”  Sora asked with a grin.  “Liking our new family psychiatrist—heh, if you count as family?”

Kari’s ears lifted up, and she glanced left and right.  “Did a fluff bunny say something just now?”

Tail coming to a complete stop, Sora had to double check she’d dropped her invisibility and silencing fields, only to discover they were off.  “I don’t think I—oh… you’re just ignoring me,” she grumbled, fork playing with her mashed potatoes.

“Hmm.  Must have been the wind,” Kari said with a smirk, nudging Eyia next to her.  “Yo, blonde, want to pass me the meat?”

“I shall, but must you be rude to our host?  It is not proper to ignore the one who has provided for your sustenance or housing.”

Sora waved her hand dismissively, releasing a sigh.  “Don’t bother, Eyia.  Kari’s just awkward and is adjusting in her own way.  Her tail’s too stiff to call someone ‘friend’ or be ‘thankful’ since it hurts her tough wolf image.”

Kari promptly looked at her father and gave a thankful smile.  “I appreciate the meal, Mr. Moore.  Would you and Abby like to join Eyia and me for some basketball afterward?”

“Me?”  her little fairy asked in shock, pointing at her tiny chest.  “What is basketball?”

“Oh, c’mon!”  Sora snarled, dropping her fork and throwing up her hands.  “Not that I wanted to play a stupid game of basketball anyway.  Humph.  I’ll hang out with Wendy while we wait for everything to be ready.”

Once again, Kari ignored her, jabbing a fork at the fairy.  “Yeah, you, Short-Stack.  I’ve seen how you can use magic to lift things; just use magic to dribble, and you’re golden.  What do you say, Fox Dad?”

Her father chuckled, and Sora caught his look that said she was taking steps to get closer to their family; let the angle play out.  “Sure, but I don’t know how much time we’ll have.  Ms. Cora?”

The Black Queen seemed to have finished her small meal, hands in her lap and not showing anything past the mask she wore.  “Two hours should be sufficient.  Only two days have passed on the outside compared to the two weeks we have spent in this wonderful space our benefactor has gifted to us.”

Kari nodded, holding her hand over the plate of meat; Sora sat a little straighter as she exerted some kind of raw kinetic force into a circle that condensed it to the size of a marble before plopping it in her mouth.

“Great.  Okay, let’s figure out who is better once and for all, Frosty.  I get Mr. Moore.”

“W-Wait, right now?!”  Abby cried, looking down at her half-empty bowl of sugar water.

“Take it to go, Wings,” Kari called back, already heading for her room.  “Eyia’s gotta train you up since she loves teaching others so much.”

“Eh?”  Eyia hesitantly rose to her feet, looking down at her mostly empty plate.  “Is this the wisest course of action?”

Mia chortled from beside Sora.  “Go on, Eyia.  Take this time to unwind before battle, and it’s good to see you getting along with Kari.  You can help her in ways that Sora cannot.”

“I shall lay her face on the pavement then, as she likes to say,” the Valkyrie chimed.  “The basketball is quite a fun competition of dexterity and stamina.”

Seeing the blonde and her dad run off after the wolf with a bit of a sour pout, Sora shot a light glare at her mother; Kari disappeared beyond the door to her private room.  “Thanks, Mom.  What’s up with her, though?  You know how patient I’ve been with her.  Like, c’mon!  I get I’m not really a sports-head like her, but that can’t be the only thing she likes to do.  And when was Dad doing anything more than watching the playoffs with Tom?”

Wendy popped a cracker in her mouth, light-blue eyes following Abby’s nervous wave as she followed the squad, leaving Sora with Cora, her fluffy-tailed sister, and her annoyingly patient-looking mom.

“More than you might know,” her mother giggled, pouring out some more tea for herself.  “You’ve won the big battle.  Kari’s finding her own place within the family.  Right now, she’s doing what’s comfortable for her, which includes sports.  Besides, your attention is so stretched thin that you’re neglecting Wendy.  When did your book become a scepter, Sweetie?”

Giving a start, Sora brushed back her bangs, vision snapping to her sister’s back to see an elegant, diamond-headed moon scepter attached to her back, just above the base of her tail.

“What the—Wendy?!  Why didn’t you tell me when we were in your room?”

The brunette didn’t even blink an eyelash while continuing to munch and snack.  “Meh.  Why didn’t you tell me you were going to make me change into whatever I am?  I wanted to see how you’d react, but it’s hard to predict.  It’s been weird since I’ve taken off the amulet.”

Focus darting to the two women seated at the table, Sora saw Cora and her mom seem to skip right over the detail about the amulet; it was still erasing its presence.

“Haaa.  Not in a bad way if you didn’t tell me, though, I hope.”

Wendy reached behind her back to twirl the item out like she’d taken baton classes since junior high.  “I really like it in this form; it’s more comfortable than the book, but maybe that’s just because I’m getting used to it.  It’s also turned into a tiara at one point.  My guess is that it’s unstable, which is weird when we’re talking about my actual body being this, but yeah.  I’ve kind of gotten used to it.”

She returned it to her back, and Sora’s jaw hung as it melded into her back to disappear inside of her sister.  “Okay… anything else you decided to hide from me?”

Wendy sighed and scratched her neck.  “I’ve learned how to control my mouth, so I’m not just sucking in air or whatever and making myself stomach sick.  I think I need a bit of a healthy diet of different types of things…  What do you want me to say?  I’m figuring it out,”  she grumbled, using her fork to poke some green beans.  “I’m nervous.”

Her agitation from Kari’s attitude started to settle as she turned her attention to her ‘big sister.’  Scooting her chair closer, she nudged her with her elbow.  “Hey, I have something that might help with that, and it’s not some creepy amulet that can eat time or whatever.  Game?”

A soft smile came to Wendy as she shivered and hugged herself.  “Sure.  It’s just… odd sometimes.  I don’t know how to describe it.  Everything around me makes me feel like I don’t really… belong, which is stupid…  I still feel uncomfortable, though.”

“Okay.  Good,” Sora chimed, her smile becoming forced as she caught a weird look from her sister.  “Well, not ‘good,’ as in you feeling uncomfortable in your own skin, but ‘good,’ in that we’re talking about it.  I think I have a temporary fix.”

Wendy pushed her chair out and stood with her, a frown on her lips as the brunette shook her head.  “No, you don’t get it.  I’m not uncomfortable in my own skin.  I’m uncomfortable in the environment I’m in.  It’s like… none of this is real… or most of it isn’t, and it’s kind of scary to think about.”

Not liking that she’d bottled this up until now, Sora took her hand and led her back to her purse.  “I have just the thing!  I know you don’t remember Ron, but Stephanie gave me this flower, and it really helped me when I needed some internal support.  Here!”

“Sora, I don’t know if I should try any new…”  the brunette trailed off as she saw it.  “Wait, I feel some kind of…  I can’t describe it.”

Swiftly pulling it away with a leery stare, Sora hummed.  “You’re not about to swallow it, right?  I still have their hairpin gift, but this is special, too, since Stephanie gave it to me when I was transforming.”

Wendy swallowed and shook her head.  “No, it’s not like it smells like food; it has trace amounts of something else inside of it that… makes me feel like… home?”

“Go on?”  Sora asked as Wendy’s fingers touched the black petals, but she only grazed it before her arm fell to the side, a look of disbelief on her face.  “Wendy…  Wendy?!  What’s wrong?”

Tears came to her sister’s eyes, fingers rising to her throat as she coughed, face turning red.  “Ron…  How could I forget Ron?  He always had candy in his pockets, and when I’d come to see you, I’d ask for one…  He was always so nice to me.”

Ears flying up, Sora gulped.  “You remember?!”

She nodded, rubbing at her cheeks.  “It’s like this… wave of memories and emotions that came all at once.  Is he okay?  What about his wife; he was married, right?”

“Yes!”  Sora pumped her arm, excited to have her best friend talk about the door attendant they’d known for more than half their lives.  “Okay, let’s go talk some more.  I really want to know all the things you’re not telling me about what you did these last two weeks, too.”

Just as she was about to take her overwhelmed sister off to their room to cool down and go over all the insanity that was their lives recently, Cora moved nearby to catch her notice, her mother still sipping tea at the table.

“Sora, I understand this is a bad time, but might I have the chance to speak to you in private before you split off?”

Wendy regained control of her emotions quickly, clearing her cheeks and throat.  “Ahem.  Heh.  Go ahead, Sora.  I’ll be here trying to figure out why I can cry or get… ugh, puffy eyes.  I’m a flipping scepter right now—scratch that,” she said, pointing up at a tiara that twinkled onto her crown.  “Moon Princess?  I mean, I’m not complaining; it’s a heck of a lot better than a book.”

“Hmm.”  Sora’s lips became a line.  “Sure, but my worry is that the instability is due to something else that could cause more problems…  We’ll talk in a bit, okay?”

Wendy chuckled and gave her a wave as she backed away.  “Uh-huh.  I’ll show you some of my wand-waving skills!  I’m getting pretty good,” she boasted.

“I think it’s called rhythmic gymnastics.”

“Okay, Ms. Educated!”  Wendy shot back, sticking out her tongue.

Happy to see Wendy was doing better, she blinked when she noticed her flower was suddenly gone, and looking up again, Wendy pulled it out from behind her back with a wink.

“What the—when did you learn sleight of hand?  I didn’t even notice.”

“There was this guy in my art class last year that liked me, I think,” she mysteriously answered.  “Gossip later!  You’ll have to tell me what you think once you hear the story.”

Now really interested in the surprise piece of her best friend’s life she didn’t know about, Sora turned her gaze to the patient occultist standing beside her.  “Haaa.  Did you want to talk here, or what?”

Cora gestured to a sitting area that hadn’t been there the first time they’d arrived.  “Please, sit.  It shouldn’t take that long.”

Pulling back her bangs and resituating her hair clip to keep it out of the way, her tail weaved at the thought of learning more about Wendy’s past three years.  They hadn’t had a chance yet to catch up fully, and while Sora’s life was pretty terrible and on display during that time, Wendy had managed to break away and do her own thing for a while.

Throwing her weight onto the sofa’s side as Cora took the armchair in front of her, Sora crossed her legs and inspected her tail.  “Raven said you’d want to have a private chat with me, but I expected it would come a lot sooner.  He had a lot to say—well, not a lot, but he talked about you being a ‘vespertine’ in ‘fair Verona,’—whatever that means—and some romantic-sounding first meeting in Belarus.  Ring a bell?”

Silence brought Sora’s green eyes from her tail to the delicate and pretty black-haired woman as she sat back, fingers rising to touch a unique-looking necklace.  Looking at her mother, she saw the fox minding her own business, sitting alone at the table, sipping her tea.

A distant note came to Cora’s soft voice, eyes trapped in the past.  “He spoke to you about Belarus and Verona?  Could you show me exactly what Raven said?”

“I guess?”  Sora created an illusion of the handsome, fedora-wearing executive in a seat beside them, generating a duplicate of the painting that he’d used to draw them into his story.  “Don’t tell me he was trying to do some kind of lovey-dovey coded message for me to deliver since you wouldn’t speak to him.  Cringe!  Right?”  she questioned upon seeing Cora’s conflicted eyes on her ex.

“He spoke about it while showing you this beautiful painting?”  she asked, rising to her feet to examine the artwork of a rainy, somber cityscape, where a woman held an umbrella, the only one in focus, surrounded by blurry figures.  “Damn him…”  she whispered.

Sora’s tail went stiff as a single tear slid down the woman’s left eye as her finger slid over the surface.  “What’s wrong?  I am so confused by all the codes and history between you two!”

Her illusion started to speak, though, repeating what she’d desired the memory to say, drawing their gaze.  The man’s cunning eyes and low voice snatched Cora’s aura as if a well-laid trap as he laid out the story.

“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…

“I find times like these rare where I can sit and reflect…  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?

“When I first met Cora, it was 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.”

Cora’s fingers tightened into fists, swallowing a lump in her throat as her gaze shifted to the painting, and Sora could see that this message and story weren’t meant for them.  There was an emotion she hadn’t seen in the cool, stoic woman, and it was deep pain and regret.  She was reminded of the title Cora had given the dangerous man when they’d met.

The handsome philandering bird with the inky song of ecstasy…  What did he have me do?!

“Umm.  Should I… continue?  Was this some kind of emotional attack on you or something?  What is this about?”  she asked, hands held against her chest as she glanced between the illusionary painting and man.

Cora slowly shook her head, and a melancholy smile lifted the woman’s lips, surprising Sora as she moved to her cello in the corner.  Going to her side as she took it out, she sat on the table while she prepared the instrument, whispering, “Apologies, but playing soothes my soul.  Please, continue from the beginning, if you will.”

Sora sighed, biting her bottom lip as the gentle strum of the mournful tune filled the room.  It brought her back to the night she’d first met this woman, playing on the stage that HAREM would crash.

She repeated the story, skipping the in-between parts as the music mixed with the man’s story, swaying against Cora’s spiritual aura like the instrument she played.

“…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.”

Pain crossed Cora’s face, the stain of her single tear still shining in the faint light overhead as Raven’s vision fell to his lap.

“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…  Hmm.  She can’t stand being alone and unloved; her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was a monster… but so much more.”

Her mother’s voice came from the aether, asking if he was meddling, prompting the man to offer a deep bow, his voice holding a somber note.

“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 left.  “Thank you for your ears, ladies; please, give My Mockingjay my best.  Defiance is most ravishing on her.”

With the final word, Cora’s music diminished, downcast eyes on her instrument.  It took a few seconds until she carefully placed it back in the case and closed it, snapping the hinges.  She paused for another moment before situating herself on the chair again, Sora anxiously waiting for what she’d say.

“Well?”

Brushing away the tear mark, her hands folded in her lap, and Cora looked at her.  “He was bidding me farewell.  He is going to fulfill a promise he made me that I never believed him capable of…  Raven will die when this is over.  It is a topic for the future…”

She motioned for her to sit.  “Sora, now that you have the means by which to infiltrate the HAREM network, you will be faced with certain moral decisions and risks.  Things will move swiftly once we are on the other side; an entire country of this world is under her spell, but the solution is simple…  You must give one of these personalities hope of toppling their queen.”

Sora mentally envisioned thousands of girls under the heel of the grinning, pink-haired AI, strings attached to each as she forced them to dance to her tune.  “We’re going in with a plan, though, right?  We’ll be together?”

Cora’s hair shifted against her shoulders as she shook her head.  “HAREM is too intelligent.  She will divide you, and try to use your empathy against you.  It is for this reason I recommend that your parents stay within this sanctuary.  I understand their desire to be with you, but it will only further place you in a compromising position.  Your mother left that decision to you.”

“Wha—Mom!”  she balked.  “What do you mean, you left it to me; there’s no way in hell you’re going!  You’d be a hunted, prized fox to stuff nine tails on the wall!”

A soft stream of air came from her mother as she moved to sit across from her, a serious note in her sharp gaze.  “Sora, I will repeat myself again… beware of Fen.  You must let anyone else handle her, and her specifically, and under no circumstance are you to allow Wendy to confront her.  You both are not to deal with her.  Understand?”

“Yeah…”  Sora mumbled, shifting uncomfortably and knowing it had to do with her aunt.  “But what if—”

“No,” her mother firmly repeated.  “I have already told Eyia to handle her imprisonment.  You cannot interact with her white tail in the slightest.”

“Okay…”  she mumbled.  “Rally the HAREM bots in a revolution, and don’t get caught by Fen.  Easy, right?  You really don’t think HAREM will let us be together?  Haha.  What can she do to split us up?  I mean, we go through the portal, find a Little Devil, and begin the la révolution!  Don’t worry, Mom.  You’ve been training me!  Mom…”

She saw her mother’s fingers shaking a little, aura barely able to contain her fear.

“I am just… terrified of what might happen if you do come into contact with Fen.  HAREM is too intelligent, and there is the possibility she knows I am skittish about the vulpes…  I should have expelled her when I had the chance.”

Not agreeing with her mother but not wanting to fall into the trap of a fruitless argument, she brushed past the topic.  “Alright.  Anything else?”

Cora’s focus drifted to her closed cello case.  “Optimism is for the youth…  I will be prepared for when I am needed.  Tami and Tamil will be at the location to supply support.  At the very least, Sora, be ready for the possibility of being transported to a new location.  HAREM has the home-field advantage with preparation.”

Gulping, Sora stiffly got up and nodded.  “Fine… I’ll talk to Wendy about it.”

Leaving her mother and Cora to talk, she shifted at the wistful atmosphere that passed between the two, spotting the Black Queen’s hands move to her stomach.  There was something really important in Raven’s message that had shaken the woman, and she probably didn’t want to distract her from this rescue operation with something else.

Half wanting to know yet not wanting more headaches, Sora growled as she opened Wendy’s door, entered, and slammed it shut.  “Why do I get the feeling I’m being treated like a teen when we’re literally going to war against an—Wendy… what are you doing?”

She stopped in her tracks, dull eyes staring at a little bunny on her sister’s pink bed, wearing a tiara.

“Ah!”  A swirl of sparkling, deadly energy encircled the fake bunny as Wendy panic ate half her sheets, now kneeling on her bed, her face and ears flushing before snatching what remained of them to cover herself.  “Heard of knocking much?!  Gah!”

A sly smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth as she moved to the dress and garments on the dresser to bring them to the brunette.  “Practicing to go on a bunny date with a special someone, Princess Bun?”

“Oh, shut up!”  Wendy cried.  “I was just curious about what it might feel like to be a bunny, and w-why Zen liked it!”

“Sure…  Here’s your bra and undies, Princess Hops.”

“It’s Queen Bun to you, peasant,” Wendy shot back with a weak red-faced smile.  “On the record, living as a bunny would be terrifying with how big everything becomes.”

“Cool.  Cool.  But check this out!”

Turning away to let her dress, Sora got into what they’d talked about outside.  It didn’t take her that long to tell the tale or for Wendy to finish dressing, flipping her hair out the back of the dress and phasing her tail into its proper place.

“Raven’s going to die?”  Wendy asked, standing in front of her makeup vanity mirror and brushing out her tail fur; she liked the feel of it, apparently.  “Feels kind of suspect… and after he was comparing me to Cora and all.  Weird.  So, your mom really doesn’t want you to meet up with your aunt, though?”

“I know!”  Sora huffed, examining her silky orange tail while sitting on Wendy’s bed.  “She keeps telling me it’s bad news because she wants her own daughter, and she’ll get all crazy about Mom not telling her…  Maybe it’s an old woman or vulpes thing?  I don’t know; I don’t get it.”

Wendy snickered, setting her brush down and bending in closer to inspect her big fox ears.  “You have that tone that says you want to do something you know you shouldn’t when your dad tells us not to wander off.  I feel like your mom would know a heck of a lot more about her sister than us, but I am interested to learn what the real Inari goddess is like.  Wait…”

She flipped around to give her a lifted eyebrow.  “Does that mean I’m a little related to her now, or is that a real—dammit!”

Tail rising, Sora leaned to the side to see her sister vanish, her dress falling to the seat for a tiara to land on it.  “Trouble?”

“Mmmgm.  I left your rose in the drawer.  Can you bring me the amulet—I’m having trouble… moving.  It’s in the drawer under the rose’s—drawer that is…”

“Haaa.  Sure,” Sora groaned, begrudgingly opening them to find the items.  “So, you think you need the thing for this mission?”

“Sorry…”

“No.  It’s cool.  I’m just worried,” she said, holding up the pendant to stare at the black hole in the center.  “I wonder why she hasn’t tried to contact us yet.  It’s been weeks.  She was really active when it first showed up.”

“Meh.  All I care about is that it helps me not become a nudist every hour—and there we go!  All better,” she chimed, going so far as to have the control to create her body within her garments when the amulet touched the crown.  “See!  With it, I can do sooo much more.  All of this is strange, but we need to use everything to get Zen back, right?”

“Right…  So, tell me about you and Zen,” Sora urged, jumping belly down onto Wendy’s bed.  “He’s a prince.  He’s got moon powers.  He’s cute…  C’mon, give me the lowdown.”

Wendy laughed and fell to her back beside her.  “You really wanna talk boys?  We never really got much of a chance since all that crap happened when we hit thirteen.  Did you find anyone cute at school?”

“Pfft!  I was too busy looking out for Lori around corners with a razor, thinking she’d cut my throat!  Not a shot I had anything else in my mind,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.  “Let’s talk!  Girl stuff—go!”

Sora felt her mood brightening as they ping-ponged between topics until a knock came at the door, and her mother informed them that it was time for the operation.

Steeling herself, she followed Wendy out to find Kari, Eyia, and Abby waiting beside a new door at the end of the hallway.  Cora stood with her father, his arms crossed and aura screaming that he didn’t want to let her go.

She moved in to hug him, pulling her tall dad down to kiss his cheek.  “We’ll be safe, Dad.  Trust?”

“Trust,” he repeated in his thicker Irish accent.  “Give ‘em hell.”

“You know it!”

Kari was looking away, no doubt uncomfortable with the whole family dynamics, but she could deal with it.  Eyia grasped her father’s arm, he doing the same back as they nodded to one another in some warrior way while her mother snuck a hug from Wendy.

As Cora opened the door, her mother tugged on Kari’s tank top hem.

“What?”

A soft smile lifted the fox mom’s red eyes as she said, “Your mother would be proud of you going to face your brother.  Come back in one piece.  Alva would be sad if you got yourself hurt.”

“Yeah…”  A little caught off-guard, Sora bumped tails with the wolf as she hugged her mom goodbye and went through the door to the ritual grove where over four dozen various creatures were channeling a powerful magical spell.

Sora gulped when Cora closed it behind them; now, it was just the six of them: a somber cellist, a disgruntled wolf, a homeless Valkyrie, a fairy soldier, a critically unstable tiara sister, and her, the heroine of this rescue mission, fire-tailed Sora.

What madness has HAREM cooked up?

Cora directed them to the center of the swirling mass of multi-hued light.  “Step through, and the fight begins.  Tami and Tamil are waiting on the other side.”

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