Chapter 53:

The Moon Wants To Be Mother

Valkyria Squadron


Vajdahunyad Castle, Aria's world
10:00 PM

When I opened my eyes I saw Tamamo's face, she was with her eyes closed, with a face of serious concentration. She was holding my hand and once again she had my head on her lap, around there were several gauzes made with clothes, they were full of blood. I did not know how much I had lost but just by looking I can understand that it was quite serious. My stomach hurt a lot, I was cold and I felt weak, all due to the injury I received. Checking my wound I could see how a green light was released from between the bandages, I could even feel how the pain was relieving little by little, I also realized that it had the exit hole, so thanks to that the damage it was less. After she felt me moving, Tamamo immediately opened his eyes and saw me with a sad face, then she hugged me as she usually does.

"Moron"
"I was worried"
"Do you know what it's like to see the person I love suddenly come back with a wound like that?"
"I can hardly believe that you are capable of recovering so quickly." She said angry.

"I am sorry"
"It was not my intention for this to end this way"
"Before I usually used to take a little more damage before losing consciousness."

"Idiot!"
"That's what I mean"
"Remember that you are basically a little girl now"
"If you lose a little more blood it could be lethal for you"
"Even if you don't like it, now you are much weaker than when you were a man"
"You must be much more careful"
"You are lucky that your father was able to get here in time for me to treat you."

"I used to hunt True Dragons with this body before"
"Don't treat me like a little girl just because I look like one"
"I know how to fight without anyone's help"

"And still a bullet almost killed you"
"And you are not alone anymore"
"You are my husband, I am not treating you like a child"
"I know what you are capable of, probably more than anyone"
"I just ask you not to be so careless"
"How dare you go fight right now where we don't even know where we are?"

"I'm sorry I didn't want it to sound so bad"
"What I wanted to say was that I understand what you mean"
"I just wanted to indicate that I did not want to be treated as weak just because of how I look, nothing more"
"I thank you that you are by my side now"
"It's such a relief to have someone like you around when these things happen to me"

I got up a little and sat in the car seat, My wound hurt when I moved, but not so much as to prevent me from moving, Tama did not let go of my hand despite how uncomfortable it was. I had an old blanket covering me, which when trying to accommodate it to warm me better I noticed something important.

"Tama!"
"May I know where my clothes are!?"
"I need them right now!"

"It's right there, on the floor"
"In parts"
"It was what they used to try to stop the bleeding on the way back"
"The other clothes you had are in that bag, but they will stain red if you put them on now"
"Give me a couple more minutes to heal you and I'll help you put your clothes on"

"Ok"

"Since you're awake now, can you tell me what you and father were doing?"
"How did it end up in a shootout? "
"And where did those two come from?"

Since there was no point hiding anything from her and that in fact, it could help her to know all this better, I told her everything. The beginning had the same face that surely I did when Stella told me the first time. But she, also being a victim and witness, took it much more calmly, almost as if she had understood a new magic theory because little by little she began to say a little about what could have been the mechanism behind the magic that brought us here, and when I told him that Maria's book was the catalyst, she even started to come up with new ideas about how it worked. But I couldn't understand almost anything she said, because magic was never really my strong. I have just discovered one of Tamamo's passions because he almost put aside the discussion that we had earlier by trying to solve the mystery. When you get to the part of the twins, I saved some of the details to explain better another day, when she was more used to computers. But I told her that they were both machines and not human. When I finished speaking I put on the clean clothes that I had worn at the beginning of the night and when I finished we both got out of the car and Tamamo helped me walk. The girls were right there hugging each other, they had been waiting patiently for us.

"So they are not very different from the machine you use in the room?" asked Tamamo referring to my computer.
"But they look very similar to a normal human"
"Well, the hands do look like a toy on the other side"
"In addition to the strange traces of magic that they possess"
"What are their names?"

"Well I do not know"
"The two told me that they were called units, I don't know what, and some random number"
"It was impossible to remember"

"Excuse our intrusion, but we wanted to ask what you guys plan to do with us"
"If it is not too much to ask, we would like the least to be together for a while longer" the girls asked in a completely synchronized way, so much so that it even sounded a bit scary.

"There is the question, I have no idea"
"They asked me to rescue you, they didn't tell me what to do after that"
"Also we have to return to Earth"
"But if it is your desire to be together then I will try to find a way to make it come true" I answered them while I head padding their heads, realizing at that very moment that the two of them were even taller than me.

"And what if we give each one a name?"
"If they want, of course" asked my wife

"Having a name would help a lot to have a more organized and fluid conversation"
"There is no reason for us to refuse your request" one of the girls answered

"Okay so what if I name one and your darling think of a name for the other?" proposed Tama
"I already had one in mind for a long time!"

"For real?"
"If you ask me like that suddenly, I have no idea of a name"
"What could be a good name?"
...

Trying to find a name for Tama's sudden idea, I began to search through my memories for something that might be of use. The first thing that came to mind was Charlotte, who was my AWACS during the war against the dragons when I was still part of a mech combat unit. It was thanks to her ingenuity and skill that I was able to get out of several unexpected encounters alive. In the end, I did not know what happened to her, but I hope that now she has a happy life wherever she is. Seeing that they did a similar job, I thought that at least that name suited her.

"Okay, so how about the name Charlotte for you"
"Does having that name sound good to you?"
"Do you like it?" I told the girl who came out of the wired machine that she almost overheated.

"Well it's a good sounding name I have no problem because they keep referring to me from that" Said the Doll with a face that seemed to have no emotions, but that her way of speaking seemed to sound quite cheerful
"Very well, and what will be the name that you will give to my other unit?"

"For your sister, I thought of giving her the name I always wanted to say in case I had a daughter"
"What do you think of Kazumi as a name?"
"Written this way, look" Tama grabbed a branch and began to draw the symbols on the ground: 和美
"It means peace, beauty"
"Kazumi"
"Kazumi the beauty of peace"

I was amazed at how different the names we came up with for the twins were, a very western name and a very eastern name. They were so different even in the reason why such names. Well, while mine only thought it because it sounded good and it was that of someone I knew before, Tamamo's was the opposite, because she wanted it to be beautiful in the meaning of her and what it meant for her and for me.

" I Agreed"
"The name of this unit will be Kazumi written with those characters in Japanese"
"I will keep always present" Said the girl making a gesture of grace

"Now there is still what we will do with them?"
"We have to find a way for them to end up together somehow"
"And at the same time find a way that they are not a danger to the safety of a planet with their powers"
"But how?" I speak to myself.

"Wait what is that they have on their neck"
"Is that a necklace too?"
"It's the same as mine!!"
"Honey, what the hell did you do with them !?"
"Explain now!!"
"That I and Momo are not enough for you?"

"Wait what!?"
!!!
"It's true, that part!" I said after remembering what Stella had done like always when I got distracted"
"But that was complete without my consent!"
"Not even they knew"

"According to what the lady you spoke to us at the Interstellar mansion said"
"It is a spell that will make our dream come true because people will no longer be afraid of me"
"Although I did not know what he meant by that, I thought it would be worth a try" said the now called Charlotte

"Are you not a computer?"
"Why did you think something so crazy would have a logical reason to work?"
"Why did you make such a dubious decision?"

"Because it works the first time"
"When I had nothing to lose by asking you to rescue me"
"What I don't understand is what does the necklace have to do with how angry Mrs. Tamamo is?"

"What you two have on your necks is something that prevents you from being able to reject any order that my darling tells you to carry out"
"Also you can not hurt him in any way"
"For example, if he tells you he orders you to fall asleep, you two will fall asleep until he tells you otherwise"
"They won't be able to do anything to prevent it"
"It is something quite dangerous that cannot be removed"
"That's why it's a problem"

"However you also have one and you don't seem to care?" Asked the now named Kazumi

"Well that's different"
"This is something that I accept to have to avoid my husband more problems by being with him"
"It is like a protection measure for him"
"But I blindly trust that he won't use it for anything bad"
"He has shown it so far that he is worthy"

"That means that we cannot refuse any order that he indicates to us, no matter what"
"Which could be used to prevent the two of us from avoiding launching a nuclear attack in any scenario, either due to malfunction or hacking"
"If so, then it would be a great advantage to stay close to you"
"Elise could stop us in case something goes wrong and save us just by talking"
"If that is the case, we would like to stay with you please"
"It is better to be the property of someone unknown who has to continue to be tested for the military"

Both girls prostrated themselves before me trying to get my approval, they even looked desperate despite their serious faces. How the hell did they think it was better to be with me that maybe they could continue on their own, with freedom. To be honest, I did not feel like I had that power, it is the same that even with Tamamo I had preferred to simply leave it forgotten, otherwise it would not be fair for them to believe in me to do the right thing. But just as it was not fair for Tamamo that they put that magic on him, it is not fair for the two of them to put it without permission or without notifying them of what it implied. Tamamo was looking at me impatiently waiting for my answer, but I did not feel good having to give one, whether it was good or bad, I did not feel that I could simply say, it's okay from now on they are basically my toys, or at the same time tell them I'm sorry, I do not think to help them in the least, look for their own life. What could I say in this case? That he hadn't told them that he would find a way to keep them together? Tamamo, seeming to see my internal struggle, trying to decide what to do, began to speak.

"You know I always wanted to have children after I got married"
"But since we are both girls I thought that is impossible now, so I had given up"
"But seeing her two, acting almost like real sisters despite the extra things they have"
" The two of them gives me the same feeling of joy that I receive by being in your home with your family"
"Adelis is not my mother, but I can't think of her in any other way than she is my real mother"
"The same with your sister, despite how little I have been with her I feel that I could not see her and think of her as my family too"
"So I thought maybe we could do the same you and me with these girls"
"What do you think, don't you want to give them the same opportunity that you gave me or Momo?"

"What do you mean?"
"What do you want to propose?" I asked

"Wouldn't you like to adopt Charlotte and Kazumi as our daughters?"
"After all we already even gave them a name!"
"We have to take care of them and have to raise them !"

Adopt them?

What Tamamo was proposing was undoubtedly sudden, but it was also a better proposition. Well, having seen the power that the two of them possess in an environment as limited as that dungeon was. In the modern world where everything uses computers, from entertainment to military equipment, those twins are the equivalent of modern Goddesses, because with just a flick of their fingers they could power ICBMs and destroy the earth. But just as they have the power to destroy, they also have the power to protect, as they would be able to prevent the launch of the same, or the power to search or erase dangerous information. But except for Tamamo which I think will be the best indicated to teach them how to be a Goddess, I hope responsible. What could someone like me contribute? Someone who is afraid of the world, and of people. The only thing I want is to live in a calm way without anyone bothering me ever again. What right do I have to try to teach someone again when the previous time someone who also trusted me died for my decisions?. But It was exactly that, I am not the best option, but maybe just the only one. Probably just me and my family that could see these girls as something more like a computer or a weapon, but as one more person. I will not pretend that the past never happened, the only thing I can do is try not to repeat it, and if I enlighten these girls that it is worth protecting others, then Luna will feel proud wherever she is when she sees me. That almost would be worth the effort and show that Luna if she had a true father who loved her and who is capable of moving forward after what happened.

"I think it might be a good idea"
"But what do you two say?"
"Would you really like to be our daughters?"
"Would you like to live a life like two normal people?"
"Are you able to learn what is correct for Tamamo and me to feel happy to welcome you?"
"Do you think that would be okay?"

"Okay, if that way I can save my two remaining units then I agree with that proposal" The twins said in sync

Okay, if we're going to do this, I have to make a long-term plan. The best thing I can do to these two is to teach them to be as human as possible. That way maybe when the time comes for them to make a decision they can make the right one and be responsible for it. That they be able to be creative and think for themselves how to solve the problems that arise. Because if things follow their current course, sooner or later they will be on their own at some point, and I hope that when that day arrives you will have managed to do a good job and trust them.

"Well then we will have to make big changes"
"The first will be that they stop acting as like a computer"
"The two of you have to treat yourself as humans and sisters"
"Your name is Charlotte and yours is Kazumi"
"No computer random number"
"Second, I do not want to prohibit you from acting like a hive mind because that is an integral part of you"
"If you are going to talk to each other and it is not an emergency situation, I want you to speak like normal people, with your voice"
"I want to see you use your names that your mother and I gave you"
"Third, I want you to do everything possible to be as human as possible"
"But we will work on that at another more appropriate time"
"Finally and I want to make this clear since we are a family"
"Tamamo and Momo will be your mothers"
"On my side, I will be the father and you will treat me as such"
"I'll explain why too later"
"Doubts?"

"Why did you say two girls as mothers?"
"And why do you count yourself as the father in the relationship?" Kazumi asked

"I already told you that I will explain that another day"
"Now if you'll excuse me I have to rest a little because I feel a little dizzy"

Hearing this, Tamamo approached me in a panic and began to check me. But I think it was only the shock of the news that caused it and not the injury because she had not stopped treating me. After a moment from which I recovered, I could see my father returning to what looked like a makeshift wheelchair with a ballroom chair and small wheels. Finally, it was time to meet again to reach the end of the night.

SiestaWillNotDie
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