Running Away

“Where are you going?” Vii asks, following me out into the street.

“I want to get something to eat.” I say, leaving Berty behind to deal with everything.

“Aren’t we meeting your parents?” She asks, following after me down the street. It’s moderately busy, but if we walk fast there are only a few people who notice her, the big cloak earns their attention then her alien features earn her a second glance. I’m getting tired of it already.

I hang back, letting her catch up before grabbing her around the side, and heading out towards some cheap restaurants. The place I’m thinking of has an all you can eat bar with your own grill on the table, and I know where the meat comes from so it shouldn’t be an issue.

“Are you… is there an issue with your parents?” Vii asks.

“No. Why should there be an issue?” I ask, pushing through the doors and waiting in line to pay. I have a handful of paper notes that Berty gave me just for this sort of thing.

“You seem to be avoiding them.” Vii says. “Like, you ran into the kitchen when they talked with Berty on that phone thingy. Now when they’re waiting for us at home, you’re running off for lunch.”

“I just… they’re a bit much.” I say, throwing money at the person at the register, and picking up a plate that I intend to pile high with meat. “I… they’re just happy in each other’s company, and it really feels like I’m not… It’s fine. Berty can explain everything, and it’ll be fine.”

“Kyra?” Vii tilts her head, sitting across from me as I stare at the cooking meat on the grill between us.

“It’s nothing. Really.” I say. “I just… it’s not comfortable. They’re charming, and cheerful, and… I guess it’s just that I don’t want to get caught up in their flow. I don’t want you to get caught up in their flow.”

“You’re Kyra. The Empress that made the universe quake. No matter how they are, I know you can handle it.” She says, pulling the meat off the grill, and eating it while it’s still rare. I leave mine a little longer to char a little on the outside.

“I’m not… I’m not any of that.” I say. “Even everything I’ve done has just been momentum. I do one thing, then that leads me to the next thing, and the next thing, and… for a moment there I thought we could settle down and get a handle on life, then it turns out that Arduelle is going to be setting me up with murder dates, and political adversaries to keep me moving and growing.”

“Kyra, it’ll be fine.” Vii says, clearing much of the meat off of the grill. I try gnawing on my own piece, but the texture of it feels revolting in my mouth. It still tastes like bad memories, but then what doesn’t stir up those thoughts. It’s just a part of being an adult, really.

“Do you want to go meet your parents?” She asks.

“Yeah, yeah…” I sigh. It really isn’t like l have any issues with them, but they’re… annoying, and I still feel like I don’t really know them at all.

I finish the meal, enjoying my time here with Vii as well as I can, while planning out how to approach a few topics with my parents in the next few hours. I’m sure that Berty has already told them about all that’s happened to me, and that second hand story is sure to be embellished, both in terms of my successes and in my sufferances.

They’ll likely be happy for me, for what I’ve achieved and the love that I’ve found, but I’m not entirely comfortable with how they’ll react to all the harsh times I’ve been through.

“Hey… ah, I mean hi. Are you two the girls from this picture?” A young woman wearing the uniform of the restaurant approaches, showing us her phone with a zoomed in picture of the two of us having a picnic on top of a pyramid.

“Oh, that’s a good picture. A drone?” I ask, looking over it. “Yeah, that’s us. Giza was fun, but the scenery from the moon was much more interesting. Never could find that damn lander, or any flags up there, considering how empty it all is I thought I might find it.”

I pack up my stuff, which… I’m used to having a lot more, but I’ve been carrying around much less since I left Earth. My replacement for a phone is a brain-chip in my head, so that helps. Money hasn’t been much of a thing, and probably won’t be with my position as Empress.

The girl doesn’t seem to know how to respond to that reply, and simply stands there and watches as Vii and I leave, her jaw slack. Vii gives her a little wave, with her wing as the automatic doors close behind us.

People really don’t know what to say and do when faced with so much weirdness. I really would’ve expected more trouble, but so far there’s really nothing much. I guess in a few more days word will have spread about us, and then we might have some trouble, but for now we’re still unknowns to most people we pass.

The road home is the same as it’s ever been, the potholes are in the same places, and the buildings haven’t changed. Walking the familiar old route home, I can’t help but find myself falling into old thoughts.

I used to wonder what I’d be doing when I was finished with my education. I read books and listened to music, even now I find myself humming an old song. Still, I can’t think of a single thing that I truly miss from here, not one thing that I can’t live without.

Even the nostalgia is only a brief sweetness that disappears at the sight of my old apartment building. The place where my brother and parents are waiting for us.

“Vii.” I say, staring down at the pavement at my feet. I reach out into her cloak and pull at her hand. She only has two fingers and a thumb that wrap up around the joint in her wing, but acting like a normal hand for the most part.

“Kyra?” She asks, leaning in close to me.

“I… would you still love me if I wasn’t some grand Empress?” I ask. The insecurity that I feel burning in my chest sheds doubt on our relationship, everything we’ve built. Too much of it feels like a lie, like roleplay. As if we’re just pretending to be living this life, and when the masks drop off it’ll all be gone again.

“I… yes.” She answers, stepping ahead and turning to face me. “I’ve already seen you weak. I’ve seen you trembling and crying. I know you’re not always going to be strong and powerful. I know that you’re… a person. It… it hurts that you even feel like you need to ask that.”

“Sorry.” I say, shaking my head. “I just… I love you, and I’m scared. That I’m going to lose you. That I’m going to lose everyone in a moment of weakness. If I let my burdens drop for even a moment, I might no longer be the person you love.”

She nods slowly, listening to my words before leaning in close and wrapping her wings around me. It feels warm here, in her embrace, but it cannot last.

“Don’t let silly thoughts bother you.” She says, kissing my cheek. “Let’s get going.” She says, pulling me up the stairs to my apartment. I follow after her, still filled with anxiety.

We push inside, the door swinging loosely on its hinges, the voices of my family coming from the living room.

“Kyra?” Berty calls, poking his head around the corner. “You’re home.”

“I had lunch out.” I answer, feeling how lame the response is. I was running away, and everyone knows it.

“Come on in, and introduce Vii. Also, is it okay to give mom and dad translators, they’re really interested, and it’s been a task holding them back.”

“Now, now, don’t speak of us like we’re some bandits seeking to pillaging our little girl’s school bag for snacks.” Dad says. “Come on, bring her in. You’ve brought your girlfriend, right? No need to be shy.”

“Ah, coming.” I reply, walking into the room and seeing two familiar faces. They look older since the last time I saw them, but the smile lines on their faces have only deepened, and their eyes still shine with the same life as ever.

I shouldn’t have been worried.

“I’m only back for a little while.” I say, checking on our stuff and grabbing two remaining translators to throw at my parents. I’m not even sure they’ll get much use out of them, they have to know at least half the languages around the world with how they travel.

“Hi.” Vii says, waving her wing at them excitedly, while I make my return. “They can’t understand me, can they?”

“Just give us a second.” I say, lightly tossing the silver blobs at my parents. I’m sure they can handle it.

They react quick to catch them, but the liquid metal just flows into their flesh and inside them. There’s a small delay before they can start functioning, so I take the spare seat—my parents have the couch—and pull Vii onto my lap.

“Vii, these are my parents.” I say, waving towards them where they’re cuddled up together on the couch. “Mom, dad, this is Vii, my girlfriend.”

For some reason this hurts my soul slightly more than all the massive fights that I’ve been involved in. I’d rather be standing on another battlefield bleeding and slaughtering, than right here, right now. I grab the tv controller and focus on the TV.

“It’s wonderful to meet you.” Mom says, standing up and rushing over to give her a hug. “Our little Robert has told us all about you and Kyra. Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Not at all. She’s been taking care of me.” Vii says, smiling happily.

“Nonsense,” Dad interrupts her. “A good partnership has you both helping each other. I know I’m only half the man if I’m without my lovely Willow.”

“Oh, darling.” Mom says, leaning up against him and giving him a kiss.

I pull Vii closer and focus on the TV.

“I heard that you both went through a lot together?” Mom says, smiling. “And that you’re getting married.”

“Yep, yep.” Vii nods happily. “We got the dresses and everything, but they got a little messy on our visit to the moon.”

“We’ll clean them up and take them with us.” I say, finding a nature documentary. It’s strange looking at the animals and realizing just how rough they have it. Half the species I know would be just like them if they were born in this world. Mana really does help push species further.

“You’re not rushing things?” Mom asks. “I’m not suggesting anything, it’s just that it’s so fast, and with everything that’s happened… Your mom is worried.”

I twitch.

This is strange.

It’s uncomfortable.

“It’s fine.” I say, shifting around and keeping my eyes from her.

“If you want to talk about it, we’ll be happy to listen.” Dad says. “You’re our little girl, no matter what happened. No matter what you’ve done.”

“What I’ve done?” I ask, turning towards them in a flash. They wear strange expressions, all knotted up and uncertain. They’re always, always wearing overeager smiles, and going on and on about stupid little things.

This just isn’t them.

“I didn’t mean that in any bad way.” Dad says clarifying with a sad smile. “I know that bad situations can sometimes leave you only bad ways out. Even the best answers can be truly awful.”

“I killed innocents.” I say, watching the lion tear down a young gazelle, the herd rushes away abandoning their child for a chance to survive themselves. No divine punishment falls from the heavens. The lion is rewarded for a successful hunt.

“Children. They weren’t human, but does that really even matter?” I ask. “I don’t regret it, either. I regret the situation. I despise the situation, and sometimes I just… but I don’t regret doing it.

“Life is too common in the universe, everything is a violent competition for resources and the only way to escape that is to bow to a civilisation that… I just don’t… there’s issues with them, okay.” I say. “So, we kill each other, because that’s life.”

“Kyra…” Mom’s voice is quivering, and I can’t look at her right now.

“Don’t. I’m fine. I’ll be talking to a few professionals about it anyway. Just… it’s fine.” I say, lifting Vii off my lap and getting up. “I need some fresh air.”

Leaving them all behind, I go to the door and head outside. The night has properly settled in at some point, and a breeze washes through the air over me. No longer am I so weak as to feel it as cold.

“Do you know why I haven’t been trying to hide?” I ask, as I hear the door open and close behind me, watching out into the bright night, the city lights burning my eyes.

“Because you don’t have to be scared of anything bad happening?” Vii asks, settling in beside me and staring as well. Her eyes sparkle with the familiar lights, and familiar sights. She turns to me, looking away from it all.

“I want someone to try something. Army, government, men in black, I don’t care who, just someone.” I say. “I want an excuse, a reason to let loose and carve away everything I hate about this world. I never used to think like this… I… I’m not even sure what the point of good and evil really is anymore. It all feels pointless in the face of everything life throws at us.”

“Then why do you hold onto it?” Vii asks. “You have power enough to conquer this whole world and take from it what you need, and what you want, but you haven’t. When you do end up taking control, you’ll do what you can to make things better.”

“Maybe.” I mutter. “Would you still see me the same, if I said that the only reason I still cling to the ideal of good, the only reason I want to build a good and kind society, is because it shines brighter to me. It’s more comfortable to be surrounded by kindness, it feels good to be nice. It’s not some grand ideal… I just want a world where I can be nice and not have my throat ripped out by a hungry lion.”

“That’s normal.” Vii says, chuckling at me. “That’s not strange at all.”

“Even if I do a thousand evil things to try and make that ‘good’ world?”

“You’ve become who you were meant to be.” Vii says in a low whisper. “Even if you conquered Earth, you’d be a hero to many.”

“And a villain to many, many more.” I say. “I don’t think I can succeed anyway. I could overthrow leaders and annihilate nukes, but I couldn’t maintain economies, or public order. People would be starving to death and fighting for scraps in weeks.”

“Get people to do all that for you.” Vii suggests, but if only it were really so simple. The only reason I got away with such a blasé attitude before was because we were a group the size of a tribe. A few billion people are a little beyond me right now.

“I think I’d rather leave Earth as it is.” I say. “Leave before I cause too much more trouble for everyone here and get back to our lives before anything happens. Let’s get back home, that’s where we’re needed.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 32,705 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 16,255 / 30,266 shards

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,266 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (20,000 mana shards)

-Bone Magic Storage (40,000 mana shards)

-Nail Shifters (50,000 mana shards)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (8,000 mana shards)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (35,000 mana shards)

-Layered space Muscles (80,000 mana shards)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (140,000 mana shards)

-Repulsive Skin (80,000 mana shards)

-Prehensile hair (10,000 mana shards)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (100,000 mana shards)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (5,000 mana shards)

-Wide ears (5,000 mana shards)

-Sharp nose (5,000 mana shards)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

-Tag and Film

-Trapping

-Stealth

-Mana surge movement

-Annihilation defence

-Annihilation flame burst

-Annihilation net

-Eyes of an Empire