AN: Hello and welcome to The Adventures of Puddin. I am so sorry how long this chapter took. Grad school has been kicking my butt lately. Alas, this might possibly be the last chapter you see from me for a bit. I'm gonna try to get a chapter out for RWBYS: Blood is Thicker (my other story) and then I'm taking a little break from these to do NaNoWriMo. Do not despair! I love this story very much, so I will be back. With that in mind, I hope you guys enjoy the story.
Chapter 8 – And When It All Fell Apart
Christmas Eve
Puddin could barely contain herself. Tomorrow was the day. Christmas was so close she could almost taste it. She had events all planned out, presents were wrapped and hidden, the tree was ready to be set up in a minute's notice, and the dinner menu was all planned out. Dumplin had gotten back from his mission, but Puddin had been careful to keep her plans quiet so she could surprise him. She had absolutely everything ready to go.
All with the exception of one thing.
Towa was again sitting on the couch, reading a book while sipping tea. Puddin had been standing in the hallway for almost a minute, trying to work up the courage to actually talk to her. The words she had spoken still rang in Puddin's earholes, and the pain they brought was still fresh and sharp. It had become hard to even look at Towa since their last 'talk', and Puddin was not even sure she could go through with this, but the fact remained that she needed to go through with this if there was ever going to be the chance of them being a family. If it worked in the Time Chamber, maybe it could work again.
Finally, Puddin squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked into the room.
"Hey Mo-… Hey Towa," she said. Towa glanced in her direction before looking back at her book.
"Hello Puddin," she said. "I was wondering if you were actually going to try and talk to me or just stand in the hallway all day." Puddin winced.
"Right," she muttered, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Um… you know what tomorrow is, right? Christmas?"
"I… suppose so," she said, looking up at Puddin curiously. "What of it? The day has not been of particular importance before."
"Well, I was really hoping that we could all spend the day together," Puddin said, shifting anxiously. She realized her mistake immediately and struggled to recover. "Y'know, just maybe so you could spend it with Dad or something. I-I could leave you two alone, y'know."
Towa just arched an eyebrow. Puddin felt a roiling in her stomach.
"What I really want to ask is…" She took a breath and started again. "What I really wanted to ask was if you could spend the whole day with us instead of going down into your lab."
At that, Towa closed her book and focused all of her attention on Puddin. Her spine was straight as a pole and her face showed nothing but irritation. Puddin felt her heart drop into the floor.
"I can't do that, Puddin," she said firmly. "My experiments are both important and time-sensitive. I'm not able to just ignore them for an entire day."
Puddin flinched, but pressed onward.
"Then maybe just part of a day?" she asked. "Maybe at lunchtime, you could come up and spend the rest of the day with us? I know that Dad would love to spend some time with you." At a blank look from Towa, Puddin winced. She'd asked directly, tried bargaining for part of a day, and mentioned Dumplin, but nothing was budging Towa. With a swallow to moisten her throat, Puddin straightened up and played one of the last cards she had. "If you spend Christmas with us, I… I promise I won't bother you for the next year. I mean, I just want to spend some time with all of us together."
Towa glanced down and stroked her chin thoughtfully, but still looked doubtful.
"I'm not sure," she said. When she looked up, however, she found herself struck by the full force of the Puddin Pout. She couldn't look away from Puddin's trembling lip and shining eyes, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Please, Towa?" she said. "PleasepleasepleasepleasePLEEEEEEEASE…."
"Stop that…" Towa said weakly. Her will was crumbling.
"Pleeeeeeease…" Puddin whined. Towa snarled as she slammed her book down on the table next to her armchair. The table groaned in protest, but remained standing.
"Fine! If this Christmas is so gods damned important to you and Dumplin, I'll come." Puddin flinched from the outburst, but there was a flutter of hope in her chest.
"Thank you, Mo-… uh, Towa. I promise that you'll enjoy yourself."
"We'll see about that," Towa said with a huff. Then she opened her book again and continued her reading. Puddin could tell she had been dismissed, so she left the room.
She had to struggle to keep the smile off of her face, but the elation was tinged with worry.
Please let this work.
The Next Morning – 5:00 AM
Puddin was setting up the house as quietly as she could manage. After dressing up in an appropriately hideous Christmas sweater and pajama bottoms, she was hard at work. She had brought the tree in and haphazardly hung a bunch of ornaments on it. She had also hung red and green streamers all across the ceiling and arranged presents under the tree. Originally there had only been a present for each of her parents, but when Puddin awoke, she found three extra presents that hadn't been there before.
Must be that Santa person, she had thought to herself as she hung stockings close to the fireplace.
She was just fussing with the tree lights for the third time when she heard the sound of her parents' bedroom door opening. Dumplin blearily waddled into the room, his mouth open in a yawn so wide it seemed to take up his entire face. He rubbed his eyes before looking over the room and freezing. He rubbed his eyes again and looked around before his eyes landed on Puddin.
"Merry Christmas!" she said happily, dashing over to pick him up in a hug. He returned it enthusiastically.
"Merry Christmas, Sweetie," he said. He took a longer look around when their hug had ended, his face clearly showing he was impressed. "This is amazing, Puddin. I was just thinking we would need to have a low-key celebration, but this is fantastic."
"Hope you're in the mood for pancakes," said Puddin, bouncing over to where she had laid out all of the ingredients. "I'll get started on the batter if you cook the bacon."
"Deal," he said with a grin as they both got to work.
Puddin was just ladling some pancake batter onto a hot skillet when she looked at her father curiously.
"Hey Daddy," she said, "is Mom up?" He let out a sad sigh.
"She was gone when I got up," he responded. "She must have gotten up early to do work in the lab. Like always."
"I thought so," Puddin said. "Don't worry though. I talked to her yesterday and she promised she would come out to spend time with us at noon."
Dumplin hesitated for a moment before he gave her a smile that desperately wanted to be hopeful.
"What do we have planned for the day?" he asked, awkwardly changing the subject. Puddin didn't think too much about her father's misgivigings. She was too excited.
"Well," she said, "we've got presents to open, but I want us to all be together for that. Your present, however, ties directly into one of our activities, so I know you'll enjoy that. Then I'm thinking cookie decorating, roasting chestnuts, maybe we'll fly around singing carols, I think there's a presentation of The Nutcracker Wars on multiverse cable tonight, then we can have a snowball fight and make snow demons, then we'll watch It's A Wonderful Life on Space Netflix." She shrugged. "Y'know, basic stuff."
"So we'll do basically everything Christmas, huh?" Dumplin asked with grin. Puddin giggled and nodded. He laughed. "Sounds great. Can you open up the stove for me? Got a tray of bacon that needs cooking."
After breakfast was cooked, Puddin and Dumplin sat down to a feast of golden pancakes and thick crispy bacon. Puddin filled her plate, drowned everything in syrup, and crunched on a piece of bacon.
"So Daddy, how was your mission?" she asked.
"Oi," he said, resting his cheek against his arm. "Had to keep Freeza from blowing up planet Earth again. Then had to hold Vegito's hand while he fought Buu. Then I finished things off with saving Gohan's butt in the Cell Games because the twerp tripped on a rock during that incredibly drawn out beam duel."
"More of the same, then?" she asked.
"Gods damn it, yes," he said around a bite of pancakes. "When you start missions for the Time Patrol, you think you're gonna see weird and messed up things, things that could change the entire universe if they happened. Heck, maybe some things from the Non-Canon timelines. Unfortunately, that's not the case." He speared another piece of pancake with a bit more ferocity than was required. "It's always the same damn shit with the same damn idiots. Every stinking time I go out."
"You still kicked ass and looked damn good doing it, right Daddy?"
"Oh, hell yeah I did." The Demon God grinned at her, and she smiled back.
"Good to hear. Hot chocolate?"
"Please and thank you."
Time passed for the demon demigoddess and her father. For hours, they just spent time together, talking about Dumplin's missions and about fun things they wanted to do. At Puddin's insistence, they roasted some chestnuts in the fireplace. In hindsight, Puddin decided they didn't taste nearly as good as she had been lead to believe. All through this conversation with her dad, Puddin would keep glancing at the clock.
11:32
It was getting close. When her mom came out, Christmas could really start. She could barely contain her excitement.
12:00
Towa was going to walk out of the door any second! Puddin was so excited! The anticipation was killing her.
12:42
Puddin was starting to feel a little worried, but was trying to stay optimistic. Maybe her mom was just finishing something up.
1:34
Puddin's eyes were flitting from the clock to the closed basement door and back again. She looked at her dad, but he didn't say anything.
2:03
No. This isn't how things were supposed to go. It was supposed to be with the three of us together. It was supposed to be perfect!
Puddin was out of her seat and across the room in moments, lifting a clenched fist to smash that door down if she had to. Her fist was an inch away from wooden surface before she stopped and took a breath. After centering herself, she gave the door a polite knock.
"Mom?" she called, loud enough that she was sure the occupant should be able to hear. "Mom, it's past noon. Are you coming out?" There was only silence. Puddin pounded harder on the door. "Mom! I know you're down there." No sound came up. "Mom!" Puddin shouted, feeling prickling behind her eyes. "You promised me! You promised!" Her fist slammed on the door over and over, but still, no sound came from the basement. No matter how strong her blows were, the door did not seem to show any sign of damage. Puddin gave the door one last hard hit before she leaned her forehead against the wood, trying not to cry. "She promised," she whispered. "She promised." A strong, yet trembling hand took hold of her shoulder and she turned to look at her father. His face was blank, but the twitches his mouth told a story.
"I am so sorry, Puddin," he said. His voice came out strained. "You mother is… is…" He couldn't finish his statement and just let out a hiss of air. "It's alright, though."
"We were supposed to have Christmas together," Puddin said.
"And you and I will," Dumplin answered, rubbing her back in a manner that wanted to be comforting. "This doesn't need to ruin things for you, Puddin." He smiled at her, but it was an uncertain smile, the kind that didn't reach his eyes and trembled at the edges.
"We were supposed to be together," she sniffled. "We were supposed to be a family."
Dumplin looked like he was about to say something, but he hesitated. After a moment, he pulled Puddin to her feet and gave her a hug.
"Come on, Sweetie. Let's… Let's do something fun together. What were you planning next?"
"Well," sniffed Puddin, rubbing at her eyes, "what I planned first was in relation to your gift. Since…" she trailed off, staring sadly at the floor. "Since Mom's not here, I guess we should go ahead." Dragging her feet behind her, she made her way to the tree, where she retrieved a wrapped cylindrical object and an envelope before handing them over to Dumplin. They both sat down on the couch as he carefully opened the envelope and took out the Christmas card. To his surprise, the card began playing music the moment he opened it.
~Do you want to kill a planet?
~Come on let's go today!
~We never kill things anymore, no blood no gore.
~We'll blow them all away!
The card only said 'Open the package. Merry Christmas. XOXO'. Now looking very curious, Dumplin tore the wrapping paper off of the package to reveal, to his shock, a Time Scroll. He stared at it for a long moment before giving Puddin a flat look.
"Would this," he gestured with the scroll, "imply that you've been sneaking into the Time Nest?" Puddin let loose one last sniffle and rubbed at her face before she straightened herself up and smiled at Dumplin, seeming like her normal self again.
"My dear father," Puddin said in a prim voice, "I am shocked – shocked! – that you would think such a thing about me." They had a staring contest for a few seconds before they both chuckled.
"That's my girl," Dumplin said with a grin. "What does this Scroll lead to?"
"Well, it leads to a planet right before it explodes," Puddin said. "I remember you complaining a bit ago that you don't get many opportunities to cut loose. I also found out that Christmas is on the same date as another holiday called Freeza Day, which people celebrate by blowing up planets. So, I did a little digging and found this one planet that blows up from instability in the planet core. It's called Kripeton or something like that. Place where sciences and genetics are almost fetishized. That Scroll will take us to the moment thirty-five seconds before the planet completely blows up. I was thinking you might want us to blast the place ourselves." She shrugged. "Y'know, for fun."
"Sweetie," Dumplin said, the smile on his face growing bigger and bigger, "this is the best Christmas, or Freeza Day, gift I've ever gotten." He gave her a tight, loving hug which she was only too happy to return. "Well," he said, "shall we get going?"
"You bet," Puddin answered.
With that, they both laid their hands on the scroll before a flash of light caused their living room to melt away. When the world righted itself, they were floating dozens of feet in the air, staring at the buildings of a large, futuristic city. Puddin almost fell to the ground before she remembered her ability to fly, managing to keep level with her dad as they both looked around.
The city surrounding them was a bit of an eyesore. The sunlight coming through the black clouds gave off a light that honestly looked like the color of urine. The people below all wore skintight jumpsuits and capes, all emblazoned with a pentagon insignia filled with weird and unique squiggles. There was very little greenery to be seen around them, with the surrounding surfaces being made predominantly of metal and concrete. One aspect that actually made Puddin giggle was that every building surrounding them looked distinctly phallic, like hundreds of metal penises jutting into the air. She didn't think overcompensation could exist on a species-wide scale, but apparently it did. Oh well. It wasn't going to matter for much longer anyway.
The people in the city square below began shouting to one another and pointing upward at the two time travelers. Someone was calling for the police while others looked like they were taking pictures. Puddin turned to her father with a smile.
"You wanna take this?"
"Why thank you, Sweetie," he said, turning downward to the populace. As he was opening his mouth, Puddin suddenly waved a hand to stop him.
"Wait, Daddy!" she said. When he turned to look at her, she placed a pair of thick sunglasses on his face before putting another pair on hers. "Ready now," she said, giving him a thumbs up. He turned back to the people below.
"Attention, inhabitants of Kripeton!" he shouted.
"Um," said a voice from the throng, "it's actually pronounced Krypt-"
"Shut your face!" Dumplin snapped. The voice went silent. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we are to inform you that all of you will meet your god." There were murmurs of confusion from below them.
"That sounds cool," someone said.
"Because we're sending you all to see him!" said Dumplin. He paused a moment. "Or her. I don't judge. Anyway…" He held his hand out toward the planet surface with Puddin mirroring his movement. "THIS IS GOD'S JUDGMENT, MOTHERFUCKERS! BIG BANG ATTACK!"
"Big Bang Attack!" Puddin shouted alongside her father.
Two bright blue energy balls, with one looking a little lumpier than the other, flew from the palms of their hands and impacted the planet's surface, burning their way through the city streets and into the mantle of the planet. They reached the planet core within moments, detonating on contact with the already unstable core. The core, finally unable to contain itself, exploded outward with incredible force. The shockwave traveled up to the surface of the planet in less than an eye blink. The surface of the planet cracked and split before a fiery explosion burst forth, breaking each piece of the planet into countless smaller pieces and flinging them out to the far reaches of the cosmos as a blinding explosion took place.
Dumplin and Puddin watched all of this with smiles on their faces as the fires of destruction raged around them. They barely felt the heat of the blast and the shockwave only shook them a little as they hung in place. The blinding light of the explosion was stifled by the sunglasses they wore.
Eventually, the light of the explosion died down and Dumplin and Puddin were left floating in the emptiness of space. The spot where Kripeton had been was now occupied by a brand new asteroid field. Dumplin took off his sunglasses and let out a long sigh.
"Oooooh yeahhhh," he said. "That was just what I needed, Puddin."
"Nyah~! Glad you liked it, Daddy," Puddin said happily, also taking off her sunglasses. "Wanna head back? We can see about that snowball fight and caroling."
"Sounds good," he said. Holding the scroll out to her, she placed her hand onto it and they both vanished in a flash.
When they reappeared again in their living room, Puddin saw that the world outside their house was much darker than when they had left it. She looked out the window and let out a sorrowful moan.
"What?" she cried. "Oh, come on!" Conton City was apparently in the middle of a huge rainstorm. "I heard it was supposed to be a snowstorm, not a rainstorm! Who the hell made it rain on Christmas?! Grrr!"
"Must have been a mix up at the Weather Office," Dumplin said, rubbing small circles on Puddin's back. "It's alright, Puddin. I know you planned to do more things outside, but I'm honestly having a great day so far."
"But nothing's going right today," she whined. "I had everything planned, but now…"
"We're still here, Puddin, and I am having the best Christmas I've ever had." He smiled before floating up to kiss her forehead. "Now, what should we do next?"
Puddin sighed again before she gave a small nod. Suddenly, her expression brightened again.
"Maybe I can go get a scroll that will take us to ice age or something," she said in excitement. "Then we can have the snowball fight to end all snowball fights."
Dumplin laughed, but shook his head.
"You've already stolen one Scroll from the Time Nest. I don't think you should be pushing your luck to grab another one." He smiled comfortingly as Puddin deflated.
"Okay, Daddy," she said. She then gave him a smile. "Wanna make gingerbread tentacle monsters instead?"
"Lead the way," he said with another laugh.
Puddin and her father spent many hours indulging in Christmas cheer. They made cookie monsters, decorated them, and then fought mock wars with them, with the casualties being sacrificed to sate the hungers of the Dread God Puddinostros and The Dump, Eater of Planets. Dumplin brought out a gift for Puddin, which was revealed to be a plush Lanturn from that monster show Puddin liked. She was pleased to find out that it was very nice to hug and cuddle. After that, the two of them watched some Christmas classics on Space Netflix. After a few back to back movies (not to mention the two of them having to spend half an hour crying after seeing It's A Wonderful Life), Puddin announced that it was time to get dinner ready. She had made the preparations the day prior, and now everything just needed to be cooked. Soon, the two of them were sitting at a table laden with succulent ham, seasoned turkey, fresh-baked rolls, steaming mashed red potatoes and gravy, and the obligatory salad. They both were filling their plates as Dumplin was finishing a story.
"So," he said, "I show up at Bulma's birthday party, and I see that Beerus is just about to eat a spoonful of pudding. Then, and I'm being completely serious here, Demigra possesses a ball to fly through the air and knock the pudding out of Beerus' hands. The guy gets so pissed that he immediately declares vengeance on the entire planet and tries to destroy everything."
"Over pudding?!" Puddin said incredulously. As Dumplin nodded, she collapsed over the table, shaking with helpless laughter. The sight of this was too much for Dumplin and he too began laughing.
Their laughter was silenced by the sound of the basement door opening. Dumplin and Puddin turned to see Towa emerging from her laboratory, stretching her arms over her head.
"I hope the food is on," she said, "because I am absolutely starving."
The room temperature noticeably dropped as Dumplin narrowed his eyes at Towa.
"And where have you been all day?" he said with a tight voice. Puddin knew that voice. It was the one he used when he was really mad. Towa, however, didn't seem to notice as she started rubbing some kinks out of her neck.
"Down in the lab," she answered, as if it were obvious. "I was monitoring the reproduction on a new batch of cells. Truly fascinating." Puddin could see the way her dad's hands were tightening into fists. This was not good.
"Why don't you sit down with us," Puddin said with a forced smile on her face. "We've got a big meal to eat. It is Christmas after all."
"Oh yes," Towa said, looking around the house at all of the decorations. "I suppose the two of you would find that important."
"You'd probably find it important too if you ever acted like a part of this family," Dumplin growled.
Oh no, thought Puddin.
Towa froze for a moment before matching Dumplin's glare. Her face was still a mask of cold indifference, but there were hints of anger in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm all the way over here. What did you say?"
"I said you're more of a house guest than a family member at this point, Towa," Dumplin responded, clearly not backing down.
"Hey, um, guys," Puddin said, trying to sound calm even though she could feel herself starting to sweat. "Let's just hold on for a second. We're together now, it's Christmas, and we've got all this food here. Let's just relax and spend some time together, okay?"
Based on the expressions of both of her parents, they either didn't hear her or didn't care.
"Well," said Towa, "I deeply apologize for the fact that I am making scientific leaps that no one in your precious Time Patrol would even imagine if they had a thousand years." Her cold exterior was cracking, revealing the rage bubbling underneath.
"Puddin said you promised you'd be with us today," Dumplin said.
"Yes, I did promise that," Towa snapped back, her eyes burning. "Then I realized that there was no reason for me to change myself if the two of you were running around up here being insane. This has nothing to do with me."
"It does have something to do with you!" he snapped, slamming his hands on the table. Every plate jumped nearly a foot in the air before coming back down in a cacophony of clattering ceramics. "I can't believe that you would refuse to be a part of your daughter's life!"
"She is not my daughter!" snarled Towa. "I never wanted a child to begin with, Dumplin. That didn't change when my miscalculation made one appear out of thin air! We don't even know how stable she is, or if she'll even last! For fuck's sake, she's part cat! You claim she's your pride and joy when she's nothing more than a glorified house pet!"
Puddin felt the words stab into her chest like knives. She couldn't move. Her lungs forgot how to work. Tears fell from her eyes as she struggled to remember how to breathe.
"W…what?" she whispered.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Dumplin roared, shooting up out of his seat to float nose-to-nose with Towa. "You take that back right this instant!"
"Don't blame me for only speaking the facts, dear," Towa said severely. "She's made from dead flesh and demon magic. No matter how much you try to tell yourself otherwise, she is not a true child."
"I don't care what you say! She's our daughter and nothing is going to change that."
"And here we are at the beginning again," Towa snarled as she rolled her eyes. "It's like arguing with a water wheel."
Tears continued to fall from Puddin's eyes as she quietly pushed her chair out. Keeping her head down, Puddin slunk away from the table as Dumplin and Towa started to shout louder and louder. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't like it when her parents fought. The first few times it had happened, she had hidden in her room and pulled the pillow over her ears, but her hearing had just gotten better the more powerful she became. She could hear their shouts through the walls and through her pillow now. Going outside was out of the question. It was still raining cats and dogs. She could already hear her parent's voices rising to a fever pitch and her fingers started shaking anxiously. She needed to find a place to hide, and fast.
Then her eyes spied the door leading down to the basement standing ajar. She squeezed through the gap and started descending the stairs before her brain could even consider the possibility that this might be a bad idea. As she moved down the stairs, the shouts from the dining room became quiet murmurs to her. Towa must have made some sort of soundproof charm for the room.
The lights were still on down in the basement and she looked over all of her mother's experiments as she wiped away her tears. There were bubbling flasks, test tubes filled with multi-colored liquids, and more books than she could possibly count.
This is where I was born, said an errant thought as it flittered through her mind. The place had been cleaned since then, however, and she could see no trace of the mystic circle that had given her life.
You were an accident, said a voice in her head that sounded a great deal like Towa. A single mistake from me and I'm now stuck with you. You're nothing but a glorified house pet!
A new wave of tears fell from Puddin's eyes as she curled into a ball on the floor. She lay there for a long time, quietly sobbing.
"All I wanted…" she sniffled to herself. "All I wanted… was for us to be a family again. To… to have Christmas together." She sobbed and rubbed her eyes. "This is all my fault. If I wasn't here… they'd still be happy and… and…" Her words died as she continued to cry.
"Towa? What's wrong?" said a deep, masculine voice. "Are you alright?"
Puddin's head snapped up and her eyes darted around the room, searching for who could have spoken to her. She had been certain she was alone in this room, and the voice was one she had never heard before. A hint of movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she focused on it.
Resting on a cloth that was marked with dozens of arcane symbols, there was a palm-sized lump of pink flesh that seemed to have tiny yellow tendrils wriggling around. It was also pulsating at regular intervals, almost like a heart. For a reason she could not explain, Puddin found herself drawn to this curious object. She climbed to her feet and took slow, hesitant steps toward it until she was right next to the table and staring down at it. It started to beat faster.
"Towa?" the voice said again. "Is that you? You feel so different."
Puddin stood there staring with an open mouth.
That thing had just talked.
That thing had just talked!
"Towa? Is something wrong?" said the lump.
Puddin responded in the only way she was able.
"AAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, falling backward on her butt and scrambling away from the talking lump.
"OW! My audio receptors!" the lump said. That just made Puddin scream louder.
As her second scream ran out of air, she heard pounding footsteps running across the room above before the door at the top of the stairs was flung open with a bang.
"Puddin?!" she heard her father shout frantically. "Are you down here?!"
"I…I…" was all she could say, but it was enough. Her father came running down, taking the stairs two at a time. Before she knew it, he was kneeling down next to her and holding her by the shoulders. Towa was coming down the stairs at a more sedate pace, glaring at the both of them with disdain.
"Puddin? Are you okay?" Dumplin asked, checking her over for injuries.
"And please explain what you're doing in my laboratory," Towa said icily. "I eagerly await your response, and if you have touched anything I will make sure you regret it."
"That… that thing just talked," she said, pointing a trembling hand at the pulsating lump. Dumplin and Towa both turned to look at it and there was a moment where everything was still.
Towa was across the room in a flash. She balled up the cloth and the lump together, tossed it into an open drawer in the table, and slammed it closed before leaning on the table and crossing her arms, attempting to look nonchalant. Dumplin didn't buy it for a moment.
"Towa," Dumplin said dangerously, "what was that?"
"Nothing important," Towa said, not meeting his eyes.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Towa!" Dumplin shouted. "I saw it! I felt it! You expect me to just ignore the fact that fucking Mira is in my house?!"
Puddin found herself scooting a few feet away from her father. She had never seen him so mad before.
Mira? she thought. That thing was Mira?
"Why is he here, Towa? WHY?!" Dumplin demanded.
Towa just stiffened her posture and did not answer. Dumplin looked like he was about to shout again before his expression went slack.
"You haven't stopped, have you?" he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You're still trying to merge the mortal and demon realms." Towa, again, said nothing, leaving Dumplin to stare down at the floor in shock. "You said you were done with all of that, Towa. You said you wanted to settle down." Puddin could see her father's shoulders shaking. "You promised me that-"
"What do you want me to say?!" Towa snapped. "This is about my people! Your people, if you are so arrogant to call yourself the Demon God! The mortals had their chance. We would make things better. We can work together. Please, Dumplin. I need your help. You… You can forge the perfect world for Puddin to grow up in and-"
"WHEN THE FUCK DID YOU START CARING ABOUT PUDDIN?!" Dumplin roared, making the walls shake. Towa closed her mouth with an audible click as Puddin let out a small squeak and moved away from her father. Dumplin seethed where he stood. "How dare you say that?!" he snarled, but his volume had slightly lessened. "After all those horrible things you said about Puddin, don't you even try to tell me any of this could be for her benefit!"
"Dumplin…" Towa said, "listen to me. This is the right thing to do. It's the onl-"
"Stop," Dumplin said, glaring hard at her. "Just… just stop" He stood there panting for a long moment before his eyes fell to the ground again. "If you won't stop all of this and let Puddin be a part of your life… then I won't let you be a part of mine."
Towa blinked in surprise.
"What are you saying?" she asked quietly.
There was a long and tense silence before Dumplin spoke again.
"Get out," he whispered. Towa looked shocked.
"Dumplin, you-"
"Get out!" he shouted, still not raising his eyes.
There was a moment when Towa and Dumplin just stood there, frozen. Towa looked like she was about to say something before she straightened her posture and her face became like stone. She snapped her fingers. A suitcase suddenly appeared in her hand before she opened it and held it out in front of her. As Puddin looked on, every single item in the laboratory rose up and flew toward Towa before shrinking and falling into the suitcase. Even the tables and the door to the Time Chamber were taken away. When the room was entirely bare, Towa snapped the suitcase shut, made a staff appear out of nowhere, and climbed the stairs. Dumplin stood frozen in the middle of the room, not even daring to look up. Not another word was spoken between them.
At first, Puddin had watched this exchange with a sense of detachment, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing, but the sight of her mother ascending the stairs with suitcase in hand finally spurred her to action.
"Mom! Wait!" she called, scrambling to her feet and running up the stairs. Her movement finally brought her father out of his stupor.
"Puddin, no!" he said as Puddin climbed the stairs, but she didn't listen. By the time she reached the landing, Towa was already halfway out the door.
"Mom! No! Don't leave!"
She ran after Towa as the woman walked outside the house into the rain. Puddin hesitated at the entranceway for only a moment before swallowing her fear and running out into the downpour.
"Puddin, come back here!" she heard from behind her. She kept going.
"Mom! Please!"
Towa gave only the barest glance over her shoulder before she continued walking. Puddin ran down the path, reaching out to grab her mother's arm. If she could stop her, they could talk about this. They could all sit down and work this out and then they could all be a family. Just like they always should have been.
"Mom!" Puddin said, managing to get close enough to grab Towa by the arm. Before Puddin could say another word, the world fell away. It was like she was in freefall, but was somehow also standing still. Something like wind pulled at her, but she kept her hold on Towa's arm.
After another heartbeat, the motion suddenly ceased and Puddin found herself on solid ground. She stumbled slightly, losing her grip on Towa's arm in her attempt to get her balance back. When she looked up, Towa was staring at her with an almost scandalized expression.
They were no longer in Conton City. It looked like a city on some version of Earth, except that it was entirely ruins. The sky above was dark and cloudy, with a moaning wind blowing across the broken terrain.
"Mom…" Puddin said through her dry throat, reaching toward Towa again. "Can we just talk a bit about-"
SMACK!
Reflex kicked in and Puddin jumped back a step, one hand pressed against her lightly stinging cheek. She blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what just happened. Towa was glaring at her, holding her hand close to her chest as if it stung.
"Don't ever touch me," she said, her voice hard as flint.
Before Puddin could say another word, Towa vanished.
Puddin didn't know how long she stood there. She was frozen, the last sight of her mother burned into her mind.
"Mom?" she weakly asked, her voice almost lost in the sound of the wind. "Mommy?"
No answer came.
Then, like a puppet with its strings severed, she collapsed to her knees, pressed her palms into the dirt, and sobbed. Big fat drops fell from her eyes as she bit her lip, trying to stifle the sounds she was making. Her body shook from head to toe, almost as if she were heaving. She was barely aware of anything at all. The only thing she could hear was the echoes of Towa's words ringing over and over again in her ears.
"Come back…" Puddin said to the wasteland. "Please… come back…"