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"Where..." Nora's right forefinger was pointed forward, moving up and down slightly. "Where did you take that key?!"
"I'll reveal the truth, as well as returning you this key… in exchange, I want you to be completely honest." Mirii squeezed her eyes a bit.
The key was tilting a bit.
"Honest?! I was as honest as possible, Mirii Kelpshell!" Nora's arms opened over the sides, her eyebrows went right on her forehead. "Please, return that key to me right in this instant!"
Her right arm thrusts forward, with her palm looking up.
"No, mother…" Mirii's head shook slowly, as her irises stared down Nora's right palm and her head was still tilted up. "You are blocking my progress, thinking I would never be able to control my own plans."
Mirii's right hand lowered, reaching her right hip, while grasping the key.
"I've grown up, mother." Her eyebrows and mouth were straight. "I have developed a fine skill for judging situations with precision: that was the decisive method who let me reach this house, once again."
Nora lowered her eyebrows, as her teeth gritted.
"Give me that key, Mirii Kelpshell…" Her right fingers bended repeatedly.
"First, the truth." Mirii folds her arms, as her expression was the same.
"GIVE ME THE KEY, YOU INGRATEFUL DAUGHTER!" Her right hand formed a fist, which trembled a bit.
Several veins popped out from Nora's forehead, as her irises shrunk.
"… after all that speech you said earlier, you still rely on your old-self?" Mirii shakes her head slowly. "You are nowhere near the dear mother"
"DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE A SLAP ON THE CHEEK?!" Her right hand opened, as her arm moved backwards.
"… if you do that, I'll not return your key." Mirii rose her head, as her hands went on her back. "Instead, I'll leave the house and never return again…"
Nora gasped, as her eyebrows went up.
"Wh-why?!" Her fingers went on her mouth, as her eyes expanded. "Yo-you just return me that key and"
"It's hardly a question of simply returning this key!" Mirii's left foot moved forward, as her hands formed fists near her hips. "This is a symbol of trust, mother. By using the force, you are refusing to trust my perfect skills…"
Her left forefinger trusts forward.
"Is this what you would do to give yourself this dear appearance?! Not helping your own daughter into taking down this maniacal project, because it's threatening a dear friend's life?!"
Sweat starts coming down from her forehead, as her teeth were chattering a bit still with her fingers near her mouth.
"Nnnnnnn…" Nora lowered her right hand, as her eyes blinked two times. "Miiirriiiiiiii… ooooh, Miiiirrriiiiiii…!"
Mirii lowered her left arm, folding them. Nora's arms opened a bit, moving towards the girl.
"Dear daughter, please understand…" She sighs loudly.
Mirii's face frowned. Nora swallowed silently.
"I-I'm sure there is another way to deal with Project Neo… you don't even need to"
The girl frowned even more. Nora's mouth was left open for a moment… then she sealed it, lowering her head.
"… you don't think so… right?" She whispered.
"There is no other way." Mirii rose her head. "Please, mother… I truly need your help."
Behind Mirii, a ticking sound was coming from the darkness. The smell in the air felt sweet.
"… Mirii Kelpshell…" Nora's head rose.
The girl's irises were staring down her face: her eyebrows and mouth were neutral, with the eyelids a bit down.
"… I believe in your skills." She smiled.
Mirii smiled, as her arms went down. Nora sighs a bit, doing two steps forward.
"You are a smart woman, Mirii: a mother can do nothing but follow the newer generation through the more modern times." Her eyes closed, with her right hand almost forming a fist near her right cheek. "Although, I'm still representing the modern youth."
Mirii chuckles a bit.
"Mother, thank you for helping your own daughter." She bows down. "Your information will greatly let me know my enemies more, so I know exactly how to move around Project Neo."
Nora smiled, chuckling faintly.
"Project Neo…" Her eyes opened. "… it has been a while, since I last heard of it." Her head rose up, as her irises watched the white ceiling.
"What do you know about Project Neo?" Her left hand grabbed her right elbow, as her right hand was staring upwards and the key was on her right palm.
Nora sealed her mouth for a moment, as her head returned to a normal position.
"… Mirii…" Her irises moved to her right. "… I don't think I ever told you about my school preparation… despite the fact I'm the CEO of my company, I don't know much about economics."
Mirii bends forward, with her eyes expanded and her irises shrunk.
"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!" Instantly, her posture lifts up with her arms stretching down. "YOU NEED KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO LEAD A COMPANY! YOU ALWAYS SAID THAT!"
"Yes, that's correct." Nora nods with her hands down: the left one was on the right one. "That was something I kept repeating to you, when you were studying in elementary school."
Her irises were staring at the girl, bending her knees a bit.
"I wanted you to follow this economic path, so much… I even forgot the primary reason, why I desired such thing." Her left fist rests on her chest, as her head lowered and her eyebrows rose. "That also due to my repressive tactics, which I was getting used to them way too much."
"Wh-why?!" Mirii wasn't breathing, as her mouth flattened. "Wh-what was this reason you are speaking of?!"
"… Mirii… about Project Neo…" She sighs loudly, raising her head. "… before I started my own company, I was a scientist working for the project."
Tink.
The key was laying on the floor. Mirii's jaw was dropped, her fingers were twitching… Nora's mouth was downturned and her eyebrows were up.
"… my mother… a scientist…?" Her right cheek was twitching.
"Exactly…" Nora lifts her posture, with her hands on her back. "… although, I wasn't just any mere scientist: I was often considered one of the best inside the lab I was working on."
"… my mother… ran experiments on innocents…?" Mirii's eyes were getting a bit watery.
"Mirii, wait!" Nora's right arm thrusts forward, as she walks closer to her daughter. "My role as a scientist was a completely different one! I wasn't doing any tests on cavies… instead, my role was to create new energetic meals to feed Turf War players."
"Th-that doesn't count the same?!" Mirii grits the teeth, as she stepped backwards two times. "You tested your meals on people!"
"But they are nowhere near as dangerous as other experiments!" Nora walked with her arms a bit opened and her back bending a bit forward. "That's because there was much more knowledge around the argument than medicine! None of those players felt that bad, aside that one time when a girl had a stomachache… but she recovered quickly from that!"
Mirii's legs were trembling, her right arm was in front of her body.
"… Mirii dear…" The woman sighs a bit. "I know that this is a bit hard to understand… but I'm sure that if you let me tell you my brief story, you'll understand the scientific ambitions I had at your young age... and hopefully, something more about Project Neo."
Nora's head bends down, as her hands were down with her left hand above her right hand.
My dreams started even before I reached my 14th age: your grandma was a scientist, working on a new technology to give more comfort to those wearing shoes. If you are wondering where your grandma worked… that's inside the Tentacular labs, since they previously made only shoes. Tentacular was Tentatek's ancestor, if you are wondering.
Everytime I saw my dear mother, she was always talking about which discovery she did… and while she was talking, I kept imaging all her scientific actions she did in her stories. Often, I would wear fake glasses and a white coat and pretend to discover something new like the definitive cure to solve any cold!
Even after my 14th birthday, I would play Turf War matches by wearing scientific clothes: I wanted to be called "The cure girl" from my friends! There wasn't a weapon matching the scientific style… but I often used the .96 gal: I enjoyed the 2-hit splats on opponents and the fact I could hit rivals from far, without having to recharge my shots!
Turf War never clicked too much on me, since I wanted to become a scientist. Back then, people kept talking about this Food Science… it was something fresh at that time and I was getting rather curious about it. You don't have any idea how hard it was to get in the only university, who taught this subject…
I had to study for this Admittance Test, which had 100 questions: on top of that, none of those schoolbook shops would lend me the book I needed for the test. When I was growing up, I had tendencies to battle everyone who dared to stand on my path.
When I met another shop who refused to sell me the book, I decided to menace the shopkeeper saying to spread bad rumors about this shop: rumors about how unfair and expensive it was, for example. He trembled like a leaf at the idea… so I could finally bought the book and start studying for the test.
I had to renounce my hangouts with friends, Splatfests introduced recently by the famous Squid Sisters… but the thought of wearing a real laboratory coat pushed me more and more, into pursuing that Admittance. At the end, I succeeded! I couldn't stop smiling at the results! I even organized a party with my friends, because of this!
Years flew so fast, I kept looking at the year date to make sure that indeed 5 years were passed by! The Final Exam was getting closer and closer… and suddenly, my eyes refused to close even at night! Not to mention, that was the time I first heard of this lab searching for young, neo scientists to introduce in their labs.
If I failed this exam, that would had meant to lose my chance to work already in a real lab… I… I wanted to work in that lab, with all my strength! At the final day, I was seeing the other students as mortal enemies… I even showed my fist at a geek man, which was pretending to get in the same lab I wanted to!
I was lucky that he thought I was stressed… he didn't meant to be that annoying in the first place. Nevertheless, the teachers called me, I went in their tiny room which had a heavy smell of sugar… and from that day on, I was the scientist I always dreamed to be!
I-I was called from those labs… they gave me the coat…! I-I received a monetary bonus, so I could buy an apartment near the labs! I was finally researching like a true scientist! I DID IT FOR REAL! … you don't have any idea how much time passed ever since that day.
This one day in particular, I woke up on my bed… and I kept looking at that year date: 5 years passed by! I was now an experienced scientist, seen as pure brilliance by many. Usually I was remembered as the woman who invented tasty meals, which not only were healthy but they were also easy to do!
At the time, I was nominated to participate in meetings where I would discuss with more famous scientists! Needless to say, I kept dreaming about this meeting for a long time… and finally it was the day, I would receive the true recognition I wanted for a long time.
Nora's eyes were looking up: she was smiling widely.
I still remember that day… like it was yesterday.