Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 44 - Supernatural.
Sam's POV, Two days later.
It had been days of constant mediation and watching my master sleep. However I think his time asleep was about to near its end. About an hour ago his heart stopped. For most others that would be horrible news, but I had a feeling that this meant he had regained his strength at long last. I was just waiting for him to wake up naturally now.
During my time spent in mediation I came up with a pretty decent plan for my soon to be transition. I was confident in myself for once when it came to a presentation. I'd stick to my guns.
Alongside my plans, I also came to terms with my abilities. I was comfortable using my eyes. No more motion sickness. My speed was easily doubled from where it was at before and my strength made me look feral. Anyone who was gonna have the pleasure of watching me in action, would be utterly convinced I was a demon on hell's earth and they'd be right.
"Ugh….?" Opening my eyes and looking right at Roslin, I immediately noticed that he had opened his eyes and was just staring blankly at the ceiling. After a few moments he began to squeeze his hands so he could get some feeling back in his arms. Then he looked to his side to stare me right in the eyes. I said nothing when he did too. He just seemed confused as I started to crack a smile. It was at that moment I asked him.
"How do you feel?"
Losing that confused face he replied in a dry voice.
"Believe it or not? Thirsty."
Going right between my legs, I grabbed my water bottle and offered it forward. The echidna slowly took it from me with his left hand and once he managed to get the cap off I said to him calmly.
"It's been five days."
This man drank about half my bottle before stopping to say back to me.
"Five days? Two worse than when I did that with Marcus. How are you? Are you okay? Brains aren't scrambled?"
"I'm good." I stated back as I offered him a hand.
Pulling the guy up till he was sitting, I stopped and said to him.
"I woke up not that long after you did it. I've had time to adjust to it all. The mediation bit is my favorite part mind you. It's very….relaxing, compared to what I was able to do before."
"That's because you're no longer mortal. Your mind has ascended past that. You shouldn't be held down by mortal limits anymore. You should be able to do a lot. Have you come across anything yet?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the same old things, but better." I informed him as he then went to stand out of bed by himself. Putting his feet down on the floor he said to me calmly.
"I'm gonna show you how to phasewalk. Just…?" The moment he went to stand up both his knees started to buckle. Catching him by his chest, I urged him.
"Chill out for a moment. You just woke up. We have the time, so take it."
The echidna sighed as I got him to sit back down. Accepting his state of form for now, my master proceeded to look me over before whispering.
"You're right. It can wait. How about until I can move on my own you get me back up to speed? What have I missed?"
I took a few minutes to explain the situation to him. Once I was done he took a few seconds just to examine my body from where he sat. I noticed his interest and I wanted to embrace him a little. So very carefully I leaned into his chest and gave him a small kiss. He chuckled the second we parted our lips so as a joke I said to him.
"Phew. You need to brush. I can taste that breath."
The dude took me seriously and smelled his breath immediately after to reply curiously.
"You have a point. Just give me a little to get my legs back then I'll see to it."
"I was joking, but I do have a spare toothbrush in the cabinet. So feel free if you want."
Together we just sat there on the bed. After a few minutes of him focusing I decided to ask him.
"Did you have any good dreams while you were out?"
Laughing a little, he replied after placing a hand on my leg to balance himself.
"I couldn't really tell you. It wasn't a good sleep. If you can't already tell just from looking at me, I'm groggy still. What I did was very taxing. Even now that I'm awake, I still don't have my full power back. It could be a little bit till I get there too."
"Then so be it. We have a few days left. You can stay here and rest up. Hell you can stay here for longer if you want. I own this place for a reason. I don't gotta be around for it to have a use." I said back to him as he appeared to be getting ready to try and stand again. Taking him by the arm as support, I helped him up and this time watched as he maintained his balance.
"I don't think it'll be that long, but I'll gladly keep it in mind. Fuck!"
"What?" I asked him as he groaned and replied in agony.
"Pins and needles!"
All I could do was laugh at him as he was frozen by the feeling. After a minute or so he got his breath together and looked back into my eyes to reply.
"I can't wait to see how you feel when you try to phasewalk for the first time here soon. You earned yourself a mocking."
"Phasewalk? What's that?" I decided to ask him as he was slow to move, but soon found himself going to the door to the guest room which was shut. Not stopping his approach however he replied to my question while walking into the door.
"This."
I watched as he went right through the door without opening it, then a second later he opened the door from the other side. Looking me right in my eyes he explained it in more detail as I was clearly impressed.
"Phasewalking is the art of self manipulation. It's typically considered a demi's first real sign of power. You can make it so you're able to walk, run, jump or dive through any solid objects like walls, doors, chairs and even people. It's not as easy as it looks, trust me, but this is one of the few new things you should be able to learn now that I've changed your mind."
"I can do that?" I questioned in disbelief as he nodded his head to reply.
"You should be able to, but it's not easy for the first timer. You need to have perfect control over your body. This kind of body manipulation goes beyond what you can imagine as a mortal, but as my demi you should be able to find the mindset you need to accomplish this. My tips? I don't have a list. You need to focus on the mindset you'll need and in order to do that I would consider this along the lines of having a few mood swings till you get there. Or in other terms, it's like being really fucking mad and in a split moment you take control of yourself and all those emotions go away. Do you know what I mean?"
Roslin's POV.
"I do." She replied as I came back to her side while closing the door again. With it shut I smiled with anticipation and urged her.
"Then give it a try."
It was my time to laugh at something. Barely able to stand, I leaned up against the wolf as she was considering her next move. I knew what was on her mind the most though about this situation. How on earth was she supposed to know how to perform it? I didn't tell her how. I just gave her some advice. This was a chance for me to see just how talented she was with the power of the gods in her veins. Marcus hit his head about twelve times before he figured it out and I damn well laughed each time he did and I plan to do that here.
Using her for support, I was soon asked by the girl.
"Do you mind giving me some space?"
Judging from her voice she was ready to test herself. She was going to take this seriously. So very calmly I got away from her and moved myself up till I was resting with my back against the right side of the doorway. I then just waited and watched as she stared at the door as if she had ill-intent.
It took her about a minute or so to take a step towards me. When she did she just took off for the door but suddenly stopped inches away to mumble.
"Ahh. I think I get it."
I was curious about what she was saying, but I wasn't going to ask her anything until I saw her hit her face at least once. So I just continued to watch as she took a few steps back and went again.
I was physically ready to laugh at this. I even somewhat prepared myself as she came within inches, but I was completely blown away when she went right through the door with no trouble.
"What?" I questioned as I turned into the doorway so I could phase to the other side where she now stood. I was shook. There isn't a goddamn way in hell she just did it that easily. I was unable to really speak. I was taken by her talent. Yet she was perfectly okay to talk and with excitement in her eyes she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Holy shit!"
"Nah, do that again. There ain't no way." I commanded her which only earned me a confident wolf who turned right back around to phase through the door again.
"How?" I questioned in disbelief as she came right back through for a third time to state to me.
"It doesn't even use that much energy! This is crazy!"
"I can't believe you did it. What the fuck? You should have smashed your face at least ten times!" I sighed as she just began to run off and do it everywhere. I watched as she went through the walls and just about everything in the condo as a way to see her limits. However it became apparent that she had none. I walked to the living room just in time to meet her again as she popped out from her bedroom door laughing.
"You don't get it! I'll be doing this all fucking day!"
Pushing myself up against the couch I urged her.
"I mean I'd suggest practicing, but I really don't know if you need to."
"What else can I do?" She then asked me as I contemplated telling her anything more. Despite my efforts, I just came clean.
"Once your body is comfortable phasewalking you'll naturally be able to do it for longer and you'll be invisible to mortals. That phase comes naturally, but there are more levels to this then you may think. Phase three is learning how to teleport short distances in the blink of an eye. Phase four is being able to teleport further distances and when I say further, I mean you'll be able to travel miles instead of just feet and meters. And the last phase is phase five which only current and past rulers get. It's phase four but I can go anywhere at any time with minimal energy consumption."
"Teleport? Like what you did when we went out to eat that one time?"
I nodded and that's when she asked me.
"Is there more?"
"You should be able to harness life energy. Your own and others. How you heal yourself using your venom? That's what you should be able to do naturally without even trying and given some time you should be able to use it on others. But I urge you not to try right now. Your gift can save anyone from nearly anything and that draws a lot of attention. If your friend Jari got shot twelve times, you could save him. If someone is sick with something, you can just make it go away and that goes for everything. Yet healing yourself is a lot easier to do in comparison to healing others. Healing someone else takes a lot of energy and it can be harmful if you push it. So make sure when you want to heal someone you're physically ready. Especially if the injury is life threatening."
I could sense that she wasn't too sure if I was telling the truth. She looked at me as if I was crazy. So I figured I'd just offer her the chance to see for herself.
"You want to try it on yourself?"
"A little." She smirked back as I began to look around the room for something. Yet the wolf was ahead of me once more and got her knife out from behind her back. Coming right on over to me she asked curiously.
"So how does this work? I just cut myself and it should heal?"
I nodded and watched as she didn't hesitate to open up her skin. As she dragged it down her arm I whispered to her with some disgust backing my tone.
"God, what if I was lying you fucking lunatic?"
She didn't respond because she was too focused on watching her wounds heal a moment after getting them. I just smiled as her skin was left with nothing but some blood on it. She then grabbed me by the hand and took me to the bathroom where she then asked.
"Can I still use my venom?"
I didn't really know the answer so as she looked at herself in the mirror I replied.
"I'm not sure. Try."
Her eyes went red and together we looked at each other and just chuckled. With her venom going away she turned to look at my eyes and wonder.
"So if I did have to heal someone, how do I do it?"
"It's like meditation. You first need to know what the problem is. Were they shot? Hit by a plane? Figure that all out then put your hands where the wounds are and focus much like you do when you try to meditate. You'll feel the difference, I promise you that. Then it's just a matter of attrition. You're basically pouring what energy you have into the thing you're healing, which drains you obviously. It's rapid and you'll need to rest soon after if you plan to keep going. But I wouldn't push yourself right now to go try it. Focus on your phasewalking and we'll see if we can get you to phase two."
Bending down to reach under the sink, Sam stood back up while offering me a toothbrush. At which point I lost my serious face and listened as she urged me back.
"I'll focus on that if you focus on this for a minute or two."
Taking the brush from her hand, I replied with a small smile.
"Deal."
The young wolf gave me another kiss but this time on my cheek. I continued to smile as she went to turn away and I couldn't help but reach out for her tail. When my hand made contact she stopped to look back at me to whisper.
"Oh?"
Now I started to chuckle and at that point I watched her turn back around to head out of the bathroom. I think she knew I wasn't really itching to fuck her right now despite my hands going right for the thing I owned. I wanted to, but my lack of real energy was still apparent. So I just kept smiling and proceeded to brush my teeth for her approval.
As I did I contemplated once again just what she was. When I first laid eyes on her I was mainly just interested because she was taking risks and she was smart and branching off in a completely different direction from where Marcus took Raptor. I knew she would make an excellent demi, but I always thought her training would take longer. Instead I was in shock from her ability. She was hands down more talented than Marcus was. She was without a doubt ahead of her father and I dare say she's probably better than me. Given enough time and power; she could make a healthy replacement for this realm.
I don't know anyone who has a better understanding of our gifts than her. Even the people above myself struggled at some point learning their ways. I had to wonder if we were being watched. I knew very well that the attrition could be watching at any given time. If they were then why hasn't anyone stepped in? I wondered as I finished my teeth at last and began to wash out my mouth with some water from the sink.
This whole time I could hear Sam talking to herself. She was so happy to have this new ability. I couldn't blame her of course. Walking through anything in one's path is an amazing ability to possess. As I walked back out to the living room, I found her coming back from her bedroom at full speed. Laughing at the sight I questioned.
"What are you doing?"
"Running!" She replied as she kept phasing through walls.
"Why?" I asked as she went from the guest room, to her room, to the bathroom, then back out into the living room. Once at a stop, she replied to my question.
"Why? You told me to practice using the ability, so I'm gonna use it in every shape and way possible. Just sit back and relax. Get your energy back while I use mine."
She was excited. That much was clear to me as she went back to running around the condo.
I did however take her advice and decided to sit down on the couch to meditate. It was surely going to be the fastest way to get my powers back and since she was so focused on running around and jumping throughout the building like a real dog, what better time than now?
Crossing my legs and taking a moment to look at her one last time before entering my head, I gave her one more smile and began my recovery officially.
Maggie's POV.
I dare say the last two days have gone well. Zeta was right about Raptor's condition. He was a mess, but that all changed once he heard the good news about Zeta convincing Zandro to let me stay here during the lockdown. I did everything in my power to stay by his side through this. There wasn't much else to do besides that for now. He wasn't taking any interviews and from what I was told I think General Hoffer was taking care of everything else that could distract him.
So for now we were left together for the most part. Zeta and I made sure Raptor was happy to the best of our abilities, but it was clear I was the thing they really needed to change the situation. Raptor cried openly when I first got the chance to see him. I'll never forget that feeling. He cried because he really did love me. At the end of the day Zeta was right with what she said. I really was like a daughter to him and just having me back at his side made everything right.
Right now we were spending some time in the capital's recreational room. Zeta, Raptor and I were all together once more by the couches. Yoga and a handful of guards kept watch, but Yoga was the only one allowed inside the room with us per Raptor's orders. There wasn't anything to worry about in here, so I think it was okay. Zandro probably would have shut this down an hour ago if he wasn't as busy as he was right now.
Our plan was to watch a movie of some kind I think. We spent the last hour just talking and for some reason the closer we got to actually picking a movie the weirder the room got between Zeta and Raptor. They were just acting differently now that they were together and things had gotten decently calm around the capital. I was gonna start asking more questions, but when I was just about to say something Zeta asked me from my close right side.
"How's your leg baby?"
Looking at her as Raptor looked at my leg, I replied happily.
"It's good. I'm not putting any pressure on it. Marx was very clear about that. He's been very clear about a lot of things ever since we got here."
"That's because you're actually listening to him." Raptor informed me which got me to laugh and question.
"What do you mean? Should I not be?"
Shaking his head he replied.
"No, of course you should listen. He's a doctor for a reason. I'm just a bad example because I don't really recall a time where I listened to his medical advice. In fact a lot of people tend to blow off what he says half the time. Everyone likes to play tough and who the hell is gonna be intimidated by him of all people? He's a gentle cat. He's always been a good guy and he's never hurt a fly. I'm sure since you are listening to him, he's giving you everything he has. Which is good since I'm sure he's thinking ahead and doesn't want you missing out on the wedding because of a bad leg."
"I love Marx. He's always looking out for everyone. He doesn't have to, but he does." Zeta added as I then had to ask.
"What happened to his arm?"
Zeta looked to Raptor for that answer and he gave it to me.
"He lost his arm at an early age. His father was a doctor of sorts as well, but I'm pretty sure a chemical accident occurred one night when his dad was doing something he probably shouldn't have been up to around his kids. The accident took his arm and killed his dad."
"Oh my god." I mumbled as Yoga jumped in from the back of the room to state happily.
"Fucker could get the arm replaced with something more…..cat looking, but instead he wants to pretend to be iron man."
Everyone laughed at the joke, but when my eyes looked back at Zeta's she stopped and reached under her butt for an envelope she must have been sitting on this whole time. I was curious as she took it with both hands to her lap to say to me softly.
"Now seems like a pretty good time to bring this up. I know you have questions….about the other night at the house. I know I've been dancing around the subject, but it's for a good reason Maggie."
"I know." I said back to her in confidence. I figured it had to be important or a touchy subject if she was dodging it this much until now. But my eyes were still on the envelope as she went on to say.
"That's good. I'm happy you're not the demanding type. We were waiting to talk to you in private. But first I want you to have this. She then offered me the envelope, but the moment my hand started to reach outwards, she pulled it back to urge me.
"Just give it a read to yourself and take your time. Raptor and I have been working on this for quite some time now and we planned to bring this up to you at the bonfire, but as you know….we got interrupted. Now we're here and this time we have Yoga with us."
The ferret in question came walking right over to us once he heard that. Getting right up behind me, he chuckled.
"Was I not supposed to be here for this the first time? I can leave still."
"Shut up, Yoga." Raptor jokingly ordered him with a smile as he then urged the ferret with prompt confidence to his voice.
"You stay right where you are. You're a close friend to the family and I want you to be a part of this."
Yoga was happy to say the least after he heard that complement. Remaining behind me everyone listened as I asked out loud.
"What is this?"
Reaching out to grab my hand, Zeta replied with tears building in her eyes.
"Just read it hun."
Her crying was already going to trigger me to start crying. I didn't know what the fuck was happening. Why did this get so emotional all the sudden? I asked myself as I took a look over to Raptor who just simply nodded his head as his way to urge me to do what I was asked.
So with a lot of hesitation I tore open the envelope with my claws to pull out two sheets of white paper. At first glance they looked like a DMV application, but I widened my eyes when I got around to actually reading it. Both Zeta and Raptor watched in complete silence as I looked at the second document to begin actually crying.
Zeta this time came right over to me and sat down to begin hugging me as tightly as she could from the side.
The first sheet was an already filled out adoption form. Both Zeta and Raptor already filled in the blanks. Including the spot that required them to name the adoptee, which had my name in its place. The second sheet was for me and it was basically asking for my consent. I just needed to fill out a few things and sign it, but I was too broken to do anything other than cry in complete shock. That's when Zeta cried into the side of my face.
"We love you baby. We want you to have a family."
"Our family." Raptor added. His voice got me to look up at him, because he was tearing up as well. Yoga on the other hand was just as shocked as me and just started to laugh in joy as I questioned.
"Are you guys serious? This has to be a joke. There ain't no way. What?!"
"Your dad came to me one day Maggie and he begged me to look after you once his time had passed. I swore to him that I would do whatever it would take to try and fill those shoes. Zeta as well. She's a mother at heart and she wants this not just because of what your dad meant to us." Raptor said to me as Zeta came back with tears to add onto what he was already saying.
"I knew the moment I met you. You're everything I could ever want from a child who was in your shoes growing up. But I didn't just want you because of that. I wanted you because I never want to see anyone go without a mother. You lost her at such a young age, it broke my heart. I'm sure she was a great woman and I'm sure she's proud of you."
What else could I say right now? I was crying too much to really think of anything for that matter. Seeing that right in front of him for himself, Raptor went on to state to me.
"We love you Maggie. We need another Voltz in our life and we want that to be you. Right now and forever. What do you say?"
It was a natural instinct for me to just begin shaking my head madly at them. Once I found my voice again, I replied while crying to them.
"Yes! Oh my god yes! Thank you!"
I dropped the envelope and the papers by accident when I decided to turn my full focus onto Zeta. Giving her the hug of all hugs, I cried into the side of her neck.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Your welcome baby!" She cried back to me as Yoga came around to pick up the papers and put them back on my lap. I got a decent grip back on them this time as I went to stand up and face Raptor. The hedgehog got up with me and when we embraced I felt the love he had in him for me. It was genuine and reminded me so much of my father. With tears rolling down my face, I cried to him as well.
"Thank you!"
"I love you Mags. I do."
"I love you too!" I said back to him as our size differences began to show. I was putting so much of my weight into him, that after a few moments I accidentally drove him back onto the couch. Holding onto me for dear life as we came crashing down together, we all laughed as I apologized for not minding my posture. Of course it really didn't matter to anyone right now. All I could think about was this now. This is the greatest thing that could ever happen to me. All my life I dreamed about being one of they're kids. Now I really was. All that was left for my dream to become reality, was for me to simply sign the consent form.
Sam's POV, The next day.
The energy I had was unreal. I've been up ever since my conversion and there wasn't a spot in my body that demanded sleep. Same went for my appetite. I haven't gotten hungry or thirsty since then ethier. It was very weird for me. I'd get used to it without a doubt, but it was still crazy to experience. Then again everything I can do now is crazy to experience. I can't help but phasewalk now that I can do it. What's even better is the fact that I learned phase two. I could feel the difference my aura gives off when I'm trying to hide from other living creatures. It was like stepping into the shade on a hot day. It was clearly working if that feeling came to me and the method of doing it was easy. Easier than I expected and Roslin was once again at a loss for words. It was good knowing that I could impress him this much. Now I had a reputation to live up to. I thought to myself as I opened my eyes to the sound of my phone ringing from behind me on the couch.
Turning around to face it, I gave the phone a glare when I saw that it was Twig calling me of all people. I knew what this was about, but did I want to avoid it? I had to ask myself as I picked it up. Putting it to my ear I answered.
"Hello?"
Immediately I got back from the man on the other end.
"You fucking bitch! You're dead! You hear me!"
Not wanting to overreact to being threatened, I replied calmly while playing dumb.
"For what? What did I do?"
"It took me a long fucking time to piece it all together and I almost didn't believe it, but you! You fucking treacherous bitch! You killed everyone! Everyone!"
"I didn't do anything Twig."
"Don't fucking lie to me! Your the only fucking person who survived that meeting! Everyone else was conveniently poisoned?! You fucking bitch! You played us! I vouched for you when Verno wanted you dead! I trusted you and so did he!"
With nowhere to really go, I just decided to come out clean with it by stating back to him.
"Then I guess you're to blame."
"You're dead! I'm coming for you! I don't know when or where I'll find you, but I will fucking find you and I'm going to enjoy killing you this time!" I was honestly enjoying this. Threats for some reason were just funny to me now that I had all this power. So with my intentions becoming clear, I had to ask the man out of genuine curiosity.
"You probably don't want to talk about it, but tell me. Was Claire still floating when you found her? Or did she sink to the bottom and you had to fish her out?"
"You're gonna wish you had killed me when you had the chance! I'm gonna strip every single claw off your body! I'm gonna cut out your tongue so you can't scream! Then I'm gonna starve you and once you're on your last legs I'll…..!?" I chuckled as I just hung up on him not a moment too soon. Roslin finally woke back up from another session of mediation.
He had been sitting in the guest room the whole time, but once he came back to reality I sensed it and asked him from where I was on the couch.
"Are you feeling better?!"
Phasing through the door, he replied as he scratched at his eyes.
"A lot better actually. How about you? Did I miss much?"
Shaking my head, I replied.
"Nah. I've just been relaxing and waiting on you."
Nodding his head, my master sat down next to me then urged me back.
"Well here I am. Go ahead and prepare yourself. Phase three is a lot more straining on your body. It can be bad to attempt this. Your father nearly killed himself performing his first jump."
"My father is an idiot though. He only survived because he's tough. He doesn't think about things. He just does things. I'll be fine, I'm sure." I said to him with confidence as he just chuckled to himself before replying.
"Guess we'll find out. Now go ahead and try just like I told you. Relax, but remain focused and aware of your destination. Don't worry about anything. I'm gonna be right here."
"Okay." I exhaled as I shut my eyes.
"Feet. Remember Sam? Feet. We're not going far. Aim small miss small." Roslin stated as I knew the plan. All I wanted to do was move to the other side of the room. I knew where I wanted to be and that was next to the fridge. So with my focus on that I collected my energy and sent it.
I felt the same type of aura change I described when I knew when I was phasewalking. This time the difference was immediate. The aura left my mind instantly and then came my head. I felt my brain spinning and when I opened my eyes I found myself at the fridge, but my legs gave out right when I registered that reality. Thankfully Roslin was already set and before I knew it he had me caught in his arms. Holding me up as I tried to stop my eyes from rolling, I heard him shout happily.
"I got ya! You did it! Relax now!"
I nodded and managed to get a grip onto the nearby counter so he wouldn't have to hold me any longer. Once I had my butt sitting on the countertop I said to him in confusion.
"Why am I so weak? What happened?"
Staying within feet, the echidna replied.
"The first time is rough. It's like a powersurge. It takes everything from you the first time. The next time will be a lot better. I promise you. Just rest for now and when you can move I'd recommend meditating."
"Okay. Just give me a minute. I'm good." I said to him as he proceeded to smile again and laugh out loud.
"Guess you aren't your father after all."
"I'm not an idiot. So I knew that already." I said back to him which earned me another laugh from the big yellow man as he looked me over one more time to be sure I was okay. Once things had calmed down, I stood back on my own two feet and proceeded to go to the couch, but this time with the intention to meditate like he suggested. Once I was in position and starting I heard Roslin urge me.
"Take your time. I'm serious."
I gave him one slow nod before branching off into my mind.
Maggie's POV, a few hours later.
This was the greatest day of my life. I never thought Raptor and Zeta would do this for me. I didn't think they cared to this degree about me. Who was I when I compared myself to they're actual daughter?
I managed to get outside the capital for a little bit of a walk. I wasn't used to crutches at all though so it was a bit of a struggle. Thankfully the capital was well equipped and I found myself a bench to sit on near the east side of the building when I ran out of stamina. Putting my crutch between my legs, I once again fell deep into my own thoughts.
I mean I don't think there will be any problems. Sam and I were best friends at one point. We fell off when I decided to join the army. From there it was just a matter of time till we just stopped talking. Never a single fight though, so it gives me confidence that when I see her at the wedding things will rekindle easily. I'm sure she's gonna come back happy. She needed time to figure herself out. She was always….well she was Sam.
Looking down at my leg, I just stared blankly at it and continued my train of thought.
Sam was shy. She was a sweetheart when you got through that side of her, but she was like that with everyone when she was growing up. Deadly smart though, which I guess made up for the social problems. We got along together from the very first meeting back when Raptor invited both me and my father out for dinner one night when I was still just a pup.
She was a button back then, shy but cute. I always gave her compliments. Not that she needed them really. Truth be told Sam was eye candy for a lot of people in our school. She had Zeta's genes to thank for that, but at the same time it didn't mean shit because she never paid any attention to anyone other than herself. Mine mattered because I had her attention. We just naturally stuck together till I had to go to bootcamp. I wish I could have given her more time back then, but I can't do anything about it now.
"Maggie?" I heard my name but my thoughts were so deep I ignored it unintentionally and drove further into my internal issues.
Maybe if I did give her more attention this whole situation with her parents wouldn't have happened. She used to always tell me if she had a problem. She'd tell me and we'd fix it before anything bad could happen. Now I'm not a part of her life and suddenly this happens. Things would be a ton better if she would just come back home. Everyone misses her and despite what I believe; I know she has to be stressed out of her mind and depressed. She could be hurting herself again. She could really kill herself or get raped over there in the states. Losing her would destroy this family…I mean….our family.
"Maggie?"
She tried to kill herself once before. She won't acknowledge it because she's convinced she's stronger than that and overcame it on her own, but in truth she was going to cut her wrists wide open one day after school. I think she was just a freshman back then, but it doesn't matter. Only reason she didn't was because I walked in on her when she was about to do it. When we got to her house she would always run upstairs, put her backpack down, change clothes, and then come back down to go out with me. It would take her two minutes to do that because she was always excited to hang out. Well when five minutes passed I decided to go see if she was okay and there she was on the bathroom floor crying with a razor to her wrist. I had to have screamed because Zeta heard me and asked if we were okay from down in the kitchen. Sam panicked and dropped the blade and I ran to her in fear she had done something already to herself. The whole time I told her mom we were fine and proceeded to cry with her in my arms. She cried too, but if she's alone now where she is and she winds up down that hole again and dies; it'll be all my fault. It'll be….?
"Maggie!"
Raptor's POV.
I took the risk of sneaking out to see Maggie with good intentions, but accidentally found myself stumbling into things I wish I had never known.
I stood next to her motionless now as I tried to comprehend what she just said from within her own mind. Sam tried to kill herself? Why? Why would she do that and not first try talking to me or her mother? I couldn't understand anything at this point. I was always scared I'd lose her, but the fact that I almost did without my knowledge made my stomach squeeze in on itself. I felt sick almost as Maggie finally broke out of her train of thought and turned to look at me. With our eyes locked, I asked her.
""What's wrong with you?"
Giving me a worried look she now replied in a way that could potentially cover up her thoughts.
"I'm sorry. I'm just…..I'm still in shock. I'm still just trying to believe it."
Now I knew what she was saying was a cover, but at the same time she was still being honest. Part of her was still in shock that she was now part of our family. So not wanting to push the subject of Sam trying to kill herself out from her, I decided to respond with something more on her level.
"Well believe it sweetpea. You're a Voltz now. But hey?" Looking at me sideways out of curiosity, I proceeded to whisper to her.
"Just cause you're my daughter now that doesn't mean you get to call me dad or anything. It's still Raptor or Commander to you."
My joke earned me an honest and healthy giggle and smile combo out of her. To the point where she looked back up at me to question as a joke of her own.
"Don't you gotta be in bed right about now? You wouldn't want to upset Zandro, now would you?"
Giving her a serious look back, I replied.
"Listen here, Zandro isn't gonna know anything about this little meeting so long as someone here keeps quiet about it. Now can I maybe sit down with you for a minute or two? There are some things we need to talk about."
She quickly recognized that I was being serious so giving me a nod she urged me to sit down alongside her good leg. Once I was comfy, I started off by urging her back calmly.
"Now what I'm going to start out with is gonna sound crazy, but I want you to please keep quiet and listen till the end. If I ask you a question, just give me a short and sweet answer. Save your questions till the end. Okay?"
Again she nodded her head, but this time I cleared my throat before continuing. I also had to be sure we weren't within earshot of anyone. Looking right at her eyes I spoke carefully now.
"I know you're not blind or stupid. You're one of the smartest girls I know. So I'm not gonna pretend like you don't have any questions about the night we got shot at. You got shot in the neck and chest and you're under no pressure from the injuries after only being out of it for a day, give or take. So where do I start?" I asked myself as she just remained quiet and watched my face close as I looked at her with a small smile to reply to my own question.
"I suppose I should start with what's going to sound crazy. Sam doesn't even know this about me Maggie. That's how crazy this is. You ready?" I asked her which to no shocker got me her full attention and the fastest nod I've ever seen in my life. Keeping my tone calm and relaxed, I put my hand on her good leg to whisper.
"I'm a god."
At first the wolf's face hadn't changed. She just kept looking at me, except now she was confused. I went quiet now just to watch her expressions unfold. After a few confused seconds she questioned.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I meant it literally." I informed her back as it now appears I had her even more confused. Wanting to branch off a little, I urged her as a start for getting her to believe me.
"Do yourself a favor and ask yourself this question. Do I look any different from when you were just a kid? I remember when we first met. You were so small back then. And now that I think about it….you were a lot fluffer too." Reaching out to scratch the top of her head, I watched as she slightly tilted her head before replying.
"My coat was underdeveloped back then, first of all. Secondly, I was actually round. I had a lot of fat on me."
"No you didn't." I laughed back.
Maggie was always good at keeping her emotions together. So I wasn't expecting her to freak out much. Especially since this was a private matter we were openly discussing for anyone to overhear. So when we got back to the question at hand, I urged her calmly.
"I urge you to think about what I just asked. Have I aged? Do I look like I should be in my late fifties?"
"No." She simply said back to me after I had finished. Giving her a nod of my own back I went on to state.
"It's a side effect. I still have the body of a thirty eight year old."
Maggie's POV.
I was lost with what he was trying to say to me. I've always wondered why he looked so young for his age, but he's saying it because he's a god? I don't know what that means. I said to myself as he proceeded to offer me the hand that was placed on my leg up till now. Giving him that confused face back, I slowly reached out as he decided to say to me.
"I know what you're thinking. It's not easy to believe at first. Especially since a god up to this point of our lives has seemed as nothing but pure fantasy when it came to being real."
I was trying very hard to follow what he was saying, but everything was smashed to a halt when my hand finally reached his. I was fully expecting to grab onto him, but my hand just went through his. At first I pulled my hand back in confusion. I gave him a series of even more confused faces back as I felt my head overloading. Sensing I was on the verge of breaking, he urged me.
"Hold your arm out." I did just that and watched in awe as he slowly ran his hand through my arm in multiple spots. Each time they passed through one another. With my heart racing I whispered in shock.
"What the hell? How is that possible?"
In an instant Raptor decided to actually grab my arm, but he did it gently and again said to me in confidence.
"It's a long story. I promise we'll go through it in detail when we have more time, but for now I just want to see your reaction. There are other things I can do to help prove it to you. One of which I want you to experience now before I have to run back to my room for the night. If you're scared, I understand. We don't have to do anything more if you don't want to, but I can promise if you trust me you won't regret it. What do you say?"
"What could I say? No?" I was scared a little, but most of my emotions were curious and in shock. No matter what he says there has to be a gimmick to it. There had to be. So giving the man a small nod I replied to his concerns.
"I'm not scared. I can handle it. What do you want me to do?"
Giving me a smile, Raptor urged me back.
"All I need you to do is trust me with your body for a minute or two. I'm gonna need to touch you a little. Okay?"
This man was my hero and now he was technically my father. My emotions were all over the place right now from this conversation, but when I heard him say he needed to touch me, I contemplated my life. In the end I looked back at who it was asking me to do this for them and for once I had absolute trust that it wouldn't just turn out bad. So giving Raptor my confidence I replied.
"Sure. Go ahead."
Raptor again smiled and very slowly he began to reach over my lap. Very carefully his hand came to rest on the exact spot where my leg had been shot. It hurt at first, but once his hand had gone still I managed to readjust to the pain. Looking me right in my eyes the hedgehog whispered to me.
"Just breathe. I'll be done in a minute."
All I could do right now was question the situation. I didn't fully understand what he was trying to accomplish by grabbing me there of all places. Was he aiming to hurt me? Was this a test? I had to wonder as his hand suddenly got warm.
Almost instantly after my mind had registered the heat, I lost a good portion of my mental to it. My whole body was overwhelmed by the feeling in fact. It was like my aura itself had been fully enveloped in it. I couldn't really think or hope to speak now. What was he doing?
I could barely move during the minute he claimed it would take him to convince me that he was a god, but once he had finished; his hand had gone back to normal and my body was slowly returning back to its normal temperature. Once I had recovered, I first asked him out of confusion.
"What was that?"
Looking at my leg he replied.
"That was me giving you your life back."
Utterly lost, I looked at my leg. Then it all made sense. My eyes widened and my heart had gone back to beating a mile a minute once I realized all the pain I was once in had gone away. Every inch of it had left my body and I was left feeling better than normal. Raptor watched me carefully as I then stood back up without the crutches. He even laughed a little as I was completely driven to madness now. This couldn't be real.
Pulling me back down to the bench, Raptor proceeded to order me as nicely as he could.
"Keep in mind that you're not a user, so you can't bullshit some story about how you can walk on both legs this soon after being shot. So despite what you're feeling now, you're gonna have to do everyone a favor and pretend to keep using those crutches till your due date comes. The less people that suspect something; the less I have to worry. You understand?"
I had no words. I was so confused and just outright geeking out. I was on the verge of breaking out into asking him a million questions, but before I knew it he said to me as sweetly as he could.
"I should get heading back before someone notices I'm gone."
In confusion, I questioned as he seemed ready to leave me now that he had thoroughly fucked my mind.
"How did you sneak out in the first place? Aren't there like fifty guys in there?"
Chuckling, he replied back.
"Forty eight, but close."
I gave him a smile as he then proceeded to say to me.
"I'm sorry we don't have the time right now to go over it all, but I can go just about anywhere at any time. No one can stop me."
"How?" I then found myself asking him as he came in to hug me. I hugged him back of course, but after our embrace he replied to my question.
"Like this."
I gave him another lost look because he just remained motionless and smiling at me after he had said those two words. I thought he was going to show me something, but the longer I stared at him; the more confused I got. But a moment came when I decided to blink and when I had finished he was now gone from the bench. At first my head hadn't realized he moved, but when it kicked in I panicked and began to look all around my field of view.
"Raptor?" I said out loud as I was left in utter confusion once more. Where the hell did he go? How did he go? What just happened? I had to wonder as I was soon left with the fact that my leg was now fixed and I had to keep using the crutches anyway. It seemed funny to me at the time, but of course I came back to question reality.
"A god? Him?"
This had to all be a joke. That or I was drugged right now and dreaming all this. This couldn't be real. The things he can do aren't possible. This can't be right. I said to myself as I was starting to get ready for a panic attack. I was so worried about Sam a few minutes ago, and now I was all worried for myself. Calm down Maggie. Calm down.
Standing up from the bench was an experience of its own. My confusion for what was real and what was fake was made worse. My mind can't comprehend this. How was I going to sleep tonight? I asked myself as I remembered my crutches and slowly made my way back into the capital.
mT Shadow.