Alright time for the next chapter, hope you all enjoy.
Broken Angel: Rising Demon
Chapter 48: New Life.
-Prime Kamui. June 5th, 2002-
Riley floated within the confined of her pocket dimension, before her floated her Zanpakutō. Upon her return from the other world, she entered Kamui and spent the better part of a month training with her sword, learning of its new powers and abilities.
The new form the blade would take when she activated Shikai, was that of a pure white bident. A twin pronged spear. This weapon form had an incredible power, one that pushed it almost instantly to the top of the list for the abilities her sword had. That power was that the bident converted any magic passed into it, into holy energy.
Any type of magic, be it normal magic, nature energy, or even her demonic power, would transform into holy energy.
This was an incredible boon that Riley took to learning with extreme gusto. Deploying her spells fueled by holy magic had some benefits, while also including drawbacks as well. As one example, Riley could be harmed by the backlash of certain spells fueled by holy magic. In most cases, even if a magical ability could hurt her body, it wouldn't damage her soul, so she'd just heal from the injury in an instant. Fueling her powers with holy magic, meant that any backlash would also damage her soul, making injuries much harder to heal from.
Having this power was very useful for her, even with the major drawback, as it granted her a powerful tool to deploy against other demonic entities. She just had to be careful with what spells and powers she fueled with holy magic as she possessed the power to do irreparable harm to herself if she utilized some of her highest forms of magic and fueled them with holy energy.
The bident itself was an interesting weapon. It was similar in nature to the Spears of Longinus wielded by her familiar Michael, but it was far more ornate. A pure white ornamental design. Quite intricate. It was certainly the most beautiful of her Zanpakutō's forms, but it was also the one that seemed least suited for combat. It had no physical affinities that boosted its fighting power as a spear. It was more like a focus, similar to her staff, just with the ability to alter her magic to holy energy.
Aside from spending a month learning to use the new form of her Zanpakutō, Riley also had two other points of interest to spend time learning, which took up about six months of additional time. The shorter of the two was learning to wield the Green Power Ring with the same proficiency as the Yellow. The Green light, the concentrated essence of Willpower was a familiar yet entirely different beast to the yellow light of Fear.
She found that she could still use her own magic to power the Ring, but the dark and corrupted form of her Willpower altered the established properties of the Green Light. Her use of the ring was different to a Green Lanterns. The green energy appeared darker, and the constructs that manifested from her will, appeared with much greater ease than they normally would. Riley had always been a willful creature and stubborn as all hell, so using the Ring came easy to her, even with its altered properties. Learning to use this power was a swift endeavor, learning to harness the power of the Speed Force was not.
After consuming the blood, she had taken from the Flash, Riley began to be able to tap into the Speed Force. As it was explained to her, this energy was basically the concept of speed itself. The movement of objects and time, movement in all its forms. It was interesting learning to use this power, as it wasn't a magical energy, but more so a physical energy tied into the fabric of reality.
When tapping into the Speed Force, Riley found that she could accelerate her speed to unfathomable levels, without risking damage to the world around her. The Speed Force granted her a number of abilities, firstly it allowed her to move at incredible speeds, that was easy. It also increased her reflexes, which was another simple one. But the other things it offered were even more valuable in her opinion. One was that it increased the speed at which physical bodily processes occurred. Meaning anything that occurred in her body, could be sped up. Because her natural healing came from accelerated cellular regeneration, the Speed Force allowed her to amplify the healing process, which meant that Riley could physically recover from injuries instantly.
She had tested this out on many different kinds of wounds, from stabs to cuts, to broken bones. She even cut off her own arm, just to see how fast she could regrow it with this accelerated healing. Before it would take her only about three seconds to fully regrow her through her natural regenerative abilities, but amplifying those abilities with the Speed Force, let her regenerate so fast that her new arm, actually shoved her severed one out of the way as it regrew.
It happened so fast, it had to have only taken a tenth of a second.
This was a very useful boon. She could also use the Speed Force to vibrate the cells of her body, allowing her to pass through solid material. This process was slower than the use of Kamui, but she could still do it, and as Riley always liked to proclaim redundancy was her bread and butter. It was always better to have multiple ways of doing something than only one.
The most valuable part of gaining access to the Speed Force was the way it allowed her to speed up her ability to think.
It basically allowed her to think far faster than she normally could, which in turn allowed her better use of her increased reaction time. Her normal reaction time was already incredible but amplified further with the Speed Force and coupled with her heightened ability to think made everything seem to stop around her when she focused. Even the normally fast movements of her clones would appear to be happening very slowly when Riley focused her mind.
This power let her effectively have hours of time to think in the span of only a single moment. She could understand why RileyAlter considered the Flash so dangerous, if he could think like this. It was a similar benefit to what Kamui offered to her in her ability to go there and stretch out time giving her a chance to think on her problems, but this method allowed her to do it in real time, essentially granting her the same benefit but in the heat of battle.
It was truly amazing as she learned to control it. Nothing took her by surprise anymore, nothing could possibly move fast enough to catch her off guard. RileyAlter had been completely correct when she had said not to try and outpace the Flash, he's simply too fast and he can react faster than an instant. The only measure that determined how fast one could move with the Speed Force; was how much of the Speed Force they could channel through their body at one time.
Through a bit of experimentation Riley came to several conclusions that she was quite certain were right. Firstly, the Speed Force had a total limit, it was a finite energy source. It recharged very quickly but it was not infinite. It was connected to every aspect of speed, both in the movement of objects and things, and in the passage of time itself. Its energy came from the movement of all of these things, meaning that for every act of movement made in all of the universe, possibly even the multiverse, energy was generated within the Speed Force. The more one used the Speed Force at one time, the more the Speed Force tried to pull you into itself. And finally, her last realization when it came to this great and mysterious power was that because the energy of the Speed Force was finite, the more people connected to it who could use it, the more the upper limit of their total power decreased.
Essentially because it was a finite resource shared between all of those who could use it, the more people who did use it, or the more of it that was used at one time, the less there was to use in total. Yes, the energy recharged over time, but if all of the people who were tied to it, were using it a lot and channeling massive amount of it through them, then that meant there was less to go around.
After some tests to see just how fast she could go she began taking note of how she was being drawn into the Speed Force, the more she channeled it through herself, so outside of their being a finite amount of it, there was also an upper limit to how much of the Speed Force one could draw into their own body before they began being pulled into the Speed Force.
Riley had no idea what that would be like, and while she was confident in her ability to return home if that happened due to her Rinnegan's ability to open portals between dimensions she didn't want to just risk it in case there was some special properties about being within the Speed Force itself that may prohibit her travel. She also didn't know what being inside the Speed Force meant, so until she did, she had to avoid breaking those boundaries.
Another downside was that using the Speed Force to enhance her movements, quickly began to generate huge electrical outbursts, even causing small bolts of electricity to jump off of her body as she ran. This was an obvious sign given that she saw similar electrical outbursts coming off of Flash's body when he ran, so obviously anyone who could already use the Speed Force would recognize that she was using it too. She could amend that problem by simply dismissing the electrical outpouring as a new ninjutsu or hell she could even make one, something similar to Sasuke's Chidori Stream that he and Kakashi had developed.
Another downside of using the Speed Force was it didn't fully amplify her flight. She could fly faster with it, but only using physical means of flight, such as using her wings, or her Kryptonian flight, those could be enhanced, but not any purely magical means of flight which were her primary methods. This was most likely because the Speed Force was a non-magical energy linked to a conceptual force of the universe. It wasn't 'alive' and thus had no touches of magic or a soul. It was a purely physical power. It also meant that it was possible that Riley might not be able to use it in universes, or dimensions that were purely magical. She didn't yet understand the full nature of her connection to the Speed Force, whether it was a power she drew in from around her, or if it channeled through her from its own dimension of origin.
If it was the former than she wouldn't be able to use it in places where it didn't exist, kind of like the Nature Energy that Sages would employ. If it was the later though, than she'd still be able to, as her body acted like a conduit for this energy, allowing it to follow her wherever she went.
It was something she'd need to figure out, but after a few months of trial and error, along with plenty of practice she'd come a long way in learning to use it.
With her current training trip wrapped up, Riley allowed herself to return home, rejoining her family and loved ones, and carrying with her an entirely new perspective on things.
Her time in the other world, with RileyAlter had given her a glimpse into a world where her worst fears were realized. It colored things in a new light and granted her a degree of clarity that her time training with Parallax could never fully bring her too. She now knew how she would feel in the face of such a betrayal, and what would become of her, if such a betrayal was successful.
She would never forget just how miserable and pathetic her alternate self-had looked, nor how much pain she was willing to inflict to get back at those who had destroyed her.
Riley didn't hang around long enough to see the actual repercussions of RileyAlter's actions, but she could guess at them. A world made infinitely quieter due to all of the death and carnage she had unleashed. A population of billions, reduced to only millions in a matter of hours. She had everything taken from her, and so she took everything in return, evening the field.
Riley could only imagine the pain that it had caused. Even still, she felt her own anger redouble at the idea of it. In her heart of hearts, she felt she could, and would do so much worse in the face of such a betrayal.
She had no intention of ever letting that happen. She simply refused to allow it and would set whatever measures in place that she needed to, to make sure it never came to pass.
She told her friends and family nothing about her journey and none of them noticed the handful of changes in her. She kept it that way, her focus being on securing her family, and living a happy life for as long as it lasted.
-August 12th, 2002, Riley's Home, London. Albion-
So, the time had come. After careful consideration and anticipation, the time had come to test out what would happen with a full demonic pregnancy.
Riley and Kaede were ready to have a child of their own, and ready to face the consequences of doing so. By seeing what would happen with Kaede getting pregnant and having a child, they'd know what to expect when it came to Riley. Since Kaede was a devil, a dark creature, she was essentially living magic, just like Riley, so pregnancy and childbirth were entirely different things for them. Unfortunately, Kurama had never had any children, and neither had Parallax, so neither could offer them any greater insight. In fact, out of all of Riley's demonic children, only one of them that was a full demon, had given birth, and that had been Ursa with Zuko, but in Ursa's case, she had actually gotten pregnant using her human body. Essentially, she had a body or at least a reproductive system that worked exactly like a human meaning she could get pregnant like a human could, which is how she conceived a child with Ozai, and had Zuko, a half-demon. Riley and Kaede didn't have that benefit because neither of them were human anymore, and even if both of them adjusted their demonic bodies so that physical reproduction was possible, the child would still be a full demon, and while it might start as a tiny embryo it would quickly begin to change as it immediately gained sentience.
They had no real idea of what to expect, or even how long it could take. Kaede's pregnancy could last a matter of hours, or possibly days, or it could be years long. They simply didn't know.
Still, enough time had gone by, and they were ready to try it out and start their family.
So, the two slipped into Kamui and gave it the old college try.
Within hours, the two lay breathless beside one another, both intensely focused on the lifeform now growing in Kaede's womb.
While initially the creation of child was met with joy and excitement, caution and scrutiny quickly followed as the process was monitored each and every day that passed in the pocket dimension. While Riley's family awaited them outside of Kamui expecting them to either return when the child was born, or when they knew it was safe, the two of them spent their time together, enjoying this 'vacation' while also readying themselves for whatever might come from this.
Intelligence came quickly to the minute organism. The first person it made contact with was Kaede, speaking to her for the first time after three days, communicating with her while she slept.
Upon awakening Kaede informed Riley about this, allowing Riley the chance to interact with her unborn child. Curiously enough, in the time between these two events, someone else had come to visit their new little sibling. When Riley pressed her mind into Kaede's own headspace to try and make contact with her unborn baby, she found Alma already there, having snuck in at some point.
Within Kaede's mindscape, it was setup just like their house, and they found Alma there with the baby, gently caressing the head of her sibling.
Riley and Kaede were allowed to take in the sight of their child's form for the first time here, appearing as a red and black eel-like serpent, not too dissimilar from the way the Darkness had appeared as a part of Parallax.
Its body was a few feet long, and it looked more like an eel than a snake, but still have several snake-like qualities. It had four eyes, each one jet-black, and a mouth of needle-like teeth that almost looked like spikes of glass.
The two approached the bed, causing Alma to lift her gaze towards them, as if noticing them for the first time.
She gave them a curious look before returning her eyes to the serpent which sat coiled in her lap.
"Well, they've definitely got Alma's approval." Riley hummed as she approached the two, and sat on the side of the bed, Kaede following along with her, sitting on the opposite side.
The serpent eyed the two as they approached, it's gaze eventually settling on Riley. It seemed to tense at the sight of her, reacting with fear as it felt the weight of her power.
Alma seemed to react as well, turning the serpent's head to face hers, meeting its gaze with her own, and sharing in some kind of mental communication. Her sibling seemed to relax a bit, as Alma offered her wordless reassurance that Riley wasn't a threat or any kind of danger.
The Serpent than turned its gaze back to Riley, and spoke to her, its voice carrying out wordlessly as a sort of mental thrum.
It wasn't words per say, more like feelings, emotions, and the like.
Riley felt curiosity, wonderment, uncertainty, as well as a bit of fear coming from the creature.
It had only been alive for a few days, nestled here within the body and mind of its mother. It had no real concept of its father, so Riley's presence was surprising and frightening due to her colossal power.
Slowly, delicately Riley reached out, and traced her hand over the small serpent's head, gently petting it, and showing it that she meant it no harm. She also allowed her own emotions to drift back to it, keeping them mostly contained so as not to overwhelm her child that hadn't even been born yet, but still let it feel her, and help to show that she cared for it, and loved it, like its mother did and sister did.
Their initial meeting went well, and with each passing day within the pocket dimension, the unborn child began to grow and evolve, its appearance shaping in Kaede's mindscape, while it also grew in her womb.
Within only two months Kaede appeared heavily pregnant, and Riley had to take some time to help her adjust her own body to contain the growing lifeform within it. She helped Kaede change her womb into a sort of pocket space, making it bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. This allowed Kaede an easier time as she no longer appeared pregnant at all. The reason for the sudden growth of child was due to its, or rather her evolving nature.
The child was constantly in contact with Kaede and Alma, and because of that, she grew and changed becoming a lot like them.
Her eel-like appearance began to give way, as a human-like upper torso began to form, that led into an eel or snake-like lower body. In many ways she was starting to look like a Gorgon, just without the snakes for hair.
She now had long black hair, similar to Alma's, and while her face was human-like, there were some very obvious differences. She had grown a third set of eyes, for a total of six. She had two eyes where they'd normally be on a human face, and these eyes were a blood red, similar to the color of Kaede's Rinnegan though the sclera were black as the void making it appear like irises were floating in pools of nothingness. Her two sets of jet-black eyes had shifted and moved up to her hairline. They were actually difficult to see, due to her hair color and its length. It was long and straight and had already grown down to the middle of her back.
She had a face similar in shape to Kaede's when she was younger, and from the sides of her head, two-horn like bones began to grow, just like Kaede's.
She had the body of a little girl, or more so the upper body of a little girl, no older than three or four, and as noted, just past her naval was where her human shape gave way to a serpent-like lower body. Her body lower body was covered in jet-black scales as dark as her hair, though the body shape itself was more like an eel's than a snakes, as it flattened out to a thin finned tail, made for swimming. While her upper body was the size of a small child, her lower half was four feet long, making her considerably large, hence the need to help Kaede adjust her body to carry the unborn child.
Her human-like upper half was ghostly pale, similar to Alma or Kaede, and in her mouth she still carried her clear, glass-like needle teeth.
Each day Riley would hop into Kaede's mind to spend time with her wife and daughters, as it seemed their unborn child was becoming more female as it grew, no doubt taking after the women that surrounded it, so they just started addressing it as a girl, even though, as a demon, or in this case something more like a devil, it technically could be whatever it wanted to be.
Often all the child wanted to do was cuddle with its family. Alma almost never left the baby's side, her mental avatar always there to keep her sister company, even if Riley and Kaede weren't mentally present.
Kayda became the child's name, as it was a name that Kaede liked. It meant 'little dragon' in Japanese. Riley liked it and enjoyed that it was close to Kaede's name as well.
Days passed, and while Kayda seemed content to remain in her mother's body, Riley spent her time trying to coax the little devil to come out and be born.
It took a few weeks, as Kayda grew and mentally matured, learning more and more. She still didn't talk, but then again, most communication that was shared between all of them happened through the mind, so she didn't seem to need it at the moment.
Eventually though, it happened, Kayda grew curious enough about the outside world, to finally leave Kaede's body. The whole process took about three and a half months, but when it finished, it finished suddenly.
Kaede didn't give birth in the normal sense, she didn't go into labor. Instead, it was more so a showing of magic, where power bubble off of, and out of Kaede, parts of her magic being taken to help baby Kayda shape and take form in the physical world. The whole process took only minutes but at its end, the child was born, looking exactly as she had in Kaede's mindscape.
The first thing Kayda did was cry as she was exposed to dozens of new sensations and feelings that couldn't be mimicked in Kaede's mind. Riley and Kaede spent many long hours holding their daughter between them, offering her warmth and comfort and helping her to settle down.
It took some time but eventually Kayda did calm down and began to experience life. They remained in Kamui for another month, each day spent with their daughter(s). Alma was still a constant presence, though this time in the mind of her sister. On more than once occasion they found Kayda staring off into the distance, lost in her own thoughts, and a quick check revealed that she was actually communicating with Alma in her mind.
Kayda was starting to communicate verbally now, though it was mostly grunts and other animalistic sounds. Her magical power was also growing with each passing day, and already she had shown that she had inherited Kaede's inborn power, as Kayda could already manifest a set of Vectors. Three of them at the moment, that she could use to reach out and grab things around her. They had a pretty huge range, at around ten meters, which was far for any Diclonius, but being the daughter of the Queen Diclonius and Riley, it wasn't overly surprising.
As time went on, Riley made sure to fill her daughter's mind with images of her family, so that she would understand who they were and know that they weren't a threat to her. After making sure her daughter wasn't going to be violent or aggressive, Riley felt comfortable taking her out of Kamui and introducing her to the rest of the family.
It was truly an experience, introducing Kayda to everyone else. The strange little demon could partially pass for human, if you didn't notice her lower half immediately. Even with her two extra set of eyes, they were well hidden along her hairline and easily disappeared amongst the mess of black strands. Even if you did notice them, they looked almost like two sets of quarter sized black marbles set into the skin. These extra eyes were the same black as the sclera of her normal eyes, just without a noticeable pupil or iris. She could still see out of them; in fact, she saw very well out of all of her eyes.
The first people Riley and Kaede introduced her to were the rest of Riley's mates. Having already been exposed to them in images provided by Riley, Kayda took to them quite quickly. She was a bit fearful of Yugito and Gaia due to their demonic natures, and the presence of their respective Bijuu but that fear quickly faded.
Soon she was introduced to the other members of Riley's family. Kushina found the strange little devil to be absolutely adorable and was more than happy to share hugs with her, which Kayda seemed to enjoy. Again, she was a bit uneasy with Madara and Kaguya, sensing their incredible powers which unnerved her, but she really liked Hashirama, and for some reason took to her granduncles with almost humorous fervor. She REALLY liked Izuna and Tobirama, which was hilarious to Riley since both were quite obvious about how strange they thought she was.
Neither openly admitted it, but one look at their faces and you could tell what they were thinking. In all fairness though, Kayda was quite alien in her appearance. She could pass for human at a glance, but as soon as you noticed her lower half, you'd notice everything else, and were left with only one conclusion, that she was strange.
Still, Kayda seemed to like them, so that was all that mattered. Soon Kayda met her siblings, as well as her nephews and cousins. Darren and Paxton instantly took to her as their new baby aunt, and she took to them as well. They were used to communicating through thoughts and feelings as that was often how they spoke with Alma, so they were quickly able to start forming a bond with their aunt. Boruto thought she was cool, but the child Kayda took to the most was Shakik. The boy was little more than a toddler now and was absolutely terrified of Kayda. Kayda for her part, would follow him all the time, though Riley never sensed any malice in her actions, she just really liked her nephew.
It was nice, and after a few days, Kayda began to settle in at their home, despite basically being a baby, she started out at around the maturity level of a toddler, or a small child, but she showed a heightened level of intelligence and quickly began to pick up on things. She learned things at an exceptional rate and was soon able to converse with the same ease as a five-year-old child. She integrated well into the family dynamic, and Riley was excited for the future no knowing what having a fully demonic child was like. Armed with that knowledge she began to wonder as to her own future pregnancies, and what they would be like. For now, she had a new daughter to raise, but eventually, the time would come for Riley to carry a child of her own.
-February 2003-
A lot had happened over the past six months.
Kayda settled in nicely with her family and formed a strong friendship with many of her family members.
If not actively following around Hashirama or Kaede, she'd be following Tobirama or Izuna. Humorously, both men got over the strangeness of her appearance and took to her. Now they often debated on which side of the family she took after more, be it Uchiha or Senju. A member of the family that Kayda quickly began to click with was Schrödinger who often liked to pop in unannounced and bring his little siblings presents. Kayda quickly came to adore him.
Despite being only six months old, Kayda quickly became of a member of Boruto's little friend group. Boruto was the oldest, alongside his half-brother Kenzo Inuzuka. They were friends with Sarada, Sasuke and Karin's daughter, who was a year younger than Boruto. Then there was Shakik who was around the same age as Sarada. The last member of the group was Lucille who had been the youngest up until they took Kayda in. The only three of the young children in Riley's family who weren't part of the friendship group were Elric, Himawari, and Arabella since they were all still too little.
The children spent a lot of time together, playing about. It was nice to see them forming such strong friendships.
The world itself was progressing slowly towards something resembling normality. Conflicts did occasionally emerge, but due to Riley's enforced ceasefire, most of the steam had been drawn out of the major wars, allowing cooler heads to prevail.
Many groups were discouraged from fighting by the growing strength of the UN Security Council, a group that now had the backing of Albion, and the Shadow Legion. With member states now receiving protection from the UN many were encouraged to join and use this newly established power to keep them safe while they focused on rebuilding.
Having the legion around to keep order was a powerful mitigating factor. There were hiccups here and there, but nothing so great that it would require Riley's intervention. Anything that started to explode or bubble up, and Albion could deploy Hellsing to go and handle it and handle it they did.
Alucard and Seras were incredible problem solvers and quick to deploy when there was a problem. Especially when a statement didn't need to be made. When the Legion was sent in, it was usually to solve a problem in such a way that it left a mark and showed Albion's strength. When Hellsing was sent to deal with a problem, it was usually just to deal with it. The problem was evolving too fast, and no one wanted to play around with notoriety or statements, they went in, dealt with the threat by any means necessary and went home.
This led to Daphne being incredibly busy. Though it went unsaid, Riley's first wife had been a bit distant these last few months, simply due to how taxing her workload was. Riley was being very understanding about it, and hadn't brought it up, but she was very aware of the fact that out of all of her mates, she hadn't been with Daphne in over a month. Hell, she got more from Artoria and Gaia, one was even more busy than Daphne, and the other lived on the opposite side of the planet and was also busy.
It mostly had to do with Daphne's perfectionist nature, and so when placed in charge of handling a problem, she gave it her all, which was becoming a bit of a detriment to her home life, though again, Riley was being understanding, even if she was growing annoyed with not being able to spend much time with Daphne.
Kamui was an option, but the few times that they'd tried it, Daphne mostly just wanted to relax. She was more than happy to go into Riley's pocket dimension, but whereas Riley wanted to spend time with her and engage in a bit of intimacy, Daphne preferred to use that time to relax, unwind, and clear her head so she could return to work with vigor.
Again, Riley didn't press the issue. She had gone far longer than this without the touch of any of her mates, when she engaged in long training sessions in Kamui, so a month was nothing. Hell, she pretty much did that daily, the problem was that it was more than a month for Riley, as that was only the time passing in the real world. For Riley, a few years had passed. Again, it was something she had done before, but then there was the part where she was spending time with her other mates, so she was still engaged in that intimacy, just not with Daphne.
It was an annoyance, one that Riley was trying not to let bother her, but it was growing in her mind, and she knew sooner or later she'd have to talk to Daphne about it, and Riley wasn't excited about that conversation since she knew that a big part of Daphne's character was her ambition and her need to prove herself, and she was doing just that. She was showing her skills as a problem solver and proving her efficiency in dealing with problems for Albion and Artoria. Riley didn't want to throw a wrench into that by whining that she wasn't getting laid.
So Riley was naturally being a bit distant with Daphne, as she had to keep herself from letting those feelings pass over to her mate, which may or may not alert her to what was bothering Riley. Again, Riley didn't want to put that on Daphne's shoulders. She thought it best to just deal with it for now and get through this busy stage. Once they did, they could go back to the way things were before.
A big part of Daphne's responsibilities now was working to deal with Biohazard outbreaks before they went mainstream. As Vampires, Seras and Alucard were immune to almost all forms of disease, and their blood was regularly tested against the various viral agents captured by the Legion to ensure they still retained their immunity. New Viral weapons were being created all the time, and they didn't want to risk contaminating or infecting the various magicals of the Legion when they had a strike team that had a natural immunity to most infections.
While conflicts had diminished around the world, due to Riley's actions, the conflicts that still endured, became the focal point for the presence of Bio-Organic Weapon.
The biggest source of these Biological weapons was without a doubt Umbrella, despite the fact that the American branch was up to it's eyebrows in litigation and would most likely be found guilty of the events surrounding the destruction of Raccoon City, the trial was proceeding slowly. They had enough evidence to convict them of a crime, just not enough for a slam dunk that would prevent Umbrella's lawyers from dragging this on for as long as possible. So long as Umbrella continued to exist, they could keep using their facilities to produce more bio-weapons and sell them to the highest bidder.
Thankfully, it seemed that the final nail in the coffin had arrived. In his free time, Albert Wesker and the Birkins had continued to pursue means of destroying their old corporate overlords. While seeing Umbrella fall would be cathartic, the interest of Albert and William mostly surrounded the continued development of the T-Virus at the hands of Colonel Sergei Vladimir, an old rival of Wesker's.
They knew that Sergei was the last major Umbrella executive still producing B.O.W.s, and both were interested in stopping him and getting their hands on his research.
After some time, they had found some leads. With help from the Legion they managed to pinpoint the location of the labs that Sergei was working from. It was located in the Caucasus Mountain range in southern Russia.
The intent quickly became to send a Legion strike team led by Wesker to infiltrate these labs and capture or kill the colonel, and acquire all relevant data being worked on, the big issue would be making it past the RED QUEEN. A sentient computer system that was no doubt being used to oversee the facility and keep things safe.
Unfortunately, news swiftly reached them of a growing outbreak in the area. The events of which were eerily similar to what occurred in the Arklay Mountains before the Raccoon City Incident. This drew the attention of the Russian Federal Security Service and when news reached the UN, several private agents were offered to assist the FSB in the operation. Namely special agents Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, two former members of STARS, and survivors of the Raccoon City incident. They were also formerly subordinates of Wesker's and were no doubt looking for him.
With these two agents helping to lead the raid on the Caucasus laboratories, it meant that the Legion team would have to be much more stealthy to avoid being spotted as they didn't want anyone to know of their own private investigations into Bio-Weapons or Wesker's connection to the organization.
A bit of luck was on their side though, as the original plan to infiltrate the facility wasn't overly complicated by the FSB raid, they'd just have to proceed with a bit more caution.
After receiving the green light from Artoria to carry out their attack, they used the FSB raid as a distraction to sneak into the laboratories located beneath an old Russian chemical plant.
The operation went off without much issue. They managed to infiltrate the facility and overwhelm it's defenders in a lightning fast blitz while the raid still carried on around them. The ten man team managed to corner and kill Colonel Vladimir after his attempts to kill them failed. He tried injecting himself with the Tyrant variant of the T-Virus but that too failed to wipe out the team.
They succeeded in killing the man, with Naruko using the power of the Human Path to rip out his soul and gain access to all of his knowledge. With that they were able to power down the RED QUEEN and gather all manner of documents including the Umbrella Archives. Any remaining B.O.W.s were destroyed by the FSB raiders, including the newly developed TALOS project which was a means of creating a more weaponized Tyrant model. While the prototype was destroyed the data on it was acquired by Wesker for study and research.
The Legionnaire team finished their mission with precision and accuracy. Their presence there was a complete mystery, and they had escaped without casualties. The data they brought back to Albion for study while copies of certain bits of incriminating information were anonymously delivered to the FBI for use against Umbrella.
-April 2003-
It was finally done. With the addition of all the data provided by Albion, the Umbrella trials were brought to a close. Umbrella was found liable for all of the deaths in Raccoon City and the Arklay Mountains and were forced to pay every fine imaginable. Unable to fulfill those requirements the company was forced into bankruptcy and subsequently dissolved with most of the remaining board members arrested.
This put an end to the coordinated sale of Bio-organic Weapons to various groups, but it did not end the sales completely. With the fall of Umbrella, many an enterprising businessman, attempted to make a fortune for themselves by selling their own stock of B.O.W.s. Umbrella may not have been around anymore to make more of them, or fine tune the development of more Bio-Weapons, but that didn't mean they simply stopped existing. There were still those willing to use them, and so long as there was, there'd always be a market for them.
As a side note, it had now been three months since Riley had really spent any time with Daphne and her frustration was about to reach it's breaking point. This was something her wives were starting to take note of, though they didn't immediately know the cause. Daphne was oblivious to the situation, her mind constantly focused on her work, this left her mentally exhausted ninety-five percent of the time she wasn't working. The rest of her free time was used for eating or sleeping.
Needless to say, Riley was getting a bit frustrated.
-Riley's Home. July 18th 2003-
"I've got to hurry, I need to prepare for morning meetings." Daphne responded when Riley told her they needed to talk.
It was about six in the morning and Daphne had just risen to start readying herself for the day.
Riley stood in her way, her arms folded over her chest, and look of unmasked annoyance plastered on her face.
"Look, say what you need to, or we can go to Kamui or it'll have to wait for later, I really do have a busy day ahead of me." Daphne stated when she noticed Riley's look.
By now the rest of Riley's mates were beginning to stir. Already Yugito was sitting up, as was Katie. Artoria was also busying herself getting ready for the day, and had taken note of the standoff. All of them knew that something had been bothering Riley these last few months, but she'd been pretty quiet about it. They suspected it had something to do with Daphne, perhaps her working too much, which Fleur had asked her about. Daphne had admitted to them that she had been a bit busy lately and asked them if they could pick of her slack in regards to Riley. After hearing about that conversation, Artoria felt a bit guilty knowing that she was the one keeping Daphne so busy. Her sister-wife was simply too good at her job, and such an efficient problem-solver that it was easy to turn to her, and the Hellsing organization to get things done.
She'd spoken with Daphne about it, and while Daphne was insistent that things weren't that bad and there was nothing to be concerned with, since Riley hadn't mentioned it, Artoria had her doubts. She offered to let Daphne handle it, but insisted that sometime in the near future she was going to take a mandatory vacation and spend some time relaxing with her wife.
Daphne accepted without argument, though insisted that it wasn't something to be worried about, again because Riley would have said something if it was bothering her. Unfortunately, Artoria saw what Daphne obviously didn't, Riley was obviously growing frustrated, and for reasons Artoria didn't know she wasn't saying anything, but it was obvious from an outsiders perspective that something was going on there. Artoria didn't want to inject herself into their relationship, which was a viewpoint help by most of her sister-wives, but many of them were starting to notice some marital tension there.
Fleur and Katie had tried to talk to Riley about it, and she had been honest with them, she simply told them that she missed her wife and wanted to spend time with her without Daphne's mind constantly focused on work. They asked her if she had spoken with Daphne about this, and Riley had simply shaken her head and shrugged, her reply being that Daphne was just 'busy'.
Again, Artoria felt guilty when she'd heard that, and was committed to making sure Daphne took some time off, so that she wasn't drowning in her work. It was something that she was also committed to doing as Merlin and Hashirama were quick to point out that alongside Gaia, she was the next in line to spent the least amount of time with Riley, and in her case especially, as Riley was the princess of Albion, it was important that they kept up a healthy relationship.
Much like Daphne, Artoria admittedly didn't see any problems going on at the moment, but she agreed that that was most likely due to her simply being unable to see them, due to being the one within the situation, so she agreed with them to also take some time to spend with Riley and make sure their relationship was healthy and strong.
"You really have nothing to say to me?" Riley asked her, a threat entering into her tone.
Everyone picked up on it, including Daphne who glanced over at Riley and blinked several times in confusion.
Daphne's face seemed to scrunch in thought, as she tried to figure out what her wife was referring to. By now the rest of Riley's mates were awake, and watching the situation play out.
Before she spoke, Luna visibly cringed, almost as if she heard Daphne's words before she spoke them. The action was noticed out of the corner of Riley's eye and she visibly grew angry, even before Daphne started to speak.
"Say to you? I don't know what you're referring to." Daphne admitted. Most were left confused, save for Luna, who obviously knew. Riley glared at her before taking in a breath and lifting her gaze to the ceiling. After several long moments she let out a sigh, and shook her head.
"Whatever." Riley muttered, as she turned and stormed out of the room, much to the surprise of her mates.
Daphne was surprised and looked over at the others, her eyes questioning them on what just happened.
Most were left confused save for Luna, who rubbed at her temples and quickly crawled out of bed to go after Riley.
"What am I missing?" Daphne asked as Luna passed her, but Luna said nothing and just continued on.
"What day is it?" Fleur inquired leaving the question for all of them.
"The Eighteenth I believe." Yugito answered.
Silence held for a moment, as Fleur seemed thoughtful, when suddenly she realized what was going. Her realization came at the same time as Daphne.
"Fuck…" Daphne let out a sigh.
"Riley… I'm sorry, can we plea…" Daphne started to reach out over their mental bond, only to have the connection slammed shut. That reaction was almost worse than a physical blow for Daphne.
"I'm sorry, why is today important?" Yugito asked.
"It's their anniversary." Kaede answered, letting everyone who hadn't yet caught on know what the deal was.
"Oh…" Yugito uttered, realizing the seriousness of this.
"You don't seem surprised. I'd completely forgotten. Riley's usually gushing when one of out anniversaries or birthdays is coming up." Katie noted.
"I remembered it was today." Kaede replied.
"Why would you remember my anniversary?" Daphne asked in frustration, her anger more so at herself for having forgotten. In truth she wouldn't have forgotten it for long. Knowing well enough that both Walter and Seras would remind her when she got to Hellsing Manor. In fact, she vaguely recalled Walter mentioning something about her anniversary when they were planning her schedule, asking her if she wanted to postpone any of her meetings or work to have the day off. She had told him she'd just handle few tasks in the morning, and leave the rest of the day free. That had been three weeks ago, and had completely forgotten.
"It was the first time anyone had ever invited me to go to something so special. So it always stuck with me." Kaede answered, her words honestly surprising Daphne and causing her more hurt.
She turned and stormed out, looking for Riley and mentally berating herself for forgetting something so important.
She found Luna sitting on the front steps to their house just staring out. She was holding something which she offered to Daphne.
"Riley threw it in the grass before she vanished." Luna said to her.
Daphne took it, and found herself holding a silver necklace. It had a small blue sapphire shaped into the figure of a heart hanging from it.
Daphne didn't have to wonder what it was meant for. A gift for their anniversary. The jewel was the same color as Daphne's eyes had been before becoming Riley's path.
She let out a saddened sigh and sat next to Luna. She knew she had screwed up big time, and had disappointed and upset her wife.
She tried once more to reach out to Riley, but wherever she was, she wasn't listening.
"God dammit." Daphne sighed again as she rested her head in her hands. She felt Luna pat her back, offering her comfort, but it didn't do much to raise her spirits.
-In Kamui-
"So uh… guess it's gonna be a fight then." Kurama surmised.
"Fuck off, Kurama, I'm not in the mood." Riley growled back him.
"I told you, you should have just said something. All of that being understanding crap was gonna come back to bite you." Kurama threw back at her, more than happy to get into an argument about it, knowing full well that it would take Riley's mind off of how hurt she was. He'd rather her be angry at him, than hurt, even if he'd never openly admit that.
"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey I know you've been super busy lately, and I'm really proud of all the hard work you're putting into your job, but can you maybe cut back a little cuz I'm lonely and I miss you.'? How exactly does that question look when I have my seven other wives standing behind me. It makes me look needy, and selfish…" Riley argued in response.
"Um… you are needy and selfish. Did you forget that, or are you just being intentionally dense?" Kurama threw back at her.
"I… you… ya know what… fuck it! You're right, I'm wrong! I should have said something, now I'm pissed off!" Riley snapped in return.
"So… what do you want to do about it?" Kurama questioned in response.
Riley was quiet for a moment, as she sat there alone in Kamui. Finally she cracked her neck and rose to her feet. It had been awhile since she vented so she decided to do just that.
With a roar of anger, she let loose her power, unleashing a maelstrom of energy. That tore through the fabric of reality around herself. All physical matter in her Kamui dimension was soon swallowed up and destroyed, leaving her floating alone in an abyss of nothingness at it's end.
With little more than a thought, Kamui once more took shape, returning to what was before. Than with another thought it began to change, transforming into a city of various skyscrapers that stretched up to the heavens around her. It was a nondescript location, just an endless sea of buildings, which Riley proceeded to shred apart. She spent days wreaking havoc throughout her Kamui dimension, bathing in destruction.
It offered her little comfort, but it did provide her with a bit of joy at watching the devastation she caused.
She was probably in there doing nothing but raising hell for a day or two, before finally she decided to return to the physical world.
-London, Albion-
Most of the day had gone by as Riley sat atop a building and simply listened to the sounds of the city. Thankfully she knew that no one would be looking for her as they'd most likely believe she'd gone into Kamui so there wasn't really a point.
This meant that she didn't have to worry about someone sneaking up on her, or at least she though she didn't.
"Hey…" Came the voice of her twin, Naruko appearing beside her.
Riley made a face, and turned her gaze over to her twin who was standing over her.
"Your wives are worried sick about you, ya know." Naruko said to her.
"I'm sure they are. But I'm fine. Should have guessed you'd sense me here. They telling everyone what happened?" Riley inquired.
"I don't know, I'm not everyone. Daphne was asking Sasuke if he could send her to your dimension after failing to convince Katie to do it. Katie was pretty sure you needed a bit of space to clear your head, and invading your pocket dimension without your permission wasn't going to help the situation. Sasuke was inclined to agree with that sentiment but I overheard everything, and I could already sense you here in London, so I came to check on you." Naruko explained as she sat down beside Riley.
"So… how are you feeling?" Naruko asked after a few seconds of silence went by.
"Eh… just upset is all. I know she didn't do it on purpose, and I know she cares about me, but it hurts, being forgotten like that. Especially today of all days. I mean… it's our anniversary. The day we were married. That alone should be enough of a reason to never forget it but… … …" Riley paused there as she felt she was beginning to rant, so she simply shook her head and held her tongue.
"But what?" Naruko encouraged her to go on, sensing something deeper there.
"But it's more than that. We were attacked, someone tried to kill us. I took the Killing Curse for her without even an ounce of hesitation. I mean… I knew it was unlikely to kill me, but I didn't think about that in that moment. I shielded her, protected her, and then… I went to war for her. The only reason we joined the Fourth Great Ninja War was because of that. I was the one who encouraged it. Had it not been for that, we might not have ever participated in the war itself. I would have helped Gaia, I know I would have, but the war itself… no… we only went there because I made us, and I made us because that damned serpent Orochimaru tried to kill me and my wife. How does anyone forget that? How do you just forget a day like that, that was so focal in our lives, for good and ill? I just… I don't know… maybe no… I know I'm just overthinking it… I'm making more out of it than it is… I'm just frustrated." Riley answered honestly.
"I've noticed these last couple of months a bit of tension between you and Daphne, and I've overheard some of your wives mention it when they think no one else is listening. Is something more going on?" Naruko asked her.
Riley let out a rueful chuckle, and shook her head.
"What?" Naruko questioned.
"It's stupid." Riley responded.
"What is?" Naruko pressed.
"Do you know how long it's been for her since we last had sex?" Riley asked in response causing Naruko to blink a bit in surprise but then shake her head.
"It's been six months for her." Riley said to her.
"Oh… and how long has it been for you?" Naruko inquired, knowing full well that it was going to be something ridiculous.
"Four years…" Riley answered, honestly.
"Yikes…" Naruko winced, knowing her sister well enough to know how much she enjoyed being intimate with her mates.
"Yeah… and I know how it looks complaining about it. I mean… it's not like I haven't tried to be intimate with her, but last night was just the straw that broke the camels back. I wasn't going to confront her this morning, first thing when we woke up, since I knew she'd likely have a lot on her mind, and I knew she was going to work some today, but that she'd specifically taken off tonight so we could spend time together but last night, I tried to be intimate with her when she got home, even took her to Kamui for a bit so she could unwind, relax and not have to worry about stress, or not getting enough sleep, but when I tried, I could sense her feelings, and I could tell she thought was being clingy or needy. It was like she was too mentally exhausted by everything. She didn't say anything, and she didn't outright refuse, or tell me no or push me away, but I could tell she was just tired, and annoyed. I don't know I just felt defeated after that. I let her rest, and played the whole thing off, and I don't think she really noticed. I tried to just forget about it, but I spent all of our remaining time in Kamui and then back in our own beds thinking about it, and getting angrier and angrier. Finally it was morning and I just confronted her out of nowhere." Riley explained everything. She didn't know why she was confiding in Naruko, she just was. Maybe it was her own exhaustion over the situation. She didn't really know.
"Well… I can understand why you're so frustrated and stormed off like you did. I don't think anyone would blame you. I think you guys just need to talk this out. You've always been good at communicating with your mates. I mean, you practically tell them everything don't you? Why didn't you say anything before now?" Naruko inquired.
"You're not the first person to make that point. Kurama's been on my case about it too. I chose to hold my tongue because I know how important this job is for Daphne. She's always wanted to be successful to be known for her skills and abilities. Being trusted like she is, to handle the things that she is, it really means a lot to her, and she wants to do a good job. She's always been this way, always wanted to be successful. I'm proud of the job she's doing, I really am. I think she's great at what she does, I think she's wise and thoughtful, and handles her duties responsibly and carefully. Artoria honestly couldn't ask for a better adviser or a head of the Hellsing Organization. I just didn't want to be the one to jump in and berate her for not keeping up with our relationship on top of everything else she's been focused on. I also didn't know how to say the things I needed to say without I sounding like I was whining. I know I let it go on too long, and I hurt myself because of it. I guess… maybe the reason why I was trying to hard to be understanding is because of why I wanted it so badly." Riley admitted again.
"What does that mean?" Naruko asked.
"I've been thinking a lot about having a baby. Me I mean… and I want Daphne to be the one to help me make it. I don't really know why I settled on her. I know Fleur would be happy to do it. Katie probably would. Kaede definitely. Luna probably. Maybe Yugito too. The only one who probably wouldn't without time to think about it, would be Gaia and Artoria. Still… for some reason I wanted it to be Daphne. I know she's too busy right not to get pregnant. That would just be hell on her, but I really want us to have a family, and a part of me thought, considering I'm looking to have my first, that it would work out perfectly. I don't know… I know I've got to talk to her about it, and lay everything out, but I also know I'm gonna probably come off as sounding like an asshole, and putting too much on her." Riley explained herself, earning genuine surprise from Naruko, before she understood.
"Well I think the solution is simple, you guys just need to talk. Explain how you feel, and try to work towards a solution. Hiding out here and being pissed off isn't gonna fix this. Hinata and I don't really argue about much and I don't think we've ever had an actual fight, but she has confronted me about working so much, so I've kinda been on the opposite side of this situation where Daphne is. It's just something you lose track of, you get so fixated on things, and when you have a partner that's easy to be with who looks our for you and doesn't want to cause you any grief, you just get swallowed up in your pursuits. Sometimes I think you need someone to remind you that there's more going on in your life and you need to slow down and see it. I know Daphne's been doing nothing but trying to get a hold of you so you two can talk. So I say, you go and talk to her, and work through this. That way you don't have to spend that rest of your anniversary pissed off at your wife." Naruko told her, rising to her feet and offering Riley her hand.
Riley stared at her hand for a moment before sighing and taking it. She allowed Naruko to pull her to her feet, and gave her a curious look.
"Good talk." Riley hummed after a moment giving her twin a smirk, and earning a confused look from Naruko.
She then tapped Naruko's shoulder and leaped off the building. After taking a moment to wonder what that was about, Naruko followed after her.
The two took the long way home, obviously just running there, despite all of the other means of travel that Riley possessed, but Naruko offered no complaints. It was late in the day by this point, with the sun already starting to set.
Naruko traveled with her just long enough to make it to Riley's house before leaving her, having done what she needed to, she left things in Riley's hands now.
Riley walked into her home, making sure that those inside heard her when she did. She could hear people talking in the kitchen, but it all went silent the moment they heard her. A few seconds went by as people began poking their heads out. First it was Sirius and Kushina, than Hashirama, than Daphne came out too. Many of them seemed surprised to see her, almost as if they expected her to be gone longer.
Daphne quickly approached her, while more of her family poked their heads out to see what was going on.
"Riley…!" Daphne began.
"Let's talk." Riley offered her hand to her.
Daphne nodded and took it, the two disappearing into Kamui as everyone else watched on.
-Kamui-
Riley and Daphne appeared in Riley's pocket dimension which had been returned to it's original state.
"Riley, I'm so sorry about forgetting today. I have no excuse…" Daphne began.
"Yes you do. You've been busy." Riley responded, pulling away from her as she did, to go and sit on a rock.
"That's not an excuse." Daphne argued.
"Okay, but it is a reason." Riley conceded without conflict.
"You're usually a lot more vocal about these things coming up. Why didn't you say anything?" Daphne asked softly.
"You've been busy, and I've been upset about it for a while now. A part of me wanted to see if you'd remember so I didn't say anything." Riley admitted, causing Daphne to sigh. She then moved and sat beside Riley.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forgotten. I wont let it happen again." Daphne promised her.
"It's alright. I let this get out of hand. I should have confronted you months ago when I was starting to notice this, but I didn't. I let it go on because I thought it would end on it's own. I didn't, and now things are worse." Riley groaned out.
"You aren't the one to blame Riley. Don't put this on you. I've… I've been distant these last couple of weeks. I just… I've got so much going on and I'm putting my all into it, and when I'm not there at work, I'm thinking about what tomorrow will bring. You been trying to spend time with me, and I'm thankful for it, I usually don't have to put much thought into it. You're so easy to be with, and things don't feel so crowded. I know that isn't right. It isn't fair to you." Daphne countered her.
Riley said nothing to this, she merely stared off into the middle distance.
"I promise I wont let it get like this again. I need you in my life Riley, you're my rock. You give me support when I need it, and your opinion means everything to me. I know I've been drowning myself in work, and it's been at the detriment of our relationship. I promise I wont let it interfere anymore." Daphne said to her trying to get some sort of response from Riley, who still remained silent.
"How long do you think this has been going on for?" Riley asked her.
Daphne gave her a curious look but then thought on it. She knew she had to get this right, as she once more sensed that edge to Riley's voice. She had said something wrong, somewhere in there she had said something that had annoyed or upset Riley so she had to answer the question truthfully, but also honestly.
"Several weeks at least." Daphne answered, knowing that it had been going on for a while now.
Riley clicked her teeth at that, and annoyance danced across her face. Daphne almost winced as she knew that the answer was wrong. That though surprised her. Had it been more than a few weeks? Daphne suspected at least two months, maybe three, but was it more than that?
"I don't know when it officially started, but all I know for certain is that we haven't had sex in nearly six months." Riley admitted to her with her frustration and annoyance evident on her face.
Daphne blinked at that, realizing just how deep in the doghouse she actually was. She recalled the previous night, and how Riley had quickly whisked her away into Kamui when she arrived home. Daphne had been completely drained from the long day at work. She had more meeting today and the day before than usual, though that was because she was taking half a day off today. When Riley had taken her there, she had hoped it would be to just help her rest and relax so she could unwind from the chaotic last few days, but Riley being Riley, was interested in other things. She vividly recalled how Riley had started getting handsy with her, kissing her and feeling her up. She remembered feeling annoyed because with Riley, this was never just a quick thing. She'd be at it for an hour at least, leaving her more tired, before she finally to rest like she wanted to. She remembered just accepting whatever was going on, and tried to return Riley's affections, but her wife quickly settled in, and let her go to sleep. While that had been surprising for the briefest of moments, Daphne hadn't put any thought into it, and just went to sleep.
Now knowing what she did… six months…
She immediately wanted to throw up. Knowing that it had been that long, and that Riley had been trying to initiate just last night… she didn't need to ask why Riley had chosen to stop. In the moment, Daphne hadn't recognized it, or had thought that she had misread the situation, but now that she was looking back on it clearly she knew that the reason why Riley had stopped was because Daphne was annoyed and only participating because she wanted to get it over with so she could rest and relax. Putting it into perspective like that, was really eye opening, and it.
"Okay… I did not realize it was 'that' bad. I-I don't even know what to say. I feel like shit." Daphne uttered in disbelief.
"Don't feel bad… I don't want you to feel bad." Riley said to her, turning to face her as she did. "I'm the one who let this go on for as long as it did. I know for a fact you wouldn't have carried on like this if I had brought it to your attention. I should have just said something, brought it up when I first noticed it, and we wouldn't be here now. I know you Daph, I know how you are. If I had just told you how I felt you would have fixed it."
"I appreciate that Riley, but I still should have noticed. I've been blowing you off all this time, and that's not how a marriage is supposed to be. I promise I wont ever let it happen again." Daphne countered her, knowing full well that the lack of intimacy between them over the last six months was entirely on her, and not Riley. Riley obviously tried, but Daphne was too swept up in her work, to notice or reciprocate.
After a few moments, Daphne reached into her pocket and retrieved the necklace that Riley had gotten for her, and placed it in Riley's hand.
Riley glanced down at what Daphne had given her and saw the necklace. It was something simple yet elegant that she'd had made for her wife. Something that she could wear without overly clashing with her work attire. It was simple, but beautiful, Riley stared at it for a long moment, vividly recalling how she'd tossed it into the grass as she stormed out of the house earlier.
"You can have this back. It was meant for you." Riley said to her, offering it back, but Daphne shook her head in the negative.
"Hold on to it. Give it to me when you feel I deserve it. It was supposed to have meaning, and right now it wouldn't feel right to accept something so beautiful after hurting you." Daphne responded.
"Daph… you didn't hurt me… I mean… okay yeah, you did, but I forgive you for it. You should have this. I made it for you." Riley argued.
"I'm not just talking about the last six months. I'm talking about yesterday. I didn't understand, I just thought it was you being your normal self, and I was annoyed. Seven other wonderful women, and you chose to bother me when I had so much else on my mind. I was aggravated and annoyed, and I didn't understand, and for the first time ever in our relationship, you pulled away. I didn't think about, didn't recognize it at the time. You were just trying to spend some time with your wife the day before our anniversary. You even took me to this place so we could spend as much time together as we wanted too, without having to worry about the outside world. I was being self-centered, and I took out my problems on you. I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry. You got that for your wife, and I haven't been acting like one. So hold on to it. Give it to me when you're ready to, when we're back where we should be." Daphne explained herself. She was upset with herself, upset that she'd let things go on this long, and let her relationship with her wife take such a heavy blow. She had always been a perfectionist, and had always wanted things to be the best they could be. It was a driving for in her work and daily life. It was who she was a person. Somewhere along the line she'd stopped putting in the work in her relationship, and it had led to this. She couldn't let it happen again. Seeing Riley storm off, because she felt she needed to get away from her, it made Daphne feel low, lower than she'd ever felt.
To her knowledge, none of her sister-wives had ever had a fight like this with Riley. Never had driven Riley to the point where she had to walk away and get some space. Being the first one to manage it, made Daphne feel like shit. It was their six year anniversary, and they'd never had a major fight, until now. Though in truth, they hadn't really fought, but all things considered, Daphne would remember this as a fight, and one she was on the wrong side of, despite Riley's insistence that she understood.
There was silence held between them for a moment, before Riley gave her a smile, and placed the necklace around Daphne's neck. Daphne blinked at her, but Riley just smiled again and kissed her on the cheek.
"I forgive you, my love. I promise I'll communicate better." Riley said to her.
Daphne stared back at her for a moment before letting out a sigh, and reaching up to touch the necklace. She let out another sigh and gave Riley a smile.
"You're charming when you wanna be, ya know that?" Daphne said to her.
"I try to be." Riley responded, her smile growing.
The two held each others gaze for few moments before Daphne allowed her eyes to fall.
She seemed thoughtful for a moment, but finally she spoke up. "I'm not placing the onus on you or anything when I ask this, I'm just curious, why didn't you say anything?"
"Well… I knew if I said something, we'd probably start fighting about why I couldn't just spend time with my other wives, and why I was so focused on you, and then I'd have to tell you how I'd been thinking about when we'd start a family, and how now wasn't the right time, and I didn't want to place even more stress on you, by putting that over your head. So it just became this big thing, and I just decided to wait it out." Riley answered.
Daphne was visibly surprised by that. Riley had answered honestly, and now Daphne was left embarrassed and a bit shell shocked.
"You want to start our family?" Daphne asked softly.
"Well yeah… I mean we've been married for six years, and been together longer than that. Of course I want to start our family." Riley answered her.
Daphne was quiet for a few long moments as she took that in, so Riley continued on.
"I know now isn't a good time. I just want you to know that I've been thinking about it." Riley conceded.
"You're right, with everything going on there's no way I could manage a baby right now. Let alone being pregnant, that wouldn't be good for the baby with all the stress I've been under. I want it too, Riley. I really do. I promise I'll find a way to delegate so that we can actually have the time we need." Daphne responded to her, her voice soft as she considered the idea of having a child of her own.
"Well I want that too, I know I'd love to see you as a mother, but I was more so, talking about me. Now that I kinda know what to expect with a demonic pregnancy, I'm comfortable with trying it out on myself, and I wanted my first to be with you. I know that likely isn't possible with how busy you are, but it is something I want. Someday, when we're ready." Riley admitted to her, earning genuine surprise from Daphne.
"I just want you to know that. It's something I want… to be a mother, to have a child of my own. I want you to know that I thought of you first. I don't really know why, but you were the first one to come to mind when I was trying to decide who I wanted to mother a child with first. I know it likely isn't possible. It's something I want, but I don't know if I can wait that long for it to be you. Just know that I want it with you, alright? Whenever the time is right. When you're ready, I will be too." Riley continued on.
Daphne was silent for a few long moments. Her heart leaped at the idea of being the first to give Riley a child of her own. She didn't fully understand why it was her that was chosen, only that it was, and it killed her to know that she might lose that opportunity. A part of her knew, deep down, after hearing all of this and what Riley wanted from her, that if she saw Riley pregnant with another of her wives' child, she'd be jealous, and she'd be angry at herself for that no being her. She knew that now wasn't the time for it. She had just gone six months neglecting her wife, and she couldn't bear the idea of doing it to her own child. She needed to get things in order, she needed to get herself situated. She wanted this family with Riley and she wanted to be the one to give Riley her first child.
"Riley… how long do you think you can wait?" Daphne asked her.
"Wait?" Riley blinked. "Well I'll wait forever for you. Like I said…"
"No I mean… for you having a baby. How long do you think you can wait for me? I know you want it, and I want to give it to you. How long do you think you can wait before you can't wait for me anymore?" Daphne asked her.
Riley seemed thoughtful as she considered that. She saw in Daphne's eyes that desire, that want to have that family. Daphne did want it, she just couldn't have it right now.
Seeing that want in her eyes, Riley felt herself smile. She pulled Daphne into a hug and whispered in her ear. "I'll wait as long as I have to."
"Give me a year, alright. One year to get everything settled and sorted. Either I'm in a position where we can start our family sometime in the next year, or… if I'm not, than I want you to pick someone else, and have your first with them. Give me one year." Daphne whispered back to her.
"One year? Alright. By our seventh anniversary then, we'll have started our family." Riley agreed with a beaming smile.
The two held each other in their embrace for a short while, just enjoying each other's company. Finally Riley rose to her feet and offered Daphne her hand.
"Ready to go home? I can give you a massage and we can have a nice bath." Riley offered to her.
Daphne gave her a curious look before smirking. "Is that all you were planning on doing?"
Riley seemed thoughtful for a second, before nodding and offering a simply 'yup'.
"Oh come on. After all this, you're really gonna play hard to get?" Daphne questioned her as she rose to her feet.
"Hey, I spent half a year chasing after you. If you want anything, you're gonna have to chase after me. It's been six months for you, a few years for me. Honestly, I've forgotten what it's like." Riley shrugged in response, her few years comment, earning shock from Daphne.
It was just now she was remembering that facet of Riley's life, and just how long this had been going on for her. Riley was playing it off, but Daphne knew without a doubt she had to start working to make up for this.
Riley started to turn away, but Daphne quickly gabbed her and moved forward, kissing her roughly. The kiss was quickly returned by Riley and the two fell down to the grass where they slowly peeled each other's clothes off and started working to make up for the last six months.
The first major marital problem Riley had run into with any of her wives, and it was unlikely to be the last. Still it taught her some important lessons, lessons she would take into her other relationships to make sure situations like this didn't happen again.
She also had the excitement of knowing that possibly within a year, she'd be having a baby with Daphne. That alone was worth all of this madness.
-January 1st 2004-
A lot had happened over the last several months, the world continued along as it was apt to do. Daphne finally managed to settle into a comfortable work rhythm and with Artoria's help she managed to actually have some time to enjoy life.
This culminated in the decision to finally start their family on New Years Eve.
The event wasn't much of a surprise to people, but it did come suddenly. Riley was pregnant now, a powerful demonic entity now grew within her, and similarly to Kaede, already Riley was starting to feel it's growing consciousness. Her family doted on her, and were overjoyed at the news. Riley being pregnant was definitely going to shake things up, but for now in it's earliest stages, all was still pretty normal.
Daphne was positively beaming, knowing that she and Riley had conceived a child together. It was certainty a time to celebrate.
Riley's pregnancy was a major point of interest for her family, and it looked to stay that way for some time. Kushina, Madara, Hashirama, and Kaguya, all gushed in their own way about Riley being pregnant.
-Artoria's office. London, Albion. January 21st 2004-
Artoria busied herself with paper work, just going about her day when she picked up a page sealed envelope, only for her eyes to catch the dim glow of magic ebbing off of it. Instantly she dropped the envelope, alerting her advisers to the situation.
"A magical seal, placed to ensure only one person can open this envelope." Merlin noted after examining the note. "It seems to be keyed into you, your majesty."
"Someone sent a message that only I could read?" Artoria questioned.
"It would seem that way. I can take a bit of your magic and separate it from the whole and use it to open the seal. That should prevent any possible curses or traps from affecting you directly." Merlin offered.
"Someone went through a lot of trouble to send that." Madara noted.
"Yes, though something tells me that it wasn't meant as an attack. I think a trap would be more innocuous then this. Besides, it already passed through our sensors and wards, and none of them picked up anything malicious." Artoria agreed, offering her hand to Merlin to carry out his plan.
The Magus did so, and unlocked the envelope. He then carefully removed it's contents, finding a letter held inside.
After giving it a quick check just to make sure no other magic was put in place on the paper, he passed it to Artoria for her to open and read.
She did so, the first words of the letter, shocked her, and nearly knocked the wind out of her.
'Saber, if you are reading this then it means I am gone, and that the worst has come to pass, and I need your help.'
Artoria sat down, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Queen Artoria? What's the matter?" Tobirama asked her.
"This letter… it's from Kiritsugu Emiya. The man who summoned me to fight in the Fourth Holy Grail War. I thought he was dead." Artoria responded, her eyes flickering to the end of the letter to see it signed by Kiritsugu, confirming her suspicions.
"What does it say?" Madara asked her.
The next line of the letter, filled Artoria with a cold dread. It seemed that the time of peace and growth that they were enjoying, was about to be interrupted.
'If this message has made it to your hands, that means that my worst fears have been realized, and the Fifth Grail War, is about to begin…'
-To Be Continued-
Alright guys and gals, we made it through a bit of a time jump, and have arrived at the start of the Fifth Holy Grail war. Riley is pregnant, and as we saw with Kaede it'll be a fast one. How will that affect Riley's own involvement in the Grail War, and what comes afterwards? Only time will tell. Happy to finally make it here. I had planned on adding in a small part about Resident evil 4 but turns out that takes place in august of 2004 and most of what I've found for the Fifth Grail War puts it at the start of the year, so that'll come later. Hope you all enjoy, and are looking forward to this arc. It's gonna be decently big, and a lot is going to happen. This'll finally draw Riley into contact with the mages and be their full introduction into the story. Can't wait. Until then!