Open World: Level Up

by BioQuill

Button Mash ran away from home, running deep into the heart of the Everfree Forest without knowing he has a near death encounter with the local wildlife he wakes up in a bed that's not his, in a building not his house, on a world not his own, in a universe he can't even begin to understand.

13. Chapter 13: Lilly's Children Part 1

The next day came and after a late night planning with the girls I had a way to work this out. They had all the kids organized in their assistants. Everything from their mothers to age and all that. They gave me a list of them, organized by their mother, and starting off with Lilly's children I was off to find my son Leaf.

His photo showed he took after his mother, not just being a lamia but also had grass for hair, a moss like coat of fur and their scales were rather akin to tree bark. Oh they're my… oh. They can know that so young? Then again there was a few… I mean, Featherweight is now a mare so… Well, was back home anyway…

Transgender son… huh.

"I know we have gender swap potions." I said with a frown, wondering about that.

I arrived at child bedroom number 14, this was Leaf's. Opening the door I spotted them curled up on their bed, reading a book. Various small plants were around the room. I noticed they were wearing a neon blue shirt, and were face deep in a book.

"Hey Leaf." I said to my child.

They looked up from their book. "Oh, hey… dad." Leaf said, closing their book and putting it to the side. "That feels… weird to say…"

"I know…" I sighed. "How are you doing today?"

"Just chilling. What brings you here?"

"Just want to try and connect with my kids after…I've been gone for so long."

"Oh. Uh… okay. Well, I guess we should maybe talk first then." Leaf said as they slithered off the bed and in front of me. "So… how much do you know about me? If any?"

"They gave me a…long list of things, both your name, age, and just general things I should know before talking to you." I shrugged. "How much do you know about me?"

"Well… I know you liked video games. Would watch Futurama a lot, hoarded poptarts like they were going out of style, and for a while before leaving you worked as a guard. Other than that… not that much." Leaf said. "Do you… know about me being… Wow, this was hard telling moms… never actually imagined I'd have to tell you…"

That stung… but I also understood…

"Well, I was curious about a thing." I started. "Well, two things, one is why do you see yourself as a boy, and two is…well, is there an age limit to using gender swap potions?"

"I see myself as a boy because I am one dad. I was born a girl but… that's not what I am… who I am. And yes, for the permanent gender swap potion the doctors all say you have to at least be thirteen to take the potion. I'm already registered on a list to receive one on my thirteenth birthday. Me and some of the others too."

"Alright, good to know." I nodded. "And two… how long have you known?"

"... Since I was little, I'd play more with other boys. Girl toys and activities never interested me, neither did girl clothes. I didn't care for long hair or dresses or any of that. Last year in class we were learning about how the world and all it offers allows people to express how they wish to be. Changing species, age, gender, all at will whenever was well within anyone's right. Even if the New Foundation had no ties to it, they consider themselves part of the rest of civilized creation and follow their laws as well for their citizens. That's when I learned about transgenderism and… a lot of things clicked into place. My body never felt right nor did I really like seeing myself in the mirror. It just looked wrong for as long as I could remember."

"I understand." I nodded. "And I believe you, I trust you and want you to know that I accept you for who you are." I said readily, they're my kid. They are who they are, and I missed a lot in their life. I'm not missing anything else. "So, I read up that you enjoy reading, what kind of books do you like?"

"Oh, well I was reading Chronicles of Helio just now." Leaf said, slithering over and picking their book up. "It's about a child born to a family of feared necromancers, but when their castle is invaded he's taken by a warlock and is grown up and taught to be a cleric."

"When your family thinks they're above god due to necromancy, then get's saved by a strong wizard who doesn't need a god, and then proceeds to pray to god for powers…I'm probably missing a lot of context in the in between but that summary sounds both really interesting and funny."

"Heh, yeah you are." They chuckled. "Clerics don't pray to a god in this story, they just focus on healing and barrier magic only. Some of his surviving family do try to kidnap him to get him to revive his parents and other fallen family and the whole book is about them figuring out if Healing Magic and Necromancy can co-exist or might even be two sides of the same field of magic. I'm barely halfway though, not sure what will happen but I think they've been hinting on that being true."

"Well…technically?" I said with some thought. "I mean, there are creatures that are 'healed' by Negative Energy, and most forms of fiction has Necromancy be a form of Negative Energy conduit…" I said, now thinking about the logistics of all that.

"Other than this I just finished reading Deltora Quest."

"Deltora Quest?" I inquired. "What's that about?"

"The character has the same name as me. He goes on an adventure to save his kingdom from this like, demon ruler that took over long before he was born and gather these magic gems to repel the demon and save everyone. At the end the gems all need to be put into a belt made centuries ago and they need to be put in order to spell the name of the kingdom, Deltora, and the person and long time traveling ally he thought was the heir to the kingdom actually wasn't. It ends up being him."

"That sounds really cool." I said honestly.

"It was. A friend from school recommended it and I'm glad I read it."

"That's good to hear." I nodded. "What other books or hobbies do you like?" I inquired.

"Oh, well as you can see, I make use of my Fae magic." They said, motioning to all the plants around them.

"Yes, I do see that." I nodded. "And you seem to be pretty strong with it if you're making all these nice plants."

"It's not that hard. Being part Fae, it comes naturally. So, do you want to do something together?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" I asked, wanting this to be a day with me getting to know Leaf so I'll do what they want.

"Well… Can we go to the bookstore?"

"Sure." I nodded. "Then maybe I can show you one of my favorite books."

"Sure!"

With that, Leaf led me along, slithering next to me as we left the apartment and I made my way through town. There was a lot that changed about the place. There was no more of the few bits of cracks and rough roads, now replaced by greenery and benches, working street lights and such. The bookstore was fair sized. Upon entering I was greeted by the scent of paper, some dust, and the faint aroma of coffee and sweets.

"Hey." The store clerk, a humanoid looking lady with long blue hair and doe like ears on her head. "Hello again Leaf. Who's this?"

"This is… my dad." Leaf said.

"You're- Oh. Um, nice to meet you." The lady said, giving me a wave. "I'm Thia, Leaf has been coming here since they were six."

"I'm glad to hear that." I nodded. "I'm Button Mash…and I was on a special mission that needed me away for…too long…" I sighed.

"I… heard the rumors…" They said. "You go along, we got some new books in the usual spot." Leaf left with a nod, slithering off happily. Once Thia and I were alone she looked at me. "I genuinely did not think you'd be back."

"If I let my anger get to me…I…I might never have come back…" I said sadly. "I…I want to make it up to everyone so much…"

"Well, you being here is a good start." She nodded. "Still, the rumors going around are largely painting you in a… negative light."

I sighed. "What are they saying."

"Mostly what you'd expect. Runaway dad, lost interest and left, that kind of bile. When they found out you were going to the Nexus capitol some thought you were joining them… Is that true? That you went there, I mean."

I took a deep breath, trying not to get pissed enough to produce claws and destroy the ground underneath me. "The Planet literally told me to do it." I said carefully.

"True or not, talk like that will make people think you did join those psychos."

"I. Did. Not." I said, staring into her eyes as fury threatened to burn over me. "I saw what they did…I was forced to do something I didn't want to so that I could be with my family, I would never join them, and I'd sooner have become a slave then join them." I growled, even as I was trying to reign in my anger and rage cause she was just the messenger…I took a deep breath. "I'm…I'm so sorry Thia…it's…it's just been really rough for me ever since I got back…"

"I… well, I can't really imagine but I can sympathize. A good amount of my regulars are your kids. I don't know what you did out there, and I won't ask, just don't be surprised if some people treat you like a pariah sometimes. When it comes to Nexus, or any of the Chaos Guilds, there's a lot of justified fear and phobia. People do stupid things when they're scared and angry… and given your temper I'm seeing… try not to give them fuel. For your family's sake."

"I'm trying my best…" I sighed. "I went there to try and do something to stop this ever growing mess we call a world…even if it was just a minor step, a step nonetheless."

"Well, whatever you did, hope it works out. Leaf should be by the new books in the middle over there on the right. Most of our stock comes from spawned loot and some Greed Guild run publishers."

"Alright." I nodded. "Can you tell me some of Leaf's favorites?"

"It's better if Leaf tells you. That way you two can bond over that."

I nodded, figuring that would actually be better.

Walking into the store and around the shelves and tables and finding Leaf looking at a large table piled high with books. The sign hung from the ceiling above the table read 'New Arrivals'.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"Mostly browsing." He said, looking through the books and reading over the descriptions. "I like adventure and fantasy stories most."

"Same." I nodded, looking over the books to see if I could help him with finding a good book.

Most of these seemed to be some survival guides for specific zones. Some looked like autobiographies chronicling people's lives on the planet. Ah here's something- Not suited for kids!

Okay maybe this? The Grand Duke of Purgatory Finds A Family? Okay. Odd title. Oh it's a manga? They make hardcover manga? That's actually kinda cool.

"Hmm…" I looked over at Leaf, who was looking between two books. One was titled 'The Dragon and The Ogre' and the other 'Magic Meets Modern Life'.

"You can get both if you want." I said honestly. "There's always time for reading."

"But I don't have enough…" Leaf sighed.

"And I have enough." I said. "You can grab whatever you want, my travels gave me…a lot of rem." I said, which was the truth at least.

"Are you sure?" They asked. "Moms don't talk about it, but they worry about the house budget. Even with the garden and some of the older ones with jobs, there's certain things they still have to buy and bulk." Leaf sighed as they looked at the books again.

"And I have gotten two centillion rem from my adventures." I answered simply…and somehow, the Library felt even quieter for some reason.

"W-what have you killed to get that much?!" Leaf yelped.

… Well, a fair chunk did come from fighting… the rest… yeah I am not telling that…

"Well, with the help of Three, who said I could keep all the money because he didn't really need it…I killed…" I hummed, trying to think of something. "Ah, I remember, an Ancient Amilictli, the All Relentless Thunder" I said, which made him tilt his head in confusion. "Alright, so do you know the Hulk? How they get stronger the angrier they get? Well it's basically that, but it's an Abomination in the form of a humanoid Tornado that could summon Thunder Wyrm's at will, can literally shoot beams of concentrated rage from it's eyes, and was currently on a massive warpath towards…something." I said honestly.

"...How do you even kill that?"

"By forcing it to calm down." I said honestly. "Cause it got weaker the less times we hit it, and it looked like it was already in a battle, so we had to stall for time, and when it got back to some 'normal-ish' size, the both of us hit it as hard as we could, even though Three did the hardest hit cause…he's really strong."

"...Sounds like that took longer than it should have."

"As someone that uses rage powers, calming down can be surprisingly quick if you know how it works." I said honestly. "Cause it's rage was based on it getting hit, so if you don't hit it, while it's still mad, it does lose it's strength."

"Huh… So, I can really get both books?"

"You can buy any number of books you want." I said with a smile.

"Umm… okay."

In the end, I bought Leaf over fifty new books. Thia was looking forwards to me coming back with my other bookworm children she knows as regulars. With those stored into his Assistant we continued on through town.

"So dad, I was wondering," Leaf started. "How did you get… mom?" He asked.

I sighed. "It was a long time ago, back when I was struggling to make ends meet and keep up being a good spouse…Parker and some of his friends…rescued her from some bad people…then none of them wanted her because of…what she has become, but I chose to be with her, cause I cared and didn't want to see her just…blindfolded and unable to do anything."

Leaf looked down. "You mean remained an unowned Breeder." He said. I looked over at him. "I know what mom is… all of us know what our birth mothers are… I saw her for the first time when she and the others came back with you the other day. I'd only ever seen her in that stasis pod before, so seeing her out and moving was… well, I wasn't sure what to think…"

I sighed. "I'm sorry Leaf…" I shook my head. "I wish things were better…"

"I did talk with her." He added. "She… knew my name, before I even told her." He smiled. "I don't know how, but she recognized me and even knew I was a boy… How did she do that?"

… That is actually a very good question…

"Uh…I don't know." I answered.

"Hmm, well, what's mom like? I know she's a Breeder but… is there anything… unique about her?"

That actually did make me smile.

"Well, she's smart, kind…and she has a love for books, and sure while her favorite is romance and she…likes to imagine it's me and her, she really likes reading…one of the first thing's we showed she could do in life other than her programming and her smile when she talks about it is…wonderful."

"I guess I get my love of books from her then." Leaf smiled. "So, did you ever play sports dad?"

… sports video games…

"Uh…I have." I said noncommittally.

"Oh like what? I usually play either Baseball, Tennis or Lacrosse." Leaf said. "Though it's mostly just with friends on weekends."

"Hoofball." I said carefully, not wanting to admit that I have never done sports ever.

"Hoofball? How do you play that? Is it an Equine sport from your home?"

"Yes, it is an Equine sport from my home in Equestria." I said honestly. "I don't remember the specifics since it's been a very long time."

"Oh, guess we can't play it then." Leaf frowned. "Wanna play tennis instead?"

"Sure, I haven't played tennis before." I said honestly.

"It's easy to learn, hard to master because of how fast you have to move to keep up with the ball. Keeping track of the ball can be tricky too and there's several types of tennis, or so I hear. I haven't played or seen any other than basic tennis."

"Well, we can play the basic version if you want." I said readily "I do have some good telekinesis so I can use whatever's needed to hit the ball."

"Okay, there's a tennis court in the park." Leaf said as he led the way… there's a park now?

A bit of a walk later, we arrived at a huge park. Lots of trees, green grass, ponds, a small river, picnic tables and public bathrooms. If memory serves me right… and my mini map, this used to be part of the warehouses I would do Runs at for large chunks of scrap metal and concrete mix. It's almost impossible to believe it changed this much.

We walked up to the tennis court, seeing there was another kid playing against an automatic tennis ball launcher.

He was older than Leaf, and a bipedal shark person? "Oh cool, it's Trever." Leaf said.

"Trevor?" I inquired, trying to remember if he was one of my kids or one of Leaf's friends.

"Yeah, he's a friend. Since he's fourteen he's been apprenticing for his job, but he always helps my friends and I when we play sports. He's the one who got me into them." Leaf explained.

"Alright." I nodded. "Well, let's go talk to Trevor and see if he's up for some tennis."

"Okay." Leaf said.

We walked into the tennis court, Trevor seemed to take notice of us immediately and gave Leaf a wave. He was very human-like but the shark features were unmistakable. He also had a head of black hair, and gills on his neck. "Sup Leaf?" He asked, dodging a shot tennis ball from the machine without even looking at it. "Who's this?"

"This is my dad. They came back home." Leaf said.

"Really? Looks like I'm down four hundred rem in the town's betting pool." Trevor laughed… What?

"Did people in this town magically care this much to bet on me coming back?" I asked.

"Don't take offense. Anyone who leaves town to the outskirts for an extended period of time, people make bets on. Bright side since you came back, the pool all goes to your family. That's what… about three million rem? At least that's where the pool sat when I last checked."

"Cool. So Trevor, you wanna help teach my dad to play tennis?" Leaf asked.

"Sure." Trevor said, raising a hand and catching another shot ball, also without looking. "Let me turn that off first and we can get started."

As Trevor left to turn that machine out, Leaf was already pulling out some tennis rackets and spare balls.

"So, all it is is hitting these balls with the rackets?" I inquired, levitating up one of the rackets and balls to get a feeling for it.

"The hard part is keeping track of the ball." Trevor said as he ran back over to us. "Thing moves fast, so on top of keeping track of it you need to judge where it's gonna be heading and get there before it does to send it back."

"We can be on the same team against you Trevor." Leaf said.

"Sure thing. I'll serve so your pops can see what I mean about the ball." Trevor said, picking up some of the spare balls and rushing back to the other side.

I nodded and walked to the side of the court, sitting down to pay attention to the game.

Trevor tossed the ball up, and as it was falling back down slammed the racket into it, the ball zoomed past, its speed was like an arrow. Amazingly, Leaf slithered over and hit it back, using the extra length standing on their tail gives them to reach where to hit. The two went back and forth like this for a while before Trevor hit the ball, and it zoomed through and Leaf missed the hit, and it hit the chain link fence in the back, falling to the ground and rolling lazily now.

"And that's tennis." Trevor said.

"Yeah, fun huh dad?" Leaf asked.

I nodded. The ball was moving fast but I was able to keep my eye on it. Years of video games plus my fighting in my travels helped me keep my hoof-eye coordination up. Using levitation instead hopefully should transfer over, plus my wings and extra strength and such, I should be able to keep up with this.

"Well, it looks simple enough." I said honestly. "I should be able to keep it up from all my combat experience."

"Heh, just remember this is regular tennis, not combat tennis."

Combat tennis? Must be one of the other versions of tennis Leaf mentioned.

"What types of tennis are there?" I asked. "Cause combat tennis sounds…weird."

"Well, there's Combat Tennis, Magic Tennis, Ability Tennis, and Free For All Tennis. The premise of the game is the same but in Combat Tennis, opponents can use only blunt melee weapons and on top of having to score points by hitting the ball past their opponents end, they have to fight their opponent. No magic, healing or armor is allowed and if you beat your opponent in battle you automatically win. Magic Tennis is the same but using magic rather than blunt weapons. No armor or enchanted gear allowed and barrier spells are also not allowed. Ability Tennis is just tennis but you can use any special abilities to gain an advantage. Lastly, Free For All Tennis means magic, weapons of all kinds except ranged, and abilities are all in place. On top of that I hear off Armageddon they release monsters into the arena to act as distractions for the opponents."

Yeesh… then again… why not, those do sound pretty cool to watch.

"Right, but I suppose it's fine in normal tennis to use my magic since…well, I don't have the wonders of fingers?"

"Your telekinesis is fine, yeah." Trevor nodded. "Alright, you two on that side and let's see if you can score one against me."

I nodded, rushing over with a racket in my magic as I stood near Leaf. He had a large smile on his face… he's having fun. I smiled too and looked at Trevor, who served the ball. It came at Leaf, who knocked it back and Trevor returned it. It came at me and I-

Before I could swing the racket, it zoomed past the spot, hitting the fence.

"Heh, it's alright dad." Leaf said, slithering over and picking the ball up. "Trevor is really good at sports. I think I have only ever beat him at tennis once."

"I'm just confused cause I know I'm faster than that and could have reacted…" I muttered, having literally dodged dozen's if not hundreds of bullets aimed at me in all directions for my 'basic training'...

"It's probably because you're using your magic." Trevor said. "Telekinesis is manipulating the object with your thoughts via magic. I heard you're a Berserker type fighter, right?" I nodded. "Well, you've trained your body to react at the drop of a hat, or rather, out of a rapid thought down to instinct, but magic speed and physical speed are two different things. Plus if you're overthinking, distracted, or still calculating mentally what you need to do and where to move the racket beforehand, your magic is gonna lag behind some."

Crap… I rarely use magic. Back on runs I used it for some things and long distance attacks, but I didn't train it like my body. I actually think I only have like… four spells I know.

"You wanna serve back Dad?" Leaf asked, handing me the ball.

"Well, I suppose this is a good time to practice my telekinesis." I said honestly, levitating the ball up and getting ready to try and serve.

Thankfully, I managed to hit the ball. It flew with decent force, and Trevor returned it with greater force.

We played like this for about an hour… and when we finished I had a migraine… ouch…

"Here." Trevor said, handing me a mana potion. "When your magic runs low it's almost on par with physical exhaustion. You're an alicorn on top of that so I'm pretty sure you've got a nasty headache."

I nodded, taking the potion and chugging it. My MP was at four according to my assistant. Drinking the potion that number went back to full and my migraine was now cooling, fading away to a dull ache I can easily ignore.

"Maybe I really should delve into magic, cause I did see a skill called 'Rage Casting' so I can use magic while raging…" I said, rubbing my head lightly to try and soothe my headache even a little bit.

"Magic based berserkers are rare. On top of needing a crazy amount of magic you also need to know a lot of crazy powerful spells and be able to cast them all basically one after another."

"I'm still amazed you know all that Trevor." Leaf said, drinking a gatorade.

"Well, I'm gonna be working full time with the New Foundation Morality Union soon so, gotta know all kinds of things." Trevor said, seeing my odd look. "Heh, despite what the name may imply, the Morality Union just works to keep the people under New Foundation protections and citizenship happy and entertained. We make the movies, print books and comics for authors and artists amongst the civilians, all the tv we broadcast and even some from Greed if they aren't too bad. On top of that we host all the carnivals, festivals, holiday parades and such. And thanks to the new Respawn Anchors I hear we owe you for having the recipe to create, we can finally build our own Arenas for some real fun."

"That makes sense." I nodded. "Moral is important and people need to feel like thing's can be simple and honest for once."

"Well, that's the main goal. To make Armageddon feel more like the other planets."

"Gonna take a while, but baby steps are steps nonetheless." I said honestly.

"So, you have the day off then Trevor?" Leaf asked.

"Yeah, I've been busy learning the trade so for the most part it feels good to relax and enjoy the fun." He chuckled. "By the way, uh, Button Mash, right?" Trevor asked me.

"Yes." I nodded. "What do you need?"

"You used to work for the guard before leaving, right? Have you considered a change in job or are you gonna go back to working for the guard?"

"I…don't know…" I sighed. "I'll probably figure something out later, but I want to spend time with my family first."

"Heh, alright. And hey, if you need help planning birthday parties, I do that too." Trevor smirked. "Course personal calls I charge for, just a heads up."

Heh. Guess that makes sense.

"So, wanna play again?" Leaf asked.

"Much as I would love that, I gotta get myself home. My turn to help with dinner and dishes." He said. "Catch you around though Leaf, Button." He waved before heading off.

"Have a nice day." I said with a wave. "Well, that was fun."

"Yeah. I'm glad today was fun." Leaf said. "You know, I always did wonder how spending time with you would have been."

"A lot simpler than one would think." I chuckled.

"Actually, I used to think you'd… not like me."

"Why wouldn't I like you?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno. You were never there, some of the kids would say stuff at school… and well, me being… I was worried you'd hate or be disappointed with me. Lot of us that are like me have the same fears. We only ever knew you through our moms, it's different hearing about someone than knowing them."

"True." I nodded. "It…really sucked how much time I lost with you all because of what I had to do…but about you 'being', let me ask you something…did I ever question who you were?" I asked.

"No."

"Good, cause I know you're a good person Leaf." I said, gently rustling their grass-like hair. "And I'm glad I'm getting to know you…so many years just seem to be melting away whenever I get to see you smile." I said warmly, thinking about what mom would tell me when things were down and she always told me that my genuine smile always made her day.

Leaf smiled, tearing up a bit as they gave me a hug. "Thanks dad… I'm glad you came back. Even if you're pretty bad at sports." He laughed.

"Sports were never my forte anyways, now Video Games is where it's at." I chuckled.

"Like what? Moms put all the games you owned in the family Wreck Room."

… We have a wreck room?

"Didn't know we had a Wreck Room, but after that, I'll show you what kind of games I like."

"Yeah. The living room is kinda small for everyone to spend time in, so they invested in a Wreck Room. Well, 'room' is kinda misleading. It's more like… a warehouse? Plus a yard and such."

"That's good to know." I nodded. "So, what else do you want to do?"

"Well, do you wanna play tennis some more or do you wanna show off these gaming skills you claim to have?"

Oh, oh is that a challenge?

"Is that a challenge?" I inquired.

"Well, I've only ever heard of your gaming skills, plus, ten years away, you might have gotten rusty."

"Oh it is on." I said readily.

"Heh, alright, show me what you can do then pops." Leaf said with a smirk.

I almost raced the boy back home where he led me to the Wreck Room, it was indeed a giant warehouse like area filled with clusters of couches, TV's, bookshelves and tables of computers and in the back I saw a large set of doors open wide, revealing sunlight, grass and I think I could make out a playground.

The warehouse was fairly packed, so many of my kids all around occupying their time with games, computer stuff or books.

Wow…

"I think your stuff was put over here…" Leaf said as he led me through the crowds and furniture to an empty corner where my consoles sat on a tv stand, the old living room tv and couch were both set up here and there was a bit of dust on everything here. "Here it is."

"Well…while I know there's a lot of stuff in here…at least they could have not shoved me in a corner…" I muttered, feeling a tad upset that my stuff was just…carted to a dusty corner and mostly forgotten…and it hurt more cause it felt like me…

"Moms set this up. They used to come in here and play them but as we got older they didn't have the time to." Leaf said. "For the most part I think everyone doesn't play them because they're old."

Old… My ego may never recover…

"Because they're old…" I grumbled. "Back in my day these were classics, still beloved and enjoyed by all generations." I huffed…but then realized I literally just pulled a 'back in my day' and groaned loudly.

Leaf laughed. "I'll go grab some towels or something to clean the dust off then we can start." Leaf said, rushing over to a shelf nearby and grabbing some hand towels. Once we dusted everything off I turned them all on and thankfully they started without issue.

Okay, first up, classic Brick Foundation. It's like Tetris, but sideways.

"Well, glad things are still working well." I said, starting to play the game after so long.

As I played, Leaf watched, when I'd lose I'd swap with Leaf and he'd play until he lost and we went back and forth.

It got late before I knew it. "So, puzzle games and what else?" Leaf asked as they looked through the game cartridges.

"Well, there's a lot of games…" I hummed, looking for co-op games for us to enjoy together.

"Maybe this one? Legend of Luna?"

"Maybe it's late." Cream said as she and Lilly both came over to us. "You should be in bed already Leaf."

"Awh, but I'm really having fun with dad… I don't want the day to end."

"I know Leaf, but tomorrow your father will have to meet your other siblings, and besides, tomorrow, you can spend the day with your mother Lilly."

"And I look forward to getting to know you Leaf." Lilly said, giving Leaf a warm smile.

"Heh… okay. We can do this again, right dad?" Leaf asked.

"I'm very glad that all of you started talking cause I was about to say 'but Mom, we're not tired and video games' out of habit…" I said sheepishly, causing Cream to laugh at my antics. "And yes Leaf, we'll do this again. Once I meet all your siblings and such, I'll probably have to figure out how to hang out with you all in groups at a time."

"Alright. Night dad, night moms." Leaf said as he got off the couch and slithered off.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning sweetie." Lilly said with a smile.

With Leaf now gone I saw that the whole Wreck Room was empty, save for Cream, Lilly and I.

"So, looks like you and Leaf had a lot of fun." Cream said.

"Yes, yes we did." I nodded. "I'm glad he's warming up to me…and I'm also glad he doesn't hate me."

"I think he was more scared than anything. Most of them are." Cream said.

"I look forwards to learning about Leaf and my children."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about something." I spoke up.

"What is it, Master?"

"How did you know that Leaf was a he?" I inquired. "You were in stasis for a long time but the moment you opened up you…just knew everything about them."

"As a Breeder, I am programmed to satisfy all my Master's desires. Despite not being a Den Mother, my Breeder Programming aids me in this. From the moment my children were born, I gained a form of… a mental booklet of all my children. They are a gift from you to me Master, and as such I strive to keep them just as happy as I wish to keep you happy. Just in a different way. As such, my mental booklet tells me small things that can aid me in keeping them happy. Therefore, I knew Leaf was a boy despite their birth gender, and I hope tomorrow I can add to this list and ensure their happiness."

Wow… that is… unexpected… Breeder Programming doing something… good for them?

"Huh…that is rather interesting." I said honestly.

"I know, it's kinda weird cause Philomina is a Den Mother but doesn't have that kind of ability. It's something unique to Breeders apparently." Cream said.

That's interesting… Looks like there's more to their programming than I initially thought…

"Hmm…Breeder programming is just becoming weirder and weirder…" I hummed.

"Yeah. Well, come on to bed then. Tomorrow you meet and get to know another child and make more memories." Cream said. "Also, sorry about the dust on your stuff. None of us have had the time to keep it all cleaned."

"I know…but when I saw it in the corner and covered in dust…it made me think of…bad things…" I sighed.

"I'm sorry. Parenting so many kids really takes up all your time. Plus the regular shopping, general house work… the budget… Bright side is that betting pools is ours now. That will help."

"Well, you don't need to worry about money anymore cause I have a fuck ton of it." I said, showing Cream the amount of Rem I had on my Assistant.

"Holy fuck- Where did you get all that?!" She screamed.

"Adventures." I said honestly if a little vaguely.

"Bullshit adventures got you all that you were not running through level four or five dungeons where did that come from- …" Cream got quiet for a moment. "Did uh… Did that David guy… pay you for the sex that put that baby in you?"

I grit my teeth, trying to save face and at least try to not feel like garbage about it…but I just sighed. "He gave me the pills, the kid…all this money, his son and the Slave…he did exactly what he offered without any deceit…"

"... If he shows up again wanting a roll, charge him."

I actually fell off the couch, barely catching myself with my front hooves before hitting the ground.

"Excuse you?" I asked incredulously, super shocked at hearing her say that. "I'm not a whore, what the hell?"

"Sorry, sorry! Money wise we've always been really… pinching pennies. Even with the Garden and farms in the Planet room, there's expenses in clothes, medicine, toys, a general allowance we try and give everyone when we can, some have specific needs for one reason or another, all the house upgrades and such we've been keeping finances tight. Even with us working jobs when we could, it's still a lot."

"I…I understand…" I sighed, just another thing that was my fault to tack on. "I'm sorry, I should have thought of that before I left…"

"It's been rough. We managed if barely. Buying second hand helps, if we can make it we use resources from the planet room to do so." Cream said, rubbing her head. "Guess the idea that someone paid you that much just to… well, you know… I kinda got excited given everything."

"I mean, I understand that all the money would make you excited, but unless you're wanting to buy a continent out of nowhere I think the amount of money I have is enough for our thousandth generation grandchildren." I chuckled, gently patting her head.

"Heh, hopefully…" Cream sighed.

"Yeah…" I said. "Cream…things will get better, I promise."

She gave a small smile, pulling my hoof from her head and holding it in her own. "I know… still…" She looked over at Lilly. "She and the others are… not going to stop being baby factories…" She sighed.

Oh… right… Shit…

I looked at my belly… Little one, I really hope you can learn your powers fast… Cause otherwise you might have over a thousand siblings… by the time you grow up.

I then remembered, David's son is also a Hacker. "Well, we have David's son who can help fix this…hopefully."

"Didn't he get turned into a Breeder though? Would that even work? And how would he fix himself?"

I sighed.

"I think he did, I don't know…and I don't know." I answered.

Cream sighed. "Well, one day at a time."

---

The next day came and I was heading to my next child's room to meet them formally. This is my daughter Lynn. She, like Leaf, takes mostly after her mother. At least in terms of her snake half. Her upper half is pony-like, brown fur coat, long blonde mane, but her snake half is covered in moss rather than scales. Unlike other lamia, this means she has no natural protection. Despite that, the moss that grows on her is medicinal. Eaten raw it's equivalent to a low level healing potion. Fermented and brewed into a potion it's apparently very potent and can be used to reattach limbs. She's been studying alchemy as a result.

I walked up and knocked on Lynn's door. "You in here Lynn?"

"Come in." A soft and muffled voice spoke.

I entered her room, smelling the rich scent of herbs, flowers and other plants. Looking around, they were growing in small pots and planters all over the room. In a corner next to her bed I spotted her. Lynn was standing in front of a desk where mortars, beakers, empty glass jars and bottles all sat on one side and on the other were filled and sealed with plants soaked in liquids. On her bed was a fair stack of all kinds of books. They all looked to be related to plants, alchemy and potion brewing.

"Hey Lynn, how are you doing today?"

"A bit busy." She said, reaching behind and along her moss covered tail and pulling off a thin layer of it and bringing it up and into one of her mortar bowls. "I need to make six more of these potions before I can deliver them."

"What potions are you making?" I inquired. "And how can I help?"

"They're some healing potions, my moss is potent on its on and it's stronger when brewed into a potion and fermented, but I learned adding it into other potions gives both a healing effect and boosts the initial potions effects. I get more money for the potions than just the moss alone, so I started learning how to make them. I also keep some in the house to use instead of medicine when needed."

"That's really cool." I nodded, gently sitting down and watching them work. "Anyway I can help? Either with the delivery or something else?"

"I usually store it all in my Assistant when I go make the delivery. You can watch and follow if you want." Lynn said as she kept up her work. She's so young but her skills at this clearly are not those of a beginner.

Her bottles and jars all looked clean, but some are pickle jars, some are old beer or soda bottles cleaned out… I guess proper potion bottles are scarce to come by… So young and she's doing all this.

"If you want, after this we can go on a shopping trip to get you some alchemy kits." I said, knowing that there should be a lot of alchemy bottles and the like in the shops, cause seeing her make do with just this…"Also, after this I think we could just…hang out?" I asked carefully, hating seeing my kid doing work to help pay for stuff…this isn't what a kid should be doing…

"After my deliveries. Sure." She said simply "I guess proper kits will speed my production and improve the potions quality. If I can get a bulk of decent and proper potion bottles I can even charge more."

"We don't have to worry about money for a long time, so you can buy the best potion bottles we can buy." I said readily.

"I only need the basic ones. Though I suppose I can cut out the middleman if we purchase a machine to turn the sand and glass into bottles. Plenty of sand in the Planet room. A better investment long term."

She talks so… maturely.

"So uh…why are you talking so…maturely?" I asked carefully, hearing her talk like this just felt…weird, and she should be enjoying her childhood not…work…

"This is just how I've always talked." She said, still mixing and grinding the moss and herbs together. "I might have picked up a larger vocabulary compared to my siblings given the books I read, but as far as I'm aware I speak normally."

"Right…" I said carefully. "Cause…hearing you talk like that, and doing alchemy for money…I…" I sighed. "It feels weird that your childhood sounds more like an adult trying to do work instead of a kid that came up with a stronger version of super glue and doing nonsense with it with your siblings."

"Money has always been tight. We all learned this at a young age and some of us try and help out where we can. In a good month I can average about fifteen thousand rem in profits. Though I usually get eleven to nine thousand a month given the herbs need time to regrow, even with my Fae magic."

"Well…you don't need to worry about money anymore." I said, which made them look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Okay…" I muttered, raising my Assistant and sending a family wide text showing off how much money I have.

Lynn stared at the screen for a time. "I see." She said, looking back to her work and continuing. "That's nice."

"That's it?" I asked, even though I heard a resounding 'What!?' screamed through the house as they registered how much I actually have. "I mean, sure it's good that you still want to do alchemy and stuff like that, I'm just…surprised you don't care."

"Should I?" She asked simply.

"Well, it means that we won't have to worry about money for a long time." I said honestly. "Money won't be tight and thing's will be okay."

"I understand that." She said, shaking off the mortar and grabbing a glass jar, taking off the lid. "That is a good thing."

I sighed. "Well…what else do you like doing besides Alchemy?" I inquired.

"Nothing." She said, moving the ground up herbs into the jar. Once she did she picked up a pitcher with water and poured it half full.

That…doesn't sound right." Uh…have you done anything else but alchemy?"

"No." She said, reaching into a drawer in her desk and pulling out some small bags of something. She put a pinch of it, an odd yellow powder, into the jar and the scent of a strong alcohol filled the air coming from the jar. She then added more water til it was near full and closed the lid on it tight.

I blinked. "Uh…right, so after this we're going to be doing stuff that isn't alchemy, cause just doing this isn't healthy." I said carefully.

"I… don't want to." She said blankly. Once the jar was with the others that were full she slithered over and began picking new fresh herbs from around her room. "It's safer for me in here."

Safe?

"Uh…I mean, technically because you don't have the normal scales of a Naga…but just because you're 'safe' doesn't mean you're in a healthy situation." I frowned.

"When I was little, one of my siblings fell on me. Right on my moss covered back." She said, picking more herbs and moving around. "There is no skin under my moss. It's just muscles and even some exposed bone. When they fell on me, it felt like I was going to be snapped in half, and I ended up hospitalized for two weeks." She stated as she moved back to her table. "A few years ago, a kid at school thought it would be funny to pull back the moss on me, as much as they could. The upper layers it grows in I can take off fine, but too deep and it's like you're tearing off my skin. Probably because you are at that point. They skinned me almost a quarter of the way down. I thought I was going to die." She sighed. "Got put in special classes after another two weeks in the hospital. Classrooms where I was taught without risk of another student injuring me, purposely or not."

I looked at her in horror. "It just said you didn't scales, not that you didn't have skin." I said in shock. "Also, who the hell thinks it's funny to literally rip off someone's skin? Like, that's…what?" I asked, now super confused as to how her snake half was about as durable as tissue paper at this point.

"It's what's known as a Birth Mutation." Lynn said. "These are… abnormalities in the genetics that can occur after birth. For some these are beneficial. For others like me, they are a hindrance, even if the trade off is an endless supply of herbal moss. Just an unlucky draw of the genetic lottery upon my birth. These are unpredictable and often random. It's just how I have to live. Careful and safe, like a glass figure."

"That's…that's just horrible…" I muttered. "So…you're emotionally numb because…you experienced too much pain…my god I…I'm so sorry I…"

"... Because the moss on me acts like skin, albeit fragile, my nerves along my body in that area are extra sensitive. If anything too heavy lands on or hits me, it's like being beaten. As is, I'm not as strong as any of my other siblings. So, I stay here, making potions and reading more into alchemy."

I sighed. "You still should broaden your horizons. Cause remember, I said being safe is one thing, being healthy is another…and so far…this doesn't look healthy, you need to do…something else." I said carefully, feeling so ashamed of myself that I let my little girl be…hurt like this…

"I enjoy this though. When I do this I don't feel so fragile. I feel like I'm doing something that makes a difference for others." She said, going back to crushing the herbs. "I'd like to see more than just this room. But if I do, I might get hurt again. I've come to hate the doctors. I don't want to end up in a hospital ever again…"

I frowned. "Alright you, today's the day you understand what being outside feels like." I said, gently putting my hoof on them and turning into my symbiote form and becoming a part of them.

As I was, I felt Cheat follow suit and once the two of us were in, Cheat formed a fast armored shell over Lynn's moss. "Wh-what is this?!" Lynn yelped in shock.

"Due to me being bonded with Cheat for so long, as well as gaining three more Symbiotes, I've become part symbiote. Now me and Cheat are going to give you some extremely durable armor, healing and protection so you can enjoy life outside of this room." I mentally explained to her.

"What?! Dad this is…" She started, them turned around and looked at the armored, spiked shell. Slowly, she touched it, put some force onto it. "Wow… I… genuinely don't feel anything."

"Yup. I'm awesome." Cheat said.

"Ah! Who was that?!"

"Hi, I'm Cheat and Button's first Symbiote and his armor. Though I guess you can say for now I'm on loan to you so long as Button is doing this." Cheat informed.

"Oh… wow. This is… really weird." She said, still tapping her new symbiote armor shell.

"Yeah, it's definitely something to get used to, but now you are wearing armor that can withstand at minimum rapid fire armor piercing bullets." I said readily.

"Woah… So… what do I do now?"

"Anything you want." I said honestly. "Cause daddy's here to protect you from any dangers that come your way."

"...But I don't know what to do… I never thought about or…"

"Just take your time." I said softly. "Here, let's start off with finishing your job and the delivery, then we can focus on doing other thing's alright?"

"Oh, right!" She yelped, rushing back over and quickly continued making her potions. After maybe half an hour of this she finished the last potion she needed and stored them all into her assistant.

She then quickly slithered out of the room, through the house and outside.

Once she was in town she made her way to a small alchemy shop. The store was almost half plants, the rest were shelves with potions and ingredients and all that all over.

She slithered over to the desk where a slender humanoid rabbit lady stood. "Hey there Lynn… what's with the shell?"

"Oh uh… something my dad is having me try out." Lynn said.

"Oh right, heard he returned. Well, hope your family enjoys the pot. I only lost two hundred rem so, not that bad." The rabbit lady shrugged. "So, brought me more potions?"

"Yes. Fifty six this time." Lynn nodded, pulling them all out of her assistant.

"Right. Alright, these all look good." She said, opening a bottle and sniffing the contents. "Alright, that's two thousand eight hundred rem."

The potions and rem were exchanged and with that done, Lynn slithered out and back into town. "Well… that's the last delivery for the month." She sighed.

"Alright, that was simple enough." I said honestly. "Now, let's try to do somethings while we're out and about."

"Like what?" Lynn said, muttering under her breath. "I don't know how to have fun I just know how to make potions."

"Right…well, right now, you can go wherever you want." I told her. "You can move, you can see new things, you're not bound by your route and your room…you can explore."

"Explore what?"

"Anything." I said honestly. "You are protected, you don't need to fear about getting hurt, you can look around towards anything you want…but to keep thing's a bit simple, let's go to one of the shops and get you those alchemy kits."

"But isn't all your money in your assistant… with your body… back in my room?"

… Oh crap I forgot about that!

"Uh…hold on, there's three other symbiotes in my body that can hopefully pilot me all the way here…crap I totally forgot…" I groaned. "Wait, call one of the mom's, maybe they can put all the money into the family account…if we have one…"

We ended up having to go all the way back to the house and I went back into my body. Cheat stayed inside Lynn for now, but when I was going back into my body I felt she… kept part of my symbiote form. For what, she said it was for a surprise.

With that, we went back outside, this time I can really be with Lynn and not as a passenger.

"So, what kind of Alchemy set should I get?" She asked me.

"You can get any set you want." I said readily. "As I said, we have more than enough money to last several lifetimes, you can get all the alchemy kits if you want."

"I really only need one…"

"I'm just saying." I shrugged. "But we'll see which set's they have and make a choice when we get there."

"They probably have them all at the Apprenticeship Store. When we turn thirteen and began apprenticeships we can get all we'll need if we need anything from there."

"That's fair." I nodded. "Well, at least you'll have a head start here."

"It's this way." Lynn said as she led me down the roads and… holy crap! The store was built inside an old supermarket I raided many times before. Wow, how big has the settlement gotten?

We walked inside, and all around were large shelves of boxes and all kinds of things.

"Jeez, this place takes me back." I chuckled, seeing Lynn look at me with a tilted head. "I used to come here and raid it way before this place became a settlement, seeing it now being used as a supermarket is…kind of refreshing to see."

"Oh. As far as I can remember it's always been this store." Lynn said. Hm, must have been added shortly after I left then.

"Alright, good to know." I nodded.

We walked through the isles and I found where all the Alchemy stuff was. There were a variety of potion sets and all kinds of other alchemy that didn't seem to revolve around potions. Some even came with whole volumes and sets of all kinds of potion and alchemy books.

"This is a lot more than I was expecting."

"Yeah, this is indeed a lot." I said in surprise.

"Hmm… oh, this one comes with some herb seeds and samples to grow your own. This one comes with an alchemical transmutation mixer… This one comes with the set of Herbs and Magic though…"

"You don't need to choose only one, you can get whatever you want." I said softly.

"I don't have the space for more than one though."

"Hmm, fair." I said honestly.

As Lynn looked through the options I looked at them all too. Hm… There are a lot more options I was expecting. Hmm… Maybe… huh? I looked up and… holy crap. On the top shelf was a kit that literally advertised as a whole alchemy laboratory.

I gently flew up and grabbed the specific kit. "Well, how about this one?" I inquired, showing it off to Lynn.

Lynn looked up, and her eyes went wide. "That is… a lot." She said.

"Well, it's practically an all in one bundle, I'd say pick this." I said honestly.

"Okay… how do we get it down?"

"I'm already holding it Lynn." I said, flying down and transferring it from my hooves to my magic.

"Oh. That works." She nodded as we went and paid. Once that was done we walked around some more. "So… I still don't know what to do?"

"Right then, let's go do a classic parent and child event, a walk in the park with ice cream." I said readily.

"Uh, sure." She nodded. Thankfully it was noon and the park was fairly lively with people.

As we walked, the dome let in sunlight through some energy field, giving us a clear view of the sky above. I looked over at Lynn, who I noticed was keeping an eye on everything around her.

"What are you looking for?" I inquired.

"Just… keeping an eye out around me for… stuff… people…" She said. She's still worried about something happening.

"Lynn, I promise you, nothing bad will happen." I said honestly. "And if anything did, Cheat is Symbiote armor for you so you will be safe."

"I know that… it doesn't break a fear i've had almost as long I've been alive… which isn't that long all things considered…"

"I understand." I nodded. "But what ice cream do you like the most?" I asked, considering we were heading over to an ice cream stand right now.

"Uh… I don't usually eat ice cream… What flavors do they have?" I frowned as I looked at Lynn… so much of her life in fear… just hiding in her room… how much has she missed out on because of that fear? So much that she doesn't even have a favorite ice cream flavor…

"Alright, I'm getting you some armor, or an armor symbiote, after this, cause this is genuinely upsetting…" I said carefully. "But there are a lot of flavors, and I'll either let you pick or probably just get you vanilla just to let you taste how ice cream is."

"Uh… Okay?" She said, taking her arms and almost hugging her torso as she was slithering along.

This isn't going how I wished…

I noticed then that Cheat was poking a small tendril of herself out along Lynn's armored part. I caught up, getting close enough to feel her link but not leave Lynn.

"Okay, babygirl Lynn is very much terrified right now." Cheat said.

"This isn't what I hoped for to be honest…" I mentally told Cheat.

"I'm helping keep her anxiety in check but… she is very scared, and not just of the outside her thoughts are racing with the idea you are disapproving of her. If I was not here in her right now she'd be having one nasty panic attack."

Panic attack… she's… she's so young…

"This…no, she's…she's too young for a panic attack…she's…why can't things just go right for once…" I said sadly, as I feared that I was just making this situation worse even though I wanted to help my little girl so much.

"She's had a lot of trauma Button. Trauma causes problems for everyone at every age and children especially. I can keep her stable, but after you two grab the ice cream you should head back home. Talk with her and let her know she's fine. And with luck my gift to her can help her out once I leave her body."

"Alright…this…I hate how this has been hurting her so much…" I thought bitterly.

Cheat retreated back to Lynn.

We entered an ice cream parlor, and there was a lot of types here… a lot of types…

I'm sorry, is that ice cream on fire?

"What do you recommend dad?" Lynn asked. She looked better than she was at the park. This place is pretty empty. She must mostly get scared being outside. Or in crowded areas…

"Uh…" I said, looking at all the flavors. "Honestly, there's a lot more flavors than I thought, I mean, who heard of Ice Cream that's on fire?" I asked sheepishly. "But…I suppose Vanilla should work best for someone starting out in the world of ice cream." I said. "It's simple, taste's good, and is all around a classic."

"Okay." She nodded.

I ordered the two ice cream cups and once they were given Lynn looked at the cup of frozen delight with a raised brow. She sniffed it, then took the small spoon that it comes with and brought it to her mouth. Immediately, her eyes went wide, her ears folded back and she almost looked in a trance. I smirked as I recognized the look of a child who has just had their tongues mind blown by sweets.

"What do you think?"

"I didn't know sweetness this sweet existed…" She muttered. I chuckled as she gained her first smile of the day and ate another bite. I almost teared up a little, seeing her smile for the first time today. Who knows how long since she did genuinely smile…

The door opened and I saw some other kids walk in. Lynn turned and saw them. She locked eyes with a boy who looked like a humanoid goat with gray wolf fur. They looked at one another for a bit before the goat-wolf kid backed out of the doorway and ran off, his two friends following.

I looked back at Lynn who just frowned and looked down.

"What was that about?" I asked softly.

"That was Nick… he was the one who… pulled my moss off…" Lynn sighed.

"Ah." I nodded softly. "I understand…I'll talk to them later to see why he decided to do that." I said softly. "But…one thing I want you to know…you have a beautiful smile Lynn."

"Heh… thanks… and, you don't have to do that. I know he regrets it…" Lynn sighed. "He didn't think it would hurt me. To be fair, no one aside from my siblings knew that. They figured it would have been the equivalent of pantsing someone."

"I understand." I nodded. "And…I'm glad they understood real quick…" I sighed, kneeling down and looking her in the eyes. "Lynn…I'm proud of you, and how brave you are being out here with me today." I told her gently. "You are one of the bravest people I know my sweet daughter."

Lynn smiled at me, some tears in her eyes as she gave me a hug. "Thanks dad… I've been feeling scared coming outside just so out of the blue… but, it was pretty fun… but next time can we go someplace with less crowds? They still make me… nervous."

"I understand." I nodded. "I…wanted to help you understand being able to move around, not being stuck in your room forever…and see the world and how great it really is." I said honestly. "And…also, I know you were nickel and diming but…come on, ice cream once in a while in bulk shouldn't be too expensive."

"Heh, talk to moms." She chuckled. "Can we go home now? I want to set up the lab you bought me. Box said it's a room upgrade so It makes its own space."

"That is cool, and sure, let's get going." I said honestly.

We went back home quick, Lynn opened the box and inside was what kind of looked like a cartridge for computers. She held it up to the screen that was next to her doorway on the inside and it seemed to be absorbed by the screen. Once it was, a new door appeared on the wall behind her desk.

Once we moved her work desk we opened it and Lynn turned on the lights… holy crap!

Inside was a huge gym sized room filled with all kinds of beakers, tubes, heaters, fancy looking things I didn't know what they did, and in the back was a massive bookshelf field top to bottom of books and on the right wall was all kinds of empty planters set up with fancy things to keep the herbs and such alive and healthy.

"This. is. Amazing!" Lynn said. To hear her so happy compared to that almost flat monotone voice… she's happy. So happy.

I actually teared up at hearing her this happy…"I'm…I'm so glad to hear you happy Lynn."

"Thank you dad!" She said, giving me another hug. "Oh, uh, Cheat says she needs to return to you now." I nodded as I felt Cheat flow back into me. When she did though, the armored shell on Lynn didn't leave, rather it changed from being spiked and such to a much more smooth and reflective metallic look. "Huh, wah!" Lynn yelped as she backed up. "Who are… wait what? Really? That's weird… also kinda gross…"

"Lynn now has her own symbiote. Little of me, little of you, she's now got a symbiote and a new brother, Ronnie." Cheat informed me.

"Awesome." I said with a smile, gently putting my hoof on the metallic part. "Hello Ronnie." I mentally said to the symbiote happily.

"Hey pops. Mom already filled me in on everything and such. I'll look after Lynn, it's what mom says I was literally born for so, I'll keep her safe." Ronnie informed me. I have to admit, I was surprised he was… mentally older, but he sounds around Lynn's age despite being just born.

"Thanks Ronnie, I believe in you." I said warmly. "Well, Ronnie sounds like he's going to help keep you safe Lynn."

"Yeah… this is new, but kinda cool. Also I guess I'm never alone then… That's… gonna take some getting used to."

"Well, it's better than being alone stuck in your room all day everyday." I shrugged.

"Heh… thanks dad, Cheat.. This has been an interesting day. Can next time we keep it small?"

"Alright, next time we can keep it small, but do you still want to head to the ice cream shop next time?" I inquired.

"Sure… just not through the park, please?"

"That's fine." I nodded. "No park yet."

Lynn gave me another hug and with that, I left her to get to work having fun in her new laboratory and went out to the living room, taking a deep breath as I sat on the couch.

"Hey." Sweetie said, sitting next to me. "How was your day with Lynn?"

"It could have gone better since she…almost had a panic attack if it wasn't for Cheat…" I sighed. "But…she smiled, she was happy…and it was amazing."

"Really? I haven't seen Lynn smile genuinely in a long time." Sweetie smiled. "Ever since that incident at school we've all been worried about her."

"Well, with her new brother Ronnie being an armor symbiote for her, she doesn't have much to worry about anymore."

"That's good. We considered getting her one before, but armor symbiotes are rare, and even if another one would help, we were worried about their personality. If Cheat made her not only one that is crafted to keep her safe, but also within her age range and is family then they'll be more compatible." Sweetie smirked. "Maybe someday she can go out with friends and such."

"It's mine and Cheats new kid, and yes he is within her age range." I nodded. "And…hopefully she will get some friends too."

"All in all it looks like things are going well." Sweetie sighed.

---

Today I was going to meet another daughter of mine. Venus. Her file here shows she has green, almost grass-like fur coat along her upper torso and body, longer grass hair on her head, and her lower half being more like a traditional lamia, having scales. The color of which is an almost shimmering blonde color.

I'm not surprised so far all the kids I've had with Lilly have had some parts of their body be plant like, she is part Fae and it looks like the kids have definitely inherited that from her.

I soon came across Venus's room, finding the door already open. I saw boxes and shelves of all kinds of various things. Some looked like tools, some looked like parts, others were some jewelry or books, and digging through one of these boxes was Venus.

"And what are you doing Venus?" I inquired, seeing them half in and out of a box and finding it a tad adorable.

"Dad!" She said, giving me a smile then rapidly giving me a hug. Woah, okay… very happy to see me. "Hold on right there I need to get something!" She said, rushing back to the box and taking out and tossing stuff from it. "Where is it?!"

"What are you looking for?" I inquired, using my telekinesis to grab some stray objects that would have either hit something that looked a tad fragile or me.

"A while ago I found something I thought you might like… where did I… Oh right!" She said, quickly moving to under her bed where she pulled out a small lock box. Opening it, inside I saw a variety of… scrolls, amulets and even some small bars of ore. She pulled out of it though was a small gameboy advanced. The handheld console was all yellow and had an iconic pokemon face on the top part. "Here you go!" She said, handing it to me.

"Yes, I do in fact love this." I said with a warm smile, gently taking the handheld. "Where'd you find this?"

"Oh I found it in the sewers on a corpse."

… what?

"Uh…and why were you in the sewers?" I asked. "And why was there just a random corpse there?"

"I uh… snuck out looking for treasures…"

"Snuck out you say?" I inquired. "I suppose you have a spirit for adventure?"

"Oh yes! Moms talk about all the runs you went on before the New Foundation came in and secured everything and it sounded so exciting! I found a pathway through the sewers one day while just exploring and it led outside the barrier so there were some zombies in there but they didn't do much."

"And while I am super excited about your adventurous spirit, I'd really prefer you not go out by yourself." I said honestly. "Even when I did my runs I had Cheat with me to help."

"I have an ability that helps me though. Watch!" She said, turning off the main lights and then turning on a desk lamp. I raised a brow but she had the lamp light pointing at one wall, shinning light on it. She then moved to the unlit wall and… She put her arm against it, and it sank in, soon like she was dropping into water she vanished, leaving just her shadow slithering around the wall. "I can dive into shadows and poke in and out of places so long as it's dark enough!"

"That's amazing!" I said in amazement. "I'd still prefer you be with a second person, only because I'm scared for your safety my little shadow walker."

"Nothing can hurt me as long as I'm in the shadows." She said, almost diving out of the wall and onto the floor. "I've been doing this for a year now. It's where all my treasures come from!" She said. I took another look at all the shelves of items and such around.

"Oh~, so that's why your room is filled with this stuff." I said honestly. "Well…I'm glad you got plenty of experience moving around, I'm also glad that you stayed near more 'safe' area's, cause some of the zombies are very dangerous."

"Yeah, but all the really good stuff is around the real nasty ones. Like those huge hulking deformed looking ones, or the ones that have body armor and such merged into their grotesque skin, or and those freaky ones with the weird mouths that can really run. I saw a few of them outside the barrier in the sewers. They usually leave at night but they are all over the place during the day."

Right, so Tanks, Demolishers, and Nightmare Volatiles.

"That makes sense, I know those three intimately…tough jerks."

"Yeah. I can usually only nab one or two items from what they have before they go completely nuts and start attacking the walls." Venus chuckled. "So, can you take me?"

"Sure, a nice little adventure sounds great."

"Yes! What are we gonna do? Set fire to the sea of infected on the highway? Blow up a hoard nest? Break into a military base and fight robots!"

Wow, she is very much excited… also not ready for anything like

"Alright, while I love your enthusiasm, you are not ready for a lot of that." I said sheepishly. "Even when I was raiding, I didn't do any craziness until I felt and was actually ready. What we should do is start off with some normal stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, just starting off simple, like looking through places and fighting some low level zombies." I said honestly. "Cause while your shadow walking is great defensively and you can also sneak around amazingly…you're way too young for monster fighting on the scale you're eager for."

"Awh… but I get to kill zombies and loot buildings still?"

"That is what we are going to be doing." I nodded.

"Yes! Can we go now? Please? Please? Please!" She said, wrapped around my torso and clinging to my neck. Heh, well it's refreshing that one of my kids is so rapidly happy to be around me.

"Alright, get ready and we'll go." I said with a smile.

"I already am." I blinked and she was in some childs sports equipment and makeshift armor… when did she? "Come on, I know a shortcut outside of the town that's way faster than going through the gates." She took my hoof and then jumped into the shadows, being pulled in with her felt like I was really diving into water. Once we were submerged it was like being underwater but I could breathe. Seeing was tricky, and sounds were muffled.

Eventually, Venus pulled me back out and looking around I was in-

"Button Mash?" I turned, seeing a face I haven't seen in ten years. She looked the same as she did last time I talked to her after gaining Treasury. Eve, Fry's birth mom. "Well, I'll be damned." She chuckled.

"Hi Eve." Venus waved to the human woman.

I looked around and noticed this was the hotel she was living in back then too, only it was way more fortified and seemed to be lit up with UV lights along all the windows and doors.

"Well, it's certainly been a long time Eve, how are you doing?" I asked with a smile at the familiar face.

"I've been well. As well as one can be living in a zombie infected zone." She shrugged. "Didn't know you were back in town. Eve here popped up from a dark spot and nearly gave me a heart attack a few months ago. I liked her spunk and frankly that shadow ability of hers is stupid useful."

"Eve has actually helped me go on mini adventures of my own and shoot some guns for practice." Venus said. "I also tell her how Fry has been from time to time."

"That's good to know." I nodded. "And thanks for making sure Venus didn't get into any dangerous situations Eve…I would have but I had…important things to do…" I sighed.

"Yeah I know, you had to leave to help the Breeders like her mom. Everyone in Sanctuary has heard the reason why you left." She shrugged. "I'm not exactly in a position to judge anyhow."

"Considering there's been a betting pool and a lot of people apparently believed I ran off to join them…I'm glad you're not judging me." I sighed.

"Considering I left my son in your care, the only thing I can say is that at least you came back." Eve sighed. "Anyhow, are you taking Venus on a proper Run?"

"Yeah, dad's taking me on a real adventure!" Venus stated.

"Heh, then I guess you're gonna need these." Eve said, walking up and over to the wall covered in guns handing from racks. She picked up a small blue carbon fiber bodied rifle, a small handgun and lastly an ammo sash.

Venus happily took the weapons and put the sash on.

"Baby with a gun…" I sighed, gently patting Venus's head but smiled nonetheless.

"That rifle and pistol I've been having her practice shooting for the last few months. She's familiar with them and since she says her moms would kill/ground her if she brought them home, she keeps them here. She knows how to use them Button. The magazines on the sash are already loaded Venus."

"Thanks Eve." She said. "Come on dad, there's probably some zombies outside we can shoot!" She said, already slithering down the stairs.

Eve just chuckled. That girl has a lot of energy…

"How much energy does Venus have?" I inquired.

"When it comes to wanting to adventure, endless." Eve smirked. "Keep an eye on her, that girl has a serious case of adrenaline addiction."

"That's…that's probably not a good thing." I said nervously. "I did those 'adventures' to make sure my family was safe…I hope she doesn't do this all because of some thrill…"

"She's a child, she wants fun and awe in her life. Every kid, even those born to Armageddon, wants to adventure when they're young."

I nodded. "And I'm ready to help give her that adventure…just as long as she doesn't try to do something silly like 'Tank Rodeo'..."

"Don't give her any ideas." Eve chuckled.

With a nod I rushed down the stairs, finding Venus checking her rifle by the armored front door. "Ready dad?"

I thought for a moment, thinking if I should don my armor or try and use my magic for a change…well, it should be a simple run, I can use magic. "Ready."

With a smile and a nod Venus opened the door, there were five infected in the immediate area… She shot five times and head shot each of them. Wow, she's got good aim.

"Hehehehe, let's see if they have stuff!" She said, already looting the bodies.

"Good aim Venus." I said, walking over and checking them for anything with her.

With all that we could find looted I walked next to her as we were looking around. I could see the dome of the settlement, Sanctuary, Eve called it, from here… so weird but also reassuring.

We walked around, Venus shooting infected and me casting some spells to kill and keep them a distance away.

For the most part things were going well. Nothing too crazy, wild or unexpected.

"This is so cool!" Venus said as she shot another four infected down. "It feels so good to be out and actually doing stuff!"

"Well, it's good to be out doing some simple stuff for a change." I shrugged, grabbing two infected and crushing them with my Telekinesis, trying to get at least better with this spell first before trying to do a lot of other nonsense.

"What was the most fun you had on one of your Run's dad?"

"Hmm…" I hummed, thinking back to all the runs I had. "Well, I suppose the most fun I had…was when I got this pendant, a magical item that multiplies the drop's of whatever I kill or find…and there was apparently an event going on with a swarm of zombies…first time that happened some Zombies were literally crushed to death with all the loot that appeared." I chuckled. "That was fun."

"Awesome. You still have that pendant?"

"Yes I do." I said readily, bringing out my pendant from my assistant and putting it on. "And given that we're in a party, it'll count for the both of us."

"It does? Cool! What was the meanest infected you've ever killed?"

"Well…" I hummed. "I'd say…Frank." I said honestly. "Or at least, when he became a Mini-Boss."

"Frank? You had a named monster mini-boss enemy?!"

"Well, I gave it a name after I beat it a lot of times, but then when thing's started to get tougher because this planet was rude, they decided to make Frank a mini boss by mixing the Type 4 Harran Virus and the T Nemesis Virus."

"Woah…" Venus said, mouth agape and wide eyed. "Dad… can I kill Frank?" She asked, raising her rifle up.

"Heh… maybe when you're older… and have a much…much… much higher caliber rifle…"

"Awh… can I at least see him? I bet he's still around!"

Huh… it has been ten years… is that infected still here? Should be at the top of that hospital if I remember…

"Hmm…that depends on if the Hospital isn't taken over." I said honestly. "And if he is there, don't try to fight him, he was tough when he was a Mini Boss…Mother knows if he'll somehow become a boss and be pissed I haven't fought him in over ten years…"

"Cool, so… which hospital?" I looked around, it should be… ah. I pointed at the hospital in the distance. "Wait, that hospital?" Venus asked. "That's where your monster enemy Frank lives?! But that place is haunted!"

Haunted? That's new.

"Well, that's certainly new." I said. "Sounds like an adventure."

"Uh… seriously? Wow dad… you're more nuts than I was expecting. I love it!" Venus cheered. "But seriously something is really, really wrong with that hospital. The development and expansion teams sent people in there to clean it out, none came back and their corpses defend the place as some really nasty looking infected…"

"Then either Frank got some serious Upgrades, or something deeper in the hospital isn't really enjoying the company." I said honestly, deciding to put on my Symbiote armor. "Think you can keep up with me in my shadow?"

"Oh easy." She said, jumping into my shadow in the ground. It looked like she was wrapped around my torso from how the shadow looked. "Let's go dad!"

With a nod I began bolting down the roads, up buildings and over the rooftops. It felt GOOD to be doing this again. I arrived at the hospital, looking up and around I spotted infected, they were definitely infected but they were wearing armor or had metal bolted to their skin. Each one had rifles equipped and some even seemed to be using magic. This is definitely not normal…

"So do you know any other details about this place Venus?" I asked, using Scan on some of the infected to see what the hell was up.

"Other than that Sanctuary Security labeled this place a 'No Fly' zone, nope." She admitted.

"Shit…" I thought to myself worriedly, hoping my Scan ability can get me a good look into what these things are.

[Scan Complete!

BOW Infected Rank 9 Detected!

Necromancy Undead Rank 7 Detected!

BOW Frank(Boss) Detected!

Entity Blocked Scan!]

Okay… so one… something in there can resist my Scan…

"Wait…hold up." I said with a frown. "Frank is the Boss here!?" I asked

Before I could question more, there was suddenly a MASSIVE surge in magic. A matrix appeared under me. Shit!

Before I could escape everything whited out, and when it returned I was in… where?

"It's good to see you again Button Mash." I looked up and… holy shit!

Frank looked… well. He was still huge, maybe… ten feet tall, still built like a freaking train, but he wore a plain black T-shirt and jeans! The only reason I knew that was Frank was because his HP bar appeared in my HUD. That's a lot of zeroes. Aside his size, his face looked… normal. Well, he's a giant humanoid but his face was pretty human passing save the milky dead eyes and pale skin.

"Well…you certainly clean up well Frank." I said honestly. "I suppose a lot can change in ten years, how've you been doing?"

"I have been well. It's good to see you again, truely. I've noticed your child, several actually, moving about outside the safety of their settlement. Rest assured, I've kept an eye on them from a distance for safety reasons." Frank said… wow. "And sorry for the abrupt 'kidnapping'. My roommate has turned the place into a fortress out of paranoia."

"And who's your new roommate?" I inquired. "And making this place a 'No Fly' zone by the New Foundation is quite an achievement based on paranoia."

"Yes well I believe you've already met them actually. When I mentioned you to them they seemed to recall you." Frank said as he motioned to a corner behind me. Turning I saw a human male with a semi armored lab coat, glasses and messy brown hair… hair wait I do remember him! That's Mad John!

"Holy crap, it's Mad John!" I said in surprise. "Oh sweet Celestia it's all coming back to me…I'm not that old Cheat!" I whined as I heard Cheat laughing at me in my head.

"Yeah hey." He huffed. "When you and your spawn currently attached to your shadow are done here can you leave and never come back?"

"John, they are guests, there is no need to be so rude." Frank stated.

Now, it's weird hearing that come from Frank… considering I remember him as a mindless rage beast. He's so civil.

"You know I'm only here because New Foundation being so close means even Violence's craziest would think twice." John huffed.

"So why didn't you just…be accepted by the New Foundation and not murder their search parties and turn them into zombies?" I inquired. "And also…jeez, it's weird seeing you so Civil and just…weirdly normal you are now Frank, after all the fight's and the few virus mixtures you were put through."

"Ah yes, good times." Frank nodded.

"Because the New Foundation wants me imprisoned or dead. Frankly I'm not fond of either." John said.

Venus then came out of my shadow but kept close to me. "Why would they want you imprisoned or dead?"

"... One of my… brothers is very high up in the Nexus guild. I used to be in a similar position in Violence but that was always temporary. I only took the position to advance my research. Once I got what I wanted I was done with the place, but the members did not want me to… waste my skills…" John said.

"And what is your research about?" I inquired

"Genetics. Specifically relating to the cells of our biology and how to program and add to them. Already the Assistant, abilities, magic, you yourself have multiple symbiotes all of which can alter and change your biology at a thought yet there is still little known about it. The cells that make up our bodies are still so unknown, yet so easily programmable. Not just us, the cells of plants and animals are similar, but there are differences. It's a fascinating field of study."

"Well…never actually thought about Genetics like that, didn't know it was that malleable." I admitted. "I mean, if they don't kill you, the New Foundation would enjoy your research and mind."

"No." John said flatly. "It's bad enough I learned recently one of my brothers that managed to leave Armageddon was dragged back thanks to that lunatic cult within Nexus. I am not going to be forced to make anything for anyone ever again. Mother only knows what they'll do if they find JJ…"

"JJ?" I inquired. "And who's this mystery brother that got kidnapped by immigration?" I asked, cause I was now genuinely curious about his family and how they're getting involved with people they're running from.

"It's a nickname. Truth be told, we're not really brothers, just reflections of one another. JJ is just one of our nicknames for one another. Comes from what people called him, Junker John. He has a… talent for fixing anything no matter the condition, can fract anything. Give him the resources and he can build or repair even broken trash into top tier equipment."

"I'm sorry that your brother has been brought back to this hellhole…" I sighed. "And sometimes brotherhood can mean more than just blood after all."

"Yeah, I know, lived it. In any case you two can leave now."

"But please come back." Frank said.

"Or not…" John huffed. He snapped his fingers and that matrix appeared under us again. In another white out when everything came back into place I… we're back in Venus's room.

"Woah…" Venus said. "Awesome- oh crap I still have the guns… Uh… can you hide these and not tell moms?" She asked me.

"Your secret's safe with me." I said honestly. "And hey, at least we know why that place is sectioned off, and also I got to see Frank again and you got to see him for the first time…honestly, didn't expect him to go from a normal Brute infected, to a Mini Boss Tyrant…now to a stand up guy." I said honestly. "Should still probably challenge him to a fight one of these days, always had fun with the fights."

"Can I watch when you do?" She asked as she handed me the guns and ammo sash that I stored into my assistant.

"Of course." I nodded. "He offered us to come back and visit so I'm sure he'd enjoy an audience now."

"Cool. I can't wait to start apprenticing under the Runners." She said with giddy.

"The Runners?" I inquired, not knowing that section yet.

"Yeah. They're the people who go out and map and scout and grab stuff out in the zone and what stuff they bring stocks most stores or hospitals and the maps are used to expand Sanctuary more."

"That sounds amazing." I nodded. "And I'm sure you'll be an amazing Runner, or Slitherer as it were." I did the dad jokes.

"Har har." Venus chuckled. "This was so much fun. I can't wait to do this again, maybe even meet Frank again. He seems nice."

"Frank is actually pretty nice now." I said honestly. "And yeah, this was great, can't wait to do it again…you're a breath of fresh air Venus, the first that was super excited to be with me and do something…and I'm proud of you, and I hope your adventurous spirit can help raise the spirits of others in this place."

"Thanks dad. To be honest, whenever I heard moms talking about the things you did before to help keep them safe, food and such stocked, It always was cool to hear. I used to think about what it was like back then. It was dangerous but you also had so much freedom too."

"It was…trying times, but it was always worth it when I could get back and be with family at the end of the day." I said readily. "Making sure I knew that what I was doing was worth it seeing them all safe and happy."

"That's the kind of feeling I hope to give people and feel myself when I'm older." Venus nodded, giving me a quick, tight hug. "And collect all kinds of cool treasures."

I hugged back. "And collecting all the shinies, cause collecting shinies is also cool."

"I am very much an item hoarder in video games." She chuckled as she broke the hug.

"And you get that from me, that is a definite." I chuckled.

I gave Venus another quick hug before leaving. It was a good day, she had fun, I found some stuff out, and all in all… this was a good day.

---

Alright, new day, new child to meet. Next up is my daughter Phoebe. The file here shows she a light brown coat of grass along her upper torso, long almost wheat like hair, and dark brown bark like scales along her snake half. The file says she enjoys quiet and reading. Hmm.

I tried to think of how I could spend time with her, cause if it's just quiet and reading…well, maybe I could read to her or she could read to me? Hmm…

I arrived at Phoebe's door. I knocked but there was no response. Carefully I opened the door and was greeted by a room filled with books. Some on shelves, some in stacks, and Phoebe sat on an old leather chair reading a book under a standing lamp's light.

"Hello?" I asked softly, trying not to be loud for her.

"Shhh." She hushed, turning the page.

Okay…so how the hell am I supposed to talk with her or hang out if she's just going to immediately shush me like I'm in a library with an overly fussy librarian?

I stood and waited for a while, watching as she read through and flipped the pages over and over before she seemed to reach the next chapter. Once she did she placed in a bookmark and closed the door.

"Hi dad." Phoebe said.

"Hi Phoebe." I said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. Was enjoying my book."

"What book were you reading?" I inquired, trying to strike up some conversation.

"It's called 'Hatred Across The Stars'. It tells the stories of two gods that despised one another and even after death, each new incarnation spends their new lives hunting and killing one another."

"Well…that's uh…quite a book you're reading there." I said carefully. "What caught your eye about it?"

"It was filed under Romantic Tragedy."

I blinked. "Like…what? Did they murder each other so much they learned basically everything about each other and learned to love their sworn enemy or something?" I inquired.

"I don't know. So far they're in the era of the black plague and are trying to kill each other before the plague takes them. So far there has been a lot of arson and casualties in this part."

"Well then." I said honestly. "That's something…so, I see your a fan of books here."

"Yes. Ever since I learned to read." Phoebe said with a nod.

"That's good to know, got any favorites?" I inquired.

"Yes. Winds Quick, Talolola, Garden of Memories, Precursor, Immortal Suffering, Deko And The Gemstone, Final Judgement, Wrath Of Eternity, Lost In Agony, The Stone And The Log, Akio, Whispered Apology and The Eternal Prison."

"That's a lotta books." I said in surprise. "When could you start reading?"

"When I was three."

"Jeez, that's very young to start reading." I said.

"I learned quick and I didn't stop reading after being given my first book." She said. "I enjoy their stories. Maybe one day I can find them, either on Armageddon or off world. The concept of fiction is less a 'does not exist' and more of a 'where does it exist' in this reality."

Wow… she is smart.

"You are very smart Phoebe." I said with a smile. "And…well, yeah, that makes sense." I nodded. "Never really thought of it like that."

"I read all about it in a book called 'The Existence Paradox'."

"The Existence Paradox?" I inquired.

"It talks about how if one person can create another in this reality with but a thought and have them appear in a prize pod or Isekai or some other way then at what point did the first being think of another and create them and who created the first being if they themselves had to be created by another's thoughts and if we are all made from the thoughts of another made flesh are we existing for ourselves or our creators entertainment or if Free Will applies."

"That's a lot of heavy things a nine year old shouldn't be thinking." I said quickly.

"I read it when I was seven dad." Phoebe stated. "And it was fun."

"That's good you thought it was fun…but that is still some heavy thing's for someone so young to be thinking about."

"It wasn't any worse than 'The Prison Of Flesh' or 'Godhood Optional'."

"What sort of horror books were you reading?" I asked worriedly.

"The Prison of Flesh talks about how our near immortal bodies are like a prison keeping us bound to life and the universe. Godhood Optional talks about how being a god is irrelevant when people can build other life either through Synthetics or by growing cells."

"Alright, I think you're getting a little too into the existential horror of this reality." I said nervously.

"I also read cosmic horror." She added.

"Why?" I asked, trying not to sound incredulous about my daughter being so smart but also just straight up saying 'I'm into reality being really fucked up somehow'.

"It's fun."

"Right…" I muttered. "Well, what other genres do you like?"

"Romantic Tragedy, Slice of Life, Fantasy, Adventure, Biographies, and Mystery."

"So most genres, got it." I nodded. "You just…anything and everything, as long as it's a book you'll read it huh?"

"Pretty much." She nodded.

"That's fair." I nodded. "And I presume you like the quite cause it gives you time to focus on reading?"

"Yup." She nodded again. "Sometimes I do listen to music while I read."

"What kind of music do you like?" I inquired, knowing a bit more about music then the…too confusing questions she was constantly reading about.

"This one is a song my brother Reef recommended." Phoebe said, using her tail to take out a small speaker with a USB in it. She turned it on and hit play and the song played... I was a tad concerned.

"Yeah that's uh…that's not concerning at all…" I muttered.

"I like it. It pairs lovely with a supernatural suspense story."

"Well…yes, it does fit but still." I said carefully. "What made you decide to go more into all this…supernatural or existential stuff?"

"General boredom and morbid curiosity."

"Well…yeah that makes sense." I nodded.

"Is there something you want to do?"

"Well, I wanted to hang out with you, get to know you and do something to help…well, make you know I'm here and I care."

"I know you care dad." Phoebe said. "I've always known."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean…I know your smart, but…I thought you being this smart would have just…made you dislike me or something…"

"Why would I dislike you?"

"Because I was…gone for ten years and missed so much of your life?"

Phoebe picked up her book, hugging it against her chest. "There were times I missed you. Wanted to know you… so, I did." She said, using her tail to pick up a book from the nearby shelves and gave it to me. The Memories of DNA. "Reading that book I learned that being your daughter, part of your DNA, you, was always with me… and hidden deep in those strands of proteins were memories of yours. An echo of you, left behind at the moment of my conception. I learned to access them with some spells I read about in another book and… got to talk to you. At least, the you that makes me up."

"Huh…" I said, looking at the book… "Phoebe…thank you." I said with a warm smile. "I'm glad to hear that…and I'm physically here now, so we can make things right now."

"What's there to make right?"

"Well, I'm physically here." I said honestly. "So we can talk, and you can learn things about me your DNA magic can't tell you."

"Like what?"

"Well, do you have any questions for me right now?"

"Not really. Your echo in my cells told me all about your favorite games, books, your heartbreak before arriving in this reality, your phase you always wore a propeller hat all the way until you got here, how you met mom, favorite foods, drinks, most hated foods and drinks, your fear of Pin Cushions, your bucket list, and your one accidental kiss with Pipsqueak when you were tricked into playing Seven Minutes in Cloudsdale and thought you were going in with Dinky."

Wow… Well shit… Also I am still pissed at Thunder for that prank!

"Still pissed at Thunder…" I grumbled.

"There is something I'd like to do though." Phoebe said.

"What do you like to know?" I inquired.

"Not know, do." She said. "Can you uh… lay on the bed and cuddle me while I read?"

I chuckled and smiled. "Sure, I'd love to." I said warmly.

I jumped onto her bed, Phoebe slithering up and between my hooves. Gently I held her close and I watched as she opened her book back up and began reading. This was different, but… nice. Simple.

As Phoebe read I tried to read along with her, but she is a fast reader and too far ahead for me to understand context.

"This is nice…" I said warmly. "Just simple enjoyable reading time."

"This is something I've wanted to do for a long time." Phoebe said. "When I was little, moms would hug and let me read like this in their arms. Even if I'm older now, this feels nice, if a tad awkward." She laughed, a small but genuine one.

"No matter the age, just cuddling with someone you care about and reading or playing a game is always a nice time." I said with a warm smile.

"This is nice. Maybe next time we can try and read the same books and talk about them?"

"Yeah, cause I tried to read along but you are a very fast reader and uh…I could barely make heads or tails of some of the stuff you were reading."

"Yeah, I guess it would be hard to follow without reading it from the beginning." She said, finishing the chapter… She's on chapter sixty?! She's only like halfway through that book. I know it was big but wow…

"Also…jeez, sixty chapters and only half way through? How many pages are in that book?"

"I don't know. I usually don't look at how long a book is, I just start reading it."

"That's fair." I nodded.

I stayed here holding onto Phoebe until she eventually closed the book, stopping at a new chapter and began falling asleep. Once she was asleep and out cold I used magic to slip out, covered her in blankets and gently closed the door as I left.

This was a simple day, but she's happy… If more of my kids read this much maybe I should invest in building a library or something?

---

Today, another daughter of mine to meet, spend time with and get to know. Her name was Alexa. She has a light brown moss for skin on her upper body, long vine-like hair on her head, and her lamia half is covered in brown scales.

I walked over to their door and knocked. "Alexa? You in here?"

"Yeah!" I heard them call back from inside. I opened the door was was met by a room with a TV, Desk, Bed, Shelf with various comic books and manga on it, and DVD boxes. Alexa was sitting at her desk looking through comic books.

"Howdy Alexa, what you doing?"

"Reading comics." She said.

"What kinda comics?" I inquired. "Cause it looks like you have quite a collection here."

"Marvel, DC, some indie comics Greed helps publish or that are published on the New Foundations internet platforms." She said. "When I'm not reading comics I'm watching cartoons."

"That's good to know." I nodded. "What's your favorite"

"I'm torn between My Life as A Teenage Robot, and Zel Silver."

Hmm, I know the first one. Think I found season one in a box set back before New Foundation moved in… but Zel Silver… haven't heard of that one.

"Zel Silver?" I inquired. "Who's that?"

"It's a cartoon about this cowboy that's kind of an anti-hero and he usually end up partly destroying the town he helps and it's a very violent kind of comedy."

"Sounds kinda like Deadpool comics to be honest." I said honestly.

"It's similar, yeah." She nodded, turning around and looking at me now. "So, we're gonna be spending the day together?"

"Yes we are." I nodded with a smile.

"Cool, what are we gonna do?"

"Well, what do you want to do?" I inquired. "Today's the day where I get to learn all about you."

"Uhhh… Oh! Can we go watch the new Minecraft Movie?"

"Sure." I nodded. "Let's go see some Mine's being crafted." I chuckled.

"...That's uh… that's not… I mean, uh… Was that supposed to be a dad joke?"

"Yes, yes, it was a bad dad joke." I said honestly.

"... 0/10. Boo." She added.

"Everyone's a critic." I rolled my eyes, but still kept my smile. "Come on, let's go see the movie."

"Alright." She said, closing up the comic book and then began slithering next to me as we headed out.

Back in town again. Never gonna get used to seeing it so… normal. I remember when all of this was covered in the infected and so broken and covered in bile and corpses…

The Movie Theater was built into one that was here already, never did check this one out. Even large, an enclosed area is a risky Run.

There were posters everywhere and once I bought the tickets we went to get snacks. There was the normal. Popcorn, soda, candy, even hot dogs and nachos. Then there was things like hamburgers, pizza, chicken fingers and fish sticks, fried fish and mac and cheese. Wow. Those are impressive options.

"Well, there's certainly a lot of choices." I said in surprise. "What do you want, Alexa?"

"Well, I didn't have breakfast yet. Maybe a burger and a hotdog?"

"That works for me." I nodded, having long since learned that we are all omnivores and deciding to order what she wanted for the both of us.

Once we got those, plus small popcorn buckets and sodas, we went into the theater. The seats were different from what I expected, having built in foldable tables as well as cup holders. We ate while the ads played as well as trailers for other movies, then the actual movie began. Despite everything being blocks, the animation was good, and it all worked well. Story was neat.

When the movie ended Alexa and I left and she was happy. "That was fun! Better than I was expecting."

"Yeah, the movie was surprisingly good." I nodded. "Surprised how well they made the animation when it's all cubes."

"It was really well done. So, what next?"

"Hmm…" I hummed. "Well, we can go to the comic shop if you want."

"Oh, can we go to this one place I know? It's a bit far but they have really good stuff."

"Sure." I nodded. "Where's the comic shop?"

"It's near the current wall barrier but the owner is really cool. She sells all kinds of comics and manga and figurines and cartoon box sets."

"That sounds like fun." I said readily. "Then let's get going."

With a nod I followed Alexa down the streets and pathways. It was a fair distance away but soon we arrived at the store. It was indeed near the physical wall keeping the infected away. The store itself was actually built into or maybe was grown from a fair sized tree that had chunks of building carved and built around it. Walking inside I smelled a mix of fresh paper, plastic wrap and peppermint.

Looking around inside there were shelves and display cases and boxes of comics and books. At the checkout desk stood what looked like… I wanna say they looked like a mix between an owl, a deer, and some human I think. The owl wings were on her back, shoulders and torso. Feathers and fur mixed along her body and two small antlers poked from her head.

"Hey there Alexa. Didn't think I'd see you around so soon." The owner said. "Oh, is that your father? I heard Button Mash came back to town."

"Yeah." Alexa said with a nod.

"Pleasure." The owl-deer-human lady said, giving me a handshake… hand-hoof shake.

I gently brought up my hoof for them to grab as we shook. "Nice to meet you ma'am."

"Call me Angie." She said. "So, making up for lost time I imagine?"

"Yes, I am making up for all the lost time." I said readily.

"Cool, I get nine birthdays worth of sales in one day then." Angie chuckled. "You know what that means Alexa."

"I get whatever I want!" She said, bolting through the store.

Angie and I chuckled.

"And don't worry, I have all the money I'll need for this."

"I know. Word around the markets is that you've been spending big." She chuckled. "So I am looking forward to seeing some of my best profits for today on record."

"And I'm sure you'll enjoy the pay day." I chuckled.

"That's my plan." She chuckled. Alexa was still making a pile of stuff. "So, by any chance did you pass through the Eden Zone?"

"I'm sorry, no." I shook my head.

"Damn. I'm from a settlement there. Since no tech works in that zone getting news in and out of that place is slow going."

"I can imagine." I nodded. "I…learned a bit about Eden before…it sounds like a nice simple place."

"It is. Life there can be hard at times, but all in all, it's one of the nicer zones. The scenery especially. I miss it sometimes but since magic still works there and raw strength is still usable, some of the Chaos Guilds like to make it their playground for testing their skills. Last news I heard out of that place was a town called Gray Den was pillaged. That was fifty years ago though."

"That's horrible." I frowned. "But…hopefully things can get better for a change."

"Hopefully. Eden is the perfect place to grow food. Literally anything grows there. Nexus monopolizes farms there."

"I can imagine." I said honestly. "It was a very pretty place…and also it makes sense anything can grow there, it is called Eden."

"Yup. Aside from the whole no tech works there, it's not really that bad."

"It does sound like a good place, though me being a video game nut, it would take some getting used to." I chuckled.

"Yeah. I about lost my mind the first time I saw a working TV." Angie chuckled. "God that feels so long ago. Yet also almost like it was yesterday."

"Oh trust me…I almost feel desensitized to time, but then…well…" I motioned to Alexa who was getting a bigger and bigger stack of comics. "And also me feeling old because I literally told one of my kids 'back in my day'...I could almost feel my bones turning to dust when I said that." I chuckled.

Angie laughed. "Same. My girlfriend's kid makes me feel ancient sometimes."

"What was your 'back in my day' moment? Cause mine was with Leaf when they said some games that I grew up with were 'old' and I got into a 'these are classics' rant."

"I was trying to bond with them and introduce them to some of the comics I grew up reading. They took one look at my Fantastic Four books and said 'Were you born in era one?' I was floored and mortified. My girlfriend more so but my gods I felt ancient… I mean I'm only five hundred, and yeah those comics are old but they're reprints, not originals."

"Oh my Mother, that must have been painful."

"I'd have preferred being stabbed." Angie chuckled. "Kid's good, goes to school with Alexa which is how I even know her. Nice to see someone who enjoys comics that aren't on a screen. Most of the folks I sell comics to buy them to keep in sleeves for a physical collection."

"Well, sometimes you get collector's that just want to keep things in pretty condition." I shrugged.

"I prefer when someone holds and reads them."

"I got everything I wanted!" Alexa said, pushing a pile that was twice her size over to us."

"I might just have to close early today." Angie chuckled at seeing the various near barren shelves.

"Alexa, while I know this is to make up for all the birthdays, but are you sure you want to buy literally half her store?" I asked, cause even though I have more than enough to not care about the price tag here, it's still a little concerning about how many shelves were just completely empty.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Poor girl has largely been window shopping as long as I've known her. Most of the comics she owns I paid her for doing some odd jobs in the store or were a gift for birthdays and Christmas. Plus, I don't mind. I get to go home early, surprise my girlfriend and maybe have some fun before her kid comes back from their archery club."

"Well…that works I suppose." I shrugged. "How much?"

"Heh, give me a… some time." She chuckled as she began scanning the items.

In total it was a little over twenty five thousand rem. I paid for everything and once Alexa had it all stored into her Assistant we were off again.

"I am gonna be more stuck in my room for like, months than Phoebe reading and watching all that stuff!" Alexa said excitedly.

"And I'll be making sure you get out and about sometimes cause being stuck in your room all day reading or playing video games isn't fully a good idea, I should know."

"Reading comics and watching cartoons and anime. I'm actually not that big on video games."

"That's fair, but my point still stands." I said readily.

"Moms said you once spent two weeks playing Fallout 4 with little to no sleep." She retorted… Crap, betrayed by my baby mamas…

"And that's why I said 'I should know'." I countered simply. "So thank you for proving that you need to not do what I did."

"I know… But I can beat your record someday~"

"I'd prefer you not reading comics or watching cartoons for more than two weeks without sleep." I said nervously.

"Someday…" She said in a low tone. "So did you used to read comics as a kid? Er… foal?" She asked. "I sometimes forget you're a pony. Where it not for my ears I'd forget I'm part pony." She added, moving her pony ears up and down.

"Yeah, I did read some comics as a kid. Favorite was the Power Pony series." I said honestly.

"Is that like Power Rangers?"

"Uh…more like the Avengers or Justice League." I answered.

"Ah. Cool. I don't think I've found any comics with that name though? Or cartoons or movies? Hmm. Maybe there aren't many in circulation?"

"Hmm…would be a little weird if they weren't." I hummed.

"So, did you used to have a comic book reading friend or something back in your home universe?"

"Oh yeah. Thunder was a jerk but he had good taste, Featherweight was good with whatever, Pipsqueak was usually a fan of parody comics and Spike…" I stopped in my speech when his name hit my lips… Damn dragon… Ten years, actually more than ten I think and… I'm still bitter about it? Then again… he was my best friend.

"Who's Spike?"

"He's a dragon that I…was friends with, before he started dating the mare I loved back on my home world…" I sighed.

"You knew a dragon? Cool, only dragon I know is Miss Barb. My history teacher."

"Really? What's your teacher look like?"

"Um, fairly tall, purple scales, green spines along her head and back, wings, green eyes, green fire even."

… There… There is no way in… I forget the reality I live in…

"So…you apparently have a female version of Spike as your history teacher." I said carefully.

"You sure?"

"You explained what Spike looked like in detail, even including their fire." I said honestly.

"Well she uses it in class sometimes to kinda teleport stuff to us. Or when she sneezes. I'm sure you'll meet her at some point when Emily gets in trouble at school again for her pranks."

I sighed. "And that's probably not going to be a pleasant time…"

"She's not mean. She's pretty nice, especially if you bribe her with an espresso coffee in the morning. That's most of the reason Elily doesn't have detention."

I'm gonna have to talk to her about that…

"Yeah, gonna have to talk to Elily about all that…" I grumbled.

"Plus she also knows a lot about comics and manga and books and anime and cartoons and video games. She's super cool. And for a teacher, that's saying something."

"Well, that sounds good." I nodded.

"... You want to meet her don't you?"

"Just so I can confirm that she is in fact a female version of that backstabber." I huffed.

"Well, it's not a school day… actually it's summer vacation but anyway, I think I heard she lived in this part of town. Maybe she's… coming this way?" I turned, seeing a…

The green spines and purple scales were identical, as was the green of their eyes… but her curves were… on par with Philomina… and she wore a red tank top with jean shorts as she walked this way…

Okay… why the fuck is female spike so HOT?!

"Hey, Alexa. What brings you here?" She spoke in… a soft and gentle voice…

"My dad bought out the store to make up for all my missed birthdays." Alexa said.

"Oh, so this is Button Mash?" She asked as she looked over at me and held out a hand. "Barb, I'm actually well acquainted with your mates… primarily because of Emily…" She chuckled.

"I can imagine." I said carefully, gently taking their hand and shaking it. "And…I see you are a female version of Spike…a very…very…" I trailed off, before taking a deep breath. "So how are you doing today?"

"Well, seeing as you bought out the store I was about to shop at, free. Considering I'm teacher to majority of your kids, how's about we grab some coffee while I catch you up on several years of missed parent-teacher conferences?"

"Uh… Sure."

"Oh… welp, I'm gonna go back home, bye!" Alexa said before bolting down the sidewalk like a race car.

"Heh… Yeah, that checks." Barb chuckled.

"Don't you fucking leave me…" I muttered to myself, knowing she's long gone by now as I sighed. "Alright…what coffee shop do you go to?"

"There's a really good place back this way. After eight it sells booze too so if you wanna get wired and drunk their alcoholic coffee selection is your best option." She said as she led the way.

I nodded and tried not to keep looking at her as we walked… crap no one said she'd be hot…

The coffee shop was actually a small, but nice place. We sat at a table outside with our drinks and… talked. "So, you really bought out Angie's store huh?"

"Well, a good majority of it." I said honestly. "Twenty five thousand rem worth of comics, manga and cartoons for Alexa."

"Heh, so she robbed you." She smirked as she took a sip of her coffee. "But I guess missing all her prior birthdays warrants an exchange of such."

"I mean, I have more money than I can even imagine using." I shrugged. "So whatever makes her happy…I'm just glad that I'm making my kids happy after so long."

"A lot of them have missed you. That much is clear. Well, business first. I am worried about Patrick…"

Patrick… that's one of my kids with Karla.

"What's wrong with Patrick?" I inquired. "Also I uh…haven't seen Patrick yet, just going down the big list of kids I have my spouses made…" I sighed.

"His grades have been… below average. Not just in my class but his other teachers say he's starting to drop. I know academics aren't a major requirement. He can read and at least do basic math, but I worry he might just try and coast by in life with his physical abilities or that others will take advantage of his trusting nature."

"I suppose I'll be talking to him next." I said honestly. "Cause I don't want him to be taken advantage of and try and 'coast by'..."

"When you can, I know you have like… majority of the fourth grade in your house. There's a lot on your plate and you can only take it one at a time."

"I have over three hundred kids…it's gonna take a while…"

"I'm well aware how many kids you have Button Mash." Barb chuckled. "I have to say though, what prompted such a… large family? I'm aware the majority come from Breeders, but I never knew why you… adopted that many."

"Heh… I uh… raided some Puritan Colonies and…"

"Oh. That explains some things actually. Say no more, trust me, I get it… my parents were from homeworld but they were puritans and… so unbearable…" Barb groaned.

"Yeah…my first ever Puritan I raided was literally Canterlot…it was…not good at all…"

"At least you got to shove it to those bigots. Wish I could have done that to my parents. Though I guess setting the house on fire before running away after I finished my apprenticeship was a good second best."

"If they were still in the house, that would have been better." I said honestly. "But did you run away here or were you kidnapped by immigration?"

"Oh, that's a different story, also yes they were in the house. Dragons, so no harm to them. Though I did torch their expensive furniture." She chuckled. "No, I sorta… kinda… crashed here…"

"Well…if you wanted to run from crazy parents this is a place to run."

"I didn't crash here running away from them I crashed here cause a stray asteroid hit my engines. That's what I get for buying a discount ship… Anyhow, luckily I crashed near New Foundation Territory and they took me in immediately. Been living here and teaching for about seventy years now. Ugh, just saying that makes me feel old… This is why I only talk about newer games and shows around the kids. I'd rather them not know my real age."

"Oh god I got into this with Angie before our meet up with you." I groaned.

"Oh, she told you about what her girlfriend's kid said to her?"

"Yeah, like…holy crap, that was rough for her." I chuckled.

"If any of my students said that to me, I'd cancel classes for the week to recover." Barb said, chuckling into her hand. "Talk about emotional damage."

"Oh yeah, it hurt me a lot when I had to go into a 'back in my day' talk…" I groaned.

"How is it that kids can make you feel so old? It's bad enough that childhood can and feels like forever ago."

"I don't know and yes…I understand that feeling all too well." I sighed.

"Course, you also gotta love that naive youth too. Part of why I became a teacher. Even in this world, time changes a lot of things and they… just have no clue about how it was before they were born. I mean, I'm sure you can tell me about all this before the New Foundation moved in." Barb said as she waved an arm around.

"Oh yeah, I can tell you exactly what all this was." I nodded. "Walking around after so long it feels…almost surreal how I ran around killing infected each day and now it's a bustling city."

"Do tell, I got nothing but a full watchlist of shows and an empty bed at home so, mind helping a gal kill time? Unless your mates would find that… distasteful…"

… Uh… Conflicting emotions… Well… I'm already with Cream so… at this point I wonder if I should just accept and roll with things…

"Well…I'm pretty sure it would be okay Barb." I said honestly. "I'd love to help 'kill time'."

I ended up spending several hours with her, just talking and nursing the coffee I had. In the end she… gave me her address and I went back home.

All in all… that was an unexpected detour-

"Still looking to expand the family I hear?" Cream asked, a sly smirk on her face as Maud shared a similar expression, Philomina was cracking up and Sweetie was reading through a book.

"And what about it?" I asked sheepishly. "Cause I mean…we just had a simple conversation…"

"You went on a date… with the kids' History teacher…" Philomina said, cackling.

"Alexa has been telling the kids that you're dating one of their teachers now." Maud said, chuckling.

"And you had to go after the single nerdy hot one too." Sweetie added, still reading her book.

"Sh-shush you." I blushed.

"So when's the next date?" Cream asked.

"Uh…I…don't know." I said sheepishly. "But it'll probably happen when I talk to her about Patrick…but how is Patrick?"

"Patrick is currently running laps around town." Sweetie said. "He likes to try and get in ten laps before dinner."

Yeesh, what nine year old is that obsessed with exercise?

"I was told that Patrick was slouching in school, and that he's focusing more on his physicality…how strong is he and how gullible is he?"

"Patrick was born with some abnormal strength, even by Dire Wolf standards." Cream said. "His last doctor's physical they tested. He can lift over three thousand pounds. In terms of gullibility…"

"He once ate literal dirt because someone said eating dirt builds your immune system." Maud said. "He was plugged for weeks."

"Mainly because he kept eating it…" Cream added.

"Oh…oh no…" I said weakly. "We're gonna…have to teach him some stuff…like, a lot of stuff…"

"We managed to keep him on a schedule and routine. All we have the time to do is to try and make sure he keeps to it." Sweetie said.

I sighed. "Well…best thing I can think of is teach him through his physical training." I said honestly. "If that's possible."

"If you can manage."

"Try not to get too distracted by the dragoness ass alright?" Philomina added, laughing herself into a near coughing fit.

"Still surprised she's single." Maud added.

"Can we all stop focusing on how hot Barb is for five seconds and focus on our kids?" I asked, blushing brighter at Philomina's laughter.

"That depends, how many eggs can a dragoness lay?" Cream added, Philomina was now on the floor and I buried my face in my hooves. It didn't help that Cheat was also laughing.

"Can we please stop?" I whined. "It was just the one date, can we please stop talking about me plowing her sexy ass?"

"The fact you admit her ass is sexy only hammers in the hilarity even more."

"Alright I'm out." I said, turning around and walking away.

I sighed as I could still hear Philomina laughing on the floor as I left. I went over to Alexa's room and entered, seeing her organizing all the new comics, manga, and cartoon box sets.

"Hey dad, how was your date with Miss Barb?"

"Even you?" I groaned.

"Hey, miss Barb is awesome. Everyone who has her class loves her, she knows all kinda of cool stuff, and according to Emily she gets along with the moms really well. At least within a parent teacher conference setting." Alexa shrugged.

I sighed. "Alright, alright…" I grumbled.

"So you had fun?"

"Yes, I had a good time with her…" I admitted.

"Is there gonna be another date?"

"Most likely." I answered.

"Awesome, so she gave you her number?"

"She gave me her address…" I admitted.

"... She likes you~" Alexa chuckled. "And she wants you in her house~"

"Shush you." I said bluntly.

"Miss Barb likes you and you like her~" Alexa said in an almost sing-song voice… Oh boy… This is gonna be a thing…

"I really don't like having to deal with this constantly…"

"Suffer the taunting and cheering of your children father! And let the embarrassment melt you!" Alexa said, laughing madly now…

Dating as a parent with kids… might just be how I go out… from embarrassment.

---

Okay, yesterday was a thing in learning what it means to go on a date with kids and dating their favorite teacher doesn't help…

Up next, my daughter Jada. So far, a lot of daughters and one son. Anyhow, the file shows she has a brown fur coat, grass-like green hair and her lamia half was a lot like Lilly's. Green leaf-like scales. According to this though she seemed to take after me and is obsessed with gaming.

I knocked on the door. "Jada? You in here?"

I didn't get a response. Slowly I opened the door and saw… a very dark room lit up only by a computer screen. Jada was sitting in front of it. The sound of keyboard tapping and mouse clicking were surprisingly audible from the sounds of… Hold up I know those noises, that's the sound of infected.

I walked up and looked at the screen… she's… playing Dying Light?

I chuckled. That's what this whole zone is based off of!

"Jada, you there?"

Still nothing. She is in the zone. I looked at the screen. She was rushing though a building full of infected, a timer was on the top of the screen. Hmm.

"Time Trials or something?" I inquired.

Still no response… Part of me is concerned… the rest is impressed because she is flawlessly dodging, fighting and parkouring around.

Eventually she reached the end, and once the loading screen hit she blinked… then hissed as she covered her eyes. "Aaaaaaaaaaggggggggg…" She groaned… Been there. Forgot to blink.

"Yeah, this is why we remember to blink." I chuckled.

"Worth it…" She muttered as her teary eyes watered and she rubbed them. "New record…"

"Well, glad you got the record, but I can immediately warn you about some pitfalls here." I said, walking over to a light switch. "Also, close your eyes, it's about to get bright in here."

I flipped the switch and Jada screeched. "Light! My one weakness!"

I laughed. "Yeah, the bane of all Gamer's existence, Light."

"Curse you artificial light sources and your ever glowing brightness…" She cursed as she rubbed her eyes more and blinked a few times. "What time is it?"

"The fact that you need to ask that means you need some sleep." I said readily. "As a fellow gamer…yeah, that's a sign for you to take a break and get some sleep."

"Sleep is for the weak. All I need is coffee and maybe a sandwich…"

Oh yeah… she takes after me… Wow.

"Yeah, no." I said readily, gently picking up my child. "While you do need a drink, water would be for the best, then we can make a sandwich, then you get your sleep. When was the last time you went to bed?"

"When did Summer Vacation start?"

"Yeah, you need some sleep." I said, carrying them off to at least get them some food and water before putting them to bed.

"Nooo…" She groaned.

I brought her into the kitchen and sat her at the table. Maud was already in here, the kitchen's whatever magic already helping to make many pancakes and eggs.

"Morning Button." Maud said. "Jada, nice to see you out of your room for a change."

"It was against my will…" She groaned, face planting into the table. "Owe."

"She takes way too much after you Button." Maud chuckled.

"Sorry, and uh…yeah, they do." I nodded. "And I'm going to have to teach them how to not be uh…turbo gamer here."

"You'll have to pry my video games from my cold dead hands father…" Jada said, their voice muffled from still being planted on the table.

Maud chuckled. "Reminds me of when we tried to get you to take a day off back before."

… Ah crap this is gonna be harder than I thought…

"Unlike right now, back then I had to." I said carefully. "I needed to do thing's to keep you all safe and all our stuff stocked…this is different."

"And that is why you missed out on all nine years of my life…" Jada added… ouch…

"Jada…" Maud said with a warning tone.

"I'm not apologizing."

"And you are lucky that you didn't die from sleep deprivation." I frowned. "Cause so far you're hurting yourself with my bad decisions, but even I knew when to actually sleep and take a break, and yes, yes I did sleep and take some modicum of breaks that didn't involve you forcing me Maud."

"Was that before or after you spent a week solid on runs from dawn til dusk and that one time you did Run at night and nearly got eaten by one of those Nightmare Volitials?"

"I inherit all my flaws from my father. Good to know." Jada said.

"You do still need sleep Jada." Maud said.

"You tell me when dad would sleep for more than I'm assuming a four hour minimum?"

"... When Cheat did that to them." Maud said, motioning to me…

"The point is," I cut in, cause this was not becoming a stupid ass blame game towards me. "You need to learn how to break these bad habits, and this is coming from someone with experience on this…and while you're my adorable little gamer, please…take care of yourself when we're busy with stuff."

"Are you sure you're one to talk about self care?" Jada asked, pushing herself off the table to look at me. "From what I do know about you, your track record is shoddy at best…"

"Jada, Button is your father. I know you don't know him well because of his… but he is still your parent. Some respect is in order." Maud said, her tone rising.

"Did he respect your wishes when he left you all with three hundred babies and no way to actually care for them?"

"He left to find a way to help your birth mother."

"And he came back knocked up, with a male breeder, a slave and not anywhere closer aside the embryo growing in them that has the ability to use Code but has no way to teach them. I'd have rather had him and mom around, but our needs and wants didn't matter enough to him."

"Go to your room!"

"Finally." She huffed, slithering off in a rush past me.

"No." I said, grabbing their tail and pulling them back before I picked them up and looked them in the eyes. "You're not getting what you want, because you just want to go back and seclude yourself, you want nothing to do with life but be stuck in your room, playing video games. I learned the hard way that life doesn't work like that, sometimes people are gone for a long time, but do you want to know why I came back with a kid? So I could be with you, be with all of you, cause if I didn't do this, I would probably never see you again." I said, as she was about to raise her hand, I cut her off. "No, it wouldn't be a good thing, it would never be a good thing. I'm telling you from personal experience…don't ruin your life based on bad habits, spite, and wanting to be a secluded shut in…please…I'm saying this not only as a former secluded shut in gamer…but as your father, the father you needed for most of your life…" I said softly. "Please, it's been two weeks of you not getting an ounce of sleep, it's a miracle you haven't either passed out from lack of sleep, hallucinated…or died due to lack of sleep." I said, and while I didn't know how long it would really take, ten days seemed to still have been the average even in this reality.

"I don't need advice from the man who owns my mother." She hissed, pushing me aside. "You Bought my mother just to have her birth me and my siblings, then you throw here in storage for your ten year long ego stroke and hero complex, leaving Mamma Maud and them alone with no way to take care of your three hundred plus bastards and you expect to walk back in and think all will be forgiven? You aren't my dad, you're my mothers owner, at most, your the sperm doner who fucked her to bring me into the world at best." She hissed, slithering off.

"I didn't buy her." I said, which made her pause lightly. "She was rescued by Parker's friends…"

"... Doesn't matter. You still own her. She's your property." With that she rushed off back to her room.

I growled and rubbed my temple. "I knew this was going to happen sooner or later but…this soon?"

"Jada… has always been cynical of things." Maud sighed. "She's like you in a lot of ways… and I think that's why she grew to hate you so much. Resent you. She has your obsession with games, bad habits, lack of self worth or self preservation when it comes to helping others… and your temper…"

I sighed bitterly. "So how in the world am I supposed to help her not be pissed at me?" I asked, cause while I could think of a few things but it wouldn't really…help the problem.

"... I don't know." Maud sighed as she sat down. "Time maybe? When she was little she used to pretend you and Lilly were these two large body pillows she'd sleep in bed with… pretend she had the both of you in her life."

I looked at Maud…I could only shake my head bitterly. "Maybe I should get either a co-op game or a vs game just so we can…at least make an attempt to try and make things better…cause if she's so focused on games, then she can learn stuff about me with co-op or get her anger at me out of the way with vs games…"

"I don't think that's the issue Button." Maud sighed. "When she was little, every birthday wish, every letter to Santa, was just to have you and Lilly back, to have her mom and dad with her… Then when she turned six she started gaming. At first, just for some hours at a time. Then days at a time. I think she started doing it to escape something eating at her. Whenever we asked she'd dodge the question."

I…oh shit…I know why…"Damn it…I know…exactly why…" I shook my head, seeing Maud raise an eyebrow. "So…have I ever told you about how I lost my dad?"

"Sweetie told me bits. And I never asked your dad directly. They have been involved a lot in the kids' lives though, and they love them. Your dad and Echo Dash have been a big help to us… by the way, when you can, visit them."

"I will…" I sighed. "Honestly I'm surprised they haven't tried to hug tackle me the moment I got back…but…" I sighed. "My dad is an Isekai, and no he's not a reflection or something like that, he is my dad." I said, which made Maud's eyes widen. "I was barely a year old when he disappeared…and then, for so many years I…did the exact same thing she's doing now…"

"Resented them for being gone." She sighed. "It's just gonna have to take time for her to warm up to you."

"So just…me hanging out with her, talking to her…doing something with her cause dad was rather quick when it came to helping me…"

"That's different though. You readily accepted their help and welcomed them back. She's resisting you. It won't be easy to get her to warm up to you when she doesn't want anything to do with you…"

"Knowing what I went through…no, she does want something to do with me." I said. "She just…doesn't know how. She thinks playing video games and being mad will solve all her problems, or at least let her ignore all the problems…cause she doesn't know what to do with me being around…"

"So how do you plan on helping her? Trying to force yourself in her life will probably end badly."

"Just…got to do a few things here and there…again, you're right with Time needing to be an important thing here but…it'll still be better than doing nothing."

"Guess Jada is gonna take more than a day huh?"

I sighed. "Yeah…which is going to cut into a lot of other things…ugh…this bites."

"There's probably gonna be a lot of bumps in the road…"

I nodded… I need a plan. Something to try and find the cause of her issues and help her… somehow… Hmm… Actually, I have an idea…

---

Jada finally left her room again after some more hours of gaming, yawning as she slithered into the kitchen and quickly ate some cold leftovers and chugged some milk. "What to do…" She yawned.

She slithered out of the house and out into town. "Still have a few hundred rem. Might be able to get a pre-owned game." Said, yawning again. "Or maybe a coffee…" She said, scratching the back of her head. "Ugh… damn sunlight…" She huffed, squinting at the midday sun. "Note to self, become nocturnal…"

She slithered around and entered a small game store, browsing through the various games.

"Well, is that Jada?" An older voice spoke.

Jada sighed. "Hey Flinn."

Flinn jumped in front of her, kneeling down. He was human… ish. While he looked human, white skin, brown hair, he had reptilian-like eyes. "Looking through the bargain bins again?"

"Yes."

"If you're gonna be out and about again outside you know the price."

She sighed. "Just get it over with. I'm too tired for your usual bullcrap."

Flinn shrugged, gripping Jada's grass-like hair. He then pulled, and tore it off. The pain sent through Jada's head was like being stabbed from the inside of the skull out. Still, she grit her teeth as her plant hair regrew instantly.

"That will be all. Glad you remembered your place this time, Breeder-born." He smirked as he stood up. "See you around. Maybe when you're older you'll make something useful of yourself. Like your mother." He laughed as he left.

Jada said nothing, but looked back up at the games on the shelves. "Maybe an RPG?" She said, desensitized to the treatment she endured.

"Well, there are some neat RPG's in that bin if you really want to focus on that." I answered, having all my symbiotes literally keep me under control at what I just witnessed.

"Wah!" jada yelped, almost backing up into a shelf that was behind her. "What… dad? Where the fuck are you? I am not in the mood…" She growled as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"I'm in my symbiote form, in you when you were so deep into playing Dying Light that you literally didn't even notice." I answered. "And no, I already gave you an out yesterday, you're not getting it again…Who. The. Fuck. Was. That?" I asked carefully.

"This is a real invasion of privacy… I feel violated…" She shivered.

"Anymore fucking violated than what you just let that bastard do to you?" I asked her bluntly. "What you let him call you? How he treats you? Jada…what is wrong?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with…" She huffed, grabbing a game off the shelf and reading the back.

"Oh it's most certainly something I need to concern myself with, also I transferred like, two million rem to your personal account when you weren't looking but I see you're so in this routine of being physically and emotionally abused that anything outside this cycle is anathema to you." I answered. "I am your father, I am supposed to concern myself with things in your life Jada…you're my daughter, and I care about you a lot, so much so that I literally need to be held back so I don't murder that douche Flinn."

"Why? He's not wrong. I am Breeder-Born. It's not really an insult if it's true." She said, putting the game box back and picking up another. "And I'm not using your money."

"No, it is an insult when he literally treats you like a Slave that's just a few years away from becoming a Breeder. Is that what you want to be known as? Is that how you want to be treated in life? Do you resent me so much that you would sooner believe horrible people that treat you like absolute garbage?" I asked her bluntly.

"They've been treating me like that for a long time. Before you ever came back here. People have known me as that since I was born. You think I'm the only target Flinn or others take shots at? A lot of people look at me, my sisters and see us no different than they'd see our moms. Or any Breeder. A little hair pulling is getting off easy for the day."

I…I…oh boy…Uh…

"Button no." I heard Cheat immediately tell me.

"I don't care." I immediately snapped at Cheat. "Jada, you are more than what these people tell you, you being born to a Breeder should mean nothing, these people are just being absolute deplorable people…and…I'm so sorry I wasn't here Jada…" I told her sadly, me being the symbiote in her I could tell she could feel how horribly sad I was about this. "I'm so sorry…you shouldn't have had to deal with this…I should have been here…" I told her, hating this more and more and boy howdy was I going to make Flinn an example and not a single fucking person can stop me.

"...Yeah, you should have.. But you weren't. You made your choice. And my life, my hell is the consequences of your choices. Your actions. The day you took mom in, the day I and my siblings were conceived, the day you chose to leave rather than be here for us… you can't take it back. You think rage and vengeance will make it better? There are laws and shit now, hurt Flinn and you'll be imprisoned. Then what? Another ten years of our lives you'll be gone for because of a bad choice? Open your fucking eyes Button Mash… you screwed up and there is no fixing this shit."

"Why did you hide this from everyone?" I asked her.

Jada laughed. "You think this isn't known? Everyone knows, moms know, but there are too many of us to manage, they have too much to worry about because of you. Why else do you think I spend days in my room? Games help me escape. Forget. I can pretend my mother isn't a Breeder who for all my life til recently was in storage, that I never had you for a sperm donor, and I can stop hearing their voice taunting me when I'm just trying to sleep."

"...It'll only go so far…" I told her. "I've been through…some of what you've been through, not the physical abuse…and while I did have my mother…I do remember how it never felt like enough…how I wished for dad to come back when in reality…he would never come back home, because your grandfather is an Isekai like me."

"Yeah, I know, they told me everything. Unlike you, they were in my life."

"And I'm trying to be in your life now, cause you are going through the same thing I went through, just that you think being physically and emotionally abused is okay as long as you get your escapism…it's not, it never will, and it'll only cause more problems in the long run. When I felt you get your hair ripped out…when I felt how numb you were to it…you shouldn't be going through this, you shouldn't think that shutting yourself down and just going through life stuck in a hole with some form of escapism until you have to go outside is okay, none of that is okay…I'm sorry you had to go through this, but this is not going to happen anymore." I told them. "I'm here now, I care, I want to see you feel better, be better, not just…be me except getting treated worse."

"Whatever. Just get out of me when we get home." She huffed.

Jada eventually picked out a cheap game and after paying for it, stored it in her Assistant before she began heading back home. She kept her eyes down and slithered through the crowds.

"Jada!" A new voice called her. She looked up, seeing a rather chubby/fluffy humanoid cat boy run up to her. They were breathing heavily. "Been… one moment…" He wheezed.

"Breathe Troy…" She sighed looking at the child… he looked about her age.

"I am out of shape…"

"Round is a shape."

"Not the shape I'd like…" He huffed as he caught his breath. "Are you ready for the tournament?"

"Yes. Been practicing."

"Good, cause that prize is gonna be awesome!"

"It's not that impressive." Jada shrugged.

"It's a huge amount of money and a full immersion VR server!"

"Eh."

"Why are you even competing if you aren't interested?"

"Show off my skills." Jada smirked.

"You have issues…"

"No duh… So is there a reason you nearly ran yourself into an asthma attack looking for me Troy?"

"Oh, I also wanted to give you this." He said, pulling out a set of headphones and giving them to her. "I know Flinn stole your old ones… again…"

"Heh… thanks." Jada said, taking the headphones and storing them away. "You should probably lay off the sweets though… any larger and you can't keep saying it's all just your fluffy fur."

"I can't help it if it's all my mom cooks." He laughed. "See you at the tournament." Troy said, giving a wave before rushing down the street again.

I could feel Jada felt a sense of… calm, having talked to that kid.

"Who was that?" I inquired.

"Troy. A friend. He's also got a Breeder for a mom. We Breeder-Borns try and stick together if we can."

"The fact that 'breeder-born' is a thing and makes it sound like you're a second class citizen is horrible." I sighed. "But you have a friend, when did you two meet?"

"Nurses office."

"And why were you in the nurses office?" I inquired. "Was it because of Flinn and his band of bullies?"

"What do you think?" Jada asked with sarcasm. "Well, I was anyway, he was in there for a stomach ache."

"And he openly admits that he needs to exercise…maybe if Patrick's exercise isn't too rough maybe Troy could tag along with him…" I hummed. "But what's the tournament about?"

"Oh, Patrick's routine would probably kill Troy." Jada said. "And it's a Tournament for Dying Light. The goal is to get from the beginning of the game to the end, including all DLC, kill an infected with every weapon at least once, and all in a record time. Also kill at least one of every infected type plus the special boss infected from The Following DLC."

"No wonder why you're so into playing Dying Light, when's the tournament and what's the prize?"

"Few days and the prize is four hundred thousand rem plus that VR Server."

"Well, that would be a pretty penny even if we have enough money to not give a shit about anything ever." I mentioned. "But what about the VR Server?"

"They take normal games and when loaded turn them into an entire full immersion VR world. Sounds, smell, feel, taste, all of it as real as reality."

"Well, that's neat." I said honestly. "Didn't know VR got that in depth."

"Well, yeah. Good hardware can do anything." Jada shrugged. "That's what I want out of the tournament anyway." She said as she slithered down the sidewalk again.

"Just…so you can escape from everything?" I asked carefully.

"What of it?"

"I'll just be repeating myself at this point…" I sighed. "But you'll need your rest and be at your best to beat all the schmuck's at this tournament, what's your best time compared to others?"

"For completing the whole thing, my best time has been four hours." Jada sighed. "Still need to improve that if I wanna ensure a win."

As she neared the apartment, she looked up just in time to see… Flinn… he was leaning against the building. "Hey again there Jada."

"Why are you here Flinn?" She huffed. "I'm almost home."

"I know. Heard your pops was back."

"That's unfortunately true."

"I lost out on some money from the betting pool because of that. I'd like some replacement money."

"When I win that tournament you can have the rem."

"I lost more than just four hundred grand in that pool." He growled.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" She huffed.

"Pay me back. One way," He said, grabbing her hair again tight. "Or another-"

Before even I could react, another hand gripped his wrist, pulling him off Jada… Lilly?!

"I'm sorry, but you're treating my daughter with some disrespect. Please leave." Lilly said.

Flinn pulled his arm from her. "Like I'm listening to some Breeder who-" Lilly's tail slammed Flinn into the side of the building. "Agh…"

"That wasn't a request." Lilly said, slamming her tail back down on Flinn when he hit the ground.

"You… What the fuck-" Now Lilly grabbed Flinn by the hair.

"I might have been in a cryostasis sleep while my Master was away, but upon waking up I got to work learning about my children and I learned fast you and many others like to torment both my and my fellow Breeders children. Now, I'm not a Den Mother, but any Breeder worth their programming will not hesitate to put an end to anyone mistreating their children." Lilly said, pulling Flinn in close to her face. "You should do well to remember that while I do not require meals to survive, I can indeed eat, and as a Lamia, you'd make a pitiful meal."

"Bite me!"

"If you insist." Lilly said, actually biting into Flinn's arm and drawing blood. Flinn screamed as Lilly dropped him. His veins seemed to be glowing green around the bite mark. "As my biology contained a variety of Fae and plant matter and magic, I can generate a magically activated toxin. This will induce hyper intense panic attacks, leading to hallucinations, heart palpitations, and if left prolonged enough, you will suffer quite the nasty heart attack."

Flinn was indeed looking like shit now. "A… Panacia… can cure this…"

"Yes. But right now, you'll be feeling the effects in full. Cure, don't, the memory of this will be etched into that pathetic, small minded brain of yours. So I'll say again, stay away from my children and my family, otherwise the next toxin I inject you with will be instantly lethal…"

Flinn managed to get to their feet, their eyes looking off and skin looking pale as he managed to run off.

Lilly slithered up to Lilly. "Are you alright sweetie?"

Jada… was stunned. "That… was… so badass… How did you?"

"I might be a Breeder, but I am your mother, and I will protect you and all my children." She said, giving Jada a full bodied hug. "I am sorry I wasn't there to raise you personally, properly, and I know Master, your father feels the same. We are here for you now. We can't make up for lost time, but please allow us to be here for you now, and make new memories."

"She's right, we know that…we can't turn back time, but we're here now, both of us, and we're here to help you Jada. We love you and we want to see you happy, make new memories and be the family we were meant to be." I mentally said, using my symbiote body to hug Jada and Lilly. "You mean the world to us Jada…and that's never going to change."

Jada shuddered, shakily raising her arms up to hug Lilly back.

From my perception as a symbiote, it was like a wall that was built up finally was cracking and beginning to fall apart within Jada.

Once her arms wrapped around her mother, that wall finished breaking. For the first time in years, Jada cried. Not silent tears, but whales of long suppressed agony and sadness. Pain no child should have endured, she finally let go.

"We're here Jada…just let it all out."

Lilly and I held onto Jada as she finally let go of years of pain, and withheld emotions. Eventually, after some time, she passed out.

Lilly took her back inside, once we were inside my Symbiotes and I all went back into my body and Lilly and I took her and held her between us as we fell asleep with Jada between us. Like what she wanted when she was little.

For the next two days Jada was out cold. Between the emotional exhaustion and her lack of sleep prior, her body was recovering in full. The whole two days Lilly kept her in her arms, ensuring she felt safe and loved.

Eventually, early in the third day Jada woke up, yawning as she came back to the waking world. "How long was I asleep?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Two days." I said honestly. "You really needed it…from both the emotional exhaustion and also you just not getting any sleep for a long time."

"SHIT!" She yelped, almost jumping out of Lilly's arms and rushing back to her room. I followed with a raised brow and found her back at her computer. "Shit, shit, shit, the tournament is tomorrow and I slept two whole days away!"

"You needed it, besides, I went through your memories while I was in your symbiote form and could tell your lack of sleep made some mistakes." I said honestly, trotting over and sitting down next to her. "And I'm here to help you game your competitive little heart out Jada." I said with a smile.

"Dad, its single player no co-op speedrun tournament. Damn it I am so f-" She face planted on the desk. "Damn body you slept for two days, how dare you now demand food! Can you give me some of what I have in the bottom drawer."

I opened the bottle drawer, finding it full of canned coffee and liquid meals. The kind people on diets drink to avoid eating solid foods. Has she been drinking just this for the last two weeks?

"Okay no." I said carefully. "As your coach from today till the tournament, your going to need something better than this." I said bluntly.

"Dad we don't have time!"

"We have all the time in the world, and I should know, my mom forced me into this same routine whenever there was an arcade tournament back home, and out of all ten I was in, I was first in half of them and second in the other half." I explained simply.

"Dad I've seen your consoles, this is not an 8-bit game, this is a modern game, not your dinosaurs!"

Agh! My age, it hurts!

"I'm trying to help you, and all I get is you wanting to turn me into dust? How could you betray me, Gamer?" I asked dramatically, putting a hoof over my heart in fake pain to add to it.

"Dad nobody's called someone 'Gamer' in an entire Era what the hell!"

Oh come on!

"At this point I might as well be a jar of dirt with how old I am to you young people." I frowned.

"Yes."

"So can we get back to me trying to help you instead of you panicking and about to make mistakes and get more upset?"

"If you want to help me hand me my liquid meals and caffeine please… all that sleep and no food my body feels like a well rested lead weight."

I sighed, really wanting her to actually eat something, and not just this instant liquid crap cause this won't help her in the long run…"Fine…but when lunch hit's you are actually getting some real food, trust me, I maybe some super old to you, but I know what I'm talking about."

"I'm still alive aren't I?" She asked as I gave her the bottle of liquid meal and coffee. She chugged both and after a bit pushed herself back up. "Agh… that hurt. But I'm feeling better. Now back into Harran!" She said, starting the game back up on her PC.

"Alright, now time to go through and help you through this." I nodded.

"Do you even know how to play Dying Light?"

"One thing about being a Symbiote that comes in very handy, is that I got to learn thing's at a massively accelerated rate, and given that I was going through Dying Light and all the run's you did and every single little minute detail of it, yes, I do know how to play it." I nodded.

"That's really creepy… Never do that to me again… ever…"

"No promises, but anyways, let's get on with getting your time down a bunch."

"The hardest part is the fucking Hellraid DLC." She grumbled, starting a screen timer and beginning a new playthrough.

As she got into it I watched as she played. While part of me was wondering how she started playing an M rated videogame at nine years old, this meant a lot to her.

I kept track of time, and as noon arrived I had to pull her away for lunch… literally.

"No! I can still go!" Jada whined as I was pulling her by the tail and she was gripping to the computer desk like it was life or death.

"Not when your stomach is literally growling." I said honestly, which her stomach proceeded to growl in agreement. "You need brain food, you panicking has already given you a five second loss, every second matters."

"I wouldn't lose much time if you weren't pulling me away to eat!"

"No, you lost time way before I started trying to get you to eat something." I frowned, before using my magic for a dastardly thing…I grabbed a feather and lightly tickled her side as I hoped she was ticklish so she can actually get some good food in her and calm down.

"What are you- HAHA!" She laughed, letting go of the desk and hitting the floor with a hard thud. "Ouch… " She groaned as I dragged her outside the room and to the kitchen. I then pulled her up and sat her at the table. "You sir… play dirty…" She said, glaring at me.

"I play dirty so you can clean up your act." I said. "Now, time to get you some brain food…and sadly I forgot what silly pun my mom told me everytime she made it." I said readily.

"Ugh… solid food…" She huffed. "... Is this an omelet?"

"Yes, yes it is." I nodded. "And here." I said while handing her a cup of freshly brewed Green Tea. "Mom's recipe that I had memorized cause of how many times I've had it, and Green Tea overall both taste good, especially with all the Fey magic produced herbs, and also it helps the brain." I said honestly. "Plus, Tea just tastes better, Coffee's just…ech."

Jada gasped. "...Heathen…" She said, taking a bite of the omelet.

"Listen, I've tried coffee, I've tried to have it work for me, but through a combination of it just not tasting quite right and it making my bowels think it's Parade Day, I'd rather not have that happen."

"Weak." She said, still eating the omelet.

"Just drink your tea, it helps more with brain function anyway and Lynn helped me gather the herbs for Green Tea so please."

"Hmmm… Still no." She said, pulling the tab on a- Where did she get that?! I magically yanked the canned coffee from his hand. "My addiction!"

"This is also why." I frowned. "So no, no more coffee for the moment, the Tea has the same amount of caffeine and other important things, given that it's infused with fey magic, and it just tastes better."

Cr-click.

I yanked the second canned coffee from her with magic again. "Give me coffee or give me death."

"No, now drink your tea." I frowned. "Or so help me I will make you go cold turkey and Lilly will help me make sure of that."

"Tyrant!" She yelped, finishing her omelet off. "Tea is just boiled leaf juice."

"And Coffee is just hot bean soup, what's your point?" I asked.

"Coffee has various rich scents and flavors. Tea just smells like hot water."

"Rich scent? Fine. Flavors? Not unless you shove the thing full of creamer or other things. Tea is a universal drink, it has so many flavors, always smells refreshing and tastes just the same without the chance of the drinker having to be on the toilet for twenty minutes."

"And not everyone who drinks coffee has bowls weaker than wet tissue paper…"

"Told you she'd fight you on this." Lynn said as she slithered on by.

"Yes, I know Lynn, but she needs to learn to drink other things." I frowned.

"I drink other things. Water, juice, soda, the tears of my enemies when I crush them in games."

"She's not joking. I've seen it. It's twisted." Lynn called out as she was eating at her chair further down the table.

"It tastes of their shame~" Jada chuckled.

"Ri~ght." I said carefully. "So Tea shouldn't be a problem, and if you disagree, you're somehow more shameful than the tears you drank."

"Fine. But you have to drink this." She said, slamming down a third canned coffee on the table. This one though had the words 'Death Wish Black Coffee.' And on the other side was a long warning label printed on the can. "I'll drink your leaf juice if you can chug this."

"Cheat, please tell me you can help me not take the Browns to the Super Bowl?" I mentally asked her weakly as I grabbed the canned coffee.

"This is your battle love, I want no part of this shit show. Heh, pun not intended."

"How dare you betray me like this." I whined. "Ugh, fine…me being a symbiote and technically eating corpses should help me not destroy our bathroom." I thought. "Alright, you drink first."

"On three." She said, sliding the can over to me. I opened it and the bitter dark smell of the coffee hit my nose. She picked up the tea cup. "One." She said. We both put our drinks to our lips. "Two… Three."

We both chugged. The liquid was so thick, bitter and strong I swore it was borderline alcoholic.

I looked and saw Jada also struggling to down hers.

We both finished, then gagged. "That tasted like shit…" Jada spat. "Vial leaf juice…"

"How could you even drink something so outlandishly bitter? Rich my ass." I coughed. "No wonder why you think Tea tastes bad when you've destroyed your taste buds with this borderline alcohol."

"Oh and your tea is so much better. It's somehow both bitter and flavorless and on top of that I think there was dirt at the bottom." She gagged.

"This isn't gonna end well." Lynn said as she slithered passed us again.

"Yeah, that's a lot of caffeine in that can." Cheat said. "Expect a caffeine rush and heart palpitations in… now."

Oh… oh crap I don't feel good… could I always hear my blood flow through my veins?

"My stomach hurts…" Jada said.

I laid down on the floor, trying not to let the sound of my organs moving make my heart beat any faster than it currently is… and Jada threw up on the table…

"You two really are too much alike…" I heard Maud say some out of my line of sight… which I think Is becoming wider?

Some unpleasant time later, my heart thankfully didn't explode… but my intestines did… and Jada was taking some stomach meds.

"You know… You two are so alike it's scary." Philomina said.

"Dad's stomach is still weak." Jada added.

"Says the weak stomach from drinking tea." I huffed. "Tea's sweet and not a natural laxative, your stomach is weak."

"At least I wasn't seeing sounds, hearing colors and feeling smells… Seriously, that stuff is not that strong."

"Both of you, enough." Philomina huffed. "Button, you are used to drinking Tea, Jada, you are used to drinking coffee, is it any wonder your drinks threw one another's bodies into shock? Jada is used to drinking stronger, admittedly artificial stuff. Ironic given your Fae biology. Button, you are used to the more natural ingredients within tea, something like Jada's canned coffees were just a bit much for you. So enough of this or I swear to the Mother if you two wanna talk about weak stomachs you can argue from within mine." She growled.

"Yes mom." Jada said readily.

Right, Philomina can do that one thing… she did that with Cheat forever ago… guess she turned that into a form of punishment or grounding. Gross.

"Right…" I said weakly. "Alright…so now that both of us are no longer flume rides…let's get back to it."

"I threw up my lunch…" Jada sighed.

"I'll make you something light." Philomina said.

After a second, light and easy lunch we got back to her session. We only stopped again for dinner, which thankfully nothing happened and Jada went back at it until it was night, to which I now was tucking her in.

"You really tucked me into bed?" She asked.

"Yes." I answered simply. "Because I haven't done something like this in your entire life…until now."

"Uh huh… and the whole thing with the sleeping bag you zipped me into under the blanket?" She asked.

"Just to be sure you don't try and stay up to game."

"Ugh… Can you… stay here tonight?" She asked. "If I don't fall asleep from exhaustion I just hear… Flinn's voice…"

I nodded, gently getting into her bed and wrapping my hooves and wings around her. "Flinn will never hurt you again Jada, I promise."

"... Thanks dad." Jada smiled.

---

[Greed Dark Skill Tree: Treasury has developed a new branch.

Branch ability: Punishment has been obtained. Status. Active.]

---

The tournament was in a small library, the pc's looked new but were all the same factory model. Jada was already at her PC. Next to her was her friend Troy. The chubby cat boy and her were talking while I sat in the seats with the crowd of watchers.

"Did you hear what happened at the Indigo's place?" Someone spoke up from around me.

"Oh yeah, I saw the guard and such there. What happened?" Someone replied.

"Their son, he's dead."

"What? How?"

"Guard are calling it suicide."

"Fuck. I mean, Flinn was an ass but… maybe he had more demons than we knew."

Flinn is… dead? The same Flinn that tormented Jada?

"But…how?" I thought to myself worriedly. "He should have gotten the medicine to cure himself of that poison but…something's not right…"

"Well, wherever he respawned hopefully it gives him some humility. The boy was a tyrant."

"Yeah, can't say I'll miss the brat but to die like that on Armageddon? Maybe he just wanted to leave?"

Right… respawns… still, this feels wrong.

"His parents say anything?"

"Just that he came home roughed up, said he got into a fight before patching himself up. Nothing unusual for the boy."

"Weird. Well, wherever he ended up, hopefully he's at least as safe as can be."

The tournament began, and on a projector screen was all the competitors screens. I watched Jada's as she was blowing through the missions, DLC, and other stuff. Eventually she managed a time of four hours, ten minutes and seventeen seconds before completing the run and all the DLC.

She was also the first to finish by a minute.

With the tournament done, Jada was rewarded the rem and the VR server.

With that I took Jada for pizza.

"There wasn't any doubt." She smirked, keeping her head up high.

"This is gonna be so cool playing on that server!" Her friend Troy said, tagging along for the fun and pizza.

"Yeah, my sweet little gamer won without a single doubt." I said happily.

"Got pretty close there though. Glad I got lucky and found some explosives." She sighed.

We got out celebratory pizza and once Troy and Jada said their goodbyes I took Jada back home.

I sat in the living room for a while, thinking about what I overheard… He was an ass, a monster and If I could I'd have done it myself but…

There was a knock at the door. I got up to open it and was greeted by a face I haven't seen in a while. Parker.

"Hey." He said.

"Sup." I nodded. "How's it going Parker, it's been forever."

"I know." He said, walking in. "Unfortunately this is not a casual visit." He said, kneeling down to my eye level. "Sometime after New Foundation moved in they offered me a position. Given everything, I took the offer. I'm actually here on behalf of the O-5."

"And what do you think I did to personally offend the O-5 Council?" I asked carefully, knowing that the O-5 Council is the leading group for the New Foundation so now I'm just confused as to what I did here.

"Well, what you did was unintentional. So you aren't in actual trouble. In fact this actually somewhat works in your favor given the situation. This morning, sixteen year old Flinn Indigo was found by his parents hung by a makeshift noose made from his own bed sheets. The kid's a bastard. Got a rap sheet as long as he is tall and a stellar juvenile record. As an Adult he'd likely end up a D-Class within a week of his eighteenth birthday."

"What…what did I do?" I asked worriedly, as a growing sense of dread hit me with what I…could have possibly done.

"Like I said, it was unintentional and given the hunch you both aren't in trouble and this works in your favor. Open up your Dark Skill Tree to Treasury, would you?"

Slowly, I nodded, opening it…

[Quote]Treasury- Punishment: Anyone who harms or attempts to harm or steal your property will be punished. Depending on their crime, the same harm will be inflicted upon them at ten times the damage be mental, physical or psychological. Should the punished perish from the punishment, ownership of their soul belongs to you.[/quote]

I looked at the skill…I reread it…I thought of what Flinn did to Jada, not just what I experienced here but…overall…"How do I…own his soul?"

"That's a bit more complicated than I can actually explain. Good news though, because of that Ability his soul didn't wander Armageddon aimlessly until he respawned. It's stuck in you as a prisoner. Or rather, a possession."

"Uh…right…" I said slowly. "How do I get rid of it or…put him back into his body?"

"Were it any other means of soul capture, or even Consume, it would be fairly easy. Dark Skill Trees are anything but. You'd first have to… relinquish ownership of his soul."

"And how do I do that before the soul tries to vanish to Mother knows where?" I asked.

"That's what I'm here for. I can nab his soul before he vanishes to the winds. Now then, repeat after me, and repeat it exactly as I say." Parker stated. He took a breath before speaking again. "Dark Skill Tree, Greed branch, access Treasury."

"Dark Skill Tree, Greed branch, access Treasury." I repeated word for word.

[Assessing Treasury.

Compiling Treasury Ownerships.

List complete.]

When the list appeared, I saw everything Treasury deemed mine. This included my whole family. Everyone I care about. Near the bottom I saw them. Flinn Indigo (Soul).

"Select his soul."

I did.

[Flinn Indigo(Soul)

Species: Reptilian Humanoid.

Age: Sixteen.

Gender: Male

Status: Agony.]

"Alright, got his soul, and says he's in Agony…what the bastard deserves for torturing my daughter…" I growled.

"Maybe, but he is still a kid." Parker commented. "Punishment once the soul of the target is obtained keeps punishing the target as long as it's within your ownership. Right now, that kid is going through everything he put your daughter through at ten times the pain it caused her constantly. A literal neverending nightmare. Or maybe even hell."

"So how do I get him out as fast as possible?" I asked worriedly. "Cause if we wait any longer…I'm scared what'll happen to him if he gets out."

"Probably just be insane." Parker shrugged. "Now then, say 'Relinquish Ownership' then say his name."

"Alright…" I nodded. "Relinquish Ownership, Flinn Indigo."

[Quote]Ownership of Flinn Indigo(Soul) will be relinquished.[/quote]

From my Assistant popped out a small shimmering orb that had the Assistant mark upon it. Immediately Parker grabbed it. Somehow.

"And that's that." Parker said.

"It's that simple?"

"Only because you dislike this person. Had it been someone you actually valued, it would have been much more complicated." Parker sighed. "I'll keep the media out of this little situation and make up a cover story that it was luck he spawned back in just some miles from Sanctuary."

"Alright…just hope that things will turn out okay for Flinn after this…but I sadly doubt it…" I muttered, trying to imagine what he put Jada through but ten times worse could even be like…

"We will probably have to burn his memories of the experience. Some brainwashing too. He won't be the same as he was but he'll be alive at least."

"Yeah…that's probably for the best." I sighed. "But at least he'll never hurt my kids again."

---

That whole thing the past almost week was an event. I'm a bit behind schedule but Jada is happy and at least we have something to build on.

Now, onto my next daughter. Aqua. Her upper half is covered in a blue, almost moss-like fur with an equally blue head of the stuff that grows from her head down to her back. Her scales are a beautiful lapis blue and she is most noted for enjoying fishing and swimming.

I walked up to her door… and was greeted by a sign on it that simply read 'Gone Fishing'. Fishing where?

"Hey, Lilly?" I asked, seeing her slither by. "Where does Aqua fish?" I asked, given how Lilly might know a lot of things I don't.

"I believe she fishes at a river nearby the entrance of the Planet Room just a mile or so from the Garden." Lilly stated.

"Alright, thank you." I nodded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before heading off to find Aqua.

I haven't been in the planet room since we installed it. Entering I was greeted by blinding sunlight, green grass, a cobblestone pathway leading towards a large amount of fields and some barns even. Woah.

I opened my wings and took to the sky, soaring high up and finding the river. I spotted Aqua set up with a tent, a small fire, some supplies in boxes nearby and then she was lazily sitting next to the river, part of her tail in the water as she has her fishing rod cast out already and was waiting for a fish to bite.

I gently landed next to Aqua. "Hello Aqua." I said politely. "Catch anything yet?"

"A few small mouth bass and a catfish." She said, giving me a quick hug before looking back at the water.

"How often do you fish? And…I'm glad for the hug Aqua."

"Happy to give it. I usually come here if I have any free time. Usually weekends and breaks like this." She said, smiling softly as she looked out at the water. "I just feel… relaxed, being out here like this."

"I can imagine." I said, sitting down and just…feeling nature around us. Maybe it's because of my Earth Pony heritage but it felt…nice.

"Fish are really good too."

"That's good." I nodded. "But what other things do you like besides fishing?"

"Sometimes a swim. The fish like my moss skin and it tickles when they bite at it."

"That's good to know." I nodded. "I haven't really swam in…a long time…not just my adventure for…all that time."

"I hear there is a zone that is nothing but endless water." She sighed. "Sounds relaxing."

"That sounds neat, how far away is it?" I asked, thinking we could maybe visit there if at all possible.

"Far." She sighed. "Very, very far."

"So is everything else…" I sighed. "Kind of hard to travel when everything's so far away…"

"Yeah. But, this river is nice and there are oceans in this planet room I want to see someday."

"And it's a lot less travel time." I chuckled.

"Yeah. Maybe one day when I'm older I can buy a fishing boat and live in this place, fishing for our family."

"That sounds like a great idea Aqua." I said warmly.

"Thanks. I enjoy the simple things. Some kids think I'm weird for not having big dreams or fancy wants." She frowned.

"Well then they never understood what being an adult is like." I chuckled. "Cause the simple things is what really drives people…a fun Zombie Movie had a fun rule it had, 'Gotta enjoy the little things'."

"Heh… I'm actually not a big fan of the undead… for obvious reasons…"

"I understand." I nodded.

"Do you wanna fish with me?"

"I'd love to." I said readily.

"Do you have a fishing rod?"

"I…do not." I said sheepishly. "Also I've never actually fished before."

"I guess without hands it would be tricky too huh?"

"Yeah…not having hands causes a lot of problems." I chuckled.

"Wanna sit here with me anyway?"

"Of course." I nodded. "Sorry it took me a while to get to our meet up Aqua, just…had a lot of things to do with Jada."

"I know. She needs therapy."

"Which she hopefully will, cause right now with me and Lilly with her, things will get better with her…and literally no one will harm her again." I said readily…even though I was now scared shitless about whoever else was possibly suffering from my Punishment ability or if it was just Flinn.

"That's good. It's nice to see her happy again."

"Yeah…seeing her smile is amazing and I hope she keeps her joy…she's too much like me though…"

"I know. Everyone knows." Aqua chuckled. "Heard about your Tea versus Coffee fight the other day."

"Yes, it was a nightmare." I shuddered.

"I imagine." Aqua nodded. "So… you're dating Miss Barb?"

"Why does everyone think that after one day of talking?" I asked with a frown.

"Alexa was screaming it up and down the halls."

"Cause of course she was…" I grumbled.

"I think it could work out if you do."

"While I'd like it to work out, I'd also like it if people would give it more than one conversation and her home address." I huffed.

"Oh, if she gave you her home address she likes you."

"I gathered that." I sighed. "I'll try to date her but…I have a lot of things to do beforehand."

"Alright. So, do you want to ask me any questions?"

"Well, my first question is what do you think of me?" I inquired.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"Don't know?" I tilted my head.

"Well, I know you're my dad. Based on what you've done with the others since coming back so far, I know you're not a bad person, missed and care about us, but I still don't know you enough to make an opinion."

"That's fair." I nodded, though when I looked down into the water…I felt my wings quiver at seeing fish just lazily swim by. "I'm sorry I missed so much time Aqua…"

"... I'd be lying if I said I can forgive you for that. But you can't change the past. You're here now, and you're putting in a lot of effort to make up for it, so I'm not mad. I'm actually looking forward to more time like this. Just us talking. Maybe next time you can join in the fishing too."

"You don't need to forgive me for that…all I want is to be here with family and make things right." I nodded. "And I'd like to fish, it looks relaxing."

"It is. Gives me a lot of time to think."

"I'd love a time to think, but I have way too much to think about and deal with…" I sighed.

"Sometimes slowing down helps more than you think it would hinder." Aqua said.

"If only…but the world keeps ticking away and I lose track of things if I don't keep up with it…"

"You can't stop time. Just learn to go and work with it. No one but you can say how fast you can or have to go about things."

Heh. I guess all that thinking gave Aqua some real insight into stuff is she's talking wisdom this good at age nine.

"Seriously, some of you are too smart for your age." I chuckled.

"A good education and a hard life tends to help in that regard." She chuckled.

Hard life huh?

"Hard life?" I asked, now rather concerned about what she meant.

"You just spent a week with Jada. Some of us have had it just as hard. Some harder. Some of us got lucky and we experience it less, but every so often something happens."

"Oh you shouldn't have said that…" I thought to myself as I hid my growing panic well as I wasn't sure if Punishment was just an automatic 'if anyone did this to my family then they have to pay no matter if I know who did it or not'..."I'm…still really sorry about…all of this…" I sighed.

"It's something we deal with. Lots of others are in the same boat. People will always treat groups badly based on differences. It's just an unfortunate fact of nature. All we can do is not let it affect us, report when it happens, and march on."

"I…I understand." I nodded, knowing I can't tell my family about Punishment cause…oh boy will it cause a lot of problems…

I sat in the grass next to Aqua for the rest of the day. We'd talk or just stay silent listening to the water, wind or the occasional bird.

---

Today, knowing what I know… I sighed. This isn't good. I checked through my Treasury again, thankfully finding no one else that shouldn't be there in was there. Today, I was meeting Tulip. She had brown fur along her upper body, a head of yellow flowers for hair, and her snake half was covered in leaf-like scales with flowers dotting it.

I approached her doorway and immediately caught the scent of… sweets?

I knocked on the door. "You in here Tulip?"

"Come in!" She called from inside. I opened the door… Her room was like most of the others, only there was a mini-fridge, tupperware, a kitchen sink, oven and counter with a small mixer and blender on it. "Hey dad." She greeted, sitting at a small table at the foot of her bed.

Well… was not expecting this.

"I see you enjoy baking." I said readily.

"Oh yes, it's been something I've always enjoyed. I always help moms with birthdays and holidays. Me and some of the other siblings. Recently though I picked up a Magic Bakers Spellbook and I just had to try the recipes."

"Just make sure you don't accidentally summon a candy demon out of nowhere."

"Oh no, none of these recipes and spells involve summoning. If I did it right, once the bread is done and the magic ingredients all settle, within a few days I'll have a living bread loaf."

Hmm… This reminds me of something… but what…?

"Uh…just…if it has weird green growths on it, don't…also, don't teleport that bread…I don't know why, just don't teleport that bread."

"Heh, it's not TF2 dad. This is magic, not teleportation." Tulip chuckled. The oven then dinged. "Oh, they're done!" She said, quickly slithering over to the oven, putting mittens on then pulling out a bread pan. A nice brown crust loaf of bread sat inside. I noticed it had two ears, and a tail, also made of bread. She placed the pan on the counter, gently got the loaf out and put it on a metal rack to cool and, possibly come to life later on. "Oh I hope you animate little cat loaf, your pictures in the book looked so adorable!"

"Wait wait…right Adventure Time exists…need to remember that."

"What's Adventure Time?"

"A good cartoon show." I said. "One of the main characters is a Princess of an entire kingdom of sentient candy people."

"Oh. Weird. Anyway, you want something to snack on?" She asked, pulling down some full tupperwares of cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, mini cakes. "Do you like tea or coffee?" She asked as she brought out a kettle onto her stove.

"Tea, as you've probably heard I can't stand coffee." I shuddered.

"Green, black, oolong, earl gray, masala, or chamomile?"

"While Green is my favorite…let's try Masala tea." I said.

"Alright." She said, starting the kettle to boil and getting the tea out and ready. After a few moments she brought out a small jar of honey, a cup with sugar and a teaspoon, the kettle and two tea cups she poured the tea into. "There we go. Nice and fresh." She said.

I noticed this tea was made with milk and some sugar. It tasted sweet, but not overbearingly so. It was nowhere near what coffee and milk tastes like, far more gentle and so far my stomach finds it agreeable.

I took one of the cookies from the tupperware bins and tasted it. The sugar cookie was sweet, the bread tasted like there was a bit of vanilla and… nutmeg inside and the sugar on top was not excessive. It was just enough to blend with the other two flavors. Tasting the cookie with the tea… oh, oh this gives Sugar Cube Corner a run for their money…

"Wow, these are…these are just amazing." I said happily.

"I'm glad you like them. I've been thinking of either opening my own cafe and pastry shop, or maybe working for the Moral Union as a baker." She said, taking a sip of her own tea. "If I do open my own cafe, I know some of my siblings will want to help staff it. I'm not the only baker so far."

"And I happily support your choice in wanting to give the world sweets that give the Cakes and Pinkie a run for their money."

"Who?"

"Just some…old friend's back home…" I sighed.

"Oh… were you close?"

"Kind of, they were the bakers back in Ponyville, their house/shop was this neat Gingerbread House looking place, and Pinkie always threw the best parties."

"Sounds like she'd have worked for the Moral Union as an event planner." Tulip chuckled.

"Oh yeah, she planned for everything, she was friends with everyone and was already ready to throw a party for practically anything as long as it fit the situation."

"Was she the same age as you?"

"No, she was an adult already when I was a foal. Before coming here, she was married with a foal of her own. Lot changed back home."

"Do you miss it alot?"

I sighed…"I'll admit, I do miss home…I miss Ponyville, my friends…I miss Mom especially…" I admitted. "It was…simpler back then…"

"What did you do back then?"

"Honestly… not much. I had a job, but I was still without a cutie mark, so it was hard finding out what I could do that made life enjoyable. I guess for the most part I was just… in a rut, I guess. I didn't know what I wanted in life or out of it. I just did what I was told I had to do as I grew up. Only thing I knew I wanted to do was to try and date my long time crush… that didn't end well…" I sighed. "Later that night I found myself in this reality."

"Wow. Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you wound up here anyway dad. I mean, if you hadn't, I wouldn't have been born." She chuckled.

"That is true, and I am happy to be here and with all my loved ones." I said happily.

"I guess you still don't really know what to do with your life huh? Aside from the making up on lost time huh?"

"Yeah…that about sums it up…" I sighed. "Just…have a lot of things to do and not a lot of time…"

"How come?"

"Because I have too much stuff to do…it's like having to make five different sweets, have to prepare everything by yourself, and even when the timers going for it baking or something you still have a lot of other things in the mean time…"

"That's why you plan out beforehand so you don't get overwhelmed."

"These kinds of things you can't plan…" I sighed.

"Have you tried?"

"How can I plan around not knowing my own children until I actually meet them?" I asked weakly. "How could I plan around you being a master baker when I didn't know and didn't have anything to tell me besides your name and looks?"

"By talking to us, like this, getting to know us, like you are, and try and plan for things for the ones you know, but still be meeting and getting to know the rest. There are a lot of us, but there's no timer or time limit dad. You're probably the only one thinking that."

"But the longer this takes…the more you all might resent me more, not because I'm never around but because they might think I'm just picking my favorites and…ignore them all…" I sighed.

"Some might, but that just means, like with Jada, it will take time and patience to get them to warm up to you." Tulip said. "In the end, if you rush it too much some of them might think you're not really trying."

"Well when there's over three hundred of you adorable little wonders…"

Tulip chuckled. "And given what our mothers are, there might be another three hundred soon."

I face planted into the table.

"Bruh, you're too young to be talking about that." I said weakly.

"Heh. Maybe, but considering how many of us there are now, it's not that hard to put two and two together."

"Then it would be even harder to be with all of you…" I sighed.

Tulip just chuckled. "Maybe we should hang out in groups when you're done meeting us all individually."

"Yeah, I thought of doing that but…thought it would do worse cause some could think it was a negative thing like I couldn't spend time with them one on one…"

"Better to spend time with us as a group then never have any time to spend with us at all one on one."

True… Ugh… I need help or advice… There has to be a means that can keep those girls from the… uh, endless pregnancies… I know there's little to no contraceptives on this planet, and even infertility spells don't work. Not to mention, with the exception of Lilly the rest are all Den Mothers, meaning even without the normal… materials, Den Mothers can get pregnant from any DNA in general. It's less likely but given they're Breeders it's most likely their Programming being Code based makes it a much higher likelihood… meaning Lilly might have the same odds regardless.

I'll have to see about talking to someone about this later.

"There's way too much…" I grumbled. "But besides baking, what else do you like to do?"

"Well, when I'm not baking I try and grow my own ingredients. Being part Fae has its perks and I find it makes the pastries taste much better. I even grew the tea leaves I used for the tea, as well as the wheat, and other necessary ingredients."

"And I can tell." I nodded. "Your ingredients are top notch."

"I mostly just help the seeds and such take root. From there I let them grow more naturally. After every harvest I use a little earth magic to till the land and mix in some fertilizer to help keep it rich. Been trying to get my hands on some special seeds that grow in the winter and cold weather areas best or even only. They have unique flavors both as teas and the fruits and veggies that grow in that weather."

"That's really interesting." I said honestly, having tried to read up on farming but given how little land we had it wasn't really useful information at the time.

"Yeah. There's all kinds of unique produce and herbs out there. Reading up on them is really fun. For example, did you know there's a special type of tree that actually grows meat like fruit? The look of the meat is identical to that of beef, avian, or whatever animal the bark at the base appears as. The meat from the fruits even still bleeds a blood like liquid when cut into and harvested. They cook and smell and taste identical to the real thing. There's also a special kind of fruit tree called Flesh Fruit Tree, these grow heart-like fruits that when eaten, for species that typically feast on sentient being flesh or certain carnivorous races, satisfy their need to consume flesh and blood as well as the real thing."

Well, that's useful… and morbid.

"Huh…that's a bit morbid…"

"True, but the meat treed could feed the family with a good grove of them for life. We might even be able to profit by selling the excess meat to butchers and markets, or even open our own general store to sell them all."

I chuckled. Tulip sure has a merchant's mind. Reminds me of… mom. She'd go shopping and would barter and bargain and come back with as many of her bits as possible.

"Ya know…you take a bit after your grandmother." I said honestly.

"Hm? You mean Grandma Pro Go?"

Grandma- Right… I forget dad is a mare these days…

"I meant your Grandmother Hearts Care… my mother." I said. "Cream Heart in this world is…while she is a lot like my mom she's a lot different…"

"Ah. Alright. So, have you visited grandma yet? Er, your dad I mean?"

"Not yet…cause right now I have all you kids to spend time with first." I said honestly.

"Heh, alright. So, shall we continue with our tea time?"

"Yes please." I nodded with a smile. "Your princess would like more tea please." I said in a joking posh 'royal' accent.

Tulip giggled, nodding as we enjoyed the tea and sweets she made.

---

Tulip was nice. I should look into how she can get property to open that shop in case she does go that route.

Today, up next on the list was my daughter Ionia. Her upper half was all brown fur like mine with an almost cream colored mane. Her snake half was covered in brown bark like scales.

I went up to her door, knocking and not getting an answer. I opened it and inside I found her bedroom empty. All her stuff was here but she was not.

"Ionia? You in here or are you trying to be secret ninja snek?" I inquired.

I got no reply. Hmm. I looked around. There wasn't much here really. Shelf, desk, bed, some posters.

"Hmm…where are you?" I muttered, looking over the posters in case one of them was hiding like a secret door behind it or something

Most were movie posters. One, the one at hanging at the head of her bed, showed a drawn bow being aimed by an elf. Hm. Neat.

"Hey dad." I looked back at the door, seeing Leaf there. "Are you looking for Ionia?"

"Yeah, know where she is?" I inquired.

"Wreck room's park area. She's usually practicing her archery there." Leaf said.

"So archery girl…that's cool."

"One of several but yeah, she's probably there now."

With that, Leaf left to where they were going and I went back to the wreck room, walking past the many set ups of games, books and tv's and out to that green area past the large doors I saw when I was here with Leaf. Outside was… almost like the Planet room. There was large flat and hilly grasslands, a small forest, I think I can see a lake in the distance there and at the edge of all of this was a huge wall that went high into the sky. Guess that's the edge of this room. I looked around and heard something.

Walking around the side of the warehouse building exterior, I saw Ionia there, a large bucket next to her full of arrows. She was using a simple wooden bow, nothing fancy or extravagant, and her target was many, most made from tree logs with paint, and one that was a scarecrow that was full of arrows.

I made sure she wasn't preparing to fire as I walked over. "Hey Ionia, how are you doing?"

"Fine." She said, pulling her bow back and shooting another arrow. This one landing in the center of one of the wood targets.

"Nice shot." I said honestly.

"Lots of practice." She said, picking up another arrow.

"When did you start archery?"

"Two years ago." She said, pulling back and shooting the arrow into another target.

"Why did you pick up archery if I may ask?"

"In gym they teach us some basic combat and we can choose some toy weapons to practice with. I picked up a bow and liked it, so I got myself a real one and learned how to craft the arrows."

"That's really cool." I nodded. "But…what do you think about me? Cause I'm getting at least some decent impression with the dummies not having my face taped to the targets…"

"Honestly? I'm indifferent."

"How so?"

"Well, for my whole life you were not here. Now you are. And honestly I don't think I care if you are or aren't." She said, picking up another arrow. "Either way, I get the feeling you have no idea what you are doing."

"I'm doing something, and it's been going well since I started." I said honestly.

"I know. Still don't really care that much." She shrugged, shooting the arrow into the scarecrow this time, getting it in the neck.

I frowned, knowing some would possibly not care but…experiencing it…I'd rather it be anger that we can work through…"So, have any hobbies?"

"Aside from archery I practice alchemy."

"Oh, that's cool." I said. "I suppose you heltime to time?"

"No. She mostly makes potions and such. I make poisons, paralytics, hallucinogens, and other such status effect debuffs."

"Right…" I said carefully.

"Stuff that is best used for an archer. A little on an arrow can really make all the difference." She said, pulling the bowstring back and shooting another arrow. "Unfortunately, moms don't like me making or keeping them in the house, so I make them at Aunt Mei's workshop."

Mei? Mei Hatsume? I… wow. I forgot all about her. Her and Ali…

"Oh Mother, those two are gonna kill me…I forgot her and Ali…" I groaned bitterly.

"Well, these days Aunt Mei runs a repair and custom craft shop. She's helped out moms and us in the past, tries and get or make us presents for birthdays or holidays, and some of the siblings are planning to apprentice under her when we're gonna get to that. She babysat us a lot back when we were toddlers. Ali works for the Moral Union documenting expansions and developments for the town's own personal history records. He's not around as much but does pop up every so often."

"Ya know…when you say that, I'm surprised I haven't heard more Explosions…" I said sheepishly.

"She's better at her job than you might be giving her credit for." She said, shooting off another arrow. "After all, the Wreck Room here and other house expansion modules she built for us. We owe Aunt Mei a lot."

"I suppose I needed a good reminder…" I thought to myself bitterly. "Well…any questions you have for me?"

"One comes to mind, but I already know your answer."

"Does it involve Barb?" I asked. "Cause if so, do you have any other questions?"

"What? No, not that." She sighed, picking up another arrow.

"Then what would be the question? And sorry for assuming, ever since I met Barb it's been a consistent question."

She pulled the bowstring back. "Was it worth it?" She asked, letting go. The arrow struck the scarecrow in where the eye would be. "Leaving us?"

"No, it wasn't, and thank you for reminding me Ionia." I answered readily. "Thank you for making sure I remembered me missing out on so much of your lives, that I'm a terrible father cause I had crap to do and couldn't be here with you all, thank you for making sure I still feel like absolute garbage because I feel like a stranger to both my loved ones and my kids. Are you happy to know that?" I asked, taking a deep breath to calm myself down cause…again…

"I already knew that would be your answer, so no." She shrugged, finally turning to look at me. "The only question you should be asking yourself now, is if you're ever gonna repeat that mistake? If something calls for you to leave us again, will you?"

"No…" I said, looking into her eyes. "I wouldn't, I don't want to, I don't want to abandon my family again…I don't want to lose family again…" I said, tearing up as again…I'm only reminded of my failures. "I don't want to lose my family…but I've come to learn that, Life doesn't care…it gives you impossible decisions that you have to make, that you need to choose between the lesser of two evils…Life isn't fair…" I put a hoof to my stomach…with the child I'm still carrying from David. "All that matters is whoever has the most power in the end…I made bad decisions so that I could be with you…I made bad decisions so that things could be better for you…I don't want to abandon any of you, I truly don't…" I tried to stay strong and not break down… "I mean…you're the first to remind me that…some of my kids just might not give a shit, either if I'm here or not and…that hurts more than you hating me…cause what does it matter what I say in the end in my own kids either hate me or just…don't care?" I asked weakly. "Any of my decisions could mean all the same to you…where you just…don't care…"

Ionia said nothing, just turning back to face the targets and picking up another arrow. "Have you ever shot a bow before?"

"N-no…" I shook my head weakly. "I haven't shot a bow before…I wanted to, cause they looked cool but…well, I lack thumbs, didn't have magic at the time to work it…or just didn't have the ti-."

"Stop talking." She spoke, making me shut up. "Stand here." She pointed next to her. Slowly, I did. I walked over and stood next to her. "You have a symbiote that takes the form of weapons, right? Blades can't be all it can become."

"She's right. Blades are just the default." I heard Vengeance speak up, floating out of me and taking the form of a bow.

Ionia then gave me an arrow. "Now, use your magic to hold the arrow and pull it back on the string. Aim, breath, release." I nodded, confused as I did what she said to. The arrow flew… not hitting any target. She handed me another, and I repeated until I hit the far edge of one of the targets. "You're going to have to leave us again." She said, picking up another arrow but aiming her bow this time. "And you're going to hate it. More than you hated it before." She fired the arrow, hers hitting mine and snapping it off the spot it landed… woah. "But, if you're smarter than before, stronger than before, you can come back home in much less time. Maybe a year, if you're strong enough. Smart enough. Or even just from luck."

"I…still don't want to leave you all again…" I sighed. "But…nice shot, where did you learn to do that?"

"Practice. That's why you took so long coming back. Or rather, getting there." She said simply. "You have no practice. You've trained, I know that much, but you had no experience in undertaking genuine missions. Let alone ones like that. Plus, I heard you traveled via Time Runner. You could have paid Greed to transport you there far quicker."

I… I face hoofed, having completely forgotten about Kilpulu and his teleporter that took me to that war zone… hell I trained my berserker skills from that zone!

"You were impatient, you were thoughtless, and you were inexperienced." Ionia said, looking over at me. "You went off the plans of others without thinking about the resources you already had. Next time, do better. You can always do better."

"And when I try, I get yelled at." I answered. "And yes, yes I have…by practically everyone."

"Then you'll get yelled at." She shrugged. "You can't please everyone. There will always be someone to object. You know the best way to get them to shut up?" She asked. "Prove them wrong. And if they still object, prove them wrong again. As many times as it takes. You don't take no for an answer dad, that's both your biggest flaw, and greatest strength."

"Too bad when I tried to do exactly that, many people literally forced to stop, like Cheat for instance." I brought up. "I love your advice…seriously, all of you are too smart for your age." I admitted.

"Yet even then, here you are." Ionia said. "Still not taking no for an answer, but still not thinking. You're keeping the mindset of a soldier, a fighter. You want to never have to leave again? To never have to abandon us again? Stop being a soldier and start thinking like a leader. I know you can too, I've seen some of your save files on your more tactical based games." She smirked. "It's there, if buried under your pride, ego and hero complex."

"Wow, you have more faith in me than I thought if you think I have pride or an ego." I joked weakly. "But…thanks Ionia…it's just…really hard when there's just too many things going on all at once…and I want to make an archery metaphor, but you'll just go 'check this shit' and do it…"

She actually laughed. A short one, but she laughed. "Anything is possible in this world, that's what everyone says. Sometimes it just takes patience. Patience, practice, and some help. You aren't alone in this 'mission' you've found yourself in. No one ever said you had to do it alone. So don't. A soldier who fights alone dies the fastest, and a leader who leads alone, leads no one. And no, your Symbiotes don't count." She said, patting me at the base of my neck. "Loop was built with the idea of a party in mind… find your party and fight with them."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised some of them know about Loop.

"I shouldn't…but I'm surprised you know about Loop." I said honestly.

"I overheard moms mention it once. Don't waste that power. Even if it's just one other person, have someone to help you fight and make use of it."

True… even on my travel to the Nexus capital I didn't use it. I just relied on training, Three, or my Rage boosts.

"Well…I never used it because one of the thing's I was told in the beginning was that…well, if I had it on a lot, I'd basically be a primo-target for Chaos Guilds, and…seeing their Capital, I can easily see why…"

"You're gonna be a target regardless dad. Sooner or later. Why keep that trump card hidden when you already got… a little too close to the enemy." She said, poking at my stomach on the side.

Heh… yeah… Guess there isn't really a point. Doubt it makes a difference to David anyway.

"True." I admitted.

"Now then," She handed me another arrow. "Shoot again. You need to expand your weapons arsenal and I know that symbiote of yours can form basically any weapons, and you are going to shoot arrows until you hit a bullseye. Then next time, we do it again until you can do this." She said, shooting three arrows rapidly. The first hit the bullseye, the second hit and split the first down the middle, and the third did the same as the second, splitting it down the middle and actually breaking the log target in two.

… She's nine!

"Okay, no." I started. "You are nine years old, how!?" I asked incredulously.

She smirked and shrugged. "I dunno, practice? Or maybe I just inherited some skills from my father? Who's to say? But this will be a good way for us to bond as you want, and you can train in combat at the same time. I consider that a win-win. Don't you?"

… She's… honestly very terrifying…

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" I asked her, though I was just feeling happy to see her smiling like this and wiped away a few stray tears.

"Very much so, yes. Besides, if I get any of my combat skills from you, guess it just means I get my smarts from mom."

Cheat and Vengeance both laughed at that.

"Both of you can lick my ass." I grumbled. "Yeah yeah…whatever."

"Come on now dad, get to it." She said, pushing the bucket of arrows between us. "You have a lot to learn about how to shoot a bow, and I have plenty to teach you."

"I'm sure you do…" I sighed, picking up another arrow and doing what she said before, trying to focus a bit instead of just firing immediately. "This has been an entire day and I've barely been here for an hour…"

---

In the end, my time with Ionia was… good. It scares me how wise she is at times, smart, too much so for her age, and her skill with a bow is just… wow.

I look forward to our next session.

Now, I was on my way to my daughter Dailila. According to this photo, she has long moss-like hair, brown fur across her upper body, and like Lilly her 'scales' are like a bunch of leaves covering her.

"Can this daughter of mine please not be too fucking smart for her age? Cause this is getting both really concerning and really fucking weird." I thought to myself worriedly as I gently knocked on the door. "Dalila? Are you here?"

At first I didn't hear anything… I opened the door, and then I heard some music playing. Not that loudly, and I heard a soft voice singing. I walked inside and saw her sitting at her desk, pen in hand and writing something down while a small speaker played some music, but she was singing her own lyrics.

Never been acknowledged, never been in the light.

The cold of the night may know my name, but I wish to step into the light.

The warm, and the day, showering onto me like rain.

To bask in that world, to have everyone know my name.

I wish to be like them, those people I adore.

Yet all I am, is quiet.

In the cold of the night.

Alone, and not alright.

Wow…

"That was beautiful Delila." I said to her.

"Ahhhh!" She shrieked at hearing me before spinning around. "How long were you there!?"

"At…what I can imagine was the first verse of the song?" I inquired. "When you said 'Never'."

She shrieked again, rushing over, slamming her door closed then jumping into her bed and under the covers. "This is so embarrassing!"

Well… this is different.

"Uh…" I blinked. "Your singing was beautiful Delila…what's wrong?"

"I don't like people watching me sing! Or hearing me sing! Or looking at me… or talking to me… or being around me…"

Wow… okay… so she's very… not into people.

"Uh…huh…" I said slowly. "Want to tell me why? Cause with a singing voice like that, I thought I was back home for a second…mom always enjoyed singing…"

"I just get super embarrassed and nervous and I either clam up or run…" She said, still under the sheets. "I don't like being in public because it scares me. Or talking to people because I know I'm gonna say something stupid… In my room I'm safe. Not embarrassed and happy to sing to myself."

"Well…you're talking to me just fine, haven't said anything stupid…and trust me, I say stupid stuff all the time, it just happens." I said honestly.

"You're different. You're my dad. Plus I'm covered in my blanket. I can't see you through fabric."

"Alright…but when did you get into singing?" I inquired.

"I've always sung. When I was little I'd sing along with moms when they sang us lullabies, and to songs in my room all the time."

"I understand." I nodded. "I suppose you got that from my mother…she always loved singing, but unless it was apart of the 'weekly group song' back in Ponyville, she was so embarrassed by it." I chuckled.

"Cool… So, why are you in my room anyway?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you." I said readily. "Gonna spend a whole day getting to know you, learn what your hobbies, likes and dislikes are…and just…be the father I couldn't be because I was gone…"

"... Can we do all that without going outside? Please?"

"Of course." I said politely, gently taking a seat. "Just me and you today, no going outside or getting someone else involved."

"Yay… Can I also stay under my sheets? It's easier to talk to you this way…"

"You can do anything you want that makes you feel comfortable." I said softly. "So, what hobbies do you have besides singing and apparently song writing?"

"Uh… I read some. Watch TV. I play a few games."

"What kinda games do you play?" I inquired.

"Some RPG games. Minecraft, and Mario Party."

"Good choices…though Mario Party is a dangerous game with friends." I chuckled.

"I only ever play against bots so, I wouldn't know…"

"Yeah, that's fair." I nodded. "Well, given you enjoy music, what's your favorite song or genre?"

"Usually soft slow music but sometimes I sing along with pop and alternative rock."

"That makes sense." I nodded. "Got any questions for me?"

"Um… None I can think of. I guess um… Do you um… like mom? I mean, like actually like her I know mom is your Breeder and moms say you care about her and all the others but… do you love her?"

"Yes, I do genuinely love her." I answered. "And while it took a bit originally to get used to the…quirks, she is someone I genuinely love and care about."

"That's nice. Are you gonna get more Breeders someday?"

"Not if I can help it… these girls are… more than enough already…" I sighed.

"Alright. Should I expect to be a big sister at some point?"

"Yeah… I'm gonna look into how to… keep that from happening but, yes for now you do have more siblings on the way…"

"Yay! All my baby photos show we were so tiny and cute."

Heh… they were all so small back then. So, so small.

"Yes, all the baby photos I saw were all adorable, so many little sneks." I chuckled.

"And puppies and foals and all us hybrid, half breed babies. So cute! I might sing them lullabies when they're all born. So… do you have a question for me?"

"Hmm…so many questions to ask…" I hummed. "Well, what kind of song were you writing about?"

"Oh uh, nothing really. The music I was listening to has no lyrics to it so I like to make up lyrics I feel match with it."

"That's pretty cool." I nodded. "Do you ever imagine what would happen during the lyrics?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I imagine I'm on a stage, and I'm singing to a crowd… But I'd never do that IRL. Nope. Never. Not in a literal million years."

"Have you tried before?" I inquired.

"... Not… technically…"

Hm?

"Technically?" I inquired.

"I uh… sometimes play this VR game and I… sometimes can get myself to sing in an in-game cafe. Sometimes…"

Hmm… the fact she can do that much means her problem might be more with confidence. If she can do it a little in VR, then she must be building confidence through the anonymity of no one knowing who she is IRL. She probably has several VR personas for this reason too.

"Alright…so I think I have an idea with what's wrong." I said. "Sounds like you just have a confidence issue, cause I originally thought you were just shy…well, turbo shy…but you saying that makes me think you can do things, but can only do it in VR right now because of the anonymity, where no one knows it's you."

"I guess. Still takes me a long time to build up enough to go through with it."

"Confidence is a journey, sometimes it takes a while, but when you start to gain some confidence, it becomes easier and easier." I said honestly.

"I… guess… still, I get all nervous and scared and… a little nauseous."

"Yeah, that sounds like anxiety." I said carefully. "I think I can help try and get you some more confidence if you want."

"Does it involve forcing me into situations I want to avoid?"

"That'll be way later." I said. "But right now, the best way I can start this…is by you raising your blanket to look at me, and possibly say one word, then when you get comfortable, you can try and say two words and so on and so forth." I explained.

"Uh… Okay… I'll try…"

Slowly, she pulled her blankets off. Her eyes met mine and she froze.

"Hi." I said softly, now hoping she will either just put the blanket down quickly or say one word and then put it down…I really hope this works…

She was silent, still making eye contact and… Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. Shit! She fainted!

"Even Fluttershy wasn't this shy! And she literally flipped over like a sheep at her own shadow!" I mentally panicked, rushing over to check up on the poor girl to see if she was okay.

She was breathing, eyes closed and just unconscious. I sighed as I fixed her up on her bed. Well, this is a problem. How the fuck does the poor girl get through school? Lynn wasn't even this bad.

I sighed. This is gonna be… tricky… maybe I should try this again in a VR setting… that might be better for her… Hopefully she wakes up soon.