You spent quite a lot of time with your mother yesterday, both in having her guide you to the shop and then accompanying you afterwards, even if you were ultimately unsuccessful in your goal. Spending so much time with Elisa also allowed you to monitor her. And while she acts fairly normal outside, in spite of being uncomfortable wearing her clothes, you haven't noticed too much of a difference. Except with the way she's looking at you. There's a distinct nervousness or discomfort associated with her gaze now. It's clear she's thinking things about you that she doesn't want to feel and is trying to disuade those feelings.
You are pretty sure this is Aria's soul fragment working on her. At least you can only imagine that being the why your mother ended up masturbating to you in her bed room. You aren't sure how much further Elisa can go. Obviously your diminutive frame prevents all the fun options from being available but there might be something you can do, right? Then again, maybe you don't need to do anything.
Elisa seems oddly reluctant to sleep with you tonight. It takes a considerable amount more pleading from you and Lucy to get her into bed. And this time she isn't lying close to you, but keeping you at a distance, keeping your sister in between you. She's clearly trying to keep distance between the two of you. And also it's clearly not working if the noises you hear when you wake up are any indication.
Taking a quick peek you spot your mother quietly playing with herself while looking at you. Her mouth is scrunched up and a hand hovers over it, preparing to muffle any cry. Her other hand is plunging in and out of her slick folds and her juices are running freely down her legs. Nipples sticking up like little spikey points. She's even muttering softly to herself about how this isn't something she should be doing. Seeing an opportunity you continue to pretend to be asleep while her attempts to muffle her moans grow more and more futile. You wait for the tell tale sound of her cumming and open your eyes.
'Mum, are you okay?' you ask her. Her eyes widen in horror as she sees you are awake.
'Wha? Why, er, yes, of course dear!' she hastily answers you.
'Oh, well I heard you cry out and thought you might be hurt,' you explain, driving the knife deeper. She struggles to respond, trying to choke back her shame.
'It's alright,' she tries to eplain, 'I just got a cramp in my foot and couldn't get rid of it.' You nod.
'Okay, mum,' you say, 'let me know next time, okay? I can help you!' She flinches at your 'childish naivety.' She's still at the tormented state meaning she'll be giving you a small amount of malice as her thoughts shift. But you'd like to start working on Aria soon so passing the fragment back to her would probably be worth doing. It shouldn't be much longer before Elisa accepts the new relationship you envisioned for her though, so you should be able to hand the fragment back fairly soon.
You are reluctant to attend class again today, hopefully it won't be as uncomfortable as last time. But you do want to check on your classmates and make sure the purification didn't affect any of them. You don't imagine it would have, considering none of them would have been in the room at the time. But there's always a chance that what ever divine power is remaining here is grinding away at your influence. You need to make sure it remains strong or all your efforts thus far have been for naught.
With this in mind you greet you class one by one in the morning and invite them all to spend time with you during your lunch break. You are pleased to see that they all agree readily. Once the bell rings you lead your fellow students out of the room like a mother duck leading her children. Then you head to a less well used part of the school grounds and have them arrange themselves in a formation in front of you like they are your own private little army.
Ever loyal, Roger stands by your side as you regard them all. It's finally time to decide what to do with them. First thing is first, another dose of Aura wouldn't hurt. You'll just have Roger step back a bit so it doesn't affect him so much. You opt for Trust as their Obedience is likely as high as it needs to be right now. You inform them all that it is your intention to start a new school club, using the Church investigation as your excuse.
You walk amongst them, explaining the purposes of the new club and that it would be possible for each of them to join without giving up any prior clubs or arrangements. Most importantly they would need to keep club activites a secret from everyone else as they couldn't be trusted. Encouraged likely by your Aura your classmates eat up your words eagerly. You have quite a few ideas for what you want your new club members to do. But first, you'll need to name your new club.
You always did enjoy a good bit of irony. And it might actually help to muddy the waters a bit. So sure, you'll name your club The Little Angels. You just hope none of your demon collagues make fun of you over this. Next up you decide to find out a bit more about your new club members. You have some information about them from Zach's memories but he had never really bothered to ask the important questions. You have sixteen kids here, not including you and Roger. Together you make a full class of eighteen, eight girls and ten boys. How many of these kids have parents in useful positions? How many would be able to cause some real grief with a bit of sabotage? Time to find out.
The result of your interrogation is somewhat disapointing. Of all your classmates only three of them have parents in useful places. Most of the rest of them have parents in dull desk jobs or other fairly meaningless locations. Two of them have only single mothers living off government aid. Less than useless. But there are at least a few with real potential. One boy's father is a solicitor, not the most exciting of positions but likely influential. And a solicitor will likely have some big and influential clients. Unless he's the kind of disgusting do gooder that helps the common people for pocket change.
The other two with useful family members are both girls. Cindy's mother is a lecturer at the local university, a good place to target the children of the more wealthy families around, and Louise's father is a middle manager at a bank. Nothing revolutionary, but it widens your options a little bit. It wouldn't be so bad to jump into one of these bodies and see what opportunities present themselves to you.
And you are starting to think about your next body. You've been in this child for too long already, you won't be able to make real progress so long as you are hampered in this way. Not that you have an easy way to move on right now. Your Soul Anchor has been levelled up so you stand a good chance of getting a good body if you die again, but you aren't really that keen on such a thing. After all, dying is really going to be a pain.
And it will always be difficult to arrange your death so you can just pick up where you left off with all your resources and subordinates still loyal. At present only Lucy and Sherry would be able to accompany you into a new life. And Cassie once you are finished with her. Everyone else would only be loyal to Zach and their loyalty would likely die with him, unless you can find a way to redirect it. Still, it is something you will need to do at some point...
Yes, once you have finished working on your current projects it will be time to move on from this silly child body. Top priority then will be trying to work out how to transfer the loyalty of your subordinates to your new body. The simplest method would likely be to keep hold of Zach's body and put a willing soul into it so that 'Zach' would be your subordinate and would control the class and others on your behalf. In order to achieve that you would firstly need to vacate Zach's body without being killed and secondly have another willing soul to occupy the body you leave behind. You aren't sure what would happen if you remove Zach from the Reality Notebook so you'd rather not chance it.
So then, another willing soul might be necessary to pull this plan off. Another option might be to utilise Ms Erikson as your accomplice. Of course, you'll need to secure her loyalty to your new body for that to work, and try to do the same for Ami and Venus. Probably your mother as well. Cassie will be easy enough, the book will make sure she obeys you whoever you are. As for Maria, you aren't really sure if you want to grab her as well. The only reason to do so would be some vague idea about having all three as a 'complete set.' Not sure if that is worth the extra time and effort. Maybe if you can find a way to do it quickly. Perhaps an opportunity will arise once you have both Sherry and Ami.
Rogue can probably be left to simmer for now. A few dreams to start getting her ready, but it would likely be easier to just bind her to your next body rather than get her used to Zach's just before you are due to change. You can keep appearing before her in your 'demon' form and play with her like that. No rush. And of course you aren't in a position to do anything about the cop right now anyway. Still it's good to have a basic idea of what you want to do.
For now though you'll need to finish with your classmates. It would be far too obvious to have them all start causing trouble. And you aren't entirely convinced you can have them do that without drawing attention. So for now you declare that Roger is the 'official' leader of the club and that no one is to mention your involvement to anyone. Finally you leave them with a fairly vague instruction to start gathering potentially useful information for you. Once you are convinced your influence hasn't been weakened and made sure to solidify your hold on them all you can start making real use of them.
Another dull couple of hours in class and it's time for your next private session with Ms Erikson. You already have a clear idea for what to do with her today. Capitalising on your work last time you explain to your teacher that after the church people came round before you've decided to form a club with your classmates to help prevent it from happening again. You encourage her to support the Little Angels and even convince her to provide you with a spare classroom to use as your 'clubhouse,' you'll be able to meet privately with your clubmates and plan patrols around the school to help keep it 'safe.' You even use a Suggestion to help solidify in Ms Erikson's mind that what the Little Angels will be doing is right and should be encouraged.
You arrive home with your family to find the now familiar face of your 'older sister' making herself comfortable in your house. Though you can't help but notice the wide berth she's giving the crucifix still on the table.
'You shouldn't let that sister in next time,' she sniffs by way of a greeting, 'those people always know how to ruin the mood!' You shrug. You hadn't been the one to let Sister Cassandra into the house. Even if you had been home when she visited you'd have been far too busy quickly swallowing a suppressant to concern yourself with much else. Inwardly you imagine what would happen if the two happen to visit at the same time. Nothing good, that is probably something you should seek to avoid.
You settle down in the living room, Lucy immediately pulled onto Aria's lap. Interacting casually with Aria like this is something you'll need to get used to, you still struggle to relax around her. It is difficult to work out what she's thinking most of the time. Fortunately, or probably in this case unfortunately, you are saved from this issue by your phone ringing. You answer it to Roger's panicing voice on the other end.
'Zach!' he sounds completely frantic, 'you've got to help us! There are men outside trying to get into the house! Something exploded in the garden just now and some woman is yelling for someone to surrender! I don't know what's going on but mum doesn't even want to call the police for some reason! I'm scared something bad is going to happen to her! Please, Zach, you are the only one I can turn to right now!'
Your immediate reaction to this appeal is what in the burning hell Roger expects Zach, a seven year old kid, to be able to do in this situation! Of course, you are no ordinary kid. But still, the situation seems clear enough. Ina's men are attacking Usa and Venus and Roger are likely going to get caught up in it. You could probably help out, but it would be dangerous. You aren't sure how strong Usa is but it should be able to fend them off without too much issue, right? The question becomes is that a risk you want to take or do you want to take a possibly greater risk and get involved?
'Alright,' you tell Roger, 'I'm on my way.' You quickly hang up.
'Ina is attacking Usa,' you inform Aria, 'I'm going to head over to help out. Care to come with? It should be fun. When was the last time you got to let loose and rampage a bit? Plus if Ina is working with the Church this would be a good opening move, right?' Aria considers your suggestion.
'Well I don't really care what the silly spirits get up to in their free time, but if you are going to go as well it might be interesting to have a look.' She conceeded. Then she waggled a finger at you.
'But don't think I don't know what you are trying to do, little man! I'm not going to fight your battles for you! Oh, I know! I'll give you a choice. It will be fun to see which you prefer! Option 1, I scout the place for you in advance and tell you where all the enemies are and what they are doing! Option 2, I create a distraction for you to make it easier to make your move. Option 3, I take out the strongest opponent for you to remove the greatest threat! What do you think?'
Ah, of course, she'd use this as an opportunity to play around with you. Perhaps she prefers this sort of thing to straight up combat? Might be worth bearing in mind. Still, you've obtained a limited amount of assistance without needing to promise anything in return. Though you imagine she'll be calling on you to repay this favour at some point. For now though, which option would be best?
You carefully consider her suggestions. With the ability to Null your Presence asking her to scout the area seems a bit of a waste of Aria's great power. And as much as you'd appeciate an early game advantage, you have to admit that your physical prowess is still not great. If Ina has sent any heavy hitters you'll no doubt struggle against them. It will mean giving up the most valuable soul and whatever useful items they have, but it is likely going to be a necessary sacrifice. You are still likely to get some pretty good spoils if you can pull this off.
'I'll take Option 3, please,' you ask. Aria grins.
'Very good,' she answers, 'that's likely the most fun option anyway. Shall we head on over there now?' You know she was acting as though she wasn't bothered before but you can tell she's pretty excited. The two of you head out, though Aria separates from you almost immediately. You aren't going to know when she's watching you and when she isn't so it might be best to resist using The Diary. Though if she does see it she's likely to just think that it's a regular blade without understanding it's true significance. Still it might be best to play it safe...
It's a difficult decision, you are loathe to reveal too much of your hand to Aria before you are sure she won't move against you and The Diary isn't just your trump card but a valuable item that every demon in the city is looking for. Fortunately, they were never told what it looks like so even if Aria does spot you using it she's unlikely to draw the connection. It will still lead to questions about where you got it from. You doubt she'll believe that your sadistic, incompetant mistress gave this to you. Then again, maybe she would? Still, you don't really have anything else you can fight with and so long as you keep The Diary in your bracelet when not using it you should be able to minimise the chances of her spotting it.
You approach Roger's house carefully. You doubt anyone will challenge you on the street but the chance does increase the further you go. All of a sudden you stop. The air directly in front of you feels different somehow. Reaching out with your hand it comes into contact with something. Nothing solid, it almost feels as though your hand is moving through water or something similar. A glance around doesn't give you any other indication of what this is. But you'll need to pass through it to reach Roger's and so you continue forwards. A moment's resistance and you are through. The air feels different on this side. Stiller and more muted, as does the surrounding environment.
If you had to guess, this is likely something Ina's people set up in advance to prevent their assault from being reported to local authorities. You managed to enter but you can't help but wonder if any normies can. Never mind, it doesn't really change anything. Except now you can't help but wonder if the demons can achieve something similar, and if they can how they could ever be bested by regular humans.
Activating your Null Presence you advance towards Roger's house. Immediately you spot two suited men and a dog positioned in his front garden. Positioned more as though to keep anyone from escaping rather than as though to attack, allowing you to assume that the true assault is taking place on the otherside of the house. The house itself is covered in a soft cream coloured shimmer, as though the light is distorting around it. Assumedly this is some sort of defensive barrier Usa prepared in advance. As you watch some sort of projectile launches out of a window in the neighbouring house and strikes the barrier with a loud crash and a louder boom.
To your surprise the barrier holds, though it does look weaker now.
'You little waste of space shitstain!' an angry female voice can be heard from that same window, 'just fucking give up already, you little cocksucker! I haven't got all fucking day!' Another voice replies from behind the house.
'You've gone too far this time, Ina!' Usa cries, 'when the other guardian spirits hear about this attack they aren't going to forgive you. Why are you wasting time here fighting with me when there are so many more serious threats in this city! Really, I never would have expected this out of you before and your language! Utterly vile you always used to be such a good girl before...'
'Ah will you stop running your cunt mouth already!' Ina retorts, 'And don't call me a 'good girl!' I'm nobody's bitch! You hear me! I won't be playing fetch or catching any godamned sticks! You fucking get it? If not I'll drill it into your dense, fucking skull!'
'I never said anything like that!' Usa protests, but Ina cuts him off with more choice swear words. You imagine their back and forth will continue like this for a while. But is Ina really here in person? If she is then Aria will surely go after her. You don't actually know where Aria is right now, but you assume she'll move when you do.
If the men positioned at the front are just here to prevent Roger and Venus from escaping then likely the main assault will be at the rear. Best to head over there. You head for the house on the other side of Roger's and take advantage of your small frame to slip between the two houses. Next you climb the fence and enter Roger's garden, darting into some bushes just before your ability loses power. You'll need to reapply it to move covertly again. But at least you managed a good look into the garden before you hid.
Two more men are standing by Usa's 'shrine' trying to crack the thing open using a police issue enforcer. Another man with a gun out is watching the back door, another dog at his side. So yes, it seems Ina is their main target and they are primarily concerned with keeping Roger and Venus penned up indoors and unable to assist. Your own Dog should also be inside the house but without you present to give him specific orders he's less than useless as you are sure at least some of these men will have whistles of their own to control the dogs. All in all, this operation seems very organised. Now you just need to work out how to disrupt it.
Activating your Null Presence once more you sneak out from your bush hiding place, The Diary in one hand and your stolen whistle in the other. It sounds simple enough, kill the guy with the gun, use the whistle on the dog. The other two are busy with the enforcer so you should be able to move before them, assuming they don't also have Enhanced Reflexes. But once again you are hindered by your size. It will be difficult to land a lethal blow on the man even with the element of surprise. Still you'll just have to give it a go. As you sneak up behind the guy another missile strikes the barrier around the house. It holds, barely. One more and it's likely to go down. Time to make your move.
You plunge you dagger into the man's side. At the same time you blow your Dog Whistle of Command, directing it towards his dog. It is immediately at attention, clearly Ina wasn't great at distinguishing who should be obeyed, just relying on her whistles. A gunshot rings out as the man you stabbed instinctively pulls the trigger and alerts the other men to the current situation. You bark a quick command, gesturing to the pair.
'Attack them!' and the creature leaps to obey you. Your first victim sinks to his knees, his grip on his weapon loosening. The gun drops to the floor and you hastily pull The Diary out and thrust it into his neck instead. As he gurgles his last breath and steam pours from his mouth you glance over at the other side of the garden. The closest man has managed to raise his arm in time to fend off the dog and it's teeth latch onto him. He grits his teeth in pain but remains upright. The other is hastily reaching for something. Is it a gun or a whiste? You can't tell. But you should press your advantage while you still have it!
Ducking as low to the ground as your child body can go you rush forward. The closest man is still struggling to detach the dog from his arm but the man behind has drawn his gun and aims it at you. It's a tricky shot though, not even counting he's shooting at a small moving target but his view is obscured by both his comrade and the dog. The shots wizz past you without hitting. And then you are on them, your Dairy plunging into the first man's side. Now the second man has no angle at all to fire on you and he tries to move back. The first man falls back, the dog now fully on top of him, shielding you from view. Only one opponent left. Up above you Ina's tirade is abruptly cut off by a commotion that breaks out on the upper floor of the property. You hope that's Aria making her move.
Reaching out with your power you speak to the dog before you.
'Him now,' you order it, using Animal Whisperer. The animal doesn't resist in the slightest, you had commanded it to attack both of them earlier so this is just an extension of that. It rushes towards the man, snarling and barking. Oddly enough, even with the animal bearing down on him he still aims at you. Poor bastard is actually trying to avoid hitting the animal as it charges him. He takes a single shot, which slams into the barrier around Usa's shrine inches away from your head. Then it's on him, sharp teeth closing around his neck with a sickening crunch. While this is happening you are finishing off the prone man before you, making sure his soul doesn't escape you.
The immediate danger over you can possibly relax. Except no, you can't. The men at the front would have heard the commotion and may well be on their way. And who knows what is happening inside the building next door. Aria only promised she'd take out the leader, anyone else in there should escape unharmed. But you do at least get a small moment to relax and plan your next move.
As much as you'd like to finish the last man off yourself and nab his soul it would be tricky considering the animal on top of him. He likely doesn't have long left anyway. It's probably better to neutralise the dog first. You could use the Whistle on it one more time, but there's another dog on the other side of the house to consider. Best to save it. Instead you hope to rely on your own abilities to achieve your goal. It's already followed your instructions twice already so it's probably starting to get used to this.
You approach the animal and place a hand on it's head to draw it's attention back to you.
'You are mine!' you declare, activating your power. You feel the animal's resistance through it's training battle with the Whistle's earlier compulsions. In the end it's your power, bolstered by it's conditioning to obey the Whistle that take hold. It immediately lets go of Ina's man and focuses on you with the same mindless adoration as your first brainwashed pet. You rub the animal's head. You are just as uncertain about what you'll be doing with this one as you were the first one your grabbed. But it just seems more useful to switch them over to your side rather than just killing them outright. A sudden screech from the neighbouring building catches you off guard.
'What the fuck! Why have I lost another one of my children! What are you fuckwits doing over there? Damn you Usa! You'll pay for this, you can be damnwell sure of this!'
You start to move towards the house. So Ina wasn't actually ever here in the first place? She must be using some sort of item to communicate from a distance. In which case who in the house did Aria target? It's difficult to know for sure until you get over there, but first you want to secure the safety of your minion and hopefully future minion/body.
The first thing that greets you as you enter Roger's house through the oddly unlocked back door is the one eyed barrel of a gun. For a moment you believe you've dawdled too long outside and Ina's goons are already here. Except the gun is quickly removed from your face and you are pulled into a warm embrace.
'Zach,' Venus cries, 'what are you doing here? What was all that gunfire just now? Do you know what is happening?' You struggle to answer her while simultaneously enjoy the feeling of your face being crushed against her chest. One of these days you'd like to experience death by cleavage, it would certainly be an amusing story to tell your friends. If you ever get any.
Any explanation is quickly forgotten as the front door to the house crashes open. A dog is barking and shots are fired. Of course, both you and Venus are already moving away.
You and your new pet charge up the stairs, Venus right behind you. Near the top she turns and fires her gun, discouraging any pursuit for a moment. Long enough to reach the top of the stairs. Roger and Dog are waiting for you upstairs, your best friend hiding behind your pet as though expecting it to protect him. It almost certainly wouldn't have, you are fairly sure you didn't program Dog to do anything but keep itself alive. He likely would have just sat there like a big bullet sponge. Or even worse they would have just used the whistle on him to regain control. Would it have worked? You have no idea. But at least you have two dogs to their one.
You cut the lights upstairs and set up an ambush, you give both your mindless dogs careful, whispered instructions. Then you reactivate Null Presence and hide in the closest room to the stairs. Their dog may still be able to sniff you out. Certainly it will smell everyone else. This encounter will likely depend on if you can take over their dog with your Whistle before it gives away everyone's position. Of course, there's always a possibility they manage to take control of one of your dogs with one of their whistles. Thus you'll need to keep them back until the last moment.
You listen to them ascend the stairs cautiously, no doubt expecting an ambush. The problem with having the lights off is it makes it difficult for you to see them as well. But at least you can still hear them. A human emerges first, his phone in his hand to light the way, whistle in his mouth, gun in his other hand. Behind him is the dog, sniffing away. Will it notice you?
Turns out their dog doesn't notice you as it reaches the top of the stairs. It does however sniff out everyone else, positioned in the rooms further from yours. It starts to growl and the man in front seems to decide to pick a room at random and blows his Whistle. It's a literal shot in the dark, he could have missed completely or he could have temporarily stolen control of one of your dogs. But you still have a chance. He'll need to give out and order first, you can still intervene!
He barks out an order: 'Come here!' and your newest acqusition comes padding out, no longer under your control. Shit! Your plan is ruined now! You'll need to attack now before they can utilise superior numbers against you! You quickly blow your own Whistle.
You target the other dog, and give a quick whispered order that you are sure it should be able to hear. To your consternation you discover that the beast has resisted your Whistle! Fucking Ina and her fucking dogs! Now you are really in a bad spot! Nothing else for it, you can't face down two dogs at once with just your one. You rush forwards, hoping that your Null Presence will work here. Your recently lost dog is busy following that last order, his dog is confused by the order it received and is fighting off. He's distracted, looking at his reaquired dog. He opens his mouth to give another order and The Diary sinks into his stomach, causing a gasp to splurt from his lips instead. His Whistle slips from his mouth and starts to fall to the floor. You have a split second to make a decision before the others recover and are on you.
Using your Enhanced Reflexes you snatch the falling Whistle out of thin air and blow into it, once again commanding the same dog into action. Again the stubborn creature resists you! Shit! If you get out of this alive you'll find a better way to maintain control of these fucking animals! You blow the Whistle again! Surely it still has at least one charge left? Yes! You bark out your command again! This time you feel it resonate strongly with the creature's mind! It worked! Finally! You hear the two dogs colliding with each other and feel a wave of relief! You might actually come out of this on top! And that's when a hand grabs you by the shoulder and you feel the cold metal of a gun press against the side of your head.
'Call your beast off!' the man barks, pushing the barrel so hard into your skin that it will likely leave an imprint. You blink, momentarily frozen, Diary gripped in your hand. There's no way you'll be fast enough, even with your Enhanced Reflexes. You allow it to fall to the floor and raise your hands.
'Alright,' you say, 'I'll do it, but if you shoot me you'll regret it!'
'Why don't you let me worry about that!' he snarls, 'just give it the order or I swear I'll...' A gunshot rings out, but you can hear it, and that must mean you aren't the one who is dead. The pressure on your skull is removed and you hear a serious of thumps and crashes. Likely the sound of the man falling down the stairs. You are safe, though you probably don't deserve to be. The light suddenly switches back on and you flinch. Venus smiles at you, finger still on the switch, gun in hand.
'Are you alright?' she asks you. You shake your head. Talk can wait. You turn to the last man alive. Barely, he's sunk to his knees, trying to keep his guts from falling out. Before him the two dogs are fighting viciously. You still have your own Whistle which may have another use. Or you could just keep hammering the two dogs with your own power until they submit. Then again these infernal creatures might not be worthwhile and you could just send Dog in to finish them both off.
With the immediate threat over you try your first Whistle once more. Thankfully you are able to regain control over your previously lost dog. But now you have a different problem, you are completely out of Mana. You have no way of assuming control of this last animal. Even if you find another Whistle you won't be able to properly enforce your will without Mana. So you'll have to put the last dog down. Calling in Dog you have both your controlled dogs double team the third animal. The fight doesn't last long. Your second dog is injured but will survive and Dog is of course unharmed. More importantly, both Roger and Venus are safe.
'My babies!' Ina's voice cries out, 'you useless fucktards! It's just one spineless, shit for brains, rabbit! How did you screw this up so badly! Fall back! I'll have you explain this mess personally! Don't think this is over, Usa! You'll pay for this!'
With this you assume that the battle is over. Only the one man is left, glaring up at you, hands still firmly glued to his stomach. Venus is covering him with her firearm. Her expression is difficult to explain, a mixture of various emotions. But her gun arm is firm and unwavering. With no threat of reinforcements you can take your time on this last survivor. And you do. By the time he's drawn his last breath Venus's face has transformed. Now she just looks horrified.
'Zach, what? Who? I don't... no... it doesn't matter,' he face suddenly goes blank for a moment, 'I have to protect the house, that's all that matters right now. We'll talk about this later, once things have calmed down.' She moves past you, moving down the stairs. Roger is also looking at you, but his gaze is full of awe!
'Wow, Zach!' he exclaims, 'you are like the coolest guy alive! I can't believe you took down all those villains without breaking a sweat!' You can't help but stare at him. Was he actually paying attention at all! You just barely survived! If Venus hadn't made that last shot, assisted you assume by rabbit blessings, you would certainly have died. And there were plenty of other situations during that battle where things could have gone horribly wrong. Your inability to take control of that last dog meant having to place yourself at risk to fix the situation and you didn't have enough mana to solidify your hold over it in the end, forcing you to kill it instead. You used up two Whistles and have no idea if there are any more. It was close, far too close.
Sleep has been upgraded to Level 2. It is now more powerful and can be used to target a group rather than just individuals. Useful if you want to neutralise the peanut gallery so you can focus on your main target!
You leave Roger to take care of your new pet, which you choose to name 'Good Girl' in honour of Ina's rant earlier. Not that she actually was a good girl, in fact she caused you a lot of grief before. Once your Mana has recovered you are going to work that fickle little brain of hers until not even Ina herself could snatch the bitch away from you. For now though you'll have to make do with giving her the same basic instructions as Dog. Next you search the bodies. Little of interest can be found with the exception of another Whistle, which you found on the body of the first man you killed. It would seem that only those actually in charge of the dogs are granted them. Makes sense. You'll need to ask Usa to check this one over.
You finally knock on the door to Usa's shrine and open the door. The rabbit statue springs to life and the spirit greets you warmly as though it hadn't been in serious danger an hour or so ago.
'Zachary, you came to visit! It's a bit of a mess here right now but I'm sure we can entertain you all the same. But I heard what you did for us, very good work, I'm very surprised. I bet Ina didn't see this coming at all an attack this large will have spread her very thin indeed so I don't think she'll be able to do it again any time soon. She will be back though so I'm going to have to start thinking about relocating. I should probably give you a reward. Shall we go for the same selection as before?'
'I have to say,' Usa continues, 'I really am impressed with your work. No harm done to my shrine nor my worshippers! You are a true friend to all rabbit kind and in gratitude I shall bestow upon you a further token of my favour!' A hexagonal tablet the size of a tea coaster appears before you, engraved with the symbol of a rabbit. You aren't sure what exactly it could be used for but you get the feeling it is fairly potent regardless.
'Be honoured, loyal follower,' the creature continues, 'it has been some decades since I have granted someone my emblem! Use it however you like!' You take the item and store it away. Hopefully you'll determine a use for it later. For now, however, you have a loose end to tie up.
'Speaking of your worshippers,' you continue, 'Venus and Roger saw all of this. What are we going to do if they blow our cover?' Usa seems unconcerned.
'Oh that won't be a problem,' it reassures you, 'my power will naturally filter out their thoughts and concerns. By this time tomorrow they'll have completely forgotten all about Ina and her people. My power is very sophisticated and subtle when it needs to be and as much as I dislike keeping secrets from my few remaining worshippers it is unfortunately necessary to make sure word of my presence here doesn't spread to anyone else.' You consider this. Even if both Roger and Venus forget this whole affair, what about the bodies lying around. How are they supposed to resolve that? And what about you?
'But Venus watched me fighting for you,' you press, 'if she mentions it to anyone before she forgets I'll be in trouble.' Perhaps Usa ponders this, you aren't really sure, it's difficult to discern an expression on the rabbit. But it seems to make a decision.
'You are right, youngster,' it concedes, 'I have not yet included you in my conditioning. And doing so now might not be fast enough. Very well, I shall allow you to borrow my bell. You can use it to remove the memories manually. Please return it once you are finished.' You thank Usa and pick up the bell from it's position. You are careful not to let it ring. To look at and to touch it really seems as though it's just a normal bell. Does it really have the powers that Usa claims? No, you shouldn't doubt this creature, it's proven to be more powerful than you would guess just based on it's appearance and attitude. You head back towards the house, bell in tow.
A sudden shift in the air around you and you realise that the barrier has been lifted and you have returned to normal time and space. You should probably have asked Usa about that. More importantly, the bodies have disappeared. Is such a conveniant thing really possible? You'll need to ask Aria about it later. Actually, maybe The Diary would be better? She'd be more likely to give you a straight answer, though you'll have to pay for it.
You return to the house, Venus is kneeling at the top of the stairs scrubbing dispassionately at some blood stains on the carpet.
'Hello Zachary,' she greets you, her tone guarded, 'I'll be with you in a moment. I just need to clean... something... I'm not sure what it was, but I know I need to clean it...' her expression dims for a moment before it sharpens once more. 'I do want to talk about what happened earlier,' she continues, 'but maybe not right now. I... wait? What happened earlier? I'm sure it was something serious and we need to talk about it. I know I'm upset but... what...' She really does seem troubled. No worries, if this works you should be able to fix that. You sound the bell. A single chime rings out and already you can feel the power inherant in the simple note. Yes, this thing is powerful! No wonder Usa wouldn't let you use it before!
The effect on Venus is immediate. Her face dulls, her expression fading and her stare becoming vacant. Her arms become limp and the cloth drops from her relaxing fingers. She wobbles and you are worried she'll topple but she's managing to at least maintain an upright position, if a tenuous one. Then she smiles widely, gazing up at you blankly.
'What is your desire, Lord Usagiri?' she asks you, pure devotion leaking out of every syllable.
'First thing's first,' you tell Venus, 'you will clean up and remove all signs of the battle that 'didn't' happen here today and then completely forget all about it. This includes Zachary's involvment in it. Understood?' She nods her head dreamily:
'Yes, Lord,' she confirms, 'I will clean up and then forget everything. As you desire!' Fuck her expression is so hot right now! If you weren't in this stupid kid's body...
'Instead you will remember that Zachary came round to spend time with you and Roger, a nice normal evening.' She nods again as she absorbs your instruction. Next you pull out the emblem Usa just gave you.
'Now hear me, Venus,' you continue, 'I have given my emblem to a worthy subordinate. He is now my right hand man and should be obeyed almost the same as you obey me. In addition, in future if someone shows you this emblem and tells you to 'follow the rabbit' you will sink into a suggestible state just like this one. Understood?' Smiling foolishly, Roger's mother repeats your instructions to her back to you. Ideally you'd like a stronger hold on her. But you are reluctant to push any further against the various hooks that Usa has in her right now. Certainly not with Usa's own item. There's no way to know if the rabbit will know about the liberties you are taking with the opportunity it granted you.
Besides, you'd much rather work on her with your own power, and try to subvert Usa's hold over Venus without the rabbit knowing. There's too much uncertainty here. Best to remain cautious. By setting things up for the future you can experiment with reasonable security. Certainly you should return the bell as soon as possible to reduce any possible suspicion. So for now, you'll leave things as they are. Your next goal will need to be obtaining access to Venus' soul. Only then will the serious changes be possible.
It's late when you finally arrive back home. After returning the bell to Usa and saying a few words to Roger you immediately departed. You aren't sure what sort of fallout to expect from this. Did anyone see you leave your house to help out Roger? Certainly anyone who saw you during the attack died. Unless they were watching you from the other building, which is a distinct possibility. Worst case scenrio, Ina knows you are in league with her enemy now, and after taking such a hit today she's sure to be seething. It won't be possible to mend this relationship now, you'll have to prepare for your next confrontation with her. All out war with the dog spirit is a distinct possibility.
Aria is waiting for you back at your house, still in her human form. As much as you'd love to speak to her more about the evening's events you are already running on fumes. You thank her for the assistance, even if you are unsure what it actually was. Aria seems as though she had a good time at least and she doesn't bring up The Diary at all. Either she didn't notice it, she doesn't care enough or she's holding onto that information for a more suitable time. You imagine a more in depth conversation with her is due, but you can't handle it tonight. You snuggle into bed with your sister and the darkness claims your thoughts almost immediately.