End of a Matriarch
Mao Mao hit the the exoskeleton of the wasp, tucking and rolling across its abdomen. Minori was down by the thorax, trying to rip the stinger out, whilst holding on for life as the wasp whipped her around. The abdomen was relatively stationary compared to the other parts of the kaiserin.
Mao Mao lit Geraldine up, focusing the light into the tip of the blade. Jumping down to the thorax, he dug the blade into the exoskeleton, sliding down the monster's body. Mao Mao made it half way down before the thrashing was too much for him to handle; it took everything he had to hold onto Geraldine's handle.
"Minori!" Mao Mao yelled out. Minori stopped tugging at the stinger, shocked to see her brother all the way up here.
"What are doing up here?!" Minori shouted over the buzz of the kaiserin.
"I'm here to help!" Mao Mao responded.
"I don't need help!" Minori went back to tugging at the stinger. The wasp swooped about, trying to throw the two of them off.
"So that's what being on this side of the Mao stubbornness feels like," Mao Mao muttered to himself. They couldn't do much in the wasp's territory, he needed to ground the behemoth. He could probably sever its wing, but he'll need to pull the sword out of the exoskeleton, which will leave him teetering on his own feet. "Minori, if you won't accept my help, then humble me by helping me instead!"
This actually got Minori to listen, much to Mao Mao's surprise, he wasn't sure that would work.
"With what?"
"I need stability, but this creature is moving too much, I need to keep steady to ground it!"
"So you want me to keep you steadfast, huh?" Minori hoisted herself over the thorax, unfastening her belt from her wrist, looping it around Mao Mao's waist, Minori held the ends as she used her claws to anchor herself to the wasp. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"
Mao Mao reeled back his arm, holding the other one out in front. Light began to gather in Geraldine, the blade turning white. "Lunar Lash!" With a single arc of the sword, a wave of light flung out, severing the wasps wing in two.
The kaiserin's body began to tilt, Mao Mao began to float, as the wasp's body fell out from under him, sending him into a free fall. Minori let go of the body, holding the belt steadfast, as it was the only thing connecting her and Mao Mao as they fell through the sky.
"Mao Mao!" Minori shouted. The wind whipping past their ears drowned out any sound they made. When Minori realized this, she couldn't stop herself from spilling her guts. "Mao Mao! There's so much I want to tell you! I'm sorry, I'm sorry for a lot of things. I wasn't the sister you needed, and by the time I realized that, it was too late. The guilt has been eating at me inside, so much so that I'm crying myself to sleep every night! I want nothing more than tell you all of this, but I can't, and all because of this stupid pact!"
Mao Mao and Minori continued to fall, until they were falling no more, suspended in an emerald green light. "Sorry I'm late," Ashaki apologized, floating up into their line of sight. "I had to make sure they were situated."
"Nice save!" Mao Mao said, whereas Minori turned her head, not wanting to meet her sister's eye.
"We should wrap this up," Ashaki suggested. "I have some investigating to do." Lowering the two of them safely to the ground, they found the commotion waiting that had been waiting for them.
Badgerclops sat perched on a rooftop, shooting down as many of the wasps as he had in his sights. Adorabat flew around, taking out stragglers with throwing stars that she kept who knew where. Violet and Tanya zoomed about, taking out a majority of the wasps. Further down the street, a dust cloud was beginning to settle, only to be kicked back up, as the Kaiserin flailed about, trying to right itself. The battle was almost over.
"Minori," Mao Mao asserted himself. "Help the others, and finish the swarm. Ashaki and I will finish the queen." Before Minori could say anything, the two of them already took off.
By the time the two of them got to the kaiserin, the insect had already righted itself, staring the two of them down with its kaleidoscope eyes.
"Mao Mao!" Ashaki whipped her arm out, green circular platforms generating midair. Mao Mao understood where his sister was going with this. Running forward, he leapt from platform to platform, dancing around the wasp's head. The kaiserin snapped at Mao Mao with its large mandibles. "Step off!" Ashaki shouted, firing off a blast of chi at the oversized pest.
The wasp turned its attention onto Ashaki, which was just the distraction Mao Mao needed. Hopping off the platform and onto a nearby rooftop. Mao Mao hoisted Geraldine up, prepping his new move. Ashaki was able to note Mao Mao and his actions, deducing what her little brother was up too.
Ashaki quickly crafted a chi circle onto her palm. Putting her palm up towards the wasp, a length of chain made of chi shot out of her palm, encircling the wasp, and embedding itself into cobble on the other side of the wasp. Ashaki slammed her palm into cobblestone at her feet, planting the other chain there. She proceeded to repeat this process several more times, making sure that the kaiserin had no hope of breaking free.
Ashaki peppered the wasp with smaller chi blasts, distracting it from her brother. Mao Mao on the other hand concentrated heavily on Geraldine, taking deep breaths. This new technique was lightly inspired by the moth battle, where he had kept the light inside of the blade. Only this time, instead of the full blade, Mao Mao focused it into tip. Focus is key, he was used to the Lunar Lash, but this new technique is more precise.
The tip of Geraldine was beginning to sparkle, glowing brighter and brighter, until it was virtually a miniature sun. Mao Mao was just about ready to fire off the move, all that was needed, is name. Something to shout at the top of his lungs as he launched the finishing blow.
If Lunar Lash is an arc of light, and this technique is piercing move, then the name should be reminiscent of its characteristics. A lightbulb went off in Mao Mao's head, he knew exactly what to call the move.
"Shooting Star!!!"
Mao Mao thrusted Geraldine forward, light bursting out of the tip of the blade. A column of light streaked through the air, beaming into the kaiserin, its head veiled in light. Once the light had left the blade entirely, there was nothing left of the wasp's head. The insect's body went limp, dropping onto the cobblestones.
In response, the many smaller wasps began to spaz out, falling to the ground twitching. At first, Tanya and the others didn't know how to react. But eventually, Tanya shouted at them to hurry, while the wasps were inactive. Moving quickly, the Sheriff's Department made quick work of a majority of the neutralized wasps. Ashaki used her abilities to disable any stragglers so that it couldn't grow to be another queen.
This took the group hours to clean up, before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set. Badgerclops and Adorabat left to retrieve the sweetypies so they could continue their lives.
When all was said and done, they all left to their separate things. Ashaki went back to the castle. Mao Mao and Tanya left together to continue get a drink. Violet went to do another round around the kingdom to make sure they got all the wasps, Ashaki assured that they wiped out all the wasps, but you could never be too careful.
As for Minori, she went back to Sheriff HQ, dragging her feet as she walked along the porch. Setting herself on the edge, she gazed down at the kingdom. Resting her head against the house, she was left with her thoughts, thoughts that went around and around in circles.
That was so stupid. Why did I do that? What was I thinking? I wasn't thinking, that's what! I didn't mean for it to go down that way. But it still happened, and its all your fault!
Earlier in the day, Brunhilde sat in the garden, an open courtyard in the middle of the monastery, each section had a different flower, each of which held a meaning for her mom, Cleo. Brunhilde never asked what the meaning was, just that she enjoyed helping her mother look after the garden when she was little.
The section Brunhilde was working on at the moment was a patch of violets, nestled between the irises and the hydrangea blooms. Brunhilde was watering the flowers by giving them a light spray, swinging the the hose back and forth.
Brunhilde looked up at the sky, looked like it was going to be clear for the rest of the week. But how long was she going to be here? She came here trying to find her spark, but so far, all she found were memories she rather forget. Brunhilde brooded as she moved on to the next section of flowers. She was so lost in thought, she didn't hear her mother walk up behind her.
"Brunhilde?" Cleo called out to her eldest daughter.
Brunhilde jumped in her skin. "Oh, Momma, I didn't hear you."
"That's quite alright dear," Cleo reassured her. "Can you tell your father lunch will be ready in a few minutes? He's in the lounge watching the crystal ball."
"The crystal ball?" Before Brunhilde could get an answer, Cleo was already on her way back to the kitchen to finish the meal.
Brunhilde quickly looped the hose onto a hook near the faucet before leaving to check the lounge area. The halls of the monastery would always make her feel small, it felt like every step she took only spanned a few inches, making it feel like it took forever to get anywhere.
Coming up on the lounge room, Brunhilde heard cheers and hollers coming from said room. Her father's voice was unmistakable, but what was he cheering for? Stepping into the room she saw her father, donned in his armor, leaning forward in his chair.
Looking over to the wall, Brunhilde saw what he was cheering for. The crystal ball was projecting a giant jade green insect that was ravaging a village with hundreds of smaller versions of the insect. Individuals fought back against the swarm of insects, a cyborg badger, a tiny blue bat, and a red furred tanuki. There were others, but Brunhilde recognized these other individuals; they were her siblings: Ashaki, Minori, Violet, and finally her brother Mao Mao.
Upon seeing her sisters with their brother, something clicked in her mind. Wait a minute, what's the date? Has it been ten years already?
"Come on girls! You got this! You have it on the ropes, Mao Mao!"
"Hello, Dad," Brunhilde spoke out, catching her father's attention. "What are you watching?"
"Ah, Brunhilde, you're just in time, they're about to finish off the wasp!" Brunhilde sat next to her father, watching the events unfold. Now, Ashaki had pinned the wasp in place, Mao Mao stood on a roof top, his sword glowing with the brightness of a supernova. With a thrust, the light washed forward, carving a hole through the wasp's skull.
"That's my son!" Shin cheered, jumping up from his chair with a wide grin. Brunhilde had never seen her father take such pride in Mao Mao before, when did that change?
"Oh, Momma wanted me to tell you that lunch is ready," Brunhilde said quickly.
"Is that right?" Shin said, turning towards the door. "Well we better not keep her waiting then!"
Brunhilde followed her father, but just before leaving the room, she turned back to the projection of the crystal ball. Seeing the faces of her siblings gathered together, she believed she found out her next step to finding her spark.
Mao Mao yawned as the escalating platform climbed up the cliff, his face felt really warm despite the cool night air. Tanya coaxed him into going with her for a drink, he had about eight glasses before calling it a night. Tanya on the other hand stayed, having gone nowhere near her limit.
Hitting the top of the rail, Mao Mao swayed a little with every step. Why did he let Tanya convince him to go drinking?
As Mao Mao walked up the steps, he saw the curled up shadow on the edge of the porch. Perplexed he stepped closer to the shadow. Now that he was getting a good look, recognized the shadow as his sister, Minori.
Minori was curled in on herself, her shoulders jerked as she made these gasping sounds. No, they weren't gasping, they were sobbing.
"Minori?" Mao Mao called to her. "Is everything okay?"
Minori's head jolted up, quickly rubbing the tears from her eyes and the fur on her cheeks. "Mao Mao! Uh-yeah! Everything's f-fine!"
Mao Mao tilted his head as Minori stood up facing him. Her fur was matted on her cheeks, and she fidgeted with her gi, Mao Mao recognized this as something she did whenever she was uncomfortable.
"No, come on, what is it?"
Minori noticed that Mao Mao was slurring his words, and the slight swaying back and forth told her that her brother was drunk. Maybe he wouldn't remember if she told him.
"It's just, I feel like everything I do just adds fuel to the fire, and I can never put it out on my own," Minori started saying, paying attention to the way her brother reacted. "I'm not strong like the others, I'm not cunning like Violet, or smart like Ashaki, or strong like Brunhilde, or as agile as Hinata. Hell, even you've started to surpass me. What can I contribute, that you can't get from the others? I just charge in head first without thinking."
Mao Mao took everything in, mulling it over before giving his reply.
"I don't think charging in is necessarily a bad thing," this got Minori's attention. "When people are in trouble, you charge in, with an almost instinctual ability to throw yourself into trouble, whereas everyone else would take a second to take everything in."
Mao Mao slumped against the wall of the HQ, sliding down until he and Minor were nestled together, their shoulders brushing one another.
"Also, I don't think you'll grow if your thinking about how you measure up to others. When it came to you all, that's all I did, and sometimes I think, maybe i shouldn't worry about that. You should run your own race, our sisters are their own heroes with their own strengths, and you have yours too. If Brunhilde and Hinata are heroes of the body, and Ashaki and Violet are heroes of the mind, the you're a hero of the spirit." Mao Mao pointed into Minori's chest, right over where her heart is.
"You are the first to jump into the fire, and when things get too hot, you're the last to jump out, and that's if you jump out at all. That is to say, what you think is a flaw, could be a strength." Mao Mao began to slump, the alcohol and exhaustion from the monster and free running finally settling in. "You never give up, and that's something we could all use."
Minori just stared at her brother, who now was sound asleep. She couldn't leave him like this. Standing up from the porch, she opened the door to the HQ. Doubling back, Minori picked up her brother, pulling him into the house, taking him all the way to his bed. After she tucked him in, she stared at her brother, who looked so peaceful.
Minori thought about what Mao Mao said. You're a hero of the spirit. You're the last one to give up. Minori gritted her teeth. Tears started to damped her fur once more. "Damn it Mao Mao, I'm the older sibling here, I'm supposed to be the one to comfort you."
Minori walked into the kitchen, ready to make more food for the Sky Pirates. The pirates had been putting away food in bigger quantities lately, Minori always got up early so she could go and retrieve the basket. But one morning, they gave her a note asking for more food with each serving. Minori didn't question it, she just made them more food.
That night, Minori left the Sheriff HQ with a lighter conscience thanks to her brother's words.