-Wayne Trotman

"Hi there, cuties! My name's Vallya, and this is Kiko! We're here to take extra-good care of you!"

"That's gonna be the last bedroom, you know," Seras mentioned, though she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she watched their newest addition play with the Nekos. The Kitsune had adapted perhaps faster than any of them; if anything, she seemed at home in John's dimension.

"I know," John said quietly. "But we can always build more. What's an afternoon grinding out wood compared to the help she's going to give us?"

"I'm still not sure she is going to help us at all, Father," Sophia said, eyeing the newly arrived woman with an abundance of suspicion. "I understand your ability, but… how can you be sure this is not another trick?"

"I can't," John admitted with a shrug, "but if this is a trick, whoever is pulling it off is too strong for us to stop anyway."

Sophia's concerns were quite well placed - John would normally never have allowed such a strange creation of his anywhere near the baby Nekos, except for a few mitigating factors. The first being that, as he freely admitted, he was fairly certain that if this woman wanted him, his creations, and his children dead, she could accomplish it with only a moderate effort. She'd already disabled a team of his best fighters without effort in her old form… if he really hadn't Purified her and this was all some kind of act, she had some other goal than simple **** in mind. Especially given her Observe sheet…

Vallya and Her Adorable Helper, Kiko!
Level 32 Star Guardian
<John's Creation>
590 / 590 HP
Relationship: 175
Alignment: +200
Status Effects: N/A

Another one that completely defied the rules of his Purify, and although at least this one had a proper reason to be so strange, she was also over the level cap he was supposed to be able to Purify! Hell, she was over John's current level cap of 26 altogether! What the hell was with an ability losing description and metrics as it leveled up, and becoming more vague?! And how did someone break into his training session? Whoever that woman was, she had managed to find him inside of a Barrier inside of his own realm… perhaps this new world was not so secure after all? Or perhaps she was just that powerful. Hell, even her Avatar - even after being Purified - could've easily put Seras or John into the dirt. She had more health than any of them, and glancing over her sheet, that wasn't even her primary stat. Instead, Vallya had the Agility and Intelligence of a powerful combat mage. Probably fitting, given her appearance.

"And again with the clothes. That level-up didn't fool me; someone was messing with my ability even before it leveled, they had to have been for Lerianna to come out so different to the others and how they started. Still, I can't understand why this is the only ability that has suddenly stopped not following the rules of its own text, and now lost so much of its specific nature. If my combat spells start acting up, I'm fucked…"

But without a cause to investigate, there wasn't much John could do. Even Evellyn seemed incredibly confused when John asked her.

"I'm not sure why this has happened, Master Newman - or who was in your Barrier. To be able to block your Observe, they must be quite a skilled mage, though… or something more."

"What else is there?" John asked, raising his eyebrow. "Moira told me that most of the fantasy creatures I knew of were totally fake, or that they'd been hunted to extinction. Demons and Elementals are the only two I know of so far."

"I don't think either of those could intrude on us in the new world, Master Newman," Evellyn said quietly, "but I admit I also do not know what could."

John nodded solemnly, closing the window and dismissing his assistant. While John continued to lightly ponder the mystery, Seras walked up and playfully wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, noticeably pressing her breasts into his back and grinding against him as she spoke.

"Hey Mastah, we gonna go into another Barrier? Guessin' you didn't get much practice in, what with us all gettin' caught with our bums out."

"Nah, there's not much point in continuing to try with these Purifies," John said, shaking his head. "I'm not going to be able to get the practice that I need."

"Givin' up then?"

"No, I… I need to continue my personal growth, and see about getting new talent trees or something. A way to properly advance the technique. Now that most of its metrics are gone and so much seems to be left up to interpretation…"

John bit his lip nervously as he thought things through. If anything had been proven by Lerianna and Vallya's creation, it was that there was far too much for a person to consider when creating a life. He had gone about as far as he was willing to with directing their specific history, personality, and existence. It felt wrong to dictate a life that closely, to determine what it had been, what it was, and maybe what it would become. But random backstories and lives - entertaining as they were to liven things up around the place - were not what John was meant to be practicing. If he was going to bring the family Lunaya remembered into existence, he needed to be able to Purify someone into existence right down to the last memory.

That was just something he couldn't do without getting practice, which involved violating the free will and existence of his creations too much to be comfortable with. What's more, he couldn't do it off a mere memory, especially based on someone else's memory.

"It's just going to have to wait a little while longer. We need to focus on the here and now."

"Right, so what now then? We've got quite a bit left o' the evenin'… wouldn't mind gettin' some alone time with ya, Mastah."

"Well, first I need to make a trip back to visit the Order," John said, his voice uneven. It was a complete lie, of course, but Seras didn't seem to catch his nerves.

"Oh, right, lemme go grab the rifle - I stashed it inside while you were talkin' with Evellyn," Seras noted, releasing John from her hold.

"No, I-" John scrambled to think of a plausible reason why Seras couldn't come with him. "I actually want you to stay here. Even though we might not be able to fight her, we could still stand a chance of getting people out of here if she does turn on us for some reason. I'm going to leave this with you."

John opened his inventory and took out the Portal Stone, placing it gently in Seras' open palm. She clutched onto it fervently.

"Right. If things go bad, I'll get everyone out of 'ere." Seras nodded so resolutely, John actually felt a bit bad about deceiving her like this.

"I appreciate that, Seras," John said with a smirk. "Moira doesn't want me to go alone, so I'll take… I dunno, Sophia or Lerianna, your choice. Who would you rather stick around?"

"Ehh… bunny's a bit faster, isn’t she?" Seras said, glancing over at the two other women.

"Probably. You want me to take her, then?"

"No, I was thinkin' she'd be able to make it to the forest in time to save- oh. Oh wow. Never mind then."

John stared in confusion for a moment, eyes intent on Seras while waiting for a response, but the vampiress' gaze was firmly locked onto something else. Following her line of sight, John saw something he was completely not expecting.

It was Lunaya, slowly pacing into the camp, eyes wide and uncertain but clearly determined as she walked closer and closer to the Nekos playing around with their mother, their aunt, and Vallya. If John had to guess, she seemed almost a bit suspicious of Vallya, but her eyes were narrowed at almost everything in the camp that was new to her - it was hard to pinpoint a specific stress point.

"So she decided to show up after all. Hope that fucking demon is furious," John muttered, keeping his voice low. Lunaya's ears were too sharp to speak freely.

"I was gonna say the bunny could prob'ly make it to the huts in time to give 'em a fair shake to get down 'ere and leave with us, but seems like that migh' not be necessary, if she turns on us while doggo's 'ere," Seras said, keeping her voice equally low.

"True… I'll be taking off in a moment, I'll only take Sophia with me. I just want to… Let me talk to Lunaya for a minute here."

John walked over to the Canid in a small daze. The moment that Lunaya saw him approaching, she froze in place, eyes latched firmly to his approaching figure. John stopped only when he was within arm's reach, standing across from Lunaya with a stern but curious look on his face.

"So… decided to join us, did you? What brings you down today, Lunaya?" John said, sounding perhaps a tad harsher than he felt.

Lunaya pointed beyond John, to where the Neko babies were playing around. John glanced that way but quickly returned his gaze to the woman, her eyes somber but hopeful.

"And you didn't bring anyone else with you?"

Lunaya shook her head slowly, sadly. John gave a single firm nod and stepped out of the way. Lunaya smiled half-heartedly and then strode forward. She didn't even make it halfway before Maera and Mithra made surprised mewls and half-hugged, half-tackled the dog-eared woman, every bit as rambunctious and energetic as Mithra's children. John watched for a few moments, an **** smile coming across his face as he watched Maera, Mithra, and the newborn Nekos all swarm over Lunaya's form.

"Y'know, if you wanted, we could always invite the demon bloke along for a training session," Seras suggested, leaning up against John as soon as she strode up to him. "Wouldn' be too 'ard to be rid of 'im that way."

"Not necessary," John said with a sigh, watching the silver-haired dog-girl as she toyed with the baby Nekos. "I was pretty upset when it happened, but… honestly? I've barely thought about her since she left except in relation to the promise. I know part of that is just everything that’s been happening, but honestly? If you, or Sophia, or the Nekos were lost, it'd destroy me, whether you died or just left. I'd be torn up about it for months, maybe years. The fact that she's gone and I hardly remember it, even if I am trying to forget…"

John watched the laughter and smiles on the faces of all the Nekos - young and old - as they climbed on and played with the newest arrival, and the ever-present motherly smile Lunaya wore on her face as she acquainted herself with them in turn. He was glad to see her so happy, but unlike so many of his other creations, John didn't feel invested in the smile. He didn't care if he saw it again the next day, the next week, or ten years from now. It was a nice addition to his world, but not something he would miss in the slightest.

"…she was right," John admitted with a bittersweet shrug. "Lunaya might not be able to express herself quite perfectly, but she was right. Our entire relationship was based on her reliance on me, and me assuming she wanted to be with me and taking that for granted. We had some nice moments but our biggest bond was over me taking her family away from her, or the other way around. It's… maybe not better, but it's a lot healthier this way. And I'm done assuming what people do or don't want."

"…So, what now?" Seras asked after a long pause.

"Now? Same plan as before," John said with a quick sigh, smiling at the blonde and kissing her lightly on the cheek. "I'm gonna go meet with the Order. Only difference now is that your babysitting job got a lot easier!"

"Suppose it did," Seras laughed, giving one last hug before she let him step away. "Oi, Sophia! You ready?"

Sophia strode over as quickly as she could, away from her protective position over the Nekos, Lunaya, and Vallya. She gave a quick half-bow to John and then clutched her arm over her heart.

"Ready as ever, Father!" Sophia swore firmly, her eyes alight with eagerness.

"Alright, then let's see what the hell Moira wants," John chuckled, putting one hand on Sophia's shoulder before pulling them both through dimensions and back into the Order Manor.

"Do you know where Lady Brighton is, Father, or must we search the premises?"

"Actually I don't need to talk to Moira at all," John admitted at last, pulling his phone free from his pocket. Checking out the apps that Tricia had added, John opened up the Abyssal Auction one and began to search the pages for the pebbles in his inventory.

"You have lied to your family, Father?" Sophia asked, raising an eyebrow but not moving, aside from crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just didn't want to tell Seras why I- ooh, prices have gone up. I think I can get like six million for these now," John noted. He listed them for sale and set the price a little bit below what seemed to be the standard, hoping for quick sales rather than maximum profit. It still totaled up to several million dollars, thanks to their good fortune with the latest grinding sessions. John was smiling as he turned his eyes back to Sophia.

"I actually was hoping to buy Seras a present, so I didn't really want to tell her about selling these little rocks in case she was curious what I'd use the money for."

"A gift for Mother? That could be a worthy price for a lie indeed. What significance would this gift have?"

"I- uh, well," John stuttered, blushing a little bit, "I was… hoping to buy her a nice piece of jewelry. A ring. I don't know about harpy culture with the way relationships work, but here… when you really like someone, when you want to spend the rest of your life with them, you buy them a ring, and you ask them to marry you. It's a sign of commitment, of love, of passion. Though usually it's done with only one person, so… not sure about that part. I really do love all of you, I want to stay with all of you forever. I want you to know that."

John realized halfway through what he was saying that telling another of his lovers about his intent to marry one of them might reek of favoritism… though he'd always kind of treated Seras as his closest lover, so it maybe wasn't new information. Also, Sophia came from a culture where the matriarchs and patriarchs had multiple wives and concubines, and the Nekos didn't really know what a wedding was…

Why was he worried, again?

"If you can make Mother feel happy and treasured, you should do it, Father," Sophia said, a rare emotional smile coming to her face. "I am happy with how we treat each other, and how good you are to those you love. Your relationship with Mother or any of your other lovers does not change how I feel about you."

"Th-thank you, Sophia," John stuttered, the softness of her voice and the total acceptance a massive relief.

"Of course, Father. I swore to follow you - and I will, to the edge of the endless horizon, if need be."

"I will always treasure that, Sophia," John said honestly, coming in for a hug with the taller woman, nuzzling his head into her neck and chest. "Seriously, I know I can count on all of you, but… in my darkest hour, when I'm at my lowest, I know you'll be there for me, unwavering and certain as ever. Thank you."

"It will be my honor to fight at your side in those times. Never hesitate. My fury is yours," Sophia swore, clasping her hand across her heart.

"Thank you, now let's-"

John heard a pinging noise from his phone and curiously pulled it out to check it. The Abyssal Auction had popped up a notification… his entire supply of the enchanted stones had already sold out! Wait, had they even-

John checked his inventory nervously, and was shocked to see the stones were already gone. He was expecting a drone pickup, or perhaps a magical location or item he had to put them into… they could access his inventory? John eyed the app nervously, making a mental note to ask Tricia and Moira why they were so comfortable with an app that powerful. Still… there were about six million more dollars in his inventory now…

“Change of plans,” John said with a nervous smile, “I wanna go talk to Moira… if we talk her into a ‘small loan’, I might be able to get this quest completed.”