-Shannon L. Alder [2]

"Alright, that should be enough for now," John said as the latest of the Barriers fell before them. They still had about half an hour left, but John had pushed his party to what he felt was the limit. With the maximum of five people in his group, pushing themselves through dungeons one after the other, John had been amazed what the addition of Sophia and the rapid improvement of Seras had done for their group. John had chosen to fight Alraunes, both as a way to spice things up and because he was interested in their loot.

That choice had resulted in two pleasant surprises for John, the first being that he was right about their bonus loot. The Alraunes almost universally dropped seeds, both from their individual loot and the dungeon completion rewards. The second was that the level of dungeons John was now capable of completing casually had ascended rapidly.

The minotaur dungeon John had been in not too long ago had only been level four, but Seras had still been quite heavily wounded. Although they were highly distracted by their conversation, John had taken that quite seriously. Yet with the five of them, John found that the level five and six dungeons weren't even remotely a challenge. They completed a fifth-level dungeon with Seras and Sophia wiping out almost every plant-like creature they encountered; no one took a single point of damage except John, and that was after haphazardly throwing himself at a cluster of the plants in an attempt to deal some damage on his own..

Upping the level to six hadn't really made a significant difference. Maera had taken a single scratch when she got bored and started to rush ahead; Seras and Sophia had double-teamed the cluster of Alraune that attempted to take advantage of her injury so harshly that John would have felt bad for them if they hadn't just injured one of the most innocent and inoffensive members of his party. Seven took its toll at last - whether it was the Agility, Intelligence, or Wisdom stats that did the trick, the group finally had to work together in order to avoid getting severely injured. John hesitated before moving the group to an eighth level dungeon, but when he at last ordered the group to stay in formation and allow Sophia and Seras to work their magic, they were able to complete the dungeon without anyone dipping below 30% health.

All in all, John was quite proud of his team. Their coordination was good, but in many ways their competition was better. Seras was powerful, strong, but predictable. Her moves were ingrained in her through years of police training and field experience, but they were not moves meant to kill, only to subdue. Her lethal strikes were uncertain, rough, and relied more on brute **** than anything. On the rare occasions one of the Alraune was capable of blocking or evading a strike, they were more than capable of countering - that was where Sophia came in. Although John was still uncertain of the relationship between his creations’ memories and their true histories, Sophia's muscle memories and obvious talent for noticing weaknesses in a battlefield - on both sides of the conflict - provided the perfect tool for honing Seras' incredible ****.

"I think I might be able to swing anothah, but I don' know if I could keep everyone safe. Maybe if it was just you an' me?" Seras asked, implying the Nekos be left behind but eyeing Sophia with an jealousy that was certainly not borne out of concern.

"No, I think we've got enough for today. Besides, I don't want to run any higher level dungeons, and we'd only get reduced rewards. It's not like we didn't make a lot of progress, anyway."

Boy, did they. Abusing dungeon completion rewards definitely seemed to be the way to go - John had gone all the way up to level 10 with a considerable amount toward leveling again. Meanwhile, Maera and Mithra were two levels higher, Sophia and Seras had each gained a level of their own, and John had enough seeds not just to plant a vegetable garden but to also reap a veritable harvest when they eventually sprouted.

"If you say so," Seras grimaced uncertainly.

"I do," John confirmed, nodding resolutely. The only thing he was regretful of was that Lunaya had never joined them. In fact, judging by the emptiness of the campsite, she had never even exited the house after John confronted her over her desire to gain strength without overcoming her aversion to combat.

"We've got thirty minutes left. I have a few things to do, so… whatever you guys want to do, go ahead and do it. When my cooldown runs out-"

"Are we going to fight the woman with the shield? I believe that if I can grasp her shield with my talons, I could drop her from high enough to-"

"Let's mark that as a solid plan B," John noted, shaking his head. "Moira is mostly worried about things that I still have no knowledge of, much less control over, so I don't… think she'll really try to fight us. Hard telling, though… she's been less than consistent since I met her."

"She does seem to go from friendly to fightin' pretty quick," Seras agreed, "seems like when I'm around it's just a lot of fightin' tho’."

"Well, it's time for that to end," John said firmly. He checked his equipment, making sure everything was in place in case the worst should happen. "I'm tired of keeping secrets and walking on eggshells. Moira hasn't yet decided whether she wants to befriend us or lock us all in a cell… it's time she had to make that choice."

"I will follow you into the fires of hell itself if you believe that is our best path, Father."

John blinked a bit at the unbidden swearing of fealty but nodded all the same. "Again, let us simply hope that it doesn't come to that."

The rest of the time until his ability eventually came off cooldown was spent preparing the house, moving the Abyssal Chest into the barren living room, and repositioning their outer campsite. Seras mostly stuck by his side after their training, while the others scattered to their own devices. John was interested the most by Sophia's actions - she hovered around John for a very long time until he eventually suggested she familiarize herself with her world. After that she materialized her wings and took off into the skies; he didn't see her again until it was almost time to return.

John didn't have enough time left to decide on a location for a proper garden or to figure out whether the soil of this strange world could even bear a proper harvest, so instead he did his best to prepare for what he might encounter when he returned. Moira had agreed to him taking Sophia here, so he couldn't very well bring her back immediately without exacerbating the situation. But Seras was coming with him - he had no doubts that without Seras at his side, John couldn't hold his own against most of the other Order Knights, much less Moira herself. In the past week and a half, John had been assaulted, murdered helpless captives, fought through a small army of fictional creatures, and been kidnapped… very nearly twice. There was no longer any optimism small enough to afford. Sophia seemed to be the only one with a significant objection to this.

"Forgive me my insolence, Father, but I cannot help but feel this is a poor decision. This woman has already threatened our flock; you would go to face her without all of us at your side?"

"If I am wrong about her intentions, you can be the first person to face her," John replied, shaking his head in dismissal, "but until it comes to that kind of fight, I want to play this a bit more cautiously. Seras has been around for a while, and Moira has even told her soldiers not to attack her."

"You could at least give me some way to make myself useful. Is there nothing that needs to be done here?"

"You really don't like being left to your own devices, do you?" John smirked at the eager harpy. Though her words were somewhat forceful, her eyes were almost pleading. A few days ago John probably would've been made nervous by the reliance, but he had adjusted surprisingly well to having so many lives depending on him. "Alright, well I don't think you're quite sympathetic enough to handle Lunaya's issues; do you know anything about planting and harvesting crops? Any of that implanted in your flock memories?"

"I… do not remember such things. I have memories of hunting and foraging, but I have seen no prey in the lands surrounding this camp and none of the plants in the forest to the north resemble those my kin have imprinted upon me."

"Well, that's…"

"Master Newman, may I interject? I may be able to assist with these matters."

"I… sure, go ahead," John said, shocked at Evellyn's sudden appearance. He hadn't seen her since she originally appeared. He couldn't say he minded her interjection. The soft and polite introduction was nothing like Natty's and was definitely the far more preferable one.

"You have built up a great deal of ZCP or Zone Customization Points, especially after your recent dungeon foray. These points could be used to alter the landscape around you in order to facilitate the 'hunting and foraging' which Sophia has spoken of. It would be difficult to sustain a large population of prey species on the minimal area currently available to you, but given that you have already created a water source as well as a moderately forested area, it would not be infeasible to house several species of angiosperms and other species which can bear edible plant material within your currently available space."

"Angiosperms? I, uh, I failed out of Biology. Twice," Seras murmured, not daring to meet anyone's eyes as she abashedly rubbed one of her feet into the ground.

"My apologies, Mistress Seras," Evellyn said, offering a holographic bow from her projected window. Seras' eyes widened a little bit at being referred to by any kind of official title. "More simply put, a very small number of Master Newman's available ZCP would allow him to plant numerous fruit-bearing plants and other nutritional edibles. The amount of land currently available would not be capable of sustaining all of his present creations, but it would greatly reduce the amount of food which Master Newman needs to provide himself."

"That sounds like an outstanding idea," John said. "But I haven't really touched the zone creations in… well, since I created the forest north of here for a wood supply. Can you show me what options there are?"

"Absolutely. Loading Zone Alteration Menu."

Beside Evellyn's display came a listing of various effects John could apply to his available zones, separated into three distinct categories based on the zone that would be altered by his choice. Glancing across them showed John a wide variety of possible choices. The forest to the north had no less than a dozen fruit-bearing trees as options. Some were familiar - apples, peaches, cherries - but some were completely alien to him, including one tree listed as a "Betriastin" fruit which only had in its description that it "tastes far better than it looks". The lake had some similar listing, but most of them had a "Warning: Will alter base environment." next to it, which John assumed meant that trees would be grown since the lake had none around it. The field of plains to their west was the longest and most extravagant of the lists, with numerous plants John could not pronounce, much less remember seeing before, and many of which he was quite sure were not real outside this realm.

"That's… a lot to consider. Sophia, what are your favorite fruits?"

"M-my favorites?! I eat what the leader of the flock provides, and I have never been disappointed! Fear not, Father, whatever you provide will-"

"I… okay, Evellyn, can you just create a few separate orchards in the forest? Peaches, apples, and pear trees for a start, and maybe some blueberry and raspberry bushes. Make them dense enough that it takes someone of Sophia's skill less than a full day to harvest each of them."

John could've sorted through the list by the most valuable - Evellyn had provided him with incredible amounts of detail, down to the weight and caloric load of each harvest, as well as the average time between harvests and what vitamins were provided by individual fruits. With his ability off cooldown, though, he was more eager than anything else to simply get this confrontation with Moira over.

"Affirmative. Creation of such vast sections will require most of the zone - over seventy-five percent of plant life will require alteration. Confirm?"

"Confirmed."

Evellyn blinked out of existence - John couldn't immediately tell if it had worked or not. There was no great flash of light or huge excitement, but John had no reason to doubt the virtual woman.

"Sophia, there's your task while we're gone - I want to you explore the forest to the north and scout for any fruit-bearing trees and bushes. I don't know if they'll form with a full harvest or if they'll take a while to bear edible food, but either way you can at least give me an idea of their locations so we know what is where. If there's nothing there yet, we can at least map it out and maximize our efficiency for later.”

"Not a problem, Father. I will take my time and examine as many plants as necessary to determine the extent of the potential harvest, regardless of whether they are currently in bloom or not. I assume that due to your abilities it will be at least eight hours before you return, and so we should not seek vengeance until after that deadline has passed?"

"If I don't return, then…" John trailed off, certain any declarations of 'peace' and 'living their lives to the fullest' were quite meaningless. A less-than-square-mile of seasonally available food was not going to sustain the people here. If John didn't return… they'd all starve. Or at least most of them, and that was a thought too gruesome to entertain.

"No sense worrying about it. I'll come back. I promise," John emphasized with a nod. Sophia seemed to take his words well, pounding her chest and lowering her head.

"Of course. Forgive me for my doubts, Father."

"No forgiveness required. Remember, do your best to get a rough idea of the boundaries of the fruits. Oh, and don't let Maera or Mithra ruin the house!"

With that, John initiated a World Shift and tore away from his pocket dimension, carrying Seras with him. He wasn't sure what he expected to find on the other side; it had been four hours since Moira stormed into the laboratory, and a part of him anticipated merely seeing Tricia working steadily in her lab. What he found was a disorienting silence.

As John and Seras materialized in the same spot they'd vanished from, no one called out to acknowledge their arrival. There was no Moira, no Tricia, and not even the Gorbachev's drones were hovering around. The lab tables were barren, experiments abandoned and electronics all hibernating. John twisted his head around, scanning toward the door, and saw no signs of guard or attempts at containment. The door was closed but unbarred, and he could not even hear the sounds of footsteps or voices outside.

"M-master, there's someone over there," Seras whispered. John turned toward the empty side of the room, the portion that Tricia had not yet unpacked into and annexed into her private lab, and found a surprising sight. The smooth tiles had been partially covered by a table surrounded by luxurious chairs, beyond even most of the well-trimmed dining chairs John had noted in the mess hall. These were a luxurious mahogany, with crimson cushions and gold trim inlaid across the backs. In one of those chairs, casually resting his head on interlaced fingers, sat Lord Brighton.

As John had almost always seen him, he was in full armor, with a blade resting idly at his hip. John froze as a wave of anxiety washed over him - he'd imagined Moira rashly seeking to confront them when they returned… but surely even Seras would not last a single exchange with the man whose level was still so high John could not even see it. Lord Brighton measured John with his eyes as he reached forward to the only visible objects on the table - a set of glasses and a decanter of a brownish liquid John didn't dare waste the mana to Observe. Without breaking eye contact, Lord Brighton poured two glasses from the container and took a long sip from one before speaking.

"If you are concerned about the door being barricaded, or guards outside, fear not. I am all that awaits you, John Newman. Please, have a seat… I fear we have a conversation that is long overdue."