#Buggyverse

[numbugwritingblog]

Buggyverse Q&A

If you've got any questions about my story setting, the stories themselves, or any characters within, go ahead and ask! Every question that I like (and isn't going to spoil the story) will be compiled into the very first Buggyverse Encyclopaedia, release date TBA

[gootube]

brainrot upon brainrot upon brainrot up——-

mendel + warlock. mendel in an outfit inspired by warlock and his coven leader. the coven in traitors in salem outfits. farrow in traitors in salem now that the coven has been banished and took him with them and now everyone uses magic

[firebuug]

u kno those  posts like “hyperfixating isnt enough i need to sink my teeth into it and shake it around” . i think the closest ive ever gotten to the latter feeling is making a dnd campaign about it

[numbugwritingblog]

The Immortal Tale of Diego Sánchez (Chapter 1)

Index

---

08/01/2009

Today was a celebration. Numerous people had all gathered up with one unified purpose, each greeting each other with a smile and pleasant talk all to catch up.

Today was the birthday of Diego Molinero Sánchez. His 497th birthday.

Among those attending was a girl, a hybrid between a rosy maple moth and a panda – ensuring her freshly pupated bright pink and yellow fluff was stylised similarly to a panda, and also her absolutely massive size compared to the other moth children, and even some of the adults. She was only coming up short in comparison to the few non-moth guests attending.

She was so big, in fact, that her fluffy wings couldn’t lift her off the ground, forcing her to walk around. This was the first time she had attended Diego’s party, on account of either being a baby caterpillar or stuck pupating in a tree.

“Dad?” She asked aloud, looking over to her father – whom she was already around the same height as.

He looked back to her, tilting his head. “Yes, little Mina?” Even though she was going to get taller than him any day now, he wasn’t ever going to stop calling her his “little” Mina.

“Is Diego-”

“Uh,” he quickly cut her off. “He’s your great, great, great… er, greatest grandpa.”

“… Right,” she said with a slow nod. “Is my ‘greatest’ grandpa the oldest person in the world?”

He nodded. “Uh… yes?”

She nodded, tilting her head. “How old’s the next oldest person?”

Her father paused, he needed a moment to think. “Uh… about a hundred? I think?”

Her moth eyes widened at the news. “How did he do that?!”

“How did- you mean living so long?”

“Yeah! How did greatest grandpa do that?”

He let out a sigh, scratching his head. “… How about you ask him yourself? I’m sure he has a better idea than me.”

That was when a rather large panda came walking right in, towering over absolutely everyone else in the party. “Mina! Maneul!” She scooped the both of them up in a big hug. “I found Diego, let’s give him our gift together!”

Before either of them could say anything she carried them off in her arms, straight up the stairs. “I got the gift nice and safe!”

She took a turn through the hallway, up to the balcony up top, where a butterfly was seated, playing a lute to the crowd of children surrounding him. The butterfly was what we’d call a Mexican blue wing butterfly, but is known in this world as a Cualitlek blue wing butterfly. Dressed in a shirt and jeans traditional to the country of his namesake species, he looked like a rather young adult.

Mina noticed that one of his four hands was different from the rest, looking grey and… fake. “What happened to your hand?” She asked aloud, the lute-playing butterfly ceasing at the question.

“Hm?” Looking over to Mina and her parents, his face lit up into a wide smile – passing the lute to a young girl in the front, another Cualitlek blue wing butterfly – as he made his way over to greet them and gave them both a hug. “Camilla! Maneul! Good to see you two!” He looked at Mina, smiling wide. “And you must be Mina, I’ve heard so much about you!”

Mina tilted her head, looking up to her mother. Did they know him?

“So sorry about our lovely Mina here, she didn’t mean anything by it, grandpa,” Mina’s dad spoke up.

Wait. “This is greatest grandpa?!” Mina looked up in confusion, turning to him and then back to her dad. “He’s younger than you, dad!”

Diego let out a hearty chuckle, smiling wide. “Yes, that’s right, soy el major abuelo, but you can always call me grandpa, or Diego if that’s what you’d prefer.”

Soy el major abuelo???

Diego held out an arm for a shake – his upper right arm, with the strange looking hand. “And as for your other question, this is a prosthetic, I lost my hand some time ago.”

Mina looked at the hand with curiosity, before reaching out to shake it. “So it’s like a new hand?”

Diego let out a hum. “In a way.”

“Diego-”

“It’s grandpa-” Mina’s dad didn’t get to say much before he, too, was interrupted.

“Diego’s fine,” Diego had a warm smile on his face, looking to Mina’s dad with a small nod. “She just met me, let her decide if and when to call me grandpa.” He then looked back to Mina – he would be kneeling down if she wasn’t already so tall. “Do you have another question for me?”

“Yeah!” Mina said with a nod. “How are you so old?”

Mina’s mother looked down to her with shock. “Mina!”

Diego chuckled. “No no, I get it. If you learn someone’s almost quinientos years old you’re going to want to know why too.”

Mina finally struggled free from her mother’s grasp, standing tall and curious. “Yeah, you get it! You’re… Quinientos?”

“Five hundred.” After answering, Diego made his way back to his chair and sat down. “Well the truth is, I wish I knew myself. Really, it took me a while just to learn that I wasn’t getting older like everyone else was.”

“How did you find out?” One of the various children asked curiously.

Diego closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath in before a wide smile formed on his face. “If you want to know, I’m happy to tell all of you kids about my early years.”

“It’s your party,” Mina’s dad stepped in, even as Mina sat down amongst the rest of the children. “I can get someone to look after the kids.”

Diego shook his head. “Nonsense, the party’s so that I can meet all of my family, and that includes the kids. Please.”

Mina’s dad sighed. “I… alright, grandpa, if this is what you want.”

Mina’s mom held up her gift, smiling wide. “This is for you!”

Diego let out a small chuckle. “Please, gifts are not required-”

“I insist!”

Diego put a hand on his chin. “Alright then, there’s a pile of gifts in the lounge from everyone else who also insisted, I can open it up with them later, after the party itself.”

“Okay then!” Mina’s mother rushed off to put the gift in its rightful place, all while Diego looked to the small crowd of children gathered, all waiting for his story.

Diego smiled wide. “Well, it was 497 years ago, today, that I was born...”

---

08/01/1512

I came to this world with a padre from Ibleñia, and a Mexican native madre, the two had met and fallen in love even amongst all the chaos of the war the two were united on, and they stayed even once the other men began seeking girlfriends and wives from their homes.

“¡Tengo un hijo...!” My father, from what I heard, was absolutely ecstatic at the sight of me. His rough exterior melted the moment he laid eyes upon me, even as my mother held me close to keep me warm.

To the two of them, this was the most important day of their lives. To the world at large, it was just a normal birth. As far as anyone could tell, I was an ordinary baby.

---

08/01/2009

“Excuse me?”

Diego blinked, looking over to Mina. “Yes, what is it?”

“What are those words you said?”

“¿Tengo un hijo?” Diego asked again.

“Yeah!” Mina called out. “What is that?”

“Oh!” Diego nodded. “It’s Spanish for ‘I have a son’, what I was told my father said.”

“Oh! Okay!” Mina called out.

Diego nodded, smiling wide as he took in a breath to continue.

“I don’t know Spanish.”

Diego let out a small, thoughtful sigh – not one of annoyance of frustration, but one of contemplation. “Right, right, most of you grew up only knowing English. I’ll try to keep everything in English – though I might throw in a word or two of Spanish.”

He cleared his throat, ready to continue.

---

16/07/1523

Growing up, Pa and Ma did everything in their power to take good care of me, making sure that I not only grew up safe, but with the knowledge both of them had. One big passion I had early on was for music, practising on pa’s lute. When Pa noticed, he bought me a lute of my own and began tutoring me himself.

Don’t let anyone tell you that learning to play music well is easy.

Why, I still remember one day where I was practising my lute in front of pa, and one of the strings snapped.

I wasn’t very good at music, and this in particular upset me quite a lot. I remember just dropping my instrument to the ground with anger.

My Pa immediately picked it back up and looked me in the eye. “You need to treat it with care.”

“I give up, I’ll never be good at this stupid thing!”

My dad gave a small chuckle. He took a spare string out, and began the process of replacing the broken string with a new string. “Maybe you’re right.” He strummed it for a moment to test the new string, before passing it back. “But maybe you’re not. You like playing, don’t you?”

I sighed. He had to be going somewhere with this. “Yes…”

“I know you won’t believe me if I said you were good, no matter how sincere I was. But the fact that you don’t think you are doesn’t change the fact you like playing, right?”

“… Right.” I was now looking him in the eye in turn, instead of on my lute.

He shoved it right back into my hands. “Keep practising.”

“But pa-”

“You only have one life! I want you to be the man who makes the most of it, instead of the man who looks back and wonders if he could have done things differently.”

I look back down, taking in a heavy breath. “But it won’t be good.”

“So?”

I didn’t say anything more, instead I continued practising. I hoped he was right.

---

08/01/2009

“And he was.” Diego gently picked the lute back up, mesmerising the kids by playing a short tune. “And I’m glad I kept at it, because it was only a few years before I met someone very special.”

He let out a slow, soft sigh, smiling wide as he thought back. “This was the day I met my first wife, Maria.”

---

03/10/1529

She was a lovely girl, always full of spirit, and a hauntingly beautiful singing voice that always put the angels to shame. In fact I was doing some errands for my Pa when I heard that voice ring out for the first time.

Her family recently moved in and set up the local flower shop, and she was vocalising to herself while watering the garden that lined the walls of the store.

I was supposed to just get something quick and then head right back, but her song, her words, they had captivated me so much. I was just there, no concerns in my mind besides that beautiful voice…

… Well, until she noticed me. When I realised how I must’ve looked, I took a step back. “You-”

“Don’t talk with any rich boys.” Maria’s father had also noticed me staring, and came out. “They’ll act like you’re their angel before dropping you for their traída.” Before he even gave her a chance to speak he ushered her straight inside, barely giving me the time to let out a quick wave.

I needed to focus, and I made my way in to purchase… I don’t remember what it was now. But I still remember that as I was talking to her father, I noticed her hear peeking out from the door frame to look at me.

I only looked at her once I knew her father was distracted, and only so she knew I wasn’t just ignoring her.

---

07/11/1529

It was the next day that I took my lute and sat a small distance away from the store. I sat on a chair and began playing. I knew my music wasn’t as good as her wonderful voice, but I hoped it would be enough to draw her out. After all, it was like Pa said – I only had one life.

I remember feeling sweat on my neck when I saw Maria emerge from the store, especially once she saw that it was me playing.

And I remember that my heart sank when she came back inside.

It was okay, though. I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I continued the song I had, not wanting to leave my song unfinished.

Then she came back out, walking up towards me. She sat down on one side of the path, and she immediately began singing.

She stole the show, and I was just trying to match her beautiful voice (and failing), but it was okay. It wasn’t about being as good as I could, it was about sharing our music with each other.

---

08/01/2009

“Maria must be wonderful,” Mina said softly, already captivated by the story. It sounded so magical, just getting close to someone without needing a single word.

Diego nodded, letting out a heavy sigh. “She really was…”

When the small butterfly in front of him raised an arm, he looked over to them. “Yes, Azulita?”

“Can I meet Maria?”

“…” Diego gently put a hand over his own chest, closing his eyes. “Bless her soul, but I’m the only one who ended up living so long.”

“So what happened to her?”

Diego stopped playing his lute, looking to Azulita. “You’ll... hear it soon.” He took a small breath, closing his eyes. Taking a moment before he composed himself enough to continue, music starting back up.

---

17/10/1530

Today was a day like any other, Maria and I met in secret, I was playing my lute to signal where I was to her, and she would begin singing to let me know she arrived. Today we chose to sit by this old tree that was half-bent – it’s still around last time I was in the country.

We had gotten the wonderful idea to work on making our own song together – not only did we both get to practice with other people, but it meant that if anyone spotted us, we had an excuse ready to go if someone spot us together.

And we had just finished another practise of our duet together, and I was sitting on the branch of the tree, idly strumming my lute. “Your voice is perfect.” Of course it was, she was an angel in disguise as far as I cared. “I wish I could keep my fingers strumming along fast enough to keep up.”

She let out a small giggle at that. Before I could ask what was so funny she spoke. “I was just thinking the opposite, your skill with that lute is so… mesmerising… but my voice is so shrill in comparison.”

That was nonsense, and I made sure to tell her. “Your voice, it’s as perfect and wonderful as your face, I could spend all day just appreciating you and I’d be happy.”

She lets out a small bow in response, a faint blush behind her smile. “Thank you, but I really do need to work on my voice…”

I wasn’t thinking straight anymore, I just wanted to show her how wonderful she was. “I wish you would hear what I do.” So I hopped off the branch and began walking towards her.

She knelt down, smiling wide as she put a hand on my shoulder. “I wish the same thing, for you to hear the magical lute that I can.”

I didn’t answer her. I’m not even sure I realised what she said in the moment. I just gave her a kiss. My first kiss. Her first kiss.

And when it was over, we stared into each other’s eyes. I wish that moment lasted forever.

But reality caught up with us, and we both backed away. As much as we both wanted it… I knew I just made a mistake.

“I’m sorry.” She was already backing up. “But we can’t… My father wouldn’t-”

I was already backing up too, shaking my head. “I know. I- I need to go.” I picked up my lute and left.

---

04/06/1532

I remember practising with ma, playing the lute while she played on her flute, and we were toying around with two very different styles of music. I spotted Maria from the corner of my eye, passing by our front window with some man.

Ma must have noticed, because she stopped playing her trumpet to look at me. “What’s gotten you feeling down?”

I put my lute down and turned to her. “I… You remember Maria?”

“Si.”

I put a hand on the table, I wasn’t sure how to bring it up yet. “Well… I liked her. And she liked me.”

“Then go to her,” Ma suggested with a warm smile.

“I can’t. Not only does her father not approve, but she’s with someone else now.”

Ma nodded slowly. “I’m sorry to hear, my little Diego…”

“I never should have kissed her. At least then we’d still be talking, and-”

“You only live once, Diego.” I had to stop and blink. “Go to her. Be her friend. Keep her in your life.”

I had to think, letting in a deep breath. “But…” I wanted to take her advice. “… I don’t want to just impose myself on her life again.”

“Do you want to be left thinking about what could be?” As Ma looked me in the eye, I knew. I knew she was right. Even if I didn’t realise it then, I could feel it.

“… Okay. I’ll go speak to her.”

My Ma smiled warmly before she continued playing on her trumpet. I picked up my lute, ready to start playing once again.

“… Tlazohcamati.” I made sure to thank her in her native tongue – our native tongue.

Ma smiled wide, gently ruffling the fluff on my head. “Ahmitla.”

---

27/9/1532

I did work up the nerve to speak with Maria, and as awkward as I was expecting things to be, she just… hugged me. Told me she was glad we could still be friends. We even began planning to pick back up on the song we were making. I thought that was that.

Until a few months later. I was running late to Maria’s home for practice. I came in just in time to hear Maria yelling out in anger.

Before I could even knock, the man Maria was with came rushing out, hair drenched with water.

Maria came out shortly after with an empty cup, and her voice letting out far less graceful screaming. “That’s right! Run off and meet with your traída!”

Even her father was speechless about just how intense she could be. She turned around to march inside, only to gasp at the sight of me. “Oh! Diego! How… How long were you standing there?”

“I just got here…”

She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that. He…” She couldn’t find the words to use, letting out another, more frustrated sigh.

“I got the gist of it.”

Maria shook her head slowly. “I’m not in the mood to practice today.”

“That’s fine, I can come back another day.”

I didn���t know why at the time, but Maria grabbed my shoulder, pulling me towards her house. “I’d still like the company if you’re able.”

I wasn’t sure what the best response would be, but evidently my continued silence was affirmation enough for her as she brought me inside.

Her father was less eager about that. “What is he doing in here outside of practice?”

“Lay off of Diego.”

“…” he glares at me right in the eyes. It was enough to make my skin crawl. “Don’t try anything you’ll regret.”

“Padre!” Maria stood in front of me, as if to shield me from the verbal assault. “Diego’s been good to me! Better than any man you’ve approved of!”

“You know his type.” He didn’t raise his voice, even as he continued to glare past Maria at me. He wasn’t going to yell at his daughter under any circumstances.

I knew better than to defend myself, and so I just stood there quietly.

“You’re right, I do!” Maria yelled back. “You’re the one who can’t seem to figure it out!”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “Please, trust that-”

“I’ve trusted you my whole life, padre!” Maria yelled out. “Please, can you just trust me for once?!”

He closed his eyes, pinching his nose bridge as he slowly shook his head. Even he could tell he made a mistake with how he phrased it. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that he marched out of the room, grumbling under his breath to himself.

Maria let out a small sigh, kneeling down in front of me. “Diego. I know it’s not the best time, but…” She shook her head slowly. “I want to be with you.”

---

08/01/2009

“That’s so cute,” Mina said softly, eyes wide as she was listening. By this point she had forgotten it was about Diego’s immortality.

Diego let out a happy hum, closing his eyes. “It was. We got together, and things… went well. We had our hiccups, but slowly things changed. She went from being the prettiest woman I ever knew… to something more. It was only a few years until I knew that...”

---

16/04/1538

It was time. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Maria. I had gotten myself a special ring, and I was already on my way to her home.

But there was one thing I needed to do first.

My knock on the door was met by Maria’s father, who glared at me with vicious daggers. To say I got used to his disappointment is… an understatement. “What is it?”

“I needed to ask you something.” The door was slammed shut right in front of my face.

I knocked once again, the door swinging wide open. “Just hear me out. Please.”

I might have been used to it, but that didn’t change the fact that his glare was intimidating. “Make it quick.”

I dug into my pocket, peeking over to make sure Maria wasn’t listening. “I wanted to ask for your blessing for Maria’s hand in-”

SLAM!

Frankly, I was expecting that.

I knocked once more, and quickly dropped down onto my knees, wings fluttering behind myself.

When he swung the door open he was quick to anger. “You’re absolutely insane if you think I’ll ever-!” He stopped upon the sight of me.

“I swear on my life, I will treat Maria right, I will stay loyal to her, hasta que la muerte nos separe.” I lowered my head in front of him. “And if I ever break my oath, you can strike me where I stand. Please.”

The silence was suffocating. When I finally looked up, he continued to glare right at me, as if he was staring at my very soul. Just when I thought the worst was going to happen, he spoke.

“If you ever hurt my daughter, I will make sure you suffer a hundredfold in return. Are we crystal clear?”

“Yes, yes I understand!” I was already getting to my feet, wings fluttering in the sheer excitement. I’m going to propose to her. “Thank you so much, sir! I’m going to get ready right away!” With that my wings flutter some more, taking me off my feet and into the air. I had to get home, and quick!

---

17/04/1538

I knew exactly where to propose. It couldn’t be anywhere except the old, bent over tree – the same one we had our first kiss at. She was clueless as I brought her up there with me, eager to finish the date with a song I had written.

“Okay, okay, let’s hear what you’ve been working on.” Her giggle was sweet, perfectly matching the dress she had on as she sat down on the picnic blanket I laid out then and there for her.

Even though my voice wasn’t as perfect as hers, I knew it would be good enough for what I had. The lyrics were personal, for her ears and her ears alone. I played and played and played, but it was when I got to the last few lyrics did I start slowing down on my lute. I needed her to hear what I had to sing. One of my spare hands reached into my pocket, grabbing my special little gift in preparation.

“¡Oh María, nuestros corazones latiendo en sincronía!”

I then stop playing the lute entirely, holding out my hand for her. “¿Me harás el honor de casarte conmigo?” I opened up my hand to reveal the dazzling, sparkling ring, right in front of her eyes. The moment I proposed to her, I braced myself for both the best and the worst.

Fortunately, it took her no time to answer at all. “¡Sí, sí!” She immediately grabbed me and pulled me in for a close hug. She was already sobbing in joy as her grip against me was tighter than its ever been.

She was going to be my wife.

---

26/08/1538

We set it all up until it was perfect. Things went off without a hitch, and honestly? Even her father was happy to see her. She was beautiful, in an absolutely dazzling wedding dress. It was perfect.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

I bring Maria in close, giving her a kiss on the lips as our families celebrated. When I slowly broke the kiss, I smiled wide. “Every day, I wake up thinking about just how angelic you are…”

Maria smiled back. “You’ve always looked just as handsome as the day I met you…” She closed her eyes, letting out a pleased sigh. “… And just as young, now that I think about it.”

I was grinning. “It’s all because of you.”

---

21/08/1539

Today was the day me and Maria got to meet the first special light of our life. I was completely overwhelmed with joy at the sight of her, Maria holding her close to keep her warm.

“¡Tengo una hija...!” I dropped to my knees at the sight of her, tears welling up in my eyes. “I have a daughter…!”

To the world at large, she was an ordinary baby, nothing special at all about her birth. To me, it was one of the most important moments of my life.

It lasted for many years, but it didn’t take long until it started getting obvious that I wasn’t looking any different. Still, we counted our blessings, and I continued to enjoy my every day with Maria.

Until one day...”

---

28/11/1561

I remember getting shook away, very gently. I slowly opened my eyes in the darkness, looking over at my wife. “Mnngh…?”

“Diego…” Hearing Maria’s voice as hoarse and rough, I quickly lifted my head. “Diego, I don’t… I don’t feel good…”

I sat up, holding Maria close as I put my hand on the back of her head. “You’ve got a temperature. Lay down, let me-”

“No…” Maria croaked out. “I think I need a doctor...”

---

02/12/1561

Medicine wasn’t as good back then as it is now. But waiting for that doctor to speak to us was the most stressful wait I’ve ever had in my life, as Maria could do nothing but lean against me for support. And the news was more confusing.

“Maria, we haven’t figured out what you have just yet, but we’re working on it. However, we can confirm that Diego hasn’t caught anything.”

“Gracias a Dios,” Maria whispered out under her breath.

“In fact, Diego’s in unusually good health. You’re 49, yes?”

I nodded.

“As far as I can tell, everything about you seems to still be in your 20s. So much so, I’m not sure you’re even getting any older.”

“Alright, be serious with me.” Yeah I looked young, but this doctor was obviously full of it. How could he know for certain that I just wasn’t getting older?

“This could be a medical revolution. You need to come back for more tests, maybe we could help other people with this.”

“Enough about me, what about Maria?”

The doctor let out a sigh. “We’re going to look after her while we continue to work on what she’s got. We’ll let you know which room she’s in.”

“Gracias,” Maria managed to get out, smiling wide despite what was going on.

I just shook my head. “Right. Please, help her.”

“It’s okay, Diego,” she said with a warm smile. “You’re going to be able to hear my lovely voice-” her attempt at a joke was cut off with a fit of coughs, and I held onto her to make sure she wouldn’t fall over again.

A part of me knew Maria wasn’t going to get better. But I couldn’t accept that. I just couldn’t.

Even if I believed the doctor about me not getting older, that just slipped by my focus entirely with Maria by my side.

---

08/01/2009

“It would take some time before I realised what a blessing an immortal life would be. Long after Maria’s time.” Diego put the lute down, standing up. “But I’ll have time to share that another day. For now, I think it’s time we bring you back to your parents.”

There were complaints and grumblings from across the crowd, as various children were engrossed in the story.

Mina, however, just looked at Diego with utter curiosity. He and Maria sounded so sweet together, but how was he not still upset about Maria getting sick? It was so… so strange.

Mina continued to think to herself as she watched Diego pick up the butterfly girl. “Starting with you, my little Azulita~” He followed that up with a quick peck on the cheek.

“But you’re my dad!” Azulita giggled out, gently leaning against him.

“Then we already found him!” Diego chuckled back, holding Azulita quite close.

So Mina followed Diego, not taking long until she met back up with her mother – who picked her up in a hug. “Did you have a good time with Diego?”

“Yeah!” Mina said happily. “He told us about Maria!”

Mina’s mother nodded. “Maria?”

“Yeah! He married her and everything!”

She nodded in understanding, smiling wide. “Ah, I see!” Mina didn’t notice that her mom avoided asking any specific questions, she was just enamoured with the romantic story.

Diego took a seat as various families gathered around him, giving gifts that he modestly accepted. “From Mina, Maneul, and Camila Sánchez.” Mina’s antennae perked when she heard her name mentioned.

She watched as Diego unwrapped the gift, smiling wide as he picked up a lute from the present. “Gracias.” He didn’t say much on it, but he didn’t say much on any of the gifts – still acting modest despite it being his birthday.

The remaining few hours of the party were a good time, Mina had a good time eating dinner and playing with the other kids.

But all parties came to an end, and Mina was picked up by her mother as she leaned against her.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Diego said with a warm smile. “And for introducing me to your adorable little daughter.”

Mina let out a small giggle, smiling wide. “Bye bye, Diego!”

Diego smiled wide. “Adios, Mina.”

That was the last thing he said to her before her parents left with her, ready to drive back home.

---

It was late at night, and Diego was looking over his home, cleaning up in peace. Every bit of confetti, every plate with leftovers to clean up, every bit of silence was a reminder of all the people he got to meet up with today, some of whom he hasn’t gotten a chance to visit since last year.

It was in the midst of cleaning that he reached the lute Manuel and his family had gifted him. He gently strummed it with a relaxed sigh, all while he closed his eyes.

He knew he should continue focusing on cleaning up. But…

He started playing on it, thinking back to the oldest tune he knew. “Madre…”

The tune he grew up playing. “Padre…”

The tune he played with Maria all the time. “Mi querida María...”

Tears had begun flowing through his eyes. Yet, despite that, his smile remained the same as ever. “Bless your hearts, our time together was a precious gift.”

[numbugwritingblog]

Welcome to the New Realm! (Chapter 4)

Previous Chapter

Index

---

04/05/2018

Ah, the potion of waking.

While it cannot stave off sleep indefinitely, it’s more than a suitable option when you only need to stall sleep for one extra day.

Jett knew it was the last potion he was provided for a reason, so that Grace could at least afford him the chance to relax from the radio. Indeed he drank it all down at once, giving Grace a distinctly casual kiss on the cheek before teleporting off.

Indeed, Jett knew that Grace would not be offended by that like most people would, that was as usual of a goodbye as they ever gave.

Trailing a finger along his bag, checking that he had all of his potions at the ready Speed, Strength, Echolocation, Tracking, Reverse Injuries, Invisibility, Teleport Sense, Reverse Injuries…

Yep, check.

Oh?

There’s a potion of Crustacean Strength, too. He was not going to get up close against Scythe, but he supposed it’s there if he needs it.

Finally, he checked his spare ammo and emergency vials of arcane energy - he still did not understand how any mage can do that yet alone Grace, he’s tried to store arcane energy like that and kept accidentally casting spells.

All good.

So Jett began walking forwards towards where he can tell Scythe’s presence is. The short but uneventful walk was quickly stopped as his echolocation picked up two people, with something in their hands - presumably guns by the way they were carrying it and their posture. “Halt! Identify yourself!”

Jett stopped as instructed, waiting patiently. “General, another intruder is present.”

Even behind his sunglasses, his raised eyebrow was barely visible to them. “Are the other intruders one who speaks like an animal and another who’s been described as pale? I’m here to stop them.”

“Stay right there!” Soldiers alerted.

Well cooperation’s out of the question now. Bullets could be a threat to him, but with his potions readied up hitting him in a vital area is an unrealistic problem. Still though, best to avoid conflict.

“Sure, I’ll wait right here. You don’t mind if I take a drink, right?”

“I guess that’s fine…”

Good. Jett trailed the potions carefully, selecting the potion of invisibility and drinking it right down. He could feel his body - skin, internals, even his eyes - shifting and morphing to match the changes made by the potion.

Light no longer reflected off of him (nor his clothes, after the New Realm experimented with the spell for about 300 years - he would’ve hated the idea of stripping entirely just to use this), instantly rendering him invisible.

“Open fire!”

Jett leapt right past them before they could even pull the trigger, leaving the two of them shooting at nothing.

Being invisible also meant being blinded, but that didn’t mean anything to someone who was already blind.

But it did mean that Jett had to be far more stealthy from here on, largely relying on foreign sounds for his echolocation to avoid giving himself away.

Not that he was particularly worried, he’s trained in invisible stealth precisely as one of the few mages who could utilise it without drawback, and that’s with the New Realm knowing that it’s realistically possible. No, his only concern was how his targets would deal with him.

Afterall, he knew Valentine’s speciality…

---

This treasure hunt was nearing its end.

Valentine made no attempt at stealth - she didn’t need to with her bodyguards and her magic combined - instead casually walking forth with Scythe in the front. Trailing right behind was an absolutely massive lizard, carrying a large, two-handed axe in one hand.

Her excitement at being so close contrasted with his dull expression, despite doing everything he could to guard the rear end.

Not that there was much need. Scythe’s magic was a perfect counter to firearms, most soldiers only getting a single shot before she reflects it into a vital organ and striking them dead immediately.

Indeed, these ten guards in the hallway in front of them were technically the greatest threat they’ve faced so far.

Yet eleven bullets was all it took to incapacitate them, and Scythe took the moment to slice into each and every one, the rapid necrosis doing the job of killing them.

“It would be more efficient to let them live,” the lizard at the back spoke up, his helpful words in direct contrast to the venom in his voice.

“Thoroughness is of the utmost importance until we find the Final Spell. A living soldier could serve as a distraction or even speak on their strange devices to destroy it.” Besides the cruelty behind killing everyone they came across, Valentine had no reaction to any of it, besides one. “Besides, none of them are of any value to us alive. This is their punishment for daring to oppose us while they’re as weak as they are.”

The lizard let out a low growl, glaring directly at Valentine, gripping his weapon.

Valentine stopped, prompting Scythe to stall in kind. She turned to the lizard, grinning wide. “Well, Winter Tundra, you wish to oppose me?”

The lizard, codenamed Winter Tundra, let out a low growl in response, gripping his weapon - the posture making it clear he was quite capable of wielding this two-handed weapon with one hand. Then he ceased, anger fading away as he lowered his stance.

“Good boy.”

Anger flared back up, Tundra swung his weapon without a moment’s hesitation towards Valentine! Nobody demeans him like that!

The weapon passed through Valentine like she wasn’t there, before she approached him and flung a pin-point “needle” - one that was pure black as it pulled in nearby light - which pierced through Tundra and knocked him down onto his hands and knees.

Effortlessly defeating him, she put a foot on top of his head. As she looked down to him she grinned wide. “What are you?”

Tundra growled in a low tone.

“Say it.”

He hated this with every single fibre of his body, and yet he could not disobey. “... I’m a good boy.” Just the words sickened him.

“No, you’re a naughty boy, thinking you stood a chance against me. Remember that for next time.”

Tundra growled once more, and yet stayed still. Even as Valentine put her foot off of his head he remained still.

Valentine let out a small chuckle. A chuckle that instantly stopped. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to hear you, Jett?”

Silence - and yet all three of them could tell, getting into position. The fact that Scythe and the lizard man were both staring at him told Jett that they had trained in fighting while blinded, exactly as he had assumed. There was no point in hiding from them.

“I don’t know who you are, but there’s very few people who know my real name, I’ve made sure of it. Scythe, reduce it by one.”

Forgot who he was? Jett reached for his gun, and the auto-aim flicked his arm right out to aim right at Valentine. “You really don’t remember me? Because I’ve never forgotten you…” It took him a moment to focus, his aim flickering over to Scythe instead.

Scythe walked past Valentine and Tundra, and yet she did not leap in yet. This witch hunter has fought her twice, and lived both of them. It’s likely that he was already expecting her to act hyper-aggressive, and so she wouldn’t be able to overwhelm him.

Jett fired out a single shot and dodged the incoming reflection easily. He did not approach nor retreat, however. When both of them could teleport, such movements only mattered from moment to moment.

It was then Scythe teleported, Jett’s automatic aim flicking right behind him - forcing the lurcher to awkwardly twist his body just to avoid injuring himself - a moment that allowed her to strike into him with her scythe, immediately kicking him away towards Valentine.

A free victory on a silver platter, and yet Valentine did nothing.

As such Jett could heal himself up quickly with one of his healing potions. Then he got back up to his feet, swinging at Valentine.

As he swung through, she briefly vanished from his echolocation before promptly reforming. With that alone he could tell that she was either teleporting or becoming non-solid.

Scythe charged in at the attack on Valentine, hissing loudly.

Jett leapt away from the attack, landing on the ground before unloading his entire clip at once. Every shot at him he had to avoid, but he jumped ahead in the way of Valentine and her silent enforcer.

They went through Valentine, like Jett had predicted. But they struck the lizard well and truly, but then he heard the shells land on the ground.

Winter Tundra was not harmed by the barrage of bullets.

That could be bad.

Growling, he lifted up a weapon to attack, only to be stopped by Valentine raising her hand. “Stand aside, Winter Tundra.”

Jett ducked underneath Valentine’s swing, swinging his gun into her with enough force to send her colliding with the roof. He leapt up to finish the blow, only for Scythe to teleport away once more.

Jett collided against the roof before launching off just as easily, landing on his feet. He launched towards one wall in this hallway, and then the other, and then back to the first one, each leap sending him closer to Scythe.

She swung her scythe to defend herself, Jett leaping onto the side of it, pushing himself off the inner end of the blade to punch her in the face.

But even with the impact Scythe was not mindless, lifting the scythe just enough to cut to his arm. “Dammit,” Jett muttered, shuffling into his bag for another potion.

She knew it was another healing potion, and so without wasting a beat she thrust straight into the glass container.

She only realised her mistake once the glass bottle shattered. Jett dropped the already empty potion before it even collided, as instead his hand swung down to catch the wooden stafflike part of the scythe and pulled it in with all of his force.

His kick to the face was enough to forcibly drop her grip on it, and he quickly dropped his gun to have a free hand in order to bring out an actual healing potion, uncorking it with his teeth as he drank it down.

Before Scythe could get close Jett swung it 180 so that the blade end faced her. This wasn’t good, but she has had her blade stolen from her before. She can-

“That’s enough.”

Scythe immediately backed away, glaring at Jett - and at her own weapon.

“I’m impressed, Deadeye.” Immediately, Jett knew what that meant. “Your recruitment shall begin now.”

He had only one option.

He threw the scythe directly at Tundra, prompting the giant lizard man to defend himself while Scythe simultaneously dashed in to grab her weapon.

Jett then teleported straight to one of the dead soldiers, rapidly feeling for the speaker and gripping it tightly. “Destroy the final spell! It should be an old parchment with unknown-!”

He was knocked off of his feet from an attack by Valentine, flung across the hallway until he collided with the opposite wall. “If you’re lucky they won’t destroy it before I’m done with you!” Valentine hissed out as she formed more “needles” in the small gaps between her fingers, each one held aloft purely by her magic. Even she didn’t want to touch them.

Jett coughed, grinning wide despite the attack that sent him tumbling. “Clock’s ticking, then.”

Valentine wordlessly glared at the still-invisible Jett. Walking towards him. She was furious, and her silence alone told Jett just how much.

And yet…

“Winter Tundra, you handle recruitment. Scythe, search for any leads to the Final Spell. With any luck I’ll have everything I need by the day’s end.”

Jett slowly got to his feet, grinning wide in the knowledge that his plan worked, quickly teleporting behind Valentine and Scythe to ensure neither of them would strike him as they passed by.

Then his grin faded.

Everything she needed? No, that meant…!

Jett jumped back to avoid a heavy swing of the axe, feeling a cold chill spread out as he dashed away.

Tundra lifted one hand from his axe, swinging it out to flick out a bitter spray of ice cold water at Jett.

Contact instantly made him start shivering, hypothermia was suddenly a concern when it wasn’t moments ago. “Grr…”

Krios then lifted an arm up, the cold water around Jett instantly freezing into ice and leaving him trapped in place. “You’re lucky that she wanted you recruited, otherwise I’d have frozen you on the spot. Actually…”

He paused, thinking through what he was saying.

“... No. No, you’re not lucky at all. Death is better than this.”

Jett needed to get out of here!

He needed to save Grace and-!

If he just teleported to them, Tundra is going to follow and then him and this mystery foe will just team up…

Jett needed to go somewhere else.

He lifted his arm to cast a teleport spell.

Only for his arm to freeze. He let a sharp inhale at the sudden sting of the chilled ice, unable to break free.

Tundra let out a huff as he finished the spell, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you escape this… ‘recruitment’.” His gruff tone softened up the last word, and - even though Jett wouldn’t be able to see it - he looked at Jett with soft eyes, the harshness he had for Valentine replaced with sympathy.

Jett grunted again, gripping his gun with his free hand. Immediately he pulled the trigger, letting the auto-aim take complete control as it harshly flicked his arm towards himself, a single bullet flying out to hit the icy shell trapping his arm.

The arm holding the gun was frozen in response. But it was what Jett needed.

With his hand free of the frozen ice, it meant his hand was completely dry.

He reached down to his belt of potions, pulling out one before Tundra could freeze the rest and downing it immediately, so frantic that some spilled over his lips and he even coughed up a bit that threatened to go into his lungs.

Tundra pulled his axe out of the ground, charging at Jett to swing down on him again.

Deliberately avoiding lethal strikes, he swung into Jett’s gun arm, making the lurcher yell out in pain.

And he continued yelling, his good arm starting to shake.

“It’s futile,” Tundra said softly, kneeling. “The only choice I can give you is to go whole or to go with broken bones.”

Jett continued to yell out in pain, something growing across his arm. Hard, inflexible, brown. It shattered the ice covering his arm, layer by layer, as it slowly took shape. His arm had grown far larger, resembling that of a crustacean like a crab or scorpion.

Jett let out a small chuckle, his teeth still bared to keep himself through the pain. “Alright then. Let’s break some bones.”

His only hope was that he’d be able to get to Grace and Sal in time.

---

Scythe wasn’t even checking which doors were locked and which weren’t. Just one quick slice at the hinges was all it took to send each of the doors to drop down and fall over - no matter whether they were reinforced or not.

Those who so much as raised a weapon at Scythe met a grisly, painful death. But those who weren’t a threat weren’t treated as such.

To an outsider observer it might appear that Scythe was wildly trashing each room she was visiting, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She was searching. Searching for what will have text from a New Realm language on it.

Room after room.

Kill after kill.

Document after document.

She came up empty.

This next room didn’t even have anyone armed. These scientists backed up and hid in a corner, one brandishing a pipe as a makeshift weapon. They were all in a corner, they weren’t a threat.

As usual Scythe pulled into the drawers, tossing out paper after paper - giving them only a quick glance to confirm what type of language they were using.

Nothing.

She was about to leave when she saw that there was a potted plant on the bench, from a casual glance it looked healthy, but Scythe knew it was in need of something. She should continue on her mission.

But…

Valentine never said she couldn’t water this plant, if she was quick about it.

She approached the potted plant without a noise, raising a hand. She gently placed a finger on it, purposefully weak magic surging through it.

Then she knew what was missing. She raised her hand and cast a small spell to pull in the vapour from the air, which condensed enough to fall into the potted plant all at once.

Satisfied with watering the plant, she continued on.

---

Valentine was far more focused.

She wanted the final spell, and she wanted it bad. She knew that she would find it eventually, the vision she was told meant that the odds were in her favour, but that same vision said she would die by the very witch hunter that was in this base.

It didn’t make sense. She was going to add him to her allyship, he shouldn’t have been a threat to her. Maybe she should have committed to recruitment…

No. No, securing the final spell is more important than getting him out of the way. She just needs to find another way of dealing with this threat.

Right now, her only threat was these military idiots destroying the paper before she could reach it. They’d be throwing away unimaginable potential if they did that. They might even stand a chance against her if these Old Realmers learnt the spell’s secrets.

Destroying it only benefits people who will not help them.

A locked door. Valentine focused on the aura of light absorption she had around herself, expanding it until it covered the other end of the door - and making the area within colder as a direct side-effect.

She dropped her internal thoughts entirely, quantum spells require the utmost concentration…

And she casted it, so now she stood on the other side. “Surrender or die.”

Gunshots, so typical. Valentine stood still, her focus on the quantum disentanglement, letting the bullets harmlessly pass through her atoms.

“So you choose death.”

She condensed matter down, so much so that the light bent around it was barely visible as a pitch black needle, which she “flung” out to the idiot that tried shooting at her.

Unlike her recruits, who were useful alive, this one died instantly as the needle pierced through their vitals, the wound so small that even a mage like her could not see it without magnification.

But she didn’t stop at the one. One of them attacked her, so they must all die.

Needle after needle after needle.

None of them stood a chance.

Once every living person was a dead corpse, Valentine waltzed on into the room. Out of her own shadow, she could see that this was for organising files. If the search didn’t have its own dedicated room, this is a likely candidate.

She opened up the first box, sorting through the papers within.

Results of examination on subject Cirillo- pass.

Results of examination on subject Sánchez- not interested.

Test subject acquired, begin preliminary tests on super soldier project- like these Old Realmers could make anything worthy of being called “super” without magic.

As Valentine searched deeper and deeper, her mind was free to think about the future once more.

She doesn’t know who Jett is, but that name is too familiar to her. It can’t be deja vu, she must have met him before… Especially since he seems to already know her name. Someone who met her and lived to tell the tale…

It doesn’t make sense. He’s a Witch Hunter, so he can’t be some Old Realmer she’s all too happy to ignore. But he clearly knows to search for missing witches in the Old Realm, and she has yet to hear of a Witch Hunter who seriously entertained the thought.

Is he a former witch she crossed paths with? Maybe he turned himself in to avoid the death penalty?

She was about to dismiss the thought, only for something far more important to come to her attention.

New Realm text.

Her eyes were glued to the old parchment as she effortlessly read what this military could not translate.

[translation available at the bottom of the page]

To whomever hath discovered mine final letter.

I has't discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seemeth innocuous at first, but from mine analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population wilt guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 1 year. coequal if 't be true I convinced mine peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Fusty Realm and doom those folk to the same fate.

The Fusty Realm might beest filled with fools who want the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sitteth content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.

I must, and yet can I calleth myself a true wizard if 't be true I doth not preserve the knowledge that I findeth? I cannot betray mine true calling. The only compromise I can bethink of is to hide hence mine knowledge. I has't hath found somewhere secluded to hide hence the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like whither this letter wilt end up - t is within the Fusty Realm.

If 't be true thee art a mage like I, I has't but only one request. Please doth not alloweth the knowledge of this spell falleth into the hands of anyone else.

Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.

This is a real letter. It fit with everything she knew, even matched Teiwaz’s handwriting. This letter was telling her exactly where the Final Spell was hidden, and it’s the real deal.

And yet.

Yet this stupid egg hunt had just been extended by another step! Why every single time it looked like she was finished there’s just another arbitrary obstacle in the way! It made her want to just-!

No, no, remember the vision. This is good news. Jett’s most likely to kill her once she actually finds the Final Spell. This means that she has longer to prepare for the inevitable. This is… good news.

Frustrating news. But good news.

Now let’s hope her new recruits are ready.

---

Translation of Teiwaz’s letter:

To whomever has discovered my final letter.

I have discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seem innocuous at first, but from my analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population will guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 10 years. Even if I convinced my peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Old Realm and doom them to the same fate.

The Old Realm might be filled with fools who lack the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sit content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.

I must, and yet can I call myself a true wizard if I do not preserve the knowledge that I find? I cannot betray my true calling. The only compromise I can think of is to hide away my knowledge. I have found somewhere secluded to hide away the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like where this letter will end up - it is within the Old Realm.

If you are a mage like I, I have but only one request. Please do not let the knowledge of this spell fall into the hands of anyone else.

Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.

---

Vote for the next chapter here!

[numbugwritingblog]

Just Your Ordinary Invincible Bystander (Chapter 3)

Previous Chapter

Index

---

19/7/2018

Jane didn’t much care for the clothes she had on.

These plain pants and shirt just pulled her body in the wrong ways, and the coat she had on was all one size too big.

But she only had a few more minutes to deal with this, as she walked towards her house, her home. Given how much she caused the cars she climbed in to tilt, she wasn’t sure how public transportation would take it. Her weight was definitely above human norm.

Still, it wasn’t long until she got home. Lawn was mowed and the front yard was cleaned up. Thank god Legacy had looked after her home, her brother. She made her way up to the front door. It had been 5 months since she disappeared, but to her it felt like only two days had passed.

She rang the doorbell.

Already she heard running, someone practically crashing into the door in order to swing it wide open.

It was Scooter, staring right at Jane, grinning wide with tears in his eyes. He then swung the wire door wide open, running to hug her as quickly as he could, sobbing loudly all the while. “You’re here! You’re back!”

He was taller, only a few centimetres but she could tell immediately. She could also tell that his grip was as tight as he could make it, she felt every ounce of strength and yet not feel at all squeezed by his grip.

“I’m sorry for taking so long,” Jane said softly, hugging him back.

“Ow!”

Jane flinched back at her brother’s yelp of pain, and upon realising it was from her let out a quick apology. Even as he felt his sore back, Scooter continued to look Jane in the eye. “... Hug me… Please…”

“But-” Jane paused, she knew that she’d have to get into the whole thing right away to explain why that hug had hurt. “... I’ll be as soft as I can.” She pulled him in for a hug again, this time making sure to put absolutely no pressure on his back at all. It felt stiff, uncomfortable, and unnatural to be hugging like this. But it was how she had to hug him now.

Said hug lasted for a while, even as Legacy came walking in and keeping quiet. Jane didn’t want it to end, she wanted Scooter to know how much she wanted to be there for him the whole time, and how much she hated missing out on five months. Just as much, Scooter didn’t want it to end, he wanted Jane to know just how much he missed her, and how he kept his promise the whole time.

When the hug finally ended, Jane looked over to Legacy with a warm smile, walking up and offering a hug - before awkwardly retracting it. Scooter couldn’t handle it, she didn’t want to hurt Legacy. “Thank you so much for looking after Scooter while I was missing. It's so good to see you in person after so long too, I just wish it was in better circumstances.”

Legacy let out a sigh and tried to pull Jane in for a hug. Her weight threw Legacy through a loop, but it took just a moment to regain her balance with Jane’s strong support, and she instead held onto Jane for her hug. “He lost his parents and his sister, I couldn’t let him lose his home too.”

In mention of his parents, Scooter stood up and walked back along the hallway, retreating to his room. Not a word, not a moment of hesitation, he was just gone.

Legacy watched him leave silently, letting out a sigh. He didn’t want to think about his parents, did he? She turned back to Jane, breaking the hug. “What happened?”

“I…” Jane closed her eyes, thinking back to that base she woke up in, having to flail her way out with how her body was like now… “Not now. I promise I’ll tell you, but right now I just want to lay down and sleep in my own bed.”

Legacy nodded. “I kept your room clean, but I didn’t go in it besides that. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of anything while you were just missing.”

“Thank you.” Jane made her way to the bedroom, seeing that it really was left pristine, her sheets made and her clothes all put away. She closed her door, trudging to the bed and dropping down right onto it.

-SNAP-

… And she broke the bed. Ah well, that’s a problem for future Jane. For right now she just let herself relax, closing her eyes as she let this complete exhaustion catch up to her. It was the earliest and the fastest she had fallen asleep in her life.

…

And just over in the next room, Scooter had gotten to his desk, pulling out one specific comic book. One he had not read yet. One that he didn’t even put in his collection yet. His hands were shaky. His sister was back, and he had kept his promise. And still it was hard to accept it was real.

Could his parents come back too?

No, no, don’t think about that! He can’t! He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he waited for Jane for a reason, and slowly flipped open the first page.

---

20/7/2018

-KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK-

The sun was barely over the horizon, morning light basking the few rooms which had their curtains open. Legacy was deep asleep, and Scooter was snoring peacefully.

The only one awake was Jane, having fallen asleep rather early. She’d get to her feet, making her way over to the front door. She’d peek through first, seeing two wolves in suits, one white furred and the other black furred. They better not be travelling salesmen.

She opened up the door, not saying a word as she looked at them through the wire door.

It was the white wolf who spoke up immediately. “I am Agent Pepper, and this is Agent Brine, we came as representatives of the United Federation government.”

Oh.

Oh.

“And what do you want?” she said in a distinctly negative tone as she eyed the two wolves with suspicion.

“We want you to remain silent about the actions of former General Thomas.”

Jane was silent for a solid few seconds, glaring at the two of them with utter incredulity. “I don’t know what you did to me, but from what I can tell you’re crazy if you think you’ll be able to kill me.”

“No, we know,” Agent Brine clarified. “We’re here to negotiate your silence.”

Jane raised another brow. “And what are you offering?”

“$100,000 dollars.” Agent Pepper presented a check right off the bat, holding it shy of the wire door.

“Make it double-”

“Deal.” Agent Pepper interrupted Jane, putting the check away to write a second one.

“And,” Jane spoke in a louder voice, glaring at the white wolf for interrupting her. “I want to know what you did to me.”

“That’s classified.” Agent Pepper spoke up immediately.

“And so’s my fucking back, so if you want my silence you can at least tell me what you shoved in there.”

There was silence as the two wolves looked at each other. “We’d better call HQ,” Agent Pepper whispered to his ally.

The black wolf shook his head and turned back to Jane. “Very well, you can know.”

Agent Pepper lowered his sunglasses, eyes wide. “But-”

“She already knows classified secrets, if the press gets to her before she’s agreed then that classified information is leaking out.”

“Good,” Jane said with an exasperated sigh.

Agent Pepper scowled at his partner, but otherwise kept silence.

“You might as well tell my brother and my friend, there’s no way they won’t see whatever it is on my back, and you said you wanted to keep it a secret, didn’t you?”

The two wolves let out a sigh in unison as Jane opened up the door. That was an agreement if anything was.

“Would you like some coffee? Tea?”

---

By now Scooter and Legacy had both woken up, the former happily eating cereal (dinosaur egg oatmeal, his favourite) as the latter was sitting with Jane and the two agents. In front of them, two contracts laid on the table, signed by both Jane and Legacy. The two had just signed to keep quiet.

“So everyone’s awake,” Jane said softly. “You can tell us what’s going on.”

Agent Pepper glared at Agent Brine for a moment, before speaking up. “What you have in your spine is-”

“You have something in your spine?!” Scooter called out, unwittingly spitting milk and oatmeal out of his mouth from the shock.

“... Is an unknown material we discovered, unlike anything else we’ve ever catalogued. It’s heat resistant, cold resistant, and the most durable material we have ever discovered on the planet, and we have tried every form of testing that would not otherwise leave any long term effects on it to test. Only former General Thomas knew how to melt it down, and even that was by a process that takes multiple weeks each time.”

Jane glared at the mention of General Thomas. “And what did you do to me?”

Agent Brine turned to Agent Pepper, giving a slow nod. “He discovered that, when supplied with an electrical charge, the metal supplies its properties to nearby material, as long as it is partially encased within.”

“Or further.”

“Given the difficulty in un-melting it once it cooled, it was agreed to begin experimentation on deceased individuals donated to us.”

“Deceased?!” Jane got to her feet, eyes wide.

Legacy gasped, looking over to Jane, and then back to the agents. “You mean… Jane…” She put a hand to her face, fighting back tears.

Even Scooter picked up quickly, leaving the room immediately (leaving his cereal abandoned).

“Yes,” one of the agents approved. “Nobody questioned anything at the time because we knew we’d have to install it before muscle death set in, it was the first subject available in months.”

Jane was completely silent, staring down at her hands. She…

She was dead?

For five months?!

The first question on her mind was clear.

“How…” She took a deep breath in, steeling herself for any possible answer. “... How did I come back?”

The answer she got was the one she was expecting the least.

“We still don’t know. We integrated the replacement spine immediately and then kept it on low charge while we got our first tests ready. You gained consciousness the moment we switched to a high charge.”

Jane dropped down onto the soft chair, hearing a creak as her weight pushed against it. Speechless.

It was Legacy who turned back to the agents. “What… Is Jane going to be alright?”

Agent Pepper gave a nod. “We’re at work on a replacement charge as we speak, as the material’s weight will cause pain - and eventually death - if the charge runs out - and we’re working on creating custom furniture, given the additional weight caused by the device. Along with that you have a new doctor you will be seeing from now on.”

“Very… generous.”

“We need to handle accommodations ourselves, given the confidential nature.”

This time it was Legacy who spoke up, her face pale from hearing that her friend had died. “… Who did this, again?”

Agent Brine took a breath in to speak, but it was neither of the agents who got a word out.

“General Thomas.” It was Jane who spoke, her tone in a low growl at just thinking of that man. “What is going to happen to him?”

Both agents were silent at first, before Agent Brine finally spoke up. “Former General Thomas has gone missing following the incident. He is currently wanted for the incident, and will likely face life in prison without parole.”

Jane curled one hand into a fist, so tightly that it would’ve crushed anyone else’s. “He killed me.”

“We know-”

“HE KILLED ME!” Jane swung back to her feet, rage building within herself - both agents uncharacteristically flinching back. “YOU JUST LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT?!”

Agent Pepper shook his head. “We’re upset about it too, this is already a public scandal and he’s left billions of dollars uselessly tucked away in the back of a civilian.”

“Billions of- HE KILLED ME!”

“And he will answer for it.” Agent Brine stood up after speaking, nodding. “You can be sure of that.”

Jane just let out a sigh, this time carefully sitting back in her chair so as to not break it anymore than she already has.

Silence took over the room, the two agents entirely unflinching while Legacy was looking about awkwardly. “How- how about we…” she lost the words, unsure of what to say.

“Get out.” Jane said to the two agents. “I don’t want to hear another word ever again.”

The agents gave a nod, one offering a card to Legacy. “If there’s any issues relating to the spine, call us.”

“There is one,” Legacy spoke up.

“Can’t you remove it? Then she can live her life as normal?”

Their complete silence only served to give Legacy an answer. “... You can’t, can you?”

More silence.

“... Did it mess with her spine?”

“It replaced her old spine.” Agent Brine made his way to the door, opening it up and letting Agent Pepper through. He turned to the three of them, opening his mouth to speak, only for no words to come. After a second, he gave up. “This will conclude our meeting. Remember, this never happened.”

He then closed the door, leaving the three alone.

Jane looked down to her hands, her breath heavy. “I can’t believe it…”

Legacy got up, wincing in pain as she made her way over to Jane. “It will be okay.”

“How?” Jane called out. “I died, got my back carved out for some scary tech, and now if I don’t do the softest of fucking hugs I risk breaking my brother’s back! How will it be okay?!”

Legacy was quiet for a moment, leaning in to gently hug Jane. “Because we’ll be here for you.”

Jane looked back to Legacy. She said nothing, but the tears filling her eyes said everything as she leaned in to - very gently - hug Legacy back.

“You’re right,” Jane said softly. “I mean, how hard can it be?”

---

21/7/2018

“Hello, Mr. Stanley’s office, what can I help you with?”

Finally gotten through to the office, Jane let a small breath in. She didn’t want to do this, but that sum of money wasn’t going to last forever. “Hello, this is Jane Shawcross, I called in to see how soon I could resume my job?”

“Resume? As in?”

“I am an employee at your boss’s company, I was absent because I was kidnapped. How soon can I resume?”

“Let me see the work file…”

Jane let out a small sigh as she waited for approval, twirling the cord on her phone all the while. It should be just a moment before she-

“Apologies ma’am, but there aren’t any openings to resume your job from 5 and a half months ago.”

“What.”

“You will need to apply for a different job at the company. Our interview is on the website.”

“I’ve been there for a whole year!” Jane called out as she got to her feet. “You can’t just kick me out, I-!”

“I hear you,” the lady said. “But your old position’s been filled, there’s nothing I can do.”

Jane let out a heavy breath in, feeling her body clench up. “It’s- I need to- you- why?!” It took her a second to realise that when she clenched her fist she broke the phone. Great, jobless and now she broke the house phone. She dropped the broken pieces onto the table, resting her head on her now spare hand. She had to make that money last until her next job, and everything she wrecked was going to add onto that tab.

Relax, relax. It’s 200k, it’s going to last long enough.

---

22/07/2018

“What’s wrong with the car?” Jane asked aloud, opening up the hood of the car.

Legacy let out a sigh. “I don’t know, it just stopped working today.” She sat down on the front bench, watching Jane at work as she shuffled through her purse. “I’ll get the keys ready! As soon as I find them…”

Jane opened up the car’s hood, taking a look inside. “Shouldn’t need them. Let’s see…” As Jane worked on the mechanics inside the car, she found herself still needing to control her strength. But at the same time, tools she needed before to manage certain things she could now circumvent with even a tiny bit of her strength put in, leaving her with just the precision tools to manage.

“... This looks like the problem,” Jane said aloud, leaning in closer to the car - her weight already enough to tilt its weight amongst its four wheels. Tinkering deep inside… “And… done!” Jane very carefully closed the hood of the car, careful not to damage it by accident.

“That’s great!” Legacy called out eagerly, finally managing to locate the electronic key from within her maze of a purse. “And look! I found them now, we can take it for a test drive!” She leaned an arm out, pushing the button to unlock the doors.

The flash of light as the car unlocked stole Jane’s attention for a moment, the wolf’s body tense as she blinked mindlessly.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Legacy said happily, clueless to her friend’s reaction. “I can even turn it on from a distance, watch!”

Before Jane could say anything the lights flicked back on right in front of her face, Jane’s eyes lost within the light.

This… Was… That night. She was heading home, when… That car… Thomas! He’s going to run her over…! She knew she couldn’t get away, she couldn’t run, all she could do was wait for the inevitable. She jerked a hand out to defend herself.

The hard metallic crunch and loud, awful scraping snapped her back to reality. It had all happened in less than a second, and yet she was already panting heavily, fur on end as it took her a moment to realise what just happened.

Legacy’s car… The front of it was snapped open. The car folded in on itself from the force. A wheel even came loose. The gate behind the car didn’t fare much better, about a quarter broken off entirely, and another quarter barely hanging on to their posts. She punched it.

She punched it.

She punched it! “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Jane quickly yelled out as she turned to Legacy. “I- I don’t know what came over me!” Still panting erratically, she walked right up to Legacy to hug her - but she stopped just shy. She didn’t want to hurt Legacy.

“...” Legacy was still silent, just staring as her car had been ruined in less than a second. Finally she realised that her friend had spoken to her, turning to Jane in the eyes. “You? What… happened?”

Jane paused to think back, her fur still on end. What happened? She… “I panicked.”

“What?”

“I saw the lights on, and then… I panicked.”

“You mean the car lights?” Legacy asked aloud, turning to the wreck. “But why would… Oh! Did… Was that how he?”

Jane gulped, turning back to the wrecked car. “... I don’t want to talk about it.”

Legacy let out a sigh. “I understand… I’m sorry for bringing up-”

“I don’t. Want. To talk. About it.”

Legacy nodded, turning back inside. “... It will be fine. I can bring Scooter to school on the bus tomorrow. Then we can buy a new car and pay to have it fixed.”

Yes. More money to spend. Maybe the 200k won’t last as long as she thought it would.

---

24/07/2018

Jane was waving goodbye to Scooter and Jane, smiling wide as her brother was about to attend another of his classes. She waited until they were on the bus before she turned around to go back in. She needed to start her job hunting right away, afterall.

-SNAP-

… She broke the front door right off its hinges. This was going to keep happening, wasn’t it?

---

26/07/2018

It was early in the morning. Still half asleep, Jane got up to her feet to start the day. Stumbling over to the window, she slid it open to let the fresh air in.

-SHATTER-

… And broke the window from the force of sliding it, glass shattered across the floor.

---

27/0702018

Jane was walking down the street - with her car at god knows where and Legacy’s absolutely totalled, walking was the best bet she had.

But she wasn’t alone on her trip today, no Scooter was along with her. Afterall, she was walking to the comic book store for him, might as well take this excuse to make him get some exercise too, and then he can pick the specific comic of his choice (not that he was going to pick anything other than Wild Wolf…). Besides, why shouldn’t she treat him for a week of studies going well?

“This is so great,” Scooter said excitedly, tail swishing back and forth as he followed right along his sister. Jane should absolutely do this more often, what with how excited he is about-

“I get to tell people I have a real life superheroine as a sister!” Wait, what?

“Scooter…” Jane let out a small sigh, shaking her head. “I’m not a superheroine.”

“Yeah you are!” Scooter called out as he defiantly huffed his chest. “You’re like.. Super strong! And you're invincible! I mean you’re probably going to find out a new superpower in like, a week!”

“Superheroes aren’t real, they’re little guys in comic books going around saving people. I’m just Jane.”

“You’re a good person.” Scooter wasn’t having it. “I know you’ll save people when it really comes down to it. It’s just like Steamroller!”

“I’ve got work! I’ve got you to look after!-”

“Hey, I’m 12! I’m a big kid!”

“-I can’t just throw that away whenever some crisis calls!”

“Yeah you can!” Scooter got in front of Jane, crossing his arms.

His sister hurriedly stopped at this, letting out a faint grumble. “Scooter, you’re not supposed to stop in front of people. Especially when they’re so strong they can accidentally break your back just because they didn’t stop in time.”

“You just need a costume!”

“Think of how long it would take to get changed.”

“And a base!”

“With what money? The government cash needs to last.”

“You’ve got the powers, the heart, the tragic backstory-”

“Woah woah, what? Tragic backstory? I mean it’s just me.”

Scooter opened his mouth, before he went silent. Ears drooping down.

Wordlessly, Jane understood what he meant, her ears drooping down in kind. “... It’s just me.”

Scooter took a deep breath in, looking Jane in the eye. “You’ve got to.”

“Scooter…”

“Mum and dad would be proud.”

The glare Scooter got from his sister immediately told him that he said something he shouldn’t have.

“Home. Now.”

“Wha- but the comic book!” Scooter yelled out.

“Don’t you dare use mum and dad like that. We’re headed home right now, you can get your comic another day.”

“But-”

“Now.”

Scooter huffed, crossing his arms as he stomped back from right behind Jane, grumbling under his breath all the while. “Didn’t want the stupid comic book anyways…”

Jane shook her head, putting a hand up against it slowly. Hopefully this is the worst of her problems…

---

Blistering snowstorms kept this well hidden, a thick white veil ensuring anyone who came without some means of navigation wound up lost and dead.

Fortunately, he always came prepared.

Kicking open the door of the old, abandoned lab open, Thomas dragged the heavy crate in alongside the four heavy lifters he had hired. “And that should be $10,000 each for the trouble,” he said, casually passing over the money to them.

They pocketed the cash, counting amongst themselves as Thomas made his way to the generator, powering it up. In a burst, the lights all came on at once, as multiple devices began booting up at once. His private lab, away from the seeing eyes of anyone who would go after him.

“Remember,” Thomas said. “Not a soul is to know where this is.”

“You got it,” one of them answered, pulling out their map to navigate a way back.

All the while Thomas made his way to the main computer, waiting for it to finish booting up. He was going to get his weapon back. No matter the costs.

And to do that, he needed to plan.

[numbugwritingblog]

The Miracle Mind of Serene: the Tale of a Girl and a Ghost (Chapter 3)

Previous Chapter

Index

---

26/01/2018

The Delicious Den.

A restaurant that had been founded by a small family 50 years ago, and which had been going strong ever since. It has seen its glory days come and go, but the restaurant is still going strong, with even some high class elites choosing it as their restaurant of choice.

But Terra didn’t care about any of that. He just worked here because his mother, the restaurant owner, demanded him to. Not like he had much of a choice, given he didn’t have the money to move out, nor will he on this income.

So here he was today, handing in the last lunch receipt before his scheduled break, the swan lady at the table looking at it with fury. “Forty five dollars?! For this?!”

“Yeah we’re not a charity,” Terra, the small little bunny with eyes devoid of any life in them, answered back without missing a beat. “Forty five bucks.”

“This meal isn’t worth anywhere near that, I’m paying thirty and not a cent more!”

“Miss, that’s theft.”

“You dare accuse me of stealing?! How could you-”

“Duh,” Terra flat out interrupted her while rolling his eyes. This tight waiter’s outfit was a bigger issue than she was, at this rate. “You already ate, so you pay up.”

“I’d like to speak to your manager.”

A small smile creeped onto Terra’s face. Not only could he end this silly argument early, but he also knew this woman was not ready for the hell on Earth she was about to conjure. “Sure.”

---

---

Terra was seated at the table upstairs, though by now the screaming had ceased to be cathartic, and was just annoying background noise. Why did he think it was a good idea? He couldn’t even focus on the news he was reading - albeit hearing that another rich person - this Cirillo lady - wasn’t charged with the crimes she clearly committed wasn’t particularly compelling to him.

Finally the screaming had subsided, and he watched the lady practically bolt out of the manager’s office, a bitter looking older bunny glaring at the lady in the process. “AND DON’T COME BACK, YOU THIEF!”

The bunny, Amanda, then let out a sigh as she pulled out a hand mirror and checked her reflection, bits of hair adjusted so as to not look like she was just screaming for 20 minutes.

She then turned to Terra, scowling. “What did you do?”

What? Terra let out a huff as he hopped to his feet. “What do you mean? She was the one who didn’t want to pay.”

“Don’t you get like that with me, son,” she snapped back, glaring Terra in the eyes. “Every time it’s something you do.”

Well maybe he didn’t want to get stuck in this crappy, dead-end job. But there’s no point wasting breath on what has already been said. “I didn’t do anything. This time.”

She continued glaring, her expression unchanging. “You’re on in 10.”

“What?!” Terra grumbled, glaring at her in the eyes. “Breaks last for an hour-”

“Your break lasts half an hour, we’re understaffed as-is! Understood?”

Terra continued glaring at her in the eyes. She could probably end the understaffing issue whenever she wanted, for all he knew. But they both knew how this would go. “Loud and clear, mother.”

Amanda knew that tone, and so she continued to stare at him. Little ungrateful shit having an attitude with her. But she didn’t want another argument if she could help it, not while her throat was sore. “No excuses for being late.” She then walked back to her office and slammed the door shut.

Terra let out a heavy sigh, guzzling down the rest of his coffee. Back to work…

---

Serene was standing in front of a mirror, looking at her reflection - no, more like staring at it.

This sparkling, dark blue dress was an absolutely gorgeous dress, and it certainly paired well with the black high heels and matching socks she had on - and that’s not to mention the silver domino mask with a moon motif that adorned her face. She certainly looked pretty.

But did it really suit her?

“Mortis, what do you think?”

“Just choose.” He was no help even at the beginning, but especially not now - Serene only needed to hear his voice through the phone’s audio to know that he was absolutely bored out of his mind. “Something. Anything. Just pick, we need to go.”

She’d glare at her phone, before looking back to her reflection. “You don’t understand how tough it is to hide my identity while still looking good.”

“No, I just don’t care for any of this formality. You won’t even need to do anything besides show up and keep an eye out.”

“Exactly! I’ve never gone to a fancy restaurant on my own.”

“You don’t need anything but a mask!”

“I know, but-...” Serene paused, failing to find the next words. But what? This was clearly important to her. But the moment she’d stop to explain why, it failed to reach her mind. She looked back to the reflection, letting out a sigh. She was just going out to a restaurant, disguised as some rich stranger.

What was she missing…?

“Come ooooon!”

“Alright, alright!” Serene snapped out, psychically bringing her phone, purse, and hairbrush to herself. She brushed her hair to get the nerves out before setting it back down, psychic powers taking it back to where it rests. “I’m done.”

“Thank fuck, finally.”

Serene let out a sigh, making her way to the front door. “Remind me to never invite you to dinner.”

“I can’t even eat without a body, and I doubt you want me borrowing yours.”

Serene’s phone then hovered up next to her ear, so that she could pretend she was talking to someone.

Already, Mortis reminded her. “Remember, normal girls don’t have psychic powers.”

“I know, I know,” Serene huffed, putting her hand on her phone. She then reached out to grab and open the front door. It wasn’t difficult by any means, but it felt so… strange, doing it manually. And it was going to feel stranger, with one hand occupied to keep chatting with Mortis, leaving just one to handle everything else.

It was more distracting than she ever imagined it would be, having to hold off on using this gift she’s had all her life. By the time she had gotten onto the bus it really made her feel like she WAS another person, not just pretending to be one.

It felt like she was missing something.

“Remember, you just go in and keep a lookout for Richard. I’ll check where the customers aren’t allowed to go.”

“I know,” Serene said with a nod. “If he shows up, I’ll be sure to greet him for you.”

“No? I’ll be right there? Just keep him from leaving.”

Serene let out a sigh. “No, you won’t be at the restaurant in time, that’s why I’ll let you know. Via the phone.”

“Serene, I-” There was a brief silence. “Ah.”

Serene let out a small giggle in response, despite Mortis’s protests. “I’ll let you know, okay?”

Mortis let out a digitised huff. “I’ll find something to do while we wait.”

“Alright, just… Don’t look at anything I don’t want to see later. Okay, bye, have a good time!” Serene sighed, tucking the phone away into her purse. It felt a bit clumsy, and definitely slower than just using her gift. Is this really what everyone else had to do? No wonder people sometimes get annoyed.

Or maybe it just felt wrong to her…

---

Furiously scrubbing away at the dishes, Terra’s still absolutely fuming at his break being cut off short.

“Okay, what did you do this time?”

Terra glared at one of the only other people in the room, a bunny that was slightly taller than he was, gloves, apron, and hairnet designating her as the cook. “Nothing. She’s a psycho.”

“You both are,” the other bunny answered, dumping soup ingredients into the pot with water before flicking the stove right on. “Whatever she did, you did something too.”

“Shut up, Aura.” Terra rolled his eyes and turned away, scrubbing harder.

“What? A sister should never lie to her big brother.” Aura would stick out her tongue at him right after, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “So what did you do?”

“I told you, nothing!” Terra’s voice got heated at that, shoving the now thoroughly scrubbed dish onto the rack, making the rest of the kitchen quiet down. He noticed the sudden silence, but he didn’t care.

Aura, however, did, so she rolled her eyes and continued cooking. “Fine, I’ll believe you… for now.”

Terra huffed, scrubbing the dishes once more. That just meant she didn’t believe him.

It was then that a large, bulky armadillo busted into the kitchen, dumping a large sack of food on the table for the other employees to get to. “Terra, Aura, there you two are!”

“Hey dad.”

“Hey dad.”

Neither sibling was particularly enthusiastic about his presence, instead continuing with their jobs.

Their father, Damion, let out a sigh, shaking his head. “What was it about?”

“What?” Terra immediately piqued up.

“You fought with Amanda, I can tell. What was it about?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Terra called out, shoving another dish onto the rack. “I just sent some idiot that refused to pay to her and then she’s acting like that’s somehow my fault! Then she cut my break in half on top of that.”

Damion would nod, letting out a hum as he put a hand to his chin. “Just like that, huh? I’ll go talk with her. Do you want to go back to waiter duties?”

“Oh, yeah suuure,” Terra called out as he rolled his eyes. “I just love to talk with stupid idiots that think the world revolves around them.”

“Great!” Damion called out, seemingly oblivious to his sarcasm. “Go get out there, and I’ll finish these dishes.”

“No, I-”

“I insist.”

… Terra could do nothing but roll his eyes again, drying his hands off before marching off. The only reason he didn’t argue further is because his dad won’t budge when he thinks he’s helping, no matter how well you explain it to him.

Should’ve kept his mouth shut.

---

Finally, they were here. The Delicious Den. Serene was going to help this ghost find peace, and then… they’ll find out what happens to him after. He was certainly lucky to find her for this, wasn’t he?

Serene made sure her mask was on properly before making her way in. Awkwardly opening the door (with her hand…) and taking a deep breath. Nobody recognised her, nobody recognised her, nobody recognised her, nobody recognised her…

…

Terra immediately recognised her. Great, another celebrity who thinks they can waltz in with a mask and expect everyone to be none the wiser. He couldn’t think much more than that as he suddenly felt something tiny grabbing his back. “Hey!” He flicked his arm against whatever it was, getting the grip off of himself.

He then turned to the offender, seeing a child fascinated with his fluff. “Bunny!”

“Back off!” he’d snap, a small instinctual hop to get away from the grabby hands.

“Bunny!” The child cried out again, arms outstretched as tears started to form in their eyes.

The child’s father turned to Terra upon his child starting to cry, glaring. “Hey, apologise to my son right now!”

“Well teach him to keep his little grubby hands off!” Terra turned away.

The father then stood up, clearly ticked off. It was clear just how much taller this man was compared to Terra, and yet the bunny looked more annoyed than anything resembling fear. “Don’t you dare talk about my son that way.”

Terra maintained direct eye contact, glaring at him. “I’m not a petting zoo for every toddler that walks in!”

“Well he absolutely loves bunnies!”

“Excuse me.”

Both Terra and the man looked over to the girl Terra had recognised. Though the man seems to have not put it together.

Serene took a small breath in now that eyes were on her, why did she just jump in? “I’m sorry, but this is a public restaurant, if your kid really can’t control himself then you should make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”

“But-”

“I know, the bunny was rude.”

“Just saying it like it is,” Terra huffed, glaring at Serene.

Serene took another breath in, nodding. “But you wouldn’t like being grabbed out of the blue either, would you?”

The man let out a sigh, slowly shaking his head. “... Right, I’ll keep my son in line.”

“Bunny!”

“Listen, if you really want a bunny, we’ll visit a pet store tomorrow…”

As the situation seemingly resolved itself, Serene made her way over to the front counter, pulling out her phone and tapping on it, before putting it on her ear. “Okay, we’re good to go…” She then saw Mortis leave the phone and immediately fly off to the employee section.

Terra, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief, silently yet quickly backing away from the kid. “I don’t like other people butting in,” Terra began.

“Oh!” Serene put a hand to her face. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking…!”

Terra let out a sigh. “Buuut you probably saved my job, so uh…” He paused for a bit. “... Thank you… Serene.”

Serene stammered, awkwardly pointing to the mask. “What- no, I’m not Serene, just-”

Terra looked at her with the most deadpan expression. “You’re a celebrity. You really think people will forget who you are just ‘cause you got a mask on?”

Serene went silent in response, awkwardly fiddling with said mask.

“... I’ll keep quiet, just make an order and I’ll put it on.”

Serene nodded. “Yes! I would like… boeuf bourguignon, and some water, please.”

“Is that all, ma’am?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Terra nodded, backing up slightly. “If you could wait at table #3.”

Serene nodded, taking a seat at the table as she waited, pulling out her phone in the meanwhile.

---

Mortis had slipped into the backrooms, unseen and unnoticed by the employees, and he intended to keep it that way. Phasing through walls, appliances, and even people, possessing none of them as he surveyed the area.

From the looks of things the first floor was mainly about the restaurant itself, with the front area for customers to eat at, a kitchen for the food to be cooked and dishes cleaned, a storage for all of the food, and the bathrooms - if absolutely necessary, he noted that location as a possible spot to possess someone. The real area of interest, past the break room, was the office - complete with a computer and all sorts of documents organised into neat piles.

So of course Mortis started his search here.

The computer was a bust unless he could get someone to search through it for him, and the stack of papers would take far too long to sort through, not to mention that his presence was absolutely going to be noticed early if he tried that. But he could at least look at the piles, see if any of them potentially involved customers.

…

Nothing besides a moderately sized list of banned customers on the wall, which obviously didn’t feature Richard in any of them. So he needed to possess someone. Pretty simple, he just needed the prime opportunity.

---

Terra approached table #3 with Serene’s boeuf bourguignon, placing the bowl down in front of her, before swiftly yet carefully placing the glass full of fresh, clear water. “Dinner is served.”

Serene smiled, tucking out some cash. “Thank you so much, mister…?”

“Terra,” he would answer back, accepting the tip without hesitation, counting it out quickly.

… $200?!

What the hell, that’s the most generous tip he’s ever got! She hasn’t even started eating it yet. He would immediately pocket that tip away, grinning wide at the nice score.

Serene smiled. “Terra’s a cute name.”

“Yeah I didn’t choose it,” he answered back, his grin slowly fading away.

Serene let out a small giggle in response, holding a hand near her mouth.

Terra’s grin returned at her giggle.“Yeah, you can thank my ma for that, and not much else.”

“Hm? Why’s that?” Serene asked softly, tilting her head.

“Ehhhh,” Terra backed up slightly, brushing off the question without a single word. “I should be going back to work.”

“Oh, okay,” Serene said. “If you get a moment, you’re always free to chat with me!” She paused slightly, before quickly adding “I mean- if you want to, of course.”

Terra looked back to the front desk. Nobody was in line yet. Everybody was busy eating, so he didn’t need to bring out any checks yet. Then he looked back to Serene. “... I guess I do have a moment right now.”

Serene smiled in response, offering up a chair for him to sit on. “So what do you like to do for fun?”

Terra let out a hum, smirking. He didn’t take the chair, instead continuing to stand. “I usually like swinging by the park, doing a bit of exercise and just taking in nature. Though I’d really love to go on vacation to somewhere I’ve never been before…”

“Oh? Like where?”

Terra’s eyes lit up, something resembling a genuine smile finally appearing on his lips. “Beautiful looking beaches and sweet volcanoes, that giant rock that looks different as the sun hits in different angles, hell even the snowy hilltops are cool I guess. That’s not even mentioning the new people to meet and cultures to soak in!”

Serene listened intently as Terra would explain all of the places he wanted to visit, nodding her head slowly. “That’s pretty interesting! Where have you been so far?”

“... Nowhere, but I’ve been saving up,” Terra admitted, ears flopping back. “Hoping I can get going by uh… Was it 9 years or 10…?” He would shake his head, puffing up. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll get out there someday!”

Serene let out a small giggle, smiling wide.

“Hey!”

“No no,” Serene quickly defended herself, smiling wide. “It’s cute is all, I hope you get to go out soon.”

Terra let out a small sigh, letting his annoyance flow away. “Well what about you?”

“Hm?” Serene blinked, tilting her head.

“Your hobbies, I mean.”

“Oh!’ Serene hesitated to answer, clearing her throat at first. “Well I… uh… I like dressing up pretty?” Her questioning tone made her even more unsure. “I guess I like puzzles too…”

Terra raised an eyebrow. “... You don’t know your own hobbies?” He would quickly shake it off. “Sorry, it’s not my place to judge.”

“Well, I never had any friends to discover hobbies with,” Serene admitted.

“You don’t need friends to- wait, you’ve never had friends?”

Serene shook her head.

“... How?” It probably wasn’t his place to ask either, but he just needed to know.

Serene let out a small sigh, clenching her glass. “Well… Everyone knew about my gift growing up. They were afraid of…”

“... You blowing up their minds in a fit of spite?” Terra finished the thought for her, to which Serene nodded. “... Have you?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Serene’s voice got loud as the catgirl was now defensive, her eyes gaining a very faint white shimmer.

“Then they were a bunch of assholes,” Terra snapped back, seeing the faint white shine fading away. “I mean how long was-”

“Hey is everything alri-” Aura would approach after the yelling, stopping to look at Serene. “... Is that the psychic?”

Serene gulped a little to think of how to answer. “Well-”

“This is my friend Selena,” Terra answered super casually. “She’s always getting mistaken for Serene, she’s absolutely sick of it.”

“Uh… Yes! That’s right,” Serene answered. What would “Selena” say…? “I’m thinking of getting my name changed, even.” … Maybe it wasn’t something that was missing that was making her feel so off…

Aura raised an eyebrow suspiciously, turning to Terra. “And how come I never met this suspiciously similar stranger?”

“You got no room to argue, you didn’t even know about Tim until I broke up with him!” Terra snapped back, to which Aura immediately went red in embarrassment.

“Y-you were barely with him!” Aura called out.

“Only if you think a whole fucking year is “barely”, is it?” Terra answered back with a smug grin.

Aura let out a frustrated huff, marching off.

Terra then turned back to Serene, with a smug smirk on his face. “That’s my sis, Aura.”

Serene was silent at first, looking back to Terra for a moment. “... Thank you, you didn’t have to do that…”

“Pssh,” Terra huffed dismissively, waving a hand away. “I love messing with her when I get the chance.”

Serene looked at him strangely, hesitating to speak. “I… see.”

Terra let out a small chuckle. “It’s fun, trust me. In fact…”

---

Amanda was busy with paperwork as Damion made his way in. Looking up to him, Amanda immediately let out a sigh, smiling softly as she let her exhaustion show. “My Darling Damion, it’s so good to see your face.”

“My Astonishing Amanda,” Damion would answer back, continuing the alliteration as he closed the office door behind himself. “It’s so good to be back with my family.” He moved the spare chair over to the back so that he could sit with his wife, kissing her on the cheek with a big hug.

She leaned back against his chest, smiling. “Oh they’re not grateful at all,” she sighed, resting her hand atop his. “Aura barely talks to me, and Terra keeps getting into trouble on purpose. It’s exhausting with those two.”

Damion let out a small hum, his breathing slow to let her relax. “They’re not kids anymore. Hell they’re not even teens. You didn’t think you were going to be in charge forever, did you?”

She let out a sigh, leaning back to look him in the face. “No, but they’re going to inherit the restaurant once we retire, they need to be prepared for that.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t give them a break, does it? Like earlier today, you got in some fight with Terra-”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Amanda sighed as she turned away.

Damion nodded. “I know. All I wanted to ask is if you even know what Terra did.”

Amanda let out a huff, her exhaustion seemingly vanishing in an instant. “He got a customer mad enough that she refused to pay.”

“And how did he do that?”

“He-!” She paused, trying to think of what exactly happened. Then she slumped back down, a long sigh coming out. “I don’t know… But it must have been something.”

Damion let out a soft, reassuring sigh. “Maybe, but you remember your younger days when you had customers that you just wanted to grind into a soft dough, right?”

“... Yeah…”

Damion then leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Some customers are still like that today. Just now Terra has to deal with them instead of you.”

She sighed, nodding slowly. “Alright, alright! I’ll give him a day off tomorrow.”

“And that’s why you’re my Astonishing Amanda,” Damion said with a smile, kissing her once again.

Then there was knocking on the office door. Immediately Damion stood up, placing the chair back where it was. At the same time, Amanda’s exhaustion vanished instantly as she sat formal and proper once more. “Come in.”

It was Aura, but immediately they could both tell she was walking strange, something behind her back as she closed the door behind herself.

But Aura’s their daughter, being strange probably meant she was having an off day.

Amanda stood up with a warm smile. “Aura, what is it you-”

She didn’t get to finish as Aura suddenly grabbed her, keeping her in a grip around the throat. She then revealed the chef’s knife that was hidden behind her as she held it close to Amanda’s throat. “Make any sudden noises and she dies.”

Both Amanda and Damion were in utter shock at what their daughter was doing, but they kept quiet for Amanda’s life.

“What do you want?” Damion asked in a clearly hostile tone of voice. Even if it was his daughter, nobody dares threatens his wife!

“Tell me where Richard is.”

---

Next Chapter

[numbugwritingblog]

Moustrapped: In the New Realm Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Index

---

06/05/2018

This was a living nightmare.

No, it’s worse than her worst nightmares have ever been.

Her son, gone! All on his own, literally lost in another world. And her only hope was the very mage responsible for his disappearance in the first place.

She was packing her bag up with everything she’ll need to look after him until they get home - first aid kit already sitting at the bottom, as she was currently packing food.

Ruhl, the mage who so carelessly got him lost, was frantically trying to help, was adding meat into her bag from the fridge.

“Stop.” She’d take it back out, to which Ruhl looked in confusion. “I still don’t know that you’re a mage, and not just insane, and this isn’t helping your case.”

“I’m a mage!” Ruhl would call out, frantically looking around… before grabbing one of the cups of water from the cupboard. “Watch.” He’d fill it up with water from the tap, holding his arm up as he’d go through his memorised process with the other hand, and…

The water in the cup froze solid! … As did the water vapour immediately surrounding the cup…

“Ah!!! Cold cold cold!” And so did the water vapour surrounding Ruhl’s fingers.

He’d panickedly fire off another spell, a bolt of fire shooting out against his hand - melting part of the ice off in an instant. And setting his hand on fire.

“Ah!!! Hot! Cold! Hot!”

Vanessa would frantically grab another cup, not even looking as she heard one fall and shatter on the kitchen bench, filling it with water and splashing it against the fire on Ruhl’s wrist.

“Ow…” Ruhl would whine out, looking at his hand - sore from both the rapid freeze and rapid burn he just inflicted on it.

Vanessa would pause on packing up the food, pulling the first aid kit back out of her bag to pull out the instructions. “Freeze burn… burn…”

She would then start the tap, waiting a moment for it to heat up to a warm temperature. Then she’d put a bowl underneath. “Put your hand in.” While Ruhl did so, she’d get a second bowl of cold water ready.

“So you’ve proven that you’re a mage with that… baffling display. As soon as we’ve treated your… freeze… heat… burn, you’re going to get my son back.”

Ruhl nodded. “O-of course, ma’am!”

Vanessa let out a sigh of relief. “Good. It will just be twenty minutes to an hour, and then you can go to this “New Realm” to find him.”

Ruhl nodded, suddenly looking a lot more nervous. “I… know someone who can.”

“...”

Ruhl’s nervousness would only increase at the silence.

“Can’t you teleport?”

“... No.” He did mention that before, but now’s not the time to be reminding her.

Vanessa facepalmed, letting out a long sigh. That’s alright, she can deal with this. Anything for her son. “... What’s their phone number?”

“What’s a phone number?”

“You-!” What’s a phone number?! Is he-?! No, no, calm down. Phillioune is her priority right now. “... Where do they live, then?”

“O-oh, at 102 S. Amaranth Boulevard.”

Finally some progress. Vanessa would pull up her phone to type in the address, asking Ruhl again to make sure she typed it in correctly. While confused, Ruhl would still answer.

Vanessa would pause upon seeing how far away it was. “... That’s 2 days by car.”

Ruhl would let out a small whine. “Really? Got anything faster than that?”

Vanessa would shoot another glare at him. “No, and the sooner we get there the better, so you just sit there while I get us ready.”

Ruhl would nod. “Right, I’ll just tell them what’s happened, and they’ll fix it like that! They might even be able to teleport us back so we won’t have to drive.”

As Vanessa would be packing, only one thing would be in her mind. She hoped to god that Phillioune was safe. Somehow, some way. Please.

---

Phillioune was a good kid, well behaved.

Lost in an unknown place, no idea what to do, the best idea is to wait. That wizard knows what he’s doing, he’ll save him.

That’s what Phillioune was thinking for the last hour. But now?

His mind is focused on how cold he is, and how hungry he is. He’d look through the spellbook that got him into this situation again, ears perking up at the gentle sound of the ocean far below. He’d keep seeing what was clearly a fire spell. That would be so helpful…

Then he could make his little campfire. Maybe even try cooking with it, it can’t be that hard after all!

If only this book were in English, though…

…

Well, there are small symbols on the edge that sort of look like hand symbols. Maybe he could mess around with them?

Let’s see… hold his hand out in a fist. Open, spin sideways, and then close every finger but the pointer.

He’d slowly repeat the instruction, and his ears would perk up again. Not at the noise, but this strange, indescribable feeling inside of himself. Besides that, nothing.

But that was strange. So strange, he was sure mom wouldn’t even have a word for it, and she’s very smart. It was enough to convince him to keep trying, balling his hand into a first, opening it back up, spinning sideways, and then pointing.

It wasn’t a coincidence, every single time he tried he felt something inside of himself. That strange, strange feeling. But why wasn’t he getting anything more?

Hm… the hand symbols are only in three symbols, not four… maybe he’s supposed to spin his hand while opening it?

Worth a shot… He’d ball his hand into a fist once more, spin while opening up his hand, and then- eep!

As he pointed, a tiny little spark erupted at the tip of his finger, giving him a big enough fright that he tripped over onto his tummy.

…

Wow! He’s a wizard now! How rare is that?! Ahhhh he’s got to keep going!

His worries briefly forgotten, the little mouse would continue trying to practise the fire spell, his eyes lighting up in sheer curiosity every single time he’d make even the tiniest bit of flame. This must be like… lucky!

---

“Oh yeah, anyone can practise magic,” Ruhl would explain, his burnt hand now in the cold water as he’d sit in the passenger side of the car. “You just need arcane energy for the spells.”

Vanessa would gently place her bag - packed with any essentials she can think of in case her son needed rescuing - into the backseat, before taking a seat in the front of the car herself. “

“How do I get that?” Vanessa made her way into the front seat of the car, hopping right in the front. This talk of magic might appear to be idle curiosity on the surface, but to Vanessa it was anything but. Magic put her son in trouble, and it’s her only chance of getting him back out of trouble.

“It’s everywhere!” Ruhl would call out.

Vanessa would look at him with a flat face. She didn’t even need to say anything, Ruhl eventually realising what was being implied. “O-oh, uhm… Everywhere in the New Realm…” After a moment of silence, his eyes widened up. “Oh I must be low by now, I really shouldn’t be casting anymore spells until we get there!”

“Great…” Vanessa’s heavy sarcasm was the last thing she said before powering up the car.

Ruhl would lean back in his seat, eyes wide at the sudden shaking in his seat. “Wha- earthquake?!”

Vanessa would stare at him again. “... Do you know what a car is?”

“... Yes.”

More staring.

“... second hand.”

Still more staring.

“... Okay all I know is that they can move fast and people make way for them.”

“You don’t have cars or phones in this “New Realm” you come from?”

Ruhl would pause a little, thinking about how to say it. Then a small smile came across him, rare confidence as he knew exactly what to say. “We don’t need them! Magic handles all of that for us!”

Looking back at Vanessa would reveal that he, in fact, did not say it in a good way, Vanessa’s irritation clear even as she was looking ahead at the road.

“S-sorry…”

---

Phillioune had been practising for the last hour. By this point he could do the motions in about a second, and each time he tried a burst of fire would shoot out of his fingertip, falling over the edge of the cliff, surely landing in the ocean.

This is so cool, he’s a real wizard now! A gust of wind would knock his thoughts back into reality, instantly shivering really badly. Ah…! Right, right, he’s freezing cold!

He’d slowly get to his feet, looking around. He probably shouldn’t be firing his new spell at the nearest patches of grass… But he shouldn’t need to, there’s a forest just nearby! He’d get to his feet, closing the spellbook. He had nothing on hand except his pyjamas and his spellbook, but he felt like that’s all he needed right now.

He’d follow the trail left behind when that… eugh, that thing dragged him away. That didn’t look like any animal he knew! He didn’t exactly want to, but it at least meant he could get back home…

Or at least where home should be. Why is his home missing? Phillioune would stop, his ears drooping down as he’d look back to the same cliff he’s always known. Is it more than his house that’s gone? It’s like his mum was never here… Is she even still around? Does that wizard even know him now? Is-

A shiver up his spine would snap Phillioune back into reality, turning ahead and - with a small, hesitant step - entered this strange forest. This is fine, this will be quick, he’s just got to collect some wood, that’s all.

As he walked, he’d pick up any and all loose twigs and sticks he’d find, no thoughts as to which ones are going to be the most important or even usable. Wood is flammable, clearly, so wood will be good for a campfire. He did this for a good few minutes before he eventually reached the spot that he first woke up, the gentle ambiance of running water easing his mind.

This is probably enough wood.

So Phillioune would drop them down on one spot, gathering them up together. He doesn’t want the fire to be big, afterall.

And a quick cast of his new spell would light up the improvised campfire, Phillioune taking a seat to warm up…

…

… Most of the sticks aren’t lighting up. The fire’s clearly close enough to burn them, why isn’t it lighting them up? Ah well, he’ll just need to shuffle closer to get whatever warmth he can manage from this flame…

… This isn’t working. He’s still freezing cold. Why isn’t the fire big enough? He’d cautiously reach out to the edge of the pile, grabbing one of the sticks. Hm… He’d chuck it into the fire, watching it light up as it passed through. Of course, it’s that simple!

He’d grab another stick, chucking it into the flame to light it up as well. And then a third. And then a fourth- huh, this one feels a little cold. Ah well, in the fire it goes.

… Ah. It didn’t catch on fire. Maybe it’s cold because it was in the water?

Okay that’s simple. Phillioune would still only reach out to sticks away from the fire, but armed with his newfound knowledge he’d check each stick. If he thought they were too wet, he’d chuck ‘em away. If not, he’d chuck it into the fire.

With each dry stick thrown back in, the fire would grow more and more, and Phillioune could feel the warmth behind it.

There was just one problem with Phillioune’s little plan. He was not a good throw, and so for every stick that landed perfectly in the pile, there was also one that’d bounce around a bit.

He wouldn’t notice this, however, and would keep tossing sticks until he felt the fire was big enough. Eventually, one of the sticks would bounce off and roll across the floor, lighting the grass on fire in the process.

FWOOSH!

The sudden jump of flame frightened Phillioune immediately, the little mouse tumbling back. When he lifted his head he immediately saw that the fire was spreading , and quickly. In a panic, he’d turn to run - only to pause long enough to pick up the spellbook. He can’t forget this…

He’d then start running again, splashing his legs against the cold, chilling, freezing water as he’d pass the small creek to the other side.

…

Mom’s not going to like hearing that he burned down the forest with his first spell.

As the fire whipped close to the creek, Phillioune would instinctively jump back, only to see some plants moving on their own. Dipping their tips into the lake they lined up with, they’d turn back and fire out a concentrated stream of water at the fire, dousing any that got too close.

Oh.

As the strange plants defended themselves from the fire, putting out Phillioune’s little accident in the process, he was left confused and bewildered. Did they just… Can plants do that now? Could they always do that? Wait, his home is gone, maybe they used to do that but can’t anymore? Is this the past?

… There used to be magic in the past?!

Phillioune’s mind would race with the possibilities as he’d go collecting sticks once more, this time taking only the dry feeling sticks as he walked down the creek. While it’s certainly nice that there’s water spouting plants now, he doesn’t want to start another forest fire if he can help it.

---

The sun was setting. Vanessa had been driving all day by this point, only stopping for essentials like gas or the bathroom. Vanessa would soon pick an out of the way spot just off road to pull up, parking her car.

“... What are you doing?” Ruhl asked aloud.

“I’m not going to drive all night,” Vanessa explained.

“... Where are we sleeping?” Ruhl would ask next.

Vanessa pointed to the back seats. “Get comfortable.”

“What?!”

Ruhl looked to the back of the car, eyes wide as he’d stare in shock. “But-but-but- don’t we have somewhere to stay?!”

Vanessa would look him in the eye. “Unless you’re willing to pay for a hotel, I want to save my money as much as I can.”

Ruhl let out a sigh of relief, bringing up a small bag. “That’s fine, I got plenty of crystals to pay!” As if to demonstrate his point, he’d open the bag to show some assortment of crystals, all identical to each other. While it would be valuable in the New Realm, here they were just some sparkly but otherwise ordinary crystals.

Vanessa stared at him blankly.

“... What?”

“... You’re welcome to try next time we pass by a motel.”

“I will!” Ruhl would call out confidently. “There’s gotta be one nearby, right?”

Vanessa sighed, turning the car back on. “I just hope my darling’s able to sleep safely…”

---

Phillioune was now dry and warm as he laid within the campfire he had set up, staring up at the night sky above. The night sky was different than his home, so many stars blinking and twinkling together, all forming a singular bright stretch of dazzling white. It was a magical sight, and helped ease him from the pain of missing his mom…

… And the pain of sleeping hungry for the first time in his life. He has to eat tomorrow, even if it kills him. Wait, don’t say kill.

… Too late, now the fear of what’s got him in this situation has settled in. This was going to be a tough night…

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Buggyverse Poll 12

On Strawpoll so that anyone can vote for it!

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Buggyverse Poll #7

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Vote for the Next Chapter!

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Next Chapter Vote

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Buggyverse Poll 13

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Buggyverse Story Collection

Every story that’s a part of this setting will be stored here for the sake of ease of access and organisation

The Miracle Mind of Serene, the Tale of a Girl and a Ghost Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Welcome to the New Realm! Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Just Your Ordinary Invincible Bystander Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Mousetrapped: in the New Realm Chapter 1 Chapter 2

The Immortal Tale of Diego Sánchez Chapter 1

Vote for the next chapter!

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Numbug’s Shared Heroic Universe Grand Debut

This is a collection of the first chapter of three different stories all set in the same universe. At the end of every chapter is a vote to choose which story you wish to see get continued, and the winning vote will get its next chapter uploaded, with a new vote at the bottom of that.

Story Collection: 

The Miracle Mind of Serene, the Tale of a Girl and a Ghost Chapter 1

Welcome to the New Realm! Chapter 1

Just Your Ordinary Invincible Bystander Chapter 1

Vote for the next Chapter here! - https://strawpoll.vote/polls/s1rylyb6/vote?s=0

[firebuug]

seeing how people are going insane drawing white encantos i now have a glimpse into what the fandom would look if my shit ever got popular for no reason