#skyggja

A few days later, Lekir and Carmen were packing for their trip to Cador, after much discussion, since Carmen had been accidentally setting things aflame. The trouble was that the Doctor still hadn’t fixed the C5 Doorway to be functional and undetectable. Some components were not compatible then there were some that simply exploded in use. He had to rush off to a place he knew to pick up what he needed to replace and complete the work, and possibly save the world. Lekir was sour that she had missed him as they were about to leave. “Looks like we’ll just need to ask Kalai for a portal. She at least has the authorization to create one. Then we can set your device to return whenever.” She suggested.

Carmen thought for a bit, she knew she may be able to sneak past security as she was at the capital’s portal transit station, but perhaps not since she looked a little different than her passport pictures. Portal travel had been extremely tight to anyone with dimensional portal powers due to the uptick in dangerous activity. Its been restricted to only authorized use and the main portals at each region’s capitals. Lekir knew some folks in her homeworld that were high up the command chain that were able to create portals for them, Carmen has never met them though but she knew they wouldn’t appreciate constant portal requests for her heisting. Portals were rare enough, they were only summoned after months of preparation and consultation at the capitals, and heavily guarded. General teleportation was not as regulated since the amount of magic to be used to travel to different worlds is far too much for an ordinary individual of this particular world, and simple teleports were limited to short distances.

This particular morning, Carmen’s stomach was churning. She couldn’t figure out if she ate something that didnt agree or she was just too nervous. She hasn’t traveled this way before, and she hasn’t been this nervous before. She had everything packed in a single suitcase and ran through a list of things that continued to be done while she was gone. She met up with M and Wally in the foyer for the review. “Alright so we may be gone a few weeks, I don’t know how this training is supposed to go but it’ll help me control this fire thing going on.. Wally, I need you to keep a stock of food, make sure Ninoga doesn’t empty us out, and keep a check on the fresh produce, Blendin may come over and you know he’s a crunchy kid with his veggies. He prefers greens over junk, so make sure theres fresh stuff for him.”

“M, I would like to have Daring introduced to how things work here, she’s my eldest and I would like a family backup if I decide to retire or something. She’s the closest to my body shape and all, gotta keep appearances. Go over the protocols and maybe let her on the field with one of you on one of the lesser priority heists. She may not like it now but she may grow into it.” Her stomach flopped a bit, and she paused. Wally and M looked at eachother, M tilted his head, “You sure you wanna go travel in this condition, Red? You usually don’t have nausea.” Wally gently shuffled her to the foyer sofa, had her sit down, he opened her water bottle for her, “M’s right, are you sure you wanna do this? You do look absolutely green around the gills..” Carmen took a sip and waved them off, “I’m fine, its probably just nerves.. This Cador has much heavier gravity than here and before I was not able to survive, I’m now supposedly able to and I am kinda worried about it not working but I’ll be fine..urp!” She clapped a hand over her mouth as she almost heaved. She got up and dashed to the nearest bathroom, rushing past Lekir. “Whoa.. Is she still sick?? I can let Kalai know to postpone for a day..” M groaned and shook his head, “You know how hard headed she is. She’s determined to leave today as scheduled. We’ve even asked her.”

“Good thing we’re not leaving for a few more hours. Gives her time to settle herself.” Lekir put her hands on her hips, waiting for her wife to be free from the bathroom. “Well, I’m about to go to my physical exam, maybe I’ll bring her along and see if theres anything they can give her to ease it up.” Wally offered. M laughed, “Good luck with that, you know she fuckin hates doctors since she was hauled away after the fuckin fire. Its been years.” Wally shrugs, “All the more reason, its been too long.” Carmen stepped back out to the foyer, looking a little worse for the wear. She had tied her hair up to a tight high-tail, “I’m not going to any doctors. Its just nerves. I’m fine. Go, don’t be late for the appointment. See if they can give something for the pain at least, maybe get them to do a chest scan, we don’t know how far its gotten..” she fussed over him, picking a missed crystal from his shoulder, where the shards shredded a hole. Wally smiles and kissed her nose. “I’ll be fine, just drink some ginger ale or something. I’ll be back soon.”

Blendin rushed through, almost bumping into his father, “Whoop, sorry Pops. Hey Mom, have you seen my backpack? I’m heading to a mission but I need something out of it real quick.” He starts looking behind the cushions of the sofa, M’s tentacle actually held it right above his head in a corner, the two wives snickering, “Look up, sweetie.” Carmen chuckled. Blendin looked around the ceiling for a moment “Hey! I need that! I’m gonna be late!” M cackled as he kept it slightly out of reach. “Uncle M, come on.. please?” The young stallion begged, the brash changeling dropping the backpack into the awaiting arms of the newly eighteen year old. M shook his head with a wicked grin, “That kid cant jump worth a damn..”

While the wives were preparing for their trip, Wally made his way to his appointment in a large city. In a large concrete building that almost looked more like a facility management center like the city’s Water Works, he stepped through the door and flashed his Wander Society coin, “Waldric Wander. I’m here for my physical.” He mentioned to the front desk where he was directed to the waiting room. After a few moments, he was called into an exam room where a new doctor stood to greet him. The tall black and white stallion grinned as he outstretched his hand, “Waldo, Glad you could make it. I’m Dr Ravidel Soltek and I’ll be handling your checkup today…”

Daring walked up to the door right outside Skyggja’s lab, where Sigryn greeted her, “Hello Daring! We weren’t expecting you! Would you like anything to drink?” The young pegasus shook her head, “No, I’m just looking for Mom. Have you seen her?” The dovefox nodded and escorted her towards the workshop area, “Oh yes! Carmen is right over here, getting some adjustments done before her trip.” Daring soon saw Carmen sitting in a shop chair, with a snack-tray in front of her with papers and books, awkwardly trying to sift through things with one arm as Skyggja was just a few feet away, working on the missing arm. Carmen looks up and smiles, “Adora! What brings you here?” Daring huffs a bit in annoyance, "Mom, why do you have a thing in my schedule for VILE training?! You know I don’t want to be a part of this! And with Uncle M for that matter!” Carmen straightens up and takes off her glasses, “Honey, I don’t know what will happen when I’m away and I need you or Blendin to know how things work here just in case there needs to be a leadership shift in the event of emergency. That and if anything should happen to me or your father, you’ll know what to do. I don’t want this to dissolve, too many people have made their home here. So its just a little crash course on how things work. I’m not asking you to become me. I want you to be your own person.” Daring crossed her arms, “You’ve already proven that you are worse at dying than a cockroach. So why me? If you hadn’t noticed, I’m now the only normal person that hasn’t been altered or abnormally strong or have powers..” Her mother beamed, “Sweetheart, I’m talking about your intuition and intellect, your ability to notice details, quick thinking and even quicker reflexes.” Daring glares, “But you don’t see what is wrong here! You have a skewed sense of morals in which I don’t want any part of! You steal from museums and other locations! And its mostly for your own gain! You don’t need any of it! Its all to see if you can while trying to disguise it as a way to punish a more crooked individual!”

Skyggja looks over her shoulder, “It may be stealing but your mother has done more to help others than you realize! She’s not exactly a Robin Hood but she isn’t any Sheriff of Nottingham either! As for doing it to see if she can, I’ve seen first hand how easy she can steal things. No wonder she keeps trying to go for more complicated heists. Theres no effort in protection anymore in lots of places. Consider us like WhiteHats, finding holes in security, only we get paid with their loss.” Daring growls in frustration, “You can get hired legally for that! You don’t have to do it illegally!!”

Sigryn comes over with a tray of drinks for everyone, some spiked lemonade. “I think they learn the lesson harder when its done off a legal paycheck. Besides, Don’t you do similar to us, Daring? You steal things from temples and ruins..” Sig smirked, sipping her own drink. “But thats different!! I’m legally allowed to because its covered under anomalous archeology!! Its my job to collect and neutralize the unstable artifacts for the safety of the world!” Carmen puts her glasses back on and goes back to read a paper, “So its not that different, honey, just a different boss to answer to. Where here, that boss may be you someday.” Skyggja turns, holding the arm, and reattaches it with a couple clicks. Carmen flexes her hand, and moves it around to make sure everything is connected and functioning properly. Daring turns to leave, her mother calling after her, “Just talk to M, he’ll help you out!” Skyggja chuckles as Daring leaves, “You sure have a firecracker there. If she comes around, she’s gonna be a spittin image.” Carmen smirks, “I think she’ll warm up to the idea. She just needs time. Ooh I just got a craving for pickled beets and peanut butter, out of now where.. weird.” Sigryn laughs, “That sounds like a pregnancy craving if I ever heard one! Such a weird combo!” Carmen sips her spiked lemonade, “Nah, I’ve been on a strong birth control since having Blendin. I have unusually high levels of hormones during my cycles and I had to cap it somehow. Not even Kiros could get me pregnant with these pills. Besides, its not so weird, folks used to roast whole onions stuffed with peanut butter about a century ago and it was a household favorite! I personally havent tried it but pickled beets cant be too much different!”

Skyggja raised an eyebrow, “You capped your hormones during cycles yet some of us STILL can’t keep up with your stamina during your heats.” The mare shrugged, “I’m a medical marvel apparently between that and my disability to use my natural unicorn magic. Other than that I used to be perfectly normal!” Skyggja’s mechanical eyes whirred a bit, “Right, well ya ain’t normal anymore. Maybe you should cut back on the drinkin till after you get back. You said your stomach wasn’t too happy with the nerves, and who knows what the portal may do, especially since Lekir said the environment is different.” Carmen waved the notion off, downing the rest of the drink. “I’ll be fine. Thats why I’m double checking with you about my augments. If I can get used to the atmosphere quickly, I’ll be right as a rainbow.”

Within a few hours, Wally had returned, and had a small pill bottle in hand. He went to put it in his medicine cabinet after reading the label when Carmen knocked on the doorframe, “Hey, how’d the appointment go?” Wally smiled and shrugged, “Fine I guess. I got prescribed a new medication that may help slow the crystal growth and help with the pain. Still no word on a cure. But its better than nothing.” She smiled and rubbed his arm comfortingly. “We’ll find a way. I promise. Now you have everything you need while I’m gone? Because once I’m on the other side, its hard for me to get back on short notice.”

He nods, “I think we’ll be just fine. I’m already kinda feeling better. And I haven’t even had the new pill yet.” She points to him, “Take the medicine, even if you feel better now. You still need to take it. The doctors say it will help in the long run. I’ll check that bottle when I get back if I have to.” She chuckles.

Soon it was time to depart, Lekir sent word that they were ready and a shimmering portal appeared with a figure of a gracefully lanky black fox with green tipped ears, a green stripe along her back and emerald eyes, she was dressed in a modern version of a greek muse, the pale green shirt was billowy with draping sleeves and matching dress pants. Lekir crossed her arms and glared at the arriving figure, “Hello Kalai, Its about time you showed up..” The newcomer sneered smugly and got close to Lekir, growling, “About time you begged me to send you back, I expected more groveling.” The two growled fiercely at each other before bursting out laughing, giving each other a big hug. Lekir laughed, “Its soo good to see you, is everything ready for our arrival?” Kalai wiped a laughing tear from her eye and nods, “Oh of course! Everything is all set and ready. And you must be Carmen, I’ve heard so much about you. You are absolutely glowing!” Carmen blushed as Kalai looked her over, “Its a pleasure to meet you, and I’m just nervous. I’ve obviously never been to Cador and I’ve heard so many stories about it.” Kalai smirked, “Its a certainly more than that but I’ll explain more when you’re settled and checked out.” Carmen hesitated, “Checked out? Like customs and quarantine right?” Kalai tilted her head, “Its a medical standpoint to see how far along you are and to see how your new blood is effecting you.” Carmen relaxed a bit, “Oh right, haha, to see how far I’ve adapted to this, right. Got it.” Kalai chuckled with a confused look, “Did you forget that I can sense all life and health? Or did Lekir not relay that.” Lekir huffed, “No, I told her everything I knew!”

Carmen reached out in a sudden thought, right before Kalai was about to speak, “Wait! So that means you can heal, right? Like take diseases away? May I ask a favor before we depart? My husband, Waldo, has been inflicted by what we call Vivian’s Burden. Its fatal with no cure. We haven’t had any luck finding anything that helps. Can you help him?” Kalai sighed and had him stand near her since she couldnt stray far from the portal without it closing. She looked him over, “You recently took out all the shards of crystal?” Wally nodded, “We try to take out any that we see.” Kalai turns to Carmen, “I do not do these for charity, I do require payment and the cost will be steep. Are you prepared to pay my fees for such a service, even in your condition?” Carmen gave a confused face and looked herself over, “My condition? Like my limbs? Whatever my condition, yes I will pay whatever the price, I have plenty of money or priceless art, or if I dont have what you want, I can get it with no issues... Just.. we’re running out of time to find him a cure. He has less than a year and a half before it starts getting to his vitals.” Kalai looked her over and proceeded to reach out her hand, touching Wally’s chest and with a soft green glow, she pulled the illness from him absorbing it into herself and destroying it, healing his wounds from the crystals. “We shall discuss payment when you get settled then, and it will not be monetary.”

Wally lifted his shirt and smiled wide, laughing, “Holy moley! I feel amazing! I didn’t realize how much strength I lost!” He did a couple hops and ran over to Carmen, picking her up and twirling her, giving her a deep kiss. “Oh this is wonderful! Thank you Kalai! I have a new lease on life!” He woops out. Carmen smiles and laughs, “Better thank Lekir too! She’s the one who knows Kalai and had her come here!” Wally went right over to Lekir and gave a big bear hug to which Lekir patted his back and felt awkward. “Thank you so much!” Lekir pried him from her with a chuckle, “Yeah, no prob. I didn’t realize this was the answer you all were looking for.. “ Kalai smiled, “Its may not have been the main reason for my being here but if a life can be saved, I’m happy to help. Now, say your farewells for now, I’ll have you back safely within one month of your calendar.” M takes a draw from his cigarette and strides up to Kalai. “You better fuckin keep them safe. Those two are my charges, and I don’t like being fuckin far from them. If anything happens to them, I will have no issue rending your flesh into fuckin paste, myself.” Kalai looked at him and suddenly whipped vines from the ground to twist around him tightly, sapping his strength from full to near completely depleted, his breathing labored as he wriggled. She gets close to him, the vines pulling him lower to his knees, she ripped the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it, “And You should not be smoking near a mother to be! I have much to discuss about her and her son.”

Carmen raised an eyebrow, “Wait, you mean Blendin? He’s just turning 18…” Kalai never broke eye contact with M, “No, no, your other son.”

“I don’t have another son. I have a daughter.”

“I’m talking about the son you carry in your belly this very moment!”

Carmen’s hands instantly went to her stomach, “Wait, I’m actually pregnant?! How?! I literally just had this conversation.. I was on birth control since having Blendin! Do they not work anymore?!… oh my god they dont work anymore. Why dont they work anymore?!” She starts panicking and Lekir rubs her back soothingly, getting her some ice water. “It could be the demon blood.. your transformation could be enough to override it. Normally non Cadorian females who carry Cadorian Demon babies cant survive the pregnancy, but you can since you have had the blood transfer.” Lekir explained. Kalai smiled over to Carmen, keeping M bound still, “I thought you knew already, I apologize but this way I can assess both your abilities and progress! This has only happened once before with a human but never a unicorn! I’m very eager to learn what I can if you are willing to let me observe while you train your new skills.” She turned back to M and used her power to read his biology and such, smirking, “Oh.. now you are a strange one. Much different from the individuals in this building. Last time I was here on this planet, nothing like you existed yet.. Oh interesting.. Hmmm Lets keep some of that between us, shall we?” She patted his cheek and let him go, releasing his strength back to him. He stumbled back and shook his head, “What the fuck did you just do to me?!” He roared, his claws lengthening sharply. Kalai flicked her fingers and explodes his bones within his arms before flicking them back, instantly healing him as if no harm was ever done. “I am the Harbinger of Life. I can unmake you as easy as you were made to begin with. I am a scientist of biology and magic. I am older than you can comprehend. I have seen wars and seen my people die around me. I have felt their anguish and pain.” M straightened up and adjusted his jacket, “So we have something in common.” Kalai tilted her head, “You are a being who changes shape. Your biology doesnt show this feature you speak of otherwise. Please elaborate.”

M scoffed but went into detail of his kind and his experiences. “I’m a dark balance changeling, I feed off the negative of life. Every Murphy’s law, every bad luck streak, is my dinner. I use my powers to feed off those emotions of despair and hopelessness and chase it down with survivor’s bittersweet love and pain of the lost one. I don’t just kill and witness death. I absorb it, I feast upon it. Well, I used to kill. Red here has a no kill ban and I agreed to it.” The fox came much closer, her lips almost touching his, she breathes cold air onto him, breathing her experiences of those exact emotions and senses him taking it in. He licks his lips as the glow in his eyes shift slightly, “That was a nice appetizer. I never fuckin expected that.” Kalai smirked tracing her finger along his shirt, “I could feed you for a lifetime with all that I am. Take you home like a lost puppy.” He took her hand from his chest, “Don’t mistake me for a fuckin puppy. I can do more than just bark.” Kalai smirked wider, “Suddenly you have gone from just a passing thought to someone I may actually enjoy. Not many fully understand what I feel, but you do. Interesting for such a strange one.”

M growled, “I have a name. I didn’t just spend two fuckin decades fighting with an ai to say my goddamn name instead of Rude one, I ain’t gonna do it again with you.” The vixen crossed her arms, “Oh I know your name, Marehem Skaedfryd. I was hoping you would take my compliment instead since you don’t care for your full name being spoken. So you go by M, as I was saying, you are a strange one.” M grumped and adjusted his jacket, sticking his hands in his pants pocket, “So. You said a month, yeah? I’ll set my calendar. One month. On the dot. Be here, or I will come there and destroy what I can to get them back, gravity or no gravity.” She laughed, “I have seen extinction level events, you do not frighten me.” M lifted his chin before moving his muzzle next to her cheek, speaking low, “I’ve caused extinction level events. I do not intend to harm you if you do not intend to harm them.” She chides softly, “I am as gentle as a flower but certainly not as frail, no harm will befall them, I assure you.” He puts his hand on her arm, keeping his head close, “Even the smallest and weakest flower can be deadly just as a sturdy flower needs care to not wither.” Kalai licks his cheek, “Perhaps someday I will let you tend my garden. There are no gods to judge, we ate them, haven’t we?” He gave a soft groan, almost a low chuckle. “When we ate them, we became gods ourselves, ain’t that right?” Kalai grins bringing up a hand to cup his neck in a soft embrace, “Then perhaps gods shall lay with gods someday.”

Carmen leans over to Lekir, whispering, “What the fuck am I seeing right now?” Lekir shrugs and whispers back, “I dunno.. I wanna say they’re flirting.”

Carmen gives an unsure grimace, “With M though? Oh maybe he’ll do his fake out that he does with Molli. M never flirts seriously. Any minute he will give the middle finger or something.. any minute..” Lekir shakes her head, “I think he’s serious. Even look at his tail, its curled around both their feet. Not swaying like he’s plotting.” Carmen continues her grimace, “But M though?!” Lekir chuckles, “Almost reminds me of a Death and Deadpool type of chemistry.” Carmen shrugs, “A death and what? Whats a deadpool?” Lekir looked at her wife in disbelief, “Do you not keep up with pop and comic culture? Your own son reads them, ask him. It’ll make sense when you do.” Carmen scoffs, “I read comics! I’ve read… Garfield…” The Vesk pats her shoulder, “When we get back, we’re having a comic crash course.” They look back in time to see M kiss her hand gently, then he catches eye contact with the wives, and flips them his middle finger. “There’s the middle finger.. its just towards us instead of her. Great.”

After Lekir and Carmen finished farewelling, Kalai escorted them through the portal, looking back to give M a wink before the portal closes. Once the girls were gone, the two brothers stood, Wally giving a sheepish grin towards M who had crossed his arms in thought, tapping his chin. M gave a side eye to Wally, “What the fuck are you lookin at?” Wally grinned and chuckled, “M has a crush~” M cackles, “Right, and you are the king of Scotland. Bullshit.” Wally singsongy teased him, “You think she’s preeeetty, I think you liiiiike her, you wanna kiiiisssss her..” M grabbed him by the shirt neck and made a fist, “If you dont fuckin quit..”

Once back at VILE HQ, the jet lands and the team disembarks, M procuring a wheelchair with his shadow powers and strapped Carmen in while he started to hum some carols. The mare sulked having to stay seated and not walking on her own. She did want to get up and about with these new augments so it wouldn’t slow her down. Deep down she knew it was for her own good and health to stay off her legs so they can heal properly within the cybernetic casing. “Can I at least have crutches?!” She had asked before they departed. “What? No! You put pressure on your arms the same way as your legs? You’ll blow the sutures and start bleeding all over my equipment!” She remembers Skyggja scolding her.

Blendin had already opened the double doors for the moving to begin. It didn’t take long for the HQ to be swarmed with flying and crawling drones carrying crates and boxes. Kiros went on ahead to help direct the drones with Skyggja’s help after Carmen explained which parts of the top floor was theirs. Carmen wheeled herself out of the way and into the living room, next to the big screen tv which blipped on by itself, 079’s face showing up rather annoyed. It took one look at Carmen and sighed. “Oh great. One of you is broken. This is why we cant have nice things..” She raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Good to see you too, 079. I’ll be adding two names to our household and they will be setting up a lab upstairs on the penthouse floor, so there may be another computer system connecting to ours. PLEASE behave and cooperate with these new agents. I don’t doubt they will attempt to delete you somehow if you start shit with them.” The ai rolled its eyes. “I’ll highly doubt they can but I suppose I can see what I can do to assist. I make no promises.” Carmen smiles and gives an awkward thumbs up, still getting used to the feel of the augments. “Thats all I ask, just a solid attempt in peaceful coexisting. I’ll even give you more monitors if you wish for around the HQ~” 079 gave a deadpan look with confetti and balloons on the screen. “Hooray. Now I wont have to squeeze into those abhorrent tiny screens on your mobile devices. Some of you really need to clear the phone storage from all that porn..”

Blendin hops over with a tablet to show his mother, “Hey Mom, I had some help with M and Kiros and.. 079? Anyway, we came together and we are working on a present for you! I am trying to share the knowledge of the ley line door travel system to your system so you can do what I do! Now, this stuff is super top secret so I could get in a whole lot of trouble for this if I’m caught BUT Kiros insisted that 079 will keep it under lock and key so no one else can track it! And there may be a way to even hook it up to your time machine! M said he’ll tinker with that later.”

Daring had wandered in and stayed a fair distance away and watched the two discuss the travel system. She scoffed as she saw Carmen get excited and hug Blendin, perhaps a little too tight. She didnt realize the added strength she had due to the new blood and augments, that is until he yelped. Daring was still trying to unfluff her feathers as she watched. She was glad a life wasn’t lost, even if it was one she still didnt trust. Perhaps she could tolerate her mother but she certainly kept her opinions known.

As far as she could tell, her brother had fallen right into his mother’s trap and just handed over the ability to steal everything from under everyone’s noses. There must be some way to stop it all. Her thoughts were jarred to a stop as striped arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind, picking her up and twirling her around, “Adora!!! This is a wonderful surprise!! Welcome home!! Lemme give you a big hug! Rrrrrrrr!” Waldo had snuck up on her in a way he would describe as very dad-like. Daring shrieked and flailed in his grasp, “Let me go! Help!” Carmen turned quickly, hearing the screech and instantly relaxed when she saw Wally try to be silly. “Wally!! Let her go, she’s not in the right mood right now.” He let her go with a playful pout, “Aww alright. I was just excited to see our baby girl again. You grew so tall! Look at you! Pretty soon you’ll fill out and be even more like your mom. She sure did give the attractive and smart genes to you, kids.” Daring huffed and straightened her clothes and tried smoothing out her feathers once again from puffing up “I am NOTHING like her! I may be glad she’s still here but I still think she’s up to no good!” She pointed to her smirking mother.

Wally looked over at Carmen for the first time since she came back and stopped short, worry plastered across his face. “My light! Are you ok? I heard there was an incident but it wasn’t specified how bad! What.. your hair, your arms.. legs.. your color.. what happened?!” Carmen started to explain, then when she heard the words coming from her own mouth, the realization of everything started to hit. Her eyes suddenly were pouring tears, and her new hands shook. She finally had a moment to truly process. She reached up to Wally who knelt down and embraced her so tightly, crying as well, “Please.. my light, please take this as a sign to stop. I know you are trying to help cure me but let’s.. just try to find a doctor or something. You’re risking your life to save mine, the accidents are getting more frequent and more dangerous… I want you to stop stealing. Please.” Carmen wiped her eyes, pulling away as she calmed down, making herself push the panic aside, “I can’t. I still have to try. Its what I’m good at, its what I do. Its not like they’ll accept me back into the detective programs..they’ll just throw me back into that horrible place to forget about me.” Blendin hugs his mom around the neck from behind the wheelchair, nuzzling comfortingly, “We wont let anyone take you or any of your agents away from us! And we’ll find a cure, Right Dad?” Wally smiled a little worriedly, “You said it. Now lets get you cleaned up and settled from that trip, maybe some relaxing time in front of the tv or something..” Carmen scoffed with some tears still brimming her eyes, “Relaxing in front of the tv? So I can get lazy and fat you mean?” She teased, wiping her eyes.

Daring crossed her arms and stood brooding from across the room. Ninoga and Kiros were lifting a heavy piece of furniture through the doorway and had to pass in front of Daring. She caught a glimpse of the muscles on both agents and blushed, looking away. “Excuse us, little snack. Don’t want to squish you.” Kiros chuckled with a low teasing rumble, winking at her. She turned scarlet in the face and hurried over to her family, “Guys, where’s the bathroom?!” Wally pointed just down the hall as Carmen looked at her and then at Kiros having a belly laugh while the young pegasus rushes off. “So THATS why it smells like Teen Spirit on Prom Night in the jet! Kiros! You are a scoundrel!”

Kiros shrugged as he held the furniture while Ninoga was pivoting, “I didn’t do a damn thing but I know you wouldn’t have me any other way!” He grinned, now on the move to set the furniture to its proper place. Lekir set a box down, which was picked up by a crawling drone and scuttled off, the vesk stepping out of its way with a bit of a gruff. “Its already like an infestation of these drones, you sure you wanna bring them here?” Carmen nodded, “I can tell this is the break they needed, just like they gave us a break. We have the room and they can be very helpful to us.” Lekir crouched beside her as Wally was busy looking through the tv channels. “How are you feeling? Any pain or anything?” She brushed her fingers through Carmen’s hair as Carmen put on a smile, “I feel great, I cant wait to try to get back on my feet. Wally wants me to relax… and to stop thieving.”

They look over to Wally who had been channel surfing and was currently dancing to some up beat music, occasionally singing along, before changing the channel again, “Mum!….Dad!…..Bingo!…..BLUEY! Man, Kid shows are so fun these days!… Ooooh baking competition! Thats not a cake!!… IT IS A CAKE!! Blendin! Are you seeing this?!” Lekir dropped her face to deadpan, “You? Stop thieving? Heh, thats not going to happen, is it?” She watches Wally pretty much jostle his son in excitement of a purse being sliced and revealing cake. “I will never be able to fathom what you see in him..” She stands up, her hands on her hips. Carmen smiles, “I dunno, he makes me laugh like theres not a care in the world.”

That night, after all the moving had calmed down, they all gathered around the dining room table. A couple stacks of pizza were on the kitchen island nearby, half already emptied. Carmen looked around as they all chattered, dishes and cups clinking, and all she could think about was that she had spent so much time trying to get to this point. But she found it was all worth it. She finally had connections with her family and made new family along the journey. She actually felt complete for once in a very long time.

The sounds of the gathering played over a speaker for a few moments more before a hand reached and switched it off. “This does not sound like a funeral dinner, does it?” A lower ranking gentleman in a suit lowered his head, “N-no sir. It does not.” The one in the chair facing him turned, picking up the umbrella that was placed onto the desk between them, inspecting it closely. “What does it sound like to you?” The younger rank, gulped, “A..a happy celebration, sir?” The blade sliced out from the tip and back in with a press of a button. “A happy celebration. Now. Your task was simple. I see no malfunction in your equipment so the failure rests with you. You told me, no. You ASSURED me that you would have this taken care of.” The lower rank stammers, “I made sure she was gravely hurt, at the very least, if she had a big enough injury, she would not continue.. we wouldn’t need to resort to eradicating her..” They look at the expressionless form of their higher rank. “It seems like you have forgotten what we stand for. Therefore, I will rectify your errors and put you on a path of clarity.”They press a few buttons on the console as a swarm of nanites suddenly covered the lower rank for a split moment and then returned to the opening they had come through. The lower rank just collapsing to the floor, all signs of life removed without cause nor damage or anything, as if every bit of life force was simply consumed and destroyed right from the source, without so much of a sound from the victim. Within moments, two workers came in and took the body to the incinerators. They press the intercom, “Send Mali Negatta into the field, we have a holiday gift to give the thief on this naughty list.”

During the six months, Blendin and his mother’s team worked hard gathering all the information they could find on both targets. The last month started out fine, Carmen and her crew had the chance first to grab the duck, which turned out to be an Agate duck shaped weight that was found in a collapsed Aqueduct right outside of Babylon. On the bottom was inscribed of the proper place this duck should be to gain access to the egg with the needle. Blendin’s research landed him in an old temple in Babylon’s center square, deep underground. Carmen’s research on the duck pinpointed her in the same temple. Blendin and Carmen looked at each other as they both came to the realization about the same moment. “Looks like we’re going on a Mother-son business trip!” She chuckles, ruffling his hair a bit.

“There’s gonna be a small fuckin hiccup, Red.” Carmen looked up to see M packing some things to his room, sniffling a little, his nose looking a hint red. Carmen quickly looked at the calendar and drooped a little bit, “Its hitting you already?! This is the earliest its been!” M shrugged, “Thats what happens with feckin commercialism hyping everything up so damn early. Feckin holiday joy buildup. January’s hangover is going to suck sooo much balls of sugarplum-“ he clapped a hand over his mouth and growled in frustration. Blendin raised an eyebrow as even his tentacles looked faintly striped with a very light hint of red. M sighed and opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted with a sneeze, one that shot tinsel and red and green glitter in a small burst in front of him. He kept his hand over his muzzle and they could see his eye twitching. “You’ll hafta go on yer own without me, Red. I gotta hole up for the jolly. Call me if its an emergency. I’ll get you as quick as St Nic- as soon as I can.” He caught himself with the words and struggled with his usual verbiage, like he was having trouble speaking normally. He turned and angrily hurried down to his quarters and slammed the door.

Carmen sighed and looked over the roster, putting an x by M’s picture. “Is Uncle M going to be ok? He looked a bit… um.. what was that?” Blendin nudged the fallen tinsel on the ground, it magically evaporating in tiny green flames. Carmen shook her head, “Around this time of year, usually a bit later than this, he gets what is his version of the flu. He is still a changeling so he is sensitive to emotions and feelings. He’s a dark balance type so he can’t digest some of the happy lovey emotions that are going on. So its more of an allergic reaction when he gets overloaded with it, resulting in what we just witnessed and its only going to get worse until the holidays are over.” Carmen leans closer, “You don’t want to be in a humbug mood alone with him at peak jolly. Either you will go crazy or one of you will emerge alive and it will be him.” Blendin gulped, but Carmen snickers, patting his back. “I’m kidding, its not that bad. You’ll just go crazy for a short time. I recommend a good sound cancelling headset. He’s like a concentrated condensed version of the winter holidays embodied into a person.” Blendin narrows his eyes, “So he becomes extreme Buddy the elf instead of biker asshole?” Carmen shrugs, nodding “Thats pretty accurate.”

Lekir sprinted in, “I saw the roster! Did I miss it? Did he go jolly?!” Carmen looked at her and motioned to Blendin who looked both horrified and concerned. Lekir laughed and slapped her knee, “I knew it! I fuckin KNEW it! Asta! You owe me fifty bits! He went jolly!” She called out to the other room, Asta’s voice called back “Sonovabitch! He wasn’t due for another two weeks!” Blendin gave his mom a dead stare as she chuckled, rubbing the back of her head, “Really, Ma? Gambling on my Uncle’s handicap? Can you at least give me a heads up so I can join in the pool?!” Carmen and Lekir both blinked, Lekir laughing, “I knew I liked this kid!! Lets hope the other one is as fun!”

The final preps were checked and the equipment loaded onto the jet. Carmen donned her new red coat which she had saved to wear on her next heist, and gave Wally a kiss goodbye since he was staying behind with Asta and Ninoga. Drake and Vasha played rock paper scissors for the other single spot on the roster, to which Vasha had won. The temple had very little space so Carmen figured a smaller team should suffice for this. Carmen, Lekir, Kiros and Vasha loaded up, as Blendin climbed in and took his seat. Soon they were in Babylon, using the hide scroll and modern topography, they pinpointed the best landing spot for the terrain.

They exit out of the jet and start to enter the temple, turning on their large travel lamps for the darker areas. One of the doors were sealed and had inscriptions on it, Carmen was reading it off the best she could as Blendin was looking through a book for a translation. Half way through, a voice shot through the rest of the quiet, “What in Celestia’s good name are you doing here?!” Carmen squinted through the dim lighting and shined her light at the voice, Darings furious face glaring right back. “Oh! Hi sis!! Are you here to collect the eggs too??” Blendin beamed, “I got my first assignment and Mom is helping-“ “I know why you’re here, but what the hell is SHE doing here?! She is trying to get those eggs and leave you here! Come on, I know a shortcut to the vault room. You’re coming with me, we can beat her to them.” Carmen, kneeling on the ground, reached out to Daring, “Adora.. please. Look how much you’ve grown! Can I just talk with you? After all this time?” Blendin pulled away as Daring tried to pull at his hoodie. “No, Dare, I’m staying right here. We’re trying to save Dad too. She doesn’t want the gold eggs.” Carmen nods, “Its true, you can have all the gold eggs you need. I just need the normal one with a needle inside! Your father is very sick and this is a component for the cure! Please. Join us, we can do this together like a family..”

Daring huffed, “I’m not falling for that! You abandoned us and you became such a criminal! I can’t trust you with anything you say! I’m going my way, and I WILL get those eggs before you can get your filthy criminal hands on them!” The three agents started in with a defense but Carmen raised a hand, “Thank you but she needs to hear from her mother.. I owe her that much and more.” She turned towards Daring and blinked, her daughter no where in sight “Adora?!” Kiros pointed, “She went down this way! We haven’t disabled any of the traps that way!”

Carmen curses and runs after her, “Adora wait!! Theres traps down there!” Vasha stayed with Blendin as Kiros and Lekir chased after Carmen and Daring. “Let’s get this door unlocked while they deal with that..” Vasha instructed, picking up where Carmen had left off, Blendin nodding and translating and taking notes. Carmen raced down the corridor and saw Daring pause before a chamber, her hoof about to set off a pressure trap. She turned to see Carmen and stepped on the tile, sending arrows and blades whipping at her. Carmen tackled her to the ground and covered Daring with her body, protecting her from some of the lower blade just grazing her back and shoulders. Trembling and breathing hard, Carmen looked down at the terrified gaze of her daughter, and smiled, holding her tight, “Oh my Adora, you’re safe! I got you.” Daring blinked as she was startled and squirmed, “Get off of me, you crazy mare! Look what you did to your back!” Carmen felt her eyes sting with tears, “I’d suffer so much more than I already have just to see you safe. I’d do this hundreds of times over if it meant that you would not get hurt.”

She left Daring up and winced at the cuts, Daring hesitant to say anything as she dusted herself off, “You really didnt want me hurt by the trap, and you really risked yourself for me? Whats the catch?” Carmen smiled through her tears, “I just want to be your mom again. I want to be in your life, I didn’t want to give you up but I had no choice. I want us to be a family again. Thats all I ever wanted.” Kiros and Lekir caught up with them, Lekir sending ice through the walls’ chambers where more weapons were set to strike once a trigger was pulled. “Remaining traps in this chamber are disabled. How do you want to proceed, Carm? Go back to Vasha and Blendin or continue this direction?” Kiros grimaced as he saw her back scored like it was, but it could have been much worse. “Maybe we should go back and patch you up first before moving forward.” Carmen hesitates a moment and nods, “Go on back to Vasha and Blendin, take Adora with you, make sure she’s safe. I just need to take a drink of water and I’ll be right there.”

As soon as they turned to leave, she grabbed her canteen and poured the last few drops of zydrate she had stashed behind into the canteen, tossing the vial down a chute where an arrow had launched from. Swirling the water, she took a swig, feeling the pain relieving euphoria just enough to get her through the pain. She has been clean off of it for months now but this seemed like a dire situation. She promised herself not to go looking for any more after this. She owed her family her true happiness, not a medicated one. She followed quickly along and caught up with everyone. They paused at the door they were translating and bandaged Carmen’s back. Kiros leaning close and sniffing her scent for a moment. “Thats strange, I smell a scent on you that I havent smelled in months. Did you take anything with that water?” Carmen nervously laughed, “That must be the pain relief pills, like ibuprofen or something.. I don’t remember the brand. Don’t worry! I feel fine! I barely feel it!” She laughs it off, Kiros raising an eyebrow. “If you say so, Boss.” Once finished, she puts her red coat back on as Blendin puts the translation together, unlocking the combination set into the stone. The door rumbles and is able to swing open with little force. Carmen ruffles his hair again, “So clever!! I’m so proud of you two! Let’s get those eggs!” The enter the chamber where it was a rounded room, old rope was holding weights and heavy stone pillar above a nest of three eggs, two gold, one a pale speckled brown and beige. The nest sat in the center of a shallow pit of water, about knee deep and on one side of the room sat an empty nest connected to the ropes. The group inspected the shallow pool and found pressure points in the floor. Daring whistled, “So the stone will crush the eggs or the person getting the eggs as soon as they enter the water.. unless they have a counter weight in the other nest.” Vasha took out the agate duck weight from her pack and grinned, “Good thing we brought the duck.” She handed it off to Blendin who made sure to be careful where he stepped before setting the duck into the nest gingerly. The group heard a click and a thud. But nothing happened. “Did it work?” Blendin asked nervously. Carmen adjusted her hat and stepped towards the pool, “One way to find out.” Kiros held her shoulder, “Hey, want me to do it? I can catch the stone if it triggers.” Carmen shakes her head, pointing to the duck, “That has a specific weight counterbalance, I’m more skilled and closer to the weight needed to keep it secure. If Adora flew over and took the eggs, it wouldn’t feel her weight, and it would trigger, if Lekir froze the water, it would be too heavy, as the same for you and Vasha, your size and weight overall can’t do it, and Blendin is still too new to this. I’m not going to endanger him on his first assignment. I’ve done this plenty of times, though not this drastic.. it should be fine.” She assured him and stepped into the pool, a few clicks were heard but nothing else happened. She waded to the nest, motioning for Daring to fly over. “Here, my darling. Take the gold ones first. Your jobs need these.” She hands over the large eggs to her daughter, who carefully puts them in her bag. As she reaches for the normal colored egg, up in the shadows above them was an unseen stranger, they cut the line with a blade at the end of a dark colored umbrella, making the stone pillar shift and fall. Daring saw the flash of the blade and the pillars decent, “MOM!! LOOKOUT!” As Carmen looked up, the pillar crashed down upon her arms, crushing the bones up to the elbow and shattering the egg. The extra weight of the pillar set the pool floor lower, a green slime flooding the waters from now revealed openings, a highly volatile acid begins to eat away at her pants and legs.

Carmen shrieks out in a bloodcurdling volume as she tries to pull away, Lekir immediately freezing her way over to her, with Kiros and Vasha right behind, “Fuck! What the fuck happened?!” Lekir thought quickly, trying to freeze the water and acid away from the mare’s legs. Kiros and Vasha trying to push the stone off of her arms without luck. Vasha snapped her fingers, “Kiros, grab her horn and put her out, Lekir, freeze her elbows and knees, like liquid nitro them! We’re gonna need to break them or she’s a goner! She will hate us but we’ll figure something out, we can’t let her die like this!” Kiros nodded and gripped her horn much to Carmen’s screaming protest, soon she slumped limp and silent with the stone pinning her arms holding her up, Lekir blasts her wife’s arms and legs as cold as as she could make it. Vasha and Kiros taking Carmen by under her shoulders, they pulled, the frozen flesh splintering and shattering apart.

Blendin and Daring holding eachother, with terrified looks on their faces. “Mom?! Is Mom ok?!” They cried out, Blendin sobbing and Daring gripping her own hair trembling. “She really did that.. she put us first anyway.. she really meant it and I was such a jerk! And now she’s in trouble…” The team managed to get her free and lifted her over Kiros’ shoulder and raced to the side away from the acid water. Kiros laid her down as Lekir kept the ends frozen, warm blood still seeping through. Vasha waved her hand, “I need belts! I’m going to make tourniquets! If you got a belt, I need it!” She takes her own and starts tying it tight around a thigh, and does the same for the arms and other leg. Lekir goes over to the siblings, “Hey, I’m gonna need you two to be really brave for me right now. Ok? Blendin, are you able to get one of your door things to connect here to someplace safe nearby? Your mom needs emergency help right away.” Blendin nods and shakily dials in the ley door request.

Daring steps forward, “Is she ok? I need to help her, I need to make up for being a jerk..” Lekir handed her a phone with M’s number pulled up, “Call M and tell him that your mom needs him, jolly or not.” Daring looked confused, “Is Jolly a code word??” Blendin shook his head, “No, its an allergic reaction, you’ll see, just call Uncle M!” Daring shook with fear as the white wolf looking lady stared at her with hard piercing ice blue eyes, and with that frightening stare, Daring felt frozen in place as shock was wearing thin and the panic sets in. The Vesk sighed in frustration and took back the phone with a snap. She dialed and waited. “M. We need you asap. We will send coordinates as soon as we can, there’s been a medical emergency. Its Carmen. You know where I keep the essence? Grab it and bring it with you. We need you to hurry as soon as we find a secure place to settle. Currently on the move now.” She disconnected and took the helm of command. “Blendin! How is that door looking?”

The closest door to them glowed blue, “I got it! Go through the door! I wasn’t able to get much time on it!” Kiros hoisted the unconscious mare on his shoulder again and they all rushed through the blue glow.

On the other side, they ran into what looked to be a makeshift lab and bunker. It had strange equipment that looked both mechanical and medical. As soon as the last one crossed the threshold, the glow dimmed and faded away, leaving the normal door leading to outside. They were met with armed droids training their sights at every vital organ in sight. A voice boomed over the speaker, “Who are you and how did you find this place?” Blendin stammered, trying the phrase he was taught to introduce when questioned, “I..I’m Blendin Wander and I..I’m a Librarian and I just looked for the closest places with medical equipment to our location and used ley lines to transport..” Lekir pulled the kid back behind her “Listen up! We need emergency medical assistance and our transporter lead us here from the needs we plugged into the search. Will you help us?” The drones, looking more like mismatched thrown together scraps upon closer inspection, none less deadly still, whirred in place, the voice “I can see that, it will be expensive. Can you pay?” The two teens pushed back in front, Daring holding Blendin and lifting her sachel, “We have two golden eggs! We were tasked to retrieve them but we will gladly trade them if you save our …mother!!” Daring yelled out shakily. The voice seemed to think it over as it scanned the sachel.

“You hesitated in calling this one mother. What are your motives and who is she to you really?” The voice showing more careful paranoia. Blendin sniffled as he begged “She’s telling the truth! We just reunited with her! Its been really stressful!” Daring cut in, her voice still shaking as she starts crying, “And we had a big fight.. and I said things I didnt mean! And we just dont want her to die! We just got her back! Just please, take the eggs and save our mom!!”

The voice was silent, thinking before speaking. “The children and white wolf stay. You two need to stay by the doors and disarm yourselves from any and all weapons.” Lekir piped up, “Actually I have a task for them if you let them go. We still need to investigate-“ “They will stay in the bunker by the doors. They will not leave until I say so. My assistant Sigryn will accompany the children. I will be right there to asses the damage. Place the damaged one on the gurney there.” The voice cut off Lekir, listing commands as a door opened and a short female dovefox came out and lead the teens to the kitchen with a smile. Soon after a very tall and curvy white ursine with red tipped white hair entered the room, heavy boots clomping as hips and large bosom sway, a hefty bulge was held by the tight pants. The polar and grizzly hybrid looks at each of them with mechanical red eyes, she points with her sleek cybernetic hand to the gurney. “Put her here and back up to the door. You and you look like you can cause trouble and that is not what I’m hungry for today.”

She points to Vasha and Kiros, then looks at Lekir who stood rigid and commanding, harkening back to when she was commander in a war in her home world. “You the leader of this menagerie?” Lekir shook her head, “No Ma’am. I am wife and current second in command. The one injured is our leader. Her right hand man is on his way but was out of commission for the task at hand. Those two are her children. They.. witnessed the accident. As did we.”

The pizzly looked at what remained for the limbs. “You froze the joints and shattered from the weak points. Better than other choices. She lost a lot of blood despite your attempts of cinching the blood-flow off. The ice is only acting as a thickener. Let me patch her up and see what we can do. I’m guessing you’d want me to replace her limbs too?” Lekir nodded, “If thats even possible. We actually do not know how well you work. This is her life, she would not do well if she were reduced to a fraction of herself. She needs to be whole.” The pizzly turned and gathered some things and made a motion towards the door the assistant and the siblings went through, “This will take a while. Have a seat in the kitchen. All of you. But if there is one peep of trouble, I’m turning all of you into paste.”

For hours the group waited as the assistant flitted about back and forth between checking on the kids and helping their host with the task at hand. They noticed both had extremely advanced cybernetic augments, the assistant only had her arms replaced, she said her name was Sigryn. The pizzly on the otherhand looked like only the arms were obviously replaced but even Lekir saw the eyes and possible inner workings would be mechanical as well, she just wasn’t sure how much.

M shifted through a shadow, holding a small jewelry box. His nose was still looking irritated but all of his bandages were gone, and his clothes has a bit of a greener hint to them, he kept his tentacles tucked in and hidden but overall he looked rather unusually well kept and even a hint of sparkle. He looked around and whistled “Talk about rustic living. Looks like a makeshift bunker. Where’s Red?” He figured it was something not too horrible, they’ve gotten out of tough scrapes before. It also didn’t help that the jolly softened his sense of urgency. They all pointed out to the other room but before he could reach the door, a drone zipped into view and aimed its weapon at M who raised his hands in defense, “Are you guys prisoner or something and didnt tell me?! This is easy to overtake!”

“I highly do not recommend that. Skyggja does not like to clean up so much bodily mess after anyone tries and loses.” Sigryn comes in, some blood splatter on her clothes, gloves and apron. M licked his lips as he tasted the air. “That’s Red’s blood.” He turned to Lekir with a bit of a roar, realizing this was much worse than he previously thought, “What happened to Red?!” Lekir growled back, “She almost got killed getting those damned eggs for your damned brother’s cure! We’d still be in that chamber with a dead boss if your nephew weren’t so brilliant! He used his new Librarian skills and got us to the closest place that was medically capable for helping her!” M paced after shoving the box at Lekir. “I should have stayed on mission. I knew something was humbug and now its all gone to Krampus!” He growled and gripped his hair, “And this tinsel tree fudging Jolly is really pepperminting me off! Right to the naughty list!” Lekir held a straight face with years of training as he had his little fit, but the others snickered under their breath. Even Blendin pulled his hoodie over his snout. Only Daring stared at him with utter confusion, “I’m sorry, but who are you?!” M whirled around and saw Daring for the first time. “Hm? Oh. Hey, I know you. Yer the older sister to Cuttlefish here. I’m yer uncle, Waldo’s brother, call me M. We’ll catch up later.” His voice sounded pleasant but the slight undertone of sass revealed that he had much different wording he wanted to say but couldn’t. Daring squints at him, “I heard you were an asshole. Why are you so nice right now?” M runs his hand over his face with a twitching smile. “I… can’t with this. Look. I have a condition where all the holiday happy junk in the world fudges with me so I become more happy against my will. Ok? End of story, back to the matter at hand.” M turned and got caught up to speed with the rest of the team, occasionally sneezing tinsel.

Daring sighed and moved her seat closer to Blendin, moving some cheese across her plate. Blendin nudges her with his shoulder, “Hey, its gonna be ok. If these people are any good, their own work should be a sign of their skill.” Daring pushed her plate away, Blendin snags the cheese from her plate, “I know, but what if they didnt do their own arms? That would be so difficult! Whats worse is that …I dont think it was an accident.” Blendin gulps the food down, “Whatcha mean? Like someone purposely sabotaged it? Mom has been looking into past cases of hers where the heist went south due to freak accidents but it wasn’t Uncle M. Even he was stumped and he’s a master when it comes to making accidents.” Daring sulked, “After everything I did, I doubt they will even listen to me. But the only way to find out is to go back and look at the rope. I mean its possible it just snapped from age but I could have sworn I saw a flash like a blade was caught in the light.” Blendin put his hand on her shoulder, “You need to tell Mom and the team. She’s been investigating this for so long! Its one of the reasons she never came for us. She felt like someone was specifically targeting her. She didnt feel safe to bring kids like us home during that. But now you may have found hard evidence that its not just bad luck!”

The pizzly walked through the doors after a few more hours and pointed to Lekir. “You, white wolf. Come here.” She caught sight of M and narrowed her red mechanical eyes. “I don’t know how you got in but I know your ilk. You do not scare me. If you are under my roof, you play by my rules! No Fucking Mishaps or your friend dies.” M looked around and pointed at himself, “What the sugar cookie did I do?! I just got here and I sure as stocking stuffers don’t remember you..” The pizzly growled a warning and ushered Lekir into the room.

Lekir followed her out to the worklab they were in, Carmen still out cold on the table, her vitals weak but still alive. Dark colored metal and carbon fiber were fitted to her upper arms and mid thigh, the overall design was elegant and hardly any openings by the joints. Almost like her limbs were simply painted. A few faint lights pulsed on the limbs, going in time with her heartbeat. “Is she going to be alright?” Lekir asked. Their host leaned on the table and shrugged, “I did all I could but she lost so much blood already. I can’t get her more stable than this and theres a good chance she may crash during the night. In which case if we lose her, I just take back my equipment, you keep your eggs and unicorn.” Lekir fought back tears as she stood coldly stoic and gripped the box that M had brought. “I do have one thing that may help. I lost my brother but managed to save some of his essence. In my world, one’s essence can be used to save another, extending the life span, possibly giving powers. Usually a specific demon would perform this ritual but I know how it is performed. We’re too short on time and can’t bring them here to do it.” She brushes Carmen’s hair with her hand. “Please allow me to perform a life saving ritual and to honor my wife by sharing my late brother’s essence with her.” The pizzly stepped back, “If it is your beliefs, I will not interfere.”

Lekir took the pendant from the box, and looks at Carmen, “I wish there was a better time for this. But I saved this as a last resort and I can’t lose you now.” She takes a deep breath and starts chanting a spell, piercing the pendant with her claw until the red orange ember essence was free from its prison, a shard piercing her finger. She leaned down and proceeded to bite the mare on her neck, piercing the skin. She continues the spell as she pours the essence into the wound, a drop of her blood mixes in unseen. When the last drop seeps into the wound, a sparkling ember effect waved through Carmen’s body and veins like when a battery touches steel wool, her fur changing from a tan khaki to a darker hue of caramel honey and her hair and tail had shimmered to a pure snow white, her cutie mark of the globe and magnifying glass got more vibrant in color as well. Her vitals suddenly started to improve and both the pizzly and Vesk breathed a sigh of relief. Only then Lekir noticed the small shard in her finger. “Huh, that may explain the hair..” she muttered to herself. She turned and looked up to the pizzly and held out her hand to shake, “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have no idea what this means to all of us in there.. um I’m sorry I did not catch your name.” The ursine took the hand and smiled, her mechanical eyes now a warm brown. “Skyggja. And my assistant is Sigryn. Pleasure to be of assistance. She should be waking up soon, I gave her a counter drug to the anesthesia I had given her. We’ll have her moved to a bed so you all can see her.”

Lekir returned to the kitchen and gave the updates, M leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and trying his best to look menacing and serious, but his jolly was still seeping through with a smile and a sparkle in the eyes. “So that box you had me give you made her half you?” Lekir shook her head, “Not me itself. But my late brother. He was a Jirvi, a fire demon. So Carmen is now technically a halfbreed hybrid of the Jirvi blood. Just a drop of mine slipped in and made her hair white like mine. But as soon as she is stable for movement, I want us to depart quickly and politely without any reason for conflict, just remember what Carmen would do in this situation. Blendin, can you lock in the jet’s location and get us a door nearest to that?” The young colt nodded, “I should be able to. The temple was right near by. Maybe a two minute walk from the jet.” Daring raised her hand, “Will I be able to snag a ride with you all? I do want to discuss things with my mother when she’s able to. I wouldn’t feel right if we just parted with how I treated her before all this.” She fidgeted with her fingers, Lekir gave a hint of a smirk. “Fine but no trouble or you’re flying by yourself.”

Skyggja and Sigryn came into the kitchen after they had cleaned up. Skyggja stood with crossed arms and Sigryn was right next to her, though a drastic height difference. The ursine giantess stood a few inches shy of 8ft while the dovefox was a total of 5ft 4. They looked around the group, inspecting all their characteristics more closely. “Now that your companion has been stabilized and the immediate danger has passed. Let me introduce ourselves properly. My name is Skyggja, this is Sigryn. I know she did a light intro in passing but this is our proper one. You are in our bunker. We don’t take too kindly to random strangers entering our home so suddenly and without warning. So please state your full business of being in this vicinity in general and depending what I hear to be true, I will see if I will perceive it as a threat or not.”

M stood up as the right hand but Lekir tapped him out. “Sit down, you are off this mission. I only needed the box. You are in no shape still for this. Do you hear me?” Lekir snapped at him, making him blink and sit without protest. The stress of the whole ordeal had her on edge and still had her reverting to her old wartime self. “We are team VILE, a group of master thieves who work between the laws of good and bad. As our boss, Carmen would say, we’re the most honest thieves you’ll find. I am her wife, Lekir, I am a Vesk from Cador. My team here consists of M, a dark balance changeling, Vasha the Tyranian, and Kiros the Wolfdragon. The kids are Carmen’s. They just reunited with her from being separated for many years. Their names are Blendin and Adora.” The young pegasus filly interjected, “I’m called Daring Do now..” Lekir shot her a stern look that made her squeak and sit still, afraid to move much at all. “Adora is also known as Daring Do..” Lekir added her correction. “As soon as Carmen is able to be ready to leave, we will be out of your home without a trace.” Skyggja raised an eyebrow, “And the reason you are here in the first place?”

Lekir cleared her throat, “Our mission brought us to a nearby temple where the legendary golden eggs were held. Blendin and …Daring both work for respectable jobs that help protect the world. Their assignments were to obtain these eggs. VILE needed the third more ordinary egg in that nest. It contained a needle in which the death of a deathless spirit is trapped inside said needle. We need that needle as leverage to get the cure for Carmen’s husband who has a crystalline disease.” Lekir paused and took a deep breath. “As we were trying to retrieve the last egg, the large stone pillar broke loose and crushed Carmen’s arms, pinning her to the nest’s alter. The pressure plates underneath the pool of water triggered a flood of acid replacing the water which ended up eating away her legs since she couldn’t get away. We made the extremely hard executive decision to freeze her joints and force her limbs free by way of emergency amputation. We tried moving the stone and none of us could budge it. Blendin searched for the nearest location with medical equipment and we locked into this location.”

Blendin and Daring both stood up and held the eggs in offering. “Thank you for helping our mom.” “Thank you. Here, take the golden eggs. We can always say our missions were compromised by an outside treasure poacher. We don’t have any other money with us. Please take these as payment!” Sigryn stepped forward and took the eggs and weighed them, nodding to Skyggja. The pizzly gave a short grunt in acceptance. “Since that is squared away, you are free to leave whenever she is ready. We’ll see how she is feeling after she wakes up to gauge what that timeframe may be. It may be a couple days. You are able to see her now in the meantime.”

The ursine opened the door to the recovery room they had wheeled Carmen into. They filed into the room and checked in on her, the kids racing to the bedside first. Blendin pointed to the new cybernetic arms in wonder while Daring reached to touch her hair. She looks over her shoulder, “Hey, why does she look different? I thought you were just fixing her, not altering everything!” Blendin blinked, “Hey yeah! She had brown hair with just a little grey! Not all white!… she’s not THAT old!” Skyggja frowned with the accusations as Lekir jumped in, snapping “Hey, that was me. I did that to ensure her recovery. Don’t go slinging blame so carelessly. You kids are lucky she’s even alive right now. Now apologize or you both are walking home. No wings, no doors.” The two tried protesting until Lekir shot a cold look at them, they humbly voices their apologies and like scolded cubs, they shuffled to their chairs next to the other side of the bed.

A soft groan came from the sleeping mare, one of her bright green eyes opening slightly, then the other. “Quit shouting, I’ve got such a headache… how much did I drink last night?” She lifted her new arm and rubbed her head without realizing it. “Mmmh.. my arms feel so heavy.. and different.” She blinked the blurriness from her eyes and noticed everyone around her, then noticed the unfamiliar room with the two new people she had never met. She looked at all the monitoring equipment and groaned again, “I swear if I had that stroke that I joked about a while back…” she waved her finger as a threat but stopped as she looked at her own hands. She flexed and turned them, following the panels up the arm and then noticed her fur. She looked under the medical gown she was given at her own chest, her face frowning in confusion. She looked at everyone else again, who they all were watching her eagerly for any reaction just in case they needed to act. She suspiciously checked under the covers to her crotch and noticed her legs. She dropped the covers and pressed her hands together and rested them at her lips.

Sigryn smiled, “Well?” Everyone jumped a little at the sudden question since everything was so silent one could hear a pin drop. “How do you feel?” The dovefox inquired. Carmen nods, trying not to freak out or panic. “I… feel …pretty good? Just groggy.. headache… ROBOT ARMS AND LEGS.” Skyggja nodded, “Yes, to replace the ones you lost. Actually its an upgrade if you ask me. If you want and can afford it, I’ll do my best work on anything else you like. Eyes? Lungs? Heart? And that goes to any of you. If you can pay, I’ll make your augments.” Carmen sucked on her cheek a moment, “Lekir! M! I need quick cliffnotes on what exactly happened because I don’t remember shit past getting the first two eggs. And even that is spotty right now.” Daring sprung to her hooves and got closer, spewing a lot of information in a short amount of time. “The big pillar crushed your arms and acid ate your legs! But it wasn’t a break in the rope! Someone cut it! I saw the shine of a blade near the ceiling! Someone tried to kill you!” Lekir growled from across the bed at Daring, “And you’re just NOW telling us that someone CUT the rope?!” Daring stepped back, “I’m dealing with alot right now for my age! Okay? I’m sorry you had to have whatever trauma you had but this is still fresh for me!”

Carmen rubbed her temple and projected “ALRIGHT. Everyone shut the FUCK up!” Kiros and Vasha, who were quiet this whole time, sat back to watch, knowing that Carmen was feeling more like herself. Sigryn sensed the emotions and offered some popcorn. Carmen took a breath, and tried to think things through with her head still very jumbled. “Now. First of all, Thank you for taking quick action in such an emergency. I respect the decision you made, it was an impossible choice to make and I’m sorry you all had to make that choice. I will now make sure I understand how to use these new limbs to their best potential. I will most likely have a panic attack later over all this but now is not the time. Second, yes Adora should have said something but really, did you expect her not to be traumatized by this and go after the culprit? Go easy on the kids. They’re KIDS. Not soldiers. Not trained assassins or ninjas. They are kids with the training to explore. Not handle traumatizing attempted matricide.” She took a breath and pointed to M, “Thirdly, why are YOU here and not holed up dealing with your condition?” Lekir held her hand up, “Like I was trying to tell the kids: Thats my fault. You were not stable enough to last the night so I did the Jirvi blood ritual to make you half fire demon. It stabilized your vitals, prolonged your life span and… kinda altered your look. I did it to save your life, so Skyggja and Sigryn here didnt waste hours trying to save you just to have you die.”

She gave Carmen a compact mirror. “A drop of my blood got mixed in so you got some of my color there. It looks kinda sexy if you ask me.” Carmen gingerly took the mirror and held it up, gasping at her hair and her more vibrant eye color. “Oooh this will need some getting used to.. I mean, if I wanted to dye my hair, I wouldn’t need to bleach it at least. Oh god.. I’m so much darker too.. like I got a deep tan at the beach!” Kiros chuckled, “I agree with Lekir, it is a sexy contrast.” Carmen puts down the mirror, looking deadpan at Kiros, “I get it, this impromptu makeover has got you all gaga. But I’m not going to fuck any of you until I get used to my new limbs. Now who’s going to help me to the bathroom, I need to pee and I don’t want to use a bedpan.” Skyggja and Sigryn step towards her and help her to her feet, wobbling like a toddler as she tries to get used to the feeling of her new hooves, which she noticed was a brushed gold colored metal. She smirked and thought it was a nice touch. “You really should rest more before trying to stand by yourself.” Skyggja warned, but Carmen waved it off. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get used to it.” Sigryn giggled, “Your team was discussing how stubborn you were at one point. I’m glad I’m not the only one.” Carmen smirked as she slowly made her way out of the room, looking back at them, “Oh they did, did they? I’ll have to pay them back somehow for that compliment.” They made it to the bathroom and let her have her privacy.

When she got back to the bed, they were able to asses that she would be under observation for one more day to make sure nothing rejected. “The damage was pretty extensive but we were able to save most of the limbs to the severed joints. I made the caps so the limbs can lock into place without being loose. I would like to keep in touch to monitor any damage or upgrade needs. But I’d say you’ll be able to go home early tomorrow.” Carmen thanked them both profusely and thought for a moment as she looked around. “Is this a permanent home for you?” Skyggja shook her head, “It is until we need to run again. The ones who made me from feral to what I am now, they hunted me, and I helped Sigryn when she was left for dead on the streets. Once in a while we need to uproot and find a new place to hide out.”

The mare smiled and proposed the idea that she could give them a top floor penthouse and lab all for their needs complete with safety, food and company. “You don’t need to work for me but I will still be able to give you safe permanent haven to do all your work and keep a close eye on your equipment I’m using. You’ll have full access to our computer system and you’ll need to work with 079, an ai of ours who can be rather dry and pretentious, but its the most advanced and intelligent ai on the planet currently. I believe its alive and not just programming so that will be a coworker.” The two biomechanics thought about it and conversed together in private for a lengthy amount of time before giving an answer of approval.

That next morning, Carmen and her team and children had gathered all of their belongings and Blendin set the door to be the closest to the jet. Kiros scooped the mare up in his arms in a bit of a bridal position, and refused to put her down until she was placed safely into the jet and strapped in. She sat sulking as the Wolfdragon patted her head. “I could have done it myself!!” “Sorry boss, Doctor’s orders!” He countered. Blendin offered to stay behind to connect a door from the bunker to the HQ for an easier move for the two newest members of the VILE household. Blendin thought for a moment and pulled Kiros and M aside before they took off in the jet. The jet’s engine roared as he spoke to the two, and they nodded, smiling, ruffling his hair before departing. Carmen smiled as she saw her son getting along well with her agents, she turned as Daring buckled herself in and stared out the window. Now all she’ll need to do is win her daughter over and the family can be whole again.

Everyone boarded the jet, Kiros sitting next to Daring, her feeling such a large dragon type next to her made her feathers puff slightly. The young mare gave him a side glance, and a bit more of a closer glance, trying not to be so obvious. He gave her a side eye as well, seemingly lightly flexing some muscles randomly but it was all a small show for her. He snickered as he caught her blushing and looking away quickly. She snuck another look as her eyes went from wings, biceps, chest, abs, and accidentally landed upon his crotch. Her eyes suddenly were glued to the jet window, her wings puffed even more as he leaned close, "So it looks like you and your mother have similar tastes after all." Daring raises an eyebrow at him "W...what the hell are you talking about? I'm nothing like my mother!" Kiros smirks and taps his snout "My nose says otherwise."