V2Ch101 New Shadow

I guess I was getting a little impatient. After being attacked, I wanted to get Babur far away from here as soon as possible.

Sarge brought us to a safe house in the middle of a military district. The hope was that the assassins had no need to come through an area like this.

He also said that he left his report as saying that we were just traveling supreme beasts, leaving out all the extra stuff about me.

He took Babur to the office near the gate to get our permits set up with a departure date. It took them several hours. Ness stayed with me. I told her a bit about myself. I left out anything having to do with Earth. She was also having a hard time believing me about coming from Missing Star.

When Babur and Sarge got back, we were set for a departure in two days. Sarge had other things to do and he left Ness in charge of watching over us.

That night, I was having a hard time sleeping. Babur was resting peacefully next to me. I just kept stroking the fur on her arm.

I got to wondering about what really happened with those assassins. I really didn't see anything until it was too late. I was powerless against them.

'I may have some insight on that subject.'

Rage. One of my mental companions.

'If you would be willing to pay us a visit, we may be able to devise a countermeasure to what these assassins can do.'

"Really?"

"Nyaaa... Reallllyyy..."

Babur answered me in her sleep. I closed my eyes and made it to my darkness fairly quick.

Rage and Mother were already waiting for me.

"Go ahead and summon Fear. He will be part of this, too."

Rage told me. I brought out fear via his light and Rage began explaining his ideas.

"When those assassins attacked, those of us in here were unaffected by whatever means they used. We watched through your eyes as the assassins killed those around you. It wasn't something instantaneous, it was some kind of time dilation. I have a theory. When you use Mother's power, time seems to slow down in the heat of a situation, correct?"

"Yeah. I used it when the boulder crashed through the floor in the Lizard Lands. Time seemed like it slowed down and I was able to move freely."

"If we ever sense the same time dilation as last time, Mother can force activate your power. If my theory is correct, your mind should no longer be slowed down like everything else. You can come in here with us. Thus, my second theory can be put into play. Just like when you used your shadows to control the spider or the bird, you could attempt to take over one of the assassins. Though you may or may not be able to control anything affected by whatever this time dilation is. Or, if you want to try something a bit more complicated, Fear has an idea of his own."

"Indeed I do. When we made the connection to those other creatures from before, I was the one making the connection to the eyes and you made the connection to the body. That was to make things easy on you. I suspect that what Rage had said was correct. The shadows may not be able to move anything. However, the shadows themselves should have no restrictions. I can create a body of shadows for you to control. This is the hard part. You would have to connect to the body and the eyes on your own."

"How much harder would it be?"

"Well. If you are combining powers, It may not be all that hard. Using Mother's power while controlling shadows should help you make the connection because of your increased senses. If I were to simplify the process with an analogy... let me know if I'm going too fast."

He took a breath before starting.

"The way I see it, the shadows you control are like cars. Back in the old days on Earth, before you were born, cars were manually started up with a crank. The first time you used the shadows on your own was like a crank car. You bought the car, aka, the potion of Rage. I was the catalyst that came with the car, the crank. All you had to do was start the car and tell the driver, or the creature that came under your control, what to do."

He started pacing with his hand on his chin.

"When you started taking manual control over creatures, that was like a more modern car. In this case, I am no longer the crank, but the battery. I got the car started and you were the one at the controls."

He shook his index finger at me while still lost in thought between explanations.

"Now, this is the tricky part. In this new scenario, I would no longer start the car. I would be more like the mechanic that built the car from scratch. You would have to wire the car, start it and drive it. Mother would be the backseat driver that tells you what is outside of the windows while you drive. Does that make any sense?"

"Backseat driver?"

Mother sounded displeased with his analogy of her part in the scenario.

"I think I get it. I would need to be more aware of my connection and movement while keeping a steady thought process of the body I'm... No. I don't really get it."

"That's fine. We can practice at night so that you can get the feel of it."

We spent the night getting used to the process. I refused to add mother's power to the mix unless it was absolutely needed in the event of an attack. Fear had the handle of creating a shadow body for me to use. I had to concentrate and make the connection. It was harder than I thought.

We gave up when Ness came in to wake us and saw the shadow figure. Fear immediately dissipated the body and I woke up to stop her screaming.

"It's okay! It's just me. That was my shadow."

It took a while for Babur and me to quiet her down. A concerned local guard came to investigate. We didn't have much to hide other than my human ears and lack of a tail.

That day was long and boring. I spent some of the day practicing while Babur and Ness watched. For a short period, I was able to take control but, I felt unbalanced. I was able to shake Babur's hand without much trouble. Though, I fell and lost the connection.

I asked Fear to try some different shapes for the body. I remembered having trouble in the Lizard Lands when I wanted to take control of a cricket. For some reason, it was a spider that I had an almost natural connection to.

Fear read my mind and saw the image I was thinking of. It ended up being a success. I was able to make the connection multiple times without fail. I felt ready to take on anything if the assassins attacked again.

I slept well that night.

Our departure was set for mid-day tomorrow.

I was ready for and dreading the long walk there.