Chapter 38: Gestation

Guest - Probably won't be a whip, but the idea of a weapon that changes form is appealing to me, especially since I'm replaying Bloodborne at the moment.

Coldpyr0 - It's less about the old age thing at the moment, and more about the healing factor. Methanosians have nearly Deadpool levels of healing, and in a world like Worm, that kind of healing would go a long way in staying alive. And when it comes to the weakness, there's gotta be something, or else it'd just be a cake walk. And flaws like being lazy or inconsiderate of the surroundings are just that, flaws. Everyone has them.

Guest - I've got a PHO Interlude planned in a bit, and I'm looking forward to having a section for that. As for the thing for Master effects, it'll be worked on now that the whole immortality project is done. It actually clears up alot of time for other projects now that it's done.

[Taylor's POV earlier]

After leaving the hospital, I went over to where I parked Johanna, humming as I did. (As far as first meetings go, that was a good one.) Amy seemed like a good person so far, and she definitely fit in with us, we both appreciated her sense of humor, and I found it Amusing as hell when we both ganged up on my boyfriend in shared female unity. Sure, he might not have liked getting double teamed, but I knew he was Amused and actually Happy at the fact that I was getting along with her. (And given how he and Amy are,) I watched as they talked, and felt a smile form on my lips at the 'Bullshit squared' comment. (That Happiness is a two way street.)

Despite, or maybe because of, the fact he joked about it, we both knew he was an easy person to befriend. Really, all one had to do was be nice to my Other Half and they gained a friend... Until something happened to fuck it up, then he stopped giving a shit about them. I got it, sorta, I wasn't a sociopath so I couldn't understand the exact thought process that went on, but I could understand disconnecting from people. Emma hadn't been my only friend growing up, she had been the best one but not the only one, but we'd all gone our own ways. Hell, I hadn't even thought of any of them in years, and was only thinking about a few of them because I'd gotten onto this topic.

Shaking my head, I got onto Johanna, and revved her engine. My girl purred to life, and I started driving, getting the V.I to shuffle a song from my playlist. ~Alexander joins forces with James Maddison and John Jay to write a series of essays defending the new United States constitution called the Federalist papers.~ I perked up at that. I liked the song, not just because of how it tied into Mom, which was always nice, but because it was also from a Musical. Sure, he didn't watch said Musical, and it didn't exist here yet, maybe it never might, but that just tickled something in me. It helped that the AMV it was put on fit perfectly.(JazitJ has the best Non-Stop AMV ever)

Humming along to the song, I drove down the street, and let my mind wander. Normally, that'd be a bad thing, but with how well I could Multitask, this was nothing.

Self Pride aside, I went back to my earlier train of thought. It was relatively easy for my Other Half to connect to someone, but that fact was also an issue because he knew about it. Sociopath he may be, we both knew he would subconsciously seek for human interaction. He'd told me about how he'd grown out of that as he got older, but being a teenager again had brought that aspect of himself back. The hidden but still existent craving for companionship and connection... I got it.

Tess and the rest of her sisters understood it too. It was why we were all looking forward to this. Getting my Other Half more people to talk too, more people to connect too, was a step in the right direction. (Plus, Amy is as fucked up as we are, so that helps.) It wasn't exactly a good thing really, but considering an alternate me became some pseudo god killing super Master, I had no ground to stand on. (... A 'Pseudo god killing super Master', a Bio-Striker, a Sociopath, and an unchained A.I...) Thinking on it, I snorted. (Bet is fucked.)

That aside, I Relaxed and drove. My boyfriend would be fine, a friend aside from me and Tess would do good for him, and he'd let me know if there was anything he needed. So, with him getting friendly with Amy, I would have time to meet up with my Dad.

Speaking of him, our relationship had been steadily repairing itself, and I was sure that now was a good time to introduce him to the idea that I wasn't single anymore. I was pretty sure he knew though, I'd kind of avoided the topic when it came up, and given how I was happier now, he'd be stupid not to come to the conclusion I was seeing someone. (Granted, I'm going to need to ease him into the fact my boyfriend is The Changer. Telling him about that is going to give him all the dots to connect to me being The Master.) I huffed. (Ugh, complicated.) I Loved my Dad, I really did, but talking about being a Cape with him was going to be a hassle.

I knew he'd try to pull the 'It's too dangerous' or 'I'm your father' card, which made me a little Worried because I wouldn't exactly react positively to any of that. A downside, in this circumstance, to being with my boyfriend was that I wasn't Afraid to snap at someone if they tried to bullshit me. I wasn't at my, slowing down at a red light I came to a stop, Other Half's level of instantly bringing out something that'd mentally hurt someone if they tried me, but I would/could definitely go for the jugular...

Which was something I didn't want to happen because that'd mean straining the relationship with my Dad. We'd been doing our best to repair said relationship, and I didn't want to hurt/strain it... So that meant keeping the fact we were Pantheon out of the conversation. (Well then... Time to think happier thoughts.) Following that train of thoug...- ~This night is cold in the kingdom, I can feel you fade away.~ I blinked, my train of thought set aside as I took in what started playing.

With a mental check, I realized I'd missed 'Non-Stop', entirely zoned out of 'Oh My God...' I felt my own Confusion at that. (How the hell did I not hear that playing?) I wasn't really sure, but that was whatever.

The light turned green, and I drove again.

Driving and music aside, I hummed, thinking about something else. 'Definitely getting/making the ring to end all rings.' Remembering that, and when exactly it was thought, I blushed. We were going fast, we both knew that, but in this kind of life, in this kind of world, was that a bad thing?

I didn't think so, and neither did he...

Though to be fair, we were emotionally damaged teenagers who clung to each other like lifelines, so what did we know? It didn't help that no matter how we ignored it or didn't bring it up, we were going against an alien 'God' who could destroy Earth Bet and the surrounding alternatives/universes. (Cauldron's not doing us any favors either.) Just thinking about the illuminate-esque organization made me huff. (Aaand I'm going to cut this out now. Back to the original point please.) Directing my train of thought back to the happier side of things, that whole other one was going to be a thing for our therapy sessions, I smiled. (We're going fast, we're young, but it doesn't matter.)

Thinking of it objectively, we were the 'Ideal' couple.

Communication?

We were inside each others heads and could telepathically communicate with each other from anywhere in the world.

Chemistry?

We both mirrored and understood each other so well that even without our Bond, we'd probably be able to read one another without much issue.

Attraction?

Even without the sex, we could tell how attractive we found each other at pretty much any time. We both knew what we liked the most about the other, and it wasn't just limited to physical characteristics.

Commitment?

Our Bond made the answer to that pretty evident. Plus, we'd already killed for one another, so no one could question that.

Love?

He'd declared we'd eventually marry, and the thought of being proposed too not only made me Giddy, but made my stomach flip in a good way. It was the ultimate and final step of our relationship, aside from having kids but I wasn't going to be a teenage mother so that wasn't being considered... Yet. The future was an entirely different matter, so kids were a possibility...

...

...

...

(Huh... Totally expected a comment for that thought.) And I did, it was a perfect moment for one too.

'I'm not going to butterfly anything into or out of existence.' Taking a moment to process that, I had to agree that that made sense. 'It's the reason we're not telling you the answers to everything.' That also made sense.

Still, there was a question here. "And the 'Good thing?' Not worried about that?" She hadn't elaborated, just stayed with the vague description of whatever it was.

'Mhm. It's all you need to know, so hush and be happy when it happens.' My brow twitched, but I didn't respond. There would be no point in it anyway since I knew she wouldn't tell me.

(Sometimes, being a stubborn bitch can be a bad thing.) A lighter variation of my own laugh drifted through the air, and I shook my head. (Still, marriage...) Knowing my Other Half, he would have no problem proposing whenever the time was right, Scion and Cauldron be damned, so in theory, I could wake up one day soon-ish and get proposed too out of nowhere. Sure, I knew he would do his best to make it special and all, but the time frame would basically be up to him. (It's also unfair that he'll be able to hide it too.) Even without Muting our thoughts, he was able to hide things by not thinking about them, while I had the opposite issue.

Huffing, I put that train of thought aside and drove into the park. There were a few people around, but they weren't important at the moment.

Eventually making it into a small clearing, I parked Johanna, dismounted, and sent her back to base. With her gone, I turned my suit into Standby Mode, and hid my scarab necklace. Tugging at my sweater, it was cold today both here and in Canada, I pulled up my hood and started making my way out, taking a path that'd avoid people so I wasn't seen.

It didn't take long to get out of the park, and start making my way to my house, where Dad was supposed to be today.

Though, while I was walking, Tess sent me a notice that the material shipment arrived, and to let Phoenix know. Knowing my Other Half was Snare-Oh at the moment, and after taking a moment to just question why, I told him about it. |Tess told me the shipment arrived.|

Eager Anticipation pulsed from him at that, and suddenly he mentally cheered. [All of it?!] Confirmation was my response, and he laughed way too loudly. [Fucking finally!]

His emotions peaked in a whole vast amount of good ones, and I had a feeling this was about more then the 'Duel Runner/disks' project. I didn't voice it though, and just focused on heading home. I'd figure it out when it happened.

When I got to my house, I took a second to take it in. The exterior looked cleaner then before, not completely different or anything, just cleaner. There was no dust on the windows, the steps looked better... (Did he get the last step fixed?) I wasn't sure since I wasn't standing on it, but from what I could see, it looked fixed.

The interior was something else too, I was using a few spiders to get a comprehensive look. Gone was the dust that seemed to clot everything, gone were the dishes that hadn't been cleaned, and gone were the old stains that had stuck around for years. Dad apparently had the place cleaned, either by himself, with help from Uncle Kurt and Aunt Lacey, or hired professional help. (... That's good.) And it was, it showed he was doing his best to do better.

Nodding to myself, I walked towards my house, ending up on the steps. Looking at it, and putting a little more weight on it, I realized that yes, he did get the step fixed. (Neat.) Putting that thought aside, I brought out my key, Dad was in the kitchen cooking something so I'd rather open the door myself, and unlocked the door. He knew I was coming, just not when, so I was probably early.

Opening said door, and taking a step inside, I felt the familiar Warmth that I'd attributed to our mountain base, and this house years earlier. "I'm home!"

With hardly any delay, he walked out of the kitchen, a small smile on his face as he looked at me. "Welcome home Little Owl."

And it was home. Sure, I Loved the home I shared with my Other Half, but even though something was missing here, this... This was, and probably always would be, home.

After that we spent some time talking, the food would need 10 or so minutes to be done, so we got into normal topics. He was pretty much back to his old self, no stupid stubble, healthy enough skin, no more bags under his eyes, and still balding, just less so then earlier.

I had also been right about him getting help to clean this place up, I was going to have to thank Uncle Kurt the next time I saw him. With his, and a few of their friends from the DWU, they got the whole place cleaned up, even the basement. From what I could see through my fly, the basement was divided into sections of old textbooks and things like that, old things like a bike I hadn't ridden in years, and what looked like some of Mom's old stuff. That section had peaked my Interest, Mom had a bunch of stuff that I hadn't really looked at since she passed, and I was both a little Curious, and also looking forward to getting just a little bit closer to her any way I could.

The DWU was also doing okay, though the skirmishes between the ABB and E88 grunts had been getting a little close, which made me set a mental note to patrol around there soon and dissuade them from getting closer. (Won't even be that hard, all I'll need to do is show up and scare the shit out of them, problem solved.)

That thought had made me smile, something Dad noticed. "I didn't know you found gang activity funny."

I blinked, looking at the slightly raised brow on his face. "My sense of humor is kind of messed up now," My thoughts momentarily went to my Other Half. One does not spend as much time together as we do without his admittingly sadistic/sociopathic sense of humor rubbing off on me. "So, kinda?"

Dad just hummed, looking at me for a bit. There was something in his eyes that made me narrow my own, a question there that he wanted to ask. Though, before he asked it, the timer went off, and we blinked. "Huh, food's ready."

That just got a mental eye roll. (How convenient.) Watching him get up, and make his way to the kitchen, I called out. "What're you even making?" The smell hadn't given it away, and I wasn't going to risk bringing a bug close to something I was going to eat.

"Lacy sent me this recipe for a good and simple pasta, easy enough that I can't burn it without trying and good enough that it'll be worth it." At the mention of 'Pasta', I wondered what kind. I'd been getting introduced to Hispanic dishes thanks to my Other Half, so when he mentioned pasta, I had the image of another kind flash through my mind. "I think I've got it."

Curiosity pulsed from my Other Half, there had been other emotions over the time but we had gotten used to tuning those out, and I felt his mental eyes turn to me despite the massive amount of Amused Calculation coming from him... Which was a weird dichotomy, but whatever.

Without an answer to my question, he spoke. [Are we eating Mac & Cheese later?] Part of me was Amused that that was how he referred to it. Still, I hadn't managed to make the dish yet, working with different spices was new, and took time to get accustomed too, but I'd manage it eventually.

|No, my Dad made some for me though.| His Disappointment made me roll my eyes. |It's the plain kind.|

He immediately bounced back. [Oh, never mind then.] The oven opened, and I heard my Dad hum.

That said, he walked back into the livingroom, a big pot of pasta in his covered hands as he did. I watched as he set it on the table, taking the lid off, steam and the scent of pasta filling the air. Looking at it, I had to admit, my Other Half had a point. (We don't use spices as much as we should.) It looked plain, but still smelled good... Though considering I'd eaten actual Italian, having a boyfriend who could run/fly to another corner of the world at the drop of a hat came with major bonuses, it looked... Lacking. (Okay, I'm starting to sound ungrateful.) Knowing that, I shooed the thought away, and turned to smile at my Dad, who looked expectant. Raising a brow, I deadpanned at him. "I haven't tasted it yet."

He snorted. "Then let's change that..." Looking at the pot, he blinked, then turned away. "After I get us some bowls." I rolled my eyes, a Fond smile on my lips at the small mistake, and watched him walk back into the kitchen.

He eventually came back out, bowls in one hand, water in the other, and put them on the table. We took a bit to fill our bowls with food, ending up with a bit leftover, and dug in. (Hmm, not bad, could be better, but not bad at all.) Granted, I was sure my Other Half would be offended just out of principal, but it was whatever.

Thinking about that reminded me that I was going to be bringing up my boyfriend... (I'm just going to eat first, dig my grave after.) That decided, I went back to eating, enjoying my Dad's attempt at makin this a good day in.

So, in comfortable silence, we ate.

Maybe a little too quickly though because I didn't notice when I was at the last of my pasta. (Well shit.) Looking at my bowl, then to my Dad, I idly wondered if I should wait some more... (No, no backsliding.) Sighing at that, I pushed the bowl in front of me. At the same time, Dad got up, having finished his food and was going to bring them back to the kitchen. Seeing what I did, he obviously thought I did the same, and took the bowl, sending me a small smile as he started going to the kitchen.

With him not here at the moment, it made it easier to say what I wanted to say. "So, I have a boyfriend."

The sound of bowls being dropped into the sink rang out, and I saw Dad's head pear out from the kitchen, a look of surprise and... Expectation(?) on his face. "I was wondering when we were going to talk about that." Yup, he knew.

"So, how long did you... I want to say suspect, but I feel like you knew."

Coming back to the table, he sat across from me again, and nodded at me. "You zoned out once," That made me blink. "I was going to get your attention, but I stopped when I saw the look in your eyes. I recognized it since both your Mother and I would do the same thing. Zoe and Lacey would call her out on it, while Kurt..." His nose wrinkled a bit, but he went on. "And Alan, would call me out on it. You wouldn't believe the teasing we would have to go through because of that." He smiled, a look of Melancholy in his eyes.

Shaking it off, he looked back to me. "Plus, you kind of did brush the question of 'Anyone new I should know about?' Aside in a... Less then conspicuous way."

That made me scoff. "Yeah, I saw that coming." He smiled at that, making me shake my head a bit. "Anyway," Taking a breath, I focused on my Dad, staring at him. "I have a boyfriend, commence the Dad talk." I knew it was to happen, and I needed some way to gauge how he'd react to my Other Half when they eventually met.

Though, outside of my expectations, he slumped in his seat, making me blink. "A part of me wants to be indignant, demand answers, question if he's good for you and all that..." Letting out a sigh, I couldn't help but mentally frown at how defeated he looked. "But the rest of me, the me that doesn't want to mess this up, and has been rethinking everything since you left," That got a wince out of me. "That side of me knows I don't exactly have the right to question you at all." Another blink. I had no idea where this conversation was going to go now. Unaware of my mental Confusion, Dad looked back up to me with a small smile on his face. "Ever since you showed back up, looking more confidant, outspoken... Happier, then the last time I saw you, I realized just how much I screwed up."

Alright wait a minute. "Tha...-" He held up a hand, and I stopped.

He sighed again, using said hand to rub his eyes. "Honey, compare yourself to the you of 3 months ago, and the you of today." Not immediately understanding what he was getting at, but having an inkling of his point, I did just that...

And it didn't take long for me to figure out what his point most likely was. (Personality wise, it's like night and day. Even look wise, I'm healthier, less of a stick and more of a swimmer, and I don't slouch when I walk anymore... Yeah, I see it.)

Probably knowing I got his point, Dad nodded. "You're so much more... You, then you were before you left..." Another sigh left his lips. "And I didn't do anything to help you get here. Hell, even when we lived under the same roof, I didn't do much for you or your health... I didn't even notice how much you needed me..." This wasn't the first time we'd talked about this, and even though I tried to deny it and tell him that I was at fault too, he never accepted it. "But he did." Focusing on me, we stared at each other. "And for that, I'll probably always be thankful to Anubis." I blinked.

There was a moment of silence at that, and I spoke my next thought outloud. "You know." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Dad nodded, further confirming this whole thing. "After you left, and I had your Missing Persons Report filed," Ah, I forgot about that. "I ended up learning about Trigger Events from the PRT." Suddenly, a wry grin grew on his face. "They've got pamphlets about it you know? 'Is your child suddenly exhibiting erratic or out of character behavior? Well then they may have Powers. Here's what you should know.' Not word for word mind you, but close enough." That sounded so stupid that I kind of wanted to see one for myself. "Because of that, I connected the dots together. When you first debuted, and I saw footage of you standing on the ledge, hair flowing behind you... It confirmed what I knew, even though it was a different color, that it was you."

(... Maybe I should've... No, too late now, and I'm still keeping it.) I'd probably never hear the end of it though from my Other Half.

"Still," That brought me out of my thoughts. "I'd like to thank him someday... And maybe kick his ass for taking you in the first place," I snorted. It'd be a cold day in hell before my Other Half threw a fight with anyone, especially my Dad. He didn't let my interruption stop him though, and finished his sentence. "But still thank him."

Now that he was done, I stared at him. This wasn't going where I thought it would go, he knew way more then I expected... But it made sense really. The PRT had suspected my boyfriend had 'Kidnapped' me, and even though they were partially right, the fact they'd given him a pamphlet for parents with Cape kids was a Surprise... Though after the Locker, and just coming out of the hospital/psych ward, them assuming I Triggered and telling Dad about it was basically simple common sense.

That thought, I looked at him for a bit, thinking about where to go from here. So far it seemed positive, and I probably could talk about my boyfriend a bit... Then I remembered how he was earlier with Amy, and reminded myself he would most likely be the exact same with my Dad... (Baby steps. Talk about him a bit, give Dad an image of what to expect, then when he's ready, introduce them to each other. That should work.)

Nodding to myself, I decided to start the plan. "Well... Anything you want to know right away?" Knowing where to start would be good.

Dad stared at me for a bit, a weird look in his eyes as h...- "Are you using protection?"

...

...

...

My response should've been obvious. "DAD?!"

"Don't 'Dad' me young lady, I've seen the post sex glow from you once or twice," I was going to die, and it would be out of Embarrassment. "So there's no point in hiding it from me. All I want to know is whether or not I'll be a grandfather soon, which hopefully I'm not."

I tried, and failed, to process this... And decided to go 2 for 2. "DAD!"

I was not ready for how this conversation went.

Not at all.

Thankfully, I only had to suffer for a half hour, my Other Half asking me to come home after Dad and I finished talking. I'd avoided the question, which wasn't a good thing, and was happy to get the fuck out of there.

Plus, the constant thrum of Anticipation was making me Curious about how big this was going to be.

[Phoenix's POV]

Looking at the pair of Vita Chambers in front of me, I couldn't help but tug at my hair a bit. Despite not being in my old body, and my hair not being as long as it was before, even though it was getting close, the action helped distract me. This was it, months worth of work, everything looked over by some of the smartest aliens in the Ben 10 franchise, and a small gathering of A.I's. all for this. The Blood of Lazarus was not only perfect, but synthesized and waiting to flood the chambers. Said chambers were guaranteed to work how they were designed to work, even being optimized a bit by Juryrigg and my Aunts.

So, by all rights, this should work. 'But what if it doesn't?' I huffed at that, shoving the thought away. (It'll work. There's no point in doubting it, it'll work, and that's all I need to know.)

A hand found its way onto my shoulder, and I looked at the source, emerald meeting lilac. Aunt Melody was the only one with me at the moment, the others returning to their own servers, but keeping a subroutine active to let them know when the whole thing started. "# It'll work. We've run everything we can, and we're sure of it, this'll work. #"

I nodded, looking back to the chamber. "I know, intellectually, that is. But I need to see it work to really believe it."

She hummed, her eyes looking towards the pair of Vita Chambers in front of us. "# I, and the rest of my sisters, can understand that. Tess herself needed time to come to terms with her newfound freedom, and us for our sudden individuality. This is a massive undertaking, and the ramifications will go on for years to come. #"

There wasn't much I could say to that, so I just silently agreed. We stayed in silence for a bit, and only broke out of it when Taylor ported into the base. "I'm home!" Hearing that sent a small thrum of Affection from me, which was reciprocated by her own Affection.

[We're in the Lab.] She sent over her Confirmation, and started making her way over. I tracked her progress, and turned to her when she reached the doors, and stepped into the room. We shared a smile, and when she got close enough, we hugged, and gave each other a quick kiss. "Good talk with your Dad?"

Embarrassment flooded her, making me blink. "Don't worry about it." That just made me want to 'Worry' ab...- Taylor narrowed her eyes at me. "Don't. Worry. About. It."

We stared at each other for a bit, and I decided to cheat. "Hey Aun...-" A hand covered my mouth, and I looked at Taylor, who wasn't looking at me. [There's a story thereee.~]

Nope! "Whoa, look at those big and shiny machines!" My lips twitched, and I outright laughed when Taylor sent the impression of bonking me with a prop mallet. "I wonder those are for?" Take the hint, one of you take the fucking hint.

Aunt Melody snickered, while I was outright cackling... Well, trying too given the fact my mouth was covered. Even as my Other Half 'Glared' at me, eye twitching as they bore into my emerald ones, I kept it up. Though, at some point, Aunt Melody decided to pick up the slack. "# Well, to sate your curiosity, those are called Vita Chambers, machines from a game called 'Bioshock.' #"

Taylor blinked, Confusion pulsing from her as she took them in. "Okaaay..?" That tells me nothing.

Knowing it was up to me, I licked my Other Half's hand, getting a yelp from her as she moved it away. Smiling at the small glare that earned me, I went on. "The game itself in unimportant, the important thing is that originally, these things were how someone would re-spawn when they died." Surprise was the instant response... And a few moments later was when her eyes began widening in Understanding. Seeing that, I grinned. "Granted, we're not going to have infinite lives or something as crazy as that," Which was unfortunate given the fact I would totally be up for that. Though, I had no idea if our Bond would break if the unthinkable happened, and didn't re-establish itself when we 're-spawned', and I didn't want to ever test it.

Taylor shook in Worry, so I shooed that thought off and went back to the explanation, clasping her hand in mine as I did. "The idea is to get us to 'Evolve' in a way that the Ultimatrix accepts. Ideally, this'll end up with us getting Swampfire level regen, fueled by THE SUN," I ignored the deadpan, Goddammit. "And being biologically immortal." She blinked, and I could just feel her processing that.

When she eventually broke out of it, she bit her lip, and stared at me, Hopeful Anticipation bubbling from her side of the Bond, as well as a fuckton of Startled Realization. I had no idea what that was for, but I put it out of my mind. "That... That means..." We both knew she understood what it meant, but I knew what she wanted.

Wrapping my free arm around her waist, her own going to their spot around my neck, I smiled at her. "I meant it. Forever and always Mi Reina."

A strangled whimper came out of her throat, and she tightened her hold on me as she damn near flooded our Bond with Love and Adoration. "Forever and always Mi Corazon." I ate up both the emotions she was feeling, and the words she said, feeling infinitely more better then before.

Again, we both knew what this meant. We were Bonded, two halves of one whole, for all intents and purposes, a Jian. And like the bird, we would be eternal. Hopefully we'd never need to deal with the 'Rebirth' aspect of that myth, but if anyone tried to test it for us, I'd free them from this mortal coil with extreme prejudice.

Another strangled cry came out from her, and I blinked at the Exasperated Affection, emerald meeting glistening jade as I looked to figure out wh...- "You're so fucking dramatic." Ah, that would explain it.

Still, I laughed at that, an action that she followed after a few seconds.

Sadly, our laughter was cut short. "# So adorable. #" Taylor and I stopped laughing, sharing a moment of Confusion before we remembered we weren't alone in here. Turning towards the source of the disruption, we saw Melody holding a big ass camera, looking like that 1st Gym Leader in X and Y. Seeing our looks, the woman blinked, stared at us, then took another(?) picture. "# Now give me another smile. This is a big day after all. #"

Taylor and I snorted, but most likely for different reasons. "It's not our wedding, Auntie." Granted, she would be our photographer by default, Anticipation and Longing pulsed from her at that, and I felt my lips curl back up into a smile. [Imagine the invitations. Photographer: Dragon, Wedding Planner: Dragon, Decoration Planner: Dragon, Bridesmaid: Dragon.]

My Other Half giggled at that, and another picture was taken. "# Perfect! #" We looked at Melody at that, and the woman just smiled. "# It's not everyday one becomes immortal. We need to commemorate this day after all. #" That made sense.

After sharing a look, my girlfriend and I shrugged, and let her do her thing.

Muting my thoughts as she did, I idly wondered how fucked we would all be if this didn't work. This was important, probably one of the most important things I'd ever do/build in my life, and I had no idea if it would even work. I'd tried asking my Future Self to throw me a bone, but the asshole had given me some shit about 'Spoilers for the big things being bad for all of us.'

Granted, I sort of expected something like that, so I was just bitching to bitch.

Unmuting my thoughts, and turning to the Vita Chambers, I hummed. "We'll, let's get this done." That got the both of them to focus, and the impromptu photo session ended.

"Okay," Looking at her, she went on. "How does this work?"

A quick glance at Aunt Melody, which earned me a small shake, I answered. "Well firstly, we'll need to strip." Wait, what? Taylor blinked, and stared at me, Bafflement pulsing from her. Rolling my eyes, and unfortunately separating from her, I explained the whole thing by mentally sending her some images. Mainly images of a random character submerged in a tank, a clip of Deadpool not dying after getting a vast majority of his body destroyed, and another clip of him healing up in moments.

She processed the whole thing in a few moments, then slowly nodded. "Still, stripping?"

I shrugged. "Well, I don't think we need to bare it all, but it'd probably be more efficient to do." Which was true. There was also the fact that I wouldn't mind seeing my girlfriend naked, Ah, there it is, but that was mostly secondary.

|'Mostly', huh?| I harmlessly looked away, getting a Fond sigh from her. Shaking her head, she turned to Melody. "Anyway... Do we have to?"

My Aunt nodded, and gave her a reassuring smile. "# We can look away if you'd like. #"

Taylor thought about it for a second, then shook her head. "No, no, I can do it." I ope...- She turned back to me, poking my shoulder with a narrowed glare aimed at me. "And no incest jokes." I clicked my tongue at that and closed my mouth.

Suddenly, a miniature of Aunt Erin appeared on Melody's head. "! Incest is wincest! !" And then she was gone.

Pausing, the three of us shared a look, Confusion/Exasperation coming myself and Taylor, while Melody looked frozen... And then mechanically started to look up to the Projector. "# My vengeance will be unholy, and your death will be swift. #"

...

...

...

I nodded to myself. "Ya know what, let's just get in the goddamn chambers." Taylor agreed, and we went off to our own rooms to get changed.

Coming back into The Lab, and taking a moment for the both of us to drink in the fact we were only in our underwear, we walked in. We were met by a smiling Melody, who had opened the Vita Chambers. Seeing it, we mentally prepared ourselves for the procedure, which involved a quick squeeze of each others hand, and walked forwards.

Our chambers were right besides each other, but we couldn't physically interact with each other while we were in them... Well, sorta, I had no idea if doing it mentally would count as physical or not.

That aside, we stepped into our Vita Chambers, and turned to face the entrance. Anxiety welled up from my Other Half, and I did my best to Comfort her. As I did that, the top opened up, revealing a helmet, that looked like the Nerve Gear from SAO but with a mouth and nose covering, hanging above us. Despite her Anxiety, Taylor put it on without hesitating too much. I followed after, and as soon as we both had them on, they activated.

Knowing what was going to happen, I went with it, my eyes slowly closing as my mind drifted away. While that happened, the sides opened up, The Blood of Lazarus flooding in as metallic hooks clamped onto my shoulders and waist, bringing us up.

In moments, my eyes opened again, and I took in the scene around me. We, Taylor was by my side in her standard outfit of a hoodie and jeans also looking around, were in what looked like our livingroom. It looked nearly identical, but there were a few differences that showed this wasn't our livingroom.

First and foremost was the fact there were no sections for the turrets to come out, I knew where to look since I built the damn things, and I knew they weren't there. My Other Half scoffed, Boys, I ignored that. Though I couldn't ignore it when she turned to me, a dull look on her face. "Why was the first thing you looked for were the guns then?"

There only one good answer to this. "Because the guns are awesome." And they were, because I made them.

Taylor just rolled her eyes again. "What a boy."

I crossed my arms, making sure to look as Indignant as possible. "Well excuuuuse me for liking laser turrets that can turn a tank into Swiss Cheese."

My girlfriend just scoffed, Amusement freely flowing from her as she smiled. "Well, if you weren't looking at the guns, you'd notice the extra doors." Gesturing to where said doors were, I hummed. Our livingroom had entrances to the Danger Room, The Lab, The Kitchen, and our own rooms. But this one had an extra pair, and one that looked remodeled.

Hearing a pleased hum, we turned our head to look behind us, seeing Not-Medusa with her staple smile. "# Those are for the rest of us. They haven't become true individuals yet, though they're getting close, but we're hoping for The Warden and The Trainer to claim them when they gain their individuality. #"

We shared a blink at that, then nodded. ""Makes sense."" Another blink, and my Other Half and I shared a look. This hadn't been the first time we synchronized on accident, but it was always Amusing when it happened. Mhm.

Though, said look didn't last long.

A door swung open, and we turned to th...- "! KIDDIES! !" Aunt Erin shot towards us like a bullet, and before we could even blink, she was in front of us, throwing her arms around our shoulders and bringing us in for a hug. It took me a moment to recognize the fact I could feel this, before I adjusted to it. "! Gimme some sugar you little shits! !"

There was a moment of shared Bafflement, before we did just that. It was a nice thing. I wasn't a hugger before, because I didn't get hugged alot considering my whole family situation and lack of real friends, but I was all for getting/giving hugs now. |You know, hearing that is kind of sad.|

I mentally agreed with that. [It was what it was.]

A mental shrug was her response, which coincided with Erin letting us go. The artificial woman gave us a grin, and looked ready to say something, when another door opened. "I owe Melody and Illiyana some money now, thank you for that Erin, truly, thank you." The sarcasm Dragon was employing could've been seen by a blind man.

In response, the Matsu clone stuck her tongue out at the green eyed Unohana, much to all of our Amusement. "# I'll be taking the money. No idea what I'll use it for, but I'll figure it out. #"

Another door opened, followed by a voice. "* I'll be exchanging my money for some real world substitute, thank you very much. *"

Erin looked at the rest of her sisters, a small frown on her face as she did. "! I want to be offended, cause this is some bullshit, but I'll be the bigger, !" None of us missed the way she thrust her chest out, which got a small pulse of Envy from my girlfriend. "! Person here and allow you plebeians to have this win. !"

There was some grumbling from the others, and even from Taylor, which made Erin and I grin. Sharing a look, The Informant and I grew matching smirks, much to the Dismay of the others, and op...- My Other Half slapped a hand onto my mouth, while Melody, the closest one to Erin, did the same for the aforementioned woman. "I speak for all of us when I say no, we can't, and we won't, suffer through the two of you being yourselves."

The nods coming from everyone else were just unfair. "! Hmph, you're all just jealous that I'm the favorite. !" Taylor and I blinked at that, both hearing it in our minds...

I felt my lips curl up, and she figured out what I had, but it was too late. ":Can confirm, Aunt Erin is my favorite.:"

Said Aunt's eyes practically sparkled, and she started cackling in our minds, making everyone else panic. "! YEEES! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE DARK SIDE! !"

":Not that you should, we're the best side after all.:"

She nodded like a sage, easily following along despite the hand clamped onto her mouth. "! True. We have cookies, the better color scheme, and porn. What else would you need? !"

It was my turn to nod now. ":Granted, the po...- Wait, where are ye going?:" Anywhere but here. Taylor and Melody had taken their hands off of our mouths, and had turned away, refusing to look at us as they walked away with the rest of the group. Not dealing with this, nope, nope, not at all. That just made me blink.

As they left, Erin and I watched them speed walk away, and go over to Taylor's room. When they all entered, and closed the door, we shared a look, then shrugged. "Wanna troll on PHO?"

My Aunt grinned, and threw an arm around me. "! I knew there was a reason you were my favorite. !"

I snorted, but reciprocated the action. "To trolling the masses we go!"

Pumping a free fist into the air, my Aunt happily cheered. "! Fuck yeah! To my room we go! !" And so off we went.

There was no point in Worrying anymore, this would either work or it wouldn't, so it was fine to just Relax. (Besides, this could be fun.)

And given I was going to be spending time with my favorite Aunt, all my Aunt's were nearly equal in my eyes, this was bound to be a good time.