ATM Rewrite: B2 — 6. Dream Made Reality

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our Fox Girl Has A New Problem!)

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Frustration ate at Sora as she lay in bed, Wendy beside her near the edge, looking down at Zen; the prince had fallen asleep on the pillow he’d been given.  Sheens of light from space fed through the slightly tilted blinds that gave Wendy some measure of light, not that Sora needed it since she could see in perfect darkness.

A low rumble shook Sora’s throat.  “I can’t believe my mom is making me stew for three whole days…  It’s torture, and what is Dad going to think?  Hmm.  Wendy?”

“Huh?”  Wendy shifted in bed to lay on her back and adjusted her hair.  “Sorry.  I’m just a little distracted…  We’re actually going to meet your mom.  Wow.  She has to be better than mine, right?”

Sora fell silent, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to keep her restless tail in check.  “I’m sorry about your mom, Wendy…  How are you feeling?”

“Numb, I think,” she whispered.  “It doesn’t feel real.  Maybe it will when we go back to Miami.  I don’t know…  Hehe.  I guess not everything is bad.  I got a cute moon bunny magic teacher and my best friend back, who gets her own mother back…”

“Wendy…”

Sora reached over to hug her; there were no tears that came from her friend, and her aura told Sora Wendy really hadn’t internalized it yet.  Her world was slowly crumbling, but there was still some measure of hope in the girl that her mother would admit it was all just a horrible mistake or the Foundation was lying to them.

“Hey, Sora?”

“Hmm?”

Wendy’s voice was listless, and Sora could feel a similar emotion welling up within her that mirrored Kari’s to some extent, yet perhaps not so extreme.  A layer trying to cover the grief and anger boiling underneath everything she tried to use to hide from the truth.

“Am I addicted to misery?”

“What do you mean?”  Sora asked, rolling over to look at Wendy as she stared at the ceiling with a dark shadow casting over her mind.  “Why are you feeling so guilty?”

“Hmm-hmm.  I don’t know.”  Wendy swallowed and breathed out a hot puff of air.  “This is just a place… I know too well, I guess.  Me justifying the way we lived whenever I’d leave your peaceful life to return home each night as kids…  I could never leave my mom—I don’t want to, but… she threw me out.”

She blinked, trying to hold back a sudden surge that tried to fight to the surface as she threw whatever she could on top to shove it back down.

“I’ve never really felt like I had control over my life…  I’m like a marionette doll, hanging up for everyone to play with.  I’ve been in this cold, dark well for so long, but I always return for someone else to try and pull me out…  And I just jump back in.  Why am I addicted to misery?”

Sora’s ears pulled back, lying her tail across Wendy’s shin and finding her hand to squeeze it to offer her support.  “I guess it was a lot harder on you than I thought… living two lives between me and your mom.  You love your mom; you tried so hard to make it work these last three years.”

A weak laugh came from Wendy as she turned to look at her neck, showing a sad smile but being unable to look her in the face.  “I was scared…  I want to be loved, but I don’t know if I deserve it.  How can you trust me to be there for you after I already abandoned you once before?”

Trying to smile, Sora snuggled closer.  “I thought we already talked about this.  We both did things we regret…  What is this about?”

Wendy sighed and turned her head to look at the sleeping bunny again.  She didn’t speak for a while, working through her rising emotions.  When she did, she had a defeated tone.

“Mary says…  She says I want to be punished…  I feel like I need to be punished, and she’s right.  I do feel like maybe this is my punishment…  My mom abandoned me because I abandoned you.  Mary says that’s not true, and I can say it’s not…”

“But you don’t feel like it’s not…”  Sora finished.  “You’ve always been hard on yourself.”

Wendy’s fingers loosened around hers as she shook her head against her pillow.  “You don’t get it, Sora…  You’re all I have left… and the first thing I wanted—when all those doors were put in front of me—what did I want?  Power.  Power to not be abandoned because… in my heart…  I feel like you’ll abandon me, too.  I’m the worst.”

She reached up to clutch her chest.  “I abandoned everyone for my mom, but my mom abandoned me anyway.  It felt like you abandoned me with Kari.  Why can’t I let it go?  I fear that you’ll abandon me if I become a weakness or if I could get hurt… like with Kari.

“I feel like I might deserve it—my mom giving me away or you leaving to protect me.  I don’t know…  How can you ever trust me when I can’t trust myself?  I chose my abusive mother over my loving best friend…  I must be addicted to misery.  You can’t trust me to be there for you—you can’t help me… when all of this pain, I’ve brought it on myself.”

Sora rolled to her back, unsure how to respond to Wendy’s open confession and raw emotion; she could feel it seeping into her, and it was real.

“…I’m lost, too, Wendy,” she whispered.  “Why do you think I went to the moon wizard?  We’re just a couple of hurt and coping teenagers.  Hehe.  I thought I had it all figured out when I first started changing into a vulpes, but then I just kept sinking deeper and deeper into this hole.  And I couldn’t get out of it alone.  I had help.  You helped.  We’ll get past this…”

“I hope so,” she mumbled.  “We’re just a bunch of sick, sad, sorry messes, huh?  I’m terrified you’ll disappear because without you… I feel empty, and I know that’s not right.  I shouldn’t put that pressure on you.  It’s wrong.  But I have to ask you to help carry me anyway… because I’m weak.  I’m weak…”

Sora’s nose burned, eyes watering as Wendy leaned over to cling to her, and she held her through the guilt and tears.  Her magic washed over her best friend, soothing her heart and pulling her into blissful dreams about their childhood to bring her back to a better time.

We’ll get through this, Wendy… one day at a time.

It was hard to reign herself in as the door slid open a minute later, the silhouette of Fen in the bright hallway light.  “Finished with the drama, Princess?”

Helping Wendy into a more comfortable position, Sora rubbed her wet and flaming cheeks.  “Would it kill you to have even a little bit of sympathy, or is—is being a bitch just a defense mechanism?  The twins aren’t like that.”

“Humph.”  Fen waltzed in, glaring at the sleeping Zen and Wendy.  “What doesn’t kill you makes you wish you were dead…  Isn’t that right, my fake sleeping rabbit?”

Sora had suspected Zen had been awake but didn’t want to intrude.

He sighed and swapped to the opposite side of the pillow.  “Wendy is stronger than she thinks; family is a precious thing that she has found in Sora, and that is where her heart will rest in the end.”

Fen flashed her teeth, a chilling laugh reflected in her tight eyes as she sat at the foot of her bed.  She leaned against the wall and brought around her three tails to rest in her lap.

“Some things can’t be fixed; they’re hopeless.  I grew up in a far more brutal world and family than either of your privileged tails would understand.  If you weren’t Mia’s daughter or some wizard lord’s son, your soft claws would never have lasted a day in my life.”

Sora rubbed her arm under the blanket while settling back in; after learning what Yvla and Kari’s life had been like, she recognized some fates were beyond words or understanding.

Still, she felt a burning in her chest that refused to give in or lay down, and her thoughts went back to what the fenris wolf told her on that bench conversation they’d shared.  A short chuckle came to Sora that made Fen scowl at her, but she wasn’t laughing at her.

When did I start seeing Kari’s determination as an example?  She’s struggling to find her feet, just like Wendy.  My life really has changed.

“I’m not making fun of you, and I’m sorry to hear your life was hard…  But I still don’t like you.”

“Like I should care,” Fen grunted, gesturing at the bunny on the pillow.  “Go look at some stars or something.  I have a thousand things on my mind that I would rather be doing than wasting it here with you, Princess.  Can we get this over with; you wanted my help in Dream Walking?”

“Don’t get your tails knotted,” Sora muttered, enjoying the look on the woman’s face; it seemed Fen was extremely averse to brushing her tails against her by the distance she kept.  “I’ve Dream Walked before, but it was hard to keep focused, and I had a kind of thread to follow.”

“Sit back and let me do the work or we’ll take all night,” she snarled, closing her eyes and sending a magical wave to crash into her that drew her into a slumber; Sora was shocked at how effortlessly she’d bypassed her defenses, showing how much more experienced the three-tailed Huli Jing was.  “Please, don’t resist; it’s annoying…”

Drifting into a bubbly swirl of color and imagination, she blinked, and she was floating in a sea of spheres that stretched into infinity; her surroundings weren’t white or black but a mishmash of visual waves that rippled like water.

Legs crossed, Fen sat on one of the bubbles, a chuckle shaking her chest.  “You can’t tell me you actually went through every dream, smashing into others and falling down the endless holes until finding the one you were looking for?”

“How should I know?”  Sora said, frowning at the traditional Chinese dress the woman had changed her into.  “Haha.  I’m guessing this is what constitutes a princess to you—is this a hairpin crown?”

“Dense but not stupid,” Fen noted.  Her tails fanned out to draw in a cluster of dreams before sweeping them out to collide with others, making them shatter in a rush of imaginary energy that mixed and split away.  “If you were any other vulpes, sinking through the murk of deadly dreams, you would have lost your soul in your first dream dive.  You are beyond frustrating.”

Sora huffed and tried to mirror Fen, sitting on one of the spheres.  “Hah!  Yes.  Easy-peasy.  I’m a Founder; deal with it.  If you keep calling me princess, then I might start calling you peasant.  What do you say about that?  Hehe.  Not a fan?”

Fen’s expression dulled, scratching the inside of her left ear.  “You would be in one of these spheres, swimming in the dark, but I tugged you out into this dream net.  I suppose it is fortunate for us both that you are a Founder since it means I don’t have to be so thorough.  I made this net and pulled all of the dreams around this facility in, but do you see that?”

Sora’s throat fell into her stomach as the vulpes waved her hand, brushing aside the bubbles to reveal massive yellow eyes looking down at them from a black void.

“If I didn’t have clearance from the Foundation, that magical AI, or whatever they call it, would have isolated my magic and tried to trap us in a box while alerting the Foundation of my activities.  Lesson one: scout for potential threats.”

Taking a deep breath, Sora took the lesson to heart; her previous adventure through dreams had been in a place with a far larger volume than this base, meaning she had more cover.  Although, Fen was not done with her lecture as her twisting wrist pulled aside the veil of dreams to show another bone-chilling sight.

“Lesson two: don’t press your luck…”

In the distance was someone Sora had seen the day before, a cute, pink-haired teenage girl that was smiling and waving at her; the girl’s legs and arms were shackled with multiple layers of security webs isolating her.

“HAREM…”

“To access any of the dreamers she holds, you’d need to pluck them out of her pocket, so to speak.  Not something I would suggest.”

Fen held up a single, clawed finger and gestured to their right, causing the mass of dreams around them to cyclone in a circle until one with a flaming aura stopped between them.

“And here is your father’s, wrapped in magic so far outside of reality that I want to forget I ever saw it, but logic dictates your mother wants me to show it to you.  Anything it deems as a threat would be practically burned out of Existence itself—certainly out of this multiverse—by coming into contact with it.

“Lesson three is the same as lessons one and two…  You cannot be too cautious in this world.  Don’t let the pride of your birthright go to your head, and don’t trust me or anyone else.  It will only leave you heartbroken.”

Sora wasn’t fully sure how the woman was controlling this space since every spell she used was practically instantly formed and dispersed.  And, before Sora could respond, the bitter vulpes vanished, leaving her in a rather simple and light web of dreams.

“Well, okay…”

She made an illusion of Fen just before she’d left to have something to look at while processing her words; it was hard to get a fix on the woman as she thought about her actions.

You really are weird…  Bitter, distrusting, afraid, obedient, sassy, yet seemingly fiercely loyal to this guy I’ve never met…  Is she keeping him from me for a reason?  She can’t let herself be vulnerable, I guess.  Someone really must have hurt her…

Sora’s heavy chest wandered between all the damaged people she’d met over the last two weeks.  Wendy had this vision of herself that felt like a punch to the gut.

Wendy…  Were you healing before I came back into your life?  She was getting closer to finding a boyfriend and having a normal life…  Maybe she would have pulled away from her mother.  I flipped her life on its head, and now she’s trying to find anything to ground herself.

Sighing, she reached out to the impenetrable and deadly orb of fire; the world scattered like dust and reformed into what appeared to be a Japanese noodle stand, making Sora’s ears pull back in shock.

“Mom?”

“Who—Sora?!  W-Wait…  Huh?”

The scene froze as her much younger father spun around in his seat, wincing and holding his head; she’d shattered his fantasy, causing a wave of suppressed memories to flood into his brain to taint the dream.

However, the woman beside him was the spitting image of her mother, minus the tails or fox ears; this had to have been one of the dates they’d gone on, or when they’d first met.

Regaining her bearings, Sora giggled.  “It’s okay, Dad.  This is a dream—well, I’m not a dream, but you’re in a dream—your dream, but I’m real—it’s complicated… maybe not.”

Her father looked around with a frown as she used her magic to ease the transition.  “A dream…  What about Wendy—the stadium?!”

“Oh, hehe, that’s long in the past—if, by the past, we’re talking about a few days ago,” she mumbled.  “Anyway, do you want me to catch you up on everything, heh, and why you’re in a dream?”

Her dad puffed out a long breath and turned to look at his frozen wife, his voice softening.  “In a minute…  I just want to savor this vision, even if it’s not real.”

“Aww…”  Sora hopped off the bench to hug him and move past him to bring attention to her frozen mother’s dream copy he was having a midnight dinner with.  “That’s the cutest thing ever, Dad!  But… I think it will be even cuter when you get to tell it to her yourself when she gets here in three days and faints on the spot!”

His jaw slackened, making her laugh.  “Come again?  Your mother is…”

“Coming home!  Yup, she said in three days.  I don’t know if you’ll be awake by then since you’re healing, but to you, it should feel like no time has passed at all.”

Settling down and rubbing his nose, Sora smiled as she watched him fidget with his hair, shirt, or arm, emotions welling up in him that made her want to tackle him; he loved her mother so much that it made her want to pull her mother’s tails at how long she’d made him wait.

“S-She’s coming home?  That means you’ve… talked to her.  She—I-I need to do so much…  I have to make sure everything is set up for us before…  No.  Ahem.  What’s going on, Sora?  Tell me everything.”

Getting up, she giggled and took him by the hand, wanting to enjoy this time with him and see every expression he made.  “Let’s walk then.  It’s a long story involving demonic cults, secret organizations, a creepy AI murder hobo, a witch, new vulpes… not so much friends, but yeah, and the moon wizard!  Oh, did I mention you’re adopting Wendy, and she’s learning moon magic from the moon wizard’s son, who happens to be a handsome prince?”

“Ack-hem,” her dad choked, rubbing his neck.  “W-What?!”

“Hehehe.  Yeah, it’s a long story.  I know, first I’m dropping the big ‘I’m turning into a vulpes bomb’ to ‘I’m bringing home a moon prince’ discussion—we may need a bigger suite…  Time flies, huh, Dad?”

Her father’s mouth drew in while trying to process everything she’d just put down.  “You… are bringing home a moon prince?”

“Mmm.”  Sora’s head bobbed left and right, feeling more positive now that she could chat with her dad.  “Moon prince, moon bunny, hottie that definitely isn’t Wendy’s type since she can’t keep her eyes off his adorable white fur.  We’re going to have to keep a watch on them,” she hummed, rubbing her chin.  “Eyia and Jin may move in, too—maybe a bunch more people…”

“Haha.  Okay, Sora,” he laughed, reaching down to pick her off the ground in a smothering hug that made her laugh.  “Start at the beginning because I’m getting more confused and concerned by the minute…  Is your mother really coming home?”

Wrapping her tail around his waist, she hugged him back, making her father grunt at her strength.  “Hehe.  Yes, Dad…  Mom’s coming home.  Dad… don’t make me cry!”  she sniffed as he started to weep.  “I’ve been crying too much already…  Aww.”

Fighting emotional ups and downs for what seemed hours, Sora walked around Dream Tokyo stuck nineteen years in the past, bringing her father up to speed on everything that had happened and who the Foundation was; at least, what she knew about the organization thus far.

After everything was said and done, she walked beside him with snow beginning to blanket the city lightly; it wasn’t cold, but Sora still used her power over the dream to change them into some winter clothes.

Her father had his hands in his pockets, and Sora looped her arm around his wrist as they walked along the sidewalk, tail fanning the flakes in a frenzy as they passed.  His Irish accent increased as they walked.

“So…  I’m healing right now.  Your mom said I wasn’t fully human, huh?  Well, that’s something new.  Should I get a DNA test?”

“Hehehe.  Dad!  I don’t think that will work.  To me, you feel and smell fully human, so I don’t know what Mom is on about.  I’m pretty new to all this stuff, though,” she whispered.  “Wendy?”

“Pfft!  Of course, there’s no way I’m abandoning that girl,” her father grunted, nose turning red as he sucked in his cheeks.  “What a cruel thing to do to your daughter…  I remember you used to ask me if we could adopt her when you were little girls.”

“Yeah… but not like this,” she said, shivering a little and looking down at their shoes crunching the snow.  “I’m worried about her, Dad.  She feels guilty finding her tutor attractive, feels like she’s using me, or that she’ll be abandoned when I get stronger…  It’s real to her.”

He was quiet for a time in this isolated world, where only they walked in the middle of Tokyo.  “…She was born to a broken house…  It’s something the two of you bonded over.  Wendy never knew her father, and you never knew your mother…  It was a sore spot in both our families.  I never knew my parents either; I was in the foster system…”

“You never talked about that before.”  Sora looked up at her dad, seeing him deep in introspection.  “You put yourself through school and got scholarships, right?  No, heh, wrong time…  I guess I’m just curious because you rarely talk about your childhood.”

“It’s my fault,” he breathed, reaching up to adjust his gray scarf.  “I never wanted you to live the poor life I did, bouncing between foster homes…  I can’t look at the past because… because your mother left a hole in my life I couldn’t contend with, and I still had to be strong for you, so I just focused on our present and future… hoping she’d show up again.”

A sad smile lifted Sora’s lips.  “I always thought it was weird how so many women tried to flirt with you—beautiful women—but you wouldn’t so much as blink their way…  I get why after meeting Mom.  She really is amazing, hehe, and terrified—imagine that…  She could snuff out omniverses with a blink, whatever that means, but she was trembling when talking to me…  I guess that shows how vulnerable I make her.”

“How much she loves you,” her father corrected, leaning down to kiss her ear.  “I think you made the right decisions.  You need time to heal—a lot of people around us need time to heal, and if Mia and I can facilitate that, then by all means, I’m here to support you.  Is ceol mo chroí thú…”

Warmth filled her chest at the Irish saying.  “I’m the music of your heart…  Well, I’m going to have to share that with Mom soon enough.  Hehe.  I expect date nights and tons of cute couple talk!  Ahhh!  I can’t wait!”

“Haha!  You may be more excited than I am,” he teased as she pulled him left and right with a squeal.

“Impossible!  You forgot I can feel your emotions, Dad!  There’s no way I can understand how holding her hand again will be for you…  You had that deep connection that was cut, and I’m just starting to feel what it’s like to have a mom…  I’m so happy for you!”

She jumped up to kiss his cheek as his eyes and cheeks became red again.  “I bet the first thing you’ll see is Mom’s face…  I’m choking up again!”

Her father forced a laugh that was cut off by a choke as she fanned her face.  All of the depression and uncertainty were washed away when she was with her father.

“Hopefully, the second, third, and fourth are my three girls; that would be perfect…”

It took a second for Sora’s bottom lip to tremble.  “W-Wendy and Eyia?  Dad!”

She couldn’t help the tears; her father meant it, and he had acted like a father to her best friend throughout their lives.  Sora didn’t want to leave, but she instinctively felt herself gradually rousing from her deep sleep.

Kissing him one last time, she sighed and broke the news that she needed to go.

He squeezed her hands, a hopeful and anxious smile on his face.  “I can’t wait to be a family…  See you soon.”

“See you soon!”

Exiting her dream to begin her true fantasy of having a complete family, Sora opened her eyes.  She breathed a satisfied puff of air.  Refreshed, her tail wiggled a little as she shifted to her friend in the quiet room, only to find Wendy already awake.

“Wendy?”

“Shhh!”  she hissed.  “He looks so peaceful.  Look at that smile…  Do I smile in my sleep?”

“Hmm?”  Sora pushed herself up to see her staring at Zen in his sleep, now a human and in a silky blue sleeping shirt and shorts.  “Creeper,” she snickered, flicking her ear.

“Ack!”  Wendy jolted and flipped around to glare at her, hand darting her ear.  “Sora!  Am not…”

“Haaaaah…  Hmm?”  Zen groaned, stretching out and smacking his lips; fingers running through his wild mane of white hair.  “What’s going on?”

Wendy’s cheeks were pink as she gave her a dull look that said, ‘Couldn’t let me have this, could you?’  Sora giggled and pulled her into a hug.

“Dad made it official, Sis.  He was even cool with legally adopting Eyia since she mentioned her father had died!  It looks like I’m the youngest, and you’re the troubled middle child.  Emo!  Ooh, maybe you could pull off the goth look, hmm?  Rebellious!”

“W-What are you talking about?”  Wendy choked, squirming to get free from her embrace without luck or hope of overpowering her.  “When have I ever been an emo or goth?”

“Oooh?  When we were thirteen, I remember someone being really into Westley Snipes for that emo cut and punk clothes.  Hehe.”

“Traitor!”  Wendy snarled, flipping on top of her to pinch the base of her tail.

“Eek!  W-Wendy—stop!”

“Haha!  I found your weak spot, Ginger Tail!  Who’s in control now?”  she roared, making Sora flip to her back as she pulled her over.  “Tap out!”

“Never—my tail,” Sora cried, Wendy somehow getting her on her belly and straddling her with both hands on her tail.  “You’re evil!  Agh—help, Zen—tackle her!”

“Huh?!”

Zen shot up, star-like eyes sparkling with a grin spreading across his face.  Sora could practically see Wendy’s face going bright red, vision spinning as the tall, muscular seventeen-year-old moon wizard jumped at her.

“W-Wait—oof!”

“Haha!  I got you!”

“N-No, Sora!  I’ll never forgive you!”

“Betrayal!”  Sora laughed, fighting through the tingling at the base of her tail to throw a magical wave that scooped both of them into the air to land against the ceiling.  “Double victory!”

She could practically see Wendy giving up the ghost from being entangled in the laughing man’s arms, keeping her pinned.  “You’re welcome!  Hehehe.”

Zen burst into a nebula of shimmering lights, appearing on a couch in a fit of laughter as Wendy checked out of life on the ceiling.  “Hahaha!  This has been the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!  Shall we have breakfast?”

“What year is it?”  Wendy mumbled.  Sora expected to see steam coming out of her ears as she lowered her down to cradle and stroke her head.

“There, there.  Oh?!”

Zen clapped his hands, a burst of potent magic twisting into a cloud of colors and twinkles that expanded to envelope the entire room.  When it passed, he wore a tailored black suit with a matching slim tie and white dress shirt.  His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a black fedora perched on his head.

Sora glanced down to find her pajamas had been replaced by a similar attire, lacking the suit coat for a vest with the shirt’s sleeves rolled back.  On the other hand, Wendy was a picture of grace and class in her fitted suit and perfectly curled brown hair that fell to her shoulder blades.

“Snazzy,” she chuckled, twisting to see her lack of a suit top was not to restrict her tail; it didn’t even feel weird because Zen was so unaccustomed to normal cultural interactions, having lived a very isolated life.  “Where did you learn about this style of—”

She cut off upon seeing a full spread of breakfast pastries that made her mouth water.  “Wait, you can magically conjure sweets?!  Wendy…  Marry him.”

Her best friend looked at her as if she were crazy as she jumped forward to snatch one of the chocolaty items and sink her teeth into it.  “Mmm!  So good…”

Zen laughed and, instead of levitating one of the breakfast desserts, he selected a raspberry-topped one and delivered it right to the dazed brunette.  “This one has been my favorite.  I crafted it using Halen milk, which helps in opening up your magical network.”

“Oooh.  How very sweet,” Sora teased.

Wendy gave her a look that spoke of murder in her sleep.

“Okay!  Okay!”

“You don’t like it?”  Zen asked, cheer dampening.

“N-No!”  Wendy smiled and accepted it, using her free hand to check out her new outfit.  “I’m just…  I haven’t even put on makeup.”

Zen looked totally baffled at the word.  “What’s makeup—as in making up for a wrong?  What wrong did you do to make up for… that you have to put on, and how do you put on an apology?  I’m confused.”

“Ahem!”  Sora tried not to choke, face going red while attempting to swallow what was in her mouth.  “I-It’s something girls usually use to—to cover their faces and make themselves prettier?”

“Prettier?  Why would Wendy need that?  I think she is quite stunning.  Her hair and eyes are like the, umm, what is the word… caramel sugar they pour on apples?  It is so rich and thick!”

Sora called it the second her friend had to sit down—she was done—a full suit was not going to do her any favors with that rising body heat as she stuffed the pastry into her mouth.  Sora, being a good sister, wove a cooling spell to ventilate Wendy’s burning skin—her new sibling was tapped out.

“Wendy?  Oh, no…”  Zen’s mouth creased with concern as he pulled around his ponytail to play with it, likely a nervous habit.  “Did I say something weird again?”

Okay, I have to keep Zen around.  This is doing wonders for Wendy’s confidence.

“Okay—no, you are amazing, Mr. Moon Prince,” Sora snickered, getting up to pull him back to the door to let Wendy cool off.  “She’s just going through morning girl stuff.  Why don’t you wait in the hall; we’ll be out soon.  Lots of stuff to do!”

Pressing the button to open it as she shoved him out and closed it, she turned and gave Wendy a look that made her look away.  “You really need to work on your nerves, Sis.”

“W-Who is prepared for t-that kind of response?!”  Wendy gasped, cheeks turning crimson again.  “Kill me—I’m like a caramel apple…  No way he said that about me.”

Sora’s tail weaved back and forth, a frisky swirl in her belly adding a spring to her step as she skipped over to plop down beside Wendy on the bed and nudge her.  “A moon prince just called you sweet as sugar.  Oooh!  Did you see him playing with his hair?  Cute?”

“Shut up!  I’ll grab your ear!”

“No, you won’t!”  Sora hissed, jumping back as they pulled back.  “I can stop the cooling spell!”

“Woah!”  Wendy laughed.  “Let’s not do something drastic here!”

“Hehehe.”

Joking and teasing Wendy a minute longer, she got her calmed down enough for her friend to hear her stomach growl; she hadn’t eaten anything in probably over a day due to the insanity.

They snatched a few more pastries off the summoned table before exiting, Sora snatching her phone on the way out; her gaze lingered on the drawer with the seven-pointed amulet but left it where it was.

When they opened the door, she saw the vulnerable and worried silver-haired prince playing with the tail end of his ponytail again.  Hinote was leaning against the wall beside him, snorting as they talked to each other.

“You did what?  Yo, bro, I’d recommend not changing girls’ clothes out of nowhere; that’s a red flag if I’ve ever seen one.  Why’d you do it?”

“Changing, washing, and getting ready takes a lot of time,” Zen shrugged, tugging on his hair with a groan.  “Nighttime prep last night took them forever, like five whole minutes.  I thought we could skip a lot of that and have breakfast.  Plus, I have all of these pictures I’ve seen traveling through satellites that would reach us, and I thought we’d all look cool in these threads.”

“Haha.  You’re too funny,” Hinote mused.  “Hey, it sounds like it all worked out, so don’t sweat it, but what did you even do to their PJs?”

Sora cleaned Wendy and her hands with magic, scooping off the oil, cream, and crumbs to shoot them into a trashcan inside her room.  “Good question!  I like those PJs.”

Zen snapped his fingers to their right, creating a moon-like sphere that showed them a room filled with hundreds of outfits, neatly hung.  What seemed like spelled cleaning items moved around, maintaining them.

“Gramps has shown me how to maintain everything I craft.”

“Impressive!”  Sora chimed, jabbing her thumb back at her room.  “Toss those back on my bed when they’re done; we’ll be transporting everything back to Miami today.  A lot to do, so let’s go!”

She nudged Wendy and gave her a wink when the boys weren’t looking, making her elbow her back with a glare.  Wendy did not want to be embarrassed again, but this was pulling her mind away from the depressing stuff and giving her new, positive memories to cling to.

Hinote had come to escort her to Devlin as the man organized their move to Miami and said he had a surprise for her when they arrived.  Eyia was suspicious, but if they were moving her father, then Jin needed to come so she could keep an eye on her, as well.

Kari and Aiden had gone ahead of them, somehow waking up an hour before they had; it seemed Eric would be the property of HAREM for a while, which made Sora giggle a little.  Fen, her man, Hinote, and Faia would be relocated to Miami with the expectation that they would keep a certain profile.

Howie, Daisy, Mary, and her husband would be joining them on the trip down, and it didn’t take the Foundation long to implement the plan.  They guided them to Lunar Site-02: Warp Gate, to make the trip.  Somehow, all of their stuff had been taken to the large warehouse transport area where a colossal ring was stationed, symbols lighting up to identify coordinates in where to puncture space.

When the sixth symbol of the eight possible brightened, a black fissure fractured the air.  Six dozen soldiers hustled into action since it took a lot of power to run the gate and wheeled their packed-up goods through, including Jin and her father’s medical team.

On the other side, Sora was met by a bright-eyed businesswoman, holding a tablet and a very empty living space that looked like her suite’s front room.  Devlin introduced her as a frenzy of workers bustled about the area, noises happening everywhere she turned her acute ears.

“Sora, I’d like to introduce Ms. Jeddings; her company handles much of the Foundation’s construction and real estate needs.  Her business utilizes magic, approved, minor anomalies, and various advanced technology to build anything we need.”

Jeddings held out her hand, speaking rather rapidly as she gestured around them, and Sora realized what Devlin’s surprise was.  “As you can see, Ms. Moore, the Foundation has bought out the three other suites atop the hotel for your personal safety and privacy while acquiring the building itself for any further requests you may have.”

“The whole building?”  Wendy asked in disbelief, scooting to the side as a large ogre moved by carrying large alien equipment.

“Indeed, Ms. Moore.”

“Huh?”

Jeddings snapped her fingers at a man a meter away, who provided her with a few envelopes.  “We have already taken care of the paperwork for your family’s adoption of Wendy and created a new identity for the person known as Eyia, bridging her into your family tree.  It is all legal and done by a legalized US adoption agency—here, these are your new State IDs.

“Naturally, for driving purposes, you will need to go through the DMV, but you have the documentation.  A full medical staff will be present in the building to handle the needs of your father.  Jin does not seem to require any of our assistance, but it is there if requested, and, heh, no, I am not aware of who you or anyone else here is, or why I am doing this for you.  I am merely here to grant you your every desire.”

Hinote whistled.  “Pulled out all the stops.  Respect the redhead, huh?”

“Eh-hehe.  I suppose so.  As I said, I don’t know or care what or who Ms. Moore is; this is my job,” Jeddings replied.  “As for the suites, we are in the final stages of bridging the units.  I will leave a tablet behind with catalogs where you can browse and purchase whatever you desire for your living wants or needs.  Is there anything else you require?”

A little overwhelmed, Sora slowly shook her head.  “Wow, uh…  And all of this is going to be done today?”

“Yes,” she nodded.  “Within the next three hours—unless you have any further modifications for me.  Shall we explore to see if it is to your liking, Ms. Moore?”

“Sure…”

Everyone else seemed to be as speechless as she was as they toured her around the expanded suite with its added rooms, facilities, and accommodations.  A smile brightened her lips as they continued; everything was looking up, and her father’s nervous worries about having things put in order by the time her mother arrived would be met.

She finally had her complete family.

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