Chapter 25: Is it cold in here or did Hell freeze over?
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..”
“Mom hasn’t been gone five minutes and already you’re fighting like children?! This place is in a more sorry state than I thought.” Daring stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. “And what is a little pipsqueak like you gonna do?” M towered over her. She smirks as Kiros comes up behind her. “I’ll ask her next strongest agent to help me keep things under control.” Kiros grinned as he cracked his knuckles, “Daring and I have been getting along quite well. Now whats this I hear about M having a crush?”
