Chapter 73
“Shayla, let’s go,” my mother said sternly, but I ignored her as I watched Spark holding his own against Leem. I don’t know how he got so strong, but watching him casually move out of the way of the multiarmed attacks of Leem was amazing.
In my Virtue Sight I saw that Floria and Vanilla were watching the fight from a different room in the house, so at least they were keeping their distance.
“Shayla!” my mother snapped, causing me to sigh.
“Mama, please stop being my mother for one minute,” I said in a low voice as I prepared myself.
My mother stared at me for a long moment before waking up next to me and watching the fight as well. “Okay. Do you have a plan, honey?”
“I do,” I confirmed as I turned my head to her. “I just need you to trust me, mama.”
She sighed then gave a nod, “you’ve got my trust, Shayla. What do I need to do?”
“I need you to focus on me and keep anything from reaching me,” I said as she gave a nod.
“And what of me, sweetie?” my mom asked as she twirled her swords with a smile on her face.
“Help Spark, focus on keeping Leem’s limbs from re-growing,” I answered, getting a nod in response. “Domitor, use your new Thorn to pin him down somehow.”
Everyone gave a nod as I put my sword in its sheath.
“You must do everything exactly as I described,” the Watcher warned, “just trust our… bond.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I began to walk forward, “let’s kick this croc's ass.”
Everyone shot past me as they moved to help Spark fight Leem, while my mother stayed at my side as we strolled towards them.
My mom was the first to reach the two, sliding in and flickering rapidly as she began to remove body parts before they had a chance to even reappear. Domitor was using his ink abilities to crash large spear-like poles through the top of Leem, constantly pinning him in place, much to the crocodile's annoyance.
Leem was now fully engaged with those three, which would hopefully allow me to do what needs to be done.
My mother raised herself up to two legs as she pulled a sword out of her personal dimension, giving me a nod of encouragement.
Now I just needed to trust the Watcher.
I dashed in, watching every movement of the fight as I neared it, looking for an opening. A few attacks came for me, but my mother just agilely moved around me, slicing them away as they neared.
Thanks to my Virtue Sight, I was seeing the battle from all angles, but I was still having trouble finding a direct path to Leem’s head.
“Once we start this, we will have just a split second to act, are you fast enough?” the Watcher asked, causing me to smirk.
‘I’m fast enough,’ I answered as I prepared my Ego to enhance my body, needing as much speed as possible for this to work.
“Just don’t let him get a hold of you once in there, because any damage you take will be inflicted directly on your Soul.”
I just gave a nod.
“Mama, what I’m about to say is weird, but you just need to do it,” I said as I came to a stop close to the fighting, lowering myself into a fighting stance, my hand on my sheathed sword.
“Tell me what needs to be done,” she said, putting all of her confidence in me.
“When I say now, take this,” I said as I reached up and pulled the cable out from behind my ear, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “I know, it’s weird. Just take this and connect it to Leem’s head.”
She gave a sharp nod as she took the connector, using her mechanical hand to cut away any of the limbs still coming for me.
I watched the battle, waiting for the best path to open up for me. Finally, everything lined up as a clear and direct path to Leem opened up.
“Now!”
My mother exploded forward, flipping and weaving through all of Leem’s arms, and slammed the connector to his head.
Instantly, both the Watcher and I were pulled into Leem’s head as time seemed to stop.
I found myself in a white void, with the Watcher floating next to me.
Leem and his Ego weapon appeared before us, both looking angered and amused.
“Really?” he asked as he began to stalk around us as his Ego weapon went the other way. “Your mother already played this card, it won’t work twice.”
I just smirked at him as I moved forward, putting my trust into the Watcher as he floated above us.
“Blah blah blah,” I mocked as I saw his Memory bank appear behind him, “let’s just finish this, one way or another.”
He dashed towards me, a sinister snarl on his face. I, however, held my ground, staring him down as he ran right at me, his Ego weapon coming up from behind me.
Right as I thought I was about to die, they both were hit with a beam of light, causing them to come to a sudden halt. The Watcher began to laugh loudly from above me as he fully possessed Leem’s body and Soul.
“Shayla, the moment you’re out, do it,” he said as he began to mess with Leem’s Ego. “I’m trusting you, don’t let me die as well.”
“I won’t,” I said as I began to fade away, giving him a thumbs up.
I have to do two things at once. Strike and pull the Watcher out, and they both have to happen at the same time. I can not fail either.
The moment I felt myself back in my body, time began to resume, but I was already exploding forward, the ground beneath my feet becoming a crater from the sheer force I exerted. Using my wings, I spun through the air, holding back as I neared him, waiting for the exact moment.
As I passed him, Leem’s body began to shimmer, prompting me to slice my sword through his head, while at the same instant my sword made contact I pulled the Watcher out with my cable. My muscles strained as I cut through his head, followed by me spinning through the air and landing right behind him. I slammed my sword back into its sheath and exhaled, followed by a massive amount of pressure exploding behind me, sending out wave after wave of Ego.
All of it poured into me, causing me to grit my teeth and go down to a knee. The overwhelming pressure of so much excess Ego pouring into me caused me to almost pass out, but I held strong as it finally came to an end. But then a much larger force slammed into me, absorbing into my own Ego.
I’d just absorbed Leem’s Soul.
Slowly everything quieted down as I stayed down on one knee, body shaking from the experience I’d just endured. If I had full access to my Ego I’d check to see what just happened, so I’d just have to wait for that reveal.
“Watcher?” I asked quietly, hoping I’d pulled him out in time.
“I am here, Shayla,” he replied, causing me to sigh in relief. “I will be honest, I fully expected you to let me die with Leem.”
“Nah, I gave you my word,” I chuckled as I stood up and turned around to see everyone staring at me in complete shock, Leem’s massive body laying between all of them.
“Shayla…” my mother began, her expression causing me to smile. “What… how?!”
“It’s simple,” I said in a proud tone, “I just set his save point to the moment my blade sliced through his head. Can’t come back if your save point brings you back to the moment you died.”
Both of my parents immediately rushed forward and wrapped their arms around me, pulling me into a family hug. I just stood there awkward, letting them hug me as I patted their backs.
“That’s my fucking girl!” my mother exclaimed as she squeezed me harder.
My mom just hugged me, clearly just as proud as my mother.
Floria and Vanilla rushed towards us, causing Spark to get into a defensive stance.
“They’re my friends, Spark,” I called out, causing him to relax as they ran up to Domitor.
My parents broke the hug and stepped back, looking at my three friends.
They both had conflicted looks on their faces, mostly in regards to Domitor, but I placed a hand on their shoulders. “He’s a good guy, trust me.”
My mother turned her head to me with a raised eyebrow, “you’ve changed a lot, Shayla.”
“I have,” I said sheepishly.
She still looked conflicted, but she gave a nod as she looked around the area. “We need to go, before people start snooping around.”
“Good idea,” I replied as I looked to Floria, who was currently holding hands with Vanilla, Creampuff on the Halwen’s shoulder, “Cocoa?”
“Amylum dragged her off,” Floria replied with a sour look on her face.
I saw that one coming, but we don’t have time for that right now.
With that we all quickly took off, leaving the scene behind.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Later, nighttime
We were all now in a rather large hotel room, deciding it was better to have some real privacy as we planned our next move.
My mom went out to look into getting into Denmor, since she was the only one among us who was not wanted, nor stood out. So that just left the rest of us in this room, keeping to ourselves.
Floria and Vanilla were in their own room, wanting some privacy. I don’t blame them, we just went through some shit, especially Floria.
Spark was taking a nap on the bed, while my mother just sat on the edge of the bed, thinking to herself. Talio was… somewhere in this hotel. I don’t know, I can’t see him and everyone hasn’t spoken to him since we arrived.
As for Domitor and I, we were on opposite sides of the room, feeling too awkward to show affection to each other with my mother just sitting there, looking both pissed and proud at once. It was honestly… a very strange sight.
So I just sat by myself, fidgeting with my sword.
Even so, I could still see Domitor looking at me from time to time, a little smile clear on his face. He was back in his pony form, which seemed to be the one he was most comfortable in when not fighting.
“Hm…” my mother suddenly mumbled out loud, looking right at me as she stood up and walked over, taking a seat before me.
“We need to talk,” she said firmly.
“I guess,” I said with a little shrug, not looking forward to this.
She leaned back and crossed her front legs, frowning at me, “I am heavily disappointed in you. Running off with Kal, hiding everything from us, that’s not how I raised you, Shayla.”
“I know,” I muttered back, ears down as I kept fidgeting with my sword.
“But I will admit,” she said with a little smile, “I'm hella impressed with what you’ve done since then. I listened to the tournament.”
I turned my head to her, a perplexed look on my face, “you did?”
“Mhm,” she said as she reached over and patted my knee, “you did amazingly, even if you came in second.”
“Thanks, mama,” I replied with a tiny smile.
“I’m sorry if I come off as… rough and aggressive sometimes,” she apologized, letting out a deep sigh. “I’m just… not good at being a mother sometimes.” I started to say something, but she held up her hoof. “I’m a damn good leader, and an amazing teacher. I can handle all the horrible shit life has to offer us, and I’ll just move forward with a cocky smile. But… I’ve failed as a mother.”
“You have not failed,” I said back, shaking my head. “I look up to you, mama. I just have trouble… expressing myself to you.”
She smiled a bit sadly at me, “that’s my fault, I’ve pushed you too hard. I’ve treated our relationship like I was your sensei and you were my student.”
“Mama, I’ve never seen it that way,” I assured her, putting my sword aside, “it’s just… I can’t open up to anyone very easily. Even you. I just… like keeping things to myself.” My sight focused on Domitor, as he apparently was the only one I could be myself around.
Somehow, my mother must’ve sensed I was looking at Domitor as she too turned to him, frowning.
“That boy is the son of Lorenzo, Shayla,” she said in a low tone. “I don’t know what kind of bonding you two have undergone, but nothing will change that fact. He can not be trusted.”
“I trust him with my life,” I said firmly, getting her to look back at me. “I know your history with Lorenzo, but Domitor is nothing like his father. He’s a good stallion.”
“I can sense something is up with him,” she countered, narrowing her eye. “He has clear motives towards you, I just can’t tell what they are.”
“You’re putting too much stock in your gut,” I growled, getting upset as we stared at each other. I could see her Soul fluctuating heavily as she went through all kinds of emotions.
“He saved your life?” she asked, “okay, how? How did he save your life?”
I froze.
There was no way I could tell her that…
“Well?” she asked expectantly, eyes locked on me.
“I… mama, please… I can’t tell you,” I mumbled, lowering my head.
She softened her expression as she stared at me, seeming to read me. “Shayla… what happened?”
“Please,” I said with a slight tremble to my voice, “don’t make me tell you…”
She stared at me for a long moment, then her eye went wide. “Oh…” I flinched as I realized she had an idea of what happened, which must have confirmed it for her. “Come here.”
Without hesitation I collapsed forward, falling into her arms as she wrapped me up in a hug, holding me tightly.
I held myself together, but I still let out a few soft whimpers.
“Who was it?” she asked carefully as she rubbed my back.
“... Lenrick…” I forced out, starting to shake violently.
“Who is… Lemon Tape…” she pulled me in tighter, pulling me up into her lap, which would be the first time since I was a child. She just rocked me as I began to openly sob into her neck.
We stayed like that for a while, with her just comforting me as I cried into her.
After I was able to calm down slightly, I forced myself to speak, “mama… nothing happened… thanks to Domitor…”
She turned her head to him, a discountenance look on her face.
“He saved me, mama…” I said, focusing on his soul as he tried to not say anything, just staying on his side of the room.
“Hm…” she kept staring at him. “Didn’t he come with Lorenzo to help him?”
“Yes,” I admitted in a shaky voice. “But he’s not like them…”
“Shayla, he was raised to-”
“I don’t care,” I snapped as I pushed myself out of her lap and stood up before her. “No matter what you think of him, Domitor is an amazing stallion. He is…” I looked at him as he stared right at me. “... my partner.”
This caused my mother’s eye to widen as she stood up, getting chest to chest with me, “he may have saved you, but Shayla, think of the possible ulterior motives he could have for-”
“I love him,” I stated firmly, causing both of them to recoil in shock. “Life sucks, mama, and he makes it suck just a little less. If you don’t approve of him, then fine, but he’s mine, and I’m his.”
She clenched her jaw, her Soul going absolutely crazy as she stared at me.
“I want you to accept him, mama. He’s a good stallion,” I said calmly but firmly. “If you give him a chance, then you’ll see that.”
My mother let out a deep sigh as her Soul seemed to calm slightly. “I can only promise that I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask,” I said with a sigh of relief.
“Just include me more in your life, please,” she reached up and touched my face. “And I’ll try to see things from your point of view.”
I pulled her into another hug, causing both of us to relax into one another.
Domitor stood on his side of the room, his soul pulsating quickly as he looked right at me, tears running down his face.
Breaking the hug with my mother, I quickly moved across the room, zeroing in on him. He yelped as I suddenly swept him off his hooves and held him close to me, squeezing him tightly as I buried my face into his neck.
It took him a moment before he wrapped his own legs around my neck and returned the hug, his hot tears streaming down onto my face.
“I love you, Domitor,” I whispered into his ear, feeling a bit excited to be saying those words.
“I love you too, Shayla,” he said back, his voice shaking harder than mine had been.