//------------------------------// // Chapter I: Answers // Story: In Search of Mother // by Lunaguy //------------------------------//          Misery watched her siblings run around the house, too busy with themselves to notice her. She sat on the edge of the living room coffee table, swinging her chitinous legs over the side. A little boy, by the name of Church, ran across the crimson carpet with another brother close behind him. She suppressed a smile as he tripped, causing both boys to start tumbling across the room. Misery’s sister, and the person she spent the most time around, Whistle, fluttered up on the table beside her. Misery nodded silently to acknowledge her presence and went back to watching her siblings destroy the house. Something crashed in the kitchen behind them as Whistle nudged her sister and started up a conversation. “Whach’ya up to, Misery?” Misery sighed and swept her hand in front of her. “Watching.” “Watching what?” “Our wonderful brothers and sisters.” “Why?” Whistle tilted her head and gazed out over her siblings. Misery kicked at the air in thought before answering. “It’s funny.”         Whistle giggled as a pair of boys wrestled all out on the floor, complete with biting and scratching. With a sly grin, she grabbed the TV remote next to her and tossed it at them, clocking one of them in the head. “I guess it is kinda funny.” Whistle glanced back over at Misery. “Why don’t you wear your hair in pigtails like everyone else? I think it’d look really pretty with your blue hair.” Whistle reached out a hand to stroke through Misery’s hair. Before it even made contact, Misery’s hand was there to block it. Whistle sighed and let her hand drop back down to the table in defeat. “I’m just saying, Misery, you have the prettiest hair. The rest of us just have boring ol’ black. I think yours would look nice if you did it up. It’s just so... plain, when you let it hang like that, like a mop!” “The hair stays.” Misery gave her sister a cold look that told her to drop the subject. She did. Instead, Whistle roamed her mind for another topic. She found one that had been eating at her mind for a while, though she had never had the courage to talk about it with someone else. “Misery, what do you think... our mom is like?” Misery didn’t even skip a beat. “We don’t have a mom.” “Well, I know she’s not here, but someone has to be our mom. Everyone has a mom and a dad.”         Misery blinked and tilted her head up, gazing through the living room window. Whistle was not alone, of course. Misery had been thinking about the same thing. Every time she let her thoughts wander too far, they always returned to that ghostly, invisible figure, the one missing piece from her life. It wasn’t because she wanted a mother, though, but rather what only her true mother could give her: answers.         But Misery didn’t like thinking about that for too long. Most of the time she just pushed those thoughts out of the way and thought about more relevant things, like where to find her next meal. Once more, she shrugged away the thoughts and turned back to Whistle. “It doesn’t matter. She’s gone.” But whistle was already focused on something else. The little girl pursed her lips and made true to her namesake, whistling to herself as she zoned out on the wall ahead of her. Misery rolled her eyes and went back to her own musings. ~ “So what are they like?”         Anon looked up from his empty coffee cup and met eyes with the woman who sat across from him. Shit. The recent lack of sleep was draining his focus. This was the first date he had been on in two years, and he still couldn’t pay attention to what she was saying. He pushed his empty cup to the side and rested on his elbows, putting on his best apologetic smile. “Sorry, I, uh... what are who like?” Katie didn’t seem too offended. “Your kids. You brought a few of them to work, I heard, but I never saw them. Are they cute?” Anon’s eyes flashed for a moment, as if reliving hundreds of past events at once. His left eye twitched as he tried to take a drink from his empty coffee cup before answering. “They’re, uh... yeah, I guess they can be cute. When they want to be.” She smiles wistfully. “I always wanted a few kids. How many do you have? What are their names?”         Anon opened his mouth to say something, but no words came to his lips. How was he supposed to answer that? Obviously he planned to tell her about the horde eventually, but he always figured it would happen later, for some reason. He glanced out the window as if in search of some answer, and to his surprise, he found one.         Mistake, one of the children that had approached him on the lawn a few mornings ago, was walking down the street next to a little boy that looked just a bit older than her. She was in her disguise, thankfully, and she held a little yellow balloon on a string in her left hand. Her right hand was locked with the boy’s as they strolled down the street together, smiles on their faces. “Well, funny you mention it! One of my daughters is just over there. The one in the light blue shirt and the balloon.” “Oh, how precious!” Katie pressed up against the window to get a look at her. “And I guess that’s her boyfriend? Nothing wrong with getting experience a bit early, I guess.” She watched until they rounded the corner, going out of sight. “She is adorable. I love that little cute pigtail. I’m guessing she got the black hair from her mom?” She reached across the table and ruffled Anon’s brown hair, causing him to chuckle awkwardly. “Yeah. The black hair is hers.” He paused and stared out the window. “They take quite a lot from their mother.”         Katie respected the silence that followed and took the pause to take a sip of her own drink. She looked over Anon with a curious gaze. His eyes had bags the size of her own purse, and his eyes were glazed over so far he never looked like he was even aware of his surroundings. She waved a hand in front of him to get his attention before continuing. “What was she like? The mother, that is.” “She was...” Anon struggled for the words. “She was very authoritative. She just had this air around her, this aura, where you couldn’t tell her no. She wasn’t overbearing, or even overly-commanding, just...” He scratched at the table as his mind fumbled over the correct terminology. “It was like you were talking to royalty, if that makes sense.” Katie sipped her drink again. “And she left? Leaving you with the kids?” Anon nodded slowly. “Yeah. Left behind her kids, and a whole lot of questions.”         The coffee shop slowly began to empty as the sun fell further down in the sky, business crawling to a halt as the day closed to an end. Anon and Katie both said goodbye and began their walks home, leaving the coffee shop and its empty booths behind.         The streets of Bakersfield, California weren’t lively after dark. The city was one of many that contrasted the stereotype, in that it actually enjoys its sleep. Despite its size, it managed to retain just a bit of that small town feel. As Anon rounded the street corner on his way home, he spotted Mistake again, this time enjoying an ice cream cone on a bench near the street. Anon took a seat next to her, causing her to turn to him in surprise. “Oh! Hi daddy.” She turned her attention back to her ice cream cone. Anon squinted at the cone in confusion. “You guys never eat anything I give you. What’s with the ice cream?” “It tastes good.” She smiled and tried to wipe the ice cream off of her face with her sleeve, missing a little bit on her upper lip. He shrugged. “Well, guess I can’t argue with that. Who gave that to you?” “Bobby bought it for me.” “I saw you walking with a boy earlier. Was that him? You two were holding hands.” She nodded. “He bought me a balloon, too. That flew away though.” She looked up at the sky mournfully. “Right. And how old is he?” “Twelve.” “A bit old, isn’t he? Shouldn’t you be breaking the hearts of boys your age instead?” She shrugged. Anon looked up at the sky for a few moments, as if in search of the balloon. His eyes eventually settled on the dim glow of the sun peeking out from behind the building in front of him, warning him of its eventual departure from the sky. He nudged Mistake and pointed the way home. “We should probably be heading home. The sun is going to go down soon.” Mistake gnawed on the edges of her ice cream cone, the ice cream itself already consumed. “Can you carry me? My legs hurt.” “No.” Anon stood up and started walking. He heard the little taps on the concrete as Mistake ran over to his side. “But daddies always carry their kids around. I saw it!” “Yeah, well.” Anon shrugged. “You’re heavy.” “You’re heavy,” Mistake retorted with a grin, “And you smell like cheese.” “Yeah, well, your face looks like someone dropkicked you into a minefield.” Mistake stuck out her tongue and grabbed on to Anon’s hand. “Yeah, well, your face looks like a butt.” “Truly, I have been bested.” Anon looked down at her with a smirk. “You have quite the dirty mouth, you know that?” “Not as dirty as yours.” “Come on, I don’t even swear around you guys.” Anon racked his memories. “... that often.” Mistake scoffed. “Yeah, right. You say bad words all the time, daddy.”         Anon stopped and let go of her hand, crossing his arms and looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled up at him, her face still plastered with bits of dried ice cream. “Name once. Name once when I have cussed in front of you.” Mistake coughed into her hand and puffed out her chest. She adopted a stern expression, like that of a drill sergeant or a police officer. She pointed at a row of invisible bug-children as if they had disgraced the holy motherland. Mustering up the deepest voice possible, she tried to mimic her father. “I can’t believe you guys broke my fucking TV! That thing was fucking expensive! Do you even understand how money works? Do you, you little pieces of-” Anon hushed Mistake and looked around quickly around the deserted street, making sure no one was around to hear. “At-at-at-at-tah! Shh! Alright, I get it.” He sighed and continued his walk, Mistake falling in step behind him. “Shit. I never really noticed I talked like that in front of you guys. Suppose there’s not really any use in changing it now. You know not to use those words, right?” Mistake grinned. “Yeah, I know. Only when I get hurt or someone else says them to me first.” “Well, close enough.” Anon flicked her ponytail. “You’re too much like me for your own good, you know that?” ~         Anon sank into the couch, finally in the relative comfort of his home. He tried to ignore the sounds of crashing furniture behind him as he bent over and picked up the remote from the floor, flipping on the television to whatever happened to be on. He settled for the news and let it blare in the background, using it solely for the purpose of white noise as he closed his eyes and retreated to his happy place.         It wasn’t long before he was drawn back out of it. Anon felt a poke on his arm, trying to get his attention. He cracked open an eye and turned his head to face a satyr child, one with long blue hair and sparkling green eyes. Anon sighed and opened the other eye, giving her his full attention. “Did you break something?” “No.” “Do you want me to get someone in trouble?” “No.” “Do you want to watch the TV?” “No.” Anon stared at her for a few moments. “Which one are you again?” “Misery.” “Right. What do you want, Misery?” Misery looked off to the side in thought. Her brain tumbled over phrases and words, trying to find the right question to ask. She decided that simplicity and straightforwardness would work the best. “What was our mom like?” Anon frowned slightly. “You’ve been thinking about her?” “A little.” “Well, this is the second time I’ve had to answer this question today. I guess it’s a bit easier this time, now that I don’t really have to hold back any details.” Anon looked up toward the ceiling, as if trying to get better reception for his thoughts. “Her name was Chrysalis. Always a bit of an odd name, you know, but she was an odd woman. Well, not really a woman, but... you know. It suited her. She was about my height, maybe a little taller. Green eyes and blue hair. I thought it was dyed, but seeing it on you, I guess it’s natural.” Anon stared at her for a moment. “You do look a lot like your mother.” Misery made the motion to continue and Anon sucked in a deep breath, thinking hard. “Let’s see... well, she wasn’t human. I think that much should be obvious. You... things, you aren’t human either. Not entirely. Your mother had the decency to tell me before we-” Anon paused and glanced down at the girl. “Do you even know what sex is?” She shook her head. “I should probably talk to you guys about that sometime. Anyways, she let me know she wasn’t human before we went all the way. At the time, I just thought, you know, she was crazy, because she definitely did LOOK like a woman. And I was alright with that, because I was madly in love with her. Next morning, only trace I found of her was a note on the fridge and a hundred-something of you guys. That was seven years ago.” Misery didn’t look satisfied. “You don’t know where she is?” Anon let out a short laugh. “Sweetie, if I knew where she was, you would not be under my dysfunctional custody anymore. Do you think I enjoy depriving you of your childhoods?” Misery sighed and curled up on the couch, bringing her arms in front of her and her lips to a pout. Anon tussled her hair and stood up. “I’m going to bed. I’d suggest you guys all do the same. Goodnight.”         Misery watched him go, the only figure she had that resembled a parent. He wasn’t really a father, of course, and they both knew it. Every single one of the children knew it. Misery didn’t blame him, of course; she had sense enough to know that he couldn’t possibly spare the time and effort for over a hundred children. He never asked for them, and he refused to take responsibility for them. That’s why Misery needed to find their mother. If not for justice, then simply for some answers.         She sighed and dropped off the side of the couch, rubbing her weary eyes as she trudged along the living room floor. Her only lead, her father, knew nothing. She had no idea where to find her mother, much less how to get there. She was stuck in this town, in the middle of nowhere, with no clues, no leads, and no hope.         As she dragged her hooves through the hall, she noticed a blue glow coming from underneath the door of the computer room. She pushed it open out of curiosity. Huddled on the floor of the room was at least a dozen or so childlings, all staring up at the screen of the computer on the desk above them. Some movie, a western of some kind, was playing on the monitor for the rest of them to watch. Misery took a seat in the crowd next to a younger boy, a male offspring named Star. Star turned to face Misery and smiled, pointing up at the screen. “I found a cowboy movie on the internet. It’s about a guy who has to ride across the whole desert to find his wife.” Misery stared up at the screen. As she watched, something gnawed at her thoughts... something Star had just said. Something in his words had triggered an idea. “You said you found it?” Star nodded. “Yeah. Jet over there wanted to see a cowboy movie, so I searched one up. None of these guys know how to use the computer like I -” Misery cut him off. “You FOUND it? On the internet?” “I... yes? I did.” Star looked at her, confused. Misery’s eyes sparkled. “Movie’s over. Come up to the computer, Star.” Star shrugged and followed Misery, the pair of them fluttering up to the computer chair and taking a seat. The other children groaned as Star closed the movie, turning to Misery for further directions. “Go to the... the place where you go to find things. Like you found the movie. We need to find something.” ~         Anon awoke with a start, nearly hitting his head on the wall behind him. A pair of huge, cyan eyes peered at him from the darkness beside the bed, watching him closely. With a sigh, Anon reached over and switched on the bedside lamp, revealing Mistake. She shivered in her shirt and shorts, clutching herself tightly to try and hold back the night air. She was in her natural form, black many-holed legs and unblinking solid cyan eyes making their appearance. Anon blinked a few times and then sighed in defeat, knowing this was something he couldn’t ignore. “What is it, Mistake? It’s...” Anon glanced at his alarm clock. “... almost midnight. You scared the crap out of me.” “I-I had a scary dream. Can I sleep with you tonight?” “No.” Anon reached over and switched the lamp back off, covering the room in darkness once more. As he tried to fall back into sleep, he could feel her gaze digging into his sleeping form. He popped one eye open again and stared into those deep cyan orbs once more. Anon switched the light back on. Mistake stood in the exact same position as she had been before. “Do you mind closing your eyes? Or like, disguising them so they look normal? Because they glow in the dark when they’re like that. It’s very bothersome.” Mistake just stared back, her lip beginning to quiver. Anon sighed and lifted up the covers. “Alright. Fine. Get in here. Just... be quiet and don’t wiggle around. I’m trying to sleep too.”         Without a word, Mistake climbed into the bed, crawling underneath the covers and burying her head in Anon’s chest. He rolled his eyes and lowered the blanket, wrapping one arm around her and nodding off to sleep.         As Anon dreamt, he could swear he heard the sounds of scuttering bug-children around him, quick whispers between one another as they moved about. His sleeping mind told him to pay them no attention, to just keep sleeping and ignore it. The steady heartbeat of Mistake made him drowsier and drowsier as he drifted further and further from consciousness, leaving the waking world behind... ~         Anon let his eyes open as slowly as they wanted to. He felt good this morning. REALLY good. An entire night of sleep, as rare as it was, was exactly what his body needed to get back in shape. Strangely enough, no children had ran through his room at four in the morning, no furniture came crashing down in the hallway, and no rabbid dog was let in through the front door while he was asleep. He felt a slight movement on his chest and looked down, finding that Mistake was still nestled up against him. A thin line of drool came out of the corner of her mouth and settled into a dark spot on his shirt.         Anon sighed and pulled his arm out from under her, causing her to begin to wake with a short series of mumbles. As Anon glanced around the room he found something... off. Something was very wrong this morning, and he couldn’t place it. Glancing down at the clock, he found part of the problem: it wasn’t morning at all. It was just past noon. He stared at the clock in disbelief as Mistake yawned, stretching her arms to the sky. She smacked her lips a few times and stared at the wall, obviously still in the process of waking up.         The second uncanny thing hit Anon like a train. The entire house was quiet. He sat up and listened, trying to find some sound, some screaming child, some pitter patter of hooves in the hallway, any noise at all. But there was nothing. Nothing except except Mistake’s soft yawn. Anon slid out of bed and threw open the bedroom door to find the hallway completely empty. No bug children in sight. A quick check around the house confirmed his suspicions, discovering that every single one of the children, aside from Mistake, was missing.  Anon sat down at the kitchen table with his head rested on his elbows, thoughts rushing at a million miles an hour.         Mistake entered the kitchen, slowly sauntering over to the fridge. She flung open the door and  pulled out a juice box, sitting down next to Anon at the kitchen table, oblivious to the situation around her. He stared at her for a few moments as she sat there quietly sipping on her juice, still drowsy from so much sleep in one night. “... Mistake.” She jumped slightly, as if woken up from a trance. “Hmmhm?” “Mistake... where are... where...” He gestured around the house, juggling words on his tongue. “Where are the rest of your brothers and sisters?” Mistake looked around with surprise, just then noticing the unusual absence. “Oh. I dunno.” Anon sucked in a breath and stood up, already heading for the front door. “Oh nooo, nononono. We have to go find them. We have to find them. What if they get into trouble? What if they don’t put their disguises on?” He paled even more as worse thoughts came to him. “What if they tell the police where they came from? What if they come back here? What if they want answers and I don’t have them and they take me in for questioning and-” Anon threw open the front door and headed out. “Mistake! Come on, we’re going on a walk.” “Coming, coming.” Mistake finished the last of her juice box with a smack of her lips, tossing it in the trash can and running for the door. Just before she crossed the threshold out to the yard, her old form was replaced with the one of an ordinary little girl in a flash of green flame. She joined her father on the sidewalk and kept an eye out.