"…Promise me…you'll see the world Starlight…that you'll be safe…." Grandma Lulu pleaded with outstretched hands as her body was crushed by the ascended thrad. Blood flowed from her mouth as she looked at me with sad eyes. "…Promise me…you won't let them die like you let me…"
***
"FUUUUUUCK!" I screamed as I jolted awake. Popping my bone claws, ready to swing at the ascended thrad only to feel a familiar weight on my arm.
"Chase! It's just a dream! Just a dream!"
Jane's voice cut through the fog of my nightmares. I froze and blinked several times, the world around me coming into focus slowly. I was sitting up on a couch inside my Grandpa Seamus apartment. The smell of pancakes wafting in the air. Jane was kneeling beside me on the ground, her arms wrapped around my own raised one and anchoring me. Iris was behind me, a soft hand on my back that might as well have been a blessing from the gods.
"Just a dream…" I repeated and retracted my claws. I lowered my arm then looked at Jane and Iris apologetically. Iris smiled while she wiped the sweat that was beading on my brow.
"You've been having nightmares for over a week straight now…" Iris commented. I sighed and ran my hands through my locks in frustration.
"Eight days! Since you guys had a intervention for me!" I grumbled. Jane stood, glancing over to the kitchen where I could hear Grandpa Seamus cooking furiously then back at me.
"It might be a good time to head to Tolapo Village." Jane said softly.
"I need to finish the preparations first." I immediately replied. That earned a cheek pinch from Iris.
"We're almost done with the preparations already! Don't start trying to add more work to delay going!" She snapped. I hissed in pain, rubbing my cheek to make it go away.
"I'm not!" I defended then stopped suddenly, glancing down at my feet. "Admittedly I am hesitant about leaving. It feels like I blinked and the company grew without me. Everyone grew without me…"
"Oh Chase…" Iris and Jane both sighed, their voices dripped with sympathy and sorrow.
"That'll be the depression talkin' Starlight!" Grandpa Seamus called out from the kitchen. "Ya suffered a lot growing up an never had ta actually deal with it…then ya lost yer Gran and years later ya lost another close ta ya to the same people that took yer Gran…that'll leave some scars on yer soul."
I looked down at my farm crystal, having to stop myself from seeking my connection to Fours. A connection that I knew was no longer there and that all I would get from seeking it out would be a painful reminder of his absence. This has become a daily routine, something I had to constantly remind myself not to do.
"I'm not the only one struggling right now…there's also Bo." I said softly.
"You're right…." Iris agreed.
"With everything he's managed to accomplish in the last six months and all without anyone finding out, you'd think he was doing fine and channeling the pain from Gargesh's death into positive growth but…" Jane said then paused. I could see the gears turning to try and find a nice way of saying what she wanted.
"But look a little deeper at any of his actions and you notice that he's doing the same thing that I was. Pushing himself to the limit to avoid thinking about the pain." I finished for her. Jane nodded solemnly.
"He looks up ta ya Starlight. Makes sense he'd pick up some of yer…ticks…" Grandpa Seamus said.
I frowned at his words usage but didn't say anything. Instead I stood up and stretched, pretending I didn't hear a significant number of small cracks and pops in my lower back as I did. Iris and Jane kept an eye on me as I did, like they were watching fine china that could break at any moment. They'd been like that for the last eight days so I was working on not taking it personally anymore.
A loud thump that shook the entire apartment grabbed everyone's attention. Without thinking I popped my claws, ready to fight only to immediately call myself every form of dumbass the next second.
"Old man open the door! Breakfast!" Colossus whined from the other side.
I retracted my claws groaned internally. The apartment that Grandpa Seamus was living in now was not the same one he'd been living in when he moved to Egypt seven months ago, technically. With help from Nate's Orkand squad several additions were added to the apartment that made it bigger and more evo friendly. Thankfully he was also living on the first floor so renovations were easy. The backdoor was one of those additions.
"Keep yer tusks on Lil' lossus! I'm coming!" Grandpa Seamus called out. I watched as he walked from the kitchen to the backdoor. Undoing the lock and deadbolt before yanking it open.
The door itself was large and for a good reason. It was nine feet tall and another five feet wide. Made from a heat resistant wood that can easily be found in the desert surrounding Andromeda city and a lot heavier than it looks but regardless of that fact my Grandfather opens the door as easy as opening a bi-fold door. Colossus form filled the door frame.
Colossus was no longer the small little porker who's name seemed like a cruel joke. He was a full grown Hell-Hog standing a seven and a half feet tall. Weighing over five hundred pounds. His four tusks; which had once been nubs months ago; were now long and curved upward. His mohawk that at one point only went down to his neck now ran down the length of his back. His four eyes glowed amber slightly as he stepped through the door. His six hooves clicking sharply against the tiled floor as he stepped inside.
Colossus trotted past Grandpa Seamus to the kitchen where he sat down at the end of the marble island that acted as a border between the kitchen and living room. He pressed his snout against the side of the island and a panel slid out revealing a hidden bowl.
"Ready for breakfast!" Colossus exclaimed excitedly.
"Alright Lil' Lossus, I'ma coming!" Grandpa Seamus replied as he shoved the back door closed then headed back into the kitchen.
Taking a quick glance around the apartment I could see that the one major difference between this and his old apartment was the size. It was at least twice the size to accommodate Colossus walking through it without knocking things over. The other thing was that all of the furniture was either made of fire resistant material or stone.
Grandpa Seamus hauled a large platter of food over to the edge of the island and dumped the contents into Colossus bowl. The Hell-Hog snorted happily then dug in.
Grandpa Seamus watched Colossus for a few seconds. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips and I my breath caught in my chest as I saw it. It was the same smile he had whenever he caught grandma or me doing something as a family. I've only ever seen that smile when he looked at family.
'So Colossus is my new little brother I guess…' I thought, a smile creeping on my lips.
A sudden knock on the front door caught everyone's attention and brought me out of my thoughts. Grandpa Seamus turned to the door and smiled.
"It's open! Come in!" Grandpa called out. The door swung open and Nate, Jade, Bo, Louie, Angie, KC, Sin, and Indy were all standing on the other side.
"We in time for breakfast?" Louie called out as he stepped inside.
"Aye! Just finished cookin'. The others coming as well?" Grandpa replied.
"Yeah…they'll be a little late though." Angie answered. Grandpa looked happy at that answer.
"Aw, who cares bout that! Long as they get here!" Grandpa Seamus replied happily.
I watched as everyone shuffled into the apartment with Bo, KC, and Indy immediately running over to the kitchen island and drooling over the food that Grandpa made. The adults walked into the living room while they watched their kids appreciate my grandpa's hard work.
"No sneaking food until everyone gets here!" Nate proclaimed firmly to the boys, earning groans from all three.
"But Daaaaaaad!" Bo groaned.
"No buts! We all eat together or not at all!" Nate said sternly.
Bo grumbled and crossed his arms while Indy and KC both looked to their own fathers, hoping for a veto verdict. Sin and Louie both shut that down with a shake of their heads. Defeated all three crossed their arms and shuffled over towards the couch. Each boy looking like they'd just been told Krampus was their uncle.
"Sadist…" Bo grumbled.
"Meanie…" Indy muttered.
"Bad daddies…" KC grumbled.
"Geez, its just a few minutes…" Sin, Nate, and Louie said in unison. I laughed as the boys all plopped down on the couch and crossed their arms, though KC needed help from Bo and Indy to make it up on the couch. Hearing me Sin turned and narrowed his eyes at me.
"How you feel Boss?" Sin asked. I shrugged and rolled my shoulder.
"A little sore but with the last two days of work that's normal." I replied. Sin and Angie both shot me a droll look.
"You know that's not what he meant Chase." Jade said. I frowned and looked away from everyone.
"I'm fine…not better but not worse…" I grumbled then huffed and pointed to Bo. "…never mind that, shouldn't you be more worried about Bo than me?!"
"Hey! Don't throw me under the steed just because you can't handle people actually caring about your emotional well being!" Bo snapped. He stood on the couch and pointed back at me. "Besides I'm not the one that went into a depressive state and focused on nothing but creating evo cores and enchanted items!"
"That's because you got sneaky and started doing a bunch of shit behind everyone's back!" I snapped back. Bo's face turned beet red as he growled at me.
"I was teaching myself to Shape since my teacher couldn't be bothered to teach me! Said teacher thought working his bony ass into the ground to avoid dealing with pain was much more important!" Bo snapped. I gritted my teeth then stomped over to the couch and poked a finger into Bo's chest.
"I was upset! Besides shutting myself away is nowhere near as bad as forging company documents to make unauthorized evos! One of your evos escaped and could have severely hurt someone if we hadn't already been at the facility!" I barked.
My ears were suddenly yanked and pulled so hard I swore they'd get torn off. At the same time I saw Bo get slapped by his mom on the back of his head. Both of us cried out, I tried to pull away from the girls while Bo grabbed his head.
"OWWWW!" We screamed in unison.
"Stop arguing! What you both did was terrible!" Jade snapped.
"And nobody cares about the severity! You both scared the shit out of us once everything came to light!" Iris added.
"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL STOP! NOW YOU TWO STOP BEFORE YOU YANK MY EAR OFF!" I yelled. Both girls shared a look before they gave my ears another sharp tug then let go of me.
I immediately moved away from Jane and Iris, much to the others amusement. Both girls shot me a warning glare, the dangerous gleam in their eyes letting me know that if they wanted they could get me again.
"Still regardless of how it's pretty insane that Bo can use the same mana manipulation stuff as the Boss now." Sin spoke up and shot Bo a discerning look.
"Not to mention he can also shape…at least with a pre-made lysdale script." Louie added. Bo puffed his chest out patted his chest proudly.
"What'd you expect! I'm a prodigy, a genius really!" Bo proclaimed.
"Not a humble one either." Indy said snidely. Bo stuck his tongue out at Indy and the boy grabbed Bo's tongue and pinched it before letting go. Bo jumped and fell backwards on the couch grabbing his mouth.
"Mife Tooong!" He mumbled.
"Baby. I barely pinched your tongue." Indy said with a sigh.
"Indariq…" Sin growled. His voice rumbled and cracked like thunder making everyone's hair stand up on end. Indy looked like he'd just heard the voice of death, he stood so straight I thought he was a statue.
"Sorry Father!" Indy exclaimed and bowed respectfully.
"Sorry doesn't…" Sin started only to get interrupted by a knock on the door. All eyes turned to the door only this time Grandpa Seamus walked over to answer it this time.
"Ah! Looks like ta others made it." Grandpa Seamus said then pulled the door open.