My small family had made plans for the next day. I didn’t want Šárka to have to steal to live, even though rich people definitely deserved to get robbed. Tomb Raiding is a whole other thing, however. And the tomb wasn’t even a tomb, as it had no corpses or coffins or such.

We had made our way over to the Maidenburg Ruin the following day, since we didn’t exactly have a ride to go get more stuff for Šárka’s room. So it was either wait a couple days for the delivery to get there doing nothing, or go steal more weird shit.

“Okay, hun, I know it’s not the best move of me to ask you to do this, but I need as much research material as I can. Considering I haven’t been able to build an invisibility cloak, and plus you can squeeze through anything as wide as you, you okay with sneaking in and grabbing stuff?” I held Šárka’s shoulder protectively, as we looked at the ruin from a reasonable distance, hiding in the trees around it. She gave a quick nod before shadowmelting and making her way inside.

It was definitely irresponsible of me to just let a 14 year old girl sneak into a weird ruin to raid it, but not ten minutes later, she was back, holding a couple more of the cubes I found during my first visit, plus an odd plate, looking close to the carved stone of the ruin, but smoother, and one side looking like a mirror. Well, mostly like a mirror, when I touched it it felt like very smooth sand. With the loot in hand we quickly made our way back home. Turns out Šárka can take others into her shadow puddle, but it’s like being underwater, and so she needs to get your head out of the water to catch your breath before diving back down. It made me wonder if scuba equipment could work. I definitely couldn’t see properly when down there with her, everything was foggy and smeared and upside down. That was the only thing I could figure out, going in made the world outside the puddle look upside down, as if you were looking up while underwater. But the bottom of the pool was the top. Still, with how fast she could get in shadow puddle form, we were home in 20 minutes instead of the hour it would have taken me usually.

“You did great Šárka! I know I should be teaching you morals and stuff, but I’m really proud of you! Exploring your powers and using them like that!” I gave her a hug and ruffled her hair once back inside, before putting down the devices. Out of curiosity I placed one of the cubes on top of the plate, the surface morphing into something akin to an hourglass shape, floating slightly above it, with the sand flowing up to the top instead of down. “I… guess it’s charging or something. Definitely an interesting thing we nabbed.”

I was tinkering away at things to potentially measure the cubes with, considering my old meters died, while Šárka was playing with Dare. Then it hit me. Like a sack of bricks. Okay, more like an external drive you keep your pirated movies on. Don’t tell me you don’t have such a thing. Putting the drive back where it belonged in the wall of drives (well it’s more of a bunch of shelves filled with drives plugged into usb extenders I could plug my detached laptop into to grab stuff.) the idea to copy hero tools struck. But, I didn’t want to go for the obvious tech ones. And then I looked to a truly wonderful woman. “Hun I’m gonna build a Lasso of Truth Choker to put on folks to prevent them from lying, I think it’d be useful for the business. Wanna help?” I didn’t get the hear footsteps as I saw a familiar shape zooming on the ground, Šárka popping out holding Dare.

“Yes yes yes!!!” She let go of Dare and skipped over to my work desk, as I grabbed my laptop and started working on the design. It was crucial to make it hard to cut off and difficult to remove by anyone other than the person who put it on you. And, since I’m not cruel, to also make it stylish. During development another realisation hit as I sighed.

“I could market this to kinksters for some form of play.” I quietly whispered, hoping Šárka didn’t hear me say it. Dare did, however, as she snorted and then laughed at my realisation.

“Should I start working on the Etsy store or something, Bridget, while you work on that?” I shot her a glare and shook my head, finishing the notes and printing them out.

“Okay, Šárka, you said you like my videos so could you help me with the tools? Be very, very careful getting them. I think I got enough materials for it, but check the stockpile in the basement. You okay with doing all that?” I held her shoulders and she nodded, smiling, melting out of my hands again and zooming away. “She’s such a smart girl, Dare. I love my sweet daughter so much.” Now it was my turn to smile as Dare looked on.

“There’s a reason you made it up, what’s the reason?” Dare had jumped on the workbench and was looking me in the eyes.

“Oh I’m just going to blackmail her father into handing custody over with it. Nothing too sinister, just get secrets, threaten to spill them, get all I need to get custody, officially adopt an adorable teenage trans girl as a daughter, so I can provide her with an environment I didn’t exactly get growing up.” Šárka popped out of her shadow puddle form at the moment, placing the tools on the workbench. “Thanks sweetie.”

“...Do you mean that about… my dad?” Her expression was concern, but not concern for him, concern for me. her hands trying to grab hold of something as she looked, and so I did what any parent should do. I knelt down and gave her a hug.

“Yeah. I’m… sorry I’ll have to make you deal with him again. But you won’t have to see him ever again afterwards. I promise.” I brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead, her shy smile coming back. “Now come on, get the safety gear and you’ll build some of the easier, safer bits.” Standing up and waiting at the workbench, her smile grew again as we got to work.

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The sound of the doorbell was loud. Definitely loud enough to be heard from anywhere in that small house. I could hear footsteps approaching the front door. Šárka was peeking out of my shadow, ready to put the plan into action. The door swung open and there he stood. Slightly shorter than me, balding, smelling of beer and plum brandy, eyes tired and angry. “Mr. Němec, I presume?” He looked me over, scowling at my ears and tail. Somehow I was taller than him.

“What’s it to ya freakshow.” He rested against the doorframe, obviously having trouble standing.

“I’ll just ignore the casual xenophobia there to answer honestly. Your daughter came to me a couple days ago. I stopped her from having live a life of crime to survive, as you kicked her out for her gender and her emerged status. I have every intention of becoming her adoptive or foster mother. Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, which will it be.” I leaned over him, staring right into his eyes with the kindest, sweetest smile I could muster.

“I don’t have a fucking daughter you crazy bitch.” He began closing the door, before I swiftly rested a hand on it.

“The hard way, then.” There was an audible click as the collar was put in place, Šárka standing behind her birth father in her shaded over form. He turned around to be met face to face with her visage. If not for me standing behind him he’d have fallen on his ass. I braced against him and starting pushing him inside, closing the door behind me with my tail. Šárka quickly melted and began zooming around the house, closing and locking doors and windows, before she dragged her father onto an armchair.

“The fuck did you put on me the fuck are you doing I’m going to call the fucking cops on you right now if you don’t get this fucking thing off.” He desperately tugged at it, as I tsked.

“Mr. Němec, the device around your neck functions like Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth. You are not only compelled to tell the truth, but it will hurt if you lie.” Šárka had shifted back to her default form as she sat down on the couch, me joining her shortly. “Do you recognize the child next to me.” I gave Šárka a headpat while staring directly into her father’s eyes.

“Yes, that’s my fucking so- AAAAAH WHAT THE FUCK THAT BURNED. That’s my so- WHAT THE HELL IT BURNS.” He scratched at the collar, convulsing.

“Yes. Because you’re saying a big fat lie. The child sitting next to me is your daughter, Šárka. Biologically speaking, at least. You don’t deserve to be considered a father. Do not worry, the collar is doing the capsaicin thing. Hot peppers don’t actually burn your tongue physically, the capsaicin just tells your brain that it is being burned. A Jedi Mind Trick in Food Form.” I leaned forward, interlocking my fingers. “I want one thing. Legal and Physical custody of Šárka. All the documents necessary for it. And for you to not try to contact her. Considering you did kick her out, I figure you wouldn’t mind too much. Hell, I won’t even ask for child support.” He growled at me, then at Šárka.

“How about you fucking get this thing off me, leave my fucking house and don’t bother me before I beat you freaky furry ass you piece of trash. AH FUCK.”

“You have experienced first hand your daughter’s powers. I do not wish for her to have to hurt you.” I pulled a glove out of my pocket and put it on, small crackles going across the fingers and palm. “If the Collar isn’t enough pain for you, I am equipped to amp it up. But, first, material. What is your job.”

“...I run the books for a construction company. Helping them commit tax fraud, skimming some of the money for my what the fuck how did it do that!” He leapt forward and I reached my hand towards him, pushing him down.

“It’s calibrated now. And oh, what would happen if this information was made public?”

“The company would scapegoat me as the person responsible so as to save their hide, before doing it again. With someone less competent than me. Fucking, stop this thing!”

“Soon enough. Šárka, go check your room here, grab everything you want to take with you back home and put it in the car.” I turned to her and she nodded, walking away and upstairs. I turned back to her father. “I have been recording our conversation. You reek of alcohol, when did you start drinking today.”

“I haven’t stopped since my wife’s passing during the night all you fuckers turned up. I drank nightly before then.”

“Okay, so alcoholic father without any other relatives for her to be with, mother dead, you’re a criminal as well with a jailable offense. I could deliver all this to the police. Or you could do as I asked.” I put a stack of papers on the coffee table with a pen. “This is all the paperwork I need you to sign to confirm you’re transferring custody over to me. I will then need you to provide every piece of legal paper that pertains to your daughter. I shall then proceed to deliver this to a judge so as to legally become Šárka’s foster parent. And you will disappear from her life, forever. You will not contact her, you will not search her out, you will not call the police and claim a kidnapping took place. Because, when was the last time you saw Šárka before today?”

“I last saw my f- AAGH of a so- SON OF A BITCH when I kicked hi- JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ass out for being queer.”

“Now it’s on tape. Child abuse. Sign.” I stood up and held the pen in his face, as he sighed and began signing.

Šárka had in the end taken a lot of the furniture and all the tech and toys and merch from her room. Some of it from the attic, a couple things from the living room. I left the house with a file full of paperwork I was about to go hand in as soon as possible. As me and Šárka drove off in the van, I gave her a headpat while she snuggled an alolan vulpix plushie. “First Mom got it for me on a business trip to Japan. I got a couple more in a box in the back. But, this one is my favorite of my pokemon plushies.” She smiled sadly as I pet her head.

“You want to… visit her grave? Say hi? Introduce me, maybe?” It took her a couple seconds of thinking before she nodded. I turned the car towards where she pointed me. Not ten minutes later we were standing there. In front of her gravestone.

“H-hey, mom… So, uhm, I’m… I’m a girl. I… I wish I could have told you while you were here. I’m sure you-you would have… you would have been so happy for me, unlike dad. I hope… I hope you’re at peace, wherever you are. Because. Because I’m safe now. Away from dad. With… my new mom. Bridget. You know, the tech girl I showed you online a couple times. She… she took me in, and shamed dad. So. I’m… safe. But. I really wish you were here right now. To meet her. To meet me.” Tears were streaming down her face, her voice hitching. I embraced her in a tight hug as quickly as I could, making comforting sounds and patting her head. We just stood there, like that, for a couple minutes. I took out a handkerchief soon enough to wipe her tears away.

“You ready to go home?” She looked me in the eyes and nodded, smiling sadly once again.