Maxine hummed happily while she waited for a batch of chocolate to be prepared. Her tail was involuntarily waving back and forth while she watched the chocolatier work. A few children of various ages, some younger women and a lot of middle-aged women had gathered nearby ever since the sweet smell of chocolate began to spread out. I'm so glad that they had someone that could make chocolate. It was completely worth the effort to make a run for cocoa beans and sugar cane. I just wish I didn't have to wait a week for those beans to ferment. While they can be dried, the taste and smell are just so much better when you do it this way.
While she was distracted, a small child jumped on her tail and held on with their arms and legs. The children had somehow figured out that she loved their company and their parents were worried about them at first. That was until their health started to improve while being near Maxine. She just couldn't help herself when she saw any of them hurt or sick.
Maxine dismissed those thoughts as smiled and she looked over her shoulder at the laughing child. But she did a double take when she saw a little boy that was the spitting image of Maxwell when he was at that age. What the fuck?! Where did this kid come from? And why the hell does he look so much like Max? No, I need to calm down. The resemblance could just be a coincidence. That chances that I sired a child in my previous life is dismally. Particularly since it was usually a one night stand between jobs.
"Charlie, let me try!" a little girl demanded. She looked very similar to the little boy that was now latched onto her tail. Maxine couldn't resist the smile that was slowly spreading on her face. It didn't take long for the children to figure out that I'm friendly with them and no one else. My full-hybrid form has made me increasingly more aggressive from staying in it for every waking hour. I think that's why General McKenzie has taken to only coming by to talk to me while I'm hanging out with these children. I tend to be a lot calmer and nicer when I'm around them.
"Just a few more minutes," Charlie said happily.
"No, let me try it, now, or I'll tell great grandpa," the little girl demanded with a stomp.
"Oh? But wouldn't you want to watch him hold on when I make my tail wiggle like a worm?" Maxine asked the little girl.
"Do the wiggle worm!" the little girl said excitedly and Maxine obliged her. However, she wiggled her tail just enough to make it fun for Charlie without throwing him off. His laughter and that of the little girl was music to Maxine's ears. It was too bad that some of the nearby women looked on with a great deal of concern and even a few cultivators moved closer to catch him should he fall.
Several small children chimed in that they wanted a turn as well. Maxine smiled at their antics. Even in this nightmarish world, children will be children.
"Charles, that's enough. Let your sister have a turn," General McKenzie said calmly and Maxine became suspicious. However, she quickly dismissed it since he had memorized the names and faces of everyone under his command. It was no surprise that he would remember the names of the children within the camp.
"Okay, great grandpa," Charlie said in a disappointed tone and when she stopped moving her tail, he let go to let his sister have a turn. But internally, her mind had become chaotic. They called him great grandpa. Could those really be Jane's kids? Or is he asking all of the children to call him that? I need to find out.
"Thank you for entertaining the children," General McKenzie said with a small smile after each child had a turn holding onto her tail, "It does wonders for my men's morale to hear their laughter."
"Don't worry about it," Maxine answered, "I like kids and they seem to genuinely like me back too."
"Indeed," General McKenzie said calmly, "Just be careful not to hurt any of them. Their mothers will take it out of your hide if you do."
"Oh, I know. I've seen what happens when you hurt a mamma's baby," Maxine replied as she shuddered for a moment, "I almost felt bad for that wolf. On the plus side, a certain kid now has a nice new wolf skin coat now." General McKenzie only raised his eyebrow at that.
Maxine was about to make another comment when she felt a familiar sensation flow through her and she looked up towards the sky. I was just scanned, but not with spiritual sense. And it's too soon to be visited by the Kavros clan or anyone else for that matter. They need at least a month to travel here, even with their fastest ship. So, that begs the question. Who just scanned me?
"Children, I think you should go to your parents now," Maxine stated and turned to face General McKenzie, "We're going to have some company and I don't know about their disposition towards us." While waiting for him to respond, Maxine spread out her spiritual sense towards the sky to find the ships. However, she doubted they were within her range just yet. Earth could be scanned using various sensors from literately millions of miles away.
"Should I get my soldiers ready?" General McKenzie asked and was quietly thankful that she revealed that she could 'feel' it whenever someone tried to analyze her with scanners of any kind.
"I don't think it would matter if you did," Maxine replied honestly, "Anyone capable from traveling through space is probably around my level of strength. Your 'soldiers' would just get in my way." I not lying. The strongest person in their group would most likely be at my level. The rest would most likely be silver stage.
"If I didn't know any better I would think that you expected these visitors," General McKenzie said without changing his expression.
"Perhaps," Maxine said evasively, "But it doesn't change the fact that they are here, does it?"
"No, it does not," General McKenzie said.
"In any case, they're outside of my detection range," Maxine said out loud after searching the skies and space above them thoroughly with her spiritual sense and swiftly changed the subject, "So, I might as well wait for that chocolate to be ready until I can sense them. It smells absolutely divine."
"That it does. I would like to thank you again for gathering so much of those ingredients," General McKenzie replied without missing a beat, "It's been quite some time since we've had access to them."
"I just wanted to have enough chocolate to last me awhile," Maxine answered.
"But for you to gather so much of it suggests you had other motives in mind," General McKenzie stated.
"Perhaps," Maxine said evasively and looked skyward again when she felt something come within her spiritual sense range, "Oh, their ship is finally close enough for me to sense it."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Who are the owners of this 'ship'?" General McKenzie asked with a serious tone, "And are they hostile?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I'm not familiar with it's design or the markings on it," Maxine answered honestly and she saw General McKenzie narrow his eyes ever so slightly.
"You were expecting their arrival," General McKenzie stated, "Was this what you meant when you said you gave humanity all the help that you're willing to give?"
"Something like that," Maxine answered, "I'll be right back. I'm going to ask them a few questions." She didn't give him any chances to ask any more questions and leapt into the air. She floated for a moment before rocketing off into the sky and glanced at General McKenzie before she was too far away to see his expression. Damn, I didn't surprise him. I guess it's not that much of a stretch that I could fly. His people found me floating in the air, afterall.
After a few minutes, she got close enough to see inside of the ship and was slightly disappointed to find it only housed a single occupant. She mentally shrugged before she contacted him via spiritual sense, [Why have you intruded into my territory?]
[Your territory? This planet has no owner and is currently under the protection of the Alliance,] the man responded.
Maxine blasted him with her killing intent and the full force of her cultivation before she sent sent a serpentine roar into his head, [ANSWER ME!] Simultaneously, she landed on his ship right infront of his cockpit and did her best to look angry.
[Yes, ma'am. I've been sent to investigate an energy surge that originated on this planet on behalf of the Kavros Clan and compare it to one that they provided to me. I believe they're looking for a lost relative,] the man responded in a cowering tone, [Please, I'm just trying to provide for my family.]
[How long ago was this 'energy surge' detected?] Maxine asked.
[Roughly a week ago,] he answered automatically.
[I am the culprit of that 'energy surge,'] Maxine told him, [So, you just need to scan my energies, correct?]
[Yes, ma'am,] he replied fearfully, [Can I?]
[Yes,] Maxine said, [But only take a scan of my energy and nothing else.] A moment later she felt a scan brush over her body, but it didn't penetrate beyond her scales.
[The energy signal that my employers provided me with doesn't match up with yours, but it's close enough for the owner of the original signal to be either your mother or grand mother,] he answered calmly, but she could still sense his underlying fear of her.
[Report your findings, then,] Maxine told him as she turned to leave, [I await my kin on the planet below.]
[One last thing,] he said and Maxine paused as she looked at him, [Two other groups requested information about my findings as well: The Alchemist Association and the Divine Marks clan.]
[Neither of those names mean anything to me, but thank you for notifying me,] Maxine replied before severing the spiritual sense connection. I should've known those fuckers would be involved. I can deal with them easily enough. The Alchemist Association won't have much of a reason to mess with me so long as I don't make any potions or pills for as long as I stay in this timeline. As for the Divine Marks clan, it would be in their best interest if they don't mess with me. If they do, I don't mind thinning out their numbers.
It didn't take her long to return to the base camp and she found that the children had returned back to just outside of the chocolatier's kitchen. She landed right behind them and smiled. A moment later, the chocolatier asked, "Alright, who wants to get a taste of the first batch?"
A chorus of children said over each other, "ME!"
Maxine smiled and shook her head while the children ran forward to collect a piece of chocolate. A few of them tried to sneak off with two pieces, but were caught before they could do more than reach for it. Once they had each gotten one, Maxine strode forward and took a piece for herself.
As soon as she began chewing it, she unconsciously groaned. It had a far better taste than any store bought chocolate that she had ever eaten. However, even as she slowly ate it, she couldn't stop herself from looking at 'Charlie' out of the corner of her eye. She had to resist the urge to compare his genetic code against Maxwell's. If he really was her child in this timeline, she didn't know if she could abandon him or his twin sister. It's better to remain ignorant. It'll only cause unavoidable grief if I confirm my suspicions when I have to leave. I only wanted to undo a little of what daddy did to Earth in this timeline.
"So, were they hostile?" General McKenzie asked from behind Maxine. Why does he always appear from behind me? It's starting to get annoying.
"No," Maxine replied, "He was just an investigator."
"I see," General McKenzie said while clearly thinking about something, "Thank you for letting me know and I would like to thank you again for playing with the children."
"Don't mention it," Maxine answered honestly and gestured towards Charlie and his sister, "And I'm enjoying a little fantasy of mine to top it off."
"Oh? And what fantasy is that?" General McKenzie asked.
"That I'm looking after the children of someone dear to me until he returns, but I know better. He'll never return," Maxine replied sadly, "That big idiot wanted to die after his woman died before they could have any kids. He never got the chance to find another before he died either."
"Might I know this young man's name?" General McKenzie asked.
"Maxwell Adams," Maxine answered simply.
"Are you sure that he's truly dead?" General McKenzie asked calmly.
"He was trampled and most likely eaten by a swarm of beasts," Maxine answered bluntly.
"I see," General McKenzie said with a hint of melancholy.
"Did you know him?" Maxine asked carefully.
"Not directly," General McKenzie answered, "I mostly heard about him from my grand daughter. I had hoped that he was still alive." So, she had survived and did so long enough to be reunited with Howard. I'm glad that he at least got to say goodbye to her.
"I'm sorry that you had to find out from me," Maxine said apologetically.
"It's alright," General McKenzie said, "I just wish I could've met the man that Emily had been so fond of." In a way, he already has. Although, I'll never tell him that.
"Nothing can be done about that now," Maxine said bluntly and turned to leave, "I need to go hunt. I'm getting low on meat. I'll be back in a couple hours."
"I'm grateful that you hunt your own meals. I've seen you eat enough for ten men," General McKenzie said.
"That better not be an indirect way of calling me fat," Maxine said flatly.
"It's just an observation," General McKenzie replied calmly.
"Good," Maxine said, "I'll be back in a few hours." She didn't wait for his reply before rocketing off the ground. However, she wasn't going out to hunt like she said that she was going to. She actually didn't need to hunt at all with the supplies she had in her dimensional ring. What she was really doing when she went out 'hunting' was tracking down the bodies of all of her deceased friends that died and it took time to find the majority of their remains. However, today, she was going to bury Orianna's body in this timeline. She had put it off long enough.
It only took a few minutes for Maxine to find her sister's remains. Orianna's body, while heavily burned, had decomposed very little considering it was left out in the elements, but the flesh of a cultivator often slowed the decomposition process considerably even after they were dead. So, it was no surprise that none of the local wildlife even dared to approach her since she still gave off the aura of something alive when she was clearly not.
Maxine knelt down and gently picked up Orianna's body. She walked towards a nearby clearing and used her energies to swiftly dig a grave. When it was roughly eight feet deep, she approached the grave and slowly lowered Orianna's body into it. However, she didn't immediately cover her with dirt. Instead, she scanned Orianna's body. If there are any physical changes to the body when someone becomes a demon. If there are and if I know what those changes are, I might be able to reverse the process and return their sanity to them at the very least.
She started with the brain. Which thankfully was intact enough for her purposes and discovered very minor mutations brought on by her unstable energies wouldn't fully account for the unstable nature of demons. Thus, she continued to scan Orianna's body for any other differences. Unfortunately there was too much damage for Maxine to get very much useful data. She sighed and began burying her sister's body. There goes that idea. At least, I have some data on the physical differences of demons versus normal cultivators. Although, I think it's odd how there are several tomes detailing how their unstable energy causes different varieties of insanity based on their elemental attribute, but not a damn thing on the physical changes this unstable energy causes. It's almost as if someone intentionally destroyed it all. In any case, I need to bury Patrick next.