The next thing I knew, Peaches had appeared next to me. She was still in her puppy form, but her wings were extended and her tails were swishing back and forth.
“Who did it, Daddy? I felt bad energy.”
“It’s fine, Peaches. I took care of it,” I told her.
She looked at me and did her head tilt thing she does when she’s confused. This time, it felt like she was trying to read my mind.
Peaches started looking around the room extremely fast. “I’m gonna kill it. That stupid bird thinks he can come for my daddy now? Ohhhhh, I’m gonna eat him three times. Stupid bird.”
I tried to smile. It came out more of a half smirk. I was more confused than anything, so smiling was a lot more difficult than usual. I didn’t want anyone to know what had happened yet. I didn’t even understand what had just happened.
“Hey, I’m gonna take off for a little bit. I need to go through a lot of stuff with Sim. Jeff, will you help Alec understand more about what you did to his channels? I know you’re still brand new to your bloodline also, but help him understand what you can. Feel free to ask Sim for any details you can think of.”
They both agreed, and I teleported away. I took Peaches with me, and as we appeared on the moon right by the future site of our family compound, she spoke.
“Daddy, you forgot the air again. I got it, though.”
At that moment, I decided it was time to go through a few things with Peaches.
“Peaches, I don’t think you need air anymore. You’ve advanced far enough that I'm pretty sure your core can sustain you. The only reason I created an air bubble last time was because we are the only ones with bodies capable of being sustained strictly by mana. If I bring anyone up here with us, I need to create an air bubble for them to breathe, but we don’t need it.”
“Okay, I trust you, Daddy,” she replied.
“I need to ask you something. I want you to try and understand my meaning behind this and look at what I’m really asking. I want to see how much you understand because of how quickly you’re growing, okay?”
“Sure, Daddy.”
“First, I just had an interesting conversation with your sister. I know you’ve never met her, but she was the one who had the dark energy that you called bad.”
Peaches growled as she spoke. “She’s friends with that stupid bird?”
“Peaches, no! She is not friends with the bird. The bird wasn’t even there. The energy you thought was the bird was actually one of her powers.”
“Oh, okay. As long as she isn’t helping that stupid bird, then it’s okay,” she said.
“When I was talking with her, she said you have a bloodline. Do you know what that is?” I asked.
“Kinda. I’ve heard you guys talk about them a bunch, but I thought it was just you guys. I’m not a human. I'm a bird-killing machine, so I didn’t think I get one. Sim told me I’m gonna be a Divine Chimera. I think it’s because of my tails and wings. Oh, did you know I have more power? I can add more tails now. Look.”
As I was about to say something to get her back on track, she grew three more tails. She now had six extremely long fox tails. Throughout each tail were glowing runic symbols. They were now not only glowing with the pale blue of origin mana but also traces of a darker blue intertwined with green, which then wrapped around a white-red combination in a beautiful assortment of flowing tendrils. I still had not tried to learn the runic language, but I could tell each rune not only held power, but it was also connected to her multicore.
“Sim,” I made sure to talk out loud so Peaches could hear. “Does how many tails she has relate to her power level, like a Kitsune?”
“I believe she is manifesting it that way, yes,” Sim replied.
Peaches jumped in at that point and said, “I tried to make more, but I would have to use too much energy and I don’t think the seventh would come out all the way. I like six anyway, it has a circle when you draw it. Oh oh, did I show you my tails can twirl really cool when I do this?”
The display of power that came out of her tails the next moment was something I had never imagined my little girl would be capable of. When she twirled her tails, there was a kaleidoscope of colors that shot everywhere. Green and blue energy shot in one direction, while the white and red in another. They swam in a beautiful display, arching towards each other. As they met and intertwined, the force of power that emanated was beyond belief. It almost resembled her dragon breath, but this was so much more. The entire mountain range I had just created last time I was up here exploded in a blinding light. This was the power of not just an explosion but also broke everything down into its base elements, almost as if everything was disintegrating. I had to speak quickly because I knew she would keep pushing and pushing, trying to show me how powerful she was.
“Peaches, stop!”
In an instant, everything stopped. She turned to look at me and then at the destruction her display had caused. She put her head down, thinking she was in trouble.
I grabbed her face with both my hands. “Peaches, my pretty girl, that was amazing. You are more powerful than I had ever dreamed possible. I am so proud of you.”
At this point, she picked her head up and started panting. I knew she loved being praised, so I immediately started rubbing her face.
“I need you to understand something, though. You are more powerful than anything on earth can handle. You need to learn to control how much power you have before you destroy something accidentally. Remember, we only use our powers for good. We help people and only kill really bad people or for food. We have to make sure that we don’t accidentally cause issues because we don’t control our powers. Do you see where your power just destroyed the mountain?”
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She shook her head up and down in a slow movement like she was pouting.
“Well, I am going to make our new home here, and we want that mountain so fresh water will run down it. You’re really good at destroying stuff, but do you know how to create with mana yet?”
She put her head back down before she spoke.
“No, Daddy, I can’t make mountains yet.”
“Okay,” I told her. “I want you to watch what I’m about to do. Pay attention to how I’m manipulating the mana and what it does to change the rocks into a mountain.”
Peaches picked her head up and looked at the landscape. She had flattened everything with her burst of power. As she watched, I pushed and pulled at the spot I wanted the highest mountain range. I increased the height of the peak to a staggering 5,000 feet. Smaller mountains pushed up all around, creating a 10-square-mile center with multiple mountains on all sides. There was only one way to pass through. A small flat section where we would build a road ran through the southern mountain range right next to where the river would eventually flow out.
All around the basin was what will eventually be a beautiful mountain range. Currently, it was still just barren because we hadn’t finished the atmosphere or the vegetation transfer, but if there was ever a spot that fit the description of a mountain haven, this would be it.
Throughout the mountain range, I created small spots for streams. I had one run down into the ground. Underneath, I created a series of caves. I wanted to have a disappearing stream that ran into a cave system to create stalagmites and an underground pool. I would have this run back out into the same series of streams and eventually run into a river that will pass right through the center of the basin. This is where all of our living quarters will be built.
“Now, Peaches, did you see how I altered the mana to get it to build instead of destroy?”
“Yep. Instead of pulling the micros apart, you told them how to come together. I think I can do it. Can I try?” she asked.
“Sure. Wait, the micros? Do you mean molecules?”
“Yeah, the tiny parts that make everything. The micros. Sometimes I look at the micros when I’m learning. They helped me learn how to float the first time. I just slowed them down a whole bunch, and then it was like they were hard.”
“Okay, that’s a good way to learn. You need to think about what you want to build and then manipulate the mana to alter the molecules to do it for you.”
“Okay, here goes.”
I watched as her eyes and mouth both closed. She appeared to be concentrating extremely intensely on what she wanted built. As I watched, I noticed a statue start appearing in the center of where I was going to build the houses. We were quite a ways away, so I had to zoom in a little bit. As I watched her creation take form, a smile started to appear on my lips. It then turned into a huge grin, and I ultimately exploded in laughter. I ended up rolling on the ground with a wheezing, snorting type of sound coming out. I couldn’t help myself. Peaches stopped and looked at me. She started smiling.
“Did I do good, Daddy?”
Once I finally got control of my laughter, I started to rub her face again.
“You did perfect. Do you want to show me what you built?”
“Sure, Daddy.”
She teleported us over to the statue about 20 feet in front of it. As I looked up, I started laughing again. I kind of spit out the words, “Peaches, it’s beautiful,” I said, more laughing than saying actual words.
“It’s me when I finally find that stupid bird… I’m gonna eat it,” she said.
In front of me was the most detailed depiction of Peaches holding a dead bird in her mouth with a little fox riding her back that I could have possibly imagined.
Every millimeter had exquisite lines. Her sculpted figure rippled with implied musculature. She had expertly detailed the miniature runes that inlaid each of her scales under each massive feather. Peaches was standing on her rear two legs with her front two paws up in a pose resembling Alex the lion from Madagascar during one of his dances. Her wings were spread wide in a spectacular display. She made her wingspan approximately 30 feet across, showcasing the scales in the underlayment. If her wings were not made of stone, they might almost look real. In the middle of her back was a fox standing on its two rear legs. It had musculature that was impossible for a fox. It almost looked like Conan the Barbarian but in fox form. A little fox head and tail were proudly thrust into the air. The sword was even in the exact pose above its head with its right bicep rippling beneath it. Behind her were all six tails in a beautiful pattern depicting a whirlwind. They were so lifelike I swear I saw them move momentarily.
In her mouth was a pitiful-looking bird. I may have let her watch too many cartoons while she was little because the buzzards from The Jungle Book had to have been her inspiration for the bird she had in her mouth. Its large wing feathers were scattered beneath Peaches’ front paws, and there were X’s instead of eyes. I glanced over and she couldn’t have looked prouder.
“Hey,” I laughed as I said, “what did you learn from making this?”
“That me and my fox friend are awesome and the bird is stupid,” she said.
“Okay, that’s true, but what I mean is, what did you learn about your powers?”
“Oh, that if I try, I can create cool stuff. I don’t always have to destroy everything. The micros listen really good when I tell them to do stuff.”
“That’s right. You have the power to not only destroy but to build. I don’t want you to think of your powers as dangerous. They are dangerous, but not if you have control of them. I want you to think of them as capable of great wonders. You need to be extremely careful not to use too much power when just a little bit will work. Just like the details you put on the sculpture. Look how intricate the designs are. You did a really good job at making everything look real.
Now remember what happened when you were just showing me what you can do. You destroyed an entire mountain range. I want you to think before you do anything. Figure out the best option before you act. If you need to, slow time down so you can think about your options more.”
“Oh yeah, I make everyone stop now. It’s cool. They don’t move at all anymore. I just wish I could find that stupid bird. I would stop him so fast!”
“Peaches, we’re both getting more and more powerful every day. You will be the strongest protector anyone has ever seen. But we both also have to learn to be very careful not to hurt people on accident.”
“Okay, I’ll do really good, I promise,” she assured me.
I smiled and scratched under her chin for just a second. “I know you will. Should we go back and see how Jeff and Alec are doing?”
“Yes, maybe they’ll both go with me to find the stupid bird this time. I bet with six eyes and three noses we could find it super fast. Stupid bird. I hate that bird. I just wanna eat it.”
I laughed a little and just shook my head. “Okay, you go see if they want to hunt the bird with you. I need to talk to Sim for a little bit.”
“Okay, bye, Daddy.”
Peaches’ teleport left me staring into space, mind racing. Before I could even sort through my thoughts, Sim chimed in with the first question.
“What aspect of Cookie’s actions would you like to address first?”
“I don’t get it,” I blurted. “Why’d she try to hit me with that void thing?”
“Based on the power and target location, I believe she might have been attempting to disable your main node,” Sim explained. “If she’d struck the third eye node, the void energy could have blocked the channels it relies on. This would have significantly hampered your mental functions.”
“That’s crazy. There has to be a reason behind it. Cookie wouldn’t just attack me, especially because she knows so much after her bloodline awakening. She should be aware I’m not entirely human anymore, and an attack like that wouldn’t put me down for long.”
“You underestimate the potential damage,” Sim countered. “A permanent node shutdown could have necessitated a full body replacement for repairs.”
The mention of cloning sent a shiver down my spine. “Absolutely not. We may not have proven the existence of a soul, but there’s more to us than what we know. We can’t just be swapped out like disposable parts.”
“I understand your reservations about a full body replacement,” Sim assured me. “It wouldn’t be considered unless absolutely critical.”
I shook my head in disgust. “I guess for now let’s take care of the possible heroes and get things rolling, but then I want to find Cookie and get this straightened out.”
“Understood,” Sim replied.