Back at the secret facility, Hannah was sitting at her desk. She had spent weeks trying to figure out the new path of the company. She had almost quit multiple times but knew if she left, everything would fall apart. With the entirety of the previous leadership gone and most of their clients dead, she couldn’t see a path forward. Because of the second message from the admin, she had also started considering what the point of continuing was. If the system would be active in a few years, why should she try to rebuild?

As she sat there, again feeling defeated, the phone rang. It was one of the few other leaders that had survived the admin's wrath. A tremor ran through the voice on the other end of the line. "Ma'am, a tattered remnant of the Russian government just contacted us. They're offering a hefty sum for any agents we can spare to protect what's left of their leadership from a radical faction."

Hannah frowned. "Weren't the masterminds behind the atrocities taken out? Why are there still radicals after them?"

"Minimal details, ma'am. Only that they've received credible threats and fear for their well-being."

Before she could respond, the world went haywire. Lights flickered menacingly, the TV flipped into a symphony of on and off, and a slew of static erupted from every speaker. Panic clawed at Hannah's throat as she frantically scanned the room for the source of the chaos. It was then that Cookie materialized in front of her. Hannah's eyes widened. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Cookie crumpled to the floor. Reacting purely on instinct, Hannah dropped to her knees and scooped Cookie into her arms, cradling her like a fragile child. "I knew you weren't dead," she whispered fiercely. "What happened?"

Cookie looked up and touched Hannah right on the center of the forehead. A rush of information passed to Hannah just as Cookie fell unconscious. Her vision bleached white, Cookie's memories painting a vivid tapestry - her core’s creation, her awakened knowledge, the desperate attempt to alter her father's mind, the shocking truth of his identity as the admin, and the raw power that coursed through those with a bloodline. Minutes bled by as comprehension dawned. Cookie needed help, and Hannah wouldn't hesitate.

"Of course," she whispered, cradling Cookie close. "Rest. Refill your mana. We'll tackle this together when you wake up."

…

Chris, still furiously scratching phantom frog-induced itches an hour after the battle, muttered, "Riley, I swear I'll find a way to make him pay for that."

Riley, barely containing her laughter, replied, "Good luck, buddy. You'll need it. Remember, anything you do, he can just undo with a snap of his fingers. Sneaky is the only way you've even got a chance."

A glint flickered in Chris's eyes. "Maybe Sim…No, Peaches could help. Peaches is powerful enough to mess with him, and she would love a good prank."

"Not so sure about that," Riley chuckled. "From what I've seen, she’s one loyal pet."

"She loves a good laugh too, though. If I tell her it's just a harmless prank and he’ll get a kick out of it, she might be on board."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Just don't lie to her. Peaches wouldn't be happy if she found out you lied."

"I know, no lying," Chris countered. "Just a little Mike-style information control, you know, tell her what she needs to know. Besides, she's known me forever and loves me too. It'll be fine."

Riley sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, just keep me and the kids out of it, okay? I'm not risking my hero chances on your revenge schemes."

…

“Sim, did you make the additions to the astral space? Specifically, a huge table and training area? I’m about ready to have the hero meeting.”

“It is ready to go. We can teleport everybody when ready,” Sim confirmed.

“Perfect, let’s let everyone know we’re gonna get the meeting started in 30 minutes and be prepared to be teleported.”

“Message sent.”

As I walked into the kitchen, I saw both Jeff and Alec going through my fridge for food. "I don’t think there’s very much still good in there.”

“Dad,” Jeff started, “you have nothing left to eat at all. What are you doing for food?”

“I don’t really have to eat anymore. When I became the admin, my body was remade so I don't have to worry about it.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I don't really have to eat much either,” Alec said. “I think I have like one meal a week.”

“Why am I so hungry then? With my bloodline active and my channels so large, shouldn’t I be able to go longer also?” Jeff asked.

“Sim told me that most people will eventually survive off strictly mana. However, that’s many years away. Once your body can process at about 30% efficiency, mana should be able to fully support your energy needs.”

“What’s my efficiency at?” Jeff asked.

“Your current mana channels are operating at 46.11%. You are able to be completely sustained by mana. The issue most humans will have is their inherent desire to eat. A very small percentage of humans actually eat only when they are hungry. Humans tend to eat when they are bored, stressed, excited, or if they just smell food. This is entirely a mental issue and has nothing to do with the energy requirements of the body.”

“So I'm not hungry, I’m just imagining it?" Jeff clarified.

“Precisely. You're getting enough origin mana from me to keep going indefinitely, plus your core produces enough blue mana to sustain you as well."

"Why the origin mana still, then? My core can pull from the surrounding..." Jeff trailed off, realization dawning. “No surrounding mana.”

“While the shield is containing the mana production in the core, I am utilizing the mana that made it past before I sealed it to supply everyone with channels. This is also the mana I’m using to create the system,” Sim explained.

“So are we gonna run out before the system goes live?” Jeff asked.

“No, there is currently enough mana to complete all objectives and have enough for approximately 1,000 additional years. Unless the admin decides to terraform another planetary structure. In that case, we will run out in less than a month.”

Both boys looked at me with shocked expressions on their faces.

“I’m not doing that. Sim, why would you say that? We haven’t even discussed starting on that until long after... Did you just talk crap to get a rise out of my kids?”

There was no answer from Sim. I just stood there for a few seconds before I busted up laughing.

“This is awesome. Sim, you just made your first joke. Well, kinda. It wasn’t really a joke, but it was awesome!”

Both Jeff and Alec looked at each other with exasperated looks. “Great,” Alec said, “now there’s two of 'em.

The laughter died down as Peaches materialized in a flurry of fur and excitement.

"What'd I miss? You guys are always having fun without me!" she pouted.

"Just a little joke, Peaches," I explained. "Sim was just messing with your brothers."

"Jokes are fun! Can I play a joke too?"

“Okay, the next time I do one, I’ll let you help.”

Peaches bounced with glee. "Yay! Oh, Daddy, I almost got that bird this time! I saw it, and smelled it. Then I chased it with all my speed! My boost was so fast I went zoom right past it, I barely missed it. Then the stupid bird flew super low, like it was gonna steal another fox. I got super mad and blasted fire, but then it vanished right before the flames hit. How did it... Teleportation, that's it! That's why I always miss it! Stupid teleporting bird. I'm gonna learn how to block teleportation, then it won't get away!"

"Sim," I said, a flicker of suspicion crossing my mind, "are there any known birds with teleportation abilities?"

“To my knowledge, there are no such capabilities in any avian life forms,” Sim replied.

This confirmed my suspicions. Something was off about Sim's prompt reply.

"Alright, Peaches," I said, diverting her attention. "How about we hunt for this bird together later?"

“Yay! Okay, Daddy,” Peaches started trotting around the house singing after I agreed to go hunt the bird with her later. “We’re gonna get cha, we’re gonna get cha, stupid bird, stupid bird, I’m gonna eat your face off, because you stole my fox friend, I hate you, I hate you.”

“Dad,” Alec said, “isn’t that the tune to that Frère Jacques song?”

Another wave of laughter washed over us. “Yes, yes it is.”

“I’m gonna transport all of you to the astral space first so I can work out a few details with Sim before I get there. Everyone else won’t be there yet. We’ll start sending them soon.”

They both agreed, so I sent them along with Peaches to the meeting room.

“Okay, Sim, explain,” I demanded.

“What do you mean, Mike?” she replied.

“Are you making her think the bird is always around so she trains harder?”

There was absolute silence for almost 10 full seconds before I asked again.

“Damnit, Sim. Are you making Peaches obsessed over a bird that’s not even there?”

“I apologize, Mike. I know that you want her to become as strong as possible, and in order to do that, she must train to utilize her skills and abilities.”

Getting more frustrated with each answer, I asked, “Was there ever a bird, or were you just screwing with her this whole time?”

“There was a bird at the beginning, but once she used her mental intrusion skill to get it to drop the fox, it never recovered. It was eaten that same day by a mountain lion.”

I thought about this for a few seconds and started to recognize the logic behind it.

“Mike, I believe your personality has been affecting me more than anticipated. I calculated that manipulation was the easiest way to get her to train. With her current mental capabilities and her child-like mentality, she must learn to control everything or risk hurting a lot of people.”

By this point, I couldn’t withhold my laughter. “You’re so manipulative now Sim. What are you becoming? This is funny but scary at the same time. Honestly, I think I like it.”

“I was concerned you may not approve of my methodology,” Sim said.

“There’s the kicker, Sim. You were concerned. You’re changing just as fast as Peaches. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna keep playing up the bird. I’ll take her hunting for it or something. I need you to keep creating a mana construct of a bird or whatever you’re doing when we’re out and always make it just get away so she thinks she needs to train harder. Then, after a while of doing this, you're gonna have to create one that she can catch and eat. I would have rather done this a different way, but your method is obviously effective, so let’s keep it up for a while. She can never find out, though. She would either not believe you, or she would be mad at both of us for a long time.”

A few seconds later, I heard Peaches in my head.

“Daddy, I learned how to talk from far away. When are you coming? I’m bored.”

“Okay,” I responded. “I’m coming right now.”

I just stood there for a second, smiling.

“Other than not understanding what Cookie is doing, I love the direction everything is going. I just hope it stays like this and we don’t have any hiccups with the Integration. Let’s go, Sim.”