“Who is the Mother?” Vercedei asked, looking at the blue avian hovering in the air across the room. “She must be impressive if you’re threatening me with her existence.”
“I’m not threatening you,” Benedict said. “I don’t have the guts to do such a thing. I’m simply laying down my last card in this negotiation. Your familiars are higher-dimensional beings, so their might may seem unfathomable to us lower-dimensional creatures, but the Mother is a higher-dimensional being as well, and she is the creator of Oterra.”
“The creator of Oterra?” Vercedei asked. “That’s interesting. She was able to form a whole plane of existence?”
“Yes,” Benedict said. “She has formed many different planes with different environments for life of all kind to grow. It may seem like she doesn’t care about Oterra because she isn’t present, but that’s because she created us in her image to guard Oterra from pests that may seek to destroy it.”
“Pests like my familiars,” Vercedei said.
“Amongst many,” Benedict said. “Higher-dimensional creatures aren’t the only entities that threaten Oterra’s continued existence. Sometimes, a lifeform can damage Oterra through other means to make regions of it uninhabitable. It’s up to us blue avians to prevent the damage from reaching such a point.”
“And when the blue avians are incapable of protecting Oterra from whatever may be threatening it, they call upon their mother,” Vercedei said.
“The Mother,” Benedict said, correcting what it believed to be Sam’s words, “but, yes, you’re right. When we can’t handle something, we can always ask the Mother for help.”
“Why haven’t you done that earlier?” Vercedei asked.
“We thought you were still a manageable threat,” Benedict said. The blue avian spread its consciousness about the room, gesturing broadly for Sam to see. “Now, you and your familiars are too powerful. Calling on the Mother is our last resort. I’ve stated before we have ways to deal with you, but they’re costly, and the Mother can’t be called upon lightly.” The blue avian lowered its voice down to a whisper. “She’s temperamental. There are many downsides to calling the Mother, but if you decide to keep converting the souls of us blue avians as you’ve been doing, then we’ll have no choice but to ask for her help.”
“What can she do?” Vercedei asked.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Benedict asked.
“Her abilities,” Vercedei said. “If I were to get into a fight with her, what would she do to me?”
Benedict’s aura stilled. “I don’t know the full extent of her powers,” the blue avian said, “but the Mother can wipe the board. Every living being on Oterra, she can eliminate them all at once. Even if you survive with the help of your familiars, their followers will have ceased to exist, and you’ll return to the state of helplessness you experienced before when we were chasing you. Once the Mother grants us a new calamity detector, you won’t be able to get away.”
“And you wish to negotiate a truce with me because you don’t want to summon the Mother,” Vercedei said. “I understand everything now.”
Benedict examined Sam, but the human’s aura didn’t exist as if he weren’t actually there. It made it impossible for the blue avian to tell what Sam was thinking since he was sporting a poker face. “Does that mean you’re willing to negotiate with us?” Benedict asked, keeping their own expression neutral as well. “It’s better this way for both parties, don’t you think? There’s no point in ruling over an Oterra that’s been wiped clean.”
“What if that was my original goal?”
“What?” Benedict asked. “Wiping Oterra clean?” The blue avian’s aura faltered. “Then, I suppose, not negotiating with us is in your best interest, but why would you want to do that? Oterra only has value because of the lifeforms that’ve taken root in this plane. There are an uncountable number of planes available that are barren wastelands where nothing has grown.”
“Who knows how the human mind works?” Vercedei asked and let out a mean laugh. “I think I’ll take my chances against this mother of yours.”
Benedict flinched as something soft pressed against their back. Their vision dimmed, and the blue avian’s All-Seeing Gaze receded, the walls and furniture and region of space around its body fading from its consciousness before its attention sank in itself. The blue avian could see its organs with its awareness; well, if they were still there it should’ve been possible, but its vital organs were gone as if something had removed them without disturbing the rest of the blue avian’s flesh, an extra-dimensional attack Benedict had prepared for but failed to notice anyway. The blue avian opened its mouth but found they didn’t have any strength to speak. Their vision went black, their consciousness fading. Then, a surge of light lit up their view, and Benedict found themself floating within a foreign environment filled with sparse vegetation of abnormal colors.
“Are you confident in dealing with the Mother?” Sam asked his familiars through his mind as he stared at the blue avian’s limp corpse. The butterfly perched atop its head flew back onto Sam’s nose, taking away the brief respite he had from its infernal stench. Sam thought back on the blue avian’s words: the Mother was good at destruction and creation, and all Vercedei was good at was blabbing. “What if she kicks your ass?”
“There’s more of us than there are of her,” Vercedei said. “We’ll be fine, and our followers will be fine too if we stuff them in Big Fish’s mouth.”
“You’re putting a lot of confidence in my ability,” Big Fish said, “but if she finds me in the upper dimensions, it won’t be so easy to protect all our followers.”
“We’ll deal with it when the time comes,” Vercedei said. “Since we know about the Mother’s existence, we should use that information to our advantage. If we tell potential followers about the end of the world brought about by the Mother and Big Fish’s sanctuary that can protect them from the apocalypse, I’m sure we can convince them to believe in us, and if they don’t, they certainly will when the Mother begins wiping the board.”
“I have a question,” Sam said, cutting between the two calamities’ discussion. “Is it difficult to make a plane like Oterra?”
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“Rather than difficult, it’s more of a hassle,” Vercedei said. “It’s like raising a bonsai tree, meticulous—”
“Easier to take than to grow,” Raindu said, poking out of Sam’s shirt.
“Is that why you’re here?” Sam asked the ferret, ignoring the fuming twin-headed snake’s blue head. He reached up with his hand and scratched the ferret behind its ear. “Too lazy to grow your own plane, so you’re stealing someone else’s?”
“I have my own plane,” Raindu said and grabbed Sam’s finger with its front paws. It scooted his digit over to a spot on its neck, demanding scratches in that region instead. “It’s where I keep the treasures I take from other planes.”
“So, planes are a hassle to take care of because of higher-dimensional creatures like you guys messing around with them?” Sam asked all his familiars in his mind. “Doesn’t that mean the Mother has to be strong to grow and defend so many of them?”
“To be fair, she’s not doing a very good job at defending Oterra from us,” Vercedei said, “but, yes, it’s reasonable to assume the Mother has lots of resources at her disposal.”
“And she must be tough for having so many resources,” Joe the sloth said, its voice dragging on and on within Sam’s head. “It’s not easy getting everything required to build a plane abundant with sparks of creation like this one, but it’s worth the investment, or so I’ve heard. If she has multiple planes running, she’ll be making a lot of faith, and her power of existence must be massive.”
“So,” Sam said, “the Mother is like a billionaire while you lot are a gang struggling to survive by stealing her stuff? Right now, you outnumber her, but what if she calls her friends? I’m sure someone with as many resources as she has is well-connected in the higher-dimensional-creature community.”
“No doubt,” Big Fish said. “She most likely has many allies if she’s capable of creating multiple planes on the level of Oterra, and it’s true we’re a ragtag gang brought together by your wish to destroy this world.”
“You’re scaring him,” Vercedei said. “Don’t talk our enemy up like that, and we’re more than just a ragtag gang; we’ve been working together for years now, so now, we’re an experienced gang.”
“I don’t think that’s boosting Sam’s confidence much,” Big Fish said. “Actually, I don’t think Sam’s even scared in the first place. We’re the ones who’re going to be facing the Mother.”
“Even if Sam’s scared,” Birdbrained said while shifting around atop Sam’s hat, “does it matter? Regardless of how he feels, these things must be done.”
“I mean, it doesn’t need to be done,” Sam said. “I’ve already made it clear I’m over the mistreatment I’ve experienced as a talentless, and I don’t need all of Oterra to be destroyed to be happy. Instead of becoming enemies with the Mother, why don’t you try becoming friends?”
“Are you seriously suggesting we become friends with the entity whose land we’re plundering?” Vercedei asked.
“Why not?” Sam asked. “Apologize, make amends, and chat her up; you’re good at talking, no?” The more Sam thought about it, the more he thought it was a good idea. If his familiars could get what they wanted directly from the Mother by aligning themselves with her, Oterra would be preserved, and his familiars would be happy as well. Upon seeing the reactions of his familiars, Sam said, “Alright, tell me what’s wrong with my idea.”
“Depending on the Mother’s personality, it might work,” Raindu said.
“But it’s not a good idea to base your plans on someone else feeling generous,” Vercedei said.
Raindu leaned over from Sam’s shoulder and poked at the twin-headed snake’s blue head, aiming for its eyes. “We can always try to make friends with the Mother, and if she doesn’t want to be friendly, then we can do what we’ve been doing.”
Vercedei snapped at Raindu, missing as the ferret dodged to the side, avoiding the strike by a few millimeters. “Why would she want to be friends with a thief?”
“Maybe she needs someone to steal something for her,” Raindu said. “Who knows?”
“Sam!”
“Seems like another blue avian wants to through themselves into the jaws of death,” Vercedei said. “They just entered the city all on their own. Maybe they figured out we were lying about Benedict.”
“It must’ve been your poor imitation of the blue avian,” Raindu said. “Why else would they suspect anything? You’re the one who spoke for them.”
Sam wondered which blue avian was brave enough to come in alone after Benedict had done the same and suffered from a cruel fate. He spread out his All-Seeing Gaze, not worried about the blue avian detecting his location, not when he was within the territory established by his familiars. The blue avian was one that he knew, Paula, and a grayling had already greeted the guest, leading them towards Sam. It didn’t take long for them to arrive since the grayling could teleport and blue avians naturally moved quickly.
“Hello, Paula,” Vercedei said, greeting the blue avian with Sam’s voice as Paula entered the room. “It’s so nice to see you again. Are you here to assassinate me like that one time in the past?”
Paula stared at Sam, their aura sporting a mixture of different colors and hues. The blue avian looked at Benedict’s corpse, which was still on the ground where it had fallen. “I had a feeling this was the case, but I didn’t want it to be true,” Paula said, taking her gaze off Benedict. “Is their soul trapped inside an earthen puppet as well?”
“Not yet,” Vercedei said. “It’s still stored away, waiting for the right moment to be used. Benedict told me about the Mother, and I think the more bargaining chips I have, the better off I’ll be.”
“You know about the Mother, and you robbed Benedict of their soul regardless,” Paula said. “As I thought, you can’t be negotiated with. It’s likely you’re not even the same individual I met with in the past; it would’ve been hard to maintain your identity with so many calamities attached to you, each with their own desire. You’re just a medium for the calamities to flow through now, aren’t you?”
“That’s the fate of the weak,” Vercedei said. “Who can really say they have complete control over their fate? Everyone was born to a different station with different circumstances, and they’re shaped by those. It was simply my fate to become a vessel for higher-dimensional beings, and it’d be foolish of me to go against it.” A faint smile appeared on the illusion of Sam’s face. “Aren’t you here because of fate as well? Your strong sense of responsibility that demands you eradicate me for simply existing, if you weren’t born with it, would you be the one hovering before me now?”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Paula said. “We’re like ants beholden to the whims of any larger creature that stumbles upon us. I suppose I should play my role in summoning the Mother as well. We didn’t want it to come to this, but you’ve grown far too much for this to be resolved any other way.”
“Benedict said summoning the Mother came at a cost,” Vercedei said. “Are you sure you want to pay the price?”
“There’s no other choice,” Paula said. “There’s no need for any other words between us. If Benedict were still alive and well, perhaps we could’ve had a proper discussion.” The blue avian floated in the air, and their aura shone, illuminating Sam’s All-Seeing Gaze until all he could see was the brightness coming off of the blue avian’s body. A paw materialized in the air and struck Paula, but as it got closer to the blue avian’s body, deeper into their aura, it came to a halt inches away from the blue avian’s feathers. “O Mother, use my body as a vessel for your will, and grace Oterra with your benevolent presence.”
Sam retracted his All-Seeing Gaze as Paula’s aura exploded, causing the crown of his head to turn numb. Although he knew he’d have to encounter the Mother eventually, he hadn’t suspected he’d potentially meet her not even an hour after he had learned about her existence.
Paula’s eyes glazed over as their body crumpled to the ground in a position similar to Benedict’s. Then, their body spasmed and twitched, their limbs jerking randomly about. After two seconds, the blue avian fell still. Their body levitated off the ground, their body still horizontal. A voice entered Sam’s head, emanating from Paula’s crown, which was pointed directly at Sam’s face. “That’s a lot of pests,” the voice said. “Do you want to leave on your own, or should I chase you out?”
Vercedei stuck out their tongue in Paula’s direction. “How about we talk?”