JR 7.2

Puppet POV~~~~~

Z2 looked behind her where the remains of the ice that she had yet to absorb rested. I didn’t have to wait long to find out what she was looking for when another loud ‘crack’ boomed out from the pile. A hand shot out then gripped the ice as it started to pull itself out. I jerked back as I readied my weapon. Z2 just looked at me amused. 

“Calm down. We came to an… agreement,” Z2 said with a smile. 

“Agreement?” I asked. I decided not to put my weapons down just yet. 

“That’s right. During the little tug of war of wills we had, we learned a great deal about each other. Of course, Lean here, was just unable to move past part of the spell that you created, but thanks to me, I was able to break him of it,” Z2  explained as she watched the body that slowly emerged from the ice. 

The upper half of the body emerged by this point and I was able to see that he looked much like a male version of Z2 only his skin was pitch black. His hair was also snow white and stopped just before his shoulders. Two horns shot up then curled out, as they released smoke that dissipated quickly. On his chest where the heart would be for most mortals a chain emerged fused with the skin, it stretched off only about a meter then faded into more smoke. 

He finished pulling himself out and we were able to see the bottom half of his body. He had gained legs and what looked like a tail with three or four tendrils to it. They were composed of smoke but appeared to contain a bit more mass. He moved slowly, adjusting to his new form I would assume. 

“Z2… Are you sure this is safe?” I asked seriously. I didn’t feel as much power from this creature as the last one but it still had quite a bit packed into it. Not only that but it felt more refined to me. 

“Completely. Oh, Father is going to be so pleased!” Z2 said as she squealed a bit. That certainly was the old Z2 in my opinion. 

“Strange… the call… is gone…” the creature or I guess Lean said as he moved closer to Z2. 

“Lean… what, what do you want to do?” I asked carefully. 

“Z2 has… shown me many things… that I want… to experience,” He paused to consider for a moment, “I would like… to see the ocean.”

“See. I got this under control,” Z2 said as a hint of smugness tainted her voice. 

“I’m sure Father will decide…” I started to say when the sound of a large explosion from far in the distance echoed through the forest. I looked towards the direction the horde had moved in. I choose the tallest tree nearby then quickly made my way up to the top. In the distance, large clouds of dust rose into the sky from some kind of explosion. I knew that had to be Father’s work when I considered the amount of power needed to create something like that. 

A few more flashes happened after but nothing I could see quite clearly from the sixty or so meters I was up in the air. I released one of my drones then sent it higher so that it could zoom in on the battlefield. I knew Father reinforced the town but I wasn’t sure of the particulars. It looked like the battle was far from over when I saw a drone start to move towards the center of the horde. 

I wasn’t sure why but I got a bad feeling from it. I jumped down from the tree then turned to the others and shouted, “We need to create some distance, now!” 

The heli had landed while we watched the ice so we quickly crowded in. The pilot shot into the sky then forward once it was barely clear of the canopy. Suddenly, a high pitched sound hit us like a wave that even managed to knock the heli a bit. The bit of glass in the front started to crack when the noise disappeared. I wasn’t sure if it was over or not so I had the pilot keep going just to be safe. 

Suddenly, Azra lurched forward in pain. Natsuo was the one that saved the day as he quickly did something and a white light covered her. She breathed easier as the barrier Natsuo put on her gained some strength. 

“Felt like my lungs were about to explode,” Azra said breathlessly, still wheezing a bit. 

I concentrated and was able to sense the extreme control of air particles via air mana. It took a good two or three minutes for the effects to completely clear. Once the effects cleared up, I ordered the pilot to take us back to the convoy so that we could head back to the town. I had a feeling that Father just finished the horde, with extreme results. 

~~~~~

It was just after dawn when we made it back to the town. All of us having used quite a bit of mana over the last few day, decided to actually sleep. It would help us recover the mana and fix most of the damage that we received as we were back in the dungeon aura. I was nearly running on empty so I planned to crash for a solid ten hours. 

~~~~~

When I woke, it was mid afternoon. A patrol had just returned to the town from the looks of it. Lean was walking around looking at everything much like I had seen some of the children in the Valley when they saw new things. Z2 was nearby, whether to help him or watch him I wasn’t sure. I hoped that Father was able to make sense of this situation. 

As if summoned by my thoughts, Father appeared a few meters away. He was looking right at Lean so I braced myself just in case a fight broke out. I loosened up a few seconds later as a big smile appeared on his face. 

“So this is Lean!” He said walking over to Z2 and Lean. 

“Father!” Z2 said in her old voice but was disconcerting with her new body. 

“Z2! A day goes by and you completely change on me,” Father said as if hurt. 

“Sorry, but now I have more power to help you,” Z2 said with a blush which made me realize she was more than just an automaton now. 

Father reached forward and cupped Z2’s face and gently moved her a few ways as if trying to decide which was the best angle. He only touched her for a few moments when his hand started to freeze. I was shocked that Z2 would do something like that. 

“Seems to be a bit too much power packed inside there now,” Father said as he let go.

“Father! Are you alright?!” Z2 asked panicked as she saw what had happened. 

“Fine, fine,” he said then made a fist effortlessly. The ice shattered then fell to the ground having not bothered Father at all. Next he moved over to Lean, Lean just stood there watching without a care in the world. Father grabbed both of his shoulders, “You, you are quite interesting. So many different types of magic and mana wrapped up into a functioning being. I want to say that you’re the first of your kind but I can’t be sure of that.”

“Why would… more of my kind… matter?” Lean asked curiously. 

“Well…” Father paused for a moment, “to make offspring, the next generation. The continuing line of existence that extends past ourselves. To make children, I suppose” 

“Children…” Lean said as if mulling over the word. He suddenly moved and grabbed Z2’s shoulder, “Make children… with me.”

“WHAT!?” Z2 and Father said at the same time. 

“She is… has part of… me in her,” Lean said matter-of-factly. 

“Well, I see your point but that’s not how it works. You both have to want it and there’s love that should be shared between the two of you,” Father said as he started to explain the intricacies of falling in love. Finally, it looked like he gave up, “Anyway, you can’t make children with someone you only just met.”

Lean actually looked a bit sad when he replied, “I understand…”

“Look kid, try again in a few years. Then maybe Z2 will feel different about you and I won’t blast you to the moon after changing you into a pile of dust,” Father said with a sincere smile. Lean just nodded then started to walk away, it didn’t take long before something else caught his attention. 

I moved forward, “Father. Is it really safe to allow him to roam so freely?” I asked. I just couldn’t get over the amount of death and destruction Lean had been able to cause. 

“Its fine, his power is being restricted by Z2 right now. From what I could gather, when he was in the other form he was still basically just a spell that had went haywire. Now, he is a fully formed being with a real mind and quite possibly even a soul. I won’t ask you to treat him like a son but at least a brother since he was your creation,” Father looked at me sternly. I lowered my eyes and nodded.