"I'm curious."

There was no denying that he indeed was. Having overhead everything, and having also inadvertently contributed a vital component into conjuring a solution for us out of literally thin air… yeah, if he wasn't curious, then I'd be curious that he wasn't curious.

Howard stood by the sidelines, not moving a single inch despite being given explicit instructions from the big boss herself that he was completely free to leave with absolutely no strings attached.

Should have seen his face when Irene told him essentially told him that much. In her own words, she didn't deem his case a case worth pursuing. By all accounts, he should have up and left never to be seen again the moment Irene had absolve him of all his crimes.

The fact that he continued to linger, the fact that he was tapping our shoulders last minute just as we were about to take our first step out the building - the very thing he desired ever since we got him roped into this mess - just proves that plain human curiosity was a hell of a thing.

"Just what's going on, detective?" Howard asked, staring at all three of us as if he was seeing us for the first time. "These questions you've been asking, these discussions you've been having, it's like I walked into big D&D session or something. I - what's actually going on? Cause honestly, from where I'm standing, this doesn't seem like your typical everyday case."

He was right, of course. The way his eyes drifted slowly across all our faces, peering at us, with that look on his face that burned to know what else lurked beyond just our gazes.

Of course, he was never gonna find out. Nobody was going to shed him some light in the muddled darkness he found himself in. Even if one of us wanted to, we didn't have the time.

Not anymore.

"Bye Howard."

Irene spun back around, the paned glass doors swinging open with a push, and without so much as a bid goodbye, Ash and I followed suit. Departing finally from a building that held so many answers, yet raised even more questions in return.

If anything else… I've seen enough of a studio's interior to last me a proper lifetime. Doubt we'd be coming back here anytime soon, and compared to the state we were in coming out to the state we were going in, we're probably all the better for it anyway.

Bye Cyberware Game Studio. It's been a displeasure. Hope to see you never.

"Can you still drive?" I asked, just as Irene pulled out the car keys from her bloodied, tattered blazers pocket that hung loosely around her arm.

It was a valid concern, spoken with even more valid reasons, especially after having seen the arm that reached for the keys move so rigid and stiff. But obviously, Irene didn't seem to think so.

"I'm driving."

The driver-side door swung wide open, and a moment later, slammed closed. Through its window was a woman, her hands on the wheel, looking out the dashboard with a rather intense expression on her face.

Ash and I shared a look of uncertainty from across the car roof. If even Ash was raising an eyebrow about whose behind the wheel, then you know you should be a little bit worried.

I'd have volunteered in her place, insisted actually, that she instead ride shotgun this time around. Had we departed just a little bit earlier, the only thing of concern to me would have been getting us home to safety.

Unfortunately now, I simply had more pressing thoughts at hand, in hand, my phone laid firm in my grasp. I entered the backseat from my end, just as Ash did in hers, with the phone raised to my ear.

The car rumbled to life and not a second later, we were off.

Heard a ringing once, then twice… thrice - then a click.

I sucked in a breath. "Hello? Amanda? is my mother really - "

"Took you long enough!" Blared the tiny speaker pressed firmly against my ear. "I thought something bad happened to you or something, why weren't you answering?"

"Things happen," was my vague excuse for an answer. "Where is she? My mom? She still there?"

A pause, heard the sound of a chair scraping nearby, and the clattering of plates somewhere within the static, before Amanda's voice returned to drown them all out in an exasperated whisper. "Yeah… still baking..."

I felt bewilderment physically furrow my brows. "Baking?"

"She had a feeling you haven't eaten yet, she said."

Even through the whirring of the car engine, and the continuous static muffling her word, you actually had to struggle to try and not hear the absolute disbelief in her tone.

"She asked if any of your friends are also allergic to chocolate, and where do you put all your bowls. What do I tell her?"

It was my turn to take a pause there. What do I tell her? Fucking hell, there were so many things I wanted to tell her, to ask her, to goddamn demand of her.

Where the hell were you? Why weren't you answering me? Why now, after all this time? How did you get here through lockdown? And why didn't you doing anything that could have prevented any of this?

Irene swerve, a corner turn tightly taken, speeding along a deserted way past the regulated limit, skimming through checkpoints, her foot never once straying from the pedal.

Beside me, the glint of emerald eyes was hard to not take notice of. Ash stared, curiosity a twitch in her ears, a shimmer in her eyes.

It was then I realized that I wasn't the only one with questions that longed to be answered. Guess that's what happens when you're a vile ruiner of worlds, you got a lot of people wandering around looking for you with their 'Why's' and 'What's'.

It can wait. I can wait. I didn't wanna hear anything through a failing signal, the rustling static would just fail to do anything justice. I wanna hear her, and when I do hear her, I want it to be loud and clear.

I wanted to be face to face. I will be face to face. We all will.

"Bowls are in the cupboard beside the fridge," I muttered. "You tell her I'm coming home."

"Alright," Amanda answered back, her voice on the brink of fatigue. "Just get here quick."

A click, then came the dial tone, the high-pitch humming bringing the end to the conversation. It wasn't exactly the most informative of phone calls… but it told me all I needed to know.

Mom was there. Terestra was there. No ghostings, no ignoring me this time. She was definitely there.

"So…" Irene spoke, her inflection losing its stern edge, sounding softer, warmer. "Do you know what you're going to say to her when you meet her?"

I slumped my head against the seat, melting downwards in complete exhaustion. "No."

"After all this time," Her eyes glanced at me from the rearview mirror. "Can you think of any reason why she'd show herself only now?"

"That's what I'm hoping to find out."

"Your father?"

"No clue."

Irene shifted her eyes back onto the road. "I'll pick up the pace then."

The whir of the engine picked up significantly, and the view of the outside continue to whiz by us at even greater speeds. At this rate, it won't be long till the city streets are but a distant figure shrinking away on the horizon.

It won't be long now…

"Master," Ash's voice was even softer. "So it is true, then? You're heritage. You're parents…"

"Ah, yeah…"

I nearly forgot that Ash herself was the last to be informed of this little open secret of mine. Didn't share before about who my parents really were her in fear that she'd seem me different.

Being the son of the same Demon Queen you'd end yourself serving under made for some very peculiar implications. Though I didn't know what those implications were, I was certainly not going to let her dwell on it.

But looking back at it now, it really was quite an irrational thought. Nothing's changed. I was still me, Ash was still her - nothing changed about the way she looked at me just because I was now the son of evil.

In fact, going by Ash's own upbringing - it might as well be a match made in heaven… or hell, I suppose.

"I see," Ash said, nodding once. "I will restrain myself from inquiring any further then. I will not pretend I understand how it is you are feeling at the moment. Had it been me… have my true nature been kept secret from me, well…"

That thought trailed away into silence, replacing in its stead, came an encouraging smile given with gentle eyes. "In any case, Master. I do hope you will be able to find the answers that you seek."

In spite of the dark cloud that hung over me, I managed to give back a smile in return… faint as it may be. "So do I, Ash. So do I…"