“Why are we here again?” said Margot.

The mother and daughter stood on the outer-surface of an airship that was passing over the city of Cologne, Germany.

“We’re here because there’s something we need here, dear. Now hand me the wrench.” said Margaret.

“Huh?”

“Hand me the wrench. The one I told you to prepare while I was bribing the service workers into looking the other way in the airport.” said Margaret.

The ‘wrench’ Margaret was referring to, was not an actual piece of metal formed into a vague claw shape for use in fastening and unfastening bolts. The ‘wrench’ Margaret was referring to was instead a type of enchantment. Usually placed on standard magical cardstock. It was similar to your standard lock-picking, or trap-defusing, enchantment but it was usually made with a little more ‘oomph’.

“Here.” said Margot.

“Ah, lovely work, dear. Now all I have to do is this...and this...and this and voila.” said Margaret. Tapping various angles on a portion of the airship’s armored plate with the wrench. Pouring a hefty amount of her magic into the simple artifact so that the wrench would completely defuse the magics holding the plate in place on the airship.

Soon Margot was forced to duck out of the way. Dropping flat against the airship’s hull, as the plate peeled off of the airship and flew off. Carried away by a crosswind. As she watched the plate fall, Margot couldn’t help hoping that no one below got injured by the plate’s inevitable landing.

“Mother, h-, how about a warning first?!” said Margot.

“Hm? Oh, sorry, dear...Next time...Next time.” said Margaret. Already preoccupied with using the wrench to shift aside the wiring, plumbing, and insulation below the metal plate.

The two used the wrench to borrow into the innards of the ship and find their way into the storage bay.

“What do we need from here? Why aren’t we summoning father already?” said Margot.

“Oh, darling...Don’t you see? We can’t summon your father without the item within this ship.” said Margaret. Her gait on uneven yet graceful like a wounded cat, her gaze focused on what lay ahead.

“What item? You still haven’t explained anything.” said Margot.

In the ninety-six hours, since she freed her mother from that jail, the woman hadn’t said a thing to her. Or rather, that’s not true. Words had indeed been exchanged. The woman spouting orders that were dressed up like requests. Perhaps rightfully assuming they’d be followed. However, there’d no actual conversations.

Margaret had mostly talked ‘at’ Margot rather than talking ‘to’ Margot. Either asking the younger woman to do something for her, or babbling on about how wonderful everything would be once Vergil was back.

There were no questions of how Margot had been, or what she’d been doing, or why she wasn’t in school? There were no questions about how Margot had found her. As well as no explanations of how she intended to summon her husband Vergil. Not even small talk.

There were more than a few times that Margot was tempted to just leave. Then Margot would feel guilty and unfilial and she’d stay put.

She’d followed Margaret’s orders, and let the woman pull her around, because she wasn’t quite ready to admit that she no longer recognized this self-involved individual as her mother. Nor had she decided if she was going to heed the darker voices inside her heart and cut ties in a more permanent fashion.

They were currently at their third stop, picking up yet another mystery item. Margot couldn’t help wishing Monty was here, at least when he did things without explanation he’d apologize and then try to remedy his mistake was doing. Also, he’d probably have been able to explain what the hell her mother was up to.

Margot and Margaret wandered through the airship’s storage bay. Margot spotted a pair of guards. Uniformed, soldiers for some private military company. Their corporation’s brand emblazoned on their shoulders and backs.

Her first instinct was to cast a spell for invisibility and sound muffling so she and Margaret could sneak past them undetected. Just as she was about to do that, her mother stepped forward and blasted them both with her wand.

Margot went wide-eyed as she watched the soldiers drop. Their chests smoking. Their chests staring into the endless void.

“M-, mother?!” said Margot. Speaking in a horrified whisper.

“Mhm? Come along, dear. We’re nearly there.” said Margaret. Smiling airily. As if she hadn’t just killed two men.

Margot hesitated but ultimately decided to follow. She one final glance to the men as she stepped over their bodies. She stopped and cast a disintegration spell to keep someone else from stumbling over them. Grinding her teeth as she light of her magic reduced the two corpses to two small heaps of easily scatterable dust.

“Did we really have to kill those people, mother.” said Margot. Catching up with her mother.

“Hm? Maybe, maybe not...they were in the way. Plus they’re already dead, so what does it matter now? Ah, there it is…” said Margaret. Her tone distracted and unconcerned as she cast a spell to make all the crates that were around her, transparent like glass.

“Do you mean the bowl?” said Margot. Looking at the crate her mother was gazing at.

Inside the crate was an old stone bowl. Going by Margot’s on knowledge and experience it was an artifact of elvish origin. Made by the nomadic sand elves that used to roam through the wilderness of Western Asia.

“Yes, darling. Now do you mind grabbing that bowl for me, dear?” said Margaret.

“Huh? O-, Oh, sure…” said Margot. Hesitating. Feeling a familiar weariness but ultimately capitulating. Just as she’d done for her father when he told her to inform her mother of his survival. Just as she’d done during this whole trip since she’d freed her mother. Doing as she was told, because the other side was her parent and Margot wasn’t quite ready to cut ties.

Margot used a phase-shift spell to reach through the crate and grab the bowl. Her arm ghosting through the container.

Margot handed her mother the bowl. The woman held it up to her face. Her eyes. Positively luminous. Then she stored it away in the storage device she wore as a ring.

Margaret closed her eyes, her expression momentarily troubled before it smoothed over.

“Okay, so that’s the last ingredient… Hon, I’ve been curious. Do you have someone? Someone special?” said Margaret. Humming as she pulled out her smartphone and read through the text file that held the details of the summoning ritual.

“Huh? Uh...N,- No.” said Margot. Blushing furiously. Thankful the cowl was hiding her face. Struggling to ignore the face that had popped up in her head in response to her mother’s question. Her chest suddenly filled with an almost suffocating yearning.

“A pity. There’s no better feeling in the world when you’ve got someone important to you who feels the same way. Someone who makes you feel like you could do anything.” said Margaret.

“I...I guess.” said Margot. Wondering why her mother was suddenly so talkative.

“Honey, you’ve grown quite strong, you know…You really have.” said Margaret.

“Uh...Th-, Thanks.” said Margot. Finding herself feeling faintly happy at the unexpected acknowledgment. Feeling expectant, wondering if her mother was going to finally take an interest in the child she’d left behind all those years ago.

“Mommy, needs you to serve as a distraction.”

“H-, Huh?!”

“The hole we made in the ship’s hull has probably been noticed. The missing guards will probably draw an investigatory team from elsewhere in the ship so soon this place will be swarming with mercenaries. I ‘need’ to get out of her with the bowl. So what I need you to do is make a lot of noise to draw them away so I can steal one of the ship’s escape-pods.” said Margaret.

“But...Then, what will I do?” said Margot.

“You’ll be fine, dear...With that suit of yours, and with all your new strength, I doubt they’ll be able to hurt you...At the very worst, they’ll toss you in prison, but mommy has friends who can break you out, and if you do this right, I don’t think there’ll be anyone alive to take you into custody.” said Margaret.

“That’s...That’s insane...You're insane!” said Margot. Horrified and confused.

Her mother just gave her a sad smile in response. Sudden Margot felt herself being blasted out of the cover of the crates. She looked behind her and saw her mother’s retreating back

Margot was about to call after her, but whatever she was about to say was lost as a bullet pinged off of her shoulder. Bouncing off her mantle’s armor.

Margot turned and found herself facing a group thirty armed me. Some of them wearing armored exoskeletons. Margot sighed and then prepared to fight. Then she stopped herself. Realizing that even if she wasn’t particularly against fighting all these men, there was no reason for her to do so.

“Is this for real? She really did it again?” said Margot. Chuckling and bitterly whispering to herself as she stared at the bodies.

Margot once again found herself abandoned by her mother, to a crowd of unfamiliar faces. The young woman was once again left to deal with a crowd of unfriendly faces, while her mother went off in her single-minded pursuit of Margot’s father.

Fortunately, this time Margot could deal with things on her own, or this time she might have died. With a sigh, Margot q-stepped through the floor of the ship. Realizing as she did so that if she’d known what her mother intended, then they could have gotten into the ship a lot more quietly than they had.

Margot fell from the ship. Her mantle altering itself slightly and becoming an armored wingsuit. She glided towards the earth with a gravity reduction spell and found her mother waiting for her by the side of an escape. Just as she’d said she’d be.

“Ah, I knew you’d come out alright. Okay let’s go.” said Margaret. Pulling a vehicle that looked like a cross between a motorcycle and a vacuum cleaner out of her storage device.

She pressed a button on the side of the vehicle’s hand and it began to hover. Floating above the grass and gravel.

“......”

Margot said nothing. She simply stared at her mother. Her face empty of expression, her hands clenched into a fist. A small voice in the back of her muttered about the second option, the darker option she had for cutting the ties between parent and child. Then the moment passed, and in the end, she still joined her mother on the motorized broom.