Chapter 45 - The Sin of Innocence

Wiping away a tendril of blood that had slowly begun to slide down my chin, I pondered at the fact that nothing is ever easy, nor is there such a thing as a free lunch in this world.

“Mommy, stop trying to force it. Even though you have enough soul energy, I don’t think we can handle that much power within this short a period of time. You will only hurt yourself,” came Shia’s anxious plea.

Sighing bitterly, I nodded my agreement. I could feel that there was still a vast reservoir of power lying just beyond my reach. It was like holding a scalding cup of coffee that was simply too hot for anything but a few tentative sips. That didn’t mean the smell wouldn’t kill you in the meantime.

Still, that didn’t mean I was helpless. Sure, perhaps I had overdrafted my soul power in order to summon Aetna into this world, but it’d been worth it. From my 10th story perch up on the building where I’d crashed, I could easily spot the massive figure of my foe even from this distance. She was still roaring in impotent fury as she tried in vain to clear her vision. This would have been the perfect time to attack while she still lay vulnerable. However, I’d blown that particular play by once again underestimating her and going just a little too trigger happy.

No matter, I grunted to myself. Regrets were for losers. I only had eyes for the grim fight ahead.

“Shia,” I called out, glancing towards the wrecked ruins of Aetna with a slightly melancholic air. “Can you give me a detailed layout of this section of the city?”

“On it, Mommy,” came the instant reply. “Are we digging some surprises for the dragon lady?”

I nodded grimly, crouching before the out-of-commission exo-skeleton. Damn, 25 billion credits worth of fancy next generation tech smashed into junk metal in the blink of an eye by the elongated ass of an overgrown reptile. I couldn’t help but feel more than a little guilty.

Ah, you deserved much better, Aetna.

My adoptive book-daughter broke me out of my somber mood.

“Umm, I don’t think Sharinne’s a bad person,” she mumbled, rather tentatively. “Her left eye is a complete loss, over 32% of her body has sustained heavy injuries, and her right wing has been crippled.”

I furrowed my brow at her tone while I rolled up my sleeves and began to pull at a compartment hidden within the metal chasis of the exo-skeleton. “Your point being?”

“I think you’re bullying the poor dragon lady, Mommy!” Shia blurted out.

The heck? I gaped in astonished indignation for a long moment before grumbling under my breath, even as I continued to pull at the hatch. Damn thing was stuck!

“Have you even seen how huge that damn lizard is?”

“I’ve seen how terribly hurt she is,” Shia countered. “She’s just trying to protect Sol!”

I spat a few imprecations, then stood up and began to violently kick the offending compartment, defending myself in between each blow.

“I..”

BANG!

“Don’t..”

BANG!

“Give..”

BANG!

“A damn!”

CRASH!

With a final shriek of twisted metal, the panel finally fell off its hinge. I promptly reached inside and withdrew the emergency landing survival package meant for pilots stranded behind enemy lines. Casually flicking aside a medium range pulse rifle, a grenade belt, and other inconsequential knicks and knacks, I finally got to the real heavy hitters: a miniature arclight cutter, a small silver key, and a hefty book.

“Oh you little bitch, you are finished now,” I crooned fervently. After all, I hadn't known whether it would really be here.

“Mommy! You’re being so mean!” Shia choked.

“Here,” I grumbled, holding up the book. “Make yourself useful and eat this thing.”

“Not until Mommy promises not to bully the poor dragon lady anymore!” came Shia’s adamant reply.

What the hell? How in the world did she figure that? That “poor dragon lady” had just casually flicked her tail and wrecked one of the deadliest war machines invented by mankind. Hell, she could casually spit out a river of fire. I’d emptied thousands of rounds at her point blank and she was just “hurt”. She could probably sneeze on me and if I just stood there like a fool and took it I’d get a brain aneurysm from the sheer wind pressure alone. So now it was me bullying the dragon lady? Again, for emphasis:

I am bullying the dragon lady.

Feeling a glorious headache about to split my temples any moment now, I squeezed my eyes shut and muttered, “Fine, fine, I’ll only hit her one more time. Happy now?”

“Really?” Shia’s voice sounded completely taken aback. “You will?”

“Yes, fine. Now stop being a brat and eat this thing,” I snapped, shaking the book back and forth in the air.

“Pinky promise?” she asked, still disbelieving.

“Yes, yes. Pinky.. Agh, whatever. Yes,” I moaned. Oh, my dignity. My pride. How far the mighty have fallen. I mourned the loss of my image as the dreaded conqueror of a hundred battles. “So eat. Now.”

“Okay! Yay, Mommy is the best!” Shia chirped delightedly, and the book in my hand vanished as though by magic. Which of course, is exactly what it was.

“Shia, can you estimate the time it will take before the dragon is combat ready?” I murmured, placing the arclight cutter between my teeth and climbing on top of the exo-skeleton which was still precariously hanging over a 40 meter drop.

“There is insufficient data and you know I hat-”

I rolled my eyes slightly while I hooked my legs through a metal bar, hanging upside down and retrieving the arclight cutter from my mouth.

“I know you ‘hate speculating’, but humor me anyway,” I cut her off, mimicking her prim tone while brilliant sparks began to illuminate my face as I began cutting away.

“You meanie! Hmmph! You’re lucky Shia’s a good child. Judging by my analysis of the dragon’s reaction thus far and the intensity of the glare, I would say around 10 to 15 minutes, maybe less.”

“That’s not very helpful,” I complained, then hissed as a few sparks landed on my hand.

“Take what you can get, Mommy,” Shia replied indifferently.

“Here, find the schematic for this part,” I called out in an overtly casual manner while tapping the smooth metal surface I was cutting away at. “Display it for me while you’re at it.”

A mere instant later, a 3D representation of the device in question smoothly popped up in front of me. Shia’s impressive abilities still caught me off-guard from time to time. Hell, she had even faithfully reproduced the words printed along this particular part, “Hellion missile propulsion system”.

Thankfully, for all her incredible computing powers, she was still too distracted by our discussion to truly digest all the information she had just ingested from that book.

“In any case darling, I highly doubt the berserking dragon will obediently stop and sit still after I give it a light lovetap on the head,” I offered, as another furious roar shook the building around us right on cue, as if to accentuate my words. Perfect timing, I thought to myself while tapping lightly on the next portion of the device and waiting expectantly.

“She is just hurt and scared,” Shia whispered, while processing the information I needed in an instant. She even mumbled worriedly to herself as she off-handedly retrieved the information I needed and visually rendered the next highly complex device in real time while thinking nothing of it at all.

“Tell her to join the club,” I snorted.

“Mommy! Stop trying to make things worse!” she cried, then continued on a more pensive note. “You know, maybe I can figure out a way to neutralize her powers-”

“Rejected,” I flatly refused.

“Wha.. why?” Shia spluttered.

“Where’s the fun in that?” I grinned, then cursed as more sparks landed on my hand.

“Who’s the brat now?” she pointed out gloatingly.

I didn’t bother to reply as I focused on my task and numerous plates and bars of metal flew away, discarded. Finally content, I once again placed the arclight cutter between my teeth while I reached in blindly with one hand.

“Are you trying to repair your new toy, Mommy?” came Shia’s halting question. By her tone, I could tell she regarded that possibility as a dubious proposition, at best.

“Back in the old days, when resources were still scarce and everyone was scrambling on their butts to try and get their hands on the few high impact weapons still left,” I patiently explained while still fumbling around with my hand. There, that was the switch. Flip it, turn it around to seal the deal. There, done! “One of the most ingenious ways to get your hands on a shiny new bomb was to scavenge one right off the enemy pilot you’d just aced. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now - scavenging like the best.”

I calmly withdrew my hand, which was now holding a warhead roughly the size of a grapefruit.

“Mommy, what is that?” Shia asked, a hint of alarm in her tone.

“Hmm? This?” I hefted the warhead while grinning like a silly kid on Christmas morning. “It’s called the Hellion ballistic superiority missile, minus the missile part, since I just removed it.”

“Ah, I can’t tell what it’s made of, but it feels cold and at the same time, hot. Too hot, like the dragon lady’s fire, only smaller but just as scary,” Shia commented, and I could hear the shudder in her voice.

“Eheheh, something like that,” I chortled, then casually tossed the warhead towards the ledge. I’d disarmed it so I didn’t really care. “One down, three to go.”

“Three more?” Shia repeated, scandalized.

“Well, actually, three more like this one, and then a nice, big fat baby one. But that’s it.”

“What? Mommy, you promised!”

“Yup, I did. And I keep my promises,” I murmured, but I just couldn’t hide the devious grin spreading itself across my face. “Just one little hit, hardly a nudge, really.”

“Uh-huh,” my darling daughter muttered with a disbelieving snort.

“Ayep, more like a little lovetap,” I added, then finished in the same breath. “Oh, by the way honey, would you mind looking over that book I just gave you and finding page 132, subsection a?”

“Oh, hmm.. Let’s see. The section that reads ‘Activation Protocols for Thermonuclear WMD’, that one?”

“Hehehe.”

“Mommy?”

“Oh, hah. I mean, yes. That one,” I nodded vigorously.

Ah, how sweet the innocence of the young is.

“Mommy! It reads here that this protocol is only to be followed under direct orders from the Director General of the World Council or the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, punishable to the fullest extent of the law for crimes against humanity!” Shia protested in shocked alarm.

Ooops!

“Ah, yes. About that, do.. Do you remember those dishes I cooked for Sol and Reaver, way back then? It's something like that, just a hyperbole.” I stammered, grasping at straws.

“Really? Oh, crimes against humanity. I see, yeah, I guess you did a lot of cooking back in your day. That can definitely be called a crime against humanity,” Shia agreed wholeheartedly.

I winced at the remark but took it like a champ. Damn it, it really didn’t taste that bad!

“Ugh, just shut up and read me those codes,” I grumbled.

At least that helped me get over the guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach as Shia began to recite the procedures in order to arm the thermonuclear warhead.

It was the crime of being so young and pure.

“Don’t worry Shia,” I whispered quietly to myself. “It will be over in a flash.”

“.. Echo bravo foxtrot.. Huh? What was that, Mommy?” came Shia’s voice.

“Nothing honey, you just keep going.”

“You know Mommy, I’m really glad that I finally get to help you!” Shia giggled.

Ugh, alright. That one hurt.

Congratulations! You've unlocked a new title: "Heartless Bastard"!

New Title Earned: “Heartless Bastard”

Though evil has existed since time immemorial, few can truly lay claim to the title of the most dastardly, conniving, corrupt, malevolent, nefarious, vile, villainous, wicked and truly wretched living being upon the face of the world.

Congratulations, by ruthlessly manipulating your own innocent offspring’s pure heart, you have convincingly earned yourself this dubious honor as the true ultimate “Heartless Bastard”.

Will +5

Stamina +1

Strength +1

Intelligence +1

Wisdom +1

Charisma -5

Ah, the sweet sin of innocence.