After filling their stomachs with food, the women sat back with a sigh. Those that hadn't had McRonalds before now understood the craving Shizuka had. Letting out sighs, the women all looked very happy to have eaten all that food. Sipping on orange juice to cut the grease from breakfast, Alice turned to me and began talking.
"So what's on your docket today?", Alice asked, "Hopefully not us quite yet."
"Why not, I was hoping for another go.", I laughed teasing her before getting serious, "I have to add more homes to the city for the residence that came last night, and probably touch base with Clark about some things. Frankly I have no idea where to start looking for those fuckers that messed up all those worlds. The Omniverse is infinite so I need somewhere to start looking, Also...since last night got a bit crazy I forgot to give this to you, Saya and Yuriko."
Handing them the letter I had been holding on to from Souichiro, the two of them looked at the handwriting and looked a bit distraught. Realizing who wrote it, the two of them weren't sure what to do as it had been a while since they last thought of him. Saying that we could read later, the two of them said they wanted me there when they opened it. Nodding my head, I promised to set aside time this evening for that.
"What smells so good? Are you having yummy food without Filo!!", Filo shouted running down the stairs, "Filo wants delicious food too!"
"Slow down!!", the other kids shouted running after her, "You can't eat it all!!"
Coming down the stairs, Saito and Honoka saw the McRonalds wrappers on the table. Stared at me like I had betrayed them they looked like starving kittens, and the women started snickering knowing how this would end. Knowing I wasn't going to say no to them without a reason for it, they thought it was cute.
"I will get you food to, just take a seat and don't fight with each other.", I warned them.
Taking seats at the table like I told them, I gave them their breakfast and only a few of them began eating immediately. Having never had fast food before, the noble children watched Saito and Honoka eat and mimicked their behavior. As for Filo...well she jammed a whole sandwich into her mouth and started choking on it.
'Naofumi...didn't you teach her table manners?', I thought as Sayo helped her out, "Alright, I am heading out now. If you ladies need my help for anything let me know. I will be on the edge of town with Faora and Satou."
Stopping me before I left, Tyuule spoke up for the other women.
"Before you go...do you think you could do something about the room?", Tyuule asked, "With all of us sharing that room and bed now, it's kind of cramped. I think we can all agree that we need something a bit bigger with a much large bed."
"Oh!!", Shizuka said remembering something, "Could you do something like that Doctor guy does? You know with the bigger on the inside stuff?"
"What are you talking about?", Rei asked trying not to laugh at her explanation, "I don't believe I have heard of something like that."
"I used to watch a show with a man called the Doctor in it. He wasn't really a doctor, but he had a telephone box that had a lot of room on the inside.", Shizuka stated motioning the dimensions with her hands, "He went through the universe and time to help people."
"Oh yeah...I remember that show.", Rika admitted, "Jeez that show was made decades ago."
"Yeah, what was it called...", Cammy said scratching her head, "They always had re-runs playing in England..."
"You mean the Tardis?", I questioned.
"The Tardis...wait!! You mean Doctor Who!!", Gwen shouted.
"Yes!!", the older women replied, "That's it!"
"I will see what I can do.", I chuckled, "I can't make any promises."
The concept sounded easy enough to do with magic, but putting it into practice was much more difficult than I thought. Having never done something like that before, I made sure no was in the room before trying to tweak it. My first attempt without reading any study material almost ripped a black hole in our bedroom...something that would have been very bad as it would have damaged their belongings. Buying several study books, I quickly flipped through them to understand the concept.
After thirty minutes of reading I made my second attempt, which ended up working flawlessly...though the amount of things I had to take into consideration was ridiculous. I had to account for the flow of time, the spatial barriers around the room, the effects it had on the outside world, and a method for stabilizing the space. By the time I was done with the room, it was fit for an Emperor's Harem with a massive bed, closet, and a door that now connected the bathroom downstairs to our room so we didn't have to walk through the house to get to it.
'Jeez, Space Time Magic isn't easy...', I thought stowing the manuals away, 'You literally have to take into account every aspect of what you are trying to do. One little mess up could make a black hole or tear the universe apart...I wonder if Clark can fix that shit.'
Deciding that it would be a bad idea to share those manuals with others, I opted to keep them to myself. Heading back downstairs, my family looked at me like they were going to need to console me. Telling my family that it was done, their expressions changed to one of confusion.
"Wait you actually did it!?", Saya said running past me to check, "I have to see this one, there is no way you added a lot more space to small area. That's scientifically impossible, this time I know you are playing with us."
"Is it that surprising?", I asked her as she went up the stairs.
"Well...you did it in just over an hour.", Rei laughed from the table, "It sounded like it was going to be pretty-"
"HOLY SHIT!! THIS IS LIKE A FANTASY ROYAL BEDROOM!!!", Saya shouted, "All of you have to see this!!"
That statement caused a stampede in which I was left alone downstairs with Faora. Staring at me, I was surprised to see that she had remained silent all morning. Telling her she would be coming with me, she begrudgingly got up and followed behind me. Leaving the house I headed out to find Satou who was having breakfast with group. Listening to Arisa shout at him for kicking her out of bed last night, he completely ignored the complaints and focused on eating.
"Morning.", I chuckled, "I hope your accommodations were acceptable."
"Yes they were, thank you.", Satou said.
"You could have given us a comfier bed, my butt was like a pin cushion from the straw!", Arisa told me.
"Yeah, it was like sleeping on Mr. Porcupine.", Pochi laughed not realizing what Arisa said was an actual complaint.
Chuckling at that, I patted Pochi on the head and asked how she managed to sleep on a porcupine. Tama explained that while in the back of a slaver's wagon, Pochi fell asleep and rolled on top of a porcupine woman on accident. Rubbing her butt, Pochi said that it really hurt and that she was always careful after that. Apologizing to them, I said that we were working on something that everyone could buy, but that it wasn't ready yet.
Telling Satou to come find me when he was done eating, I said I would be working on house construction at the end of the road. Nodding his head, he told me he would join me shortly. Taking Faora with me, we walked towards the edge of town. Watching kids running past us as they played, Faora watched them and the adults that were going about their daily lives.
"Why do you protect these weak people? Surely you could have found yourself stronger partners to match your strength.", Faora questioned, "Why do you settle for these inferior beings?"
"I forget you lack the ability to understand anything outside of what you were programmed for.", I stated turning back to hear, "Let me fix that."
Using magic to remove the programming and mental limitations placed on her, at first she didn't feel any different. Going to ask what Victor what he had done, suddenly new thoughts came to her that hadn't appeared before. As she started reflecting on previous memories, for once in her life she felt what emotions were. When she remembered when Zod used her as a shield, she now felt anger and betrayal in place of just a minor inconvenience.
"Is...is this what Kal-El feels...", she asked me as her hands trembled, "Why...why would anyone want to feel this..? It...it hurts..."
"This is what it feels like to be alive Faora. They made you into an emotionless killing machine because it suited them better. Someone without the ability to understand emotions won't question orders.", I stated, "Let me ask you, if you had this awareness earlier on would you have done everything you did?"
"I...", she said thinking on it, "I...I don't know. Looking back now I can feel fondness for some and bitter hatred for others. This is...it's too much!! Take it back from me!! I don't want to feel this!!"
Remembering all the lives she took, it started weighing on her mind. For the first time in her life, she could feel actual guilt welling up inside her. She still enjoyed the thrill of fighting, but now when she recalled the people who weren't combatants she killed...it made her sick. Seeing their crying faces in her mind and remembering their pleas for mercy, it overwhelmed her.
"Good going Victor, you found a way to mentally break her.", Midna scolded me.
"How? It isn't like she suddenly will feel bad.", I chuckled.
"No she will, it's natural for someone to sympathize with others. Don't forget that once you removed the limiters, her maternal instinct kicked in. Mix hormone imbalance with the sudden addition of emotions and recalling her past...you'll give her PTSD.", Midna stated, "She doesn't know what to feel about things because she hasn't ever felt this way. Given her circumstances...it's likely the first thing she will feel is sympathy and remorse. Effectively she is no more emotionally mature than a newborn baby."
Realizing that now, I looked at her and saw that she was gaining debuffs rapidly. Falling to her knees as she started to recall her horrendous acts, she started to scream as her emotions consumed her mind. Knocking her out cold, I looked at her with pity. I had only intended to let her experience the world as it really was, but instead she went back and reflected on the past. Working under Zod, I was sure she had done quite a lot of unspeakable things under his orders and now she had to live with that.
"Great...now she is going to need therapy.", I muttered.
Carrying her over my shoulder, I took her to the worksite and let her rest while I began working. Joining me a short time later, Satou and I powered through house building in a few hours.
---Evening---
"You feeling better now?", I asked Faora.
"A little...", she replied sipping on some calming tea, "Why did you curse me with this?"
"It's not a curse, it's something you will need to live with.", I sighed, "Use this time to reflect on what you have done, and try to make peace with yourself."
"Why should I? You are going to kill me.", Faora retorted.
"If you tell what I want to know, I don't need too.", I reminded her.
Saying she wanted time to think, she retired to the guest room for the night to think. Happy that she was at least now considering telling me instead of blindly following orders, I looked over towards Saya and Yuriko who were waiting for my outside the bedroom. Heading up the stairs, I followed them into the bedroom to read the letter. Handing it to me, they wanted me to read it too them. Opening the letter, I began to read it.
"To my Beloved Wife and Daughter, I am sorry I wasn't able to be the man you needed me to be. I recognize that I was a failure as husband and father to you respectively. Saya, I am truly sorry that I never gave you the credit you deserved for your hard work. I know you worked late into the nights to reach where you are now. Your dedication to your dream and goals have made me proud to be your father. I am sorry that I never expressed that too you, and always said you could do better. All I wanted was for you to never stop pursuing your goals, but instead I pushed you away from me. I am sorry I didn't come to save you when this nightmare began, I am failure of a father. No matter what you may believe...the greatest achieve of mine was having a splendid daughter like you. I know that you will achieve great things in the future, it hurts me deeply that I won't be there to see you on your wedding day or the day you bring your own children into this world. By then, I hope Victor finds you a safe place to raise your family together.", I read, "Yuriko...words can't express how sorry I am that I made you suffer all these years. I know when we married that I promised to put our family first, but I ended up burying myself in work as my father before me did. You have been a better wife than I ever deserved to have. Even though you had plenty of reasons to leave me you never did, and supported me all this time. I chased you away that day because I couldn't bear the thought of watching the woman I love die alongside me. Victor's group needs someone like you there to help rebuild once Victor makes a safe haven for humanity."
Hearing the two of them start to sniffle, I flipped to the next page to continue reading.
"Victor, I leave my only daughter and wife in your capable hands. After all the time I have spent with you, you are the only one I can entrust them too. I know you won't let any harm befall them, and I recognize that you will treat them far better than I did. All I ask of you is that you don't ever neglect them like I did...they had endured enough letdowns.", I said, "I give you my blessing to take Saya as your wife, and my now ex-wife should you desire it. They are my greatest treasures that I had...please don't ever abandon them. Love, Souichiro."
Putting the letter down, the two of them started bawling their eyes out. I knew the guy wasn't good at expressing his emotions, but evidentially they didn't. Hearing how he really felt, all the anger they held for him vanished into thin air. For Saya, she finally got the recognition that she had always wanted to hear from her father. I knew deep down all she wanted to hear was that she had made him proud, but that never happened. As for Yuriko, she got the closure she wanted from the marriage she once had.
Holding them tightly, I said everything was going to be alright now. Holding me tightly they continued to cry their hearts out till eventually they fell asleep when the tears stopped coming. Looking back at the letter, the last page was full of details he had been gathering on me. He had found out that I wasn't a normal human, and knew something terrible was coming. Even though there was a chance I could have been working with my father, he trusted that I wasn't and left his family to me.
'Damn you old man...I should have forced you to come with us. I promise you that I will make Yuriko and Saya as happy as can be, just you watch.', I thought putting the letter back in my storage, "Now it's time to get some revenge on those animals..."