"Okay Papa!" smiled Gabrielle, as Miguel patted her head.
"Now, go do what a good daughter does and help your Papa kill some Prowls!!!"
"Mhm!" smiled Gabrielle.
"Miguel. As a co-parent TO OUR FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER!!!" said Anna. "Who spent TEN HYPERBOLIC YEARS in Hell!!!"
"That could either be mine or Tyrone's..."
"Not funny, Miguel."
"Resentful, actually..."
"...I don't want her fighting out there, yet! She loves to study, Miguel!"
"She can study with you on her own time."
"Yeah. I kinda like beating people up and killing them," smiled Gabrielle. "BAD people. Like, VERY BAD people, Mom." Gabrielle hugs Miguel like a big baby.
"See? She jus a bebi!!! Awtoto!!!" Miguel smiled.
"Whatever. If she dies, I'll kill you," said Anna.
"Nah. She's FINE!!! Gabrielle's a lil badass!!!"
"Wuv you, Papa!" smiled Gabrielle.
"This is unhealthy. This family seriously needs therapy," sighed Anna, walking away.
Later...
Gabrielle is shown to be strapped on a seatbelt very, very tightly while Miguel happily drives away. "Papa... I wanna kill people..."
"I love you, kid. But you can't just go around killing bad guys, y'know? We have to prove they're bad guys first! Like our next bad guy! Complete psycho. Literally budget-friendly Judge Holden. Absolute creep. Like Canadian Satan."
"Papa. Why do you hate Canadians?"
"I don't hate 'em. They're just part of the west."
"Is this about that time in Canadian Disney World?"
"It might be about that time."
"Okay, Papa!"
Miguel smiles and parks the car.
"Papa... Aren't I supposed to fight with ya?"
"Yeah... About that... The fighting area is CLOSE!!! Like... 30 kilometers from here..."
"Papa... You're doing it again..."
"Doing what?"
"Gaslighting me into not entering a fight."
"No, no! I'm gaslighting you for your own safety! Key difference!"
"Papa. You promise I get to kill bad guys."
"Gabrielle... Remember the last time you wanted this!? Had to explain to your mother why there were Kitsune brains in the kitchen sink."
"Papa!" she groaned.
"I love you, sweetie. But I know Mommy could be a TAD BIT... Overboard when it comes to teaching you.."
Back then...
Anna slaps a ruler on her chair causing Gabrielle to slap her head over and over, crying.
Now...
"So, I just decided to give you a NEW HOBBY!!! Now that you're 15... YOU CAN HAVE YOUR BRAND NEW PHONE!!!"
Miguel gives her a Holo-Phone 17.
Gabrielle grabs it. "A brick?"
"Have you never seen a phone before? That is our literal lifeline when we were kids. We were iPad Babies."
"Dad... It's a brick."
Miguel taps the screen twice and Gabrielle is startled by the light, screaming and throwing it away, causing it to fall off the bridge they're on.
Miguel sighs. "I could've teleported to get that..." He said, as a splash could be heard in the distance. "Oof. Okay, um... That was 3 Grand... Both our fault, NO WORRIES!!!"
"Papa. I wanna kill baddies..."
"Gabrielle... I love you but you can't let me spoil you all the time..."
Gabrielle gives him puppy eyes.
"No.... No, don't do that... Shit. Kid! I mean... Fine... I did promise you, after all... I'd be a bad Dad if I didn't. And I shouldn't have promised in the first place..."
"Mhm. All your fault! BAD DAD!!!" she smiled.
"Alright, Gabrielle! WE'RE GONNA KILL BAD GUYS!!!"
Miguel and Gabrielle enter the establishment. Miguel teleports Gabrielle into a vent and they both crawl in.
"Psst! Papa!" she whispered. "I sniff bad guys below."
"Okay, Easy, kid. Show some patience. You see those bad men down there?" He points to the human traffickers below who have guns. "You can kill them easily... But look closely..."
She does so. Just to their right hand side corner is an alarm button.
"Mhm," she smiled.
"Easier to pick off those baddies who aren't on patrol..." smiled Miguel.
"Okay!"
"BUT!!! None of them are on patrol..." said Miguel.
"What do you mean...?"
"Think about it, kid... These people are innocent."
"But they're trafficking people."
"But their leader has an ability... He represents the Hierophant. He can make people do things when he thinks they consent. These people are innocent."
"But they did all these things..."
"Just be silent when following me, love."
"Okay, Papa."
Miguel and Gabrielle land before a man... wearing a purple suit.
This man represents the Hierophant tarot. He is known as... The Priest.
The Priest sneers psychotically. "Gabrielle... Remember me?"
Miguel halts her from answering that by raising his hand. "This man can control your mind with simple commands if you ever wish to engage in communication with him. He has the Kulam known as the Hierophant Eyes."
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"Come on, Gabrielle. Speak with me..."
Miguel gently holds her hand, which was shaky. "It's okay to be afraid."
Gabrielle's eyes quiver. "This... bad man... turned me... into a monster... beat me... turned me into a weapon... He made me want to kill you..."
"Then... kill him."
"What!?"
"This man is a human traffickin pervert. Works for Morningstar Prime. Commanded you and made you kill all those people."
"I thought you weren't a vengeful person."
"I'm not. Not anymore... But I know you are."
"Papa... No..." said Gabrielle.
"What? I thought you'd want this."
"Papa... You don't have to break your own principles for me... We can fight this guy another day..."
Miguel smiles and hugs his daughter. "Atta girl..."
"TALK... TO ME!!!" roared the Priest.
"Psh... No!" smiled Miguel, before realizing what he just did and covering his mouth.
"Put a bullet in your head..." said the Priest, tossing a gun to Miguel and him catching it,
"DAD!!!" yelled Gabrielle, as Miguel points the gun to his head.
Gabrielle catches the bullet and skillfully creates a string-like net that stops the bullet inside his ear. "Papa. It's in your head... You're free..."
Miguel's eyes widen and gasps for air.
"He's going to prison, Papa," said Gabrielle. "I called Beatle."
"Thanks.... That... was incredibly stupid of me..." sighed Miguel.
"It's okay, Papa! I love you!" smiled Gabrielle.
"I love you, too, kid..." said Miguel.
Later... while driving home...
Gabrielle rests her head on the window. "Papa? Why'd you do it?"
"Hm...?"
"Tricking me... into going here...?"
"I wanted to surprise you... A gift for your birthday...."
"My... birthday...?" asked Gabrielle.
"Call it an unconventional gift... It's not to prove your worth to me nor is it to show if you're a pawn or whatever... Wanted to give you my best gift ever... A reminder of your autonomy. You're not Aurora's pawn, sweetie. Neither are you anyone's So, if you wanna have adventures by yourself, don't let me stop you. You're 15. Technically, an adolescent in the Philippines. I wanted you to express your autonomy today."
"Oh... I know. We think the same, after all... I just... didn't know it's my birthday..." said Gabrielle.
"Happy birthday, kiddo..." Miguel offers her a tinkering dice.
"I LOVE THESE THINGS!!!" she smiled.
"I made it myself... Um... With the help of Fred, of course... But... Yeah... For peeps like us..."
"Love you, Papa."
"Love you, too."
Chapter 26: The Gates of Hell
Shots fired. Blasts from every direction. Versions of Anna, Jedan, and Chris continue gunning down the soldiers near the Gates of Hell.
What IS the Gates of Hell?
The Gates of Hell is a real place. A deadly and cruel place similar to a wall between worlds. It is a fort, hosted by many cruel beings and many horrible soldiers of Aurora. This is not the headquarters of Hell. This is, however, its most powerful heavily artillieried fort that keeps people from leaving Hell and keeps trespassers out. Behind the wall is the Splooge Enterprises, capital of the Splooge trade network.
Hell, while there is a portion to punish sinners, there is a more massive portion that had since rebelled from Heaven's jurisdiction and become the state known as the Hellish Worlds, wreaking havoc as a crime network in Maharlica-152.
Splooge, the illegal substance with various purposes, some say can even act as a spice, fuels the known Multiverse, at least, its shadier and more prestigious worlds, or legal prestigious worlds that use Splooge without the government knowing.
In the Gate, a horrific scream could be heard in the distance, then deafening silence coming after a loud but short snapping of the bones.
Morningstar Prime walks out of the facility, cleaning blood and gray matter off her boots. "All hail... me... Either I'm dreaming or I'm losing my touch in torture, because that guy was enjoying it. Or a masochist. Then I'll torture him a different way," she sneered.
"My Lord," said Goo. "We have decimated the Fifth Ring."
Morningstar Prime facepalms. "Stand down."
"May I ask why, my Lord?"
"You may not. Just disengage. Tch-..." Prime takes a cigar and breathes in the fine nicotine. "Was Beatle there?"
"No."
Prime's nose twitched. "I spent more than 800 years getting him to love me, and he repays me by ignoring my message."
"I know, my Lord..."
"Instead, I am left to fuck these box of scraps..." she grabs his chin. "Or assault. Who knows? Depends on the alter."
"My Lord. What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to leave no prisoners. Kill the children. Make sure they don't grow into our slaves who end up having Mommy issues. If you don't get it, I am the Mommy.."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Revenge or betrayal. Those are two very similar things but incredibly distinct. One requires love to be broken..." She places her feet on the table. "The other has love to be lost as a prerequisite. In the end, what Beatle did to me, blurs both lines at this point. I know, I tore the star in half, but he chose his duty over me... Her over me... Call it petty... Then again, as we all know..." She stood proudly on her throne. "I like playing the long game. I LOVE all this stuff I have now!" she sneered.
"My Lord... we have a gift for you..." said Goo, wherein they take off a sack on their prisoner's head, and it's the smiling Miguel.
"Hey ho!" smiled Miguel.
"Miguel..." said Prime. "To what do I own the pleasure?" she sneered.
"My Lord. WE captured him."
"He allowed you to do so. And... why, Miguel? Standing in such dangerous territory?"
"Hi. Um... I'd like a pepperoni and Sashimi Pizza-..."
Prime beats Miguel and breaks his ribs. "First of all, you're at my mercy, boy. Second? Salmon pizza is just raw anchovies."
"You Conyos are all western-based when it comes to taste."
"Oh, please. You're just as Conyo as the rest of us."
"I was raised by TELEVISION!!!"
Prime beats him again. "Okay, Miggy wiggy. I want you to know that whatever you're trying to do it's not going to work."
"Y'know, Anna's pretty confrontational. No wonder you're so mad at Sabbath..."
Prime beats him into submission. "SHUT... IT!!!"
"Nah," smiled Miguel.
She beats him again.
Miguel smiles and regenerates, but barely, since her Kulam over him prevents it.... No... Whatever she has is much, much worse... "I came here... to try and talk some sense to you... As I did She-Devil."
"Are you real? You're just as real as a unicorn or a damned English Queen."
"Yeah. I'm real..." He smacks his lips. "You think Tyrone actually likes me?"
"NO!" yelled Prime.
"Aw... I thought we could be best boyfriends one day... I mean, if Anna betrayed me and him..."
"Didn't you kill him a while ago?" she asked, aggressively.
"How... do you know that...?"
"Trust me, kid. I know everything. Just shut it."
"Aren't you also neurodivergent? Shouldn't ya be fine with me?"
"NO!!!"
"WHY NOT!!?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST LIKE HIM!!! God... You remind me of him! His insufferable outright belief in his own faith... In his optimism... IN OTHERS!!! It makes me sick and makes my stomach COAGULATE!!!"
"I like the taste of Colgate!" smiled MIguel, before being beaten.
"Not the Pinoy-Staple Toothpaste, you insubordinate impudent imbecile. I MEAN YOU'RE NOTHING LIKE HIM NOW!!! You're just like him before... When he still believed. I like him. He has a silver fox thing going on but you...? You're a fucking failure compared to him. And that... ANNOYS ME!!!"
"I'm not a failure, dude. I mean, I don't think so."
"JESUS-!!! Your woman fucked another man. You realized you're attracted to another me and therefore technically ALONE in this universe! You tried to take your own life! You COMMITTED MURDER!!! YOU LOST PROMETHEUS!!! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU'RE STILL GONNA MATTER!?!?"
"Those don't define me," smiled Miguel. "What defines me is my spirit."
"YOU HAVE NO SPIRIT!!! I BROKE IT!!! I... BROKE IT!!! ME!!!" she crazily yelled.
Miguel stares at her for a short second. "Okay, dork."
"RAAAA!!!" Prime beats Miguel over and over but Miguel heals himself.
"Look... I don't want to fight you, Prime..."
"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE!?!?"
"Because I believe anyone can change... even monsters like you."
Prime sighs. "I've done unspeakable acts to men, women, and even children just to prove a point."
"Yeah. I know, Budget AM from I Have No Mouth and I Must Sceam."
"I've read the book. AM was pathetic. I've subjugated more worlds and offered them further suffering. For example, I gave an old man who had trypophobia and lactose intolerance to live in a giant ementaler cheese home. He survives because I make him survive. He eats there, shits there, and has a constant heart attack and thus barely moves at all. I've done this to each individual that had either wronged me, or when I was simply just bored."
"You made them eat cheese and poop a lot?"
"No. I mean I make them suffer their worst fears. Then again, I can stop the suffering but they're already broken. Then who would be the evilest thing out there?"
"You. You are."
"Rhetorical question."
"And a rhetorical answer!"
"GOD-!!! SHUT UP!!!"
"Weird... Is that an alliteration?"
"Stop saying MALAPROPISMS!!! IT'S LIKE YOU HEAR A WORD ONCE AND YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THEM AND YOU JUST USE THEM ON A DAILY BASIS!!!"
"That's fascist."
"GRRRRUUUUUUHHH!!!" she strangles him, humorously.
While she shook him around, Miguel just smiles defiantly while being bobbed forward and backward.
"Heheh... I feel dizzy!" smiled Miguel.
"STOP THAT!!! STOP... NOT GETTING TORTURED!!!"
"I mean, you don't really bother me compared to the other villains."
"EXCUSE YOU!?!?"
"You wanna know why?"
"Enlighten me."
"Because I know you're hurting. You want the whole world to believe you're on the right side but in reality, you're wrong. And that every wrong thing you do is right."
"Everything I do is right."
"See? You even made yourself believe that. But in reality, this is just sad. At least Tyrone doesn't know he's a narcissist. I can hate him for that. You? I kinda like you as a weird person I can sympathize with. Because we're both the same. Neurodivergent. I believe that you're just hurting and you're scared of people leaving you."
"Stop it."
"Hey... Jude..."
"DON'T YOU DARE SING THAT SONG!!! Beatle only sings that song to torment me!!!"
"He sings it because he loves you."
"And you exist because you're proof that HE'D HAVE BEEN HAPPIER IF I NEVER EXISTED!!!" she sobbed.
"And that's okay-..."
Aurora takes out her trident and prepares to stab Miguel in the heart. "STOP IT!!!"
"Ruru... Please... Calm down."
"STOP... IT!!!"
Miguel sighs, and immediately teleports away.
Prime growls. "YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE HIS POWERS!!?!?"
"We thought we did," said Goo.
"FIND HIM!!! FIND HIM!!!"
"Location says he's not here anymore!!!"
Prime growls and grabs Goo by the neck. "I can snap this SO EASILY!!!"
"Then do it."
Prime snaps his neck and asks for a new Goo. "Replace Goo 17. NOW!!!" she roared as soldiers pulled the current Goo away for another clone with his memories intact.