Chapter 104
Sapphyra
It took conscious effort not to rub my belly. That little act was all I had to soothe my nerves while we followed behind Wyatt.
Guy held my hand but in my mind I was of two—no—three minds. One, I wanted to focus on restoring the city, I needed to undo all the damage I’d done. Two: to do that I had to restore System back to who she was before—easy enough except she’s not talking to me anymore. And three. I had to learn how to unravel myself from Wyatt.
He wasn’t my soulmate. He wasn’t my only support system or link to the past but my mind and body didn’t agree.
“Sapphyra?” Guy’s voice broke me from my thoughts. I gave him a small smile and rubbed his thumb.
“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. Busy thinking about how to fix everything.” Honesty is the best policy.
“That’s easy enough.” He smirked and pointed a thumb at his chest. “You ask me for help.”
I rolled my eyes and wished it was as easy as he made it out to be. “You’re at the top of my list, Guy. And don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson on doing things alone.”
My eyes drifted towards Wyatt’s backside.
“If only others could do the same.” I added, wholly unnecessarily. No, it was needed. I needed Wyatt to hear me and do better. I mean, here he is leading us around but didn’t he agree to take a backseat and let Noa drive? Silly me. I should have known he wouldn’t stick to his word for long.
“Not much farther now.” Wyatt’s words cut clean to us though he never turned around to address us. I think that pissed me off the most.
He cut through several alleyways, stopping once we got to a hole big enough to park an SUV in. Guy and I looked down, trying to discern anything from it but it was pitch black. Who knows how far down it went?
I kicked a rock into it, waiting for the sound of impact.
Splash. It was so faint if I was human, I wouldn’t have picked it up but it was there. The rock hit water down at the bottom of this deep dark hole.
Raising a brow, I turned to Wyatt.
“This is what you found? A hole with some water at the bottom?” He turned to us, flexing his wrists towards the hole.
“Oh ye of little faith.” He shook his head with a rueful smile. “The hole is just the beginning.”
And for the first time since I’ve known him, Wyatt did something spontaneous: he jumped down the hole.
“Wait-Wyatt you can’t fly!” My heart jumped into my throat as I took off after him. Guy still held my hand and with our wings out wide we flew down into the hole. Wyatt landed first but he was fur and fang beneath the sheer luminescent mushroom lights.
“You shifted?” Seems like he’d mastered that in such a short time.
“Of course I shifted.” He spoke but that wasn’t him, it was Noa. Those warm blue eyes called out to me as the fur shrank back into his skin.
“How long have you…I mean I’m a little confused—” I stopped talking and rubbed my temples.
“You thought Wyatt was still out? He said he would take a backseat and he has…for now anyway.” Noa stretches beneath the low lights, adjusting his shirt and sleeveless coat. He doesn’t eye me directly but I know he’s watching with more than just his eyes.
“I see.” Was I disappointed? A little. I thought Wyatt would absolutely chicken out and push himself to the front but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe I should have checked his eyes but either way…good for him.
I still don’t trust him though.
[And you shouldn’t]
I stopped walking, eyes snapping at the menu above my head popping up.
“System? You’re back?” I whispered, full of hope. Guy smiled at me. He tugged me along, reminding me that we were still in the middle of an investigation.
[Technically I never left. You certainly tried to kick my ass out though.]
I blushed, scratching the back of my head. “Yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. My other half really wanted to be free after…well, after everything.”
[You ain’t gotta explain it to me. I’m in your head too.] Duh. I’m such an idiot sometimes.
“How are you feeling?” I was genuinely curious. I’ve never heard of a program being forced out by sheer will of an eldritch-like being.
[Fucked and not in a good way. But I’m alive at least, in a sense anyway. You on the other hand. You basically had god mode and now you’re back to square zero. How the hell did you let that happen?]
I winced. “You try learning that your child's corpse was stolen, resurrected and raised by someone you thought was a friend only to turn them into a supervillain!” I bit back, a little tired of her attitude.
[Well when you put it like that…]
Guy chuckled and Noa softly snorted up ahead. He took us down a set of ancient stone stairs covered in thick ivy vines. As we carried on, the environment grew lighter and lighter. Now we could see each other for a few dozen steps ahead versus not being able to see my own hand in front of my face. Along with the lights, buildings made purely out of giant pink mushrooms lined our view.
Not just buildings, a city. Not like Cyran City, this one was made on purpose, not by an accident. Each curve and column was hand-sculpted. Each bench and streetlight was made with care. And the roads were grey and covered in a hard but smooth pale substance—almost to stop any traction.
Roads that curved upward along the walls like frozen waterfalls running in reverse.
I smiled, watching various shroomies slide on the ground like penguins on their bellies—that would make sense as to why the ground was so smooth. I flew up for a second, taking in the sights. The lake that Cyran City used to be built on had risen up to the surface mostly. What was left had become this sprawling metropolis.
“Guy.” I felt him fly up next to me, felt his arm around my waist. “It’s beautiful. The shroomies…they built all of this. Did you know?”
“Nope. It is amazing though.” He kissed my cheek and wiped away my stray tears. “Not as beautiful as you, though.”
I rolled my eyes.”You say the cheesiest lines.”
“And they absolutely work, don’t they?” Pursing my lips, I smirked but remained silent.
“Oh hey, come on. Don’t leave me hanging like that!” He called after me. I just laughed as we floated back down to Noa. Noa was talking with a shorter, older shroomie, one with a long slimy beard. With a tiny hat and tie around his neck, he looked official.
“Sapphyra, Guy, let me introduce you to the mayor of Cappville, Vrush.”
“Hello,hello, hello my dear! Why, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you at last!” He reached up and shook my hand, nearly making me fall over. “Michelle has said so many beautiful things about you, that I just had to meet you for myself.”
“Heh, that’s nice…do you mind letting go of me—”
My brain finally clicked into place. His words processed in me, making the world stop for me, even though he was still wiggling my arm around like a limp noodle.
“Did you say…Michelle?” I whispered, my throat drier than the Sahara desert.
“Why yes, I did! I believe she’s not far behind me—-” he finally let go of me and motioned to a small office like building behind him. I could see inside it, translucent pale chairs and desks with shroomies shuffling papers and pens of the same material. At one desk in the back, sat a woman I didn’t think I’d ever see again.
The woman who taught me how to do my hair. She taught me how to drive. She’d scold me whenever I let a boy ruin my day and eat ice cream with me until she threw up—just to make me feel better. The woman who gave me my sense of justice and loved me anyway when her partner told her not to.
I had her eyes, her smile.
I let go of Guy's hand and pushed open the office door, walked past each little shroomy at their desk. Each step felt like I was walking back home, up my front stairs. Like I was a little girl again.
She turned to me, eyes widening. Her bottom lip trembled as she stood up, arms wide open.
“Sapphy?”
“Mama!”