Chapter Text
"Big brother, guess what, guess what, guess what!"
Naga had been trying to nap in the backyard, but Alya wasn't letting him. It was hotter than usual outside, despite it only being January. He wanted to take advantage of it, but it wasn't going to work.
"Your birthday is tomorrow," Naga said.
"Yeah!" Alya cried out. "That means that next week I get to go to the same school as Lusca and Hammie is going to be there!"
Schools worked differently here than in a lot of different places. Alya had been accepted into preschool when she was three years old, and on her fifth birthday, she was eligible to go into the elementary school. Classes started up once a month, and the kids who were age eligible would stay in a class with the same students until they graduated to junior high school, though they rotated teachers every year. Three months off a year, January was considered the start of the new school year. She would be going with a couple of her preschool classmates who also turned five in the last four weeks.
This had worked out great for Hammie. She was getting ready to return to start her time working in the girls' elementary school. Lucky had found this process being really easy, as the school had been looking for extra help. Hammie had signed up as a teacher's aide, which would ultimately give her more time outside of school, and allow her personal time with both Alya and Lusca. Lucky almost didn't need to do anything to help.
Hammie was sad to leave her regular students, but they had all been supportive. Hammie had even told Echidna they had thrown her a "see you later" party. They had all gifted her cards and drawings, and Echidna was making sure to keep Hammie's bedroom wall clear so she could put them up and look at them whenever she wanted.
"Brother?" Alya asked.
"Yeah, baby sister?"
"Remember when you asked me what I wanted as a birthday gift and I didn't know? I know now."
Naga sat up. It was a nap failure. "Tell me what you want."
Alya walked over to him and gave him a hug. She pulled away and smiled.
"That's it? A hug?"
"I love you, big brother."
"I love you, too, baby sister."
Alya skipped away. Naga was confused. The hug was nice and something he would have given her anyway, but now, he still didn't know what to get Alya for her birthday. He sighed, and relaxed again.
Only a couple of minutes later....
"Naga, wake up."
Naga opened his eyes and sat up. "I'm awake, Balance."
"Good," Balance said. "I need you to help me move something heavy in the living room. Should only take a few minutes. Please."
Naga sighed. Weren't Champ and Stinger here to ask? Gods. It had even been Balance's idea for Naga to go outside. "All right," he said. He got up and forced a smile at Balance. Balance took him by the hand and took him back inside.
Everyone who was there was just standing in the middle of the living room. Naga really didn't know why they couldn't help move whatever it was that Balance needed help moving. But... suddenly....
"Surprise!" everyone called out. Stinger and Champ moved aside, revealing a surprise gift... a beautiful, shining silver baby buggy.
"Guys," Naga said. He ran over to it. It was definitely an antique, but polished perfectly. Inside of it, was a golden blanket.
"Stinger made that blanket," Champ said.
"Guys, it's beautiful!" Naga cried out. "Thank you!"
"Balance found it at the bazaar," Raptor said.
"And he polished it up for you," Kosey said.
Naga turned and looked at Balance. If Balance could grin, he would have been.
"You did this for me?"
"For us," Balance said. "I love you, Naga."
"I love you, too!" Naga said. He tackle hugged Balance, and both of them ended up on the ground. Naga kissed Balance on his cheek. "I love this so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This must have cost a fortune!"
"Don't worry about that," Balance said. He was chuckling. "I know we promised we weren't going to splurge, but I had to buy this."
"Thank you so much," Naga said.
"Anything for you, Naga. And our kid."
Naga grinned and kissed Balance on the cheek again.
"What are you reading, Lusca?"
Lusca looked up at Stinger. It was a warm Saturday afternoon, the day of Alya's fifth birthday. Echidna and Kosey were at work, and Alya had gone to the park with Raptor. Champ had followed Echidna to work, since Tsurugi wasn't there to accompany her anymore. Naga and Balance had some errands to run. Terazi and the Commander had gone out on another date.
Stinger had offered to babysit for Lusca that day. So far, he hadn't had much success interacting with her. She had refused to do anything except sit on the sofa.
Lusca had still been sitting on the sofa, curled up with her book. She held up her book. "It's about fairy tales, but I can't really get into it right now."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault."
"That's just something that people say," Stinger said. "I have something for you."
"You do?" Lusca put her book down.
Stinger handed her the blanket he had made. It was yellow, with some strands of white.
Lusca smiled. "I enjoy the color."
"I'm glad," he said. "Could... could I sit down?"
"Sure."
Stinger sat on the sofa, not too close to Lusca. "I added some extra padding with it. It should be comfortable."
Lusca wrapped herself in the blanket. She smiled again. "It is comfortable," she said. "Thank you very much for the present."
"Sure," Stinger said. "Hey, uh, if you need anything else... or... want anything else... or... you just want to talk, I'll be here for the time being."
"That's ok," Lusca said. "I'm going to stop talking again."
"What?"
Lusca sighed. "When I was quiet, everyone paid attention to me. I started talking and everyone started to love me but they started to disappear."
"What do you mean?"
"Tsurugi left."
"Tsurugi left because he's trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?"
Stinger frowned. He wasn't going to get into what they knew about her. He didn't want to lie, and he had already said too much. "Want me to read to you?"
"No, I don't like to be read to," Lusca said. "And you didn't answer my question."
Stinger was so taken aback, he wasn't sure how to respond. "Tsurugi is working."
"Tsurugi said he cared about me, and then he just left," Lusca said. She was starting to raise her voice.
"He's trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?" Lusca was screaming at this point. She stood up and threw her blanket on the ground.
Stinger's jaw had dropped, and he stood up as well. "Lusca, there's some things you don't know."
"I know a lot!" Lusca said. "And you guys must think I'm stupid or something!"
"No, we don't," Stinger said calmly. "Nobody thinks that."
"Then why does everyone keep leaving me and just telling me everything is all right when I can clearly see that something's wrong?" A tear slipped down Lusca's cheek. It was the first time Stinger had seen her cry, and he didn't want to call attention to it. "First Ladon leaves me, then Tsurugi leaves me. The only difference between Ladon and Tsurugi is that Tsurugi didn't drop me off in some stupid group home!"
"What? A group home?"
"Only Tsurugi couldn't drop me off anywhere because Echidna and Kosey have to take care of me!"
"They're your parents. They want you, Lusca."
"No, they don't," Lusca said.
Stinger sat down on the sofa. "What do you mean, they don't?" He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, as an attempt to keep Lusca calm.
"Echidna only took me because she had to," Lusca said.
"That's not true, she always wanted you."
"You don't know that."
"I do know that."
Lusca had lowered her voice, but she was still upset. "Echidna took me because the lady attorney said she had to."
"If that's what you were told, I'm sorry," Stinger said. "Echidna took you because she loves you. It had nothing to do with the... lady attorney."
"She said that Echidna was going to take me only so nobody could shoot me. But she could still shoot me if she wanted to."
"Echidna's not going to shoot you. You're her daughter."
"She tried to shoot Naga and that's her son."
"How... how did you even know about that?"
"The lady attorney told me what kind of person Echidna really is. That's why you're here, right?"
"I'm confused, Lusca."
"You're here to keep Echidna from putting me to sleep."
"Where did you get that idea, Lusca?"
"The lady attorney said Echidna was going to punish me for what I'm doing."
"What are you doing, Lusca?"
"Hey, can I give you something?" Lusca asked, avoiding the question completely.
"Sure," Stinger said, even though he was confused.
Lusca got up and ran to her bedroom, and ran back in, quickly. She handed something to Stinger.
"Will you keep this safe for me?" Lusca asked.
Stinger looked at what Lusca had handed him... a small rock. Looked like crystal, but just slightly different.
"A rock?"
"It's special," Lusca said. "It's from Rasalhague. It's the only thing I was able to keep. When Echidna picked me up I hid it in my shoe. Ladon gave it to me and I don't want her to steal it."
"Echidna would never steal from you, Lusca."
"Please keep it for me, Uncle Stinger?"
"Uncle?"
"Please? Just keep it in your pocket all the time. That way no one will take it. Please, Uncle Stinger?"
At that moment, Kosey walked in. "I'm home!" he cried out.
Stinger shoved the rock in his pocket.
"Daddy's home!" Lusca cried out. She ran over to Kosey, giving him a hug. He picked her up and held her tight. "I missed you so much, Daddy!"
"I missed you, too!" Kosey said.
"Daddy, will you read to me?"
"Sure. But let me take a shower first, ok?"
"Ok, Daddy! I'm going to wait for you."
Stinger watched as Lusca's mood not only seemed to change, but it seemed at that point that she was... almost... putting on an act. She had just told Stinger she didn't like to be read to. Was that a lie? Did she just... not like Stinger?
Tsurugi hadn't warned Stinger about this.
"Did you have a good day with Stinger?"
"Yeah, Stinger is lots of fun!" Lusca said. "We read together and played a game together."
"That's good to hear!" Kosey said. He looked over at a very confused Stinger. "Thank you for taking such good care of her. She's precious."
Stinger could only nod.
"I'm going to take a shower, and I'm going to get dinner ready," Kosey said, putting Lusca down. "Stinger, could you hang out just a little longer? I thought Echidna would be home by now."
"No problem," Stinger said. "We'll all be back for Alya's birthday party, anyway. If it's ok, I'll just wait here."
"Good idea," Kosey said.
"Hurry back, Daddy," Lusca said.
"I will," Kosey said, heading towards his bathroom.
When they were alone, Lusca turned back to Stinger.
"Don't let Echidna kill me," Lusca whispered. "Please?"
"She's not going to."
"I tried to make Daddy like me as much as possible so he'll protect me."
"He loves you."
Lusca shrugged. "I don't know."
"Lusca, that wasn't a question."
Lusca got silent as she leaned over and picked up her new blanket. "I'm sorry I dropped this."
"It's ok."
Lusca sat down on the sofa again. She wrapped the blanket around herself and picked up her book.
Stinger sat down next to her, and both stayed completely silent.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Alya, happy birthday to you!"
Everyone was clapping and cheering as Alya blew out the candles. She was grinning.
"Thanks!" Alya cried out.
Echidna leaned over and gave Alya a kiss. "Congratulations on your fifth birthday, honey."
"Thanks, Mother!" Alya said. "Mother, did it hurt when I came out of your tummy five years ago?"
"Not at all," Echidna said with a chuckle.
Alya grinned, and watched as Kosey started cutting up the cake.
"Can't believe it's been five years already," Naga said.
"Time is going to go very fast," Echidna said. "In just a few short months, you will have a child of your own, and you will learn that it goes quickly."
"I can't wait," Naga said with a grin.
Kosey served Alya the first piece of cake. It was chocolate, and covered in frosting. She took a bite, and she was already covered.
"Honey, you are going to need a napkin," Echidna said.
"Forget the napkin, I'll get the hose," Balance said.
Alya laughed. "No, Balance, that's silly!"
"You're silly, Alya! You have frosting on your nose."
Alya rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "Did I get it?"
"No, actually, you made it worse," Echidna said, laughing. "That is why I said you need a napkin."
"Oops," Alya said, and everyone laughed.
Everyone was talking and laughing as they ate the cake, with the exception of Stinger. He had been keeping a close eye on Lusca.
Lusca wasn't acting the way she had when she and Stinger were alone. She was acting loving, and caring. He wondered if this was a face she was just putting on. If what she said was true, and that she was actually afraid of Echidna killing her... how was this arrangement going to be long term? Echidna and Kosey were Lusca's legal parents, weren't they? That made this permanent.
Everybody had eaten their cake, except for Lusca. She had eaten the frosting, but hadn't touched the cake. Echidna had concluded a while ago that Lusca didn't like bread or cake. It was probably a texture thing, but she didn't want to force it.
The night was pretty quiet. Everyone had gotten a small gift for Alya, mainly books. Stinger had made her a new set of earmuffs. They had also gotten a couple of gifts for Lusca. Lusca had made a comment about her birthday being in September, but thanked everyone for the thought. After they had given out the gifts, Naga, Balance, Champ, Stinger, and Kotaro had gone home. Terazi and the Commander were going out on another date.
"They're getting serious," Naga teased Balance when they got back to their house. They were hanging out in the living room, and Naga was laying on Balance's lap. "Two dates in one day."
"He's gonna be your dad, Balance," Kotaro said with a laugh.
"That'll be the day," Balance said. "Although, might be nice to have a dad around. Mine left when I was just a baby."
"Really?" Stinger asked.
"Yeah," Balance said. "I haven't talked to him in ages."
"Sorry," Stinger said.
"It's okyuu, desu!" Balance said. "Right now, if the Commander is anyone's dad, he'll be Kotaro's."
"Making him your legal guardian was probably the best way to go," Champ said. "He'll take care of you just fine."
"I thought it would be Aniki, if it had to be anyone," Kotaro said.
"He's just signing you up for school and making sure you stay in good health," Stinger said. "I'm still your Aniki."
"Speaking of school, Hammie will be back tomorrow morning," Naga said. "And Lucky."
"We've invited Leoh and her daughter for lunch," Balance said. "Lucky wants to meet her, and everyone else should meet her, too."
"She has a daughter?" Stinger asked.
"Yeah, she's just a year older than Lusca," Naga said. "She's really cute." He smiled. "I hope our child looks like her."
"It would be nice if the baby looked like you," Balance said.
Naga smiled again and shrugged.
"How far along is she?" Stinger asked.
"Four months," Naga said. "I can't wait to meet our kid."
"Her due date is in June," Balance said. "But she seems to be progressing faster."
"Your mother gave birth at seven months," Stinger remembered.
Naga nodded. "Yeah. Leoh's species carries their babies for nine months, but since the baby is part Hebitsukian, her doctor thinks it's speeding up her process."
"She looks further along than she is," Balance said. "At first, we thought she was having twins."
"Twins?" Kotaro said.
"But it's not twins," Naga said. "Just one."
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Kotaro asked.
"We don't know," Balance said.
"We want to be surprised," Naga said.
"How do I know what colors I should use for blankets and clothes?" Stinger asked.
"You don't have to do that," Balance said.
"I want to," Stinger said. "I know you guys want to go shopping, but I do want to make a few things."
"I want to help, too," Champ said. "So if you need anything, let me know."
"Thanks, guys," Naga said. "That means a lot."
"You know, Stinger makes a good point," Balance said.
"Hmm?" Naga asked.
"Well, we want to go shopping, right," Balance said. "Wouldn't it be easier if we knew if it was a boy or a girl? We'd know whether to buy dresses or not, or blues or pinks."
"That's... a good point," Naga said.
"You should have one of those gender reveal parties," Kotaro said. "They're popular on Earth."
"What's that?" Stinger asked.
"It's when you go to the doctor and he gives somebody the baby's sex, and they have a party and everyone finds out at the same time if it's a boy or a girl."
"Shouldn't it technically be a sex reveal party?" Balance asked.
"That sounds dirty," Kotaro said with a giggle.
"It's not," Balance said, chuckling. "What do you think, Naga?"
Naga thought for a moment. "Well, maybe it would be best to find out if it's a boy or a girl."
"I mean, we can still wait," Balance said. "Think about it."
"Do you have a preference?" Stinger asked.
"Nah," Balance said. "I just want a kid."
"Me, too," Naga said, grinning at Balance.
"So, what's she like?" Stinger asked.
"Leoh?" Naga asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, she's beautiful, and smart," Nag said. "She's very sweet, very optimistic. But she's also very grounded and level-headed."
"She has a perfect smile," Balance said. "She's friendly and sincere."
Stinger smiled. She sounded... interesting.
"Anyone want to watch a movie?" Naga asked.
"I will," Balance said.
"Sure," Champ said.
Naga turned the television on and looked for something to watch. Stinger was too lost in thought to pay any attention.
Stinger could not take his eyes off of Leoh as she walked up to the house with her daughter.
The woman was stunning. Her long brown hair, glistening eyes, and radiant smile had caught Stinger's attention... and it caught it hard.
Naga had ran over to the door and opened it before Leoh was able to even get to it to knock. She giggled, and Stinger quickly took note of how cute that giggle was. He was infatuated.
"Champ?" Stinger whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
Champ looked over at Stinger. "Aibou, that's the mother of Naga's baby."
"Yeah, but she's being paid," Stinger whispered.
"Everyone!" Naga cried out. "This is Leoh, and this is her daughter, Tiaret."
"Nice to meet you!" Kotaro cried out.
"We've been looking forward to seeing you!" Hammie cried out.
"Thank you so much!" Leoh cried out. "Thank you for inviting us to your home, Naga."
Oh, her voice was beautiful, too. Stinger needed a cold bath or something.
"Leoh," Lucky said, walking up to her.
Leoh's eyes widened when she saw Lucky, and instantly recognized him. "Your Majesty!" She bowed, and pushed Tiaret gently down to bow.
"That's ok, I'm a friend here!" Lucky said.
"A friend?" Leoh repeated.
"I have a gift for you," Lucky said.
"For me?" Leoh asked.
"Come sit down," Naga said, escorting her to the sofa. She sat down, and Tiaret sat down next to her.
"Thank you," Leoh said. She looked around the room nervously.
Lucky smiled, and handed her a small box. It was gift wrapped in silver and pink.
"What is this?" Leoh asked quietly.
"Please open it," Lucky said, still smiling.
Leoh looked over at Naga, who nodded his approval. Leoh silently opened the box, and pulled out her surprise gift... a silver locket.
"Your Majesty!" Leoh cried out. "This... this is...."
"It looks like silver, but it's a precious metal only found on Cayenne," Lucky explained. "Leoh, I want to offer you a personal apology and my condolences for the loss of your husband, Tau. I hope that you can fill this locket... which holds two photos, by the way... and let it always remind you of the homeworld you were raised on, and that your daughter was born on."
Leoh started crying gently, and Tiaret held onto her arms. "Thank you," Leoh said. "But this is too much. This is an expensive metal, and-"
"No," Lucky said. "You're a survivor, and now you're doing something incredible for two of my closest comrades." He smiled at Tiaret. "I also have something for you."
"You did not have to get my daughter anything, either," Leoh said.
"I'm the King. I can do whatever I please." Lucky smiled and laughed. "It's really all right." He pulled another box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Tiaret.
"Is this ok, Mommy?" Tiaret asked.
Leoh looked at Lucky for a minute, and then at her daughter. "Well, he is our king, after all." She giggled.
Tiaret opened the box. She also had a necklace, but hers was a crystal, sort of lime green in color.
"Your Majesty!" Leoh cried out. "That's... that stone is also from Cayenne!"
"I never saw it before," Tiaret said. "This is really pretty! Is it really from Cayenne?"
"It sure is," Lucky said.
"Thank you!" Tiaret said.
"Yes, thank you," Leoh said. "We will cherish these."
Lucky leaned over and gave Leoh a hug. He did the same thing for Tiaret.
"If there's anything you need... ever... please just ask," Lucky said. "I can't visit too long right now because of some responsibilities I have, but any Kyuranger can get a hold of me at any time. And now that the planet is liberated, please consider coming back to visit. Once the baby is born, of course."
"Thank you," Leoh said. Balance handed her a tissue.
"Mommy, can I wear this?" Tiaret asked.
"Of course," Leoh said. She helped her put it on. Tiaret looked down at the stone, and she was smiling.
"It's pretty," Tiaret said. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"You're welcome," Lucky said, grinning.
"Are you hungry?" Naga asked.
"Sure," Leoh said. "Thank you."
Leoh got up and walked over to the dining table, with Tiaret shyly following her.
Stinger didn't mean to stare, but he couldn't help it. It started with just looking at the shape of her body, and then moved to her face.
Her skin was beautiful. Smooth. Maybe too smooth. Did Shishi people have naturally beautiful skin? Stinger didn't want to look at Lucky's face at that moment, but, come to think of it, Lucky's skin was smooth, too. Stinger shook off that thought, as he did not want to think about that.
Her hair was brown, and it was shiny and long. Looked soft to the touch. It wasn't styled, not really, but it was so pretty that it didn't matter.
Her smile. Her smile could light up a dark room.
Stinger needed to get his mind off of Leoh, no matter how pretty she was. He looked around the room. Everyone was eating and drinking. Talking, laughing. Leoh was answering questions about her pregnancy, and Naga and Balance were the cool, proud dads.
But Stinger noticed Lusca. And he was confused about what she was doing.
She was glued to Echidna. She was talking, and laughing with her as they both ate their lunch. Lusca was sitting on a chair next to her, but she might as well have been in Echidna's lap.
This made no sense to Stinger. Lusca had told him that she was afraid of her. If that was true, then why would she be so close to her?
At least Lusca hadn't gone silent like she had threatened to do.
Stinger still didn't know what was going on with her, and he started to wonder if he was the only one she had confided in. Had Lusca lied to him about her fears? She hadn't gone into any specifics other than she thought that Echidna was going to kill her, and that the proof had been that she once tried to kill Naga.
But... that was out of context. A major, regretted act, but still, out of context, with what Echidna had said.
A thought occurred to Stinger at that point... and he didn't like it.
He took a step back, nearly tripping over his own feet. He had suddenly lost his appetite, and backed away quickly. He ran out of the front door as fast as he could. He wasn't sure if anyone had seen him and at that moment, he didn't care.
Stinger started running. Running as far away as he could, despite the orders to stay close by.
By the time he stopped running, he was crying. He wasn't sure exactly why he was crying. Was it exhaustion? Was it just a release of emotions? Was it fear?
He sat down on a bench. He had found himself at the park. He wasn't sure exactly how he had gotten there, as he didn't know his way around yet.
Stinger needed to calm himself down. He was a grown man, sitting in a park with tears streaming down his face. He was glad there wasn't anyone around... and even more glad that it didn't seem like anyone had followed him.
Stinger had no idea what to do. He reached into his pocket. He still had the small rock that Lusca had given him the day before.
It had changed colors, somehow. It had gone from being mostly clear, to having a cloudy white appearance.
"Rocks on Rasalhague change colors?" Stinger said out loud.
"Aibou!" Stinger heard Champ call out.
Stinger quickly shoved the rock back into his pocket and stood up.
"Hey," Champ said. "What happened? Why'd you run?"
"You saw me?"
"Yeah, you took off pretty fast. Everyone was wondering where you went."
"They all saw?"
"Of course they did, you aren't invisible," Champ said. "You're acting weird."
"I'm not," Stinger said.
Champ shook his head in frustration. "You wanna talk?"
"No," Stinger said. It wouldn't have made any sense to talk, whether he wanted to or not. He had no solid proof of his theory.
"You sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Are you going to come back? There's more food."
"I'm not hungry."
Champ noticed something then. "Are you crying?"
"No," Stinger lied.
"Something's up with you," Champ said. "Talk to me, aibou."
"No, I'm fine," Stinger said, trying to convince both Champ and himself.
"I don't believe you."
"Well, you should."
"Well, I don't," Champ said. "Come on. Let's go back to Naga's house."
"No."
"Lusca is asking for you," Champ said. "Actually, she asked for her Uncle Stinger."
"She did?"
"Yeah," Champ said. "Isn't it your job to protect her? Why did you run away in the first place?"
Stinger started walking the way he thought he got there, and Champ stood in front of him.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Champ asked. "You're here to do a job, and you're not doing it. Instead, you're running away and crying about it."
"I'm not crying about it!"
"Yeah, you are!"
Stinger pushed his way past Champ. He wasn't sure which way he had to go to start walking home, but he started stomping off.
"This way," Champ said, pointing in the opposite direction.
Stinger groaned, and walked in the direction that Champ was pointing.
It had been a good thing that Champ knew where he was going, because Stinger had no idea. When they got back to the house, Stinger was really surprised when Lusca ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back.
"Uncle Stinger, I thought you weren't coming back!" the little girl cried out, burying her face in Stinger's stomach.
"Lusca?" Stinger whispered.
"You ok?" Naga asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"
Naga's eyes narrowed in confusion. He handed Stinger a plate of food. He kept one arm around Lusca.
"Thanks," Stinger whispered.
"Go sit down," Naga said, pointing to the table.
Stinger looked at the table. The only free seat was next to Echidna, where Lusca had been sitting. He looked down at Lusca, who shook her head.
"I'm fine, thanks," Stinger said. He let go of Lusca and started eating while standing up. Lusca didn't leave his side.
Naga looked over at Champ, who shrugged. Naga sat down next to Echidna. Stinger noted that she seemed a little offended, but didn't say a word.
Stinger ended up standing in the corner, with Lusca hanging on to him. He ate quickly, despite not being hungry. Afterwards, he headed to the kitchen to clean his plate, and Lusca was still holding onto him. When they were in the kitchen, they were alone.
"Do you still have my rock?" Lusca asked.
"Of course," Stinger said as he washed his plate.
"Echidna didn't see it, did she?"
"I don't think so. I haven't taken out of my pocket in front of her." He turned the water off and placed the plate on the counter to dry. He turned to face her, bending over slightly to look her in the eye. "Is that rock really that important to you?"
Lusca nodded. "Ladon gave it to me. He said that it was really important and if I didn't do what he asked, I wouldn't get to see him again."
"What he asked?"
Lusca nodded.
"Can you tell me what he asked?"
Echidna walked into the kitchen then, carrying two plates. Stinger and Lusca both looked up at her, wordlessly.
"What is going on?" Echidna asked gently.
"Just washing my plate," Stinger said, standing up straight. "Come on, Lusca."
Lusca nodded, and followed Stinger out of the kitchen, while Echidna stared at them with a blank expression.
"Can we go outside?" Lusca asked him.
"Sure," Stinger said.
"Actually," Lusca said. She ran over to Kosey. "Daddy, can me and Uncle Stinger go for a walk?"
Kosey looked up at Stinger. "Honey, I don't think Uncle Stinger is feeling well."
"He feels fine," Lusca said. "Please? Just to the end of the street and back?"
Kosey looked over at the Commander. "Sure, if it's all right with Stinger," he said, not wanting to upset Lusca.
Lusca grabbed Stinger's hand and dragged him outside and to the street.
"Lusca, what did Ladon ask of you?" Stinger asked.
Lusca squeezed his hand. "Ladon said that if I didn't catch Echidna, that he wouldn't come back for me."
Stinger was confused. "Come back for you?"
Lusca nodded. "Uncle Stinger?"
"Yeah?"
"I want to go live with Ladon."
"You do?"
"I miss him," Lusca said. "I don't want to be here with Echidna. She's a criminal. The lady attorney said so and Ladon said I have to listen to her."
"Lusca, she's not a criminal."
"She tried to kill Naga."
"Because she was told to, just like you were told to turn her in."
Lusca started sobbing, and Stinger quickly stopped walking and hugged her, getting down on his knees.
"Lusca, Echidna doesn't want to hurt you. She loves you."
"That's not true!" Lusca cried out. Stinger hugged her harder.
"Why do you think it's not true?"
"She doesn't love me. She only has me to show the lady attorney how good she's doing."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah, it does," Lusca said. "Echidna moved to the Ite system to get away from being a criminal, she kidnapped Alya and lives with Naga, and the only reason that Naga didn't get put to sleep is because he's a superhero or something."
"Kidnapped?"
"She's going to kidnap me next," Lusca said. "And she's going to shoot me like she tried to shoot Naga, and she's going to shoot Alya."
"She's not going to do that!"
"You don't know what she's capable of! We're not allowed to have emotions because we're violent. She and Naga have emotions and Alya has emotions!"
Lusca collapsed to her knees, and Stinger scooped her up. He stood up, and continued walking.
"And they told all of this?"
"Yeah," Lusca said. "They said the proof was that Echidna tried to kill Naga even though he was a superhero."
"She didn't kill him."
"She tried to. But he was too strong for her. He was violent, too."
"That's not what happened."
"Uncle Stinger, can you come live with me?"
"What?"
"Your room is in Naga's house. Switch with Raptor or Hammie. Please?"
"The arrangements were already made, Lusca."
"What if I need you and it's the middle of the night?"
"I'll give you my number, ok? You can call me any time, day or not."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"I'm going to put stickers on my window so you know what room is mine."
"Don't you share with Alya?"
"Yeah, she's on the bottom bunk."
Stinger, trying to come to terms that he was only being paranoid based off of Lusca's words and no solid proof, only said, "I'll protect you no matter what. Can you please stop crying?" He tried to convince himself that it didn't matter what he promised her at that point, because nothing was going to happen.
Lusca nodded and tried to breathe.
"Can we go back to Naga's house now?" Stinger asked.
"Yeah, but don't leave me, ok?"
"I won't leave you," Stinger said. "Even if I'm not in the same house as you, you just call me. Anytime. I'll be in Naga's old room. You got that?"
Lusca nodded as she and Stinger walked back to the house. Neither one of them saw that Champ and the Commander had followed them.
Stinger hadn't been able to sleep. He had spent most of the day dodging glances and avoiding conversations. When everyone had left for the day, Stinger had slipped a note into Lusca's hand with his cell phone number and a message of encouragement.
But despite all of Lusca's fears, she still left holding on Echidna's hand, laughing and smiling and talking.
Stinger's mind had been racing, trying to make sense of Lusca's actions. He had ended up shutting his bedroom door, crying again. He wasn't sure why he was crying, but he couldn't stop himself.
He had also pulled the rock out of his pocket and held onto it. It was still a cloudy white. He had taken off his shirt and shoes earlier, only left wearing his leather pants.
Stinger had wanted to ask Naga about the color changing rock, but he figured that if he did, it would open up a conversation, and Naga would probably ask about Stinger's possession of that rock, and Stinger wasn't up for asking any questions. Eventually, he shoved the rock into his pocket.
Time was going by slow, and Stinger's eyes were sore and heavy, but he wasn't able to sleep.
11pm.
12am.
1am.
2am.
By that point, Stinger wasn't physically able to sleep anymore, and he was extremely thirsty. He finally got up and went into the Jack and Jill bathroom that he was sharing with Champ, praying that he didn't accidentally wake up his aibou in the next room.
He nearly drank his weight in water, and used the toilet. He went back into his bedroom, wrapping himself in an old gray blanket and trying to shake off the returning feeling of wanting to cry.
He hadn't been laying there long when the phone rang. He looked at the number. It was Echidna's home number. It was 2:17am.
Stinger picked it up quickly. "Lusca?"
"Uncle Stinger," Lusca said. "Echidna made Alya go sleep on the sofa and she just hit me in my bedroom while I was sleeping! Please hurry!"
"Lusca, I'll be right there," Stinger said. He sat up straight in bed, didn't even put on a top or shoes. He quickly ran out of the room, and raced down the stairs, running so quickly he had accidentally missed a step or two. He ran to the front door, unlocking it quickly, and he raced over to Echidna's house.
He didn't see any lights on, but if Echidna was attacking Lusca, she probably wouldn't have wanted anyone to see her.
"Lusca," Stinger said softly. "Lusca, I'm coming."
He raced over to the front door, which, of course, was locked. He had a key to the house, it was important in case of an emergency, but he had forgotten to grab it. He did have the rock in his pocket. He pulled it out, wondering if he could use it to break the lock. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly when he did that, and he went to go put the rock back in his pocket, and realized that it was now a green color.
"What...." Stinger said. He quickly shoved the rock back into his pocket, knowing he had no time to think about that now. He looked around, and decided to run into the backyard.
He looked up, and he saw the room with the stickers on it. Unicorns and rainbows. It was on the second floor. He looked around quickly for a ladder, but he knew that they didn't have one yet. There was one at Naga's house, but he didn't have time to go look for it.
"Uncle Stinger!" he could hear Lusca crying help. "She's killing me! Echidna is killing me! Help me!"
"Lusca, I'm coming!" Stinger cried out. He looked around again, wondering how he was the only one hearing Lusca's cries for help. "I'm climbing up!"
"Hurry! She made me bleed!" Lusca cried out.
"I'm coming!" Stinger cried out again. He ran over to the house. There were flower bushes under the windows. They were very thorny flowers, very sharp. He tried his best to stay away from the thorns as he studied the house. There were big rocks around the flower beds, and he tried to stand on them, but obviously, that didn't help him to get up to the bedroom. He quickly decided to use his tail to climb up the wall.
"I'm coming, Lusca!" he cried out one more time. It was harder than he thought, and it took him longer than he was hoping, but he managed to get up to the window, which was locked shut. He peeked in, and there was a lamp on in the room.
His eyes widened when he saw what was going on.
Echidna had Lusca pinned to the floor, and she was pounding on her. Slapping her so hard, her little nose was bleeding. Lusca was sobbing and screaming.
Stinger tried to break the window, first by pounding on it. He wasn't getting far, as he still had one hand on the windowsill, trying not to fall. He couldn't figure out how Kosey, Raptor, and Hammie couldn't hear Lusca's screams. He looked around the room for Alya, and she wasn't in bed, but then he remembered that Lusca had said she was asleep in the living room.
"Luuuusca!" Stinger cried out. "Echidna, stop! Echidnaaaaa!"
Echidna had looked at him. She was laughing and grinning at him.
"Want to see what I'm doing?!" she cried out.
"Open the window!" Stinger cried out, banging on it with his free hand.
Echidna only continued laughing as she slapped Lusca across the face again.
"I'll keep hurting her as much as I want," Echidna said. "But if you're good, I'll let you stay there and watch!"
Stinger was noticing the difference in her speech patterns. She always spoke so formally, and never used contractions. But this wasn't the right time to think about that.
"Let me in!" Stinger said. He wished he had brought his seiza blaster with him, but he remembered it was still sitting on his nightstand. He wanted to go get it, but he didn't want to leave Lusca alone.
"Uncle Stinger, help me!" Lusca cried out. "She's killing me! Echidna is killing me!" Lusca was sobbing, and it was causing the blood on her face to run onto the carpet.
"Lusca!" Stinger said. "I'm going to get you out of here, I swear!"
He could only watch helplessly as Echidna continued to beat on Lusca.
"Raaaaptor!" Stinger cried out. "Hammie! Wake uuuuup!"
"They don't care," Echidna said with a grin. She slapped Lusca one more time... and this time, it had knocked her unconscious. Echidna got up and walked to the window. "They trust me. I've spent all of these years earning their trust. You think they'll appreciate that?"
"You killed her!" Stinger cried out. "You killed your own daughter!"
"I was given permission to do whatever I wanted with her," Echidna said with a grin and a shrug. She was covered in Lusca's blood. She placed her hand on the window, and she left a bloody handprint on the window.
"Echidna!" Stinger cried out, pounding on the window with one of his hands, holding onto the windowsill with the other. "Echidnaaaa!"
Echidna laughed again, still grinning. She unlocked the window and quickly opened it.
Stinger tried to climb in, but before he could really move, she stopped him.
"Look at the rock," Echidna whispered.
"The rock?" Stinger asked. Without thinking, he stopped pounding, and pulled the rock out of his pocket. It was now red. "Red?" he whispered.
"For blood," Echidna said. She grinned as she pushed him away from the window.
He had been too distracted with the rock to be able to save himself. He went crashing back to the ground... hitting his head on the rocks and landing in the thorny flower bush. One of the thorns had deeply scratched him across his cheek.
Echidna peeked out of the window. She smiled again as she closed the curtains.
Stinger was covered in his own blood. The rock was still in his hand. He looked down at it. It was still red, but it was now glowing, and covered in Stinger's fresh blood.
"Lusca..." he whimpered, as everything slowly went black.