Under the night sky, Kiba flew through the clouds, surrounded by an invisible energy barrier. He was more than strong enough to resist the air pressure, so the barrier wasn’t for him, but rather for the little life in his arms.
Hope.
As they flew further, skyscrapers came in sight, their peaks piercing through the layers of mist. The sight was imposing, even more at this altitude.
But for Hope, the skyscrapers made her adorable eyes sparkle with curiosity. She pointed her little arms at them, wanting to know what they were.
Kiba smiled.
He established a telepathic bond with her, and without the usage of words and language, explained about skyscrapers.
Her little face turned serious as if she was contemplating and then, she broke into soft giggles. Even before her giggles completed on their own, her mouth let out a yawn.
"Little lady, you are getting tired," Kiba said happily. "We shall explore more in the future."
Hope responded by closing her eyes and falling asleep.
"....."
Kiba kissed her forehead and said, "Good night."
Swoosh~!
A column of white light enveloped them and they teleported away.
***
Dream Rise House.
After placing Hope in the cradle, Kiba moved the cradle back and forth in a musical rhythm. He observed his sleeping daughter and smiled when her lips curled up.
"I want every moment of your life to be like this... filled with happiness."
Kiba whispered.
Behind, Agatha observed him with her arms crossed. The display of unconditional love melted her heart into pure joy.
"He is content."
Agatha thought with a warm smile.
She was also relieved that what happened yesterday at the academy didn’t affect him. He has told her about Goten Whiteskins, what he learned from him, and what he discovered by combining all details he knew.
Yet he was neither angry nor bothered.
Somehow, she knew he was rather happy about what happened to him after he was born. After all, if not for those bitter events, he wouldn’t have the present happiness.
And looking at his ecstatic expression, she knew he wouldn’t exchange it for anything. Not even for a happy childhood.
....
The next morning.
In the living hall, the droids served breakfast to Kiba and Agatha.
"My parents contacted me," Agatha said while grabbing a bread toast.
"Oh?" Kiba raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He didn’t expect her parents to contact her after what happened during the broadcast of Hypocrite News.[1]
He has completely humiliated them by airing their dirty laundry and exposing their hypocrisy; leaving them with no face to judge or mock anyone.
"They wanted to meet Hope," Agatha further said. "And voiced their interest in forming a relationship with their granddaughter."
Kiba nodded in understanding.
He knew the extraordinary fascination and love the parents had for grandchildren. Something that was unaffected even if they had an acrimonious relationship with their children.
"They invited me and Hope for lunch today," Agatha continued. "I’m thinking of accepting their invitation."
She didn’t want to think about their judgemental behavior from long ago. It was all water under the bridge now.
"Well, you should accept their invitation," Kiba replied with a smile.
He wanted Hope to have everything she needed or desired. In the future, she might want to have a relationship with her grandparents, and since Agatha’s parents were available for the same, he has no interest in stopping this natural development.
Agatha nodded.
....
A few hours later.
Since Agatha and Hope left for the restaurant at Close Horizon, he had plenty of free time, something he wanted to use. So, as Zed, he arrived in a virtual reality game parlor to hang out with Felicity, Jessica, and Loren.
"You look good," Felicity said. "Something I couldn’t say the same for our academy."
Zed scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Goten Whiteskins’ burst of aura had smashed most of the campus so her remark wasn’t fair.
"The beauty pageant has been canceled," Loren shared a piece of news to change the topic.
"That’s to be expected," Jessica said. "I heard the contestants and female staff hurriedly left the city due to their fear of..."
She trailed off in between as she remembered Goten Whiteskins was responsible for both incidents.
"It hasn’t been canceled, just postponed," Zed clarified their misunderstanding.
"How would you know?" Felicity asked. She didn’t care for the pageant but she cared about the surviving male judge hasn’t fulfilled the promise he made to her.
Zed smiled and answered, "Well..."
***
Close Horizon.
Inside a private dining room, Agatha sat with her parents - Arlo and Wren.
"We are so glad you brought our granddaughter."
Agatha’s mother - Wren- said with a kind smile. She rubbed her hand on Hope’s head who was sitting on Agatha’s lap.
"I second your mother," Arlo added. "We all are a family and some sour memories shouldn’t change that."
Agatha nodded for she too wanted to have a relationship with her parents. She was glad that was finally happening.
At the same time, unknown to her, the floor under her erupted with a strange teleporting force.
Even Claudia- who constantly knew of Agatha and Hope’s location through the silver bracelet and electrical gadgets- didn’t notice any change in coordinates as the entire dining room teleported into a different location.
Agatha remained oblivious as the waitress brought lavish dishes...
***
On the thirty-sixth floor of White Angel Corporation, Eva read a file and her face fell.
"Dammit!"
Eva tore the file to pieces and then clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with hesitation.
"I don’t owe him any favors...If anything, he owes me so there is no reason I should act..."
Eva told herself but then her mind flashed with memories she shared with him, especially the last time they mated, sharing more than lust.
"I’m turning stupid!"
Eva chided herself as she rushed out of the room and stepped into the elevator to move to the eighty-third floor.
But to her shock and dismay, the elevator stopped at seventy-one and the door opened up, with dozens of guards aiming their laser guns at her.
"My lovely daughter, how surprising to see you here," Hank Webley’s voice came.
Eva composed herself and acted as per her the personality she has created - soft, honest, naive, and innocent.
"Dad? What’s going on?" Eva asked with a bewildered and shocked expression.
"You can drop the act!" Hank replied with a cruel smile. "After suffering from that bastard’s hands, I researched and planned in secret so I know what you are, you scheming bitch!"
Eva’s eyes constricted.
"Despite you being a woman, I gave you a position at the company!" Hank said. "And this is how you pay me? By being a slut for that bastard?! And now even trying to screw up with my plans!"
"...." Eva was caught off-guard.
"Well, you can forget your little scheme! No one is going to mess up with my plans!" Hank thundered while ordering the guards to capture her.
"Aww! Father, I’m so frightened by this!" Eva’s expression twisted. "But do you really think I don’t have backup plans for such a scenario?"
Hank’s eyes flickered and before he could order the guards to fire, Eva tore the diamond necklace around her neck.
BOOM
The moment the necklace tore, in the power room, the circuits exploded as if some mechanism was activated. The power of the building vanished and using the resulting abrupt darkness for her advantage, Eva faded into the shadows.
In less than two seconds, the backup power activated, but by that time, Eva had disappeared.
"Find me that bitch!" Hank ordered the guards. The guards nodded and rushed to catch Eva.
"The entire building is locked for outer communication so she wouldn’t have been able to contact that bastard! Besides, that floor is sealed with force field so she wouldn’t be able to enter!"
Hank consoled himself.
"The plan wouldn’t be affected!"
***
Eighty-third floor.
Agatha took a glass of water and brought it to her lips when a shadow appeared beside her, turning into a stunning woman.
"Eva?!"
Agatha was stunned by her appearance. Eva looked exhausted as if she has used a considerable amount of energy. And indeed it took her great energy to bypass the force shield.
"This is a trap!" Eva grabbed Agatha and Hope. "We need to leave now!"
Arlo and Wren’s expressions changed in panic. They stood up to stop her while Agatha asked, "What do you mean?"
"You aren’t at a restaurant!" Eva answered while slamming the table to the incoming Agatha’s parents. "And nor your parents invited you for a fucking reunion!"
"What?!" Agatha was shocked. She noticed the change in her parents’ expression and their quick actions to stop Eva.
"Don’t believe her!" Wren stopped and said in a kind tone as she secretly got information that the floor was sealed.
"!"
Eva furrowed her eyebrows as she realized the worst has happened by Wren and Arlon’s body language.
Agatha felt unease from Eva and knowing everything she knew about her, she knew Eva wouldn’t be lying for something like this, at least not so out of blue.
"What do you mean?"
Agatha asked while taking Hope in her left arm and looking around. There was nothing wrong with the room nor did she felt the fluctuations of her being transported to another location.
"They used alien technology to swap locations and bring you at White Angel Corporations," Eva hurriedly explained while thinking of the forces that should be outside the room. "And I’m pretty sure you should be able to guess why they would do such a thing!"
"Kiba!" Agatha turned towards her parents. "You wanted to use me and Hope to make Kiba help the corporation!"
Arlo and Wren knew the sudden appearance of Eva has ruined most of their plans. So there was no use of lying.
"We are doing it for you and Hope’s good!" Arlo said in a soothing voice. "As parents, our actions are always for the well being of our family! Nothing else matters! Not even differences!"
Wren then added convincing lines to defend their actions, including the skirt-chasing nature of Kiba and how he was a master of deception. She then explained benefits, including how the family would get more influence on the board of the corporation, the privilege of acquiring Divine Particles, etc.
Agatha scanned their expressions. She then looked at her daughter who looked bewildered by the conversations between adults.
"You are right," Agatha stepped in front of her father and smiled. "The actions of parents are always for the well being of the family."
Eva was surprised and cursed under breath, "Naive!"
Arlo and Wren, on the other hand, secretly sighed in relief. The former happily opened his mouth and said:
"I’m so glad you understand---"
His pupils suddenly dilated to the size of a needle and the words he wanted to continue turned into an ear-piercing scream.
"AHHHHHHH!"
The expressions of everyone in the room abruptly changed except for Agatha.
Unfazed, like she wasn’t doing anything, she turned her father into an illusory phantom and grabbed his heart. And the moment he screamed, she violently twisted it.
"I understand perfectly, father. People always take advantage of naive and guileless."
Agatha said with a nonchalant expression even as her father screamed in horror.
"Kiba taught me that a long time ago. And now you made me understand that the actions of parents should be for the well-being of the family."
Arlo wanted to tell her to stop, to make her understand, but before he could, she pulled his heart out.
"I will do anything it takes for the well-being of my family," Agatha said while tossing the heart away. "Anything."
THUD
Arlo turned corporeal and dropped dead on the floor.
Wren’s face paled and she threw up her lunch. The sight of her deceased husband and his tossed heart made her entire body tremble from dread.
"Mother, you were right about Kiba. He is a master of deception, but what you don’t know is that he has boundaries he would never cross, something I can’t say for you."
Agatha turned towards her.
Terrified, Wren jumped back and lifted her hands to release blasts of orange energy on Agatha. But to her terror, she found her body incorporeal, without any materialistic existence. Her attacks were also incorporeal just like her, completely useless.
"Agatha had such terrifying powers?!"
Wren anxiously wondered.
"Weren’t her powers limited to turning her body into incorporeal?! So how could she have this deadly ability without us ever realizing?!"
~step~
Agatha took a step forward.
Th1s chapter is updated by n)ovel/\bin/\
"D-don’t kill me!" Wren got her wits back and shouted. "I gave birth to you!"
"You are right, again, so rest assured I will not kill you, mother," Agatha replied with a kind smile.
Wren strangely found the smile similar to the one she used when she rubbed her granddaughter’s head.
"Mother, do you know how thick Earth’s crust is?"
Agatha asked while turning towards the door as it was broken by guards.
Wren was surprised by the sudden change in topic and the strange question. She shook her head, and answered, "No, I don’t."
Agatha nodded in understanding, and said, "Now that father is dead, and you have nothing else to do, why don’t you find out?"
"?!"
Wren looked confused for a second before she found her body falling through the floor.
Her incorporeal body lost the last of its materialistic character that made her stand on a solid surface.
Now, having no physical limitations and restrictions, she phased through floors and dropped lower and lower.
In just a matter of seconds, she sank through the land and fell into Earth’s crust.
Back in the room, Eva was dumbstruck.
She didn’t expect Agatha had what it takes to do such a thing. It went against the very nature she knew of.
Meanwhile, the guards aimed at Agatha and Eva.
"Step back and kneel down!" The guards commanded. "Or we wouldn’t mind killing you!"
Agatha ignored their words and looked at her daughter. She noticed a red dot on the side of Hope’s face, something that denoted she too was aimed by the guards.
Without turning angry, she lifted her head and said, "My mother must be lonely below. Would you mind joining her?"
Even before her words entered the guards’ ears, they felt a burst of energy coursing through them, turning them into phantoms.
"Despite her old age, she is a gorgeous woman so I’m sure you would appreciate her company."
Just like Wren, the newly arrived guards collapsed through floors.
Eva listened to Agatha’s words and studied her actions carefully. Her jaw slacked as she realized something.
"She has been influenced by Kiba!"
Eva looked at Agatha and the latter looked back at her. They simultaneously smiled and nodded as an unstated bond developed... a bond whose common link was Kiba.
"Let’s leave."
[1] Hypocrite News was broadcasted in Chapter 62-63. With help from Claudia, Kiba exposed the dirty secrets of Agatha’s family, friends, etc.