Author's Note: Work on my newest release has concluded. I can get back to updating. I will be posting a link to it here on this and future chapter updates for a while. :) It is 120,000+ words, $3.99. Litrpg/Gamelit harem waifu collecting apocalypse fun. It is also on Kindle Unlimited if you want to give it a try and don't enjoy the idea of paying money. Power Fantasy Chronicles of the Shattered Earth. It involves parodies of various anime/game worlds. This volume focuses mostly on a parody of Highschool of the Dead.
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She lightly clapped her hands together while she turned to Scott. "What next?" she asked, a sparkle in her eyes.
Scott introduced her to the vacuum cleaner, which while loud was something she else that she loved. Her domestic minded nature proved quite endearing. The girl was ecstatic any time she discovered a new tool to make housework simpler.
"Now that I think about it, we should get you some clothes to wear. I'm so used to you wandering around in nothing but an apron that I forgot about how repressed people are in this world," said Scott.
"Oh? Does the master dislike the manner in which his cow is dressed?" she asked him in a curious tone.
"We're on the cow thing again, huh?" Scott glanced at her, his eyebrow lightly quirked.
"Moo." Sonja crossed her arms over her chest then offered him a saucy smile.
"Moo, back at you," responded Scott.
Sonja faked a gasp then mooed at him with greater volume. Scott stepped back as though he had been struck. His eyes widened. Such language! An affront to his masculine pride of this magnitude would not stand! The time for battle had come!
A moment of stupidity passed as they mooed at each other like giggling idiots. Eventually, they mooed their way down the hall and back to Scott's bedroom.
While Scott's clothes themselves were more than large enough, her body was a bit more dynamic. Most of the clothing items that he offered were not designed for epic Valkyrie proportions. His clothes tended to rise up or cling in places, and did so to such an extent that she might as well have been naked. Given that he had no female undergarments for her to wear, a lot of his thin t-shirts were immediately discounted as options. The outside world had suffered enough. He refused to cause traffic accidents when she eventually decided to take a walk down the street.
After a few moments passed where the struggle to fit into some of Scott's clothes proved to be quite real, Sonja spun around in place then asked for his opinion. She now sported a hoody, with the Tri-Force from the Legend of Zelda printed on the back, and the world's luckiest cotton shorts.
"These are probably a bit big, but you're welcome to them until we can get you some real clothes." Scott offered her a pair of his sandals.
Sonja slipped her feet inside then looked down at them briefly. Her head came up and she offered him a thoughtful glance. "You are right about them being big..."
Scott grinned at her for various reasons, an expression which intensified slightly when she wiggled her toes upward to get a better fit. A lot of sandal real estate was left to languish behind her heel, but it was something for her to wear at least.
Next he took her into the living room and showed her something else new and exciting. They sat on the couch briefly, then he took his remote and turned on his television.
Sonja's eyes widened perceptibly. Of all the things she might have expected, the appearance of strangely sized people inside of a little rectangle was not one of them. "What?"
He laughed lightly at her expression of confusion then started to explain the situation. However, a knock at the door caught his attention. "Who could that be?"
"Anyway, that's a TV. It's fun... Let me get the door," said Scott before he hopped up to see what asshole had decided to come bother him now.
Scott opened the door then immediately relaxed. In hindsight it was obvious who it would be. "Shara... Hey."
"Hi, Scott!" exclaimed Shara in a cheerful tone. "I saw your lights on and figured that I would innocently come over to—" She stopped in mid-sentence when Sonja rose from the couch and walked over to the door. "Oh, who is this?"
Sonja regarded Shara for a moment. Her eyes narrowed slightly upon realizing the truth. This new arrival was a definite threat, even if she possibly meant no harm. She stepped closer to Scott and lightly placed an arm to his wrist. "Master, who is she?"
Shara gasped aloud then lightly raised one hand to her lips. "Goodness! My master has yet another mistress. How wonderful!"
"Master?" asked Sonja, her teeth starting to grind slightly. Who exactly was this dangerous girl, and why was she so excited that her master had a mistress?
"This is fantastic news," Shara clapped her hands together then pushed forward. "First Ashton, and now this beautiful conquest. I am so proud of you, Scott!"
Scott's left eye twitched slightly. "The hell. Shara..."
Sonja's grip tightened on Scott's arm. "Scott..."
Shara smiled ecstatically then lunged forward. Somehow she managed to get past Scott and wrapped her arms around Sonja before the blond girl could even process the speed of the movement. "Attack hug!"
Sonja's piercing gaze attempted to penetrate Shara's defenses, but the red-haired girl's smile never wavered. Despite the Valkyrie's best efforts she could not shake the girl off. She was a mighty foe indeed!
"Unhand me, harlot!" cried Sonja after a moment of desperate struggle. A wild laugh erupted next to her. She looked to Scott, her eyes filled with the pain of his betrayal, how could he laugh at a moment like this? Some crazed girl held her in an unwanted embrace, and even she was not strong enough to break free! This was no time for frivolity and mirth!
"Release me, I said!" raged Sonja once more. She tried to spin around or to use the unarmed combat techniques of her people, but somehow this ridiculous girl easily countered her every attempt with the simplest of movements. She could not recall any point in her life where she was so completely outmatched without it involving a life or death struggle.
Shara ignored the boundaries that she was crossing and nuzzled her cheek against Sonja's. "Welcome to the family! If you get pregnant first, I call dibs on being the hostess for the baby shower."
"Pregnant?" Sonja's eyes widened once more, her face reddening even further in the process. What was even going on right now? She looked to her master, but he was no help. The braying jackass was on the floor laughing uproariously. His hands lightly swatted at the air as though he tried to slap something invisible, or perhaps he was making an inept attempt to fly. Either way, his obnoxious laughter was exceedingly annoying.
The sight of two overly beautiful girls clinging together, their faces as red as Shara's hair, would be too much for any man to bear. Even a gay man might be tempted! Scott, while not homosexual, was still a red-blooded male. Therefore the only way that he could survive the moment with his sanity intact was to coax Shara into dragging Sonja off to find her some proper clothes.
It took quite a bit of convincing, and a promise to go out and explore town later, before Sonja accepted the situation. Only upon learning that Shara was a dear friend from his childhood, however, did she finally relent. She had certain questions that she would like to see answered.
Scott sighed heavily as he stared down into the sink. "I really need to get a grip on those stupid voices in my head."
What man received an opportunity like the one that he currently possessed? There were two incredibly beautiful, and quirky, women who showed a strange amount of interest in him. Neither seemed particularly reserved about getting their 'freak' on. It should be like a reward from life itself. Hey! Your life was shit for a decade, here's a couple of hot busty ladies with cool personalities who desire your manly bits and at least tolerate each other well enough to look at clothes together. It was that sort of ridiculous situation.
Thoughts of their previous encounter made him smile slightly, even as those stupid voices continued to rage inside his head. He could not help himself. Though, the pain of those voices forced him to close his left eye and cringe, the image of Sonja looking up at him while Shara vibrantly cuddled her on the floor was just too much to bear.
The smile faded somewhat, however. Tears flowed from that left eye, even as his right eye somewhat managed to stay open. "Not this time, dammit. I refuse to feel bad about liking what I saw and thought."
His hands trembled even as he splashed more water on his face. A particularly nasty voice screamed obscenities at him while images of his past attempted to invade his thoughts.
"Why does this shit keep happening to me?" he growled angrily. He bit his lower lip with enough force to draw blood.
At least this time there was no one around to see his break down. Sonja had seen a few too many of his episodes, though her response to the most recent outburst was one that surprised him greatly and permanently endeared her to him.
Desirous of a few minutes without his voices, Scott fought them in the only way that he could. He decided to reminisce over happier times. His thoughts immediately went to the discussion that he had with Sonja.
A few hours earlier in the dream world, Scott reached the point of no return. It was a point where it would become impossible, normally, for him to draw himself out of the dark pit of emotional despair that the voices often dragged him down into when they appeared. The scene that encapsulated the worst day of his life unfolded for him once more, and he sank down into the memory.
Sonja's soft, gentle, voice called to him from a few hours ago as he used the memory to steady his resolve. "What's wrong?"
Trembling hands rose up to curl lightly around each other. His lightly curled hands continued to shake as his breathing became labored. It was his fault. All his fault. If he had done something, listened more, his sister would be alive.
Scott heard Sonja calling to him but he did not recognize her in that moment. She was just one more voice lost in the maelstrom of his self-recriminations and the deep-seeded knowledge of his ultimate failure.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. His eyes remained wide open, but he thought himself to only have seen the terrible memory, the corpse of his sister. Yet, in hindsight he remembered things that he did not recognize at the time.
Gentle hands attempted to get his attention. Sonja lightly shook his shoulder while her words came more swiftly. She wanted to know what was wrong with him. He did nothing for a moment, and even lost track of his human form. Scott's grasp on his own identity as a man failed. Soon, he was the dragon once more.
The tiny reptile curled into a ball and continued to shake. The blazing red light in his eyes dimmed then became glazed over as though he could see nothing of the world itself.
Unable to stand it any longer, Sonja picked him up and held him to her chest. She no longer asked him what was wrong. She held him close and gently stroked his scales.
Her face to his back, she began to whisper softly. "I'm here."
Scott could not have known it at the time, but Sonja did tell him of it later. She recognized the way that he had acted. She acted in the same manner when she was a child. There were many nights were she trembled in impotent rage, and endless sadness, while she slept inside her bridal cage.
The look on his face. The implications, and the trembling. She knew them well. Certain questions she had throughout their time together made more sense in light of her revelation. Just like her, and like the little dark elf Saelil, he too was trapped in a dark and miserable place hoping that salvation would come.
"I'm here," she whispered softly to him while she pressed her cheek against his tiny shoulder blades.
He fell limp in her arms after a time. The dark moment finally passed. Her soft words and gentle demeanor roused him from his nightmare.
Leathery eyelids opened to reveal tiny red eyes. Scott, Blackthorne, whatever he wished to call himself at the time, did not move. He continued to hang limply in Sonja's arms.
For the first time, in what seemed like forever, he knew what it was for someone to actually give a damn about him. There were no ulterior motives. There was no sudden re-emergence in his life while making an attempt to force a renewed friendship. There was no baggage, or strange work issues. There was only the simple efforts of a young girl who genuinely wanted him to feel safe.
