Bursting out from the car entrance onto another main street, Aurora skimmed over the oncoming traffic as the victim threw itself recklessly through, causing cars to abruptly slam to a halt, their hoods and bumpers crumpling, horns blaring, wheels screeching.

 

“I’m not so sure this was a good idea,” Aurora heaved a heavy sigh.

 

“It was necessary. Most of these motorists have car insurance, I’m sure.”

 

“How do you even know…” Aurora wondered how Perkons knew about worldly concerns about insurance and billing. How long had Felicitas been watching humanity? Her brow furrowed as she nearly ran into the hard brick wall of a café. Sweating, Aurora flapped her wings wildly and thrust herself upwards, over the building.

 

She relaxed a moment… that was until she heard crashing noises behind, seeing that the victim was climbing the café. It stabbed its heavy limbs into the brick wall, nearly taking the building apart as it ascended.

 

“That’s enough! Don’t mess with my new favorite restaurant, okay!” Aurora came to a stop and flitted back.

 

“No! It’s not time yet! You need to get the victim outside the city’s limits!”

 

“You’re out of your mind, Perkons! It’ll be leaving a trail of devastation the whole way!”

 

“Sometimes it’s necessary to…”

 

“Zip it, fuzzbutt!” Aurora swooped in and positioned herself. The victim crested the edge of the building’s roof. At least, she wouldn’t have to hit the ground for the sake of the perfect shot this time around. 

 

Aurora extended her staff upwards, remembering what Perkons did. She began spinning the staff in her hands, a bit awkwardly and not quite as fluidly as Perkons did while in control over her body. As she moved the staff she felt a reaction. Energy started streaming inwardly from all around her. The beautiful staff whirling in her hands came to life, glowing brightly as the energy concentrated inside. The gem on its tip ignited, shining bright enough to blind any onlooker — at least temporarily.

 

Energy waves rippled around her and she shone with the brilliant luminosity of her staff. The melody that played in the air hummed softly in her ears as her staff glowed ever brighter.

 

Why is this monster not coming after me?

 

The energy in her staff and body had reached its maximum … Yet where was her target? The victim wasn’t peeking down at her. What the heck? This was supposed to go smoothly… She’d painstakingly planned a way to safely dispatch the Victim without hurting anyone. Had she overlooked something important?

 

From the side, the victim came barreling at her.

 

“OVERRIDE!” Perkons cried. Aurora’s body was seized in a blink and she directed her staff downwards and her energy exploded as she heard the words scream from her lips, “Light…. Wave…. BURST!” 

 

Aurora was sent high in the air by her attack’s energy, turning her into a humanoid rocket. The monster sailed through the space she’d just occupied and with a surprised expression, her light energy was pumped into its body. As Aurora watched, the cocoons exploded on its back one by one like missiles scattering as the Victim was turned into ashes.

 

Her energy attack ground the pavement into dust and the crater below grew ever larger as it was dug ever deeper. With a scream, Aurora’s hands tightened on her staff as she fought to stop her energy from bursting from her staff. Gritting her teeth, she hissed and with a supreme effort, she felt something give way inside and Perkons moaned on her shoulder, wavering as her beam winked out.

 

The jettisoned cocoons turned to ash.

 

Aurora’s throat was suddenly tight. “W… wait… Perkons! There were people in those cocoons!” She hissed between her teeth.

 

“C…” Perkons had a slack jaw for a long moment as he shook his head numerous times. “C… correct.”

 

“Y… you had me kill all those innocent people along with the Victim?”

 

“That’s right.” Perkons said, mustering his strength. “There was no other choice. From time to time, it’s necessary to sacrifice lives to save at least one important thing.”

 

“No! That’s unacceptable!” Aurora sagged and her eyes moistened. “It is NEVER okay to sacrifice people’s lives! Just because you think you’re fucking gods doesn’t mean you can just toy with our…!”

 

“Fool!” Perkons’ eyes narrowed at Aurora. “You left yourself completely vulnerable to the Victim’s surprise attack.” Perkons got into Aurora’s face and wagged a digit. “Did you expect that they would have infantile minds, incapable of reason? You could just set up a pretty shot and expect them to walk into your sights as you pleased?” Perkons crossed his furry arms across his chest and shook his head. “Anyway, your life is worth far more than theirs. Be grateful. I could have…”

 

“You could have let me die?”

 

“Correct,” Perkons said coldly.

 

“Bastard.  Why didn’t you, then? Why am I not dead now?”

 

“As I said…” Perkons tapped a digit on his elbow pit. “You are a valuable asset. Don’t waste our time with foolish questions. Our job here is done for the moment, but you must do as I say — to the letter in the future, Aurora. Had you done as I instructed, people may have still been injured, but perhaps those eight’s lives would have been saved.”

 

Aurora’s chest tightened. A sharp pain befell her from the depth of her heart, stinging, hurting. He wasn’t entirely wrong. She couldn’t see any way to save everyone’s lives next time unless she fought smarter. It was true that she had underestimated the enemy this time. It had cleverly positioned itself instead of mindlessly chasing after her in the end. It had nearly killed her or worse thanks to her inexperience.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Lodestar Aurora,” Perkons said. “No one starts off knowing the right way to do their job. It takes time. Unfortunately, unlike with other jobs, your mistakes could cost others their lives. Remember that. Always be aware of your position. Know where the enemy is at all times. Be ready to react. Acting proactively is laudable, but be certain that you anticipate how they’ll counter.”

 

Aurora nodded, chastened. Though she wouldn’t say it to Perkons, she vowed to herself to do better in the future. With these eight lost lives weighing her heart down, she still had to choose what to do about taking a step forward with her own life. How she felt now wouldn’t make what she had to do any easier.

 

A few days after Ken’s disappearance, Aurora stood on her house’s doorstep, on the point of knocking. She’d had time to consider how to move forward with her life. Playing basketball with her friends was fun as ever in the park earlier, although there was still an uneasiness in her. 

 

Taking the time to play had answered some questions she still had. Could she play as she was now? Would it be okay to play with an illusory device on her? She thought not. Just one collision like she had with Nick and the clever guy would figure it out. There wouldn’t be any point then pretending. She certainly couldn’t avoid contact with them either. That wasn’t right.

 

No matter which path she chose, it would lead to some form of dishonesty or another. If she chose to pretend that she was still Kenneth and had never undergone a major change and ended up becoming a different person in the process, she would be lying to herself and everyone around her.

 

If she went home as she was, she would have to tell her parents some sort of lie or the outright unpleasant truth. Even after telling it, they might think she was lying, some of it or all. 

 

Either way, Perkons refused to take part and simplify matters. Having her living with the Felicitas would probably allow them to control her movements and she would be entirely under their furry thumbs in that situation, assuming they had any. Aurora didn’t quite like that idea, either, even if it meant having a dream house in their spaceship.

 

They would probably spy on her no matter which path she chose. They were gods, after all.

 

Aurora decided to try for the most honest path she could see and try to convince her parents to take her back as she was. The Felicitas had opened a portal to a safe location by her house and she walked around it to stand on the doorstep, hesitating to knock.

 

Did she really want this? There was still time to turn back and take the easier path. With the machine, she could waltz in and even maybe take the disguise off after using it to gain entry to her home, but what then? She would still have to answer the same unpleasant questions.

 

With a resigned sigh, she knocked and waited, chewing her lip thoughtfully. After what felt like several minutes, the door opened and her mother with worry creased eyes answered.

 

“H-hello…” Aurora managed to say.

 

Her mother mustered a smile for her. “Good afternoon.” She bowed as she sometimes did, given that she’d been raised in Japan. “How may I help you?” she said as she straightened.

 

Reflexively, Aurora bowed and said, “I’m sorry for intruding but… erm…” The way her mother was talking right now brought back old lessons she’d given Aurora… no, Ken when he was younger. How to say it? Her tongue was tied in knots.

 

“... hmmm… would you like to come in for tea and a muffin?” Sarashina asked, offering a more genuine smile.

 

Aurora blinked and the tightness in her chest was eased for a moment. She had been invited inside, so maybe then she could explain things to her mother in private over tea about what had happened to her kid.

 

“Excuse me.” Aurora stiffened and turned her head, trying to look casual. She bit her lower lip as she essayed a smile. The tension had reappeared the moment Nick showed up.

 

Nick offered a smile as he stepped up the path leading from the front gate. His hands were ensconced in his pants pockets and he was wearing a heavy-looking pack on his back over a long sleeved shirt with a stiff collar and jeans. He removed one hand from one of his pockets to wave. “So we meet again.”

 

“Ah… yeah.” Aurora said, doing her best not to sound nervous. What was Nick doing here? She’d never had him over since they’d made friends several months past when she transferred in. How did he find her address?

 

Turning his attention towards her mother, Nick unslung a backpack from his shoulders and looked at Seraphina. “Excuse me, but are you Kenneth Hoshino’s mother… or his sister?”