"Daniel? What just happened?!" Octavia asked in shock as she started to move again. "My internal clock says ten minutes have passed, but I don't remember what happened!"
"You froze up, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with you, but you seem fine now. I will have to look into it more once things on the ground are more settled," I lied, but I couldn't mention the Star Child's name out loud.
"Hmm, I see. My body is functioning normally, and I don't detect that anything was done to me," Octavia said, turning back to look at the screen below.
I didn't even have to look at that anymore. I could see all of the System users now, so I connected directly to Gaia.
'Can you hear me?' I asked, sending my thoughts to Gaia.
'Daniel? Yes, I can feel your voice in my head. Are you close? The two Villian AI are entering the forests, but we can't stop them alone. I also can't isolate them like the others; there is something... stopping me, but it is different for both of them, but the same. I am not sure how to describe it,' Gaia replied.
'Eight of the ten Villain AI are coming to help you, so don't lock them up. What is happening right now needs to happen, and I am controlling the entire fight. We will talk more about the other two AI later,' I explained.
'That is good; I will let the girls know.'
'No. this information is for you only. The girls and the AI will have to work together on this. Three races are coming to destroy us or enslave us, and we have less than a year before we have to leave. We need everyone working together, and that will be hard if no one trusts each other,' I explained.
'Since your voice patterns haven't changed, I can assume that you already have a plan for this?' Gaia asked.
'Yes, so concentrate on helping the girls, but let them all figure out their problems. There is going to be some head-butting, and that is expected. Getting the girls and AI to work together so everyone can see them is the best way to build relations. Even doing this, most people will have a negative view of them,' I explained.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt'I understand, as much as I don't like it. What is your plan with Victoria?' Gaia sent and then added, 'She has been sitting in the center of the room crying since you left.'
Great, I had almost forgotten about my brat, but I had time to deal with her while the girls started to fight. I was close enough to the Earth now that I was almost wholly connected to Mr. Tree, so I could make a copy of myself on the ground.
'I will talk to her; you watch the girls and help them work together. This has to be our little secret, okay?' I asked.
'Yes, I understand. I was hoping it would all be over when we stopped the AI,' Gaia said, sounding tired, and I understood how she felt.
'The AI isn't even the real enemies, and we will need them to fight the ones coming for us. Love you, and be safe. I will be watching,' I sent and then turned to Octavia.
"I am going to deal with Victoria. I will be back just before we hit the upper atmosphere," I explained, and Octavia nodded, but she looked troubled. "Is there something wrong?"
"Were you just talking to someone right now?" Octavia asked, and I nodded.
"Yes, I was having a private conversation with Gaia, the planet's spirit," I said.
"Why would you need to have a private talk? Do you not trust me?" Octavia asked.
"True, I have no way to tell if you lie or tell the truth other than your spoken word. What I was talking about was private and important. Until you are actually connected to me, I can't trust you. I can control your System, but I can't control the consciousness that was created with the System, you, the AI," I explained.
"Then how can I make you trust me? I can't help you if I don't know all the information," Octavia explained, and I nodded.
"For now, you have all the information that you need, but once we are back on the ground, we can talk about connecting you to me. For now, I have to go deal with Victoria. Feel free to watch this if you want, but I don't know what you will gain from it. This girl has pushed my buttons for a long time, but now she is starting to get worse, it seems," I said, pulling my thumb and index finger together on my forehead.
"I understand. I look forward to connecting with you. Will you be connecting with me between my legs? Or will you connect with my mouth?" Octavia asked, catching me off guard and making me cough.
"What? That is sex, and I mean it connects, but that is not what I meant. If I connect you to my trees below, I will know your intentions the moment you do. I know that might not seem fair and controlling, but you are all people with very destructive abilities. Even if you only ever used them, as I said, there is a chance that someone could take control of you and force you to attack others. I will know if someone is controlling you, and I can shut off your System before anyone can get hurt," I explained, and Octavia nodded.
"I understand what you mean. I can wait for whatever the connection is, but I am still curious about the other type," Octavia said thoughtfully, and I chuckled.
"You will have to go apply to the Harem office for that chance, but the Queen does seem to like passing me off to whoever she wants. Watch the girls, and make sure that everyone stays on track. We can use whatever help we can get at this point," I explained, then closed my eyes after Octavia nodded.
I connected with Mr. Tree, and my consciousness transferred into a wooden copy of myself. The doll was just outside the room that Victoria was in, but I had to stretch out a bit before I could really even walk.
Mr. Tree sent a feeling of being sorry, but he was busy. I sent back a feeling of understanding, and thanks, since I knew that the trees were trying to help the girls stop the two Villains.
I felt terrible for making everyone fight like this, but it was more of a staged performance. I could have let Octavia know what Gaia and I spoke of, but this was something that I wanted to keep completely secret.
If anyone found out, it would just end up making things harder, and this all would be for nothing.
I shook my head and went into the room that held Victoria. She was lying on the ground, whimpering, with a puddle of tears under her.
"Come here," I said as I walked into the room, making Victoria sit up immediately.
"No!" Victoria growled and turned away from me.
"Really? I made a special trip down here to come and talk to you when the girls are all out there fighting for their lives. Is this how you are really going to act?" I asked, unsure why she felt the need to do this today of all days.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"You are only doing this because I am a mess of tears! This is the only time that you seem to care! When something is wrong!" Victoria said, starting to cry again, keeping her back to me.
I was really starting to get fed up with this, but I stayed calm and walked up behind victoria. I placed my hand on her back, and time slowed around me as I used Sofia's ability to probe and scan Victoria's body.
"What are you doing to me?!" Victoria asked but then winced slightly, putting her hand to her abdomen.
Then I saw it and groaned as I felt the pain she felt from a cramp. Victoria's hormones and mind were all out of whack, but I didn't have enough experience to deal with most of what was wrong with her.
"Really? You couldn't have just said something to me, or even one of the girls?" I asked as I could literally feel Victoria's cramps in my abdomen like they were my own.
"What are you talking about?!" Victoria asked, and then we both winced as another round hit her, but she turned around to look at me.
We shared the same wincing expression, which made Victoria's eyes almost fall out of her head.
"You can feel them?!" Victoria exclaimed, and I nodded.
"Yeah, that's wild. Do you deal with this every month?" I asked, breathing through the strange pain.
"I'm a girl, and it's my period! Of course, I have to deal with this every month! And I get angry when it happens because it hurts so m-urgh!" Victoria said, and another wave hit us worse than the first time, bringing me down to one knee.
"Alright, enough of this bullshit," I growled, forcing Victoria's body to right itself.
As I did, Victoria looked down between her legs and screamed.
"What are you doing to me!? Why am I bleeding so much?! You're killing me!"
"No, I am not. I just forced your body to expel the lining of your uterus. Now your body is going to stop kicking the shit out of itself. The first problem was solved! Well, secondary problem, at least," I said, helping Victoria stand up from her own blood that was now on her dress.