Red Meteor Quest Season 2, Episode 16

You have to say, you're not sure how to take all this. It'd been a few days since Mireille's arrival and the fact that you now have a little sister is something you aren't entirely sure how to deal with. You can entertain small children, that's pretty easy to do. The problem here is that this is a girl in her teenage years so simple things like a coloring book or jump rope are out of the question.

Another problem is that you've had a hard time...looking at Mireille. It may sound cruel, but if you kept your eyes on her for too long then you couldn't help but feel an unyielding rage build up within your very soul. To that end, you've kept conversations with her brief in an effort to keep you under control.

Boy did that not work out how you intended...

Thanks to Red, you were now driving in your car with Mireille around town in an attempt to show her the sights...or well the ones that weren't destroyed from all the recent monster attacks that'd been going on. Things had been mostly quiet for now and with that being the case, it seemed like the perfect time to get her acquainted with her new surroundings.

Thus you were now driving in awkward silence with your little sister.

You are Sadie Stafford aka Blue Comet and you are a big sister now. DEAR GOD SOMEONE SEND HELP!

>So what's France like?
>Are you adjusting well?
>...How's mom?
>[Awkwardly silence intensifies]
>How are you adjusting to your powers?
>Other/Write-in

>... How's mom?

You struggle to break the ice, you can't think of anything to really talk about. Shoes? No, that's dumb. Movies? You don't know any French movies, as you comb your brain for what to say, you ask a question that just bursts forth from your mind.

"...How's mom?" You ask

"Mother? Oh, she's quite fine! She was...shocked to hear that you were involved in things like this, but she seemed quite happy to hear your name."

"...But not happy enough to ever come see me again." You grumble

"Eh...?"

"Nothing..." You say keeping your eyes on the road

"I am surprised, despite all that's happened, the city seems to have manage to maintain itself. How did the authorities manage this?"

You grimace at her words.

"Managing is a tough word to use. Try 'barely scraping by'. We've had to issue state of emergencies, get repair crews out and to top that off, we've had to provide security for them too."

"Why is that?"

"In case those...whoever they are turn up again."

"Ah yes...that girl. She seemed...unhinged."

"That's putting it lightly." You stop your car in front of the local park area, really you're just showing Mirieile some of your usual haunts while you're on the clock and patrolling, but even so you feel it'll decent spot to start things off.

"Oh my, how quaint. This is a nice looking park, shall we take a walk around?"

>Knock yourself out
>We're doing a quick walk around and that's it
>What are the parks back home like?
>Other/Write-in

>"I don't walk. I patrol."
>What are the parks back home like?

"I don't walk. I patrol." You say following behind Mireielle as she begins walking down a small path. "That aside, what are the parks back home like?"

"Oh quite fine. Nice and lively, yet relaxing at the same time!"

"So...people aren't making out on the grass?"

"N-no! Or at least, I wouldn't know that!" she replies turning red "T-that's not important...but that aside...where are all the people?"

You take a quick look around to see that she's right, it's completely empty here. No people, no vendors, absolutely no one is here, not even a stray dog or the random squirrel.

"It's because of everything that's happened. The people are too afraid to come out. They don't know if they do if they'll risk getting caught up in a monster attack, or have their soul sucked out. Not to mention that Tyrant guy..."

"Who...?"

"He's dead so it doesn't matter, let's just say he was a real pain in the ass."

"How awful...well, worry not, I'm sure we'll be able to defeat whoever these people are!"

>You're disgustingly chipper
>I hope we can...
>Just try not to die
>Other/Write-in

>I hope we can...
>Just try not to die

"I hope we can...but just try not to die." You say with a huff "Using broken internate translators to fill out the paperwork would be a real pain in the ass."

"Teehee, I will do my best. But speaking of that well..."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Well my powers...it's just...having these black hole powers feels weird.

"Weird?" You repeat with a raised eyebrow

"Well...it's just...all of this. The increased strength, the black holes, I...I also feel like I have to breathe less than usual? I also feel less tired than before. It's a lot to take in."

"You'll get used to it. I mean, I can control water and freeze things. It was a bit weird to handle at first, but soon it'll feel like a part of you."

"I see...will my outfit change into one like Jane's?"

"No, you don't have to worry about skintight armor...thankfully."

"You sound annoyed. But isn't she your girlfriend? Wouldn't you...like that?"

>S-she's not my girlfriend...I think!
>Walk back to the car
>splash her with water
>Other/Write-in

>splash her with water

There are no words. You simply give a small flick of your wrist as some water materalizes from the air and drops on top of Mireille's head.

"H-hey, what was that for?! I'm soaked!"

"Don't bring things like that up." You reply

"But that's what Jane said and-"

sploosh

More water falls on her

"S-stop that I-"

sploosh

"But...!"

sploosh

"I can keep this up all day you know."

Mireille lets out a whimper as she wrings herself out. It's probably wrong, but you can't help but feel just a tinge of satisfaction at having done that to her, you feel just a small bit better now.

"I'm...I'm only dating Red. I think. I mean...I don't hate Jane or anything...and one time we all got a bit...involved, but just...it's better if we just don't think about it okay?"

"Fine..." Mireille mutters

"Good." You move your fingers a bit and call back some of the water from her clothing. Now she's gone from soaked to just damp, which is a step up. You both finish your walk around the park before returning to the car, with you starting it up again and driving off.

>[Awkward Silence]
>...What was it like growing up?
>Have you been keeping in touch with mom?
>Other/Write-in

>Turn on the radio for some soothing jazz to calm down
>Accidentally put on the heavy death metal station
>Ignore Mirieile's stare of bewilderment

You need to calm down. For some reason, you're a bit more on edge than usual and you aren't entirely sure why. But how...?

Oh! Music! That'll totally work!

You reach down towards the radio and decide that something calming would be good. Jazz! That's calming!

What came out of the radio was not jazz...

Instead, what you got was the loud guttural screams of a man who you couldn't even understand. You...can't help but feel embarrassed at this and so you just opt to keep on driving, your eyes glued to the road.

You pay no mind to the stare Mireille gives you, and so in turn she stops staring and simply attempts to deal with the music blaring throughout the car.  You turn the music off when you finally stop on a street downtown. There's still some cars driving here and there and some people are walking by too.

"There's quite a lot of shops here, is this the shopping district of town?"

>Well that and the occasional thief
>Yes, and we aren't buying anything.
>Nothing gets by you
>Other/Write-in

>Nothing gets by you
>Well until the next villain decides to turn it into another scene ripped straight out a disaster movie I guess it is

"Nothing gets by you." You say in a sarcastic tone "But yes, this is the a place where you can go shopping for things...well it is until the next villain decides to turn it into another scene ripped straight out of a disaster movie I guess."

"I really hope that doesn't happen, I'd like to get Mother some gifts."

"What for? She lived here."

"True, but she's been gone a long time, so she likely can't remember too much. Actually...what was it like living with Mother?"

You instantly feel a wave of nostalgia wash over your body as you recount some fun memories. You remember your mom picking you up from school, holding your hand as you walked across the street...getting ice cream together even during the dead of winter, or how she helped you ride your bike, or when she took care of your knee after you skinned it one day...those were great times, and you find yourself smiling warmly as you recount it all to Mireille.

"It sounds like the two of you really got along well."

"...Yeah, we did."

"Do you...miss her?"

"Do I miss her?"

"Well, you haven't seen her and so long and well..."

>Always
>Not anymore
>Why do you care?
>Other/Write-in

>Why do you care?

"Why do you care?" You ask a bit more harshly than intended

"W-well...you seem a bit...angry?"

"Angry...?" You mutter

"Yes, you've had...a bit of a frown on your face the entire time. You are not acting like the sweet girl that mother would always speak about."

"That's well..."

"I am your sister, we should help each other shouldn't we?"

"Look, I'm not mad, it's just...this entire thing has me stressed out. Long hours at work, people trying to take advantage of the destruction. It's just been bothering me that's all, I'll get over it."

"I see...let's go get ice cream then!"

"Huh? Ice Cream...?"

"Yes...like you and mother did no? That place still exists doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah...it does."

You watch as Mireille walks off before you start walking with her. While you aren't too thrilled that she exists...maybe with time you'll actually come to like her...

...Maybe.

You can pull that off given some time...right?

>To be Continued