"No. Not at all. I'm just pointing out the fact, that for all your sex appeal, you're actually a sweet and innocent sort of person."
Scott's statement did nothing to calm down the now ever-present blush that had arisen on Shara's cheeks. She giggled oddly then with a slightly dazed and goofy expression on her face, she muttered something about enjoying the presence of waffles. Blueberries were also nice.
"Focus Shara. Stay with me," said Scott with a gentle laugh.
She blinked twice then said, "Huh? What?"
Scott laughed once more then said, "Exactly. You can dish it out, but you can't take it."
"Well... Yeah. That's the reason why I came here." she mumbled.
"You wanted to know how to seduce me, meaning that other version of me?"
"Yeah, I guess." she said softly.
"You guess?" he asked her slowly. He tilted his head to the side a little to match her. "Shara, are you really the sort of girl who seduces people without being sure it's something you want?"
"I dunno. Only tried it once and it didn't work." she said.
Scott looked askance at her and she mentioned a certain ice cream incident from a while back. Scott keenly recalled her clumsy attempt at using ice cream as a means of dragging him around town back when they first met.
"You certainly had my attention, but by then I had been starting to work things through with your sister. Had I been completely single, it would have probably worked well enough to keep my attention."
Shara smiled shyly then looked up at him. Her expression became one of confusion, of doubt. "What's wrong with me, Scott?"
"Nothing that I know of." he said. "I like you well enough."
"Well enough?" she giggled weakly then nodded. "That's probably sweet, I guess."
"I'm not allowed to be too sweet. We're going to be brother and sister, you know."
Shara flinched slightly. "I know. Feels like that's the problem."
"You don't want to be family?" asked Scott curiously.
"Of course I do... Though, you know exactly what sort of family I'd like to be with you." She huffed at him a little then shook her head. "No, the problem is that it feels almost like that over there, too."
"Like you and the other me are siblings?"
"Not even that... It's like, well..." Her eyebrows pressed together lightly and she looked away. "It's like we're nothing."
"Nothing? Really?" asked Scott, surprised by the revelation.
"At first it was different. You know about most of the situation there?"
"Yeah, assholes ruining the world," said Scott.
"True, but I meant how I was childhood friends with you in that world. We did everything together. It was wonderful." She smiled warmly as the memories flowed through her mind. The smile faded after a moment. "Then everything turned wrong."
Scott listened as Shara outlined everything that had gone wrong. The life story of Blackthorne Scott, as she called him, was terrible. Only his little sister had it worse.
"Now, every time he looks at me it's like he can't really see me." she said tears trailing down her cheeks. "I've never done anything but try to help him, but because of the situation I know some part of him refuses to accept me, to trust me."
Shara began to sob a little, her body bucked and heaved as she started to babble all of her fears and insecurities. Scott stood up and moved to join her. He wrapped his arms around his sister to be, and held her tight as she put words to her emotional torment.
After a while, she no longer spoke. Instead she sniffled and occasionally sobbed while gently clutching at his shirt.
"I went into it with the best of intentions. I really wanted things to work, you know." she said softly, in a tiny little voice.
Scott stroked her hair then nodded. "You were so excited."
"I still am, but I don't think he really wants to be with me like that..." she said in that same tiny little voice. She hiccupped a little after saying it.
"What makes you think that?"
She snuggled her head against Scott's chest. "We talk, and occasionally share a joke, but he just doesn't look at me the same way he looks at Ashton or Sonja." Strangely, she unleashed a sad smile. "Though, he doesn't look at anyone the way he looks at Sonja."
"How does he look at you?"
Shara bit her lower lip then sighed. "He doesn't. He looks through me."
"Shara, why so cryptic?" asked Scott.
She shook her head. "I don't mean to be. I... I dunno. It's like when he looks at me all he sees is the past, and his past hurts him more than anything."
"I know it's going to sound like a copout. But if you actually want to be more than a childhood friend, or a reminder of the past, you're going to have to decide what he really means to you," said Scott.
"I love Scott." she said gently, stubbornly. Her lower lip poked out a little in a petulant pout.
He stroked her hair softly then kissed on the top of her head. "Yes. But do you love him?"
Shara slowly nodded. "I do."
Scott stroked her hair a little, unsure what else he should do to calm her down. He had never really been that good with dealing with crying women. He suspected that he was doing alright at the moment. But as far as things went when dealing with Shara, any attention from him made her feel better.
"Is it romantic love?"
"I'm not sure what that is... not really." she sighed softly. "I just want him to be happy again. I hate what's happened to him. He deserves so much better."
"Sounds like love," said Scott gently. "Also, sounds like you need to figure out what kind of love you feel for him."
Shara actually laughed after a moment. "When did you get so good at this?"
Scott shrugged. "I've had to do a lot of soul searching in recent months when it came to figuring out the love thing."
"Me too." she said warmly, while unleashing another sweet laugh.
"Had to find the right Scott?" he asked with a laugh of his own.
Shara's laugh returned, much brighter this time. "Of course! Who do you think I am?"
He pulled on her ponytail a little then started to say something, but the sound of liquid being spurted caught his attention. Both he and Shara looked toward the far side of the table and saw Herbert pumping butter onto the popcorn in his bowl.
Herbert looked at them. They looked at him. He chittered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Don't mind me."
Soon, all three fell into a world of silly giggles. The situation was simply too ridiculous not to laugh.
Chapter 5
A wistful sigh echoed across the interior of a well-appointed dressing room. Origin gazed sadly into the mirror. Her chin propped up by her hands, the girl in the mirror looked as though she had not a friend in the world.
She blew an errant hair from the side of her face then said, "Just started the tour and it's already this bad."
Origin had grown accustomed to being near Scott whenever she liked. It was difficult for her to understand exactly what it was about him that made her immortal heart beat quicker, but it did.
Curiosity, and loneliness, got the better of her. Origin bit her bottom lip slightly then reached for her cell phone. "It wouldn't hurt to just see what he's up to, would it?"
Justified in her actions, Origin lifted the phone up and tapped on an application that would turn her mirror into a one-way view-screen. A bright smile appeared on her lips as she saw the interior of Scott's house. "Oh, so he went to Earth for some reason?"
She performed a quick search scan and the image zoomed in on Scott's location. Her warm smile slowly faded as she saw something she had not expected. "What's she doing there...?"
The images shown on the screen were of Scott holding Shara close while he gently stroked her hair. Off to one side, Herbert ate popcorn and watched the human drama unfolding before him.
Shara began to cry a little, but Scott seemed to do his best to comfort her without comforting her too much. "Since when does Shara go to him li
ke this on her own?"
Eventually, the sweet and somewhat infuriating scene came to an end. Origin watched Scott kiss Shara on the cheek then nod to her. The bridge of the girl's nose turned pink, an action that made Origin's stomach twist into an uncertain little knot.
She hesitated a moment, but then sent Shara a message. It was not prying if it was her sister, right?
The minutes ticked by as Origin nervously waited for a response from her little sister. She nearly said something unladylike when her older sister, Mid, poked her head into the dressing room. "Hey, you ready to go?"
Origin sighed at her phone then sent Shara another message telling her that she would like to talk later. She had to do another meet and greet with the fans.
"Yeah, I suppose I am," said the blue haired goddess as she rose from her seat. She made a point of looking at Mid, however. "If one more of those fan boys tries to grab my butt, I'm calling lightning."
"They'd probably love you forever if you did," said Mid with a laugh. "You know how they can be."
Origin frowned at her sister. Must she be so reasonable in her assertions? "Yes. I do know."
The divine sisters left the dressing room and went off to meet their fan-base related destiny. Origin would simply have to wait to discover what her younger sister had discussed with the love of her life.
***
Scott waited patiently at a stop light for a military convoy to cross the road. Many things had happened since the last time he had gone to speak with Captain Johnson. The base had not changed much, but who knew what was in store for its future?
His cell buzzed briefly as another message arrived for him. "Sarah again?" he said before placing it back down with a sigh. What would it take to get the woman to accept the reality of the situation? She had dumped him with no forewarning. He had moved on after a time, and now her needs were simply not important to him.
"I'll be glad to get back to ARS after this. How 'bout you man?" asked Scott.
Herbert chittered once then waved at the air with his paw. He could take it or leave it, really.
Once they arrived at the headquarters building, they headed inside to meet up with the good captain. Herbert rode shotgun on Scott's shoulder so no one would get any crazy ideas of about chasing him with a broom.
"Ah, Lieutenant Jacobs. You're here," said Captain Johnson, before the lieutenant on duty at the front desk had a chance to greet him.
"Sir. It's good to see you," said Scott. He had to walk to walk once again. Ah, the life of an on duty soldier. Well, now a commissioned officer.
The duty officer stared openly at the blue haired weirdo. Scott had never met him before, but the man recognized him easily enough. Few people with bright blue hair walked into the building. Despite expecting his arrival, the duty officer could not help but stare at a commissioned officer with long luxurious blue hair.
"Lieutenant Danielson, is there a problem?" asked Captain Johnson after he noticed the way the man was staring.
"No, sir..."
The captain glanced at the man briefly then turned his gaze back to Scott. "I was about to call it quits in about ..." He looked at his watch. "Ten minutes. Can you wait till then?"
The duty lieutenant blinked stupidly for a moment. By his personal recollection, the captain was not one to wait on the needs of a lieutenant. Though, he did give a great deal of leeway to his warrant officers.
"Yes, sir. That would be fine," said Scott. It felt strange to him, calling a man sir after everything he had gone through. Years of military indoctrination had been tossed aside in only a little under one year.
"Alright. I'll finish up. Come on up to the office." The captain turned away smartly. Scott could not quite avoid falling into step. Old habits die hard sometimes.
Up in the office, Scott plopped himself down in one of the surprisingly comfortable office chairs at the request of the captain. "So, not to be rude and informal, but how do you like ARS?" asked Scott. Any pretext of being the captain's subordinate had disappeared the moment that they were alone.
Captain Johnson nodded, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "I have only just begun, but I'm thoroughly fascinated."
"It is addictive. I know," said Scott. He gestured toward the Grassrat on his shoulder. "Oh yeah. Herbert, this is Captain Johnson." He gestured to the captain. "Captain Johnson, meet Herbert."
"Ah, hello... Herbert," said the captain. Herbert waved at him then chittered in a friendly fashion.
Adam blinked then smiled at the small rodent. "You're not from around here are you?"
Herbert closed his eyes then slowly shook his head. No, he was certainly not local to the area.
Scott waited patiently while the captain finished a report that he had been working on prior. Why the man had not simply done them before going down stairs to wait for Scott's arrival baffled the blue haired man, but it was not really a big deal.
It was not long before the captain finished. But afterward he showed the report to Scott. It would need his signature. "Oh, so it's a candidate list," said Scott. He now understood a little of the captain's thought process. There was no point in trying to finish until Scott had seen the report, but he had not wanted to divulge information in front of his subordinate officer.
"Yes, it is also a transfer order. They have seen a little of what I could do, even without leveling up. We'll be moving shop to a new unit specifically set aside for this," said Adam.
"Sounds good. Meeting here would have been problematic if we continued for much longer."
Scott nodded while he looked through the list. He saw no sign of Sarah's boyfriend on the list, which was good. Most of the names listed were rangers or Special Forces, which was better. "What makes these guys eligible?"
"A few things. Mostly their home life situation and time in service. They are all single men or women without children who have undergone at least one full tour in the sand box."
"Says those selected will become a Special Forces unit." Scott looked up toward Adam. "Makes sense, but if I have to go through selection training it won't happen. They couldn't even begin to properly assess me with the standard tactics and it would take too much time away from ARS."
"Don't worry about that. Now that they know the possibilities, paperwork is to be shuffled. Besides, they know that it is entirely possible that you would shut the program down and simply leave the planet."
"How did you convince them that it was real?" asked Scott curiously.
"I showed them what it looked like when I logged into ARS, and I healed a man who had severe burns." Adam smirked then waved his hand dismissively. "They came around."
Before Scott could comment, his phone buzzed again. Upon checking it, he sighed. "Again? Damn, give it up woman."
"Trouble in paradise?" asked the curious captain, a sly smile on his lips.
"No, paradise is great. It's my ex-fiancé. Somehow her idiot boyfriend discovered that I was part of a new project that would fast track his career." Scott eyed Adam for a moment. "Despite the crap that was pulled last year, she keeps calling me to try and get him into the program."
"Do you want him in? Should we accept him?" asked Adam evenly.
"I want him to stick his head into the nearest pond and take a deep breath. What I'd accept is them getting a damned clue," said Scott, exasperated. "What part of my answer can't she understand? I can't trust a man who'd knock my fiancé up the night that she accepted my proposal, especially when he knew she was engaged."
"Damn," said Adam. "That happened and they have the nerve to even call you?"
"I know, right? Who does that?" asked Scott.
He looked like he wanted to continued, but after a moment he shook his head then waved the conversation forward. "No, we aren't accepting him."
Adam laughed loudly then said "Fair enough. I've not had any relationship troubles in a while. Although..."
"Although?" asked Scott. There was something about the way that the man had said that simple word that caused S
cott to become intrigued.
"I can't show you because items don't cross over, but it seems Lord Blizrum wants to groom me to be his champion."
"That's great! I'm happy for you," said Scott.
"Are you? I still don't know why he would choose me. I barely know what I am doing there." admitted Adam with a tiny little laugh.
"I can't say that I've met him, but from what my fiancé has told me about the other gods..." Scott mused for a moment then nodded. "It's probably got a lot to do with the fact that you're a decorated veteran officer from Earth. Gods are sort of fanboys after all."
"Really? So, anyone would do?" asked Adam, slightly saddened by the admission.
"Not necessarily," said Scott. Adam looked askance at him, and the blue haired man continued. "They only really get one champion at a time. He works for the gaming empire, and knows the deal. If anything, the gods involved probably already know the names on your list and he still chose you."
The captain reflected on the words he had heard. His musings were interrupted by Scott asking a question. "What sort of item did he give you?"
Adam laughed a little then said, "A shield maiden summoning crystal..."
Scott blinked. "It... summons a shield maiden?"
"Yes, that's the theory anyway."
Scott's left eyebrow rose into an arch. "Was he trying to give you a badass girlfriend or something?"
"That's what I said!" Adam laughed loudly, so loudly that both Scott and Herbert joined in. The little grass rat had been quiet for most of the conversation, but even he was amused by the situation.
Once the laughter died down, Adam said, "I don't really know if that was the intention, but I appreciate the possibilities. I'll be able to see more of the world before I make my decision."
"Feel free to ask questions, but you'll probably enjoy it more if you just get out there and see what there is to see," said Scott with a smile.
"I will. I'm taking it slow at the moment. The priests have told me that it is much easier to develop my level if I master my basic skills first."
"That's true. I sort of ended up power-leveled and missed out on the slow and enjoyable part of the journey. I'm getting back into that now, though."
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