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Despite having said the words himself, Ben's mood noticeably worsened for a minute.
<span class="mu-s">“Hey. Everything okay?”</span> you asked, crawling a bit closer to him from your place on the rafter.
<span class="mu-r">“Yeah, I'm okay.”</span> he replied, sounding a little deflated. <span class="mu-r">“You were going to tell me about your mom, right?”</span>
You nodded, watching him closely, as if you could see the truth of his words through his mask.
<span class="mu-s">“Yeah. Why don’t we go a little further up, first?”</span>
You started to climb, and was surprised yet again by the ease at which you were able to scale the building.
<span class="mu-r">“Hey, you’re pretty good at that too. Does Khonshu teach <span class="mu-i">all</span> his followers to be ninjas, or is it just you?”</span> he asked, climbing up after you.
<span class="mu-s">“I don’t think it's me. It's this suit.”</span> you said, staring at your right hand in disbelief. <span class="mu-s">“It feels like it's anticipating everything that I want to do, and then it…helps me do it.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“You make it sound like it has a mind of its own.”</span>
<span class="mu-s">“I feel like it does, on some level. Or maybe it's just Khonshu enacting his will through the suit?”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“Do you think it has something to do with the sleepwalking incident?”</span> Ben asked.
You found that thought to be both terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time. On one hand, you were immensely grateful to Khonshu for giving you something like this. But the idea of wearing something sentient without so much as an instruction manual was...
<span class="mu-s">“Maybe. I don’t know. It could be a Kumiho thing, or some other huge secret that I haven’t learned about yet.”</span> you said in a sardonic tone.
<span class="mu-r">“For now, why don't we just deal with what we do know?”</span> Ben said reassuringly. <span class="mu-r">“Like the stuff that happened with your mom.”</span>
You nodded, flipped onto your back, and stared off into the distance as you recounted your reunion with your mother. And somewhere in the middle of that explanation, you realized that Mekara was nowhere to be found.
—---------
Ben had gone very quiet, and very still towards the end of your explanation. You sensed a quiet, smoldering rage radiating off of him. He wasn’t even trying very hard to hide.
<span class="mu-s">“Ben-”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“You can’t go back to her, Cindy.”</span>
It was the first thing he’d said in about five minutes.
<span class="mu-r">“I know she’s your mother and all, but I don’t trust her. Who knows what else she’s hiding from you?”</span>
What will you say?
>”That’s exactly why I need to see her again. She can tell me where my dad is.”
>”I need to know more about the ritual that turned me into this. If I can learn that, then maybe we can find a way to reverse it.”
>”I’m bringing her home, Ben. I’m bringing all of them home. We might be a seriously screwed up family, but we’re still family. I have to at least try to bring them back together.”
>”You’re going to have to promise not to do anything crazy if you see each other in person. I don’t want to lose either of you.”
>Write-in.
