Chapter 144: Interlude Twenty-Six: Maria - Just a Mother

"Mmgm!" Turning the faucet to start the sink, Maria splashed cold water on her face and groaned. So far as she could tell, she didn’t stink, which was weird, but that’s just how the world was now. "What the hell am I supposed to do... Adapt or die. What am I supposed to adapt to?"

Discomfort rolled through her stomach as she remembered the cute little bunny kid Rachel brought back. How had she spontaneously turned into a devil? Did Rachel turn into a devil? No, she couldn’t make assumptions.

Maria set her ground and went to check on the ragtag party she was now somehow acquainted with. Her brother stayed quiet, thinking about something as they walked; of course, as she had her troubles, so too was he bound to have his own.

Entering Captain Barbara’s room, she saw who she assumed was Mateo, Roy’s superior, standing beside the woman’s bed. She’d made a note of all the military guys at the hospital when word spread that they were setting up shop. And, despite the action they’d been in three days prior, Barbara rested without a care in the world.

Mateo didn’t waste any time in getting to the point. "How is she?"

Maria’s horn flared to life, the pure energy spiraling into shape as the bright light bathed everyone present, providing her with a wealth of immediate knowledge as to their conditions. All of them were fairly healthy, given their athletic lifestyle, yet, naturally, there were the expected troubles that come with such a physically demanding job as Special Forces.

"Humph. Mentally and physically, Captain Glamour’s the picture of perfect health." Her horn faded away as she turned to leave. "She’ll be up in a few hours; she’s suffering from spiritual fatigue—don’t ask me how."

Doctors and nurses were now hovering nearby to hear what she had to say.

"That’s just the cause, then?" Mateo mumbled, eyeing her brisk demeanor as they left for the next room. "There are other issues we suspect could be causing it, but we assumed it was due to the massive ’EXP’ dump that came from the Legend Quest. Maria?"

Maria stopped dead in her tracks as a nurse hurriedly opened the next door, waiting for her diagnosis, yet Maria’s wide eyes were now fixated on the horrific sight of some kind of mannequin sitting in a bed.

"Aww, hell no!" she snarled, backing away. "Who the hell is that supposed to be?!"

Roy snickered. "That...is Astra, or at least their...robot, we think. We weren’t sure what to make of it, but there was technology inside, all short-circuited. Afraid of puppets?"

She gave him a look that said he was stupid. "What, you thought I could heal some kind of kinky techno-doll or some shit? Get the hell outta here! No way in hell I’m stepping near that garbage! I’m not tech support, hombre."

A door down the hall opened, revealing a small Asian woman who was probably alerted by her shouting. She broke into the conversation, pulling them away from the creepy doll, which Maria was all for.

"You’re Maria, right? You’re the one who saved my daughter from that poison, right? Rachel?"

Fine to be done with the mannequin, and not having a clue who Astra was, Maria walked through the muttering crowd to the mother. "Yeah, and damn, your girl—"

Maria cut off, her gut coiling as the woman grabbed her hands, filling her with an uplifting swirl of Divine Energy, tears gathering in her eyes. All other sounds around her faded away, emanating a warmth that radiated like a blazing fire, filling her with light. Staring into her wet brown eyes, Maria started to feel dizzy.

"Thank you! I know Rachel is reckless, but I’m so happy you were there to support her when she needed it. She likes to think she’s a lone hare, but she’s always had blinders on when it comes to how many people are around her to help."

"Uh-yeah, I, uh, I guess..."

"Oh, where are my manners!" she chortled, breaking away. Maria snapped out of the spell as the woman gave her a gentle smile. "I’m Molly, Rachel’s mother."

"I figured..." Maria put her hands in her pockets, fingers pressing against her thighs as she tried to process the unusual tingling spark she’d sensed from the woman’s touch that threw her off her game. "And it’s more like she, uh, barged in and was on that ’Heal me, or I die’ kind of bullshit. Ya know? Eh-heh, you wanted me to check on her?"

"Yes, please!" Molly chirped, clasping her hands at her front. "If you’d like, we can pay for your services."

Clearing her throat and trying to refocus, Maria waved her off as they went into the adjacent room; something was very off. "Naaa. I owe her. Rachel ended up saving a shitload of kids. Oh, Scarlet’s here, too? And that...energy. The hell is goin’ on in here..."

She slowed a bit, her left eye creasing as she sensed some kind of Divine flow cycling through the space, not a trace of the fiendish force Rachel had emanated the last time she’d seen the hare. It was like a giant sun was blazing all around them, its dense gravity pulling her in.

"Is she doing okay? What energy?" Molly whispered with worry, holding a hand to her lips as the others crowded by the door. "Is there something wrong? Everyone has been wonderful, especially the Green Berets on night watch, and they haven’t reported anything strange. I watched during the day with my husband, too... He’s gone out to get us something to eat."

Maria’s vision drifted from the gothic vampire girl, sleeping in another bed next to Rachel’s mother. Oddly, she couldn’t get a fix on whether this woman was telling the truth or not. There was an unusual, Divine-like glow weaving around her.

Shaking her head, Maria’s silver eyes returned to the sleeping hare; her long locks had been braided, and there were a few cute bunny hair clips keeping her bangs out of her face. She had to be seeing things because her clothes were blinding. It almost felt like the entire room was an oven, yet no one else seemed all that affected.

"I don’t sense any issues... Well, other than massive spiritual exhaustion...a hell of a lot more than that Barbara chick. And this massive...spike of energy."

Molly’s brown eyes drooped as she stepped closer, her voice becoming insistent. "How long will she be out?"

"Umm... Hard to say," Maria groaned, rubbing the back of her neck as her horn appeared; Molly’s weird presence kept distracting her, and her more expanded powers didn’t help the situation. "She’s...probably going to be out for another two to three days. Probably."