40. Mother.
"No matter what, how could you fire a missile indoors?!"
"Mmmnya... mmmnya..."
"Shut up. It's all because of you. If it weren't for you, there'd be no reason to fire a missile in the first place."
One sheep... two sheep... three sheep... Three sheep living together in one house: mommy sheep, daddy sheep, baby sheep...
"I'm sorry..."
"Hoo... If it weren't for you throwing your body in the way to block that missile, I'd have killed you ages ago. I went easy on you. Mommy sheep builds a house out of straw... daddy sheep builds one out of wood... baby sheep builds one out of bricks..."
"But is Tyranno okay?"
"He just lost consciousness from the sudden shock. Give it a little time, and he'll wake up. Look, he's even sleep-talking."
That's when the ninja appeared...
"Ninja? Why ninja?!"
The sheep family gets massacred by the suddenly appearing ninja, and the surviving baby sheep becomes a ninja slayer, vowing revenge on all ninjas right before waking from the dream.
I come to my senses, and a pristine white ceiling greets me, the sharp scent of hospital disinfectant alcohol filling my nostrils. The bed I'm lying in is a hospital one, striking with its canvas-like white sheets and blanket. Looks like a makeshift ward set up in one corner of the Doctor's lab.
Back in the day—before the Doctor came here—the Darkness Korea Branch was big on body modification surgeries. I heard villains who got procedures at the central lab would recover here.
Body mod surgery, huh. The very thought of putting a scalpel to this Tyranno's perfect body is an unspeakably heinous crime. But... I'd kinda like to try it once. I want sharp teeth like a Tyrannosaurus.
"You're awake. Nothing hurt? No hearing issues or anything?"
Standing by the bed is the Doctor in a white doctor's coat, holding a chart. Lion's perched at the foot of the bed.
"Heh♥ Waking up to the ugly mugs of loser Doctor and loser kitty first thing? Talk about bad luck♥"
"Sigh. Would've been nice if that missile knocked some sense into you. Too bad you're fine."
"What're you talking about, loser kitty♥ If anything happened to this Tyranno, it'd be a massive loss for humanity♥"
With a face as beautiful as Cleopatra of the Jin Dynasty or Yang Guifei of Egypt, any blemish would be a grave sin worthy of wiping out two generations.
I sit up in bed. I definitely saw the missile flying right at me before I blacked out. My head aches a bit, but otherwise, I'm fine. The missile must've seen this noble Tyranno's beauty and toned down its own explosive power.
"Hmph♥ Big grown-ups shouldn't play with missiles like they're soap bubbles♥"
"We weren't playing... Still, you should thank Lion later. If she hadn't thrown herself in front of that missile, things could've been way worse."
'If it weren't for that one, there wouldn't have been a missile in the first place,' the Doctor grumbles.
"For real? Loser kitty?"
"Pfft, no big deal. No need for thanks."
"Puh! Of course no thanks needed♥ Lion protecting her boss is just plain 'common sense,' right? Huh? Were you hoping for a thank-you from Tyranno out of this, you side character? Lion's such a greedy kitty♥"
"......."
"What. Why. Stare."
For some reason, Lion's glaring at me with a super dissatisfied look. She said no thanks needed herself. What's her deal?
"Yeah, yeah. No need for Tyranno to thank you. If it weren't for this useless mutt bastard pile-of-shit cat, no missile would've come flying in the first place."
The Doctor strokes Lion's head while saying that. Hmm... something long flew by in the middle there too fast to catch. Probably not important.
"Ow! Ow, that hurts! It hurts!"
Lion, whom the Doctor is petting, starts whining that it hurts.
"Lion's such a wimp♥ Scaredy-cat who freaks out at a simple pet♥"
Anyone can see it's just petting. Why's she so pissy? Outsiders might think she's secretly pinching.
"Hoo... No. It's all my fault. I got nothing to say even if I had ten mouths."
"Damn right it's your fault. You hear me? You're not showing your face around me for a while."
That's when the door to the makeshift ward opens, and the Doctor's secretary robot enters. On the silver tray it's carrying is my whip—the first time I've seen it since Chae Sua stole it!
My whip! That naughty Chae Sua better not have mistreated it. Hope she took good care of it every day. Looks unchanged at a glance—phew.
> Item retrieved. Master.
"Bring it here, loser robot!"
> I heed only Master's commands, loser.
"What? Loser? Did you just call meloser?"
The world... is ending! A robot... talking back?! What is this country coming to? It's gone mad! That dumb robot doesn't know the Four Laws of Robotics or what? You know, the first law: Robots don't say loser. Second: Robots obey Tyranno. That stuff from fantasy movies.
"Now fighting inanimate objects?"
"But it started it! Called me loser!"
By what law can anyone but this Tyranno say loser?!
"Enough with the energy drain. Here's your whip. Don't let Chae Sua or anyone steal it again. Don't lose it. Hold onto it tight. Got it?"
The Doctor snatches the whip from the robot and hands it to me. The moment I grip it, emotion wells up—tears nearly spill. It's been so long. The perfect length and thickness for tormenting losers. The handle that fits so snugly in this cute, dainty Tyranno's delicate hands. The anti-slip coating. The smoothly polished surface. Ahh, that cool, hefty feel. Long time no see. No more endless boredom and starvation. Time to return as 'evil executive' mesugaki Tyranno.
"Yah!"
I swing it experimentally—like I held it just yesterday, it obeys perfectly. Swing up, it goes up; down, it goes down.
Crash!
"Eek!"
Oh no, I accidentally whipped the shelf full of potion bottles. Labeled vials scatter everywhere. Luckily most are plastic, but a couple glass ones shatter with ear-splitting crashes, filling the room.
The whip droops to the floor. Gotta retrieve it, but my fingers won't budge. I sneak a glance at the Doctor. She's not mad—good. Last time this happened, furious Doctor didn't flick my forehead; she full-on punched me. That... hurt...
"Doctor... mad?"
"Huh? Oh, nah. Not at all. Happens when you're hyped and messing around. More importantly, you okay? No glass shards hit you?"
"Yeah. No injuries."
Why's the Doctor so nice to me? Sure, no one could be harsh to supreme cutie Tyranno, but she's never this nice.
"It's fine, fine. Not mad. Just... try not to swing it indoors."
"Okay."
Wonder why. Even loser Doctor must've fallen for this Tyranno's greatness. Yeah, that's it.
"Did the magical girl take samples or run tests? I did a full scan—no signs. Makes sense; human magic tech can't touch it. But just in case it happens again, I added some features."
"You modded my whip?"
I'm good with it as-is.
"Yeah, a few tweaks. Fingerprint lock—zaps unauthorized users with a million volts. Added missiles. Speaker that says loser twenty times a second—minor stuff."
A million volts? Digimon much?
"The big one: auto-return. Lose it again? Just wish hard, and it'll come back like Mjolnir. Try it."
Mjolnir? No clue, but self-returning whip? Flying whip? If real, super convenient. Forget it on the subway? No prob. Leave it in the bathroom? Comes back!
Trusting the Doctor, I toss the whip far. It flies about 2 meters and flops down.
"Now stretch your hand out—it'll return. Go."
"But Doctor, can't I just pick it up?"
I threw it by the handle, so the lash is stretched out, end right in front of me. Just grab and drag?
"Tch. Just do it."
"Okay."
Deciding to trust loser Doctor, I thrust my arm forward. The whip trembles, then zips back into my hand!
"Whoa!"
Amazing! The whip flew by itself!
That's when genius strikes: Handle flies to my hand. What if it doesn't reach? It keeps going. If the force is strong... tie it around me, thrust arm forward, tie at perfect length so it flies but doesn't reach... I can fly!
This is it! Am I a genius? Duh!
"Doctor! Lion! Got stuff to do—be back!"
Body fine! Genius idea! Can't wait—must try now! Humanity's dreamed of flight forever. Birds as messengers between earth and sky in many civs. Penguins and ostriches flying in ancient mesugaki-potamia murals—fact! After Australia's Kamen Rider brothers' first rocket, we half-conquered skies. But no one flies without machines. That void ends now. I'll rule the skies!
"You sure we shouldn't stop him? Looks like another dumb idea."
I, Lion, recall Tyranno dashing out with that excited face. Same as when he causes trouble: swapping all Darkness cola for Pepsi, weather forecast to military bugle, subway OOH Study ads to Mesugaki Study...
"Not trouble."
"Don't worry. Probably thinks, 'Use whip right, maybe fly?' I added safeties knowing that."
The Doctor sits on the bed, brushing the spot Tyranno vacated—still warm.
"You shouldn't worry about that now."
"Ah..."
Right. Tyranno barged in and paused it, but moments ago, the Doctor was yelling at me to kill this beast spawn. Even grabbed a chainsaw.
"Damn. Wasted. Lion. Know why I kept you alive this long?"
"No... I don't."
The Doctor gets serious. A thick fog of presence grips the room. This isn't the lazy branch slacker Doctor. This is the scientist who rose to core status in Stalinna's brutal Darkness through pure skill, no politics.
"You blocked the missile aimed at Tyranno. That's why I spared you."
She pulls a white cigarette pack from her pocket.
"Suck... whoo... cough cough. Throat stings."
"Didn't you quit smoking, Doctor?"
"You think I can hold back in this? Huh?"
I'm the smoking culprit. Shut up.
"Speaking of—know why I quit?"
"No clue."
"When making Tyranno, we used the best genes: T-Rex for strength, turtle for longevity, mine for smarts. Worried about toxins, I quit cold turkey for months till clean. Then living with Tyranno kept me off."
"That's... news to me."
Reason for quitting—and Doctor's genes in Tyranno—first I heard. Literally, Tyranno is Doctor's child.
..........What have I done? Thought it was just fondness. Not blood-related. Self-loathing from head to tail. I'm trash... unrecyclable trash... Maybe just die...
The cigarette glows red at her lips.
"Whoo... He's like my son, but not. I believe in Tyranno's freedom—even sexually. My genes or not, not my kid. So if he wants... I respect his views. Maximum freedom."
White smoke fills the room.
"So when you asked for human mode 'cause you like him... I allowed it. Can't block lovers marrying. Even two wives? Fine. Not real parent. My creation purpose? Military clone soldier breeding."
"Yeah. I can take it. You and Tyranno? No grounds to stop. Mad, but his choice. But hey. What's that red mark on your neck."
Nape fur stands. Right. Nape.
"Not hand... artificial skin tissue left..."
Last night, too excited, collared Tyranno's neck like a dog... Big trouble. Life's biggest crisis.
-Tsssk. Burnt tobacco stench assaults. Piercing gaze drills my crown, but I can't look up. Doctor's face must be fury I've never seen, even as old friend.
"......."
"Uh... th-that's..."
What to say? Can't deflect. Can't bullshit—can't wrong her more. Confess? Tomorrow I'm chicken feed, not Lion.
"I-I can explain everything... so..."
Long silence. Doctor speaks.
"Sigh... Fine. Tyranno said nothing. No fear of you. I'll let it slide. If forced, he'd tell me."
Phew... lucky... If bite marks everywhere got out... I'd be L/AI/ON by now.
"So, uh... fast progress trendy? Congrats on the relationship... keep it private... don't let others know..."
"Doctor...?"
Big hand pets my head.
"G-Go for it. Make Tyranno cry, you die by my hand."
She stands.
Huh? Wha? She basically approved us? Not official yet... but greenlit the start!
"Doctor...! Thanks! I won't make him cry, promise!"
"Good luck."
I bow to her exiting back.
"Thank you, father-in-law!"
"Hey, hold up—not that far!"