Authors Notes: Heres a new chapter! Whooooo!

Ryan, Deity, and Sorcha belong to Ask the blind Archer

Zareth, Cygnus, and Malt belong to Grumpy-Zane

Sorcha and Cygnuses kids belong to both Ask the blind Archer and Grumpy-Zane

Cricket belongs to S-obbles

Luna belongs to ElizabethJullien

Everyone else belongs to me.

Cumbersome

Chapter 7

Unfortunate Realizations

Hope clung to the seat, feeling her heart pounding in her throat.

What had they just done?

"I hope you didn't like those seats Uncle Ryan. Hope's claws ripped up the fabric some." Kino gave Ryan a grin, teasing him.

Ryder gave a small yawn, having been woken up by Hope's shriek of fear as they went through the rock face. He rubbed his eyes, slowly sitting up and stretching.

"Nah it's alright, I can always get the seats fixed." Ryan shrugged and began to drive up the road.

Hope slowly unstuck herself from the seats.

"Are you alrigh-" Ryder was cut off by another yawn, rubbing his eyes.

She turned her head toward the back seat, giving Ryder a small smile. "I am functioning." Hope appreciated his caring nature. She turned in the seat as much as the seat belt would allow, reaching back and ruffling his hair. She had seen Kino do this to him once, so she assumed it was a gesture of reassurance.

"Yo! Old man, are we almost there?" Kino leaned over the seats to ask, looking out of the windshield at the road.

"I ain't that old. A hundred ain't old." Ryan huffed as he pulled into Sorcha's driveway, turning the car off as he looked up at the cottage. It didn't look much different than he remembered, still the same three room additions as the last time he was here. "Yeah, we're here."

Ryder peeked over Malt to look at the house. It seemed big, but not bigger than Zareth's Place had been. It was clearly big enough for more than just one person, though.

Opening the door for Ryder, Kino took his hand as he helped him out of the car.

[Stay close, little one. I smell something...familiar.] Malt said as she looked up at Ryder.

Kino stuffed his other hand in his pocket, waiting on Ryan. "Lead on, old man."

Ryan shut his car door and went up to the house, gently knocking on the door.

There was silence for a moment and then Sorcha opened the door, looking at her brother. "Look at you, you don't look a day over thirty."

Ryan chuckled, shaking his head. "Says the ninety-two year old that looks twenty-nine."

Ryder looked up at the woman, watching her in awe. He had never seen someone like her before! "Wow! She's really tall!" He said as he looked up at Kino, trying to compare the heights of Sorcha and Kino with just his sight. Ryder nodded to himself, noting that Omino seemed to be taking after their Uncle with his height, while Kira would probably stay the same height she currently was.

The combination of the two made Kino taller than most kids his age.

Sorcha chuckled a little at Ryder's surprised outburst. "I'm only five foot six, dear." She moved aside to let them all in.

Despite the house having three added rooms, it felt...empty.

"Now, why are you all here? Ryan, I haven't seen you since Inky died." Sorcha raised an eyebrow. She was a little curious about this sudden appearance by her brother.

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well…"

Sorcha shook her head, clearly wanting to change the subject. "Now, who are all of you?"

Malt trotted over and laid down beside Ryder, who was standing patiently beside the others. Her tail wound around his leg.

Ryder patted Malt's shoulder, making sure she was alright.

Kino spoke first. "I'm Kino, and this is also me…"

There was a soft 'pop' as Kira unfused them and stood beside Omino, trying to make herself seem tall. "Hi. I'm Kira and this is my younger brother Omino, That's our baby brother Ryder, and our dragon sister Malt."

They all bowed respectfully. Something Kino probably wouldn't have done.

Sorcha watched them, shaking her head as she sat down on the couch. "I appreciate the gesture of respect, but you kids don't have to do that."

Ryan sat down after Sorcha did. "Kira and Omino are Otto's kids, sis." Something about Sorcha's demeanor made him worry. Had he missed something while he'd been gone?

Sorcha nodded. "I figured, but this one here reminds me of Zareth." She pointed to Hope, giving her a smile.

Hope gave Sorcha a nod of confirmation. "It would be because I am his daughter, or at least that's what I've been told." She looked at Sorcha, and then glanced around the house. "It is quiet here. You have three extra rooms, but...where is your family?" She didn't know if it would be rude of her to ask such questions.

Sorcha fell silent for a moment, then took a breath and looked at Hope. She smiled. "The kids grew up and moved out, and Cygnus…" She seemed to tense, fingers digging into the fabric of the couch as though she were trying to distract herself.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, where is that goofball? I know I've been away for a while but-"

"He died, Ryan. About fifteen years ago, but you wouldn't know that, because you cut off contact with most of humanity when your wife died. Thirty-one years and you couldn't even call your own sister. It's been more than just 'a while'."

"Listen-" Ryan began attempting to defend his choice to essentially drop off the face of the earth.

"No, you listen! I get that she died and we were all absolutely devastated. I understand the pain of loss. I get it. It hurt. But for fucks sake, you could've checked on your family in the span of thirty-one years, Ry-" Sorcha forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat, wiping at her eyes. "Forget it." Her voice cracked when she spoke. "It's fine."

"Sorcha-" Ryan reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, but hesitated.

"I said drop it." Her muscles tensed, as though she were holding herself back. Sorcha did her best to try and stay calm. "It's...fine. Now, why are you all of you here?"

Kira pulled Omino closer and fused back into Kino, who was now standing in front of Hope protectively. Yet his hands were in his pockets, and he was looking up at Sorcha. His eyes shifted to an icy blue for a moment as Zareth's voice came from him instead. "Sorcha, babe. It's best to be sad once today instead of twice later, so I better tell you before we continue. Danika and Julien passed away. Ryan told us when we met up with him yesterday, he was giving them their final send off when we arrived. We knew it would happen eventually. Unfortunately, Otto's gone too. The way he passed was a bit more...gruesome." He cleared his throat. "As to why we're here, well..." Zareth motioned to Hope with Kino's hand. "She needs your help, beautiful. Hope lost her memory after something cracked her noggin."

Sorcha looked up at the Zareth possessed Kino, listening to him talk. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she didn't speak. In fact she went from expressionless to a smile quite quickly. "I'm sure they're fine." She never did process death right away. It always took her a few days. "You don't need to worry about me shifting from lack of control. I wouldn't hurt Hope."

Ryan cleared his throat, a little hesitant to speak after the earful his sister had given him. "Do you think you can h-"

"Help her? Yes. Might fry my computer, but I can do it. Zareth, can you keep hold of Kino long enough to do this?" Sorcha got up off the couch and began to head toward the basement door.

Zareth shook his head. "No." He laughed, following Sorcha.

Oh, that laugh. Hope smiled at the sound of it.

"But...I can keep hold of Hope." He said with another laugh.

"You seem so happy even though it could harm you and Kino." Hope frowned, a little confused by his cheerful demeanor. She knew what they would attempt had a large percentage of risk attached, so why did he seem so calm?

Zareth shrugged. "Ah, there's no reason to be afraid. If something happens to me, there's a few others in here that can help." He tapped his head. "They're really nice people. Well, except for Glass. He has his moments. If you ever meet him, he'll remind you of Kino. They're a bit similar."

Sorcha opened the door to the basement,heading down the stairs and leading everyone. "It'll take me a moment to find the wires, can you two lay down?"

Ryan sat down in a nearby chair, looking at Malt. "...Think she's mad at me?"

Malt huffed and gave a soft warble as she licked her paw, rubbing it over her face to clean it. [Do not sleep alone, though I do not think she will kill you. Perhaps the silent treatment will be given.]

Ryder laughed, watching the reaction on Ryan's face.

Ryan looked confused.

"Malt says yes." Of course Ryder wasn't going to tell him what she actually said, it was a little funny to watch Ryan trying to understand Malt.

Zareth held Hope's hand and led her down the stairs. "Yes, we can lay down. Be careful though. I like naps." He winked at Sorcha.

Sorcha chuckled and grabbed cords from a nearby drawer, pausing when she saw the dusty VR helmet on the computer console. She took a breath and shook her head. No, she couldn't think about anything else right now, especially the past. Her mind needed to be clear and focused for the procedure she was about to do. Then she looked to Hope lying on the table. "Alright, ports open."

Zareth helped Hope onto the examination table and plugged her in. "See you on the inside, Sugar." He laid down on the table next to hers, feeling Sorcha plug the other cord into Kino's port.

Sorcha sat down between the two of them, counting down before she pressed the button. "In three, two…"

One.

Kino's body twitched, and Zareth shivered internally. It honestly felt as though he were sliding through his mind, right back into his subconscious.

With Zareth gone into the processor, Kino regained control of his body and sat up, careful not to remove the cord. He frowned, looking around at everyone. "Why's everyone lookin' at me?"

Sorcha watched Kino, shaking her head. "You lay back down, alright? I want this to go well. We're trying to help Hope."

Kino saw Hope laying down on the table beside him. He laid back down, closing his eyes. "I see them. They're alright."

Hope watched the man in front of her, taking a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. "Hello, my name is Hope. I am your...daughter." Her voice caught in her throat, nerves getting the better of her. She had always been told that first introductions were the most important. She wanted to make a good first impression.

Zareth smiled at her. "Hey there, Sweetheart. I'm Zareth. I'm your dad." He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm a dad…" He breathed out, trying his best to not cry.

Outside of the processor, Kino noticed he was crying. He reached up and wiped the tears off of his face with a smile. "They're alright."

A sudden gasp left Kino moments later, and he gripped his head tightly, as though he had a migraine. "Wait-" He could hardly get his words out. "Something is...wrong-"

Sorcha wheeled her chair over to Kino, looking him over to check for any external signs of damage, but she saw nothing. No smoke, no sparks. She didn't understand. "What is it?"

Kino held his chest, letting out a sharp grunt of pain. "I ca-" He wheezed, trying to force himself to speak so Sorcha would understand. "Memories. I can see...everything she remembers."

Back inside the processor, Zareth held onto Hope as memories floated past him and all over the walls. He smiled when a brief memory of Danny floated past them. "Ah...my Dannygirl. Always so beautiful."

Danny's guns came online and began to shoot at the large black beasts that were attacking. She slammed the door and ran over to Hope.

"Baby listen to me. Shhhh...listen. I know you're scared." She took hold of Hope's hands and looked at the door as it began to bow inwards. "Daddy loves you and so does Mommy. Don't you ever forget that. I know he isn't here, but as long as you can find Kino...he will care for you. He's not your Daddy, but he is a friend of mine. Kino is mean sometimes, but it's only because he doesn't know you well enough. Find common ground." She looked back up as the door hit the wall and clattered to the floor.

"Roy, put her back into the tank!" Danny yelled, trying to hold the beasts back.

Hope looked around for Roy when her mother had belted out the instructions to him. Then, she stopped as a horrified expression slowly crossing her face.

Roy had been smashed to pieces by the sheer force of impact that was created when the door was forcibly busted from the frame.

"Roy!" Danny called out, whipping her head around when she heard the metallic thud of Roy's body hitting the floor.

Pieces of Roy were strewn all over the floor.

Hope's body twitched on the examination table as she tried to turn the memories off. Everything hurt, and it felt like her mind was screaming at her.

Sorcha went over to Hope and gently rubbed her cheek, trying to calm her. "Hey, hey you're alright. Sometimes memories hurt."

Zareth smiled. "Yeah, I wondered who told ya that, Beauty." Zareth knew Sorcha wouldn't hear him talking, but he laughed anyway and rubbed Hope's back in an attempt to soothe her. "Listen ta her, babe. She knows how it is. Just let it come."

Hope let out a pained gasp as another memory came flooding back.

A woman with black tar all over her came through the now missing door, glaring at Danny with bright crimson eyes. It looked as though she had walked through mud or ink, smudges present on her skin as well as various scars.

"Lyndell." Danny spat, guns still online and humming. She would be ready to strike if Lyndell made a move.

"We want the sun." Lyndell sneered, as though she were certain that speaking to Danny was beneath her.

Danny pointed up, mocking Lyndell's request. "Good luck with that. 'Cause as far as I know, no one can get there."

"The power of stars is close enough…" A malicious grin crossed Lyndell's face as she began walking toward Danny.

The memory faded out as Hope was ejected from Kino's processor. She let out a horrified gasp as realization struck her. Trying to get up, she nearly fell and ripped the cord from her port. She looked panicked, glancing around at everyone. "They want Ryder!"

End of Part 1

Part 2: Weight of the World