Joe found it surprisingly easy to deal with Kelly once she stopped showing off her wares every chance she got. Yes, she has a corrupt, greedy, and selfish streak, but that's exactly why it's so easy to appease her. All he and Maggie had to do was keep providing her with things to consume, and she would do the same without disturbing either of them. At first, they distracted her with the incredible amount and variety of food available in the yacht's restaurant. However, her insatiable appetite and bottomless stomach proved that this was unlikely to last until she disembarked on the next leg of the cruise six days later. Not only did this reduce Maggie's savings, but there wasn't enough food on the ship for Kelly and the other passengers.
Thank goodness Jo thought of something else she could eat. That means he has thousands of hours of media in his personal library. Unlike his last trip to Lancaster, he remembered to bring a hard copy of all the TV series, soap operas, movies and games at home. The yacht has its own local VR network, and Kelly's owner, a British citizen, has all the necessary implants, so it's easy for Joe to share his personal collection with her. Granted, not all of the random offerings were to her liking, but there was still enough there to appease the Devourer for a few months. By all accounts, things should have been smooth sailing from that point on.
However, as usual, reality threw a wrench into that plan.
"But she's terrible!" cried Joe. "She has been treating Barry like a dog and even betrayed him!"
"That's why she's so cool!" Kelly said. "She goes after what she wants instead of being stuck in the past like a meat puppet!"
They sat on opposite ends of the couch in Joe's virtual living room. Both of their incarnations are digital copies of their physical appearances, with Maggie's half-human, half-demon abomination floating silently in the background. She was clearly trying to avoid the silly controversy surrounding Crimson, the heroine of "Gone with the Wind." Dramas like this really appeal to this messy blonde because they're filled with plot twists. Unlike her sister, she didn't care how forced, contrived, or illogical these sudden developments were, as long as they were unexpected. For Joe, this sort of thing isn't really his cup of tea, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying this timeless narrative masterpiece. That's why his arguments with Kelly became so heated.
"But she's a terrible person!" Joe insisted.
"Just by your crappy standards."
"It's not just me!" Maggie thinks so too, right, Maggie?"
"Yeah! Let's hear what this infinite number of resident experts have to say!"
Although Kelly's comments were laced with sarcasm, she looked at the girl in the corner of the digital space.
"I don't have strong feelings about it anyway," she responded neutrally.
"Come on, now," the blonde rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me you don't have a problem with this."
"I see no reason to treat a completely fictional scenario with any degree of severity."
"Really? What if Joe decides to date another woman?"
"Hey!" the man protested.
"I see no reason to treat a completely fictional scenario with any degree of severity."
Maggie repeated herself with such unflinching confidence and sincerity that her partner blushed and her sister cried. With "Good Feeling" ruined, Kelly somewhat bitterly gave up on the personal argument and instead focused on the next digital medium to devour. She plans to marathon watch Love at Fi
st Flight), which was unusual because she wasn't much of a soap opera fan. They drag it on for too long and keep repeating the same boring plot and characters. However, this particular TV series featured Melinda Sparkle - the basis for Maggie's appearance. Kelly plans to pretend that her siblings are actually the heroines, which is sure to make for a bit of spicy entertainment.
Thankfully, Eater isn't as tech-savvy as The Observer, nor does it offer super-speed viewing. She got to experience each episode in real time. Or, well, in a 4-to-1 expansion, which is the standard for virtual reality. Of course, it's unlikely that she'll actually finish all 1,104 episodes, but she'll binge-watch at least a few dozen before she gets tired of the "smell" of soap operas. This gives Joe and Maggie some much-needed time away from their less-than-welcome guest. They can't leave virtual reality because the guy needs to log in to share content, but they can still fall back into the digital factory he built for her. That's exactly what they did.
"There is peace and order at last," Maggie said. "I didn't think it was possible, but since we last met, Kylo Theriel has found a way to be even more annoying."
"I don't know, I guess I kind of like Kelly," Joe shrugged.
"Really?" The girl squinted her eyes hard.
"I mean as a human being. Like she's one of the men, you know?"
"I remember you feeling sad about my brother's visit."
"Well, yeah, but she's not as bad as I thought."
"Beware of the Devourer, Joe. It's a chaotic creature that will lie and cheat to get what it wants."
"Oh, stop talking nonsense. It's like you don't hide your motives behind technical details and flowery rhetoric."
"I have the right to keep secrets when I deem it necessary, but that is not what I am going to talk about right now. You have grossly underestimated Kylo Theriel."
"It's a mouthful," he complained. "Can you call her Kelly?"
"No. I won't," she remained firm. "Names have power, Joe Mulligan. To people like me and my siblings, they are more than just a label. You may have forgotten, but it means a lot that I give you permission to call me Maggie .”
"I...well, okay. You're right, I got a little carried away."
Indeed, it's easy for a simple guy like Joe to forget that "Kelly" is an extradimensional entity that can rip the ship in half with a single thought. It might have done so entirely on a whim were it not for the balance of its universe controlling it. Yet, at the same time, Joe can't help but insist that Kelly isn't as bad as Maggie makes her out to be.
"However, I still think you are too harsh on her." He did. "I know she came to us out of nowhere, but that's just because she was lonely and didn't want to admit it."
Maggie blinked in surprise. She had not considered this possibility at all, and had no idea how Joe came to this conclusion. However, she knew better than to ignore it. During their time together, she learned that the man she fell in love with was particularly gifted at people. His situational awareness is at times extremely poor, but his insights into other people's personalities and feelings prove to be remarkably accurate. This was a topic Maggie had always struggled with, and she was eager to improve on it, so she was curious to know how he came to this conclusion.
"How did you know?"
"Listen to me, okay? You keep telling me she's a crazy woman who doesn't value anything. But since she got here, she hasn't broken or stolen anything or hurt anyone. Even if she's possessed People of will also accept any arrangement between them, right?"
"indeed."
If Kelogh 'the
If the owners of yl were not entirely willing, then there would have been clear signs of this, which would not have escaped the attention of the Observer.
"But whoever that woman is, as long as Kelly's around, she's going to be in a coma or something, right?"
"Essentially, yes."
"So, Kelly can't really talk to her. I bet she wants to do that, though. I'm guessing she wants to talk to a lot of people. She's against you, so there's no way she's going to feel comfortable being alone for weeks or months. The problem is, by British standards, she's too aggressive, so she probably doesn't have many friends. Flirting, yes, but no real partner. That's why she wants me. Or rather, not me, but I have this idea. Like, stay with her alone and talk about little things for days. That's why she always gets into those stupid fights and why she's so disappointed when they end. She envies the relationship between you and me. She wants to have such an intimate relationship with another person. But instead of maintaining relationships, she consumes them, so she...you know what I mean."
The girl considered Joe's rambling argument and how she could instantly crush it with some harsh reality about her siblings' past that he didn't know about. However, it would also make Maggie look like a complete hypocrite. To be fair, she's done some terrible things, some of them quite recently. Azgod 'Kala
The experiment of being thrown from a skyscraper is a classic example, but it is far from the only or most serious incident in her long history. Since then, the "Observer" has learned to take care of the little snake, and the "Eater" can also experience similar feelings. After all, as much as neither of them wants to admit it, there are quite a few underlying similarities between them despite their polar opposite personalities.
So, instead of destroying Joe's optimism with facts and logic, Maggie decides to let nature take its course.
"You have a point," she nodded. "I admit that I may have been too harsh on my brothers and sisters. I will try to be more understanding of others in the future."
"Wait, really?"
"You seem surprised," she pouted.
"I mean, I thought you'd be a little more stubborn. That's how you approach certain things."
This is real. However, unlike some people, I am not afraid to admit and correct my shortcomings. "
"Wow. That's what you call 'more understanding', isn't it?"
"Yes. I only alluded to my siblings' shortcomings without naming them."
Joe's Maggie-English automatic translator interpreted this sentence to mean that she was being passive-aggressive, rather than aggressive, which is technically more friendly.
"You know what, I bought it." He shrugged. "By the way, it always bothers me how Kelly shows up here. Like, how does she know we're on a cruise ship?"
"Because I told her," the girl admitted frankly.
"You did it? But how? When? Why?"
"Kelogh 'the
yl and I occasionally communicate via what is essentially a cosmic message board. In our culture, it is customary for siblings to stay in touch, even if they never get along. And, in what I now consider to be an unwise move, I told her about our trip, when my consciousness slipped back home before three wormhole jumps. "
As usual, she kept things simple for Joe's benefit.
"Yeah. Actually, that's really nice of you."
"What's this?"
"I mean, you and I were having so much fun on the cruise and you were bragging to someone you didn't really like."
He held her hand tightly.
"I know exactly what that feels like."
Now it was her turn to blush. The couple then continued to enjoy each other's company in silence, while the digital factory around them continued to rhythmically turn, click, and clank. They hadn't had many opportunities to share quiet moments like this since Kelly's appearance, and they certainly weren't going to waste the opportunity. In the end, the conversation lasted nearly two hours when they were inevitably interrupted, but not by the insatiable blonde.
"Attention all passengers," an automated message invaded their virtual space. "We will begin our scheduled wormhole jump in ten minutes. In accordance with standard security procedures, our internal VR network will be disabled shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience."
They were both naturally a little annoyed by this turn of events, but it was only a momentary annoyance. Maggie had known this was coming and had nothing to complain about, and the cheesy apology at the end of the announcement was enough to appease Joe. Kelly, however, was far less empathetic.
"Fuuuuuuck! Why now?! What asshole designed this broken system?!"
When the couple emerged from their shared pod, the first thing they saw and heard was the blonde throwing a tantrum as she crawled out of another VR device in the room. Jo silently and accurately determined that she was upset because her soap opera binge had been interrupted. This is not the first time she has lost her temper so immaturely because her "eating" was interrupted. But the guy sympathized with her on the matter. Season 1 of First Love did a great job of keeping casual viewers invested in the story. That's why even after watching a thousand episodes, he still looks forward to each one.
"It's okay, Kelly," he called to her. "We can get you right back into it after the jump, just give it a few minutes."
"Ah," her anger disappeared immediately. "I know. We just saw the good part."
"Oh, you mean the one with Brad?"
"……who?"
"You know, Brad, that doctor—"
Joe's words stuck in his throat as he felt the overwhelming hatred radiating from Kelly's glare. It is so severe that even a deaf, blind and comatose frontal lobotomy patient can feel it.
"Right. No spoilers," he whispered.
This seemed to be another thing she and Maggie had in common, though the man was smart enough to keep it to himself.
"How about we assume the location of interstellar travel?" the pale girl suggested.
"...Fuck. Sure, might as well."
Instead of complaining about things she couldn't do anything about, Kelly relaxed into one of the cabin's armchairs. She pressed a button on the right armrest and several automatic belts were wrapped around her ankles, wrists, breasts, and waist.
"Don't you... go back to your own cabin?" Joe asked cautiously.
"I mean, I could, but, you know..." The blonde hesitated. "I want to go right back after the dance, so I'm going to stay here."
Maggie squinted hard at her siblings and saw that the statement was wrong. She was about to insist that Kylotheriel leave their cabin immediately, but Joe's pat on the shoulder and a knowing nod reminded her of their previous conversation. Between his "Kelly is just lonely and won't admit it" theory and her commitment, the brunette beauty decided to let the matter take its course. The boy was relieved to see her eyes relax, because even he could tell she wasn't telling the truth. Spotting deception isn't one of the things he's good at, but his tomboyish blatant behavior is almost impressive.
"That's great," he said on behalf of the couple. "It's not that we don't have room to spare."
In fact, the double cabin has three more seats with the same functionality.
"Whatever," Kelly scoffed.
Across from her, Joe and Maggie fastened their seatbelts while she continued to stare disapprovingly out the window. The view outside the window is blocked by the hull of a freighter that will transport the yacht to the next stop on its interstellar journey. The boat is attached to the side of the mountainous vessel via a series of giant magnetic clips. This is more or less standard procedure, as cargo ships rarely have docks large enough to accommodate yacht-class vessels. Even if they do, it's often better to hitch a ride on the outside. Connecting and detaching from a larger vessel is much simpler than navigating a yacht around a barely large enough dock. As long as the two ships' onboard computers synchronize their artificial gravity fields, there are no safety concerns.
Joe, Maggie, and Kelly sat in awkward silence, waiting for the various preparations to be completed. The man tried to start talking to him, but all he got from the blonde was a brief one-word answer, which clearly showed that she was not in the mood to talk. After the third try, he gave up completely, and as time passed, his mental state became calmer. Then, as planned, the freighter's wormhole generator began spinning. The familiar "shh" sound enveloped Joe's consciousness, stripping him of all sensory input.
When he woke up, he saw Maggie's body operating automatically as usual. However, Kelly had a more serious adverse reaction to the abandonment of her consciousness. Without the Devourer, the Master has become a visibly older, horribly disfigured woman. She looked to be in her forties and had severe burn scars on most of the left side of her face. Whatever had left that mark on her body had also scorched much of her scalp, leaving her shaggy ginger hair looking horribly lopsided as it tried and failed to cover up a massive bald patch. She was also much milder in stature, bordering on malnutrition, almost like how Joe had been when he first met Maggie. Her skin also looks unusually rough, especially her calloused hands. Her narrow figure did not match the sultry red knitted dress she wore. There weren't any curves to support it, and if she stood up, the dress would probably slide off her body.
Fortunately, Joe is in no such danger. The woman was bound and unconscious, which was why he allowed himself to stare at her so unbridled. He hadn't really thought about who Kelly's owner was, but seeing her in her usual bad state made him feel terrible. She looked like one of those forgotten people, one of the millions of modern vagabonds in those ancient colonies. These people cannot afford anything but the most basic food and clothing, and live a dull, monotonous, and perhaps even miserable life. It's certainly no mystery that she agrees to become the host of a powerful entity that can give her new life...even if she's unconscious most of the time. Of course, this was all just Joe's imagination, but he couldn't help it. One of his deepest fears was that he would one day become like that, hence his previous desperation to find a partner.
The stranger's face twitched, interrupting his thoughts. She opened her eyes and discovered that their natural color was dark green. They then quickly moved on to the sky-blue hue of Kelly's irises. The rest of Devourer came shortly after, with the host's face, hair and body transformed into a blonde beauty in just a few minutes. She gave Joe a toothy smile that sent shivers down his spine, and not in a good way. The bad feeling was further amplified as she casually stood up from her seat, instantly breaking all the straps holding her body. Then she walked towards him slowly and sensually.
Joe looked at the girl on his left who hadn't woken up yet, then looked down at his handcuffs. He needed to touch her to wake her up, but with his wrists tied to the chair, he couldn't. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he pressed the button, the stupid thing just wouldn't release him. Since he wasn't going anywhere - and even if he could go far, he wouldn't go far - the man considered his situation and quickly came to a conclusion.
"...Guy."
"We'll get to that in due time, honey," Kelly purred, "but for now I'm going to take my time. I really want to, um, savor you."
"Kelly, no," he tried to say firmly.
"Kelly, yes!"
She practically jumped on his lap, throwing her hands over his head and smothering him in her cleavage while rubbing her lower body against him. She cooed in excitement as she felt the completely natural reaction in his pants.
"Kelly! He managed to come up for air. "Stop it!"
"Why should I do this?"
"You promised Maggie!"
"I told you I wouldn't seduce you into sleeping with me again. Guess what?"
She leaned forward, so close to him that he could feel her hot breath on his ear.
"I won't ask again."
The whisper made Joe's heart beat, though not pleasantly. This strange feeling of fear he felt was almost as bad as when Maggie had been shot, maybe even worse. He glanced at the girl in horror, but she was still delirious. Her soulless vessel could only stare blankly at him, which only made matters worse. Then, his eyes were caught by Azgod Kalal. The little snake snaked out from somewhere behind Maggie's neck. True to its name, it slid calmly over her shoulder and then down her right arm, next to Joe. The man stared at the little guy intently, though it was mostly a desperate attempt to avoid noticing the limp hands on his upper body.
At first, Kelly was so overwhelmed with anticipation that she didn't notice what was happening. However, seeing her "rice" focus on something else cheered her up immediately. She followed Joe's gaze and saw the Azgodkara snake snaking across Maggie's forearm and onto her hand. When they reached their destination, the ball python looked back at her. Its little tongue made a beep sound, and then its tail firmly and smoothly pressed the button behind the girl's finger. Under normal circumstances, this would just free the ignorant armchair passenger from the restraints of safety.
However, it wasn't the straps that were lifted, but something entirely different. There was a loud "plop" from the window. Then there was a whistling airflow, and the reinforced glass aircraft was sucked into the vacuum space along with everything that was not fixed in the cabin. Joe and Maggie were okay because they were strapped into seats that were firmly anchored to the floor. Azgodkara wrapped its lithe body around its owner's slender wrist like a bracelet, still unscathed. However, Kelly failed to snap out of it in time and was ejected into space along with several pieces of furniture. She was probably screaming her heart out, but Joe didn't know it because he couldn't even hear himself.
After a while, a metal shutter covered the breach in the hull, and the cabin's atmospheric system pumped the air inside within seconds. Faced with the sudden and violent turn, Joe could only gasp. He was overcome by an entirely different kind of panic, and his astrophobia returned to full force. It took him almost a minute to regain enough consciousness to try to unbuckle himself again. This time the button worked, freeing him. Joe was still too shaken to stand, but he had enough strength to reach out and shake Maggie's shoulders.
Sure enough, he felt something surge into his chest, into her body through his fingertips, and then the girl's empty eyes resumed their usual unbrightening rotation.
"Kelly did something really stupid, didn't he?"
The only response Joe could muster was to nod wildly and tremblingly. Maggie stood and helped him to his feet, then led him to the bed frame. The pillows and mattress were gone, but projecting new ones through her telekinesis was child's play. The couple sat on invisible cushions and the girl did her best to comfort her slightly traumatized partner. As her actions show, she knew this was going to happen. That's why she prepared a small foolproof measure, hacked into a few systems, threaded a few wires, and implanted some commands into her pet. Naturally she wanted to make sure no harm came to any of them, especially Joe. In fact, her tampering was the reason his seat initially refused to release him.
"I'm deeply sorry for putting you in that situation," she said after explaining it all. "I just...wanted to give her a chance."
"No, no, I understand," the man said, still shaking. "I'm just, do you have to throw her into space?" I know she's a level three criminal or something, but the woman she lives with has nothing to do with it. "
"I assure you that even in a vacuum, my brothers and sisters are fully capable of protecting the safety of their hosts."
"So she's just floating there forever?!"
"Absolutely not. She can use telekinesis to propel herself. Although not fast enough to catch up with the ship, it is enough to reach the nearest inhabited planet in twenty or thirty days."
Although unlikely, she hopes the other person will use this time to reflect on their actions and learn from their mistakes. Especially the man she mistakenly believes she can steal from Maggie. The attempt alone would have brought a harsher punishment, but the girl decided to let her go so far for the sake of her mate. This kind-hearted fool hates when anyone gets hurt because of him, even if that person tries to attack him.
"Oh...that's...that's good," Joe relaxed meaningfully. "What about the boat? A passenger, uh, fell overboard. Won't they make a fuss?"
"It is irrelevant. I am currently in the process of erasing my siblings from all shipboard records and crew members' memories."
"What about our cabin?"
Joe was no expert in technical wizardry, but he imagined it would be a chore to arrange new bedding and furniture without asking any questions.
"I'm... still trying."
"What about our luggage?"
"I'm afraid it failed."
"Ah, man. My favorite shirt is in that box... Anyway, do you mind if I pass out for a while?"
"not at all."
Maggie patted her thigh invitingly, but Jo shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I need to be alone. I'll wait for you in the lounge, okay?"
"……I see."
Maggie's heart sank as she watched Joe leave the cabin with restless steps. She didn't know what was bothering him, and she hated that feeling. Was he upset by the way she handled it? Did Kelly's betrayal affect him? Or was his phobia rearing its ugly head after that extreme experience? She felt like she had no control over all three possibilities. Sex was responsible, so her guilt weighed heavily on her. She couldn't stand it anymore, so she gave in to her curiosity and took a sneak peek at what was going on in his head. She usually avoids this because she hates "spoilers," but she decided this was serious enough to warrant a sneak peek.
It turns out that Joe's main concern at that moment was something entirely different. That said, his "natural reaction" to Kelly hasn't worn off yet, and he wants to address it. Feeling strangely embarrassed and ashamed of herself, Maggie removed herself from his thoughts entirely and focused on repairing the cabin's space. She also double-checked that any trace of Kelly had been erased from the logbook and the crew. Some passengers might remember her and might wonder where she ended up, but they just assumed she got off in this star system. Technically, this is indeed the case. Regardless, she saw no need to delve into the minds of everyone on board. It's not that she can't do it, but after doing the same thing to Joe, she feels embarrassed about invading so much mental privacy.
It is precisely because of this consideration that 64-year-old retired software engineer Otis Ba
Ke
) will forever wonder if he actually saw a nearly naked blonde girl whizzing past his cabin window.
