Geofrey senior was troubled.
With the agents gone, the house... just suddenly seemed so quiet. So empty. He wondered from room to room, seeing... little things. Evidence of a past- no- a door he closed. Why didn't anyone understand what he was trying to do? He wanted his family to succeed in life. Sacrifices had to be made to achieve that, and he was not going to live forever. Planning these things for decades, and all of it ruined because for some reason, some unfathomable reason...
...the sunlight changed.
He walked a little further down the corridors- only to trip on what was a discarded bit of junk. "Who left this here!" He shouted with annoyance.
... of course there was no answer. No... answer. There will never be an answer, again.
Geoffrey Senior, was alone now. he had vacated his family from the premises, lost his son to the sunlight, lost his company to a force he didn't even understand... and was now under investigation by the federal agents. He was confident that they wouldn't find anything. While perhaps some of the tests were a little... invasive, they certainly didn't harm the creature. They learned so much about how to make an artificial life form and advanced human knowledge by a factor of a hundred fold.
The man, suddenly felt quite weary. As if age had crept up on him suddenly. Decades... decades of work in the making, to have an heir. Of course, there were so many risks involved when planning for a life time. Jeff could have easily just died in a random accident. He was in no shape or form to carry on the legacy of the family now though, and it hurt him to know this.
He took various phone calls in the day, mostly in an attempt to wriggle back what money they could. The house was not something he was concerned about though, at least at this point. There were some people he had to pay off for their silence. Various scientists and engineers who worked on his new son... such a well moulded boy he would have been. . To seem him grow... to live.. eternal.
Immortal.
Yes, Death was always the true enemy of this world. He would spit in his face if that spirit were real. But of course it was not. Death was just the 'natural' process, by which all things ended. There was nothing beyond it. Everyone had to decide what they would do while they were alive, knowing it was not going to last. The only thing that mattered were legacy, power, and family. True blood family.
He went into Jeff's room...
He could see something hidden under a pillow. It seemed to be... a sketch book? Strange. He flipped over a few pages at the admittedly crude images, but they were better then he could have done. Perhaps his wife had been encouraging him in these frivolous things. Honestly, the boy wasn't supposed to put energy into this! It had to go into his studies his-
...he's gone though. Dead... dead to him. Dead to the world. Just Dead. "Damn you... Damn you!" he shouted to the window, on which the sunlight was blocked by a blind.
The man was starting to realise the painful truth.
He failed to create the legacy, his company had been wiped out and he had, absolutely, nothing.
"What's an Aurelius to do, when they have nothing..." he thought to himself darkly. It was as if the family luck they always enjoyed, had turned on them. Now everything was going bad, and causing so much harm.
He then went into his little study room. It had a computer sitting at a desk, with one or two refreshments and a blocked up window.
Mr Aurelius logged onto his computer, to look at the remaining funds. He then got an E-mail. that he had just been dismissed as director, voted out by the shareholders. Such an impersonal way of doing it too! Would they like to his blood too? Oh well no matter. Maybe he could leak a few stories about some of these people to the press. Who said revenge couldn't be sweet? In barely an hour, some of the people who outvoted him were themselves outvoted and sent packing. The internet was so useful for things like that.
He felt a little thirsty and reached out for a glass- only to have the water drop onto the electrics that supplied the electronic window blocker. he installed it with a timer... so that there was absolutely no chance to be exposed.
In an instant it was open, and sunlight was pouring onto Geoffrey Aurelius.
The man looked at the colourful lights, and the strange hues upon his body as it lit up the room. A lot of emotion went through him, as he cursed the final insult of his bad luck streak.
Still... his family was dead to him, and now he was about to die too. At least all the money was gone, so nobody else could take it. A decent amount of retirement money- over ten million was in an account somewhere only he could access- and not even the government knew of it. It would never be found. All this he thought in less then a split second, as he stared at the thing that destroyed his family.
Mr Aurelius laughed. He laughed so hard... it was all he could do. He could see that his body was just... fading away. He looked at his left hand, as it disappeared Into nothingness. Still the man laughed, standing with as much dignity as he could muster, even as the world seemed to just fade away around him. He took off his glasses with his other hand, cleaned it on his suit, then put it back on his face in a single stroke. Was this what death looked like? Maybe... well, he knew he did the best he could in life. There wasn't really any way to predict something like this happening, and clearly... the sun was judging that life was better without him. At least it wasn't a bus hitting him. Was he supposed to tally off his regrets? He couldn't think of any though. Well- maybe... just one.
What does an Aurelius do in this situation? He remembered the voice of his own father. 'stand firm... be strong... you are born of a noble blood. When life throws you something you can not win against...'
but he could not complete the thought.
Julian did not want to get out from bed. She wanted to claim she was sick, or.. anything. Really! Going to school.. like this?! As... this!? She was a wolf! A wolf! A predator.. a...
... a little doe.
She hated this body so much. She hated everything about it! It was female, it was 'prey', it was... something to be toyed with, then eventually to eat. To be the hunted... and in truth, Julian had never felt so much fear as this. The idea that she might have to live like this for the rest of her life. She knew what Death looked like... she would know her... if she ever saw her. Did that mean she was a person on the street? Would Julian see her... if...
At a sudden rush she ran to look outside the window.
...nothing was there.
Damn it! This body was in such a panic! She couldn't control the fear it held inside her, making her wish to flee from every sudden noise, or stray thought. It was like that fear was built into her legs, to launch her away. Thank God she at least still had her human mind to keep some of those instincts at bay- but it was too much. Too difficult... too hard.
Her mother had given her some new clothes. She tried to get the most basic, ordinary, very simple clothes possible. There was nothing at all one could object one way or the other about them. But when she took out the white panties, shaped so clearly for a female, and cut just right for her tail...
It was all she could to throw it, and start bawling again, making that... that noise. A vibrating squeal of the prey she hunted. Just... advertising her distress. Why did this body make such a sound! Silence... she just wanted to be quiet. Not even to say anything... lest she made another pray sound, or a girlish intonation
... she just cried again.
This... this was... horrible. She had been reduced to something as weak as... well... as Billy!
Well... maybe not quite that weak. At least she was still older, and that little tree-rat could probably still get stamped on with these feet- urgh- hooves! Ugly.. horrible.. hooves. That was the one thing she wanted to hide more then anything. But no shoes would fit her. She had to use these... things! Every time she walked she felt the clicking sound- not unlike a high heel. It made people glance at her.
She wanted to go back to her feral state. To be the proud wolf again... to howl at the moon, and feel the rush that came from being wild and free... even if she couldn't have been a god! At least let her return to that mortal life-
And... what would the result have been?
"I'd have marked my territory and became a power unlike any other! Angels.. devils... all of them, would have to respect my authority!"
But more basic then that.. what would you have done with your life?
"Urgh, I'd have lived it to the fullest! I'd have lived as nature intended!"
Examine that thought a moment... what does nature intend?
"Survival!"
And... to mate. Do you not see you would have tried to find a mate eventually?
"So what!"
Just... think about it... you wanted to live wild... therefore you wanted to find a mate... therefore, you wanted to have a child...
"Shut up! I'm not having and child! Even if-" urgh- Julian couldn't believe she was even entertaining this thought. "Even if that was to happen, I'd have been a wolf and protected my mate! Not... be the female!" The whole idea just disgusted her. "I'm not pregnant anyway so shut up!"
Well... why else would you feel a little disappointed? There is a logic to it...
"Shut up shut up shut up! I'm not p-p- I'm not!" She couldn't even say the world. It didn't even register in her brain. The moon goddess was just tricking her. Maybe... The small hope clinged inside her that maybe... this was all some kind of 'test'. Gods played tests didn't they? A game... like one she played on Lilly, to make her eventually worship her... To realise that her power was the stronger, and all she could do was bend her knees to her greatness!
So if one followed this logic... the moon goddess was just toying with her!... maybe... to gain the same power, she gave that angel woman. Was she clutching at straws to hope such a thing? Or was she just being delirious.
She looked over at the horns she once.. wore. She had such a strange feeling. They were hers... they used to be hers, and they were a symbol of everything masculine she lost. It was also in the shape of the prey... of everything she hated. She was both filled with desire, and filled with loathing. She wanted to be male again, but not.. this! Not.. this!
She wanted to destroy it- but.. she couldn't. It was the only evidence that she was ever male. It might even be the very key to restoring her male body, if... if one could use... magic.
"I need a magic user," she said quietly... "One of the magic girls? Or... maybe... yes... i could force Billy. He has to do it! I'll force it out of him-"
her
"Oh shut up! I'll force-"
She kicked your ass when you were a god... do you honestly think, you can fight her like this?
"It's that blue stick... I don't have to fight her. I just need... to steal it."
Well, maybe... but you're off to school first.
Julian sighed at that. She did have to go... if she didn't... well... things could get worse. She needed time to concoct a plan to steal Billy's magic stick... and then to work out how to use it, to restore her body.
'If' That would even work...
"I'm not going to be a girl forever! I am one of the few that knows magic is real...and I know a magic user. I even know the source of her power... so yes... I'll find it."
squirrels run faster then deer's...
She ignored that voice for now, and quickly got ready for school.
Hawkins and Cecilia had arrived at the scene after numerous calls to the Aurelius house went unanswered. Normally this wouldn't be considered an issue, but with the sunlight up there was no way for him to have gone anywhere. Given he was just fired, there were some concerns the somewhat 'unhinged' person may have done something drastic.
"So, what does it look like?" asked Hawkins.
"Sun exposure," explained the gynoid. "The computer was left on. It could have been intentional? A form of sun-suicide?"
"No note was left, making it very unlikely. the system might have tripped by accident. Assuming that, he might have had a chance to run off somewhere." thought Hawkins. "No sign of him on CCTV?"
"None at all," sighed Cecilia. "I've gone through everything. The only thing I can conclude is that Mr Aurelius simply disappeared as soon as the sunlight hit him."
"...Can that happen?" asked Hawkins a little troubled by that idea.
"Maybe the sunlight didn't know what to make of him," thought Cecilia.
"Ha! That would imply thought goes into it. I didn't take you for a religious sort."
Cecilia smiled with her curious pink eyes. "Well, I don't know what else to suggest. I have run a few heat scans in case he became something small but I haven't seen even a fly. Quite a few fleas though on a carpet- I'm sure none of them are Mr Aurelius."
"We should break the news to his daughter," thought Hawkins. "I'm... honestly not sure what to say."
"You think she'll be happy?"
"He was still her father. I'm sure she will be heartbroken," said Hawkins.
