Chapter 44 Seven Million Years

I looked into Gaia's eyes, and I could see that she was upset, and I couldn't blame her. She knew better than me just how bad things were all over the world.

[She has a point! Well, we will leave the scan for another day. Because she is a spirit of the world, I think that she is the cause of the change.]

"Hmm, that is a fair assessment of things. I don't think that I could do something like this," I said.

[Now you can, and because of her change, you can scan her body and make more edited versions of her. That was what you wanted to do, right?]

I could hear the curious tone in his voice as he asked, so I guess that I must have made him a little bit interested. There was still the problem of getting him into a body, but we were taking steps.

"Yes, that is what I want," I said.

[Good, as for the rejuvenation spring, you can do that now. Anything that she can do, you will innately learn it. There are some stipulations, like one per tree, and such, so don't go telling everyone you have a cure-all bath!]

"Yeah, that makes sense, but I am going to let Gaia block you out again," I said, and Gaia's face brightened again.

[What?! Are you kidding me! I don't want to go back to the darkness! This was not part of the deal!]

"What deal? The one where you said that you don't care what happens as long as you're entertained? Guess what? I don't give a shit, just like you. Use this time to think about everything that you have done so far and what you yourself have accomplished so far," I said.

[You think that this is going to make me see the light! I will just call all the others!]

"No, you won't. I have already cut you off from them, and it is permanent," Gaia said, and I smiled at her.

"Good girl!" I said.

[What!? How? You can't just do that to me! I am the one in control here!]

"No, Daniel is the one in control. You are just a lost soul, even if you think you are something else. All consciousness is part of the greater picture, and you are no different. If Daniel asked, I would remove you from his body, and his powers would stay, but you would be forced back into the LifeStream," Gaia explained in a very threatening tone that even put me on edge.

[Seven million years, and I have never been pushed into a corner. I don't know how you did this, but I don't think it matters. This does not bode well for my kind.]

This was the first time that I heard Orphus talk like a normal person, but that didn't change things. Seven million years of destroying lives and ruining worlds, for what?

"Once I figure out how to let you out of my head, I will. Until then, you will be locked away unless I need you. This might sound harsh, but it is a spec of cosmic dust in the universe's background to what you deserve," I explained, and there was no reply after.

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"I am sorry for getting so mad," Gaia said, but I shook my head.

"No. Don't apologize. I feel the same way you do about this, and I feel no pain locking him away. Still, I want to work on a way to remove all of them. If we can separate them from the system, then we might be able to completely stop this from happening again," I explained, and Gaia nodded her head.

"You have a good soul, but I do agree that this sounds like the best way," Gaia said, and I leaned up to kiss her.

"Also, good job on sealing him away from the others. Not that they can't find us, but now they are going to have a much harder time without Orphus telling them where I am!" I said, and the confidence faded from her as she blushed and looked away from me.

"I just thought that it would be a good thing to do since he isn't trustworthy yet. There is no reason that things should be harder than they have to be, right? We already have lots of people around here to worry about getting to safety, and that monster would have brought more of the Invaders to kill people!" Gaia declared, and I nodded with a smile.

She was right, and I had been thinking about getting ready for the next fight non-stop. I needed to focus on getting everyone to safety and fed.

"You are very right, and I can't thank you enough for doing that. I really thought that this was just going to be one headache after another," I said and kissed Gaia again.

"I still think we will have many headaches, but this will reduce them, I think. Umm, you keep kissing me; does that mean those are rewards?" Gaia asked curiously, and I nodded.

"Yes, you made me happy with the choices that you made, and it made me want to kiss you. I don't know if you would call them rewards; more of my way to you to show you how much I appreciate it," I explained, and Gaia nodded thoughtfully.

"I will have to be diligent and make you appreciate me more!" Gaia said with a smile, and I kissed her again, this time letting her return it.

"Or, you can just ask me. I am willing to give you kisses whenever you want them, promise! Now, I think that it is time for us to go and start helping some of those sick people, right? We will make a quick stop to see Amy and get us both some nice clothes," I said and scooped Gaia up out of the water, and she rested her head on my chest.

"I really like this too. There are a lot of things that you do that I really like, it's hard to pick a favorite, but kissing is pretty close!" Gaia said as I walked out of the water, and the sun broke over the horizon.