"Mama..." I breathed, staring at my friends in disbelief. "What did you...?"

They all tumbled to the ground, one by one. Rachnee collapsed with a deafening clatter from her exoskeleton while Papi, Mero, and Aki slumped in their chairs. Suu melted into an almost motionless pool, and Kimi, though struggling, eventually succumbed.

Mama chided me with a smirk that quickly grew into a wide grin. "Isn't it obvious, sweetie?" she said. "Now that I've cut out the competition, we can finally grab your Darling and that Romance Master and take them home!"

"You poisoned them?!" I exclaimed incredulously. My mind was racing as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. I could hardly believe it.

Mama blew out the purple candle behind her chair before giving Aki an appraising look. "Oh please, only a little, no need to throw a fit," she said. "They'll be out of it in twenty minutes. He's a clever one, or at least observant enough to notice the neurotoxin I originally planned. Do you mind if I take him?"

I shook my head in despair, desperately trying to keep my composure. My eyes darted between everyone in the room, my body becoming tense with panic. I had no idea what to do. My mom... why? "Mama, why?!"

She finally gave me her full attention, quirking an eyebrow at me. "You were taking your sweet time, you know. I thought I had to nudge you to get things moving." She sighed wistfully. "I understand. All alone, surrounded by humans and other liminals who probably had their hidden agendas." She wrinkled her nose distastefully. "I'm impressed that you could stay in the same house as a slime for that long. You must be really strong-willed."

"Sh-She's not that bad..." I told her weakly. Why did I say that instead of defending them more? I couldn't even think properly. I felt like my life here was crumbling before my eyes.

"Well, I managed to keep it busy all the same," Mama dismissed, licking her lips and moving toward Kimihito. "I think that centauride might've had a sharper nose than I'd planned, so we should get going before-"

Before I realized it, I was directly in front of Mama, between her and Kimihito and the rest.

"Please, Mama," I begged, tears in my eyes. "Please, leave them alone."

Her eyes were wide with shock, her mouth agape. I had never seen her so taken aback by something unexpected before. She usually had a way of laughing off most things or had the passion to power through whatever was bothering her.

My entire body was shaking. I couldn't bear to see that look on her face, so I looked down.

"Miia..." she finally spoke, her voice heavy with an emotion I couldn't place. "We don't have time to waste. The people who'll take us back home are expecting us, and we need to be ready."

"I'm not fooling around," I told her, fumbling with my words. "I, I don't want you to take them away from me!"

"Oh, don't worry!" Mama lightened up, her face softening with a relieved laugh. "I'm not taking them away from you, sweetheart! Once we get to the village, you can spend all the time you want with them. Just don't forget you may need to share them with others!"

"That's it! I don't want to share them!" I yelled, finally looking up at her, my hands balled into fists.

"Oh ho, getting greedy, aren't we?" Mama noted with amusement. Her coils shifted lazily behind her. "Not only do you want two husbands, but you want them all to yourself? The tribe would throw a fit!"

"That's not," I shook my head. "You got it wrong! Mama, they're..." I spared a glance back at my friends. My eyes lingered on Kimihito, then on Aki. "I don't want them to be my husbands. Well, not Aki, at least," I admitted. "But even though I want Kimi, I know he won't want to go to the village."

"So what?" she shrugged. "If he wants to, he can leave." The "like your father did" went unspoken. "But would it be fair to deny him a chance to see for himself if he'd like it?" She smirked, her tongue rolling on her lips. "Don't worry, sweetie; Mama can be very persuasive when she wants to be."

We were going nowhere like this. I could've stalled until Cerea got back or they started to recover. But I had to tell Mama how I felt—enough of this.

"I don't want you to take either Kimi or Aki with you," I told her, trying to maintain eye contact despite the conflicting emotions in my body. "They have been so kind to me since I arrived here, you know. Kimi defended me when some people were harassing me and has gone out of her way to make me feel welcome. Aki has helped me with cooking and advice, and I will be forever grateful for it."

"I think we may be miscommunicating here," Mama sighed, shaking her head. "They're coming with us. You'll be able to-"

"They won't want that, and neither do I," I protested. "They have lives here! Kimi's hosting all of them, too!" I swept my arm over everyone she'd just poisoned. "And Aki's working for the Cultural Exchange! And he's seeing someone, too!"

"Please, men his age-"

"No, Mama, please listen to me!" I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest and my tail twitching nervously. Even though I had done my best to maintain control since the first full moon here, I was losing it. Trying to calm myself, I took a deep breath and touched my chest. Mama remained silent, simply gazing at me with anticipation. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Of course, Miia," she replied slowly, tilting her head to the side. Her gaze was distant, even though she was looking right at me.

"Then Please, go," I begged, my voice trembling and my bottom lip quivering as the pain of what I was saying to the woman who had taken care of me, read me all those books, and sent me off with pride and joy. "Apologize to everyone here for what you have done, and go back home."

Mama was silent for a long while, her tail going entirely still. After a few moments, she let out a deep sigh and set her hands on her hips. "Geez, I had no idea you would get so worked up over this!" she said, her voice full of exasperation. "Alright, alright, I'll go, but first, there's something I want to show you."

"O-Okay..."

She leaned over and fiddled with her bag, eventually taking out an incense jar that hung from a chain. "This contains a special kind of incense," she informed, grasping the chain in one hand while reaching into the bag for a match with the other. "It can change the hatred and revulsion men feel for lamias into a burning, equal intensity of desire."

"... Mama, why did you bring that?" I asked, edging away from her.

She smirked, saying, "It's surprisingly helpful in certain situations, like now when my daughter has chosen this moment to have a rebellious streak."

"Mama, no."

Mama looked around, pursing her lips as she said sternly, "You want me to trust you, so you'll have to trust me, okay? Time's ticking. Can we at least get them somewhere more private, somewhere we can't be walked in on? I'd hate to be interrupted."

"They are not leaving this house!"

"So stubborn," she sighed in exasperation as she struck the match and lit the incense. "My dear, the sooner you realize that men are not worth the effort, the better. At this rate, they will never make suitable husbands for our tribe. Oh well, there's always another way - Huh?"

I followed her gaze, spinning around to see Lala standing in the doorway. The pale blue girl blinked a few times, her eyes darting around the room, taking in everyone on the floor before finally settling on us and then the incense, repeating the cycle a few more times.

I... might've completely forgotten about her.

"Hm," Lala grunted, finally resting her gaze on Mama. "I see now I missed something."

"Wuh... Where have you been?!" I demanded.

"I had a feeling that something ominous was coming from the other side," she declared, striking a dramatic pose and resting two fingers against her forehead. Was this a warning or something? "We must take heed of such warnings, for to do otherwise would be at our peril. That said..."

She twirled her free hand, and - Suddenly, the shadows in the room seemed to come alive! They rippled and shivered before rushing to her hand and wrapping around themselves, forming a deadly scythe. She could hardly believe it; this was what her scythe was made of!?

"You have brought harm to the Chosen One and his beloved companions," Lala stated in an intimidating manner, brandishing the scythe at Mama. "Redeem yourself, witch. Repent now."

"Lala put that away!" I scolded her. "Don't point a weapon at my mother!" This was too much, too much!

"Sweetie," Mama said calmly, unbothered by Lala's display. "This isn't the first time someone has threatened me. However, I don't recall you ever mentioning a dullahan living here, Miia."

"She just moved in a couple of days ago," I groaned, my shoulders tensing. I just wanted this madness to end already. If this kept going... If they thought that I wanted Mama to do this... "Look, Mama, please-"

I was cut off by a pained groan beside me.

Kimi!

"Kimi, it's okay!" I rushed to his side, wrapping my arms around him to try and calm him down. His nose was flaring, and his breathing was getting ragged.

"Oh, looks like the incense woke Darling up before Romance Master," Mama noted.

"Miia, take a step back," I exclaimed in shock, suddenly realizing that Lala had appeared beside me without warning. How did she get here so quickly?! "I'm not sure what dark magic the Serpent Witch has bestowed upon the Chosen One, but I must act quickly to prevent him from harming himself."

On reflex, I pulled away, feeling ashamed. Could I really do nothing to help him? My eyes darted over to Mama, who looked... Her gaze was distant and elsewhere. She was resting a hand on her hip and idly twirling a lock of hair with the other.

She looked bored!

That was when, finally, I began to burn.

"How dare you?" I exclaimed, my entire body trembling with anger. "I tried to explain it to you calmly. I even let you light the incense, even though I knew you wouldn't leave unless you had it. But Mama," I gasped, my voice cracking as I almost said her name, "Do you even care about anyone here?"

"I care about you," Mama replied. She still wasn't taking me seriously. "Obviously."

"Really, because you poisoned my friends!" I screamed. "They let you into their home, gave you tea, offered a place to stay, and you just spat in their faces! They, they," I was hyperventilating again. I couldn't think properly. "They gave me a home! They, I think, I think they liked me, too... I thought, finally, I met people who saw me as more than the empty shell I really am!"

I said it.

I couldn't believe it.

But it worked.

Mama stared at me in stunned silence. It was deafening.

"You must have noticed the board filled with pictures when you entered," I continued. "You must have noticed how cheerful everyone was. I took every one of those photos, so I could keep those special moments alive forever. Well, I took all except one," I said, grinning slightly. "Aki took a picture of me when he noticed I wasn't there."

"Miia..."

I raised my voice, my heart full of heat and anger. "How could you just throw all of that away, Mama? I don't want to go home and live the same old life, having to share one man with all those women and never getting to experience anything new! I don't know what I want to do with my life, but I know it isn't that!" I took a deep, shaky breath, my words barely coming out.

Crunch!

The sound of wood smashing and splintering rang out from the front of the house, making us all flinch and cover our ears. What was-?!

An armored figure stormed into the room, raising their gun and pointing it at Mama.

"Hands in the air right the fuck now!" they commanded, their voice muffled by the gas mask they wore. Wait, that voice... and the red hair! That was Zombina! "Against the wall!"

A smaller figure quickly trailed behind her, lifting a much longer rifle. Her visor was much larger, and unlike Zombina's, it made up most of her helmet. Her every motion was robotic and unbending, although it stumbled momentarily when she stepped into the room.

"T-Target sighted." Manako's voice softly spoke.

"W-Wait, guys!" I pleaded. "She's just my-"

"Don't test me right now, Miia," Zombina growled, never looking away from Mama. "We've had a long fuckin' day already, and I ain't up for diplomacy."

"It's fine, Miia," Mama sighed in a low, defeated tone, her head drooping and her arms rising in defeat. The incense jar clattered to the ground, and as she slumped against the wall, I could see every ounce of vigor and enthusiasm from before escaping her body. It was almost as if she had been completely deflated.

Had I done that to her?

The fire inside me simmered, then slowly went out in a fizz. I felt my whole body wilt as I could only see grey, and everything was dull.

Mama...

"Miia."

Lala's voice brought me back to reality.

She leaned back, pressing a gloved hand to her face as she assured me, "The Chosen One is safe, but I am drained. Please make sure the others are all right."

I had never heard her use such an "ordinary" word like that before. She must have been completely worn out. What could she have done to ensure Kimi wasn't too affected by the potent incense fumes?

"O... Okay," I said quietly, watching Zombina move in on Mama while Manako watched her back. Zombina pressed a finger to her ear and requested a "lamia detainment unit."

My heart sank. I couldn't bear to see it anymore.

I turned away, checking on the rest. Papi was starting to stir, and Suu was slowly regaining her solidity. I passed by Aki - Wait.

His face was wet. Tears slowly leaked out from his fluttering eyelids, and his lips quivered. I could almost hear him mumbling something, but it was hard to make it out.

Mama said he'd noticed the other poison she'd planned to use. But he didn't say anything about it. Why? Why would he hide... it...

As I stared down at him, I realized I didn't know him as well as I thought.

To be continued...