The Extra's Rise

I love afternoons like this, when it's just me and Daddy in his study and nobody needs him to save the world or make important decisions. He's reviewing some boring guild reports on his holographic display, but I don't mind. Sometimes it's nice just being in the same room, even when we're doing different things. The soft blue glow from his screens makes everything feel cozy and peaceful.

"You're staring again," Daddy says without looking up from the floating documents.

"I wasn't staring, I was thinking," I protest, curling my legs up under me in the big reading chair that's basically become mine. It's this super comfortable smart-chair that adjusts to however I want to sit. "There's a difference."

"Dangerous territory with you," he says with that smile that makes his whole face look different. "What were you thinking about?"

"Just... you've been really busy since we got back from the Western Continent. I get why, but I miss having time like this." I fidget with my tablet where I'd been working on some drawings. "When it's just us, you know? No emergency calls or hologram meetings or people needing the Second Hero for important stuff."

Daddy waves his hand and the holographic reports disappear, then turns his chair to face me properly. "I miss it too. Being the Second Hero comes with way more administrative work than I expected. Sometimes I think fighting Calamities was easier than dealing with all the paperwork."

"Paperwork is stupid," I say, which makes him laugh.

"Completely agree. But necessary stupid." He stands up and stretches. "What do you want to do with our admin-free afternoon?"

The question makes me bounce a little in my chair because when Daddy asks what I want to do, he really means it. He won't check his communicator or get distracted by guild stuff. For however long we have, I'm the most important thing, and that feeling is better than anything.

"Can we work on that transportation thing I showed you last week?" I ask hopefully. "I had some new ideas about your Grey energy and how it might work with regular technology."

"Of course," he says, already clearing space on his desk and activating a larger holographic workspace. "Show me what you've been thinking about."

I practically jump out of my chair to grab my tablet, then sync it with his display system. My drawings and notes appear in the air between us in full color. They're not amazing art or anything, but they show what I mean – sleek vehicles that could use Grey energy somehow.

"So I was thinking," I start, manipulating the hologram to show my favorite design, "I know you can teleport yourself instantly anywhere you want using Grey energy, but what if we could make vehicles that use some of that same principle?"

Daddy leans forward, studying my sketches with real interest. "Tell me more about how you think that would work."

"Well, your teleportation works because Grey energy exists between different states, right? Like, between being here and being there?" I pull up another drawing that shows what I imagine the energy looking like. "So what if we could build vehicles that use that same idea, but instead of instant teleportation, they could just go really, really fast?"

"That's..." He pauses, rotating the hologram to look at it from different angles. "Actually, that's really clever, Stella. I hadn't thought about applying Grey energy principles to transportation technology."

His praise makes me feel warm and proud. Daddy never says things are good just to be nice – when he says something's clever, he means it.

"I think it could revolutionize how people travel," I continue excitedly. "Like, instead of taking hours to fly between continents, maybe it would only take minutes! And it wouldn't need those huge fusion cores that regular aircraft use."

"Walk me through how you think the interface would work," he says, pulling up additional design tools so we can modify my drawings together.

For the next hour, we dive deep into my ideas. Daddy asks questions that help me think through problems I hadn't considered, and he shows me things about Grey energy that give me new ideas. We redesign the vehicles together, adding details and solving technical challenges.

"The tricky part would be making it safe for passengers," I explain, adding safety systems to our design. "Your teleportation only works for you because you can control Grey energy directly. But regular people would need some kind of protection system."

"What if we designed containment fields that could extend Grey energy properties to everything inside them?" Daddy suggests, sketching out his idea in the hologram.

"Yes! Like a bubble of Grey energy that could move through space!" I get excited and start drawing faster. "And we could have multiple safety backups in case anything went wrong."

"You could change how civilization works," Daddy says, and his eyes have that bright look he gets when he's really fascinated by something. "This is the kind of innovation that could make the world fundamentally different."

"Really?" I ask, even though I can tell from his voice that he means it.

"Really," he confirms, then reaches over to mess up my hair in that gentle way that doesn't actually mess it up. "You have an incredible imagination, kiddo. I love seeing how your mind works."

That's what I love most about time with Daddy. He doesn't think I'm weird for having big ideas or for seeing things differently than other kids my age. He just listens like everything I say matters, like my thoughts are as important as any adult's.

"What else have you been working on?" he asks, settling back in his chair.

I pull up another section of my tablet where I'd been sketching different things. "I've been thinking about combat applications too. Like, watching how you fight and trying to understand patterns."

"Patterns in fighting?"

"Yeah! Most people have habits when they're in battle. They favor certain moves, or they react predictably when they're surprised or scared." I show him my drawings of different fighting stances and techniques. "So if you could predict what someone's going to do next, you could counter it before they even finish the move."

"You've been analyzing combat techniques," he says, sounding both impressed and amused.

"I analyze everything," I admit with a shrug. "People are interesting. Like, you always put yourself between danger and other people, even when there might be smarter tactical options. And when someone you care about is threatened, you get this look in your eyes and you stop thinking about your own safety completely."

Daddy goes quiet for a moment, and I wonder if I said something wrong. Sometimes adults get uncomfortable when I notice things about them that they don't realize they do.

"Does that worry you?" he asks seriously.

I think about it for a few seconds. "Kind of. You get hurt a lot because you protect people instead of protecting yourself first. But..." I pause, trying to find the right words. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't care about people that much. That's what makes you a real hero, not just someone with strong powers."

"Smart and wise," he says softly, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?"

"It wasn't luck," I say matter-of-factly. "You chose to care about me even though I'm different from other kids and think about strange things. That was a decision you made."

"Best decision I ever made," he says with that voice he uses when he's being completely serious.

We keep working on projects for another hour. Daddy shows me some new applications of Grey energy that I'd never thought of, and I show him more of my vehicle designs and combat analysis. We build on each other's ideas, making them better and more detailed. It's perfect – just us, sharing cool thoughts and creating things together.

But then I start noticing the little changes that mean our time is ending. The way his eyes occasionally flick toward his communication device when it chimes softly. How his shoulders get a bit tense. The expression that crosses his face when he's thinking about responsibilities beyond our conversation.

"You have to leave somewhere, don't you?" I say quietly, minimizing our holographic workspace.

Daddy sighs, and I can see the regret in his expression. "How did you know?"

"You get this look when something important is happening that you need to deal with." I save our work and close my tablet slowly. "And Seraphina's been tense all day. I noticed it at breakfast – she was doing that thing where she gets really focused and quiet when she's worried."

"Stella..." he starts, using that careful voice he has when he needs to tell me something I won't like.

"It's about Ren, isn't it?" I ask, because I caught enough fragments of conversation to piece together the basic situation. "He's missing and you're going to the Eastern Continent to help find him."

"Yes," he says, not trying to hide it from me. He never treats me like I'm too young to understand important things. "Seraphina and I leave tomorrow morning."

Even though I was expecting it, hearing him confirm it makes my chest feel tight and hollow. "How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know," he admits honestly. "Hopefully not long, but investigations are unpredictable. It could be a few days, or it could be longer."

I nod, trying to keep my expression neutral even though I hate the idea of him leaving. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," he says, getting up and pulling me into one of his careful hugs that always make everything feel safer. "But Rose and Cecilia will be here, and you've got your projects to keep you busy. Plus, with the new hologram system, we can talk every day."

"I know," I mumble against his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent that just smells like safety and home. "And I understand why you have to go. If someone took Ren, ignoring it would just make things worse later."

"When did you become so understanding about complicated grown-up situations?" he asks, sounding amazed.

"You always explain things to me instead of just saying 'because I said so' or 'you're too young to understand,'" I tell him honestly. "It's easier to accept things I don't like when I know why they have to happen."

"I love you, Stella," he says seriously, his arms tightening around me. "That doesn't change no matter where I have to go or what I have to do. You're one of the most important things in my world."

"I love you too, Daddy," I say back, holding on tight for just a few more seconds before I have to let go.

Because sometimes, even when you really don't want something to happen, you accept it anyway because it's the right thing to do. And because the people you love most are worth supporting, even when it's hard.