“What did you just say?” I asked calmly, energy building in my right foot.

  “I said that I ate t-”

  “Fatherly Kick!”

  The wood the dragon’s ugly mug was made of was supposed to shatter into tiny pieces. However, the only thing that broke at that moment was my foot, melting as if I dipped it in water. I remembered Rosalina’s beast utilized blood, but since when was its whole body composed of it?

  I flew backwards with my remaining leg, shaking off the blood damaging my right foot. Only water could affect me in this manner, and yet a new liquid was now being added to the equation.

  The dragon’s chin began to reform. “Are you wondering why my blood is causing you to melt? I will answer that question. The blood I use now is diluted with water. After all, I still need water to properly grow.”

  “In other words, I can’t hit you,” I said.

  “A creature made from two abiotic sources is capable of intelligence and strategy? How fascinating!” Emmy exclaimed. “Since when were Radius Abilities this advanced?”

  “Hey, dragon!” I shouted. “I’m gonna ask you again. Where the hell is my daughter!?”

  “There seems to be a misunderstanding. I did not eat those two conventionally.” It pointed at its belly. “They attacked me, and my body absorbed them. Now, they are stuck inside my stomach until I get what I want.”

  “And what’s that? You wanna kill me?”

  “Far from it. In fact, I believe it would serve Sunflower better if you were around. However, you have not shown that you are worthy of being a protector.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Well that plan died out when she deliberately disobeyed me, and put my daughter on the fast track to the afterlife.”

  “That’s your problem, Jerome. You’re going about this the wrong way.”

  A pressure built in my arms, sharp and pulsing, like veins about to burst. My grip faltered. Before I could brace, my arms split apart from the rest of me. Two orbs of blood tore through my forearms and ripped them clean away.

  Emmy and Ricky slipped from my grasp, their screams trailing as they plummeted. I shot after them, but with three limbs gone, my chances of catching them were next to nothing. The dragon surged ahead, jaws yawning wide.

  They disappeared down its throat just as another bloodbeam tore through my chest. The concrete slammed against my back, cold and unforgiving, while the dragon perched on a distant rooftop, watching.

  With all other options gone to shit, there was one other thing left. I opened my mouth, vomiting a blob of goop onto the ground. It stretched in multiple parts, forming limbs and a head from the center until the root of my problems finally revealed herself.

  Sunflower pushed herself up in a slow, tired manner. “Since when could you store things inside your body? Seeing that man’s head isn’t exactly a pleasant sight.”

  “Jesus told me since we’d be filling it with energy, I could store it in my body the same way I do for you. And what are you so concerned about? Apparently, the guy was a secret Corleone Family member. I thought seeing him dead would get you all giddy.”

  She brushed her hair to the side. “You’re backtracking.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “First, you say all this death, murder shit wasn’t good for me. Now, you want me to be happy ‘cause one of them is dead. I mean, how does your daughter deal with all this circular parenting? It’s exhausting.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Look at me, kid,” I said, moving my stumps in a circle. “A dragon that you summoned shot my limbs off, and is holding my daughter, along with my teammates, hostage. Sunshine has a bomb that will activate in five days ‘cause you couldn’t control yourself with that phone call.”

  “I’m sorry, ok!?” Sunflower exclaimed, grabbing her head, looking down at my missing leg. “What else do you want me to-”

  “Just shut up and listen to me.” She looked back at me wide-eyed. “I saw with my own two eyes what you and your mother went through. You can’t deny that. But… I was wrong to think I could truly understand it. I mean, shit, my life was pretty much privileged compared to you. But while I can’t understand your life, I can try and understand you. And only you.”

  Her lips trembled, sliding away a couple inches away from me. “No… you almost killed me. Not even a day ago.”

  I nodded, sighing. “Yeah, I did. I would do anything to protect my daughter if I believe her life is in danger. The same way you did to me on that rainy day.”

  “Th-Those weren’t the same thing… and you know it.”

  “You and me, Sunflower… we’re close.” I got onto my knees and continued speaking. “Whether you like it or not, we know things about each other that not even the ones closest to us know. Memories, personalities, even thoughts. I know you’ll hate to hear this, but we have something that should be impossible, something that shouldn’t be wasted by the self-sabotaging choices we tend to make.”

  “No! That doesn’t mean anything, old man!” she growled, angrily gesturing at me. “I already had that someone, and you took her away from me.”

  “Look who’s backtracking now.” That reply got a surprised expression out of her. “I’m not gonna address that ‘cause you can see my memories. You know what happened, so I’m gonna tell you something new.” I leaned my head in more. “You were entrusted to me, Sunflower. I’m not storing you in my body ‘cause someone told me to—it’s ’cause I want to.”

  Her fingers dug into the concrete.

  “I want to protect, care about… and love you. And that’s the only reason you’re alive right now. If it were anyone else, someone like Ricky maybe, they would’ve had their love right through their head.”

  The truth must’ve hurt to hear, but it needed to be said. I didn’t know if Sunflower noticed it, but she moved closer to me too.

  “Jesus Christ, I get what you’re telling me, old man. You don’t need to repeat yourself every fucking time.”

  My head shook in disbelief. “No, you don’t get it, kid. I gotta worry if you’re summon some plants or a fucking dragon to kill people I care about.”

  “I am not a murderer! No… Never!” Sunflower denied.

  “You lied to me about two times already. I told you that I wanted you to be a member of my family ‘cause I cared about your situation. I introduced you to my daughter. I gave you a way out, and you looked me in the eye, and you already had plots against me…”

  Tears pulled at the corners of her eyes as she shakily gasped. “Jerome, I…”

  “And yet, despite all of that, I still wanna welcome you into my family. No matter how much you hate me, or disobey me, or whatever, it won’t change how I feel. Do you understand, Sun-”

  “Jerome, I’m sorry!” Sunflower cried, covering her face. “How’d I fucking get to this!? I-I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”

  Without a second thought, I went in to give the sobbing girl a hug. It wasn’t much of one without the arms, though that didn’t matter.

  “Nothing is wrong with you, Sun,” I softly assured her. “Trust me. In a team where everyone’s got their own problems, you’re just average.”

  Her body shook against me, small sobs wracking her chest. For a moment, all I could do was hold her there, useless stumps pressing her close in place of arms I didn’t have.

  Then I felt it. Hesitant at first, but real. Sunflower’s hands slid slowly up my back, clinging to me in a trembling embrace.

  “You can’t hug me without arms, stupid old man.”

  A few plants emerged from the cracked concrete, all brimming with aura. Upon taking a bite out of each of them, my limbs started to regenerate.

  “Thanks. I needed that.” It was foolish of me to go about this the way I’d been doing.

  After all, maybe trust started with a hug.

  Another bellow interrupted the moment. Sunflower and I whipped around to face the dragon, its head raised high, crimson liquid bubbling between its fangs.

  Did I fail the test somehow? What did I do wrong?

  I didn’t have time to answer. The beam ripped from its jaws, slicing the air like a hot knife. With the last of my strength, I lunged aside, clutching the teen to my chest. My body rolled over to the concrete. Blood streaked the floor where the blast grazed past—close enough to nearly take my legs clean off.

  “You ok?” I asked Sunflower, standing back up.

  She nodded, wiping her face. I held out my hand to help her up and, while hesitant, the girl accepted it.

  “Freedom at last!”

  That voice—that was Emmy.

  Turning around, I realized that she wasn’t the only one free from the dragon’s fat stomach. Sunshine, Jesus, and everyone else were all regaining their bearings, blood covering them from head to toe.

  “It’s in my mouth!” Ricky whined, spitting on the ground.

  Jesse neighed, waving his sword in the air like a flag. It confused me how a strong guy like him got caught off guard by that huge beast, but the urge to press him on that wasn’t there for some reason.

  As for my daughter, her head was bowed like a monster didn't just eat her. I guess being in the belly of the beast couldn't lift up her spirits. Maybe adding Sunflower to the mix wasn’t the best idea. But I still had to try.

  “Hey, Sunshine!” I called out, jogging towards her. “Are you o-”

  Sunshine shot past me before I could finish. Her fist was clenched tight, rage burning in her eyes. I didn’t need to guess what she was about to do. My arm snapped out, catching her shirt and yanking her to a stop.

  “Calm down, girl,” I said, pulling her close to me. “I understand what it looks like, but-”

  “There is no but!” my daughter spat, her fists trembling. “She tried to kill us again!”

  “She didn’t mean to. Look, even the dragon-” Just when I was about to point the beast out, it was no longer there. “Well, he’s not there anymore, but I can say for a fact that I was unintentional.”

  “Dad, this is the third time. Let’s just get rid of her and keep moving.”

  Was that the first time Sunshine opted to kill someone…? Geez, I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing given the circumstances. While she was dead set on starting another fight, Sunflower was gripping her other arm like a nervous kid about to perform in a school play.

  It was a long shot, but perhaps they needed each other more than they thought.

  “Yeah, that was the third time. Hopefully, it’ll be the last time.” I let go of her shirt, and placed my hand on Sunshine’s head. “Say hello to the new member of our family, kid. Sunflower Ramirez Hunter.”