Silver's Sims: Crystal Legacy - Generation 5 (Part 18)

Abandoned by her mother at an early age, Citrine has always been loved by her family and she loves them all the more in return. But even that love can't fill the hole inside of her, and chasing after her past only leads to more heartbreak.

Ori: I do. The very thing the Hunters were founded to protect against.

Fern: Oh. Great.

Citrine: …what is it?

Fern: Oh, you know, just the physical embodiment of all the malice and evil in the world!

Ori: his name is Obscuro. He’s the Watcher’s firstborn son, and….well, he got into some trouble a very, very long time ago.

Ori: That trouble lead to him being locked away for thousands upon thousands of years. He’s locked in a place most people can’t reach, behind a locked door, but there are…certain, Watcher-blessed family lines that can be used to force the door open.

Citrine: And the Crystals–

Ori: Are one of those lines. It started with your Gramma Opal, and so long as there are children in the direct line of descendance….

Citrine: ….there will always be people after that line.

Ori: I’m afraid so. Obscuro is still under lock and key, Lucera is seeing to that herself, but…he’s always been powerful. Even from the Void, he’s able to whisper to people with enough Darkness in their hearts, and what he tells them, they do. So if he says you’re the key, and others hear that…

Fern: Others will come after her. Well, guess I know who I’m protecting.

Ori: Guess so.

Citrine: …it’s a lot to take in. A-and right now we need to get Gram warmed up, so…thank you, Ori. For everything.

Ori: You don’t need to thank me. You’re my family, Citrine. I’ll always be looking after you all, even if you can’t see me anymore.

Ori: But you’re right. This is no place for mortals, not anymore. Get back to somewhere warm and…well, go home.Try not to worry about the dog breath.

Moonstone: *laugh* If you’d let me brush your teeth–

*everyone laughs*

Ori: Fern. Be careful. This has opened a lot of doors, and closed just as many. But some doors don’t close behind you…and who knows what could follow you home.

Fern: Believe me…I know. I know.

Nova: Pep, if you know anything about where they are–

Peppermint: I don’t! …not really.

Nova: Not really?!

Nova: Peppermint, your grandmother isn’t going to survive the cold out there! If you know anything you need to tell us now!

Peppermint: It’s just–I don’t really–

Calcite: Pep. Please.

Calcite: Anything at all.

Peppermint: ….We’ve all been looking for a magical well that’s supposed to be able to heal the sick and…I guess those two found it?

Nova: A magical–oh, by the Balance why didn’t you tell us?!

Peppermint: We didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up! If we couldn’t find it or it didn’t work, we’d just have…

Nova: We’ll talk about that later! Where is it?

Peppermint: Here in town, somewhere. I don’t know where!

Nova: Peppermint Crystal–

Moonstone: Oh, stop terrorizing the poor kid, Nova. Everything’s fine.

Ori: *woof!*

Calcite: Mama! You’re okay!

Moonstone: I’m okay. Just–brr–a little chilly. And very glad I have one plastic foot!

Nova: By the Balance….

Peppermint: You found it!

Saffron: They found it. And I don’t care how we’re going to explain this to the doctors, it’s worth it.

Citrine: …yes. It’s worth anything.

Calcite: Mama…

Moonstone: I know, honey bun. I know.

???: We’ve found it.

Aconite: Right where he said it would be.

Aconite: I do hope the old woman using it didn’t steal its power.

???: She wouldn’t. Not enough of it to make a difference, at least. But was that his daughter with them?

Aconite: It was.

???: Well. That will be quite the interesting reunion, won’t it?

Aconite: Quite. *chuckle* Quite interesting indeed.

Some weeks later…

Citrine: I’m headed out!

Saffron: Have a good run, sweetie!

Moonstone: Watch for potholes!

Citrine: Pep–

Peppermint: Busy!

Citrine: hoookay….grumpy today, aren’t we….

Citrine: Hey, Fern–Fern?

Fern: I…I have to tell my Uncle. About us using the well.

Citrine: ….oh boy. That’s gonna go over well, isn’t it?

Fern: No it is not. *sigh* Look, Cit, this could…I’ve been thinking about what Ori said. About how this is going to make things bad for you and your family.

Citrine: Are you still worried about that? Fern, it’s okay!

Fern: No, it’s not. The kind of people who’d use you to do that…Citrine, you don’t know how dark things can get when Obscuro’s involved. He’s…

Citrine: The embodiment of all malice and hate, I know, I heard.

Fern: You don’t know what that really means, though. I…I can’t keep you safe from that.

Citrine: So, don’t. I’m not some baby who needs protecting. I can look after myself. We can look after each other.

Fern: I just–

Pep, inside: CALL ME SON ONE MORE TIME–

Inside, a few minutes earlier…

Corona: A real medical miracle…well, that’s good news. And it means you can finally get your butt on a ship!

Peppermint III: …what?

Peppermint II: We weren’t going to bring it up before your Gram had passed, son, but–we’ve gotten clearance for a planetside home. We want you to come out here with us.

Peppermint III: …’m not your son.

Peppermint II: What?

Peppermint III: …nothing. I’m not moving out to the rim.

Peppermint II: Now, son, you listen to me–

*slam!*

Peppermint III: CALL ME SON ONE MORE TIME!

Corona: !! Peppermint!

Peppermint III: I’m not your son! I don’t know how you missed it for so long but I’m not a boy and I’m not yours!

Peppermint III: You two abandoned me when I was a toddler and now you want me to come out and play family?! Are you out of your fudge-soaked minds?!

Peppermint II: Now listen here young man–

Peppermint III: I’m not a young man, and you are NOT my father! You’re nothing to me!

Peppermint III: I don’t care if I never see you again!

Corona: Pep, wait–

Peppermint III: Go jump a cliff, the both of you!

Citrine: Pep?

Fern: Dude, what happened? …Pep?

Peppermint: Fudging idiots the both of them! Who do they think they are?!

Citrine: –*gasp* PEP!!

Fern: WATCH OUT!

Pep: Wha–*gasp*

*squealing tires*

Citrine: Pep!!

Citrine: Watcher, no no no! Pep!!!

Fern: Call an ambulance!

Calcite: Cor–Corona, what do you want me to say? That I’m sorry I let them be themselves? That you shouldn’t have given me your child? Well, it’s sixteen years too late for that, isn’t it! They–

Calcite: Yes, they. Pep’s gone by they since they were thirteen–well then you should have been here! You told us to raise your child and that’s what we did! That means raising them to be true to themselves, not–they’re a kid, Corona, not a doll!

Calcite: You left Pep with us for a reason, remember? You told us to raise them–corrupt them?! Excuse me?! Are you even hearing yourself–Corona! No, no absolutely not. Nova and I have been here for them through everything, like parents, while you two flounced off to the other end of the galaxy! Did you really have to?

Calcite: Well it sure seems to me that you’ve got yourselves the perfect little family all the way out there, anyway. But now that Pep doesn’t fit your image of a perfect son–no! No, I was not about to let my child spent their life pretending to be something they’re not just because–

Calcite: Yes, Peppermint is my child! You two ran off when they were two! Vid-calls and emails don’t make up for a life of not being here!

Citrine: Dad?

Calcite: Hang on–no, Corona! I’m not going to send them on a ship! They made their choice and I don’t care–

Calcite: Oh, go ahead! Sue for custody! They turn nineteen in a month so if you expect that to fly go right ahead! Or maybe you recognize that you don’t have a place in their life anymore and they–oh, that’s mature!

Calcite: Oh, well–fudge you, too!

Citrine: …Dad?

Calcite: She hung up on me!

Citrine: They’re not coming back, are they.

Calcite: I doubt it. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I ever knew Corona at all. She was closer to your Ma, but…*sigh* Some people….

Citrine: Some people aren’t cut out for parenthood?

Calcite: It’s not that easy. Parenting is hard, Citrine. I can’t tell you how many nights your Pops and I spent up worrying if we were doing right by you, by Pep, but…Watcher preserve me, I think we did okay!

Calcite: It’s hard. It’s a lot of sleepless nights, and wondering if you’re doing the right thing, and hoping it all works out. And sometimes it does, and it makes all the hard parts worth it.

Calcite: Corona and Peppermint missed out on all of that, and I don’t know if I should be sad for them, or grateful they gave us another kid to be ours.

Citrine: …I think grateful’s better than sad right now, Dad. Pep’s gonna be okay.

Calcite: Oh, thank Watcher. Come here. …Are you okay?

Citrine: I’m fine. They’re asking for you.

Nova: We could hear you in the lobby. No chance…

Calcite: None. Pep?

Peppermint: ….mm?

Calcite: How’re you feeling, kiddo?

Pep: Ow.

Calcite: I bet.

Nova: Minor concussion, four cracked ribs, broken arm, and one heck of a road rash on their leg, but…nothing internal. They’re gonna be fine.

Calcite: Thank the Watcher. Pep…your parents aren’t coming.

Pep: They’re not my parents.

Pep: I mean, biologically, sure, but. Not in the way that counts.That’s not them, that’s…

Calcite: You don’t have to say it. We all already know.

Calcite: Pep, since the day Corona handed you to me, I’ve known you were ours.

Nova: We both did, champ. We’ve never doubted that.

Pep: Even…even when I didn’t…

Calcite: Even then. We don’t need a title, or blood, to be your fathers.

Calcite: If you never want to say it, or you never can, that’s okay. We know.

Pep: I want to say it, though. Because that’s what you are. You don’t…you don’t mind.

Calcite: Never.

Pep: Dad, I–I was so scared, I thought–

Calcite: I know, kiddo. I know. It’s okay. You’re okay.

Nova: Gave us one heck of a scare! I thought we taught you to look both ways before crossing the street!

Pep: *sobbing laugh* Sorry, Pop.

Peppermint: …I wanna go home. Can we go home now?

Nova: Soon, kiddo. The doctors just want to be sure nothing got rattled too hard.

Peppermint: ‘kay. …can EG stay the night?

Calcite: *chuckle* Of course.

Calcite: Not like you two can get up to much like this.

Peppermint: Dad!

Citrine: *relieved sigh* Watcher, thank you…

That evening….

Horizon: That girl….I swear we raised her better than this!

Sundown: Oh, we did. Before that husband of hers got his claws in, we had. I knew he was trouble from the start!

Moonstone: How did they even meet, do you know? He’d already graduated, hadn’t he?

Sundown: Oh, yes he had! He was her math tutor and apparently a harmless crush turned into this entire mess!

Horizon: And now she’s not answering any calls.

Nova: That’s not unheard of…calls to the Rim systems can be hard to make…

Calcite: Babe you’re giving her too much credit. She’s dodging us.

Citrine: Us, maybe, but has Station Admin said anything, Auntie? Did you call them?

Sundown: We did, but all they could tell us was that she, Peppermint II, and Spearmint were physically safe and healthy on-planet.

Sundown: Oh, and that Peppermint II’s decided to take another twenty year tour after all!

Saffron: Meaning those two aren’t ever coming back.

Calcite: That’s their choice. We don’t have to like it–hells, I wouldn’t mind shaking the two of them silly!

Citrine: …it wouldn’t help our Pep, though. They just wanna put this behind them, so…maybe we should let them?

Moonstone: She has a point. I’m not saying what Corona and her husband have done is a good thing, but…it gave us our grandbaby. Let that be enough, Hori.

Horizon: ….why did you inherit all of Mama’s sense. Why.

*chatter continues*

Citrine: Wha–oh, shoot.

Calcite: Present here and now, Citrine.

Citrine: No, I know, just–

Citrine: Um….something’s come up with Fern. I need to–Dad, can I go spend the night there?

Nova: Something with the…

Citrine: Yeah.

Calcite: …*sigh* Alright. Alright, go.

Calcite: But look both ways before crossing the street!

Citrine: I will!

Ori: *quiet whimpering*

Citrine: Hey, it’ll be fine. You stay put.

Citrine: I’ll be back in the morning!

Ori: *louder whimpering*

*door closes*

*knock on door*

Spring: I cannot believe you!

Fern: Mom, I–

Spring: Do you have any idea how much of the code you broke?!

Fern: I know, I just–

Spring: Do you? Do you really? Five chapters of it in one go! The mission our entire family was given! You broke right through that!

Fern: What was I supposed to do?! Just let Miss Moony die?!

Spring: Yes!

*knock on door*

Soring: Oh, for–what?!

Citrine: Mrs. Strike, I–

Spring: Oh, of course! Of course it’s because of you!

Fern: Mom…please don’t….

Citrine: Mrs. Strike, everything Fern did, she did to help me. Please don’t be mad at her! We–

Spring: All this, for a puppy crush?

Fern: It’s not a crush…

Citrine: It really isn’t! But, really, Mrs. Strike, we–

Spring: *huffed sigh* Citrine. you don’t understand how we Hunters keep the world safe, and that’s fine. That was the idea. But Fern does, and breaking so many of our laws….wanting to help a friend, or girlfriend, is noble. Actually doing it without permission? Not so much!

Spring: And the Well! The Well, of all things–

Citrine: There was no one else there! A-and my Grams won’t say a word!

Spring: Oh, but the miraculous recovery of a terminal heart failure patient made the Waffle Creek news! How many would be occult lovers are already down there right this second?

Citrine: …oh…un…a lot?

Spring: Too many! Now the Well is danger from both Berries and Occults, Mantis and Leaf aren’t answering their phones, and you did all of this for a pretty girl?!

Fern: Mom, please–

Spring: What am I going to do with you!?

Spring: Did nothing we teach you stick?!

Fern: No it did! I just–you taught me to do the right thing and this was–

Citrine: It was the right thing! Look, it was all my idea, so I’ll just–I’ll tell Mr. Mantis that and I’ll take whatever punishment he thinks is right!