Chapter 93: First Home

Stepping into the elevator that brought Emma and I down here, unlike previously how it just fell before suddenly stopping, the ride up was fast and smooth, reaching the topmost floor in under a minute, impressive given the building had about one-hundred and one floors; that was only including the floors above the basement.

Exiting the elevator, we silently walked toward her office before entering it, only for me to slightly wince when I saw the windows, which were no longer there; after glancing at each other, we walked toward the edge and leaned over the edge, only to find pieces of destroyed glass on the all the way on the ground, though luckily no one was hurt.

"Well, believe it or not, that actually helps me save some money; now they don't need to remove the broken windows." Remarked Emma with a raised eyebrow as she nodded before turning around, walking toward her desk, and sitting down.

"Haa, sorry for everything, Emma; I asked you for your help, yet I only ended up breaking things, including your arm." Said Pharaoh with an apologetic expression as he glanced at Emma, who was sitting in her chair while playing with a pen.

"Well, you don't need to concern yourself with the damages the beta testing room sustained; it was designed specifically with that purpose in mind. The windows and my arm will easily be fixed and repaired; if anything, despite that being the least destructive thing you've done today, that'll be the hardest thing to fix." Replied Emma with a nod as she glanced at the windows and her broken arm before gesturing to the small cracked divot in the floor, where he was previously tapping his feet.

Sighing to myself at all the destruction I caused for Emma, I floated out the window as I prepared to fly home, thinking of an excuse as I didn't think Mom would believe me if I told her I was rubbing a few out for roughly thirty minutes.

"Thanks, Emma, for everything; it really helped me." Said Pharaoh while floating outside the building as he looked at Emma with soft and appreciative eyes.

"You're welcome, we're friends, after all." Stated Emma with a slight smile as she gazed at Pharaoh and despite his various abilities, he found it hard to know whether she was speaking the truth or not.

'Let's be optimistic and just assume she's being truthful; I don't want to think about other things right now.' Mused Pharaoh as he lightly shook his head while eyeing Emma.

"I owe you another one, Emma; if you ever need me for anything, just say my name, and I'll be by your side before you can even finish speaking." Said Pharaoh seriously as he gave Emma one last look before turning around and shooting off into the sky, creating a sonic boom, which further damaged some of the building's windows.

'Heh, well, today was one incredibly productive day; I managed to not only make him owe me, but I also got the privilege of reading some of his mind.' Thought Emma with a smirk as she looked in the direction of where Pharaoh flew before turning around and looking at her incredibly messy room.

"Though I was required to pay a little, but that's fine; it was well worth it." Muttered Emma with a shake of her head as she picked up her phone from the ground and placed it on her desk before pressing a button.

"Yes, Mrs. Frost, what can I do for you?" Asked a respectful male voice from the phone.

"Send Joshua Foley to my office." Ordered Emma with a cold, detached voice, completely opposite to the lively and soft way she interacted with Pharaoh.

"Yes, Mrs. Frost." Said the male voice.

"Hmm, I suppose a little vacation won't hurt while my office is undergoing repairs; I'll visit Romania; I saw a mutant in Pharaoh's mind; maybe I could recruit Pietro and his sister into the Hellfire Club." Remarked Emma softly with a thoughtful expression as she rhythmically tapped her fingers on the desk.

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Returning home in a matter of a few seconds, I entered through the opened window before quickly composing myself; closing the window, I flushed the toilet and quickly looked in the mirror before opening the door and exiting. Walking down the stairs like nothing was wrong, and I'd just returned after taking a piss, I walked into the living room, only to subtly freeze; not because everyone was giving me weird looks, no because when I laid my eyes on Mom, all those emotions from before once again showed themselves.

"Pharaoh, what were you doi-ugh! You can't be doing that, Pharaoh; you're not a child anymore." Said Hana as she gave Pharaoh a concerned look, though she couldn't even finish her question since he jumped over the couch and plopped on it right beside her.

"I-I'll tell you about it later, Mom; I just want to lay here." Replied Pharaoh softly as he sat beside Hana, snuggling into her motherly embrace, soothing his mind and calming him far better than any woman could ever hope to achieve.

"Haa, alright then, child." Remarked Hana lovingly with a small sigh as she rested her arm on Pharaoh's back, gently rubbing all of his worries away.

I must've been really mentally exhausted since, before I knew it, I was sleeping in my Mom's embrace.

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It's been a month since the death of Dad. Mom and I were still coping with the loss of our family, though today was a special day since today we'd finally be burying Dad. Of course, we weren't burying Dad in New York; we were in Kansas, at his farm, which had degraded greatly since I last remember seeing it; all the crops were either dead and lying on the ground or were already withered away.

Following behind Uncle Darnel's car, we drove down the dirt path before parking to the left of the barn, which wasn't in the best of condition and looked like it only had a few more years before it collapsed on itself. However, we weren't the only ones here; the Grey, Stacy, and Parker family also accompanied us, along with all of Dad's other close friends.

"Where is everyone; they should've been right behind us?" Asked a tall, lanky man in a Southern accent, wearing black overalls and a T-shirt while smoking a cigarette.

"You know how the traffic can get, Darnel. They should be here soon. I've already given them the address." Replied Hana as she exited the car while wearing a black kimono, showcasing her Japanese heritage.

"Everyone except the Parkers has GPS; they're doing it old-school with the paper maps, so they might get lost." Stated Pharaoh lightly as he exited the car wearing a black suit.

"I do need to get me one of them dohickeys; save me a lot of valuable time when navigating an unfamiliar area." Remarked Darnel with a nod as he dropped his cigarette bud on the ground and snuffed it with his foot.

"You're more of a farmer than me. Uncle Darnel, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that." Said Pharaoh as he gave Darnel a black look, who just cackled in his Southern accent.

"It's fine; this farm is dead; a cigarette or two won't change a thing." Said Darnel as he ignored the cigarette bud and headed toward the old, rickety house in the distance alongside Hana.

'Haa, unbelievable.' Thought Pharaoh while shaking his head as he reached down and grabbed the cigarette bud.

Walking behind Mom and Uncle, I entered the house and threw away the cigarette bud into the nearest trashcan; it's been about six years since I last been here, so I did a little walk around the place, though about everything was the same as I remember.

'Ay, I know Dad and Uncle Darnel love their parents, but they looked like they might've been a little racist.' Mused Pharaoh as he looked at a family portrait of young James and Darnel, along with their parents and the farmland.

Setting the picture down, I headed upstairs and saw Mom inside one of the rooms while mindlessly staring out the window into the empty fields. Approaching her, I silently stood beside her and looked out into the fields, spotting a small crater, which, if I had to guess, was the one I made when my space pod crash landed here.

"Do you know what happened to that meteorite, Mom?" Asked Pharaoh curiously as he glanced at Hana, who gave him a complicated look before sighing and shaking her head.

"No, your foolish Father thought it was some alien invasion and ran right for it with his shotgun, though it turned out it was just a rock; though if it happened to be an alien invasion, I don't think a simple shotgun would've proved to be of much help. Before he could get some kind of radiation poisoning, I called the local police and had them deal with it; after that, I don't know what happened." Replied Hana lightly as she shook her head before glancing at a different barn far off into the distance, the same one James had stored the space pod in.

"Well, I don't think we need to worry about an Alien invasion anymore; if that ever does occur, I'll be more than enough to stop them. Hopefully." Remarked Pharaoh with a slight smirk while Hana lightly slapped his shoulder.

"I love you, Mom." Added Pharaoh as he leaned down and kissed Hana on the cheek, slightly taking her aback from how sudden that was.

"That came from out of nowhere." Said Hana with a slight smile as she looked up at Pharaoh, who shrugged his shoulder.

"Well, I just wanted you to know I'll always love you." Stated Pharaoh awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head, while Hana displayed a motherly smile and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll always love you as well, my Son." Replied Hana softly as she held Pharaoh's hand while glancing at the barn in the distance.

'No, not yet.' Thought Hana as she ignored the barn before turning around and leaving, Pharaoh tagging along.

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So, what plans do you think Emma will formulate now that she's read some of Tut's mind? Because guess what, even I don't know that.