Ch21: Embrace of Yggdrasil

"...Mother?"

Anna

         I stand still, dumbfounded by the sudden accusation. The girl on the other hand, is trying her best to hold her hands to her weapon. That's jaw hangs open in surprise, but he recouperates before any of us. "Stay calm, you two." He slowly says in a cautious tone. "Let's set some things straight." He looks down and repositions his footing, digging himself in for the long run. "Anna, get yourself together, love."

                         "Eh?!"

         He looks at me confused. "Just, take care of yourself, okay?" That hangs his head down and waits for me to respond. I take a moment to compose my thoughts. Taking in everything that has happened in the past hour. I take a look to That, who only stares back in return.I then turn back to the girl, who still has the gun in check.

"Is everything that you've said so far... is it true?" I slowly ask, being careful not to botch any of my words.

        She doesn't say anything at first, but then takes a long sigh. "Yes. All of it is true." She looks back up to me, her face still streaked with tears. "I'm sorry for the mix up. I didn't mean for this meeting to happen this way..." She says, choking up on her own words. "D-don't feel bad! We've only just met!" That chuckles to himself, turning to me. I stand still from shock, and That picks up where I left off. "Haha, well, let's start over for now, shall we? I'm That Awesome Guy, and you probably know Anna, considering your... previous actions." He then sharply turns and faces her dead in the eyes. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" The girl, still shaken, gulps a heavy breath. "How would I even start..." That walks over to my side and takes me by the shoulder. Strangely enough, I feel a sense of comfort overcome me.

"Well then, why not start with your name?"

        THe girl freezes up for a second, but then sighs once more. "Are you sure? Are you truly read?" She asks. That looks over to me, a slight smile on his face. "She's apparently your daughter, from what she claims. I think I'll leave this one to you." I feel my face turn red, and my mind starts to race. Left with little to no other option, I slowly nod my head and give the green light. The girl drops her guard and breaths in relief. Taking a few seconds to compose her thoughts, she hangs her head down. After a passing minute, she raises her head up, and lowers the gun. Looking straight into my face and That's, she breathes heavily. I take this opportunity to study her more, and carefully watch her brown eyes. They dart around in uncertainty, not sure of when is the best time to take action. "Are you sure? There's no turning back from this." She says once more. I nod my head, and That squeezes on my shoulder a bit. "Well, if you're to be believed, then you've already committed to something big, coming out as our... illicit daughter and all." I quickly slap him back in retaliation. "I-idiot! We've never done anything questionable yet!" The girl sighs. "Well, might as well get on with this..." This one sentence captivates both of us, as we turn back to the biggest mystery of all.

"My name is Yggdra Melissa Guy."

Yggdra

             "Yggdra? What kind of name is that?!" That says, already exasperated by my unique name.I sigh for the third time now. "It's a long story! Like you can say anything about that!" I say, trying to wrap up the details as fast as possible. That's eyes slowly open up in response, and his mouth starts to open up in disbelief. I turn to Anna now, who is also speechless. "G-guy?!" She can barely voice out this one word, still in shock. I put the gun down on the ground, and cross my arms together. "Well, where else have you heard the name Yggdra before?" I solemnly ask the duo. "Yggdra... Yggdrasil? The world tree of Norse mythology?" She responds. I smirk back at her answer. "Go on... now how did I end up with this unfortunate name?" I back up a few paces, and let them debate it out themselves. "Hm... if she's our daughter..." That starts, trying his best to be serious. "There would be no way that I WOULDN'T name her something unfortunate!" "B-but! Why Y-yggdra? What does the world tree have to do with us?" I feel slightly offended by this, but continue to listen. That scoots up closer to Anna, putting his hands on her face. She goes bright red from this.
        "Because, you're my world, Anna. My tree that will keep on growing on me, no matter what."

      I am the one that stands speechless now. "N-no way... You already figured it out...?" That jumps back into the previous conversation, literally jumping for joy. "That really confirms it! It's really true! Tell me more!" He excitedly asks, grabbing me by the hips, and picking me up to give me a big, fat hug. "I suppose..." I slowly say, causing him to slow his pacing. He gets a worried look on his face, and starts to stare me down. "What's wrong? Not excited to see your father? Or... well, whatever. It's your story, not mine." The worry in his tone is obvious, yet I decide to diffuse the situation anyways. "I really didn't get to meet you personally, and vice versa." I shake my head in response. "It's nothing that you could've done. It was all in the past." He very softly gasps, provoking a small reaction from both Anna and I. She walks back over to That, staying by his shoulder. "P-please start from the beginning... Please?" She asks, obviously confused. That laughs in reply, but I dismiss his reaction.

"It's a long story... so both of you, listen up. This should help to clear up everything. Including my origins."

        Anna shakes her head. "Can you just explain yourself first? It's still not coming clear to me... Considering everything that's happening..." I take her up on her offer. "Surely. I come from the future, an alternate timeline if you will. This is years form now, from what I know." That raises a hand to speak, but I signal for him to put his hand down. "Continuing on, I am your daughter. Both of you are my parents. This is a fact from my timeline, but it hasn't happened here." "Well, o-obviously!" Anna says, a bit flustered. That goes to comfort her, and turns his attention back to me. "Can you excuse us for a second?" He says. I nod in response, trying my best to muster a smile. He smiles back, and walks off with Anna.

       After a few minutes, the duo returns, That with a wide grin, with Anna, trying her best to do the same, but failing horribly. "Well, we might as well get on the train for now." He says exuberantly. "Welcome to the cast, crew, and family, Yggdra!" Dumbfounded by the outburst, I look to Anna, who is equally as confused as I am."I-I didn't call for this!" I nervously try to keep a smile from creeping up on my face, but to no avail. The two take notice, and smile back. "W-we're both here for you..." Anna says, trying her best to sound comforting. "Yeah! We're your parents, after all!" That replies. I can't help from smiling, and Anna now takes on the solemn persona.

         "Now, would you explain yourself? We have a lot of catching up to do."
          "Gladly. Now, buckle up. It's a long story."