Empowered

Chapter 15:.....Estrangement

Now we know the story of Ember's mother, but what about her other progenitor? Just as I warned you about the last chapter being sad, I will similarly prepare you for how distressing this part of the story will be. Whereas Ember actually missed and wanted to see her mother again after being relegated to the dungeons of E-Corp., the way she felt about her father was truly more complicated.

The thing about fathers is – actually – I don't know. I'm not sure I even understand what precisely a father is, as humans typically do. I can, however, tell you about one specific father. Unlike his wife, Benjamin Crimson was incredibly strong in body and mind. He wanted the best for his daughter and did everything he could to make the best a reality, but that doesn't mean he always did what was best for her. I really want to impress upon you just how unpleasant this part of the story will be. I suppose the best way I can do that is to introduce you to a word. That word is estrangement. It's the only word I can use to accurately capture the relationship between Ember and her father. As I'm told by most Earthlings, this word is a word you use to describe a relationship that was once good but has now deteriorated. So, let's get on with the story, and you'll understand exactly what spoiled this father-daughter relationship.

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"You have got to be shitting me, Bob?!?!" Ember shouted at her bespectacled, smirking mentor.

"I thought it would be more literally applicable this way." He chuckled.

"Oh, sure. Hey, you say you have a debilitating mental illness; do I have the solution for you? Just tip your head over this way, and I'll shoot you with this super large, destructive-looking gun! And all your problems will just vanish because you're dead." Ember said, picking up the super large, destructive-looking gun Bob had created as the application device for Ember's cure-all mental illness treatment.

"Pues (well), it's really the only device I thought would be appropriate and handy. From what you told me your mother can become violent, so I thought it a better idea to construct something you can use at a distance." Bob remarked as reasonably as he possibly could.

"You can use a camera from a distance, but a camera doesn't look like it's trying to kill someone," Ember said, still not buying what Bob was selling.

"Bien (Good), if you really want, I can make something else," Bob said, finally acquiescing.

"Thank you. I don't think they would let me into the psychiatric hospital with a gun anyway." Ember said smiling.

Out of nowhere, Dr. Wells burst into the room frantically with a massive frown on her face, which scared Ember because she knew that meant something really bad was happening.

"Ehh, what's up, Doc?" Ember said, imitating Bugs Bunny to try and lighten the undoubtedly heavy news she was about to get.

"It's him, Ember. He escaped." Dr. Wells said incredibly direly.

"I really hope you mean that you guys finally recaptured Larry, but then you lost him again," Ember said with a mighty frown, considering that incredibly unfortunate situation would be better than the one she was about to face.