Disclaimer: This novel contains adult material including sexually explicit activities, strong language, homophobic language, extreme violence, suicide, depictions of trauma, and more. Reader discretion is advised.
Shard 17: Enter The Three Wives
(Psycho Bullet Festival 2222 – Bout 21-2)
As Verde left Jade's living room, she drifted through a nexus between worlds, traveling at a rapid pace as she approached her destination. A simple domain featuring an expansive forest and a single cozy ranch-style house in the center. It was an unremarkable, or perhaps quaint, little building from the outside, yet it served as the home of those with unlimited power; the God Admins.
Within its meticulously organized kitchen, a green portal appeared from the ceiling, and out came none other than Verde Dusk, who slammed her face against the linoleum floor as she fell.
Verde: "Damn it! I must be really rusty with this whole God powers stuff. I've only had them back for, what, 6 hours or something, but that's no excuse for falling on my ass like that."
Verde then hopped off of the floor and opened up the fridge, where she casually grabbed a can of sparkling water, popped it open, and took a swig as she leaned against the countertop.
Verde: "That's one down. Now I've got… five more to go. But this was the only 'big' problem, so I think I can afford to take a couple days off, just to hang out with Abigale and the new girl."
She continued to sip her drink slowly, enjoying the quiet as she sipped her bubbly beverage, before crushing the can in her hand, opening it to reveal nothing. She chuckled at this sight, like a child playing with a new toy, before moving her rear off counter's edge and walking down the main hallway of this home, where she knocked on the first door on the right.
Verde: "I'm baaaaaack!"
A second later, the door opened, revealing another Abigale Quinlan. Her shoulder-length dark hair was tucked into a ponytail while her body was dressed in a red V-neck sweater and graying jeans. Clothing aside, she looked identical to Kuro Abigale Quinlan, from the darker tone of her pigment and her dark red eyes to her tall and athletic stature. Yet, Verde knew that she was not Kuro, but rather the true, the original, Shin Abigale Quinlan, and her beloved wife.
Shin Abigale: "Oh hey, Verde. How'd things go with Jad?"
Verde: "Idyllic! I mean, she got traumatized by another version of Kuro, but ka-girling her seemed to get rid of most of the trauma. She still has some issues to overcome, I'm sure, but she was elated with her new body, and her loved ones accepted her. Also, she's going by Jade now."
Shin Abigale: "Good for her. So, did you just transform Jade and be on your way?"
Verde: "Nah. I took in her loved ones, gave them a good talking to, dealt with this… third version of Kuro, ka-girl'd Terra, and promised to meet with them once they're done with school."
Shin Abigale: "Well, look at you, finally owning up and talking to people."
Verde: "Yeah, yeah, that's what an 8 year journey will do to a girl. Who would've thought that all it took to up my social skills was to talk to a bunch of people while being thrown into barrels of fucked-up shit I barely understand?"
Shin Abigale: "I mean, that's what you were doing, but you went from easy mode with 1-on-1 therapy sessions all the way to nightmare mode with… whatever you got up to in those 256 adventures."
Verde: "Let's just say I've done things I'm not exactly proud of and things that made Nari's Log seem like a series of sane and well thought-out events."
Shin Abigale: "So how many sentient hoppity hops did you encounter?"
Verde: "Seven. Three with humanoid genitals. Two with cloacas."
Shin Abigale: "Fuck. You sure you don't need a couple therapy sessions with me?"
Verde: "Nah, I'm good, but I know I can rely on you whenever I need to, Abigale. So, how's Urabe doing? Still getting situated?"
As Verde asked this question, Shin Abigale moved away from the doorframe, revealing a sparse and minimalistic bedroom. The walls and floor were colored a faintly blue off-white and coated with a matte plastic surface. The largest wall was fully covered with a white shelving unit, bereft of any contents, and aside from a closet filled with clothes, the only other fixtures in the room were pretty standard. A plainly dressed queen-size bed, a wooden computer desk with dual monitors and tower PC, along with a premium computer chair.
In the chair sat Urabe. An android modeled after a French-Japanese woman. Her hair dark and poofy, her eyes a bright blue, her frame lean and short, and her face cute whenever she chose to smile. She was dressed in a mid-blue long sleeve shirt and a pair of light sea green pants that clung to her body.
Verde: "Huh. Looks nice enough. A bit sparse and plain, but I don't know what I was expecting."
Urabe: "When Abigale and I were in the Omnibahn, we could do whatever we wanted with just a wave of our hands or a vocal command. The same applies here, so why bother arranging my room with things I might need, when I can just make whatever I want whenever I want it?"
Verde: "Typical robots, always so beautifully logical… But wait, why do you have a bed?"
Urabe: "…For sex, Verde."
Shin Abigale: "Yeah, when was the last time you actually tried to go to sleep in our bed?"
Verde: "Sorry for thinking with my head before my crotch. Guess I've been out of the God game for too darn long."
Urabe: "…Is this a segue for a threesome?"
Verde: "Nah. After the third erotic scene, a fourth just seems excessive. Let's just play video games or chill with some obscure 90s anime."
Shin Abigale: "So, basically what Urabe and I were doing for 22 years?"
Verde: "You were doing that for 22 years, but I was busy saving worlds, solving mysteries, and committing war crimes for an unjust regime in order to gain trust of their leaders, for the past 8 years. Besides, the dynamic is different with three people, and I look forward to getting to know ya, Urabe."
Urabe: "Why? You don't need me to be part of your—"
Verde: "You're basically my wife's mistress, and you know what they say. 'If your wife's got a mistress, make her your second wife!'"
Shin Abigale: "Literally nobody has ever said that… but I'm glad that you're so open to making her part of our family."
Verde: "You've technically been with her for longer than me, Abigale. Hell, you've been with her for 12 years longer than the decade we spent together. It would be the height of dickery for me to push her away and not wife her. I mean, assuming that's what she wants."
Urabe: "I turned into a stereo and watched you and Abigale have double-penetrative sex with your weird genitals. What basis would I have to object to getting into a romantic relationship with you? Besides, from everything that Abigale has told me, you seem like a pleasant woman, Verde. I learned to care about Abigale, she cares about you, so, in some shape or form, I want to learn to care about you too. At first, I thought it would be difficult based on how awful you were during the Vincent Dawn days, but you've really changed."
Verde: "…I feel like I should make some snarky comment about how that was so long ago or how I haven't actually changed, but… you're right. I like to think that I am a different person from back then. In both body and mind. I was still piecing together who I was. I have been since I died the first time. And while I like to think that I have reached something close to my final form, I will continue to grow as time goes on. I will continue to develop my morals, behavior, and general persona as I take in more experiences and continuously reassess who I am, until my existence comes to an end."
As Verde made this comment, Shin Abigale placed her arm around Verde's shoulder, bringing her closer and speaking into her ear.
Shin Abigale: "By which, you mean FOREVER, isn't that right my beloved?"
Verde: "I love it when you boss me around like that. It's hot."
Urabe: "I'd ask what the hell I'm getting myself into, but… I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this. Especially when my only other option is to go back to being a Galaxy Fraulein of Mass Destruction. Jumping into being lovers or wives might be a bit too much, but how about we start as… friends?"
A light glimmered in Verde's eyes as Urabe made this offer. Within less than a second, she escaped Shin Abigale's grasp and latched herself onto Urabe, lifting her off the ground in a great tight hug!
Verde: "Yay! Yay! Yay! Verde got herself another friend! Friend number three!"
Urabe: "W-Wait, three?"
Shin Abigale: "Terry Tanaka, me, and now you. She does not consider Jade to be a friend. And for as much as she admired her third-grade teacher, Claire Williams, their relationship was always as a student and teacher."
Urabe: "…I never put that together. That explains so much about why you were like that as Vincent Dawn."
Verde loosened herself from the hug after Urabe said those words.
Verde: "Could you please not talk about my pre-transition self while I'm pouring my heart out?"
Urabe: "S-Sorry. I guess I am no better, as I did not have a true friend until Abigale, so… I guess that makes you my second friend."
Shin Abigale: "I technically have memories of friends from what was carried over from Claire Williams when I was created, but… those were of a different lifetime."
Verde: "If we're going to throw a pity party over how few friends we all have, let's throw, you know, an actual party!"
Shin Abigale: "It's basement time?"
Verde: "It's basement time!"
With that declaration, the three began running through the house and down the stairwell, where they were met with an expansive entertainment suite. With wooden walls decorated in dozens of framed prints and posters, tiled floors, a couch that could fit eight, a massive shelf featuring thousands of rectangular cases, a sound system, and, of course, a large television.
Verde: "Ah, I missed this place. Home System! Prepare for us all the fixings required for a pizza party!"
Verde's command was met with a reply from a disembodied female voice that, for some reason, spoke in an Australian accent.
Home System: "Just a second, Verde."
Approximately 0.92 seconds later, the empty table in front of the couch became populated with three large pizzas, a few plates, and a dozen cans of sparkling water of various different flavors.
Verde: "Nice! So, how do you want to break in our friendship?"
Urabe: "Well, Abigale and I played a lot of 2-player games together, so something that scales well to three people—"
Verde: "Mario Party it is then! Because three people is the ideal number of players for that series. There are enough humans to form alliances or fight against someone else, but you also get a wild card in the form of a CPU character!"
Urabe: "Isn't that series notorious for destroying friendships?"
Shin Abigale: "If you want a friendship to grow strong, you need to expose it to some heat. If your friendship is only perpetuated through positive emotions, then you will probably not develop the same level of affection for one another. But if you have occasional fights, disagreements, or heartfelt discussions, then your friendships will be all the stronger."
While Shin Abigale explained this almost paradoxical concept, Verde was perusing the shelf before her, before grabbing a plastic cartridge with the dimensions of a Nintendo Switch game case. A proprietary storage format created by Verde that functioned as both a game cartridge and a case. Despite its eccentric form factor, the object was decorated with the box art of 2004's Mario Party 6.
Verde: "We're going with number six. It has a day and night cycle!"
Urabe: "What does that have to do with anything?"
Verde: "I dunno, but it's a neat concept, and the game is supposed to be one of the better ones, so let's give it a whirl!"
Verde then shoved the cartridge into a slot at the bottom of the TV. As the TV read the cartridge, the display turned on, showing the title screen of Mario Party 6, and a drawer beneath the TV opened up, revealing three WaveBird wireless controllers for the Nintendo GameCube Video Game Entertainment System. Upon grabbing three controllers and passing them out, Verde and her friends began the first of many game nights.
It was a night of casual gluttony and going through the emotional gamut typical of a Mario Party experience. Reveling in the joys of their success, stewing in frustration over the achievements of others, scheming as two against one, and reveling in righteous indignation at the inherently unfair nature of the game. Through this flurry of emotions, their relationships grew all the stronger. Verde and Abigale rekindled their long dormant love. Abigale and Urabe rejoiced in a different take on the casual fun they enjoyed for two decades. While Verde and Urabe sowed the seeds of what would blossom into a beautiful friendship.
It made for a joyous time for the three women and marked the beginning of a ritual that would become commonplace as the days went on and the three continued their worry-free lives.
…At least for a few weeks.
The stories of Jade Novus, Verde Dusk, and friends shall continue in Verde's Doohickey 2.0 SSR on August 15, 2023.
The unaddressed mysteries surrounding the "five problems" mentioned by Verde during the beginning of Shard 17 shall be addressed in supplemental works released from September 2022 to May 2023. This includes Verde's Doohickey – Session Extra.0, Verde's Doohickey – Session Extra.1, Verde's Doohickey – Session Extra.2, Verde's Doohickey – Session Extra.3, The Malice of Abigale Quinlan – Encounter Unlimited, Psycho Bullet Festival – Episode Alternative, and Psycho Shatter 1985: The Day After.
However, in order to end The Dominance of Abigale Quinlan on a more definitive and conclusive note, let us venture into the future and see what became of Jade Novus, Maxxie Flare, Zoe Xing, Shiaka Kurokawa, and Terra Flare. Let us skip to the end of The Novus Logs with Novus X – Ten Years Later.
The Dominance of Abigale Quinlan Main Page
Shard 00: The Novus Logs Volumes 1 & 2
Shard 01: 108 Days Later
Shard 02: Melancholic Mundanity
Shard 03: Another Day; Another Doubt
Shard 04: Fractured Family
Shard 05: Troublesome Tuesday
Shard 06: Despair And Die
Shard 07: The Enigmatic Sickness
Shard 08: The Erotic Fantasy (Osananajimi;Myself Part 3700)
Shard 09: The Egregious Downfall
Shard 10: The Oransen High Massacre
Shard 11: The Dark Metamorphosis
Shard 12: The Dominant Reflection
Shard 13: My Life As Jadigale Novus
Shard 14: Fade Unto Dusk
Shard 15: Re;Birth Unto Jade
Shard 16: Gender Reveal Party
Shard 17: Enter The Three Wives (Psycho Bullet Festival 2222 – Bout 21-2)
Shard 18: Novus X – Ten Years Later
Tags: The Dominance of Abigale Quinlan, The Saga of Dawn and Dusk, TSF/TG
Previous PostThe Dominance of Abigale Quinlan – Shard 16
Next PostThe Dominance of Abigale Quinlan – Shard 18
The Malice of Abigale Quinlan – Encounter 01