Ascension of the elder

"Hey brat get your ass out here!"

*Smack*

"Hey what'd I do know you crazy old bat?"

"Don't talk to your grandson like that; he'll think you don't like him."

Kyle instantly knew who this was; it looked as though his grandparents had already ditched Landon and Harris. Knowing that this was the first time they had come to his home Kyle decided to give them the grand tour.

Moving back to the entranceway Kyle saw them looking around in appreciation. Kyle looked at his girls who had accompanied him and asked them to see his mum.

"Would you mind checking on my mother and let her know that I'm showing around my paternal grandparents."

Miranda and Clara both nodded before heading to the atrium after they each grabbed one of Elena's arms. They knew better than to leave her to her own devices.

"What are you dragging me for? I want to meet granny and grandpa."

Elena was calling out as she was hauled away; Miranda and Clara just ignored her as they knew Kyle would want to speak to his grandparents privately before introducing them.

As always Kyle found himself smiling at how Elena acted, this loving smile however didn't go unnoticed by the widow.

"Oh is that your girlfriend little Kyle?"

She asked with care and a previously unknown smile covered her face. It was a gentle and maternal smile similar to the kind Nettie had when she was with the younger members. The beast also saw this smile and spoke without thinking.

"Wow dear with that smile you almost seem gentle."

*Smack*

"Well maybe not."

Kyle found this interaction amusing and thought about how he spoke and acted around his girls, they had a similar feel but without the occasional slap.

"Yes all three are my girlfriends they are Miranda, Clara and Elena. I'll introduce you later but would you like a tour first?"

Kyle wanted to get this show on the road as he had some questions for his grandparents but it would be rude not to answer theirs first.

"Oh yeah I'd love to see this place, before I was summoned this was a wreck. No one had stayed in it for years but looking at it now I may have to take it for myself."

The beast said this with a half smile, but before his wife could even move he received a shock to the butt. This was similar to a static shock but much stronger and seemed to come from the wall itself.

"OUCH WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!"

This was one of the internal protections the bastion spirit had incorporated using Kyle's knowledge. Located at various places within the bastion 'shock' arrays had been generated with better control rings. This allowed the spirit to disable intruders.

These were separate from the defensive arrays which meant the spirit could control them. This was just a friendly greeting and a warning.

"Oh that was the spirit of my home just letting you know he isn't for sale."

Kyle stated simply to a confused and slightly scared pair.

"What does that mean?"

The widow decided to ask, Kyle answered to the best of his ability that the house and the others connected had a spirit which oversaw them and only reported to Kyle. The fact that this spirit had also begun to refer to itself as a he was a recent development.

When Kyle had asked about this gender identity the spirit conveyed that it was there to assist Kyle. It seemed to have been observing Isaiah who assisted Landon and took a page from his book. As such it had begun to emulate him.

Kyle didn't think this was anything bad so he had allowed the spirit to continue observing, but also said it shouldn't limit itself and should view as many people as possible. With this explanation the beast and widow didn't say anything else.

Kyle began the tour showing them the various rooms and facilities in the bastion and also informing them about the similarities between the different bastions while also informing them that not all the facilities were the same in each of them.

"Finally this is our training area, over there are the spiritual pressure rooms, there is the weight and aerobics training zone, oh and over there is the Jacuzzi."

The widow and the beast were amazed by the different facilities this home had, some of the terms were foreign to them but now they were back they planned to experience everything this place had to offer.

"Well Kyle this is truly impressive, if only your grandfather could provide like you can."

"Hey that was uncalled for."

"Anyway we have some questions, may we sit down and discuss what has happened since we left?"

The widow obviously took the lead in this conversation and Kyle knew this was coming.

"Of course we can go to my office and you can ask what you want."

Leading the way back to his office Kyle decided to sit on the couches with his grandparents rather than sitting at his desk and having something between them.

"Okay Kyle let's start at the top, we gather your uncle James did something but can you explain?"

For the next few hours Kyle explained as much as he could, he covered the fact he was poisoned by someone but they had too many suspects, his breakthrough and development of a new cultivations technique, his growth and that of his force, the recent events and the revelation of James's betrayal.

After Kyle had narrated the series of events as well as he could, the widow and the beast were quiet as they thought of their youngest son. He had not only turned on his family but had hurt a baby; this man deserved no pity and would receive none from his parents.

They had sacrificed everything to keep their children safe only for one of them to become a snake. They agreed with Kyle's conjecture that James was receiving support from the capital and had some suspicions as to who his backer was not that it mattered anymore.

"Thank you Kyle, but now I have to ask what do you plan to do with Clyde?"

Kyle was genuinely confused by this.

"What do you mean plan Clyde is working with father and Uncle Harris at the moment. He's planning to work as a strategist I believe so when he's ready I'll assign him to a unit to get some experience."

They could see the confusion on Kyle face and breathed a sigh of relief; it was the beast who spoke next.

"That's good Kyle we feared you may take revenge on James through Clyde, we wouldn't want to see that."

Kyle realised they were worried about their other grandson and with Kyle prestige at the moment if he wanted to cause problems for Clyde it would be easy for him.

"I see but Clyde has always been friendly with me and Neil, plus I don't think a child should be responsible for the crimes of their parents."

His grandparents were proud of Kyle at this point. They couldn't think of anything else to ask so decided to let him ask anything he wanted.

"Well Kyle you have answered my and your grandfathers questions do you have any questions for us?"

"Yes I have a couple, the first and most pressing is where are the others? I sent four falcons to retrieve the third stage cultivators of our allies but you are the only ones to arrive."

The beast was the one to answer this question.

"Simply most of us have a small standing force in the capital. Your grandmother being an exception, if we vanished our forces would receive our punishment. Using you falcons and the other third stage cultivators we evacuated our personnel from the capital. They are making their own way here but we headed here first as we would be the best suited to aid you."

"Good that makes sense, next question was how much do you know of the connection between the imperial family and the cults?"

It was the widow who answered this question.

"There have been rumours and conspiracy theories for years, these are quickly silenced however. Do you think there is a connection?"

"Absolutely there are too many inconsistencies in the investigations and with them helping the overseer in the recent troubles, I'm sure they are receiving support from the capital."

"Okay I think we all will need to look into this, but with us being cut off we should be able to remove the cults. Any other questions?"

"Yes what are your given names? I can't just keep calling you the widow and the beast."

It was the beast who responded first.

"Ah yeah we'll my name is Bob so you can call me grandpa Bob."

"Wait a sec you name is Bob?"

"Yup Bob it's a good strong name don't you agree?"

"Bob the beast?"