Achlys stared down at Abyss. His face seemed so soft. She stroked his cheek tenderly, and subconsciously, his face relaxed. It shifted from worry to a peaceful smile that she returned.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyzCLJU4Ox
Achlys unbound Abyss as he slept. She assumed the voice calling out to him was his brother. The brother would be asleep by now. Achlys sighed as she looked Abyss over once more. She stopped producing the Nitrous Oxide and her hair faded to a lime green, no longer a glowing neon. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdEqhxQAJf
Before she left, she used a controlled acid spray bleach and vinegar to write a message to Abyss in Rosorken. She stood but glanced back. She narrowed her eyes at Abyss. She wasn’t sure how to feel about him. Part of her didn’t want to leave for whatever reason. Part of her wanted to gut him for putting up a fight. Someone so young and innocent wouldn’t be able to do what had to be done.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MN7L3F8jn
Then again, he was older than Achlys was when she was sealed away. She wasn’t sure how she saw him as younger. She assumed they had to be a similar age.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPzpntlzRE
Part of her wanted to keep him by her side. Probably to ensure her plan was successful. She needed him. This was normal. Still, she didn’t know why she felt so curious about him. He wasn’t a normal human. He had all the abilities of rosork, but had no alien blood in him. It was normal to be curious.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JUIlBeNl8
So why did she stroke his cheek so delicately before she ran off?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X8LQJWYzt
* * *
Achlys used her darkness to come to Commander H’s office.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGWOfbHzPH
She opened the door, muscles tense.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmiBYwUG4O
“Achlys?” the commander breathed.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0teebKTWcb
She was right. “Isn’t is obvious, father?” Her tone was bitter. She flipped her hair and rolled her eyes. She turned to close and lock the door.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZ7dBQGY4n
“You’re out.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpgyA9ay1x
“No thanks to you,” she snapped. “I came to tell you I have a new plan. I’ve done some thinking. I thought you were crazy when you said you would kill everyone possessing a cartridge so that Kronos couldn’t use them. It’s still foolish. He’ll only replace the powers lost. I do see a point if you would use your own powers to bring them back and ensure their loyalty, but it still wouldn’t be enough. It would only level the playing field at best, and if you destroy the Cartridges, your little undead army won’t have any powers. And when I take into consideration PISTOL, it all seems counterproductive. Your little rebel group is pitiful. On the surface it sounds delightful, but when you dig deeper, it’s just hypocritical, isn’t it?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJx3m4l4t0
“I won’t use my power anymore. What’s dead should stay dead. I’ve left the Rosork behind.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSpe9jYHLr
“You can’t change who you are, father. Besides, why would God grant you a gift if you weren’t meant to use it to its fullest potential?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IV7vRd3eJ
Commander H grit his teeth. “My ability goes against nature.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27H3jGC5K9
“God makes no mistakes, and Mother Nature abides by his rules. Food for thought. And there was always going to be a point where the world would burn.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡae2TQ7Dn4s
“What?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYk0GfZCKoW
“Humanity is Kronos’s tool, a resource he can use to rebuild anything you destroy, a source of fuel that he intends to tap into to cause devastation. The only solution is to destroy all of them.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC488LOdRa
The commander stood quickly and started towards Achlys. “I won’t let you do this. You cannot take out your anger on humanity I’m sorry I sealed you away, but it was the only way-”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW01hEqb5rx
“Only way to what? To keep me ignorant until Kronos found me as he scoured the earth for every ounce of energy? To die by his hand without knowing anything? You don’t know how much I’ve seen, do you? I watched Zues be killed. You don’t know the things I overheard. I know about Helios. You don’t think I have the strength or wisdom to handle the situation in the best way possible. Well, I learned a lot more than most children would ever have to. Most importantly, I know what must be done, something you’re still trying to deny. Besides, I’m not angry, I’m just doing what I have to, ” she turned towards the light switch.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5733GweGz
“Achlys!”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvuahFo1ww
“Sorry, father, but I don’t need or want you in my life anymore. Be glad I don’t blame you for what Kronos made you do. I could have killed you knowing you won’t use your power. And one more thing. Just because my umbra is work, doesn’t mean I never had it.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJE90rZQsl
“You inherited it after-”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkycdt4ZyYQ
She flicked the lights off and was gone before he could finish.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrRcDrnV4w
* * *
“Everyone always hopes for the best, but it’s nothing but wishful thinking. They can only delay the inevitable by taking out the mutants. We can’t root them all out.” Achlys stood outside a blacked-out tech store and fiddled with a brand-new holo-watch. “So, what did I miss? Anything important?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICZuEYskH9
Her eyes looked over a collection of new articles as she walked into an alley. “So princess Ember is a queen now. How many countries signed over control to her? Even America is under her reign now? Overthrew Donald II in the country’s second civil war. 2047-2050 That could explain it. Now he’d be about the age his father was in the middle of America’s last presidential term. Apple collapsed... that’s somewhat surprising,” she glanced down at her black android watch. “Welcome back, Samsung.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBzyLwl10C
“How fun, with the internet I could graduate any course of study in 10 minutes . Modern advancements make it all so easy, and I only missed a decade. Alien interference did one good thing, too bad it’s too good to last.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEhirJfrkz
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAas6cJLTh
