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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2k2fORhD9
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. 19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1tWkjVGxY
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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsknecI4yrf
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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeGeAiGA6S
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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOBEmaPQv7
So why did she stroke his cheek so delicately before she ran off?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROpGeuNVgD
* * *
Achlys used her darkness to come to Commander H’s office.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNfpUyhsAz
She opened the door, muscles tense.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOqsag32Kz
“Achlys?” the commander breathed.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhQ58WfCXD
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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWblQRIvRX
“You’re out.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbUc5d7T5G
“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?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HlFGzTAVa
“I won’t use my power anymore. What’s dead should stay dead. I’ve left the Rosork behind.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMm07KorAg
“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?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp255Fl3UQK
Commander H grit his teeth. “My ability goes against nature.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnnv4js0w8
“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.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQGPY3WeJe
“What?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVsRdousTU
“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.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXWuWTZjh7
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-”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYCs1oNj3z
“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.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQh73DkdNe
“Achlys!”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDde6pJE1C
“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.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6i70HE1Qzl
“You inherited it after-”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0VH8o0Wgz
She flicked the lights off and was gone before he could finish.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUsHNCuCFI
* * *
“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?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qoeAEsZT1
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.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEToaCOw52H
“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.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmRUqp2XlK
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1bZr2HiPj
