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Post by Moe on Nov 9, 2023 10:28:07 GMT -6
"If you want them, take 'em." Mark offered to Lux; "I'm not reading them anymore. I don't have the whole series, though. I was never a serious collector, like Nate is. That's actually how we became friends, but when I got older, I decided to stop reading about superheroes and actually become one. I made my first suit when I was about your ages."
"Don't let him fool you, he wasn't nearly that cool." Alex chimed in. "His first suit was a Halloween costume with a paintball helmet."
"It was a prototype!" Mark blushed. "And I was twelve! I...went through a lot of suit designs, before finally landing on Hyper X."
"Pfft. You and your secret identity."
"Secret identities are cool." Hope said, as she was feeding Tiffany her own dinner. "When I was a superhero, my suit looked like a dragon. Mark's first suit was like a little version of mine, because he wanted to be just like his momma! I think I still have some pictures, somewhere."
"Oh! I would love to see those!" Ikuki smiled.
"Nooo....it's too soon to show my girlfriend childhood pictures..." Mark slid down in his seat.
"HAH! ¡Ella es tu novia! I knew it!" Hope pointed a spoon at Mark, and smirked at him. "I could see it in both your eyes! You better treat him right, not like the last one." she turned to Ikuki, who seemed slightly nervous but not nearly as uncomfortable as Mark.
"Uuuuugh..." he kept sliding down in his seat, until he was under the table. "If anyone asks, I don't exist."
"Sal de ahí abajo, Marcus." Hope huffed. Tiffany just giggled at the back and forth. "Your father is always so dramatic." she said to the infant, who always seemed amused when Mark did something weird.
"No I'm noooot." Mark whined from under the table.
"Would another tamale make you feel better?" Ikuki leaned over and patted his head.
"Yes, please."
"As much as I would love to see baby pictures of Mark, I think it's better to wait until another time." Ikuki smiled, trying to convince the others it wouldn't be such a great idea in Mark's current state of mind, without explicitly calling him out on it. "Maybe Mark could invite you over soon, and we'll make dinner for you?" she nudged him.
Mark just mumbled something from under the table, mouth full of tamale so it was difficult to understand what he'd said. Ikuki and Hope both just assumed it was a yes.
"I admit, you are good to him. And I'm not sure what role you two play in all of this," she looked to Lux and Nox. "But I'm glad you're in his life, too. He really cares about you two, and if you're here to stay, I want you to know that you're welcome in my house, any time. You don't even need to be with Mark. If he says you're family, then you're my family, too."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 9, 2023 18:36:29 GMT -6
While Mark was sinking lower than the floor itself, Nox was more than eager to know what the costume looked like on a younger version of Mark. He immediately forgot how awkward his friend was becoming over the topic and turned his full attention to Hope. Smiling and eager to know more, Nox asked; “OH! Can we see them? I bet he looked so adorable in-”
“Psst. Nox.” Lux hissed at him.
“What?” He turned away from Hope. “Do you want more of my food or something?”
Lux shook his head. “No. Stop it.”
“But...Imagine Mark wearing a dragon super hero costume like his Mother! Isn't that adorable sounding? I bet you want to see what it looked like on him t-”
“Remember the conversation that you and Mark had a while back? You were getting over stimulated and had to retreat to safety because you were just getting overwhelmed?” Lux reminded his brother and watched as he nodded in confusion as to why he was bringing it up. He then continued; “That's him right now. He's having something similar to that feeling you were having.” Lux then pointed over to the emptying chair of Mark's.
It took a moment for it to register in Nox's mind as to what his brother was talking about. “Wait...why is it embarrassing?”
“Because it can be for some people. It's bugging him, so please. Relax on the topic and let it go. It's making him become a rug.” Lux then leaned back as he was done with both, eating and talking about the subject. “Ma'am?” He said to Hope. “Thank you so much for the delicious food. Also, we don't need to see the photos of Mark when he was little. Maybe some other time?”
Nox felt disappointed in the idea of missing the opportunity of seeing young Mark. But he let his brother win this battle. After all, he did realize how right he was about the situation. He could recall feeling overwhelmed and off with all of the attention that was being drawn. The energies and the stories. He then began to feel sorry about egging on the topic.
After they said their goodbyes and arrived home, Nox got out of the car and sheepishly said to Mark; “I'm sorry for egging them on. I didn't...realize how awful it was making you feel.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Lux reminded me about the time I was sort of...getting awkward and all... So I feel bad.” He then helped Lux get some of his art supplies out from the trunk.
“I...hope you feel better. And...I want to let you know that Lux and I had a blast today.” He said with a small smile, hoping that the compliment would further cheer him up.
“Yeah! It was so awesome of you to do that for us. Thank you so much!” Lux chimed. “Come on Nox, let's get this inside our sleep area so we can relax a bit. You can tell me about the things you've seen today. And maybe I can tell you mine?”
The two boys quickly nodded before heading off into their room to drop their belongings off and get into their new pajamas.
While sitting together, Nox told Lux all about the strange dragon girl that he met in the book store portion. Then mentioned how she was really eager to talk about magic and enchantments. He then admitted that she was kind of pretty, especially with the glittery hair which he thought was quite amazing to see on a person. Then he remembered that she was a dragon and told him that he'd never seen a dragon like her before and that it amazed him to see how different she looked to Josephine.
Lux shrugged, telling his brother that everyone was allowed to look different, even when they were of the same species. A tale that was much similarly said by Dawn herself. He then brought up his exploration with the art supplies area and mentioned that he really would love to keep going forward with his interest. But then, he suddenly recalled that Reese was waiting for the boys to come home. And that meant, he wasn't going to be able to do anything he liked.
Lux hugged his pillow and solemnly looked down at his sketchbook. “Reese is...” He heaved a sigh. “Do we really have to go home? I like it here. Mark makes me feel like...I mean something and I don't want to lose that...” There was a tear that was starting to escape his eye. But instead of rubbing it away, he let it stream down his face. For once, Nox could feel and see how uncomfortable his brother was. And when he saw that tear drip down his cheek, he reached over and wiped it off, for him. “Lux...You know you mean a lot to Joe, Mark, and Me. You never have to fear that we hate you. We never will. No matter what you do or...whatever.” He tilted his head towards his brother. “You're my brother, regardless of what Reese says. Joe really likes you a ton and Mark? You're like...family to him. I don't think that can be expressed enough.”
Lux hugged his pillow a bit more and added; “It's not that I fear never feeling accepted again. It's that...I don't want to be placed in that situation again. I hate it there. Reese hates me. And after going through what I've been through here? I...don't want to return there. I-I can't.”
“He does not hate you.”
“Bull.” Lux said a bit sharply. “He's never been proud of me. Never says any encouragement. It's always criticism and condescending crap.” He rolled his eyes. “Reese always belittles me and treats me like garbage. I'm never strong enough. Never fast enough. I'm not even physically that buff or anything. I mean...look at me!” He pointed at himself. “We're freaking identical twins and I'm this scrawny string bean while you look like you can handle stuff. I'm just...” He let go of his shirt and sank into his pillow again.
“Nox, I don't want to go home. Ever. I never want to see Reese or even, hear him again.” He plucked at the pages of his book.
“Lux...we have to...He has legal rights-”
“I don't have to. He would probably be so tickled to not have to deal with me again. If I just died today, he'd probably throw a party over it.” He heard Nox snort at that but he scoffed at him. “Please. You know it. You know he would. Have you heard the insults he calls me? Changeling. Inadequate. Impure. Like, it's all demeaning stuff. All for what? Because I'm a half-breed? So are you. So I don't understand why he specifically targets me.”
Lux paused for a moment before adding; “I want to stay here with Mark and Ikuki. They...mean a lot... and I don't want to feel like I did before. I don't think I can handle it again.” He pulled the pillow to his face and sobbed.
Nox scooted over to him and pulled Lux away from his pillow so that he could use him to cry on instead. He then wrapped his arms around his brother, rubbing his back as he silently sobbed into him. Nox didn't realize how hurt his brother was. Not until now. And he felt bad about it.
“I'm sorry, Lux...I wish I wasn't so...slow.”
Lux tightened his hug on his brother. “I'm not mad at you. I never was. You're the only family I have that matters to me...”
“You and I are from the same stone.” He said to Lux. “Nothing is ever going to change that. Got it? Nothing.” He pushed his brother back to make sure he gave him eye contact. “You...mean everything... to me. Regardless of how successful, how much you fail, how much we grow apart or close? You will always have me in your corner.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 9, 2023 20:43:49 GMT -6
After dinner, Mark and Alex helped their mother clean up and for the first time in a year and a half, Mark felt like everything was okay again. He was patching things up with his mother, and felt happy for the first time in a long time. The day couldn't last forever, however, and Tiffany was starting to get cranky from being out all day. They said their goodbyes, Hope had said they better visit again sometime soon and Mark invited her to his place, next time.
The ride home was relatively quiet, everyone had a long day and they were all tired. Then Nox spoke up about what had happened during dinner, catching Mark off guard. "You don't have to apologize. It didn't really make me feel awful, so much as put on the spot. My mom and I...haven't really been in touch that much in the last year and a half, and suddenly I come back home with a girlfriend and two kids with no context. I think we should work on patching up our relationship, before embarrassing me. That's all." Mark gently explained to Nox. "I'm just glad you two had fun, today."
While the boys and Ikuki all settled in, Mark was busy getting Tiffany ready for bed with a quick bath and into her pajamas. She had fallen asleep before she was even tucked in; after all, it was a very busy day for her. It wasn't terribly late, but enough so that everyone was settling in and resting for the rest of the night; even Mark was starting to finally feel tired, as he couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept. Of course, that wasn't going to happen as there was a lot going on in his head. What Dawn had said to him, earlier that day, had been in the back of his mind the whole time. How terrified she was. About how the gods, for all their good intentions, are not good and only mess things up. After all, as hard as Mark tried to be a hero, he felt that every time he tried, he'd mess up somehow.
And that's when he noticed someone in his living room.
"How do you keep this place, so clean? Everything is so monochrome and boring." Chronos critiqued the interior design of his son's home, much to Mark's annoyance.
"Uuuugh...stupid...god magic..." Mark grumbled.
"What?" Chronos was genuinely confused.
"Bastet told me that I can call on you guys, or something. I dunno. It's been a long day, and I'm not in the mood for your...you...right now."
"Whoah hey no, this is a family visit. Dawn told her dad that she saw one of the gods at the bookstore, today. Her dad, who is my brother, knows for a fact that none of them live in this city. I uh, I haven't told him he has a nephew."
"You haven't told me that I have an uncle! Or a cousin!" Mark was somewhat annoyed, but expected this of his father. "Or that they're DRAGONS."
"Oh. Well. You're one-fourth dragon!" Chronos exclaimed, with a big grin. "Where do you think those handsome ears of yours came from? Hey," his expression changed. "What happened to your arm? You shouldn't be able to be hurt."
"I cut it with a mirror." Mark said through his teeth.
"Geez, you're supposed to be the god of time, not clumsiness." Chronos joked.
"On purpose." Mark added. "Look, I don't...I can't deal with you, right now. I've got too much going on as it is, all of it your fault! I didn't ask for this! I don't want to be left with your responsibilities, just because you don't want to deal with it anymore! You don't...know what I've gone through...what this is still doing, to me. I don't know why you decided to come here, but I don't want you in mine or my daughter's lives. I don't want to be a god. I don't want to clean up the messes you left behind. And don't even get me started on Apollo!"
"You...hurt yourself...on purpose?" Chronos was trying to understand the concept, as though he was having trouble comprehending how Mark could possibly be unhappy with being a god. "Why in the hell-"
"Because I wanted to be in charge of my own fate!" Mark shouted, finally losing it. "I wanted to go out on my own terms, not live forever just because you said so!" he finally realized he might have been a little bit too loud, and shushed his tone a little. "Look, you don't deserve an explanation about everything going on in my head. But I think you owe me an explanation of what you're doing here."
"Actually, it is important." Chronos finally said, serious for once. "I talked with Athena about the creature attacks that happened in the city, recently. They're called Terians, the gods' first creations that are more ancient than any other life on the planet. If they still exist and have found a way back to Earth, it could mean an impending invasion. Since we're all bound to Earth, though, we can't trace them and have no way of knowing when they're planning an invasion or if they even are."
"Oh. Great. Awesome. More things to worry about." Mark sighed. "Today was going so great. We were having fun. It was ending on a high note. Why do you feel the need to shirk all your problems onto me?"
"Actually, Athena insisted that you stay out of this one. Believe it or not, I do care about you. It isn't fair to ask anything of you, before you've even accepted godhood. I just wanted to tell you what we know, and to watch yourself out there." Chronos set a hand on Mark's shoulder. "And geez, is it so bad for me to just want to drop in to see you, every now and then?"
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Post by Banshee on Nov 9, 2023 21:27:38 GMT -6
Lux couldn’t believe that his brother was displaying such affection towards him. He was making sure that he was going to be okay. That he understood he was going to be there for him. In a way, Lux felt like he was far too lucky to have such a backing in his corner. Between Nox always being there, Mark being so supportive and understanding, and finally Josephine, who always seemed to be smiling whenever she meets him...
He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her. She was so amusing to him. Full of fire. Full of an outrageous and immeasurable energy. Something that he wished he had so that he’d be a little more outgoing and cheerful around others. Josephine was such a chipper kid. Always raring to go, no matter what the problems lay ahead. She was always grinning and ready to take it on. And he wanted to do the same.
Nox caught the small smile on his brother’s face and he grinned. “Oh? You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?” He lightly punched his brother and when Lux responded with a confused look, Nox added; “Every time you think of Joe, you always smile. You have this...little glimmer of excitement going on.”
“What? She’s my friend.” He retorted with a swat. “Well! You thought a strange dragon girl was cute, today.” Lux fired back, teasing his brother. “You spoke highly of how pretty she was and how intelligent she was. It seems to me that you were starstruck by a girl.”
Nox opened his mouth and clamped it shut. “How can one be starstruck by someone who’s not a movie star or some sort of performer? Is she one? Do you know?”
Lux merely shook his head as his brother seemed incapable of realizing the joke.“That’s not what I meant, Nox.” He rolled his eyes. “You get all happy and smiley whenever you think about that dragon girl, you met in the store. Your voice gets all excited and happy when you speak about her. It’s almost as if you like her a lot or something.” He then caught Nox grinning at him and he couldn’t help but point and laugh. “Hah! See? I knew it. You like a girl, Nox. You are crushing on her. You want to date her!”
“And you’re crushing on a girl too.” Nox shot back. “Joe is always on your mind. You always smile when she’s near!”
“Joe is just a friend. Can’t I enjoy the thought of hanging out with a friend? A smile doesn’t mean anything.” He fussed. “When someone is happy, they can smile. You know. And I am capable of doing just that.”
Nox went to mock him again but a thought crossed his mind. He lowered his hand and continued to look puzzled over it. This caused Lux to ask him what was going on and after a good solid minute, Nox decided to relay what was going on in his head. “Let's speak hypothetically, not literally, but as an assumption that something could happen if we allow it.”
“I know what a hypothetical thought is, Nox. I’m not that stupid.” He frowned. “Go on, though. Tell me what’s going on in that hamster wheel of a brain of yours.”
“So say, if you are crushing on Joe and I’m crushing on Dawn... Both girls have a pretty unique look to them. Right?”
“Yeah? And?” Lux wasn’t connecting the dots of his brother’s theory. “One has fire hair and the other doesn’t. What’s the point?”
“Hold on. I’m getting to it.” Nox waved at his brother for being impatient. “Both girls are part dragon right? Joe is a fire element and...I’m not quite sure what element Dawn is. But regardless, both have dragon blood in them...So that means...” Nox took another moment to pause and express his thoughts dramatically, but Lux became annoyed with him instead.
“Come on, what the heck are you going on about?”
Nox leaned in and said; “Us Lesser-Elves have the hots for cute dragon girls.”
Lux stared at his brother. Not a word slipped his mouth. Not a smile. Not even a singular eye blink. Lux’s only ability was to look stoically into his brother’s face. He just couldn’t believe the words that came out from Nox’s mouth. And the only thing Lux could muster up, was an unamused; “You’re an idiot.”
Nox snorted and leaned back from Lux and repeated slower for him to understand where he was going with his thoughts. “We. Like. Dragon. Girls.” And within moments, he was greeted with a hefty pillow being thrown at his head. Nox giggled at the idea. “What? I mean, they’re so rare to find! We have to be super lucky to meet two dragon-girls in our life time together. Right? Let alone be friends with them!”
“Ugh, Joe is only a friend. Nox.” Lux groaned at him as he retrieved his pillow and hugged it again. “The idea of dating a friend is so weird to me. I don’t even want to think about it. And besides, Joe doesn’t care about that stuff at all. She’d rather eat all of your food, belch in your face, and throw fireballs at pigeons calling them Dead Flying Rats. She’s not into the idea of being in a relationship. And neither am I.”
“But you like her.”
“She. Is. A. Fr-“ He stopped when he heard Mark speak loudly to someone in the other room. Right before Nox could say anything more, Lux clamped his hand over his brother’s mouth, silencing him. He then motioned him to remain quiet as he snuck over to the door, pressing his ear against it.
“We shouldn’t be eavesdropping.”
Lux hissed at him again, to be quiet. He then narrowed his eyes as he tried to remain focus on the conversation at hand, outside their room. Nox on the other hand, refused to get any closer as he feared that someone would know they were trying to get the inside scoop about information that didn’t need to be known by them yet. However, Lux didn’t care about being in trouble. He was used to it all the time anyway.
“An invasion?” Lux whispered under his breath. “Nox? What’s a Terian?”
“I don’t know.” Nox admitted. “I’ve never heard of the term before.”
Lux placed his ear against the door once again, listening to Mark speak to a male. He was unsure as to who it was that existed within the room. But whoever it was, definitely got Mark all riled up and his feathers ruffled. “He’s talking about Godhood and stuff too. Nox.”
“So? He is supposed to take the mantel. Isn’t he?” He shrugged. “He’s only been against it all this time. Doesn’t think they’re real and whatever. But...”
Lux waved at him to silence himself once more. As he wanted to hear what else was being said. He had a sinking feeling, that this was information that he wasn’t supposed to know yet. And a small fraction of his own mind, was actually quite offended that he and Nox weren’t trusted enough, to know anything about it.
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Post by Moe on Nov 9, 2023 21:59:45 GMT -6
"You've never wanted to be a part of my life, so why should I believe you want to be a part of it, now that I'm important to you retiring?" Mark shoved his father away. "You weren't there, when Alex got married. You weren't there, when her kid was born. You weren't there, when my kid was born and when Mom kicked me out. You've never been there, and now that I'm supposed to take over for you, you want to tell me that you want to be in my life?"
"Look, I get it. You're pissed. You have every right to be. I was trying to keep my distance, for everyone's sake. If I took you away from your mother, you would've still been bitter toward me and this exact same scenario would've still played out. You're not a god, yet. I can still see the future." he explained.
Mark couldn't really come up with an argument, for that. He hated admitting it, but Chronos was right. If he had tried to be a part of his life, the same feelings would have still happened, no matter what. "So if nothing changes and you know how I'm going to feel about you, why are you still trying-"
As Mark and Chronos continued to bicker, Chronos held his hand up, shushing Mark. "You all know that I know you're listening in, right? Chronos, my dudes. God of Time. Omnipotence, all that jazz." he said, referring to Lux listening in, but also Ikuki, from inside Mark's room. "It's totally cool, you don't have to eavesdrop. It's not like I'm talking about some super secretive magic stuff."
Ikuki creaked open the door to Mark's room, and peaked out, feeling slightly called out.
Chronos absolutely took notice of her being in Mark's room, freshly showered, and in her pajamas. "HAH! I knew you were fucking her!"
Ikuki and Mark both blushed profusely, both of them protesting at once.
"WE ARE NOT-"
"WE HAVEN'T-"
Both interrupted each other, trying to scramble for words. Mark was finally able to spit out, "DAD. First off, there's kids here obviously listening! Second, I'm asexual!"
Chronos just grinned his stupid smug grin, completely ignoring what Mark had said.
"Ugh, nevermind." Mark buried his face in his hands.
"Um. We took care of the...Terians?" Ikuki said, unsure if that was the correct word for them. She didn't really care if it was or not, so long as she could try to derail Chronos and change the subject. "They were acting really weird around Mark, and retreated. Their leader acted like he didn't want to come back."
"That tracks. The gods banished them from Earth, they're scared shitless of us." Chronos shrugged. "But the danger is still there, especially now that they know we're here and not floating around in space anymore. Sooo...you two." he smirked, and Mark and Ikuki both realized he wasn't going to be derailed so easily. "I mean, I saw the future, but I don't care about spoilers so I didn't pry too much."
Mark sighed a deep sigh, wanting nothing more than to just kick his father out, but he was tired. Everyone was tired. And hell, Chronos seemed like he was at least making an effort to get to know Mark. Better late than never, he supposed? "I am going to make coffee. You can stay, for one coffee. At the end of that one coffee, you leave. Deal?"
"Hey, it's a start." Chronos shrugged, and agreed.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 9, 2023 22:23:29 GMT -6
Lux froze when he was called out. He slowly looked to his brother, color draining from his face. He was in trouble, right? But how did he know? How did the other person know that he was creeping on the other side of the door? Lux couldn’t recall on making any clunking noises or creeks. And Nox was mostly quiet.
“Did you forget how to open the door?” Nox said to him in confusion. “I mean...You kind of got caught.”
“Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious.” Lux narrowed his eyes at his brother before grabbing him by the collar of his pajama shirt. He then tugged his twin through the doorway and revealed him and his brother to Chronos.
“Hello, Sir.” Nox greeted him. “I’m just going to let you know that I had no part of eavesdropping. That’s all on my brother.”
“Wow...Way to throw me under the bus.” Lux groaned before falling silent as Chronos and Ikuki began to talk about the Terians. He wanted to make sure that he understood exactly what was going on, as he was unsure as to what such creatures were.
Nox tilted his head when the big blow-out of...them apparently...doing the thing? “Lux? Is...he talking about what I think he is?”
“Nox?” Lux sighed as he turned to his twin. “When it comes to what you’re thinking? I don’t even think Mind-readers can understand what’s going on in that brain of yours. There’s way too many possibilities.”
“...Is Ikuki going to ha-”
Lux threw his head back out of exasperation and clasped his hand over his brother’s mouth again. For the hundredth time. “Sorry, my brother lacks a filter sometimes. He...sort of struggles with social cues and whatnot. Isn’t that right, Nox?”
“...” Nox didn’t want to say anything in case Lux tightens his hand over his mouth.
“Wait...You say you can see the future...What...about the past?” Asked Lux.
“Lux...Wait no...” Nox said to him. “Let’s not change the subject.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 9, 2023 23:09:42 GMT -6
Chronos thought for a moment, to answer the boys questions. "It's technically not eavesdropping if it wasn't a secret, yes I was, yes, in the future, and yes I can see the past. I've quite frequently traveled to the past. It's super nice. Less pollution."
"Dad, don't." Mark warned.
"Ah, yeah, we don't change the past to alter the future." Chronos didn't exactly know what Lux was going to ask, but he'd been around for millenia and seen countless religions pray for the same thing. "If you alter the timeline, you alter everything. Your future, everyone you've ever met, people you haven't even met, people you would have met, and chances are it will most likely end up even worse than before as a way of the universe trying to balance itself. So, whatever thought you've got in your head," Chronos poked Lux's forehead. "Keep it there."
"Dad, I swear to whatever god I have to swear to, that I will kick you out, if you don't show a little sympathy. You know, an actual human emotion." Mark warned him, a second time.
Chronos rolled his eyes and sighed, trying to be nicer for his sons sake. "It's called the butterfly effect, kid. You know Apollo, right? I've tried so many times to go back and stop him from being built. I tried stopping the very idea of him. Several times, I succeeded. You know what happened? Every single time, the world still got blown up. It didn't matter how many different ways I tried to change the past, the same outcome still happened. Sometimes, even the gods are powerless against fate. I'm sorry kid, I really am, but whatever you're thinking, the best thing to do is just accept that it won't change."
"Lux, I..." Mark stopped to think for a moment, not wanting to side with either one and risk their day being ruined. "I think we should talk about this later, okay?" While his dad was right about the butterfly effect, from what he'd gathered from the other gods, his dad was also an idiot. If Mark could steal a dinosaur...who knows what else was possible? "One coffee, as agreed upon." Mark handed Chronos a coffee, as he sipped on one, himself.
"So, are these your kids, too? Cause if so, you either figured out time travel or we need to have a serious talk." Chronos sipped on his coffee as slowly as possible.
"Oh my god, Dad, Lux and Nox are my friends. They're like brothers, to me. How about we talk about you, for a change. About my apparent uncle and cousin that I was never told about and why I've never met them?" Mark tried changing the subject.
"Well, you did meet Dawn. Her father is part of the council on my side of the world, so chances are you wouldn't get to meet him unless you visit. He's technically my half-brother, and a total grump. You'd probably get along, making jabs at my expense." Chronos joked, well aware that his own family hated him, but didn't seem to have the empathy to care. "Dawn hangs around the bookstore here, if you ever wanted to talk to her about my side of the family."
"Maybe. It would be nice to try and connect with more family." Mark said, actually curious as to what his dad's side of the family was like.
"Wait, the dragon girl Nox and I met, earlier? That Dawn? She's a relative? What are the odds of that" Ikuki wondered to herself.
"Cousin, and at this point I think Fate is just doing this to screw with me." Mark said with a shrug, trying to finish his coffee quickly so he could get Chronos out, faster.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 9, 2023 23:48:14 GMT -6
The question lingered so heavily in his mind and Lux still desired the idea of asking him about it. But before he could even get a word out, he was immediately shot down. First, it was the poke on the forehead, then it was the explanation of how things could be altered so drastically, or things could’ve become worse. Far worse. Then it was just the over-all tone of Chronos’ voice where it didn’t seem like he cared about what he was saying. That annoyed him a little bit.
But still, those thoughts lingered in his mind. Lux wanted to go and see his Mother again. Hear her sing one more time. Be hugged by her again. He just didn’t want Reese to be the one to raise him and Nox. He wanted a happier childhood. A better one. And that was all just too hard to ask?
His mind was too fixed on his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear Chronos speak about Apollo. Lux only nodded in response, to make it seem like he was actually listening. However, Nox on the other hand, was actually listening intently to the discussion. And he was the one that was beginning to understand everything happening.
“So...it’s no use then? As a God, you can’t make it change?”
“Lux...” Nox said to him. “Please, can we not talk about this?”
“Why? Why can’t we talk about this?” Lux snapped at his brother. “They’re freaking Gods. They can travel across time at their very whim, do whatever they want, toy around and giggle when things fall apart. But they can’t just...go and fix something?”
“You...missed the whole thing, he just explained it-“
“Don’t you even care, Nox? Or are you too socially inept to understand it?”
“Please don’t talk like that...” Nox whispered. “Reese says things like that.”
Nox’s words infuriated Lux as he threw his hands in the air. His emotions were getting the best of him and he wasn’t going to listen. “They have the damn power to do as they please. They break things and leave them for others to fix it for them. What’s bringing one person back from the dead gonna do? Huh? It’s not going to blow up the planet or do anything like that!”
“Lux...” Nox was trying to keep himself calm but seeing his brother, was beginning to make him nerved out. “Please stop...” He covered his ears as Lux continued to rant about the whole scene.
“No, it’s because no one wants to do a dang thing about anything! What fear did Mark have for going into the past to bring back a damn dinosaur? Hm? Nothing came from that so wh-“
Nox clenched his eyes closed and shouted at his brother, all the while keeping his hands over his ears. “MOM AND DAD ARE DEAD, JUST ACCEPT IT AND MOVE ON...” He then felt terrible for raising his voice and he spoke softer; “Please...Just...stop making it hard on everyone. Yourself included...” His voice weakened as he was fighting back his own tears. “The sooner you accept it...the...easier...it gets...”
Lux yelled in a bitter rage and shoved his brother after calling him an idiot. As a response, Nox only backed away from his brother and didn’t retaliate against him. Instead, he inched over to Ikuki and hid beside her. Using her as protection, he knew Lux wouldn’t freak out on him again.
Another frustrated yell came from Lux as he darted out of the room. “This is so stupid!” He didn’t want to stop to listen to anyone. Right now, he was just so fed up with everything, that he didn’t want to see anyone.
Nox leaned into Ikuki and watched his brother throw a tantrum. He wiped his eyes as he calmed himself down. After taking a breath, Nox said to them; “I know I probably don’t need to say this...but I’m sorry... Lux...” He stopped speaking as he hated talking about his brother behind his back.
“He just doesn’t understand that things like that, cannot be fixed so easily...” He frowned. “I want to talk to him...but I think he just...needs a breather...” Nox then rubbed his face. “I...I can sit here, if that’s okay...I won’t draw any attention...”
Nox then sat down on the nearest chair. He pulled his legs up to his chest and fell silent. Everything was going so well. Then that one thought crosses his brother’s mind and he flips on a coin toss. Nox felt terrible for him, he really did. But the thing he had been forced to endure was, the truth about life. When people die, they typically don’t come back. They can’t. And those who live, needed to continue to move on.
Although he was more-so talking to himself, he was speaking out loud. “...Those dreams of his are going to drive him mad...”
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Post by Moe on Nov 10, 2023 9:03:13 GMT -6
The whole outburst made everyone feel awkward, but Chronos was used to such tantrums and didn't think too much of it. Mark sighed, and set his coffee down; "I'll go talk to him."
Chronos stopped him from following Lux, and shook his head. "Don't. You don't know enough about the consequences to be able to talk to somebody like that. I've been around for ten-thousand years. I've seen plenty of people throw toddler tantrums at not getting their way. We don't exist to just do whatever a single person wants us to do, we exist to help humanity as a whole. We live on this planet, too. If it's a shitshow, then we do something about it. One person, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't matter."
The last comment made Mark visibly angry, but Chronos spoke before he could yell at him; "Or in a way that you would understand, you can't help everyone. If you try to help every single individual who thinks they need help, you're going to end up missing something really important. Bringing their parents back might not end in the results they think they want."
"How would you know, if you don't try?" Mark didn't really agree that they should meddle in time, but it was a genuine question.
"Omnipotence. Remember? I can be everywhere in time, all at once. Now that I know enough to see what the hell that kid was talking about, I can tell you right now. Don't. Meddle." Chronos warned Mark specifically, but it was directed at all of them. "Kid's already a brat, don't make it any worse by giving in to what he thinks he needs. I know I'm not the world's greatest dad and I know I'm not the most liked of the gods, but trust me when I say that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to meddling. Plus, the dead isn't within my jurisdiction. That's up to Anubis. Past or present, he's in charge of the dead. Let the kid sulk, he'll figure it out on his own."
"Okay, I think the one coffee is up." Mark said, not really wanting to get into any more emotional conversations. "I'll try and talk with Dawn tomorrow, to apologize for absolutely terrifying her. I promised we'd look at some magic bookstores in the historical district, anyway. Maybe that'll give Lux some time alone, to just cool down."
"Cool. I'll tell her dad to tell her to meet you there. Who knows? Maybe he can get away from the council long enough to show up." Chronos handed Mark the half-finished coffee. "Never was a fan of coffee, but your uncle is. You're a lot alike, I think you two will get along." he said with a half-grin. "It was nice talking to you. Genuinely. I know you think I'm a shit dad, but I do care about you, Tiffany, and your future family."
"Wait wh-" before Mark could even ask what that was supposed to mean, Chronos was gone. No fade out, no walking out the door, just gone. "And there he goes. Doing what he's always done best. Disappearing." Mark sighed. "I'm really, really sorry about all of this. I wanted today to end on a good note, but Dad just...ruins everything. Every freaking time."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 10, 2023 17:58:11 GMT -6
During the night, Lux lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. His mind repeated everything on full replay. Over and over. The words. The expressions. Even the comments he heard that came from Chronos. then his mind wandered over the disgusting comments that Reese always used against him. Over and over again, he heard his voice echo in his thoughts.
Lux placed his hands on his forehead out of stress. His mind wouldn’t stop playing. It kept going. And going. He tossed and turned in his bed. He rolled to the side so that his back was facing Nox. But nothing.
He grew angry with himself. Pressing firmly against his forehead, he gritted his teeth. He even slapped his forehead a few times with his balled up hand. “Sleep... Sleep...” He clenched his jaw tightly, almost to the point it hurt. But he still couldn’t sleep. And all that he managed to do was get himself more worked up. Frustrated. Loathing himself.
His emotions surged and roared. Anger towards himself and the reality that he lived in, all burned within him. Making him want to scream and cry. Run and just disappear. He hated himself more than anything right now. He hated feeling weak. Feeling vulnerable. He loathed his nightmares that constantly haunt him every single night.
Something fell off a shelf and broke. Or...it sounded like it did.
Lux looked up to see that it was a mug. Somehow it fell off the shelf and landed against a wall. But his mind was so wrapped up in everything, he didn’t care on how it fell or why it ended where it did. He just wanted to cry.
Then there was a hand that touched his shoulder.
Lux turned his head to see that the sound had awoken Nox from his sleep. And that he had reached over to Lux to comfort him. Even though Lux didn’t want anything to do with anyone, he didn’t push his brother away. He turned away from him, not daring to look him in his face and cry.
Nox scooted his cot beside his and wrapped his arm over his brother’s shoulder. Also sharing his blanket with him to make sure Lux was warm enough to get comfortable. “It’s okay to be sad.” Nox whispered. He knew that he was supposed to give his brother space. But he just couldn’t help himself to trying to comfort him. Lux was his twin brother and even with the sharp words said, he knew Lux didn’t mean it. So he didn’t hate him for anything he did.
There was silence as Lux couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“You don’t have to speak either.” Nox whispered to him as he snuggled his brother. However doing this, he was actually quite surprised to see that Lux wasn’t fighting him. He was accepting the comforting gesture and even held his hand over Nox’s wrist, silently letting him know that he was hearing him.
“I know I don’t say this enough...but I want to let you know that I love you, brother. If there’s any way I can help you, please let me know...”
The words struck him hard and Lux quietly sobbed. He didn’t feel like he deserved it. After all, he was being so hard to deal with as of late. He was mean. He was short with everyone. Above all else, he was also super angry with everyone and everything. There was so much hate in his heart right now, that it stung. But hearing his brother tell him that he loved him, made him cry.
Nox rubbed his back, knowing that was a gesture that often soothed him on a bad day. He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do to his own brother, but he wanted to give it a try. And if Lux made any movement which opposed it, he would immediately stop. But once again, he was struck by surprise when his brother didn’t push him away.
In fact, he thinks it was beginning to work. Soothing him enough to where he’d be able to get some shut eye. But the sad thing was, as Nox recalled, Lux rarely had a good sleep because of his night terrors. Whatever it was, or whoever it was, that tried to reach him, was doing more damage to Lux than it was helping him. And Nox was quickly gathering that.
Before they knew it, both of them fell to sleep.
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Post by Moe on Nov 10, 2023 18:20:39 GMT -6
After Chronos had left and Nox wandered off to bed, Mark decided to try and get some sleep, too. He'd hoped a hot shower would relax him, but all that did was allow him time alone with his own anxious thoughts, which didn't help put him to sleep at all. Still, Ikuki forced him to go to bed and try and get some sleep. After all, he was still mostly-human.
He did admit that having Ikuki sleeping next to him, was comforting. She lay on her side with one arm around him and snuggled against him, having fallen asleep rather quickly. He wished it was that easy, for him. He couldn't think of what point it was that he'd stopped sleeping or eating, as it was never brought to his attention until recently. The thought caused more anxious thoughts to buzz around in his head, as he was slowly coming to the realization that he wasn't normal and was never going to be normal.
He closed his eyes, in a desperate attempt to fall asleep. Until finally, all there was, was blank space. Again. Dream space. Mark couldn’t recall at what point he’d fallen asleep in the real world, but the fact that he was here again was like he wasn’t sleeping at all, so what was the point? He sighed, and gave in. He brought up the giant globe from before, looking for people’s dreams. Specifically, Apollo. “If I’m going to be stuck here, I might as well work.” He grumbled, annoyed. Apollo was sentient, and if Ikuki could astral project herself into Apollo’s mind, then so could he. Except,
“Okay, that’s enough.” A voice boomed from somewhere, and in that instant the darkness vanished and suddenly Mark was inside what looked like a library or office. “You’ve been messing around in the dreamscape for long enough, and it’s starting to give me a headache.”
“What.” Mark said flatly. “Oh. Right. Which one are you?”
“Spider.” The figure showed himself, finally. He didn’t look like the others. He looked…normal. Average height, short, messy, orange hair, dressed like a college professor. The only odd thing about him, were the thick sunglasses that didn’t allow for any light to reach his eyes. “I’m the embodiment of both good and evil. I’ve got two of the gods’ souls in one body. I’m also in charge of dreams, souls, emotions, you know, everything associated with alignment. And you!” he poked a finger into Mark’s chest. “You are messing that up!”
“What? How??” Mark swatted him away.
“Time is able to see and project memories, things that have already happened! Manipulating memories, dreams, and thoughts are all my thing! Well, the evil part of me. I don’t actually condone doing that, but I do have the ability to do it. You don’t.” Spider explained.
“What is a dream, but memories?" Mark shrugged. "Every moment we ever live in, is within time. Everything that's ever happened is in the past, everything that's going to happen is in the future, but time is always moving. The dreamscape is...fascinating. Time doesn't know how to move, in here. Did you know that five minute's worth of dream time, might be about five hours in the real world? Or, it could be the complete opposite. Time moves in every direction, so every moment is within time. I wouldn't be able to enter the dreamscape at all, if that wasn't the case."
“Oh. Um. Actually...” Spider wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Every god had their own jurisdiction, and what Mark had said would technically put him within all of theirs. "I think I might have to talk with Athena, about that."
“I haven't figured out how I'm astral projecting, though.” Mark shrugged.
“Astral projection isn’t necessarily an ability limited to magic-users. Some people are just able to do it, without explanation.” Spider was a little bit more on edge at this point. Mark seemed to have an understanding of things that the others didn't. If Mark was able to do things that only the other gods could do, that could lead to some problems once he accepted godhood. "I think you should probably leave, though. Your powers bleeding into mine is going to cause some problems on a cosmic scale."
“Wait,” Mark stopped him. “I’m trying to get into contact with Apollo. Can I at least stay long enough to talk to him?”
“Hm. I’ll allow it. Just don’t bring anyone else in the dreamscape, again. You’re not in charge of it, and you can’t control what happens. People can have serious nightmares, if they don’t know what they’re doing.” The room suddenly shifted, and changed into Apollo’s chamber. “So, here he is. You can't speak to him, though. Believe me, I've tried. It's like he's programmed to ignore magic.”
“Ugh. Fine. That plan is out the window. I guess…just leave me here, then. I’ll try and dream up a way of contacting him, when I wake up.” Mark was suddenly alone, dreaming of Apollo and a way to contact him. The more he felt himself drifting away, however, he realized he was no longer in Apollo’s chamber. All he could think about, was apologizing to Lux. Even the thought of actually going back and fixing things, crossed his mind. With all those thoughts swarming through his head, Mark didn't know if he was in a dream or if he had actually projected himself back in time, all he knew was that he was most definitely no longer with Apollo.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 10, 2023 18:49:30 GMT -6
Even with his brother’s comforting measures, Lux was still tossing and turning. That's all he's ever done for as long as he could remember. Sleepless nights and many nightmarish dreams always haunted him. Following him wherever he went. Lux knew not of how sleep could potentially be restful and relaxing. As those nights were far too rare for him to have as his mind was in a constant anxious state. Dwelling. Fishing for memories of which he longed to recall in a much better and clearer fashion.
His heart raced as he began to dive deeper into his own thoughts. Words from his brother Reese, lingered in the back of his mind. Taunting him. Teasing him. Mocking him about how lackluster he was in comparison to his own twin. Reese never seemed to leave the boy alone. Awake or within his own dreams. And to see him, was a constant reminder that Lux was in a terrible state of mind.
Sucking any hope he had, dry. Leaving him feeling like a wasted shell of an elf. Half-elf or changeling, or whatever Reese claimed him to be. It didn't matter as he was nothing more than an insult to the family name. But as for Lux's twin? Nothing. He was the Golden gift. The favorite. And Lux couldn't understand why and all he could feel was a small lingering sting of resentment towards his twin. Why was Lux so special but not him?
A thought that quickly melted away as a melodic song rang through the air. A female’s beautiful voice filled the void of the fuzzy world in which Lux was trapped within. As the sights became clearer, he could hear whispers of voices surrounding him. Excitement. Awe. Fascination. Love. He could hear all of the positive sounds growing in levels. It was something all too familiar to him.
Slowly, the world began to reveal itself through the faded memories of the young boy. The location was within a massive opera hall. Golden in color, decorative trimmings could be seen all over the walls and within the balcony that hung over those below. Seats made of satin red, lined up in hundreds of rows. Each of them, filled with excited civilians. All of them, varied in species and sizes. Genders and families.
In this opera house? No one had to worry about what they came from. Everyone at this given moment, were treated as equal. All of them, enjoying the hauntingly beautiful melodic voice of a woman singing atop the stage. Wearing a beautiful golden gown, glistening in the bright lights, sparkling. She had purple hair, wrapped back in a bun filled with flowers. Her makeup, expertly done to make her appear like a Goddess.
She sang a song in a foreign language. Beautiful to the ears, her voice reached into the souls of those who listened to her. Her smile, could brighten the gloomiest of folks. And as she gracefully moved across the stage, she continued her song, the lights danced along with her. Ballet dancers performed their roles in the background, moving around and twirling in their costumes.
Lux could could remember sitting in the chair beside his two brothers. Back then, Reese wasn’t completely nasty to him. In fact, the younger version of Reese smiled excitedly as his eyes were fixed on the performance before him. Glistening with delight and awe, he was entranced by the beauty.
Then there was Nox. Sitting beside Lux with his hands over his ears but his eyes fixed on the stage. The booming music echoed much too loudly for him to be able to tolerate. However, his desire to watch the performance was much greater than his discomfort. And so, sitting there with his ears covered, was the easiest and most logical way to solve his dilemma.
It was a long time since he felt this way, but Lux could feel the genuine happiness that he obtained whenever he saw his Mother. To him, there was no one else better than her. She had a voice that could soothe the soul, a smile that can brighten the gloomiest of days, and a gentle personality that comforted anyone she was near. This, was all how he recalled her being like.
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Post by Moe on Nov 10, 2023 19:02:00 GMT -6
Mark opened his eyes, expecting to wake up. However, he was someplace new. Someplace he didn’t recognize. He hadn’t had dreams of his own in, he couldn’t remember how long. This had to have been someone else’s dream. He tried thinking of who would be dreaming of such a fancy setting.
Then it clicked.
His thoughts were derailed, going from finding Apollo, to helping Lux and Nox. After all, he could travel through time and stop them from losing their parents. He had no idea how, but if he could bring a dinosaur back, surely this would be easy once he figured it out. He was in one of the boys’ dreams. He wasn’t sure which one, but had a guess. He followed the crowd into the auditorium, looking around to see if he could find Lux and Nox. It was a huge building, so finding two young children in such a big crowd was a daunting task.
He couldn’t tell if this was a memory or a dream, and decided it was probably better to keep his distance from them just in case it was a dream and they saw him. Spider had told him that he couldn’t alter memories, but he’d proven that he could alter dreams, so he had to be careful. “Wait, isn’t this when…” it finally occurred to him where he was, and the stories they’d both told him. “I don’t feel comfortable being here, anymore. How do I get out??”
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Post by Banshee on Nov 10, 2023 19:13:44 GMT -6
Neither twin knew anything about Mark's arrival. Their eyes were so fixed on what was being shown before them. “Wow...” Lux said to his brother as he hugged him. “Mom’s so good!”
Nox only smiled as he adjusted his glasses from his brother pressing against him.
As the song reached its climax, the woman held her hand outwards. As her gaze was fixed on Mark, her jewelry dangled off her wrist which caused sparkling lights to flicker about. If he hadn’t known any better, he may have thought she was actually looking at him. But in reality, she was merely looking out at the crowd, reaching out to them to touch their weary souls with the power of her voice. However, right as she pulled her hand back to continue with the symphony, there was a loud crash which was followed by a gun shot.
The woman gasped as she placed her hands against her chest, tightly. When she glanced downwards, she noticed red seeping through her clothes and fingers. A shot had been fired and planted itself within her chest. At first, there was an expression of pain and then shock. Which was then followed by her body growing limp as she fell towards the side. Upon her falling, a man with hair color similar to Reese, leaped onto the stage to grab for her.
Screaming echoed in the air as people began to panic. People started to run in all directions. Pushing into one another. Climbing over the chairs and fallen victims. Everyone was out to save themselves and nothing more. But as they scrambled, more bullets were fired. More bodies began to fall.
Standing at the entrance, stood a group of robots from the Cornelia Corp Sentinel Unit. They were the ones gunning everyone down. They were the reason for the nightmarish dreams Lux was living through on a nightly basis. Reliving the panic. The sadness. The terrifying moment of watching people he knew, collapse onto the ground with shots piercing through them.
“Get out of here!” Screamed Baptiste as he issued an order to Reese before laying the deceased singer onto the surface of the stage. He threw his hand outwards, demanding Reese to get going. “Get Nox out of here now!”
Reese nodded and grabbed his brother's hand, tearing him away from Lux as he tried to escape through the nearest exit. Not once did he glance back to see if Lux was following behind him. He knew what he needed to do and he needed to do it effectively.
Even though Lux was all too familiar with everything going on within the memory; he never once realized that his Father specifically demanded Reese to only save Nox and not both of the twins. But during the chaos unfolding around him, Lux didn’t take this into thought and simply scrambled after them both. With Nox, reaching out towards him, trying to grab Lux’s hand so that he didn’t get separated.
Only once did Lux glance back and what he saw, was a wave of robots filing into the opera house. Gunning down all of the viewers, making waste to those who stood before them. Guards tried to stop them but they each were met with a terrible fate as the robots simply followed their orders and leveled them with their own weapons. And standing within the middle of them all, was Jet. The Vulture-like robot with an arrogant grin on his face. The beast that has been stalking after Lux within every one of his dreams, since the creation of this event.
Jet would point in certain directions and whatever unit he called out to, would obediently move in that direction. Splitting them to cover more area and to kill more who dared to defy and stop him. He then snapped his attention in the direction of the boys making their getaway. Speaking in another language, he pointed at them and the two robots closest to him immediately diverted their attention towards the escaping boys. All three then making their moves towards them.
But none of them could get too far, as the one who stood before them was Baptiste. His blade was drawn and his attention was coldly directed at the robots. Beside him, four others stood with their weapons drawn. Protecting the remaining citizens within the house. Baptiste said; “You're not touching him.”
Jet laughed, mocking him. “You're dumber than you look. You've lost your rights. Now to pay back what is owed...” He pointed at him with a vulture-like smile. “You're nothing more than worm food now.”
The roach looking robot on his right had made a move towards him. A blade protruded from her gauntlet as she proceeded to step closer to Baptiste. He cowered before her, pleading and begging her to spare his life. But what really got him to meet his end, was something he had asked of her.
Nox and Lux weren't within earshot. So neither child would know what was actually being said. But Baptiste pleaded to Roach with a disgusting; “Please spare Reese, Nox, and myself. The other one doesn’t matter, he’s only a defect. He’s the one you want. Spare us and I promise...you won't be disappointed.”
His words seemed to have stung Roach a bit. There was a small flinch before she swiftly moved her arm. It was a clean cut but nothing too gruesome. However, his body froze up and jolted and in a fashion that was much like the woman on the stage; he collapsed onto the floor with a thud. His eyes, fixed on the Vulture robot that was leaning down towards him. Watching him, listening to his final words.
“I am already disappointed.” Jet scoffed as he pushed the man’s head in a dismissing manner. “Get them.” He ordered Roach and the other robot to proceed with their duties on capturing the children. “Capture the three of them. We’ll see what’s planned for them after.”
Jet wanted to keep them alive for whatever reason.
As his two companions darted off, Jet proceeded to laugh maniacally and issued more orders for his other robots to continue with their attack. “DESTROY ANYONE WHO STANDS BEFORE YOU. BUT KEEP THE BOYS ALIVE.” He then laughed and added; "After all, we need to see if the experiment on the one, was a success."
After he carelessly kicked Baptiste out of his way, he stopped for a moment. Looking downwards, as if he appeared to care about the man that was just slaughtered. Slowly, he turned his gaze towards Mark's direction. “Time to clean up the problem...”
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Post by Moe on Nov 10, 2023 19:44:26 GMT -6
Mark didn't want to be in this moment, he felt it was violating the boys' memories without their knowledge. They had told him before what had happened, and he was expecting it, but to witness it exactly as it happened felt...wrong. Actually, it felt too wrong. Too perfect. Even traumatic memories will have fuzzy moments, blurred faces, and murmured voices. This felt like more than a memory or a dream, and as the woman singing faced him, he wasn't sure if she could actually see him or not. Surely that wasn't possibly, if this was a memory simply replaying itself. Although, memories could be manipulated.
Mark braced himself for the ensuing chaos, knowing he wouldn't be able to do anything. Hearing the boys talk about it was one thing, but actually seeing it for himself was sickening, especially knowing that he could technically go back and stop it all from happening. In fact, if he did indeed manage to project himself back in time, even if only through a memory, maybe he could do something?
As their father pleaded for their lives, Mark thought about how he could save him. If he was actually projecting himself into the past, maybe he could actually have an impact on it. Then their dad said something...something that neither of the boys were around to hear. That alone was confirmation that this wasn't one of their memories, or a dream. Mark stopped, frozen in the moment, trying to rationalize everything that was happening and what was being said. He still didn't know if this was a memory or astral projection, but if it was a memory, it wasn't Lux or Nox's.
"Who's memory am I in?" he asked himself, quietly, as it continued to unfold around him. When he looked up, it seemed as though, once again, someone was staring directly at him. This time, it was the robot that haunted Lux's dreams. "Who are you? Why is everyone treating Lux so terribly?" he spoke out, knowing that, logically, nobody could hear him. He just needed to ask the questions out loud, since that always helped him think.
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