Achlys looked up at her grandfather with terrified eyes. Every muscle in her body was tense as she slowly got to her feet. Her muscles were still shaky from being electrocuted. She took her hand away from her face to show a large, scorched scar like a spider’s web next to her left eye.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOIcf32vKT
Memories of being exposed to dangerous chemicals for her to reproduce as a child flashed in her mind’s eye. Remembering waking up the day night her mother died from a nightmare, only to find it real. Her mother a clammy corpse in her bed, father beaten and sobbing next to her.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNAVXyLvym
She never watched it happen, but she remembered the image her mind crafted of seeing her mother in Zeus’ place.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wBzvpEq8H
Achlys remembered her father telling her she’d be next if they didn’t run from her grandfather, only to be called together for a family meeting. Her grandfather’s cold, alien eyes glaring down at her like she was a curse.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJ5I1hKqAU
Kronos’ voice snapped Achlys back to reality.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoEcEVUQtr
“All the effort I put into taming you and you attempt to destroy my energy reserves. You’re a traitor, Achlys. You’re so disloyal to your own family. Don’t you remember what I told you would happen if you ever turned against me?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6iiwbFfDo
“I remember,” Achlys choked out.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVgCalAl61
“You did cause anarchy at the palace and cause the fall of PISTOL, so at least you fulfilled your purpose before you scarred my creation and began to burn my fuel.” He gestured to Abyss and the land around them. “But now, I have no reason to keep you around.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZtAd4noC4
Achlys was trembling and tears stung her eyes. “He... he’s not yours.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4aRe18UTC
“What?” Kronos stood up taller, towering over Achlys, nearly twice her size.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WnjD6036l
“A-and I’m not either.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt89Q53BAMB
Kronos clenched his teeth and growled in frustration, lifting his hand to strike Achlys across her already injured face.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ccdtJvf6P
She was blown a yard away from the blow and a small line of neon green steam came up from her cheek, flowing steadily to Kronos’ face. He breathed in deeply, eyes turning from a cold grey to a menacing black.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AnIMZadqL
Coughing, Achlys choked back a sob. Her past had finally come for her before she could finish her destiny, before she could ensure the safety of the universe. She thought the hardest part of everything was over multiple times over now.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAr9QbsqXhV
She thought Abyss was okay, but then he disappeared and left her behind. She thought she’d found him and be able to reason with him, but Volt came back and turned him against her. She thought she’d dealt with the one coming between her and her plans, but it just made Abyss come after her. She thought she’d dealt with Abyss and done away with any barriers or emotion that would keep her from global devastation. Instead, she was faced with an indestructible wall.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPSjp4967C
She was staring down death.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcazep0v6W
He finally caught up to her.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcm7Io32iF
The moment she dreaded facing every day over the last decade.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wJpLsKAPp
Kronos slowly approached Achlys again. “Get up.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaWgBdQZLC
Achlys closed her fists around a handful of ash and shook. Tears soaked the ground below her. “Please...” Achlys whispered her plea.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYukUu0DH0a
What am I doing? Please what? Please spare me? You were planning to turn the planet into a wasteland where you’d rot away slowly. You planned your own death. What makes this any different?253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBjMaHezTU
“I said get up!” Kronos demanded, kicking her curled up from across the ashes and dirt.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JEtgey0J3
It took all her strength to finally obey. She saw no point in sitting around to be killed.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsll62ZlwOA
Kronos sneered mockingly, alien features communicating a sense of superiority. He again began to approach her. He reached down and grabbed her neck, lifting her with two fingers as she gasped for breath.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUFwjqQ6GN
“No- no-” she meekly protested.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62NQWfN1Ks
She felt her breath begin to be drawn from her body. The neon color seemed to flake away from her hair and the green streak began to turn white, shortly after the black hair followed. He lungs strained for breath and her vision blurred as the red fire in her eyes faded back to a deep green before it began to fade to an empty white.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMwvyjJBRV
Every muscle in her body seized up, desperate to flee but too afraid that they restricted their own movement.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1kG3KXFnK
But then electricity surged through Kronos and Achlys respectively. The two let out cries of pain. The draining stopped and as the shock faded, Achlys was dropped to the ground where she saw Abyss grasping Kronos’ ankle.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6tZUf9NO1
Abyssal’s eyes stopped sparking and settled on the pure black color that signified his power at work.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ORDL7UvfZ
“Abyss?... What are you doing?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjgRAz7vpP
“Saving you,” he answered firmly just as Achlys faded into unconsciousness.
* * *
Achlys woke up in a hospital, the steady beeping pulse of a heart monitor sounded behind her.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNCFsAI5YT
“How come you were able to be electrocuted multiple times without any powers and live, but he has to be gone?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3kE3IzUPs
Achlys’s eyes travelled to Abyss sitting at the bedside with his back turned to her.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3LNfbj6ci
“How did you know I was awake?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqFAxOzYVS
He just shrugged. “I can sense everyone’s lifeforce now... and I can’t feel others. I don’t know how or why.” He still wouldn’t look at her.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzfdTprWVR
There was a long moment of silence before Achlys spoke again.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLRiAHlfUg
“Why did you save me?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hRu2uDoxi
“Sometimes people just save other people, even when they shouldn’t.” 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAuLfHIEtE
Achlys didn’t know what to think of that. She knew she didn’t deserve to be saved. She thought she was dead. She thought she’d killed Abyss, and she did kill his brother. But it still didn’t make sense why. She stared at the plain, grey floor.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NPl1M7WWJ
“Thank you.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbLHJHOwUX
No response.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCA4emvDOND
Achlys felt clamps lock around her heart.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2YlvBoRIW
“And...” she added, “I know it doesn’t help anything... but I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to kill him.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJM8S6MbI3
“But you did. Twice.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNICZ4AOTC
Achlys winced. She deserved that. She knew she did.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1Finw33xF
“I saved you because you happened to be there. Enemy of the enemy. Kronos had to be stopped, whether you were involved.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXY5lJPif4E
“How did you stop him yourself?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasCyIpAqBl
“I had a head start. Not much you can do once you’re locked down by devour.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYd4elHdnG
“You can say that again.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJM2Rb2UAeo
Achlys saw Abyss’ shoulders tense.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbZasDFdUG
His tone was quieter when he spoke again. “How did it feel?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46q5eshhad
Achlys’ eyes widened and she grabbed her right arm. “It... was worse than I ever imagined.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinYHcj89ms
“You’ve imagined yourself in that position?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9G5M5vwVih
“...More times than I can count.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBV9EAwbBo
Abyss turned around at last and looked at Achlys in the hospital sheets.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJxq6BjrVC
“Why?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPWL75MJLz
“Kronos was the famil patriarch. I was in the line destined to kill him.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eZTQsmkcG
Abyssal’s eyes fell to the corner of the bed. It was obvious he felt awkward looking at her. Achlys wished he didn’t.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChOkS48BIy
“Why do you ask?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywaWQJKoIB
“I... It was my power. It hurt others, but I never knew how bad it was.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJr8zpoqB9j
“We’ve both hurt people with our powers. I just wish I could undo it. I wish I could bring him back for you.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFWq23FjJ4
Suddenly, the lights flickered and the monitor flatlined before everything powered on again. But for Achlys, the strange occurrence only became worse. The echoes of Volt’s dying screams repeated on an overlapping loop in her mind. She gripped her head and stared at the sheets, curling up into the fetal position.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslDBgh2ISr
“Achlys? Achlys?” Abyss said, growing worried.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qrbfn7C5I
Achlys didn’t hear him. The sound was growing to a crescendo. It was deafening. The screams pierced her ears and began to melt her brain. The world around her continued to flicker the way it did as the electricity fried Volt’s nervous system.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV1mPmt4ap
Abyss touched her shoulder, and she jumped away as the earth split below them. A green light rose up and the ghost of Volt appeared. He was still tied to the chair screaming. Abyss leapt away in terror as he stared up, helpless at his brother for just a moment before the earth sealed itself again and he vanished.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZmpW4s1zg
“What was that?” Abyss asked, sitting on the ground at staring at the space where he literally saw a ghost.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnYx2a5ZTp
“I- I don’t know,” Achlys stammered. “I think... it was my father’s power.”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0eSM7O0BZ
“Hades?”253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxPGiYGr9n
“Abyss,” Achlys said astonished, “I think we could bring them back.”
THE END
-To Be Continued-
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