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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJwQw78Knr
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTLEoGSMMK
She never watched it happen, but she remembered the image her mind crafted of seeing her mother in Zeus’ place.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8oQj8IcMf
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dDhmXnq5H
Kronos’ voice snapped Achlys back to reality.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6DqtCmIY4
“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?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03i1rX0Pcf
“I remember,” Achlys choked out.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl98V49cHXL
“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.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrKcqdirrn
Achlys was trembling and tears stung her eyes. “He... he’s not yours.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7Yo2SvLle
“What?” Kronos stood up taller, towering over Achlys, nearly twice her size.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcPblwWNkj
“A-and I’m not either.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4Aa2Td8hk
Kronos clenched his teeth and growled in frustration, lifting his hand to strike Achlys across her already injured face.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKqhVJ77rX
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIXd2Qi9zc
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzC9zA4G0p2
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVrcuddoj3
She was staring down death.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtIOu9TxPY
He finally caught up to her.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSnvcac3Fc
The moment she dreaded facing every day over the last decade.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFiD2xbLxZ
Kronos slowly approached Achlys again. “Get up.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFogSv7RPU9
Achlys closed her fists around a handful of ash and shook. Tears soaked the ground below her. “Please...” Achlys whispered her plea.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OhaeIiv9M
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?39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVJYPRRtDD
“I said get up!” Kronos demanded, kicking her curled up from across the ashes and dirt.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26UHdckyPH
It took all her strength to finally obey. She saw no point in sitting around to be killed.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgI2qhbkWm
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvW9VOtFdV
“No- no-” she meekly protested.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZiqXA0Bm8
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiXBdn3BbN
Every muscle in her body seized up, desperate to flee but too afraid that they restricted their own movement.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVykQObDfib
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vEIWiFsjr
Abyssal’s eyes stopped sparking and settled on the pure black color that signified his power at work.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfyVk4Nz8J
“Abyss?... What are you doing?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOng7c4Ef3
“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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LjScHHVVn
“How come you were able to be electrocuted multiple times without any powers and live, but he has to be gone?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiutUvQM8Q5
Achlys’s eyes travelled to Abyss sitting at the bedside with his back turned to her.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpn9E3ygPq8
“How did you know I was awake?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmC9xUHNUoi
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZyGnlabJG
There was a long moment of silence before Achlys spoke again.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VghjGo4EM
“Why did you save me?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtw8rw84pZh
“Sometimes people just save other people, even when they shouldn’t.” 39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSTsDA0XSl
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnuITZVhtE
“Thank you.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7MxNyLt61
No response.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCnyYOT3io
Achlys felt clamps lock around her heart.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8l9qpG6JHT
“And...” she added, “I know it doesn’t help anything... but I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to kill him.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZ5MAjZQhQ
“But you did. Twice.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEmLJXGMU1
Achlys winced. She deserved that. She knew she did.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDsTt5RSzB
“I saved you because you happened to be there. Enemy of the enemy. Kronos had to be stopped, whether you were involved.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoEoJyHcMP
“How did you stop him yourself?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3DpscM9Xh
“I had a head start. Not much you can do once you’re locked down by devour.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqb5SKr7fk4
“You can say that again.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡix1HfC6hD2
Achlys saw Abyss’ shoulders tense.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWzSlo1v0a
His tone was quieter when he spoke again. “How did it feel?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKX5xber07v
Achlys’ eyes widened and she grabbed her right arm. “It... was worse than I ever imagined.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasz3HmarDS
“You’ve imagined yourself in that position?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9JEZ9sxFq
“...More times than I can count.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JglXzqh19
Abyss turned around at last and looked at Achlys in the hospital sheets.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOurHJtBJh
“Why?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKtUYTRHPU
“Kronos was the famil patriarch. I was in the line destined to kill him.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNXl5dyE4b
Abyssal’s eyes fell to the corner of the bed. It was obvious he felt awkward looking at her. Achlys wished he didn’t.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4eUn2nOb7
“Why do you ask?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SJQiilIrg
“I... It was my power. It hurt others, but I never knew how bad it was.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJTbrLT1Hh
“We’ve both hurt people with our powers. I just wish I could undo it. I wish I could bring him back for you.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzgm0hnvnY
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7z8PMH7MW
“Achlys? Achlys?” Abyss said, growing worried.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEH8x0aXZD
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyuViQv7SP
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.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9mk9HwX3t
“What was that?” Abyss asked, sitting on the ground at staring at the space where he literally saw a ghost.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNa77I9pfh
“I- I don’t know,” Achlys stammered. “I think... it was my father’s power.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyAay8KrqF
“Hades?”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCbv3Ie0Kt
“Abyss,” Achlys said astonished, “I think we could bring them back.”
THE END
-To Be Continued-
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