After everything that transpired with Abigail, the mission was finally over. Anthony did everything he said he would. He was able to bring Terios back alive. Abigail for the most part was also defeated.

All of Oasis’ friends had made it to see another day and honestly, that was all he could ask for. Because of that, he was smiling.

The helicopter was taking Terios, Oasis, Cecilia, and Talia back to the West Wing area for the Genomes in California. It was pretty far away from Maryland. Besides with everything they have reported they would need the rest.

Talia was still resting on a hospital bed anchored down to the back of the chopper, still being hooked up to an IV.

Terios on the other hand was staring out the window… being sat in the back and away from others. He was in a very distraught mood. He was now placing some trust in a complete stranger.

He didn’t know what to expect, but he wasn’t happy to go back to them; Vin-Sync.

More nervous than him was Cecilia who was wondering if she handled things the right way. There was a lot of attention that she drew to herself and the other genomes. Most of their kind was a myth.

Only a select few people knew about this. They had special privileges due to the state of the world. But, if what they had to undergo got out it could disturb the entire project. If the government had no more use for genomes then they were expendable.

She started to bite her thumb as she lightly shook in her seat even when seated next to her boyfriend.

“It’s going to be ok.” Oasis said as he looked over to his girlfriend, moving his hand to grab her wrist to pull her thumb out of her mouth.

“How do you know that?” She snapped at him.

“All of us are alive. We stopped Abigail’s forces, even if it’s not permanent we halted their movements for a while.”

“You know they always want results. We don’t know for sure if she’s dead.”

“She is.” Terios muttered.

“... How do you know? Did you cut off her head to make sure?”

“She was strong, but I broke her mentally. She had no defenses so my attack was fatal.”

“These are just assumptions! We have to be thorough about this, Kain!”

“I made sure to bring your so-called boyfriend back. He took a surreal level ass beating.”

Upon hearing this Oasis couldn't help but laugh! He couldn't deny this because it was very true. He soon turned his head back to look at Kain.

“I’m still sore. None of y’all pulled your punches. I never want to experience an ass-whooping like that again.”

“Sorry, I was so useless… I should have done more.” Cecilia pouted as she touched his face.

“You did enough. If it was up to me I’d be doing all of these missions alone and you’d be chilling with our future son.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Cecilia blushed upon hearing this.

“We’re at the kid's stage of our relationship already?”

“Shiiit with everything we’ve been through already. I’m ready to settle down. Here’s to an early retirement.”

“Hey. Can I at least get a head’s up of what I’ll be walking into?” Kain asked in an annoyed tone.

“I don’t want you to be overwhelmed. But, listen, I’ll fill you in since we have a long ride ahead of us.” Oasis started.

Terios nodded at this and prepared to listen to the long-winded speech.

“Ever since your little… meltdown in the West Wing building. Vanessa pushed forth change in the genome community.”

“How so?”

“They try not to teach genomes as inhumanely as they did before.”

“Emphasis on try.” Cecilia chimed in.

“There’s only so much she can do. She has limited control. After all, Michael Vincent is adamant about keeping us on a short leash.” Oasis added.

Terios just nodded and wanted him to continue.

“Michael in his own twisted way saw that we had emotions and human reactions and decided to manipulate them to his advantage.”

“... Manipulate them how?”

“You aren’t the only one who wants to experience being human. To give us that right he developed a point system known as Geos. It’s a currency we use to have human moments.”

“Are you serious…?”

“I am. You want to know the price of having a girlfriend?”

“...?”

“Too much. It’s why we’re keeping this a secret. Try not to spill the beans, ok?”

“You have nothing to worry about. It’d be childish of me to do that.” Terios said as he closed his eyes.

Six and a half hours later.

The group had arrived at the California location. Security was tight here and it was miles away from the public at one of the old abandoned military bases. Currently, the most important war was the one against the otherworldly.

The dirt roads and tropical temperatures stretched for miles. Even while in the air the helicopter was forced to undergo a number of security checks. Once they knew of Terios’ presence they were all too excited to have them enter.

The outside of the building was massive. Numerous dome-like structures were built to research and test the genomes of this wing. This scope of things was run by the woman Oasis had mentioned earlier; Vanessa.

Together with the head nurse, Samantha, and the head commander Eric, this place was run in unison. All in an effort to keep these sections of genomes under wrap and under the thumb of the main person who had created and funded this project; Michael Vincent.

Soon the group descended from the chopper and proceeded to walk into the windowless building. They were inside of the main building and upon entering they were greeted in the main lobby by none other than the man himself; Michael Vincent.

“Well, well, well. What a special reunion. Eric told me you would succeed in your mission, Oasis. Perhaps I underestimated how resilient you could be.”

The halls were large but empty in nature. The sound of his voice carried vastly. The lobby was decorated with numerous potted plants. Upon seeing the creator all of the genomes tensed up until Oasis answered.

“I was told to bring Terios back and so I did.”

“Good. Were you able to dispose of that wretched demon?”

“She’s as good as dead. She won’t see the light of day, thanks to Terios.” He looked over at Kain.

“You’re too humble.” The boss soon approached the trio. “It’s good to have you back, Kain. I missed having the original here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Terios asked.

“I’m surprised you weren’t informed. We never really needed you back here. I just wanted to see if it was possible. We already made a superior version to you.”

“...”

“I’m sure when the time comes he’ll be happy to see you.” He chuckled before looking over at Cecilia.

She immediately looked down before the man walked over to her and started to play with her vibrant hair.

“I heard what happened to your sister. I hope she pulls through. However, I’m a little disappointed that you brought so much attention to us.”

“Sorry.” She whispered quickly and softly under her breath.

“It’s fine for now. You were shown protecting a train full of people from a ruthless demon. That’s good publicity. But, now they want answers and I will have to give it to them.” He sighed.

Cecilia continued to look down, not wanting to make eye contact with him. She was very tense and this only loosened up when Michael turned his attention back to Terios.

“Make sure you enjoy yourself. Because you’re not going anywhere. If you try to go rogue again… well, they can fill you in on what happens when you try that.” He chuckled before walking off.

Terios looked very annoyed by that man. He was barely here for a few minutes and already he wanted to burn the entire place down. He turned his attention to Oasis and immediately questioned him.

“What was he talking about?”

Oasis sighed as he rested his hands behind his head. “Basically if you try to go rogue they’ll send some of the top genomes to hunt you down and… kill you.”

“I’m going to assume they’re pretty strong.”

“Oh yeah… your brother is one of them.”

“Speaking of my ‘brother’ how am I supposed to save him?”

“You see Terios. Your brother is currently in the most danger right now. You probably don’t want to hear this, but…”

“What? Tell me already and stop wasting my time.”

“Your brother is a simp.”

…

“What…?”