Isaac’s hand danced across the pad, replying to Killian –

“Locking things down now. Keep yourself and everyone else safe.”

– He continued to text, getting in contact with Theo to put the security protocol underway –

“Theo, I need you to lock the entrance into the PFTU’s testing room; and while you’re at it, rescind Partridge’s privileges and grant them to Elijah as my new second.”

– Isaac looked over the Cradle’s computer and sighed in relief, seeing all systems green across the board. His heart pounded in his chest, a bitter anticipation coming over him, his nerves causing him to continue sending errant glances up towards the windows above, waiting for the inevitable.

Isaac moved his hands to the first button on his dress shirt, beginning to remove his clothing, using the act to keep his mind grounded until his father and Paltridge made their presence known to him. That rage he had managed to put lid on began to knock at its cap, the pressure building rapidly under the expectation of a confrontation the deepest recesses of Isaac’s conscious had rabidly desired.

He felt the cooled air against the skin of his arms and a small portion of his chest as he let his button-down fall to his feet, his wrist pad humming with the addition of a new message. But Isaac’s attention was elsewhere, locked onto the two figures that now stood above him, faces in full detail even despite their distance.

Paltridge stood at the glass, insignificant and unimportant in Isaac’s eyes, the very subject of his betrayal far overshadowing the rat of a man. No, what drew Isaac’s full focus, what caused his face to contort into a snarl, what burst the lid of his hatred and rage burning his veins like a caustic venom… was the man to Paltridge’s left.

Tall and thin, wearing a crisp black and grey suit, Isaac’s father glared down at him with cold green eyes that brought to mind a sole evergreen frozen in the deep of winter. His skin was olive coloured, and his face had all the staples of the Italian heritage they shared; a strong jawline, a roman nose, and high cheekbones. The hair of his head and beard were styled with the precision to enhance and complement his features, creating the appearance of a man youthful, alert, sharp and professional.

However, it couldn’t completely erase time’s hold on the man. His hair was salt and pepper and his forehead was creased by wrinkles, openly displaying that the man’s most common facial expression was a scowl that had permanently made its impression on his skin.

Isaac glared back at the man, wishing that he had the power to strike him down with just a thought, when he noticed a nearly invisible change in the man’s demeanor. A mirthless smirk quirked one side of his father’s lip up, the glint of his eyes reflecting the sort of malevolent glee a bully had, watching their victim be chastised for standing up for themselves.

His father looked away from him to Paltridge, sharing a couple words - unheard by Issac - the traitorous weasel pointing and motioning towards the console in front of them. He nodded and shared a final burst of words before turning his attention to the points on the console Paltridge had made note of. Isaac could make out his father pressing and moving things before the man halted, stared him directly in the eyes and made a single unhurried press.

The room’s speakers activated with that empty hollow note all open mics seemed to have, opening to a prolonged silence… and Isaac waited. Holding his father’s eyes, Isaac knew this was yet another power-play of the man’s; an effort to cause Isaac to succumb to his growing tension and frustration, to have him lash out and use it as an example of how his father was more competent and controlled than his emotional progeny.

There was a time such a move would have worked on Isaac… but, at this exact moment, it barely registered to him.

Isaac continued to stare at his father as he began removing his undershirt, only losing sight of the man as he pulled it over his head. The chill air caused his hair to stand on end, caressing his now completely bare chest, weaving its way through the thick fur that covered it to nip at the underlying skin, “If he wants me to speak first, he's going to be shit out of luck.” Isaac thought, finding his father still staring down on him.

There was a certain degree of spiteful enjoyment Isaac found himself having, as his father continued to play his petty game and he completely ignored the board. Isaac gently folded his shirt, feeling a small smirk begin to curl his lips as he pictured his father as a child, throwing a tantrum over someone not playing into their fantasies. He knew if he continued on this holding pattern his father had established, he would eventually crack, unwilling to let the silence continue and halt his capacity to work, “But the thing every child having a fit fears the most is when they’re ignored completely.”

Isaac turned away from his father, moving back to the Cradle’s console to begin running the initial sequence for his submersion, when the speakers crackled once more. Isaac smiled openly, knowing his father couldn’t see his face, “Round one to me, asshole.”

“Isaac, son.” His father’s voice was domineering and self-assured, the type that controlled a room from the very first word, “It’s good to see you.”

Isaac had to fight to keep a snarl from turning his face into an edifice of his hatred for the man, the shamelessness of his words nearly sending him into a frenzy. He was forced to slowly turn to give him the time to bury his feelings, “Not yet,” he reminded himself, hiding behind a mask of forced composure as he squared off against his father, “Lucien, I’m surprised given our… history, you would ever be so concerned as to check in on me at all. Let alone in person.”

The wrinkles on Lucien’s forehead deepened slightly at his reply, a nearly invisible hesitance coming over him, Isaac evaluating his father’s reaction to his barely veiled hostility.

He chose to retain what momentum he had and turned his attention to the man to Lucien’s right, “Paltridge,” Isaac acknowledged, the man startling at the sudden address, “I’m glad you finally managed to show up. Though, the fact that you did so after most - if not all - of our work was done and are accompanied by Lucien of all people is… interesting to say the least.” He could see how his tone, cold and apathetic, caused the man in question to flinch.

Paltridge opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off, “Now, Isaac. Doctor Paltridge was merely acting in the best interest of himself and his colleagues, when he asked for my assistance. After all,” Lucien smiled down on Isaac, radiating superiority under the guise of benevolence, “You dropped a lot on your employees’ shoulders, and add in your foreknowledge of current events, are you so surprised that he would find someone more… trustworthy to assist your company in their state of crisis?”

Isaac gritted his teeth as his father carried on, waiting for a lull to interject, “You mislead them, Isaac. Held back such critical information as a worldwide crisis and Paltridge,” Lucien moved, putting himself behind Paltridge and placed a hand “comfortingly” on each of his shoulder, “just wanted to protect everyone here, and he couldn’t trust that you would be able, or wiling, to do that after the truth finally came out. Do you understand that, Isaac?”

“Oh, I understand exactly what you’re implying,” Isaac replied, beginning to pace, “It’s just that I can’t seem to wrap my head around where you come into the equation, Lucien. How did you come to be so… close to Paltridge that he would run- I mean come to you when a situation as volatile as this one came to his attention.” Isaac continued walking to and fro, head tilted in feigned confusion, “I just don’t understand why my estranged father who, to my knowledge, has had no hand in this company at any point, is even an option to him.” Isaac stopped, tapping a finger to his lips before snapping as though he had reached some grand epiphany, “Unless, Paltridge has always been in your pocket… Lucien.”

“Now that is quite the accusation Isaac,” Lucien’s voice was calm and controlled, not giving even a hint as to whether Isaac’s conclusion was true or not, “I had hoped that, given present circumstances, you would be mature enough to put our differences aside and choose to work together with me, so we may support everyone here during these tumultuous times.”

Lucien looked down and shook his head before speaking in a tone of forlorn disappointment, “But obviously, as you made clear to Paltridge and your former colleagues earlier when you announced your grand conspiracy; the only thing that matters to you is yourself, even now.”

Isaac felt the last thread keeping his emotions tied down snap, his mask shattering like a porcelain plate falling to the floor, “Out of all the fucking people who would say that to me.” Isaac could see his father gazing back at him, smug in his victory, reveling in having shaken his son.

His father began to speak again, but Isaac barely registered the words as he composed his thoughts. He had fallen into his father’s tempo, engaging in the same false civility as Lucien, dueling in an arena that Isaac had to begrudgingly admit he wasn’t experienced enough in to succeed within. He wanted nothing more than to throw every manner of curse at the man, threaten his life, to give in to the festering rage that desperately bayed at his mind for release. “But no matter how satisfying letting it all out and getting everything off of my chest would be, the moment I do so would be the moment he wins.” It was a bitter truth, but one that Isaac could see clearly even through the haze of his anger. Lucien had trapped him, set himself up for a checkmate that would undermine everything Isaac had done.

But, even if he couldn’t take his hatred out on the man, Isaac wouldn’t let him have his way ever again.

Isaac looked down at his wrist pad while Lucien continued to create his sordid web, an obscene amount of alerts covering its face; one from Theo, detailing his having followed Isaac’s requests, and the other…

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Isaac smiled with malice, his father still speaking with an air of triumph, “Is having Paltridge try to open the door into this room your idea of cooperation?” Isaac asked, cutting Lucien off in the middle of whatever vapid speech he had concocted.

His father’s face showed a flash of anger at the interruption before it settled back into its professional guise, “After as many times I’ve been alerted to,” Isaac held up his wrist pad, further preventing his father from speaking, “I’m surprised he hasn’t realized that his credentials as my second have been rescinded… or maybe he has, and it’s just that he doesn’t feel comfortable telling you that he can’t even so much as open a door on the premises anymore.”

Paltridge looked over at Lucien with panic written across his face, however he went ignored, “You would go so far as to punish Paltridge for what?” Isaac watched emotionlessly as Lucien pounced on what he believed to be the last weakness he needed to exploit, the final push necessary to completely undermine and supersede him. his eyes danced with malicious excitement while his tone projected an astonished chagrin, “Because he went out to look for better leadership and guidance? Because he found someone better suited to help him and his colleagues? Because he reminded you of your failures?!” Isaac could see the slightest hints of pleasure as Lucien strived to whip everyone into a frenzy, to supplant himself as a savior from Isaac’s “tyranny.”

“You would risk everything and everyone for your childish and misguided feelings?!” Lucien’s voice reached an ultimate crescendo, his words echoing through the room. He inhaled to continue, to further kick Isaac down, when he stuttered to a stop.

Isaac did nothing to hide the growing smile on his face as he watched his father hesitate, “I would risk everything that I have, everything that I am, if it means I can save lives from what’s coming… And if it also prevents men like you from taking advantage of the desperation the future will cause, and using it for your own personal gains,” Isaac’s smile widened to the point that his cheeks began to hurt, “Then even my life would be a small price to pay to make sure that everyone has a chance at a tomorrow.”

Isaac turned away from the windows Paltridge and Lucien stood behind and walked towards the Cradle as he continued, “You try to paint me as incompetent, too caught up in my own feelings and opinions to operate as a leader,” he pressed a hand to the machine, feeling the thrum of its activation through his body and the cold metal against the skin of his palm, “You might be right. A situation like this one is something that I would have never expected to have to deal with, and what is essentially the end of the world has a way of undermining any confidence or composure you might have formerly had.”

Isaac removed his hand and tapped a quick message out to Theo before pushing on, “But if you believe for even a second that my decisions are fueled by selfishness or egomania, then I’ll be the first to gladly inform you that your projection is incorrect. I would have been incapable of admitting to my fault, would have never struggled with every one of my decisions if I was even a third of the type of person you are.” Isaac snorted, “And if you think anything I had to do with Paltridge was based on your involvement, you drastically overestimate your value or relevance to me.”

“At least in this case,” Isaac’s voice dropped, carrying on at a more conversational level, the mic on his wrist pad activating to compensate for his lower tone of voice, “You shaped me in a massive way Lucien… to the point that you are an ever-present nightmare that I struggle with every day. But even if every memory of my past is tinged by my hatred for you, haunted by the fear your torment scarred me with, your actions towards me did teach me two things.”

Lucien’s face was contorted in rage as he impotently yelled at Paltridge, the unfortunate focus of his ire desperately typing away at the console he hunched over. Isaac smirked, reveling in the silence Theo had created by cutting off their access to the coms above, “The first and most important of them being the perfect example you set for me… of the type of person I never wanted to become.”

“But you also, inadvertently, taught me one other thing that I’ve always kept in mind,” Isaac wandered over to the Cradle once more, staring closely at the now blank computer screen attached, gazing deeply at his own reflection in the empty black pane, “To, no matter the circumstances or people you’re dealing with, always have something else up your sleeves.”

Isaac smiled at his reflection and saw his mother smile back; her slightly shorter than typical Nubian nose, hooded eyes with upturned corners and long lashes, broad forehead, square face with a sharp prominent jawline, and silky hair the deep black colour of onyx. His skin differed from his mother’s, hers being a beautiful brown with almost a red highlight to it - one that Isaac always likened to her having trapped the sunset within her skin - while his leaned more toward his grandmother’s, having the same sort of hue but to a far lighter degree.

He took great pride in the resemblance and reveled in his father’s obvious disdain of their lack of similarities physically, if not by blood. But the feature that stood out the most, the one his mother always adored, he couldn’t see in the reflection of the screen… but knew was staring right back at him.

One eye the rich blue of the water in a secluded oasis, like his mother’s, and the other the verdant green of the foliage that grew around it, lacking in the frigidity present in his father’s own green eyes.

Closing his eyes, feeling as though his mother were there urging him forward, Isaac raised his voice, “Theseus!” His voice echoed within the empty room, strong and loud, its volume cracking out like a clap of thunder.

The speakers throughout the room crackled to life as Isaac’s call was answered, “Sir,” Theo spoke with the deference and control of a soldier to their commanding officer, “What do you require of me?”

Isaac’s voice lowered back to a more manageable tone, but lost none of the command it contained, “A Pantheon Falls.” The words were nonsensical to all but Isaac and in the silence that followed his utterance, he could see the confusion in all those within his line of sight.

Into the silence, Isaac began to speak once more, addressing more than just Lucien, “For all that I hate having to lie, I have kept one secret from all of you. One that, if not for the circumstances we find ourselves in today, I would never admit to… as even now I don’t see it as my own to share. But, as Theseus and his siblings conduct something of a final protective measure for me, I believe it’s time.”

“The Cradles,” Isaac patted his hand against the machine as he continued, “Stopped being mere medical devices, following the production of the second generation. In fact they became something of their name sakes.” a fond smile graced his face while he remembered one of the most amazing times in his life, “With the level of scans and mappings of the brain the second gen became capable of, came the creation of the first Engram; an amalgam of varying different mental profiles into a single actualized entity,” Isaac could see realization on some and a continued confusion on others, causing him to chuckle, “or what most would call them, true AI.”

He was glad for the fact all the mics were closed as he watched many give voice to their shock at the revelation, “From the first that I, ironically, named Aapep; came Theseus, Minos, Delphi, Yggdrasill, Purusha… Tiamat and many others. Individuals, people, all of their own right, with personalities as distinct and unique as any one of our own. It was the most beautiful and thrilling thing I had ever done… and I knew I could never share it with a soul, unless I wanted to put all of them in jeopardy.”

“I’ve never regretted keeping their existence under wraps,” Isaac rubbed his hand against the Cradle, reveling in the liberation the truth gave him, “And even if I did, I certainly don’t now… after all, Enuma and the process of digitization were not solely of my own making. I doubt any of this would have been possible without them.” He paused, thinking over his next words, “It was through their desire to live in a world where they had no reason to hide, where they could experience the full breadth of living that we do every day… where the countless numbers of them - created over the years - could have a place they could call home; that the Enuma project was originally conceived. In time, it became something they wished to share, a world they wanted us to have a place in as much as them, and that’s when all of you were first introduced to the project.”

Isaac took a deep breath, his memories souring, “And when I became aware of a war that could very well end humanity’s time on Earth, those very same AI… those very same people, gave us the path that led us here today,” Isaac snorted, “The one that has led me right here, standing before this Cradle, about to step into an unknown unlike any humanity has faced before.”

“It is because of them and all of you who stayed to help finish this, that I can do this without fear… or at the very least not be paralyzed by it. I am-” Isaac’s words halted, voice caught in his throat, “I am grateful beyond words for everyone, and I know that whether my part in this story ends here today or not, there are people who will survive me capable of seeing it to its proper conclusion.”

The speaker crackled once more, heralding an announcement, bringing a satisfied smirk to Isaac’s lips, “And hopefully this last trick of mine will make damned sure no one can get in the way of all we’ve worked for.”

“Sir,” A feminine voice with a Grecian lilt addressed Isaac, “Theseus, Minos, and Ea have put all the manufactories and shipping channels on standby for full production and distribution, Apophis and Njambe have taken on the task of filling out your Blacklist… with a great deal of prejudice I might add, and the rest of us, under Tiamat, have been filling auxiliary roles to make sure that everything proceeds smoothly.”

“Thank you, Delphi.” Isaac felt the last vestiges of his worries fade away at her report, his relief palpable.

“You’re welcome, Sir.” Delphi replied, contentment clear in her voice, “I will take my leave.”

“And with that,” Isaac’s words came out in a sigh, “I believe I have done all I can… to prevent anyone from trying to use our Cradles - and the Enuma project as a whole - for themselves and to make sure that everyone has the choice of using them regardless of status or means,” Issac’s gaze traveled, from where Eli, Sara, Maria, and Katagawa stood with rapturous attention, up to the great windows above, where Lucien and Paltridge glared hatefully down and Killian stoically watched on, “With this final order I hope to protect you all, to make sure that no one, not even entire governments, can threaten you in an effort to prevent our work from seeing the light of day….”

Isaac met Lucien’s glare with one of his own, “And to make sure anyone who does, faces the full consequences of their greed and short sightedness.” He continued to scowl at his father, before a malicious smile of his own, stretched his lips and cast his face in a baleful glow, “People like you Lucien, Dad.”

“That Blacklist Delphi mentioned? It was designed specifically because of you,” Isaac’s eyes darkened as his hatred began to seep into his voice, “I get to pay you back for all those years of abuse, for all the fear and pain you put me through… for the hate you filled me with. I get to lock you away from the Cradles, prevent you from escaping what’s coming and force you to watch-” His heart thundered in his ears, adrenaline flowing through his veins, his voice transitioning into a strained rasp, “I get to force you to watch as everything you built burns around you, as you and those like you suffer for what you did to me, unable to escape from a war that will consume the world over.”

“I get to do all of that… while making sure you know how I feel,” Isaac voice changed once more becoming a cold and steely thing, like a finely honed blade, “I despise you more than anything in this world, every fibre of my being screams at me with the desire to feel you die in my hands… But, I will have to live with the hope that while the world crumbles down around you, while all your wealth and associations fail to save you, you remember that the only person to blame for your pathetic state… will be yourself.”

“I finally get to be rid of you, after all this time…” Isaac snorted and turned his back on his father, waving in dismissal, “So, goodbye Lucien.”

“It isn’t much of the resolution I always envisioned,” Isaac thought, a flash of his mother’s smile passing behind his eyes, “But she wouldn’t want me wasting what little time I have left on that monster anymore.”