Tory stares at his new arm and leg, watching the new limbs alter shape and color. “There you go, kiddo’. It’ll be fully connected in about an hour.” Demistar tells him, as she pats his shoulder, grabbing his attention again.

“I… I don’t want them to look like this… I’m already a mutant… I… want them to be a reminder.” He explains, and she folds her arms, leans on her right leg, then nods. “They’re already under your control. It’s your subconscious telling them what they should look like. Once you have control, you can make it look however you like.” She explains to him, as he flexes and measures his fingers, adjusting his arms and legs…

He stares for a while, almost a full silent minute of observational measures, before the arms finally change color, and morph in shape… “Seems like you took hold pretty quickly, Tory…” Demistar says, as he looks at her again, morphing the new limbs into bulkier yet similar robotic reconstructions…

“You feeling any better, dude?” I ask, as I crawl out of my nest inside my room, reveling in the fact that I can finally speak with the air… So it turns out I never actually had to use IDM for talking, I just had to get used to the action enough to figure it out on my own.

“I… I guess…” He says, holding himself together, and looking down… I haven’t seen him smile for days now… “Ling is gone, Tory.” I tell him, and he looks at me. “I know. I just don’t feel well…” He replies, as he turns around and looks at Demistar again.

“I can’t believe YOU’RE here…” He says, as he continues to stare at her. “I figured people like you were too busy for mutants like Demitallis and I.” He says, as she leans back, and crosses her legs. “The thing is… We DO have time… We just don’t care…” She begins, as he frowns.

“Don’t feel bad, or you would have to hold yourself to that same standard. I know Demitrivan, you even saw her. She can travel through time, so I COULD, after millions of years, hang out with everyone who wants to know me…” She explains, a terrifying extreme as we can’t help but stare…

“But… We don’t care enough to do that. And neither does anyone else. I mean, there’s probably SOME people willing, Demitrivan included… But do YOU want to have to go find literally everyone who ever wanted to know you, because you’re world famous?” She asks, and Tory shakes his head, realizing how hellish that would probably be…

“Well… I think it’s about time you headed home, Tory.” I tell him, as they stare at me. “Oh… Right… I don’t actually have anywhere to go, though…” He tells me, as I consider what to do with him… “Come on, you two.” I say, jumping into the air and landing on them.

“Dammit, Tallis-” Demistar says, as I teleport us to the Blue Walrus, and jump through the roof, since we don't need the thing anymore. After that, I finally drop them on top of it, as they look around to gather their bearings, then at me. “Oh cool, just destroy the vehicle I made you.” Demistar says, as she stands up again.

“Sorry.” I say, as Tory looks down at it. “Wait, you made it?” He asks Demistar, as she looks at him again. “Yeah, I did. ‘Cause I’m a nice person. After she complained and whined at me no less.” Demistar tells him, taking a knee as she leans into his ear.

“Damn. Tallis is kind of a jerk.” Tory says, as Demistar nods in agreement. “Yep. Come on, let’s go find your buddy Fullbrim.” She says, reminding me that Oliver exists… Yeah, I still see all of that… I saw a LOT of Oliver’s life, and in all honesty… I’m a lot more comfortable sharing my past with people who are here under similar circumstances as I.

We finally arrive to find him standing in the middle of a group with the multi hundred mutants that were invited to participate in the Wishling Chase… “What’s going on?” Tory asks, a little unsure what he’s doing, while Slade leans against a wooden stage, with Fullbrim at the top…

“I’d like to offer everyone a place in Oliver’s Sanctuary. He’s just like all of you, and he’s my father. We were all hurt by Ling, some of us more than others…” He says, closing his eyes as he gestures to Ling’s once friends, while staring at Slade.

I crawl over to Slade as Tory and Demistar continue to watch. “Hey.” I say, surprising him over the muttering. “Ah. Hey. Friend murderer… What’s up, kid?” He asks, looking down at me as I keep myself small to stay out of attention.

“I’m sorry about your friend… I was so angry… I’ve never been tricked like that, Slade… He looked so honest, so kind…” I say, as he folds his arm and nods… “I know… He was my friend… Are you coming to the sanctuary too?” He asked me, and while I considered it…

“No. I already have a home. But it sounds nice. What’s it like?” I decided to ask… My last visit with, um, Not-Ling made me a little more self conscious… “It’s nice, it has a gateway now… ‘Still pretty small, but with everyone here, it’ll probably grow.” He explains, as I notice Archy’s group in the back, keeping out of sight like me.

“You’re free to come and go as you please. It’s one of the safest places on the planet, you won’t have to worry.” Fullbrim explains, probably replying to what somebody said. “Ask Horonva, Bill, or Foozy if you’re unsure of anything.” He says, jumping down as the other three stare at him with disappointment…

“I ain’t doing any more than that.” He says, landing next to Slade. “Eyup.” I say. “How’s it going?” Slade asks, as Fullbrim looks at us. “Oh, hey… Jeez… I’m sorry about Ling, Slade. And hi, Demitallis.” He says, scratching the back of his head nervously…

“Yeah, you didn’t even get to know him all too well… Ling was in prison for most of YOUR life… I guess that would make him fifty-two by now? He never even had a chance to experience life…” Slade says, and it finally dawns on me who I just killed…

At first I was apathetic, because of what he did… But Slade’s right, he never even got a chance… It was all torn away from him before he could even enjoy the world outside of Oliver’s Sanctuary… No wonder he went insane like that, he must have felt so scared and alone…

“Did he hide how he felt from you guys?” I ask, surprising them as I’m reminded we weren’t talking about that. “What do you mean?” Fullbrim asks. “Ling. He WAS nice at one point, right? Do you think something happened?” I ask, feigning ignorance to save my ass, as Slade glares at me…

“He had a run in with Eternal Skall. He was thrown in prison for thirty years… I guess that might have gotten to him worse than I thought…” Slade says, as he rubs his chin, while Fullbrim stares down at us. “Maybe… This all could have been prevented…” I say, but Slade shakes his head…

“No, if we were going to help him, we would have done so… By the way, Demitallis… I’ll be telling my friend Oliver what you did, and I’ll leave it up to him to decide how he wants to deal with you. Meet us at the sanctuary in three to four months.” He explained to me.

“I… Understand. I’ll be there. Demistar’ll probably help me out.” I say, making him raise an eyebrow. “Huh, you know her? Her older sister Robin is a close friend of mine, actually.” He tells me, reminding me of the moment she was born, and when Liyoxis glassed the Crying City.

“Oliver’s a nice guy, so don’t worry too much, he’ll PROBABLY forgive you…” Slade says, even though I’m kind of having trouble forgiving myself… Usually I would NEVER go, but I’ll consider it, on the prospect that Oliver HAS wanted to meet someone like him and I.

Besides, I REALLY want to talk to another person from earth. “Right, thanks. I’m going to go talk to Archy, and her friends. See how they’re doing.” I say, as Demistar and Tory walk over, just as I begin to leave. Archy looks down at me, as I crawl up to her.

“Hey.” She says, as her friends, Zumo included, stare down at me… “You guys doing okay? Are you all still made at Zumo?” I ask, as his eyes narrow, and they all shift a little until Archy speaks up again. “Well… We’re… TRYING… We’re still very upset that he hid his power from us.” Archy says, as she looks up at him with disappointment.

“Sorry…” He says, tipping his hat forward to cover his eyes. “He’s still family, don’t worry about us.” Tinnie says, lying against his side. “Hey! You guys gonna come visit the sanctuary?” Fullbrim calls out, looking over at us. Archy looks at her friends-

“Sure-! You said Oliver’s there?!” Archy calls out to him, as he, Slade, Tory, and Demistar walk over to us, while everyone else discusses between themselves and with the rest of Fullbrim’s friends. “Yeah. He’s my dad. ‘You know him or something?” Fullbrim asks, as Archie nods.

“Yeah, we met him after we broke out of our facility. We see him rarely every now and then, but I never knew he had a sanctuary.” She explains, surprising everyone but her close friends and I with their relationship with him. “He’s never said anything about you.” Fullbrim tells her, and she of course nods in response.

“Right. That makes sense, after a while we had him promise not to talk about us. Monsters aren’t much more respected than mutants, so you can only imagine how the world feels about mutant monsters.” She explains, as they realize what kind of position SHE is in.

“I guess they DO call you monsters for a reason.” Demistar says, as Tory flexes his mechanical fingers, practicing and making sure everything is in order. “So Tory, you decided to stay at the sanctuary after all?” I ask him, as I crawl over to him.

“O-Oh. Yeah. I’m gonna’ stay there for now. Until I’m ready.” He says, pulsing a wave of null-energy through his arm. “Good to know this is still working.” He says, as his arm suddenly disappears, then reappears back on his arm. “Oh, you nullified it.” Demistar says, sitting on her knees again.

“Is that your ability? I’ll develop a quick immunity for you real quick.” She says, before poking his arm. “Alright, try it.” She says, as the others finally look over, and he charges nullification magic into his arm, until it fades to gray, then black with swirling energy…

“You can really just do that, huh?” He asks, chuckling to himself as I realize how quickly she just made his power useless… “It’s part of being as powerful as we are. We wouldn’t be here if we couldn’t counter something as simple as a psychic power.” She explains, as he looks down and folds his arms.

“I thought it was pretty powerful too…” He says, as he looks at it. “No worries, buddy. It’ll come to you, it takes everyone just as long to get as powerful as we are.” She explains to him, placing her hand on his shoulder as he looks at her.

Whether it’s Earth or Orion, we all die at some point. We only get to watch a generation reach its peak once, and I guess for me… It would be Tory’s generation- “So how’s Oliver doing these days, anyways?” Archy asks, reminding me she was talking to him this whole time.

“Pretty well, ‘been working really hard on the sanctuary. Architect and all that.” Fullbrim explains as Archy lazily rubs her belly. “Yeah, I would bet. Sometimes he’ll ramble for hours about that stuff.” Archy says as I decide to go do something else.

They seem to be hitting it off pretty well, so I’m gonna’ see how everyone else is. “Hey. I think Tory’ll be okay on his own with them, so I’ll stick with you.” Demistar says as I stop, deciding to jump up to her. “Then you can carry me. Now… Over to Zephyr!” I say, and she nods.

She chuckles. “Got it.” She says carrying me over to the aforementioned man. “Demitallis! And Demistar. Holy shit, dude.” He says, holding out his hand to shake hers, as she shifts me onto her left arm, and accepts. “Yeah, man. It’s nice to meet you.” She says, as Stussy walks up, and stares at her.

“Hey. You were the one building the Blue Walrus.” She says, as we all look at her. “Yeah, hey kid. How’s it going?” She asks, as Stussy folds her little arms, and shifts a little. “Not well. I was puking for hours after I got out of that thing…” She says, rubbing her mouth, for not the first nor last time, I would assume.

“Jeez. What’d he do?” Demistar asks. “It was like… He was attacking my mind directly…” She says, as she rubs her poor little head. “Yeah, he tried it on me. The side effects had Vilstrous dry-heaving on the floor. You must have gotten a direct hit.” I say, as it dawns on me just how bad it is…

“Yeah, he must have created a powerful spell to break past your brain’s barriers.” She says, surprising me. “Our brains have barriers?” I ask, and she looks down at me. “Yours doesn’t, but you don’t have a brain to begin with. But even most insects have super tough barriers. It would just be way too easy to attack the brain otherwise.” She explains, as I glare at her over another one of her shots to my intellect.

“No wonder your bodies react so violently, he must have been screwing with all your senses directly.” Demistar finishes as she shifts me up into her arms again. “So, Zephyr. Are you planning on visiting the sanctuary?” I ask, and he nods. “Of course, I’d love to meet all those people. I don’t plan on staying, though.” He says, as he adjusts his glasses and fixes his coat.

“Yeah, not gonna lie. He got me with it too, Stussy. Looks like you took it a lot worse though.” He says, looking down at her as she nods in agreement. “I still feel weird… I didn’t even know we could cough up our innards like this…” She says, rubbing her belly as she closes her eyes.

“I can probably alleviate the running symptoms if you guys are interested.” Demistar tells them, and they take a quick step forward. “Please-” Zephyr says, making her giggle, before grabbing their heads. “I’ll pass through your magical barriers first.” She explains as they stare at her nervously, most likely scared of the sudden grab to their craniums.

I fall onto a plate protruding from her belly as I watch her work away- “Done.” She says, as she lets go and they feel their heads. “Wow. It really worked. Man, being friends with Demitallis is great!” Stussy says, pumping her arms with excitement.

“You’re only saying that because I’m close friends with Demistar.” I say, as she nods. “Yeah, you’re pretty boring, otherwise.” She continues, and I consider building a bearing shot in my body- “You keep that up, and I’ll pop you one in the head.” I say, blasting her with water-

“Hey.” Demistar says, frowning at me. “Nobody disses Demitallis.” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “That was mean.” Stussy says, as Zephyr helps her up. “Are you planning to check out the Sanctuary, Stussy?” I ask, surprising her with the sudden change in topic, before she answers- “I would, but I’m not a mutant like you guys… I’ll probably just go home.” She says, looking down a little disappointedly.

“Do you WANT to go?” I ask. “Yeah, I’m a seeker. It’s my job to gather tons and tons of information like this.” She explains as I feel myself relax a little more… “Ya’ wanna come see Neo-Genesis-Haven? It’s probably considerably bigger.” I say, as Demistar’s eyes center then look at me again.

“You’re right. Your family of twenty thousand, after the new gathering, will outnumber the sanctuary at about nineteen-thousand.” She says, making me assume there must be around a hundred people living at the sanctuary. Really puts it into perspective for me.

“You have a family of TWENTY THOUSAND? Not even MY family is that big…” She says as she looks at her hands. “The irony isn’t lost on me. We’re adopted. Technically.” I tell her as she looks at me again. “And you’re okay with showing me this place?” She asks, as I look at Demistar again.

“Are you going to share the information with your ‘seeker’ buddies? By the way- Do you know a girl named Glorigold?” I ask, surprising her. “She’s one of Arigold’s sisters, right? Of course I know her. She’s actually one of my classmates.” Stussy explains.

“As for your other question… We’re not actually supposed to share information-” She continues, but Demistar interrupts her. “She’s lying to you. Seekers share information all the time, it helps them with their jobs.” She says, as Stussy stares at her.

“Well, maybe that’s just-” She begins again, yet Demistar interrupts her again. “Nope, students are told to share everything they find. The school is kinda exploitative in that way.” Demistar explains further, as tears begin to seep from Stussy’s eyes…

“I-I won’t…” She says, visibly upset… “Dammit, alright. You can come see Genesis Haven. Just don’t lie to me again. And if you do, I’ll… Well you’re a little kid, so I’ll have to come up with something. Just don’t be a jerk.” I say, as she nods in compliance.

She smiles and rubs her eyes… “Thank you.” She says, as I roll my nonexistent eyes. “Yeah, You better be. So, Zephyr. How’s everyone else in your team doing?” I ask, as he scratches his chin. “Everyone is accounted for. Ling took away a lot of our members, none of their powers were particularly special… Which had me confused because there were some MUCH better abilities…”

“Seriously? I wonder what he was doing.” I say, as Stussy thinks to herself. “I guess… I should have realized how secretive he was… Maybe I could have prevented this…” Stussy says, as she folds her arms and looks down… “There’s nothing anyone could have done. Besides, if it wasn’t us, it would have been someone else.” I say, and everyone nods with agreement.

“Besides, nobody else got hurt, Stussy. Well, aside from Tory… I almost can’t believe Ling would do something like that… To an eight year old boy…” I say, as they stare at me. “I can.” Stussy says.

“He was so cold in those interviews… The way he spoke of you guys… It was as though you really did mean nothing to him…” She says, reminding me he did that, something that had failed to come to mind while I was judging over again…

Had he really changed that much? Or did the Ling from the Ghazalitry exemplify a kinder part of himself? Or did he try to convince everyone and himself of his change? To the world that he was evil… To himself that he would be okay…

I don’t like Ling… “Enough about him. PLEASE.” I say, still kind of reeling all the time spent watching those visions… I guess that’s a side effect from never sleeping… “Oh, sorry. Zephyr?” Stussy asked, as she looked up at him.

Stolen story; please report.

He looks at us again, while Demistar struggles to hold up my further relaxing form. “Yeah. Pincer’s been hanging out with Vivan. I was just about to go speak with them.” He says, beckoning us to follow, before guiding us over.

They’re sitting at a bar, outside in the open here, with a tiger-polar-bear-man behind it slinging drinks in the air.

“Pincer, Vivan. How have you guys been?” Zephyr asks as Demistar carries me over… “Oh, Pincer, Demitallis and…” Vivan begins, as his eyes land on Demistar… “Yes, I’m Demistar, stop gawking.” She says as she rolls her eyes.

“Come on, he’s probably a fan… Everyone knows who you are.” Zephyr says, as she shifts in place a little. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t stop the stares.” She says, as Vivan continues to stare in stunned silence. “You’re one of the most powerful people in the world… Why would you even come here?” He asks, as she looks down at me.

“Turns out Demitallis here is important to our timeline. So yeah.” She says as she looks down at me, and at him again, her mood shot down to bored again. “Oh… I’m glad you’re okay, Demitallis.” He says, looking down at me.

“I’m still getting over Ling, and other stuff- But I’m alright, yeah.” I say, as he struggles to take his eyes off Demistar… “Oh… Well, you have powerful friends.” He says, as he hides behind his legs on his chair, hugging his knees.

“You were a lot more… Chippier, Demitallis.” Pincer tells me, surprising Vivan and I as he rubs his chin. “I liked that part of you… It was infectious, your excitement made me want to try my hardest.” He says, as the others stare at me.

“Yeah, I get it. I should stay positive. I just… Need a minute.” He nods in reply and sits back. “You two planning on visiting the sanctuary, by the way?” I ask, surprising them. “Oh, totally. Vivan here is going to be transporting everyone with his power.” Pincer says as Vivan opens a portal.

“Y-Yeah… I already got the location.” He says, as I look through to see the towering mountain, with the spirit gates leading to a pedestal with a giant ring behind it… “Huh, there it is…” I say, seeing the current form of it in person for the first time… It’s different, Oliver must have changed it already. He must have a hard time standing still for long.

Demistar has been staring down at me, her eyes fixed… “Did you get another power, Demitallis?” She asks, surprising me again- “Yeah, I got Ling’s. Don’t tell them.” I tell her, using telepathy again, for once. I forgot how magical this made me feel~...

“She got another power? A psychic ability?” Stussy asks, her attention suddenly fixed on me… “Yes, kind of. It’s not a psychic power. Only Ling could do that, guys.” I explain, as I feel their powers call to me, giving away their exact location.

I can even tell what their powers do… I actually talked to Zumo after that vision, even he was surprised that Ling hadn’t already known about his ability to manipulate time. “Did you get all of them? Or just the one?” Demistar asks.

“Just his ability to detect and read the abilities of others.” I explain, as she continues to stare down at me with that blank expression on her face. “Well what is your new power?” Stussy asks, prying into my personal information since she wasn’t taught any restraint, apparently- “That skill’s not infallible, ‘Tallis. I’ve been blocking it as a byproduct of my many many shields- Tell her about your new telepathy.” She explains- That’s a good idea actually!

“I’ve been working on this advanced telepathy spell, for commercial use. I’m setting up pylons across the world for world-wide access!” I explain, pretty much telling her about the dawn of the internet from earth. Her eyes widen with realization as something comes to her…

“Wait, that’s actually genius- It could end war, Demitallis.” She says, surprising me. “Seriously? I figured it was just a useful step forward into entering space, and conquering the stars.” I explain, as she rubs her chin, while the others and I stare at her.

“I suppose. But with that, anyone could communicate anywhere, we could share with anyone and everyone who we are. You might even wipe out their hatred of the mutants.” She says, not even dignifying my space-conquering with a reply…

I suppose that makes sense… Something else I learned was that Liyoxis had to ban space, for whatever reason. Which means I’m not gonna’ get to see the moon for a LONG time… “It’s not that simple, Stussy, but it’s definitely a step forward.” Demistar says-

“What would YOU know about the internet?” I ask, surprising her in return. “What’s that?” She asks, and I realize my mistake- “Oh, that’s what I’m calling it.” I quickly alleviate, so as to not give away that I am from another world. “Ah. Liyoxis told me about it, actually. He said it was one of many different paths to world peace.” She explains, confusing me more…

But the internet is horrible… I can’t help but think to myself. “I dunno’. There are some WEIRD people out there.” I tell her, remembering those aforementioned people I used to play video games against online… “Whatever. It’s not like I can’t just simulate a world in my head.” She says, a lowkey flex of her oh-so advanced synthetic brain…

That thing was huge, and it was just the prototype… I can’t imagine what upgrades Robyn’s and Demitallis’s cores have been through since that time… “You okay there?” She asks, as I realize I distracted myself with my thoughts again.

“What does Zephyr have to say about the internet?!” I ask, surprising everyone as I create a metal rod and point it at him! “O-Oh. It sounds really cool, actually. Imagine all the information scientists like myself will be able to share with each other!” He says, giving me a thumbs up…

“Nah, most people will try and argue why you’re wrong.” I tell him, turning his smile upside down as I look back on all those online chats I thought I would have a good say in. As I said, my mother was a scientist, her main field was biology of course- Anyways, we used to watch birds together, she would tell me about their anatomy, and how all of their parts worked…

I would often point at different spots on my body, and she would tell me how everything in my body worked. She was very proud when her biology lessons improved my grades in class. “Oh, that’s too bad…” He says, looking down as he leans against the bar’s counter top.

“Well- I’m PROBABLY wrong. You could even be the one to develop Orion’s first world-wide science community, dude.” I say, making him laugh. “I doubt it. But thanks, anyway.” He says, as I focus on the counter.

“Alright, did they seriously just BUILD a bar out here, while I was gone?” I ask, as everyone looks at it, and laughs. “Yeah. Terry’s boss told him he needed to get some real world experience.” Pincer says, pointing at Terry, the tiger-polar-bear-man mutant, as his name grabs my attention-

“EARTH-” I prod- “Hm?” He hums, raising an eyebrow with a serious look on his face. “Does that name mean anything to you?” I ask, and he rubs his chin, before shaking his head as everyone stares at him. “I see. Thanks anyway, Terry. ‘Keep doing what you do.” I say, and he flings a bottle into the air over his head and catches it with his right arm, and finally a finishing thumbs up.

“Oh, telepathy-” Stussy says, smacking herself in the forehead. “What were you two talking about?” She asks, as she looks at me, as though I would just TELL her… “Why do you think I used telepathy, Stussy? It’s a secret, ya’ fool.” I say, as Demistar shifts me onto her left arm and bops me, giving me a surge of pain as the speed lightly tears my molecules apart-

“She’s six, dumbass. You shouldn’t expect her to know everything.” She says, as I land on her right arm again, held by both… “I KNOW! You didn’t have to hit me, you jerk!” I yell, as the others laugh at me… “I’ve just never seen a six year old kid a tenth as smart as she is.” I say, excusing my mistake, until I realize that’s earth standards-

Demistar opens her mouth- “Because I haven’t SPOKEN to any six year old children! YEP. Aren’t I funny?” I ask, as they chuckle a little nervously. “You okay, Demitallis?” Demistar asks, as she holds me up a little more, staring at me…

I jumped down.

“I’m fine, you guys have fun, I’m going to go find something else to do.” I tell them, as I slip into the sand, shifting and altering my mass as I bend it around every particle, letting my subconscious take over this part… I feel like a bird, flying for the first time in its life…

…

There’s nothing wrong with me. Okay? I’m fine. Sure, I’m dealing with dying, and what Arigold did to me… And having to live in a world I KNOW Liyoxis made… And what Ling did… And what I DID to Ling… But otherwise, I’m fine. Nothing of note happened before that. So don’t ask about it.

I just wish people would stop asking. I can handle it, like I always have. Anyways, I’ve already resurfaced, and am ready to be the cool happy-go-lucky go-getter you guys know and love. “Oh, hey.” Horonva says, as I instantly recognize her voice, coming from behind me-

OH GOOD… I sarcastically say to myself. “Hey, Horonva! How’s it going? I’m sorry about what I did a while back… I don’t know what came over me.” I say, surprising her, as she lies against the now otherwise abandoned stage…

“Don’t worry, I haven’t even thought about it.” She says, brushing it off all cool like. “Thanks. I guess it’s peas in comparison.” I say, referring to the big green and very much dead elephant in the room, that nobody, -me especially- wants nothing more to do with…

“Yeah. He really was kind… I’m struggling to really believe he WAS behind everything, Demitallis…” She says, as I struggle to keep the elephant away from my comfort zone, without being an ass about it. “He even helped me with moving my stuff to the sanctuary, when Oliver offered me a house. I was so excited… Ling was like the older brother I never had.” She says, making me feel horrible again for what I did to him…

“I wish I didn’t kill him, Horonva… Evil or not, I never wanted something like that for myself… Eizo tried to comfort me, but I can’t get the thought of murdering another person out of my head…” I say, as she nods and considers all of my real personally painful thoughts.

“It was nice talking to you, Horonva. I’m gonna head off.” I say, as I teleport back to the Blue Walrus, and slam my head into the roof that had already been repaired- I use the elevator, since I don’t want to wreck Demistar’s design… She DID make it for me, so I feel kind of bad for wrecking it like that earlier.

I watch the beach, as everyone talks between each other, sharing their stories, and their own personal conflicts with being mutants… Never given a chance for being something they can’t even change. They never asked for this, and I am hoping dearly that the world will become more open to them.

Mistral lands next to me, kneeling as he picks me up. “H-Hey. What’s the big idea, pal?” I ask, as he holds me over his head, and a sudden shockwave pulses from his head, shooting through the air and past me as it kicks up a wave of sand…

He places me on the floor again, as Ling’s ability tells me everything about his own. “Okay, neat. Did you need anything else?” I ask, as he sits down in front of me… “So you’re fully mute? You say NOTHING at all.” He just stares, not even a nod to trick me…

I almost considered it… But… “I’m trying REALLY hard, Mistral… I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this for…” My paranoia has too great a grip on me… He creates another shockwave. “I want to tell them, but I’m afraid they’ll judge me for my stupidity…” I say, as he stares at me, and creates a new shockwave every few seconds…

“Mistral, I… I couldn’t even save Ling, I never even considered what he was going through… I was so angry that I had been tricked, it blinded me… This world be damned, I may someday have to take the lives of thousands, but I’ll never accept that it’s an okay thing to do.” I tell him, as he stares, fixed on me specifically…

“The pain ends with me, Mistral.” I finally say. “It all ends with Charlotte. It all ends with I, Charlotte, Demitallis. Just as I had decided on that day so long ago.” I tell him, as I feel my body tingle, and a weight finally begins to lift…

He creates one last shockwave from his forehead, and stands up, bowing in front of me, before placing a metal box and flying away… It suddenly pops open with a recording from the stream, one taken the other day, it’s one of my teammates, a white-coat.

Vilstrous tears the cloak from his body, as even Ling stares in awe of him- “Vilstrous-” He says, as I watch Vilstrous look at him. He then proceeds to announce his resignation from the Mid-Council of Capital City, and his disownment of his birth-family…

Ling had been trying to manipulate him, trying to put these horrible thoughts that he has to hurt others to get his way… But then Vilstrous told the world how I inspired him, and I realized what it truly meant for others and to me being who I wanted myself to be…

I really have been winging this whole time, haven’t I? I know you’re not here for that, and I’m putting an end to it right here and now.

Alright, happy Charlotte IS A GO!

As the box shuts off, I jump down from the Blue Walrus, and crawl away, spotting my sister Veytatasm, talking to Fullbrim and Archy. I decide to crawl over and see what they’re hanging out over. “Yeah, you guys really had me on the ropes in the end there. Had to cancel the whole fight.” She says, as Archy nods her head.

“I watched that back, actually. You made them look like chumps.” Fullbrim says, as he pulls up a holographic monitor, and shows it to everyone, Tory included. “Eyup. Are we checking out funny videos?” I ask, surprising all of them, as they look at me.

“Totally, watch me clown on these guys.” Veyta says, as she points at the monitor, and I watch her proceed to body Archy’s team. “I am a warrior… What makes these kids so strong?...” Karote asks, as he floats in the air, curled up in a ball.

“Mu Brotha. We’re unstoppable together.” She says, really hamming it up. “Yeah, apparently. I bet if we had Zumo there, he would have trounsed you.” Tinnie says, as she folds her arms. “Totally. I can’t deal with the power to stop time.” Veyta says, with a big dumb smile on her face.

“But you just said you’re unstoppable…” Tory says, giving her a hearty laugh- “I don’t remember saying that, little baby boy!” She yells, placing her hands on her hips as she continues to laugh at him. “You are ANNOYING.” He says, as her hearty forced laugh turns to genuine laughter at his expense.

“You’re just jealous you’re not old enough to be as cool as I am.” She says, as she folds her arms and sits there with a smug look on her face… “Stop making fun of my age.” Knee-high says, as she towers almost two feet over him. “Sure, shorty.” She says, and he suddenly lunges at her-

“I’m not short, dammit!” He screams as he punches her in the face, before Fullbrim can tear the poor boy from his bully’s face, while she laughs the whole damn time. “You’re a plush toy, little guy!” She continues as finally, she stops laughing.

“You done being an ass to him, Veyta?” I ask, reminding them I’m here. “Sure. Hey Tory, are you still upset with me?” She asks, big dumb smile as she looks at him again. Tory on the other hand, is raging, his limbs whipping around as Fullbrim holds him away.

“That’s how you get people to beat you up, Demitallis. You just laugh at them for a minute and they go NUTS!” She says, laughing to herself, as though that’s something she should be telling her baby sister. “Yeah, thanks… I’ll remember that…” I sarcastically reply, as I realize how energetic he’s gotten again…

“Robo-Arm, go!” He shouts, surprising Veyta as his hand rockets forward and hits her square in the face, knocking her onto the floor! “I PUNCHED A GIRL, I’M THE HERO!!!” He shouts, celebrating away the last of every care Fullbrim had.

“Jeez…” I say, as Archy laughs. “She had it coming…” Archy says, as Veyta’s torso jerks up, and everyone backs away- “That was awesome! I’ve always wanted a rocket punch!” She shouts, as he stares at her with fear…

“What, you guys thought that dinky thing would keep me down?” She asks, as she stretches with her tendrils… Archy’s group, aside from Zumo of course, backs away as they remember all too well what those things are capable of…

“So Demi. What have you been up to?” She asks me, returning to her usual smile, as she retracts her tentacles. “Nothing much, just hanging out with everyone. What’s up with your need to beat people up?” I ask, as she folds her arms. “Nothing. I just like the rush of combat.” She says, as she swings her sword a wide haymaker arc, making Archy lean away with fear-

“Well, as long as you’re done…” Fullbrim says, as he sits Tory on the floor, who just glares at her. “Looks like you’ve got your energy back, Tory.” I say, surprising him as he realizes now he’s being himself again… “Oh yeah. I guess I was pretty upset about Ling earlier… Now I’m upset at her for being a jerk.” He says, pointing at my technically younger sister.

“We’re cool with that.” She says, as Tory’s expression changes to uncertainty. “You’re weird.” He says, making her laugh. “Yeah, I figured I was. Doesn't matter much to me.” She says, shrugging as she continues to chuckle to herself…

“You guys know what happened to Vultrym?” I decided to ask, since I never really checked on her. “Yeah, she pretty much flew off. Noone’s seen her since.” Archy says. “Yeah! Yeah! Flew off!” Bowler agrees, bringing a nonexistent smile to my nonexistent face, with him just being here.

I dunno’, he’s cute. “I guess that’s for the best, in all honesty.” I say, since I didn’t want to deal with her today anyways- “There you are.” Demistar says, appearing behind me. “Hello…” I say, as Vivan teleports next to her.

“What’s got you running off?” Demistar asks, while I weigh my options. “I just wanna visit with everyone.” I say, as Demistar looks up at Zumo. “You’re pretty lucky, Mr. Zumo. Demitrivan is usually pretty thorough.” Demistar explains as he grows nervous.

“Please… Don’t tell… Her…” He says, slowly, because he’s lazy I assume. “I wonder where Nova is.” Archy says, looking around. “Probably at home, she said she was busy today.” I tell Archy, surprising her with an answer she didn’t think she would get.

“Hey, I think I’m ready to move everyone over.” Vivan says, finally speaking up as he hides behind Demistar. “Good, come on, I’ll gather everyone up. You just get the portals ready.” He says, as I jump onto Vivan’s head. “Extra boost to help you out.” I say, as he panics-

I shoot mana from my body and into his, watching as he stops and accepts my much denser mana. “Th-Thanks.” He says, bowing in front of me. “Yeh… No problem. Go get’em big guy.” I say, before teleporting home again, since there’s nothing left for me to do there.

I jump from my tower and quickly head through the streets, preparing to jump off the island. We’re well over the mainland, and have already passed up Tauseht. Speaking of which, I’m headed there to reconvene with Alvoc, he’ll probably be the most curious to know what happened.

The other two mayors are probably too busy, and I doubt I’m anywhere near capable of stopping would-be heroes who were watching the livestream. “Oh, Demitallis, there you are.” Veloura suddenly says, just having rounded a corner and bumping into me.

“Hello~. How are you?” I ask, stopping for but a moment. “I’m fine. I… Wanted to talk to you about something.” She says, getting serious. “Sorry, but I’m busy, Veloura, we’ll have to talk later.” I say, before jumping into the air, since I am TECHNICALLY busy.

It takes a while, but I finally arrive at the Tauseht, looking around at the smaller towns and villages surrounding it. Tauseht is completely different from Oliver’s memories, and I wanted to see it again for myself. Goes to show what two thousand years can do.

You would think it wouldn’t have changed much, right? I mean, these people LIVE for two thousand years. Furthermore, there’s people like Liyoxis who are over twenty thousand years old. So I mean, what’s even going on to change it so much?

But then again… What can change within a day? A month? A YEAR? What are the chances that Volcarus wakes up and decides to leave for whatever reason? I guess I was wrong in my assumption that things wouldn’t change often in Orion.

Besides, who can just sit around for two thousand years? I finally arrive at the castle, Alvoc is outside right now talking to his father. “But dad…” He says, trying to convince his father of whatever needs his filial-convincing. “Alvoc, you’re not old enough.” He says, countering with his much more effective fatherly-convincing.

“What’cha guys up to?” I ask, surprising them as I crawl up. “Ah, Demitallis. Please, help me explain to my son why he is not old enough to head out to investigate what happened to the show host.” Volcarus says, his son’s stare fixed on me, since I would obviously have the answer.

“I killed him.” I say, making Alvoc sputter, and shocking Volcarus. “O-Oh. That’s certainly an answer…” He says, as Alvoc’s shock turns to fear. “R-Really?” He asks, as I crawl up to him. “I didn’t have a choice. And I’m still regretting it. I ask not to be forgiven, and I carry my sins forever.” I tell him, running through my newfound conviction.

“Are you okay?” He asks. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking, though. I actually came to tell you what happened, Alvoc. I figured you might do something like this, and I didn’t want you to worry.” I explain, surprising him as he stands up again, and his father stares at me.

“You’ve grown predictable, my son…” Volcarus says, giving his son some fatherly-advice. “THANK YOU, dad.” He exaggerates, as he looks at Volcarus. “You call ME predictable, but you’re the one who sleeps in this one spot, all day, and all night.” He says, and his father raises one of the planter boxes above his eyes.

“That’s funny, Alvoc. You play your little games all day in your room, and never get up to do anything. Who is the lazy one NOW, my boy?” He asks, as he narrows his eyes. “Oh please. At least it’s SOMETHING. You LITERALLY just sleep. That’s it!” Alvoc shouts, arguing with his father as the literal castle-man lies there with weary eyes.

I’ve decided to teleport home. I’ve gotten pretty much nothing done today, but I enjoyed talking to everyone, and I guess… I was able to work through some of my personal problems. Anyways, now that I updated Alvoc, I better go find some way to be productive.

I’m thinking I’ll do some training today, I do need to get stronger, after all, I promised Demitrivan I would.

End of Chapter: 52 “Personally spoken.”

Thank you for reading.

“Mm.”