Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 548: Price of bravery.

"Oh no." Ariel whispered.

Rori marched forward and pinched Earl’s ear. "Not a big deal!" She bellowed. "Not a big deal? The adults had exo suits too and they were struggling. How can it not be a big deal? Do you boys have a death wish? I am going to spank you from here to heaven." She looked back at the kitchen and yelled at the top of her voice. "Tank, get me a spatula or something."

Sunshine, who had been leaning against the wall, finally spoke up, while moving to rescue Earl from Rori. "Earl, your suits are ceremonial. Yes, they have some abilities, but they are mostly designed to give you morale and basic protection from falling rocks or being burned and frozen by a superhuman. Not to stop a mutant beast from crushing you to death with a super-giant foot. They are nothing like the adult suits.

Do you know how scared I was when I learned where you had gone? I support your need to do missions, to face the enemy and protect your family. But there are battles you can fight and those you cannot fight.

You know how to assess things Ariel. I expected better from you. I can understand delivering those special weapons you kept secret from me. I can even understand fighting mutated beasts. But mutant beasts are different. You should have used your heads to consider the best solution rather than running into a deadly mist and unknown mutant beasts straight on."

Ariel whispered, his head hanging low. "I’m sorry, Mom. We are sorry grandma."

"Does it help that we won?" Earl asked.

"No." Sunshine and Rori replied together.

The boys sighed.

"Talk to Dad," Earl finally pleaded, looking at Sunshine with puppy-dog eyes. "Tell him to forgive us. Don’t let him be too hard on us?"

"That’s not going to be possible."

The deep, gravelly voice came from the doorway. Hades stood there, his exo suit still coated in dust. He looked older than he had that morning. He walked into the room, his eyes scanning his sons with a mixture of relief and sternness.

"Your mother and I are going to sit down and come up with the best punishments for this," Hades said. "Because you deserve them. You broke every safety protocol we have."

Sunshine nodded in agreement. "Go. Clean that mess off yourselves and come for dinner."

"We aren’t hungry," Ariel said quietly. "We’re going to bed."

The boys shuffled off, their shoulders slumped. The silence they left behind was uncomfortable.

"Hmph!" Rori scoffed. "They just want to avoid an uncomfortable dinner. Maybe a night on an empty stomach will teach them to think wisely." She walked back into the kitchen; to prepare the food she was going to give Tank to sneak into the bedroom for the boys.

How could her grandchildren sleep on an empty stomach?

Dinner was a quiet affair. The only sound was the clinking of forks and the occasional huff from White, who was curled up under the table, licking a honey popsicle. Castiel sat in his highchair, pushing a piece of broccoli around his plate with a frown.

"Are my big brothers in trouble?" He asked suddenly.

Rori nodded, her voice still thick with emotion. "Yes, Cass. They did something very, very bad."

Castiel’s frown deepened. "Even Ariel?"

Hades let out a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair. "Even Ariel. I think that’s what shocked me the most. He’s usually the one holding the leash and stopping others from making stupid decisions."

"It was Ala," Sunshine said, picking at a piece of bread. "She’s the catalyst. She’s got a pull on them that I don’t quite understand yet. It must be all those shiny new toys she keeps giving them."

Hades reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. He placed it on the table. It was a circular burnt orange device.

"The soldiers found these in several locations near the forest and the perimeter," Hades said. "Our tech team is baffled. They have not touched them yet; no one knows where they came from."

Sunshine looked at it. "I saw them already. God knows what the watchers are up to now. Meanwhile, Ala is blackmailing me in exchange for the information she has."

"To think she was as shy as a mouse months ago." Rori shook her head and sighed.

"System," Sunshine called out on her mind. "Identify this object."

[Scanning...] the System’s voice echoed in her mind. [Error: Technology not recognized in current database. I will look elsewhere within the council library and send the image to other repairmen.]

Sunshine sighed and put the bread back on the table. The mystery of the day was only getting deeper. She thought about the "Prime Core" guns, the bows, and the way Ala had shrugged off the questions.

"I might have to give in to the blackmail" Sunshine said, her eyes narrowing as she looked toward the window. "I can’t let the watchers win. I hate having my hands tied."

Hades looked at the device, then at his wife. "Can you do it, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Sunshine agreed. "Tonight, I just want to make sure the gates are locked tightly. Maximum security measures all around. I don’t think I can handle any more ’surprises’ for at least eighteen hours."

Hades reached across the table and squeezed her hand. For a moment, they weren’t leaders or warriors_ just two exhausted parents trying to figure out how their children had suddenly outgrown the world they had built for them.

The dinner table, usually a place of laughter and messy plates, felt like a cold island in the middle of the room. Soon, Castiel finally nodded off in Rori’s arms, and she carried him to the bedroom.

Sunshine and Hades were left with the wreckage of the day.

Sunshine leaned back, rubbing her temples. "The mutants that were flanking the base... the ones the sensors picked up during the chaos. What’s the status?"

"Neutralized," Hades said, his voice weary. "The backup squads caught them in the valley. We didn’t lose a single wall, but the world outside is... they attacked Ferry Island....it is worse than you left it. The mist didn’t just fade; it retreated. And as it pulled back, the color shifted. It’s not just whitish anymore. It’s turning a bruised, sickly black."

He leaned forward, his face illuminated by the low light of the kitchen. "But that’s not what’s kept my heart racing. It’s the Watchers. We spotted three of them near the ridge. They were armored, Suni. They are going to be harder to kill."

Sunshine froze, her hand hovering over her glass. "In the last apocalypse_ the Watchers never changed their appearance. They were always the same. Terrifying, yes, but no armor."

Hades gave a grim, lopsided smile. "Well, in the last apocalypse, I don’t think anyone was crazy enough to cut off their feet. Maybe we poked the beehive a little too hard. They’re adapting because we’re actually fighting back."

"So, what am I supposed to do?" She asked him. "Should I stop fighting back and just hope that they will disappear three years from now, like they did in my past life?"

"You died. How do you know they disappeared forever?" Hades asked her.