Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 549: Love or fear?
He brought up what was perhaps the biggest unknown of the apocalypse. Where the watchers had gone and how the world was restored, if it was restored.
"I am going to get a headache if I think about it." She gently lowered her head on the table, groaning. For a moment, one tiny moment, Sunshine wondered if maybe things would have been better if she let Cassius have the bracelet.
Perhaps, he had found the means to end the apocalypse without causing all the damage she was. Or maybe, it was some other powerful person, not him. There were too many wars back then to count. It was not impossible that some were against watchers and she did not know because she was solely focused on surviving and hiding.
Was there a way of arranging all her past memories and figuring out some information from them?
Maybe....
Hades interrupted her thought process by brushing his palm over her back. The warmth and comfort made her relax and sigh.
"You cannot live today basing on the memories of yesterday." He told her. "All the changes you have made, the past is very different. Think about it, will Cassius’ crosstown in the past be the same in this timeline?"
Sunshine lifted her head. "Without the system, definitely not." He could not build the kind of walls she had. He could not sell the weapons she was selling or access the foods and alien worlds and markets she had been to.
"So focus on now." He kissed the back of her head. "The watchers were hostile then and they are hostile now. If they had come on a friendly mission, mutants would not be dropping like flies to kill us."
Sunshine leaned her head against his chest. He pulled the chair closer, covering the small space between them which equated to the size of a river in his mind.
"We should have kept Ala." He muttered.
It was not the first time he was saying this and Sunshine had a feeling that it would not be the last either. The alien princess was proving to be far more valuable and challenging than they expected.
But, when Sunshine pictured the wounded skinny girl she had met, the one who refused to speak, she could not see Ala thriving anywhere but in the arms of Leah.
"I have my own regrets too, concerning the weapons and pocket dimension she carries." Sunshine pushed her finger up and down on one of his biceps. "If I had known that she had such a valuable asset, I would have waited before sending her to Leah. But at the end of the day, even if I kept her, who is to say that she would have exposed those things to us. What she needed the most was a family that loved her and only her. Here, we have three boys and a bear. We cannot focus on just one child."
Hades thought about the blackmail. "I can see your point of view. Nevertheless, I don’t appreciate the fact that she blackmailed. I am beginning to worry that their family of three will undermine your authority."
Sunshine recalled how Leah had addressed her when she was berating Ala. She also thought about Dominic’s ability to mess with minds. If they joined hands with less than honorable intentions, it was not impossible for them to do great damage.
"I know you trust them." Hades added. "I am not saying you should not. I just think we should not lower our guards around them completely. But, we should continue our cordial relationship with them until they give us cause to doubt them."
"However, they should be stricter with Ala." Sunshine narrowed her eyes. "Spoiling her is not good for the child or us."
"Or anyone that gets on her bad side." Hades muttered. "That little girl is probably the most dangerous thing on the base. More dangerous than Zulu’s mouth and your hammer."
Sunshine laughed. Soon the laughter stopped as reality returned slowly. "If the watchers are evolving to counter us, we’re in a race we can’t afford to lose." She took a shaky breath, trying to shift the weight in her chest. "And Dominic? Did the Kings bridge team make it back?"
"They’re in," Hades confirmed, his expression softening slightly. "The squad arrived safely and the protective bubble is officially up. According to him, the people in Kingsbridge are celebrating. Finding out that Emily is finally dead gave them more hope than our supplies did. Nobody likes a bully or tyrant. But," he paused, "it’s not all good news. Vicente’s men are already moving there. They’re lurking on the edges, watching every crate we move, every soldier we station. They’re like vultures waiting for us to trip."
Sunshine didn’t respond. Her eyes had drifted to the window, but she wasn’t seeing the Fortress walls. She was seeing the faces of the soldiers who hadn’t come back. She thought of their families who were, at this very moment, realizing their dinner tables would have an empty chair forever.
Her eyes began to well up. "We lost people today, Hades," she whispered. "They were good people. Some had kids. They had lives they wanted to get back to."
Hades didn’t say a word. He just held her in his arms as the dam broke. Sunshine cried_ not just for the dead, but for the fear for her sons, the pressure of the Fortress, and the exhaustion of trying to save a world that seemed doomed to end.
Hades held her tight, his hand resting on the back of her head, letting her pour out the frustration she couldn’t show anyone else. The quiet moment was shattered by a sharp, notification from the system. Her face went from grief-stricken to annoyed in a split second.
"What is it?" Hades asked, concerned.
"It’s the System," she muttered, her voice cracking. "It’s reminding me about about my punishment with Nine which happens tomorrow."
Hades blinked, the gravity of their conversation momentarily derailed by the absurdity of the Repairmen disciplinary council. "Do they know what you are dealing with?"
"They do not care!" Sunshine answered. "And I cant turn them down. Without the repairman system, space and access to other worlds, the odds of our survival will not be great." She wiped her eyes. "I feel better now. Crying always helps. I am tired of talking about this shit day."
"Before closing the file, I would like to request you to explain some things." Hades passed his finger through strands of her damp hair. "How could you tell me that you love me for the first time while trapped in the mist? It felt less romantic and more eulogy."
He moved and suddenly lifted her, walking confidently to the living room. Hades set her down on the sofa and sat down on the plush carpet, between her legs.
Sunshine lifted her upper lips. "Could you not have found anywhere else to sit?"
He grinned naughtily. "I like the view from here."
She rolled her eyes. "I am wearing jeans dummy."
"I mean the view into your eyes because you are looking down at me. What view did you think I meant?" He guffawed.
Sunshine rolled her eyes.
He leaned forward, and rested his head on one of her thighs. The peace he felt was immeasurable. Her presence was the cure for his heart which had been unsettled all day. This day had been more than a nightmare.
"Did you mean it, when you said you loved me?" He asked, voice low. "Or was it something that you said just because you were worried that you might not make it back?"
She touched his head, and opened her mouth.
"We have come this far." He raised his voice, but kept it soft. "Our marriage has come beyond barter. It is not tied to necessity anymore. Our lives are far more intertwined that we ever imagined." He pulled his head away from the touch of her hand and looked up into her eyes. "Tell me, do you love me or was it fear talking?"
