Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 582: Eternal enemy no more.

"I figured you’d say that." Hades said, and she could almost hear the small, relieved smile on his face. "You have been gone for a couple of hours, longer than usual. The kids are already muttering about a manhunt for you. Heck, I am about to lead the manhunt personally."

"I miss you too," she whispered. "Is there anything else I should know? Did you catch the smugglers? Give me some good news along with the bad at least."

"We did," Hades’ voice turned back to stone. "Howard Shaw was the ringleader. He was using his status as Sheldon’s nephew to move illegal goods right under our noses."

Sunshine’s eyes narrowed. "Hades, do not wait for me. Throw him off the base tonight. He leaves with absolutely nothing that belongs to our base. No heat suit, no exo suit, no special vehicle. And if anyone tries to help him, they go with him. We have to show them that some crimes don’t get a second chance."

"Agreed," Hades said. "Banishment without mercy. I’ll do that tomorrow, after talking to Sheldon. Perhaps, this will be the day he finally decides to leave the base. But I have a feeling that if we throw Howard out, he will just move to Sheldon’s old house in Kingsbridge. We can’t throw someone out of their house because we don’t own it. Prison might be the best answer, and we strip him of his abilities permanently as well."

Sunshine frowned. It had slipped her mind that some of the billionaires had properties in Kingsbridge. Now, they could leave the mountain fortress and return to their old, abandoned mansions.

Suddenly, Nine couldn’t hold his curiosity back any longer. He leaned over and screamed into the receiver, "HELLO, MR. SUNSHINE! I AM NINE RATHUNN AND I AM PROTECTING YOUR WIFE! I SAVED HER FROM THE NOXIANS!"

Sunshine jumped, startled, and immediately threw a heavy dragon fruit at Nine’s head. "Shut up you silly bug! I told you to keep that quiet!"

On the other end of the line, Hades let out a low, dry chuckle. "Which Nine is that? Your arch-nemesis?"

Sunshine laughed, the tension finally breaking. "Not my arch-nemesis anymore. We’re... kind of good now. He’s annoying, but he’s a decent repairman when he’s not talking."

Hades’ voice turned serious again. "What was he saying about the Noxians, Sunshine? Did something happen? Is it the same person we saw last time at the food courts?" His voice had a lot of anxiety within.

Sunshine sighed and explained the encounter with Asgeda and how she had bolted into the crowd.

"You ran?" Hades asked. He didn’t sound angry, but he sounded concerned_ like a teacher correcting a student. "Sunshine, running makes you look guilty. If you had stayed calm, he might have walked right past you. Don’t do that again. You’re Rocky in their heads, but else where you are Sunshine Quinn. Act like it."

"I know, I know," Sunshine said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Human instincts, I guess. I won’t do it again."

"Talk to the repairman council and have them pronounce Rocky dead. It will be better this way." He suggested. "Finish the task and get home. I’ll see you whenever you return, which I hope is soon."

"Tomorrow evening latest," she promised. "I love you." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Love you too." He replied softly.

She ended the call and sat there for a second, staring at the floor. The news about Nimo hurt, and the thought of Amber being near her family made her skin crawl. But she had a job to do. There was no time to mop around.

The hours had dragged on, filled with the constant, buzzing soundtrack of Nine’s life story. Then, he switched to Sunshine and what little he knew of earth. "The earthlings are known to be ordinary and boring, I have never seen one that can freeze things or release current from their bodies. How are you capable of this?"

"I told you Nine," Sunshine said, "earth is different now, it’s not something I really want to talk about. I would rather hear more about you."

Nine was very happy to talk about himself. By the time the last bolt was tightened, Sunshine knew everything about his wife and extended family, his favorite type of food, and why he doesn’t trust many of the higher ups on his world or the council.

She also knew that his kind did not wear underwear! A fact that she didn’t need to know.

It did get a smile out of her as she imagined different insects in underwear. All of them looked ridiculous. But finally, the work was done. The massive, ancient music box stood in the center finally whole again.

"By the eight-legged gods, this had better work because i am exhausted," Nine whispered, stretching four of his legs at once. He reached out with a trembling claw and flipped the main power switch.

Silence was what he got.

The box didn’t hum. The gears didn’t turn. The Aktith-aqua liquid inside didn’t glow. It just sat there, cold and dead.

"Oh no," Nine whimpered. He began to run in circles around the music box, his feet clicking rapidly on the floor like a panicked beetle. "No, no, no! Something is not right! The Princess is going to turn me into a wall decoration! Sunshine, do something! Why isn’t it working? Did we miss something? Did I not follow your instructions well?"

"Nine, calm down," Sunshine said, her voice steady. She stepped toward the machine, her eyes narrowing. "It’s not something we did; we took everything out and put them back so it’s back to its factory settings. It needs a jump start."

"And how the hell do we do that?" Nine asked, already frustrated.

She held up her hands. Small, jagged yellow sparks began to dance between her fingertips. The air in the room suddenly smelled like a thunderstorm. "You do not have to do anything."

Nine stopped running and stared at her hands, his bug eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Wait. Are you... are you about to zap that priceless ancient treasure?"

"Yes," Sunshine said simply.

"Are you sure?" Nine asked, his voice hitting a high, nervous pitch. "Like, one hundred percent sure? Because if you blow this up, we are both Glacian pet food!"

Sunshine didn’t answer. She didn’t have time for his doubts. She moved closer, the electrical current in her hands growing louder until it sounded like a swarm of angry hornets. She reached out and pressed her palms against the metal base of the box.

CRACK-BOOM!