Origins

Chapter 6. Through the Cracks

Aurora

I couldn't sleep for 9 days. I was too focused on my brother, Aura. I didn't know if he had joined the wrong side, the real enemy, or if he had stayed in his universe and lived out his life quietly. That probably wasn't the case. If anything, I know my brother better than anyone and I knew he wouldn't live out his life quietly. "Then that means... He's my enemy," I whispered to myself. He would've most likely chosen the villains, the real ones. The ones who had greed for power. Chris and Itachi must've manipulated him into that. But how can I go to war against my brother? "Aurora, you're doing it again," Shaun tells me. " Oh yeah right. On with the meeting," I say, wearily. "Like I was saying before you tuned out, the rebel forces on planet VC-6 have been crushed, and their leader executed," Bradley says. "I don't think we're going to have a problem with them anymore," he says. Shaun starts with his battle report. "I've also managed to wipe out a few divisions of the rebels on planet 6-Enoria. The remaining forces are too scared to even raise their swords. However, we have a problem. A big one. Cosmo, Itachi, and Chris, our former allies, have turned against us and hired ten more heroes to stand against us and replace the heroes of old. The ones who locked up the king 10,000 years ago. This means that we no longer have an engineer, and have lost two of our most skilled fighters ever. We've never been so defeated in our lives". "But that means... No, I won't lose him, not again," Denise says, referring to the night she lost track of Shade, and almost paid with her life. "But we can't fail him. We will succeed. For the glory of the King," Shaun says. "For the glory of the King," we all repeat. The meeting is dismissed and Denise tells me to stay behind. "I'm worried about you, what's happening? Every time something important is going on, you tune out. I know you're worried about him, I'm worried about Shade too. But you need to focus on what's important, and that's winning the war so we can fix them. Everything is going to be alright." she says "Alright, I trust you," I say. Denise gives me a look. "I'll try my best to stay focused," I reluctantly promised, 'cause she wouldn't let me out if I didn't. "I trust you as well," she says, before exiting the room.

Shade

A ringing noise interrupts me while carrying chemicals. I instantly drop the boxes, and a poisoned form of plutonium leaks out. I ran to where Norman was also picking up the last box of the same stuff. In slow motion, I watch the glass covering a light break, and I push Norman out of the way and try to duck the falling glass, but one small piece embeds itself into my leg, and I cry out. "You... We have to get Raid and leave. Now," Norman says. I force myself to my feet and pull out my shurikens. We ran out of the room and through the corridors that led to his cell. Suddenly all the lights go out. I expect the backup generators to start working now, but they never do. We're now trapped in an enemy outpost with no light and glass everywhere on the floor. The intercom suddenly turns on, and the commander uses the last bit of stored electricity to say, "All the exits have been destroyed by the electromagnetic pulse and lightning jet that just struck this outpost. There is no way out," his voice cuts out, and I and Norman run through the halls and then a guard stops us. "You two cadets aren't supposed to be in these halls. Go back to carrying chemicals," he says. I have to complete my mission, and this guard can't stop me. I throw my shuriken, and it lands perfectly in his head. If that didn't kill him, then the poison will. We run by the guard's crumpled body, until a sniper from a hole in the wall aims at me, seeing me kill the guard. I see everything in slow motion, I turn my head to look at the girl just fast enough to see a tear drip down her face before she fires. Norman pushes me back and takes the shot. The bullet creates a bloody hole in his chest. Norman crumples to the ground. The monster inside me, and I'm not mistaken when I say it's not me it's the monster, pulls out three shurikens and the shurikens move as if they were my hands. They rip the arms, legs, and head of the girl, making sure she had a quick, but painful death. Her and Norman's blood is all over me. I continue limping toward Raid's cell.