Alright, so this took a bit on my end, sorry peeps. Too busy working on that webcomic I told you guys about a while back.
"Yep, and I just found out that the setting is similar to my home planet."
That remindes me, why did you leave your world?
"Too much politics and not enough excitement, that's why."
And how did you get these abilities to travle through dimensions?
"It just happened out of nowhere, still trying to figure that tidbit out."
Alright then, I'll just get going with the chapter then, it's been long enough.
Chapter 22: Doubts and Promises
Ares watched helplessly as his brother looms over the newcomer with an arm raised and ready to strike.
"Cronos no!" Ares pleas, but he shows no sign of faltering.
He needs to do something about, he doesn't want someone he just met to get hurt, not like last time. His fists slam on the invisible barrier but it doesn't budge causing the boy to become irritated.
'If only this barrier isn't here!' He thought before he heard a crack. He looks up to it and sees a small crack had formed under one of his fists. Quickly getting the idea he focuses his mind and the barrier immediately starts to break and within seconds it shatters like glass. He pushes himself on top of Isabel right as Cronos strikes which causes his entire world to turn white.
It was all silent for a moment, but soon all of his senses begin to rapidly flood in as his mind returns to the waking world, almost overwhelming the young boy. Finally, his eyes open wide and he sits up in a cold sweat and with rapid breath. As he recovers, he looks around to see that he's in some sort of house as the girl said, but then hears the frantic voices of people behind him causing him to turn around. He sees the same girl but now on the floor and clutching her head while two other people rushed to her care. His heart is gripped in fear as he just stares in disbelieve before the man of the group turns to him with eyes full of anger.
"What did you do to her?" He demanded, struggling to hold his anger in.
"I-I didn't mean to hurt her."
"Bullshit!" The sudden outburst causing Ares to scamper towards the other end of the cushion in fear.
"Dad, he's telling the truth." Isabel intervenes as she holds his arm, already seeming to recover from the ordeal. "Something else expelled me out of his mind, something he had no control over." This explanation seemed to have tamed the man's anger for the time being, but the atmosphere is still tense for the boy as the man now looks at him with the face of suspicion.
"Then come with me, you'll explain everything that you saw." He takes the blonde's arm and turns to the red-haired woman. "May, take care of the kid, but be careful." The woman nods before the two groups make their separate ways with the two going to the far side of the room while the woman goes into another one next door over leaving him alone.
'Brother, are you alright?' The voice of Cronos runs through his mind.
'Yes, but Isabel, what did you do to her?'
'Only what was necessary, I forced her out of her mind, but since you took the brunt of my actions the psychic backlash wasn't much for her.'
'Thank goodness. So, where are you?'
'Currently on my way to you, I wasn't sure if you were alright, but at least now you're out of the way of the storm's wrath.'
'Please don't, not right now. I don't think they'll respond well to you.'
'But we need to-'
'Just get Janusar, he needs the help more than I do. And from the look of things these people aren't going to hurt me, they don't even know what I am right now. Shouldn't we give them a chance? A chance you denied Sira?' A hint of frustration was heard within the last question. Silence filled the mind before his brother came with the answer.
'Alright then, I'll leave you in the care of these terrans, but we'll be watching closely. The moment they present themselves as a threat to you, we're immediately retrieving you.'
'You promise?'
'I promise.'
'Thank you.' Soon after the presence of his brother dimmed out.
Ares looks up towards the pair to see them talking with each other with the father's arm over the girl's shoulder and facing away from him. He can't hear what they're saying but he notes the adult's protectiveness with it being shown from him looking to him then back to his child.
Suddenly he smells something rather appealing to him, something that he never smelled before, which caused him to look over and see May walking towards her with something in one hand and glass of water in another.
"Here you go, it isn't the biggest meal, but I'm sure you'll like it." May told him while she puts them down on the table in front of him. He investigates the new meal in front of him, wonder as to what it is, he had never seen anything like this before. "What is it? You're acting like you've never seen a sandwich before." He looks back up to her then back to the sandwich.
Supposing from the smell that it tastes better than what he's eaten before, he picks it up and takes the first bite. The resulting sensation overwhelmed his taste buds with immense euphoria causing the young hybrid to savagely eat at the morsel, not taking a moment to breath in the process causing the woman to worry.
"Wait, you're going to cho-" Before she could finish, Ares has consumed the entire sandwich and already licking off the crumbs off his lips, stunning the woman. "Wow, you must've been really hungry, I guess I can make you another one if you like." He nods his head furiously. "Alright then, I'll go make another one then." She walks off into the other room again to prepare another meal.
At the same time both the father and daughter start to walk back, he sees that the girl is a little nervous as she fiddles with her fingers, and he finds out why when he looks at the man who holds a piercing glare on him causing Ares to become nervous. He can still feel the anger from him by this gaze alone, so he sits up and doesn't make a move in hopes of not provoking him.
"Alright now Ares, Isabel explained everything she saw. But now I have to ask you something: who else is here? You obviously hadn't escaped on your own and based on your memories some sort of creature aided in your efforts." The man asked. Not being in a position to deny him the boy complies.
"T-there is, I have two brothers: Cronos and Janusar. Cronos is currently looking for Janusar since we've all gotten separated by the storm."
"What will happen when they find each other?"
"They'll come for me next."
"Then call them off."
"I can't, they're very protective of me so they won't listen to that demand. But they won't hurt you, I talked to Cronos after you all separated, and he promised me that they won't harm you unless you become a threat to me."
"What about Janusar?"
"He's still trying to find him, but I'm sure that he'll convince him when he does."
"We'll see about that." He looks over the window. "It's getting dark outside. We should all get some shut eye." He suddenly stumbles while holding his head, but Isabel catches him.
"Especially you dad, you've been through some crap."
"But what about Ares?" They all turn to see May with another sandwich in her hands. "We don't have an extra room for guests." The three thought about a solution to the problem for a few seconds until the man broke the silence. "How about that blow-up mattress? The one we used while Mac used to visit."
"Alright, I'll go get everything." After setting the food down May immediately heads towards the hallway to get what is needed.
"Thanks, now for you dad." The blonde tries to take her father away, but he resists.
"Wait, what about the kid? How do we know that he won't don't anything?"
"I'm sure that he won't, he doesn't seem like that kind of person."
"Never let your guard down for anything Isabel."
"I know, I know. But I'm sure about him. Now let's get you cleaned up, you're soaking and tracking mud." Ares watches the two exit out the room, but not before the man looks over and gives him a quick glare.
He's left alone once again with a slight unsettling feeling in his stomach now which makes him unwilling to eat the sandwich in front of him. This was not how he imagined meeting new people.
The sound of hundreds of raindrops hitting the forest fills the dark air, drowning out all other sounds in a tide of pelting water. Thunder suddenly booms above it all briefly coating the entire area with light and revealing that large and monstrous frame of Cronos trampling through the soaking foliage, unhindered by the dampness of the mud. As the light ceases his eyes present the only glow for him as they show his face in a dim blue light.
Within his mind two emotions runs through it: a sense of relief and a sense of worry. He is relieved with the fact that Ares is safe from the storm, but he still worries about Janusar since he still hasn't responded back to his numerous calls. Unlike Ares he and Janusar can take a good amount of damage as they are, which is why he's worried that he has taken considerable damage to the point of crippling him.
After traversing through the storm ridden forest, he starts feeling the connection to his sibling strengthening which rouses his anxiousness as he's getting close and makes him suddenly change direction like a magnet being attracted to another. This is when he comes upon a raging river flowing down stream, this does not disrupt his path as this is not the direction he needs to go. He looks to his left and sees a large pile of rocks and mud and within it originates a faint blue glow emanating from the cracks of the humongous pile and he immediately runs towards it, anxious to free his brother.
After reaching the pile he immediately starts digging into it with his four arms, his claws making easy work at digging through the earth and throwing large chunks of it away. It took him a few seconds to reach the bottom of the mound and laying there is the unconscious but still intact body of Janusar.
"Brother…" Cronos speaks out to him hoping that this time he'll respond. After a few seconds without one his fingers begins to twitch as life slowly starts coming back to his form.
"Uuugh…Cronos." Janusar forces out his response as the larger of the two lifts him up. "Ares…where is he?" He springs back to full strength as he asks the question.
"You were separated from him in the storm, but he's okay, he's with some local terrans."
"What? We must retrieve him now!" He demands.
"No, I have spoken to him and promised that we would not harm nor interfere with the family."
"But what if they-"
"Hurt him? He assured me that they won't, and if they did, we would come in."
"But still, they're terrans."
"And what? As far as I've seen these one still know little about what we are. In fact, I think they're just concerned, and Ares knows this. I think that it's best to listen to him, we both know of his current mental state, he may need this. I'm starting to think that separating him from Sira was a mistake."
"Don't be ridiculous, she would turn him against us."
"And what proof do you have?"
"They all wanted to make us into weapons from the beginning. What other purpose did her behavior have?"
"Perhaps more than we could see, something that only Ares could see. Even then that doesn't mean that we should distrust these terrans. What reason would they have to deceive us in such a matter if they know basically know nothing about us?" Janusar stood still at his brother's statement, unable to find a counter argument.
"Fine, we'll keep out of their affairs until otherwise, but we'll watch closely."
"Thank you." The two then set off into the night to reunite with their sibling.
So, I've basically got nothing to say but that I'll be working on the first page of my webcomic for the bulk of the first week so expect some delays.
Now for the trivia of the day:
Trust can be measured across four key factors, including credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation. Credibility is all about what we say, our skills and credentials. Reliability is all about the actions we take and our predictability. Intimacy is tied to how comfortable people are confiding in us, and our empathy. And self-orientation is about ego. (trust advisor . com )
With all that out of the way I hope that you all have a great day or night wherever you may be.
"See ya peeps! ^^"
