Gol reminisces once again, as he is a, well, reminisce-er. This likely completes the main descriptions of their past, though I may think of more details to add later. And their little beasties get to work. Go, little beasties, go!

Chapter 10: Regrets

The next several months were rather busy for the Acheron twins. Maia went about in search of any Dark Eco she could find to tide them over until the pipeline was finished, in addition to the much more common variants of Eco, while Gol worked on creating more of the creatures. As he got the hang of the process again, he worked on modifying the creatures, increasing their strength, intelligence, and obedience. Many of the early versions were much too wild and vicious to make any use of. Their violent behavior was welcome, but not if they were just as likely to attack their masters as their enemies. These creatures were destroyed, the Dark Eco from their bodies to be repurposed into more desirable servants.

After the creatures were to their liking, passing all the tests the siblings had devised for them (including fetching various objects for Maia, which Gol believed to be more for her own amusement than anything else), they sent the first group out into the desert, about twenty of the things, along with segments of the pipeline to be constructed between their citadel and the Catacombs. These pieces they had created from various scraps Maia had managed to find out in the Wasteland or even from their old citadel. (It truly was a shame they hadn't known about its location before they had put work into its replacement. Their original citadel was certainly more impressive.) And they would certainly need more. It was going to be a very long pipe. As the creatures toiled away in the heat of the Wasteland, the siblings worked to automate the creation of their army with yet more bits and pieces they had found, anything that could be assembled into machinery. Many months went by, and the old temple became a factory of sorts. This left the two to spend their time on more important matters.

Gol sat in his lab, now a bit empty after having much of its previous purpose outsourced elsewhere. He had continued his research to either improve upon the work in his old notes or to restore what Maia couldn't find. Right now, however, he wasn't doing much else but thinking. Some time had passed since they escaped from the silo. Nearly a year, perhaps, give or take a few months. It was hard to keep track of time out in the middle of nowhere like this, especially when time was not divided so much into days as fluctuating increments of work and sleep. "Sage Time", he called it. It was a common trait of Eco Sages to work themselves to exhaustion, then, get right back to work as soon as they had recovered enough. About the only thing he had in common with those other foolish Sages.

He remembered how, since he was young, he would sometimes stay up for days at a time researching Dark Eco until Maia was finally able to force him to rest. But, there was always so much to do. Dark Eco was an infinitely mysterious substance, and it almost seemed like the more he learned, the less he knew. Someone had to study it, though, and if no one else would, he had to.

Gol closed his eyes. That was so long ago, back when they had lived in that quiet, little village, the one they had stayed in until the Dark Eco had opened their eyes to what they had to do. When they were young, in their mid 20's, they had moved from their village just northwest of Rock Village to one farther north, in the wooded foothills of Snowy Mountain. In the place where they had grown up, as all villages were back then, it wasn't easy to avoid people, and he found himself running into his parents even after his sister and he had moved into their own place. This always led to no small amount of awkwardness. Eventually, they decided it was time to go elsewhere and leave their parents behind, in addition to all the other fools who viewed them with distrust.

In this new town, they had hidden their association with Dark Eco, not out of shame, but for their own protection (the treatment Gol received was one thing, but he wouldn't allow anyone to bother Maia anymore because of him). After some time, though, it became impossible to hide any longer, once Gol became the Dark Sage and their skin began to pale. When the villagers had found out that they had a dreaded Dark Eco Sage living amongst them, they had crowded around their home in an effort to run them out of town. Maia, having a much more delicate disposition back then, had stayed indoors, while a rather livid Gol had gone outside to tell them they were by no means going anywhere.

After he stood his ground and reminded the people that his sister and he had never done anything to harm them and never would (well, he didn't know at the time that he'd change his mind), they finally settled down and returned to their homes. Not that they were happy about the siblings' presence, but none of them had the courage to carry out their threats.

He remembered that when he had gone back inside, Maia had been crying. "Why does everyone hate us?" she had asked. "It's the same, no matter where we go." It certainly appeared that way, and he had no answer to her question. At least, not one that would have been very comforting.

Gol was most grateful that the Dark Eco had since helped his dear sister to cease caring about what those fools thought of them. It was the only solace that he got, knowing that his choice to study Dark Eco had caused his sister so much grief. He never thought such a decision would cause so much trouble for her, even though on hindsight, he should have. At one point, he almost gave up on his research to spare her anymore harassment, but she had told him quite firmly not to quit because of them.

The Sage looked down to see he had snapped his pen in half. He dropped the two pieces on the table. The worst was over now. The Dark Eco had blessed them much more than it had harmed them, and the harm was only due to the misconceptions of others. And now, it wouldn't be much longer before a new age began. People would no longer fear those who studied Dark Eco, and his sister and he would be recognized for the superior beings they were. The world would be far better, then. People would fight the transition, of that he was certain, but they would thank him when it was over, and the two of them would be worshipped as the people who had made the world perfect.

But, was limitless Dark Eco and an army enough, he wondered. This was their second chance, and it wasn't likely they would get another. He always liked to make a point out of being over-prepared, and there were far more people in the world now to get in their way, equipped with technology superior to what they had centuries ago. Perhaps a little more was necessary to ensure their victory. Before he could ponder over this any longer, he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Maia walking into the room. Unless he was mistaken, he was sure he saw the sheen of perspiration on her forehead. He chuckled inwardly. He would really be in for it if he mentioned that.

She wiped her brow with one forearm (by the Precursors, it was true, his sister did indeed sweat!). "Must be nice to stay where it's comfortable while I'm out working."

Before he could refute this, he realized she was right. "But, I thought I was the more decrepit of the two of us, dear sister." There, how could she argue with that?

She snorted. "I suppose you have a point." She came to his side of the room and sat on the table.

"You really mustn't do that."

She stuck out her tongue. "Deal with it." She looked down at the broken pen lying in front of him. "And what did that do to anger you?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I've gotten us some more Eco for the machines. It's rather tiring. We should switch jobs."

That was true, but as he thought back to what had been most recently occupying his thoughts, his reply came out as, "I've missed you, dear sister."

"Sucking up isn't going to help you."

"That's not what I mean."

"I wasn't really gone that long."

"I know."

He really hadn't meant to cause her the pain he had. The rejection of their parents. And the way people treated them. And their time in the silo. He could only hope she didn't blame him for any of it. If she had, wouldn't she have made it known, though? She normally was more than happy to point out his errors.

She stared at him with a confused look on her face for a moment longer, then, shook her head. "Well, you really must see how the pipeline's coming along."

"Is it nearly finished, dear sister?"

She stood up. "Why don't you see for yourself? Come, dear brother."

She grabbed his hand as he stood and teleported them both out into the Wasteland. As they floated there, he saw the end of the pipeline below, with the creatures toiling away on it. In one direction, the pipeline meandered off into the distance, with countless creatures marching alongside it, bringing in new parts for the pipe, and in the other, he could see the ragged hole in the mountains that was no doubt the entrance to the Catacombs.

"Not a horribly long distance to go, dear brother," Maia said.

"It certainly isn't, dear sister." Gol pulled her closer with one arm and gave her a kiss on the side of the head.

She struggled free. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm sorry. Am I no longer allowed to show affection to my dear sister?"

"You've just been dreadfully corny lately, that's all."

He snorted. No, he hasn't. Has he?

After a moment longer of observing the progress on the pipe, Gol said, "Let's get out of this heat."

"That's what I've been wanting to do, but I keep getting stuck with the outside work."

"You brought us out here this time."

"Be quiet." Despite the grin on her face, she gave him a shove, and then disappeared. Maia was a violent thing lately. Which was fine, but only when she didn't direct it at him. Gol disappeared, as well, returning to the relative comfort of the citadel, while the Dark Eco creatures continued their work. Soon, all of the world's Dark Eco would be under their control.

I almost typed a certain quote from the "Jak 1" final boss battle right there at the end, but I did not. I hope this chapter was entertaining. Please read and review. And something much different from previous chapters is coming up…. Be excited. Be very excited.