Back to Gol and Maia, with some timing issue in this chapter that I, luckily, managed to catch before posting it. Fixed now. All is right in the world again, except for the fact that two murderous siblings are about to unleash terror. But, that doesn't seem so bad after the threat of my timing issue. Enjoy.

Chapter 18: The Absence of Song

The twins returned the robot to its room within the citadel, now more than satisfied with the impressive might it had just recently demonstrated, and headed for the lab. As they walked, neither said a word, as they were no doubt preoccupied with not only the imminent destruction of all those that might oppose them, but also the things they would do once the world was theirs. Gol knew exactly what he wanted. They would change the appearance of the world, yes. He would also heal his ailing body. But, one thing in particular that he looked forward to was changing the people. They would finally know what the two of them had known all along. How foolish they would feel when their eyes were opened. That the ones who should be scorned were them, for their blindness and utter ignorance, not his dear sister and himself. If only he could return the life to their parents and rub it in their smug, foolish faces. His father especially. Oh, how he wished he could bring that man back to life, show him the truth, and kill him. Dark Eco surely had powers he still wasn't aware of. Perhaps that wasn't so much of an impossibility, after all. Not that he'd get the chance to…enlighten them, however, even if he did gain that ability. Maia would likely butcher them before he got the chance to drive the point home anyway. Oh, his dear capricious sister.

When they reached their lab, Maia was the first to break the silence. She twirled to face him, fists planted on her hips as they always were when she was in a situation that was of utmost interest to her. "Why can't we just go and incinerate everyone right this instant?"

"I already told you, a little more planning never hurts." He walked past her and took a piece of paper from the pile on the table.

"We've done plenty of planning."

"We haven't decided on which city to attack first, dear sister." He took a pen and began sketching out a rough map of the surrounding area, along with the key features of each city. This he did from what he remembered from those books. He could always go fetch the appropriate resources back from the library for a more accurate map, but Maia didn't seem to have enough patience left to accommodate even that short of a detour. Already she was tapping her foot.

She threw her arms wide. "Just pick one, and let's go." She came over to the table and resumed her impatient pose. "Spargus is the smaller one. Why not start with that?"

"Yes, that would be a wise choice, wouldn't it?" Just a single turret. Take that out, and it was over.

"Then, it's decided."

His brow furrowed as he thought of something. "On the other hand…"

She crossed her arms. "What?"

Spargus. "Who knows, maybe I'll move to Spargus and become a city girl." That's what Kassra had said before he had left. That was a year ago. Likely she had arrived there long ago or had died out in the Wasteland. But, if she had survived alone in that unforgiving environment since she was a child, the former was more likely.

"Forget Spargus," the Sage said. "It's just one small place. Why waste our time?"

She paused to consider this, head tilted to the side. "I thought you liked wasting time, planning out everything down to the tiniest of details."

"Yes, dear sister, I go out of my way to waste time just to make you wait."

She nodded. "And you, dear brother, think we should actually skip Spargus?"

"I do." It couldn't be much of a threat. He was sure it wouldn't be. "Plus, we can get to the most exciting part faster. I should think you'd be all for that, dear sister."

"I'm surprised at you." She smiled. "But, I'm not complaining. So Haven City it is, then. But, I suspect we can't just go and blow them up right now, can we? We'll still have to plan some more, am I right?"

"That is indeed correct, dear sister." They really didn't need to destroy every human encampment within a thousand miles, did they? Just the main one. Yes, that should be enough. It should be. Besides, they were unstoppable at this point anyway. If that was not the case, then their preparations up until now really had been a waste of time.

They got to planning out their next moves, utilizing a combination of their army and the robot. With the Dark Eco cannon, they could have Haven City on their knees in a day. Perhaps he was planning things out too much. But, they were too far in their plans to risk failure again. After some time and many positively vicious (not to say they weren't ingenious) ideas from Maia, they devised the perfect battle plan. Once they destroyed that city, they could always turn their attention to Spargus if need be.

Now that they had that out of the way, he managed to convince Maia, after a great deal of protest, to wait several more days for the number of their troops to reach a more desirable number. And now, finally it was their chosen day of attack and only a little more waiting was necessary, as their assault would be the most successful under cover of nightfall. They had sent the creatures out some time ago to begin their march towards their intended target, and they would catch up later with the robot.

While it would have been best to sleep their final hours before the attack, neither sibling could rest, and so both simply found ways to bide their time. Gol continued work on his other experiments, but with no success, as he had too much else on his mind competing for his attention, while Maia had brought Teeth into the lab to keep them company.

After some time, though, Teeth's attempts to sink its namesake into the Sage's flesh grew tiresome. "Dear sister, can you put that thing somewhere else?"

"Do you have some objection to my pet, dear brother?" she asked from where she sat on the table. He wished she would just sit in a chair like a normal human being.

"I most certainly do. Move it elsewhere, please."

She stood and picked up Teeth's container, holding it at face level. "Someone doesn't like you. I can't imagine why."

Teeth responded by trying to rip off her face. Gol raised an eyebrow as he watched the little beast thrash about. He hoped that glass was strong enough.

Maia directed a disappointed look at her brother. "I only want you two to get along."

He snorted.

"Come, my ugly, little darling." She paused and looked at Gol. "In case you can't tell, I'm talking to it, not you."

"Just go!"

She laughed and headed for the doorway, humming to her less than affectionate pet. Gol stopped his work and looked up.

"Dear sister."

"Hmm?" Maia stopped at the doorway.

"Why don't you sing anymore?"

"What?"

He put his pen down. "You don't anymore."

"I understood your question. And I was doing it just now."

"I haven't heard you sing in…forever."

She blinked at him, face taking on a serious expression. "I don't know." And she shrugged and left.

The Dark Sage watched the spot where she had been, eyes half closed. No, he hadn't heard her sing in a long, long time. She had a lovely voice. He still remembered it, back when he would work in his lab, in much the same manner as he still did now, while she sang cheerful tunes to herself while she went about her own chores. As much as most noises distracted him, this one didn't, and he would listen to her voice, almost a tangible thing, one of beauty and contentment, like an exotic bird winging its way through the rooms of their small house. At least, that's what he thought it would look like, if her singing could be seen. Perhaps in their new world, she would start again.

He lowered his head and, after some more thought, got back to his fruitless scribbling, even though he knew he'd get nothing done while thinking about tonight. Doomsday had come for Haven City.

I really must combine chapters to make them longer. I really must indeed. Anyway, some action is finally coming up soon. Please review.