Arie readied a punch, but froze as she neared Jane. She
sensed the same thing Aaron did moments before: reluctance, guilt, shame. She
began to lower her fist as she heard James yell.
“What are you doing?! You know what the mission is!” he
shouted at her angrily. Arie stood her ground, studying Jane and readying
herself for a potential attack.
Jane hesitated for a moment, then rushed at Arie. Seconds
before impact, Arie disappeared in her pink light.
“You don’t have to listen to him,” she said softly to Jane,
reappearing behind her. “I know a tyrant when I see one. He, nor your father,
want what’s best for you.”
Jane turned to face Arie. “But they’re my family. It’s my
duty to honor them.” She prepared another attack for Arie, attempting to rush
her, before finding herself looking at Arie from further in the distance.
“It is your duty to be true to yourself. You are not doing
that on this battlefield.”
“How do you know? You aren’t psychic.”
“Nor am I stupid.”
“Why aren’t you helping me?!” James yelled to Jane. She
looked to Arie, then her brother, torn. She ultimately decided to rush to his
aid.
“No.” Arie teleported
her back, kneeing her in the stomach. “I feel sympathy for you, but I will not
let you harm him.”
“I don’t have a choice,” Jane punched with yellow energy
toward Arie, who promptly disappeared.
“You always have a choice,” Arie clutched her side. Jane’s
energy had disrupted her teleportation and caused injury to her. They both
heard a thud, turning to see James crash into the ground.
“James!” Jane yelled in despair. Arie could almost feel her
pain. She was fighting for her brother, but Arie knew that she didn’t want to.
Jane ran towards him, preparing to attack Aaron.
“I’ve already told you,” Arie teleported Jane back to her. “I
can’t let you hurt him.” Jane lashed toward her with tears in her eyes,
expecting her to disappear.
“You didn’t fade,” Jane said as Arie leaned back, avoiding
her attack and kicking her in the stomach.
“I can’t let you predict what I’ll do,” Arie twisted her
body, moving around Jane and raising her leg, crashing her heel into Jane and
knocking her to the ground.
“I have to help him,” Jane pushed herself up, landing a kick
to Arie’s leg.
“Is that your choice, or his?” Arie fell to her knees, but
managed to block Jane’s next attack. “And
why is he only demanding help instead of coming to your aid?” She landed a
punch to Jane’s stomach.
As she fell, clutching her midsection, Jane was wide-eyed.
Why was her brother not helping her? Why was he not showing the same sense of
duty to her that she showed to him? Why did Arie’s words speak to her core? She
thought back to the moments before they came to Aaron’s time.
---
“Are you ready to do this mission?” James asked Jane, stoic.
“I’m not sure…” she looked down.
“What do you mean, ‘I’m not sure’?” He moved toward her,
angry. “Father is right. That man does not deserve his power or status.”
“How do you know that?” Jane asked.
“Because he just sits on his ‘throne’, watching everyone. He
does nothing. There is still struggle, crime, and pain. If he were the leader
so many people believe him to be, those things would be gone.”
“Killing those who disagree with us is no way to lead the
world.”
“You’re delusional,” James snapped at her. “That is why you
aren’t going to lead with Father and I.”
“Then why am I going with you?” she glared at him.
“You know why.” James turned away from her. She could feel
the resentment roll off of him. “We need to prepare to leave.” James walked
away, hiding the bitterness in his voice.
Jane watched him leave, replaying their interaction in her
head. She moved to a window overlooking their city. It was beautiful, but James
was right: there was still crime, many people still lived in poverty. Why hadn’t
the Captain done more?
“Sometimes I wonder that myself,” he spoke from behind her.
She was in shock; had he discovered the plan? “Plan…?” he asked her.
“What?” she responded, throwing up her mental shield.
“Nothing…” the Captain cocked an eyebrow at her, then moved
to the window to look at the cityscape. “Why does pain still exist? Don’t we
try hard enough?” Jane could hear the sadness in his voice. Was James right
about the Captain completely?
“I see what you do. You’ve done more than I’ve read about
other world leaders doing. You’ve helped the world change,” she offered.
“But so much of it is still the same…” he looked down. She
could see tears splash off the railing near the windows.
“But, Captain… Your hope for this world is what helped it
change. Please, don’t give that up…” she placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you Jane,” he looked to her with wet eyes. “I wish
you knew how much that means to me.” His words stung her. She knew what she was
about to do to him. Though James and their father stated otherwise, she knew
the Captain was right for their world.
“Oh… And good luck on your mission. I’ve heard it’s pretty
important. I hope you succeed,” he embraced her. As Jane felt his warmth, which
she had never felt from her father or brother, she wanted to disintegrate. Her
mission was going to be a great act of betrayal.
---
“No more,” Jane put her hands to the ground and began to
cry. “No more!” As she screamed, she felt a spark. She felt free, stronger than
she ever had. She immediately felt relieved, until she realized what this
meant.
“We have to protect him!” Jane pleaded to Arie.
“But your brother must be stopped!” Arie replied.
“No… The Captain!” Jane pointed to Aaron. At that moment,
she saw James expel massive amounts of energy, soon being wrapped in his energy
and turning into a magenta giant.
“No…” she could barely speak as she heard James.
“Yes! Power!” he said as he blasted Arie with his energy,
quickly knocking her out. Jane watched Miche and Campbell fall as Arie did and
noticed an immediate change in Aaron. He began to rise, covered in blue energy.
Though she knew it meant defeating her brother, she had hope that her Captain
would do what he needed to. And she would help.
