Chapter 756: Cassius’s arrival.
Her hands trembled, her heart was thudding like a runaway horse and she was sweating. Sunshine’s biggest hope was that this would work without setting off an alarm.
[Host, your anxiety levels are rising. Do you need a shot?]
"No." She replied sharply, in her mind. She didn’t want to relax. This tension was giving her the push required to work speedily.
In her mind, she saw the pattern_ a perfect, white knot. With every thread she tied, the sick light of the rift grew dimmer. The bruise in the sky began to fade. Compared to the simulations Vortan had forced her to do, this was actually becoming easier the more she continued. She started feeling calmer, her hands steadied as she worked through the invisible sewing.
"Zero visibility on the watchers. They don’t want that lightning storm smoke." Major Elio updated the team.
Sunshine relaxed more. But the team did not, because they knew what was at stake.
Within three hours, the pulsing light vanished. The gravity stopped pulling. With one final tug of energy, the bruise snapped shut.
The storm from outside became calm, and the sky above Crayon Howl looked... normal, despite the ash.
[Congratulations, Host. Successful repair confirmed. You’re actually getting good at this. Too bad you will not earn points for this, or you would be a grandmaster by now.]
"The rift has been repaired" Sunshine sent communication back to her team. "I repeat, the sky had been closed shut, mission is a success. Let’s head back. Move quickly, because the watchers will return and investigate the abnormality soon."
Inside the aircraft’s, the other teams were watching the monitors. When the lesion disappeared and Sunshine sent a message, a massive cheer broke out. People were hugging and crying. For the first time, they weren’t just surviving_ they were hopeful that the apocalypse could actually come to an end.
Sunshine and her team flew back into the aircraft. She was met with high-fives and praises. She felt exhausted, but she couldn’t stop smiling.
"One down," she said, looking out the window as the aircraft turned back toward Fortress Four. "Two more to go."
The aircraft’s teleported away.
*******
Back at the base, Cassius and his team finally arrived at Fortress Four. The guards recognized Orion and his men, but they stopped the two strangers with him. After the sleeper cell incident, they were careful about allowing strangers inside.
Raydon asked who the newcomers were.
Orion answered quickly. He lied and said that Hades had sent for them. Orion didn’t want to share the reward from the Quinn family with anyone else, and Cassius had asserted that he wanted to surprise his father.
Raydon felt suspicious. Something didn’t seem right. He tried to call Hades, but Hades did not answer the phone. But it was true that Orion was on his way here. This information had been passed on by the team that took supplies to his base weeks ago. However, Raydon told Orion that he would follow them to make sure the story was true. All the vehicles then embarked on a drive toward the base of the mountain.
At this same time, the base was waiting for the teams to return. News had already reached the command stations about their victory.
When the invisible aircrafts finally touched down, silent cheers broke out in the command rooms. There were no loud shouts or fireworks. Sunshine had been very strict about this: no one was to give the Watchers a single hint about what was happening. To the eyes in the sky, Fortress Four had to look like a place of misery and death.
Being so happy was actually forbidden. To keep up the act, actors were planted around the base. Some would pretend to collapse randomly, while others walked around clutching their throats as if the toxic air was burning their lungs. The Watchers were already frustrated that the lava hadn’t melted the fortress, and Sunshine wanted to keep them guessing. If the aliens saw people dancing, they would know something was up.
In fact, clone Sunshine and Hades seemed to be in the middle of a loud angry argument when they entered the training base. When they came out a minute later, they were still arguing.
"They have been arguing for an hour! remind me never to get married." Pink commented.
"I wish she would smack him. I totally stand with her." Another said.
In the command room, Lisha and others laughed.
Hades and Sunshine were standing near the decontamination bay, with her hand raised as if she was about to smack him when three vehicles pulled in. Two were strangers, but one belonged to their own fleet.
She lowered her hand, and some of the watchers groaned in disappointment.
When the doors opened, the atmosphere shifted from fake fighting to deadly silence. First out was Orion. Sunshine and Hades were glad to see him, but that feeling vanished when the people behind him stepped out. It was Cassius and Denise.
"What the fuck..." Sunshine murmured under her breath.
Hades’ eyes locked onto Cassius. The younger man was smiling_ a wide, fake grin as if he expected Hades to run over and give him a big hug. Orion stepped forward, looking proud of himself.
"Sir, ma’am!" Orion said, beaming at the Quinns. "I found your son! I wanted to return your son safely to you."
Hades didn’t move. He didn’t hug Orion. "Safely! You should have killed him."
All the smiles died, replaced by frowns and looks of shock, especially from Orion.
Hades looked at Raydon, the guard from the main the gate. "How did they get in? How did they get all the way to my inner base?"
Raydon looked nervous. "Orion said that you sent for them. I came here myself to confirm that."
Orion began to panic wondering if he had landed himself in trouble. He looked back and forth between Hades’ angry face and Cassius’s rueful smile. "Wait... are you not happy? I thought... I thought your son returning was a good thing."
Sunshine let out a laugh, but it wasn’t a nice one. it was a sharp, derisive sound that made everyone flinch. "Happy? Orion, you didn’t bring home a son. You brought home a snake and the last person that we want to see."
Cassius pulled a silk scarf off his head, looking around the base with envious eyes. He couldn’t help the flash of anger and jealousy. All this while, he had been suffering outside while they lived well here!
But he didn’t want to give himself away, so he tried to look like the Oscar winner for most tragic hero that ever lived. He clutched his chest, like it was in pain. "Father... please. I know things look bad. I was kidnapped by that woman Moon Raine. And then a piece of meteor hit my head and all this fog cleared up. I am not a fool anymore. As soon as I realized what had happened, I escaped from Moon to find you. You have no idea what I have been through."
Sunshine stepped forward, her eyes glowing with a dangerous light. "For a ’victim’ you sure look healthy. Look at you! The apocalypse must be great for your flushed skin. No scars or injuries from your hard journey at all!"