Amara couldn't help but chew as he moaned at the taste of cheese from the pizza, Whit walking from the corner of the kitchen throwing a bottle of soda right over to his friend. Extending out his hand so that he could grab onto the container of the liquid, Alex used his free hand to tear off the cheese from the tip of the slice. Feeling the sofa bounce for a second as they began to converse amongst one another and Myers plopped down with the added pressure of his weight, Sammy listened from behind the corner with her back against the wall. Beside her, Rose was there, crouched with her arms over her knees before one of her limbs reached up to her lip. Just as her teeth were about to clench against the perfect kept-together part of her nail, they crunched right down against the spike attached to the tip of her extremity.
As she was about to stand upright and charge right out from this shadowed corner in the loft so she could talk with Alex, her lips began to part. As if the need or want to plead- to help the man she'd loved began to sink its way into the depths of her heart, but just then, Riley had grabbed her by her wrist. Knowing that despite the hold she'd tightened around the ginger's arm that she'd still try to speak out loud. Argue, try to make a good point so she could cradle him in her arms and tell him everything was going to be okay; but even then, Sammy couldn't let her do that. The hair had prohibited the sight of her eyes to the younger woman, none of them even had to say anything to the other, only one of them was telepathic, yet despite that... they both knew, despite what Rosey wanted for Al; that he didn't need a girlfriend and a mother right now. He needed a friend, a best friend he could always rely on that'd been through similar things.
And just then, peering around that narrow corridor, they sat beside one another- eating in total silence together so that the only sounds that leaked into the enclosed structures that made up this location were the chewing and sipping of their food and liquids. Alex was more chaotic as he tore off the cheese from the top of the food like a rabid beast feasting on their prey having already been annihilated. Whitney, however, despite being more feral with his personality and attacks considering he could summon monsters, was calm in his eating. Folding the pizza by the crust so the right and the left would face one another and he would have more to chew on, still holding the piece of food in his hand as the soda began to slide right down his throat to hit his stomach.
But, the silence had gone on long enough and the time to discuss had arrived as Whitney gulped down the remainders of that pizza slice. Al's head turned as he sat the seal of the window to gaze at the sights of the darkness of the night, the sun began to rise over the horizon- he'd been up for over 24 hours and not even a yawn had exited out his throat. The bright blue mixed with a glimpse of green sent a gust of chilly wind right down his back, goosebumps forming all over as he sighed dejectedly at the sight before him. It happened gradually, of course, but... the thought of those illuminating windows and the neon glow of the city fading in the distance from behind the Castle caused him to solemnly smile. Walking to the kitchen and staying behind the island so he could bend down turning his hand over the knob so he could pull open a cabinet, fingers slapping around excess junk they'd collected over the past two years of living here. Whitney was never one to initiate a conversation with anyone unless it was Lynn or he was insulting Rosalyn seeing as how stupidly adolescent she acted at times despite being in her early 20s.
Yet this time was different, grabbing the flask of alcohol carefully placing it onto the counter flicking the top up into the air then catching it. As it began to slide into the center of his palm, pale extremities closing around it before it spun around the tip of his finger and he placed it gently down alongside the decanter of liquor. Pouring the burning fluid into two transparent glasses so you could stare upon the sight from a viewer perspective, the Devil began to question his Hispanic friend, the truth behind his feelings and everything,
"So, cocksucker, what's up with you? You disappear for about a day and then come back with a scar over your lip. And now you're hanging out with that white-haired girl's wife. Tell me where you've been and what's been happening. I know I'm not the best sort of person, but... I'll listen. If that's- enough if that's the right word?"
Seeing as how if they were to sit down against the couch again, bolts of lightning jumped and sparked off his shoulders and arms. Stepping toward from the pushed-up frame of the window so his legs would dangle for just a few moments, Alex had his hair move with the flow of the wind he'd generated from the swift speed he generated from the speed he ran. Reappearing from the Requiem energy popping out of his exterior, Amara then took his liquor in his hand sitting up on the island as Myers at against the one across from it. His eyes reflecting in the alcoholic beverage to illuminate it with contrast with the brown tint of the liquid, he held nothing back and explained every last intricate detail of his emotions,
"I don't know how to describe any of it, so I'll just go with the flow and say what I want from the heart. So if it doesn't make any sense, that's probably fucking why..."
They shared a causal laugh amongst themselves, each of them staring down at their drinks without even making eye contact with the other. The waiting needed to have an end to it, and so, without any further ado, Alex inhaled sharply and readied to spill his guts without letting anything back,
"It's odd, I decided to finally face my asshole of an uncle and I came out with infinite power. I'm now the same as August and Ben, but... now that I have this significance, that I have this power inside of me; I believe I don't deserve it. Who are we to decide who lives and who dies? To destroy the lives and repair the others? None of us are gods or judges, and even those guys... I don't know, it's just that, I don't think I should have this power. Maybe it's... maybe it's because of what I saw, how this power corrupts and seeps into their brains like a fucking virus. Ben's a mass-murdering sociopath who barely feels any sort of emotion and my mentor is a smug non-feeling bastard who only cares about fighting and finding the right opponent. How am I going to turn out any fucking better than the both of them with how pathetic they are now..?"
Though he sort of rambled on when he could've stopped and it would've made sense any other way, Myers got the gist. The whole point of it... that he felt he didn't deserve the strength bestowed upon him and that he didn't want to turn out like the other two Requiems, Ben and his son, August. And to that, Whitney strongly downed the liquor he'd poured and Al followed without falter. The former of the two winced at the burning sensation of the fluid, Amara shrugging then looking at the glass for just a second. The difference in taste, how poetic, and just then, Whitney had placed his container down so he could give Alex some real advice from the most honest and brutal man he knew,
"I believe the reason you believe that you're undeserving of the Requiem energy is that the three of you think of it as power. Ben, the power to rule over everyone and make everyone safe, August, to be the strongest and save others because he couldn't save his girl in the past. And you believe it's power because that's the way they show it to you. Ben, Jason, Madi, August, even Ms. Emma's kids or whoever the hell they were, Louis and Claire. But the truth is; it's just strength. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, maybe not for his siblings but the Emperor, we may be on his side. But that doesn't mean he's not batshit fucking crazy despite his logic, I mean, he's chosen to the Sixth Member of a group of literal fucking demons. Alex, you're not alone and you won't turn out like them, stop thinking of this as their power and make it your own. You're not a Rivera, and you're not a Karlo. You're an Amara, you may not think that name means anything but neither did those at one point. Ben made his name a household one because he took action, August made him because he took action, Azazel made him because he took FUCKING action. If you don't believe me, then head to the Smithsonian and do something for me... on the way there, make your technique while conscious. We'll be here when you get back,"
Knowing what he was referring to when he mentioned the Smithsonian regarding the farthest district, Alex wasted no time in downing the rest of the alcoholic bottle. Knowing it'd cause his throat to get dry and likely not even work to make him drunk, he did it anyway, and just as the electricity began to thunder and crackle in the clouds above; he turned back to his best friend with a smile of happiness right over his cut lip.
The wind was chilly and the streets were hard as his feet continuously pounded against the sheer material belonging to the concrete below him. There were no bystanders around, all of them in their beds or cowering at home fearing the Requiem Judge, Chaos Incarnate. But no longer would he let this feeling control him, he couldn't allow it to manipulate his every move and he couldn't let it consume him... he needed to act. He was an Amara, fate chose him for a reason to be gifted this strength, and it wasn't to grovel around because he didn't have their last name. Whitney knocked some sense back into him, but to believe something, you need to experience it firsthand. And soon, he went for the Smithsonian to aid his mentor... battling his girlfriend's brother.
As the sparks flew from the metal clashing and sliding off the hardened tendril of darkness, Azazel grunted as he landed to the back of August watching as he stepped back further. Levitating into the air, he simply stuck out his hand extending the tips of his fingers so that those lengthy projectiles could propel themselves out of his extremities. Grunting at the sight before him, he infused the katana in his grip with Takyr energy so it could destroy the attacks with ease. Cutting through the straight shadowy beams that were about to slice right through his chest, Karlo grunted as he flipped forward and began to run along the top of the projectile-like weapon.
Scoffing in an irritable expression as he gazed upon this sight, August simply weaved to the left seeing as how Azazel was going for a straight thrust to the chest. However he was quick enough to dodge, The Detective was easily able to register this and went for a left sideways slash to the face about to cut it into two pieces. Funnily enough, the Reaper had caught his wrist before the blade could even absorb the plasma of Shattered Limit, seeing as how Azazel knew that he wouldn't be able to touch his enemy because of that barrier of light all around him invisibly shaded by the moon... he was trying to take it all into the tip of the sword and reflect it at his Requiem opponent. While it was a decently thought-out strategy, August simply used his right hand to chop the blade with a simple palm strike and then spin around right in mid-air kicking Karlo to the groundbreaking all of his ribs in one simple shot.
The gust of wind that'd been projected off from this impact broke every single remaining window and caused the dead bodies leaking blood to fly against the wall, decrepit and slowly decaying as time went on at a gradual pace. Corpses splattering that gore against the walls, the remaining coagulating droplets turned to steam as they touched the invisible shield of light surrounding Rivera's entire frame. His feet gently touching against the ground, he cracked his neck and felt the stinging nature of his bone-breaking as his thumb pressed against the top knuckle of his index finger,
"Is that truly all you got? And here I thought that you Karlos were supposed to formidable. Come on, and give me the fight to remember... Karlo,"
Without wanting to disappoint him, Azazel went to uncover two daggers from his boots and spit out one tooth surrounded by droplets of blood around the destroyed bone. Radiating with negative and Takyr energy from both the addition of demonic blood and the strong emotions he was experiencing right now, Rivera's hair was sent back as he gasped. Laughing happily, he charged forward with his fist in front of him ready to penetrate his skin and immobilize him with the simple thrust of these knives through his chest.
Yet, at the speed he was traveling, it seemed like there was so much left in the world of time remaining that Azazel could grind it to a halt and disappear. The breakneck swiftness of the charge couldn't just stop immediately, so while he was still moving; the blunt back of one of those daggers had met the rear end of August's white-haired skull. His chin meeting the ground and his back meeting the wall, Azazel flipped back in mid-air with his wing emerging from his spine to push him further to an ascension away from August. Both of them discombobulated by what had just occurred, Azazel stared at the burn mark around his hand and August rubbed his head as the barrier of Shattered Limit began to return to his soul. Both of them knew, as Karlo sheathed the daggers and revealed his knuckles and August stood up straight with the glow surrounding every part of his body, thunder booming in the air like an airplane passing by overhead with that annoying loudness and the lightning coursing through his veins before popping out his skin to bounce against the interior design of the Landmark.
The silence began to reign over the facility as even the thunder had begun to silence, the peering eyes of those below, the Reaper's beloved sisters watching from the cameras they'd hacked into. Mei, Beau, and Matt staring with the first of the three bitings her lip in anticipation for who would win this ghastly fit between friends. Just then, Karlo's feet began to touch against the ground, the same as Rivera's, and they both stared. Neither of them hated the other, no hard feelings would be shared once one of them was simply knocked out from the fight entirely. As their feet kicked up the blood from the earlier decimation, they both met, simply face to face, before the black-haired former Crow took the first shot.
Jumping up and about to slam right down on the top of his head with his fist, August flipped back and stuck out his one hand as his back was destined to hit against the hard floors below. Scoffing at this, Azazel did what any insane person would do and laugh as his gauntlets peeled over his hands from his watch. Snarling like a rabid beast as he charged forward with the tips of his fingers acting as nails, with simple swipes he managed to destroy and blast away the tendrils of plasma coming at him. Moments away from his back hitting the ground, August warped right out of the way before Azazel could reach his position and slam his fist where his face used to be destroying the ground.
With his back turned to the air above him, he began to chortle and laugh as if he were a psychotic patient in a mental asylum. Reappearing to the back of his head above the ground, August's mind flashed back to the time he'd spent battling Azazel in Japan in that surrounded cherry blossom forest. Not only did this innate technique allow him to become stronger to any attacks and speed him up, but it erased the sane grip he had on reality so that pain wasn't even a feeling... but a simple construct that never even existed to him. That mix of red blood entangled with the blackness of Takyr began to burst out from around the invisible aura around his anatomy, closing his fist so that the metal of the gauntlet would begin to shatter, Azazel spun around.
That Dark Determination flaring up in the center of his discolored opposite pupils, the Reaper snarled and charged right down as if ready to slam right into the Detective. But he'd managed to vanish- the Four Eyes quickly searching as a minute had passed for him, registering every part of his surroundings to locate his demonized enemy. Grunting as he spun back around, he began to raise his arms to protect himself from the ball of Takyr energy sending his feet skidding back against the platform beneath his soles. Both of their strengths were equal enough, August was maybe an h stronger physically but you never know something unless you try it; no more Godlike power, only hand to hand.
Watching as he emerged from his World of stopped time, Azazel went for a chop to the neck as his hand was slapped down, August on the defensive as they exchanged physical blows with their feet and hands. After that one, Karlo took it upon himself to go for the gut with his other hand to which Rivera grunted at the feeling and flipped backward two times then landing in a crouched position. Blowing some of his hair back, he began to run forward, and just as he was preparing a punch, he slid right between his legs grabbing the back of them so he could trip and fall flat on his face. However, Azzy was quick on his feet and simply used his fingers to balance himself before he could collapse. Doing a handstand, August sought to use this moment of temporary vulnerability to go for another kick to the ribs- but just then, Azazel opened his mouth for a chain to unravel from the bottom of his throat and slam his fist into the ground.
"AS IF I'D LOSE TO A BRAT LIKE YOU!!"
Voice raspy on the verge of breaking, Karlo spun around and jumped up using his fingers as a way to throw himself into the air. Wing popping out like a bone-cracking from a part of his spine, he stabilized himself in mid-air... and charged his fist with every remaining piece of demonic Takyr he could muster. He had to save her, he could let this chance fall to nothing, he had the chance, the possibility to do something more than just sit around and be a lapdog for someone. That was what August had thought him all those years ago, and he'd be damned if he forgot it now...
On the other hand, the Requiem Reaper felt that swirling pile of shit enter his head, the souls and spirits of those damned to Hell and death by him... his inaction began to whisper to him. Everything had begun to act out ever since his return, he'd believed everything would get better because he was the strongest. He didn't need any help from anyone but despite that; he couldn't even protect one measly woman. All of this, he was meant to return, he didn't cause of all of this... did he? He didn't want to believe that, he had to prove himself. There was no other way, avenge those kids, slaughter that woman responsible- for Ella, for Henry, and Celine herself...
~Peace of Mind. Annihilation Act: Obliterator~
They roared on the battlefields as their fists inched closer and closer, memories beginning to resurface from the time... the time they'd spent together from the day they'd met and everything about it. Their discussion about free will from the plane ride over to Vegas about the Golden Dreams that young boy had that day about avenging the girl he'd loved... August and Azazel both widened their eyes in realization, for who they both were. Their fists collided as the pure Omni power of Requiem began to meet the corrupt opposite of Takyr, and just then, the walls began to crumble.
Those nearby would be pushed away and those closest turned to charred skeletons immediately. Luckily for them, Gen had gotten her sister out of there just in time with her speed and Mei managed to Blanket the other two. Cars parked with their tires inverted so they'd all hover against the sidewalk disintegrated to nothing but ash, the holograms of the interior began to crumble and fizzle out, short-circuiting from the blast... the debris burning up as it started to fall from the still-intact roof of the facility.
Everything had been demolished in about a mile radius of this place, luckily enough, no one had been outside considering it was the middle of the night. Throwing the rubble off of their bodies as they began to emerge from the wreckage, August grunted rubbing his head staring at his dirty hand and his bruised skin. His finger touching against the nose bleed he'd received, he heard the pained moans of his partner nearby widening his pupils. Yelling loudly to use the remainders of his strength as the pieces of rocks and destruction caused by their collision had levitated up entirely, Karlo shot right up wiping the dust from his shoulders with a hearty rough cough. The red from his eyes dissipated gradually and the sanity began to return as his mental state went back to the normal, logical, insulting kind it'd been previously.
Aiding his rival as he lifted him so his arm could stay over his nape with some sort of way to help him stabilize himself. Mei unzipped the Blanketed reality of light she controlled stepping out then rubbing her arm sheepishly then punching her cousin in the arm. Playfully groaning at the impact as it broke his arm even further, he winced and snarled at her giving her a murderous glare before he was slapped right across the face from his very own older sister. Emma giving him that distinct stare that their dad had, he flicked her forehead and watched as she bled out whimpering like a puppy. None of them needed to talk right there, all August did was look to Azazel and see that stare in his eyes... then shaking his head as he reluctantly stated,
"You were right... I just didn't want to believe it. She was too far gone, I knew it then. I didn't want to turn out like my father, I couldn't let someone I cared about once turn into a piece of shit just like my dad did when he wasn't here. I couldn't live with myself... I wanted to help her, no matter what she'd done. Just like you taught me, back then, you whining sack of shit.."
August looked puzzled at this, eyes shaking and shivering as he held his friend close with his limb stretched out over his very own back. Sitting him down on a chair he'd managed to make appear out a portal opening, he placed Karlo down so he could have some rest before the rest for them took him to the Castle to get treated. The Reaper kneeled before the Former Corrupt Crow and began to admit his faults, without a smile, this wasn't the time. Before Natalia would rear her ugly head out of wherever she was hiding, they needed to come to an understanding so that the outcome of the battle ahead would head to satisfactory for both parties. So without holding anything inside back so it'd eat him up, he began to say...
"I wanted to prove myself worthy, of this strength. I'm the strongest, but even the strongest couldn't save Ella, Henry, or even bring back Celi. I didn't even think about avenging her victims, I just wanted... I just wanted to prove to myself; I was the strongest. But, those children, that pastor, the innocents she'd slaughtered, they're victims in all of this. We need to avenge them, and bring her to justice... execute her,"
Just then, Azazel gave his partner a firm nod as Mei went to help him up from the chair- then disappearing into the Blanketed dimension as it unzipped vanishing. Before it unzipped to engulf his body, he sent a salute to his rival, and just then, August understood the mission. Truly and finally would he be free, he couldn't let that feeling consume him... and just then, he spun around. Gen kissed his cheek as if telepathically saying good luck, sooner than later, everyone deserted him there in the rubble so he could face off against the Plague. Raising from beneath the ground itself on a pillar of rock and debris, her hair moved with the wind, and just then... he sighed. Turning his head, the rumbling echoed in his eardrums, it wasn't just any normal sound too- it belonged to that man, the one he'd trained and taught.
Tilting her skull in curiosity for the unknown arrival of the improbable variable, she couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it as he began to her clear at just the entrance a few meters away. Simply pushing her hand down on the lower level of the pillar she was on, spikes, lengthened and circular extended out from the side of that large column of hardened materials bunched together. Rivera simply waving his hand so they could be destroyed the second they got about one inch close to him, the Plague smirked at such a dominant display of strength. Tearing off the crow mask she had formerly dawned over her mouth to cover her black lipstick, she gave the older man beneath her a familiar look that he'd seen once in the girl he loved.
"What's the situation?"
That voice belonged to none other than his protege, cracking his arm over his chest with another radiation burst of energy to send his long strands backward to move with the chilly summer night's wind. Groaning at the sight of the woman up there extending out her arms as everything began to crumble and destroy, rearranging to her whim, the Plague raised her hands to crack and contort as she looked down upon such primitive insects below her. The Judge and the Reaper decided to spin their waists around so they could catch a glimpse of the action she was taking, August sticking out his finger bending a little shorter so his free hand could stay on Alex's shoulder,
"We have a psycho bitch who can destroy and rearrange things, meaning she can kill and destroy anyone weaker than her. We kill her, we avenge those she executed... Judge them for who they are, Alex. Scum,"
Their unspoken agreement was formed the second their eyes met, Alex turning fully so his face could meet the healing and reforming members of the organization the Reaper had previously murdered without falter. His whip coming to his hand, the tip sparkled with the crackling entity of Requiem energy in the form of lightning began to course around the end of the prolonged weapon. If you were looking from above, you'd see he was facing the right. But with The Reaper, the wounds began to heal, the blood began to boil away as if he'd exited the atmosphere and it burnt upon his leaving. August scoffed at the sight of the woman above him, stepping forward casually with his hands by his sides in contrast to the idle Amara to his back. Natalia rubbed at her chin withholding a mocking giggle, the eyelids shutting over her blackened orbs so she could think of something to state to the False God. So, she roared and yelled, using her arms to emote and still holding that confident snigger right over her facial features,
"Don't you notice how futile and insignificant we all are?! There is only one TRUE GOD ABOVE US ALL!! THE CROW OF JUSTICE WHO BROUGHT ALONG THE END OF THE OPPRESSOR!!! Azazel Karlo is the true savior of mankind, without his rebellion against that Kuno asshole, none of this would have ever happened! You take all the credit as if someone like you, little pathetic Rivera, could bring down such an immense influence on this nation. You call yourself the strongest but you couldn't even prevent the Invasion, you couldn't prevent those Angels from ambushing us, maybe if you'd done better; they'd still be alive and this new Empire would never have existed. Tell me something, Augustus, what makes you think you're or your insolent father is any better than any of those old bastards you name 'evil'?"
The Requiem Reaper, you'd think he'd be like his father and not give an answer to such a stupid question, but him and his big mouth. His father wasn't the best man, or rather, at times he wasn't a man at all. But even then, he was a good person, and despite everything he'd done, the crimes and sins he'd committed across these past few years leading to the creation of the New Empire... he wanted the best for everyone. August smirked as he stuck out his hand as if he were a monk summon an ancient strength to harness it into his being.
"Easy..." And yet, these movements were so much better than that, everything had led up to his hands clapping together, some of his fingers still sticking up. The Plague quirked a brow in confusion with a puzzled question mark appearing over her the top of her head, the Requiems' descendant couldn't help but smirk right back at her as he calmly retorted, "Because we're the strongest."
The white-haired girl let the quarter of family members down the grass field, flailing her arms and playfully humming as she threw her feet into the air marching along the emerald 'road.' Since she was having such a fun time ignoring the scenery, Uraku spent his time witnessing it as the wind began to brush against his cheeks as if it were tickling him. Smiling at the touch of it, he couldn't help but watch as the fairies in the form of lost spirits came to fly by with their wings moving magically as if gliding amongst the golden winds of summer-like atmosphere.
The Watcher's grin began to beam from each side of his lips, ear to ear as he gazed with joy at these sights. Enjoying it enough to feel the tug of fingers against his ankle pulling at the robe he'd usually worn every day... bending down so he could attempt to reach but a fraction of their level, the spirits in the form of children. Only their eyes visible with heads pointed upward like flames to indicate their gender, and some of their heads pointed down to give a feminine look to the female souls. Jason about to step into the river they were walking beside for quite some time, he heard the childlike whispering of that ant-like ethos, unable to register everything right away with his eyes and only utilizing his ears, which lead to him recklessly saying to his father,
"Oi, old man, don't fall—"
But just then, the sight of that old man sitting against the emerald blades of the green, listening with a look in his eyes that resembled a father... the anger began to flare up in his head like never before. It resembled the same as it was when they'd all first met this man back in 2019, but just like that event, Uraku was unaware of what Jay had been trying to do as Madi and Ben both held him back before he could do something he might regret. Stumbling on his feet before he could fall, Celi gasped at the sight and made some popcorn sitting on a rock as some squirrels came to hold out their hands for some of those small kernels. The Hunter scoffing in annoyance at them both parted his lips and readied himself for an argument but then he was slapped right across the face. Exaggerating the pain with an elongated cry of pain, "Owwwwah!" About to lead that into a yell, Ben uncaringly put his finger up to his lip and Madi did the same but with more feeling out into the action as she audibly shushed her older brother.
Holding his cheek then rolling his eyes, he stepped forward about to loudly ask his sister what the hit was for about to push her a bit further back. Ben, with his hands in his pockets, calmly observed his father's movements stepping away from them as the argument continued without his witnessing of it,
"The fuck was that for? He's treating those dead kids more like a father than he ever did with us in the first place, where do you get off defending that dickhead?"
Asked Jason, using his hand to point over to those kid spirits bothering and talking with their Dad then reeling backcrossing his arms with an irritable look over his face. Rolling her eyes, she pushed her brother back leading him to snarl as she redirected the question back at him,
"So what? We don't need him to coddle us like we're fucking babies who need to suck on a bottle of milk and we don't have stupid stories to tell dear old Daddy unless you wanna tell him about the time we three destroyed his goddamn home. Then again, I'm sure he's traumatized enough from everything Ben already did so, I don't know, maybe it's just stupid to complain about him not being a father,"
Madi and Jason began to indistinctly argue, Ben, filtering it out so he could examine and stare upon the expressions of their father. Chortling as he smiled happily parting their heads as one of them snuggled into his lap to their head rested against his legs, the Emperor felt the memory begin to rear out its ugly head out from the back of his mind. Shaking his head as he held his temples for a moment in time, that time he watched as Uraku kneeled against the imaginary crib that his baby self had been placed in while his mother had been watching over her... Ben snapped back into reality with a sympathetic expression over his face. Speaking loud enough so his idiotic excuses of a brother and sister could cease their arguing,
"Maybe it's... he doesn't know how to be a father, and this is just his way of learning. He always wanted to be there for us but he couldn't. We just have to give him time, he's... trying, he's the same as we were. When I had Emma, Jason with Mary, and Madi with Mei, like we had any fucking idea on how this shit worked. We made it work, and he needs to figure that out too-"
Both of them, although hesitatingly for the older of the two that'd been arguing, agreed... rubbing the back of his neck in shame, Jason remembered. Uraku wasn't just some unknown Entity who held godlike power, from the moment he'd come to that version of Earth almost 80 years ago now in the 1970s, the watching, the observations, everything had ceased. Uraku had experienced what it was to be a human and though the time he'd spent there was likely a fraction in an abundance of billions of years of significance... the truth was; that was when Uraku felt the closest thing to true happiness in centuries. He was just as human as the rest of them, all three of them had been too naïve to realize it, and yet, the Emperor had registered it before them all. And that was saying something, considering he was the youngest out of the trio yet somehow, the smartest.
Just that, the realization of such an obvious thought... led to all of them grunting as they covered their faces instinctively, the petals belonging to the flowers that'd littered the path began to peel off. Entering the atmosphere of this soul-housing dimension, they all pushed together to create the illusion of a feminine anatomy shape; right from the bottom of her feet leading up to her legs before her head popped right out. The tanned coloration of her skin began to shade over thanks to the heated rays of that specific illuminating star right above them in that artificially mind-created sky; Ben widened his eyes with Jason and Madi the following suit. Uraku chuckled at the sight, rubbing his throat, the voice she spoke with, so soft and casual vocalizing out...
The running water producing a peaceful sound through their minds, the brightness of the bright green below them all, the happy chirping of the birds perched on the wooden leanness of a branch. This made for the perfect setting, the perfect time, just then, she wasn't any ordinary woman coming to them out of nowhere from the Heavens to judge them. She was the purest and gentle soul they'd ever known, even kinder than Hazel- her words kind and pure, the first words that echoed out from her vocal cords were none other than,
"Nice to see you all again... and how much you've grown, I've missed you all,"
What more could you say as you stared right at the face of your dead mother, knowing she'd been gone for almost 50 years... all of them, even Uraku, were left speechless gazing right upon the beauty of the older woman. As her purple eyes began to scan over each of their expressions and otherwise, Ben could only muster out but one word weakly,
"Mom..?"
In Chapter Seventy Five, Alex and August battle against the Plague while Ben and his siblings and father reunite with their long-lost mother/wife.