__________ POV Narration__________
When you think about it, Ashton delegating the task to give Momoze news of his impending demise to Cheadle might not have been the best of ideas.
One can only imagine the things going through the head of that young princess when she inevitably asked why everyone seemed so down.
Cheadle herself dreaded telling Momoze of the situation, even with Ashton's assurance, she knew that sugarcoating the fact that he was dying would be impossible.
The only assurance they had was from Ashton himself, so they couldn't be sure that everything would truly be fine.
Thankfully, Momoze didn't cry at the news, she took the news quite well outwardly. Inside, however, she was looking for ways to cope with the information she had just received.
Kurapika was much like her in that aspect. To him, Ashton was still his only family member left alive.
Reuniting with Gon and Killua had somewhat distracted him at first, but he did learn of it afterwards.
But the Kurta Clan survivor had a lot of trust in Ashton's capabilities. If Ashton himself wasn't panicked then he thought that everything would work out.
"S-So he's trying to fix it right? He said that he'd be fine?" Momoze asked with a hopeful tone.
"Yes, he said not to worry... His condition seemed quite serious, but this is Ashton we're talking about after all." Cheadle responded with a forced smile.
In the end, an older voice managed to calm them both down. "Oh, stop moping about, the both of you. I bet you he'd be annoyed if he were here. If he said he's going to be done, then he is going to be fine." The one that spoke was none other than Maha.
The old assassin has tagged along with the Zodiacs to discuss a few things, they stopped by the prince compound to call a joint meeting with all of them.
They needed everyone to get acquainted with the new leaders, the ones that had to lead the colonies that had just recently arrived. They were all to be briefed about the way the colony was faring.
Now that the barrier protecting Lake Mobius was weakened, they needed to urgently get to preparing a contingency plan to ensure the survival of all humans.
"Who are you, old mister?..." Momoze asked while starting at the short and bald assassin.
"Watch yer mouth! Who're you calling old?! Your little boyfriend is ten times older than me you brat!" The old man retorted to the young princess. It was quite plain to see to him that Ashton's relationship with Momoze was deep enough to warrant such a reaction.
His speaking with that amount of energy was also quite new.
After drinking that small drop of the spring of life, he had regained a lot of his vitality. He felt as energetic as he was in his youth. There were even signs of him regrowing his hand.
It was a joyous time for the Zoldyck family. But the old assassin also regained some of his vigours when it came to retorts and brashness. He was never the type to take things lying down and mentioning a man's age was quite rude, at least in his opinion.
Botobai coughed a bit to dispel the awkwardness, then he spoke up. "Princess... He's the oldest member of the Zoldyck family, Maha Zoldyck. Beside him is his grandson Zeno, and his grand grandson Silva..."
He looked around awkwardly, as he had basically given away that Maha was already an ancestor of the Zoldyck family.
"I-I see... Were you present when Ashton was... You know." Momoze asked while looking at Maha for a bit.
The short assassin just nodded. "Yeah, he didn't hesitate for one second. I doubt he would've done it if he didn't have a way out already planned..." Maha didn't mention that Ashton didn't know his body would react violently to his transformation.
He thought that adding that would be spitting on the effort to calm everyone down. In truth, all three of the Zoldycks present knew that Ashton was also taken by surprise with his impending demise.
It was highly unlikely that he had something planned. They saw over the course of their journey, just how quickly his body was decaying. He was living, breathing, speaking to them. But his body seemed to be decomposing regardless of that.
The process became even worse when he used Nen. It actually visibly got worse after he dispelled the Ark and paid the price in Aura that the relic asked for.
"That would be very like him... He does love to think ahead sometimes." Momoze said with a sad smile. "Would've been nice if he came and told me himself though..." She said, dispirited.
"Now, I'm sure he has a lot to set up if he wants to heal himself," Silva said, trying to make things sound a bit better for Ashton. He was aware that displeasing his wife wasn't a fine experience. Basically, he didn't want Ashton to return to more trouble when he returned.
"I see... We should start our meeting and our preparations. Shouldn't we?" Said Momoze as she prepared to call the other princes and Queens in.
"Indeed... You all do have a lot to hear about. So buckle in." Cheadle said while looking at the new arrivals. Namely, Morel, Knov, Kite and the Zoldycks.
While that was happening, someone else was arguing in some other place. Namely, a laboratory in a cave somewhere.
Ashton was arguing with none other than himself.
"Who the fuck designed this thing...? Was I drunk?" Any sense of eloquence was gone. He didn't have time for senseless posturing, his life was at stake.
Currently, he already started the process of mixing all of the beasts he had collected together.
All of the Stomachs were filled to the brim with different parts of different species. He was already looking at the way that something was starting to form in the 'Womb'.
"... Well, at least it works. Can't argue with that. Still, whether or not I can transfer my consciousness in there... That's a bit more difficult to discern. I guess trial is the mother of all knowledge." He spoke to himself for a very good reason.
He was constantly drifting in and out of consciousness. He could slowly feel that he was in his last hours. He just had a bit of preparation left to do.
He had no helpers, no one he could ask to insert his brain into one of the smaller 'Stomach' containers.
So, in his last moments, he built a larger stomach and combined it with the rest. A last-ditch effort...
The scientist shakily got up, there was drool at the corners of his mouth, he could feel his eyes sting as he cried out tears of blood. Unintentionally, of course, he was otherwise calm, even under those circumstances.
Although, there was also something else underneath that calmness, gripping at his heart. The main driving force behind his will to live...
Fear. Fear of leaving everyone behind, fear of abandoning them, fear of causing even more pain to those he cared about. And, lastly. Fear of Death.
The longer one lives, the more afraid one becomes. Now, Ashton faced that fear head-on. It was like staring into a dark abyss. The lack of knowledge, the lack of assurance. 'What will come after this?', 'Where will I end up?'.
His mind twisted itself with questions as he slowly and limply made his way towards his vat. He opened the door and slowly walked in.
Momoze passed by his mind for a few seconds, someone he had opened himself up to. Far too late in his life. He hadn't gotten to even enjoy their relationship fully...
The time he had spent with her was nothing more than a small, insignificant fraction of time compared to the long life he had lived. But it was oh such a memorable one.
As the special liquid he had created started filling the vat another strange thought reached his mind...
'Netero, Zigg... Linne. If this fails, I guess we'll meet again, won't we?
In such a large world, I had the fortune to meet the three of you.
In such a large world, I had the pleasure to spend time with all of you.
In such a large world, I laughed, I danced, I ate, I loved, I cried, I fought, I dreamed, I explored all alongside you...
I'm sorry...
When we meet again... Let it be like the good old times.'
And just like that, his last moments in that world were spent with a melancholic smile on his face, as the acidic liquid deconstructed his body...
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