Everyone had gone to sleep shortly after their dinner. When they woke up, they all decided to go for a jog with Dillian and Sussan. Yesterday showed them something that they had been pushing aside all this time. They were right. They had all become complacent. Don would protect them, and they could be able to live out the year then go home. But Don wasn't there when the horde came. They managed to scrape by with teamwork, but what if they were alone? What if they could only rely on their own strength? They didn't want to think about it.
Right now, everyone wanted to build the fundamentals of their body: Strength and Endurance. Even the non-combatants felt like they should. But, of course, those who already had excellent strength and endurance were able to go throughout the entire first half without breaking a sweat. Rose, Ion, Jessica, and Mark. Once they reached the turning point, they looked ready to begin again. Rebecca and April were sweating but not out of breath. Even Dillian and Sussan seemed able to keep their breathing stable. The rest of them were out of breath, though. They took a few minutes to allow them to catch their breath then resumed the jog.
When they returned, Dillian and Susan went to the backyard to begin doing the rest of their training. What was interesting was that everyone followed them to do the same. On the other hand, Rose had split off from the group to do the training regimen that Don had trained her in. Even though it was only one time, she remembered it quite clearly. Everyone was confused about what she was doing, but no one asked. When she returned, everyone seemed to have finished their sets and were now about to go about their own tasks. Some even felt the need to shower.
Rose would proceed with the rest of her training. The problem was that she had no one to spar with. Of course, she was out of breath and sweating when she got back but still went about her training. Once she finished, she felt like her entire body was crying out to her. Since she didn't have anything to spar against, she went about practicing her martial art. She even used her katana and Wind Seed Power.
Those passing by saw how concentrated and dedicated she was. They figured that maybe she felt like she could have done better and was pushing herself, but the truth was that she wanted to be like her trainer. He wasn't just strong, but fast too, and even knew how to fight properly. His endurance was also amazing. Just the fact that he could use his Seed Power and still fend off against an onslaught of projectiles showed just how strong he truly was.
However, it seemed he wasn't invincible. Even if he somewhat managed to come back to life, she was sure he had died. Still, even she had to give credit where credit was due. Rose could never fight Ire on equal terms like that. In fact, the only ones who probably could were the Generals, the High Commander, and the Rosario Group's Leader. The fact that Don was even capable of doing what he did make her wonder if he was actually a Grade 5.
It wouldn't make sense considering Don had only been here for about a month, but there was something she had seen that the others didn't. She explained it, but there was a difference between seeing something like that and actually listening about it. Don had the Seed Energy of someone who had lived on this planet for years, maybe even a decade. The Generals and the High Commander were the only ones she knew that had been here over a decade, so it made sense for them to have a strong Seed Energy, but what about Don? It didn't make sense one bit.
That was when she recalled Don's Seed Power.
Time and Space.
At first, she felt like it was impossible. There was no way someone could go back in time, right? She had heard of people who could slow down the time around them and even accelerate their own time. Perhaps even stop it, but this was different. Not once had she heard of anyone who could go back in time. Then there was his Space Seed Power. Don was probably the third person she knew who had a Seed Power like that.
If his Seed was unique in such a way, it would explain a lot. Perhaps he really did travel back in time. But then, why didn't he know about the attack? Why didn't he know about her or even the others? Couldn't he have prevented it? The more she thought about it, the more it confused her, and eventually, she stopped thinking about it altogether.
She was finished with her training. She would decide to take a shower since she was covered in sweat from head to toe. She felt like a shower could help clear her mind as well. Although unaware to her as she went to take a shower, she didn't notice someone was in there. She had pushed open the door only to see John was standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist. She saw the freshly built scar marks along his body. His body did seem built nicely as well. Even for a large man like himself, it wasn't all fat.
John and Rose locked eyes for a second, and Rose felt a soft warmth on her cheeks. They gave off a soft pink. She had never once intruded on someone coming out of the shower. Even when she was still with The World Government, nothing like that had ever happened to her. She didn't know how to react and what little emotion she did have made her feel embarrassed. "S-Sorry. I'll wait." Rose would comment and quickly leave and close the door behind her. She would clear her throat to erase the memory from her mind and move away from the door to wait for John to come out.
John stood there without reacting. He watched the door shut, and when it did, he finally blinked once. It was a slow blink; he would turn his glance towards the mirror. There he saw all of the scars from the wounds patched up, but what was most notable was his lifeless eyes. Next, he would be to brush his teeth, then get dressed afterward. He had only woke up nearly an hour ago.
Natalie was in the room at the time, so she saw him sit up with a bit of winching pain. Even though his body had healed, he still felt numbness and a stinging sensation. "Easy, John. Easy..." Natalie would speak softly as she moved over to him to help him sit up. John would look around, and he noticed that both Ryan and Don were out cold. He then looked towards Natalie, and the first thing he asked was, "Where's mom?"
Natalie had to bite on the inside of her cheek. She took a moment, debating on if she should tell him. Of course, she should, right? How else would she explain that John's mother wasn't here? John could tell by the long pause that his mother wasn't here. "I see..." John would look down now. Tears began to whelm in his eyes. He was starting to ask why she had to die. Why did it have to be her? Why did she run outside? Why did she save anyone? Why didn't she listen and stay inside? John recalled telling her to never step away from the house. He told her it was dangerous, but she ended up doing it anyway. Then he remembered who killed her. Questions filled his mind as he began looking for a logical answer. Why did they do it? What was the reason? We didn't do anything... We are a peaceful bunch. I don't understand. Why?
Over and over, John would ask why in his mind. It was like the question was on repeat. He was only tormenting himself because there was no logical answer to this. The World Government just felt like killing them. Even if Natalie, Ion and, Jessica were the enemies of The World Government, it didn't make sense to him. Why kill an innocent person and not the people they were after? Was it because they were protecting them? Did his mother's actions cause her death?
No. John couldn't fault his mother's kind nature. She was just too good for this world. If anything, he did find someone to blame.
The World Government.
There was one person here that was part of The World Government. The only reason they could even know where they were had to because of her because of Rose. Natalie had come over to comfort him the entire time, trying to tell him it would be okay and whatnot, but John was in his own mind.
When he finally settled on someone to blame, his target became clear.
'It's only fair, right?' John thought internally. Using logic as a means to justify what he planned to do. He would either kill Rose or torture her to give him information on The World Government. He wasn't that kind of person, but since he had broken down his own mind, he was starting to become that kind of person.
"I am going to shower for a while." John would speak up, his voice no longer holding a calm demeanor to it like usual. It wasn't relaxed or carefree. His tone of voice was filled with despair as if he had given up. Natalie could tell just by the tone of his voice he probably wasn't in a stable mindset. Losing someone close was never easy to deal with, but she didn't know that John was planning to take out Rose. "Okay, if you need anything, just ask. We are all here for you." Natalie would comment softly to try and comfort him even more, and John nodded silently before heading into the shower.
As he stood in the shower, he started to come up with a plan. He was sure that the others would probably stop him and say something like he wasn't in the right mind space. That was one of the scariest things right now. Even though John was pretty much mentally broken, he still viewed things logically. So, he would have to come up with a way to isolate Rose.
"Maybe I can ask her to go for a walk. If I do that, then the others won't get curious... well, maybe. We aren't that close..." John would grumble to himself.
"Maybe ask her to join on an expedition, but I doubt the others would let me leave. They would probably be too worried about me." John would continue.
He would lean against the shower wall and let the water run over his body. His eyes staring at his feet, but the focus was hazy. His mind was elsewhere.
"Even if I attacked her outright, surely someone would stop me and ask me what I was doing. Even if I explained it, I doubt they would get it. Everyone's already accepted her into our group." John's eyes would narrow. He could only blame her because there was no other way for anyone to find them. Sure, Rose came after them, but she had ambushed Don. He couldn't blame Don because Don did what he did to save April. He was sure if it was his mother or anyone else, Don would have done the same thing. That was just the kind of person Don was in his eyes.
But Rose. He didn't know a thing about her other than the fact that she grew up with The World Government; if anything, she could just be a damn spy. It made more sense this way, considering they were attacked. What John didn't see was that Rose had helped them. He was out cold at the time, and since he had just woken up, no one could explain the situation to him.
He didn't bother to ask either since he could easily put it together. The World Government came after them, and his mother got killed. What more was there to it? As he continued to think of plans, John finally came up with one.
"I'll just have to get close to her, and after that, I can kill her. No one will find it weird if we decide to go out claiming it to be some kind of date, then when I return, I'll just say we were attacked, and she told me to run. Then, of course, I'll have killed her." John didn't take any pleasure in this thought. This wasn't out of enjoyment. He didn't smile or show any kind of thrill. In fact, he was only doing this because it seemed like the logical thing to him. To him, Rose was clearly a spy. Someone who was sent to them and was providing information to The World Government.
But that wasn't it.
A part of him felt angry. He was mad, upset, and hurting. He only wanted to blame someone or something. Unlike how his father died, he was able to prepare himself. They couldn't blame anything except for the illness. Even then, John stood strong to help his mother cope, but his mother was taken away this time. John was lost. He felt alone. His mother was taken from him without warning or word. It was impossible for him to just come to terms with it. He needed someone or something to blame, and he choose The World Government, and in turn, choose Rose.
As he stood there staring at his own reflection in the mirror, he would go over his plan in depth. But, first, he needed to figure out a way to seduce Rose and get her to like him more. Thankfully, it seemed there was a start. He noticed Rose's cheeks tinged a light pink. He would spit out the paste in his mouth then rinse his mouth out with mouthwash.
Once he finished brushing his teeth, he put on some blue jeans and a plain white teeshirt. He would leave the bathroom, and there he saw Rose sitting on the edge of the bed. When she saw him, she instantly cast her gaze downward to avoid eye contact. She didn't know why she did this, but she felt like it was the only natural thing to do. John would pass by her, but before leaving the room, he would say something. "After you shower, can we talk?" John's voice was cold, almost emotionless. Rose caught onto the difference in his voice. It wasn't the normal easy-going tone. This caused her to look at his back. She couldn't blame him for feeling out of it. He had lost a family member.
Sure Rose had little to no emotion, but she could guess what he was going through. As for what he wanted to do with her was another story entirely. She thought maybe it had something to do with The World Government or the events that transpired while he was out. For now, she would nod, "Sure." After getting confirmation, John would exit the room. As he did, he was greeted by those in the living room. Natalie had given everyone the rundown that John was awake and told them that he may appear a little off. They understood why; it made sense to them. So everyone tried to greet him warmly. Some had asked him how he was doing, and he replied with a fake smile and a "Good." Everyone saw how fake that was, though.
John would head outside using the secret entrance. He wanted to get some fresh air. Josh shortly joined him, and he looked towards John. "She really is gone, huh?" John asked with the same cold voice. Josh could tell he was taking this hard, but he wanted to make sure John was in the right headspace. He had been around John nearly all of his life. So, he knew John was someone who sought out revenge. John wouldn't put it like that, though. John would always say it was only fair. It was only the logical thing to do.
"John, are you going to be okay?" Josh asked.
John looked towards him. "Yeah." John lied.
"You can tell me the truth; you know I am on your side. We are family, after all." Josh would reply since he saw through the lie.
John pondered a moment or two on if he should tell Josh his plan, but John decided not to. John knew Josh was on his side, but Josh usually tried to persuade him not to do things like this when it came to matters like this. For example, there was one time when a group of bullies ganged up on Josh. John only saw the aftermath of the brawl. He later sought revenge because he didn't understand why those people treated Josh the way they did. He asked Josh why he wouldn't get revenge and that it was only fair for him to do it, but Josh persuaded him not to, saying it wasn't worth their time and that they had better things to do. There were others times as well where Josh managed to persuade him.
This time though, it was different.
John wouldn't tell Josh his plan. He wouldn't let anyone stop him.
"I just can't believe she is actually gone. I don't understand why she needed to die. What purpose was there to kill her? What purpose was there to come after us? Are we really that much of a threat?" John would ask over and over.
Josh could see this really getting to him. He feared that John would end up wanting to seek out revenge, so he wanted to stop that train of thought before it became too late. The problem was, it was already too late. John was deadset on revenge.
Josh would place a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "You know that isn't true. It is just an example of people in power abusing their power, just like at school and in the real world. People in power always abuse their power. If they had a reason, it was probably because Don got in their way. But, there is no reason to blame Don. He was only trying to save April, and I am sure he would have done the same for any of us." Josh would comfort his cousin.
What Josh didn't know was that John already knew all that. He knew that Don wasn't the blame. Josh didn't know that John already set the blame on someone.
"I know. I just need some time to come to terms with it; thank you, Josh." John would remark. Josh would smile softly. He felt like his words got through to John, but he was dead wrong. "I am here whenever you need me. I'll give you time to mourn." Josh would step away and head back inside to leave John to mourn. John felt like he couldn't mourn though. He didn't think he had the right to mourn. Not until he took revenge.
"I will kill her," John muttered internally.