After a series of extensive tests and modifications, Cortex was in full working order. Kain and his father had accomplished their goal. With spirits high, Kain and Steven arrive home with nothing left to do for the first time in months. Having Changed out of their work uniform, Steven wears a light blue button up shirt and kackies while Kain wears a black cap proudly emblazoned with the logo for the research institute, a royal blue T-shirt, and jeans. stretching his arms wide, Kain follows Steven up the steps to their home.
The Rust home was fairly modest, with a simple modern design. opening the door, Steven walks into the main foyer, a spacious room with stairs in the center leading to the second floor, where the family's rooms were. Behind the staircase, on the left is a large living room with comfortable chairs and a large flat screen. to the right is the kitchen and dining room. After depositing their shoes, Steven and Kain make their way around the stairs, where they are met with the smell of fresh cooking, and turn their heads to see a heart warming sight. on the large wooden dining room table sits a wide array of their favorite home cooked foods. While Martha could not boast famous cooking skills, the Rusts had always believed that the comfort of a home cooked meal just cannot be replaced. standing over the vast array of food in an aprin stands Martha Rust, with a warm smile on her face.
Martha wore a dark red turtleneck sweater and simple blue jeans. With her hair down it reaches just past her shoulders as she reaches behind her back and takes off the aprin, setting it down as she makes her way towards her husband and son. Martha quickly wraps them both in a hug. The family shares a quick hug before Kain squeezes out of the family hug and makes his way towards the table to examine the goods. His mother had really gone all out, making all of their favorite foods. A quick scan of the options reveals many of Kain's favorite comfort foods, such as mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, and Kain's absolute favorite, his mother's own take on boneless chicken wings. Just as Kain was about to make himself a plate, Martha stops him by saying, "Not yet Kain, we are still missing someone."
Kain reluctantly restrains himself, but excitement is still evident on his face as he turns to his parents and asks, "Oh, is uncle Coleman coming too?"
Martha and Steven stand together with Steven's arm over his wife's shoulders. Martha stands a whole head below her husband as she leans into him. "Of course, how could we celebrate without our main supporter?" Martha responds, and right after, they hear a knock at the door.
Correctly guessing that the person at the door is Coleman, the family makes their way towards the door, and Steven opens it to reveal Coleman in a fancy suit and tie and dress shoes. a smile appears on his ancient face and he says, "Hello, seems I'm a bit late. You weren't waiting too long I hope?"
"Not at all!" Kain grabs Coleman's hand and pulls him inside. "Come on uncle Coleman, we have a lot of celebrating to do." Coleman follows kain inside before letting go of his hand to deposit his shoes and dress coat. He follows behind Kain in measured steps as Martha and Steve close the door behind them and follow behind.
Now that everyone has arrived, they all take their respective seats. As Kain sets up his plate, the others strike up conversation. "So, your project is finally fully functional. Let me be the first to congratulate you on this monumentous occasion, Steven. I never doubted you for a second." Coleman congratulates Steven as he sets up his own plate.
Steven nods at his boss, "Of course, with your unwavering support, how could we not succeed? I still haven't thanked you enough for setting up the connection to the Catacombs."
Coleman nods "Naturally, how is that connection working by the way, any problems uploading the ship's schematics?"
Steven shakes his head, "No, everything went smoothly."
The night continues with merry moods and plenty of delicious food. After all of the food is eaten, conversation flows naturally, without the need to chew between sentences. The group of people get invested as they reminisce over past experiences and possible future endeavors. as they talk, hours pass by. eventually, it grows dark outside.
Seeing that night has arrived, Kain stands up from the table smiling. He turns to Coleman and asks, "Youre staying for the movie marathon, right? it's tradition."
Coleman's old face creases as he chuckles. "Of course, how could I not stay for the famous Rust movie night?" Every time anyone in the family finished a big project, the family would spend the night watching all of their favorite moves in celebration, and they would often invite Coleman.
"Great! Come on then, we have a long night ahead of us!" Kain exclaims as he makes his way to the couch in the living room with excited steps. The three older ones look at each other with knowing glances, amused by the young man's enthusiasm. Naturally, no matter how focused Kain is, working hard nonstop for 6 months was a stressful experience. This movie marathon was always a much needed break after months of hard work for the Rusts. With smiles on their faces, they all get up and make their way to the living room, where Kain is already seated flipping through movie selections.
Suddenly, as soon as Coleman sits down, he gets a call on his work phone. He frowns and tells everyone, "I have to take this, I'll be right back," and walks out of the living room, answering the call.
"OK, we'll wait for you then," Martha says before making her way to Kain, helping him make his choice of movie. Before they can even make a decision, Coleman barges back into the room with a worried look on his face, his dress coat already half on. "We need to go, now! You'll see what it's about when we get there, but it's an emergency!"
Martha, Kain, and Steven are naturally very confused, but they quickly put their shoes on and make their ways to the car outside, and all climb in with a mix of confusion and worry on their faces, as Coleman would not just act that way for no reason.