It became very obvious, very quickly that the members of Styx hadn't shared their newfound strength purely due to trust. As Cait, the Prodigy soldier that they had taken under their wing, followed them through the streets of Angala, she realized it was something more than that.
Watching them tear through psychics and Prodigies alike without breaking stride, coordinating with each other and utilizing their new strength with an absolute lack of emotion, she realized….
They didn't think of her as a threat.
Even if Cait turned on them right now, they were confident that they could squash her like a bug. Based on their transformation into reapers, walking through the streets with impunity, she could only conclude that they were right.
Even though she felt that she had received a similar boost in strength, these five were trained killers. Sure, she had killed before, when she was forced to, but she only did it when forced by the Advanced. It was a disgusting act. But to these people, it was a job, and she knew she could never fight five trained murderers, each on par with her in strength.
They lead her to the only mountain left untouched by the Advanced. The higher echelons strictly disallowed surveillance here, as this was where they went to 'relax,' which usually meant they were performing acts so horrendous even many Advanced would be appalled.
She had seen the results of one of these 'relaxation trips' before when she was sent to execute a particularly influential scientist that they had decided to fire. The secrets the man knew couldn't have been allowed to spread. What she had found was dozens of human bodies, all wearing the signature lab coat of the Advanced and all torn open at the stomach, their entrails used to paint a boat on the side of the mountain.
She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Soon, she'd be rid of these monsters.
Cait walked up the boarding ramp to a large personal ship, with another nearby. The strange vanishing man and the beautiful woman that made her cry went inside before her, the spiky-haired one, the sleepy-looking one, and the strong one going in the other one. She took a seat and stared out the window across from her.
She noticed a kitchen nearby, but she wasn't hungry and didn't want to impugn. She watched the mountainside slowly move downwards as they ascended before they passed its height and exited the atmosphere. She turned to the window in the back of the ship, her eyes fixed on the planet.
When they were thousands of miles away, she saw a bright flash of light, as if a sun had spawned on the surface of Angala. Then the planet exploded into dozens of pieces, each hundreds of miles long, and she said goodbye to her twenty-three-year prison.
Fate used the rearview mirror to glance at the ex-Advanced soldier, who was looking out of the windows with a vacant expression.
'She's a quiet one. Scared? …no, I know that look. She's trying to figure out what her life will be like now.' It was a feeling they all knew.
Each member of Styx had experienced it personally twice: once when they were taken by the Advanced, and once when they escaped.
'She's gonna need some time to adjust to her new freedom.' The three inside the Shadow Jumper spent the next few hours in relative silence, with the subtle whirring of the engines being the only company. Then the soldier spoke up.
"So, why'd you help me?" Fate could tell she wanted it to sound confident and prepared, what with her raised chin and stern look, but instead she just sounded tired. As tired as he'd been when they escaped from the Advanced, all those years ago.
He looked at her through the rearview mirror. "We've been through what you went through. Only difference is, we had friends to lean on."
Maya nodded. "We know the awful things they no doubt made you do. No one's worldview should be limited to what the Advanced allow."
"But… why did you not kill me, like you killed the other Prodigies?" Cait sounded more confused than ever.
Fate sighed. "I don't need to have emotion-reading powers like Maya to tell that you didn't want to kill us." He flicked the autopilot switch on and turned in his chair to face her.
"We've seen the absolute worst humanity has to offer. We're all well-versed in identifying those that are too far gone to be saved." He grimaced, remembering the zoos of humans and Fildenen caged and raised for food by the Cragost, then adopted a serious expression.
"You didn't want to kill us. It was so obvious that Nikolas could see it, and he's as emotionally inclined as a bucket of sand. So, we decided to help you out." He turned back in his chair, flicking the autopilot off. "Something we didn't get when we were with them."
"Except for Gavyn," Maya whispered sorrowfully.
"Except for Gavyn," Fate echoed.
Cait didn't say another word for the rest of the trip.
"Well, I don't know about you…" the Shyv's eyes flickered to Cait. "…six, but I, for one, am glad that this is over."
The members of Styx nodded, Cait waiting in silence behind them.
"Now that the war is over, I'm terminating your contracts. As of now, you're free to do as you please – within the confines of the law, of course." The Shyv said, winking. As the six turned to leave, he said "Oh, one more thing."
He opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a blue envelope with a green wax seal on it. "I found this on my desk a few days ago, around the time that Advanced planet exploded. It's addressed to you five."
He handed the letter to Autumn, who was the closest. "And when you meet the people who left this, inquire how they snuck past hundreds of armed and cybernetically enhanced guards, thousands of cameras and staff, and the door of my office, all without leaving a trace, and then kindly ask them to never do it again."
Autumn looked down at the letter, the other four leaning in for a look as well. The wax seal had the image of a celestial star ringed by a loop of fire sitting horizontally on the star's axis, with a small planet in the bottom right corner, overlayed on top of a kite shield. Visible on the ring of fire were the letters "EPF". Underneath the wax seal were the words "To Styx," in flowing, beautiful black letters.
"My men have already read the contents, of course. We needed to see what was left by our mysterious intruder. To me, it's just a bunch of gibberish, but it may be some form of code. Whatever it is, the writer is extremely full of themselves."
The Shyv's expression was one of caution. "Whoever they are, they're dangerous. I suggest you prepare yourselves appropriately before meeting them. There's also this one," he said, pulling out another, identical envelope, although this one was addressed to Cait.
"I don't know who 'Cait' is, but I assume that's you," he said, handing the envelope to Cait. She looked at it like it was a live serpent. "Now, please leave my office. I have a lot of paperwork to do."
The members of Styx, plus Cait, filed out and headed back to their home on Narro. Once there, they plopped down on the couch, all staring at the letters on Cait and Autumn's hands. "Well, don't just sit there. Open it!" Nikolas said.