Alissia was excited to return home after being gone for over a year. She'd missed the joyful noise of its citizens and the wood scent that hung in the air.
Eventually, after walking through the base, they reached the front doors of HQ.
Alissia stared at the vast building, remembering when she was younger. She'd look down from her window, watching everyone scurry around within the base. She'd always watch desirously as people entered and left the base.
As a little girl, she wanted nothing more than to go too, to explore the world beyond those walls. She'd always tell herself that when she could leave, the first place she'd visit would be the city of Phoenix that sat on the far horizon. That longing only grew after she learned omni-vision and noticed she could see further. She could see the buildings perfectly, and its citizens always headed to a million destinations.
Unfortunately, she knew she was to be the next Watcher and would have to complete her training before being able to leave.
She hated it at the time, but in hindsight, the training has proven helpful on multiple occasions, and she's now been able to travel to various cities and has brought home a Primordial, so all in all, it wasn't that bad.
Alissia pressed the buzzer on the door then a voice from an intercom spoke.
"Alissia! How've you been?" it spoke enthusiastically.
"Kaia? That you?" I asked. "You're working security now?"
Kaia was a close friend I had growing up. Her dad was Head of Security and would always bring her to HQ, hoping she would one day replace him. She, Trik, and I would always hang out during our free time.
"Yep, just for part-time, though. Classes start back in a few weeks," she responded.
"Oh, well we–"
"Oh wow, who's the cutie?" Kaia asked.
"Is he your boyfriend?" She whispered.
Why was she whispering? The others could still hear her....
"No, Kaia, it's just me," Trik stated as he reverted to his standard form. "I was using my camouflage mode. Thanks for the compliment, though. Although, I think this version of me is far more dashing than the other one."
I looked at Tymon, who had begun to laugh. It was the first time I'd seen him laugh. I found it wholesome; it made it seem...brighter.
Trik had somehow taken offense to Tymon laughing and asked him what was so funny about that.
I stifled my laugh to try to show maturity. It's been over a year; I'm a Watcher now and even have a Primordial with me. If I wanted to be taken seriously, I couldn't be seen as the kid I used to be.
"Kaia, this is Tymon. He's the Supreme Primordial Death. We're here to see my mom and dad."
"Really? Doesn't he seem...young?"
"Kaia, please. The door."
"Oh, I can't let you in," she stated.
"What?"
"There's a new system now. I suppose I should've told you that already. I only buzz authorized guests in. You're programmed into the system, so touch the pad, then put in your code," Kaia instructed.
I placed my palm on the black screen under the buzzer, and it lit as it scanned my hand. Then, the screen glowed green and slid sideways to reveal a number pad underneath it. After inputting my code, the front door clicked and cracked open for us.
"Thanks, Kaia," I said as we entered the building.
"No problem! Be sure to visit me when you get the time," I heard her say as the door shut.
My aunt, Lunette, greeted us after we entered the building, and so did many other relatives and friends. They each fawned over Tymon, hoping he'd show them his power or bless them somehow. I practically had to rip him from their arms, then decided to go straight to my dad's office without stopping to speak to anyone.
When we got to the office, I asked Tymon to wait outside the office while Trik and I briefly spoke to my parents.
Luckily, while inside, I found my mom and dad already there. My mom was the first to greet me with a tight hug. She didn't look much different from the last time I saw her.
She still wore fancy suits and expensive dress shoes. Today's color was caramel and cream. As usual, she wore her favorite necklace, which was a thin, steel chain with a small greyish/black metallic stone hanging as a pendant. Her hair was styled into an extravagant crown today, with some flowing over the front of her shoulders like a brown stream.
"Alissia, dear, how are you? You look a little worn out," my mom asked.
"Hey, Mom, I'm fine. I just hiked eleven miles to get here from the city, but I'm fine," I responded, still embracing her. It felt good to hug her again after so long.
She pulled back to take a good look at me. When she smiled at me, a warmth from my chest spread through my entire body. I couldn't help but hug her again. I really loved my mom.
"Aw, you're wearing the necklace I gave you," she said to me.
"Yeah, it protected me like you said it would," I responded while clutching it tightly.
"I can't believe you didn't tell her it was a pure rupture prism," Trik inserted.
"That's what she has you for out there," my mom replied. She let go of me to go dote on Trik next.
Then, my dad walked over to me. He hugged me silently before holding me at arm's length to scan me for any injuries. He wore his usual dark business pants and shoes, but for some reason, he was also wearing his lucky yellow button-up shirt that was half tuck-in and half out. He wore his white work coat over it, which helped a little, but his hair was a mess, and his glasses were cracked. It must've been a hectic day today.
"I'm fine, Dad," I stated.
"It doesn't hurt to check," he remarked.
"If you were really worried about me getting hurt, you wouldn't have sent me out with practically nothing in the first place," I said callously.
"It doesn't work that way, sweetheart, you know that. We can't interfere unless it's an emergency."
He stroked my head as he spoke. Looking up at his eyes, I could see his clear displeasure with that particular rule. In that one moment, all of the frustration and anger I had built for him since leaving was gone. It simply evaporated.
Some of the grey hair I'd hidden slipped out as he rubbed my hair.
"What's this," he asked, holding the grey streak of hair.
My mom came closer to me to see what he was referring to.
"Dear...Has the mission been this stressful on you," she asked empathetically.
"No, no...well, yes, but that's not what caused this. Actually, that brings me to why we're here," I said.
I touched my c-chip.
"You can come in now."
As the office doors opened, Tymon emerged, looking a little nervous.
"Mom, Dad, meet Tymon, the Supreme Primordial Death," I presented.
They both stared at Tymon in disbelief before moving again.
My dad approached Tymon and extended a hand, which Tymon shook awkwardly.
"Good evening, I'm Alissia's father, Boman Heart, and this is her mother and my lovely wife, Saffi Heart. I'm the CEO of Cerebral Tech, and we both serve as the current head of the Heart branch of Watchers. I sincerely apologize for my appearance; I wasn't expecting to meet you this evening."
My dad's demeanor was calm and collected, but if you looked into his eyes, you'd see they were wild with eagerness, like a kid ready to rip open a present on Christmas. In his case, it was all the first-hand knowledge he could learn from Tymon. He was an ardent Primordials fanatic through and through.
Tymon laughed nervously.
"Uh, there's no need to be so formal," he said as he stepped back.
"Sorry, my husband's a bit excited to be speaking with you. Please, don't mind it," my mom chimed in. "Alissia, dear, why don't we all sit, and you can debrief us."
"Sure," I responded.
Over the next thirty minutes, I explained everything I'd learned since starting my mission to arriving there with Tymon. I left out the tidbits about V. They'd just be suspicious of her, especially if they found out she was a Sadio.
"That is frightening news," my dad spoke. He looked into his cup of coffee. I knew a thousand different scenarios were playing in his head as he tried to come up with a resolution to our problem.
"The good news is, this certainly qualifies as an emergency, so my helping you shouldn't be an issue, but I'll need a few days to figure out a course of action. In the meantime, we should get Mr. Kage registered. Then we'll begin his training. His energy has been leaking since he arrived."
"Sounds like a plan," Tymon stated.
"Just a second," I blurted before everyone could get up.
"Mom, Dad, I've been curious about something. Those of the Heart bloodline have been known to possess higher-than-normal EQNs. Why is it? What makes us so special?"
"I'm sorry dear, as you know, I married into the family. With an EQN of only 980, I couldn't possibly understand why," my mom said.
"And none of us of the bloodline understands why either," my dad clarified. "It's just something that's always happened. Some myths say we were divinely chosen, but for the most part, we always assumed it was natural selection. The only way to know for certain would be to know when it all began."
"I can answer that."
Hearing Viraa's voice suddenly pop up in my head scared the crap out of me. She hadn't said anything all day, so I was starting to forget she was even in there.
"Really? What would you know about my family?" I asked her.
"Considering I created the Watchers, I would say I know quite a bit. But that will be explained in a moment. For now, I would like to be introduced if you would be so kind," Viraa said.
"Everything okay, dear," my mom asked, looking concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. There's someone I'd like to introduce to everyone," I declared to them.
"Wait, how am I supposed to explain you to them? They're gonna think I'm crazy!"
"Hmm. Perhaps you can use your...holo-bracelet, is it? Seeing that I am in your head, I should be able to display myself through it," Viraa stated simply.
I turned my holo-bracelet on.
"Lisa?" said Trik while looking concerned.
"Uh, everyone, this is gonna be a little weird, but I'd like to introduce you all to Viraa."
The holo-screen from my bracelet projected itself, and on it was a smiling face made from static.
"Hello, everyone," Viraa said.