Chapter 20: Monster

Berus heaved a long, tired sigh, stumbling and nearly falling over. He rested on one knee, reverting to his normal state. Sweat drops from his face, and his hair fell and hit the ground. Every bone and muscle in his body was on fire; he had exerted himself too much. Laura ran over to her younger brother, placing a hand on his back to comfort him.

“Berus,” She said, “are you alright?”

Berus nodded his head. “I’m…fine…” He said between breaths. Berus looked over at the pile of ash, remembering he had impaled the clone with Laura’s sword. Unfortunately, the blade had met the same end as the clone. “I’m...sorry about…your…sword…”

Laura took a glance at the ashes, turning her head back to Berus. “It’s fine,” She said, waving off his apology. “I’ll just make a new one.”

“I could help with that,” Armin said, walking up to the siblings. “You just tell me how you want it, and I’ll get an order in toot sweet.”

Laura smiled at his offer and said, “Thank you, Uncle Armin. But, you don’t have to go through the trouble.”

“Nonsense, kiddo, it’s no trouble at all.”

The rest of the group stood around in unease. Even a victory like this felt almost too easy, and hearing how he could spit out spores to keep himself alive, the thought was the first to cross everyone’s mind.

“Is…he really dead?” Sanchez asked.

Cello turned and said, “It’s hard to say. If he is, good, but there’s definitely a chance he managed to slither away.”

“Could he have released another spore?” Anthony said

Laura came walking over, helping Berus by wrapping his left arm around shoulders. “It’s not likely," Laura replied. “He definitely didn’t have enough time to release one before the flames hit, and there’s no way he could’ve done it while on fire because it would’ve just burned away.”

“So we won?” Taylor said, taking a seat on the ground. “Lovely.”

Hudgens looked at the resting soldier and said, “It’s hard to say if we really won or not just yet. For the time being, we’ll take a rest and wait for Doctor Atlas’s drones to confirm if that freak is gone.”

Armin nodded before taking a seat on a large chunk of debris. “Yeah, I’ll have my drones do one more sweep around the globe before we can call it.”

The group each took a seat somewhere, whether on the ground or on pieces of rubble. Laura gently placed Berus on the floor before joining him. Laura looked up at the sky, closing her eyes before taking a long sigh. She looked at Berus and smiled.

“Looks like we avenged our father,” She said.

Berus smiled back and said, “Yeah. We’re heroes now, just like him.”

Across from them, Fischer slammed his fist in the ground. “Okay!” He said with a raised voice. “I’m sick of you kids thinking that that man was some saint. Your father was a monster!”

The two and even Cello looked at Fischer, offended.

“How dare you insult our father?!” Berus hissed.

“No, no! How dare he brainwash you into believing he was anything more than a genocidal murderer?!”

Their faces flustered with anger, the experiment trio all stood up, their brows furrowed into a scowl.

Anthony quickly got up and said, “Easy, guys! Let’s all just calm down and talk about this civilly.”

“I wouldn’t expect a child like you to understand, Mr. Romanova,” Hudgens spoke up, getting up from the ground. “You must not know anything about that terror.”

Anthony turned his head and said, “What? My mother told me Ferral saved us from that fungus. How does that make him a villain?”

“Ay,” Gordon said, “but saving our lives doesn’t make up for the thousands of billions he took from us prior.”

“What’re you talking about?”

Sanchez got up and spoke up, “Ferral and the rest of the experiments nearly wiped us all out. Those remains you saw in that abandoned town in Kinshasa? That was because of him.”

“He’s worse than that fungus,” Taylor added.

“Lies!” Laura shouted, her face dark red, flustered with fury. “Our father would never be so cruel. You are the ones who have caused nothing but trouble!”

Meanwhile, gray clouds had rolled over Amber Village. Sprinkles of rain began to fall, but soon were replaced by a heavy downpour. Thunder boomed and lightning crackled, illuminating the sky clouds with purple light. The clone’s dark silhouette flew above the bustling village, his blood red eyes peering down at it. A bolt of lightning shot across the sky, revealing the clone’s sadistic smile. He roared in the sky, the villagers looking up in dismay when they heard the terrifying cries. They all spotted the clone high above them, and a slight panic ensued. The clone stopped his shrieks, chuckling with joy before puffing out his chest and expelling a massive red cloud down on the village. The spores sank into the wet ground, and soon, large, muscular arms sprouted out from the ground. The red beasts dug themselves out, but these four were not like others. They were twice the size and very muscular. These beasts let out deep lion-like roars before rampaging through the village.

The clone flew down and landed at the steps of the royal mansion. He turned around, and Nia was already out of the door. Another bolt of lightning ran along the sky, showing off the clone’s grinning face compared to Nia’s utter ire.

Her body was shaking with rage as she said, “You. You!”

“Me!”

Nia didn’t hesitate for a second longer and attacked the clone. He blocked her punch, but was sent sliding back, his heels digging up mud.

“How are you alive?!” Nia shouted through the deafening storm.

“I’m not going to explain it a second time,” The clone said. “But, you can thank those brats of yours for why I’m even here.”

Nia’s eyes widened, the color draining slightly from her face. “My…kids…” She muttered. “What did you do to them, you bastard?!”

The clone laughed and said, “Nothing…yet. But, I want you to know, I’m not going to simply kill you. No, you, and the rest of these miserable people will suffer before you die.”

The argument between the experiment trio and the soldiers continued. Anger and resentment rapidly festered and boiled. If someone didn’t put a stop to it now, things might turn violent.

Laura turned to Armin, who had been silent the entire time with his head down. “Uncle Armin,” she said. “Is this true?”

His head shot up, and he darted his eyes around nervously. “Well, I’m not entirely sure of the story,” He responded, “some of the details are a little fuzzy…”

Berus snapped and said, “Don’t bullshit us! Is this true?!”

Armin lowered his gaze and nodded. The three and even Anthony were all struck speechless. Laura and Berus felt their hearts sink, their whole world spinning.

Armin continued, “Seventeen years ago, Ferral and the rest of the experiments formed an uprising against humanity. It all happened in an instant, and no one was prepared. In the end, they wiped out sixty percent of all humans, stealing our land and forcing us into years of conflict.”

“No…” Berus muttered under his breath.

“That’s not true,” Laura said, her voice shaky.

“Why?!” Cello demanded.

Armin shook his head and said, “I don’t know, no one does.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Ferral…he was a villain who struck terror in the hearts of humans. He ripped so many families apart and had so much blood on his hands.”

The soldiers didn’t say anything afterward. Deciding to let the information sink in with the trio. Berus and Laura’s legs felt weak; they felt sick. In only a short time, their entire world was shaken to its core. Their father, the man whom they loved and looked up to, was a monster all along. How could this have happened?

As they stewed in their turmoil, Armin’s tablet let out a loud ping sound. He reached into his bag and took it out. One of the drones has been alerted to the clone’s presence. He looked at the live footage, and the color instantly drained from his body. Looking back at him through the screen was the clone. A sinister grin on his face.

“Hello, Armin,” He said, his voice calm and polite, “spying are we?” The clone clicked his tongue and wagged a finger. He continued, “Naughty indeed.”

The others heard the clone's voice, and they all crowded behind Armin. The experiment trio being at the front. Behind the clone were scattered fires, ranging from small to large. The rain had died down, so the sprinkles had a hard time putting out the flames.

“W-where are you?” Armin asked. “What did you do?!”

The clone chuckled and said, “If there was one funny little trait I acquired from you humans and experiments, it was to be petty.” His gaze moved as he looked behind Armin to see the experiment trio. His smile grew even wider as he continued, “No place like home, aye, children?”

He moved to the side, revealing the burning and destroyed Amber Village. Bodies littered the ground, some impaled by red rods. The ground was covered in pools of blood. The trio’s eyes all widened, and the color completely drained from their faces.

Berus could barely form a sentence; he was too stunned. “Wha…what did you do?”

“The more important question you should be asking is…how’s mother?”

After hearing that, they froze solid. Their breath grew more rapid, and their hearts were on the verge of bursting from their chest. The drone forcefully moved with the clone, and then they headed to the village center. There, the camera showed a badly beaten and injured Nia stuck to a blood red cross. Her face had blood running down it from a slash on her forehead, and her right arm was completely missing from her elbow down. Her left palm and both her feet were pierced through, keeping up on the cross. Nia’s head hung lower, her breathing ragged.

“Mother!” Laura cried out.

Berus was speechless while Cello covered her mouth in shock. The clone stood beside the incapacitated Nia. He snickered before leaning to her left ear.

“Look,” he whispered, his voice mimicking Ferral’s. “Our children.”

Nia’s head slowly raised; the blood on her face was the only color left. She looked straight at the drone’s camera eyes. She was unable to see their faces, but Berus and Laura stared in horror at their battered mother.

“Ha ha ha,” The clone laughed before turning his head to face the drone. “Go on, tell them everything will be fine. That it’ll work out.”

He maliciously grabbed her by the cheeks and turned her face to look at his. The clone’s expression now dark and furious. He continued, “Go on…lie to them.”

He let go of her face, and she looked back at the drone. Nia used the remainder of her strength and gave one more heartwarming smile. The clone sneered, forming a red rod with his tendrils.

“Patheic,” He hissed, and stabbed the rod through her heart.

“No!” Berus and Laura both shouted.

The rod dug deeper, Nia coughing up blood before her head drooped down. The clone took his hand off the rod and looked back at the group through the drone. A wicked, contorted smile formed on his face.

“This could have been avoided if you had all just died ten years ago,” The clone said. “But now, you can all suffer slow and painful deaths. I can’t say I’m not relishing the idea. How I wish I could see your faces, you fucking brats.”

He flew into the air, the drone tilting up. The clone looked down and continued, “It would be very easy to simply end you all, but I’m feeling very good right now. So, I’ll give you one last fighting chance, humans and experiments alike. All of you against all of me.”

He laughed loudly, and the drone was crushed, Armin’s tablet screen going to static. Everyone stood in silence; the air around them felt heavy, almost trying to crush them under its weight. Armin looked back at two siblings, their bodies frozen, and their ashen faces had blank expressions.

Laura fell to her knees, tears beginning to stream down her face. Her home. Her mother. All gone. Her lips quivered, but her expression remained the same. Her head drooped, sobs started out small, but Laura’s face scrunched, and she erupted into loud sobs.

“Mother, no!” She screamed in agony at the ground. Covering her face, as the sobs grew even louder.

Berus’s body shook, his chest heaving up and down. He seethed through clenched teeth as he started walking off. His mind was a storm of emotions. Anger, agony, and disbelief. After taking a number of steps away, the young prince could no longer bottle up his anguish and screamed to the sky. It was heartbreaking and filled with grief. Berus fell to his knees, still screaming, and slammed his fists down. The ground beneath cracked from the impact. The boy’s wails turned into sobbing, his tears falling onto the ground.

Cello tried to stay strong, sniffing and quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. The rest of the group could only watch in pain as the siblings poured their tears out. In such a short time, not only did their world get flipped upside down, but it was completely shattered. This once quiet, desolate island was now filled with echoes of the crying siblings.