Thalia…
She had trouble believing what she just heard as she stared at her brother with a weirded out expression until she asked, “You were going to...conquer the world? You’re joking right?”
“I am not,” he answered with a completely serious expression on his face.
She then stared at Cole as if expecting him to echo her disbelief only for him to look at Marcus as if what he said made sense.
Lyrra and Rosanne stared at Marcus like he was radioactive while Felkin listened intently to hear where this was going.
Selene, though doubtful, did not immediately try to refute his statement.
“Don’t you think that explanation is a little bit absurd?” she asked her and she nodded.
“As you are right now, the power you hold could easily destroy the world. Its certainly hard to believe, with the presence of spiritual energy on Terra being so minuscule that its basically nonexistent, that you could manage to accomplish that. So how is that possible?” she asked him.
“Do you remember when you and I went to Alken and we saw that they have developed their technology to be far more advanced than anything else in this world? For example, the metal carriages that levitate on metal rails?”
“Yes, I remember. What about it?”
“On Terra, we have technology similar to that and even far more advanced, but we don’t rely on magic to power it like Alken does. However, since humans on Terra don’t have magic, our ability to defend ourselves from weapons is extremely limited by comparison. Guns and blades are more than enough to put someone down on their own, yet on top of that, we have missiles, bombs, planes, tanks, and many other forms of military equipment and weaponry.”
“Weapons alone don’t win wars, especially if you don’t have enough people to use those weapons and fight for your cause,” Cole said, prompting Marcus to finish his explanation.
“You’re exactly right, but to be honest, we wouldn’t have had to rely on numbers or the amount of destructive capability we had at our disposal.”
“If you didn’t have to worry about numbers or weapons, then how would you be able to launch such an ambitious campaign?” Selene asked.
“On Terra, there are leaders all across the world that are involved in so much corruption that it could destroy their reputation and standing if that information was released. Unfortunately, those same people in power hold so much influence over each other and institutions meant for keeping that same information secret from the citizenry. Entire industries and organizations were created and maintained for the production of media and goods, but also to secretly manufacture blackmail against politicians, celebrities, and even well respected scientists. This turns the battle into a struggle of information warfare.”
“So you were going to take over the world by…exposing corruption?” Thalia asked, feeling somewhat impressed by his methods.
“No. That alone would not be enough. Simply exposing these people of what they were doing would not be enough to make people rise up against them, and even if it did, it would not have the desired effect we wanted. The only role it would have would be to gain the favor of the people whose governments we toppled so they would be grateful we freed them from such corruption and work alongside us.”
“You know, I remember back when I left Terra, hearing about something related to this,” Cole interjected, “This was a few years after you left in 2021, but a group by the name of ‘The 300’ assassinated the US president, government officials, and politicians. When this happened, they launched attacks all across the world, killing various world leaders and destabilizing foreign governments. Some people assumed it was the US Government launching a coup on its own people and then trying to take over everyone else at the same time but that was refuted as no one could figure out where The 300 were based out of. Were you part of that group?”
“I wasn’t just part of it, I’m the only reason they were able to operate in the first place. I provided them with weapons, funding, and access to information that would collapse societies all across the world.”
“I saw some of those 300 guys on TV wearing power armor. How did you get access to that?” he asked.
“I designed and built them.”
“H-How could you even afford to fund all of that?” Cole stammered.
“I designed weapons and extorted governments out of billions of dollars for the blueprints. They were all so paranoid that their enemies would gain access over weapons stronger than their own that they wouldn’t risk anyone else getting them, the United States especially.”
Cole sighed in exasperation as he admitted, “Yeah, that sounds like America alright.”
Thalia found something odd with her brother’s story and asked, “If all of that is true, then why did you bring me back to New York before we ended up here in Erebus? If you were part of this group, and you were going to participate in taking over the world, why bring me back to New York? I don’t remember anything that suggested you were up to something like this.”
“Like I said earlier, I wasn’t going to participate in it at all. All I did was fund them and provide them with weapons better than anyone else’s. Once they were prepared to go forward, then my part in it was over. I brought you back to New York because things were finally safe. Before Kayron showed up, I was going to take you and…,” he said as his voice trailed off and his expression darkened.
“I was going to take you away from New York and live somewhere else away from all of that. That’s about as much of an explanation that you are going to get,” he said as he stood up and went into the kitchen. He reached into the cupboard for a bottle of liquor and poured himself a glass.
He then drank the glass with a pained expression on his face before he asked, “Are you all satisfied with my explanation, or do you have more questions for me? I would really like to go to sleep soon.”
“I…I think I’m good. I don’t have anything more to ask,” Thalia said as Selene nodded in agreement.
“Me too. I don’t really care to ask anything else,” Cole said.
“Good, now go away,” he said as he poured himself another glass.
Cole shrugged and went up to his room with Lyrra and Rosanne following after him. Felkin stayed in the living room and resumed the movie he was watching.
Thalia however, looked up at Selene as if to ask her to keep an eye on her brother to make sure he was alright. There was obviously information he was keeping to himself, especially in regards to after his involvement with The 300 was over and his past in Japan.
Selene waved at her to head to her room in a manner that said, ‘I’ll take care of it. Go now.’
She nodded back and went to her room, looking back at her brother as he leaned forward on the counter, looking down at the glass of liquor he poured.
She then stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
Marcus...
After everyone else had left, save for Felkin who was finishing his movie in peace, Selene joined him in the kitchen and asked, “Can you pour me a glass too?”
He raised his head to stare at her in disbelief at how she was speaking to him, free of judgment or disgust. She still approached him warmly and leaned back against the counter next to him.
“Uh...sure,” he muttered as he reached into the cupboard for a glass and poured her a drink.
After he handed it to her, she spun the liquor in the glass before she said, “I’m impressed that you were that willing to open up to your sister about all of that. Although, I’m more impressed that Thalia was able to handle it all.”
“She’s had more than enough time to adapt after seeing me kill people in front of her. She’s a big girl,” he said as he took another drink.
“That may be true, but its clear to everyone that there is still a part of your past that you won’t tell her.”
He turned his head slowly to stare at her, almost glaring at her when she said that as he knew what she was getting across.
“What does it matter to you?” he asked, with a hint of aggression in his voice that he tried to hide but failed.
Yet Selene was unbothered by it as she took a drink and said, “To me? It doesn’t mean anything to me really. The point is, it matters something to you. Its clearly something so important to you that you would keep it from everyone, including your sister. Yet you said it was unrelated to your mafia past, right? That means it was something deeply personal and even painful.”
He stayed silent and tightened his fist in anger as she continued prodding him but he said and did nothing to stop her.
“I am not going to ask you to explain yourself Marcus as you clearly don’t want to talk about it and I understand why. However, if its something that hurts you this much that you would avoid it as much as possible, then its something you will have to move past eventually,” she said as she finished her glass.
She then grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass as she said, “When that happens, you will have my support the whole time. If you do want to talk about it, then I’ll be sure to listen.”
He relaxed his hands and his expression softened as he sighed and sat on the floor.
He sifted his hair through his fingers as he said, “I understand what you’re trying to do Selene, but I’m not worried about what you or Thalia might think of me if I bring it up. I’m worried about how I might act if I try to bring it to the surface. If I talk about it then I won’t be able to move on. I’ve already invested too much in this world to risk going back to my own and trying to save what I left behind.”
Selene then sat next to him but said nothing as she continued listening to him.
“You know that woman Moyako?”
“I do. What about her?”
“If you don’t know this already, she’s also from Terra. She forced me into an agreement that if she wins this tournament and defeats me in battle, then I would have to help her in finding a way to go back to Terra.”
Selene then grabbed Marcus by the shoulder and asked, “You can’t be serious! You agreed to that? Even though there is no known way? Even though Ruvick himself said there was no way, you still agreed?”
Her expression had rapidly changed to anger and frustration as she gripped his shoulder tightly to the point it almost started to hurt.
He was shocked to see her react to what he said in such a way, but he was honest as he answered, “I did.”
“Why would you do that?!” she demanded, with her expression almost resembling betrayal.
From how she was acting, she seemed furious at the idea of the possibility of him going back to Terra if it meant leaving her behind.
“I…I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner.”
“Answer me Marcus. Why would you agree to something so foolish?”
“I don’t know! I don’t…I don’t know why I agreed to it. I think…I think a part of me just wasn’t willing to move on yet.”
“Does Moyako have something to do with your past in Japan?” she answered with such an aggressive tone that suggested that he wouldn’t be allowed to brush her off unless he answered her question.
“Yes, she does. I’m not sure how or why, but she knows my connection to Japan and wants me to help her get back and to bring me with her.”
“I don’t get it. Why would you agree to her demands if your past in Japan was that painful for you?”
His face fell as he looked away from her and answered, “That’s the thing, it wasn’t painful. Out of all the time I spent working for Romano, the mafia, and working with The 300, my time in Japan was the one point in my life that wasn’t painful.”
Selene pulled away from him in confusion as she said, “I don’t understand.”
“Its because it wasn’t painful, in contrast to everything else I went through, that it bothers me so much. If I give up on this world, in which I’m trying to live a peaceful life, just to go back to a world that might not be the same as when I left it, I would be wasting all the effort I’ve put in so far. I’m happy here and don’t want to give up what I’ve built for the world I’m trying to move on from.”
Selene stared at him as she tried to make sense of his choice to agree to such a bet between himself and Moyako before she said, “Then the only thing you have left to do is to beat her. You have to defeat the strongest woman in the whole world so that you can move on and be happy, is that it?”
“That’s the gist of it, yeah,” he said with a tired tone.
She sat on the opposite side of the kitchen and stared at him as she took another drink.
The silence between the two of them stretched on for several minutes until she said, “Then you need to win. I don’t want to see you look so defeated by your past when you have the means to victory at your fingertips. If you want to move on from your past, move on into a new life…with me, then you need to win.”
‘With me…’
He raised his head when he heard her say those words to him and tightened his hands into fists.
That’s right…
If he wanted to have a new life with Selene, then he can’t allow himself to be held down by his past any longer. Even if his memories in Japan meant so much to him, even if he had left someone that meant so much to him behind, it would mean nothing even if there was no way back.
He needed to move on.
He needed to stop looking back and start looking forward to the future…
With Selene.
Moyako…
I’m so close, she thought to herself as she walked onto the arena one more time.
Her goal was so close that she could practically reach out and grab it. She only had to defeat two more opponents before Marcus, then win against him as well and they would finally work on going back home.
She could finally bring him home!
All the time she spent in this world, all the hardships she faced, the people she’s killed, the wars she fought in, all of it would be worth it if she could bring Marcus home.
It was worth any amount of suffering and heartache she could endure if she could bring him home.
Yet as she stood upon the floor of the arena, she was met with the most unwelcome sight of someone she once thought of as her best friend. Someone she thought she could count on wholeheartedly to have her back.
Reyna, the Golden Dragon, approached her on the arena floor to be her next opponent.